Greetings Volunteers,
I hope you had a safe and relaxing holiday week! And, hopefully, you got to spend New Year’s Day on the couch with a furry friend! 2024 was a year of memorable and magical moments, full of heartwarming adoptions, wildlife rescues, phenomenal volunteer dedication, and so much more. Thank you for being a part of it all!! Here’s a short & sweet video looking back on some highlights from 2024!
Shelter update: We currently have 234 animals in our collective care. 196 are at Marin Humane: 68 animals in foster and 128 animals in the shelter/Kitty Corner, including: 21 dogs, 3 puppies, 47 cats, 19 kittens, 17 rabbits, 3 guinea pigs, 5 rodents, 7 reptiles, 5 birds, and 1 fowl. 38 animals are with the Hopalong Foster Program: 2 animals are in the Oakland office and 36 are in foster or offsite adoption sites!
Adoption update: Happy Thursday! Here’s the last adoption video of 2024! It’s on the shorter side thanks to the holiday week but it’s no less cute! We’re full of gratitude to everyone who celebrated the holidays by adopting a new best buddy; what a way to ring in a new year! Here’s the Adoption Report if you’d like the specifics on who rang in the New Year in a new home!
Hopalong happenings! Looking for a FURever home for this bonded pair. Yoshi and Pharell are a special pair of dignified cats with gentle, sweet natures that came to us from the shelter after their person moved out of state. They were quick to open up and trust new people, but it seemed clear that they needed a lot of extra TLC to get them in their full glory. Big “brother” Pharell is a gorgeous senior Maine Coon cat. He’s definitely got that magical woodland creature element to him, with his fluffy mane and tall pointed ears and deep-set eyes. Despite his huge stature, he still manages to fit in the kitty napping nooks and is content to lounge about waiting for his next meal or a pet session. Little “brother” Yoshi, has been a diamond in the rough, letting his older brother take the limelight and slowly settling in and revealing his personality, opening up a little more every day. He’s generally a quiet kitty, but at least once a day randomly, you’ll hear him talking to himself with high pitched baby meows. When we first met him, he was attached to Pharell and it’s evident that they’re bonded and should stay together. He would love to take his time getting to know his new family and opening up on his own timeline, with Pharell right by his side. With these two as a pair, you will definitely need to have a few grooming brushes at the ready and lots of lap surface area. They have gotten used to a double charm offensive strategy when they greet people. We’ve had the privilege of hosting Yoshi and Pharell and now it’s time for them to find their new family together! If you think you might be that person (or know someone who’re ready for these lovely boys) you can read more about them on our site here.
Happy ending + cheers to the chip!! We have another heart-warming reunion story, all thanks to the power of microchips. Leopold went missing from her home in Hayward three years ago. Her guardian, Heather, searched high and low but eventually gave up hope that she’d be reunited with Leopold. So imagine Heather’s surprise when she received a call from Marin Humane yesterday saying we had her cat! On Christmas night, a Novato family brought a stray black cat to the shelter. They’d been feeding the cat for a while, but since none of the neighbors knew who she belonged to, they were getting worried about her being outdoors during the winter. Our staff scanned the kitty for a microchip and were absolutely thrilled to discover that she was chipped! And even better, the chip registration info had an accurate phone number, so we could reach out to Heather right away.
Heather, who had since moved to the South Bay, was stunned and overjoyed. While she has no idea how Leopold ended up in Marin, she immediately made the drive to reunite with her beloved kitty. All our staff were in tears during the heartwarming reunion, and Leopold even seemed to be giving her mom a hug. Let this be a sweet reminder to always chip your pets and keep the info up to date! We offer microchipping services by appointment, and cat chips are currently FREE thanks to a generous donor. Call our front office at 415-883-4621 for more info on microchips.
B&Tea blog: Last week, long-time (31+ years!) volunteer, Kim Bromley, let us know that she will be moving out of the county, marking an end of an era. Kim has contributed to Marin Humane in too many ways to enumerate, but we’ll try: Kim has been a foster, a dog behavior evaluator, a cat behavior evaluator, and dog behavior & training volunteer, a Pet Partnership volunteer, and has worked on numerous special B&T projects! While we won’t see Kim on campus weekly, she will continue to contribute to the B&Tea blog, help at special events, and perhaps some special projects along the way. Hope you enjoy Kim’s latest blog post, “Moving On.”
Columbia Sportswear discount! Yeah, the Columbia Sportswear Employee Store Perk is here again! Here’s the Columbia Sportswear Store Winter Invitation valid for volunteers and staff. The offer runs from January 3rd – January 26th! Save up to 50% off select styles starting tomorrow, including new Fall products from their family of brands – Columbia, Mountain Hardwear, SOREL and prAna – items are marked at employee store pricing. For store access, please provide the invite (printed or shown on your mobile device) + proof of affiliation (your name badge should suffice), you can bring up to four additional guests with each visit, and this offer is for store access (not valid online). Happy shopping!
Tails of Marin: New Year’s resolutions aren’t always easy to keep, but we’ve got a few ideas that should be — and they help animals, too. Here’s a quick list of ideas, some easy to achieve, some a bit more lofty but doable nonetheless: “New Year’s resolutions for animal lovers.”
Three cheers to a 2025 full of happy endings!
Candace
