Sunday, April 19, 2009

It takes a village to raise a puppy....

What a day. This weekend is the first annual SSHS Volunteer Weekend and yesterday was a day for the books. There are so many moments in my job where I am intensely proud to be a part of the South Suburban Humane Society. Here are just a few snippets of yesterday:

  • A goal for several months has been to move the storage shed from alongside the building to next to the garage. Moving the shed will allow more folks to easily see our pet intake area. Yesterday it was achieved with girl power. Heather Risser hooked the shed up and Ashley Manning towed it with her truck. Semper fi (Ashley is a Marine)! The final maneuverings involved lifting it!
  • Maureen and Don Carlson and their son Caesar cleaned and prepped the area behind the shelter in advance of our new fenced-in play area to come on May 5.
  • Pat Frederickson, Jackie Newman, Diane Bruske, Richard & Mary Ann Hoehn, Amanda Heineman, Ashley, and Maureen painted the multi-purpose room, hallway, and exterior doors.
  • Heather power-washed the exterior of the building and the outdoor play areas.
  • Bob and Sean Kowinya and Olga and Bianca Raices weaved privacy fencing into our side puppy play area for added security.
  • Several volunteers walked dogs while all of the work was taking place.
  • Ten volunteers led by Andrea, Eva, and Nikko Santucci took dogs to the PetSmart in Matteson for an adoption event and three were adopted including another Senior for Senior match! Many thanks to Judy Hartley, Pat & Steve Pearson and all of the others who made the adoption event a success!

And then there's the major project. Ross Peplow, Brian Espel, Ed Kowinya, and Chris Santucci tore down the paneling in the puppy/small dog room, scraped adhesive, and hauled out the garbage. Long into the evening, Heather, Ross and I power washed the room and prepped it for today's painting and sealing. We could barely stand by 9 p.m. and we're all ready to go for another day here at 9 a.m. When we see our beautiful little ones shining like the stars they are in their new room, it will all be worth it!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

There are some days here at the South Suburban Humane Society that I think, if everyone could know this, it would bring so much joy! Hopefully, enough word will spread about the blog that more people can experience our happy stories.

On Monday afternoon, a sweet soul named Diamond walked through our doors. Her owner was moving and after 10 years of ownership, she couldn't keep her. The owner told us that Diamond was a Westie, but honestly, she looked like a worn-out, filthy muppet. I called one of our star volunteers, Diane Bruske. She immediately came to the shelter and took Diamond to one of the area groomers who takes on our emergency, in-need dogs--Lucie Madecka. Yesterday morning when Diane brought Diamond back into the shelter, she lived up to her name. Sparkling, shining, and with a soft-as-butter coat, she trotted through the lobby and she knew she looked good!

Diamond was placed in a kennel in the puppy/small dog room at 11 a.m. and by 5 p.m. she was walking back out the door to a final forever home. A senior adopter set her eyes on Diamond and through our Seniors for Seniors program, she adopted Diamond for only the cost of the Rabies vaccination. I wish everyone could have seen the way that Diamond gazed into her new mom's eyes and the way her new mom cuddled and cooed at her in return.

Diamond's story is why the staff, board, and volunteers at SSHS pour our blood, sweat, and tears into our work every day. If there is even one Diamond each week, it's worth it.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

Shelter Pet Project

I was fortunate to attend the Humane Society of the United States' Animal Care Expo last week. I learned, shared, networked, and emerged with new energy for the work at hand.

Expo attendees were the first to learn an extremely exciting news item. The Ad Council, the folks behind such memorable campaigns as "Only you can prevent forest fires," "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," and "Friends don't let friends drive drunk" is poised to launch a three-year, $120 million effort to change the way Americans view shelter pets and promote adoption. This is the first time the Ad Council has selected an animal welfare issue.

Leaders in the animal welfare movement say there's never been anything like the massive campaign that will reach out using the internet, tv, radio, print, and outdoor advertising to persuade Americans looking for a pet to make shelters and rescue groups their first choice. The campagin will target more than 33,000 media outlets!

The goal of the campaign is to double adoptions from 4 million annually to 8 million. Experts predict a 300% increase in phone and foot traffic to local shelters in the beginning of the campaign which is set to launch in mid-year.

SSHS will be ready. Please help spread the word about adoption first. If you hear someone commenting about the ads they've seen, steer them towards SSHS. Their next forever friend is waiting for them there.

For more information, you can visit TheShelterPetProject.org

Welcome!

Welcome to the first post to the South Suburban Humane Society's blog! Here you'll find regular updates about SSHS, stories to tug at your heart, and insider information about the shelter and organization. We'll have occasional guest bloggers, contests, and lots of fun. Please pass the site along to friends, family, etc. and subscribe to get the latest updates.

All the best to you today and every day,
Emily Gruszka
Executive Director