Longmont Humane Society Now and Forever Campaign Reaches Phase 1 Goal

Volunteer Camie Kirkevold works with a cat named Kiki on Wednesday at the Longmont Humane Society. (Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)

According to The Longmont Humane Society they have reached their Phase 1 goal of their "Now and Forever" Campaign.  They avoided foreclosure! They were able to make their November payment of  $772,227.68 "because of the generous support of our friends and donors in Longmont." 

They did it "after cashing in its investments," director Liz Smokowski told the Longmont Times Call. The investments netted $363,118, which combined with $526,932 in donations exceeded the amount needed for this year's payment.



The shelter's Board members have worked diligently to "improve and augment" their operating finances which the Longmont Humane Society has been concerned about for several years. Over the past two years, Longmont Humane Society changed leadership in order to take a new direction and respond to the urgency of their financial situation. As a result, they have raised animal adoption prices, reduced staffing costs and marketing expenditures, increased the number of volunteer positions, and boosted their fundraising efforts. "Longmont Humane Society has achieved a combined positive cash flow from operating and investing activities over the past two years." They say their cash drain "is related to financing of the construction project and the related bond offering that was taken."Without their principal and interest payments, Longmont Humane Society would be wholly sustainable.  

The Longmont Humane Society will still need to raise the final $2.4 million even after this payment. Liz Smokowski, hired in 2011 by the Longmont Humane Society, told the Times Call the shelter is "still seeking donations to cover the payment because cashing in the investments drained all of the its savings." Their operating expenses are now compromised and they have no reserves.

The fundraising campaign is titled, "The Longmont Humane Society: Serving the Community Now and Forever." Focused on the November payment until now, they now seek "to raise $3.1 million to pay off the remaining loan amount by the fall of 2014." Next year's loan payment is also $772,000, so they are far from out of the woods. Phase 2 of their campaign is to raise $2.4 million by the end of 2014.

Donate to the Now and Forever Campaign here

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Be Kind to Animals Week®: May 2-8, 2010

Taken from the American Humane Website:
http://www.americanhumane.org/protecting-animals/special-events/be-kind-to-animals-week/

"Join the event that’s been celebrated every year since 1915 -- American Humane’s Be Kind to Animals Week. In this annual tradition, we commemorate the role animals play in our lives, promote ways to continue to treat them humanely, and encourage others, especially children, to do the same.

Be Kind to Animals Week is celebrated with shelter information and resources, special American Humane merchandise, and the annual Be Kind to Animals™ Kid Contest that recognizes children who go above and beyond to create a better world for animals.

And while Be Kind to Animals Week is celebrated only once a year, there are ways people can be kind to animals every day. Here’s how:

Speak out for animals
Get informed about policies and legislation that can impact the animals in your community and throughout the country. Also, register to receive Action Alerts from American Humane -- you’ll be able to speak out for animals with just the click of a mouse. Advocacy for animals can make a huge difference in their safety and well-being.

Report animal abuse
Animal cruelty and abuse is not only tragic for animals, but also an indicator that other forms of abuse such as domestic violence could be happening. If you see something that looks suspicious -- a dog chained in your neighbor’s yard that looks underfed, a child putting a cat in a box and kicking it around the yard -- don’t hesitate. Let someone know.

Appreciate wildlife
All animals deserve to be treated humanly -- family pets and animals in the wild. Create an inviting space in your yard and garden for butterflies, hummingbirds and other creatures. If wildlife comes too close to home, look for ways to coexist with animals or to protect your property humanely.

Adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue
Every year, an estimated 3.7 million animals must be euthanized at our nation’s shelters because they could not be adopted into loving homes. Help animals find a second chance at happiness by adopting your next pet from your local shelter or rescue group. American Humane has tips to find the animal companion that’s right for you and develop a bond that will last a lifetime.

Take care of your pet
Pets are like children who never grow up. They need you to help keep them healthy and safe throughout their lives. Keep your animal’s vaccinations up-to-date. Make sure he’s wearing proper identification. Take your pet to the veterinarian regularly. Know what it takes to be a responsible pet owner."

To learn more about the many wonderful programs at American Humane visit:  http://www.americanhumane.org/
Posted By:

Dawn Kairns  
Author of MAGGIE the dog who changed my life

Website: www.dawnkairns.com

Blog: Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog  
Twitter: www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

Become a fan on Facebook of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

2009 Indie Book Awards Finalist
DWAA 2008 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award Finalist

Good News In Pet Adoption 3.5 from Adopt a Pet

Good News in Pet Adoption 3.5
Original Post by Jennifer on March 5th, 2010 on Adopt a Pet Blog

This week features a story from CA where a community came together and helped end puppy mill sales of one local pet store. Owners of a Rocklin pet store say they were flooded with e-mails and phone calls, asking them to stop selling purebred puppies. The requests started soon after a Roseville pet store which sold dogs closed last year. “We won’t be selling puppies anymore at the store, we just want to be a good member of the community and it’s clear that people don’t want us doing it,” said Rocklin Family Pet Store owner, Dale Glazer. The store will host an SPCA pet adoption event this Friday.

Posted By:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE the dog who changed my life A Story of Love

Website: www.dawnkairns.com

Blog: Dawn Kairns and Maggie the Dog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

Become a fan on Facebook of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

2009 Indie Book Awards Finalist
DWAA 2008 Merial Human-Animal Bond Award Finalist

Twitter A Critter: Help Homeless Pets Get Adopted

Twitter A Critter

Original Post by Abbie on Adopt-a-Pet.com's October 20th, 2009 Blog

If you haven’t heard, Adopt-a-Pet.com is promoting the use of Twitter and Adopt-a-Pet.com! The idea behind TwitterACritter is simple: if you find a pet on Adopt-a-Pet.com that you really want to see adopted, just click “Tweet Me” on that pet details page to share that pet with all your followers. It’s a simple action that can have a huge impact. Lots of celebrities have been catching on! Kevin Nealon, Alyssa Milano, Denise Richards, Kristin Chenoweth, and many other celebrities have taken up the cause and tweeted links to their favorite shelter pets listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com. In each case, immediately after the celebrity’s tweet, hundreds of their followers tweeted homeless pets as well… and their followers tweet, and so on and so on. The celebrities create an avalanche of compassion!

To learn more about TwitterACritter and how you can help by Tweeting a homeless pet go to http://www.TwitterACritter.com. You can follow the campaign on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/TweetACritter.

Posted By:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
www.dawnkairns.com
www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

Considerations and Positive Aspects of Pet Adoption

From Adopt-a-Pet.com:

Although there are literally millions of pets in shelters, pounds and other ‘temporary housing’, many pet-owners-to-be don’t think about pet adoption when they’re looking for their new four-legged friend.

Many people who want to get a pet just are not aware of how many pets are available at shelters. They might also have the misconception that pets are shelters might be there because there was a problem with the animal. In fact, most pets end up in shelters not because of any problem pet behavior, but because an owner died, moved, or simply didn't have the time or money to care for the animal. In some cases animals are lost and never found by their owners. These animals are healthy and very eager to please. Rescues pets are wonderful- just ask anyone who has one.

Some people are seeking purebred animals or puppies and think these are not available in shelters. In fact, nearly a quarter of all animals in shelters are purebred. Often someone buys an expensive purebred animal and then attempts to breed that animal to recoup their money. Often these puppies or kittens are not placed in homes, and end up in the shelter. Puppies and kittens often up in shelters as well, but it is important to note that your animals, especially puppies, require a lot of work and training and can be quite destructive (peeing on the carpet or chewing shoes). Puppies are great but often people are much happier getting a dog who is older, and whose size and temperament is a known quantity.

With Adopt-a-Pet.com, people can search all their local pets and see pictures and descriptions of the animals on the site. This way, they can find the exact pet they want, call the animal shelter or rescue group, and get information on how to adopt that specific animal.

The 5 Most Important Things A Potential Adopter Should Consider

When Choosing Their New Pet

Adopt-a-Pet.com has a blog post on this highlighting the top 10 things they believe are important when adopting. Here are five:

1. You need to make a real commitment to care for your pet for its entire life.
2. Verify in advance that you’re allowed to keep a pet where you live.
3. Never adopt a pet on a whim or because you feel it’s love-at-first-sight
4. Provide sufficient exercise and stimulation during the first few weeks, this will help the pet adjust.
5. Make any necessary modifications to your yard and fence to provide for your pet’s safety.

The other 5 considerations can be located by visiting 10 Things To Consider Before Adopting A Pet.

5 Positive Aspects of Pet Adoption: Why It’s a Good Option

1. When you adopt an adult animal, you can see his/her size and temperament. This helps ensure that the pet is right for you and your family.
2. It feels great to know you have saved an animals' life and everyone you meet will give you kudos for that for years to come.
3. Adopted pets are very loyal and know they have been given a new home.
4. Adopting a pet can be an important lesson to teach your children-- both about the value of life, and also about civic responsibility and even recycling- in this case recycling a living and loving animal into a new home.
5. Choosing a mixed breed animal can help avoid many of the genetic health problems that have developed in purebred animal due to overbreeding and inbreeding.

5 Things You Can Do to Get Involved To Help Homeless Pets

But Can't Adopt At This Time

1. People can do Social PETworking! They can run a search on Adopt-a-Pet.com, find a pet they want to help get exposure for, and use the share tools on the site to post the pet link on their Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or other social network page. Or, they can email the link of a pet in need from Adopt-a-Pet.com site to their friends.
2. They can place a link/graphic or even a search widget for Adopt-a-Pet.com on their personal website to encourage their users to see pets in need at local shelters (on the Adopt-A-Pet.com links page are graphics that can be used as links).
3. People can add their information to the Adopt-a-Pet.com volunteer database so shelters who need volunteers can find them.
4. People can search Adopt-a-Pet.com to find a local shelter, and make a cash donation to that shelter to help them with the costs of housing, feeding and medical care of shelter animals.
5. People can encourage other pet owners to spay or neuter their pet to help prevent unwanted births.

The other 5 ways to help homeless pets can be located by visiting The Adopt-A-Pet Blog at this link: http://blog.adoptapet.com/10-ways-to-help-homeless-pets-even-if-you-can-not-adopt/


Posted By:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
www.dawnkairns.com
www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/themaggiebook

Adopt Your Next Pet from Adopt-a-Pet.com

You all know how I encourage the rescue and adoption of our millions of homeless pets. Adopt-a-Pet.com is doing their part to get shelter pets into homes while they wait for people like us to find them on the Adopt-a-Pet.com website and adopt them. Are you thinking a adopting a pet? Consider adopting through Adopt-a-Pet.com, the largest non-profit pet adoption website in the world.

What is Adopt-a-Pet.com
Adopt-a-Pet.com is the world's largest non-profit pet adoption website. We are like an ad agency for shelters and shelter pets. Sadly there are 4 million healthy adoptable companion animals killed in shelters each year due to overcrowding. We do our best to relieve that problem and put pets from shelters in the homes of pet seekers all over the country.

The Adopt-a-Pet.com website makes it easy for anyone with an internet connection to find profiles and pictures of adoptable animals by location, breed, gender, age, size, and color. Over 8,000 shelters posts pets on our website displaying over 125,000 pets available for adoption at any given time. We also help volunteers connect with shelters, and currently host over thousands of people listed in our volunteer database for shelters.

What Makes Adopt-a-Pet.com Unique:
On the Adopt-a-Pet.com website, people can use something called “Search Saver.” This feature will notify users by e-mail when a particular pet of their specifications in available for adoption. For example, I can tell “Search Saver” where I live, and what type of breed I am looking for. When that animal is available, I am notified the next time a pet matching my search is added on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

As of this summer Adopt-a-Pet.com has made it easy for their visitors to find pets and then recommend them to friends and family via Facebook, Twitter and other social applications. They are calling the idea “Social Petworking.” Here is how it works; once you have searched and found a pet in need, on the pet details page simply hover over the button labeled “SHARE,” there you can send the pet details page to any of your friends. For more information visit this page http://www.adoptapet.com/socialpetworking/signup.

In addition to dogs and cats, Adopt-a-Pet.com now features all kinds of pets for adoption, including rabbits, farm animals, ferrets, hamsters and other small animals, horses, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and even fish. This was a major initiative that took many months to research and program into the site, and it is being well-received within the shelter community.

By teaming up with the renowned street-artist Shepard Fairey, who designed the iconic Obama "Hope" image, Adopt-a-Pet.com has available a number of stylish ways to promote pet adoption. Shepard was able to translate his work with Obama to an image that can be used to represent pet adoption support. Merchandise can be found at "http://www.muttslikeme.com"www.muttslikeme.com

Blog
Adopt-a-Pet.com has begun blogging and created a Twitter Page along with a Facebook Page. Their blog is located at http://blog.adoptapet.com. There you can also join their Facebook Group, or follow them on Twitter.

Look for more on my blog about Adopt-a-Pet.com next week, and be sure to visit their blog at http://blog.adoptapet.com.


Posted By:

Dawn Kairns
Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life
www.dawnkairns.com
www.maggiethedogwhochangedmylife.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/themaggiebook