May 2020 News
Word.
I hope this newsletter finds you safe and healthy as you shelter in place. I’ll simply acknowledge the surreal quality of our world today and the obvious disruption to our daily lives and in our rescue. We have been greatly affected as well but are determined to use our creative energy to search new resources in order to maintain our services to our community pets and county animals.
Patricia A. Werick
President, Culpeper Humane Society
Programs for Culpeper County!
Pet Pantry.
In April the USDA, Empowering Culpeper, and CHS mobilized the monthly food distribution from the Methodist Church to Eastern View High School Sports Facility parking lot. With new logistics in place designed to keep everyone safe (social distancing, masks, and gloves), and our own separate parking lot, one rescue volunteer asked each vehicle their needs and another packed bags to put in recipients’ trunks, who never left their vehicles. We are redoubling our efforts to be able to provide pet food to more families in order to keep pets in homes and out of the Shelter. Anyone able to donate pet food please email us at info@culpeperhumanesociety.com. We scored a whole pallet of dog kibble from the Pittsylvania Pet Center in Chatham, Virginia who acted as a distribution center for the Greater Good! Thank you to the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies for referring us to the HSUS rep, Molly Armus, who recommended us. Many thanks to Bill Werick who drove the 6-hour round trip to pick up the pet food. Also, tons of thanks to Larry Cresce and Deb Siday for the use of their storage unit for the pallet of kibble. Much appreciation goes to Kyle and Jenn Sisson for the distribution of pet food at Eastern View. It DOES take a village.
Spay/Neuter.
Vet appointments are now at a premium at low-cost vet clinics where we enjoy deep discounts. The closing of many of the low cost clinics is not only because of the general lockdown due to Covid-19, but even if open the diminishment of staffing, including vets and running out of critical surgical supplies are greatly curbing appointment availability. Prior to Covid-19, CASPCA had closed their clinic to all out of county individuals and agencies (except TNR cats). We were lucky to get appointments at comparable prices at Fredericksburg SPCA for one month until they were forced to close. With already 35 pets on our roster for the month of April, we got lucky once again and through Virginia Kincheloe Spay/Neuter Clinic was able to secure 2 days of vet appointments to get all our April registrants spayed/neutered! Currently (as of 5/15) Kincheloe is overwhelmed and not accepting any further appointments, and FredSPCA has still not opened. We have made appointments for reimbursing people that want low cost spay/neuter at Anicira in Manassas. However, at twice the cost of what we normally pay for our Suppport 4 Paws program, we are unable to do any free spay/neuters until one of the clinics in Fredericksburg opens. Hoping they resume operations in June. A thousand thanks to Larry Cresce, for being the best ever transporter to Kincheloe Spay Neuter Clinic as we drove tandem to deliver all April’s dogs and cats.
TNR Alliance.
We are beyond thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a $25K grant! These funds cover all our TNR cats’ spay/neuter and vaccinations! We cover all meds and treatments the cats may require, and we’ve added two new trappers to our mix! Currently, we have CASPCA still accommodating up to 60 TNR cats a month, $25K to cover the costs, good trappers, and now all we need is to identify cat colonies. We do free TNR for community cats; ferals or strays, as long as there is a caretaker. This includes dairy barns and horse farm cats! Please direct anyone looking for TNR to contact us at info@culpeperhumanesociety.com.
Blast from the Past.
Alfie
1 year and 10 lbs later. This is our former Andy, adopted last year May 20, and weighed in at just 4.4lbs. Just had his 1 year annual vet visit; healthy, happy and tipped that scale at 14 lbs!
Jessie
I put my stinky feetz on you. Jessie was adopted last year to one of our previous adopters (remember, Koda)! Here, Jessie is seen languishing next to his dog-sibling, Finn. Finn is a lot younger and bigger Scottish Wolfhound, but Jessie wears HIM out. Check out the Jessie’s big boy feet on Finn…Koda’s slumbering nearby.
April Adoptions.
New Kid on the Block.
Chuck is a 2 yr old Black/Grey Tiger, DMH, looks like a Maine Coon Cat. Very handsome. Very sweet once he gets to know you, allegedly. Currently pouting in my bathroom…but in all fairness, he was JUST neutered in this photo!
New to the Nursery.
Momma Robin and her 3 babies, Marmalade, Hobbes and Timone; busy nursing and growing. UPDATE; 8 more kittens just in! Sssshhhhhh….stay tuned for next newsletter.
Volunteer Opportunities.
TNR Alliance; Transporters!
Seeking experienced foster homes for kittens 6-10 wks old. Please note that we vet our foster homes like we vet our adopter’s homes. Our #1 priority is the well being of the pets in our care. Transporters! Currently, we have one driver doing a round trip to Charlottesville 6 times a month. We need a relief driver(s) to do a round trip or even just one-way, once a month …let’s not wear the one driver out, I need to stay married to him! 9am Monday drop off and Tuesday 9am pick up. Drive our step van, you never leave the vehicle. The staff does all the handling.
Pet Pantry; Rebaggers!
It’s a small space so to be safe we are requesting a self-starter to work alone or a family team! Bins are already disinfected. Plastic bags already labeled. You will be putting large bags of kibble in a feed chute and filling gallon bags and taping. Usually it takes about 1.5-2 hours. Right now, Jenn Sisson is doing all the rebagging of 1300+lbs herself. Can anyone help her just once a month? Pet Pantry distribution! Now at Eastern View High School, the 3rd Saturday of each month, from 9am to 11am. As explained above, our new safety measures reduce risks. Who will step up to do this just once a month or every other month?
Spay/Neuter; Transporters!
Hopefully we will resume doing weekly transports to Fredericksburg, only 5-7 small cat carriers (mostly cats but can be small dogs in cat carriers), need an SUV to transport. People put their own carriers and paperwork in your vehicle. Round trip or one way. 9 am drop off and 4:30 pm pick up, same day. Please consider helping out, just once a month would make all the difference and if 3 people volunteered that would mean I would not have to do it EACH WEEK!
Anyone interested or just want more information on any role, please send us an email at info@culpeperhumanesociety.com. If not already a volunteer, please submit a volunteer application.
In Memoriam.
Shirley Worthington came to us 6 years ago, a 10 year old foster dog that was painfully thin, heartworm diseased with several other health issues and hookworms. She was a long-legged rangy big-nosed girl, very quiet, not given to affection or play, no expectations, just acceptance. We imagined her a used up old hunting dog, kenneled with other dogs, trough fed, not use to affection who had just shut down, and certainly wouldn’t live another 6 months. Bill dubbed her Mrs Worthington and gave her an improbable back story of a librarian as she was very sober, not given to flights of fancy. This quickly evolved into Research Librarian…mostly due to her high brow stature and total lack of willingness to tolerate any cats’ or dogs’ shenanigans in the ‘library’, barking loudly chastising one and all. Once she became the Retired Research Librarian, she gained a first name; Shirley. She overcame heartworm disease, gained in health and weight and loved her life on our little farm, albeit exceedingly undemonstrative as ever. Never very doggy, her affectionate overtures were very subtle; a head on your hand or knee, a snuffle with her big nose around your face, but she was always sincere. We constantly marveled at the unimaginable angles she could fold herself into to sleep. As she aged, she lost most of her hearing and slowly most of her sight, but not her appetite, her strict policy of reserve nor her love for wandering our property, smelling everything. She began wasting away and our fears were confirmed that she had cancer, her time with us was limited. We gave her lots of her favorite delicious foods, lots of smooches and stroking and free range of her beloved media room; dark and thickly carpeted. She left us quietly and peacefully. Our long-legged, elegant antelope with her long big nose always willing to be smooched and her ridiculous strictness for protocol and decorum.
We will miss you forever, Mrs Worthington.
Bill and Patty Werick
Please contact us at info@culpeperhumanesociety.com if you have a furry beloved that you would like to pay tribute.
