May 2020 News

May 11, 2020

March/April 2021 Newsletter

May 19, 2021

Winter 2021 News

Word.

2020 was a “ruff” year for everyone. With the many new challenges Covid manifested, our rescue not only survived, but thrived; edceeding our 2019 successes!. We focused on the programs that most impacted the animals and the people we serve and stayed true to our mission of "creating a no kill community." Our Pet Pantry program distributed 1,000s of pounds of free pet food to those in need, preventing 100s of owner surrenders and reducing the unwanted dog/cat population by 1,000s with our free and low cost spay/neuter programs. I am so proud to be part of this fierce little band of volunteers!

Patricia A. Werick

President, Culpeper Humane Society

2020 Recap

Our Rescue Efforts saved 165 dogs and cats, 150% increase from 2019.

Our Pet Pantry distributed a total of 13,000 lbs of free pet food in 11 months, 8% increase from the preceding 12 months of 2019

Through our TNR Alliance 500 cats from feral cat colonies and farms were trapped, spay/neutered, vaccinated, and their immediate medical needs and wounds cared for. 150% increase from our 9 month pilot year of 2019.

Through our Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinics; 100 privately owned dogs/cats to be spayed/neutered at a low cost vet clinic, 136 dogs/cats were spayed/neutered FREE. 18% increase from 2019.

We accomplished all this in the face of a pandemic that saw us cancelling major fundraising events, facing a 50% reduction in donation box revenue, difficulty in getting clinic appointments, causing us to go farther afield, increasing our travel cost and the fees we paid for services.

So, how did we achieve all this?

Grants that supported our TNR and S/N programs
Pet food donations and funding from PetSmart, Weis, and our supportive community.
Community made up of friends and neighbors like you.
Committed volunteers without whom we can't survive.

Hello there, 2021!

We anticipate facing the same challenges throughout 2021, but we plan to "hold the line." Our focus will remain on our Pet Pantry, TNR and low-cost S/N programs. We are also bolstering our cat adoption program, adding more foster homes to accommodate the number of kittens re-homed from feral cat colonies. We continue to develop our rescue into a sustainable organization with the development of roles, processes, and other administrative resources.

Our byline for 2021; STAY FIERCE!

More Volunteers Please

Our volunteers are the best! They are skilled, hard-working, dedicated and give generously of their time. They are truly the life blood of this rescue; without them our organization does not exist. Thank you from the bottom of our collective hearts to all the members of our great volunteer family.

If you would like to get the satisfaction of volunteering and becoming part of the Culpeper Humane Society family, check out the positions below that we are currently eager to fill. We attempt to add lots of people to each program so that the work is spread out and no one is unduly burdened. We send out emails when volunteers are needed for a specific task, and you can say either yay or nay. Even people with extremely limited time and busy lives can contribute in a valuable way.

Transporters, Transporters, Transporters...

We are in need of volunteers who can transport dogs and cats to spay/neuter clinic appointments in the early morning and late afternoon. Depending on number, you can drive your vehicle or our van. If you are willing to transport to either Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, Manassas or Ashland, doing an early morning or late afternoon run, we need you, once a month or every other month. Please, visit the link below and fill out our Volunteer Application.

Volunteer Application

We are about to swing into “kitten season” and are in need of foster homes for kitten care.

If you are interested in giving a temporary home to our new foster kittens and providing them with loving care while they wait for their "forever home", become a Culpeper County Humane Society foster family. Please, visit the link below and fill out our foster home application.

Foster Application

Chewy.com Wish List

Check it out! Please share with friends, family and coworkers! Sure, pet food is listed but also pet health care items to stock our new Pet Pharm. With the difficulty of getting affordable vet care, we have started to stock our own ear, eye, flea/tick, URI, diarrhea and other treatments and preventatives to administer ourselves, including distemper vaccinations. We have a vet assistant that is volunteering as our Foster Pet Care Manager.

Blast from the Past.

Poppy

‘Remember Snowflakes?

Chloe

‘Remember Chloe?’

Diogenes

‘Remember Dio?’

Baxter

‘Poppy is doing well and keeping her aunties on their toes. She got a clean bill of health at her last vet visit, but she’s clocking in at 12 pounds so the vet said she needed to watch her waistline. Undaunted, she kept busy during the holiday season by swatting ornaments across the room and climbing in the tree.’

‘She is a gem, so perfect for us. Everyone loves her. She made her way onto the kids’ beds and always starts the night with Macy, only to have Matthew come up later and coax her onto his bed. She is quite charming and receives no shortage of love!’

‘Thank you all very much for him, he’s the best .’

‘Look who it is! Our sweet boy Trey, now called Baxter, has his very own family; dad, mom, 2 little hooman girls and his own dog, Hank. Not too shabby for the once emaciated, filthy, flea-riddled, 3 legged kitty, forced to live under a wrecked car in a rundown shed after his owner threw him out of the house. Thanks to a kind-hearted woman who fed him and alerted us to his situation, he’s now living a much-loved, safe and fun life.’

Adoptions

Volunteer Application

In Memoriam.

Mimi (aka Blondie)

Mimi came into my world almost exactly three years ago today. Rescued from the rubble of Hurricane Maria, the poor wee girl went through a lot before she finally moved in with me. The story of her rescue was nothing short of miraculous: found in the back of a small cave and apparently dead, almost buried by rescuers who, on seeing her lift her head and blink, whisked her off to medical attention. The rest as is often said, was history. Loving care from the Humane Society foster mom in Puerto Rico, an airlift to Virginia and a drive to our Culpeper Humane Society was the start of her new life here. The Society paid for all the medical attention she needed: hernia surgery and total teeth removal. She was also found to have completely lost her hearing. When I heard her story and went to see her my heart was touched by her big brown Chihuahua eyes, her courage and her sweet nature in spite of all she had gone through. I knew then and there that I wanted to give her a forever happy and safe home and have her be my little buddy.

So, for the past three years my sweet companion slept on my bed, went with me on walks, fussed around my feet in the garden, played with my granddaughter, sat on my feet whenever I sat down. We were happy. Until one day we weren’t. Late Fall she seemed to become tired and listless, began losing her hair, could not jump up on the bed, lost her appetite, slept a lot and, most upsettingly, developed a large mass on her abdomen. The hardest thing was to hear from her vet that she was now quite old and in considerable pain, which she was probably escaping by sleeping. The most compassionate thing I could do for her was to let her go. That sweet little friend whom I had named Milagro (Miracle in Spanish) Mimi for short, had reached the foot of her Rainbow Bridge. Our loving responsibility was to help her cross over with serenity. It was a heartbreaking decision for me. My consolation is that she passed peacefully in my arms and was no longer suffering. She is in my heart forever and her memory will always be a blessing. – Patricia Heidlebaugh

Please contact us at info@culpeperhumanesociety.com if you have a furry beloved that you would like to pay tribute.

Put your skills and experience to work helping to improve the quality of life for pets and people in your community…

Who doesn’t love cute puppies, cuddly kittens and feeling good about themselves because they made a positive difference for animals in need? CHS is seeking to fill some key “behind the scenes” volunteer positions. If you have the skills, are reliable and can commit to volunteering at least one day per week we need you. We have an urgent need for skilled volunteers for the following positions:

Manager Fundraising
Grant Writer
Coordinator Foster Care
Coordinator Care-A-Van
Transporters, transporters, transporters!

If you are interested in any of the listed positions please, send an email outlining any applicable experience and detailing why you want to volunteer with CHS to info@culpeperhumanesociety.org Please write “Attention: Debbie Siday in the subject line.

All positions, with the exception of transporters, require a basic knowledge of email and Microsoft Office.

Apply Now!