Intermountain Humane Society

IMHS donors and volunteer veterinary staff recently provided extra care to six special-needs homeless cats and pups and their road to recovery has already led three of them into new lifetime homes, while three others are sitting in our “rest area” waiting for somebody driven to adopt a new loving animal. Could it be you?

Nelson is a friendly 4 year old DSH brown tabby who can personally testify to the dangers faced by all outside cats. Poor Nelson arrived at IMHS with a nasty puncture wound that had been untreated for more than a week while his owners tried to figure out how to afford veterinary care. Since that was not an option, they surrendered Nelson to IMHS. When he arrived, Nelson was lethargic and running a fever of 105.5F! IMHS volunteer veterinary staff immediately provided pain medication for this suffering cat, clipped the hair around the wound, and then applied a topical treatment with a medicated wrap and also helped Nelson fight off infection with oral antibiotics. We’ve taken “before” photos in case anyone needs to be convinced that cats should never be let outside unattended, and hope that the “after” picture of this handsome boy will lead a loving person to adopt him!

Annie and Mica were the subjects of a previous post, and we’re delighted to let you know that these two 8-month kelpie pups were adopted by a compassionate person willing to follow up with a dermatologist on their care. They found their new lifetime home after being spayed and receiving weeks of medical care to treat their chronically poor (greasy, smelly, itchy) skin including special diet, injectable and oral treatments to relieve itching and infection, and weekly medicated baths.

It seemed like the end of the road for Hanna, a lynx-point Siamese cat, when she came into one of our partner shelters. She was deemed ineligible for adoption due to her age and medical conditions. We declare that Hanna is adoptable, and we’re waiting for somebody to walk through the shelter door and prove us right. Our wonderful volunteer veterinary staff used ultrasounds to determine that the lumpy belly she has results from inoperable cysts growing on her liver. She’s only about 8 years old, but most importantly she lives each day as if it were the best yet. Hanna enjoys a free-roaming lifestyle in the office and in the shelter’s cat room and is often seen “helping” with IMHS office tasks but she wouldn’t mind receiving hospice in a home environment. In return for your adoption fee, she’ll provide you with purrs and plenty of laughs!

10-wk old cattle dog mix pups Wendy and Puck were feverish and very ill after transport from an overcrowded Colorado shelter that thought they might be incubating an unknown virus. They both received a week of intensive care treatment at IMHS on intravenous fluids, vitamin supplements, antibiotics, and cage rest. They responded well and soon started to act like normal happy pups, and after another week of special medications they were ready to bound into their new home. Just this past week, we’re happy to report that their new lifetime homes arrived!

These are just a few of the lucky animals whose care was exceptional, and the extraordinary support of IMHS donors and volunteers makes it all possible. Thank you!

Wine, Whiskey, and Whiskers

Can All Age To Perfection

IMHS Places Senior Animals With Smart Adopters; Choice Options Still Remain!

The Intermountain Humane Society recently placed a superb kitten from that banner batch from 1997. Some people don’t recognize value, and lovely Mikey the cat was abandoned at a veterinary clinic before being transferred to IMHS. Some sharp-eyed adopters took the handsome 15-year old home to enjoy in February. But that isn’t the end of the IMHS stock of 1997 kittens! You can enjoy the very fine company of Gracie, a black & white domestic long hair, by heading down to the shelter (we’re open 7 days a week, with special late hours on Wednesday).

Most whisker aficionados can tell you that 2002 produced a crop of puppies and kittens that are just now reaching perfection, so it is no surprise that these 10 year olds were recently placed into forever homes:

Cadeau is a 10-yr old terrier mix female who needed some medical care; we removed mammary tumors and she was provided with loving foster care for 3 months during recovery, she was finally adopted in Feb, 2012

Ginger is a 10 yr old Retriever/shep mix with arthritis who takes Rimadyl daily to deal with some minor issues. She came to IMHS as an unclaimed stray from our partners at Park County Animal Control and was adopted in Feb, 2012

Incredibly, beautiful Micah was in IMHS care for over 1 year until some savvy adopters snatched up this 10-yr old Domestic Long Hair torti cat in Feb, 2012

Bonnie and Clyde are 2 10-yr old bonded mini poodles. They were transfered to IMHS from a local overcrowded shelter before they stole into the heart of some lovely folks with whom they’ve been sharing a home since Dec, 2012.

Bob Henry is still “on our shelves” for some reason, waiting for that shrewd adopter to recognize perfection from 2004. Bob Henry is an 8 yr old senior beagle who came to IMHS as an unclaimed stray from Park County Animal Control. He loves to go for rides, and hang out with people. He goes back to bed after staring at cats who share his home, and unlike most of the beagle variety is quiet! He is currently in foster care, but hoping that a kind person will soon find him to their taste.

We get new vintage animals in all the time, so come by and see if you can’t get the pick of recent years.

Australian Kelpie Pups Need New Start

While many people who volunteer their lives to help homeless dogs and cats question whether any breeding is “responsible” in the current overpopulation crisis, anyone would be hard-pressed to find vocal supporters of breeding dogs with genetic disorders. But it quietly happens, and two victims of the market for canines bred for appearance rather than vigor and temperament recently arrived at IMHS.

In this case, the two 8-month old pups are not your typical Australian Kelpies. A ”normal” Australian Kelpie is intelligent and highly energetic with a beautiful short coat-these are not dogs for people who are sedentary or meek; they typically need an active, firm but loving leader who will provide vigorous daily exercise. As the ASPCA writes on petfinder.com “without a job, the Kelpie gets restless and trouble ensues. Apartment dwellers beware! Unless you are a tri-athlete looking for a canine training buddy, this breed is not for you.”

Our two girls are energetic and playful but a bit more low-key…we’d venture to say they may even do well as apartment dogs, as long as they get out for some good long trots every day and have “smart” toys to help keep them busy indoors. Annie and Mica have been receiving loving care from a committed IMHS foster care volunteer after being surrendered by a breeder who was unable to sell them due to unthrifty health (a sibling was euthanized by the breeder, who as far as we know STILL hasn’t spayed the mother). When they arrived, Mica and Annie were thin, had inadequate veterinary records, and according to the breeder had experienced their chronic skin problems since birth. Their foster home reports that they are sweet and becoming more socialized, and our volunteer veterinary staff are spaying the two this week. How wonderful that a foster home stepped forward to provide weekly medicated baths, and insure that they receive the antibiotics, Benadryl, and special food that the IMHS medical team has provided to relieve the suffering of these two dogs!

So, we already have a heroic volunteer who has set these two girls on the path to recovery. Will you please help us muster up a new home for them?

Shelter’s New Spay-Neuter Clinic Serves First Patients

Two patients received landmark surgeries at the Intermountain Humane Society’s (IMHS’s) new veterinary clinic on Saturday, February 18th. Lucy, a domestic longhair female cat was not aware of the historic nature of the spay surgery she received but the 6-month old is focused on looking for her new lifetime home.

Griffin the 7 year old neutered male Samoyed mix was the second to grace a new surgery table at IMHS so that a benign tumor could be removed from his rear foot. Griffin has been around long enough to know that being the second surgery is not as important as finding that new second (and final) loving home.

While Lucy and Griffin seem unruffled by the launch of the clinic, others are offering accolades to those who helped IMHS reach this long-awaited goal.

“Talk about ‘it takes a village’” said IMHS Shelter Director Marta Anderson, “Dave O’Brien, DVM, volunteered his time to provide the two surgeries and he was assisted by Certified Veterinary Technician Cappy O’Brien who also volunteered on her ‘day off’. The renovation of a rented room into a sterile veterinary clinic was largely conducted by IMHS volunteers, and donors in the community who stepped forward with funding and in-kind donations to help us reach this landmark moment.”

Mitch Zale, DVM, was also present during the first surgeries to share in the milestone event. Dr. Zale has performed cat neuters for the shelter free of charge for the past several months, to save the organization money.

Drs. O’Brien and Zale, and Cappy O’Brien are all members of the new IMHS Board of Directors who took over leadership of the organization last spring. The clinic will initially serve only shelter animals. By spaying and neutering, and providing other lifesaving medical treatments in-house, IMHS will save money and also reduce the stress that some animals previously experienced being transported to other area clinics for services.

“The key to ending the tragic homeless animal crisis is spay and neuter,” said Anderson, “True to our mission, IMHS is committed to reducing pet overpopulation by spaying and neutering every puppy, kitten, dog and cat before they go to their new lifetime homes, and we’re grateful to the community for the assistance they’ve provided to help us launch this new clinic.”

We’re happy to report the success of our on-line fundraiser for Olivia, a 15 yr old kitty who came to IMHS a few weeks ago along with her sister Gracie, from a vet clinic where they were abandoned. These sisters are sweet, happy and affectionate.

During her exam at IMHS, Olivia was found to have a thyroid tumor, a condition fairly common in older cats. We ran bloodwork on her, and found her to be an excellent candidate for radioactive iodine treatment, which is an effective cure for her condition. However, the treatment needed to save her is expensive- about $1100.

Many thanks to the generous folks of our community, who have enabled us to provide Olivia with the treatment to cure her tumor. Her treatment is scheduled for 2/7 at Cat Specialist clinic in Castle Rock, one of the few local hospitals that specializes in radioactive iodine therapy. Giant thanks also to the kind medical team at Cat Specialist, who offered us a generous 25% discount on the treatment to save Olivia!

After Olivia’s treatment, she will return to IMHS for 2 weeks of very special care in isolation. Donations are still needed to cover her post-therapy care, and to help support our costs in caring for her and Gracie until a forever home can be found. Donations may be dropped off in person at the shelter 7 days/week (67318 Hwy 285, in the back of the log building), or mailed to: IMHS PO Box 1250, Conifer CO 80433.

With your help, we will see Olivia through her treatment and find a forever home where she and Gracie can enjoy their golden years!

Deepest thanks,
Marta Anderson
Shelter Director

Info from the web about radioactive iodine treatment:
Radioactive iodine therapy is considered the optimum treatment for feline hyperthyroidism. It involves a single nonstressful procedure that is without associated morbidity or mortality. Significant side effects have not been observed. Unlike surgery, anesthesia is not necessary. A single dose of radioactive iodine will result in a return to persistent euthyroidism (normal thyroid function) in a majority (>95%) of cats with hyperthyroidism. Since the cats’s thyroid function returns to normal following therapy, no ongoing thyroid medications are needed following this form of treatment.

Cade and her new BFF! (they are even color coordinated)

After a few weeks of a very quiet shelter and nominal adoptions we’ve had just an amazing run this past week! Saturday’s are normally fairly busy but last Saturday people were showing up at 10:00am (an hour before we even opened) and came in droves until around 2:30. Those that went home that day? Latte, Starsky, Cade and Teeka. Tuesday and Wednesday of this week were also exceptionally busy with today being a bit quieter (but those that did come in adopted!). It was the kittens turn this week and heading out to their new lives were:

Aubrey

Romeo & Juliet (formerly known as Rex & Torey) Fraya Fairy AND Trixie (sans picture).

Dog come and go here at IMHS. That’s the way it should be. There are many, many individual dogs that we can’t forget but as a breed the Corgis take top billing. Staff and volunteers get such a kick out of their big dog personalities in their short, little legged bodies. Each one of these guys have a quirk that makes them unique. Corgi owners are a loyal group of folks who love and know their breed very well. Most of these guys have gone into homes with other Corgis, adopters who previously owned Corgis or folks who had friends who got them turned on to the breed. They are energetic, smart and often a bit stubborn but their owners wouldn’t have it any other way!

These two guys are litter mates. We had their brother in the shelter a few weeks ago but I did not get a picture of him…he got adopted that quickly! One other female was sent into “foster” with one of our fabulous Board members before I was able to snap her picture. She announced her arrival and her desire to stay and there she remains to this day.

(According to Wikipedia) Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is on average approximately six steps away from any other person on Earth, so that a chain of, “a friend of a friend” statements can be made, on average, to connect any two people in six steps or fewer. While this particular situation doesn’t involve the full six degrees it is one of those stories that show how connected we all are sometimes.

Meet Sadie:

She came to us in July of 2010 heavily pregnant. She gave birth while in IMHS’s care and raised 8 beautiful puppies. Sadie was adopted locally in October of 2010. UnfortunatelySadie has a running streak and her new adopters were not keen on fencing her in. Fortunately she came back to us before she was hurt or lost for good. She returned to us on Thursday and seemed a bit perplexed at her new predicament. On Saturday one of our dedicated dog trainers came up for her bi-monthly visit as was shocked to see Sadie back at IMHS. Jess immediately went home and phoned one of her clients and said “there’s a dog at IMHS that I think will be perfect for you”. When the couple arrived an hour later Sadie put on her charm and got to work making friends with them and their dog. It turns out that this couple adopted a dog from another shelter a few weeks ago only to have that dog turn and attack their little Pomeranian. The couple (and their dog) were very shaken up by it and were a little leery about bringing a new dog into their lives again. The little Pomeranian approached Sadie with all four legs trembling but Sadie just went about being her normal self and after a few minutes they were both wandering about the pen without a care in the world. Half an hour later Sadie happily jumped into their truck on her way to start a new, and hopefully final, chapter in her life. Oh and those degrees of separation? Jess adopted one of Sadie’s puppies last summer and that’s what got her involved with IMHS. If Jess hadn’t adopted that puppy, gotten to know Sadie and IMHS and had a client that needed a dog like Sadie at this particular moment this wouldn’t have had the happy ending it did. In our world the smallest connections can make for the best outcomes for our animals.

Our itty bitty pitty puppies were born 5 weeks ago at a rescue out in Kansas. Mom came into the pound pregnant and had her pups before they could get her out. She’s done a great job raisning the pups given the circumstances and we are happy we could help even at this late juncture. They are fat, happy and biding their time in the foster home of a Pitbull aficionado.

Meet Pepper who is mom to the puppies. She’s just a youngster herself and it shows in her goofy personality and love of play.

Apparently kittens are in the box! These are the Hide, Perch and go Boxes that we received as a grant in the fall. For the adult cats it provides them a choice to hide or perch up high. Cats, like us, need to be able to make choices in their life. When they come into a shelter and get put in a kennel not much choice has been left them. The simple ability to go high or low can make all the difference for some cats. For the kittens it become a place to make a kitty pile, play hide and seek or make an ambush.