Animal Care Sanctuary Summer 2011 Newsletter

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P. O. Box A • East Smithfield, PA, 18817 • (570) 596-2200 • www.animalcaresanctuary.org

Animal CareS A N C T U A R Y

SUMMER 2011 NEWSLETTER

Animal Care Sanctuary’s History Today and Tomorrow

Animal Care Sanctuary is a dedicated, nurturing stepping stone for animals of all kinds. Thanks to generous donors that share our mission, we have grown from modest beginnings to become a respected and recognized safe haven for our animals.

Today we are considered one of the largest sanctuaries in the nation. We care for over 600 animals every day. Volunteers and visitors come to visit our

An Extraordinary Opportunity -- and a Challenge

After conferring with Cornell in regard to improvements that need to be made in both the cattery and kennel, we began to imagine our vision for the future. What would be best for the dogs and cats? We studied other shelters and sanctuary’s, visited many other sites, and looked at our existing structures to determine how we could enhance them. The vision translated to $250,000 that we need to raise.

So much has been accomplished. So much more remains to be done.

magine

» IN THIS ISSUE

Imagine Capital Campaign / 1Naming Opportunities / 3

2012 Calendar / 3Canine Care / 4

Take Action for Animals / 6Lesley’s Legacy / 7

Pee Wee’s Story / 8

IImagine a place where animals come and find love and care…

Imagine a cattery where all cats are free to play and hide in communals instead of cages…

Imagine a kennel where all dogs live in a homelike living area instead of an indoor/outdoor run…

Preserving Lesley Sinclair’s LegacyAnimal Care Sanctuary was built by

Lesley Sinclair’s dreams…..and exists today because of generosity, hard work and the support of amazing animal lovers.

Although Lesley is no longer with us, our growth has been strong and steady over the years. Dedicated staff, compassionate volunteers and a strong board of directors have made Animal Care Sanctuary a lasting tribute to the animals.

Now, though, we have the opportunity to take a giant step forward of realizing our dream of creating a center of excellence for the animals under our care.

...Continued on page 2

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Imagine Continued from page 1 capital campaign

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facilities and leave in awe after seeing how well cared for our animals are. Inspired by the interest and support of our donors, staff, board and volunteers, our plans and dreams are finally within our reach. Our goal of $250,000 will enable us to accomplish two immediate goals we face:

1. To establish geriatric housing and cat viewing area for our cattery. A large percentage of our cats are geriatric and need special accommodations. By having dedicated space for each age and health group we can provide the best individual care and improve their quality of life while housed here.

The cat viewing area will let adopters experience the cats – interacting, seeing, hearing, touching, imagining….how the cats may be in their own home. Allowing potential adopters to meet the cats in a relaxed and warm environment will be the key to increasing adoptions and fostering the human and animal bond.

2. To create a state-of-the-art dog kennel that will include an isolation unit and sick bay, and sections to overall reduce the noise and stress for our dogs, particularly for the senior and small dogs. As with the cattery – designing separate units for different life stages and health needs will greatly improve health and comfort. Stress levels will be reduced, and behavior will improve- all leading toward more highly adoptable dogs.

It is your commitment to our mission that has sustained us as we reach for a new milestone to fulfill Animal Care Sanctuary’s vision.

The Road Ahead….Our campaign will enable us to

properly care for our cats and dogs that are sick or just admitted to our facility.

Our staff and volunteers accomplish essential, serious work caring for sick cats in difficult surroundings. With no

barrier walls, it is difficult to contain viruses and diseases that are brought into the sanctuary when a dog is surrendered or pulled from another kill facility. Isolation units and separate intake areas are essential to prevent the spread of disease. Having these areas in place will be a fantastic step forward in providing the best quality health care to the animals seeking sanctuary here.

Comfortable living areas that are open to the public to interact with both our cats and dogs will improve our ability to adopt them.

The CampaignOur goal is to raise $250,000. Meeting

that challenge will equip us with the building improvements we need to maintain our ability to make a difference in the lives of so many animals. Won’t you join us in planting a seed for our vision for the future? ■

“We are planting a seedfor the future...

Joan Smith-Reese, Executive Director

fundraiser

PR

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W 2012 ANIMAL CARE SANCTUARY CALENDAR ORDER FORM

Name: __________________________________________________________________

Shipping Address: _________________________________________________________

City:________________________________State:_________Zip:___________________

Phone: ( ) ___________________E-mail: ____________________________________

Number of Calendars _______ X $12.00 or 3 calendars for $30 (includes shipping)

TOTAL: $ _________

PAYMENT (Please check one):

__Check or Money Order Enclosed (Made payable to Animal Care Sanctuary)

__VISA __Master Card

Card Number: ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___ - ___ ___ ___ ___

Expiration Date: ___ ___ - ___ ___

Name on card if different from above: __________________________________________

Authorization Signature: _____________________________________________________

MAIL TO: Animal Care Sanctuary, PO Box A, East Smithfield, PA 18817 FAX TO: (570) 596-2222

2012CalendarNAMINGOPPORTUNITIES

Isolation for catsSick bay unit for catsCat viewing rooms (x3)Kennel rooms (x12)Kennel walls (1 donated, 4 more needed)Isolation for dogsKennel viewing furniture (1 donated, 11 more needed)Cat viewing furniture (x3)Cat communals (x4)Washers - kennel (x2)Washers - cattery (x2)Dryers - kennel (x2)Dryers - cattery (x2) Isolation units - cat/dog (x10)Freezer for dog KongsGrooming dryers (x2)Kuranda beds for kennels (x50)

$30,000$20,000$9,000$5,000$5,000 sp $5,000$1,000 pppp pppp$1,000$500$425$425$400$400$300 ppp$160$160$60

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What does it take to be recognized as one of the best? At Animal Care Sanctuary Canine Care, we believe that a key to achieving that recognition is by attaining a high percentage of successful adoptions to permanent homes. For our dogs, the road to this ultimate goal begins with the understanding that each dog is an individual and then providing them with behavior training specific to their needs. This takes hard work and dedication from each member of our Canine Care team, whose work day has changed quite a bit in recent months as we have begun putting an increased focus on training and behavior.

While general cleaning and day-to-day care have been improved in our new model, it’s the time a team member spends interacting with the dogs that has changed drastically. These days, canine caregivers are doing their best to ensure that each minute spent with a dog will improve his or her behavior and overall adoptability. Our latest move toward educating the Canine Care team and increasing successful dog adoptions has been the addition of our newest team member, Connie Dwyer.

Connie is a Certified Animal Behavior Consultant with the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC.org). She recieved her Master’s Degree in Systems Science from Binghamton University and is currently working on her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt in systems process improvement at Villanova University. Connie has over 15 years of experience in canine and equine behavior, training, and research. Connie teaches community dog obedience classes, workshops and seminars, and is a 4-H Dog Club leader.

Since coming to ACS, along with the introduction of dog training classes for adopters as well as the surrounding community, Connie has been helping us to produce new intake and processing procedures designed to increase flow and efficiency. She has also teamed with select Canine Care staff members to choose and refine a canine behavior assessment that meets the needs of ACS.

The chosen assessment format consists of a number of sub-tests that are designed to bring to light any problem behaviors that may jeopardize an adoption’s permanence. Once the assessment team (unofficially dubbed “the A-team”) has conducted a behavior assessment, an individual Behavior Modification Training plan (B.M.T.) is designed based on the assessed dog’s specific needs. The dog and his/her B.M.T. are assigned to a Canine Care team member who will work on the B.M.T. with that dog every day. Now trained in the use of non-aversive, positive reinforcement training, team

excellence

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members work at extinguishing undesireable behaviors by replacing them with desirable ones. We aim to help our dogs figure out for themselves that it works better for them to offer up the new, desirable behaviors rather than the old undesirable ones. This process requires time and patience but in the end it is truly beneficial and rewarding to both the dog and the human.

Canine Care at ACS is not all business though . . . we have a lot of fun too! In the photos you can see Big Duke and his handler, Matt, and Buffy and her handler Madison, learning and enjoying themselves on our new agility course. We have clicker fun with our dogs in the kiddie pools, enjoy rousing sessions of fetch with the dogs who are so inclined, and have play groups of dogs who romp, chase, sniff, and wrestle together in our play yard. All of these things combine to make our ACS dogs happier, better socialized, and more highly adoptable.

These improvements are only the beginning for Canine Care as we are always working to come up with new ideas to improve the quality of life for our dogs and ensure that we are doing everything we can for them. How can you measure being one of the best out of thousands? To us in Canine Care, the answer is simply in knowing that with the work and dedication we’ve applied, when our dogs go to a new home, that home will be theirs forever. If you are interested in donating to our efforts in Canine Care, please write ‘for Canine Care’ on the notes line of your check. ■In a nation with over 5,000 animal

shelters, how do you

stand out

CareCanine

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Connie Dwyer with horse Jesse and Coconut.

Animal Care’s Madison Campbell works with Buffy.

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activism

Animal Care Sanctuary participated in the Humane Society of the United States’ Take Action for Animals Conference in Washington D.C. on July 14-18. This four day conference is the leading and largest national conference in the animal advocacy movement. ACS was an exhibitor, attended the workshops and participated in Lobby Day on Capitol Hill.

Being an exhibitor at the event offered the opportunity to share our mission and network with leaders and advocates from across the country. ACS offered literature on three animal welfare topics; Save a Paw Don’t Declaw promotes training your cat rather than subjecting them to the painful surgery of declawing. Breaking the Chain educates people on the detrimental effects of tethering a dog. Finally, we offered information on the many benefits of adopting a senior pet. Knowledge is power! Be an animal advocate by sharing these brochures with your community. They are available for download on our website.

The workshops offered information on a variety of topics that provide current strategies on addressing pet population,

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increasing humane attitudes in children, combating factory farming, promoting compassionate consumerism, and animal advocacy at the state, local and federal levels.

After the workshops, we were well prepared for our day on Capitol Hill. We met with our state Representatives and Senators on a number of animal welfare bills. We are very pleased to announce the leadership shown by Pennsylvania Representatives Thomas Marino and Jim Gerlach.

Representative Marino introduced The Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act. This bill will prohibit knowing attendance at animal fights, and bringing minors to such events. Since it is illegal in 49 states to be a knowing spectator at an animal fight, this bill will better align federal law with the states, and assist federal law enforcement in their joint efforts with state and local officials to crack down on this abhorrent activity.

Representative Gerlach introduced

In 2017, Animal Care Sanctuary will celebrate its 50th Anniversary. In honor of this milestone, ACS has been on a fact finding mission about our founder, Ms. Lesley Sinclair. We thought what better place to start, than with our long term donors. In April, we met with eight loyal donors in Philadelphia. Many have been supporting Lesley for years and one gave us an article that Lesley wrote for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

While in Philadelphia, we were privileged to hear Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States talk about his New York Times bestseller The Bond: Our Kinship to Animals, Our Call to Defend Them.

Next, it was off to Toms River, NJ, our town of origin where Executive Director, Joan Smith-Reese and Board Member Jacqueline Gruelich met with fifteen of our loyal friends. They had many Lesley stories to tell. We also drove to the property

The layout services for this newsletter were donated by Randy Heffernan. All copy and photos were provided by Animal Care Sanctuary. The printing was done by USA Printing Online at a significant discount. For more information about Randy Heffernan’s design services, contact [email protected] or (607) 227-6160. ■

ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

ACS attends

the PUPS-Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act which would ensure more humane treatment of dogs by requiring all breeders who sell 50 or more dogs directly to

the public or via the internet to be federally licensed and inspected by the USDA.

The other legislation that was on the table included the Great Ape Protection and Cost Savings Act which would allow the tax-payers a $30 million savings by retiring the 500 federally owned chimpanzees who are no longer used for research to suitable sanctuaries. This would not only save tax-payer dollars, but would allow these social animals to live together rather than being warehoused in individual cages in laboratories.

Finally, we discussed the Horse Transportation Act which would prohibit the use of double-deck trailers for interstate transport of horses for slaughter in Mexico and Canada. Six states including PA, MA, NY, MD, RI, & VT have already banned their use. Therefore, only a federal law can prevent this cruel means of transport.

If you are interested in becoming an advocate for animals, contact ACS for tips. ■

Take Action for Animalsconference inWashington, D.C.

AB

OU

TAC

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Board of Directors

Carrie CarrollChairperson

Eric Chase Treasurer

Jacqueline GreulichBoard Member

Sherry SevierBoard Member

Monty HughesBoard Member

Megan StrattonBoard Member

Executive Staff

Joan Smith-ReeseExecutive Director

Rachel HighamCommunity Liaison

Animal Care Sanctuary is a dedi-cated, nurturing stepping stone for animals of all kinds.

ACS is a non-profit animal shelter located in northeast Pennsylvania. We strive to provide nuturing, healthy homes to cats, dogs, and other animals who are abandoned or abused. We rehabilitate as many of these animals as possible in order to place them into permanent homes. Those that cannot be adopted remain in our care.

Contact

[email protected](570) 596-2200

that Lesley had identified as the spot she wanted to build the sanctuary. It was sad to see much of the property vacant or with broken down cars. After eight years of legal battles she gave up and with help from Ron Sheehan from Tom’s River they found the East Smithfield property.

Many of our donors are not able to visit the sanctuary, so we thought we would take a piece of the sanctuary to them with pictures and stories of our future. It was wonderful to connect with these very loyal animal lovers who offered tales of their interactions with Ms. Sinclair.

If you have any stories or memories involving our founder, Lesley Sinclair, please share them with us! We would like to write a book to present at our 50th anniversary that describes our history. Any other interesting facts or memorabilia will be placed in a scrapbook that we will keep onsite at the Sanctuary. ■

history

LegacyLesley’s

Animal Care’s Rachel Higham at the TAFA conference.

Randall, one of our senior dogs awaiting adoption.

ACS volunteer Rob Redman in the cattery.

Many donors and friends of ACS from Toms River, joined by Executive Director Joan Smith-Reese, front row, second from right.

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P.O. Box AEast Smithfield, PA 18817

In February 2002, a small tiger cat was brought in to the ACS. Petite in size but bursting with personality, Pee Wee was physically a wreck. Her eyes were actively running, she had a severe ear infection, and her face was noticeably swollen. After receiving the much needed medications to clear up the festering infections, the staff realized that Pee Wee had yet another problem. She circled constantly, and it became obvious to the staff that Pee Wee was completely blind. Her condition never hindered her personality, and she proved to be one of the kindest and most affectionate cats that we housed at the ACS.

After nine years of living in a single cage, circling constantly, and living a life of solitude aside from the human contact provided by the ACS, Pee Wee’s life was about to change. An hour away, a woman saw Pee Wee’s picture on the Internet. After inquiring with our office about Pee Wee’s condition, Kelly decided to foster her and brought her home in June of 2011. Since bringing her home, Kelly has slowly acclimated Pee Wee in to her new surroundings. She has had blind cats before and understands the importance of introducing them slowly. Pee Wee now uses a ramp and she has

Pee Wee’sStory

adventured out in to the house with the other cats. She has adjusted beautifully to her new surroundings and Kelly has decided to officially adopt her. Pee Wee’s story is truly an inspiring success. ■

Pee Wee, getting ready for his new home.

success story