The structure and processes of AHS, and many similar small non-profits that lead a mostly virtual existence, makes it challenging to integrate new volunteers.  How do we find the time to train new people when we’re already so busy doing what we do?  When there isn’t an easy 1-2-3 process for new volunteers to come in, learn, and (if they wish) take on greater leadership roles?  Volunteering isn’t easy and it isn’t always fun.  It’s rewarding, yes.  And in the end, that’s what we hope will motivate people – giving something back to their community and knowing that they’re making a difference.

So what does a day in the life of a volunteer usually look like?  Well, I can’t speak for a dog foster home or a dog team leader.  I’ll have to get one of them to write a blog post about that.  I work more on the administrative end of things.  My day usually involves checking and answering emails, making website updates, working on a newsletter, posting on facebook.  I’m the Vice President of the Board, so if an emergency comes up, my attention and decision are needed.  Now, mind you, this all happens in between my own small business, family obligations, and other interests.  The business of AHS gets conducted in 5 minutes here and there, between the hours of 8am and midnight (and earlier/later, for some of us).

Yesterday, I set up a plastic shelf in our new storage unit and organized some boxes of dog supplies, paper goods, and t-shirts.  This afternoon, I spent 2 hours organizing volunteer inquiries into a database and answering emails.  I went through my notes from Tuesday’s Operations meeting and sent the emails and made the phone calls I said I would make.  I outlined two newsletters, one that will go out this evening, and one that is in production for March.  In a few minutes when I finish this blog post, I’ll pick up the messages from our message line, and send them by email to a dozen different volunteers who are responsible for returning the calls.  Vouchers will be issued.  Dogs will be rescued.  Appointments will be scheduled.  And tomorrow, it will all need to be done all over again.

I guess my hope with this blog post is that people who are interested in AHS, volunteering for us, or volunteering in general will begin to understand that AHS is far, far more than an Adoptathon on the second Sunday of every month.  It’s more than a phone number.  It’s dozens of volunteers doing small things, and big things, in their homes and cars and on their phones every day.  And all those small and big things add up to a really big thing, which is hundreds of dogs rescued and hundreds of spay/neuter vouchers issued every year.

Together, we can accomplish so much more than we could alone.  Do you want to be part of this team?  Call our phone line at 671-7445.  I’ll pick up your message.

Sharing our homes with animals brings both joy and challenges to keep our pets safe from dangerous objects, foods, and products. The holidays can be a particularly dangerous time for pets.  Keep these tips about food, decorations, and stress in mind to help the holidays be an enjoyable and safe time for your pets.

Food

• Heavily seasoned and/or holiday foods, including fatty meats, gravies, poultry skin, bones, chocolate and alcohol can cause illness, vomiting and diarrhea, or pancreatitis and other toxic reactions.
• Candy wrappers, foil pieces and ribbons are appealing to pets and pose a choking hazard.
• COOKED BONES ARE DANGEROUS! Please, please don’t feed your pets cooked and/or processed bones, especially poultry bones, which splinter very easily.

Decorations

• Wrapped packages and gift wrap are attractive hazards.
• String, plastic, cloth and even wrapping paper, if eaten, can lead to intestinal blockage.
• Pets can be severely injured by scissors and other items left on floors and tables.
• Snow globes can contain antifreeze, which is poisonous to pets.
• Light strings, extension cords, plugs, and power strips can be dangerous.
• Glass ornaments, and any kind of ornament your pet could chew up or break into sharp pieces, could pose a hazard.  Remember, ornaments probably look just like toys to your pets.
• Tinsel is particularly tempting to cats, and can block the intestines if ingested.
• Bubbling lights, snow sprays, and Styrofoam can be toxic if inhaled or ingested.
• Candles can singe the whiskers or tail of a curious pet. Always burn candles under close supervision and keep them out of reach of pets.
• Holly, ivy, mistletoe, poinsettias, lilies, pine needles, and other greenery like juniper and cedar boughs range from mildly to extremely poisonous.
• Do not let your pets drink the holiday tree water.  It may contain fertilizers or bacteria.
• Do not put aspirin in the tree water (some people do this in an effort to keep the tree vigorous). If your pet drinks this water, it could be harmful.

Guests and increased activity in the house can be stressful and even frightening to pets. Make sure pets have a safe place to retreat.

• Try to disturb their usual sleeping or hiding areas as little as possible.
• Make sure they are wearing current I.D. in case they escape out a door when guests come and go.
• Reduce stress by keeping feeding and exercise on a regular schedule.
• Stress may increase a pet’s need for water.  Dogs typically pant more when they feel stressed.  Keep fresh water available for them to drink at all times.

When the batteries from smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, and other safety devices run low, the devices often emit alert or alarm sounds at frequencies that can be painful and frightening to many pets. If you’re not home when the alert or alarm sounds, this sound can be traumatic to your animals.

Joanna: Animal Communication is a form of telepathic communication. It goes beyond reading and watching animals’ movements and analyzing their behaviors. It is a direct heart to heart connection, where there is space and an openness to listen and connect with the universal language of an animal.

AHS: How did you know you could do this?

Joanna: I have always had a very deep connection with animals, often feeling their feelings as if they were my own. It was not until 2007 that I began “officially” learning about Animal Communication by reading about it as much as I could. I was hungry to know more, so in 2008 I began attending Animal Communication classes.

In the classes, I learned how to relax and how to quiet my mind, how to remove the mental blocks that told me I could not talk to animals. After offering practice sessions to every person I knew of with animals in their household, I received an incredible amount of positive feedback. I heard story after story about how much the sessions enriched people’s (and their animals’) lives.  Some clients told me the sessions offered a level of healing they hadn’t known was possible. I soon chose to offer this skill professionally. This work is way too cool to keep to myself!

AHS: What kinds of situations bring people to ask for your services?

Joanna: In essence, Animal Communication offers a three-way conversation between the animal, its person, and me—with me offering the translation. I receive information directly about how the animals are feeling and what their needs are. Sessions offer people the chance to have a conversation with their animals.

Some clients contact me to gain an understanding into their animals’ lives, to gain an understanding into a bizarre behavior, or to check in with their animals during their end-of-life transition to find out what needs and requests their animals have. Some clients contact me to connect with departed animals during an Animal in Spirit session.

AHS: What is a session like?

Joanna: Sessions happen over the phone, requiring just an emailed photo of the animals. I connect in with the animal’s energy, ask them questions, and hold a conversation with them. I translate the answers to my client on the phone. It is very stream-lined, with few delays or pauses as I am receiving the information telepathically.

During a session it is very interesting to watch how the animals respond. Often when doing sessions in person, the animals will get very close to me when we are discussing enjoyable things, or in the case of rescue animals, they leave the room as we discuss scary or uncomfortable things.

AHS: How do people get in touch with you if they want a session?

Joanna: People can call my office at (360) 715-1202 or visit www.JoannaSchmidt.com to contact me via email.  There, they can also sign up for my seasonal newsletter for tips and information on group classes.

I have a promotion going on now through December 31st: I will donate half of the first session fee to the Alternative Humane Society when people mention they saw this article when scheduling their appointment!

***

Since 1996, Joanna Schmidt has been helping her clients find healing and restoration in body and spirit through Integrative Massage Therapy and Energy Work.  In an effort to help humans move to a new level of understanding with their animal friends, she recently began offering Animal Communication along with the other services she provides in her Bellingham, Washington practice.  To see more of her work, visit www.JoannaSchmidt.com or email info@JoannaSchmidt.com.

Picture this: your child has just discovered the world of arachnids and when you go to the pet store they see a tarantula.  Immediately they decide this would be a perfect pet to have at home; mysterious, kinda creepy, but quiet. They beg and you decide that if they can work for the money you will let them buy it. Fascinating as it is, will this be a good choice as a lifelong pet?  Where was it acquired?  Was it born in captivity, or brought in from another country either legally or illegally?  How long will it survive even with excellent care, or rather ESPECIALLY with excellent care?  Too often an exotic animal which spends its life in hiding, unaccustomed to being handled, will continue to exhibit those same behaviors of hiding in captivity.

Charlotte, the Chilean Rose Toed Tarantula, is one such animal.  She was adopted from a college student from WWU who discovered that thought she was a great pet and conversation piece to have while in middle school. Once he went away to college he found that although she was quite low maintenance, his parents did not relish the idea of taking over her care and feeding for the next four to six years while he studied away from home.  Charlotte went with him.  Once in his dorm she was pushed to the back of his desk, where her monthly feedings were stretched to six to eight weeks.  Her water often went empty, and her cage went uncleaned for over a year.  Luckily he eventually sought another home.

Now Charlotte lives with me.  Her life is still quiet, but she has opportunities to travel to the homes of home schooling children, classrooms, and occasionally a family who is thinking of adopting or purchasing such a pet, only to discover that a month may be plenty of time to have a visitor like Charlotte.  Most of her time is spent hiding in her den.  She comes out only to eat her 4 crickets a month, have a sip of water, and perhaps sit on her heat stone to aide in digestion.  Rare is the chance for someone to see her shed her exoskeleton – not more than once every 18 months or so – and then most people think she has died until they see TWO spiders of the same size in her tank.

I urge you to consider carefully when thinking of a rare animal for your child.  The longevity of a spider like Charlotte is up to 25 years.  Ask them what they intend to do once they go to college?  A parent should not be expected to care for an animal forever because of the whim of a child, and the animal should not have to suffer neglect once the interest has passed.

Groups such as the Alternative Humane Society take in all sorts of animals, but with our seams bursting, eventually we too will be full.  Instead of purchasing or adopting a pet, consider other options to experience pet guardianship, like pet-sitting, visiting friends who have different pets, “borrowing” as some families do with Charlotte, or fostering.

Canine Influenza is a highly contagious virus which is now considered part of the disease complex that constitutes canine kennel cough – along with bordetella, parainfluenza, canine herpes virus, mycoplasma, and other organisms.

Influenza is caused by an H3N8 influenza virus.  It was first recognized in racing greyhounds in Florida in 2004, and has been dated back to 1999.  Canine Influenza may cause two different syndromes.  The first, and most common form, is a mild upper respiratory infection, with the dog displaying a cough and mild to moderate upper airway congestion.  The more severe, less common form produces pneumonia, accompanied by severe lethargy and fever.  The fatality rate of this more severe form may approach 5%, and is in part determined by several factors.  These include overcrowding, poor ventilation, increased stress and nutrition.  Treatment is supportive, using antibiotics when indicated.  Prevention involves maintaining a clean, antiseptic environment.  A vaccine is available for those dogs at high risk.  At present canine influenza has been identified in more than 25 states.

By Chris Haulgren

You may have seen it — the Pasado’s Safe Haven state-of-the-art Spay Station II — cruising the streets and parking in business lots around the area.  It’s hard to miss!  A midnight-blue Isuzu with paintings of dogs and cats in space suits announcing that they’ve been “fixed”.  Who can even think up something like this?

But fortunately someone did.  And lots of other great ideas, too, such as last year’s Project Homeless Connect, a day of comprehensive services for people homeless or near-homeless.  The Spay Station II, operated by WeSNIP (Whatcom Education, Spay and Neuter Impact Program), partnered with Whatcom Humane Society to provide free exams and vaccines.  Dr. Rounds saw a total of 33 pets and this year we have even bigger plans.  The community is the winner when partnering happens, and the partnership of AHS and WeSNIP from the first day we hit the road in late August, 2008, has helped so many people and pets.  The generous AHS voucher program was one of the first of its kind and is back in action, but also the relentless return of community calls with information, suggestions and support makes this partnership a stand-out in the rescue field.  A more recent partnership for WeSNIP is with local rescue individuals who had been taking animals to Skagit County facilities.  By matching Skagit’s prices and setting aside a certain amount of space regularly and learning how to work with ferals, we are helping Whatcom County pets stay right here and saving the planet (less driving) at the same time.

Now in our second year, WeSNIP hopes to continue developing creative partnerships toward the end of eliminating the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals, a concept that continues to be central for so many of us.

The event started with a 2 mile fun walk/run to Whatcom Falls parks where dogs and guardians enjoyed a sunny stroll through the trails.  We also conducted contests for dog and their owners highlighted by 3 spirited round of musical chairs where the dogs had to sit before their guardians could claim a chair.  The competition was fierce but friendly with no growling or frowning.

In between contests, attendees were able to visit the 17 pet-related merchandise and information vendors situated on the outer perimeter of the grassy area.  If prizes were the objective of the day, attendees could ply their talents at our series of games, testing their stuffed cat & cat collar tossing skills, or their dogs’ ball-bobbing skills.  For those who wanted to snag a great deal on a gift certificate, pet gift basket, or other merchandise, a silent auction was available.  Some of the bargains included overnight stays at the Smuggler’s Inn or the Silver Reef Casino, local business gift certificates, cool outdoor products, and a whole lot of beef steaks.    We even had mini raffles for those with a $1 and a lot of luck.  For those seeking enlightenment, we had 3 guest speakers who made presentations on animal communication, dog hydro therapy, & cat fencing methods.   The highlight of the day may have been Bellingham Police Dept. Officer John Gutierrez and his K-9 partner Crash.    The audience was captivated as Officer Gutierrez and Crash demonstrated non-lethal suspect apprehension and evidence tracking procedures.

It was a perfect day and we thank all the vendors, owners, and dogs who attended.   This year’s event was sponsored by City Dogs Grooming, Ravenbrook Visual Communications, and Harmony Matters.   Look forward to next year’s event which will be even bigger and better!  Mark your calendars now for Sunday, August 1^st, 2010.