Sanctuary animal updates:
Since our last update on July 4th, the following dogs were adopted:

Ellie Mae, Bono, Cassidy, Baby, Jupiter, Martha, Sabella, Prince Charming, Newton, Sophie, Lucky, Lexie, Aurora, Tyler, Bashful, Mouse, Doc, Charlie, Bruce, Ariel, James, Elmo, Barry, Sabella again, Justice, Founder, Bailey, Sleepy, Peaceful, Faith, Merlin, Jake, Bugsy, Friend, Belle, Oliver, Rex, Badger, Mack, Hildie, Rigby, Spooner, Grumpy, Taffy, Corey, Diesel, Elsie, Molly, Macouns, Danielle, Muffin, Lucy, Roxanne, Roxy, Patches, Ludo, Sesame, Aurora again, Sniffer, Foreman, Archie, Skid, Aragon, Arwyn, Eagle, Happy, Dopey, Sneezy, Spike, Norman, Freebie, Jeremiah, Bianca, Buddy, Corky, Bo Peep, Tracker, Sophie again, Noah, Sarah, Harvey, Belle, Independence, Gus, Jewel, Sadie, Aspen, BooBoo, Angelica, Bartholomew, Chloe, Bryan, Sprocket, Dexter, Jake, Squiggles, Snickle, Mate, Bono again, Lady, Tori, Gabriel, Cherish, Bonita, Milo, Fred, Blossom, Mo Mo, Emma, Betty, Tucker, Franklin, Tater, Pookie, April, August, Wrinkles, Jade, Stryker, Scout, Timber, Ellie Mae again, Laurel, Becky, Ebbie, Image, Princess, Tyler – plus another 32 beagles that we didn’t get in our system yet, so I don’t have their names to list here….but we adopted a total of 160 dogs. Wow. It sure has been a whirlwind!
We also adopted out five cats! Handsome, Delilah, Alex, Max, and Duffy went home, and two goats. So, all told, 167 animals went home in 43 days.

Intakes:

Since July fourth we took in 88 beagles (as you should all know about by now!), 1 dog from Maryland who had a shattered pelvis, 31 from S.C., 8 from VA, 5 from N.C., 2 from AK, 1 from GA, 1 from Puerto Rico, 1 from PA, 6 local surrenders, 4 cats from D.C. that were at the No-Kill Conference we went to and needed rescue, one local cat that was a stray and had severe burns on it’s body, four kittens that were motherless some very ill (one passed away), 5 kittens that were abandoned but saved by a kind local family, six local cats from another shelter, and an adult cat that was a stray and saved by a local family. This was a crazy month for cat intakes and I can’t even tell you how many we had to say no to. It’s awful. Please…spay and neuter your pets or if you see stray cats – pick them up, bring them somewhere to get fixed, or we’ll never see the end to this. Everyone has to step up and start to help these animals. Please consider being a person that will go that extra mile and make a difference. “Be the change you want to see.”
General Updates:

We had to say goodbye to Amanda, one of our very elderly cats. She had been sick on and off for some time and finally she stopped eating, went into organ failure and we had to let her go. It was a sad day for all of us as Amanda has been at Pets Alive longer than any of us, and we are both saddened by the loss of her and saddened that she would die HERE without a home. She was very much loved, however, and everyone misses her greatly.
We are extending our adoption hours! We are now going to be open seven days a week between 11-4 for adoptions and also on Tuesday and Thursday nights until 8 PM! Thanks to Sue Bagley for taking on the night and Sunday hours. Erica has also taken over adoptions onsite (and doing a great job!) and Kerri is focusing on handling all the intakes and is also going to help revamp and help manage adoptions at the Elmsford Shelter…so she is going to be really busy in the coming months. If you would like to volunteer to be an adoption assistant, please email adoptions@petsalive.com and we will put you to work!
Most of you know that Pets Alive has merged with the Elmsford Animal Shelter. They are now known as Pets Alive West. It will likely be a year or so before they are totally up to speed and doing intakes and adoptions but right now our focus is to help them place some of the animals there. Their numbers are overwhelming with almost 600 cats and 300 dogs, but once we get the numbers down, this facility will be a huge asset to Pets Alive for growth, expansion, fund raising and doing mass rescues and also mass rehab for dogs that need it. It will be a while before we are at that point but for now we’re working hard to train staff, adopt out the animals or find good placements for them. If you’re close to Elmsford and would like to volunteer there, feel free to check out their website petsalivewest.org and get more details!

Pets Alive has bought a bus! We are really excited about this purchase and the plan is to use it for mass rescues, offsite adoption events, and eventually when our medical building is built to transport animals to and from the facility for other no-kill rescues. This was really a much needed purchase and we can’t wait to get it wrapped. Err….until we looked at the price for that. Anyone know some animal-loving charitable people that also just HAPPEN to have a company that can do bus wrapping? If so please contact us and let us know so we can beg them to help us. Or if you’re a company and might be interested in sponsoring our bus we’re all ears and tails! Drop us a line!
Beaglemania has also completely wrapped up. Out of the 90 beagles we took here, we have three left that are still looking for homes. Please consider welcoming one of them into your home. They are the sweetest dogs, and most have been reported to be house broken and quiet. It has been a joy to be the instrument of their freedom and we look very forward to seeing them again at future alumni reunions. Click the image play a video slideshow of the beagle rescue!
This month the directors, Matt and Kerry attended the No-Kill Conference in Washington D.C. It was a huge success and we left feeling very excited for the future of no-kill in the U.S. as well as filled with great ideas for the future of Pets Alive and for Pets Alive West. We also made some great connections and met some wonderful (and influential) people. It was a great experience. You don’t have to be part of a rescue group to attend. Many people were not – just people wanting to make a difference and to learn HOW. We strongly urge youall to attend next year if you can. It is well worth the trip to met the leaders of no-kill and see how we can all change things in our own communities for the better.
If you haven’t been to Pets Alive recently, stop by. We have almost all our new fencing up. All the old dog runs have been ripped out and replaced with gorgeous new runs, each with an igloo (we’re a little short though on igloos), a doggie pool, kuranda beds and pea gravel. They are gorgeous. This new area will be called Camp Tyler and we’ll tell you more about that soon. New airlock fencing has also been installed and we are in the process of also installing new fencing in the play yard. It’s really looking good around here! Well. It WAS. Until we handed out a big bag of dog toys and SOME dogs decided to decorate their own runs. Hmmm.
Medical Updates or Issues: (Written by Janet)
Skipper–With beagle mania coming to a close, we have only three beagles left looking for their forever homes. One such beagle named “Skipper” came to us with a cherry eye. Cherry eye is simply a prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid. It is fairly common especially in certain breeds. Depending of the severity, it may be only a cosmetic issue. Skipper’s cherry eye is indeed purely cosmetic but to those who are unfamiliar, they initially think the worst. For people who are bothered by the appearance, there is a quick surgical procedure to tack the gland back down in place. Typically a vet would wait to perform the ‘tacking’ when and if the animal would need another anesthetic procedure performed (such as a dental). Skipper is very healthy and loving and waiting for that special family who doesn’t mind if he simply ‘looks’ a bit different.
Maggie—is another new acquisition. She is a middle-aged female pit bull who not only has heartworm and a heart murmur, but has two bad knees (and mange!). The girl just didn’t get any breaks in life. With all that is going on with her medically, we are restricted with what medication and procedures can be done. The good thing is that pain meds are keeping her apparently pain-free and she will be seeing our orthopedic surgeon to see if anything can be done surgically to repair her knee damage. She is such a docile dog, who is content to just rest quietly on her comforter in the kitchen.
Doc—our super sweet yet super hyper escape artist has done it again! About two weeks back Doc decided that his outdoor enclosure (which had a top on it) was not the place he wanted to be. So he SOMEHOW squeezed his body through the 4” by 6” openings of the roof! Luckily he loves people so much that he doesn’t wander far. But even when placed in an indoor kennel, he attempted to do the same and each time he would slightly injure himself. We had to place Doc in a cage in the grooming room (which surprisingly he didn’t mind). During Doc’s adventures he managed to rip off a few nails at their base! One was even still hanging and needed to be pulled off. After his wounds were cleaned and he was placed on antibiotics and pain meds, he rested calmly and comfortably in his cage. This past week though, we decided to try Doc outside again (cautiously!) by watching him during the day and bringing him back inside at night. This plan was working very well until a couple days back when we went to retrieve Doc for the night. As we stepped outside the kennel door, we could see Doc’s kennel in the distance, with Doc almost completely out the top! We went running!
By the time we got to him, he somehow shimmied across Rem’s enclosure and decided to drop into Leo’s run. For those that don’t know Leo, he is a caution dog! He is NOT friendly to other dogs. My stomach turned. Lucky for Doc, Leo was slowly investigating his new cagemate when Rem decided to engage Leo in a fence fight. The fight was enough of a distraction that we could grab Doc out without Doc (or any human) getting injured. So NOW Doc is residing back in the grooming room. Today (during the day with staff present) Doc was placed in a different outdoor run with a cagemate. We are all hoping that living with another dog will help limit his self-destructive tendencies. He is a wonderfully sweet dog, who simply has had it with living life at the shelter and really wants to find a family to love.
Charity—Our beautiful Momma dog who was saved in March from the West Virginia hoarding situation, is finally completely free of the ten puppies she gave birth to in May (in fact, the pups are now all in loving homes). She was the most terrific mother and was extremely self-sufficient, but when the pups were all completely weaned, poor Charity developed mastitis. She was painful and pus-ridden. She had a high fever and lacked her normal appetite. Luckily Jan, one of our wonderful volunteers, noticed the first signs of distress as she took Charity for an overnight. We were then able to quickly address her medical needs. Antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and expressing the pus-filled teats (for a few days) did the trick. Within two days, she was the normal bubbly Charity that the staff all loves. And now that she is no longer sick or nursing pups, she is friendly to everyone and not just the people she knows well.
Kiche—is a petite little mixed breed sweetheart who was brought back to Pets Alive as Kerry and Matt returned from the no-kill conference. She supposedly had a broken pelvis and that with strict cage rest (for four weeks) she should make a complete recovery. The thing we didn’t realize was just how dainty and adorable she was going to be! Honestly, for a dog to have to stay in a crate for that long, Kiche is very well behaved. She is housebroken and will whine when she needs to go out. We were able to track down copies of Kiche’s x-rays from Baltimore and send them to our orthopedic surgeon. He confirmed her diagnosis of a fractured pubis and stated that indeed a minimum of 4-6 weeks of STRICT cage rest, should allow Kiche to heal as needed. Now it’s simply a matter of ignoring that sad little beautiful face when she tries to convince you that she wants to hang out outside of her cage. But it’s for the best. And before long, she’ll be making some family very happy.
Romeo—is a handsome outgoing bassett hound that arrived from South Carolina last weekend. Not only did he arrive with common yeast-filled ears, but his eyes were extremely inflamed. We flushed out his eyes and placed him on some steroid drops. We also now have him on Benadryl to rule out allergies. Bassett hounds tend to be breed in which allergies are very common (both environmental and food-related). We may also switch his diet but in the mean time, we will continue to monitor the efficacy of the Benadryl.
Natalia—is our old semi-feral cat who has a personality all of her own. As stated in other updates, Natalia is one of our original cats, who has a history of inflammatory bowel disease. Recently while trying to get her diarrhea back under control (thanks to Marcy for making special home cooked diet!) we decided to have blood drawn and sent to the lab. We realized that Natalia is very old and has had a history of chronic ailments so we were not going to be entirely surprised to see certain values elevated. The results showed that one of her white blood cell levels are high, and her kidney values are starting to elevate. All in all though, the staff believes that she is looking improved (since her gut is becoming more normal). Who would feel well if they are experiencing chronic diarrhea? We administer sub-q fluids regularly which we will continue to do. There is no way to make Natalia a kitten again, but making her as comfortable as possible is what we are trying to do. She now lives in Marcy’s office with her best feline friend Murphy. This way not only can she receive the fluids she needs, but we can make certain she is eating her specific food.

Don’t forget to check out the Pets Alive Blog. Understanding the other side You – Soldier of One Featured Letter – Special Kids Four Heroes Terrorists, Red Herrings and Dead Kittens Oreo’s Law redux – Jersey Shore Animal Center The Great Beagle Rescue

Barnyard Updates:

Our two baby goats have been adopted! This is one of our secrets — bring the most adorable animals we have to a vet that has a weakness for that particular animal and VOILA! ADOPTED! This was our plan – I mean this is what accidentally happened – with Dr. Zgoda of Otterkill Animal Hospital. We know he LOVES goats and so we asked if he could neuter them for us. We had NO INTENTION of trying to get him to adopt them (wink). But, it was so weird! When they were ready to come back he thought he might keep them an extra few days to make sure they were ok, and then it turned out to be a few weeks and we all stayed very quiet and didn’t call or show up to pick them up and then we got this reluctant email from him that they had now fully ensconced themselves into his herd and he was totally smitten with them, so he needed to fill out our adoption paperwork. How odd! Oh well. Funny how that happened, isn’t it? But, well, however it happened our two baby goats are now adopted into a GREAT home with free medical care for the rest of their lives! Funny how things work out. 🙂 (Good job Janet!!!!)
Cat Update:

This month we got a sad phone call and follow-up email. Some people had found a cat that was horribly burned around its neck. It was late at night so they called the 24 hour emergency vet and was told it would be $300 for the examination not counting additional costs. They could not afford it and so sent out a desperate plea to us and tried to make the cat as comfortable as they could for the rest of the night. Another reason why a medical center here that could help the public would be so beneficial to the community! When we met the cat we were to name Zeus, we were very saddened by the blistering and oozing burns on his neck.
He was rushed right down to Dr. Furman who advised these were chemical burns, but that Zeus would be just fine, once healed. They sedated him, debrided his wounded area and wrapped him up. He has turned out to be one of the nicest cats we’ve ever had. Full of affection and love and sweetness. Even though he was in a lot of pain he didn’t try to bite us or scratch us. He seemed to know we were trying to help. We’re really happy that he is doing so well and can’t wait to find him the wonderful home that he deserves.
Upcoming Events or Fundraisers

• Gold’s Gym Aug 21. Dog Walkers Warm-up – details to follow – just leave the date open!
• SUMMER SPRUCE UP DAY, Saturday August 21 beginning at 10am
• SINGLES MEET-UP for Pets Alive Volunteers, Sunday August 22 Noon to 3pm.
• Camp Tyler Dedication and Starfish Award, Sept 3, 11-3
• PetsMart National Adoption Weekend in Middletown, NY on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 10,11,&12
• Monroe Cheese Festival in Monroe, NY on Saturday September 11
• “Will Spay Pets” Benefit Car Show in Montgomery, NY on Sunday, September 12
• Authors After Dark Convention in Secaucus, NJ on Saturday September 18
• POOCHAPALOOZA (K104.7) in Montgomery, NY on Saturday, September 25
• Waterview Dog Show (Waterview Hills Rehabilitation and Nursing Center) in Purdy’s, NY on Sunday, September 26

Thank you’s

Thank you again to Scott Bergman Photography for some GREAT shots of our dogs. We really think that the pictures we have on Petfinder done by Scott and Becky and Lisa are the reason we get so many dogs adopted. Thank you guys!
We’d also like to thank the “Kids of Garth Road” in Scarsdale who made over $430 in two hours with their lemonade stand! They were amazing! It was over 100 degrees that day and they did a great job for us. Thanks kids!
We’d very much like to thank Mary and Bill for redoing our senior room. It is now the adoption room and we should be moving in sometime this weekend. It is the most gorgeous room at Pets Alive now with delicate blues and warm inviting whites. Thank you both so much for the tremendous effort you put into that! We LOVE it! Thanks to 4H Group Karyna,Victor, Maya, Carmin, & chaperones Terry, Roxann, and Jocelyn. The kids decorate boxes and get businesses to allow them in the community (Gold’s Gym & Heritage Feed – thank you!). Also thanks to Oak Grove Elementary School. Kayla, Julia, and Rodina chose Pets Alive to collect donations for, and even made it a competition between classrooms, the one who collected the most items was rewarded with a pizza party. These 3 girls dropped off all the donations including food, animal carriers and blankets as well as $143. Thank you Oak Grove! Thank you also to Evan W. and Lily P. You can read what they did for Pets Alive in our blog.

Our mission is to improve the lives of companion animals everywhere by any means possible, including rescue, adoption, advocacy, collaboration, intervention and education. Please consider making a donation to help us.