Kerry's update – February 2

New Pets Alive Website is LIVE
Our new website is live! We’re really excited about this and would like to thank Laura Cromwell and her husband Pete for all their work on this with us. They have been AMAZING in getting the new design developed, up and running. Thank you! Please be sure to check it out. We also have our new blog thre and a Badgee Update (who is now ready for adoption)!
Sanctuary animal updates:
Since our last newsletter/update we have found homes for Rex, Jake, Sandy, Belle, Bridget, Tara, Gabrielle, Opal (although she came back), Leo, Tulip, Peaches, Barney (all dogs), Mimi (cat) and Ringtail (cat). We also took in 26 more dogs from the South – all set to be euthanized at some point. We took them in from Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. We also took in a few dogs from private homes where they could no longer care for them. ARF (Animal Rescue Foundation from the Hamptons) came and took six of the smaller dogs that we rescued to their shelter. They will adopt them out from there. They also have high adoption standards.

Speaking of that, do you know what it takes to adopt out an animal? A LOT of manpower. Our adoption coordinator, Patti P does a great job. We do not have regular visiting hours. We show all the animals by appointment only. We discourage anyone from meeting our animals until they have filled out an online adoption application. Once they are approved, vet references are checked and regular references are checked (including with landlord if they rent). We then allow the people to meet the animals along with someone from our staff that knows that animal well. If they have dogs of their own, we have them bring down their pet for our trained staff to do introductions. Then we do a home check and the animal is released to their care. It’s a very thorough process to make sure none of our shelter animals wind up in bad situations.

We are not taking any cats in right now as we are still too full with over 70 cats, but we do have an intake procedure that we follow with dogs. We give them a full medical exam, all their shots, we vaccinate them, worm them, and also microchip them. We spay and neuter them all. We then isolate them for ten to fourteen days from the rest of the population to make sure there is nothing brewing and then they go into homes. We DO show them during the isolation period but none go home until we’re sure they don’t have heartworm, kennel cough, distemper or something else. Late term pregnant dogs are allowed to come to term and deliver their pups, which we keep until they are at least 10 weeks old (and we prefer not to let any go before 14 weeks).
So there we have it. A very thorough check for potential adopters and a very thorough check for all new animals coming into the shelter! We have gotten in the most WONDERFUL dogs though lately. If you are looking for a new pal, cat or dog (or horse) please check out our (all new!) website.
Horse Update:
We had a bad run with horses this past month. Noble got kicked (we think) pretty badly in the leg by one of his pasture mates. Marcos noticed him limping badly when he went to feed. No swelling though and no heat, but he didn’t want to put much weight on it. We moved him to a sick bay in the barn and called out the vet. Dr. Dave thought he might have a very deep abscess brewing and told us to keep him on bute, soak his foot and watch for the abscess to show. Well we think it may have just been a kick as no abscess ever did appear (thank goodness!). Of course this all happened on a Sunday which is premium vet fees to come and call on us. I have made a new rule that all horses must get injured DURING the week now. We are issuing a memo and hopefully they will abide by this new rule.
Anyone that lives in this area knows that we had a severe ice storm earlier this week. The ice storm was bad, making glass out of our driveways and pasture. We have a VERY serious issue with our pastures. They are not sloped properly for horses and there is no proper water runoff. Are you an excavator? Can you help slope our horse fields in the spring when the ground is thawed (and mucky?) WE really need help with this issue. The latest ice storm covered the pastures with a sheet of ice. The ice melted partially during the day and then FROZE over again that night. MoonRay, one of our more arthritic horses with an old leg injury, fell and could not get up. He fell, of course, on his bad leg. It was Sunday – OF COURSE – and staff called me at home to come. I got there and we had him up quickly but he didn’t want to put weight on the leg. We rubbed him up with some warm blankets and got him into the recently vacated sick bay that Noble had just left and again put in a call to the vet. Dr. Rachel showed up and by the time she did his knee was badly swollen and sore. X-rays showed no serious damage but he is on a regiment of bute and some arthritic cream to help and is on stall rest for the next week. So, again, is there an excavator that can help? Our horses really need you.
We have put some of the horses up for adoption. Only one of our horses, Foxy, is ridable and she will be going to her new home in March. Heather also has some inquiries on her and we may have to do some home checks soon for some horses. Are you a horse person? Would you consider do horse home checks for us? if so please email us at volunteer@petsalive.com so we can contact you if there is a home check in your area. The rest of our horses are elderly and/or injured. They would be good as pasture mates. If you are looking for a beautiful lawn ornament, or companion for your horse (ALL horses will only be adopted to homes where there are other herd animals for companionship) then consider rescuing and providing a home for one of our guys!
Cat Update:
Many of you remember Mongo who was adopted by Leila and Clare (some of our volunteers). Mongo was sick and was diagnosed AFTER they had already chosen him. They adopted him anyway and for the past six or seven months loved him shamelessly. Mongo died in their arms earlier this week. Thank you Clare and Leila for giving him a home in his final time here.
Many of our cat volunteers remember Dory (now Sami) as a feral cat. Dory came a long way and was adopted into a very loving home. her new mom writes that she is doing great and sits with her on the bed watching TV and allowing herself to be pet! Way to go Dory. You did it.
Mimi and Ringtail were adopted (now renamed Molly and Hamilton) and they are also doing very well. They report that Ringtail is very affectionate and demanding of that affection — often barreling his way into the path of your hand. He has also been caught sneaking tater-tots off the table. Those of you that know Ringtail know that he does NOT need any taters!
Who could forget BigStuff? He is now renamed Moses and his new family says that he is loving every minute of being part of a family. He is great with their other cats, racing around the house like a tornado, and will give hugs and sleep on their chests when they come home.
If you have adopted an animal from us, please post updates to the Adoption Updates section of our forum!
Help us

In addition to our wish list needs and the excavator mentioned above, we also ned a tractor. We’re looking at getting a John Deere or a Kubota with a front end loader, plow blade and we’d love to add a manure rake or vacuum. Do you have contacts that can help us obtain one?
Additionally we need volunteers to help put up some fencing where the Best Friends prieferts used to be. John S. is heading up that project and is looking for able bodied men and women to come down and help on Sunday, February 17th. Please check our forum for details.
Cookbook
We are still accepting recipes for the Pets Alive cookbook! Please see our website for more details.
Memorial donations.
If someone you love has lost their pet, instead of sending flowers, why not consider making a donation to Pets Alive in their pets name? We will put a picture of their pet on our website with your (or their) comments and we will also send them an email advising them of the donation and the link to the site where their pet is featured. Please email info@petsalive.com for additional information.
Goodsearch

An easy way to help Pets Alive is to use the search engine and online shopping mall called GoodSearch.com. The more people who use this site, the more money will go to Pets Alive. So please spread the word to your friends and family. You can even see how much we are making each month!
Yahrzeits and Legacies
Be sure to check out the latest post on the Pets Alive Blog, written by Matt DeAngelis, my partner in the management of Pets Alive, reflecting on our first month.