January 27, 2012 Clinic

check-in

Warmer but damp weather welcomed us this morning for the second January spay/neuter clinic.

Today’s participants heard about SpayHR in a variety of ways. Reinia Chatman heard about our program through a friend, who asked, “Don’t you want to get your dogs fixed, too.” Reinia had her female dog spayed through our program last month and today brought Pnutts, a handsome Dachshund, for neuter surgery.

Cookie and Sassy

Tiger

Tracy Hoskins read about SpayHR on Freecycle and scheduled her two dogs, Cookie and Sassy, and cat, Tiger, for surgery. What happy cuties! Tiger the cat is actually bigger than Sassy the dog (by two pounds, according to Tracy).

Maddi

Kathryne Hawryluk found out about the Norfolk Pet Project from Muddy Paws. (Thanks, Muddy Paws!) She rescued her dog Maddi from neglect and has been bringing this sweetie back to good health and proper grooming: Maddie was severely “matted” when Kathryne found her. After a much needed haircut, veterinary check up, and vaccinations, Maddi just needs her spay surgery. She’s a lucky girl.

Skitzo

Another lucky girl is Skitzo, who was found in South Carolina along Interstate-95. Jessica Oliveira was moving from Florida to Virginia when she stopped for a break. Skitzo was part of a large colony of cats living off I-95. She was friendly and looking for help, and Jessica obliged. After arriving in Norfolk, Jessica tried to find a spot for the small cat at one of our always full shelters. Though she already had plenty of pets at home, Jessica decided to keep Skitzo rather than risk her being euthanized.

Many free-roaming Norfolk cats are saved from euthanasia by community members who feed and more importantly spay/neuter them. In just a year, Michaela Allen has seen multiple litters of kittens resulting from the community cats (or unaltered pets) roaming her neighborhood. We’re glad to have helped her bring this population under control over the past few months.

We are working hard to help other Hampton Roads residents with feral and free-roaming cats in their communities. We welcome volunteers for all aspects of TNR to help us match the demand for assistance. If you can help, please contact us at arttnr@gmail.com.

 

Thank You!

Thank you to the employees of the Legal Department at Value Options, Inc. for making a holiday gift donation to Spay Hampton Roads.

January 13, 2012 Clinic

SNip van

Friday 13th brought good luck this morning: 27 cats and dogs were spayed/neutered at our first clinic for the new year!

A number of people who attended the December 17, 2011 rabies clinic followed up with spay/neuter surgery for their pets. With surgery, we were also able to offer booster vaccinations to these returning clients. Today’s clinic continued our Holiday Gift to the Community project, made possible by a grant from the ASPCA.

Missy

Mischief Parkour McKnzie-Arivuzu, or Missy for short, returned for her boosters and spay surgery. In the cold, windy weather, she was kept warm by her dad’s jacket over her cage. Missy was found on the beach after Hurricane Irene. She’s safe now.

Tiny

Another cat who found a safe haven is Tiny, so named for his small size when found last year in the Ocean View Farm Fresh parking lot. According to his family, he was so small, he could fit in a teacup and had to be bottle fed back to health. He’s just just fine now, and his name is more ironic than descriptive!

Kisses

Kisses is a small dog with a big personality! While waiting for surgery, this fluffy fellow made sure no one got too close to his people. Kisses is more bark than bite, though, and we’re sure he lives up to his name at home. His companion Sky was more relaxed and appreciated some pets and scratches from us.

Norfolk community cats

The Thompson family helped more abandoned cats in their neighborhood. In addition to feeding them, they make sure the cats are spayed and neutered in order to control their population.

Thank you to New Hope Christian Community Center for allowing SpayHR to hold this month’s clinics in their parking lot. Thank you, too, to the PETA clinic staff.

To view more pictures from today’s clinic, visit us on facebook.

Look for us in the Virginian-Pilot

Today’s Virginian-Pilot includes our print advertisement about community cats:

If you care enough to feed them, care enough to fix them.

Free and low-cost spay/neuter is available for outdoor cats.

Female cats can become pregnant at 5 months of age and will mate with their offspring to produce hundreds of kittens over a short period of time. Finding homes for litter after litter is not a long-term solution, and with 3 out of 5 cats being put down, shelters are not a good option either. The cost of an outdoor cat spay/neuter is not much more than a large bag of cat food – which is what you’ll need a lot more of if you don’t fix them.

Please, make things easier on the cats, your neighbors, our shelters, and you. Fix the cats you feed.

To schedule a spay/neuter:

www.spayhr.org

757-456-1215

 

 

 

 

Moms Needs Moms (or Dads), Too

Even though we’ve had some very cold days and nights recently, we’ve enjoyed a rather temperate fall in Hampton Roads. This extension in the warm weather means more…and more…and more…kittens. We love the little cuties, but we need to give a shout out for their moms. Those of us in rescue know these kittens are more likely to get adopted than the moms, who languish in foster homes or shelters or don’t find homes at all.

Make a momma cat’s dream come true in 2012 and adopt her! Check out these lovely ladies just waiting for their own moms (or dads) now that the kids are all grown and out of the house:

Hildie

My name is Hildie, my shelter friends think I am 2 years old. I have spent the winter raising my family of seven, and my foster mom says I was the best mommy cat ever. Now that the kids are growing up, it’s time to find a home of my own. I would love a big family with other cats, lots of kids and a big hound if you’ve got one. I’m quite the diplomat and have gotten my foster mom’s dog to share scraps with me! I like to chat in the morning and prefer to hang out where the action is, particularly the kitchen counter, but I’ve been learning that humans don’t care for that! I like to chat with my humans in the morning. I prefer to hang out where the action is, particularly the kitchen counter, but I’ve been learning that humans don’t care for that! My nickname is Coyote, but I am learning my manners. Think you could find room for me? I promise you won’t be sorry!

Adopt Hildie from Norfolk Animal Care and Adoption Center.

Beatrice

Beatrice is the mother of Casper, Boogie, Black Stripe, Poker, Owl and Boo. As you can see from her pictures she seems to have some oriental in her line. She was found as a stray and needed a place to have her kittens, so we took her in. She is a very laid back cat; I think of her as my second dog! She is not much of a player, but does enjoy hanging out and being rubbed! She also loves looking out the window and just being at peace. She has been around dogs and does fine when not defending her kittens as she is quite the protective mamma! She is good with dogs, cats and reptiles and has also been around kids and does fine with them as well.

Adopt Beatrice through Animal Rescue of Tidewater.

Kiwi

My name is Kiwi and I came to Hope Center with my babies and I even nursed another litter that had no mom. I’m only 10 months old, a little bit shy, but very sweet. I’m spayed and current on my vaccines and I need a home.

Adopt Kiwi from Hope for Life Rescue, Inc.

Find the billboard, cont.

We’ve seen another Shelter Pet Project billboard (no picture yet) in Norfolk on Granby Street, right after the bridge and before  Crackers. This billboard features a cute Chihauhau concerned about the size of her ears.

Recently, the Shelter Pet Project added new media to their campaign. There are new billboards, web banners, radio spots, and television commercials.

Though we’ve spotted a few billboards in this area, we’d never seen any of the television commercials until recently on Halogen TV. According to their website, “Halogen is the first and only television network focused on socially conscious entertainment featuring reality-based series, documentaries, films and specials. Our 24-hour schedule highlights humanitarian, eco-entertainment, and pop culture programming.” It’s fitting then to have “Mutts” commercials like Olive and Shemp shown on this network.

Check out Halogen’s 2012 Special Awareness Days Calendar. July 31st is Mutts Day. January 13th is Make Your Dreams Come True Day. Could it be a coincidence that January 13th is also our first clinic for 2012??? Hmm…..

(Yes, it is actually just a coincidence, but pretty cool nonetheless.)

 

Free vaccines and low-cost surgeries for pets in Va. Beach

From the Virginian-Pilot:

Three animal groups are offering free vaccinations, shelter and bedding – along with reduced-cost spaying and neutering – for cats and dogs in Virginia Beach on Jan. 7.

To read the entire article, click here.