Volume 3, Issue 7 | July 2020
Critter Chronicles
Petco Foundation's Life-saving Investment Helps Pets Find Their 'Highway to Home'

In March 2020, GMHS received a $7,500 life-saving investment from the Petco Foundation to support the shelter’s Highway to Home program. The grant award helped offset the costs associated with veterinary care and transportation of 166 homeless pets (24 dogs and 142 cats) from GMHS to adoption-guaranteed partners located throughout the northeast and mid-Atlantic regions with a high demand for adoptable pets and a low homeless pet population.

Highway to Home partners found homes for the majority of pets within a few days of their arrival and offer a wonderful opportunity for some of GMHS' longer-stay shelter pets like Sampson the dog and Podge the cat (pictured). A critical part of GMHS’ life-saving roadmap, Highway to Home is one of the major factors behind GMHS' 97 percent live-release rate (2019).

Thanks to the Petco Foundation, partner shelters, and Highway to Home, homeless pets receive a second chance at living a life filled with dignity, love, and respect. We are proud to partner with the Petco Foundation and encourage people to “think adoption first.”
July 2020 Heart Connections

For the pets and people of our community, July was another great month! A total of 46 pets were adopted. One of our greatest successes from the month is the adoption of Ghost (bottom row, center), who waited 276 days to find his match. GMHS is incredibly thankful to our friends and supporters who ensure we have the resources to give pets like Ghost the time necessary to make a lasting heart connection. May Ghost and his new family enjoy many happy years together!

Visit GMHS on the web to view all the homeless pets searching for a forever family and submit your adoption questionnaire electronically. We continue to conduct adoptions by appointment in response to COVID-19. With an approved questionnaire, a member of our Adoption Team will schedule a time for you to meet your future match!
Fund a Need, Save a Life
Did you know that every gift to GMHS has the power to save and transform the lives of homeless pets in need? Your contribution today offers them a tomorrow filled with shelter, compassionate care, and the second chance they deserve. Thank you for making GMHS a beacon of hope and safe harbor for homeless pets!
GMHS is neither affiliated with any national animal welfare organizations nor do we receive funding from the ASPCA or the Humane Society of the United States.
July 2020 Shelter Snapshot

The generous support of staff, volunteers, and donors enables GMHS to provide daily care, cover special medical needs, foster animals in homes as needed, and arrange transportation to adoption-guaranteed partners. We are also committed to education, outreach, and transparency. Our annual statistics are available on our website , and we also offer you a monthly snapshot.
During July 2020, transfers to adoption-guaranteed partners increased by 183 percent from June 2020! One of the most celebrated Highway to Home transfers was Zina (pictured), an FIV+ cat who waited 419 days to find a placement. His transfer puts him in front of a new adoption audience. While he awaits a heart connection, he is enjoying life in a cage-free cat condo. We are thankful for everyone who made July a month filled with adoption successes, bright beginnings, and lives transformed!
Compassionate Community
Huge and heartfelt thanks to our friends at Brent and Becky's for their recent gift to GMHS. Through their Bloomin' Bucks Fund Raising program, they generously donate 25 percent of orders placed on GMHS' behalf to the shelter. When making your summer and fall garden purchases, be sure to mention GMHS and thank the entire Brent and Becky's team for partnering with us to save even more lives.
Join us in thanking the Gloucester Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, for their recent grant award, which helped fund GMHS' general operations. We are proud to count you among our partners and appreciate your support!
Thank you to the Mathews Community Foundation , an affiliate of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond, for the COVID-19 Emergency Response grant awarded to GMHS. The grant award was used to support general operating expenses to offset decreased revenue resulting from COVID-19. We are grateful to our friends and partners at MCF for their steadfast support and investment in our mission!
Our friends at  Backyard Birder Seed & Supply and Kaz Vision and Laser Center are actively raising funds for GMHS' Angel Fund through the sale of masks handcrafted by Volunteer Groomer Shelley. She is pictured with Faith, a homeless beagle who will receive life-saving hernia surgery made possible by the Angel Fund.

Made with love, the masks continue to be available for purchase at Backyard Birder Seed & Supply and Kaz Vision and Laser Center. One hundred percent of the purchase price benefits the Angel Fund, which covers the cost of extraordinary veterinary care for shelter pets. Let's hear it for store owners Dean and Valerie Shostak, Dr. Kian Kaz, and Shelley for their creative and timely fundraiser. Thank you for your life-saving partnership!
Masks will be required, and tables will be spaced to promote physical distancing. Tickets are also available for purchase from Gloucester Moose Lodge 886/WOTM 1312 members and by calling (804) 693-3899. Would you like to learn more about this magical evening to benefit GMHS? Tune your radio dial to WXGM Xtra 99.1 FM on August 13, at 7:45 AM, for an interview with Joe Pescador himself!
Local Businesses Kick Off Fifth Annual Dog Days of Summer

Gloucester businesses are once again joining forces for the Dog Days of Summer, an annual fundraiser to benefit GMHS. And, this year, they are taking the campaign to social media in response to COVID-19. Every Friday throughout the month of August, participating businesses will share a #FiveDollarFriday fundraiser on their Facebook pages, where followers will be invited to make a $5 donation to benefit GMHS.

One hundred percent of donations will be used to save and transform the lives of homeless pets, and no service fees will be deducted. One donor will be randomly selected each week to receive a prize package with items from participating businesses, including Brent and Becky's, Chesapeake Marine Training Institute, The Inn at Warner Hall, Village Cleaners, and Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park Camp-Resort: Gloucester Point. 

Write #FiveDollarFriday on your calendar, like and follow Dogs Days of Summer participants on Facebook, and join us as we thank them for sharing their heart for homeless pets with GMHS! Together, we accomplish more!
Kitten Fosters Needed

Kitten season is in full swing, and GMHS seeks to grow our kitten foster team. These volunteers help give kittens the most positive start to life possible by welcoming them into their hearts and homes. Kittens reared in a home experience less stress and benefit from the extra love and attention during their formative first couple of months.

GMHS provides all of the training and supplies necessary for kitten fosters to give cats and kittens a super chance at living healthy, happy lives. If you have a heart for homeless cats and would like to join our dedicated kitten foster team, contact Highway to Home Coordinator Jessica Outten  at (804) 693-5520 ext. 310 or jessicaoutten@gmhumanesociety.org  today.
Saving Lives One Surgery at a Time
With expanded hours to better accommodate working clients and curbside check-in/check-out, accessing services at GMHS' Fixin' to Save Spay & Neuter Clinic is easier than ever before!

Call (804) 694-0349 today to schedule your pet's appointment. Stay in touch with the clinic team by visiting them on the web and Facebook.
Keep in Touch
Like and follow GMHS on social media to stay in-the-know about the latest shelter news, homeless pets available for adoption, adoption success stories, and more!