Your news & updates from
Animal Care Sanctuary
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SHOPPING FOR A CAUSE!
Have some last minute holiday shopping to do?
We have the perfect gift ideas for you!
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Give a gift of love and support Animal Care Sanctuary!
Our online store
is a great place to find things from tee-shirts to sweatshirts!
Please note: Wednesday, December 18 is the cutoff for holiday orders
(pending we have the item in stock).
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Leave your imprint on our sanctuary. The “
memorial or in honor of
”
bricks
will be on a pathway to our new clinic and between the cattery and new kennel with lush landscaping. It’s a great way to honor a loved one, memorialize a beloved person or pet or show your love for animals.
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YEAR-TO-DATE STATISTICS
As of November 30, 2019:
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Adoptions: 894
Spay/Neuter Surgeries: 2,735
Wellness Exams: 2,506
Total Clinic Appointments: 5,241
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A NOTE FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Joan Smith-Reese
2019 has been a year of growth and excitement for the organization.
Our board is stronger than ever with a committed group of community members providing excellent leadership to launch us into 2020. Reflecting on 2019, the most exciting moment for me was the demolition of the old kennel. Since my first day March 4, 2010 I knew it had to be replaced. Seeing it tumble was the highlight of the year.
But so many other terrific things happened in 2019. Here are just a few:
* Wellsboro officially opened The Wellsboro Community Dog Park. This was a welcome addition to the residents of Wellsboro that wanted to be able to let their pups safely run and play.
* ACS partnered with Sondra’s City Zoo in Elmira. Sondra wanted to stop selling dogs, instead wanting to have rescue dogs and cats to adopt out of her store. This is the first pet store in NY to convert from selling dogs to adopting rescues and we are so proud to work with Sondra to achieve this monumental step for ending puppy mills and rescuing instead.
* With the help of Tioga Downs and Petco, ACS purchased a mobile transport van to bring cats and dogs to the clinic from rural areas to spay and neuter. The van also assists in rescuing dogs and cats from high kill shelters.
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* We have expanded our reach this year to Broome County – IBM paid for ACS to be a member of the Binghamton Chamber which opened many doors for us. Lycoming County and Chemung County have also become more aware of our services through outreach and television coverage.
* We are fortunate to have found two dynamic employees in our Philadelphia region, where we have so many supporters. Ann Lewis is Director of Planned Giving and Terri McKendry is Director of Development. Ann also covers New Jersey and Terri has received many grants for ACS in 2019.
You will read more about these highlights along with many more in our 2019 Annual Report in the spring of 2020.
Happy Holidays from all of us at Animal Care Sanctuary! We look forward to the exciting things to come in the new year!
All the best to a happy 2020,
Joan
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WE'RE HIRING!
Want to join the amazing team at ACS? We are hiring for the following positions:
* Director, Veterinary Services
* Licensed Veterinary Technician
* Adoption Counselor
* Canine Care Team Members
* Feline Care Team Members
If you are intersted please send an
e-mail to: info@AnimalCareSanctuary.org
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GIVING TUESDAY
THANK YOU!
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Thanks to those who donated to our Spay It Forward program on Giving Tuesday!
We were able to raise
over $5,400
!
If you would like to learn more about this program please visit our
website
!
Thank you thank you thank you!
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FROM OUR VET TEAM!
Holiday Hazards
In hopes that you and your family may enjoy this holiday season to its fullest, we would like to advise that extreme care be taken to assure the safety of your pets. When it comes to the holidays, the last thing you want is to spend them in an Emergency Clinic with a beloved family member. Therefore, you need to be able to discern what is in their best interest to assure they can enjoy the holidays as much as you do.
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Please be aware of the following as they pose risk to your pets by causing blockage, illness, or poisoning. Tinsel, bows, wrapping, small toys, batteries, and cozy winter socks are common items used to decorate, or are given as gifts. They are easily chewed up or swallowed which can cause blockage.
Bones, candy canes, nuts, excess salt, excess fats, poinsettias, and xylitol pose a risk as they can be swallowed whole, can cause illness or pancreatitis, or are toxic. Though it may be tempting, your pet will be better off not receiving that treat of fat off the bird, chunks of ham with the bone, bacon grease, or pieces of cookies containing xylitol.
Winter hazards include antifreeze and deicing substances. Small amounts of antifreeze are poisonous to pets. Some snow globes may contain antifreeze, so it is important to clean up the liquid immediately if one is broken. Deicing products can cause illness if ingested and also skin irritation at contact areas. Use pet-safe deicing products on your property, and avoid areas where uncertain products have been used.
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SANCTUARY STORY: DEAR SANTA LETTERS
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Dear Santa,
Do you have a couch? Do you know some people who have a couch but are in need of a dog to lay on said couch? I first came to
Animal Care Sanctuary
in May of this year. Since then I've been having a hard time making this "home" thing stick. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong (okay, maybe I shouldn't have chased the cat). My friends here at ACS say that people need to give me more of a chance. I'm a good boy, and I want to be loved by some humans.
Oh, and I'm pretty good at making dog friends; in fact, that's my job here. I'm in charge of helping assess whether other dogs can have dog friends. I've even helped my friend Morgan (you know her, she wrote to you too) learn that dogs are cool to play with outside.
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Anyway, this picture was taken when I was living with our interns this summer (thanks
Kayla
). As you can see, I LOVE couches, especially if there's a person to snuggle. I'm totally cool with lounging with you while you watch Hallmark Christmas movies and we share some Christmas cookies.
Love,
Nacho
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Dear Santa,
I'm here at
Animal Care Sanctuary
waiting for a specific human to come and take me home. As you can see by this stunning photo taken by
Maria Small
, I am big and beautiful and I expect to be treated like the queen that I am.
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I have ruled over my fellow felines at ACS for over 1,705 days now, so I think it's time for me take over someone's home.
Here's the thing Santa, I prefer to have no canines or human children in my kingdom.
I just don't care for their rowdy tendencies. Cats are regal and should be treated with the utmost respect, especially one as magnificent as myself. I will admit, I sometimes let my bossy demeanor slip if there's a laser pointer involved. I just can't help but chase after that elusive little red dot.
If a home isn't in the cards this Christmas, could you send many laser pointers to the cattery at ACS? We'd all appreciate it!
Love,
Jelly
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Dear Santa,
I don't know if you remember me, but I sent you a letter last year. I understand that you are super busy, trying to help all the kids and animals of the world. I've been in a few different shelters now, so I wanted to make sure you knew where to send my new family this Christmas. I first came to
Animal Care Sanctuary
in May of 2018 from another shelter. I waited here for a whole year, but no one came, so my friends here decided to send me to a shelter a couple hours away in hopes that some fresh eyes would see my great personality and want me. Well, Santa, I was there for 100 days and still no luck. They decided it was best for me to come back to my friends here at ACS. Since then, my awesome caregivers have been working hard on making sure I can be the best dog ever. They've even started helping make some dog friends out in the yard, which was kind of one of my downfalls before.
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Santa, when my friend
Maria Small
took this picture, the leaves were still green and it was sunny out. That means another season has come and gone and I'm still waiting. I just don't understand what I'm doing wrong. I'm a super smart dog and if someone would just give me a chance, I'd amaze them with how quickly I can learn things. Please share my letter with all the people of facebook. Paws crossed that this Christmas will be my first one in a home.
Love,
Morgan
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Dear Santa,
I came to
Animal Care Sanctuary
over 47 days ago. While that may seem like a short time compared to some of my friends that have written to you, for a shy kitty like me, it feels like an eternity.
Have you ever needed someone to sit with you? Not to say or do anything, just to be there, to be a friend.
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Well, that's what I want this Christmas, Santa.
Someone who will just be there for me and give me time to open up. I promise to always be there for them in return.
People overlook me when they come to adopt. I'm not sure if it's because of my funny leg (you can see it in the picture) or if it's just because I tend to hang back while my cage-mates run to greet people. My leg doesn't bother me. It's been crooked for as long as I can remember and I get around just fine. As for my shy personality, it's because I'm lonely. If you take the time to sit with me for awhile, I come around and you'll find I'm very sweet.
Love,
Curly Q
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If you are a follower of our social media, you are probably already acquainted with our next Volunteer Spotlight –
Maria Small!
Since July of this year, Maria has been sharing her time and talent to take some amazing photos of our cats and dogs.
Maria has been a lover of dogs for as long as she can remember, and is quickly, through her work at ACS, learning to be a lover of cats as well. While she is employed as an SAP security analyst for IBM, her passion is photography (specifically pet photography). She and her husband have two dogs, Riley, a 10 year old German Shorthaired Pointer mix, and Tiberius, a 2 year old Flat-Coated Retriever mix.
She learned about ACS through a board member and knew she needed to get involved.
She is a part of the HeARTS Speak program, which contains a few very interesting programs. The first is
Artists Helping Animals
, which is a global network of 500+ photographers and artists who offer creative services pro-bono to animal shelters throughout the world. The goal of this program is to transform the image of shelter pets, and to help us save more lives.
Second is the
Perfect Exposure Project
, which was developed to increase the creative workforce in animal shelters, and empower staff and volunteers to provide positive exposure for the pets in their care through better photographs and new approaches to marketing
. Images with HeART
is a multifaceted stock imagery project merging the promotion of pet adoption with a sustainable and ethical platform for artists to license their work.
Finally,
HeARTs Speak EDU
is an e-learning platform that aims to make shelter marketing and pet promotion easier, no matter the user’s skill level or current role in animal sheltering.
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This is an amazing program, and Maria speaks of her own experience offering these pro bono services:
“I realized that my work was beginning to make a real difference when, the day after I posted a new portrait of a really wild, difficult, hard-to-place young dog who had been in a shelter environment almost all of her young life and seemed to be heading toward spending her entire life there, she was adopted by a couple who saw her portrait and write-up, and were willing to make the commitment to give her the training she needed to become a wonderful family pet. This motivated me even more to continue this work, and to present the best possible images of as many adoptable pets as I could.”
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Interested in becoming a volunteer with Animal Care Sanctuary?
Click here
to learn more!
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In her own words: “
There has been so much thought given to each program at ACS, and it makes me so glad to be able to have even a small part in it. But it is the incredible care that each person on the ACS team shows for each animal that is really the outstanding reason to want to volunteer.”
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PRE-VETERINARY
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
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Studying or want to study pre-veterinary science, animal science, shelter medicine/management or related field? Then the Animal Care Sanctuary’s Pre-Veterinary Internship Program might be for you!
As one of the oldest and largest no-kill shelters in the United States we are the only animal care organization of our kind in the country to offer
pre-vet internships
with housing on-site
.
Our Intern Program is designed to give students the experience in all facets of shelter and sanctuary management. It provides opportunities to develop skills in a variety of areas involved in animal care.
The program consists of a
12-week
rotation
through the cattery, canine care, low cost spay/neuter and wellness clinic (working with their vet team), and the adoption office to experience all aspects of the sanctuary. Students also get education on the non-profit model and board governance.
Students are also part of our Alternative Housing program in which they foster and train shelter dogs who require behavioral modification training (BMT) to increase their adoptability. This program has been very successful in decreasing a dog’s length of stay. During the time with the interns, the dog’s stress level decreases living in a homelike atmosphere while their BMT increases.
In addition, ACS has 6 intern positions annually,
reserved specifically
for those pursuing a degree in shelter medicine or shelter management or for pre-vet students who have an interest in this pursuit. These interns qualify for a stipend
provided by The Bronson Scholarship in Memory of Frederick M. Gerhard & Edythe Gay Jennings.
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2019 Summer Interns (left to right): Elizabeth, Chelsea and Kayla
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The Sanctuary typically has 3-4 interns between both of their locations (East Smithfield and Wellsboro PA) during the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall sessions.
Since 2014 ACS has hosted over 30 interns from various schools across the country, including, Penn State University, NYU, Cornell University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame.
Even if students choose a path in private practice or a specialty, it’s the hope of ACS they still play an active role with a shelter in their own community.
We are in the midst of renovating our intern housing and would love some donated furniture or donations towards purchasing new furniture! Please send an
e-mail
if you are interested in donating furniture or if you want to make a donation, click
here
.
If you are interested in learning more about the program check out our
website
.
“This summer has been the most amazing one of my life so far. I love Animal Care Sanctuary and wish I could stay here longer. I have grown more as a person than I thought I ever could. I have met so many amazing people and animals ….
I have become not only a better student and learner, but more importantly a better person because of this internship.” Elizabeth, Summer Intern 2019
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Our cats and adoption office are finally moved into the farmhouse! The updates took much longer than expected but the outcome was worth it!
We would like to thank all of the volunteers, community service workers, and employees for all of their efforts in getting the house ready. Each person brought their own unique skills and we worked together as a team to make it happen. The power of teamwork really shined during this project!
We would also like to express our extreme gratitude to Mansfield Lowe’s for choosing ACS for their Lowe’s Hero’s Project. They donated all of the materials for our renovation project. They will also be donating more materials for our kennel updates in the spring.
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Santa stopped by for our Pictures with Santa event on November 30
th
. Our hearts were full meeting all of the adorable dogs that came by!
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Dawn Day (ACS volunteer and foster) with her 4 dogs and ACS foster dog Frank (sitting on Santa’s lap)
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