M A R C H | A P R I L __ 2 0 1 9
don't leave it to luck...

Join the ranks of real animal lovers and stop gambling with your pets' reproductive ability. Spay or neuter as early as your vet recommends (pets adopted from the shelter will already be fixed). In the community, if you are feeding stray cats, participate in APAL's no-fee TNR program to lower the birth rate of feral cats. 2018 numbers indicate an encouraging trend--feral cat intake at ACAC & AC is down 24% since the inception of the Community Cats program.

if you feed it, fix it.
2019 CALENDAR OF EVENTS

JANUARY | FEBRUARY
SHELTER PETS ROCK

adopt a workout partner

adopt "the one"


MARCH | APRIL
NO LITTERING

spay & neuter awareness  

trap | neuter | release


MAY | JUNE
CATS!

$9 for 9 lives for 9 days

whiskers & wine  
Friday MAY 10th, Jackson Rancheria  

feline frenzy


JULY | AUGUST
VIVA 'VINTAGE' PETS  

adopt a senior pet


SEPTEMBER | OCTOBER
DOGS!  

adopt your MVP

paws & claws (TCWC)
Friday SEP 13th | American Legion Hall

bark in the park  
Saturday SEP 28th | Detert Park, Jackson


NOVEMBER | DECEMBER
HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

thanks
  
bring joy to your world

santa paws
Saturday DEC 7th | the Feed Barn
a message from the Food Bank

Volunteers at the Interfaith Food Bank on Airport Road would like to remind its generous donors that, in addition to food donations for people, they are always in need of pet food donations. Open bags of dry food will be accepted. Your donations help families keep their beloved pets at home. Thank you.
Volunteering at the front desk in an Animal Control facility is not always a barrel of laughs, but these dispatches, posted to the Facebook volunteer group by our intrepid volunteer coordinator, make it almost seem that way. They have humor, compassion, drama and insight, and they are too good not to share.

A call came in at 10:30 AM from two ladies who told me there was a dead horse in a field on South Main Street in Jackson. According to the caller, the horse was mired in mud and manure up to its chest wall. While I gathered the information I needed one of the callers shouted that the horse just lifted its head! Our staff leapt into action.

How many people does it take to help remove a horse up to its chest in mud? Animal Control officer, Shannon, arrived and found the animal in dire straits. She enlisted the help of local large animal vet Tim Perano. Animal control officer, Eric, came to assist. The horse sling recovery equipment available in this county was brought to the scene along with an experienced user of the system. If you spotted an Amador County front loader on the road that day, ambling up South Main, it was brought there to help pull the horse, stuck fast, from its muddy tomb. Five people spent over four hours doing a difficult job to save this poor soul.

Around 3 PM Shannon called to say she was on the way back to the shelter but someone would have to hose her down before she could enter the building. She was completely covered with mud and more. Andrea hosed her down in the courtyard and then Shannon came in for a shower.

It took five people to free a very large, weak animal. Excellent team work from those dedicated to helping animals in distress. I see this every day I work at the shelter. Another job well done
the Rusty Fund
Have you ever wondered what our shelter's 'Rusty Fund' is for?
Just who is this 'Rusty' and why does he have a fund? 

In the late 90s Margaret Tesesro and Sharleen Kent were staging home grown adoption outreaches by taking adoptable dogs to local businesses. Occasionally, people gave them cash donations. In 2004, Shar received a $1000 check from a person who asked that it be used “for the animals at the shelter”. She opened a savings account with it. Shortly after that, a dog named Rusty was turned in. Rusty needed costly cruciate ligament surgery… and the Rusty Fund was born.

Barb Walther has been working with the Rusty Fund since about 2004. The fund pays for medical treatment, surgeries, dentals, and other special items for our animals needing a little extra help to find their forever homes. Often, in addition to covering the entire cost of these extras, Funds from Rusty will boost the maxed-out budgets of the County and APAL. Very recently, APAL, Rusty, and the adoptive owner-to-be all chipped in to fund a particularly expensive surgery for a lovely young dog who is now repaired, out of the animal shelter and in to her new home.

The Rusty Fund has been there for dozens upon dozens of dogs and cats through the years. So long, in fact, that people regularly just send checks to Barb. She responds with a personal thank you for every donation. Others help by feeding the donation boxes at the shelter and at Goin’ Postal. The lion’s share of the funds for Rusty each year come from a single effort: Elaine Hunter’s Christmas booth at the Sutter Creek Craft Fair in December. Through her extraordinary generosity and hard work, Elaine has raised over $30,000 during the 10 years she has had a booth.

A new fundraiser is on the calendar for Spring. We will be hosting a flea market in the airport parking lot, Sunday May 19. This will coincide with the nearby Old Sutter Creek Flea Market at the Italian Picnic Grounds. If it is successful, it would become an annual mid-year boost for the Rusty Fund. The animals are counting on us!
from Tux to Motion _a new life with new purpose

One of the worst things that can happen, even in the most modern animal shelters, is the possibility that a particularly intelligent and energetic dog will become mentally unstable under prolonged kenneling. Tux was one of those dogs that worried everyone; young, smart, and hyper as all getout. These traits make for a difficult adoption because it takes a particularly dedicated owner to channel all that energy and talent. Owners with that kind of focus and patience are hard to come by. Meanwhile, the athletic dogs wait and wait in their kennels, showing the strain and becoming less adoptable by the day.

Tux was one of those dogs. Tiffany is one of those owners:

Dear Animal Shelter Staff,

Last Wednesday I drove down from Placerville and adopted the dog formerly known as Tux. He is now called Motion. Just wanted to let you know that he is an awesome dog and settling in just fine. Don't get me wrong, he is a monster, lol. But we get on fine. He has thrown up in both my vehicles and his tantrums are the stuff of legend. He is also very, very bright and connected and eager to do stuff. Keeping him properly exercised has become a part-time job, but he loves to run in the snow and he's hard at work trying to become my best friend (my old dogs don’t entirely approve). I'm excited about his potential for a variety of dogsports.

Thanks for hanging in w him. He's got a lot to learn, but he has a solid temperament and I love what I see from him.
Best,

Tiffany Bateman
Fall comes early this year: ACART has its annual fundraiser MAY 11.





ACART is made up entirely of volunteers. These are the Amador County people who shelter and care for your animals in a disaster, such as the Butte Fire. The dinner is ACART's primary source of funding, and they go all out to make it a fun-filled evening. Good food and a good cause. Buy tickets at the ACART website, or call 209.247.0947.
Thank you!
Meet Chris and Craig Frank. They are the newest owners of Black's Station in Pioneer. For the last two Decembers, Chris and Craig have made a point of raising money for the Shelter. In 2018, they auctioned off a first class gift basket and raised $500. WOW.
The Franks are focused on making their restaurant and lodge a big success. The food and baked goods are homemade, imaginative, and delicious. Check it out next time you are Upcountry.
PawsPartners_news has been a Constant Contact All-Star for 3 years running. All-Star status is based on the percentage of opens, clicks, and a low dropout rate. Only 10% of Constant Contact customers are All-Stars. It's great to have a readership that is so engaged. THANK YOU!
ACAC & AC is always in need of items that can improve the lives of our animals while they are with us. If you can help, please feel free to donate any items from our Amazon wish list . 
Volunteers needed
If you can help walk dogs or socialize animals, we want you! The  Application for Volunteer Worker  is available for review here. Think you're game? Come on over and fill out an original pink copy, available from the shelter. 
Get on our mailing list by signing up at the animal shelter, the Feed Barn, or any Adoption Outreach.