In partnership with The Van 92.7, Holland MI, this month is “National Go Fetch Month”. Part of Wishbone Pet Rescue’s Goal is to significantly reduce the number of dogs and cats brought to the Allegan Animal Shelter, by helping pet owners feed and keep them in their own homes.  Please help us raise money or collect pet food odnations to support our Allegan County Pet Food Pantry.  Evey little bit helps!

ITEMS TO BE DONATED INCLUDE:  Dog/Puppy Food, Dog bones/Rawhides, Dog Toys, Cat/Kitten Food, Treats, Cat Litter, Leashes and Collars.

EVERYDAY ITEMS:  New/Used Towels, Disposable Gloves, Grooming Aprons, Used Blankets, Bleach and Dish Soap.

Please support pet rescue in memory of

Susan Rippey

(October 19, 1941 – April 20, 2012)

With the possible exception of a stupid arrogant teen-age hostess at the front door of a restaurant, nothing upset or bothered Susan more than people abusing or abandoning pets. Susan and her husband Michael bought the 1860 farm house at 11 Fremont Street, Douglas, in 2009. They spent the summer of 2010 here while wintering in Florida, and then moved to Michigan full-time in May of 2011. Last August, as they were just starting to become more involved in the Douglas community, Susan was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer. After a long struggle, she died quietly and peacefully at home on April 20.

As her many friends know, Susan was one-of-a-kind. A “Navy brat,” she was in Hawaii when Pearl Harbor was attacked and in Guantanamo Bay during the Bay of Pigs. Since she retired from LIFE Magazine in 1993 her main interests have been creating beautiful homes and gardens in Chicago, Florida and Michigan, and of course, her family, friends and dogs.

Susan and Mike have had three rescue dogs, including Goldie (left) and Scooter, shown above helping Susan recuperate from hand surgery.  The family hopes you will honor Susan’s memory by giving what ever is comfortable for you to Wishbone Pet Rescue.  Your gift will be matched by the Rippey family-up to a total of $5,000 -with a like donation to another great organization, Pet Rescue by Judy,in Central Florida.  Your donation is fully tax-deductible.

Thank you so much!

Originally we were only prepared to receive 60 dogs based on a advanced warning from Animal Control.  Once we realized we were going to be over run, we sent out a call to the media for help.  By 7pm 50-60 volunteers, including four local veterinarians, several vet techs, and groomers, joined the effort.

We worked worked through the night, and by 6pm the following day, every dog had been medically evaluated, groomed, and bathed.  An amazing feit.

We’re now moving into the adoption and transportation phase.  It is simply not possible to adopt out 350 dogs and cats from our tiny shelter in the time frame required to keep everyone safe.  So in addition to our local community, we are reaching out to shelters and rescues across the state to take some of these deserving kids.

Until the last dog is rehomed, we will need to clean, feed, and medicate them twice a day, love on them, walk them, and give them hope.

So come on down and join us !

Lucky arrived at the Allegan Animal Shelter last week.  His owner could not care for him.  He is the product of a breeding experiment gone awry.  Believe it or not, he is the result of a Rotweiller-Dachshund cross breeding.

And the result ?  Lucky is almost completely blind, he is deaf, and has hydrocephalus.  The swelling on his brain has affected neurolgic function and development.

We had one of Wishbones veterinary consultants examine him to make a determination whether he has any chance at a life.  His diagnosis was Lucky, at 12 weeks old, is too young yet to make a determination.  Since he is still developing, it is possible he may yet gain some senses and the swelling on his brain may be reduced.

We are giving Lucky 3-4 weeks and crossing our fingers.

To give him his best chance Lucky needs regular attention and stimulation.  He’s living in darkness without sound.  Touch and smell, as his only interaction with the world, are extremely important right now.

We are looking for a home to take him in as a foster for a few weeks.

If you have the time and a strong heart to give Lucky a chance, please contact Karen, Wishbone’s Adoption Co-ordinator, immediately at 800-475-0776 and select “Adoptions” or e-mail her at adoptions@wishbonepetrescue.com.

One of Wishbone’s priorities soon after taking over management of the Allegan County Animal Shelter, was the development of a temperament assessment program.

Enter Leah Will, a Wishbone Pet Rescue volunteer and Allegan Animal Shelter’s new trainer and behavior specialist.  Responding to an advertisement in Cats and Dogs Magazine, Leah attended a New Volunteer orientation class in January, and soon there after began walking dogs on weekends.

Leah & Buddy

It wasn’t long before her talents became known, and she quickly agreed to help temperament test our shelter dogs.  These days you’ll find Leah at the shelter most Sunday mornings with her training partner Buddy, a nine year old shepherd mix.

Leah lives in the Gun Lake area with her husband Galan and four year old son Eli.  When not tending to her horses, cats, dogs, and guinea pigs, Leah provides one-on-one dog training and behavior modification classes through her business “The Balanced Dog”.

Leah has worked with dogs in one fashion or another for nine years, including a two year stint managing a boarding facility, and five years with Pet Smart, where she was first introduced to behavior modification methods.  Eventually Leah followed a co-worker to Kent County Humane Society (now Humane Society of West Michigan ), where she learned how to use the S.A.F.E.R. temperament test to identify potential behavior problems in dogs.

Two years ago Leah moved her family to the Gun Lake area and started The Balanced Dog.  I asked her what was the most common problem she found with new dog owners. “Failing to set boundaries early on for their new dog.  It’s so much harder to undo bad habits.  Set their boundaries early”.

Leah shows new pet owners how to set those boundaries.  Her weekly one-on-one classes address socialization issues, basic commands, health & nutrition, leash training, and walking, culminating in a “real world field trip” to test what fido has learned.

Leah is offering a free training class at the Allegan Shelter on Saturday April 28th ( 10am-noon) for volunteers and new adopters.  She’ll cover the basics, loose leash walking, sit, stay, etc.

How fabulous would it be for all our shelter dogs to receive one-on-one training by our trained shelter volunteers !

If your interested in joining Leah’s shelter class, contact her at montazoma_2@yahoo.com

So very quickly, Karen Kazyak, our Adoption Coordinator realized our only hope in the short term was to solicit assistance from other shelters and rescue groups to take in some of our dogs and cats for their local adoptions.  And thus was born Wishbone’s Shelter Transport Program.  In 2011 Wishbone transported over 500 cats and dogs to rescues and shelters across Michigan and parts of the near Midwest.

Of course a transport program only works if you have someplace to transport them to.  I know it’s become cliche, but it really does take a

Kim and her Sons

community to make a difference, and in this case, to save the life of homeless companion animals in our county.

But it doesn’t always take grand gestures or big programs, …sometimes it takes just one person to get the wheels turning in a community.

Kim Milligan is such a person.

Kim is a long time resident of Gladstone MI.  For those of you who know nothing of Michigan beyond the Mackinaw Bridge, Gladstone is a good 3 hours PAST the bridge!  It’s a long way from the Allegan Animal Shelter.  Yet, in a fortuitous chain of events, Kim became the angel who helped nearly two dozen dogs to safety and into their new homes through shelters across Michigan’s Upper Penninsula.

Rather than tell this story myself, I thought it would be fun to hear it in Kim’s own words.

Jeff:    Kim, where do you live and how long have you lived there ?

Kim:    I live in Gladstone and I have lived here for over 10 years.

Jeff:    Have you always lived in Gladstone?

Kim:    No, I grew up in Sterling Hts, MI and spent over 10 years in Mt.Pleasant during and after college at C.M.U.  where I got a B.S. in Social Work.

Jeff:    Tell me a little bit about your family life

Kim:    I am married, I have 2 sons, 2 grown step-daughters, a sassy cockatiel named Peekaboo, a cat (a stray who still doesn’t have a name after owning her for over 12 years), and our newest addition, Bugs, a Plott Hound mix I adopted from my first dog transport with Allegan County Animal Shelter coming to the U.P. My oldest son was along on the trip and fell in love with Bugs on the way home…the rest is history. Bugs is a sweet addition to our family and follows me for my every move around the house–even rides along when I take the kids to school.

Jeff:    Do you have any hobbies and interests outside family ?

Kim:    Besides helping with my older son’s hockey fundraising, school volunteering, and church group teaching, I am a runner. I am currently training for 2 Spring marathons. Running is my only ‘me time’.

Jeff:    How did you first get involved with animal rescue ?

Kim:    I first got involved in animal rescue after losing my 13 year-old stray lab-mix named Penny just after Christmas. I missed her terribly and I was ‘just looking’ online to get an idea for what dogs were out there. I definitely wanted to rescue when the time was right. Anyway, I had contacted Allegan Shelter via an e-mail to ask if they sponsored animals as I noticed a beagle/harrier named Bella was on the urgent list. I wasn’t yet ready for a dog, but I hated to see such a nice dog potentially be euthanized.   Allegan did not have a sponsorship program, so I decided to see what I could do to find a home for Bella. I called one U.P. shelter out of the blue to see if they would take Bella and possibly more (I was not yet affiliated with

Bugs

anyone anywhere–so I was a complete stranger calling) this shelter said they would take 3 dogs, the next shelter said they’d take 3, and a third shelter would take 2 as well! I had a full load of dogs to go retrieve at the bridge and had another newbie rescuer, Kathie, (another complete stranger) coming down from AuTrain to help me because we had some big staffie mixes and I couldn’t fit them all in my mini van. It was a long day of driving, but I had such a sense of fulfillment as the dogs were dropped off at their new shelters and each place fell in love with their new dogs. Most of these dogs were adopted within the week! Bella had several families who wanted her.

Jeff:    Tell me a bit about the shelters you work with.  I’m particularly
interested in how you work with groups separated by such great distances.

Kim:    The U.P. is big–nothing is very close. Our shelters are small and some shelters don’t get very many dogs at different times of the year…and have a bunch at others. I simply made a few calls and found people to be very open to saving dogs. Their trust of me was amazing and I tried hard to bring them dogs that they would be able to place easily. Right now, our shelters are full, but when they can help, they do. There are amazing people up here!

Jeff:    How did you first hear about Wishbone and the Allegan Animal Shelter ?

Kim:    I had never heard of Wishbone and I only heard of Allegan once I wrote that first e-mail [ about Bella ] and Karen responded.

Jeff:    What motivated you to offer to help an organization so far from home ?

Kim:    I was probably operating a bit on my grief from losing my dog and I just couldn’t see euthanizing a beautiful dog like Bella who was so healthy and sweet. My grandpa had beagles, and I have always had a soft spot for them. It is definitely in my personality not to just talk about helping, but to follow through and do it–even if it seems crazy at first. I have helped rescue about 21 dogs now, I think.

Jeff:    What advice would offer to anyone intereted in getting involved in animal rescue today ?

Kim:    My advice would be to start with your local shelter and be available. Everyone has a part they can play in pet rescue. Maybe help taking photos to post on the website or update the shelter’s facebook page or maybe he/she can help foster a dog or head up fundraising efforts. If a person lives in an area where the shelter is chronically overcrowded, networking is crucial. If people don’t know these dogs are there, they won’t come in to check them out. I had no prior knowledge of anything re: pet rescue. The main thing for me is to make sure the dogs I am transferring are healthy and adoptable since they are coming into my community and these shelters are trusting me to bring good dogs to them. There are myriad ways to help and it can be overwhelming. You can’t save them all, but you most definitely can make a difference.

Thanks Kim, you are an angel!

Mike and Todd met in the summer of 1994 in the City of Detroit where they both lived and worked. But it wasn’t long before they felt the pull of Michigan’s western shores with it’s laid back lifestyle and raw beauty. So in 1999 they quit their jobs to join our community and by 2001 purchased their own piece of paradise south of Douglas, and a stone’s throw from Lake Michigan.

Mike is a hair stylist for Panopoulos Salon in Holland, a career that fits his outgoing gregarious personality well.  Todd is Director of Clinical Nursing of Cardio Vascular Services at Holland Hospital and an accomplished artist, creating hand beads into jewelry  in a studio he had constructed just steps from their home.

Mike and Todd were first exposed to the animal rescue world during a chance meeting in New York with a woman walking grey hounds. “They were just so elegant.”  Todd recalls.  Shortly afterward they came in contact with Renewed for Life, an area Grey Hound rescue organization. After numerous interviews they eventually took in Boss and Janny, both 6 years old. “They were very high maintenance,” recalls Mike, “they could never be off leash outside and had to be clothed in cold weather”. “We saw Mary at Dogs by Design every two weeks for seven years”.

In her later years Janny took to sleeping in a lower level den, barking until Mike relented and came down to cover her with blankets. During the last few years of Janny’s life Mike took to sleeping on the couch next to her to save the trip down the steps each night. ..truly, a dedicated dad.

Sadly, after seven years of care and dedication both Boss and Janey, at age 14, died within six months of each other.

A few months later, Mike learned of Wishbone through one of his clients, Susan Potter, a Wishbone Volunteer.  Within weeks he was a regular volunteer on Saturdays at the Allegan Animal Shelter, always jumping in with both feet and willing to take on any task.  Fast forward three years later and Mike now manages our volunteer orientation program, teaching new volunteers dog handling skills within the kennels, shelter policy, and procedures.  He also assists at the Wishbone House and Antique Pavilion lending his eye for design to staging the floor merchandise and pricing.

Todd continues to apply his management and organizational skills by advising Wishbones board on policy development, and on occasion lends his considerable culinary skills to Wishbone events.

As for new pets? Mike recently inherited his fathers 11 year old, 23 lb cat named “Friend”.  Mike and Todd are quickly learning the old saying “Dogs have masters, Cats have servants”.   Good luck guys !

I’ve been thinking lately of how Wishbone is like the story of the little engine that could.  Just a little more than three years ago we were a brand new shiny organization with lots of hopes and dreams but untested.  When Allegan county asked for help to run their shelter other organizations said “no, the problem is too big”.  But when Wishbone was approached, perhaps in our naivete’, we said “We — think — we — can”.

So from a slow start three years ago, we huffed and puffed our way up the hill.  Many times along the way we wanted to quit when the grade seemed impossibly steep.  But the mantra “We — think — we can”, kept us going.

Well, as 2011 winds down, I’m here to tell you we can.  For sure, we have many more steep grades to climb, but we can face them with confidence.  Consider these numbers.

1.   In 2011 we re-homed a record breaking 546 dogs out of the shelter.  By comparison that number exceeds the 2010 numbers of any other shelter along the west shore community from Muskegon down to Berrien counties. ( Their 2011 numbers will not be published until next summer ).

2.   From a pitiful 15 cats in 2008 prior to our arrival, numbers skyrocketed in 2011, re-homing 482 cats & kittens.  As with dogs, that number exceeds the 2010 numbers of any other shelter along the west shore with the single exception of Harbor Humane which re-homed an impressive 568 cats in 2010.

That is an astounding achievement for our little shelter group and tiny budget.  Our hats need to come off to the adoption team of Karen, Josh, Angel, Tammy, Julie, Amber, and Carrie, who have worked tirelessly to photograph and promote pets, and organize the adoption and transport of so many cats and dogs.

On the medical front we have made huge gains as well.  Our medical program is in full swing.  With the help of Cindy Walker’s vocational vet tech students from the Allegan Tech Ctr.,  John and Shelly, our licensed vet tech volunteers, we now vaccinate all incoming animals and provide heartworm and/or FIV/FeLV tests prior to adoption.  And if all goes as planned, we could start seeing spay-neuter services performed at the shelter by 2nd Qtr 2012.

Health at the shelter has never been higher.  Animals are well fed, exercised when possible, and the kennel areas are kept clean by the tireless efforts of Josh, and the volunteers and trustee crews he directs on a daily basis.  Thanks Josh, I know it’s exhausting work.  We’re working on more staffing for 2012 !

Volunteer participation at the shelter has ballooned too.  Through the efforts of Mike, Sara and Shalee, we now have regular volunteer orientation classes at the shelter.  We’ll close this year with a roster of 73 volunteers!  ..another record.

And of course, this is just Wishbones’s shelter work.  Wishbone has made huge strides this year in our community service work through the Pet Food Pantry, community spay-neuter services, and most recently, public education programs.  Watch for the Wishbone newsletter in January for stories about those programs and their 2011 achievements.

So.. thank you all for your tremendous commitment and efforts.  Imagine what we will achieve for 2012 !

Sincerely,

Jeff Stiegman
Wishbone Pet Rescue
Allegan Count Animal Shelter

Animals, especially pets, are an important part of our lives and are regarded as family members. Business articles indicate that we spend around 51 billion dollars on our pets annually on everything from extensive medical care to daycare to gourmet diets. About 71 million homes in the U.S. have a pet(s). Yet, our shelters are still bursting at the seams with homeless cats and dogs. Between 4-5 million homeless animals are killed annually. Puppy mills, animal neglect and abuse, including dog fighting, thrives. Animal welfare community outreach is key to educating our communities and sharing the programs and resources that are available to families and their pets.

Having been involved in various aspects of animal welfare, including community outreach, in Chicago for many years, I am proud to bring my knowledge and experience to Allegan County. I am very excited to announce the launching of our official school community outreach program “Kids, Critters and Compassion”.

The program is approximately one hour long, is geared mainly to 3rd to 6th graders and is supported by a colorful power point presentation. At our recent visit to Glenn Elementary School, even the K-2nd graders were participating as enthusiastically as their older schoolmates.

It is very important that our kids learn about pet care and responsibility for a pet’s entire life span. We focus on the importance of their daily needs and bring awareness to our pet’s feeling and emotional capabilities, learning that their needs aren’t so different than ours. Those of us who own pets are well aware of their companionship and the comfort they bring to us in so many ways.

For many reasons, including health and behavioral, spaying or neutering is very positive for our pets. It is the best way to effectively reduce the over-population of unwanted cats and dogs in our communities and animal shelters. Many of the children already know the meaning of getting a pet “fixed”. Along with visuals including cardboard cut-outs of dogs/ cats showing the high numbers, a simple explanation that this is a quick operation to stop our dogs and cats from having puppies and kittens gets the message across well.

Safety around our pets at home is discussed to prevent dog and cat bites or scratches. More importantly, we discuss safety on the street when meeting a dog with an owner and safety around stray animals, especially dogs. Many of the children live in rural areas and can easily be confronted by a dog roaming free, with no collar or owner. Demonstrating to the kids how to behave in situations like this is very important to prevent them from suffering serious injuries from a dog attack.  All the kids participate in this and it’s fun to watch how enthusiastic they are about stepping up and demonstrating these techniques to the rest of the class.

Studies by the American Humane Society clearly document what is known as “The Link” – the connection between animal abuse and child abuse, domestic abuse, elder abuse and violence in general. In very simple language, we talk about how wrong and cruel animal abuse is. It is important to let a responsible adult know if they witness cruelty to a person or an animal so the proper authorities can be contacted. Dog fighting is rampant throughout the U.S., including western Michigan. It is surprising and disturbing that our young students are already familiar with this activity. It is vital that this topic is covered, the content of which is age appropriate, with no graphic visuals. It’s wrong, it’s cruel, and it’s a crime.

We conclude with the kids getting to meet and pet the animals we bring along with us, including Sandy’s wonderful therapy dog, Emmy Susu and a few kitties from the shelter. The kids can’t get enough of the animals and they all want to hold and cuddle them.

We leave all the students and teachers with packets of materials including information on all of Wishbone’s community programs along with literature on various animal topics to share with their families.

It’s very rewarding to work with these young children and from my personal experience, they all take away something from our visit. For some, it makes a huge difference in their attitude toward animals. Their enthusiasm to ask and answer questions is very heartwarming, as is their desire to share stories of their own pets.

We plan to start off the New Year by reaching out to more elementary and middle schools in the county.

If anyone is interested in volunteering with us or knows of a school that may be interested in having us present to them, I’d love to hear from you.

Lynda Stein /Contact information: lynda@wishbonepetrescue.com/312-286-6354

Thank you so much for the care you gave my babies.  I miss them so much.  Angel is in a far better world now, and I dream about Feather going to some 8-10 year old girl who will comb her and put pig tails or pony tails in her hair.  Again, thank you for your help.

Sincerely Ellen.. ”

Feather & Angel

BACK STORY:
Last month two small senior dogs were brought to the Allegan Shelter by a family member.  Their owner, an elderly woman in rehab for a back injury and in declining health, felt she could no longer care for them properly.

Wishbone contacted NBS Rescue in Ferndale MI, a group specializing in re-homing  small breed dogs.  Sadly, Angel, a long haired Chihuahua mix was subsequently diagnosed with severe bladder stones that could not be removed due to her age, as her health declined, and with consent of her previous owner Ellen, she was put to sleep.  However, her companion Feather, a miniature poodle mix is now on her way to a permanent home to live out the remainder of her life.

Unfortunately this is a story that is played out daily at animal shelters across the country.  Thankfully rescue groups like NBS have the resources and determination to step in and provide help.  Without the help of such groups, the Allegan Shelter would be the last stop for many more homeless pets.