Ensuring the best possible quality of life for animals and promoting respect and reverence for all

Ensuring the best possible quality of life for animals and promoting respect and reverence for all
www.SantaCruzSPCA.org

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Dog Blog...Meet Shiloh!



Shiloh is a wookie with a heart of gold. A purebred Lhasa Apso, he's extremely handsome with beautiful flowing hair and the cutest little smile you've ever seen in your whole life! Shiloh has a lot of energy and needs an all-adult forever home that can provide him with the consistency and training he needs. He loves going on walks and would benefit from an active lifestyle. He's extremely sweet and just wants to be cuddled and loved. Plus, he looks exactly like a miniature Chewbacca...how cool is that?

Please Click here for more information on handsome Shiloh.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Whole Paw Event a Great Success!!

INCREDIBLE event hosted by Whole Foods, Capitola. Teamed up with Animal Services and Project Purr for awesome adoptathon event. An amazing group of people representing Ashley Martinez also joined us. Ashley was a 14 year old girl who tragically lost her life last month after a long-term illness. An animal lover, Ashley...'s friends and family paid tribute to her at this event and raised almost $1000 for the SPCA.

Incredible, Emotional and FUN!!!

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!!

Check out the slideshow below for photos from the event!

All photos taken by Rachel Stone

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Kaijin MMA Dodgeball Tournament, proceeds benefitting Santa Cruz SPCA



Not only do all proceeds benefit the Santa Cruz SPCA, but we're entering a team of SPCAers to get our butts kicked bravely do battle on the dodgeball court. So far it's Brandee & Cathryn, so it looks like we're already totally screwed in for a majestic victory.

If there are any crazy buff professional water polo players, people with total disregard for personal safety,Vinnie Jones look-a-likes Santa Cruz SPCA supporters with health insurance who are looking for an awesome way to show your SPCA team spirit, please contact our events coordinator, Cathryn at Cathryn@SantaCruzSPCA.org, who can currently bench around 335lbs, comfortably.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Spring Fling Tasting Fair and WHOLE PAWS EVENT!!!


What: Spring Fling Tasting Fair AND WHOLE PAWS event!
When: Saturday , March 27th at Whole Foods Capitola, 11:00am-2:00pm
How much: FREE!!
Who: You and your doggy pal(s)
Taste the flavors of Spring and celebrate this time of freshness! Join local vendors and sample their SPRING favorites!

Calling all pet lovers and owners- WHOLE PAWS event will include SPCA and Project Purr pet adoption and eco friendly pet vendors providing samples for your furry friends!

Friday, March 12, 2010

Dog Blog...Meet Tinker



Tinker, a female 1.5 year old chihuahua terrier mix, has a heart of gold that has been hurt in the past. She has let the shelter staff into her heart, but remains wary of strangers, especially men, and will cower with sudden movements. Once you win her affections, however, she is the warmest, sweetest, cuddle-bug on the face of the earth. She just wants to be held, made a fuss of, hang out with you, or sit at your feet. Incredibly loyal, she would be an amazing dog for a single female in a mellow home, although she has warmed up to several of our male volunteers. She is good with the other dogs and cats, but sometimes gets a little possessive over her human friends. We absolutely love her here at the shelter and want to find her an amazing forever home who will treasure this tender-hearted soul.

Learn more about Tinker by clicking here!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Letter From A Shelter Manager...

The following is a heart-wrenching letter from a shelter manager that has been circulating on Craigslist.org recently. It is, indeed, a powerful wake-up call to both the animal (and human) cost of not spaying and neutering animals.

The Santa Cruz SPCA often rescues dogs and cats from death row in high-kill shelters such as the one described below. Although we are often faced with emotional situations and witness the effects of cruelty and neglect, here we are lucky to be a no-kill shelter and are spared the painful process of having to kill an animal for no reason other than there are too many puppies and kittens being produced and too few homes to house them.

Please support SB250. With fewer unwanted animals being produced each year we can put an end to this senseless destruction of life. Click here for more information.




Ever wondered what a high-kill shelter is like from someone who works there?
Here is the truth.
Letter from a Shelter Manager...

I think our society needs a huge “Wake-up” call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all…a view from the inside if you will.
First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the “back” of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don’t even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it’s not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there’s about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are “owner surrenders” or “strays”, that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.
The most common excuses I hear are; “We are moving and we can’t take our dog (or cat).” Really? Where are you moving too that doesn’t allow pets? Or they say “The dog got bigger than we thought it would”. How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? “We don’t have time for her”. Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! “She’s tearing up our yard”. How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me “We just don’t want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she’ll get adopted, she’s a good dog”.

Odds are your pet won’t get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn’t full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don’t, your pet won’t get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door...and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the “Bully” breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.
Those dogs just don’t get adopted. It doesn’t matter how ’sweet’ or ‘well behaved’ they are. If your dog doesn’t get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn’t full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don’t have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here’s a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being “put-down”.

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to “The Room”, every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it’s strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the “pink stuff”. Hopefully your pet doesn’t panic from being restrained and jerk. I’ve seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don’t just “go to sleep”, sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You’ll never know and it probably won’t even cross your mind ...It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can’t get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.
I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON’T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say “I saw this and it made me want to adopt”. THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.

For those of you that care— please repost this to at least one other craigslists in another city/state. Let’s see if we can get this all around the US and have an impact.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Executive Director of Santa Cruz SPCA featured in The American Dog magazine!

Santa Cruz SPCA's very own Executive Director, Lisa Carter, will be featured in the Spring edition of The American Dog magazine!

Lisa,SPCA


Keep your eye on your local newsstand, or check www.TheAmericanDogMag.com
under "Current Issue".

Lisa is quoted in the current The American Dog magazine, Winter issue...check it out!


We're so proud of you, Lisa!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Pooches in the Park!

WOW! Pooches in the Park turned out to be an amazing day for everyone involved, both 2 legged and 4 legged!

Pooches in the Park is an outdoor event held every year on the first Sunday of March. It is host to a large assortment of doggie-related vendors, agencies and charities which fill the grounds with colorful booths, free samples and, of course, dogs!! The public is always invited to bring their pooch companion along to join in the fun, which includes a pageant, raffle and lots of free goodies!

Santa Cruz SPCA ran an information booth complete with flyers, an informational sign-up sheet, free frisbees and treats, The Puppy Zone, and, of course, some of our beautiful adoptable dogs!

Check out the slideshow below...



The day of the event was AMAZING! We collected some generous donations, adopted out 4 dogs, and had a glorious time doing it. Thanks to all our incredible volunteers for helping out...YOU GUYS RULE!

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Pet of the Week, March 7, 2010: More than 20 Chihuahuas need homes

The Santa Cruz SPCA has been inundated with Chihuahuas. "They are running and playing everywhere at the SPCA. When you think you have seen the last one, another comes running toward you," says director Lisa Carter.

The SPCA is overcrowded and has taken in many dogs. The latest flock of Chihuahuas was rescued from two out of County shelters that had them on the euthanasia list because they lacked space.

The Santa Cruz SPCA has more than 20 Chihuahuas that need a home. Each has a unique personality and a few don't bark, but make odd sounds to communicate to their Chihuahua companions, Carter says.

For information call the Santa Cruz SPCA at 465-5000, or visit www.santacruzspca.org. The SPCA is at 2685 Chanticleer Ave. in Santa Cruz and is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The Santa Cruz SPCA is a nonprofit and receives no government funding, relying solely on public donations.