Welcome to our fifth quarterly newsletter! Here, you'll find a summary of everything that's gone on at HSoP in the last few months. From fundraisers, to adoptions, to stories about some of our most special animals, you'll get a behind-the-scenes look at a few of the most important happenings at our shelter.

April 2022

Landgrove Coffee Fundraiser

Back in March, we teamed up with one of our amazing local businesses, Landgrove Coffee. Landgrove Coffee is based out of Troy, ID and focuses on roasting high-quality and ethically sourced coffee. In addition to the delicious beans they sell, Landgrove is also a huge supporter of community nonprofits and other groups! They make fundraising efforts a breeze for any organization looking to gather support in our area. For local orders, Landgrove donates 50% of the purchase price toward the fundraiser! 

For our Landgrove fundraiser, we chose to offer their medium house roast (Guatemala Yepocapa) and a decaf option. The fundraiser ran for two weeks, and we managed to sell 70 pounds of coffee in that time! This translated to $539 that directly benefitted the pets in our care. The goodness doesn't end there. Landgrove went out of their way to collect donations for HSoP through Facebook, and this led to an additional $320 in donations! In total, we received $859 for the pets in our care by working with Landgrove Coffee. Thank you to Landgrove Coffee and everyone who participated in the fundraiser by purchasing some delicious beans. We hope to collaborate with Landgrove Coffee in the future, so be sure to keep an eye out for more information! 

Half-Priced Pet Identification

Pet identification is extremely important, and we feel that all of our community members should have access to it. For this reason, we started offering a month of 1/2 priced pet ID once per quarter beginning in 2021. We have seen an overwhelming response to these 1/2 priced months, which shows that they really do benefit our pet-loving community. 

Our next 1/2 priced pet ID month is July, but we started offering the special rate on June 27th in preparation of July 4th. This holiday creates a "perfect storm" for pets to run off, and more pets go missing between July 4th and 6th than any other time of year. By offering pet identification at 1/2 price in the week leading up to July 4th, we can better equip our community in case their pet(s) happens to go missing. If a lost pet has a name tag and/or microchip, they are much more likely to return home than pets without these types of ID. If your pet does not currently have a name tag or up-to-date microchip, we strongly encourage you to take advantage of this deal! Microchips cost just $15 and custom name tags cost just $4 until July 31st. Both of these services are offered by appointment only, so please call us at (208) 883-1166 to schedule a time to come in. We hope you have a safe and fun 4th of July! 

Miss Piggy's Merlin Fund Story

This sweet girl has endured so much on her journey toward adoption, and she is more than ready to find her family! Miss Piggy came to us as a stray several months ago. After arriving, Miss Piggy endured a handful of uncomfortable urinary tract infections (UTIs). She was placed on a prescription diet that is meant to prevent urinary crystals from forming. Unfortunately, this did not solve Miss Piggy's painful UTI issue. After meeting with her vet once again, it was suggested that Miss Piggy receive a vulvoplasty. You see, Miss Piggy had a "hooded vulva". This means that excess skin made it easier for bacteria to form, which made her highly susceptible to UTIs. The surgery was expected to cost about $1,000, and our Merlin Fund for lifesaving medical care ensured that Miss Piggy could receive the corrective surgery she so badly needed. 

Miss Piggy received her vulvoplasty on April 28th, and the procedure was a success! We have not seen her develop any UTIs since then, and she is not expected to have any further issues like she had before. She is still eating her prescription food, and she will need to remain on this food for the foreseeable future. Now that Miss Piggy has overcome her own challenges, she is ready to live her best life in her forever home! Miss Piggy is about 5 years old and bursting at the seams with love. She adores all people, but we've noticed she is not a fan of other pets. For this reason, we are recommending she goes to a home where she can be the only pet. If you think you could be her match, or know someone else who could, please give us a call at (208) 883-1166. Miss Piggy's adoption fee has been sponsored by Mikelann Beckvold in memory of Jerry Berg, so her family will not have to pay to take her home.

May 2022

Idaho Gives

Each year, Idaho nonprofits are given a spotlight during the online giving event Idaho Gives. This year, Idaho Gives ran from May 2nd through May 5th. More than 630 nonprofit organizations joined in on the fun, including HSoP! This year, we set a goal to raise $3,500 in donations during the event. Thanks to our incredible and generous community, we finished out Idaho Gives with a total of $4,485 in donations! This is by far the most we have ever been given during Idaho Gives, and it wouldn't have been possible without our dedicated pet-loving community. A total of 56 people donated toward our cause, and these funds will allow us to continue providing care and shelter to homeless pets in need throughout Latah County. From all of us here at HSoP, thank you for helping to make our work possible! We truly could not do it without your support. 

HSoP Kitten Shower

April showers bring May flowers... and kittens! Kitten Season is the period of time when the weather starts to warm up and days become longer, leading to more outdoor cats staying out at night. Cats who are not spayed or neutered will mate more often during this time, which leads to a significant increase in homeless kittens. At HSoP, we see the impacts of this every year. On average, we take in about 200 homeless kittens between May and November. This many kittens may seem adorable, but the cost of care can add up quickly! 

To help offset the cost of caring for so many kittens, we host a kitten shower each year to collect important supplies. During the kitten shower, we bring real kittens from HSoP, host fun games for the whole family, and provide crucial information about the kitten growth cycle. We usually request items like Kitten Milk Replacer (KMR), nursing bottles, heating pads, baby wipes, kitten food, high calorie gel for cats, and more. We often receive kittens who are so young that they require round-the-clock care, and our kitten shower is a great source of supplies for these little bottle babies. This year we had a late start to kitten season, but our community still showed up to help us through it! We received $565 in donations and plenty of important supplies, which will go so far in helping homeless kittens reach better outcomes. Thank you to everyone who attended the kitten shower this year! We can't wait to make next year's even better.

One of our kittens sleeping soundly after making plenty of friends during the kitten shower!

Pour Company Donation Drive

When it comes to kitten season, we need all the help we can get! After hearing about all of the kittens we expect to take in this year, our friends over at Pour Company decided to lend a hand by setting up a donation drive. For nine days, they collected crucial supply donations that we use every day when caring for homeless pets. The last day of the supply drive was extra special, because it happened during Artwalk! Pour Company decorated its walls with beautiful photos of pets who had been adopted, and a few pets who were available for adoption at HSoP. In total, Pour Company helped us collect roughly $800 worth of supplies to use when caring for our pets. A picture of the donated items is featured below. 

We are so lucky to exist in a town with such wonderful people and small businesses. Thank you to Pour Company for helping us gather supplies to help us through the rest of the year! And thank you to every person who showed up in support of Artwalk and HSoP. These supplies are critical in providing loving care for our pets. We appreciate your support more than words can say! 

June 2022

Paw-louse 5k Fun Run and Walk

To keep our shelter running smoothly, we host multiple fundraisers each year. One of our long-time favorites is the Paw-louse 5k Fun Run & Walk. Starting in 2010, we host a dog-friendly 5k each year along Paradise Path in Moscow. The result is a day of wagging tails, yummy snacks, fun prizes, and plenty of proceeds to continue funding our lifesaving mission. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, we had to take two years off from hosting the 5k. After this break, we were more excited than ever to bring the 5k back! This year's Paw-louse 5k took place on Saturday, June 18th. We had been crossing our fingers for a day of fun in the sun, but our weather seemed to have other ideas. In fact, it was raining for the entire duration of the 5k! Thankfully, there were still plenty of wagging tails and smiling faces who showed up to participate.

We had 77 people show up for race day, and dozens of happy pups who came along with them. The race kicked off at 9:00am, and everyone was excited to see who would win. By about 10:30am, all of the racers had finished the track. Racers enjoyed delicious bagels with cream cheese from our friends at Moscow Bagel & Deli, and the pups were given Milk Bones for all their hard work. We had some great raffle items up for grabs too, including a dinner for two at Lodgepole, pet supplies from Hyperspud Sports, and a 3-month long gym membership to North Idaho Athletic Club. In total, the 5k raised $2,073 for the pets in our care! We are so grateful for these funds that allow us to continue caring for pets in need.

Thank you to everyone who showed up for race day! The weather wasn't the easiest to handle, but we admire your tenacity for showing up in good spirits regardless. All of our 5k event volunteers were amazing, and we truly cannot thank you enough for being there to support the fun. We would also like to extend a huge thank you to this year's Paw-louse 5k sponsors! Animal Clinic & Hospital, Northwest River Supplies, Pets Are People Too, Umpqua Bank, Moscow Bagel & Deli, Hyperspud Sports, Gritman Medical Center, and North Idaho Athletic Club helped to make this year's 5k possible. Thank you all for your continued support! We're already getting excited for next year. 

Stella was the first-place dog, and her owner Ryan was the second-place human. Great job to everyone who showed up and completed the race!

Maddie's Fund Grant

As a nonprofit organization, HSoP must hold fundraisers, collect donations, and apply for grants to fund our general operating expenses. In fact, about 13% of our yearly operating budget comes from estates, trusts, and financial grants. We seek out multiple grants each year, and new grants become available all the time. Earlier this year, our staff was searching for new grants to apply for when we came across the Maddie's Fund website. 

"Maddie's Fund® is a family foundation established in 1994 by Dave and Cheryl Duffield and is the fulfillment of a promise to an inspirational dog, Maddie. She provided them much joy from 1987 – 1997 and continues to inspire them today. The Foundation has awarded over $255 million in grants toward increased community lifesaving, pioneering shelter medicine education and establishing foster care as a standard across the U.S.

Maddie’s Fund proudly offers the industry a national voice, important funding opportunities for bold ideas, learning resources and access to collaborate and share innovative solutions. The Foundation invests its resources in a commitment to keeping pets and people together, creating a safety net of care for animals in need and operating within a culture of inclusiveness and humility. #ThanksToMaddie."

Maddie's Fund is always expanding its scope of financial support, and this year they introduced their BIPOC-Led Operating Support Grant. This grant was created to provide additional support for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-led animal welfare organizations. We submitted an application and made sure to cross all our fingers and toes for a good outcome. Just one month later, Maddie's Fund informed us that they had approved our application in the amount of $12,500! This grant will make a very big difference for HSoP and all the pets we care for. We are extremely grateful for these funds and are so excited to put this money to good use!

Summer Pet Safety Tips

Summer has officially arrived! This season is full of outdoor fun, but there are some risks to be aware of as we start getting warmer weather. Here are a few tips to help keep your pets happy, healthy, and cool this summer: 

• Never leave your pets alone in a parked vehicle.
  • Even for just a few minutes, and even with the windows cracked. Cars can act like ovens in the summer heat, and the internal temperature can rise by 20 degrees in just ten minutes! Don't risk losing your furry friend. Leave them at home if they cannot come with you.
• Be aware of how warm the ground and air are before walking your pet.
  • We wear shoes that protect our feet from the hot asphalt, but our pets don't always have that luxury. Hot asphalt can burn paw pads and turn an exciting walk into a painful outing. Before walking your dog, press the back of your hand to the ground for seven seconds. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for your pet! 
  • Try walking your dog in the morning or evening, when it's cooler outside. Walk them in the grass instead of on the pavement, if possible. 
  • Consider investing in protective shoes for your pet! 
• Know the symptoms of overheating in pets. 
  • Excessive panting, difficulty breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling, weakness, and collapse are all signs of overheating. 
  • If your pet is overweight, elderly, or has a flat face, they could be at increased risk for overheating and heatstroke. 
  • If you believe your pet is suffering from heatstroke, contact your veterinarian immediately! 
• Be aware of stagnant water. 
  • When your pet is around bodies of water, do not leave them unsupervised. If they happen to drink from a pool of stagnant water, they could be in trouble! Stagnant water (often called standing water) can contain bacteria and parasites that could be harmful to your pet. If you fear your pet is suffering from toxic waters, contact your vet immediately!
  • Always bring along ample clean drinking water for your companion.
• Visit the vet for an early-summer check-up.
  • Make sure your pet is up to date on vaccines, and free from any heartworms. Now is also the time to ask about flea and tick prevention!

HSoP Pets Currently Available for Adoption:

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