Welcome to our fourth quarterly newsletter! Here, you'll find a summary of everything that's gone on at HSoP in the first few months of 2022. 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.

January 2022

Pet ID Tag Engraver

We truly enjoy being able to provide helpful services for pet owners in Latah County. Due to a very generous donation, we can now offer a brand-new service to our community. 

In early January, we were contacted by a longtime HSoP supporter named Denise who was looking to make a special donation. Denise explained that she had an iMARC pet tag engraving machine that she was looking to rehome, since she no longer had a use for it. Our staff was so excited to accept this donation! We had previously looked into buying one of these machines, but that idea was pushed to the back burner once the cost was revealed. Thanks to Denise's generous donation, we are now able to offer this service without having to pay the heavy price! Local pet owners can now make custom engraved pet ID tags for $8.00 each at HSoP. We have a variety of shapes, colors, sizes, and fonts to choose from.

Pet ID tags are the first line of defense when it comes to getting lost pets back where they belong. Information on pet ID tags should always be kept up to date, this way a Good Samaritan will know the right phone number or right street address to reunite you with your beloved best friend. If your pet doesn't already have an ID tag, we encourage you to visit HSoP and make a custom one yourself! Just give us a call and we would be happy to help. Below you'll see some of the style options we have for pet ID tags. 

Microchip Special

January was another month that we offered half-off microchipping services for our community. In 2021, we decided to set aside a month from each quarter of the year to offer microchips at this reduced rate. Microchip implantation and registration typically costs $30 at HSoP. During microchip special months, we are able to supply permanent pet identification for just $15! It's very encouraging to see how many pet owners take advantage of this special price. In January alone, we microchipped five cats and four dogs. Now these pet's owners can have peace of mind knowing their best friend can always come back home if they get lost. 

Our next month for half-off microchip services will be in April of this year. Microchips will only be $15 for the entire month! If your pet is not already microchipped, we urge you to take advantage of this reduced rate to ensure they always have a way to get back home. If your pet is microchipped, we would like to remind you to keep your information up to date! If you have moved, changed phone numbers, or anything similar, please get in contact with your microchip company and ensure your information is correct. Our pet ID tags will also be 1/2 off during April, so they will cost just $4 each. Give us a call at (208)883-1166 to schedule your appointment!

Betty White Challenge

When TV legend Betty White passed away, the whole world seemed to stop for a moment. Despite a world of grief, the joy that Betty brought us all ensured that there would be a silver lining in this tragedy. 

One of Betty's biggest passions in life was her love of animals. This is something that defined her life and is now a large part of how she's remembered. To honor Betty's life and legacy, some online users decided to start the #BettyWhiteChallenge. The purpose of this challenge was to encourage people to make donations to animal shelters and rescues on January 17th, what would have been her 100th birthday. Our shelter felt the ripples of this movement, and on January 17th our community came together to honor the late golden girl. On Betty's birthday, we received close to $3,100 in financial donations, and nearly $1,000 worth of supply donations! This was a huge influx of support that we didn't anticipate, and we are so thankful to see how much our community cares for homeless pets. On a larger scale, the #BettyWhiteChallenge facilitated millions of dollars in donations for animal-based organizations around the country and the world. We are incredibly grateful for these funds, and we know that Betty must have had the biggest smile to watch all the good being done on her birthday. From everyone at HSoP, thank you for being a friend! 

Puppy Brothers

On January 4th, two stray puppies were brought to our facility. The Good Samaritan who found them said that they were in the middle of a walking trail between Moscow and Troy. They were both male and looked to be shepherd mixes of some kind, and we estimated them to be about 4 months old. We made a Facebook post to try and find the owners, but nobody came forward. The brothers stayed with us through their stray holding period, and we decided to name them Koda and Kenai. 

This duo was pretty crazy, and always exited enough to jump. They stayed in our care for a few weeks while they waited to meet their families, and we had a good chance to work on some training with them. Koda seemed to pick it up quickly and was able to sit and stay in no time. Kenai had a bit more trouble learning to follow commands, as he was much more interested in playing. The brothers made quite a few friends among our volunteers, and they always had energy for play time! Koda and Kenai found their forever homes in hardly anytime at all. Now, these two pups are living happily with their families, and we couldn't be gladder. We can't talk about cute puppies without sharing pictures, so look below for their handsome faces! Koda has the black snout, and Kenai has the brown snout.

February 2022

Groot's Merlin Story

This is the story of a very special pup named Groot. On New Year's Eve, Groot was found by a Good Samaritan in Latah County. The finder saw that Groot was in need of medical care, so he was taken to WSU to have some injuries treated. Groot was transferred into our care on January 4th since he had been found within Latah County. Upon his arrival, we immediately saw that this sweet pup would need some extra help. His front left leg was bent at an awkward angle and seemed to stick out in front of him when he walked. We took Groot to get some X-rays at Animal Clinic and Hospital, and this revealed that he would need an amputation. His leg had healed incorrectly from a prior injury and no longer had any feeling, function, or muscle mass. In addition to the amputation, Groot had a large mass on his back right foot that needed to be removed. Below you will see photos of Groot prior to his surgery.

Groot had his surgery on February 4th, and everything went according to plan! He was very happy to see staff again and was standing on three legs in no time. He absolutely rocked his recovery and had a smile on his face the entire time. His mass was also removed and found to be benign! Groot was now happier, healthier, and ready to find his forever home. The process of getting Groot ready for adoption was not as easy as some of our other pets. His surgery was quite expensive, in addition to all his other medical treatments. To ensure he was able to get the care he needed, we deployed our Merlin Fund for lifesaving medical care to cover the costs. Our Merlin Fund is designed to pay for extreme and lifesaving medical care in extraordinary circumstances. Groot is definitely an extraordinary pup, so we are very happy to have helped him with the generous support of our community. 

Groot became available for adoption on March 7th and found his forever home on March 22nd. We are over the moon for Groot and his new family! 

For more information about the Merlin Fund, please visit our website. Consider making a donation to the Merlin Fund, where your contribution will directly fund the medical treatment for a homeless pet in need. Look below for some pictures of a happy and healed Groot, including a picture with his new family!

Helping Homeless Pets in the Classroom

The work we do is only possible through the continued support of our community. In February, we had the chance to visit some of our younger community members who were determined to make a difference for the pets at HSoP. 

On February 9th, we paid a visit to Ms. Bonzo's 4th grade class at Moscow Charter School. Their teacher mentioned that her class had been brainstorming ideas of how to help our shelter pets for several weeks. We were so excited to hear this! During our visit, we talked about the importance of HSoP, the programs that we offer, and the many ways that students can get involved to help our mission. The whole class had their listening ears on and made sure to ask some important questions, too. We gave a quick demonstration on how to make dog toys out of old T-shirts, and the class spent a full hour making dog toys the next day! In total, the students made 30 toys for our pups to play with. Thank you to Ms. Bonzo's class for all your help! 

The support doesn't stop there! On February 17th, we visited Ms. Karr's kindergarten class at Lena Whitmore Elementary School. The class had set a goal to collect at least 100 donation items for HSoP before their 100th day of school on February 23rd. When we visited, they had already surpassed this goal with 137 donation items! We spent some time talking with the class about how important donations are for our pets, and how each item makes an impact on our pet's lives. The students had some great questions, and really enjoyed seeing all the cute faces we care for. This class of kindergarteners used their determination to make a huge impact for our shelter! We have plenty of new toys, treats, beds, leashes, and other items that help keep our pets happy and healthy. Thank you to Ms. Karr's class for creating such a successful donation drive! 

Soup and Pie Fundraiser

Our annual Soup and Pie fundraiser is one of the tastiest ways to support homeless pets. Each year, we bring together good people and delicious food for a great cause. This year's Soup and Pie took place on February 28th, and we are pleased to say it was a success! There was a wide variety of pies, seven different kinds of soup, amazing volunteers, and more than 100 people who came out to support the fundraiser. We weren't able to host Soup and Pie last year because of Covid-19, which made us that much more excited for this year. In total, Soup and Pie generated nearly $1,300 for the care of animals in our shelter! We would like to thank everyone who took time out of their day to support the fundraiser and our mission. Thanks to you, we can continue our lifesaving work! 

This fundraiser truly would not be possible without our amazing community. We had more than 25 people volunteer to bake pies for the fundraiser, including a group of students from the WSU Shelter Medicine Club. In addition to all the pies, we had some truly delicious soups on the menu. Moscow Alehouse provided its famed clam chowder, The Breakfast Club donated its beloved cheddar broccoli soup, The Moscow Food Co-op supplied chunky vegetable soup along with oyster crackers, Mikey's Gyros generously donated some vegetarian chili, One World Cafe provide both beef and vegetarian chilis, and Wendy's restaurant supplied a batch of Wendy's Chili. Lunch is never complete without a drink, so Starbucks supplied us with coffee and hot tea to serve. Our generous and determined team of volunteers worked constantly through the event to ensure everything went according to schedule. Thank you to our volunteers! 

March 2022

Landgrove Coffee Fundraiser

In March, we teamed up with our friends at Landgrove Coffee for a fundraiser that benefits the homeless pets in our care. Our local roastery loves to get involved by helping community clubs and nonprofits through its generous coffee fundraisers. When we reached out about the prospect of hosting a fundraiser of our own, they were totally on board! 

If you've ever tasted Landgrove coffee, you know just how special it is. Their beans are sourced through a Direct Trade agreement with farmers in Guatemala, and each batch is roasted with care and quality at the forefront. For our fundraiser, we chose to offer their medium house roast (Guatemala Yepocapa) and decaf coffee in both whole bean and medium grind options. Supporters ordered through the Landgrove website and could either pick up their orders at HSoP or have their orders shipped to them directly. Each 1lb bag costed $16, and our shelter received $5 for each shipped bag and $8 for each bag sold with local pick up. 

Our fundraiser ran from March 14th to March 27th. In this time, we sold 70 pounds of coffee and raised $539 for the pets in our care! We are so grateful for the Landgrove team and everyone who chose to purchase coffee in support of our mission. Be sure to keep an eye out for any future Landgrove fundraisers that benefit HSoP!

Kitten Shower

Each year, there is a period of several months known as "kitten season". Kitten season is when animal shelters see a large influx in the amount of homeless and orphaned kittens in need of care. Typically, kitten season will run from May through October. During this time, HSoP will take in, raise, and rehome almost 200 kittens! As cute as this situation may seem, it can be quite expensive due to all of the supplies needed. 

To help bridge the gap in kitten season supplies, we're hosting another Kitten Shower! Our Kitten Shower will function a lot like a baby shower. There will be fun games for the whole family, educational information about the kitten growth cycle, and real kittens from HSoP that you can cuddle with! The main goal of the Kitten Shower is to supply our shelter with enough supplies to make it through kitten season. This year's Kitten Shower will take place on Sunday, May 15th from 1:00-4:00pm at the 1912 Center Great Room. We ask that each guest bring along a $5 donation or an item from our kitten season wish list. With you help, we can gather enough supplies to care for all of the kittens who come through our doors. Please consider joining us for our annual Kitten Shower. It'll be loads of fun, and you might even get to snuggle a baby kitten! For more information on our upcoming Kitten Shower, please visit our website. We hope to see you there on Sunday, May 15th. 

Overcoming Ringworm

If you read our last newsletter, you may remember that our shelter has been battling a tough case of ringworm for several months. Despite our best efforts to contain the spread, a majority of the cats and kittens in our care ended up contracting this fungal infection. One of the most difficult parts of ringworm is that those who have it can often be asymptomatic for several months. In spite of multiple rounds of treatment, the ringworm refused to let up. Treatment included oral medication, topical treatment, shaving their hair, and constantly changing everything in their kennels. After more than six months of continuous treatments for some of these kitties, we are finally seeing the results we need! In March, we sent off hair samples for all of the 16 kitties who were treated for ringworm. The results came back and showed that ten of these kitties were now definitively ringworm-free! 

To say our staff was excited by this news would be an understatement. The ten kitties who were cleared of ringworm were quickly moved into our lobby to start meeting potential families. It has been so long since we've had this many cats in our lobby! The return of happy and healthy kittens has been a welcoming change for our visitors, volunteers, and staff. Even though some of our residents still have ringworm, we are confident that it won't last too much longer. 

The kitties who tested negative for ringworm are also excited by this news. They have been in our care for most of their lives, and now they get to meet families of their own to start their new lives! Within a few days of the kittens being in our lobby, most of them have already been adopted. We are so excited to see that this strenuous situation is progressing, and we can't wait until the fungus is 100% gone. Until then, lets cheer on the kitties who overcame ringworm! You can see a few of their cute faces below. 

HSoP animals currently available for adoption:

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