CASPCA Community Blog

The SPCA in the Community

2009-11-16T11:53:00.002-05:00

Last week, the Charlottesville city schools' after-school program participants gathered at Pen Park to hear a lesson from our humane educator, Nancy Cranwell, on taking good care of animals. Several of the children had also baked animal treats for our SPCA critters. So a big THANK YOU to the children from us and the dogs and cats who are enjoying the treats.

November Adoption Specials!

2009-11-07T11:38:00.003-05:00

Get em while they're hot! All senior pets are free:

And all adult cats are $20. (Kittens are 2 for 1; we have lots of kittens and aren't they more fun in pairs?)

You can adopt a loving family member and have a little cash left over!

Happy New Home, Van

2009-11-05T16:46:00.002-05:00

Longtime SPCA resident Van was adopted! Thanks to his new family and to his foster family for helping Van shine. We have lots of other wonderful hounds who need homes too. Come see them!

Feral Cat Clinic Huge Success

2009-11-05T16:00:00.002-05:00

The Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA hosted its first feral cat clinic of the season last Saturday, Oct. 31st. The event is co-sponsored by Voices for Animals and their huge volunteer effort made it possible to spay or neuter 87 cats! This reduces the amount of unwanted kittens and greatly improves the quality of life for these animals. We'll host six more in the coming months. Stay tuned and thanks to everyone for helping.

It's Raining Cats and Kittens

2009-10-31T11:47:00.004-04:00

We have umpteen zillion cats and kittens in care at the SPCA as of this writing! Yikes! Could you give them a treat this Halloween by giving them a home? Today at our adoptathon, all cats and kittens are 2 for 1. Happy Meowl-o-ween!

Halloween Adopt-a-thon at the SPCA Oct. 31st.

2009-10-28T10:23:00.002-04:00

The SPCA will be hosting Howl-o-Ween, a Halloween themed adopt-a-thon on Saturday, October 31st, from noon – 6pm. Come enjoy some Halloween fun with the pets at the SPCA facility at 3355 Berkmar Dr. or at Purrin at Pantops, in the Pantops shopping center, and take advantage of several adoption specials.

Susanne Kogut, Executive Director, says of the event: “We love Howl-o-Ween because it allows us to “treat” our great community to deals on our amazing animals. Halloween brings out the kid in all of us, and we are decorated to the hilt here at the SPCA. Animals don’t care about costumes, even though they look awfully cute in them, but they do care about doing tricks for treats, so please come by and find someone you can add to your home. Make it a Halloween to remember!”

The biggest trick we could think of is to find home for all our animals, and you’ll get the treat of a new friend for life! So to make that happen, our adoption specials are as follows: All cats and kittens are two for the price of one. Two adult cats would be $75 and two kittens would be $95. All adult dogs are half price at $50. We also encourage everyone to bring treats to donate for the dogs and cats. We’ll have some human treats for the kids, too. Bring the family out for a safe, fun-filled, spooky time! You’re welcome to come in costume, too.

Doggie Howl-o-Ween on the Downtown Mall

2009-10-24T10:53:00.004-04:00

Join the SPCA dogs for a grand time! We’ll have lots of adoptable dogs strutting their stuff at the 2nd Annual Doggie Howl-o-ween on the Downtown Mall!!

When: Friday, October 30, 5:30-8:30 p.m.

Dress up your dog in their best costume and bring them Trick-or-Treating (for doggie treats) at participating businesses on the downtown mall! Then march in the doggie costume parade through the mall that is followed by a doggie costume contest. Contest entries must pre-register by contacting sharon@dogandhorse.com .Contest is limited to the first 100 entrants. The categories are: Prettiest; Most Handsome; Scariest; Funniest; Best Theme.

Schedule of events:

5:30 Check in at the Dog & Horse Lovers Boutique and pick up your trick-or-treat bag and map for trick-or-treating
5:30-6:30 Trick-or-treating at participating stores (map provided when check in)
6:30 Costume parade--Line up in front of the pavilion
7:00 Costume contest at Central Place
For more information: www.dogandhorse.com

It Takes A Village!

2009-10-19T10:03:00.003-04:00

Karen Quillen of All Things Pawssible donated her time and expertise to help one of our adopters a few weeks ago. Henry adopted sweet, shy Emmie Lou. Henry just needed some ideas for helping Emmie Lou out of her shell. She had bonded to him very quickly, but she still lacked confidence on walks. Via e-mail, Karen gave him some wonderful advice as a favor to us. Dog and owner are doing well now thanks to Karen. Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of professional help. Karen can't donate to everyone, nor would I ask her to. But if you think you could use a little advice, please seek her out. Her rates are reasonable, her results are great! Thanks again, Karen, for helping us make a good match!

Some Special Adoptions

2009-10-07T13:28:00.005-04:00

Some great adoptions to report on:

Little Mo

Elton John, aka Boomer

and Emmie Lou, a sweet shy hound who had been in foster care.

A big thanks to all these special people who brought these unique dogs into their lives and to those who fostered, volunteered with and worked for these great dogs until they found homes.

We've got lots more special dogs (and cats, too) waiting for special people!

The Dogs and Cats are Cheering!

2009-10-06T13:47:00.006-04:00

The SPCA's Stayin Alive Critter Disco Ball was a HUGE success. The Dancing with the Charlottesville Stars competition provided great entertainment for everyone and the dancers were just awesome.

Check out Dan Schutte, one of our dancers willing to bust a move for our animals. And stay tuned for more information and photos of highlights from the Critter Disco Ball from our executive director, Susanne Kogut. (They'll be better than this one, taken with a volunteer before the event!)

Thanks to all who attended, donated, voted, supported, volunteered, etc!

Sunday's Daily Progress Articles

2009-10-05T11:02:00.004-04:00

Sunday's Daily Progress had two great articles on the SPCA. The main article focused on what we do now, and this one gave a historical perspective. Read and enjoy...and check out the great photos!

Like all of David Maurer's articles, it was heartfelt, well researched and beautifully written. Thanks to David and our local paper for recognizing the passionate hard work that the staff and volunteers do here at our wonderful SPCA.

Please help us keep up the good work!

A Pair of Amazing Cats at the SPCA Rummage Store

2009-10-05T10:22:00.000-04:00

Oriental Short Hair Cats, Medium, Males, Pet ID: 39437 & Pet ID: 39438. We are Owen and Dexter . . . Please adopt us together at the SPCA Rummage Store on Preston Ave., ask for Jan.

If you hadn't noticed by now, we are quite the lookers. I bet you haven't seen cats like us before. We are very loving and affectionate cats.

From the foster mom: If you don't want these boys to sleep with you, then please consider other cats, as they want to sleep with you and on you.

They love to play. They are brothers who love each other dearly and cannot be separated even for hours in a day. They sleep together, play together and groom each other.

In all my years of fostering and the many animals that I have fostered, there have never been any like these two cats. They should go to a quiet home where they will be loved because they have a lot of love to share.

They are nine years old so the Free-to-Seniors special applies, which means adopters who are aged 50 and up can adopt Owen & Dexter for free, and they might also be eligible for free vet care.

Owen & Dexter are both neutered.

Owen: Primary Color: Brown, Weight: 11.25, Age: 9 years

Dexter: Primary Color: Grey, Weight: 13.9375, Age: 9 years

Shasta Thanks -- Creatures Great and Small!!!

2009-09-29T21:12:00.006-04:00

Shasta was a stray brought into the SPCA by an Animal Control officer. He was pretty matted, so much so that he was probably not feeling great. Severe matting can be very uncomfortable for a dog. You can tell just by the pictures that Shasta is a much happier dog. The SPCA and Shasta send our thanks to Louise and Katie at Creatures Great & Small for once again helping out the SPCA animals. This is not the first time Katie and Louise have helped out. Time after time, Katie and Louise have helped out the SPCA by grooming some of our most difficult cases. One time we had two dogs that came to us in such bad shape that they worked four hours on each dog, cleaning, shaving, bathing, etc... Katie and Louise are great friends of the SPCA and we are so thankful for what they have done for SPCA animals in need. THANK YOU!!! Creatures Great and Small is a dog boarding and grooming establishment right down the street from the SPCA on Berkmar Drive.

Rabies Clinic Was a Big Success!

2009-09-28T10:17:00.002-04:00

On Sunday, September 27th, the SPCA hosted its annual rabies vaccine clinic, for the first time at our facility. It was a spectacular success thanks to our great staff and volunteers. They administered a total of 270 vaccines to our community's dogs and cats.

This Must Be What A Barn Raising Feels Like!

2009-09-25T11:24:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the United Way Day of Caring on Wednesday, September 23rd, volunteers from organizations all over town came to help out the animals at the SPCA. It was amazing - we had 10 groups here doing 13 projects and over 100 people. They accomplished so much with such amazing attitudes! They donated time and energy and in some cases money for the materials for their projects. A big, heartfelt thank you to each of the following organizations and their wonderful employees:

The UVA Recreation Department improved our trails 1,000%.

The State Farm Fur Brigade did some major inside cleanup and decorated our cat areas.

Blue Ridge ESOP Associates painted some very tired looking walls.

The UVA Health System Development Office built us some gorgeous garbage cans and signs and cleaned and organized our dog harnesses and collars.

The UVA Heath System Transplant Center created and installed poop bag dispensers.

The Virginia Transportation Research Council spared some people for the day to make videos of the day and help us create instructional videos on dog walking.

The Darden School folks spruced up the SPCA Rummage Store.

Union Bank and Trust gave our cats some much needed attention.

State Farms Paws for Cause walked some very happy dogs and did some landscaping.

Sperry Marine brought their engineering skills and strong backs to fixing and organizing our animal crates and landscaping around the area.

And stay tuned for the video! Seriously....

31 Adoptions on Saturday and Sunday!

2009-09-21T13:16:00.003-04:00

We're doing backflips at the SPCA! Well, we would if we could. Most of us aren't that limber. But we are happy - 31 adoptions on Saturday and Sunday alone! Dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens all found great homes.

We still have lots to choose from here and many cats and kittens are available for fostering.

A big thanks to our community for opening their hearts to our wonderful animals this weekend, and to the staff and volunteers who made it happen.

Dogs of All Breeds at Foods of All Nations

2009-09-16T09:54:00.006-04:00

This Sunday, September 20th, we'll be at Foods of All Nations. (Directions at www.foodsofallnations.com) They are hosting a festival of foods from 11am - 3pm where vendors and departments of the store showcase new and special products and offer samples. We'll have a couple of adoptable dogs there and we'll be raffling off a donated Victoria Dye photograph. Please join us for this fun event. And you can head over to the SPCA afterwards to see some great cats and kittens! (We're open 12-6pm Sunday and every day.)

The Story of Little Mo

2009-09-12T11:24:00.010-04:00

When Little Mo (officially named Morgan) came to the SPCA about a month ago as a stray, he was so wild and scared he tried to bite everyone who came near him. He was covered in ticks too. He was too scared to be walked on a leash, and he growled if you came near him. We thought he might be feral, his mistrust of people was so deep. But, after a few weeks of patient love and a lot of hot dogs, he learned people aren't so bad. Each day he got better and better. In the beginning, if you did anything new to him, he still wanted to bite. But he finally warmed up and became a sweet, fun, normal dog. He had just had a really hard time of it for a while, probably living in the wild and only meeting people who were not so nice to him. He still seemed to fear other dogs, but he was also geting better with that. So today, here's what happened when he met Jules. Little Mo is the darker brown one.

Hope Was Adopted!

2009-09-09T14:43:00.006-04:00

For those of you who have followed Hope's story (her walking, her "wheels", and her arrival at the SPCA), we have big news....Hope was adopted last week! And to a wonderful family who is kind enough to add this post-adoption report by e-mail:

"I thought I'd just send a quick e-mail about Hope and her new family. Like many dogs, she is still getting used to everything; in fact, I think the happiest she has been was when we took her to her first vet appointment! She seemed happy to be around the Veterinarian and his assistant! I think she had a good experience at the SPCA :) Getting her to walk on a leash is tricky, but if we take her somewhere in the car though, that's another story! If we take her to a park, she will leash walk like the best of dogs. But if we just try to get her to go potty and take her through our neighborhood, she is a little stubborn about it. (Well, she is a hound – one of their more loveable traits is that stubbornness, don’t you think?!) Other than that, she seems pretty happy. Slowly but surely the cats are warming to her. We have discovered her habit of "nesting" and find it amusing although a tad destructive :)

Thanks!

Jessica Utley "

Way to go Jessica and a big thanks to her and her husband and all our adopters for giving a happily ever after to Hope and those like her!

Some Action Shots of Our Dogs....

2009-09-07T11:45:00.004-04:00

Thanks to dog walking volunteer Pam and her husband for these great shots of Van, Sammy Hagar and Betsy - three pretty cool hounds who'd love to spend this fall at your house! And every season, come to think of it.....

More from Boscoe Red, an SPCA alum!

2009-09-04T13:28:00.004-04:00

And we continue Boscoe Red's tale....

About a year later, Boscoe (on left in photo) and I received Military Orders as I was still in the Marine Corps at the time. So we packed our bags and moved to southern Virginia. It wasn’t long until we decided to adopt a husband, and it wasn’t long until said husband decided we should adopt a second dog. But we had to be picky about this new sibling; Boscoe Red is quite a character with plenty of personality to boot. I went back to PetFinder.com, and six months later, we found Sue. A scared, skinny, and insecure little female with sky blue eyes, who we believe to be part Whippet; part Australian Shepherd…maybe Border Collie, your guess is as good as any. With Boscoe’s confidence and outgoing personality, it wasn’t long until he brought out the best in Sue, who we renamed Dia Sue. She watches him perform tricks and follows suit; he’s the perfect role model. They are inseparable and our small family is finally complete.
Two years ago, Boscoe Red and Dia Sue (or more commonly known around our house as The Boss and The Princess) and Julian (my husband) and I moved across country and now live in southern California. We enjoy camping several times a year and hiking as often as possible. Boscoe’s learned to be quite the swimmer with those stubby, little legs, and him and Dia Sue still own our bed at night. They have more toys than I have pairs of shoes; some might say they’re spoiled, but in our defense…they’re just well-loved.
As I stated before, I don’t know what inspired me five years ago to “see about a dog”, but I hope my story inspires others to check out their local shelter and humane society for their new pet. Military Orders and cross country moves, along with many other bumps in the road, have never separated me and my boy and never will. Boscoe Red celebrated his sixth birthday on May 1st of this year and I’m hoping to celebrate many, many more with him. He is my best friend and the only living thing I know brave enough to keep my stinky feet warm at night. To the CASPCA Staff and Volunteers; “One million thank yous!” and to Boscoe Red, when you finally learn to read; “I love you, baby boy!”
Sincerely,
Hilary Cisneros, “Proud Purebred Mutt Owner”

P.S. I still carry the CASPCA business card with his ID# D-3-96 in my wallet.

Buy Art and Benefit the SPCA!

2009-09-02T08:51:00.002-04:00

Art Show for SPCA Opens at BozArt this Friday, September 4th

Local artist Ucky Light and BozArt Gallery will present “Surfaces,” an art show to benefit the animals of the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA. The public is invited to a special opening of “Surfaces” on this Friday, September 4th, at BozArt from 5:00-9:00 p.m. The show remains open to the public throughout the month of September, and from September 4th-27th Light will donate 15% of all proceeds from sales of her paintings to the SPCA. BozArt Gallery is located on the Downtown Mall at 211 W. Main.

To learn more about BozArt and view samples of Ms. Light’s work, please visit www.bozartgallery.com.

And Now, A Word From A Satisfied Customer!

2009-09-01T16:38:00.003-04:00

A story in two parts from Hilary Cisneros:

I have to be honest; I don’t remember what inspired me to get a pet back in 2004. All I remember is discovering PetFinder.com one day. I don’t remember what made me decide to input “Dog” when prompted on the site to “Select Animal”. I didn’t specify the size, breed or gender ... I just clicked “Search” and every day for the next four months, that’s all I did. I searched for hours, looking at pictures of dogs at local shelters and humane societies, reading profiles . . . but so many choices, so many dogs! “Who could decide?!?” I thought. Until I found the one! Short, stocky and with the stubbiest of legs, “Red”, a one year old, red, male Corgi mix. My heart was all a flutter!! I picked up the phone, called the humane society which happened to be this very Charlottesville - Albemarle SPCA... "Hey, I watch Animal Cops, they’re all SPCAs!” and asked if Red was still available and when I could come and meet him.
This was on a Monday and by Tuesday; I was walking up to his kennel. Would you believe I was completely nervous going to meet him for the first time? But once I saw this little furball of energy standing only one foot tall at the withers and jumping high enough to look me in the eye when I’m 5’2”, I had to laugh! The butterflies disappeared. After watching him run around in the play area of the SPCA, the staff person and I walked him back to his kennel and she turned to ask “So what do you think?” I could barely contain myself long enough to reply “When can I take him home?”
It was a Saturday, May 1st, 2004 when I went back at the CASPCA to pick up Red, who I renamed Boscoe Red. On the two hour car ride back home, he laid his little head on my lap and fell asleep.
Skip ahead to the third month of being a new pet owner. Housetraining complete: Check; New toys, bed, crate, water/food dishes, leash and collar to compliment his red coat: Check; Realizing that I no longer own the bed at night: Check; Driving home from work just a little too fast everyday so I can see his Corgi smile and wagging tail greet me at the door: Check! Hey he’s even learned new tricks like Sit, Come, Lay Down, Shake, Roll Over, Stand, Sit Pretty (with front paws in the air), Jump, and Speak (self-taught). What a smart boy I have and PHEW! Pets are a lot of work but they’re worth every second of it. From “Cry on me, Mommy, my fur is super absorbent” to “Bark-Bark-Bark, there’s another cat outside, Bark-Bark-Bark!” to every slobbery, doggie breath kiss on Saturday mornings...they are so worth it.

TO BE CONTINUED.....

Puppies at Play!

2009-08-31T18:44:00.002-04:00

The Sleeping Beauty pups are enjoying the nice weather. With only four left, (five have already gone to their new homes), these pups are absolutely delightful. They all know sit and are as loving as can be. These very special little ones will be available for adoption very soon. The girls are named June and Jules and the boys are Augustus and Mickey. You can send your application in now if you are interested in these pups.

Elton...

2009-08-25T14:48:00.002-04:00

Better known as "EJ". I am having a great time learning about play, toys, cats and big dogs. It was a little scary at first when my new best friend "Bella" came out to greet me...she's such a big ball of fur! I love to roll around and pretend I'm a big boy. My skin condition has really improved and I am enjoying a weekly bath. My foster says I am the best boy ever because I don't complain (bark) or whine when it's time to take a nap.

I hope somebody will see my pictures and ask to meet me soon. I am the sweetest boy.