Another year has passed and once again, nearly 4,000 animals have come through our doors. People mostly associate us with cats and dogs, but we received many other types of animals as well.

This past year we took in chickens, cockatiels, ducks, ferrets, goats, goldfish, geese, hawks, guinea pigs, a hedgehog, domestic mice, parrots, rabbits (wild and domestic), domestic rats, roosters, seagulls, squirrels, turtles, a tortoise, skunks, raccoons and opossums and various wild birds. Believe it or not, it was a bit of a tame year since we didn’t have any of the exotic pets that normally come through.

Thanks to those of you who supported us with your time and donations, it was also our most successful year ever in saving lives. New programs to enhance the health and well-being of our pets were instrumental in this success. Through our new Kitten Cuddler program, we were able to successfully raise and find homes for 150 orphaned, infant kittens and to successfully support at least that many more while they awaited transport to the various rescue organizations that we work with. These neonatal kittens would have no chance of survival without the intensive care that our volunteer “cuddlers” provide.

This course provided the tools and curriculum to get our dogs out of their kennels and into the play yards to burn off some steam, interact with other dogs and increase their overall adoptability. A grant from Animal Farm Foundation and private donations allowed us to bring in the program trainers from the Midwest and also to send some of our staff down to Texas for in depth training on introducing dogs into social groups and allowing them to participate in normal canine play and social interaction. Many of our dogs are at the shelter for weeks or even months before being adopted so this program is essential in keeping them happy, healthy and balanced.