Cat Adoptions are UP UP UP! WooHoo!

Carly, just 1 of the many kitties from KHS adopted to a forever home! Is that not the sweetest face?

My heart is SO happy right now! Since our new Humane Society facility opened last June adoptions steadily continue to go UP! To quote an e-mail from a staff member last week:

"You will be pleased to know that our adoption numbers continue to be very good ~ yesterday (Sat. 1/16) we only had 6 cats/kittens to adopt out!"

Is that not AWESOME or what??? Our adoption floor has 3 Kitty Cities that hold 8-10 cats/kittens each. When I was there on Thursday they were all EMPTY! We also have 21 Kitty Condos with 1-2 cats each & at least HALF of them were empty! Even the lofts in the back (all 6 of them with 21 cages each~where kitties stay until there is room on the adoption floor or until they are healthy enough) looked like a ghost town. I actually was able to go cuddle with EVERY cat there for the first time! Looking at our website this morning I counted only 17 cats on the available list. It is just so heartwarming. I wish every city could have a shelter as wonderful as ours! I encourage ALL of you to go volunteer at your own local shelters! Click HERE to visit our Kansas Humane Society.

Happy weekend to you all! meow

Official Volunteer!

Me in my cool new shirt!

Hello beautiful people! I am proud to annouce I have officially grajeeated from Humane Society Volunteer School! (I always loved how Jethro said grajeeated on the Hillbillies~ha!)

Yesterday I had my personal interview & we went over my designated duties. When I came I had a list of areas I wanted to work in but I left with a completely different job! I am a "Greeter" & "Computer Attendant". The coordinator told me they were REALLY in need of volunteers in those areas & though I would prefer to "Cat Socialize" & tidy up Kitty Cities I was happy to help out where they need it most. I will be greeting people as they come in, answering any initial questions & directing them where they need to go. I'll also be helping potential adopters fill out forms & look up "on deck" animals on the website that aren't showcased out front. I'll be doing this for a 2 hour shift twice a week. Our new facility is so big apparently people come in & just don't know where to go or what to do first. If they have to wait around for someone to help them they might get frustrated & leave & we DON'T want that! So...that's what I'm going to help with. I can always kitty cuddle & socialize any other time I want so that'll be fun! And 1 of the Kitty City's is right by the front entrance where I'll be so I can pop in there & love on the kitties when it's slow. I was also put on the "TAG" list which is the Animal Transport Team that drives animals to other shelters & rescue places when needed. And of course I'll keep making kitty nap pads & bandanas for the doggies. I brought all my nap pads with me to the interview & they let me go around & place them wherever I wanted in the kitty cities. One kitty jumped right on top of one & lay down! So sweet.

Well, that's my news for today. Hope to get a new painting done by the end of the weekend! Had a lot of back-to-school meetings & things this week so haven't had much studio time. I'm ready to do some fun fall themes! xoxox

Cat Nappers & Doggy Bandanas!

Thought I would show you my latest crafty creations ~ cute little Cat Napper Pads & Doggy Bandanas. I'm scrambling to get as many as I can finished before I head to the Humane Society tomorrow for my animal handling class so I can bring them with me. They're easy & fun to make & the gal at the H.S. said they LOVE to get them! It's another way I can volunteer right here at home. The kitties can always use comfy little pads to nap on & maybe they will look more adoptable if they're lounging on fashion fabrics - ha! They always try to keep bandanas on all the dogs too, especially black ones. They say a black dog's face just gets lost in that dark fur & bright colored bandanas help by drawing attention to it!

The Cat Nappers are reversible with different fabrics on each side. I like to put fleece on 1 side (what cat doesn't like fleece?) but it's a little harder to work with because it's stretchy. So what if it's a little crooked? The cats won't care ~ it's warm & cozy! I do have to give my sister credit ~ she made the red, white & blue ones on each end plus others not pictured.

I finished the commissioned painting I was doing so hopefully I'll get busy with some new paintings. School just started yesterday for my kids so we're back in to the busy schedule mode (& trying to keep my son caught up with his homework)! Have a great week! xoxopurrrrxoxo

Volunteer Orientation Completed!

Hi everybody!

I went to my volunteer orientation at the Humane Society last Wednesday & now have 2 of the 4 steps done before I can start volunteering. Step 1 is filling out the application, Step 2 is the 2 1/2 hour orientation session & now I have Step 3 ~ Animal Handling Training & Step 4 ~ Personal Interview left. Sounds like a lot of stuff to go through just to volunteer but I'm glad they are so thorough about it. They've really put a lot of thought & research into the best ways to care for the animals & increase adoptions so I applaud them for that. I don't mind all the training. I did it all before back at their old building so I already know a lot of it. The orientation went great but I was dreading the video I knew we were watching. It showed the euthanasia process & I kept having to look down at my feet & hold back tears! Even the man next to me was sniffing! Oh boy... Anyway, I have Animal Handling Training next week & then my interview & then it's off to work! I'm gonna have a hard time trying to decide what I want to do! There are SO many possibilities! I'm leaning towards Cat Socializing (of course!), Catvocate, Business Office Helper, Housekeeping (laundry/dishes), Enrichment & TAG (transport animal group). I once drove 9 kittens to the Boulder, CO Humane Society. My daughter & I made a fun road trip out of it & then spent the night with my sister in Denver! I'd also like to start fostering kittens if I think my 2 resident cats won't flip out about it. I wish I had a separate little building I could keep stray & foster kitties in until they find homes! Maybe I'll win the lottery & make that dream come true!

On the art front: Just mailed off 2 paintings today & about to start on my commissioned one. Then I'll get to work on some fun fall themed creations!

By the way, I think our Humane Society logo could use a little updating don't you? They've had this one forever & it's kinda lame. I think since they have a new building they need a new logo to go with it! Maybe I should give them some ideas! Hmmmm...

Our New Kansas Humane Society!

Hi everyone! Hope you all are having a great weekend.

I'm getting really excited about our new humane society set to open for business on June 22 next month! Our current facility has been in sad shape for a long time but thanks to many generous, caring people in our community we have a brand new building! It is said to be a "state-of-the-art facility soon to be a model for animal organizations across the nation." It will have a medical clinic with 2 full-time veterinarians & their teams, a behavior assessment area, natural settings for adoptable animals including canine apartments, kitty condos & cat community rooms. No rows of cages! (except for maybe ill or special purrsonality cats). It will also have a retail store & a learning center where you will learn proper & responsible care for your new pet before you bring it home.

I'm so happy for our homeless Wichita animals! I wish every city could have one of these facilities! I plan to volunteer as soon as I can. The first volunteer orientation class is actually FULL (isn't that great!) so I'll have to get on the next one. The picture above was taken in February so it's much farther along now & there are actually lots of trees around that you can't see. Check out the Kansas Humane Society's website here!

Among the many goals on the list for this facility, my favorite is this: "We will END THE EUTHANASIA of all adoptable animals in our community within 5 years of opening our new campus! Current animal population estimates indicate we will be able to save 10,000 animal lives a year once this goal is met." That is AWESOME!!!