kennel chronicles
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Kennel ChroniclesJune/July ‘11 - Volume 1 - Edition 1
News from Heartland Animal Shelter
In this issue…
Simplifying Kennel Rules 2
Thank You of the Month 3
Sick Sign Updates 4
Going Home! 2
Puppy Sign Updates 3
New Safety Features 7
Accomplishments 8
Adoption Sign Updates 4
Budet Program Updates 5
Hand Washing Reminder 6
What‟s New! 6
Safety Reminders 4
Walk of Love Reminder 7
Elmer‟s Visit 8
Elmer Stops by for a Visit!
Kennel Chroniclesis a bi-monthly newsletterfor kennel volunteers at Heartland Animal Shelter.Opinions expressed in the
articles are those of the
writers & not necessarily that of Heartland. Tosubmit an article or anidea, send an email to:
paulakristine89@yahoo.com
Simplifying Kennel RulesWe‟ve all been there before… You‟re walking a dog in
from a walk when suddenly you spy a child running loose
(which in some cases is worse than a loose dog) or people
are sticking their fingers in a sick dog‟s cage then
proceeding to touch healthy animals. The Sign and Safety
committee is working on simplifying the Kennel Rules so
that it‟s not overwhelming for families who enter our shelter
wanting nothing more than a best friend for life.
We are hoping to boil down the list of rules to a possible
four major points (like: wash your hands after touching a
dog, please supervise your children) and have those in a
visible spot for all visitors to see when they enter the kennel.
This will help everyone stay safe and healthy while easing
the minds of several volunteers. Let‟s face it – I don‟t want
to babysit your child and I don‟t really care if you get
rabies, but it‟s my duty as a volunteer to keep the animals
safe, people included.
Going Home!
2
Thank you of the month
This month‟s thank you goes to Ian S.! Ian cleaned up the dog walking area by trimming excess tree branches.
To suggest the “Thank you” for next month, please contact Paula.
(Her contact info is on page 2).
Thank you Ian for suggesting this topic, you have earned many thanks!
3
Puppy Sign UpdatesLet‟s face it. The puppies are adorable. I
can‟t think of one think of anything I find cuter
than a puppy. A lot of our visitors feel that
way as well. And even though we have
about a million “DO NOT TOUCH” signs, we
still have people touching them.
The Sign & Safety committee is proposing to
have a new sign made explaining to people
why touching a puppy is harmful to the dog‟s
health.
By giving a reason, we hope to curb people‟s
understandable urge to pet the puppies. We
hope that this new sign will allow people to
understand why we have this precaution.
(Above- the cleaned up walking path)
(Below- pile of branches that were removed)
Sick Sign Updates“Is this dog contagious? Can I
take him for a walk? Why does this
dog have a sign that says „Short
walks only‟?”
The Sign & Safety committee is
working on clarifying all questions
about blue carded dogs. Currently
improvements have already been
made, including signs that say “I‟m
not contagious” or “I‟m contagious”.
As a reminder, please read each
sign carefully. It‟s up to all of us to
keep a dog healthy. If a cage has
a “Do Not Walk Me” sign, don‟t pity
the dog. It‟s for the health of the
animal.
Look for more improvements on
this topic as the committee finalizes
new ideas.
Adoption Sign UpdatesYellow signs are everywhere. Some are for dogs who escape, some are for
dogs who eat their blankets, some are for dogs who are on a special diet,
some are for dogs who are getting adopted. Lost? I know I am.
The color of the “Adoption Pending” sign may change to green since we
seem to be over-flowing with yellow signs. I know I get hopeful when I enter
the kennel to be greeted by half a dozen signs only to find out maybe one or
two of them are yellow ones for adoptions pending.
To continue with signs that may change color soon, the “Staff Only” signs
may go from red to a neon color, like hot pink. This is to eliminate the negative
psychological connections people have with the color red which may keep
people from considering adopting that dog.
Safety RemindersHere are a few tips that have
come up in recent kennel
discussions:
Please keep your dog on a tight
leash when entering or exiting the
kennel. This is to ensure everyone‟s
safety. Sometimes the floor is
slippery and a dog will haul a poor
volunteer down the aisle.
Sometimes more than one dog are
going out at once and we don‟t
need a dog fight.
Please do not allow dogs outside
to drink water that has been left
there. It may warm up eventually,
which then people may start
leaving more water bowls outside,
but if you didn‟t put the water in an
outdoor run for that dog, don‟t let
the dog drink it. You don‟t know if
another animal like a raccoon
drank it overnight, or if a sick dog
drank it in another shift. If you want
to let a dog drink water outside,
please fill a bowl yourself and bring
it out for the dog.
4
Budet Program UpdatesFirst of all, let me explain to the best of my ability what
the “Budet” program is. Heartland is allowing interested
volunteers to buddy a dog for a period of time so that we
all can learn more about the dog. Budets find out all
kinds of information about the dog, what they like to play
with, how they walk on a leash and takes time to train
them as well. This is so that they can write an informed
biography on the dog to help all the other volunteers
learn more about their personality and habits.
To the right, we have a list of the current Budets and
their chosen dog. If you are interested in becoming a
part of this program, please talk to Christy Rivera during
one of your volunteer shifts.
The Sign & Safety committee briefly discussed how
interested families may contact the Budets. Below is a
form that we may use. Empty forms will be located in
convenient spots around the kennels and there will be
a designated spot for completed ones that Budets can
check during their volunteer time. An interested family
would fill in the name of the dog, any question they had
about it (Even “we would like to learn more about him/
her” would suffice) and the best way to contact that
family. A Budet would be responsible for checking the
completed forms drop box to see if they have any
information requests, at which time they would take
the form home and contact the family.
This would be used for serious inquiries only. Also,
if a dog was not listed on the Budet Program list, a
family could still possibly use this form because a
volunteer may know a specific dog very well without
being a Budet.
5
Current Budets
Previous Budets:Christy & Joann with ReedJessica with Chase
Hand washing ReminderContagious or not, we should all wash our hands between
touching dogs. However, going from kennel 19 all the way
to the sink and back can be quite a distance.
The Sign & Safety committee proposed to leave more
hand sanitizers around the kennel so that it will become
common practice to clean up before touching dogs.
Remember: even though a dog doesn‟t have a blue sign, it
doesn‟t mean it isn‟t catching something or recovering from
a recent illness. Let‟s all do our part to keep every dog healthy!
What’s New!
The shower is now equipped with
hooks to hold everything. If you
take something, please put it back
on it‟s hook. This keeps the shelter
clean and tidy! Thank you Mary H.!
The leashes have now been organized
and sorted. There are less leashes to
choose from but this keeps the
shelter looking more orderly.
6
New Safety FeaturesPlease look for upcoming editions of
Kennel Chronicles so that you may
familiarize yourself with our policies for
the use of the air horns, the emergency
cow bell and the emergency whistle.
Currently the whistle and the outside
bell are for use in case of a dog fight.
They will be used to alert staff members.
Although there is not a written policy for
these materials yet, if an emergency
arises, use them. A drill video on what to
do when that bell or whistle has been
blown has been proposed.
Please use the bell or whistle for now
until our air horn policy is approved.
7
Hogs for Dogs ReminderSave the date! September 18th is the day of the fifth annual
Hogs for Dogs! Don‟t miss it!
Here‟s everything you need to know:
Cost: Adults $25 n advance/ $30 day of event
Kids $10 in advance/ $12 day of event
(Adults are anyone over 12 years old.
Kids under 3 are free)
Group package (over 5 riders)
$20 per person in advanced
Time: 9:30-10:30 am meet the bikers
10:45 am first bike out
Location: Heartland Animal Shelter
2975 Milwaukee Ave., Northbrook, IL
Notes: All vehicles are welcome!
Ride ends at Side-Outs Bar & Eatery
4018 Roberts Road, Island Lake, IL
(Free food to registered attendees)
Elmer’s VisitOn July 1st, Elmer (now named Max)
decided to drop by Heartland and
say hi to all his old friends.
Greeting kennel attendants Tom
and Christy, Max wiggled and kissed
showing that even though he is
graying around the muzzle, he still has
a lot of love left to give.
Elmer was one of our longest-
staying residents, but eventually he
found a great home with adoptive
mom, Noel.
He keeps the neighborhood safe
by laying on top of a couch in front of
the living room window, barking
whenever someone goes by.
He visited us to get checked by a
vet so he can go vacationing with
Noel‟s mom. First stop: Kitty Hawk, NC.
8
ACCOMPLISHMENTSThis section will be used for all Hearltand alumni dogs to get recognized for
their accomplishments. Whether an alumni has completed the AKC STAR
Puppy program, a local PetCo training class or even just learned to sit at
street corners on walks, I want to know what incredible thing your dog has
done lately! It‟s awesome to hear about how many Heartland alumni go
on to do great things!
And to start this section of the newsletter, I‟d like to share that my own
Heartland alumni, Logan (AKC name: Logan Square Express, CGC, TDI) has
just been certified as a therapy dog! Below is a picture from the night we
brought her home (at just 33 pounds) in November of 2007 and what she
looks like today.
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