A Call To Action--Please Help!

Buddy in his new home

A GIANT THANK YOU to all of you who have generously supported the animals over the years.

We made it through the winter and need to gear up for spring and summer now! There will soon be 100s of unwanted kittens coming to us at the Shelter for care and eventual adoption.

Sammie's Friends runs the Nevada County Animal Shelter where we care for nearly 2,000 animals a year! As well, we provide medical care for another 800 animals in our community who desperately need help. We provide care for over 30 horses, delivered dog and cat food to North San Juan and Washington for the many hungry animals there, and we paid for over 1500 animals to be spayed or neutered over the past year alone.

The most costly thing we do at the Shelter is spay/neuter and provide medical care for animals in the shelter and in the community. We see so many animals that have not been care for in years and desperately need our help. Without it, they would continue to be in misery or be euthanized.

 Bart was ripped up by a neighbor's dog. This poor guy was close to death and no one thought he'd survive. He was taken to the vet and revived, but then it was discovered that he also had a seriously infected leg from his owner doing an at-home amputation. (Without anesthesia!!!)  Today, Bart is doing really well.

Elmo After Surgery

Elmo the pony came to us with a weepy, oozy eye that was horribly uncomfortable. The owner never came to pick him up, so we took care of his medical needs. His eye was removed, and had a tumor in it. Elmo is doing great now in his foster home.

The animals need our help. There is no one else. Please donate as generously as you can. Every penny is spent on care for the animals. Please take a moment right now to write a check to Sammie's Friends or go to our website and donate through Paypal.

With your generous help, we do everything we possibly can to ensure that the animals of this community have a good life and are not left to suffer with hunger, injuries and illnesses. 

Thank you for your big heart for the animals and any help that you can provide.

May all good things come your way.

Cheryl Wicks and Curt Romander
Co-Founders
Sammie's Friends
14647 McCourtney Rd,
Grass Valley, CA 95949

Potential BFFs at Sammie's Friends!

Here's a great clip of adoptable dogs and cats. The music and lyrics are by David McElroy. Thank you, David!

These guys are so cute. Come by and meet them. We're open everyday (except Sunday) noon to 4pm.

For The Love of Pit Bulls

The author's Petie

My husband and I joke that one day we'll come home to find our pit bull terrier, Petie, sitting in the recliner with the remote, watching TV with a beverage. Of course, the other dogs and the cats would be watching TV with him, but they wouldn't have a clue as to how to use the remote or get a cold one from the fridge. 

Pits are smart, or did I already say that. They're also funny, and full of themselves. I don't know of anyone who lives with a pit bull and ISN'T a huge fan of this not-quite-a-breed dog. The term pit bull term is used for most of the bully breeds---American Staffordshire Terrier, Alapaha Blue Blood, Bull Terrier, Bullmastiff, American Pit Bull Terrier, and Staffordshire Terrier. Want to know what the other bully breeds are? Take this link to Bully Breeds You Should Know. (Surprised to see Boston Terriers there?)

Do you remember Petey from the Our Gang,TV show? He was a good baby sitter to the Little Rascals. He was also a pit bull.

 

 
Bad Rap, a pit bull Website, offers a spot-on character description:

Pit bulls are beautiful in their variety, but their most appealing features are their inner qualities. Strength, confidence, a sense of humor and a zest for life are all hallmarks of the breed. They also tend to be sensitive and get their feelings hurt easily. Properly socialized dogs are quite affectionate and friendly, even with strangers, and therefore do not make good guard dogs. They’re intelligent and eager to please and tend to remain playful throughout their lives. While some can be low key ‘couch potatoes,’ many others need a job to channel their enthusiasm and energy. They excel in dog sports, search and rescue work, drug and bomb detection work, and as therapy dogs. Severe shyness, fearfulness or human-directed aggression is not characteristic of the breed and highly undesirable in any dog. 

When our Petie gets his feelings hurt, he sits down in front of us, with his back turned. He won't even look over his shoulder to see if we're ready to gush over him, apologize for our transgressions, whatever they may have been, and beg his forgiveness. 

Rocky waits for a new home

The pit has definitely gotten a  bad rap. According to Sammie's Friends Animal Shelter Director Cheryl Wicks, pit bulls have been excessively stereotyped, with media coverage playing the largest role in shaping the public's misconceptions. She doesn't deny that an out-of-control pit bull is capable of inflicting great damage to other animals and sometimes humans, but says that's a very small percentage of pit bull dogs involved in attacks and should not be used to generalize the breed as a whole. Cheryl says that statistics show people are at greater risk for injury or death due to falling, drowning or spousal abuse than they are from dog attacks.


At Sammie's Friends, pits come into the shelter too often. These dogs seldom did anything to warrant being dumped, but you better believe their feelings are hurt. You can see it in their expressions.That is, until you start talking to them, then their expressions change into wide grins.

For more great information about pit bulls, take the link in our blog roll to BadRap.org. I've purposely left out all the negative things we've heard about this group of dogs. But I hope you were open to reading "the rest of the story," as Paul Harvey used to say. We'd love to hear about your positive interactions with this fabulous group of dogs.




---Michelle A. McKenzie lives with six dogs, one of whom is Petie-the-amazing-pit.

Say Yes To Chocolate Easter Bunnys and NO to Real Bunnys

"He's a great rabbit," she assured the shelter employee, "but he started spraying and chasing my son."
"How old is the bunny?"
"Oh, about 8 months."
"Is he neutered?"
"No. Will you be able to find him a good home?" 

"We'll do our best......"

Rabbits require as much time, love, and care as a dog or cat.  They are not low maintenance pets.

Contrary to Easter-time advertisements, rabbits and small children are NOT a good match. The exuberance of even the gentlest toddler can be stressful and even deadly for a rabbit.

Children like a companion they can hold, and cuddle. That's why stuffed animals are a good choice. Rabbits are not passive and cuddly. They are ground-loving creatures who feel frightened and insecure when held and restrained. The result is the child loses interest, and the rabbit ends up neglected or abandoned.

Upon reaching adolescence (3 – 6 months old) rabbits are capable of breeding. Rabbits are animals of prey, at the bottom of the food chain, and in order to survive they must mature sexually very quickly and breed often, hence the mating instincts of both males and females are very strong and they start reproducing at a very young age. Small, dwarf breeds of rabbits reach adolescence at 3-4 months of age; others, anywhere between 3 and 6 months of age.

“I will tell you that had we known that information before we had purchased our bunnies, we would have been more careful!" said a woman after her two “male” bunnies had babies and the caretaker was now caring for 10, rather than 2 rabbits.

During adolescence and later as an adult, a rabbit is driven by hormones, compelled to act in ways that are not desirable for a house companion. He or she isn't being intentionally contrary, just following Mother Nature's basic urges.  Rabbits must be neutered or they will mark their house with urine.

When you spay or neuter, you do your part to keep the rabbit population from growing, and  help already-born rabbits find responsible, permanent homes.  Even being "purebred" or really cute doesn't guarantee an animal a loving home or room at a shelter.  When shelters and rescue facilities are not packed with unwanted animals, the perceived value of each companion animal increases.  In a nutshell, to purchase from a breeder or pet store is to write a death warrant for a shelter rabbit. 

(Excerpts and quotes taken from the House Rabbit Society's website and real life rabbit caretakers.)

Top photo © Sebastian Duda - Fotolia.com
Bottom photo © Julija Sapic - Fotolia.com

Spring Is In the Air---Time to Spay and Neuter!

Spring is in the air. Trees are beginning to blossom, and (just perhaps) the rainy season is coming to an end. The air is fragrant and everything looks green and beautiful.

The sad news is if you're pet is an unspayed or unneutered cat or dog, it's that time of year to roam, fight, impregnate or get pregnant. How sad that such a glorious season can end in lost or injured animals and so many unwanted litters.

 Each year Sammie's Friends Animal Shelter, the Grass Valley Animal Shelter and AnimalSave collectively take in about 1,000 kittens. If these kittens were wanted, they wouldn't be in a shelter. Several hundred unwanted puppies are taken in by Pound Puppy Rescue, Animal Save, the Grass Valley shelter and Sammie's Friends Animal Shelter each year.

Sometimes people think a litter would be fun to have, or that they need to let their pet have a litter before they spay it. "It'll be easy to find homes for Fluffy's kittens!" These folks are surprised to learn how much work it is to have puppies or kittens. And that no one wants Fluffy's kittens. It's around this time when these babies are brought to the shelter.

Male dogs and cats can smell a female in heat up to a mile away. If you wonder why your unneutered male dog or cat is constantly getting out and running away, this is probably why. Do not underestimate the reproductive urge. It is powerful.

Please give your pets the best Spring present ever — spay or neuter them!

Sammie's Friends has vouchers that Nevada County residents can receive to help pay for the procedure. Anyone who has absolutely no money can call Sammie's Friends at (530) 471-5041, and we will see to it that your dog or cat gets spayed or neutered.

Do it SOON! Spring is prime mating time and about two months from now the puppies and kittens will show up. Are you ready for them?


author Cheryl Wicks is the co-founder and president of Sammie's Friends in Grass Valley. For more information, visit www.sammiesfriends.org.

Top Photo copyright Qole Pejorian via Flickr.com

Who the Heck is Murphy the Cat?

My full name is Murphy Elliott-Caporale.  I lives here at Sammie's Friends Animal Shelter, and this is my Woman Debbie.  I am about two years old in my first cat life.


I am important here in the office and even types. See? cv cv cv. I actually typed that. I'm not typing this blog though. Even typings just this little bit leaves me exhausted.

I'm here when cats comes in to get spayed and neutered. I welcome them and tell them they are going to be okay. I help my people when they use phones and spreadsheets. So many calls all day. People looking for their lost cats and dogs. (Dogs. Who cares.) I'm glad they won't have to have kittens. Kittens are a lot of work. 

The Man makes pages that shows all the dogs and cats and horses (what's a horse?) and chickens, and roosters (I know what roosters is---we had one in the office.) that comes into the shelter and goes out. Everyone finds a home. Yay!

Sometimes after a hard day, I has to have a mocha.

When I came to Sammie's Friends I had a problem with my nerves. Some motor problem thing made me walk kinda funny. My Womans, and my Mans all love me. I think they're nice too. I think I might be pretty lucky. Some peoples wouldn't have loved a wobbly cat so much.

Follow Murphy on Facebook!

RESCUING HORSES

You may recall the June 2011 story where Sammie's Friends, Nevada County Animal Control and several horsewomen were called out to rescue 12 horses from deplorable conditions on Banner Lava Cap Road.

Thank you to ASPCA for your generous grant

After several days of hard work, and trudging through four to five feet of mud, the horses were ready for the vet, hoof trimmer, and groceries. Most were thin and had overgrown feet requiring immediate attention. They were also desperate for dental work.

But wait, there's more! Many of the horses had not been gentled, making them difficult to handle, and requiring experienced foster and adopter homes.

We're very nearly at a Happy Ending though! The eight stallions have all been gelded, and many of the horses have already found new homes.YAY!

Knickers went to Journey's End Animal Sanctuary in Arizona. Watch Knickers on YouTube.

Thanks to many generous donations from the Nevada County community and a grant from ASPCA, we were able to do the work needed to for these horses to make them adoptable.

To learn more about the horses that are still waiting for homes go to Sammie's Friends at Petfinder.  You can also see them at Pinterest!