Kathy's Journal - From The Animal Shelter

I really enjoy volunteering at the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter and wanted to share some pics I took there recently. The top pic shows my daughter, Melissa, and one of the cats in the animal bonding room. The bonding room is really set up nice, complete with cat and dog toys. The middle pic is Melissa with one of the dogs in a outdoor dog pen. Whenever someone wants to take a dog out for a walk or share bonding time, the shelter has these pens outside that are fenced off from other dogs that may be outside. The pens are great to let the dog run around and let off some energy. The other pic is of me and another dog that was there at the time. The dogs and cats love the "human attention".

Kathy's Journal - Good News From The Animal Shelter

I spent some time at the animal shelter this past weekend. I found out some really wonderful news!!! Many of the cats and dogs (even the black/white rabbit) had been adopted this past week. The beautiful white female -- Polly (pictured in one of my earlier posts) was one of the cats adopted. I had a feeling that she wouldn't be there long. Everytime I was there, she usually attracted interest from a visitor. It's great to see that there are many caring, loving people out there that are genuinely interested in taking one of these animals into their homes. The animals that are there are well taken care of and receive a lot of attention from volunteers like myself and those that come and visit.

Kathy's Journal - My Pictures of Awsome Canines Needing a Good Home!!

Here are some dogs at the animal shelter that are waiting for adoption (pictured above):

Cindy: A 3 1/2 month old female bichon/poodle mix. She's a real cutie!!!
Abby: A 3 1/2 year old beagle.
Riddick: A beautiful male husky

The shelter currently has mostly big dogs with the exception of Cindy, Abby and a small black puppy. They all love to go outside and get some exercise. As a volunteer, I can take a dog outside either for a walk or into one of the fenced in pens so they can play. The enclosed pens usually have dog toys and small doghouses set up for them. On Saturday, I chose to walk a rather quiet, timid dog, named Deacon. He's a spunky, energetic male great dane/pitt bull mix. He really gave me
some good exercise once we got outside!!! Hopefully, all these dogs will find a good home.

Kathy's Journal - Here's Some Pics of Fantastic Felines Waiting for Adoption

I had some free time today and so I decided to go to the animal shelter and spend some time with some great feline friends:

Guiseppe, is the gray and white 2 year old male. He was one of the big males that the shelter has. We had some fun in the bonding room today. He was quite the explorer. I had trouble getting a good picture of him because he wouldn't stay still long enough. A very playful and frisky feline!!!

Sierra is the 3 year old tortie. She's a cutie!!

Beaver is the little 4 month old male white/tiger kitten. He is absolutely adorable. I don't believe it will take long before he's adopted. I wouldn't mind taking him -- but Nala and Gizmo are enough for now.

Kathy's Journal - Volunteer Work at Local Animal Shelter

I took a trip this past week to my local animal shelter for some volunteer work. Spent some time with some of the adorable kitties that they have there. From handling some of the cats, I have discovered that felines, like their human counterparts, display many different personalities. Polly, pictured above, is a beautiful white medium hair female who is rather timid. She is skittish around me and justifiably so since she hardly knows me. In the bonding room, she seems much more content hiding in a kitty cubby hole than being frisky and playful. Elton, on the other hand, is quite different. He's an old boy at age 7 and just a little on the hefty side. Actually, he's a load to carry around. If you need to build up your biceps, he's a good one to haul around. I enjoyed our time in the bonding room. He was much more playful than Polly. I understand that the shelter is really pushing to get him adopted ASAP. I do hope that they find someone suitable for him. He would be a great pet for anyone. Polly might need additional time to warm up to someone, but in the end, she would make a wonderful pet to love. I am looking forward to eventually spending time with each of the cats there. If anyone is looking for that special feline or canine companion, I highly recommend visiting your local animal shelter. As I mentioned in an early post, Nala and Gizmo were both adopted. These animals need a loving and caring home to go to. I will continue to post my kitty and doggy experiences at the shelter.

News from Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter - weekly update

The local paper here, reports every Wednesday on different issues and topics coming from the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I just started volunteering there last week. This past week, they did a report on the weight problems that they are seeing with cats and dogs. "There's been a trend recently of overweight pets and we've seen them at the shelter - pups and cats who are well over what their healthy weight should be. We had a cat recently who weighed 28 pounds. While he was quite a conversation piece, that much weight can cause a lot of health issues". Jennifer Vanderau, who wrote the article, says that any kind of food (human or pet) given in large amounts can be very unhealthy for any pet. I totally agree with her. When I was at the shelter last week with my daughter, we chose a very hefty male cat to spend quality time with. He really was a handful to carry. I noticed just how many big cats were there. My old neighbor had an extremely overweight pug. That dog looked like a little blimp on four legs!! He did try to take the dog for walks. I sincerely believed they gave that dog human food and perhaps way too much of it. The biggest cat I know of weighed in at a whopping 40lbs. I even saw a picture. It looked enormous. Just like humans, being overweight for dogs and cats can cause all kinds of health issues. Jennifer reports, "It can cause a host of ailments, which can include thyroid problems; diabetes; hygiene issues (cats and dogs who can't clean themselves); joint, bone and ligament problems; issues with internal organs; heat intolerance; and even skin issues".

contributions: Shippensburg Sentinel - Jennifer Vanderau, reporter-Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter

Kathy's Journal -- Volunteering at the Local Animal Shelter

I recently signed up to volunteer at my local animal shelter --- Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter in Chambersburg, PA. My first visit was yesterday. They are many cute and adorable kitties that are awaiting adoption. I do hope that all will eventually find a good home. The shelter has staff members who interview prospects interested in adopting. They want to make every effort that those who are interested are suitable to adopt. Nala and Gizmo were both adopted and I highly recommend adopting from a shelter when looking for a cat as a pet. I will continue to write about my volunteering experiences in future posts. Til next time.....