Join Me at the First Annual Dakin Humane Awards!

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society will honor four extraordinary animal advocates and one superstar animal at the first annual Dakin Humane Awards celebration on Friday, November 4, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. at the Wyckoff Country Club in Holyoke.

We will present three community-based awards along with a philanthropy and a lifetime achievement award in recognition of these individuals who make the Pioneer Valley a better place for animals and people:

*State Representative Cheryl Coakley Rivera is the recipient of the Dakin Champion Award for her tireless advocacy as a public servant on behalf of those most in need of a strong voice in Boston, including the animals. Rep. Coakley Rivera passionately and convincingly led the fight to prevent the unnecessary devocalization of dogs and cats, has argued against legislation that attempts to ban specific breeds, and has been recognized for her exemplary efforts to help end greyhound racing in Massachusetts.

*Eleven year old Colin Scully will be presented with the Dakin Youth Award for his commitment to helping animals at a local cat sanctuary. Along with his dad, Colin spends hours every Sunday caring for the cats and helping out with special projects, which include providing extra attention to cats nearing the end of their lives. This selfless young man rises above the heartbreak he sometimes faces and returns each week to help "his cats" enjoy his love and gentle touch.

*Hawley resident, Rarie Dye, will be honored with the Richard and Nathalie Woodbury Award, named after the couple whose vision and legacy secured Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society's future. From the time she relocated from Texas to Franklin County in the 1980's, Ms. Dye believed it was "important to support your local animal shelter." Through a merger and its recent expansion into Hampden County, Ms. Dye has played a major role in the success of the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society. Rarie Dye's generosity, while quietly given, has largely helped Dakin become the organization it is today.

*The Janet Wilder Dakin Lifetime Achievement Award will honor Judy Smith, who has been with Dain from its roots as Friends of Amherst's Stray Animals in the 1980's. She worked alongside Janet Dakin to improve the lives of homeless animals in the northern counties. Ms. Smith long served as the organization's treasurer, continuing her commitment as a member of the board of directors through Dakin's expansion into Hampden County. According to Executive Director, Leslie Harris, "From Dakin's earliest days, Judy has done and amazing amount of daily, hands-on volunteer work, all the while maintaining a complete and detailed understanding of the organization's increasingly complex financial position. Judy's retirement from the board in 2011 marked the end of a long volunteer career that helped position Dakin as the pre-eminent animal charity in the Pioneer Valley."

*The Dakin Animal Hero Award will be presented to K-9 Dakota, the first and only accelerant-detecting canine with Springfield's Arson & Bomb Squad. Dakota recently retired after 12 yars of service, making him one of the oldest working dogs in the country. Near the end of his career, Dakota was involved in the investigation of a church fire that drew national attention. His distinguished career began following his adoption from an animal shelter. A children's book, Pound Puppy to Fire Dog, has been written in his honor.

In addition to the award recipients, special guest Cherry Garcia, one of 22 dogs taken from the home of notorious dog fighter, Michael Vick, will be joined by his family, including companion dog Madison and humans Paul and Melissa. They will share the story of Cherry's journey from a life of abuse as a bait dog who was completely shut down emotionally when rescued to a happy, charismatic dog and much-loved family member. Cherry now makes many public appearances to raise awareness about his breed.

We are grateful to our sponsors for the Dakin Humane Awards: Five Star Building Corp., Berkshire Bank, Baystate Health, White Rose Memorial Services, Hart & Patterson Financial Services, and Bertera Subaru. Our generous media sponsors are WWLP-22News, WAMC Northeast Public Radio, and the Valley Advocate.

You are cordially invited to come celebrate these remarkable individuals and support Dakin's work on behalf of animals. With Master of Ceremonies WAMC's Paul Tuthill and your host, WWLP-22News meterologist Brian Lapis, this promises to be a memorable and fun evening. Dinner will be followed by dancing to the Floyd Patterson Band. Find more information, including tickets, online at www.dpvhs.org or by calling 413-781-4000 x DOG (364).

See you there!

Opening Day...of the Kitten Season

Dakin's adoption center veterinary team is scrambling to save a cat and kittens who arrived on our doorstep just moments ago.

Some helpful Springfield residents found the beautiful tabby mother cat giving birth in their garage this morning. After hours of labor, though, the cat appeared to be suffering. The staff at the local emergency veterinary hospital determined that, although two kittens had been born, another kitten remained inside. Fearing that the remaining kitten was dead and that this poor stray cat might require surgery, the emergency clinic sent the people and the foundlings to Dakin for help.

As of this moment, Dr. Spaulding, along with technicians Chrissy and Brittany, are working to spay the mother cat. While they hope to find the remaining kitten alive, they are prepared for the worst. Their expertise will at least save the mother cat's life and, thanks to Dakin's heroic foster parents and the adoption center staff, those two brand new kittens have begun their journey to a better life with a new family.

Dakin's Buddy Fund makes it possible to bring aid to animals like this mom and her babies. Please give generously to make sure this assistance continues.

Dakin is on the Road to Help Cats

What do Stripes MacNeil and Dominobama Washington have in common? They were traveling companions on the ride down from Greenfield this morning.

Dakin staff came to the Leyden Woods community in Greenfield's west end to pick up cats needing to be fixed at Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic. With a pro-active management willing to partner with Dakin, Leyden Woods has been able to avoid the pitfalls many apartment communities face when they allow cats but don't regulate their care.

Thanks to the partnership between Leyden Woods management and Dakin, we transported 19 cats to Springfield for their spay/neuter surgery and shots. None of these cats has ever seen a veterinarian before. But that doesn't change the affection their families have for them. Bailey Gardner's "mom" cooed at his crate door as he was loaded into the van. She was, she said, practicing for the day she sends her son to college.

Tomorrow morning, the Dakin transport will leave Springfield bright and early, delivering the cats back to their families in Greenfield.

To learn more about Dakin's free spay/neuter program and other services, please visit www.dpvhs.org/snap/.

Help Dakin Win $100,000 in the ASPCA Challenge

Dakin animals need your help.

We are entered in the qualifying heat of the ASPCA $100,000 Challenge. In order to participate in the challenge, we need to be one of the top 50 vote-getters nationwide.

What will being entered in this challenge do for Dakin and the animals and people we help?

*We will be eligible for up to $100,000 in prize money that will help us help animals.

*We will have opportunities to promote Dakin in our community and beyond--helping us help even more animals than ever before.

*Most of all, though, we will have the pride of knowing that our community was among the best in the nation at saving animals' lives.

How can you help? VOTE!

Vote every day, once a day between now and April 15th. Just go to www.VoteToSaveLives.org, look up Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society (we're under "MA") and vote. You'll need to have a working email address so you can receive a confirmation email (you'll only get one when you vote the first time--after that, you'll be remembered). Confirm that email and vote every day, once a day, until April 15th.

Let your friends know! Post it on Facebook, Tweet about it, forward this blog entry, email all your buddies!

To learn more, visit www.aspcapro.org.

On behalf of Dakin's animals, thank you!

Dakin to Offer Free Spay/Neuter to Select Communities

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society has received a $199,400 grant from PetSmart Charities to be used by the Dakin Community Spay/Neuter Clinic. This grant will provide free sterilization for pet cats of low income residents living in the following communities or zip codes:

Franklin County: Greenfield, Orange, and Turners Falls
Hampshire County: Belchertown, Ware, and South Hadley
Hampden County: Holyoke, Chicopee, and Springfield (01104, 01105, and 01108 zip codes only)

Across the Pioneer Valley, more than three-quarters of the animals entering area animal shelters are cats. In 2010, of the nearly 6,000 homeless animals served by Dakin, more than 4,000 were cats. As part of Dakin's Three Year Plan to Adoption Guarantee, we must reduce the number of litters born to cats. This grant will help us assist those community members who want to neuter their cat but have no financial resources to do so.

Why these communities? Of the 75 towns Dakin served in 2010, nearly 50% the kittens came from only these 11 communities! Our plan is to strategically reach the people whose cats are most likely to have kittens that end up homeless. And our statistics tell us to start in these towns.

All qualified cats will receive spay/neuter surgery, a rabies and FVRCP (distemper) vaccinations.

Clients just need to call the Clinic to schedule an appointment at 413-781-4019. You'll need to provide proof of residency and of financial need. Assistance with transportation may be available.

Don't live in one of the "target communities" or need help with your dog? No problem! We can still help. Give us a call and let's talk about options!

Dakin Cat Colony Rooms Open!

Ever wonder what has been going on in the spacious, sunny lobby area at our Springfield Adoption & Education Center? The space used to be the lobby of the animal hospital that closed in 2007. When Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society purchased the building in 2009, we made it an immediate goal to convert this lobby space into cat colony rooms as part of Dakin's Three Year Plan to Adoption Guarantee.

Thanks to the generosity of the late Barbara Sullivan and the good folks at Five Star Building Corp., the new cat colony rooms are a colorful, sun-lit space with three multi-level living spaces for cats. This week, we moved the cats in and welcomed our clients to visit with them.

Not only does the space give our cats room to stretch, climb, and bask in the sun, it also gives our clients more room to sit and chat with our adoption counselors.

Come on down and visit!

2010 Year in Review: Community Spay/Neuter Clinic

Statistics from Dakin's first year of full-service operations in the Pioneer Valley are now available. To celebrate the successes of our first year, I'll spend the next few blog entries walking through individual programs and their achievements in 2010.

If there is one thing we do to save lives in our community, it is to provide high-volume, high-quality, low-cost spay/neuter services. More than any other service we provide, Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic will most effectively help us reach our goal of saving the life of every adoptable homeless animal by August 2012.

Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic opened its doors in October 2009, and since then Clinic staff have sterilized more than 11,000 cats and dogs!

In 2010, the Clinic served 9,498 animals. Of those animals, 75% were cats and kittens, while 25% were dogs and puppies. The Clinic has identified "target" clients: animals already homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. This means animals in the custody of humane societies and animal control agencies or the types of animals most likely to be in custody--namely cats of low income people, feral cats, or pit bull dogs. Of the 9,498 animals served in 2010, 89% were "target" clients.

Pit bulls are disproportionately represented in our region's animal shelters. While they may be only 3% of the overall pet dog population, they can account for as many as 50% of the dogs surrendered to humane organizations or picked up by animal control. That's why Dakin's Clinic will spay/neuter any pit bull or pit mix for $50. In 2010, we helped 424 pit bulls, or 27% of all dogs brought to the Clinic by the public.

Cats belonging to people with few financial resources are not only at risk of becoming homeless, but they also produce unwanted litters of kittens. Thanks in part to a grant from the Massachusetts Animal Coalition's Animal Friendly License plate program, we are able to provide $25 cat spays and $50 cat neuters for people who are on some type of state or federal assistance.

We provided Thomas J. O'Connor Animal Control and Adoption Center's animal control officers with coupons for $10 cat surgeries (including vaccines). The officers identified people in need in the course of their daily work. Together, we helped 28 cats and kittens in 2010.

Through our Pet Food Aid partnerships with the Amherst and Franklin Area Survival Centers, we sterilized and vaccinated 6 pit bulls and 54 cats at no charge to families who were struggling to put food on the table.

For female pets old enough to have had babies, a quarter of the dogs and half the cats have already had at least one litter. And many have had more than one litter--a lot more! Our record holder so far is Orea, a beautiful black and white longhaired cat who, at 7 1/2 years of age, had 13 litters of kittens before we spayed her. Although Orea is an "indoor only" cat, her powerful hormones led her to escape, find a male cat, and get pregnant...13 times!

Older animals who have had multiple litters are common at the Community Spay/Neuter Clinic. We have spayed cats around Orea's age whose people report that the cat has 2 to 3 litters every year--they just haven't kept track of exactly how many litters that was.

Says Clinic Director, Karina King: "The Clinic's work ties in with Dakin's Adoption Center work in many ways. Adoption Center staff often walk clients over to the Community Spay/Neuter Clinic's desk once they learn that the clients want to surrender their male cats for spraying or because they can't deal with anymore litters but can't afford surgery. We are able to provide them with spay/neuter they can fit into their budget. It's win-win-win: the pet gets to stay at home instead of being surrendered; the client gets to keep her beloved pet (we get lots of tears of joy!), and the Adoption Center has one less animal they need to care for and re-home. Adoption Counselors also bring over clients who are surrendering litters of kittens. When we spay a kitten's mother, we know that the Adoption Center will have fewer kittens arriving next year."

Although the Community Spay/Neuter Clinic does not screen for income for non-subsidized services, most of the animals we see have either never seen a veterinarian or have not seen one in the past year. Only 22% of animals brought in by members of the public had seen a veterinarian in the past year and were current for a rabies vaccine (as required by law). Of those who have been seen by a veterinarian, low-cost vaccine clinics (i.e., PetCo, LuvMyPet) are the most popular veterinarian for our clients.

Only 4% of our patients are non-pit bull dogs whose people are not receiving state or federal assistance; 18% of our cat patients are not receiving state or federal assistance and can afford our already low price of $80. Most of these people have indicated that they called their veterinarian and could not afford the fees.

I make these last points, not because I think veterinarians charge too much for their services. In fact, I have a long relationship with a local animal hospital, love their staff, and happily pay for the excellent care my animals receive. But I also know that many of my neighbors are not so fortunate. For these folks Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic offers a real and accessible alternative for spay/neuter surgery. In fact, many local veterinarians refer clients to us who could not otherwise afford spay/neuter services.

We are grateful to PetSmart Charities, the Massachusetts Animal Friendly License Plate program, and many individual donors for their support of Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic. Without their generosity, the Clinic would not be the life-saving force it is. Please consider making an online gift to support the Clinic's work, today.

2010 Year in Review: Pet Food Aid Programs

Statistics from Dakin's first full year of full-service operations in the entire Pioneer Valley are now available. To celebrate the successes of our first year, I'll spend the next few blog entries walking you through individual programs and their achievements in 2010.

Dakin's Pet Food Aid programs began in March 2007 with an arrangement with the Amherst Senior Center to deliver pet food along with Meals on Wheels. In that first year, we distributed approximately 500 pounds of food. As recently as 2009, Pet Food Aid delivered a little more than 3,500 pounds of food, thanks to new collaborative efforts with other senior and survival center agencies.

But last year's food distribution blew the doors off our previous records: Dakin delivered more than 20,000 pounds of pet food to people in need in 2010!

We helped a broad range of folks--housebound elders, individuals with disabilities, low-income families, and people facing emergencies like house fires--through collaborative arrangements with more than half a dozen human service agencies. Both of our Leverett and Springfield adoption centers served as pet food banks, helping keep animals at risk of being surrendered safe at home with their families.

Here's how it all breaks down:

Amherst Senior Center Meals on Wheels: 2,263 pounds; Amherst Survival Center Senior Grocery Box Delivery: 617 pounds; Amherst Survival Center Pet Food Bank: 3,120 pounds; Belchertown Senior Center: 485 pounds; Highland Valley Elder Services Meals on Wheels (Northampton only): 2,781 pounds; Franklin Area Survival Center: 3,153 pounds; Northfield Food Pantry: 4,858 pounds; Leyden Woods Community (Greenfield): 652 pounds; Northampton Survival Center (started December 28, 2010): 140 pounds; Pioneer Valley Red Cross: 200 pounds; Leverett and Springfield Adoption Center walk-ins: 2,300 pounds.

Without safety net programs like Dakin's Pet Food Aid, many more animals--and people--in our community would be at risk of homelessness. Allowing an individual or a family to re-allocate money they would have spent on pet food to pay for groceries, medical bills, or heating oil helps keep families safe and together.

What's coming up in 2011? You'll notice that our partnership with the Northampton Survival Center didn't begin until the last week of 2010. We estimate the Center will distribute as much as 1,000 pounds of pet food each month, leading to an additional 12,000 pounds of food in 2011.

Where does the food come from? Most of it comes from people like you. You can make a gift to the Pet Food Aid programs securely online. You may also donate sealed bags of pet food (we are unable to use opened bags) to either of our adoption centers. We thank you for your generosity!

A special thank you to The Amherst Club for making a gift that helps us purchase much of the food for the Amherst-area programs. If you want to help the Club keep making this gift, be sure to attend their fabulous "Love Notes" concert on Sunday, February 13th. Proceeds from this event help fund projects like Dakin's Pet Food Aid programs.

Home for the Holidays

It used to be that animal shelters closed for the week preceding the Christmas holiday. Not so we could all go on vacation but so we could prevent people from adopting animals around the holidays.

The prevailing notion was that gift adoptions are bad things—impulse decisions that could ruin the life of an animal. We had this notion that people would be irresponsible in their gift-giving, adopting a six-month-old Rottweiler puppy for great aunt Madge or springing a kitten on allergy-ridden little Timmy. We thought people would just be too busy over the holidays to trouble with having a new animal in the house.

But we at the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society have re-examined these old myths.

Myth: Gift adoptions will result in the dumping of incompatible animals on animal shelters.

Reality: The statistics show that animals received as gifts are actually less likely than animals acquired by other means to be relinquished by their caretakers. In fact, it is unusual for the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society to receive an animal as the result of a gift gone awry.

Myth: The Christmas holiday is stressful and hectic in everyone’s life.

Reality: Not everyone celebrates Christmas. And not everyone’s household is Grand Central Station during this time of year. Many people stay home with only their immediate family or one or two other guests. Lots of people have a great deal of time off during the holidays (especially people on an academic schedule). This may actually be the perfect time to introduce a new animal!

Myth: Gift adoptions are based on impulse buying.

Reality: Many people put a great deal of thought into the gifts they give (remember, the thought does count!). Besides, people acquire animals for themselves on impulse all the time. Good adoption counseling should help to identify and prevent impulse buying.

Myth: The gift recipient needs to be involved in the adoption process.

Reality: This is true…to a point. Certainly matching many dogs may rely on pre-adoption introductions to all family members (and the family dog) to ensure everyone’s safety. But some cats and kittens may be successfully adopted as a surprise for other family members who want a feline companion.

Gift adoptions can go wrong if the giver does not take precautions to be sure the recipient of his generosity wants the animal and can care for the animal properly. After all, an animal isn’t a Billy Bass Singing Fish or a necktie. He is a sentient creature with a personality and needs. Think of giving an animal as being more like offering an engagement ring—you are offering your loved one a lifetime commitment. And such things should not be offered lightly.

Giving the gift recipient the opportunity to pick out her own pet may be a better idea than doing it for her. To this end, Dakin offers gift certificates. Dakin gift certificates are redeemable for adoptions or for any purchase from one of our adoption centers, our retail selection, our Diamonds in the Ruff thrift shop, dog training classes, or our Community Spay/Neuter Clinic. Just visit our Leverett or Springfield locations to purchase your certificate.

If you are considering adding a four-legged family member to your household this holiday season, please visit your local animal adoption agency first. You can talk to knowledgeable counselors who are committed not just to making a great match, but also to supporting your relationship with your new animal for years to come.

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society adoption centers in Leverett and Springfield are open Tuesday through Friday from noon to 5:30 (we’re open Thursday nights until 7:30) and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 4:30. We will be closed on Christmas day to allow our staff to spend time with their own families. Before that, we’d like to spend time with yours.

Pedigree Foundation Helps Dakin Dogs

On my first day back from a long holiday weekend, I was pleased to find an award from the Pedigree Foundation as part of their "Dogs Rule" grant program. Pedigree donated $653.87 to the Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society to help us get dogs adopted. You know what we're going to do with the money? We're going to use it to spay and neuter some of our adoption center dogs.

"But you already have your own spay/neuter clinic!" you say. Indeed, we do. Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic--which just completed its 10,000th surgery in a little more than a year--provides high quality, low-cost sterilization surgery for animals living in our community as well as animals in our adoption centers. But sterilizing adoption center animals costs money, and while we charge an adoption fee for our animals, it doesn't begin to cover the true costs of saving lives. There are the vaccines, the de-wormers, the flea and tick treatments, the antibiotics, x-rays, wound care, disinfectants, equipment, staff, electricity, heat, ....I could go on. Suffice it to say that every gift goes a long way around here!

So we'll gratefully take this generous grant from the good folks at the Pedigree Foundation and use it to help some great dogs find new homes. In the meantime, you might consider making one of these dogs your new best friend.

Super Spay/Neuter!

It seems like a superhuman feat, doesn't it, neutering 10,000 cats and dogs in just over a year? Well, the team of professionals at Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic made it happen! Wearing colorful scrubs instead of blue tights and a cape, the clinic folks today celebrated their 10,000th surgery.

Cat 10,000 is Victoria, a demure brown tabby who, at only 2 years of age, has already had several litters of kittens. Although she has lived the hard life of a free-roaming cat, a kind person has taken her in and, after spaying her, will find Victoria a new home. Most importantly, Victoria will never again bring kittens into a world where there are already far too many.

Here are some quick facts about Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic:

*75% of the animals we serve are cats; 25% are dogs.

*Of the dogs we serve, 1 in 4 is a pit bull or pit bull mix. Pit bulls also comprise 30-50% of the dogs entering animal shelters or animal control agencies in our region so even though they are only 3%of the overall dog population, pit bulls are the dogs most at risk of becoming homeless in our community. The Community Spay/Neuter Clinic will neuter any pit bull or pit mix for only $50.

*Of the cats we serve, more than 70% have never received veterinary care. Of those few cats who have received veterinary care, most of them received that care at a low-cost vaccine clinic.

*Many of the female cats we see have already had more than one litter of kittens....which is why we will spay any cat who is at least 8 weeks old and weighs at least 2 pounds. Cats can come into heat and become pregnant as early as 4-5 months of age. Waiting until 6 months or a year to spay a female cat may lead to unwanted kittens.

*Although our prices are already very low, we have additional assistance programs for people who may not be able to afford surgery. If you or someone you know receives state or federal aid, we will spay or neuter your cat for only $25. Feed feral cats in Holyoke? We'll neuter your Holyoke ferals for only 10 bucks. Call us at 413-781-4019 or email spay@dpvhs.org for more information.

How can we afford to do this? Some of the fees we charge for services help to off-set some of our expenses. But the truth is that we do it with some small grants and through the generosity of individual donors like you. Please consider giving generously to Dakin's Community Spay/Neuter Clinic.

Dogs Deserve Better

When I was growing up in Ohio, it was commonplace to chain our dogs to doghouses. Most of them had no more than three or four feet of chain. Buck, my dad’s Brittany spaniel, lived his entire life at the end of that chain, within four feet of his doghouse.

It was my job to feed and water Buck every day after school. I dreaded this chore. Because Buck was so desperate for any type of warmth or contact, he lunged against his chain and jumped on me. His paws were inevitably muddied with the feces and filth that surrounded his little wooden doghouse. After shoving him off me, sometimes pulling him off by his thick leather collar, I righted his bowls and filled them. Then I walked away. The whole process couldn’t have given Buck more than thirty seconds of human contact. Once a day. For sixteen years.

While my childhood was longer ago than I care to admit, and dog care practices have come a long way since then, many dogs in our community continue to live their lives on the end of chains.

Such an existence is bleak beyond compare. Like Buck, most chained dogs have little room to move. Their once grassy area turns quickly to beaten dirt or mud. Their chain frequently becomes tangled or tips over food and water bowls. Their doghouses are often inadequate against the elements. And perhaps worst of all, they are socially isolated.

Like humans, dogs are social creatures. Even in their domesticated state, dogs crave the companionship of other pack members. When dogs don’t have other dogs to hang out with, they create pack members wherever they can find them—more often than not with us humans. Keeping a dog alone on the end of a chain frustrates this intense need for companionship.

When a dog lives his life on the end of a chain or in a small pen, he is often neglected in many other important ways. Chained dogs are less likely to receive adequate nourishment, shelter, or veterinary care. In fact, it is hard for many dog lovers to understand why people who chain their dogs have a dog at all.

If you know a dog who lives chained or penned, it is possible to help. Visit Dogs Deserve Better for ideas on how to compassionately approach people who chain their dogs. You can also learn how to work for legislation in your community that will prohibit or restrict this cruel practice.

In fact, residents of the Town of Amherst will debate a proposed bylaw at their fall town meeting this week. The bylaw would place limits on the ways outdoor dogs can be confined, including banning the use of heavy, short chains. The bylaw also prohibits any but working dogs from being confined outdoors at night. Based on similar ordinances in Greenfield and East Longmeadow, the Amherst proposal was initiated by citizens who care about dogs.

As I write this entry, my dogs are curled up next to me on the couch or snoring away on soft beds near the woodstove. Though it is a cold November evening, many dogs in our community are not so fortunate.

New Dakinmobile Hits the Road!

In late September, our friends at Five Star Building Corp. put on the third annual Dakin Five Star Charity Golf Tournament at The Orchards in South Hadley. Golfing teams showed up bright and early on a clear, cool autumn day to have fun and help animals.

Thanks to Dakin board member, Kevin Perrier, and his team at Five Star, the tournament's sponsors, and the golfers, Dakin now has a shiny new van!

A spacious Ford Econoline 350, the new van is an integral part of the second year of Dakin's Three Year Plan to Adoption Guarantee. This is the year our Community Spay/Neuter Clinic begins transporting animals from outlying areas to Springfield for surgery.

We are grateful to everyone who made this year's golf tournament a success!

Every Buddy Needs Somebody

The theme of this year's Dakin summer fund drive was "Every buddy needs somebody." Our goal? Raise $15,000 for the Buddy Fund--the emergency medical fund that provides extraordinary care to the sick or injured homeless animals who enter our adoption centers.

Named after Buddy, a young shepherd mix who needed the special attention of a veterinary cardiologist, the Buddy Fund provides care for animals like Big Raul, a Chihuahua mix whose car accident led to the amputation of one of his rear legs. Visitors to Northampton have probably seen little black and tan Raul (now named Cheese Wagstaff) happily hopping around the city streets with his new family.

The Buddy Fund is an essential element to achieving Dakin's goal of Adoption Guarantee by August 2012. As the Pioneer Valley's only non-profit humane society, we rely on the generosity of our supporters to help animals in need. In fact, Dakin's Springfield Adoption & Education Center is currently playing host to Buddy Fund recipient, Bailey.

While big, red Doberman mix Bailey may appear to have little in common with tiny Raul, they both took on traffic and lived to tell about it. Bailey's front leg was broken in an encounter with a car. Thanks to Buddy Fund donors and Dakin adoption center veterinary staff, Bailey is on the mend....and in search of his new family.

Speaking of families...we recently heard from Buddy's people. Adopted in 2007, Buddy, now named Monty, is a star of another kind. His new guardians, Hayley and Adam, are actors with Ashfield's Double Edge Theatre. Monty even had a cameo in this summer's production of The Firebird.

To date, the summer fund drive has raised more than $23,000 to help sick and injured homeless animals. It's never too late to help save a life. Please consider making your gift today.

When the Internet Bites Back

A member of our Dakin Board of Directors just forwarded me one of those standard African nation phishing scam emails (you know, they need you to wire money to the Nigerian prime minister's account to help him out of a bad spot). But this one had a new and interesting twist: the scammer, George, is talking about pets. He writes:

Hello Seller, I got your contact as i was searching for a lovely pet to buy for our interested buyer is there i saw your advertisement that you have this particular one available under your possession to sell out.

I need puppy and breeds with a lovely bull dog or cat, please let me know the one that you have available to sell out, send me your list and the prices so i can select, or let me know if you have only this one you advertise.

I am the sales representatives of my company we have store in both UK and Ghana west Africa, my financial manager is ready to apy you through Money order and once you confirm your money in your bank in your hands i will give you the shipping information, but please let me know if you will handle the shipment , or i will handle it. Send down your full information with the price of your pet , your full names with your full address and your phone number for communications.

George
DEVTRACO

My first thought was that no one would fall for someone who needs puppies to breed with bulldogs or cats (!). But what if you had an ad in the paper or online trying to find a new home for an animal and you received this message? What if you weren't terribly computer literate? Certainly no animal would come to harm, but your bank account would be cleaned out in no time.

The Internet has been an incredible resource for the animal welfare movement. Not only can we showcase our adoptable animals, but we can communicate inexpensively with our constituents, mobilize them quickly to action, and raise much-needed funds to help animals.

But the Internet has a darker side, too. Not only is it a place where scam artists like "George" can prey on naive users, it's a place where animal hoarders, puppy millers, and abusers can present themselves as rescuers, responsible breeders, and law-abiding animal lovers.

In 2007, Maine animal welfare officials served a search warrant on J'aime Kennels of Buxton, ME, seizing more than 250 dogs found in horrifying conditions. I witnessed this tragedy first hand when I joined a small Dakin team that helped care for the dogs on site as the case began its long path through the court system. What was as nearly as disturbing as the herding breed dogs driven to insanity by constant confinement, the lapdogs living in their own excrement, and the puppies so covered with flies they did not, at first, appear to be white dogs, was that J'aime Kennels had a wonderful website. An unsuspecting dog lover looking for a particular breed of dog could search, for example, for French bulldog breeders and discover that J'aime would ship "hand-raised puppies" anywhere in the United States (while their website is now disabled, they still appear on other websites as "reputable" breeders).

At a Dakin event not long ago, I met a woman with two adorable Shih Tzus. She told me she bought them over the Internet from a breeder in "the Midwest." She never saw their parents, she never saw where they were raised, and she trusted the website and the person on the other end of the phone completely. She now has two lovely young dogs. I can almost guarantee you that the parents of those two lovely dogs live in squalor and loneliness somewhere in the Midwest.

People who would no sooner support such puppy mills by shopping at a pet store for their new dog often think nothing of buying a puppy over the Internet...from often the very puppy mills supplying the pet store trade. The growth in Internet puppy sales from breeding mills has increased as retail store sales have declined. Why? Puppy millers can avoid middle men--and often state and federal regulations--by selling directly to consumers.

So what are you to do when you can't find the puppy of your dreams at your local animal adoption center?

First, consider talking to the adoption center staff about breed specific rescue agencies. They can also help you negotiate adoption websites like Petango.com or Petfinder.com.

If you have your heart set on a puppy, be sure to research reputable and humane breeders. In our region, the Pioneer Valley Kennel Club could be a terrific resource. A reputable breeder can be identified as someone who does the following:

*Specializes in one breed of dog. Any website or advertisement that advertises "Yorkies! Poodles! Frenchies!" will likely lead you to a puppy miller, breeding dogs with little regard for their health or well-being.

*Considers the health and well-being of their dogs by breeding infrequently and performing all necessary screening to be sure they are not passing on poor genetic characteristics.

*Requires the surgical sterilization of the pet you adopt.

*Will allow you to see where the puppies and the parents are being raised. If you cannot see the kennels, don't buy the dog. Do not accept photographs as an alternative.

Remember that AKC paperwork is not a stamp of sound health or temperament. The AKC does little to regulate unscrupulous breeders and will sell registration papers to anyone who can prove the consistency of their dog's bloodlines--for good or ill.

Of course, because this is a humane society blog, I'm going to make one more plug for adopting a rescued dog. My life is enriched immeasurably by the four dogs and two cats with whom I share my home. They are funny, clever, heartwarming, loud, messy, and lovable. Above all else, we found each other at the adoption center. You can, too.

It's Raining Cats and...Cats!

In June we celebrate Adopt a Shelter Cat Month...and none too soon! Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society currently has nearly 300 animals in its care--most of them cats and kittens.

More than 100 kittens and their mothers are frolicking in the spare bedrooms of our foster volunteers, while still others await sterilization surgery at the Dakin Community Spay/Neuter Clinic prior to going up for adoption.

And, oh the cats and kittens in our adoption areas! Longhairs, shorthairs, calicos, Siamese mixes, giant Maine coon-types, and classic tabbies. We have ginger cats and black panthers, stunning blue-eyed beauties and Holstein-spotted troublemakers. Fat cats, svelte cats, polydactyl cats and cats with no claws at all. If you can't find a cat at our Springfield or Leverett adoption centers, my friend, you aren't looking for a cat.

We have cats who have never met a stranger and cats who will spend the first week hiding under your bed (before deciding you're okay). We have cats who want to live alone and cats who love a party. We even have cats with special needs, like Annie Oakley, who is living with feline immunodeficiency virus.

In our Springfield Adoption Center, we have office cats: cats too stressed by the hustle and bustle of the busy adoption center to remain in a cage, but who have blossomed in the offices of our administrative staff. These lucky cats "help" our staff get their work done (if your own cat insists on sitting on your computer keyboard, you know what I mean), until they find their new homes.

We have so many great cats needing homes, that we are waiving the adoption fee on cats one year or older for a limited time.

What are you waiting for?

Holyoke Ferals Receive Reprieve...For Now

At last night's Holyoke City Council meeting, the council voted by a narrow margin (8-7) to send the proposed ordinance prohibiting the feeding and sheltering of any animals outdoors back to committee for public hearing. This was a good and important step, not just because I think the ordinance, as written, should be defeated, but because it gives us a chance to work collaboratively to come up with a solution that can work for people and for cats.

And if last night's meeting taught me one thing, it's this: we have our work cut out for us in helping people understand the plight of feral and free-roaming cats. And it's not just our government officials who need more information...sometimes it's the cat advocates, themselves.

The Holyoke ordinance came about because one individual, in opposition to pleas from his neighbors, orders from the Board of Health, and, finally, a determination from a judge, refused to stop feeding cats on his property in a residential neighborhood.

Unfortunately, despite this gentleman's best intentions, he was not responsibly feeding his feral cats. A responsibly managed colony is fed only at specific times. This prevents wildlife from approaching and helps to control colony size. It also helps the feeder identify new cats immediately so they can be trapped, neutered, vaccinated, and returned (or placed, if social). When feeding time is over, all dishes (except water bowls) should be removed.

Other elements of responsible colony management include: neutering and eartipping all cats, removing and re-homing socialized cats, keeping rabies vaccinations current, and working with neighbors to avoid creating a nuisance.

As animal advocates, we do ourselves no favors by not being willing to look at both sides of an issue and look for common ground. While I'm the first to agree that Trap-Neuter-Return plays an important--even vital--role in reducing the population of feral cats, protecting the public health, and making cats a more welcome presence in a neighborhood, it may not be the right approach every time. In instances where the owner of the property does not welcome the cats or the cats are threatening protected wildlife, we need to look at trap-and-relocate (much more difficult than it sounds) or fencing the colony to protect other animals (a solution that is working in other parts of the country). Check out these communities where feral cat and wildlife advocates are drafting mutually-beneficial legislation designed to protect all animals--feline, wild, and human.

Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society is committed to working with trapping experts, community cat lovers, animal control, and government officials in the City of Holyoke to come up with reasonable, long-term, humane solutions that benefit both cats and humans. Dakin can help by providing low-cost sterilization surgery for feral cats at our Community Spay/Neuter Clinic. We can collaborate with experts like Homeless Cat Project to provide training sessions in the community on how to manage a colony--including trapping, feeding, sheltering, vaccinating, and working with neighbors.

If we choose not to work together to find a creative solution for feral and free-roaming cats, we don't have anything to lose. But the cats do.

Holyoke Homeless and Feral Cat Ordinance is Pending

Because I could not possibly say this better myself, I'm asking you to click on this link to the MSPCA's advocacy page to learn more about how you can help cats in Holyoke.
Holyoke Homeless and Feral Cat Ordinance is Pending

Rescue Waggin' Comes to Town!

At 5:00 Thursday morning, two guys in a truck filled with 20 dogs set out from the Augusta Regional SPCA in Staunton, Virginia and began driving north. The guys are drivers for PetSmart Charities Rescue Waggin'. Rescue Waggin' saves the lives of dogs and puppies by transporting them from areas of high pet population (where they face almost certain euthanasia) to areas like the Pioneer Valley where adoptable dogs are in high demand.

While Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society has operated its popular "Dixie Dogs" program since 2003, our relationship with Rescue Waggin' is a new one. In fact, Dakin is the first New England animal welfare organization to become a part of the Rescue Waggin' program.

Rescue Waggin' partnership offers several advantages. In the past, Dakin staff have had to negotiate the arrangements with our partner agencies in the South. We had to help them understand our disease control standards, quarantine requirements, and behavior evaluations. With Rescue Waggin', PetSmart Charities assumes the task of training the sending and receiving agencies to work together. Not only do we have a standardized behavior evaluation, but we also have standardized paperwork and health certificates.

Best of all, PetSmart Charities works with the sending community to put programs in place to end overpopulation (spay/neuter!) while covering the transport costs for the receiving organization so that we can invest our hard-earned money in programs in our community that help animals in need (cats! pitbulls! rabbits!). Participation in the Rescue Waggin' program could save Dakin as much as $20,000 a year--no small sum when it comes to saving animals' lives!

The latest load of 14 dogs (6 of the 20 were dropped off at the ASPCA in New York City) will go through their state-mandated 48-hour quarantine period here at Dakin's Springfield Adoption & Education Center. At the end of that quarantine, we'll have our veterinary staff examine them, provide them with any necessary medical treatment or vaccinations, send them over to the Dakin Community Spay/Neuter Clinic for a quick snip, and then we'll split them between our Leverett and Springfield adoption centers. In only a few short days, this latest round of lucky Dixie Dogs will be living the good life in their new Yankee homes.

Whenever we talk about Dixie Dogs, we want to remind people of two important points: First, Dakin staff work very hard to make sure that we help every local homeless dog we can, including those housed at animal control agencies in our own communities and around Massachusetts. Second, wonderful dogs die every day in this country for lack of a home. It is our obligation to do everything we can to put an end to that tragedy.

As I write this, my Dixie dog, Howard, and my Yankee dog, Grampy, are snoring next to me. Who says the North and the South can't get along?

De-Vocalization Bill Passes Massachusetts House!

Thanks to the hard work and support of a grassroots movement of dog lovers, the Massachusetts House just moved forward on HB 344, An Act Prohibiting De-vocalization, as written! In an overwhelming 150-1 vote, the House moved the bill forward where it will now be heard by the state Senate (the lone dissenting vote was Rep. George Peterson, R-Seventh Worcester).

What to do today? Hug a legislator!

Call, email or most appreciated of all, send a hard-copy note. It doesn't have to be long. Thank- you notes are important, and not just because your mom said so; they help cement relationships with legislators, encouraging them to embrace future humane bills.

If you choose to email, put “Thank you for supporting H344!” in the subject line. Then write a short message, with your name and address. Constituents rule.

Please also thank the heroes of the day, who saved the bill, even if they're not your representatives.

They fended off amendments proposed by the Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association, which would have effectively killed the bill. If the following are not your Reps, don't bombard them with calls. Send an email (with "thank you for supporting H344" in the subject line) or, the gold standard, a note that you put a stamp on and mail:

Rep. Cheryl Coakley-Rivera, Rep.CherylCoakley-Rivera@hou.state.ma.us
Rep. Bill Bowles, Rep.BillBowles@hou.state.ma.us
Rep. Will Brownsberger, Rep.WilliamBrownsberger@hou.state.ma.us
Rep. Jennifer Callahan, Rep.JenniferCallahan@hou.state.ma.us
Rep. Gene O’Flaherty, Rep.GeneOFlaherty@hou.state.ma.us
Snail mail: State House, Boston 02133

Rep. Coakley-Rivera, from Springfield, made an impassioned plea for passage of the bill without amendment. She said, "(My dogs) are members of my family. They may not be search dogs who find people…or assistance dogs working with children. But they are special to me. (De-vocalization) involves monetary profit, not love of animals. (It) is inhumane and must be stopped. Most people who de-vocalize their dogs don't take the time and training. Little dogs have a tendency to yelp, it's their only defense. I brought my friend who has sat here for the last 40 minutes and not said a word. He gets love and humane treatment from my family. Please accept this bill as written."

Thank you, Rep. Coakley-Rivera! And thank you all the legislators who moved this bill forward!

What's next? The Massachusetts Senate! Stay tuned for updates on this measure as we continue to work to get it passed without amendment. Keep an eye on Dakin Pioneer Valley Humane Society's Facebook page for up-to-the minute news.