Parktacular Festival

On June 12th, Pet Haven volunteers had a great time staffing a table at the St Louis Park Parktacular festival. Volunteers spent time talking about Pet Haven volunteer opportunities and adoptable pets to passerby--they kept busy as there was a great turnout! Dogs Julius (since adopted - yay!) and Harvey did a great job getting people to stop by with their undeniable cuteness.

Thanks to the volunteers who helped spread the word about Pet Haven! It was bark-... we mean park-tastic!


Photo: Pet Haven volunteers - Libby, Carrie, Cynthia, Tiffany and Julius (who has since found his forever home!)

Adopted Dog Monday

Adoption update from the small dog division!

We at Pet Haven have been busy, busy, busy! In addition to continuing to strengthen our community outreach and relationships by participating in local events like Pride Fest, we've been adopting out dogs just as quickly as they've been coming in! As a volunteer, this is just about the best part of working with Pet Haven....seeing these once hopeless animals go on to loving homes in the Twin Cities.

Within the past week, Radar and Flopsy, papillons from People For Pets in Spencer, Iowa found new homes. These two were previously used as breeder dogs so getting used to family life has been a new process for them.

Shown above is Radar with his new family,Dad - Jamie, Sister - Kate, Mom - Kim, and brothers Fred (smaller Eskimo) and Juneau (bigger Eskimo). Here's an update from Jamie, Radar's new Dad. "Please be assured how dedicated we will be to making Radar one of the family. Equal to and with our other two. We will be patient, astute, loving, affectionate and determined to making him safe, happy and confident in our home."

And we can't forget about Chucky who had a line out the door at the last adoption event at Calhoun Chuck & Don's. Chucky is going to his forever home tonight so I'm sure we'll have an update on him soon!

In Memory of Jackson (formerly Jazz)

We recently received some sad news from a Pet Haven adopter who adopted Jackson/Jazz from us in 1996. It is always hard to lose a family member. We at Pet Haven, though, are extremely grateful for the second chance these beautiful creatures are given by our adoptive families. Thank you for loving Jackson and for giving him a wonderful life.


"Dear Pet Haven,


I am so sad to inform you of Jackson's passing. Jackson (formerly Jazz), adopted from Pet Haven in the spring of 1996, died on March 13th.


Jack was such a fantastic dog and he is much missed. I am so grateful to Pet Haven. The photo on the left was taken about 5 years ago at the Minnehaha Dog Park and is of Jackson enjoying the winter. The second photo was taken the day before he died -- he was sleeping in his home in Minneapolis. 


Thank you so much, Genevieve."

Twin Cities Pride Fest

Come down to the Twin Cities Pride Fest in Loring Park this weekend to visit Pet Haven's booth! We're excited to have a presence at Pride Fest this year, and we have a great location in the Pet Central area, adjacent to the Loring Park dog park. We'll have representatives there from 10-8 on Saturday and 10-6 on Sunday.


We'll be spreading the word about Pet Haven and recruiting volunteers. We hope to have adoptable dogs there as well for the the public to meet--the good news is that we're having such great success adopting out dogs that we aren't sure which dogs will be there!

Hope to see you there!

Adopted Dog Update: Tori

Tori came into Pet Haven's foster program a couple years ago from one of our rescue partners, Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. We recently got an update from her family ... looks like Tori is one HAPPY and SPOILED dog!! :) and as Tori would say, "as it should be!!" :)


"We adopted Tori, formally Torrence Chow-Tung, about two years ago. She came from Red Lake with a heartbreaking story of being found in a dumpster with her starved puppies... my husband and daughter and I made it our mission to spoil her rotten and give her the happiest life she could ever imagine. Mission accomplished! She quickly erased any doubts my husband may have had about inviting another animal into our house, she has earned a grudging respect from our three very elderly and grumpy cats, and she has even befriended the rabbit! She has discovered that marrow bones are an incredibly tasty treat and that bubbles are fun to chase. There are benefits to having a dog that we could never have foreseen, too, such as introducing us to a whole dog-loving community at the dog park, and being almost a sibling to our only child... the gentleness Tori shows when playing with her is incredible, and there never was a more patient dog for putting up with jewelry, tea parties and doctor check-ups.


Thank you to Pet Haven for giving us the opportunity to adopt this dog!"

Saturday Recap & Django (formerly Johnson) Update

Saturday's small dog adoption event at the Calhoun Chuck & Don's was wagging with excitement as potential adopters poured in to admire our newest intakes.

Chucky was the star of the show...he had a line of families waiting one after the other for the opportunity to spend a few minutes getting to know this cute little dude. So many great applications were received...Chucky will be in his forever home real soon!

Sweet little four-year old Mia also made her adoption day debut. According to her foster mom, she just loves to hang around the house, nap and occassionally sniff around. Do you have room on your couch for this little girl?

Not only did we have lots of adoption action on Saturday, we also got to see a Pet Haven alum who was adopted earlier this year. Django (formerly Johnson) stopped in with his owner to pick up some treats. Things are going great with the new family and they are so proud of the progress Django has made. Great to see you Django...we wish you all the best!!

Red Lake Adopted Dog Monday

Wow this is the best week ever for the Red Lake dogs in our foster program. We had five of them adopted in just over 8 days. Our boy Julius saved from the woods by Karen of Red Lake Rosie's Rescue-as were all of the dogs listed here-found his forever home on Father's Day. Julius is living out in Lake Elmo in a cabin like environment which certainly suits a dog from the country. He got along with the cat right away. And lucky for Julius his auntie is Danielle a trainer from Canine Coach. So if he has any questions about training his new parents he knows who to call.

Hunter now Mick has a cushy life in Apple Valley. He has a work from home mom, lots of woods to explore, and a deck just for lounging on a Sunday morning. This dog came in to Karen's with a tongue that had been badly burned. He is still learning how to use it again. Here is what the new mom had to say, " We left him home alone for a couple of hours last night and he was fine. Before we left we wondered if we should close the door to the laundry room where we keep all our shoes. Paul said "No they are mostly your shoes he can chew those if he wants". Arriving home there was one shoe in the center of the living room (undamaged) and it was a great big ol' mens tennis shoe. HA Good Boy Mick!"

Copper now Duncan lives with a Golden named Cooper-hence the name change. He has kept his new parents busy trying to figure out how to keep him from climbing the fence. Duncan seems to think the grass is greener, the people are more friendly, and the squirrels much more interesting on the other side. Sometimes the rez dogs take a bit to settle into city life. Stay tuned for photos of Duncan's new hairdo. The groomer worked on his coat for over two hours.

Zeke our little terrier mix went to live with a family that had adopted a Pet Haven dog in the past. The parents are retired so Zeke will not be home alone for long. And the 16 year old son has lots of sports events to attend with his new dog. Zeke has come a long way from living alone behind a gas station.

Shiloh found her new home with a friend of her fosters. He owns a natural pet food store and takes the dogs with him to work everyday. He has another rescue dog that is a bit shy too just like Shiloh-or Shy-bun bun as her fosters called her. Congratulations to all these poochies and their new families! Thank you for considering rescue dogs.

And a big shout out thank you to Karen Good of Red Lake Rosie's Rescue for all she does for the homeless dogs and cats on the Red Lake reservation.

Happy Father's Day to all doggie dads!

Captain, a handsome basset, would like to wish all doggie dads a very Happy Father's Day. He and Bob (a black lab retriever mix) got to hang out at the Pet Haven medium/large dog adoption event yesterday.  A couple of their doggie buddies (Zeke and Julius) were lucky enough to find a family interested in adopting them and have home visits scheduled today. And Pet Haven's small dog adoption event was apparently hopping with lots of applications coming in for Chucky, Flopsy and Radar! Stay tuned for more info!


Captain and Bob are just two of Pet Haven's many adoptable dogs ---- they love their foster homes and yes, they are getting pampered like crazy, BUT ... they would love to have their own forever family.

Today, though ... both these handsome boys wanted to let Pet Haven supporters know that they are aware it is Father's Day. They were busy surfing the internet this morning and found this cute video that they wanted to share with you ....

Happy Father's Day to all Dog Loving Daddies!!!

Adoption Events June 19th

Chucky a young Shitzu is looking for his new family. Come meet him and our other small dogs at Chuck & Don's Calhoun-3246 W Lake St-this Saturday, June 19th from 10-12.

Bob and other large and medium dogs will be waiting to meet you at the Richfield Petco-66th and Lyndale Ave S-from 10-12 on Saturday June 19th. Bob is "swimming" in a pool at Pampered Pooch Playground while his foster family is on vacation. Thanks PPP for helping Bob have some fun too.

June 14th transport

Cindy and I drove down to Albert Lee to meet up with the People for Pets transport van. Donna and Steph were waiting for us to arrive on a very rainy dreary Monday. But what they had for us brightened our spirits. And we did not even mind standing out in the rain to meet all of the new soon to be Pet Haven dogs. There was Mia the tiny but very vocal beagle.

Then came Frankie a spaniel/lab boy. He has been waiting since December to get out of the shelter. He still has some of that winter weight to lose but now he will be out for daily walks about town. Next was Captain. He is a gorgeous basset who makes you laugh just looking at his face. And he has a big face.

Last but not least came the puppies, Buster, Romeo and Louie. They are springer/beagle 12 week old boys. Thank you to People for Pets for driving most of the way. Pet Haven will take good care of your "cargo'. If anyone is interested in more information on these dogs please email us at dogs@pethavenmn.org. Thanks.

Adopted Dog Update: Gus has found his forever family

Gus came into Pet Haven in late March and I just knew he wouldn't be around for long. Gus has very good manners, knows many commands, had an infectious spunk about him and was just an all around good little guy.

We're so happy that Gus has found his true forever family. Not only does Gus now have great parents, but he has a brother Fin (who kinda looks like Gus...except black and shaved) and a 14-year old cat sister named Maisy.

Many thanks to Gus' foster, Ann, who took great care of him while he waited for his forever family to come along...we think it was worth the wait!

Pet Haven participates in community Animal Sheltering exercise

On Saturday, June 12, Pet Haven volunteers participated in a "sheltering exercise" conducted in Richfield. Shorty (white poodle) and Trixie (yorkie who her foster affectionately calls "prima donna") are both Pet Haven alums; and Susie (Pet Haven foster) were all volunteer animal evacuees. Erich and Sally (Pet Haven volunteers) were human evacuees. 

The sheltering exercise was sponsored by the Richfield Public Safety Dept and was unique in that it was a joint human/animal sheltering exercise. The scenario was that a severe storm had passed through the area and flash flooding and straight line winds left homes in a portion of the City uninhabitable. The human and animal shelters were set up to house the people and their pets who were displaced by the storm.

The animal shelter was at the Richfield Public School District's bus garage and the human shelter was across the parking lot at a school. There were also human evacuees who arrived with their pets and others who arrived without animals. The human shelter was managed by the Red Cross with the help of Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers and the animal shelter was managed by volunteers recruited by the MN Animal Disaster Coalition (MNADC) and included animal control staff from Minneapolis and other metro communities. The joint exercise was coordinated by Charlie O'Brien, an employee of the Richfield Public Safety Dept and President of MNADC.

The exercise lasted about 4 hours. The human volunteers without animals checked directly in to the Red Cross shelter. Those with animals first checked their pets into the animal shelter and then went to the human shelter to check in. We were allowed to go back and forth between the 2 shelters to visit our animals and take them for walks. There were about 30 dogs and one very brave cat in the shelter. A volunteer veterinarian was at the animal shelter to care for animals with medical needs.

 

A few volunteers were recruited to play special roles to test whether shelter staff knew how to handle special situations. One human evacuee pretended to become very ill while at the shelter and another arrived at the shelter acting very intoxicated.  Volunteers staffing the animal shelter were confronted with someone attempting to claim a dog that belonged to someone else and a person who was hysterical because they could not find one of their pets after the storm and had to evacuate without him.

The purpose of the exercise was for emergency management and response volunteers to practice procedures and learn from the experience to better prepare them for a real emergency.

Volunteers from other animal rescue groups also participated in the exercise including Pet Haven's partners in the Chaska Shed project, Carver-Scott Humane Society.  

Pet Haven's 2010 The Fast and the Furballs Team

Many thanks to all who helped raise donations for homeless dogs and cats and who participating in the Dogs Day 5K9 run .... for the second year in a row, Pet Haven's The Fast and the Furballs joined in the fun!!

As a result of our online fundraising we were able to raise $975, all of which will go directly towards homeless dogs and cats!

What a great turn out at the inaugural Dog Days 5K9 run with over 300 pooches, of all different sizes, colors and breeds! We had one foster dog, Julius, who joined us for the run. Volunteer Tiffany who begins training for the Twin Cities marathon today kicked off her training with Julius .... at the end of the run, all she had to say was "Julius was a perfect runner." Sounds like he was so focused on running that he didn't even want to stop for water breaks ... even squirrels couldn't distract this boy ... and best of all, no swerving or tugging on the leash!! Here's Julius giving Tiffany a big kiss after the run ....

Julius got to hitch a ride to the event with Ahnung (Pet Haven alum), who like Julius was rescued from up north at  Red Lake reservation. We believe Julius could be one of Ahnung's pups from a litter prior to when she was rescued. Ahnung is now a registered therapy dog and is protective of her "son" :) She says that Julius is the perfect dog and would make a great therapy dog. If you'd like to learn about 10 Reasons why you should adopt Julius, check out Ahnung's blog. She has a lot to say about it!!

Many thanks to all who participated in this year's event!! Without your support we would not be able to continue in our mission of rescuing and re-homing dogs and cats and reducing the needless suffering of homeless dogs and cats.

To view more photos from the 5K9 Run click here.

Transport from Red Lake Rosie's

Pet Haven's newest dogs arrived over the weekend from Red Lake Rosie's Rescue. Thanks to Carla and Shawn for transporting the four dogs safely. Zeke, white American Eskimo/terrier mix and Hunter, chocolate lab mix were more than happy to stretch their legs after the 5 hour drive.

Leslie and Carla walked the two little ones, Harvey, black and white Shitzu and Chucky, buff Sitzu after their long ride south. They both came into Red Lake Rosie's with very matted coats and were professionally trimmed down before leaving. Once their coats grow back they are going to be gorgeous.

Here is Chucky all reloaded up for the next leg on his journey to his new foster home. He even found a squeaky toy to play with and seemed ready for whatever was next.

Since arriving Zeke has been touring the city with Lindsey going to BBQs and kickball games. He was even the mascot at the last game. Still a bit timid Zeke is learning how much fun his life can be. He has come a long way from living alone behind a gas station.

Hunter, a 10 month old chocolate lab mix, is staying at Rescue Buddy Boarding. He is such a calm boy for his age and breed. He is housetrained and crate trained. A family that would include Hunter in all their activities would be great. Because of his young age he would do best if there was someone home part of the day. Thank you to everyone involved with Red Lake Rosie's for all you do for the homeless dogs and cats.

A panting dog is a hot dog: how to keep your dog hydrated

Keeping your dog hydrated is always important, but it is especially critical during the hot summer months. Dog dehydration can be caused by health conditions, heat exposure, or simply a lack of a readily available water supply. Dehydration in dogs needs to be taken seriously, left untreated, can cause multiple health problems including organ failure and death. It doesn't take long for a dog to become dehydrated, fortunately it's easy to prevent. Dehydration is an excess loss of bodily fluids. It most often involves the loss of water and minerals such as sodium, chloride, and potassium; collectively called electrolytes. Dehydration in dogs can be caused by illness (especially if the dog has a fever), exposure to extreme heat, and a number of other factors. A dog’s natural act of panting causes a loss of fluids and can result in dehydration if they are not replaced. Remember that dogs lack sweat glands to keep them cool. They pant in an effort to regulate their body temperature. A panting dog is a hot dog.

Preventing Dog Dehydration:

• On hot, dry days keep dogs indoors as much as possible
• Provide a constant supply of fresh water for your dog
• Keep multiple bowls of water around the house and/or yard
• Make sure the water bowls can't be tipped over
• Consider using kiddie pools, sprinklers and running hoses to cool your dog when outside on hot days
• Make sure your dog has shaded areas to rest under when outdoors

Signs of a dehydrated dog:

• Lack of elasticity to the skin
• Dry and sunken eyes
• A dry mouth and nose
• A delay in capillary refill time. (To test for this, pull the dog's lip away from its gum (gently) and press a finger against the gum until the area whitens. Release your finger and the color should return to the area almost immediately. A delay could be an indication of dehydration)

Treating a Dehydrated Dog

If you suspect dog dehydration, get it some water immediately and then get it to the veterinarian. Lots of water is the best way to replace fluids, but a severely dehydrated dog should not be allowed to take in large amounts at once. This will result in vomiting and a further loss of fluids. Instead let the dog drink small amounts over a period of time. Electrolytes can be replaced with a hydrating solution. Pedialyte, a water and electrolyte product sold for infants is suitable for dogs as well. Of course any dog that seems dehydrated or refuses to drink should be seen by a vet to determine appropriate treatment and whether the dehydration is a symptom of some other ailment.

As always, please consult your Vet if you have concerns with your dog’s health.

5K9 Run on Saturday

Pet Haven will be participating in the 5K9 run this Saturday ... watch for the bright orange t-shirts as canines with the companion humans come strolling or whizzing by!

We hope you'll consider making a donation in honor of your beloved companion animal, or in memory of a companion who has crossed rainbow bridge.

To make a donation, click here. You can make a donation to the main page or scroll down and select individual fundraisers.

On behalf of homeless dogs and cats, we thank you for your support!

Adopted Dog Monday!

Our girl Chica got adopted on Saturday. We are super excited for her. She came in as a stray from rural Iowa. She is now living with a wonderful family on 10 acres of woods, marshes, and flower beds.

The dad was not drawn to Chica at first. But after spending over an hour at our adoption event he could see how smart and alert she was. Mike her foster was doing his best with the Furminator to remove as much shedding hair as possible. That tool is amazing by the way.

Thanks Mike for taking care of Chica. This was one of our faster adoptions.

Kids last seen with Chica's new bed on their heads. Have a good life Chica!

Adoption Events June 5th

Pet Haven is having two adoption events Saturday June 5th from 10-12.

Small dogs will be at the Chuck & Don's Wayzata: 1147 Wayzata Blvd.

Large and medium dogs will be at the Petco Eden Prairie: 8020 Glen Lane.

For more information click here for a list of available dogs.

Support MN SNAP (Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program

On Saturday, June 5th, MN SNAP will be having a low cost spay/neuter clinic at one of Pet Haven's doggie daycare partners, Pampered Pooch Playground in St. Louis Park.

In conjunction with the clinic, Pampered Pooch is holding a supply drive for MN SNAP. For a list of what types of supplies are needed check out the MN SNAP website. In addition to what is listed, they are always in need of cash donations and gas cards from Holiday or SuperAmerica. Please consider stopping by Pampered Pooch on Saturday, June 5th to check it out and to drop off a donation for MN SNAP. Together, we can put an end to the needless suffering and death of homeless animals.

Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program's Mission:

It is our mission to end the suffering and death of homeless animals due to pet overpopulation by providing high-quality, affordable, and accessible spay and neuter services to MN shelters, rescue organizations, and the low-income community.