Holiday Festivities with the ACHS

This week begins the holiday season, and leading the pack is Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, Yule, and New Year's. And it's always wonderful to get your pets in on the celebrations, as well as some safety tips to keep in mind for the upcoming holiday celebrations.

Coming up on December 9th is our "Santa Clause and Paws" event. For a $10 minimum donation, you and your beloved pet can get your photos taken with Santa Clause. You will recieve a four inch by six inch photo in a special holiday folder. This event runs from 4 PM to 8 PM at the Market on State Street (formerly the University Mall) in Athens.

All pets must be up to date on their vaccinations and properly contained under their owner's control by leash or carrier. Owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets, otherwise they will be placed on Santa's "Naughty" list and have to deal with a present far worse than coal.

There is nothing better about the holidays (aside, of course, from our Clause and Paws event!) than food. With very few exceptions, holidays are the time to indulge in some of the most luxuriously spiced and seasoned foods of the year. But these foods can also lead to illness when given to pets.

Avoid giving table scraps to your pets, and discourage guests from doing so. These scraps, particularly the high seasoning and fat content, can cause vomiting, diarrhea and in some cases, inflammation of the pancreas, also called pancreatitis. This is a life threatening condition that requires immediate veterinary attention.

But don't think it's just the meat that's a problem. Turkey bones, and all poultry bones, can easily splinter and cause throat or bowel perforations. Double bag the bones and keep them out of reach of your pets. If wild animals or neglected animals frequently raid your trash, avoid placing scraps and bones out until trash day, or consider chaining and locking your trash can lids to discourage these animals from coming to harm.

Those of us with dogs (and some particularly lanky and intrepid cats) may be familiar with the sport known as "Counter Surfing". Be aware that your animals cannot resist the call of holiday food any more than your Great Aunt Margaret. Keep an eye on them, and keep your scraps out of access, and you'll be fine.

Avoid allowing your animals to ingest alcoholic drinks. This may seem like a no-brainer, but to a cat egg nog can seem like a special treat just for them, and it takes only a moment before they are lapping away at it. Animals' livers do not work in the same way the human liver does, and allowing your animal to drink even a small bit of alcohol can cause some serious harm.

This isn't to say you can't let your animals in on the food festivities, though. Place a dollop of packed pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) on top of their food. They will love you for it!

Have a safe, happy holiday season! We hope to see you at our Santa Clause and Paws event!

Your Groceries Can Help.....

Well, not your groceries directly. If you are one of the many people in the local area who shops at Krogers, you can directly help the animals that the Athens County Humane Society assists. It doesn't cost you a dime of your money or Kroger Fuel Rewards, and only takes a minute or so to sign up for.

You can enroll online in the Kroger Community Rewards Program and help the Athens County
Humane Society raise money for the animals with your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you use your card in conjunction with a purchase of food or gas, the Athens County Humane Society benefits from it.

To enroll, follow these easy steps.
1. Visit www.krogercommunityrewards.com

2. Register for a Kroger account

3. Join the rewards program with your Kroger Plus Card
(Three easy steps)

4. Enter the "Athens County Humane Society" under
Organization Name (NPO Code will be 80074)

5. Spend, Swipe and Save...the animals!!

The money earned goes towards the low cost spay and neuter clinics that we hold every month, as well as the adoption of animals within the county. Tell your friends, tell your family!

Dog Swim Event!

We're happy to announce the first ever, first annual DOG SWIM! We've teamed up with the City of Athens' Parks and Recreation department to bring you this extra special super fun day. Are you ready for the details?

The dog swim will be held at the Athens City Pool on East State Street, in Athens. It will last from 10 a.m.until 2 p.m. on Saturday August 29. The cost is $5 per dog. Humans are free of charge. The event is rain or shine, but will be canceled in the event of lightening. The weather report as of August 23rd is calling for scattered thunderstorms. Let's hope they pass us by!

So what's the catch? You can't go in the water! That's right, your dogs can swim away the end of the pool season, but you have to stay comfortably dry and watch as they have all the fun. But what's a better way to spend the day than watching your pooch get some quality time in the water and make some new friends?

Vet records must be shown for all dogs stating they are current on rabies, bordetella, and distemper vaccinations. Any dogs showing aggression, or females in heat, will not be allowed at the event.

We ask kindly that when your pooch isn't in the pool that he's on a leash.

In addition to all this (Yes, there's more!) The Disaster Animal Response Team (DART) will be around to provide education and information about pets and disaster preparedness. Friends of the Dog Shelter will be there with some adoptable dogs, as well as a few of the Humane Society's own companion-less canines who will hopefully swim right into the hearts of someone who can give them a forever home!

This occurs on the same date and time as our Cat and Kitten adoption event, which will be held just down the road at the Market on State (formerly University Mall).
As always, check out our list of adoptable animals. At least two of our pooches will be at the pool that day, but I'll leave you guessing as to just who they are. Go check out all of our animals, they're all waiting for just the right human. Maybe that human is you?

A Great Week For Fundraising!

Thanks to all the hard work of volunteers, the ACHS has had some great fundraising success this week!

The Mom's Weekend Bake Sale made a total of $675.27, including food, t-shirt, Rufus photos, and catnip sales!! A special thank you goes out to Julie Tatge, Jane Smith and Char Rae who organized the event and worked ALL DAY in order to help make this sale a success. The photos with Rufus were another great addition to the day -- thanks Char!

There was also a great turnout at today's Puppy Palooza event -- over $500 dollars was raised for the dog adoption program! Luckily we had good weather, so dogs and owners alike had a chance to get outside and have a great time. Another special thanks goes out to the OU Coms 405 class that helped organize the event.

Awesome job everyone!! Stay tuned for more ACHS activity!