Kennel ChroniclesJune/July ‘11 - Volume 1 - Edition 1

News from Heartland Animal Shelter

In this issue…

Simplifying Kennel Rules 2

Thank You of the Month 3

Sick Sign Updates 4

Going Home! 2

Puppy Sign Updates 3

New Safety Features 7

Accomplishments 8

Adoption Sign Updates 4

Budet Program Updates 5

Hand Washing Reminder 6

What‟s New! 6

Safety Reminders 4

Walk of Love Reminder 7

Elmer‟s Visit 8

Elmer Stops by for a Visit!

Kennel Chroniclesis a bi-monthly newsletterfor kennel volunteers at Heartland Animal Shelter.Opinions expressed in the

articles are those of the

writers & not necessarily that of Heartland. Tosubmit an article or anidea, send an email to:

paulakristine89@yahoo.com

Simplifying Kennel RulesWe‟ve all been there before… You‟re walking a dog in

from a walk when suddenly you spy a child running loose

(which in some cases is worse than a loose dog) or people

are sticking their fingers in a sick dog‟s cage then

proceeding to touch healthy animals. The Sign and Safety

committee is working on simplifying the Kennel Rules so

that it‟s not overwhelming for families who enter our shelter

wanting nothing more than a best friend for life.

We are hoping to boil down the list of rules to a possible

four major points (like: wash your hands after touching a

dog, please supervise your children) and have those in a

visible spot for all visitors to see when they enter the kennel.

This will help everyone stay safe and healthy while easing

the minds of several volunteers. Let‟s face it – I don‟t want

to babysit your child and I don‟t really care if you get

rabies, but it‟s my duty as a volunteer to keep the animals

safe, people included.

Going Home!

2

Thank you of the month

This month‟s thank you goes to Ian S.! Ian cleaned up the dog walking area by trimming excess tree branches.

To suggest the “Thank you” for next month, please contact Paula.

(Her contact info is on page 2).

Thank you Ian for suggesting this topic, you have earned many thanks!

3

Puppy Sign UpdatesLet‟s face it. The puppies are adorable. I

can‟t think of one think of anything I find cuter

than a puppy. A lot of our visitors feel that

way as well. And even though we have

about a million “DO NOT TOUCH” signs, we

still have people touching them.

The Sign & Safety committee is proposing to

have a new sign made explaining to people

why touching a puppy is harmful to the dog‟s

health.

By giving a reason, we hope to curb people‟s

understandable urge to pet the puppies. We

hope that this new sign will allow people to

understand why we have this precaution.

(Above- the cleaned up walking path)

(Below- pile of branches that were removed)

Sick Sign Updates“Is this dog contagious? Can I

take him for a walk? Why does this

dog have a sign that says „Short

walks only‟?”

The Sign & Safety committee is

working on clarifying all questions

about blue carded dogs. Currently

improvements have already been

made, including signs that say “I‟m

not contagious” or “I‟m contagious”.

As a reminder, please read each

sign carefully. It‟s up to all of us to

keep a dog healthy. If a cage has

a “Do Not Walk Me” sign, don‟t pity

the dog. It‟s for the health of the

animal.

Look for more improvements on

this topic as the committee finalizes

new ideas.

Adoption Sign UpdatesYellow signs are everywhere. Some are for dogs who escape, some are for

dogs who eat their blankets, some are for dogs who are on a special diet,

some are for dogs who are getting adopted. Lost? I know I am.

The color of the “Adoption Pending” sign may change to green since we

seem to be over-flowing with yellow signs. I know I get hopeful when I enter

the kennel to be greeted by half a dozen signs only to find out maybe one or

two of them are yellow ones for adoptions pending.

To continue with signs that may change color soon, the “Staff Only” signs

may go from red to a neon color, like hot pink. This is to eliminate the negative

psychological connections people have with the color red which may keep

people from considering adopting that dog.

Safety RemindersHere are a few tips that have

come up in recent kennel

discussions:

Please keep your dog on a tight

leash when entering or exiting the

kennel. This is to ensure everyone‟s

safety. Sometimes the floor is

slippery and a dog will haul a poor

volunteer down the aisle.

Sometimes more than one dog are

going out at once and we don‟t

need a dog fight.

Please do not allow dogs outside

to drink water that has been left

there. It may warm up eventually,

which then people may start

leaving more water bowls outside,

but if you didn‟t put the water in an

outdoor run for that dog, don‟t let

the dog drink it. You don‟t know if

another animal like a raccoon

drank it overnight, or if a sick dog

drank it in another shift. If you want

to let a dog drink water outside,

please fill a bowl yourself and bring

it out for the dog.

4

Budet Program UpdatesFirst of all, let me explain to the best of my ability what

the “Budet” program is. Heartland is allowing interested

volunteers to buddy a dog for a period of time so that we

all can learn more about the dog. Budets find out all

kinds of information about the dog, what they like to play

with, how they walk on a leash and takes time to train

them as well. This is so that they can write an informed

biography on the dog to help all the other volunteers

learn more about their personality and habits.

To the right, we have a list of the current Budets and

their chosen dog. If you are interested in becoming a

part of this program, please talk to Christy Rivera during

one of your volunteer shifts.

The Sign & Safety committee briefly discussed how

interested families may contact the Budets. Below is a

form that we may use. Empty forms will be located in

convenient spots around the kennels and there will be

a designated spot for completed ones that Budets can

check during their volunteer time. An interested family

would fill in the name of the dog, any question they had

about it (Even “we would like to learn more about him/

her” would suffice) and the best way to contact that

family. A Budet would be responsible for checking the

completed forms drop box to see if they have any

information requests, at which time they would take

the form home and contact the family.

This would be used for serious inquiries only. Also,

if a dog was not listed on the Budet Program list, a

family could still possibly use this form because a

volunteer may know a specific dog very well without

being a Budet.

5

Current Budets

Previous Budets:Christy & Joann with ReedJessica with Chase

Hand washing ReminderContagious or not, we should all wash our hands between

touching dogs. However, going from kennel 19 all the way

to the sink and back can be quite a distance.

The Sign & Safety committee proposed to leave more

hand sanitizers around the kennel so that it will become

common practice to clean up before touching dogs.

Remember: even though a dog doesn‟t have a blue sign, it

doesn‟t mean it isn‟t catching something or recovering from

a recent illness. Let‟s all do our part to keep every dog healthy!

What’s New!

The shower is now equipped with

hooks to hold everything. If you

take something, please put it back

on it‟s hook. This keeps the shelter

clean and tidy! Thank you Mary H.!

The leashes have now been organized

and sorted. There are less leashes to

choose from but this keeps the

shelter looking more orderly.

6

New Safety FeaturesPlease look for upcoming editions of

Kennel Chronicles so that you may

familiarize yourself with our policies for

the use of the air horns, the emergency

cow bell and the emergency whistle.

Currently the whistle and the outside

bell are for use in case of a dog fight.

They will be used to alert staff members.

Although there is not a written policy for

these materials yet, if an emergency

arises, use them. A drill video on what to

do when that bell or whistle has been

blown has been proposed.

Please use the bell or whistle for now

until our air horn policy is approved.

7

Hogs for Dogs ReminderSave the date! September 18th is the day of the fifth annual

Hogs for Dogs! Don‟t miss it!

Here‟s everything you need to know:

Cost: Adults $25 n advance/ $30 day of event

Kids $10 in advance/ $12 day of event

(Adults are anyone over 12 years old.

Kids under 3 are free)

Group package (over 5 riders)

$20 per person in advanced

Time: 9:30-10:30 am meet the bikers

10:45 am first bike out

Location: Heartland Animal Shelter

2975 Milwaukee Ave., Northbrook, IL

Notes: All vehicles are welcome!

Ride ends at Side-Outs Bar & Eatery

4018 Roberts Road, Island Lake, IL

(Free food to registered attendees)

Elmer’s VisitOn July 1st, Elmer (now named Max)

decided to drop by Heartland and

say hi to all his old friends.

Greeting kennel attendants Tom

and Christy, Max wiggled and kissed

showing that even though he is

graying around the muzzle, he still has

a lot of love left to give.

Elmer was one of our longest-

staying residents, but eventually he

found a great home with adoptive

mom, Noel.

He keeps the neighborhood safe

by laying on top of a couch in front of

the living room window, barking

whenever someone goes by.

He visited us to get checked by a

vet so he can go vacationing with

Noel‟s mom. First stop: Kitty Hawk, NC.

8

ACCOMPLISHMENTSThis section will be used for all Hearltand alumni dogs to get recognized for

their accomplishments. Whether an alumni has completed the AKC STAR

Puppy program, a local PetCo training class or even just learned to sit at

street corners on walks, I want to know what incredible thing your dog has

done lately! It‟s awesome to hear about how many Heartland alumni go

on to do great things!

And to start this section of the newsletter, I‟d like to share that my own

Heartland alumni, Logan (AKC name: Logan Square Express, CGC, TDI) has

just been certified as a therapy dog! Below is a picture from the night we

brought her home (at just 33 pounds) in November of 2007 and what she

looks like today.