Guess Who Just Erased Your Quarterly Report? The Magic Mojo of Rachel's Desk.

This is Rachel. Hi Rachel.

This is actually 'Fancy Rachel'. 

She doesn't usually dress like this, nor does she usually stand in front of fishbowls full of money. That was just for our yearly gala. Rachel is our Development Manager. She works with corporate volunteer groups*, organizes events and does about a million other things. Mostly she does things from her cube and not from behind a fishbowl full of money while wearing an evening gown. Because that would be difficult and awkward and with all the dog hair here at the shelter the cleaning bills would just be outrageous.

Don't worry, there's a pet bit coming up here. We promise.

In addition to doing her usual work, Rachel puts up with a lot. Bits of her salad get stolen. She gets nearly gassed out of her office. Her shoelaces refuse to stay tied. And she's lost a lot of desk space. Why?

Hope you saved that spreadsheet because I'm on a cable-yanking rampage.

Because Rachel has the most adorable, most fun, most inconsiderate office mates in the world. Rachel's desk doubles as kitten housing.

You put receiver back on, I knock receiver off. And give adorable innocent look.

Just for one kitten at a time, thank dog. Otherwise it would be never-ending chaos.

Chaos? Me? Slander!

Office cats are not a new thing. Some cats, stressed by the shelter, have needed a little quieter space and been housed in staff offices. Carol Novello, our president, has had a bunch of them. Kittens, aside from staff's various fosters, have traditionally not. Due to an unusually overwhelming kitten season our animal care staff found themselves tight on space and looking for new solutions. Solutions like leaving surprise kittens on Rachel's desk. 

It all started when she came in one Monday and found a sneezy little orange kitten parked next to her phone with a note.

A sneezy kitten considerate enough to leave a note. 

It was tough writing without opposable thumbs but I made it work.

 Within five hours of finding his way to Rachel's desk, Clint The Sneezy Kitten was adopted out. After Clint came George The Shy Kitten.

Now don't move so I can sleep. 

Despite being shy, George also followed an accelerated trajectory into the arms of a new adopter. 

Within hours his spot on the desk was occupied by Stella the Relatively Normal Kitten.

I promise I'm not going to knock this Starbucks beverage all over the floor. Seriously.

Zoom. Out the door. Only to be replaced by Pee Wee The Stinky Kitten.

I can haz Febreze?

Pee Wee was a delightful little guy though a bit gassy from the canned food. Even with his fragrance issue, he too was rapidly snapped up into a loving home. 

Which leads us to believe that Rachel's desk has some crazy sort of mojo. The only way to test it, of course, is to cleverly plant other office kittens on the desk of other unsuspecting staff. In the mean time, we'll keep you posted on who has moved on to Rachel's desk.

While you're all hepped up on kitties, please remember that we're up to our ears in the little muffins and we really do need your help. Kitten rental is still going strong - we've got all sorts of hungry little guys who want to have dinner at your house. 

Turbo nom.

Or, if you're ready to commit, Free Feline Fridays are raging on. Adoption fees are waived on all cats and kittens every Friday through August 14th.

The long and short of it is that you should really stop in. 

*Yes, Yahoo. We're talking about you. And you, too, Cisco and Dell, too. And all of our other awesome corporate volunteers. 

Three Unruly Puppies Debunk Common Misconceptions About Animal Shelters.

This is Jessie, Dorie and Evie. And they need to talk to you about something. 

They love to talk. This isn't unusual as they're puppies which means making noise, pooping in shoes and wreaking havoc is sort of what they do. 

Do you have a shoe? I just ate breakfast. 

They want to chat with you about a few misconceptions about animal shelters that might have kept you from coming to see us and meeting our pooches. They're just going to jump on in here as we need to get this cleared up. 

1) Shelters are sad places. If you visited one, you'd want to take all the pets home and would leave depressed. 

I belly flop on that nonsense. And on my siblings. Because I can. 

We're not doubting this used to be true. In some places it probably still is. But a shelter is like an airport, really. It's the place where good things start. Dogs here, and in many other shelters, get a lot of attention and love. We have an army of volunteers and staff that love on the animals, spacious rooms and yards to go out in. Is it as good as a home? No. But it's not a bad place to wait until a home comes along. A nice home. Like yours.

Plus any place that has Puppy Wrestlemania occurring on their premises can not be considered sad. Seriously.

2) Shelters are full of broken animals. 

I'm sorry - who are you calling broken??

The biggest reason that animals wind up in shelters has nothing to do with the animals - it has to do with the owner having lifestyle changes. Those horrifying pictures of abused and neglected dogs you see on tv? Those are the exceptions which is why they put them on the news. If every dog that turned up in shelters had been through horrific circumstances it would cease to be news. Thank dog we don't live in that world.

The majority of our pets came from homes just like yours and are waiting to find a permanent home just like yours. Our kids that were abused or neglected? That doesn't define them. No one likes to be a pity case. 

3) Adopting a pet from a shelter is hard. 

Step back, Dory. I got this one. 

Dental visits are hard. Dealing with pesky in-laws is hard. Highway 101 between San Jose and San Francisco during rush hour? That's hard. Adopting a pet is a fun, happy experience. You get to play with all sorts of different dogs. Yes, you do have to talk to someone. No, our adoption counselors are not going to make you feel like some sort of potential pet abuser or interrogate you. We do want to talk to you - we love our pooches as much as you do and we want to know they're going somewhere great. And we can't wait to tell you about all of our great dogs. But no judgies. We know you're great - you found us, right? 

See this? It's a great toy. And I am a great dog. Sorry about the shoe. 

Now that we've cleared the air a little bit,we think it's time you stopped in.

See you later this week then? Perfect. 

This isn't what it looks like. I wasn't doing anything to him. I swear. 

All these little pumpkins were swooped up before this blog even had time to be written but we do have other puppies. Check out our website to see who's waiting for you. 

11 HSSV Dogs That Nailed Tongue Out Tuesday.

1) This overachieving teen pooch who decided to go big or go home.

2) This recovering sugar-pie who showed us there wasn't nothing wrong with her licker. 

3) Sly little munchkin Arthur who decided to show a little style and go for the pose. 

4) Pup-buddies Tristan and Maisie who decided to one-up Arthur on the pose thing. 

5) This rakish pupper who wears his off to the side. 

6) Confident fuzzbucket Moochie who was so sure he had the tongue-out thing in the bag that he had to laugh. 

7) Photogenic smooshball Sascha who knew he'd pulled it off better than Moochie. 

8) This sneaky little kitten-monster who thought no one would notice she wasn't a dog. (Cheater!)

9) Ambitious foster bean Alameda who knows you're never too young to steal the show.

10) This shy little fluffball who decided to give it a tenative try.

And finally..

11) Eensy-weensy little ham Muffy who wanted to show the big dogs how it's done. 

Fridays Are Happier With Free Felines!

People step up your kitten game! We are still drowning in the storm of kitten-palooza! So much so that we are waiving adoption fees on all cats and kittens away, every Friday. Yes, you heard me correctly. From July 3-August 14th, those Fridays will be blessed with free kittens.

Here's some of what you could be having shortly...

Bruce the adorable.

Vega our glamour kitten.

Bella

Pipsqueak aka "Pip"

Furrball

McGonagall

 Jacque

Okay I think y'all get the idea. We have cats and kittens, they're absolutely photogenic and need homes. Like yours.

Please come adopt them!  If you'd like to check out our other cats and kittens available for adoption please click here.

Avoiding Pet-mageddon: It's Almost The Fourth!

Oh joy. It is almost the Fourth of July. Every pet owner's favorite day of the year, followed closely by Anal Gland Expression Day or Give The Cat A Bath Day.

Give The Cat A Bath Day? That's not really a thing, is it? 

Pets hate the 4th of July. We understand fireworks. Pets do not. Which is why July 5th is for animal shelters what Black Friday is for retail outlets - the busiest day of the year. Only without the presents, the profits and the people beating each other over $2 waffle irons.* But July 5th still is bedlam - a mess of lost, terrified pets and heartbroken owners. 

They were fighting over waffle irons? Seriously? 

Why? Because when things start blowing up, pets run. It doesn't matter where, how, or in which direction. They just flee in terror trying to find a place without the terrifying booms and bright lights. Having amazing hearing, this is nearly impossible as they can hear fireworks from miles and miles off. 

In general, pets are about as happy about fireworks as Mortie was about his new haircut...

This stinks. I look like a Chippendales dancer. 

Just add in a heavy dose of panic, terror, adrenaline and the sort of mad escape skills that only pets (and action movie heroes) can pull off. 

Some friendly advice for pet owners to make this whole thing go down a little easier:

Microchip Your Pet. 

To badly misquote Beyonce, 'if you like it then you should have put a chip in it'. 

Dance it out, kitty. 

Anything, when terrified enough, will get out of a collar. Cats are particularly fantastic at this. Chips help pets get home quickly by acting as permanent identification. It's not a doggy lo-jack but if your pet shows up in a shelter or is brought in to a vet, it's getting an immediate round trip ticket back to your place. Or you're at least immediately getting a call to come pick it up. Microchipping your pet is very similar to getting a vaccine - it goes in on a needle in a split second. We do it at our vaccine clinic. 

In fact, we so badly want you to microchip your pet that we even offer it as a walk in service at our Medical Center. No appointment needed. $45. Just come in. Hours are here. 

We love your pets so much that we don't want to give them three hots and a cot. We want them home safe with you. Take us up on this. 

Contain Your Pet.

Let me out! Things are blowing up!!

Do not leave your dog in the yard or your cat aside. Do not leave them in the garage. Bring them into your house and make sure doors and windows are shut. Just because your pet hasn't escaped before doesn't mean they won't when the world sounds like Armageddon. And some animals are especially adept at escaping. 

Why is everyone looking at the me? It's the husky thing, isn't it?

Yes, Mailo. We are looking at your husky-licious little self when we talk about some animals being super adept at escaping.

Seriously, keep your pet in a safe, comfortable, contained spot until things stop exploding. A little white noise wouldn't hurt either - turn on some cartoons or NPR or something. 

Don't Take Pets To Fireworks Displays. 

No. Just...no. Is this even a question?

Seriously, don't. They won't get the same thrill out of it that you will. Unless by 'thrill' you mean 'holy deathly terror'. 

Watch Your Pet For Signs of Stress.

This is Louisa.

Hi.

This is Louisa when she is unhappy.

Help. 

This is another stressed pooch face.

It's the end of the world! Don't you touch me!

This cat? Also not having a good day. 

AAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHH!

If you see your pet making stressed faces, know that they are scared. Make sure they are safe. Be patient. Scary stuff, these firework noises. 

And if you see Vasona making this face, adopt him and cuddle him immediately. Because he is an adorable little love nugget and had some dental issues that necessitated some tooth pulling, leaving him with the cutest tongue EVER. 

What? I'm fine. 

We wish you and your pets a safe, happy Fourth of July.

And don't forget to chip your pet. 

*sadly enough, true fact.