Shark Week, Puppy and Kitten Style

Baby animals of a certain age are adorable. Fluffy. Heart-melting. 

They're also basically sharks. Adopting a puppy or kitten is like having full-time Shark Week. Hear us out.

Are those fingers? Tasty.

Puppies and kittens are full of angelic goodness. They're also full of razor sharp teeth. 

I know not what you speak of. Teeth? I do not haz.

They're also, often, more than willing to use those tiny needles on inappropriate places. Much like a shark, puppies and kittens use their teeth the way most animals use their noses - to satisfy curiosity. 

I may look angelic, but beware of my bitey bits.

They lack any sort of bite inhibition - teeth are used as their primary way of communicating. Communicating what, exactly? Pretty much anything. "I want this." "Play with me." "MOVING OBJECTS." You get the point.

What's that you got there? I want it. CHOMP.

They can also be incredibly stealthy. One second, everything's quiet. The next, it's pure chaos. They can strike at any time, and you must always be prepared. 

They're right. We've got that "silent yet ferocious" thing down pat.

We're not saying you need to steer clear of puppies or kittens. Like sharks, they're just incredibly misunderstood. And there are things you can do to tone down the bitey-ness.

Bitey? Me? I beg to differ.

Kitten solution: Get your kitten a friend. They take out the craziness on each other and save the cuddles for you.

They....might have a point.

As for your puppy? Get that little maniac into a puppy social or class, stat. Puppies learn not to bite by playing with each other, and classes teach you how to teach them to take it easy with those chompers.

Woohoo! Tazmanian Devil time!

In either case, we've got you covered. Adopt a friend (12 weeks and older!) for your kitten for only $20 on weekdays. And check out our array of puppy classes or drop by one of our weekly puppy socials to get that mouthy puppy under control. 

Sounds fun, when do we start?

Because Shark Week shouldn't last forever.

Boogie Nights at HSSV

Remember our Kitty Karnival a few weeks ago? Our older kittens and adult cats misheard it as "Kiddie Karnival" and felt a bit left out.

What about me? Did you forget about me?

Their solution? Throw their own party.

It's our turn now. Gimme that thing.

And because nothing gets a cat going more than flashing lights on a wall, they decided the party should be disco-themed. 

It's Caturday Night Fever, baby. 

So what's the deal with older kittens and cats? Why all the fuss? 

Here's the deal: we'll admit, tiny kittens are adorable. 

Thank you for noticing. You are so right.

But they're also destructo-machines, shredding extraordinaires, and masters of all things chaotic. And to be honest, older kittens are just as adorable, and come with a fraction of the insanity. Case in point: 

Mind if I take a little nibble out of this sparkly shoe?

Somehow, though, they often get overlooked in the midst of kitten season (aka, the warmer months in the year when we're overflowing with those tiny, meowing beasts). They're a little bit bigger, sure, but they're also a little bit less curtain-climby (we said a "little" less. We make no promises about the future of your curtains. Or your shoelaces.)

And don't even get us started on the fate of cats during kitten season. Overlooked is an understatement, despite the fact that we have a zillion wonderful, well-mannered, non-shoelace chewing cats ready for adoption. 

So should I just wait for these horrible, tiny tyrants to make their way outta here?

Not at all. Because we have a case to make. 

First, older kittens are pretty awesome. Like Wellington, whose ear tufts are giving us a case of the swoons. 

What, little ol' me? I'm flattered, really.

And while he still gets a case of the kitten-wiggles every now and then, it's nothing compared to a kitten a third his age.

Or Buddy, who has a case of wonky eye but couldn't be more charming if he tried.

I'm more into that whole "inner beauty" thing anyway.

Sure, he loves to play, but he's starting to get the hang of the whole "attack toys, not hands" thing.

Then there are the adults. There are cats like Lilli, who, as far as we can tell, is the perfect cat wrapped up in a beautiful package.

Not to brag, but you're right - I am pretty gorgeous. 

She wouldn't dream of scratching up your new duvet cover, and is offended that you even had to ask.

If you're into more of a napping partner, there's Pumpkin, whose entire goal in life is to find the most comfortable spot to rest his head for a while. And by "a while", we mean 10 hours straight. 

Please, people, I'm busy. Can we do this later?

Your furniture is safe with him, although he may take it over as his new resting spot. But rest assured, it will remain intact.

The point is, we're chock-full of these amazing felines. And to sweeten the deal, we've lowered the adoption fees of all felines 12 weeks and older to only $20 during the week.

Great news. Let's boogie.

Why only on weekdays, you ask? Because we consider these guys "mood-boosters", and there's no better time for a little pick-me-up than during a weekday in the summer.

So get your platforms out. Pull on those bell bottoms. Do yourself a favor, and give in to the Caturday Night Fever.

See you this afternoon.

The Great 2018 Puppy Invasion

You may have noticed a new trend around here: 

The puppies have multiplied.

Who, us?

For the past few months, puppies have been raining down on us. And in the last few weeks, that's turned into a total downpour. 

First, there was the litter of adorbs meatball pups who came in with a nasty case of Parvovirus. 

Does this towel make me look chunky?

They spent a few days being looked after by our medical team, and then a few days in foster homes, and by the end, they came out looking like fluffy, healthy chunknuggets. Something like this:

Om nom nom.

Then there was Rolly, a blind puppy who came in with an odd but trendy patch of bluish fur (we think maybe she was sprayed with some sort of colored antiseptic).

I think they call this shade "periwinkle".

What she lacked in eyesight, she more than made up for in personality. No surprise here - she was adopted in less than a day.

Then there was Sandy. Sandy came in as a 6 month-old pup. She has a mild neurological condition that impairs some of her vision and hearing.

Despite all that, she's a happy, fluffy, po-go stick of a girl. Oh, and did we mention? She's single and looking.

Then, there were the aptly-named "box puppies". 

These beefy pups were found in a box (but you knew that already, didn't you?) outside one of our regional rescue partner shelters. They asked if we could take them in, and after one look at those chunky, wiggly bodies, we said yes. Absolutely yes.

The cuteness almost defies reason, doesn't it?

A few of these monster-headed pups have already found their way into their forever homes, but the rest are in the process and will be hitting our adoption floor soon. You'll find them here once they're available.

Why so many pups? Well, because as squee-worthy as puppies are, they can be difficult for shelters.

Because we chew up all your shoes?

No, pup, nothing like that. But you do require a lot of resources - foster homes to hang out in while you wait to get big enough to be adopted, lots and lots of supplies, and tons of food, especially when we have a lot of pups at once. Plus, we have to be super extra mega careful with puppies because they haven't been through all their vaccines yet. That means special procedures for handling puppies, protocols for how to clean to keep them safe, and rules about keeping them separate from other animals.

That seems like a lot of work. We're sorry.

Don't be sorry, puppy. We're happy to do it. Lucky for us, we have all those protocols and procedures in place. And our staff and volunteers are really, really good keeping pups safe and healthy.

Thanks, guys.

That's because for the past few years, we've spent a lot of time reviewing, updating, and creating new policies and procedures to meet the Association of Shelter Veterinarian's animal shelter guidelines. These guidelines help us keep everyone safe, healthy, and happy, including the pups. And last year, we finally accomplished our goal of meeting all 500+ guidelines, making us the first model shelter in the country. 

Remind me how this relates to me, again.

So what does this have to do with puppies? It means we're really good at taking care of puppies. And even though pups are super vulnerable and at risk for lots of different diseases, we know how to keep them healthy. We also know how to treat the ones who come to us already sick with things like Parvovirus. Which means we can help out shelters who get tons of puppies and need help.

That's cool, I like dat.

We like it too. So if you're watching our website or hanging out at our Milpitas ACC or one of our Neighborhood Adoption Centers and notice there seem to be a lot more puppies cropping up lately, now you know why. 

Want to help us care for all these wee snuggly buns? Puppies need lots and lots of stuff. They also need fosters to help them grow big and strong. And once they're all done sprouting up like weeds, they need people to adopt them.

One more squishy pup as a thanks for making it to the end of this.

(P.S. More of a cat and kitten person? Thanks for sticking with us. We have a promotion going on for the cat lovers right now: 50% off all cat and kitten adoption fees through Sunday. See ya soon.)

The Krazy Kitten Karnival is Here

The kittens have gone WILD.

They heard it was summer, and decided to set up their own Kitty Karnival to celebrate. And they haven't stopped going nuts ever since. 

We didn't do anything! We're perfect angels. See, look at my face.

But you did, kitten. You've been wreaking havoc on us. Jumping in the ball pit. Destroying the kissing booth. Massacring the stuffed prize toys. And just generally doing all kinds of crazy kitten-like things.

And now we only have one option.

Uh oh. Is this that "nuclear option" we've been hearing so much about? Are we old enough to know what that is?

Our only option left is to impose these crazy cats on the unsuspecting public. 

That's right. We're inflicting adorable photos of kittens playing, sleeping, and generally being unreasonably cute so that we can tug on heartstrings.

Look at us being so tiny and cute while we play with all these new fun things.

Why would we inflict these horrible images of tiny, adorbs kittens on innocent humans? To convince you all to take one, obviously. Or better yet - take two! They're small.

To up the ante, we even have a little extra incentive.

No, not this video (although it is almost painful to watch. The cuteness factor is high. Painfully, painfully high). 

It's a Petco National Adoption Weekend. This weekend only, all cats and kittens are only $20 to adopt. 

Plus, spin the magical spinning wheel for a chance to win even more discounts on your new furry baby's adoption fee.

(Go ahead, spin it. You won't look silly. All the cool kids are doing it.)

Did our tactics work? Great. We'll see you this weekend. 

And so will these insane kittens.

Best of luck to you.