Pet of the Week

By Amber N. Yoo, HSSV Volunteer

Remember Beauty, last week's featured pet? HSSV still needs your help to find her a family of her own, so they're making her pet of the week again! Can you believe no one's fallen for those big blue eyes yet? If you know someone who could use some extra sunshine in their life, please tell them about Beauty. She's an outgoing cat who loves to be around people. The time couldn't be better to adopt Beauty, because adopters can name their own adoption price if they mention the PawFurred Pricing promotion.

How You Can Help
Every week, HSSV asks the community to help find one special pet a loving home. There are three easy ways to help, and you can do them all from the comfort of your home!

1. Click here to see Beauty's video, then share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

2. Print out the Beauty's flyer and post it at your local hangouts.

3. Donate online to help animals like Beauty get the care they deserve.

How did you help the Pet of the Week? Post a comment and let me know!

Happy Tails: Monkey

By Jamie Emming, Satellite Adopiton Manager

At HSSV we all know cats are individuals, some will curl up on any vacant lap while others could play for hours. Our adoption counselor David had to smile when he looked through Lisa and Jeff’s adoption survey and saw “from quiet to gregarious” any personality of cat is “fine with us”. A whole range of possibilities for potential matches came to mind and he knew they would be leaving that day with one of our adoptable cats.

The couple already had a HSSV alumnus at home. Razzleberry, a 13-year-old ginger tabby had recently lost his cat companion of eight years, Indy. Indy had helped Razzleberry adjust to his new home and turned the scared little orange cat into a confident kitty. Lisa and Jeff wanted to bring another cat into their home for Razzleberry to continue Indy’s legacy of feline friendship.

David remembered a group of shy cats who had recently been surrendered to HSSV that needed some extra TLC. One of them would be a perfect match for a gentle cat like Razzleberry to coax out of their shell. Monkey, a one year old black cat, who had been described as affectionate and playful by his last home had become a little withdrawn. All the unfamiliar sights and sounds made him shy with new people. Lisa and Jeff slowly met Monkey, talking softly to him and letting him sniff their hands. Just this little bit of kindness allowed him to let down his guard enough to warm his way into their hearts. They took him home that day.

It’s been about a month since their adoption and the couple tell us they it’s “hard to imagine life without him”. While Razzleberry has been underwhelmed by their new addition, every once and awhile they catch the two boys rubbing up against each other. They know they will be friends very soon.

Are you looking for a feline friend? Join us this Saturday for PurrFest and take advantage of “PawFurred” pricing all April for cats and dogs (6 months or older).

Button Helped Me Battle Breast Cancer, Part III

By Melissa Lisbon, HSSV Volunteer

Read Part I and Part II in this series.

As November drew to a close, the pure joy and love of my foster kitten, Button, continued to help me through my chemotherapy treatments. Soon it was time for Button to be neutered and be brought back to HSSV for adoption. I knew it would be difficult to say goodbye to this special little kitty, but I was also convinced that he needed his own home and his own people to love.

The day came for my husband and me to load Button in a carrier with his favorite toy and blanket and take him to HSSV’s satellite adoption center at PETCO in Saratoga. It was a Saturday morning. HSSV staff member Linda Ngo and a volunteer were cleaning the kitty compartments, getting ready for a day of visitors. My husband and I lingered, chatting with Linda and making sure little Button settled into his new compartment. Linda was so kind; I knew Button was in good hands.

It was hard leaving PETCO that day. Button had helped me more than he knew, and now it was time for me to help him get the life he deserved. My only hope was that he would get adopted quickly.

Later that day, I went to look up Button on the HSSV website ... He was gone! Could it be true that in four short hours, he’d already been adopted? An email to Linda confirmed it was true! He didn’t even have to spend a single night in the adoption center. Our sweet Button had been adopted by a nice couple. Through Linda, Button's new family emailed us a happy update and sent many precious photos including the two in this post.

My goal in fostering Button was to prepare him for adoption. I didn’t expect his presence to have the healing affect it did on me. It turned out that his kitten innocence, trust and endless cuddles were just the medicine I needed to distract me from my health situation and provide comfort during a difficult time. While Button was our guest, I enjoyed every moment by focusing on the present and not being preoccupied with the future. As a result of this experience, I've coined a new treatment which I call "cuddle therapy." The power of cuddle therapy should not be underestimated!

I intend to foster again. I look forward to future foster experiences and know that, despite the short time our foster animals are with us, each animal makes a significant impact on our lives. The real benefits of fostering an animal in need are definitely a two-way street.

Have you fostered an animal? Post a comment and share your story.
If you’d like to learn more about fostering, click here.

Pet of the Week

By Amber N. Yoo, HSSV Volunteer

Meet Otis, an outgoing 2-year-old kitty who is always ready for an adventure. Check out this video introduction:



Will you help us find Otis a home this week?


How You Can Help:

The idea is to spread the word that Otis, the adventurer, is waiting to meet his new best friend at Humane Society Silicon Valley in Milpitas. So, share, share, share!

Here are a few ideas:

• Email this post to a friend
• Blog about Otis yourself
• Tweet all about him
• Post him to your Facebook wall
• "Like" Otis' YouTube video and share it with your friends
• Print out Otis' flyer and post it at your local coffee shop, library, work, etc.
  

If we each do our little part to help Otis, we can make a big impact ... and find him a new family! Interested adopters can head over to Humane Society Silicon Valley in Milpitas or click here to learn about the adoption process.

P.S. Remember Leonardo? He was last week's Pet of the Week and he was adopted!!

How did you help the Pet of the Week? Post a comment and let me know!

Button Helped Me Battle Breast Cancer, Part II

By Melissa Lisbon, HSSV Volunteer

Read Part I in this series.

It was early November. I was about to begin chemotherapy in my battle against breast cancer. It was a difficult time in my life. Then, fate brought me Button. Button was a stray kitten -- too young for HSSV’s adoption program, but a perfect candidate for fostering.

I contacted HSSV’s special needs department and was given permission to foster Button. Our extra bathroom was converted into a kitten nursery equipped with a small litter box, food, water, warm blankets and cat toys. After Button was settled in, I took him to HSSV’s medical center where the veterinarians examined him and put him on a schedule for vaccinations and neutering.

Despite the fatigue I felt from my chemotherapy sessions, the highlights of my days were spent playing and cuddling with Button. Like any kitten, Button was full of energy and always ready to play. I had forgotten how playful six-week-old kittens are. They play with such abandon and are never lacking in creativity. The same old ribbon seemed to get reinvented each time he played with it. Button's energy and enthusiasm was addictive and I found myself totally amused by his antics. His pure joy always put a smile on my face.


In quieter moments, we would often sit together. Sometimes, Button would jump on my shoulder and nuzzle my neck. It was as if he wanted to be close to my face to better express his gratitude and love. He was extremely gentle. It was during these moments of cuddling that I felt totally relaxed and at ease.

I remember a particularly special moment. It had been a tough day for me. As if Button understood exactly what I was going through, he crawled into my lap and settled in. He brought his face very close to mine and peered into my eyes. It was at this moment that I believed this little kitten knew I could use some comforting.

Outside the door of our bathroom-turned-kitten-nursery, I had many more treatments to endure, but the time I spent with Button behind those doors brought me a type of therapy only an animal in need could provide.

Read next week: Button is ready for adoption…

Button Helped Me Battle Breast Cancer, Part I

By Melissa Lisbon, HSSV Volunteer

As an animal lover and advocate I understand the importance of fostering. What I wasn’t expecting from the foster experience was how much it would affect me personally.

Late last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer. By the time October came around, I had completed surgery and was about to begin chemotherapy. It was a difficult and stressful time in my life, to say the least. But, a welcome distraction was about to appear.

The day after Halloween, a neighbor called me to share that a tiny stray kitten had appeared on her doorstep the night before. Weaving around a line of trick-or-treaters, this little guy had braved the darkness and noise to come straight to her door for help. She brought him in from the cold, but was not in a position to keep him. So, I asked to see him.

It was love at first sight. He was a medium-hair "tuxedo" with soft hazel eyes and the sweetest, most trusting demeanor. I named him "Button" not only because he was as cute as a "button," but also after "Benjamin Button" – looking into his eyes, I sensed an older soul.

I knew I wasn’t in a position to make a lifelong commitment to Button, but I also knew he was too young to go directly into HSSV’s adoption program. As a volunteer for HSSV, I immediately thought of the feline foster program, which provides cats and kittens in a variety of special situations with the nurturing home environment they need. Some kitties need to heal from an injury. Others, like Button, need to come up to proper weight for spaying/neutering and receive socialization.

I couldn’t resist. I decided to ask HSSV if I could foster him myself.

Read next week: How fostering Button helped me heal

Dieting Can Be Deadly For Cats

By Jennifer Bush, HSSV Volunteer 

One of the things I find so impressive about the Humane Society Silicon Valley is how much care and attention is given to each animal who comes through their doors. 

This is Oreo, a cat who came to HSSV last September. Oreo arrived weighing in at a plump 11.2 pounds. She was overweight, but in her first month at HSSV, staff noticed that she wasn’t eating well. Since arriving, she had lost more than 18% of her body weight. It is very dangerous for a cat to stop eating, so the staff admitted her to the HSSV hospital.

HSSV’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Julia Lewis, diagnosed Oreo with a life-threatening metabolic condition called fatty liver syndrome or hepatic lipidosis.  According to Dr. Lewis, fatty liver syndrome occurs when cats, especially ones who are overweight, stop eating or are put on a sudden diet. “Animals who stop eating use their body fat for energy. Fat cats have a lot of fat and this overwhelms their liver’s ability to use that fat effectively.”

When the liver doesn’t do its job, a cat may feel nauseous, which in turn makes her not want to eat, starting a potentially deadly cycle that won’t stop until the body stops metabolizing the cat’s body fat. To combat this life-threatening situation, cats need to get enough energy into their bodies in the form of calories. This often involves placing a feeding tube and an aggressive IV fluid treatment.

Oreo’s life was in serious danger. Fortunately, the HSSV medical staff took great care of Oreo, syringe feeding her and watching her around the clock. It took three months of constant love and attention before Oreo was finally eating on her own.  I’m happy to report that Oreo was just recently adopted and is maintaining a healthy weight of 8.5 pounds!

Remember, the best way to prevent fatty liver syndrome is to make sure your cat is eating an appropriate, nutritionally balanced diet. If you think your cat may be overweight, do not put him on a diet without speaking to a veterinary professional.  Your veterinarian can help you create a healthy plan to get your pet’s weight back on track.

Although it is okay for your cat or dog to skip a meal every so often, no pet should go without food for days. To learn more about feeding your pet, take a look at this information sheet or talk to your veterinarian.

Happy Tails: JIMI

by Jamie Emming, Satellite Adoption Manager

When animals leave HSSV their story is just beginning. I love going through our inbox searching for tales to share. It was one such email from an adopter named Robert that has sparked an on-going search for an elusive green toy mouse.

Robert adopted JIMI in December. Known to us as Dallas, the 8-month-old teenager was one of 18 cats we brought in from the South County animal shelter. Our cat volunteer Bea was on hand to introduce the pair while our staff member Amy finalized the adoption paperwork and set up the pair for success. Amy placed JIMI in his new carrier with a few of his favorite toys to make the car ride home a little more enjoyable.
A few weeks later Robert sent us an update, and like most adopters included photos of JIMI in his new home. What peaked my interest were a couple close-ups of a well-loved mouse toy that was sent home with the black kitty and a request asking where to find more of them.

Most pet parents have been through a similar quest to several pet stores and online vendors looking for a duplicate of a beloved toy or that special treat. Last year I drove to three stores to find my border collie a particular Tuff Toy because she had to have the sheep one before having it specially ordered through HSSV’s Whole Pets store.

As for Robert’s search, our adoptions staff has looked far and wide to locate another green mouse, but we do not know where this donated toy came from. Since we are out of leads, I am putting this out to our blog readers and asking have you seen this mouse? Leave a comment if you can help JIMI and Robert’s search come to a successful end!

HSSV’s Valentine Adopt-a-Thon – a Matchmaking Success!

By Natasha Dolginsky, HSSV Volunteer

The Valentine Adopt-a-thon this past Saturday was a blast!  Over 930 guests made it to the event, some looking for their “love connection” and others just hanging out with the adorable animals of HSSV and enjoying the sunshine.

Love was definitely in the air in the cat adoption room!  There were dozens of cats who had traveled from Itty Bitty Orphan Kitty Rescue, Unconditional Love, and Nike Animal Rescue Foundation and were waiting to meet their perfect match.  There was Anne, the gray tabby who generously went from one lap onto the next, Larry, a gorgeous tuxedo cat with a very distinctive purr, Spike, an adorable black 7-month-old kitten rightly nicknamed Cuddles who was getting his share of belly rubs, and many, many more!   Thirty cats found their love matches that day at the Humane Society location and at the San Jose and Sunnyvale PETCO locations.  All are now enjoying their new homes!

As folks were happily making their way home with their new furry family members, I had a chance to catch up with two of the families:

Terri had driven two hours to adopt Timmy, a 4-year-old adorable Chihuahua, whom she first saw and fell in love with two weeks ago.  She made the long trek this Saturday and was full of smiles as she headed back home to introduce Timmy to his new family.

For Fred, Paulette and daughter Madison it was love at first sight when they met Sid, a 1 1/2-year-old Chihuahua.   Sid stole their hearts with his contagious energy, playful personality and sparkly eyes.  It was hard to tell who was more excited, Sid or Madison, as both of them were nearly jumping up in place!  What a wonderful match and a great family portrait!

Didn’t have a chance to make it on Saturday?  There are plenty of cats, dogs and bunnies looking for someone to love. 

Also, check out the HSSV event calendar, to learn about upcoming events, classes and much more!

Love is in the Air at the HSSV’s Valentine Adopt-a-Thon

By Natasha Dolginsky, HSSV Volunteer

Do you have a special Valentine this year?  It’s not too late to fall in love with one of HSSV’s adorable animals at the 2nd annual Valentines Adopt-a-Thon this Saturday, Feb. 12. 

I’m very excited about this event because the staff are sweetening things up with a “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” offer on dozens of lovable cats (6-months and older) who can’t wait to cuddle up to someone special this Valentine’s day. If you’re looking for a non-feline four-legged friend, there’ll be plenty of dogs, bunnies, hamsters, and chinchillas to steal your heart.

The Valentine Adopt-a-Thon is happening this Saturday, Feb. 12 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the HSSV’s Animal Community Center and its two satellite locations in PETCO Sunnyvale and PETCO San Jose.  The event is free, no RSVP is required and you’ll be able to “Name Your Own Adoption Fee” for an adult cat at any of these three locations.

If you’d like to become a special valentine to a furry four-legged friend or just want to spend the day surrounded by adorable animals, join me at the Valentine’s Day Adopt-a-Thon this weekend.  I’ll be at HSSV’s Animal Community Center and hope to see you there!

Want to take a peek at your possible love connection? Click here to see HSSV’s available animals.

Happy Tails: Julius

By Jamie Emming, Satellite Adoption Manager

When people enter our Saratoga Satellite Adoption Center in PETCO, and we ask if they are looking for a new addition, we often hear that they are “just looking” because they have reached their cat limit. Each person has a different number in mind before they put on the “no vacancy” sign. For some it’s that one special feline who fills their life and for others it takes many more paddling paws to feel complete.

It was Julius’s lucky day when Sean arrived looking to fill an opening in his cat-friendly home. Julius looked massive and tipped the scales at 12 pounds, but the gentle orange tabby was more fluff than substance. He may have looked like a tiger, but he had the heart of a pussycat and preferred a good chin rub to chasing toy mice.

Sean and his partner Gale had a four-cat household and were recently down to three. He had seen the striking longhaired cat online and felt he would be the perfect fit. After talking about how best to set Julius up for success in his new home, we gave Sean and Gale time to prepare a room for their new companion. As we told Sean, it’s best to start out a new cat in his own space, even if that space is a small bathroom, and then gradually begin introductions to the whole feline family. The next day Julius’s adoption was finalized and he was on his way to start his new life.

Julius’s new parents accepted that he needed to adjust on his own time. He is currently splitting his time between a guest bathroom and a back bedroom. He must be getting more comfortable as Sean tells us they found a quirky behavior we did not see at HSSV: Julius chirps as he purrs! Sean and Gale also took the next step in family ties by renaming Julius, Barry. Four is the magic number of cats for Sean and Gale, but it only took one home to make Barry’s story a happy one.

Are you looking for a new addition? Check out this PDF from our online cat behavior library about cat introductions and bring Fluffy home a friend the easy way.

Pet of the Week

Meet Cactus

Cactus, a 10-month-old Domestic Short Hair mix, is ready to pounce his way into your family's heart! Don't let his initial shyness fool you. This adorable kitty loves to flirt, roll over for belly rubs and have his ears scratched for hours. If you are looking for an energetic, lovable kitten, come meet Cactus at Humane Society Silicon Valley in Milpitas.

Learn How to Adopt Cactus!

How You Can Help

Every week, we ask the community to help us find one special pet a loving home. There are three easy ways to help, and you can do them all from the comfort of your home!


1. Click here to see Cactus' video, then share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc.


2. Print out the Cactus' profile and post it at your local hangouts.


3. Donate online to help animals like Cactus get the care they deserve.


How did you help the Pet of the Week? Post a comment and let us know!

Happy Tail: Hermione

By Jamie Emming, Satellite Adoption Manager


When Hermione came into HSSV, her first stop was straight to our vet hospital. The stray calico kitty looked very skinny and had difficulty breathing at times. Her patchwork fur was a tapestry marred by fleas and her mouth revealed teeth in need of a serious cleaning. Having come to us in such poor condition, our first priority was to get the tiny fluff ball to gain weight and recover from the kitty cold she’d picked up while outside.

After a couple weeks and half a pound heavier, it was time to clean up that dirty mouth. Once inside we also removed two small lumps from her tongue to be sent off to a laboratory for testing. The results came back as eosinophilic granuloma, which is a cluster of white blood cells that appear because of an allergic reaction or to fight off a parasite. This was a big relief, as Hermione had no other symptoms and had made a full recovery. We knew what the lumps were and could tell her new family what to expect if they ever came back. Now we just needed to find her a home.

A six year old cat with a mysterious history may seem like a challenge for other organizations, but at HSSV we were able to find Hermione’s perfect match in just 10 days. Her adopters, Heather and Tony, tell us they “fell in love with her the first moment we saw her.” What we didn’t know was that when Hermione felt better she would use that extra energy to snuggle with her human companions. Heather tells us that she is grateful every day that they found each other. Thanks to our medical and adoption teams at HSSV, Hermione can start the New Year off healthy and happy in her new home.

Are you looking to give an animal an new start for the new year? Come by any of our three locations and adopt today!

Pet of the Week

Meet Lucky

Lucky, a 4-month-old kitten, is ready to play, play, play! This frisky boy loves to chase toys, pounce on shoelaces, and cause general chaos with his fun antics. If you are looking for an outgoing cat with tons of personality, come meet Lucky at Humane Society Silicon Valley! The vets at HSSV neutered, vaccinated and microchipped him and now all he needs is a best friend to play with!

Learn How to Adopt Lucky!

How You Can Help

Every week, we ask the community to help us find one special pet a loving home. There are three easy ways to help, and you can do them all from the comfort of your home!

1. Click here to see Lucky's video, then share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

2. Print out the Lucky's profile and post it at your local hangouts.

3. Donate online to help animals like Lucky get the care they deserve.

How did you help the Pet of the Week? Post a comment and let us know!

Pet of the Week

Meet Grey

Grey, a 3-year-old kitty, is a handsome boy who loves to be petted. A Good Samaritan found him roaming the streets and brought him to HSSV, where we neutered and vaccinated him. Grey loves to have his cheeks rubbed and will be happy to purr his way into your heart this holiday season. If you are looking for your prince to lavish with love, look no further!

Grey tested positive for FIV, which means he needs to live indoors as your only cat or with other FIV+ kitties. With the right care, he will live a long, healthy life as your new best friend. Just ask our adoption staff about it!

Learn How to Adopt Grey!

How You Can Help

Every week, we ask the community to help us find one special pet a loving home. There are three easy ways to help, and you can do them all from the comfort of your home!

1. Click here to see Grey's video, then share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

2. Print out the Grey's profile and post it at your local hangouts.

3. Donate online to help animals like Grey get the care they deserve.

How did you help the Pet of the Week? Post a comment and let us know!

Animal 911: Aggie’s Story

By Amber N. Yoo, HSSV Volunteer

One of the things I like most about Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) is the extraordinary lengths the staff goes through for every single animal in their care. Just last week, I learned about a kitty named Aggie who is a shining example of the great work HSSV is doing.

Aggie, a 7-year-old kitty, was surrendered to HSSV when her family was no longer able to give her the attention she deserved. Aggie was a healthy cat who absolutely adored being petted. She’d stand up on her hind legs when offered a treat, and enjoyed napping in laps. Like all of the kitties at HSSV, Aggie lived in a luxurious cat condo, complete with a private bed and lots of attention from volunteers.

Despite staff’s best efforts to make Aggie feel at home, Aggie became depressed without a family of her own. The days went by and Aggie’s depression began to take its toll. She stopped eating. No amount of cajoling or coaxing convinced Aggie to eat. The veterinary team was called in for close monitoring. She was hand-fed and showered with love and attention. Most shelters might not have gone to such lengths, but, thanks to the perseverance of HSSV staff, Aggie recovered. And then they found her the perfect home.

Aggie, who now goes by Abbie, was adopted by a man named Scott. The two have settled into a routine that includes a lot of cuddling and playing with furry toy mice. “Every morning when I wake up, she’s right there,” Scott happily told me. While he’s at work she lays on the back of the sofa, looking out of their third floor apartment at the gardens below and “chirping at the birds.” When he returns, she tells him about her day. “I hear about it for about half an hour,” Scott laughingly noted. Abbie provides a positive energy to the house that Scott said was missing before. And now Abbie has her own special person to spend the rest of her days with.

Pet of the Week

Meet Mambo

Mambo is a handsome devil who loves to flirt!

He shows his affection for the feline ladies by grabbing their tails as they walk by. He also loves his human lady friends and lets them know they're special with a wink.

If you are ready for a rambunctious little man in your life, look no further than Mambo!

Learn How to Adopt Mambo!

How You Can Help

Every week, we ask the community to help us find one special pet a loving home. There are three easy ways to help, and you can do them all from the comfort of your home!

1. Click here to see Mambo's video, then share it with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

2. Print out Mambo's profile and post it at your local hangouts.

3. Donate online to help animals like Mambo get the care they deserve.

How did you help the Pet of the Week? Post a comment and let us know!

Holiday Arts and Crafts Faire! Shopping Galore!

By Stephanie Ladeira - the return of "The Shopper"

I can't WAIT for the Humane Society Silicon Valley Holiday Arts and Crafts Faire this weekend! I was perusing the site to look at all of the vendors who are coming and found about a million things I "needed" to get. There's a great little website with links to all of the vendors and info on the day.

1) First, there's the cute, hand-knit turtleneck sweaters for Rocky and Lucy, my rescued German Shorthairs. Rachel Deichman, who makes these totally hip sweaters (see Bach modeling to the right), has been knitting up a storm. I am going to purchase a pink and grey wide stripe sweater for Lucy and will ask Rachel to custom make a brown and black one for Rocky. The best part? When Lucy rolls in cow manure in her sweater, I can just pop it into the washing machine. The felted-wool coats she makes for the little dogs are so cute, I'll have to get one of those for Ruby, my little terrier mix.

2) Sonya Paz, acclaimed artist and animal lover, will be selling her awesome art, including "wearable" art such as wristwatches and necklaces that have her paintings on them. A portion of the proceeds from the sales of her wearable art and artwork with animals in them goes to HSSV. Sonya is so generous AND she has great stuff!

3) "Pawfectionz", jewelry and crafts by Alexis Grenzer, inspired by her little muse, the darling chihuahua named Frida (adopted from HSSV) is next on my list. I simply must purchase a pair of silver earrings with little beagles on them for my friend who has a little beagle/basset mix. Alexis' wares are beautiful and creative. She also does jewelry in resin and many other types of materials.

4) Handknitted scarves by Homa Adelkhani will be the perfect gift for my friend Cassie. She has a little dog who won't wear sweaters, but will wear scarves, and I'm going to get a matching one for her to wear when she and her pup go out together. The scarves are gorgeous and not like anything I've ever seen - silky strands intermingled with boiled wool. Amazing, delicate and one-of-a-kind.

5) For my friend Judith, who amazingly has managed to get a foxhound, rabbit and chihuahua to all live together peaceably together (how on earth did she figure that out?).... a pair of "More Rabbit Pottery Mugs" from Gray Rabbit - great handpainted mugs with a whimsical feel.

I could go on and on...but I want to leave you with a little nugget of info. The prized raffle item of the day? Some lucky shopper will win the ultimate gift - to keep for him or herself, or to give away - a bronze-plated brick that will be permanently displayed at the new Animal Community Center where all sorts of amazing life-saving goes on.

Make sure to join us this Saturday, December 5th, for HSSV's first Animal Arts and Crafts Faire. Holiday Shopping that helps to save lives is the coolest.

P.S. For Delilah's new people: Rachel is knitting a beautiful little dress for your sweet girl. It's going to be mostly pink and Rachel is using recycled silk from saris. It's gorgeous, delicate and perfect for your little girl!

Summer Camp Counselors seeing education at work

by Bridget Keenan, Director of Development


When I give tours of our new Animal Community Center, I love to spend time in our Education Center, explaining to our “tourists” that Education is a powerful way to really make a difference regarding pet homelessness in the future of Santa Clara County. Teach a child why a dog barks or why a cat scratches, and they will bring this information home to their families and help their parents understand why the puppy needs training, or why the cat needs a scratching post, so mom and dad don’t get so frustrated with the pet that they are surrendered to a shelter. Teach children that animals are individual beings — that they can make the animal feel loved or feel hurt, happy or sad, safe or scared — and you are teaching children how to be responsible pet owners, and ultimately responsible members of society.

For four weeks this summer at our “Amazing Animals Summer Camp”, we enjoyed a flow of about 75 children between the ages of 6 and 12, who each for one week came to our Animal Community Center and learned about dogs, cats, rabbits, snakes, tarantulas, frogs, and more. There were nearly 20 teenage camp counselors who worked with the children; these counselors may have learned more about animals and children than even their younger charges did! After their summer here, our counselors shared their favorite experiences.


Adam Donald reported: “Another activity was about the overpopulation of cats. During this activity, the campers were able to discover why there were so many cats in Santa Clara County and learned ways to prevent this….the campers [learned] about a variety of different animals and that all animals are valuable.”

Sarah De Vargas shared, “The children were also focused on how to take care of animals because they wanted to make sure that they were treating pets right and that they were being great caretakers of their animals.”

And Sammi Mielke wrote, “My favorite activity that we did was making habitat boxes and it seemed like the kids liked it, too…Although this was a fun activity, it also taught all the kids what animals needed to survive. A lot of the necessities for the animals turned out to be the same for us.”

Our campers and counselors learned important lessons that will stay with them their entire lives. I like to think that, because of our incredible Education Programs, we are much closer than ever toward ending pet homelessness in our community.

UPDATE: Teeka and Canelita Adopted!

Just thought our readers might like to know that Teeka and Canelita got adopted this past weekend! They were adopted by a great family with older children who say that it was, "love at first sight"! The girls were here at HSSV for 164 days!

Among others adopted this weekend who have been at Humane Society Silicon Valley for 100 days or more:
Alex and Rocky - bonded kitty pair at HSSV for 135 days
Roxy - longest doggie resident - been with us since before we moved into the new facility - a whopping 243 days!!!
Mika - 8 year old fabulous cat, at HSSV 114 days
Vigo - our resident white deaf cat who we were ALL in love with (his video was on HSSV's site for a little bit)
Bagheera - Great cat who was here for 128 days
Cindy - gorgeous older longhaired black kitty - 198 days!

Congratulations to HSSV's stellar adoptions team and of course, to all those wonderful adopters and the donors who make this work possible!