reduced-fee microchips at DCHS april 21-27

next week is national pet ID week, a time to recognize the importance of tagging and microchipping your pets in order to keep them out of  shelters.

dane county humane society is offering reduced-fee microchipping from april 21 through the 27th. cost is only $15 and the procedure takes no more than a couple of minutes and walk-ins are accepted.

worried it might hurt your kitty? fret not. microchips are the size of a grain of rice and are inserted transdermally with a needle. kitty won't feel a thing.

catapalooza aug. 17/18 - cuz you can never have enough cats

there's no jack white and the only red hot chili peppers will be belted out at the karaoke after-party by your tipsy friend, but, boy-oh-boy will their be cats!  (and no great wall o' potty)

DCHS's Catapalooza is a weekend of fun and reduced-fee adoptions.  if you're into face-painting, pizza, and cats (who isn't?) you'll dig it.

and since they'll be adopting out cats faster than gabby can steal sandwiches there will be no adoption fair at MadCat west on saturday.
correction: a foster has volunteered to bring some kittens by, so stop by madcat west from 12-3 for some free kitten snuggles!

join the future, get microchipped

to celebrate national pet I.D. week the dane county humane society is offering reduced-fee microchipping all week, april 15-21,  at it's main shelter on voges road.  for $15 you can have your dog or cat 'chipped and have a little more peace of mind.  walk-ins are welcome.

we did this with store-cat dot a few years back and it was painless, easy and quick.  not a bad deal.

dchs catapalooza

looking for a cat?

the dane county humane society is hosting their annual catapalooza event over the weekend of august 20.  this year they're beating their own record with the main shelter staying open 29 hours straight for adoptions.  bring coffee and donuts.  kitties love donuts.

on friday august 19 you can meet local behaviorist patricia mcconnell as she gives a talk on cats and what makes them tick.  it's bound to be informative but will it give you the upper hand against their feline trickery? 

cinco de me-ow - celebrate with a kitteh

greetings, madison jumping beans!  it's the cinco de mayo, and a thursday, so you may be planning some sort of half-priced margarita night, amirite?

well, it's also cinco de me-ow over at the dane county humane society where they are celebrating with $5 kitteh adoptions all day.  cinco bucks?  saving a life has never been so easy (on the pocketbook).

now go and have fun.  feliz cinco de mayo!

dane county humane society needs your votes

update:  we did it!  in just one day DCHS moved up 18 spots from 51 to 33!  this means we move on to the qualifying round....and the life saving.

the ASPCA may be embracing some no kill strategies - shocking, right?  they are holding a contest to award $100,000 to the shelter that has the largest increase in lives saved and our own DCHS is in the running.

only the top 50 shelters with the most votes will get to go on to compete for the $ (and save lives!).  DCHS is currently sitting at 51.  so vote!  (hint:  you can use multiple email addresses if you've got 'em.)

maybe this is the kick in the pants our shelter needs to finally go no kill once and for all.

vote for magic, DCHS's first FIV+ adoptee

the animal rescue site is hosting a new beginnings story contest and one of madison's very own kittehs is a finalist!

magic was the first FIV+ cat to be adopted out of the dane county humane society (back in 2009).  he is the face of no kill in our community - a cat who would be put down in most shelters.

let's all vote for magic and prove that all cats deserve a second chance.

heartland farm sanctuary - cuz goats need homes too

these are the folks  we mentioned a couple of weeks ago who are going to be working with DCHS to place feral cats at farms throughout the area.

their main focus is to rescue and provide permanent homes for farm animals who through neglect, foreclosure or other baaaad stuff end up homeless.

yay for rescue!  hay for horses!

dchs to start placing feral cats?

the news was announced via dane county humane society's facebook page today and if it means what it sounds like it's tremendous news for everyone working towards a no kill madison.

the barn buddies program will work with the heartland farm sanctuary to place feral cats at farms where they can live out their days as barn cats.

get chipped

want to protect your kitty?  got 15 bucks?

the dane county humane society is holding a microchipping clinic at their main shelter this Sunday, August 8th.

it's quick and easy and your cat will not turn into a robot.  even if you want it to.

animal seizure amendments - deconstructed.

what if your (likely unlicensed) cat was swept up by a humane officer and someone in the administrative chain decided you were a crappy person/owner? your life just got way harder - and you're not a dogfighter or animal abuser.

on friday, we told you about proposed changes to the state's animal seizure law.  on review of the proposed bills, the consequences of the bill don't seem to match up with how it's being explained by its proponents.

the bill is aiming to remove the cost of caring for seized animals away from the county and onto the owners, extra protection from incidents like the lowery case in 2006 when the county racked up thousands of dollars in costs caring for seized pit bulls.

to accomplish this, the bill sets a time line for which the legal process must occur, and it requires the owner to pay for all costs relating to the care of seized animals.

but some in opposition to the bill say that it will have unintended consequences as the bill applies to all pet owners, not just those accused of running dog fights or puppy mills, and will compromise the individual liberties of all pet owners for the actions of the few.

here's what the bill might mean:

changes proposed to state animal seizure law

a bill has recently been proposed to amend chapter 173 of wisconsin state law, which specifically deals with animal investigations, officers, violations, and animal seizure.

the amendments were a suggestion by volunteers for the dane county humane society. the changes provide that after an animal is taken into custody, the cost of custody and care will be paid for by the owner. if the owner does not pay, the animal will be treated as an 'unclaimed animal.'

several of the changes are proposed in an effort to expedite the deposition process, including giving the owner only seven days to file a petition for return of the animal.

snip it, clip it, and tip it

governor doyle signed a proclamation making february 23rd wisconsin spay day to curb euthanasia numbers and help get our shelters back to doing their primary job, re-homing animals.

local vets and groups in the area will be offering reduced fee spays and neuters throughout february and march.

for more info:
friends of ferals' spayathons
dchs' snap
shelter from the storm's spay me

chips

if you've thought about microchipping your kitty but just haven't gotten around to it yet, now's your chance. get it done this sunday, jan. 10th, at the dchs west-side adoption center and have some peace of mind. the best part? cost is only 15 bucks.

it's not an awesome police badge, but it can save your pet's life.

meet duke

this happy cat is a one-of-a-kind creamsicle with a bit of a sad backstory: duke was hit by a car and lost part of his jaw, after which he was surrendered to dchs. he is fully recuperated and doing fine, bouncing off the walls, eating like a madman and occasionally sticking his tongue out at us for fun.

if you're looking for a young cat with lots of energy and a goofball personality, this is your guy.

contact the happy cat club of madison for more info or stop into the monroe st. store to meet him.

new leadership at the wisconsin humane society

the wisconsin humane society has selected anne reed, a milwaukee-based lawyer, to head up their board of directors. while she does not have any direct experience in animal welfare she has been on the boards of many other non-profit groups and worked in the legal system for over twenty years. hmmmm....sounds somewhat similar to another lawyer/animal welfare advocate we know (hint: look at yesterday's post.)

hopefully she can lead the group in a new direction and make progress towards a no kill wisconsin.

in other humane society news, here are the dane county humane society's official stats for the month of october. since it's the season of giving thanks, let's all be thankful that the euthanasia numbers are way down from previous years. but that should not stop us from pushing the fight to save every last one of them.

dchs gets some dough

the dane county humane society has received a $50,000 grant from the aspca to help cover costs from last spring's seizure of animals from the thyme and sage ranch.

we're curious where the money is going and whether any of it will be used to help save the cats already there.

in other local news, one of the lead vets at dchs has had her home-insurance canceled. why? because she rescued a rottweiler. more breed-specific targeting that is hurting more than helping.

happy cat spotlight: squeekie! this laid-back guy (pictured above) is about three years old and front-paw declawed. he enjoys spending time with other kitties and lounging around enjoying the finer things in life. come down to the monroe st. store and give him some loving.

my fair kitteh - dottie doolittle

straight off the runways of japan, designer clothes for your cats! that white blouse and red skirt would look just darling on our lovely lucy.

in local dog news:

the dane county humane society is asking potential adopters to give pit bulls a chance. at a time when breed bans are a hot-button issue it's comforting to hear local animal behaviorist patricia mcconnell put things into perspective, "every dog should be evaluated as an individual. breed is so irrelevant so often."

good news for fast dogs, the last of the five greyhound parks in the state is closing at the end of the year. yep. six dog deaths in three months will do that to ya.

look at the world from more than one angle

isthmus story on 'off-limits' places in town - denied access to dchs euthanasia room. just because we can't see it doesn't mean it's not there.

the fastest human alive is as fast as a house cat. neat-o!

tax-payer money is going to help defend the florida cat killer in the upcoming trial.

'certified pre-owned cats' - even in animal rescue it's all about the marketing.

here's an update on two of the vick pits seized back in 2007. looks like both will be moving on to new, better lives soon!

dottie begins her transformation into dottie-bot 2000

yesterday our little calico princess got microchippped. it was a relatively quick and painless procedure where a small chip, the size of a grain of rice, was inserted under the skin between her shoulder blades. while she didn't really enjoy it we think even dottie would feel good about the peace of mind the chip will bring to us. now, should she ever go off a wandering and end up in a shelter somewhere, a quick scan of her back will reveal the chip number which will lead the shelter workers to us. we had the chip implanted down at the dane county humane society where they take walk-in appointments during regular business hours.

if you have not had your pet chipped we definitely recommend it, and here's why:

a cat and his owner were recently reunited after three years. the miracle that brought them back together? that's right. a microchip!

nine years and 1,000 miles separated a dog, muffy, from her owner. they were only reunited when an aspca worker scanned muffy and located the information on her chip.

have questions? the hsus has answers.