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The
Official Newsletter of
The Alliance for Responsible Pet Ownership
March
2001
News
from the Adoption Front
Spring is here and so are
the thousands of kittens and puppies who were “surprises” to their human
families. So many of these babies will never know the love of a caring family.
Most will end up on the streets or in shelters, where their chance of being
euthanized is greater than their chance of being adopted. We can help, but
not without your help! Your donation goes a long way with ARPO. We have no
paid staff and minimal overhead costs. Your donations go directly to the pets in
the form of vaccinations and medical care. Adoption fees do not begin to cover
our vet bills. It is only with your donations that we can continue to help the
most vulnerable of Indy’s pets. Please send your generous gift today.
Ripley: When a board member overheard the plight of a puppy while visiting her vet, she knew she had to help. The 6-week-old puppy had been run over by its young owner and had a badly broken hind leg. The young man was unable to pay for treatment and was unprepared to do follow-up therapy needed to ensure the success of osteo-surgery. He asked for help from the vet in euthanizing the pup. Instead, our board member took the puppy into her care, paying for the medical treatment needed and agreeing to the necessary follow-up therapy. After intensive surgery at an Anderson bone specialist and with several pins in her leg, the pup, “Ripley,” went home. In less than a week, Ripley had found a special new home and family willing to continue her therapy. Today she runs, plays, and enjoys life in spite of her accident.
Dodger:
Dodger earned his name. This stray was
dodging traffic on an Indiana highway and narrowly missed being struck by
several cars and semis. An ARPO volunteer was able to get Dodger into her car
and into safety. Yet Dodger’s story did not end here. This beautiful border
collie and Australian shepherd mix was 20 pounds underweight and tested positive
for heartworm. Fortunately, Dr. Havens at Parkside Animal Hospital agreed to
treat Dodger’s heartworm if we could find a foster home for his six-week
recuperation period. The same volunteer came to his rescue again and took him
home. After his recovery was complete, Dodger started coming to Petsmart
adoption events. In three weeks, the perfect home for him was found, and now
Dodger is a loved and permanent pet.
Steve:
A phone call from a concerned neighbor
brought Steve to ARPO. The 40-pound chow/keeshond mix had been chained to a tree
for over a year, since he was a little puppy. The chain was actually a thick
logging chain. Although he had a doghouse, it was full of holes and provided
little shelter from the elements. His owners were not feeding him regularly in a
mistaken belief that this would make him a better guard dog! The neighbor would
go over after dark to feed this friendly boy and to give him fresh water.
Finally, Animal Control was called in, and the owners agreed to relinquish
Steve. A former board member and her husband paid for the treatment Steve
needed, and he was placed into an APRO foster home. From the beginning, Steve
seemed grateful to be with a home and family. In fact, in most pictures, he
seems to be smiling! Steve found his permanent home through an adoption event at
Petsmart. He now has a big fenced yard, lots of toys, and most importantly, a
loving family. Steve’s is truly a rags to riches story!
ARPO conducts adoption hours
at the Castleton Petsmart each Saturday (except holidays) from 12-4 p.m.
We now also have adoption hours once a month at the Petsmart at 86th
and Michigan Rd. Our next Westside dates are March 10 and March 17 from noon
to 4 p.m.
Don’t forget to visit our website for pictures of adoptable pets, or call our phone line for up to the minute information on pets waiting for homes.
Our pantry is in need of dog
and cat food. It is located in an inner city school, so small bags of food are
most usable, since children carry the food home in their backpacks. You may drop
off your donation during our adoption hours on Saturdays.
ARPO volunteers will be
bringing pets to a local assisted-living center soon. Pet visits are highly
requested by residents who miss their own pets. We hope the visits brighten the
days of these pet lovers. We know the cats and dogs will enjoy the attention!
Have you wondered what being
a foster home entails? In a
nutshell, we ask foster homes to provide love, food, and shelter until a pet is
adopted. ARPO pays for all medical
costs and we ask the foster to provide high quality food, litter (for cats), and
toys. Foster homes must also agree
to a home inspection visit and to bringing the pet to an adoption event on
Saturdays.
As a foster home, you may
choose to care for a puppy, kitten, dog, or cat. Most pets are placed within 2-6 weeks; however, some adult
cats and dogs may take a little longer. Our
current foster parents tell us they receive great satisfaction being the first
stop rescued pets make on their way to a loving home.
For more information
or to set up a home visit, call 253-7004 and leave a message for Sandi.
Effective March 6, 2001,
ARPO will have a new phone number. The new number will be 317-774-8292.
If you call the old number it should give a voice prompt with the new ARPO
number. Our new e-mail address is arpo@adoptarpo.org.
Garage Sale:
Mark your calendars, collect
your trash and treasures, ARPO's first garage sale of the year is scheduled for
Friday and Saturday, May 18th and 19th in the Thistlewood Subdivision (136th
Street between Meridian and Springmill Road in Carmel).
More details will be
provided on our website. We will need donated items, folks to help set up and
help with the sale, and of course folks to buy our goodies. All proceeds will go
towards animal care. Last year we raised almost $600 at this sale and hope we
can do the same or better this year!
PartyLite Candles:
We will be holding a silent PartyLite
Candle sale during March. The sale will start March 5th and run for about three
weeks.
Contact ARPO by phone or
e-mail to get details or see us at PetsMart to place your order. We can raise
money plus get items to use in our raffle later this year through this
fundraiser.
"There is not a
psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face."
― Ben Williams
"My goal in life is to
be as good a person as my dog already believes me to be."
― Anonymous
"The cat does not offer
services. The cat offers itself. Of course he wants care and shelter You don't
buy love for nothing. Like all pure creatures, cats are practical."
― William S. Burroughs
"The smallest feline is
a masterpiece." ―
Leonardo Da Vinci
"How we behave toward
cats here below determines our status in heaven." ― Robert
A. Heinlein
On February 13, 2001 we
received a phone call on the ARPO line from a young woman seeking help for one
mother cat and two litters of kittens (10 months old and 6 months old — a
total of 8 or 9 kittens) that were abandoned in a rental property in November of
last year. The "owners" of the cats filled a bathtub with litter,
threw some bags of unopened cat food on the floor, locked the door and left
these cats. Somehow the cats managed to survive through the winter in the rental
property - they may have been able to make their way in and out of the rental
through a hole in one of the walls. There was a leaking faucet inside which the
cats used as their supply of water. The rental reeks of urine and cat feces.
The rescuer who called ARPO
seeking help indicated that she moved in to the next-door rental about three
weeks before she called us. We don't know how long before that the property
owner was aware of the situation, but the caller had been trying to take care of
these cats since she had moved next door.
The cats are now kept inside
the structure since none of them are spayed or neutered (the rescuer sealed the
hole in the wall). The mother cat had a serious problem with one eye and the
neighbor could not determine the exact injury or health problem. The kittens
appeared as healthy as could be expected. The rescuer was sure they had not had
any shots or medical care, were not spayed or neutered, and were probably full
of worms; the status of FeLV/FIV was unsure.
Amazingly, the property
owner has allowed the rescuer access to the empty rental to care for the cats.
The property owner is willing to let the cats stay until the place can be
cleaned up (which the rescuer will help do), but then the cats must go. And they
should be going now to have their FeLV/FIV status checked, to get their shots,
to get spayed/neutered (because they are all old enough to start breeding), and
to find new homes. Mother cat definitely needed health care to determine the
extent of her eye injuries and whether surgery was needed. The neighbor
indicated that the kittens were very approachable and enjoyed contact. Mom was
unsure about human contact and was possibly in a lot of pain with her eye. She
allowed touch but when she could see the rescuer with her "good eye"
she shrank away.
As this article is being
written, one area vet (Allisonville Animal Hospital) has taken mom and one
female kitten. Both mom and the kitten are FeLV/FIV-negative, no ear mites, no
upper respiratory infection, but do have fleas and internal parasites, plus are
mal-nourished and underweight. Mom and the kitten are scheduled to be spayed,
get all of their shots, get dewormed, and receive flea treatment. Once they have
recovered from surgery, these two will be available for adoption and you can see
them at Allisonville Animal Hospital, since we have no foster space for them.
The vet has offered to test, treat, spay/neuter, and work with us to find homes
for ALL of the remaining kittens. What we need are foster homes and adoptive
homes for these sweet, needy kittens and their mom. We can also use donations to
help with food and litter. The rental-property owner did threaten to take the
cats to the pound. The cats are now in a temporary foster situation, so your
help is needed.
In addition to the previous
neglect situation, we have received multiple requests for help with colonies of
feral cats. In some cases, the cats need to be captured, spayed or neutered, and
then relocated to a new, safe location. In others, the cats need to be trapped
so that they can be spayed or neutered and then returned to their current
location. If you would like to donate a live trap to ARPO (large enough to fit a
full-size adult cat) or funds earmarked towards such a purpose, we can provide
more help in these situations. Donations of kitten and cat food will go towards
helping feed these colonies, since many times their caretakers are on limited
income.
Your help with any of these
situations is greatly appreciated. And, as always, spay and neuter all of your
pets and encourage your neighbors, family, and friends to do the same to their
pets. Kitten and puppy season will soon be here and the number of animals
needing help will soon overwhelm us and all of the other rescue groups. With
unchecked reproduction, these situations will continue. We all must do our part
to prevent unwanted litters.
Don’t forget to send your O’Malia’s receipts to P.O. Box 6385, Fishers, IN 46038. We receive cash donations in exchange.
o
Cat carriers
o
Kitty litter
o
Puppy or kitten food
o
Hand sanitizer
o
Paper towels
o
Foamy cleanser
o
34-cent stamps
o
New puppy collars
o
Dog or cat treats
o
Fleece dog toys
o
Towels (new or used)
o
12- to 15-inch TV
A sincere thanks to the vets
who have helped APRO during the last year.
They deserve your patronage:
Northside
Animal Clinic
846-2544
Parkside Animal Clinic
849-1440
Ft. Harrison Veterinarians 546-2338
Allisonville Animal Hospital 849-3160
A special thank you to
Marilyn Manley for her very generous donation to help with medical expenses for
Moondust and Susie Bear.
Thank you to Shelly
Fitzgerald and Victoria Warren for the donation of a VCR.
Thank you to Lisa Donato for
her generous donation to help ARPO continue to rescue and care for animals in
need.
Thank you to Margie
Alexander and her employer, Galyans (Castleton Square). Margie asked to start an
aluminum can recycling program at Galyans.
The management and employees at Galyans supported her program and Margie
was able to collect enough cans to provide a $50 donation to ARPO (plus help
recycle and reduce trash).
Your membership donation is
the reason ARPO can help animals in need. Please fill out the membership form on
the back and let your dollars go to work!
Kathy Al-Sayed
Kristie Humphrey
Myranda & Johnathon
Aimee Hill & Scott
Alverson Kaufman
Diana Aslin
Kelly Lang
Brent & Tracy Beasley
Kristi Metcalf
R. M. Bellottie
Terry & Heidi Mullins
Mary Elizabeth Brownell
Seth Niemeier
Steve & Diane Castner
Pamela Pappas
Mike & Kelly Chesebrough
Lisa Jean Pettit
Frank Cox
Brad Phillips
Anne Dickson
Sue Pope-Brown
Jeff Felton
Christina Rowland
Joyce Freet
Stephanie Salomon
Erica Grove
Tom & Kathy Thieken
Sandi Grove
Roy & Karen Vanderford
Joann Groves
Rebecca Wilson
James & Angie Hague
Roberta Winters
Amy & Todd Houtz
Ann & Rush Yelverton
Timothy & Lisa Howard
Paul Ziliak
We would like to thank the
volunteers who helped make “Picture Your Pet With Santa Claws” a success
this year:
Kim
Blanton
Bea Boxley
Beth Dallman
Angie Hague
Catherine Krug
Cheryl Lynn
Stephanie Mays
Dean Metcalf
And
our very special volunteer Santas:
Buck
Bowman
John Erler
Danny Roof
Randy Santiano
Chris Williams
(and Kathy McKeen)
We
raised a total of $1,475 through this fundraiser.
To
keep you on our mailing list, we need your donations and/or membership fees.
The mailing list for the
ARPO newsletter has continued to grow as we have touched more lives. However,
with this growth as well as the recent increase in postal rates, our costs to
copy and mail the newsletter have risen dramatically. We issue our newsletter three times per year, and while we
would love to send our newsletter to everyone, we must look at a way to cover or
reduce the cost or we will have to delete names from our mailing list.
We are starting an annual donation/membership renewal program during calendar year 2001. There is no charge for our newsletter, but if you have not made a donation to ARPO or joined as a member at any level over the past year we would like to encourage you to donate and/or join to stay on our mailing list. If you have made a donation in the past, we have tried to update our database with that information so that we can track your support of ARPO. And, of course, if you have an e-mail address, we can save costs by alerting you when our newsletter is posted on our website; that way all of your donation is used towards the care of animals and not on postage or paper.
If you have adopted from
ARPO, we plan to maintain your name on our mailing list. Of course you can
always make additional contributions plus join ARPO as a member. But by giving
an animal in need a home for a lifetime you have made a lifetime contribution to
ARPO.
If you move, please forward
your new address to us so we can keep in touch.
Help support ARPO by joining
and/or making a donation. You will continue to receive our newsletter and you
will continue to help us help dogs, cats, kittens, and puppies in need!
“Pika,” adopted by the
Downing family
Judy
and Sarah Dickson with “Mick” and “Angel” (both ARPO adoptees)
“Blue”
boating with Sydney and John Spadorcia
Alliance
for Responsible Pet Ownership, Inc. is a not-for-profit Indiana corporation
founded 1998
Post Office Box 6385, Fishers, IN 46038
317-774-8292 www.adoptarpo.org
adoptarpo@hotmail.com
