Dishing the News on Pets and Animal Welfare Issues             Oct. 2007

Sit, Stay, Watch!

Go behind the scenes at the Oregon Humane Society, meet real-life animal heroes, and learn the many ways people are helping animals in need.

It all happens on a live television program that has gone to the dogs--literally! Tune in this Sunday on KATU Ch. 2,
1-5 pm, for the 8th Annual Telethon for the Animals.

	See you at the Telethon! 1-5 pm, Sunday, Ch.2

Every dollar donated during the telethon enables OHS to rescue, shelter, rehabilitate and find homes for animals. We aim to raise $220,000 for animals and need your help.

Don't delay--make your telethon contribution today.

During the telethon, you'll meet real superstars:

• Bailey the Border Collie, who came to OHS unable to walk and with severe hair loss. With medical treatment and foster care Bailey became a healthy dog and now lives happily with her new owner;
• Hercules, the extra-large feline who was trapped in doggie-door while trying to scrounge food and was then reunited with his owner;
• OHS behavior expert Tanya Roberts, who'll give you easy-to-use tips on getting along better with your four-legged friends;
• OHS Humane Investigator Mark Wells, who fights animal abuse and works to make Oregon a better place for pets and people;
• Dr. Kris Otteman, the new OHS medical director who'll introduce some of the many animals who have received life-saving medical care at OHS.

KINK-fm’s Les Sarnoff will be telethon host, along with OHS Executive Director Sharon Harmon, KATU news anchors Debora Knapp, Natali Marmion and Carl Click, plus KATU weather man Rod Hill and KATU AM Northwest host Helen Raptis.

Don't delay--make your telethon contribution today

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Pit Bull Seized to Protect it from Owner

	Lucy, seen after her arrival at OHS for a medical exam.

Investigators from the Oregon Humane Society seized a pit bull from its owner in Southeast Portland—but not because the dog posed a danger to people. Instead, the owner of the pit bull was charged with attempted animal abuse for repeatedly kicking, punching and striking a completely submissive dog.

OHS Humane Investigators and Portland Police served a search warrant at SE 115th Ave. in Portland and seized Lucy, a female pit bull. Crystal Sellers, the dog’s owner, was cited for animal abuse in the second degree.

OHS medical team (Linda Fielder, left, and Dr. Kris Otteman) examines Lucy.

Multnomah County human services officials were also present and took a 10-month-old child living at the address into care after Sellers and her partner, Alex Lawler, were taken into police custody for assaulting and attempting to assault police officers serving the search warrant.

“We’re always glad to help the Oregon Humane Society on cases like this" said Sgt. Brian Schmautz, Public Information Officer for the Portland Police Bureau. "OHS does a great job of protecting animals.”

OHS officers based the animal abuse charges on the testimony of a reliable eye-witness who had recorded multiple instances of Sellers kicking the dog, stepping on the dog’s head, torso and feet, and punching and slapping the dog while the animal was restrained by a chain. The reports of the witness show that Lucy was docile and subservient to the owner throughout the incidents.

	OHS officers, left, serve search warrant with Portland Police.

A medical examination by OHS veterinarians did not show that Lucy has suffered any debilitating, lifelong injuries, and she is expected to make a full recovery. If convicted, Sellers faces up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine for animal abuse.

OHS employs three Humane Investigators who are commissioned by the Governor of Oregon to enforce animal cruelty laws throughout the state. Their work is supported entirely through private donations.

The public can support the work of OHS Humane Investigators by contributing to the OHS Animal Investigations Fund.

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It's Official: Ribbon Cutting Opens new AMLC

	OHS supporters cut AMLC ribbon as media look on.

A dream came true at the Oregon Humane Society Sept. 18 when the ribbon was cut to open the nation’s first Animal Medical and Learning Center. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the beginning of a new era of round-the-clock medical care for shelter animals at a state-of-the-art hospital adjoining the existing shelter.

Staff and students didn’t wait until the formal ribbon-cutting ceremony to start work. Since arriving in early September, the OHS medical team had performed 224 surgeries at the time of the opening. Those procedures included mending a kitten’s fractured femur, operating on a Lhassa apso with a cancerous tumor, and removing a life-threatening bladder stone from a Maltese.

Thomas W. Holman, Sr., whose $1 million leadership support was central to the successful fundraising campaign.

The medical facility is a one-of-a-kind partnership between OHS and the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Students from OSU will complete a two-week residency at the center as part of their graduation requirement. The students – as many as six at a time – will live in dorms above the medical center and work with a full-time OSU faculty member and OHS medical staff.

The 4,000 sq. ft. medical area includes examination and surgery rooms, digital imaging capabilities, an animal behavior program and additional capacity for standard and critical care. Upstairs are dormitory rooms, and having students so close by is exceptionally convenient, said Kris Otteman, OHS director of shelter medicine.

	Supporters raise a toast inside the new behavior arena.

The new center also includes a major expansion of the shelter's animal learning programs. Tanya Roberts, OHS behavior specialist, now can use a large indoor “arena” to conduct behavior classes for pets and their owners. “Behavior problems are the number one reason dogs are admitted to the shelter, and until now, we have simply lacked the space to expand our programs,” she said.

Come visit the new center during a three-day open house, Nov 16-18. See you there!

Help support the new center by making an on-line contribution.
Click here to make your gift today.


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OHS Honored for Recycling

Sharon Harmon receives award from Dan Saltzman as Bob-0 (available for adoption) watches.

Call us recycling crazy, but OHS set its sights on winning a BlueWorks award from the Portland Office of Sustainable Development. Mission accomplished: Commissioner Dan Saltzman bestowed the city BlueWorks award on OHS earlier this month.

The award is given by The Portland Office of Sustainable Development, which Saltzman oversees, to businesses and nonprofits dedicated to reducing waste, recycling resources, and going the extra distance to improve sustainability in Portland.

OHS received the award based on our commitment to waste reduction in the workplace. OHS uses two-sided printing and copying, encourages recycling, and purchases recycled products with a minimum of 30% recycled content. OHS also recently undertook a major effort to compost pet food that no longer met health standards. By composting the food, it could be reused (and resold by the city of Portland) as garden compost instead of taking up space in a landfill.

"We feel it is important to recycle so OHS can be a good steward of the earth, as well as the animals in our care,” said Sharon Harmon, OHS executive director.

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