To Purrtect and To Serve

Tart’s first car ride towards home was in the back of an Independence County Patrol car. When a community member had concerns about animals left in an abandoned apartment, they contacted the police who went to investigate. Sure enough, inside were 12 cats left alone for several days without food, water, or care, waiting for their helpers to arrive! 

The responding officers didn’t delay getting the malnourished animals to safety. Carefully, they loaded each of the deserted pets into their patrol cars and escorted the entire crew to Oregon Humane Society Salem Campus. Unfortunately, one precious kitty found in the home didn’t make it.  

Though the rescue was unexpected, our team quickly pulled together to provide for the cats. Their needs were extensive, including surgeries, behavior modification, and foster care.

Tart was by far one of the most fearful of the bunch, tensing and squirming away from the compassionate staff and volunteers trying to help him. Clearly, Tart had not been treated kindly by humans in the past. Thanks to the generosity of animal lovers like you, Tart received extra time to decompress and help learning to trust again in our Behavior Modification program.  

One by one, each of the cats began to heal and recover. Even fearful Tart slowly began to come out of his shell, his anxious exterior melting away. His trust and love for humans renewed, Tart is now in a loving home where he demands cuddles and affection from his new family!  

Because of your support, OHS is able to take quick action for cats that are left alone and unloved. Your gifts renew hope for animals like Tart, ensuring they get a second chance at a life filled with warm love and kindness.

Hank the Wonder Dog

When exuberant Hank jumped out of a window and cut his leg, his owner needed to get him help, fast!

Hank was originally adopted in 2023 from Oregon Humane Society Salem Campus as a puppy, and his owner turned to our familiar team for support. The cut from the shattered window was serious, severing his Achilles tendon. If he was ever going to run, jump, or even walk again, he needed emergency surgery.

Unfortunately, Hank’s owners had fallen on hard times and providing care for him even before the injury had become a struggle. Now, with a badly injured leg and a long road of aftercare ahead of him, managing Hank’s care was insurmountable. To ensure Hank would get the support he needed to walk again, his owners made the difficult, but loving, choice to surrender him back to OHS.

Repairing a severed tendon is a rare procedure, and one that had never been done before at our Salem campus. Lead Veterinarian Dr. Sara Livesay took on the painstaking work of reconnecting Hank’s tendon. The surgery was a success, but Hank’s journey wasn’t over.

In order for the tendon to fully heal, Hank would need to endure 12 weeks of minimal movement with his leg in a splint–a difficult call to action for a young, energetic dog like Hank. With support from the OHS medical team and his OHS foster family, Hank made it through the grueling post-surgery recovery process.

His tendon was now healed, but Hank’s leg muscle had atrophied due to the time he’d spent recovering. Hank was enrolled in physical therapy at Salem Oregon Animal Rehabilitation and gradually began to rebuild his strength using an underwater treadmill. Because of our donors’ support, OHS was able to pour an extensive amount of time, energy, medical care, and resources into just one dog—restoring Hank’s strength and ability to live an active life. Today, goofy Hank has been adopted into a loving home with family, including two young boys who he’s quickly bonded with. Hank’s story is an unlikely one, but fortunately we are able to provide everything special animals like Hank need to recover—all thanks to your support and generosity!

Rallying to Respond to an Enormous Challenge 

When Oregon Humane Society was asked to assist with a situation involving an overwhelmed breeder near Salem, multiple OHS teams, including Animal Care, Admissions, Medical, and Humane Law Enforcement quickly mobilized to help. Saying ‘yes’ to helping large groups of animals in crisis is one of the many ways we put compassion into action that sets OHS apart. In total, more than 100 animals were removed from the property.

The animals from the last group to arrive at OHS, mostly Maine coon and Ragdoll cats, were suffering from multiple health issues–a common occurrence when large groups of animals live in small, shared spaces. In addition to upper respiratory infections, some of the cats were showing signs of ringworm, a highly contagious fungal infection that requires a multi-week recovery period and a time-consuming treatment regimen. As a triple whammy, some of the cats were displaying symptoms of panleukopenia, a serious, sometimes deadly, transmittable virus.

Any one of these diagnoses would raise a red flag and cause our teams to pause and take extra care. The combination of all three led our team into uncharted waters. Luckily, our experienced Animal Care and Medical teams quickly pivoted and created a plan to help the cats while continuing to provide the highest level of care for all of the other animals in the shelter.

To ensure the safety of both our staff and animals, the new arrivals needed to be kept in an isolated area. Only a limited number of staff and volunteers—outfitted in head-to-toe PPE—could interact with and provide care for the cats. Heartbreakingly, the cats were all incredibly affectionate and desperate for human interaction. Due to the safety precautions being taken, the lengthy treatments required, and the sweet, gentle nature of the cats who just wanted to be held and petted, providing care for just one of them took about three times the amount of human labor it takes to care for a “normal,” healthy cat, limiting staffs ability to give them the extra attention they so desired.

As we got to know the cats and could determine which of them were healthy enough to be adopted, our Customer Care team was faced with an usual challenge: the cats still required dedicated daily care for their ringworm treatment, they were still in isolation, and they would need a “contact-free” adoption process—meaning that they couldn’t meet potential adopters in advance.

Our marketing team got creative, and came up with a special “Love is Blind” promotion to entice adopters to take the plunge on these extra-special kitties. Fortunately, our incredible community stepped up, and the cats began to find their new homes.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, OHS is able to care for large groups of animals in crisis—and, when cases like this one come with unexpected surprises, we have the tools and resources we need to adapt as new challenges present themselves.

Sparkles, A Friend to All!

Imagine a year of your life spent locked away. No regular contact with others. No affection. No fresh air. Food and water given to you sporadically with no routine, never knowing when, or if, it would come again.

This was the reality for Sparkles.

A concerned neighbor alerted Oregon Humane Society’s Humane Law Enforcement team who went to investigate the situation. What they found was alarming. Though her owners were providing minimum care and were therefore not breaking any laws, they had all but abandoned Sparkles. The sweet 9-year-old dog our Humane Special Agents found inside was emaciated, with patchy fur, inflamed red skin, and a cloudy eye in need of medical attention.

Luckily, her owner finally gave Sparkles what she needed most: her freedom. Sparkles was surrendered and immediately brought to OHS to receive care.

Though she hadn’t had much human affection in the past year, Sparkes was resilient. Despite her many ailments, Sparkles wore a beaming, wide grin and was playful with all the staff, volunteers, and even OHS summer campers who showered her with love!

A note in Sparkles’ medical chart perfectly describes her as “Happy, wagging, friendly, sweet and social. Soliciting attention and pets, a friend to all!”

It’s heartbreaking to think about such a loving dog being left in isolation with minimal human interaction. Sparkles may have been surviving on the little food she was being given, but she was far from thriving. This gentle-hearted pup was literally starved for attention.

Her road to recovery was long. But thanks to our donors, Sparkles received the medical treatment she needed, including surgery to remove her eye, to get healthy again. Today, this lively girl is as happy and cozy as ever—living the life she most desired as a full-time cuddler with her new family!

Thanks to your support, our Humane Law Enforcement team is working everyday throughout Oregon to rescue animals like Sparkles from cruelty and neglect and bring them to safety at OHS. Your gifts have the power to change lives and ensure every animal in our community is loved.