Just before one pm on Wednesdays,

volunteers and staff from all depart-

ments bring their chosen dog to the

training center and take a spot behind

visual barriers. Space is limited to 15

dogs and this is one class they are ea-

ger to attend! School starts promptly

with a PHS trainer demonstrating the

sit command.

As in any classroom, students vary

in their ability to concentrate. Some

canine students bark loudly and are so

distracted that they need a time out in

another room. Others are very studi-

ous, and are able to block out all of the

other dogs. Some dogs learn the com-

mands quickly and move from sit to

down and then to stay. Each dog and

personal trainer is visited and coached

by behavior staff. There is even a re-

freshment break when a bowl of cool

water is offered to the hard-working

class attendees.

Dogs and trainers work steadily for an

hour. Most dogs head back to the ken-

nels, and will “study” more during the

july | august 2010

Blue Ribbon DogsIf you visit the kennels on Wednesday afternoon after 2pm, you will see a member of our behavior team placing blue ribbon stickers on the kennel cards of some very proud dogs. The Blue Ribbon is the highest award given at Shelter School, our latest enrichment program that teaches basic commands to dogs before they are adopted. Only a few dogs earn it each week.

compassion and care for all animals

pasadena humane society & spca

(continued on back)

pg

. 2

The animals need your help.

Despite our aggressive spay neuter plat-

form, pet identification programs, and

training classes, pet overpopulation remains

a tough opponent as we try to reach zero

euthanasia of adoptable animals at the

Pasadena Humane Society.

But we are committed to developing a solution to this problem by emphasizing

sterilization, placement options, community education, outreach, and behavior

enrichment programs.

Through educational and community outreach, PHS is stemming the flow of ani-

mals into the shelter. Classes on good pet care, early training classes for your new

dog, and fun and games classes for your pet strengthen the human animal bond

and keep companion animals in their homes.

Our spay/neuter clinic is booked weeks in advance as the need remains strong.

We prevent over 2,000 unwanted births in a 4-year period by spaying one female

and neutering one male dog. An unsterilized pair of cats and their offspring will

produce 11,800 kittens in a 5-year period. Spaying and neutering dogs and cats is

a solid, effective defense against overpopulation.

Our adoption department and rescue coordinator have discovered placements

for animals on the East Coast, in the Southwestern US, the Pacific Northwest and

even Canada. These searches underscore the difficulty in finding local homes and

suggest that our community is saturated..

Staff from our behavior department interacts with the cats and dogs every day,

bringing interesting and unusual activities to enrich their stay at PHS. The depart-

ment has begun Shelter School, a program specifically for dogs in the shelter to

learn basic commands. This program helps dogs remain engaged with the sur-

roundings and involved with people, and gives staff a chance to work with their

favorite pooch. Everyone benefits!

Our solutions to pet overpopulation are creative and effective. But we need your

support to advance these programs. Together we can stop euthanasia caused by

overpopulation.

For the animals,

Steve

leader of the pack

PAg e 2

The Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA is NOT part of the ASPCA. When

you donate to PHS you are helping animals here in Southern California.

The ASPCA does not distribute donations locally. Each spca in the

country is legally separate from all of the others. Donate to the Pasadena

Humane Society & SPCA and help the animals in your community

http://www.pasadenahumane.org/donate

community heroes

PAg e 3

On June 13, 2009, Mike Outhouse, a retired Parole Unit Supervisor and dedi-

cated PHS volunteer, suffered a heart attack. After just two weeks of rest,

Mike was anxious to get back to volunteering. Upon his return, Mike was

given an article about a Wyoming humane society that implemented a dog

walking program for recovering heart attack patients. Inspired, Mike set out

to develop a similar program to benefit fellow patients and dogs waiting for

adoption at PHS.

Thanks to Mike’s hard work and dedication, the Pasa-

dena Humane Society & SPCA and Huntington Hospi-

tal have partnered to develop the Step Up: to Cardiac

Health program. The program allows patients in

Huntington Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program

to walk select dogs around Central Park, just north of

the animal shelter. “The fact that he saw a need in the

community, for people and animals to get more exer-

cise, and then acted on that need is very special,” said

Sandy DeMarco, Vice President of Volunteer Services.

“Mike really got this program going and he’s such a

wonderful volunteer. He took the initiative to contact

the hospital’s administration and regularly goes above and beyond to show

how much he cares,” said Drew Marsden, Behavior Supervisor at PHS.

Marsden oversees the program and both he and Mike provide training for

new participants.

“I’m amazed how quickly people have signed up. They are very enthusias-

tic and consistently put in a lot of hours,” said Mike when asked about the

program’s success.

In just its first few weeks, Step Up: to Cardiac Health enrolled 10 participants.

Mike is hopeful the program will continue to expand to allow more people to

improve their health while improving the lives of homeless pets.

Mike will tell you that Step Up: to Cardiac Health is the result of a team

effort, and we thank everyone involved in the process, but we believe

Mike’s special dedication to helping both people and animals makes him

a community hero.

pg

. 2

wild things

PAg e 4

Mating season, also called “rut”, occurs

in the fall. During this time males may

become more aggressive as they seek

to compete for females. Gestation lasts

about 200 days and the fawns are born

in the spring. Fawns will stay with their

mothers throughout the summer and

into the fall. It is normal behavior for a

doe to leave her fawn while she forages

for food. Do not touch, try to feed or

remove a fawn from their resting place.

Very few facilities can take in orphaned

fawns, so we must avoid any possibil-

ity that a fawn may be rejected by its

mother. If you find a fawn and think it

is in need of help, stay back and call a

wildlife rehabilitator for advice. Remem-

ber that it is illegal to feed deer and do-

ing so is punishable by a fine and/or jail.

Deer are grazers, foraging on shoots

and leaves in the morning and evening

and may be considered a nuisance by

residents if deer frequent their gardens.

To keep deer out of your yard, pick up

backyard fruit and consider deer proof

fencing and commercially available

deer repellent devices. Deer find certain

plants distasteful so you may want to

consider using these plants in your land-

scape. They include olive and fig trees,

mint, California poppies, and lavender.

The foothills around Glendale and

Pasadena are filled with varieties of

wildlife. The Pasadena Humane

Society is available to assist you with

any wildlife question you may have.

Contact our wildlife officer at ext. 110

or online at www.pasadenahumane.org.

If you live in the foothills, you have probably seen the Cali-

fornia Mule deer. They get their name from their large mule

like ears and black tipped tail. Male Mule deer start to grow

a set of forking antlers each spring and shed them in the

winter. A large buck may weigh up to 500 pounds but most

are 150-300. Does are smaller at 125-175 pounds and they do

not grow antlers.

Living with Deer

Q: My dog barks when I am not home and my neighbors are complaining, what should I do?

A: Barking is an innate behavior. It is both normal and practical for dogs to

bark here and there, just as people make noise when they are excited about

something. However, continual barking for long periods of time is a sign that

your dog has a problem that may need to be addressed. First you need to

establish when and for how long your dog barks, and eventually what is the

cause of the barking. Finding out the cause of the barking is half the battle.

Sometimes simply “expanding your dog’s world” will help alleviate barking

as they no longer feel threatened by things they have previously encoun-

tered. Ultimately, hiring an in-home trainer who can further evaluate the

barking and its cause may be the best alternative.

Q: I want my dog to walk nicely on leash. Does she need to know how to “heel?”

A: The goal of the Heel cue is for the dog to immediately assume a focused

position at the handler’s left side and remain there, whether the handler is

walking, standing still, or running. It is important that the Heel cue not be

confused with loose-leash walking. Loose leash walking is used when the dog

can investigate his/her surroundings visually without pulling on the leash.

Keeping the leash loose is the dog’s job, not the owners. Utilizing the “stop-

and-go” method or “turn abouts” can easily help train loose leash walking.

Just remember no training happens over night, it is a life long process.

Q: I’ve recently moved and my dog has started to go potty inside. He was housebroken before I moved, is there something wrong?

A: Dogs, just like people are easily affected by moving. These emotions and

breaks in routine can often cause dogs to digress in their training. While it

may be true that your dog has gone through some emotional or transitional

disturbances, it is still important that he knows this is bad behavior. Once

you have both gotten settled and your routine is reestablished, start retrain-

ing your potty routine. While this may mean that you have to go back to

puppy-hood housebreaking rules, the timeline will be immensely shorter. If

you continue to have issue you may need to consult your vet as there could

be something more serious than just his behavior.

For more tips and information please contact the Pasadena Humane Society & SCPA’s Behavior & Training Department at (626) 792-7151 ext. 155.

Tips and Myths about Pets

PAg e 5

?

behavior & training Q A

pg

. 2

A Barrel Full of Love

happy tails

PAg e 6

everyday, dozens of people visit the Pasadena Humane Society

to find the right pet to adopt. But for Diana and Monroe Tinker,

it was Barrel who found them.

Barrel, a seven-year-old American

bulldog and pit bull mix, was a stray

picked up roaming the streets of

Pasadena. Despite the fact that he was

an affectionate and well behaved dog,

he was overlooked by many potential

adopters. Barrel—named by a volun-

teer because of his robust figure—re-

mained at the shelter for more than a

month while our dedicated adoptions

staff searched for his new forever

home. Kevin McManus, Adoptions

Supervisor, observes that this is often

the case for older dogs, but knew that

“the right people would come along

eventually.”

Diana and Monroe, a couple from

Sherman Oaks, were not looking for

another dog—with the recent passing

of their adored bulldog, they did not

think that they were ready. But when

a friend alerted them about another

bulldog in need of being rescued

they quickly changed their minds. As

their hearts opened up to the idea of

welcoming a new pet into their home,

they got the news that the bulldog was

already adopted.

Diana remembers the day when she

first laid eyes on Barrel, “Since I had

already prepared for another dog, I

went online searching for dogs. That

is when I saw the video of Barrel on

the Pasadena Humane Society web-

site. I showed my husband and we

took a trip to Pasadena to see him.

Now mind you, we have quite a few

shelters near us, but we had to go

visit him. He was too adorable!”

Though they were a bit wary about

getting an older dog at first, this gentle

bulldog mix made it easy for them to

change their minds. They immediately

returned with their two dogs to make

sure they would all get along and Bar-

rel, renamed Big Dadi, had a new home

that very afternoon.

Big Dadi feels right at home with his

new family and loves to play and take

naps with his new canine compan-

ions. Diana and Monroe could not be

more pleased with the new addition

to their family, “Big Dadi has made us

so happy! He is such a great dog. We

thank Kevin for all his help in making

sure we met him.”

On a beautiful April morning, guests gathered at Angeles National Golf club

for the 11th annual “Doglegs, Birdies and Eagles: Get on the Ball!” golf benefit.

The event featured 18 holes of golf, followed by an exciting helicopter ball drop

raffle and awards dinner. Tank the Skateboarding Dog, Violet our resident opos-

sum and bugler Jay Cohen from Santa Anita Park greeted golfers as they came

off the green.

The event netted more than $124,000. Proceeds will help provide nourishing

food, shelter and veterinary care to the thousands of animals that come to the

Pasadena Humane Society this year.

Sunday, September 26, 2010 at Pasadena’s Brookside Park

You can make a difference and help save the lives of innocent animals! Now

is the perfect time to start your own personal fundraising campaign to sup-

port the Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA. Visit www.wigglewagglewalk.org

to register, create your custom webpage and get great fundraising tips. Come

back often to follow our “fundraising thermometer” as we climb towards our

goal of $330,000!

For more information, please call Nicole Ring at (626) 792-7151, ext.167

or email events@phsspca.org

A Barrel Full of Love

event round-up

PAg e 7

“ Doglegs, Birdies and Eagles: Get on the Ball!” a Huge Success

above left: helicopter ball drop. above middle: roslyn deforest, santa anita park bugler jay cohen, and georgia coye. above left: wildlife officer ashley hermans, liz baronowski, steve falk and violet the opposum

IT’S WIGGLE WAGGLE WALK TIME!

Blue Ribbon Dogs (continued from page 1)

Non-profitOrganizationU.S. Postage

PAIDPasadena, CA

Permit No. 1142361 South Raymond Avenue

Pasadena, CA 91105

The Pasadena Humane Society & SPCA is a

private, non-profit, open door, animal welfare

agency serving the communities of Arcadia, Glen-

dale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, San Marino,

Sierra Madre and South Pasadena.

week. The few that have managed

to learn all commands stay for the

final test. With much encourage-

ment, applause and support, the

dogs are put through the com-

mands by PHS trainers. Blue rib-

bons are awarded to the dogs that

have learned the commands well.

Like any school award, this goes

on their record and is shared with

potential adopters.

Although only a few dogs earn

an award, every dog (and

handler) learns something new

in Shelter School.

Facility HoursTues, Wed, Thurs, Fri 9 am—6 pmSat 9 am—5 pmSun 11 am—5 pm

Adoption HoursTues, Wed, Thurs, Fri 9 am—5 pmSat 9 am—4 pmSun 11 am—4 pm

www.pasadenahumane.org

24 hour Emergency Service please call 626.792.7151Glendale residents please call toll-free 818.240.9100

eventsPHS is closed on Sunday, July 4th for Independence Day. Fetch tips on keeping your pet safe and happy during the celebration at pasadenahumane.org.

PHS is hosting a public low-cost vaccination clinic on Wednesday, August 11 from 6:30 to 8 pm. For more information, see pasadenahumane.org.