Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley

On the Square

During the Spring and Summer, volunteers or members of the organization occasionally take adoptable dogs to the Farmers’ Market on Market Square. The dog wears a bandana that says “Adopt Me.” It gets the dog out of the shelter for a time, allows them to interact and socialize with people and other dogs on the Square, and in this case, just to name one, find loving families and forever homes. Dan MacDonald happened to be there one morning and, as a photographer, asked if he could take pictures of Molly. He couldn’t get her out of his mind and within a few days he and his wife adopted her from the shelter and took her home. Read his story below.

Laura,

Someday we’ll stop by with the most spoiled beagle/blue heeler mix on the planet.  We’d need to know when you were at the center.

Molly has pretty much taken over the house and our lives.  The cats have totally accepted her now, and they sleep within a few inches of each other.  Willow, our sixteen year old grey cat, rubs his head all over Molly’s face to greet her each time they get together.   He will not tolerate our other cat, but he loves Molly.

She’s a complete lap dog and sleeps in our bed.  A favorite sleep position is upside down with all four feet in the air. It’s pretty ridiculous on all counts.

Molly LOVES the leash-free dog parks.  She goes to the one downtown twice a week and the big one out on Rifle Range Road once a week.  Let me know if she ever swam before.  It’s my impression she hadn’t, because she was very wary of the water at first.  Then she became enamored of a certain chocolate retriever who she thought was the coolest thing on earth, and she couldn’t stand it that he was in the deep water and she wasn’t there too.  Next thing you know, she’s in the water paddling like a little motorboat.  Now she absolutely loves to swim.

Usually when we leave the doggy park we just about have to carry her to the van, she’s so worn out from playing.  She loves every dog, likes to bait them all to chase her, and is always one of the two or three most active dogs there, if not the most active.  Molly is blazingly fast and can outrun everything but whippets and greyhounds.  If she gets in my van and we don’t go straight to the park, it’s almost impossible to get her out of the vehicle.

Now, she’s very fond of Jake, the big white dog who accompanies Bill, the guitar player in front of Tomato Head restaurant on the Square.  Jake will get down on her level, even rolling over upside down so she can play with him.  Molly makes incredibly strong friendships, human, canine or feline, and will spot a good dog friend the minute they enter a park, even if she hasn’t seen them in a month.  At the Schumpert Park it’s Shelby the brindle mix, or Sadie the tan retriever mix, or Dandy the beagle-bassett, or any one of a half dozen other dogs she fairly worships.  At the downtown park, it’s Sara Beth the copper-spotted bird dog.  Most of these dogs are much bigger, but Molly trusts them in rough play and will submarine her body under theirs, grab an opposite leg, and flip them over.  Where she got such a sophisticated technique I have no idea.

She’s the best thing to happen to us in a long time.

Molly appears in my “On the Square” gallery, before and after her adoption.  Here’s the direct link to the slideshow:  http://DanMacDonald.zenfolio.com/market/slideshow

She also appears several times in my “Dogs Gone Wild!” galleries on my website, especially the one for Schumpert Park:  http://DanMacDonald.zenfolio.com/wilddogs

From talking with the owners, Michele and I have estimated that more than 60% of all the dogs we see at the parks are adopted.  To me, this is astonishing, because those animals are terrific pets.  Some of them, like Alex the Diving Dog, are legends.  Alex is the NFL version of a weimaraner; he looks like he spends his days in the weight room.  Molly can’t handle Alex, she just sits on the sidelines and looks at him fly by like he’s a visitor from another galaxy.  Alex can be seen in my American Cancer Society Bark for Life gallery:  http://danmacdonald.zenfolio.com/barkforlife/slideshow

Thanks again for all your help and bringing Molly into our lives.

Dan MacDonald

Adoptable Animals

These are some of our cats and dogs that were up for adoption at the time this newsletter was published. There are many other animals who need good, loving, forever homes, too. Visit our shelter on Bearden Hill (6720 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN  37919) to meet the rest of the gang.

Griffin is a 12-week old Jack Russell mix who loves to play. He is the only one who survived Parvo out of a litter of three. He soaks up attention and affection and gives it right back.

King is a one-year-old Boxer that came from a very sad situation, but his Boxer personality shines through. King is a playful loving boy who would make a wonderful family companion.

Rudy is a two-year-old Brussels Griffon mix. He has luxating patellas, which means that his knee cap sometimes moves out of its normal position. This sometimes causes his legs to give out from under him when he walks. He may have to undergo surgery in the future, but for now does not appear to be in any pain. In fact, Rudy really enjoys running and playing with the other dogs at the shelter during recess.

Skeeter is a five-month old Domestic Medium Hair cat who has been at the shelter since he was eight weeks old. He was finally adopted near Christmas, but quickly returned after the adopter lost work. He was adopted again and returned with a respiratory infection. Pellissippi Veterinary Hospital took him in for two weeks, nursing him back to health. He has been doing great since then, but suffers from separation anxiety from being moved around so much. Everyone who visits him falls in love with him, but he needs to find a permanent loving home this time.

Misty is a three-year-old Domestic Long Hair that was surrendered when her “mother” moved into an assisted living home. She is a very affectionate cat who loves people.

Cami is a three-year-old Chihuahua who was rescued from the hoarding case in Morristown. She lived in a mobile home with over 50 other dogs. Although she is very sweet, Cami probably would not do well in a home with children. She needs a patient person who has the time to give her love and attention. She somewhat calm and does enjoy her naps.

Letter from the President

Dear Supporters of the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley,

I want to thank all of you who supported the Humane Society in the past, and especially in the last year.  2010 was an exciting time for HSTV.

We went through some major changes.  We shifted from having one executive director to three directors.  Each of these positions is responsible for a separate area of our work.  The HSTV Board has been diligent to fill these positions with three talented and dedicated women.

Amy Buttry is our newest director and has allowed us to move all of our accounting and financial tasks in-house.  This has given the board a greater ability to minimize our expenses so that we can maximize our assistance to the animals of East Tennessee.  Amy is keeping us on a tight budget so that every dollar is wisely spent.

Debbi Clark has been with HSTV for many years.  She brings vast experience to our animal care facilities.  Her knowledge enables us to select puppies, kittens, dogs and cats, care for their health needs and place them in new adoptive homes.  She is a master at her job.

Laura Ross is spending her days organizing our events.  Her development skills have been put to good use on all events both great and small.  She is equally at home in staging our annual "Bark in the Park," which draws ~2500 people, to managing educational talks by an area veterinarian.  We are thankful to have her as our Development Director.

This has indeed been a remarkable year.  Despite this restructuring of our staff or maybe because of it we have had a wonderful year.  We have placed over 1,000 pets from a dozen different area shelters in new, happy homes.  All of these new, furry, family members were spayed or neutered prior to placement.  Our Fix-A-Pet facility has assisted the public by spaying or neutering another 1,200 pets.  That's well over 2,000 dogs and cats that will not contribute to the pet over population problem in East Tennessee.

This is my second year as President of the HSTV and I have worked with them for many of my 32 years as a veterinarian.  Our staff is small, but their hard work and dedication to the animals invigorates me.  I am truly excited to see what the next few years will bring to the Humane Society.

We have begun a special fund called the Roo Fund (named for a special HSTV furry friend).  Donations made to this fund are for special shelter pets.  These pets are in need of medical treatment which prevents them from having any chance at adoption from area shelters.  It may be a nerve damaged leg that needs amputation or an old fractured hip that has not healed.  We work to acquire the necessary treatment which allows this dog or cat a second chance to be placed in a loving home.  The number we can help is limited. However, each one we do help is a pet whose life is changed and saved.

There are other exciting new programs on the horizon as our talented and energetic staff moves forward to help as many pets as possible.  Thank you for allowing this to happen with your support of the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley.

Patrick Hackett, DVM
President

Notes from the Directors

My name is Amy Buttry, and I am the Fiscal Director of the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley.  I am doing this job because of my love for animals; and because I want to see the Humane Society fulfill its mission of bringing an end to animal suffering.  With my background in business and accounting, I came to realize that the best way I could help the animals was to help the Humane Society run a successful non-profit.  What does that mean?  It means getting the most out of every donated dollar; and making sure that when we spend money, we spend it wisely.  The amount of help we can give the animals in our community is directly related to the amount of funds we have. 

My job includes entering the daily accounting transactions:  deposits, expenditures, and payroll.  With every vendor that we use, I discuss ways to save the organization money.  Most businesses are willing to help us with that goal because they share a love for animals and appreciate what we do.  At the end of each month, I issue financial statements and distribute reports to our Board of Directors and Management team.  I prepare the annual budgets and analyze the progress of each of our three departments:  Adopt-a-Pet, Fix-a-Pet and Development.  My job also includes filing all local, state, and federal documents required to maintain our non-profit organization’s status.  As Fiscal Director, it is my responsibility to make sure that the Humane Society is an excellent steward of the funds we receive from our donors.

Hello. My name is Laura Ross. I am proud to work with the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley as its Development Director, heading up all public relations efforts and fundraising activities. I am also proud to work with a supportive team that passionately embraces our goals of rescuing animals from Knox and the surrounding counties, helping to educate the public of the necessity to spay and neuter, and providing those services at competitive rates.

I came here from Houston, TX a few years ago after working mostly with nonprofit organizations within the healthcare industry to help people in need. However, I always found time to rescue stray cats. I would bring them to my veterinarian and talk him into temporarily using his cat play room as an adoption lure. He laughed when he told me he was cutting me off, but I took him seriously. So, I brought him a 50-pound stray dog instead. 

I’m a sucker for humanitarian efforts, whether people or animal-related. So, it is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I devote myself to the Humane Society here in East Tennessee. If you are reading this, then you are probably an animal lover. Please feel free to contact me at lross@humaneknoxville.com if you are interested in hearing ways in which you are able to help your furry friends within the community.

My name is Debi Clark, and I am the Operations Director for the Humane Society of the Tennessee Valley. I clearly remember walking in the front door of the Humane Society over 20 years ago and seeing for myself the many animals looking at me and begging to be touched and loved.  It was at that point I decided this was the perfect place for me to work.  Over the many years I have been with the Humane Society I have cared for thousands of animals--pigs, goats, horses, birds, snakes, even a Puma. So, I was not just limited to dogs and cats. My heart has gone out to each and every one of the animals I have helped.

My job entails doing what it takes to care for the animals and make their stay here as comfortable and as loving as possible until they are placed in a forever home. I am also responsible for traveling to several area animal shelters, rescuing many who might not have a chance for adoption due to lack of space and the continuing overpopulation of unwanted litters that continue to arrive at these shelters daily. I also oversee a staff of eight dedicated employees who are very committed to placing the pets in our care in responsible, forever homes. I wear many hats during the course of the day, caring for the animals. My job is very rewarding when I see one more dog or cat going home forever.

My favorite slogan is “Until There Are None Adopt One.”