Animals

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Enriching The Lives of Homeless Pets And Families

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I’ve been so grateful to my friends who have been there for me during this past year with lots of personal issues including my mom’s ailing health. The kindness of others has given me so much strength and I’ve been looking for a larger scale way of giving back.

I’d been yearning to get back to fulfilling that side of my heart again. This past fall I visited the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati and learned about its Pet Support Program.

I’d been looking for a larger scale opportunity to give back for those who have shown me so much kindness. IHN’s Pet Support Program touched me on many levels – when homelessness and financial hardship hit a family, it hits everyone in that family…including the non-human animals.

Then, in early December it occurred to me when I looked at all of Dawson’s unused toys. Among other things, boredom can be a cause of behavior problems that could make finding and keeping low income housing and shelter difficult for those families. Dawson’s unused toys could be enrichment for pets whose owners wouldn’t be able to provide them – or for those pets who are being cared for by IHN while their owners are working through what they need to work through.

The idea for Gifts for Best Friends was born.

 

From March 14 to April 18, we will be collecting gently used HARD dog and cat toys, and new hard and soft toys. There will be drop off locations. Additionally, I am looking for individuals and organizations who would like to organize an internal collection Gifts for Best Friends Cincinnati dog and cat toy collection for homeless and low income familiesamong their co-workers, congregations, group members.

Special thanks to the very talented Erik Pietila for creating the beautiful artwork for the campaign!!

Please visit this link to learn more on my pet training website.  Also, I will be posting updates on my So Much PETential Facebook page. Please mark yourself as *attending* or *interested* to get updates.

And, if you would like to be involved with a collection, please be in touch!

Drop Off Locations

Care Center Vets
6995 E Kemper Road
513-530-0911
General area – Montgomery/Symmes Township

Earthwise at Harper’s Point
11328 Montgomery Road
(513) 469-7387
general area – Montgomery/Symmes Township

Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati
990 Nassau Street
513-471-1100
general area – near downtown

Mason Community Center
6050 S Mason Montgomery Rd
(513) 229-8555
general area – Mason

Pet Wants – Findlay Market
1813 Pleasant St
513-721-8696
general area – Over the Rhine

Pet Wants – Cincy Kitchen
1409 Vine St
513-621-3647

Pleasant Ridge Pet Hospital
6229 Montgomery Rd
(513) 351-1730
general location – Pleasant Ridge

Western Hills Animal Hospital
5500 Glenway Ave
513-922-2266
general area – Western Hills

So Much PETential Cincinnati dog training by Lisa Desatnik

 

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Louie’s Legacy Is Saving Lives

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It was 2009. Emily Gear was living in New York. Eight years had passed since two planes flew into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, causing the two tallest buildings on the globe to implode, killing nearly 3,000 people, and sending a ripple of fear, anxiety, hatred across borders.

When something like that happens in your home town, you are in an instant changed. For Emily, PTSD had seeped into her soul. Her world was a heavy Emily Gear, founder of Louie's Legacy dog rescue in Cincinnati, shares her story of why she started the organization.place. Her heart was missing a piece.

Emily wasn’t much into dogs back then but she was asked to babysit a basset hound and she said yes. That one little word was what pulled her out of a dark abyss. It became the start of a journey that has ultimately saved more than 22,000 animals by finding them forever homes that are filled with love.

It all started with Louie

There he was. On the 13th page she looked at on Pet Finder. He was a basset/husky mix with red fur and multi-colored eyes. Something about him just spoke to Emily, called for her to drive to Connecticut to meet him in person. He was heartworm positive which was fatal if not treated with very expensive medical treatment. She really was not expecting to bring him home, but she did.

Louie was just what Emily needed at the time.

I was shut down. He made friends with people easily. He was funny. He looked so weird with his short legs on a huge body and a head that didn’t quite fit. He looked like he was pieced together from different toys, she told me.

But also, he knew what she needed every moment. They were in each other’s heads all the time. I don’t think a human being could have done that, she said.

Louie, it turned out, came from a shelter that euthanized more than 99% of its dogs. It blew Emily away that her soul mate, her companion, could have easily been one of that statistic.

Saving dogs. Giving love. This became her life mission.

Moving back to Cincinnati, Emily began volunteering for rescue organizations while making medical and transport arrangements for animals. Soon she realized she needed to start her own rescue.

Sadly, it was one of her foster dogs that opened the gate to her back yard, through which Louie ran out and into the street. His life ended when he was hit by a passing SUV.

He had a specific job to do and when he did it, he left, she told me.

He didn’t get to see the day Louie’s Legacy was incorporated but truly, it is his legacy, that thousands of animals have been saved to do their job with their humans, to bring and receive joy through every day moments.

Louie’s Legacy, now operating out of New York and Cincinnati, is one of the largest shelters in the U.S. Almost all of the dogs they bring in have come from kill shelters.

Today Emily shares her home with four dogs, ages 11 to 15. Joe is a basset/Carolina mix who was a friend to Louie. Sirus Jones is a jack russell mix. Sandusky is a basset/husky mix who she found on Pet Finder just 13 days after losing Louie. And Louie Jr. is a fox hound mix, part of the first litter of puppies she fostered.

They keep me honest about the flow of life. That things begin and end and we need to be okay with that. You can’t waist the now moment worrying about that, she said.

By the way, Emily has also become an animal communicator and healer. You can learn more at www.IamEmilyGear.com.

My Furry Valentine

You can see animals from Louie’s Legacy and many other rescue organizations at My Furry Valentine, the region’s largest adoption event.  Thousands of animals will be looking for their forever homes. This year it is February 15 and 16 at the Sharonville Convention Center (11355 Chester Road; Cincinnati, OH 45246). General admission is $5 and early bird admission is $25.

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Shay Has A Heart For Animal Underdogs

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Shay Baysore, volunteer social media coordinator for My Furry Valentine, will tell you, she has always been drawn to the underdog, those human and non-human animals who are often overlooked, stigmatized, and expected to fail. She has always believed in their capacity to give, receive, contribute and achieve.

“A soul is a soul,” she told me.

And every soul is deserving of love.

Shay Baysore, social media coordinator for My Furry Valentine in Cincinnati, talks about why she is passionate about dog and cat adoption.That has been Shay’s lifelong passion, ingrained in her as a young child from her father, her role model. A big man with an intimidating presence, he had soft spot when it came to animals. Some of Shay’s earliest memories are of their taking in strays including any injured animal walking by like a three-legged raccoon and abandoned bunny babies.

These days Shay and her husband share their home with five dogs and three cats – all of whom are either seniors or have some sort of difference/disability. Among them are Embry, adopted from My Furry Valentine, who has had to have surgery to narrow her eyelids and has chronic dry eye; Lyo, their Pug who has partial back leg paralysis; and Kylo (pictured with Shay), their puppy mill rescue who is missing a jaw.

With so many pets and so many different issues that require time, patience, and love; being a non-human mom could almost be Shay’s full time job…but it isn’t. She has a busy career as director of digital marketing for Lasik Plus; and donates over 10 hours of her time each week to attract people to My Furry Valentine through social media. She even finds extra time to give to the Clermont Animal Care Humane Society.

If you will be one of the hundreds of people who attend this year’s mega adoption event, you may see Shay and her husband with cameras and their phones, capturing moments for Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Before the doors open, Shay also spends a lot of time reading and getting to know animal tags. Then, as she is talking to attendees, she can help match them with their forever new companion.

“I am always tired when My Furry Valentine is over, but it is SO worth it,” Shay said.

About My Furry Valentine:

Where:  Sharonville Convention Center
When: 
Saturday, February 9th 2019
Early Bird* Hours: 10:00am-Noon
General Admission Hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm

Sunday, February 10th 2019
General Admission Hours: 12:00pm-6:00pm

Main Event Admission:
General Admission Tickets $5 (Children under 5 are free)
*Early Bird Tickets $25 (Children 5 and older only $5 with paying adult)

For more detailed information on My Furry Valentine, including participating dog and cat rescue organization and pets up for adoption, please visit their website.

 

So Much PETential Cincinnati Dog Training by Lisa Desatnik, CPDT-KA, CPBC

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An Angel For Pets

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Tammy Wynn is CEO of Angel's Paws pet hospice in Cincinnati

If you have ever been the giver and recipient of unconditional love from a non-human companion, you may also have come to know the tumultuous pain when that joy is replaced by grief in the face of loss…possibly even anguish as you have had to make what could possibly be the most difficult decision of your life.

I have been that giver and receiver time and again. And I have had to say good-bye. My pets have always had a very special place in my heart. Each time I have lost one, the grief has been intense. You don’t soon forget that pain but you do, over time, come to be able to look back and smile at the memories, the gift, of the moments, the feelings, the comradery.

It is all those reasons why, when I sat across the table from Tammy Wynn, CEO of Angel’s Paws, I felt a sense of deep connection with her story, her purpose, her journey.

Cagney and Lacey were more than just cats. For 18 years they were Tammy’s children. Together they got through the happy, the sad, the challenges and the accomplishments that come with life. Cagney and Lacey were Tammy’s rocks. They were ears to listen, bodies to hold, kids to encourage play.

Then, in 2003, it happened. Cagney’s health was failing and Tammy’s vet told her it was time to euthanize. “I asked why, and the explanation was just that Cagney was 18,” Tammy remembered.

That day Cagney came home but needed assistance just to stand upright in the litter box. “I knew we needed to do something so I agreed but I didn’t understand what was going on and it didn’t feel right. It was excruciating,” she told me.

That was Tammy’s first experience with death. Her second experience came one year, April 4, 2004, later when her father lost his battle with bladder cancer.

Until that day, Tammy had considered herself an apathetic agnostic. But, one day later, Tammy said she got a sign from her dad. “I came to realize there is a God and a heaven, and I was going to be in it beyond a shadow of a doubt. And I said, ‘ok God’,whatever you want from me, I’m in.”

By April 6, two words were put into Tammy’s heart. Her father’s journey and how the tender care and knowledge of hospice still fresh in her mind, it was painfully clear she wished she had that kind of support when she went through the loss of her beloved pet one year earlier. She googled animal hospice but nothing came up.

“Hospice took the most difficult day of my life and made it manageable, but with the loss of my companion of 18 years, I was alone. Dad left me with entrepreneurial genes so I thought, ‘I guess I am just supposed to invent this,’” she told me.

But there was a lot of learning to do first. Tammy’s next 3 ½ years were spent as a social worker for Hospice of Cincinnati learning all she could about the important role of hospice nursing. Then, at age 50, she went back to school be a veterinary technician to better understand the animal disease process.

Education behind her, Tammy used her entire retirement savings to purchase a building, crematory and vehicles.  Angel’s Paws opened at 3:30 pm on April 6, 2010 as the nation’s first pet hospice organization. Its multidisciplinary team supports human caregivers and their pets through its Pets Peace of Mind (in home medical care for a pet by a licensed veterinary team, and emotional support and education by licensed counselors for human family members), in home euthanasia, private cremation, and support groups and counseling.

Today Angel’s Paws has a staff of eight and serve about 1400 people each year. The Angel’s Paws team has been a part of making death more comforting for over 6500 pets since its inception.

“This is the most meaningful and most rewarding work I have ever done,” Tammy said. “Being able to support people and their pet with compassion at such a difficult time is really a gift.”

So Much PETential Cincinnati Dog Training by Lisa Desatnik, CPDT-KA, CPBC
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My Furry Valentine Led By Passionate Animal Lovers

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To organize a MEGA animal adoption event that finds homes for some 800+ animals, it takes a MEGA crew of hard working volunteers to make it happen. That event is the My Furry Valentine, our region’s largest adoption event that finds homes for pets from about 35 different rescue groups. And two names I want to recognize with that event are Carolyn Evans of PhoDOGrapher and Jennifer Grimmett.

Carolyn, and her pet photography business, is host and founder of My Furry Valentine. She is also someone with a HUGE heart for animals…and people. She has captured the spirits of furry friends for more than a decade; and her photographs have helped many animals find forever homes. Caroline is an ardent supporter of the No-Kill movement, the Board Secretary of HeARTs Speak, a united group of artists united to break down the myth that animals from rescues and shelters are inferior, and the Board President of My Furry Valentine.

Jennifer Grimmett is volunteer coordinator for My Furry Valentine, a Cincinnati pet adoption eventJennifer Grimmett is an assistant principal for an online high school; and serves as My Furry Valentine’s volunteer coordinator. It is Jennifer’s role to recruit, coordinate and manage about 265 volunteers for the two day event. It is a non-paid position that has required dozens of hours, and has even gotten her family including her children involved.

Spending that kind of time on anything generally takes someone driven by passion…something both Caroline and Jennifer have. You can read more about Carolyn in my past interview here.

Jennifer told me she has always loved animals. It is something shared by her entire family including her husband, Mike, and two daughters, Michael and Audrey. All three of their cats and their Pug, Finn, are all rescues. Finn came into their lives via a Columbus prison rehabilitation program for dogs, and is every bit a ‘mama’s dog,’ going most places Jennifer goes.

While she has spent so many hours communicating with people online or over the telephone, Thursday will be a big night as all volunteers will congregate for a big orientation meeting prior to the event. “I really can’t wait until our big volunteer meeting this Thursday before the event. It will be my first time meeting everyone in person. It will be the only time when everyone is in one room together. I think it will be amazing to share that positive energy with everyone,” Jennifer told me.

NOTE:  If you are planning on attending to find your new friend, please read my adoptions considerations in my pet behavior blog at www.SoMuchPETential.com.

My Furry ValentineAbout My Furry Valentine

This year’s Main Event will again be held at the Sharonville Convention Center (11355 Chester Road; 45246) and will feature hundreds of adoptable pets (dogs, cats, puppies, kittens and other small critters) from dozens of different rescue and shelter groups from around the Greater Cincinnati area. Every pet adopted from our Main Event will go home with swag and adopters can enter to win one an adopter raffle basket.

As a courtesy to the adoptable animals already on site as well as for the safety and well-being of guests, owned pets are not allowed at the event. If you’d like to schedule a meet-and-greet between your current pet and a potential adoptee, My Furry Valentine suggests you contact that rescue or shelter directly.

If you are unable to attend the MFV Main Event, be sure to check out the many participating locations throughout the city. Satellite events are hosted throughout Greater Cincinnati by My Furry Valentine participating rescues and shelters. You can find a list on the My Furry Valentine website.

 

 

 

Early Bird Entry, Saturday: 10am – 12pm

Saturday, February 11th, 12pm – 6pm

Sunday, February 12th, 10am – 5pm

General Admission: $5 per person, ages 5 and up

Early Bird Admission: $25 for 1, $40 for a pair, children 17 and under free when accompanying an adult.

 

In my So Much PETential pet behavior blog, I wrote about some considerations to keep in mind BEFORE you go. Please click here to read them.

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