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FUR FUN Summer Program (for kids
age 8 to 12)
Registration for 2008 sessions begins
May 1st.
The Fur Fun Program offers children the
chance to have hands-on interaction with animals, learn more
about animal behavior, care, and health, plus lots and lots
of fun!
Registration for all four sessions of the
FUR FUN Summer Program will be by mail. Click here for a
printable registration form. Registrations may not
be postmarked earlier than May 1st, 2008. Applications postmarked before
May 1 will not be accepted.
Forms should be mailed to:
HSSC, 2331 15th Street, Sarasota FL 34237,
attn: “FUR FUN Summer Program.” Registration is on a
first-received basis and must include a nonrefundable $10.00
deposit. Your registration will be confirmed by email before
May 15, 2008.
If your registration arrives after the
program is full, your deposit will become a donation to
HSSC’s orphaned animals. No hand delivered or emailed
applications will be accepted. The balance of fees will be
due on the first day of the program. Each child may attend
only one session per summer.
Fur Fun Summer Program 2008
Schedule
Each session meets from noon to 4 p.m.
Cost is $150 per session, with a $10
discount for each additional sibling. Registration fee
includes a FUR FUN T-shirt.
Session 1: June 9
-13
Session 2: June 23 -27
Session 3: July 14 -
18
Session 4: July 28 - Aug 1
The Fur Fun Program offers children the
chance to have hands-on interaction with animals, learn more
about animal behavior, care, and health, plus lots and lots
of fun!
For more information about the FUR FUN
Summer Program, call Kate or Dee
at 955-4131 or email education@hssc.org.
HSSC SELECTED TO JOIN NORTH
SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA’S TOUR FOR LIFE 2008...
Life-saving Adoption Event Set for Saturday, April
5
North Shore Animal League
America’s Tour for Life 2008, a national initiative to save the
lives of innocent animals, partnered with the Humane Society of
Sarasota County for a special pet adoption event
Saturday, April 5 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at
PetSmart, 4942 S. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. A cooperative
initiative with animal shelters across the country, Tour for
Life, sponsored by Nestle Purina PetCare Company, aims to
reinforce the importance and advantages of shelter
adoptions. This year singer, actress and Grammy-award winner
Mýa, soon to be starring in the Broadway musical “Chicago,”
serves as the program’s national spokesperson.
“This lifesaving tour is truly close to
my heart, as both a pet owner and animal lover,” said Mýa.
“Hopefully, my role in this effort will inspire all who are
concerned about animal welfare to find room in their hearts
and homes for these sweet, deserving pets.”
Shelter dogs, cats,
puppies and kittens were available for adoption on the Animal
League’s mobile adoption unit and through rescues and other
shelters invited by HSSC to join the event. In addition to
finding loving homes for the animals, this event informed the public
of the many educational and lifesaving services available
to pet owners at the Humane Society of Sarasota County.
The adoption celebration also included pet adoption
specials, HSSC’s “Smooch a Pooch” booth, goodie bags and a
pet psychic.
"The Humane
Society of Sarasota County is proud to
be part of North Shore Animal League America's Tour for Life,"
said HSSC Executive Director Deborah Robbins Millman. "HSSC is
continually striving to find new ways to increase pet adoptions
and decrease the number of pets abandoned at shelters.
HSSC takes in more than 3,500 such pets annually, each
of whom deserves tender care and a loving home. Many
great pets found new families during this wonderful event. HSSC hopes to do
it again in 2009!"
Throughout April, Tour for Life will be
on its life-saving mission across America, helping more than
100 shelters and rescue groups find homes for orphaned pets.
Tour for Life ends with a “Grand Finale” event, hosted by
Mýa at FAO Schwarz in New York City on Saturday, April 26,
featuring celebrities and puppies posing in the world-famous
toy store windows.
Tour For Life is sponsored by Nestlé
Purina PetCare Company, Bayer Healthcare LLC, Animal Health
Division, and Fort Dodge Animal Health. All pets adopted
during Tour For Life receive a free gift from Purina.
To learn more about Tour For Life and
how you can help North Shore Animal League America, visit www.animal-league.org, call the
special Tour For Life hotline, 1-800-214-4308 or email denisez@nsalamerica.org.
 HSSC partners with Comcast West Florida to
Feature Pet Adoptions
 Comcast has announced the
placement of Pet Adoptions ON DEMAND. Every month, Comcast
will air up to 30 animal profiles that cable viewers can
watch any time. These short videos tell us all we need to
know about each furry guest star, including its name, tag
number, history, temperament and a number to call for more
information. Also included are details about the shelter’s
services, such as training programs or medical care. Pet
Adoptions can be found under the Get Local menu of Comcast’s
local video ON DEMAND -- channel 199.
“Pets ON DEMAND continues Comcast’s
long tradition of supporting our local communities, using
our unique ON DEMAND technology which allows customers to
watch thousands of children’s programs, movies, music videos
and sports whenever they want to and at no additional costs
for digital subscribers,” said Comcast’s Vice President and
General Manager Mark Lipford. “Through our efforts and this
partnership we hope to be able to find great homes for some
truly wonderful and deserving pets.”
Pet Adoptions ON DEMAND will begin
October 19th and showcase both dogs and cats. All kinds of
pets, including pure breds, are brought in by owners who can
no longer care for them. Pet Adoptions ON DEMAND increases
the chances of these orphans finding someone to care for
them. Since its debut in other areas, 80 percent of animals
featured have been adopted.
"The Humane Society of Sarasota
County is thrilled to have been chosen to
participate in Comcast's Pet Adoptions ON DEMAND. As an open
admission shelter, we never turn away pets in need,”
explained Deborah Millman, Executive
Director for the Humane Society of Sarasota County, Inc.
“That means, our kennels are usually full and we urgently
need to find good homes so that we can continue to shelter
all the abandoned pets that need us. Pet Adoptions ON DEMAND
allows us to bring HSSC's kennels right into the homes of
thousands of wonderful families."
Pet Adoptions ON DEMAND is one in a
long line of signature “Get Local” programming available to
Comcast Digital Cable subscribers. “Get Local” ON DEMAND
provides a forum for local community-based programming such
as film and music festivals, high school sports, local news,
dating and more. All “Get Local” content is free to Comcast
Digital Cable subscribers and allows them to utilize ON
DEMAND’s interactive technology to fast forward, pause and
rewind their favorite programs.
 For more information about Comcast’s
products and services, customers can call 1-800-COMCAST or
visit the company’s Web site at www.comcast.com.
About Comcast
Corporation:
Comcast Corporation is the nation's leading
provider of cable, entertainment and communications products
and services. With 24.1 million cable customers, 12.4
million high-speed Internet customers, and 3.5 million voice
customers, Comcast is principally involved in the
development, management and operation of broadband cable
systems and in the delivery of programming
content.
Comcast’s content networks and investments
include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf
Channel, OLN, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One
and four regional Comcast SportsNets. Comcast also has a
majority ownership in Comcast Spectator, whose major
holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team,
the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large
multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.
Pups at the Point is now an on-going event
the THIRD Saturday of EVERY month from 9 a.m. to
noon.
Pups at the Point” is a partnership
between Spanish Point and the Humane Society of Sarasota
County, but all dog walkers are welcome as long as they obey
these simple rules:
- Dogs must be dog-friendly and
up to date on vaccinations
- No dogs in heat allowed
- Keep dogs on a 4 – 6 foot
leash at all times
- Please stay on designated
paths – no dogs in buildings
- Use bags and trash containers
to clean up after dogs.
Feline Fanciers "Cat Mats"
 Baby relaxes on a "cat mat"
made by the Feline Fanciers at the Humane Society of
Sarasota County. The whimsical mats provide cats with
comfort and security and are sent home with adopted cats to
ease their transition into their new homes. The Feline
Fanciers, volunteers who use innovative means to make HSSC's
cats more comfortable, are seeking donations of fabric so
that each of HSSC's 150 cats will have their own cat mat.
Bring donations of washable, flat-stitched
(non-looped) fabric and one-inch batting to HSSC's shelter
at 2331 15th St., Sarasota FL. Or, to create and donate a
finished cat mat: fold a 13" x 39" length of fabric in half
inside out, sew three sides, then turn the pouch right side
out. Insert a 12" x 18" one-inch batting into the bed and
sew it closed. Stitch down the batting in each corner, in
the middle, and along each side to prevent bunching during
laundering. For more information, call us at 955-4131, ext.
104.
8th Annual Adoptathon
It's time
again for our annual Adoptathon, Saturday, May
3rd, running from 10:00am to 7:00pm.
FUR FUN for Everyone Who Works with
Kids
The Humane Society of Sarasota County
offers an exciting series of workshops that include lecture,
demonstration, interactive pet therapy sessions, and an
optional tour of the HSSC shelter. Handouts, web sites, and
material for further study will be provided.
Our workshops in the past have
included the following topics:
“Lessons Animals
Teach:”
This workshop provides instruction
for using humane education as character education. Values
such as responsibility, respect and fairness, relate very
well to animal themes. The workshop will also teach ways
that interaction with animals can be a deterrent to
violent tendencies in children. For teachers of grades 6
through 12.
“Telling Humane
Stories:”
This workshop, geared toward grades
K-4 focuses on using animal themes to tell stories about a
variety of subjects. Stories, especially about animals,
capture children’s attention and delight them, while also
teaching. Story telling offers a great way to teach
valuable lessons.
“Humane Ed: Focus on Middle
School:”
This workshop instructs teachers of
middle school classes how to utilize humane principles in
a variety of curricula. Animal issues such as
overpopulation, vivisection, and puppy mills can be the
basis for classroom lessons in math, social studies,
physical sciences and other subjects.
"Humane Ed for Children with
Special Needs:”
This workshop focuses on ways
that special education teachers can use pet therapy to
enrich the learning experience for their students. The
cognitive and physical abilities of the children will be
considered, as well as their ages.
“Humane Ed for Pre-School
Teachers:”
This workshop gives preschool
teachers games and other activities they can use to help
the children learn and develop social skills. There will
be handouts and discussions of the value of helping kids
develop compassion and empathy for animals.
“Humane
Teens:”
This workshop focuses on activities
appropriate for teen community service, possible careers
with animals, and classroom activities that utilize humane
principles.
Humane Education has proven to be a
valuable tool in reaching children of all ages. There are
many lessons animals teach much better than humans do.
Animals are accepting, nonjudgmental, and they’re lots of
fun to work with.
While we will use certified pet therapy
animals in the workshops, we will also instruct participants
in ways to utilize humane education when animals cannot be
present in the classroom.
Kate Franklin and Dee Halpern are two
of only four humane educators in Florida who have earned
Certified Humane Education Specialist (C.H.E.S.) status.
C.H.E.S. certification is awarded through the Humane Society
of the United States after the completion of courses and
exams on a wide range of humane education topics.
For more information about humane
education at HSSC, or to register for a workshop, please
call 955-4131 and ask for Kate or Dee.
Now you can help us by donating a
used car or truck.
You can help HSSC's shelter
pets by donating a used car or truck! The Humane Society of
Sarasota County is pleased to accept donated cars, trucks,
vans, RV's, boats - and even planes - to raise money to
provide care for the thousands of abandoned pets it shelters
each year. The donation process is fast and easy. If you
have an older model car and/or one that needs to be towed,
the Auto Donation Depot will come to your home or office,
pick up your donated vehicle and provide you with the
necessary paperwork to deduct the value from your taxes. To
reach them, call 1-860-548-9838 or you may access an
online donation form at http://aviel.c-corp.net/HSSC/.
For more information, you may also call HSSC Executive
Director Deborah Millman at (941) 955-4131, ext. 102.
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Not
only is a cash donation a wonderful gift to the animals here,
it's also great to make a donation in someone else's honor or
in memory of a past pet of your own. You could even include
HSSC in your will. Here's how that donation will help: 
The brick is yours to
either take home or we will place it in
HSSC's Memorial Garden (pictured at left) in a wall with
memorial bricks placed by other pet parents.