Remy arrived at the Los Alamos Animal Shelter as a stray in late fall of 2012. Photo by Don Taylor
FOS News:
Get those cameras ready, polish those smiles, and say Cheese! (or Tuna! or Kibble!) Friends of the Shelter is accepting photo entries for the 2014 Shelter Alumni Calendar through Sept. 6. We need your help because without your photos and stories, there can be no FOS calendar.
Pet owners who have adopted an animal from any shelter or any abandoned or homeless animal are invited to send a photo and a brief story about their pet. You do not have to live in Los Alamos nor have adopted or rescued the animal from Los Alamos. Owners whose pets were featured in last year’s calendar are welcome to submit new photos of their pets for this year’s calendar.
Entry forms are available at Ridgeview Veterinary Hospital, Animal Clinic of Los Alamos, Pet Pangaea, and the Los Alamos County Animal Shelter. Entries are also available on line at http://lafos.org/ and the process can be done completely electronically. The entry form includes entry information as well as tips on getting great photos of your pet.
Friends of the Shelter, a humane organization based in Los Alamos is trying to improve the quality of life for unwanted pets and find homes for homeless animals. We work closely with the Los Alamos County Animal Shelter, with local veterinarians, and with other humane societies.
Our program has four major components:
- a shelter program where volunteers visit the shelter every day of the week to exercise, groom, and socialize the animals to make them more adoptable;
- an active adoption program where we place animals in good homes;
- a program where we pay for medical expenses or spay/neuter operations for homeless animals; and
- an education program to promote responsible pet ownership, including the benefits and importance of spaying/neutering pets.
Friends of the Shelter sponsors two special programs to help pet owners and reduce the number of unwanted pets. The Catastrophic Illness/Injury program provides funds for veterinary treatment of severely ill or injured pets whose owners cannot afford extensive treatment. The second program provides vouchers for free spay/neutering of pets, in order to encourage pet owners to make sure that their pets are surgically altered and cannot produce litters of unwanted cats or dogs.
The calendars will go on sale in November at local businesses, and all proceeds will go directly to help the animals through Friends of the Shelter programs. So remember, get those entries in by Sept. 6. 2013.
About the Cover:
Remy arrived at the Los Alamos Animal Shelter as a stray in late fall of 2012. She was very shy and although she wanted so much to be loved, when adopters came to the shelter, she barked and ran away. Shelter volunteers spent lots of time with her, teaching her to trust people, but she still got frightened when adopters came to see her. Months went by and Remy still did not have a family to call her own.
Brenda Andersen saw past Remy’s shyness. Slowly and patiently she got to know Remy and introduced Remy to her husband Skip and Samson the cocker spaniel. Everyone thought it was a good match and decided to give it a try. Her future was looking bright.
Like good owners, Brenda and Skip took Remy to the vet to make sure that she was healthy. Then came the devastating news – Remy had an advanced case of heartworm. With help from FOS, Remy is getting the life-saving treatment that will allow her to get well and live a long and healthy life with her loving family.
What a wonderful ending for a sweet dog that has endured being lost, homeless, frightened, hungry and sick, but will now be loved, cared for and happy for the rest of her life. Her future is bright.
