In this episode we discuss heartworm treatment and give a huge THANK YOU to PEDIGREE Foundation for awarding us a grant that will help treat heartworm positive dogs at our shelter in 2021!

We also give an office feline update and talk about what our staff is doing to work with dogs who need a little extra attention and interaction--whether they are shy, under-socialized, and shutdown or have over-the-top energy and unwanted behaviors. Spoiler alert...the dog we discuss in this episode has now passed his behavior test with flying colors! Yippie!

As always, please contact us at [email protected] or [email protected] if you have any questions, comments, feedback, or stories to share in regards to our shelter or podcast! We'd love to hear what topics you're interested in learning more about when it comes to working in animal welfare.

PEDIGREE Foundation was established in 2008 to help dogs in need find loving homes. Created by Mars Petcare, the maker of ‎PEDIGREE® food for dogs, it's an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and supports the good work of shelters and dog rescue organizations throughout the country.

Welcome back to Pawfee Podcats! In this episode your hosts Gremi explore the ideal traits of neonatal kitten fosters - those who help bottle feed orphaned baby kittens without moms every 2-3 hours. It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it! Could that somebody be you? Listen to this episode to find out if it's a fit for your lifestyle. If not, there is probably another type of pet you could foster or maybe volunteering at the shelter is your calling. There is *always* a way to help homeless pets in need.

As usual, we step back and look at some bigger picture topics within the animal welfare world in this episode - terms like kill vs. no kill shelter and what it really means when you hear you're saving a life when you adopt a shelter pet. You're not necessarily snatching them from the jaws of peril as you walk out the door on their Gotcha Day, but you're making a positive difference in the butterfly effect that is an entire shelter's population of animals! Thank you!

We hope you learn something new and interesting in this episode about animal welfare. Please send us your feedback, comments, stories, and questions at [email protected] or [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

We *keep* on talking about ringworm in this episode because it's at the forefront of our lives in the administrative offices and at home! We want you to know that if you have ringworm or have had ringworm...this is a safe space and you are not alone. We bust myths about ringworm and any skinny animals you may see up for adoption at our shelter. We talk about Giving Tuesday, which is coming up December 1st, and give an update on our office cats (no office kittens currently).

Please reach out to us if you have any questions, comments, funny stories to share, or requests regarding what we discuss on our podcats! You can email Emi at [email protected] and Grace at [email protected]. We hope everyone has a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

As we near the end of the year and Helping Hands Humane Society's whirlwind event season comes to a close, Gremi reflects on the stressful struggles of 2020 through the lenses of compassion fatigue and burnout. We define these terms and relate them to our experiences in animal welfare. We dip a toe into the sea of the topic of self-care, but there's so much more to the story. Every person in our shelter, our community, our nation, and the world is going through their own particular struggle in 2020. A decrease in resources and increase in stress make for difficult days. We'd be honored to hear from our listenership any thoughts or experiences you have regarding compassion fatigue, burnout, and self-care; feel free to email us at [email protected] or [email protected].

Remember that you are enough - you are valuable and worthwhile. Basic reminders like this feel more important than ever in the face of 2020. If you've felt the burden on your shoulders of trying to carry your small business, your non-profit, your family, etc. throughout this global pandemic, I hope you take a moment to stop and soak in the fact that you have been doing amazing things in the face of a difficulty we couldn't have imagined until it was here.

In this episode we also give you an office cat update and a humorous story of all the bad things Grace's pets did this week. We'd love to hear your naughty pet stories - send them to us! Have a safe week.

On this episode, Gremi interviews Travis Sieve, one of the trainers at Helping Hands Humane Society. Travis teaches dog obedience classes along with speciality classes like tricks for fun. He has 15+ years of experience and is also a biologist by profession, so he's got many interesting insights and stories to share regarding cat and dog biology and behavior!

We discuss many common issues including cats pottying outside the litter box, dogs who make a fool of themselves in public, house training puppies, nervous owners, etc. We also touch on how 2020 has turned your pet's routine upside down just as much as your own and how to help get them back on track, even if you're home together 24/7. 

We bust some myths including the one about old dogs learning new tricks. Did you know according to scientists, you cat *does* know its name? It just chooses not to respond! Mixed breed dogs are generally healthier than purebreds, and please #adoptdontshop if you're adding a pet to the family this holiday season.

In this episode Gremi interviews Adoption Counselor Cam all about facilitating falling in love (with cupid's sparrow) and other experiences as an employee at Helping Hands Humane Society (ringworm, sanctuary cats who resemble Game of Thrones characters, being brave around giant dogs, fighting negative pibble stereotypes, and more). Yes, we still managed to get animal parodies into this episode.*

As always, fun facts (like Cam's family gives their pets To Kill a Mockingbird names!), myth busts (kennel reactivity, what a shelter job is *really* like!), and funny stories (meeting THE MAYOR!) included! If you've ever wondered what it's like to be an Adoption Counselor, this is your episode (remember, you must be 18 years old to work at HHHS, but you can volunteer if you're younger).

To learn more about our shelter, visit our website at hhhstopeka.org. You can help the animals in our care by participating in our virtual 5k fundraiser between 11/7 and 11/14! Register at register.chronotrack.com/r/59011. Please email us if you have any questions, feedback, or suggestions! Grace: [email protected] Emi: [email protected]

Hi listeners! Our audience has been growing, and Grace and Emi have a couple of very exciting announcements for our shelter in this episode. We talk about pet overpopulation, bust a spay/neuter myth, reflect on some funny stories, and reveal Grace's Halloween costume through an (of course) animal welfare related parody! We also give an office feline update as some special needs kitties graduate from our special care and find furever.

Please let us know why you listen, what you like about our podcats, and what you might want to hear more of! Also, if you've become fond of Helping Hands Humane Society and the people and animals here through listening, please consider taking real life action and participating in Tails on the Trail - our dog-friendly 5k fundraiser that is going VIRTUAL this year! That means you can complete your 1-mile or 5k walk or run anywhere in the world between November 7th and November 14th and submit your time online aside all of our other participants. Registration is $30, and if you live within the continental United States, for an additional $5 donation, we'll be happy to ship the long-sleeve event t-shirt and Hill's swag bag filled with goodies straight to your doorstep! You can register online at register.chronotrack.com/r/59011 and see more information about the event (and pictures of the bag and t-shirt), check it out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/696448677629040

This week Gremi had the extreeeme honor of interviewing Helping Hands Humane Society Executive Director, Kathy Maxwell. As you'll learn in this episode, Kathy has held at least 8 positions at HHHS and has been working here for 18 years! She shares some fun memories and insights with us this episode (like which color of cat is the most chill!). Also, in the spirit of spooOoOOooky Halloween season, Kathy tells us about the ghost, Georgia, who used to haunt (or just hang out?) at our old shelter.

We recorded this in the Bone Appétit auction item pickup room, which is why you'll hear, from time to time, the comforting background chatter of some fabulous HHHS employees and volunteers.

We're back AGAIN with more extra material from our interview with Carrigan, the Cat Care Coordinator here at Helping Hands Humane Society. In this episode she gives some tips for safely securing stray cats who need help, shares her own techniques for wrangling feral cats who manage to get out of their kennels at HHHS, and we talk about *when* to bring kittens to your local shelter (pro tip: sometimes it is much better for them to just leave them where they are!).

Gremi (Grace and Emi) give you a quick office kitten update as well as a Bone Appétit update (IT'S THIS SATURDAY)! Check out our online auction at boneappetit2020.givesmart.com and watch our live-stream of this virtual event on 10/17 at 7pm on our Facebook page, website, or YouTube channel.

In the meantime, please let us know if you'd like to hear us talk about any particular shelter topics by emailing us at [email protected] or [email protected]. We appreciate your feedback!

First off, APOLOGIES for the distortion at the beginning and end of this episode. We are still audio/podcast newbies and figuring it all out. Luckily, the large middle chunk of this episode is pulled from a previous conversation with our resident cat expert, Carrigan, and the audio is very pleasing to the ears.

The main discussion is an expansion on the conversation about feral/community cats versus stray/owned cats who have found themselves lost in the big, wide world. Carrigan also advocates for microchipping your felines! Even if you have an outdoor cat who's typically great at staying close to home, it can be oh so helpful in case they do wander off or a well-meaning citizen takes them to the local humane society.

We also give an office kitty update and tell you a bit about Bone Appétit, our annual gala and largest fundraiser of the year! It will be held virtually on Saturday, October 17th from 7-8pm. Visit boneappetit2020.givesmart.com to check out party packs (if you live in Shawnee County, Kansas) and register for *free* to view our online auction (we will ship within the continental U.S.!). The livestreamed show will air on our Facebook page, YouTube channel, and website.