On November 3rd & 4th, Love Won't Cost a Thing

All MSPCA adoption centers will offer fee-waived adult cat adoptions!

'Tis the season of giving thanks for family and friends. 'Tis also the perfect time to 'Fall in Love' with a new feline friend! On Nov 3rd and 4th, adoption fees will be entirely waived for all adult cats over one year old! With hundreds of amazing cats waiting at the MSPCA's adoption centers for new homes, we're certain to have the perfect match for your family.
 
We're hoping to find homes for every adult cat at our 3 adoption centers during the promotion, so every cat can celebrate the upcoming holidays in their forever homes. The 'Fall In Love' fee waived promotion is made possible thanks to the generous support of The Ivan Smith Adoption Challenge and the Cat-vocates. Can't adopt but want to help? Share this post with friends on Facebook, and help us spread the word. Your post could mean one more cat in a new home!

2012 Animal Hall of Fame

The MSPCA-Angell's annual Animal Hall of Fame Awards dinner, held at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library Museum in Boston, was a resounding success. Co-chaired by longtime animal champions John Talbot and Dorr Begnal, the event was emcee'd by WCVB-TV anchor Heather Unruh and raised nearly $360,000 to fund the MSPCA's adoption center, law enforcement, advocacy, and veterinary programs. Check out the photo galleries that we've assembled for pictures from the evening, including some beautiful photos of the Spotlight on Compassion, George T. Angell Humanitarian, Human Hero, Animal Hero and Young Hero Award recipients.

Did you get your picture taken at the event?
You can find photos from the evening facebook page, and on our flickr account.

"Over the past thirteen years, this dog has been with me most of my days. If you ask anyone who knows Tucker and me, they will tell you this is a special dog…He doesn't drool, he rarely barks, he loves all other dogs and people. He is incredibly gentle with small children and babies, he is easy to train, and he keeps our schedule (sometimes up at 6am, sometimes staying in bed until noon)...And so this dog has been my constant companion and my best friend. In March of 2011 he started to limp slightly. He was 11 years old so I initially thought he was just getting old. At first it was just when he was running, then it became more pronounced. When we took him to the vet, there was something nagging me….I just couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Really wrong…"
 
Read more about Tucker's journey and how he is today.

If you have an Angell story like Tucker's that you'd like to share, please forward it to bjarm@angell.org.

Zsa Zsa's Sight-Saving Cataract Surgery

Now that pets are living longer than ever—and developing the same degenerative diseases that befall humans—veterinary science has evolved to close the innovation gap between human and animal medicine. The story of Zsa Zsa, a seven-year-old Great Dane illustrates this trend. Nearly blind from cataracts, particularly in her left eye, when she first came to Angell Animal Medical Center for an evaluation, Zsa Zsa can see clearly again thanks to advanced eye surgery that restored her vision.
 
Read her story here.

Law Enforcement Updates

Below are just a few recent examples of how our officers and welfare agents have worked with people to improve the lives of animals and caretakers alike:

• Officer Parkhurst helped an elderly woman unable to care for herself or her small dog, who had become so badly matted that her breed was uncertain. The woman signed the dog over to Officer Parkhurst who rushed it to our Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center. After hours of grooming there, "Tina" turned out to be a Poodle, and eager for a new home.
• Sergeant Sutton had three horses signed over to him by a woman who could no longer afford to feed her entire herd. The horses were transported to Nevins Farm for rehabilitation and eventual adoption, and the woman's remaining horses have started a supervised nutrition and veterinary care regimen.
• Officer Allenberg arranged the surrender of an unshorn llama with badly overgrown feet. The llama's owner was afraid of being stepped on and realized that the MSPCA could find her a home with more experienced llama owners.
• Officer Allenberg helped a woman overwhelmed by the needs of her multiple horses who wanted to rehome three of them before conditions deteriorated at her farm, and also coordinated the surrender of a very skinny horse whose owner was unable to follow the care plan put in place when Officer Allenberg first investigated a few months earlier.

Read more about MSPCA Law Enforcement.

Adoption Center Dog Training Update

Adoption Center behaviorist Terri Bright and two of her Simmons College Master's students/MSPCA Safewalk volunteers (Stephanie Keesey and Miranda Courant-Morgan) recently presented results of MSPCA Adoption Center research in a symposium at the Berkshire Association of Behavior Analysis and Therapy. The title of the symposium was "Using Behavior Analysis to Assess, Change, and Maintain the Behavior of Volunteers and Visitors in an Animal Shelter." Miranda Courant-Morgan presented on "The Effects of Crowding and Visitor Presence on Visitor Behavior on a Canine Adoption Floor," Stephanie Keesey discussed "Decreasing Fingers-in-kennel Behavior of Animal Shelter Visitors," and Terri Bright presented "Safewalk: An Instructional Design Curriculum for Changing the Behavior of Humans Who Care for Dogs in Shelters." This was the first time Shelter research had been presented at this conference, and it was quite well-received. Terri, Miranda and Stephanie are also presenting this research at the national Applied Behavior Analysis Conference next May in Minneapolis.
 
Learn more about Dog Training.