MSPCA BOARD MEMBERS

President - Josie Pulido Vice President - Kathy Green Secretary - Cathy Benner Treasurer - vacant Fundraiser - Robin McCall Membership - Rhonda Darby Publicity - Amanda Hage Information about the new board mem-bers can be found on page 2.

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S U M M E R

Dog Walk Thank you to those who came out and supported us at the 18th Annual Merced SPCA Dog Walk. Despite there being many other events scheduled in the community that weekend, we raised vital funds to continue our mission of caring for our animals. Congratulations to Holly Zacharias for the largest pledge! SUCCESS!

Our Easter Bunny fundraiser at Wal-Mart in Merced was a great

success! We had a great turnout for pictures with the Easter

Bunny as well as lots of lovely baskets and gifts were sold. Thank

you to all who came out and supported us at this great event,

we look forward to next year!

Pet Insurance We are excited to announce that

we are now offering 30 days of

free pet insurance to our

adopters through Petfirst Pet In-

surance! This is a great bonus for

our adopters and there is no cost

to the shelter! For more infor-

mation, contact the shelter at

(209) 384-7722.

The Merced SPCA would like to send a big thank you to Kyria Lockheart Photography! Kyria has come out to the shelter twice now and photo-graphed our animals. Her photos have been posted on our Petfinder, Facebook and are being used on the local newspapers for our Pet of the Week advertisements. Her photos are stunning and they have already begun to have a positive impact for our animals! Here is a little bit about our fabulous photographer:

Kyria has always had a love for animals and pho-tography. It wasn’t until college that she got her first professional grade camera and she has been honing her skills ever since. If you know her, you know that she ALWAYS has her camera! About 5 years ago, Kyria visited an animal shelter and started taking photos of the ani-mals. The director of the shelter loved the photos and soon others were ask-ing her to photograph their animals as well. Kyria has been volunteering her time with rescue groups ever since and says that she gets great joy in knowing that she has helped the animals find their forever homes and that people can see their true beauty through her lens!

Francis Battista, one of the original found-ers of Best Friends once said: "Never let personal inconvenience stand in the way of doing the right thing for an animal in need."

How about wearing “throw-back” uniforms?

Kathy Green – Vice President I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the automobile state (aka Motown). I now live in Merced close to my two brothers Tom and Dan Dugan. Tired of flinging hamburgers at White Castle, I joined the Army (WAC) in 1969 during the Vietnam era. I was accepted into the nursing program and transferred to Letterman Army Medical Center, Presidio, San Francisco, where I helped care for our injured war veterans while going to school. I graduated, became a nurse, and, after serving six years, became a civilian. I have worked in ICU, CCU, and then specialized in hemodialysis for large cor-porations where I held the positions of Clinical Manager and Regional Director. From as young as I can remember, I loved animals and all living creatures. I was the kid who brought home the strays. I even had a turtle once named Uncle Fes-ter. I retired in early 2012, then became a widow and lost my dog in late 2012. This brought me to the Merced SPCA, where I adopted my boy Cesar and girls, Sally and Rella. I started volunteering immediately in January 2013, where I started to pick up on medical care of the animals. I accepted the position of Vice president in April and now assist with the medical care, sharing the duties with our president, Jo-sie. When there is time, my hobbies are cooking, needle point, and ancestry. Robin McCall - Fundraising Robin has been in the escrow industry for 36 years. She cur-rently holds the position of Certified Senior Escrow Officer and Assistant Vice President with Fidelity National Title. Rob-in has been an animal lover all her life, and has placed three SPCA dogs with loving families. She is the proud mother of dogs Stella and Cruz. Robin is also on the Board of Directors for Hinds Hospice and has chaired the Ray of Hope campaign for Merced County for the last 3 years. Amanda Hage – Publicity Amanda has been an animal lover all her life and has had every pet from hamsters up to horses. In recent years, she has become involved with several different rescues and is a big voice in defense of homeless animals. Amanda is a para-legal and plans to go on to law school where she will special-ize in animal law! Amanda is excited to be a board member at the Merced SPCA and is ready to get to work making the SPCA the best it can be!

New Board Member’s Bios

Daniela Alonso Jessica Bautista Alvare Badillo Connie Brons Jesus Castaneda Francisco Compos Marie Gage Hector Gallegos Mayra Garcia Serene Gore Marshawn Griffin Sienna Hurtado Susan Hicks Alvin Lym Delise Martinelli Malina Meza Kim McGuire Mary nickels Violeta Rios Noelia Ramirez Angelo Sibal Leslie Schleth Jorden Schleth Daren Thach Sue Thompson Tom Vannida Holly Zacharias Joan Kelley Mary Gomes Carole Steinhauer

Ginny Nurenberg

A World From Man’s Best Friend Contributed by Judy Campbell, MSPCA Member Treat me kindly, my beloved friend, for no heart in all the world is more

grateful for kindness than the loving heart of me Do not break my spirit with a stick, for though I might lick your hand be-

tween blows, your patience and understanding will more quickly teach me the things you would have me learn

Speak to me often, for your voice is the world’s sweetest music, as you must

know by the fierce wagging of my tail when your footsteps fall upon my waiting ear

Please take me inside when it is cold and wet, for I am a domesticated ani-

mal, no longer accustomed to bitter elements. I ask no great glory than the priviledge of sitting at your feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with fresh water, for I cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.

Feed me clean food so I may stay well, to romp and play and do your bid-ding, to walk by your side and stand ready, willing and able to protect you with my life, should your life be in danger.

And my friend, when I am very old and I no longer enjoy good health, hear-

ing and sight, please do not make heroic efforts to keep me going. I am not having any fun.

Please see that my trusting life is taken gently. I shall leave this earth know-

ing with the last breath I draw that my fate was always safest in your hands.

Happy Ending for Rocky! Everyone at the shelter loves Rocky, a small 5-6 year old Chihuahua who came to the SPCA starving and afraid. With medical care, good food, and lots of love, he recovered and won over our hearts. We were ecstatic when Rocky was ADOPTED around Father’s Day, but the excitement was short-lived. Not too long after going home, Rocky got loose from his adopter’s home and a massive search en-sued to find him. After 11 days missing, Rocky was found and is now back at the shel-ter safe and sound. Thank you to Josie Pu-lido , Kathy Green, Florence Lambert and Su-san Hicks who searched high and low for our boy until he was home safe and sound!

VOLUNTEERS

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment be-fore starting to im-prove the world. – Anne Frank

AT&T Duane & Doranne Andrews Ann Bean Julie Bodem Greg Bonifay / Newsletter Julie Brannon Ron & Constance Brons Linda Bruce Judy Campbell Chevron Humankind Lori Cooper (Trixie’s original family) Janet Devine Joyce DeWing Sam Diele Janet Dorn Thom & Valerie Dugan (Central Valley Pawn) Franklin Pet Cemetery & Crematory, Inc. / for our Amy Lonnie & Lola Hendricks Florence Lambert Richard & Ann Lashbrook James Linneman Diane Machado Karen L. Marino Marco’s Construction (Marco Rodriguez) Merced School Employees Federal Credit Union Sandy & Calvin Miller Evaughn L. Minasian Jim Mount in memory of Harry Kris McCrory / In memory of Rocket Mounce PG&E – Your Cause Shirley Parker Mun & Derold Perry Petco Charlene Pimentel Leonard Rich Gary Robertson / In memory of Leroy Inman CVOC / In memory of Terri’s beloved dog Nelly Loraine Ross Leslie Schleth Masyn Smith (10-yrs. old) yard sale profits Twist Comprehensive Distribution Helen Wajdak Lynnette Washburn Gary & Kelly Wissert Kathleen Wyman Holly Zacharias

SUMMER 2014 DONATIONS

PET TIPS FOR SUMMER As the cooler spring weather gives way to the hot summer months, you'll be spending more time outside with your dog, walking and playing in the sunshine. But while you are having fun, you will need to keep your dog cool to protect him from heat-related illness and injury. Sunburn Most people don't think about their pets getting sunburned but they certainly can. White and lightly colored pets can suffer sunburn just as we can if they experience too much exposure to the sun. Long-term sun exposure can lead to skin damage and in some cases skin cancers. Limit the amount of time your fair-haired pets stay in direct sunlight. Even basking in a sunny window counts as time in the sun. If any type of discoloration or sore appears, consult your veterinarian for a check-up. Areas that are commonly affected are the ears, eyelids and nose. Heat Injury Heat injury occurs when a dog's body temperature exceeds his ability to cool himself. Unlike people, your dog's normal body temperature ranges between 100 and 102.5 degrees Fahren-heit. When body temperature elevates above 106 F, normal cooling mechanisms are overwhelmed, which results in a seri-ous condition requiring intervention and medical treatment. This type of temperature elevation is different from a fever, which is a normal response to inflammation or infection. The severity of the heat injury can range from a mild/moderate temperature increase called heat stress/ prostration (103 to 105 F) to a potentially life threatening condition referred to as heat stroke (106 F and higher). Certain breeds are more prone to heat injury than others. Large double-coated breeds like the chow chow are particularly susceptible. Dogs bred for life in cold climates such as malamutes, huskies, American Eskimos and Newfoundlands often have little tolerance for heat and humidity. Dogs with shorter faces such as bulldogs, pugs, shar-peis and Boston terriers have less ability to cope with a heat load due to their short and narrow respiratory systems. Heat stress can happen quite rapidly, sometimes only in a few minutes, especially in dogs that live primarily indoors. Even pets that live or spend a lot of time outside can succumb to the heat if their cooling mechanisms are exceeded by weather ex-tremes.

SHARES CARDS Did you know that you can support the Merced SPCA just by doing your grocery shopping at Save Mart or Food Maxx? That’s right! Just obtain a Save Mart SHARES card by calling the shelter at (209) 384-7722 or com-ing in to the shelter and then just swipe your card before paying for your items at Save Mart or Food Maxx Supermarkets! It costs you nothing to use the card, and Save Mart donates up to 3% of your purchase to the Merced SPCA!

Homes Needed for the Annual Merced SPCA Christmas Home Tour We still need homes to include in our 22nd annual Christmas Home Tour, our biggest fundraiser of the year. This year the tour is being held on December 14 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. In addition to REALLY helping our pets at the shelter, the tour is very festive and great fun! It's not necessary to have a huge, new home, but tour guests do expect to see quite a bit in the way of decorations; though minimalism done correctly can be very elegant. Homeowners can relax knowing that in all the years of doing this, we have never had one problem related to the tour. Please call if you or anyone you know can help us this year. It does seem early, but we begin various preparations in August

MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

If any current members know of individuals, families, seniors, juniors, organization/commercial groups or professionals that have a heart and passion to help the dogs and cats in our county, we would love to send them a flyer and appli-cation. Please contact the SPCA at (209) 384-7722 or my-self at (209) 357-4217. Thank you in ad-vance. Rhonda Darby, Membership Chair

Lawn Seed A huge thank you to Kevin Byrnes and Ewing Irrigation and Landscape Products for their generous donation of lawn seed. We are happy to announce that it has been planted and hopefully we will have some cool, green grass for the animals soon!

Armstrong’s We are excited to announce that we will soon be partnering with Armstrong’s Pet World for our off-site pet adoptions! Arm-strong’s just opened a new store at 2941 G Street in Merced and also has a location in Atwater at 1814 Bellevue Road. Arm-strong’s has welcomed us with open arms and we are very excited to hold pet adop-tions at their stores. Keep an eye on the newspaper, our website, and our Facebook page for the dates of upcoming adoption events!

Animal Lovers Needed! Volunteers are vital to the success of the Merced SPCA. We are in need of volunteers who can commit to a minimum of once per week. Our shelter is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Credit can be given to high school students toward their community service requirements. Volunteer forms are availa-ble for download on our website or can be obtained at our shelter. Call (209) 384-7722 during normal business hours for more in-formation. Together we can continue to save lives!

SPCA SPONSORS

Thinking about a material donation? Here are some needed items:

Bleach Laundry soap Kirkland 13-gallon trash bags Advantage Plus flea treatment Kirkland (Costco) Maintenance Cat Food (dry) Kirkland 13 gallon drawstring kitchen trash bags Libman Wonder Mop refills Feathery cat toys Nylabones Gift cards from Amazon, Costco, Pet Smart, PETCO, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, Armstrong’s Pet

Store Select-a Size paper towels

Merced SPCA 1021 East Childs Avenue Merced, CA 94110 Merced.spca@yahoo.com www.mercedspca.com