Within hours of realizing they had probably never treated a Small-eared Owl, Jimmy in the Wildlife Department had the chance to rescue one!
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
THE SPCA SERVING ERIE COUNTY RECEIVES $50,000 GRANT FROM PETSMART CHARITIES® TO HELP MORE HOMELESS PETS FIND HOMES IN ERIE COUNTY AND WESTERN NEW YORK
[WEST SENECA, NY] – [11/4/2020] – The SPCA Serving Erie County received a $50,000 grant from PetSmart Charities to help prepare more shelter pets in Erie County for adoption and ensure they are ready to find loving homes. With the help of this grant, the SPCA spayed and neutered 584 animals, including 280 dogs, 239 cats, and 58 rabbits to support its efforts to help homeless pets find homes.
“Every cat, dog, and rabbit are spayed/neutered before they are adopted and we recently began neutering male rats, too! This lifesaving practice doesn’t come at a small price and we are grateful for this very generous gift from PetSmart Charities that went directly to spay/neuter surgeries!” said Bethany Kloc, communications manager of the SPCA Serving Erie County.
“Thanks to the work of the SPCA Serving Erie County, thousands of deserving shelter pets will have the best chance of finding loving homes,” said Johnny Jenkins, associate relationship manager at PetSmart Charities. “We are proud to support its proactive approach to reduce pet homelessness throughout Erie County.”
Since 1994, through its partnership with nearly 4,000 humane societies, SPCAs and pet rescues across North America, PetSmart Charities has helped more than 9 million pets to find loving homes via its in-store adoption program in over 1,650 PetSmart® stores. The leading funder of animal welfare has also donated nearly $430 million to positively impact communities, to help preserve families, to improve access to veterinary care and to connect people and pets through initiatives like this with the SPCA Serving Erie County.
To find out more information about available adoptable animals and how to adopt animals from the SPCA Serving Erie County, please visit YourSPCA.org.
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At the SPCA Serving Erie County, our mission is to create a more humane community through education; rescuing, protecting, and enhancing the lives of animals; and nurturing the bond between animals and people.
ABOUT PETSMART CHARITIES®:
PetSmart Charities, Inc. is committed to finding lifelong, loving homes for all pets by supporting programs and thought leadership that bring people and pets together. Through its in-store adoption program in all PetSmart® stores across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, PetSmart Charities helps to find forever homes and families for more than 500,000 shelter pets each year. PetSmart Charities also provides grant funding to nonprofits aligned with its mission. Each year, millions of generous PetSmart shoppers help pets in need by donating to PetSmart Charities using the PIN pads at checkout registers inside PetSmart stores. In turn, PetSmart Charities efficiently uses more than 90 cents of every dollar donated to fulfill its role as the leading funder of animal welfare in North America, granting nearly $430 million since its inception in 1994. Independent from PetSmart Inc., PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization that has received the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator, a third-party organization that reports on the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of nonprofits, for the past 17 years in a row – placing it among the top one percent of charities rated by this organization. To learn more visit www.petsmartcharities.org.
Follow PetSmart Charities on Twitter: www.twitter.com/PetSmartChariTs
Find PetSmart Charities on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PetSmartCharities
Follow PetSmart Charities on Instagram: www.instagram.com/PetSmartCharities
See PetSmart Charities on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmartCharitiesInc
October 21, 2020
A NOTE FROM THE LIPSEY CLINIC PRACTICE MANAGER, SHAUNA GREENE:
I hope everyone is doing the best they can to get through these trying times. We have all been through a lot of change, and it’s not over yet. The Lipsey Clinic is also growing and changing, and with new management we are trying new things. We hope you are as excited as we are to grow and embrace these changes.
Starting in November, we will begin a solid schedule of appointments and surgeries. We will be open for exam appointments Monday, Tuesday and Friday of each week. Thursday will be reserved for surgery, and Wednesday for technician-led appointments only (you can call us for more details about which you may require). Depending on need, surgery may expand to another day each week. Please note that everything will still be on an appointment basis, including medication pickups.
Speaking of expanding, what we can offer has grown as well as our availability. We still cannot provide the intensive care needed for a critical illness or injury, but we can provide the diagnostics and treatment necessary for many milder and chronic ailments like arthritis, thyroid conditions, skin and ear infections, etc. We will also begin offering the Purina line of prescription diets in-house and a small selection of retail and over the counter items.
Another big change is our exam fee schedule. While we have slightly increased the cost of your pet’s full and comprehensive annual exam, we’ve lowered the cost for seeing the doctor in between those annual appointments. And you can still get a la carte services like nail trims done without an exam so long as you’ve seen us within a year.
I welcome any feedback you have about the changes we’ve made, and I’d love to hear about your experiences with us, and if there’s anything we can do better or offer that isn’t already available. Feel free to email me directly or call the clinic and ask for my extension. Also, we love to see your pet being happy and healthy at home; please send us photos and updates!
Please continue to be safe, wash your hands, and stay kind to one another.
In good health,
Shauna Greene
Practice Manager, Lipsey Clinic
shaunag@yourspca.org
The SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department’s Recent Patients
Green Heron
Spiny Soft Shell Turtle
You can support the Wildlife Department by making a donation here!
The SPCA’s Wildlife Department Hosts its Own Flicker ICU
July 17, 2020 — By Barbara Haney, Director of the Wildlife Department
The SPCA’s Wildlife Department currently has five Northern Flickers in what they’re calling a Flicker ICU! These five birds all suffered head injuries from window strikes and, in an effort to rehabiltate them and release them back to the wild, all are in various stages of learning how to eat. These birds have guarded, but hopeful, prognoses.
If you find that you have a window that attracts birds, there are various techniques that you can do to deter them. This website has many good suggestions, https://www.worldbirds.org/how-to-stop-birds-from-flying-into-windows.
The SPCA’s Wildlife Department’s Recent Releases
July 17, 2020 — The summer is the SPCA’s Wildlife Department’s busiest time of year! Wildlife Hospital Supervisor Dawn wrote about two recent releases:
This Red-Tail Hawk came from the Depew/Cheektowaga French Road area and had a fractured right ulna. Dr. Slote determined that surgery was not an option. The broken pieces were aligned enough so we applied an immobilizing wrap. Every three days the bird was anesthetized for physical therapy. The wrap would be removed and the wing would undergo a series of stretches and motions. It is incredibly important that all the ligaments and tendons stay loose and limber or they risk rupturing once the wrap is off entirely. After roughly a month she made a full recovery and was released in her home territory.
This Snapping Turtle was found on Transit Road after being struck by a vehicle. He sustained three shell fractures, two of which required immobilization techniques so they would heal properly. Turtle shell healing is fairly slow and it took about four weeks. The shell was sturdy enough that he can be returned to the pond to complete the healing process in the place he calls home!
You can help the SPCA’s Wildlife Department by making a donation here!
SPCA, Continuing to Serve: Wildlife Rescue Stories
There have been so many terrific wildlife rescue stories happening, that we decided to put them together on the same page!
Tree Swallows Find Adoptive Parents
This comes to us from SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department’s James Sevigny, Licensed Veterinary Technician and Wildlife Rehabilitator
June 22, 2020 — On June 17, two baby birds were dropped off at the SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department. At first, we thought they might be Northern Mockingbirds, a common bird in the southern United States. After a few days, however, they started making noises… and immediately we could tell they were Tree Swallows! Tree Swallows are beautiful iridescent blue aerial insectivores (meaning they catch bugs in flight). While we have raised these birds successfully in the past, aerial insectivores are extremely challenging patients and we make every effort to reunite them with their parents, or to find wild foster parents if a reunion with their parents isn’t possible.
After we figured out what these little birds were, we called Celeste Morien of Friends of Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge. Celeste was able to identify a few nest boxes with tree swallow nestlings of a similar age. After getting permission from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, I brought the birds to Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge on June 22. Together we decided which nest the little birds would go into. The first nest had six baby birds already and we decided that the parents had enough mouths to feed! The next nest only had four babies, and while the babies were a little bit older, we decided that this nest offered them the best chance. We gingerly placed them in the nest box with their new siblings and closed the door. Within a few minutes, BOTH parents had entered the nest box to feed their new blended family!
Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles Find Refuge with SPCA Wildlife Department Volunteer
This comes to us from SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department’s James Sevigny, Licensed Veterinary Technician and Wildlife Rehabilitator
June 24, 2020 — On January 7, three baby Eastern Spiny Softshell turtles were seized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) from a person in Chautauqua County who had illegally collected them out of the wild to keep as pets. In New York State it is illegal to keep any native wild animal as a pet. Like most aquatic turtles, Spiny Softshell turtles hibernate through the winter, so the DEC entrusted the SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department with the care of these adorable reptiles until they could be released in the spring.
After getting a thorough physical exam, the three turtles were placed into home foster care with wildlife rehabilitator and turtle expert Shelby Priester who took care of the little guys until the weather and water temperature was just right to give them the best chance for survival in the wild.
Typically, wildlife is released to the same place it was found, but we didn’t know where these guys came from. We reached out to the Roger Tory Peterson Institute in Jamestown, New York who have been monitoring turtle populations in the area for several years. Fortunately, they knew of the perfect spot for release.
On June 9, wildlife rehabilitator Shelby Priester, SPCA wildlife veterinarian Dr. Karen Slote, and Roger Tory Peterson Institute staff Jonathan Townsend and Twan Leenders met in Jamestown to release the turtles. Watch the video here.
This story illustrates how many different individuals, agencies, and organizations come together to help these turtles: from the DEC officer who rescued the turtles, through the vets and wildlife rehabilitators of the SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department who took care of them, to the staff of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute who assisted with their release… We thank everyone for their help!
Snapping Turtle Rescued From Drainpipe
This comes to us from SPCA Serving Erie County Animal Cruelty Investigator / Animal Rescue Officer Tyler Robertson:
July 3, 2020 — A snapping turtle was found stuck inside a drainpipe in Clarence. Employees from the Town of Clarence Highway Department assisted in cutting the pipe to free the turtle. The turtle was transported back to the SPCA Serving Erie County’s Wildlife Department where he got a clean bill of health. He was released near a body of water where he was originally found shortly after.
Crafty Fox Rescued from Underneath Porch
This comes to us from SPCA Serving Erie County Animal Cruelty Investigator / Animal Rescue Officer Tyler Robertson:
July 3, 2020 – With the assistance of Amherst Animal Control, Officer Heine and I worked to rescue this fox who had been eluding them all week. The fox went under a porch on Robin Road and the homeowners were quick to make a phone call noting the fox’s location. The fox was transported back to the SPCA’s Wildlife Department for assessment. He was released shortly thereafter. Watch his release here.
