Read about Officer McCormick’s rescue of Harry the Beagle and listen to the entire SPCA Bravery Award press conference from Oct. 22, 2019 by clicking the image below!
To celebrate the men and women of the armed services this Veterans Day, the SPCA Serving Erie County offers “Vets & Pets,” waiving adoption fees on most animals for individuals on active duty, reserves, and honorable discharge, along with service-disabled veterans and those retired from military service!
Vets & Pets begins Friday, November 1 and runs through Monday,
November 11 at the SPCA’s 300 Harlem Rd., West Seneca shelter and all SPCA offsite adoption locations.
Photos of adoptable animals are available here, and a list of offsite adoption locations, their addresses, and photos of animals at these sites can be found here.
Military ID or DD214 will need to be presented.
Vets & Pets is proudly sponsored by the Buffalo Bills Foundation, Nancy Gacioch of Buffalo, and Paul’s Jewelry Designs!
In fact, all this week, Paul will be offering custom-engraved pet ID tags for $19.95, with proceeds donated to the SPCA Serving Erie County! Pet ID tags are available in store at 12 N. Ellicott Creek Rd., Amherst, or pre-order online and pick up in store. For more information on pet ID tags, contact Paul’s Jewelry Designs at 716-691-0000 or paul@paulsdesigns.com.
More information to follow. Contact SPCA Adoptions with any questions: 716-875-7360, ext. 233.
SPCA ENDS PARTNERSHIP WITH WNYMedia.net
In recent years, the SPCA Serving Erie County has listed WNYMedia.net as one of its media partners. The media outlet provided the SPCA with fully-edited, high-quality adoptable animal videos, event videos, wildlife videos, etc. …videos that helped us place animals in new homes and helped the SPCA share with all of you information regarding its important work in animal rescue, rehabilitation, and other animal welfare issues. We appreciate the effort and skill that went into these pieces at no cost to the SPCA. Unfortunately, last weekend the SPCA was made aware of a situation in which the media outlet posted on its Facebook page a video of an animal available for adoption at the SPCA Serving Erie County, but added derogatory text to the post to further its opinion on a local, public figure, an opinion in no way shared by the SPCA. WNYMedia.net and its representative, Marc Odien, have publicly accepted full responsibility for the text portion of the post, absolving the SPCA Serving Erie County of any foreknowledge of or involvement in the opinion of this media outlet. However, due to our uncertainty of WNYMedia.net’s choices on how images, names, impressions, video, etc. on and/or in donated SPCA materials will be used to further opinions of the media outlet, we are forced to end our partnership with WNYMedia.net.
–Gina Lattuca, SPCA Chief Communications Officer
October 7, 2019
January 7, 2020:
And not only this…he loves SPCA dogs too! Thanks, Stephen and Lindsey, for this year’s YourSPCA.org/Hauschpups program! From BuffaloNews.com:
“Hausch Money Returns: Clutch Field Goal Capped Big Finish for Bills Kicker”
For Bills veteran kicker Stephen Hauschka and his wife Lindsey, staying in Buffalo means that they have more time to make an impact. Not only has Hauschka worked tirelessly on perfecting his craft this offseason, he and Lindsey have also worked to find a way to give back to those in the area. Throughout the 2019-20 football season, the Hauschkas are teaming up with the SPCA Serving Erie County to help the good boys and girls at the Western New York center find their forever home through the new “Hauschpups” program. For each field goal that the special teamer makes during games at New Era Field, he and Lindsey will pay the adoption fee for a dog at the center.
A cause that’s near and dear to them, the Hauschkas, who have two dogs of their own, couldn’t think of a better way to make a difference.
“With Lindsey’s involvement in the SPCA, she’s been volunteering there for a little while, and we’ve been involved with [the] Seattle Humane Society too, so it’s kind of a continuation of something that’s true to our hearts,” explained Stephen. “[It’s] a cause that we care a lot about [and] that’s animals. We have two dogs ourselves and love them so much. You know, I think every time Lindsey comes home from the SPCA, walking the dogs there, she just feels bad for some of these dogs that don’t get a home. They have good living conditions there, but it’s not the same as having a loving family to go back to. These are great dogs too and she shows me pictures of them and asks me if we can adopt them.
“With our lifestyle and a bunch of travel, we can’t have more than two, but that’s really where the involvement came from…”
Lindsey, who spends time walking dogs from the SPCA Serving Erie County when she’s in town, has developed a true connection with the caring staff and lovable animals she interacts with. Wanting to expand on her efforts, she drew upon her experiences volunteering to form the idea for “Hauschpups.”
“It kind of dawned on me,” said Lindsey about the program. “It was right around when Steve signed his new contract. I’m like, alright, this is awesome. This seems like a really good opportunity to get involved in the community and also do something that we’re super passionate about, which is helping animals and [to] support the people who work so hard to help the animals at the SPCA.
“Something that kind of stuck with my through volunteering, is that sometimes volunteers will pay the adoption fees themselves just if there’s a dog they really love – if they can’t take them home and that’s awesome,” she said. “Of course, there are other financial responsibilities that come from getting a dog…but if we can help in some way [to] have a family get a dog that maybe they wouldn’t be able to afford that day…[is special because] the dogs come and go really quickly…”
See our Hauschpups here >>
From BuffaloBills.com; read the full story here >>
SPCA Receives South Carolina Dogs as St. Frances Animal Center Prepares for Hurricane Dorian
September 3, 2019
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca
As the state of South Carolina prepares for the possible arrival of Hurricane Dorian, St. Frances Animal Center in Georgetown sent 70+ dogs (and five cats!) on the road yesterday in an effort to open up space that may be needed for animals displaced by the hurricane.
The truck’s first stop? The SPCA Serving Erie County, receiving 14 adult dogs and five pups at 6 a.m. this morning.
A full crew was on hand to assist with the transport of these animals to the West Seneca shelter. See videos that were taken live of the transport arrival (Video 1) and hear from Devon, part of the husband-and-wife team who drove these animals to safety through the night (Video 2).
The SPCA’s Animal Transport Coordinator, Barbara Frazier, who worked through the weekend making arrangements for this transport, applauds the work of the St. Frances Animal Center. “In addition to making room for possibly displaced dogs, these dogs were proactively moved out ahead of the hurricane due to the potential danger they would be in if or when the hurricane strikes, as the shelter is right on the east coast of South Carolina,” said Frazier.
Things to know about this transport and these animals:
-The animals received by the SPCA Serving Erie County this morning had been previously surrendered to a shelter by their owners. They are not animals who have been separated from their owners by a storm.
-None of the animals in the videos will be available for adoption today.
-Many of the adult dogs are already spayed/neutered. They will be examined today, and those without pressing medical needs will be slated for behavior evaluations. This could happen as early as later this week. The dogs will be listed on the SPCA website’s Adoptable Dogs page when they become available.
-The five puppies who arrived this morning are not medically prepared for adoption and still need vaccinations and other treatments, so they are being placed in foster homes. If a foster family decides to keep and adopt its foster pet, that animal will not be available for general adoption. The animals not adopted by their foster families will be listed on the SPCA website’s Adoptable Dogs page when they become available. Puppies are adopted very quickly and rarely spend the night at the SPCA once available. If you are interested in a transported puppy, remember to check that page several times throughout the day. To learn more about becoming a foster parent to a future animal in need, please visit the SPCA’s Foster Care page.
-Read more information on out-of-town animals accepted by the SPCA on our Animal Transports page.
SPCA OFFERS PET FIRST AID CLASS
July 11, 2019
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca
The SPCA Serving Erie County will offer its third Pet First Aid Class of the year Saturday, August 3, 10:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at its 300 Harlem Rd., West Seneca location.
Instructors will cover the symptoms of serious emergencies that require immediate treatment, hands-on animal CPR with CPR mannequin resusci-dog Spot, muzzling demonstrations, bandaging demonstrations, and will offer a comprehensive lecture portion on recognizing and appropriately handling life-threatening emergencies.
Included in the $20.00 registration fee is a take-home booklet for easy reference, and contact information for area emergency veterinarians.
Registration is required and interested parties can register here. Space is limited, so hurry! Please watch YourSPCA.org, Facebook, or Twitter for future class announcements!
Kitty Crew Member Returned to Tall Ship After Brief Port of Call in Buffalo
July 8, 2019
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca
All hands were on deck at the the SPCA Serving Erie County’s 300 Harlem Rd., West Seneca site late Friday night and early Saturday morning.
When a good Samaritan brought a stray kitty to the SPCA at approximately 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 5, she was certain the cat had an owner somewhere. After all, the young cat was wearing a harness, and her ID tag said Fiji.
To ensure the four-legged visitor found on Erie Street in Buffalo didn’t require critical veterinary care, SPCA Veterinary Technician Lana Bilger immediately examined the friendly feline, who appeared unharmed, unhurt, and in excellent condition. But after scanning the cat, the SPCA crew realized she clearly had no microchip identification, and further examination of the ID tag on the cat’s harness raised questions; on the back of that tag, Lana noticed the words ‘Picton Castle.’
Unaware of whether this was the name of the cat’s owner, the name of the cat’s hometown, or even, possibly, the name of the cat, SPCA representatives did a quick internet search of the words “Fiji,” “Picton Castle,” and “cat”…and within seconds, it became clear that this cat was a crew member of one of the tall ships, the Picton Castle, currently visiting Buffalo, NY!
Understanding that the ship’s departure was scheduled for the weekend, Lana and SPCA Veterinary Assistant Chelsea knew that it was critical a reunion happen in a short period of time. SPCA Cruelty Investigations Officer Jay Ivory made a call to the ship’s headquarters in Nova Scotia at approximately 12 a.m. EST Saturday morning, Lana sent an email to the address provided on the ship’s website, Fiji was set up in her own personal suite with refreshments and blankets, and the wait began.
By Saturday afternoon, SPCA reps still had not heard back from the Picton Castle and started to create an alternate plan, when SPCA volunteer and AdvoCAT Cary Munschauer heard the cat’s tale and remembered that another SPCA volunteer, Donna Camp, was also volunteering to work the Tall Ships Port of Call: Buffalo.
As a volunteer, Donna was given a list of ship contact names and personal phone numbers. One call from the SPCA to one of those numbers led to three response calls from ship representatives in less than thirty minutes!
Fiji was, indeed, the ship’s four-year-old cat, has traveled the world twice over, and often disembarks the Picton Castle to explore the locations being visited before heading back to the ship when the engines start.
By the time the SPCA was contacted, Picton Castle crew members were already on their way to the West Seneca shelter to retrieve their little stowaway (who was actually adopted onto the ship at six weeks of age in 2014, during a Fiji port of call).
Fiji was microchipped by the SPCA. Staff members also worked with crew members on identification information and contact numbers to ensure that, should Fiji’s visit to a future port of call be extended, she will always be returned before the ship shoves off!
An ardent “Ahoy” goes out to the SPCA’s Lana, Chelsea, Cary, Donna, Jay, along with Hilary Lemperle, Aaron Kandefer, and visiting Lincoln Memorial University veterinary student Marissa, who made sure Fiji was cared for, cuddled, properly identified, and prepped for her vessel’s next voyage!
Learn more about Fiji and keep up on her adventures by visiting the Barque Picton Castle!
See this story on WGRZ-TV
See this story on NewsRadio 930 WBEN
See this story on WKBW-TV
See which of these lovely ladies and gentle gents are still available at the SPCA’s West Seneca shelter here!
