Thank you for the incredible show of support for Florian. His spirits (and ours) were uplifted by your love. As we stated in the original post, we have been working closely with the local Animal Control and law enforcement officials on this case. As such, we are not able to disclose very many details. However, we wanted to keep you updated to the best of our ability.

We can confirm that Florian is no longer in our care. A relative of the perpetrator contacted Animal Control and took custody of him. They were unaware that he was going to be abandoned and were extremely grateful for his safe capture and the care he received at Cape Ann Animal Aid. Florian was familiar with this individual and we believe that he is going to be happy and safe in this person’s care.

We will continue to work with local officials regarding charges that may be brought against the individual that made the careless and inhumane decision to abandon Florian. We made a decision to share this story publicly to spread awareness and promote healthy conversations about pet surrender. We thank you again for your suggestions, words of support, and continued friendship.

It’s been a stressful and nerve-wracking weekend here at Cape Ann Animal Aid and we wanted to tell you about it. But first, a quick note -- Our goal in sharing this story is to emphasize the importance of considering local shelters like Cape Ann Animal Aid a partner in the surrender process. We can only accept new animals when we have space available. Intakes (both local surrenders and all out-of-state transports) are done on an appointment basis. In some cases, appointments can be made for the same day and other times, space is not available for a few days or even weeks. Scheduled intake insures the safety and emotional well-being of all the animals in our care. Regardless, our goal is to always to treat the animals and pet owners with respect, doing all we can to address difficult situations with sensitivity and care.

On Friday morning, a pet owner arrived at Cape Ann Animal Aid with their cat in a carrier. They needed to surrender the cat but our shelter was completely full. If we had open space available, we would have been able to take in the cat that day, but since they needed immediate placement and could not wait, we offered to refer them to other facilities that might have more immediate space availability.

They did not start the surrender process nor did they accept our offer of referral. Instead, they became angry and abruptly left with the cat. They chose to stop their car halfway down Paws Lane and released the cat on the side of the road.

When an owner makes an irresponsible decision such as abandonment, we can only hope for an outcome like this. We were lucky to catch this cat and we will do all we can to make him feel safe and loved. While he is a little uneasy in the shelter and around the other cats, he is very sweet with people. We have named him 'Florian', the meaning of which is ‘blooming or flowering’. Florian was found safe among blooming flowers in our shelter garden and we hope that he will bloom and thrive while in our care. We will be sure to keep you updated on his status.

If you or someone you know ever needs to surrender an animal, please refer them to our Pet Surrender webpage for resources, detailed information about our surrender process, and copies of our surrender questionnaires. It is our responsibility to insure that we have enough space and resources necessary to provide exceptional care to each animal in our protection. The waiting period before a scheduled intake can fluctuate from immediate intake to a few days or weeks. For those needing same-day placement when it is not possible, we will always refer or connect individuals to other facilities where space may be available. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us directly.

CLICK HERE TO READ AN UPDATE

HOGAN'S HEARTWORM HEROES
You may have heard about one of our current shelter dogs named Hogan. We've profiled his case on our social media pages and more prominently on our Gloucester Pride Stride team page where a group of dedicated supporters is walking to raise funds for his medical expenses. The team has cleverly named themselves 'Hogan's Heartworm Heroes'. (At this moment, just over $700.00 of the estimated $1,000 needed to cover the expenses of Hogan's care has been raised.Thank you!)


But what exactly is heartworm and how is it treated? We've fielded a number of questions from our volunteers and supporters regarding this condition over the past few weeks. The answers are important -- and now more than ever-- because we just got some bad news...another dog in our care has tested positive for heartworm. That's right, hot off the heels of Hogan's treatment, Bella, a one-year-old Rhodesian Ridgeback mix with a goofy smile and a contagious zest for life, is just beginning her treatment. Detailed and more clinical explanations about heartworm can be found here. But for this blog post, we'll break it down more simply. 

Treatment and care for Bella over the next 2-3 months will look like this:

1. One month on a dose of antibiotics and steroids to weaken the heartworms, kill any bacteria they may have introduced, and reduce inflammation in preparation of treatment.
2. Two intramuscular injections to kill the adult heartworms. 
3. Six to eight weeks of continued exercise restriction. Heartworms can be up to a foot long and are living in the heart, lungs, and blood vessels. Exercise and physical exertion of any kind can increase the rate of damage in these organs, posing increased threat to the animal's well-being. 

Our goal is to place Bella into a foster home with one of our current staff members or volunteers. Because of the activity restrictions and medical needs, we are not always able to find suitable foster care. If that is the case, Bella will remain at our shelter, just like Hogan did. Regardless, we will be sure that she gets plenty of cuddles and care from all of us here at the shelter! 

Visit our Christopher Cutler Rich Animal Shelter this Friday or Saturday and you won’t just see animals in the dog and cat adoption areas, you’ll see people too!

That's right, one employee, two board members, and two volunteers will be spending 24 hours in our adoption areas without the comforts of their home, family, or cell phone. They will live in the dog runs and cat colony rooms, experiencing meal times, play times, and socialization much like the animals awaiting adoption. Their goal? To experience a night without family and the comforts of home, putting themselves into the 'paws' of homeless animals to help raise awareness and funds for our Enrichment Program, which supports the behavioral and emotional health of shelter animals.

After the last Night Without A Family event, participants wrote down their thoughts and feelings in response to the exercise, providing excellent insight into the sensations and emotions that shelter animals may be experiencing. “We’ve made some changes to our daily animal care routines as a response to this event and the feedback we received,” says Sunniva Buck, Executive Director of Cape Ann Animal Aid. “We have made it a real priority to get shelter dogs out for regular off-site adventures and have created different visual barriers in the animal housing areas to help calm those that may be anxious or overwhelmed.”

Last year, we found loving homes for 1,440 animals and we expect that number to grow by at least 10% this year. Through all of this, our focus continues to be not just on providing food, shelter, and medical care for animals in need, but also on their mental and physical well-being. The Enrichment Fund provides things like interactive toys and feeders, obedience classes, behavior evaluations, agility equipment, play yard and trail maintenance, and calming supplements.

“By definition, the Enrichment Fund really does focus on enriching the lives of homeless animals, helping them to feel comfortable, learn new skills, and prevent boredom through things like play therapy, socialization, and training games while they are awaiting adoption,” says Buck. “As an added bonus, these activities also help make for more well-adjusted pets in their new homes.”

Night Without A Family participants have created online fundraising pages to help meet their collective goal of raising $5,000 for the Enrichment Fund. Donations are encouraged online, in person, or via mail and can be made in sponsorship of an individual participant or of the group as a whole. We are thrilled to share that just this morning, we hit the halfway mark in our fundraising goal!

The 24 hour experience begins at 3pm on Friday, March 2nd and will conclude at 3pm on Saturday, March 3rd. See the tentative schedule posted below! Members of the public are invited to visit with both the animal and human occupants during normal open hours. Of course, our staff will be ready to process adoptions of real shelter animals too, hoping that many will find homes at the same time. Updates and live broadcasts will be posted throughout the 24 hour stay on our Facebook and Instagram pages. 

We are looking forward to an exciting weekend ahead. If all goes well, we hope to continue this event in future years, eventually including members of the public and even public officials in the immersive and unique event. What do you think of this event? Sound off in the comments below and stop by and visit this weekend!