All 10 finally wih their FUREVER homes!

All's well that ends well and that is especially true with momma Sweet Pea and these 10 pups.  Spot and Black Eye Pete had an angel foster that helped get them through an additional 4 weeks of foster care so that they could get rid of that nasty ringworm and then shortly thereafter, Spot and BEP were adopted.  HOORAY!

Since we first began this journey, it has been one eye opener after another.  The biggest shock to us was that New Mexico has a shelter euthanasia rate that is approximately 2/3rds higher than the national average.  About 4 million (million!) pets are euthanized each year in the United States by the very agencies and organizations that are suppose to be operating in the interest of 'animal welfare'.

We began researching ways that we might help reduce the euthanasia rate here in NM and email after email, meeting after meeting, we left feeling almost hopeless against the state of animal welfare here in NM.  There are so many great rescue and other organizations doing such great work here but many remain frustrated and most are underfunded, doing what they can with what they have, year after year.  Only a very small percentage (maybe less than 2%) of these groups have budgets that allow for needed progress to be made.  We came up with the idea of ART + ANIMALS to utilize our existing art and design community connections to possibly help make a difference and that program with soon be launched on a national level with the help of an outside group. HOORAY!

Great progress but we still needed more solutions here on the ground, specific to New Mexico. One of us has a uniquely fitting background in organizing for positive change and after quite a bit of soul searching, a new organization is now being formed called New Mexico Pets ALIVE! . The mission is to create a New Mexico state-wide No Kill, caring community. The website in development is http://www.NewMexicoPetsALIVE.org  One key goal (there are many) with this new org will be the introduction and passage of CAPA - NM (The Companion Animal Protection Act of New Mexico). This goal will be accomplished with the help of the No Kill Advocacy Center who has helped to usher in several similar successful programs across US, vastly reducing euthanasia rates and saving lives.  There's no inventing the wheel.  The model which can be duplicated successfully already exists. Lucky for us!!  There's nothing easy about what we're embarking on but we think our 4 legged friends here in NM deserve nothing less.  You can read Melissa's NMPA welcome letter here. Please email us if you'd like to join us in this effort.

Our best always,

Kurt and Melissa

2 of the pups may need our help

Black Eye Pete + Spot, the 2 remaining pups of this group of 11 will be 16 weeks tomorrow. For those of you following Sweet Pea + her 10 pups story since we helped rescue them the first week of January, it'll be D day next TH for these 2 who are under the care and authority of Animal Humane New Mexico. A foster angel has been selfless in helping to treat them for ringworm (a fungus - athlete's foot in humans, not a worm) for the past 4 weeks since they need to be isolated away from people with health issues (ie. one in our household) and ill animals (ie. Sid our cat + Sweet Pea's risk from her past Erhlichiosis). Their latest ringworm culture will come back soon and if it's negative, these sweet boys will finally be available for adoption. If the culture comes back positive they'll need to continue their treatment and the current foster, who is understandably exhausted, will no longer be able to care for them. If another foster (or an adopter who will adopt one or both) is not located, the AHNM vet will likely order euthanasia which is AHNM policy when it comes to animals in their care with ringworm. These babies have come so far to not be given the chance to live b/c of a stupid and very treatable fungus. Please email us if you know of someone who can take them if the tests come back positive. THANK YOU!

PS. Ringworm is very contagious but their current foster has a cat and has these 2 isolated in a separate area - email Boni who is the foster coordinator at Animal Humane at: bonig@AnimalHumaneNM.org for further information on what their care would entail. Due to the less than ideal foster situation, it may take a while to locate a foster if the results come back positive.  Given that fact, we are trying to help get a new foster or direct adopter/s lined up in advance rather than waiting to the last minute because we'd much rather be safe than sorry. If the culture comes back negative then we can all breathe much easier and then they can be adopted out normally.

Some have criticized our pro-active approach and labeled it as 'premature' and our wide outreach open publication of the potential fate of these 2 as 'crazy' or 'shining a bad light on Animal Humane'.  To us this seems more like 'shoot the messenger'.  We are outspoken advocates for AHNM and their successes but we do not create their policies and we don't see any reason to hide the truth from the public about the potential fate of these 2.  We're casting the widest net possible to ask for help for these 2 because to us, they are worth it and we feel we must reveal the whole picture to those who may be interested in helping.  Otherwise, you who are reading this may feel that this is a typical foster situation that has no potential consequences if not acted upon.

Event pics + Kink's World + ART + ANIMALS

Thanks to those who have joined us for the foster fundraiser event here online + in person last Saturday. Your contributions and donations of foster supplies has been greatly appreciated !!  Below are a few pics from the event:

The following posters were created for the event and we wanted to share those also here for those who were not able to join us:

It's an understatement to say that our newbie rescue/foster journey has been a life changing event for us.  This blog will serve as a permanent archive of that initial journey and as a way to show appreciation for EVERYONE who has participated in this journey with us. 

As some of you know this journey has led to some immediate additions to our family as we have officially adopted momma Sweet Pea and 'baby' Kink (who at 12.5 weeks now weighs 24 lbs!).  Here's a recent pic of them together in a rare semi-peaceful moment :)

As we have done during the entire fostering period, we continue to work with Sweet Pea to help her gain back the confidence and trust we know she once had prior to whatever abuse she had been exposed to.  It's a daily effort and she makes great daily strides.  Her recovery from her early Ehrlichia diagnosis continues to show success although she will need to be monitored regularly and evaluated yearly for the rest of her life as the tick borne disease can sometimes return.

Kink is a whole different ball of Tasmanian devil wax .....as we like to refer to it :)   He makes us laugh each and every day and brings us joy like we can't describe but having a puppy is a HUGE undertaking and a big challenge.  Adopting a puppy and committing to doing what the puppy needs in order to grow into the best friend s/he can be takes so much more time, energy and effort than many people expect or are prepared to give.  Unfortunately, a big part of why so many animals end up in the pound and get euthanized is because someone wanted a cute puppy but were clueless what to do with it once they brought him or her home.  Fast forward a year later with no training and the near adult dog is 'misbehaving' all of a sudden and the family who adopted him or her is shocked and can't figure out why.  Many dump their 'problem' dog at the shelter and that's the end of story.  Sad but so very true in every community across the United States.  Adequate puppy training for Kink is key to our family's happiness and his happiness and ability to fully blossom into a secure, confident, loving dog.  We had no idea that it would require so many hours each day, 7 days each week but we decided the best way we might help others who may have recently adopted a puppy is to create Kink's World as an educational project.  A website is in progress but for now Kink is sharing his puppy training tips and other helpful information with the rest of the world on facebook at Kink's World.

The biggest 'next step' that we have undertaken as a result of this rescue/foster journey is in our professional lives.  Since 2007, we have served as directors for an arts non-profit project and were moved to try to figure out some way to introduce what we've learned over the last several months and explore the larger picture of this journey in our future programming.   To that end, we've created a new initiative, tentatively titled ART + ANIMALS.  We'll be combining public arts and cultural programming with animal welfare (rescue, fostering, education and sanctuary if need be for the purposes of reducing the abuse and abandonment of animals and also reduce the euthanasia rates in shelters).  Please visit: http://www.becaicad.org/art--animals.php to learn more about this new programming component and how you can become involved.  We're extremely excited about connecting these two seemingly very different worlds for the benefit of both.  You might be surprised how much these different communities of art/design and animal welfare have to offer to one another.

Our best always,

Melissa + Kurt, newbies no more

Chipping In

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPED US ON THIS JOURNEY...the foster families, those who contributed food, toys, money, gift cards and other supplies, those who gave the much needed moral support and experienced advice along the way and which continues today.

We're hosting a Foster Fundraiser and Foster Needed Supplies Drive this Saturday, March 26th at our studio.  If you'd like to join us here in Albuquerque for the event please visit: http://newstudioad.com/upcoming-events.php for further information.  


We've also created the Chip-In account below to raise the remaining $600 we're hoping to raise to help reimburse foster care families who helped to care for momma Sweet Pea + pups throughout this journey and still have outstanding expenses.  If you'd like to help us reach that goal, we thank you in advance!  If you're a foster family who still needs to submit your receipts, please email us here.  Any funds raised above presented receipts will be donated to Animal Humane New Mexico to whom we are forever indebted for their assistance.

photo catch up #2

The 10 pups were reunited on Feb. 28th when all the foster families brought them in for the final step before they were ready for adoption - their spay and neuter appts.  We've learned that different shelters and veterinarians have different practices when it comes to determining the best age for animals to be spayed and neutered.  When a shelter only allows animals to be adopted after being spayed/neutered they are helping to guarantee that your future best friend does not contribute to the epidemic of homeless animals here in New Mexico and beyond and the high euthanasia rate across shelters in the United States. 

From www.SpayNM.org :

"Millions of dogs and cats are euthanized in the United States every year due to pet overpopulation. It has been estimated that there are over 60 million homeless animals in the United States alone: a staggering rate of more than a million per state.

In New Mexico, healthy, adoptable cats and dogs are euthanized by the thousands each year because there are not enough homes for them all.

If we work together, we can FIX it.

Fixing your pet (also known as spaying/neutering) means fewer pets added to the overpopulation in our state. Spaying/neutering is the best way to avoid the problem of unwanted pets, and one of the kindest things you can do for animals. Spaying and neutering saves lives."

We hope you will join us at our upcoming fundraising and foster needed supply drive event (either in person or here online via this blog) on Saturday, March 26th.  With the past 2 months being a life changing event for us, we've begun plans for a new programming component: ART + ANIMALS to be added to non-profit project we begun in 2007.  If you have a parcel of land to lend or gift (full tax-deduction available) to help begin this new effort, please feel free to email us.

Enjoy these photos below and have a great weekend,
the Animal Foster Newbies

 

 

photo catch up #1

We're still catching up with pics posting...the next post or 2 will be posts of that little bit of puppy pic backlog:

 

Thanks much Boni for the wagon train photos!

Momma Sweet Pea + baby Kink = muses

We've received an email that momma Sweet Pea + baby Kink have inspired a new work of art by painter, Kim Kissinger Marino who resides in Illinois: http://60in60days.blogspot.com/2011/03/day-33-sweet-pea-baby-kink.html

 

Kim is an artist and also fosters kitties for Animal Humane in Illinois. What a great way to start off the week - thanks Kim!