Alex Suarez visited our shelter in

July 2015. He was in the “just look-

ing” process at that time to possibly

adopt. He was upset over the fact

that due to a recent divorce, his ex-

spouse took custody of their beloved

cat. He was discouraged that he

would never be able to find another

cat as cool as his last cat. He wasn’t looking to replace the cat but hopefully find an-

other feline companion that he could bond with.

Lo and behold, much to his delight he happened upon a cute little, two months old, or-

ange & white kitten named Sandalwood. It was love at first sight! Alex and Sandal-

wood seemed to have an immediate connection. He spent hours bonding with him that

day and ended up adopting him the same day! Sandalwood was able to be neutered

within a few days but Alex came in daily and spent time bonding with him prior to his

surgery.

Fast forward to present day: Sandalwood, who is now nine months old and re-named

Garfield, is thriving quite nicely. Alex tried feeding Garfield a bit of lasagna which he

absolutely loved. True to his name, Garfield loves lasagna and cleaned out the bottom

of the pan. He took Garfield to the Pet Expo and Garfield insisted upon being carried

around the entire time. He would not remain in his carrier. Garfield also took a

“selfie” with Alex’s IPhone by accident. It turns out he is a “budding photographer” as

well.

Alex came by the Shelter recently shar-

ing these wonderful moments and photos

with us. He was also interested in find-

ing a “doggie companion” for Gar-

field. Upon finding the perfect doggie

companion for Garfield, he plans on nam-

ing the dog “Odie”.

ID#1506-1677 Sandalwood - AKA: Garfield

March 1, 2016

Volume 25, Issue 25

Pet Tails

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Our Foster Story 2

Dog vs Dog Bites 3

Animal Spotlight 4

Some Animal Facts 4

Get to Know Your Breed 5

Meet the Staff 6

Meet the Officers 6

Meet the Volunteers 7

Facebook/Twitter 7

Volunteer Opportunities

and Miscellaneous

8

Virginia Beach Animal

Care & Adoption Center

Volume 25, Issue 25 Page

OUR FOSTER STORY

I was asked to foster two orphaned kitten boys in late October. No one else was available because they had oth-

er kittens and the boys had ringworm. They were barely 4 weeks old and feral. The brown tabby was a mean lit-

tle thing - hissing and spitting and frankly even at only about 14 ounces, he scared me! The little grey fellow was

unsure but seemed a bit more trusting - not much, but a little. My husband named them Ruff and Reddy. Ruff

was a bit - well, rough. Reddy was a tad more ready to be accepting.

It took several days before Ruff would let me pick him up

without hissing at me and this picture was taken about a

week after they came home with me. I had to pick up the

entire cuddle bed and put it in my lap for them to be even

a little at ease. They were barely 5 weeks old then and

still terrified of me.

We slowly built up a mutual respect and eventual love for each other, but

they always remained a good bit shy and nervous with anyone but me and my

husband. With a heavy heart I started promoting them as “Christmas Kit-

tens”. They were adopted by a woman with a small child and picked up on

Christmas Eve. I cried that entire Christmas day, and was so sad for sev-

eral days afterwards worrying about them being shy and withdrawn but

happily, after a few days, the new mom reported that were happy and play-

ful and seemed to settle in. I did not receive any more word after

that. Such is the life of a foster mom - we rarely are kept abreast of the

kittens we love so much and help raise and socialize. It’s just a fact of life.

Fast forward just 7 weeks and I receive a call from the

shelter clerk. Ruff and Reddy had been returned for being

"too rambunctious”! “Seriously?:, I thought, "they’re kit-

tens - barely 5 month old kittens!!" I told my husband and

within 2 minutes he said “Let’s adopt them!”. He’d always

been close to them and loved their shyness, so the next day

I went in to the shelter and gave these sweet boys a new

forever home! They seemed to remember me, even nuzzling

my neck when I loved on them again and the next day they

seemed ecstatic to be home again running around and chest

bumping each other as if to say “YAY! We’re back

home!” So my foster story is an adoption with an unex-

pected twist!

Submitted by Marcia Pierce

Dog Vs Dog Bites

If you are out walking your dog and another dog comes up and attacks your dog and

significant injury occurs - Animal Control needs to be contacted. Of course if one or

both of the animals need immediate veterinary treatment, the owner(s) should

transport their pet for medical attention --- but owners need to exchange their con-

tact information to provide to Animal Control. Same as when someone gets into a mo-

tor vehicle accident, it is important to exchange information between the parties. If

there is injury, but not significant enough to need immediate medical treatment, Ani-

mal Control may be contacted immediately to meet with both parties.

If you know your dog has significantly injured another person’s pet, take responsibil-

ity and provide your information to the other owner, get the owner’s contact info and

notify Animal Control. If you know what vet the person is going to, let animal control

know. It is stressful for all involved when their beloved pets get into a quarrel with

another animal, but it is important for someone to think to exchange information.

If an incident occurs between 2 dogs, but there is no injury – it is not necessary to

make a report to Animal Control, unless there is some other aggravating factors, such

as the dog was running stray.

Page 4 Pet Tails

Herrmeow - DSH/Tortoiseshell 1602-0123

She is an affectionate 2 year old girl who wants nothing more than to curl in your lap. A unique and funny girl, she rolls over with an adorable head tilt. She is housetrained.

JB Terrier Mix 1601-0046

JB is an adorable senior fella of 8+ years and weighs 27 pounds. An easy going boy he is housetrained, loves squeaky toys and is happy to show off his com-mands for a treat. He would love an adult only home.

“Estee Lauder”- Pit Bull 1602-1533

This pretty girl is about 2 years old and weighs 60lbs. She is good with kids and most dogs. She is working on leash training/house training and would love a person of her own.

The capuchins get their name from a group of friars named the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin. When explores ar-rived in the Americas in the 15th century they thought the small monkeys looked like these friars and named them capuchins.

They weigh only 3 to 9 lbs. and reach a length of 12-22 inches with tails that are just as long as their bodies.

They are considered the most intelligent monkeys of the New World. They are easy to train, and have even been used to assist those with disabilities.

The white-headed capuchin is often called an organ grind-er monkey, it was often seen with street performers.

There are two African Gray parrot species: the Congo African Grey and the Timneh African Grey.

With regular training, they are excellent talkers and can have an extensive vocabulary of hundreds of words. They can mimic many voices and sounds.

They are considered to be the most intelligent of the parrot family.

The most famous African Grey parrot was named Alex. He could name fore than 100 objects, actions, and colors, and was able to identify certain objects by the material they were made from. He even did math!

In captivity, their average lifespan is about 50 years but some may live up to 70 years.

Pet Tails Page 5

Norwegian Forest Cat ‘Sensitive and social, they are

homebodies that enjoy the

company of other pets and

particularly their human

companions.

Strongly built, they are larger

than the average cats. Their

strong claws make them

excellent climbers.

Their double-layered coat and

tufted ears and toes repel water

and provide insulation against

harsh winter weather.

They are prone to heart and

kidney problems, hip dysplasia,

and a condition called glycogen

storage disease type IV that

causes a harmful buildup of a

complex sugar called glycogen in

the body’s cells.

Dutch Shephard A rare breed of herding dog

hailing from The Netherlands.

Developed in 19th century as an

all-purpose working dog, they

were commonly used as expert

herders.

There are three coat varieties:

short-hair, long-hair, and rough

hair.

Friendly, loving and playful, this

energetic dog is highly

intelligent and easy to train.

Alert and extremely loyal, they

are excellent guard/watch dogs.

A healthy dog with few genetic

health problems, it has a lifespan

of about 14 years.

Grooming is fairly easy for all

coat types. Brush the short and

long-haired varieties regularly.

Comb the rough-haired.

Page 6 Pet Tails

Meet the Staff Meet Hope Bateman…………... … Hope joined ACAC 3 years ago.

Hope grew up in Chesapeake and as a Navy dependent, moved

around for seven years before her father retired and relo-

cated back to this area.

She has owned cats and dogs but is partial to dogs. Her pre-

vious dog, Rusty, was adopted from the former location of

the ACAC on Leroy Drive. Rusty was a “Benjie” mix and lived

to be 17 years old. Her current love is Bailey, a “Mookie” - a

Yorkshire terrier and Maltese mix.

Hope enjoys traveling, shopping, and spending quality time with friends. She and Bailey fre-

quent the Outer Banks to enjoy the beach and the sunshine.

Her favorite part of the job here at ACAC is the adoption process. The excitement shown

by the owner and the pet when they are united as a furever family is heartwarming each and

every time.

Meet the Officers

Meet Animal Control Officer Rhonda Osborne.

Officer Osborne was born and raised in Memphis, TN. She is one of

our newest Officers working on the street. She was an ACO in

Memphis for four years before moving to the Tidewater area with

her husband.

One thing she likes most about being an ACO is making sure pets

are taken care of properly. Officer Osborne has always had a love

for animals and their innocence bring her love and joy.

Volume 25, Issue 25 Page 7

Meet volunteer Christine Shultis

Originally from Buffalo, NY, I have been in Virginia Beach for 27 years. I graduated from the Univer-

sity of Buffalo with a degree in Nuclear Medicine and worked for Sentara for 24 years. For all of my

adult life, I had labs and golden retrievers and competed in obedience, agility, rally and have done pet

therapy. My most important goal for retirement was to volunteer at the Shelter and I have been for-

tunate enough to achieve that goal. I have been at the Shelter for four years and spend most of my

time there with the dogs. What I especially like is being able to teach the Greeter/Shelter Guide

class which gives tips to volunteers as to how to greet visitors and give them a tour of the Shelter. I

also have Adoption Counselor classes where we go through the adoption process and give the volunteers

suggestions on how to help potential adopters make the right choice when choosing a pet. My husband

and I have two dogs and a cat and have shared our home with three foster dogs which was a very re-

warding experience. I hope to continue to spend many more years volunteering at the Shelter.

GIVE US A “LIKE!”

Have you “liked” us on Facebook? Do you follow us on Twitter? One of the easiest ways for us to let potential adopters

know about the many adoptable pets at the shelter is by using social media. We post information about adoptables and

current events at the shelter. So join the 2050 people already “liking” us on Facebook and our 601 Twitter “followers”

as we get the word out! Find us at www.facebook.com/VBanimalcareandadoptioncenter and @adoptablePetsVB on Twit-

ter and join in the conversations, and while you’re at it, invite your friends too. The more who know, the better the ani-

mals have at finding FURever homes!

Virginia Beach Animal Care & Adoption Center

341 S. Birdneck Road

Virginia Beach, VA 23451

It’s the Law Did you know … if a cat or dog license tag is lost, de-

stroyed or stolen, the owner or custodian shall at once

apply to the treasurer...for a duplicate license tag, pre-

senting the original license receipt.

Do you have a suggestion?

We’d like to hear it.

Please drop off sugges-

tions in our suggestion box

and we’ll post the sugges-

tion and the response in our newsletter.

Phone: 757-385-4444

Fax: 757-227-9687

E-mail: VBPDAC@vbgov.com

Volunteer

Opportunities:

Do you love animals and

want to give back to the

community? We have the

answer for you there are

many ways that you can

help, from walking dogs,

cuddling cats or advertising

pets that are up for

adoption. We also are in

need of foster homes to

increase the amount of

animals that we can serve.

Listed below are

volunteer opportunities…

Cat Room Volunteer

Dog Walker

If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Jean Deliz at policeanimalsheltervol@vbgov.com. She’ll be

looking forward to hearing from you.

Volunteer Front Desk

Greeter

Newsletter Team Member

Adoption Counselor

PetSmart Cat Center Vol-

unteer

Foster Parent

Animal Transporter

Pet Portal (Petfinder)

Call Center Volunteer

Lost/Found Assistance

Volunteer

Small Animal Companion-

ship

Special Events Volunteer

Vet Assistant

Youth Mentor

Adoption Follow-ups

Hours of Operation:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tuesday — 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. (reclaims only)

Thursday — 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Shelter Statistics Jan

2015

Feb

2016

Feb

2015

Jan

2016

Dogs Impounded 271 239 251 235

Dogs Reclaimed 149 145 124 148

Dogs Adopted 98 84 100 73

Dogs Transferred 11 10 16 18

Cats Impounded 189 187 119 184

Cats Reclaimed 11 8 8 16

Cats Adopted 112 111 87 127

Cats Transferred 11 13 2 1

Other Companions Impounded 14 23 4 12

Other Companions Reclaimed 2 1 0 0

Other Companions Adopted 21 15 19 7

Other Companions Transferred 3 1 0 2