Editor’s Note:  We first met Charlie at Dog-O-Ween 2013, along with his constant companion, Elizabeth Guare. Charlie and Elizabeth are also regular customers at the Downtown Farmer’s Market, where FoPAAS has a small booth on the street facing the market. While Elizabeth shops, she leaves Charlie near our table, and we enjoy keeping him company.

Here is Elizabeth’s story with a happy ending.

Charlie Button was discovered in the overnight box at Oakland Animal Services, matted, paraplegic, and miserable. Nevertheless, the shelter determined that he might be treatable, given time….

Charlie went through a few foster homes, but he was uncertain of what was happening to him.

Charlie and I adopted each other three years ago, and he has found his forever home! With the help of physical therapy, he’s taught himself how to walk again. If he gets tired, we use his pet stroller, which has everything he needs.

We were lucky to find each other!

The post Charlie Button Gets Around! appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

To many of us who live on the San Francisco Peninsula, horses are not all that familiar. We see them at a distance, as we’re driving in the hills or along Page Mill Road, and we may wonder how they got there. Who’s the owner? Are these horses cared for and ridden? Does anyone watch over them?

On May 31, Palo Alto Animal Services (PAAS) received a call about a starving horse who had apparently been abandoned at a public horse ring in Los Altos Hills. When Animal Control Officers William Warrior and Cody Macartney saw the horse, they knew she was in poor condition. She needed the care and protection of PAAS, and for starters they gave her a new name: Jasmine!

The rest of this story illustrates how civic agencies, nonprofits, and generous animal lovers can work together to rescue a neglected horse.

Officers Warrior and Macartney trailered Jasmine to Page Mill Pastures, a safe, comfortable stable in Los Altos. Concerned about the cost of stabling Jasmine, Connie Urbanski, Superintendent of PAAS, contacted Maddie’s Fund to ask for financial aid. Joey Bloomfield of Maddie’s Fund promptly agreed to pay the fees for Page Mill Pastures where Jasmine could recover.

Veterinarians Bonnie Yoffe, of PAAS, and Sinead Divine, from Peninsula Equine Medical Center, examined Jasmine and ran standard blood tests, which came back normal. On a body condition scale (BCS) of 1 through 5, where 1 means a horse is emaciated, they gave Jasmine a score of 1. Her problem was lack of food.

The veterinarians determined that Jasmine is about 25 years old. After 7 days on “stray” hold, Jasmine was given vaccinations, treatment for abscesses on her feet, a set of new shoes, and lots of love from a great team of helpers at Page Mill Pastures, including Giselle Turchet and Susan Anderson.

In just two months at Page Mill Pastures, with regular feeding and veterinary care, Jasmine has blossomed into the sleek, beautiful mare she always was. Even better, a person with love to give and space for a horse adopted Jasmine as a companion animal.

Reports are that she’s happy and quite social in her new home—friendly with visitors and stretching her head over the fence for petting. Her owner considers her to be retired. No more trail rides or racing, no more saddle or bridle. Just relaxing, grazing, and spending time with her new forever family!

Want a horse?

Then be aware of the specialized care and tools required to maintain a horse’s health and happiness.

About the Author
Scottie Zimmerman, our President

The post Sweet Jasmine Blooms! appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

Shilo’s curiosity, enthusiasm, and zest for the great outdoors parallels mine to a T. If I go sledding down a snowy hill, Shilo comes galloping after me. If I step onto a paddleboard, guess who’s right there with me, even though she’s brand new to the sport! Shilo is more than my co-pilot, she’s my fearless best friend.

We have run races together, camped together and canyoneered together. We have romped around Tahoe, Clear Lake, Yosemite, the Russian River Valley, and coastal areas between San Francisco and San Diego.

Adventuring comes with occasional misadventures…. Among other things, Shilo and I have dealt with mechanical malfunctions, injuries, bites, and getting lost. But I tell you, when my clutch failed and I was stuck in unfamiliar territory, I was happy to have a companion to wait with me for the rescue and repair. When Shilo sliced her carpal pad open tromping off trail through the forest, I was her nurse, wrapping the pad tightly with her bandana and getting her to the nearest hospital.

Life wouldn’t be the same without my eager sidekick, and I’ll continue to venture the road less traveled with her as long as she’ll let me.

The post Adventuring With Shilo appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

We had dogs growing up in rural Michigan. Mostly hunting dogs. A beagle named Gyp for rabbits and a couple of English Setters (Lady and Bandit) for pheasants, partridge, and the occasional woodcock or snipe. The smartest and most special dog I ever had, though, was a little black terrier/scottie/poodle mix that I found abandoned alongside the road when I was 10.

We lived just outside a small town. Marion, Michigan. Population 800… then and now. One afternoon while riding my bicycle along the main road into town, I spotted a small black dog cowering in the bushes beside the road. Of course everyone in small towns knows everyone else… their kids, their business, and their dogs. So I knew right away he wasn’t a local.

I rode by, and he growled at me. Fifty yards later and curious, I turned around and rode by again with the same result. Undeterred, I parked the bike a few yards down the road and walked cautiously back. He was all black, dirty, skinny, and scared. Just on a hunch, I called out, “Blackie, is that you?”

He came bounding out of the bushes like his tail was on fire. Spinning around, jumping up and down on me, and trying to lick my face. A small hand-written note he had attached to his collar read. “My name is Blackie. Please give me a home.”

That’s why I volunteer. Same feeling.

The post The Gift of Volunteering appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

We met up in Marathon, Texas. I had cycled there from Corpus Christi, and my brother from San Diego, California. It was March, 2012, and the dreadful heat of the summer was still weeks away. That did not make our bike trip back to Corpus any cooler. Through Sanderson, Comstock, and Del Rio, the sun bore down in unrelenting tones of yellow.

We were on Highway 90, the southerly route trekkers use to cross the U.S. on bicycles. My brother was hauling his dog Raisin in a burley attached to the rear of his bike, and 25 miles outside of Uvalde, Raisin started barking. My brother spotted two puppies ducking under some high weeds that served as a poor shelter against the sun. One, a white and black-splotched creature, stepped forward and barked. The other, light brown, cowered behind. My brother fed food scraps to the starving puppies, and we got them into the burley.

Over the next few miles, the pups vomited and lay in the burley, exhausted. Raisin, herself a rescue, seemed to understand what was happening and tolerated their misery. We stopped intermittently and took turns removing clusters of ticks that obscured entire areas of the puppies’ ears, necks, and feet.

In Uvalde, the hotels we checked refused to accept dogs. When it looked as if we’d be crashing at a local park, a man introduced himself. He and his wife opened their home to us—strangers both. We and the puppies slept soundly. The next morning we bought food for the pups, bathed them, removed more ticks, and the effect was dramatic.

Over the next few months, I taught Spot and Sandy their new names, took them to the clinic for the usual round of shots, and escorted them on daily walks through the neighborhood. They loved running along the beaches and sniffing out the sundry odors thereabouts. Other walkers and runners became familiar with our rounds, and Spot and Sandy enjoyed a reputation as two of the friendliest puppies on the block. No one would have guessed the trauma of their early months.

Eventually, I moved back to the Palo Alto area, and about three months ago I drove Sandy the 2,000 miles from south Texas to California. He enjoys his new home and meets and plays with the neighborhood dogs at a local park. He is also a regular among the dogs who visit the downtown Farmer’s Market.

The post Sandy—A Texas Miracle appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

Hal’s leaves are selected and retrieved from our neighbors’ yards, from trees and shrubs we don’t have in our garden. That means he travels over 5-foot fences carrying the leaves and then brings them safely through our cat door. Dry, brittle leaves make it in one piece.

I collected and photographed many of Hal’s gifts. (The apple is to show scale.)

In 2008 I spent six days in the hospital for back surgery. The first night I returned home, I slept in a downstairs “guest” room. All the animals were pleased at my return, of course. But after dark Hal went out of his way, bringing bunch after bunch of green leaves into the house and dropping them like a trail of breadcrumbs along the hall that leads from the kitchen to the bedroom where I slept. A tangible, verifiable “Welcome Home!” from a cat.

The other thing Hal does as he’s returning with leaves is meow. He meows loudly and repeatedly, continuing even after he’s inside the house. In summer with the windows open, I hear him and respond with a comparable “meow.” I think he appreciates the back & forth. Who knows what the neighbors think?

About the Author
Scottie Zimmerman, our President

The post The Cat Who Loves Leaves appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

The distress of these two 10-year-old dogs was apparent. Cookie never moved from Bagel’s side and shivered uncontrollably for the first two weeks they were in the kennel. They barked almost constantly and that, together with their elderly status, made adoption difficult.

We decided to foster Bagel and Cookie when it was apparent they were anxious and not thriving. Their adaptation to our household was another thing: we had not taken proper steps to introduce these two kids to our resident beagles, and so all the challenge of territory and hierarchy emerged. The evening walks were quite a spectacle as Geoff was pulled along by our pack of four strong, energetic beagles.

We attended the Saturday afternoon meetings at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley (HSSV) in Milpitas and there met the wonderful Linea McPherson, President of Nor Cal Beagle Rescue. Linea decided to take them under her care while leaving them in our home as fosters, and so we settled in, waiting for the right home to appear.

In a magical coincidence Pam Warrior, a vet tech at Stanford Animal Hospital, saw a poster with a photo and description of Bagel and Cookie. Remembering Gwen, a client who had lost her two beloved beagles 2 years before, Pam made the phone call, encouraging Gwen to visit Bagel and Cookie.

When Gwen dropped by two days later, it was love at first sight! The connection between Bagel, Cookie, and Gwen was instantaneous, and our two foster kids went home with her that day!  Since then we have seen them at a Beagle Meetup and Gwen has sent us photos of the two nestling together in their new home, as happy as any dogs can be.

This was a miracle match up; finding a perfect home for a bonded pair of elderly beagles is not easy. Gwen still had that empty place after losing her two pets and she was now ready to bring these two little souls into her heart.

About the Author
Jeremy Lindston Robinson, our Vice President

The post Bagel & Cookie appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

My husband & I have been supporters of various dog rescues and shelters for some time. We were lucky enough to find our latest pup through an organization called Peace of Mind Dog Rescue  , which focuses on finding homes for pups whose owners are no longer able to care for them. They also help place in adoptive homes senior shelter dogs whose probability of being adopted by the general public is low.

I was impressed with the organization, especially with its help to elderly or sick owners planning for the future care of their dogs, that I knew I wanted to help support them in any way I could. We didn’t really expect to see our next family member on the webpage so soon, but, when we did, we knew he was waiting for us! We saw Lex, a big and happy looking 8-year-old black lab and read the heartbreaking story: Battling cancer and unable to care for his dog, Lex’s owner left him at a friend’s house, where he was tied to a dog house 24/7. When the owner died, this sweet boy was bequeathed to Peace of Mind.

Seeing his video on the webpage made us think we had to foster him, at the very least. We brought him home to meet our two black lab girls, and it felt like he was part of the family from the moment we all met him.

He’s called Max now, and our three are like peas in a pod!

The post Peace of Mind for Max appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

My family adopted a sweet Orange Tabby from Palo Alto Animal Services in 2010. The day we were able to bring our cat home the Giants were in the World Series, so we decided his name had to be Buster Posey. Buster is a very loyal, loving cat with lots of character. Buster loves his family and especially my son, Jake. When Jake is outside playing, Buster Posey follows him where ever he goes, participating in the two square or basketball game, which essentially means lying right in the middle of the court. He has very little fear of being trampled by feet or hit with the ball, which happens from time to time. He will chase a stray ball down the street as if to make sure it doesn’t get too far away from my son and his friends. He loves children and loves to be petted by any child who walks by the house.

When things are calming down at night and my son is ready for his nightly bath, Buster begins his next favorite activity, which is teasing the neighborhood beagles. He climbs on our neighbor’s rooftop to wait for the beagles to notice his presence. Once they do, Buster’s fun begins. As the poor beagles go crazy running back and forth barking, Buster very condescendingly stares down at the beagles as if to say, “You can’t touch this”! If he could stick out his tongue and say “nanny nanny” he sure would. It’s not only beagles he teases, it’s any dog that he feels deserves a little torment. He will sit on fences or in front of windows in our neighborhood and watch these poor little dogs go crazy barking in an attempt to get a piece of Buster, which will never happen. I can almost see a smug grin on his face when he is home for the evening after a successful night of canine teasing.

He is a great cat and a great companion for my family. We are lucky to have such a wonderful kitty!

The post Buster Posey appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.

Because it was close to Christmas, the small shelter named the dog Elf and a poster shows him with a little red Santa hat. Their vet checked him out and found him to be a healthy young dog however he did test positive for heart worm. Being a small shelter with limited funds, they were unable to provide the treatment for him. He was slated for euthanasia until someone thought to contact Linea McPherson of Nor Cal Beagle Rescue.

Linea immediately took over the care and treatment of this beagle, placing him in one of her special foster homes that cares only for elderly or very sick dogs. There his name became Ralph and he was kept in a crate during the 6 week treatment period. As soon as he was free of heartworm he was neutered and upon his release from the vet he came to our home until a permanent home could be found for him.

We brought Ralph to meet our two resident beagles and knew immediately this was not a ‘Ralph’, so his name was promptly changed to Jack — or more specifically — Jumpin’ Jack Flash! And within three days it was clear we could not give up this boy. We adopted him.

Jack has perfect beagle markings with two small exceptions; his ears are not as long as they should be, and his front legs are slightly bowed. So there may be a tiny teaspoon of some other breed lurking in his genes, but who cares? Jack is all beagle in every other way. What has impressed us is how gently Jack has insinuated himself into our home, carefully stepping around the jealousy shown by our goofy 2 year old beagle Chauncey and the neurotically needy 12 year old Daisy.

I sometimes worry about Jack when I think of where he may have come from, what he suffered as he wandered, hungry and alone in the cold of last winter. There is a sadness about this dog still, though he now will lift and wag his tail and shows all the exuberance of a 2 year old healthy dog. He quickly learned the routines of the house; when treat time or a walk is approaching. But even when he has had a good walk and dinner followed by a long cuddle, there is still something in his sad face that mystifies me.

My only hope is that we can give him enough love and security that someday that sadness will go away. Meanwhile we are very grateful this lovely boy has come into our lives. And we bless Linea McPherson for the incredibly valuable work she and her foster parents do at Nor Cal Beagle Rescue. They deserve all of our support and gratitude.

About the Author
Jeremy Lindston Robinson, our Vice President

The post Jumpin’ Jack Flash! appeared first on Friends of the Palo Alto Animal Shelter.