WINTER 2015
Take the 2015 #IHeartMyPet pledge!
Rescued dog finds her forever family • Your impact on pets escaping domestic violence • Helping children understand animals • Ask yourself these pet preparedness questions
Canine Massage, as well as a PetTech
certified Canine CPR and First Aid
Instructor. She is an animal lover, artist,
wildlife photographer and dedicated
RedRover Responders volunteer, having
deployed 14 times since 2009. She
resides in the Northwest suburbs of
Chicago with her rescued dog, Theodore.
Please mark your vote on the
enclosed postage-paid envelope and
mail it by March 16, 2015. For a director
to be elected by written ballot, he or she
must receive a majority of affirmative
votes, with at least six percent of members
voting. Votes withheld are not counted
for or against a director. The board of
directors will vote for directors if members
do not return a quorum of ballots.
DEBBIE FERGUSON
is seeking a second, three-
year term on the RedRover
Board of Directors. In her
first term, Debbie served
as Treasurer and Vice Chair.
If elected for a second term,
Debbie will serve as Chair of the Board.
Debbie retired from Walgreens as
Senior Vice President of Operations,
supervising well over 1,000 stores
primarily in the Midwest and South.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in
Business Management from Roger
Williams University and her MBA from
Marylhurst University. She is a certified
canine massage therapist and part-time
instructor for the Chicago School of
P.O. Box 188890 Sacramento, CA 95818
TEL 916.429.2457 WEB RedRover.org FAX 916.378.5098 EMAIL [email protected] TAX ID # 68-0124097
Companion is published quarterly by RedRover and is distributed to its members. © 2015 RedRover.
For a listing of RedRover’s board of directors and staff, visit: RedRover.org/people
2015 will feature exciting new
campaigns to help animals in crisis
and strengthen the human-animal
bond. RedRover Relief launched its
#IHeartMyPet Education Campaign in
January to share tips and resources to
prevent the most common veterinary
emergencies (see next page). RedRover
Readers will hold a contest for all schools
using the RedRover Readers program to
share stories of how children’s attitudes
and behaviors towards animals have
changed because of the program. Work
also continues to develop our interactive
e-book app that will make practicing
empathy and learning about animals a
common household and school activity!
RedRover Responders will increase
outreach to agencies and make it easier
for those struggling with helping animals
in crisis to request our services.
To learn more about these campaigns, our ongoing activities and how you can help, please make sure you’re on our email list: RedRover.org/email
NICOLE FORSYTHPresident and CEO
Greetings!AT REDROVER, we are so grateful
for your compassion for animals, and
we believe compassion is good for the
heart! Keeping an open heart and
staying alert to those around you who
may need your kindness not only helps
animals and people in need, but it
feels good, too — and creates a more
compassionate society overall. This
principle is at the core of all we do
here at RedRover.
Ballot for Election of Board Director
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companion WINTER 2015
RedRover RELIEF
WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE the launch of our 2015 #IHeartMyPet Education Campaign! Our goal is to help
animal caregivers prepare for veterinary
emergencies through cost-saving
strategies and preventive care tips.
Each year, our RedRover Relief
case managers respond to thousands
of desperate pleas from pet owners —
often for animals suffering from
life-threatening conditions that could
have been avoided through simple
preventive measures.
Our RedRover Relief program has
helped people like Cathy and her dog,
Chloe. Chloe was diagnosed with
pyometra, a life-threatening infection
of the uterus that is prevented when
a dog is spayed. “I blame
myself for not being
educated about the
consequences of not
having my dog spayed,”
Cathy told us. “If I had
known, I would have
done it much, much earlier.”
Each month, our team of expert case
managers and veterinary professionals
Join the #IHeartMyPet campaign
will share how you can be proactive and
prepared for veterinary emergencies.
They will answer questions like: ■ How do I know if this is an emergency?
■ How do I keep my pet safe when I’m not home?
■ How can I afford a veterinary emergency?
■ What are the most common pet illnesses?
■ How much does it cost to care for a pet?
By joining our campaign, you and your
animal-loving friends will be equipped
By joining our campaign, you and
your animal-loving friends will be
equipped with the latest pet health
tips and cost-saving strategies.
Chloe
with the latest pet health tips
and cost-saving strategies.
Take the #IHeartMyPet pledge today and follow our educational
campaign throughout the year at
RedRover.org/IHeartMyPet.
Chloe received lifesaving help from RedRover Relief after she was diag- nosed with a preventable infection.
#IHeartMyPetWINTER 2015 companion 1
Jackson County authorities reached
out to RedRover Responders for
assistance and expertise with sheltering
the rescued dogs. Our compassionate
RedRover Responders volunteers spent
the week feeding, walking and providing
medical support for the neglected dogs
and puppies.
But for frightened dogs like the little
tan Shih Tzu, our volunteers provided
something much more valuable. With
your support, RedRover Responders
RedRover RESPONDERS
Compassion Heals Hearts
THE DAY HAD FINALLY COME. It was
the last day that the little tan Shih Tzu
would have to sit inside the foul building,
surrounded by countless other dogs,
barking and stepping through their
own filth. The day had come when the
frightened Shih Tzu would be saved from
a life of breeding, neglect and misery.
It was October 2014, and authorities
in Jackson County, West Virginia,
seized 136 dogs from the puppy mill.
The Shih Tzu’s physical issues would
soon be tended to, but the emotional
scars of living in a puppy mill would take
longer to heal. The lack of socialization
and human contact left her unsure of
strangers and unfamiliar with what it
meant to just be a dog.
volunteers gave her loving attention,
perhaps for the first time in her life.
They stroked her fur, spoke to her gently,
and assured her that she was finally
safe. With this kindness and compassion,
the fearful Shih Tzu could begin to heal.
We knew that all of our hard work
paid off on adoption day, when count-
less animal lovers poured into the
building to give the rescued dogs and
puppies new homes. A kind woman
with blonde hair and a friendly smile
The little Shih Tzu needed a second chance to
recover from puppy mill life—and the compassion
of animal lovers like you put her and the other
dogs on the path to healing, and trusting again.
With the shy pup in her arms, she broke
down and started crying for what these
dogs, especially this one, had been
through. And in that moment, the little
tan dog with gray fluffy ears had found
her new family.
2 companion WINTER 2015
walked in and asked if she could hold the nervous
little Shih Tzu. With the shy pup in her arms, she
broke down and started crying for what these
dogs, especially this one, had been through. And
in that moment, the little tan dog with gray fluffy
ears had found her new family.
And this is exactly what your support inspires.
The little Shih Tzu needed a second chance to
recover from puppy mill life—and the compassion
of animal lovers like you put her and the other dogs
on the path to healing, and trusting again.
With your help, we can continue to bring animals out of puppy mills and educate people about why adoption is better than purchasing animals from puppy mills. Watch our video and share the
“Opt to Adopt” flier with your veterinary clinic, family and friends: RedRover.org/adopt
WINTER 2015 companion 3
RedRover RELIEF
THANKS TO YOUR GENEROUS SUPPORT, 2014 was a very busy year
for RedRover’s programs to help pets
escape domestic violence with their
families. You helped 11 domestic violence
shelters create on-site space for family
pets through our Safe Housing program.
We added more than 100 new programs
to RedRover’s SafePlaceforPets.org
directory. We also provided pets with
more than 2,000 nights of safe boarding
through our Safe Escape program.
In 2015, we are continuing to work
with Sheltering Animals and Families
Together (SAF-T) toward our goal
Helping pets and people escape domestic violence
of having one SAF-T shelter in each
state by the end of year. We now only
have 13 states to go: Connecticut,
Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Maine,
Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska,
New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode
Island and West Virginia.
Here is just one of the happy ending
stories from a domestic violence shelter
that you helped make possible:
“A woman recently came to our shelter
from two states away. She was frantic
to leave her abuser, but no shelter would
allow her to bring her beloved two
tabby cats. She finally contacted Rose
Brooks Center, and immediately got in
her car with her two cats in carriers and
drove straight through to our shelter.
She spends most of her time in the cat
room with her tabbies, who she feels are
what give her the inspiration and ability
to move forward with a new life.”
Visit RedRover.org/domestic to learn more about our efforts to help keep families and their pets safe from domestic violence and how you can help.
EARLIER THIS YEAR, RedRover presented its
2014 Outstanding Veterinary Clinic Award to College
Village Animal Clinic in Anchorage, Alaska. RedRover
presents this award annually to a veterinary clinic
that goes above and beyond to help animals in need.
They helped Bear, a family’s beloved Labrador, when
she got into the trash and ate something that created
a life-threatening intestinal blockage. Bear’s family
could not afford the surgery quoted by their original
veterinarian and turned to RedRover Relief for help.
Our case managers picked up the phone and located
College Village Animal Clinic, and they were able
to promise a much lower price for surgery! Thanks
to College Village Animal Clinic’s compassionate
and understanding staff, Bear got lifesaving surgery
the next day.
Outstanding Veterinary Clinic Award
Bear
4 companion WINTER 2015
RedRover READERS
I STILL REMEMBER MARIE*, a head-
strong girl I met during a RedRover
Readers visit to the Sacramento Food
Bank and Family Services (SFBFS)
in California. Before the program,
I asked Marie what she thought of cats.
“I don’t like cats,” Marie shuddered.
“They scratch you a lot. I threw a
rock at a cat that goes by my aunt’s
house, and it hit its paw.”
Later, I asked Marie, “Can cats
and dogs feel sad?” She nodded her
head emphatically, “Yes, any living
thing has feelings.” Marie also told
me she wanted to take good care of
her dog, “feeding him, giving him
water, making sure he’s happy and
having fun while he’s with me.”
Imagine how much better our
world will be when more children like
Marie learn to understand and feel
empathy for animals. Your support
of the RedRover Readers program
is laying the foundation for a new
generation of animal lovers — caring
people like you. Thank you!
Do you know of children who could be more empathetic toward animals and others in your community? Please share information about the RedRover Readers program with your local elementary school: RedRover.org/Readers
Learning to be kind to cats
By Karly Noel, Education Manager
UPCOMING REDROVER READERS TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
Winter 2015 online course — ends February 21
Naperville, Illinois — March 7
Phoenix, Arizona — March 26
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma — March 28
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho — May 2
In the RedRover Readers program,
we help children think critically about
their experiences with animals. We help
them understand animal behavior and
emotions so they can feel empathy and
compassion for them. Teachers and
volunteers use stories and discussion
to help children develop their own
thoughts about animals — and decide
on their own to be kind to animals.
After the RedRover Readers program,
I asked Marie what she learned. “When
would a dog or cat feel afraid?” I asked.
She replied, “When somebody yells at
them, when they are chained up, when
you throw things at them.” I asked Marie
about the cat at her aunt’s house, and
she told me, “Now I never throw rocks
at him.”
*Name has been changed
Later, I asked Marie,
“Can cats and dogs
feel sad?” She nodded
her head emphatically,
“Yes, any living thing
has feelings.”
WINTER 2015 companion 5
1 Where will you go in case you must evacuate? Is there
a friend or family member nearby
(out of your disaster zone) who
you can plan to stay with? What
hotels allow pets in case of an
emergency? Make this plan ahead
of time to be prepared for
evacuation.
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Four questions to ask for pet disaster preparedness
WOULD YOU BE READY to take your pet with you in
case of a disaster? Ask yourself these pet preparedness
questions and determine if your family pets are ready
for an emergency evacuation.
2 Could your pets get home if they were separated from you? Make sure
your pets
wear identifi-
cation tags and
are microchipped so you can be
reunited if separated. Now is a
good time to check with your
microchip company to make sure
your information is up to date.
3 What’s the plan if you’re away from home? Talk to a neighbor
who can help evacuate your
pets if you’re away, and
make sure to leave specific
instructions and a key
if needed.
4 What items are at the ready for your cat or dog? Set up a
disaster preparedness kit for your pet.
You may not be able to return to your
home for days or even weeks, so
make sure to have
enough food and
supplies for your pets
(and don’t forget
daily medications!).
What other questions should pet owners ask themselves to prepare for disaster? Visit RedRover.org/Ready and comment with your question.
