Palo Alto Humane Society

News

PAHS at 2013 May Fête Parade and Fair in Heritage Park

PAHS had a fine showing at the 2013 annual Palo Alto May Fête Parade, held Saturday, May 4, in downtown Palo Alto. Volunteers and staff marched along the route, accompanied by several friendly dogs, and one of them, Honey, who rode the float, was the star of the show. The PAHS float showed all the animals in the PAHS logo and banner.

After the parade, many children and their parents visited the PAHS table and booth in Heritage Park, which featured an interactive display board of animals found in Palo Alto and water trough for dogs. The children enjoyed working with the interactive board and were rewarded with stickers, pens, and other souvenirs of the parade and fair.

PAHS Receives a 2013 Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund Grant!

PAHS was among the 55 charity and nonprofit recipients of the 2013 Palo Alto Weekly’s Holiday Fund grants. The PAHS pilot project will focus on educating local low-income pet owners about caring for their pets as well as what they can do to help homeless and abandoned animals. The reception to honor grant recipients took place April 30, 2013 at the headquarters of the Palo Alto Weekly, and the PAHS respresentatives felt very honored to be among the grantees. Click here for more information about the event.

PAHS at Hillview SurvivalFest 2013

Hillview Middle School in Menlo Park invited PAHS to take part in the annual 7th grade SurvivalFest. PAHS has an extensive online library on disaster preparedness in English and Spanish, and samples of some of the files were available for the students at the PAHS booth. The students learned about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, which spurred federal legislation that mandated shelters for animals—people can now take their animals with them when they evacuate their homes, and the animals must be provided temporary shelter. Discussions with the students centered on “after the disaster—what do you need to do to locate missing pets?”

Easter Sunday with the Animals

PAHS was the beneficiary of the special “Easter Sunday with the Animals” event for families and children at the Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel in Menlo Park on Sunday, March 31, 2013. Everyone enjoyed meeting a pony, a duck family, several rabbits and four goats as well as a friendly pot-bellied pig and a rooster and three chickens. Thanks to the staff at Rosewood for the hotel’s ongoing support of PAHS!

Freeb!rds Burrito Continues Cat Food Drives for PAHS

On January 3, 2013, Freeb!rds Burrito held its first-ever cat food drive for PAHS, which was also the first community service event of its kind nationwide for Freeb!rds. Since then, the idea has caught on at Freeb!rds restaurants throughout the country, and pet food drives are now “standard fare” for Freeb!rds volunteers supporting an array of humane societies and rescue groups.

The last food drive for PAHS was held at Pet Food Express in Palo Alto on Saturday, March 30, 2013, and as you can see from the photo, it was very successful. Many community cats and rescued cats and kittens will have a wide variety of nutritious meals, thanks to the efforts of local Freeb!rds volunteers. Freeb!rds will continue to support PAHS at different local pet food stores on a regular basis. We’ll let friends of PAHS know about the next event coming up soon.

PAHS Represented at Encore!

The Rotary Club of Los Altos’ Partners for Elder Generations invited PAHS to participate in its “Encore! Investigate Your Passion and Get Involved” event from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Saturday, March 23, at the Los Altos Youth Center.

The interactive event for adults 50 and older focused on careers in the second half of life and enrichment through volunteerism. Visitors to the PAHS table learned about PAHS community-based projects and volunteer opportunities.

Sándor Tarics, 99, the oldest living Olympic gold medalist was the featured guest at the event. Tarics participated in the 1936 Berlin Olympics as a member of the Hungarian water polo team and played on the national team through 1939.

DAILY POST MYSTERY PHOTO (it was us, PAHS!)

On Thursday, March 21, our gift shop and gallery outdoor rabbit was the Daily Post's (local mid-Peninsula newspaper) mystery photo! The son of the artist, Adrian Litman, immediately recognized his father's work and correctly identified the photo! The photo stumped all other readers.

Adrian Litman designed most of the outdoor signage at the PAHS office location at 520 Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park. Other artwork by Mr. Litman, mugs and vases, are for sale in the PAHS gift shop/gallery at the office location.

Patxi’s Fundraiser—A Great Success!

The March 20 all-day fundraiser at Patxi’s Palo Alto was a tremendous success. The restaurant was full, with onsite diners and nonstop takeout orders. The PAHS contingent of staff, volunteers, and supporters arrived for dinner—the restaurant was so crowded we could barely find seating! Everyone had a wonderful time enjoying the pizza (excellent!) and each other’s company.

PAHS Is Part of Mollie Stone’s Community Card Program!

On March 13, 2013, PAHS representatives attended a briefing about Mollie Stone’s Community Card program. Here we are with Dave Bennett, the founder of Mollie Stone’s. The huge check was for last year's Mollie Stone’s distribution to many local charities.

Help PAHS when you shop at any Mollie Stone’s—if you join the program, Mollie Stone’s will donate 5% of your purchases to PAHS. To sign up for the Mollie Stone’s Community Card program, click here.

Whole Foods “Nickels for Non Profits” Update

PAHS was a 2012 fourth quarter recipient of the local Whole Foods (Palo Alto) Nickels for Non Profits program. The grand total showed that 13,160 people donated a nickel each to PAHS—a nickel was given to PAHS for each person who brought his or her own shopping bag to Whole Foods. All those nickels will now go toward spaying or n

eutering homeless animals. Thanks, Whole Foods!

Freeb!rds Holds Cat Food Drive for PAHS

The Freeb!rds Burrito’s volunteer team food drive at Pet Food Depot in Palo Alto on Saturday, February 16, 2013, was a huge succes. Hungry community cats (and their feeders, of course) are happier, and enough money was raised to spay/neuter two of them! Freeb!rds is planning on sponsoring monthly food drives for PAHS, and we at PAHS are very grateful for the volunteer team’s efforts (as are all those community cats)!

Girl Scout Troop 61437 Animal Badge Activity

The girls in Troop 61437 completed work for their Animal Badge on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at a meetup of local troops in Cupertino. Their project consisted of making cat toys to be distributed through PAHS to local rescue groups and holding a collection for cat food, also to be made available by PAHS to its dedicated volunteers working with community cat colonies. In addition, the girls made a an original and informative video highlighting what they had learned about community cats and spay-neuter during a December visit by the PAHS humane educator and from the research they subsequently did on their own. PAHS is very grateful to the girls for their enthusiastic support and efforts. Thank you, Troop 61437!

Mira’s Homemade Uses a PAHS Logo!

Mira’s Homemade, a Pennsylvania-based company, is now using one of Palo Alto Humane Society’s logos (with our permission, of course) as part of its mission statement to promote its delicious all-vegan granola. Mira’s mission: “to create food that does the least amount of harm to, and the most amount of good for, animals, humans, and the natural resources on our precious planet.”

PAHS Presentation to Brownie Troop 61767

Sam, a 7.5-year old Golden Retriever (shown on the left), was a very willing and happy participant in the January 28 PAHS presentation at the afterschool center at Laurel Elementary School in Atherton. The presentation was focused on safe environments and good care for pets (based on content in Mow Wow Animals, Level 1, Lesson 3). Sam’s special person, a member of the troop, led the part of the lesson devoted to the best way to safely meet and greet a new dog. Other girls in the troop shared their experiences of caring for their own family pets as well as contributed suggestions for actions they could take to help homeless and abandoned animals. PAHS humane educator Leonor Delgado and the troop’s leaders were very pleased with the enthusiasm of the girls and Sam’s invaluable participation.

Freeb!rds Supports Palo Alto Humane Society!

Freebirds volunteers joined PAHS in a cat food drive at Mountain View Pet Club on January 3. The volunteers’ lively attire and upbeat approach attracted many customers who gave cash donations to PAHS or contributed flats of canned cat food and some bags. PAHS volunteer community cat feeders—and the cats, of course—were thrilled. Thank you, Freebirds!

On January 7, Freebirds opened its new Palo Alto location (2035 El Camino Real, Suite A, corner of El Camino and Cambridge Avenue) to customers in a “mock service” charity event in support of PAHS. Lunch and dinner customers were served a free meal and a drink in exchange for a $5 donation, and many donated more! The enthusiasm of the Freebirds staff was contagious, and the décor fantastic. The vegetarian burritos and salads are out of this world! Thanks again to Freebirds!

PAHS HOLIDAY GALA at the Aquarius Theatre, downtown Palo Alto

Palo Alto Humane Society’s “Oh! For the Love of Critters!” came again to the Aquarius Theatre, on Thursday, December 6. That night attendees packed the theater to watch the 1943 classic film Lassie Come Home, starring Roddy McDowell and a very young Elizabeth Taylor, and featuring brave and loyal Lassie who endured many hardships to be reunited with her family. Emmy-nominated Hollywood producer Phil Giffin hosted the event, with the participation of local actor Marilyn Kanes. Special guests included NorCal Collie Rescue, whose beautiful dogs added color and excitement to our gala, and The Mendicants, the well-known Stanford a cappella group of male singers. Live bagpipe music and actors in costume greeted moviegoers as they lined up for their tickets. Several lucky winners were chosen in a raffle drawing for gifts donated by local businesses and organizations. Our holiday party, now an annual Palo Alto and Peninsula tradition, was a huge success!

PAHS Receives Grant from the Henry Schein Corporation

The Palo Alto Humane Society has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Henry Schein Corporation. The grant, which is intended to help abused and neglected animals in Santa Clara County, was presented at the PAHS office on October 29, 2012. PAHS is grateful to Henry Schein for the company’s dedication to animal welfare.

PAHS at Monte Loma Elementary School’s VIP Reading Day

PAHS was invited to participate at the VIP Reading Day hosted by the Monte Loma Elementary School in Mountain View held November 9, 2012. PAHS humane educator Leonor Delgado read Fairminded Fran and the three small black Community Cats by Linda Elder to a group of third graders who also learned what local trap-neuter-return (TNR) volunteers do and how a humane kitten trap works. In the Q&A session that followed the students asked very good and pertinent questions and shared their own experiences with animal rescue and adoption.

PAHS at The Pet Place’s 20th Anniversary Open House

On Saturday, October 27, 2012, Palo Alto Humane Society was at the well-attended anniversary celebration of The Pet Place in Menlo Park. PAHS offered unique animal-themed items for sale including jewelry, cards, towels, and more. All proceeds from the sale went to the PAHS spay/neuter program for cats, rabbits, and dogs, and toward feeding community cats as well as other animal-related programs.

CATWORKS 2012 Volunteer Recognition and Celebration

In the spirit of National Feral Cat Day (October 16), PAHS celebrated the efforts of our CatWorks volunteers, the people who help our community (feral, stray, and abandoned) cats through fostering and adopting out cats and kittens as well as trapping, spaying and neutering, and feeding and otherwise maintaining healthy controlled colonies. We met on Sunday, October 21, in the lovely surroundings of Sally’s Garden at Roger Reynolds Nursery in Menlo Park for refreshments and festivities that featured a raffle of cat-themed items. Thank you to Roger Reynolds for the perfect venue and to all our volunteers for all their hard work—and our community cats thank them too!

Rookie Returns to NASA-Ames

Rookie and Palo Alto Humane Society were invited again to NASA-Ames for its CFC (Combined Federal Campaign) Animal and Environmental Charity Day on Tuesday, October 16, 2012. Inquisitive vistors flocked to our table to meet and be greeted by Rookie, who thoroughly enjoyed all that attention! Representatives from PAHS accompanied Rookie to answer questions and distribute material about PAHS programs and activities. Regular employees and contractors at NASA-Ames, and at any federal agency, can select PAHS (#59378) as their charity of choice and make workplace donations throughout October and November. All of us at PAHS thank the NASA-Ames CFC volunteers and organizers for their welcoming reception of all our humane ambassadors at this special event.

PAHS at the NASA-Ames Local CFC Kickoff Event

Rookie, a rescued terrier mix who accompanied PAHS volunteers, was the big hit at the October 2, 2012 NASA-Ames Combined Federal Charity (CFC) drive kickoff for on-site CFC organizers. Regular employees and contractors at NASA-Ames, and at any federal agency, can select PAHS (#59378) as their charity of choice and make workplace donations in October and November. Rookie and PAHS thank the organizers at the NASA-Ames campaign for their hospitality and employees at any and all federal agencies for their support.

FEDERAL EMPLOYEES CAN DONATE TO PAHS THROUGH CFC IN 2012!
PAHS at Combined Federal Campaign South Bay Kickoff

On Monday, September 10, 2012, PAHS joined other participating Bay Area charities at the Combined Federal Campaign’s (CFC) 2012 South Bay Kickoff at the NASA-Ames Exploration Center at Moffett Field in Mountain View. The opening ceremonies were impressive, highlighted by a local high school honor guard, the singing of the national anthem, and speeches from officials of the CFC. Representatives from different federal agencies then received detailed instruction in the CFC process of promoting the program at their worksites and contacting participating charities.

President John F. Kennedy established the CFC in 1961 as a means for federal employees to donate to the charity of their choice. Charities chosen to participate must apply for consideration and meet standards set out in federal government guidelines. Participating charities are then invited to take part in kickoff events and presentations at different federal agencies. This is the first year that PAHS applied and was accepted in the program.

PAHS has a history of cooperation with NASA-Ames. A groundbreaking agreement in 2011 among NASA-Ames, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Ames Cat Network, and PAHS promotes life-saving measures for feral and abandoned cats at the NASA-Ames campus and at the same time ensures maintenance of optimal conditions for the survival of endangered wildlife species on the adjoining Baylands.

PAHS at the Palo Alto JCC “Dog Day of Summer”

PAHS manned a table at Palo Alto JCC’s “Dog Day of Summer” on Sunday, August 5, 2012. We dispensed information about PAHS programs and activities and admired the many friendly canine guests who visited our table. We very much enjoyed the Best Dog Trick and Best Dog Costume contests.

PAHS and Learning Adventure with Fun Summer Camps

Palo Alto Humane Society’s humane educator Leonor Delgado visited the Learning Adventure with Fun summer camps in Cupertino (July 12, 2012) and Fremont (July 19, 2012) to introduce very young (grades K–1) and older (grades 2–5) campers to ongoing issues in humane education—responsible care for pets, homeless animals (community, or feral, cats and abandoned dogs), and safety around dogs. The highlight of both days’ visits were the special guest dogs—on July 12, Sheba, who accompanied Jo Hamilton from Companions in Waiting to meet the campers, and on July 19, Chloe, who joined Little Blue Society’s Mary Paglieri and her niece Angie, a rising fifth grader. (Thanks, Angie, for writing such good and concise notes on the white board for the campers!) All the campers and the dogs had a wonderful time getting to know each other. The older campers also enjoyed learning how to operate a humane cat trap used in TNR work with community cats.

PAHS at Youth Leadership America Silicon Valley Summer Camp

PAHS joined three other Bay Area nonprofits (Downtown Streets, Avenidas, and Kiva) to work with a select group of 30 northern California high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors at the Youth Leadership America (YLA) Silicon Valley Summer Camp held at Stanford University from June 26 to July 1. Representatives from PAHS (executive director Carole Hyde, humane educator Leonor Delgado, and volunteer Nicola MacFarlane) talked about PAHS' history and mission and its work in education and with homeless animals and young people interested in helping these animals. The students then researched and developed suggestions for PAHS' further intervention with high school students, basing these suggestions on a brainstorming process developed by YLA.

Thanks Again, Yelp!

Yelp's "Yappy Hour" held at the Garden Court Hotel in downtown Palo Alto the evening of Friday, June 22, 2012, was a great success, with more than 100 human attendees and at least 20 canine friends of all kinds and sizes! Proceeds from donations exceeded $1,000. Thanks again, Yelp, for helping PAHS continue to help animals across the Mid-Peninsula through such programs as spay and neuter vouchers for needy dogs, cats, and rabbits, and community outreach and educational endeavors.

PAHS Meets With Key Clubbers

Palo Alto Humane Society was invited to provide a guest speaker for a June 16 regional meeting of members of Key Club, the national high school service society, at Wilson Park in Cupertino. Students and their advisors learned about the history of PAHS as well as the society's recent advocacy campaigns and successes and current community concerns. The speaker (Leonor Delgado) also discussed her experiences as a volunteer with PAHS in the area of TNR (trap, neuter, return) of community cats.

Humane Education Presentation to the Daisy Brownie Troop

The Daisy Brownie Troop met with PAHS' humane educator Leonor Delgado the afternoon of Monday, June 4, at the Stevenson School in Mountain View. The girls wanted to learn about good care for their pets and safe to interact with and help stray cats and dogs. Review of concepts and practices was based on Mow Wow Animals, Lesson 3. The discussion was a lively one, with many personal anecdotes. The girls presented PAHS with a generous donation of food to help volunteers who work with community (stray and feral) cats.

Costaño School Invites PAHS to Meet the Artists

The art program at Costaño School in East Palo Alto has generously donated student pastels of dogs and watercolors of cats for display in the PAHS office. The art instructor and students at the school recently invited PAHS to meet the artists and talk about animals with the K–2 art class. On Friday, May 31, the day the students received commendations for their latest displayed work, Leonor Delgado visited the school and discussed safety issues with relation to stray dogs and cats. The discussion, which was based on some of the content of Lesson 3 of Mow Wow Animals, incorporated student experiences with stray dogs and cats near their homes and on the school campus.

Donations from Los Altos Christian School

Middle-school students at Los Altos Christian School participated in a National Junior Honor Society-sponsored donut sale to raise money for a local charity. These students used some of the money earned through the sale of donuts to purchase cat food that—combined with donations of cat food from home and a generous donation from The Pet Place at 777 Santa Cruz Avenue in Menlo Park—came to more than 100 pounds! PAHS distributed the food to a local rescue group that feeds community (homeless) cats. Lucky kitties! In addition, the rest of the school made monetary contributions to add to the money from donut sales and presented PAHS with a $300 donation.

PAHS Presentation to Brownie Troop 60822

On Friday, May 18, humane educator Leonor Delgado visited the Mountain View after-school center, which is the meeting place for Brownie Troop 60822. Twenty kindergarten and first-grade girls participated in a lively question and answer session about safe environments and good care for pets (based on content in Mow Wow Animals, Level 1, Lesson 3) and shared their experiences with their own pets. The girls also pointed out the cruelty involved in chaining dogs to a tree or post and proper actions to take in that situation (speaking with an adult, asking the adult to contact Animal Control). The troop also presented PAHS with a very generous donation that included money raised, a large amount of dog food, and several dog toys. Dog rescuers, and the dogs they help, are very happy with the in-kind donations!

PAHS Participates in Palo Alto's May Fete Parade

On Saturday, May 5, a perfect morning for a parade, a small contingent of volunteers from Palo Alto Humane Society joined with other local groups in marching up University Avenue and then to Heritage Park. Chloe, a sweet and friendly Jack Russell Terrier mix, accompanied our group. The streets were lined with spectators who cheered all the marchers along.

PAHS Presentation at the German-American International School

On Friday, April 13, PAHS humane educator Leonor Delgado visited a gathering of all fifth-grade students at the German-American International School in Menlo Park. The topic for discussion was Homeless Pets, with emphasis on community (feral and stray) cats. The students talked about their pets and the animals they have rescued and learned how to operate a humane animal trap used to transport community cats for spay-neuter and veterinary treatment. They discussed ways in which they could prevent overpopulation of homeless animals through spay-neuter and helped debunk some commonly held myths about spay-neuter. This session was then followed by a visit on April 27 from Animal Control Officer William Warrior from Palo Alto Animal Services (PAAS)—PAHS often partners with PAAS for educational presentations. Mr. Warrior will talk about the animal shelter and its operations.

Easter Sunday Celebration

PAHS thanks Marketing Manager Sharon Cabral and Banquet Manager Tahira Ali at Rosewood Sandhill in Menlo Park for a beautiful Easter Sunday celebration benefitting PAHS. Children and their parents who visited enjoyed an outdoor humane petting zoo and Easter treats and activities. All donations (totaling $700) went to PAHS.

PAHS Presentation of Mow Wow Animals at the Adelante School, Redwood City

On Friday, March 30, Palo Alto Humane Society's Carole Hyde and Leonor Delgado joined 75 students at all elementary grade levels at the afterschool center of the Adelante School for a presentation of themes from Mow Wow Animals. The students, who had recently studied animals in the natural world and Native American cultures, joined in a guided discussion and question and answer session about animals local to the hilly area of Redwood City where Adelante is located and Native American beliefs about plants and animals. The animals who share our urban and suburban environment and Native American beliefs are topics covered in Lesson 3 of Mow Wow Animals. Student participation was lively, reflecting both their curiosity and their knowledge, and a couple of their questions about amphibians stumped their teachers and the presenters.

PAHS Releases Mow Wow Animals at the California Association of Bilingual Education (CABE) Annual Conference in Sacramento

Mow Wow Animals is an interactive online teacher presentation tool for grades K through 2 reflecting the spirit and goals of the California mandate to teach humane education in the schools and incorporating California State Education standards in Social Studies, Science, and Reading-Language Arts.

Mow Wow Animals contains animated videos, authentic grade-appropriate literary selections, online and offline activities and worksheets, and suggestions for additional Web sites and books for classroom libraries. The bilingual (Spanish-language) component makes Mow Wow Animals eminently useful in bilingual, dual immersion, and ESL programs.

PAHS was invited to present the first release of Mow Wow Animals at CABE's 2012 annual convention on Saturday, March 12, at the Sacramento Convention Center. The PAHS delegation included Leonor Delgado (Education/Translation), Carole Hyde (Executive Director), and David Rutan (Board Member/Technical Advisor).

Take a look at Mow Wow Animals!

Cat Food Donated Through Foothill College Class

For her Foothill College Communication class community service project, Alexa Hammer and her group collected funds used to purchase cat food to help PAHS rescue volunteers and their cats. The rescuers, and the cats, thank Alexa's group for their efforts, as does PAHS.

PAHS Presentation at the Girls' Middle School, Palo Alto

Palo Alto Humane Society joined Palo Alto Animal Services and Homeless Cat Network in a workshop held from December 12 to 16, 2011, called "Improving the Lives of Pets in Need" at The Girls' Middle School. The speaker representing PAHS focused on the plight of homeless animals—why there are so many homeless animals, where they are found, and what the community can do to help them. Student participants worked toward designing solutions for the problems and situations described by the speakers from all three organizations, and these solutions were then reviewed by the speakers at the last formal session of the workshop.

PAHS HOLIDAY GALA at the Aquarius Theatre, downtown Palo Alto

Palo Alto Humane Society's "Oh! For the Love of Critters!" came once again to the Aquarius Theatre, on Thursday, December 1. That night, a nearly packed audience watched the 1961 classic feature film Greyfriars Bobby, a true tale set in mid-nineteenth century Edinburgh, Scotland, about a little Skye terrier whose story of faithful devotion transcends time. Emmy-nominated Hollywood producer Phil Giffin hosted the event, with the participation of local actor Marilyn Kanes. Live bagpipe music and actors in costume greeted movie-goers as they lined up for their tickets. This holiday party, now an annual Palo Alto and Peninsula tradition, was a huge success!

TAKASHI HIDAI FLUTE RECITAL at Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto

On Saturday, October 22, a crowd of music aficionados enjoyed a lovely late afternoon recital by flutist Takashi Hidai accompanied by pianist Hiroko Mizuno, including works by Bach, Noblot, Genzmer, Gaubert, Faure, and Hayashi. All proceeds from the recital have gone to the humane programs of the Palo Alto Humane Society to make sure that animals are spayed or neutered and well cared for!

OPEN HOUSE at the Pet Club, Menlo Park, CA

PAHS joined the Pet Club in Menlo Park for their open house on Saturday, October 22. Staff and volunteers for PAHS met with interested passersby and answered questions about our programs, showed some of our items for sale from our shop and gallery, and just joined in the fun and spontaneity of the day.

CATWORKS 2011 Volunteer Recognition and Celebration

In conjunction with National Feral Cat Day (October 16), Palo Alto Humane Society celebrated the efforts of our CatWorks volunteers, the people who help our community (feral, stray, and abandoned) cats through fostering and adopting out cats and kittens as well as trapping, spaying and neutering, and feeding and otherwise maintaining healthy controlled colonies. Our volunteers joined us for refreshments and festivities in the lovely surroundings of Sally's Garden at Roger Reynolds Nursery in Menlo Park. Thank you to Roger Reynolds for the perfect venue and to all our volunteers for all their hard work—and the cats thank them too!

EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION at Club J
Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto, CA

Jo Hamilton from Companions in Waiting, a local rescue group, and Leonor Delgado from PAHS met on October 13 with two eager groups of kindergartners at the Oshman Family JCC's Club J, an afterschool program for children through grade 5. The children were fascinated by Jo's stories about cat and dog rescue and learned the basics about caring for pets at home. The high point of the presentation was meeting and greeting Hope and Iris, two rescued kittens, and Cookie, a rescued dog.

National Feral Cat Day FOOD DRIVE

Success! The cat food drive to celebrate National Feral Cat Day (October 16) was quite successful. Many people stopped by our table to learn about the work PAHS is doing, and their support, both with food items and monetary donations, was inspiring. Thank you!

BAKE SALE at Kepler's Books

The bake sale in conjunction with World Animal Day was a splendid success. Baked goods included vegan and vegetarian desserts such as chocolate chip cookies, apple crisp, snickerdoodles, lemon cupcakes, frosted fall-themed cupcakes, banana bread, rhubarb pie, and peach chutney turnovers. YUM! Proceeds of $375 will go toward funding the PAHS spay and neuter program.

World Animal Day (international/UK) provides a detailed report about our event.

Thank You, Yelp!

Yelp's "Night of Summertime Fun" MAGIC 8 BALL held at the Garden Court Hotel in downtown Palo Alto the evening of Thursday, August 25, 2011, was a smashing success, with more than 200 enthusiastic attendees and proceeds exceeding $1700. Thank you, Yelp, for helping PAHS continue to help the animals through such programs as spay and neuter vouchers for cats, dogs, and rabbits, and our community outreach and educational efforts.

Help needed: Request to Protest Cuts to Santa Clara County Spay/Neuter Budget

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is considering an almost 20% cut in the already inadequate budget for spay/neuter services starting July 1, 2011. For the past several years, funding was maintained at around $111,000 and funds always ran out part way through the year. The new budget proposal calls for only $90,000 for fiscal 2011-2012. Please contact your Supervisor (see website link and list below) and urge him/her to maintain funding for spay/neuter at current levels. In your own words, use the points below to bolster your plea: 1. This is going to mean drastically reduced access to low cost spay/neuter services, especially for stray and feral cats. 2. It is counter-productive, because sheltering costs will increase, as will expensive euthanasia costs. It is far more cost-effective to spay/neuter than to euthanize, not to mention the humane considerations…
Read More

A Special Spay/Neuter Partner

PAHS was delighted to present a Certificate of Appreciation to For Paws Spay & Neuter Clinic, one of our voucher program partners. For Paws is one of seven Bay Area animal clinics that have partnered with PAHS to discount their rates and accept our spay/neuter vouchers. The wonderful staff of this low cost Fremont-based clinic go above and beyond the call of duty to help alter feral cats and companion animals from low-income homes. We are so grateful for their dedication to bettering the lives of all animals. More about our spay and neuter underwriting programs can be seen here.

2010 in 2010!

With generous donations from people like you, PAHS paid for the spaying and neutering of 2010 animals in 2010. What a number! After many years, this critical financial intervention work of the Palo Alto Humane Society continues to keep countless puppies, kittens, and bunnies safe from a life on the streets or in the shelters.

ARCH - Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti

A year after Haiti's big earthquake, animal welfare continues alongside (and to mutually benefit) the human welfare work still underway. ARCH (the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti) was founded by WSPA and IFAW immediately after the disaster and was quickly joined by international animal welfare partners - including PAHS. See a short film about ARCH here.

“Oh! For the Love of Critters!” – Yes, it was definitely a wee extravaganza!

Reprised by popular demand, Oh! For the Love of Critters! came back in 2010, this time featuring Walt Disney's 1964 classic “The Three Lives of Thomasina” alongside the winner of our 2010 Humane Planet Film Contest. Picking up on ‘Thomasina's’ Scottish location, kilts and bagpipes were part of the red carpet fun which included searchlights and our friends from A Mystery By Design. Emceed by Hollywood producer and Emmy-nominated film composer Phil Giffin and actor-comedienne Marilyn Kanes, the evening was a hit.
Photos and Event Details Here!

In Loving Memory

We lost two fearless and dedicated animal advocates this year with the passing of Odette Moren and Sylvia Bancroft. Odette had over her 40 years in animal rescue, and there was no situation in which Odette would hesitate to speak up and negotiate for the welfare of animals in the community. The entire animal world also lost a dedicated and passionate warrior with the passing of Sylvia Bancroft, at age 93, who immersed herself in the fight for animal protection. “In our society animals have pitifully few rights," she said. "I would like to persuade our society to give them some.”
Read More

Humane Planet Expo: Planting the seeds to grow a more compassionate world.

Community, fun, inspiration, information and solutions blossomed at our second annual Humane Planet Expo in 2010. In honor of World Animal Day and World Farm Animal Day (and ideally occurring on Mohandas Gandhi's birthday), thirty three groups, organizations, artists and individuals - all working to create a more just, sustainable, and compassionate world – joined together and created a diverse yet united presence.
Photos and Event Details Here!

Shooter sought in cat shooting case

Full story can be seen here.
Watch news report on CBS Channel 5 Local News

Pet Loss Support Groups: 1st Monday of every month.

Click here for details.
Update: The Pet Loss Support Groups are no longer active as of February 2011. You are invited to contact Tony Rousmaniere to schedule an appointment directly: (415) 401-7405

“Director of Campaigns”

The Palo Alto Humane Society is pleased to announce that it will add to its team an “Advocate,” Ben Davidow, who will strengthen PAHS' advocacy for animals through research, outreach and campaigns. Advocacy is a core component of the 100-year old PAHS mission. Ben in high school in Palo Alto was already known as
"The Activist," and he has shown a great quality and dedication in his work on behalf of animals. Ben will resign his seat on the board of directors and join the staff in October. He will work on issues affecting animals in the Peninsula and issues where PAHS can influence public policy in favor of animal welfare.

PAHS persuades Palo Alto City Council not to raise pet adoption fees.

June 28, 2010 The Palo Alto City council voted June 28, 2010, not to increase pet adoption fees at the city’s Animal Services shelter, after Carole Hyde argued that keeping fees intact would help protect animals in the care of the city’s shelter. “Increased fees will make adoption at the Palo Alto shelter more expensive“ than at many other area shelters, Hyde said. “The public has a great variety of choice in where they adopt an animal,” she pointed out. A fee increase at the city’s shelter “could put Palo Alto’s animals at risk.”
Read her full comments here.

Humane Planet Film Contest winners chosen!

After many 3’ film shorts were received and reviewed, the winning films have been chosen! Each of the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place films exhibited unique, important and skillfully executed perspectives on animal welfare issues. In addition to the work that went into making each of these innovative submissions, the winners’ creativity acted to combine skillful storytelling with a critical issue impacting animals in today’s world. You can view the winners by clicking on the links below.

• 1^st Place Winner “Time to Save the Wolves” by Melody C. Miller
• 2^nd Place Winner “At Home” by Heather Paul
• 3^rd Place Winner “Don’t make Them Suffer” by Nicole Van Cleve

Big Thanks to Girl Scout Troop 30541 and Troop Leader Cathy Petersen!

May 11, 2009Big Thanks to Girl Scout Troop 30541 and Troop Leader Cathy Petersen! THANK YOU Oak Knoll students, parents and staff for all the generous donations you brought during “Be Kind To Animals Week”. What a response! Over 700 meals for cats and 50+ meals for dogs were donated, plus a wide variety of treats, toys, and utility items. A special thanks to each of the Oak Knoll Girl Scout troops that assisted in the drive – Troops 33178, 33170, 31486, and 31959. All donations were delivered and enthusiastically accepted by the Palo Alto Humane Society, which then distributed the items to local rescuers in need. Much work remains, so thank you Girl Scouts for partnering to make a difference for animals in need within our community.

Film and Book Recommendations

March 09, 2009 PAHS has posted a list of terrific, fun, and educational media tools which teach about our animal friends and the lives we share with them. See our PAHS list of film, author, and book recommendations here!