Friends of the Burlington County Animal Shelter --- (New Site! FriendsofBCAS.org): Friends of BCAS

Below is the contents of the weekly Adoptions & Newsletter email sent out on 7/14/11.

Hello, fellow Friends of BCAS volunteers!

Please spare a moment to read this big, giant pile of announcements:

• VOLUNTEER SURVEY: http://www.kwiksurveys.com?u=fobcassurvey

Help us understand you, our volunteer base, by doing this 6-question survey by the end of August, and get chance to win a free Friends of BCAS t-shirt! All feedback is very welcome, but we'd especially love to hear from our non-participating volunteers.You can answer anonymously!

• IMPORTANT NOTE FOR CAT VOLUNTEERS: Preventing cat cross-contamination is now more important than ever: There is a new, antibiotic-resistant, highly contagious and deadly strain of the cat upper respiratory disease called Feline Calicivirus. The appearance of this disease at a Virginia shelter resulted in the euthanization of the shelter's entire cat population to prevent the disease's spread. Symptoms of this particular strain of Calicivirus include a very rapid onset of lethargy, sneezing, discharge from the eyes, and mouth sores. If you notice cats with ANY of these or other signs of illness, report it to shelter staff immediately, wash your hands, and do not let other cats touch anything the ill cat may have touched. (Original article: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/news-releases/2011/063011catvirusshelter.htm)

• EVENT REMINDER: Dog Days of Summer is coming. On July 30th at the shelter, amongst the other vendors and displays, we will be helping the shelter with their table. We're still looking for volunteers to handle dogs, bake things, help setup/packup, et cetera. Email Jenn at jennak87@yahoo.com to help out.

• VOLUNTEER OPP./POSTING: Up to 70% of the people coming into the shelter were drawn here because they saw our animals online. Animal adoption websites have a huge influence on adopters, but we have barely a handful of volunteers to help maintain the adoptable animal listings! This means cats and dogs can be left unseen for weeks, which slows down the flow of adoptions, which leaves the shelter more crowded and less able to take in new animals without "making space" for them the hard way. We need more volunteer posters! To help with this you must have a digital camera, be able to use a computer, and have a few hours free weekly. Training and support is provided. Contact Jenn at jennak87@yahoo.com if you'd like to help make a BIG difference in the lives of thousands of shelter animals!

• VOLUNTEER OPP./ANIMAL OF THE MONTH: As you may have noticed, we are now featuring a Cat and Dog of the Month. Our first Cat of the Month was at the shelter for 7+ months, but was adopted only 2 weeks after being featured! To entice folks to adopt, along with a reduced adoption fee we give the adopter a free Goodie Bag with some cat or dog supplies. Please consider donating some items for our Animals of the Month promotion! Some things we could use are: treats, collars, toys, $5-$10 gift cards to a pet supply store. If we recieve enough donations, we'd also like to regularly feature an "Oldie, But A Goodie" cat and dog of advanced age. Please give any donations to Penny, Jenn, Heidi or Tammy. Thank you!

• VOTE FOR OUR SHELTER: The Animal Rescue Site is giving away thousands of dollars in grants to shelters with the highest votes here: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3 - Help us have a chance to win the grand prize of a $5000.00 grant by clicking the link, searching for Burlington County Animal Shelter, and voting for us! You can vote once every day until the contest ends.

• VOLUNTEER OPP./CLINIC: Please consider volunteering for BCAA's next Snip It Clinic for Cats on Sunday the 31^st in Browns Mills. You can volunteer for the morning shift (from 7 or 8 AM to noon) or afternoon shift (noon to finish). Please email Leila at leilam1065@aol.com to help out. The more cats we help get spayed or neutered, the less cats flood the shelter, and we need all the help we can get!

...Thank you! And now, without further ado...

We thought you'd like to see some of the wonderful animals that were adopted most recently! Your efforts help the animals to stay calm and sane, and this makes them so much more attractive to potential adopters. We truly appreciate the time you put in, and we know the animals do too.

More cats and dogs were adopted, rescued, fostered or reclaimed beyond these below, but I don't have pictures!

The Cats:

C-39166 Selena (adopted after over 7 months by somebody looking for a long-term resident cat!)
C-39351 Ellie (adopted after over 7 months, but only 2 weeks after being featured as our first Cat of the Month!)