Animal Tales Newsletter

We hope that as you read this edition of Animal Tales you’ll see the high level of dedication and care each member of our team brings to their work at Animal Services. Read about the various ways our staff pursue new skills and continued education, our commitment to communicating with kindness and respect, how hard our team works to get lost pets back home, and more!

In this issue of Animal Tales, we focus on the many reasons we are grateful for the individuals and organizations that help us care for the people and pets of Washington County. We’ve got stories about young donors finding creative ways to help animals, tributes to our transfer partners, and more! You’ll also find articles about our recent awards, how we use teamwork to care for stray pets with medical needs, and our commitment to sharing our animal welfare expertise with others.

We’re pulling back the curtain and giving you a glimpse behind the scenes in this issue of Animal Tales! Read about how we keep pets and people safe at our facility, the many ways our staff work together to get lost animals back home, and how our officers protect and care for the community outside our shelter walls. Curious about shelter medicine? Don’t miss the article spotlighting on our certified veterinary technician! We also highlight the benefits of keeping your cat indoors and things you can do now to increase the chances of a reunion if you and your beloved pet are ever separated.

In this issue of Animal Tales, read about our efforts to get lost pets back home quickly, a creative collaboration to keep a dog named Liberty safe, the work we do to ensure animals are included in Washington County’s emergency planning, and more!

In this edition of Animal Tales we invite you to take a deep dive into the more serious side of our operations. Read about what it’s like to discover and investigate animal neglect, and the work our entire team pours into these distressing situations in order to ensure the best possible outcome for the animals involved. Plus, we highlight the story of a kitten who found his little body stuck in a big dumpster, give you a snapshot of the diverse work our Animal Services officers do in the field, outline what to expect if you ever need to call us for help, and more!

Read about how we support both pets and the people who love them in this issue of Animal Tales! This time around, we’re sharing stories about Washington County’s first ever pet-friendly cooling center, a cross-country trip for two special pets and the changing trends in animal sheltering. Plus, we’ve included tips to plan for your pet’s future and a step-by-step guide to registering or updating your furry friend's microchip.

Learn about the many ways we work collaboratively with rescue groups, police and fire agencies, community members and each other to care for the animals of Washington County! In this issue: Heartwarming reunions, stories of Animal Services officers in the field, an introduction to the Animal Services Academy, the challenges of finding veterinary care during the pandemic pet boom, catio inspiration and more!

We are grateful to our community for supporting us and working with us as we adjust to the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. In this issue: Read about our response to COVID-19, meet our new Animal Services Field Supervisor, say a fond farewell to long-time Animal Tales editor Jen Keene, learn the ways in which our medical care for shelter animals isn’t always routine, indulge in a sweet adoption story involving one of our transfer partners and learn more about how we’re staying in touch with volunteers during these changing times and their new role at the shelter.

During the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic starting in early 2020, Animal Services made some significant adjustments to operations, while still providing emergency and priority field response as well as all necessary services at the shelter by appointment. Stray dogs and injured animals continued to come in, and we maintained our stellar RTO (return-to-owner) rate. One of the other adjustments we made was deciding not to produce our Spring/Summer issue of Animal Tales. While this newsletter is an important way for us to share our story, thank our donors and increase our funds, we felt that the resources of staff time, printing and postage would be better spent as part of our COVID-19 response. Jen Keene who is the editor and main writer for the newsletter is also our liaison to the County's Emergency Operations Center and that required her main focus during this time. However, we still wanted to highlight and thank the donors who would have received recognition. The document linked above has the full list of donors, as it would have appeared in the Spring/Summer issue of Animal Tales.