Lynchburg Humane Society Blog

On September 2nd I lost my dog Parker very suddenly to a cancerous tumor that bled out in his abdomen. For those of you who follow this blog Parker was featured in a number of posts but most recently in a fun blog about my office affair. If you are like me, your pets are like kids. Even after I had a two legged child of my own, my dog was still very much my four legged child. So to have him pass away so suddenly has left a real hole in my heart. Parker was a special dog that was famous in his own right. He was featured on an Animal Planet "adoption story" called Cooper, he was in Newsweek, USA today, The Times Dispatch and was in TV commercials for the Richmond SPCA because he was so well trained and represented the family dog so well. He was special to me and everyone who met him. So while this is extremely sad for me and my family, it is in my nature to find the positive in any bad situation. About a week before Parker's sudden passing, I brought home a fo...

My most recent foster puppy had a pretty hard start to life. He was brought to the shelter covered in ticks. I'm told there were dozens, if not a hundred of them. The poor little boy was hiding under his bed in his crate when I came to pick him up for the first time. The whole drive home, the little husky mix the girls at the shelter lovingly called "Tick" hugged my chest as closely as he could ( I wasn't driving, don't worry). The first thing the poor baby had to endure at his temporary home, was meeting my dog. Sadie wasn't too sure what to think about the little 6 pound ball of fur at first, but she gave him the nod to come on in "her" house. Of course, once I got "Tick" inside, before his little paws even touched carpet I knew he'd need to get a bath. Oh, the things that came off that dog! I counted about a half a dozen dead ticks (the girls at the shelter gave him frontline... and picked off all the ticks they could) in the...

When I foster I always have to ask my husband and make sure it is a dog that I know my almost 4 year old can be safe with. My husband is experienced in my last minute call asking to foster and it is a mutual agreement that the foster will mesh well in our home and lifestyle. So I called him Friday asking if we could foster a little 1 year old whippet/hound mix that we named Lila. She had come in very very thin, you can see all her ribs and her hip bones. I wanted to bring her home because she was shaking in her kennel run, scared of all the other dogs barking around her. So home she came. We normally don't let dogs on the sofa or chairs and we don't have dogs in our bed unless one of us is away. But as you see in the photo that didn't hold true with this girl. She was so loving and just so wanted to be touched all the time that she immediately found the one person who would give her constant attention, my son Sam. Then as we go to bed she bounces herself up on the be...

I am currently one week into my first foster project for LHS. Little "Peanut" came into the Humane Society a little more than a week ago as a 3-pound, scared little puppy. The guess is she was about 4-weeks old. My husband and I decided a few months ago that fostering puppies would be a great way to get my 6-year-old Shiba Inu used to the idea of having another dog in the house, without making the commitment of actually adopting a second dog. Sadie has always been the queen of her castle... but after about 20 minutes, she finally let Peanut past the doorway. That was 8 days ago. Now, Peanut has become a member of our family. My husband and I work together, and each morning he comes in with a new Peanut story (today, she made it up our 3 steps to the porch all by herself)! Peanut has gained a full pound since we brought her home, and we're very proud to see her learning the rules of the roost. It has been six years since I awoke to puppy yelps, and cleaned up a puppy's...

My wish is for others to try fostering an animal from your local humane society. You will receive such a blessing in helping an animal become adoptable. Our first, very first fostering experience has been such a delight! I'd like to share my experience with you.... My husband and I have an 'empty nest' now, so we decided to foster a cat. I went to the humane society to talk with Makena about this and I asked her if I could pick out an adult cat to take home and foster. She mentioned the fact that they have a kitten with a broken leg that needed a foster home. She told me how he needs to have someone give him lots of attention and love. I took one look at him with his cast on his leg and made the decision to bring him home. Once we were home I showed him his room (the extra bathroom), I showed him his litter box, where his food was, and I laid him down on a soft baby blanket in his room. He followed me to the recliner, looked up at me and meowed, so I picked him up a...

I've had a fostering experience, too, Makena. I brought the tiny little tortie kitty home with the idea that I would keep her until she weighed enough to be spayed. Then I would give her back to the shelter. She seemed so small and helpless.... Ha! Small, yes; but helpless? Oh, no! I quickly learned that Attila the Hunny (the name just came to me) had her own plan. She promptly took over the house, chewed and climbed the plants, chased Oso, the 65 pound dog upstairs and down, put JuJu and Zoe, the adult cats, on notice that big exercise was now in order. In Attila's tiny terrorist mind, anything that moves deserves to be chased, chewed, climbed or swatted. She loves to assume grizzly bear stance and swat at the dog. When he retreats in confusion, she bats at his tail. Oso looks at me as if to say, "Can't you control this little bully?" But even as she wreaks havoc, Attila purrs happily. She collapses for reviving naps and snuggles between attacks. The truly ...

I wanted to write a brief little story about my foster cat, currently named Thelma (my 3 year old likes to change his mind often on her name). Thelma came into the humane society about 6 weeks ago very very thin and honestly, she appeared lifeless. I decided to put her in my office while I was there to see just how bad she was. She was barely able to walk and would lay around most of the day. Thankfully she was eating and drinking water so I knew she had a chance. The interesting things about Thelma is that s he never made a sound, or asked for attention, boss me around; basically she did not act like a cat, she was just there. Then one day after rubbing her on her chin, she reached out with her paw and tried to touch my hand like, please do that again. Thelma was still very thin at that point so I decided to take her home to be fostered. Interesting note to some, my husband used to be highly allergic to cats but we have found that over the years the more he is exposed to cats ...

We are looking for some great individuals to help us with the overflow of kittens we have right now. We are experiencing the second wave of kitten season and we would like to get the kittens out in homes where they can stay healthy while they grow old enough to be spay/neutered and adopted out.