Pets that no one wants

At the Humane Society of Pinellas County, volunteers and vets are keeping a close eye on a puppy with no hair, and no hearing. “Roady” is a 5-month-old white female Pitbull Terrier who was found abandoned on the side of a road in February. She was barely a newborn, deaf, sick as could be, and her future didn’t look good. “We were sure she would not make it. Just recently, she had some hair back and she is doing better,” said Twila Cole, special events coordinator for the shelter. Now, Roady is not only getting her hair back, she is learning hand signs and is in puppy school learning socialization skills. Her story is one of many examples of the pets no one wants—the least wanted pets in shelters; the hardest ones to adopt out. At the Humane Society, they have a name for them: SPINS, or Special Pets in Need. ***** While puppies and kittens get adopted fast, and healthy, small breeds seem to find owners quickly, the SPINs take much longer to find the right home. Some never even do, and end up staying at the no-kill shelter permanently. Their age, behavior, medical condition, or any combination of those factors makes them less adoptable. “SPINS are seniors, usually 6-year-old and older pets, or pets that have been in the shelter for more than six months, or pets that have a special medical or physical need. It’s not your everyday normal situation,” Cole said. The day FOX 13 visited the shelter, there were 56 special-needs pets. Forty-one were cats; 15 were dogs, said Abigail Appleton, shelter manager. “They are adoptable pets, they just need to find the right owner,” Cole said. > > Click here to see a photo gallery of the animals at the shelter. Cole says she has many success stories about SPINs. She describes “Sophie,” a diabetic Doberman Pinscher. “We told her story and the right person, who already had a diabetic Doberman, fell in love with her and the owner was committed for the future expenses of the dog,” Cole said. The pets get very good care at the shelter—they have toys, sleep in their own beds, get blankets in the winter and air conditioning in the summer. They also get behavioral therapy, eat good food, and play daily with volunteers and other dogs in yards. The shelter even has its own veterinary clinic. Albany, a 10-year-old black Schnauzer was paralyzed and was taken to the veterinary clinic a couple of days ago. She is now walking and is in the process of being adopted. It is a level of care that the animals are lucky to have. Wally is an example of a dog that is in a better place now, thanks to the

shelter. The 4-year-old tricolored Hound and Beagle mix came from another shelter where she was on death row. “It was her lucky day, she charmed the right person,” Cole said. Wally has been treated from heartworms, and is now adoptable. ***** June is traditionally a month for weddings, so the shelter is promoting Tuxedo cats. At the front entrance, Zak, a 6-year-old domestic black and white short-haired Tuxedo cat, is on display. “Zak is the longest resident in the Tuxedo class. He has been here quite a while,” Cole said. ”He was turned in on March 26th because his family had a baby.” Some of the pets have a rough transition when they are brought in the shelter. Vivian was 9-years-old when she was brought in. The previous owner gave her up because she had litter box problems. “Vivian, who was brought in a year ago, ended up having fatty liver disease because of lack of food and nutrition,” Cole said. “She starved herself; she even had a feeding tube placement because she refused to eat.” Heart-breaking stories are all too common here. Like Jelly Bean, a 4-year-old Boxer-Chow mix with a thyroid condition who has been in and out of the shelter four times now. “We always take our animals back, no questions asked. We also try to make sure that owners don’t sell our pets because we did find our pets for sale on Craigslist before.” Sissy and Rebel, two Doberman mixes, came in together to the shelter on April 25th and they will be adopted only together. This is their second time at the shelter. “We keep animals that are bonded, together. If Sissy and Rebel are out of each other’s sight, they panic,” said Cole. Cole says that they remain committed to the animals that cross their doors: they do follow-ups to make sure that the pet is doing well and offer support programs for pet owners to make sure that the adoption is successful. “We commit to our pets forever,” she said. “We are an open paw shelter. This means that we are trained at different levels to treat all the animals the same way. The animals get the same message and the same care every day.” That care and commitment is summed up on the information sheet on Roadie’s cage, the deaf, 5-month old pit bull terrier that someone left on the side of the road, who someone didn’t want. Her sheet says “I had a rough beginning, but that won’t stop me from being sweet.” For more information about the animals in this story, and many others at the Humane Society of Pinellas County, click here: http://tinyurl.com/pp456b  

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Pets that no one wants

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