Your Generous Donations Count!
As we approach the end of the year, we’d like to let our supporters know a few highlights of 2023 and where we stand for 2024. Two special animals that came to us during 2023 were a cat named Cinder and a dog named Fancy. Cinder arrived at the shelter happy but toothless, with a bad limp in his hind leg and later also in his front leg. The vet discovered the limp was because Cinder had been shot with a pellet gun! The pellets were removed, and Cinder is now free from the dangers of his past and can rest in his forever home with a family that gives him the love he deserves.
Fancy came to us as a stray and we quickly learned she was blind, deaf, had spinal spondylosis and both internal and external masses. We started her on pain management and our staff took great care of her and Fancy loved to do her spins and twirls as she found the perfect sunshine spot to rest in. Fancy returned to the vet after one of her growths ruptured and the vet tech ended up adopting her. Fancy got to go on a motorhome road trip her first week and is still in her forever home thriving and living her best life!
These two stories perfectly exemplify why our staff and volunteers do what they do – it’s Because They Care. We are proud to be a no-kill shelter that offers animals a healthy, enriching, and caring home until their forever homes are found no matter how long that might take. This past year we have often been at capacity, which means we are caring for over 25 dogs and over 100 cats. You can imagine the money involved with taking care of that many animals. Our expenses include food, litter, bedding, pet supplies, medications, vaccinations, veterinary bills, emergent or urgent vet visits, toys & treats, and payroll for our amazing staff who work at our shelter and love and care for our animal family every single day!
This year ICHS was the grateful recipient of grants and funding that enabled us to create an access road to the top of the hill behind the shelter which we fenced in and now use to exercise and train our dogs. This area will also provide the space to temporarily house farm animals from humane rescue situations. We also received private funds to create an outdoor Catio so that our cats can safely spend time outside playing or relaxing. The cats love exploring the new Catio spaces!
We have worked hard to gain a clear understanding of what lies ahead for ICHS, and we know that 2024 is going to be a fiscally challenging year for the shelter, perhaps one of the most challenging in recent years. We kindly ask for your donation to help us continue to serve all our shelter animals. Donations can be made by mailing a check to the shelter at 191 Airport Road Indiana, PA 15701, in person at the shelter or on our website. We are grateful for the generosity of all our supporters and the entire Indiana County Humane Society family thanks you!
Fancy
Fancy came to us as a stray in April of this year. It was clear that she was very confused as it seemed she was at least partially blind and deaf. Her fur was matted and she had a few masses on her as well. She was not microchipped and was not wearing a collar. She was a very well behaved girl. She didn’t make a mess in her cage, and would bark a certain way letting you know when she had to go outside. She had so much love to give.
We got her an appointment at the vet since it was clear that she had several things going on and we wanted her to be comfortable. Once at the vet, testing was done and it was discovered that she not only had spinal spondylosis, but had 3 masses in her lungs. This was hard news to swallow for everyone. Blind, deaf, spine issues, masses on the outside and now discovering they were inside as well. She was a very loving dog with great energy and we had not had her at the shelter long so after a long conversation with the vet we decided to start pain management for Fancy and see if we could find a home so she could comfortably live out what time she had left.
At first it did not seem that we were going to have any luck. We shared her story and received little to no response. We continued to care for Fancy at the shelter. We bathed her, discovered her favorite toys, we laughed at her little spins and twirls that were almost dance like as she found the perfect place to lay in the sun. She only wanted us, she relied on us. We could only wonder where she came from and who her person was that never came looking for her.
We needed to get Fancy back to the vet after noticing one of the growths on her legs had ruptured. This was something that would require around the clock attention to stop the bleeding and keep her from licking her wounds. One of the techs reached out to us and expressed how much she loved Fancy and she was thinking about giving her a home for her final days. We were over joyed! She already knew Fancy’s background and would be able to handle all of things that came with her… with love.
During Fancy’s first week at home, she was able to go camping and even went for a road trip in a motorhome. She met more dog friends, road in a golf cart, and spent time with her new family and friends!
She developed her personality, she snuggled, and she played more and even became a little sassy! And, when her person comes home she does tricks and spins in circles!
Fancy has been through a lot, and we are not sure of her past or what had happened to her previous family and what decisions they needed to make. What we do know is that Fancy came to us for a reason. She has spinal spondylosis, masses in her lungs, large and small growths on her body, Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis, and is blind, deaf, and has glaucoma. She was originally expected to live 6-8 weeks before the masses in her lungs took over. To everyone’s surprise, after a follow up X-ray, although the masses are there, they were VERY slowly growing. She is still in her home thriving, living the best life and is expected to live another couple of years!!!
Cinder
Meet our special boy, Cinder! This distinguished gentleman was brought to ICHS as a stray at the beginning of this year. When Cinder arrived, our staff noticed that aside from being extremely friendly that this guy was toothless and his back leg had a slight limp. Cinder was started on supplements to help with his leg stiffness and that helped significantly, but then a few months after being out on our adoption floor, our cat team noticed that he was starting to develop a limp in his front leg as well. So, we called the vet and got Cinder an appointment. At Cinder’s appointment, we received some VERY shocking news. The reason Cinder was limping was due to pellets lodged in both legs! The pellets had been migrating causing him to limp off and on during that time. Yes, this means that before Cinder came to us, someone had shot him with a pellet gun at least twice. We were horrified to hear what Cinder had been through. We had no idea as his wounds healed before being brought to us. The vet assumed that as time went on, the pellet in his front leg started to move, causing the sudden limp to come about. Fast forward to today and Cinder is free of pellets! While Cinder does still have a limp because of all of that, you would have no idea what he had been through otherwise!
Despite his past, Cinder LOVES people! It’s hard to believe that after some human treated him so poorly, he is so forgiving and wants nothing more than to be loved. He is the most vocal and attention seeking cat that we have ever met. The second someone enters the room you will hear Cinder. Cinder hasn’t met another cat he doesn’t like, and most cats like him too! While he was at the shelter, he even loved to socialize with our kittens and was “Grandpa Cat” to them as he tried to teach them proper cat etiquette. He also loved to eat his food on a lick mat for extra mental stimulation! Cinder has since found his forever home. A home where he is free to ask for love and affection without fear of being shot at or harmed. He is free of the dangers of his past, and can rest in a nice warm bed in a home with a family who loves him like he deserves.