The Gunnison Valley Animal Welfare League is in immediate need of a volunteer willing to take on the role of Cat Foster/Adoption Coordinator. Experience not necessary, but love of animals a must. One year commitment requested. Please call 970.641.1173 and leave a message if interested.
Adoptions and Foster Homes Needed
Our cat kennels are full! We have nearly 20 cats that need permanent homes. Caring for this many cats is pushing our limits on our space and budget, and the cats desperately need homes. If you are interested in adopting, view our cats here.
We also want to expand our Cat Foster program, and we need your help. Can you provide a temporary home for a cat while we search for her forever family? Some cats do not thrive in the kennel environment, and your home may make the cat more adoptable to potential families. Fostering a cat in your home will also free up space to house an additional cat in the kennel.
Interested in helping? Contact the GVAWL office at 970.641.1173, email us at info@gvawl.org, or call our adoption coordinator at 970.275.9235.
Pints for Pets
This December, you can help support the Gunnison Valley Animal Welfare League with Mario’s Pizza & Pasta and New Belgium Brewing who Bring You the Glass that Gives!
The 37th Sugar Plum Festival
Thanks for a Successful Day!The Animal Welfare League booth at the 37th Annual Sugar Plum Festival in Gunnison on November 19 was fun and successful! One very lucky kitten was adopted, and the other three kittens may soon find a home, as many people were interested. The booth was full of homemade craft items, and we thank Robbie Leckie and Mary Jane Ellis for making many of the items that were available. Special thanks to Margaret McLeod for taking on the responsibility of booth coordinator, Cheryl Dandel for bringing the kittens, and volunteers Dan & Sue Glass and Alyce Meredith for helping out. And thank you to all who visited and shopped at the Gunnison Valley Animal Welfare League booth! |
A Successful Fur Ball
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You Made it Great!
Thank you to all who attended The 6th Annual Fur Ball held Saturday, October 29 at Webster Hall. With overwhelming support from our sponsors, donors, and “Top Dawg” Chefs, |
All funds raised by the Fur Ball will benefit
the Gunnison Animal Shelter and Adoption Center
Ms. Minou Finds Her Forever Home
If the cat Minou could talk, she would say, “I am so thankful that this wonderful woman on Ohio Creek adopted me.” Now Minou purrs and basks in the sun on the window ledge in Pam Christian’s barn. “I needed a companion for Junior, my 10-year old orange cat, so I looked on the GVAWL website for a cat,” Pam explains. After email exchanges and looking at several cats with Intake Coordinator, Cheryl Dandel, Pam decided on a dark grey female cat named Minou. “I knew she was an older cat and very shy,” Pam said. Historically, older cats are harder to adopt out than kittens and younger cats. Minou, for example, had been in GVAWL care for 18 months waiting for a home. Minou came to the Animal Welfare League with less than optimal odds for adoption success: she was an older cat, at eight years of age, and she was not very social. GVAWL volunteers spent time with Minou to help her become more socialized, which helped some, but she still had a hard time with new people. On the positive side, Minou had been spayed by her previous owners. In spite of her age and shyness, upon meeting Minou, Pam knew she was a good match for her situation and for Junior.
Pam admits that it was only recently in her life that she owned cats. She finds them fascinating, and now declares herself a cat lover. Pam worries about her cats in the large open landscape that surrounds her home, and prefers the cats to be safe in her barn at night. Hence, she feeds them a special treat of wet cat food in the evening, training them to come into the barn at night. Pam rings a cow bell towards dusk, and Junior and Minou come running, hopping through the cat door for their tasty dinner, where Pam locks the barn door behind them. “It really works,” she laughs. Pam finds herself visiting her barn more often, and enjoys watching Minou becoming more comfortable with Pam and her family. “Minou is becoming less shy and more comfortable every day.” “There is a special compassion from people who choose to adopt an older cat,” observes Cheryl, “and mature cats can be an excellent choice for adoption.” Minou and Pam would agree.
GVAWL Rescues 5 Dogs!
In the beginning, it was not so clear that this would be a success story. Last July, the Animal Welfare League received a report that at least five dogs, abused and mistreated, had been abandoned west of town. Volunteers Drew Nelson, Kelli Lightfoot, and Deborah Callihan jumped into action; through tireless effort, they managed to find and capture the dogs. All of the dogs were malnourished and in need of veterinary care, with wounds, infections, and parasites.
Six months after the rescue, the Animal Welfare League is happy to report that the dogs have all found homes. Comments from the adoptive dog owners describe their dogs as “well-trained and living a comfy life” and “very spoiled and sweet,” along with “she has great energy and is living life!” One of the dogs is even in training to become an avalanche rescue dog, quite a turnaround.
Many thanks to the community for donating approximately 60 percent of the costs incurred for the initial vet care and boarding of the five dogs. Special thanks go to Town and Country Animal Hospital for veterinary care, and to RoShamBo for donating color posters asking for foster and adoptive homes. Foster caregivers who went above and beyond the call of duty include Mike Jackson, who fostered two of the dogs, and Robin Wehmeyer, who cared for one of the more socially challenged dogs. Drew Nelson opened his home to all five dogs for immediate shelter, and offered free obedience training for all the dogs.
The board and volunteers of the Animal Welfare League extend gratitude and thanks to those who provided forever homes to Titan, Ruckus, Rose, Daisy and Jake.
