 Winnie was brought into our shelter last week by a kind member of our community who found him, hurting, injured, and in great need of help. It was immediately clear that this poor dog was in a lot of pain due to a disturbingly large wound on his head that appears like it may have been inflicted by a gunshot. We are treating his wound with the resources that we have, we’re making sure he’s comfortable, and we’ve placed Winnie under close medical observation. Despite the severity of his wound, Winnie has shown a positive, upbeat attitude through it all; he’s definitely showing signs of being the energetic, one-year-old that he is! However, due to some concerns with his behavior and a head tilt, we’re concerned that whatever caused his wound might’ve also caused some neurological damage. To best determine a beneficial course of treatment for Winnie, we need to begin with X-rays to see if in fact it is a bullet wound, and where it may be lodged, or if it’s something else altogether. Whatever the cause of his injury, Winnie will have a long road to recovery until his wound is fully healed.
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 Southern Pines Animal Shelter saved a total of 5,997 animals in 2016 and achieved no-kill status for the second year in a row with a 97.9% Placement Rate. This is a milestone in the 65 year history of the organization, making Southern Pines the largest open admission animal shelter to reach no-kill status in the state of Mississippi.
“We are so excited to be able to share this great news with our community,” said Ginny Sims, Director for Southern Pines Animal Shelter. “This accomplishment comes as a result of the ongoing support and dedication of a caring and compassionate community of donors, volunteers, partners, and supporters. It is only through their support that we will continue our mission and grow to accomplish more.” Southern Pines is an open-admission shelter, meaning that the doors are always open for animals entering the program regardless of their age, health, or perceived adoptability. Since 2015, more than 12,000 dogs and cats have received the shelter and medical care they needed to find homes and families of their own. This accomplishment comes through progressive shelter programs and services as well as the dedicated work of volunteers, fosters, community supporters, staff, and board of directors. Adoption programs designed to welcome adopters, create opportunities for support, and provide resources for pet care have helped the shelter to maintain high adoption rates. Innovative programs such as the Barn Cat and Healing Heart programs have also helped at-risk animals find homes through adoption. Southern Pines has also established a transport program which helps pets move out of overcrowded shelters and into adoptive homes in other states. The program has been successful in drastically reducing euthanasia of at-risk animals, and Southern Pines now partners with 15 shelters and rescues across the state of Mississippi to help them place dogs and cats through the Southern Pines Transport Program. During 2016, more than 3,200 dogs and cats benefited from this program. “Together, we have worked so hard over the last several years to really save more lives than we ever have before. We are proud to be a resource for communities around the state of Mississippi, and we have so many ideas and hopes for how to save more lives in the future,” said Sims. Achieving no-kill status does not mean that animals are never humanely euthanized, but that euthanasia decisions are reserved for animals suffering from illness, injury, or extreme aggression which severely hinders their quality of life and the safety of the public. A 90% or higher placement rate is the nationally accepted no-kill standard, and Southern Pines has exceeded this qualification since December of 2014. Other Key Accomplishments for the Southern Pines Organization: The Southern Pines Spay & Neuter Clinic, which opened in 2009, has completed more than 40,000 spay and neuter surgeries to date. The clinic has saved more than 1.2 million lives by reducing the number of unwanted litters being born into Mississippi communities. Last year, the clinic launched a wellness program to provide low-cost healthy pet services to pets in need. The Southern Pines Second Chance Thrift Shop, which opened in 2011, has raised more than $147,000 to save the lives of homeless, neglected and abused pets at Southern Pines. In addition, the Second Chance Thrift Shop is a vital part of the community and has also donated thousands of dollars in clothing and items to organizations assisting homeless populations and local at-risk youth.  Chloe. Back up on her feet and making her comeback. Why is transport so important to Southern Pines? |
 Chloe shows off her new wheels that were made possible thanks to generous donations from our community. | You may remember little Chloe, the determined, opinionated, affectionate little dog, who'd lost the use of her back legs due to a spinal injury? When she arrived at our shelter, her situation seemed pretty hopeless. But with help from the community, lots of love and dedication from her foster family, and an effective rehab regimen, over the course of a few months Chloe slowly got back up on her feet and walking again. However, even with her marked improvement and exposure to potential adopters, Chloe still hadn’t found the home she was looking for. Hoping to find a perfect family for little Chloe, Southern Pines extended the search for her home by contacting our transport partners in Maine, and they agreed to host her while she looked for a home up there. Within just a week, Chloe was successfully matched with her |
loving, forever family; a match made possible by the Southern Pines Transport Program and donations like yours. Our team could not be more thrilled that this sweet little dog that we loved on for months has found her second chance, but for Chloe, this program means so much more. It is a second chance, a warm bed at night, a feeling of love and security, and a promise that she is going to be okay.
| This is why our transport program is something that we at Southern Pines are so passionate about: it gives the animals in our care a greater chance at finding the forever home they all deserve. So far this year alone, we’ve been able to send 3,000 animals to adoption partners up north, to states like Maine, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. | 'Saving more lives than ever before!' is not just catchy phrase. It is the mission that our entire team is dedicated to. |
Why these states? Because these states have stricter spay and neuter laws which has effectively decreased their homeless pet population. In Mississippi, we don’t have these kinds of regulations, and therefore, we have an overabundance of homeless pets. Our shelter and our local partner shelters are always full to the brim with cats and dogs who need homes, and despite completing thousands of local adoptions each year, there are still so many pets without homes. Our receiving adoption partners are committed to finding these pets forever homes, they have room to take our dogs (and sometimes kitties), and they have adopters who’re waiting and interested in the pets we’re transporting up there. Because we have SO many dogs and cats here in Mississippi, it gives these animals who might not have had a chance here, a better chance there.
 Chloe and her new family in Maine. | It is an exciting program… and a necessary one. “Saving more lives than ever before!” is not just catchy phrase. It is the mission that our entire team is dedicated to, but it’s not without it’s cost. Providing our animals with this fantastic opportunity is an expensive one for our shelter: completely vetting the animals, the cost of drivers, vehicle maintenance, fuel expenses, etc. This #GivingTuesday, we’d ask you to consider donating toward our transport program, so that with your help we can give even more homeless animals, like Chloe, the chance at a happy new beginning. |
A second chance. A new beginning.
Thank you for making a difference.
By Brittany Curtzwiler
Event & Volunteer Coordinator
Every once in a while, a dog comes into the shelter that chooses to trust you the most; Little Edie chose me. I can’t tell you why she chose me, but I can tell you about my first interaction with her and all the great things I have learned about her since.
Event & Volunteer Coordinator
Every once in a while, a dog comes into the shelter that chooses to trust you the most; Little Edie chose me. I can’t tell you why she chose me, but I can tell you about my first interaction with her and all the great things I have learned about her since.
| I was told about a scared, unsure dog who needed to be taken to our Spay and Neuter Clinic, so I made my way through the kennels in search of the one who had been named Little Edie. When I approached her kennel, she stood up on her trembling legs and looked up at me with a fear in her eyes that made my heart hurt. I slowly leashed her and took her to the clinic not knowing what an impact I had made on this little dog simply by showing her a gentle touch and being patient. After she returned from the clinic, I felt connected to this little dog so I began working with her on a regular basis. |  |
One of the things I have learned about Little Edie is that she bonds closely with the person that she chooses. Each morning, upon arriving to work, I great her with a “Little Edie, Little Edie!” in a sing-song, baby voice which she loves; her whole face lights up and she gets the wiggly-butt until I walk over to give her some morning affection. She loves this routine and I think it is part of why we are such good friends. I’ve also learned that Little Edie is a smart girl; she learned to sit in a matter of minutes so just imagine what else she can learn in a home! If you want a dog that isn’t too big and isn’t too small, then Little Edie may be exactly what you have been searching for---she is a petite 30 lbs or so and would love to live indoors with you. She is playful, affectionate, and so much more. However, despite all of these awesome qualities, there is a factor that is hindering Little Edie’s search for a new home.
With some patience and treats, I believe that she would open up to someone else the way she has with me, but she hasn’t found that special someone yet. | After being here for quite a while, it became clear that Little Edie was not great at making friends with strangers, which unfortunately, isn’t a good problem to have when every potential adopter is going to be a stranger. With some patience and treats, I believe that she would open up to someone else the way she has with me, but she hasn’t found that special someone yet. Little Edie is also suffering from ringworm, a fungus that is contagious to people and other pets, but easily treatable. |
Little Edie’s adoption fee has been fully sponsored, which means you can adopt her at no charge once your application is approved. She is already spayed, microchipped, and has tested negative for heartworms so she can began settling into her new home the very same day as adoption!
 | Little Edie is one of the dogs featured in this weekend's Gold Medal Adoption Event, and we would LOVE for you to come down and meet her! Will you be Little Edie's chance at a new start? |
By Savannah Summerhill
Kennel/Vet Technician
I love Piglet so much.
Typically my favorite dogs at the shelter are big blocky-headed bulldogs with flapping jowls and giant grins. Piglet is none of those things. She’s smaller than usually fits my bill with a narrow head and a precious piggy tail (which is what inspired her name), but there’s something irresistible about Piglet.
She’s goofy and loves to play. When she’s very excited she comes down with a case of the zoomies and cuts circles in her kennel and drops into play bows. When she’s feeling calmer, she crawls on her tummy from her bed to climb into her person’s lap and gives the cheesiest grin to show her appreciation for the attention. After a little lap time, she promptly flops onto her back for tummy rubs.
She adores tummy time.
Kennel/Vet Technician
I love Piglet so much.
Typically my favorite dogs at the shelter are big blocky-headed bulldogs with flapping jowls and giant grins. Piglet is none of those things. She’s smaller than usually fits my bill with a narrow head and a precious piggy tail (which is what inspired her name), but there’s something irresistible about Piglet.
She’s goofy and loves to play. When she’s very excited she comes down with a case of the zoomies and cuts circles in her kennel and drops into play bows. When she’s feeling calmer, she crawls on her tummy from her bed to climb into her person’s lap and gives the cheesiest grin to show her appreciation for the attention. After a little lap time, she promptly flops onto her back for tummy rubs.
She adores tummy time.
Piglet has come so far in such a short time. However, Piglet has one more giant hurdle to overcome; she's heartworm positive. | I love to go into the kennel with her to give her treats. She eats them ever so daintily. She’ll take one from my hand and take it to her bed where she gently nibbles until the whole thing is consumed. If the treat |
is too large, you may have to break it into smaller pieces; she is a lady after all, and she doesn’t want to take too large of a bite. All the while, you can be sure her tail is fully curled and wagging across the top of her hips.
The thing I love the most about Piglet, though, is how far she has come in such a short time. She was pretty timid when I first met her. I gave her her initial exam when she came into the shelter, and she found me and the vaccines I had to give her a little scary. Frightened though she was, she tolerated everything I was doing anyway. By the end of her exam, she hadn’t given me kisses yet but her little tail had gone from straight and low to curled and up high. We were on our way to becoming friends.
The thing I love the most about Piglet, though, is how far she has come in such a short time. She was pretty timid when I first met her. I gave her her initial exam when she came into the shelter, and she found me and the vaccines I had to give her a little scary. Frightened though she was, she tolerated everything I was doing anyway. By the end of her exam, she hadn’t given me kisses yet but her little tail had gone from straight and low to curled and up high. We were on our way to becoming friends.
| At first, she was so scared of the leash too, but only because she didn’t know yet how great walks can be. She would pancake to the ground as soon as someone would take her from the kennel, and she refused to go further than a few steps. These days it’s still a little scary to go on a leash because the other dogs bark at her, but once she is safely away from |  |
them, she’s pleased as punch to go on a walk with her person. She’s so excited now to meet new people, and she greets everyone she comes across with a small smile and a thumping tail.
I believe in Piglet. I believe her goofy nature and loving spirit can get her the perfect home she so desperately needs. She’s had a rough life, and as far as we can tell, she’s never been someone’s best friend.
Piglet has come so far in such a short time. However, Piglet has one more giant hurdle to overcome; she’s heartworm positive.
It’s not her fault, but it makes finding her forever family that much harder due to the expensive nature of the treatment. Piglet is an excellent candidate for our Healing Hearts program. If we can raise $300 to treat her heartworms, I’m sure that her forever family will be right around the corner, ready to scratch her butt, rub her tummy, and encourage the wonderful behaviors she’s beginning to show us.
Piglet is a great dog. She deserves to be healthy and happy and loved.
I believe in Piglet. I believe her goofy nature and loving spirit can get her the perfect home she so desperately needs. She’s had a rough life, and as far as we can tell, she’s never been someone’s best friend.
Piglet has come so far in such a short time. However, Piglet has one more giant hurdle to overcome; she’s heartworm positive.
It’s not her fault, but it makes finding her forever family that much harder due to the expensive nature of the treatment. Piglet is an excellent candidate for our Healing Hearts program. If we can raise $300 to treat her heartworms, I’m sure that her forever family will be right around the corner, ready to scratch her butt, rub her tummy, and encourage the wonderful behaviors she’s beginning to show us.
Piglet is a great dog. She deserves to be healthy and happy and loved.
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For more information on Healing Hearts and what heartworms are, please CLICK HERE.
Contributors
Blog articles are written by staff and volunteers of Southern Pines Animal Shelter.
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