ART, ANIMALS, AND ALTRUISM: ART BENEFIT FOR TWO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE PART OF THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL FABRIC OF SACRAMENTO On Thursday, May 31, artists from around Sacramento will bring their animal and pet-inspired work to the historic Sierra 2 Center for the Arts & Community to showcase and sell to an enthusiastic and philanthropic audience. The event is being held to raise awareness and funding for two great causes: one is cultural-Sierra 2 Center for the Arts & Community, the other of the heart--Front Street Animal Shelter.  The evening’s events include food, wine, live music, silent auction and raffle drawings. The art—the true highlight—will be on display and available for

It’s early Sunday morning in January. Cars pull into the lot in an industrial section of South Sacramento. What would possess people to get up this early on a cold, dark winter’s day? It’s not a swap meet, big sale, concert tickets, or church. These people have come to the Sacramento SPCA feral cat clinic to get the cats they’ve trapped spayed or neutered and vaccinated as part of a program called TNR: trap neuter return. Why do they do this? It’s a problem that has to be dealt with. “When feral overpopulation causes a problem, people get annoyed with all cats – ferals and pets. They don’t discriminate,” trapper Mary said, summarizing a common sentiment. “Cats get run over, poisoned, ab

On Saturday, November 19, the Sacramento Cat Hospital will host its third annual pet food drive, benefiting Titanic's Pantry (the Sacramento Pet Food Bank). All donations of cat and dog food, canned or dry, will help feed hungry animals throughout Sacramento. The pet food drive will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sacramento Cat Hospital, 4115 Manzanita Avenue in Carmichael. In addition to pet food, donations of leashes, collars, cat litter, bedding, and other pet supplies are welcome. "If a family is having a tough time paying the bills or feeding their children, they may not be able to feed their pet," said Dr. Billie Bensen Martin, owner of the Sacramento Cat Hospital. "Thi

Warm weather has finally arrived in Sacramento, and the County Animal Shelter is reminding pet owners of the importance of taking certain precautions to make sure their animals stay safe and cool during the hot Sacramento summer months. “Pets are completely dependent on their owners to take care of them, and it is important that people stay alert to their pet’s health and well being,” said Dave Dickinson, Interim Animal Shelter Director. “One of the more common instances we see of endangering pet’s health is dogs left in cars in hot weather. All it takes is a few minutes for a dog to succumb to heat stroke.” Below are some tips on how you can help your pet get ready for summer: Never le

Are you looking for a chance to donate some of your new or gently used items, or do a little shopping for a good cause? The Sacramento County Animal Shelter will be hosting its second annual “Flea Market” June 25-26 from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the County Animal Shelter at 3839 Bradshaw Road in Sacramento. “We raised over $20,000 at last year’s flea market, and we hope to break that record this year,” said Dave Dickinson, Interim Shelter Director. “All the funds raised from this event go to our shelter’s S.O.S Save Our Shelter fund that benefits the 15,000 animals that pass through our shelter every year.” Items available for purchase include new and gently used household items and furniture,

The Sacramento SPCA, City of Sacramento Animal Care Services, Sacramento County Animal Care & Regulation and Happy Tails Pet Sanctuary are holding a joint “Home for the Holidays” pet adoption special which will begin on Friday, November 26 and run through December 30. The goal of the holiday adoption promotion is to increase adoptions community-wide and to ultimately find new homes for 1,000 homeless animals by the end of 2010. During “Home for the Holidays” adoption fees for all animals will be reduced by half. The four participating shelters will take in more than 35,000 homeless animals this year alone. This figure represents an increase over previous years due to the poor economy and

On Saturday, November 13, the Sacramento Cat Hospital is hosting its second annual pet food drive, benefiting Loaves & Fishes and Titanic's Pantry (the Sacramento Pet Food Bank). All donations of cat and dog food, canned or dry, will make a difference for a hungry animal. Pet food drive hours are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sacramento Cat Hospital, 4115 Manzanita Avenue in Carmichael. "Providing enough pet food to meet the need is an ongoing challenge for shelters, charitable organizations, and animal rescue groups," said Dr. Billie Bensen Martin, owner of the Sacramento Cat Hospital. "This large-scale pet food drive is an effective way for our community to help animals in need all ove

Effective November 1, the County Animal Shelter is launching the “Support Our Shelter” fundraising effort to continue to raise donations that will enable sustained operations. The focus of this ongoing campaign will be to continue to look to the community to help support the 15,000 animals that come through our shelter every year by donating to the shelter, licensing their pet, or adopting an animal. “The S.O.S Save Our Shelter campaign has made a tremendous difference in the lives of animals in our communities, and I want to personally thank everyone who has donated their time, effort and funds to help make sure we find permanent homes for our resident animals and continue to investigate

In recognition of national “Adopt a Shelter Dog Month”, all October the Animal Shelter is holding several informational and training sessions to raise awareness of the often misunderstood group of dogs known as pit bulls and related breeds, which make up a large percentage of adoptable dogs in almost every shelter. The shelter has already offered several sessions throughout the month and on October 30 will celebrate the positive aspects of the breed with a showcase of several pit bulls that are Certified Assisted Therapy dogs. “We are pleased to be holding this first time event to attempt to provide factual information and dispel stereotypes and myths about pit bulls, and to highlight wha

As part of an effort to raise much needed funds for the Sacramento County Animal Shelter, Teaching Everyone Animals Matter (TEAM), the animal shelter's non-profit partner, is sponsoring the first annual “Whiskers and Wine” fundraising event at the Animal Shelter, located at 3839 Bradshaw Road, from 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Sept. 25. “We are pleased to be hosting this first-time event at the Animal Shelter to increase our visibility within the community, and to raise funds to make our animal shelter more self sufficient,” said Interim Animal Shelter Director Carl Simpson. “This is going to be a great opportunity for community members to come out and see our animal shelter, while enjoying some gre

The Sacramento County animal shelter is holding its inaugural “Flea” Market 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 26 to raise funds in light of Thursday's budget cuts. The animal shelter is facing a $1.8 million deficit for the upcoming fiscal year and a severe staff shortage, as reported by SacPress’ Lisa Palmer. “The big joke is that we're not going to be selling fleas, per se,” said Annie Parker, county communications and media officer. Donated items for sale include new and used household items, furniture, pet products, toys, garden items, electronics and clothing. A raffle, bake sale and craft sale will be held. The event was organized by shelter volunteers. They are still accepting donated items

Stretch those legs and flex those paws for the 17th annual Sacramento SPCA Doggy Dash June 5 in William Land Park. Approximately 4,000 people and their canine companions are expected to attend, and will gather in the Village Green Area of the park. Festivities begin at 8 a.m. and will continue until 1 p.m. Participants may register with or without a dog. The SPCA hopes to raise $250,000 through Doggy Dash. "This is our largest fundraiser of the year," SPCA public relations director Lesley Kirrene said in an e-mail. "All funds raised go to help us care for the more than 12,000 homeless animals that will come to the SPCA this year alone. We have had such a terrific response to the event i

The Sacramento Animal Care Services facility on Front Street rotated dozens of animals and 30 people surrendering pets, filling out missing pet reports and retrieving their animals through the small receiving room on Tuesday. The shelter handles all of the city's animal-care issues, including cruelty investigations, quarantines and licensing, but it still need help with their own deficiencies. "We always need volunteers in all areas — clerical, socializing, feeding, adoptions, everything," said animal care services manager Penny Cistaro. The shelter currently has 175 volunteers, compared to the other three shelters in Sacramento that have over 1000. Their medical care facility and spay/

"You are super cute," said Lesley Kirrene, as she walks past bright-eyed animals waiting for homes. "Once the animals are on the adoption floor we have made a commitment to them that we will find them homes," said Kirrene, director of public relations for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The shelter is keeping its promise. Cage after cage proudly displays the blue sign reading "On hold," which means the animal is waiting to be picked up and brought home. The lucky dogs for the day were Dorris, Roscoe, Rockie, Dot, Brindle, Fred, Conan, Bob and Kasey, who wagged their tails excitedly, knowing that they were about to go home. The shelter is not considered a "no-kill"

The new county animal care and regulation center on Bradshaw Road is providing a more spacious habitat to a wide variety of animals. It houses cats, dogs, rabbits, reptiles, llamas, goats and horses and any other animal that comes through the doors. It also extends many animals' lives. For visitors to the previous county animal shelter, the words 'five days' are chilling. That is the typical amount of time animals live at a government-run animal shelter before they are euthanized. If they are deemed dangerous, diseased, or unadoptable they will be killed immediately. The new shelter allows the animals to have more time. The facility is spacious so the animals are displayed in habitats.

There is a pet overpopulation crisis right here in Sacramento. The area’s three major shelters will take in more than 37,000 animals this year alone, and there simply aren’t enough homes for all of them. But this tragedy facing our community does have a solution. Spay/neuter is the key to reducing the number of unwanted animals entering area shelters. The Sacramento SPCA responded to this critical need when we opened our new spay and neuter clinic in May 2007. Through our clinic, the only high-volume spay and neuter clinic in the region, we will alter 12,000 animals in 2008 – saving countless lives. Our clinic is at the heart of what we stand for at the Sacramento SPCA. The Sacramento S