The ARF House - Animal Rescue Foundation

The
C O N N E C T I O N
Summer • 2015
A newsletter from the Animal Rescue Foundation, Inc. of Tulsa, OK
The ARF House
We’re Open for Adoptions!
www.arftulsa.org
For more than 20
years ARF has been
finding responsible
owners for homeless
pets. Our primary
mission is to rescue
pets from kill shelters
and place them in
forever homes.
If you believe in this
mission, please join us
by becoming an ARF
member, a financial
partner, a volunteer, or
by opening your home
and heart to foster a
homeless pet.
Check out
Animal
Rescue
Foundation
of Tulsa on
Facebook
and join
the fun!
The former Par 3 Club House at LaFortune
Park is now the home of the Animal Rescue
Foundation (ARF). The building is being used as
an adoption site for the dogs and cats rescued
from area kill shelters.
Located at 5201 S. Yale Ave., $35,000 was
needed in construction and maintenance repairs
to refurbish the building for ARF. Those repairs
are being funded through an ongoing public donations drive. T-Town Roofing stepped up
and donated roofing material and labor to replace the badly damaged roof. ARF member
Robert Wheeler was instrumental in obtaining the building and we owe him a huge
“Thanks!”
The club house has sat empty for many years. Visitors to the area, which includes
a popular jogging track, have dubbed it “the duck pond building” because of its close
proximity to the pond.
Now it is an important part of Tulsa again and ARF is happy to rescue it and give it a
second chance. After all, that’s what we do! We hope you come visit us soon.
ARF House hours are
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday -- Noon until 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Sunday Noon until 4 p.m.
PA GE
2
The Companion Connection
dog spends in the crate. Reward and praise your dog for going in it
and staying quietly while in the crate. This will be beneficial when
your dog has to spend time at a veterinarian’s or groomer’s, too.
• Provide physical and mental stimulation with food puzzle
toys. Kongs and other toys designed to be stuffed with food can
provide hours of entertainment that keep your dog from getting
into trouble due to boredom. Some people buy multiple toys
and feed their dogs all their food this way. Don’t leave your dog
unsupervised with these toys until you are sure the dog won’t
destroy them.
• Play tug-of-war (with rules). Tug-of-war done properly can
help your dog release frustration and pent-up energy. Start with
a rope toy that’s long enough to keep your fingers a safe distance
from your dog’s mouth. Make your dog sit. Tell your dog “take it”
and offer it the rope toy. Move the rope in a side-to-side motion,
not up-and-down, to avoid neck injuries. Play for two minutes and
then say “enough” and tell your dog to sit and release the toy. Wait
about 30 seconds and then offer the toy saying “take it” again and
do another two-minute session. The play session stops any time
your dog gets overly excited or starts moving its teeth further up
the rope toward your hand.
Young Dogs Need Exercise
T
hinking of adopting a young dog? Do you live in a small
house, duplex, or apartment with no yard? Dogs younger
than four or five years old need exercise or they will
become neurotic and/or destructive. The best solution could be
adopting an older dog. Smaller lap dogs can live to be 12 or older,
so adopting a 5- or 6-year-old-dog will still give you many years
of companionship. However, to keep your dog happy, healthy,
and mentally alert, try some of these activities:
• Take your dog for two 20-40 minute walks every day. Walk
faster or longer until you get the right combination that works for
your dog. Add short intervals of running or sprinting to increase
the effectiveness of a shorter walk. Get your dog a backpack and
place some frozen water bottles in it. If your dog pulls too much,
consider a Gentle Leader collar or a harness. Tailor the exercise
to your dog’s fitness level and use common sense to avoid
overheating or burned foot pads during the summer.
• Find an off-leash area for longer weekend exercise. Tulsa
has many official dog parks or ask friends or relatives if you can
bring your dog over to exercise in their yard. If off-leash isn’t
possible, take your dog for one or two longer walks or hikes on
leash on the weekend. Or you could take your dog once or twice
a week to a doggy day care where he/she will be exercised and
entertained.
• Crate your dog when you can’t supervise it. If your dog isn’t
trustworthy inside, remove the possibility for destructiveness
by crating your dog for reasonable periods of time. Get a crate
that’s large enough for your dog to stand up in, turn around in,
and stretch out. Start slowly, if possible, and build up the time the
• Practice commands and tricks with your dog. Dogs need
mental exercise as well as physical. Teach your dog basic
commands and a few tricks and practice in short 5-10 minute
sessions every day.
Remember, most dogs don’t exercise themselves adequately in
even the biggest yard unless they have a playmate or you play
with them. An apartment dog that gets several walks a day can
actually be happier and get more exercise – and more quality time
with you!
Focus On: FIV and
Feline Leukemia
The feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV)
infection is a complex retrovirus that causes
immunodeficiency disease (the inability to
develop normal immunity to germs and diseases)
in domestic cats. FIV is slow moving and can lie dormant in
the body for months or years before causing symptoms. It’s in
the same class of viruses as the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV).
The average age is five years at the time of diagnosis, and the
likelihood of infection increases with age. FIV is a transmissible
disease that occurs more often in males because of their
tendency to be more aggressive, and because they are more
likely to roam, thereby increasing their exposure to the virus.
If you have an FIV cat, it really isn’t as bad as you might
think. As long as your cats are all spayed/neutered and don’t
fight to bring blood, then FIV cats and healthy cats can live
together with very little chance of infection.
Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus that infects cats.
Continues on back
Summer 2015
PA GE
Honors &
Memorials
Much gratitude goes to our wonderful
supporters. Your generosity allows us to
provide food, bedding, medical treatments,
and other amenities to homeless pets
looking for permanent homes. All of our
animals are spayed/neutered, micro-chipped
for identification, vaccinated, treated for
parasites, and provided a thorough medical
exam. The adoption fee doesn’t cover these
expenses, so your donations are desperately
needed.
Please join these generous and caring
people by sending in a donation to ARF today:
o In Honor of…
Mary Anne Thoman, Betty Key, and Kathy Horne
in honor of Janice Wilner’s birthday
Stephanie Keester in honor of Kim Percival
Patricia Williams and Mitchell Cohen in honor of
Jazz, beloved pet of Judith and Gary Reeves
Jana McCullough in honor of Missy
Nancy Goodman in honor of Forest Trails Animal
Hospital
Jean and Ellis Jenkins in honor of Katie, a
former ARFie
o In Memory of…
Kate Waits and Marty Belsky in memory of our
beloved ARF dog Missile
Greg, Chris, and Xia Guckian in memory of their
beloved shih-tzu Joey, a former ARFie and
former Channel 6 spotlight dog
Harry McIntyre Lister, Lorriane H. Weber, Airyn
and Joe Cristiano, and Karen Morgan in
memory of Nora Mackebee
Lori Troutman in memory of Max and in honor of
Dr. Paul Welch
Greer Fites in memory of my sister’s dog Emma
Steve and Sheryl Simonton in memory of Mary
Kathleen Albi-Ferguson
Lynn Dickason in memory of J.R.’s dog
Scott Hall, DDS in memory of Judy and Richard
Phillips’ Baby Girl
Scott Hall, DDS, and Rowley in memory of
JoAnne Gillespie’s Herbie
Joan Scheulen and Jean Coffey in memory of the
Campbell’s sweet, little Mandy
Helen Collier in memory of Barbara and John
Rodolf
Gary Quiggle in memory of his wife Carolyn
Crabtree Quiggle
Donna LaDuke in memory of Sass
Bruce Sneller and Stephen Hall in memory of
Scott Hall’s Rowley
Elizabeth Betts in honor of Fancy, a former ARFie
and great companion for 13 years
Barbara Crowson in honor of Wanda Grace,
Monica Webb’s grandmother
Awesome Belvedere
Just a quick update on Sonny, now Belvedere. He’s
super friendly and outgoing to everyone, people and
dogs. He has had no accidents in the house at all! He
loves going to the dog park to play with his friends
and he’s all signed up and ready to start daycare. He’s
only going one day a week. The picture of him is
where I find him every morning after breakfast, in our
bed. He seems to prefer to sleep in his kennel at night
but likes to take a nap in our bed. Thanks so much for
saving him and letting us adopt him. He was so worth
the trip to Tulsa. He’s an awesome, awesome boy.
— Brenda Kerns
Special Needs Rocket
I adopted my baby in April. Her name was Oshie
and I had been looking for a special needs cattle dog
to teach sign language to. A friend of mine told me
about Oshie and I contacted Jaynie immediately.
Oshie came into our home like a rocket, which is
actually what we have named her.
Rocket’s first hurdles were learning how to interact.
Since she is deaf, she can’t hear her siblings cry
when she plays too rough. She would be so pouty
when nobody would play with her. Her next task was learning to
look at me, so I could teach her signs. We used a vibrating collar to teach
her to pay attention, giving her a lot of praise along the way. She now
knows almost 10 signs.
Rocket has brought so much joy to our lives. She is a remarkable
dog and we are so happy that we have had the privilege to bring her
into our family.
— Johna Marlin
Mischief-making Miguel
I wanted to share my story with you all and thank you for
what your organization does. I adopted McGill (now Miguel)
a year ago while I was volunteering at PetsMart in Tulsa.
It’s hard to believe how much a dog can change your life
and become such a huge part of a family! Miguel has so
much personality – he is the perfect combination of sweet,
playful, and downright hilarious at times! He loves to watch
TV and bark at the various dogs that come on or look out
the window and bark at rabbits.
He has also figured out that if he acts like his leg is hurt
during a walk he will be swept up in the arms of whoever is walking him
and be carried home. Upon his arrival into the house, Miguel is running
around and happy as if nothing is wrong. He has done this numerous
times in cold or rainy weather, but he is smart enough to never do it to the
same person twice!
I have found that a very special bond exists with rescue animals and
I certainly have that with Miguel. Miguel has completely won over the
hearts of all my friends and family as well! I hope to help out this organization and other rescue animals in the future. You all can be assured,
however, that this dog had a very happy ending and is extremely loved!
— Jenna Fleming
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Animal Rescue Foundation
P.O. Box 471483
Tulsa, OK 74147
NonProfit Org.
US Postage
PAID
Permit NO. 2146
Tulsa, OK
Adoption is the
loving option.
Continued from page 2
FeLV can be transmitted from infected cats when the transfer of saliva or
nasal secretions is involved. If not defeated by the animal’s immune system,
the virus can cause diseases which can be lethal. One disease caused by this
virus is a form of cancer of the blood cells called lymphocytes, a leukemia.
If your cat is demonstrating any of the following symptoms, please
have your pet examined by your
veterinarian:
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Fever
• Anemia
• Weight loss
• Disheveled coat
• Poor appetite
• Diarrhea
• Abnormal appearance or
inflammation of the eye
(conjunctivitis)
If you have a FeLV cat and need to
re-home it, one good idea is to Google
for FeLV cat rescue pages on Facebook
and post there. You can also send
out an e-mail blast to everyone in your
address book and see if someone would like to be a one-cat owner or if
anyone else out there has a lonely FeLV cat that would like a playmate. Be
sure to check veterinary references! Asking a veterinarian if the person who
wants your cat is a responsible pet owner, is a great way to insure that your
cat will be taken care of and loved.
DOGS AND DONATIONS
What Your Dollars Buy
If you have a pet, you know how those veterinarian
bills can mount up! ARF has the same problem — a
hundredfold. We are dedicated to adopting out healthly
animals. To do this, we don’t skimp on veterinary treatment
and preventative measures, such as worming, flea/tick
baths, and vaccinations.
Donations from ARF supporters keep our bills paid and
our pets healthy. We urgently need your help! Look at the
list below and help us defray the costs of caring for our
homeless pets:
o $10 — Parasite Exam
o $15 — Vaccinations
o $25 — Heartworm test
o $50 — Spay or neuter
o $100 — Dental examination and teeth cleaning
o $250 — Heartworm treatment
o $500 — Treatment for puppy with parvo
o $1,000 — One week of ARF vet bills
YES! I want to help pay ARF’s veterinary bills. Please accept
this tax deductible donation.
o Check enclosed o Cashier’s check enclosed
o I will donate through the ARF website (www.arftulsa.org)
Send to: ARF; PO Box 471483, Tulsa, OK 74147
All donations are tax deductible
Visit our website at www.arftulsa.org