Valentail's Cookies & Hearts For Shelter Animals

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Valentail's Package:

Heart-shaped foil balloon, 1/2 dozen cookies, and a thank-you note from a shelter animal.

                                         Cookie Choices:

                                         

                                               M&M
These delicious melt in your mouth Valentine’s M&M cookies are sure to be the perfect “Valentail’s Day” gift for anyone! We start with our secret batter and load it with festive colored red, pink, and white M&M’s and then bake it to “Pawfection”. These cookies are soft, chewy, and AMAZING!



                                                                                   
            Red Velvet & White Chocolate

Taking an old favorite and turning it into a cookie…GENIUS! We start with our red velvet batter and add white chocolate morsels that take this cookie to the next level. These irresistibly soft and chewy red velvet cookies jam-packed with white chocolate morsels are “Pawsome!”

     Death By Chocolate

The name says it all…We start with our delicious fudge cookie batter and add three different types of chocolate morsels – dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate - to our already divine batter.  The chocolate lover in your life will be forever grateful for this gift!

Vegan Chocolate Chip

Coconut oil, molasses, cinnamon and semi-sweet chocolate chips—that’s what makes this vegan and organic chocolate chip cookie so delicious and flavorful! Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside--you can’t go wrong with this classic!

Doggie Love Package or Shelter Dog Package

If your Valentine has a wagging tail, we have you covered! Your dog will love the 8 oz of peanut butter treats, made just from flour, coconut oil, and all natural peanut butter, and the plush Valentine's toy!

Or be a shelter dog's Valentine by providing a Doggie Love Package to one of our shelter residents. Tail wag guaranteed!

A Tale of Two Kitties

McFlurry/Callie

What do a Big Mac, a McFlurry and a Small Fry have in common? All three were found at McDonald's and are kittens! 

At only six weeks old, infested with fleas and showing signs of upper respiratory infection, the three 

siblings found themselves abandoned at the Winfield fast food restaurant last October. Lucky for them, a caring citizen called animal control and the kittens were brought to CCHS, where they were treated, vetted and transferred to a foster home until they were ready for adoption. 

Meanwhile, almost 2.5 hours away in Pratt, KS, Susan and Randy Teske decided it was time to adopt a new family member after one of their resident cats passed away at the age of 15. 

Small Fry/Amelia

The family is originally from Wellington and when word got out that they were looking for a kitten, a Winfield friend posted the CCHS January adoption special flyer onto Susan's Facebook wall. It's been a long time since the family had kittens, but Susan, a teacher, was home for the holidays and the time for adoption just right! The Teskes are no strangers to rescue; all of their cats have come from humane societies or were strays and the family supports shelters and helps with transports whenever they can. 

Susan started looking at the CCHS cats, found McFlurry and Small Fry and contacted the kittens' foster mom for more information. Big Mac was already spoken for and since the two girls were a bonded pair, the Teske family decided to make the trip to Winfield and bring them both back home! 

Re-named Callie and Amelia, the two kittens adapted quickly to their new home which they share with a senior cat and dogs. They immediately started their new jobs as companions, entertainers and lap warmers and are bringing much joy to the Teske household. And so ends the tale of two kitties in the best possible way!

Randy Teske with Callie and Amelia

A Long Time In The Making

If animals could collect miles for their shelter stays, Dyno would have qualified as a frequent flyer. 

At not even two years old, this beautiful red-bone coonhound boy stayed with us three times--the first time in April of 2016 as a stray. 

Dyno's adoption website photo

 Dyno quickly found a home, but was returned to the shelter not even a month later, because the landlord of his new family wouldn't allow him to stay. Fortunately, Dyno didn't have to wait long before being adopted. We didn't see him again for almost a year--he was returned in April 2017, because is family was moving. This time, however, nobody was interested in adopting Dyno.

May came and went without a new home in sight. Friendly and housetrained Dyno was featured as Pet of the Week several times, but many more months passed by and he was still at the shelter. 

Dyno with James at the shelter

On the way home

Finally, in September, Dyno's luck took a turn when the Sullivant family came to the shelter to visit. James, the son of the family, has Asperger's Syndrome and used to be terrified of dogs, but overcame that fear. He is also bothered by loud noises, but braved the cacophony of barking dogs and walked into the kennel area where he saw Dyno and fell in love with him. There was an instant connection between the two--Dyno didn't get up from his bed until James came in. When James saw that Dyno was afraid of thunder, he said they were perfect for each other! 


The dog that nobody had wanted for so long was just waiting for the right family to come and take him home! 

Dyno walked right into the Sullivant's lives as if he'd always belonged there, bringing even more love into their home. He senses when one of the family members is having a bad day and is there to comfort them. James, in turn, comforts Dyno during thunderstorms and fireworks. Dyno is a playmate, companion, alarm clock, greeter and even comedian, but best of all he is at home with a family who loves him!

Some things are just meant to be. 

James, Jadyn and Dyno at home

Jadyn and Dyno

Don't Want to be on the CCHS Board of Directors? Neither Did I!

 Not “no”, but “no way”—that was my answer when I was asked to be on the board of the Cowley County Humane Society. Sure, I always was a supporter of the shelter, but that was restricted to giving monetary donations and attending events. Because of my interest in the shelter, I was on the radar of the board and I guess I looked like a good candidate to them.

I had excellent reasons NOT to be on the board—no time, don’t want to see all those sad animal faces at the shelter, don’t know anyone I could hit up for fundraisers, and a million others. I finally agreed to meet with the board president to receive more information, but I stated right then and there that I couldn’t possibly be on the board. At the end of that meeting, I agreed to be on the board.

Turns out, I wouldn’t have to become a serial adopter, because I never even had to interact with any shelter animals if I didn’t want to. I also wasn’t expected to single-handedly save the world. I was told, however, that being a board member was a lot of work and took some dedication, because it is the board that plans and executes all fundraisers for CCHS. Many board members also take on additional tasks, like being foster parents, writing the newsletter, volunteering at the shelter, finding sponsors and members, etc. After asking myself if this was the cause I wanted to spend my time on and if I wanted to make a difference, the answer had to be “YES”.

During my numerous years of being involved with the CCHS Board, I not only gave a lot, but have also learned so much and have done things I never thought I would be capable of! Being on the board has brought out hidden talents and pushed me into realms I was formerly uncomfortable with. I never thought I could be a public speaker, now I give presentations. I never thought I could write, now I write articles for the newspaper and have published the shelter newsletter for several years. I never thought I could become computer-savvy, now I make flyers, am the Facebook administrator for the shelter’s Facebook page, make videos, PowerPoint presentations, manage Google Documents and much more. I never thought I could be a leader, and now have been board president 3 years.  I have met and become friends with people who would otherwise never have crossed my path, who have expanded my horizon and inspired me to become a better person.

We are in need of new board members who are willing to contribute their time and talents towards making a difference in thousands of animal and human lives each year. If you are that person, please contact us by messaging us on Facebook or emailing ccasdirector@skyerock.net and I will get in touch with you!

Alice Shaffer

CCHS Board President and PR & Media Chair

It's Time to Pawty!

Mowgli

Everything happens for a reason — or so it seems in the life of Mowgli, a 1-year-old Mastiff mix.

She managed to get loose one day and scratched a neighbor of her previous owner.

Mowgli was called in as a stray, and the Arkansas City Police Department’s animal control officer picked her up and brought her to the Cowley County Humane Society (CCHS).

Because she had scratched the neighbor, Mowgli had to be quarantined and monitored in case of rabies.

Meanwhile, Jeanna Retana’s children had been asking for a dog for a while.

“They wanted a bigger dog that they could play with,” Retana said. “I had seen Mowgli on the Cowley County Buy, Sell, Trade (Facebook) site, where they were wanting to find a home for her.”

“I’m a single mom with three kids,” Retana added. “I wanted to make sure the dog was good with kids.”

But Mowgli’s previous owner had children, as well, and she told Retana that Mowgli was great with kids, as well as housebroken.

“Those were two major pluses for me,” Retana said. “Because I don’t have a lot of time.”

Mowgli’s previous owner was able to produce paperwork proving that she had been vaccinated for rabies, and the neighbor who had been scratched signed a waiver that allowed the owner and CCHS to re-home Mowgli, with ACPD’s approval, which the police gladly gave.

“They (CCHS) were very helpful,” Retana said. “They were quick to respond and were very friendly. I chatted back and forth for quite a bit, and they were very helpful.”

Mowgli is now in her fur-ever home and loving it!

“She is absolutely fantastic,” Retana said. “She is really great with my kids. They lie on her like a big pillow and she is just a big Teddy bear.”

While Retana initially was worried about Mowgli being so big, that has changed completely.

“She has been the best dog I’ve ever had,” Retana said. “She lies at the foot of the kids’ bed at night. I couldn’t ask for anything better in a dog.”

Paws Gone Wild 2017 A Success!

Last Saturday's Paws Gone Wild wine tasting and auction event generated over $16,000 for the shelter! A HUGE thank you to all volunteers, donors, and guests who made this annual event such a success! This is our biggest fundraiser of the year--hope to see you next year!

Photos courtesy of Danny Gilbreath.