Canine Crawl 1 Mile Walk

Are you and your canine companion ready to share a leisurely stroll with numerous HSEC friends and supporters? The 13th Annual Canine Crawl will be filled with fun activities for pets and pet people to enjoy while raising awareness and funds to support the Humane Society of Eastern Carolina. 

This year’s Canine Crawl is sure to introduce some competitive spirits with the implementation of the 5k run but for those canines simply striving to crawl, the namesake continues with this year’s 1 Mile Walk. The Canine Crawl 1 Mile Walk will begin at 2:30p.m.  Sunday, March 17th with “day-of” registration opening at noon. Participation will require a $20 donation (which can be collected using CanineCrawl.com) or $25 at the registration booth (cash or check only).

With your participation, you will receive a HSEC’s 13th Annual Canine Crawl T-shirt, a goodie bag, and the satisfaction that comes with participating in the HECS’s largest fundraiser of the year! Of course, any additional contribution from you, yourself, or friends & family on your behalf is encouraged.

The 1 Mile Walk course is set to take place at the scenic Greenville Town Commons Park, with start and finish lines strategically placed near the Vendor Village. The 1 Mile Walk is certain to be a fun and memorable time for all people and puppies involved. So come out and participate in the 13th Annual Canine Crawl 1 Mile Walk, the pace is set for comfort and the race is headed towards ample enjoyment!

Blue is ready for the Canine Crawl!

Hi, I’m Blue. I’m a pitt bull / terrier mix. When I first came to HSEC I was illegally abandoned with some major injuries. I had a broken humerus – which isn’t funny – and my tail had to be amputated. I’m all healed now though, thanks to the wonderful staff here. I spent some of my recovery with a part-time mommy who taught me a lot of things. My favorite thing to do is chase a that little yellow ball you humans call a tennis ball. I may end up tearing it to a million little pieces if it doesn’t run away first.

Around the facility I keep hearing the staff and volunteers talk about this big event this weekend. The Canine Crawl is our biggest fundraiser of the year, or so I’ve heard. I don’t know the worth of a dollar, but I’m guessing the money we raise can buy me and the other dogs a lot of treats and toys. I guess if there’s some leftover we can share with those fluffy chew-toys – I mean the cats. People keep talking about a 5K, not quite sure what a “K” is but if it involves running, sign me up. I enjoy running – after squirrels or balls, or even just to use up some of my extra energy.

If you haven’t signed up for the 5K yet, make sure to bring your cash or check on Sunday to Town Common. I’ve also heard people saying there’s going to be vendors and other family-fun activities for this St PAWtrick’s Day, including a mile walk, a costume contest and a owner/dog lookalike contest. Boy does it sound like a great way to spend a Sunday. I hope it will be a sunny Sunday, because that’s something else I like to do, just lay out in the sun’s rays. Makes me all toasty and warm. Mark your calendars and bring your dog. Sunday March 17 at Town Common, the 13th annual Canine Crawl – you won’t want to miss it!

Visit Blue's Petfinder page for more information about this adoptable dog!

Success Series - Belle (Khaki)

Welcome to the final installment of our Success Series! We hope you have enjoyed this look at just a handful of the many pets who have found their forever homes through HSEC. Don't worry, we'll still post success stories, just not every week. If you have a success story you'd like us to feature, please email it to humanesocietyofec@gmail.com.

Many thanks to blog contributor Siri Espy for all her hard work on this series! 

Here's Belle! 

(AKA Khaki)

Like many of our residents, Khaki had a rough start in life.  She and her four littermates were born outdoors to a stray dog.  Fortunately, a Humane Society volunteer lived nearby and took them in.  When the puppies were eight weeks old, our volunteer decided to keep one, and the others came to us in search of their forever homes.

Khaki was the most timid of the family, and therefore remained with us after her siblings had all found families.  She was slow to approach strangers, and nervous walking on a leash away from familiar territory, although she did develop a fondness for a rousing game of fetch. 

After months of waiting, Khaki’s lucky day arrived when her new family saw her photo on our web site and e-mailed us for information.  They stopped by to visit her, and couldn’t resist taking her home, ready for the challenges a shy puppy would present.

Renamed Belle (from Beauty in the Beast), she made amazing progress in her first week home.  Although she was petrified of the unfamiliar stairs, she learned quickly, and found a welcome retreat in her crate.  Belle soon learned to explore the neighborhood on her walks, and quickly became comfortable with her humans, giving kisses and looking for pets.  Her new mom, Peggy, reported, “We have all just fallen in love with her…she is super, super loving.”

Peggy was soon happy to share a second update, reporting that Belle was “still a bit jumpy” but had come a long way.  Belle grew to love walks, and found new hobbies in chasing birds and chewing sticks.  A quiet dog, she began to enjoy barking at the TV when watching shows with a lot of movement.  This smart girl quickly mastered sit, stay and roll over. 

Thanks to our kind volunteer who took her and her siblings into her home, what could have been a tragic story now has a happy ending.  Her patient, loving human mom Peggy sums it up:   “She is really
really sweet and we are very happy we got her!”  As she grows in confidence and settles into the good life, we’re betting Belle would very much agree.

Canine Crawl 2013

A scene from Canine Crawl 2012!

Unless you've been under a rock for the past few weeks, you already know that here at HSEC we are gearing up for our BIGGEST FUNDRAISER OF THE YEAR - the Canine Crawl.

Well, mark your calendars! Canine Crawl is taking place on Sunday, March 17th, at Town Common in Greenville, NC!  For up-to-the-minute info, keep an eye on our Canine Crawl website, and follow us on Twitter - @HSEC - #caninecrawl

This St. Patrick's Day - or, as we like to call it, St PAWtrick's day - you are officially invited to join us for a day of free festival fun! We hope that you and your family, both two-legged and four-legged, will turn out to support HSEC. Yes, dogs are welcome, and this event is family-friendly!

Festivities will commence with the first annual Canine Crawl 5k race. Race day registration and packet pick-up begins at 8AM at Town Common. The race starts at 9AM. This race will be professionally managed and timed by East Carolina Road Racing. Register for the race here or in person the day of the race. (Please bring cash or check if you intend to register on the day of the race.) Dogs and strollers welcome! All racers will receive a goody bag and t-shirt. If you're not much for running, you can also register as a catnapper, skip the race, and just get the swag.

The race will begin and end at Town Common, and will have a staggered start time, with runners starting first, then runners with strollers or accompanied by dogs, and finally walkers. The overall fastest male and female and the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd fastest male/female time in each age bracket will be recognized. Please see our website for more information about the 5k, including age brackets and guidelines for dog participation.

At noon, the Canine Crawl really gets going with the opening of our Vendor Village in Town Common. Stroll through and check out some of the great businesses in our area. Here is a list of our vendors this year!

• Tenth Street Animal Hospital
• Firetower Animal Clinic
• Animal Hospital of Pitt County
• Peasants Pub
• Mutts on the Run
• Jenni K Jewelry
• Critter Creations & More
• Loreta's Frozen Yogurt
• Art World
• Spay Today 
• Love Four Legged Friends
• Down East Animal Refuge

We're also happy that Canine Crawl will play to host one of the largest adoption events in Eastern NC! Adoptable animals are attending from HSEC, J & J's Homeless Pet Rescue, and Great Dane Rescue Alliance. Be sure to stop by, maybe your new best friend will be waiting!

You can also get a caricature of your pet, or have them microchipped. For those burning animal healthcare questions, Vet Q&A will also be available. You can also stop by HSEC's merchandise tent and throw in a ticket or two for our 50/50 raffle (tickets 1$ each). After all of that excitement, grab a bite to eat from CPW's stand or from the bake sale, and relax as you listen to live music, courtesy of Peasant's Pub!

You'll want refreshments while you watch (or perhaps participate in) the doggie costume contest at 12:45 and the owner/dog lookalike contest at 1:45. The winner of each contest will receive a prize! Prizes will also be rewarded to our top pledge earner for the 5k and for the 1 mile walk.

At 2:30, Vendor Village closes, and our 1 mile walk begins! This is the grand finale of our lovely day at the park, so join us (register here, or in person on the day of the event - please bring cash or check) as we parade through the area around Town Common. Finally, at 3PM, we will draw the winner of the 50/50 drawing (you do not need to be present to win).

Want to raise money for HSEC and the Canine Crawl, or donate? You're awesome! Click here!

Want to volunteer to help out? We'd love to have you. Please email Katie Benson.

For help navigating the Canine Crawl website, or in signing up for the 5k, the 1 mile run, or to be a fundraiser, click here.

Contests! Caricatures! Races! Vendors! Food! Live music! Family and dog friendly fun! We can't wait to see you there! (We may have exceeded our lawful usage of exclamation points in the creation of this post, but we can't help it - we're just! Too! Excited!!)

Please help us spread the word about this event by sharing this post on your favorite social media site. And as always, we couldn't do this without our wonderful sponsors. Check out the list here.

Success Series - Abbey and Annie

Welcome to another installation of our Success Series! Every Friday we will post the story of a pet who has found their forever home through HSEC. If your animal was adopted from HSEC and you want them to be featured on the blog, contact us here: humanesocietyofec@gmail.com 

Abbey and Annie

(and Sam!)

by Sam Dinner

Abbey

Abbey was turned into the Humane Society in January of 2010 after living in a home for 7 years! The transition from a home to a shelter is never easy on an animal, let alone a senior one. Three months of sitting at the shelter getting over looked because of being black and older tugged at my heart. I decided to give Abbey a break from the facility and foster her a few days.

This was typical of me while working at HSEC. I would constantly bring different dogs home in order to give them a break and to also see how they did in a home. Learning about their behavior in a home better helped me find the perfect match for their future forever home! The plan was to take Abbey for a few days, well days turned into weeks and then someone came into HSEC wanting to adopt Abbey. Normally this would be awesome but Abbey won a chunk of my heart and I just couldn’t imagine her in someone else’s family.  And so our family began!

Abbey and Judy

After I gave Abbey some time to adjust more to her new home I decided to get back into fostering! Abbey tends to be an older grump when it comes to new adult dogs coming into her home. So fostering was narrowed down to baby puppies and kittens, adult cats, small dogs and submissive big dogs. Abbey likes to be alpha most of the time. Abbey and I fostered many animals. The first cat we fostered was Judy, an extra large black kitty. It was love at first sight. One day I came home to find Abbey using Judy as a pillow and they were fast asleep together.

Annie

A few fosters later, a baby kitten arrived at the facility, later named orphan Annie. We all immediately noticed something not right with her eyes. This kitten was malnourished and very angry about her current situation. Luckily she was small enough to learn how to trust humans! After being seen by our wonderful board vet, Dr. Eldridge, Annie was diagnosed with Congenital Upper Eyelid Agenesis. This is a birth defect that left her without upper eyelids. With no eyelid to protect her eyes, her hair rubbed against them and would gradually damage her cornea. The condition is painful and would have eventually damaged her sight and lead to blindness.  Until funds were raised and surgery was an option, Annie needs lubricant in her eyes twice a day to keep them from getting dry and to act as artificial tears. This was both painful for Annie and me. She hated it and I hated having to restrain her for it.

Abbey and Annie

Annie and Abbey starting forming a very special friendship while waiting for surgery. At first, Annie was afraid of a 65 pound dog but with some time they began to get along. Not only did they get along but they played!! Most wouldn’t believe how a 5 pound kitten and a 65 pound dog would play but boy did they have fun! Annie would linger by Abbey making sure that tail was up high for some kitty butt sniffing and then she would paw at Abbey’s face until she would play. Annie would then roll on her back while Abbey gave love nibbles and frisked her up and down!

Thanks to generous HSEC donors we were able to raise money to pay for Annie to have surgery! The procedure included grafting skin from under her eye to use and create the new eyelid. A specialist at Animal Eye Care in Cary, NC did the surgery. Oh and if you were wondering, the pain that Annie had with her eyes DID NOT slow her down!! She was a crazy energetic kitten who got into everything! The surgery was done and Annie looked a bit unusual for a while but is now looking much better!

Annie thanks her generous HSEC donors!

While Annie was away for surgery and her multiple vet visits, Abbey was miserable! She missed her kitty and wanted her back! Annie even went to the facility on some weekends to try and find a home but she hid in her litter box and didn’t enjoy new people. Today she will still hide when I have a visitor but will come out with time! Those qualities don’t show well when public come in looking to find a outgoing companion.

In January after graduating ECU and getting a big girl job, I was planning for a move. Abbey begged me to take Annie with us and I told her she that it wouldn’t be the same without her. So after having Annie in foster care with us for 10 whole months and only knowing us her whole life, Abbey and I decided to adopt Annie! The 3 of us recently moved to Cary, NC and we are all adjusting well to the new home. Their favorite pastime is looking out the window together.

Annie had a checkup at Animal eye care on Feb 7 and we were told that her eyes are doing great and that she doesn’t need to come back anytime soon!! Although her eyes will never look like a normal cats eyes, they are no longer causing her pain! Yippee!!

With a new home and a new start for Annie now, I believe she has changed so much! Just recently my dad came to visit me and he was here 2 months ago in my old apartment. 2 months ago, Annie was nowhere to be seen and wouldn’t even come out from the closet or under the bed because she heard a low deep scary voice. This past weekend, Annie was all over my dad! Slept next to him, let him pet her and was very curious and stayed out the entire weekend!! Huge progress since I had been the only one in my home that she didn’t hide from!

Our family is complete……….. for now ;)

Wordless Wednesday - Conrad

(Conrad is on Petfinder here)

Link Roundup!

Welcome to our first link roundup, where we bring you animal-related news, pictures, and videos from around the internet. Enjoy!

To start things, off, here's the best part of this mailman's day!



Breed bans put loving families in difficult positions. But this family won't abandon their pet: "Baseball pitcher Mark Buerhle and family refuse to abandon pit bull due to breed ban"

Click here to see more big dogs that love to be carried like puppies!

Great reasons to consider adoption for your next pet! - "Shelter Dogs Deserve 'Best in Show'"

This man's dog was stolen and abused. 10 months later, his owner has him back - "Florida man reunited with stolen dog used as fighting bait"

Click here to see the 10 best dog smiles on the internet!

Continuing with our pit bull love - "Heroic pit bull saves her family and runs back into burning home to rescue five dogs"

And finally, the essential difference between cats and dogs - the role of trust.

Success Series - Aggie

Welcome to another installation of our Success Series! Every Friday for the next several weeks we will post the story of a pet who has found their forever home through HSEC. If your animal was adopted from HSEC and you want them to be featured on the blog, contact us here: humanesocietyofec@gmail.com

Aggie

by Alexa L.

We adopted Aggie in November 2011, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. She was my early Christmas present and the very best gift I ever could have asked for! We brought her home and were so surprised by how quickly she adjusted! She even spent Thanksgiving with my mom in New Bern, just days after she came home with us! Her tipped ear is a great conversation starter, and it always amazes people how friendly she is considering someone once assumed her to be feral with a future as a 'wild kitty'!

[ed. note: ear tipping, or removing the very tip of the left ear, is the universal symbol for a feral neutered cat. It is done by the groups who care for feral cat colonies so that ferals can be quickly recognized and so it is known which animals are already neutered.]

 

Aggie had been with us for about 8 months and developed into such an outgoing, friendly kitty! I couldn't believe how sweet she was when we had friends over, she is a wonderful 'car-rider' and did great when we took her on trips to visit my mom and grandmother in New Bern. She absolutely loves her harness, because it means she can go outside and stands still, sometimes helping me lift 'arms' and 'legs' to get it on! 

 

In August 2012 I began the process of registering her as a therapy animal (not to be confused with service animals). During our final evaluation at a local nursing home, I was nervous and made a few mistakes, but she passed with flying colors! Although we have not yet set up a real schedule with a facility here, Aggie made the Daily Reflector back in December!

 

She has been a true joy to us, always excited to see people and be the center of attention. She loves sleeping on my pillow at night, sits as close to people as she can during the day and purrs as soon as we approach. She is a wonderful example of an unwanted black cat, expected to stay feral and outdoors turned into a true family member and volunteer in our community!!

 

Thank you for saving her!

 

HSEC responds: "No, thank you, Alexa! It's amazing that a cat once thought to be feral could today be working as a therapy cat!"