Pawsome News! Welcome everyone to the first edition of the Sevier County Humane Society Newsletter! Our goal for the newsletter is to publish a summary of happenings every two months to SCHS friends, provide a glimpse of things coming up, and share some tips, treats & stories. SCHS is grateful for our continued partnership with PetSense every Saturday for adoption events. New in 2016 are partnerships for adoption events with PetSmart and Just Furr Pets in Sevierville. Both PetSense and PetSmart provide housing space in their stores for SCHS adoptable felines to live, giving them more public exposure. With the shelter open and three adoption events every Saturday, SCHS is grateful for the help of its committed volunteers (aka FurVols). Tickets are on sale now for the Bone Zone Drop fundraiser. First prize is $1000 in gift cards, 2nd prize is 2 night cabin stay in Sevier County, 3rd prize is 2016/2017 Ober Gatlinburg annual ski/snowboard pass. The drop will be held on April 16. Tickets are $5 and available at PetSense or by calling the shelter at 865-453-7000. SCHS appreciates your support! Volunteer orientation was created in Oct 2015 and has been held at least twice monthly since that time. Orientation, which is a requirement for volunteers, takes about an hour and is helping to create a team of enthusiastic volunteers. The FurVols have been assisting both at the shelter and all the offsite adoption events, making a difference in the lives of SCHS homeless pets. Go FurVols! There have been a few changes in faces at the shelter. In 2016, SCHS welcomes Gail Wernecke and Tonique Meintzer to our staff. Both compassionate animal lovers, SCHS is glad to have them on our team.

Events Coming Up! March 5, 12, 19, 26 and April 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30—Pet Adoption Events at PetSense, PetSmart & Just Furr Pets

March 7 , 14, 21, 24 and April 11—Low Cost Spay Neuter Event—call for appointment...865-680-5701 or the shelter at 865-453-7000

March 13—Volunteer Orientation—3pm at shelter on Gnatty Branch Rd

March 28—Volunteer Orientation—5pm at shelter on Gnatty Branch Rd

April 10—Volunteer Orientation—3pm at shelter on Gnatty Branch Rd

April 16—Bone Zone Drop—Tickets are $5 each—Support this fundraiser by calling the shelter at 865-453-7000

April 25—Volunteer Orientation—5pm at shelter on Gnatty Branch Rd

Sevier County Humane Society, 959 Gnatty Branch Rd, Sevierville, TN 37876

Website: www.sevierhumane.org E-mail: Shelterstaffsevier@gmail.com

Sevier County

Humane Society

Board Members

President—Martha Gilchrist Vice President—Cheri Hagmeier Secretary—Beverly Brosch Treasurer—Cheryl Morgan Valerie Vilce, Sandy Wade, Mindy

Ogle, E. Shane Patterson and Brennan Garrett

Coordinators Volunteer Coor—

adoptadoggie@hughes.net Rescue Coor—

sevierhumane@aol.com Fundraising & MarketingCoor—

shelterstaffsevier@gmail.com Education Coor—

huff873183@bellsouth.net

Social Media—valerie9724@att.net Newsletter—

adoptadoggie@hughes.net

**AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION**

Maxy— 3 yr old male

Shy at first, this boy will warm to a

comfortable lap.

Mar/Apr 2016

Welcome New FurVol Volunteers!

Welcome to our new official FurVols Team members on completing orientation: Karen DelCanto, Tonique Meintzer, Faith Mitchell, Nicholas Moreno, Megan Ownby, John Porter, Megan Porter, Parker Proffitt, Sue Taboas, LeAnn Wills, Stacy Lang, Jefrey Quiroz and Jolia DelCanto, Amanda Nestor, Jesse Deeds, Dominique Dowling, Nancy Cole, Sarah Beth Cole and Anna Cole. To join our FurVol team, let us know by e-mailing our volunteer coordinator at adoptadoggie@hughes.net with your name, address, phone & any volunteer opportunities you may be interested in. Active, involved volunteers are key to our success!

Thank You to Our Supporters!

We appreciate the donations we’ve received, including items from our wishlist and monetary donations. We’re honored to see so many people believe in and support our mission. If you would like to make a donation or memorial/honorarium via credit card, please call the shelter at 865-453-7000. The following donations were received within January & February:

In memory of Wilma Watson, by Jettie Clabo

In memory of Lexi, by Jim & Karen Summerville

In honor of Aunt Robin by Buddy Bensinger And general, medical or noncash donations: Patsy Abernathy, Vittoria Avera, Howard Baker, Matthew Bobilk, Hoyt M Bookhart, Michael Bowen, William Breckert Jr, Janis Canterbury, SJ Conner, Rob Crosby, Dollywood’s Dream More, Donna Drelich, Suzan Dunn, Ramona Fair, Debra Flick, Doyle Frazier, S&DL Hedrick, Judy Hewitt, Brook Krug, Jamie Marshall, Bob, Janet & Sidney Matthews, Jeanne Mauro, Christorpher Miller, Myriam Nay, Amy Ogle, Kathleen Parker, Nancy Peltier, PetSense, Cindy Stackhouse, Louis Trebus, AG Wilkens, Monica Warren, Kevin White, Tina Williams, and Julia Yousaf.

Happy Tails! Hit by a car, unable to move from the side of the road due to her

injuries, Marena laid for three days until someone realized she was

alive and called animal control. AC officer Lee & his wife picked

Marena up in the pouring rain and met SCHS shelter manager

Michaela at the shelter at 10pm. Marena was taken to Sevier County

Animal Clinic where they discovered she had 2 severe fractures in her

pelvis (back hips). Given medication for pain and inflammation,

Marena would need 8-10 weeks of bed rest. During this time, Marena

would need to be carried outside, and her back end supported, for her

to potty. Gradually she would need to get back to walking. The shelter

staff took care of her for a week while the search for a foster was on.

Finding fosters is always difficult, but exceptionally so for a large dog

needing this level of care. Thankfully, SCHS alumni Hobo and his

adopter Sid Baker spoke with friends, the Stipe family , who agreed

to foster Marena. The Stipes family took excellent care of Marena

while she healed. Hobo and Sid even contacted News 8 to help SCHS

share Marena’s story.

Fast forward to our picture—See that smile on Marena’s face? Marena, now Danny, won the hearts of the Stipes family and has officially become a family member! Making a difference and living loved

Are you interested in fostering? Sign up for one of our volunteer orientations and get started making a difference in the lives of homeless pets!

SPAY/NEUTER YOUR PET! Every cat or dog that dies as a result of pet overpopulation—whether humanely in a shelter, by injury, disease, or neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Need a good reason to spay or neuter your kitten? A single cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 kittens in just seven years.

Our SPOT program holds multiple spay/neuter

events each month with transports and a mobile

spay/neuter unit. We will work with you to find a

date that fits your schedule.

Please help stop the “disease” of pet overpopula-

tion by calling us today to get an appointment to

have your pet fixed!!

Please Like & Share Sevier County Humane Society

on Facebook!

Call (865)453-7000 or (865) 680-5701

Stop Pet Overpopulation Today!

Through SCHS SPOT program, 170 pets were altered during Jan & Feb 2016!

72 dogs & 98 cats!

Thank you to all caring pet lovers who helped to prevent unwanted litters!

Opening in March 2016, Old Mill Winery will be supporting the efforts of the

Sevier County Humane Society (SCHS) through a limited edition wine label.

The details of the wine's name are still being discussed but for the first bottling

of 1,000 bottles, $5 for every bottle sold will be donated directly to the SCHS!

Please support by checking out the new winery when it opens - they will be

located in the Old Mill Historic District in Pigeon Forge.

Under Construction

‘Shine On’ Spotlights! Staff Spotlight!

Michaela Schommer—SCHS Manager When not at the shelter Michaela likes spending quality time with her fiance Chris and

her 6 fur kids. She has 4 cats and 2 dogs all of which have come from local shelters in-

cluding 3 from SCHS! In her spare time she often brings her work home (literally) by

fostering shelter babies. She is a pit bull / bully breed advocate. Michaela has loved all

types of animals since she was little and feels a special happiness and connection in her

heart getting these animals adopted, since she herself as a child was

also in State foster care and eventually adopted.

Volunteer Spotlight! Roxie England Whether fostering kittens or helping weekly at PetSense, Roxie’s compassion

for animals shows in everything she does. Roxie’s friendly face, and warm

hugs, greet everyone who attends our PetSense Adoption Events. Thank you

Roxie for helping SCHS homeless pets connect with their new families!

Hometown Heroes When a fire destroyed Stages West and closed the business until it could be repaired & re-

opened, the employees may have had no job & no income. Thankfully, a clause in Stages

West insurance provided for continued employee wages if the employees worked at various

charitable organizations in the county until Stages West is rebuilt. SCHS has been one of the

organizations to benefit from the work of Stages West employees, Jan Majors, Levi Tar-

water & Sam Seaton. SCHS staff has appreciated the extra help in daily care of the animals,

cleaning & adoption counseling these Stages West volunteers provide. Jan, who has a soft

spot for horses and German Shepherds, thinks the best part is adoption counseling and help-

ing the animals find permanent homes. Levi and Sam have enjoyed working with the staff to

care for the animals while at the shelter. Thank you to these Hometown Heroes from Stages

West for making a difference in the lives of Sevier County Homeless Pets!

CHEESE CHOMPERS

2/3 CUPS PARMESAN CHEESE 1/4 CUP CORNMEAL

2 CUPS WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR 1 EGG

3/4 CUP WATER

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine all ingredients except half of Par-

mesan cheese. Knead until thoroughly mixed. Scoop out dough and roll

into walnut size balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll balls into sticks.

Coat sticks in extra Parmesan cheese. Flatten sticks a little with rolling pin

or by hand. Twist each stick several times and bake on ungreased baking

sheet for about 30 mins. Cool and store in airtight container.

Happy Spring!

Tips & Treats

Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal disease in pets in the United States

and many other parts of the world. It is caused by foot-long worms (heartworms) that

live in the heart, lungs and associated blood vessels of affected pets, causing severe

lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body. Heartworm disease

affects dogs, cats and ferrets, but heartworms also live in other mammal species, in-

cluding wolves, coyotes, foxes, sea lions and—in rare instances—humans. Because

wild species such as foxes and coyotes live in proximity to many urban areas, they are

considered important carriers of the disease.

The mosquito plays an essential role in the heartworm life cycle. Adult female heart-

worms living in an infected dog, fox, coyote, or wolf produce microscopic baby worms

called microfilaria that circulate in the bloodstream. When a mosquito bites and takes a

blood meal from an infected animal, it picks up these baby worms, which develop and

mature into “infective stage” larvae over a period of 10 to 14 days. Then, when the in-

fected mosquito bites another dog, cat, or susceptible wild animal, the infective larvae

are deposited onto the surface of the animal's skin and enter the new host through the

mosquito’s bite wound. Once inside a new host, it takes approximately 6 months for the

larvae to mature into adult heartworms. Once mature, heartworms can live for 5 to 7

years in dogs and up to 2 or 3 years in cats. Because of the longevity of these worms,

each mosquito season can lead to an increasing number of worms in an infected pet.

Read more at https://www.heartwormsociety.org/pet-owner-resources/heartworm-

basics or speak with your vet.

Please remember Heartworm Prevention for your pet