Foster Homes for Animals and What That Means

What is an Animal Foster Home and why are they important?

When most people here the words Foster Home, they usually are thinking about human children, not animals. But our shelter is currently looking for people to provide a foster home for our dogs and cats. This would be a temporary placement to get eligible dogs and cats out of the shelter into a home environment. A shelter environment can be noisy and frightening to an animal, this means that the animal might not show its normal personality and be passed over for adoption. It’s not fair to the animal or the prospective families who are missing out on wonderful dogs or cats because they are frightened or confused by their environment. A home environment allows the animal to feel comfortable and relax. The dog or cat will start to show its normal personality and allow for it to have more personalized care. All of this makes it easier to adopt the animal and find them an amazing forever home!

How do I Become a Foster Home?

Here is where you come in. If you would like to become a foster home for one of our animals, here is what you do:

Step 1. Come in to the shelter and fill out the application.

Step 2. One of our shelter staff, will call you to set up a home visit. This is state required. All they are looking for is a safe environment for an animal, no chemicals where they could reach them, a quiet place for them to go if they need alone time, etc. They will not judge you on how clean your house is!

Step 3. If you get approved, wait until they have an animal eligible. If you don’t feel comfortable with the current animal or if you don’t feel able to care for them this time around, you can always say no. The Animal Shelter will then contact you the next time around.

Other information it’s important to know!

You have very few out of pocket expenses! You do not have to pay for any medical expenses or food expenses. Thanks to the wonderful and generous Friends of the Emporia Animal Shelter (FEAS) they have covered all medical expenses, and the Shelter will provide the food for your foster animal. You would need to provide a place for the animal to sleep, leash and collar, dog bowls, and maybe a toy. The shelter will take care of screening applications for your foster animal, and will advertise the animal for adoption. Once the have a qualified family or person for adoption, they will contact you and make arrangements for you to bring the animal back out to the shelter to meet its prospective new family! 

As always if you have any more questions please reach out to me or the Animal Shelter.

Meet Rebel! He is currently available for adoption!

A Helpful Dialog on How to join the Humane Society of the Flint Hills

Me: Want to help out the Humane Society, but don't want to join the board of directors? 

You: Yeah, but I don't know how to go about that!

Me: It’s a fairly simple process! You just contact me (Caitlin Flood, your friendly neighborhood executive director!), whether that’s through facebook, email, phone or coming into our office, and ask for a Humane Society of the Flint Hills new member application. It will then only take a minimum yearly donation of $15 dollars (You can donate more if you would like!). 

You: Well what if I want to specify what my money is used for? 

Me:You can do that! We give a few options on the application, such as General Fund, spay & neuter fund, Emergency Animal Care, and Animal Vaccinations. If you don’t see an option you like you can write in on the form what you want your money to go! You can contact me on Facebook at the Humane Society of the Flint Hills, phone at 620-342-4477, email at director@humanesocietyflinthills.org, or visit my office at 215 W. 6^th Ave. in Emporia, KS

You: Wow that's awesome! Thanks for being so helpful!

Me: Don't forget, If you have any questions about the Humane Society or how to help us and the animals we serve, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

August Upcoming Events

Hello fellow animal lovers!

It’s your friendly neighborhood Humane Society Executive Director here! The sun isn’t quite shinning, but I’m sitting here in the office praying for rain! What we got Sunday morning was not nearly enough!

I figured I’d give you guys an update on next months upcoming events!

·        August 5^th through 11^th Water’s True Value is having a “Dog Days of Summer” Sale! They will be doing a pet supply sale all week. But on August 5^th, 8^th, and 11^th between 1pm and 3pm the Emporia Animal Shelter and Humane Society will be out there hosting a Dog Adoption Event! We won’t know until closer to the day whether we will have any animals to take to the event, but we will still be there with adoption posters and information about how to adopt or even foster an animal! Also they are letting us keep a cat condos out there all week so we can try to get one of our wonderful feline friends new homes too!

·        August 7^th starts our next dog obedience class! We still have spaces available for this class! It only runs three weeks and starts at 6pm. These classes usually last about an hour. It will help your dog learn some basic commands and maybe even a trick or two! These classes take place at Hammond Park in the Shelter House on State Street. These classes only cost $35, which you pay the day of the 1^st class. But don’t worry if you can’t make it to this class we have another one starting of September 11^th. Please contact me at 620-342-4477 or email me director@humanesocietyflinthills.org.

Emporia Kansas Animal Shelter Wishlist

Got a birthday party coming up and instead of presents you want people to bring donations to give to the shelter? Got a business/organization that wants to do something philanthropic? Wondering what items the animal shelter could use? Well you're in luck! We keep an updated list of things the shelter always needs!

For the Animals

• Kitty Litter
• Cat/Dog/Kitten Toys
• Dog Treats
• Ball and Rope Toys
• Kong Toys
• Milk Replacement Powder (for kittens or puppies)
• Tearless Baby Shampoo
• Nylabones
• Stainless Steel Bowls
• Litter Boxes
• Squeaky Toys

For the Shelter

• Hand Sanitizer
• Toilet Paper
• Liquid Hand Soap
• Scrub Brushes
• 13 Gallon Trash Bags
• Laundry Detergent
• Bleach
• Dishwasher Soap
• Paper Towels
• Liquid Dish Soap (Dawn, Palm Olive, etc.)
• Leashes
• 55 Gallon Trash Bags
• Disposable Gloves (No Latex)
• Dyer Sheets

For the Office

• Sharpies (Black, Red, and Blue)
• Sheet Protectors
• Kleenex Tissues
• Flash Drives
• Highlighters

If you think of something not on this list and are wondering if we would accept it, please call the Humane Society Office at 620-342-4477 or  the Animal Shelter office at 620-340-6345.

We will of course, always take any monetary donations that you would like to give/send us! You can hand deliver those donations to 1216 Hatcher St, Emporia KS or the Humane Society office 215 W. 6th Ave., Emporia KS. But if you would like to mail your donation please mail it to PO Box 845, Emporia KS 66801!

We would like to thank you in advance for considering donating to our shelter!

WANTED: New Members for our Board of Directors!

Ever wondered what it takes to become a board member for the Humane Society of the Flint Hills? It’s relatively simple. You email me (Caitlin Flood – Executive Director) and I send you an application. We then submit it to the board members for review and schedule you to come to one of our monthly meetings so we can interview you. Once your interview is over the board will vote on whether to bring you on. If they decide you are a good choice we welcome you to the board! Now there are only a few criteria for becoming a board member, first and foremost, you must have a love for animals and a passion for ensuring their welfare. Second, you must want to actively work to help spread awareness of our society and the animal shelter. Third, you must be a member of the Humane Society of the Flint Hills. It only takes $15 a year to become a member of the Humane Society. That’s all it takes to make you a prime candidate for our board! Does this sound like you or someone you know? Good! Because the Humane Society of the Flint Hills is currently looking for new member for our Board of Directors! Please email me at director@humanesocietyflinthills.org or give me a call at (620)342-4477

Our 1st Blog post/ Introduction to our new Executive Director!

Hello!

I thought I would take the time this first new newsletter from the Humane Society of the Flint Hills to introduce myself. If you haven’t already guessed, my name is Caitlin Flood and I am the Humane Society’s new executive director. I am taking over for Judy Dieker, who has decided to retire after 10 wonderful years with us! 

I was born and raised right here, in beautiful Emporia, KS. I graduated in December 2015 with a Bachelors of Agriculture in Animal Science. I decided it was time to move home in August of 2017, and before becoming Executive Director for the Humane Society, I worked for the Emporia School District.

I have always loved animals, and cared deeply about their wellbeing. In August of 2017, I made my 1^st visit to the Emporia Animal Shelter after many years. After moving home I had decided I need a dog of my own! Peggy (she is the shelter manager and a very nice lady) allowed me and my dad to wonder back through the kennels to look at the dogs available for adoption.

I noticed him right way, a small white and gray pit mix who had a happy smile on his face, even though you could see every vertebrae and rib he had. I of course looked at all the other dogs a couple times but I couldn’t stop coming back to him. The shelter had named him Arnold, a perfectly nice name just not for him (in my opinion). We went back out to talk to Peggy about him, and she offered to take him out on one of the runs so we could meet him. He had only been at the shelter for about a week, and was reserved but also extremely excited to meet new people. He was the sweetest dog and I had confirmed what I already knew, he was my dog. 

We filled out the adoption form and waited the 24 hour period before we could pick him up. I was the 1^st person to show up that day. I refused to let anyone else get my dog. We brought my parent’s dog Angus (also rescued from the shelter), to meet him. Because “Arnold” would be moving into his house and they needed to get along.  The shelter staff got “Arnold” out of his kennel and let him out on a run with Angus. They got along fine and the staff member signed off on him going home with us! 

Anybody who has ever boarded a dog in a kennel knows that a dog gets a particular smell about them after spending any amount of time in one. So, the 1^st thing we did when we got “Arnold” home was give him a bath. He to this day is not a fan of baths. The next thing I did was schedule an appointment with the vet’s office to have him checked out, and get all of his shots given to him. It was as they were taking information to schedule the appointment, they asked for his name. I had been thinking about a new name for him because he was not an “Arnold”. I had even gotten a few suggestion for the same name after people had seen pictures of him. So without any hesitation I told the nice lady on the phone his name was Petey. 

I’ve now had Petey for almost a year and I couldn’t love him more. He is a sweet heart. He loves cuddles, playing outside with my parent’s dog Angus, walks, and being around his family. Because that is what he is, a part of the family. And we wouldn’t trade him for all the money in the world!

Here is a picture of Petey (White face w/ gray patch over one eye) and Angus (Brown and white dog in the back)!