Home Van Pet Care Project News -- July 2016

from Elizabeth Howard, coordinator

"... the days went by like paper in the wind...
everything changed, and then changed again
It's hard to find a friend
It's hard to find a friend"
Tom Petty

Time flies. We work hard to help the pets of homeless and very low income people in our community. Most of our time, energy and money goes to pet food and distribution, as this is our primary mission. We continue our weekly pet food distribution at two locations, Downtown behind Lynch Park on Wednesdays and at Dignity Village on Saturdays.

Dignity Village:  The pet population at Dignity Village seems to stay around 25-30 dogs and 5-6 cats. We have a veterinary clinic supervised by Patti Gordon, DVM there once a month and are doing really well in keeping everyone vaccinated, spayed and neutered. When the process is complete we are able to purchase a County license tag for each pet.

Lola May lived at Dignity Village but wasn’t doing well there. Lola May is affectionate, smart, and playful. She is awaiting adoption at Alachua County Animal Services. She is #542348 and you can visit her during regular visiting hours.






Brian and his dog Angel attended the June veterinary clinic at Dignity Village. Angel updated her vaccines and had a health checkup.


Life is not easy for homeless people nor is it easy for their pets. Due to tethering regulations dogs at Dignity are confined much more than any of us would like. If you feel that you can befriend a homeless person and devote some time each week to walking a dog or two around a paved access road, please get in touch and we will make the introductions.

Downtown:  People are scattered in their living situations and they come by bus, bike and on foot. Most don’t bring their pets. We park behind Lynch Park and hand out the pet food from our vehicles. It is quite different from Dignity Village, where the dogs are “right there” and the campsites are close by. Some of these people we have known for a long time and sometimes we make a home visit to meet the animals. Twenty-five or 30 people attend each week.

(Left) Pat picks up food for her two dogs and keeps them healthy at St. Francis Pet Care Clinic. Pat has been our friend for a long time.

(Right) Charles has educated himself about spay/neuter and has been responsible for the spaying and neutering of a dozen cats, as well as educating others in his neighborhood.






New Projects:

Preparation for Emergency evacuation. We’re working on a project to help with pet evacuations from Dignity Village in event of an emergency such as a hurricane.
Wish list for emergency: Metal crates. Cat carriers. Collars, leashes and harnesses. Water bowls and food bowls. Prepare small packs of dry food and canned food. Bottled water. Please call us for current needs as we are now working on an evacuation process for the animals. We will need volunteers to help prepare the animals and also to feed, water and walk them after evacuation.

Meeting with Gainesville Police and Animal Services officers: Home Van Pet Care, Gainesville Police and Alachua County Animal Services all work closely with these officers to help the animals. We’re presently working together on emergency evacuation plans as well as keeping safe, keeping the animals safe and continuing to respect the animal human bond. These officers are very kind to work us into their demanding schedules and we appreciate their help very much.

General Needs Wish List:
Running lines. Please donate funds as we like a special kind or call for information.
Cat Carriers in good condition.
Animal crates, newer folding type in good condition, medium and large.
Collars, leashes and harnesses.
Two dogs need houses, best to get large size.
Dry food for both cats and dogs, Purina green bag dog food, or Publix brand dog, Friskies Seafood Sensation for the cats.
Please call for more information and special needs or types.

Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal at our blog, http://homevanpetcareproject.blogspot.com. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at Sisset's Home and Patio, 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192.  For more information or to volunteer, call or text 352-246-2727.

Also, don't forget our Amazon Wish List!  Or designate Home Van Pet Care Project as your beneficiary on Amazon Smile.

Home Van Pet Care Project News -- March 2016

From Elizabeth Howard, coordinator

Thanks!  Heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped out for our annual Christmas party for the animals. Many individuals, groups and businesses made generous donations that allowed us to put together wonderful Christmas presents for the Dignity Village pets. The gift bags included special food, treats, and toys. Thanks to everyone who contributed their time to make the holidays a bit happier.

And more thanks...  We also want to thank Steve Belk, the Project Manager of Dignity Village, for helping us promote and enforce the rules for safe, ethical and humane treatment of pets at Dignity Village.

Puppy is one of the dogs at Dignity Village. We continue to be impressed by Puppy’s progress. Puppy’s owner walks him at least twice a day and is doing a good job teaching him to sit and walk nicely on the leash. Here he sits patiently by his food and shows us his big grin.

We are also impressed by the successful outcomes with spays and neuters in the past couple of months.  Owners are willing to sign their pets up at monthly clinics for an appointment at UFCVM or All Cats Healthcare.  Xena is just one example.  An appointment was made for her to be spayed the day after she arrived at Dignity Village.  Here she is almost a week later, doing great!

In other news, Lucy’s owners are leaving Dignity Village in a few months and there is a chance they cannot bring her with them. She is a beautiful dog with a sweet temperament, but needs some love and attention. We are hoping to find a rescue group who will take her in, but if you know anyone looking for a really nice dog, please let us know.

On a sadder note, little Maggi the pug had to be put to sleep last month.  We all mourn her loss.
 

We really do appreciate your donations of pet food.  You can see how happy Milo is with his bag of kibble!  When we are “out there,” whether it is Downtown or at Dignity Village or just stopping to leave a bag of food with someone sitting alone on a corner with a pet, we always know that we have given something directly to a person and animal in need.

Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal on this blog. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at Sisset's Home and Patio, 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192.  For more information or to volunteer, call or text 352-246-2727.

Also, don't forget our Amazon Wish List!  Or designate Home Van Pet Care Project as your beneficiary on Amazon Smile.

Home Van Pet Care Project News - Christmas 2015

Our Mission:  To provide food for pets of homeless persons in our community; offer education on pet care and spay/neuter; assist with access to veterinary care; foster respect for animals and the animal/human bond.

"Still Crazy After All These Years"
(Paul Simon 1975)

Our primary mission at Home Van Pet Care Project is to provide food for pets of homeless and low income people in our community. We’ve been doing this for eight years, with your help, with love for the animals, compassion for the people, a little craziness, and lots of pet food.

CHRISTMAS FOR THE ANIMALS.  At Christmas, in addition to their regular pet food, we prepare a gift bag for each dog or cat. Each bag contains a small toy, a can of special food, and treats. We bring cookies for the people and relax a little with our animal friends and their people. We party at our regular distribution times and places.
 
As always, we ask you to help us by donating gift items for this event. For the pet gifts, we will need sturdy gift bags of cloth, paper or plastic, together with the toys, canned food and treats to put inside.
 
In addition to special items for the gifts, we will need extra pet food for the holidays. We use a lot of Purina, green bag for the dogs and Friskies Seafood Sensation for the cats. Publix types are fine and also others of your choosing. We bag it up into smaller containers so that everyone gets some.

We send sincere thanks to all our donors, as well as our hardworking volunteers who work all year and especially hard at Christmas. Actually, we are all volunteers at Home Van Pet Care Project. Some of us started way back at the beginning and others have responded by helping us along the way, while others are “on call” for special needs.

If you have questions, if you want to help with asking for donations, preparing the gift bags or distribution, or want more information, please call or text Elizabeth, 352-246-2727.

This kitty at Dignity Village says, "I like those soft, warm little blankets, too."










Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal at our blog, http://homevanpetcareproject.blogspot.com. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at Sisset's Home and Patio, 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192.  For more information or to volunteer, call or text 352-246-2727.

Also, don't forget our Amazon Wish List!  Or designate Home Van Pet Care Project as your beneficiary on Amazon Smile.

Home Van Pet Care Project News -- Fall 2015

Getting Ready for Winter

This rainy weather has taken a toll on homeless people and their animals. There is black mud and puddles of water standing everywhere at Dignity Village. Imagine if this was cold winter rain. We need to prepare. First always, plenty of pet food. 

Bear is 10 years old, a great dog.  He could do with some canned food to keep him 
healthy through the colder weather.

OUR WISH LIST:  We use a lot of Purina green bag for the dogs and Purina Friskies Seafood Sensation for the cats. Canned foods are also helpful boosters in cold weather. Hay is helpful and can give a dog a pad to lie on outside or better padding on the inside of a dog house. We need more dog houses and cat carriers. More and more tarps are important as well as wooden braces to support them.  Our wish list includes heavy duty food and water bowls, canvas bowls that can be easily carried, collars, leashes, harnesses, rope, bungee straps, reusable gallon bottles of water, and tie-out or running lines. We sometimes like certain brands or types, so give us a call. We  also need volunteers to help with pet food distribution, record keeping, and helping improve campsites for the pets. 

 Maggie, at 10 years old, is feeling much better after her dental surgery.  She likes Mighty Dog beef flavors and is eating well now.                                                                                                                                    

UP TO DATE ON VACCINATIONS AND SPAY/NEUTER:  Dog count varies between 25-30. We now have four young kitties in residence. All the dogs are up to date on their vaccinations and all but four are spayed or neutered. The kitties are young, but have had the first vaccinations. Two are spayed/neutered and two are waiting to gain a little weight. 

GATORS GIVE!  Home Van Pet Care Project is pleased to be a new approved agency for the University of Florida Campaign for Charities (UFCC).  The UFCC continues through October 23rd, and is a great way for UF employees to donate through payroll deduction.  If you work for UF, please consider designating your gift to HVPCP.  

THANK YOU FOR OUR TRUCK:   Thank you so much for all your donations and good wishes toward the purchase of a pickup truck for Home Van Pet Care Project.  It took a while, but finally we found this 1991 Toyota pickup, an oldie but goodie. We raised the money by special funding so as not to cut into our main mission of providing pet food. We have already used the truck to deliver pet food and hay for bedding for the dogs and it is proving to make our work easier and more efficient.  

Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal right here on this page. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at Sisset's Home and Patio, 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192.  For more information or to volunteer, call 352-473-9423 or text 352-246-2727.

Home Van Pet Care Project News - August 2015

Dear Friends:  Many thanks to all who donated to our fund to purchase a pickup truck to help us with pet food distribution.  We are excited to announce that  we more than exceeded our goal of $2500!  After raising roughly $4000, we now have sufficient funds to purchase the perfect vehicle if we shop carefully.  Of course, more donations are always welcome and can make our position better.

Now we're hoping you can help us find the right truck.  We are seeking an older, used truck, with not too many miles.  We are open to different manufacturers, but ideally would purchase a Toyota or Nissan since they often last a long time.  Our first choice would be a Toyota.  It could be an older, smaller model.  Next choice is Nissan of a similar size.  In domestic pickups, a Ford F150 always seems to last.  Whatever we get needs to have working A/C!  We have a great mechanic who will check over anything we consider.  For more details and ideas, please call or text Elizabeth at 352-246-2727.

Maggie is grateful for donations, especially Mighty Dog Beef!

Dignity Village:  We distribute pet food twice each week at Dignity and are already off to a very good start with vaccinations, spay/neuter and license tags that we purchase for them at Alachua County Animal Services.We sent representatives to two Oversight Committee meetings for Grace/Dignity.  The final result is that our rules for pets are incorporated as part of the rules for residents.  Our rules cover animal care including food, water and shelter.  They also state that all pets living in Dignity Village must be fully vaccinated and spayed or neutered!  In the long run this will help homeless people acquire places to live because their animals have been well cared for.

Bear waits patiently for his veterinary visit.

Veterinary Care:  In coordination with St. Francis Pet Care, we had another veterinary visit in August, and are trying to coordinate a consistent monthly schedule for the future.  We are working very hard to set our processes in place so that all the animals can be spayed, neutered and kept up to date on vaccinations.  Quite a number of veterinarians and  vet techs are donating their services to this process, and Home Van Pet Care is always there to distribute pet food.

Downtown Pets:  They are thriving.  Most of the people who pick up pet food from us downtown have their pets enrolled in the nearby St. Francis Pet Care Clinic program.  We advise them also on other affordable organizations available locally.

We need volunteers to help with pet food distribution, record keeping, and helping improve campsites for the pets.  If you or someone you know may be interested, please contact us.  In addition, we welcome all financial donations as well as pet food, harnesses, leashes, collars, tarps, rope, bungee straps, heavy duty water bowls and gallon bottles of water that can be reused.  If you have something to donate, let us know.

Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal at our blog, http://homevanpetcareproject.blogspot.com. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at Sisset's Home and Patio, 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192.  For more information or to volunteer, call 352-473-9423.

Home Van Pet Care Project News - June 2015

From Elizabeth Howard, Coordinator

 Our Mission:  To provide food for pets of homeless persons in our community; offer education on pet care and spay/neuter; assist with access to veterinary care; foster respect for animals and the animal/human bond.

Elizabeth gives a treat to Magic at
Dignity Village.

It has been business as usual at major distribution places at Grace Marketplace/Dignity Village and Lynch Park. We have been continuing to hand out pet food, treats, tarps, water and water bowls despite the stifling heat. These pets need water and shade more than ever this time of year, and we are trying our best to provide that.

We recently initiated crowd funding campaign to raise enough money to buy a used pick up truck. We are already 12% of the way there, but there is only a month left of the campaign.

If you would like to contribute toward our goal, you can visit http://www.loveanimals.org/new-pickup-truck.html and make a donation. You can also send a check to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or donate via PayPal right here on our blog.

Volunteer vets work in the shade of
a tent on a hot Saturday morning.

We're saying a big "Thank You" to the veterinarians and others who volunteered their services to come out to examine and vaccinate "our" dogs at Grace Marketplace/Dignity Village. This was St. Francis Pet Care Clinic's second successful outreach there and was put together by Patti Gordon, DVM  and her crew of veterinarians, vet techs and other volunteers. There will hopefully be more successful events like this to come. 

Lucy waits patiently for her turn to see
a vet.

Our wish list includes tarps, water bowls, food bowls, canvas bowls that can be easily carried, collars, leashes, and tie-out or running lines. We sometimes like certain brands or types, so give us a call. Pet food donations are always welcome. We use primarily Purina types with Friskies Seafood Sensation being a long-time favorite of the cats and the green bag Purina for dogs.  You can always call us for more information.

Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal at our blog, http://homevanpetcareproject.blogspot.com. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at Sisset's Home and Patio, 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192. For more information or to volunteer, call 352-473-9423.

Home Van Pet Care Project News - April/May 2015

From Elizabeth Howard, coordinator

Our Mission:  To provide food for pets of homeless persons in our community; offer education on pet care and spay/neuter; assist with access to veterinary care; foster respect for animals and the animal/human bond.

Our FaceBook Page is up and running. Take a look and Like us.
           
Thanks to Citizens CoOp for April donations in their Be The Change jar and thanks to all who donated while shopping there.

Bear is now up to date on his
vaccinations and his flea allergies
are being managed, thanks to the
help of generous veterinarians.

We’re working hard to have all the pets vaccinated, and spayed and neutered. Dignity Village is a challenge where we are making a real difference with help from local veterinarians and other volunteers.

Ginger, Ginger 2, Marty and Bella and their people moved to inside housing recently. We miss them, but they can still pick up pet food downtown and we will be sure to keep in touch.   

Our wish list includes tarps, water bowls, food bowls, canvas bowls that can be easily carried, collars, leashes, and tie-out or running lines. We sometimes like certain brands or types, so give us a call. 

Marty is one of the several dogs that
have found new housing.  We miss him
already!

Pet food donations are always welcome. We use primarily Purina types with Friskies Seafood Sensation being a long-time favorite of the cats and the green bag Purina for dogs.  You can always call us for more information.

We can certainly use financial donations.  And Don’t Forget:  We are saving our money and looking for a small pickup truck that we can use for our Project to pick up and deliver donations.

Pepper would love more shade and
more room to run! Please consider
donating tarps and a running
line for this sweet puppy!

Financial donations can be made by check payable to Home Van Pet Care Project, Inc., and mailed c/o Elizabeth Howard, P.O. Box 14305, Gainesville FL 32604; or by PayPal at our blog, http://homevanpetcareproject.blogspot.com. Pet food and other items can be dropped off at , 3429 W. University Avenue in Gainesville, 352-224-5192.  For more information or to volunteer, call 352-473-9423.