Sampson

Sampson came to the shelter as a surrender mid Oct of 2021. He had been shaved by his owner to rid him of fleas. Upon arrival, he was very angry, growling and hissing in the carrier. Thinking this was just a temporary disposition due to the ride in the car and Sampson thinking he was at the vets office, we placed him in a kennel to destress and calm down.

Sampson had other plans. He did not calm down. For several days, after coming to us, he continued to hiss and growl with everyone trying to gain his trust. He did not know that we are a very persistent group of animal lovers and we were not giving up on him.

A little over a month into his stay with us, he finally allowed one of our officers to give him a little love. SUCCESS! He is learning to trust us if only for a second or two.

Sampson continued to be standoffish and only allowing head scratches on his “good days”. Holding him was going to be a rough next step in his path to adoption.

About a week or so before Christmas, a wonderful woman came in and asked to see Sampson. She had experience with “grumpy” cats and was hoping Sampson could be her next companion. Sampson, however, had other plans. He was not in the petting mood that day and gave a little growl. She respected his space, stayed a bit and just talked to him. We thought for sure she wouldn’t be back.

The following Monday, we received a message from the same woman, as she was on her way home and was wondering if she could stop in and see Sampson again. OH MY GOODNESS! YES YOU CAN!!

A little sweet talk and a spoon full of wet cat food was all it took for Sampson to allow her to give him some love and a head rub. She later told us that when she came that night, she told herself, if he lets me pet him, I’m taking him home.

Once out of the kennel and in a home environment, Sampson finally de-stressed and calmed down. He is the exact opposite of grumpy cat and he is finally home!

Sometimes the toughest exteriors are just a cover, to hide their fears and uncertainties. Sampson taught us to go slow, be patient and they eventually understand we are here to love and protect them.

Sue’s second chance

In September of 2020, a beautiful Great Pyrenees came to us as a stray. It appeared that she at one point had a litter or two, she was rather thin for her breed, her coat full of stickers from roaming and she had a large breast tumor that needed immediate medical attention.

Sue’s personality was exactly what her smile tells you, a gentle giant and loves just about everyone she meets.

Surgery was scheduled and the tumor removed but she still had a long way to go before she was healthy and could be adopted out.

After several weeks of recovery, Sue was adopted to a very loving gentleman in need of companionship. She was taken care of very well with daily trips to the dog park, the best food he could possibly get for her and daily brushings.

About a year later, Sue’s human could no longer take care of her due to recent health issues and her tumor had returned. As much as he loved her, he knew he had to surrender her back to us so that we could address her medical issue and find a home that could not only meet her daily needs but also her medical needs.

Surgery was scheduled and the tumor removed for the 2nd time. She not only needed to heal physically but also mentally as she wasn’t sure why she was back with us.

After she was cleared medically, it took only 24 hours for an individual to reach out to us who wanted Sue. They owned and ran a dog boarding and grooming business, had the perfect fenced back yard and a couple buddies for Sue to live out her days.

After a 2 hour drive, they arrived at the shelter and again, love at first sight. Sue was thrilled to have a couple buddies to run with. She quickly adapted to her new home and even got a spa day and is rocking a new tail!

Nala the Working Girl

Nala came into the shelter as a surrender. She was dirty, underweight and in all around rough shape. She was sweet in nature but had some “isms” that were going to make adoption a little difficult. She was totally fixated on walking a groove in her kennel. We later found out her breed was a Belgian Malinois. This breed is specific to law enforcement along with search and rescue. After cruising the internet, we discovered all her “isms” are very breed specific but being small town Iowa, how would we find her a home that could fit her needs.

As luck would have it, one of our volunteers knows the breed and a specific rescue group that fosters and helps train them for a potential job in law enforcement. We reached out to the American Belgian Malinois Rescue. After a few conversations and passing of pictures, we not only made a new friend and contact in the rescue world, but Nala was going to be evaluated and if she passed the tests, would go into foster care and hopefully ending up in law enforcement.

Fast forward a couple weeks. Nala was accepted into the rescue program and was on her way to Hutty TX. Over the course of 2 days, 12 volunteer drivers got her to her destination and handed off to her new trainer.

After a couple months, we reached out to her trainer to check in on her progress. Nala graduated and was placed with a detection agency. According to her trainer, she will be a hard-working girl for sure. It is so amazing that we, our little village of volunteers, were able to give her the life she so deserves. The smile on her face says it all!

Phoebe’s itchy beginning

Phoebe came to us in December of 2019 at 5 ½ months old with very severe, advanced demodectic mange. She had very little fur and had mostly angry red skin, sores, pus-filled scabs and swollen paws.

We immediately got her the care she deserved. Dr Kelly Gochenour started her on a regimen of twice-weekly ivermectin shots and the volunteers gave her regular baths with a tar-sulfur shampoo to work on the dead and angry skin. She was given doses of children’s Benedryl to help with the itch and anti-fungal medication. The volunteers also treated her skin daily with coconut oil. Her laundry needed to be kept separate and specific laundry soap used so it would not irritate her raw skin.

After several weeks, she started to feel so much better and grow hair. Phoebe and her monkey pajamas melted everyone’s heart.

Phoebe was with us several months to get healthy. While Phoebe’s treatment is not extremely costly, it took a lot of time and care to make sure she was comfortable, warm and got the nutrition she needed while healing.

Poor thing had a rough go of it, but we were able to help her and find a family that is giving her the best life ever, despite her start.

Trooper’s journey

In the wee hours of a cold March night in 2020, a police officer found what he thought was a black garbage bag laying on the side of the road. Getting out of his patrol car to take a closer look he found that it wasn’t a garbage bag at all but rather a dog. An injured dog who had crawled out of the ditch with two badly broken legs. The officer rushed him to the emergency vet in Dunlap, IA. Luckily, they were able to save both of his legs. Not knowing a name and wanting to honor the officer that found him and took the time to help him, he was named Trooper.

Trooper had a very long road to recovery ahead of him. He would need to be restricted to his kennel for the next 8 weeks and only going outside to potty then right back to the kennel. Trooper was such a good boy during all of this, however, he did have a rather loud cry to get sympathy from the walkers. This cry of dismay (not really as he’s a really good actor) tugged at the heart strings of one of our volunteers. After almost 3 months of being in a kennel on restricted activity, Trooper was ready for his forever home.

The officer that found him was very interested in adopting Trooper but sadly knew, with the hours that he worked, he could not give him the time he needed. A call went out to the volunteer that Trooper had captured her heart with his pitiful cries. Of course she wanted him but it was all dependent on meeting their other dogs and convincing the husband that 3 dogs is not that big a deal.

A meet and greet with the kids and husband went perfect and all the dogs seem to be ok with each other. Trooper, who had the courage and strength to pull himself out of a ditch to be saved was on his way to his forever home. He is now named Zero with two dog siblings and two human siblings that love him dearly. If it had not been for a very determined dog and an officer with a very large heart, Zero would not of been found and in his forever home.

Harrison – HCHS Mascot

Shortly after the humane society building was acquired, a gray tabby started hanging around between the shelter and the veterinarian’s office. Food and water bowls were placed just outside the door of the humane society in hopes of keeping him around to keep the mice population down. Once it was determined he was no one’s pet, plans were put into motion to get him trapped so he could be neutered and vaccinated then released back outside. Since he was here to stay, he not only needed a small house for cold weather but also needed a name and so he became known as Harrison.

Harrison has become the mascot so to speak of the humane society. Everyone knows him, everyone knows that he has absolutely no desire to be petted. He runs away at the slightest indication that you were going to try and touch him.

Fast forward to December of 2020, volunteers started informing the officers that Harrison looked like he was not feeling very well. He had what looked to be labored breathing and was wheezing. With the cold days increasing, we needed to find a way to get him to the vet for a check up. Luckily on January 6th, Cassidy, the shelter tech saw him go into his house and quickly grabbed a trap and was able to secure him. Off to Doc Kelly he went.

Pneumonia and congestive heart failure was the diagnosis that would require daily medicine. Since other cats eat out of the food dish set outside, placing his medication in his bowl was out of the question. A decision was made that if Harrison accepts the indoor life, he would live out the remainder of his days inside as the shelter kitty.

It’s been almost a year since he came inside the shelter doors. Harrison has decided human touch is pretty awesome, getting brushed feels wonderful and boiled chicken when you’re not feeling well is pure heaven.  He has also earned himself a new nickname, Mayor Harrison.