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TAILS TO TELL


AND THE CAT CAME BACK


Maggie was missing for two months in El Portal. She came back and was skin and bones, but is doing fine at home now.



Dear Friends at SPCA,
When my husband & I got married nearly 20 years ago, we had a dream: to move to the mountains, have horses in the yard, raise a family, and get a dog. When we finally moved to Mariposa in 1993, the first thing we did after the moving van left the driveway was stop by the SPCA. So many wonderful dogs in need of homes, it was hard to know which one was meant to be for us. But there was a 2-year-old lab-shepherd mix roaming freely around the SPCA grounds. RENO was so friendly and well behaved that you let him be out and about to socialize with the Saturday crowd. We knew immediately that he was the one for us and we took him home.

That was 15 years ago. I'm writing to you today because at the ripe old age of 17, we said good-bye to Reno today. He left us peacefully and with his loved ones at his side.

Reno had been with us since the beginning of our dream-life come true. You have no idea how happy he made us, how much he enriched the life of our family--now with 3 kids who miss him terribly. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to THANK YOU, SPCA. We are grateful for the work you do in not only caring for unwanted animals, but for helping to make possible the lasting connections with our 4-legged family members.

Warmest regards,
Kristina Rylands Crespi and family


Hi we adopted Oscar last Saturday, (lab border mix) but changed his name to Bruce. I just wanted to thank you for taking such good care of all the animals. He is so adorable and well behaved! He has already figured out the doggy door to the backyard, knows the word "no" and sits on command. He has a Dalmation brother named Buddy and they seem to be getting along fine. we will be returning the collar you loaned us for other dogs and updating you with more pictures as he grows. we feel very lucky to have gotten such a good dog! I have attached a couple of pictures of him in his new home **thanks again** Karyn & Larry Livermore, CA

DUKE AND DUCHESS


As you know, my wife and I adopted Duke and Duchess... and a few weeks later, I had the chance to talk to Karyn and Larry one day on Main Street in Mariposa... they saw and played with our dogs while we were waiting around for a friend of mine. I told them they should visit the SPCA and pick up one of the siblings to keep their Dalmation "Buddy" company. I just saw the pictures of "Bruce" (formerly "Oscar") on your homepage and I have to say I am very very happy that Karyn and Larry adopted him! I thought I'd drop a line with a couple of pictures of our pups... (I only had my cell phone to take pics) and yes, their tails are frequently blurry!
Thanks again!
- Gabe & Amber

The pictures are 3 cats I adopted from you guys.
They are Pippin(the stretching cat), Piglet(the white cat
on the top of the couch), and Kaleigh(the black and white cat playing
under the cardboard). There are no words to explain how much
I care about them. I adopted 2 of them about 1 1/2 years ago and the 3rd
about 8 months ago.
S Shewchuck

MARIPOSA MIDDLE SCHOOL
EXPLORATION WEEK
at the SPCA




Volunteer Chris Burnett joins the SPCA office staff once a week to enter data on the Shelter's new computer! Purchased in 2006, the new computer was recently loaded with a small animal shelter software program to help with animal record keeping at the SPCA. The new software, called Smart Pet Health, was designed to enable animal shelters like ours to track SPCA animal information. We can now record information about all our animals, from the day they arrive at the Shelter to the day they walk out with their new owners. It is now relatively easy, for instance, for shelter staff to access vaccination data without shuffling through folders of paper. A vaccination reminder list can be printed out at any time. This software will even let us enter information about the pet, such as "loves to be groomed!" or "walks very well on a leash" or "doesn't like dogs!". There is even space for a photograph. Individual animal records could be printed out and given to a new owner at the time of adoption.

Eventually, this digital record keeping will also generate valuable reports about shelter business. Anyone who has made the switch from drawers of paper to the simplicity of the computer screen will understand the value of this shelter asset. In addition to making animal data access simple and fast, the computer has Internet access. This will give shelter manager, Jeanette Lozano, access to animal related information and facts which help with fair pricing of yardsale items.

Our little shelter is up to date in this digital world!



Christine Modesett sits at her dining room table carefully making the address signs that can mean the difference of life and death for people in Mariposa County.She does thisfor the benefit of her �four footed� friends at the Mariposa SPCA Over the ten years she has been doing this job Modesett proudly states, �I have made 2284 signs and I have never made a mistake�. She keeps detailed records in her worn notebook. One can only marvel at her skill watching her steady hands as she places the numbers on the green metal. �Once those numbers are down there you can�t move them.� The signs are very durable and are made to last for years. Most of the signs made years ago are still in service.

Pat Stacy former board president remembers that in 1995 the SPCA was desperate for funds. The Board of Directors held auctions and other fund-raisers, but there was no on-going project that brought in the much-needed cash to feed the cats and dogs. Not only would the signs provide a steady income but it would also help the entire community of Mariposa by allowing homeowners to identify their residences for emergency responders.

There was a problem with starting the project. They didn�t have enough money to order the aluminum blanks and the numbers. The initial order cost of $800 was completely beyond anything they could afford. Yosemite Bank funded that first order when they found out what was needed. Stacy says �the SPCA owes a debit of gratitude to Yosemite Bank and Dr. Dick Rosebrock, who asked the bank for the funding, for allowing this community service project to get off the ground�.

When Stacy first presented the project to the SPCA Board of Directors, she told them she would do the research and set it up, but she did not want to be responsible for making the signs. �As anyone who has served a non-profit group in any small town knows, if you think up the project, you are the one who does it. I made the signs for about two years before asking Christine Modesett if she would be willing to take it on. She did a much better job of putting on the numbers than I ever did---I did make mistakes. And she does this job year after year, quietly, accurately. The SPCA is so very lucky to have volunteers like her.�

Modesett lives with her two dogs Teddy and Nicki. Teddy is deaf and Nicki, who has one crippled leg , was adopted from the SPCA three years ago. The Mariposa SPCA is not her only passion. She helps out at lunch at the Senior Center. She feels like her 78 years might be catching up with her, but it would be hard to tell by watching her work.. She wants to keep doing the signs for as long as she is able.


Wyona Marshall and Shirley Foster, Fosters True Value

The process starts at Foster�s True Value Hardware store. You just ask at the check out counter and one of their friendly clerks will help you. There is a minimum of paper work. You pay $18 for numbers on one side or $25 for two sides. True Value receives no compensation for doing this. All the proceeds go to the SPCA. They call Modesett right then and place your order. She delivers your sign to the store usually with in a week or less and the clerk at the store calls you to let you know it is ready. It is that easy.

Jeanette Lozano, shelter manager says that �Christine is a wonderful dedicated person and we appreciate True Value taking the time and effort to sell the signs� �It is a great service they are doing for the SPCA and the community. �




A GOOD REASON TO HAVE A GREEN SIGN



Last week at about 10:30 at night I heard something that sounded like a greyhound bus coming up my driveway. As I went outside to see who was lost I knew that I had been hearing the sounds of a huge vehicle and air brakes somewhere nearbu for a while. I had dismissed the noise as probably someone with a motor home visiting a neighbor. When the huge fire truck pulled up to my front door, I knew he was lost. The lone driver yelled out an address I didn�t immediately recognize, so I couldn�t be much help, except to tell him all the addresses of the neighbors he could see from my house. I asked him if he had a name; I would be more likely to recognize a name than a house number. He didn�t have a name. All he could do was call the dispatcher for more directions. Eventually a car came up the drive and led the way to the place he was trying to find. I couldn�t help wonder if the reason he was called out was for a heart attack or a serious fire. If that was the case, maybe fifteen minutes had been wasted looking for the house.

About three years ago I had bought four address signs from the SPCA, one for me and one for each of my neighbors. They all hang on a metal post where the driveway comes off the county road, but after that, there are three different homes \branching off that one driveway. If there was an additional sign at each fork, the truck driver might have been able to see the reflection as he pulled off the county road. The minutes an ambulance driver or first responder wastes looking for the correct driveway can mean the difference between life and death in a medical call, or complete loss of a home if the call is for a fire. Please make it as easy as possible for emergency vehicles to find your home in the dark, that�s probably when you will need them.
Pat Stacy


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