Safe Harbor's Lab Gab
August 2009
Volume II, Issue 8 |
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Our Mission Statement
Safe Harbor Lab Rescue is a non-profit, 501(c) (3) charitable organization run solely by volunteers for the purpose of successfully rehoming stray or surrendered Labrador Retrievers in Colorado by offering medical care, training resources and breed education.
2009 Statistics as of July 31, 2009
Labs Taken in..160.
Labs Placed...163
Spayed/Neutered....55
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Hello Friends of Safe Harbor,
THE Lab event of the season is coming up - LabFest! Save September 19th for our incredibly fun annual fund raiser at City Bark in Denver. There will be swimming for the Labs, great food, non-stop dog conversations and an exciting Silent Auction that includes a two night stay at the Ritz Carleton, Bachelor Gulch (yes, you can bring your Lab) and loads of wonderful items and services.
Hope to see you and your pup at LabFest!
Best Regards,
Jacky
President
Safe Harbor Lab Rescue
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Your Donations make a Difference!
With crowded, stressful shelter conditions this summer, a number of rescued Labs have come to us feeling pretty crummy with upper respiratory infections. Meet some who have recently needed an extra measure of veterinary care and are grateful for your support to help them get ready for their forever homes:
Jack
Chantz
Josh
Derby
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Vet's Corner ~
"Wake up dear! There's a goose in our bedroom!"
by Gwen Gadd, DVM
Kennel cough is often described as a honking, croupy, hairball type cough. Often your dog coughs up puddles of foam, mucus or food. Luckily, though the kennel cough complex is highly infectious, in most cases it will resolve quickly with supportive care and rest.
Another name for kennel cough is infectious bronchitis. During times of stress, the body's normal defenses don't work normally so organisms like bordatella have an easier time setting up housekeeping in your dog's upper airway. Often, viruses and other bacteria accompany bordatella. Your dog can show signs of a cough about 1-14 days after exposure. Dogs with kennel cough usually feel well though they may have a hard time sleeping or eating due to the cough and accompanying sore throat.
Treatment is simple. Often your dog will be placed on antibiotics and cough suppressants to speed recovery. He may be more inclined to eat soft food if his throat is sore. Rest is essential as any activity or panting can trigger the "tickly" throat cough. The more your dog coughs, the more irritated its throat becomes and the longer the cough lasts. Vaccination can help decrease the severity of signs but rarely prevents the illness entirely.
If your dog's cough changes character or he begins to act sick, call your veterinarian to ensure he is receiving appropriate care. Remember, the next time you hear a goose honking in your bedroom that kennel cough is an illness that both you and your dog will survive.
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Spotlight on our Board!
Front row, left to right: Dick Cazier; Jacky Eckard, President; Judy Funk; Tiffany Richardson, Vice-President; Lauren Immel, Secretary
Second row, left to right: Lucy Murray, treasurer; Joy Landry
Not pictured: Mary Downs
Managing a successful rescue that takes in well over 200 Labs a year is a big job! There are many responsibilities: Lab intake, medical care, foster coordination, adoptions, fundraising, website management, marketing, volunteer coordination, financial management, meeting licensing/legal requirements and staying in touch with our many thoughtful supporters. How do all these important and diverse pieces come together? Meet the Board of Directors! They are responsible for the management and stewardship of Safe Harbor Lab Rescue.
This dedicated group of volunteers has about three dozen years of experience with Safe Harbor and sixteen dogs among them! They include teachers, CPAs, small business owners, consultants in technical fields, a marketing director and retired professionals and managers. This group brings a wide array of experience and expertise. But most of all, they all love the Labs, are ardent supporters of rescue and work as an effective team to make Safe Harbor a rescue that truly makes a difference to so many Labs in need.
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NEW!
Support the Labs with our Beautiful Safe Harbor Lab Rescue Totes/Grocery Bags!
Eye-catching and practical, Safe Harbor Lab Rescue Tote/Grocery bags are a terrific way to get the word out about adopting a rescued Lab and supporting Safe Harbor. They're a fun and stylish way to tote your groceries or you Lab's favorite things.
Designed by our own volunteer, Foster Coordinator Mary Downs, with gorgeous Lab artwork by well- known artist Julia McClurg, the bags are spacious, strudy and eco-friendly, made from recyclable material. They're available in blue or black and are a steal at just $12.00! All profits go to help our rescued Labs.
Order a bag or two online today...quantities are limited! Totes
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* * *Calendar Photo Contest Winners* * *
A huge thanks to all who participated in our Annual Photo Contest
Our Calendar is at the printer's and should be available very soon!
Our judges had a very hard time choosing among the nearly 250 wonderful photos submitted this year
Below is the list of Winners and Honorable Mentions. All of these individuals will be receiving a free calendar in the mail.
Many of the other photos submitted will appear within the calendar pages.
The calendars will be available for sale at our Labfest on September 19th, at various locations around Denver (we'll publish a list on the site) and through our website (please watch for the announcement) in August. If you have a retail store and would like to offer them for sale to your customers, that would be great, too! Just email us at labsafeharbor@msn.com and we'll get you a supply
And keep those cameras at the ready! We'll be doing this all over again next year!
Monthly Winners
January - Kathy Kelly - Ginger
February - Larry Willhite - Maxx and Lucy
March - Scott Polak - Pearl
April - Pamela McCuskey - Cooper
May - Gary Boyer - Sam
June - Susanne Olson - Tucker
July - Erin Furman - Reese and Toby
August - Denise Newman - Lilly
September - Audry Steelman - Bunny
October - Jennifer DeGeorge - Porter
November and Cover - Judy Funk - Jade
December - Barbara Ewing - Duke
Honorable Mentions
Audry Steelman - Joker
Anna Bauer - Maya
Ben Bouman - Sienna, Bailey and Cybil
Michelle Hedstrom - Thor and Loki
Judy Funk - Jade
Erin Furman - Toby
Steve Flannery - Tucker
Margaret Hui - Heidi
Jim Walters - Kona
Diesel - Kelly McCrann
Aimee Disser - Riley
Deb Shultz - Bree
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Lab Fest
Mark your Calendars!
Saturday, September 19, 2009 at City Bark, Denver
Save the date for our always much anticipated annual fundraiser with fun loving Lab lovers like you, food, swimming and goodie bags for the Labs and a Silent Auction with really neat stuff!
Click here to RSVP (space is limited) and register online: Register now!
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GOODSEARCH AND EARN MONEY FOR THE LABS EVERY TIME YOU SEARCH!
What if Safe Harbor Lab Rescue earned a penny every time you searched the Internet? Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause? Well, now it can! GoodSearch.com is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch the donations add up! GoodShop.com is a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause! Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you'll be supporting your favorite cause. Just go to www.goodsearch.com and be sure to enter Safe Harbor Lab Rescue as the charity you want to support. And, be sure to spread the word!
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Safe Harbor is now on Twitter!
We will be tweeting the most up-to-date info on dog postings, upcoming events and links to "all things Lab." To become a SHLR follower just go to:
Twitter
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Send us your Lab's Antics!
Lab Anticsby Kara Karsten
thanks to Denise Middlebrook for this story!
I travel often for work. While I am gone, Lucas and Kirby stay at Camp Bow Wow, and when I pick them up they are as smelly as can be -- all that dog slobber and hard play! The first thing I do is walk them upstairs to "their" bathroom and give them a bath. This is always the routine. They are not fond of it, but they deal with it.
After one trip, I stopped to look through my mail. When finishd, I looked aruond to see Lucas staring at me, but no Kirby. I heard a noise upstairs and thought to myself, "Well, good! I'll just go up and drag him to the tub since he is already up there."
When I got upstairs, no Kirby. I went from room to room looking under beds and inside closets but he was nowhere to be found. All of a sudden I heard a noise coming from the one room I hadn't checked. I went to the door, peeked into the darkened bathroom and noticed the shower curtain move a little. Then, just at the edge of the curtain I saw a nose sticking out and two large brown eyes. Kirby was in the tub waiting for the inevitable dreaded bath!"
(My apologies for not crediting Lisa Lavery for last month's Lab Antics story)
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Kara's Lab Tested Trail
Waterfalls and Wildflowers,
Fourth of July Mine,
Marmots and Yellow Labs,
Above the tree line.
My most aggressive hike so far, longer and with more altitude gain, we got as far as the saddle overlooking the Arapaho Glacier at 12,770 feet, after 3 ½ hours of steady plodding up 3,000 vertical feet. Yet it wasn't grueling - I do no training or preparation, other than making sure I eat well the day before.
The trail starts off in the trees, nicely shaded on a hot day. There are a few creek crossings requiring good balance to step across the rocks, or waterproof shoes if you don't have good balance. It gets a little steeper as you cross the face of the hill coming out of the trees, but then flattens out again as you approach the tree line.
Now you are out in full sunshine (we were blessed with an overcast day), admiring a meadow crisscrossed by streams, then heading up hill again, on switch backs cut through boulder fields.
The trail is never treacherous walking, this time of year with no snow on the trail. Just keep hydrated, take regular breaks if you need and watch for summer storms to build. This would be a bad place to find yourself in a lightning storm.
The trail starts at the Buckingham Campground, 4.8 miles up a dirt road past the town of Eldora. Our hike was 8.38 miles and took us 6 ½ hours.
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| Contact Information
601 16th Street, #C-322
Golden, CO 80401 phone: 303 464-7777
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