Be Kind to Animals Week®

May 2 – 8, 2010

Join the event that’s been celebrated every year since 1915 — American Humane’s Be Kind to Animals Week. In this annual tradition, we commemorate the role animals play in our lives, promote ways to continue to treat them humanely, and encourage others, to do the same.

While Be Kind to Animals Week is celebrated only once a year, there are ways people can be kind to animals every day. Here’s how:

Speak out for animals

Get informed about policies and legislation that can impact the animals in your community and throughout the country. Learn more.

Report animal abuse

Animal cruelty and abuse is not only tragic for animals, but also an indicator that other forms of abuse could be happening. If you see something that looks suspicious don’t hesitate. Let someone know.

Adopt a pet from a shelter or rescue

Every year, an estimated 3.7 million animals must be euthanized at our nation’s shelters because they could not be adopted into loving homes. Help animals find a second chance at happiness by adopting your next pet from your local shelter or rescue group. Adoptions at Better Days are 50% Off May 2-8 to Celebrate.

Better Days Animals League has lots of great fundraisers coming up this summer. From our most popular fundraisers like Longenberger Basket Bingo to our Annual Yard Sale you are sure to find something just for you!

All the proceeds from any BDAL fundraisers go directly to care for our animals – so come out and show your support this summer! You can email Cindy here to register or buy tickets for any of our events.

May 1 – Night Golf Tournament Fundraiser  – Rocky Springs Golf Course

May 8 – Spring Fling Casino Night – American Legion in Carlisle

May 20 – Ponderosa Benefit Night in Chambersburg

June 25 & 26 – Rent-A-Space Yard Sale at Mongul Church in Roxbury

Coming in July…Chicken BBQ with Mark Smith, 3rd Anniversary Celebration Longeberger Basket Bingo…Check back for more details….

Retrospective study confirms potential risks to dogs.

By Heather Stauffer, Sentinel Reporter, April 6, 2010

Dennis Bumbaugh is hoping the rabid cat with the pink collar didn’t infect its owner or anyone who might have had contact with it before it was picked up in North Newton Township Friday.

“I’ve never seen a cat with rabies; I really don’t care to see it again,” said Bumbaugh, executive director of Better Days Animal League in Shippensburg and Chambersburg.

When the cat was brought to the shelter that evening, Bumbaugh said, the staff didn’t suspect rabies. She was thin, he said, but it looked as if her left rear leg had been injured by a vehicle. When the cat didn’t initially act the way wild cats do, Bumbaugh and his staff decided she must be a strayed domesticated cat.

“I just assumed with it being a collar, it’s a known cat, not used to being in a cage,” Bumbaugh said. She “nibbled” at staff and tried to scratch a bit, he said, but there was nothing unusual until later, when she turned aggressive.

Then, he said, she started scratching and biting, catching him and two other people working at the shelter before she died Saturday evening. The rabies test came back positive, he said, so all three of them immediately started vaccinations.

“It was very, very fast,” Bumbaugh said of the progression of the disease in the cat.

She didn’t have contact with any other animals at the shelter, he said, and the woman who brought her in hadn’t physically touched her, but given that the rabies was apparently in an advanced state he is worried about her owner, anyone else who might have touched her or even the other animals she might have come into contact with while roaming the area.

Dr. Andre Weltman is a physician with the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Rabies is transmitted only by certain kinds of contact, Weltman said — bites, scratches or getting an infected animal’s saliva in the eyes or mouth. He said that anyone who suspects contact should contact the department as soon as possible so it can assess whether such contact occurred and the “very effective” vaccine is needed.

They may also call their physician, Weltman said, stressing that people should seek care “urgently” but not before the department assesses whether the necessary contact actually occurred.

However, he said, the department would also like to hear from anyone who may have seen the cat, as that may help them track down its owner or anyone else who may have been affected.

The department’s local number is 243-5151, and its statewide number is 877-PA-HEALTH.

Weltman said the cat, described as a grey and white domestic shorthair about 2 to 3 years old and wearing a pink collar, was picked up between Newburg and Newville. The location is near the county landfill off Running Pump Road, he said.

Red flag

Bumbaugh said that regulations require that if an animal brought to a shelter is suspected of rabies — generally because it acts feral or appears sickly — it be quarantined for 10 days.

“It raises our red flags for us now,” he said. “We just have to assume now that every cat that comes in has rabies.”

State law requires that anyone who owns or keeps a cat more than 3 months old that spends all or part of the day in a home inhabited by a person must have it vaccinated against rabies.

By Nancy Mace
The Record Herald
Sat Apr 03, 2010
Waynesboro, Pa. -

Devoted.

That’s the word most often used to describe Antietam Humane Society Executive Director Candy Clopper, who died unexpectedly Thursday night in Hershey Medical Center after suffering a brain aneurysm in her home.

Clopper’s love of animals was equaled by her compassion for her co-workers.

“This was her life,” said Diane Barry, office assistant, as she reflected on working with Clopper the past two years.

“She did everything … was the pulse of this shelter. She is going to be greatly, greatly missed by many people, especially me. This staff is a family,” Barry added.

Like a mother

Clopper, 52, brightened the lives of more than just the animals at the animal shelter.

Staffers said Clopper was always willing to lend an ear.

“If you needed someone to talk to or advice, she was here for you. She never judged us. She loved us the way we were,” noted Michele Dale, kennel assistant.

“Candy was like a mother … always giving me advice,” added Dale’s daughter, Alex, a volunteer for the past two years. “When she entered the room, things got happier.”

Clopper worked in banking for many years and served on the board of directors at the shelter before becoming executive director nearly 10 years ago, according to her sister, Mary Porterfield.

“She always loved animals since she was a little kid,” Porterfield recalled. “I remember she always wanted a horse, and the second place she bought, a farmette, she could have horses.”

In addition to cats and dogs, Clopper opened her home to pot-bellied pigs, goats, chickens and bunnies over the years, Porterfield said.

A graduate of Smithsburg High School, Clopper also leaves behind her husband, George; her mother, Louise Bennett of Frederick; two stepdaughters, Angela D. Touhey of Hagerstown and Sherry D. DiSanto of King of Prussia; five grandchildren; and two nephews, Roman and Alex Porterfield.

For the animals

“She made positive changes to this shelter when she took over … the fundraising, grant writing, the longevity of the staff … just so many things,” noted Barry. “She did a lot of community service, going out in the community and speaking about what we do.”

Barry also lauded Clopper for starting the monthly spay/neuter clinic in January 2009. Nearly 800 cats have been fixed since then.

“It didn’t matter if it was owned or feral, if it was a cat we wanted it spayed or neutered,” she added.

Clopper’s efforts helped lower the euthanasia rate and the number of unwanted animals in the community, according to Barry.

“We’re doing our best to pull together,” said Andi Haugh, president of the humane society’s board of directors. A special meeting is scheduled Tuesday morning when an interim director will be named.

“We can find somebody to do the job, but not with the passion that she did it,” noted Haugh.

“She’s the best director we’ve ever had,” added Todd Wolff, a member of the board for more than 15 years and long-time treasurer. “She always had the animals at the forefront.”

Clopper’s death “is a terrible loss not just to the Waynesboro community, but the entire animal welfare community,” said Paul Miller, executive director of the Humane Society of Washington County in Maryland.

“Candy, myself and Jamie Caldwell, director at Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter, worked very closely together because of the proximity of our shelters,” Miller said.

“I’ve been here since 2003 and worked with Candy on and off on many issues back and forth across the state line … stray dogs, cruelty cases,” he added . “You would know before you called, before asked, that she would help.”

Miller said he and Caldwell will do anything they can to help Antietam Humane Society during this difficult time.