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Soft Paws is a newspaper column provided every two weeks to the local community by C.G.H.S. A wide variety of topics are covered, from pet health to happy endings to kids' stories. Now, Soft Paws is available to our faithful website readers, too! Feel free to download them, or write back with questions or feedback to email: qwalitygoodz@aol.com
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Introduction
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Big Tom is beating the odds, for now. His whole life he has been the undercat, and his bones showing through his skin. His large, masculine head appeared to be twice the size of his body, which was covered with war scars from territorial battles and his struggle for food.,....
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Nancy had a pet owner’s nightmare come true in April of 2000. Her Shepherd mix, Chrissie, had been taken from the porch of her house with no sign left but an empty collar. Nancy and her family launched an inter-county campaign,....
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Christine - Weekend Animal Caretaker, Mara - Animal Caretaker, Ehren - Weekend Animal Care Supervisor and Animal Health Technician, Dawn - Animal Caretaker and Animal Health Technician.. Descriptions of job duties and each person's favorite part of their job,...
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Aaron - Adoption Associate (employed since September 2000), Karen - Adoption Supervisor (employed 1992-95, resumed Aug. 2000), Judy - Adoption Associate (volunteer 1991-96, employed since 1997).. Descriptions of their job duties and each person's favorite part of their job,...
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Charlene Marchand - C.G.H.S./SPCA Chairperson, Board of Directors, Ronald Perez, Jr. - President and Chief Executive Officer, Andrea Walker - Shelter Manager... Descriptions of their job duties and each person's favorite part of their job, and a personal statement from each individual on sheltering.
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The time of year when Old Man Winter comes knocking has returned! Along with his arrival come a number of threats to our furry friends. As it is our duty to protect them from the season’s elements, I’ve provided a few tips...
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No doubt, the Columbia-Greene Humane Society is a bustling place as December the 25th nears. Many potential adopters stroll in to browse our puppy and kitten “aisles” for the perfect present – complete with box, bow, tag, and air holes – to wrap up for an anxious child as a Christmas morning surprise. Why not?...
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I’ve been talking to some of our furry friends about the turning of this long-awaited milestone, and they believe that there is no better way to kick off the beginning of this year than making some iron clad resolutions. Since I trust their ideals, I asked...
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Senior Animals Need A Chance
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Hello, faithful readers! Your support has qualified me to put a photo next to my column, so I’d like to introduce my best friend, my wonderful Pit Bull Dasha. She was a shelter dog, of course, that I adopted in October. And, speaking of her, I did something very special with her in early...
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Yep, you know it – spring is just around the corner! I’m sure you are all as ready as I am for it, especially with this last snowstorm. Along with the dandelions, robins, ants and Easter eggs comes the reminder that it’s time to update and...
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Greetings, animal lovers! This week, I’m going to discuss how important the numbers “110”, “100”, and “1” are. Funny numbers, you say? Not to us. Let’s start with “100.” To us, “100” is not a century, or a birthday, or an...
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A brief description of a list of animals who have found good homes through the CGHS. It takes a lot of work to find these loving, care animals homes. We try our very best to place each animal in a permenent home where both parties are happy.
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O.K…I’m going to put all of you, my faithful readers, in the “Hot Seat.” This week’s column consists of a little test you can take to see what you know about some general sheltering questions and some things specific to your local shelter,...
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Once upon a time, there was a Town Fair, and on the nicest day of the fair there was going to be a competition to see who was the Best Pet. There were only two contestants in the competition, Cat and Dog. As the time of the...
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All pet owners – raise your hands if you’ve ever experienced an undesirable behavior from your dog or cat. My, my – just about everyone has their hand up! For those of you that are on your final few hairs and very last nerve, I’ve got suggestions...
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Before I began putting the ink down for this column, I looked around my desk area for ideas. Then I started counting – 1,2,3…13. No, not pens, or sticky-notes, or coffee cups (a close second!). Thirteen animal pictures – dogs, cats, puppies, birds – all in one little 6’ by...
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I thought I’d share an unusual and unfortunate surrender story with you this week – one that our own shelter would have pulled out all the guns (follow-ups, referrals, adoption counseling and surrender counseling) to prevent. The story shows how insufficient thought and commitment before an...
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Greetings, readers! Let me be frank – as you all know, our shelter is in constant need of donations for our very survival. Our annual fundraisers, such as our Membership Drive (which jump-starts the year) and our...
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What is it, you might ask? The “Placemats” method is a set of reminders for all dog owners – current or potential. It’s an acronym that contains the most important things to keep in mind throughout the time that your pup is in your household:...
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This week, the powers that be brought an interesting and thought-provoking verse to my inbox. I felt I should share it with you all, so that you may send it along to those in need of an awakening. Although the author is unknown, the printing came to me through the NYS Department...
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Dog ownership is regulated by New York State’s Department of Agriculture and Markets. I’ve dedicated this week’s column to locating some facts in Article 7 of the New York State Agriculture and Markets Law (Licensing, Identification, and Control of Dogs) that could be of use to dog...
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I have always appreciated autumn, with the more comfortable, cooler weather rolling in and the stunning foliage that marks the arrival of our more festive months. This year, as my first anniversary at the shelter fleetingly passes by on September 6th, I have found even more reason to appreciate this season of nature’s molting. It has been a stressful...
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The shelter is always thrilled to hear that an adopted animal is doing well in their new home. In fact, one of our standard procedures is to give adopters a courtesy follow-up call to see how their new family member is adapting, which helps...
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As the summer had progressed this year, the shelter received numerous calls from pet owners in the vacation-planning stages regarding boarding fees. Although the shelter doesn’t provide public boarding...
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MYTH #1: Declawing is simply the removal of a cat’s claws.
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| FACT: Claw removal, or onychectomy, is the surgical procedure involving amputation of the last phalanx (knuckle) of all ten front toes of a cat. In a human, it would be equivalent to removing each finger below... |
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Once there was a young boy named Billy. Billy was very, very skinny, and all the other kids on his street teased him. Each day, Billy would go out to play after school, and Jimmy, Tommy and Jenny would come over and call him Chicken Bone. It hurt Billy’s feelings, and made him so sad...
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