Posts by Wendy Welch

Meet the TrapKing

Meet the TrapKing

June 28, 2021 | Comments Off on Meet the TrapKing

This month we want to highlight this year’s Compassionate Feast’s guest speaker, TrapKing Sterling Davis! Sterling Davis embodies the new momentum and energy within the TNR community. Located in Atlanta, Davis founded TrapKing Humane in 2015 as a mobile unit to help community cats. In addition to creating multiple connections within the community to come together to help community cats, he has also brought awareness about TNR to many people through his outspokenness and his music.  A great example of Davis’s community building capabilities is a recent event he planned with the goal of TNRing 300 cats – in a
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What “fine” looks like

What “fine” looks like

May 27, 2021 | Comments Off on What “fine” looks like

When we say our pets are “fine,” we need to explain what “fine” looks like.  Animals can have different fear responses, which include the well-known “fight or flight” behaviors, but also “fret” and “freeze.” 
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Bald Eagle rejoins Ann Arbor family, after rescue from fishing wire

Bald Eagle rejoins Ann Arbor family, after rescue from fishing wire

May 21, 2021 | Comments Off on Bald Eagle rejoins Ann Arbor family, after rescue from fishing wire

Ann Arbor, MI (May 21, 2021) — Dangling upside down, entangled in a mass of fishing line which tied him to a branch hanging over Huron River, about 4 feet from shore and 1 foot from water, a Bald Eagle needed rescuing. Fortunately, a Good Samaritan called the Humane Society of Huron Valley’s (HSHV) wildlife rescue line Saturday. “He was still tangled up, and many of his feathers had been broken,” says Michael Shivak, HSHV Rescue Field Agent. “Thankfully, with our veterinarians’ help, we were able to remove the rest of the fishing line from the bird who, luckily, didn’t
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How to become a cat person

How to become a cat person

May 12, 2021 | Comments Off on How to become a cat person

My last cat died before I was married and my husband had never had a cat at all. He used to have a dog. I missed having furry family enough to switch teams and get a dog, but my husband knew how much I love cats – so he agreed to be the one to switch. We found Scotty at HSHV. He was about 7 years old and was friendly even in the stressful shelter environment. When we brought him home he hid for a few hours before coming out and settling in on my husband’s lap. He has spent
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In memorium – Nora Mayes

In memorium – Nora Mayes

May 12, 2021 | Comments Off on In memorium – Nora Mayes

With heartfelt sympathy for her many friends and family, we are saddened by the loss of our beautiful young friend and coworker, Nora Mayes. Nora died May 11, 2021 after suffering a severe allergic reaction from an insect sting. Nora was well known for her incredibly sweet and helpful nature. Nora had an easy laugh and brought a warm, always kind energy to our team and our animals. We are heartbroken over her sudden loss. She is already greatly missed by both the many people and animals who loved her dearly. If you or your companion animal met her in
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See kittens? Here’s what to do!

See kittens? Here’s what to do!

April 29, 2021 | Comments Off on See kittens? Here’s what to do!

It’s kitten season! From spring to fall, cats are much more likely to give birth, so you may see kittens outside. Ask yourself: How old are the kittens (see the graphic here for help guessing their age!) Are they in a sheltered area? Do they look healthy?  Is the mom around? If the kittens are less than 5 weeks old, it’s usually in their best interest to leave them with mom! The survival rate is much lower for kittens separated from mom before they are old enough to feed themselves. Mom also helps them stay clean and go potty. Leave them
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The Dramatic Impact of Community Targeting in TNR

The Dramatic Impact of Community Targeting in TNR

April 12, 2021 | Comments Off on The Dramatic Impact of Community Targeting in TNR

Written by Bryan Kortis, the National Program Director at Neighborhood Cats in New York City I learned about targeting by accident. The first colony I ever TNR’ed was near where I lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  The 30 or so cats lived in the inner courtyards of a nearby block and could be seen running around in an empty grass lot, a rare bit of open space in that densely populated, high rise neighborhood.  I had never heard of TNR when I first started working with the colony, but after dealing with six teenage feral kittens as
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Cut Up Dog Found in Ypsilanti – Tips Wanted

Cut Up Dog Found in Ypsilanti – Tips Wanted

March 29, 2021 | Comments Off on Cut Up Dog Found in Ypsilanti – Tips Wanted

Ann Arbor, MI (March 27, 2021) — An Ypsilanti family is desperate for answers on what happened to their dog. Their 12-year-old terrier was found dead on the side of Ecorse Road, just off Michigan Avenue on Monday, March 22. The owners said he’d been missing for four days, last seen at 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 18 at their residence about 2 ½ miles away, in the Ypsilanti area of Chevrolet Street and Zephyr Avenue. He was reportedly in their backyard on a tie-out, and when the family came home from the hospital at 3 p.m. on March 18,
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Ypsilanti Resident Charged with Animal Cruelty, Sentenced to Probation 

Ypsilanti Resident Charged with Animal Cruelty, Sentenced to Probation 

March 26, 2021 | Comments Off on Ypsilanti Resident Charged with Animal Cruelty, Sentenced to Probation 

Ann Arbor, MI (March 26, 2021) — After pleading “no contest” to animal cruelty, on February 18, 2021, the Honorable Judge Erane Washington sentenced Ypsilanti Resident Connie Denham to one year probation and over $5,000 in restitution fees. In late December 2019, Animal Cruelty Investigators from the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV) executed a search warrant on Denham’s residence, following a tip from another case. The property was infested with cockroaches, littered with excrement, and inhabited by Denham, an older adult, and six dogs. With fur caked in feces and urine, the dogs were so matted that they had
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Animal “refugees”?

Animal “refugees”?

March 16, 2021 | Comments Off on Animal “refugees”?

Ecologists, conservationists and other scientists argue that we are on the brink of experiencing the world’s first mass extinction event since the time of the dinosaurs.  But while previous mass extinctions have occurred due to dramatic natural events like volcanic eruptions and meteor strikes, the next mass extinction will likely be the result of human activity’s impact on the environment. Continuous land development and human sprawl is undoubtedly one of the leading factors in our current extinction problem.  Every time we clear land for a new subdivision or strip mall we are destroying a habitat and creating animal refugees who
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