The post Napa Humane October Mixer appeared first on Napa Humane.

The evening was a wonderful opportunity to connect with Napa Humane board members and staff. We loved sharing more about our work and the programs that make a difference in the lives of animals across Napa Valley.

Thank you to our business supporters

We’re especially grateful to Gott’s Roadside for their generosity, donating the event space and 10% of the day’s sales to Napa Humane. Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a delicious meal—your support means so much!  The team at Gott’s was so welcoming and excited to see our furry friends, even treating them to trays of pup-cups!

We’d also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our raffle donors: Sportago, Fideaux, Paula Kornell, and the Napa Humane Board of Directors. The excitement over the prizes really helped make the evening even more memorable

A special shoutout to drool. dog cookies, who were onsite selling some of their delicious treats—many of our four-legged attendees went home with full bellies and wagging tails! Drool also kindly donated a portion of their sales to Napa Humane, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their support.

We also want to thank Suzanne Hawken of She Shoots Shots, who showcased her wonderful Rescued Dogs of Napa Valley photo books and took sign-ups for future photo opportunities—your presence added a unique and meaningful touch to the event.

Join us for our October Mixer

Our Napa Humane Pet Education Manager, Alyssa Vincent did a fantastic job with her dog training demo, giving participants some great tips on enhancing their bond with their furry companions.  Be sure to submit your questions for ask the trainer, which will be featured at our October Mixer.  You can RSVP here!

Thank you to everyone who attended. From raffle prizes to drool-worthy treats and dog training tips, the night was filled with laughter, fun, and incredible support for our mission.  Your participation helps us continue our work to ensure a healthier, happier life for pets and people in Napa Valley. We can’t wait to see you at our next event!

Check out all the photos from the event, courtesy of Seymour & McIntosh Photography.

The post An Evening of Wags, Friends & Pupcups: August Mixer at Gott’s St. Helena appeared first on Napa Humane.

Today, the Napa Humane Clinic is staffed by licensed veterinarians and skilled, professional veterinary support staff.  Between 2021 – 2023 we spayed/neutered over 13,000 pets, microchipped over 4,000 animals, and provided affordable vaccinations to over 11,000 companion animals in order to keep our pet population healthy and safe.

Napa Humane has been part of the community for over 50 years.  Below is a brief timeline of our history:

• • 1973 – Founded
  • 1990- Acquired Spay/Neuter Clinic
  • 2001 – Shelter razed, forcing a re-examination of our goals, programs, and strategies
  • 2002 – Shift to prevention-focused efforts, turning our focus to bigger-picture solutions that help keep pets out of shelters in the first place
  • 2023 – Celebrated 50 Years

Our belief

We believe that the answer to the problem of homeless, abandoned, and neglected companion animals lies in changing attitudes and practices that lead to irresponsible pet ownership. Our programs and services are designed to address the needs of companion animals – but also to provide support, education, and assistance for the people who care for and about them. Because the humane treatment of companion animals is such an important indicator of healthy communities, we’ve grown to consider Napa Humane a community service organization.

Our Impact

Since 2002, when we refocused our efforts on prevention, we have seen a steady decrease in the number of companion animals surrendered at the Napa County Animal Shelter.  We are confident that our strategic direction and mission will continue to drive those numbers even lower.

Our Programs

Today, our programs have grown beyond being the only low cost spay/neuter clinic in Napa County.  Our work includes the following:

• • Weekly drop in affordable vaccination/microchip clinic

• • Spay/Neuter services for Community Cats (Learn More HERE)

• • Humane Education, including Napa County classrooms presentations, free subscriptions to Kind News and free community education events hosted at the Napa Humane Education Center.

• • Pet Education Center & Dog Training Classes, available in both English and Spanish.

• • Pet Behavior Help and Support

• • Community Wellness Clinics dedicated to assisting Napa County’s underserved populations, these clinics address critical barriers to accessing veterinary care, including socioeconomic constraints and language barriers.

• • The Napa County Animal Shelter Medicine program provides comprehensive medical care to animals in care of the Napa County Animal Shelter.  This program helps reduce animal stress, shorten shelter stays and assists NCAS in managing their cost of care.

• • The Services for Unhoused program plays a crucial role in promoting responsible pet care and strengthening the human-animal bond. By facilitating essential veterinary care, grooming, and training services to the pets of the unhoused, we help maintain the health and well-being of both animals and their owners.

Join us in advocating for a more humane and compassionate Napa County, strengthening human-animal bonds to enhance the quality of life for both our animals and our community.  Napa Humane is supported 100% by donations, grants, and fundraising events. We do not receive money from national animal organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States or the ASPCA. We do not receive government funds. We could not do the life saving work we do without the generous support of our community.

The post Celebrating a Milestone in Napa Humane History! appeared first on Napa Humane.

Here are top tips to keep your pets safe:

• • Stay vigilant: Maintain a close watch on your surroundings, especially in areas known to be inhabited by rattlesnakes.

• • Leash Up: Keep your pets on a leash during walks or hikes to prevent them from straying into snake territory.

• • Avoid High-Risk Areas: Steer clear of tall grass, rocky outcroppings, and dense brush where snakes may be hiding.

• • Educate Yourself: Learn to recognize the signs of a rattlesnake encounter and learn what to do if your pet is bitten.

• • Consider Rattlesnake Avoidance Training: Historically, this training has involved aversive equipment, but there are now options available that don’t rely on fear or pain. Check out local class options at Marin Humane or explore online training options. These classes often include one-on-one coaching and a self-paced system, allowing you to make training progress without sacrificing your weekends.

Here are some recommended options:

• • Marin Humane – Rattlesnake Avoidance Class
  • Karen Pryor Academy – Snake Avoidance Training with Ken Ramirez
  • Confident Canines Dog Training – Rattlesnake Training

If you suspect a rattlesnake has bitten your pet, seek veterinary care immediately. Time is of the essence in these situations.

The post Rattlesnake Season: Safety Tips and Rattlesnake Avoidance Training Options appeared first on Napa Humane.

JOB TITLE:

Are you passionate about dogs and their well-being? Do you have a natural knack for understanding canine behavior and an unshakeable desire to make a positive impact in the lives of both dogs and their owners? If so, we invite you to apply for our Bilingual Pet Education Associate position. As a Bilingual Pet Education Associate at Napa Humane, you’ll have the opportunity to turn your love for dogs into a rewarding career. You’ll be responsible for fostering strong bonds between pets and their families, helping to address behavioral challenges, and ultimately enhancing the quality of life for both dogs and their human companions. Join our dedicated team, and embark on a fulfilling journey where your passion for dogs can shine, and where every day brings the chance to make a lasting difference in the world of canine companionship.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Educate: Lead group training sessions for dogs and their owners, focusing on basic obedience commands, socialization, and behavior modification.
• Behavior Support: Meet with individual clients/families and their dog(s) to problem solve more challenging dog related behaviors.
• Marketing and Outreach: Participate in marketing and outreach opportunities to promote Napa Humane’s programs and services.
• Community Presentations: Lead community pet education classes/presentations.
• Bilingual Communication: Effectively communicate training instructions, techniques, and principles to pet owners in both English and Spanish, ensuring clear understanding.
• Problem Solving: Identify and address behavioral issues, such as aggression, anxiety, or excessive barking, and provide guidance to owners on managing these issues.
• Stay Current: Stay up-to-date with the latest developments in dog training techniques and methods to provide the most effective training experience.
• Customer Service: Provide exceptional customer service by addressing client concerns, answering questions, and building strong relationships with clients.
• Facilities Maintenance: Keep training facility and pet relief area clean at all times.

Qualifications

• Bilingual English/Spanish required. Ability to work well with and communicate effectively in both English and Spanish, both orally and in writing with the public, staff and volunteers.
• Must possess excellent written and verbal communication skills, possess outstanding customer service skills, and be reliable with a strong work ethic.
• High School Diploma or equivalent required. BA or AA degree not required, but preferred. Degrees in Animal Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, or Education are preferred.
• Experience working with diverse populations.
• Must have customer service experience, education, or client based background.
• Charismatic personality with strong public speaking skills.
• Dog Behavior and Training course of study (e.g., Marin Humane Society Canine Behavior Academy, Academy for Dog Trainers, Karen Pryor Academy, Bergin University) in process or completed or comparable dog training/experience. CPDT-KA or CBCC-KA preferred.
• We will train the right candidate

Physical/Environmental Requirements

• Work in various environments with regular exposure to children, adults, animals and animal allergens.
• Push/pull moderately heavy objects up to 25 pounds.
• Lift and move objects and animals weighing up to 30/40/50 pounds for short distances and to humanely restrain animals when necessary.
• Work in a variety of weather conditions.
• Kneel, bend, stoop, squat, reach above and below shoulder level, grasp and turn objects, stand and/or walk frequently and repetitively throughout each shift.
• Flex the neck upward and downward; twist the neck and the waist.
• Dexterity to handle animals and small objects.
• Ability to hear, understand, and distinguish speech and/or other sounds.
• Able to express or exchange ideas by means of the spoken word to impart oral information to clients or the public and to convey detailed spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
• Sit for long and short periods of time using a computer.

Position Specification

• Part-time up to 25 hours weekly
• Position requires flexible scheduling with evening and weekend work.
• Must have a valid California Driver’s License, reliable transportation, and must be insured.
• Position will be reference-checked.
• Pay range of $22 to $28, DOE
• Sick pay accrual and SIMPLE IRA benefits after waiting period.

TO APPLY

Submit your cover letter, resume, and three (3) professional references to Alyssa Vincent through Indeed or via email at dogtraining@napahumane.org. Please reference ” Bilingual Pet Education Associate” and your name in the subject line. No phone calls, please. Submitted information will be carefully reviewed and the most qualified applicants will be contacted. We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled

The post Join Our Team as a Bilingual Pet Education Associate! appeared first on Napa Humane.

Clinic Staffing

We have hired a new Clinic Assistant Manager, Hayley, who comes to us with management and animal welfare experience. I am beyond excited to add this depth to the Clinic team, and have been busy re-arranging the Clinic office furniture and loading her computer so we will be all set to welcome her on Tuesday the 27th. 

We also have a new Vet Assistant/Client Services Coordinator starting Monday. Esai will be filling the shoes of Hilda, who is starting Registered Veterinary Technician school in March. We wish her well and hope that she re-joins us once she is certified! One of our former full-time RVTs is helping out while we continue our RVT search. Happily, we are in talks with a great RVT candidate and hope to offer her a position soon.

Internships

Two new interns from New Tech High School joined us this month, spending 4-5 hours each week working and learning with our staff. We have also laid all the plans needed to welcome a new intern in March, in partnership with Moving Forward Towards Independence. We have worked with Moving Forward quite a bit in the past to provide Paid Internship Programs, which allows them to pay adults with developmental disabilities in order for them to gain work experience. Our Moving Forward intern will be joining us for 16 hours a week for 6 months. She comes to us with a passion for animal welfare and some experience in the field already. 

Shelter Support with Napa County Animal Shelter

In addition to the general veterinary rounds, disease control, feline neuters and education that we provide to the Animal Shelter staff at each visit, we have been able to jump to the rescue in some interesting cases this month. The Shelter recently rescued 38 chihuahuas from a single home. When the vet that the Shelter usually contracts with said that they do not provide health certificates for animals, we were able to step in and quickly provide exams and health certificates for 20 of the dogs, so they could be transported to an out-of-state shelter. 

Believe it or not, there are some parts of the country where chihuahuas are rare, and enterprising California shelters like ours will often transport these dogs to the states where they are coveted and very quickly adopted. We also were able to see a few of these dogs for their neuter surgeries, so they could be put up for adoption locally. I am happy to report that besides needing some serious socialization, they were in fairly decent shape.

Additional Shelter Support

Our Humane Education Manager, Alyssa, provided an hour-long training for employees of Abode (the shelter for unhoused humans), the County and some of the team at the Animal Shelter. She spoke about behavior, the use of muzzles, general safety and addressed the staff’s questions about safety and how to handle the frequently recurring situations that arise with some of the larger canine residents at Abode. Alyssa has also provided a few one-on-one sessions with a couple of the Adobe residents, who needed assistance with their dogs’ behavior so they could fit in and co-exist peacefully with the other shelter residents.

Through our new PAWS Program for the Pets of the Unhoused, we have provided 3 spay/neuter surgeries for this population in the past week. Our case manager holds office hours at Abode each week so we can meet with the residents and discuss their needs. Most of the visits are for food, warm pet clothing and general veterinary care. The County has already asked us to expand this program to include serving the residents at the new Motel 6 shelter, and another Abode-related housing complex on Coombs. We are excited to make this work.

Dog Training

Napa Humane’s dog training courses and workshops are in full swing, with Alyssa teaching 5 classes on Sundays, and 2 per night Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We held three special one-time workshops in February, and finished our first “Tricks ‘n’ Treats” and “Intro to Dog Sports” classes this month – and the dogs did awesome! Clients have requested that these be offered regularly, and we hope to be able to oblige.  Check out all of our dog training classes here!

Other Clinic Updates

In beautification news, we have added new gravel to the Clinic parking lot, as the non-asphalt portion was quite bare and incredibly muddy during times of rain. Van Winden’s Landscaping was kind enough to discount and deliver the product. We also owe a special shoutout to Salvador from Taqueria el Rey (a delicious food truck parked near the Clinic), who saw the pile of gravel, recruited a friend to help, and came to our rescue – spreading the truckload out for us. Our Clinic Manager’s husband generously pressure washed the outside of the Clinic, and everything is looking so much better. Next up: a few beautification projects on the inside of the Clinic, including some caulking and a painting refresh.

2024 Wellness Clinics

Our Wellness Clinic program aims to remove the language and financial barriers that can often stand in the way of pets receiving care. Due to a lack of veterinary volunteers and a few other extenuating circumstances, we unfortunately had to cancel our planned February wellness clinic. Even so, we were able to provide significant essential services to the targeted population. So far, we have seen 22 pets for spay/neuter at our clinic and have provided free microchips, vaccines, flea meds and nail trims to those clients. We have an additional 23 pets scheduled for surgery next week. Being able to reach 45 pets for spay/neuter and other life saving services is huge, and has made a real difference in supporting this pet population.

Spay/Neuter and Vaccination/Microchip Clinic

In addition to all of the above, we are methodically working our way through a fully booked spay/neuter calendar. The Clinic has performed 288 spay/neuter surgeries in just 17 surgery days so far this month (at the time this was written) – an average of 17 surgeries EACH DAY. At the four Friday microchipping and vaccination clinics this month, we also treated 259 pets – more than 64 animals per day, on average. Our incredible Clinic team is running like a well-oiled machine, saving lives and improving others every day.

I leave you with this photo of Harry, a community cat who was neutered yesterday under our Feral Cat Package, and who is already well on the way to living his best life.

Lisa Alexander

The post A Month in the Life of Napa Humane appeared first on Napa Humane.