A Legacy of Compassion and Commitment

As a long-standing member of the Rotary Club of North Napa, Bill has championed numerous initiatives aimed at supporting Napa Humane’s mission. In 2011, Bill conducted an energy audit and lighting work for the Spay and Neuter Clinic. This initiative was a significant step in reducing operational costs and enhancing the clinic’s efficiency. This project was just the beginning of a series of contributions that would significantly impact Napa Humane.

Sally Seymour, a long-time volunteer with Napa Humane, suggested that Bill and the Rotary Club of North Napa consider helping with the Walk for Animals event, which was then held downtown. This involvement was a natural fit for the Rotary, which had regularly monitored courses for the Cycle for Sight event. The Rotary supported the Walk for Animals throughout the years helping with course layout, and staffing, as it moved from Downtown and Veterans Park to Oxbow, and then to Yountville. The Rotary was there every step of the way to support the event, no matter the location.

Hands-On Support and Community Engagement

Beyond event support, the Rotary Club of North Napa has provided hands-on assistance in various capacities. In 2014, following a significant earthquake, Bill helped Napa Humane address post-earthquake issues, demonstrating their commitment to community resilience.

In 2022, the Rotary stepped up to assist with high electrical bills and air conditioning needs at Napa Humane. They facilitated upgrading the lighting at the Spay and Neuter Clinic that year sourcing the retrofits and paying the post rebate costs, further improving the facility’s energy efficiency. Bill’s efforts extended to assisting with the lease search and obtaining a conditional use permit for new administrative offices in 2022.

Environmental Contributions and Recognition

In 2023, the Rotary Club of North Napa undertook a project to re-lamp Napa Humane’s new administrative offices, resulting in significant electrical cost savings of $1,000 per year. This project not only showcased the Rotary’s commitment to sustainability but also earned them recognition for their environmental contributions. When this work resulted in receiving a rebate and grant, the Rotary generously passed that money on to Napa Humane.

Community Unity

The partnership between the Rotary Club of North Napa and Napa Humane exemplifies what can be achieved when a community comes together in support of a common cause. Bill Bennett’s leadership has been a driving force behind this collaboration, but the collective effort of all the Rotarians is something Napa Humane is incredibly grateful for.

Looking Ahead

In recognizing the extraordinary efforts of the Rotary Club of North Napa and Bill Bennett, we are reminded of the profound impact that dedicated individuals and organizations can have on their communities. Napa Humane is grateful for all Rotary Club of North Napa and Bill Bennett have done to support us over the years.

If you would like to learn more about the Rotary Club of North Napa, click here.  If your business or organization is interested in partnering with Napa Humane, learn more here.

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What a wild ride this year – or rather, the last two years have been! Our team has zigged and zagged staying on top of current safety protocols, stared down increases in medical supply costs and supply shortages, and simultaneously juggled a significant increase in calls for help from new pet owners.  All I can think about is how blessed Napa Humane is for the dedicated employees, volunteers and supporters who have stepped up to meet the many challenges before us.

Napa Humane’s small but mighty team of talented individuals comes to work every day to live and breathe the mission of Napa Humane: To promote the welfare of companion animals through protection, advocacy, education, and by example. 

You might wonder what that really means, though. In a nutshell, it means our Spay/Neuter Clinic team provides compassionate, affordable, preventative, lifesaving care to more than 5,000 animals every single year.

The more complete version of the story is this.  Our highly specialized and experienced team – two veterinarians, two registered veterinary technicians, one veterinary technician assistant, a client services coordinator and a clinic manager – performs more than 4,200 spay/neuter surgeries annually for the public, area animal shelters and rescue groups.  Spay/neuter not only protects a pet from developing certain cancers and eliminates many hormone-related behavioral problems (like “marking,” escaping, and aggression), it also prevents thousands of puppies, kittens and bunnies from entering animal shelters or living a life on the streets.  By administering vaccinations and microchips to more than 2,000 pets each year, our team also helps our furry loved ones avoid life-threatening diseases, and find their way home when lost.

Our Clinic is the only one of its kind in Napa, Lake and Solano Counties. Not a single other clinic in the area provides ongoing, low-cost services year-round!  Without Napa Humane, many pet owners would be forced to decide between paying a household bill or paying a vet bill.  Thousands of pets would suffer, and our area shelters and rescue groups would not be able to keep up with the number of animals in need of a loving home.

If you’re reading this message, it means that you’re already a supporter of Napa Humane and our work. Whether you are an advocate, volunteer, financial supporter, or just a lover of animals, I thank you for that support from the bottom of my heart.  Without you, none of this work would be possible.

As 2021 draws to a close and I look back on all Napa Humane has managed to accomplish, I realize – yet again – how blessed we are with the dedicated team of employees, volunteers, and financial supporters that truly make it happen, every day.  Together, we make Napa Humane!

Sincerely grateful,

Wendi Piscia ~ Executive Director

Photography by: Seymour & McIntosh

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“As a first year college student at SRJC (soon-to-be Animal Science Major), I was excited to be enrolled in my first Animal Science class for the hands on experience, but due to COVID19 my classes have switched to remote learning. This affected my opportunity to gain hands on experience which resulted in not being qualified for most animal care based jobs. Volunteering at Napa Humane Society will help push me towards my goal into getting this experience for future employment while feeding my love and soft spot for animals. I hope to gain skills that would be taught to be if remote learning wasn’t in place.”

With schools’ in-person learning suspended, we decided we had to find a way to provide hands-on experience to students pursuing careers in veterinary medicine. For potential vet students, it’s absolutely imperative to get as much experience as possible in the veterinary field before applying to vet school. With guidance from the CDC and our medical staff, we created strict new protocols that would allow us to reopen this portion of our program and welcome back this passionate and dedicated group of volunteers.

Alegra is a UC Santa Cruz student majoring in Marine Biology (with an emphasis on marine mammal and oceanic conservation) with a pre-veterinary track. Her classes moved online in response to Covid-19, and she reached out to us in search of some hands-on experience. As soon as we met her, we realized what a perfect fit she and other pre-vet students would be for our programs. Alegra has been volunteering for us twice a week for almost a year now. Her service has allowed us to integrate our new Covid protocols with our high-quality standards, and still see up to 20 animals per day for spay/neuter. Alegra still plans to learn about and care for exotic and marine mammals, in addition to the animals she will see in small/large animal practice.

When asked what she likes most about volunteering at Napa Humane, she said: “There are too many to count! Napa Humane is an incredibly welcoming and supportive community. I am so thankful for the wonderful staff who responded to my every question and continue to teach me many valuable skills. Giving belly rubs to all our furry clients is an added bonus.”

We’ve also recently hosted a volunteer who had just received her graduate certificate in shelter medicine. She told us that as a future veterinarian, she wanted to be involved in clinics that work hard to prevent animals from entering shelters, and that provide humane education to the public. She thought that spending a day with our Clinic would be a great fit for us both – and she was right!

Since 2018, Napa Humane has had the privilege of hosting seven high school interns from the Napa Valley Unified School District. Additionally, several of our regular Napa Humane volunteers have been accepted to vet school, several have graduated from RVT programs and many of them have found jobs in the veterinary field. All of them gained important experience working in the veterinary field at Napa Humane through our vet medicine internship program.

To read about a volunteer who started helping us when she was in high school, and who still comes back to help with wellness clinics now that she is a veterinarian in the community, read Dr. Underhill’s story here.

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From Napa Humane’s Executive Director Wendi Piscia

I walked into work one morning and saw an unexpected voicemail blinking. 

“I wanted to let you know that the Board and I are very lucky to have received bequest money from Susan Wren, and a portion of it is to be distributed to our partners in animal welfare. . . . You should be receiving the check in a few days.”

I froze. Was this my surprise bequest dream again (a recurring favorite among non-profit Executive Directors)? Or was We Care Animal Rescue actually sending us a check, thanks to Susan Wren’s generous estate planning?

Well, my friends, I’m happy to tell you: this time it wasn’t a dream. Melissa from We Care really did call me this summer, and really did award us an unrestricted grant from Susan Wren’s estate – letting us apply the funds to our greatest needs.

Susan was a lifelong volunteer and amazing advocate for Napa County’s neediest animals, so it’s not too surprising that she also arranged to continue her support after her death. For most of her 25 years living in Napa, she volunteered and served as president for Saint Helena’s We Care Animal Rescue. She called it her “full-time passion” and dedicated countless hours to the animals lucky enough to pass through their doors.

“Once you go on a board or become a volunteer, it’s a commitment,” Susan once said. “But when you’re dealing with little lives, you don’t walk away from them.”

Susan may no longer be here sharing her time and energy helping animals in need, but her legacy lives on. The grant money we received through her estate will enable Napa Humane to perform 100 spay/neuter surgeries for local animals, saving thousands of little lives from needless suffering. 

We are so grateful to Susan and to We Care for their support, and in awe of the generosity and foresight that enabled these grants to be shared with our animal welfare community this year.

If you’d like to explore setting up a bequest of any size, please contact me. I would be honored to meet and discuss the legacy you’d like to leave.

~Wendi Piscia, Executive Director

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When people are lining up at 5:30 a.m. on a Sunday morning, you know you’re doing something right. Our five volunteer vets gave every animal an overall physical exam, checking eyes, ears, teeth, skin, as well as their vital signs. They were able to dispense most prescriptions needed on the spot, and send the owners home with advice on how to heal the problem and avoid it in the future. No wonder several loving owners were waiting in the Napa Humane Clinic parking lot before 6am to make absolutely sure their pets would be seen!

We provided 126 vaccines, and countless microchips, nail trims, flea medications and medical counseling advice. As usual, we connected attendees with food, toys, leashes, collars, pet ID tags, pick up bags, and other pet care essentials. As you’d expect in the summer, we saw a lot of hot spots (also known as “summer sores” or moist dermatitis), and handed out a lot of Gen One spray – a combination antibiotic with an anti-inflammatory for lesions, hot spots and scabs – and Universal Medicated Shampoo, which is an antibacterial, antifungal, and deodorizing shampoo that treats the most common dermatological conditions in dogs and cats.

Our bilingual volunteers and vet techs also did a lot of burr- and foxtail-related grooming, and gave owners grooming tips to help them avoid these problems in the future. We took care of feline ear mites, cleansed many infected ears of all kinds, and sent patients home with prescriptions so that the owners could complete the two-week course of treatment and finally eliminate the problem – which, in most cases, had been present for quite a while.

Of the 105 animals we welcomed, 62 had never been examined by a full-service vet before, and 96 needed their records written up in Spanish. Our free, bilingual Wellness Clinic was the only way their owners could access professional veterinary care for their beloved companions. 

The dedication, love and tenderness at our June clinic confirmed once again the importance of this work. If you’d like to help underwrite this essential community program, please reach out! There is far more need than resources available for Napa’s low-income pets. 

Contact our Executive Director Wendi Piscia (wpiscia@napahumane.org) to discuss how you might be able to help provide for our community’s neediest companion animals.

Photography by: Seymour & McIntosh

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We were so lucky to partner with such talented Vintage High School students. As part of their Senior Project, Sara Heinke, Sydney Griego, Katie Kerruish, Alyssa Rangel, and Jesse-Kate Ross visited Napa Humane several times to scout locations, block out their shots, and be sure that everything was just right. We were so impressed by their level of professionalism and the details that they added to make these videos more fun.

These young film students made three demonstration videos about basic pet care, starring our Lead Registered Veterinary Technician Deassa and a few of her adorable fur babies. Naturally, the canine co-stars stole the show! Check them out on YouTube:

How to Trim Your Dog’s Nails, with Esther The Irresistible.

How to Brush Your Pet’s Teeth, with Pete The Sweet.

Why (and how to) Microchip? with Nina The Unflappable.

We are thrilled to be able to share these videos with the world, and help everyone understand these pet care essentials!

In addition to these videos for their senior project, Alyssa and Jesse-Kate made an informational video for the student film festival about Napa Humane’s important work, and ways people can support it. It features our Executive Director, Wendi Piscia, and an excellent overview of what we do and why. You can check that out on YouTube here!

Thank you, Sara, Sydney, Katie, Alyssa, Jesse-Kate, and Vintage High School for helping us spread our message and mission!

Sharing is caring! Let’s help these go viral!

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Napa Humane’s internship program for Napa County high school students turns the big ONE this year!

When a New Tech High student interested in veterinary medicine reached out to us about an internship in early 2018, we thought – what a perfect addition to our humane education programs! Napa Humane interns complete 60 hours in the field to gain insight into the world of animal welfare and/or veterinary medicine. By the end of their commitment, the interns come away with valuable work experience and a much better idea of whether a career in our field might be of interest to them.

Duties are tailored to their specific interests, so (depending on their availability) interns have the chance to shadow our vet for 7:15 a.m. check-ins at our spay/neuter clinic, during surgery, and during their examinations at our wellness clinics. They can observe and ask questions firsthand, and learn to overcome any natural squeamishness. They also help us prepare for our surgery days, cleaning and sterilizing surgical instruments, cleaning and sanitizing cages, monitoring animals post-surgery, and doing the all-important laundry.

Interns have also lent a hand with Humane Education presentations, and learned about the details of animal welfare. Some have been able to assist us during our Friday vaccine clinic by pulling up vaccines, properly restraining animals for their shots, and maintaining detailed vaccine clinic records.

We’ve been so inspired by the five bright, dedicated young people we’ve worked with so far. One of our interns from American Canyon, who came to us through a Career Technical Education Internship Class, is so passionate about a career in veterinary medicine that she is giving up her entire Spring Break to spend time at our clinic shadowing our vet and medical staff, in addition to studying on her own!

We are committed to giving Napa County high school interns the best experience and opportunity that we can . . . and we look forward to working with them again as alumni!

Follow the link to read about Dr. Caitlin Underhill, who first started volunteering with us when she was in middle school, and now helps Napa’s neediest pets as a licensed veterinarian.

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Napa Humane’s latest wellness clinic on March 3 saw a record-breaking 163 pets! More than 80% were from Napa County, with 15% from our neighbors in Solano County. We are proud to report that we scheduled approximately 60 animals for spay/neuter appointments during the weeks following the wellness clinic.

Our four volunteer doctors, including Dr. Bachman, Dr. Amanda Mamo, Dr. Kim Schmidt and Dr. Mary Whitehill, worked tirelessly to give much-needed medical direction and to dispense prescriptions – some of which will be life-changing for dogs that have been living for years with pretty serious eye, ear and skin conditions. We administered 99 rabies vaccines, and 120 other essential canine and feline vaccinations, all donated to us by Merck and Boehringer Ingelheim.  We microchipped 53 pets, applied 139 doses of flea medicine, and trimmed countless nails.

Registered vet techs, assistants, and administrative volunteers turned out from Cal Pet, Napa Small Animal Hospital, Silverado Veterinary Hospital, We Care and Napa Valley Holistic Veterinary Services. I am so proud of how we have brought together so many from such different parts of our veterinary community. We have a really strong core group of repeat volunteers who are so passionate about these clinics.

I had another special moment that day when I realized that we have truly reached our goal of becoming a trusted part of the Latino community in the Valley. I had a distinguished elderly gentleman come up to me after getting services for his dog, asking how his grandson could get his dog neutered even though he was not at the clinic that day. He told me he felt it was really important for his grandson to neuter his dog and he wanted to make sure that he got it done.

When we first started these clinics, we had to work so hard to convince people – especially older generations – that they should spay/neuter their pets. It was such a challenge to a deeply ingrained belief. But now, everyone is seeking us out and it is really rare that we have to try to convince someone who is reluctant. (And yes, of course we signed his grandson up!)

I call that a day worth celebrating!

Enjoy the photos (by Sally Seymour)!  Click here to learn more about our amazing photographer, Sally Seymour.

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One of Napa Humane’s challenges over the years has been communicating with people about the work we do. Historically we shared our story using stats and figures and stock photography, which never really resonated with people. But thanks to local photographer Sally Seymour, Seymour & McIntosh, we can show people the faces of the pets and people benefiting from our programs and services, helping us connect with our friends and supporters in a whole new way.

It’s hard to think of an area where Sally’s gorgeous work hasn’t catapulted (so to speak) Napa Humane forward. Sally has been volunteering with us for eight years, and has seen and photographed every aspect of our work – donating many hundreds of hours of her time and professional expertise. Thanks to her incredible photos of wellness clinics, surgeries, Humane Education classes, fundraisers, we were able to relaunch our fresh, gorgeous website in 2017 with pictures of our real-life operations on nearly every page.

Sally also serves as an amazing storyteller, ambassador, volunteer recruiter, and all-around advocate for animals. But Sally’s loyalty isn’t just to Napa Humane; it is to all companion animals in need. Her skills and dedication have benefitted thousands of local animals served by other local animal welfare organizations, as well.  Essentially all marketing materials featuring local adoptable animals feature photography by Sally Seymour.

For example, Sally visits the Napa County Animal Shelter at least one day each week to take photographs of every adoptable dog, cat, rabbit, bird, horse, pig or goat that is there. During “kitten season,” when hundreds of kittens are born and enter animal shelters, Sally goes even more frequently to make sure she captures the beautiful fuzzy faces of those innocent littles needing a home. And then she goes home and spends more time optimizing every photograph and loading it into the Shelter database. She only misses a week when she’s on vacation – and even then, she ensures someone else is there to photograph in her place.

Sally says:

It’s true, I am a crazy cat lady. And I have seen and read about the profound positive effects that companion animals have on their humans. So, volunteering for an animal welfare group is a logical fit. And with Napa Humane, the ingredients are all in place: a very worthy mission, an excellent team, strong leadership, the opportunity to use my skills, and the chance to learn. And, with luck, to be part of  making a lasting positive difference. Because what Napa Humane does is essential and hard to publicize — they prevent problems. Like disease, or overpopulation, or pet-related injuries. Through low cost basic health care, through education, through counseling. What’s not to like about helping to tell that story?

In short, Sally is simply amazing…and Napa’s pets and the people who love them are better off because of her!

Thank you, Sally!

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Life in the wild is never easy, especially when you are competing for food resources and trying to stay alive amidst foxes, coyotes, hawks, and various other wild critters. The “black cat colony” at Napa Valley PSI has been in existence for at least 3 years, under the leadership of the big gnarled tomcat named Cujo, and the patchy sway-back queen, Patches. These two typically produced in litters of three; usually only one kitten survived in the wild. It was not uncommon for us to finally get to touch one of the babies during feeding time, and then have it not show up the next morning.

In the spring of 2018, I started feeding them canned food on a diligent schedule. My goal was to instill trust so that I could easily trap, spay/neuter, and release them back to their environment. As we became more adept at caring for the cats, their survival rate increased. The population could have quickly gotten out of control.  But through a coordinated effort with Napa Humane, Jameson Animal Rescue Ranch and Napa County Animal Shelter, we were able to successfully control the population.

Napa Humane provided loaner traps and the spay/neuter services, along with vaccination for rabies and FVRCP, flea treatment and an “ear tip” to make each individual cat easy to identify (critical for future trappings) as part of their community cat program. Napa Humane pays for almost the whole cost of these services and charges just $35/cat for the full treatment. Because we had so many cats, though, we were able to get vouchers from JAAR and the Animal Shelter to cover the rest of the cost. Thanks to these organizations’ coordination and help, we were able to spay/neuter/vaccinate all of the PSI cats at no cost to us.

My trapping skills and strategy improved with each attempt. After capturing a raccoon and a fox, I learned from Napa Humane that it is important to set traps out at feeding time only. (I also learned that raccoons are very, very big and have herculean strength, and that foxes have beautiful eyes.) I discovered it is best to cover the trap with a blanket, and that a layer of newsprint on the bottom helps disguise the trip plate.

When handling wild animals, including feral cats, I also learned there is one important factor we mustn’t take for granted: they are wild. My accident happened with Kitty-Bitty, a small female whose trust I had gained and who simply walked into a crate for food. She was small, young, and (we later learned) already pregnant with one baby. When I closed the door behind her, my hand slipped and she took a healthy bite of me. I, in turn, went through a series of rabies vaccines. She and I are now great friends; she runs to me for petting each morning. She also assisted me in trapping the others by lying near the set trap and demonstrating that it’s nothing to fear.

Soon after her spay, we trapped Mama Patches, who showed evidence of active nursing. Then, we captured the elusive tomcat, Cujo. With Kitty-Bitty’s help, I then successfully located and trapped their latest litter: Pee-Wee, Spooky, and Indy. Spending a few minutes each day touching these kittens during feeding time made it easier to trap them, and easier for the team at Napa Humane to handle them. 

Now that all have been spayed and neutered, they are happily living out their lives. Pee Wee and Spooky found a new job at a horse barn and are doing well. The others remain at Napa Valley PSI as part of our environment, where we provide examples of good stewardship, responsibility, and care of all living beings.                                                                                                              -Lea Ronald

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