HDHS Board Member Jeanine Jones fosters BellaBy Heidi Ogas

Bella was brought into the High Desert Humane Society on March 26th by a caring Grant County resident who found her abandoned, cold, alone and at best, 3 weeks old. Her eyes were open but still the smokey blue of a baby. Puppies that young have no immune system of their own and must rely on their mother's for protection until they are old enough to be vaccinated. At the HDHS shelter, cages and runs are cleaned and sterilized every day but viruses like Parvo, Distemper and Bordetella are still present. Bella's chances of survival at the shelter were not very good.

Board member Jeanine Jones, who occasionally fosters pregnant moms and then their litters agreed to take Bella home. With no mom or litter mates, Bella had to be kept warm, so a comfortable cage was arranged and then an around the clock feeding schedule was set up. Bella needed to have expensive milk replacement (almost $1 per oz.) every 4 hours. With such committed care, Bella began to grow and become an active puppy. At 6 weeks old, she was now ready to get her first puppy vaccination and was able to play and socialize with Jeanine's other dogs. At 8 weeks old she will be ready for her second puppy vaccination and can begin the transition back to the shelter and be put up for adoption.

Often criticized for not being a No Kill shelter, people don't always see the time, commitment and money that the High Desert Humane Society puts into trying to save as many animals as possible. HDHS is an OPEN ADMISSION shelter therefore accepts all animals. There are no restrictions, no age limitations, no health standards or behavioral requirements. To be able to offer refuge to every animal in need, open-admission shelters must euthanize unadopted and unadoptable animals. The alternative—turning them away—is cruel and leaves the animals in potential grave danger.

Bella most likely would have been turned away from a no kill shelter. Fortunately, HDHS considers themselves a low-kill shelter, as the euthanasia of adoptable animals is less than 10%. HDHS strives to bring that down even more.

They will continue to take in and care for pups like Bella and dogs like Fowler [See Fowler at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/community/pets-to-adopt-2024], who has been at the shelter for over 5 months waiting for his furever home. They will continue to try to educate the public on the importance of reducing the numbers of homeless and unwanted pets by spaying and neutering and stopping irresponsible and accidental breeding. They will continue to offer coupons to help with the cost of S & N and they will continue to take in animals like Bella and Fowler and the more than 2000 that come to them every year. And they will continue to love and nurture and save as many as they can.