Debby and I love animals, so we do what we can to support our local no kill Humane Society. I have been President since July, 2005 and Debby has a "rescue" of her own on the farm as well as still participating with Humane Society activities. All of the Humane Society animals are given age appropriate shots and are spayed/neutered. As if that doesn't keep us busy enough, we are working on a very large project which will provide us with a permanent Humane Society building where we can house at least 60 cats and 24 dogs. Currently cats (max. 35) are in a location downtown and our dogs (max. 12) are all in foster care. We are in the process of fundraising and we hope the city of Pierre will support us. This is a big project, but one that is very much needed and the animals deserve it. We will keep this page as up to date as we can on the progress of our building project.

 

Debby and I both do what we can to help the Humane Society (a no kill shelter). Along with keeping vaccinations current, cleaning when I can, and doing adoptions, I have taken over the "pound duties" for the felines. Two other women, Betty and Teddi, handle the dogs at the pound. In Pierre, after 5 days in the pound, the animal is euthanized...unless they are claimed or the Humane Society has space. We try to save every adoptable animal we can, but the reality is we don't have the space to meet that goal. We do all we can to save every animal possible. Recently there was a Sheltie that the Humane Society couldn't take. Betty contacted a Sheltie rescue and the dog, luckily, went directly into a loving home. We take the pound day by day. As animals are adopted out, more animals come in. We sometimes wonder how it can continue, but it does and so do we.

 

The cats and how they "found" us.....

 

Picasso (shown above) was a farm kitten and was run over at about 4 months old. His siblings didn't make it, but the vet was able to amputate and Picasso does just fine. He actually runs faster than most of the cats! Picasso enjoys living at the farm again. He absolutely loves to be pet and will sit on your lap all day...if you'll let him.

 

Debby adopted Marshall (bottom of page) from the Humane Society in 2002. He and Picasso were best buds for over a year. Unfortunately we lost Marshall to a heart condition in 2003. We still miss his wonderful personality.

 

After the loss of Marshall, Debby turned again to the Humane Society for another friend for Picasso. They suggested Simon (shown below with Picasso) and so it was that Simon and Picasso lived together. Simon now lives at Debby's...but mostly outside as he loves the rural atmosphere where Debby lives. No cars to worry about, just green grass and a bunch of other cats to play with.
 

We saved Tango from Animal Control in July, 2004. While at the pound deciding where we were going to keep the three babies (story below) until they were old enough to adopt out, a cat reached out and grabbed my hair. Debby and I both agreed she was beautiful and couldn't be euthanized. The Humane Society was full and couldn't take her, so we did...and we're so happy we did!

We finally decided the store was the best place for the three 2 1/2 week old kittens, without a mamma. After 6 weeks, they were ready to go but it was very hard for me since I'd been there late every night and early every morning to feed them. All three of them were adopted to wonderful people. Lucy is our city gal and lives in Minneapolis, while Moki and Bouchie live in Pierre. (photo below)

Because I can't resist kittens in need, during October 2004 I saved 2 more kittens (4 weeks old) from Animal Control. Sassy (because everything is on her terms) and Raku (a type of ceramic firing where the results are always different) are both sweethearts and are now 2 1/2 years old. 



















Summer 2005 was full of kittens and adoptions at Debby's. The first two were Mango and Peppy. Mango was actually adopted by the same person who adopted Moki, so they are now brothers. The same family fostered an orange female cat for the Humane Society and ended up adopting Tabba as well. Peppy was adopted by one of my friends who already had a saved cat of her own, Ally. The two are adorable together...cleaning each other and playing. Mango and Peppy are now over a year and a half old! It's hard to believe!!






















In June, 2005 I saved City Girl from the pound. She had been found by the City Pool and her droopy little eyes just couldn't be ignored. We'd almost decided to keep her here, when a wonderful lady came in and fell in love with her. Because of allergies, City came back to live with Debby in the fall of 2006.








While driving around town in late June (2005), I noticed two kittens who needed my help. They were in a lumber yard by a busy street. I wanted to trap them, give them shots, and have them spayed/neutered. Trapping them wasn't a problem, but the two little ones (Sweet and Sour) were pretty wild when they first arrived. It took about 2 weeks for them to stop hissing at us. After a little time, though, they became the best little kittens. Sweet and Sour live with me and are best friends.

The last addition of the summer came to us on July 5th, 2005. The week before, I was walking downtown with a friend when I heard a tiny little meow. I said, "Did you hear that?" My friend said "Lindy, if there's a cat within 50 miles you're going to find it." I said "Yes, but did you hear it?"

 

 

Of course we both did and went looking for the kitten. Turns out it was in a second story abandoned apartment. The door was open so I went up. There was no food or water, so I provided the kitten with food and water for the night. He was too scared to come to me. After speaking with the property owner who said "If you can catch him, you can have him" I borrowed a trap from the city and caught him on the 5th. Rescue got his shots the next day and has been with us since. We were going to have him up for adoption, but we fell in love with him. Rescue lives with Debby and sleeps on her neck every night. He celebrated his 1st birthday in May.

 

Please feel free to visit the website to our local Humane Society at www.pets4adoption.org. If you have any questions about them, please let us know.

If you would like to adopt an animal, foster an animal until it finds a good home, donate your time, or donate money to the Pierre Humane Society, please email us and we'll get you started. Anything you do is greatly appreciated by all of us and especially by the animals you help.