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Mark Your Kalendar!
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So
Much is Happening!!
Be sure to check out the KPETS Kalendar!
Round Table Breakfast
Due to summer vacation time we will skip July and
host our next Round Table
in Sept. Date TBD due to United Way Day of Caring
9 am - 12:30 ish
But coming soon:
Rehabilitation Therapies Video by Intermountain
Therapy Animals
Pet Grief Support Group:
Every third Thursday at Fred F. Groff,
234 W Orange Street, Lancaster 6:30 - 7:30pm
Light refreshments. No charge. Just RSVP to lizkhoff@gmail.com or
call 717-397-8255
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Meet our July Resource Sponsor!
Internet: Mary Reinhart & Summer
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Resource sponsors are key
in helping KPETS meet budget each month. Please visit our
sponsor page to meet our sponsors and see more opportunities
to donate. KPETS' future needs your support.
Thank you!
Internet
Sponsor: 10 months
needed at $120
Rent
Sponsor: 12 months
needed at $420
Phone
Sponsor: 11
months needed at $55
Printer
Sponsor: ONLY 4
more needed for $100
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R.E.A.D. Workshop
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Bill Townsend has arranged
with Helene to conduct a R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance
Dogs) workshop in Oxford on July 28, a Saturday, from 9:00 am to
2:00 pm lunch included. If any other KPETS teams would like to
attend they are most welcome. The place has yet to be determined.
Contact Bill at BillT@kpets.org!
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Exciting
News! !
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The following teams will be a part of an on-call staff
for the Carroll County States Attorney
Office in Maryland. We will be on-call for when investigators go
out and have to interview kids or even adults. They may call upon
us to go out with them to the house, hospital, or wherever they
will be interviewing. Sometimes it will be set up ahead of time,
other times it will be on-call in an emergency. Right now we are
not allowed in the court room....however this is one step closer!
Wendi Mitzel & Meeko
Sailor Lorain Land & Elu
Jan Knight & Blue
Sharon Schwemmer & Lola
Laurie Walters & Dizzy
Awesome news! Thanks KPETS Teams for pursuing yet another way to serve our communities
with our beloved pets!
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Training
well worth it!
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Just wanted to let you know that today on one of our regular
KPETS visits, Chester's immediate response and obedience probably
saved his life. When we walked into the room, he sniffed under a
table and I saw a blue capsule/pill. I commanded him "Leave
It" and he did without hesitation. I then notified the staff
who removed the medicine from the area.
I was so thankful my eyes were on Chester, and he
obeyed without hesitation. A
great reminder for us all to make sure our pups are confident in
this command, and to stay alert on our visits.
I really never thought this would happen ~~ and it
did. I'm thankful for the training KPETS gives ~~ so valuable for the safety of our pets as we
serve others. Wanted to pass this along.
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Pet therapy programs sound like such a great idea,
and they certainly are. In nursing homes, hospitals, and yes, even
schools, people can find love, comfort, and relaxation with the
help of a furry friend. With the help of a trained therapy dog,
it's possible to find increased
happiness, lowered blood pressure, and an improvement in
overall well-being. Students in college find that pet therapy programs are especially
helpful when it comes to busting the stress of finals, and several
schools have begun to bring in dogs during these times on an
occasional, and sometimes even permanent, basis. More. . .
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Registration
Dates
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Upcoming
Orientations:
Sat, July 21 (and Sat, Nov
17)
@ 9 am, York
Sat, August 11
(2nd Sat of even months)
@ 9 am Lancaster
Sun, Sept 16
@ 1 pm, Palmyra
Wed, Sept 19
@ 7 pm, Hanover
Workshops: RSVP!
2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 6:30 pm Lancaster
4th Monday, 6:30 pm Palmyra or Lebanon (alternating
months)
Classes are held from
3pm-4pm Lancaster.
Start date TBD.
For any of the above, please RSVP to:Kareng@kpets.org
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EXTREMELY Important Links
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If you have trouble or want to review previous
KEYNOTES, they are available on the website at www.kpets.org
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STATUS:
Tickspot Volunteer Hours Tracking
300+ Registered KPETS Volunteers
121 - Volunteers
logging hours - that's 10 more from last month.
Thank you!
346.25 - June hours logged!
2,511 - hours YTD!
PLEASE REMEMBER:
* Log your hours monthly
* Log the number of people you visit/entertain
or serve
* Use the #served, #miles, format
for the notes field!
Example:
10, 15, notes not
necessary
(means I served 10 people and
drove 15 miles.)
*
Notify the office if a facilty you visit
is not listed in Tickspot.
Thank You VERY
Much!
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Support KPETS with a Portrait of Your Pet
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Ten Percent of your purchase of a portrait of your
pet from Ashley Beech Reid's Pet
Portraits is donated to a charity of your choice!
Please keep KPETS in mind when searching for your next pooch
picture.
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Support KPETS with a Clean House or Business
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Have your home or office cleaned by Cleaning From the Heart and ten
percent of the service fee will be donated to the charity of your
choice - hopefully KPETS!
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Quick Links
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Flea and Tick Season 2012: It's Early and
It's Ugly - from Healthy Pets with Dr. Karen
Becker
"Well, the good news for many of us across the U.S.
is we had a mild winter with above-average temperatures and not a
lot of snow. The bad news is warm winter weather means an
early and heavy bug season, specifically for fleas and
ticks. These pests are surfacing from their dormant life cycles
sooner rather than later this year. In fact, many
veterinarians are predicting a 2012 flea and tick season that will
be the worst in a decade. And it's already underway in some
parts of the country. . ." A lush lawn creates a sense of
pride for many American homeowners, but a new study finds that
utilizing a chemical lawn service to achieve those results is
likely causing malignant cancer in many pet dogs.
Read more at Healthy Pets with Dr. Karen
Becker.
The Lawn Habit That's Killing Your Dog
- by Leah Zerbe at Rodale.com
In the
study, researchers identified 263 dogs with biopsy-confirmed canine
malignant lymphoma (CML), 240 dogs with benign tumors, and 230 dogs
undergoing surgeries unrelated to cancer. Then, they asked the pet
owners to complete a 10-page questionnaire. Scientists found that
dogs with malignant lymphoma were 70 percent more likely to live in
a home where professionally applied lawn pesticides had been used.
Dogs with the serious malignancy were also 170 percent more likely
to come from homes where owners used chemical insecticides to
combat pests inside of the home.
Read more of this article at Rodale.com
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KPETS' 2012 Patriotic
Pet Expo Success!
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 KPETS' Third Pet Expo
at Ephrata Grater Park and Eicher Center was held on June 10th with a
bit of a twist this year: A Patriotic theme celebrating Veterans and
War Dogs!
The idea to
celebrate veterans and war dogs at our expo came to us from Jimmy DeFilippis, the manager of Eicher Center. Being
that the Expo falls in between Memorial Day, Flag Day, and The Fourth
of July, a patriotic theme seemed like an excellent choice. Jimmy's
good friend and WWII veteran from Ephrata, Price Morris and his K-9
Partner, Pete were the inspiration behind the theme. Unfortunately,
Mr. Morris passed away in April of this year. KPETS was honored to
recognize Mr. Morris and Pete's achievements at our event and share
the day with Mr. Morris's family, KPETS volunteers and veterans: Bill
Townsend, Ken Kalbach, and Philip Marshall
amongst the event's other honored veterans!
The day,
although hot, was a busy one! With a public and private blessing of
the animals, veteran meet and greets, veteran tributes, contests,
raffles, The Patriotic Pet Platoon Walk, demos, great food and lots
of great vendors, there was so much to do and see all day! None of
which would have been possible without the dedication of our
wonderful volunteers who braved the heat the day of the event (Adella
Houck, Annie, Audrey and Liz Stickney, Barb and Chad Noll, Barbara
Steinhilber, Bill Townsend, Cindy and Phil Marshall, Diane Rima,
Emily Vecere and friend, Jennifer and Joe Rule, Jessey Horn, Karen
Gerth, Karla Sweigart, Lisa Miller, Lori Roscoe, LuAnn Bicevskis and son, Marlene Vannoy, Nancy Bouder,
Nancy Houston, Samantha Shewmaker, Tami
Snyder and friend, Tina Schmucker, Wendy Caldwell, Winnie Gerlach,
Katie Daubert, and Vickie Geiman (and her kitchen volunteers from
Lancaster Bible College!)) and our hard working planning committee
who started putting the event into motion months beforehand (Marlene
Vannoy, Lisa Miller, Barbara Noll, Karen Gerth, Jenny Rule, Vickie
Geiman, Lori Roscoe and Nancy Bouder).
The event
was successful for KPETS. We didn't quite make our goal of $5000, but
we did better than last year by reaching $4000! This was largely due
to our Five Star Sponsors, Tremendous Life Books
and Elks Lodge, #1933,
our two biggest Patriotic Pet Platoon Walk fundraisers - Jessey Horn & Nancy
Bouder! and our Star Sponsors - American Legion Post 880, Bomberger's Store, Carol Carlson, Central PA Rehab Services, Lititz Springs VFW 1463, Nancy
Bouder, Shaggy to Chic, and Willow Run Veterinary Clinic! A
huge thank you to all who participated and came out to show their
support!
Chaplain
Deborah Miley had this to say about the
Blessing of the Animals:"Thanks for inviting me to be a part of
yesterday's events. It as wonderful . . .The individual pet blessings seemed to be well
appreciated. I also anointed dogs with oil of frankincense and myrrh
which was really neat. One of the women who came to get her dog
blessed had been a patient of mine when I was a chaplain at LGH - she
has a serious chronic disease and has been in and out of the hospital
frequently- we recognized each other and it was a wonderful moment. I
anointed her as well. Thanks again."
KPETS is
proud to support and serve our veterans. This year's Patriotic
Pet Expo touched the hearts of many in the community. Even
local channel ABC 27 supported our cause and event. You can
watch the news clip on ABC27.com. Blue Ridge Channel 11
also promoted the event. Click here for the footage.
KPETS has
decided to celebrate the dedication of our military service men,
women and K-9s - past and present in years to come and look forward
to seeing you at next year's event at our possible NEW LOCATION!
Keep an eye out for updates! You won't want to miss next year's
festivities!
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KPETSKonnections - Blog Update!
37 out
of 300 + are currently following our blog.
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The KPETSKonnections Blog
has been up for about a month now. It will be our means of
communicating requests for KPETS visits, speaking engagements,
presentations, vendor displays, etc.
Be sure to visit KPETS Konnections Blog. Sign up
to FOLLOW it so you will be notified of new requests coming in. There
you will find contact info so you can contact them
directly for more details and to sign up. And it is advised
that you (volunteer), the requesting person, or others post your
comments under the request to keep others updated of its status. You
can also share your experiences and testimonials relating to that
request too!
Thank you for helping KPETS keep
konnecting the needs of our community with
those who can help!
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Sharing Our Joy Is What KPETS Is All About! 
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Your
heart-warming stories and testimonials are welcome. Please send
them to blogger@kpets.org so we can share them!
A KPETS Marriage Announcement!
Groom Gabriel, Australian Shepherd, and
Bride Sophie, Miniature Schnauzer, recently brightened the day for
the patients at the Penn State Rehab Hospital. Both Bride and
Groom were dressed to the nines for the occasion. Sophie, a "fashionista", is always in style when she
visits. She dresses to impress when she knows she's going to a
visit. This was Gabe's first time in glamour duds and
he wore them brilliantly. Adoring mother of the groom is
Judy Ebersole,
and the mother of the bride is Cathy Farr.
Stories from KPETS Volunteers
"During
one of our visits to the Lancaster Rehab Hospital, Gilly and I were asked to spend some time with a German fellow who wouldn't respond to
anybody. Of course Gilly was ready
to go say "Hi" but as we approached, the gentleman just
sat, still not responding in any way. Then, somewhat suddenly, he
began to speak to Gilly, in German, while
holding his face in both hands. As he continued to speak, he began
to cry, as if Gilly had reminded him of
something. Then, while still speaking in words I could not
understand, he looked to me as if to say "Thank-you" and
smiled kindheartedly at me. This is why Gilly
and I do what we do. The joy that Gilly
brings to people when they most need it is only out-weighted by the
comfort and joy someone experiences simply by being in the presence
of him and interacting with him when all other therapy has seemingly
done nothing to spark an emotion." ~~Submitted by Nancy Houston
"On
one of our regular KPETS visits, Chester's immediate response and
obedience probably saved his life. When we walked into the room, he
sniffed under a table and I saw a blue capsule/pill. I commanded
him "Leave It" and he did without hesitation. I
then notified the staff who removed the medicine from the
area. I was so thankful my eyes were on Chester, and he
obeyed without hesitation. A great reminder for us all to
make sure our pups are confident in this command, and to
stay alert on our visits. I really never thought this would happen
~~ and it did. I'm thankful for the training KPETS
gives ~~ so valuable for the safety of our
pets as we serve others."
-submitted
by Diane Rima
"My
father's name is Robert. He is currently in Hershey Medical Center.
He is the the hospital
for pneumonia and a fall. Thirteen years ago he had a
massive stoke and is now disabled and unable to communicate very
well. On Easter Sunday two therapy dogs (boxers) visited him. I
can't tell you how excited and happy he was to get a visit from the
dogs. When my mom and sister got there, he searched for the card
and acted out how he petted them. He
was very excited. When I went to visit him I asked him about the
card and he got a huge smile on this face and tried to tell me
about the visit. Even though his entire family went to see
him, clearly the highlight of his day was the visit from the
therapy dogs. Thank you so much. If the dogs are in the hospital
again he sure would love a visit."
- submitted
by Amy B.
Recently two KPETS volunteers, Harriet and Elaine,
went to the NHS Autism School. "We had a very nice
visit. Since the weather was so beautiful we went outside in a
fenced yard where everyone was throwing balls for Mattoon, Toby and
Corky. When the dogs got tired, the students sat and brushed
them. Smiles all around!!!"
- submitted by
Harriet Hombach
Watch
this video about Camp Koala to see our KPETS volunteers in
action. Volunteers Nancy Dixon and her dog Jill, a spaniel,
along with Wendi Mitzel and her dog Meeko
can be seen interacting with the children. This is what KPETS
is all about!
A Special KPETS Acknowledgement
KPETS received an
email from Hershey Medical Center's, Jeanne Beckley, MICU Patient
Care Secretary praising the efforts of KPETS
volunteers, Cindy Wilson and Anne Louise Gilfoyle
for their contributions to the revising of the Hershey Medical
Center Pet Therapy Policy. Thanks to them and the Hershey Heelers, this pet therapy group have made
significant progress in the quality of pet therapy delivered to the
Hershey Medical Center. HMC's goal is to have 25 Hershey Heeler
teams! HMC, the staff, patients and KPETS appreciate
"Cornerstone" Anne Louise, evaluator Cindy and the
Hershey Heelers for their all their hard work!
Walking on Behalf of KPETS & Vets!
-by Diane Rima
(excerpt)
Every year
KPETS has a fundraising Pet Expo in
a gorgeous park in Ephrata, PA. This year
was extra -dog-gone special ~~ A PATRIOTIC PET EXPO!
We walked not only to support and raise awareness
regarding Pet Therapy, we
walked to honor our veterans, and the canines who have served
our soldiers not only on the battle field, but on the homefront as well, helping
them recover and heal from the stresses of war."
To read more of Tails of a Therapy Dog,
please visit Diane's Blog
A Max Story - contributed by Susan H. and Max
Max and I have been visiting the Lutheran Home
on Sprenkle Drive in York for the past
two years, and although we were told at orientation to try not to
become attached to the patients, that advice went out the window
fairly soon after our first visit. We became very close to
one patient, Anna , and we would visit her
every Friday and often every Wednesday as well, when time
permitted.
Sadly,
our Anna passed away last week, leaving Max and I both pretty broken hearted. Her family notified
me of the funeral arrangements and her niece commented that it had
been said that it would be nice if some of the dogs who had visited
her so often could come to the funeral. I called the funeral
home and asked if it would be okay and was told that it would be
fine. So on Friday, Max and I went along with Barb G. and
Misty, who had also visited Anna quite often.
Both dogs were awesome at the funeral.
They settled in front of the coffin while we said our last goodbyes
to our dear friend, then curled up on the
floor at our feet during the service. Max made the rounds,
he had come to know many members of her family when we visited and
each one got a cuddle that day. One elderly lady reached out
for him, put her head on his and cried quietly for a few minutes,
while he stood there patiently.
Sometimes
I call him my monster dog. Friday showed me once again why
he's really more my angel on Earth.
(And the funeral director commented that he thought there should be
a therapy dog at every funeral.)
Retirement Community Event
Fun for All
On behalf of
the residents, family members, friends, and staff of Oak Leaf
Manor, please thank all the KPETS volunteers and dogs for coming
out to the Country Faire earlier today. Unfortunately,
despite Tina's and my best efforts and intentions, it was a bit
chaotic and disorganized at first, due at least in part to
the fact that we were both spread a little too thin. The
volunteers and dogs were wonderful, never complained, and stayed
patient, positive, and understanding throughout, especially during those initial
trying moments.
The bottom
line: they were a huge hit, and
brought smiles and joy to everyone with whom they came in contact
(Solomon did a wonderful demo, and even kissed four little girls in
the audience towards the end of the demo). Both Tina and I received
a lot of favorable comments from those in attendance. Also,
thanks so much to you for helping to make this happen for Oak Leaf
Manor.
~~from Ray Bianchini / Oak Leaf Manor
Thank You!
Sheree Dietz/Solomon and Nicole Graybill/Junior for fulfilling this
request entirely from the KPETS Konnection
Blog! You saved KPETS admin hours a great deal by connecting via
this new resourse!
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BINGO
SEASON will soon be upon us!
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Bingo Season is in Full Swing!
Friday nights
at Outdoor World, Circle M Ranch, 2111
Millersville Road, Lancaster for BINGO is the place to be!
We could use
a few extra helping hands (and paws) to assist the veteran
volunteers. Just email me and I can give you more details: Kareng@kpets.org THANKS!
Here's one
new volunteer's feedback:
It went well. Not a big crowd, (everyone was still in the pool since
it was still so hot). Hope we made a bit of money at least. When Ray first
arrived, Barb's dog, Hunter seemed a bit put-off that there was
another dog at 'his' event. But they quickly settled in once
Hunter realized there were enough kids to go around:)
Ray loved the kids and had a great time entertaining them. Chad was a
master with the money and calling the numbers (there was no way I was
going to get how to figure out the winnings for each game). Barb
handled the bingo balls and I handled the sign. When one of the balls
dropped to the floor, Ray thought it was a treat and from then on
kept a watchful eye on Chad hoping he would drop one.
I will take
a look at my calendar to see when I can help again. I think it's be better for your profit margin if I buddied up with an experienced Bingo person
again.
~~Anne Saunders & Ray
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Articles of Interest for You and Your Pet!
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Pet Therapy: Some Hospitals Allow Patients'
Own Dogs to Visit - by Dr. Sheila Reddy
Madison
Fleaks had been in Texas Children's
Hospital in Houston for over six months waiting for a heart
transplant. She was born with a congenital heart condition.
Not yet two years old, she may have forgotten much of her life at
home. But she still remembered her two dogs; their photograph sat
framed next to her hospital bed.
Read more of this article by Dr. Sheila Reddy
at Yahoo.com
25 Human Foods Toxic To
Dogs
(excerpt)
"Recently,
there has been a lot of news about unsafe and toxic commercial dog
foods. Unfortunately, this problem isn't really 'news'. It seems
that incidents like this occur periodically . . . Some foods which
are safe for humans can be poisonous for our canine companions.
E-dog-training.com has put together a list of 25 common human foods
that are toxic to dogs. Of course, when in doubt, always check with
your vet". . . Read more at Barkleyandpaws.com
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