Pet Tails
Pirate ID# 1612-0860
On December 31, 2016, Officer T. Smith was
called out for a stray dog on Shore Drive; there
he found the poor lost Border collie mix with a
severe eye problem. The caretakers named him
“Marshall”; he was such a wonderful, loving dog,
he quickly became a favorite here at the shelter
by all the staff.
When Marshall first showed up at the shelter,
we were very concerned about the eye. The veterinarian examined the eye, and he was diagnosed with Glaucoma. This condition had
been left untreated for quite some time and had led to severe damage of the eye. The
best option at this point was to remove the eye. Our vet staff completed the surgery, this lead to immediate pain relief and there would no chance of future problems.
Marshall stayed at the shelter to recover and then the search for a new owner began.
We were looking for that perfect family, Marshall was a special needs dog due to his
missing eye and he was showing signs of a little separation anxiety.
On February 3, 2016, Marshall found his
forever home complete with his own children. Marshall now known as “Pirate”
spends lots of time with his new basset
hound friend. We recently spoke to his
new owners he is fitting in well and they
love him dearly. It’s always a good day at
Virginia Beach Animal
Care & Adoption Center
Volume 31 Issue 31
March, 2017
Inside this issue:
Our Foster Story
2
Animal Spotlight
3
Some Animal Facts
3
Get to Know Your Breed
4
Meet the Staff
5
Meet the Officers
5
Meet the Volunteers
6
Facebook/Twitter
6
Shelter Statistics
It’s the Law...
7
Volunteer Opportunities
7
Miscellaneous
the Virginia Beach Animal Care and Adoption Center when we find the perfect owners for a perfect pet.
Page 1
Pet Tails
Foster Story! - submitted by Jim “Dog” Kuhn
A few months ago I was talking to Jessica Wilde and she asked
us to foster a little yorkie mix that had recently be recovered
from a dumpster. The puppy weighed one pound when VBACAC
received him and administered emergency care for the
dog . When we took over with foster care he weighed 1 1/4
pounds and our job was to help with his recovery and put
weight on him. We named him Ninja because you could never
hear him coming, or for that matter, figure out how he got
where he was in the first place. One minute he was all the way
across the house and the next sitting on your toes. He also had
shaved front legs from the emergency care and these fuzzy
feet so he was a sight for sure. Because of his initial poor
health, he would lose huge clumps of black hair, they would just
fall off right in front of us. After the initial stabilization our
job became feeding him 5 times a day, high calorie mix in small
doses. After the first week he started to feel better and become a real puppy, with puppy teeth, ouch! Week 2 - he discovered how to climb stairs, but was too small to figure out how to get down, so we would hear him whining
from upstairs "stuck" at the top step. In the end, we fostered him for 3 weeks and increased his
weight from 1 1/2 pounds to 3 1/2 pounds. He was recently adopted and has a wonderful forever home.
I believe they renamed him Oscar (fondly named after the trash can muppet).
Venusaur Pit bull 1607-1657
She has seen a life that most of us cannot imagine. She is a
loving girl and will not leave your side but her past is still in
her head. She has had puppies recently and is still eating extra to get her weight back. She seems to get along with other
calm dogs. She needs someone for the long run. She is nervous but has great potential– she is our princess.
Sea Shell DSH 1702-1595
This sweet beautiful grey tabby with white highlights is about 2-3
years old. She is quietly spending they days with her new friends
in the large cat colony so she gets along with others. Who could
turn down these gorgeous eyes! She will need to be spayed when
adopted but she can come home the same day after surgery.
Bulbasaur Pit Bull 1607-0761
Even though he had a home, he was always hungry and saw little
love. He was used as a breeding dog, kept only to produce puppies.
He is very friendly, loving and great on a leash. He likes other dogs;
his trust and confidence are awesome. He is a silly boy still learning to
play with toys. Because of his not being fed on a regular basis he
tends to grab treats so someone would need patience with retraining.
 The gorillas inhabit the mountains and tropical  The Indian Peafowl is a large and brightly colored
bird that is native to South Asia, but introduced to
other parts of the world.
forests in central Africa.
 The mountain gorillas are severely endangered
with less than 800 left in the wild and none in
zoos.
 Male gorillas weigh up to 400 lbs. with an arm
span up to 8 1/2 feet. Their average height is 5
1/2 ft.
 Gorillas forage for food using their sense of
smell more often than by sight.
Page 3

The male, or peacock is best known for the long
train made up of beautiful blue feathers with eyespots.

Their loud calls makes them easy to detect and in
the wild, it often indicates the presence of a predator.

They escape predators on foot through the undergrowth, avoid flying but often roost in tall trees.
Pet Tails
Hyacinth Macaw
 This parrot is native to central
and eastern South America.
 With a length (head to tip of tail
feathers) of 3.3 feet it is longer
than any other species of parrot.
 It was first discovered in 1790.
 They fly in pairs and prefer to
feed on the hard nuts, such as
the Mucuja palm. These nuts
are so hard they are difficult to
break with a heavy hammer yet
the Macaw can crush the nut to
a pulp with its powerful beak.
 The birds have a dry, smooth
tongue with a bone inside making
it an effective tool for tapping
into fruits.
 They have been observed using
tools such as chewed leaf or
pieces of wood to hold a nut in
place while they gnaw into it.
 46 of their 145 species are in
danger of global extinction.
Page 4
‘Clydesdale
 The Clydesdale is a breed of




draught horse derived from the
farm horses of Clydesdale,
Scotland.
The breed was first introduced
to America in 1840. The
attractiveness and size led the
breed to promotional hitches,
beginning with Chicago
Stockyard Company. Anheuser
Busch Co. of St. Louis used a
hitch to celebrate the end of
prohibition. Their first delivery
was to the White House.
They average 64’—72” and weigh
1,800—2,000 lbs.
They are used as drum horses in
the British Household Calvary.
They hold the musician and two
silver drums.
Distinctive style and gait—each
foot is lifted completely off the
ground so the bottom of the
foot is visible from behind.
Pet Tails
Meet the Staff
Meet Kaiser Wright — Caretaker
I am 27 years old and have been working with animals for a little over 8
years.
My favorite thing to do is to go hiking with my fiancé Sabrina, and our two
dogs.
We have an almost 2 year old Jack Russell whose name is Buddy, and a 7
month old Pitbull named Aurora.
Coming to ACAC has been such an amazing opportunity. I have met some
amazing people from my coworkers to management.
I enjoy the experiences I have had with the public community that comes
in here looking to adopt a shelter baby. I had a very heart warming experience when I first started here, and her name was Tefiti. Upon coming into
the shelter she was very timid and afraid, she wouldn’t stand all the way
up, and would only army crawl if she wanted to walk anywhere. After working with her for a little bit everyday I was here, she began walking taller, learning to trust people and showing off her
happy loving side. By the end of week 2 she was moved up to adoption and within 2 days of being on the website she
was adopted into a loving home. That warmed my heart down to the core to watch her come from being so afraid to so
happy and loving everyone and everything.
Meet the Officers
Meet Animal Control Officer A. McQuarry
She started working at VBAC as a Caretaker in June of 2013 after graduating
from Christopher Newport University; she left for a year and a half to help
open the new shelter on the Peninsula (PRAS) and then came back as an Officer in 2016. She holds a BS in Psychology with focus in animal behavior.
Hometown - Windsor, VA ACO McQuarry has always loved animals but never
knew “what she wanted to be when she grew up.” While tirelessly searching
for jobs prior to graduation from CNU, she stumbled
upon a Caretaker position with VBAC, got the job, and
has loved it ever since! She has 3 dogs (Finley, Daisy—
came from VBAC, and Dozer), 3 cats (Monty, Schrödinger—came from VBAC, and Wundt),
2 gerbils (Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum), and fish. McQuarry also fosters dogs through
2 other organizations. One of her favorite things about being an ACO is that every day is
different and you never know what to expect when you logon for the day. She says it
keeps the job interesting and fun. ACO McQuarry’s most memorable moments involve
working with shy, shutdown shelter animals (both dogs and cats) and getting them adopted. She enjoys working with animals that have a hard time dealing with the stresses of
the shelter environment and helping them come out of their shell, it is definitely one of
the things she misses most about being a Caretaker. One of the funniest moment she
recalls was when she worked at PRAS, she walked into the back kennel area to find a 75 lb
Rottweiler/Pitbull mix balancing on the very top of the kennel just standing there staring
at her. She and her coworkers still have no idea how he got up there!
Page 5
Pet Tails
Meet the Volunteers - Kasia and Adriana Rice
Hello! We are a mother/daughter foster team, Kasia and Adriana Rice! Our volunteering
story started on Adriana’s 13th birthday, September 4, 2015, when she collected pet supplies in lieu of presents, we brought them to the VBACAC, and submitted her youth volunteer application. Adriana loved each and every hour spent at the shelter and after a brief
period of time, she convinced me to volunteer as well for the purpose of becoming a foster
for any animals in need. We chose to foster cats and kittens. On January 31, 2016 we
picked up our first four kittens, and with the exception of a few very short breaks or vacation time, we have not stopped since that day. Our fostering experience has mostly been
wonderful and fun; however, as every foster knows, there are times filled with stress,
tears and heartbreak. Our scariest moment came shortly after we began fostering, with a
pregnant cat, Violet, a beautiful dilute torti. Violet was a sweet, friendly cat, and we anxiously awaited for the babies
to be born. One very early morning I felt something was amiss and contacted Supervisor Jessica Wilde who directed
me to bring Violet in as soon as the shelter opened that morning. Violet ended up having a C-section, and had perfect
three black kittens, twins - two kittens in one sack, and a single larger kitten, all boys! The twin kittens were why Violet could not give birth on her own. That night, Adriana decided to observe Violet and the kittens overnight to be close
to Violet in the event of any issues, as she just had major surgery. At about 4am Adriana alerted me to Violet hemorrhaging… Blood was pouring on the floor. A completely nerve-wracking car ride to the emergency vet, tears, unbelievable fear for Violet and the tiny, only hours-old kittens, a house call from Dr. McKendry, a crash-course in bottle feeding kittens in case Violet is not able to nurse them, and more tears made up the rest of that day. We held the kittens
to Violet’s wrapped up, stitched up body so they could nurse, and ultimately, Violet recovered nicely, the babies
thrived for a while, but only one ended up surviving. An adorable, tiny kitten, who we named Gremlin, and who now
rules his forever home and is very much loved. Violet was also adopted by a very nice family who took her home, despite some crazy cat woman (me) sobbing in the lobby of the shelter at the time of her adoption.
A little about us: I am originally from Poland, having immigrated to the US with my family when I was 17. I am an administrator for a small law firm in the Town Center area of Virginia Beach, and Adriana is a sophomore at the Bayside
Health Sciences Academy. Adriana’s days are filled with homework and she works more than I ever imagined is possible in high school. Adriana loves volunteering at the shelter and assisting the wonderful caretakers with whatever
they may need help with. Adriana has a younger sister, Izabella, who is almost ten and counting down the days to when
she can start volunteering. We live in Virginia Beach with my husband, John, who has been extremely patient with our
crazy cat life and often serves as a jungle gym for the kittens. We have: 4 unruly assorted dogs, 5 cats, 2 guinea pigs,
one most adorable bunny, and a very annoying Sun Conure. Being at the shelter often, and fostering, puts us at high
risk for adoption of more pets of every variety and/or foster failure.
We’ve met so many wonderful people who work hard and are so dedicated to the animals that come through the shelter. We can truly say we love our shelter family and we hope to continue to foster and volunteer for as long as possible.
GIVE US A “LIKE!”
Have you “liked” us on Facebook? Do you follow us on Twitter? One of the easiest ways for us to let potential adopters
know about the many adoptable pets at the shelter is by using social media. We post information about adoptables and
current events at the shelter. So join the 2050 people already “liking” us on Facebook and our 601 Twitter “followers”
as we get the word out! Find us at www.facebook.com/VBanimalcareandadoptioncenter and @adoptablePetsVB on Twitter and join in the conversations, and while you’re at it, invite your friends too. The more who know, the better the ani-
Volume 31 Issue 31
Page 6
Volunteer
Opportunities:
Volunteer Front Desk
Greeter
Newsletter Team Member
Adoption Counselor
PetSmart Cat Center Volunteer
Foster Parent
Animal Transporter
Pet Portal (Petfinder)
Call Center Volunteer
Lost/Found Assistance
Volunteer
Small Animal Companionship
Special Events Volunteer
Vet Assistant
Youth Mentor
Adoption Follow-ups
Do you love animals and
want to give back to the
community? We have the
answer for you there are
many ways that you can
help, from walking dogs,
cuddling cats or advertising
pets that are up for
adoption. We also are in
need of foster homes to
increase the amount of
animals that we can serve.
Listed below are
volunteer opportunities…
Virginia Beach Animal Care & Adoption Center
341 S. Birdneck Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Phone: 757-385-4444
Fax: 757-227-9687
E-mail: [email protected]
Cat Room Volunteer
Dog Walker
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, contact Jean Deliz at [email protected]. She’ll be
looking forward to hearing from you.
Shelter Statistics
Jan
2016
Jan
2017
Feb
2016
Feb
2017
Dogs Impounded
235
208
239
247
Dogs Reclaimed
148
117
145
124
Dogs Adopted
73
63
84
90
Dogs Transferred
18
8
10
11
Cats Impounded
184
147
187
212
Tuesday — 11:00 a.m. to 3 p.m. (reclaims only)
Cats Reclaimed
16
10
8
25
Thursday — 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday — 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cats Adopted
127
79
111
58
Cats Transferred
Other Companions Impounded
1
12
11
10
13
23
11
17
Other Companions Reclaimed
0
3
1
1
Other Companions Adopted
7
10
15
12
Other Companions Transferred
2
2
1
9
It’s the Law..
Did you know … it is unlawful to destroy or molest the
nest, eggs, dens or young of any wild bird or wild animal, except nuisance species, at anytime without a
permit as required by law (29.1-521)
Hours of Operation:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday — 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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