SOAR: Street Outreach Animal Response Initiative
SOAR acts as a resource to people and pets when they need it most. FOR HELP: please visit our website and fill out a form.
MORE INFO HERE: https://linktr.ee/SOARindy
Look at all that can be accomplished for one cat in less than 10 minutes!š®š± If you like this video and want to see more like it - like & share - so we know youāre enjoying this content.
Saying hello, got some folks coming in - come say hi!
Special thank you to all who have supported the intake of snake with excess personal supply stash of your own. Indianapolis Animal Care Services loaned us some larger enclosures they were not using. We had a snake expert here today who said that the sizes we have moved folks too today would be fine for them for at least six months, and I think they are going to help us build something closer to our vision - because I canāt do animal care without them having sole authentic joy. Dr.Anna stopped by with some items as well which will help tremendously. We ordered some things and David has stopped by a pet store today for some urgent items we need in the short-term sense while packages arrive.
Snakes are being gently aided in finishing shedding.
Iām always nervous about the scrutiny when we take on anything besides cats and dogs, but I, myself, have owned a number of snakes in my lifetime and was even a member of a herpetological society and other meet-ups for many years. Additionally, my first animal care experiences were with various wildlife and reptiles native to Indiana, through volunteerism at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which used to have live animals indoors and outdoors.
We maintain significant reverence and respect for experts who know anything about something for which we were are not experts, and hold that same reverence and respect for rescues whose focus areas are in exotics and species whose care needs are particular. We are open to respectful feedback. Our team only committed to animals that did not get rescue commitment after more appropriate sources were contacted and had made their commitment choices of what they could and could not take based on their own intake capacity.
Three of the snakes were fed a meal recently, so we kept handling today to a minimum to not stress them, but also allow them to move to a more appropriate habitats while we finish acquiring last needs.
One the snakes has an old fracture, imaging sent for consult to make sure there is no blockage. The bulging noted by IACS staff that prompted the diagnostics, seemed to respond to well to daily soaks and hydration, and we will wait on further information from X-ray consult.
Even the caution noodle seemed in good spirits today. We have had feedback from one rescue that has interest in committing to one of the snakes, and will get with them Sunday or Monday to see if they like to meet the crew.
We are actually pretty excited. I didnāt realize how much I missed snakes, and itās been pretty rewarding to get them settled in.
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Weāre assuming houses with children sounded something like this today as parents likely had to threaten candy bowls hitting the trash if they didnāt get up and get ready for schoolā¦ā¦ā¦ no judgement, weāve all been there šš
As for our crew, this is the every morning cry when David walks in for the morning shift.
Pro tip: put a fresh trash bag in the can before you toss it so you can safely tip toe it to your room! Donāt punish yourself too, you worked for that candy! šš
Special thank you to Aubrey, pictured here with Clooney, AND also to her dad, for the Halloween pictures. I had 248 pictures to choose from and have looked at all periodically since receiving them, because it is a joy to see the animals who felt seen and adored dressing up, and those who sense of entitlement and self-determination resembled something like āoh hell no here comes that lady with another wig and dragon; she just wonāt give it a rest.ā šš
Charlene and Marnie were my faves.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!
Somebody was so impressed that we found her parents. We got them set up with some food, flea meds, got her vaccinated, and they plan to reach out to FIDO for help with spay/fencing to keep her secure!
She may have also got a few bites of chickens and croutons from a SOAR team member who thought she was just a delightful ray of sunshine.
Yesterday, we went to the shelter to meet a matted poodle, but it was bonded to another dog, possibly being picked up by owners, and spicyā¦where we have had our fair share of spicy. So, instead, we brought back one of several noodle poodles instead.
We will bring in the others tomorrow, but wanted to make sure we were set up to adequately care for them first, and could acquire whatever equipment we may still need, as itās been awhile since we housed cold-blooded pets. Glad we did that, because some items had been donated or shared with owners in need, so we did have to start anew.
Critterās Chance had committed to at least four other reptiles, all of which had medical needs, so please be sure to check and see what their asks for support may be.
This noodle is awaiting image interpretation for possible blockage. Yesterday, when we met them, they looked like they were digesting a meal - which they had not eaten - but after some hydration and good soaking, the body is more uniform.
If youād like to support care, PayPal is quickest, but I will also add the button. This buddy did have heavy mites in bedding, and we plan to get them and their home bug free and add some noodle poodle joy to their condo.
While typing this post, the shelter did inform us that there may be an additional noodle needing support.
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šØUpdate! Owner has been found and weāre working on a plan for pick up after bit! Thank you all for sharing!!! šØ
Calling our Eastsiders!!
This sweetie pie was found playing in traffic around 6am this morning near Brookville Rd. and Shadeland Ave nearly getting hit several times as shes not very street savvy. Sheās not spayed or chipped. 15/10 sweet, good girl.
David lives down the road, so picked her up on his way in. Unfortunately, we are not able to keep her at the building d/t no large dog space and a new crisis case coming in Monday morning and sheās pictured in the space for that dog. She will go home with David until owner is found, an appointment is made at the shelter, or gets placed with another rescue partner.
Please share!
We have a little adorable puppy that needs a home. Itās 4-6 months old. Itās purebred and will need regular grooming. If youāve done an app for a floof before and were one of several excellent applicants where we had to choose first app in, let us know if youād like to be considered for the pup. I want to consider those who already applied prior and were only not chosen because we didnāt have more than one floof.
Reiterating it is a puppy.
Itās a good puppy, but it acts like a puppy, has puppy teeth, puppy attention needs.
Said puppy was abandoned in apartment after eviction. People would be willing to tussle over it. Puppy is a boy, and despite shelter notes, is in fact NOT neutered yet, but since heās a small breed dog, should be good to be neutered now. He has so far went potty outside.
Would prefer home without small children, and that includes frequently visiting grandchildren.
Thanks!
Frank the Tank has been officially adopted.
Please join us in congratulating him, and good luck figuring out who the Tank is here if you donāt already follow our pageā¦ššš
We officially tied the knot and said āI do.ā šš
The team has put in three weeks of work from which has emerged a really happy, blossoming dogā¦But we know that itās still soon for her to experience any transition that rocks the foundation of safety and confidence thatās been built.
If we move her because we donāt want her to take up the space, itās extremely likely she will be imminently at risk.
We already love her and would honestly and literally fist fight about her if she were euthanized for being misunderstood. She simply needs more time to make the dog we see, the dog that is at the forefront, everywhere, all the time. But she is capable, and we want that for her, without fear that she will be at risk again.
Today, we celebrated her staying by taking her first trip bye bye, to do something positive. She went with me to the pet store to purchase a specific specialty food for one of the dogs belonging to veterans displaced by the fire.
And she did EXCELLENTLY.
Thank you Gunn for all your coordination to help veterans - and to Gabby who works with the VA and volunteers at SOAR, for picking up some food and bowls to distribute. Appreciate you both and all you do.
We had a group of community cats trapped in the field, that have needed care for a few weeks. The first cat, Tortilla, wasnāt meant to live outside and arrived bony and very emaciated. Sheās healed nicely with supportive care, routine nutrition, and sheās now been spayed. Since she wasnāt surviving well outside, she cannot be returned and was moved to our purple room. She has a pending application for adoption from a former SOAR adopter. Macaroni is a non-socialized kitty who has struggled with respiratory infection. He is already neutered, but since heās not truly āwildā, and had no friends/colony, and is long haired, weād like to see if we can socialize him or place him intelligently in a way that honors that he may need further supports to survive outside. To not get eaten and shredded while we do his care, weāve used his hidey box to make his care as fear-free and the least invasive as possible. Dr.Anna is a tremendous asset to us being able to do more for the entire crew than just spay-neuter-release. She has special expertise as community access veterinarian and surgeon, is a natural educator - and Iām thankful we can borrow her gifts from time to time. Its allowed us nearly a month to provide supportive care to make sure we arenāt fixing and releasing cats who need access to care. One cat has already been completed and released to her colony, and another is finally healthy enough to be fixed and released, and we hope to finish him this week. He is truly wild and has a harem of fixed lady friends to return to, with caretaker. These two cats were getting their combo tests to make sure they wonāt spread FIV or FeLv, and help solidify placement plans. Our community has several organizations that help serve cats, with Indy Neighborhood Cats being probably the largest support in the field. They have had overwhelming demand this year, and tend to cats like these 24/7, 365.
When they start to convince you that being a snazzy superstar has wayyyy more benefits than being snappy ever did.
Have you seen Emilyās porch buddy?
Indy Lost Pet Alert Indy Lost Pet Alert uses social media to spread the word about lost and found pets!
How it started vs how itās going.
Missy (aka Marigold at IACS) was surrendered to the shelter packaged up in a box like a thrown out Christmas gift. We pulled this sweet lady pretty quickly after she arrived as she just stared longingly into Angelaās eyes while we were āshoppingā one day in the small dog room.
Fast forward through a 2 week quarantine with us, groom sesh with Chelsea, and a 10 hr drive to Nebraska our little girl was finally home. From box troll to couch queen! If those sleeping poses donāt tell you sheās comfortableā¦.. I donāt know what will.
Mom and dad are having an e-fence installed this week because long walks and having everything you want in life just isnāt enough when you canāt have zoomies off leash.
So happy for you, sweet girl!
Please be sure to follow HVAF - Helping Veterans And Families to see what needs they may have from the fire there. Weāve seen this location help and house countless veterans and their pets over the years, and it sounds like the fire was devastating, with all residents displaced.
Oakley, our helper, went home today.
Now I donāt have to hide my facial expressions anymore after people take their completely wild guesses as to breed.
āOh yeah, you think sheās a mixed whatā¦? Hmmm, interesting.ā š§šš
I told her today, āI always knew who you were; a friggin flying baby velociraptor superstar with extra high IQ.ā Never doubted it for a second.
Sheās come a long huge way in such a short time.
Love her and will miss her, but am so happy for her and hope itās a wildly successfully story from here on out.
Just glad we got her to the point to not eat noses.
They said I donāt have to go back outside where I was starving.
Sophie is staying with us for a few months while her owner strengthens their recovery program with sober living.
It is unfortunate that pursuing sober living - which is key to successful recovery for many people - often means giving up their pet, because programs wonāt allow them. I tell new humans we meet where alcohol is a drug of choice, that itās tough one to get control over, because itās engrained in all of our traditions, holidays, celebrations, and is on every corner. Harm reduction efforts arenāt effective and time in, strength in recoveryā¦abstinence - is critical.
Average treatment program is 30-60 days.
Most Americans then leave treatment programs to face the day to day battles alone, with groups our outpatient support only. Sober living is an excellent resource to practice new ways of living with others who are sober.
14.5 million Americans suffered with AUD (Alcohol use disorder), with only 7.2% having had any treatment in the previous year. Alcohol contributes to 18.5% of emergency department visits and 22% of overdoses related to prescription opioids.
Dad brought Sophie to us on his 60th day sober. š
The longest weāve had a pet at SOAR during sober living is just over one year. All of the individuals now have more than five years of sobriety, and itās a beautiful thing to see them living their full lives.
Pet owners are able to visit their animals (often with their peer/buddy system) while in sober living:
Sophie is 11 years old and lived with dad her entire life. She felt seen when we were able to move her out of the temp kennel and into a roomā¦and we made sure her lambchop traveled with her. ā¤ļø
and
Marnie still needs committed rescue, or dedicated effort to find her owners. Please share. SOAR: Street Outreach Animal Response Initiative pulled Marnie from Indianapolis Animal Care Services when she landed on rescue only, due to lack of socialization.
We knew we had a window of time (10 days) before we had a dog scheduled in off our waitlist. That dog arrived yesterday, and luckily we had a gap with our dogs pulled to participate in the Paws and Think program, otherwise we would have had to return Marnie to IACS, where she would be a high euthanasia risk.
Why?
Marnie is an obviously owned dog, with high standards, that holds uncertainty and skepticism of strangers. She is 1000% housebroken, but she is a bite risk in stressful situations and transitions, especially if she needs constant leashing, unleashing, or has to experience unwanted touch.
Initially only David or myself did her care, and we have both navigated bite attempts, that were healthy communication and boundary settings. Thatās why sheās here, to grow in healthy ways, and sheās a rockstar pupil.
Sheās come such a long way, and where her care used to be done in relative silence and guarded, sheās now an enjoyable dog - but ideally we would need several more months to improve her socialization, expand her comfort zone, and her comfort with handling.
We get zero compensation for the sheltering and behavioral work, our reward is that she wasnāt at risk of imminent euthanasia due to behavior that is normal given the whole picture. We have not shared that we pulled her because sometimes if we pull to improve outcomes, folks assume theyāre safe.
She should be considered a very poor high-intake shelter candidate, which is why we have continued to commit, despite us having to be super creative to continue to hold space for her.
Her healing from amputation is complete. She came on multiple meds related to her surgery, as well as meds commonly used in shelter medicine for stress. Here she is now able to be on zero meds.
The work we have provided and are willing to continue to provide is normally a super expensive cost to shelters or rescues, which we are providing because we support our shelter and the outcomes of animals in our city.
Returning to shelter care is not in her best interest.
Tyrell wanted to try reupholstering as a hobby, but found that removal of the original materials was just absolutely exhausting and decided maybe heād sleep on it and decide if this was truly his calling or not.
Little Oakley was inspired by Angelaās dogs Fall yardwork video and got to work! West Michigan Street Veterinary Clinic SOAR: Street Outreach Animal Response Initiative
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