Zoe’s Animal Rescue has some wonderful supporters, and Mama and Co.’s Jennifer is one of them! Not only has our rescue (and our sweet Missy who is looking for her furever home) been featured on her website, but she’s put her craftiness and creativity to work for our rescue animals!

Do you love Christmas…? Wiener dogs…? Of course you do! How adorable are these watercolour-style downloadable holiday tags?

For just $3.00 you’ll receive a downloadable sheet of 6 Little Wienie Christmas tags that will brighten up your Christmas packaging while helping Zoe’s animals! Every cent will directly go to our rescue.

Mama and Co.’s website promotes community, collaboration, and connection, and we see those vary things in Jennifer’s efforts to help raise awareness about rescue in our city and much-needed funds for our dogs and cats. We are so thankful to have such a creative, caring person as a part of our rescue community.

Now, swing by Mama and Co. and snag some tags!

Hi, I’m Amanda. I, and the other Zoe’s Web Team leader, Kristy, are looking for creative, fun, dedicated volunteers to join us in our crusade to promote Zoe’s on the internet! Check out our positions below, and apply to volunteer. Excelsior!

Amanda and Kristy, your friendly neighborhood web coordinators.

Animal Biographer (2 people)
Hours per week: 2-4
Tasks:
• Write biographies for new intakes (this task is shared with the Facebook Coordinator)
• Enter new animals onto the website, and move adopted animals to Happy Tails
• Update profiles as fosters get to know them
• Participate in Web Team discussions to provide ideas and feedback

Skills and capabilities
• Willing to spend short periods of time every day/every other day updating intakes and adoptions. Our animal turnover is high, so animals must be posted and removed in a timely fashion.
• Able to write clear, concise, and engaging biographies.
• Available to communicate regularly through Facebook

Events Blogger
Hours per week: 3-4
Tasks:
• Write blog posts about upcoming events
• Attend events (or get photos from others) and write follow up blog posts
• Participate in Web Team discussions to provide ideas, feedback

Skills and capabilities
• Willing to attend 1-2 events per month (mostly on weekends) to cover the stories.
• Able to write engaging, fun blog posts.
• Photography skills an asset

Storytelling Blogger
Hours per week: 2-3
Tasks:
• Write 1 blog post per week
• Participate in Web Team discussions to provide ideas, feedback

Skills and capabilities
• Able to write stories about our animals and volunteers that are inspiring, fun, and personal

Store Manager
Hours per week: 4-6
Tasks:
• Maintain the online store
• Process donations
• Add new items and delete old ones
• Create promotional materials for the store
• Participate in Web Team discussions to provide ideas, feedback

Are you looking for a caterer for the holiday season?

Bridges Catering has graciously offered to donate $1.00 from every monthly lunch special sold in the month of November to Zoe’s!

And believe me, this lunch special sounds delish!

Monthly Lunch Special  ($16 per person)

Fall Harvest Lasagna

Sweet butternut squash, kale, and feta layered with a creamy bechamel sauce.

Served with:

Sundried Tomato & Olive Salad

with fresh parmesan

Green Onion Biscuits

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

For more information or to place an order you can visit their website or call (780) 425-0173.

And make sure you check out their Facebook page to see some gorgeous pictures of the food they serve.

Enjoy some amazing food and help animals in need at the same time! What a perfect way to celebrate the holiday season.

“Why I Rescue” is a series of blog posts where we asked Zoe’s volunteers what got them started in the rescue community, whether as a volunteer, foster, adopter, or any other capacity that helps change the lives of animals for the better.

Today, we will hear from Jessica Kluthe, Zoe’s Twitter and Instagram guru. 

A few summers ago my brother and his wife needed a cat-sitter for their senior cat, Felix. I reluctantly agreed: I’d never spent any significant amount of time around cats, and I was worried about the cat hair all over my clothes and my furniture.

But, for a few weeks, Felix came to live at my house and before long he was sleeping on my feet at night and following me down the stairs for breakfast each morning. I soon learned that cats can be full of personality—Felix, while a senior cat, had a kitten-spirit and still really loved to play, would follow me around from room-to-room, and would do almost anything for a black olive (seriously!). We bonded.

After Felix’s stay, I realized I wanted a cat in my life.  I was missing the energy he brought to the house. Fast-forward a few years and I now have two of my own cats. Finnegan was adopted from The Edmonton Humane Society; he was found outside one early December during one of those stretches of 40 below weather. Holt was a stray a friend saved from under a set of stairs at a condo complex, and who, after coaxing him out from where he was hiding, he asked me to take.

I could not imagine life without them. I know I technically rescued them, but they have saved me, so many times, from life’s stresses and from the pain of heartache. They both tend to stick close by my side when I’m upset or feeling overwhelmed. And, when I’m in a good mood, they will joyfully take part in that too by bringing toys to drop at my feet, meowing for treats, and generally being crazy: you know, plopping down on my hands while I’m typing, doing pencil rolls across the floor, and shredding toilet paper into a million teeny-tiny pieces if I forget to close the bathroom door.

Prior to adopting my cats, aside from hearing about rescues in passing, I didn’t know much about them. But, as my love of cats snowballed, I started following a few local rescues on social media and thinking about ways I may be able to help.

Sadly, my brother and sister-in-law’s senior cat Felix passed away this year. But that was after a long, happy life with a family that loved him and he loved in return. One day this past summer, I was over at their house and feeling a certain emptiness without their olive-loving black cat.

I suggested they consider fostering a cat or kitten (or two) with Zoe’s. I knew fostering—temporarily taking in an animal in need while the rescue covered the medical expenses, provided food, and supplied litter—was an option since I’d read about it Zoe’s Facebook page.

Of course, no cat could ever take Felix’s place, but having another cat around would certainly remind them of all the things they loved about their sixteen-year-old guy. By bettering the life of another cat and giving another cat a great place to live and a loving family until he or she was adopted, fostering would also be a great way to celebrate Felix. My sister-in-law filled out the foster application later that day. A few weeks later, their first foster Toonie was bouncing around their house, napping on their couch, and meowing for them to turn on the tap so he could have a slurp of water.

After becoming a foster with Zoe’s, my sister-in-law told me about the supportive, caring, energetic rescue team. I knew I wanted to be a part of it! While I am not in the position to foster a dog or cat right now, I decided to put my interest in social media to work on Zoe’s Twitter and Instagram pages. I hope this can, at least in a small way, contribute to continuing to build an animal-loving, rescue-minded community. I hope to find ways to reach out to others, who, like me, not so long ago, don’t know about rescues or how to get involved. And all of this, thanks to Felix, The Cat.

Do you have some empty wall space that you just can’t seem to find the right picture for?

Do you need something to make you smile?

Do you like kittens?

Of course, you do!

Luckily, some Zoe’s Animal Rescue volunteers are here to help!

How to Make Kitten Art

Step 1: Acquire adorable kittens and non-toxic paint.

Step 2: Dip adorable kitten paws into paint.

Step 3: Release the kittens!

Step 4: Admire tiny, and now colorful, kitten paws.

Step 5: Bathe kittens to return them to their pristine condition.

Step 6: Let beautiful art dry.

Step 7: Hide the evidence before your partner/roommate/spouse returns home.

But don’t worry. If this seems like too much work for you, or you don’t have access to hordes of adorable kittens, these pieces of art will be for sale in our upcoming auction. Stay tuned for more details!

Meet Missy, our newest addition to the Zoe’s Co-Pilot Program! Missy has been in several rescues over the last couple of years, and when her last rescue closed, we at Zoe’s decided that we were going to be her last stop before her forever home.

Many of our long-term animals have health issues, or are a difficult fit for most families. Missy’s biggest issue, however, is that she’s a dog-reactive girl, surrounded by dog-loving people, whose homes are already filled with dogs! Missy is a sweet girl, but she needs more exposure to help get her into a home where she is the only pet. To help stir up a buzz about Missy, we’re lowering her adoption fee to a mere $50, offering up to one free vet visit a month (not including procedures), and providing training for the two of you. Essentially, Zoe’s will be your “co-pilot” in Missy’s care.

Missy’s dislike of other animals tends to obscure her good qualities. But we want you to know that Missy is a good girl! She loves walks, she loves car rides, she loves cuddling, and she loves being with her people. She’s calm in the house, and happy to be your company in whatever you want to do. If you have a sunspot in your home, no dog or cat hair on your couch, and a little room in your heart, consider adopting Missy.

The last few weeks will live on in infamy for the people of Zoe’s. We took in four dogs with parvo.

What is Parvo?

Parvo (“Canine parvovirus”) is a life-threatening viral illness. It causes our poor puppies to have severe vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and loss of appetite. It’s highly contagious; it can be transmitted by anything that comes in contact with an infected dog, whether that’s a person, another animal, or an object like food bowls or flooring.

Thank goodness for great volunteers!

So you can imagine how hard it is to care for a dog with parvo, let alone four of them. Our volunteers have to separate the animals, change their clothes every time they interact with them, clean up really yucky messes endlessly, and are back and forth between the animal hospital.

With four dogs suffering from parvo, our volunteers went into over time. Luckily, we have amazing volunteers who stepped up to help with the mess and get our puppies through it.

But these dogs are survivors

Luckily, our dogs have all recovered and are now moving to their foster homes.

We’d like for you to meet them.

Mother Teresa was the first to recover. She is doing well now in her foster home. You can also read her profile by clicking here.

JLo looks like a totally different dog! She is perky and loves snuggles. She was off to her new foster home today.

Serena Williams is stunning. She is enjoying life parvo-free at her new foster home.

David Beckham is back to eating treats like a puppy should! He is living parvo-free in his new foster home.

Thank you to all the volunteers who helped save these precious lives. If you’re interested in learning more about how to care for a parvo pup, let us know! One of our co-directors, Kath, has offered to teach any fosters interested!