After a few days, Laylee was sent to a foster home to continue her treatment. They worked on getting her skin feeling better, as well as putting some much-needed weight on her. Laylee thrived in her foster home. She was thrilled to have their resident dog around to play with, and even showed how respectful and sweet she could be … Read More
Creating a Path Forward, Together
The Start of a New Chapter It’s hard to believe that it has been almost five years since the first time I visited Humane Society Silicon Valley. I distinctly remember the warm February afternoon when I arrived at the Animal Community Center to kick off a volunteer consulting project. I was surprised by the welcoming campus and the beautiful building, … Read More
From Wild Child to Baby Chick Mama
2-year-old HSSV alum Biko almost never stops moving. She’s a wild child who prefers to spend her time running, fetching, and romping with other dogs. HSSV’s graphic designer, Michelle, adopted Biko in 2018 (you can see some of Michelle’s amazing work on our mobile spay/neuter clinic and rescue vans). “If I had to describe Biko, I’d say she’s the … Read More
The Unstoppable Duo
It started with Pirate. He came to us at just two weeks old, underweight, and with one of his eyes ruptured. One of our veterinary assistants, Stephanie, took him home for the night to monitor and bottle feed him. The next morning, his weight was down and his eye was looking worse. His prognosis didn’t look good, but our medical … Read More
Gooey’s Journey
When we got the call from one of our rescue partners in the Central Valley, we were told the mama dog had six puppies, all just under a week old. “She’s blind and deaf,” they said. “Can you take her?” We rushed to take her and her puppies in Despite not being able to hear or see us, she was … Read More
A Rough Road for Puppies
“Pup is still not eating on her own,” read the medical notes written by one of our veterinarians after an exam with Deb. The puppy, one of six littermates brought in three days prior from a rescue partner in the Central Valley, had parvovirus. Our shelter partner reached out to us when the litter of puppies was brought to them … Read More
The Small Dog Whisperer
Darci, one of our Behavior Associates, is affectionately known as the “small dog whisperer” around HSSV. Small dogs, especially shy or fearful ones, flock toward her gentle, calming personality. “Darci has been an amazing addition to the behavior team because of her natural ability to be calm and earn the trust of our small fearful canines. She has a natural … Read More
A Second Chance for a Special Cat
Despite the pain he was clearly in, Mr. Pipp was affectionate. He purred, arched his back, and leaned into pets from the staff in our medical center. But he was clearly injured. The young tuxedo cat’s pelvis was fractured and his hind leg was injured. He walked extremely carefully on his back legs, feeling the pain with every step. Soon … Read More
Lex Finds a Friend – and His Confidence
Just a week after the statewide shelter-in-place mandate was announced due to COVID-19 concerns, many parts of Humane Society Silicon Valley looked quite different than usual. Our public-facing programs and services were suspended, and many of our animals were moving out of the shelter into foster homes. But one thing hadn’t changed – continuing to support our rescue partners and … Read More
Winnie: A Story of Dedication
It was Tuesday, the day after the first shelter-in-place mandate arrived in the Bay Area. We were scrambling to quickly suspend most of our services, reassign some of our staff to animal care duties, and find foster homes for the animals in our shelter. And then we got the call. One of our shelter rescue partners in the area needed … Read More