MSPCA-Angell

Congratulations to this #CancerChamp!!! Giovanni Tortellini just finished his three and a half weeks of radiation at Angell Animal Medical Center. Gio's mom Cara was especially grateful for the daily pics that she received from his care coordinator, and said she could tell Gio loved who he was with, and was getting appropriately fawned over. She told us that the Tortellini boy was right back to his normal happy self right after he got home, and she is so appreciative for the care, comfort, and bonus time that this treatment will hopefully bring us. Best wishes Mr. Tortellini and we hope you continue to feel great!!

We are beyond proud to share that Dr. Rebecca Fellman, Chief Medical Officer for our MSPCA shelters, is the recipient of the 2024 Veterinarian of the Year award from the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV). This award recognizes remarkable members of the ASV who have been outstanding in their role as a veterinarian to improve community animal health and wellbeing. Dr. Fellman joined our team as we were transitioning from a traditional shelter medicine and public spay/neuter clinic into a more progressive approach. She quickly became the key veterinarian to drive the massive amount of change that came with this evolution. Dr. Fellman created changes within our shelter clinic that allowed us to perform more advanced medical procedures for shelter animals pre-adoption, which removed significant barriers for potential adopters and helped get more animals into homes. Dr. Fellman has also been integral in establishing our community outreach programs, as she helped our outreach team organize and execute vaccine and wellness clinics, as well as expand our spay/neuter capacity to provide more access to affordable spay/neuter.  She worked to transform our shelter clinic to be able to absorb urgent care cases from Angell that could be treated on an outpatient basis, which has prevented medical surrender and kept pets with the families who love them. Dr. Fellman has helped to advance our animal relocation program by addressing pet overpopulation through spaying/neutering animals in South Carolina. Dr. Fellman innovated the plan to have our clinic staff operate the TNVR program on a monthly basis. Since April of 2021 our travelling vet teams have spayed/neutered over 3,000 free-roaming cats. These are just some of the ways that Dr. Fellman’s vision, creativity, compassion, drive and leadership has changed the lives of thousands and thousands of animals, and we hope you will join us in thanking her for her work. We have no doubt that she will continue to innovate new strategies to help animals and the people that love them.

This weekend, we held our very first MSPCA low cost equine vaccine clinic! The event was put together by Kaycie McCarthy, who is our amazing Equine and Farm Animal Outreach Manager. A big thank you to veterinarians Dr. Perdrizet and Dr. Schmitt, who donated their time and expertise, and to Peter Whitmore who donated his time and barn in Orange, MA. Together we helped 25 equines get health exams, spring shots and microchips. Thank you to everyone who helped made this event possible!

Lobby Day for Animals 2024 was a success! Thank you to advocates, legislators, staff, and special guests Bella and Luna who joined us at the State House on Tuesday. Advocates from across Massachusetts came to Beacon Hill to lobby their state legislators in favor of animal protection legislation. Advocacy work cannot be done without you! Thank you State Senator Bruce Tarr for highlighting the importance of animal protection legislation and sponsoring the ban on exotic animals in traveling acts legislation. Also special thank you to MSPCA-Angell Community Advocacy Leader Carrie Thomas for speaking about her experience as an animal advocate and why it's critical to use your voice to help animals! And thanks as always to our co-hosts Animal Rescue League of Boston, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and The Humane Society of the United States. Interested in getting involved in animal advocacy? Join our Animal Action Team! mpsca.org/jointheteam.

Did you know, rabbits can donate blood? A rabbit named Moxy came into Angell West severely anemic and was in need of a blood transfusion. Moxy’s owners sent out a call for help and Carlos (pictured!), our blood donor, hopped in to save the day! Unlike cats, dogs and people, not much is known about exotic companion animal blood types. They do not have blood banks available, so we rely on volunteer blood donors to help out patients in need. Carlos stayed overnight after his blood donation to receive some snacks and fluids but is back to his normal self. Moxy did well for her blood transfusion and is recovering at home.

People always ask us, "How can I make a larger impact on animals?" THIS IS IT. On April 30, join advocates, legislators, and animal protection organizations at Lobby Day for Animals at the Massachusetts State House to give a voice to the voiceless and help animals in the Commonwealth! Lobby Day is a great way to experience legislative lobbying firsthand. You will learn about legislation pending in the State House that will help animals and have time to network with other animal advocates. At this event, you will: -Meet with your state legislators about animal protection legislation -Hear from inspiring speakers, including lawmakers -Network with other animal advocates and stakeholders Change is happening, and animals need YOU to be a part of it! Get your ticket HERE: https://lnkd.in/euUdMwYb

Meet Franklin, a western hognose snake. He saw Dr. Staudenmaier at Angell-West for a decrease in appetite over the last few months. He was diagnosed with stomatitis, which is inflammation of the lining of his mouth. Franklin was sent home with antibiotics for the next few weeks and is on his road to recovery.   Did you know, western hognoses like to play dead as a defense mechanism? They also like to flatten their “necks” to make themselves look like cobras to scare off predators.   Our hospitals at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston and at Angell-West in Waltham sees exotics on appointments and through the emergency service. We’d love to see your scaled, finned, feathered and furred friends! To inquire about booking an appointment for your pet, please visit www.angell.org/appointment or call us at 617-989-1561.

Charlie McAvoy came by our Boston Adoption Center with Polkadog to give our adoptable dogs some love and delicious treats! For the month of March, $2 from each Rocket Fuel treat sold will be donated back to our organization 😍 Handmade with love by Polkadog, Otto & Charlie McAvoy, these crunchy chicken bones not only taste good, but do good, too. https://lnkd.in/eiDUmp4b

This is Frankie! Frankie is a beloved patient of Dr. Noonan, who is on our Avian & Exotics team at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston. Frankie's family travels from all the way in Maine to see Dr. Noonan, but they feel it is worth the trip! Besides his tendency towards social drinking (a joke, this is a joke, no alcohol for birds), Frankie is in tip top shape!

We were joined by Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) Commissioner Ashley E. Randle and MDAR staff at our Boston Adoption Center to promote the Massachusetts Animal Fund and celebrate the milestone of having helped over 20,000 animals through the Animal Fund’s Spay/Neuter Voucher Program! She was able to meet some of our clients utilizing the program, and take a tour of our adoption center and Angell Animal Medical Center. Receiving the 20,000th free spay/neuter voucher from the Mass Animal Fund (Fund) to start 2024 was Stella the cat. The voucher was issued to cover the cost of her spay surgery following diagnosis of a life-threatening infection of Stella’s uterus known as pyometra. The emergency voucher surgery was successfully completed by the veterinary team at the MSPCA Nevins Farm. The Mass Animal Fund program was created by legislation in 2012, and its spay/neuter program has now assisted over 20,000 animals since sending out its first voucher 2014. Massachusetts taxpayers can support the Mass Animal Fund by writing in a voluntary contribution on Line 33f of the 2023 Massachusetts Income Tax Form. More information about donating to the Massachusetts Animal Fund can be found at www.mass.gov/animalfund.