Upper Peninsula Animal Welfare Shelter

It takes an extra special person to adopt an extra special pet. While we think all pets that come into our care at UPAWS are special, there are some pets that stand out as having extra “specialness”. What does having extra specialness mean? It means that some pets need a little extra love or care to help them be the most successful in their new homes. This extra care could be as simple as a medication to continue on the pathway to health, a prescription or specialized diet, extra veterinary health checkups, or sometimes even a couple of sessions with a professional trainer to learn and develop good manners.

 Sometimes needing a little bit of extra care can be a disadvantage to a pet who is looking for its new home. Here at UPAWS we wanted to try and reduce that disadvantage and what we came up with is our “Extra Special Pets for Extra Special People” program. We have been very fortunate to develop this program to allow additional support for the care of some of our “extra special pets” for adoption. Thanks to the support of Lil’ Bub’s Big Fund for the ASPCA and Maddie’ Fund, we’ve been able to reduce the length of stay for some of the pets who have chronic, but manageable, illnesses as well as offer post adoption training opportunities for dogs who need a little bit of extra help getting adjusted to their new homes and lifestyles. This funding is limited but makes a very big impact on the lives of the pets that it has helped.

 One of our favorite success stories is about a sweet senior kitty named Phoebe. Phoebe arrived to the shelter in May of 2015.  Shortly after arriving, she was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and kidney failure. To help her feel better we got her on some thyroid medication and started her on a prescription renal health diet. After getting these treatments, she began to feel better, but still no one was coming to adopt her. She had been in and out of foster homes and home trials hoping that each one would be her forever home. Once we received funding from Lil’ Bubs Big Fund for the ASPCA, we labeled Phoebe as one of our “Extra Special” cats. Phoebe’s new mom had found her and fallen in love. Unsure if she could committee to the costs of Phoebe’s medication and diet, she started fostering. Soon after realizing that Lil’ Bub was assisting with the post-adoption care of Phoebe’s needs, she chose to take the plunge and make one lonely shelter kitty an official member of her family.

If you have room in your heart and home for an extra special pet, please stop by UPAWS today to see which of our friends are in the most need of a new forever home. We are truly grateful for our supportive community and partners for their assistance in finding loving forever homes for ALL of the critters, special or extra special.