BREAKING NEWS 5/13/09

Wow, every week "Litter Did You Know" seems to be gaining popularity. We give our heart felt thanks to the editors of http://www.sfgate.com/ for featuring "My Cat Made Me Do it" on the front page of their site. It has generated a huge interest in our blog and created a worldwide fanbase for my 18 year old cat , Matilda. We both thank you dearly.


Daniel


UPCOMING EVENTS:

COME BUY SOME AMAZING ART AND SUPPORT THE ANIMAL ASSISTED THERAPY PROGRAM!


The Art for AAT auction will be held on May 16th at 201 Alabama Street. Come meet AAT volunteers and therapy animals and hear about the real impact of our work firsthand. The auction will feature Bay Area artists and collectors who have donated beautiful items in support of The SF/SPCA AAT Programs. There will be dozens of pieces in a range of prices. For donors, including first time donors, we will have two special talks on Parrots and Therapy and our new MESCAAT program. All proceeds benefit The SF/SPCA AAT Programs.


What is Animal Assited Therapy?

At The San Francisco SPCA our Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) Programs started in 1981, making us the oldest program operating within a larger animal welfare organization. We currently have more than 100 volunteer teams making visits to locations throughout San Francisco. Working with their own friendly dogs, cats, small animals and birds, our busy volunteers share the human-companion animal bond with more than 40,000 people annually.
The Animal Assisted Therapy Department operates two programs: the General AAT Program and the Puppy Dog Tales Reading Program. Both programs are designed to facilitate communication, healing, and motivation by bringing the love of companion animals to people in mental and physical healthcare facilities, libraries and schools.

For more information on becoming an AAT volunteer please call 415.554.3060 or email AAT@sfspca.org to request an application.

Zynga Partners with San Francisco SPCA to Raise Awareness for Helping Homeless Animals

Zynga (http://www.zynga.com/), the largest developer of social games, and The San Francisco SPCA today announced their recent successful partnership, which has resulted in more than $20,000 in donations for the animal welfare agency. Through virtual transactions of real-world in-game currency in Zynga's highly popular virtual world game, YoVille, players can adopt special SF/SPCA shelter cats and dogs from the in-game shelter through virtual transactions paid with real-word money.

YoVille is a free-to-play online virtual world game that is located on Facebook and MySpace. Users create custom characters and apartments, and can invite their real-world friends to play and interact with them in the YoVille universe. Through the newly added Pet Shelter, players are able to adopt a bulldog wearing an SF/SPCA vest with YoCash, YoVille's real-world in-game currency. The sale of each bulldog donates $2 to The SF/SPCA. Players receive an in-game philanthropy badge for adopting their SF/SPCA companion animals and are able to take them to their YoVille home to care for them and play with them. In addition to the bulldog, players are now also able to adopt a special SF/SPCA cat.

"Zynga builds games for social networks, and one focus for social networks is altruism and philanthropy," said Mark Pincus, CEO, Zynga. "We had been looking for ways to help users of Facebook and MySpace give back to society while interacting with their favorite social network game. In YoVille and The SF/SPCA , we found the perfect match."

"We are thrilled to partner with Zynga," said SF/SPCA President, Jan McHugh-Smith. "By reaching out to the virtual world, Zynga helps raise awareness about adopting shelter animals and, at the same time, supports the local community by selecting the San Francisco SPCA as the designated non-proft receiving this generous support."

MAYA STILL NEEDS A HOME!!!

Despite our best effort to get Maya adopted on "CINCO DE MAYA", she is still here looking for a home. To help you get a better idea of Maya's amazing personality, we have posted a video clip below:

If you are interested in adopting Maya, give The SF/SPCA a call at 415- 522-3500