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The evening was a wonderful opportunity to connect with Napa Humane board members and staff. We loved sharing more about our work and the programs that make a difference in the lives of animals across Napa Valley.

Thank you to our business supporters

We’re especially grateful to Gott’s Roadside for their generosity, donating the event space and 10% of the day’s sales to Napa Humane. Thanks to everyone who stopped by for a delicious meal—your support means so much!  The team at Gott’s was so welcoming and excited to see our furry friends, even treating them to trays of pup-cups!

We’d also like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our raffle donors: Sportago, Fideaux, Paula Kornell, and the Napa Humane Board of Directors. The excitement over the prizes really helped make the evening even more memorable

A special shoutout to drool. dog cookies, who were onsite selling some of their delicious treats—many of our four-legged attendees went home with full bellies and wagging tails! Drool also kindly donated a portion of their sales to Napa Humane, and we couldn’t be more grateful for their support.

We also want to thank Suzanne Hawken of She Shoots Shots, who showcased her wonderful Rescued Dogs of Napa Valley photo books and took sign-ups for future photo opportunities—your presence added a unique and meaningful touch to the event.

Join us for our October Mixer

Our Napa Humane Pet Education Manager, Alyssa Vincent did a fantastic job with her dog training demo, giving participants some great tips on enhancing their bond with their furry companions.  Be sure to submit your questions for ask the trainer, which will be featured at our October Mixer.  You can RSVP here!

Thank you to everyone who attended. From raffle prizes to drool-worthy treats and dog training tips, the night was filled with laughter, fun, and incredible support for our mission.  Your participation helps us continue our work to ensure a healthier, happier life for pets and people in Napa Valley. We can’t wait to see you at our next event!

Check out all the photos from the event, courtesy of Seymour & McIntosh Photography.

The post An Evening of Wags, Friends & Pupcups: August Mixer at Gott’s St. Helena appeared first on Napa Humane.

With all the challenges of restoring an in-person Walk in 2022, we were a little nervous to move our 2023 event to a brand-new location. Would participants embrace the new venue? How smoothly could everyone transition to a new route through a new town? Would there be enough parking? Would the new vendors and community partners for our booth setup enjoy participating? Would attendees appreciate them? We hoped to get 250 pet lovers signed up, and to raise $80,000 for our programs and services. Could we pull it all off??

We were probably the only ones worrying. Nearly 300 pet lovers joined in on the fun at Yountville Community Park, despite a sizzling forecast! Fortunately, plenty of grass and big shady trees kept things nice and cool for the festivities, and everyone had a great time.

Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company was onsite to pour complimentary cups of Napa Humane’s “Best Furiends Blend” for Walkers, which is also available for sale on their website here and in both Napa Valley locations. Southside Café, Sweetie Pie’s, and Clif Family provided complimentary snacks to go alongside fruit for Walkers and volunteers. Tails were wagging, both figuratively and literally!

None of this could have happened without the nearly 100 volunteers who came out to set up, guide Walkers, clean up and more. Many thanks to Debbie Kmiec and the Rainbow Girls, and Bill Bennett and the Rotary Club of North Napa, who helped guide Walkers along the new route along the Vine Trail and helped with dog waste cleanup. Thank you to Gordon Smith who led logistics, to UBS Compass Point Financial Group who stuffed Walker goodie bags and helped set up the new venue, and to everyone else who dedicated their time before, during, and after the event. We can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate your hard work on behalf of Napa Valley’s companion animals!

Special thanks go also to the Town of Yountville, its residents, and Yountville Parks & Rec for welcoming Napa Humane and Walk for Animals to their charming community. And of course, a grateful shout-out to Napa Valley’s favorite radio personality, Bob St. Laurent, for emceeing this year’s event!

In total, more than $67k was raised by our 12 teams of fundraisers, the silent auction, raffle, and day-of donations, and Napa Humane’s generous annual sponsors.

Dr. Mary Whitehill returned for her 12^th Walk and maintained her crown as the reigning individual fundraising champ. Her Team Kimba also kept their title as the top fundraising team. Annalee Sanborn and her group Team Pineapple achieved amazing results for Napa Humane’s programs, and claimed new bragging rights as top fundraisers.

Other contests included best costume and best trick, and we were incredibly lucky to have amazing local photographers donating their talent to capture all of the fun. Check out the fabulous Walk for Animals photo albums created by Seymour & McIntosh, Caitlin O’Reilly Photography, CJ Creative, Robert Jaeger Photography, R. Photography & Imagery, and PhotosByMarissa.com: bit.ly/WFA2023photos

We are already looking forward to next year’s Walk for Animals! Save the date for Sunday, August 4, 2024.

For more stories and photos, take a peek at the local newspaper articles recapping the 2023 Walk:

Press Democrat
Good things happening: Napa Humane event sees rise in donations

Napa Register
Napa County pet owners show their bonds with furry friends at Walk for Animals in Yountville

The post Joy Unleashed at Walk for Animals 2023 appeared first on Napa Humane.

His love for dogs inspired him to volunteer with Napa Humane, where he shared his incredible business expertise, connections, and passion with us as a member of our Board of Directors. The wealth of experience he brought to the table helped to elevate our operations and set us up for success. And the tales of his basset hounds’ escapades never failed to light up the room.

Thank you, Clay. We will always be grateful for your warm heart and generosity of spirit. You are missed by many, many people, and all of us at Napa Humane.

The post Remembering Clay Gregory, a Napa Valley Champion appeared first on Napa Humane.

As we reconvened at Oxbow Commons for our first in-person Walk for Animals event in two years, I was thrilled to see so many familiar faces.  We may have had to take a break from “normal life” for a while, but that definitely didn’t break the connection between Napa Humane and our community.  Today I’m giving thanks for that, for our team, for our community partners, and for every single one of you! Here’s why.

Our Awesome Staff

Our Napa Humane team truly believes in the work that we do. They show their dedication in every spay/neuter surgery, every vaccination and microchip, every piece of pet advice, and every child they teach pet safety to in school.

I am particularly in awe of Dr. Amanda Vance, who in her almost 15 years with us has performed more than 40,000 spay/neuter surgeries! Think a second about the impact that’s made on our community. . . it’s mind-blowing! Her dedication and skills are phenomenal, and I am so grateful she’s part of our small-but-mighty team. Thank you, Dr. Amanda!!

Our Fantastic Board of Directors and Amazing Volunteers

Every volunteer helps advance our mission, whether in a leadership Board position, or showing up at a single-day event – but the ones who keep coming back become family.

Bill Bennet, for example, has been in our corner for as many years back as I can recall. After the 2014 earthquake, it was Bill who showed up at our Clinic to assess the damage.  Fast forward to just this past week, and Bill was there again, performing an energy usage audit to determine why our PG&E bill has had a mysterious spike. At each Walk for Animals event, he gathers up his fellow Rotary Club members to volunteer along the route and keeps all the paws moving smoothly for the cause.  Bill has been managing the Walk route since 2013. We are so lucky to have you, Bill!

Our Loyal Local Businesses

Napa’s generous local businesses support an incredible number of deserving nonprofit organizations in our community. Donation requests come fast and furious all year round, and I’m sure it often feels overwhelming to the hard-working men and women in charge.

We are beyond grateful to every restaurant, winery, and business who’s ever held an event in support of Napa Humane, contributed an item for our silent auction, provided discounted services, or written a donation check to Napa Humane. Thank you for choosing us! Your generosity makes such a difference to the pets and pet owners in our community.

I know I sound like a broken record, but I really can’t say thank you enough. Thank you for helping ensure puppies and kittens are not born to an uncertain future. Thank you for making it possible to provide life-saving services to pet owners at less than cost, and keep the skyrocketing cost of veterinary care affordable for those who need it. Thank you for caring about innocent animals who rely on humans to ensure that they are well cared for. Thank you for putting your trust in Napa Humane!

I look forward to many more great years with Napa Humane, and with you all.

Sincerely,
Wendi Piscia, Executive Director

The post Feeling Grateful! appeared first on Napa Humane.

It turns out that after all our worrying, everyone had a blast! Attendees were thrilled to return to an in-person WFA, and we saw more than 350 pet lovers joining in on the fun. Awards were handed out for best costume (individual), best costume (group), and best trick. Napa Valley Coffee Roasting Company was on site to pour complimentary cups of Napa Humane’s “Best Furiends Blend” for Walkers, which is also available for sale on their website and in both Napa Valley locations. Southside Café, Sweetie Pie’s, and Clif Family provided complimentary snacks to accompany fruit for Walkers and volunteers.

At the end of the day, more than 90 fundraisers on 15 teams brought in over $74 thousand for Napa Humane through the silent auction, raffle, and day-of donations!

Dr. Mary Whitehill returned for her 11th Walk, and once again claimed the crown as the reigning individual fundraising champ. Her Team Kimba also kept their title of top team fundraiser. The Board Walkers (an alliance of Napa Humane board members) and Team Pineapple rounded out the top 3 teams for total dollars raised.

We are so lucky (and grateful!) to have amazing local photographers donate their talent each year to capture all of the fun. You can check out our amazing Walk for Animals photo albums by Seymour & McIntosh, and Caitlin O’Reilly Photography here, and (re)live some of the most heart-warming and hilarious moments.

We could not have pulled off this event without the nearly 100 volunteers that came out to set up, guide Walkers, clean up and generally make things happen. Thank you so much to Debbie Kmiec and the Rainbow Girls, Bill Bennett and the Rotary Club of North Napa who guided Walkers along the route and helped with dog waste clean up, our logistics lead Gordon Smith, the UBS Compass Point Financial Group who stuffed Walker goodie bags, Napa CERT for helping on the route, and everyone else who dedicated their time before, during, and after the event.

We can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate your hard work on behalf of Napa Valley’s companion animals! Truly, you all help make Napa Humane.

The post They Came, They Wagged, They Walked for Animals 2022! appeared first on Napa Humane.

Nope. The real problem is, we don’t have nearly enough vets for our pets. This was the case even before the pandemic inspired 23 million households to welcome a new furry family member – so the problem has only gotten worse since then.

Industry groups predict that we’ll need around 23,000 more companion animal vets by 2030 to take care of our dogs and cats – plus another 18,000 to replace the vets practicing now who will have retired by then. That’s a grand total of nearly 41,000 new companion animal veterinarians by 2030. At the rate we’ve been adding new vets, though, it will take us almost 16 years to get there – and we only have 8 years to do it!

That doesn’t look good for our pets. People are already going to emergency vets and waiting 10 hours to get their animals examined. Others can’t afford the time and money to do that. Already, Napa Humane has seen a huge increase in demand for our spay/neuter and other preventative care, since many private vet practices are cutting back services so they can see more sick and injured animals. This situation will only get worse with time, since our country gets far more pets than we get new vets each year. 

So, what can we do to solve this vet shortage? The first thing most people suggest is that we need to encourage more students to go to veterinary school. (I had the same thought myself.) But it turns out that despite the huge student loans and underpaid jobs, people wanting to go to vet school is not the problem! It’s that there aren’t enough admission slots in vet schools.

Did you know there are only 32 accredited colleges of veterinary medicine in the whole country? And, most of them are quite small. UC Davis had 979 applicants for their 2023 class, but they could only accept 191 people; just 149 of those applicants actually enrolled. Since only about 60% of new vets wind up working with companion animals (the others go into specialty fields, large animals, research, academia, and a variety of other career paths), that means Davis only graduates around 90 new companion animal vets every year. The other 31 accredited schools are a similar story.

Clearly, we have got to step up the pace! We need more accredited vet schools, we need bigger classes at the schools we have, and we also need more vet techs and assistants to help carry the workload – the way physicians’ assistants and nurse practitioners do with our own medical doctors. We need bold, sweeping changes to veterinary medicine education if we want to make sure our pets can get the care they’ll need in 2030. 

Just as importantly, though: We need to be really, really patient, supportive, and kind to the overworked veterinarians and clinic staff we have now! The reasons for the current vet shortage are systemic, and it’s not your vet’s fault that pets outnumber pet doctors so dramatically. They are doing their best in a terrible situation, and burnout is real. Let’s do what we can to help our veterinary teams keep doing the critical work that they do. Please be patient, and don’t make them question why they got into this career. Send cards, buy the team lunch, or do something else to express your appreciation that they are taking care of our pets. Let them know how important they are.

We also encourage you to talk to your community, and spread the word about what’s going on with veterinary care. We need to raise awareness of this problem to set changes in motion. Vets should not have to work around the clock seven days a week on a regular basis – though we are grateful some do, volunteering with us for wellness clinics or extra spay/neuter surgery days.

If you can, please support Napa Humane as we do our best to fill the need gap. Our spay/neuter surgeries are currently booking four months out, because people have so few other options in the North Bay area – none of which are low-cost. For thousands of local pets, our spay/neuter services and wellness clinics are the only vet care available to them. Please help us help them with a donation today.

Give Now

The post Why Is It So Hard to See a Vet These Days? appeared first on Napa Humane.

For one week only, any donation to Napa Humane of $20 or more commissioned an original portrait of the donor’s pet, courtesy of a cadre of 54 volunteer artists of every age and experience level. From Napa six-year-olds to artists in San Diego and even Massachusetts, the talent pool was broad and beautiful. By the time the event closed May 8th, we’d raised more than $2000 for Napa Humane programs, and produced 80 gorgeous portraits!

Donor Jeff shared with us, “Our family dog Ruby is the sweetest, smartest, most loyal dog. She’s getting older so we wanted to give my mom her portrait for Mother’s Day. My mom LOVED it! The artist did an amazing job capturing her loving personality – we couldn’t be happier.”

Donor Susan shared: ““This is the best ever! Tears are rolling down my face – I miss that cat so much and this is such a perfect tribute ???!”

Check out our entire museum-worthy collection of beloved dogs, cats, lizards, and one very special bovine. And don’t miss Oscar the cat, by six-year-old Grayson!

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This year’s Walk for Animals was an absolute blast! If a picture’s worth a thousand words, this video really tells the whole tale – fun vibes, pet tricks and all.  Here’s one more giant thank you to all of our sponsors, fundraisers, volunteers, and Walkers – we couldn’t do it without you!

We are incredibly lucky to have amazing local photographers donate their talent each year to capture all of the fun. Check out the Walk for Animals photo albums by Seymour & McIntosh,  Caitlin O’Reilly Photography, and Victor M. Samuel Photography.

This year’s event was spectacularly successful for Napa Valley’s companion animals…more than 330 individual participants and over 25 teams brought in more than $99,000 in donations! This year’s top fundraisers did an amazing job, bringing in over $16,000 between them – Dr. Mary Whitehill raised an impressive $10,000, and Cheryl Beguelin just a whisker under $6,000.  Looks like practice maybe does make perfect – both of these dedicated animal lovers have participated in all eight Walks, raising many thousands of dollars to improve the lives of Napa’s pets. Thank you for all your hard work, Dr. Mary and Cheryl!

Last but not least, I’d like to thank the dedicated staff at Napa Humane, especially our new event coordinator Ashley, for making Walk for Animals run smoothly and successfully.

We look forward to seeing you ALL at Walk for Animals 2020! — Wendi Piscia

The post Walk for Animals 2019 appeared first on Napa Humane.

Walk participants (and their pooches) meet at the Oxbow Commons at 7:30 a.m. for a fun-filled walk along the Riverfront, with or without fantastic costumes (but hopefully with!). Once we’re all warmed up, we reconvene at the Oxbow Commons on McKinstry Street for an animal lovers’ afterparty – music, contests, a silent auction, a raffle, and more. Local bagel company Toasted will have food available and Drool.Dog Cookies will be selling dog treats for Fido. Both these amazing local businesses will be donating a portion of their sales back to Napa Humane, because they’re just that wonderful.

To help inspire you, we’ll be awarding prizes for “Best Dog Costume” and “Best Dog Trick” at the event, as well as prizes based on the amount of money raised by participants. Every pre-registered walker also receives an official Walk for Animals t-shirt and goodie bag – plus the satisfaction of knowing they’ve made a positive difference to our life-saving work!  Want to see more?  Check out our photo albums from last years Walk.

Human walkers register online for the event at www.napahumane.org, where they can create a personalized profile page, set a fundraising goal, and decide whether to join or create a team. Don’t be shy! Teams (especially the ones in uniform!) make the event even more fun. The free online interface makes it easy to request and collect donations from family, friends, and animal-loving supporters by sharing their profile link via email, Facebook, and Twitter.

Past participants have solicited donations with promises of hilarious event-day performances, matching funds, homemade lemonade, and much more. This is Napa Valley’s funnest animal-loving community event, and a full 100% of event proceeds benefits our services and programs!

So let’s get creative and make this year’s event the best one yet!

The post Eighth Annual Walk For Animals August 4, 2019 appeared first on Napa Humane.