Greetings MaxFund Volunteers!
If your newsletter doesn't look pretty, with cool graphics and things, check out http://www.maxfundvolunteers.org/newsletters/newsletter0710.html

Dog Handling LIVE & Cat Handling LIVE classes now available - If you have been through the volunteer orientation, but didn't quite feel comfortable coming in and tackling it on your own, or you weren't comfortable with (or never got around to) contacting a volunteer mentor for one-on-one training, these classes are for you! Classes are given thanks to volunteer mentors who want to share their time and knowledge on these subjects with the goal of getting more volunteers in to the shelter on a regular basis!
Dog Handling LIVE will be offered on every 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Saturday of the month at 10am, and every 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Sunday of the month at noon, meeting in front of the shelter near the marble "Paws Fur Love" wall.
Cat Handling LIVE will be offered on every 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month (for July - due to the holiday it will be July 3rd), meeting in the incoming cat room.

No RSVP is required - just show up for a session that works for you! Whether you just attended orientation recently or whether you attended a long time ago but would like a refresher, please feel free to take part!

July 4th, and those terrible fireworks! - July 4th is probably the worst holiday of the year for dogs and cats, and more animals are seperated from their families than any other time of the year. Be sure to keep your pets safe and if nothing else, indoors so they don't try to run away! As with every July 4th (and possibly 3rd, since many will be celebrating it that day) at MaxFund, there could be some restrictions on walking dogs depending on what is going on in the neighborhood that day, and your chances are probably better the earlier you get there!

PUTTIN ON THE MAX SILENT/LIVE AUCTION

Dear Friends, Supporters and Lovers of Animals,

Each and every year we are looking for items to be donated to our annual Puttin on The Max Silent and live auction. It a wonderful way for us to raise the money needed to continue our Mission: taking in injured animals, providing them medical care, rehabilitation and then getting them ready for their forever home with a responsible pet parent. As you can imagine because we are a no-kill adoption center the funds it takes are so much more than the typical shelter.

Listed below is our wish list for the next POM which will be held October 16th 2010 at the Brown Palace. Please search in your hearts, tell your friends and hopefully we will be able to make this our most successful event of the year.

Beach House Vacation
Gift Certificates for restaurants, home improvement, entertainment/performances and sport events.
Hot air balloon ride with champagne breakfast
Wine packages and visits to some of our finest wine restaurants
Luxury car rental for the weekend
Dinner for two at Elways or Mortons
Scenic air tour of the Denver area for two including dinner
Lodging or vacation home on an exotic island or special spa in the states
Dinner and tickets for 6 to a special performance at the Denver Performing Art Center
Caribbean Cruise for two
Gift baskets, natural foods, spa and health, pet related items, cooking and other baskets you can think of
Lift tickets to some of the best ski resorts in Colorado
Game tickets to the Broncos, Avalanche, Nuggets, Rockies, Mammoth, and Rapids.
Sports Memorabilia signed by your favorite players
Memberships to the Denver Zoo , Botanic Garden, and Aquarium
Art work from some of our incredible local artists
Jewelry, pottery, and books
Plus any other items you feel would make a great auction items

Thank you in advance for your consideration and generosity. For the form that you can send in with your gift, please visit Silent Auction Form - PDF Format or Silent Auction Form - Microsoft Word Format.

Interested in helping with cats, and live on the north end of town? - MaxFund has an opportunity to have cats at the PetsMart at I-25 and 104th, but we need someone who would be able to help coordinate the site, someone preferably lives in the area! The employees will handle the feeding and litter scooping, etc. but we'll occasionally need help transporting cats back and forth from the shelter, ensuring cats are being taken care of, etc. If you are interested, please contact CJ at cj@maxfundvolunteers.org. For more information on this, visit the Volunteer Forums (must be a registered forum user to see post).

Four tickets to Broncos vs. Steelers Preseason game August 29th - These tickets are still available! It is still a few months away, but we have four tickets on club level, 6th row at the 50 yard line, plus a VIP Parking pass for sale for $1500! Contact Tony at the shelter if you are interested! Interested but can't afford the $1500, make a respectable offer and they could be yours! Remember, 100% of the money from the tickets goes to benefit MaxFund.

The "In the Community" page has moved!
You can find it by going to maxfund.org, clicking Volunteers and Special Events & Mobile Adoptions, or click on Special Events & Mobile Adoptions page!

Tagawa Gardens Grey Kitty Birthday Celebration/Adoption Event July 10th
Molly-Dharmha Motorcycle Run follow-up run (not an organized event) - Because many people signed up for the Molly-Dharmha run but couldn't make it due to rain, an informal, non-organized run will be taking place July 10th and 11th so riders can pick up their goodie bags and ride pins, and go for a casual ride. For more details, see the Molly-Dharma Run Facebook page.
2010 Elizabeth Celtic Festival July 17th
2010 Highlands Ranch Scottish Festival August 10th
Colorado Springs Pet Expo August 28th

Don't forget that we do Mobile Adoptions the third weekend of every month at the Petco at University and Dry Creek, and we can always use help with those!.

The Volunteer Opportunities page has moved!
You can find it by going to maxfund.org, clicking Volunteers and Volunteer Opportunities, or click on Volunteer Opportunities Page!

Some of the things we can use more volunteers for currently. For more detailed information click the applicable links or just visit the Volunteer Opportunities page!

Mobile Adoption Location Coordinators - Helping with a specific (or multiple) locations to make sure mobile adoptions are scheduled properly and run smoothly!
Champs Program - CHAMPS classes are now running in six-week sessions meeting on Sundays! The previous session started June 6th, so expect news of the next date in the next few weeks! If you are interested, please visit the Volunteer Opportunities Page for more details.
Volunteer Mentors - Assisting new volunteers to get comfortable with the process and with the shelter. We can always use more mentors, the more people there is to help the newer volunteers the better! You must have the experience to feel comfortable with what you are doing at the shelter and be able to pass their experience along to others.
Foster Families - We are always looking to add more foster families to help get some of MaxFund's animals out of the shelter and transition into adoptable status! We are especially looking for families able to provide foster homes for cats! One thing we are always looking for is people who can take dogs but don't currently have dogs, as well as families who can take cats, but don't currently have cats for some of our animals that don't play well with others.

FOSTER FAMILIES PAGE HAS MOVED!
You can now find it by going to maxfund.org and clicking on the "Animals Needing Foster", or click on Animals Needing Foster Link

Each month we highlight a few of the MaxFund dogs and cats in need of a foster home, visit the Foster Family Page for the full list! If you are interested in helping out with foster care, please contact Donna.

What is foster care? - If you have never of doing foster care for animals, you may not be the only one! Foster Care is similiar to an adoption, except it is intended to be temporary - until the animal is adopted. You take them into your home and provide the love and care, while MaxFund provides the medical care. The animal is still up for adoption, listed on the website, etc. just out of the shelter!

We have a lot of dogs and cats who would greatly benefit from a foster home, including some who are in desperate need of a home outside the shelter. You do NOT have to be an official MaxFund Volunteer to foster but you do have to go through an application process, so if you have friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, etc. who might be willing to help out as a foster family for a dog or cat, please let them know! For more information about the process, visit the Foster Care Info Page or contact our Foster Coordinator Donna Ryan at fosters@maxfundvolunteers.org or 303-332-7276 to learn more.

	Dottie - she is a sweet older girl who is timid with unknown people and nervous around other dogs, at least at the shelter. We believe she will become more comfortable around both if she is in a calm, patient home situation. The office staff says that in all these months since she came in April no one has ever asked to see her. :-( Please help Dottie find some respite from the noisy stressful shelter life so her deeper personality can shine through.
	Oliver - Poor Oliver can't catch a break. He got URI pretty bad, now his eye is swollen. He loves petting and laps, and would probably be ok with a gentle dog. Oliver has a brother Adam, but they don't HAVE to go together.
	Ole Blue Eyes - This sweet gentleman is still unwilling to come out of his kennel for walks. No amount of cajoling and treats from volunteers or even the kennel staff (who he knows and trusts) has resulted in success. Of course, this is not good for either his physical well-being or his depressive state. So we desperately want to get him into a home setting where we are hopeful he will start to be more comfortable with the world around him.
	Coal - Coal likes petting from some people but he is not really fond of most of the other cats at the shelter and can get cranky because he has no choice but to be with the cats he doesn't like. He is out of his element, and needs to get out of this shelter to thrive.
	Boogie - this loyal soul has been in and out of the shelter for many many months now. His issue is overprotective fear-based displays of aggression when he starts to bond with his people. And he does bond with pretty much anyone who is kind to him. But then he feels he needs to be the fierce protector and also becomes more dog-intolerant while on walks in "his" neighborhood too. Please if you know of any skilled, calm, kind alpha persons who might be willing to foster and work with Boogie for as long as he needs, it is his only hope. The more he lives at the shelter the more shut down and obsessive he gets.
	Goldie - Goldie has been at MaxFund since 2006 and we would love to get her out! She is very sweet and gentle, but also a bit on the shy side which could be why she is still here. She is fine with petting and is adorable. She has very little teeth, and would likely thrive outside the shelter!

THE VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH PAGE HAS MOVED!
You can now find it by going to maxfund.org and clicking on the Volunteers tab, followed by the Volunteer of the Month link, or clicking on Volunteer of the Month Link

Volunteer of the Month - The MaxFund greatly appreciates all volunteers, and we are so thankful to all of you who take time out of your lives to help our cats and dogs. We implemented the Volunteer of the Month award so we can honor those volunteers who go above and beyond. We received some great nominations, and July's Volunteer of the month is Jennifer Causey Ruben.

Jennifer has been a volunteer at MaxFund for many years. Most people have never seen her or even heard of her, because she does her work in the background. For three years, she has posted cat photos and bios to Petfinder.com, Pets911.com and 800-Adopt-A-Pet, and these sites trickle down to many other sites for even more exposure! Petfinder has indicated that a large percentage of all adopted animals are found first on Petfinder, so this is obviously a very important place for MaxFund's cats to be. Each week, Jennifer has the responsibility of deleting and adding all new cats, which can often be quite the chore, especially across three websites. Thanks to her, we know that all external websites are up-to-date with the cats' information.
Jennifer has shown commitment and dedication for so many years--all without anyone knowing. She is willing to add more websites when we get the opportunity to feature cats on another site. She also posts cat photos and bios to her Facebook pages.
Thank you, Jennifer, for helping to get our cats exposure, so we can get even more cats adopted!

If you are interested in nominating a fellow volunteer for volunteer of the month, please visit the Volunteer of the Month page, and jump to the bottom of the page for nomination information. Volunteers of the month not only get the "award" of being in the newsletter and on the webpage, their name on volunteer of the month plaque at the shelter (currently being updated) but also receive this cool gold-plated lapel pin (lapel pin not shown actual size)

These are a few different ways you can help MaxFund, aside from volunteering your time... by raising funds and awareness! More detailed information can be found on the Other Ways to Help page or by clicking on each item!

Purchase Custom Laser-Engraved Pet Tags to benefit MaxFund! 14 standard shapes + Denver Broncos, CU Buffs, CSU Rams, Colorado Avalanche pet tags with 100% of profits going to MaxFund!	Set up a fundraising page on firstgiving.com! Create your own webpage where friends and family can make donations to MaxFund through you! a great way to raise funds for special occasions like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, or for no reason at all! escrip.com automatic fundraiser Register your credit card with this organization and purchases made at hundreds of participating organizations will result in automatic donations to MaxFund by those companies!

Buy pet supplies through pawscorp.com A variety of items for pets of all kind, and at least 15% of every purchase goes to benefit MaxFund! This is a local company helping out a great local cause!	MaxFunds Online Store! A lot of great items including the Deluxe Stainless Steel/Acrylic Coffee mugs, polycarbon water bottles, MaxFund supporter License Plate frames, shirts, MaxFund safety whistle flashlight carabiners, hats, magnetic car ribbons, and lots of other great MaxFund-related merchandise! Since 100% of the profits go to MaxFund, this is a great way to get some cool stuff and help the shelter out as well!

Amazon.com Wish List Purchase items for Maxfund from amazon and they'll be shipped right to MaxFund! Items include cleaning products, pet accessories, and more!	Use Goodsearch.com for your internet searches Just put MaxFund in for the "I'm supporting..." and one cent from each search goes to MaxFund! One cent might not seem like a lot but if you search frequently, and everyone is using it, those pennies add up quick! This utility has raised almost $1000 for MaxFund since we started using it, and it didn't cost anyone a thing!

Pennies for Pets Program Bring in your change jar, we will put it to good use! Remember, a little change can change a lot, so bring in a lot of change! Typically the change adds up to several hundred dollars, so it really helps out!	Recycling Help the environment and MaxFund by recycling aluminum cans and certain Electronic Equipment (Toner cartridges, inkjet cartridges, used cell phones, IPODS, used PDA's, laptops, and video game systems as well). Just a reminder that MaxFund accepts only aluminum cans! Please no steel or tin cans, plastic, or glass jars!

Become a MaxFund Member! $25 a year for individuals or $100 a year for families and includes a subscription to Paw Prints newsletter!	Donate your old vehicle! Wheels West works with us to arrange pickup of used cars, trucks, SUV's, motorcycles, even motorhomes! They can help arrange for towing when necessary, as well as title transfers etc.! Got a car you rarely use? Consider donating it to MaxFund! Completely tax deductible and the money will go to a good cause!

In case there was ever any doubt, your feedback is important to me, and the Volunteer Forums are a great place to communicate with other volunteers and share that feedback! If you haven't been there recently (or ever) what are you waiting for? The forums give you a way to interact with other volunteers outside of the shelter and help faciliate the coordination of animal bio writing, adoption/foster follow-ups, as well as sharing information such as how to better serve the animals at the shelter, know which dogs and cats are in need of a little extra attention, and overcome some of their quirks! For more detailed information on how to use the forums, check out www.maxfundvolunteers.org/forums.pdf.

A few weeks ago, a volunteer put up a post asking for ideas on how to get the dogs walked more frequently, as many days throughout the week not all dogs are getting walked even when the weather was great, and even including weekends when typically getting all the dogs walked has not been a concern (they get to their outdoor run while their kennels are being cleaned - typically twice a day - but nothing replaces a good "walk"). Many of the active volunteers along with newer volunteers were able to share experiences and we are already implementing some of the ideas that were discussed here - including the live dog handling and cat handling classes that we will begin offering in July! These classes are taught by volunteer mentors and are intended for volunteers to get some "live" training at the shelter, in a group setting, in addition to what they are receiving at orientations, and are open to all volunteers - new or experienced! These classes will be run several times a month at various times, so you should be able to find a class that will work for you! For more information on Dog Handling LIVE and Cat Handling LIVE, visit the "Volunteer Training" page of the maxfund.org website.

We will also be making some additional changes based on feedback ideas in the coming months, all with the goal of improving the lives of the animals at the shelter and if you have ideas on things that we can do to help, even if it is to "make constructive criticism" of the current program, we'd love to hear it!

As always, I value your feedback and if you have anything - questions, concerns, problems, ideas, complaints, I'd like to hear it all. Feel free to email me at matt@maxfundvolunteers.org.

Matt Adams
Volunteer Coordinator, MaxFund Animal Shelter
Webmaster, MaxFund Volunteer Website