Staff Spotlight:
Anna Parsch

Anna enjoys her role in helping animals at HSGKC

Anna Parsch is living the life she never knew she wanted. An environmental studies graduate from UMKC, Anna always had animals growing up, but it wasn’t until two semesters before graduation that she realized her true passion. She never had any desire to be a full-fledge veterinarian, but working as an assistant at the Cat Clinic of Johnson County allowed her to see the variety of jobs available in animal care. Although respectful of the work veterinarians do, Anna loves her current career as a veterinary technician. She is the “nurse of the veterinary world.” “Helping the animals - just the satisfaction of knowing that I’m playing a part in their well-being is important,” Anna says.

After putting in two and a half years at the Cat Clinic, a fellow co-worker informed her about an opening at the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City. Anna applied “just for the heck of it.” She hasn’t been with us very long, but she already loves her new job. “The work is really fast paced and very interesting,” Anna says. “Completely different than anywhere I’ve worked before.” Here, she is enjoying the experience of working with dogs. “Although I consider myself more of a cat person,” she admits. She is also excited about the opportunity to assist with surgical procedures, which shouldn’t be a problem since the HSGKC spays and neuters more than 6,000 pets per year.

When not at work, Anna enjoys relaxing at home with her husband, three cats, and one dog. Anna’s husband didn’t have any animals before moving in with her, but he quickly adjusted. All of their pets were adopted from local area shelters, except for Fern, the cat who found them one day. Don’t tell the others, but Anna said her cat Spike is her favorite. He was her 21st birthday present to herself.

Until recently, our garage was a mess. Packed full of old paint cans, Christmas decorations, and other random items, the garage was definitely in need of a little spring-cleaning and reorganization. Thanks to the generous donation of YCC, Ltd., we now have a whole new shelving unit. Wow, what a difference the new shelving has made. The shelving donation came about when Carrie Mees came across our Sit Up & Beg Wish List and offered her company’s help with the project.

The Humane Society is currently in the midst of planning for our annual Dog-n-Jog event. Dog-n-Jog is a 1 or 2 mile walk/run event on the Plaza on June 8. We had yard signs made up again and we’re encouraging everyone to grab a sign or two for their yards to help get word out on the event. Please take a few Dog-n-Jog flyers to hang up at work, too. We need help distributing flyers to local area businesses, such as vet clinics, grocery stores, coffee shops, etc.

We also need door prizes, along with prizes to give away to the top runners. If you have any items lying around the house, or if something catches your eye while you’re out shopping – bring them on in. We truly appreciate all your help.

GoodSearch.com is a website that gives back to charities simply by having people use their website. A section on the site has you enter the charity of your choice, and from there you can search the Internet search engine on the site (powered by yahoo search). For every search, GoodSearch.com will donate money back to the charity you entered-- it’s an easy way to earn money for The Humane Society pets, don’t you agree?

Join us for a birthday party for dogs and help us celebrate the bond between humans and our dogs. Vinca’s Dog Day at the Park is Sunday, May 18 from 4-7 pm at Penn Valley Park, next to the off leash dog park in Kansas City, MO. The cost is $15 per person. Dogs are free.

Boozefish Wine Bar will provide the snacks for us humans, and Three Dog Bakery will bring the canine treats. Beverages are not provided so please bring your own refreshments to enjoy. Our adoptable dogs will be on hand to meet and greet, and hopefully to find new homes. RSVP by e-mail to boozefish@birch.net, or just show up on the day of.

If you would like to pay tribute to a special pet, family member, or other loved one, purchase a personalized memorial brick today. The memorial bricks are $50 and include a custom message. We will cement the engraved bricks into our memorial walkway this summer. Visit our Bricks for Pets page for more information and to download an order form.

The next time you’re at the grocery store, could you pick up a case of bottle water and bring it to the shelter? We need 50 cases of bottled water for Dog-n-Jog.

As many of you know, our dogs go through a lot of biscuits learning manners with volunteers. Any dry biscuits small to medium in size are perfect for using as training treats. We go through quite a few and could use some help replenishing our stash! So the next time you are out shopping, lend us a hand and pick up a bag or two of dry biscuits and bring them into the shelter.

For a list of other items and services we need, check out our Sit Up and Beg Wish List.

Marbles made himself comfortable at the last Petco outing!

PETCO
Saturday, May 17
95th & Quivira in Overland Park
11am to 3pm
We bring several dogs and a few cats. Indoors.

VINCA'S DAY IN THE PARK
Sunday, May 18
Penn Valley Dog Park
4-7pm
Fundraiser for us put on by Boozefish and Three Dog Bakery. We'll bring a small group of adult dogs.

KC T-BONES ANIMAL AWARENESS NIGHT
Wednesday, May 28
CommunityAmerica Ballpark
4:45-8pm
We'll be bringing some dogs and joining with other shelters and rescue groups for this animal awareness night and fundraiser during the baseball game.

PRAIRIE VILLAGE ART SHOW
Friday thru Sunday, May 30-June 1
Prairie Village Shops
Volunteer Shift Hours:
Friday: 4:45pm til about 9pm
Saturday 1st shift: 10:30am to 2pm
Saturday 2nd shift: 2pm to 5pm plus load time
Sunday: 10:45am to 3pm plus load time
We'll be outside under our tent and we'll be bringing dogs, no cats.

Benton, Flora, Izzy, Jack & Parker (together), Juno, Vito... and more!