Pet Cadets

Hero of the Month

Keegan, Cale and Koyer are the Pet Cadet Heros of the Month for their dedication and care of Whiskers, a “days old” Opossum that lost his mother and ended up in their backyard.

Whiskers and his mother suddenly appeared in the backyard of Keegan, Cale and Koyer but his mother looked extremely ill.  After watching the mother and baby for a while, they realized that the mother disappeared, never returned and baby Whiskers was left behind.

The family carefully took in Whiskers, offered it water and some food, but didn't know what to do. A call to Tail Wagger's was made and arrangements were made to transport Whiskers to the Howell Nature Center where he would be cared for and released to the wild when he was of age.

Keegan, Cale and Koyer, along with their mom traveled with Whiskers to the Howell Nature Center and was greeted by the staff, given a tour of the facility and got to see where Whiskers would be growing up at!  They all thought Whiskers would be given the best of care and were happy to see that he was placed with ANOTHER Opossum, about the same age - they would be “cage-mates”!

Our thanks to Keegan, Cale, Koyer and their mom for taking such good care of Whiskers and for taking the hour-long ride up to the Howell Nature Center so he could get the proper care and one day be returned to his natural habitat.

More Heroes!

Johnson Upper Elementary, Livonia  

Junior Girl Scout Troop 3240 

Junior Girl Scout Troop 3240 came out to the Low-Cost Vaccination clinic that was held on Sunday, June 6^th at Sheehy Animal Hospital in Livonia.  Spearheaded by Troop Leader Janine Louzon, the girls were working toward their Bronze Award – the highest award of its kind in Junior Girl Scouts.

Giving assistance to pet owners and their animals, the girls attended the water station to ensure that all animals on site were adequately hydrated while they waited in line for the vaccinations.  Making sure that animals didn’t share any of the bowls with one another (a sure way to spread disease) they would find out the pet name, label the bowl and give them a refreshing, cold bowl of water that they could call their own.  The girls also kept the parking lot clean by picking up any of the bowls that were finished or that had blown away!

Troop Leaders Janine Louzon, Marybeth Gendjar and Yvonne Boyde were also a big help as they attended to the pet owners inside the clinic and sorted the paperwork and ensured that each pet owner left the clinic with their vaccination record in hand.  All pet owners were then escorted out, through the operating room and to the back door.  Dr. Sheehy was comfortable with attendees leaving through the back because of the escort the moms provided!

Tail Wagger’s sends a huge thank you to all the girls and Troop Leaders that came out on this day to make it a success. Not only did the girls and Troop Leaders arrive at the beginning of the clinic, they stayed until all animals were vaccinated – which was after 7:30 p.m.! Their help was instrumental and we look forward to working with them again at our next clinic.

Congrats to all the girls on receiving their Bronze Award – you certainly deserve it!

Recent Hero

Devin is in 7^th grade and became a supporter of Tail Wagger’s after he started participating with friends in the Tail Wagger’s Bowl in 2007. Devin was one of the top winners in 2007, 2008 and 2009 raising close to $500 for the animals!

Devin always wanted a dog and got the surprise he always dreamed of on his 7^th birthday - a seven-week old labradoodle which he named Cocoa!   

Tail Wagger’s is proud to have Devin as part of the organization and thanks him for his continued love of animals and support of our mission!

How can you or someone you know become a Pet Cadet? Get Involved! Specifically designed for our young, animal-loving friends, this program gives kids the opportunity to become involved with animals and their well-being.

All participants of the Pet Cadet program will receive a personalized membership card which illustrates their name and lists phone numbers to call in the event they see animal cruelty OR have questions about animal care.

You can also become a Pet Cadet by carrying out an act of kindness on behalf of animals. Any child that coordinates donations or wish-list items will be featured in this section and receive their Pet Cadet membership card. Become our Pet Cadet Hero by sharing with us some act of kindness you or someone you know did…..each month we will look for a new Hero and present them with their official membership card.

If you, or someone you know, would like to become our Pet Cadet Hero, send us your story and photo along with the following information: 

              Hero first and last name (first name will only be used on website) 

              Age 

              School 

              Address, City, Zip 

              Phone 

Stories and photos can be submitted to tailwaggersusa.1990@yahoo.com. Pet Cadet Heroes will be contacted prior to being featured on our website.  

On January 9th, Cadette Troop 631 from Riley Elementary School, collected food for the Pet Food Assistance program at the Pet Food and More on Merriman Rd. at Five Mile in Livonia.

Starting out at 11:00 a.m., the Cadette's took shifts and talked with the customers about Tail Wagger's and the Pet Food Assistance program. The generousity of the customers was amazing! By 4:00 p.m. the food barrel was full and over $100 in cash donations was contributed to the program.

A big thank you to Troop Leader, Kerrie Meloche, the Cadettes and their parents that took the time out of their day to support Tail Wagger's USA!