Welcome to The Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley

Home
Programs & Services
Pet Care
- Benefits & Myths of
  Spaying/Neutering
- Pet Care Tips
Support the HSSBV
Our Humane Society
Join the HSSBV Team
- Employment Opportunities
- Volunteer Opportunities
Contact Us
- Important Phone Numbers
- Hours & Directions

Pictured with Lynn Hildebrand, our Humane Education Teacher, are Kindra, Pilot, and Havoc.

Humane Education

The Society's professionally trained, credentialed Humane Education Teacher provides classroom presentations to all grade levels at local elementary schools. The goals of the program are to teach compassion and respect for all living creatures, to teach proper care of domestic animals, and to protect wildlife and the environment. To receive more information on this program, or to schedule a presentation, please contact Lynn Hildebrand at (909)386-1400, extension 220.

What is Spaying and Neutering?

Our humane educator needs funding to purchase a children's book entitled What is Spaying and Neutering? And Why Should Pets Have These Operations? In easy-to-understand text and engaging pictures, it explains the huge problems of pet overpopulation and what can be accomplished for animals when we act as responsible pet owners. If ordered in a quantity of 500 or more, these books are only $1.00 each! Would you like to provide this book to hundreds of local school children in grades K-6?

Funding needed for first annual "Critter Camp"

Approximately 50 excited Critter Campers sat around a "camp fire" and sang campfire songs, ate "opossum snacks", learned about the wonderful world of bugs, birds, wild animals, domestic animals, cartooning, and made lady bugs and butterflies!

Below are some photos from Critter Camp.

Melissa Yank-Caughey, executive director of Animal Ambassadors, and Lynn Hildebrand, Humane Education Teacher of the Humane Society, visit with Granite, an 11 year old neutered male North American gray fox.

People took Granite away from his family and home in Riverside county before his eyes were open. It is a federal offense, punishable by a major monetary penalty and or jail time, to remove a wild native species from their habitat.

Granite had become imprinted to humans; he had an identity crisis. He could not be returned to his natural environment to do his fox job which is to help with the balance in nature. Therefore, he came to live with Melissa and Animal Ambassadors when he was 4 months old.

Missy, a Sheltie (Shetland Sheepdog),is a therapy dog who helps students with their reading.

Pilot, a service/therapy/crisis response dog, visits with his owner, Katherine.

Janet Chaney, with the Opossum Society of the United States, shows "Miami" to the students. An elderly woman had removed Miami from her natural environment when the oppossum was a tiny baby. The woman had illegally kept her as a pet and could now no longer care for her. The Opossum Society accepted Miami in to their program as an Ambassador for education because she could not be returned to the wild. Miami would not know how to survive on her own since humans had caused her to be too dependent upon them.

Jim Gilbert and students complete a cartoon character.

Our administrative assistant, Mark Munoz, accompanied Critter Campers while they enthusiastically sang camp fire songs!

Humane Society volunteers, parent volunteers, teachers, retired teachers and principals helped make the first Critter Camp a huge success! THANK YOU!

Jim Gilbert from the Cartoon Factory begins "cartooning" with students.

Charles Edward Iguana (Chuckee) is a 12 year old male iguana. He was an orphan who no one wanted. His story helps Animal Ambassadors reach out to others who have had adverse situations in their life. Because of daily handling, a balanced diet of dark greens and fresh fruit, Chuckee has lived beyond the general life span for a green iguana.

You and your pet can make a difference. With your commitment as a registered Pet Partner, comfort is shared, spirits are lifted, children learn compassion, and humane education comes to life.

Click here for information on evaluation and registration requirements.

The expression "The Power of One" was inspired by an article written by Jane Goodall for Time Magazine on Monday, August 26, 2002. In the article Ms. Goodall wrote, "The greatest danger to our future is apathy. You may be overcome, however, by feelings of helplessness. You are just one person in a world of 6 billion. How can your actions make a difference? Best, you say, to leave it to decision makers. And so you do nothing. Can we overcome apathy? Yes, but only if we have hope. We have huge power. Each of us must work as hard as we can now to heal the hurts and save what is left."

To read the complete article, visit Time.com

10 Heroes Among Us
Ordinary people, extraordinary dedication.

Excerpted from Inland Empire Family. Read the full article.

Sharlynne Legere
Where she lives: Riverside
Family: Mom, Cara; sister, Oceana, 15, and brother, Malcolm, 4
School she attends: Sierra Middle School
Hero defined: Founder of "Crosses for Critters"
Sharlynne Legere has a big heart for animals, an artist's eye and determination all her own.

The 12-year-old, who attends Sierra Middle School in Riverside, recently won the American Humane Association's "Be Kind to Animals" contest for her business "Crosses for Critters."

Sharlynne started "Crosses for Critters" to help raise money for animals in need of veterinary care. She designs and makes beaded crosses, necklaces, bracelets and key chains, and sells them for a quarter, 50 cents or $1 apiece to raise money for her cause.

"She comes up with the designs herself," says Cara Legere, Sharlynne's mother. "She's getting more creative all the time." Sharlynne has begun creating designs with holiday colors and themes to expand her offerings.

Sharlynne won $2,000 in the American Humane Association contest and agreed to keep the money in an account for college. "I want to be a veterinarian," she says. "We made an agreement about saving the award money," adds Cara. "But Sharlynne has already been tempted when we heard about a sick kitten."

"Crosses for Critters" began when Sharlynne visited family friend Lynn Hildebrand at the Humane Society of San Bernardino Valley (HSSBV). Hildebrand is a humane educator, and has been a mentor and friend to Cara since she was a child.

According to dogsforkids.com, Sharlynne saw a dog that had been badly injured and was so concerned that she gave Hildebrand a box of pennies she had received from her grandfather. She knew the pennies wouldn't be enough, so she vowed to do more. Her gifts blossomed from there.

A sermon inspired Sharlynne to sell her jewelry designs. A therapy dog named Havoc was her first crusade. Havoc, a Rottweiler, needed surgery to remove a tumor on her adrenal gland.

Sharlynne raised $200 and then started a community drive which raised more than $14,000 for Havoc's surgery. Havoc is now in excellent health, and is pictured on the cover of this magazine.

To date, Sharlynne has helped several more animals. "Growing up in a single-parent household, she knows first-hand how expensive veterinary care can be," says Cara. "We've faced some heartbreaking decisions with pets in the past because I couldn't afford expensive treatments."

By Susan Belknapp

Support Crosses 4 Critters

Kindness Shown by Fairfax Elementary School Fifth Graders to Kindra, a Therapy Dog, is Having a Ripple Effect!

During a Humane Education program for Ms. Marquez' 2006-2007 fifth grade class at Fairfax Elementary School in San Bernardino, students learned that Kindra, the therapy dog that was visiting them, needed several expensive surgeries to repair torn cruciate ligaments (knee tendons). Being an innovative and caring group of young people, they jumped in to action by creating a recycling project called Bottles and Cans for Kindra! Their project has helped the Medina family make payments on Kindra's $6,000 veterinary bill.

But the story does not end here. The kindness shown by Ms. Marquez' class is having a Ripple Effect! Third grade classes at Tokay Elementary School in Fontana learned about humane treatment of animals during one of our presentations. They also learned about Kindra's surgeries and what Fairfax fifth graders were doing to help. As part of their unit on friendship, they have created a project called Friends of Kindra. For the next year, they will be making and selling friendship bracelets with all proceeds going to raise money to pay Kindra's medical bill.

Additionally, individuals and a business have contributed toward Kindra's care, and volunteers at the Humane Society created a container just for recycling Bottles and Cans for Kindra. Ms. Marquez and her 2007-2008 fifth grade class are continuing the Bottles and Cans for Kindra project started by her previous fifth grade class. From their first trip to the recycling center, they raised $53.43!

A big THANK YOU! to everyone who has contributed - and continues to contribute - towards Kindra's care.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

Kindra Donations as of February, 2008

Individuals	$76.00
Business	$50.00
Yard Sale	$303.00
Yard Sale	$300.00
Ms. Marquez' 2006-2007 Fifth Grade Class (Bottles and Cans for Kindra)	$383.32
Ms. Marquez' 2007-2008 Fifth Grade Class (Bottles and Cans for Kindra)	$751.78
Humane Society Staff and Volunteers (Bottles and Cans for Kindra)	$70.16