MISSION STATEMENT:
Quailwings Rescue shall promote the humane treatment of animals and foster respect, understanding and compassion for all creatures. We provide care and safe harbor for animals afflicted by neglect, abandonment and abuse. We will strive relentlessly to eradicate neglect, abandonment and abuse. We work to reunite lost animals with their owners. We are dedicated to lowering the numbers of animals needlessly destroyed due to overpopulation by promoting the spaying and neutering of ALL companion animals. We will endeavor relentlessly to enhance the bond between humans and animals through adoption, education and services for responsible, compassionate pet ownership.
OUR GOAL:
Helping the homeless and neglected animals of this community is number one on our list. In the past from 2004-2020, Tina has worked to adopt, rehome and return animals through Cut Bank Animal Shelter. On June 12, 2020, she continued her work by starting Quailwings Rescue.
Our animals and the community need this service and we will work tirelessly to make this the best community for animals and humans alike. We cannot do this alone and need the help of kind, caring people. Help us to write happy endings to our adorable adoptables.
Most of our animals were surrendered because their caretakers were moving, divorced, developed allergies or died. Let your imagination go and share your life with a wonderful four-footed friend simply by opening your heart and your home. Knowing that you have kept that animal from being euthanized, which is sadly the reality of life in any shelter situation. It is the new family's job to provide attention, love and safe housing.
HEROISM
Two of our shelter dogs have been unsung heros who helped save other dogs; lives. "Had they not been there. The other dogs may not have made it," Tina Gauthier, a Shelter volunteer, said. "Colorado and Smartee are a example of "No greater love..." Today (June 2004 and May 2005) Colorado and Smartee donated blood to save other dogs that was in need of a transfusion to save their lives. Those who don't know may not realize how risky this procedure can be. Due to their acts of heroism, another animals were saved, and Colorado and Smartee were adopted. Colorado's and Smartee's new owners have a great deal to be proud of when they introduce them to their friends. Of course, we always knew that Colorado and Smartee were destined for greatness," Gauthier shared.
NEWS
Volunteer Work Keeps Her Dog Gone Busy at Animal Shelter
By Linda Bruch for the Cut Bank Pioneer Press
Wednesday, April 19, 2006 5:17 PM MDT
This week is National Volunteer Week and the choices to feature an outstanding local volunteer are countless. Webster defines a volunteer as: "A person who enters or offers to enter into any service of his/her own free will." He could just as easily have defined it in two words, Tina Gauthier.
Gauthier works 40 plus hours a week, all volunteer, at the Cut Bank Animal Shelter, but that is just one of the volunteer "jobs" Gauthier has. The tireless work she does at the shelter includes making arrangements for adoptions into and out of the shelter, taking photos of the adopted animals and posting them on different websites. She also maintains the Cut Bank Animal Shelter and the Cut Bank Police Department's websites, all as a volunteer.
While she is involved in lots of other volunteer projects, Gauthier's first love is for the animals. "Animals have no voices. Someone needs to champion their cause," Gauthier said.
Born into a farmer/rancher family, she grew up with the concept the animals were fed before the humans. "My dad ran over 200 head of registered Black Angus cattle. We also had horses, kitty-cats and dogs," said Gauthier. Her love for animals has been a part of her since she can remember.
Gauthier's husband, Joe, is the Animal Control Officer for the City of Cut Bank and shares his wife's love of animals. "We are kind of a team, Joe and I," declared Gauthier. Their work and devotion to the animal shelter has helped earn it the reputation of being a "low kill" shelter. This means they work like "cats and dogs" to find homes for all the animals placed at the shelter. The only animals put down are those that are unhealthy or un-adoptable due to irreversible temperament issues. Animals are never put down due to lack of room at the shelter.
When a dog arrives at the shelter, the husband and wife team verify its temperament and determine how adoptable the animal may be. Once the green light is given, Gauthier gets to work trying to find a home for the dog. She enters the dog into their animal shelter log and then starts checking the internet sites they use to see where the dog might find a new, safe home. This in itself could take hours and days to accomplish. However, if all goes well, the end result will be the animal will have found a good home. When that happens, Gauthier believes the time and energy was worth it.
"We'll do whatever it takes to find that dog a good home," said Gauthier. "Sometimes we run a leg of a transport to get a dog adopted. We've had good success in finding homes for the dogs left at the animal shelter."
All of this keeps this volunteer busy enough, but Gauthier also answers and responds to the animal shelter's phone and emails. "The shelter phone is our house phone," Gauthier admits.
If you thought that was the end of her super-volunteering efforts, think again. In a nutshell, Gauthier has tutored students, organized a McGruff House program, conducted a neighborhood watch program and provided care for several elderly women. She has also applied for grants to keep the animal shelter and other programs up and functional, does web design, provides a dog obedience training course, compiles data from shelters around the state and enters it into the computer for match-up purposes and transports dogs to a spay and neuter clinic in Havre and Great Falls.
"I have the just do it, kind of attitude," proclaimed Gauthier.
That kind of attitude has made Gauthier the wonderful volunteer that she is.
Cut Bank Animal Shelter Reunites Pets With Owners, Finds New Homes For Animals
By Melissa Paul, Western Breeze Staff Writer Published Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Lost and bewildered, a dog was found at the summit parking lot at Glacier National Park and ended up in the care of the Cut Bank Animal Shelter. Animal Control Officer, Joseph Gauthier and his wife, Tina, a shelter volunteer, made it their mission to locate the dog's owner. Through the animal's identification, he was traced to a Washington man who was hiking the park. Joe and Tina sent word in with the pack company that was resupplying the hiker on his trek across the park that his pet was safe and sound and in the care of the shelter. Owner and dog were reunited a few weeks later. This is just one of many happy endings for animals that find themselves at the Cut Bank Animal Shelter. The shelter has started scanning all dogs coming in for microchips using equipment donated by AVID. Microchips serve as a permanent, invisible dog tags and microchipped animals can be traced back to their owners if they become lost and end up at the shelter. In addition to reuniting lost dogs with their owners, the shelter also finds homes for surrendered, abandoned and stray animals. "In 2004, 52 dogs and 20 cats were placed in loving homes. So far we've adopted 96 dogs and 43 cats to loving homes. It may not sound like a lot but we are proud of the numbers," said Tina.
The Cut Bank Animal Shelter charges a nominal adoption fee to adopt an animal and the animal control officer checks the home of a prospective owner. "Most of the animals that come into our program have either been abandoned, neglected, abused or surrendered for some reason or another. We do not want to see these animals suffer again. This next move in their lives needs to be a permanent one, their "for always" home," Tina said. "Dogs will be part of the family, not chained outside, and homes need to have an adequately fenced yard, large kennel or trolley."
"The State requires that all animals adopted from a shelter by spayed or neutered," reminded Tina. "We have all new owners provide with a certificate from their veterinarian within 30 days of adopting an animal. We do have some assistance available for low income people, though and we welcome spay/neuter donations, too."
"We sanitize with bleach on a daily basis and all the animals are current on their shots before they are adopted out," Tina said. Tina volunteers much of her time posting the shelter's animals on the internet on the at www.cutbankairport.org/cbshelter and at www.petfinder.org. "The internet has really expanded our horizons," Tina remarked. "We have people adopting pets from our shelter from all over." Tina also posts adoptable animals for other animal rescue organizations. "We all try to work together and help each other out," she said. "The Cascade County Humane Society has been a tremendous help to our shelter with food, adoption forms and all kinds of things. It's great the shelters help each other." Along those lines, sometimes an animal needs to be transported between shelters or to a new home in another area. The Gauthiers participate in a pet rescue transportation program. Volunteers will take an animal for a leg of the journey, sometimes a few hundred miles and hand the pet off to another volunteer. "One of our special needs adoptions, a tripod [three legged dog] was transported this way," Tina added.
Tina has also been the driving force behind fund-raising efforts at the shelter. Last year, she applied for five grants and the Cut Bank Animal Shelter was awarded two. A $1,000 grant from PetCo and $5,000 from IAMS and the Helen Woodward Animal Coalition through their Home for the Holidays program. "It was a onetime only grant, but the Cut Bank Shelter was one of only 20 to receive the grant." The shelter has also had items donated such as heated water bowls and pet beds. "We always can use donations, even things people can pick up at the grocery store, like bleach, hand sanitizer and dog toys. Every gift is appreciated, no matter how big or small," said Tina. The gift of time is also welcome. "We love our volunteers," she commented. "We have puppies and kittens that need socialization and anyone who wants to come and walk dogs or play with the little ones are encouraged to come."
Quailwings Rescue is a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax deductible. Dog and cat food, puppy and kitten food, kitten milk replacer, bones and treats, bleach, hand sanitizer and kitty litter are also needed. Have an old ink cartridge? Don't throw it out, give it to the dogs. The shelter participates in a program called Cash for Critters, recycling used ink jet and laser cartridges and cell phones. $100 has been received for vaccinations from this program. "We also could use stuffed animals for socializing the puppies. They smell like people and a great tool," Tina added. Appointments to visit the Quailwings Rescue or Cut Bank Animal Shelter to see the animals can be made with the Animal Control Officer by made by calling 406-873-2288 after hours and weekends. More information is also available on the shelter's websites or by emailing Tina at quailwingsrescue@hotmail.com.
WHO WE ARE
Joe Gauthier Becomes New Animal Control Officer
By LACY GILLESPIE
Cut Bank Pioneer Press
June 2, 2004
"It is fun getting back," Joe Gauthier said. Gauthier is not a stranger to the Cut Bank community by any means. He served on the Cut Bank Police force for 30 years, and upon retiring, he worked at Crossroads Correctional (CCA) in Shelby for five years. He is now back serving Cut Bank as the animal control officer and enforcing city ordinances.
Gauthier was a part of the police force in the 1960s when the animal control method was quarantine. "Every six months the city went under quarantine, and we would pick up the stray dogs. The city felt it wasn't enough," he said. The community decided to enact city ordinances allowing Gauthier and other city officers to more strictly control the flow of animals.
Now in his first three weeks in the saddle with his new job, he is making improvements for the Cut Bank Animal Shelter and the way animals are handled. Gauthier along with his wife are working to model the shelter after the Great Falls Animal Shelter. They each take turns walking the dogs at the shelter and through their interaction they are able to determine the animal's personality. In addition, Gauthier is working on obedience training with the dogs. By taking the regular shelter activities a step further, it is easier for them to adopt their animals out.
Gauthier's wife, Tina, is taking an active role in expanding the shelter's capabilities to adopt animals. The shelter's websites, Cut Bank Shelter's page on Montana Pets on the Net, Cut Bank Shelter on Petfinder.org, and Cut Bank Animal Shelter on the Cut Bank Airport site, have listings of pets available at the shelter, descriptions of pets wanted and lost pets. These site gives statewide and national coverage and helps match pets and potential new owners. To post on these website, send Tina an email at quailwingsrescue@hotmail.com.
She will then list it online. "The more people we reach, the better the success rate at the shelter," she said. "These are just little heroes waiting for a permanent, loving home. This facility is all about the unsung heroes," she said.
To avoid losing a pet, Gauthier suggests keeping them in a fenced yard or kennel rather than on a chain. Problems tend to occur when an animal is set loose in the morning or evening and makes a mess on another's property or scares someone Gauthier said.
Another component of the shelter is encouraging pet owners to spay and neuter their pets. Leaving a cat or dog unspayed can have serious consequences. For example, an unspayed female cat, her mate and all of their offspring producing just two litters per year with 2.8 kittens surviving on average from each litter would add up to 67,000 cats in six years. Similarly, in nine years a female dog, her mate and all of their puppies would produce 66,088 dogs in six years. To prevent these problems, owners may start spaying/neutering their pets as early as 12 weeks.
ADOPTING A FRIEND
Most of the animals that come into our program have either been abandoned, neglected, abused or surrendered for some reason or another. We do not want to see these animals suffer again. This next move in their lives needs to be a permanent one -- their "for always" home.
Animals need adopted primarily as household companion animals only. No dogs will be placed as attack dogs. Dogs will be part of the family and not chained outside. The math about an indoor cat's life span at 14 years; outdoor cat's lifespan is 18 months*. Based on national statistics.
Montana State Law requires that all canines and felines adopted from a shelter or pound be altered. All dogs and cats adopted from Quailwings Rescue will be spayed or neutered at their new owners expense unless they are of such a young age it isn't healthy. At the time of the adoption, a contract will be signed that the animal will be altered within 30 days. All adopters must be 18 years or older. Identification is required to adopt any pet. Animals must NOT be transported in the back of an open vehicle without some form of restraint, ie. a kennel, halter or leash.
We encourage all family members to be present at the time of adoption. All househould members must want this pet.
No dog will be released for adoption unless the adopter can provide an adequately fenced yard, have a trolley system or a large enough kennel that the dog is willing to eliminate in that area. Dogs MUST have some form of restraint when outdoors unattended.
MISSING YOUR FURRY FRIEND
Call 406-229-1042 or email us at quailwingsrescue@hotmail.com. We will put the information on our Facebook pages and groups for others to view. A safe reunion between friend and family is our goal. The sooner our missing friend is listed; the faster we can look for results.
MEMORIALS
REMEMBER A FRIEND WITH A MEMORIAL
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
In Memory of:
Send acknowledgment of my memorial gift to my memorial gift to:
Name
Address
City
State
Zip
Quailwings Rescue is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Contributions to Quailwings Rescue are tax-deductible.
Return to: Quailwings Rescue, 214 4th Avenue NW, Cut Bank, MT 59427
COME VISIT US!
Appointments to visit with Quailwings Rescue animals can be made by calling 406-229-1042 or emailing us at quailwingsrescue@hotmail.com . We look forward to meeting you.
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Quailwings Rescue
214 4th Avenue NW
Cut Bank, MT 59427
Phone: (406) 229-1042 M-F 9-5
Email: quailwingsrescue@hotmail.com
