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Meritage’s
Chef Klein lends signature talent for the animals - Learn how you can partake in his culinary creations
Seven is a lucky number for Animal Humane Society.
That’s how long esteemed Chef Russell Klein has been donating his time and
services to the annual AHS Fall Wine Dinner hosted at The Saint Paul Hotel. It
was 2002 when Chef Klein came to the Twin Cities as executive chef at W.A.
Frost and, since then, he hasn’t missed the event—even in 2007 when it took
place on the second opening night of his new restaurant, Meritage, a Brasserie.
He literally ran back and forth from his hours-old restaurant to The Saint Paul
Hotel during the evening’s excitement.
Russell, who grew up in New York City, says his
mother is an animal devotee who likely instilled in him his love for animals.
The dish he is preparing for the Fall Wine Dinner pays homage to his mother and
her love for animals; in fact, it is her recipe for what is now Chef Klein’s
signature dish, pumpkin soup.
Making soup for nearly 300 guests to be served at
once can be a challenge. Chef Klein estimates he will roast four to five cases
of certified organic, locally grown pumpkins for the soup. Each bowl of this
rich seasonal soup will be garnished with turkey confit and spiced pecans with
all the turkey donated by Pat Ebnet at Wild Acres Game Farms.
So, what makes a busy chef keep donating his
culinary talents for an animal welfare organization? Keep
reading…
This year the event takes
place on Friday, November 6. Tickets are limited. Get yours today!
An
easier way for you to find your pet
All
the adorable little faces on the Animal Humane Society website may make it
inviting to visit, but recent updates have made it that much easier for you to
navigate—both in finding a new animal and your lost pet.
Helping
you find a lost pet
 Every
now and then we can get so turned around that we don’t know where we’d
be—literally—without the tiny, often hand-held gadgets to guide us home.
Unfortunately, outside of providing our pets with a microchip,
we can’t strap a device to our pets to locate there whereabouts when they go
missing. Panic sets in and we want to do everything possible to locate them. When that happens, the
AHS website is there for you with the recently launched AHS
Lost & Found Online Bulletin Board.
This
new feature acts as a one-stop resource for you to locate your lost pet. It
provides you:
- Next steps to take
that will increase your chances of being reunited with your pet.
- The opportunity
to post your animal’s picture, bio and last known location in front of the
thousands who visit our site each day.
- The ability to
review found and stray animals to see if your pet has been found by another
family or is in our care.
- Review the site and you can
help reunite someone else with their lost family member.
Take a look and
remember AHS should your pet go missing.
Finding a new pet just got easier
 In addition
to helping you find your lost pet, we can also better help you find exactly
what you’re looking for in a new pet. The search feature on the adoption pages
now includes specific breeds and age groups allowing you to get closer to the
right pet for your family. Individual adoption profiles also now provide any
necessary information regarding the pet you’re viewing, whether he has special
needs or simply needs a home without other pets. Take a look for yourself
and spread the word about the animals we have available for adoption.
Black dogs and cats, Halloween
 Halloween is days away and with it come images of
kids in costumes, buckets of candy, carved pumpkins on the front step, and
black cats crossing our path. Black cats often get a bad rap because of the
superstition that surrounds them. But what many don’t know is that the plight
of these animals goes beyond the superstition, and also extends to dogs.
At Animal Humane Society, and shelters around the
country, black animals are met with a long-standing hurdle—they simply aren’t
seen. The mystery surrounding these animals and why they aren’t being adopted
has started many conversations and has been the topic of many articles. Some
have even developed websites dedicated to the issue.
One theory
is based on the popularity of Labrador retrievers. The Lab is one of the most
popular dog breeds in Minnesota and according to the American Kennel Club, the
most popular dog breed in the nation. Unfortunately, what’s popular in the
community becomes popular in the shelter; therefore, the kennels at AHS are
often filled with black Labs that look very similar. When potential adopters
see five in a row and then spot one with a different color coat, the unique
color might catch their attention, but Cindy Johnson, AHS director of customer
service, urges people to remember that “hair color is superficial, it’s the
personality of the animals that is important… and they all have their own
unique personality.”
The issue
is called “black dog syndrome” but black cats are often overlooked in the cat
adoption centers too. Centuries of negative associations have made it tough for
the black cats of today. “Some of the most beautiful cats I have ever seen are
black. Their shiny, silky fur and green or golden eyes are stunning,” says
Cindy. “Often these gorgeous pets sit a little longer in shelters because we
always have a vast selection of cats available for adoption and, like the black
dog, they go unnoticed.”
How we can
change the situation for these animals is an on-going discussion. The best way
to address it now is to let people know about the situation. It was said best
in a San Francisco Chronicle article on the topic this past August, “The next
time you’re checking out available dogs on the Web or walking through the
kennels in your local shelter, keep your eye out for the love in the eye of a
dog of a darker hue.”
See the
love in the eyes of Pavol
and Batman,
just two of the many black animals we have available for adoption.
Squishy
leads the pack at AHS
 Squishy
looks like a small critter out of a fairytale cartoon. She’s cute, she’s cuddly
and she’s got a face that makes you want to give her a big affectionate
squeeze. And you could do it, if it wouldn’t be detrimental to her well being.
She’s little. Very little. And is the kind of animal that would probably prefer
a gentle, one-finger pat on the top of her head.
Weighing
in at only 300 grams, Squishy is a member of the small critter species at
Animal Humane Society. She’s an adorable rat, one of nearly 40 available for
adoption at AHS, and has been waiting for a home in Woodbury since late August.
Already a Facebook fan favorite, she’s now
looking for a friendly boy or girl to give her a new home.
Rats
are the most intelligent of all rodents and are highly social animals making
for great first pets for responsible children. They love
to climb and will make good use of ladders, ropes, hammocks, tunnels, and
platforms. They love to play with toys: blocks of wood for chewing, cardboard
tubes, and toys designed for ferrets or parrots. Simple items like large
cardboard mailing tubes, crumpled paper, paper bags, and cardboard boxes also
make wonderful toys. Rats are very intelligent and need to be challenged, so
rotating the toys on a regular basis is suggested. Learn more about Squishy and her friends…
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A
new galaxy has opened up and it has set its dog friendly sights on AHS. Galaxy
Drive In is open year-round and working toward ending animal homelessness by
accepting on-site donations for AHS. Support our work by having a bite to eat
at Galaxy. The dining destination is dog friendly and features free ice cream
cones for dogs and a pup friendly menu with burgers, hot dogs and bone treats.
For more information, call (952) 277-7777 or visit 
