Willie Woo is now 6 months old and his heart is still doing well. He isn't symptomatic yet but in time he will show signs of heart failure...

For those of you that don't know his story, Willie Woo was diagnosed with Left to Right Ventricular Septal Defect and left untreated he will only live a short time.

My name is Nina Medina and I am the president of the Menifee Valley Humane Society and Willie Woo's Mom. We rescued him from out front of Costco when he was only 2 months old and at 3 months we found out he had a heart condition.

This is Willie. He is a super sweet 14 week old kitten that we rescued about 5 weeks ago from out the front of Costco in Lake Elsinore. When Willie went to be neutered we found out that he has a level 5 out of 6 heart murmur.

We took him to the specialist and he was diagnosed with severe dilation of the left side of his heart with hyperdynamic LV systolic function secondary to a left to right ventricular septal defect. In other words, he has a hole in the bottom of his heart that will never close on its own. His Principal Cardiac Diagnosis: Left to Right Shunting Ventricular Septal Defect.

This year MVHS attended the 4th of July celebration at Wheatfield Park. We had a booth alongside other community clubs and service organizations. We distributed information on low cost spay neuter clinics, our rescue activities in the community, and raffled off a 21 speed bicycle and a wagon for kids.

Many thanks to all who stopped by to give support and for the generous donations and purchase of raffle tickets. Special thanks to our teen volunteers Alexis, Lauren, and Nathan who stayed all day and night to help out!

The Menifee Valley Humane Society held a pet food drive at the Stater Brothers markets in Menifee and the Canyon Hills shopping center on Saturday April 7th, 2012.

Lots of cat and dog food was collected to feed the orphaned pets.

Many thanks to Stater Brothers markets for allowing us to collect in front of their store, and thanks to all the kind folks who donated food, supplies, and money to help the pets!

Meet Envy... I know it is hard to look at her pictures but it is reality. On January 7th I (Nina) got a call from a friend about a dog and her babies abandoned in a vacant garage. Upon arrival I found Envy and her 5 puppies starving and left to die.

At first I just wanted to cry because looking at Envy broke my heart. Then I got mad and realized it was all on me to get these sweet babies help.

In September of 2010 MVHS was advised of a home in Menifee that had a Mama cat and a litter of 4 kittens living in a backyard. Animal Control had also been called and were coming to get the cats as they were feral and becoming annoying to the local families. Had Animal Control gotten to them before we did they would have all been put to sleep.

Betty Cargile, a longtime member and a former director of MVHS, died on April 22. Though she will be sorely missed by her family, her friends and the cats she has left behind, we are certain that she has been greeted by many, grateful, rescued animals who preceded her.

Early man shared the spoils of his hunt with wild dogs, probably to alleviate the loneliness of the hunt. The dogs were quick to see the benefits of this relationship. They could flush the prey, but the man had weapons...perhaps only a sling and some stones, but the man had knives. He would field dress the kill in moments, and the dog received hairfree cuts of meat, without the work of tearing it apart with his jaws. It became a symbiotic relationship when, in the bitter cold of winter, the two huddled together, at night, sharing each other’s body warmth, until today the dog is considered man’s best friend.