This calendar is intended to provide a prevue of coming events.  Events sometimes get added, changed or deleted on short notice and may not be reflected on this calendar.  You may therefore wish to check the  Coming Events for any last minute changes and/or additional information.  You may also contact the shelter at 217.835.2538, or website editor at 217.891.0502, for additional information.
Coming events . . .
2026 
​Pet Adoption - PetSmart, Saturday, July 11, 11am-2pm
Farmers Market, Rochester, Sunday, July 12, 12-3pm
Board Meeting - 807 Stewart Ave, Benld, Sunday, Jul 18, 10:30am
NAW - PetSmart, 3183 S Veterans Pkwy, Springfield, Saturday,  July 25, 11am-2pm
​Farmers Market, Rochester, Sunday, July 26, 12-3pm
Clear The Shelters, On-Line Giving, August 1 - 31, All Month.
​Farmers Market, Rochester, Sunday, August 9, 12-3pm
​Farmers Market, Rochester, Sunday, August 23, 12-3pm
​Farmers Market, Rochester, Sunday, September 13, 12-3pm
​Farmers Market, Rochester, Sunday, September 27, 12-3pm
NAW - PetSmart, 3183 S Veterans Pkwy, Springfield, Saturday, October 24, 11am-2pm
Trivia Night - Concordia Hall, 709 S Union St, Staunton, Saturday, November 7
Giving Tuesday - On Line Giving, Tuesday, December 1, All Day
​
2027
Give STL Day - On-Line Giving, Thursday, May 6, All Day
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​News and Events . . .
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July News Notes now available
You can choose either the MP4 or PDF versions of our e-news below.  For the MP4  (top) make sure your sound is turned up. 
To freeze the page on MP4, click anywhere on it, then click again when ready to resume. 
To enlarge the pages on MP4, click on arrows at bottom right corner of page.
​If you encounter any difficulties please call 217.891.0502 for assistance.

If you would like to have News Notes emailed to you, please send your Name, Address and Email to [email protected]
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Above MP4 and below PDF
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Our Spring 2026 Newsletter is available in PDF below.
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Waffles loses no time settling into her new home
Hello All,

We wanted to share a one month update about Waffles. She has adjusted great to her new home and her two dog sisters. Waffles is playful and loving. Health wise, she is doing very well. I have included a few pictures.

Hope you all have a great weekend!


Ashley
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Manny's big day
From top left to bottom right:  Manny with his new "Dad" preparing to leave the shelter; In his car on the way home; Checking out his new toys and guarding his food dish; Master of all he surveys.  
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Italian-American Days 2025
From left:  Bill (red jacket), Cassie (in crate), Gina (kneeling w/Marjorie) and Carol (partially obscured at table right).
Cassie enjoyed stopping for a sniff at the food truck.
Louie (left) and Rebel taking a stroll.
Rebel and Louis stopping to smell the grass.
Louie pausing for a cool drink on the table.
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Daisy, now Sandy, has settled into her new home nicely
Sandy getting cozy with Mr. Gary, her new feline companion.
Sometimes you just want to get away from it all and enjoy a little peace and quiet.  Here, Sandy has found her a perch high above the maddening crowd.
Who's eyeballing who?  Sandy and her new canine companion (who, since we didn't get his name, shall be known simply as "Dog"), checking each other out.
​Good evening! I just wanted to reach out and give some photos of Sandy. I adopted her in December of last year. I believe her name was Daisy? We changed it right when we got in the car. Sandy suits her. She is absolutely nuts, but the sweetest girl. Her and Mr.Gary, my old man are best friends. She finally adjusted to our brown lab and loves to follow him around. She keeps us entertained with her crazy personality and her love of taking things and hiding them. She has been the best cat.  04/30/2025
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It's raining (treats for the) cats and dogs!
​The Bunker Hill Livewires 4-H Club made dog and cat treats for BAAP!  Charlotte from the 4-H club dropped off the treats and snuggled with kitten Russell.  01/20/2025
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Local Scout comes to aid of shelter
In above photo, Scout Brady (sitting) has a well deserved smile on his face after completing his project to equip our Dog Exercise Pen with some badly needed equipment that he himself built.  Below photo's are of Bella, a young Lab / Pit mix resting on some of the newly installed pads.  10/28/2024
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Carol and Olivia "go back to school"
Executive Director Carol and Shelter Manager Olivia Wise visited with the Gillespie High School CEO class on 10/17/24 to talk about how to safely interact with a large group of dogs.  They are planning to have a 5k run on November 16th in Carlinville which is to include dogs.  More details to come, but they have asked for us to join them for the event and bring our tag machine and, if possible, some of our adoptable dogs.  10/22/2024​
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 Batman the cat found wounded in Mount Olive
Updated 10/22/2024
​Batman's medical bills have been paid in full, thanks to the generosity of a good samaritan who wishes to remain anonymous.

We received a call from B and K Bakery in Mount Olive on Thursday that there was a stray cat running around dragging a hind leg. They asked us if we could help. The fact that they help us a lot at the shelter and do fundraisers for us a couple of times a year not withstanding,  we knew that we had to help this boy. They tried to catch the cat on Friday so he could be checked out, but he knew something was up so he ran off at first, but they were finally able to collar him.  The cat, named Batman, was taken to Dr. Helgen's office in Litchfield where they x-rayed him and determined that he had been shot with a Pellet gun in the back right  leg.  Since the pellet shattered his leg it had to be amputated.   

The total invoice for Batman's surgery was $1558.88.  Original exam, x-ray, and Feline test was $335.72.  The surgery, bloodwork, go home medications, and a couple of Klaser therapy treatments was $1223.16.  He had previously been taken into APL by a neighbor about 6 months ago to be neutered and vaccinated.
Batman is currently recovering from his surgery in a Foster Home until such time as he is deemed ready for adoption.
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Augie got adopted!
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Sunday, September 8th, was going home day for Augie, a young Poodle/Bernese Mountain Dog, pictured here with her new "mother".  09/09/2024
Our cats are now enjoying their new Catio
Photos  above and below show some of our cats exploring their new Catio.  The new Catio allows our felines to get some fresh air whenever the weather permits.  This addition to our shelter, made possible by a generous donation from one of our supporters, is one of several projects planned to enhance living conditions  for the animals at our shelter.  09/13/2024 
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Mister Z, one of our "alphabet" puppies finds his new home
Mister Z (right) seems a bit uncertain whether his new roomie is just being protective, or trying to take his toy away from him.  08/24/2024
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Chewy goes home!
Chewy, a 4 month old Blue Heeler, came to Petco in Springfield yesterday looking for a new home.  He got that as well as a step-brother, Bowser, a Beagle, to romp around with.  07/28/2024 
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Puppies go to library to improve their reading skills
On Thursday, July 26th, Executive Director Carol Richards (wearing blue shirt in picture at lower left) and Shelter Manager Olivia Wise brought Mister T and Mister Z, a couple of adorable Pit/Lab mix puppies to the Public Library in Benld to entertain the children.  Judging from the above photos it's hard to tell who had the most fun, the children or the puppies.  07/26/2024 
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Marmalade and Wilma give a big paws up to their new quarters
​Marmalade is the one with more visible white on his chin, he is also the one laying on his side under the cat tower. They are loving their newly remodeled cat room.  07/10/2024
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BAAP Alumni Moses, now Diggory, celebrates 9th Birthday.  You look great guy!
06/25/2024
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Chewy decides to try the Foster life
Young puppy Chewy enjoyed his first big boy walk with his foster family. Chewy is a 10 week old Blue Heeler Mix that will be looking for a forever home once he is able to be neutered. At this time we do not know when he will be available as he hasn't fully dropped as of yet. Chewy is being fostered by staff member Allison where he has been learning how to walk on a leash, crate training, how to play with other dogs, basic commands, and potty training.   06/02/2024
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Morel wastes no time settling into new home

Morel, a Pit mix puppy, was adopted at PetSmart on May 4, 2024 and, as these pictures indicate,  is settling in nicely with his new big sister at his new home.  05/07/2024
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Jacob volunteers day of community service to shelter
On Sunday, April 14th, Jacob (5th grade) spent the afternoon volunteering at the shelter for a community service project for school.  He loved the whole experience and Blue Jay even more!  He made Kong treats for the dogs, shredded paper for our puppies, and spent a lot of his time playing with Blue Jay, a young Shepherd puppy, in our play yard.   04/16/2024
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Mercy Dog Training conducts training session at BAAP
Above:  Representatives of Mercy Dog Training and BAAP Staff pose for group photo at end of training session.
We had a great day from Have Mercy Dog Training.   It was very informative and nice to see different ways to reach the same goal but tailored to our needs at the shelter.  We look forward to what the future brings for staff, volunteers and especially the animals.   04/15/2024
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Willie; wondering what happened to the sun
Staff members, including Makensie above,  got to take a moment to observe the Eclipse. Willie, a Basset/Lab mix had a photo op when it was safe for him to be outside. All dogs and cats were kept indoors during the eclipse to protect their eyes.   Maybe by the next eclipse they will have dog/cat safe glasses for them to wear.  Ha-ha-ha.  04/09/2024
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