Month: December 2009

It’s the holiday season, one of the most popular times for families to adopt a pet – and for pets to end up in the vet emergency office! Both new and experienced pet owners are unaware of how many common items can be hazardous – even fatal – to household pets. Plus, during the holidays our homes are often filled with family and friends who may not fully realize the dangers. You may think your pet would enjoy a party, but the safest thing to do is keep all your pets closed away in a bedroom or otherwise away from the guests, who may, in the generous holiday spirit and excitement of the festivities, not realize that giving a begging dog “just one” treat could be fatal.  Especially if your home or festivities include any of these pet-toxic foods or decorative items, please be careful they stay safely out of your pets’ reach…  so everyone can safely enjoy the holidays!

If your pet ingests any of these potentially fatal items please CALL YOUR VET IMMEDIATELY.

Human Food: Chocolate, grapes, raisins, avocados, Macadamia nuts, onions or onion powder, garlic, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, any type of cooked bones, fish bones, moldy or spoiled food, raw yeast dough, products sweetened with xylitol which is found in chewing gum or mints.

Common holiday items: antifreeze (tastes sweet pets may lick off floor), ice melting products, liquid potpourri, electrical cords, mothballs, Christmas tree water (pesticides used on the tree can leach into the water), ribbons or tinsel which can clog up intestines.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

This week a story about the Humane Society’s Dog Tags Program in which soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center bond with homeless dogs teaching better behavior, and making them more adoptable. Also, a story about an abandoned dog, who was injured and now 3 months later can walk again.

There’s still time to order some ADOPT collar and leashes, which are uber-hip gifts that help homeless pets! Artist Shepard Fairey and his Obey clothing company created these items, and chose Adopt-a-Pet.com as their latest Awareness program partner. Their Awareness program is their way of raising awareness and support for certain causes. The pet overpopulation crisis and the resulting plight of homeless pets is one they care deeply about and they believe in the non-profit efforts of Adopt-a-Pet.com to get homeless pets seen and saved. As they say on their website, “Dogs, pet owners, and supporters can proudly weart the ADOPT image Shepard created to show their support.” All of the proceeds for collar and leash sales go to help the cause! https://shop.obeyclothing.com/c-126-adopt-a-pet.aspx

Recently Pia has been involved in a super fun campaign — it’s a campaign to end the negative stereotype of the “crazy cat lady” and to be quite frank, we all think it’s long overdue. Pia shares her home with three amazing rescued cats, and many other Adopt-a-Pet.com staff  also have adopted cats, so we can all attest to how off-base the crazy cat lady mythology really is. A recent survey revealed that 71% of cats in homes actually live in multiple-cat households. Yet, while having multiple cats is clearly a way of life for so many Americans, negative and misleading stereotypes still exist. Read the rest of Pia’s fascinating research on this sterotype-shattering movement in Pia’s Daily Wag blog on MarthaStewart.com.

This week features a two stories, first a story about a local student raising funds to help his local shelter. Second, a new law in Las Vegas now requires most dogs and cats to be sterilized.

This is Part II of our Hero story about Kelsey & Sunny. You can read Part I here. Karma. This story happened earlier this summer, without much explanation or leads on who the criminal was that threw Sunny off the bridge. When Sunny was rescued she showed physical signs that indicated that she recently had puppies. Many backyard breeders force a female dog to mate, sell the puppies and then dispose of the mother, never facing justice. However this time would be different. Months later, the criminal who threw Sunny off the bridge, was caught when he was throwing two kittens down a sewer while admitting he was the same person who had thrown a dog off the bridge! (Read the full story here). When he was found guilty on 99 charges of animal cruelty (and is currently in custody in Louisville, KY) we couldn’t help but wonder, could he have been Sunny’s former owner, with Karma bringing him to justice?

This is a story of a true animal hero. Heroes are people like Kelsey and other folks that do the right thing and work to protect animals above all odds, even when it’s difficult. After Sunny’s rescue, Kelsey dedicated herself to teaching the community about animal cruelty and responsible pet ownership, including hosting a fundraising event at the restaurant, which she called: “Sunny Day: Shedding Light on Animal Cruelty.” There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on behalf of animals, but for now, this is one story closer that brings everyone hope that there is good in the world. Thanks Kelsey and Sunny!

Reposted with permission – HarleysMission.blogspot.com

Last week, the Alliance for Contraception in Cats & Dogs (ACC&D) awarded its first EsterilSol grant! The grant will allow a clinic in Colombia to sterilize 750 male dogs by injection. EsterilSol is an injection that sterilizes male dogs without changing their male appearance or behaviors, which is important to many dog owners, particularly in some cultures.

The clinic receiving the grant is Sentir Animal in Felidia, Columbia. Sentir Animal’s projects for companion animals include weekend sterilization and education clinics in communities in and around Cali, Colombia. Many owners refuse to have their male dogs castrated because they don’t want them emasculated; only 14% of the dogs brought into the clinics are male. Cost of surgery is another obstacle for Sentir Animal. A faster and less expensive method of sterilization will allow them to help more dogs with sterilization and owner education.

The grant will cover training-related travel expenses and help purchase injections for over 750 dogs.

You can read more about ACC&D on their website or their Facebook cause, “Sterilize a needy dog with a $4 injection.

(photo: Outside a Sentir Animal clinic in Felidia, Colombia)