Month: August 2010

Recently Savvy Source and Yes Kidz Can teamed up with Adopt-a-Pet.com to help inform kids about what they can do to help homeless animals. Adopt-a-Pet.com recommended 5 activities that kids can easily do to help pets in their community. Before starting parents and kids should first, double check with your area rescue groups or pet adoption agencies about their age limits for volunteers. Many will let 12-year-olds volunteer. And, younger kids may be allowed as well if they are accompanied by a parent. Read the top 5 things kids can do to help homeless animals.

Dr. Pia Salk Visits The Martha Stewart Show: A Behind-The-Scenes Look Adopt-a-Pet.com’s spokesperson Dr. Pia Salk recently made her second appearance on The Martha Stewart Show to talk about pet adoption. Did you miss it? Check out video of her appearance here.

Is your dog bored with her same old chew toys? Kongs, Bully sticks, and Raw Hides are excellent chew toys for your dog, and they also give your pooch something to do. Having an activity to work on keeps your pet mentally stimulated, which we all know is as important as keeping your pup physically stimulated as well. Here’s a new chew toy to try, and the best part? It’s free and easy to make! You can even make it with your kids to keep them involved in your dog’s care.

Find an old sock – the longer the sock the better. Put a treat at the bottom of the sock, then tie a knot. Put another treat above the first knot, and then tie another knot. Depending on the length of the sock, and if you still have fabric to work with, do it one more time – place a piece of treat above the second knot and tie a third knot. This gives your dog two to three knots to have to try to figure out and undo in order to get her treats! The smellier the treat you use, the more enticed she will be to undo those knots and stay focused on getting her treats. This easy to make, free chew toy will change things up, keep your canine busy, and let her work hard for her treats.

Just remember not to use the socks you’ll need to wear tomorrow 

Recently a friend asked me for some kitten advice. She adopted a new kitten, and was having problems with her biting behavior. I’ve fostered hundreds of kittens and cats, including many who would play bite. With the help of some knowledgeable cat behaviorists, I was able to teach them all to stop. By “play bite” I mean kitten biting that would sometimes really hurt but happened during play, not aggressive or fearful biting. (For adult cat biting, read this.) Sadly, very sweet kittens can be surrendered to shelters for play biting behavior, even though it can usually be fairly quickly stopped, if you know what to do. Read on for my friend’s email and my response with my five steps for success. I hope this will help anyone who is struggling with a feisty, play-biting kitten!

Hi Jennifer! My family rescued the most adorable kitten. She’s 3 months old, super friendly and cute, but this is THE MOST feisty kitten I have ever met! She bites bites bites all in non-stop play. She attacked my face even! I was told to only play with her with toys, but this doesn’t seem to phase her. Any advice would be soooo welcome! Thanks!

It’s so wonderful you rescued a kitten! Here are five steps I use with feisty foster kittens, to teach them not to play bite people:

1. Adopt a kitty friend for your kitten! Ideally one around the same size and age (NOT younger or smaller, but the same age or a few months older) with an equal energy level. Spend time with potential kittens to try to adopt a kitten who plays gently with you already. After you introduce them, the kittens will play and teach each other not to play or bite so hard that it hurts. They’ll also have fun tiring each other out! You can find kittens for adoption near you here: http://adopt-a-cat.adoptapet.com
   Tip: If adopting a 2nd kitten isn’t possible, though not as effective, give your kitten a stuffed animal toy kitten, the same size, and lots of other stuffed toys that she can bite and wrestle with safely.
2. No hands: Do not play with kitten using your hands, or toys that she plays with while they are in your hand. Don’t allow anyone else to either!
3. Appropriate play: Get a laser toy and feather toy on a string, or any other super fun running around toys that you can play without being too close to kitten. Like a remote control mouse!! (Here’s an adorable video of a kitten playing with a remote control mouse.) Get kitten’s energy out with 3 “remote” play sessions of 5-10 minutes every day. Tire kitten out with fun!
   Tip: The frequency and intensity of the play sessions will probably need to increase as she becomes an adolescent, until she matures into an adult kitty, and then can taper down. It’s ideal to observe kitty during each session to see the moment she starts to get slightly less interested in playing, and stop before she’s totally tired/bored with the game.
   
4. No punishment, instead withdraw: If kitten starts to rough-play with any part of your body, IMMEDIATELY stop playing & walk out of room. If she’s “attacking” you while you are sleeping or resting, close her out of those rooms while you are doing those activities until these steps start helping. Do not punish. Kittens are often biting for attention, and even negative attention like punishment (of any kind, even gentle) is reinforcement and likely will make the biting WORSE.
5. Calm petting: Practice petting only when kitten is super sleepy, or eating. Kitten should learn human hands touching them is soothing, not play.

You should see improvement starting almost immediately, but definitely within a few days. If you do get bitten hard enough to draw blood, even the tiniest bit, make sure you immediately flush flush flush with clean running water at full force for 5 minutes, and then go to your doctor or urgent care immediately. They will likely prescribe antibiotics. Even tiny cat bites should not to be ignored. Not to scare you, but the infections cat bites can cause, especially to hands and wrists, can be very severe and require surgery if not immediately (the same day) treated by a doctor.

Thanks again for adopting a kitten and giving her a loving home!

…

Rehome by Adopt a Pet

If you can not safely keep your kitten any longer, you may feel that rehoming is the best option for you, your family, and your kitten. If this is the case, in addition to contacting local cat rescue organizations for help, consider using Rehome by Adopt a Pet. You can post your kitten on the Adopt a Pet website to connect with potential adopters near you. Get started here.

Adopt-a-Pet.com is working with PEOPLEPets.com to bring adoptable pets more attention. Check out this post on about Chappie, age 4, who was rescued from by staffers at the Heartland Animal Shelter in Northbrook, Ill. “He has the most beautiful big brown eyes… you can’t help but fall in love with him,” volunteer Lou Basten tells PEOPLEPets.com.”He is very mellow and easygoing.”

The gentle boy loves cuddling up in blankets and beds, and particularly enjoys tummy rubs. “Look out though,” Basten says, “you are sure to get a lot of kisses while petting him!” Chappie is housetrained, neutered and up-to-date on his shots. You can see Chappie’s Adopt-a-Pet.com listing with more photos and info here too.

This week Mamapedia.com asked Adopt-a-Pet.com to shed some light on what pet adoption can teach children. Adopting from a local animal shelter or rescue organization helps teach kids about personal responsibility, community service, and their ability to make an impact as they make choices in life. Those are just a few of the powerful character-shaping lessons that come with adopting a pet! There is no limit to the great lessons that you can teach and learn when you opt to adopt; the process of saving a life benefits all involved.  Here is the story of Betsy and John who contemplated adopting a pet.

Take one fabulous powerhouse baseball couple with a major-league love of companion animals, add in the support of their team and stadium, mix in several adorable, adoptable dogs and a couple of awesome animal rescue groups, and what do you get?  Sox For Strays, an incredibly innovative event I had the pleasure of attending last week.

Sox For Strays is an adoption-promoting program founded by Jamie and Mark Buehrle, of White Sox fame.  If you’re a baseball fan (or if you’re even remotely aware of the game), you know Mark Buehrle by his impressive accomplishments.  Last season, he became only the 18th major-leaguer since 1900 to pitch a perfect game (July 23rd at home against Tampa Bay…yeah, I’m a baseball nerd).  He’s one of just a few players in Major League history to have thrown both a no-hitter and a perfect game.  He’s an All-Star, a Gold Glover…I should stop myself, but believe me, I could go on.

Believe me when I say Jamie Buehrle is every bit as cool as her husband, and she is a force to be reckoned with.  Luckily for us, she uses her powers for good.  Every month, Jamie and Mark invite an animal shelter or rescue group to bring a few adoptable pets to a special pre-game adoption event at U.S. Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox.  Jamie records a special public service announcement featuring the pets, which is played on the stadium’s huge video screen during the game.

The July event was very special because it featured Hope Animal Rescues.  Although Mark and Jamie Buehrle support several animal shelters and rescues, they are particularly connected with Hope Animal Rescues, even donating a new facility that will be called Buehrle’s Barn in their honor.  Jamie had told me how amazing she thought Hope Animal Rescues was, and when I met Jackie Spiker, Hope’s co-founder, I could see why.  Jackie is an energetic, compassionate, tireless advocate for animal welfare.  Whenever Hope has room to take in a few more dogs, Jackie and her partner Kim Lee go to animal control and take the dogs that are on their last day.  It doesn’t matter what they look like, how old they are, if they have medical issues, or anything else: if they’re out of time, they end up in the car with Jackie and Kim.

Jackie told me about a very special puppy named Soldier who currently needs a foster home in the Madison County, Illinois area.  Soldier is a 4-month-old lab/basset hound mix with a deformed front paw that will need to be removed.  Although Soldier’s veterinary costs will be covered, he is currently being boarded and desperately  needs a loving foster home where he can recuperate.  After that, he will be available for adoption.  If you can help, please go here and apply to be a foster home.

The dog who most captured my heart at the Sox For Strays event was a really special guy named Truman.  I’m not alone, either.  When Jamie and Mark Buehrle heard about Truman, they really stepped up to the plate, so to speak, and took financial and emotional responsibility for his care.  Truman has an amazing story: he was found on the street, guarding the body his friend, a dachshund who had been killed by a car.  He was terrified, and it took Jackie and Kim of Hope Animal Rescues three days to catch him and take him into their care.  You can read all about Truman’s story here.  Warning: have some tissues handy.  Since this story was written, Truman has made so much progress.  He’s in a foster home, he’s working with a trainer and doing agility, and he’s ready for the right forever home.  Truman will need a very patient, calm, and kind family to love him.  I think you’ll agree that Truman is a study in loyalty, and I was honored to be able to spend some time cuddling with this amazing being.  I can’t get his beautiful face out of my mind.

If you’re in the Chicago area, don’t miss the next Sox For Strays events, which will be at U.S. Cellular Field on August 11 and September 17.  If you bring a donation to the featured animal welfare group, you’ll be entered to win a signed item from Mark Buehrle himself!

Below are some pictures of the day, including a couple of Truman:

Fabulous A-List (in our book, anyway) actress and comedian Kathy Griffin is an animal lover with a huge heart.  So when her beloved 12-year-old dog Chance passed away recently, Griffin was absolutely devastated.  Her other dog, Pom Pom, was also grieving, so Kathy decided to add a new member to her family.  Always one for fashion AND compassion,Kathy wanted to adopt her new dog from a shelter or rescue group.

Choosing the right companion for herself and Pom Pom was daunting. As Kathy so eloquently put it, “I want to save the right dog, and I need the right dog to save me.”  So, on the most recent episode of Griffin’s series “My Life On The D-List”, a panel of experts was assembled, including Adopt-a-Pet.com’s own Katya Friedman, who introduced Kathy to three wonderful dogs.  See the heartwarming (and hilarious) meeting here.  The adoption story begins about 40 seconds in, and Katya, of course, is the one wearing the Adopt-a-Pet.com t-shirt!