Month: November 2013

You might like our other Thanksgiving and Black Friday articles too:

This Black Friday adopt a black pet!

Traveling with your Pet Thanksgiving Day? Pet Travel Tips for the Road

Start a New Thanksgiving Tradition

10 Tips for Thanksgiving Pet Safety

Thanksgiving. Giving thanks. Thinking about what I am thankful for fills my soul with joy and gratitude. I am thankful for everyone who’s adopted a pet. Thankful for the kindhearted people who dedicate their lives to saving and caring for homeless pets. Thankful for volunteers and staff at shelters and rescues. Thankful for generous people who open their wallets along with their hearts to support animal welfare with their donations. Thankful for good Samaritans who stop whatever they were doing to help a lost pet they see running or injured in the street. Thankful for kind veterinarians who donate their skills and discount their products to help pets and families who couldn’t afford to care for their pet otherwise.  Thankful for philanthropic-minded executives at companies who sponsor and donate to non-profits — like ours, making our free services for shelters, rescues, and adopters possible. Thankful for people who’s kindness to animals extends to their plate, especially on this holiday, and who celebrate with delicious animal-free fare. And last, but not least, I’m thankful for the love of my friends, family, and all my pets! As the staff here at Adopt-a-Pet.com are feeling thankful, we thought this would be a great time to share some of our favorite personal pet photos. This is Adopt-a-Pet.com team member Dana and her dog Joey taking in a gorgeous view from the peak of a hike.  Don’t they look thankful for their friendship, their health, and that incredible view? We invite you to share your favorite personal pet photos with everyone on Facebook too! Post your own pet photos to our Adopt-a-Pet.com Facebook wall here or you can easily tag us in a photo (set its privacy to public so everyone can see!) or post on your own wall and include the hash tag #ThankfulForThisLove. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Films about dogs, cats and a number of other pets abound in Hollywood; and there’s a reason why. To this day, I can’t even think about the final scene in Homeward Bound without wanting to cry – tears of joy, of course! And I’ll never forget sitting in my 6th grade class watching Where the Red Fern Grows. When my teacher turned the lights on, everyone was teary-eyed! Movies about animals have a way of pulling at just about everyone’s heartstrings, young or old. While many films about animals end with the loss of a beloved part of the family, it doesn’t make it any less heart-warming or sweet. The following movies will make you appreciate fur-balls, fish and even pigs, with these tales that celebrate the bonds that humans form with animals. Warning: Have a box of tissues handy, just in case!

That Darn Cat — The 1965 Disney classic features a Siamese tomcat that plays an important role in assisting the police and saving a woman being held hostage by bank robbers. There are plenty of hijinks with car chases, but also a sweet ending for this wily cat.

Lady and the Tramp — Everyone knows this animated movie for the sweet spaghetti and meatballs scene. That’s because the heart of this movie is all about the love between a mutt and a pampered household dog.

Hachi: A Dog’s Tale —Inspired by a true story, Hachi tells the tale of Hachi the dog, waiting for his owner Parker, at the train station every day. After Parker experiences a fatal heart attack, Hachi continues to go to the train station, proving a pet’s love knows no bounds.

The AristoCats — After a butler learns a family of cats is set to inherit their owner’s fortune, he kidnaps and hides them away in the French countryside. Fortunately, for the cats in this animated flick, they’ve got a lot of animal friends to help them find their way back to their Parisian home.

Lassie Come Home — While there have been many Lassie movies, it’s the 1943 original that first established the amazing bond between a boy and his dog, a collie named Lassie. After the boy’s family is forced to give up their dog, Lassie is determined to find his way home, as he travels from Scotland back to Yorkshire for his best friend.

Charlotte’s Web — After a young girl named Fern saves the life of a piglet runt, Wilbur, he’s moved to a barn among  farm equipment and a slew of new animal friends. To keep Wilbur alive through the winter though, he needs more than the help of Fern. Charlotte the spider, by weaving her web, convinces the farmer that this is one special pig.

Finding Nemo — Although Nemo the fish is no one’s pet, this animal movie is all about the lengths a father will go to save his son. With the companionship of a forgetful fish named Dory, Nemo’s father has run-ins with “vegetarian” sharks, poisonous jelly fish, and surfer sea turtles while on his journey to save Nemo.

Free Willy — A troubled boy named Jesse, befriends a surly whale named Willy at an amusement park. When he learns that Willy’s life is in danger, he’ll do anything he can to reunite his friend with his family in the great big ocean.

All Dogs Go to Heaven — While a strange premise, a dog returns from the dead to find his killer. The film quickly becomes an animated flick about forming bonds, even in the most unlikely of places. Charlie the dog then befriends orphan Anne-Marie.

Marley & Me — Dogs are important parts of the family; and that’s the heart of this story about a crazy dog and the family that loves him, faults and all. Warning: You WILL cry.

Where the Red Fern Grows — Based on the popular children’s book, this film follows the adventures of young Billy, and his two hunting dogs in Cherokee Country and the Ozarks.

Homeward Bound (and its predecessor Incredible Journey) — After three pets: two dogs and a sassy cat, are left in the care of a friend while their owners are away, they begin to worry about their masters. Determined to find their family again, they head out on a journey of a lifetime across the Sierra Mountains.

Any of these movies are sure to touch the heart of any pet lover. Once the credits roll, make sure you go give your furry friend a hug!

Michelle Rebecca is an aspiring writer, blogger, and animal lover. She has a passion for the Internet, and loves how it connects people across the globe. She loves that blogging gives her the opportunity to voice her thoughts and share advice with an unlimited audience. Follow her on Google+.

Cat watching TV photo credit: Creative Commons use as allowed by photographer Maggie Osterberg. 

Imagine you’re a happy kitten. You play, run, jump, bat toys around, and when you’re all played out, you snuggle with your feline and human friends, kneading them with your paws like you did your mom when you were nursing on her. Life is good. Then one day you’re taken to the vet, where you go under anesthesia, then wake up in terrible pain. The end of all your toes have been cut off! 

You try to stand up and walk, but pain shoots up from your amputated toes, despite the pain medication which makes your vision blurry and your stomach clench. You try to go get a drink, but there’s a huge plastic cone around your head, tied tightly with gauze around your neck. Your litter box is there, but it’s filled with shredded newspaper, not the litter you as a good kitten know you should use for the bathroom. You try to dig to see if maybe there is litter under the paper, and as your paws hit the litter box bottom, more searing pain shoots up from the missing ends of your toes. Every step is painful – even balancing to walk is difficult. You give up and lie down, wondering when this nightmare will be over, not knowing the pain may last for days and weeks, and maybe even the rest of your life.

Sadly, this is not a made-up horror story. Every year in the United States, pet owners allow veterinarians to declaw their cats. Each cat is an individual. Each veterinarian has a different skill level and technique when performing a declawing operation. There is no way to know how much pain your cat or kitten will be enduring for the rest of their life if you have them declawed. Please, don’t declaw your cat! Instead, humanely train them to scratch where you want, and use vinyl nail caps instead.

Black Friday in the US is the Friday right after Thanksgiving. Many of us  get a holiday day off from work or school, and what better way to spend that free day than… shopping for a new pet to adopt! Just like retail stores, many animal shelters offer special sales to kick off the holiday pet shopping season on this day. Just because you shop for a pet to adopt on Black Friday and appreciate a good deal doesn’t mean you take the responsibility of adopting a new pet any less seriously! Why not have a little fun with joyful season of giving by giving a homeless pet a loving new home for the rest of his or her life. To go along with the Black Friday theme, some shelters and rescues may offer even more special promotions for black pets! Black cats especially will often get a wonderful package or present to go along with them this time of year, since some organizations put them in the back around Halloween to keep them safe from impulse or novelty adoptions. We happen to think black pets (well, all pets!) bring luck and joy into their new home. Black Friday just happens to be a fun day to go on, indulge yourself, adopt a black or any-other-color pet from your local animal shelter or rescue!

Knowing how to cut or grind down your dog’s nails is an important skill for any dog owner… or knowing your can afford to take your dog to a groomer or vet to have them trimmed every four to six weeks! I’m sure I inherited part of my fear of clipping a dog’s nails from my mom. She loved big black dogs, and we had a pair of adopted big black mutts for most of my growing up. Though they had some white toes, all their toe nails were pitch black. In case you’re not familiar with the mechanics of trimming a dog’s nail, it is very important that you only trim off the tip. This is because, just like a human finger nail, if you trim too much off, you cut the “quick” which in a dog, just like a human, hurts tremendously, and can bleed copiously! When a dog’s nails are white, you can usually see the pink quick inside, and know how much or little you can safely trim. Black nails though, you have to make an educated guess, and with a wiggly dog, even your best guess can get thrown off, and ouch!

Almost all dogs’ nails need to be trimmed on a regular basis, usually about once a month. It does depend on how fast your dog’s nails grow, and how much walking and running they are doing on rough surfaces like asphalt, and if they have their “dew” claws  – those nails higher up on their legs which don’t receive any wear. Nails that aren’t trimmed regularly will keep growing, even to the point of growing around in a circle and into the pads of their feet. Not good! Even nails that are only trimmed occasionally, if too long can cause a dog’s feet and joints to take unnatural stress when they walk, causing pain both short and long-term. 

Many dogs don’t like their feet to be touched at all, often because someone at one point painfully trimmed their nails and got their quick. If you have adopted a new dog or puppy who doesn’t like his feet being picked up, you can…

Get your dog comfortable with paws being handled first!

1. Pick a time when your dog is most relaxed, like at the end of a day, after lots of exercise, when they are lying down for a nap. Gently touch your dog’s front paw and reward with treat and verbal praise. Repeat daily until you can touch all paws.
2. Pick up your dog’s front paw and let go right away, reward with treat/praise. Repeat with all four paws. Practice once daily for a week.
3. Pick up and hold your dog’s front paw for a few seconds, and reward with treat/praise. If your dog pulls his paw out of your hand, allow him to do so, but he doesn’t get the reward. Repeat with all four paws. Practice once daily until your dog lets you hold each paw for about 20 seconds without pulling it out of your hand, then add in gently squeezing each toe so the nail extends out.
4. Some dogs are afraid of the “click” noise the nail cutters make (or the whir of the nail grinder, if you use that instead). Ask your dog to sit and focus on a treat in your hand. With your other hand, make the click with the clippers (or turn the grinder on then off) and reward with a treat. This is like clicker-training your dog but you are clipper-training them instead! Repeat a few times, then practice daily until your dog is relaxed with the click/whir noise.

Now you are ready to trim your dog’s nails!

If this is your first time ever trimming a dog’s nails, I suggest having a professional groomer, or an experienced vet or vet tech, show you how the first time. If you have a nervous, big, or energetic dog, having someone help you can make the task easier if they can hold the dog still, or even just feed them treats as you trim their nails. I personally prefer to use a nail grinder. They sell pet nail grinders, but pro groomers most often use a two-speed dremel, which is a handheld rotary tool, on the low setting (6,000 RPM) with a sandpaper bit.

How to trim your dog’s nails…

1. Choose a time when your dog is most relaxed, like at the end of the day or midday nap time. Pick up your dog’s paw and gently squeeze one toe, so the nail is extended. See before photo below. 
2. Using a nail clip or a grinder, cut off or grind down the very tip of the nail. If your dog has very long nails, you still only want to take off the very tip. (You can trim them every other week so the quick will recede to make the nails shorter over time.) If you are grinding, allow the grinder to do the work, don’t press the nail hard into the grinder, and use 1 to 2 second pulses against the nail, to avoid overheating. You want to angle the cut so that when the dog’s is standing, the cut is slightly tilted up, almost parallel to the ground.  See photo below. 
3. Reward your dog after each nail with a treat and/or praise! 

While it’s wonderful to show your appreciation to shelter and rescue staff and volunteers at any time, it’s great to also have a special week every year to celebrate the important work they do saving and caring for homeless pets. In 2013 National Animal Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week is November 3rd to 9th.  Inspired by the 7 days of this special week, Adopt-a-Pet.com has come up with 7 ways you can show your local shelters and rescues how much you appreciate the role they play in your community! You can pick one, two, try them all, or come up with your own ways to show the kind-hearted folks who have dedicated their lives to helping homeless pets how much their time and efforts mean to you and your family.

Shelter and rescue staff and volunteers are on the front lines of animal rescue. Day in and day out they are dealing with abandoned, abused, hurt, sick, and suffering animals — and people who are often in very difficult situations too. “Compassion fatigue” is just as common as it is in other professions that kind of high-stress work. For those compassionate souls who’ve chosen to work or volunteer in animal welfare, the numbers of homeless animals and people who can’t or won’t keep their pets can feel overwhelming. Sometimes it takes only a very small gesture of appreciation… a word, a note, a warm smile… that keeps them going.

Here are 7 ways for 7 days you can show shelter and rescue staff and volunteers your appreciation!

1. Send a thank you card. Or a letter. Put it the mail or drop it off at your local shelter. Yes email is easier, but a physical card or letter is more likely to have a longer lasting effect and be seen by many more people. If you have kids, enlist their help in making a thank you card!
   At the shelter where I worked, they would pin thank you cards and letters on a bulletin board by the copy machine, next to the door. Every time I made a copy or walked in and out of the office, my eyes would go to that board to see if anything new had come in – and that could really turn my  day around! 
2. Shake their hand. You can say thank you or nothing at all. A warm caring handshake is a wonderful way to show your respect and appreciation! 
3. Use your words. Tell them that you appreciate them, in person. You can keep it simple, but a few genuine words expressing why you appreciate what they do can mean so much. “Thank you for working so hard to keep these kennels clean,” I heard one visitor say to a shelter maintenance worker. You should have seen how he stood up tall and smiled at that compliment! 
4. Write a positive review. Did you have a good experience visiting or adopting your pet from a local shelter or rescue? Let others know by writing an honest review on their Facebook page, Yelp, Citysearch, or your local business review website. 
5. Give a gift. It doesn’t have to be expensive… at the shelter where I worked, vegan baked gifts were a huge hit and enjoyed by all the staff and volunteers.  (Some city and county departments have strict rules about employees being able to accept gifts, so you may want to check first.) If you own a local business, how about presenting your shelter with an award, proclamation, or plaque?    
6. Send a photo of your adopted pet.  If you adopted a pet, taking a happy photo and sending (mail or email) or sharing on social media is one of the most encouraging things you can do for shelter and rescue staff and volunteers. They dedicate countless hours, dollars, and tears with that one goal — finding a pet a new loving home. Your happy adopted pet photo (we call them “Happy Beginnings”) is possibly one of the easiest and most heart-warming ways to show your shelter and rescue appreciation!
7. Last but certainly not least… adopt a pet! We can’t think of a better way to show your appreciation for shelters and rescues, can you? You can find a pet to adopt at your local animal shelter or rescue at http://www.adoptapet.com