Author: David

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.

On February 27, 2010, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake crashed into Chile, displacing some 2 million people. Soon after, two tsunamis swept over coastal towns, along with 20 aftershocks (as high as 7.2 and 6.9). A group named Kinship Circle, who worked with Adopt-a-Pet.com’s president, David Meyer during the Katrina rescue, has now turned its efforts to work alongside Chilean veterinarians to save animals.  But they can’t get them off the streets without your help.

People, made homeless by the quake, are unable to supply food or medicine to their animals. In the short term, animals require treatment for gashes, broken bones, lost limbs, dehydration, mange, worms, parasites or other illness. In the longer term, they need vaccines, nutrition and sterilization. In Calita il Fiernillo, where the quake caused an oil spill, dogs and cats wade through black-water puddles. Coastal towns like Villa Futura, Santa Clara Talchuano, and Calita Los Morros, swarm with strays and other animals abandoned in the disaster.

Kinship Circle is seeking to send teams over several months (airfare, van rental, rescue gear…) and to have a project manager on site, with daily communication to conduct:
• Search and Rescue / Trapping
• In-Field First Aid
• Wound Transport to Veterinary Clinics
• In-Field Sustenance (food/water program)
• Assessment and Tracking of Animal Populations
• 1-Year Tent Clinic/Shelter (for homeless and temporarily
surrendered animals to get off streets and treated)
• Extended Care (vaccines, spay/neuter, and adoption programs)

Click here for more information and how you can help!

Chile home page: http://www.KinshipCircle.org/chile

Chile photo log: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-april-photolog.html

Field Notes: http://www.kinshipcircle.org/chile/2010-mar-april-notes.html

This week we have a truly unique story of a program in PA which matches abused animals with inmates to encourage a mutually beneficial relationships of healing. The dogs live with the inmates in their cells. The inmates are responsible for feeding and caring for the animal at all times. The dogs usually spend between six and 12 weeks behind bars until they’re paroled and hopefully adopted by a forever family. Inside the prison, the dogs and inmates work weekly with a professional trainer. “We’ve adopted out over 90 dogs through the program over the past five years, all of whom are still in their homes and they’re doing really, really well,” McGinley said. “The damage that’s done long term is intense and it takes a long time to reverse it and really teach the animals to trust again,” McGinley said. “And that happens a lot here. You see dogs who come in and are completely broken, who can’t trust any person or any other animal. Every motion that goes by them is terrifying and then you slowly start to see the healing take place. One day you come in and it’s a completely different dog.”

This week features a story about 97 animals who were saved through a program run by the humane society. The organization was sending 97 animals – 95 dogs and puppies and two cats – to various private rescue groups and no-kill facilities in the Northeast. The humane society does transports about every three weeks. On this trip, humane society volunteer driver Teresa Cash was preparing to make the 14-hour drive to meet groups part of the way in Allentown, Pa. The purpose is to move animals to no-kill facilities that have extra room.

Every day at Adopt-a-Pet.com we encounter people all around the world who have a unconditional love for pets. And recently we caught up with Chan Kah Yein, a mathematics professor who was able to share with us her ebook entailing 7 stories about pet adoption. Kah Yein founded and coordinates AnimalCare, a group dedicated to providing for the well-being of animals. She also rescues and fosters abandoned animals. Kah Yein gives public talks regularly on cultivating compassion to animals, and ways to lead a simpler and more spiritual life. To date, she has written four books and many of her talks have been produced on audio CDs, all for free distribution. With a love for all things small and simple, her motto is to embrace simplicity and travel light in life. The ebook can be downloaded here Pawprints on My Heart e-book, and a summary of each story written by Kah Yein is outlined below.

1. Pawprints on My Heart is a collection of seven true stories from my life. I hope you will enjoy reading them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
2. Remembering Puffin and Remirth is a biography of my first dog-friends who saw me grow up from a little girl of eight until I was twenty-two.
3. Mother’s Day Gifts from Heaven describes my first encounter at rescuing kittens and how love and unrelenting determination can beat the odds.
4. The Big Rescue Operation is a detailed account of how my friends and I carried out a near-impossible task of rescuing forty-five dogs from being put to sleep at the local pound.
5. Tiger’s Tales tells how a little cat fosters peace and friendship with other animals, and shows how kindness begets kindness in a loving environment.
6. Farewell, Little Pans is about the reality of life where we can only do our best and be prepared to let Nature take its course, sometimes unexpectedly.
7. The Crow in the Drain reminds us that even when we face seemingly difficult situations, we still have choices in life. We can always choose to be a little bit more compassionate and not opt for the most convenient way out.
8. The Miracle of Vixey tells how faith and compassion helped bring a little one-month old kitten miraculously back to life from the brink of death.

Please help me spread this message of love and kindness far and wide. Share this book, pass it on, talk to a friend, lead the way and set an example by doing little acts of kindness, in your own way, within your means. Every little bit helps. Every act of kindness that comes from the heart matters, and makes a big and positive difference to the lives of others. You will never know the wonderful ripple effect that it creates and how far it can spread. – Kah Yein

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 week we found an animal shelter with a reality TV show that uses parolees for helping hands. Also, an 8-year-old third grader writes a book about pet adoption.

On 17 acres in the rugged terrain of Canyon Country, Tia Torres provides a place to live or work for six parolees, 225 pit bulls, 204 volunteers, two French bulldogs, 19 cats, a husband and four kids. But the rescue’s been a money pit requiring creative financing. So now she’s turning to reality TV — with Animal Planet’s “Pit Bulls and Parolees.”

“He never gives up,” Deni Bayer, 37, said of her son, a rising third-grader who spent much of the summer working on the book. “For him to sit still this long, any of his teachers will tell you, is a big deal.” The book’s initial print run is 150 copies; the book sells for $10. Joshua said he will divide the proceeds from book sales among Whipkey’s group, the Charles County Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Being active with your dog can add some spice to the otherwise mundane task of regular exercise. If you have an energetic dog chances are they will love the exercise, and if you find your K9 bouncing off the walls and getting into trouble burning off that extra energy will help give you a little more quiet time at night. Running and biking are two good ways to help exercise both owner and pet. Here are some things to consider before you get out there.

• • Consider your dog’s overall physical condition before embarking on an exercise plan with him. If he’s older or overweight, the stress of running may be too much pressure on his joints. You might like to check with your veterinarian prior to starting.
  • Just like you, your dog needs to build up his endurance and strength over time to prevent injury and burn out. Start out slowly and watch him for signs of fatigue and overheating.
  • Since your dog doesn’t wear cushy sneakers, choose grass and dirt trails that are easy on his paws and check his pads periodically for cuts or injury.
  • If your going to bike you need to keep you and your pet safe. Ever see those clips of a dog running away from a rollerblader or biker. Don’t be that person. Invest in a leash that is made for biking.

These tips are brought to you by Woofreport.com.

All you pet loving trailblazers will want to check out our new Shepard Fairey “Lead By Example” gold ADOPT stickers! Post them everywhere and share with friends, your vet and stores in your community. They are fun to hand out at the dog park too! Help the world see that adoption not only saves lives, but it’s hip too!

This week we are highlighting a wildly successful adoption event in Connecticut, and a rescue and adoption story from Oklahoma. More than 300 animals are adopted in what is being claimed Connecticut’s most pets ever adopted in one day. And many new dogs are finding a home after a seized from being kept in a warehouse.