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Adopting a senior pet is one of the most wonderful things you can do – not only for them, but for you! Western society often doesn’t have a lot of respect for older things or beings. With our culture’s focus on how “important” it is to have the latest car, computer, or gadget, sometimes we forget the wonderful wisdom that age can bring. As the caretaker of several senior dogs (my own and fosters) and two senior cats, and having fostered five senior pets within the last year, I am completely convinced that if more people knew how amazing it is to rescue, foster and share their life with a senior pet, senior pets wouldn’t be so passed over in our shelters. It is true they likely won’t be with you as long as a younger pet. But if you can embrace the unselfish philosophy of quality over quantity of years, you’ll be rescuing many, many more lives in your lifetime — and that is truly a beautiful thing! Plus…

So often seniors in shelters are there through no fault of their own. Sometimes their owners, also elderly, must move to a care facility that doesn’t accept pets. Or they had owners who did not had the foresight or finances to get pet health insurance, and find they could no longer afford to care for a pet that needs age-related medical procedures or medication.  Sadly, in some cases the owners superficially wanted a newer, younger pet – and discarded the older one like a well-used couch on the side of the road.  Tragic, but true.

Senior pets in shelters, more often than their young counterparts, are already trained, housebroken, and calmer. They often arrive in your home and are so well-behaved it feels a bit like they did spend their whole life with you. Seniors have just as much love to give as any pet!

There are many advantages to adopting mature animals. You already know what they are going to look like and what size they will be, and you will know their personalities sooner, rather than waiting through those sometimes very trying learning stages — senior pets are much less likely to chew your favorite pair of shoes or shred your couch or curtains!

You can find a senior pet to adopt at Adopt-a-Pet.com by clicking “Search Dogs“, “Search Cats” or “Search Other“. Then enter in your zip code, and select “senior” from the age menu.  If you can’t adopt that sweetheart yourself, click the orange “share” button to share a link to that pet’s information to your Facebook friends or Twitter followers, or simply email a link to all your contacts who might want to adopt or foster.  Let’s get those beautiful seniors out of the shelter and into the loving homes they so richly deserve!

Rattlesnakes live in so many areas, and can be a life-threatening danger to dogs of all sizes. But with just a few preventive steps, you can reduce the chances your dog will get bitten and die from a rattlesnake bite! Rattlesnakes are very common the parks and trails that many dog-lovers use for hikes and walks with their dogs. More and more homes are being built in areas that were previously rural, making encounters with wildlife even more common. If you and your dog live in an apartment in a totally urban (cement city) area and never goes on walks in a park, then you don’t need these tips. But the majority of pet owners would be prudent in following them! Being prepared takes education about avoidance and – most importantly – a trip to the vet. Read on for our tips to prevent a fatal rattlesnake bite, and what to do if your dog is bitten!

1. Get your dog the rattlesnake vaccine.
There is a dog vaccine by Red Rock Biologics for rattlesnake bites. The vaccine is made from snake venom and works in a way so that if your dog is bitten, the reaction to the bite is REDUCED and may be delayed – it is not completely eliminated, so a vaccinated dog bitten by a rattlesnake will still need vet care as soon as possible.  “The rattlesnake vaccination costs about $25, and can greatly reduce the amount of anti-venom serum the dog needs and the severity of the reaction to the bite,” says Dr. Liz Koskenmaki, DVM. Since each vial of anti-venom costs between $500 to $1000 depending on where you live, you are not only potentially saving your dog’s life, but a lot of money!

2. Walk your dog on 6-foot leash.
If you hear a rattle or see a snake on the ground ahead of you, if your dog is on a 6 foot leash, you can avoid it. Vets say the vast majority of rattlesnake bites occur when a dog is off-leash or on a flexi-lead.

3. Avoid avoid rocky or dense brush or grassy areas.
On your walks with your dog, stay on the trail, and choose wide trails or roads over narrow brush-bordered trails if possible. That way you are more likely to see a snake sunning itself across your path, and be able to stop and avoid it in time. Also, keep your yard grass cut short and eliminate brush, piles of rocks where snakes like to sun themselves as well as hide.

4. Snake-proof your yard.
Your yard may be fenced to keep Fido safely in, but it won’t keep most snakes out unless you fortify it. Snakes can get under fencing that does not have a solid cement base (like a block wall). On wood fences or solid iron fences, use hardware cloth all along the base of your fence, including across any gated areas. You’ll need to dig a trench to bury 22″ of it into the ground, with 18″ above ground attached to the base of your fence. Hardware cloth runs about $100 per 100 feet — expensive, but if you live in a rattlesnake-dense area and want your dog to be safe in your yard, the cost may be worth it.

5. Know a dog’s rattlesnake-bite symptoms.
If you don’t recognize the symptoms of a rattlesnake bite in your dog, you might delay rushing them to the vet immediately – and that delay could be fatal.

Immediate symptoms almost always include:

• puncture wounds (can be bleeding)
• severe pain
• swelling
• restlessness, panting, or drooling

Depending on how much venom the bite injected into your dog, and the size of your dog, any of these more severe symptoms may appear quickly or within a few hours:

• lethargy, weakness, sometimes collapse
• muscle tremors
• diarrhea
• seizures
• neurological signs including depressed respiration

6. If you & your dog encounter a rattlesnake…
Calmly & slowly back away from the snake until you are no longer within striking distance (about the snake’s length) and until the snake stops rattling at you. Then carefully leave the area – if there is one snake, there are likely to be more in that same area.

7. If your dog is bitten by a rattlesnake…
If you can, carry your dog to your car. If you can’t carry your dog without them (or you!) struggling, walk them to your car. Limiting the dog’s activity will limit the venom moving around in their body, which is better. THEN GET THEM TO A VET IMMEDIATELY! The faster your dog can get the anti-venom and other emergency treatment from the vet, the greater their chance of survival.

We haven’t included rattlesnake aversion training classes in our tips. In some areas, “Rattlesnake Proofing” or aversion training is available, but be aware that they almost always involve the dog getting a fairly strong shock from an electric shock collar when they “find” a snake (yes, a real snake – a defanged/devenomed one). You lavish them with praise after they get shocked and yelp in pain and encourage them to come running back to you. In extreme cases where your dog must go out into an area with rattlesnakes daily, the one-second of pain of this type of “rattlesnake proofing” might be worth potentially saving your dog’s life, but we hope that with the totally humane tips above, most dog owners will not have to resort to a painful training to keep their dogs safe from a fatal rattlesnake bite.
Learn more about Jennifer, our blog author at Google+

Rattlesnake photo credit: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1056935

Daisy was born blind and deaf and was passed around through many homes before finding her happy forever home. Because of the instability and her special needs, Daisy didn’t know how to be a dog when she came to Maryam and Bruce her knew owners.  Daisy was afraid and anxious, and it would take another dog who could be her eyes and ears for her to be rehabilitated. It turned out Olivia was just the dog for the job.

Daisy instantly bonded with Olivia but not with her new parents, and it took eight months for Daisy to connect with them. Every day they worked on gaining her trust and letting her accept touch.  Now Daisy kisses and cuddles, walks and wiggles, and is a happy, healthy, playful pooch. Daisy’s parents hope to be a support system for other families willing to open their homes and hearts to special needs animals.  As they say, she may have needed to learn how to be a regular dog but ultimately they believe they were the students and Daisy the teacher.

To date Daisy has visited more than 1,500 students throughout California to teach them about tolerance and acceptance of special needs children and animals. Daisy’s strength and courage inspired Maryam to write a children’s book called “What about Daisy?”  This inspiring children’s story about a deaf and blind rescue dog in search of her forever home, and the adventures she has with her 4 and 2 legged friends, will entertain and warm your heart.

To learn more about Daisy or get a sneak peek into her book, check out www.whataboutdaisy.com

For all of us who adore our pets, the prospect of our homes catching fire while we’re away is truly horrifying. Many of us rely on the window/door stickers that say something along the lines of “Firefighter—Save my pets!” to alert firefighters to the presence of pets in the house. But do those really work? Recently, I spoke with a Los Angeles firefighter about these stickers, and what I learned is very important: although it never hurts to have those stickers, many times the location of the fire will force firefighters to enter through a side window, where stickers might not be present or visible. Smoke from fires can quickly render stickers black and unreadable, too. Actually, there are a million reasons why those stickers might go unnoticed in the urgency of the moment. So, what is the best indicator that there are pets inside a burning building?

The answer is: NEIGHBORS. Firefighters say that in many cases of successful pet rescue, a neighbor has quickly alerted them that there are pets inside the home. The same goes for children, too! So, please, make sure you and your neighbors know each other’s pets, just in case. Why not put together a directory of neighbors’ names, addresses, number/type of pets, and number of family members living in each home and distribute it to everyone on your street? Your pets will thank you, and so will the firefighters whose jobs it is to save lives.  Plus, what a great way to meet and spark a friendship (pardon the pun) with your neighbors!

On March 23rd, Adopt-a-Pet.com launched the latest in our series of regional pet-adoption -promoting campaigns, this one in St. Louis.  The St. Louis campaign featured billboards starring St. Louis Blues hockey star David Backes and his wife Kelly, and Chicago White Sox pitcher (and St. Louis native) Mark Buehrle and his wife Jamie and a corresponding televised public service announcement.  Check out Adopt-a-Pet.com’s executive director Abbie Moore and Kelly Backes on the FOX morning show with Tim Ezell at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IErjkqs1qWE

And here’s another great piece of news coverage about the campaign!

Immediately following the campaign launch, we received an email from a wonderful rescuer that brought tears to the eyes of all of us at Adopt-a-Pet.com.  We live for success stories like this! Read the email.

Do you have a Happy Beginnings story you’d like to share? Did Adopt-a-Pet.com match you up with your best friend?  Email us and let us know!

Before taking on the responsibility of owning a dog, it’s important to recognize that owning a pet is a long-term commitment. Be prepared to dedicate time, finances, and energy, as well as a good amount of patience to your new dog over his or her lifetime. Being a responsible dog owner involves more than providing your pup with basic needs such as food and shelter.  Click here to find out more.

One of our favorite blog sites, Way of Cats, recently posted a very interesting article comparing the bonding differences between a cat and a kitten. It has some very helpful insights into some differences you might not have thought of or even known about before! If you are looking to adopt a new feline but aren’t sure if an adult cat or a kitten would be better for you and your home, read on to see if the Way of Cats “Bonding Differences: Cat vs. Kitten” may help you make the best decision for your lifestyle and household.

Wya of Cats writes: “I encourage the adoption of adult cats, citing how easy it is because their kitten stage is behind them. I encourage careful kitten raising, because this shapes our future cat relationship. Which is better? Both and neither. So, am I being contradictory, here? Not at all. The goal of a close relationship remains the same. It’s only the paths which differ.”

You can read the rest of Cat vs Kitten on the Way of Cats here.

Are you at the end of your rope (um, leash?) cleaning up from your new dog’s housebreaking accidents inside? Feel like you’ve tried “everything” and your new furry family member still can’t seem to figure out that going to the bathroom on the rug is fraying your nerves ragged? Not to fear, potty busters are here! We’ve reduced our tips down to our “lucky 7” that we’ve found can do the trick when all else seems to have failed.

This article is not meant to be a comprehensive step-by-step how to housebreak your new dog or puppy article.  For that, we suggest you follow the steps in our Housetraining Your Dog or Puppy article. And if you haven’t tried Crate Training your puppy or dog as a housebreaking method, then you might find that cures your housebreaking blues instantly. But some dogs – especially dogs that spent too much time in a pet store cage, or in a puppy mill where they were confined in a tiny area without ever being let out – those dogs need extra help from us to get their housebreaking back on track.

In our tips below, we call your new puppy or dog “Buddy” to make these tips easier to understand.

Tip #1: Establish a Potty Area. Has Buddy ever gone to the bathroom where you want him to go? More than once? If he has, then that’s your potty area! That is where you should take him every time you want him to go the bathroom.

Tip #2: Establish a Gray Zone. This is an area where it’s OK that Buddy goes to the bathroom, though it may not be where you’d like him to go full-time in the future. Put Buddy in the Gray Zone whenever you aren’t directly supervising him – supervising means EYES ON BUDDY not just in the same room! The location of your Gray Zone depends on your dog’s size, your home, your climate, etc. A bathroom, outdoor dog run, or securely fenced yard are examples. If indoors, ideally use a space you don’t use much — many people use their kitchen, but then expect the dog to magically not go in the kitchen when they are home! A bathroom or other less-used hard-floored room (or safe area outside) is better. Lock the dog out of the Gray Zone when you are home and want them to hold it till you go outside.

Tip #3: Have a Treat pouch. Keep it filled with super high value treats (Buddy’s absolute favorites), and keep it right next to the door. Bring it outside with you every single time you and Buddy go outside, so you’re ready to give him the jackpot reward if he goes! For dog’s that aren’t interested in treats, try human food approved by your vet, such as roasted chicken.

Tip #4: Set your alarm. When you are home and awake, set your alarm and take Buddy to the Potty Area every hour on the hour every hour for 2 minutes. On a leash is better to keep them from thinking its play time, but some dogs are more likely to go when off leash, so follow your dog’s lead. This is not playtime. Just stand there, be boring, mediate for 2 minutes, and if Buddy goes potty, jackpot reward!

Tip #5: Dog diapers. This tends to work better on smaller dogs – but the biggest housebreaking challenges we know of seem to be smaller dogs! Belly bands for boys and diapers for girls can be a permanent, instant solution to a housebreaking problem. They are now found quite easily online and in major pet supply stores like PetSmart.com.

Tip #6: Tethering. Does Buddy only go to the bathroom inside when you’re not watching? Then attach his leash to your belt – yes, you’re now attached at the hip and aside from being best buddies, he can’t sneak off to go to the bathroom out of sight!

Tip#7: Vet check. Have Buddy checked by a vet if its just inappropriate urination in the house. Sometimes a low-grade infection can cause it to be uncomfortable for a dog to hold it. Especially if your dog is a new dog, stress of being in a new home can cause an infection to flare.

Before you bring home an adorable baby bunny, duck, or chick, a good pet parent will do research into the lifetime of care these pets require. Stuffed toy animals are often the best choice of a holiday gift, but if you’re considering adopting a real-life bunny, Adopt-a-Pet.com Spokesperson and expert on the human-animal bond Dr. Pia Salk has some thoughtful insights after speaking with Cindy Stutts, an educator for the House Rabbit Society, and a bunny parent herself. Below, Pia shares her invaluable advice for anyone considering getting a bunny. If you decide a bunny is the right pet for you and your home, you can find many wonderful rabbits for adoption near you on Adopt-a-Pet.com at www.adoptapet.com/other-pet-adoption#rabbit

Pia writes: “According to Cindy, rabbits are fundamentally different from dogs and cats and therefore require an entirely different care-giving approach. We cannot simply apply what we know about cats and dogs to rabbits.

For one thing, rabbits are prey animals in nature. That means they are more fragile and fearful than dogs or cats, both natural predators. While they can be held and cuddled, bunnies may respond fearfully at first, perhaps with a sudden movement or harmless nip that could startle a small child and result in the bunny being dropped. For that reason, a rabbit may not be an ideal companion animal for kids under five.

Impulse Easter pet purchases result in tragic outcomes for thousands of bunnies (and chicks) each year. The majority of those acquired in this manner ultimately end up injured, neglected, multiplying or relinquished to a shelter. While it is understandable that a doting parent might be tempted by the cute little bunnies that fill pet store windows at Easter, I encourage parents to proceed with caution! It is important to use common sense when an eager salesperson downplays the long-term needs of a companion animal. When it comes to indulging a child (which is not always a bad thing), there’s a big difference between a candy treat and an animal with lifelong needs.

One of the most important and challenging lessons a parent must pass along are the benefits of making informed decisions rather than impulsive choices. But children learn exactly the opposite when well-meaning parents return home from the pet store with a fragile, un-altered bunny and little information on his/her proper care.

Thankfully, bunny whisperer Cindy Stutts offers up many ways to indulge a child’s affinity for bunnies while avoiding the pitfalls of impulsive pet-store purchases that are harmful to bunnies and families. Here are a few alternatives she suggests:

• Give a shelter gift certificate. It is never a good idea to give any animal as a surprise gift. But a gift certificate that covers an adoption fee is a great way to preserve the element of surprise while also allowing time to make an informed choice. The family can visit the shelter together and become educated on care needs while also getting assistance in choosing an animal that’s right for them.
• Foster a rabbit or bonded pair for a shelter or rescue.
• Buy a toy stuffed rabbit – some rescues sell them to help raise  funds for bunnies in need.
• Check with bunny rescues to inquire about events where kids can visit and pet the bunnies.
• Sponsor a bunny awaiting a forever home.
• Sponsor a sick or injured rabbit who needs help to recover and heal.

So here’s to a Happy Easter, a Happy Passover and a peaceful spring for everyone — especially the bunnies, chicks and humans who love them!

In kinship,
Dr. Pia Salk

Click Here for Pia’s article on MarthaStewart.com with BUNNY PHOTOS! 

What a great idea: shelter pets for adoption, in a mall near you! What potential pet owner wouldn’t like a bright, fun, one-stop-shop conveniently located in their local mall, with helpful pet adoption counselors, adorable adoptable pets, and all the supplies you could need? With a grand opening scheduled this month, Found Animals and the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey have partnered with the ultimate goal to “increase the adoptions of shelter animals as well as improve the public’s perception of shelter adoptions. By highlighting the animals in a high-traffic, retail setting, we will reach that population who may not visit the shelter to find their next pet.” We spoke to Found Animals adoption staff (Director, Molly Stretten and Program Manager, Becky Haas) and found out lots for you about Adopt&Shop… read on to find out what they had to say!

Adopt & Shop
353 Lakewood Center Mall
Lakewood, CA 90712
(Near Costco, on the south side of the mall.)
Open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.

Official Grand Opening: April 30, 2011 – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Featuring $5 pet microchips, pet information,
and fun activities for the whole family!

Retail locations have been used by other organizations before, but sadly successes we know of have been far and few between. (For one success story, stay tuned for our upcoming interview and article with the wonderful Sante D’Or foundation and their cat sanctuary and adoption center located in a retail storefront.) However with Adopt&Shop’s innovative partnership and design, we’re hopefully they represent the start of a new wave of Adopt&Shop-like establishments spreading pet adoptions to malls across North America!

What is the goal of Adopt&Shop?
The ultimate goal is to increase the adoptions of shelter animals as well as improve the public’s perception of shelter adoptions, hence contributing to the overall mission of Found Animals – to decrease euthanasia of shelter animals. By highlighting the animals in a high-traffic, retail setting, we will reach that population who may not visit the shelter to find their next pet. Due to negative perceptions of animal shelters (noisy, sad, deplorable conditions, ‘broken’ pets), only 18 percent of pets are adopted from shelters.  We have a goal to facilitate at least 600 adoptions in 2011.

How did you come up with the idea for Adopt&Shop?
Dr. Gary Michelson, founder of Found Animals, has always wanted to bring the animals to the people, and envisioned replacing the older puppy store model (with animals from breeders and/or puppy mills) and replace it with a rescue model (with all animals from local shelters). Dr. Michelson and the Found Animals Foundation are determined to make a difference by using business principals to solve the problems of pet overpopulation and the resulting shelter euthanasia. The retail adoption center is essentially a pet store but with pets coming from the SEAACA shelter in Downey.

What’s it like inside?
Adopt & Shop is a fun and welcoming environment designed with the animal’s (and people’s!) comfort in mind. The 1,084 sq. ft. store will feature pets for adoption as well as carry all of the basic supplies needed for a new pet including food, collars and leashes, ID tags, bowls, litter boxes and kitty litter, al competitively-priced with the larger pet supply retailers in the area. Approximately 500 sq. ft. will be devoted to housing 10 dogs and 10 cats at any given time. More unique items such as eco-friendly toys and bedding will also be for sale. There will be luxury kennels for dogs, beautiful play areas for cats, and space to visit with a pet during the adoption process. Additionally, there will be an iPad kiosk on-site to showcase the free Found Animals 24/7 online pet care tools as well as pets available for adoption through other local shelters.

How many paid staff & volunteers are in the store daily?
At least two staff will be in the store at all time, along with several volunteers.

How do adoptions happen from the store?
The application process at Adopt & Shop focuses on the conversation between our highly-trained adoption counselors and the interested adopters. The conversation is driven by specific questions about the person’s previous pet experience, lifestyle, and desires for a new pet, but the adoption does not depend on the specific answer they write on an application. The staff at Adopt & Shop bring many years of experience from different shelters, rescues and humane organizations, and the adoption process has been developed using the aspects that we feel best predict the success of the adoption (for the animal and the person).

How long are the pets left alone when the store is closed?
The pets are left alone overnight, and we take great precautions to make sure that they are relaxed, comfortable, and entertained during the off-hours. Although it is not ideal to leave an animal alone all night long-term, we feel that it is an acceptable short-term solution while the animals are looking for their forever home!

When did it open?
Adopt & Shop launched on Tuesday, April 12, 2011. An official grand opening event is set for Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During the grand opening event, a pet fair will take place featuring $5 pet microchips, pet information and fun activities for the whole family.

Where do the pets come from?
All of the pets will come from one of Found Animals’ shelter partners, the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) in Downey, CA.

Did you have a volunteer or staff with retail experience that planned the design of the store, and the business plan for it?
Yes, although it was also a huge collaboration! The key to any non-profit opening an adoption center is to utilize the skills their staff and volunteers have to offer – and they do have a lot to offer!

How did you find the location?
We decided to focus in the direct vicinity of SEAACA in order to ensure the smoothest transition of animals from the shelter to Adopt & Shop. The exact location was stumbled upon while visiting the various malls and shopping centers in those cities, and it seemed like the perfect fit!