You can see more of Ab at her blog. Thanks Ab for the email, we totally think you are cute!
Friday, March 30, 2007
Awww...
Now, I can't say anything about dressing up dogs because our dogs have all loved clothes. This cutie looks adorable, but not too thrilled, in her jacket.
You can see more of Ab at her blog. Thanks Ab for the email, we totally think you are cute!
You can see more of Ab at her blog. Thanks Ab for the email, we totally think you are cute!
Contest update
For those of you who entered and won the Steve Irwin Wildlife Warrior contest, never fear! There has been a delay in getting the prizes out, but they will be out by the first of next week.
For those who missed the contest don't worry, there may be more contests in the future! :)
For those who missed the contest don't worry, there may be more contests in the future! :)
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Why pets are great therapy!
Pets have been proven to lower blood pressure, helping people live longer, healthier lives. Anyone with a pet knows that they are great therapy, they all do quirky things that you can't help but chuckle over. Here is our dog, she is totally in love with computers... no, she isn't actually upset by the tray. She is barking for joy! Click the link to see the video!
Monday, March 26, 2007
Murphy and Max
Another happy ending! Thank you Leslie for sharing.
"Murphy and his pregnant mate were dumped at the SPCA a couple of years ago when he was around 1.5 years old. We now believe it was because of some of his behaviors - he's an obsessive marker, and it's now pretty clear that we need to just accept him as he is and work around that, since we've found no training or therapies that have put a dent in that habit. It's sad in a way that it means that he's confined to a fairly small area in the house, other than the times when we can get his wiggly butt into a "belly band" and watch him like a hawk to make sure that he doesn't work his way out of it, but we spend as much time as we can with him, though we know he'd love to just be at our feet all the time. We love him to pieces.
Max was rescued way back in '94 when he was also (the vet guessed) about 1.5 years old, so he's now a very old man. You can see the pit in him (head-ridge and some other characteristic features) but you can also see whippet, which makes for a VERY interesting combination! Before I brought him home, the rescue group who took him in had him treated for his fight wounds -- he'd apparently been used as pitbull fight bait -- and to have his too-small chain collar surgically removed from his neck, where it was starting to grow into the skin of his neck. When I first brought him home, he would cower and growl if I lifted my hand to pet him, but it wasn't long before he became the biggest lovebug out there."
"Murphy and his pregnant mate were dumped at the SPCA a couple of years ago when he was around 1.5 years old. We now believe it was because of some of his behaviors - he's an obsessive marker, and it's now pretty clear that we need to just accept him as he is and work around that, since we've found no training or therapies that have put a dent in that habit. It's sad in a way that it means that he's confined to a fairly small area in the house, other than the times when we can get his wiggly butt into a "belly band" and watch him like a hawk to make sure that he doesn't work his way out of it, but we spend as much time as we can with him, though we know he'd love to just be at our feet all the time. We love him to pieces.
Max was rescued way back in '94 when he was also (the vet guessed) about 1.5 years old, so he's now a very old man. You can see the pit in him (head-ridge and some other characteristic features) but you can also see whippet, which makes for a VERY interesting combination! Before I brought him home, the rescue group who took him in had him treated for his fight wounds -- he'd apparently been used as pitbull fight bait -- and to have his too-small chain collar surgically removed from his neck, where it was starting to grow into the skin of his neck. When I first brought him home, he would cower and growl if I lifted my hand to pet him, but it wasn't long before he became the biggest lovebug out there."
Friday, March 23, 2007
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Triumph gets her legs.
This story is both heartbreaking and wonderful. Triumph the dog was found on the side of the road, both of her legs had been cut off and she was left to die. Luckily some wonderful people stepped in, and through a series of many events, Triumph has become the first dog ever to have permenant artifical legs.
You can read the full story here, and also see video clips of Triumph in action.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Luck o'the Irish
Happy St. Patricks to you all! The contest for the Wildlife Warrior wristbands has ended, and the winners will be recieving their prize soon!
Remember, you can change a homeless animals luck by thinking of adoption first. If you are looking for a new pet, be sure to check with your local shelter and rescue groups, you will be saving a life!
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Sunday, March 11, 2007
ASPCA
April 10th is ASPCA Day. This means that you can help support the great work they are doing on behalf of our animal friends by "going orange". NYC buildings, as well as other cities across the nation, will be lighting up with orange lights. People and pets can join the fun by wearing orange, or even lighting their homes with orange lights (I know we have some orange lights from Halloween we can put out).
Click here for more fun ways to "go orange" in support of the day. Be sure to take photos of your orange creations, then bring them on over to the Flickr group I created for ASPCA Day.
Click here for more fun ways to "go orange" in support of the day. Be sure to take photos of your orange creations, then bring them on over to the Flickr group I created for ASPCA Day.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Monday, March 05, 2007
A rescue story.
This story comes from Elizabeth, thank you so much for sharing. It's always wonderful to see what can be done.
"I first heard about J.R., Goldie, Mama Calico, Abby, and Marisol when a person from the congregation where I am an intern minister told me that they were going to be euthanized. It was a Sunday in January, and they were scheduled to be caught on Thursday and taken to a shelter where they would be put to sleep. A woman from our congregation had left town rather quickly and not managed to make arrangements for her five cats to come with her or to find a new home for them. They were left outside about October, after many years of human companionship, and by January it was bitterly cold out and friends of the woman who abandoned them didn't know what else to do with them but to take them to a shelter (where they most certainly would have been put to sleep due to their serious health care needs).
Because they were so scared and traumatized, they came across as somewhat feral, although we later found out that all were as sweet as can be. Mama Calico was at least 12, and her two sons, J.R. and Goldie, were not much younger. It turns out that Marisol had been abused as a kitten, and was thus very aggressive - she scratched and bit when you tried to touch her, and growled if you even got close. Only Abby was considered very adoptable - although at six, she was already getting older than many people will consider.
It took a week and a half to catch all five - they were scared, cold, and, as it turns out, also very sick. Goldie had frostbite, and Goldie, J.R. and Abby all had infected gums and needed teeth pulled. They all had fleas and earmites, matted hair, weak immune systems, and poor Goldie was allergic to fleas and so he also had scabs and sores all over him.
Through the generous help of members of the Unitarian Universalist organization for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (www.uua.org/ufeta/) who I emailed, some other generous folks who heard about the kitties through my blog (www.elizabethslittleblog.com), and two shelters in the Greater Boston area (Second Chance Shelter http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MA77.html and Animal Umbrella http://www.animalumbrella.org/) we raised over $700 to get the kitties all the shots, tests, and treatment that they needed (deeply discounted care was offered by Animed Pet Hospital, Dedham, MA). We discovered that Mama Calico, J.R. and Goldie were very attached to each other and yowled and cried if they were separated very long, so we hoped against hope that we could find all three over age 10 cats a home together, along with a home for Marisol who, even though she clearly had a very good heart, was somewhat of an attack cat.
The first night we had Goldie, before we were able to catch Mama Calico and J.R., he was so upset all night that I eventually went in and slept on the floor next to him in order to comfort him. As soon as we brought Mama Calico and J.R. the next day (we were extra motivated to catch them after Goldie was soooo upset) Goldie immediately licked them, purred, and was as happy as could be to have his family back.
After just a month and a half, all five cats have loving homes - and Mama Calico, J.R., and Goldie have one together! A kind couple decided that they had the patience and love to work with Marisol to try to deal with some of her aggression and anger issues, and a young college student looking for a chill, well-adjusted cat gave Abby a home.
It took lots of love, lots of generosity, and lots of patience to find homes for these sweeties, but we did it - and couldn't have done it without so many organizations and individuals coming together to help them. Some people, even well-meaning animal lovers, initially suggested that the most humane thing to do would be to put them to sleep, and I'm so glad we decided to be patient and have hope because it paid off. Three families have lovely companion animals and five kitties have many happy years ahead of them."
"I first heard about J.R., Goldie, Mama Calico, Abby, and Marisol when a person from the congregation where I am an intern minister told me that they were going to be euthanized. It was a Sunday in January, and they were scheduled to be caught on Thursday and taken to a shelter where they would be put to sleep. A woman from our congregation had left town rather quickly and not managed to make arrangements for her five cats to come with her or to find a new home for them. They were left outside about October, after many years of human companionship, and by January it was bitterly cold out and friends of the woman who abandoned them didn't know what else to do with them but to take them to a shelter (where they most certainly would have been put to sleep due to their serious health care needs).
Because they were so scared and traumatized, they came across as somewhat feral, although we later found out that all were as sweet as can be. Mama Calico was at least 12, and her two sons, J.R. and Goldie, were not much younger. It turns out that Marisol had been abused as a kitten, and was thus very aggressive - she scratched and bit when you tried to touch her, and growled if you even got close. Only Abby was considered very adoptable - although at six, she was already getting older than many people will consider.
It took a week and a half to catch all five - they were scared, cold, and, as it turns out, also very sick. Goldie had frostbite, and Goldie, J.R. and Abby all had infected gums and needed teeth pulled. They all had fleas and earmites, matted hair, weak immune systems, and poor Goldie was allergic to fleas and so he also had scabs and sores all over him.
Through the generous help of members of the Unitarian Universalist organization for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (www.uua.org/ufeta/) who I emailed, some other generous folks who heard about the kitties through my blog (www.elizabethslittleblog.com), and two shelters in the Greater Boston area (Second Chance Shelter http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/MA77.html and Animal Umbrella http://www.animalumbrella.org/) we raised over $700 to get the kitties all the shots, tests, and treatment that they needed (deeply discounted care was offered by Animed Pet Hospital, Dedham, MA). We discovered that Mama Calico, J.R. and Goldie were very attached to each other and yowled and cried if they were separated very long, so we hoped against hope that we could find all three over age 10 cats a home together, along with a home for Marisol who, even though she clearly had a very good heart, was somewhat of an attack cat.
The first night we had Goldie, before we were able to catch Mama Calico and J.R., he was so upset all night that I eventually went in and slept on the floor next to him in order to comfort him. As soon as we brought Mama Calico and J.R. the next day (we were extra motivated to catch them after Goldie was soooo upset) Goldie immediately licked them, purred, and was as happy as could be to have his family back.
After just a month and a half, all five cats have loving homes - and Mama Calico, J.R., and Goldie have one together! A kind couple decided that they had the patience and love to work with Marisol to try to deal with some of her aggression and anger issues, and a young college student looking for a chill, well-adjusted cat gave Abby a home.
It took lots of love, lots of generosity, and lots of patience to find homes for these sweeties, but we did it - and couldn't have done it without so many organizations and individuals coming together to help them. Some people, even well-meaning animal lovers, initially suggested that the most humane thing to do would be to put them to sleep, and I'm so glad we decided to be patient and have hope because it paid off. Three families have lovely companion animals and five kitties have many happy years ahead of them."
Thursday, March 01, 2007
DNA to the rescue!
This is a great use of modern forensics on the behalf of our animal friends. The use of DNA is helping people track elephant poachers. Yes, ivory is beautiful, but so are elephants. This is hopefully a step in the right direction to stop poaching of elephants for ivory. Here is a story about it with a lot more detail.
Speaking of elephants, come visit my shop and buy an Ellie product to help spread the word!
Speaking of elephants, come visit my shop and buy an Ellie product to help spread the word!
K.C. The African Grey
This story illustrates why rescue groups are so important, and why you should always be sure that your home is well suited for a pet before you buy.
"K.C. had a breakthrough today. It made me so happy I cried...
K.C. is a little Congo African Grey who came to live at The Oasis about two years ago. His story was a true rescue situation. A couple came upon him in a home where the teenaged boys were beating him and his cage. K.C. was terrified and although the couple knew nothing about birds, they recognized the seriousness of his situation and bought him from the owners."
Click the link to find out what his breakthrough was!
"K.C. had a breakthrough today. It made me so happy I cried...
K.C. is a little Congo African Grey who came to live at The Oasis about two years ago. His story was a true rescue situation. A couple came upon him in a home where the teenaged boys were beating him and his cage. K.C. was terrified and although the couple knew nothing about birds, they recognized the seriousness of his situation and bought him from the owners."
Click the link to find out what his breakthrough was!
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