Saturday, February 23, 2013
Thursday, February 14, 2013
The Yellow Dog Project
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Caring for Your Senior Dog
I read this post on LinkedIn today and wanted to share it here as it provides excellent advice when caring for a senior dog.
Don't make the mistake I did. Protect your senior dog.
My thirteen going on fourteen year old lab mix was really doing pretty good except for arthritis. I took her to our life-long vet for an assessment and he suggested “vetprofen.” We started her on it with no lab work. He did tell me that periodic lab work should be done to see if her liver was OK from the drug. I trusted him and I didn’t know better. He called on the tenth day to see how it was working out and I have to admit, she had a new spring in her step. On the 18th day, my sweet Kola, threw up and started bleeding out, slowly at first. I wondered if at first if she developed a bladder infection. Within 2 hours she was bleeding heavily and was lost a lot of blood. It was a Sunday, and I took her to an emergency facility where she died. Since, I’ve learned how important an initial lab test is before starting the drug. It can cause kidney failure. At age 14, I didn’t expect her to last years but I never expected that Kola and I would have to go through such trauma because I didn’t know or ask about lab work. Even if it's a doctor you have known a long time..........ask more questions.
************** Before giving your dog ANY medications, please make sure the necessary blood work is done. Also consider Holistic options!**********
The Cold Hard Facts on Pet Overpopulation
I would apologize for posting something so graphic but I hope this point gets across:
The Cold Hard Facts on Pet Overpopulation
Pet overpopulation is a big problem not only in Los Angeles, but all over the country. The simple truth is there are too many homeless dogs and not enough good homes. Having our pets altered is a solid and effective defense against overpopulation in that it places few and fewer offspring in kill-shelters. Below are a few of the grisly statistics compiled by national publications and animal rights organizations. If we are aware of the problem, perhaps we can be part of the solution.
It costs U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion each year to round up, house, kill, and dispose of homeless animals. (USA Today)
Over 56% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are killed, based on reports from over 1,055 facilities across America. (National Counsel on Pet Population Study)
An estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in shelters each year. That's one about every six and one half seconds. (The Humane Society of the United States) Millions more are abandoned, only to suffer from illness or injury before dying. (Doris Day Animal League)
In six years one unspayed female and her offspring, can reproduce 67,000 dogs (Spay USA)
Less than 3% of dog guardians are responsible for surplus births (Save Our Strays)
The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem, but the lack of education on its benefits. On average it costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed and eventually kill a homeless animal - a cost that ultimately comes out of our pocket. Low cost spay/neuter services are far below that amount. (Doris Day Animal League)
The cost of having a pregnant female can be much higher than the cost of spaying
Seven dogs & cats are born every day for each person born in the U.S. Of those, only 1 in 5 puppies and kittens say in their original home for their natural lifetime. The remaining 4 are abandoned to the streets or end up at a shelter (The Humane Society of the United States)
Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals (Spay USA)
The public acquires only 14% of its pets from shelters; 48% get their pets as strays, from friends, from animal rescuers, 38% get their pets from breeders or pet stores (The Humane Society of the United States)
Only 30% of dog guardians are aware of the pet-overpopulation problem (Massachusetts SPCA survey 1993)
In a study of relinquishment of cats and dogs in 12 U.S. animal shelters, 30% of the surrendered dogs were purebreds. The same study indicated that 55% of the surrendered dogs and 47% of the surrendered cats were unaltered. (Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science)
The Humane Society of the United States provided these statistics:
Please alter your pets and Please do not buy a pet (dog or cat) from pet stores or breeders.
The Cold Hard Facts on Pet Overpopulation
Pet overpopulation is a big problem not only in Los Angeles, but all over the country. The simple truth is there are too many homeless dogs and not enough good homes. Having our pets altered is a solid and effective defense against overpopulation in that it places few and fewer offspring in kill-shelters. Below are a few of the grisly statistics compiled by national publications and animal rights organizations. If we are aware of the problem, perhaps we can be part of the solution.
It costs U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion each year to round up, house, kill, and dispose of homeless animals. (USA Today)
Over 56% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are killed, based on reports from over 1,055 facilities across America. (National Counsel on Pet Population Study)
An estimated 5 million cats and dogs are killed in shelters each year. That's one about every six and one half seconds. (The Humane Society of the United States) Millions more are abandoned, only to suffer from illness or injury before dying. (Doris Day Animal League)
In six years one unspayed female and her offspring, can reproduce 67,000 dogs (Spay USA)
Less than 3% of dog guardians are responsible for surplus births (Save Our Strays)
The perceived high cost of altering is not the problem, but the lack of education on its benefits. On average it costs approximately $100 to capture, house, feed and eventually kill a homeless animal - a cost that ultimately comes out of our pocket. Low cost spay/neuter services are far below that amount. (Doris Day Animal League)
The cost of having a pregnant female can be much higher than the cost of spaying
Seven dogs & cats are born every day for each person born in the U.S. Of those, only 1 in 5 puppies and kittens say in their original home for their natural lifetime. The remaining 4 are abandoned to the streets or end up at a shelter (The Humane Society of the United States)
Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals (Spay USA)
The public acquires only 14% of its pets from shelters; 48% get their pets as strays, from friends, from animal rescuers, 38% get their pets from breeders or pet stores (The Humane Society of the United States)
Only 30% of dog guardians are aware of the pet-overpopulation problem (Massachusetts SPCA survey 1993)
In a study of relinquishment of cats and dogs in 12 U.S. animal shelters, 30% of the surrendered dogs were purebreds. The same study indicated that 55% of the surrendered dogs and 47% of the surrendered cats were unaltered. (Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science)
The Humane Society of the United States provided these statistics:
- Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year: 8–10 million (HSUS estimate)
- Number of cats and dogs euthanized by shelters each year: 4–5 million (HSUS estimate)
- Number of cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year: 3–5 million (HSUS estimate)
- Number of cats and dogs reclaimed by owners from shelters each year: Between 600,000 and 750,000—15–30% of dogs and 2–5% of cats entering shelters (HSUS estimate)
- Number of animal shelters in the United States: Between 4,000 and 6,000 (HSUS estimate)
- Percentage of dogs in shelters who are purebred: 25% (HSUS estimate)
Please alter your pets and Please do not buy a pet (dog or cat) from pet stores or breeders.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Fostering a Dog
I read this post on FB and wanted to share it here. With so many dogs in need rescue groups are always looking for foster families. Please consider becoming a foster family!
By Sandy Ross
Several people have asked me lately about fostering. The most frequent comment that I hear is how they could never do that, it would be too hard to give the animal up. I think that knowing the animal died because it didn't have a foster home is far more difficult than giving up a foster pet to a good home. Most rescue groups that I know, pretty much the one thing that is always in shortest supply is foster homes. I certainly don't have a ton of time or space or money. What I do have is lots of love, and that's what these animals need. Some love, some food, and a safe place to stay.
If you are looking at fostering for the first time, I have a few things to share:
1-Yes, it's hard to say goodbye. But I'd rather wish them bon voyage than RIP.
2-The crate is your friend.
3-Feed foster animal separately from your own animals.
4-Most dogs do best with an opposite sex buddy. If you have a female, foster a male.
5-There is always a great shortage of foster homes for animals that need to be the only pet.
6-Give the foster animal at least 2 weeks to settle at your home. Be patient. Very patient.
7-Post lots of pictures! I want to see!!
By Sandy Ross
Several people have asked me lately about fostering. The most frequent comment that I hear is how they could never do that, it would be too hard to give the animal up. I think that knowing the animal died because it didn't have a foster home is far more difficult than giving up a foster pet to a good home. Most rescue groups that I know, pretty much the one thing that is always in shortest supply is foster homes. I certainly don't have a ton of time or space or money. What I do have is lots of love, and that's what these animals need. Some love, some food, and a safe place to stay.
If you are looking at fostering for the first time, I have a few things to share:
1-Yes, it's hard to say goodbye. But I'd rather wish them bon voyage than RIP.
2-The crate is your friend.
3-Feed foster animal separately from your own animals.
4-Most dogs do best with an opposite sex buddy. If you have a female, foster a male.
5-There is always a great shortage of foster homes for animals that need to be the only pet.
6-Give the foster animal at least 2 weeks to settle at your home. Be patient. Very patient.
7-Post lots of pictures! I want to see!!
Lost My Doggie Site
I came across this site and wanted to share, just in case you lost your beagle. While I have never used their service, below is information from their Web site:
Our services have 2 main purposes:
1. To get the word out about a lost pet to as many people as quickly as possible.
2. To re-unite lost pets with as many families as possible.
We provide many FREE services as well as paid services that are instrumental in finding lost dogs and cats. We're used by countless shelters and rescue groups when a reliable lost pet service is needed and we've been solely responsible for finding 1000's of lost dogs and cats over the last 5 years.
To learn more, visit their Web site - http://www.lostmydoggie.com/
Our services have 2 main purposes:
1. To get the word out about a lost pet to as many people as quickly as possible.
2. To re-unite lost pets with as many families as possible.
We provide many FREE services as well as paid services that are instrumental in finding lost dogs and cats. We're used by countless shelters and rescue groups when a reliable lost pet service is needed and we've been solely responsible for finding 1000's of lost dogs and cats over the last 5 years.
To learn more, visit their Web site - http://www.lostmydoggie.com/
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