News, Advice and Resources for Thoughtful Pet People
I found these wonderful prints on Etsy. Rachelle’s watercolor pet portraits aren’t like a lot of the portraits I’ve seen. For one, they’re not acrylics or oil, so she captures some different nuances than I’ve usually seen. Like those puddles of lips on the Pointer above.
She captures the softness of a Lab’s gaze, the focused stare of an orange tomcat—you just know there’s a bird he’s caught sight of, and that otherworldliness of Weimeraners.
The ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center at 1-(888)-426-4435 is a great resource. It could save your pet’s life someday. They’re available 24 hours a day every single day of the year and have 25 veterinarians on staff—including nine board-certified toxicologists—and 13 certified veterinary technicians.
If you suspect your pet has been poisoned, follow these guidelines. Read them now, so if somethings does happen, you’ll be familiar with what to do. You’ll need to tell the hotline about the suspected poison and details about your pet. There’s also have a list of what to have in a first aid kit in case of poisoning. I thought I was prepared, but I hadn’t thought of a turkey baster to administer hydrogen peroxide.
Pet-proof your home after checking out their list of household hazards. Even if you think you know what to avoid, check out their list. You might be surprised by what’s on it and what’s not. Raisins, grapes, blue-green algae (in ponds)—unsafe. Poinsettias, silica gel, glow jewelry—non-toxic (could still cause upset tummies.)
There’s a comprehensive list of safe house plants and a guide to safe flowers and bouquets, including an offer through 1-800-Flowers.com that gives 10% of net proceeds of your purchase to the ASPCA (use the promotion code ASPCA when ordering.) Even horses aren’t left out. There’s a list of plants hazardous to horses that even includes a photo gallery.
Get your own free magnet with the phone number for the Animal Poison Control Center. You’ll also get a window decal to let rescue personnel know you have pets in your home.
Nora is the amazing piano playing cat. Check out how her career started and see her first video. I love watching how she plays and how she interacts with humans. What a sweetie!
It recently came to light that for the last 8 years private animal control companies hired by municipalities in Puerto Rico have been brutally killing huge numbers of pets and strays on a regular basis.
These private animal control businesses—Animal Delivery and Animal Control Solutions—rounded up strays and confiscated pets from residents of housing projects. They were supposed to take the animals to various rescue groups who would then adopt them out. Unadoptable and sick animals were to be humanely euthanized.
That’s not what happened. It’s possible not a single animal was ever delivered to a rescue group and they certainly were not humanely euthanized. Instead, over time thousands were thrown off a bridge, injected with unknown substances by untrained staff, or buried alive.
I think those of us in the U.S. have a particular responsibility given that Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory. The WSPA (World Society for the Protection of Animals) has addresses for the Governor of Puerto Rico, the director of public housing, and the superintendent of police. You can also see a copy of their letter to Puerto Rico Officials. I don’t know how much good it does to sign online petitions, but there is an online petition to Puerto Rico’s governor, Anibal Acevedo Vila.
A new reality TV show show centered around Petfinder.com is in the works on Animal Planet Network for early 2008.(via readwriteweb.com) Petfinder.com is a web site where shelters and rescue organizations post photos and information about animals who need homes. You can search for certain breeds, age range, a specific sex, size, location, pets with special needs, declawed cats, and excluding animals not good with children. It’s how I found Saffron.
The show will follow families looking to adopt a pet and will also look at the animals’ stories. According to the description, families will take in “teacher pets”—pets who already have homes—so the family can learn what pet will be the best fit. I’m not sure if this means families will be trying out dogs, cats, reptiles, etc. or if it means families will be trying high energy dogs, couch-potato dogs, puppies, etc. to find the right fit.
The show will be filmed in and around Los Angeles and they’re looking for people thinking about adopting a pet to be part of the show. You can apply by filling out this form.(pdf)