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Archive for August, 2009


Are You a Dog or Cat Person?

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

Meet the BreedsWhich is better – Dogs or Cats?  Inspired by the upcoming Meet the Breeds™ event, the world’s largest showcase of cats and dogs, the American Kennel Club™ (AKC) and the Cat Fanciers’ Association™ (CFA) have joined forces to put an end to this long-running dispute once and for all with a definitive one-question survey:  “Are you a dog or a cat person? “

So dog lovers and cat lovers out there, before October 6, 2009, visit www.meetthebreeds.com to weigh in on this long standing debate and cast your vote. After you place your vote you can tell them why you voted the way you did.  Final results will be available the week of October 13.

As anticipated, media notices guinea pig sales increase

Monday, August 24th, 2009

guinea-pig-image With the recent release of G-Force in theaters, a movie putting guinea pigs front-and-center as spies and mercenaries fighting against a ruthless mastermind, families are becoming more aware of our little fuzzy friends. The popularity certainly comes with its merits, but the bad will come with the good as we’ve posted about before.

The impulse buying of animals featured in blockbusters movies is known as "’101 Dalmatians’ syndrome." When the feature film about the spotted pups opened in theaters, thousands flocked to pet stores to get one of the dogs.

Then "Legally Blonde" and "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" escalated the popularity of Chihuahuas, while guinea pigs garnered attention last year with "Bedtime Stories."

"It picked up after Christmas with the release of ‘Bedtime Stories,’" Bumgardner said. "Everyone wanted a guinea pig and he just had a small part. I can’t see how it wouldn’t pick up again."

Six years after the release of "Finding Nemo," children still clamor for their own "Nemo" or "Dory," Knoetgen said.

"That is still the most popular thing," she said. "Kids will come in and see a clown fish. They know the difference because for the one that looks like Nemo they’ll say, ‘That’s a Nemo.’ We had a blue tang for a long time, and kids would go ‘Dory, Dory!’ It’s amazing how movies affect them."

The increasing popularity of the film may have children tapping at the glass and begging mom and dad for their own two-pound rodent.

Link, via chron.com

Top 10 safest vehicles for pets list at Bark Buckle UP

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

bark-buckle-up The people over at Bark Buckle UP have gotten together with Edmunds.com to sort out a list of cars featuring safety mechanisms and designs that are best suited for pet owners. Every time we ourselves get behind the wheel we put ourselves at risk, and so we look for safety features in the cars we drive for ourselves—why not also for our furry friends as well?

The list in short: Dodge Journey, Ford Flex, GMC Arcadia, Hyndai Tucson, Jeep Liberty, Kia Borrego, Mazda 5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Subaru Tribeca, Volvo XC70.

Safety features examined in some include better storage space to keep clutter to a minimum, airbag position and disposition, backup cameras to prevent pets from being accidentally run over, and in the case of the Volvo, a dealer installable “pet barrier” system.

Link, via Bark Buckle UP

McDowell Reservation Dogs Update – Newly Discovered Litter Rescued

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Photo of ButtonsIn the ongoing fight to save the McDowell Reservation Dogs, last night rescuers were able to save five out of six puppies from a newly discovered litter.

Unfortunately one puppy, that they named Buttons, was rushed to the emergency vet because he was dehydrated and had rapid breathing.  Another puppy (Yoga) needs surgery as his eye is badly infected and needs to be removed.   The vet has confirmed that Buttons has Parvo.

With bills already close to $1000, Lost our Homes Foundation desperately needs assistance with their medical expenses.    If you would like to help these precious puppies, please call the vet directly and make a donation.  Puppies are currently at:

Best Friends Animal Hospital
745 West Broadway Road
Mesa AZ 85210
480-813-7205

Please tell the Vet that the pups are listed under: Lost Our Homes Foundation

Related Posts:
Extraordinary People – Saving the dogs that touch their souls, Debbie Schallan (Aug 3rd 2009)
Saving the McDowell Reservation Dogs – Progress Report, Debbie Schallan (Aug 4th 2009)
McDowell Reservation Dogs Update – 10 to go, Debbie Schallan (Aug 14th 2009)

Lack of funds leads to New York state spay-neuter program suspension

Thursday, August 20th, 2009

vet-neuter-icon The economic downturn has certainly caused a great deal of hardship across the board, any state governments are not the least affected. New York has run out of funding for its spay-neuter voucher program and sent a letter explaining the situation; some shelters in the area are seeking new revenue sources to aid with their own programmes and involve the community.

The letter explains that the fund balance for the animal population control program was projected to drop to zero this month. As a result, the department has stopped issuing new vouchers.

The vouchers, for either $20 or $30, are available to owners who adopt pets from shelters and meet financial guidelines. The owners can use the vouchers to pay for a low-cost spay or neuter procedure for their new pets.

According to the letter, there are 8,869 vouchers outstanding throughout the state. They expire Oct. 1.

Once those vouchers have been paid, the state will begin to reinstate the program in counties that have surplus vouchers.

In counties without surplus vouchers, New York will reinstate the program once enough money accumulates from funding sources. Those sources include the $3 surcharge on dog licenses for dogs that are not spayed or neutered; unclaimed deposits left with shelters under the state Neuter Law; $20 of the $25 annual charge for the custom “Love Your Pet” license plate; and private donations.

Kiggins praised the spay and neuter effort, saying it helped in the war against pet overpopulation and contributed to happier and healthier pets.

Link, via LoHud.com

HSUS Video: It’s All About the Guinea Pigs

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

We just couldn’t pass this one up. With the upcoming movie, G-Force, and the fact that we have several friends who happen to keep guinea pigs, it’s hard not to notice them in our lives. Small animals, pocket pets as they might be called by some, represent a surprising proportion of pets out there. A multitude of veterinarians do care of them, even if they don’t get top billing like cats and dogs, and like any family pet, guinea pigs do need the attention of health professionals—and tender loving care.

The video highlights a problem with American culture that views everything as disposable, including living beings, where movies like G-Force featuring the cute-and-fuzzy create a sudden surge in demand for these critters; but the families that take them on sometimes find the burden of taking care of them too much to bear, and seek to offload them into the shelter community.

Pass this little PSA around, they’re cute, but they do need attention and require a level of responsibility in spite of looking like fuzzy orbs sitting in a cage of sawdust most of the time. They’re cute, but it may be necessary to spread and advocate a culture of responsibility when it comes to the trade and sale of these animals especially because the movie nostalgia factor is going to be nigh-exploitable by every guinea pig breeder and pet store out there.

McDowell Reservation Dogs Update – 10 to go

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Great news!  Last night another McDowell Reservation puppy was rescued and is safe in his new foster home!

lilmomma july09That leaves, by all accounts about 10 more adult dogs that need to be rescued.  The key to rescuing them is to find enough foster homes to  take them in.   2nd Chance Dog Rescue and the Lost Our Homes Foundation are once again putting out a plea for help!

Is there anyone out there in the Phoenix, AZ area or nearby states that have room in their home or Rescue Group to help give one or more of the remaining McDowell Reservation dogs a temporary home?  If so, please email Diana Czarneck of 2nd Chance Dog Rescue at cdczar96@aol.com.

For donations please send them directly to:

Lost our Homes Foundation
16211 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Suite A6A #276
Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Please put Fort McDowell’s Dogs in the memo line.

Related Posts:
Extraordinary People – Saving the dogs that touch their souls, Debbie Schallan (Aug 3rd 2009)
Saving the McDowell Reservation Dogs – Progress Report, Debbie Schallan (Aug 4th 2009)

HSUS Feature: Chip on their shoulders, common questions about microchipping

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

cat-and-dog-together Ever wonder how microchips work or how long they last? Here are some answers to some common questions about microchips.

For anyone who has questions about microchips, this HSUS article is definitely the way to start.

For a great majority of pet owners this question might not come up, but being a responsible pet owner it’s important to take a gander at all the options—especially those that will come in very handy should disaster strike like being separated from your pet. Even indoor pets might benefit from microchipping and the technology is finally mature enough to have become useful to the woman-on-the-street.

According to the article, the biggest problem that has been overcome already is one of lack of standardization. This is an extremely prevalent issue with any technology: everyone wants to do it differently. Everyone has already experienced this with their home entertainment systems, millions of remotes, since the TV, the DVR, the DVD player, all want you to talk to them and none of them speak the same language. Same with different brands of microchips; fortunately the Universal Remote came around, as did the universal microchip scanner.

Microchipping pets opens up a vast support system that can spring into action should your pet get lost—made especially effective with the universal scanner in play—because the moment that a veterinarian or municipal animal control service picks up your lost fuzzy they can scan up your information and get them returned. No dog tag that can get snagged on things or get torn off, no problem with it wearing down and becoming unreadable.

Objections might still persist about the surgical techniques used to embed the chips, but we haven’t heard anything at large that suggests that subdural insertion (putting it right under the skin, like a tattoo but a chip instead) has much complications. It’s certainly not even as invasive as spay or neuter and that’s an absolute must for domesticated pets in this day and age—and you might be able to get your pet microchipped at the same time.

For many pet owners that phone call that someone in the know has picked up their animal is exactly what they want to hear when they’ve been separated, microchips are an excellent tool to add to this mix.

Link, via the HSUS.

Hurricane activity is starting to pick up

Tuesday, August 11th, 2009

The National Hurricane Center issued an advisory about 6 a.m. Tuesday, August 11 about a tropical depression located over the far eastern Atlantic Ocean and about 280 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands.

Forecasters predict that the depression could strengthen into the first tropical storm of the season, Ana, by tomorrow. It is still too early to know whether the storm will pose a threat to land.

Why am I writing about hurricane news on a website with a focus on adoptable and lost and found pets?  One only has to remember the heart wrenching photos of desperate pets abandoned when they could not be evacuated with their people during Hurricane Katrina.  More recently, Hurricane Ike resulted in hundreds of lost pets and many were never reunited with their people.

So if you live in hurricane country, even though this season has been mild so far, make sure that you have an evacuation plan in place that includes your pet(s).  Don’t let your pet become another lost pet posted on Pets911.com.

Take the advice of Gerry Bell, NOAA’s lead seasonal hurricane forecaster.  “It only takes one to make it a bad year, so stay prepared.”

AVMA Guide to selecting a rabbit

Friday, August 7th, 2009

what-you-should-know-about-selecting-a-rabbit I grew up with rabbits. I’ve had four in my lifetime. My first, Kit-ho, was a Himalayan Dwarf—all white, black nose, black ears, black paws, black tail—and my best friend in the entire universe. Since then I’ve had lops and dwarf rabbits of various varities.

Picking a rabbit for the first time can be a daunting task. So it seemed like a good resource to point out this brochure from the AVMA.

With more than 60 rabbit breeds in existence, rabbits can vary widely in size and appearance. A common rabbit breed in the United States is the Dutch rabbit which is often black and white or brown and white. Dwarf rabbits tend to be smaller, and the lop variety have ears that hang down instead of being erect. Angora rabbits have long hair and require regular grooming.

If you are a first-time owner, acquiring a single rabbit is probably best. If you choose a male (buck) rabbit, you will want to have him neutered to prevent territorial marking with urine. Both male and female rabbits are tame and affectionate when well socialized.

Link (English PDF), via The American Veterinary Medical Association.