Search Results for: pets animal shelters

Man Locks Self in Kennel to Help Homeless Animals

Over the past few weeks I’ve read a couple stories indicating a possibly growing new trend: humans locking themselves in animal shelters to raise awareness for pet safety and rights. In the first, a woman lived in a small, cramped space for a week, live streaming the whole thing online. The point was to raise awareness for the conditions under which dogs are often forced to live in puppy mills and similar facilities. Then at the beginning of the month, according to the Miami Herald, a man moved into a dog run (a kennel) for a weekend to promote an … Continue reading →

Speed Dating, Animal Lovers Style

I know people who aren’t comfortable with adopting pets from shelters. They have good reasons, such as being uncertain about the animal’s background. Some of them even had specific negative experiences, encountering severe behavioral problems that sometimes come with shelter pets. After all, animals sometimes end up in shelters after leaving neglectful or abusive homes, and that leaves a mental mark. I try to reassure my friends in these situations, tell them that honestly as long as they don’t buy from pet stores or puppy mills, that reputable breeders are always a positive source for pets. But I try to … Continue reading →

Do Your Pets Factor into Your Holiday Plans?

Do you make your holiday plans around your pets? That’s an assertion that the Associated Press recently made in an article: pet owners revolve their late-December events around their pets. Examples given by the AP include taking holiday-themed photos of pets, using these or other pictures with the animal for seasonal cards, buying pets gifts (the article maintains that just over half of pet owners do this), and even creating special menus for the pet so it can have a holiday meal alongside its human family. There are two sides to this: one, in which a little holiday cheer is … Continue reading →

Glam Shots for Shelter Animals

Do I look cool/cute enough to take home? I have a horrible addiction: I love to look at pictures of dogs and cats on petfinder.com. I know I shouldn’t, but sometimes I just can’t resist. I’ve always been an avid Petfinder follower. I’ve spent time looking at it since I was in high school, and I found the first two pets of my adult life through the site. At this stage I can reasonably say I’m a Petfinder expert. One thing I’ve learned from Petfinder is the importance of creating a good profile for the pets. I’ve seen some pet … Continue reading →

Animal Relocation Initiative

My dog Chihiro was born in Arkansas. It might have been a bit of a head-scratcher how a young puppy made it across several states in order to be adopted from a shelter in the Washington, DC area before she turned four months old. I wasn’t perplexed, however, because before I even found my dog I was already familiar with the concept of rescue transport. When I lived in Baltimore I roomed for a while with a friend who loves Dachshunds. She adores the breed so much that she’s very active with the Coast to Coast Dachshund rescue group. One … Continue reading →

Animal Abuse Registry

Back when I was a teenager and hadn’t yet learned to stop watching pet cops shows for the sake of my stress levels, I remember learning an interesting, if obvious, fact. People who abuse (and this is direct physical abuse, not criminal neglect) their animals are much more likely to become violent against others, especially their family members. Now a county in New York State is taking that information to its next logical conclusion: Suffolk County, NY is launching a pet abuser registry. According to MSNBC, the purpose of the registry is to create a list of potential family abusers; … Continue reading →

Some Pets Help Sell Homes

The New York Times recently posted an interesting article relating to pets, one that the story itself acknowledges contradicts popular assumed wisdom: pets help sell homes. Normally one would assume that leaving pets in a house or apartment while it’s toured by prospective buyers is a bad idea, because who knows how potential buyers feel about animals? To an extent that will always be true. People touring the house might have severe pet allergies or phobias. Some pets might be ill-behaved, following the tour around the house, making noise, and perhaps even trying to jump on people. Certain hallmarks of … Continue reading →

Visiting and Helping an Animal Shelter

We love animals. My daughter would like a dog, but I think that we are full at the moment. With fish, two pet rats, and four – ack! – cats, the ark is definitely not taking any more animals at the moment. She would also like to be a vet (and a sushi chef, and a doctor, and a …). She likes to pretend that she is rescuing animals. If you have a child who also loves animals, visiting or helping an animal shelter or rescue center is one way to encourage their interest. If you can visit the shelter … Continue reading →

Animal Victories in 2010

As we close out 2010, let’s look at some great end of the year news for animals. The ASPCA has released a list of their legislative victories from the past year. The majority of the laws passed are by individual state governments, but there was one successful federal bill signed into law by President Obama on December 9. In April animal rights received a blow when the Supreme Court invalidated an 11-year-old law called The Crush Act. The act banned videos depicting the sick practice of crushing; the name itself refers to when a woman in high heels would step … Continue reading →

Pets for Patriots

I’ve made no secret how devoted I am to helping the cause of animal shelters. I only adopt pets from shelters, and I’m active in my local rescue. Not only do I want to promote support of shelters and rescues, I want to put a focus on unique rescues meant to serve a specific need. In this case, to celebrate its recent Texas debut, I want to draw attention to the animal nonprofit Pets for Patriots. Pets for Patriots, according to its recent release on free press release site PR*Urgent, is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing the love and affection … Continue reading →