Saving Lives

October is National Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.  DixieLee and I and Fox, Dana, Cassie and Nico, the dogs who lived with Mom and Dad before we did, were all adopted.

We have lots of friends who were born at houses where the humans are “respectable breeders” and that’s okay with us.  Sadly, we all can’t be “mutts” (sorry, mixed breeds), so having good and responsible humans who loves a particular breed sell puppies is okay.

We want to encourage peoples who want to share their lives with A DOG, no matter of parentage, to please look to the shelters instead of “Pet Stores” who get heir puppies from Puppy Mills.

I don’t even like to think about Puppy Mills, never mind talk about them. They make me cry. 

“SOME” of the puppies get to go to good homes but some don’t’ and I can’t talk about the Mama dogs.  My heart breaks.

So, let’s get back to Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.  How do dogs end up in shelters? Lots or reasons and they are all sad. 

Some are strays, they got lost, ran away or their owners left them on the street to fend for themselves. 

Some are rescued from horrible homes where they were mistreated.

Some had loving families but something happened to the family, like they had to move and couldn’t take their pets or they didn’t have a job anymore so they had no money.

Some are untrained and their owners don’t want to put up with “bad behavior”.

Super sadly, some had their humans die and no one is left to take care of them.

And the super super saddest is that the pet got old and their owners don’t want them anymore.

Please help us spread the word that October is National Shelter Dog Month.

If you can’t adopt, foster, if you can’t foster, sponsor, if you can’t foster, volunteer, if you can’t volunteer, donate, and if you can’t donate, educate.

And don’t forget, cats and other pets end up in shelters too.

Love,

Zeva

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A Real Bargain

Some peoples think that they should be able to go to a shelter and get a good dog for free. After all, shelters are full and there are so many homeless animal, they think that the shelters would want to give pets away.

Different shelters in different parts of the country charge different money. Sometimes special needs or senior dogs cost less because they have a harder time getting adopted. Puppies usually cost most because everyone thinks puppies are better to have. I don’t think that is always true. For example, senior dogs are a good match for senior peoples.

There are lots of reasons shelters need to charge money to adopt a pet.

1. The shelter is a home and everyone knows that it costs money to live in a home. The shelters have to pay bills like regular peoples.

2. Even though lots of shelters have volunteers who feed and walk the dogs, some body has to be the boss. Bosses and other employees who take care of the day to day operations need to be paid. These are the people who make sure the animals are taken care of properly and that they get adopted to good homes.

3. Pets need to eat and food costs money. Some pets need special food which costs more.

4. And don’t forget toys! Pets need toys and beds and dishes and leashes and collars and stuff, just like dogs who live in houses.

5. One of the most important thing for an owner to do is to keep their pets healthy and shelters have to do that too. All of the pets need to have shots and be checked to make sure they don’t have heartworm or ticks or mites or any other buggies. They should also be tested for stuff like lyme disease and other diseases.

If a pet has heartworm, or lyme or something bad, then they need to have medicine until they are better. All of that costs money,

6. Some pets enter the shelter in really bad shape. They have been mistreated so bad that they need medical treatment to get better. They may need things like x-rays or antibiotics or other medical things to help them heal.

7. Most shelters make sure that pets are spayed or neutered. More puppies or kittens would only mean more need for shelters. Although many shelters have vets who give reduced rates, surgery and medicines are still expensive.

8. And most shelters microchip all pets before they get adopted. They know how easy it is for a pet to get lost and end up in another shelter.

So, when you pay to get a pet from a shelter, you are giving that shelter money so that it can take in another animal and give it good care until someone comes along to adopt them.

For all the love and affection that shelter pets give, I think you are getting a real bargain.

Love,

Zeva

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When is Forever?

Mom tells us all the time that she loves us and would never leave us.  I believe her because once, a long time ago, she had a hard time finding a place to live because not lots of places let people have dogs live with them.  She searched and searched until she found a nice place that said her dog could live there too.

I still believe Mom would never abandon us but since we joined the Board of Directors at the Above the Notch Humane Society, we learned that there are times when people don’t have a choice.  Like the man who lost his job and his home or the lady who was old and very sick and had to go live in a nursing home.

Neither one of these people wanted to leave their dogs but life is not always the way we want it to be.  Luckily, there are places like Above the Notch Humane Society where people can surrender their animals and know that they will be taken good care of until a new home, with other loving people, can be found.

The reason I am telling these sad stories is because lots of times, when people can’t care for their pets any longer, like when they have to go live someplace else, they just leave their pets to fend for themselves.  The problem is that house pets don’t know how to live on their own and often times end up starving or freezing to death.

People need to know that there is help for them and their pets.   They can go to the American Humane Society website to find out what options are available in their area.  Sometimes the Humane Society can think of ways so people keep their pets or tell them where they can surrender their pets where they will be well cared for.  Not all shelters can take in surrendered animals because taking care of animals costs lots of money

We know how hard it is on a dog that is left on their own.  My sister, DixieLee was left to fend for herself.  She was young, scared and very sick with heartworms.  She would have got died but she was lucky and was found by a nice lady.  Because DixieLee wasn’t wearing a collar and didn’t have a microchip, there was no way to find out where she came from.  The nice lady took her to the vet, got her cured and fostered her until she could find a forever home with us.

One more thing.  Ask your Moms and Dads if they have made provisions for you if they should become sick or get died.  We hope it NEVER happens but we know that there are people who will take good care of us if anything happens to our Mom and Dad.

If you know someone who might have to surrender their pet, let them know that there are people who are willing to help.  Your Moms and Dads can help too by becoming foster parents, volunteering their time or just donating to your local shelter.  It’s all of our jobs to help animals any way we can.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion.  Check out the BESTEST pet gift basket company in the Universe at pawpalsboutique.com 

I'm Worth It!

One of our Facebook friends was having a bad week.  In addition to all the stuff humans have to worry about all the time, her senior dog wasn’t feeling well so off to the vet’s they went.   Happily there is nothing terribly wrong, she’s just a senior dog and, to quote one of Mom’s favorite humans, “Old age ain’t for sissies”, for dogs either.

Our friend was saying how she had just spent a lot of money buying special things little Ella needed, like special senior food and such.  Everyone agreed that even though we pets cost a lot of money, we are definitely worth it.

Lots of people like the IDEA of having a dog.  They see on television how much fun a dog is but what they don’t see is how much care we need.  Hey, we can’t go out and work to earn money to buy our own food you know.  Anyway, having a dog can be expensive so if you are thinking of bringing one home, there are some things you need to know.

Since I am an advocate of rescue/adoption, I’m not even going to talk about how much it costs to buy a pure bred dog.  So here goes:

First of all, rescued shelter pets are not free.  It costs a whole bunch of money to rescue and take good care a dog until it is adopted so they need to charge a fee. 

At our Humane Society it costs around $200 to adopt a dog.  When I got adopted Mom and Dad gave the people $275 and that was almost 5 years ago.  I was transported from South Carolina (volunteers work for free but someone has to pay for the gas), I was spayed, had a mico chip and had all of my shots.  Then I was housed and fed until Mom and Dad came to get me.

When I got to my furever home I had to get a license and had to go to school to learn manners.  Even though other dogs lived there before me, I got all new stuff, like a water dish and food dish, collar and leash and a new crate to sleep in while I was at work with Mom.  Mom didn’t keep track of the money but according to one site it cost between $500 and $2700 to start.

DixieLee and I get regular vet checkups and Mom makes sure we get regular heartworm and flea and tick medicines.  If we do get sick, there are additional vet visits and medicines.   I remember one night I wasn’t feeling well and Mom rushed me to the emergency vet hospital.  Vets and medicine cost money too.

We just got our new license tags and since Mom is kind of old, we got a discount but she still had to pay some.  We are very particular about our food.  We don’t like food with lots of additives so we get a good brand, made in the USA.  And of course, we get treats!

When we moved to our new house, we had a man come and put up a fence so we could go outside by ourselves.   Sometimes we go to day care so we can socialize with other dogs that cost money too.  DixieLee gets her nails clipped when we are at daycare cuz she won’t let Mom cut them and I understand that some dogs get baths and nails clipped and painted and all sorts of pampering.

From what I read, when you add up all those things, the cost of having a dog can run anywhere from $500 to $2,900 a year.  Even more if they buy you lots of toys and treats.   I’m not sure but I think that might be a lot of money.  I know my Mom and Dad think DixieLee and I are worth every penny and I bet your Moms and Dads think you are too because dogs are really priceless.

Your friend,

Zeva

P.S.  Blatant self-promotion. Our To The Rescue Gift Basket is a great way to say welcome to your forever home.

 

Rescue Me

October is Adopt a Shelter Dog Month.  According to the US Humane Society an estimated 2.7 million healthy shelter pets are not adopted each year, and only about 30 percent of pets in homes come from shelters and rescues.  Do you know what happens to the 2.7 million healthy pets that are not adopted?  They get euthanized.  Euthanized is a nice word for KILLED.

I know, not everyone can adopt a pet.  There are already two of us adopted dogs living in our house and that is all we have room for.  But there are lots of things we can do to help shelters and hopefully get more pets adopted.

The big word is DONATE.  When people hear that word they automatically think money but there are so many other ways to donate.

Donate your TIME.  Volunteer to work at a local shelter.  You could walk the dogs or stuff envelopes for a mailing campaign.  You could donate your time assisting at a fund raising event.  You could donate your time hosting a collection drive or yard sale to benefit the shelter.

Donate your SKILLS.  Are you an amateur or professional photographer?  Donate your skills and take photos of the pets to be put on the shelter’s website or on Petfinder.com.  Have a way with words?  Help write copy for the newsletter or fund raising materials.

Donate your STUFF.  Donate out grown collars and leashes, crates, beds, or gently used toys your dog doesn’t play with.  Pet food is always welcome.  Donate office supplies, postage stamps, laundry detergent and cleaning supplies (scent free is best) and paper towels.   Your old towels can be used to dry pets after baths and your old blankets make wonderful warm beds.  Donate your olds newspapers.  The shelter can use them to line cages or shred them for litter boxes.

Donate your HOME.  It takes a very special person to foster pets.  Are you one?

Oh yeah…. You can donate MONEY.  Support fund raisers and events designed to help your local shelter or you can write a nice big check.

Several times a year my company donates part of the profits from our Pet Gift Baskets to the local shelter.  It’s easy.

So, now you know you don’t have to adopt a shelter pet to help.  If you know other ways, let me know.

Your friend,

Zeva

 

P.S. Blatant self-promotion.  Our To The Rescue Gift Basket has is the perfect way to welcome a new dog into your home.

 

Who Rescued Who (or is it whom?)

5 to 7 MILLION companion animals (pets) are relinquished (dumped) at shelters every year. 3 to 4 MILLION of these "companion animals" are euthanized (KILLED) within 60 days of being admitted. I was very lucky.  My six brothers and sisters and I were in a shelter in the south where there are lots and lots of homeless dogs.  We were tiny babies when some nice people drove us far away so we could be adopted.  My Mom saw me on line and came to get me.

My Mom would love to be able to take every one of those 5 to 7 MILLION pets home too but she says that is not practical. We don't have lots room or lots of money so in order to make sure I have good food, medical care and other things that make my life good, my Mom and Dad need to watch their pennies. They are trying to convince me that I should have a brother or sister but I am THE DOG and am not looking forward to having to share my family or my toys with another dog. Mom said since I was so against having another dog live with us that we could maybe foster dogs until we found them their own fur ever homes. That could be okay since I would only have to share with another dog for a short time. It would be like having a friend come to visit, not move in.

Mom says there are lots of ways people can help shelter animals in addition to outright adopting them cuz like us, adoption may not be an option. For example, a human could volunteer their time to help out at their local shelter. Shelters need humans to help to do lots of things. A human can volunteer time to walk dogs, play with pets, represent the shelters at events where pets are being adopted or even stuff envelopes or hand out fliers sometimes.

Like everything else in the human world, money is important, so giving money to a local shelter would be great cuz money will help buy food and pay the vet and other bills. But money is not the only thing people can give. Mom collects towels and blankets at tag sales and gives them to our shelter. Toys and food are also good donations to make. When the older dogs that lived at my house went to Rainbow Bridge, Mom took all of their food to the shelter so other dogs could have good nutritional food. It's okay that it was only half a bag and it was for senior dogs... every little bit helps.

Towels, blankets and food are not the only other things shelters need either. Shelters are also businesses and homes so they need business stuff like copy paper and postage stamps and stuff to make the home nice and clean like laundry detergent and paper towels.

I know times are tough but whatever you can spare, time, money or good stuff, it  will be greatly appreciated by your local shelter and can make staying in a shelter a little better until a nice fur ever home can be found.

Your friend,

Zeva

 

P.S.   Shameless self promotion To The Rescue gift basket.

P.P.S.  That's a picture of me when I was ado