Monthly Archive for: "September, 2018"
Rescue Myth vs. Fact: Animal rescues obtain their animals from breeders
Partially true: Animal rescues get their animals from breeders In the U.S., the problems and solutions for companion animals have changed over the years. Decades ago, tens of millions of companion animals were euthanized in local animal shelters to reduce the population. This tactic was not effective and when more progressive leaders in the industry introduced spay/neuter as a long-term strategy, the numbers euthanized annually started to reduce. Today, in the U.S. the estimates are that between 1 million and 1.5 million otherwise healthy companion animals are euthanized. This is still far too many animals killed annually. Yet while we […] Read more »
Our pets are our family. Celebrate them on family day
It seems that every year, more and more people are calling their pets family members and treating them like they are their children. Spending time and money on companion animals continues to increase year over year and our pets benefit from better food, preventative care and attention to their needs. So today on national family day, we invite you to celebrate the fact that our pets have become part of our families and earned their rightful place in our households. Their unconditional love and joy that they bring to our lives every day reminds us what the true definition […] Read more »
Rescue Myth vs. Fact: Animal rescues do not have a physical facility
Myth: All animal rescues do not have a physical facility Many of our fact versus myth posts are difficult to write because the truth about the topic in question lies somewhere in the middle between two extremes. We cannot say that all animal rescues do not have a physical facility. We can say that the vast majority of animal rescues (90%+) operate out of a foster home network, instead of a central facility. What is an animal rescue? What is an animal rescue group? The term “animal rescue” is a generic term that is used by a lot of different […] Read more »
Arrgh matey. Today is talk like a pirate day!
It’s finally here. The day we’ve waited all year for. International talk like a pirate day. A day when we can release our inner pirate and dust off our favorite accent without every person we encounter thinking we’ve lost our marbles. You may not believe this but this day was originally created back in 1995 by a couple of guys who decided the world needed a day to talk like their favorite pirate in the workplace. It’s grown in acceptance each year and now you can hear many people around the world with their favorite “arrrgh…” and “ahoy matey” expressions […] Read more »
Time to snuggle in with your cats for happy cat month
Does it seem to you like we have a lot of days and months focused on our cats? We’re not saying that’s a bad thing for sure and we’re beaming with pride to tell you about the fact that September is happy cat month! Yes, the whole month of September, all 30 days is focused on spreading education and awareness about the importance of our favorite feline companions. This day is brought to you by the CATalyst Council who are the ones that initially had the day formalized. As you might imagine, their mission is all about the feline, who […] Read more »
Accentuate the positive – National Positive Thinking Day
Our world is filled with negativity. Just turning on the news can overwhelm a person with stories about the pessimism and evil that exists in our world. But we’re not going to focus on that today because today, is national positive thinking day. Today is the day that we’re going to focus on all of the positive things happening in animal welfare and when we’re going to think about all of the positive improvements happening every day for animals. Back in the 80s, tens of millions of animals were euthanized and there was seemingly no end in sight to […] Read more »
Rescue myth vs. fact: Animal rescues are licensed and rated
Myth: Animal rescues are licensed and regulated at a national level Animal rescue groups do a lot of advertising to help promote their rescue animals and to raise funding through donations and fundraisers. There must be a government agency at the state or national level that is regulating these organizations and licensing them so you can ensure your donations are being properly utilized, right? Unfortunately not. There is no national entity focused on animal rescue licensing and there are many loopholes that you need to be aware of when choosing who to work with. Partially true: Animal rescues are licensed […] Read more »
Spinal cord injuries – a dog named Gil
“Treatment-induced recovery in a rodent model does not necessarily mean that primates and (human) individuals with spinal cord injuries will recover to a similar degree (or to any degree) given the same therapy” (Fouad et. al. 2013) Just over a month ago, a friend posted on her facebook page a video of a small, black dog dragging himself across a concrete floor in a makeshift veterinary facility. This little dog, named Gil, had been found by a family living in very remote, rural area in Arizona. Having no control or ability to move his hind legs, he somehow managed to […] Read more »