Feline antics; help with fire-devastated shelter; vote for your favorite animal shelter; help horse rescue

www.YouTube.com/watch?v=aiWIOoKj2ak&NR=1  Feline antics — bet you can’t watch without laughing out loud!

www.CentexHumaneSociety.com  Need volunteers, gift cards, blankets, towels, cleaning supplies, paint, dog & cat food, power source & donations — after fire at Centex Humane Society/Second Chance (5501 Clear Creek Rd., Killeen, TX  76549; 254-526-6200).  All surviving dogs & cats are in foster homes.  For update about the 99 cats & 15 dogs who perished & the needs of the survivors & shelter:  www.CentexHumaneSociety.com/Fire110109.shtml

www.TheAnimalRescueSite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3  $100K shelter challenge.  Please vote for your favorite shelter.  

 Welcome to The Animal Rescue Site $100,000 Shelter⁺ Challenge — together with Petfinder.com.  Now you can help The Animal Rescue Site choose which eligible Petfinder.com animal rescue organizations will receive special funds to help animals! Voting is simple: just select your Country and (if U.S. or Canada) State/Province. All other fields are optional and accept partial (but not misspelled or inaccurate) information. You can cast one vote every day for your favorite rescue organization.

Visit, get involved & support Reilly’s Ranch, a horse rescue in Abernathy, TX, US:  www.ReillysRanch.com).  

GoD & DoG animated video & endearing song; letter from God about dog

www.andiesisle.com/GoD_and_DoG.html GoD & DoG animated video & endearing song by Wendy Francisco (www.WendyFrancisco.com)

US Postal Service at its Best!!!!  This is one of the kindest things you may ever see.   
It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US Postal Service.

Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month.   The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.  She asked if we could write a letter to God  so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her.  I told her that I thought we could so she  dictated these words:  Will you please take care of my dog?  She died yesterday and is with you in  heaven.  I miss her very much.  I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.  I hope you will play with her.  She likes to play with balls and to swim.  I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog.   I really miss her.  Love,  Meredith 

Dear God,

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven.  We put our return address on it.  Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office.  A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet.  I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand.  Meredith opened it.  Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’  Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope.  On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note: 

Dear Meredith,  Abbey arrived safely in heaven.  Having the picture was a big help.  I recognized Abbey right away.  Abbey isn’t sick anymore.  Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart.  Abbey loved being your dog.  Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven,  I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by…  Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me.    What a wonderful mother you have.  I picked her especially for you.  I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.  By the way, I’m easy to find, I am wherever there 
is love.   Love,  God

Watch for next Strut for the Mutts

Watch for the next Strut for the Mutts:  walk an adoptable dog or volunteer to work at the registration desk, transport dogs &/or help with other duties.   Bring your own dog or walk one of the Haven’s adoptable dogs**  All proceeds benefit the Haven Animal Care Shelter  Questions???  Please call 763-0092, 441-7809, 367-0695, email Alexis Atwood at scooter_01_@yahoo.com 

**Visit www.havenacs.org

What a wonderful world!

What a wonderful world!  Thank you for doing your part:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rooyt3ptNco&feature=email

 

www.HUA.org  Hearts United for Animals:  national no-kill sanctuary & animal welfare organization dedicated to the relief of suffering.  Rescuing dogs from all over the country & specializing in long-distance adoptions.  We take the creatures who are lost, afraid, hungry or ill & comfort them, give them a warm, soft bed, good food, medical care & most of all, love.  HUA is a place of happiness, joy & love.  Everything we do is in the best interest of the dogs.  The dogs have big fields of grass & trees in which to run.  Our primary interest is what will make them happy.  HUA is a place to celebrate the joy of life.  Visit the on-line store for great gifts for dogs, cats & the people who love them.  Profits go to help homeless pets.  

 

Adopt, donate & or be inspired:  www.CatHouseOnTheKings.com (559-638-8696)  California’s largest, no-cage, no-kill, lifetime cat sanctuary & adoption center.  Since 1992, The Cat House on the Kings has saved 18,000+ cats & 5,000 dogs (not counting the 40,000 animals that the organization has spayed & neutered).  Currently caring for 700+ cats & kittens.

 

www.BrightHaven.org or 707-578-4800 in Sta. Rose, CA.  Animal hospice care:  love, peace, harmony & a loving family environment for elderly & infirm animal species.  Natural diet, on-site clinic care.  Volunteer homeopathic veterinaries.  Education & research about animal species.  www.IAAHPC.org  The International Association of Animal Hospice & Palliative Care:  people helping people to help animals.  A well-lived life doesn’t end any more than music ends.  It echoes through time with whispers of beauty & grace.

 

www.UAN.org  No animal left behind — when a natural disaster separates you from your pet.  Discover tips for making a disaster plan that includes your animals. 

Adopt a lovable pet from Haven Animal Care Shelter, Lubbock, Texas, USA

www.HavenACS.org  Adopt a loving pet from the Haven Animal Care Shelter.  Visit Web site for location details (4501 North County Road 1729:  take 4th Street/Idalou Hwy.  east out of Lubbock to CR 1729;  go south on CR 1729 for approximately one mile.  Watch for the entrance to The Haven on your right/west.

Cast your e-vote at www.Care2.com/animalsheltercontest

www.Care2.com/animalsheltercontest  Vote for your favorite animal shelter or rescue group.  One animal shelter or group with the most number of votes will win $10,000.  Other top vote-getters will win $1,000 or $500.  Every week a randomly selected participating group (five or more votes that week) will win $500.

Animal shelters & rescue groups that are part of the www.AdoptaPet.com network may become part of Adopt-a-Pet (& eligible to register for the contest) by clicking on the “Shelters & Rescue Groups … click here to sign-up” link (below & to the right of the “What’s New” section near the top of the Web page).

To see who won the first America’s Favorite Animal Shelter, visit www.Care2.com/animalsheltercontest/browse

www.PilotsNPaws.org Shelter dogs saved from death row by pilots

www.PilotsNPaws.org or PilotsNPaws@GMail.com & www.USAToday.com/News/Nation/2008-11-25-Pilots-Dog-Rescue_N.htm  Shelter dogs saved from death row by pilots.

By Sharon L. Peters, Special for USA TODAY     Puppy love is reaching new heights.

Pilots are donating their time, planes and fuel to transport dozens of dogs a month from overcrowded shelters where they face almost certain death to rescue groups and shelters several states away that are committed to finding them homes.

The mission-of-mercy relocations are flown by general aviation pilots who have signed on with the recently formed Pilots N Paws, a Web-based message board where pilots can access information about animals in need.

Once the electronic connection is made, dogs plucked by rescuers from death row — mostly in the South where sterilization rates are low and pet overpopulation is rampant — are loaded onto small planes and flown one, two or six at a time to rescue groups and shelters that have available space.

“These are wonderful dogs that simply had the bad luck of winding up in a place where there are too many pets in shelters,” says Pilots N Paws co-founder Jon Wehrenberg of Knoxville, Tenn. The retired manufacturing executive and weekend pilot has flown scores of dogs from high-kill shelters this year. Earlier this month, his mission involved six small mixed-breed dogs from Knoxville’s Young-Williams Animal Center.

The happy half-dozen enjoyed a smooth-sailing, 90-minute flight to Greensboro, N.C., where they were met by radio station executive Jennifer Hart, head of Animal Rescue & Foster Program, who had arranged foster care. One dog has been adopted; the others are receiving additional attention, socialization and training and should be ready for new homes soon after Thanksgiving.

Beginning of the journey

“Pilots N Paws has given about 20 of our animals a second chance,” says Tim Adams, executive director of the Young-Williams shelter, which euthanizes 70% of the animals that land there. “We take in 17,000 animals a year, and Knoxville simply isn’t big enough… to get new homes for them here. Twenty animals saved may not sound like much, but every one of them matters.”

Pilots N Paws started operating in February soon after Wehrenberg offered to fly a Doberman in Florida to his pal Debi Boies of Landrum, S.C., who is a retired nurse, horse breeder and long-time rescuer. He began asking questions about the rescue world and learned about the passionate underground railroad of animal lovers who orchestrate days-long road journeys to save some of the 4 million to 6 million animals destined for euthanasia in U.S. shelters annually.

“I’d had no idea of the number of animals being euthanized, and the ordeal people and animals were going through in transports,” Wehrenberg says. “Pilots love to fly. I believed that if we created a means for them to discover situations where they could fly and also save animals, many would do it.”

He and Boies joined forces to spread the word, and within months, 85 pilots had signed on. Nearly 200 dogs have now been flown from several shelters and rescue groups to welcoming arms hundreds of miles away.

“For most of these dogs, the next walk they would have taken would have been to death’s door,” says administrative assistant Dawn Thompson of Falconer, N.Y., who for 18 years has taken in, nursed, socialized and re-homed more than 100 dogs a year from various high-kill areas. In recent months 30 have arrived via Pilots N Paws, and she’s learned the ones that arrive by plane rather than ground transport “don’t have the stress that two days on the road creates, and that makes them almost instantly adoptable.”

‘Doggy kisses’ are worth gas

Each flight costs the pilot hundreds of dollars in fuel alone, not including routine maintenance and other operating expenses. Boies and Wehrenberg are working to gain non-profit status for the group so pilots could declare the fuel costs a charitable contribution. But the pilots aren’t exactly agitating for that.

“Doggy kisses are worth the $6 a gallon,” says Westminster, Md., businesswoman and small-plane pilot Michele McGuire. She was recently part of a two-leg rely that flew a 110-pound skin-and-bones Great Dane from Arab, Ala., where a rescue group saved it from euthanasia, to a new family in Baldwin, Mass.

“I don’t know what (the animals’) opinion of flying is, but it sure makes their trip a lot shorter,” says Nick O’Connell, a Williamsburg, Va., contractor who did his first such flight earlier this month. The two-leg hand-off involved two pilots, several hundred miles and two chow-mix puppies rescued from a dump near Atlanta and delivered to their new family in Chesterfield, Va.

The animals are almost always remarkably calm about the adventure, O’Connell and other pilots report.

“It’s almost as if they understand that this is their chance for life,” Boies says.

Sometimes pilots scroll through the “Transport needed” section of Pilots N Paws and find a plea to fly an animal to a town or city they already were planning to visit.

Most times, however, they study the requests, see a need that touches them and offer their services.

Broomfield, Colo., software engineer/pilot Mike Boyd was involved in a multi-state, multi-person transport of a German shepherd in October, and he’s aiming to do more missions. “To take my hobby and apply it to help this situation, well, it’s just a great feeling,” he says.

Adds O’Connell: “It is rewarding beyond my wildest imagination. “

I Rescued a Human Today

 (Thanks to CCluiss@Mail.UTexas.edu)

 I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels.  I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her.  I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid.

As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage.  I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today.  Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them.

As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t feel sad about my past.  I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life.

She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me.  I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her.  Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.

A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well.  Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms.  I would promise to keep her safe.  I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes.  I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor.  So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors.  So many more to be saved.  At least I could save one.

I rescued a human today.

Veterinary, rescue & Feline health resources

www.WebVet.com  When you have questions regarding your pets.

http://ESRescue.org  English Setter rescue group.

www.WinnFelineHealth.org  Dedicated to the health and welfare of all cats — including your beloved cat(s) or kitten(s).

Support US military dogs

www.USWarDogs.org  Honor, courage, loyalty:  past present & future.  At your favorite pet store, look for America’s Legacy leashes & collars — complete with their own dogs tags — that help provide gear, food & toys for dogs in the military.  Leash colors replicate the colors of the branches of the military (green for Army, blue for Navy, tan for Marines & gray for Air Force).

Animal Rescuers need Rescue, too: 10 points to ponder & a reunion video of inspiration

                                 RESCUERS NEED RESCUE, TOO
  
Animal rescue is deeply rewarding yet extremely difficult work. To survive in this realm, one must find healthy ways to cope with the emotional challenges. Here are 10 points to ponder:
 
 1.  You can’t save them all.   Even if you spent every hour of every day working to save animals, you still wouldn’t be able to save them all. Take comfort in knowing that you are not alone in your efforts.
 
 2.  Work smarter, not harder.  Manage your rescue efforts like a business. Organize tasks to make the best of your time. For example, time spent recruiting more volunteers may make more sense in the long run than trying to do more yourself. If you find yourself pulled in many directions, you might be more effective if you focus on one rescue facility, one geographic locale, or one species or breed.
 
3.  Just say “no.”  Many people feel guilty when they can’t take care of everything that comes up.   Be realistic about how much you can handle! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, it’s okay to say, “I can’t right now.” Delegate to others when possible and ask for help when you need it.
 
4.  You are making a difference.  Whenever you question whether you’re helping very much, remember [Dr. Loren Eiseley's] the old parable about the man walking on the beach, picking up starfish who had washed ashore and tossing them gently, one by one, back into the ocean. Another man approaches, notices that there are starfish on the beach as far as the eye can see and asks, “What difference can you possibly make when there are so many?”  Looking at the creature in his hand, the first man replies, “I can make all the difference in the world to THIS starfish.”
 
5.  Celebrate victories.  There are happy endings to many rescue stories. Rejoice in what is working.  Of course, seeing an animal go home with a loving family is the greatest reward of all.
 
6.  Small kindnesses do count.  It’s common to think that small efforts don’t mean as much as large victories, but stopping to pet an animal, even for just one minute is worth doing. Your touch may be the only friendly attention he or she receives that day. Grooming, holding and comforting, or intoning softly that you care, are activities that many shelters don’t have time for.
 
7.  Find outlets for emotional release.  Rescue work can be physically exhausting, emotionally draining, and spiritually challenging.  Don’t dismiss your feelings or think you’re a wimp for being affected by it all.  Talk to someone you trust about what you’re experiencing.  Cry when you need to.  Write your feelings in a journal.  Channel your emotions into action by writing to the editor of your newspaper or your local representative about the need for animal protection legislation.
 
8.  Take care of yourself.  Make time to do whatever makes you feel good.  Take a relaxing bath or go out to dinner and let someone else do the cooking. You need to recharge your batteries in order to maintain mental and physical health.

9.  Don’t downplay your compassion.  When people ask me why I rescue animals, often I’m tempted to say, “Oh, it’s not a big deal” or “Somebody’s got to do it,” when in reality I rescue  animals because I care so deeply about them. Compassion is healthy, normal and necessary for this work. Let people know how important this cause is to you. You just might  inspire others to become involved.
 
10. Never give up.  When you get discouraged, it is tempting to throw in the towel.  Despite all your hard work, you may not see real change in your lifetime.  Still, giving up won’t make it any better.  Take a break, and come back fighting.  And remember the man and the starfish.

by Chandra Moira Beal

Rescuers remembered by the rescuee:  http://videos.komando.com/2008/06/26/christian-the-lion/ (scroll downward to large arrow & then click on the arrow to start the video).  In 1969, two friends, John Rendall and Ace Berg, purchased a lion. At the time, Christian the lion was a 35-pound cub. He had been born in a zoo. The friends raised Christian in their London home. All three hung out in a friend’s furniture shop on the weekends.

Within a year, Christian had grown to 185 lbs. Rendall and Berg realized they couldn’t keep him much longer. But they didn’t know what to do with him. A chance encounter changed that. Two actors from the film Born Free walked into the furniture store.

 The actors recommended a conservationist, George Adamson, living in Kenya. Christian was soon in Africa. There he was rehabilitated and released into the wild.

 In 1974, Rendall and Berg decided to visit Christian one last time. He was now a wild animal. Adamson told them it was doubtful that Christian could be found. No one had seen him in nine months.

 The two flew to Kenya, anyway. On the day they landed, Christian appeared outside Adamson’s camp. Somehow, he knew. He waited outside the camp until Rendall and Berg arrived.  This video was taken during their reunion with Christian. What a story! What a video!

Animal Congregations

Animal Congregations

A bloat of hippopotami. A nest of rabbits. A bale of turtles. A trip of goats. A litter of pups. A rag of colts. A string of ponies. A kindle of kittens. A covey of quail. A school of fish. A leap of leopards. A rabble of butterflies. A pride of lions. A bask of crocodiles. A skulk of foxes. A pace of asses. A business of ferrets. A clowder of cats. A murder of crows. A crash of rhinoceroses. A rafter of turkeys. A cartload of chimps. A dray of squirrels. A watch of nightingales. A harras of horses. A colony of ants. A clan of hyenas. A peep of chickens. A nest of hedgehogs. A pack of dogs. A cluster of grasshoppers. A flight of pigeons. A parcel of penguins. A dule of doves. A plague of locusts. A covey of partridges. A sloth of bears. A parliament of owls. A paddling of ducks. A tower of giraffes. A charm of finches. A flock of sheep. A drove of cattle. An army of caterpillars. A shoal of bass. A smack of jellyfish. A stud of mares. A colony of beaver. An ostentation of peacocks. A cowardice of curs. A bouquet of pheasants. A pod of seals. A singular of boars. A cast of hawks.

Dog Lover’s Christmas Carol

A Dog Lover’s Christmas Carol

On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

Twelve dalmations drumming,
Eleven spaniels sleeping,

TEN MAGNIFICANT MUTTS,

Nine poodles prancing,
Eight rottweilers ringing,
Seven labs a leaping,
Six German shepherds,

FIVE GOLDEN RETRIEVERS,

Four beagles begging,
Three dachsunds dashing,
Two terriers toasting

AND A PIT BULL IN A PEAR TREE! : )

Create a new revenue stream: offer your place, pet, vehicle, railroad car, bank or building for movies, commercials, video projects

Create an additional revenue stream by offering your place, pet, vehicle, railroad car, bank or building for movies, films, advertising commercials, straight-to-video projects or special events: www.Governor.State.TX.US/film or CamilleSci@SuddenLink.net or 806-773-0557.

The Lubbock Area — the new, real LA, future center of the film-industry universe?! Lubbock Area: revenue-generating film capital of film-friendly Texas!

Ask Abie@VisitLubbock.org about upcoming training for businesses, investors & entrepreneurs about how to leverage financial opportunities when film-industry projects come to Lubbock: how to market the community, how to let the vendors onto your property, tax laws & more.

www.JA.org/Programs/programs_mid_park.shtml & www.WestTexas.JA.org Junior Achievement! JA Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.Junior Achievement programs help prepare young people for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and learn the value of contributing to their communities.

JA’s unique approach allows volunteers from the community to deliver our curriculum while sharing their experiences with students. Embodying the heart of JA, our 287,000 classroom volunteers transform the key concepts of our lessons into a message that inspires and empowers students to believe in themselves, showing them they can make a difference in the world.

www.TexasTech.edu/OTC  Commercial growth through development of novel research by taking researchers’ ideas, concepts and/or inventions to the marketplace.  For the latest updates, select “Download our newsletter…” from the middle/bottom of the page.

Transport shelter animals to rescues, fosters & forever homes

http://Pets.Groups.Yahoo.com/group/PetTransportList Transporting shelter animals to rescues, fosters & forever homes. Animals going to forever homes must be spayed/neutered before transport.

Testimonial poem: Take me to the Rescue!

You may not think you know me, but I’m sure you’ve seen my face in back yards, fields & busy streets, you’ll find us any place. I’m what you’d call a rescue dog, who needs a safety haven. I may be thin & sickly, too, but I promise I’m worth saving.

I’m the dog who lives next door, the one you always see outside seeking shelter from the sun, and cool, safe place to hide.

You have seen me on the streets with no place to call home or maybe in an open field, scared & sad, & all alone.

But did you know that there’s a place that was built with me in mind? Where people love & care for me & show me the world is kind.

Where no dogs will go hungry, where peace & love abound Where kind & caring people will always be around.

I may be scared of humans because of what they’ve put me through But my heart is quite forgiving, won’t you please take me with you?

Take me to that rescue place, they’ll help me find a home And they’ll make sure while I’m waiting, I’ll never be alone

I’m small, I’m meek, I’m timid, but I’ll be strong before they’re through For life will begin again for me, if you’ll take me to the Rescue.