Rescuing The Rescuers

"Local animal rescue organizations that rely on private donations are grappling with an unprecedented increase in abandoned animals and a steep drop in private donations.

The Santa Cruz Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which adopts out 100-120 animals per month and runs entirely on private donations, has received about half of its normal cash donations and about 75 percent less in animal food donations. Hummer Ranch Pregnant Mare Rescue, which houses horses at a small Aptos ranch until they can be adopted, has run out of cash. And, Project Purr, which spays and neuters feral cats, may not have enough money to stay open until its next fundraiser in May.

"Donations are down at least 65 percent," said Lisa Carter, director of the SPCA. "We're having to think of drastic measures in order to stay afloat. It's pretty grim. Because of the economy, we're looking at having to rescue less. More and more people locally are being impacted by the economy."

Carter, who has been with the SPCA for six years, says she's never seen such a big drop in donations and such a demand for animal shelter services. The agency gives out cat and dog food each month to about 150 people who can't afford to feed their animals."

Houston SPCA

" Noah would feel right at home at the Houston SPCA, which has taken in about a thousand animals from communities enduring a major beating from Hurricane Ike.

In addition to hundreds of dogs and cats, the shelter collected horses, ducks, goats, iguanas and even a bear as part of its menagerie in the days leading up to the storm — which crashed ashore before dawn Saturday.

Houston SPCA President Patricia Mercer compared it to the Biblical ark, and the rescue center has taken in the Galveston Island Humane Society animals as well as those from the Brazoria County and Bay Area SPCA in Galveston County, she said. Some of the staff from the other organizations accompanied "

Cat Reunited With Family

"A couple have been reunited with their missing cat after nine years, the RSPCA said on Wednesday.

Dixie, a 15-year-old ginger cat, disappeared in 1999 and her owners thought she had been killed by a car.

She was found less than half a mile from her home in Birmingham after a concerned resident rang the animal charity to report a thin and dishevelled cat who had been in the area for a couple of months.

RSPCA Animal Collection Officer Alan Pittaway checked her microchip and confirmed it was Dixie. She was returned to her owners, Alan and Gilly Delaney, within half an hour.

"In 29 years of working for the RSPCA I have never seen anyone so excited and happy as Mrs Delaney," Pittaway said. "It made my day to return Dixie to her owners."

The couple were "overjoyed" to be reunited with their missing cat after so many years."

Happy Labor Day

Foreclosure Dog's Letter To His Person

This is a must read. It absolutely broke my heart.


"You bought a house! You finally had a yard so you decided it was time for a dog. You chose me out of all the other dogs. As a puppy, I entertained you with my antics and I made you laugh. You called me your baby and carried me closely. Despite some chewed boxer shorts and a few broken mini-blinds, I became your best friend. Whenever I was “bad,” you’d shake your finger at me and ask “How could you?” ­ but then you’d relent, and roll me over for a bellyrub.

My housebreaking took a little longer than expected, because you were terribly busy, but we worked on that together. I remember those nights of nuzzling you in bed and listening to your secret dreams. I remember running in your new, big backyard. I believed that life could not be any more perfect. We went for long walks and runs in the park, car rides, and BBQs. I took long naps in the backyard sun waiting for you to come home at the end of the day.

Gradually, you began spending more time at work to get paid for overtime. I waited for you patiently, comforted you through the bill-paying frustrations and the debt collector's calls. I never chided you about bad decisions, I never cared about your FICA score, and I never threatened to garnish your wages or repossess your car.

The letters kept coming. The phone kept ringing. Your employer froze wages and stopped giving overtime. Your new second job helped, but is wasn't enough. You stroked me kindly when they took away the car. You told me you'd buy us a new one and that everything would be OK.

Then the bank took the house."

Please read the rest of the story.

Rescue Chain

"It's going to be great, especially since my son and Summer are very close." -Brandon Wells, a Marine separated from his dog

When Brandon Wells dropped his dog Summer off at an animal-rescue shelter in California, he knew she would be taken care of.

But the United States Marine Corps sergeant never expected the pet, who was too lame to travel with his family after he was transferred from a base in San Diego to Jacksonville, to find her way back to him.

Today, after being shuttled across the country in a sort of relay by people associated with the rescue group, Double S Animal Rescue & Sanctuary Inc., in Warner Springs, Calif., Summer will be reunited with Wells' family in Eastern North Carolina.

He was looking forward to having her back."

"It's going to be great, especially since my son and Summer are very close," he said. "It's just really good that everyone took care of her the way they did."

Pet Box Inspection

"Anyone who has spent time volunteering for a rescue organization knows that - generally - people suck. Doing animal rescue we do not see the best side of people. Yes, every now and then we meet wonderful people who are doing great work in the humane community - but far more often we hear about and/or witness the truly apathetic, insensitive nature of human beings.

Over the years we have seen many, many injustices towards animals - including animals left in trash cans, tied to poles, kicked so hard that they lose an eye, thrown out of cars into traffic, taped up in boxes on the side of the freeway, left in bathrooms at pet stores…. just to name a few. Having seen what we’ve seen, all of us in rescue participate in what we refer to as the “Mandatory Box Inspection”…

This means that whenever we see a box - wherever we are - we will stop and look inside of it. This is to be sure that there are no kittens or puppies or hamsters in the box. We will stop traffic if necessary, pull over to the side of the freeway, go WAY out of our way to have a peek inside of any suspicious box. Once we determine that there is nothing in the box, we will then tear the box apart so that nothing can be PUT inside the box. It is a habit that we all have. It’s second nature."

Helping Each Other

" A Doberman Pinscher brutally attacked by what rescuers believe was a mountain lion has a second start in life. The dog has a new home and a new job.

Meet Denise Shepherd's new best friend, Diego. Just three weeks ago, Diego was found by animal control officers, wandering around Heber. He'd been savagely attacked.

Al Nortz, with the Utah Doberman Rescue, said, "The wound is basically from his neck all the way down to his tail. It was very infected. But now he's recovering."

That's thanks to more than $3,000 in veterinarian bills and Denise. She saw Diego's picture, with his one eye and horrible wounds, on an animal rescue Web site just three days after his picture was posted. It was then she knew. "When I saw his picture, I fell in love. His eyes tell it all," she said.

Denise decided to adopt. Nortz Denise "spoils him rotten, sleeps in bed, lays in her lap all day, watches TV with her."

Diego needs Denise to help him recover, but make no mistake, Denise needs Diego. "I have anxiety disorder with panic disorder. I have really bad anxiety. I have panic attacks. I have a difficult time getting out of the house, sort of agoraphobia and post traumatic stress syndrome," she said.

For the past year, all of that combined has made Denise a virtual prisoner in her own home. She wouldn't leave the house, and she shut herself off from the outside world. But now, Diego is her therapy dog.

"Being able to pet him and touch him helps calm me and helps me be able to go out of the apartment. When I see people, I don't feel uncomfortable talking to them," Denise said. "

Potbelly

"It all started simply enough with just one pig, a Vietnamese potbelly, who arrived in 1992. The potbelly was a hand-me-down from a Seattle friend who didn't want her anymore.

Judy Woods named the pig Fern and took her to live on the 6 ½-acre spread she owned in Arlington.

Then, in 1994, she heard King County Animal Control might know where she could find more unwanted pigs. She called. As it turnd out, a male potbelly was running loose in Des Moines. Did Woods want the pig? He was a full-grown, 4-year-old boar with untrimmed tusks and would be euthanized if she didn't take him. She would.

Woods, a nurse by day, named this one Wilbur and trucked him back to her little farm.

That same year, Woods created Pigs Peace Sanctuary and organized it two years later as a nonprofit dedicated to rescuing swine, potbellied and hog alike. The pigs haven't stopped coming."

Groovin' On A Sunday Afternoon

This is what I like to do on a Sunday afternoon. I do need a day of rest you know.

Wordless Wednesday

Farm Sanctuary

"Moo had a little crush on me, and I could all but return his affections.

The brown-haired boy had saucer-size eyes, a sturdy build and a sweet disposition. But what really tugged at my heart was his story of survival. The super-friendly bull, who had trailed me through the pasture like a lovelorn teen, had been found tied to a car when he was a calf. He was saved by one animal shelter, then recently moved to another, Farm Sanctuary near Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Moo is not alone -- at the country's largest farm-animal-rescue facility. The sanctuary takes in hundreds of farm animals, which, if they could talk, would tell similar stories. There's Morgan, a snow-white rooster discovered in a Brooklyn pet store dyed like an Easter egg; Mayfly, an experiment in a school hatching project; and Winnie, a 500-pound pig who escaped a backyard barbecue (featuring her) in Connecticut. She now is the alpha pig of the pen.

"The biggest thing we want to impress upon people is that animals have their own lives and personalities," said Liz Pichaud, 23, the tour guide who led our six-person group around the property. "They are living as they were intended to live."

Parrot Adoption

Parrot adoption is very much like baby adoption. Those who have parrots they cannot care for offer them to people who want a parrot. The adoptive parrot owners may not be able to afford the initial outlay, or they may simply want to give a good home to a parrot that must be relocated.

Parrot adoption does not always mean “free” parrots. The term is also used for inexpensive parrots purchased from former owners."

Boo Returns Home

Hello everyone. Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Arabelle but my momma calls me Boo. You may call me by either name.

I am very happy to be home with my momma again. I've been living in Indiana for the past 8 months and, while I loved it, it wasn't where my momma was.

I love my foster family and they were very good to me. I will miss them but I know I'll see them again one day. They are good people.

Talk to you all soon.

Saving Boo Again

Rising prices of gas and food really hit me this weekend. What a shock! I'm paying for Boo's trip back home next Saturday and I don't mind that at all but I've got to start cutting corners now.

Paying for just the gas for her temporary family to bring her home is going to cost me $500. I still owe the landlady $150 for a pet deposit too. So, I hope the following will help us all save some money. I'm on a search for coupons and free samples. Please let me know if you find any good ones.




"With rising prices, it is becoming more difficult for colony caretakers to feed feral cats, so the group All For Animals Rescue posted this helpful recipe on their blog. According to them, based on feeding 10 cats, this concoction saves anything from $20-$40 per month.

4 small cans of cheap food, such as Friskies, about 50¢ a can
3 cups of cheap dry food $2-4 a 3lb bag
2 packs of chicken hearts and giblets about $1.50
6 eggs
pack of salad macaroni
small pack of barley
1lb ground beef (cheap one)
1lb sardines"


Pet Samples and freebies

Boo Is Coming Home

When I see the money raised by Jericho fans for various causes, I am always reminded of those fans who helped save my Boo. Boo is my dog and you can read her story here.


I am thrilled to report that Boo is coming home after 8 months away from me. I cannot put my feelings into words.

I will be forever grateful for the fans who contributed money to make sure Boo could be transported to Indiana to live temporarily. I am grateful to Kestral and her family for taking Boo and treating her like family.

Jericho fans are an amazing bunch and I thank all of you who contributed money, support, and encouragement.

I'll let you know when Boo gets home. It will likely be next weekend.

Allergic To Cats

"It isn’t very hard to determine if you are allergic to cats or not. Many people are allergic to these animals and already are aware of that fact, although they have never gone to the allergist.

It doesn’t take a genius to deduce that it’s your feline that is causing your discomfort. What are cat allergy symptoms, however, and what do you do to alleviate them, without getting rid of the family pet?

Some Symptoms to Look Out For"

Happy July 4th

When You Find A Stray

"You're in your car, heading somewhere or other, a long list of things to accomplish and already running late. Suddenly, you see him—a dog, there, by the side of the road. With a sinking feeling, you realize he's alone. Your car is coming alongside him now. You have only seconds in which to act. But what should you do?

This is a wrenching scenario for all who care about animals. Once you've seen the dog (or cat), it's too late to avert your eyes and drive on, even if you wanted to. After all, what if your own dog or cat were standing there? So, before you pull over, good Samaritan that you are, here are some guidelines for assisting animals safely and effectively."

Uncle Sam of Pets

"Actor, veteran stand-up comic and author Richard Belzer adds another leading role to his acting resume. He’s now the “Uncle Sam” of the pet world.

In a new campaign to help shelter animals, “We Want You … To Adopt,” Belzer assumes the compelling glare of the iconic 1916 recruitment poster. In his latest role as the star of a national shelter animal adoption public service announcement launched by North Shore Animal League America, Belzer’s portrayal of the patriotic figure seeks sign-ups to take a shelter animal into their home."


"Dog training, behavior modification and consultations from experienced and dedicated trainers you and your dog deserve!

The Republic of Dog is simply all about DOGS. Our goal is to create responsible DogizensTM, or "Dog Citizens". We train dogs to be outstanding members of their communities as Ambassadors of Canine Behavior.

Our training methods are based on the latest techniques. We use positive rewards (treats/toys), praise and fun to make your training experience as successful as possible!

Thank you for stopping by The Republic of Dog...
-Where Dogs Rule!TM"