The Sanctuary For Senior Dogs

"THE SANCTUARY FOR SENIOR DOGS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the rescue, adoption, and lifelong care of senior dogs abandoned in shelters and pounds. All of our dogs live in Sanctuary-approved foster homes until a permanent home can be found. Senior dogs too ill to be safely adopted stay in a Sanctuary hospice foster home for life. All senior dogs are spayed or neutered prior to placement.

All Sanctuary dogs live in foster homes with families to care for them and love them; we do not house our senior dogs in a shelter.

You can meet our Sanctuary dogs and your next best friend at our Adoption & Education Center in the Old Brooklyn neighborhood of Cleveland on the last Sunday of each month between 2 & 4 PM (except December).

To meet a special sanctuary senior dog at any other time, just call and we will gladly set up an appointment

Many of our dogs attend Adoption Sundays, the last Sunday of every month except December. If you want to meet one special dog, call us first to see who is scheduled to attend."

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."

Do Dogs Dream ?

You've probably seen it happen—your sleeping dog suddenly lets out a woof as his legs begin to twitch. Is he dreaming?

Many scientists say there is evidence to support the idea that dogs do, in fact, experience dreams. Researchers using an electroencephalogram (EEG) have tested canine brain wave activity during sleep. They've found that dogs are similar to humans when it comes to sleep patterns and brain wave activity. Like humans, dogs enter a deep sleep stage during which their breathing becomes more irregular and they have rapid eye movements (REM). It is during REM sleep that actual dreaming and, often, involuntary movements take place. Dogs may move their legs as if they are running, whine or whimper as if excited, and breathe rapidly or hold their breath for short periods.

Not all dogs dream equally. Research suggests that small dogs dream more than larger dogs. A Toy Poodle may dream once every ten minutes while a Golden Retriever may only dream once every 90 minutes. Dreaming also seems to occur more frequently in puppies. This may be because they are processing huge quantities of newly acquired experiences.

Iams Home 4 the Holidays

Iams Home for the Holidays has set a goal to place 1 million orphaned animals into happy and loving homes during this year's holiday season from October 1, 2008 to January 5, 2009.

Award-winning actress and pet parent Felicity Huffman has teamed up with Iams Home for the Holidays to help raise awareness for the millions of homeless dogs and cats throughout North America.





- Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, Iams Home for the Holidays is among the world's most successful pet adoption programs and includes nearly 3,000 partner animal organizations from around the world that are dedicated to helping raise awareness about the importance of pet adoption and educating people considering a new pet.

- Since it began in 1999, Iams Home for the Holidays has helped place more than 2 million pets into happy homes. Last year alone, Iams Home for the Holidays helped nearly 500,000 families experience the joy of pet adoption.

- Every cat, dog, puppy or kitten that is adopted during Iams Home 4 the Holidays will go home with an Iams Adoption Starter Kit.

- Founded by the Helen Woodward Animal Center and supported by Iams, Iams Home for the Holidays began in 1999 with just 14 participating animal shelters in San Diego County. Today there are nearly 3,000 shelters in 15 countries around the world helping orphaned animals find loving homes and families.

Veterinary Emergency Funding Mission

"Have you had a crisis with your pet that required you to seek emergency veterinary care? Have you been in the awful situation of not having the money to pay for it? Sadly, many pet owners cannot afford the treatment that their animal needs. Some of you had no one to turn to and were forced to choose inadequate care or even euthanasia. We want to hear your story. No pet should be denied emergency care because an owner has fallen on hard times. Let us hear from you, to help kick-start the birth of the Veterinary Emergency Funding Mission. Help us meet our target
start-up date of January 1, 2009."

"Lack of sufficient funds can leave an owner faced with euthanasia for a beloved companion. The Veterinary Emergency Funding Mission (VEFM) helps locate these funds."

Beverly Hills Chihuahua

"With these kinds of movies, it's been my experience, at least, that people always love seeing the dogs," said Mike Alexander, the head trainer and animal coordinator of Birds & Animals Unlimited, a handler whose work has been instrumental to several films and television productions over the past 20 years.The red carpet trip marks yet another amazing step for Rusco, the dog who plays Papi in "Beverly Hills Chihuahua." In an @ The Movies interview Wednesday, Alexander said his new canine star is the one who almost got away.That's because Rusco was at an animal shelter when Alexander found a photo of what believed could be the dog he was looking for. The problem was, after months of searching, the esteemed animal trainer as behind such hits as "A Night at the Museum" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" (he helped orchestrate the film's elaborate squirrel scene) found himself racing against the clock.

"Because there are so many potential dogs to cast out there, it's hard for us to review every single source every single day," Alexander said. "We had one, small picture that I was able share with Disney, and when we got around to calling the shelter, they said, 'Well, he's been here for about two weeks, and that's about as long as they stay here, and we don't reserve him over the phone.' By then, it was about 2 or 3 in the afternoon and I got in my car and rushed down to the shelter, but since it was so far away, I had traffic to deal with."Unfortunately, Alexander arrived at the Moreno Valley Animal Shelter about 60 miles from Los Angeles just a little too late."When I got down there they were just closing the doors and wouldn't let me in," Alexander recalled. "So I went back the next morning and Rusco was still there. So after spending a little time for him, I knew right away, that this was going to be Papi."

Animal Shelter Contest

Care2.com, the largest online community of people passionate about making a difference, will award the grand prize of $10,000 to the animal welfare group that receives the most votes via the contest website. In addition to the grand prize, Care2 is awarding $3,000, $1,000 and two prizes of $500 to the four runner-ups respectively. Winners will be announced the second week of November.

To ensure every shelter and rescue group has an opportunity to win a prize, Adopt-a-Pet.com is also giving prizes of $1,000 at random (not based on votes) each week during the contest period.

The contest started on Monday, Sept. 22 and ends on Saturday, Nov. 1. Through the contest website people also can invite their friends to vote for their favorite shelter. Visitors can track who has recruited the most friends to vote for their favorite shelters. The top 20 people who recruit the most friends to vote will each receive a $50 gift certificate sponsored by Adopt-a-Pet.com.

“Care2 and its members have shown unwavering support of animal welfare issues throughout the years and are devoted to improving their plight, like our organization,” said David Meyer, president of Adopt-A-Pet.com. “We have 6,000 animal shelters across the country seeking to find homes for pets in their care, and the number of homeless pets on our site is increasing each month. By partnering with Care2 for this contest, we can further our goal of raising awareness about animal shelters and finding good homes for these animals.”