Black Dog Syndrome

Typically in October, shelters begin worrying about the black cats under their care, with many shelters refusing to place black cats up for adoption until after Halloween.  Did you know black dogs are also at risk in shelters?    Check out this article from Helium.com   telling why black dogs are so hard to place.

 If you work in a shelter, the article linked above will give you some ideas to help market your black dogs.  Other resources are  http://startseeingblackdogs.com/ and http://blackpearldogs.com/, which are dedicated to just this issue.

 Until next time,

Good day, and good dog!

Help Homeless Pets

I received a couple of e-mails last week with information on a new website that allows visitors to “obtain valuable pet care information, interact with fellow pet lovers in an online community, and shop online to raise money for homeless pets.”  What I like is that you get to choose which shelter your purchases will support, so you can keep your money local.

Although we’d rather you got all of your dog-related information from us, we felt obligated to pass this information on because it does help raise funds for an important cause:  reducing the number of animals left to live out their days in shelters.  Anyways, below is the press release, and I’ve added the site to our blogroll as well.

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Too many Portuguese Water Dogs!

The editorial cartoon in my newspaper today showed a couple going to a movie theater.  The poster outside, showing coming attractions was for a movie called “101 Portuguese Water Dogs”, and the lady says to her husband, “I knew this was coming!”

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Shout Out to the Greg Biffle Foundation for Animals

Kudos to Nascars Greg Biffle and his wife Nicole on their foundation to help companion animals.  According to their website, the foundation was created in 2005 “to create awareness and serve as an advocate to improve the well-being of animals by engaging the power and passion of the motor sports industry. Financial support for the foundation comes from a variety of sources including individual contributions, NASCAR Pets calendars, and the sale of various racing and other sports memorabilia. “ 

The calendars look really neat – I’ll have to remember to buy one for 2010.  They also offer other merchandise such as T-shirts, caps, and dog dish holders made of granite – very attractive!

The foundation makes grants to animal shelters and humane societies around the country to represent the best interests of animals.

Greg and Nicole have four dogs – Foster and his daughter Gracie, a pair of Boxers who are very familiar to race fans across the country. Foster even graced the front of a Milk Bones box in 2004. The latest addition is Savannah, who was rescued from a Georgia shelter.  Not sure who the fourth one is.

They both serve on the board of Iredell Friends of Animals, trying to increase the number of pet adoptions and decrease the number of animals that must be euthanized each year. 

What a worthy cause!

Until next time,

Good day, and good dog!

Report on Dog Shelter Surveys

Well, doggies.com fans, I’ve gotta say, I’m a bit disappointed. I think you might be too when I show you the results of the last two Saturday surveys.
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Saturday Survey: Do You Donate to Dog Shelters?

Last week’s survey about adopting from dog shelters drew our biggest response ever, so I had to ask the follow-up question:  Do you donate to dog shelters?  Since so many of you say you adopt, I’m curious as to the payback ratio!

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How are dogs euthanized in your state?

 

 

Not a topic we like to think about, but we all know that dogs are put down when shelters become over-crowded.  Do you have any idea how your state carries out the euthanasia?  In North Carolina, apparently, they use a gas chamber, which brings to my mind Nazi Germany’s death camps.  Not terribly humane, and apparently, not always effective, as this beautiful little puppy was pulled alive from the shelter’s garbage can.

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A sad tail…er…tale

Have you been following the news of pets that are being abandoned at record rates due to the economy?   Seems that those who have lost their jobs can’t afford to keep their pets, which makes sense, but boy what a hard choice to make.  I know, you have to feed your kids and pay your electric bill, but it sure would be hard to have to give up Fido just to make it through.  [Read more]