"To the world you are a rescue person

To a rescued dog you are the world ''

Think Pit Bulls are what crowd the animal shelters.........think again.

Small Dog, Big Woes; Chihuahuas Crowd Pet Shelters
By Frank James

If you're considering rescuing a dog from a shelter, you might want to think small. As in real small. As in chihuahua small.
Chihuahuas are disproportionately crowding pet shelters, at least in California. (Paul Sancya / AP Photo)

That's because the diminutive, often feisty dogs are piling up big-time in animal shelters.
At least that appears to be true in California. And we know that California tends to lead the nation in trends.
On Wednesday All Things Considered host Robert Siegel discussed the problem with Kat Brown, deputy director of City and County of San Francisco Animal Care & Control.

BROWN: Right now we have 23 chihuahuas and about one-third of the dogs we have in our shelter are chihuahuas or chihuahua cross.
ROBERT: This is unusual?
BROWN: Very unusual.
ROBERT: Who would typically be the dominant breed in the shelter or would there be one?
BROWN: Normally, at least in years past pit bull and pit bull mix have been the most dominant breed. But this year and actually the last couple of years, we're seeing more chihuahua and chihuahua mix.
ROBERT: Why, why do you think you're seeing so many more chihuahuas?
BROWN: I think it's because a number of things. Some movies featured chihuahuas. Also, a pocket pet kind of thing, from some of the movie stars, Paris Hilton. Also, the economy. I think we're seeing more owner-surrendered animals generally across the board.

But chihuahuas unlike other dogs are more difficult to handle sometimes. People think of them as something, they're like stuffed animals or whatever. But in fact they're like a little dog. and they need all of the things that a big dog needs.
ROBERT: Is this similar to the "101 Dalmatians" phenomenon? A movie comes out and suddenly dalmatians are everybody's Christmas puppy and the next year they're in the shelters?
BROWN: I've been in the business for 25 years and I have to tell you, I haven't seen that many dalmatians. I haven't seen a third of our available dogs or a third of our dogs. This is unusual. This is extremely unusual.
ROBERT: Do you get a sense this is happening at other shelters, that this is pervasive?
BROWN: Yes, yes. We have shelters from the Bay Area who also have the same sort of problem. Oakland, Contra Costa, Peninsula Humane Society. Silicon Valley. San Jose. LASPCA (in Los Angeles) said to us we don't have time to count, there are so many of them.

What can G.I.s do with their pet dogs while away in Iraq or Afghanistan?

I got an e-mail today about a dog that will soon be homeless when its owner is deployed to Iraq.
If this guys family won't take the dog into their care, what is a person to do?
It would be nice if a family or friend would keep the dog so the poor guy had one more reason
to make it home alive..........in this case no such luck.

Then the question becomes; what if the dog comes down with some serious, expensive health
issue while the owner is away? What if there is a simple yard escape and a car gets in the way.
Who pays for these potential expenses, not to mention food and basic care?

Should the pets be re-homed and just forget about fostering and the like? One more heartache
for our service men and women...........................one solution? Get us the hell out of these countries
and lets take care of our own!!! In the meantime.......if you have a service man or women in your life
that has a pet, please consider fostering or adopting!

http://www.militarygi.net/army/resources/item/5821

Pet Quote of the Week

" Your cat will never threaten your popularity by barking at three in the morning. He won't attack the mailman or eat the drapes, although he may climb the drapes to see how the room looks from the ceiling." Helen Powers

Rescuer's answering machine/anyone that works in animal rescue will love this.

A RESCUERS ANSWERING MACHINE:
Hello: You have reached ___-____, Tender Hearts Rescue. Due to the
high volume of calls we have been receiving, please listen closely to
the following options and choose the one that best describes you or
your situation:

>   Press 1 if you have a 10-year-old dog and your 15-year-old son has
suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home
right away.

>  Press 2 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your

150 pound, 8-year-old dog.
>  Press 3 if you have three dogs, had a baby and want to get rid of
your dogs because you are the only person in the world to have a
baby and dogs at the same time.
>  Press 4 if you just got a brand new puppy and your old dog is having
problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.
>  Press 5 if your little puppy has grown up and is no longer small and
cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.

>  Press 6 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home TODAY
and pick up the dog you no longer want.
>  Press 7 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the
last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your
dog.
>  Press 8 if your dog is sick and needs a vet but you need the money
for your vacation.
>  Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy who is not
active and is going to outlive you.
>  Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for
their elderly dog because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.
>  Press 11 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know
you have left a dog in our yard in the middle of January, which is
in fact, better than just leaving the dog with no message.
>  Press 12 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to
take your dog that you have had for fifteen years, because it is
not our responsibility.
>   Press 13 if you are going to threaten to take your ten year old dog
to be euthanized because I won't take it. (This is all too common!)
>   Press 14 if you're going to get angry because the volunteers had the
audacity to go on vacation and leave the dogs in care of a trusted
volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.
>   Press 15 if you want one of our PERFECTLY trained, housebroken, kid
and cat friendly purebred dogs that we have an abundance of.
>  Press 16 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight
aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your
neighbor's cats.
>   Press 17 if you have already called once and been told we don't take
personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this
time with a different answer.
> Press 18 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to
board your personal dog while you are on vacation, free of charge,
of course.
>   Press 19 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby
bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.
>  Press 20 if you want us to take your female dog who has already had
ten litters, but we can't spay her because she is pregnant again and
it is against your religion.
>  Press 21 if your two year old male dog is marking all over your house
but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.
>  Press 22 if you previously had an outdoor only dog and are calling
because she is suddenly pregnant.
>  Press 23 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and
have had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it
is cruel.
>  Press 24 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening
phone number and you left your work number when all volunteers are
also working and you are angry because no one called you back. >
>  Press 25 if your new love doesn't like your dog and you are too
stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next
month anyway) instead of the dog.
>  Press 26 if you went through all these 'options' and didn't hear
enough. This press will connect you to the sounds of tears being
shed by one of our volunteers who is holding a discarded old dog
while the vet mercifully frees him from the grief of missing his
family.

> ~Author Unknown, but much appreciated

This quick video is worth looking at..........turn on sound!

http://videos.komando.com/2010/03/11/

How cute can they get!

Manufacturer expands recall of chicken-flavored pet food over salmonella concerns

AP                     March 9th, 2010 Manufacturer expands pet food recall

LINCOLN, Neb. — Nature’s Variety has expanded its recall of chicken-flavored pet food because of concerns over salmonella.
The Lincoln, Neb.-based company said Monday that the raw, frozen food is being recalled because it could be contaminated with salmonella.
The recall includes three-pound packages of chicken medallions, six-pound packages of chicken patties and two-pound packages of chicken chubs.
Initially, the company recalled only packages with a best-by date of Nov. 10, 2010. Now packages with best-by dates of Oct. 29 and Nov. 9, 2010, are also being recalled.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections, especially in young children, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems. Pets can also become ill if they consume the bacteria.

     Nature’s Variety: http://www.naturesvariety/

Pet Loss Poem and 10 Tips Helping With Pet Loss Link

She is Gone .........In Honor of Lola, My Chocolate Lab!

You can shed tears that she is gone
or you can smile because she has lived.
You can close your eyes and pray that she'll come back
or you can open your eyes and see all she's left.
Your heart can be empty because you can't see her
or you can be full of the love you shared.
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.
You can remember her and only that she's gone
or you can cherish her memory and let it live on.
You can cry and close your mind, be empty and turn your back
or you can do what she'd want: smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

http://www.pet-loss.net/index.shtml