Send an e-card to feed hungry animals

I love the idea behind Freekibble. Just by answer a daily multiple choice trivia question on the site and 10 pieces of kibble will be donated to one of 14 shelters around the country. The Bow Wow Trivia question feeds dogs and Meow Trivia feeds cats; you can (and should) answer them both.

And now you can help spread the word about this great program with Freekibble's Happy New Year e-card. Or send a Happy Birthday card or one to just say Hi.

All the cards are free & all the dogs and cats are grateful.

Hero dog of the day: Esperanza

The Winnipeg Free Press reports that Esperanza, a badly injured stray shepherd mix, was found in Alberta, Canada, nursing four puppies --and a kitten named Jacob! WFP quoted Criss Gerwin, who heads up an animal rescue: "I cried because she was in such bad condition with her leg, but she was obviously nursing her puppies and this kitten."

Esperanza ("hope" in Spanish) had been hit by a car and vets at the Edmonton Humane Society feared they'd have to amputate one of her legs. But hero vet Dr. Milton Ness volunteered to operate and was able to save it.

From the WFP: "The devoted mother is recovering well. She and her pups will go into foster care after the holidays until permanent homes can be found for them. But the humane society ideally would like Esperanza and Jacob to be adopted together."

What can't dogs do?

A beautiful border collie named Chaser knows two thousand words--one thousand at the time of this video from 2009. She's also beautiful and sweet--and clearly loved much loved by her guardian.

Disregard everything I've said

You know how I said it's easy (ish) to let a foster dog go? I was wrong.

Ellie Mae went back to her regular foster last night and I miss her terribly. I held her little soft leg while her mom swapped out collars and I kissed her little head over and over. I am such a softie.

Folded up the crate and vacuumed. Put the toys in the bin, and they stayed there. My shoes stayed by the door, and nothing on the table was pulled by eager puppy teeth to the floor for examination.

Bella and I stretched out on the couch. Too quiet.

And Bella, who wagged her tail a total of ONCE in E Mae's direction, was bereft. Seriously, Bella? You couldn't at least make this easier by jumping for joy at all the S-P-A-C-E you have with no pesky puppy underfoot?

I got up off the couch and walked around. "Let's sleep on it," I told her, while she lay motionless on the couch looking like someone had mowed her down. "If we still feel this way on Monday, we can always adopt her."

Her foster mom Jamie was thrilled to have her home and her dog and E Mae greeted each other like long-lost pals. "I'm just going to treasure this time with her," Jamie texted me, "because I know she'll be scooped up and gone so soon."

As she should be. It's why we foster: to get dogs ready for their forever homes. But WOW, it's tough.

Love you, Ellie Mae!

Fostering in Western Pennsylvania

The website of the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society outlines why it so needs fosters:

Kittens and Puppies

Beginning in the spring, we take in many nursing mom cats and kittens, nursing mom dogs and puppies, and orphaned litters. Your love and attention will allow these babies to reach the weight they need to be spayed/neutered and adopted.

Fosters feed, comfort and socialize these little creatures. The Humane Society provides all the needed medical support, including medications.

Sick Animals

The Western PA Humane Society has isolation and treatment rooms where we treat cats and kittens with upper respiratory infections and dogs and puppies with kennel cough... Isolation space is often a challenge in our shelter when many animals get sick at the same time. Housing them with healthy animals would compromise the health of our entire shelter population. At these times foster homes are crucial to the lives of our beloved animals.

If you don't currently have a pet in your house who would be exposed to these very common & easily curable shelter illnesses (or if you can bring a different species in, say a cat if your household has a dog), you can save a life just by providing love & care for an average of 10-14 days.

Neonatal Kittens and Puppies

When kittens and puppies too young to eat on their own come into our shelter, their lives depend upon staff and volunteers who have the time, energy, expertise and emotional strength to bottle-feed these babies.

If you have time for the special care these wee ones need, the Humane Society can train you to help them.

Space

The Western PA Humane Society doesn't usually foster out healthy, adoptable dogs and cats, prefering to have them on site where visiting potential adopters can interact with them. But as an Open Door Shelter they never turn away an animal in need. As you can imagine, that leaves them pretty busy (they currently take in more than 13,000 animals a year) and space is at a premium. That's where fostering comes in.

Readers in western Pennsylvania--hope you'll consider fostering for the WPA.
Those who already do: I'd love to post about your experience, so email me!

the great outdoors

When I first adopted Bella, someone asked me what the biggest difference was between having a dog and not. And I said, "You know those lazy, cold days when you just stay in your pajamas all day and never leave the house? Those days are gone."

As it turns out, what they say is true: If you dress warmly enough, there is no such thing as bad weather.

On Christmas, Bella, Ellie Mae and I enjoyed the great outdoors with our friend Deena. I honestly, truly don't miss those never-leave-the-house days.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Let a dog run free only when you are confident she or he knows his/her name and will come back when called. Some dogs can be off-leash only in contained (eg fenced) areas.

photos by Deena. Thanks, Deena!

Why I foster: Kris Ann's story

<--Kris Ann first met Artie at the Tulsa, Oklahoma SPCA in their Jog the Dog program, through which local volunteers run or walk with shelter puppies to give everybody a good workout of mind and body.

Here's Kris Ann walking the wonderful Gretchen, another member of the shelter's Lonely Hearts Club, who recently went to her forever home. :)

the first time i walked Artie he pulled me everywhere and seemed totally disinterested in me. when I showed up at the shelter the second time he waited at the gate and ran up and down his run, and jumped on his doghouse and made this deep soulful noise, like 'when is it my turn, when is it my turn when is it my turn?' and i said hmmm i thought you didn't like me.

How could this guy dislike anybody?

----->

he is one of those dogs you may walk past if you're just browsing; he wasn't the cutest thing i have ever seen. now i rank him up there with George Clooney. i have spent time with him every time i have been there and he has stolen my heart, the more you get to know him the more his silly personality comes out, obviously i love him, and the fact that he is still a good boy despite being found running on the streets, taken home and loved for awhile and brought back makes me love him more.

Kris and her husband have two dogs already, and adopting a third just wasn't possible right now--even one as sweet and handsome as Artie. But Kris was determined to help get Artie adopted.

She knew that fostering can make the difference between a dog languishing at the shelter and going home.

I knew he needed a chance to prove he could do a good job in house after being at the shelter basicially since april 2009.

So Kris brought Artie home for Christmas thanks to Tulsa SPCA's Foster for the Holidays program. He's doing fantastically.

<----this couch is soooo much more comfortable than the ground.

it was really nice of these good people to bring a tree into the house for me. but it's really ok; it's only been a few days, but i'm used to being an inside dog already!

-------->

THANK YOU for all you do, Tulsa SPCA!!