Animal Relocation Initiative

My dog Chihiro was born in Arkansas. It might have been a bit of a head-scratcher how a young puppy made it across several states in order to be adopted from a shelter in the Washington, DC area before she turned four months old. I wasn’t perplexed, however, because before I even found my dog I was already familiar with the concept of rescue transport. When I lived in Baltimore I roomed for a while with a friend who loves Dachshunds. She adores the breed so much that she’s very active with the Coast to Coast Dachshund rescue group. One … Continue reading

Animal Victories in 2010

As we close out 2010, let’s look at some great end of the year news for animals. The ASPCA has released a list of their legislative victories from the past year. The majority of the laws passed are by individual state governments, but there was one successful federal bill signed into law by President Obama on December 9. In April animal rights received a blow when the Supreme Court invalidated an 11-year-old law called The Crush Act. The act banned videos depicting the sick practice of crushing; the name itself refers to when a woman in high heels would step … Continue reading

Faith: This Week’s ASPCA Featured Dog for Adopt-a-Dog Month

Have you seen the two-legged dog named Faith who walks everywhere on her hind legs? (If not, YouTube has Faith videos galore which you can watch by clicking here. Or visit her website.) My friend Brenda first introduced me to Faith when she sent me an email with pictures of Faith accompanied by “his” story. (Faith is actually a girl. And belongs to an American family from Edmond, Oklahoma. But there’s a lot of Chinese writing on the pictures in the email. I’m thinking somehow they’ve been passed around a time or two, something got lost in translation somewhere along … Continue reading

Using the ASPCA’s Personality Matcher to Adopt a Pet

The other day I was cruising around the ASPCA’s website looking for information about pet adoption when I stumbled across their Meet Your Match (MYM) Canine-ality, Puppy-ality, and Feline-ality assessment tool. “What the heck is that?” you might be asking. (I did when I first read about it.) It’s a great question. (And I’m not just saying that because I asked it too.) The Meet Your Match Program It might be the face, the eyes, or even the shiny coat that first attracts you to a certain dog or cat, but as any animal lover knows, pets have personalities too. … Continue reading

No Cost Ways to Donate to the ASPCA

Because I donate to the ASPCA, I get lots of literature from them. Many times it’s via email or accompanies donation request forms. Two things in recent such distributions have really stood out at me. Maybe you’ve seen them too if you’re an ASPCA supporter. (Or maybe you haven’t. Sometimes I don’t always read their emails as closely as I should.) If you aren’t a supporter, maybe you’ll be inspired to become one once you see these easy, fun options for doing so. Help the ASPCA by Spending Just a Little Time on the Internet • Register with AnimalAttraction.com and … Continue reading

More Puppy Mill Busts in the News

The Humane Society of the United States has been working with state and local officials to cut away at the nationwide network of puppy mills. Animal control officials in Independence, Virginia, sized twenty puppies from a suspected puppy mill. The officer in charge of the seizure said that the conditions were deplorable — puppies were malnourished and suffering from parasites. Another suspected puppy mill in Honey Brook, Pennsylvania lost twenty-four dogs to a local SPCA shelter. Workers suspected that there had been more dogs at the puppy mill, but that they had been removed before the raid. The dogs who … Continue reading

Puppy Mill Bust in Virginia

Hillsville, Virginia was declared a disaster area in early November. Why? County officials had seized more than a thousand dogs from a mass breeding farm (also known as a puppy mill) on November 2nd. The initial count went up after a few more litters were delivered, leaving Carroll County, Virginia with more than 1100 dogs on their hands. The Humane Society of the United States spent five months working undercover at Horton’s Pups before asking county animal control officers to take action. The breeding farm is thought to be the largest puppy mill ever. The operation sold purebred dogs to … Continue reading

79 Animal Rights, Welfare, and Service Organizations Worthy of Your Donations

Using ratings generated by Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy, I’ve compiled a list of the top-rated animal rights, welfare, and service-related charities. These are ones that scored either four stars from Charity Navigator (their highest rating) or As from the American Institute of Philanthropy. Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy evaluate “the financial health” of non-profit organizations to determine which ones are using their money most effectively. What this means to you is that you can rest assured your donation dollars are being well utilized for the cause they were intended. Charities are listed in … Continue reading

Pet Projects: Make a Video, Write a Story, Nominate a Hero

Recently I put together a compilation of cool pet and/or animal related sites that people had shared with me. Below is another compilation of sorts, but these tips were not passed on to me by fellow Families.com members. Instead, these are ones I came across at random and thought you, my fellow pet lovers, would enjoy learning about if you haven’t already stumbled across them yourselves. 2007 ASPCA Humane Awards The ASPCA wants to know who your heroes are –both human and animal. Know a cat or dog who performed a heroic act? What about a law enforcement officer or … Continue reading

Get Your Orange On: ASPCA Day!

I’m in a little bit of a pickle. Today is the ASPCA’s 141st birthday and they’re celebrating it with what I’m calling an “Orange Campaign.” They’re encouraging everyone to help them spread awareness and show support by donning as much orange as possible. I’m not sure why orange. I believe because it’s the organization’s colors, but I couldn’t find anything to confirm that. I don’t have a lick of orange in my wardrobe. (Something that most Tennesseans do own, thanks to the Vols. However, I’m not from this area originally as we only moved here in 2005, nor am I … Continue reading