I just ordered a pet safety pack from the ASPCA. I learned about it from The Pet Place, from which I receive a newsletter almost every day--a fun newsletter that often contains links to cute YouTube posts and other sites with animal clips.
As to the pet safety pack, I’m certain that all my neighbors know I’ve got pups in the house, but the pack contains some stuff to inform emergency responders about who’s inside.
I already contribute to a number of pet and wildlife rescue organizations, and I’m sure this will put me on another ASPCA list besides the one I’m already on. That’s fine. I enjoy hearing from all the organizations, although I can’t possibly contribute to every one each time I hear from them. I have fun, though, with the return address labels, notecards, calendars and other gifts I get from them that encourage me to contribute even more--which is, of course, their point.
Do those of you who have other kinds of interests and hobbies hear often from the organizations that support your activities? What kinds of information do you receive?
Oh, and by the way, today I thumbed through a catalogue of Bonhams February dog art auction: The Dog Sale. Adorable! And potentially very expensive, some pieces with very high reserve prices. Of course I loved the items depicting King Charles Spaniels, created in a lot of different historical eras, but there were all sorts of dogs represented. Even nicer, they’re holding a Barkfest--a celebration of the dog in art--at the Bonhams Charity Brunch to benefit the AKC Humane Fund.
I’ll bark to that!
--Linda
Showing posts with label ASPCA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASPCA. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Thursday, November 20, 2008
More Controversy
Not! For my last couple of posts, I wound up getting into areas where there were differences of opinion. Of course my opinion is what really counted (hah!) but I decided to blog about something non-controversial this week.
Guess what I came up with. Not a lot!
I’m not really the kind of person who goes out looking for an argument. But most of the topics I came up with can have more than one side--even when related to lovable animals.
For one thing, I keep hearing about all the poor pets who are the unsung victims of the current economic crisis. Now, that’s something I can get weepy about--people who have to give up not only their homes because of foreclosures, but their beloved pets, too. And there aren’t enough people out there to adopt the poor abandoned babies. The controversy there? How’d we get in this situation in the first place? And what’s happening to the pets who don’t find a home?
Okay, here’s something I care about that came up over the past week that’s a terrible shame: the California wildfires. Lots of people lost their homes. I haven’t heard anyone mention much about the loss of wildlife. At least there are a lot of organizations out there extending helping hands, to both people and pets. Some places offered shelters for animals whose owners had to take refuge in evacuation facilities during the fires and others are helping to supply food to pets whose owners have lost their homes. I Googled the California wildfires and pets and came up with a lot of them. There was an excellent article on dogchannel.com, for example--and some of the organizations included Petco, PetSmart, the ASPCA, the Red Cross, the American Kennel Club and the California Federation of Dog Clubs. I applaud them all!
Okay--the fires were absolutely terrible, but the help that’s been extended as a result? No controversy there!
And another good thing? I’m well underway in my first draft of my next Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery.
So maybe this post isn’t so bad after all.
--Linda
Guess what I came up with. Not a lot!
I’m not really the kind of person who goes out looking for an argument. But most of the topics I came up with can have more than one side--even when related to lovable animals.
For one thing, I keep hearing about all the poor pets who are the unsung victims of the current economic crisis. Now, that’s something I can get weepy about--people who have to give up not only their homes because of foreclosures, but their beloved pets, too. And there aren’t enough people out there to adopt the poor abandoned babies. The controversy there? How’d we get in this situation in the first place? And what’s happening to the pets who don’t find a home?
Okay, here’s something I care about that came up over the past week that’s a terrible shame: the California wildfires. Lots of people lost their homes. I haven’t heard anyone mention much about the loss of wildlife. At least there are a lot of organizations out there extending helping hands, to both people and pets. Some places offered shelters for animals whose owners had to take refuge in evacuation facilities during the fires and others are helping to supply food to pets whose owners have lost their homes. I Googled the California wildfires and pets and came up with a lot of them. There was an excellent article on dogchannel.com, for example--and some of the organizations included Petco, PetSmart, the ASPCA, the Red Cross, the American Kennel Club and the California Federation of Dog Clubs. I applaud them all!
Okay--the fires were absolutely terrible, but the help that’s been extended as a result? No controversy there!
And another good thing? I’m well underway in my first draft of my next Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery.
So maybe this post isn’t so bad after all.
--Linda
Friday, February 29, 2008
Charlene
I know it’s not my usual “beat” to blog about pets, but I wanted to mention that it’s been a very sad week, because my oldest cat passed away. Her name was Charlene.
She had cancer, and was beginning to have physical difficulties that interfered with comfortable living. I made the difficult decision to have her “put to sleep” by a veterinarian. Even though it was a peaceful, quiet passing, I felt terrible about it.
Before taking her in for the procedure, I called the ASPCA, which has an 800 number that connects you to an animal psychologist. I expected to get a voicemail because it was the weekend, so I was amazed when the psychologist answered the line. She spoke with me about end-of-life management issues for animals, and reassured me that I was doing the right thing for my pet by letting her pass away without undue suffering. She also mentioned that I should stay her until the end. This was very hard to do, but I’m glad I did.
Yesterday, I was touched to receive a sympathy card from the veterinarian about the loss of Charlene. She said that I had made the best decision for my pet.
I found this picture of cats silhouetted against a sunset, with a cosmos of hanging toys to bat around. It made me hope that there’s really a rainbow bridge, and that Charlene and I will meet again someday. She was a good kitty.
She had cancer, and was beginning to have physical difficulties that interfered with comfortable living. I made the difficult decision to have her “put to sleep” by a veterinarian. Even though it was a peaceful, quiet passing, I felt terrible about it.
Before taking her in for the procedure, I called the ASPCA, which has an 800 number that connects you to an animal psychologist. I expected to get a voicemail because it was the weekend, so I was amazed when the psychologist answered the line. She spoke with me about end-of-life management issues for animals, and reassured me that I was doing the right thing for my pet by letting her pass away without undue suffering. She also mentioned that I should stay her until the end. This was very hard to do, but I’m glad I did.
Yesterday, I was touched to receive a sympathy card from the veterinarian about the loss of Charlene. She said that I had made the best decision for my pet.
I found this picture of cats silhouetted against a sunset, with a cosmos of hanging toys to bat around. It made me hope that there’s really a rainbow bridge, and that Charlene and I will meet again someday. She was a good kitty.
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