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HELPING HANDHelping Hand Below I have included information and links for Rescue Organizations, Adoption Webites and ways that you can help. Rescue Organizations Below are a few Organizations that I support. These Organizations help dogs all of the Country and you can help too.
Pin Ups For Pitbulls Pin Ups for Pitbulls is a great organization helping pitbulls all over the Country. The sponsor pitbulls in need and help them find their forever homes. Every year they sell a Calendar with beautiful Pit Bull loving woman and their dogs to help raise money for their cause. To learn more, or order your calendar, visit their website. Get the 2010 Calendar today! The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals The ASPCA website shares a lot of current animal news and rescue stories. The ASPCA is involved in most of the Puppy Mill, Dog Fighting, and animal cruelty investigations. I am on this website everyday reading the current news stories and animal advice. Sign up for their newsletter to receive updates on recent rescues and relevant animal advice for the season. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Adoption Below is Ringo, he is a 6 year pitbull mix that has been looking for a forever home! Visit the Baypath Humane Society website below if you would like to know more about him.
Please think about adoption before going to a breeder or personal sale. A lot of people are uncertain about shelter dogs like they have some sort of disability or something. This could not be further from the truth. A lot of the dogs especially at pitbull rescues are purebred and well tempered. Yes, some may need a little guidance and training, but no matter where you get a puppy, you have to work with them. A respected shelter or rescue will evaluate each dog. Those dogs that need special attention or care due to their past history or lack of obedience will only be placed in experienced homes.
My dogs are perfect examples. My female pitbull that I rescued from a Shelter, was found in downtown Hartford, CT. She is the sweetest, cuddliest dog I have. She is the first to curl up next to and she is very low maintenance. Two of my male pitbulls that I have had since they were puppies are a different story. My first guy is super jealous since he used to be the only one. He antagonizes the other dogs and constantly pushes my buttons. The other one is food and resource aggressive. He has started a couple fights with the other dogs that came too close to his toys or treats. I am constantly on guard with him and can only let him play with toys alone. Then there the fourth guy who came from complete neglect. He was a stud dog, that was kept in his crate in a dark cold basement for the first 2.5 yrs of his life. All he cares about know is human affection. He wants to lick you and be near you all of the time. He is very low maintenance and only requests your presence. However, he can’t be near any other dog besides his family or he snaps. He also barks aggressively when dogs walk by and at some of my husband’s friends if he doesn’t know them. Below is my dog Penny at the Pound and before we took her in. I couldn't resist that little face. Dogs just like Penny get put down everyday. Adoption helps reduce those massive numbers.
Every dog has their own personality and many rescue dogs are the most appreciative, just looking for a family. No dog is perfect. The goal is to understand your dog, protect them from harm both from other and by themselves and educate yourself on behavior modification when necessary. Education includes alternate plans for failed behavior modifications. If you are not able to modify a behavior, you must learn to manage the behavior. Dogs can be a handful and sometimes stressful, but I would never sacrifice the joy that they bring in my life. Petfinder is the perfect place to start looking for a puppy or dog. The majority of the listings are shelters. You can search for exact criteria to make it very simple. Do a web search for local shelters, rescues or dog adoption. Make a list of all local shelters and rescues. If you do not find what you are looking for right away, check each website frequently. Visit any location that is close by or any dog that you may be interested in. Once you visit a shelter and interact with the available dogs, you will never know what hidden gems you are missing. Please make sure your home is accepting of any type of animal you look for. If you are looking to adopt a pitbull, you either need to own a home or have approval from your landlord. Some states require special insurance for pitbulls and other large breeds. For example, in Massachusetts, only one insurance carrier will cover home owners with certain dogs. I had to switch insurance companies which cost me about $300 more a year in Home Owners Insurance. Please make sure you know all of the responsibilities and you are willing to accept them. Visit Petfinder.com to find dogs and puppies in your area that are searching for their forever home. Other Donation Opportunities Pet Smart has a few different charities that you can donate today. Click on the link below and you can donate to their general fund, spay/neuter program, rescue waggin or even make a donation in memory of your dog that has passed. They also run a program called Luv-A-Pet. You can purchase holiday gifts for your animal and 25% of all sales help homeless animals.
PetSmart Charities - Help Homeless Animals Today Piglet - Rescued Bait Dog Please read her story and click on her picture to learn more about how you can help. About 2 months ago I found this sweet lil bull with the saddest eyes on petfinder at a shelter an hour away. When I got there I found out she was in bad shape and had to argue my way into a back room for authorized personnel only they called the red room;just to see her. The shelter said she was a bait dog and she was not doing well. I'm not saying she was; that's just what I was told. When I finally got back there they wouldn't let me in her cage other out of it. She was in really bad shape and needed medical attention badly.She couldn't put any weight on her front leg and was whimpering and whining.She was all scarred up, had some missing teeth, a broken offK9to the gum, a ripped ear, a broken tail and she was emaciated as well(especially the back half of her). She hobbled over towards meon3legs and started licking my hand through the cage and wagged her tail the best she could. Her leg was twice the size of her others and was an oozing bloody mess. I could see she was a very sweet dog and I couldn't let her suffer and die. To make a long story short I knew she was going to be euthanize and she needed medical attention badly; so I contacted a small private rescue and we fought with the shelter fora week to get her out of there and to a vet. They wouldn't even release her for a couple hours to the rescue so we could get her to a vet and stated she couldn't leave until she was spayed. The guy who runs the rescue had all his paper work to prove he was a legitimate nonprofit rescue. So they eventually spayed her and a week later she was living with me. I was supposed to be fostering herand totally fell in love with her.She is such a well trained, sweetand loyal little girl that I'm finding a new place to live just so I cankeep her.Good thing I fell in love with her because the guy at therescue has flaked on me after realizing the costs associated withthis dogs treatment. She was definitely used and abused because she wasvery hand shy with me when first got her but I have gained her trust butshe still doesn't trust strangers until she knows they aren't a threat.She also had something tied around her good front arm that left areally deep and nasty scar that goes around the whole arm(looks likea skin bracelet).She is an amazing dog though. She's been through somuch an dis just the sweetest and most loyal dog! This breed ingeneral just seems so loyal to its little pack. Here's myproblem. She has a severe bone infection (osteomyelitis) and I've beento different vets with her almost every 3 days since I got her gettingcultures,needle aspirations, xrays, blood tests, etc... After 2 weekson Baytril and NSAIDS and no progress my vet didn't know what to do withher leg and said it was the nastiest looking x ray he's seen that didn'tinvolve a bone tumor. He recommended me to an orthopedic surgeon whoalso said her xray was absolutely horrible and thought she may of hadbone cancer.Thankfully the needle aspiration proved she didn't havebone cancer. He basically said he needs to do a bone biopsy and removethe dead sequestered bone and pack the wound with antibiotic lacedpacking.The problem is he gave me an estimate of$ 2300-2800!!!!!!!! Ican't afford it. So we decided to temporarily pump her full ofantibiotics(twice the Baytril and a ton of Clindamycin) and see what anew xray shows in a month. She is doing a little better now that she'son so much antibiotics but still has really bad days; every couple daysshe can't put any weight on it and tries to hobble around all day withher bum leg in the air. Other days she's prancing around like a happylil bull (I stop her from running any time I see it). But she keepsdoing good for a few days and then has a horrible one and it takes acouple days to get back to where she was before and it happens again.I'm already spending about $ 500 a month just on her meds and havealready spent at least $ 2thousand on her treatment so far. Please helpme save Piglet's leg! She has lived a hard life and deserves to live therest of her life peacefully.
Pitbulls and Parolees Pitbulls and Parolees is a reality TV show on the Villalabos Rescue Center in California. View the link below for the shows TV schedule. The Rescue Center holds over 200 pitbulls, saving them from abuse and life on the streets. I know the expense of four pitbulls, so I can only imagine hoe much it costs to have 200. They need support from other pitbull Owners and lovers to continue their mission. I recently donated and received a lovely thank you picture including one of their rescued pitbulls. There are thousands of organizations out there that need donations. Find one that you respect and help. Local Rescues If you are interested in helping a rescue organization or animal shelter, you can donate money online, donate supplies to a local shelter or even volunteer your time. Local animal shelters are always looking for volunteers, even trustworthy people to take the dogs for a walk. Visit the shelter or view their website for a list of items that they are in need of including food, blankets, leashes, etc. Also, local shelters often inform you of individual rescue cases including dogs that were in accidents, abused or were born with birth defects, all of which need surgery. The shelter asks for donations to help pay for the surgery. It is really nice to know how you are helping. Some shelter even send you a thank you with an update or photo. Find local rescues in your area by searching the web or asking around. I live in Massachusetts and I support the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Pittie Love Rescue and Baypath Humane Society. My dog Penny came from Baypath Humane Society that I have also fostered for. I personally like this shelter because they try to save dogs from high kill shelters and bring them to their facility. Every year they do a fundraiser called Bark in Park which is a fun walk for Owners and their Dogs and helps raise money to support their animals. Pittie Love Rescue is also based in Massachusetts and is a Foster rescue program. All of their dogs are in foster homes instead of a shelter. Fostering is a great way you can help. If you have the ability to provide a dog a safe home look into fostering. If you already have a dog that is good with other dogs but are not sure if you could handle a second one, fostering is a good program. Provide a dog a temporary home and food. The rescue takes care of all other expenses especially medical. Even if you needed help with food, the shelter can provide it. All you really need is a home and the desire to help a homeless animal. It's that easy! Pittie Love Rescue needs monetary donations as well to keep their mission going. Check out the link below. The MSPCA is similar to the ASPCA, helping all types of animals. They take in a lot of surrendered animals if families can no longer care for them and they will typically take in the animals from local abuse cases. I like to read their website for the recent success stories of their rescues and also updates on the punishments for those that have abused animals. The MSCPA has a a Cruelty Prevention Program and will take any anonymous information of cruelty or neglect. Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Humane Mouse Trap My sensitivity in life is animals and recently I had the WORST experience with glue rodent trap pads. These should be against the law. Poison and slap traps are more humane. The disturbing image of a little squealing mouse stuck to a pad is unforgettable. Fortunately I was able to release the mouse with some Olive Oil. Don't ever put yourself through that. If you visits a store that carries these products please do your part by requesting that they stop selling these torture traps. Also, a pest control guy told me that the mice struggle to get off and quickly die of a heart attack. This is a lie. They continue to struggle for 24 - 48 hrs or they pull off their own skin, fur and LEGS to release themselves. I told you they were disturbing! Please buy a humane mouse trap. They are cheap and last forever. These are the only humane means to catching a mouse. However, they need to be checked daily (every morning is best) because if you do catch a mouse, you want to release it before it dies. Click on the picture of the trap below to buy one today.
Lost Pet Losing a pet is extremely stressful and sometimes heartbreaking. Be a responsible Owner and take all of the necessary precautions to avoid this situation. Below is a list of necessary precautions: • Licensing – Make sure your dog is properly licensed in your Town/City. Most places require all dogs to be licensed which needs to be renewed EVERY YEAR. If your dog get loose and is picked up by Animal Control, proper identification on their collars will bring them back to you sooner. Also, if your dog is not registered, you are most likely paying a fine. • Collar & Tags – You dog should wear his/her collar at all times. All appropriate tags need to be on the collar to be helpful: Rabies Vaccination, License, and informational tag showing address and contact phone number. Also, although it is not the law, Spay/Neuter your dog if you are not a professional breeder. • Micro Chip – Almost every Animal Control Officer, Shelter, or Veterinarian has the capability to scan animals for a Micro Chip. It is common practice to scan stray animals immediately, which means a faster reunion. • Leash – No matter how well trained your dog is, keep them on a leash at all times outside of your home or fenced in yard. Save yourself the stress of your dog running off. Personally, I bring my two of my dogs with me every morning for a coffee run. From the front door to the car is only 10 feet. I use to let them follow me out and hop into the car for a quick ride. One morning, I did my normal routine: looked out the window to see if any neighbors were walking their dog, opened my front door and let the dogs go to the car door. With-in seconds, I see an older gentleman walking two small black dogs. I was able to grab one dog, but the other ran off. Luckily, I yelled his name loud enough to startle him and stopped at the end of the driveway. By then, the older gentleman’s heart was pounding in his chest and I was completely mortified that I didn’t have my dogs under control. It takes second to put a leash on, and it is worth it. One loud startling noise could make any dog run and hide in fear. Protect your dog and yourself by always using a leash. • Security – Before leaving your dog unsupervised behind a fence or on a run, inspect the surroundings. Make sure the gates are actually shut and locked so that no one can enter or open the gate who is not authorized. Also, this seems like common sense, but make sure your dog is not able to jump over the fence! I have friends that use to look out their front window and see their dog laying on the front lawn, when they were supposed to be in the backyard behind a 4ft fence. If your dog can jump, get at least a 6ft fence. Every section of your yard and fence should be inspected prior to the first time you leave your dog unsupervised. Make sure there are no holes under the fence, small gaps or fence sections that can be pushed aside. I have a large kennel in my back yard and sometimes I will leave one dog in the kennel and one dog in the open backyard so that they are never left together when I am not around. I came home one afternoon to my two dogs, covered in mud and out of breath. The dog in the kennel got out between the post and an unsecured fence section. It is so important that you take time to go through the entire yard and think of sneaky exit strategies. Dogs are smart! If your dog is left on a run, please please please make sure it is safe. The dog should never be able to go up or down elevations. There are circumstances were dogs can hang themselves. Make sure your dog is provided with proper weather protection. If they are stuck on a run with limited movement, they should be able to get protection in rain or snow. If the weather is not ideal, please keep your pets indoors for their safety. For those of you that use an electric fence…….SPEND THE MONEY ON AN ACTUAL FENCE OR APPROPRIATELY SIZED KENNEL if the dog is going to spend time outside unsupervised. Not only do you scare the crap out of stranger walking by that don’t know the fence is in place, but there is no certainty that your dog will not run through it, if they want to. Just because it is cheap, doesn’t justify that you are willing to shock your dog. I know a lot of people disagree; this is simply my opinion. If your dog does run away or gets out somehow, call your local Animal Control right away. They are there to help you. Keep the number in your cell phone for emergencies. Anyone else that may see your dog, will hopefully call the Police Department which is typically directly affiliate with Animal Control. Also, worst case scenario, if your dog was injured and/or hit by a car, the Animal Control Officer responds to all of these cases. If Animal Control has not picked up your dog, contact local shelters and Veterinarian Offices. Post flyers and provide the shelter and Veterinarian Offices with photos of your dog. Please note, that the Animal Control Officer is very powerful. Typically, they have the final say on what happens to your beloved pet. Be respectful and friendly and treat them as you would treat your family. Even though they may seem uptight or “out to get you” they probably are not. If you own a dog, the Animal Control Officer is one person that you want to make friends with. Just a little helpful advice. |
