Speed Petting sessions to find your ideal animalA London store has introduced a unique new way for people to meet their next pet, giving credence to the notion that Brits love their animal friends more than their partners.
Adopt-A-Pet: Sophie and Dora
This week?s pets are Sophie and Dora. Sophie is a sweet purebred Finnish Lapphund, whose previous owner passed away. Dora is a 4-year-old black domestic longhaired that likes to ?talk.? Her owner also passed away. To adopt either of these pets, contact Animal Friends of the Valleys at 674-0618 and ask for intake number 122314 for Sophie or 122411 for Dora.
?Furry Friends Kids Camp?
Animal Friends of the Valleys (AFV) will hold a Furry Friends Kids? Camp for ages 8 to 13 the week of April 11 to 15. Kids will learn proper pet care/responsibility and bite prevention, as well as interact with the shelter animals, brush and walk the dogs, make crafts and more. Sessions are Monday through Friday, 11 am to 2 pm Cost is $60 per child, on a first come, first served basis. For more information, contact 775-3204.
Half-price for seniors
At the Animal Friends of the Valleys, adoptions are half off every day for seniors (age 60-plus) who adopt senior pets (age 5-plus). AFV needs canned food for puppies, kittens and older dogs and cats that are being brought to the shelter in high numbers.
Residents can help save animals that would otherwise be put down by providing temporary housing. Information regarding the foster program, including an application and guidelines, can be found at the website.
AFV serves Canyon Lake and surrounding areas, offering animals for adoption as well as providing animal control services. The shelter is located at 33751 Mission Trail in Wildomar and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 am to 4 pm For more information, visit animalfriendsofthevalleys.com or call 471-8344.
Published April 21, 2011, 10:07 AM
Animal shelter’s plans progressing; funding, volunteers needed
Plans for a new home to care for, feed and shelter homeless, abused and neglected dogs and cats – continues to be a work in progress, according to the group called the St. Croix Animal Friends.
This beautiful, white German Shepherd is listed by the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter as friendly and scared. Shes a young dog and could really use a new home. Call the shelter at 770-339-3200 to inquire about adopting her.
Gwinnett County Animal Shelter
Animal Friends Humane Society has been through a lot since moving to our new location two years ago. Weve battled flooding, freezing weather, and extreme heat and humidity. We also found ourselves with 15 dogs suffering with heartworms. We could not have survived if not for the generosity and kindness you have shown.
We, like all not-for-profit organizations, have been drastically affected by the economic troubles facing all of the United States. We are facing a crisis and we need your help now more than ever.
Whenever we find ourselves with an obstacle to overcome, we remind ourselves that we do what we do for the animals.” The animals that we are dedicated to nurture and love here at the shelter, require daily care — no exceptions.
If the weather is horrible or some of the volunteers dont show or its a holiday — the animals are still there and they still need to be fed and cared for.
This means more than 120 pounds of food a day for more than 100 dogs, 20 cats, and 35 (and counting) rabbits as well as the manpower to feed, give fresh water, clean kennels and litter boxes, walk all of the dogs, and so much more that needs to be done everyday.
We have a bare-bones staff that regularly goes above and beyond their must do duties, and a payroll to meet for them that is getting more and more difficult to do.
We at Animal Friends, pride ourselves on being frugal and maximizing our resources. We have wonderful volunteers and our thrift store is now up and running on a daily basis. Adoptions continue with many animals finding themselves with a loving family and a forever home.
We have much to be optimistic about and feel that this shelter is providing a tremendous service to the communities in and around San Antonio, not to mention the individual animals rescued from abuse, abandonment, painful illnesses, loneliness, and certain death.
They know and you can see it in their eyes. We even have had one dog that would escape from his owners and sit at the gate each morning, howling to get in here in time for breakfast.
Finally, your help is needed immediately. No amount is too small, or for that matter, too large. And every penny is appreciated beyond words. Donations can be mailed to the address below, made through the website, www.animalfriends4ever.org, or taken out to the shelter on 213 W. Borgfeld Road.
Thank you so much for your continued loyalty and generosity. And please be sure to stop by and check out the thrift store and see how much we have grown. Gently used items that can be re-sold are always appreciated.
Paw prints in the sand in Fukushima. Photo courtesy of Animal Friends Niigata.
7:03pm | Fires, floods, weird weather, earthquakes, a tsunami and
what may be soon considered the worst nuclear disaster in history? We briefly
entertained the notion of building an ark but scotched the idea because you?re
only allowed to save two of each nonhuman species.
Animal rescuer
Isabella Gallaon-Aoki, founder
News
Patch Pets: Meet Otis
This week Animal Friends in Ohio Township brings us a Miniature Pinscher in need of a permanent home.
April 22, 2011
City Connection: Be aware rattlesnakes can show up in area yards
Rattlesnake season is here, though the reptiles will make every effort to avoid human contact, according to Animal Friends of the Valleys (AFV), which says most home or in-yard encounters are the result of snakes following their prey into residential yards.
Rattlesnakes can be found in rock piles, woodpiles, shady areas (when the temperatures are extreme) or sunning themselves on warm roads, rocks and concrete. For humans, the key is situational awareness. For protection, snakes usually follow a solid surface such as block walls, curbs or gutters and the foundations around homes. Snake proofing is key in stopping these encounters:
? Remove all piled rocks, wood and debris.
? Apply wire mesh around all areas where snakes can hide, such as under spas, barbecues and yard ornaments. Wire must be ¼-in. mesh or smaller.
? Do not step or put hands into crevices or hidden spaces.
? Do not turn over rocks or wood with bare hands ? use a tool.
Though uncommon, rattlesnake bites do occur and, unlike the movies, most are not fatal. The first thing to do is stay calm and get to a doctor or call 911. Generally, the most serious effect of a bite on an adult is local tissue damage, which needs to be treated.
Because children are smaller, bites can be more serious. Do not ice the bite area. Do not attempt to suck out the venom. Do not apply a tourniquet or elevate the bite area. Get to a doctor safely as soon as possible. If possible, have someone drive while you call 911. For more information on snakebites, research the California Poison Control website. (For first aid information, visit mayoclinic.com/health/first-aid.)
The rattlesnake?s role as an important link in the food chain far outweighs its potential danger to humans. In fact, rodent-borne diseases are probably controlled to a great extent by rattlesnakes and other predators. Offer them respect, observe them from a distance and then leave them to perform their valuable ecological function. The only good snake is a live snake. ?Remember we moved in on their territory,? says AFV.
Additionally, Animal Friends of the Valleys would like to make pet owners aware that there is now a rattlesnake vaccine available for pets. It requires two initial vaccines, that are administered three to four weeks apart, and then an annual booster is required. One?s own veterinarian can administer the vaccines. AFV offers this vaccine for $12 at their low cost vaccination clinic the third Saturday of every month, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm at the Lake Elsinore City Park.
This beautiful, white German Shepherd is listed by the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter as friendly and scared. Shes a young dog and could really use a new home. Call the shelter at 770-339-3200 to inquire about adopting her.
Gwinnett County Animal Shelter
MIYAKO, Japan — The dog had been left tied up in a yard in Fukushima, the largely emptied city synonymous with the words “nuclear disaster.”
Despite the threat of radiation leaking from the nuclear plant 64 kilometres away, Toby Weymiller, a teacher who got the distress call from the shelter Animal Friends Niigata, drove to the city and rescued the dog and a stranded cat.
“The dog was really freaked out,” said Weymiller, who downplayed any danger to his own health. “But he’s in the shelter and happy now.”
Weeks after Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, a loose network of pet groups is working to provide many of the services for stranded and stressed animals that emergency services have been providing for people, including food, medicine and shelter.
Some question why scarce resources should be devoted to saving animals when gas shortages are endemic and human beings have so many needs. Their response: the welfare of animals and people are often integrally linked.
“Many people are very anxious, having lost their houses and most everything else,” said Kazumasu Sasaki, a veterinarian who has been travelling to hard-hit communities around Sendai with donated pet food and animal medicine. “One way to take care of anxious people is to take care of their pets.”
Some pet owners went to great lengths during the tsunami to save their animals. Ofunato resident Atsuko Oikawa was helping her mother-in-law into their car when the earthquake hit, and their two beloved miniature dachshunds ran off toward the port and the killer wave.
She found Carlos, but Ghosn — the two are named after Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn — couldn’t be found despite frantic searching. As the wave approached, she reluctantly headed for the hills with her husband, but there was a hole in their hearts over the missing dog, she said.
A week later, however, in what she considers a near-miracle, they received word from the police that Ghosn had not only survived, but was in good shape. He had been found far inland near a beach sign, and the Oikawas speculate that he may have ridden the wave in.
“Maybe he rode on it, a surfing dog, perhaps,” said Oikawa’s husband, Yuki. “We’re so incredibly happy to get him back.”
For the pet lovers in Japan who saved their animals, however, that was often just the first step.
The growing tension between pet owners and others in temporary shelters has forced some to keep surviving animals in their cars or tied up alone in the cold, Sasaki said, compounding the animals’ stress.
Historically in Japan, animals that didn’t hunt, guard the house or kill pests were seen as a luxury in a society that for centuries produced barely enough to feed itself, animal specialists said.
Economic conditions have changed, however, and cats and small dogs are increasingly common for companionship and even fashion accessories, with a booming market in designer dog clothing and even animal funerals.
Still, outside big cities, tradition runs deep. “And the Tohoku area where the earthquake hit has more traditional views than elsewhere, particularly among older men,” Sasaki said.