Furry Friends Rescue Blog

It’s sometimes hard to resist the cute little puppy in that pet store window, but then you might wonder where these dogs come from?  Unfortunately, most of these dogs are bred in puppy mills across the nation.  These mills often violate significant animal cruelty laws and are only in the business of making money, not caring for animals.

There are reports and documentation of multiple animals caged together in a space so small they can’t even lay down or turn around.  These cages are often made of chicken wire on all sides and stacked up high, so the animals at the bottom are covered in filth from animals in cages above them.  These dogs often end up with deformed paws, infected cuts and wounds, and other diseases from these living conditions.  They’re bred over and over until they cannot produce anymore and then they’re either killed or dumped somewhere.

How do these mills stay in business you ask? Because people are still creating a demand for them by purchasing animals at pet stores!  These puppy mills supply pet stores all across the nation and don’t care about the health or well-being of their animals.  There is also a high chance these animals are not getting the socialization or training that young puppies need.  The first few months of a puppy’s life are the most important in their development in becoming confident and happy.

We urge you and others to help stop the cruel and inhumane treatment of these animals!  Here are ways you can help:

1) Don’t increase the demand, don’t purchase any pets from a pet store and discourage others from doing so.

2) Boycott stores that sell puppies and kittens and let them know how you feel, politely and respectfully of course!

3) Write to your elected officials!  Make them aware of what’s going on and how you feel about it. Click here to find your elected officials.

4) Take Action!  Participate in local rallies or online petitions to get your voice heard.  The Humane Society is currently campaigning to stop Petland from selling pets, click here for more information.

5) Educate others!  There is definitely a lot of information out there, pass it on and help others learn about what’s going on!

Most of the links below are listed on our Resource Page under Pet Emergency.

First Aid

Just like First Aid for humans, there is First Aid for pets too!  With access to the internet you can easily find a lot of links to learn basic First Aid to care for your furry loved one.  Just the other day mom and I heard a story on the news about how a woman’s neighbor saved her dog’s life because she knew CPR for dogs, that’s incredible and could mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.

You can even rent or buy DVDs about first aid or check out your local libraries for books!

ASPCA Pet Care and Tips

Make your own First Aid Kit for your Pet

Buy a First Aid Kit for your Pet

Pet Emergency First Aid: Dogs (2004)

Dog lovers will welcome this indispensable video that covers the basic steps to take when your four-legged best friend needs urgent medical attention for an illness or after an accident. First-aid segments include vital information about rescue breathing, choking, drowning, poisoning, shock, heatstroke, fractures, car accidents, snakebites, hypothermia, burns and more. Endorsed by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Emergency Preparedness

Another way to keep your pet safe is to BE PREPARED! Especially in an emergency.  A lot of people had to leave their animals behind when Hurricane Katrina hit or lost their animals.  It helps to be prepared and ready for anything.  If you’re trapped in your home, it can take three days before someone can reach you, so make sure you at least have plenty of water and food to last that long.  Check out the following links for materials on preparing your family and furry loved ones for an emergency.

Prepare Your Pet for An Emergency – Great list of ways to prepare!

Humane Society – Disaster Center

Ready.gov

See below for a message from the Executive Vice President of the Humane Society of the United States:

Don’t Let Costs of Veterinary Services Increase in California

Dear Concerned Citizen,

As one way of “dealing” with the current budget crisis, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recklessly proposed the Fido Fine to extend the sales tax to veterinary services.

The Governor just released his 2009-2010 budget proposal, and he hasn’t dropped the
Fido Fine. If the Governor gets his way, the cost of veterinary care for all animals in California, including those in families, on farms and in shelters, would go up by as much as 10%.

TAKE ACTION
Please make a brief, polite phone call to Governor Schwarzenegger at 916-445-2841 to urge him to drop the Fido Fine from the 2009-2010 budget proposal. When you call, please select your language choice and then press 5 to leave your opinion on this issue. Remember to be polite and professional, and leave your name and address so it is clear that you are a California resident. You can say:

“Hello, my name is [your name] and I’m calling from [your town] to urge Governor Schwarzenegger to remove the Fido Fine from the 2009-2010 budget proposal. Veterinary care is not a luxury and taxing it will lead to suffering, abandonment and higher costs for local humane agencies that are already overwhelmed and underfunded. Thank you.”

After making your call, please send a follow-up email to your state legislators in opposition to this tax. And don’t forget to tell your friends and family in California how they can take action, too.

Thank you for all you do for animals.

Sincerely,

Mike Markarian
Executive Vice President
The Humane Society of the United States

As much as shelter and rescue volunteers/workers hope that every dog finds his or her forever home, we know that isn’t always the case.  There are numerous reasons why an owner would need to give up their pet.  Especially in our hard economic times right now, as people lose their homes many pets are being turned into shelters and rescues.

My friend Kitai has a website called Cutest Dog Ever and he’s created a great resource page about what to do if you can’t keep your pet or if you chose the wrong pet.  Click here for that page.

What’s most important is that you keep your family’s safety in mind and do what’s best for the dog.  If you know you’re not going to be able to give your pet the love and care it deserves then you may want to consider re-homing it.

Furry Friends Rescue has a policy where once we rescue a dog or cat, it becomes a FFR animal for life.  So if for some reason a family cannot keep their pet, we do our best to take them back to re-home. We also try to make sure adopters are aware of the costs associated with having a pet.  There are food, toys, supplies, medical bills, and other expenses that can come up easily.  For information about the care and cost involved in owning a dog, click here.

A few things to keep in mind when trying to re-home your dog:

1) Be patient, please don’t expect rescues or shelters to be able to take your dog in right away.  We need to find foster homes and space.

2) You may be asked to pay a small fee to help with their adoption, this often will no cover what the rescue/shelter will end up paying in order to support the animal until it is adopted.

3) Never give your animal away for free to strangers, a small adoption fee decreases the chances that your pet would end up as fighting bait or in a lab somewhere.

4) Check with your vet, local shelters, rescues, friends to help find your pet a new home.

For more details about costs involved in caring for a pet and how to re-home your pet, visit Kitai’s website at www.cutestdogever.com

For those of you who’ve heard about Nintendo’s Wii game, you might have heard stories about people breaking lamps, windows, and TV’s accidentally with the remote.  The game is an interactive one where you mimic actions and the remote sends that signal to the game.  Now if any of you out there have terriers like me.. we LOVE to play and chase and moving objects can sometimes weave a spell over us!

Well, now you need to be more careful!  In Michigan, a 5 month old miniature Sheltie was knocked unconcious and stopped breathing after being hit in the head with a Wii remote.  The mother and daughter were playing a bowling game when the dog stepped in front of the mom just as she was making a bowling motion and the remote hit the dog’s temple.  Thankfully the neighbor was able to resucitate the dog and they took him to the vet.  He has since almost fully recovered and should be just fine.

So just a warning out there, keep an eye out for where your furry friends are when you’re moving around large objects or playing a game!  It may also be a good idea to learn Pet CPR and First Aid for those emergency situations.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/28639285#28639285

Wii remote KO’s wee dog

Jan. 13: A five-month-old miniature Sheltie dog was knocked unconscious and stopped breathing after being hit in the head with a Wii remote during a bowling game. WLUC’s Heather Sawaski reports.

In case of an emergency, it’s always good to have the Poison Control number handy.  Also make sure you know where your local 24 hour emergency vet office is located, just in case.

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center hotline number handy.

Operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at (888) 426-4435

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center

Care2 is having a contest for animal shelters nationwide.  Cast your vote for Furry Friends Rescue and help us win $10,000 to help animals in need!  Each week a random shelter can also win $500.  With so many animals needing rescue and medical attention, your vote can help save more lives!

http://www.care2.com/animalsheltercontest/73387

Furry Friends spends anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars on the care of rescued animals.  The adoption costs don’t even cover all the expenses we accumulate for the animals.  FFR works to ensure every animals is spayed/neutered, up-to-date on shots and has food, bed, and toys.  This can add up quite quickly and every little bit helps.

So VOTE NOW and SPREAD THE WORD! We sincerely appreciate your help!