Are you capable of caring for a pet? Decide before you adopt...

Over four million dogs are euthanized each year in the U.S. Most of these animals are adoptable. Why are dogs that are, potentially, great pets, euthanized? Why do they even find themselves in shelters? Most of the time, it is not the dog's fault for being left behind:

1. Moving
2. Landlord does not allow a pet
3. There are too many animals in the household
4. The owner cannot afford pet care
5. The owner has personal problems
6. The owner does not have the space to take care of their pet
7. No homes can be found for litter mates
8. The owner does not have time for their pet
9. The pet becomes ill
10. The pet bites

All of these situations are caused by irresponsible owners, and could easily be prevented. Owners need to understand the commitment a pet requires. A 'low maintenance' dog does not exist- each animal requires interaction, love, training, grooming, walks, socialization, feeding, vet checks and more. A potential owner must ask him or her self questions like these before he or she brings a new dog or cat into their household:
- Will I or my family have to move in this pet's lifetime? Will this new home allow pets? (You can't always know when you will move, but you should have a general idea in some cases.)
-Can I provide enough care for this pet? Do I have the space in my home to care for this pet? Will any current pets accept my new pet? Can I handle any more pets in my home?
-Do I have the time and money to feed, walk, groom, socialize, train and love this dog? Am I financially prepared to spend at least 1,000 dollars a year on pet supplies? Do I have enough money to take care of my pet in an emergency? Twenty four hours in a vet clinic costs 1000 dollars.
-Do I have the money to spay or neuter my pet? Do I understand why breeding is unnecessary and irresponsible? If I do decide to breed my pet, can I afford vet care for the mother and her litter? Can I afford to pay for an emergency? Can I find homes for the whole litter? Are both the parents screened for health and behavior problems? Do I know that breeding dogs keeps thousands of shelter dogs from ever finding a home?
-Do I know how to properly train and socialize a dog? Do I know what to do if my dog bites someone? Do I know to tell children or even adults to stop provoking my dog? Can I provide constant supervision for my dog especially in the presence of babies, toddlers and young children?
-If I must get rid of my pet, do I know what do with him? Do I know where local shelters and rescues are? Will I drop off my pet at a shelter or try to rehome him myself? Do I know that by leaving my pet at a shelter, I may very well be condemning him to a horrible death?

A pet is a huge responsibility, and many people who buy puppies on a whim aren't prepared to care for their pet. After their cute puppy stage is over, the dogs become unbearable, untrained and living terrors, because of their uneducated and irresponsible owners, and are left at shelters. Sometimes, people have legitimate reasons for giving up their dog. But oftentimes people could keep their pets, or could have realized before they got their pet that for one reason or another they cannot have an animal.

There are a few simple steps that can greatly reduce the shelter problem: spay and neuter your pet, and make sure that you are capable of caring for a pet before you adopt or buy one. And of course, adopt, don't shop!

P.S. Thanks Dana for the Sunshine Award! All dog blogs who follow me can get it, I don't think I can think of 12  blogs to give it to.

Title Change

Over my long break I have decided to change the title of this blog, after all, this is about shelter dogs and adoption.

Tax Relief for Pet Owners?

Due to the recession, more and more abandoned pets are turning up at animal shelters because cash-strapped owners can no longer afford to care for them.

Rep. Thaddeus McCotter has introduced a bill that would help by using the federal tax code. The Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act would allow to deduct the cost of pet-related expenses-up to $3,500 dollars per year- from the income taxes. Leo Grille, an animal rights activist, believes that the bill would help the 60% of Americans who own pets. He also said that the bill could lower the cost of animal control services.

Stop Animal Cruelty

I wanted to share a blog I found about animal cruelty: Voices Bloggers Against Animal Cruelty
I followed it and hopefully will soon be one of the authors.

Beware of the Swine Flu- Your Dog May Be At Risk

Recently, a cat-a 13 year old, 16 pound tabby that was never let outside- in Iowa got the swine flu. His owners both got the flu in the last week of October. He has since recovered and is doing well. Cats have joined the list of animals that can contract the swine flu- it includes ferrets, domestic turkey, and pigs. Experts say that although no dog has gotten the H1N1 flu yet, the canine race is at risk. They ask that you take all the regular precautions with your pets as you do with fellow humans- sneezing into your crooked elbow, washing hands, avoiding touching your mouth, nose and eyes, and not having a lot of contact with anyone if you are feeling sick. Letting your pet lick your face is never recomended, but in the flu season especially you should watch out and avoid this.
Cats, dogs and people all get similar respiratory diseases, says an expert in the article below. The same article reads, "that it is not likely that H1N1 will become very common in pets like cats and dogs."

Read more here.
Also, be careful of canine influenza.  It may have jumped from horses to dogs, but humans and other animals won't get it. A vaccine was developed last May. More in the article above.

Your Scholarly Pup Can Finally Get a Degree

It's official: your beloved, smartest dog in the world(of which there are, virtually, millions upon millions) can now earn a doggie degree. At least, that's what this smartest dog did. Chester Ludlow, the pug from Vermont, has earned a MBA degree(Masters in Buisiness Administration). After only one month at Rochville University, has grrrr-aduated! All he needed was his resume and a measly 499 dollars. His GPA was 3.19(surpisingly large for a pup, my brother's is 4). Add in another hundred bucks, and he could of graduated with honors.
His owner made a fake resume(for where oh where could a puppy dog find real work) and sent it off- yes, at Rochville, that's all you need, where the degree was sent from Dubai.
Find out more here, and here,
Who knows? Maybe YOUR dog is next!

Five Million Puppies

More than five million puppies are born each year in the US alone. By breeder or by casual street mutt. If, for one year no puppies were born, think about how many shelter pets would be saved. About five million.

-LIVE, LOVE, ADOPT!

Get Ready For Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month!

October is coming soon... and with it, Adopt a Shelter Dog Month! It's the best time to adopt the dog you've wanted for a long time.
On the topic of animal shelters, here are ten ways to raise money for your local shelter:

1. Gather the seeds of the flowers in your garden. In the spring, plant them in old cups and pots and hold a plant sale. Or if your thumb isn't remarkably green, then have a seed sale. Be sure to make clear that profits are going to the shelter!
2. If you have lots of veggies or fruits from your garden now, you can sell them to neighbors. Or do the same next year. A pumpkin patch will work great because people will want pumpkins for Halloween, and you can even give one to the shelter for a decorative touch.
3. Write a book. This is quite far-fetched but if are about to publish a book, you may want for some of the profits to be donated to a shelter. This is great especially if the book is about pets.
4. Host a craft sale. Or a bake sale. Get your closest friends together for a night of baking and crafting then sell your creations the next day.
5. Take on a few odd jobs. This is great for the kids! They can rake leaves, walk someone's dog, or mow the lawn, accepting a dollar or so. After a while it really adds up!
6. Write articles for Triond. Pet-themed articles earn good money and once the cash is delivered in a monthly check or through PayPal it's great but small cash for donating.
7. Clean out your basement. Or your garage. Donate old but gently used towels- the pets will appreciate a softer place to sleep.
8. Go on a shopping spree! Got a gift card for PetCo but have no pet? Buy some much-needed toys and food or donate the whole card.
9. Raise awareness. Make flyers and brochures to give to people. Make them simple but show that shelter pets are great!
10. And, avoid pet stores and puppy mills. The greatest help to a shelter is actually adopting their pets!

Sorry

I apologize for the lack of posts but school has started. I am getting more busy than ever. Tomorow or the day after expect a real post. I am planning one about rabies, truths, facts, and prevention.

I found a great site about pets

http://www.therealowner.com/
I have one of my articles here: http://therealowner.com/adoption-rescue/left-behind-why-arent-people-adopting-black-cats-and-dogs/

Max the Shelter Dog

It's a book about a shelter pit bull for kids. It will soon be a movie. There's even a whole campaign, "kids for pitts" If I had a pit bull I'd join the campaign! Here's the web site: http://www.maxtheshelterdog.com/

Top 10 Pet-Friendly Colleges in the U.S.A

My Internet kept turning off when I tried to copy and paste the info from this site , so I'm just putting the names of the colleges. This may come in handy in 6 years...

1. Eckerd College, St. Petersburd, Florida
   Cats and dogs under 40 pounds, snakes and fish are allowed in four pet-friendly dorm clusters. Pets cannot be left on campus during breaks and must comply with requirements.
2. Stephens College, Columbia, Missouri
   Cats, dogs, hamsters, and guinea pigs are allowed in this women's college. One dorm is the "pet dorm" so space is limited, and students must apply to live there and follow policy guidelines.
3. Washington and Jefferson College, Washington, Pennsylvania
    Cats, dogs less than 40 pounds(with some breed restrictions), small birds, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, and fish are allowed to live in the "Pet House" dorm. Other animals may be permitted, but on a case-by-case basis. Pets must be spayed/neutered, have lived with you for at least one year, and registered.

Read more here . More colleges include 2 in Illinois, 1 in California, another in Pennsylvania, one in Idaho, 1 in New York and 1 in Massachusetts.

It's National Dog Day!

It is also Women's Equality Day.

How To Say "Dog" in Zulu and 20 other Languages

I had no idea half of these languages existed... Read more at http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/languages.htm

Assamese = kukur
Bemba = imbwa
Cornish = ky΄
Dholuo = guok
Esperanto = hundo
Faeroese = hundur
Gagauz = köpek
Interlingua = can
Komi-Permyak = pon
Mohawk = erhar
Nivkh = qan
Papago-Pima = gogs
Polish= pies
Pulaar = rawaandu
Pidgin = dok
Sardinian = cane
Tocharian = ku
Uzbek = it
Vietnamese = chó
Yoruba = aja
Zulu = inja

What's the difference?

Type in "american pit bull terrier" on Google images and the first pictures you see are of small, muscular dogs with cropped ears and body parts as thick as tree trunks. Pictures like these:

These aren't pit bulls. They are american bullies: mixes of dog breeds like bulldogs, cane corso, mastiffs, and other "dangerous" breeds. Yet people call them pit bulls. So when you see pictures of much, much thinner dogs with floppy ears and looking lovable, you think "those scrawny dogs can't be pit bulls!" Yet they are the true American Pit Bull Terrier:

See for yourself. Type "pit bull" into any image search engine. Chances are you'll see many pictures of thick, muscular dogs (American Bullies, which are not a breed) snapping, baring bloodied fangs and fighting with another thick tree trunk of a dog. See how many images you'll find of the true APBT.

Here's the link to a YouTube video where I learned all of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTvb-zV6Low

It's a few minutes long but tells you need to know about pit bull impostors. Please watch it!

Also, here's how to tell if that "pit bull" is really an APBT or just an American Bullie. Real pit bull terriers are small to medium sized that are 15 to 21 inches at the shoulder. They weigh around 22-65 pounds, anything more is either obese or an American Bullie or another breed. Also, pit bulls are terriers. They will show true Terrier spunk. American bullies or other breeds commonly mistaken for pits will not. And, the APBT is "slender and athletic" not thick and definitely not so muscular.

The Poll Answer Is!!!

BLACK.

Black pets are the least likely to be adopted in a shelter. Why?

Black cats, I think, is self-explainable. Some people think black cats are unlucky, because in the middle ages witches would turn into black cats(that last bit not too many people know. They just think black cats are bad luck but have no logical reason why)

Big, black, mixed-breed dogs have 2 things that mess up their chances: size(think about it. Not many people can afford to keep a big huge dog, while that little doggie is so much more manageable.) Also, they may think that large dogs are more aggressive. NOT true! Small dogs are actually much more aggresive, proved in a recent study about dog's temperaments. But since their little snouts can't do us much damage, we are sure that pit bulls are the most dangerous. (By the way, pit bulls scored better on this test than beagles, and golden retrievers!More on this in a later post!) And: COLOR. One reason may be that black animals are harder to spot in the shadows of a cage. They are also harder to photograph for online listings. An older dog with a smidgeon of white in his muzzle looks like an arthritic 12 year old dog, even if he's only seven. And those huge dogs just aren't as fashionable as little yorkies and chihuahuas.

Also, their reputation: in books such as "Harry Potter" a big black dog is a bad omen.

It is hard to read their expressions because they have no defined eyebrows.

People also think others with big black dogs are "tough guys."

And dogs who are big and black tend to have larger litters of 5 or more.

So even if a black dog has a sweet temperament, is very well-trained, and walks well on a leash she may not find a home for quite a few months, if at all.

Read more here: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-04-09-dogs-adoption_N.htm

one person voted: Brindle

4 people voted: black

A Poem I Wrote for my Poetry Blog...

Dear President Obama:

I am a shelter dog.
Once, I was Fred
but now, I am
only
simply
"IT"
You can change that.
You have the power
to change my life
and the lives of
millions
of other
"ITS"
You had the chance
But you blew it
Is a pedigree
more important to you
than my innocent life?
What did I do wrong?
Did my scraggly looks
and mixed up ancestry
throw you off?
Or perhaps
my age?
I may be old
but I still
have a heart to
give to you.
I can still love you.
Or is it
my missing leg,
my missing eye?
I may not have
all my limbs
but I still have my
whole heart.
If you just
took one of us home,
it would mean
the rest of us
can have a home too.
Don't you think I
dream?
About a warm bed before a
blazing fireplace
curled up at the foot of
my master?
Eating enough to
fill my empty stomach
or
finally having
something to call
my own?
But only you have this power
to keep us all from Death,
a massive dog
with an even bigger pedigree
lurking
just behind me.
I don't have much time left.
Just a day or two.
After all,
who would want an ugly mutt
Like me?

This is a poem I wrote yesterday, regarding my last post. I am sending it to our president along with a letter I am writing. If you would like to send a letter as well, visit http://www.boneedsafriend.com/ for the address and a sample letter, as well as to sign up for e-mail updates.

Remember President Obama's Big Promise to Adopt a Shelter Dog?

Well that promise went down the drain. Bo is a purebred 2000 dollar dog from a private kennel- NOT a shelter. That just goes to show what will happen to all his campaign promises....

Write to Obama about this issue via snail mail, which is supposedly the best way to get his attention(he can;t "accidentaly" delete any of those messages!). Find out more at http://www.boneedsafriend.com/

I'll definitely be writing...

because every 5 seconds a homeless animal is killed... and that's just in America.

Here's who thinks Obama should adopt:

Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer.

Simon Cowell, who said in an interview he hopes the Obamas will adopt, and will gladly pay for the dogs food!

If the Obamas had simply adopted a dog as they had intented to do, many shelters would have become emptied! Millions of animal would have been saved! We are talking about the lives of God's creatures here! Who deserve to live as much as any of us and maybe even more! Plus, the Vice-President bought a dog from a puppy-mill! That's just killing more wonderful dogs! So, please write. It may cost you a few cents for the postage, but it may save millions of lives.

Look at the eyes of your four-legged best friend. Do it for him.

Also, read the poem I wrote and am sending to our president at http://www.apoetsmusing.blogspot.com/

The seconds are ticking...

Your Dog Should Aspire to Be Like These Dogs

I found these videos on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BoEQS_1BSc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_cjamtHc7s
Watch them. Can your dog compare?

My Blogs

To my followers:

I have 3 blogs as of yesterday:
Get a Life Get a Dog
Travels with Monkey (www.travelswithmonkey.blogspot.com)
Musings of a Twelve Year Old Poet (www.apoetsmusing.blogspot.com)

I beg you all sincerely to follow or at least look at those blogs.