A Day Without Cats

I Has a Hotdog is sponsoring "A Day Without Cats" on 9/9/09. While everyday around here is a day without cats, I thought I might pass on this info for all the other dog lovers out there who would like to give their canine companions a day in the spotlight. Enjoy!

Ok, on three... "Awwwwww..."

Stealing this from Jan at the Poodle and Dog Blog because it's just too cute NOT to share!

Glow ball fun!

The Poodle (and Dog) Blog is one of my favorite reads. A while back, Jan wrote that she was hosting a contest by Two Knobby Tires to give away some incredibly cool glow-in-the-dark dog toys. A little while later, she announced that I was the winner! (and there was much rejoicing among the fur-kids!) Here's what Vali spent the evening doing:









Apologies for the low quality, I was filming on my camera phone in the dark... lol

A blog for those who think all PitBulls should be banned.

Found this blog through a link on a friend's blog.  BAD RAP Blog is the blog home of "Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls".  These guys have a lot to say about the breed that so many Americans hate and fear.  The blog contains news on rescue operations, adorable pictures and videos of well-cared-for pits and their friends and families, and all kinds of info for those who just don't know much about this breed.  But most importantly they hold to the belief that you can't blame a dog for having bad/cruel/evil owners.  Kudos guys!

Squirrels!

Many of you have probably been closely following the relief efforts going on along the gulf coast in the wake of Hurricane Ike. If so, you may have heard about the wildlife who have also been affected by this great natural disaster. WildRescue has been charged with the care and feeding of more than 100 baby squirrels who have been transported up here by the caring folks down in the Houston area. When our President, Diana, heard that the rehabbers down there were overwhelmed with the wildlife being brought in to their facilities, she put out the call for people here in the Denton area to learn to care for these precious little ones. Volunteers came out of the woodwork to one of the three classes she taught in a single weekend and all of the squirrels were distributed among them. We are eternally grateful for the work of people who care so much about these small survivors.

But not everyone seems as pleased with the efforts as we are. The local NBC news website today posted a poll question: "Do you think it's a waste of resources to rescue squirrels from the Texas Gulf Coast?" Sadly, they added no explanation or information on the subject, just that one misleading question that makes it sound as if the resources being used to care for these little guys are being taken from other relief efforts. All of the resources that WildRescue, and many other wildlife groups like us, have used toward the care and feeding of the Houston squirrels has come from private donations given specifically for the purpose of caring for animals in need. Quite a bit of it has come out of the pockets of the rehabbers themselves. As always, we are an all volunteer group and every dime we receive goes toward the care of creatures in need. So I would encourage all who are reading this to visit the poll and let them know what you think of the issue. Please also take a moment to click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page and tell the folks there at NBC know exactly what you think of their poll.

UPDATE: NBC finally posted the whole story, sort of... be sure not to miss the comments. I find the difference in spelling and grammar between the opposing sides of the argument to be quite telling. Meanwhile, Fox News got it right.

Haagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees (and BunGirl LOVES Haagen-Dazs!)

Now here's a cause that I can get bee-hind! Right now the honeybee population in America is down by over 25%. This is a huge issue when you look at the impact honeybees have on their surrounding environment. We rely on them for so much more than just honey. Honeybees are responsible for the pollination of more than 100 different crops, and over 80% of the overall pollination in this country. Without them, we'd be unable to grow the fruits, nuts and vegetables that we so love.

Haagen-Dazs, that amazing maker of scrumptious ice cream, has decided it's time to get the word out about this crisis before it becomes worse. They've created a new flavor called Vanilla Honey Bee to help raise awareness. They're also donating to research into the problem, being conducted at Pennsylvania State University and University of California at Davis. If you'd like to learn more about why Haagen-Dazs loves Honey Bees, or what's going on with our little stripey friends, check out their beautiful new website on the topic. Oh, and go get some ice cream!

CRISIS AT COTTONTAIL CENTRAL

(Cross-posting this from my WildRescue blog because the word needs to get out there!)

Boxes line the countertop. Scratching noises can be heard from within. Another day, another group of 30 baby cottontails wait for a human to pick them up and give them nourishment – and life. It’s a different day at Cottontail Central because the doors must close on any more incoming wildlife UNLESS MORE PEOPLE HELP!!!

It’s baby season in the DFW area. Baby cottontails number among the highest that are admitted to our rehab center. We currently have over 50, and have reached our limit, both physically and mentally. It takes a minimum of 10 minutes to feed one baby cottontail. You do the math. We have only one thing to say – STOP. Don’t take them from their nests. There ARE solutions to any of the issues the public may have with cottontails being born in their yards. You are condemning these babies to death if you will not at least try to keep them in their nests. It is not hard. This is what you do:


WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A BABY COTTONTAIL NEST

It is raining baby cottontails here in North Texas. Our rehabilitators are full and cannot accept any more at this time. Over 50 have come in since this last Monday. Over 40 came in the Monday before. KEEP THEM IN THEIR NESTS. Many people think they are doing a kind act by taking these seemingly abandoned animals to local animal shelters, rehabilitators and veterinarians when, in reality, they are best left alone. Why? Because they have a high mortality rate within the rehab environment and it is virtually impossible to find enough people to care for these little creatures competently. Hundreds of “abandoned” baby bunnies come into us at the beginning of spring. The primary reason why people bring baby bunnies in to our animal shelters is they think the rabbits have been abandoned and are not being fed by mom. FALSE. Mom comes at dawn and dusk to feed them. She will not abandon her babies. Mom has GPS. She knows where here babies are. She will feed them and then leave the nest thus diverting potential predators away from the babies and towards her.

Here are some rabbit facts and ways that you can help save these baby’s lives!

* Mom comes at dawn and dusk to feed them and you may never see her.
* The babies are located usually close to a house or other sheltered environment in shallow holes lined with dried grasses and fur.
* They open their eyes at ten days of age
* They are up and out of the nest between 3 and 4 weeks of age
* Renest them! If the nest is disturbed, gently replace the babies and put the nesting material back in the nest. Your human smell will not deter Mom from feeding them
* Check on them every morning to see if their tummies are full of mom’s milk.

If you have a wildlife emergency situation, and feel that the rabbits are not being cared for, please CHECK WITH US before you take them anywhere. Help keep the babies with their moms and be a part of coexisting with our wildlife!


CONTACT INFORMATION:
wildrescuetexas@gmail.com
www.rescuedrabbits.org
940-442-8289

Info (and pictures) on the life of a baby eastern cottontail here.

Rabbit Rescue with Amy Sedaris

This is just the cutest ad, even if it is for Microsoft... Thanks to Joy from WildRescue for finding it!



Also, another dNeero survey:



I've been dreaming a lot more often lately than I normally do. Which is odd, because I haven't been getting all that much sleep. Correlation? Possibly. Anyway, the dream I described in the survey is the one I woke up from this morning. I blame it on two things:

1. I recently reread Twilight. It ends with a scene from Bella's prom.
   
2. I recently had to try on a prom dress. Long story short, I'm going to be a bridesmaid in June and my sister picked a prom dress from Deb shop for us to wear.

So, no deep hidden meanings there. Sorry!

Have a Heart for Chained Dogs

Dogs Deserve Better is running its annual campaign to send Valentines to dog owners who keep their pet chained or penned up outside. It's a great initiative and really can make a huge difference in the life of a dog (and its family!). They need your help though! They need donations, people to make and send in Valentines, coupons for dog food and treats, and addresses where dogs are penned or chained outside. Last year, they wound up with more valentines than addresses, so if you know of a dog who spends all of his time outside, away from the family he loves, please send in the address today!

Warning: this video may break your heart, but its message is undeniably true!

Puppy Bowl Sunday

Just wanted to take a minute to remind my readers that today an incredibly important sporting event will play on TV screens across the country. There's already plenty of betting going on for the MVP of the game, and serious fans have their favorites all picked out from the starting line-up, but I think I'm going with Bingo, the American Staffordshire Terrier/ American Pit Bull Mix. What, you thought I was talking about that other game? Please! This guy is gonna be much more entertaining than anything they'll have at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

The Tail Saga Continues...

And just when I thought it had been dealt with and now we would just have to wait for the stitches to come out... This morning, we couldn't find the cone to put around Jared's head to keep him from chewing off the bandage on his tail. No problem, I work in a very dog-friendly environment, so I called my boss and asked if she'd mind if Jared came to visit for the day. She said that would be fine, so I figured I could keep an eye on him today and get a new cone for tomorrow. Shoulda been easy, right? These things never are.

As I was about to leave for work, I grabbed the leash and called Jared. Jared, like most dogs, LOVES his leash. He knows it's his ticket to the world of "outside" and it means he's going to get to go somewhere. So his tail started wagging. Furiously. Yup, you guessed it, OFF came the bandage. I had no idea where it went, and I couldn't really have done much with it anyway, so I wrapped his tail in some clean paper towels, secured them with bandaids, and we left.

Stopped at the vet on the way in to the office (after calling to let the boss know what had happened and that I'd be a bit on the late side). Took Jared in to the vet and got it re-bandaged. I think it looks a lot more secure this time around. Hopefully this one will last a bit longer. In case it doesn't though, Grump got all the supplies to take care of it here at home, should it come off again.

But I really really hope it doesn't. Poor guy.

Jared's Tail Adventures

One of my dogs, Jared, had a rough day yesterday, then had to spend the night at the vet, and now has a bandage on his tail and stitches under that and will be on pain meds for a while, so he's a bit on the loopy side. If you want the full story, you can see it at Grumpamoose's blog, but I just thought I'd post a couple of pictures to document the whole thing.

Here he is, home, safe and mostly sound. Poor guy. He seems more nervous than he usually is (and he's usually pretty tightly-wound so that's really saying something!) but I don't know if that's an effect of the meds or just him being afraid of getting hurt again.

And here's a close-up of that tail. They've got it wrapped pretty well, but I'm still gonna have to make him wear the lampshade when we're not home and he's going to have to be separated from the other dogs too because they're just too curious about what's under there.

We Need One of These For Bunnies!

I found this through the bunny/wildlife rescue group I work with. We SO need one of these for bunnies. Anyone out there want to take on the project???