Happy Tales: Oliver

Things are going well; you would never have thought that Wally was so upset when we brought Oliver home. They are now the best of buddies and play a lot.

Oliver has gotten used to his harness and is starting his walks on a leash.  We think he was an indoor/outdoor cat at some time in his early life. Took him to the boat/marina for a short time weekend before last. No one was around and he was ok, but a bit stressed with the outdoor new environment.  He was fine in the boat. Of course I had a devil of a time getting Wally off the boat.

This last weekend we took them with us to relatives in Fresno. Oliver talked a lot almost all way there and then settled down.  Coming home he slept the whole way home.

We think that while he liked the car rides, every time in the past he went
for a ride he was left somewhere, and he thought that we were just going to leave him. Now that he knows he is not going be left and is coming home.  It has made a big change.

I think he was around dogs in the past. My son has 2 dogs: one is a 3 month old really small puppy. Oliver had a great time playing with him. Wally was not sure what that small black thing was at first but even he got playing some with the puppy.

Oliver is a real snuggler and glues himself to you at night. Of course they are both now competing on who gets to snuggle where. Boy does he like his canned food, and is very vocal when he wants to be fed .  He is off on his first camping trip with the trailer this upcoming weekend.  I am sure Wally will show him the ropes LOL. 

(Photo by Barbara Doty)

RedRover Responder Training Workshop Offered

RedRover, formerly known as United Animal Nations, is offering a training workshop in Sacramento on February 26, 2012, for people interested in becoming RedRover Volunteer Responders.  Responders, the “backbone” of the RedRover organization, provide lifesaving care and sheltering for animal victims of natural disasters, puppy mills, hoarding, and other cases of cruelty and neglect.  Volunteers come from across the United States and Canada from all walks of life and have one thing in common: a commitment to helping animals in need.

The unique training program combines the ease of self-driven independent study with a solid connection to RedRover staff and the community-building workshop.   After completing the training program, volunteers should feel connected and confident to be successful RedRover Responders.  For more information or to register for the workshop, contact RedRover or call (916) 429-2457.

RedRover also offers an online self-paced training course exclusively for teachers through the Humane Society University. “Humane Literacy: Promoting Empathy, Critical Thinking and Language Skills in the Classroom” is a three-week course with five hours of course work teaching teachers how to implement the RedRover Readers curriculum. The curriculum is especially designed to help children develop compassion and empathy for animals and people while building their listening and critical thinking skills. For more information on the RedRover Readers program, or to investigate other RedRover teacher resources, visit the RedRover Readers website. (CPE units are available in some states.)

Founded in 1987, RedRover is an animal protection organization with the main objectives of bringing animals from crisis to care and to strengthen the bond between people and animals through education, financial support and animal care. The non-profit organization is is located in Sacramento but operates nationally.

RedRover is split into four different programs: RedRover Responders, RedRover Readers, RedRover Relief, and RedRover Reporters. The RedRover website allows people to request financial aid, donate to the organization, and receive valuable information about animal care. In addition to the internet, RedRover also provides hands-on resources for educating children about the “human-animal bond”, rescuing and temporarily sheltering animals from neglect or natural disasters, and reporting animal cruelty.

Photo courtesy of RedRover.org

Friday Films: Snow Business with Simon’s Cat

Let’s celebrate last week’s snow in the Sierras with a snowy video with Simon’s Cat!

Do cats like snow?  I think that’s something you’d have to check with each cat individually.  There may be some who do, but generally cats love warmth and would much rather be sitting in a warm bed in the windowsill watching others play in the cold stuff outside.

 

  Simon’s Cat “Snow Business”

An Observation on Shelter Volunteering

A shelter volunteer friend of mine shared this with me today and I wanted to pass on the eloquent essay and share with you. To anyone who has ever asked themselves why we work with homeless shelter animals: this is her story:

"She was rescued from a backyard, chained up and starving. The misery was over, but now the work would begin. We had to fill the void created from a life lived at the end of a chain. There were so many things for her to learn about living a normal life. In the confines of the shelter we could only save her life—we couldn’t give her one. It would take a real home with all the routines of a normal day to do that.  But we had to start someplace.

With that in mind, I took her to an off-leash play area, the familiar clank of the gate latching closed behind me. I reached down and unclasped her leash. With joy-fueled momentum she ricocheted around the play yard. Gravity was just a suggestion. She was a fugitive from the laws of physics. She was entropy in fur. She was a blur. Telling her to sit at this moment would be like opening a bottle of champagne and telling the bubbles to stay. She needed time to effervesce. The time to learn manners would come soon enough, but this was no teachable moment.  Or was it?

I stood back, watched and learned.  Until now, she’d had little reason to feel joy and no way to express it. It’s a muscle she had never flexed. But somewhere in the goodness of her genes was the understanding that life was supposed to be better than the hell she had been living. The miracle is that she was rescued before the instinct for happiness was extinguished. Death isn’t when we stop breathing — it’s when we stop feeling anything that makes us want to feel anything more. I envied her lightness, her presence, her ability to spin joy out of thin air. It wasn’t just a faint, shy glimmer, either. She beamed out brilliant, high-wattage happiness.  For her, every minute was a beautiful leap of faith.

She never seemed to realize that her previous misery was caused by her human owners. Life was miserable simply because it was. And now it simply wasn’t. She didn’t need the reasons or to carry them forward. She simply didn’t need her past anymore. There wasn’t a minute to waste – she couldn’t absorb the present fast enough. She hadn’t moved on as much as she had simply stayed present, shifting with it, emotionally weightless. So this was her secret to defying gravity. She was the bubble that escaped the bottle. 

Inspiration is a priceless gift regardless of who it comes from. I was the lucky witness to happiness trumping misery. I wanted to see the world as she saw it and to know what she knew. 

I wish we had a better word for dog training than dog training. It implies we do all the teaching and they do all the learning. We forget that all we’re really teaching them is how to live in the human world. But if we’re so smart, why don’t we do a better job of living in the human world ourselves? And when it comes to actually knowing how to be a dog, let’s not forget who the real experts are. There are so many qualities that transcend species – qualities that other species exemplify much better than we do. We don’t have all the answers. They teach us the only way they can, and the only authentic way there is — by example, over and over, with more patience than we usually have the graciousness to show them. The real magic happens when we accept that the boundary between trainer and trainee is fluid and porous. 

Our next lesson would have to wait. It was time to take my teacher back to her kennel."

Taken from a post on Gabbs Dogs on Facebook – Author unknown

Friday Films: Adopting Cats In Pairs

Two cats are twice the pleasure, twice the fun, and really not that much more work.  Most cats (after a successful introduction) are highly social creatures and are happiest when living with other cats.  Whether you are looking to adopt an adult cat or a kitten, adopting two at the same time is actually easier for you, as well as for the cats. They will look out for each other, play together, and keep each other company when you are busy or away from home.

Today’s Friday Film by Denver’s Dumb Friends League will explain more:

 

Adopt Cats in Pairs

 

LAPCATS has some wonderful “perfect pairs” available, or we can help you find a great pair from Sacramento County Animal care. We love placing via the buddy system!

Veterinary studies show that when cats have company, both cats are healthier.  Animals with buddies are sick less often, require shorter stays when they are hospitalized and live longer.

      ~Dr. Marty Becker, Pet Connection

 

Founded in 1910, the Denver Dumb Friends League is a national leader in providing humane care to lost and abandoned animals, rescuing sick, injured and abused animals, adopting pets to new homes, helping pets stay in homes, and educating pet owners and the public about the needs of companion animals.  The Dumb Friends League is the largest animal welfare organization in the Rocky Mountain region and welcomes tens of thousands of animals to their two shelters. They turn no animals away.

2012 Spay Day Dates

        

On Sunday, February 26, the Sacramento Area Animal Coalition (SAAC) is partnering with local veterinary clinics and animal shelters to again spay and neuter hundreds of dogs and cats belonging to income-qualified families in Sacramento and Yolo County as part of National Spay Day.  Since 2000, 7,700 dogs and cats locally have been altered through Spay Day Sacramento, preventing the births of thousands of unwanted animals and reducing the burden on area shelters.

Low income families needing to spay or neuter their cats or dogs should apply for an appointment at "www.sacanimal.org"   beginning this Saturday, January 21st.  (Low income is defined here as Sacramento or Yolo County residents who receive public assistance or have an annual household income of $35,000 or less.)  On January 28th, SAAC volunteers will begin calling the applicants to schedule the actual Spay Day appointments. This is limited to 2 pets per household, dogs and/or cats only.

For a co-pay of just $20 per dog and $15 per cat, clients’ dogs and cats will be spay or neutered, receive updated vaccinations, microchipping, and flea preventative—at least a $250 value in today’s economy.

For more information, click on the flyer above or go to Spay Day on the SAAC website.

Dates to remember:

January 21, 2012	Applicants can begin to apply for Spay Day appointments.
January 28, 2012	Volunteers call applicants to set up actual appointments.
February 26, 2012	Spay Day surgeries performed/pets returned to owners.

“My Cat From Hell” Interview with Jackson Galaxy

Tune in tonight to a  brand new episode of My Cat From Hell on Animal Planet at 8PM (PT/ET) (but be sure to check your local listings; here in the Sacramento area on DISH network last Saturday the show didn’t start until 10 PM).

Last night Jackson was a special guest on the Los Angeles TV show “Nonstop News L.A.”. It was a great interview by Colleen Williams.  Jackson talked about working on his very first case of a “Cat From Hell” (before the TV show); how he ended up in the hospital after a few hellish cat encounters; and when he became a ”cat person”.

 

Nonstop News LA Interview with Jackson Galaxy

 

(Source: Jackson Galaxy on Facebook)

Friday Films: The Funny Cat Show

Today’s Friday Film is a short little video made up of some great LOLCats photos, accompanied by a classic upbeat Beatles song.  Hope you enjoy it!

The Funny Cat Show

Responsible Pet Ownership

The American Veterinary Medical Association’s Executive Board recently approved new guidelines for responsible pet ownership. Here they are in their entirety. Feel free to post them anywhere you think a prospective pet owner might run into them.

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Owning a pet is a privilege and should result in a mutually beneficial relationship. However, the benefits of pet ownership come with obligations. Responsible pet ownership includes:

• Committing to the relationship for the life of the pet(s).
• Avoiding impulsive decisions about obtaining pet(s), and carefully selecting pet(s) suited to your home and lifestyle.
• Recognizing that ownership of pet(s) requires an investment of time and money.
• Keeping only the type and number of pets for which an appropriate and safe environment can be provided, including appropriate food, water, shelter, health care and companionship.
• Ensuring pets are properly identified (i.e., tags, microchips, or tattoos) and that registration information in associated databases is kept up-to-date
• Adherence to local ordinances, including licensing and leash requirements.
• Controlling pet(s’) reproduction through managed breeding, containment, or spay/neuter, thereby helping to address animal control and overpopulation problems.
• Establishing and maintaining a veterinarian-client-patient relationship.
• Providing preventive (e.g., vaccinations, parasite control) and therapeutic health care for the life of pet(s) in consultation with, and as recommended by, its veterinarian.
• Socialization and appropriate training for pet(s), which facilitates their well-being and the well-being of other animals and people.
• Preventing pet(s) from negatively impacting other people, animals and the environment, including proper waste disposal, noise control, and not allowing pet(s) to stray or become feral.
• Providing exercise and mental stimulation appropriate to the pet(s’) age, breed and health status.
• Advance preparation to ensure the pet(s’) well-being in the case of an emergency or disaster, including assembling an evacuation kit.
• Making alternative arrangements if caring for the pet is no longer possible.
• Recognizing declines in the pet(s’) quality of life and making decisions in consultation with a veterinarian regarding appropriate end-of-life care (e.g., palliative care, hospice, euthanasia).

AVMA Guidelines for Responsible Pet Ownership

Oversight CHAB; EB approved 11/2011

(Source:  Jennifer Coates, DVM, Fully Vetted)

Friday Films: Cathouse on the Kings

Our first 2012 Friday Film is an inspirational video on “the lady with 700 cats”, the cat rescue/sanctuary otherwise known as The Cat House on the Kings.  It’s truly an amazing place and founder Lynea Lattanzio is truly an amazing person.  This video was made by Animal Planet and featured on an episode of Must Love Cats.  The video is 9 minutes long, so might want to make yourself comfortable before starting.

Cat House On The Kings

 

The Cat House on the Kings is California’s largest no-cage, no-kill, lifetime cat sanctuary and adoption center. Their mission is to place rescued cats and kittens into loving, permanent homes; to provide a safe, happy and healthy home for unwanted cats and kittens in a unique, no-cage facility; to prevent pet overpopulation through spaying and neutering; and to educate the public about responsible pet ownership.  The Cat House on the Kings is situated on 12 acres along the King’s River in Parlier, CA.