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The Purrs
Page...
Where Humanity Is
Making A Difference...
[AZ
Cats Save Our Street Kittens Program] [Breaking
the Chain][Az
Cats TNR Program Leads the Way] [Flagging
attention to animals' plight] [Animal
Planet Hero of the Year] [Local
nonprofit sets goal to sterilize 1000 feral cats in October] [Steve Irwin:
The Crocodile Hunter]
Breaking
the Chain..
Debra
White is one of the most active animal volunteers that I have ever
had the pleasure to meet. Devoting
her time to everything from answering phones for AzCats to spending
entire days in the local county animal shelter dealing with a lot of
animal surrenders and only a few adoptions.
Her most recent contribution to the world is a contest aimed
at third-grade students and it’s called, Breaking the Chain. This
year’s contest is her 3rd edition, which makes it
extra-special as it’s devoted to third-graders, and now includes a
collaboration of five groups. Children
read a short story that Debra wrote several years ago about a
chained dog that is rescued by a neighbor’s cat.
It ends just before the final outcome and children are asked
to write or illustrate their conclusion to the story.
At this time, the contest is limited to public schools in
Mesa and Phoenix. This
year’s event was sponsored by the Puffin Foundation and PetSmart
charities.
The
contest was designed to teach children the importance of humanity
and caring, loving pet ownership.
And Debra has really created something special.
You can
see Debra and her contest finalists at the next adoption
extravaganza in October at the Franciscan Renewal Center in Paradise
Valley, AZ - a two-day event. The winners will be present as a way
to jump start next year's contest and to show off the children's
talent and abilities.
Debra reports how it got started: “I read about Dogs Deserve
Better in 05. I wanted to do something locally. I planned an event,
invited a vet, dog trainer, set up a location, the whole nine yards,
to talk about why chaining dogs was cruel and inhumane. The AAWL
signed on as a sponsor. Sherry Hines, who worked there at the time,
said all this sounds great, but who will attend? No one but rescue
people who already know this is bad. I felt frustrated but not down.
I then cooked up the idea for kids. I wrote the short story about
the great Harriet and how she rescues Joey, leaving it open for kids
to be creative. In our first year we had 2 schools participate.
We sent letters to the district managers in Phoenix. Next year we
sent letters directly to the schools in Mesa and Phoenix. We have
about 14 schools. We received grant funding this year but we only
had 16 schools. The schools that participated were very enthusiastic
about the contest. Students wrote some very heartwarming essays
and drew the cleverest drawings. We feel this is a great way to
teach compassion and kindness to animals. To find out how we can
make it more appealing to the schools that didn't take part, I sent
letters to some of the schools. We'll see what they say and plan for
next year. In the meantime, we were very pleased by the children's
work. They showed tremendous understanding of what it means for a
dog to be chained. Please mention we had support from the Puffin
Foundation, Changing Hands Bookstore and PetSmart Charities.
Debra has graciously allowed PetsWeekly
to share the 2006 winning entries.
For more information on participating, sponsoring or being a
part of this innovative contest that has been endorsed by schools,
our sheriff Joe Arpaio, and the Governor of Arizona, contact us at info@petsweekly.com
and we will forward your information on to Debra.
Excerpts from Breaking the
Chain 2006 winning entries
First Place
Joey the dog talking to Harriet the cat:
“I don’t even know why he (his owner) wanted a dog…They
don’t call me the great Harriet for nothing….A couple minutes
later she came back with her owner and got him to climb over the
fence and cut the chain off. Joey never felt so free since he was a
puppy. Now Joey was a new and better house (with Harriet). All
thanks to the great Harriet.”
Second Place
“I ran back to my house to find
something that could break the chain, and as I turned the corner
Candace (Harriet’s owner) spotted me. Aw rats, I thought. She
picked me up and took me to the couch. Then turned on the TV and
began to stroke me. I normally like it when she does this but
Harriet the great had to save Joey the big brown dog.”
Third Place
“The super Harriet with kindness
brings poor Joey with no water icy cold water and ice cubes in
it……One hour later Superman arrives and says what’s the
problem. “This poor dog is chained up and I can’t break
it…..” Superman breaks the chain. “Joey is happy then they
give Joey to Harriet’s owner. Candace gives Joey a big bone that
is very good.”
ART:
The first place art entry was so
good we plan to ask the family if we can use it for a T-shirt design
as a fund raiser for the Phoenix Animal Care Coalition. I don't have
a scanner so I can't show the art entries. I hope to catch up
technology wise!
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
We gave honorable mentions to children
in 10 schools. We will now visit the schools with winners and make
presentations, the fun part.
AzCats
Launches "Save Our Street Kittens" Program (SOS)
AzCats has
officially kicked their 2nd Annual SOS Kittens Campaign. This year
the goal is to raise $60,000 from February 1st - March 31st.
I strongly encourage you to support this campaign. AzCATs has a goal
to sterilize 10,000 cats in 2007 so we are going to need to meet our
fundraising goal in order to make our TNR goal financially possible.
Supporting the SOS Campaign is easy…all we need up front is a
written commitment (pledge) that you will donate a certain amount to
the organization before the end of the year. Your pledge can be made
on a one time basis, monthly, quarterly, etc. We accept credit card
payments, checks, cash, or we can have it automatically deducted
from your bank account. We make it as easy and painless as
possible!!
Please contact Melissa
for more information on this campaign 480-203-4591
For Immediate Release
Contact: AzCATs (480) 968-4867
January 5, 2007
AzCATs’
Trap, Neuter, Return continues to lead the way
Local nonprofit has monumental year and sets
foundation for new collaborative efforts in Animal Rescue
(Phoenix) Arizona Cat
Assistance Team (AzCATs) made great strides in 2006 toward achieving
their mission to end the breeding cycle for free-roaming cats.
Through their Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) program, AzCATs
ended the breeding cycle for 8,477 free roaming, primarily feral,
cats in 2006. “2006
has been a monumental year for the organization”, says President
and CEO, Melissa Newton. “Not
only did we set a new record by humanely trapping and ending the
breeding cycle for 1200 cats in a single month during October, but
we also set a new annual high for the organization by ending the
breeding cycle for over 8,000 last year, which is one of the largest
TNR efforts nationwide.”
“Our organization’s success last year would not have been possible
without the support of the community and several other animal rescue
organizations,” says Newton.
Last year AzCATs had help from Altered Tails, The Animal
Defense Leagues’ Spay/Neuter Hotline, The Arizona Animal Welfare
League, Animal Rescue Center, HALO Animal Rescue, and the Arizona
Humane Society. Several
local veterinarians recognizing the need to bring the free-roaming
cat population under control, also contributed to AzCATs’ success
by providing discounted spay/neuter services.
Sheri Geiss, a resident of Phoenix who used AzCATs’ TNR program for the
feral cats she feeds said “Now that these cats have been spayed
and neutered, I feel better knowing that I am not contributing to
the problematic, ongoing breeding cycle of free-roaming cats.
I am so thankful for this program and for AzCATs.”
Another AzCATs caregiver, Tammera Landa Mesa said “when I used AzCATs
to TNR my 4 ferals, I was very pleased with how well run the
organization was. They
had great follow-up and the volunteers were so dedicated to what
they do. TNR is truly
the only solution to managing cat overpopulation, and AzCATs offers
a great program.”
Last year was full of remarkable and unique collaborative efforts aimed
at reducing the flood of homeless kittens entering our shelters in
the spring. AzCATs is
determined to find new ways to increase our impact.
AzCATs volunteers and supporters don’t plan to rest until
cats and kittens living homeless on the streets of Maricopa County
becomes a sad and distant memory.
Don’t wait until spring…if you need help with free-roaming cats that
you are feeding contact AzCATs at 480-968-4TNR (4867) or at www.azcats.org
before kitten season hits.
AzCATs is
an Arizona non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation dedicated to humanely
ending cat overpopulation. For
more information visit the web site at www.azcats.org
or contact 480-968-4867 or info@azcats.org.
Flagging
attention to animals' plight
Wednesday,
October 18, 2006
By
Sally H. N. Wright
Standard-Examiner correspondent
BRIGHAM CITY -- Hundreds of people pass
by Box Elder Animal Shelter every day without giving it a second
glance.
Phylene
Anderson, of Brigham City, hopes to change that.
To celebrate Utah's Week for the Animals
and raise awareness for the problem of pet overpopulation, Anderson
has spearheaded an effort to decorate the shelter's lawn with more
than a thousand paper flags.
Each flag represents an animal that came
to the shelter in the past year.
Now, drivers slow down to stare at the
rows of flags.
Anderson, owner of Ellie's Pet Hotel, a
Brigham City grooming and boarding business, says she hopes people
will stop for a closer look at the display, learn more about how to
help companion animals and maybe even adopt a pet.
Some of the animals the flags represent
were lucky; 235 were claimed by their owners and 132 were adopted.
The other 638 animals -- mostly dogs and
cats -- were euthanized.
The numbers keep Anderson up at night,
she says, because the problem is a simple one to solve.
"People have to spay and neuter
their pets, or the shelter animals have no chance," she said.
"It's something everyone can do. The shelter workers didn't
create this problem -- they just have to clean it up."
To make so many flags, Anderson
collaborated with Brigham City schoolchildren and animal advocates
around the world.
Students from Jill Vanderwood's class at
Box Elder Middle School and Debi Compton's third-grade class at
Bunderson Elementary in Brigham City decorated flags with drawings,
photos, stories and poetry to illustrate their love for animals.
"We talked about how pets deserve
the very best you can give them, and how if you're going to have a
pet, it's for life. It's not something to be taken lightly,"
Anderson said.
Color-coded
The children's work appears on red and
yellow flags -- what Anderson calls "the happy flags,"
which represent the claimed and adopted animals. Many show pictures
of the students' own pets with little love poems around them.
The 638 white flags on the east side of
the shelter represent the animals that were destroyed. The scene is
reverent, similar to a cemetery, and photos of abandoned animals
that were euthanized stare out of many of them.
Anderson took many photos at the Box
Elder Shelter to illustrate the various flags, but she turned to
contacts in the pet rescue community to help her make each flag
meaningful. Shelter workers and animal advocates in Arizona, Idaho,
Kansas and even Jerusalem sent her photos and stories of both happy
endings and disappointments.
The project also caught the attention of
several animal-loving authors, including Jim
Willis, who wrote "Pieces of My Heart"; Stacy Mantle,
author of "Conquering the Food Chain: Living Among Animals
Without Becoming One"; and Ed Kostro, who wrote "Through
Katrina's Eyes: Poems From an Animal Rescuer's Soul."
They donated books to be given as prizes
and granted permission for quotations from their work to be
displayed.
Vickie Chidester, one of Brigham City's
two animal control officers who also double as shelter
administrators, says her work is emotionally draining and physically
taxing.
"I wish the public understood what
I go through every week when I have to go through the agony of
having to choose which ones live and which ones die," she said.
"Maybe if they could experience
that, having to make that choice, maybe they would be more
responsible."
Longer hours
The Box Elder Animal Shelter is usually
open for only one hour on weekdays and two hours on Saturdays.
Chidester has agreed to extend shelter hours during October, hoping,
like Anderson, that fewer animals will have to be destroyed.
"It's my goal to have that shelter
empty because everybody got adopted," Anderson said. "It's
like winning the lottery for them."
Adoptions ease some of the stress of
Chidester's job, but not enough, she said.
"It's hard to pick up an animal off
the street and care for it and try to get it adopted and then have
to euthanize it," she said.
"Once in a while, someone will come
in for a new pet and say they wouldn't think of going anywhere but
the shelter. It's refreshing and wonderful to have people say
that."
Feedback
So far, the response from the public has
been positive, Anderson said.
"I went to fix some of the flags
that were blowing over, and people were honking and waving and
giving us thumbs up," she said. "This is meant to be an
uplifting project, and I have faith in people that, once they learn,
they will do their part."
When asked how people can help animal
control officers, Chidester offered a short list: "Spay and
neuter, spay and neuter, spay and neuter. And keep their animals at
home."
Everyone who comes to Box Elder Animal
Shelter during Utah's Week for the Animals will receive a free
raffle ticket for a DVD player and other door prizes donated by
Brigham City sponsors. Additional tickets can be purchased for $2
each. Proceeds will go toward creating a discount spay and neuter
program for Box Elder County animals, Anderson said.
The flags will be preserved in a binder
for shelter patrons to look through, Anderson said.
Utah's Week for the Animals is sponsored
by No More Homeless Pets in Utah, a nonprofit coalition of animal
rescue groups, shelters and veterinarians overseen by Best Friends
Animal Sanctuary in Kanab.
If you go
The Utah's Week for the Animals exhibit
at the Box Elder Animal Shelter, 1220 W. Forest St., just off
Interstate 15 Exit 363, is open through Saturday.
The shelter and exhibit will be open 1-7
p.m. today and Thursday; 4-7 p.m. Friday; and 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Saturday.
For the rest of October, the shelter
will have the same opening hours but will close at 6 p.m. weekdays.
To see animals available for adoption at
the shelter, visit www.brighamshelter.petfinder.com. To see animals
at other Utah shelters or for more info about Utah's Week for the
Animals, visit www.utahpets.org.
Images and text copyright © 2005 by Ogden Publishing Corporation.
Reproduction or reuse prohibited without written consent
http://www.standard.net/standard/90098
Animal
Planet Hero of the Year
Alison
Gianotto, co-author of Professional PHP4 Web Development Solutions
and known to thousands as the innovating programmer Snipe of
Snipe.Net and PHPChick.Com has been nominated and selected by
Discovery Channel's Animal Planet for the Hero of the Year Award.
Alison
Gianotto, co-author of Professional PHP4 Web Development Solutions
and known to thousands as the innovating programmer Snipe of
Snipe.Net and PHPChick.Com has been nominated and selected by
Discovery Channel's Animal Planet for the Hero of the Year Award.
Thousands of amazing people were nominated for Animal Planet Hero of
the Year, but only one is using open source technology to address
problems plaguing communities around the world.
Alison Gianotto is the director and founder of Pet-Abuse.Com, a
California-based organization that tracks animal cruelty cases and
animal abusers across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Australia, Spain and New Zealand.
After an unfulfilling career on Wall Street, Alison moved into the
technology field, where she worked as a web developer and taught
graphic design and computer programming for Long Island University
in Brooklyn, New York. She later moved to San Diego to take on the
role of technical director at a leading web development firm. She
has co-authored two technology books on application design and
database solutions.
When the tragedy of animal cruelty struck close to home in October
2001, she refocused her efforts toward animal cruelty prevention and
prosecution, and educating the public about the connection between
animal cruelty and interpersonal violence.
Pet-Abuse.Com provides a database of animal cruelty cases, organized
by country and state, with sophisticated search criteria allowing
the user to query for specific aspects of a case. For law
enforcement on-the-go, Alison developed a WAP version of the
database search to allow law enforcement with internet-enabled
wireless devices such as cellular phones and Blackberry's to access
the database at the scene of an incident.
In just 5 years, Alison's organization has catalogued over 9,000
cases of animal cruelty and more than 9,000 animal abusers. The
information from these cases is used to compile real-time graphical
statistics that document trends in animal abuse crimes and
interactive animal cruelty maps displaying cruelty cases on state
and local geographic levels.
In addition to the only searchable database of abuse cases, Pet-Abuse.Com
provides animal advocates with a unique suite of tools, including a
national listing of upcoming court dates, and the ability to be
notified by e-mail when updates to cases are posted. Humane
societies and rescues across the country now use the animal abuser
search on Pet-Abuse.Com to screen potential adopters for a history
of animal cruelty.
Alison's role is multi-faceted, not only reaching out to the public
to prevent animal cruelty, but working with humane law enforcement
agencies across the country to shine a light on criminal cruelty
cases and the important role that Animal Control serves in the lives
of the animals and people of our communities.
She was involved with the production of "Prosecuting Animal
Cruelty and Illegal Animal Fighting," a video training film
aimed at teaching law enforcement how to effectively investigate and
document animal cruelty crimes.
Her efforts have been lauded in the pages of People Magazine and
numerous newspapers including the Washington Post and the Boston
Globe, and she has appeared on several radio and television programs
to speak about animal cruelty issues and responsible pet ownership.
Learn more about Alison, and vote for her for Animal Planet's Hero
of the Year today!
SOURCE: http://www.clickpress.com/releases/Detailed/19389005cp.shtml
AzCATs’
Trap, Neuter, Return continues to lead the way
(Phoenix) The Maricopa County based Arizona Cat Assistance
Team (AzCATs) again achieved national recognition from the American
Humane Association, this time as a “best practice” for Trap,
Neuter, Return (TNR). To
commemorate this achievement and to honor National Feral Cat Day on
October 16th, the organization plans to humanely trap and
end the breeding cycle for 1,000 free-roaming cats during the month
of October. This will
be the organization’s largest TNR effort ever.
“We are
excited about our goal to
sterilize 1,000 cats in October”, says President & CEO,
Melissa Newton. “This
is the first time the organization has had the ability to accomplish
such a task. We are
fortunate to have great volunteers, and key collaborations that will
help us achieve this feat.”
According to
Jan Raven, Chair of the AzCATs Board of Directors, “October was selected as the month to sterilize 1,000 cats for many
reasons. First, the
organization always does something to recognize National Feral Cat
Day. With over 350,000 free-roaming cats in Maricopa County, we
are always trying to increase the number of cats we are able to
sterilize. The most
important factor in our decision was the recent publication of a
study done by the University of Florida veterinary school in which
AzCATs and 6 other TNR organizations across the nation participated.
Every organization reported cyclical pregnancy rates with the
lowest found between October and December.
Given the holidays October is the obvious choice to challenge
ourselves to get ahead of the curve in 2007.”
AzCATs needs your help.
If you are
interested in participating in this monumental effort, please
contact Melissa Newton at 480-968-4867.
The organization needs volunteers to trap and transport cats,
answer phones, and much more.
Contact
AzCATs if you are feeding a feral cat colony that you need to
sterilize. Please visit
the web site at www.azcats.org
or contact AzCATs at 480-968-4867 or info@azcats.org
for more information.
AzCATs is an Arizona non-profit 501 (c)(3)
corporation dedicated to humanely ending cat overpopulation. For
more information on AzCATs call (480)
986-4TNR (4867).
Steve Irwin:
The Crocodile Hunter
It's
about time we had some purrs going out for the good that people do
in the world for the benefit of animals. And this week, I
would like to start with a well-known personality who was a champion
of the "less cuddly" creatures, Steve Irwin.
Steve Irwin met a tragic and
untimely death this week as a result of a stingray barb penetrating
his heart. Horrid, tragic, unfair, unjust - these are
all words that have been used to describe the death of a man who
described himself as a "Wildlife Warrior". They are
all true. And yet, he died doing what he most loved. The
tragedy of the event will always apply - Irwin did more to bring
attention to the plights of wildlife than most will ever dream of
doing. To our knowledge, he fulfilled his lifelong
goals. He had a wife and family who adored him, a zoo that was
dedicated to education and wildlife preservation, and a job that he
couldn't wait to get up for every morning. His daughter was
preparing to film her first cable show on the same topics for a
youth discovery channel show, and he was in the process of gathering
footage to assist her in doing this.
Again, he died doing what he
loved...
I can only hope that we will
learn from his life and never forget what he struggled to teach us
now that he is gone. That all wildlife is worth saving, not
just the cute furry creatures, but all of it. I hope that we
remember his quips, his family that was left behind, and the
wildlife preserve and zoo that continues to operate as he
wished. Because all too often, when someone leaves us, we tend
to forget the things that they taught us, and that is one of the
cruelest deaths of all.
The
Arrival of Steve Irwin at Rainbow Bridge
(Author Unknown -
forwarded from Cat Writers.org, who located the article from
PetVetCafe.com) If anyone knows the author, please contact me
so that I may give credit to him or her.
Rainbow Bridge is a place
of both peace and anticipation as departed pets await their beloved
owners. There are plenty of things to keep them contented while they
wait: trees you can't get stuck in, endless meadows, splashing
streams, thickets perfect to hide in for pounce-attack games.
But one day the residents
noticed some rather...unusual newcomers arrive.
The koalas and the
kangaroos slipped in rather quietly, but then came the bearded
dragons, the skinks and the goannas. The influx of snakes startled
an entire family of cats up a tree. Pythons, cobras, tiger snakes,
brown snakes and even fierce snakes. There were so many at one
point, it seemed the ground itself was alive with writhing. A burly
wombat shouldered his way through the crowd and plopped down in a
shady spot, barely missing a Jack Russell terrier who yapped
indignantly as he abandoned his position.
And then the crocodiles
showed up
Finally, a Great Dane
managed to get up enough nerve to approach one of the reptilian
giants.
"Um....excuse
me," he said hesitantly. "But, why are you all here?"
The croc dropped her jaw
and laughed. "Same as you, mate," she said. "Waitin'
for someone who loved us."
The dogs, cats, gerbils
and other "typical pets" looked at each other in
confusion, then at the plethora of weird, ugly and downright deadly
creatures assembled. Who on Earth could possibly love some of those
faces?
"I see him!"
shouted a green mamba from his vantage point in one of the trees. A
cacophony of squeeks, hisses, bellows and roars erupted as the mob
surged forward toward a lone human walking across the field toward
the bridge. The other animals managed to catch a glimpse of him
before he was overwhelmed by the crowd.
"CRIKEY!" he
shouted joyously right before he was bowled over by the wombat.
"Well I'll be,"
said a Persian as she tidied up her fur. "It's that Aussie my
human liked to watch on TV. Had to be the craziest human on the
whole planet."
"Oh, please,"
remarked a echidna as he hurried by. "Is it really that crazy
to passionately love something God made?"
"No, it's not,"
they heard a voice say from their crowd. "You see, I, too, was
with him, at his side, as he caught the crocs, the snakes, and the
spiders and spoke on the importance they have in life. For you see,
I am his mate, his dog Sui. To you ordinary animals he may seem
crazy, but to me he is simply known as a Best Friend."
And with that comment, as
the animals looked on with surprise, she ran barking, clearing a
path to him, and jumped in his arms, licking his face as he cried,
"Sui, my mate, my friend. How I've missed you so." And
with that, they all crossed the Rainbow Bridge together.
-- forwarded from
petvetcafe
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