Animal News (other than cats)
From an abandoned, abused baby who was left at a bus stop with two broken ankles to Super Star–such is the path a rescue dog can take. And this is the journey that Fruit Bat West traversed to begin her acting career this March in the Grandview Heights High School production of Legally Blonde, The Musical!
In case you don’t know Fruit Bat’s sorrowful story, you can read it HERE and see photos of her in her little leg casts.
But just a quick summary. Fruit Bat was found off of West Broad Street several years ago with both back ankles fractured so that she was unable to move. She laid immobilized for hours until a kind good samaritan from Colony Cats took her to Dr. Kim West. Dr. West saved her life and christened her with her quirkily appropriate name–Fruit Bat, because she did look like a Fruit Bat (and Dr. West had been naming rescue cats over several months following the alphabet and had reached “F” in her naming schedule).
The rest of Fruit Bat’s story unfolded like a tear jerker Hollywood movie. Dr. West adopted her. She healed. She went from homeless and helpless in the blink of an eye.
Now loved and spoiled in the West household and the reigning Queen, along with her sister, Tupelo, at her mom’s vet clinic, Health and Harmony Animal Hospital, Fruit Bat had a fairy tale ending–something all rescue pups dream of finding.
Even when she was broken and homeless, however, this sweet chihuahua had star quality. She always seemed to be smiling and happy. She never lost hope.
Fruit Bat’s celebrity personality is apparent to everyone and she will soon be the star attraction in Legally Blonde, The Musical! playing the role of Bruiser, Elle’s beloved canine friend in the law school comedy.
Legally Blonde, The Musical! will be performed on Thursday, March 7 at 8 pm, Friday, March 8 at 8 pm, and Saturday, March 9 at 2 pm and 8 pm. Tickets are $8 or $10, depending on the location in the auditorium.
Pick a day and come see this plucky pup perform!
Fruit Bat is even included in the cast list. Look for her name beside Bruiser’s character on the cast list HERE.
For more information on the show dates and times, go HERE. Grandview Heights High School is located at 1587 West Third Avenue in Grandview Heights.
Fruit Bat will also be having a red carpet event…to be announced by her proud stage mom.
We would wish Fruit Bat the normal theater congrats on her opening night: “Break a leg.” But in this case, knowing her history, we don’t think that is appropriate. Instead we will tell her to have a “doggone” good time and show everyone the power of rescue and of love.
If you have never heard of this, I’d like to encourage you to participate in a really neat project that Dogs Deserve Better does each Valentine’s Day. For the Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Valentine Campaign, Dogs Deserve Better (DDB) sends out Valentines to chained and penned dogs. Mailed along with the Valentine is a brochure about bringing dogs into the home and freeing them from their chained existence, as well as a coupon for a dog treat. This is the 11th year that Dogs Deserve Better has been sending out Valentines to neglected canines.
Last year, Dogs Deserve Better, whose mission focuses on freeing dogs from chained and penned lives, sent almost 19,000 Valentines. The goal for 2013 is 20,000 Valentines. In order to do that, DDB needs you!
First of all, they need you to make Valentines for the dogs. If you are a teacher, a student, a group leader (4-H, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts) or someone homeschooling their children, this is a great service project to teach kindness to animals. The Valentines should be no larger than 4″ by 8″ so they can fit into an envelope to be mailed. DDB is stressing Quality over Quantity–they want really neat Valentines that will make people think. You can visit their web site to see some of the cool Valentines people made in previous years and also to download high resolution chained dog images to use on your own Valentines. All Valentines must be mailed to Dogs Deserve Better, 1915 Moonlight Road, Smithfield, VA 23430 by February 5–yes, we are running out of time.
Secondly, DDB needs coupons for free or reduced cost treats or dog food. They are aiming at having a coupon to go with every Valentine, so 20,000 coupons. You can mail coupons to the same address: 1915 Moonlight Road, Smithfield, VA 23430.
And finally, DDB needs to know who to send these Valentines to. If you know of a chained or penned dog in your area (we have all seen them–the poor dogs that look miserable in summer heat and bring tears to our eyes when they are covered in drifts of snow), please find the addresses for those dogs and either email them to info@dogsdeservebetter.org, call the info in at 757-357-9292, or go online and fill out the information via a form on the web site: HERE. YOU WILL REMAIN ANONYMOUS!
You can also sponsor the cost of sending 20,000 Valentines by making a donation to Dogs Deserve Better online or by mailing a check to the address listed above. You can also purchase really neat Valentine merchandise when you visit the site to learn how to participate in the 2013 Valentine Campaign.
To read the official press release, go HERE.
Like DDB on Facebook HERE.
We should all have a heart for chained dogs!
Please check out the wonderful “Collars By Katie.” Katie Habrat is currently an employee at East Hilliard Vet Services and a vet student at The Ohio State University–clearly a very busy lady. She started “Collars By Katie” as a side business and is so generous to offer to donate part of the proceeds from sales to Black and Orange. Katie will donate $2 per item sold (cat collars, dog collars, leashes, harnesses) to B and O through January and $1 per item thereafter. There is a spot on her ordering window online that asks “who referred you?” so she’ll know where the credit is due! So if you do order something, write in that you found out about Katie’s wonderful items from B and O!
Katie also has some of her items available for sale at East Hilliard Vet Services, 3993 Brown Park Drive in Hilliard (across from the post office). Stop in the office and take a look at her lovely items and then buy as many as your pockets can hold!
Please support Katie, as she is very kindly supporting us and the kitties!
To find out more and order from Katie, visit her web site: http://collarsbykatie.tripod.com/
I know that all of you who adopted from us have very lucky and spoiled kitties.
Animal Planet, Petfinder.com, and Petco are asking rescue groups to have supporters and adopters submit their luckiest pet in the “Luckiest Pet Contest.”
Many of you know the sad or unfortunate situation that your pet came from. Now, though, they are living the life of luxury, loved and pampered in your home. So take the time to enter the contest and tell everyone how lucky your baby is.
You can enter your lucky pet in the contest from now until February 20. Entrants will select a Petfinder rescue group or shelter when submitting the story of their pet. If the pet wins the contest, the Petfinder group they picked will win, too. We hope you will kindly select us when you enter your pet in the contest!
The luckiest pet who receives the most votes will win a $500 gift card to Petco and a $5,000 donation to the rescue group or shelter they chose when they entered. Voting will begin on February 21 and end on March 18. You will be able to vote for your choice of luckiest pet once a day.
To enter, you will need to upload a photo or video of your lucky pet and describe why your baby is the luckiest fur-ball alive.
To enter the Luckiest Pet Contest and find out more, go HERE.
The kitty featured in this photo is Presto who was adopted by Monica and Jeff Forman this past year. Presto is a very lucky kitty. He was an outside cat, fending for himself, and now he is a very spoiled boy who receives tons of gifts and lots of love!
On January 9, volunteers from SOS of Ohio, (Shelter Outreach Services) will be traveling to New Providence Island in the Bahamas to begin “Operation Potcake and The Bahamas 5 Year Spay and Neuter Initiative.”
Operation Potcake is a ten-day intensive spay and neuter campaign that runs from January 10 through January 21. The goal is to sterilize 2,000 animals during that 10 day time frame.
Operation Potcake will spay and neuter feral and stray dogs and cats who will probably never see another vet during their lifetimes.
The 5 Year Initiative plans to help dog and cat owners who need low cost vet care for their pets. The surgeries are being offered for FREE to owners.
All of the clinics during Operation Potcake are being run by volunteers. People are coming from around the world to help with this intensive 10 day spay and neuter campaign.
It is estimated that there are 20,000 dogs on New Providence alone! If there are 20,000 dogs, I can only imagine how many cats there probably are!
So where does the word “Potcake” come from in Operation Potcake?
Potcakes are local dogs, usually mixes of several different breeds. In the Bahamas, a “potcake” is the leftover food on the bottom of a pot of rice. These unwanted food remains were traditionally fed to stray dogs and, thus, the name potcake came to be associated with the dogs.
For more information on this huge initiative, visit the Animal Balance web site HERE.
Follow this link to a YouTube public service announcement about Operation Potcake: YouTube Link
Here is a brief list of items the SOS volunteer team would like to take with them as they head to the Bahamas. You can drop off items to SOS before January 9th. They are located at 691 E. Dublin-Granville Road in Columbus.
1. Shipping tags (the old fashioned brown card with string type–often found at Office Depot).
2. Cotton Balls
3. Q-tips
4. Nutrical
5. Spray bottles
6. Tupperware containers–assorted sizes with lids
7. Old socks (without holes) to cover the hot water bottles (recycled bottles)
8. Brushes and Combs
9. Triple Antibiotic Ointment
10. Monetary donations–which can be sent to SOS of Ohio, 691 E. Dublin-Granville Road, Columbus, Ohio 43229
Please take the time to see if you can round up any of these items to help out the volunteer team from SOS. Many of these items we all have around our homes in abundance or we can purchase at low cost to help the animals.
To find out more about SOS’s ongoing efforts, visit their Facebook page HERE.
Click on the flyer in the upper righthand corner to enlarge and read!
We are so happy to announce that our good friend, veterinarian, and board member, Dr. Kim West, will be opening her own vet hospital, Health and Harmony, on October 15. Dr. West will be assisted by fellow friend and veterinarian, Dr. Evelyn Tannhof, and head technician/practice manager, Rob Smith, in caring for the beloved animals that enter the hospital.
Health and Harmony is located at 1117 West First Avenue in Columbus (actually Grandview).
The mission statement of Health and Harmony states: “To honor our patients, Health and Harmony Animal Hospital ensures that each client is confident in the care they are receiving for their animal companion, comfortable with all aspects of the hospital and staff, as well as engaged in all areas of their pet’s health and well-being.”
The Black and Orange Board members all had a tour of the facility at our last board meeting in September and the hospital is going to be gorgeous. Painted in calming colors, the whole building exudes peace and tranquility. There will be separate waiting areas for cats and dogs. The dog waiting area will feature large comfy dog beds for lounging. Both Dr. West and Dr. Tannhof will be bringing their dogs to work with them, so expect to see the friendly faces of Fruit Bat (the chihuahua who was saved from a spot at a busy bus stop where she sat all day with a broken ankle) and her partner in crime, Tupelo Honey, the fluffy, fierce diva Pomeranian.
There is also a true isolation room in the hospital with the walls lined with a material that can be scrubbed and sanitized. I have never seen anything like this room. Clearly cutting edge!
Dr. West will be offering her acupuncture talents for those animals who need this service. Additionally (and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this), both Dr. West and Dr. Tannhof have officially decided that they will NOT do any declaw surgeries! Declawing is a very painful and inhumane surgery and Dr. West and I have talked about the problems declawed cats face for many years. Black and Orange does not adopt to anyone who plans to declaw and Dr. West decided that, as a vet, she could not continue to do something that she thinks is unnecessary and even harmful to cats.
However, like Black and Orange, Dr. West plans to educate people about declawing and offer alternatives. The staff at Health and Harmony will trim nails and attach Soft Paws (the soft sheathes that fit over nails to prevent cats from doing damage with their nails) for clients who are worried about their cat’s scratching behaviors.
To read more about declawing and find alternatives yourself, go HERE.
We are also happy to announce that one of the cat exam rooms will be named after and dedicated to Black and Orange Cat Foundation! Our logo will be painted on the door and we will feature photos of our rescued kitties and their happy stories on the walls of the room. Other rescue groups, including SOS of Ohio, will also be featured with the other exam rooms in the hospital.
To schedule an appointment at Health and Harmony, call 614-360-3941.
To find out more and see photos of the beautiful facility, go to the Health and Harmony Facebook page HERE. And please “Like” them while you are there!
We are so happy for Dr. West and wish her and all the staff much luck as they set forth on this new and exciting endeavor!
Please join Black and Orange for MARS Petcare’s 5th Annual “Adoption on the Lawn” on Sunday, September 9 from noon to 5 pm. The event, which is held on the lawn in front of MARS at 5115 Fisher Road, will feature adoptable dogs and cats (just a note–we do not do same day adoptions–all of our normal adoption policies will stand and no cats will be able to go home with adopters the day of the event), music, kids activities, product giveaways, and prizes.
The adoption event will feature 15 local shelters and rescues including several purebred dog rescues (Columbus Cocker Rescue, Ohio Pug Rescue, and Ohio Rottweiler Rescue). Additionally, there will be several cat groups (Cat Welfare, Cozy Cat Cottage, as well as B and O), and shelters that feature both dogs and cats (Citizens for Humane Action, Humane Society of Madison County, Humane Society of Clark County, New Beginnings Animal Shelter, Pets Without Parents, Powell Animal Welfare Society, and Stop the Suffering).
Canine Collective and His Hands Extended Sanctuary will also be among the Elite 15!
This is our third year participating in this event. We LOVE MARS. They are so good to us, donating food to help our caregivers and our Pet Food Pantry, and supporting us in so many other ways.
We hope you will come out and support MARS and us at this fun event.
To print out a flyer please click the link: Columbus KKC Flyer 2012-final
Wesley the Cow will be celebrating his birthday at Sunrise Sanctuary on Sunday, September 9 from 12-3 pm. In his honor, Sunrise Sanctuary is hosting a very special birthday party to raise money for the other animals at the sanctuary. Tickets are $10 (adult) or $25 (family) and include lunch (vegan, of course–we don’t eat our friends!), a silent auction, kids activities (face painting, make a Wesley sock puppet, and more), a raffle, and a meet and greet with Wesley and his friends. There will also be live music by Darcey Hile and Friends.
Lunch, which includes donated Gardein food, will be prepared by Shelley Martin from Cake Flower. A drink and vegan dessert are included.
Make sure you sign Wesley’s GIANT birthday card!
For the official birthday party invitation, click: Wesley’s Flyer
For more information on this special party, go HERE.
And LIKE Sunrise Sanctuary on Facebook HERE.
Ticket sales end August 31!
Happy Birthday, Wesley! We wish more cows were able to have birthday parties!
For the sixth year, Columbus Dog Connection will be presenting Woofstock 2012 on Saturday, August 18, from 12-5 pm to raise funds to help save animals in the Columbus area and prevent unwanted litters from being born through spay and neuter services.
The event will be held rain or shine at Camp Mary Orton located just north of 270 at 7925 North High Street in Worthington. Tickets are $15 with kids 12 and under FREE.
Woofstock will feature bands Anna and the Consequences, The Get Outs, Moving to Boise, and Donna Mogavero.
There will be lots of vendors, several rescue groups, tons of food and beer, and great raffle items. Spayed and neutered dogs can hike with their humans through trails in Camp Mary Orton leading all the way to the Olentangy River. Additionally, the dogs can cool off in the Ice House, a mountain of ice providing relief from the August “dog days.” You can also spin “The Big Wheel,” just like on The Price is Right to win Woofstock t-shirts, toys, or other surprises.
So bring your dogs, a blanket, and chairs to enjoy “1 Day of Dogs & Music.” Woofstock is just like the original Woodstock, except there are dogs instead of drugs!
For more information on this fun event to help Central Ohio animals, please go HERE.
I told everyone about the Get Your Fix web site back in March and I have become addicted to the site. The site was started by the Fixit Foundation after receiving numerous emails from people nationwide who wanted to spay or neuter their pets, but just could not afford to do so. The Get Your Fix site allows people to create a profile for the animal they need fixed and include their story and a photo. People, like me, who want to help get an animal fixed, can put in their zip code and look for animals within 25 or 100 miles from them or anywhere nationwide. Once an animal is chosen, you then make a donation toward the surgery costs. The donation amount is $100 and the folks at Get Your Fix then contact the pet owner and make all the arrangements to get the animal into a vet for the surgery.
For the people in the Columbus area who list cats on the Get Your Fix site, I’ve contacted them and sent them to the clinics we use. Black and Orange then covered the costs since we could fund a spay or neuter for less than the $100 donation.
Most of the animals I have funded personally for surgeries have been dogs, because the $100 donation is very reasonable to spay or neuter a dog, especially a large dog. The two dogs pictured, Zoe and Bo, were dogs I sponsored for my mom’s birthday last month. This photo is of them shortly after they had their surgeries. It makes me feel so good to know an animal will have a better life. And, yes, I fund spays and neuters for family member’s (and friend’s) birthdays. They understand. They know me. They think it is an unusual birthday gift, but everyone so far has loved knowing they’ve helped a dog or cat “get their fix.”
I just had an email Dr. Kellie Heckman, one of the founders of Fixit Foundation, alerting me to a grant from the Shumaker Foundation which will allow one animal to be fixed for free with every paid donation to fix another animal in the same household. That’s a 2 for 1 deal! While funds last, if you sponsor an animal in a multi-pet household on the Get Your Fix web site, a second animal will be fixed for free!
For more information about this super opportunity, go HERE.
I know I will definitely be taking advantage of this great deal and helping two animals get fixed for my one donation!