Monthly Archives: November 2009

Santa Claus, Chuck Gaul, with last year's Christmas kitty, B. B.

Santa Claus, Chuck Gaul, with last year's Christmas kitty, B. B.

Join us on Saturday, December 19 from 11-4 pm at the PetSmart on Sawmill Road (6010 Sawmill Road in Columbus, next to the Target) for our annual “Photos with Santa Paws” event. You will receive one digital picture along with a commemorative photo frame for $9.95 (with your PetPerks card). Black and Orange Cat Foundation will receive $5 from the sale of each package.

Please stop out and support us. Our Board secretary, Carol Gaul, has persuaded her husband, Chuck, to act as our Santa again this year. He did a really nice job last year, although, we must remember to provide him with suspenders for this event–he nearly lost his pants last year! Chuck was a very good sport and had his photo taken with a snake, lots of happy dogs, and a few cats that endured the whole humiliating affair.

If you give us your email address, we will also email you the photos we take of your pet.

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We recently found out that a very nice lady who lives in Plain City, Lori Thelen, opened up a doggie day care center called Camp Bow Wow in Hilliard, Ohio. Not only have they opened, but they are also heavily involved in the rescue community. Lori fosters dogs with Columbus Dog Connection and also uses her new, gorgeous facility to help others doing rescue work. One feature that we really like about Camp Bow Wow: you can log in to their site and view your dog in daycare via web cam at any time. How wonderful is that?

Camp Bow Wow wants to help pet owners who might be having a hard time keeping their dogs and cats fed this winter by hosting a collection of needed items for pets. Discovering that Columbus Dog Connection (www.columbusdogconnection.com) has been “Dumpster Diving for Dogs” to find building supplies to make shelters for dogs that are out in the elements, Camp Bow Wow also wants to collect discarded wood and other building materials that local contractors often pitch.

In order to distribute the food and other items collected during this fund drive, we are planning to set up “The Pet Pantry” in the unused units that we have next to the pharmacy, Plain City Druggist, in Plain City. I was unofficially named President of our new pantry, but I won’t let it go to my head! Someday, we hope those vacant units will be filled with other healthcare professionals, but until then, we will use the empty space to house much needed items for Plain City’s needy pets.

The collection for pet supplies will be on Saturday, December 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can stop by Camp Bow Wow, located at 5100 Nike Drive in Hilliard and drop off items. While you are there warm up with a free hot dog and hot chocolate, which is being provided by Camp Bow Wow.

To learn more about Camp Bow Wow, visit their web site: http://www.campbowwow.com/us/oh/hilliard/

Here is the official press release with more information about the event from Camp Bow Wow:

“People are not the only ones suffering through the difficult economy. Cash-strapped families are increasingly giving up their pets, the cost of their care too great in the current recession.

Several area rescue and pet service groups are seeing a dramatic increase in families giving away their pets because they can no longer afford to feed and care for them.

The Pet Pantry and the Columbus Dog Connection are holding a collection day to accept pet food and other needed goods to help families keep their pets.

The collection will take place at Camp Bow Wow, 5100 Nike Dr., Hilliard, on Dec. 12 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

“The number of calls we are receiving from people having to give up their pets has increased dramatically in the past six months,” said Jessica Leonard of the Columbus Dog Connection. “We always look for ways to keep pets with their owners, but the primary reason people are giving up their animals is cost. They can’t afford them in this economy.”

Robin Craft, president of the Pet Pantry in Plain City, said she is receiving similar calls from people giving up their dogs and cats. “Nearly everyone who calls says they just can’t afford to keep them,” Craft said.

Items collected at the Camp Bow Wow event will be distributed to individuals through the sponsoring groups. Items requested are:

  • Dog and cat food;
  • Kitty litter;
  • Pet hygiene items;
  • Blankets, sheets and towels;
  • Newspapers (not glossy advertisements);
  • Cleaning supplies;
  • Bleach and laundry soap;
  • Building materials for dog houses and beds, such as clean wood, nails, 1.5- and 2-inch wood screws and paint;
  • Leashes, collars;
  • Food bowls and toys.

The donated items don’t need to be new, but in good condition.

Camp Bow Wow, a doggie daycare and boarding facility, will be giving away free hot dogs and hot chocolate to donors.

Camp Bow Wow will continue to accept donations for the groups throughout the holidays during regular business hours.”

Fiona puts up with our antics again.Fiona puts up with our antics again.

Poor Fiona. She has put up with us making her wear bunny ears for Easter and a pirate hat. Now today at our PetSmart monthly adoption event, it was time to pull out the Santa hat. 

She wasn’t the only one who had to endure the indignity of wearing a red hat. 

Bianca is not amused.

Bianca is not amused.

Bianca also got the Santa treatment. Bianca is one of our newest kitties needing a home. Bianca came to us several years ago from a horrible situation. She went to live a wonderful, spoiled life in 2007, but the family now needs to find her a new home. A dominate cat in the household is attacking Bianca and making her very unhappy. She is a bit scared of cats now and would need to be in a home with a very docile kitty. Bianca also has some vision issues and cannot see all that well, but she does just fine and only needs a loving person who will spend lots of time with her. She loves people and loves to be petted and brushed.

 

Sabrina also tolerated the humiliation.

Sabrina also tolerated the humiliation.

Sabrina is another kitty like Bianca. She is also about the same age. Bianca is 6 and Sabrina is 7. Sabrina is also being picked on by a dominate male cat and she needs a peaceful home where she will not be scared. She would be good with a small, younger kitten or another laidback cat. But no bullies, please.

 

Blue didn't mind at all.

Blue didn't mind at all.

Blue was the best of everyone. She did not mind at all that we put a hat on her. She just continued to lie in her little bed (she loves her bed) even with the hat on her head. She did not try to run or pull it off. What a sweet girl.

And finally, our miracle girl, Lydia got to try on the hat. After that experience, she felt a warm hat might have been very helpful during her three week scary adventure outside. Lydia is the little kitty who got outside and was missing for 3 weeks until Kristin found her. Look at her now!

 

If only I had had this hat when I was outside.

If only I had had this hat when I was outside.

 

Santa Black Cat Earrings from PJ Publications

Santa Black Cat Earrings from PJ Publications

I came across this company in a newsletter I receive from Born Free USA, a charitable organization that works to help “end the suffering of wild animals in captivity, rescue individual animals in need, protect wildlife–including highly endangered species–in their natural habitats, and encourage compassionate conservation globally.” The group works for animals in the trapping and fur industry, for captive exotic animals, and those in entertainment and the international wildlife trade. 

When you purchase anything from the PJ Publications web site, enter “BFUSA” in the Promo Code Box with your order and 20% of your purchase (minus the shipping and taxes) will go to Born Free USA. 

To see cat themed gifts: http://www.pjpublications.com/Category-CatGifts.htm

To see the Holiday gift collection for animal lovers: http://www.pjpublications.com/Jewelry-HolidaysAnimals.htm

And to see the dog themed gifts: http://www.pjpublications.com/Category-DogGifts.htm

 

Dachshund Santa Earrings from PJ Publications.

Dachshund Santa Earrings from PJ Publications.

 

Cat Wallet made of Polyurethane from PJ Publications.

Cat Wallet made of Polyurethane from PJ Publications.

Clayton, one of our beloved black kitty fosters.

Clayton, one of our beloved black kitty fosters.

Today, the day after Thanksgiving, is typically called Black Friday for retailers since it is supposedly the day they go from being in the red, or having a loss in their accounting books, to being “in the black” or making a profit. But some animal shelters across the nation, including local ones here in Central Ohio, are giving the term Black Friday a whole new meaning by making this a day to adopt black cats and dogs, which notably are the animals that are least adopted.

For whatever reasons, big black dogs and black cats are most often euthanized in shelters. It may be that some people still harbor superstitions about black animals having ties to witchcraft.

There is a really nice article about this subject on Care2: http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/black-friday-gets-new-meaning/

And Citizens For Humane Action (CHA) in Westerville, actually has put out a flyer explaining all the benefits of adopting a black cat:

http://www.chaanimalshelter.org/cats/documents/blackcats.pdf

Sadly, on this flyer, CHA quotes a 2002 study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science that examined adoption rates over nine months in California. This study found that “black cats were about half as likely to be adopted as tabby cats and two-thirds less likely than white cats.”

Here is CHA’s Black Friday Adopt-A-Thon Flyer: http://www.chaanimalshelter.org/documents/BlackFridayFlyerEdit11.10.09.pdf

Citizens For Humane Action is offering discounts on adoption fees from 30-60% based upon how early in the day you Adopt. They are also asking people to “Adopt, not Shop,” which applies not only to taking the time to visit a shelter today and not spend the day at the mall, but also to the idea of adopting a pet rather than purchasing one at a pet store.

Let’s turn things around for black dogs and cats and make Black Friday a day when they flow out of shelters and into their forever homes.

Our girl, Blue.

Our girl, Blue.

I just wanted to post some new photos of our sweet, girl Blue, the little Siamese with the eye that did not develop correctly at birth. The pictures I had of her previously were from her time at Capital and she was huddled in the back of a cage.

Here she is stretched out enjoying the good life in her own little bed. I have to say that she has really blossomed since she has come into a home. She loves people and she is such a talker. As soon as she hears you come in the door, she starts chattering from her suite in the spare bathroom.

Chilling in her bed.

Chilling in her bed.

While we kept Blue separate until we knew her eye was okay, she has been out and about with some of the other foster kitties and does well with them. She really likes to have all the attention herself, however, and whenever Dad is with her, he tends to carry her around with him. Talk about spoiled. But we think she deserves that after the rough start she had. She cannot see out of her right eye, so she always looks as if she is winking at you. Sometimes she tilts her head and focuses the good eye on you as if to get a good look at who exactly gave her this wonderful life.

Ah, the good life.

Ah, the good life.

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I came across this cool web site when I went on to read about the legislation that is being passed in California to make declawing cats illegal.  Six cities in California have now banned declawing, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Berkeley. West Hollywood was way ahead of the crowd and passed the nation’s very first declaw ban back in 2003.

The United States is behind the curve on making declawing illegal. Most countries, except the U. S., have already banned the surgery. Countries which have outlawed the procedure include England, Scotland, Wales, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, New Zealand, Ireland, and many, many more. To see the complete list, go to:  http://www.declawing.com/htmls/outlawed.htm

The Paw Project is a charitable organization with the mission “to educate the public about the painful and crippling effects of feline declawing, to promote animal welfare through abolition of the practice of declaw surgery, and to rehabilitate big cats that have been declawed.”

To visit The Paw Project web site and learn more about their efforts and why they are against declawing (as am I–Black and Orange Cat Foundation does not adopt to anyone who plans to declaw), visit their web site: http://www.pawproject.com/

And what about that poster at the beginning of the blog? I have always read that if you declawed a human, it would be like cutting our fingers off at the knuckle. When a cat is declawed, they actually remove the bones down to the first joint. Think that isn’t painful? Think again.

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The first thing I want to remind everyone about is to use GoodShop this holiday season if you are purchasing gifts online. GoodShop is powered by GoodSearch, the search engine that donates a penny to your chosen charity each time you use them to search for things. It is just like Google, only it gives back to charities when you use it.

The same is true for GoodShop. Each time you use it and select the charity you want to benefit, GoodShop retailers give a portion of the purchase amount to that charity. You can log into GoodShop by going to: http://www.goodsearch.com/goodshop.aspx

Please put in Black and Orange Cat Foundation when it asks, “Who Do You Support?”

GoodShop is great because all your favorite stores are there: PetSmart, Amazon.com, The Apple Store, Macy’s, Sears, and many, many more. There are even coupons on the site that allow you to save even more and each retailer lists how much of the purchase price comes to your charity. Some give 1-2 percent, others up to 7.5 percent or more. Those percentages really add up.

And if you want to buy books, you can choose from Borders, Barnes and Noble, or a ton of others. Just click on the “Books and Media” link on the side bar and you can choose which bookstore to use.

Since books are one of my favorite gifts to give and receive for any holiday, I wanted to tell you about a few new ones, as well as some award winners.

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The first books are for children. The ASPCA always awards the Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award each year to authors who make “a contribution to humane children’s literature.” These are the best of the best for animal loving kids (and adults).

To find the list of the 2008 winners, go to: http://www2.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=edu_bookaward_2008_list

All of these books can be purchased on the ASPCA web site or through Amazon.com. By purchasing them on Amazon.com, you can also support us through GoodShop!

To see all the books in the ASPCA bookstore, including the yearly award winners, go to: http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/index.php?categoryID=104

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And finally, Nathan J. Winograd has a new book out as a follow up to his huge hit, Redemption, The Myth of Pet Overpopulation & The No Kill Revolution in America. Called Irreconcilable Differences, The Battle for the Heart and Soul of America’s Animal Shelters, the new book looks at how animal lovers everywhere are standing up to the excuses given by many high kill animal shelters to justify killing.

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Winograd’s earlier book Redemption won numerous awards for its groundbreaking ideas, including debunking and challenging the myth that “killing animals in U. S. shelters is an act of kindness.”

To learn more about these books and to purchase them, please visit Winograd’s web site: http://www.nathanwinograd.com/

Both are available at Amazon.com. I just bought my copies through GoodShop and picked B and O as my charity! Hurrah!

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Very soon I will be announcing a new wine that is going to feature rescue kitties that Black and Orange Cat Foundation helped. The wine, produced by Eldchrist Winery here in Plain City, showcases B and Mittens, feline brothers who went through one of our clinics. The owners of the Winery wanted to give back to us, so a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their “Kitten’s Kiss” wine will go to Black and Orange to help support our sterilization efforts. We’ll let you know more about that as soon as the wine is released. We have tasted the wine and it is SUPER!

But for now, we want to tell you about these wines by Carivintas Winery which honor the Vicktory Dogs, the dogs used in Michael Vick’s dog fighting horrors. The wine labels showcase portraits of the various Vicktory dogs, as well as an inspiring story about the featured dog. Because Best Friends Animal Sanctuary helped save the Vicktory dogs and found homes for them, the Winery is offering a Vicktory Dog Wine of the Day at a discounted rate with 25 percent of the proceeds going to Best Friends.

To see all of the Vicktory Dogs Wines and order yours, go to: http://www.dogloverswineclub.com/vicktorydogs?orderby=PXPC.DisplayOrder%20Asc,%20P.ProductName%20ASC&startrow=1

You can also become a part of the Wine Club and have wines shipped to you monthly, bi-monthly, or quarterly. The Carivintas Winery not only has a Vicktory Dogs Wine Club, but one for Dog, Cat, and Horse Lovers. I entered our neighbor in the Dog Lovers Wine Club last year (and again this year) and it was probably the best gift she has ever received. She is always so excited now when the mail comes (even if it isn’t time for her wine shipment)! The Winery supports animal shelters and rescue groups across the country and proudly touts this on their site.

You can also order art prints of the animals that were featured on wine labels or create your own label featuring your companion animal. How cool would that be? To have a bottle of wine with your fluffball’s face peering out at you!

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And check out their other merchandise, including a weiner dog wine holder:  http://www.dogloverswineclub.com/index.cfm?method=storeproducts.showList&productcategoryid=adca6e43-f484-6de8-3a4f-b8cb3c0aada6

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For all of us here in Ohio who are fighting the Puppy Mill fight, I love these t-shirts. And not only are they cool and express all our thoughts on puppy mills, $5 from the sale of each t-shirt also goes toward the Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products campaign.

To purchase your own t-shirt and others, with slogans such as “Fairy Dogmother” and “Mom-of-A-Bitch” visit the Fleas Please web site: http://fleasplease.com/

And to read more about Best Friends’ Puppies Aren’t Products, visit: http://network.bestfriends.org/campaigns/puppymills/default.aspx

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