Hey New Yorkers, how early are you willing to wake up to help animals? On ASPCA Day, April 10 (next Thursday!!) we're looking for volunteers to attend The Today Show wearing orange and holding posters! If you need orange gear to wear, get it here.
-The Today Show (NBC) is on the corner of 49th St. and Fifth Ave
The meeting time will be 6:00 AM...ouch, we know, but it's for a good cause. Thanks so much--hope to see you there!
Faithful readers, I'd like to share with you an email the volunteers received from Barbara MacDonald, ASPCA Volunteer Coordinator, Feline Enrichment. I hope you'll be as excited as I am about these special adoptions: Harriet, whom I first posted about in October, and Honda, whom I fell for big time in February.
Harriet is the overweight tabby and white cat with the pretty eyes who lived in Habitat 6 for a long time.She would often be in a non-social sort of mood when adopters came into her territory, so it has taken a little bit longer for her to find an adopter who recognized what a truly sweet kitty she is.She has been with us since September of 2006, so this was a very big moment for all of us in Adoptions when her adoption was announced at the desk Saturday night just before closing.
Honda is our other harder-to-adopt animal who found a home.He is a Rottweiler who is just under 8 years old, and he was brought in to us by our Humane Law Enforcement officers from a bad situation.He since had surgery to correct a jaw malformation, and has received loving care from volunteers and staff alike.Honda had been with us fora total of 10 months.This big sweetheart went home to a family with two children.They had recently lost their dog (also a Rottie), and were heartbroken.They fell in love with Honda as soon as they met him, and our Behavior and Adoptions staff were all thrilled to adopt Honda to such a wonderful family.
This timing of this message about Honda was particularly ironic because I planned to write a plea to you guys to adopt him this week. Just this Tuesday I was in his kennel playing with him, and decided he was my favorite dog at the adoption center. I can't resist large dogs who think they're puppies, and that would be Honda. I sat on the floor, and he sat on my lap! We cuddled, we slobbered, we played--we were buds. I'm going to miss him like crazy. But the idea of him in a home with children excites me to no end. At least I got one last funny photo of him before he left:
In other news, kitten season is coming! Here's a preview:
Our Adoptions staff has way too much fun naming our animals. This kitten is called MacLuvin. Yep, as in, the kid from the movie Superbad. I definitely got a good laugh out of that one. As you can see, this two-month-old sweetie was fascinated by my ID tag.
I'll leave you with a wonderful image of Slice. I was determined to get a good shot of this Beagle's awesome tongue, and I guess I got lucky. Here it is:
Have a great weekend, everyone. Remember, we need your participation on April 10th for ASPCA Day...wear orange! Tell your friends! Spread the word and the love.
** Be sure to check out my Flickr page to see all the photos from my visits to the adoption center.
** Click here to view available animals at our adoption center.
Back in February, we put out a call for photos of your first puppy (and kitty) loves for our My Furry Valentine Contest. Our judges have selected their top entries, and we’re proud to present them here. Thank you to everyone who entered, and four paws up to our winners. May your days be filled with wagging tails, purry wishes, furry head butts and doggie kisses!
What can people do to help keep endangered species alive?
If so many species have died off, why did you, as an author, choose these specific animals to write about?
J. Patrick Lewis, award-winning author of nearly 40 books for kids, has written poems about the history and beauty of 22 extinct animals in Swan Song, featured this month on the ASPCA’s Henry’s Book Club. Lewis, who has been writing for kids for over 20 years, will chat with teen readers about extinct animals and what it’s like to be an author. Please join us in the ASPCA Online Community tomorrow, Wednesday, March 26, 6:30 P.M. to 7:30 P.M. EST.
Ready to go orange on April 10? To get the party started, we're giving away 100 free ASPCA Day Kits, complete with a T-shirt, bandana and wrist bands to share with friends and fellow animal lovers.
You may remember our first announcement in Feb. about this...where does the time go? The contest closes on March 27—that's Thursday—so enter right now. Pronto, before you forget!
Happy Easter! Why should the kids have all the fun today? Get your animals in on the action! How 'bout buying those plastic eggs that you can fill? You can put doggie treats or catnip inside and have your pets join the Easter egg hunt! Don't forget to take pictures--and send them to us via the comments section of our official MySpace page.
Remember--use Certified Humane eggs, and please stick to chocolate bunnies instead of buying a real one. (If you really would like a rabbit in the family, do your research and adopt one after Easter!) OK, nagging done, have fun. :)
The ASPCA held a series of classes for volunteers in order to teach us how to clicker-train cats. Many of our behaviorists use clickers to train dogs and decided it was time kitties got their chance! Why should a cat be trained, you ask?
That was my main question when going to the class. I quickly learned that the purpose of getting the volunteers to train the cats is to boost adoptions. And the idea isn't to train them in anything fancy, like completing complicated obstacle courses; the idea is simply for them to learn a few basic things to make them, well, "cuter," and therefore more likely to get adopted. For instance, we want to teach the cats to come to the front of their cages and put up a paw instead of hiding in the back. Adopters find that very hard to resist!
The clicker can also be used to teach a cat to sit, wave, touch his nose to your hand and spin. What's the main element to training a cat? Entice them with treats, of course! The nice part is, it's win-win for the cat. Even if they don't pick up on the tricks, they're still getting nice socialization time and treats out of the training. I'm eager to give it a shot!
So, clicker training in a nutshell (if you don't have a clicker you can snap the top of a ballpoint pen):
-At the very second the cat starts to do the behavior you're aiming for, click, then give treat. -Never click without giving treat. -Never use clicker to get attention.
Here are a couple of videos to demonstrate:
Trish McMillan, ASPCA Director of Animal Behavior, asked us to choose a new trick to teach her dog, Kenya, who already knew lots of tricks, thanks to clicker training. We chose crawling; here's Trish teaching Kenya to crawl using the clicker.
Here's Katie Watts, Feline Behavior Counselor, showing off the tricks that Myles has learned. Myles is one smart cat! We hope he gets adopted soon!
So, now what? Well, Katie gave us a list of the cats who have been at our adoption center the longest and can use the most help. So we're going to start with them, and hope we can find them homes! Wish us luck!
** Be sure to check out my Flickr page to see all the photos from my visits to the adoption center.
** Click here to view available animals at our adoption center.
Lilies, amaryllis, English ivy… What flora should be forbidden in your home, pet parents? These common plants, along with 14 others, are featured in a new video hosted by our own Dr. Steven Hansen, veterinary toxicologist & ASPCA Senior Vice President. Created especially for National Poison Prevention Week, March 16-22, the video outlines possible toxic effects, along with actual examples of each plant, so you know what to look out for.
Easter may not typically be the holiday that screams "donate," but look at the cute ecards you get to send if you do! So if you're looking for an excuse to donate and give someone you love a unique and interesting gift, this is a good way to do both. Easter's a great time for giving the gift of life for animals in need! Here's the info on how to do it.
Have you heard about Bebo yet? It's a social networking site that's especially popular with the young crowd! We've launched a new profile there, and we hope you'll send us a friend request! While you're at it, comment on the photos of our animals from our adoption center and draw a picture on our white board. Official ASPCA Bebo Profile
If you were able to visit the ASPCA Adoption Center this week, then you were treated to the visual feast of 32 dogs running around together. The boys and girls were separated into two large kennels since they still all need to be spayed/neutered. I wanted to report to you that the girls were ladylike and dainty while the boys played down and dirty, but alas, the girls got down on the boys' level. You can see for yourself in this video! The chicas are on the right, and the fellas are on the left.
Please excuse the shortness of this tug-of-war video clip, I accidentally stopped it too soon. But it was still worth posting, right, right?
Now, is that a mug or what?
"Adopt me, pweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeese!"
These guys and gals will have no problem finding a home. The mama already did, and many more have been put on hold.
When I was finally able to pry myself away from all those poochy pooches, I continued down Bark Avenue and did a double take when I passed...Sakari. Every time I say his name I hear a choir of angels vocalizing in my head. He's just that gorgeous! He's an Alaskan Malamute, about to celebrate his first birthday. As if being the most stunning dog ever isn't enough, he's smart--already having nailed a few commands--and sweet. He loves belly rubs! I wish I had been able to capture his massive size in my photos, but I guess my photography skills are too amateur. Trust me, he's huuuuuuge. He happily licked me all over with his giant tongue and my clothes were literally wet! Ohh, I love that boy. Everyone loves him; he's currently the subject of gossip at the ASPCA water coolers.
** Be sure to check out my Flickr page to see all the photos from my visits to the adoption center.
** Click here to view available animals at our adoption center.
P.S. If you feel like I've slighted the poor kitties with this blog entry, fear not. I've got a whole post devoted to them coming soon!
Nobody loves a story about someone finding their perfect four-legged match as much as we do—except maybe you. Now, we’re putting out a call for adoption success stories featuring pit bulls. What better way to get the word out that pit bulls can indeed make loving and loyal, delightful and devoted companions?
We've launched the Adopt-A-Bull Contest (pretty clever, if we do say so ourselves), sponsored by the New York-based Animal Farm Foundation, Inc, a group dedicated to protecting American pit bull terriers from discrimination and cruelty. We're accepting nominations of successful adoptions of pit bulls made at shelters using the ASPCA’s Meet Your Match™ program. MYM focuses on the individual dog and adopter—making matches based on an individual dog’s behavior and the lifestyle and expectations of the adopter.
The contest will run four times throughout the year, with one winner announced each quarter. The winning shelters will be awarded a $4,000 grant, and the dog-and-pet parent matches from each winning shelter will score a prize pack and automatically be entered into the “Vote for Your Favorite Match” contest, which will take place here, online at ASPCA.org., in February 2009. Yep, we’ll be asking you to cast their vote for your favorite couple, so stay tuned!
The grand-prize shelter winner will be treated to a trip to New York City to participate in the third annual ASPCA Day celebration (that’s April 10, 2009) and a $5,000 grant, and the pet parent-pooch duo who receives the most votes in our online contest will win a photo shoot with a professional photographer and a bronze of their top dog.
And if, over the course of the contest, any of our winning dog-human duos get you thinking that a pit bull might make a perfect match for your family, please visit ASPCA.org for more information…that’s the point of our contest, after all!
Now, since we figure we're entitled to one bad pun per blog post, we'll sign off saying this: If you don't enter this contest and you're eligible, that'll really be the pits.
ASPCA Day is just a month away! Check out our new video to see what's in store when you attend our festivities on April 10 at New York City's Union Square.
Thanks to everyone who contacted us about the video clip recently seen all over the Web, where a member of the United States Military can be seen apparently committing a heinous act of animal cruelty, flinging a puppy off a cliff.
We understand your outrage. Please click here to view our response. We invite and encourage you to share this link with your friends who are concerned about the upsetting incident.
Tammy must be the most active cat I've ever seen! You may recall the video I posted last week where she attacks a feather. Here are a couple more photos of her zany kitten antics.
Tammy cracks me up! She ran around to all of the other cats' cages and jumped up to each cat as if to say hello. Of course, some cats responded better than others. Many wanted no part in Tammy's games. I'll be very curious to know who ends up adopting Tammy. I imagine it should be someone with infinite patience--and minimal valuable objects in the home.
Here are Irving and Snickers, two small doggies housed together. Irving, the Yorkie, is 11 and can't see very well. But he's super sweet! And his roomie, Snickers, is pretty playful. These two amused me to no end. They ran around sniffing each other's butts and rubbing against me and against each other. If I just had popcorn with me I'd have stayed and been entertained for hours. This is Maxx! Poor Maxxie with his ruptured Achilles tendon. This seven-month-old puppy doesn't seem to even notice his cast, however; he's all love, with his tail a-waggin'!
The star of this video is Rudy, an adorable little Pomeranian who always looks like he's smiling! You can hear the music in the background--the ASPCA Adoption Center always plays classical music for the animals. Sometimes the cats get a treat and listen to nature sounds (birds and bugs, mostly).
** Be sure to check out my Flickr page to see all the photos from my visits to the adoption center.
** Click here to view available animals at our adoption center.
I always hear the term “Breed Specific Legislation,” or BSL. What does that mean?
How can I help pass humane legislation in my state?
What’s the best way to get my legislator’s attention about a humane issue?
The number-one question we get here at the ASPCA is: How can I help? (This also happens to be our favorite question!) Lobbying for laws that protect animals is a great way to get involved. Wanna find out more about humane laws and how the legislative process works? Just ask the ASPCA’s Ledy VanKavage, Esq., Senior Director of Legislation and Legal Training.
VanKavage will be on hand to answer your questions live Friday, March 7 from noon to 2:00 P.M. EST in our ASPCA Online Community. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the humane movement! For more information, please visit the Lobby For Animals section on our website.
