Where to search online for shelter pets:

• Shelter Pet Project, a fun site that asks you questions before revealing your matched pet results.
• Petfinder, a valuable resource utilized by many shelters and rescues.

As you may know, I’ve been featuring special needs pets this week in honor of National Shelter Appreciation Week. Why? No pet should have to live for years in a shelter before finding a forever home. Plus, the space that pet is taking up may be preventing other pets from being accepted at the facility if space is limited. While special needs pets are often overlooked because of medications, special diets or physical disabilities, they’re so very deserving of homes too.

Please take a few minutes to read about these special pets looking for homes. If you know someone who might be interested, pass along this post to them.

Annika gets along well with other cats and loves to play hide and seek.

Annika lives in Raleigh, NC at Second Chance Pet Adoption. As you can tell, this black-and-white beauty has long hair, and she’s quite sweet. Her caretakers report that she loves to be held. She even performs belly flops for extra attention. Annika was found near a dumpster as a kitten, and she’s been living at Second Chance for two years now. Her only special requirement is that she needs daily eye medications for an infection that had not been treated properly before she was rescued. Her vision may be a little impaired, but those who take care of Annika say that you’d never know that by the way she plays! To adopt Annika, visit secondchancenc.org or call (919) 851-8404.

Leo loves toys that squeak, and falling asleep on the sofa next to you.

Leo will certainly melt your heart. He is a loving Pekingese in need of a good home. Leo is with CARE NJ now, but he was found roaming the streets of Jersey City, NJ. Leo’s right eye had to be removed because of severe damage suffered before rescue. Leo went through a lot. Yet, his left eye is going to be fine despite some scarring. He just needs a few eye drops — that’s all! Leo is in a foster home right now where he gets along great with other dogs, as well as cats. He’s been described as a “big time kisser.” He loves to play, and would be very happy to have his own home at last for the holidays. To adopt Leo, get in touch with CARE NJ by calling (201) 436-6595.

Baxter longs for a home with a nice big yard!

The next two pets are with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue in Arlington, VA. Baxter is a two-year-old Australian cattle dog mix. His previous owners shot at him with a BB gun. Understandably, he gets stressed when confined to small spaces as he was during the abuse. If he gets stressed, he may attack his tail, but he hasn’t done that in a couple of months. His caretakers can teach you special ways to help Baxter avoid his tail-chasing outbursts. Baxter isn’t aggressive, but he needs a home without other animals or small children. For more details on adopting or fostering Baxter, or donating to help him out, visit Petfinder.

Sunny was rescued from a high-kill shelter, but he's often overlooked at adoption events since others seem to want kittens instead.

Sunny, a long-haired orange tabby, is also with Homeward Trails Animal Rescue. Sunny is five years old, and he’s there at the door to greet his foster dad returning from work each day. Sunny is very friendly! While he gets along well with dogs, his relationship with other cats may be a little iffy. Perhaps he could share a home with a laid-back female kitty. Visit Petfinder to learn more about adopting Sunny.

(All images are courtesy of shelters linked above.)

Post from: Blisstree

Meet a Few Special Pets Waiting for You

Tammy’s owner Meredith writes:

This is Tammy. She is a 9 year old Pekingese rescue dog who has been part of our family for 6 years.

She has a great sense of humor and loves to be involved in EVERYTHING!

She’s adorable, Meredith!
…..

Do you want your pet featured as Pet of the Week? It’s easy – just follow the info here!

Post from: Blisstree

Pet of the Week: Tammy

You probably do know the majority of these dog facts but there were a few that surprised me – like #12 and #15! Which ones didn’t you know?

1. A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human.
2. The average city dog lives 3 years longer than country dogs.
3. 87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they watch T.V. (via an independent survey)
4. Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures.
5. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic – a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese.
6. An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner’s will.
7. An American Animal Hospital Assoc. poll found that 33% of dog owners admit to talking to their dogs on the phone and leaving answering machine messages for them while away.
8. 70% of people sign their pet’s name on greeting and holiday cards and 58% put pets in family and holiday portraits.
9. A dog’s sense of smell is more than 100,000 times stronger than that of a human’s.
10. Chocolate contains a substance known as theobromine (similar to caffeine) which can kill dogs or at the very least make them violently ill.
11. The longer a dog’s nose, the more effective it’s internal cooling system.
12. U.S. Customs dogs “Rocky” and “Barco” were so good at patrolling the border that Mexican drug lords put a $300,000 bounty on their heads.
13. A dog’s heart beats up to 120 times per minute, or 50% faster than the average human heartbeat of 80 times per minute.
14. Dogs live 15 years on average.
15. An African wolf dog known as the basenji is the only dog in the world that cannot bark.
16. Only dogs and humans have prostates.
17. Bingo is the name of the dog on the side of the Cracker Jack box.
18. Humans have kept dogs as pets for over 12,000 years.
19. A dog’s mouth exerts 150-200 pounds of pressure per square inch, with some as high as 450.
20. It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
21. Basset Hounds cannot swim.
22. Obesity is the #1 health problem among dogs.
23. Dogs have two times as many muscles to move their ears as people.
24. Wolves and dogs can mate to produce fertal offspring.

[image: sxc]

Post from: Blisstree

24 Things You Might Not Know About Dogs

The Early Show on CBS did a segment last week on the smartest and dumbest dog breeds. I’ve heard of some breeds not being as bright as others, I’m not sure what their criteria was.

Anyway, they say the dumbest breeds are:

1. Afghan Hound
2. Basenji
3. Bulldog
4. Chow Chow
5. Borzois
6. Bloodhound
7. Pekingese
8. Mastiff
9. Beagle
10. Basset hound

and the smartest are:

1. Border Collie
2. Poodle
3. German Shepherd
4. Golden Retriever
5. Doberman Pinscher
6. Shetland Sheepdog
7. Labrador Retriever
8. Papillon
9. Rottweiler
10. Australian Cattle Dog

Like I said, I’m not sure what they’re basing their rankings on exactly. I’ve known a pretty smart beagle and a dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks poodle so it’s a safe bet that it’s all relative anyway!

What do you think of the lists?

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Smartest and Dumbest Dog Breeds