Cool Kitty and Happy Pups

After retiring from the School District I decided that I wanted to do something with my time that would make a difference.   I went to the York County Animal Shelter for their training for volunteers.  Since the training I have had many happy hours working with the animals that end up there.  These cats and dogs are waiting for their new owners to come out and adopt them and give them a better life.  As a volunteer we walk the dogs and give them the opportunity to get out in the sunshine for a walk.  The cats can be taken in the cat room where potential owners can view them up close.  We would love to have some more “Cat” people to volunteer so that the cats can have some fun interaction with humans each day.  I am not really a “cat” person, having dogs my whole life, but I am trying to spend more time with them so that they can have some fun too!  They are some of the prettiest and most affectionate cats you can imagine!  Today I did a new photograph of one of the cats.  He is a “COOL” kitty.  Sweet, lovable and playful all rolled into one.  Come and check him out.  ID# A043167 Male Black domestic **

1 year, 2 months old.

Also today I was able to meet 2 of the new dogs that are up for adoption.  Radar (ID#A042001) the min pin and Jacky the Jack Russell mix.  Radar is a very cute and energetic little guy that would be your best buddy.  Jacky (ID#A043713) is a handsome brindle and white pup.  He is a high energy kind of guy.  They are looking for their forever homes.  

He can sit

Look at his profile

He's so sweet!

Cute Jacky

 

Happy New Year Kitty!!

Armed with coffee this morning I set out for York to meet my friend at the Animal Shelter.  We had decided that we would meet as soon as she got off from working all night at the hospital.  Betsy adopted some of her babies at the shelter earlier in 2010.  She is starting off the New Year 2011 by giving a home to another one of the kittens that we have for adoption. 

Walking around the cat rooms, we viewed and talked about many of the beautiful cats and kittens that put their paws out to touch us as we passed.  They are all hungry for human touch and affection and rub the cages to get our attention.  Betsy had already viewed the cats for adoption online and had narrowed it down to 2 or 3 of them.  Finally we stopped at the cage for “Callie” a cool kitty that caught her eye.  We took her into the cat viewing room and played with her.  The decision was made!!  Callie will be going home with her new Mom tomorrow after her vetting is done. 

Betsy and Callie are excited to start off this new year experiencing adventures that only a little kitten can bring to your life!!!  If you want to feel that unconditional LOVE that an animal can give, come and visit the shelter in York for your next family member!

Daisy

A043702

Daisy

This is Daisy, a sweet but shy Chihuahua puppy who is about 6 mths old.  I had the pleasure of walking her on Thursday.  She is new to the adoption floor and seems a bit overwhelmed by all the noise.  When I went into her kennel, she cowered away from me and shook.  I was able to coax her to come to me and scooped her up.  She calmed down right away.  I took her outside to get some fresh air.  She walked around some on the grass, did some business and then sat on my feet.  Daisy was content to stay in my arms and have me walk around the outside of the shelter. Never did she try to leave my arms.  She is the perfect "carry" dog.  When our walk was over, she readily went back to her run and laid on her blanket.  Every time I passed her run, she would come to greet me with tail wagging.  She would make anyone a fine pet being perfectly content to sit on your lap or carried in your arms.  She is a sweetie.

Robin F.
Volunteer

Ray of Sunshine

This is A043351... also known as Sunshine. She is a cat available for adoption at the Animal Shelter. When I first saw Sunshine I thought someone was being facetious in naming her because she is solid black. Now let me just say that I am NOT a cat person and most cats can tell by how I hold them. But when I took this girl out of her cage to take a better picture of her, I quickly realized why she is named Sunshine. She is so loving and happy. The second I touched her she purred. When I sat her on my makeshift backdrop she laid down and was the best model and purred the entire "photo shoot". Most people do not realize this but black dogs and cats are the least likely to get adopted. Why? The superstitious have doomed our black animals by saying they are bad luck. Most of my fellow volunteers are quick to point out that people come to the shelter to adopt dogs...rarely do we "show" cats to anyone. Unfortunately, this ray of sunshine has the odds stacked against her.  We must help Sunshine and all of the other great black cats at the shelter.

Please Spay and Neuter your animals and educate pet owners!

Before you go to a fancy pet shop to pay hundreds of dollars for a puppy mill dog...take a tour of your local shelter.

If you are interested in Sunshine, come see her at the York County Animal Shelter located on highway 5 in York, SC.

-Becca
Volunteer

Declawing: The Price of Convenience By Judah Battista

 The declawing of cats is still routinely performed in this country, even though it is illegal or considered inhumane in many other countries around the world. Most people decide to have their cats declawed as a matter of convenience to protect their furniture from cat scratching or to guard against injury to themselves and family members. 

Many of these people, however, don’t realize the pain that the surgery can cause. Declawing is the amputation of each toe at the first joint. In humans, it would be equivalent to cutting off the tip of every finger at the first knuckle – very painful, indeed! If performed on a human, this operation would be considered a mutilation. It is as unethical as tail docking and ear clipping in dogs.

People who declaw their cats also may not be aware that the surgery can cause more problems than it solves. Cats deprived of their front claws may develop an aversion to the litter box. Their paws remain sensitive from the surgery, so they avoid scratching in their litter and may begin eliminating around the house instead. 

Declawing leaves cats without one of their primary defense mechanisms, and impairs their balance and ability to climb. Many declawed cats suffer from joint stiffness. In certain cats, it may leave psychological scars that translate into behavioral problems. 

Declawing is essentially done for the convenience of humans – to the detriment of the cat. You are working against rather than with your kitty if you force him to endure needless pain and put him at risk for developing negative side-effects to the surgery. 

If you want to protect your furniture, there are humane alternatives to declawing. Cats scratch things for various reasons – to slough off the husks of dead claws, to mark their territory, and to stretch their bodies. It’s a completely natural behavior, so give your cat an alternative place to scratch – a scratching post. You can encourage your kitty to use the scratching post by rubbing or spraying it with catnip. There are many different kinds of scratching posts (both vertical and horizontal), so you might want to try several different kinds to find the one your cat prefers.

There are also several different products available at pet supply stores to discourage your cat from scratching the furniture. You can apply clear, sticky strips called Sticky Paws to your furniture or spray the furniture with a smell (like citrus) that cats don’t like. Other things that might help: Keep your cat’s claws trimmed or apply soft plastic caps (called Soft Paws) to your cat’s claws. And, if all else fails, a simple stream of water from a spray bottle often gets the point across!

If you would like more information about declawing and alternatives to it, these two web pages are very helpful: The Paw Project at www.pawproject.com/html/faqs.asp and the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights at www.avar.org (search for “declawing”).

For over 10 years, Judah Battista has been supervisor of the clinic at Best Friends and co-manager of Best Friends’ Cat World, which houses around 600 cats.

http://www.bestfriends.org/theanimals/pdfs/cats/declawing.pdf

The Truth About Those Black Tongues....

Does the black spot on your Labrador's tongue mean he's really a Chow mix? That mixed breed puppy in the shelter with a partially black tongue -- is that a sure sign he's part Chow?  The answer to both questions is:   No!  
The Chow Chow's blue-black tongue is one of the breed's most well known physical characteristics. It's also the most misunderstood.

The Chow is one of the most ancient breeds and is the ancestor of many breeds of today. The orgin of the Chow's black tongue is a mystery; we don't know how or why he came to have it. 

We do know that the Chow is not the only breed with a blue-black tongue. The Chinese Shar-Pei shares this trait as well.  A few other animals have black tongues, too:  the giraffe, polar bear, and several breeds of cattle including the Jersey. 
We also know that blue-black spots on tongues are very common in dogs - more than 30 pure breeds are known  to have members with spotted tongues. 
Spots on tongues are simply deposits of extra pigment, like birthmarks and freckles on people.  Dogs often have spots of dark pigment on their skin, too, hiding under their coats.  These spots can be large or small, many or few.  
If a Chow's tongue has a pink spot on it, does that mean it's not purebred?  No. Chow puppies' tongues are pink at birth. They darken to blue-black by 8-10 weeks of age. Some tongues don't  cover completely and they may have small spots or splashes of pink. Elderly Chows and Chows with the dilute coat colors of cinnamon and blue sometimes lose tongue pigment as they age and develop pink spots.

What if the dog looks like a Chow but has a completely pink or mostly pink tongue?
 Knowledgeable Chowists agree that such dogs are not purebred Chows and might not have any Chow parentage at all. The Chow is a member of the spitz family, a large group of breeds that includes the  Samoyed, Siberian Husky, Malamute, Akita, Shiba Inu,  Pomeranian, Norwegian Elkhound, Keeshond, etc. They all share basic physical characteristics:  a similar body structure, over-the-back tail carriage, upright triangular ears, and a dense offstanding coat.  A Chow-looking dog with a pink tongue is more likely to be a mix of one of the other spitz-type breeds.


-Kathy Welsh, Anna Wallace, and Vicki DeGruy

Click here  to read the article. 

Time at the Shelter

I've always had this weird ability to pick out the weirdest (but most loving) cat at the pound.  The thought of getting an animal from anywhere else never crosses my mind.  There is something special about those animals and you can't help but love them; each for their own personality.  The other day I went to volunteer at the York County Animal Shelter and fell in love with about a dozen different cats!  Benjamin, a huge white and orange, fluffy kitty, was one of my favorites.  He was very quiet but very cuddly.  He was so content just to sit on my lap and rub his face on my shoe.  I couldn't help but wonder how happy Benjamin would make some little girl or an older gentlemen or lady.  Cats are such wonderful self-maintained animals.  They're easy to take care of and most are much more compassionate than people realize.  I also played with a cute little black kitten named Lullabelle (who I am told is now adopted).  You would think that as a pound kitten, she would be skittish and otherwise unsociable, but she was the exact opposite.  At 3 months old, Lullabelle was fighting for my attention; cuddling on my lap, purring really loud and giving me kisses on my nose.  Sahara and Joey, two older kittens in the pound, were wonderful as well.  Joey was full of things to say and very playful.  Sahara was a much more quiet but just as lovey kitten.  I've heard a disturbing statistic about black cats having a very low adoption rate (I guess because of superstitions).  There are a couple black kitties at the pound that are SO affectionate and perfectly socialized.  Mariah and Rylee, two black cats, were two of my favorite animals that I played with.  If you're looking for a cat, definitely consider those two!  As for Benjamin, my favorite, I may have to take him home myself :-)



Michelle Rock-Volunteer