Pet Adoption

Lend a Paw: 3 Easy Ways You Can Help Animals

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Mar 17th 2010 @ 3:00PM Filed Under: Pets News, Pet Adoption

Cast your vote for animals just like Simon Cowell is doing. AP

We know you love animals and want to improve their lives. But we also know how busy you are. That's why Paw Nation is making it easy for you to get involved in the paws cause by sharing ways people are helping animals across the country and around the world. Use these ideas as inspiration for projects in your own community or as a way get involved directly with animal causes.

Hands-On Help: Rational Animal's Mother's Comfort Project aims to provide homemade beds to cats and dogs at Animal Care & Control of New York City shelters. The beds, along with catnip toys, are made by Rational Animal volunteers as well as partnering school clubs who meet in a sewing studio. To date, over 700 beds and 400 toys have been made and delivered. Get involved by volunteering, donating, or making a purchase -- or consider doing something similar in your hometown.

Sign the Pledge: Believe it or not, Simon Cowell has interests outside of making "American Idol" contestants cry. The show's meanest judge has lent his support to and recorded a PSA for the World Society for the Protection of Animals. The organization envisions "a world where animal welfare matters, and animal cruelty ends." You can help Cowell show governments, corporations and other decision makers that animals do matter. All it takes is a signature!

Buy the Product: Baltimore-based artist Matt Snow is selling keychain bottle openers through Ex-Boyfriend, an online boutique, and donating 100 percent of proceeds through April 17, 2010, to the Maryland SPCA. There are a few super fun options (and they're just $6.50 a piece!), but we're kind of partial to "Fuzz Aldrin."

Chicago Organizations Help Elderly Care for their Pets

by Rebecca Quimby (Subscribe to Rebecca Quimby's posts): Mar 15th 2010 @ 1:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Pet Adoption

Pets bring joy to people of all ages but also daunting responsibility. cielokatie, Flickr

It's always a difficult moment when a senior citizen has to enter a hospital or nursing home, especially if it means a pet is going to be left without care - even temporarily. Enter Sister Marijon Binder and her two organizations, Touched by an Animal and Cats-Are-Purrsons-Too. Binder's Chicago-based organizations help the elderly take care of their pets.

Depending on the situation, that can mean sending volunteers into people's homes to help provide pet food, walk dogs, or clean litter boxes, which often makes the difference between a senior being able to keep a pet or having to give it up. Binder also boards cats for people who have to go to a hospital or nursing home, and takes the cats to visit their owners.

Binder came to her current vocation after moving to Chicago from her California convent in 1976 and soon realized that she could make a difference helping people in need with their pets.

At one point, the convent called her back to service and she considering returning, but ultimately she had to say no. "I wanted to go back [to the convent] but too many elderly people were relying on me," Binder told the Chicago Sun Times. "I simply felt in my heart that God wanted me to continue taking care of these people and animals." She went on to say, "These pets are their family. They're desperate to find someone who will love and care for their pet after they are gone. So what we do is provide them with peace of mind."

Her passion for caring for this community does add a particular challenge to her life -- Binder cares for about 70 cats in her Chicago home, which has a screened-in backyard so the kitties can play outside. If the cat won't be returning to its owner for some reason, sometimes the cats are put up for adoption and Binder helps facilitate the process.

So just what is it like to live with 70 cats? Binder told Paw Nation, "Living with cats is a full-time job. As the saying goes, 'dogs have masters; cats have servants.' That's us."

The organizations are kept going by donations and volunteers. Says Binder, "Every day, I pray for volunteers and donations. Sometimes we're really low on money, but I trust in God and people to pull us out."

To participate in any way -- including adopting a cat -- call (773) 728-6336 or visit www.touchedbyananimal.org.

Oscar Winner Sandra Bullock Is A Big Winner With Animal Lovers Too

by Kristen Seymour (Subscribe to Kristen Seymour's posts): Mar 8th 2010 @ 5:45PM Filed Under: Dogs, Celebrity Pets, Pet Adoption

sandra bullock oscar Craig Barritt, Getty Images

Sandra Bullock might have taken home the coveted gold statue at last night's Academy Awards, but we've considered her a "best actress" for quite some time for her devotion to the paws cause.

Earlier this year, when she and husband Jesse James' beloved pit bull, CinnaBun, went missing, friends of the then Oscar-nominee noted that she'd rather have their pet back than win an Oscar. Happily for Sandra, she got both! But there's another reason pet lovers show Bullock such devotion; she's the mother of two special needs rescue pups, which she discussed today on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."

Poppy, a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix, has three legs, and Ruby the Chihuahua has just two legs (you can see them both at PetSugar). And while they might be missing a limb or two, it's evident they're not missing any love.They are part of the extended family of animals in the Bullock/James household.

Bullock isn't the only acclaimed actor with a lot of love for her pets -- just last year, Mickey Rourke acknowledged his dogs in his Golden Globes acceptance speech, and showed up at the Oscars wearing a pendant with a picture of his dog, Loki, who had passed away less than a week before the event. And Amanda Seyfried, who presented last night, is completely in love with her new puppy.

Not ready to let the Oscars buzz go just yet? You can still vote for the Paw Nation Pawscars, and then check out these pictures of celebs and their pets!

Doggie Diaries: A Cat Person Reconsiders

by Ben Westhoff (Subscribe to Ben Westhoff's posts): Mar 4th 2010 @ 11:00AM Filed Under: Dogs, Cats, Pet Adoption

They only get along when they're in different rooms/Ben Westhoff

Only a few months ago, before Anna and I got Pippi, I wrote about the old cat people vs. dog people debate. I called myself a cat person, despite never having owned a dog. Now, with two months of canine companionship under my belt, it's time to reevaluate that label.

When we first got Pippi, I was overwhelmed. Between her insistence on peeing and pooping wherever she wanted and her constant need of attention, I was a bit freaked out. She was as well. Still a puppy, she'd been shuttled between a breeder, a temporary guardian, a foster dad and us, all within six months. And as a dalmatian/pointer mix she had boundless energy, requiring four walks a day and was constantly taunting our kitty Nora. "I thought having a dog would be like having a cat," I told my friends at the time, "but now I see that having a cat is more like owning a pet rock, while dog ownership is more like caring for a baby."

But in the past few weeks I've found our baby to be less of a burden and more of a pleasure. We've gotten into a dog-walking routine, her house training has taken, and I've realized something that is, to me, delightful: Dogs really let you manhandle them.

I've always been a pretty hands-on, rough-and-ready guy when it comes to affection, be it wrestling my brother or aggressive cuddling with my cat. The only thing is, Nora doesn't like it when I hold her too close. Like most felines, she prefers affection on her own terms.

Petfinder.com Introduces New FurKeeps Program

by Rebecca Quimby (Subscribe to Rebecca Quimby's posts): Feb 22nd 2010 @ 1:00PM Filed Under: Pet Adoption

put that down, Flickr

Did you know that 34.2 percent of people who give up their pets have had them for over two years? Clearly, these folks didn't give up their furry family member at the first sign of inconvenience--which, lets be honest, happens the first day you bring a pet home. But due to changes in housing, the potentially high costs of pet-owning, behavior problems, and a host of other reasons, many animal adoptions don't quite take.

That's why this March, Petfinder.com is introducing their new FurKeeps program. (Though you can go online now and preview some of the features.) Prospective pet parents can go the section "Starting Your Adoption Right" which features an adoption checklist as well as an explanation about what to expect in the first 30 days with your new pet. Current pet parents will be able ask pet professionals their questions about animal care, health, and behavior in a free "Ask the Experts" online forum. The FurKeeps Web site also includes resources addressing the most common reasons people give up their pets. From tips on finding animal-friendly housing (36.4 percent relinquish their pets because of a move) to pet training tips (17.9 percent of pets are given up because of behavioral problems), the site aims to help you plan ahead. As the site says, "Part of being a great pet parent is planning for the long haul. Your adoptive pet could be with you for a very long time, and even pet parents who have the best intentions at the time of adoption run into problems sometimes. This is nothing to be ashamed of."

In other words, pets can be a pain. We all love them, but it is common for there to be tough times with furry family members and its good to remember that there are resources to help.

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David McKelvey/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey/3748491903/

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