austindogandcat.com
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Animal Issues Forum today at City Hall
from Pat Valls-Trelles of www.animalissuesforum.org
The next Animal Issues Forum will be held on Tuesday, August 31 at City Hall during the lunch break, from 11:45 am to 1:15 pm.
The forum will start with the showing of the film "Shelter", a short (17 minutes), locally-produced documentary about the City of Austin's efforts to become "No Kill" city. "Shelter" was filmed for a class at the University of Texas by Kelly Sloan (radio-television-film student) and Lauren Dooley (public policy student). The producers will be present at the screening and will participate in a discussion with Q&A after the film. Rob Graham, a member of Austin's Animal Advisory Commission, will talk about what the AAC has already done and what it has planned to reach No Kill.
Della Lindquist, an Emancipet volunteer, will talk about outreach efforts in Montopolis and other neighborhoods that have high numbers of homeless animals and her work with the City of Austin's Spay Street Program and that program's "neighborhood captains" including an effort to recruit Spanish speaking volunteers.
Monica Hardy, the new Executive Director of the Texas Humane Legislative Network, will also be speaking about THLN's conference, September 24-26 in Austin, and her new duties as ED of THLN during the legislative session that starts in January 2011.
The forum is free and open to the public. Parking in Austin City Hall's underground garage is free as well. (Bring parking ticket inside to be validated.)
Please forward to anyone who might be interested in attending. Thanks.
The next Animal Issues Forum will be held on Tuesday, August 31 at City Hall during the lunch break, from 11:45 am to 1:15 pm.
The forum will start with the showing of the film "Shelter", a short (17 minutes), locally-produced documentary about the City of Austin's efforts to become "No Kill" city. "Shelter" was filmed for a class at the University of Texas by Kelly Sloan (radio-television-film student) and Lauren Dooley (public policy student). The producers will be present at the screening and will participate in a discussion with Q&A after the film. Rob Graham, a member of Austin's Animal Advisory Commission, will talk about what the AAC has already done and what it has planned to reach No Kill.
Della Lindquist, an Emancipet volunteer, will talk about outreach efforts in Montopolis and other neighborhoods that have high numbers of homeless animals and her work with the City of Austin's Spay Street Program and that program's "neighborhood captains" including an effort to recruit Spanish speaking volunteers.
Monica Hardy, the new Executive Director of the Texas Humane Legislative Network, will also be speaking about THLN's conference, September 24-26 in Austin, and her new duties as ED of THLN during the legislative session that starts in January 2011.
The forum is free and open to the public. Parking in Austin City Hall's underground garage is free as well. (Bring parking ticket inside to be validated.)
Please forward to anyone who might be interested in attending. Thanks.
Friday, August 20, 2010
City dwellers more apt to think of their pets as children than country folk
report from dogblog.dogster.com
Whether a pet is a family member or “just an animal” is highly dependent on where the pet lives, according to new research out of Indiana University.
David Blouin, the cultural sociologist behind the research, said he found that attitudes about dogs usually fell in one of three distinct categories: “Humanist, where dogs were highly valued and considered close companions, like pseudo people; protectionists might be vegetarians and they greatly valued animals in general, not just as pets; dominionists saw animals as separate and less important than people, often using the dogs for hunting and pest control and requiring them to live outdoors,” he described in a university press release.
Gotta love the “pseudo people” label!
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Filet Squares & Texas Hold’ems 10oz bag recalled due to possible salmonella risk
Merrick Pet Care, Inc. of Amarillo, TX is recalling all lots of its 10 oz “Beef Filet Squares” for Dogs and “Texas Hold’ems” pet treats because they have the potential to be contaminated with salmonella. Salmonella can affect animals and there is risk to humans from handling contaminated pet products.
Click here for more info.
Click here for more info.
Monday, August 16, 2010
It's the dog days of summer and the grass is growing tall -- if only your dog could do this
Click here to see dog mowing grass.
Pets are tweeple too.
Pet Lovers Unite! Learn about Twitter, Facebook, blogging and other social media trends involving pets at the only conference and expo focused on pet social media
Atlantic Station August 20-22, 2010 in Atlanta, GA
Spanning a weekend full of activities, the 2010 BarkWorld Expo is a social media event for pet owners and businesses that utilize social media applications.
BW Session Titles include:
Creating a Distinctive Social Media Voice
All Dog Parks Are Not Created Equal: Finding the Best Social Media Platform for You
Using Social Media to Market Your Pet Business
It’s A Dog Eat Dog World: How Blogging Can DistiInguish Your Brand
Keynote speaker: Carie Lewis, The Humane Society of the United States
Twitter Hashtag: #BarkWorld
Pit bulls need love too
Shannon Wolfson
AUSTIN (KXAN) - One type of dog takes up more space at the Town Lake Animal Center in Austin than any other. Pit bulls have a bad reputation, but there is a renewed effort to get more of them adopted.
Nearly one in three of the cages at Town Lake is occupied by a dog classified as a pit bull.
"They make up an overly large proportion of the dogs that end up homeless." said TLAC Program Development Manager Amber Rowland. "There is a stigma about pit bulls- a lot of people are afraid of them."
Last year, 48 percent of the dogs euthanized at Town Lake were classified as pit bulls. From October 2009 to July of this year, the number is already up to 44 percent.
Dozens of people gathered Tuesday night at a meeting of the Pit Bull Task Force to determine why these dogs make up such a high number of animals left and then euthanized at the shelter.
A smaller group has been meeting for years, but the moratorium placed on euthanasia at TLAC has drawn renewed interest.
"The Task Force is tasked to try to figure out why is it that we're seeing so many of this particular type of animal and why is it so difficult for them to get out of here alive," said Rowland. "We want to try to get more of them adopted. We want to get out the idea that they are adoptable and can be wonderful family companions."
The Task Force is not a rescue group and does not receive city or state funding, although several of the members are city employees. Their purpose is to educate people about pit bulls and try to improve the way the dogs are treated in the community.
Dog recovering after being shot
AUSTIN (KXAN) - Bronx, a 2-year-old boxer-mix, is doing much better today than he was on Monday.
“He’s real sore, real tender, but the swelling is actually less pronounced today,” said Dr. Matt Schuessler of the Pale Face Veterinary Clinic.
Stuck inside Bronx’s head is shrapnel from a bullet fired by a Travis County Park Ranger .
“I was kind of shocked that, that kind of action was taken,” said Schuessler.
Before Bronx was brought to Schuessler’s, he was with his owner, Stacey Hines, at Pace Bend Park in Western Travis County.
“The dogs were taking a break from swimming,” said Hines.
Hines admitted the dogs weren’t wearing their leashes, which is the law at all Travis County Parks, when a Travis County Park Ranger pulled up.
“As I’m trying to get out of the water to go talk to him, the dogs run up and start barking at him,” Hines said.
What happened next left Hines and her friend in shock.
“He [the park ranger] immediately freaked out and ran directly into the lake. I was like, 'What is he doing?' All the dogs are barking at him, and he turned around and opened fire,” said Kenna Bobinger, who was at the park with Hines.
Both Hines and Bobinger said a 4-year-old child was nearby when the ranger pulled the trigger.
The chief of the Travis County Park Rangers, Dan Chapman, said while a child might have been in the area, at no time was that child in danger.
In a report yet to be filed, the chief said his ranger was afraid for his life and said the dogs were in “attack mode.”
The vet begged to differ.
Large Cash Reward for Lost Dog Needing Chemo ASAP
Lexi disappeared July 31st from Lake Travis, Geronimo Street near the Rivera Marina in Leander.
Lexi is a female miniature schnauzer. Silver in color. She has cancer (lymphoma) and must continue her chemotherapy to survive. Her hair, beard and eyebrows are thin because of her treatment. She has shaved spots on her front legs and a black spot on her right front leg.
A LARGE CASH REWARD WITH NO QUESTIONS ASKED WILL BE PAID FOR LEXI’S RETURN.
1-800-910-LEXI 1-800-910-5394
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
Austin Pets Alive! has found new building
from austinpetsalive.org
Our new building
by austinpetsalive • Posted in: Fundraising
Yes, you read it right. After 2.5 years of looking, we have finally found a building. (Actually, it’s 2 buildings on a few acres.)
This building will allow us to save more dogs and cats – at least 1,000 more this year, and of course, we’ll be working hard to grow that number quickly.
We will house pets there and it will be open to the public for adoptions. (We will continue to operate many off-site adoption events because we believe it’s an important piece to getting as many pets as possible into their new homes.)
The building gives us room to do things like care for more bottle babies and parvo puppies, who are usually euthanized immediately at TLAC if a rescue partner can’t pick them up, because TLAC doesn’t have the staff to give them the round the clock care they need.
We will also be able to save more pets for whom we didn’t have space in the past, like high energy dogs (wait until you see the yards!) and shy cats.
We plan to start moving in animals as soon as possible. This will not be a long term fixer upper project. Our plan is to move in the animals as soon as it is sanitary and safe and then continue fundraising and building out catteries and dog runs, etc. We figured we should start with saving lives and then build what we need, not the other way around.
Of course, we need the community’s help. In the short term, we need help with services (like plumbing and electricity), dog runs, and cat condos. We’ll be publishing a full list of what we’ll need and sponsorship opportunities soon. Contact donate@austinpetsalive.org if you would like to get involved.
The building is located at 2805 Manchaca Road, just off S. Lamar. Stay tuned for an invitation to our Open House in a couple weeks.
Our new building
by austinpetsalive • Posted in: Fundraising
Yes, you read it right. After 2.5 years of looking, we have finally found a building. (Actually, it’s 2 buildings on a few acres.)
This building will allow us to save more dogs and cats – at least 1,000 more this year, and of course, we’ll be working hard to grow that number quickly.
We will house pets there and it will be open to the public for adoptions. (We will continue to operate many off-site adoption events because we believe it’s an important piece to getting as many pets as possible into their new homes.)
The building gives us room to do things like care for more bottle babies and parvo puppies, who are usually euthanized immediately at TLAC if a rescue partner can’t pick them up, because TLAC doesn’t have the staff to give them the round the clock care they need.
We will also be able to save more pets for whom we didn’t have space in the past, like high energy dogs (wait until you see the yards!) and shy cats.
We plan to start moving in animals as soon as possible. This will not be a long term fixer upper project. Our plan is to move in the animals as soon as it is sanitary and safe and then continue fundraising and building out catteries and dog runs, etc. We figured we should start with saving lives and then build what we need, not the other way around.
Of course, we need the community’s help. In the short term, we need help with services (like plumbing and electricity), dog runs, and cat condos. We’ll be publishing a full list of what we’ll need and sponsorship opportunities soon. Contact donate@austinpetsalive.org if you would like to get involved.
The building is located at 2805 Manchaca Road, just off S. Lamar. Stay tuned for an invitation to our Open House in a couple weeks.
Cops break into pickup to rescue puppy left in hot vehicle
from kxan.com
AUSTIN (KXAN) - A puppy was rescued Friday afternoon from what could have turned into a deadly situation in the intense Texas heat at a Whole Foods parking lot .
The three-week-old dog, found locked in a hot pickup just one day after its owners got it, was taken to the Town Lake Animal Shelter while police decide whether to return it to its owners or press charges.
Austin police officers rescued the little black puppy from underneath a seat inside the black Ford pickup, which was parked at the Downtown Austin grocery store, after someone heard yelping coming from inside the truck.
Unable to find the source of the yelping after several minutes, the passerby called police.
Authorities broke into the truck with a slim jim after they couldn't find the owner and removed the puppy, which witnesses said seemed dehydrated, from the hot vehicle. Witnesses said they couldn't believe a puppy so young and vulnerable was left in a dangerous situation. Dogs usually aren't weaned from their mothers until they're at least six weeks old.
A bystander said the truck had been in the parking lot for at least 20 minutes, and some witnesses said they'd seen it there for longer.
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