Come to our next Adoption Day at PROVISIONS FOR PETS and PETSMART!
Click here for more info.
Update: One of the Afghans has been found and is with his owner, but one is still missing and last seen near the Greek Orthodox church at Mill and North Avenues. Please call us if you have seen him!
Please help find two Afghans that have been missing in the New Rochelle area. They have been seen near the high school and around Rose Hill Nursery. One is gray and the other is reddish.
Both are males and are cut short. They are wearing matching collars with their licenses on. If you have seen them, please email us or call the New Rochelle police. Thank you!
Click here to read about Lynne's fostering experience.
Snickers and Twix with their new big sister!
TIPS FOR FINDING LOST PETS
IN WESTCHESTER & PUTNAM
Click here for more info.
NEWSLETTER
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Our newsletter is sent out via snail mail.
We need homes for cats with FIV.
Cats with FIV can remain healthy for many years in a good environment and we do work with people who give them homes where they can happily live out their lives. Most of the homes only have cats with FIV; others mix these cats with normal ones. If all the cats are spayed and neutered, there is little chance of contagion because, as in humans, AIDS is sexually transmitted. We know of homes where these cats have been living together happily for years. Because the condition allows these cats to live relatively long lives, spaces for them do not open up rapidly. The need for homes is ongoing.Now, we have a beautiful young cat with FIV that needs one of these special homes so he can live out his life. Can you help?
PET TRUSTS
"Leaving Millions to Bowser Won't Benefit the Dog - Setting up a Trust Might" is the sub-head of a piece in the
Wall Street Journal. Seventeen states now have laws that allow people to create trusts for their pets, whereas
traditionally pets are considered property and, as such, can't inherit anything. However, all states allow
conditional gifts that let a person leave money to a beneficiary on the condition that he cares for the pet
after the owner's death.
But there are risks in such an arrangement. If, for example, the caretaker stands to inherit everything left at
the animal's death, he could have an interest in seeing that the animal's life is short. People can be unreliable
both by character and life's vicissitudes.
Lawyers who draft pet plans like to separate the pet care from the money as in conditional gifts in a trust
under which the trustee gets both the money and the pet, then delivers the pet to a separate caretaker. The
trustee controls the purse strings and can make sure the pet is being treated well. This, of course, requires
the services of a lawyer, and more and more lawyers are up on such arrangements.
Some people are taking advantage of institutions set up to take care of pet survivors. A special program developed
by the SPCA of Texas will put pets in a "life care cottage" with a gift of $25,000 for each cat to $50,000 for
larger animals. No cash is required up front; these are designated bequests in wills. It would be well to inquire
about local facilities of that kind. Life insurance to fund care of pets can be a relatively inexpensive way to
handle costs.
A last consideration for pet owners is to make sure human survivors know a pet has been left behind. A special ID
in your wallet that states a pet is at home and in need of care may help. Being in touch with individual pet lovers
in your own network and getting to know animal rescue groups and people in your neighborhood may be the best way to
insure your pet's wellbeing, both through their own participation and care facilities that they know about.
Collars on Cats? NO!
We have a little cat recovering from surgery after being hospitalized
for almost a week. The "breakaway" collar she was wearing didn't break away
when it slipped under one of her front legs and cut into her body as she
struggled. If she weren't found by a neighbor after three weeks, she would
have died in her incapacitated and infected condition.
This isn't the only time we have seen terrible injuries and deaths
caused by so-called release collars. First, it was a cat who almost
suffocated when the S-hook on her collar caught onto on an appliance in her
home. As she tried to escape, the collar twisted and tightened around her
neck. It did not release. By luck, she was found just after she passed out
and with mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, she started breathing again. Another
few minutes and she would have been dead.
Cats choke to death when their collars catch on projections such as
little branches when they are outside and, as we have seen, even at home.
Even though they may not have the advantage of carrying identification, the
far greater advantage of not wearing a collar is clear. And, of course,
there is not the slightest excuse for any cat to wear a flea collar which
causes nerve damage besides being a hanging hazard.
Where Do Missing Cats And Dogs Go? PROTECT YOURS
Many end up in laboratories. To help protect these hapless
animals, please contact your senators and ask that they co-sponsor the Pet
Safety and Protection Act (S.668). This act, introduced by Senator Daniel
Akaka (D-HI), closes a loophole in the law that permits research laboratories
to purchase cats and dogs from "random source" or class B dealers who are
permitted to obtain animals from any source, including family pets and "free
to good home" ads.
Family pets are often kidnapped, especially if they are friendly
and go to strangers easily. Most of the calls we receive about lost pets,
the ones that are never seen again, involve friendly ones. We used to be
skeptical about the extent of the kidnapping-for-laboratories business but we
have learned more about it and can tell anybody who asks about our sources.
It's a big underground business. For their own purposes, laboratories don't
ask questions about where the animals that are supplied to them by middlemen
come from.
It is important to keep your cats indoors and your dogs on leashes
or in within view in fenced in yards.
We were notified about this act by the Doris Day Animal League.
Animal Cruelty is a Crime
It is a crime to torture, abandon, injure, fight for sport or money or
deprive an animal of food, water, shelter, and care in New York State. The telltale signs of dog fighting include individuals who house dogs in abandoned
buldings or garages (the dogs wear wide leather collars with heavy rings and
studs or have scars on the head, throat, legs and ears or may even be
bleeding).
Animal Cruelty is a felony offense in the State. The Westchester County District
Attorney's Office investigates and prosecutes those responsible for animal cruelty.
The Westchester DA's office receives and acts on animal cruelty
complaints. The SPCA of Westchester is the mandated authority to fight animal cruelty in Westchester County and work hand in hand with the DA's
Office to prosecute cases. Reports of animal cruelty can be called into their 24-hour hotline (914) 941-7797. Or call Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1- 800- 898
-TIPS, or your local police. Additional info on the SPCA website: www.spca914.org/cruel.htm.
We urge that if you make a complaint, you continue
to monitor the situation to make sure that action has been taken.
GUSDOG OF THE WEEK This little guy was very shy at first. He has made a lot of progress and has become much more trusting. His butt is constantly wagging and he would love to be in a home with another dog, preferably another young one to play with. He is such a playful little fellow. He also loves cats. Gus should go to a home without children or older children who can give him the space to come to them. He will reward them immensely . He is about 5 1/2 months old and around 22 lbs and sweet as sugar. Click here to see all adoptable dogs.
YVETTECAT OF THE WEEK
Who could leave a tiny kitten on the street? Guess you'd have to ask my original owners, because that's where my foster family found me. They gave me lots of love and marveled over my shiny dark tortoise coat and crisp white markings. When I came to Pet Rescue I knew that I was among friends and fit right in from day one. They wonder how such a petite little girl--- not even a year old -- so much love to give! I get along other cats and just love people. I'd be a great addition to your happy home.
Click here to see all adoptable cats.
Discount Spay-Neuter Certificates
NEW ROCHELLE HUMANE SOCIETY
Discount spay-neuter certificates must be purchased in person at the shelter, open 7 days a week from 10am to 4pm. A list of vets is
provided with the certificate.
CATS:
Male $45 Female $50
DOGS:
1-25lbs $60
25-60lbs $70
51-100lbs $80
101lbs+ $95 and up
The certificate covers the surgery costs only. The owner will be charged for exam, antiobiotics, blood work, pain medication, overnight
stays, etc.
FRIENDS OF ANIMALS
Register at www.friendsofanimals.org and they will send you a list of vets in your area who accept their low-cost certificates. Instructions
on how to purchase them will also be mailed to you.
CATS:
Male $51 Female $65
DOGS:
Male $64 Female $90
ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE - WESTCHESTER COUNTY
Call the Animal Welfare Leagure at 914-948-2094, 9am to noon weekdays to purchase discount spay/neuter certificates. Prices range from
$45 to $60 for a cat, and $60 to $120 for a dog, depending on the size and gender of the animal. You will also get the names of vets in your area
who will honor those certificates.
MUFFIN'S PET CONNECTION
Click on their website for more information www.muffins.org. Their phone number is 718 833-7988.
CATS:
Male $38 Female $51
DOGS:
Male $52 Female $72
Are Clumping Litters A Deadly Convenience?
by Marina McInnis
Cats die. Kittens die. It's part of life. But we still grieve when they die, even though we know it is only the body, not the spirit, that is gone. How much worse we feel when those deaths were unnecessary - could have been prevented by something as simple as changing the kind of litter we use. I breed Japanese Bobtail cats and I grieved in 1994 when an entire litter of kittens (born in November 1993) died. Despite round-the-clock nursing and force-feeding of fluids and food, one kitten, then another, let go of his grasp on life. Click here to read entire article.VACCINATIONS: CAN IT BE HARMFUL?
We've been saddened and distressed at seeing so many young and middle aged cats and dogs become seriously ill suddenly, especially with cancer. Furthermore, we've noticed that these illnesses show up shortly after (2 to 3 days to several months) their being vaccinated. When we have a cat or dog just plucked off the streets or for any other reason needing building up, we put off giving it shots until it has been checked out and seems robust. Our long term charges which we've vaccinated minimally all seem to live long lives - cats into their late teens or twenties - dogs until twelve, thirteen, fourteen even as long as seventeen years! Not a big sampling, but compared to what we see around us - and we see alot - something to wonder and worry about. Click here to read entire article.
For many cat owners, their pet's natural impulse to scratch can become a problem. De-clawing may at first seems like a logical
solution. However, de-clawing creates more problems than it solves.
Physical and emotional complications arise from this procedure that are so severe, many people end up relinquishing their pets to animal
shelters.
De-clawing is a painful AMPUTATION of the entire first digit, not just the nail. Once the digit has been removed, cats can no longer
perform their natural stretching and kneading rituals. They become weaker as they age, and experience higher incidence of arthritis in
their backs and shoulders.
Cats without claws have lost their first line of defense. They live in a constant state of stress. Less able to protect themselves, they
cannot fight off other animals or escape from a dangerous situation. Most declawed cats will become biters because they can no longer use
their claws as defense.
GROOMERS, VETERINARIANS AND PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR DE-CLAWED CATS, WILL TELL YOU (IF YOU ASK) THAT DE-CLAWED CATS ARE NERVOUS, IRRITABLE
AND DOWNRIGHT DIFFICULT TO HANDLE.
Finally, de-clawed cats often stop using their litter boxes. Some cats apparently associate the pain they fell in their paws when trying
to cover their waste with the litter box itself. These cats seek a less painful place to urinate, such as a carpet or sofa. Even though
there are ways to modify a cat's litter box behavior, in de-clawed cats it is a particularly difficult challenge because the aversion
results from PAIN!!!
One of our volunteers found a solution to the scratching. She writes, "Our cats would not stop scratching our brand new couch (and other
chairs and couches too) so, instead of declawing, I did my research and found a website that sold what they call "soft paws" which are
caps that go over the cat's claws. We ordered them hoping it would work and they work great!!! Sassy hasn't even noticed her hot pink
toe-nails and she still scratches her scratching-posts! What an amazing product! Plus, they were made by a vet. (Sylvester cannot wear
them because he is an outdoor cat). The website is: http://www.softpaws.com"
1.) If you catch your dog having an accident in the house, startle him with a shake can and rush over to him, say "NO" gently and then rush him outside. Give him lots of praise once he finishes. If you don't catch him in the act, don't reprimand him. Your dog will not understand or remember what he did wrong. 2.) Use a crate or a small area, such as a kitchen or bathroom, to confine your dog when he can't be supervised. Dogs do not want to defecate where they must remain. A crate is a useful training tool, but don't use it to imprison your dog for a long period of time. This is psychologically damaging and inhumane. 3.) Make sure to use the same door and watch for signs that he has to go out. Once outside, take him to his favorite spot and repeat a command like "Hurry up!" while you wait. Repeat the command every time he goes and give him lots of praise when he finishes. 4.) Until your dog is housebroken, it is important to setup a feeding, watering and walking schedule and be consistent. For example, take him out first thing in the morning. After he eats and drinks, take him for a walk immediately. When he relieves himself, give him lots of praise. Consult your veterinarian for your dog's food and water needs. 5.) Use an odor neutralizer, which can be bought from a pet store, to clean up messes inside. Dogs tend to seek an area where they or another dog have already eliminated. Ordinary household cleansers mask the odors that only dogs can smell. 6.) Never punish your dog during housebreaking and use only positive reinforcements!