Albuquerque helping people keep pets
Albuquerque is trying to prevent pets from being abandoned by families and senior citizens who are having a tough time making ends meet and can no longer feed their dog or cat.
Petco Animal Supplies Inc., through its foundation, will donate 2 tons of pet food each month to The Storehouse, an Albuquerque organization that helps low-income people with such things as clothing and household goods, Mayor Martin Chavez announced Tuesday.
People also can donate pet food to St. Vincent de Paul for the low-income families, take pet food to The Storehouse themselves or leave it at any city fire station, he said.
The program, which began Tuesday, is administered by The Storehouse at no cost to taxpayers, he said. “I think that’s as good as it gets,” the mayor said.
Chavez read a national news article about tough economic times forcing people to give up their pets and wanted to do something to keep people from having to make “those terrible choices” between feeding their pet or being able to afford their own food and medicine.
“And animals lose out,” he said.
Albuquerque’s animal shelter takes in 27,000 animals a year, about 7,000 of which have been abandoned by their owners for a variety of reasons, said Jeanine Patterson, director of the city’s animal welfare department.
City officials, in discussing partnerships with Petco, mentioned wanting donations of pet food for low-income families, Patterson said. Petco representatives pointed them to the company’s foundation.
That resulted in the donation—”fresh food coming right out of the factory, 2,000 pounds a month,” Patterson said.
“We’re trying to keep people from having to give up that animal. … They should be lifelong members of the family,” she said.
Petco Foundation, the charity arm of Petco, said this summer it was establishing a national program to provide up to $5,000 in grants to shelters to train, care for or find new homes for pets abandoned during the foreclosure crisis. The program also was designed to supply food to disadvantaged homeowners who want to keep their animals.
Albuquerque needed a way to distribute the food in a fair way and turned to The Storehouse because it already has screened low-income clients, Chavez and Patterson said. The Storehouse hasn’t previously offered pet food to help families keep pets, they said.
There are pet food pantries in other communities. The Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge, Ill., runs one, as does the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Santa Cruz, Calif., for example.
Chavez said he had no idea how many people might take advantage of the pet pantry.
“We’ll see how this goes,” he said. “If the demand very quickly outstrips supply, we may be talking to other large manufacturers to help.”
All About Dogs and Cats applauds the Petco Foundation and the citizens of Albquerque for this venture.
2008 CFA-Iams Cat Championships Results
Platina Luna Blade Runner, an eighteen month old male Russian Blue, with a shimmering blue-gray coat and emerald green eyes triumphed over 248 other cats in 41 breeds to become the first Russian Blue cat to win the Cat Fanciers’ Association title of Best Of The Best.
Runner, with owners Teresa Keiger and Rob Miller.
Runner, from Greensboro, North Carolina, was named Best-in-Show at the CFA-Iams Cat Championship held at Madison Square Garden in New York on October 18-19.
First runner-up was Deydream High Hopes, a 3 ½-year-old Manx Grand Premier from Easthampton, New Jersey and second runner-up Tigerboy Keymaster of Wishes, a 6-month-old Exotic kitten from Hong Kong.
The total number of entrants this year was down from 325 in 2007 to 248 , a drop that is thought to be due to the nationwide economic slowdown and higher energy costs that made it harder for owners who do this for the love of cats rather than fame or fortune to travel to New York. But Tiger Boy, an Exotic Shorthair tabby and this year’s second runner-up, came all the way from Hong Kong to participate.
NEW YORK TO BE THE CAT’S MEOW!
New York, New York – October 14, 2008 – The week of October 13 in New York is going to be cat-tastic! Cats will be everywhere, from city transit buses wrapped in cats to New York’s highest peak, the Empire State Building! All will be celebrating the 6th annual CFA-Iams Cat Championship.
The legendary Empire State Building will be celebrating the show by spotlighting the colors of the CFA-Iams Cat Championship from Friday, October 17 to October 19. From bottom to top, the colors of the Empire State Building will be purple, orange, and white.
Celebrating this historical moment in the show’s history, the event will be incorporating images of the Empire State Building throughout the show. Empire State Building visuals can seen on the cover of the official Spectators Show Guide, the columns of host Madison Square Garden and the show’s official logo mark. Pictures of the Empire State Building in its official show colors will also be posted on the show’s Web site. (For more information on the show, please call 1-877-232-7469.)
“To be honored by the Empire State Building is the highest accolade that the CFA could ever dream,” said Pam DelaBar, president of the Cat Fanciers’ Association. “The CFA and Iams are so very proud to be honored by the one of the world’s most majestic wonders.”
Among the highlights are:
Feline Agility Competition - Challenges cats to navigate a series of tunnels, mazes, and stairs in the fastest time possible.
Adopt-a-Cat -Dozens of homeless cats, as chosen by the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals, will be available and in search of their new qualified families to go to their forever homes. This event is directly responsible for the adoption of over 1,500 cats in the previous five years.
Iams Trained Cats -Hollywood’ finest felines will be performing on-stage. Who knew that cats could play with more than one type of mouse or perform on command?
New York’ s Largest Feline Shopping Mall - There’s bound to be two, three, or ten must have items for your kitty! Thousands of fun feline things for cats, and their doting owners, will be on display.Cat condos, 14k jeweled cat collars, ID tags, interactive exercise toys, colorful litter boxes, art collectibles, grooming aids, cat carriers, cat trees, fine cat art, cat vitamins and feline supplements will be available for sale.
Breed Showcase -Joan Miller, one of the leading authorities on cats, will provide a guided tour of the breeds, sparkled by information on the beauty, personality, and nature of the breeds, each represented by a specially-chosen feline delegate.
General Admission: $15.00 each day
Seniors (62 & Over): $13.00 each day
Children 12 & Under accompanied by an adult: $13.00 each day
CFA_IAMS Cat Championship Show 2008
Crufts - the world’s largest dog show!
Crufts 2008 was a great success and there were many thousands of visitors and dogs from all over the world. All of which contributing to ensure that Crufts maintains its status of being the World’s Greatest Dog Show. Crufts is officially recognised as the world’s largest dog show by the Guinness Book of Records and the 2008 show had almost 23,000 dogs entered, including 1,165 dogs from overseas and 160,000 dog loving visitors.
Crufts 2008 Best in Show
The Crufts 2008 was held 6th - 9th of March . The Best In Show winner was The Giant Schnauzer CH JAFRAK PHILIPPE OLIVIER owned by Mr and Mrs K Cullen.
Crufts 2009 dates are 5th – 8th March 2009 at the NEC, Birmingham.
ASPCA announces winners of My Furry Valentine Contest
Back in February, ASPCA put out a call for photos of your first puppy (and kitty) loves for their My Furry Valentine Contest. The judges have selected the top entries, and have announced the winners. They can be viewed here.
Congratulations to the winners.
Adoptable Pooches Strut Their Stuff In ASPCA Talent Show
On Friday, February 15, the ASPCA celebrated I Love NYC Pets Month by giving shelter dogs a chance to take the stage.
At the ASPCA’s third annual “Best in Show” competition, ten adoptable dogs displayed their talents to a panel of celebrity judges, including Emmy award-winning actress Kristen Johnston; legendary actress and singer Maureen McGovern; DJ Angie Martinez; Lonneke Engel (the face of Ralph Lauren’s HOT perfume) and the ASPCA’s Supervisory Special Investigator, Officer Annemarie Lucas.
The feisty contestants scored on overall presentation, attentiveness to their handlers and creativity of their tricks … and really hammed it up for the judges. All the dogs were rewarded with treats, resounding applause and television coverage.
Cats crawling all over Whitby Mental Health Centre
Whitby, Ontario - Wednesday, Feb.27,2008
Dozens of abandoned cats have made themselves at home on the grounds of the Whitby Mental Health Centre.
Up to 50 cats per year are being left on or near the centre’s property and although staff has been trying to fix the problem, they can no longer deal with the volume of animals.
Until recently employees at the facility have been getting family and friends to adopt the abandoned animals, said Aron Muscutt, a groundskeeper for the property. Now that finding adoptive families has become difficult, the felines are left to roam free.
New Zealand record charts go to the dogs
WELLINGTON (Reuters Life!) - It’s a doggone chartbuster — a song audible only to dogs has topped New Zealand record charts, and is looking to go global.
A Very Silent Night, recorded at a frequency only dogs can hear, was so popular among owners it hit number one at Christmas, but has been receiving mixed responses from listeners.
“The most violent one was a dog that physically attacked the radio when it was played and went quite berserk and totally destroyed it,” said Bob Kerridge, chief executive of animal welfare group, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). “On the other side of the scale, they just lie down and did nothing.”
The disc contains an instrumental and a vocal version of the song, but Kerridge said he did not know what kind of music dogs would hear. “Never having heard it myself, I don’t what they’ll hear and of course I don’t know how dogs hear music,” he said.
Kerridge added dogs in Australia and the United States could soon have a listen.
The charity CD is priced at NZ$4.99 ($3.93). NZ$22,000 ($17,300USD) has been raised by the disc’s sale.
“Uno” is Westminster’s Top Dog for 2008
“Uno” the 15 in. Beagle, winner of the Hound Group, was declared “Best in Show” to a standing ovation at Madison Square Garden Tuesday night as The Westminster Kennel Club 132nd Annual Dog Show came to a close.
169 Breeds and Varieties in seven different groups competed for Best of Breed during the day Monday and Tuesday, with the winners competing for Best in Group Monday and Tuesday evening.
The seven winners were then judged for Best in Show for 2008 by Dr. J. Donald Jones of Marietta, GA.
2008 Westminster Group Results:
HOUND GROUP - JUDGE: Mr. Ralph Lemcke
Ch K-Run’s Park Me In First
Breed: Beagle, 15 In.
Sex: Dog
TERRIER GROUP - JUDGE: Mrs. Betty-Anne Stenmark
Ch Efbe’s Hidalgo At Goodspice
Breed: Sealyham Terrier
Sex: Dog
NON-SPORTING GROUP - JUDGE: Dr. Michael T. Manning
Ch Brighton Minimoto
Breed: Poodle (Standard)
Sex: Bitch
HERDING GROUP – JUDGE: Dr. Stanley S. Saltzman
Ch Vinelake Collinswood Yablon OA OAJ
Breed: Australian Shepherd
Sex: Bitch
SPORTING GROUP - JUDGE: Mr. Elliott B. Weiss
Ch Colsidex Seabreeze Perfect Fit
Breed: Weimaraner
Sex: Bitch
TOY GROUP - JUDGE: Mrs. Sari B. Tietjen
Ch Smash JP Win A Victory
Breed: Poodle (Toy)
Sex: Bitch
WORKING GROUP - JUDGE: Ms. Connie Barton
Ch Redwitch Reason To Believe
Breed: Akita
Sex: Bitch
Competition in each breed and variety may be viewed in streaming video at the Westminster Kennel Club website. (A high speed connection is necessary for viewing.)
My Furry Valentine Contest
The ASPCA is running a “My Furry Valentine” contest. Entries will be accepted until February 29. The top ten winners will receive an ASPCA Prize Pack, and winning photos will also be featured on the ASPCA website and in ASPCA Action.
You must be at least 18 years old, a legal resident of the United States at the time of contest entry and the sole owner andor copyright holder of the photo(s) you submit to the contest.
Ten winners will receive:
1. ASPCA “We Are Their Voice” dog or cat T-shirt in black or white
2. The Emotional Lives of Animals by Marc Beckoff with forward by Jane Goodall
3. Harley Dog Plush
4. ASPCA Wristband
- Winners will be determined by a committee of judges at the ASPCA. and will be notified at the email address they provide by March 21, 2008. You can Submit Your Entry Here
