Yes, They Do! by Pam Todd

Just this week I saw a segment on one of the “entertainment” shows that follows the CBS Evening News.  First they showed eight to ten elephants lined up looking at a baby elephant that had died.  They touched it with their trunks and sniffed it.  More than once.  Next there was a video of chimpanzees who were watching a caretaker hold a young chimpanzee, wrapped in a blanket, on her lap.  The other chimps were watching her closely, turning and chattering to each other.  At the end of this feature the news person made the comment that what they had just seen led them to believe that perhaps animals really do grieve for those who have died.

“Well,” I said to myself, “Haven’t these folks ever had two pets that were close, played together, slept together, ate together, and then one of them died?”  If they had, they might have observed what we saw after Duke, our almost 12-year old chihuahua, died.  His best pal, Smoky, a fairly large smoky gray cat, by the way, mourned terribly.  He didn’t eat.  He lost weight.  He would go through the house making a mournful cry.  This went on for weeks.  We knew he was grieving by just watching and listening to him.  There was no doubt in our minds, and we didn’t need any scientific information to draw our own conclusions.

One piece of information I read at http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/do-animals-mourn said a creature needs a long term memory to grieve, and that source said it is believed that only humans have that. Well, I don’t believe that for one minute.  Daisy was four or five years old when her first owner stopped by our house.  The recognition was instant.  My sister’s dog, Ozzie, associated getting in the car with being abandoned, as he had been three times before he reached his forever home.  In my observation, animals have tremendous memories.  They love, they learn, they grieve.  They know when a person is sad, sick, and mourning.  So, with my own beliefs (knowledge, I prefer to say) about dogs and cats, I decided to google animal grieving, and I found a wonderful site where you can read more about animals and their grief when they lose a companion.  The author of the story at this link is Barbara King, who is doing a study about animal grief, but also has her own personal story to share.  I think you will really enjoy reading it.    http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2011/10/20/141452847/do-animals-grieve

 

This post was written by Pam Todd, www.bagsandmore.artfire.com, who loves dogs and learning about all animals.  Pam is a  supporter of The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee.  She hand crochets items for people, pets, and homes for her Artfire Studio.  Be sure to stop by the shops of other members of the Crafting for Animals Guild, who also love animals and work to support causes on their behalf.  Just google cfa guild for a list of shops.

 

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Horse Plus Humane Society

Horse Plus Humane Society, a horse rescue located in Oroville, California, usually have between 20 to 40 horses available for adoption. One of their current adoptable horses is named Hank. Check out more info here Hank - Quarterhorse/unknown mix. He sure is a cutie! He has had a rough life though and needs an experienced and loving horse person. He needs to be able to learn to trust and know he won't get hurt again. Can you adopt a horse or know someone who can perhaps? Hank is 14 years old and about 14.3 hands.

There are other ways you can help if you can't afford (or have the place) to adopt a horse. You could donate some funds to their rescue, you could shop at their store and you could help share their animal listings on social networking places such as Twitter, Google+ and Facebook.

Thanks for sharing the info on Hank and other adoptable horses looking for their forever home.

~ Gunilla Wachtel - Kanweienea Kreations

Gunilla Wachtel is a fine artist and photographer currently residing in PA. She loves all kinds of animals especially dogs and horses. Through her website she sells fine art originals and limited edition prints, as well as reproduction prints on many different items.

One Dollar, One Day, One Life......by Josie of Whiskers' Syndicate

Map courtesy of internationalsilatfederation.com

Bandung is Indonesia's breeder capital. Out of 2 million people living in this city, more than 500 thousand of them are backyard breeders, the other 50 thousand are registered breeders. Those terrifying numbers are not including cross-breeders: people who cross-breed one pedigree to another and sell the result, the good one.

The bad ones? Or the ones unsold? They are dumped in the landfills, thrown away on the markets, in the middle of the street (God knows how they survive in one piece). These outcasts mingle with street cats, breed, and Bandung is now overflowing with over 400,000 stray cats, 20,000 street dogs, and the equation multiplies fast. 

To deal with this problem fast and cheap way, the government will drop their animal control army, scoop every animal on site, cram them in their truck (the one used to deliver things, so there's no holes or air in there) and bring all the poor cats and dogs to the zoo. There they massacred them, and give their meat to the alligators, the lions, the bear, the tigers, the... well, some traditional ethnicity here still eat cats and dogs for Christmas and on other festivities.

Renoir and Edward - Two Rescued Kittens

In the wake of this terror, and with the help of supporters everywhere (usually from Care2.com members around the world), I am trying to save whichever I can. I ended up only taking in those who are special: the crippled, the mute, the blind, the deaf, the paralyzed, those who otherwise will die miserably on the street, and keep the rest on the road (sorry, guys!). I spend most of my salary to spay/neuter and feed them. I do this for 3.5 years since I first set foot to Bandung.

It's a hard job. 400 thousand vs 1 girl is not going to be a fair match, but I am still going to give these animals another extra mile. So I am on a campaign for donations now, using the advantage of currency rates.

Here in Indonesia, 1 US dollar equals 9,000 Rupiah (that's Indonesian money) so what cannot do much in US (or other part of the world perhaps) can do a lot in Indonesia. It can, obviously, feed one stray cat/dog for one day.

Well, one day is nothing, yes, for us, but it can change the course of an animal's life. At least they can have one more hug, one more stroke on the head, one more chance.

Those who want to donate 1 dollar can do it through this PayPal address: whiskerssyndicate@gmail.com with a note saying "1 Dollar 1 Life".

I got an offer from a catnip gardener (Catnip does not grow in Indonesia so I have to import them). She will send me as much catnip from her for free, in which I must make into as many catnip mouse as I can to fund raise. Starting January 1, 2012 there will be a "buy 1 get 1 free" for my catnip mouse toy in ArtFire!

Written by Josie of WhiskersSyndicate, her shop on ArtFire where you can find many unique and adorable handmade kitty-related creations, all being offered to help raise funds for her one-person animal rescue. Josie is a new member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on ArtFire and is anxious to get to know other members and join in as much as possible to support the guild in any way she can. Check out her blog at http://www.whiskerssyndicate.com/ and learn more.

Heroes on Four Legs ..........by Debra of Sleepy Cat Designs

I always enjoy reading articles about dogs or other animals that help humans in so many different ways. Some even do things that are quite heroic!

And that is exactly what guide dog Roselle did for her owner during the horrible attack on the World Trade Centers on 9/11/01. This dog guided her pet owner, Michael, down 1463 steps and out of the building and into a subway,  saving his life.

Photo from www.prweb.com

Recently, 10 years later, Roselle was given the 2011 American Humane Association Hero Dog Award posthumously for her efforts. Roselle died earlier this year,  but she will never be forgotten by Michael or anyone else who knew her, I'm sure.

Inspiring stories like this make all of us animal lovers appreciate the pets in our own lives and spur us on to do what we can for other animals who may not be so fortunate.

You may read more about this story at these links:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/6/prweb8608483.htm
http://www.herodogawards.org/
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44615382/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/#


Written by Debra of Sleepy Cat Designs and Sew Bizzy Gifts, small variety shops on ArtFire where you can find all sorts of unique, affordable and handcrafted items for pets and their people. Debra is a member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on ArtFire, a group of animal loving artisans who make things for animals and to support animals the world over.

What Do Animals Know? by Pam Todd

As long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by weather lore as it relates to animals.  My mother-in-law and I used to talk a lot about the weather lore she had heard all her life.  Of course, there were the woolly worms and their color and what that meant for the upcoming winter, how high off the ground the bee and spider nests were built, and more.  But, I was sure there were even more examples, and so I googled animals and the weather.

At www.atmosphere.mpg.de, I learned that scientists agree with some of the observations that contribute to weather lore.  This site talks about how  pigs and squirrels gather trash to make a kind of nesting place to help protect themselves from the cold, and that  birds eat a lot and go to roost earlier than usual when storms are coming.  Two I had not heard were “When cats lick themselves, fair weather.”  The explanation for this was that dry warm conditions cause static electricity to build up in the cat’s fur.  When touched, a small electric shock occurs, and the cat (nor its petter) likes this!  So, the cat licks itself to help the static electricity dissipate.  Another was that the Fahrenheit temperature can be accurately determined by counting the chirps of a cricket for 14 seconds and then adding 40 to that number.  This website credits www.thepetprofessor.com for some of its information.

Many of us have seen our dogs and cats react to upcoming changes in the weather.  They may tremble, become agitated, hide, cower, or want to be as close to us as they can.  At www.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/storms/meteorology1/htm, I learned that changes in atmospheric pressure and the sensitivity of animals to changes in air pressure are responsible for their instinctively seeking safety before storms.  The ability to hear at a broader range than humans is also involved.  You may enjoy reading more information here with references to other articles involving weather and animals.

What weather lore have you heard?  What have you observed your animals doing? Feel free to share it with us in your comments!  I’m wondering right now whether with the unseasonably warm temperatures we have had recently (in Indiana) what the animals and their behaviors are saying about our winter.  How about you?

This post was written by Pam Todd, a member of the Crafting for Animals Guild on Artfire, a lover of animals and all things related to nature, a supporter of the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee, and the owner of www.bagsandmorebypam.artfire.com, where she hand crochets items for people, pets, and homes.

LiveJournal Tags: animals,weather,weather lore,animals and weather,dogs,cats,birds,pigs,animal instincts,winter,storms,cfa guild

Make a Difference - Foster an Animal in Need....by Lisa of OBXPuparazzi

Fostering an animal is a fantastic way to help special needs animals find their forever home.  The process of fostering, which is usually done through a shelter or rescue organization, buys time for an adoptable animal that needs a little help becoming a better companion.  Some dogs also need to be away from the stress of living with so many other animals at a shelter, and they are happier and more ready to meet their forever family outside of the hectic shelter environment.

I have fostered several animals over the years and have enjoyed having them in my home.  I tend to work with special needs animals as we seem to have a good environment to assist them.  In addition to our foster dogs, we have a very stable pack of our own dogs, which helps in working with dogs that are not used to people or have been mistreated by and fear people.

At one time, including fosters, we had nine dogs in the house - all lab mixes of some variety!  My current pack consists of four dogs. Scamp is a white Labrador mix rescued at age 3 weeks with a broken leg. Five weeks later, we adopted her sister, Corky, a black lab mix who was in danger of being abandoned Dusty is my handsome red merle lab/Aussie mix adopted from my son - the Army told him he could only take one of his dogs to his new duty station!  Finally, there is Occy, a lab/Husky mix who is all white, whose owner had health problems and could no longer keep her and her sister. Occy’s sister Xena passed away unexpectedly this summer.

Scamp is the “momma dog” who takes fosters under her wing and teaches them the rules of the house.  She will show them how to use the dog door and how to sit for a treat!  The other dogs let them see that behaving earns rewards, that they can trust people to be gentle, and how to play with toys.

Some of our foster dogs have needed some work on basic skills like asking to go outside when they need to go do business, others have needed to learn the basics of living indoors with people, and a couple have come from abusive homes, and have needed extra time to learn how to trust people again.

Missy

Missy was a memorable foster who had been abused.  A kind-hearted person rescued her from the situation, but couldn’t keep her.  Over the course of 6 weeks, she blossomed into a very playful girl.  She found her forever family on the Outer Banks, where she lives with an active young couple and another dog to play with on the beach.

Mercy

Mercy was a pit bull/Boston terrier mix who was thought to have been used as a bait dog for dog fighting.  Once she settled in, her personality blossomed into a character with a sly sense of humor.  If you told her to sit, she would - on the sofa!  She liked to be busy, and she found a forever home to live out the remainder of her days with a family with a young son.  True to her pit bull roots, she was a self-appointed “nanny dog” to the child and was happiest following him around, cleaning up the Cheerios he dropped.  Sadly, she died 6 months later from complications from the treatment for heartworms.

If you would like to make a difference in an animal’s life, fostering is a way to make a big difference. If you have room in your home and heart to help, the best way to start is checking with your local shelter or rescue groups.

Submitted by Lisa of OBXPuparazzi, her online studio full of wonderful products she has made especially for dogs and the people who are crazy for them! Lisa is also an active volunteer with the Crafting for Animals Guild on ArtFire.