Saturday, February 19, 2011

The February Guild Collection




Every month the Crafting for Animals Guild presents their featured collection.

This month, we are featuring:
Wovendreams
TSBeading
TantalizingStitches
SleepyCatDesigns
KanweieneaKreations
JenniferLynnProductions
DOGONIT
Collar_Up_Pup
CardStockEquine
Bagsandmorebypam
PoshPoochDesigns
DLMDesignsbySandy

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Rabbits in Ohio Need Help

I just received this message from an Etsy for Animals member: fashionplatter - Dawn. The rabbits are actually in Ohio, but originally from California. If you or someone you know can help, please send along the info!

----------
As many of you know, five years ago my husband and I built a 1300 sq.
ft. rabbitat to care for a large group of rabbits who had been dumped
in California. Unfortunately, the other night in the ice storm, the
roof collapsed. We were incredibly lucky that only one rabbit was
killed in the disaster (I'd just taken out four fresh bales of hay and
they stopped the beams from hitting the ground -- the one rabbit who
was killed was on a bale of hay). Everyone is safely inside the house
now, but I don't have a long term solution for keeping them here (and
the short term one is about to kill me). I need to find rescues or
homes for some of these guys, desperately. The ideal situation would
be to find a new rabbitat-type-situation for them to go to -- they are
used to having room to run, and being able to live a very rabbity life
(they are, of course, spayed/neutered). But most if not all could be
happy living inside with human friends, too. Some are extremely
friendly.

If rescues could step up and take a group, I'd be eternally grateful
(and the bunnies would too). But I'm also looking for good adoptive
homes. Even temporary fosters would help me out. Please spread the
word. Rabbits make great companions and are not hard to care for --
they can even be litter box trained! Most everyone's life would be
improved by a rabbit.

Feel free to forward this email and ask people to contact me at
dawn.shimp@gmail.com

I've created a Facebook page for the bunnies at:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rabbitat-Roof-Collapse-rabbits-in-need-of-homesrescue/199326426747812
As soon as I can I'll be getting them up on Petfinder too, but these
guys literally have me busy around the clock cleaning, feeding,
cleaning again, and exercising them. Please contact me if you are
interested in meeting, or hearing about, some rabbits!

Thanks so much,
Dawn

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Hundreds and Hundreds of Parrots……………………………………Pam Todd

Yesterday’s visit to the car dealer for an oil change proved both interesting and educational. While sitting in the comfortable waiting room, with free popcorn, and a soda at what had to be just a little more than what the dealer paid, I was watching the ceiling mounted TV. Animal Planet was the show of choice, and Jack Hanna caught my attention. As did the colorful parrots, and the lady explaining what was happening.

thumb_parrot Mary Bradford, who, along with her husband, John, loves and cares for a multitude of tropical birds, many of which are parrots. They began this venture with one bird back in 1989 with one parrot that had been caught in the wild. She was a 6 year old female Yellow Naped Amazon Parrot. Her name is Moppet and her comical antics brought joy to their lives after the grief caused by the passing of several immediate family members. It wasn’t long until the pet store from which they had purchased the first parrot called and said it needed a home for a very special bird, one that was totally blind. With that bird joining their family, their venture began.

thumb_Parrot_Crossbill

During the Animal Planet Show, (the year of which I did not see), Jack was invited to go into one of the aviaries where many talking birds lived in their cages. Mary asked if he wanted earplugs. He said he did not and opened the door to the aviary. He was back within seconds for the earplugs as the noise level of the bird talk was quite deafening!

thumb_parrot_1

One special bird caught my attention. Mary explained that they love the birds, feed and water them, give them exercise, clean their environments, and treat them medically. One member of their bird family had a wound on its chest. Mary said she had changed the bandage on this wound daily for nine months, and still it had not healed.

thumb_parrot_large

Some of the birds are taken to schools for educational programs for the students, and some to nursing homes to bring cheer to the patients there. The tropical bird aviary has had some assistance throughout the years, and became a not-for-profit (501)c 3 organization some years ago.

thumb_parrot_aqua

I so admired the unselfishness of this couple in their quest to provide a home and care for so many tropical birds, whose injuries or personalities make them unadoptable or unable to engage in breeding. They appreciate any and all help that be given through tax deductible donations to their tropical bird aviary. You can read more about these marvelous birds and this wonderful couple here and learn how you can support them in their work.

http://www.parrotrefuge.com/aboutus.html

All clip art is from the Public Domain. This blog post written by Pam Todd, http://www.bagsandmorebypam.artfire.com/, whose shop features crocheted handmade items for pets, people, and homes.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Big Cats: Lions in Africa

Most of the time when I think of our guild, Crafting for Animals, I think immediately of our domestic pets and feral animals, those who were once taken care of domestically.  I have written about fighting dogs, homeless potential pets, pet rescues, feral horses, and have even talked about the orcas (killer whales) and the issues they face as humans attempt to domesticate them.  But what of the wild animals in our world?
 
The truly wild animals that are attempting to co-habitate with humans on our Earth, the struggles they face as human populations continue to expand into what was their homes are facing major issues.  Their worlds are shrinking, their hunting land is vanishing, and many are hunted to extinction or near-extinction.  We humans and our influences are affecting much more than we can perhaps imagine.

I would like to focus today on the big cats, but mostly the lion because there is a new movie out this month called, "The Last Lions" that is being put out by National Geographic and is a true story of a mother lion struggling to care for her two lion cubs alone.  The film was taped over a period of six years and promises to be a very interesting and moving adventure!  See the trailer below to help the lions! 



Fact 1: I read that fifty years ago there were a half million lions in Africa, and today that number has dropped to about 20,000.   

That's a drop of 480,000 in just the past 50 years

and to top that off, 

Fact 2:  African lions don't have government protection!  While it might be difficult for us to change these facts alone, together we can make a difference.  Here's how: 
 
Spread the word 
and
donate and/or volunteer your time if you can


    Share this post on Facebook using the button at the bottom of this post, and don't forget to share the following links:


You can find a ton of information on big cats, their issues, photos, and learn about National Geographic's initiative for saving big cats on their site.  They've also included a place where you can upload your kitty's photo to help big cats!


In addition, for every person who views "The Last Lions " trailer on YouTube, National Geographic is donating $.10 each, for up to a million viewers!  

Watch it here, then send your friends, let's get a million viewers!





And a little something for you:
Head on over to enter the Sweepstakes brought to you by Botswana Tourism that is bringing a lucky winner to Botswana, where "The Last Lions" was actually recorded for a 12 day private safari, airfare both ways, all hotel accommodations, and travel within Africa!  You can enter this sweepstakes once per day until the end of March, 2011.  GOOD LUCK!



Together we can make a difference!

Written by Tsilos of TS Beading
Creator of Native American art, focusing on 
beadweaving traditional and contemporary designs

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

On the verge of extinction

This is a great concern of mine since my daughter and I have been supporting grey and timber wolves half of our lives.
Our first pet as a family was an awesome loving timberwolf. Read article in "Our Personal Pet Stories".
In hopes that this will raise awareness to others and support in the US for these beautiful animals.........By BJ of EXPRESSIONS


SAVE OUR WOLVES

Congressman Denny Rehberg has introduced legislation to eliminate life-saving protections for wolves across the country.

Urge your U.S. Representative to oppose efforts to eliminate vital protections for our wolves.

Share on Facebook
Dear Supporter: 42-That’s how many Mexican gray wolves are left in wild… in the entire world. These wolves – found in the wild only in Arizona and New Mexico – face plenty of threats, including illegal killing by anti-wolf extremists. But now a Montana Congressman is taking aim at the life-saving protections these and other rare and beautiful animals need to survive. Please take action now. Urge your U.S. representative to oppose Congressman Denny Rehberg’s attempts to eliminate vital, life-saving protections for America’s wolves. Rehberg’s two bills would eliminate Endangered Species Act protections for every single wolf in the Southwest, Midwest and Greater Yellowstone and the Northern Rockies.The result? A no-holds-barred approach to wolf killing that would end efforts to stop wolf killings in the Southwest and could see Idaho lawmakers make good on their promise to “remove wolves by whatever means necessary.”If passed, this legislation would also be the first ever to exempt a single species from the Endangered Species Act – setting a dangerous precedent for removing protections for other imperiled wildlife.Make no mistake: These bills are bad for wolves, bad for the Endangered Species Act, and bad for the future of all America’s wildlife. Help safeguard the future of wolves and other wildlife in America. Send your message right now. We need to send a loud, clear message to Congress. Please take action now and help us send more than 50,000 messages to Congress by Friday. Even with Endangered Species Act protections, the fragile population of wolves in the American Southwest is in danger. Without them, these wolves could be doomed. Please take action now. For the Wild Ones,
Rodger SchlickeisenPresidentDefenders of Wildlife
P.S. We are anticipating many attacks on protections for wolves during this session of Congress, and we will be counting on you to help speak out for sound science and a lasting future for these magnificent creatures. Please stay tuned.

This article was sent to me-BJ from "Defenders of Wildlife" which my oldest daughter & I support. Please help send the message to congress.
I have a studio on Artfire called "ExpressionsbyBJ" and sell or make jewelry and jewelry related items. Also, a few animal rescue support items.