Ikea in Tempe, Arizona and Singapore Have Found a Brilliant Way To Help Homeless Animals Get Adopted - They Are Placing Life-Sized Cardboard Cutouts of Homeless Cats and Dogs in Their Showrooms!

Ikea has found a brilliant way to help shelter animals find homes.

The retailer's stores in Tempe, Arizona and Singapore are placing life-sized cardboard cutouts of homeless cats and dogs on the couches, rugs and bunk beds of its showrooms.

The cutouts all display a different barcode, which customers can scan with their phones for more information on the pet pictured.

"We thought it was a perfect way to show people what their home would look like with a pet in it," Becky Blaine, Ikea Tempe's marketing director, told Business Insider.

The program has been successful so far. Of the six cutouts that have been featured at the Tempe store, all have been adopted, Blaine said. More cutouts of adoptable pets will be featured in the store beginning July 29.

The idea for the program originated in Singapore, with a partnership between Ikea and Home For Hope, a coalition of pet adoption agencies that includes Save Our Street Dogs and the Animal Lovers League.

The Tempe store partnered with the Arizona Humane Society to create its own pet adoption program.

The process to make the cutouts is documented in a video made by Home For Hope. First, the animals have their photos taken, as in the image below.

                  The photos are enlarged, printed on cardboard, and placed in various showrooms throughout the store.

                 The photos are enlarged, printed on cardboard, and placed in various showrooms throughout the store.

                                                                        Here's a cutout perched on a child's crib.

                                                                 Here's another of a dog in a mock living room.

Watch the video on the program below.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) - Support Legislation to End Cosmetics Testing on Animals

You may be blinding a bunny without even knowing it if you use shampoo, moisturizer, or any other cosmetic that's been tested on animals. The Humane Cosmetics Act will make animal testing for cosmetics a thing of the past, and you'll be able to use products without the worry.

TO TAKE ACTION, CLICK HERE!

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URGENT! Proctor & Gamble has Issued a Press Release Regarding a Voluntary Recall they are Performing on Select Iams and Eukanuba Dry Dog & Cat Foods, Due to a Possibility of Salmonella Contamination

Proctor & Gamble has issued a press release regarding a voluntary recall they are performing on select Iams and Eukanuba dry dog & cat foods, due to a possibility of Salmonella contamination. Fortunately, according to P&G, there have not yet been any reports of illness due this contamination.

A dog who has ingested salmonella may be lethargic and have diarrhea (possibly with blood), fever, and vomiting. Some dogs will have only decreased appetite, fever and stomach pain. Infected dogs can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian ASAP.


                                                                             List of Affected Foods

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Loyal Dog Stands by Deceased Owner in Scorching-Hot Oklahoma Temps - Guards his Body for Hours Despite Nearly 100F Heat

A fiercely loyal dog was found in the searing Oklahoma heat Saturday steadfastly refusing to leave the side of his deceased owner.

Animal control officers in Oklahoma City were called to the scene as the bull terrier fought hard to stay in the 100 degree Fahrenheit heat.

Now at the local shelter, the dog's defiance has turned to sorrow as he displays behaviors strongly associated with mourning: he refuses to eat, to drink or even lift his head.

Loyal: Oklahoma City officials are seen here struggling to get a fiercely loyal bull terrier away from his deceased owner in the searing summer heat.

Sad: Even with temperatures nearing 100F, the dog stayed with his dead owner and fought hard to stay with him as officials dragged him away.

"The dog kept wanting to pull back to go back to where the remains of where the deceased owner was," Oklahoma City Animal Shelter supervisor Sheridan Lowery told KFOR.

Officials said the dog had remained at the body of his likely transient owner, who died from natural causes, despite having every opportunity to go find water and shelter from the relentless sun.

After authorities arrived and eventually pried the pooch away, he was taken to the animal shelter, where he remained Monday.

                  Mourning: The pooch is now exhibiting classic signs of grief: he won't eat, sleep or even lift his head.

"Their owner is deceased. They don¿t know what is going on. They don't know how to act. They don't know how to react," said Oklahoma City Animal shelter supervisor Sheridan Lowery.






Footage of the dog shows him unable at times to even muster the will to lift his head.
They're the classic signs of grief, from which even dogs can suffer.

"Their owner is deceased. They don’t know what is going on. They don’t know how to act. They don’t know how to react," said Lowery.

The Center for Pet Safety Announces Safety Harness Certification Research (Crash Test Dog Video)

Washington, DC - The Center for Pet Safety, the 501(c)(3) research and consumer advocacy organization dedicated to consumer and companion animal safety, today announced the publication of its landmark certification program.

As the first scientific approach to pet product safety in the U.S. market, the Safety Harness Crash Test Protocol and Rating system provides essential guidelines for pet product manufacturers. The test protocol, which is a result of the 2013 Harness Crashworthiness Study conducted by Center for Pet Safety, outlines a consistent test methodology and evaluation program to ensure pet safety harness restraints offer crash protection.

“The Center for Pet Safety took great care evaluating the data returned from our 2013 study to understand what safety harness products should do to protect life,” said Lindsey Wolko, founder of Center for Pet Safety. Pet product manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure that these safety devices protect human life and provide the best chance of survival to the pet in the case of an accident.”

To further elevate the pet product industry’s commitment to safety, the Center for Pet Safety (CPS) will accept pre-orders from test facilities on a limited production run of the version 2.1 CPS Crash Test Dogs.

The CPS Certification program will begin immediately. While the certification is a voluntary program, pet product manufacturers are highly encouraged to participate in order to qualify for a Safety-Certified Seal on their product packaging. Interested manufacturers can contact Info(at)CenterForPetSafety(dot)org or call 800.324.3659.

The test protocol and ratings system may be purchased through the CPS online store: http://www.CenterforPetSafety.com.

The protocol and rating system was reviewed by Chris Sherwood of Biocore LLC and Dr. Priya Prasad of Prasad Consulting, LLC.

About the Reviewers:

Chris Sherwood is a former senior research engineer for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). He is currently employed by Biocore, LLC, a biomechanics consulting and research firm. Mr. Sherwood holds a Master’s Degree in Biomechanics and has been actively involved in the research and development of automotive child safety standards.

Dr. Priya Prasad is retired from Ford Motor Company and has a distinguished career leading safety research efforts. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow Member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering. Dr. Prasad was the first recipient of the National Award for the Advancement of Motor Vehicle Research and Development, and has also received the NHTSA Excellence in Safety Award.

To learn more about the CPS mission or to make a direct contribution or in-kind donation, visit http://www.CenterforPetSafety.org, contact Info(at)CenterForPetSafety(dot)org or call 800.324.3659.

About the Center for Pet Safety®:

The Center for Pet Safety (CPS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and advocacy organization dedicated to consumer and companion animal safety. Based in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, the Center for Pet Safety's mission is to have an enduring, positive impact on the survivability, health, safety, and well-being of companion animals and the consumer through scientific research and product testing. Welcome to the Science of Pet Safety™. For additional information, visit http://www.CenterForPetSafety.org.

Would You Ever Consider Having Your Dog's Vocal Cords Partially Removed Because of Excessive Barking?

"Debarking," or cordectomy, is an elective surgical procedure involving partial removal of a dog's vocal cords. Debarking does not take away the dog's ability to bark - it just makes it sound quieter and raspy (considered annoying by some).

Some say debarking surgery is unnecessary and unfair to the dog. Others say that the surgery and anesthesia are always risks, so any procedure that is purely for human convenience and does not medically benefit the patient or animal community should be avoided.

In addition, some behaviorist have said that excessive barking indicates an underlying issue that is usually behavioral. Surgery takes the noise away, but the anxiety, fear or similar problem remains unaddressed. Rather than debarking your dog, spend your time and money on training and/or visiting a veterinary behaviorist.

A Sea Turtle Caught in a Line - Gives Diver Who Rescued Him an Adorable Thank You (Video)

Not every story about sea life mistakenly caught in a net ends this beautifully, so it's important to recognize when one does.

According to Dominican Republic social news site Lifestyle Cabarete, dive partners Cameron Dietrich and Colin Sutton were out spearfishing for tuna off the coast of Mexico earlier this year when Dietrich noticed something was not quite right. A sea turtle had been caught in a line.

Dietrich immediately jumped in to save the turtle, working quickly to remove the mess of ropes around its left flipper. Sutton followed close behind, his GoPro camera on and ready to capture the rescue.

The turtle swam away once freed, but then, to the two divers' surprise, it circled back to Dietrich. For an incredible, breathtaking moment it rested inches above him in the water, close enough for Dietrich to reach out and hold it. It was almost as if the sea turtle was saying thank you.

The World Wildlife Fund names human fishing gear as the single greatest threat to sea turtles worldwide, so the fact that Dietrich and Sutton dived in means something. Most species of sea turtles are endangered, and it's going to take everyone, from recreational spearfishers to commercial fisheries, to move them back from the red.

And with any luck, that means we'll get more moments like this.

UPDATE: David Godfrey, executive director of The Sea Turtle Conservancy, said in an interview with HuffPost Green that the sea turtle’s circular swimming was probably the result of limited paralysis in its left flipper. Motion often comes back very quickly, he said, and was likely not a threat to the turtle.

The divers getting off the boat to help the turtle, he added, “was absolutely the right thing to do, absolutely the best thing that could happen in that situation.”

The Heartbreaking American Pit Bull Statistics Everyone Needs to Know - A Must Read for All Dog Lovers

The State of The American Dog
The most ubiquitous dog in the U. S.—the dog in whose face we see our collective reflection—is now the pit bull. Which makes it curious that we as a culture kill as many as three thousand of them per day.







To read this story, click here: The State of The American Dog 

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