There are over 70 million homeless dogs and cats living in the U.S. While these animals may be homeless for a variety of reasons, they all share the same need for a warm, loving home. Finding a home for all these needy animals is no small task, but, thankfully, there are many amazing organizations working to help. Hope for Paws, for example, specializes in rescuing homeless dogs in the Los Angeles area. In this video, the Hope for Paws rescue team sets out to save a mother dog and her puppy who have been living next to the freeway. Living in an area so close to heavy traffic is extremely dangerous for any animal, especially so for a new little pup. While the mom was reluctant to trust the rescuers, she came around thanks to the help of the kind people who had been feeding her. These Good Samaritans had named the mother “Oreo,” so it only seemed fitting for the Hope for Paws team to name her pup “Cookie Monster.” With a little coaxing and a lot of kisses, Oreo and Cookie Monster made it safely to the Hope for Paws headquarters where they were given all the grooming and care they needed. Now that they’re sparkly and clean, Oreo and Cookie Monster are ready to be adopted into a forever home! To learn more about adopting this adorable pair, click HERE.
Join us for an adoption event at Sheehy Ford in Marlow Heights, Maryland and meet so of the Prince George's County Animal Shelter's furry friends who are looking for new homes and families! Please check out all the Shelter's dogs and cats for adoption at: Available Animals Note: Dogs participating in adoption event may be different from those shown in photo. WHAT: Prince George's County Animal Management Adoption Event WHERE: Sheehy Ford WHEN: Sunday, April 12, 2015 TIME: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. LOCATION: Sheehy Ford 5000 Auth Road Marlow Heights, Maryland
Memphis, TN - The FBI has now named animal cruelty as a top tier crime along with arson, burglary, kidnapping, and homicide. The new federal category for animal cruelty crimes is expected to root out pet abusers and give a boost to prosecutions. Animal advocate Cindy Sanders, who co-founded the Community Action for Animals organization, is happy about the changes. "Animal cruelty is a huge problem," said Sanders. "Honestly, it's big everywhere but the Mid-South and the Deep South show some of the highest concentrations. When the changes go into effect, federal law will regard animal cruelty as a crime against society. "If it's a dog fighting case where it's taking part in a couple of states, that's a federal law," Sanders explained. "If it is an animal abuse case of a puppy mill that is shipping across the country that makes it a federal type thing." For years, the FBI has filed animal abuse charges under the label "other," along with a variety of lesser crimes. This categorization made cruelty hard to find, count, and track. Since animal cruelty is considered a more serious crime under the new rules, reports will now be documented in the National Incident-Based Reporting System. This action will advance how law enforcement officials understand how to prevent these often violent crimes. Sanders says the collected information could be used as an early warning sign to help identify people who start out abusing animals and end up abusing humans. "We see almost every defendant accused of a level of animal cruelty has had child abuse, spouse abuse, violent assault arrests," Sanders explained. "They have a history." Sanders says cities and states will still have their own criteria for animal cruelty charges, but she sees the new laws as a level of enforcement regarding people who hurt animals. She hopes the federal changes will motivate state legislatures to put more laws on the books to protect animals.
Whether it is tasty beef or succulent chicken, only the best will do for our beloved pets. But many dog and cat foods are not all they seem. Research by vets has shown many popular canned foods contain high quantities of meat not on the label. One beef stew dog food was found to be predominantly chicken. Of the 17 pet foods subjected to DNA testing at Nottingham University, 14 contained meats that were not spelled out on the can. Researcher Kin-Chow Chang, a fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, said misleading labeling could put dogs and cats at risk of serious allergic reactions. Latest figures show Britons spend 1billion a year on more than 400,000 tons of canned pet food. More than three quarters of the nation’s eight million cats and almost half of the nine million dogs eat canned food. Professor Chang tested ten popular dog foods and seven types of cat food for DNA of cows, pigs, chickens and horses. None of the cans had horsemeat in them, but most contained beef, pork or chicken despite it not being mentioned on the label. Some of the ‘beef’ foods actually contained more pork or chicken. For instance, 63 per cent of meat detected in Bakers As Good As It Looks Succulent Stew ‘with beef’ was chicken and 22 per cent was pork. Only 15 per cent was beef. Pedigree dog food labeled as being ‘with beef’ had far more chicken and pork than beef, and 81 per cent of the meat detected in Felix Complete cat food was chicken or pork – despite it being the ‘beef’ version. But not all brands were criticized – all of Encore’s chicken breast cat food was determined to be the meat labeled. Professor Chang said the research suggested ‘a considerable mismatch in the labeling standard of the pet food industry and what the purchaser would reasonably expect’. He added: ‘In a human situation, this would be completely unacceptable. If I was to buy a tin of ham, I wouldn’t want to be eating rabbit as well.’ The foods complied with the law, which allows the phrase ‘with beef’, even if beef is not the main meat. But writing in journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, Professor Chang called on manufacturers to make labels clearer, allowing ‘more informed choices … particularly important for pets with food allergies, reduce the risk of product misinterpretation … and avoid potential religious concerns’. Cats Protection’s Maggie Roberts said pet food makers follow guidance laid down by the EU, adding: ‘It may be beneficial for these guidelines to be amended so the information is clearer … to allow people to make a more informed choice.’ The Pet Food Manufacturers Association said makers may use meat from different animals as supply levels fluctuate but the nutritional quality does not vary.
As good as it looks? 63 per cent of meat detected in Bakers As Good As It Looks Succulent Stew ‘with beef’ was chicken and 22 per cent was pork. Only 15 per cent was beef.
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Prince George's County, Maryland - A big 'thank you' to Vincent and Ekuba MacDonnell-Monahan, who raised money for the homeless animals by selling lemonade. Their parents matched their donation and wrote the check. What fantastic kids, whose Grandma Joan volunteers at the Prince George's County Animal Shelter every Wednesday! Here they are posing with Chief Rodney Taylor, of the Prince George's County Animal Shelter.
Members of the genus, commonly referred to as peacock spiders, belong to the jumping spider family Salticidae. These spiders are extremely tiny – 4 to 6 mm in length, and are most noted for their spectacular courtship display. The magnificent color on the males’ abdomens is from iridescent scales (which reflect light in both the visible and/or UV range), much like those found on moths and butterflies. By contrast, females are cryptically colored. The genus contains around 30 recognized species, all of which – except Maratus furvus from China – are endemic to Australia.
The two new species, scientifically named Maratus jactatus and Maratus sceletus, were found in the Wondul Range National Park, southern Queensland, Australia. Maratus jactatus, nicknamed Sparklemuffin, is a tiny spider: males are barely 4.5 mm long, though females are a bit bigger, up to 5.3 mm long. The species name jactatus means ‘rocking (jolting)’ in Latin, a reference to the very rapid lateral rocking that punctuates the courtship display of males of this species. “Male Maratus jactatus display by tilting the expanded fan to one side or the other, and then moving the extended ipsilateral leg III, mostly behind the fan,” the scientists wrote in a paper published in the journal Peckhamia. “At cycles of 1-3Hz, the extended leg that is positioned behind the fan is first lowered over 0.2-0.4 s, then rapidly raised (or returned to its position behind the fan) to trigger a very rapid jolting or rocking movement of the whole body that lasts for only 20-30 msec. This rocking involves rapid ipsilateral (in the direction of the extended leg and tilted fan) rotation, followed by a return to the original position.” Nicknamed Skeletorus, Maratus sceletus resembles other members of the genus in their general pattern, but has little colouration and is mostly black and white. “The species group name (sceletus, noun, Latin) means skeleton, a reference to the bold, skeleton-like appearance of the male spider,” Dr Otto and Dr Hill wrote in the paper. Males are 3.7 to 4.2 mm in body length, while females are 5.0 to 5.3 mm. “Male Maratus sceletus generally approach the female from the opposite sideof a stem or blade of grass. If the female is on top, the male approaches from below, in a hanging position,” the scientists wrote. “If the female is positioned belly-up beneath a stem, the male approaches from above. The fan dance of the male rapidly alternates from one side of a stem to the opposite side. Positions may be switched 10 times in a 20 s interval, with only 1 s or less of display in a single position.” “The fan is prominently elevated and often waggled from side to side during this display, but the greatest and most rapid movement is that of the extended spinnerets, separately twitched from side to side. During display, the pedipalps are often moved up and down in front of the clypeus and chelicerae. One leg III is elevated but also flexed, displaying a prominent black stripe with little significant movement.”
Looking to gain some veterinary experience while traveling abroad and helping animals in need? Then this is the opportunity for you! Join World Vets for our International Veterinary Medicine program in Granada, Nicaragua this summer. This is our student program that offers an exciting opportunity for pre-vet students, technician students or those planning for a career in veterinary medicine. Openings available in June and July 2015. Spots are filling fast! If you are veterinarian or LVT/RVT, we are also looking for a few volunteers to help out on the program too. Please share with anyone who may be interested!
A Florida firefighter has taken in a kitten she rescued from inside a home’s walls, and it is not the first time she has taken home a pet she saved. Tara Holcomb, 30, a seven-year veteran of the Mount Dora Fire Department, responded to a call March 30 from homeowners who thought there was a cat in their home’s chimney. “We got there and the homeowners had tried to get the cat out because they heard it crying but couldn’t find it,” Holcomb told ABC News. “They had cut a little inspection hole in the wall of an upstairs bedroom next to the chimney and used a flashlight to look in but couldn’t see anything.” Holcomb says she could not see anything inside the hole either so she stuck her hand in and originally thought she had found something much worse: a rat. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” Holcomb recalled. Instead, Holcomb had found the newborn kitten that had fallen into a void space in the wall. “I pulled it out and it was just a tiny kitten that didn’t have its eyes open or anything,” she said. How the kitten got into the home’s structure remains a mystery because the homeowners do not have any pets. “We’re not positive, of course, but we’re thinking the mom was in the attic and the baby was in between the drywall and just couldn’t get out,” said Holcomb, who said she and her colleagues searched and found no evidence of more kittens or the mom cat in the home's attic or walls. Holcomb says animal control officers instructed the homeowners to put the cat on their back porch – with a heating pad and some milk – to see if its mother would return. When the mother did not return, the homeowners, who are allergic to cats, searched for a home for the kitten. “Originally they thought they found a home with a friend but as I was leaving work the next day, they called and told me it fell through and asked if I would want the cat,” said Holcomb. “I said, ‘Yes,’ and turned around and got him.” Holcomb, appropriately, named the kitten, a boy, Wall-E. Wall-E is now being taken care of by Holcomb along with another cat the firefighter rescued nearly two years ago. “We had a cat that was stuck in a tree and when we were trying to get it out it fell and was limping,” Holcomb said. “I took that one home and adopted it.” “So they’re all laughing at me that whenever we go on a pet rescue you’re going to adopt it,” Holcomb said of her fellow firefighters.
