Coming to the Stage: Mookie & Tampa

Mookie

Tampa

Greetings Animal Lovers, 

I'd like to introduce you to two friends, Mookie and Tampa who were brought into the Tampa Humane Society together on September 23, 2012.  Both females are roughly a year old but Tampa is the eldest by a month. Mookie (upper photo) is classified as a domestic long hair mix, therefore shedding will have to be taken into consideration when adopting.  Long haired cats do an okay job cleaning their own coat, but it's suggested to help them as little as once a week with a brush/comb out. Mookie also has allergies with fleas. When her previous owners started caring for her she in fact did have fleas, therefore her skin appears irritated towards her bottom due to scarring from about a year ago. Tampa (lower photo) is a domestic short hair mix, so shedding wouldn't be that big of an issue and she can maintain her coat by herself.  She also has a small physical difference in her left eye which was checked and considered something she was born with, and has absolutely no effect on her vision or well being.  Both of these ladies are spayed, liter trained and very adoptable. For only 50$ you can adopt one of these pets with all necessary shots and vaccines, and a microchip embedded in their neck to identify owners in case they get lost or stolen.  

Although these cats were not abused I wanted to do my first animal feature on them because of my interest in their story. Mookie and Tampa were surrendered to the Humane Society by a loving family who had recently adopted two young children.  One of the children has an upper respiratory disease and because of this the family was advised by the adoption agency to get rid of their three cats, one of which has already been adopted.  The remaining two cats don't have to be adopted together, but if you have room for two these ladies are a perfect pair since they already get along.  If your located around the Tampa Bay area and would like to adopt one or both of these animals feel free to stop by and meet them. The shelter is located on 3607 N. Armenia Ave in Tampa, Florida.  The contact number is (813) 876-7138 and the shelter is open Tuesday and Wednesday 12-7:30pm, and Thursday through Sunday 12-5:00.  Mookie and Tampa are waiting for you! 

Did You Know?

Greetings Animal Lovers, 
I wanted to take the time and dedicate a post to raise awareness on an issue that I think needs a boost of attention.  The slaughter of horses for human consumption is an ongoing problem that often goes under the radar.  Many people don't realize that although horses are not consumed in the U.S., they are still gathered and shipped to other parts of the continent (such as Canada) to be slaughtered and consumed.  I took a trip to Tallahassee this weekend and saw two separate trailer carriers, both full of horses touching nose on end. I didn't at the moment, but right now I'm contemplating whether I witnessed roughly fifty horses on their 'trip up the road'.  
A recent post on the ASPCA blog site announced that Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey has recently signed A.2023/S into law.  The article reads, "Not only does it prevent a horse slaughter plant from opening in the Garden State, it also prohibits the use of state roads to transport live horses intended for slaughter elsewhere!" This is excellent news, and I think it's about time for all states to start recognizing this often overlooked issue.  Not all states have signed the law, but one by one they're slowly but surely coming around. It's important to realize that we have to stop the transport of soon-to-be-slaughtered horses as a country. If only certain states enforce the law there will still be routes available to take, which will still enable the issue to persist.  Think about it.  

Chill With All that Teething

Greetings Readers with Teethers, 

Teething is something I'm sure were all very familiar with, and although its normally seen in babies and toddlers, its also experienced by kittens and pups as well.  First time puppy owners may not know exactly how to soothe their pet's pain during this stage, and attempts to help may include a hard rawhide bone or a hard rubber toy both of which cost about $4.99 at a local pet store. It appears these items would give puppy something to chew on, perhaps save the life of your favorite pair of pumps or a wallet. In reality though your pup will never chew these things, at least not in the teething stage.  

Just like babies when pets are teething they prefer to chew on soft things that give easily. Think about it.  Why would a puppy who has newly erupted teeth, in some places nothing but gums, want to gnaw on hard things like rawhide or rubber? Back to my puppy example, contrary to the new owner's intentions the $10 worth of toys have actually hurt the pup's mouth, so now he won't even go near them. I stumbled across this post that highlights a number of teething remedies used for dogs. One of which states that to soothe your pet's pain, you can simply take an old used wash cloth and drench it in water.  After it's fully submerged wring it out lightly just so it's not dripping, and stick it in the freezer (still twisted up from the wring out).  Sounds like ten dollars saved to me. After about an hour give this to your pup by placing it in his mouth, so he's fully aware of how cold it is. Once he starts to chew the cloth it will defrost rather quickly and become soft and moist. A key component to this trick is the temperature of the cloth.  Just like freezer rings for babies the cloth will ease pain with the coolness. This coolness is released by gnawing on a soft cotton which also works to soothe pain.  After practicing this routine our new owner may realize that the coldness of the rag dies after about five to ten minutes; of course this depends on how rapid or slobbery your pup is while chewing.  An easy way to fix this potential problem is to freeze multiple rags at once.  When one of them is no longer cold you can pull a second or third out of the freezer until he's tired of chewing.  I figure at least four cloths can keep a puppy busy for 25-35 minutes.  Another warning to note with this exercise is miniature dogs may freeze if the rag is bigger than their bodies.  If you have a small breed dog I would suggest cutting one regular sized cloth into four equal parts, and then following the same procedure from above.  

If you find that the washcloths defrost too fast for your liking, you can also try mixing 1cup of low fat/fat free chicken/beef broth with 1.5cups of water, and pouring this mixture into an ice cube tray.  After the cubes have frozen, give them to your pup.  I would suggest giving them to your pet outdoors, since ice cubes on the floor tend to be a bit messy.  The coolness of the ice cube should soothe the teething dog. Although he may resort to simply licking the cube rather than chewing, the yummy broth flavor cube will help ease some pain. Note that the broth cubes should not be left for long periods of time like normal ice cubes, because we don't want them super hard. About 3-4 hrs should be plenty freezer time.  

Who Woulda' Thunk?

Greeting Animal Lovers, 

Over the last few weeks I've read quite a few posts on the ASPCA blog site, and for a reader's response I wanted to shine the spotlight on an article that wasn't about one particular animal. Instead, "Let's Stay Together" was a post targeted to make dog owners aware that their pooches can suffer from separation anxiety. The post suggests that with time schedules changing, due to students and parents going back to school or work, dogs may not adjust that well to being left alone. Dogs may resort to using the bathroom indoors, howling, chewing, or trying to escape the yard or house; all of which are purely symptoms of the separation anxiety.  Although many times this diagnosis will offer a plausible excuse for the unwanted behavior, I too wanted to share an alternative hypothesis.

In my opinion behaviors such as the ones mentioned above tend to be apparent in puppies, or dogs who have not been properly trained not to chew up shoes or pee on the rug. If your dog is trained, the behavior could actually be a well thought out and organized day of fun for the canine. I used to have a dog named Zeus, who was so mischievous he would wait until after everyone left the house to do his dirty work.  It could be correct that Zeus was experiencing separation anxiety. Being upset by everyone's departure could've caused him to tip the trash can and shred absolutely everything that was in it routinely for three months. Or could it be because my mother and her shoe were not there to positively punish his behavior.  I think that Zeus purposely waited until everyone cleared the house in order to get the longest period of uninterrupted joy.  Not to poke fun at the thought of a dog experiencing separation anxiety, ( I know it can happen!) but behaviors that occur in the absence of supervision should fall more along the lines of 'dogs will be dogs'; especially if no ones looking.  

                                      

Don't Be Afraid to Get Your Feet Wet!!

Greetings Animal Lovers ,
In true blogger fashion I'm going to utilize this first post to enlighten readers about the purpose of this blog, starting off with that fact its a grade. :) With that being stated, I am a junior at the University of South Florida, currently enrolled in an Expository Writing class.  Rather than the traditional "five essays" that a normal writing class would be assigned my professor has assigned a blog project, in which my class will dedicate an entire semester to creating and maintaining a blog.

At first sight of this assignment I was intimidated. After all I have NEVER even blogged on an existing site, let alone start my own but after these first couple weeks I feel I've gotten a pretty good start to my new 'Blogging Project'.

Awareness for animal cruelty is what I plan to accomplish with this project, which I've conveniently renamed The PawSwap Project.  I'll be visiting animal shelters in the Tampa Bay area and posting pictures with stories of animals that are ready to be adopted, specifically the ones who have been abused or neglected.  In addition to adopting out animals, I will incorporate fun new ideas about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for your pet including grooming your pet, organizing your pets diet, and free time for your pet. You guys stay tuned for shocking stories and updates on animal cruelty!

 Warning : the stories you read on this blog may be vulgar and uncensored