The problem of cat overpopulation is a global one and requires a solution on a global scale. But like every journey that begins with a single step, this particular journey must begin with every cat owner in every community, town and city in the country. Those conscientious owners who act responsibly by spaying and neutering their cherished family pets.
 
Spaying (ovariohysterectomy) is the surgical removal of a female cat's ovaries and uterus, while neutering (castration) is the removal of a male cat's testicles. To minimize discomfort and pain, both procedures are performed under general anesthesia. Most cats are back to their “normal” selves within a few days, the surgery site usually heals within two weeks, and any skin stitches removed by your vet at a follow up appointment.
 
Did you know that in seven years, an unspayed female and unneutered male cat (and their offspring, if none are spayed or neutered) can result in the births of a staggering 781,250 kittens?
 
And the inevitable outcome? Hundreds of thousands of cats being euthanized each year through no fault of their own. Why? Because they are the tragic, but avoidable, results of over breeding and overpopulation. Why? Because there are too few shelters to house them and too few homes to either foster or adopt them. Why? Because there are still too many cat owners unwilling to spay and neuter their family pets.
 
Both intact male and female cats may try to escape their homes in order to roam outside. Neutering your male will eliminate roaming, urine spraying, and fighting with neighborhood cats. Spaying your female will eliminate the estrus or “heat" behavior of yowling that attracts and invites mounting by roaming males.
 
Despite some owners’ fears, spaying and neutering will not alter their cat's basic personality – except many males will be less aggressive and more docile. Their playfulness, general activity levels, excitement, and vocalization will remain the same. Although neutered males and spayed females may gain weight due to decreased roaming and other sexual behavior outdoors, keeping them active indoors and managing their weight through diet will keep this potential problem under control.
 
Spaying and neutering cats before the age of six months is growing in popularity and the benefits to their health and well being are well documented. Spayed females are less likely to develop breast cancer and won’t be at risk for either ovarian or uterine cancer. Neutered males won’t develop testicular cancer, and without the need to roam, their risk of being injured or infected by other cats is drastically reduced. And males neutered prior to puberty (six months) won’t develop the large head and thick skin of intact males. Early spaying and neutering may also prevent problem behaviors before they occur and may either eliminate or reduce certain behaviors in older cats.
 
Imagine if every conscientious cat owner in every community, town and city in the country took responsibility for spaying and neutering their family pets. Imagine what we, as part of the global community, could accomplish then.
 

KEEPING YOUR DOG WARM THIS WINTER
 
Before the chill in the air turns into the cold of winter, make certain that both you and your dog are fully prepared to stay safe and warm.
 
For pet parents living in houses, it’s advisable to have the furnace checked for signs of carbon monoxide leakage before turning it on for the first time. If dogs spend more time at home than you during the winter months, they will, naturally, be more vulnerable to carbon monoxide poisoning. As a precaution, arrange a pre-winter examination with your vet to determine if there are any medical problems that may make your dog more susceptible to the cold.
 
A reminder: never shave a long-coated dog in winter.
 
Keep your dog indoors, preferably in a warm “go to” place away from drafts. To ensure their skin and coat are protected against the drier air – inside and out -- brush them more often than usual. Pay special attention to both elderly and arthritic dogs, as their joints may stiffen in the cold, making their movements more awkward and painful.
 
If you have a wood-burning fireplace and light a fire, ensure that your dog is a safe distance from the heat, flames and flying embers. This reduces the risk of singed fur, hair, paws and tails. The same applies to space heaters, except that, in this case, a dog can knock over the heater itself, possibly causing a fire.
 
Weather permitting, the happiest, healthiest dogs are those being walked and exercised on a regular basis. But before going outside, dress your dog -- particularly seniors and smaller breeds – in a heavy sweater or coat. The colder the temperature, the greater the protection (this applies to most dogs) including waterproof, padded parkas with hoods and dog booties.
 
Always keep your dog on-leash, whether you’re on a city street or in the country near a frozen pond or lake. There’s nothing more dangerous or frightening than a dog running loose in the snow, possibly losing all sense of direction, or falling through the ice into the water.
 
When it’s cold and snowy, many dogs will resist pottying outside. Ensure that they’re warmly, but comfortably dressed, and stand close to them, perhaps with an opened umbrella to shield them and keep them dry.
 
Dogs lose most of their body heat from the pads of their feet, their ears, and their respiratory tract. Monitor them closely for any signs of discomfort. If they begin to shiver or whine, appear anxious, slow down or stop moving altogether, it’s time to go back inside. Be on guard as well for two more serious conditions: frostbite and hypothermia.
 
Once indoors, dry your dog thoroughly, paying special attention to their paws and the pads of their feet. Licking at any salt and antifreeze coating their pads can make them sick, while the combination of ice and salt can cause their pads to crack and bleed.
 
Never leave your dog alone in a car for any length of time on a cold day. Cars are like giant refrigerators on wheels. The only safe place for your dog on a cold day is a warm home.
 
Dogs should never be kept outside during the winter. But if they must be left outdoors for a limited amount of time, they must have a warm, well-insulated shelter (straw traps heat best) to protect them from the wind and cold. And take care to keep their water bowl – plastic, not metal – filled with fresh, not frozen, water.
 
After checking this list, not once, but twice, you’ll be more than ready to let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.
 
 
 

A YEAR OF DOG RESCUE RESOLUTIONS FOR YOU
 
Have you thought of adding some new and different resolutions to your traditional New Year’s list?

Have you ever thought of getting involved in the world of dog rescue, but didn’t quite know how?
 
Here then, are twelve different ways – one for each month of the year – for you to resolve to make a difference in the lives of rescue dogs this year. Even if you choose only one, that choice will make all the difference in the world.
 
1. Contact your local humane society or animal shelter and volunteer your services to them: from office work, to cleaning cages and kennels, to being a dog walker once a week.
 
2. Donate a basket of dog items such as food, treats, bowls, toys and pee pads, together with either new or gently used collars and leashes, clothes and blankets to that same humane society or shelter.
 
3. Contact a local rescue organization and ask to volunteer for them. Volunteers form the backbone of every non-profit group, and no group can function without them. Areas always in need of extra hands include reference checks, web site assistance, updating email lists, attending adoption events, planning and attending fundraisers, distributing flyers, pamphlets and brochures, and transport.
 
4. Select one particular rescue online that “speaks to you” and make a monetary contribution to them – either as a onetime payment or as recurring monthly payments.
 
5. Read about the other ways you can donate to them – from wish lists to links to various online stores’ web sites – and purchase items both for yourself and them that way.
 
6. Follow that particular rescue’s Face Book page, and “like” them, “share” and comment on their postings regularly.
 
7. Instead of accepting birthday gifts this year, ask your friends and family to make contributions to that rescue in your name.
 
8. Host a small fundraiser (bake sales, garage sales and yard sales are among the most popular) and donate the proceeds to that rescue. You will receive not only their gratitude, but a tax receipt as well.
 
9. At your place of work, keep a container on your desk with the name of that rescue on it, and encourage your co-workers to deposit their spare change in it. Once the container is full, bring the change to the bank (already rolled, please), mail a check to the rescue, and begin again.
 
10. Sign petitions, both online and in person: one calling for legislation to ban puppy mills, and one calling on pet stores to stop selling dogs and cats.
 
11. Foster a dog. Learn precisely what’s required of you, then welcome one very needy and deserving animal into your home temporarily, until he or she can be placed in a permanent home.
 
12. Adopt a rescue dog and save two lives – the life of the one you are adopting, and the life of the one who will immediately take his or her place.
 
As for next year? Either continue working your way down this list, or resolve to draw up one of you own.

 
 
The growth of the Internet has spurred the growth of ads selling pets. But it also provides anonymity to a more insidious growth: that of puppy mills and so-called “backyard” breeders. It helps them avoid accountability when they sell unhealthy or mistreated pets to unsuspecting, over-eager buyers. And it only serves to confirm the axiom: “buyer beware.”
 
Each time a dog is bought from an ad on the Internet, a homeless dog is left without a home.
 
Many pet stores rely on both puppy mills and “backyard” breeders. Like the Internet, they rely on impulse buying. A child ogles a playful puppy through a pane of glass, and that old song, “How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?” begins. Few parents can refuse the insistent “Please! Please! Please!” of their children.
 
Each time a puppy is bought from a pet store, a surrendered dog languishes in a shelter.
 
There may be thousands of legitimate breeders throughout the country but there are just as many unscrupulous ones. There are no laws regulating who can and cannot breed. There are no inspections of their facilities. Even a certificate from a recognized kennel club means only that the breeder has “agreed” to its code of ethics. A piece of paper is simply that: a piece of paper.
 
Each time a dog is bought from an unscrupulous breeder, an abandoned dog moves closer to death in a pound.
 
Why, then, adopt a rescue dog?
 
There are tens of thousands of healthy, happy and balanced dogs available from thousands of rescue organizations across the country. Contrary to popular belief, they include purebreds as well as crossbreeds and mixed breeds. And for people intent on a specific breed, there are rescue groups devoted exclusively to a single breed of dog.
 
Adopting a rescue dog is saving that dog’s life. Rescue organizations are usually the last refuge for abandoned and abused dogs, surrendered and senior dogs. They are often a dog’s only escape from a puppy mill, shelter or pound. These rescued dogs are placed in loving and experienced, volunteer foster homes, where they are socialized with people and other animals.
They are spayed or neutered, de-wormed, updated on all of their vaccinations and microchipped. They receive whatever veterinary care they need, and are either trained or re-trained before being put up for adoption. And everything is included in the rescue’s modest adoption fees.
 
It is said that saving a dog makes that dog doubly grateful. By extension, then, anyone who saves a dog will be doubly blessed.  
 
What better reasons could there be to adopt?

Buddy is a 10 year old Shepherd mix.  Two years ago he was bitten by a rattle snake in SW Michigan.  During that time his owners did not seek med Recently his owner decided they could no longer keep him, and wanted a local veterinarian to "make him go away".  The vet decided that she could not ethically or morally euthanize Buddy as he had a very strong desire to to live.

The vet approached Michigan State University about treatment for Buddys wound.  After a series of skin debridements, MSU performed a skin flap.  Taking skin from Buddys neck, rotating it and stitching to his face.

This is Buddy at his last visit to MSU.  They removed his stitches and all looks great!  Buddy has a follow up visit in one month to see how he is healing.    Buddy will be available for adoption.  If you are interested in an older guy that just wants to enjoy life: car rides naps feeling good, then Buddy may be the guy for you!!