Mental Health Requirements for Shelter Dogs

• A comfortable bed or den.
• At least three daily opportunities to use a dog toilet area (outside of their kennel) and be rewarded for using it.
• Sufficient entertainment (environmental enrichment) and stuffed chew toys such as Kongs.
• Some hand feeding.
• Interaction with new people each day.
• Daily education (basic manners training) and mental stimulation(walks).
• At least 20 minutes out of their kennel run each day, used either for training, socialization, playtime, exercise or in somebody's office.
• Canine companionship—either housing with other dogs or daily play/training sessions.
• Puppies under four months must be housed together in a self-training,
long-term confinement area, with constant access to a puppy toilet area.
Puppies require daily handling, grooming, and manners training by
multiple people.

from The No Kill Advocate - 5

Mental Health Requirements for Shelter Cats

• A warm clean environment with access to a comfortable hiding place.
• A separate litter box area.
• A litter box that is cleaned regularly (feces removed immediately when noticed).
• A convenient scratching post with suspended toys.
• Interaction with unfamiliar people daily.
• Daily handling and grooming.
• Feline companionship for social cats (group housing).
from No Kill Advocate - 5

Animal Overpopulation Video (Graphic Warning)

Aquarium Web Cams

National Zoo Web Cams

The Life of a Battery Hen

Puppy Mills a Shelter Problem

Tater People

Urine Marking

Senior Dog Care

Vicious Dogs

A study of 355 dog owners in Ohio showed that every owner of a high-risk breed known for aggression had at least one brush with the law, from traffic citations to serious criminal convictions.

And 30 percent of people who owned an aggressive breed of dog and who also had been cited at least once for failure to register it had at least five criminal convictions or traffic citations.

This compared to 1 percent of owners of low-risk, licensed dogs such as poodles, beagles or collies, the researchers reported in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. For more click heading.

National Bird Day

January 5, 2007 will herald the fifth annual celebration of National Bird Day. To commemorate the occasion, the Animal Protection Institute (API), in coordination with the Avian Welfare Coalition (AWC), is calling on activists around the U.S. to take action on behalf of captive birds, by drawing attention to the exploitation of other country's native birds that is being perpetrated by the U.S. pet industry.

Ringworm

Vet Med Site

Canine Flu

Find Lost Pets

Missing Pet Partnership is a national, nonprofit organization which provides lost pet recovery tips and referrals to lost pet services for pet owner/guardians who have lost a beloved pet. In addition, we are working to educate staff and volunteers of animal shelters, humane societies, rescue groups and animal welfare organizations in the behavioral patterns of lost dogs and cats as well as newly developed "pet detective" recovery services.

Free Bird Flu Book