A PET’S TEN COMMANDMENTS…

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.

4. Don’t be angry with me for long and don’t lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.

5. Talk to me. Even if I don’t understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I’m not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can’t bear to watch. Don’t make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so. ALWAYS!

**Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them. Life would be a much duller, less joyful experience without God’s critters. It’s one of the saddest moments in life to live through.**

Interested in adopting a beagle? Then check out Marcella, a little bitty beagle Stray Rescue saved from a puppy mill in southern Missouri.

Learn about how to STOP puppy mills here.

Visit this MSNBC link to read more.

Thanks Cheryl, for furthering the message of dog rescue and adoption. There are so many dogs and shelters out there that can provide great alternatives to breeders and the puppy mill perpetuators pet stores in the mall.

Look how cute he is! 

If you’re interested in adopting, please consider Zane. We are fostering him through Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

Why adopt this dog?

At 1.5-years-old, he’s a full-grown lab mix who is completey healthy, is set with vaccines for three full years, and comes micro-chipped. He’s also great in the house, is completely house-trained, crate-trained, and enjoys playing fetch. He also enjoys walking on the leash and loves going jogging. 

He’s also extremely smart. Since we’ve been fostering him, he’s already learned “sit” and “laydown” through hand commands, and is working on “stay” right now. He also loves young 20-somethings. He’d be an ideal pet for a single guy or gal, or a family with a child who is about 10 or so.  He enjoys spending time in his kennel, and keeps it neat and clean. And, he’s quiet too!  Just look (below)!

At his previous kennel, he ran with the dogs daily. So, he also should play along well with other dogs in your family, and perhaps even cats.

If you’re interested in making Zane apart of your family, please let me know. Feel free to just leave me a comment below.

Click here to learn more. Or, see what Mayor Slay thinks about the festivities here.

Who doesn’t love masqueradering mutts?!  Leave me a comment if you’re attending. I’ll post the best ideas & photos here! 

Below you’ll find resources (from Metro Animal Resource Services, Inc.)that may help. You’ll also find a newly improved blogroll to the right, which features other animal shelters in St. Louis.

Do you know of another animal shelter?  If so, please let me know. I’d like to make the listing to the right as resourceful as possible.

Trivia Night, Saturday Feb. 9:

This event will benefit Stray Rescue and PoundPals. Doors open at 6 p.m.; games start at 7 p.m. $20 a person/8 per table. Beer, wine and soda is included. (Attendees are encouraged to bring snacks.) To reserve a table, call Arlene at 314.416.8081 or e-mail kulade5@yahoo.com. More details: www.strayrescue.org.

Visit http://www.zootoo.com/makeover/:

And register with Stray Rescue as your shelter of choice. This Web site was created for animal lovers and houses numerous ways to generate points for Stray Rescue by simply surfing the site. The top 20 shelters with the most points will receive a donation. The contest ends in February 2008, so share with friends and start surfing for the dogs!

Shop online at www.igive.com:

Each purchase includes donations to benefit your charity of choice, so check it out and sign up for Stray Rescue. (This shopping service is available all year long and includes stores like Best Buy, Target and Home Depot.)

Try www.goodsearch.com as your search engine:

Powered by Yahoo, each time you use Goodsearch and choose Stray Rescue, we benefit. Right now, not very many people have signed up with Stray Rescue as their charity choice. Let’s change that! The more people who do this, the bigger the donations.

At least 30 puppies are currently in need of foster homes. And, this time of year is the worst…think cold little noses and shivering little tails. Survival is the toughest in the most extreme temperatures.

If you’re still not hooked, look at how wonderful it is. Plus, Stray Rescue covers ALL vetting bills.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to answer any that you have, and also help you get your first litte bits of Heaven set of puppies!

Read more:

“What would a dog say if it could talk? “Stranger”, “fight”, “walk”, “alone”, “ball” and “play”, according to scientists who have developed a computer programme to translate dog barks.

The special programme analysed more than 6,000 barks from 14 Hungarian sheepdogs in six different situations.

In a series of tests the team of scientists, from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary led by Csaba Molnár, discovered that a computer could recognise whether a dog was in a stranger, fight, walk, alone, ball or play scenario.”

Do you believe it?

Read the rest of the story here.