paws4claws.com Kicks Off Paws N'Doodles Show & Tail Contest to Benefit American Humane Association's Pets and Women's Shelters (PAWS)® Program

/PRNewswire/ -- To celebrate the launch of its online social and e-commerce networking community for pet lovers, paws4claws.com is holding the Paws N'Doodles Show & Tail Contest. The contest, which solicits the best short story about a pet accompanied by a doodle illustrating it, will benefit American Humane's Pets and Women's Shelters (PAWS) Program, which promotes on-site housing of pets at domestic violence shelters.

paws4claws.com created the contest to help the PAWS Program raise awareness about the lack of domestic violence shelters that accommodate abused women with pets, and to help fund those accommodations at more shelters across the U.S. All net proceeds from the contest will go to the PAWS Program.

American Humane, the leading organization raising awareness about The Link® between animal abuse and other forms of violence, launched the PAWS Program in 2008. Because there are few options for safely housing pets from abusive homes, domestic violence victims often feel they have little choice but to stay and subject themselves, their children and their pets to further violence. In fact, up to 85 percent of women entering domestic violence shelters reported that a partner had threatened, injured or killed the family pet, according to a 1997 study.

How to Enter the Paws N'Doodles Show &Tail Contest

Entering the contest is simple and can be done online. Take a high-quality digital photograph or scan of your doodle, and save it in JPEG or PDF format. Save your story as a Word document or a PDF. Then fill out the Paws N'Doodles online entry form at http://www.wizehive.com/paws4claws.html and attach your artwork and story. The deadline for entries is midnight on Sept. 26, 2010.

Contest Entry Fee

The fee for a single entry in the Paws N'Doodles Show & Tail Contest is $5.00 U.S. per entry. You may submit as many entries as you wish, but each single entry must be accompanied by the corresponding $5.00 U.S. entry fee and a separate entry form. All entry fees will be donated to the PAWS Program.

First Prize

The first-prize winner will receive $500, and his/her artwork will be featured as the cover art of the Paws N'Doodles Show and Tail book to be published in 2011 to raise funds for the PAWS Program. A matching $500 donation with a framed copy of the first-prize doodle and short story will be presented to American Humane for the PAWS Program.

Voting

Entries will be posted at www.paws4claws.com, and viewers can vote online for their favorite entries beginning Aug. 15, 2010, through midnight on October 22, 2010.

For more contest rules, as well as second and third place and honorable-mention prize information, visit www.paws4claws.com.

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American Dog Rescue Provides Aid to Displaced Dogs Following House Fire of Atlanta's 'Dog Next Door' Animal Rescuer

/PRNewswire/ -- Responding to the call for assistance, American Dog Rescue has tapped its national animal rescue network to provide financial and logistical support of 15 dogs saved after their Atlanta-based shelter was destroyed by fire on January 11. The caregiver for the dogs, Deborah Wood, is known locally as the "The Dog Next Door Rescuer" and nationally recognized for her passionate efforts to caring for homeless pets.

"I am totally exhausted and I lost everything," said Wood, founder of The Dog Next Door, a private, home-based canine assistance group. "By profession I am a paralegal, and by passion I have a dog rescue company. I tried to get all dogs out of my house. One is in doggie heaven, one is critical injured, all others, need foster homes today. I will probably be staying with Red Cross as I don't have family here and few friends."

A local animal hospital is temporarily caring for the displaced animals. All surviving animals are in good condition and awaiting foster care or adoption.

Arthur Benjamin, founder and president of American Dog Rescue, and the entire ADR team was immediately moved to help someone who "has an incredible heart". They have reached out across the country to their network of groups like HSUS, No More Homeless Pets, Best Friends and Paws In the City. "We are committed to Deborah and her 15 fosters to see them through this incredible tragedy and find them all places to stay short-term (fosters), and their long-term future (happy homes)."

"Ms. Wood's story touched my heart deeply," said Benjamin. "Here is a woman that has devoted her personal time to saving dogs and when disaster struck, her focus has been and remains on the welfare of her sheltered animals. American Dog Rescue has taken a leadership role in gathering national and local support to ensure these animals are given a chance."

American Dog Rescue (www.americandogrescue.org) is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 organization committed to finding a home for every adoptable dog in the United States. American Dog Rescue is committed to placing healthy dogs in permanent homes that are the right fit for the animal and its family. Donations to support PROJECT GEORGIA FIRE can be made by visiting www.americandogrescue.org/donate or calling 801-944-3023.

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Become a Superhero: Celebrate Adopt-A-Dog Month(R) This October

/PRNewswire/ -- You can become a hero to a dog this October by observing and celebrating the American Humane Association's Adopt-A-Dog Month(R) event. Millions of dogs in shelters are facing an uncertain fate, and many more are joining them each day due to the effects of the recession on pet owners. But there are simple steps each of us can take to make a difference in these dogs' lives.

Save the day for a homeless dog -- and find a faithful companion who will be at your side for all of life's adventures -- by adopting a dog from a shelter or breed-rescue group during October. It's the perfect time to visit the shelter, meet potential sidekicks and discover how much fun and happiness a dog can add to your life.

Companionship, improved physical and emotional health, social interaction and devoted love are just a few of the super-size benefits of having a dog. Dogs also encourage people to exercise, enhance family and social relationships, promote laughter and act as a nonjudgmental audience and sounding board.

Bringing a dog into your home is a lifetime commitment (the dog's lifetime, that is) and can require immense lifestyle adjustments for everyone in the family. If you aren't ready to adopt, but still want to make a difference for homeless dogs, here are some other ways to celebrate Adopt-A-Dog Month:

Volunteer: Shelters and rescue groups are always looking for dependable people who can help in almost any way. Are you good at taking pictures or working on websites? Offer to take appealing photos of adoptable dogs and post them on the organization's website. Do you have a way with words? Volunteer your time to help edit the organization's newsletter or website. We all have something to offer; we just need to ask how we can help!

Support: While financial support is always welcome, your donation of blankets, toys, dog food and volunteer time are just a few of the things you can offer homeless dogs in your community. You can also make contributions to help fund grants that are available to community shelters and rescue groups through American Humane's Second Chance Fund and its Foreclosure Pets Grant. These grants help abused, neglected, abandoned or relinquished pets and are funded entirely by donations, so your support goes directly to help these animals get the care they need to survive.

"Right now there is a greater need than ever for people to go to a shelter and find their new best friend," said Marie Belew Wheatley, American Humane president and CEO. "The nation's economy is negatively impacting community shelters and rescue organizations, filling them to capacity many times over. This October, we hope people will renew their commitment to help these animals that are so in need of forever homes."

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Animal Shelter Dogs Putting Best Paws Forward During 'Adopt a Shelter Dog Month'

/PRNewswire/ -- The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and the American Humane Society promote October as "Adopt a Shelter Dog" month. Statistics state that 5-7 million pets wind up in 5000 shelters each year. Of those shelter pets, 3-4 million are euthanized. With the current economic downturn, more pets are in shelters because owners can no longer afford them.

In an effort to increase adoptions during "Adopt a Shelter Dog" month, Wag'n Tails is enlisting the support of their grooming van owners to groom as many shelter dogs as possible. They are providing free grooming services to animal shelters in October.

The goal is to give professional doggie "make-overs" by expert pet stylists at local shelters. "If we can increase the odds of a dog finding a loving home by giving it groom from a professional stylist then we are willing to do what we can," said Wag'n Tails President Dennis Gnetz.

"The statistics are just so appalling; we surveyed our van owners and most agreed that we should organize this effort. Our grooming van owners provide support like this already but they said we should try to maximize results," Gnetz added.

Wag'n Tails has added an incentive to the effort. The owner that grooms the most shelter pets in October will be awarded a 5 day vacation at a beautiful Caribbean destination resort courtesy of Wag'n Tails.

Wag'n Tails Founder Dina Perry will be grooming dogs in the Granger, Indiana area in October. "I have always supported shelters near my pet related businesses over the years and I'm excited to participate," Perry said.

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Shelter Dog in May – Part of Art Exhibit in October

Last May the Rosser family lost their beloved family dog. Rosebud had been a part of the family for more than twelve years. The family missed having a dog around. “I can’t be without a dog for very long,” said Donna Rosser. Two weeks without a dog was enough. She began looking at petfinder.com to find a new member of the family. Rosser concentrated on shelter dogs only; knowing that their time was very limited. She wanted to save one from the fate of being put down.

Donna spotted “Ianna” online. She was at the Henry County Shelter and had been there for almost a month. The online information was brief – it stated she was a puppy and needed TLC. After calling the shelter to see if the dog was still available, Donna and her husband made the drive to Henry County to see her in person and ultimately bring her home. On the way home they chose a new name, Sadie.

Sadie was very thin – skin and bones and in need of a bath. She was also full of ticks. The next day Sadie was seen by a vet and her journey to becoming healthy had begun. The vet estimated her age at 6 to 9 months. A month later found Sadie to be at her normal weight, spayed, tickless, and beginning to show a healthy coat. She gets daily walks, sleeps wherever she wishes, and has become a member of the family. The Rosser family picked September 21 as Sadie’s birthday.

“When I look at her, I am saddened to think about her as a stray and spending those weeks in the shelter,” said Donna. Her favorite treats are dried sweet potato wrapped with duck.

Donna is owner of The Barefoot Photographer®. She teaches workshops and founded a local photography group in 2006. Donna also enters local photography exhibits. In August, Donna entered four photos in the Arts Clayton juried photography competition. Three of her photos made it into the show. One of those three photos is a portrait of Sadie sleeping on the featherbed.

Donna hopes that the story of finding such a gem at the shelter and having people see the photo will help encourage those looking for a new dog, or other pet, to seek out their local shelter first. If you would like to see any pet available at shelters or through rescue groups in your area, petfinder.com is an excellent way to find out what is out there.

Donna Rosser’s photos are part of many personal and commercial collections. Donna has been featured in newspapers and magazines; and her photos have been used on Atlanta news shows. In 2009, she turned to directing Nature, Undisturbed; a juried photography exhibit benefiting the Southern Conservation Land Trust. Her work can be seen at her website http://www.thebarefootphotographer.com/. She also writes a popular blog about her photography and her dog.

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Celebrities Use Twitter To Save Shelter Pets' Lives

/PRNewswire/ -- Adopt-a-Pet.com, North America's largest non-profit pet adoption web service, announces the official launch of TwitterACritter, a new social media campaign that uses Twitter to spread the word about adoptable pets in shelters.

On the campaign web site, www.TwitterACritter.com, pet lovers can select one of the 130,000 homeless dogs, cats, and other pets listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com and tweet a link to that pet's information.

"TwitterACritter is a fun, easy way for people to actively save the life of a shelter pet, even if they can't adopt one themselves or afford to donate," says Abbie Moore, executive director of Adopt-a-Pet.com. "Homeless pets are powerless to promote themselves to potential adopters, so it's up to those of us who love animals to lend a hand, and a set of thumbs, and tweet about them. In these difficult economic times, when so many pets are being relinquished to shelters, they need our help more than ever."

Already the campaign has gotten a boost from several celebrities who have participated and encouraged their Twitter followers to do the same. Since the TwitterACritter feature became available two weeks ago, Kevin Nealon, Alyssa Milano, Denise Richards, Kristin Chenoweth, and several other celebrities have taken up the cause and tweeted links to shelter pets listed on Adopt-a-Pet.com. According to Moore, "In each case, immediately after the celebrity's tweet, hundreds of their followers tweeted homeless pets as well. . . and their followers tweet, and so on and so on. The celebrities create an avalanche of compassion."

"The bottom line is that if enough people see a shelter pet, that pet gets adopted. There is no better way to expose shelter pets to as many potential adopters as possible than through Twitter," continues Moore. "It's no exaggeration to say that a single tweet can save a life. Imagine the impact it would have if everyone tweeted just one critter a day!"

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This October, Be a Superhero and Rescue a Shelter Dog During American Humane's Adopt-A-Dog Month (R)

/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- You can save the day for a homeless dog -- and find a faithful companion who will be at your side for all of life's adventures -- by adopting a dog during American Humane's Adopt-A-Dog Month (R) in October.

As a result of the tight economy and rising tide of home foreclosures, U.S. animal shelters are becoming even more overpopulated by furry friends in need of loving homes. While no national statistics exist, shelters across the country are receiving dogs every day from displaced homeowners. With more dogs than adopters, shelters are facing a tragic scenario: the possibility of having to euthanize healthy, adoptable dogs.

"Adopting a dog from your local shelter is a simple, yet heroic deed," said American Humane President and CEO Marie Belew Wheatley. "By providing a home to an animal that didn't have one, you can help reduce the regrettably high number of homeless pets in this country. And you'll be rewarded in so many ways, as you experience the joy of building an invincible bond with a loving and faithful companion."

Dogs provide companionship, improved physical and emotional health, social interaction and devoted love. They also encourage people to exercise, enhance family and other relationships, promote laughter and act as a nonjudgmental audience. However, it is important to remember that adopting a dog is a long-term commitment; dogs need exercise and daily attention and are completely dependent on their owners for all of their needs.

Dog adoption isn't something to take lightly, but it is an extremely rewarding, life-changing experience, and possibly a life-saving experience for the dog. To learn more about the adoption process, visit American Humane's Web site at www.americanhumane.org.

Be a superhero! Rescue a shelter dog and gain a loyal, super sidekick for all of life's adventures!

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Plan for Your Pets in Case of Emergency

AAG Note: With all the hurricane threats upon us, please remember to plan for your pets in case you have to evacuate. Here are some tips from the Humane Society of the United States.

The HSUS urges residents to check their local Web sites such as the Florida State Agricultural Response team, flsart.org, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, gema.state.ga.us, North Carolina State Animal Response Team, ncsart.org and the South Carolina Emergency Management Division, scemd.org for updated information. Availability at shelters can be limited and residents are strongly urged to be self sufficient in caring for their families, including their animals.

The failure to plan for your pets' safety can lead to tragedy. Luckily, many lessons were learned after Hurricane Katrina where residents were forced to abandon dogs, cats and other animals by the tens of thousands. Early planning and coordinated evacuation plans avoided a repeat of Katrina during Hurricane Gustav. You can take simple steps to ensure that your pets will not be left in a dangerous situation.

A pet disaster kit should include:

· A three-day supply of food and drinking water, as well as bowls, cat litter and a container to be used as a litter box.

· Current photos and descriptions of pets.

· Up-to-date identification, including an additional tag with the phone number of someone out of the area in the event the pet becomes lost.

· Medications, medical records and a first aid kit stored in a waterproof container.

· Sturdy leashes, harnesses and carriers to transport pets safely as well as blankets or towels for bedding and warmth. Carriers should be large enough to comfortably house your pet for several hours or even days.

Evacuation planning for large animals should include:

· Evacuate animals as soon as possible. Be ready to leave once the evacuation is ordered. In a slowly evolving disaster, such as a hurricane, leave no later than 72 hours before anticipated landfall, especially if you will be hauling a high profile trailer such as a horse trailer. Remember: Even a fire truck fully loaded with water is considered "out of service" in winds exceeding 40 mph. If there are already high winds, it may not be possible to evacuate safely.

· Arrange for a place to shelter your animals. Plan ahead and work within your community to establish safe shelters for farm animals.

· Contact your local emergency management authority and become familiar with at least two possible evacuation routes well in advance.

· Set up safe transportation. Trucks, trailers, and other vehicles suitable for transporting large animals (appropriate for transporting each specific type of animal) should be available, along with experienced handlers and drivers.

· Take all your disaster supplies with you or make sure they will be available at your evacuation site. You should have or be able to readily obtain feed, water, veterinary supplies, handling equipment, tools and generators if necessary.

· If your animals are sheltered off your property, make sure they remain in the groupings they are used to. Also, be sure they are securely contained and sheltered from the elements if necessary, whether in cages, fenced-in areas, or buildings.

· Place horses' Coggins tests, veterinary papers, identification photographs, and vital information—such as medical history, allergies, and emergency telephone numbers (veterinarian, family members, etc.)—in a watertight envelope. Store the envelope with your other important papers in a safe place that can be quickly reached.

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UGA Workshop Helps Counties Handle Animals During Disasters

After Hurricane Katrina, Don Hamilton and other University of Georgia employees took care of 3,000 abandoned animals for 10 days at a shelter in Mississippi. The experience sparked them to develop a workshop to help keep Georgia animals and citizens safer during disasters.

They’re now taking the “Handling Animals during Disasters” planning workshop to counties around Georgia.

“If you don’t have a place to shelter animals in disaster, people aren’t going to evacuate,” said Hamilton, homeland security coordinator for the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

Georgia requires that each of its 159 counties have a local emergency operations plan. This plan contains a section on agriculture and natural resources, which includes handling companion animals. This is also required through the national Pet Evacuation Transportation Standards Act.

“After evacuation and disaster, there’s a tremendous problem with abandoned animals – dogs, cats, birds and livestock,” said Jeff Doles, director of Peach County’s Emergency Management Agency. “Before you can re-inhabit an area or allow citizens to return, you have to control the animal population. Now the encouragement is to take your animals with you so they don’t have to take care of themselves.”

Through the workshop, UGA experts helped Peach County research and develop its plan and guided various county players through mock disaster situations.

“They did a lot of groundwork where the rubber hits the road,” Doles said. “I can’t tell you how much help they were to us. We’re a small county. It would be virtually impossible for us to accomplish a plan of the magnitude we’ve got using our local resources.”

In February, Dole, UGA Cooperative Extension coordinator Frank Funderburk and others from the Fort Valley area tested their on-paper plan for handling animals in a disaster situation.

The two mock disasters “taught us to adapt,” said Doles, who is also the county’s fire chief. “We had some problems that we identified in our exercises, but we had a lot of strengths. I think it’s some of best training done in a while.”

The Georgia Department of Agriculture was a key player in the effort. UGA’s Fanning Institute helped facilitate it.

The county’s board of commissioners has since added the animal plan to the local emergency plan, which the city and county use to respond to and recover from any manmade or natural disaster.

As part of the plan, Doles is the first person county officials will call if there is a disaster. The third person on that list is Funderburk, who keeps a copy of the plan close by, ready to grab in case a tornado hits a veterinarian’s office or a hurricane sends evacuees up I-75, pets in hand, looking for shelter.

“I hope we don’t ever have to use it, but at least we’ve got a plan,” he said.

Hamilton is now helping emergency management officials in Brooks and Houston counties develop their own plans. These counties were chosen because of their proximity to Georgia’s interstates, their willingness to participate and their local resources.

The workshops are funded by a Department of Homeland Security grant through the Georgia Emergency Management Agency on behalf of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia.

By Stephanie Schupska
University of Georgia

Stephanie Schupska is a news editor with the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.