Georgia Heartland Humane Society to be Showcased at Atlanta Home Show in October

AAG Note: Keep up the good work guys! What an awesome accomplishment for you. What a wonderful future you offer so many animals!

Special to the Fayette Front Page

Come by to see Jack and Jill and the other GHHS animals before you go to see the Ultimate Airdogs. Stop by the Stage, also near the GHHS booth, to see celebrity guests from HGTV. Visit the Living Green Tour where you can test environmentally friendly products and learn how to conserve energy, live healthier and save money.

After seeing an article on the Georgia Heartland Humane Society, Ashlei Whitfield, a marketing representative for Marketplace Events, suggested that GHHS be their sponsored charity at the upcoming Home Show, held on October 17-19 at the Georgia International Convention Center near Hartsfield Airport.

As their charity partner, GHHS volunteers will be selling tickets, provided by Marketplace Events, for the Gas for a Decade raffle. Net proceeds will be going to GHHS.

GHHS will also receive the proceeds from another fun event, a silent auction for birdhouses painted by famous Georgians and Atlantans.

In addition Marketplace Events has provided GHHS an exhibit booth, evaluated at $5000, to communicate our mission to the public. Our booth is in a prime location near the main stage and the Ultimate Air Dogs presentation. GHHS will be bringing some of their current foster animals, such as Jack and Jill, two kittens who have Manx syndrome, a disorder which causes incontinence. In spite of their diapers and onesies to hold the diapers on, Jack and Jill are otherwise normal kittens who love to play and cuddle.

The Ultimate Airdog competition will be near the GHHS booth. Ultimate Air Dogs is one of the premier dock jumping organizations in the country. The President, Milt Wilcox, who pitched for the Detroit Tigers in the 1984 World Series, hosts professional events that draw in thousands of spectators, while maintain a family-friendly atmosphere. The public can register their dogs for the competition at The Home Show. For more information about Ultimate Air Dogs, go to http://www.ultimateairdogs.net/.

Come support Georgia Heartland Humane Society, an all volunteer, non-profit agency which rescues abandoned, abused and unwanted animals in Coweta and Fayette counties. (www.gaheartland.com) GHHS is looking for volunteers to help cover this 3 day event. If you are interested, please call Annette at 770 253-5083.

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Birth Announcement of a Rare Aye-Aye at Duke

AAG Note: This little guy is so cute we couldn't resist adding him to our animal news-- even if he does live in North Carolina! The Duke article is a fascinating introduction to the world of lemurs. Enjoy.

Ardrey and Merlin, rare, nocturnal aye-ayes from Madagascar, are pleased to announce the birth of their second child, a male, early on July 23 at the Duke Lemur Center.

Ichabod weighed 116 grams at birth, and has greenish-yellow eyes, black and gray hair, and extraordinarily large ears.

Head primate technician Samantha Trull, who cares for the aye-ayes daily, said the newest addition is one of the most vocal aye-ayes she has ever heard.

He is the second captive-bred baby for the couple, and only the third aye-aye born to captive-bred parents. Aye-ayes (EYE-EYEs) are critically endangered in their native island of Madagascar. The animals are kept at the Duke Lemur Center in Durham for conservation and research.

Aye-ayes use their bat-like ears and finger tapping to detect grubs hidden beneath tree bark. They can use beaver-like teeth to gnaw into the wood to expose the grubs or fish them out with spidery fingers ending in hooked nails.

Today, aye-ayes are extremely rare even on Madagascar both because of deforestation and because local superstition holds that if an aye-aye points a finger at a person, that person is doomed. The gentle animals are sometimes killed on sight.

The Lemur Center brought aye-ayes into captivity more than two decades ago and was the site of the first captive aye-aye birth -- Blue Devil, born in 1993.

Before the birth of this latest male and his older sister, all aye-ayes at the center had been born of fathers socialized in the wild, where they apparently learned the art of mating.

Ichabod's father, Merlin, had to be coached patiently by Lemur Center assistant director Dean Gibson for more than two years before he got the hang of mating. Although captive born herself, Ardrey had learned her role by breeding with a wild male.

“Merlin was scared to death of her, didn’t know what to do,” Gibson said. Instead of sniffing and mating as he was supposed to, Merlin would sniff and run away, apparently unsure what to do next. Ardrey would take annoyed swipes at the reluctant suitor.

“It took two years of catching her in her breeding cycle, putting Merlin with her every day during her cycle, coaching him along and stopping her from being aggressive toward him,” Gibson recalled. “I’d stand there with a net and defend him, and when he was doing well, give him nuts."

“Also, I’d give her treats to calm her down so she’d sit there and eat, rather than attack him,” she said. Eventually, Gibson’s coaching was successful, and the animals bred. In 2006, a female named Angelique was the result.

The experience with the aye-ayes has taught the center’s primatologists an invaluable lesson -- that the complex creatures need socialization to mate, Gibson said.

According to center director Anne Yoder, the animals’ need for socialization is driving design of planned new housing at the center.

”We need to build facilities so that these animals can live in the social structure required for their natural reproductive behaviors to emerge and continue,” Yoder said. “Otherwise, we might find ourselves housing the last aye-aye, or the last examples of other endangered lemurs.”

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Georgia Aquarium Makes U.S. History with Display of Manta Ray

AAG Note: The Georgia Aquarium is among our favorite destinations in the Atlanta area. We have been there several times and still marvel at the beauty of the animals shown.

The manta ray is the largest of all rays, weighing up to 6,000 lbs and measuring up to 26 feet in width. It has a unique body shape, with an extremely broad head and an enormous, wide mouth flanked by two broad, flexible lobes. These fins are kept rolled and pointed forward, except when the manta is feeding. Its tail is whip-like, but short, and does not have a barb or spine. The manta ray is primarily a plankton feeder, but also consumes small and moderate-sized fishes. It is listed as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List.

PRNewswire/ -- The Georgia Aquarium announced today the addition of a manta ray to the 6.3 million gallon Ocean Voyager gallery, built by The Home Depot. The addition of the female manta ray, Nandi, makes Georgia Aquarium the only aquarium in the United States to ever house a manta ray and one of only four aquariums in the world to display this species. Nandi will join four whale sharks and thousands of other animals in the world's largest aquarium exhibit.

"As the Georgia Aquarium grows as a tourist destination, our opportunity to promote conservation and education grows," said Mike Leven, chief executive officer of the Georgia Aquarium. "The addition of Nandi, who inspired hundreds of thousands of people in South Africa, gives us the opportunity to elevate her as an ambassador for her species. Millions of people who may have never had the chance to see a manta ray will now have that chance at the Georgia Aquarium."

Nandi, who measures more than nine feet across and weighs approximately 456 lbs, flew 9,000 miles on a chartered 747-200 aircraft from Durban, South Africa through Cape Verde, Africa, to Atlanta. The manta ray was under the care and supervision of Georgia Aquarium and uShaka Marine World professional staff and maintained by a highly advanced marine life support system.

"The Georgia Aquarium's success in moving whale sharks across the world gave us confidence that this was the right thing to do," said Dr. Mark Penning, executive director of uShaka Marine World. "We see this as a perfect opportunity to create an international partnership and continue Nandi's incredible story, raising worldwide awareness about manta rays."

Nandi was rescued from shark nets off the coast of Durban, South Africa, in April 2007 and rehabilitated by uShaka Marine World, the largest marine park in Africa. She has lived in uShaka for the past year, educating and inspiring conservation in more than 500,000 people.

Manta rays are the largest rays in the sea, but Nandi was young when she was rescued, measuring just more than eight feet across and weighing around 245 lbs. She had since outgrown her 580,000 gallon exhibit. In order to raise worldwide awareness about manta rays, Georgia Aquarium and uShaka created an international partnership to bring Nandi from South Africa to Georgia Aquarium.

"No one has ever done this before," said Leven. "Flying the world's largest ray, a manta ray, from one side of the world to the other and housing it in a U.S. aquarium for the first time is incredible. Having the opportunity to work with this animal and grow our understanding of this strange yet gentle giant will be an opportunity of a lifetime."

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Find a Friend from Home

AAAG Staff Report: I recently started a journey to find a new friend for our home. From the comfort of my home, and with my trusty computer and a big cup of coffee, I spent hours searching the various humane societies for just the right guy.

How? It's so easy. Just go to Petfinder.com and let the search begin. After entering all of the information on the type of animal, age, gender, and general location, I was overwhelmed by how many pets I could see. Not only did I see pictures of the little tykes, I also was able to read some of their stories. What a great way to let your fingers pick out the candidates for our home!

I was lucky. One animal was located who was in the care of the Georgia Heartland Humane Society. I filled out the application and waited. Soon, the call came and a visit was scheduled. I was thrilled as I already have one pet which was rescued by this group.

Sadly, this pet just didn't click with the family. Or, should I say, we didn't click with him. I'm not worried about the little guy as there was already another family waiting to spend some time with him.

Back on the Petfinder site I went. In a matter of a few minutes, I found new pets to consider. Once again, I filled out the paperwork and was contacted a few days later with the news that I had been approved to adopt a pet.

This time, I drove over to the Henry County Humane Society where they had an abundance of dogs I could visit. After four hours of sitting with the different candidates, the family left with a new love. We actually could have left after only one hour as the little guy who came home with us had already packed his bag and had it waiting by the door. I guess he was thinking we were just a little slow. After all, why look any further? He was just perfect, and we finally agreed with him.

It was a great experience. No longer did I have to drive around in hopes of finding a new family member, or be disappointed when I didn't find any dogs. Using Petfinder greatly reduced the amount of time we had to spend searching for a new pet, and we didn't waste a tank of gas or more and lots of precious weekends searching.

I will leave you with an article written by Petfinder some time ago. They say it so much better than I can.

Petfinder.com Gives Shelter Pets New Byte

Over 250,000 homeless pets in approximately 11,000 animal placement organizations across the U.S. and Canada have their own homepages, thanks to one of the most unifying initiatives to ever hit animal welfare--Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest searchable directory of adoptable pets on the Web.

From the comfort of their own homes, pet seekers enter their search criteria, such as size, gender, breed and age, and get back a list of adoptable pets ranked in proximity to the searcher's Zip code. Updated continuously by the animal welfare volunteers and staff themselves, the Web site gives potential adopters a photograph, a description of the animal and contact information.

Shelters and rescue group members also have their own home pages on the site. Many of them attribute over 50% of their adoptions to Petfinder.com. Some have reported that their euthanasia rate dropped significantly within months of joining Petfinder.com. They also report that Petfinder.com adoptions are more successful, with fewer pets returned. This may be because the adopter's choice is more informed.

"Many people find visiting shelters traumatic, especially those who feel guilty when they can't take all the pets home," says Betsy Saul, who developed the site with her husband, Jared, in January 1996 as a New Year's Resolution to help homeless pets. "Petfinder.com allows you to focus your search from home, which makes finding your new best friend much easier." The site went national in August 1998. Petfinder.com, a labor of love for the Sauls, was the first searchable directory for homeless pets.

Thanks to its sponsors, Petfinder.com is free to use. Animal shelters and rescue groups can register to join Petfinder.com online and can start entering pets the same day. Purina signed on as the Web site's premier sponsor. Purina provides nutrition and pet care information for Petfinder.com's online libraries and assists in marketing efforts, helping to spread the word about the thousands of pets that need a new home.

Other exclusive sponsors are BISSELL Homecare, Inc., a manufacturer of home cleaning and floor care products, PETCO, a national pet supply retailer that sponsors in-store adoptions and provides coupon books for new adopters, The Animal Rescue Site, which contributes a percentage of sales of Petfinder merchandise to the Petfinder.com Foundation, and Merial, maker of the number one veterinary-recommended flea and tick preventative FRONTLINE®, and heartworm preventative HEARTGARD®.

Petfinder.com, whose founders are scientists by training, not business people, is among the busiest sites on the Internet. The Sauls attribute their site's success not only to hard work, but also to the press. "We never had to spend a dime on advertising," says Betsy Saul, who admits it was a good thing since, at the time they created the site, they didn't have any dimes to spare. "As soon as we launched and the press first got a glimpse of the site, we've been in a race to keep up with ourselves."

Petfinder.com was named one of the 300 best Web sites by Forbes magazine and one of the top 100 sites by Family PC magazine. It has repeatedly gotten top ratings from Internet tracking companies, including the most visited site among all U.S Web sites in the Hitwise Lifestyle - Pets and Animals category. The site has also been featured in most major magazines and newspapers, and their have been features on .The Today Show. and .The Ellen DeGeneres Show..

The Petfinder.com Foundation was established in 2003 to assist animal welfare organizations in time of need. Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Petfinder.com staff worked 24/7 to create an online database of pets rescued during the devastating hurricanes of 2005. It was the largest collaborative effort in animal welfare history with many agencies cooperating. "The site is a virtual shelter," says Jared Saul. "It is being able to sit down with your family and visit hundreds of shelters, get to know the pets, and not have to drive all around to do it. When someone finally does go to meet a pet because of Petfinder.com, they are more likely to be well suited for each other. What better use of the Web?"

In 2006, Discovery Communications Inc. acquired Petfinder.com, and the site became part of the Animal Planet family.

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The Peachtree City Police Department is forming a K-9 unit!

The Peachtree City Police Department always aspires to provide the best service possible to its citizens through the use of progressive policing techniques and equipment. The addition of a K-9 program would be a welcome crime-fighting tool for the Department, as well as an asset to the community.

Ways a K-9 unit benefits the community:

Narcotics Detection
• Probable cause to search vehicles / major deterrent to bringing in drugs
• Sweeps of school lockers and parking lots / deterrent to drugs in our schools
• Residential searches for well-hidden drugs or paraphernalia
• Package searches / Peachtree City has a parcel distribution center and an airport

Tracking / Searches
• K-9s track fleeing suspects
• K-9s can help find lost or missing children
• K-9s work quickly and effectively in clearing large buildings

Officer Safety / Crime Deterrence
• A K-9 obeys commands to assist during physical confrontations
• A K-9’s presence often deters confrontations and fleeing suspects

Public Relations
• Public appearances and K-9 demonstrations at community events
• Guest “speakers” for DARE classes, Citizen’s Police Academy classes, and other
events as requested

The start-up cost for two K-9s, training, and equipment is $40,000. We greatly appreciate Panasonic’s donation of $13,000 to kick-off the fundraising effort. You can help provide this valuable resource to Peachtree City’s crime-fighting front line!

Contributions are tax deductible
Donations accepted at Peachtree City Police Department—Attn: K-9 Program
Make checks payable to City of Peachtree City

The Peachtree City Police Department and FACTOR (Fayette Alliance Coordinating Teamwork Outreach and Resources), the Fayette Family Connection Collaborative, have joined together to bring community awareness to this need and coordinate fundraising opportunities. Previously, they coordinated resources to form the Fayette Meth Task Force to educate the community about a frightening plague. Now we are eager to spread the word on this new program as well.

READ BELOW TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN HELP!

Becky Smith
FACTOR Executive Director
bsmith719@bellsouth.net
Cell: 404-291-1602
PO Box 142518
Fayetteville, GA 30214

Sgt. Matt Myers
Peachtree City Police Department
mmyers@ptcgovernment.org
Work: 770-487-8866 ext. 1334
Cell: 678-858-9193
2011 N. Commerce Dr.
Peachtree City, GA 30269
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It's Panda- monium at Zoo Atlanta Sept 6th

Mei Lan, the adorable panda cub, is turning 2 and inviting you to her birthday party! Mark your calendars now and join Zoo Atlanta for a fun filled day of celebration on September 6th.

The celebration runs from 10 am to 2 pm.

Click here to watch for more details.


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Microchips Help Cops Collar Dog Thieves

AAG Note: We've been victims of dog napping in the past. Just wish we'd had the opportunity to have our guy identified by others so he could have come home. Why didn't we microchip? It wasn't available. Now, we heartily encourage everyone to microchip your pet. It takes a few seconds and the chip is only about the size of a grain of rice.

Not only can your dog have a better shot of coming home, just remember the headlines in GA at the first of the year. When an abandoned dog was picked up and scanned for a microchip, the information led to the arrest of a man who had attacked and murdered a young GA hiker.

(NAPSI)-Sure, your dog might guard your house, but who’s guarding him?

With the recent explosion in dog thefts-hundreds in 2008, compared to just a handful reported for all of 2007-many pet owners have turned to microchips to permanently identify and protect their pets. The chips, which are usually implanted in the scruff of the neck, contain a unique ID code that can be activated when read by a scanner.

“A thief can remove a dog’s collar, but he can’t remove the chip- in fact, he won’t even know the dog has one,” says Lisa Peterson of the American Kennel Club (AKC). “Just recently, the technology led to the recovery of a New York dog that had been missing for five years before turning up in Georgia.”

The AKC offers microchipping events where pet owners can access the technology at little or no cost, and the group gives tips on ways to keep the chips up to date.

But remember: Microchips can only help you get your dog back once it’s already missing. Other safety measures suggested by the AKC include:

At Home

• Don’t let your dog off the leash or leave him unattended in your yard. Keeping him close reduces the likelihood he’ll wander off or become targeted by thieves.

• Breeders should beware of home visits by criminals posing as would-be “puppy buyers.” The scam artists return when no one’s home to snatch dogs.

On The Road

• Never leave your dog in an unattended car, even if it’s locked.

• Don’t tie your dog outside a store. Either patronize only dog-friendly retailers or else leave your pet at home.

• Be alert when frequenting places that cater to dogs, such as grooming salons, veterinarians, doggie day care or hotels. They could make for fertile stalking grounds for those with criminal intentions.

Recovery

• If you suspect your dog has been stolen, immediately call the police or animal control in the area your pet was last seen.

• Be prepared. Have flyers with a recent photo ready to go if your dog goes missing.

To learn more, enroll your pet in a 24-hour recovery service or to find a microchipping event near you, visit www.akccar.org or www.akc.org.

Microchip recovery services can help protect pets.

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