If you are looking for pet food assistance, you might also check with your local pet food pantry as some of them are starting to include pet food. And you might even search Facebook for “Pet Food Pantry” in the groups section.

If you know of anything I have missed or something we should include, please contact me.

See also similar posts on this blog listed below. And good luck to you. Stay strong!

“Our world has a serious dog overpopulation problem,” said Nipa Roy, spokesperson for TrainPetDog.com. “There are tons of rescues out there, making a noble effort to save and re-home dogs, but every day they struggle to get enough funding to stay open another day. Donations are an absolute necessity for these rescues.”

“With the current economy, many dog rescues are struggling to survive even if they were doing okay before,” Roy said. “Fewer families can afford to care for their dogs, so more dogs are being surrendered and fewer are being adopted out. That is when we decided to donate a total sum of $25,000 for as many as 500 Dog Rescues. We hope that our donations will provide much needed food and supplies to the dogs in these rescues”. Roy continued, “Someone has to try and help in whatever way they can and we’d like to do our part.”

With more than 875,000 subscribers to their free dog training mini courses, TrainPetDog.com has always held a passion to help the canine community at large.

TrainPetDog.com will select 500 of the neediest dog rescues to receive donations. To be considered for the donation, a rescue must fill out the online form on TrainPetDog.com’s web site. The form requests contact information for the rescue, allows the rescue to choose whether they want the donation in cash or goods, and asks questions such as what dog breeds they rescue and why they should be chosen as one of the 500 to receive a donation.

To find out how your rescue organization can claim its donation, please visit www.trainpetdog.com/rescue-form.php.

In addition to their philanthropic activities, TrainPetDog.com provides dog breed specific information for owners who want to learn more about dog and puppy training. Rescues can link to the website to provide foster and adoptive owners with the information they need to train their dogs. Dogs that are well trained or receive good training are more likely to find a “forever home” with their new owners, keeping them out of rescues so the space can be saved for other needy canines.

More information on Dog and Puppy Training can be found on their website at www.trainpetdog.com.

About TrainPetDog.com
Founded 5 years ago by dog enthusiasts, TrainPetDog.com was created with the intention of providing a much-needed resource to help owners train their dogs and puppies, based on their natural breed instincts. Today, the website has more than 875,000 subscribers to their free, breed-specific dog training course. It also has information about all kinds of dog breeds – from small breeds like Italian Greyhounds to large breeds like the Great Dane.

The website’s staff is constantly researching, conducting surveys, and experimenting with dog training techniques to ensure that the information provided is the best and most current available. For more information, please visit www.trainpetdog.com.

I pulled up the twitter page from a request yesterday and it seemed interesting. The name of the website associated with it intrigued me: Rainbow’s Bridge Resident Laika. Well, having been surrounded by animals all my life, I know what the Rainbow Bridge is. And because I DO know what Rainbow Bridge is, I hovered my mouse over the link not sure I really wanted to go there. I am so quick to cry. But things like Rainbow Bridge and videos of animals that have been wronged apparently appeal to some dark part of me, some part of me that cries, feels despair and hopelessness, and finally gets angry. It’s kind of like watching a train wreck. I know what’s going to happen and I am powerless to look away.

After a few seconds, I clicked the link. It took me to a page about a little dog named Laika that had been used in a space exploration experiment in 1957. A dim light went on in my head. I think I knew this story many years ago. Laika had been snatched from the streets of Moscow solely for the purpose of space exploration. She was sent into space aboard Sputnick 2 for the purpose of learning what effects orbiting the earth would have on a living being. A spaceship the Soviets knew would never come back from space. The year was 1957.

As I am reading the story, music starts to play in the background (listen: broadband | modem). It’s a voice similar to Melissa Etheridge… kind of deep and extremely soulful. And suddenly, I realize the song is about Laika, the dog I am reading about. I am now crying and wishing I would stop reading. I know the outcome isn’t going to be good, but my heart still hopes for a happy ending. The only ending that comes is that the little dog finally passes over the Rainbow Bridge.

Now I have to know who the singer is. I find the lyrics and see the name Maria Daines at the end. I subscribe to emusic, a music download website and search for Maria Daines. And sure enough, they have a couple albums by Maria Daines and Paul Killington. One is an album entitled “Music United for Animals” released in 2007.

Bio / Background
‘Music United For Animals’ is a collection of songs written to speak up for animals in distress and each song supports the end of cruelty.

Many animal welfare/rights subjects are explored in the 13 track cd, which includes the ballad ‘I am the owner of this coat’ written to expose the horror of the fur trade.
‘They Wanna Kill (Have mercy on the ice) reminds listeners of seal extermination annually, while the true story of Fozzie Bear, a puppy who died in his rescuers arms tells the tale of dogs bred in puppy mills.

Factory farming is exposed in the rock song ‘Your meat is our murder’ and other topics include fighting with dogs, vivisection, veal trade, bear bile farming and the circus.

The International anthem ‘Rise Up – Make this moment Last’ was written for Marijo Gillis of Welfare For Animals (WAG, New York) and calls for everyone to make a difference.

Proceeds from this cd supports rescue shelters world wide.

Project info – http://www.maria-daines.com/bio.html

reprinted from PayPlay.fm website

In the last day or so, she has released another album, “Shelter Me” – a collection of 18 songs for and about dogs, highlighting the need for compassion towards man’s best friend. All funds raised from the sale of this CD are donated to small not-for-profit animal rescue organizations and copies are given freely to those in most need.

My hat is off to Maria Daines. I am awed by her generosity for animals and enthusiastic about her music. If you enjoy listening to a great blues/rock sometimes country sound with a whole lot of soul — something like Melissa Etheridge, Janis Joplin, Gretchen Wilson and sometimes k.d. lang, Annie Lenox, Christine McVie and Bettye Lavette — and you want to support animals all over the world, check out her stuff.

Download a free copy of the song Laika.

April 16, 2009

NEW YORK — Once an anomaly, pet food pantries are now “popping up across the country,” according to Ellen Gillmore, Best Friends Animal Society campaign coordinator.

It’s part of a movement to keep pets with their families, and out of overloaded animal shelters — a mission that has now been lent a helping hand by Best Friend’s new program, First Home, Forever Home.

The first step in ensuring that kind of stability, Gillmore says, is stabilizing a food source.

“There are so many things that pet owners have to consider, like spay/neuter, boarding, and other types of vet care, but we are seeing that food is the primary concern,” Gilmore said. “There is such an immediate need for it that it jumps to the top of our list.”

In its first major step, First Home, Forever Home recently gave 1,215 bags of dog food and snacks to two Atlanta-area food banks. Del Monte Foods Company’s Kibble n’ Bits provided for the “generous donation.”

Atlanta is just the first city First Home plans to aid — the long-term goal, Gillmore says, is to create networks in all major U.S. cities, placing the responsibility in community member’s hands.

“We are limited for what we can do, since we do have our own animals to feed at the sanctuary,” Gillmore explained. “We can’t count on having a company there to provide food all the time.

“We want to see if we could do a community-based drive, because we know we can’t tackle this issue alone.”

Save Our Pets Food Bank, based in Atlanta, is one of the organizations Best Friends donated to.

The pet food pantry received 250 bags of chow two weeks ago — the timing couldn’t have been better, according to Ann King, executive director of Save Our Pets, since just the week before, the organization’s shelves had been cleared out.

“Getting that food was like a godsend,” King said. “I keep on getting calls from people all around the country, saying that they are in dire need, asking how they can start something like this up, too.”

The food was just as appreciated at Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen, located in Lawrenceville, Ga.

“It’s like, I am a little guy from Georgia, and for Best Friends to come in and say, let us help you out, let us send you food, that means a lot,” said Tom Wargo, Daffy’s director. “This is a big pet group appealing to us, saying, ‘We like what you are doing, let’s team up.’ It was really great.”

In November, Zootoo Pet News first wrote about the Daffy’s efforts to service the Lawrenceville and Atlanta area. Aside from collecting and distributing pet food, Wargo, who used to own a construction company, would also pitch in by building dog houses.

Since the fall, Daffy’s has witnessed its regular clientele climb to 400 needy pet owners, according to Wargo. It now has plans to take its efforts nationwide, as well.

Citizens from 28 states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, Tennessee, California, New York and New Jersey, have expressed interest in starting their own chapters of Daffy’s, Wargo says. He notes that he is more than willing to hand over the nonprofit organization’s name and license, and help in any other way possible.

All they have to do is contact him, and he promises to get the paper work in motion.

“Trying to start up your own nonprofit can cost anywhere from five- to $10,000,” Wargo said. “A lot of people don’t have the money for that. But if they are able to use our license and nonprofit status to do what they have to do, they could be able to have their own events and everything with the Daffy’s banner.”

One hundred and thirty people say they want to start their own Daffy’s, Wargo says. Daffy’s program might work in conjunction with Best Friends’, as both strive to establish a long-term membership program, which would help keep the pantries stocked, and pets fed.

“The whole concept is everyone can have something like a Daffy’s, and people can pitch in with a $35 membership or something like that,” Wargo said. “It doesn’t have to be a huge thing.

“It can be a smaller facility and individuals can just operate it through their own county. It’s not so hard when it isn’t just one person trying to run everything.”

Wargo also plans on helping smaller Daffy branches construct the same bins that he keeps outside of his Lawrenceville facility.

“It’s cheap, they can make them for $5,” he explained.

From there, the bulk of the work — collecting bags of food and other pet merchandise — takes care of itself.

“We need to work together on this problem,” he said. “This is not an every-man-for-himself kind of situation.”

King says that the extra-help is likely to be appreciated across the board.

“I don’t care what they say about things starting to get better,” she said. “People are still out there struggling. And more and more, I perceive a real need for this.”

Amy Lieberman is a staff reporter for Zootoo Pet News. She can be reached at alieberman[at]zootoo[dot]com.

reprinted from ZooToo News website

October 28, 1998 to April 1, 2009
NEADS Graduate Spring 2001 — Now A Free-Spirited Angel

He had an obscure past. He was a wanderer of the streets in Chicopee, Massachusetts. He was a survivor. He was rough-coated and sported that perfectly imperfect tousled coiffure on his head and body.

This gentle giant would be rescued from the Chicopee Animal Shelter by the National Education of Assistance Dog Services, Inc. (NEADS) from Princeton, Massachusetts and thus destined for a new lease or second chance to make a difference in someone’s life.

That someone turned out to be me. In December 2000, I had applied for an assistance dog partner at NEADS because I had balance issues due to a neurological situation as a result of a viral infection.

Seven weeks after my interview, I got the anticipated call that I was matched to one of the largest dogs at the school and his name was “Sasquatch”, an Otterhound, which is a rare breed originating from Great Britain in the early 1100s. This gentle giant sported an impressive 115 pounds during his most productive years with me.

In fact, Dave Hessel, one of the NEADS trainers reminisced, “I can still remember that day when we were looking for dogs at the shelter in Chicopee and we came across this GIANT Otterhound without a collar, and if I remember correctly, there was a sign on his run door that said something to the effect of “Hard to handle” or “Do not handle”.

He was so huge that we thought it would be hysterical to bring him back to NEADS. So we prepared a leash loop and let him out and wrestled the loop onto him. We laughed the entire way out of there because he was such a giant clown! During our trip back from Chicopee, we tossed around name ideas for him, and then I threw “Bigfoot” out there, and then the American-Indian equivalent for “Bigfoot” which is “Sasquatch”. We laughed so hard that we were crying, and then we missed our exit off the Pike! So, it took forever to get back to the NEADS campus.”

Creature Comforts had featured this black, gentle giant with big brown eyes back in November 2004, and Bob LaPree documented Sasquatch’s abilities in performing housework — helping with the laundry by carrying the laundry bag from the bathroom to the kitchen then loading the washer and unloading the dryer, taking the trash out to the dumpster, to name a few.

This Fuzzy Guy knew the difference between bottled water and canned soda which he would fetch by opening the door of the refrigerator and not be tempted to snack on cold cuts while his head was in there. He often would be seen at Shaw’s in Goffstown, helping me get items off the shelves as I did my weekly shopping.

He would retrieve my prescriptions from the pharmacist on duty. He would fetch the cordless phone when it rang and picked up loose change from the floor and gently put it in the palm of my hand without dripping saliva on me.

Our bond was sealed early on in this partnership; he would know when my body would be medically compromised before I would be aware of trouble. He would stand in front of me, placing his paws on my shoulders and stare eye-to-eye to warn me of an oncoming migraine or asthma flare. He would pull me toward the bedroom at 2pm everyday so that I could take a nap.

He would make sure that I had my facemask on with the oxygen and C-Pap machine operating before I fell asleep. Only then would he would join me on the bed, lying beside me while holding my right hand with his paw. If the oxygen tubing would get dislodged, he would “seek” for the end of the tubing and wake me up to reattach it to the mask. Every morning he would wake me up by 6am so that I could start taking my medication and he helped me get out of bed by steadying my balance. He would fetch my clothes and assist me in dressing.

Sasquatch was truly a smart hound. While he was training to be a walker-balance assistance dog at NEADS, he would be out in the play-yard with his fellow kennel-mates, sitting by the sidelines watching the other dogs running around the yard but he also would be observing the trainers who were supervising the playtime; he was studying how the trainers would access this enclosed area. They had to unlatch 2 gates in order to come in and go out of the play-yard. Well, one day he decided to open these gates which led to the parking lot and subsequent freedom of the 12 acre campus. My Fuzzy instigator let the rest of his kennelmates loose and the dogs scattered like the wind!

And where was Sasquatch? He was sniffing around the parking lot and then waited by the entrance of the school’s reception area so that he could go inside the building to hang out with the humans. Meanwhile, all the trainers and other staff members were running after the dogs to corral them back to the kennel. It was after this incident that the trainers nicknamed him “Houdini”.

Sasquatch had an imposing stature especially when I let his hair grow out for the winter season. He preferred the “natural look” which meant, he would vigorously shake his entire body after time was painstakingly spent brushing and grooming him; he looked like he got zapped by static electricity. He didn’t care as long as he could scamper away from the comb and brush and he would seek refuge just out of my reach.

Sasquatch was very intelligent; it took him less than an hour to learn the task of opening the fridge and targeting bottled water or a soda can, then shutting the fridge door. Being food-motivated made this task easy to teach him. But then he turned the tables on me when he would arbitrarily bring me bottled water repeatedly until I gave him a slice of cheese! “He” trained “me” well!

At noontime every day, Sasquatch would get a snack of vegetables, from wilted spinach to steamed green beans, beets, carrots, cauliflower, or broccoli. He would sit in front of his diner where his empty bowl was positioned, and quietly wait for his snack. When he got impatient, I would hear him howling with his vocal “basso profundo”. If I did not appear in the kitchen quick enough, he would grab the empty bowl with his mouth and trot to the living room where I would be working at my computer, and would slam the bowl to the floor! Another howl would follow to get my undivided attention. I swear he truly mastered the art of communication!

As a true hound dog, Sasquatch had that inner drive to hunt. Even though he was trained not to chase four-legged creatures of the meowing kind, he enjoyed taunting the feral cats of the neighborhood when he was off duty and catching some rays out in the front stoop. He was securely tied and never within reach of these kitty cats.

During the winter months, I would heighten his propensity to hunt by taking his Kong, filling it with a cookie or peanut butter, and lay a trail around the house so he would follow the scent, digging under his bed, sniffing out the laundry hamper, only to find the object of desire balanced high above the top of the bathroom door or on the top bookshelf in the living room. He would bark at the toy, thinking it would drop down on its’ own accord.

One could see him problem solving his dilemma and he would have a “Eureka” moment figuring that if he slammed the door shut, the toy would fall to the floor and he would triumphantly take possession of the big prize. If the toy was on the top shelf of the bookcase, he figured that he could reach the toy by climbing onto a nearby chair.

Sasquatch gave me the courage to embrace life and he taught me to live for the moment. I have a hard time with that because the moment he left our earth to join the other angels at Rainbow Bridge, my grief bore a void in my heart and I am reminded of feeling his warm body against me as I held him in my lap and caressed his muzzle, cradling his head.

It was a peaceful moment for us both though I knew that we would be separated by the dimensions of life and the after-life. I won’t say goodbye for now because you are always with me as I hold you close to my heart. We shared a phenomenal partnership for exactly 8 years since you came into my life April 1st of 2001. You were the clown of my life; so appropo for April Fool’s Day.

Enjoy being whole again, my dear Fuzzy Momo! Fly high with your angel wings; try not to bang into the other angel doggies at Rainbow Bridge. My love for you is steadfast. Feel free to visit me in my dreams!

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You can donate to the fund to help Norma get a new dog on her blog.
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This tribute ran in the April 19th edition of the New Hampshire Union Leader, on the Creature Comforts page.
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Federal Hill home’s quick sale benefits animal charity

By Jacques Kelly | jacques.kelly@baltsun.com
1:27 PM EDT, March 31, 2009

Bidding stopped at $808,500 for one of Federal Hill’s largest homes, auctioned Tuesday to benefit an animal charity chosen by the former owner, who was devoted to his dog.

It took auctioneer Tim Jennings, who stood on the house’s marble steps, less than 5 minutes to complete the sale to Mahlon Apgar of Ruxton.
[PSGallery=4t10ov1jhc]

The house had been owned by Kenneth Munzert, a retired engineer who died last year at age 88 and had no close surviving family members. He left his principal asset, his 405 Warren Ave. home overlooking the harbor, to the Richmond, Va., animal charity that had pledged to protect his German shepherd, a former stray named Beauregard.

While the dog died before his master, Munzert directed that the bulk of his estate be left to the SPCA of Richmond, whose officials had earlier pledged to protect the dog should its owner die first.

Rachel Rabinowitz, an agent with Tranzon Fox auctions, said that numerous people brought contractors and architects through the residence this month. The home was constructed shortly after the Civil War by a South Baltimore dry goods store owner.

Munzert was raised on Baltimore Street on the west side. His father, a druggist, sent him to Staunton Military Academy. He studied diligently and went on to earn an engineering degree at Harvard University. Friends described him as a “Southern gentleman” who loved Baltimore and often walked throughout the city.

Over the years, Munzert held jobs with the Regional Planning Council, the city, the old John C. Legg & Co. and Johns Hopkins Hospital, his attorney said.

According to a will filed in Baltimore last month, Munzert left an estimated $990,228 — three-quarters of which is directed to animal protection groups in the United States and elsewhere. That amount did not include his Warren Avenue house, which he told friends he bought for $25,000 about 40 years ago.

reprinted from Baltimore Sun website