One Small Step Toward a Better Dog Shelter

The facility for my local humane society is only five years old. At that youthful age, you’d think it would actually be as “state-of-the-art” as it’s described on the organization’s Web site. Sure, the colorful murals of the lobby warmly welcome visitors and the classical music playing in the dog wing shows consideration for the comfort of the animals; the staff’s upbeat and caring attitude is commendable. But none of these conceals the harsh environs the architect thought appropriate for homeless canines.

The adult dogs reside in a large, open concrete-block room in rows of cages with concrete floors that are separated by concrete block walls. Lots o’ concrete and NO apparent soundproofing, which makes for a VERY noisy habitat. And to a pooch who’s scared or nervous or troubled in any way, the din of the room must be unbearable. Especially when the barking begins, and it takes only one tiny terrier yelp to get 100+ dogs going. The music meant to calm the residents only adds to the cacophony. Between the noise and the concrete greyness/hardness, the place can really do a number on you.

But last month, the shelter held a special fundraising drive for one purpose: to purchase a bed for each dog cage. Donors were asked to contribute $50 per bed. And what do you know? In no time at all, caring folks met the quota.

Now each pooch has one soft place to go to relax or seek solace. Isn’t that wonderful? It’s such a simple effort, but one that makes all the difference for these homeless creatures as they wait for their future to begin.

[Top photo from Sweet Nothings Designs; dog photo from the Lexington Humane Society.]

Look Who’s Behind the Wheel!

One of the stories I heard while visiting with my family last week involved car trouble. My sister was travelling in her powder-blue vintage VW Bug (similar to the one pictured) with her trusty terrier when the trouble began. A tow truck was called to get the Bug to a repair shop, but the driver refused to allow a dog in the cab of his truck. What to do?

The solution must have turned a lot of heads as the convoy made its way through town: Manning the wheel of the vintage vehicle (which attracted attention all by itself) was a small, buff-colored terrier—who looked for all the world as if driving a car was no different for him than fetching a ball.

But maybe driving really isn’t all that extraordinary for dogs. Check out this video from New Zealand:

Granted, it’s a crazy gimmick. Yet I hope it gets the message across about the intelligence of shelter dogs. After all, my sister found her accomplished chauffeur when he was but a pup abandoned in a parking lot.

Spread the word: Shelter dogs rock…and drive!


[Pic from Das Blog.]

Deep Discounts on Fabulous Furballs: Get Yours Now!

Sorry I’ve been MIA. But you can see in the photo who’s been in charge of the computer lately.

This is Zuzu (my nickname for her), who was staying with us while her person vacationed. She wanted me to give you a heads-up that June is Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month.

It’s Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month because this is the season when unexpected litters of kittens overwhelm shelters across this country. Most shelters counter the situation by offering incredible deals to folks willing to adopt a feline, old or young. Some shelters are even GIVING away cats.

I realize there aren’t many days remaining in the month, but if you’ve been thinking about adopting a furball, now is the perfect time.

“The smallest feline is a masterpiece.”
—Leonardo da Vinci

Feeling Good By Doing Good

Earlier this month I asked Lull readers to help send food to animal shelters in tornado-struck Joplin, Missouri. The amount of kibble raised—661,300 pieces, equivalent to 66,130 clicks—wasn’t enough to get the match from Halo, the supplier of the food, but it was probably enough for several days of meals. (I’ve asked FreeKibble for meaningful numbers, i.e., bowls rather than tons or pounds or millions of pieces, but I haven’t heard back yet.)

Since then, you probably heard about the blowout adoptathon for the animals that drew people from across the nation to Joplin. It was a huge success, yet hundreds of pets remain there without a home.

Like the animal shelters in Joplin, every rescue operation in America could use some help in keeping critters fed. So I’ve added the FreeKibble buttons to Lull—beneath the purple paw. Click on each of them daily to donate food (or more frequently if you’re so inclined).

Each site gives something in return: Through the purple paw you can pause to read a short, uplifting rescue tale; through the FreeKibble quiz you might learn some trivia about canines and felines. And, of course, there’s that unquantifiable sensation of having made a difference in the world, which is a great way to either start your day or end it. As Lull reader M. K. wrote to me recently:

“I start my day every morning going to both of the food for animal shelter sites, so even if the rest of the day sucks I know I’ve done something good.”

So go ahead and Make My Day … by feeding the homeless. It’ll make your day, too.

[Pics from Petfinder.com.]

Four Firsts for a Friend

We welcomed a friend here a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately for her, we were still emptying my father’s barn and exhausted from our efforts. We made lousy hosts, hardly up to showing her the highlights of the Horse Capital of the World. But surprisingly, she managed to experience some personal firsts anyway:

1. She ate her first Girl Scout Cookie—the classic Thin Mint.

2. She watched the Oscars on television with us.

3. She visited a humane society. The fact that said friend had a French upbringing doesn’t explain why she’s missed Thin Mints and the Oscars in her lifetime—especially since she’s lived in the States for a number of years now. However, her supersensitive allergic reactions to all things animal do justify her avoidance of animal shelters. She did fine, though. Even toured the dog kennels after we donated some bedding to the place.

4. When she called an acquaintance who currently resides in the Bluegrass, he couldn’t talk at that moment. He was hunting squirrels for dinner. (Do I really need to explain why this would be a first for most of us?)

In spite of her hosts, our houseguest had a memorable weekend here in what H. L. Mencken named the Bible Belt (now also dubbed the Diabetes Belt by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), proof that adventure awaits us no matter where we are. We only have to recognize it.

[Vintage Girl Scout cookie tin bank courtesy of Girl Scouts Make History; armed squirrel photo from Treehugger.]

Click, Click, Click to Make Me Proud

An e-mail was forwarded to me this week about some organization falling short of its goal to donate food to animal shelters around the country. It needed my help. If I could just go to the Web site… If I could just forward the e-mail to 10 more people…

Well, at least it didn’t tell me my life was doomed if I didn’t forward the message, like those chain letters that keep circling the Web.

But then I noticed the name of the organization: The Animal Rescue Site.

Hey! I posted a button on Lull a long time ago for them. And I’ve encouraged Lull readers a couple of times to make a daily habit of clicking. One click from Lull takes you to a page on which you can read a tiny tale about an animal rescue—dog, cat, horse, bunny, ferret. Then one more click above the story and you’ve donated food to a shelter. It’s that simple!

But apparently, Lull readers haven’t been doing their part. So today I’m moving the button up to a more visible spot.

And, dear readers, as much as I’d like you to hang on every word I write for you on Lull, it’s more important to feed the homeless critters.

Click away.

[Photos by, from top to bottom: Nhandler, galawebdesign, and Andrevruas.]

Use Your Mouse to Feed the Masses

In the right margin of Lull is a purple button. Click on it and it will take you to another button. Select this one and you will have set in motion a process to feed and care for animals in shelters.

That's it: Two clicks and somebody gets to eat. Or gets life-saving meds.  

Please click daily. A furball's life depends on it.