Many people don’t like Halloween, but for those who do, and celebrate it – let’s revisit some simple common sense tips to help ensure that animals are out of harm’s way.

• There are nasty people every where. It’s unfortunate that we even feel the need to mention it. But just like predators who prey on children, there are those that prey on animals. Many predators don’t need a specific occasion to abuse an animal, but there are those that ramp up their nastiness on events just like Halloween. Be wary of strangers, never leave your pet alone with someone you do not know or trust, and if something looks wrong, it probably is, so keep alert in the event that you can help ANY animal in trouble.
• It’s 10 PM, do you know where your pet is? ID tags and a safe collar are always good practice, but even more so during times when your pet is apt to get spooked, shy, scared, anxious, upset and/or excited. And, Halloween is definitely a time when your pet can be more prone to getting spooked, shy, scared, anxious, upset and/or excited.
• Hide the candy. Check for candy that may have been dropped while handing it out, or that trick-or-treaters may lose in  your yard. Did you know? Chocolate in all forms – especially dark or baking chocolate – can be dangerous, even lethal for dogs. Symptoms of chocolate poisoning may include vomiting, diarrhea, rapid breathing, increased heart rate, and seizures. Candies containing the artificial sweetener xylitol can also be poisonous to dogs. Even small amounts of xylitol can cause a sudden drop in blood sugar and subsequent loss of coordination and seizures. Tin foil and cellophane wrappers are dangerous if ingested. If you do suspect your pet has ingested something toxic, please call your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. Candy is always better locked up where animals aren’t tempted and they can’t reach it.
• Go easy on the pumpkins! Popular Halloween plants such as pumpkins and decorative corn are relatively nontoxic, but they can produce gastrointestinal upset or even intestinal blockage in pets who nibble on them.
• Do you like to costume-up your pet for Halloween? If you are planning on dressing up your pet, don’t just show up on Halloween and drop your pet into his/her new garb.  Buy early, let your pet investigate it, and try it on a few times first. Costumes should be be restrictive or too warm. Some animals won’t potty if they are wearing something strange. Limit the amount of time your pet is in his/her costume, and make sure s/he can’t chew off any costume pieces. NEVER let your pet out of your sight if s/he is in a costume. And, certainly, if your pet definitely does not like the idea of wearing part or all of his/her costume, take it off! After all, pet costumes are for the HUMAN element of Halloween; no animal should be uncomfortable for ANY reason at the cost of entertaining a human.
• What are YOU wearing? Make sure your pet knows who YOU are underneath all that glitter and make-up, and never tease ANY animal if you are wearing a costume. That’s just plain not nice. Speak up if you see someone scaring an animal in costume.
• Are you taking your pet(s) to a Halloween event? Keep in mind how stressful that can be, even if s/he is with their owner. Although a lively event is fun for YOU, many times, especially times when others will be in costumes (and therefore not looking like a standard human being), these types of events can do a stressful and unpleasant number on your pet.
• Are you having people over for a Halloween event, or is that doorbell going to ring all night? Better to keep your pet away from the in-house fun, and instead create a safe and quieter place where your pet hang (with access to water and toys of course) and that you can easily and routinely check up on him/her.
• No candles or anything burning around your pet! End of story. Period. Just don’t.
• Is your Halloween going to be glowing? Glow sticks are great to keep little ones in the light while trick-or-treating, but some are toxic. If you use them, lose them after Halloween is over, and keep them in a secure place.
• How many Halloween lights do you need? Wires and cords from electric lights and other decorations should also be kept out of reach of your pets. If chewed, your dogs might suffer cuts or burns, or receive a possibly life-threatening electrical shock.
• Don’t forget your smaller critters! Smaller pets should be given every consideration when necessary, so don’t forget them as you plan for holidays and special events.

Anyone can get caught up in the excitement of a party, event, or holiday. No harm in that. But when YOUR enjoyment or overindulgence leads to stress, neglect, or harm of ANY animal, then it’s time to rethink your actions and plans. Ultimately, it is YOUR responsibility to, well, BE responsible for your own pet, and to keep your eyes open if you see something happening to another animal that needs attention.

Remember, YOU are their voice and their protector!

This Halloween, have FUN, be SAFE, make your choices and options RESPONSIBLE ones, and certainly, if you have any other tips to make this coming Halloween weekend a better one for animals, send it our way and we will share it.

Happy Halloween!

He seems harmless enough.  You know the ones – we see them, hear them, and read about them every day.  The ones who seemingly go about their business, carving a life for themselves, innocuously under the radar, not much to think about.

But then – blam – a sudden comment or action, and you remember them, if just for that moment to say “WTF?!”.  Dude, WHAT was your REAL motivation for replying in that manner or doing that?

Every week, I am upsetting someone with a post, a tweet, a comment. It’s become more of the standard (sadly) to expect that when you commit to something worthy, stand up for what you believe in, and then JUST DO SOMETHING to make a difference, somewhere, someone isn’t going to like it.

Let’s take Joseph Maurici as a recent example. Along with many other Animal Petitions that we routinely share out, I posted one regarding the company Kikkoman, who has recently been found to be conducting rodent Animal Testing for their soy sauce products.  Most would agree that animal testing is horrific – these animals suffer unbearable insults and injuries, most are captured or bred in-house JUST for this purpose, and almost all of them die as a result of this testing, never ever leaving the confines of that tiny cage.  And to test on animals to make soy sauce taste better…such a tragedy.

But Joe Maurici doesn’t think so.  For some reason, out of all the posts that we share, this one hit something for Joe that caused him to respond as anyone uneducated about Animal Testing would:

Now, Joe seems harmless enough: routine job, standard profile picture (grinning, head tilt to the right, same pose for his work picture), doesn’t brag a lot on social media.  Wouldn’t hurt a fly, right? Hm.

And yet, smack in the middle of his semi-interesting political one-liner tweets, is his response to us.

You will notice that not one of Joe’s connections favorited or retweeted his reply.  Makes sense, since Animal Testing is abhorrent, and so many are working hard to heighten awareness and put an end to it.  Most people understand the impact Animal Testing has on its subjects, and know how cruel and unnecessary it is.

Joe’s one little tweet says A LOT.  In fact, it says more than any of his previous or post five, no make it ten, tweets put together.

If someone, like me, who does not know Joe, saw his tweet, it would be easy to sum him up as a simple little guy with no regard for all life.  So many “Joes” out there think THEIR life is what matters, and that’s it.

It’s more unfortunate if Joe has the power and ability to impact others, and he passes his opinion of smaller mammals onto others, others might listen.  Some might think Joe is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that his opinion is THE opinion to follow.  Okay, probably not, but stranger things have happened.

Joe’s single comment puts his thinking back to a time when it was still acceptable to wear fur and beat dogs. We can only guess at what else quiet little Joe’s thoughts are that might be doing more harm than good.

Poor misguided Joe.

So what do you do when you come up against a Joe? Well, nothing. He becomes a moment that you remember WHY you are championing so hard to help those that cannot help themselves. There are MANY Joes out there, just waiting to jump on you with a comment or action against the very right thing you are doing.

So thanks Joe. Comments like yours help my skin remain thick every day. Because when it comes to Animal Advocacy, or any cause so painful that you have to JUST DO SOMETHING about it, you need a very thick skin.

P.S. – Hey Joe, we live in the same town. I invite you to talk with me in person. Then, you can say it to my face.  You can reach me through our Contact Page at just-do-something.org.  Come on.

From Hi-Tech to Non-Profit

For a number of years, I worked in the high tech industry in Silicon Valley, including ten years at Sun Microsystems. Good money, but something was missing – passion. It’s hard to get the warm fuzzies over software and hardware, but put me near a dog and I go all mushy.

During my employment at Sun Microsystems, I did a corporate volunteer day at Humane Society Silicon Valley’s old facility on Lafayette, but the place was seriously depressing. Animals in cages, all looking at you, begging with their eyes to take them home. Despite the fact that the animals were well cared for, it was not a place I wanted to visit again.

When they built this new facility nearby, I heard that it was like nothing I’d ever seen, so I was curious to see what it was like. Holy crap! This is not your grandma’s animal shelter! It’s called an Animal Community Center for good reasons. First, the place is beautiful. It’s bright, airy, full of positive energy. All of the animals are in condos, not cages, and they have relaxing music piped into their rooms. They all have nice beds, toys and blankets, which are all color coordinated by the Animal Care Technicians. Why? Because the staff care so much about the animals.

And the Humane Society of Silicon Valley is more than a shelter.

Summer camp and other education programs for kids, grooming, a spay/neuter and vaccine clinic and two dog parks are part of this center.

There are training programs for humans (although they call it puppy kindergarten), foster programs, and lots of volunteers snuggling with the animals in the building, walking them, playing with them. So what happened next, is that I signed up to be a volunteer. And that was the beginning of my path to find real passion in what I do.

After about a year of volunteering, I became an employee and eventually ended up in Marketing.

In high tech, I can’t hug the software, but I can hug our dogs, cats, and other critters.

But more than that, there is nothing quite like the feeling of seeing our animals go home to a good family, to a new life. Whenever one of our longer term guests go home, the staff cheers because they are so happy for that animal. Word spreads throughout the building, letting everyone know who just got adopted.

You can’t beat that.

Lori Calvery has been an animal lover for as long as she can remember, preferring stuffed animals to dolls. Her first dog, Snoopy, was a chihuahua poodle mix who looked more like Yoda than a dog. She spent many years in hi-tech before finding a path to animal welfare in the non-profit sector. During her career at Humane Society Silicon Valley, she successfully launched the Adopting Bad campaign for Eddie the Terrible, a rather challenging Chihuahua looking for a home. The campaign resulted in national attention and a Shorty Award.

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Lori lives with her husband and her three foster failures: Elmo, a Chihuahua, Peach, a Chiweenie, and Bronnie, a Dachshund. 

The Story Behind Dog By Dog; The Documentary

I am excited to be a guest blogger on Just Do Something!   The very title is something that has been a thread through my life but has really become the whole fabric over the past four years.

For over 20 years I have been in corporate America. I love my “day job.” It allows me the honor of helping entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. The people I take care of are nothing short of amazing. Being in a company, I also have a unique window in to how companies work and more importantly for this blog, how money trails flow, get set up and why.

When you are in corporate America, there are ways people interact with the not for profit world. You join a board, pledge money or volunteer.  For a long time, that is how my life was; I had a great job, served on boards and had 2 awesome dogs. One was a puppy mill dog, and he had a lot of issues, but I was committed to being his dog mom and working through anything that came up. Then everything changed.

One day my phone rang with an emergency call. I was asked to foster a mill breeder dog. I didn’t really know what fostering was and I was still not fully versed on puppy mills. The first time I set eyes on Kumiko, my life changed. I could not believe what I saw. She looked like a ghost. They told me she was in a cage for 9 years. Never let out. Bred every single heat cycle. No medicine. No human contact. Living on chicken wire. No love. She had worms, a tract infection, almost no teeth, no fur on her tail and bad fur everywhere else. Her eyes were squinty from pain. I made a promise to Kumiko that very first day I met her. I would Just Do Something. I would make change.

It took me a full year to figure out what I was going to do. While I was figuring out my strategy, I started connecting to rescue groups across the country on Facebook. I watched every program, film, and read every book. My friend Jordan taught me a lot. I started watching the whole chain. I needed to see who was in the industry as it was visible at that time. Patterns started to emerge. Then it came to me. This is a money trail. The money trail would map out all the vested interests.  After that, I had to figure out how to uncover this trail and how to get the information out once it was uncovered.

I also thought about how to reach people who are not necessarily concerned with animals and mills, but are moral people. Everyone knows what cruelty is. It felt like my brain was going to explode. How could I uncover the information, and make sure it could not be blocked. No agendas—that was really important. There could be no agendas; only the truth. Verifiable facts about a money trail. Then it finally hit me. I was going to make a documentary. That would be a no-agenda way to tell this horrible truth.

The next big decision was who to pick to make the film. My first criteria was that the person could not have anything to do with animals. This would ensure it could never be tagged as anyone’s marketing piece. Chris Grimes and 5414 Productions fit every criteria of my wish list. His award winning first film was about friendly fire in the military. Veterans are my second passion. That film had a tone that was factual, even-keeled but very moving. I never felt an agenda in the film. It told facts and I was able to come to my own conclusion. That is what I wanted. I will never forget the meeting with Chris, to ask him if he would consider making this film. His concern was that he was not an “animal guy” and I assured him that was exactly why he should do it. After he did some research, he came back and said the phrase: “Not only can I do this, I have to do this.”  Next to meeting Kumiko, this was one of the greatest moments in my life.

Thus began “The Journey For Change.”  We named the film Dog By Dog, because as Chris put it; “You are fostering and saving the mill girls and puppies dog by dog.”  

The choice of Chris Grimes was as important as the choice to make a documentary.  My partnership with Chris has been one of the greatest teamwork experiences of my life. Our skills are complementary and I do know a lot about animal welfare and I had done a lot of research. Getting to Bill Smith of Main Line Animal Rescue and Bob Baker of Missouri Animal Alliance, to tell them what we wanted to do, just had to be the first thing we did to begin the journey. They were the pioneers of change. I wanted them to essentially bless the approach, method and goal. They both are important people in the documentary.

Fast forward four years. We have the film Dog By Dog. We are going around the country, showing the film and giving either half or all of the ticket sales to a local rescue in the screening city. We hope to be on everyone’s television soon!  The remaining funds from screening ticket sales are going in an educational fund to make Puppy By Puppy. It will be for kids. Let’s teach them early and let them change the future.

Just Do Something; those words mean a lot to me.

• Chris Ksoll, founder of Dog By Dog    Facebook! Twitter!

Note from just-do-something.org:
Education and awareness help.  YOU can help by bringing Dog By Dog to YOUR city or town!  Reach out to Chris via their Contact Page to talk about how you can make this happen!

For some people, this blog item may not seem like an issue, or even be worthy of a read. However, it’s the hard-core Animal Advocate in me that feels this is an important topic worth talking about, especially since I recently found out this EXACT situation happens a lot (A LOT).

This past week, we had a company telephone problem.

The telephone technician came out, and began his due diligence inside our office area. After trying a few things to no avail, he took his efforts outside of our building.

That’s when the trouble started.

After being gone for quite some time, he came back, excited to say he had “probably” resolved the issue – he found a bird’s nest, with two birds IN it, on a telephone pole. He said he shoo’d away both birds and tore the nest down.

And then he asked me to check the telephone lines again.
Yep – the problem was still there.
And yep – he had ruined a bird’s nest for nothing.

Thankfully breeding season is over, so there were no chicks in the nest.

I walked down the end of the street to see the nest myself.  Sadly, the nest was quite large, and had taken some time to build. With the colder weather coming, the birds’ concern now is to find reliable food sources to get them through the season – and now for this pair of birds, there would be an additional task of rebuilding their home also.

When I questioned his actions, his reply was a VERY sheepish, “Hey, I’m a telephone guy, and I do whatever is needed to keep the lines clear”.  When I asked him about tearing down nests in the breeding season, he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

To some, this may be a small thing.  But it really upset me.  So much so that I called the telephone company to talk about this.

Are there guidelines? Is there training? No. And no.

I was informed that our New York State has given telephone companies the right to “Nest Management” as the technician sees fit. Why? Because the priority of the telephone company ABOVE ALL ELSE is to keep the lines and poles clear of safety hazards and to ensure that the lines work as they need to. Anything that gets in the way of that is to be “taken care of”.

And THAT is the guideline AND training for that. Period.

The telephone company went on to inform me that they value life, and that their technicians’ values do not reflect those of the company, AND that they have no control over the values of their technicians, so many do remove nests without concern for what might be inside them. It’s a shame, I was told, but “there is nothing we can do about it.”

Really. There is “nothing they can do about it.”  Hm.

I don’t think I am done with this issue, because I think there IS something they can do about it.

Take a moment to call your local telephone company. I’d be interested to hear if that’s the same excuse you receive.

And then, I think there IS something we can do about it.

What do YOU think?

This past week I have been pretty sick. Nothing fatal, but pretty sick. Some rest, healthy food, and a trip to the doctor which resulted in some antibiotics are doing the trick, despite the lingering symptoms that continue to make me feel miserable.

When YOU don’t feel well, the easiest way to find a way to start feeling better is to tell someone how you are feeling and then take care of your symptoms. Most of have the ability to do that.

When it comes to animals, it’s never that easy.  Pet owners know this firsthand – sometimes it takes more than one trip to the vet to find the reason that our four-legged or feathered family member isn’t doing well.  It’s so good to know that many pet owners will, and do, follow-up on pet illness and issues.

But what happens to the homeless, ownerless animal?

Little situations can turn into big, deadly one for strays and ferals, who are trying to survive as healthy animals – take a healthy stray, have him/her catch a cold, and left untreated, that can become a serious and deadly situation.

And what happens to those who have owners, but whose owners turn their back on on pet illness?

Sadly, many pet owners do not budget for and/or cannot afford expensive trips to the vet.  Many are not observant enough to know when their pet is “off”.  And many simply don’t care enough to check out a new behavior or symptom, thinking s/he will eventually just “shake it off”.

Due to the rising costs of animal health care, many shelters are no longer taking the time to even de-worm strays at intake.  And that’s just de-worming. How many sick or injured animals do you think come into a shelter that are left that way? Plenty. For many shelters, there are rooms to view adoptable animals, and rooms where the animals are kept from public view – many times this is due to the animal being injured or sick, and will be euthanized instead of helped.

And many times, that dog you see being led out of the vet’s office by the owner is taking their sick animal home as sick as s/he was when they came in, because they can’t afford the treatment to make him/her better. As a result, many pet owners end up euthanizing their pets earlier than necessary because it’s cheaper to do that instead of a regime of medication or rehabilitation.

There are many vet clinics who offer to help pet owners on a sliding scale, or even pro-bono – but you won’t find them in every city or town. And many programs that are available to help pet owners with vet fees come with requirements and guidelines before aide will be provided. Even pet health insurance can be an iffy thing based on how much you pay into it per month, versus who takes it and what services are covered.

For many pets – those who are NOT homeless – believe it or not, their life span depends on a dollar sign.

How can you help?  Here are a few simple things you can do to help save or better an animal’s LIFE:

• First, if YOU know of an animal in need, always take steps to ensure that s/he is getting the care and attention needed.  That might mean something as simple as making a phone call and then making sure that it is followed through.  Bottom line, you may be the only one to help that animal, so NEVER turn your back.
• Take a first aide class for animals.  The more you know, the faster you can help your pet, or someone else’s. Take a moment to google First Aide Class for Animals to find a class that works for you.
• Be prepared for domestic and wildlife animal emergencies. This includes a Pet First Aide Kit.
• Donate unused portions of your pet’s medication through your local vet.  Your vet knows who else could use it.
• If you like to give money to charities, think about going to the local vet or pet hospital/clinic to see if you can help out a pet owner having trouble paying for treatment.
• Visit your local shelter to see if you can financially contribute to a sick or injured animal’s care.  You might be able to even sponsor a sick or injured animal to prevent euthanizing him/her from their illness/injury.
• KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN AND SPEAK UP. I recently spent some time around a lovely Black Lab who, when she turned over on her back, had a visible staff infection from her sternum to her abdomen. Her only outward symptom was that she kept licking her abdomen – so much so that I took notice. Being a very large dog, I was not aware of the staff infection until she turned over, but by the amount of concentrated licking she was doing, I felt something might be up.  I mentioned it to her owner, who initially stated to me she was aware of the licking and that it was “probably just fly bites”. I insisted that she look at her dog’s belly in front of me, and when she actually took the time to look at her dog’s skin, she gasped. She called her vet right then, and had her dog put on oral antibiotics the very next morning.  This lovely dog may not have been able to verbally say she was uncomfortable, but her behavior suggested otherwise.  Again, it may not always be the pet owner who realizes something is going on. Staff infections can turn into deadly infections in animals and humans. By the way, this gal has fully recovered and is back to her normal, non-licking self.

Do you have another idea of what you can do to help save or better an animal’s life?

Are you doing something, or have you done something, to help someone else out?

We’d love to hear about it.  We’ll add your ideas, and share your story.

Pet health may not be important to everyone, but hopefully it matters enough to you to JUST DO SOMETHING when you see a need.

It truly matters.

When We Suffer, the Animals Suffer:  Taking time to care for ourselves

As animal activists, we do some of the most difficult work imaginable. We witness horrific animal abuse, either through videos, images, or first-hand experience. These victims cannot speak for themselves, so we have to be their voice. There is always work that can be done to fight for these victims. There are protests or rallies, organizations we can call to report animal cruelty, and there are always petitions that can be signed and shared. There is always something we can do, which leads many of us to overwork ourselves.

I remember watching Earthlings and I became so upset witnessing such immense suffering, as well as constantly frustrated and angry every time I saw someone consume animal products. Then I realized that this outlook and behavior wasn’t helping me or the animals. How do I become less angry and less frustrated? That’s when I started acknowledging my own needs. As animal activists, we are compassionate. When the animals suffer, we suffer. However, the reverse is also true: when we suffer, the animals suffer. We work best when we care for ourselves.

I volunteer as a helpline counselor to animal activists. Activists seek help with a variety of issues, from loneliness and conflicts with friends and family, to fatigue and exhaustion resulting from built up anger about the situation. It is difficult when we are aware of the existing cruelty but we feel that change is not occurring, at least not fast enough. We often feel lonely when others don’t understand, and overwhelmed when we feel like we are constantly working. These signs of burnout may actually lead many activists to discontinue their activism. However, with the extremely high number of animals suffering due to animal agriculture, animal testing, pet breeding, and incapacitation in zoos, circuses, and aquariums, they cannot afford to lose any of us advocating for their rights and freedoms.

Fortunately, throughout my own self-reflection and my experience as a helpline counselor, I have seen that confronting our own suffering and taking the time to care for ourselves can help significantly in confronting animal suffering. Through identifying the particular problem and our feelings surrounding the problem, we can strategize and create a plan of action for how to move forward. For example, if someone identifies the problem as exhaustion from tireless activism, a potential plan of action may be to take a step back, take time for themselves, and watch videos on sustainable activism and compassion fatigue. First and foremost, it is crucial that we confront our own suffering so we can be effective in confronting animal suffering.

Just know that you are not alone in your activism, and anything and everything you can do to help the animals is immensely helpful. Thank you for all that you do!

If you need support regarding any animal activism concern, please call or email IDA’s Animal Activist Helpline at 1 (800) 705-0425 or helpline@idausa.org (Friday through Sunday).

– Melanie Johnson

Melanie serves as an animal rights activist working to promote sustainable activism through her volunteer work with In Defense of Animals and King Street Cats. She further advocates for youth justice and human rights through her research examining juvenile justice issues and assessing victim rights and services.

You can make a grand donation to an animal rights organization, but if you’re still wearing fur, eating steaks and using leaping bunny free cosmetics, what’s the point? Living consciously is far more effective than sparing the occasional dollar. So if you think you can’t help because you’re not a millionaire, you’re wrong! Change isn’t always synonymous with $$$…

Hollywood stars are always in the limelight for donating millions to various causes and whilst it does help, it sends out this message that you can only really make an impact if you’ve got bags of money and that’s not the truth. You can make a difference for animals every single day – without even spending a dime. Signing petitions, contacting legislators, changing your diet and leafleting cost nothing! Yet they’re so effective.

I’ve spoken with many people, through my work as a writer, who dedicate their lives to creating a better world for animals. These people aren’t rich. But they have compassion and that’s what motivates them to help. This is, essentially, why I started my blog, Respect and Connect to shine a light on ordinary people doing extraordinary things for animals.

Whether you turned vegetarian or vegan, volunteered at a wildlife sanctuary, or saved a homeless animal, everybody who has helped or is helping animals is welcome to share their personal story on Respect and Connect. This blog brings together people taking compassionate actions for animals and inspires readers to do the same. Whatever you are doing to help animals, Respect and Connect wants to hear about it! So please get in contact with us here to share your story.

– Respect and Connect is about inspirational stories of ordinary people doing good things to help animals

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“Holiday forgetfulness” strikes too many people when it comes to animals.

Despite the many warnings and articles highlighted in social media when it comes to animal safety  and the “do’s & don’ts” of holidays events – there are still those who might feel they and their pets are above all that, and continue to do dumb things that put our four-legged friends (and birds) at risk.

Today in Upstate New York, is a great example.  With temperatures almost hitting 90 degrees these past few days (as I type this, it’s 86), people have been out and about for the majority of the day, many with Fido in tow.  I saw one woman stop to open her water bottle for HER to take a drink, but she had nothing to offer to her poor, panting dog.  And they were BOTH walking in full sunshine.  A short while later, I saw one dog owner had put her dog in a costume because “it’s cute”.  Not to mention that the costume was of sweater (SWEATER) material.

PS – Both were addressed, because I spoke up.  Dog A received water, and Dog B had the costume removed.

But what if I didn’t say anything?

My point is that many people are wonderful animal owners.  But sometimes, when it comes to a three-day weekend, or a special holiday, stupid finds them and sticks with them.  So caught up are they in their socializing and their excitement in having that special day or extra day off (which includes showing off their beloved pet), that their choices become poor ones when it comes to the animals they are responsible for.

I honestly feel that’s it not a difficult thing for an animal owner to put some thought and consideration into how they will be celebrating a holiday event while making sure their pet is taken into consideration.  It takes MORE time to deal with the results of a scared, sick or run-away pet.

With so many animals WITHOUT owners, how blessed are those that have a family.  But it’s up to that family to take care of them, and plan for them.

If YOU’RE hot, they’re hot.

If YOU’RE tired of walking in the heat, they’re tired of walking in the heat.

If YOU’RE getting bitten by bugs, they are getting bitten by bugs.

If the pavement is too hot for your YOUR bare feet, the pavement is too hot for their paws.

AND SO ON.

Common sense goes a long way, if you are not in the throws of Holiday Forgetfulness.

If you see someone where stupid has found them and stuck to them this Labor day holiday, please speak up.   An animal’s life may depend on that.

Janet’s note:  Not always are we – those that share and network the hundreds of animals in need who come our way via social media every day – able to follow a rescue story from beginning to end.  It’s such a wonderful story when we are able to do just that.  There were so many wonderful, caring people and organizations who helped network #Eloise earlier this year.

Hopefully, every person who took the time to help her in her freedom journey, remember her.

Since that very first day I came across her networking post, she has been in my heart.  And although the need to share for her stopped because we were able to get her out of that high-kill shelter, she has never been far from my thoughts.  Since that day, many months ago, I have kept in routine contact with New Leash on Life to get updates on how she has been doing.  And they, knowing how much she means to me, have kept in routine touch with me.

Eloise and her safe keepers at New Leash on Life have been waiting patiently for that special day when she would leave re-homing behind, and join her very own family.  I must say, I have been waiting, also.

This week, Eloise met her forever family.  Here is the wonderful end to her story, from her new family:

Finding Sophie 

Our story with Sophie started on a slightly sad note. After a couple months of declining health we lost our beloved 13 year old Black Lab, Bentley. The first week of grief was intense. And although we knew we eventually would want to adopt another rescue dog, but we didn’t know what the timeline would be like.

However, I pretty quickly started lurking local Los Angeles rescue sites. I didn’t know that a new dog could fit in our cat-filled lives but I eventually landed on New Leash On Life, a rescue located in the Santa Clarita Valley where we currently live. 

I want to be clear, I was just lurking. That is until I saw a dog named Pocahontas (or formerly, Eloise) and instantly fell in love with her. You could see from the three small photos on the rescue’s website that she had been over-bred and probably had a hard life until NLOL picked her up from the high kill shelter in which she found herself.  But you could also see that she also had a kind face and a wagging tail. She checked out for all of our must haves: good with dogs, good with cats, good with kids and most importantly, in need. 

I must have watched the little video of her 50 times, I showed my husband her profile and photos and he agreed that we should set up a time to go meet her. I filled out an application so we could meet her and got an immediate response from the rescue that we we’re an ideal match to meet her. I was over the moon. I spent the next 24 hours choosing a shirt to wear to impress the dog and the people at the rescue. True story. 

The next day we drove out to the absolutely stunning rescue to meet our girl. I was so excited. I’d read that she liked tennis balls so we stopped at a sporting goods store to pick some up just in case my outfit didn’t impress her. 

Our first meeting went really well, she was sweet and easy-going. She was thrilled we’d brought tennis balls and was happy to meet us. She spent the majority of our first visit laying on the floor with a tennis ball in her mouth. 

We were in love. 

We set up a meeting for her adoption a few days later. We spent the days leading up to the formal adoption primping and priming. I liken it to preparing a nursery for a baby. Sophie had a temperament test with some cats and passed with flying colors, so it was time to make good on our adoption. 

She eased into our home like she’d always been there. She was thrilled to have her own bed and toys and to trot around in our yard. 

She has been an absolute JOY to have in our home. She’s in love with our older cat, who has always identified as a dog. She’s got a basket of tennis balls to pick from, a cushy bed to sleep on, and more love than she knows what to do with. We feel so lucky to have her in our lives. She is such a testament to the true nature of Pitt Bulls. What we know of her life is so dark. We are so honored to be the light. 

Currently she is laying in her bed playing with a toy asparagus she likes to carry around to show people. What a pleasure it is to have her in our lives. 

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There are THOUSANDS of Sophie’s waiting for forever homes. Waiting for kindness, compassion, to be given a break. No effort is ever wasted when it comes to helping ANY animal in need. It takes little effort to share on social media, and a little more effort to make those calls, network, transport – SAVE OR BETTER A LIFE.  Whatever YOU do in  your life, please make it a point to consider expanding your corner of the universe to make life better for an animal in need.  So many are over-looked.

With that said, this is Erica (below). Her time at Downey Animal Shelter – the same shelter that Sophie came from – is very limited.  JUST DO SOMETHING.