(A declawed mother with her four 1 month old kittens at my local shelter)

Along with photographing animals at my local SPCA, I also answer the shelter's e-mails and it's always hard to read some of these.  However, these e-mails from people unable to keep their animals due to being evicted or loss of employment have increased dramatically!  The economy in Florida, and especially this area) is very, very bad!  I'm sure many shelters around the country are having to turn animals away and it is truly heart wrenching!  Although we are a non-kill shelter, we can't take all the needy animals in our community and I shudder to think about what happens to them...

Therefore, I am publishing a list of ways people can help.  I believe there are many people out there that want to help animals but aren't sure how.

 There are so many easy ways to help animals.  Many of these ways require little sacrifice but can save a life.  Most ways fall into the categories of donations, fostering, transporting animals, volunteerism, and public outreach. 

Donations

Donating even a small amount of cash such as $10.00 can make such a huge difference in the lives of several animals.  An expert on the Petfinder web site stated that she could give 5 animals basic vaccines for that amount of money.  Those who sell items on EBay can choose to have a very small or very large percentage of there profits to groups or agencies that help animals. Donating needed supplies such as food, litter, old towels and bedding, hand sanitizer, and laundry detergent to your local animal shelter is also a wonderful way to help out. 

If donating money or supplies is not an option, simply visiting the Animal Rescue Site:

and clicking on this button:

 will provide a hungry animal with .6 bowls of food.  This site also allows one to send a free e-card which provides an animal with 1.0 bowls of food. There is a really great variety of cards to choose from for all occasions.

Fostering

There are nowhere near enough foster homes for animals.  Fostering animals does not mean that you have to have a house full of animals all the time or become animal rescuer of the year.  Imagine if everyone fostered just one animal per year.  This is not entirely realistic, but if it were, think how many animals’ lives could be saved!  Fostering can be a very enjoyable and very rewarding experience and is a great opportunity for children to learn about animal care.

Transporting

A lot of the time it's not an issue of rescue not being available but a matter of getting the animal to the vet, a foster home or a shelter. There are several great websites where transport coordinators post for volunteers where you can check if a transport is coming through your area. You don't have to make a regular commitment to transporting. Even helping out a couple of times a year and you've made a big difference for the animals you've transported.

 Volunteerism

A person can volunteer in a variety of ways.  Another expert on the Petfinders’ site said that it’s wonderful to have volunteers with good administrative and computer skills who can set up a web site, but having enough people to change litter boxes and walk the dogs is critical, and there seems to be a tremendous shortage of such people. 

 Public Outreach

 Educating the public about the importance of spaying and neutering their pets and caring for animals is another opportunity to help.  You can plan a program for children at schools, camps, or churches.  Web sites are another way to educate the public.  They do need to be advertised enough and in such a way that all people will find their way to them and not to those who already know the information they contain.

 Please feel free to leave a comment with any ways that I’ve left out!

Thanks for stopping by!  I will be visiting all of you soon.  I so appreciate all of me readers and their comments :)))

(below is a new Long-haired Chihuahua to our shelter) 

 
The above photo is of a Chihuahua who was adopted from my local shelter

If you are looking for a particular breed of cat or dog go to Petfinder.com, put in your zip code and how far you are willing to travel.   There are kill shelters in your area - trust me...they're everywhere.  It's kitten season right now and most are bursting at the seams.   Adopting from a non-kill shelter pet saves lives too.   It frees up space for other cats and dogs that would otherwise be turned away :(

There are SO many adult animals that are wonderful and need a home.   You can find lots of beautiful full breed adults in this economy with people losing their homes and jobs and YES kittens and puppies get adopted 100 times faster!

Many people wonder if they can see how their current pet(s) will get along with the one they want to adopt.  You can usually bring them together first to see how they get along.  Our local shelter let's people bring their current pets in to see how they socialize with the pet they want to adopt before making a final decision.

If you have questions about how to use Petfinder, please let me know.  Also PLEASE know that it is a myth that all shelter pets are sick!  Most of them have had their vaccines and have been spayed or neutered which saves a lot of $$$.  If you adopt them when they are too young for these things, the shelter generally provides you with a voucher to have those things done.  Petfinder also lists animals other than cats and dogs as well :)

The above cat is Kris.  She is a Scottish Fold Maine Coon cat currently up for adoption at my local shelter.  She has a great disposition and gets along really well with other animals and people.  This type of cat is rare and usually quite expensive.  Unfortunately, my photo doesn't do her justice.

Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!

As most of you know I take photos at my local SPCA non-kill shelter and list them on Petfinder.  I will be writing a follow-up post about how wonderful Petfinder is and how it works in the next few days.

In the mean time, I wanted to show you some adorable three week old kittens that will be available in May.  I didn't take them out of their cage because their mother is VERY protective!  The next two photos are of Pretty Boy and Pretty Girl who are Russian Blues.  Russian Blues are known for being potentially hypoallergenic.  These two cats have medium to long hair and are SO soft.  However, they would need to be tested due to their hair being long to see whether or not they are in fact hypoallergenic.  The last photo is of a super sweet kitty named Charley.  ALL of these cats would make wonderful pets!

 

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

The above photos were taken at the Wai Opae Tide Pools in Kapoho on the Big Island of Hawaii.  This was a very special day for two reasons.  First of all I had a great time in spite of being exhausted on my last day of my Yoga Instructor's training.  Of course the second reason was it was the last day of my Yoga Instructor's training and therefore graduation day!

The Wai Opae Tide Pools in Kapoho are a great place for snorkeling, but also for swimming.  Some areas are very warm and some are quite cool.  As you swim along the temperature seems to change every few feet which might not sound like it feels good, but it really does!

Here are two photos of my fellow graduates and our two fabulous instructors Hayward (the only man pictured) and Star who is pictured at the right side of the second photo.  We had a beautiful ceremony and an incredible dinner.  I am so proud of my certificate which I tried to photo below ~ I DO realize that it's an odd way to display a certificate :)

Thanks for stopping by and a special thanks to all my wonderful readers.  I have been slowly adjusting to the time change and resuming my daily routine.  Visiting all of you is on the top of my list of things to do <3