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Happy New Year!
With the upcoming New Year upon us, my dreams and hopes are once again renewed by your generosity and out pouring of love. While some people bought themselves jewelry, new clothes or material items, you gave to save lives, bless your hearts. I smiled as I read each Christmas card. Many of your cards included pictures of your four legged family members. One card even had a DNA certificate from a dog, Conoco, who had been adopted in June of 2005!
In 2010 we averaged a pet a week. Many of these pets were critical cases requiring lots of extra work and expenses. Along with saving lives, we transported numerous pets to be spayed or neutered. A number of pets were helped by posting them on the Internet and new homes were found without them coming here. We also helped people with veterinary expenses like a blind gal who didn't have money to euthanize her old, very sick kitty. No vet in her area would let her make payments so we paid the bill and she won't have any payments.
With so many con artists in this world, your faith in our organization keeps me motivated to continue. I would like to share with you some of the comments on the Christmas cards:
From a regular boarder: Thank you for your kindness. It means more than you know. We appreciate and love you so much through-out the year.
From a neighbor who visits regularly: Many many thanks for saving Mr. White kitty. Pet Pals is the best! Merry Christmas to you all, especially you and the volunteers!
From an adopter:
I only wish there were more people like you. You're a wonderful wonderful person-taking care of all the animals like you do. I thank God that all turned out this way. We love this Lover Boy.
From a fifteen+ year long friend: Bless you for all you do. Is Larry okay? I haven't heard you mention him.
(Larry has been busy working to support the Rescue and fixing all the things that break!)
From a long time Internet friend in Michigan: I wish I lived by you as I would love to help. We really think alike as you are very outspoken. I have found, since doing rescue that people are not all wonderful like I used to think.
Hum, outspoken, ME? I do have a tendency to say it like I see it! The cruelty that goes on in this world is just .... Well, sick. See, I've already learned in 2011 to bite my tongue, almost! Here's a comment in a Christmas card I can't let slide:
From someone local: Is it wise to spend all that money on surgery for a disabled and homeless animal? I think sometimes it is better for euthanasia. If they have a home with love that is different.
The person was referring to Rosie who had hip surgery. So it would have been better to kill Rosie? No way could we look into a pet's eyes and kill it. EVERY pet we take into our Rescue has a home here forever and LOTS of love! As for the money, we WORK! Would we spend $20,000 on cancer treatments like our last adoptor's son did? No, we do think of an animal's pain, consider its age and our financial ablities. This is discussed with our wonderful veterinarians.
An e-mail we received stated that we only took Prayers, who died, into our Rescue for donations because we knew he was sick. The supporter and board member who picked Prayers up from a Pound did not know he was sick. She was here reading e-mails when this e-mail came in. She felt so bad about this comment she was in tears and offered to make payments on his vet bill which we will not be letting her do.
Had we known ahead of time that Prayers was sick, would we have tried to rescue him? HECK, YES! That's what we do is RESCUE! We do NOT take pets into our Rescue for donations. Pet Pals has yet to break even on expenses (per a state audit) and Larry and I have taken thousands of dollars out of our own pockets. (I can't imagine how far in debt Pet Pals would be without your generosity!) Guess this is what the Internet friend in Michigan meant when she said, "People are not all wonderful like I used to think!"
Thank you again for your continued support. Have a VERY Happy New Year!
Linda York, Founder & President
The moment we begin to fear the opinions of others and hesitate to tell the truth that is in us, and from motives of policy are silent when we should speak, the divine floods of light and life no longer flow into our souls.
- Elizabeth Cady Stanton
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The Needle
Most of you are thinking this article is about killing pets, but you are wrong! From our very first newsletter dated March 2001 we have stressed the importance of having ID tags on your pets. Here is your chance to get a free ID tag and have fun at the same time!
Hidden somewhere in this newsletter is a picture of a needle like the one pictured with this article. Find the needle, be the first one to e-mail us with the location and we will send you an ID tag so your pet can get home and avoid a needle!
The last contest winner was Meg Lanker who adopted a cat from us in August of 2009. Meg won by finding the needle within 5 minutes after we sent out the newsletter. It was an all time record. Congratulations Meg! (November's hidden needle was in the "horn of plenty" article divider at the bottom of the newsletter.)
There is another hidden needle. Good luck everyone!
The Reason for ID tags
As many of you may have read, a dog named Target was a war hero. A suicide bomber entered an American military barrack in Afghanistan in February; it was not American soldiers but Afghan stray dogs that confronted him. Target and two other dogs snarled, barked and snapped at the man, who detonated his bomb at the entrance to the facility, but did not kill anyone.
Target and Rufus were brought to the United States in July. They were flown to the United States by a charity and adopted by families. Target, who received a hero's welcome, including an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show", went to live with the family of Sgt. Terry Young, an Army medic, who witnessed the animals' bravery.
Target learned to get along with the Young family's other dog and became used to a doggie door. Target escaped from the family's back yard and wound up at the county pound. When Sgt. Young went to claim his dog, he found out she was dead. She had been held just like any other run-of-the-mill stray. A shelter employee in charge of euthanizing animals that day had apparently picked the wrong dog out of the pen and administered a lethal injection.
Because Target had no tags or microchip, no one knew she was a hero. Watching a rerun on The Oprah Winfrey Show about Target, why did nobody notice she had NO ID tags on her collar? As I've PREACHED for YEARS and YEARS and YEARS..... KEEP an ID tag on your pet(s).
Lesson two: Doggie doors can also be VERY dangerous. We have had numerous conversations with people whose pets were stolen out of their yard when they weren't home. One of our placements loved her yard and was shot by a neighbor who simply didn't like her. The adopter was only gone for an hour. Of course, in this State no charges were filed, no search warrant was issued to look for the gun. Our adopters were so distraught they sold their house and moved.
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Household Dangers & Food
Dogs and cats commonly eat things that they shouldn't. The problem is that many items can't be digested or passed through the intestine causing a dangerous "foreign body obstruction".
An indigestible object can become lodged in the stomach or intestines, and oftentimes it may require surgery to remove it. Untreated, ingestion of these types of items can be fatal.
Dogs often chew and swallow things they shouldn't - any pet owner can attest to that. What are the items that most often must be surgically removed from pets? Do you know? Do you know what is #1?
It is the sock!
Top 10 Surgically Removed Items
1. Socks
2. Underwear
3. Pantyhose
4. Rocks
5. Balls
6. Chew Toys
7. Corn Cobs
8. Bones
9. Hair Ties/Ribbons
10. Sticks
The cost of treatment for this type of problem can be expensive. It ranges from $800.00 to $1,740.00 depending on the severity of the illness and extensiveness of the surgery. This is a lot of money, but the surgery is necessary to save the pet's life. A local veterinarian couldn't find a man's sock after two exploratory surgeries. The third surgery resulted in finding the sock, but the dog DIED.
Finally, I know it can be hard in most busy households, but please make sure you keep items picked up that might "interest" your dog. Socks, underwear and pantyhose are the top three items... so make sure that you don't leave them within your dog's reach.
See how much you know about what you feed your animals! Take the below quiz. http://www.truthaboutpetfood.com/articles/how-much-do-you-know-about-pet-food--a-quiz.html
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Previous Articles
"I wanted to write you since I just read that piece from Dani Ellis. I agree with what she's writing about getting a dog from a rescue and knowing that it has been properly vetted and spay/neutered and etc. is better than getting an unknown from the pound. However my concern comes from the message put forth that she doesn't take these animals directly to her vet but brings them home without or actually with knowing they have issues and have been exposed to any number of diseases at the pound! Please beg her and your readers to NEVER take a dog/cat directly home from an animal shelter or pound but go directly to the vet for an exam!!!"
(Editor's note) Having handled hundreds, actually
thousands of pets, even pets taken to a vet and getting health certificates, is no guarantee of them not having underlying health issues. Many issues are undetected for several days or even weeks. Without being quarantined for at least ten to 14 days, a new pet will expose pets already in your home to a number of diseases or problems. I learned a pet under stress can cause some dormant things to flare up, like giardia. Yes, the pet had a health certificate!
"I just can't imagine anyone exposing their pets to unknown contagious diseases or even flea infestations over and over again???"
(Editor's note) Speaking with Dani, the pets already in her home did not have contact with the flea infested ones and this was over a period of many years. Several of her pets were from a vet's office! I don't know of any way not to expose your pets to diseases if you want to adopt more. Simply taking your pets to obedience classes, dog parks, grooming facilities or even a veterinarian are exposing them to many diseases and fleas.
"The dogs already in my home come first. I have made an obligation to them to keep them safe. Any animals I bring in must be properly vetted before coming in contact with my own pets. I think that is a most important message to get out to your readers. If the response is that they can't afford to go directly to the vet then how in the world can they pay twice as much after the fact when even more animals need to have treatment?" (Editor's note) I appreciate you writing to us. I doubt most new adopters or common pet people have a clue what issues are associated with proper pet care. Home for the Holidays, which a number of pounds participated in, troubled me. A telephone caller also had concerns. Pets in disease ridden pounds are going to expose healthy pets in record numbers over holidays. It is an excellent way for pets to find forever homes, but it almost seems cruel to put pets in a home for only a few days when things are so hectic and return them to the pound. I have not heard or read anything about letting the public know what health issues they may be dealing with. Cats can carry a fungus without showing any symptoms of infection. In fact, most cats are exposed to ringworm fungus in veterinary clinics and boarding kennels, where the spores can remain viable in the environment for long periods of time. Healthy adult cats often don't develop symptoms of infection. Kittens and cats with suppressed immune systems may develop symptoms of ringworm infection. From:http://www.vetinfo.com/symptoms-ringworm-cats.html
Another e-mail stated that there was other misinformation in Dani's letter. We welcome help writing articles and are sorry you don't agree. People are free to search any information on the Internet! This e-mail response also had a lot of misinformation! Pet Pals has NEVER had a pet died immediately after adoption and we do not know of any good Rescue that has. We do appreciate your input. The article, like Prayers', is written from the heart.
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Speak Speak Award!
 Our new award (for a person speaking up for those that do not speak our language) goes to Christy Steinberg in Casper, WY! Christy has written numerous letters to editors of newspapers, appeared on TV, posted articles on the Internet and written countless E-mails speaking up for homeless pets at Casper Metro Animal Shelter. Here is one of her many letters: http://trib.com/news/opinion/mailbag/article_b3111a61-6f00-5157-8fc0-097564ae68dd.html Editor: The media in Casper flies by its own standard of reporting. I've seen stories portrayed as the reporter chooses to run it, rather than the actual facts given involving all sides. For whatever reasons, they don't seem to want the public to know everything, especially if our city and its officials are involved. One example is the conditions at Metro Animal Control and its adopted budget for the fiscal year of 2011 for personnel at $661,734. There are 10.5 to 11 employees at the pound. Look it up. Everyone can do the math. That's a lot of taxpayer money for services that may or may not be provided appropriately. Personal experience by many who have visited the facility for whatever reason can attest to the conditions there no matter how much air freshener is sprayed. Why are the cats subjected to being in the same room with the dogs? Would a wall really cost that much? Perhaps it could be donated. Why is there a room full of blankets that go unused for the animals? There is a washer and dryer there. Why is the temp in the animal area sweltering in the summer but air conditioning runs in the employee area? Is another swamp cooler really that pricey? Concerns are swept aside when questioned. Metro is not a shelter, it is a kill pound, and I ask that you not dump your animals there. More often than not, it is a death sentence. Do whatever you can to find them a new home if you can no longer care for them. Approximately 1,100 to 1,200 animals are killed each year at Metro. Pet owner responsibility, or lack of it, is a huge factor. What a sad waste. The silence of witnesses and bystanders by the media and city officials is what allows atrocities to continue in any circumstance. No one will act because the information is not shared. Animals and politics do not mix, and apparently the standards of compassionate people, certain city employees, and supposedly dedicated reporters doesn't either. CHRISTY STEINBERG, Casper Thank you again Christy for making the world a better place!
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing...
- Albert Einstein !
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Why Homes Need To Be Screened...Oh MY!
Some of the abuse we read about is just so horrific that it's hard to imagine that people like this can exist. These are only recent cases.
The following link is being circulated so someone might identify this person. You do not have to watch the video of the kittens being killed.
http://ourcompass.wordpress.com/2010/12/29/im-a-sociopathic-degenerate-do-you-know-my-name/
The following link is about a man accused of skinning his wife's dog.
http://www.examiner.com/animal-news-in-national/man-accused-of-skinning-his-wife-s-dog
The following link is about a man who stomped his girlfriend's dog to death because she would not answer her phone.
http://www.examiner.com/animal-news-in-national/puppy-stomped-to-death-because-girlfriend-wouldn-t-answer-phone
The following link is about a man who stole his neighbor's dog and then drug it to death.
http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=172602&catid=188
We can start to end our own heartache over animal abuse and murder by speaking out against it and educating others.
-Linda York, Pet Pals, Inc.
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Second Chances ????
Michael Vick's Dogs: Does Obama Owe Them A Call Too?
See what Best Friends Society in Utah have to say! Also take the poll.
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FREE Help!
Then click on "I'm a Fan of a Local Business". It's that simple and we could get money to save more lives......HURRAH!!
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Donate
It is so, they are all God's children. Mother Teresa
YOU have made our work of love possible, THANK YOU!
I'm sorry.... Last month the Donate Online button was removed because I just wanted to tell you Merry Christmas and thank you. I made extra work for several people when they had to search for the Donate Online button on our web sites.
Click the above biscuit to help save a life, THANK YOU!
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Contact Information
phone: 307-532-3861
Pet Pals, Inc.
Spay/Neuter Drive
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Pet Pals, Inc Newsletter 
