This article from Canada details the story of Maggie May. Maggie May was rescued by her owner from a puppy mill and was just inducted into the Purina Hall of Fame for rescuing her owner from carbon monoxide poisoning in her home.
The owner, Sueanne DeCourcey said:
“A firefighter told me he had seen lots of cases like this and I was one of the lucky ones. He said if I didn’t have a dog to wake me up, I probably wouldn’t be alive.”
There are currently 138 animals — 114 dogs, 23 cats and one horse — in the Purina Animal Hall of Fame.
According to the Dallas Morning News, city officials are proposing changes that would limit owners to 6 pets (dogs and cats) per household.
April 27 – May 3 is National Volunteer Week in the United States. Do you have extra time to spare and are looking to help further the animal wellness cause? Consider volunteering with WellPetUSA. Volunteer opportunities are listed here.
National Poison Prevention Week was March 16 – 22, 2008. Are you interested in learning more about poison prevention for your pets? Watch these videos from YouTube:
Remember to keep the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center phone number handy: (888) 426-4435
by Jack L. Stephens, DVM
President, Pets Best
We all know we feel good when we are with our pets. We look forward to coming home and the exuberant greeting we receive from our pets. But did you know that the feeling you have is biologically wired into your chemistry?
Scientific studies are now demonstrating conclusively that pets have positive effects on us by altering our hormones, neurotransmitters and other chemicals that not only make us feel better, but lower stress and improve our health — such as decreasing our blood pressure, among other things.
Studies have shown that a quiet interaction of sitting and petting a dog — even a strange dog — lowers our blood pressure, decreases our cortisol levels (the stress hormone), increases oxytocin (the happy hormone), increases prolactin (the bonding hormone), increases endorphin (the warm feeling or high feeling hormone), increases phenylethylamine (the attention hormone), increases dopamine and epinephrine (nerve transmitters) and increases serotonin (the chemical involved in preventing depression).
You may not have heard of all these chemicals, and probably haven’t heard them used in reference to you and your pets. As a pet lover, you just know you feel better when you are around your pets. Now you know why.
We certainly have all experienced the stress of the day evaporating when we are with our pets, but I think we are just learning the true extent physically and emotionally of the relationships we have with our pets. In fact, studies have proven that specific hormones and chemicals are at different levels when we are with our pets than when we are alone or even with a robotic dog. Wait a minute. Did I say robotic dog? I did. More on that later.
After experiencing an amazing bonding with our miniature pinscher, Spanky, when I was diagnosed and subsequently cured of throat cancer many years ago, I started a journey of discovery to determine why we love our pets so much and if they favorably impact our health. My own transformation — and Spanky’s many benefits to my healing — is an amazing story. I went from veterinarian, big dog person who really did not believe in the bond, to “certified pet nut” and small dog fan. Me, the hard-headed, logic-driven businessperson, prescribing pets for people under stress (such as an upcoming surgery, an illness or loss of a spouse).
In my journey to discover the magic hold that pets have on humans, I was provided a study, performed by a South African veterinarian, Dr. Oldendaal, that measured some of the hormones mentioned above prior to and immediately after petting a dog and when simply sitting alone. The results were a revelation to me and provided me with the science, or logic, to my own transformation — and validated my observations that pets are good for us.
After reading the study, I agreed to fund a replication of the study at the University of Missouri Veterinary School and School of Nursing, through The Skeeter Foundation (named after another of my dogs). I had them add a third group of people interacting with a robotic dog, because I did not believe a machine could provide the same benefits as an animal. Indeed, the study verified the prior study, and has now led to many other studies to identify the interaction between animals and mankind. And the robotic dog did not provide the same positive benefits that the live dog did.
As is often the case, our intuition about why we feel good around pets turns out to be factual. Pets really are good for us. In the years to come, I am confident that more studies will find that our pets help keep us from depression, cheer us when we need comforting, and provide benefits that go beyond what most people think of as simple pet ownership. With more and more pets being welcomed into the family, cared for as family members and respected for their unique gifts, I’m glad to be part of groups who champion pets and the proper care of pets. They deserve it!
(Dr. Jack Stephens is the founder of pet insurance in the United States and most recently of Pets Best Insurance. A former practicing veterinarian, Stephens is a pet enthusiast who shares his home with multiple dogs, two cats and several horses. Jack has written and published numerous articles about pet health insurance, was a contributing author for a leading veterinary trade magazine, and is a vocal advocate for the positive effects pets have on our lives.)
Types of Rescue Groups
Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take the animals into their homes and care for them—including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behavior problems—until a suitable permanent home can be found.
Rescue groups exist for most types of pet—for example, rabbit rescue or bird rescue, but are most common for dogs and cats. For animals with many breed types, many rescue groups specialize in specific breeds or groups of breeds. For example, for dogs, there might be local Labrador Retriever rescue groups, hunting dog rescue groups, large-dog rescue groups, as well as general dog rescue groups.
In the USA, there are three classifications for pet rescue:
- A municipal shelter is a facility that houses stray and abandoned animals, as well as animals that people can no longer care for, on behalf of local governments
- A no-kill shelter, which is usually a privately-operated organization with a physical location, such as a storefront or free-standing building. Their policies include the specification that no healthy, pet-worthy animal be euthanized
- Not-for-profit rescue organizations that typically operate through a network of volunteer foster homes. These rescue organizations are also committed to a no-kill policy as specified above.
Rescue groups are funded mainly by donations and most of the staff is volunteers. Rescue groups place all their rescues into foster homes as they do not have shelter facilities.
Adopting through a rescue group
Most rescue groups have strict adoption procedures that can include completing an application to adopt, checking a veterinary reference, conducting a phone interview, and conducting a home visit. Rescue organizations are usually all-volunteer organizations and survive on donations and adoption fees. The adoption fees usually do not cover the significant costs involved, which include traveling to pick up a dog in need, providing veterinary care, vaccinations, having it spayed or neutered, giving it any training necessary, and helping to socialize and feed it.
Depending on the animal, there may be a number of different things that can be done to make the transition from life at a rescue group to a home easier. Generally, rescue groups have basic information that will allow greater success in transitioning an animal. There are also numerous resources available in print and online for helping assimilate rescue dogs into new homes.
For more information, send an email to resources@wellpetusa.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Did You Know?
- According to the Wall Street Journal, horse ownership has boomed in the U.S. over the past decade. Americans own more than nine million horses today, up from just over six million horses in the mid-1990s. The price of hay has more than doubled from $2.50 in 2005, for a two-day supply, to $6 in most states today.
Hi All,
The purpose of WellPetUSA’s blog is to help educate the public about pet wellness and their specific needs. We want our blog to be a window into improving the quality of life for all types of pets in the USA and to promote the bond of caring between humans and pets.
It is our hope and sincere wish that this blog will be helpful and an informative conduit that allows WellPetUSA to provide a greater depth of understanding of the scope of our services.
Please feel free to look around.
If you have questions about WellPetUSA or any of its departments, please send us an email to info@wellpetusa.org.Once again, welcome! And thanks for stopping by.
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