Handsome Boy Not Cut Out for Shelter Life Struggles with Hectic, Overcrowded Environment
Stress studies undertaken in the last few years confirm that rescue and shelter environments cause stress in animals. Some of them are so freaked out by everything going on around them that they fail to thrive and start losing their hair. Some are withdrawn and hide where no one can see them. They are, in essence, falling apart and need to get into foster programs or forever homes stat! Photo: Pima Animal Care Center Meet Kogi Kogi is a neutered sable-and-white American Pit Bull Terrier and Chinese Shar-pei mix believed to be under 3 years...
New Year, New Opportunity to Use These 10 Tools and Resources!
Happy New Year! (Can we still say that, heading toward mid-month?) We’re taking this moment to re-introduce some of the multitude of tools and resources that we’ve got for you here at HASS. Here are ten you can put into action right now! Please browse and search the HASS website for even more, more, more. Because seriously, we’ve got a huge amount of pro resources, blogs, and webinars that can help you in your mission to keep families together and save animals’ lives. Pet Eviction Calculator Use our easy...
How to be open to new ideas at your animal organization
Want to be more open and inclusive at your animal well-being organization, but not sure where to begin? Looking at your current policies is a great starting point. This is what Allison Cardona of the County of Los Angeles Animal Care and Control and Alex Tonner, Paws for Life K9s, talk about in a huddle recording for the last Open Arms Challenge. The huddle was all about how letting go of old ideas can open new opportunities to processes that are equitable and inclusive. “We’re an incredibly diverse county, and the one...
Greedy Pup in Texas Almost Burns Down House Scrounging for Cookies on Christmas Day
We’re usually worried about our cats jumping on the stove and accidentally turning the gas burners on only to start a fire. Well, this Christmas a family in Frisco, Texas, found it wasn’t a feline that almost burned their house down but actually their gluttonous pup in search of cookies! Photo: Pixabay/ArtisticOperations Pet-Related Accidents It wasn’t such a merry Christmas when Megan Black’s home started to burn on December 25. She was celebrating the holiday with her family in Celina when she got an alert on her...
Vet Says a Large Part of Behavioral Issues in Dogs is Due to their Owners
Anyone who’s ever watched dog behaviorist Cesar Millan knows that more often than not, it isn’t the dogs that are the problem but their humans. So it should come as no surprise when Rory Cowlam, aka Rory the Vet, told Country Living, “It’s lovely that people care so much about their animals, however, it leads to a large part of the behavioral issues that we see in pets these days. We are seeing an absolute behavior pandemic in our dogs, and the issue is the owners.” Photo: Pixabay/825545 Happy Dogs Most pet...
This Little Package of Dynamite Needs Someone to Keep Up with Her
It’s all well and good being called sweet, dazzling, adorable, pure fun, and other compliments that border on platitudes, but they ring hollow when nobody wants to be your best bud or a part of their family. If she could talk, that’s probably what Luna would confide to you, but she can’t, so she won’t, but we will. Luna is a gorgeous German Shepherd and Pit Bull Terrier mix that has been at the Pima Animal Care Center shelter in Tucson since March 20, 2022, through absolutely no fault of her own. She’s spayed,...
The Story of Swoop and Mowgli: How a Magpie and a Cat Became Fast Friends
This unlikely story of friendship between a rescued magpie and a family cat will definitely warm your heart. It seems one day a volunteer firefighter in New Zealand by the name of Matt Owens saw an injured magpie chick on the side of the road. Too young to fly, he named the bird Swoop and brought it home to care for it there. There was only one hitch: Matt had a cat. Photo: YouTube/@swoopandmowgli5226 Unusual Friendships While you’re probably assuming the story ended badly after Swoop’s arrival or that, at the very least, it took...
Pharmacological treatments for separation anxiety: they’re all the same, right? Puddin’ says “no!”
Separation anxiety is an emotional and behavioral disorder that creates distress not only in pets, but also their caregivers. Dogs with separation anxiety often vocalize, cause destruction in the home, injure themselves, and/or eliminate in the house when left alone. Each of these problems could be caused by other issues so it is important the dog’s health, including emotional health, is properly assessed with a veterinarian. Also, separation anxiety is often part of a broader anxiety issue with many of these dogs experiencing noise...
Long-Stay Shelter Dog Has No Idea Why Someone Hasn’t Snapped Him Up Yet
Meet Boomer. When you hear the name, you may instantly think of the generation laughably accused of the ruination of the planet (it started long before they were born), the economy, and property values, thus spawning the obnoxious phrase “OK, Boomer.” Well, this is not that Boomer! This Boomer is just a dog that knows nothing of property values and even less about the state of the planet. To be fair, though, he’s not just a good dog, he’s a very, very good dog! Boomer’s also a long-stay shelter resident at the...
How to Make Sure You’re Starting Your Pet’s Year Off Right
There’s no better time to reassess your pet’s overall health and wellness than the start of a new year. We’ve put together a list of our best pet parent tips for 2023 to help make sure you’re starting your pet’s year off right. Schedule their annual veterinary appointment Pets are notoriously good at hiding signs of illness, so it’s not uncommon for pet parents to be unaware something is wrong until it becomes serious. This is why our best pet parent tip for 2023 is to schedule an annual vet appointment at...
