How many homeless dogs are euthanized every year?

Posted on 09. Feb, 2010 by Annvi in Barkin' Doggie Bloggie, Rescue Dogs

“Dogs are miracles with paws”~ Susan Kennedy

It has been a very busy few weeks, which has made it difficult for me to find time to write!  Barkin’ Doggie Biscuits has gained a bit of momentum! YAY!  We are now in two places in Houston: Heights Urban Dog and Cooper Animal Clinic.  And, a Washington DC store, Dog Shop DC is featuring us by the end of the week!  We have been spreading the word!  Hopefully, we will be in a store near you really soon!  On that note, please let us know if you know of a good place to sell our biscuits.  We cannot make a difference in the dog community without you guys!

Back to my topic of today, have you ever wondered how many sweet, lovable pups get put down each year?  In our city of Houston alone, it has been estimated that BARC has to put to sleep 1,500-2,000 each month.  This doesn’t even include all the surrounding shelters in our area.  Can you believe this?  It is hard for me to even imagine this many animals, who were borne at no fault of their own.  If only we could all spay/neuter our pets, stop the backyard breeding, end the puppy mills…I wonder how much money each of our cities would actually save from the resources that all city shelters need to keep unwanted pets off the streets?

Do you have a friend who hasn’t neutered/spayed his or her pets?  Or know someone that thinks breeding his or her cutie pet is a good idea? Send them here.   I get so frustrated…adoption event after adoption event.  I am a board member of Homeless Animal Partnership Initiative (HAPI), we have an adoption event the first Saturday of every month in the Heights.  We had this super cute 2 year old lab mix.  I thought for sure we’d find her a home.  Check Panda out:

At the end of day, she didn’t get adopted this time.  It brought tears to my eyes to see her get loaded back into the truck to be taken back to BARC.  She didn’t want to get into the truck.  There was also a 6 year old German Shepherd/Husky mix.  Beautiful dog that didn’t get adopted either.  6 years old.  Can you imagine the stress of being in a shelter?  Sigh.

Apparently, Petsmart Charities conducted a study that found 76% of Americans acquire their pets in places other than shelters.  A few of the reasons that people do not adopt is because they are unaware of the adoption process or of the unwanted pet problem.  Let me explain the adoption process:  Search websites (petfinder, rescue specific breeds, shelters, etc), find a pet you may be interested or go to an adoption event in your area (if you are unsure where one is held, go to your local Petco or Petsmart and ask someone- they usually have adoption events every weekend at these stores),  after you find your new best friend- the application process includes, name, address, why you want a pet, where you will keep the pet, etc, pay the adoption fee (usually between $50-$350).  What will your adoption fee include: a spay/neutered pet, current on all vaccinations, and sometimes already microchipped.

Most Americans underestimate the numbers of pets that are euthanized every year. 4 million pets are put down each year.  There are 4 million unwanted pets that deserve homes.  4 MILLION.  4 million have to suffer shelters, some gas chambers, some abuse….shutter.

We just got a new foster pup.  Meet Luke.  He came to us from the Corridor of Cruelty. The Corridor of Cruelty is an area where dogs  from dog fights or unwanted dogs are just dumped to die.  Luke ended up there somehow and was getting beat up by another dog.  It broke Tobiah’s heart- so now we have three dogs and no yard.    Luke has been transitioning well.  He is a lab mix, about 2 years old, surprisingly already housebroken, and not dog aggressive.  YAY.  Fostering is hard and can be frustrating, but it is so rewarding.  With every new pup comes new beginnings, I like to say.  Luke has already taught me so much…like PATIENCE.

He is a bit camera shy- hard to capture him outside of his crate!

Cheers and Happy Barkin’!

Annvi and Tobiah

Facebook & Fostering…

Posted on 18. Nov, 2009 by Annvi in Barkin' Doggie Bloggie, Rescue Dogs

My First Foster

The month of October has been a busy one!  Social media has definitely made it easier to spread information about pets that need homes.  I discovered Snowball via Facebook.  Snowball, part Dane and part Pit, was surrendered at BARC by his owner.  Snowball could not see out of one his eye.  It was bulging out of his eye socket.  The owner wasn’t sure how that happened and could not afford the surgery to remove it; and so, Snowball was turned over to the City of Houston Pound.  Lucky for him Friends of Barc, a non-profit whose mission is to facilitate more adoptions, fostering, and better treatment for BARC animals, was at Barc when he was dropped off.  As a result of the overpopulation of pets at BARC, it is difficult for the city workers to give each of the animals the care they need.  With one eye bulging out of his eye socket, Friends of Barc volunteers were worried whether this sweet pup would survive Barc.  I forgot to mention, Snowball was only about 6 months old.

Friends of Barc convinced Barc to remove his bad eye and to neuter him (a double whammy for Snowball).  In the meantime, Friends of Barc had to find someone to foster Snowball for at least a week so that he could heal from the surgery.  I read the story and the pleas… we just need a foster for one week…just a week! I scroll down all the comments, has anyone volunteered to take this little guy in yet?  hmm…I wait a few more hours…still no one.  I start typing…if you can’t find anyone, I’ll do it.  Does anyone have a crate I can borrow? It is only a week, I think to myself.  Who cares that I have two very big dogs, a small space, and no yard…or that I am running around like a mad woman trying to tie up lose ends for BDB.  I make a promise to myself that I have seven days to find him a home.  I can do it, I remember thinking.  He is so cute, someone will want him!

Fast forward a few days, I have never had a puppy.  THEY ARE EXHAUSTING.  Peeing all over the place.  YIKES.  I still  find Snowball to be absolutely precious.  I can’t help but fall in love with him.  He feels like velvet and he has that puppy breath going on.  Three dogs and no yard.  I have to walk Rocky and Zeus together and then come back for Snowball.  Snowball just wants to play with the other two, but he can’t yet because his eye has to heal. Keeping all three dogs apart is quite a challenge.  So, I post him all over facebook and twitter, talk him up to the neighbors, send pictures of him to everyone I know.  He has such a big fan base, but no takers.  The week is coming to an end….what am I going to do?  Can I just take him back to BARC?  Will he be okay there?

Luckily, one of Tobiah’s co-workers wants to try him out. I couldn’t believe it.  She grew up with dogs so I thought she knew what she was getting into…fast forward two weeks, Snowball, now Pirate, was back with me.  She was allergic to him and realized she did not have time for him.  Sigh. Fostering is a lot harder than I thought.  It really ain’t over til the fat lady sings.  Pirate jumps into my arms as soon as he sees me.  What am I going to do now? I begin to realize how when you foster, you really take full ownership of the dog.  I couldn’t just drop him off to Barc.  I had to find him a home.

Fast forward two more weeks, a friend of mine who had been following Snowball’s entire plight on Facebook had always wanted a Great Dane mix.  The only problem was that she lives in Alabama.  She is a huge rescue advocate and even volunteers at shelters.  So, Snowball takes a roadtrip to Alabama to be with his new family.  So big hip, hip, hooray for social media!  I would have never been able to find this little guy a home without Facebook!

Although I had not planned on fostering, Tobiah and I certainly learned a lot from Snowball.  Snowball had been tossed around and may have been abused, regardless of this, he still had a carefree and loving attitude towards dogs and humans.  Fostering was also beneficial for our pups.  Snowball taught Rocky how to be social and play with other dogs.  Snowball showed us that Zeus is very attuned to other dogs.  When we first got Snowball, Rocky was not a fan.  Zeus warned me quite a few times by digging his nose into my leg that a fight between Rocky and Snowball was imminent.  We are thinking about enrolling Zeus in the Caring Critters Program, a program that trains therapy dogs!

And apparently, the University of Missouri is studying whether fostering pets is beneficial to older adults.  “Studies show that people of all ages who own pets are more likely to exercise and to be more involved socially,” said Rebecca Johnson, PhD, RN, FAAN, director of ReCHAI and associate professor for the MU Sinclair School of Nursing and College of Veterinary Medicine. “However, older adults often are hesitant to adopt dogs because they travel too much, don’t want the commitment or responsibility, or they are afraid the pets will outlive them. In this study, we will partner these older adults with shelter dogs and determine if the foster owners receive the same benefits as those who own dogs.”

Bottom line, I would definitely foster again.  Let’s just hope BDB takes off so that we can get ourselves a big yard! 

Cheers and Happy Barkin’!

Annvi and Tobiah