Archive for the ‘Pet Rescue’ Category

In the swampy woods behind Julie’s house, there lies a hurt dog. As her neighbor, Jo Ann and she get closer to the dog, who appears close to death, the dog jumps up and takes off. They think they see a wound on the dog’s back leg and Jo Ann had heard a gun shot a few hours before.

This was five weeks ago. Julie and Jo Ann have been putting food and water out for this poor, extremely frightened and probably injured dog every morning and every evening. They cannot get within a few hundred yards of the dog before he tears off into the woods again. This is as close as they can get:

Tom Wargo, founder of Daffy’s Pet Soup Kitchen and The Backyard Sanctuary was notified of this poor dog and he felt that immediate action should be taken. Tom traps feral cats all the time, but not so many dogs. He has a coyote sized trap and took it to Julie’s, put the food in and waited.

About 4 hours later, the dog wandered into the woods where he usually gets his food and walked right into the trap. Unfortunately, the trap didn’t hold up to the terribly frightened dog’s struggling and kicking, so he busted out of the trap and left.

We are hoping someone will have a large trap that we can use, and a rescue who will know what to do with this terrified pup, or just for some tips or advice. Thank you for any help that you can give.

Contact: Tom Wargo, 404-345-6821 or Valerie Pegg, 770-363-0827

Not to hurt our humble brethren (the animals) is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough. We have a higher mission–to be of service to them whenever they require it… If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.
– Saint Francis of Assisi

Shelters are overflowing right now with “owner surrendered” pets and are having a hard time staying afloat. When holidays like Easter roll around, pet stores aim their cute bunny guns at the crowd and people start buying. Please think twice before buying a pet, and always consider adoption.

The following story was written by Taylor Bendig of Edmonton Journal, but I found the story at PetPress.net.

Rabbits make lousy Easter gifts

Photograph by: Supplied, edmontonjournal.com

EDMONTON — Animal shelters are urging families to think twice before asking the Easter Bunny move in.

The months following Easter are prime time for the abandonment of domestic rabbits, said Gina Kay, a volunteer with Edmonton’s New Beginnings rabbit rescue shelter. She says pet stores stock up on unusual, especially attractive breeds of rabbits just before Easter, preparing for a sales spike brought on by buyers who take them home as seasonally appropriate surprise gifts. But many of the rabbits’ new owners aren’t prepared to care for them.

“They probably acquired it when it was 10 weeks old in the pet store, just a cute little fluffball. When it reaches maturity, a lot of people can’t handle their rabbit, because they have certain hormone-driven behaviour” like biting and marking their territory with urine, she explains.

“If they don’t find a better solution, people just drive out to the park somewhere, or some parking lot, and just let it go free,” believing the rabbit will fend for itself, she said. They sometimes believe they’re sparing the rabbit from confinement and possible euthanasia in a shelter — but what they’re really doing is ensuring an ever-growing population of free-roaming domestic rabbits, Kay said.

“The thing about dumping rabbits is as soon as there’s more than one, you can be absolutely sure that every female is pregnant at any given time,” said Kay, explaining that rabbits are capable of becoming pregnant at any point, unlike cats or dogs, which only experience periodic heats. And pet rabbits often aren’t sterilized, as owners are frequently unprepared for spay or neuter costs.

Two domestic rabbits can produce 200 offspring within a year, she said.

Not all unwanted Easter Bunnies wind up running free. Shawna Randolph, spokeswoman for the Edmonton Humane Society, said the shelter occasionally sees rabbits surrendered a few months after Easter, typically after being bought from pet stores and given as gifts to owners who can’t care for them.

The shelter works to keep pets from being given as gifts, Randolph said.

“It may be a well-intended gift idea to bring someone a live animal, but it really can be harmful for the animal, and frustrating for a person.” she said.

“Even better, just stick with the chocolate version or the stuffed animal version,” as gifts.++++

Here are some rabbit rescues in Georgia that I found if you do want to adopt a homeless bunny:

House Rabbit Society

3 Bunnies Rabbit  Rescue

Rabbits.RescueMe.org

And you can also check your local county shelter. These are usually considered “high kill” shelters and the animals there are in grave danger of euthansia.

Depend on the rabbit’s foot if you will, but remember it didn’t work for the rabbit. – R E Shay

The following blog lists several of the pet shelters and rescues in the Gwinnett County area, including Lawrenceville, Suwanee, Dacula, Duluth, Snellville and Lilburn. Whether you are looking for a certain breed or just the “perfect” pet for you, there are plenty of rescue groups and shelters in the area to find the pet you are looking for… and you’re saving a life. 90,000 dogs and cats die in Atlanta area shelters every year! Please, consider adoptions instead of purchasing a pet. If I’ve left any shelters or rescues out, please let me know and I will happily add it to this list.

Dacula

Canine Pet Rescue

Duluth

Cindy’s K-9 Angels

Companion Animal Rescue League

Lawrenceville

Gwinnett County Animal Control and Welfare

Gwinnett Humane Society

Society of Humane Friends

Lilburn

Alcovy Pet Rescue

Atlanta Boxer Rescue

Pets To Be

Snellville

Hightower Farm and Animal Sanctuary

Stone Moutain

Boston Terrier Rescue

Suwanee

English Springer Rescue America

Georgia Humane Society

Georgia SPCA

Southeast Pug Rescue and Adoption

“He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.” – Anonymous