Animals

Here Are Few Simple Steps To Care For Your Pets During Winter

It is not too late to check up on your pet’s welfare during cold months. Here are few simple steps you can take during December to February to increase the welfare of your pets:

Do a check-up before winter
Veterinarians recommend a check-up before the arrival of winter. However, it may be not too late to take your pet to vet now.

Put your room heaters and other exposed electrical devices out of reach
These items, especially space heaters could cause burns if your pets come in contact with it.

Keep your pets indoors
As much as possible, keep them indoors when mercury is dropping.

Check water left out side
During cold snaps, water can freeze. So, regularly check your pet’s water bowl.

Put on that cozy jacket
This is the time to dress up your “Tiger” with that jacket you bought if he is going to stay outdoors for a longer period of time.

Watch for signs of cold weather diseases
Frostbite and hypothermia are most common during very cold periods. Bring them inside and check your pet’s ears, tail and paws for any signs of frostbite.

Affordable Pet Health and Discount Medications

Medical treatment for pets can be expensive. According to MSN, a dog can cost their owners nearly $8,000 over their lifetimes. However, most people are willing to shell out the cash for their pet’s health. Kroger Co., reported that nearly 61 percent of pet owners wouldn’t think twice about spending between $100 and $1,000 for life saving treatment.

Whether you have a cat or a dog, the cost of taking care of a pet can be very costly. The good news is that the once costly industry of pet health care is becoming more accessible for pet owners and their pets. Today the industry is booming with online companies that offer pet owners a host of supplies at extremely low prices. Sure, these companies supply items like toys, treats and food, but most importantly, they offer access to affordable pet health.

Before jumping online, make sure to search for a licensed pharmacy. Only a licensed pharmacy can provide you with EPA- and FDA-approved medication; the same prescription drugs the veterinarian recommends. Through these sites, pet owners can shop medications by various categories, such as gastrointestinal, joint health, thyroid, urinary health, and vaccines. Online pet pharmacies also carry medication for your pet’s eyes and ears.

In addition to discount pet meds, licensed pet pharmacies also provide pet owners with products to treat fleas and ticks, medication for arthritis and pain, as well as a host of vitamins and supplements for dogs and cats.

Accent Your Garden with a Bird Feeder

Adding a bird feeder to your garden, porch or lawn is a simple and inexpensive way to enhance the outdoor area. A bird feeder is also a great way to introduce your children and family members to nature. Since more and more people spend less time outdoors, something as simple as a bird feeder can become a reason for people to step outside and enjoy local wild life.

Purchasing a bird feeder is simple. The first thing you will need to do is select a style that complements the rest of your outdoor architecture. For example, a classic, vintage bird feeder will go perfect with your shabby chic furniture while a more whimsical bird house, such as a hot air balloon or margarita feeder, will match eclectic décor.

Once you’ve found the perfect bird feeder, you will need to find a good spot for it. Most people place their bird feeders among the plants and flowers in the garden. Whether you own a bird feeder, bird house, or a bird bath, consider placing it right among your roses. This is a perfect spot because it enhances the garden and helps draw the eye up toward the other plants and decorations.

Family Favorite Shows about Animals

Thanks for the guest post by Laura Mitchell

Our family loves to sit around and watch the television shows that feature animals doing a variety of tricks. Whether it’s parrots who can sing the national anthem or dogs who can run through a maze, we love watching these shows. Our favorite part of watching these shows on our TV by Direct is that we try to judge the animals along with the celebrity judges.

We sometimes agree that an animals trick is an old hat trick or we are just as amazed when an animal does something you would never think of. We have also started secretly marking down our scores for the animal acts that come on. Once all of the judging is over we all reveal what our scores were. Most of the time, we will agree with the judges on the show and pick the same winner as they do, however, there are times that our choices are totally different.

There are many different acts that come on this show and they do many different things. I have seen a dog who will try to talk, although to me it didn’t sound much like talking. My family disagrees and says that they heard the words clearly. We just like spending time together and watching these shows and giving our opinions on everything. We mostly like spending the time together watching them.

Investigation on The Mistreatment of UK’s Last Circus Elephant is Underway

Footage obtained by an animal rights group has shown that the last circus elephant, known as Annie, has been mistreated by minder, and this has led to investigations conducted by the police and the RSPCA.

The 57-year-old Asian elephant belongs to the Bobby Roberts Super Circus.  With the Animal Defenders International (ADI) obtaining evidence of cruelty by the said circus, the former wants the circus to release the animal and hand it over to ADI’s care.

The footage captured between the dates of 21 January and 15 February of this year showed that the animal was repeatedly being kicked in the face while also being hit by a pitchfork.   This will serve as evidence in the joint investigation of the Northamptonshire Police and the RSPCA.

On the other hand, the circus has defended its actions by claiming that these actions were isolated and were primarily taken at a time when the owner of the circus was away. According to the circus owner’s wife, Moira, the person who was to blame for this unruly behavior was a Romanian groom whom they hired to take care of Annie.  The said caretaker is no longer an employee of the circus. The circus owner’s wife also expressed ‘shock and horror’ at the treatment of the elephant.

The animal rights activists intend on restoring Annie back to her natural habitat so that she could be with her own just as nature would have it.

Facebook and WWF Join Forces

Facebook has its fair share of critics, but few can argue with the power of this joining of forces. The World Wildlife Federation has paired with Facebook to aid in raising funds to benefit and protect wildlife. Users can adopt various virtual pets, but instead of the revenue of the sales going to a third party developer, the profits will go directly to the World Wildlife Foundation.

This is an extension of the gift catalog the World Wildlife Federation has had in place on its own website. There are various dollar amounts a user can give, and all symbolic adoptions include an adoption certificate and color photo. At the $50 dollar mark a stuffed animal is included in addition to the photo and certificate. The World Wildlife Federation hopes that adding a social aspect to the giving, with users liking and sharing their adoptions, will urge more people to participate.

“We are offering our members and other supporters on Facebook a unique opportunity to support WWF’s conservation work while demonstrating to friends and family their commitment to protecting our planet’s most amazing wildlife and wild places,” said Terry Macko, chief marketing officer for WWF. 

“Our new Facebook Gift Center is an innovative way to educate and fundraise and it allows people to have fun by giving, getting, ‘liking’ and ‘sharing.’”

With over 400 million users, Facebook is the ultimate testing ground for this new fundraising technique. Undoubtedly we will be seeing more of this new kind of venture in the future.

An end to bullfighting?

Althoguh Bullfighting has been around for centuries, it is a cruel and bloody “sport”. It is extremely popular in Spain and it has come as a (pleasant) shock to many around the world that one part of the country has banned the sport.

Animal rights campaigners were jubilant as Catalonia announced that Bullfighting would forever be banned in the region. However, the decision taken by the Catalan parliament has less to do with Animal Rights than it has to do with making a political statement.

The Catalan people have long been at loggerheads with the rest of Spain and have been seeking to distance themselves from the rest of the country. As a result of this they have banned Flamenco, speak their own language and have even gotten rid of the Spanish flag. They now are looking toward independence and becoming an independent state. The ban on Bullfighting is seen as just another move to thumb their noses at the Spanish government. This is reinforced by the fact that the sport was never really very popular or widespread in the region.

Whatever the motive, it still represents a victory for activists and a better life for the animals. The usual practice in this gruesome sport is to drug the bull or force it consume water and Epsom salts. This is done so that the animal is confused and has a disrupted sense of direction. All of this is done so that the Matadors get an advantage in disposing the bull in the bloody way that they do.

Chicken coops are not so bad

Einstein: The World’s Tiniest Horse

New Hampshire could possibly claim to have the world’s tiniest horse. A diminutive horse born at the Tiz A Miniature Horse Farm in Barnstead, a pinto stallion measured a mere 14 inches in height and weighed only nine pounds at birth. The foal’s proportions are quite similar to that of a baby, but are really tiny in terms of a horse. The tiny horse, named Einstein could be the titled holder in the Guinness Book of Records for being the smallest newborn horse.

Co-owners of Einstein, Judy Smith and Dr. Rachel Wagner both are extremely fond of him and say he will continue to reside at the farm.

Measuring just about seven inches short in comparison to a normal miniature foal, Einstein apparently does not seem to be in danger of suffering from dwarfism, according to breeders. The current record holder of the tiniest horse title, Thumbelina, unfortunately does.

Smith told reporters that Einstein was not born prematurely but three days after the due date. She even quipped that if he had been born prematurely, he could have been ever tinier.

The Tiz A Miniature Horse Farm houses 48 miniature horses, all averaging around 21 inches in height at birth, and weighing 18 pounds. Contrary to popular belief, miniature horses are actually horses and not ponies. Their tiny stature comes from continuous breeding carried out over many years. Miniature horses are sometimes even used as ‘seeing-eye dogs’ and movies.

Thumbelina does not have the same proportions as Einstein. She has crooked legs, which she has had from birth, and thus has specially made shoes for jumping.

Meth-Intoxicated Sheep, Tasered; New Study Carried Out By Taser International

Taser International set out to test the outcome of being high on meth and then being tasered. They first decided to try this out on some sheep. Why? Two reasons. The first being that methamphetamine is extremely popular amongst humans. The second reason is that when a person, high on meth is arrested, a stun gun might be used on him, and the safety of that is yet undetermined.

To test this theory out, Taser International rounded up 16 sheep. They put them on an IV drip of meth, which was then followed by a few taser blasts which was needed by researchers to investigate the effect it had on the heart.

Animal rights activists were appalled by this, stating that drug taking was a human choice and methods and safety of law enforcement should be determined in acceptable manners. Such animal research seems completely unnecessary, when compared to that carried out for finding a cure for cancer. Who knows what could be next in line!

The research carried out by Taser International does not even seem valid. The effect meth and an electric voltage would have on a sheep and a human would certainly differ. In the case of this research, the sheep were under anaesthesia, which really does not mean the experiment was carried out as the real situation could have been.

Take into consideration that stress induced cardiac arrests are quite different between an anesthetized sheep and a meth-intoxicated human who is probably paranoid and keeps resisting arrest.

All in all, TI’s experiment only proves that tasers can be used on sheep that are asleep, which probably adds so much towards the advancement of society and law enforcement.