Current

Uploaded: 2009-10-12

 


Your Perfect Pet is  Here!
www.stlawrencevalleyspca.org

PAWPRINTS
Fall  2009

Shelter  Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday, 1:00-4:00
Closed Sunday, Monday  and some Holidays

Location:
6718 SH 68  Ogdensburg, NY  13669

Address &  Phone:
PO Box 594
Ogdensburg, NY   13669
(315)  393-5191

Adoption Fees:
Dogs -  $90
Cats - $65

This fee includes spay/neuter, distemper, parvo and  upper respiratory vaccination. Animals will be checked for worms, fleas, ticks  and other parasites and treated if necessary. Cats can be tested for feline  leukemia for an additional $25 fee.

Spay/Neuter  Now...
is a non-profit organization that helps provide low  cost spay/neuter for qualifying applicants. For information on the program,  please call 324-5969. Please be a responsible pet owner and have your pets  spayed or neutered. Prevent an unwanted litter!

Shelter Wish  List

  • Litter, Litter, & Litter
  • Laundry Soap
  • Bleach
  • Dish Detergent
  • Paper Towels
  • 13, 45 & 55 gallon heavy duty Trash Bags
  • Purina Cat Food (blue bag)
  • Pedigree Small Dog Breed hard food
  • Canned Cat & Dog Food
  • Purina Kitten Chow




Quotable  Quotes:

"A Cat is a puzzle for which there is  no solution." ~Hazel Nicholson

"To err is human, to forgive, canine."  ~Anonymous




Did you  know...??

The nose  pad of a cat is ridged in a pattern that is unique as a fingerprint of a  human.

The domestic cat is the only cat species able to hold its tail  vertically while walking. All wild cats hold their tails horizontally or tucked  between their legs while walking.

Dogs see in color but not in the same  way that we do. Veterinary ophthalmologists have found that dogs are similar to  people with red/green color blindness, meaning they can see bluish and greenish  shades but not reddish ones. To a dog, a bright orange ball on a grassy lawn  appears as a light greenish ball in greenish  grass.



News  Bytes


Why  Wee Legs?
A recent study identified the single evolutionary glitch that  causes short legs in Dachshunds, Basset Hounds, and other stubby puppies. An  extra copy of a gene, acquired by mutation hundreds of years ago, causes the  overproduction of a protein that disrupts growth during fetal  development.

Franken Fetches Funding
Newly minted senator Al  Franken (D-Minn.) lived up to his dog-loving reputation with the passage of his  first legislative initiative - funding for a three-year pilot program to pair  service dogs with disabled veterans.

Both tidbits above are from the  Sept/Oct 2009 issue of Bark  magazine.






With  Our  Thanks!

From  all of us at the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA, our sincere thank you to all who have  supported our work helping homeless animals. We do appreciate all you  do!

Can Cats and Dogs Catch Swine  Flu?

(abridged from  ASPCA web site News Alert: October 2, 1009. For more information go to ASPCA.org  .)

Pet parents of dogs and cats can relax for now, say ASPCA  veterinarians. While the 2009 H1N1 virus - a faster moving and possibly more  debilitating strain of influenza than the typical season flu - has become an  international concern, the virus, referred to as swine flu when first  identified, appears to present little risk of infecting dogs and cats. However,  viruses can mutate quickly and taking important preventative measures remains  essential.

"Many species can become infected with influenza viruses, but  the current 2009 H1N1 virus, which is a mixture of genetic material from  different species, has not been identified in animal populations in the United  States to date," says Dr. Miranda Spindel, Director of ASPCA Veterinary  Outreach. "These viruses are notoriously unpredictable, though, and it is  important that we remain vigilant."

In terms of other animals who are  susceptible, Dr. Spindel warns that influenza or flu viruses are occasionally  transmitted from people to pigs, and the 2009 H1N1 virus has also been  identified in turkeys. And ferrets are susceptible to most human flu viruses, so  pet parents should take extra care to prevent exposure of pet ferrets to people  or other ferrets with flu symptoms.

Meanwhile, flu season is upon us and  pet parents should take common-sense preventative measures to keep their dogs  and cats healthy.


    Keep Your Pets Safe on Halloween

(from the Humane Society of the United States  website)

Jack-o'-lanterns, trick-or-treaters, haunted houses and  costume parties. Halloween is full of fun things for you and your family to  enjoy, but it's one of those holidays that is enjoyed more by people than by  pets. Keep the following precautions in mind when preparing for the frightfully  fun festivities and help ensure that everyone in your family - including your  pet - has a safe Halloween.

  • Keep your pet in a quiet place, away from trick-or-treaters  and other Halloween activities.  You may know that the miniature monsters and  goblins who come knocking on Halloween aren't real, but pets don't. Dogs and  cats are creatures of habit and could become frightened or agitated by the  unaccustomed sights and sounds of costumed visitors. In addition, frequently  opened doors provide a perfect opportunity for escape, which can go unnoticed  during all the commotion. Be sure all pets are wearing collars and ID tags in  case of an accidental getaway.
  • Cats - black ones in particular - often fall victim to  pranksters. Keep cats safely indoors. Visit http://humanesociety.org/safecats  for more information.
  • Place live flame decorations like candles and  jack-o'-lanterns out of your pet's reach. Curious critters risk being singed or  burned by the flame - they could also easily know over a candle or pumpkin and  cause a fie.
  • Keep candy away from pets. All those sweets may taste great  to critters, but candy, especially chocolate, can be toxic to pets. Candy  wrappers can also be harmful if swallowed. Instead, tempt your pet with a few of  his favorite treats.
  • Resist the urge to put your pet in a costume. You may think  your pet looks adorable dressed as a princess, but most pets don't like the  constraints of costumes. If you do decide to play dress-up, make sure the  costume is safe for your pet and doesn't constrain her movement, hearing or  ability to breathe. Check the costume for parts your pet could chew off and  choke on and look for dangling pieces like flowing capes that could injure  her.
  • Don't let the family dog accompany the kids on their  trick-or-treat outing. Children may have a difficult time handling a pet during  the festivities and your pooch could get loose, especially if your dog is  spooked by the strange sights and sounds of trick-or-treaters.
  • Keep decorations that pets could chew on - like streamers  and fake spider webs - and wires and cords from electric decorations out of  reach. If pets chomps on Halloween decorations they could choke or become ill  and, if they chew on electrical cords, they risk a potentially deadly electrical  shock. Pets could also become tangled and injured by dangling cords or  decoration.


   What is a MissionFish?


MissionFish helps nonprofits fundraise on eBay. It allows sellers  to give proceeds from their sales to a favorite nonprofit and it can help  nonprofits raise funds by selling on eBay too. Nonprofits can also receive  donations from eBay users through the Donate Now feature which lets anyone with  a PayPal account donate to nonprofits right away - without buying or selling  anything.

In August 2009, the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA became a  registered nonprofit with MissionFish, eBay Giving Works. It is a "win-win" for  both nonprofits and sellers. eBay sellers are encourage to give a percentage of  their proceeds to a nonprofit certified by MissionFish. Participating sellers  are rewarded for their generosity with special eBay Giving Works features that  help them get more bids and higher sale prices. The nonprofit received  recognition in the listing and of course they benefit from the seller's  success.

If you are an eBay seller you can choose to donate 10-100% of  the final sale price of an item by selecting the St. Lawrence Valley SPCA as the  beneficiary. The proceeds are sent directly to us along with an e-mail listing  the donor, item for sale, and amount and percentage of the sale donated.  MissionFish also provides a tax receipt to the Seller on behalf of the  nonprofit.

Not a seller on eBay? Our registration with MissionFish also  allows us to receive direct donations from eBay users who choose to make an  online gift with PayPal. eBay users can click on the "Donate Now" tab on the St.  Lawrence Valley SPCA "About My Non-Profit" page on eBay.com. MissionFish  collects the donation from the donor, distributes it to our organization and  provides the donor with a tax receipt.

For more information go to  MissionFish.org


  Managing Your Kitten's  Rough Play

By Sheila  Segurson, DVM. (Sheila is a veterinary shelter medicine and behavior resident at  the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Clinical  Animal Behavior Service).

Play is a very important and fun part of a  kitten's life. Teaching your kitten proper play skills and playing with him  every day will give him appropriate outlets for his energy. To decrease the  chance that he will seek out human hands and feet as play toys, don't ever play  with your kitten with your hands and feet. In your kitten's mind, a playful nip  is indistinguishable from a painful bite. He will not understand that it's not  okay to chew on or bite people unless you teach him.

If your kitten plays  with your hands or feet, make your hand or foot go limp (he's more likely to  continue attacking a moving object) and say "Ouch!" in a loud voice. Then,  pullout an interactive toy, such as a feather attached to a wand, and play with  him vigorously. You are teaching him that hands are no fun to play with, but  interactive toys are great fun because they are a challenge.

Kittens need  active play and they also like novelty, so buy several different types of  interactive toys for her and find out which ones she likes best. You should play  with the toys with your cat; do not set them out and expect her to play with  them on her own. If she is not interested in them for the first few days, give  her time, and try different toys.

One way to keep her from getting bored  with her toys is to put some of her toys out of reach, so that they are new and  exciting when you pull them out for a play session. If you do leave toys around  the house for her to play with, rotate them every few days to increase the  novelty factor. Toys that encourage the use of multiple senses (i.e., sight,  smell, hearing, touch) are often exciting for kittens. if you play with your  kitten regularly, you can engage her in fun before she decides to pounce on  you!


   Help Us Save Money!  Consider the E-Newsletter!
(if  you receive this on paper!)

What do you do with  the printed newsletter after you read it? Do you toss it into the recycling bin?  If so, consider receiving the newsletter via e-mail. It is easy to subscribe and  it will help us same money in paper and postage! Just do the  following:

Using the e-mail account where you want to receive the  newsletter send an e-mail to: newsletter@StLawrenceValleySPCA.org  . Type "Newsletter Request" for the subject line and add your name and postal  mailing address to the body of the message 9so we can be sure to delete your  address from our postal distribution list).

When you receive the  confirmation e-mail from our newsletter account just click "Reply" to send it  back to us. This will confirm that we have the correct e-mail  address.


 

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