pet connection

Although I love the idea of GPS tracking devices (need a login?) to reunite pets with their people, I think the place to start is with a collar and tag, then add a microchip and a 24-hour help service like 1-800-HELP4PETS.

I can’t tell you how many pets I’ve found who weren’t even wearing a collar, even though they obviously were someone’s well-cared-for pet. On the few occasions where I’ve found pets with tags, chances are the numbers were out of service.

Sometimes I got lucky — or rather the animals and their people did — and turned up the owner with a newspaper classified. But other times, not such good luck.

GPS? Why not. But let’s start with the basics: Put a collar and ID tag on your pet.

Now there’s Newman’s Own food for dogs and cats, too. Quite a little line he has going there, no?

From the label it looks like a pretty good product. And like all his products, a portion of the proceeds goes to charity.

For a while, I was on the board of a foundation attached to an upstart pet-food company that was trying to build a product line like this, with a large part of the proceeds going to animal charities. The company struggled for a couple of years and finally folded, but before it did we were able to give out a few thousand dollars in grants to small shelters around the country.

It’s just too hard to go up against the big guns in these industry, I guess, unless you have a recognized brand name and a lot of good feeling behind you, the way Newman’s Own does.

Thanks to J-B Wholesale Pet Supply for the heads up on this one.

Jeffrey came through surgery just fine. He comes home tomorrow.

Wow, this is huge. San Diego-based PetCo, one of the nation’s largest retailer of pet supplies, is running a trial program in four Minnesota stores in which rabbits will no longer be sold but adoptions through the Minnesota House Rabbit Society will instead be encouraged.

This is huge because this chain, along with PetsMart, has done a great deal to help fight the cruel commercial trade in puppies and kittens by not selling these animals in their stores. Instead, the two chains offer in-store space for local rescue and shelter groups.

But the sale of other pets — and the mass-production industry behind them — has continued to be the target of criticism by those who argue that the chains encourage exactly the kind of impulse pet purchasing that leads to pets being turned loose to fend for themselves or dumped on shelters and rescue groups that already have more pets than there are homes.

I hope the trial run in Minnesota is a blazing success, and that all PetCo and then all Petsmart stores trade impulse purchases for the well-considered adoptions of pets who deserve a second chance.

Here’s a piece on the program, from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, which (incredibly) played it on their front page! (Need a login?)

And speaking of second chances: Last week I adopted a rabbit from the Sacramento SPCA. His story is all-too-common: He was a throwaway, turned loose by uncaring, irresponsible people when the novelty wore off. Found roaming a residential neighborhood by some nice folks, the rabbit came to the SPCA in horrible shape. He probably would have been euthanized had it not been for his sweet and friendly personality. Named “Flakes” for his horrible skin problems, he was nursed back to health and beauty by the SPCA’s humane officer.

I noticed him when I was at the shelter last week, and knew within a few minutes of meeting him that he’d found a home.

Now re-named Jeffrey, he’s at the veterinarian’s today to be neutered (picture above). Anesthesia is a little riskier on rabbits than on dogs and cats, but my veterinarian is experienced with rabbits so I don’t anticipate any troubles. Jeffrey starts his new life in earnest tomorrow.

Rabbits are better pets than most people realize. They can be litter-trained and allowed to roam the house under supervision. When not locked outside for life in a hideously small, wire-bottomed hutched, they really blossom as individuals! More information? Try the House Rabbit Society.

Thanks to the Best Friends Animals Sanctuary for tipping me to the story.