Fun Facts About Dogs

     

When you think of a dog what comes to mind? Four legs, wet nose, wagging tail? Although we have a lot in common with dogs, like both being mammals, there are also some other characteristics about “man’s best friend” that are quite interesting. For example, did you know that all dogs have three eyelids? It’s true! Their third eyelid keeps their eyes lubricated and protected from dirt. 

     Dogs are also mentioned in the bible 14 times; that’s makes them pretty popular. Another interesting fact about dogs is that their hearts beat fifty percent faster than ours. Our heart beats an average of 80 times per minute while a dog’s heart beats up to 120. No wonder why they’re always so excited. 

     A dog’s nose is the most unique part of their body. Its nose is similar to our fingerprints. You can use a dog’s nose to identify them just like our fingerprints can identify us. 

     All of these fun facts can be helpful for you to learn more about your dog. Getting to know them better will build a stronger bond between you two as well as allow you develop a better understanding of them. Be the best dog owner that you can be and don’t just see your dog as a “pet” but as a part of your family. Don’t have a dog yet? Don’t worry! The United States has the highest population of dogs in the entire world, use that towards your advantage and adopt one today!    

Bibliography:

Photos courtesy of Google images. 

"RandomHistory.com". Random Facts. March 10 2010 .

Wall, Janet. "http://www.loveyourdog.com". How to Love your Dog. March 10 2010 .

Help PAWS save those puppies!!!

PAWS along with MJ's Sanctuary in MD have been trying desperately to save dogs in Robeson County, North Carolina who are being abused and brutally killed by staff of the shelter. There have been witnesses who have seen bleach poured on sick dogs as well as tiny puppies while their mother frantically tried to save them.   Witnesses have also seen shelter staff paying strangers off the street $20 per dog for every dog they bring into the shelter.  Though gas chambers and heart-sticking are legal forms of euthanasia in North Carolina, there have been reports that this Robeson County shelter is not abiding by the regulations of heart-sticking.


When pets are considered “unadoptable,” they can be killed through heart-sticking, which is when a poison-filled syringe is stabbed through the chest of a dog and if it hits the heart, the syringe pulsates.  When the syringe pulsates, “blue juice,” technically known as sodium pentobarbital, is injected. According to regulations, these dogs are supposed to be heavily sedated during the heart-sticking procedure and these procedures are supposed to be performed by trained personnel.


Here is a video from 1997 showing this gruesome procedure being performed on conscious, non-sedated dogs and by untrained people, resulting in excruciating pain and abuse for these abandoned dogs.  After this video was made public, a law suit was filed against Robeson County and many changes took place.  However, recent eye witness accounts suggests that these practices are still in place.  


WARNING!!!  This video is very difficult to watch and is unsuitable for underage viewers.





For over a decade, Robeson County has been caught in a battle with animal protection groups nationwide due to the inhumane treatment of it's animals.  According to the North Carolina Coalition for Humane Euthanasia’s website, “More than 250,000 homeless animals are killed in North Carolina shelters each year. According to shelter records and information from employees and volunteers, the majority of animals in many shelters are not feral, sick, or injured."


While many NC shelters still use gassing as their primary form of Euthanasia, Robeson County does not use this method.  Their predominate form of euthanasia is heart-sticking.  


It is PAWS’ mission to save these dogs from these horrific conditions in Robeson County, North Carolina. Please help PAWS save these animals by donating Pennies for Puppies, or by opening your home to an abused dog that desperately needs your help.   Click here to learn more about Pennies for Puppies.

Can you help these animals?

This week a massive fire severely damaged a rural shelter in WV killing 65+ cats and dogs. The shelter is struggling to find places for the surviving animals.

Visit their website to view a listing of animals that are still searching for a place to go.

http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14460768

If you can foster or adopt one of these animals, let us know and we can make arrangements to get the pet to you. Thanks for your generous donations and support.

PAWS made the news!!!

Shelly was interviewed along with Percy and Scout this morning on FOX 5 news in DC. It was a great opportunity for PAWS. Please spread the word how important it is to have fosters as well as donations. Because PAWS doesn't have a physical shelter we can only save as many dogs as we have foster homes.

PAWS also gets a lot of dogs that need medical treatment when they come to us. We can only help them if we have money to pay the medical bills. Donations in any amount is always appreciated.

Take a look at our video and pass it around.

The World of Transport

I've referenced transport a couple of times, but never really talked about the details of it. Transport is something that just amazes me. The amount of effort, coordination, and dedication that's shown to pull this off is impressive. Before we meet transport, we are sent what is called a "run sheet". This run sheet is incredibly detailed. It has all the drivers listed as well as meeting points, mileage between hand off points, detailed descriptions of the dogs, pick up spots, and final destination for every dog. It also has details on drivers picking up the dogs - names, phone numbers, car descriptions. Some of these stretch across the country either vertically or horizontally and some are a bit more local.

For me, I have mixed feelings when I meet transport. Of course, I'm thrilled for all the animals that are ON transport and headed to a better place. I still can't help thinking about what the poor dogs have been through to get to this point and how relieved I am they are here with me and all of the other rescue groups now. I just can't help but wonder who was left behind and if anyone will be able to help them the way these animals have been helped. I also wonder about the dog(s) I'm picking up. Will they be frightened? Will they be excited? What type of shape are they in? How stressed are they? Are they going to cry while we're driving back? I think that's the one that gets me the most. I have to drive, so I am unable to provide much comfort in that case. There's also the normal stuff like will I get there on time? Is the transport running on time? Is everyone going to have a safe drive? What's traffic like?

The number of dogs, cats, rabbits, and any other living creature moved through transport per year are unknown. The groups we work with generally have large run sheets with many dogs every time and I have seen very large run sheets for other groups. If you are involved in transport and are reading this, THANK YOU for all you do. It can't be an easy job tracking and coordinating everyone or transporting a van full of animals, but it is very much appreciated.

We Reached Our 50th Dog Adopted This Weekend!!

What a week! We officially adopted out our fiftieth dog since incorporating!! Blue, our Husky / Akita mix was our fiftieth dog to find his forever home. We also have almost 20 adoptions currently pending. We are incredibly excited about this and very appreciative of all groups and volunteers that have supported us so far. The list of thank yous is very long and includes all of the local business, veterinarians, foster homes, transporters, donors and volunteers that have supported us. You are our backbone and we could not do any of what we do without you. Thank you!

Sadie's puppies are doing great! They are at the stage where their eyes have opened. I will get some pictures up soon with some more information about how everyone's doing. I just haven't had a chance to get over there and take some pictures. As soon as I do, I'll post them here!

We had another very successful adoption event at the Sterling PetCo on Saturday. Thanks to PetCo for having us! Six of our dogs are currently pending adoption as a result and we are working to get them home as soon as possible. We are still a little backed up on spays and neuters, but have been creatively finding other ways in order to get our dogs home. Hopefully things will be back to normal next week! Well, normal on that front anyway. I'm pretty sure nothing is ever "normal" in the world of rescue. ;)

Puppies, Spay and Neuter Problems Continue, Adoption Issues...Yup Another Week at the Rescue!

Well, we're wrapping up another week here at PAWS and what a week it's been! First off, let me get to the cute! Sadie's nine pups are doing fantastically and are growing well. Sadie has been such a great mom - we haven't even had to supplement the puppies with formula. She's also bounced back very well from the birth. They turned a week old on Friday! At this point of their development, their eyes have not yet opened and they are still unable to hear. We should be seeing them open their eyes in the next week or two with the ears shortly after! Without further ado, pictures of the little babies:



Sadie is doing very well with me coming and looking at her puppies. She got a little nervous when I was holding the black and white one, so I was unable to get a picture of him...didn't want to stress mama out!

What started out a mostly quiet week, most certainly did not end that way. Wednesday, we received an email from someone who was supposed to have an adoption finalized this Sunday. They had discussed it as a family and had too many reservations about the dog to be comfortable with the adoption and chose not to go through with it. While it was disappointing that we did not find the dog a forever home, I know I am appreciative of the family for being honest enough with themselves (and us!) and not going through with the adoption. It is a much better option than going through with the adoption only to regret it and potentially return the dog.

Thursday we were supposed to have four dogs spayed and neutered. None of these things happened. Two dogs came down kennel cough and it was recommended they not be neutered until they had been on antibiotics for a couple weeks. One dog had something going on with her ears and the other had a bit of an upset stomach and it was advised he not be neutered. So, we're back to being behind getting some of the dogs fixed. Hopefully things will clear up nicely and we can get them in as soon as they rebound. The dog with the upset stomach is back to normal and everyone else is well on their way to recovery.

Thursday night, I also went out to meet a potential new foster dog. What I knew about him was he was a Pomeranian who needed rehoming and had some problems with the kids in the house. Having a soft spot for Poms (my current foster is a 14 year old Pom), I agreed to go out and meet the dog and potentially take him in as a foster. So, off I went to go meet the dog and his family!

I showed up and was welcomed by his family - all of whom were very nice. Unfortunately, the dog was not appreciative of my presence. Every attempt I made to get close to him ended in him either gnawing on me, going after my legs, or some serious growling. I've never had a dog be that aggressive towards me, nevermind a Pomeranian. It saddened to tell the family that we would be unable to help at this time - we just don't have the resources available at this time to give him the type of training and help he needs. He was very sweet with his family, but he would try to bite anyone who came near them. Living in a populated area with no yard, he could not come live with me since he couldn't be trusted out on a walk. We also would not be able to bring him to adoption events with the behaviors he is showing.

Not having the resources to help a dog who needs it is certainly one of the harder parts of rescue work. I had to remind myself (and have some of our board members remind me) that we can't save them all...as much as we'd like to. I hope things work out for this little guy. He shows promise, but will need some intense work with a trainer to turn around. I've definitely been thinking about him since Thursday.

Saturday morning, the lovely folks at Bark 'n Bubbles and All Friends Pet Care held the first K-92k and Doggie Expo. They were gracious enough to invite us to sell prepackaged food and drinks to the participants. Thank you to Bark 'n Bubbles and All Friends for thinking of us! Every little bit certainly helps when it comes to fundraising. During the event, I ran into one of our past puppies who went home a couple weeks ago. She's doing great and getting big!

We also had a FANTASTIC adoption event on Saturday and now have seven dogs pending adoption. Reggie, Al, Angel, Blue, Docky, Red, and Rusty (the puppy) all had great applications and will hopefully be going home within the next week or two. Thanks to the Sterling PetSmart and to everyone who came out to see us! As always, a HUGE thank you to all of our volunteers for your help this week.