National Hairball Awareness Day

I am the perfect choice to present today's subject. I'm Rusty, and my coat is the floofiest - longest and thickest - of all the Funny Farmers. I'm also uncooperative and won't stay still when Jan tries to brush me. She wants to keep me from swallowing my hair and hacking up hairballs. I prefer to hack up hairballs in unexpected places. I'm a hack cat. Being obstinate is natural to me. Enough said.

We joined with Romeo and FURminator for National Hairball Awareness Day -  Friday, April 30 - with a badge in our sidebar through the month of April.

To observe the day, we'd like to give you a few facts on the cat: feline wellness, aging, instincts and the dreaded hairball! *Provided by FURminator, Inc.

Did you know?:

• When a cat coughs up a hairball, it is actually choking. This hacking can be dangerous and can cause death in some cases. Cats will over-groom themselves, especially in the spring during peak shedding season. To reduce the amount of hair ingested, and the corresponding hack that follows, many veterinarians recommend the FURminator deLuxe deShedding Tool for cats; it’s a safe, natural and holistic way to lessen the amount of hair cats ingest.

• Cats have primal instincts and the location of their water bowl can prove it. In the wild a cat would never drag its kill to a watering hole to eat and drink at the same time. House cats have inherited this same instinct. Owners should keep a cat’s water bowl in a separate location than their food bowl. Cats will drink more water (and this increase will help their system clean itself of ingested hair).

• A cat’s age can affect how they shed. As a kitten matures their coat changes in several ways - texture, thickness, curl and coloring. This transition may take up to two years depending on the breed. Once a kitten’s coat has matured they will begin to shed more by dropping their “kitten coat”. Consult with a veterinarian or groomer on when a cat’s grooming needs change.

• Keep cats active to stay healthy; they’re athletes at heart. A healthy cat can jump as much as seven times its height and yet 21 percent of cats are considered obese or overweight by their veterinarians. Interactive toys with feathers on the end will encourage cats to leap, stretch and stay active. Keeping cats active will help them maintain a healthy skin and coat, as well as increase balance and coordination.

Even though Jan has a mind like a sieve, she's still doing something right. She keeps our food and water bowls separate. We have one cat food bowl hemmed in on the dryer so the dogs can't reach it and one high on a shelf. The giant water bowls sit on the floor.   Now she knows why we drink more water than some cats do.  Of course, she'll forget why this is a good thing before breakfast, but our water bowls will still remain on the floor.  Because except for Buddy, the dogs do not climb on the furniture - we're not talking couch here, we mean desk or washing machine type furniture.

For those of you on Twitter, Romeo's human will be conducting a Twitter interview “twitterview” with FURminator’s cat expert, Dr. Arnold Plotnik at 12:00 p.m. EST on Friday the 30th.  If you can make it, tune in.  Dr. Plotnik's twitter handle is @thecatexpert and the Twitterview hashtag will be #NHAD.  And when you get a chance, stop by Dr. Plotnik's feline blog, Cat Man Do.

And if you haven't already voted for Tivi, please pop over and vote for his photo. You won't need to sign up or to vote daily. If you don't know Tivi or why we're voting for him, we have a post on this here.


Have a purring and tail wagging day.

JFF Writes Reader's Digest

Cotton here with a letter to the editor of Reader's Digest. We recently read something in the magazine which has bothered us.  Today we decided we need to politely voice our concerns on the subject.  We think it's pretty self-explanatory. 

Dear Editor,


We were astounded to read Ask Laskas' response to Rescue Us about barking dogs in the April 2010 issue. She said, "Bark collar. It's safe and humane and follows the same training principle as the popular invisible fence. When the dog barks, he hears a warning beep. If he continues barking, he gets a small 'correction' in the form of an unpleasant jolt. ...I would never recommend something harmful."


Laskas is giving advice to readers, advice at least some of them will take, so we're curious -- is Laskas giving advice from personal experience? Did she use a a bark collar on her four dogs? More importantly, has she tested a bark collar on herself? Is she aware that using "positive punishment" can have negative results?


Dog Injured by Bark Collar at Dallas Kennel.


Are Shock Collars Safe for Dogs?


There can also be problems with using the citronella spray collars Laskas recommended.


As to "the popular invisible fence," yes, the invisible fence is commonly used today, but the gas chamber was the accepted method of killing shelter animals for decades and still is in many areas. "Popularity" or common usage does not make the gas chamber "humane." Nor does it automatically make bark collars and invisible fencing humane. We recently did a post on Jan's Funny Farm blog on this subject, titled "Merci on Invisible Abuse."


Forgive us if this sounds as if we're trying to berate Laskas, but she casually advised readers to use a bark collar and compared it to using an invisible fence, and in our opinion there is nothing casual about either subject. It is our hope she will do some research on this subject for the sake of both her and her readers' dogs.

Sincerely,
The Funny Farmers -
Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam

Hope you all have a purring and tail wagging day. We're off now to nap. Writing a letter is hard work!

National Kids and Pet Day Winner

This is Buddy. Today we're announcing the winner of the drawing for the $20 Care-a-Lot gift card.Since this is our first giveaway, we're kind of excited.  One of us is overly eager as you'll learn about in a moment.

We asked Jan to write all the names on slips of paper and put them into one of our clean food bowls so she could videotape one of us picking the winner.  We wouldn't be able to post the video since she can't work with MOV files but we figured we could pull some photos from the video to post.  Well, Miss Molasses almost missed the whole process, although she did manage to videotape the criminal publicity hound that took over so quickly she barely had time to push the button before the criminal publicity hound grabbed a name and tried to eat the winning ticket.


I'm Sam. Whoohoo! I got my nose in the bowl first so I got to pick the winning name. Here I am reporting for selection duty.


And thinking very carefully.Hey, Jan, you do know there aren't any treats in the bowl, don't you? You couldn't even toss in one?

And the winner is ...
Sorry the picture isn't very clear, but the winner is Life from a Cat's Perspective with Samantha, Clementine & Maverick.  As soon as we get their human's name and mailing address, their gift card will be on its way.

We would like to thank each and every one of you who participated in this giveaway, as well as those who were unable to but were supportive. We think you are all winners.

In case you missed any of the entries, you can find them scattered in four JFF posts:
First Entry and Tiger Lily
Latest Entries and Pet Peace of Mind
Kids and Pets Entries
And the final entry is included below --

One entry didn't make it into yesterday's post but was included in the drawing, so we're adding it here. We know you'll enjoy this photo too. It's at We 3 Doxies. This is the description emailed to us: "This is my daughter with our dachshund Albert. They are the true meaning of unconditional love."

Special thanks to Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul for partnering with us on this. It was a fun subject and one we really enjoyed posting on.

We were not paid to hold the contest. It was a "labor of love." And any opinions expressed were purely our own.

National Kids and Pet Day

Thank you KC of the Cat Blogosphere for making and sharing this neat graphic for today.

The deadline for entries in our Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul giveaway was noon EDT today. We are posting the last group of entries here for you to enjoy. A winning name will be drawn and posted tomorrow, April 27. We wish each of you good luck in the drawing. Again, we are posting them in the order received.

There definitely is not enough room in Trixie's house for both her and Keiko and Luna T. Katt's nephew Christian. But they're still good friends.

Khyra's entry highlights an important aspect of the kids and pet relationship -- preparing to say good-bye.

Samantha and Clementine posted photos of the granddaughterbean and explained why they believe kids should have pets.

Our family cat-a-blog has an intriguing title, "Three First born sons and a first cat," and photos to correspond.

A family with three boys should have at least one dog to play with. The grandsons at Scout and Freyja's have two -- plus their Mimi's dogs.

The Zoolatry Human focuses on the getting acquainted process of youngest grandson Arjun and Zoey.

We appreciate the wide range of entries, from young baby meeting pet to children learning there comes a time they have to let go. All the entries, not just those on this page,  havel done a great job of  expressing the special bond between kids and pets.

And if you haven't already voted for Tivi, please pop over and vote for his photo. You won't need to sign up or to vote daily. If you don't know Tivi or why we're voting for him, we have a post on this here.

You can vote here.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Kids and Pet Entries

Update: Ignore any comments about a birthday. There was a mix-up on the CB and it's been corrected. No birthdays here today. :-)

I'm Sam. And I'm probably the last Funny Farmer you'd expect to be introducing the latest entries into our Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul Kids and Pet giveaway but I'll try not to step on any toes or knock any children down while I show you around.

Our first entrant for today doesn't have her own blog so we're posting her entry here for you.  We hope you all remember we will be drawing a name. It would be hard to choose.  All the entries we've had so far (the contest ends at noon EDT on Monday, April 26) have been great. If you have forgotten the rules or need to put your post url in the comments, click here. Time is running out so light a fire under your human if you need help to participate. Well, not an actual fire. You know what I mean.

Rita's entry is of her 4-year-old daughter Kat and Kasper, a 5-year-old male American Eskimo.

Truly Best Friends

The most recent blog post entries in the order in which they were received --

Goodness Gracie and the human grandaughter have become great friends because they are gentle and give each other space.

Kids and pets go naturally together, even if The Kool~Kitty~Krew's King is an armful times three.

We can not imagine a Miss Peach entry without photos of her with grandbeans Cole and Ellie -- and Ellie's kitty too.

Sweet Praline posts about a special bonding experience and includes a photo of herself with two of her mom's nephews.

Kat's Kats entered a March birthday post about her son and his cats. As a baby he had his own Guard Cat.

Sally Ann became a lifeguard -- or is that impersonated a lifeguard? Whichever, she helped keep her charge safe in the pool.

We've added a couple of cars and a Mother's Day design to our Zazzle store if you care to check them out.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

PS -- Zippy, Sadie & Speedy are also having a Kids and Pet giveaway on their blog.  You can enter their contest by leaving a comment about why you think kids need pets.

Cyndi on CH Kittens

You've probably forgotten who I am. I'm Cyndi. And I'd like to present to you today two special humans who have/are dealing with cats with Cerebellar Hypoplasia. We posted a link to a video on this subject back in October of 2009. You can find the video link here.

This subject came up because a new blogging friend is fostering a cat with two small kittens that have been diagnosed with severe CH. She has been struggling with what to do for them. A shelter automatically euthanizes such animals and since this blogger is only fostering, she doesn't own the kittens, so she has been agonizing over what to do and even whether she would be allowed to make a decision for the kittens.

Jan sent the blog link to her friend Evelyn who raised Deter and Dusty, two CH cats, and Evelyn sent the blogger an email summarizing her experience with Deter and Dusty. We asked if we can share her email and not only did she agree but she sent us photos of her handsome guys.



Aren't they cute?  Dusty is the lighter one and  Deter is the darker.


Anyway, this is Evelyn's experience with raising two special needs kitties. 








Hello,


A dear friend sent me your web site because she knew I'd been in your shoes.




 Back in 1999, after fostering a lot of adult cats and kittens, I was given a pregnant soon to be mama. She gave birth to four beautiful babies, which I put in a large box in my bedroom closet for privacy. When after 4 weeks she hadn't brought them out to learn about their new world, I did only to be shocked at seeing them not being able to walk. Or should I say walk normally. In the past I'd had crippled cats, but not as babies.

There were two females, and two males. I didn't know what to do so I went to the vet who had already seen mama cat. She checked all four over and told me about Cerebellar Hypoplasia. What???? She gave me information on this condition, and I also wrote to other vets, and vet hospitals about it. Learning it was a permanent disability was not good news. I had hoped it was something they (only the two males had it) would grow out of. I worked with the smaller male to teach him to walk and to focus since he was very content to sit and watch his siblings play. I named him Dusty since he was like a little dustball. His brother seemed more determined to do what his sisters did regardless of how clumsy he looked. I named him Deter because of this.


At 8 weeks or so, the two females were adopted, and I was certain I could find just the right home for 'my boys'. I made a special poster with their photos on and placed them in nearby vet hospitals. I received several calls of interest, but none wanted them 'if' they would not be normal. If they had been blind, deaf, with three legs it would be okay, but not this permanent disability. Little did I know then their forever home would be with me.


I've have been so blessed by them being a part of my life. Dusty would make it four years. With my daughter's, and grandaughter's help, physical therapy gave him his own way of walking, eating and drinking. He developed a heart problem; while Deter developed a urinary problem. Special diet for each, but that was okay. I didn't mind the extra time and energy it took to care for them. When the day came I knew Dusty had had enough of this life; two of my children went with me to the vet. She reminded me to give Deter more attention now because of the loss of his brother. I did even though I had a special rescued female, Precious. The three of us moved to Maine, where Precious lived out the remainder of her life.


Now it's just Deter and I, and I wouldn't want it any other way. Yes, he has a paper box, not a litter box. Yes, he has tremors which makes it hard for him to eat. Yes, he falls way too many times, but I can see how much he loves life. Where we are he can watch chipmunks, squirrels and birds. In 2008 I bought a pet stroller for him, so I have company on my daily walks.            He's a little ham in that he loves humans or dogs to stop and say hello. He is quite a joy, and shows me everyday to love life just as I am. He is my best bud, my cuddle muffin in bed and such a sweet cat I don't know if I would want a 'normal cat' again. I love him dearly and believe we were meant to be together.


I hope my story will be of some help.


Most sincerely,
Evelyn Cooper, Ocean Park, Me

That is one story of CH kittens. The story of the two kittens that prompted this post is still up in the air. We have been moved by the way the "foster mom" blogger has gotten a diagnosis and is weighing her options, trying to learn what she can legally do as the foster mom and what she should do that is best for the kittens.   Should they be euthanized or adopted out? Taking on special needs pets is a big responsibility and requires extra time.  Not everyone would take on the challenge or have the extra time to invest. (It was never the foster mom's intention to keep any of the kittens, whether or not they are healthy, and keeping either or both is not an option.)

You can tell this has been weighing on Kittykye the blogger's mind and she is determined to do her best for these kittens, no matter what the outcome. We hope you will go by her blog and leave her an encouraging message because she obviously cares deeply for these two kittens. At the moment, she's cautiously optimistic and has decided not to make a decision for another week. Kittens can make progress in a week.  So we're optimistic these two kittens might become another Dusty and Deter story. 

If you aren't aware of it yet, Tesla is having a Clean + Green giveaway. We reviewed the product last year and really liked it so we thought we would help Tesla and the CB get the word out. If you haven't tried C+G before or you'd like to win some of the product, click here to read the details.

And Monday the 26th is drawing closer so be sure to get your entry in for our Kids and Pet giveaway.

Merci on Invisible Abuse

I'm Merci. It's my turn to post and there's something I want to bring to everyone's attention today.
I'm a very nervous dog and easily scared. I never had to tell Jan I was abused before we met.  She figured it out even before the first time the leash got tangled around her leg and she lifted her foot to free herself. I took off so fast the leash zipped tightly around her leg and nearly took her down. The other dogs don't move if they're in Jan's way. They expect her to step over them. But if she tries that with me, I leap up, screeching and trip her. Six years later I'm still terrified of raised feet or unexpected movement. 

So I'm not fond of anyone who hurts a furry and from what I've learned about invisible fences makes me even more grateful to Matthew, Kay and all those involved in helping us get the Romper Room set up so we can have some freedom.

Invisible fences seem to have become pretty popular for a variety of reasons. The shock, no matter what proponents claim, has to be painful, yet dogs do get past the "fence." And today we found an article we think describes the drawbacks better than we could since we've only read about them and never dealt with one.  But our thought on the subject is that anyone who wants to put one on their dog should be required to have to wear a matching shock collar so they can have as much fun as the dog is having.  That would quickly put an end to this fad.

How Do You Define Animal Abuse? By Suzannah Sloan

To quote Mark Twain, "The more I know people, the more I love my dog." While I've met up with many truly good people in my three decades of animal rescue work, I've also come across some of the worst of the worst - among them, the ones who choose to profit off the misery of animals. Who comes to mind? Those who run puppy mills, of course, and those who enrich themselves through dog-fighting and dog racing, horse racing, rodeos and circuses. And right up there on the list - the manufacturers and purveyors of invisible fencing.

The horrors of invisible fencing are becoming legion. From pets who take the shock to leave the yard, but won't come back, to pets with probe burns right through the neck, to pets who are dinner for raccoons, coyotes, and other animals who don't happen to wear the torture collars. And the list goes on.

A woman once inquired about adopting a dog from us, and questioned our policy of not adopting to anyone with invisible fencing. She said she had chosen the product because she didn't want to block her wonderful view, and claimed it had been a godsend for her dog and her eight-year-old son. But when I asked how the boy had adjusted to wearing the collar, she was actually offended that I would think she would abuse her child in such a way. Need I say more? You can read the rest of the article here.

If you haven't voted for Tivi yet, please do. If you don't know who Tivi is, he's a special needs dog adopted by a kind man. We posted on Tivi before. Details here, if you need them.

Lance - now known as Sampy -- is a blind kitty cats and humans were tweeting and emailing about the other day. He was rescued from the shelter just 2 hours before his scheduled euthanasia so he could be shipped to his new home in another state. Thursday eve we saw this message on the CB from Whicky Wuudler and since we have to get off the computer ASAP, we're going to borrow his words:

HELP NEEDED! Lance was pulled at the last minute from the kill shelter and his life saved. He has been renamed Sampson EmmCee by his adopter in NY but before he is able to travel to his new home, he needs some veterinary care. Sampy has seen the vet and he has tested positive for FiV (His adoptive Mum still wants him though) He also has pneumonia and a URI. As if that weren’t enough for the poor lad, one of his eyes needs to be removed. Sampy is still in the care of a very kind foster who has experience with blind cats, he’s getting great care, medicines and special foods and of course, all of this costs many dollars. Sampson’s Catster page is where his future adoptive Mum Cheri writes about how he is doing. Believe Cat Rescue is coordinating donations to help meet dear Sampy’s vet and care needs ($500). If any cats or beans would like to contribute to Sampson’s treatment then Sampson would be one very happy cat. We know that times are hard right now and everyone is feeling the pinch, but even the smallest donation will count big time. His future adoptive Mum is contributing all she can to the costs too. Please help Sampy if you can. Thank you 

And Monday the 26th is drawing closer so be sure to get your entry in for our Kids and Pet giveaway.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Entertainment Coming Soon

It's my turn to post today. I'm Cameron and I have some fun news.

The Funny Farmer kitties will soon be ordering a scratching post. We cats and dogs got together and asked Jan if we can have an entertainment center but she said a fancy scratching post for the kitties and the Romper Room for us woofies is all the entertainment we're getting.

Okay, so we won't be getting an entertainment center any time soon  We're still really looking forward to trying out our scratching tree. It's much taller than our current posts.  At the moment our favorite scratching post is anything handy we're not supposed to scratch.

There is, however, one hitch we foresee for Jan. We figure the scratching post is too tall to be shipped as all one piece, so it will undoubtedly arrive in pieces to be assembled  And we all know how adept Jan isn't at assembling things. She doesn't know it yet but we're already planning to pop corn, pour niptinis and tuna juice, and fall off the furniture while laughing like hyenas. 

Oh, wait.  Guess this means we are getting an entertainment center after all. Neat! Excuse me a minute, I'm just going to go check to make sure we have plenty of popcorn on hand. This will be one show we won't want to be late for. We might even sell tickets or hold a raffle to watch Jan entertain us as she tries to put the cat tree together by herself.

The abandoned kitty in need of vetting and a home we mentioned in yesterday's post was adopted.-- by the humans who were trying to find him a home because they couldn't keep him. Some folks are just a little slow to catch on when we felines find the home of our choice. They've been calling him Gutter Kitty. Now they're taking a vote to pick an actual name. You can view the choices and vote here if you'd like.

Don't forget to enter our kids and pet photo contest. It closes at noon EDT on April 26.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Rusty on Animal Welfare

Hi, I'm Rusty. I have been very fortunate and have never known abuse like so many furries do. I had a good home but was turned in to the local shelter when I was a year old. If a home had not been found for me when my time was up, my owner was prepared to come back to rescue me.  She was an older woman who was afraid of falling and breaking bones because I liked to tell her how much I loved her by rubbing against her legs.

But Jan came racing into the shelter one day after seeing my photo in the newspaper and adopted me -- sight unseen. She thought I would be perfect company for her mother since her mother's skin was delicate and I don't have front claws.. Boy, did she get a shock when she came back to lift me out of one of the top cages.  I'm huge. But I was the perfect cat.  I could rub against her mother's legs all I wanted without tripping her and I wasn't afraid of her wheelchair. We only had about ten months together but we really bonded. Even though I have a good life now with a big family, I still miss her.

Since I'm having a good life, I want every furry to have a happy life too. Lots of cuddling, treats, good food, a warm bed in winter, a good brushing when I'm in the mood and the opportunity to give the human a swat when I'm not, a screen door when the weather is nice.and a window when the weather is bad.

Jan has told us repeatedly that she believes in animal welfare but not animal rights. Why? Because she deeply believes that humans should treat animals with kindness, not abuse them or slaughter animals to be used for food inhumanely, and that teaching children to be kind to pets helps mold better character and develop empathy.

We all believe here that animal welfare and animal rights are not synonymous. We understand them to have different agendas, programs and goals.

We came across this video titled The Truth About HSUS  (the Humane Society of the United States). Perhaps it will help a little to explain why we are for promoting the welfare of animals but we do not support the animal rights movement.

UPDATE: Wednesday 11:PM We learned this video has been removed by the user from YouTube. It's been making the rounds. Wonder why it was pulled?



If the video doesn't play, click here.

We've been asked by a friend to mention an abandoned kitty in the Mobile, Alabama area that has adopted a family that can't keep him and he needs a home. Very pretty, friendly cat. Can you rescue it or adopt it?  He has a wound in his side and hasn't been neutered, so he would need some vetting. You can read the details here.

Don't forget to enter our kids and pet photo contest. It closes at noon EDT on April 26.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Help Tivi Win

We posted about a special needs dog named Tivoli on March 1. He needed a forever home. You can read our post here.

On April 5 we were very happy to do another post on Tivi, who had found his forever home with Jonathan. What we said then still goes. We think he is so cute we just want to hug him.  You can find that post here.

Jon opened a photo blog at www.tivi.tumblr.com. We love the pictures of Tivi and the captions are cute. We can just imagine the fun Tivi is having experiencing life and having adventures in a world where he's loved and not abused, as he was before he was rescued. 

A couple of days ago Angela Adams sent a message to the members of the Facebook page "Tivi has been adopted."  Tivi has been entered in a photo contest. The winner will get a free 2 night stay at The Sunriver Resort and a complimentary photo shoot at the resort.

We think it would be great if this kind man who gave a home to a special needs dog and opened a blog to keep Tivi's fans updated on his new life wins the vacation.  So we'd like to ask you to help. 

Please spare a minute to go vote for Tivi's photo.  You won't need to sign up or to vote daily.  Just visit, click and vote. 

If Tivi is among the five dogs with the most votes by the end of the day on May 10, your vote would be needed once more, to help Tivi win. Thanks to all of you who we know will take the time to go vote.

You can vote here. 

And when you do, notice the caption by Randa Speck:
Tivi lived at the Humane Society of the Ochocos in Prineville for almost 2 years.  He taught us that not all gifts come wrapped in pretty paper.

In other words, despite his scars, Tivi is one handsome dude! From the inside out.

Don't forget to enter our kids and pet photo contest. It closes at noon EDT on April 26.
Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Latest Entries and Pet Peace of Mind

I'm Cotton. Since I'm the oldest, I asked to do today's post on a very important subject.

Manx Mnews has written an important post on Pet Peace of Mind, an organization which helps hospice patients keep pets home with them during a patient's last days.  Pets are excellent company and comforting to have around. It's sad when pets and their humans must be separated and the owner worries about the fate of the pet after he or she has died.

"One of the most difficult parts of dying involves saying goodbye to those you love most. Many hospice patients must part with their beloved pets at the time when they need them most because they have no one to help with pet care and expenses. Some pets are left homeless when the patient dies. Our hospice patient/pet support program, Pet Peace of Mind, provides non-profit hospices with resources and funding to help hospice patients care for their pets. Over the past eight months, more than 100 hospices nationwide have contacted us and are interested in starting the program for their patients. To find out more about Pet Peace of Mind, visit www.petpeaceofmind.org."

We have a video on the subject.



If the video doesn't play, click here.
 
Peace of Mind has been selected to compete for a $250,000 grant from Pepsi. Your daily vote for them, under the project name Help Hospice Patients Keep Their Pets, is needed through the month of April. Imagine yourself at such a point in your life and you will realize this is a very worthwhile daily minute of your time.

For details on where and how to vote, either visit Manx Mnews or Banfield Charitable Trust - Bark the Vote.

Or --

Go to http://www.refresheverything.com/helphospicepatientskeeptheirpets
Click on "vote for this idea."

On your first visit you will need to register. Don't panic, ignore "Connect with Facebook."
Fill in your email address.
     Do you have a Pepsi password?
     (check) You are new.
     Or type in your password, if you've registered before.

Next they will ask for first & last name & birthdate. Create a password. If you can't read the 2 words they give you to prove you aren't a robot, hit "refresh."

When you're signed up, you'll be back on voting page. Click on the vote button.

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We have a graphic on our sidebar but the print is kind of hard to read, so we'd like to post it here.
Our Rose of Rose and the Royals is an original member of the Cat Blogosphere. Rose and the Royals are in need of our help at this time.  If you can help, please email KC@catblogosphere DOT com (you know how to put it together) for details.

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Don't forget to enter our kids and pet photo contest. It closes at noon EDT on April 26.

We posted Sherry's entry the other day and although we mentioned Noll's Nip, we neglected to give you a link to his story.  Noll, we apologize.  This time, if you click on Noll's Nip, you can visit his blog and read his entry.

Alasandra, the Cats & a Dog (Scylla, Socks, Artemesia & Fenris) has posted a pet story from Alasandra's childhood.  We think Happy Hoppy is a cute name for a 4-year-old's rabbit..  We hope she's going to post the snapping turtle story soon.

And Marks Mews (Ayla & Iza) has sent in a "brave" entry.  It's about his kid sisters and their cat Hey You Hai U, and you know how brave a big brother has to be to tell stories on little sisters. <big grin>

You can see the happiness on Momsbusy's (Kazoku Neko) grandbean's face as she hugs her Manning. Manning looks pretty contented himself.

Great entries, all of those submitted to date. We're looking forward to more examples of the kids and pet bond.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Doggie Underground

We hope you are planning to enter our kids and pet photo contest. We can't wait to see your entry. Details here.

We found this information on the canine underground railroad interesting. We weren't aware one existed, although we know some of you volunteer regularly to transport dogs being moved from a kill situation to a temporary foster or a forever home. We hope each of you who do are greatly blessed by your kindness and generosity to these animals in need.


Volunteers lend hand to 'doggie underground'
By Gregory Korte

On a recent weekend, three dogs scheduled to be killed at rural Kentucky dog pounds were loaded into the back of a car and driven north, across the river and into Cincinnati, where a couple north of town gave them sanctuary for the night.

Within 24 hours, they would be in Canada.

Bill and Karen Bretz are a stop on what they call "the Doggie Underground Railroad" - a chain of dozens of volunteers who take dogs from southern states and carry them through Cincinnati on their way to new owners.

Indeed, the comparison to the 19th-century network used to secret slaves to freedom is uncanny, says Bill, a retired history teacher. "It follows almost the same darn route," he says.   Read the rest of the story here. 

If interested, here is another story on the subject -- Doggie Underground Railroad Spares Pups from Death.

First Entry and Tiger Lily

Merci, here with some good news.

We received our first kids and pet photo by email shortly after we posted about the contest. Sherry.doesn't have a blog, so we are posting her entry here.

I just had to send this photo of Michel when he was visiting with us Thanksgiving.  He is in our back yard running with Jazz.  One reason this is so special is he had a Golden Retriever who had to be put to sleep a couple of years ago and he misses Maggie so much.  It brings so much joy to my heart when he comes, for Benji and Jazz love him to pieces.  He snuggles with them and they just eat it up.  The other photo is of Michael and Maggie, Robin (his mother) has put it in the entryway of her home so you see it when you first come in.  I absolutely love it!  She is so creative!

Noll's Nip left a link to their entry (which is on his own blog) this morning.  Thanks, Sherry and Noll for getting this off to a great start. You can find the giveaway details on yesterday's post..

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Tiger Lily's mom has posted a beautiful tribute to her dad. We are sad for her loss.  If you haven't already, perhaps you can stop by and leave a comment.  You can visit her here.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul

Hi, we wanted to be fair, so we drew dust bunnies .  Since I drew the largest I won, so I get to announce our first giveaway.  In case you've forgotten, I'm Percy.

April 26 is National Kids and Pet Day and we are helping Chicken Soup for the Pet Lovers Soul encourage you to celebrate pets and their importance in the lives of their humans, especially children.

As pet bloggers, we are a close-knit community that laughs together and mourns together. We believe pets should be a part of every child's life and an integral part of his or her good character education.

I'm afraid this contest is open to US residents only.

This will be a very easy contest. All you have to do is post a photo of a kid with a pet and tell us about it. The photo can be of you with a beloved childhood pet, a picture of your child(children) or a relative, neighbor or friend's child with a pet. You can tell us about the photo with a story or with just a sentence or two. For example, how the pet got its name, a game the child likes to play with it, places the two like to go together, a previous pet the one in the photo reminds you of, the child's initial reaction to bringing home the pet ..... Just something about the special bond between child and pet.

After you post the photo on your blog, leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog post. Only comments left on this post will be accepted from bloggers.

But if you don't have a blog, you can still enter. Just email the photo and description to us -- jansfunnyfarm AT gmail DOT com -- and we'll post it here for you.

The contest runs until noon EDT on Monday, April 26. After that we will print out all the names and put them into a hat. Well, a hat, or a mug, or a shoe -- whatever is handy at the time. We'll draw a winner's name and announce it on the 27th.

The winner will receive a $20 Care-a-lot gift card.

Have fun and good luck! 

Disclosure: As those of you that know us are aware, any opinions expressed here are our own. Even Jan doesn't get to convey an opinion unless we agree with it and give her permission to express it in our journal.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Visiting Snuzzy

We have a few minutes online while Jan grabs a snack (peanut butter on bagel, which she will eat all by herself and not share with us!), so we popped round to Snuzzy's over at Dogster.  We haven't had a chance to drop by for a while.  Skeezix writes the Cat's Meow for Dogster, and he pitched in to help Snuzzy a while back when he was moving.  Uh, maybe we better be clear -- Snuzzy was moving, not Skeezix.. Skeez posted for Snuzzy temporarily. If you haven't been by, or haven't been by in a while, he has some cute photo posts.

Well, here comes Jan, so we have to get off the computer.

Oh, we almost forgot to leave a link.  You can visit Snuzzy at http://snuzzy.com/.  

Have a purring and tail wagging day!

Sulphur Creek 360

Jan is sunburned, barking and honking with allergies, still has a healing toe, and is so grumpy we are trying to avoid her. So this is going to be a quick post.

We have some new designs added to our Zazzle store. Several spay/neuter, adopt a shelter pet and 3 or 4 remakes of original designs. Jan has put in a lot of hours on them since she still doesn't know what she's doing in Photoshop Elements, so we hope you will go by for to check them out at our Zazzle store.

Since we're short of time, we decided to do something different. We did something similar once before.  This is a 360 degree view of Sulphur Creek, Utah. Beautiful country, but not somewhere we'd want to get lost.  You can view it by clicking here.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.. 

Furry Tractor Music

First, we want to congratulate Keiko and Luna for winning the Easter contest hosted by Socks, Scylla, Artemesia and Fenris ( and their mom). Buddy was in second place but they won by a landslide.

While Jan soothes today's sunburn acquired at the car club benefit for the local Humane Society, we are told we can't use the computer but a few minutes, as she has to process all the photos she took today to post on the HS blog. She's still honking and barking, which interrupts our naps, so we wish she would go to bed instead. We sure hope allergy season ends soon!

We don't want you to forget us, so we are going to post a furry tractor music video for your amusement. We're telling you up front there aren't any furries in the video -- the furries are posting the video.We just thought it was fun.  Kind of like dancing with Billy Sweetfeet, only it's tractor - guitar music to set your paws a-tapping.  Just don't tap them near the engine.



If the video doesn't play, click here.

Have a purring and tail wagging weekend.

Asking for Directions

We have enjoyed this video each time we've watched it, so we decided to share it in with you today.  This is one of those jokes we wish we could have seen in person but the camera catches  the  humans' reactions.  Have fun.



If the video doesn't play, click here.

Jan is very sick with allergies, so if we don't post Friday and/or Saturday, we'll be busy picking up paper towels as Jan tosses them at the trash can.  Yes, you read that right.  She gave up on tissues and moved on to paper towels a couple days ago.

A local car club is hosting a benefit for our Humane Society  Saturday.  Last year's was a success. She really wants to be there Saturday to take photos for herself and the Humane Society.  Cross your paws she's able to attend.  

Have a purring and tail wagging day!

Get Well and Contests

Today we're joining other bloggers in purring for our friend Daisy.  Her mom noticed her eyes didn't look right the other day and rushed her to the vet. She was diagnosed with anterior uveitis, an inflammation of the uvea of the eye. Get well, Daisy!









Don't forget to vote for your favorite entry in SSA&F's Easter contest here.  There are some cute kitties and a couple of woofies participating.

And Baby Patches is having a Terrible Two contest to celebrate her 2nd birthday. We already entered out terrible thing. Well, Sam entered his. The rest of us are such angels we couldn't come up with an entry. (Why is Jan laughing and coughing?)

We hope you will forgive us if we make this short today -- actually tonight, Wednesday. Jan is having a hard time with allergies lately.  The worst she's had in years.  And she says we need to shut down early so she can get some rest cause all that yellow oak tree pollen has constipated her brain.  Or do we mean clogged her brain?  Maybe we better just say good night and put this on auto post. 

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

Dog Pack Rescue

We wrote a paragraph on the tragic death of Shari Johannes, owner of Dog Pack Rescue, in Georgia a couple of months ago and mentioned the shelter is closing down -- which it was. However, the rescue will not be closing. Her mission to pull death row dogs from high kill shelters and to find a home for each will continue. 

Since Dog Pack Rescue did so much good, we wish them much success in the future.

And don't forget to drop by Alasandra's and vote for your favorite post in her Easter contest. There are some cute entries.

Have a purring and tail wagging day.
 

Bad Whisker Day

The voting began Monday at the Easter contest hosted by Socks, Scylla, Artemesia, Fenris. and their mom. Anyone can vote, so stop by before 6 pm Friday and vote for your favorite entry. Our Buddy Bunny the hopping hound is entered and he has some cute competition. So have some fun reading the entries and looking at the photos and cast a vote for your favorite.  Buddy and Maverick are the only woofies entered.  Click here to view and vote.


Humans are always complaining about their hair being unmanageable. That's nothing. Look at this poor kitty with wild and disoriented whiskers.



Since a cat's whiskers aid him in navigation and to judge whether he can fit through an opening, this cat looks like he needs an external GPS navigation system.

Any of you care to hazard a guess what happened to this poor kitty?

Have a purring and tail wagging day!

Tivi Has A Home

Tivoli has a forever home at last!

Remember Tivi? We posted on him on March 1. He is a 7 1/2 year old neutered Shar Pei/Pitbull mix that was picked up after being horribly abused and burned.  He lived at a shelter in Oregon since June 2008 getting lots of loving but waiting on a home of his own. Tivi is so cute we just want to reach out and hug him.

You can watch the introductory video done by a local station in the shelter's area by clicking on our original Tivi post here.

Tivi's human Jon has a Tivi photo blog at tumblr. We hope you will stop by to view the photos of his homecoming and first days there. For those of us who have a home, it's really exciting to see a special dog like Tivi finally get one too.

We don't see any way to leave a comment on tumblr. But Jon does check Tivi's Facebook page "Tivi has been ADOPTED!!!"

Have a purring and tail wagging day.

PS - Blogger is still canceling our scheduled posts. Anyone else using the new post editor? Or just having the same problem?

Happy Easter 2010

Happy Easter!

We hope you will all have a special day with family and loved ones. And most of all, we hope that each of you that celebrate Easter will reflect on the spiritual significance of the day. 

We are going to spend some quiet time tomorrow so we're posting this early.

If you aren't already aware, the blogosphere's Zoolatry Human's mother passed away Friday. We send condolences to Ann and her extended family.  Please stop by Zoolatry to leave a comment and for the link to the beautiful memorial page she has made for her mother.

And if you can spare a moment, we hope you will pop over to visit Pet Blogger Support Saturday . The Funny Farmers are the featured blog this week.

Romeo and Awards

Romeo is having another National Hairball Awareness Day promotion! They are accepting a few more kitties to help display a badge throughout April. For every badge posted, FURminator will donate a tool and cash donation to Romeo's May FURPOWER organization. You will also receive a tool to either keep for yourself or use as a giveaway on your blog. He is accepting cat bloggers into the promotion through Wednesday April 7.







Romeo is also participating in Cats Against Clay.  Cat bloggers wanting to participate in this fun  would display this badge through April and May.  Romeo will be accepting cat bloggers into this campaign for the next two weeks.







We have been given a couple of awards recently and we need to post them before we lose them again. Tut, tut, Jan is moving everything around on our her computer and we can't find anything. Actually, neither can she.




We got this award from the Kool Kittie Krew. Thanks, all of you, for such a beautiful award.
 

Noll's Nip was correct. We have gotten the Sunshine Award before but we're still thankful they gave it to us now.







And we were tagged by Old Kitty's blog. Old Kitty recently went to the bridge but there's a very happy and grateful new kitty named Charlie who needed a home and got one that lives there now. 

We started this post so long ago we've forgotten what the tag was and we have to go now. Blogger was having epileptic fits and wouldn't let us do a post, so we're way behind schedule. But we wanted to be sure to thank Kook Kitty Krew, Noll's Nip and Charlie of Old Kitty's blog for thinking of us.

Biggie and Roxy

Hi, it's finally my turn to do a post. I'm Cotton, the oldest furry here since Crystal left for the bridge.. I didn't realize what a responsibility it is to be the oldest. Or how hard it is to type. This makes me appreciate Percy a lot more. He has always done most of our typing.

Today we all want to introduct youz do .... sorry, I'm still a hunt and peck typist.  I'll have to slow down.

Today we all want to introduce you to a non-profit organization started in 2006 in Durham, NC by Amanda Arrington and a handful of volunteers. It's called the Coalition to Unchain Dogs.  Aside from their obvious goal of releasing dogs from living on the end of a chain, they --

Build free fences for people who chain their dogs.
Educate the community about the detrimental effects of chaining on both the dog and the community.
Help groups around the country to start free-fencing programs and to lobby for legislation to help chained dogs.
Lobby for legislation which disallows or severely restricts tethering of dogs.
Provide free spay/neuter for every dog they build a fence for.

The group covers a larger area of NC now and encourages others across the country to work toward local legislation to release dogs from chains and to start a similar volunteer program to help owners who can't afford fencing.

There are a number of slide shows of dogs they have helped, but we decided on this video of Biggie and Roxy, now neutered and spayed -- respectively -- so they won't have any more litters.they just look so happy to be free, don't they!

Note:  If the video area goes white and reloads a time or two, hang with it. If they don't fix these new blogger templates, we're going to take an axe to this one! 



If the video doesn't play, click here.

You can learn more about the Coalition to Unchain Dogs by visiting their website.