My name is Susan Daffron and I’m the founder of the National Association of Pet Rescue Professionals (www.naprp.com) and the author of books on caring for adopted dogs and cats called Happy Hound (www.happyhoundbook.com) and Happy Tabby (www.happytabbybook.com).

Spay Day is February 26, this year and I thought I’d share a list of reasons why it’s so important to “fix” your pets because so many myths continue to exist when it comes to spaying and neutering. Here are three facts:

1. Spayed or neutered animals are healthier. Female cats and dogs can’t get uterine or ovarian cancer and the possibility that the animal will get breast cancer is greatly reduced. Neutering reduces roaming and fighting and most animals lose the desire to constantly mark their territory.

2. Spayed or neutered animals live longer. Statistically, animals that have been spayed or neutered live an average of two to three years longer than unsterilized pets.

3. Spaying or neutering saves money. Spaying is a one-time cost that is tiny when compared to the cost of providing care for a mother and a litter (or litters!) of puppies or kittens.

It’s a myth that it’s good to let a pet have “just one litter” of puppies or kittens before you get her spayed. The bottom line is that by letting your pet have that “just one litter” you contribute to the problem of pet overpopulation. Even if you find homes for the puppies or kittens, those critters produce more critters and the problem grows exponentially and quickly. One cat or dog who has babies and whose babies have babies can be responsible for the birth of 50 to 200 kittens or puppies in just one year. The reproductive rate of dogs is 15 times that of humans and the reproductive rate of cats is 30 times that of humans.

Virtually every pet rescue requires that adopted pets be spayed or neutered. These people work tirelessly to save animals every day, so do your part to help them help the animals. Spay and neuter your pets!

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare holidays observances spay neuter spay day spay day usa pet companion animal dog canine cat feline overpopulation

Action Alerts

DawnWatch: Hallmark slaughter update 2/22-2/24/08
The latest good news, reported in the Saturday, February 23, Wall Street Journal by David Desmodel, is headed, “Meatpacker to Shut Down In Wake of Massive Recall.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): URGENT: Tell Frazier Mountain High School to Nix ‘Donkey Basketball’ Game
Frazier Mountain High School in Lebec, California, plans to host a cruel “donkey basketball” game on March 1.

Campaign Updates, Press Releases, etc.

The Animals and Society (Australia) Study Group & The University of Newcastle present The 2009 International Academic and Community Conference on Animals and Society: Minding Animals
We invite you to join us between 13 and 19 July, 2009, to discuss, learn and consider the human interrelationships with our nonhuman animal kin.

Jenny’s Heroes
JENNY JONES, THROUGH HER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, “THE JENNY JONES FOUNDATION”, IS PREPARED TO GIVE AWAY $1,000,000 FOR WORTHY CAUSES AROUND THE COUNTRY.

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Sun, Feb 24, 2008 at 6:31 PM
Subject: Georgia Gas Chamber Ban [KC MEMBER ALERT]

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

Kinship Circle did not write/research this alert.
Reply directly to author of this alert: denbhl [at] yahoo.com

ALERT FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE MEMBER:
Georgia Gas Chamber Ban Needs Your Action NOW!

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:
Denise Pajak, denbhl [at] yahoo.com

BACKGROUND:

The state of Georgia currently has a bill in committee to ban the gas chamber (the practice of using carbon monoxide gas chambers to kill unwanted animals) state-wide. Members are not in favor of the bill. Support for this bill is needed from GA citizens as well as nationwide. I want to flood the committee members with a SURGE of support.

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Theresa Cheung’s THE IBS HEALING PLAN: NATURAL WAYS TO BEAT YOUR SYMPTOMS isn’t explicitly a veg*n book; in fact, the author only discusses the benefits of a vegetarian diet in treating IBS for two short paragraphs (that’s half a page, for you bean counters). Even so, I thought I might post the review here, since I was already writing one for Library Thing and all. Besides, animal rights activists are more likely than not to be female, as are IBS sufferers, and a diet plays a key role in each. So I’m sure there’s some crossover there, is what I’m saying.

Since I reviewed an advance copy of the book, I haven’t yet been able to post my review to Amazon, so sorry but no permalink. Try checking back on or after April 28, 2008 – or, if you’ve got a Library Thing account, go give me some props there.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time for my hourly fiber fix. Ahem.

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Happy Monday.

(Maximize your browser for the ultimate awwwww factor.)

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Tagged: the internets dog canine pug

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 5:36 PM
Subject: USDA-Certified Cruel: Downed Animals

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

2/23/08: USDA-Certified Cruel: Downers Dragged, Shocked, Rammed

www.KinshipCircle.org

What really happens at slaughterhouses and stockyards…
VIEW HSUS UNDERCOVER VIDEOS: tinyurl.com/yul2lw

EMAIL kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

To identify your federal legislators and find contact info, try:
Congress.org: www.Congress.org
USA Senate: www.senate.gov
USA House of Representatives: www.house.gov
Congressional Switchboard: 202-224-3121

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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Last Chance for Animals – campaigns [at] lcanimal.org
Date: Sat, Feb 23, 2008 at 12:56 AM
Subject: Animal Testing in the News! 2.22.08

More Kinship Circle Factsheets

According to an USA Today article released last week a new program announced by a coalition of three government agencies – the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicology Program and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – could lead to the end of animal testing to evaluate the safety for humans of new chemicals and drugs.

These agencies have signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” to develop and implement the new methods. Historically, toxicity has been identified by injecting chemicals into animals and seeing whether they were harmed. According to the director of the NIH’s National Genome Research Institute, Francis Collins, “It was expensive, time-consuming, used animals in large numbers, and it didn’t always work.”

The agencies acknowledge that full implementation of the shift in toxicity testing could take years because it will require scientific validation of the new approaches.

The new systems the agencies hope to use rely on human cells grown in test tubes and computer-driven testing machines. They allow the scientists to examine potentially toxic compounds in the lab rather than injecting them into animals.

All the data produced will be put into a public database.

Read USA Today article here.

Read the journal article that appeared in Science here.

Read Medicine.net article here.

Read the NIH press release here.

Last Chance for Animals, and other anti-vivisection organizations, have been fighting for the millions of animals in laboratories for over 20 years! This is great news. While we know these tests will not end the suffering of animals overnight, it is a positive step in the right direction.

For the Animals,

Campaigns Department
Last Chance for Animals

Last Chance for Animals | 8033 Sunset Blvd. #835 | Los Angeles | CA | 90046

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts lca last chance for animals animal research animal testing vivisection animal experimentation news National Genome Research Institute Francis Collins in the news USA Today Environmental Protection Agency EPA National Toxicology Program National Institutes of Health NIH

Action Alerts

Alley Cat Allies: Sign the Petition: Tell Cape May, N.J., to resist the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pressure to kill cats!
The Cape May, New Jersey, cats need your support. The City of Cape May has been pressured by The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to abolish its successful humane cat management program known as Trap-Neuter-Return – a move that the city does not want to make and that would endanger the lives of all cats – owned, stray and feral.

Environmental Defense: Support Conservation Funding in the Farm Bill!
The House and Senate now must reconcile the differences between the two versions of the bill and produce a final bill for the president to sign. It’s critical for Congress to produce a final bill that includes $5.1 billion in additional conservation program funding – the level provided in the Senate bill – and makes some reasonable reforms to farm subsidy programs.

Farm Sanctuary: Support Legislation to Help Downed Animals
At the federal level, the Downed Animal Protection and Food Safety Act (H.R. 661, S. 394) has been introduced to ensure that “downers” will be kept out of the human food supply. This bill will remedy the shortcomings of current USDA regulations regarding downed animals by requiring the immediate, humane euthanasia of all animals who become nonambulatory.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Protect Public Lands from an Outdated Mining Law
Since the passage of the 1872 Mining Law, mining companies have been claiming America’s public lands for $5 or less per acre, while avoiding payment of royalties on extracted minerals (costing taxpayers an estimated $100 million each year).

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): Tell Mayor Lim to Halt Plans to Acquire More Animals!
Please write to Mayor Lim and urge him to halt plans to acquire more animals for the Manila Zoo. Ask him to improve the lives of the animals already there instead or, better yet, to close the zoo all together.

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Photo via SenzEnina

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Thu, Feb 21, 2008 at 6:18 PM
Subject: Killing Underway: Save Last Wild Buffalo

KINSHIP CIRCLE PRIMARY – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN

2/21/08: Killing Underway – Save Last Wild Buffalo

www.KinshipCircle.org

EMAIL kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net FOR WORD DOC OF A FORMATTED LETTER.
Easily modify letter and copy/paste it into an email or print out to fax or mail.

(more…)

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2008 at 9:07 PM
Subject: [GULF COAST] Time To Remember, Time To Act

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

GULF COAST
2/20/08: A Time To Remember, A Time To Act

www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters/

IN FEBRUARY GULF COAST NEWSLETTER:

1. NOLA Rescuer Arrested While Trapping Cats
2. A Time To Act: St. Bernard Parish Killings
3. A Time To Remember…
4. Highlights & Updates
5. Support Humane Society Of Louisiana’s Recovery
6. For Buddy: Toughen Mississippi’s Lax Cruelty Law
7. Kane: Featured Katrina Dog – Where’s My Family?
8. Blue Eyes: Featured Katrina Cat – Where’s My Family?
9. Think Of Animals When Disaster Strikes

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