"Women Who Run With the Wolves"

I am re-posting the introduction to this story by Katie Arnold-Ratliff, associate editor of Oprah Magazine and author of the novel Bright Before Us,with a link to the full story that she wrote in Slate Magazine Friday, October 14, 2011. She talks about how more and more dog memoirs are written by females, and briefly reviews a few of them.

Women Who Run With The Wolves

Jill Abramson’s The Puppy Diaries, Julie Klam’s You Had Me at Woof, and why dog women get more respect than cat ladies.

By Katie Arnold-Ratliff Posted Friday, Oct. 14, 2011

Few things these days are as likely to land a book on the nonfiction best-seller lists as a dog—particularly one whose incorrigible mischief, heart-rending rescue, or fraught integration into the author’s life sparks a realization about love, kindness, or What’s Really Important. In the post-Marley and Me publishing landscape, the dog-as-harbinger-of-wisdom grows ever more ubiquitous, and though Marley was written by a man, more and more of the writers who are following his lead seem to be female. The dogs at the center of these books are, in turn, ever more exceptional, the kind of dogs who double as life coaches and inspire titles like these: Maggie: The Dog Who Changed My Life, Blind Hope: An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued, and Paws and Effect: The Healing Power of Dogs...

Read full story and Katie's additional dog memoir reviews here: http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2011/10/jill_abramson_s_the_puppy_diaries_julie_klam_s_you_had_me_at_woo.html

What Our Pets Think of Us: Pit Bull Saves Family from Burning House

Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

 I never cease to be amazed at the connection between our animals and ourselves. I only recently came across this USA Weekend article by Steve Dale, yet another testimonial to dogs being our best friend.

What Our Pets Think of Us

"Thor nibbled on his owner’s ear. The pit bull worked hard to awaken Kemper Hunter and his girlfriend, Sarah Laughlin. Instantly, they understood Thor’s urgency. They desperately attempted to fight the smoke to get to Shelby, their 3-month-old baby, but couldn’t. The fire department arrived to find the panicked couple screaming outside their home, assuming they had lost their baby and their dog in the still-blazing fire.

Just then, they all witnessed Thor pulling the bassinet out the door to safety. Baby and dog were OK...

Maddie, my best friend ...

Certified applied animal behaviorist Patricia McConnell has a pretty simple explanation. “It’s love,” she says.

Animal behavior experts once maintained that such self-sacrificing decisions are impossible for animals to make, and any suggestion they could was nothing more than anthropomorphizing — ascribing human emotions and thoughts to animals. To believe our pets react, and are motivated to risk their own lives based on love, was considered absurd and without any scientific basis in fact...

But are dogs truly capable of love? “We selected (over thousands of years) for a close bonding relationship with dogs,” veterinary behaviorist Karen Overall says. “And as a result, today the neurochemistry in dogs’ brains is nearly identical to ours...”

Do dogs make a conscious decision to play Lassie in real life? ... "

Read the full story here in this USA Weekend story by Steve Dale:

What Our Pets Think Us by Steve Dale, USA Weekend, June 30, 2011

EU Ban on Animal-Tested Cosmetics in Jeopardy--Act Now

EU Ban on Animal-Tested Cosmetics in Jeopardy--Act Now

From PETA. Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

For nearly a decade, the European Union (EU) has been on track to ban all animal testing of cosmetics. But that ban is now in jeopardy!

In 2003, in a major victory for animals, it became illegal to conduct tests on animals for cosmetics in Europe. In 2009, a ban on the sale of many animal-tested cosmetics went into effect. The final deadline to ban the marketing of all cosmetics tested on animals is March 2013, after which the shelves of every shop and Internet supplier in Europe will be free of animal-tested cosmetics.

The sales ban also means that non-EU companies wishing to export their products have to change their animal-testing ways as well. This commercial pressure has driven the development of effective and humane non-animal test methods, which can also be used for some drugs and other chemicals, preventing even more animal suffering. Most importantly, the ban puts animals' lives and well-being before vanity.

But now the EU is considering delaying the 2013 deadline for years, perhaps indefinitely, thus wiping out the motivation for cosmetics companies to develop alternatives and condemning tens of thousands of guinea pigs, rabbits, rats, and mice to suffering and death. There is no good reason for this delay.

Please let the European Commission know that you stand with the majority of Europeans who want no delay, no compromise, and no cosmetics tests on animals. 

EU Ban on Animal-Tested Cosmetics in Jeopardy--Act Now

How A Single Kitten Saved Many Cats from Euthanasia

It all began when the The Humane Society of Boulder Valley's (HSBV) Foster Department sent an email notice (as they always do when animals need to go into foster) to see who of their foster volunteers might be interested in fostering a single kitten. The interest they received was immense; and it got this innovative staff thinking ...

HSBV had recently received many requests from other shelters (in Denver and Southern Colorado) to take kittens in because of the current over population in their shelters. We all know what that means -- a death sentence for the kittens (or adult cats) in the requesting shelters. Boulder Humane did not currently have room in their shelter to house these kittens, so unfortunately had to decline these requests -- at first. Until, that is, the foster department staff received such a great response from their volunteers for this one special kitten. That's when the HSBV Foster Dept. staff had a superb brainstorm to seize the opportunity to save more lives. They decided to reach out to see if their foster volunteers were interested in fostering these homeless kittens from other shelters for a couple of weeks. Yes, indeed, they would, came the replies! 

It's been over a week in the making and the kitties with a new lease on life arrive tomorrow at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley! They'll go out to foster homes 1-2 kittens each so HSBV can work them back slowly into their shelter system for adoption and still maintain space for our local homeless cats. We are so fortunate to have such a progressive animal shelter, as well as a strong volunteer base for our local shelter in our community.

I didn't respond to the email for the single kitten. The little angel reminded me too much of Cinnamon and I wasn't ready for that. But I'll pick up our two foster kitties Sunday afternoon. Maddie, our lab, watched with interest (I think -- I suppose it might have been disgust!) as I once again pulled out the toys, litter box, dishes, etc. She will play an important part interacting with them -- being able to say in their bio that they've been around dogs really helps them get adopted!

It's amazing what one little kitten can do!

Heart to Heart: Nonverbal Communication with Your Animals

Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

I was first awakened to animal communication through my relationship with my black lab, Maggie. After her death I had my first introduction to an animal communicator, and was simply amazed at her intuitive/psychic abilities in regards to my relationship with Maggie. I write about my awakening to intuition, animal communication and animal energy in my book, MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life. (If you want to learn more visit www.dawnkairns.com). Since then, my other animals have had the benefit of seeing them through an entirely different filter ... that of looking for their nonverbal communication in a way I didn't know to before. Today I read this article about animal nonverbal communication on the Care 2 Blog and want to share it with you.

Maddie, our 6 year old "black lab," rescued at 10 months

Nonverbal Communication with Our Dogs and Cats

 From the Care 2 blog written by Celeste Yarnall

Nonverbal communication is a gift that all living beings share, one you’ll need to reawaken to better interact with and care for your animal companions. Most dog and cat lovers already understand canine and feline body language, which is one non-verbal technique. But you can use your other, natural, nonverbal communication skills, and actually begin to see things through your dog or cat’s eyes, and become his/her voice.

You can learn animal communication by taking a class or reading some of the great books available today on the subject. But many of the basics are so simple that we can easily begin nonverbally communicating right away. Remember, long before humans had spoken language, we were able to communicate among ourselves and with the animals; it is a kind of heart to heart communication skill that we all possess.

Did you ever know a set of twins who said they each knew what the other was thinking, or you heard your mother say she had “woman’s intuition” or “just knew something was wrong.” Have you ever had an image of a friend come to mind and then received a phone call from that very person saying,“I was just thinking about you and wanted to say hello”? These are all examples of nonverbal communication.

Those of us fortunate enough to have been raised with animal companions probably “talked” to them all the time—and they “talked” back—without words. You didn’t have to be Dr. Doolittle to do it, either. You may have chalked up your own memories of such experiences to an overly active imagination. But it’s far more likely that, as a child, you were still unencumbered by belief systems that would tell you otherwise.

You can try it anytime with your own dog or cat, simply by listening to your heart, instead of to your head with its endless, meaningless chatter. Just let those thoughts pass by you, and relax and breathe deeply. You’re going to visualize your furry companion coming over to you. Close your eyes so that you focus on every detail: the feeling of your dog or cats lovely coat, those deep, trusting eyes staring up at you, and imagine him walking toward you. Often, even the first time you try it, your cat or dog will be by your side before you know it, so happy that you’ve communicated with him at long last, in his own way.

Please don’t worry about whether you’re “doing it right.” Not every person (or animal) is visually oriented. Visualization is just like imagining or remembering. It may come as actual pictures, like a movie, or as sounds, or a voice, or as feelings, or just a sense of “knowing.” Any way you receive the information is valid.

It is very important to always communicate in positive terms— “see” what you want your dog or cat to do, rather than focusing on unwanted behaviors. Dogs and cats live fully in the moment, so picture them as you want them to be. For instance, don’t ask them if they want to go to the vet or the groomer or for a ride in the car. Why? Because, they don’t know how they’ll feel until they get there to that exact moment in time. Unlike us, dogs and cats live in the moment. What lessons we can learn about being here—right now! So visualize them peacefully riding in the car, or calmly allowing the vet to examine them.

Practice visualizing positive, loving pictures rather than negative, worrying ones. Have you noticed that the things you worry about often seem to happen? Practice positivity, and positive visualization, and you’ll find it spilling over into every aspect of your life.

This is so crucial when communicating with your animal companions. If you say, for example (either out loud or nonverbally), “Don’t jump on the couch,” your dog or cat sees an image in your mind’s eye of him jumping on the couch. He won’t get the “don’t” part of it. He’ll think oh, she wants me to jump on the couch. Your yelling at him to not jump on the couch is then a mixed signal. Instead, say and visualize what you DO want him to do. In this case, you would say, in an even but stern tone, “Go to your bed!” Then gently carry or lead him to his bed to reinforce the positive behavior.

It’s impossible to hide your feelings from dogs and cats. They always know—and they may “get it” even before we know ourselves. They can even take on your stresses, fears, and frustrations. Over time, these may manifest as illness. So it’s a good idea to even refrain from arguing in front of your animal companions; it’s extremely stressful for them. It’s not fair to treat them as if they’re not in the room when we lose control of our emotions. Their sensibilities should be respected.

To give you an idea how sensitive dogs are, Rupert Sheldrake, a British biologist and the author of Dogs That Know When Their Owners are Coming Home, did an experiment in which he placed video cameras with time codes in the house, aimed to catch the action of the homebound dog. At a random time, unbeknownst to the human or dog, the human would get a phone call on a cell phone many miles away, saying to return home. At that very instant, cameras showed that the homebound dog would become excited and run to the door to wait for their human. This experiment was repeated hundreds of times, and were all confirmed by the videos. The moral of this story: don’t feel silly practicing nonverbal communication, EVER!

You can also practice this pure heart-to-heart communication skill with a new pet, or with animals at dog or cat shows or shelters, or even at your vets office. First, learn the cat or dog’s name, if possible. Try saying the name in a sweet, soft, “feminine” (high-pitched) voice. We pretty much all do that with animals and babies, right? It seems, in the animal world the female voice is the most nonthreatening. If you’re a man, or a woman with a deep voice, raise your pitch and speak softly.

Of course, always ask the guardian if it’s okay to work with and touch the animal; and then ask the animal’s permission.

To start, if you can, get down a bit lower than normal (ideally, at the animal’s eye level) and imagine the dog or cat sitting on the floor of your own home. You may get a response as a picture of what his own home looks like from his point of view. Perhaps you can distinguish the outlines of a bed or the legs of a coffee table from underneath: what the dog sees from that perspective. Your image may look like a black-and-white negative, reverse image, rather than a normal photo type memory.

If you don’t get a picture, it doesn’t mean you’re not doing it right. The dog may just be telling you he’s not allowed in that room. Trust yourself and the feelings that come up and continue to listen with your heart. Accept the images or feelings you do get, and go on. He may tell you something about what he likes or dislikes. Or he may be content exactly where he is right now. Keep going anyway, and just let him talk through his own senses.

What are you getting? Is he showing you what his floors look or feel like? Do cold, slippery floors make him nervous because he skids on them? Now visualize the cat or dog’s feeding area. What kind of food does he eat? Do you taste or feel any textures in your mouth? What about water? Is it fresh and clean? What has he smelled recently? He may change the picture you send to reflect his truth, and he may present it to all of your senses or just some of them.

As you continue, do see other animals where he lives? Send him a picture of one of your animal companions. What does he say to that? What does he like to play with? Cats may have little balls and catnip toys, and dogs may have chew toys, tennis balls, or maybe even a Frisbee. Give him these images and see what you get back. If his human companion is there, ask questions to help you assess your images. After you present an image to him, remember to leave a space for him to answer.

As you read the impressions your animal friend is sending. You may receive feelings of space and expansion if he has room to play and places to rest in—or feelings of contraction if he’s been caged or otherwise too restricted.

Perhaps you may feel he’s trying to tell you about an aggressive person. This person may not necessarily be a man; it could be a woman or child with a strong personality—dogs and cats sense human beings as personalities, not as men and women. Ask the dog or cat non verbally how he likes this person. He may wish the person would leave him alone, or he may enjoy playing with the person but can’t understand why he gets scolded for playing too roughly.
  
You can use your nonverbal skills to assess the animal’s well-being through a mental body scan. Just look at the animal, starting with the head and working down the back to the tip of the tail. How do you feel compared with how you felt before scanning? If you feel anything unusual as you continue your scan, you may be on to something. Ask the dog or cat, using his name, how he feels as you move along his body with your eyes.

If you don’t have permission to touch the animal, you can pet the cat or dog’s aura. This is more subtle, but just as effective. Think how you’d feel if a perfect stranger just started stroking you without your consent. Then when you use this indirect way of laying on hands by petting the space around the body (which is referred to as the etheric double), you can often feel the animal’s energy and determine whether he is receptive to your touch, which after all will leave your scent on this dog or cat. By using the etheric double area you will find that this in itself is a valuable avenue of communication and diagnosis, and through it you can offer much healing, especially when you use love as the catalyst.

As you practice, your skills will improve. When doing a mental body scan, you may feel discomfort in certain parts of your own body. While this is important information, you do not need to hold it in your body. Simply release the feeling and say to yourself,“This animal’s feelings are his own. I release them.” In your mind’s eye, wrap the dog or cat in healing white light, or say a prayer or blessing. Then “turn off” the discomfort, much as you would the TV when it transmits images you don’t like. As simply as you would change the channel; just change the subject. It is never necessary to be the recipient of any other being’s pain.

Nonverbal communication seems to come most easily with other people’s animals. It’s sometimes difficult to practice with our own furry friends because we are so emotionally involved with them. Gradually you’ll develop a proficiency that you can then apply at home. Most folks do their best communicating with their own animal companions through play. Through play we express and hear verbal, non-verbal, body language, and other communications.

Be sure to talk to your animal companions about their day. Sometimes if you have more than one then they compete to communicate with us all at once. Just give them the time and the space to get it all off their chests. Remember, they knew you were coming home long before you got there as Sheldrake proved, and have been happily waiting to talk to you!

Nonverbal communication can greatly expand your relationship with animals, but some dogs and cats are reserved, just like certain people are. They simply don’t want to converse. Don’t be discouraged. And some people never get pictures, only feelings; and that’s fine. Trust yourself, and proceed with openness, imagination and confidence. You’re on your way to being a nonverbal communications expert and experience for yourself that the intelligence and spirit in all life!

Town Has One Week to Place 59 Dog and 32 Cats Before Their Lives End

Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

Can You Help?

I was forwarded this email by a friend in South Padre Island, Texas. It is from Ed Mesa, Padre Island's City Manager. The City inherited a really difficult situation at the Laguna Madre Humane Society, which had been no-kill for many years. It is a small shelter with a minimal amount of staff; the surrounding city of Port Isabel is not economically affluent at all; shelter adoption rates were low; so the number of animals continued to increase. The resultant overcrowding conditions compromised the animals there terribly. The City took the shelter over during the past year or so.

In essence, at this point, this town has one week to place 59 dogs and 32 cats before their lives end.  If ANY of you can help by fostering, adopting, transporting, finding rescues to help, or calling rescues please contact: 
Jacky Woody-Conrad in South Padre Island, TX at JackyatJaM@aol.com, I walked dogs at this shelter (the Laguna Madre Humane Society) when visiting there -- the animals there have needed help for a long time. Please help if you can and pass this information along to anyonee who might be in a position to help. Thank you ...

From: citymanager@copitx.com
Sent: 7/7/2011 2:56:38 P.M. Central Daylight Time
Subj: probation period for the Shelter

Greetings,

First of all, I thank both support groups – the Friends of the Isabel Y. Garcia Animal Shelter and the Laguna Madre Humane Society for their generous help and guidance since the beginning when the City took over the operations of the Animal Shelter.  I made it very clear that the groups were volunteer groups helping with  the education of the public, fostering, adopting, rescuing, and sanctuary placement.  We have appreciated the advise and recommendations that each of the groups have shared with the City.  But the City is in charge of operating the animal shelter. The City chose to give both organizations  specific time to work in getting these animals rescued, adopted, etc. 

Currently, we are in a very complex situation just having taken over the shelter and now being on probation for what the previous management had done.  It is   very hard, emotional, and frustrating for all of us involved.  Shame on those who put the city and the animals in this situation!  We need the support of everyone to get to the point where our shelter can operate in the most humane way for all people involved and especially the animals who are the victims.  We have placed July 15 as the deadline for both organizations to work  on placing the animals for rescue, adoption, foster, etc.   

As of today, we have 112 dogs and 80 cats.  We need to decrease to 53 dogs and 42 cats more or less. So 59 dogs and 38 cats have to be rescued, adopted, foster,  or euthanized.  We are working on a list of those that are aggressive, sick, and it is going to be difficult in choosing which others are to go.  We are going to have the veterinarians guide us to get this list together and it is up to the Friends of the Isabel Y. Garcia Animal Shelter and Laguna Madre Humane Society to work in finding homes or rescues if possible  in this limited time schedule.  We don’t want to wait for the last week of the probation to do a mass euthanization.  It would not be fair for the veterinarians, staff  or the animals. 

We need all your support and help especially during this transition. 

Thanks,

Ed

Edward P. Meza, City Manager
City of Port Isabel
305 E. Maxan St.
Port Isabel, Texas 78578
o.  (956) 943-2682      
f. (956) 943-2029 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (956) 943-2029      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

citymanager@copitx.com
www.portisabel-texas.com

Foster Kittens Go To Forever Home; Boulder Humane Waives Adult Cat Adoption Fees

 Posted By Dawn Kairns, Author of MAGGIE: the dog who changed my life

GARFEE 
AGE: 13 years
SEX: Female (Spayed)

It's time for a little plug for our local humane society, who does an absolutely fantastic job with homeless animals ... and this precious face is just one of them. For the month of June, Garfee, along with many other adult cats, is available from The Humane Society of Boulder Valley -- for free.

This is how The Humane Society of Boulder Valley is honoring Adopt a Shelter Cat Month, by giving cats away in June. Great for them! Isn't this a super way to decrease the number of homeless cats, as well as euthanasia? The Humane Society of Boulder Valley (HSBV) is waiving the adoption fee for all adult cats (age 6+ months) for the entire month of June.

HSBV won the ASPCA’s $100K Challenge, a national contest designed to inspire animal shelters across the country to save more lives. During the three-month challenge, HSBV saved a total of 2,640 cats and dogs according to the Boulder Weekly, an increase of 968 over the same period in 2009. Periodically waiving adoption fees for both cats and dogs was one innovative way HSBV found to help homeless get into their forever homes.

The Humane Society of Boulder Valley provides shelter and care to more than 8,000 animals each year. 89 percent of these animals are successfully adopted or reunited with their guardians.  HSBV's behavior modification program, which helps shelter dogs and cats overcome behavior problems, and their foster program, which makes it possible to help more animals by providing individualized care to those with special needs enhances their success rate.

HSBV's successful adoption programs allows them the ability to open their doors to thousands of animals in other shelters throughout our region. These animals would otherwise be facing euthanasia due to overcrowding or lack of resources.  HSBV partners with 55 regional animal welfare agencies, and are part of the national Rescue Waggin’® program sponsored by PetSmart Charities.

Martina discovers the bathtub

We have fostered for the Humane Society of Boulder Valley in the past -- dogs and pups primarily, after Maggie died. We fostered one kitten, and one only, years ago. Why did we stop? Because our Cinnamon literally had a "hissy" fit that didn't quit.


Last week we had the absolute pleasure of fostering 2 precious sibling kittens from HSBV, Monster and Bear, who we re-named Martina and Yoda. I must admit Martina reminded me of Cinnamon at that age, both her very present "I'm a little pistol" facial expression, and her spunky personality.

Tom NOT getting involved  :>)

Tom was letting me do this one -- my responsibility, right? OK, true, I did most of it, but take a look at this. You think he didn't love it? And then there was Maddie. She SO wanted to play with them, play bows and all. She could hardly stand watching them play together without jumping in. Yoda seemed pretty fearless with Maddie, and sniffed noses pretty early on. Martina always came to Maddie from behind, and did a little back hunch and hiss when Maddie approached her head on. Until the last couple of days, that is. But Martina's initial caution with Maddie sure didn't stop her from turning Maddie's wagging tail into a toy!

I'll keep watch over them. Can we keep them?

They brought much joy and laughter to Tom, Maddie and me during their 5-day stay in our home. I returned them to the shelter on late Friday for their spay and neuter on Saturday. That, of course, was bittersweet. I couldn't imagine the two kittens going to separate homes. They were truly each others' favorite toy, and I said so on the foster write up I did for them to go with their paperwork. 

Yoda on their bed in bathroom

Their photos went up on the internet late Saturday. They went onto the adoption floor on Sunday. I watched the website like a hawk, hoping for a fast adoption.On Monday I was gone most of the day. When I came home, Martina and Yoda's photos were gone! I called the foster department at the shelter, but it was after hours. I emailed. Had they been adopted? Together?? I waited a long 24 hrs. before I saw the email I'd waited and hoped for:

"Hi Dawn, The two kittens you had did in fact get adopted yesterday, and they went to the same home. I hope that is good news."

Good news? Are you kidding? I was elated!!

If you live in the Boulder area and are interested in fostering animals in your home, visit Boulder Humane Foster Volunteer. To check out the wonderful cats and dogs available for adoption, visit HSBV's website.  I wish you wonderful lives in your new forever home, Martina and Yoda! And much, much LOVE!