Pets are part of the family; you couldn’t imagine living without them. For some families this can be a serious predicament they have to face: a hungry companion you can’t feed or give them up. Most people don’t choose to give up their pets but they might have to because of economic hardship. If you would like to help families in this position, have you ever considered starting a pet food bank?
Terry May and Susan Fritz did just this in Brevard County, FL. They founded Space Coast Kibble Kitchen to help families struggling with financial hardships keep their pets. Terry and Susan have teamed up with Cynthia Koppler, Bright Paws Pet Food Bank by Bright Star, and have decided to share their helpful 10 step guide for starting a pet food bank in your community.
- Create a Plan. Cost: $0
- Get Incorporated by going to your local county clerk’s office and file for Articles of Incorporation for Nonprofits Cost: $30-125
- File for 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Status, try to find an experience non-profit accountant to help. Cost: $400
- Set up Your Business, plan on storing food at your home or find a business willing to donate space and also set up a low-cost phone system. You will also need to set up a checking account for your business. Cost: for MagicJack phone system: $39.95; $19.95 annual renewal fee
- Build your Brand and Start Marketing. Estimated cost: $75 for stock art
- Build an Online Community; always remember social marketing is free. Cost: $0
- Hold a Kickoff Fundraiser to Recoup Your Set-up Costs; work with local businesses willing to donate. Cost: $0
- Spread the Word with PR to local newspapers, radio and TV stations. Cost: $0
- Partner with Others if there is more than one local food bank; it can diminish abuse of the system. Cost: $0
- Distribute Pet Food to Qualified People by having applicants register and sing a form stating this assistance in necessary.
Total cost: Priceless!!
Space Coast Kibble Kitchen and Bright Paws recently hosted its first distribution day and helped 109 families keep their four-legged friends.
We all know the importance of brushing our teeth daily, but what about our pets? Daily teeth brushing of our pets may be a great effort for some pet owners but prevention is the best and often cheapest way to keep our pets healthy. By age 3 about 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have established periodontal disease. Mild cases of this disease may be gingivitis which can be reversed with teeth cleaning while more extreme cases result in tooth loss.
Both cases of periodontal disease can be very painful for pets and there will be a noticeable change in a pet’s behavior after dental care. Common symptoms for periodontal disease are bad breath, bleeding from the gingival, changes in eating behavior or pawing and rubbing faces. In order to save your pet from these awful side effects start preventative measures today.
It is important to start proper dental care at a young age when pets are more easily trainable but it is better late than never. Brush your pets’ teeth daily with a pet toothbrush and pet toothpaste, human toothpaste can be toxic to animals. CET by Vibrac Animal Health offers a wide variety of toothbrushes, flavored toothpaste and dental chews to help give your pets a pearly white smile!
Cats are creatures of the night; free spirits who live to roam the outdoors in search of adventure. This is the inevitable reality of the nature of cats. Some owners choose to keep their feline friends purely indoors, while others allow them to embrace their natural instincts and frolic outside as they please. A majority of owners try to find a happy medium and train their cat to be equally familiar with the indoors as well as outdoors. Whether you chose to monitor your cat’s outings or let them come and go at all hours of the day and night, it is important to recognize the potential dangers of the outside world and be informed on how to keep your kitty as safe as possible.
One of the most important things that cat owners can do for their pets well-being is to make sure they stay current on all of their vaccinations and see their veterinarian whenever necessary. Infectious diseases can easily be contracted by outdoor cats, as they often come in contact with animals that may have a contagious disease or illness. The most effective way to prevent your outdoor cat from contracting such an ailment is to make sure they never miss a vaccination. In addition to falling ill, outdoor cats are also prone to injuries such as bites and abscesses. If this occurs, it is essential to take your cat straight to your veterinarian to ensure that the injury is not an excessive danger to their long term health. Health and wellness monitoring plays a vital role in keeping outdoor cats healthy and safe.
Ultimately, one should not be afraid of letting their cat be independent and familiar with the great outdoors. However, it is important to be informed of the potential and dangers and to take the proper steps to ensure that Mr. Kitty is as safe as possible during all of his neighborhood escapades.
Petsitting.com, a web based company that features a wide-reaching network of trusted pet care providers all over North America, has just made their network a little bit wider. Petsitting.com has joined forces with PetFirst Healthcare in order to provide clients with information about quality and affordable pet insurance options.
This new union will allow Petsitting.com and PetFirst to spread the word about the importance of pet insurance. Just like the easy to use services that Petsitting.com has been known to provide clients in relation to pet care services, Petsitting.com will refer clients to PetFirst for information about easy to understand lifetime coverage for pets. Clients will be referred to PetFirst through the confirmation email they receive after they sign up for the company’s free service.
A recent survey released by PetRelocation.com shares the impact our furry friends have on our holiday travel plans. The Holiday Pet Travel Survey interviewed more than 7,000 pet owners worldwide and found the majority of pet owners chose to stay close to home when booking their holiday travel agenda.
Surprisingly, a third of respondents said if they do travel they stay at pet-friendly hotels and about 66 percent said they keep their pets at home with friends or family during the holiday season. The majority of pet owners said that their pets influence where they decide to stay during the Holidays.
Traveling in and of itself can be exhausting and stressful, let alone traveling during the holiday season. Why do the majority of pet owners chose to travel with their beloved companions? A majority of pet owners agreed, “because pets are part of the family and should be with the rest of the family during holiday occasions.”
Cancer, the deadly disease we all know too well, is not only prevalent in humans but threatens the lives of our beloved pets as well. Many pet owners do not realize that cancer is just as likely to affect their furry companions as it is their friends and family members. Even more surprising is the costliness of treating this horrid disease in pets. For such reasons, November marks National Pet Cancer Awareness Month.
The most common cancers identified in animals include but are not limited to Lymphosarcoma, bone cancer, and cancer of the eyelid. It is extremely important for pet owners to pay attention to any lumps, changes in behavior, and unusual weight loss in their pets, as one or more of these symptoms could be an early indication of cancer.
It is frightening to think that a creature that has such a short life span to begin with can be burdened with such a nasty disease. Yet however frightening it may seem, cancer in pets is a harsh reality that requires attention. National Pet Cancer Awareness Month aims to turn this negative into something positive by educating pet owners and raising money to help discover a cure.
If you think your cat prefers to be naked, think again! A recent study shows that cats are more inclined to wear their collars then their owners may think. What many cat owners don’t realize is how important it is for their feline friends to wear a fitted collar with identification. Surprisingly, indoor cats are almost equally as likely as outdoor cats to wander away from home and become lost. Nevertheless, if donned with the proper attire (i.e. a collar with identification tags), the chances are much higher that poor little lost Fluffy will be safely returned to the comfort of her home.
Cat owners have been known to keep their cats from wearing collars due to the potential dangers that can incur. It is also common pet knowledge that cats simply don’t like collars and refuse to keep them on. On the contrary, recent studies have shown that these preconceptions should be thrown to the wind. In one study of over 500 cats, more than 300 of them wore and kept their collars on for an entire six month period without a struggle.
As a result of this new found information, it is imperative that every cat owner head over to their local pet store to have their furry friend fitted for their new collar. These days, pet collars come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. So whether your cat is an “average Joe” couch dweller or a fashionably inclined Siamese beauty, you’re bound to find a suitable collar that will offer safety and peace of mind.
Starting today and through November 14th PETCO stores across the nation will be participating in a pet food drive. The drive is to help economically stressed pet owners provide a happy, healthy and plentiful holiday season for their beloved furry friends.
In the Spring, PETCO and the PETCO Foundation hosted a National Pet Food Bank program, an extension of the PETCO Foundation’s “We Are Family, Too” program, targeting 250 stores across the country. This holiday season, all of PETCO’s stores are offering pet food bins in place for year-round collection. Each PETCO store has teamed up with either a local food bank or animal welfare group to donate pet food directly to pet parents in need.
Best Friends Animal Society, a nonprofit organization striving to eliminate no-kill programs, is joining in on the holiday extravaganza in support of the National Pet Food Drive by providing mobilized volunteers in roughly 200 PETCO stores to help educate volunteers about the program. Hill’s Science Diet is also showing their holiday spirit and will be matching bag-for-bag, every bag of Hill’s dog or cat food purchased at a PETCO store and donate to the food drive.
So help spread the holiday cheer and seek out specially marked pet food collection bins at your local PETCO store.
As Thanksgiving approaches, you may find yourself caught up in coordinating family events and the minutiae of menu planning. In these busy times, spending time with your pet can be a great way to relax. Give thanks to your four-legged friend this holiday by taking care to ensure that your cat or dog has a safe, healthy and most importantly, fun Thanksgiving.
Everyone loves to eat too much on Thanksgiving, and our animal companions are no exception. However, people food can be very dangerous for pets to consume and rich Thanksgiving food in particular poses a risk to your pet’s health and safety. Be extra careful that your pet does not eat any bones from your feast, especially cooked bones. The bones from your turkey can break and do serious damage to your pet’s internal organs. Prevent your pet from helping himself to your leftovers by keeping your trash can tightly covered and out of paw’s reach.
Having visitors in your home during the holiday can be lots of fun but it can also be a bit stressful, for you and your pet. If your furry friend seems overwhelmed, set aside a quiet place for your dog or cat to be alone and unwind. Show your thanks to your pet this holiday by keeping them safe, and they will certainly be thankful for you.
“You need a job!” This is a phrase often secretly exclaimed by pet owners who find they spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars on their canine companions. Of course, a job seems like an exceptionally abstract concept for a fur covered creature with four legs, but in reality, every dog essentially has a job. Now, this may not be the type of job that brings home a paycheck every two weeks and builds a 401K, but we’re referring to the instincts and characteristics predestined by a given breed’s genes. Unlike their human counterparts, dogs are not capable of changing their job, and for such reasons it is extremely important to take this into consideration when selecting the breed that is right for you.
All puppies seem to be irresistibly small, fluffy, and adorable, but what many prospective pet owners don’t think about is what type of job that adorable ball of fluff will take on as it matures. Each breed is different and possesses different instinctive responsibilities and characteristics. For example, if you’re looking for protection, a dachshund may not be the best breed for you. On the other hand, dachshunds are great hunters and entertainers. So before you head to the breeder and fall in love with the first four legged baby you see, ask yourself “what am I really looking for in my companion?”
The American Kennel Club recognizes over 400 different dog breeds. Sadly, many of these breeds end up at the local shelter because they were not the right complement to their owner. When the time is right for you to bring a dog into your home, take the time to research the breed that is best suited for your daily life. For more information on dog breeds and their characteristics, please visit www.pgaa.com.
