December Pets of the Month
Many thanks to Lindsey & Jim Wanner for this nice pic!
"This is Ghostie, with his Ghost tag! We adopted him at age 7 and he is a happy, healthy and kitten-like 13 years old now. This tag is perfect for him and since the tag glows in the dark we can't trip over him in the dark!"
Thank you to Rachel Housman of Citrus Heights, CA for the pic and the note!
Thank you to everyone who has submitted pictures of their pets! If you have a great picture of your pet (showing off our tag would be nice!), you can submit it here.
If you haven't seen your picture submission in our newsletter, check out our facebook page. Once there, you can see lots of pet pics, submit more and chat with us or other pet fans!
Dog Waits For His Family
"A picture is worth a thousand words."
Centered amid the blackness- the charred remains of her home, her possessions and the once beautiful mountainous area she loves, sits her beloved dog Madison, waiting for her to return. For Andrea Gaylord, who feared she'd lost everything, this was her first glimpse of her home when she was finally allowed to return, a month after the fire. Imagine the mix of emotions she felt at the moment she snapped this picture.
For almost a month, the Camp Fire, 90 miles north of Sacramento, CA, burned more than 153,000 acres and nearly 14,000 homes. The evening news showed us scenes of Paradise, CA, a town of 27,000, that was completely destroyed in a matter of hours. Burned out cars, abandoned on the main roads out of town, give us an idea of how fast and unpredictably the fire was moving.
Gaylord lived in Paradise. On the afternoon of November 8th, she was not at home as the fire changed direction, taking direct aim at Paradise. It was suddenly impossible for Gaylord to get back to her home. She was safe but devastated that she was forced to leave her two Anatolian Shepherds, brothers Madison and Miguel, to fend for themselves. As quickly as it came, the fire consumed the town and moved on. Drone and helicopter footage confirmed what they all suspected, the town had been reduced to smoldering ash. Even though the fire had passed, the area was closed off and remained that way for a month.
Gaylord realized that the likelihood of her dogs making it out of the fire was not good. And yet, she couldn't give up on them. She found that while she wasn't allowed to go into the restricted area to look, there were trained animal rescue workers that arrived almost immediately, to search the area. Gaylord told her story to one of the rescue workers, Shayla Sullivan. Days went by slowly with no news. A neighbor's dog was found alive, and hope was rekindled. More days passed. Sullivan continued to check the "house" and leave fresh water and food, just in case.
In addition to actually searching in the restricted areas, animal rescue workers like Sullivan monitor the regional animal agencies and even social media to try and coordinate any and all information that could be related to the pets they are searching for. One such check, a long shot, hit the jackpot. A shelter in Citrus Heights, a town nearly 100 miles away, rescued an Anatolian Shepherd. It was Miguel, one of Gaylord's lost boys. With renewed hope that Madison had also survived, the search continued.
But with every day that went by, that hope faded. Sullivan wanted to try one more thing. She asked Gaylord for an article of clothing with her scent on it. Sullivan left it with the food and water. Almost exactly a month after the fire, the restriction was finally lifted, and the residents were allowed to come back. Gaylord drove up the charred hill through her unrecognizable neighborhood, to the spot where her home once stood. And there, waiting patiently, was her boy, Madison.
Nice work Shayla Sullivan and all the people who help our pets.
See the video on the ABC10 website.
Ikea, Italian Style
Catania, Italy is the second largest city on the island of Sicily (if you picture Italy as a boot, it's right at the toe). That puts it about in the center of the Mediterranean Sea, an area known for it's pleasant climate. Still, summers can get above 100 degrees and winters, below freezing.
Catania has an Ikea store. What makes this Ikea store unusual is that they have made it a practice to allow the city's stray dogs to live in the store. It all began during a particularly cold spell years ago, but it went so well, they made the policy an open invitation and the dogs can come and go as they please. They have run of the store. You'll find them curled up on a warm rug during the winter or stretched out in air conditioned luxury in the summer. The dogs are also fed and cared for; a local animal welfare group has teamed up with the store to make sure the dogs are spayed/neutered and healthy. They're also available to be adopted.
This has been going on long enough that the locals no longer find it odd to step over sleeping dogs while meandering through the model bedrooms and living rooms. But most first time visitors are pleasantly surprised and immediately love the idea. Social media is full of pictures of the dogs of the Catania Ikea.
You can read more and see some of the lucky dogs lounging among Swedish furniture on the Huffington Post.
Video Funny
"Here, let me help you..." This reminds me of packing my carry-on. (10 sec)
imgur
Is this real? Watch this eyecatching video of a man carrying his (big) dog. Or possibly a human in a fuzzy costume. It looks like it could be Tank the poodle, in youtube videos earlier this year, again being carried on a hike in China.
(22 sec)
reddit
Pets from the Internets...
Use the code above when you check out on our website or you may call 1-800-543-TAGS and mention the coupon code; one of our happy, helpful customer service representatives will gladly give you the discount.
