Thursday, January 24, 2013
DeKalb-based animal center will provide services to Fulton.
LifeLine Animal Project, based in Avondale Estates, has been awarded a substantial contract to provide services to Fulton County by the Fulton Board of Commissioners. The non-profit, no-kill organization aids dogs and cats through its Community LifeLine program, an active outreach initiative providing services such as low-cost spaying and neutering to pet owners who might not otherwise be able to afford them. Details of the contract are being worked out. "We are still negotiating the start date," LifeLine's Public Relations Director Karen Hirsch told Patch. "We approach this with great gravity and responsibility," Hirsch continued. "We know that it will take the continued support of all our allies, volunteers, educators and visionaries to …
Monday, December 24, 2012
From saving on your pet's healthcare to taking more cat naps, here are ways to make the coming year more pleasant for pet owners.
A new year often affords a perfect opportunity to make fresh promises to oneself – about life, finances, and a brighter future. The key to keeping those well-meaning resolutions is to make them do-able. For pet owners, here’s an easy list that can make life better in the coming year for you and your pets: 1.) I will save money on my pet’s basic health care this year. This doesn’t mean skipping needed vet visits or delaying treatment for unusual symptoms or fresh injuries. Your vet is there to help keep your pet healthy and happy. But for yearly vaccinations and routine health testing (heartworm tests for dogs, feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus testing for cats) the average pet owner spent $250 per dog and $220 per cat in …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Abandoned in Egypt, Gordy is now up for adoption here.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped cats and sometimes would mummify deceased pet dogs, burying them with their owners, or on occasion giving them their own individual coffins. Modern Egypt isn't quite so attentive to man's best friend. In a country of around 80 million there are only a handful of animal rescue organizations and the government is poisoning street dogs as a means of controlling the population. Gordy is a four-year old Egyptian street dog who has, happily, escaped that fate. He was abandoned in Cairo this fall and spent five days patiently waiting in the same spot downtown where he was dumped. Every day he carefully watched everyone who came by, looking for his former family to come back and get him. Fed on occasion by kindly …
Monday, December 10, 2012
Your vet can write a prescription that will get you and your dog into any of Georgia's 62 state parks for free.
The Georgia Veterinary Medical Association has partnered with Georgia State Parks to offer a fun and innovative way to combat canine obesity. Called "Pets RXercise," the new program, sponsored by Phizer Animal Health and Purina Veterinary Diets, aims to educate veterinarians and pet parents and eradicate a growing problem: overweight pets. Obesity in dogs carries many of the same risks that it does for humans: diabetes, joint problems, heart and lung issues, and shortened life span. Having a heavy pet can also significantly lighten your wallet when your pet's weight-related issues send you to the vet more often. But overweight or not, all dogs (and humans) benefit from regular exercise. If you seldom take your dog for regular jaunts in …
Monday, December 3, 2012
Be careful about giving human food to dogs or cats, no matter how cute they look while gazing at you and your plate. But don't feel like a grinch - here's a list of foods they CAN safely eat.
Although many pet owners consider their dogs and cats to be family and enjoy treating pets like people, there is one particular way in which a pet should be treated exactly like a pet, for their own health (and for the health of your wallet, since emergency vet visits can get pricey.) Dogs and cats should not be given carte blanche when it comes to "people food," especially during the holidays when there's a bounty of delicious and seasonal dishes to be had. The wrong foods can land your pet in the emergency room at worst and at best can leave you with a massive mess to clean up in your home when they get sick. The following foods can easily make your pet ill or even poison them, so avoid giving these human treats if Fido or Fluffy begs …
Monday, November 26, 2012
As an unwanted puppy, Nugget was smaller than a cup of soda. Now she's a young dog looking for her perfect home.
Mickie Blair attracts homeless dogs. She's mostly a cat person (good thing too, because she heads up most of the feline care and cat-saving operations at LifeLine Animal Project in nearby Avondale Estates) but homeless dogs consider her irresistible, too. "They find me," she says, "no matter where I go." One day last year she was picking up a community cat that had mistakenly been taken to animal control when she was approached by a man in the parking lot. "Want a puppy?" he asked. "What kind of puppy?" Blair asked back, stalling for time while she tried to figure out where this exchange was leading. The man explained that his sister had gotten a pup from a neighbor who didn't want it, but his sister couldn't keep the dog either. Blair …
Monday, November 19, 2012
When a homeless animal is rescued, it's great news. Adopted? Even better. But given a whole new life through reconstructive surgery? Extraordinary.
Patch readers will remember Cliff the dog from an earlier story as the pit bull mix who was rescued by LifeLine Animal Project, then placed into a loving home, but remained in danger from a birth defect that often kills dogs before they reach adulthood. Cliff had a cleft palate, a condition that usually causes puppies to slowly starve to death because they can't feed normally from their mothers. Even if they do manage to get some nutrition from their mothers, or are fed by humans from a tube, liquid will often leak into their sinuses or lungs and cause pneumonia. At over a year old, no one knew how Cliff managed to survive into adulthood. He was rescued by LifeLine after being tied to a tree and left on an abandoned property. Soon after …
Monday, November 12, 2012
Pet adoption options at LifeLine include no-fee adoptions for veterans all year and, through Nov.18, cat lovers can adopt a new feline friend for only $9.
Up to 80,000 puppies, adult dogs, cats and kittens are euthanized in shelters in the metro area each year, making Atlanta one of the biggest "kill cities" in the nation. Why? The reason is singular, stark and heartbreaking. These thousands of pets are killed simply because they don't have homes. Not only can you save two lives when you adopt a pet from a shelter (the life of the dog or cat you adopt and the life of a homeless animal who gets the space that your new pet once occupied) but at LifeLine Animal Project this month, there are extremely affordable options for adoption. Veterans and current enlisted military can always adopt for free at LifeLine as part of their Pets Helping Vets program and, up until November 18, cat lovers can …
Friday, November 9, 2012
‘9 Lives for 9 Dollars’ adoption event is Nov. 16-18.
Did you know there are more than nine reasons you might be healthier when sharing your life with cats, or that for $9 you can become part of a nationwide life-saving movement? Adopt a feline friend from LifeLine Animal Project during the special “9 Lives for $9,” adoption event and you become part of something important. Come meet the adoptable cats and adolescent kittens rescued by LifeLine Animal Project on Nov. 16-18. Open House at LifeLine’s Kitty Motel, 129 Lake Street, Avondale Estates, will be held 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. on that Friday and Saturday and 12 noon – 5 p.m. Sunday. It is part of a promotion from Nov. 10 to Nov. 18 across the United States, supported by national animal welfare organization Best Friends Animal Society. “For …
Monday, November 5, 2012
Adoption fees for felines at LifeLine Animal Project are 90 percent off Nov. 16-18. You can save money and, according to studies, owning a cat might just save your life.
Imagine if, at your next check-up, your doctor said, "Adopt two cats and I'll see you in six months." There may not be a single one-size-fits-all remedy for modern malaise and physical ailments but there is one thing that many people, from the scientific community to your local community, often agree on: pets are good for human health. Pets provide a companionship connection and ease lonliness. Dogs and cats have long thought to help human health by reducing stress and anxiety. And while it's certainly true that if you adopt a homeless cat from your local shelter you have the satisfaction of knowing you saved a life, is it possible that adopting that cat can save your own life too? Studies say yes. One Canadian study in 2006 determined …
Patricia Kilpatrick
9:41 am on Monday, December 24, 2012
And, of course, if you leave your beloved Fur Children behind, be sure to leave them in the loving hands of someone you trust. Or, if you must leave them in a boarding facility, check it out first. The most responsible ones will insist that they check out your Fur Children in advance, so plan ahead. more ›