PARC announcement on holidays

The PAWS Animal Shelter (PARC) is closed today, September 21 - a declared holiday.

We are closed on holidays to give our staff members some much-needed rest. *Most of them are at the shelter up to 9 or 10pm everyday - attending to rescues, medicating the animals, doing dog rehab and training.

Please see us and our animals for adoption on a day that is not a holiday - we are open up to Saturdays, 10 am to 6pm. (http://parc. mefindhome. org)

See you!

-The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

www.paws.org. ph

Top Ten Holiday Pet Hazards: What to Know

Winter holidays are a busy time for the nation’s vets. That’s because holiday pet hazards overlooked by busy owners can spell disaster for your dog, cat, or other pets.

Even if you’re the ultra-careful type, keep the contact number for your vet handy, suggested Jim Cook, DVM, the president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and a practicing veterinarian in Lebanon, Ky.

Next, check how savvy you are about the top ten holiday pet hazards—and how to reduce the risks.

Holiday Hazard #1: Chocolate
Any chocolate is off-limits for pets. “Baker’s chocolate is the most [toxic],” Cook said. The darker the chocolate, the more dangerous it is to pets. Theobromine and caffeine are the toxic ingredients. Click here for other foods that are toxic to your pet.

Holiday Hazard # 2: The Tree
Curious dogs may sniff and paw and pull the tree over on themselves; cats like to get up and try out this strange indoor tree. Anchor it, Cook said. You can use wire to secure the top of the tree, then run the wire up to the ceiling or the wall and secure it.

Watch out, too, for the tree preservative often put in the water around the tree trunk, so your dog or cat doesn’t lap it up. It can cause gastrointestinal problems.

Holiday Hazard #3: Seasonal Plants
Poinsettias get the bad rap as the most poisonous when actually they are fairly low on the toxic scale. But eating them may still cause some gastrointestinal upset, according to the journal Veterinary Technician.

Other problematic holiday plants to keep out of reach: Christmas cactus, mistletoe, holly, cedar, balsam, and pine.

Holiday Hazard #4: Table Scraps
Rich, fatty foods are often holiday favorites, but they can result in life-threatening pancreatitis, Cook said. Anything salty, spicy, or greasy qualifies. Bones from chicken or turkey can splinter in the stomach. Keep table scraps out of reach, and be sure the garbage isn’t accessible to your pet.

Holiday Hazard #5: Ornaments
Tinsel can be too fascinating for a cat to pass up as a snack. Small decorations hanging low on the tree can be gobbled by both dogs and cats, and intestinal blockage can result.

Holiday Hazard #6: Holiday Cheer
Slipping a dog, cat or other pet alcoholic beverages to see how they act when inebriated isn’t funny, and could be very dangerous, Cook said. “It can make them very sick, with vomiting and diarrhea.”

Holiday Hazard #7: Dangerous Foods
Certain foods on the dangerous list all year may be more plentiful around the holidays—or your guard may be down. Be sure your pet has no access to coffee grounds, grapes, raisins, onions, chewing gum, or mints with Xylitol. This sweetener, also used in baked goods and candy, is associated with liver failure and death in dogs, according to the AVMA. View a full list of dangerous foods here.

Holiday Hazard #8: Socially Shy Pets
Some pets simply aren’t comfortable around a lot of people. Some get scared; others get hostile. Whatever way your pet’s party-shy personality tends to turn, put it in a spare bedroom with food and water, out of the way of guests, Cook suggested.

Holiday Hazard #9: Escape Artists
Pets “can be like little kids,” Cook says. “They like to get out, too.” So you’ve got company—maybe guests who aren’t used to keeping track of pets—and someone leaves the door open and out they go.

Besides alerting guests to your furry escape artists, “make sure you have a way of finding your pet,” Cook said. That means either a microchip, or at the least, a rabies tag or ID tag with your contact information, the vet’s contact information, or both.

Holiday Hazard #10: Aluminum Foil
Crumpled up with food sticking to it, aluminum foil can be irresistible to a pet. If swallowed, though, it can cause puncture wounds in the gastrointestinal tract, Cook said.

The holidays can be a busy and stressful time, but it’s also a time to reconnect with your family, friends, and of course, pets. So be sure to take the proper precautions to ensure everyone has a safe and happy holiday season.

First published December 2008

make the holiday cruelty-free

We, the undersigned environmental, animal welfare and animal rights groups together with concerned organizations, would like to encourage the general public to adopt a compassionate celebration of the Holiday Season. We have drafted the following suggestions for those who would like to make this season more meaningful not only for
their loved ones but also for the rest of the creatures we share the planet with:

*Show kindness to animals and please don’t give them as presents.

Animals are not toys. It is unfair to give an animal to anyone unless you are absolutely certain that the person wants that particular animal as a companion and is willing and able to give a lifetime of proper care. Intentionally or not, some children and adults are cruel to animals. Small children may unintentionally torment and/or harm animals. Adoration may turn to indifference or even hostility when they lose interest, leaving the animals without necessary care. If you are going to give someone a pet as a gift, make sure that the recipient will be a responsible pet owner.

*Think green

Recycle! Using newspapers to wrap your gifts, it’s original and earth friendly! Reduce waste by segregating garbage and recycling reusable materials and aim to buy organic and local produce to support the local farmers. Look for locally made gifts: many gifts in today's marketplace come from halfway around the world, and the impact of transportation contributes significantly to greenhouse emissions and global warming. Local craft fairs and artisan shops are a good source for gifts that come without the added costs of transportation. Also, choose gifts made from recycled sources - many individuals and small businesses have developed great products using recycled materials. Supporting these businesses helps reduce the waste stream while promoting the concept of making best use of available materials. Give 'battery-free' gifts to the family kids: about 40% of all battery sales occur during the holiday season. Discarded batteries are an environmental hazard. Even rechargeable batteries find their way into the waste stream eventually.

*Have a compassionate meal!

Share a delicious and nutritious vegetarian meal with your loved ones and give animals something to celebrate by having a meatless Christmas Noche Buena. Celebrations without suffering make family gatherings all the more meaningful – and can save both animal and human lives. There are plenty of delicious recipes that will please every palate and make it easier to give up the lechon, giving everyone – including animals – something to be thankful for this holiday season.

*Make it a Merry Christmas for animals! Boycott places that exhibit live animals and take your family out to the movies to watch animal-friendly flicks instead!

Watch fun animated movies where no real animals are used. Great examples of movies featuring cute animals are Madagascar , Ice Age, Ratatouille, and the list goes on! Boycott all live animal exhibits such as dolphin shows and zoos. Most animals in aquariums and zoos are kept in grotesquely inadequate conditions and suffer myriad problems, such as neglect, abuse, malnutrition, incompatible social groupings, unsuitable climate, and insufficient veterinary care. At home in the ocean, whales and dolphins may swim up to 100 miles a day, but in captivity, most are confined to tanks that are 60 feet long or even smaller. Because dolphins navigate by echolocation – bouncing sonar waves off other objects to determine shape, density, distance, and location – the reverberations from their own sonar bouncing off the tank walls drives some dolphins insane. Dolphins can live up to 50 years in the wild but more than half of all captive dolphins die within the first two years of captivity; those surviving that long live an average of only six years. What children learn when they look at animals act in captivity is how they act in captivity and that it is acceptable to cause wild animals to be bored, cramped, and kept far from their natural homes.

*Offer your help to the ones in need

Volunteer at your local animal shelter and consider giving an ethical gift this Christmas by donating to charitable groups. Not only will you be supporting a charity’s lifesaving work but helping those in need.

When it comes to feeling love and happiness we are all the same, human and non-human alike.

Happy Holidays to All!

Signed,
Earth Island Institute
Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

KALIKASAN-People’s Network for the Environment

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Bangon Kalikasan

Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC-Phils.)

Agham-Youth

League of Youth for the Environment (LYFE)

parc announcement

Season's greetings from PAWS!

Our animal shelter, the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (PARC), will be closed from December 24 to January 1, 2008 in order to give us time to do inventory, end-of-year accounting and animal check-ups.

http://img187.imageshack.us/my.php?image=jasminebleachhx5.jpg

Your donations are important to shelter animals:

Donors are requested to text 0917-7931097 if they cannot postpone donation drop-offs until after January 1st. This way, we can alert our gateboy to expect you and let you in during office hours so we can issue the proper receipts in cash or in kind.

Thank you and have a blessed holiday season!

- The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)