Tag: pets
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National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day

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We love a good holiday as much as anyone but there are a few throughout the year that make us particularly excited. One of those holidays is celebrated this week — National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day!

Pets are such a vital part of any family adding unconditional love, companionship, and support. Any day dedicated to our furry friends is a day to celebrate!

National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day was established to recognize the millions of stray animals who end up at shelters. While the overwhelming majority of animals are dogs and cats, there are all kinds of pets in need of forever homes. Each year, over 6.5 million companion animals end up in shelters around the country. Only about half of them are adopted. Another 1.5 million shelter pets are euthanized. National Adopt a Shelter pet Day helps to bring awareness to the numerous benefits of adopting a pet.


If you’ve been thinking of adding a new addition to your home or want to know more about the adoption process, here are a few tips and things to consider.

Personality is important
Pick a pet whose personality and temperament will be a good match. You can check the general temperament and needs of each breed of dog or cat to get an idea what kinds to look for. Then, when you visit the shelter, get as sense for each pet’s distinct personality. If you are active and always on the go, choose a pet that loves action and adventure too. Do prefer a pet to sit in your lap and relax? Ask for a calmer pet that likes to cuddle.

While dogs and cats are overwhelmingly the most adopted pets, don’t overlook other shelter animals that might be more suited to your lifestyle. Many animals – like hamsters, lizards, and turtles – require less care and maintenance and may be a better fit for you and your family.

Age Does Matter
Most pets that get adopted are younger. Although there is no denying they are adorable, younger pets can be more work, especially if you have young children. They require lots of training — to sleep, go to the bathroom, and behave appropriately. Consider adopting an older pet who is house trained, often calmer, and ready to live with a family.

Make Sure You And Your Home Are Pet Ready
Just as you would prepare for bring a new human into your family, you need to prepare for your new pet before he or she comes home. This of course includes all the necessary pet supplies like food and water bowls, leashes, beds, and collars. But it also means pet-proofing your home. Do you need gates to section off certain parts of your home? Will you need a litter box or a crate?

Chew toys, like this suction cup dog toy, are a great way to keep your new pet occupied and away from chewing shoes or furniture.

And don’t forget to keep your new pooch or kitty looking sharp with all the necessary pet grooming supplies. Buying wholesale pet supplies at DollarDays will help you save money by ensuring you have enough supplies to keep you well stocked especially as your pet continues to grow. We’ve even got fun mobile pet grooming items so you can keep nails clipped even when your on a trip.

Need More Time To Adjust To Pet Parenting?
If you’re not quite ready to adopt but want to help a shelter, consider buying wholesale pet supplies to donate. This way you know that cute doggie in the window will be well cared for until you are ready to go back and bring him home. DollarDays has all kinds of wholesale pet supplies from food to toys and everything in between.

For more information on animal shelters, check out this post!

Arizona Animal Shelters Need Our Help

If you want to receive more information that can help your organization save money then visit our homepage, create an account and sign up to receive our newsletter! If you already have an account but are not receiving our emails, then sign in, click on your name in the upper-right corner of any page on the site, go to Accounts, go to My Profile and then change your Email Preferences so you can start receiving them.

Lucky & Unlucky Pets

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Pets can be expensive. The Tibetan Mastiff […] has an average purchase price of $3,000, while the Portuguese water dog costs $2,500, and the Black Russian Terrier goes for $2,000. This, combined with the yearly cost of ownership—up to $1,843 on average for dogs and $1,035 for cats, according to the ASPCA—indicates most pet owners are truly dedicated to their animal’s survival and happiness.

[Approximately] 79.7 million [U.S.] households own a pet, [or] 65% of [all] homes. [More than 40%] own more than one pet; [t]here are 77.8 million dogs [nationwide] and 85.8 million cats, according to the Humane Society. [Roughly] 34% of dogs are purchased from a breeder, 4% from pet stores, 37% are adopted from shelters, 6% are taken in as strays, and 20% come from friends or relatives. Only 3% of cats come from breeders, 2% from pet stores, 45% […] from shelters, 25% […] taken in as strays, and 25% come from friends or relatives.

What happens to homeless animals? There are 13,600 community animal shelters across the United States. [Around] 7.3 million animals enter these shelters each year (3.9 million dogs and 3.4 million cats); 3 million of these animals are euthanized [annually], and 4.3 million are adopted [out] or returned to their owners. With so many animals needing our love, why are we paying the big bucks for these breeds when we can adopt an animal that is going to be euthanized?

We have all read about the medical reasons to have a pet. WebMD tells us that pets are natural mood enhancers; only a few minutes with a dog [or] cat, or [time spent] watching fish swim, makes us feel less anxious. […] Petting and playing with an animal increases levels of serotonin and dopamine […], and these transmitters help reduce not only depression, but stress, [as well]. [Additionally], researchers have found that when children grow up in a home with a dog or cat, they are 33% less likely to develop allergies, and the same is true for kids who live on a farm with large animals.

So maybe pets are the miracle drug we have all been waiting for!

We know about the medical reasons for a pet, but what about the psychological advantages? The American Psychological Association [recently] published a study done at Miami University of Ohio and St. Louis University [in which researchers] concluded people with pets were closer to other important people in their lives and received more support from these people, not less.

[In other words], pets complement other forms of social support, […] indicating no evidence that relationships with pets came at the expense of relationships with other people. Also, owning a pet can teach children valuable life lessons; [k]ids with dogs have a higher level of empathy and self-esteem, and learning to take care of an animal teaches the value of routine and good habits. Being outside in a public setting with your animal increases social interaction, because pets are great icebreakers and can help ease people out of social isolation and shyness.

September is full of days honoring pets—National Pet Memorial Day and National Hug-Your-Hound Day are [both on the 11th this year, and] Puppy Mill Awareness Day and Responsible Dog Ownership Day both fall on [the 17th]—[b]ut there is no celebration for the 3 million animals America euthanizes each year. It falls back on all of us to have the heart to help defenseless animals that can’t speak for themselves. For anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of their pet and felt that unconditional love looking back, we cannot continue letting animal shelters go underfunded and undermanned.

All of us need to reach deep into our pockets to help these shelters find homes for these innocent animals, and, if we don’t have the dollars to help, we should be volunteering to feed, walk, bathe and play with these ignored animals at the shelters. Donate or volunteer at the American Humane Association, the ASPCA, the Humane Society or the Best Friends Animal Society, where you can help save animals who are the victims of animal cruelty or natural disasters. […]

Taxpayers pay $2 billion annually to round up, house and dispose of homeless animals. Many of us go out and spend thousands of dollars to buy an expensive animal, while millions of others are being put to sleep because no one has stepped up to give them a home. Those of us with pets know they provide therapeutic benefits for many of life’s invisible scars. Our pets help us socially and emotionally. The unconditional love pets give us transcends work issues, family conflicts and death. Animals don’t care about the color of your skin, whether you can read or not, or if you are missing a limb.

So not only during […] Responsible Dog Ownership Day [should] we honor our best friends, but we should also be taking this time to help those animals less fortunate than the ones in our own home. Helping […] animals in need is the core of our decency. Donate to animal shelters and organizations to help care for these innocent animals. Volunteer at your local shelter to help the animals cope with being alone. No one wants to be alone, and your simple act of kindness can go a long way for animals that have no one to care for them.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/lucky-and-unlucky-pets_b_11818070.html

America’s Fascination with Cats

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Last month, I was watching my hometown baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks, play the San Francisco Giants, [a]nd when it came time to throw out the first pitch, it was thrown out by Grumpy Cat, an Internet celebrity cat known for her grumpy facial expressions. […]

This is not the first time a cat has thrown out the first pitch at a ballgame. Last year, Tara the Cat, who was made famous in a YouTube video that [showed her saving] a four-year-old boy from a dog attack in Bakersfield, Calif., threw out the first pitch at the minor league Bakersfield Blaze baseball game. Obviously, these cats don’t have the paw strength to reach home plate, so to have these cats honored in this esteemed American tradition says a lot about our respect for these pets.

Domesticated cats have a long and rich history, according to the Smithsonian. Cats were first domesticated 12,000 years ago in the Middle East as people abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and settled permanently to [farm] and [store] grain, which attracted rodents. The wildcats preyed on the rodents and stuck around these early towns. In Egypt, the African wildcat was domesticated to control the vermin that was harming the crops and causing diseases. These cats controlled the rat population, reducing deaths, and allowed a larger supply of food for the poor. Because they changed the quality of life for Egyptians, cats became sacred creatures representing life and associated with the goddesses Bast, Isis and Pasht. If an Egyptian killed a cat, they were immediately given the death penalty.

Egyptian traders brought cats to Europe, Greece and the Romans. All of these civilizations used the cats to control the pest population, and the King of Wales also made killing a cat punishable by death, [b]ut during the Middle Ages, cats were associated with superstitions and witchcraft, sin, and Satan. When the plague started in 1348, […] rulers ordered the killing of cats that were thought to carry the devil’s disease. Ironically, because of the mass killing of cats, the rodent population exploded and worsened the spread of disease. The mass killing of cats costs millions of lives in Europe.

Cats were [then] used on ships to control the rodent population, and when Christopher Columbus discovered America, cats on board […] his ship were left behind and flourished to become the American Shorthair cat. Fast forward to today, and in the 1990s, cats overtook the dog as the world’s most common pet, where there are now 500 million domestic cats worldwide!

[A]ccording to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), there are 86 million owned cats [in the United States today], compared to 78 million dogs. Thirty-nine percent of American households own a dog, [however], compared to 33 percent owning cats. […] A total of 70 million U.S. homes—or 63%—own at least one companion animal. There are 54,000 veterinarians [nationwide] taking care of these animals, which is a 55% increase […] in just the last 15 years!

[I]n 2012, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis started the Internet Cat Video Film Festival to showcase the best in cat videos. They receive 10,000 submissions annually of one-minute videos and pick the top 70, which are [then] shown at the film festival. When over 10,000 people showed up for this event, it became so popular that it has led to international tours of the program, and they had their 2015 edition launch a couple of months ago. We noticed on our Facebook page that every time we post a picture of a cat, it is liked or shared thousands of times, [s]o if so many of us take the time to smile, laugh and gush about cats, why are so many of them in trouble?

There are over 5,000 animal shelters nationwide, according to [the] Statistic Brain [Research Institute]. Five million animals enter these shelters, and 3.5 million are euthanized. Sixty percent of dogs are euthanized, and 70% of cats entering shelters are euthanized. Only 2% of the cats are actually returned to their owners. Two billion dollars of taxpayer money is used annually to round up, house, kill and dispose of homeless animals.

October 29th is National Cat Day, which has now been celebrated for 10 years. For those of us who love animals, we should not just be rejoicing only one day this month, because it is our duty every day to help these defenseless animals who have no voice for themselves. There are plenty of concerned organizations that need our support to help reduce the staggering amount of neglected pets. Donate to great nonprofits like the ASPCA, the Humane Society, the American Humane Association, or […] find a shelter near you through the Shelter Pet Project. […] If you cannot support these helpless animals with money, donate your time to help care for them at the shelters. All shelters welcome people who will feed, walk and groom these ignored cats.

Cats provide therapeutic benefits for many of life’s invisible scars. They help us socially and emotionally. The unconditional love cats give us transcends work issues, family conflicts and death. Cats don’t care about the color of your skin, whether you can read or not, or if you are missing a limb. […] Donate to cat shelters and organizations that care for these innocent animals. Volunteer at your local shelter to help cats cope with being alone. No one wants to be alone, and your simple act of kindness goes a long way for cats that can’t speak up for themselves.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/americas-fascination-with_b_8230420.html

For the Love of Animals

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While on Valentine’s Day, we show our love for other humans, February 20th is “National Love-Your-Pet Day,” where we turn to our four-legged friends to show them how much we love having them around. The Humane Society estimates there are 67 million [U.S.] households that have pets. […] The pet industry made $58 billion in sales in 2014, [which] includes retail pet stores, online sales, grooming, pet hotels, innovative pet product manufacturing and even pet funerals. Considering the cosmetic and toy industries brought in $56 billion and $22 billion, respectively, the pet business has turned into a significant piece of our economy. On February 20th, we should not only be loving our pets but thanking them for helping drive our economic recovery!

Sadly, we often hear about pets being abused all over the country. Just in 2015, the former mayor of Sorrento, La., was accused of torturing and abusing cats. There’s also the retired Phoenix police officer [who] collected over 100 animals—zebras, horses, chickens and pigs—and kept them without proper shelter, food or water. [T]here’s the individual cruelty, like the dog in San Diego whose owner used rubber bands as a muzzle and caused severe injuries to the poor dog’s face. […] This disregard of compassion for animals cuts to the core of human nature. It is not only about how we treat our beloved best animal friends, [but, in] a sense, it is about how we treat each other.

So where do […] unwanted, unloved animals go? According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), there are 13,600 community animal shelters nationwide. There are 7.6 million animals entering shelters each year, of which 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats. Each year, 35% of [these] dogs are adopted, 31% are euthanized, and 26% are returned to their owners. For cats, 37% are adopted, 41% are euthanized and only 5% are returned to their owners.

There is a major strain on our community animal shelters this time of year. With the temperature below freezing in many parts of the country, it does not take long for an animal to freeze to death when left outside. Luckily for these animals, [several] communities [are taking] action. […] Cleveland just passed a new law to protect animals being left outdoors without shelter. The city ordinance requires that [those] left outside have shelter large enough to stand up, turn around and lie down in freely, and the shelter must have one entrance and exit with a door or flap to protect the animal from the elements.

Besides weather, the inhumanity of our fellow human beings continues to burden these underfunded shelters. The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter just took in over 70 dogs that were seized in a major dogfighting operation. […] Evidence seized in this case included firearms, treadmills, breaking sticks, heavy chains, steroids and bloodstained dogfighting rings. I just cannot image the physical and psychological wounds these abused animals now have.

It falls back on all of us to have the heart to help defenseless animals that can’t speak for themselves. There are plenty of concerned organizations that need our support to fight animal abuse—great nonprofits like [the] ASPCA, Humane Society and the American Humane Association. There are also many lesser-known animal nonprofits like World Animal Protection [and the] Best Friends Animal Society. […] If you can’t support these helpless animals with money, donate your time to help care for them at the shelters. All shelters welcome people who will feed, walk and groom these ignored animals.

Those of us with pets know they provide therapeutic benefits for many of life’s invisible scars. Our pets help us socially and emotionally. The unconditional love pets give us transcends work issues, family conflicts and death. Animals don’t care about the color of your skin, whether you can read or not, or if you are missing a limb. […] Donate to animal shelters and organizations to help care for these innocent animals. Volunteer at your local shelter to help the animals cope with being alone. No one wants to be alone, and your simple act of kindness goes a long way for animals that don’t have anyone.

Original article here: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/for-the-love-of-animals_b_6459194.html

Brother, Can You Spare a Milk-Bone®?

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The effort in the recent Colorado floods shows our rescue missions for animals have come a long way since the pet loss disaster caused by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, where people would not evacuate for fear of leaving their pets. CBS reported that some helicopters rescuing people in the Colorado flooding carried more dogs, cats and fish than people. Rescuers, using zip lines to evacuate people over the enlarged raging rivers, also risked their lives to make sure the animal members of the families were safe. The National Guard took the posture that including the pets in the rescue helped convince reluctant residents to leave their homes. Once the pets were on dry ground, the Red Cross shelters had water bowls, on-site kennels and other supplies so the already anxious evacuees would not have to be separated from their pets.

If we can rally around a disaster to ensure our four-legged companions are safe, why can’t we do the same in our day-in, day-out regular life? You have an ex-marine in Glennie, Mich., accused of torturing five dogs and six horses. In August, we had the second-largest dog fighting raid in U.S. history affecting 372 dogs in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Georgia. These dogs ranged in age between a few days and 12 years old and were left to suffer in life-threatening heat with no visible fresh water or food, while some were tethered by chains and cables to cinder blocks and car tires. [T]hen you have an animal control officer in Long Island facing multiple charges because he had 850 snakes in his house and garage. When does our morality [related to] the sacredness of kindness in life kick in?

There are success stories. In Monticello, Ky., 80 dogs were rescued from a puppy mill. The Brown County Animal Center near Cincinnati was going to have to euthanize eight dogs at the end of the week, so they started a campaign for adoptions, and 10 dogs were adopted in time. [I]n all reality, [though], there are just not enough success stories to brag about.

The fourth quarter of the year is when we celebrate all kinds of holidays that reinforce our commitment to each other. We also should be taking care of the cats and dogs that are not as fortunate to have secure homes. We can help those suffering in Colorado from people to animals, [and] if you […] want to volunteer to help all animals in all cities, The Humane Society has a wonderful program to join their animal rescue team, where you can help save animals who are the victims of illegal animal cruelty and natural disasters. […]

In 2012, according to Statistic Brain, there were a little over 5,000 animal shelters in the United States. Five million animals entered these shelters, and 3.5 million were euthanized. […] Taxpayers pay $2 billion annually to round up, house and dispose of homeless animals. […] [T]hese numbers are mind-boggling, [y]et we only think about these poor victims when there is a flood in Colorado or a dog-fighting raid in Alabama. Since the majority of us are pet owners and pet lovers, these blameless animals that need our help every day should be at the top of our minds. Helping to support animals in need is the core of our decency. These innocent animals give us much happiness; let’s do everything we can to eliminate their pain and suffering and get them into loving homes.

Original article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/brother-can-you-spare-a-milkbone_b_4037328.html

From Pit Bulls & Parolees to the Dog in Your House, April is Their Month

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“Did you know April has more pet-awareness events than any other month? [There are more than] 10 national events, including ASPCA’s Prevention of Animal Cruelty and the Red Cross Pet First Aid Awareness. Why do we care so much about our pets for us to celebrate them in so many different ways in just one month?

“Most of us own pets. We know the comfort they provide for life’s invisible scars. The unconditional love they provide transcends work issues, family conflicts, death, divorce and other life events. Our pets don’t care if we can read or not, what our skin color is, or who we love.

“At DollarDays, the nation’s premier online wholesaler, we are doing our part by giving away $5,000 worth of merchandise to help animal shelters across the country—and you can be a part of it. Please nominate an animal shelter in your community by entering on our Facebook page. Additionally, Animal Planet’s hit reality TV show, ‘Pit Bulls & Parolees,’ will have a donation opportunity for their pit bull rescue center, Villalobos (VRC), on DollarDays’ checkout page during April. Customers can choose to donate $1, $5 or $20 to VRC.

“During this month-long celebration honoring our best friends, please do the right thing. Do what you can to help shelters and caring organizations ease the burden for defenseless animals. Make a donation to and/or try volunteering at your local shelter. Whatever you do, be sure to enter DollarDays’ $5,000 pet shelter giveaway—it takes less than a minute. Your act of kindness goes a long way for animals who can’t speak for themselves,” said Marc Joseph, Founder and CEO of DollarDays.

You can read Marc Joseph’s blog, “Pets Rule in April,” [in] The Huffington Post to understand why DollarDays’ heart goes out to our pets who need our help.

About DollarDays
Founded in 2001, DollarDays is the leading supplier of wholesale goods for nonprofits, businesses and betterment organizations. By sourcing affordable products, backed by exceptional service and meaningful community engagement, we strive to inspire and empower our customers to accomplish their missions to improve the lives of people around the world. Recognized as the City of Phoenix Mayor’s Office “2018 Product Exporter of the Year” and Internet Retailer Magazine’s “B2B E-commerce Marketer of the Year” for 2016 and 2017, DollarDays is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information, visit www.dollardays.com.

Pet Care: Why Don’t We Care Every Month of the Year?

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April has more pet-awareness events than any other time of year. It is the ASPCA’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, [the] American Red Cross’ National Pet First Aid Awareness Month, National Heart-worm Awareness Month, National Animal Control Officer Appreciation Week, National Pet ID Week, National Kids and Pets Day, National Hairball Awareness Day, World Veterinary Day, International Guide Dog Day, and National Adopt-a-Shelter-Pet Day. Why do we care so much about our animals for us to celebrate them so often in just one month?

[Nearly every day], the news [reports] a bizarre story of humans’ disregard for animals. Today, it may be the 100 animals rescued at a home in Howell, N.J., or the 20 horses in Larimer County, Colo., rescued from a ranch; tomorrow, it could be the 60 malnourished dogs rescued in Monroe, Conn., or the pet groomer accused of aggravated animal cruelty in Slidell, La. County by county, state by state, human cruelty to animals happens every day, everywhere.

According to the ASPCA, there are 5,000 community animal shelters nationwide, and close to seven million animals enter these shelters each year. Sixty percent of the dogs and 70% of the cats are euthanized. Only 2% of cats and 20% of dogs are returned to their owners from shelters because they are identified with tags, tattoos or microchips. More than 20% of people who leave a dog at a shelter adopted [the dog] from a shelter.

Now consider that 62% of American households have a pet. We own 78.2 million dogs and 86.4 million cats. The average cost of basic food, supplies, medical care and training for dogs and cats is $750 each per year. Inc. magazine reported that in 2012, the pet industry did $52.87 billion in sales, and [the publication] rank[s] “pet care” as the seventh best industry to enter if you are an entrepreneur looking to start a business. This industry includes grooming, pet hotels, online sales, retail pet stores, innovative pet product manufacturing and even pet funerals.

So how come such a large industry can’t step into our daily lives and help all these poor animals in need? Why do we even need to have a month like April, filled with reminders […] cruelty to animals [is still at] the forefront of the news? I don’t have the answer to this because it cuts to the core of human nature, and it’s not only about how we treat our beloved best animal friends but […] how we treat each other.

If the pet industry can’t step up and use some of their profits to help the less-fortunate animals and to help fund the 5,000 animal shelters, then it falls back on all of us. […] The people of Dallas County, Texas, have stepped up and […] funded a [new] unit in their District Attorney’s office that strictly focuses on cases involving harm to animals. All the major animal rights groups—the ASPCA, the Humane Society and the American Humane Association—gladly will take your donations to support their humanitarian causes. […]

The majority of us own pets. […] The unconditional love our pets give us transcends work issues, family conflicts, death and divorce, [s]o, during this month-long celebration honoring our best friends, do the right thing. Give […] your money to help these shelters and caring organizations ease the burden for these defenseless animals. Volunteer at your local shelter to help these animals cope with being alone. None of us want to be alone, and your simple act of kindness goes a long way for animals who can’t talk for themselves.

Original article here:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/april-animal-awareness_b_2964019.html

Who’s Your Best Friend?

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We at DollarDays noticed this year on our Facebook page that every time we posted a picture of a dog or cat, it was shared five times more than any other picture we posted. In this modern world of us all moving in so many different directions at such a high speed, why do people slow down to smile, laugh and gush about pets?

We have all read about the medical reasons to have a pet. WebMD, in an article this summer, told us that pets are natural mood enhancers; […] only a few minutes with a dog or cat or watching fish swim [can make] us feel less anxious and less stressed. They said pets help keep blood pressure in check, and children with hypertension lowered their blood pressure while petting their dog. Pets are good for your heart, help lower cholesterol and help fight depression. People who own dogs tend to be more physically active, and, in reality, walking your dog daily may be one of the main reasons animals help with your heart and stress. WebMD went on to say that researchers have found that when children grow up in a home with a dog or cat, they are less likely to develop allergies, and the same is true for kids who live on a farm with large animals. [M]aybe pets are the miracle drug [for which] we have all been waiting!

The Hartford Towns reported last month that the American Pet Products Association, in their latest 2012 survey, said 62% of U.S. households own a pet, [or] 72.9 million homes. While the number of cats outnumber dogs by eight million, more households have dogs. Americans will spend $53 billion this year on food, supplies, vets and other services for our pets.

[Indeed, some may argue that] America is obsessed with our pets. As The Huffington Post reported, the Walker Art Center, a well-regarded museum of modern art in Minneapolis, presented in late August its first “Internet Cat Video Film Festival” to showcase the best in feline web videos. They received 10,000 submissions of one-minute cat videos and picked the top 70, which were shown on an outdoor screen at the museum.

We know about the medical reasons for a pet, but what about the psychological advantages? The American Psychological Association published a study done at Miami University of Ohio and St. Louis University, where they concluded that people with pets were closer to other important people in their lives and received more support from these people, not less. […]

I heard on NPR Radio that Clifford the Big Red Dog is celebrating his 50th anniversary. There have been 90 Clifford books selling 126 million copies in 13 languages. Clifford kept getting bigger and bigger because of all the love children showed him, eventually ending up 25′ tall, full of kids’ love.

Not every animal is a Clifford. According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), there are close to 5,000 community animal shelters that house up to seven million animals a year. Of these, 60% of dogs and 70% of cats are euthanized each year. For anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of their pet and felt that unconditional love looking back, we cannot continue to let these animal shelters go underfunded and undermanned. This is National Pet Wellness Month, and all of us need to reach deep in our pockets to help these shelters find homes for these innocent animals. Learn more from the American Humane Association or the ASPCA, or get your teen involved in the site DoSomething.org, where it will teach them how to fight to help homeless shelter animals get adopted with a new app for their phone.

Pets complement our social lives with other humans. They also comfort us when we are all alone. These pets sitting in these cages at these animal shelters are all alone with no one to comfort them. Most won’t make it out of these cages. During this month honoring our pets, these other innocent animals need our help. Helping to support homeless pets is an act of kindness that pierces to the core of human existence. These blameless animals sorely need our help. Americans have always stepped up to help those in need. These guiltless animals give us so much joy, let’s work hard together to eliminate their sorrow.

Original article here:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/whos-your-best-friend_b_1940214.html

The Best Therapist You Ever Met

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October is “Adopt-a-Pet-Shelter Month,” and, as far as I am concerned, we should be celebrating this every month of the year. According to the Humane Society, animal shelters care for up to eight million dogs and cats every year and euthanize around four million animals. Today, there are more than 135 million dogs and cats in our homes. Back in the 1970s, when there were just 67 million pets, over 12 million dogs and cats were euthanized a year, so, in a sense, our society has come a long way in caring for our animals.

All of our local shelters do their best in trying to get these defenseless animals a home. As was reported in the Bandera Bulletin this week, “Saturday turned out to be another great day for adoptions in Old Town Helotes, where nine dogs and puppies found new homes.” Publications like Philadelphia’s PhillyBurbs.com continually promote local animals available for adoption. They even suggest that if you can’t adopt one yourself, be a good citizen and “support local shelters by putting together care packages, which could include baked goods for the volunteers, blankets and toys for the pets, and pet food items for the shelters’ supplies.”

[D]on’t forget the Red Star Animal Emergency Relief effort that was reported on recently in The Huffington Post. This part of the American Humane Association helps animals in disaster events like the Minot, N.D., flood this summer and the Joplin, Mo., tornado last spring.

There are plenty of Americans who don’t have pets and don’t understand how important a companion these pets can become. Pets are also teachers helping humans of all ages learn about loyalty, responsibility, empathy, sharing and unconditional love. Kindness to animals can rub off and teach us to be kinder to our fellow man and woman. If you are elderly, a pet can offer you hope, because being responsible for another life can add new meaning to your life.

Every American should give thought during this special month for pets on how they can help their local shelter. My company, DollarDays, is giving away $5,000 in supplies to shelters on our Facebook page. If you have a favorite shelter, make sure you nominate them to win. If you don’t have a favorite shelter, support them all by donating to one of the national organizations helping animals.

During these tough economic times, it is quite difficult to help the humans who need us, let alone the animals that need us, [s]o if you can’t support this cause financially, volunteer at your local shelter. These animals need a friend as much as you do, even though pets offer us much more in return than we give them. They can help us learn more about love and friendship than we can teach them. Just a few hours with a pet can improve our emotional health. These animals may be the best therapist you have ever met.

Original article here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marc-joseph/the-best-therapist-you-ev_b_999272.html