A Pet's Ten Commandments..

A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........

1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.

2. Give me time to understand what you want of me.

3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.

4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.

5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.

6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.

7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.

8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.

9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.

10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you so.

~Take a moment today to thank God for your pets. Enjoy and take good care of them. Life would be a much duller, less joyful experience without God's critters.

~Now please pass this on to other pet owners. We do not have to wait for Heaven, to be surrounded by hope, love, and joyfulness. It is here on earth and has four legs!

Letter from a Shelter Manager

I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.

First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.

That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.

The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".

Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.

Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.

If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.

Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".

First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.

When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?

I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.

I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.

Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.

My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!

Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that
someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT

For those of you that care --- please repost this to at least one other person. Let's see if we can get this all around the World and have an impact.

JOIN US TONIGHT FOR OUR FIRST ANNUAL FUNDRAISER

WHEN: TODAY, JULY 21ST FROM 5:30PM TO 9:00PM

WHERE: CADDIES ON CORDELL IN BETHESDA

WHO: MUTTS MATTER RESCUE

WHY: TO HELP RAISE $$ FOR OUR RESCUE DOGS

WHAT: A FUNDRAISER, FUN, DOOR PRIZES, A RAFFLE, AND MUTTINI'S (A DOGGIE VERSION OF THE MARTINI), ALL FOR A GOOD CAUSE

$5.00 at the door. A good cause and great people! HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE.

LINK TO THE EVITE:

http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?inviteId=TMDEFORWXHFLPRGGYANG

I'm in love...AGAIN

Okay, so I know I say this every time, but I really do mean it when I say it. I am in love....with Shilo. She is my new foster girl. I have always wanted a pug. What can I say, I love anything with a flat face. This girl happens to be exceptional. She is even tempered, good with other dogs, and soooo sweet. I just love her. I am thinking maybe God sent her to me as reward for all the rescues we've helped lately? I know I said I wasn't going to foster for a while because our house is on the market; But clearly I haven't been able to keep that promise. Anyway, just look at her and those pleading eyes. She is saying, "I want to live here with you and be your new furry baby"...

Check out her pics and let me know what ya think.

BUY GLASSES, SAVE DOGS....IT'S THAT SIMPLE

For today only, July 14th, Eyesave.com is donating 5% of all of it's sales to Mutts Matter Rescue.

This special promotion is for today only!! The owners of Eyesave.com are friends and fellow dog lovers and want to help MMR. So today, please take a moment to look at the site and see if there is anything you might need (ok lets get real--anything you might WANT). They sell a huge array of sunglasses, readers and more AND the money earned can save a life. Buy glasses=save dogs! So please, go shopping for the dogs today.

Thank you!!

http://www.eyesave.com/private/email/7-12-10/email.html

Please write and demand justice....

The pictures below are graphic and upsetting, but tell the sad story....

Just a dog...so they say...

...What about a life?...a living breathing creature...an animal capable of loving unconditionally...a gift from God...

On June 23, City Animal Control received a call about a dog at a residence in the city of Florence...they found a dead dog...in a small transport crate...in the hot sun...no water...over 100 degrees...

...the dog had been there for two days...someone had asked if they could move the dog to the shade...the owner refused...

...can you even imagine how that dog suffered???...to die in the hot sun...slowly...painfully...with no shade...with no water to help quench the terrible thirst...

...law enforcement was called...a warrant was signed...there will be a case before the judge July 23...

...our hearts should be broken over this...Mine is.....

...We need to be outraged...we need to demand justice...we need to cry out for compassion...we need to make sure that no animal is allowed to suffer like this...We need to SPEAK FOR THOSE WHO CANNOT...join me in this fight....spread the word about this dog...and the case that is coming against the owner...

....just a dog...they say...a precious life...I say...

...what do you say? We need to make an example of this man and send him to jail to honor the dogs all over the US that suffer like this everyday!

Even though this happened far from my home, it is close to alot of the shelters in the south that we work with. Trust me- they need all the help they can get to prosecute. Laws are not tough enough and enforced in a lot of the south. Below is the contact info for all the authorities involved in the case of the Florence, SC man who allowed this poor dog to suffer and die alone in a crate, in the summer heat with no water or shade. His hearing is scheduled for July 23. Please take a moment to contact the judge, police chief, Mayor, and local news media (information below) and ask that CHARLES BELL (owner of the dog) be given the MAXIMUM punishment and fine allowed by law; it's up to us to voice our sorrow and disgust over this needless act of neglect that cost the poor dog (we don't even know her name) it's very life, to try to prevent it from happening again & again & again. I don't know about you, but I have had enough; I am so tired of hearing these stories and I think it's time that the punishment fits the crime. Let's make sure CHARLES BELL does not walk away with just a slap on the wrist. Please be polite and professional in your communications with city officials and news media.

PLEASE CROSSPOST widely, and anyone in the Florence, SC area may want to be at the courthouse on July 23 for a peaceful demonstration.

Local contact is Jayne Boswell: boswell.jayne@gmail.com

City of Florence, SC---

Mayor Stephen Wukela (swukela@cityofflorence.com)

Chief of Police Anson Shells- 843-665-3191

Major Carlos Raines- Criminal Investigations Div: 843-665-3191

Judge Debbie Jackson- 843-665-3148

More information on the Police Department, City of Florence can be found at www.cityofflorence.com.

Address for the above names:

City of Florence

City-County Complex AA

180 North Irby Street

Florence, SC 29501-3456

Letters to the editor of the Morning News here in Florence would also be good! (go to www.scnow.com)

Thanks for your willingness to get involved!

More New Arrivals

It's raining puppies.... We have lots of them that need homes. I have posted some pictures below so you can see some of our latest and greatest. To apply for one of these angels, go to our site at www.muttsmatterrescue.com. Thanks for the support!