• Treat your pet like you would a small child – NEVER light fireworks near your pets. Lighting fireworks near your pets can damage their hearing and cause serious injuries. Observe fireworks from a safe distance.
  

• Always leash your pet outside of your home or yard. Loud noises, bright flashes, and strange smells produced by fireworks will make even the calmest of characters bolt unexpectedly – keep them safely on a leash.

• If you can, bring your pet inside. An animal’s first instinct when scared is to run, even if that means digging or hopping over fences. The best place for your pet is inside, safe with you.

• Give your pet a comfortable place to relax. Make them feel safe with you inside, even if they’re usually an outdoor pet. If you aren’t ready to give them a spot on your sofa, secure them in a room with food, water, a litter box (for kitties), and a cozy place to lay down. Draw your shades too – the flashing fireworks may still give them the creeps.

• Make sure your pet’s ID tags are updated. If your pal does take off out of fright, a collar with current tags means a better chance for a happy reunion.

• Clean up the debris after the fun. Lots of chemicals go into fireworks – ingesting the leftovers can be fatal to your pet, so sweep the yard before letting them roam free again.

• Know your pet before heading out to a celebration. We recommend leaving your pet safely at home or celebrating at daytime, fireworks-free event.

Yappy July 4th from Special Pals!

Why neuter your cat or dog? Consider the following…

• –Unneutered males are extremely territorial and will urinate inside your home, leaving their extremely pungent scent everywhere they can. Ask yourself what you’d rather do: spend a little to neuter your pet and stop the spray, or spend a lot replacing soiled carpet, ruined furniture, and buying expensive cleaning products for your pet’s entire life?

• –Unneutered males will wander away frequently in search of females in heat, meaning there is a greater chance of them being injured or killed outside the safety of your home.

• –Unneutered males are more likely to be aggressive towards other animals and people – this includes lashing out unprovoked your family, friends, and neighbors.

Why are unneutered males so aggressive and territorial? Blame it all on the hormones! Neutering halts production of testosterone, the hormone that make many male companion animals easily agitated and makes their urine so super stinky. Aside from causing these behavioral nuisances, the increased levels of testosterone make unneutered males more susceptible to severe health problems, including cancer and reoccurring hernias.

It is a myth that male cats and dogs will feel less “manly” after neutering. Can animals feel “manly” anyway? The answer is no. Cats and dogs have no concept of human-created gender roles or masculinity, and neutering them will not alter them biologically or make them all of a sudden a female. Your male cat or dog will still pee standing up… they will just be less likely to pee all over your stuff!

What about pet overpopulation? Unspayed females can have as many as 6 litters every year, meaning neutered male cats and dogs can sire as many as 36 kittens and puppies every year. And that’s if they only mate with one female per heat cycle. Add a few more girlfriends to the mix and you’ve quickly got double, triple, or quadruple the number.

What if half their little kitten and puppy kids are boys? If left unneutered, these offspring will go on to produce an astounding 324 kittens and puppies every year. If all of them are left unneutered, in less than a year your cat or dog will have a whopping 2,916 little grandpuppies or grandkittens. No wonder there are 9 animals to every human in the United States.

Neutering your cat or dog helps everyone: it will save you money and heartache in the long run, it will make your cat or dog a healthier and more relaxed companion, and it will prevent the birth of thousands of unwanted homeless animals.

Special Pals offers low-cost spay and neuter surgeries by appointment in our clinic. Surgeries are priced based on weight of the cat or dog, and all animals must be current on their shots to undergo the procedure. Click here to learn more about spaying and neutering with Special Pals.

Organize a Supply Drive!

Ask your friends and family to help you collect supplies for Special Pals. You can give everyone a collection date and pick up their donations, or you can even get creative and have a party! One friend threw a slumber party and asked all the guests to bring a can of food for Special Pals.

Some friends have even given all their birthday gifts to us! Instead of guests bringing gifts for a birthday party, they were asked to bring items from the Special Pals donation list. Shae (7) and Cayla (10) collected donations for Special Pals at their joint birthday party in 2012!

Whatever kind of supply drive you organize, the best part is the end – you deliver the donations to Special Pals and get to hear the happy meows and barks from the Special Pals animals waiting for adoption.

Go on a Special Pals Shopping Spree!

Ask your parents to take you on a very thoughtful shopping spree for the animals at Special Pals. Head to your favorite local store and pick out things from our supply list all on your own – aside from being a heartwarming gesture, it’s a great way your parents can teach you about money, price comparisons, and stretching a budget.

Get Crafty!

Hop on your favorite search engine – or Pinterest if you’ve got it – and look for fun pet toys and supplies you can make for the Special Pals animals! Knit our doggies a sweater for the winter, make knotted rope chew toys and fun feather dancers, or build a fantastic cat tree or scratching post! Our animals love to play and they would love to get a handmade gift from you!

Volunteer at a Special Pals Event!

Students can earn hours for their service organizations or school programs by volunteering at Special Pals events hosted outside the shelter. We are always looking for volunteers to help at events in Katy and in the Houston area, like the World Series of Dog Shows in July and our fun festivals hosted throughout the year in the Cinco Ranch community. For more information on how to volunteer, email us!

Be an Advocate For Animals!

Your voice can speak for the animals in the shelter, and the animals in your community. Tell your friends and family about Special Pals and the services we offer – adoptions, discounted boarding, and a low cost shot clinic and spay/neuter surgeries! You can even suggest to grown ups that they help volunteer!

Bunny Buddies has been called in to help rescue hundreds of rabbits from a local breeder this weekend, and they will be caring for them for up to eight weeks before some of them are sent to other bunny rescue groups in Texas. Many of these rabbits are in very poor health and have not been fed correctly for extended periods of time. Among the food and supplies needed to care for this fleet of rabbits, they will also need a 30×30 air-conditioned warehouse during this time for the bunnies to live in crates while they recover their strength and are spayed and neutered.

Below is a list of supplies and food needed for our pals at Bunny Buddies. All supplies can be dropped off at Special Pals. Please help if you can and share with your friends!

• Warehouse with A/C (Houston or Katy)  30 x 30 min. space
• used medium size dog crates (cocker size)
• bunny water bottles (the type that hang on cages)
• metal (no tip) 1″ low water bowls
• newspaper (in boxes or tied)
• ice chests for food storage
• metal play pens
• paper towels
• used bath or beach towels
• squirt bottles

Houston-area pets have been taken right out of their yards and held for ransom, like Boo the Beagle who was missing for five weeks in early 2011. Dog fighting rings steal cats and smaller dogs to use as bait – these criminals even have “agents” they send to shelters to try and adopt these animals, which is one of many reasons Special Pals does background checks on potential adopters. As we saw a few weeks ago with the case of Charlie the Boxer, burglars can even take your beloved pet right out of your home. Your pet might be stolen for the thief to sell, to try and extort reward money from you, or simply because someone wants a new dog in their family.

Houston-area resident Jeremy James’ beautiful Saint Bernard Boots was stolen from in front of his office, and though she was returned safely, it was after a lot of scary nights, and at great expense to Jeremy. We spoke with him and he was kind enough to share his story of losing, and then finding Boots.

“Boots was taken at 10am from our office at Briar Ridge and Westheimer. I leashed her to our front door and went inside for 15 minutes to get some things. I came back out and she had been unhooked and was gone. Ten of us spread out all over the neighborhood and looked for eight hours. We feel she had to be put in a car because no one had seen her.

Over the next seven days, she was spotted by a total of six people being walked on Winrock between 3pm and 10pm. We staked out the street for four days and nights but had no sight of her.

On the third day I got a call from a guy who asked if I was the guy looking for the St. Bernard. I said yes and he hung up. I tried to call the number back several times but no one answered. I gave the number to the police and they put it in the report.

On the seventh day, I got a call from a guy who said he had bought her on the street for $20 a week ago and sold her again for $50 to a someone else. He told me he saw the flier and felt bad. He said he could get a hold of the guy and have him call me. I waited a few hours and tried to call the number back. It was a pay phone.

Finally, a guy called me and said he had my dog and that he didn’t want any trouble but just wanted to return her and be reimbursed for the money he said he had spent on the vet for her, totaling $560. He told me to meet him at Katy Mills mall in two hours in the parking lot. I went and he was standing outside, no Boots. He acted very shady. He had a vet bill from a Banfield hospital for $560. I gave him the money and he took me to his car where she was in the back seat. I also noticed a guy in a car in the lot who was watching us. He took off when I gave the money to the guy who called me. Boots looked healthy and happy and she had been washed and clipped. I later called the vet and she had indeed been there for vaccines, only the total was $60, not $560. Its hard to say if the guy was involved with the theft or just a dishonest person looking to take advantage of someone in distress. I was just so happy to have her I didn’t care about the money.”

So what can you do to protect yourself and your pets from this unthinkable crime?

1. Never, ever leave your pet unattended – not in your car, not tethered outside for just a few short minutes, even in a busy or “safe” area, and not in the backyard during the day while you are at work.
2. Microchipping is a good thing that can help reunite lost pets with their owners, but it isn’t a guarantee against theft. Boots was taken to a Banfield clinic by someone other than her owner, but wasn’t scanned for a microchip. It’s up to the vets’ offices to scan at their own discretion, and if they never do, they will never know that your pet does not belong with the person who has them now.
3. Be wary of people asking a lot of questions about your dog breed, especially if they ask how much you paid for your dog.
4. Take a picture of your pet and update it often. Write down their markings, scars, colors, and anything else you can think of to help identify them.

If your pet does go missing…

1. Call your local animal control office to report your pet missing, in case they end up picking them up.
2. Print posters to hang around your neighborhood and deliver to local vet offices. AmberPetAlert.com has a helpful poster-making tool and will even email the posters to a list of vets and other animal service providers in your area.
3. If you suspect foul play or theft, file a police report immediately.
4. Get online and go viral. Send emails, use Facebook, do everything you can to get as many people as possible to see a picture of your pet and be on the lookout for them. When Boots went missing, Jeremy started a Facebook page for her, and now encourages others to use the page to post about their missing animals. The Special Pals Facebook page is another place where lost pet posts are welcome.
5. Contact local news media for help in getting your dog’s story and picture out to more people.
6. Keep looking and don’t give up. If your posters fade, print more. Keep emailing and calling.

If you want to help the cats at Special Pals during this month, we’d love it! You can always donate funds via Paypal, but we are always looking for items to help us care for our cats while they wait for their forever home.

• Iams adult cat food (all flavors)

  

• Non-clumping clay cat litter
• Plastic cat toys
• Feather tickler toys
• Old towels, rugs, and blankets for kennels
• Newspaper for kennels
• Cat towers and scratching posts

Thank “Mew” from the kitties at Special Pals!

Thankfully in Houston we rarely have to worry about snow, and this winter we haven’t contended with many freezes yet (was anyone else wearing shorts on New Years Eve this year?) but if you do decide to get up and get out with your pup, you need to be prepared.

1. Always, ALWAYS have a leash and collar on your dog when you head outside – it’s the law! Make sure your pal’s ID tags are up to date in case your dog does get away from you.
2. Don’t forget to bring water for yourself and for your dog. Even in cooler weather, you both need to stay hydrated. Bring a small dish for your dog to grab a drink while you’re out.
3. Use your best judgement – if it’s too cold, wet, or just plain nasty outside, chances are your dog won’t want to go out there either.
4. If you just have to get out, dress your dog for the weather. It may be hard to believe that even covered in hair your pet may need a winter coat, but they do!
5. Cold and wet ground can leave paws tender and make it much easier for injuries to occur. Bring a dry towel to wipe your dogs paws as you walk, and keep an eye out for dangerous icy sidewalks.
6. Want to go to a dog park? First, be mindful of your dog’s personality – if they get nervous around strangers and other dogs, take it slow and keep them on their leash until they warm up to the idea of playing.
7. At the dog park, keep to the designated areas based on dog size – don’t turn your tiny terrier loose with the big dogs! Be mindful of the other dogs around you too. Just like kids on a playground, your dog needs your eyes on them at all times.
8. If your dog is getting bullied (or bullying others!) or making it very clear that he is NOT having a good time, remove him from the situation immediately. The potential injury and stress isn’t worth it!
9. Bring a game! Playing fetch and tug-of-war with your dog is great exercise for both of you, plus it helps their socialization and satisfies their natural instincts to run and chase.

Whether it’s the neighborhood dog park or just around the block, where do you like to get out and walk with your dog? Tell us in the comments!