You will know her by her gawky smile. Or maybe by her raucous laughter. No matter what some people may think of her, Rachael Ray seems to have something going on for herself. She has this tendency to charm people and it seems that her charm extends to animals as well.
Just recently, the celebrity chef cum talk show host was honored by the North Shore Animal League America with the President’s Award for Humanitarian Excellence. What for? The Cat Channel has the story:
NSALA has chosen Ray as the recipient of this award for her efforts on behalf of companion animals, according to the no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization. The award will be presented to her at the eighth annual Lewyt Humane Awards Luncheon on June 3.
Ray has helped charities that take care of animals through Rachael’s Rescue, which highlights animal welfare organizations such as NSALA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pitbulls (BAD RAP).
That is not all, though. She has even gotten together with Ainsworth Pet Nutrition to come up with a line of dog food and treats. You may have seen this product line, Rachael Ray Nutrish. Proceeds from the sales of these products are donated to pet charities, by the way. (I am pretty sure she does not serve these up on her cooking shows, unless her guests are dogs.)
So there you have it – even people who cook meat (and she does cook meat) can be animal lovers as well!
Categories: Animals, News, Products
The blog is a collection of pet charities and concerned individuals, which combines posts from pet lovers from all over who are tasked into improving the lives of neglected and abandoned pets. The many charities that deal with pets have been wrecked by intrigue and drama that you don’t know which is which. The pages contain warming stories straight from the people who do the rescue work themselves as well as pet lovers who are passionate about our furry friends.
Not just for furry but all types of animals and pets are subject with many links to several blogs that also aim to raise awareness regarding the plight of dogs, cats, birds and even farm animals that are being raised for the pet trade. Hear the warming stories of adopted animals as far as Baghdad that have been brought home to the States, helping their adopted owners deal with the turmoil that is war.
Categories: Activities, Animals, Campaigns, Charities, Children, Disaster Relief, Environmental, Families, Fundraising, Ideas, Inspiration, News, Organizations, Websites | Tags: Animal-charity, animal-protection, animal-welfare, Animals, Organizations
Established in 1994 to address the alarming statistics that shows a yearly rate of abandoned pets to be at 6 to 8 million. Among those, around 3 to 4 million are euthanized due to the inability of shelters to take care of them due to restricted resources and funding. Rated a four-star charity by the Charity navigator, they have managed to save the lives of around 3.3 million pets spanning the species spectrum of animals that they send into adoption programs to get them the loving homes they deserve. These abandoned pets are a result of irresponsible pet ownership, some are abandoned due to financial problems, and some are left to fend for themselves, sometimes in appalling conditions. These animals got through health checks and are brought back to proper health according to pre-set standards. Animals are then checked for signs that may show if they are indeed probable candidates for adoption, animals with degenerative diseases and psychological issues are put down for apparent reasons. Their vision of a home for every pet might be too ambitious but they are getting things done and indeed saving lives of animals who would otherwise have to be put down. With the help of state and local authorities and funding from private individuals and businesses they continue on their loving work to get each and every animal a home that would give them the best possible care.
Categories: Animals, Campaigns, Charities, Volunteering, Wildlife | Tags: Animal Rights, Animal Shelters, Euthanasia, Mercy Killing, pets
Member of the Animal Charities of America, Neads was established in 1976 to train and rehabilitate puppies and dogs rescued from all over. Their main goal is to get these dogs, raise them, and then train them as aids to deaf and disabled people who need independence. The rising cost of medical care and care of animals has strained many charitable organizations that rely totally on the goodwill of people who provide donations in monetary and kind. Located in Central Massachusetts, the organization has trained and awarded dogs to many of America’s disabled and deaf. They have allowed people with disabilities to live normal lives without much reliance on other people boosting their self-confidence making them more productive members of society.
Dogs undergo a six-month training cycle where they learn the ropes of becoming a hearing-eye dog becoming the ears for the deaf and eyes for the blind. People who are candidates to receive NEADS trained dogs are houses for two weeks in fully furnished housing units where they work together with the trainers in getting to know better their animals and learning about proper treatment and care of their special animals. Being a charitable institution with little financial might, all candidates have to pay for all the equipment and training costs for their animals. But many who have received animals do earn a lifetime of memories for their dogs become more than guide dogs but members of their family. Often times we hear stories of people getting saved by these magnificent animals who would otherwise have been euthanized, given a second life as aides to the disabled.
Categories: Activities, Animals, Campaigns, Charities, Families, Organizations, Programs | Tags: Charities, Hearing dogs, Seeing eye dogs
The Marine Conservation Society of Britain is a charitable organization in the UK which took up the challenge of promoting conservation awareness in the UK’s Territorial Waters. Their report for the year 2007 shows that the threat of plastic pollution is still on the rise in spite of all the conservation and plastic re-processing efforts like the one in Ireland which has been hailed a success story in the short time that it has been in the works.
Truly, the plastic pollution crisis of our seas has become so much of a problem that even deserted islands like the former WW2 hotspot, the Midway Atoll are suffering from the scourge of plastics. The island of Midway, now a conservation site and sanctuary for migratory sea birds such as the two species of albatross that are suffering dearly with high chick mortality due to plastic ingestion. These albatross species are considered to be endangered in the US and Canada since 2002 and are further being decimated by the plastic pollution which wash up on shore as the atoll is located in between swirling sea currents. The adults collect food from the seas surrounding the islands and then feed their young sometimes regurgitating plastics, passing them on to their young. The chicks being fragile die from complications such as blocked digestive tracts and more side-effects of the ingested plastic leaving them to starve to death.
The breeding colonies that call the atoll home have considerably lost new additions to their populations due to the incidence of high chick mortality. Conservation efforts by the American and Canadian authorities are trying to help the birds get back on their normal breeding populations. The loss of a species from an ecosystem has wide and complicated implications, some of which we are beginning to understand like the demise of bees all over the world which is expected to impact global crop production which can lead to food shortages.
Categories: Activities, Animals, Campaigns, Charities, Environmental, News, Organizations | Tags: Albatross, Endangered Species, Midway Atoll, plastic, Plastic and the Seas, pollution
