Charities Blog » Animals

Rachael Ray: Pet Champion

Merve — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:24:29 +0000

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!

ThoughtsFurPaws

Merve — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 08:38:15 +0000

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.

PetSmart

Merve — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:58:58 +0000

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.

NEADS

Merve — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 05:50:16 +0000

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.

Beach Watch

Merve — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 04:03:46 +0000

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.

Charities for the Environment (Part 2)

Merve — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:28:49 +0000

In rural areas where jungles boarder frontier towns, loggers are turned into farmers with help from the UN and other aid agencies who provide education on how their actions such as logging, charcoal making and stripping of forest can spell the end for the lifestyles they wish to protect. Indigenous people are tapped for better understanding of forests which they have hunted and subsisted on for millennia giving them the power to protect the land on which they live on with assistance from environmental groups.
Local cultures are corrected to prevent wiping out species such as sea turtles, birds and other resident animal species to prevent them form extinction. With the case of sea turtles which have high mortality rate from birth to adulthood, they may not have a nesting ground to return to when it is their time to contribute to their dwindling species due to development for tourism and other necessities.
Oil has had resurgence in terms of prices and forecasts of dwindling supplies plus worldwide political tensions have cause much alarm to economists. The need for alternative energy is not an alternative anymore but more of a must if we all want to keep on living on this earth for the rest of our lives.
Much is the power of man to create and destroy what nature has spent millions of years to create. Million of years on evolution have been wiped out in a few short years by over hunting, fishing and development of previously pristine areas that used to teem with wildlife and other native plants. Man needs to protect and recognize the importance of biodiversity if we are to ever continue to live on this planet for we are the only life forms on this earth who are capable of influencing and exacting change in the hearts and minds of all of Mother Nature’s creatures.

Charities for the Environment (Part 1)

Merve — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 22:25:51 +0000

There are several charities that tackle poverty on a global scale that is aimed at providing feasible sustainable livelihood projects for those who live in under developed areas of the world. In India for example, the move of NGO’s who have initiated and continuously supported the putting up of communal biogas digesters has been going on for quite sometime and have proven that home-based fuel generation is possible. The project provides the technology and equipment to provide cooking and lighting through biogas production from human waste. These plastic digesters are constructed and donated to family groups who have them installed in their backyards as well as all supporting facilities such as piping and lighting fixtures. The family is then educated on the upkeep of the system and are left to fend for them selves. Many of the installations have been so successful that the need for wood in cooking and lighting has diminished considerably exacting less pressure on oxygen generating trees.
In other areas where nature has been under attack for generations, charities and various environmental groups have recruited people who used to hunt animals for the illegal trade as guides and protectors themselves to safeguard their previous quarry that are not on the top of the endangered species list. Tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and other susceptible species have enjoyed protection from the very people who used to hunt them who were, as the various environmental groups the best suited people for the job for their skill are unparalleled in tracking and finding these mostly secretive beasts.

Plastics and their impact on Wildlife

Merve — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 05:59:15 +0000

Plastics have been around for quite sometime and they are one of the most destructive man-made products that have impacted wildlife in the seas and on land. These plastics are mostly petroleum-based and are quite durable which is why animals find it hard to deal with. Sea turtles die from strangulation and internal injuries due to ingestion and getting caught them. Dogs and cats end up having them in their guts killing them as they slowly starve to death. Even animals which are considered to be wild have been found with these man-made plastics in their stomachs. The threat they pose on nature has even resulted in outrageous ideas such as taxing their use which has been successful by as much as 90% as the Irish law has. The British government has also been in discussion with regards to similar tax measures in efforts to lessen the polluting effects of these tough plastic bags.

There have been developments such as biodegradable plastic bags which degrade with exposure to light, the ground or moisture but they are proving to be more costly than standard plastic bags. The use of paper bags which was encouraged in the US resulted in mixed successes, lessening the use of plastics but increasing the demand for trees in order to make paper bags. The problem is that plastics are cheap and durable which is also their main problem for nature which does not have the mechanism to break them down. Plastic nets which have been the mainstay of the fishing industry is so tough even the biggest of animals cannot get rid of them when they ingest or get caught in them. Sharks, turtles and whales have died from getting entangled in these nets, some of which are left indiscriminately by fishermen when they get caught on the bottom of the seas, opting to cut them loose rather than to get somebody down there to release them.

Taiwan is set to ban the use of free plastic bags to preserve the county’s ecology which has seas all around. Many nations have also been working on similar actions to reduce the environmental impacts these containers pose on the earth and her animal inhabitants. So re-use your bags and bring the ones you already have when you shop. Each and every small endeavor becomes a worldwide effort if we just do our own little parts. You could also support the many charitable organizations who are promoting better understanding of our seas and the impact we place on them like the Ocean Alliance, UnWorks, The Sea Shepard.org and the many more international and local conservation groups who are hard at work in helping and protecting nature for better tomorrow.

Whales –Secretive Creatures

Merve — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 05:39:13 +0000

Whales are considered to be the least studied marine mammals on earth due to their secretive lifestyle while they roam the world’s oceans. From birth till maturity, their lives are still quite murky for the studies only go on seasonal observations by scientists. Their long lifespan and large size prevents them from being captured and raised in captivity where scientists have learned so much about the world’s many marine animals. Breeding, diets, and many other aspects of their daily lives still elude our scientists and new innovative developments like the whale cam, which is a camera that attached to the back of whales allowing scientists to see what they do when they go miles under the sea to feed or do whatever whales do.

Protecting the oceans is still the first step and education is the key. Efforts have been quite successful but their numbers still dwindle on the brink of extinction. Some species are even thought to be almost wiped out due to few sightings. Plastic pollution in the seas is also becoming a greater threat for these artificial wrappers do not degrade and are often blamed for the deaths of many marine animals which die from ingesting or getting caught in them. There is need for protection for these giants who have a right to live as we do for they have long been in the seas long before man has ever been on earth and man who is considered to be the only being on this planet who has the power to save or wipe out a species should do everything in it’s power to do so. Save our Seas and save the Whales, we might just end up saving ourselves.

Why Some Animals go Extinct

Merve — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 06:07:52 +0000

Environmentalists, conservationists and scientists have been working hand in hand in the race to preserve plants and animals in the wild. Even with ample funding and resources, some of these animals and plants defy explanation in the sense that artificial propagation or aided-reproduction proves to have little headway. Nature is still a wondrous and secretive world that not all the factors have been explained. Scientists and explorers have been forced to go to extremes to gain better understanding of how and why animals in captivity fail to reproduce regularly.

They have found that the environment (plant, animal and other variables) plays part in the health of a whole species sometimes interacting in a mysterious way that it produces the right atmosphere for certain species to reproduce. Plants have proven to be a bit easier to manage for they can be manipulated genetically, allowing the creation of several new plants from minimal samples. This means that there is no need to gather from the wild, samples that have to be experimented on in the lab further threatening their presence in the wild. Some plant species have simply died off naturally which tends to make scientists and botanists believe that the process is natural. Some are wiped out due to man’s greed such as the case in the Amazon and the jungles of Sumatra, where huge tracts of virgin forests are set fire to for charcoal, cultivation and land. Charcoal making is a short term solution for economic needs for it takes a couple of hundred years for forests to generate good trees. Agriculture is also short-term for the soil is poor and cultivation would only be possible with the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides in order to boost yields, further polluting areas far from the cleared areas. Development projects also fail due to threats from another type of natural biochemical warfare that causes sickness leaving many a developed areas abandoned due to malaria, dengue and other animal/insect borne diseases that when transferred to humans become deadly.

Some animal species that have gone extinct in the past years have gone out without a fight, being eradicated well before enough knowledge has been gathered to study them and the role they play in the ecosystem such as the Australian Thylacine when the last known specimen died in 1933. The late Steve Irvin better known as the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, who is considered to be one of the most known and outspoken Australian conservationists has lived a life dedicated to the preservation of wildlife even when he was accidentaly stung by a ray as he was filming. His daughter, Bindi Irwin, inspired by his father and mother’s work in helping animals, continues to promote conservation along with her mother and the other members of the Australia Zoo continue Steve’s fight for the preservation of Australia’s natural beauty and unique animal species. The Kiwi of New Zealand would have also shared the same fate if people hadn’t pushed for a huge effort in understanding them better. Captive breeding programs are now providing re-stocking of the flightless Kiwi bird, the last of the ancient bird order the moas to areas of New Zealand that have not yet been overrun by feral species.