Companion Animals Adopt from a shelter or rescue group. Boycott pet shops and breeders. Don't buy while animals die. Why would anyone go to a puppy mill, pet shop or breeder for a companion animal when they can save a life by adopting from a shelter or rescue group? Every animal that is intentionally bred displaces a homeless animal in a shelter. Almost every companion animal species has a rescue group. Most breeds of dogs and cats have their own rescue groups. On the internet, you can find these groups simply by going to ww.google.com and typing in the animal or breed and the words “rescue group”. A comprehensive list of adoption resources is available from The People-Pet Partnership.

You will even find rescue groups for less common companion animal species like the Pennsylvania Ferret Rescue Association at www.ferretrescue.com and Macaw Rescue at www.macawrescue.com.

Please Note That We Are Neither A Shelter Or Rescue Organization. Animals for adoption are showcased on our Adoptables page as well as: www.peoplepetpartnership.com and www.petfinders.org.

Puppy and Kitty Mills

Never buy a companion animals from a pet shop or breeder. The vast majority of dogs and cats sold in pet shops are raised in horrendous “puppy and kitty mills”. There they spend their lives in small wood and wire mesh cages or even empty crates where the females are breed continuously until they die or are killed at the age of five or six years when their bodies give out. The mothers and their litters often suffer from exposure, malnutrition, disease, and lack of veterinary care.

Puppies and kittens are shipped from mill to broker to pet shop in pickup trucks, tractor trailers and sometimes planes packed in crates with inadequate food. One operator stated that if an animal arrives dead, the pet shop proprietor simply cuts off the ear, mails it back to the puppy mill breeder and a new puppy or kitten is shipped out. It is estimated that only half of the animals breed at mills survive to make it to market. Pennsylvania's Lancaster County is one of the largest purveyors of puppy mills in the nation. To learn more, go to www.mainlinerescue.com.

SPECIAL WARNING:

If you have to place a stray or unwanted companion animal contact a reputable no-kill rescue group or shelter. Be sure that they are a nonprofit organization and have a registered 501©(3) status letter from the IRS. Otherwise, the fate of your animal could be worse than death. The so-called rescuer could be a buncher. Bunchers are lower than puppy mill proprietors on the evolutionary scale.  A buncher is a person who collects stray and unwanted dogs and cats for sale to laboratories or other bunchers or brokers. Bunchers have been caught stealing dogs and cats and soliciting unwanted animals while pretending to be a rescue group. It is also suspected that they buy stolen pets, collect pets advertised as "Free to a good home", and adopt unwanted pets from animal shelters for research at veterinary colleges or industrial research laboratories.

After Adoption: Love, Responsible Care and Spay-Neuter Companion animals are children who never truly “grow up.” You become the center of their universe -- they are dependent on you for their survival throughout their life.  Their love is unconditional and it should be reciprocated by their human “parents.” They are not throw-aways, an animal adoption is a commitment for life. Once home, your new animal child will need a visit to the veterinarian for a check-up, vaccinations and any necessary medical treatments.

All dogs and cats should be spay-neutered within the first six months of their life. Never allow your companion animals outdoors except on a lease or halter or in a safe enclosure. All of the following surgical procedures are considered inhumane and are outlawed in many countries and states:

• Debarking (primarily dogs)

• Declawing (primarily cats)

• Ear and Tail Cropping (primarily dogs)

There are many excellent manuals regarding companion animal care available at the Libary or bookstores.

Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage: A Solution To Cat Overpopulation In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Donna Munizza Shields, Susan Zimmerman, and Donald Shields, VMD have created an ingenious solution to the shortage of spay-neuter options for homeless cats. Their Feral and Stray Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic is located in a rented trailer on the National Greyhound Rescue property in Northeast Philadelphia. The Center offers a long list of services including: low-cost sterilization and surgery recovery instructions; vaccinations including Rabies and RCP Vaccines; Frontline Plus for flea and tick removal; Ivermectin for treating ear mites; ear tipping, Feleuk/FIV testing; grooming, sheltering; and humane trapping supplies and information. Participating veterinarians, technicians, and other staff volunteer their time and talent. While the National Greyhound Adoption Program has provided a discounted rent for the trailer, MFA PA has joined The Spayed Club in funding operating costs. Recently a grant from the JoAnne Poinsard Animal Rights Foundation provided funding for a much needed JorVet Electrosurgical Cautery Unit and other supplies.    

The Feral and Stray Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic is an excellent means of saving the lives of hundreds of unwanted animals, improving the quality of their lives, and effectively addressing the cat overpopulation problem. Once sterilized, every effort is made to discern which cats are adoptable and place those cats into loving, indoor homes. Under the supervision of responsible caregivers, the remaining feral cats, who are very shy and frightened of humans, can live long and happy lives in their home colony with their cohorts and caregivers(s).

More and more people are recognizing the benefits of T-N-R-M (Trap-Neuter-Return-Manage) as a solution to the cat overpopulation problem. On Sunday, October 16th, the Clinic will be holding a SPAY-ATHON in honor of National Feral Cat Day. This will be a full day of nonstop activity helping homeless cats get spay-neutered, vaccinated, and treated for any medical problems they might have.

Veterinarians and vet technicians are urgently needed to voluntarily perform surgeries, treatment, and care. Donations are needed for operating expenses, supplies, and future development of the program. For more information and/or a free “Having the Right Cat-titude…TNR and Manage” booklet, call 1-866-6ANIMAL (1-866-626-4625).

Hopefully, more support for the Feral and Stray Cat Spay/Neuter Clinic will be forthcoming.