Stop Puppy Mills

Here is an easy way to help dogs . . . sign the petition "Stop Puppy Mills - Five Things You Can Do". The ASPCA is asking you to sign this petition to help them reach the goal of 25,000 signatures. We at the HUmane Society for West Texas, care deeply about this cause, and we hope you will support the ASPCA efforts.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/747817839

A few thoughts on cat baths...by The Cat:

Here is a visual treat someone sent me in an email.

'But You Said You Loved Me!'

'You will pay, as God is my witness, you will pay.'

'Jesus, you call this water warm???'

'I don't think I like you anymore.'

'You Lied !!!!!!'

'E.T. Phone home......quick!'

'No, I'm not your Good Little Kitty anymore.'

'Traction....I'm losing Traction!'

'I want my Mommmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!'

'No, no, no, no.....NOOOO!!!!'

FIV: Feline Immunodeficiency Virus

Here is an article about FIV from this website

FIV is one of the fairly common cat viruses, that is much misunderstood....

We have a number of FIV cats in our sanctuary, some of which have been with us for several years and are, in general terms, both healthy and happy and living a full (but protected) life.

We know that FIV is a much misunderstood virus, which leads to many otherwise healthy cats being euthanased - in our view, unneccessarily.

The FIV virus reduces a cat's immune system, slowly (over several years) this can leave it more vulnerable to other feline infections,

that is all - in itself FIV is not life threatening.

FIV CANNOT be transmitted to humans

What is often misunderstood, is that a cat with FIV will usually have a strong immune system for several years after infection, it is only with time, that the effects of the virus may start to show, and even then, most infections can be handled by appropriate medications.

The FIV cats that do suffer, are those that are long-term strays, who have survived on a poor diet

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and probably been involved in fights, with subsequent injuries going untreated - this is the scenario that leads to the suffering that is wrongly thought to be common to all FIVs.

In our experience, FIV positive cats can have, and deserve to have, a long and healthy life. They need careful attention to their general health and diet, but this is no more than any cat should receive. A properly cared for FIV cat need not have a shortened life expectancy. The effectiveness of all cats' immune systems reduce with age. Not many would recommend euthanasia just because a cat is getting elderly, so why so with FIV?

The main problem is that the virus can be transmitted to other cats (only cats - no other species). In the vast majority of cases, it is transmitted through biting. Cats fight for three main reasons: food, territory and mating. By providing a regular food supply and neutering, the need to fight is dramatically reduced, making the transmission of FIV far less likely. We believe that euthanasia of FIV cats is a vast over reaction.

There are many unidentified FIV cats everywhere, and most cats will come in contact with ones carrying the virus at some point, but, without fighting, there is no reason for them to become infected.

Eradicating the virus is not currently a realistic objective; and, putting to sleep a few individuals, identified with the virus but otherwise healthy, seems to us to be a futile reaction.

Correcting some of the basic misconceptions about FIV:

1 FIV is not in itself a life-threatening disease

2 FIV is not 'Cataids'

3 FIV does not necessarily shorten life expectancy.

4 FIV cannot be transferred to other species (animal or human)

FIV is a virus that affects the cat's immune system, it acts very slowly, and it is often several years before the cat shows any signs of a damaged immune system, - many never suffer at all!

FIV can make a cat more susceptible to other infections, which means they need care and protection.

It is like when humans are 'one degree under'. When 'run-down' we tend to pick up colds and suffer from minor sores, mouth ulcers etc, more so than when in top condition. It can be the same with FIV cats if they are not cared for.

In any animal (and human), their immune response varies in effectiveness from time to time depending on their general health. When we get run-down what do we do? - We take a tonic, get more sleep, have better food, take a holiday, we then regain our strength. The same is true of FIV positive cats - with good care, good food, and security, and preventing stressful circumstances, they seem to recover from most secondary infections just like non-FIV cats.

The FIV cats that have problems are the strays who have no-one looking after them - these can fall prey to all the other infections around, usually brought about through fighting for food, territory or females, and without treatment, these can escallate. It is mostly the un-neutered toms that fight, and therefore pick up and spread the virus. When one of these gets captured and taken to a vet, suffering from all manner of secondary infections, it is often too late. These cats are the ones that have led to the undeserved fear about FIV. It is the nature of a vet's work, that they will see many more ill cats than healthy ones, whereas in fact, there are very many more healthy FIV cats than ill ones - they just don't need to see the vet! - take a look at the photos of the FIV cats in our sanctuary (on the sanctuary page) and decide for yourself whether they look healthy or not - most have no need to see a vet from one end of the year to another.

Visitors to our sanctuary often express surprise "We expected to see loads of ill cats, but they all look so happy and healthy!" - Yes, that's because they are!

FIV is not the terrible thing it is made out to be, it is no more than a weakness!

This is Patrick.

Patrick came to us in 1999 in a poor state, very thin and with little fur on his back

Patrick on arrival

Patrick needed nothing more than good general care; he soon recovered and turned into a truly remarkable cat

Patrick the following year

NICK

Nick was diagnosed as FIV at one of the national 'rescue' organisations. As he was also very frightened, and in a generally poor state, he was destined to be put to sleep - until we were told about him, and he came to us

Nick on arrival in 2004

Nick, like Patrick, needed nothing more than basic good care - no special medications or suppliments, just good, regular food, and general care.

Nick in Feb 2007

The Story of Jasmine

In 2003, police in Warwickshire, England, opened a garden shed and found a whimpering, cowering dog.. It had been locked in the shed and abandoned. It was dirty and malnourished, and had clearly been abused.

In an act of kindness, the police took the dog, which was a Greyhound female, to the nearby Nuneaton Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary, run by a man named Geoff Grewcock and known as a willing haven for Animals abandoned, orphaned or otherwise in need. Geoff and the other sanctuary staff went to work with two aims: to restore the dog to full health, and to win her trust. It took several weeks, but eventually both goals were achieved.

They named her Jasmine, and they started to think about finding her an adoptive home.

But Jasmine had other ideas. No-one remembers now how it began, but she started welcoming all Animal arrivals at the sanctuary. It wouldn't matter if it was a puppy, a fox cub, a rabbit or, any other lost or hurting Animal, Jasmine would peer into the box or cage and, where possible, deliver a welcoming lick.

Geoff relates one of the early incidents. "We had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line. One was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross. They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee. Then she fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them."

"But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits. She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but to settle into their new surroundings.

"She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose."

Jasmine, the timid, abused, deserted waif, became the animal sanctuary's resident surrogate mother, a role for which she might have been born. The list of orphaned and abandoned youngsters she has cared for comprises five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and 15 rabbits.

And one roe deer fawn. Tiny Bramble, 11 weeks old, was found semi-conscious in a field. Upon arrival at the sanctuary, Jasmine cuddled up to her to keep her warm, and then went into the full foster mum role. Jasmine the greyhound showers Bramble the Roe deer with affection and makes sure nothing is matted.

"They are inseparable," says Geoff "Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other. They walk together round the sanctuary.

It's a real treat to see them."

Jasmine will continue to care for Bramble until she is old enough to be returned to woodland life. When that happens, Jasmine will not be lonely. She will be too busy showering love and affection on the next orphan or victim of abuse.

From left, Toby, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble, orphaned Roe deer; Buster, a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; Sky, an injured barn owl; and Jasmine with a Mother's heart doing best what a caring Mother would do.

Brothers B

Here are two St Bernard brothers looking for a good home. Contact us if you are interested. These puppies are really playful, spry, sweet, and obviously adorable!

Chewy and Savannah

This is Chewy - he is a 5 month old collie/ lab mix and a wonderful picture poser. He is very frisky, affectionate, and love-able.

Hanging out with him is Savannah who is one of our Humane Society of West Texas volunteers.

Sexiest / Manliest Dog Photo Contest! Win $50!

Here is a contest for the "manliest" or "sexiest" dog. Some good looking dogs on this site!

http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?id=73938893635

Viking Kitties

My first fostering experience was with a batch of kittens who had lost their mother at a very young age--3 or 4 weeks old. They cried every time they heard me move! Always wanting food. . . feed me feed me feed me they mewed. They slept a lot too. And boy were they cute. I call them the viking kitties because of their red hair and so I named two of them--Erik the Viking (who liked to sleep in his food) and Brunhilde. The smallest red one I named Golda after Golda Meir and the black kitty I named Malcolm mostly because my nephew wanted me too. He had a cat with the same name that was also black, but his cat had passed on.

Here are some photos of that batch of fun-ness

Erik had such issues with food I put down cardboard to keep it off the carpet. He was a real fatty by the time he left a few short weeks later.

That Golda was a sweety.

I wonder where these little fluff balls are and how they are doing.

Come on out and adopt a pet!

Here are some of our babies looking for a home.

Meet more of our Volunteers

Meet Dominic (right) and Mason (Left)--two of our Humane Society of West Texas volunteers. Dominic is hanging out with Sister and Mason is hanging out with Carter. Sister and Carter are looking for a good home.