October 4: St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day - Nambe Pueblo

Mark your calendars - October 4th is the St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day at the Nambe Pueblo. Located north of Santa Fe, Nambe will hold its annual St. Francis of Assisi Feast Day on the saint's traditional day of celebration, October 4. The day honors St. Francis' love of all creatures and is a traditional community festival including food and dancing. Nambe Pueblo, 505-455-2036.

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Barkfeast Great Success!

Cochiti Lake's Desert Paws held their first annual Barkfast a few days ago - and it was a great success. People and pets were happily fed, connections made, awareness raised, demonstrations, and most of all a lot of fun.

Their next event is a fundraiser called, Celebrity Pet Calendar Contest -- all Cochiti Lake pet owners are invited to submit their pets best 'kodak moment' to be judged and possibly featured in the calendar. The deadline is Oct. 15th - so hurry and submit your photo!

Please submit your picture to DesertPawsNM@Live.com

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Test your Animal Disaster Preparedness IQ

Are you prepared to protect your pets from the possibly devastating effects of a natural disaster? Take this quiz to determine your Animal Disaster Preparedness IQ.

1) What should you do with your pets if you must evacuate your home because of a natural disaster?

• A) Leave them at home with a big bowl of food and the TV tuned to Animal Planet.
• B) Bring them to my neighbor's house.
• C) Ignore the evacuation order and stay home with my pets.
• D) Take them with me when I evacuate.

2) Which of the following items should be included in your pet's disaster kit?

• A) A one-week supply of food.
• B) A one-week supply of drinking water.
• C) Medications he or she is taking.
• D) A pet first-aid kit.
• E) All of the above.

3) What is the best way to ensure you and your pet(s) are reunited if you are separated during a disaster?

• A) Identify each pet with an ID tag.
• B) Identify each pet with a permanent microchip.
• C) Identify each pet with an ID tag and permanent microchip.

4) True or false: You should include copies of your pet's vaccination and medical records in your emergency kit.

• A) True
• B) False

Answers:
1) D: The safest place for your pets during a disaster is with you. Search in advance for out-of-area pet-friendly hotels or boarding facilities, or make a housing exchange agreement with an out-of-area friend or relative. Never leave your pet behind if disaster strikes.
2) E: All of the items listed are important and should be part of your disaster kit. Create one kit for each pet in your household, and store it in an easy-to-grab container. Get more detailed disaster tips at www.uan.org/disastertips
3) C: A tag is important, but it can fall off or become hard to read. A microchip is back-up insurance in case that happens. Be sure to keep your microchip registration up to date, and include at least one emergency number of a friend or relative who resides out of your immediate area.
4) A: These records will come in handy if you have to board your pet at a kennel or other temporary shelter, or if your pet has a medical emergency.
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Desert Paws hosts Breakfast

September 13, 2009 from 8am-11am, Cochiti Lake's Desert Paws will host their first annual "Barkfast" - a meet & greet for Cochiti Lake pet owners.

Many great events are planned -
Rescue Canines demonstrate their skills - Kathy Sylvia
Wildlife and Pet Portrait artists - Annette Schreiner
Discounted micro-chipping for dogs and cats with Barbara Merickel DVM
Dog Training Classes with Carol Tharnish
Veterinary Technicians representing Smith Animal Hospital & Santa Fe Emergency Clinic
Local non-profit Pathways of Healing, Inc


A great breakfast, raffle, lot's of info and demonstrations - it will be a wonderful event and a fun launch for Desert Paws.


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Animals Abused by China's Fur Industry Need Your Help

I'm going to post exactly what was emailed to me. It's from PETA. You may like what PETA does or disagree with them, but read this. Read it and think about it. Use this info to really think about the items you purchase and what industry and country and value system you support when you make a purchase. Just think about it.

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With the fall fashion season just around the corner, we need to do everything we can to make sure designers, retailers, and consumers know the horrific extent of the animal suffering that takes place on fur farms in China and around the world.

Every year, millions of individual animals, including more than 2 million cats and hundreds of thousands of dogs, are killed for their fur in China. Some are strays, and countless others are companions who once shared homes with people who loved and cared for them before the animals were rounded up—often with metal tongs around their necks—and tossed, screaming, into a crate.

China is one of the world's largest fur suppliers, and more than 95 percent of the country's finished garments are exported—with many ending up in North America. And as we now know, Chinese companies have been known to deliberately mislabel cat and dog fur as "Asian jackal," "rabbit," or "raccoon" to fool consumers. Every fur-trimmed collar or other fur item from China, regardless of the kind of animal slaughtered to manufacture it, is the product of cruelty on a truly massive scale.

The suffering on Chinese fur farms involves all sorts of animals, all of whom are deeply frightened. Powerful video footage taken during a PETA Asia-Pacific undercover investigation documents the misery of rabbits condemned to a short, miserable life and painful death at the hands of grubby fur-farm operators. The investigator saw rabbits who were crammed into filthy cages covered with urine and feces, where they could only wait, petrified, as workers made their way along the tiers of cages.

The rabbits were yanked out of their cages by their ears or legs. The workers aimed at their heads with handheld electrical devices—often multiple times—as the animals kicked and screamed. The rabbits were then hung upside down and were crudely decapitated. The farm that the investigator visited has 11,000 cages and will be responsible for the slaughter of more than 600,000 animals this year alone in the quest to satisfy the demand for their skins.

Through difficult investigations similar to this one and through decades of relentless campaigning, PETA has saved many thousands of rabbits, dogs, cats, and other animals by convincing consumers and corporations to reject all fur. We've successfully persuaded some of the world's leading designers and retailers—including Ann Taylor, Calvin Klein, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Tommy Hilfiger—to adopt permanent no-fur policies, and we've made fur so synonymous with suffering that furs are no longer considered "luxury goods," and fur prices have seen record lows. While we've accomplished much, the wholesale slaughter of so many animals for their fur in China is an urgent matter. To help these animals, we must educate consumers, corporations, and even governments about the pain that goes into every piece of fur trim and every fur cat toy produced in China. That is only part of the work, but it is a vital part.

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Foxtails Can Be Hazardous to Your Pet's Health

Foxtail seeds have microscopic barbules along their surface. If they get caught in an animal's coat, they are passively propelled forward. If not noticed and removed, foxtails can enter a pet's skin and enter it. The most common places are between the toes, the ear canal, and nose. It causes extreme discomfort. Often an infection ensues. It can cause the ear drum to rupture, get pulled into the pharynx, stomach, small intestine, trachea, situate behind the eyelid, and even into the brain. The foxtail plant is a pest that affects pets, livestock, and wildlife.

Eliminate the foxtail plants from your yard. Check your pets daily - look for moist seeping wounds between the toes, under the ear flaps, excessive sneezing (often but not always with blood), or acute eye squinting and redness. Veterinarian advice should be sought as soon as possible in any of these cases.

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Petsmart $5 off in-store coupon

You can print this from your computer and save

Petsmart: http://petsmart-mail.com/P/v3/CouponWrapper.asp?E=835;036276;626690499;25;02&R=T1_CPN_50078&A=1007&ci=50078

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Report Cruelty to 1-877-5-HUMANE - Billboard & Leadership Scorecard

Have you seen the Attorney General’s new Cruelty Hotline Number? It premiered on I-40 Billboard in East Mountains on May 6. What a fantastic step forward!

This is a statewide hotline for reporting extreme cruelty to animals - and calls are coming in from several counties already. At least one animal has already been saved since the 14’ x 48’ billboard’s installation. Four callers to the new hotline number reported the same horse in poor condition, resulting in lifesaving help from the NM Livestock Board.

Animal Protection of New Mexico (APNM) staff take the cruelty calls and notify the appropriate authorities about animals in trouble, or people treating animals cruelly, across the state. Fortunately for the animals, many parties have contributed services, fees and space to make messaging against animal cruelty possible in this case- Clear Channel and Esparza to name a few.

Often they offer a reward for the arrest and conviction of a perpetrator - but most people have turned down the reward because they're happy that people are working together to change the way abusers treat animals.

It's now evident that New Mexico is serious about creating a humane state for animals.

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Source: apnm.org

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This Month's Theme - Snake Season: Part 1 - Snakes Among Us

With the great help of Mark Watson and his wife Deanna, we'd like to start off this month's topic, "Snake Season". Mark is a biologist and offers much help in Cochiti Lake with safely capturing snakes and relocating them as well as educating residents about peacefully existing with the wildlife in our area.

Many of us who have moved to our town have specifically moved here because we want to be in the midst of wildlife to observe it's amazing beauty. Part of what makes this beauty exist is the cycle of life and balance of the ecology. Snakes are an extremely important part of this cycle and without them there would be imbalance - they are beneficial environmentalists! Snakes help us. Among other things, they are instrumental in maintaining the rabbit, mouse, rat, termite and spider population..... and even other snakes.

We have about a dozen non-venemous snakes in our area and only two venemous. Our non-venemous include the Bull snake, the Long Nose, the Patch Nose, the Night snake, the Glossy snake, the King snake and the Coach Whip. Our venemous snakes are the Western Diamondback rattle snake and the Prairie rattler.

The smallest snake (in length) in our area would be the Texas Blindsnake - it has eyes, is non-venomous, about 4" long, and looks "pearly' like an earthworm. These little guys are your best friends in taking care of termites. The largest snake in the area is the interesting coach whip snake - adults can be pinkish in color (the young are browner), they are non-venemous and often travel at night (which is why you often find them dead on the road). They can reach about 6.5 feet. The second largest snake (about 6 feet in length) in our area, also non-venemous is the common Bull snake. I've heard many residents over the years making friends with their local bull snakes - they make their rounds and take care of any mice in the wood piles or sheds around the house. The widest snake in our area (in girth) would be the Western Diamondback rattler - they are widest when they've swallowed an entire cottontail rabbit. Diamondbacks can live 20+ years and contrary to what many have heard, the size of the rattle is not the age of the snake - they simply grow another notch every time they shed ... and they can shed several times per year. How do you tell the difference between a harmless non-venemous bullsnake vs a rattler? Well, the bullsnake does a very realistic imitation of a rattler - coils into an 's' shape, tries to change it's head to look like the rattler's 'triangle' shaped head, and it even tries to hit it's tail on something to sound like a rattle. But according to Wikipedia, the one difference you can look for is that the rattler will put it's tail up in the air to rattle whereas the bullsnake will lay it's tail flat on the ground or hit it on the ground.

So let's talk now about how we can co-exist with our snake population. First, snakes are not slimy and are not aggressive (not even the rattle snakes). Snakes would like to avoid us as all costs - they just want to get on with their day like we all do. They're not out to 'get you', they don't want to chase you, and they don't want to hide and scare you. All the snakes in our area know that humans are too big to eat so there's no need to hunt them. They have a "pit viper" on their head which is a heat sensor - it helps them distinguish whether you're a small rabbit for dinner or a big human to stay away from.

The goal would be to avoid snakes and let them live peacefully in their natural habitat. The Tribe has expressed their wish to Mark that we in the town NOT harm any snakes. If you see a snake in your yard, simply do the following: while watching the snake, move out of the immediate area quickly and get inside the house. Do not torment or poke the snake. Move out of the snake's immediate area quickly. If your pet has encountered a snake, gather your pet in the same manner. If your pet is getting close to tangling with the snake, the better method is not to hit the snake with something, but if necessary (in a life-threatening situation) hit the pet with something to control the pet and prevent it from attacking the snake. Remember, the snake will try to protect itself and go into 'survival mode' and if your pet tries to attack the snake it could potentially be a life and death situation for your pet (we'll talk more about this in Snake Season Part 2). Some dogs have a natural instinct to stay away from snakes and may even be spooked by twigs or small branches - this is a good thing. Some dogs walk right over a snake and don't even know it. Once you and your pet are in the house you can do two things:

• 1st do call Mark Watson (he's in our phone book under "Watson" and he's also listed in the front pages of the book under "Services -> Snake Relocation". Go get this number now and put it on your frig or by the phone. He will come and relocate the snake for you. He does this for free.
• If he's not home, don't panick and don't ask someone to kill the snake. Mark assures us that snakes WILL leave that night. They travel and make rounds in their large territories and after cleaning up your yard of mice will leave - they have no intention of hanging around. They will leave that night and again, the Tribe does not want us harming snakes. So no need to panick - Mark can come and help or it will leave by itself. Aren't we fortunate to have Mark?! Thank him the next ime you see him in town.
• One thing to mention - when you call Mark, try to keep on eye on where the snake is until Mark arrives - this will greatly help Mark in being able to find, capture and permanently relocate the snake.

Would you like to make your habitat less inviting for snakes? Here are some things seen around town that actually do invite snakes:

• Backyard ponds -they love water and need to drink - water in the desert will attract all sorts of wildlife. So if you're trying to avoid snakes - no ponds.
• Bird seed on the ground under the bird feeders. We all like to feed the birds, but remember the cycle of life and the ecological balance: the food drops to the ground from the birds and the mice and rabbits eat it from the ground. The snakes sense the mice and rabbits and come into your outside habitat to eat them. They just want to eat and go, but if you're offering them dessert, they'll make sure to come back for seconds!
• Wood piles - there are many in town who have their wood piles right next to their house - this is asking for trouble. Mice will make their homes in the woodpiles and the snakes will sense this. Again, they'll eat and go ... but if you don't change your wood pile habits, they'll come back to dine again. Wood piles should be away from the house and up off the ground about 1 foot.
• Garage doors - a common site in town during the summer months are garage doors partly open to let the heat escape. Don't be surprised if a mouse wonders in followed by a snake. Please remember not to panick (don't harm it), just go back inside and call Mark. You can also just let it be, keep an eye on where it is and it will go out and be on it's way in a couple of hours.
• Bird ponds - yes we want to hydrate the birds, but just be aware that any water in the desert is a magnet for wildlife and insects. These insects and rodents too become buffet for snakes. And therefore you're likely to see a snake or two.

You can certainly continue to feed and water the birds and have your koy ponds, but just be aware that part of the beautiful nature scenery will be the occassional snake enjoying 'take-out' in your yard. You now know not to panic - just call Mark and/or let it be and it will move on.

Snakes are out at all times in our environment - it's not just the summer months. In the winter they may come out of their dens on a warm day, but they will not venture anywhere to forage. They do begin to travel more around April/May as the weather warms up and you'll usually see them into September/October until the weather is steadily colder. When hiking, try to avoid reaching overhead and grabbing onto a rock - they may be basking in the sun and not take kindly to you landing on them. Avoid stepping over a fallen tree without fully seeing what's on the other side - they are often nestled right under that log and again, will not take kindly to you stepping on them. In general avoid tall grass and rocks. Here in Cochiti Lake you can find snakes sleeping on driveways or the street curbs as the sun goes down because the concrete retains heat and they really like storing up that heat for their nightly travels. Another positive is that there tend to be fewer snakes at elevations higher than 7500'.

We live here because we want to be close to nature. In kind we need to respect nature and let it be in all it's divirsity. If you would like to familiarize yourself with snakes in our area, Mark recommends a fantastic book in our library (one of the co-authors is a colleague of Mark's): "Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico" by William G. Degenhardt, Charles W. Painter and Andrew H. Price. UNM Press 1996. If you would like to have some 'hands on' learning about snakes and visit with "Teddy" a captive bull snake please email us at CLIPETS@live.com or call Krys/Ray so that we can get a group together to visit Teddy. Mark and Deanna are always happy to answer all of our questions and teach us some great things about snakes.

Next in the Snake Season series: What Happens if You or Your Pet is Bitten?

Next in the Cochiti Lake Wildlife series with Mark: The Many Species of Birds in our Area

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A Perfect World - Or at Least a Step in the Right Direction: A New Vision - "Green" Animal Community Center

When you think of a shelter, you think of cages of 'throw away' pets.... a place where more die than find homes due to the ignorance of people about spaying and neutering who thought it was "cute" to have their kids experience the birth of kittens and puppies; a place where because people have changed their residence ... or their furniture .... without a thought, drop their furry family member on death row. But now, imagine this - an "Animal Community Center".



With words chosen carefully, those at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley in Milpitas, California have had a vision for 12 years and now, as of March 28th .... it's become a reality. Their Animal Community Center is an "inspiring model of humane care, community involvement and green building design for shelters and nonprofits nationwide". [Christine Benninger, president of the HSSV]



Features:

• An animal adoption program
• A community dog park and training center
• A spay/neuter medical center
• A veterinary hospital and public viewing room
• Doggie day care/ boarding and grooming
• A pet store
• An education center offering programs for children, teens and families
• A community events room
• A pet-friendly café
• All existing on a green/sustainable complex

The facility: 48,000 sq ft on 5 acres of cage-less habitats for dogs, cats and rabbits. To relieve stress and correct behavioral conduct - home environments, complete with beds and species-specific toys.



Clinic: The number of spay/neuter procedures is expected to increase from about 30 a day to about 45 a day. The center will accommodate 10,000 animal adoptions a year - 6000 more than previously!



Medical Center Learning Alcove: the public can watch surgeries, there is modern digital equipment, natural lighting and more prep and surgery tables.



A Dog’s Life: doggie day care, boarding, grooming and training services. Fun and good behavior are encouraged with round-the-clock supervision.



2 Dog Parks: one for small breeds and one for larger.



The entire area is "green" and sustainable: a solar system to generate 40 percent of the center’s energy needs, an efficient kennel-cleansing system to ensure proper disinfecting and reduce water use, a reflective “cool” roof to reduce energy costs, stained concrete flooring to reduce the chemicals and water needed for cleaning and lower energy bills, on-site bioswales to clean rainwater runoff before water enters the sewage system, and artificial turf and native plants in the dog park to lower the demand for irrigation.



The result?

A Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design); a change in the public's view of how animals should be treated; and very happy pets - both adopted and those looking to be adopted, in an interactive community.



Christine Benninger says,“Our sustainable, environmentally friendly Animal Community Center not only promotes animals but showcases the ease and beauty of water savings, energy efficiency and building in harmony with nature.”





California's First Regional Animal Community Center - the address is 901 Ames Ave, Milpitas. Website is www.hssv.org
Original Post HERE:
http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-breaking-news/2009/03/30/humane-society-opens-green-animal-community-center.aspx
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