Buy One, Get One Free Kittens from Michigan Humane Society

I've always been a cat lover as long as I can remember. Don't get me wrong, I love ALL animals, but there's just something mysterious and sassy about furry felines...

Unfortunately, my husband doesn't have the same love for them (or any indoor pet for that matter)...So, until we have children and they're pulling on his pant leg begging to get a precious pup or kitty, I will live vicariously through my friends and their furry "children."

An uber-cool program that was recently launched by the Michigan Humane Society provides the purrrfect solution for those looking to add a furball to their homes: buy one / get one free kitty's. I heard about it as a public service announcement on WWJ-AM and just thought it was (pardon the pun) the cat's pajamas (yes, click on the link for the definition).

Here's the scoop from the MHS Web site:

With “cat” season in full swing and cat and kitten intakes at peak summer levels, the Michigan Humane Society announces an exciting program that seeks more cats and kittens going home in twos! The “Purrfect in Pairs” program looks to double the number of cats being adopted by carefully matching pairs and charging only one adoption fee.

In addition to placing more cats and kittens in loving homes, the added benefit of the program is that many cats do better in pairs by providing exercise, social interaction and mental stimulation for each other. Adopters will see that two really is twice as nice - and results in twice the love without twice the work.

MHS will adopt together cats who are well-matched and have been selected for their suitability to the program. Placing two cats together will also help maximize the available cage space - which is critically needed this time of year.

MHS maintains a thorough adoption process to ensure each kitten or cat is placed in a loving, responsible home. As with all MHS adoptions, the “pair” will have the added value of the MHS adoption package, which includes: sterilization surgery, age-appropriate vaccinations, a medical check-up, 10-day health plan and more.

MHS encourages you to visit its three metro Detroit adoption centers, or visit www.michiganhumane.org/adopt to “meet” your potential new furry family members online. MHS adoption centers are located in Detroit; Rochester Hills; and Westland. Adoption hours are Saturday/Sunday/Monday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Talk about smart marketing! All I know is that whenever that fateful day comes when I am finally able to pick out a cat of my own, the hubby's not only going to be stuck with one, but two!

Local Bulldog Saves Kittens

Have no fear, Napoleon is here!!!

I heard a wonderful story on FOX2 the other night about this local hero of a dog. And since one idea behind my blog is to report positive news, I thought I'd share...

This fearless English bulldog (pictured) saved a burlap sack of drowning kittens the other day on Tamarack Lake in Ortonville, Mich.

The dog’s owner didn't know why her pet had darted across a street and jumped into the water. The dog grabbed a burlap sack and pulled it ashore. His owner expected the bag to be full of garbage. She was surprised when she heard meowing coming from inside the sack.

Napoleon's valiant effort saved four kittens. Unfortunately, two of them did not survive. It's sick to think someone may have been trying to intentionally kill them, but I'm here to talk positive. Four survived thanks to Napoleon saving the day!

What's really interesting about this story is that English Bulldogs are notoriously bad swimmers. With a giant head and chest compared to a lighter tail end, they have a tendency to go bottoms up in the water. It’s hard to keep that head up above the waves when it’s the largest part of your body. Somehow, someway, Napoleon was sent to save those kittens.

I guess dogs truly can be man (or kitty's) best friend.

Sea Turtles: My Favorite of God's Creatures

Me holding a baby loggerhead sea turtle, August 2005

I was looking through old photos and came across a few happy ones that reminded me of an amazing trip I went on during school to volunteer with the Sea Turtle League of Singer Island in Florida.

Holy moly. These creatures are the most amazing things I have ever seen come to life. In my week of walking the beach with our inspirational guide, Debbie, I learned more about sea turtles than I could have ever imagined learning in a lifetime. And since then, they have held a special place in my heart.

You see, because of the harm man has done to this earth, these poor little guys follow the lights given off by fancy ocean side condos and resorts instead of following the light of the moon to the safety of the ocean, like their instincts should tell them to do.

It was my team's job at 4 a.m. to walk the island's 4 miles of beachfront property in search of baby turtles that hatched during the night and gotten "mixed up" and gone in the opposite direction from the ocean water and toward the false light, which often made them fall victim to a lurking predator or a speeding car.

We even got to see some of the hatchlings come out of their eggs where they had been incubating for two months and rise out of the sand when they were ready... It truly was the miracle of life that happened right before our eyes.

Unfortunately, there was days we were too late and some of them had already overheated in the hot sun. Those days we all wanted to cry. If only we could've been here sooner...

I could go on and on with turtle facts and reasons we need to be aware of the threat we are posing to these beautiful creatures, but instead I'll just point out a few statistics:

- All species of sea turtles are on the endangered species list.

- The longevity of sea turtles has been speculated at 80 years!

- It is estimated that only one sea turtle hatchling in 1,000 survive to maturity (to put it simply, the time when they can make babies), which is approximately 18 years old.

- Most turtles return to nest at the locations where they were born.

Our planet's resources are so precious. Let's not take that for granted.

TURTLE POWER!

The Little Dolphin That Could

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Ghandi

What a great quote. It's funny how in return, the animals will treat us well. Here's some snipets to this amazing "tail" I read about in the Freep yesterday.

About Winter (dolphin pictured)
Winter lives at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, a nonprofit marine animal-rescue center in Clearwater, Florida.

She was a frail, dehydrated 3-month-old when she came to the hospital in December 2005. A fisherman had found her tangled in the buoy line of a crab trap in Indian River Lagoon near Cape Canaveral. The line cut off the blood supply to her tail, and it slowly fell off like shreds of paper as the aquarium team worked to save her life. Both Winter's tail flukes and peduncle, a wrist-like joint that allows her tail to move up and down, were lost.

Winter learned how to swim without her tail, which is used for propulsion -- amazing her handlers with a unique combination of moves that resemble an alligator's undulating swimming style and a shark's side-to-side tail swipes. Winter uses her flippers, normally employed for steering and braking, to get moving.

Enter prosthetic specialist Kevin Carroll who worked to re-create a tail for Winter.

Amid concentrating on Winter's unique situation, lessons were also learned that will benefit human amputees. For example, Carroll found that the gel sleeve he developed to cling to what's left of 18-month-old Winter's tail without irritating her sensitive skin also soothed a painful prosthesis for Air Force Senior Airman Brian Kolfage, who lost both legs and his right hand in a 2004 mortar attack in Iraq. The sleeve sticks to Winter's tail with suction the same way a rubber surgical glove grips a human hand.

Carroll, who like the others on Winter's team volunteers his time and resources, began by brainstorming elaborate vacuum attachments, then settled on the simple silicone gel sleeve.

Handlers slide the sleeve over Winter's stump and move her tail up and down, teaching her how to swim like a normal dolphin when the prosthesis is attached.

Source: Associated Press

After rescuing sea turtles a few years ago on an Alternative Break, I've learned the importance animals have -- not only to our food chain, but to our overall quality-of-life. Lesson for all: report the cruel Michael Vicks of the world, commend the people that help our animals to survive and take time each day to appreciate our earth's creatures that don't have their own voice to be heard.