iPawz

Rabies–free roaming animals at highest risk

Rabies is a fatal viral disease spread by the saliva of an infected warm blooded animal. It can be prevented in cats and dogs by the use of proper vaccines. However, once the rabies virus is present within the animal it spreads through the nerve tissue and eventually affects the brain in such a severe manner that the cat or dog will become highly agitated and possibly aggressive. In other cases the cat will become very depressed and withdrawn. More common in feral or free roaming cats, Rabies exposure always presents a serious public health hazard. Even indoor cats have potential for contracting Rabies if there happens to be the opportunity for bats to get into the home. Bats, foxes, raccoons, coyotes and skunks rank high in the number of Rabies cases diagnosed in free roaming animals. Cats are natural hunters and will seek out small animals such as bats. Always contact your veterinarian and physician if you are bitten by any animal. And keeping you feline friend up to date on Rabies vaccine provides you with a safety buffer between your cat and potential outdoor carriers of Rabies virus.

Monarto Zoo welcomed its first Cheetah cub in several years

It's Winter In Australia, But Spring Is In The Air

Monarto Zoo got a taste of Spring on June 2 when it welcomed its first Cheetah cub in several years. Keepers were surprised by the birth because recent pregnancy tests on mother Nakula came up negative. Anna Bennet, Team Leader of Carnivores, said the cub stayed with Mom until keepers decided it was best to hand raise her.

“Normally it’s very rare for Cheetah to raise a single cub as mum tends to not produce enough milk to feed just one,” Anna said.

“It’s hard to say why this happens, however the recommendations we’ve had from other institutions indicate that a single cub has the best chance of survival if it is hand-raised.

“Most importantly she’s strong, healthy and very cute! Our only problem now is deciding who gets to take care of the little fluff ball as she needs feeding every few hours.”

full story here

Cute little duck running after its human

Once in a while you need a video that just makes you smile...

Saying Goodbye: Elephants Hold Apparent Vigil To Mourn Their Human Friend

Lawrence Anthony was a conservationist and author known as "The Elephant Whisperer" who passed away on March 2nd.

In 1999, Anthony rescued and rehabilitated a group of wild South African elephants who were deemed dangerous. And the animals appear to remember what he did for them: when Anthony passed away, a group of elephants visited his house in the South African KwaZulu for a two-day vigil, according to his family.

While it's hard to say how they could have sensed that Anthony had died, elephants are known for their grieving rituals, both in the wild and in captivity. According to many researchers, elephants grieve the deaths of their relatives, as when a child or parent dies.

To find out more about Anthony's life and work - among his many achievements are the founding of conservation group The Earth Organization in 2003, and rushing to the Baghdad Zoo to protect the animals that remained alive there after the American invasion of Iraq - check out his obituary in the New York Times.

"Otterly" adorable–dog plays with a neighboring otter

An otter has been coming daily to play with the dog, now they're best friends. What was once an acquaintance on the other side of the fence has now become a friend who comes to play through the fence. This is so cute...

The Sloths Are Coming (Slowly) to a TV Near You!

Filmmaker Lucy Cooke's full length hour-long documentary "Too Cute! Baby Sloths" premiers this Saturday, December 17th at 8pm EST on Animal Planet. The film (and trailer below) features lots of baby Sloths, the residents of The Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica, the world's only Sloth sanctuary. Most are orphans whose mothers have been killed by power lines or cars. These orphans have a new, if slightly unconventional mom in celebrated Sloth whisperer Judy Arroyo.

full story here

27 Heartwarming Photos Of Animals Being Rescued

Here's proof that firemen and rescue workers do have soft spots in their hearts. The title says it all, and it's worth the look: 27 Heartwarming Photos Of Animals Being Rescued 

View all images

27 Heartwarming Photos Of Animals Being Rescued

Here's proof that firemen and rescue workers do have soft spots in their hearts. The title says it all, and it's worth the look: 27 Heartwarming Photos Of Animals Being Rescued 

View all images

Wins "soooooo cute" video for the month: Sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica

Thanks to Facebook, we found a few people posting this adorable video. "Amphibian Avenger" writes:

I filmed this at the Aviaros del Caribe sloth sanctuary in Costa Rica - the world's only sloth orphanage. Baby 2 and 3 toed sloths, whose mother's have either been run over or zapped by power lines are brought to the sanctuary and looked after by legendary sloth whisperer Judy Arroyo. For more sloth photos and videos follow my blog http://pinktreefrog.typepad.com/ or twitter http://twitter.com/amphib_avenger

For more on the sanctuary go to http://www.slothrescue.org/. Music: "Scrapping and Yelling" by Mark Mothersbaugh from "The Royal Tenenbaum's" movie soundtrack.

Resort to donate pet hair clippings to aid oil spill effort in Gulf of Mexico

You shampoo your hair, because hair collects oil. That means it can collect petroleum oil spills too. Over 300,000 pounds of hair are cut each day in the US–not to mention all the clippings from pet groomers.

Pet Paradise Resort, an upscale pet boarding, daycare and grooming resort, will start collecting and donating pet hair clippings from all 13 of their resort locations to help with the oil spill cleanup effort in the Gulf of Mexico. Pet Paradise will be working with Matter of Trust, who creates the hair booms to soak up the oil.

Matter of Trust has about a dozen locations along the Gulf Coast where the hair, along with used nylon stockings, is made into booms which help soak up spilled oil. It is estimated that one pound of dog hair can soak up one quart of oil in one minute. On average there is about 2600 oil spills a year.

“We saw what was occurring in our backyard (the Gulf) and knew we had to do something to help,” explains Fred Goldsmith CEO Pet Paradise Resort. “We are thrilled to assist in this current oil spill cleanup effort, just by shipping off our pet hair clippings we collect in our grooming salons. Companywide we collect over 100 pounds of hair a week, so we know we will be able to make a tremendous impact on this effort and future efforts to clean up oil spills.”

Pet Paradise Resort will start shipping collected pet hair to Matter of Trust’s warehouses located along the Gulf of Mexico and in San Francisco. The company has grooming salons in all 13 resorts located in Texas, Louisiana, Florida and North Carolina.

About Pet Paradise
Headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., Pet Paradise was formed in 2002 and currently has 13 facilities in operation of which nine are located throughout Florida; two are in Houston, and one each in New Orleans and Charlotte.

The Pet Paradise facilities include spacious dog and cat boarding suites as well as day care and grooming services. All facilities are Hurricane Category 3 safety rated and serve as pet evacuation sites in the event of mandatory hurricane evacuations.