Search Results for: blog five ways to be an angel for animals this holiday season

Animal Victories in 2010

As we close out 2010, let’s look at some great end of the year news for animals. The ASPCA has released a list of their legislative victories from the past year. The majority of the laws passed are by individual state governments, but there was one successful federal bill signed into law by President Obama on December 9. In April animal rights received a blow when the Supreme Court invalidated an 11-year-old law called The Crush Act. The act banned videos depicting the sick practice of crushing; the name itself refers to when a woman in high heels would step … Continue reading →

PETA Takes on Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has been after Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus lately for its treatment of animals, especially elephants. Last July, the organization released photos of employees striking the elephants with bull hooks. These photos, taken by an elephant trainer while inside the Florida training center for Ringling Bros., also showed baby elephants screaming and struggling as they are taken away from their mothers. PETA director Debbie Leahy said that by releasing the photos, she hoped that people would “stay away from Ringling and all other traveling animal acts that take baby elephants … Continue reading →

Animals Bring Out the True Altruists

Yesterday I was reading a copy of Woman’s World. They always have this “What’s Does X Say about Your Personality?” section. If you’ve never seen it, basically they pose a question and give you five or six options to chose from. For instance, sometimes it’s what does your handwriting say about you? Then you pick which style most closely matches yours. Or which color do you prefer? Again, you pick and read what it says. If You Give Holiday Gifts to Animals… This last one was “What does your holiday gift giving style say about you?” One of the selections … Continue reading →

Celebrating a Second Anniversary as a Pets Blogger

Two years ago today I officially started on with Families.com as one of their newest Pets Bloggers. Ironically enough, two years later on my anniversary date, here I’ve turned in my two weeks notice. (I just realized as I started writing this that I did that on my start date anniversary.) It’s been a good ride, a very fun ride, and an amazingly informative one. I’ll still be around for the next couple of weeks, but I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some of my favorite blogs from the past couple of years. A Few of My … Continue reading →

Catalog Gifts for Dogs and the People Who Love Them: What on Earth and Wireless

Much to Wayne’s chagrin, it’s that time of year when our mailbox comes under assault by relentless rounds of catalogs. I have to admit I do buy my fair share of things from them. But what I love most is curling up on the couch and perusing all the different wares. I never know what I might find! This year I’ve come across some neat things I’ve never seen before, as well as some favorites from years past. I thought I’d make a list of them to help me keep track of what I might want to gift to who … Continue reading →

Five Ways to Be an Angel for Animals This Holiday Season

In addition to the flurry of catalogs stuffing my mailbox these days, I’ve also gotten a slew of donation requests from various animal organizations. I’d love to help all of them, but, just like everybody else, money’s tight lately. However, I decided I still could help. Maybe not everyone else is aware of the various places needing help or of the different donation programs offered. Maybe by creating a list of them I’d still be helping in a way. So that’s what I did. Maybe one of the following will appeal to your donation style. PETA’s “Angels for Animals” doghouse … Continue reading →

Christmastime in Chicago

I grew up in a very small town on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Which means as a child I was not exposed to the holiday pomp and pageantry displayed in many major metropolitan areas. However, in the years since moving from my hometown in Hawaii I have tried to make up for lost time by frequenting large cities during the holidays. I’ve been to New York, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Dallas, but without a doubt my favorite city to visit during the month of December is Chicago. Chicago is an incredible place to visit year … Continue reading →

79 Animal Rights, Welfare, and Service Organizations Worthy of Your Donations

Using ratings generated by Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy, I’ve compiled a list of the top-rated animal rights, welfare, and service-related charities. These are ones that scored either four stars from Charity Navigator (their highest rating) or As from the American Institute of Philanthropy. Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy evaluate “the financial health” of non-profit organizations to determine which ones are using their money most effectively. What this means to you is that you can rest assured your donation dollars are being well utilized for the cause they were intended. Charities are listed in … Continue reading →