Second Chance Animal Shelter in East Brookfield

     As you all know, I LOVE rescue animals. If you're looking for a new loyal pet, there is an animal shelter in East Brookfield called '2nd Chance' and it's a no kill shelter who do a thorough search to find the pets a good home. Here is a few of the animals they have now.

This is Jake, he is a friendly Australian Shepard Mix looking for a good home with an active family.

Panda is a lovely mixed breed boy! He is quite shy in his kennel but once he comes out to meet you he's a real love!
 

 

This is Mace, he's a sweet cuddly cat looking for a purrrfect home



This is Spike, he's a shy little guy but will warm up to you once he knows you.

This is Kemal, a four year old German Shepard with lots of energy.
 

Steele is a 3 month old kitten who loves to play and enjoys other cats.

This is Shadow, shes a 5 year old girl who would do well in a quiet home

 

This adorable little baby is Velvet who is looking for a forever home.

 

Rescue Love

     In my first blog entry, I had written about my two dogs briefly. Their names are Frankie and Daisy and they are both the most lovable and sweetest dogs you would ever meet. Frank, aka Francis when he is getting in trouble, is considered the baby of the house. He is a one year old German Shepard/unknown rescue dog. Frankie's story goes back to when he was just eight weeks old. He was locked in a car, with the windows rolled up in the middle of July with his brothers and sisters. Someone in the neighborhood called and reported an adult German Shepard who appeared to be emaciated and abused. Later, animal control found the puppies in the car, throwing up and pooping out pieces of the car. Daisy is almost five years old now and she's a bit over-weight but, very happy. She's a beautiful German Shepard Lab and she loves her people more than anything. Daisy was also a rescue dog. She was taken from a house abandoned with over 250 other dogs in a southern state. Now they both live in a home where they are loved so much.
     I want to take some time to talk about rescue animals. Every single day there is hundreds of animals being neglected and abused. But, everyday hundreds of animals are also being saved and being brought to good homes. A lot of these animals will sit in an animal shelter all their lives because a lot of people want a full-bred puppy. Not my family. I believe that a rescue dog is so much more loyal to their owner because they know, their owner saved them. And for that they will love you forever.
      In New York a woman named Debbie rescued a six week old puppy from a puppy mill that was scheduled to be killed. Debbie stole her away and named her Shelby. For the next fourteen years, Shelby rescued Debbie after Debbie had an accident that left her bed for months. Shelby didn't leave Debbie's side and was constantly refusing to go outside and play. All she wanted to do was lay with Debbie. Debbie says "Pain and depression can sometimes make a person think the unthinkable. If not for Shelby I would not be here today".
     Far away in Colombia came a story about a little black stray kitten that would just sit outside of a grocery store, everyone assumed she must live near there, One day a lady named Andrea was walking home and the little black kitten followed her all the way home. The kitten kept coming back each night and soon Andrea went out and bought cat food for him. She eventually named her Narcissa and the kitten stayed with her for the next six years up until now.
     Those are just a few of the thousands of rescue stories all over the world. Rescue Shelters have new pets coming in and out everyday looking for a home. If you can't adopt an animal, maybe you can at least go volunteer or just stop at one and give some of the animals some love.

These are my babies, Daisy on the left and Frankie on the right

The Cove

     Yesterday I received a text from a dolphin subscription I signed up for last year. The text read "Dolphin Killings in Taiji, Japan have now begun. Click the link below to watch a video of a dolphin trying to escape". So I clicked the link and what I watched nearly broke my heart. A young dolphin was attempting to escape but, later drowned in the nets.
      I have been signing petitions to end the cove killings for two years now. When I first learned about these killings I was absolutely heart broken. Dolphins are my all time favorite animal. They are fascinating creatures with many human-like talents. Dolphins are playful creatures, you can often see them playing with other dolphins. Dolphins are very smart, they can respond to a given-name and they communicate there feelings through different sounds. Dolphins also have been known to help us when we were in need. I remember a story of a dolphin attacking a shark who was going after a surfer, and then even helped bring the surfer closer to shore.
     In Taiji Japan, every year boats round up hundreds of bottled nosed dolphins by banging metal together underneath the water into what is known as "The Cove" and trap them with nets. After what they need is rounded up, many Japanese find the good ones and sell them to aquariums all over the world. Then what is left of the dolphins in the cove are slaughtered. It is tradition in this city for the young boys to become men by spearing these dolphins to death. The once clear waters become a blood red pool of lifeless dolphin bodies.
     Taiji has been able to keep these monstrous acts hidden until a recent documentary led by a group of activists and dolphin trainer, Rick O'Barry. They made it their mission to uncover extreme animal abuse and a threat to human health. You can find this documentary on  Netflix and many online websites. Because of this movie, many things have been done to stop these horrible acts and end this animal abuse. Dolphins are amazing creatures and don't deserve this cruelty.
     If you want to help and you want to do something to stop this and make a change, you can go to http://www.takepart.com/cove and learn how you can take part. At the bottom of the page you can sign the petition to stop these killings, for free, and even your signature can make an impact.  On this link you can watch a preview of 'The Cove'. I highly suggest watching it. Make a difference and do your part! Please, the dolphins need you. 

Look at how innocent and cute .

    

Look at what these people are doing to them.

Happy Pet, Happy Person

Does looking at a dog walking with it's owner, or cat relaxing on dad's lap make you happy? It makes me happy. It makes me happy to see animals having a connection with a person, especially after the animal had a terrible experience with an abuser. It makes me happy when an animal gets a second chance at happiness. Sometimes when I get bored or unhappy I go to http://theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/clickToGive/ars/stories where I can read stories owners of rescue animals will write happy stories about their animals.

Jonathan the Happy Turtle

You would think at 100, an animal would be either dead or almost there. At 183, Jonathan, a giant tortoise is living like a king. He is living on a small island of St. Helena. Just recently, he was eating twigs, leaves and grass which is an unhealthy diet for him. Now, he is being served a much more nutritious and delicious diet plan including apples, carrots, cucumbers, bananas and guava. Before the diet change, Jonathan's beak was soft and blunt, changing his diet made his beak sharper and easier to graze with.
"His once blunt and crumbly beak has become sharp and lethal, so he was probably suffering from micro deficiencies of vitamins, minerals and trace elements,"  Hollins said in a statement.
Over time Jonathan lost most of his eye sight, his sense of smell and his ability to mate.
In Hollins report it read "Once weekly I hand-feed him to boost his calorie intake," Hollins wrote in the report. "After his meal, I wipe his chin, scratch his throat and wish him well."

Seychelles giant tortoises have a life expectancy of 150 years, but Jonathan has obviously strongly outlived this. Other long-lived animals include the hydra, a marine mammal that is believed to be immortal and an approximately 4,200-year-old deep-sea coral living off the Hawaiian coast

K9 Krijger

After a police k9 was shot and killed in a shootout at a domestic violence call, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper decided to donate ballistic vests for the k9's. They said that K9 Krijger, a 4-year-old Belgian Malinois, could have survived if he was wearing a vest. The vests cost more than $2,000 each, and Cooper paid for each one. Cooper is set to speak at an event in Norfolk later this month.  After the death of Krijger,  Cooper has donated enough money to get a vest for every K9 at the Norfolk PD.  

Seagull with a View

I'm sure we all have stories to share of seagulls at the beach either sneaking away with a bag of chips, snatching up a sandwich, or just being pests. But, not everyone has a story to share like this one tourist who got his GoPro swiped by a pesky seagull while relaxing on the beach of the Cies Islands in Spanish Galicia.The tourist was able to watch the footage from his phone, and what the seagull captured was absolutely breathtaking.
https://www.youtube.com/feature=player_embedded

Statistics

Animal Abuse Facts and Statistics

• 2014, the FBI announced that it will add animal cruelty as a catergory in a Uniform Crime Report a nationwide crime-reporting system.  
• Serious animal abuse and neglect is often done by people with mental or social disorders. 
• Surveys show those who abuse animals, are mostly male and under 30. While those involved in animal hoarding are female and over 60.
• In 2007, out of 1,880 reported animal abuse cases, 64% were dogs, 18% were cats and 25% involved other animals.
• Dozens of homicides occur at dog fights, An incident in California, a man was killed over a 10$ bet.
• About 10.2 men and women are abuses by their partner, about 62% had atleast one pet. 
• 71% of domestic abuse report their abusive partner also abused the pet. 

 

Dogs Can Sense our Emotions

To no surprise, a recent study shows that dogs can tune into our emotions. In the study, 17 domestic dogs were shown big pictures from the same person or dog showing two different expressions. At the same time, the dog heard a voice or bark mimicking the same emotion being shown. 

The researchers found that the dogs spent longer looking at the picture that showed the sound. 

The results showed that dog and human brains have hearing and seeing areas near the same location. In dogs, they responded better to sound rather than pictures. In human, the sense is opposite.

But, regardless, the study proved what many people have been thinking. That dogs are incredibly empathetic to their owners.

Manatees No Longer Endangered

For as long as I can remember, Manatees have always been endangered. Many laws and efforts have tried to raise the population. I remember being in Florida, and across the street was a canal, and in the mornings Manatees would swim in the shallows. Even though they would get close enough to touch them, you could get arrested for doing that.
But, finally after many years of trying, researchers believe that the Manatee name should be taken off of the endangered list. It's population has rebounded dramatically, especially in Florida. Manatees were named endangered over fifty years ago after being overhunted and killed by collisions with boats. Now there are more than 6,300 in Florida, and the whole population is around 13,000 manatees in that range which also includes the Caribbean and the northern coasts of Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil.
Populations that were in direct threat have had significant improvement in their habitats and ecosystems. Because of this, the entire population has become 500 percent higher. And continues to improve.


 

 

Facts about Manatees:

• Manatees feed on sea grass and come up for air every 15 minutes or so.
• They can reach 13 feet in length and weigh up to 1,300 pounds
• Their lifespan is usually about 40 years on average
• They can swim up to 19 mph

Ringling Elephants into Retirement

Early May of this year, eleven female elephants who have been in the circus for decades are going to get off the train for good and retire. They will live out their remaining years at Ringling’s Center for Elephant Conservation, on 200 remote acres somewhere near Disney World. They will be joining 29 other elephants who retired earlier.
Ringling circus was accused of animal abuse by animal rights activists for years. “When we announced last year that we would retire the elephants by 2018, we basically drew a line in the sand, then started to work backwards,” said Payne. “We were surprised after a lot of hard work by the center staff that we had the barn space, the pasture space, and the water resources for moving the elephants sooner rather than later.”
The conservation center will continue to mate the elephants to continue growing its herd. Scientists also use these elephants to learn more and study why elephants get cancer so often. So next time you want to bash Ringling, think about the good they have done and this huge step they took for these elephants. Like they said, it wasn't easy "it's not like moving a bowl of goldfish".

bird view of the conservation center
 



happy elephant

Sibling Rivalry

Have you ever been doing something, not bothering anyone and your brother/sister came over and knocked you down? I'm sure this Koala can relate.

 

Use the link to watch the koala cry!

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0cAx1jLbJk

Gito and Asoka

International Animal Rescue posted a video that caught the magical moment when Gito and Asoka, two baby orangutans, met for the first time in west Borneo.
Just a few months ago, Gito almost died. He was found in a cardboard box.

So sad how someone could neglect this helpless animal and leave him to rot. His chances of survival were slim to none.  When it comes to it Asoka, he was found alone without his mom, and would have died without care. After their bad beginnings, now they both have a chance to a healthy life, but also for a lifelong friend.
Here is their story:

LOL

If you're looking for a good laugh, here's some animals making weird noises (:

https://youtu.be/sV4sKlrHPkk

Tourist's Save a Lion from Poachers Trap

Tourists from South Africa's Kruger National Park came across a lion, who appeared emaciated and close to death with a poachers noose wrapped around his neck. The tourists said that "Social media was crucial to this operation"

Even though a tourist reported the Lion to officials on Saturday, social media played a crucial role to finding him. Because of the pictures people were posting, they were able to asses the condition he was in to vets, and were able to track him easier. Searchers looked everywhere on Sunday, but, could not find him. On Monday the lion had slipped back into the parks bushes. On, Tuesday he was spotted by a helicopter while he was walking through an infested crocodile river and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. The vets found that the wounds appeared much worse then they actually were. The skin was broken but, the tissue underneath was still intact. They were able to remove the noose, a trap used by poachers which gets tighter as its pulled. Vets said the lion was very lucky to have gotten away, because usually the more the animal struggles, the tighter it gets.

Snares like these continue to be a major problem at the park. Along with the poachers who create them. A researcher, Phillips claimed "It is totally indiscriminate and brutal way of killing." The size of the park is roughly a 870 mile range covered by about 700 rangers daily. These poachers are becoming more focused on anti-poaching operations. The efforts mainly focus on protecting the parks high rhino population. It is a problem park rangers try to minimize day by day.

Tanzania is Home to the Worst Fishermen

In Tanzania, Fishermen use bombs illegally to kill hundreds of fish in a second. They call this Blast Fishing. The purpose to target all of the fish in the area, but, indirectly killing and destroying coral and the wide variety of sea animals that depend on it.
Dynamite is used, as well as kerosene and fertilizer in bottles. Blast Fishing started in the 1960's but was made illegal in the 1970's. But, obviously hasn't stopped a select handful of fishermen to continue this method. Greg Wagner, of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, wrote “the overall impact of dynamite fishing on coral reefs in Tanzania has been devastating.”
Davenport and other researchers found more than 300 explosions every 30 days. That's 10 a day. More than 60 percent of the blasts occurred within 50 miles of each other. More efforts need to be put in before Sea Life changes drastically and beyond our helping point.

Find your Perfect Companion!

If you ever wonder what dog or cat would be the perfect fit for you, Animal Planet now has a tool to do that for you.
http://www.animalplanet.com/breed-selector/dog-breeds.html
This is my result!

To find your perfect cat breed, use the tool on this link http://www.animalplanet.com/breedselector/catselectorindex.do

This was my result!

 

Before and After

Before and after pictures. From abuse to happy.

 

 

Finally making changes

 More than ten years ago Mary Lou Randour was asked "Was cruelty against animals on the rise or decline?"
 Randour is a psychologist who started a new career to devote her time to animal rights, and she soon found there was no one keeping track of animal abuse crimes. Even dogfighting got put under the category "other". For years she pushed the FBI to increase the punishment for animal abuse, and put it in it's own category. In 2014, the FBI agreed and starting this year animal abuse crimes will be recorded like a homicide.
Animal cruelty is now defined by the FBI as "Intentionally knowingly, recklessly taking an action that mistreats or kills any animal without just cause, such as torturing, tormenting, mutilation, maiming, poisoning, or abandonment."
There will be four categories: simple or gross neglect, intentional abuse and torture, organized abuse (dog fighting e.t.c) and animal sexual abuse.
This video has gotten more than four million views. It shows the extent animal abuse can do to an animal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUR0f-l9oE4