It goes without saying that there a plenty of benefits to owning a dog. But did you know that a dog could make you healthier? Well, there is an increasing amount of research which seems to suggest that is the case. For anyone that has owned a young pup, and knows only too well the exertion involved, this probably comes as no surprise! We probably all have anecdotal evidence of dogs helping to make healthier, more fulfilling lives, but here is a quick review of academic research which seems to support that view.

Keeping you fit and active

If you own a dog then you need to give it exercise. And research seems to suggest that this increase in regular exercise is enough to have noticeable effects. The American Journal of Cardiology conducted a study which followed major heart surgery patients for the year after their operations. Survival rates were much higher for those patients that owned a dog.

The University of Victoria, Canada, attempted to quantify just how much more exercise dog owners took on average when compared to non-dog owners. They found that, on average, dog owners walked for 300 minutes a week, compared to the 168 minutes of non-dog owners. The best way to keep active with your dog is to get out there and play with it! You can find hundreds of great toys, as well as dog clothes, training equipment, crates and dog beds with Dogs Corner.

Good for the kids

Anyone with kids will know just how hard it is to get them outside and active- especially with all the video games and social media sites which are vying for their attention. But there is one thing which will tear them away from the computer screen- a dog! In 2010 the American Journal of Public Health released a report which confirmed that children growing up with dogs were much more likely to take part in vigorous physical exercise on a regular basis.

Prevent Eczema

You would imagine that owning a dog would be a no-no for those with allergy suffers in the home- and whilst it’s certainly something which you should consider and test, initial fears may sometimes be misplaced. In 2011, the Journal of Paediatrics looked at a sample of over 600 children and discovered that rates of eczema were much lower in those that lived with a dog.

Therapeutic qualities

Dogs can have an incredibly calming effect upon a wide range of people. These days it is common practice to see dogs being taken into old people’s homes and children’s wards- and several studies have shown just what an impact this can have. However, their therapeutic qualities may stretch even further. Research conducted by the Medical College of Virginia revealed that animal therapy sessions were much more effective than traditional therapy methods in reducing anxiety amongst mental health patients. There is still much research to be conducted in this field, and it will be interesting to see how dogs, and animals in general, will be used to help patients in the not-so-distant future.

It’s true, we are all helpless to stop this. It will be like this until a law is enforced by the people who run the world. Citizens will never have a say or the power to stop it. We can only convince the governments to take action. I would focus all your energy on contacting the president and initiating protests so the president will see that it will get him more votes if they take action. These animals have feeling and heart just like us, the pain they endure for our vanity is enough to make any world a hell.

Please stop buying FUR and if you see someone wearing something like this TELL them how pathetic it is.

I know you might not make a bunch of new friends stating your opinion but you will make better friends!

Thank you,
ALOP.org

Do not buy Ivory! Elephants are being poached in Africa left for dead only to steal their tusks.

Inside Cameroon’s Lobeke National Park a team of animal helpers go into the rainforest, weaving their way through the bush’s narrow paths.

Tasked with patrolling the immense park, these eco-guards are on a mission to protect its pristine habitat and the life that resides within. Ever alert, they push deeper into the woods to prevent any illegal activities that could put Lobeke’s fragile ecosystem in danger.

Amongst the park’s wide array of creatures, there’s one species that’s particularly vulnerable.

“The major threat is elephant poaching for ivory,” says Zacharie Nzooh, who joined the World Wildlife Fund more than 10 years ago.

“There was a big elephant population here,” he recalls. “When I first arrived here in 2002, I saw 35 elephants at once. But progressively, despite the efforts put in place to fight poaching, the elephant population continues to dwindle. So we steadily saw their population fall — [from] seeing 35 elephants on one occasion to seeing only four, three, two or one elephant at a time.”

Over the past decade, conservationists say poachers have shrunk Africa’s forest elephant population by 62%, threatening the magnificent mammals with eventual extinction. At last count, Cameroon had some of the world’s last significant populations of forest elephants, with about 20,000 of them remaining.

The main purpose is to deter poachers through their presence, as well as arrest any illegal hunters. Last year the patrols arrested 16 poachers in Lobeke, which is situated in southeast Cameroon, within the Congo Basin forest.

Will elephants still roam earth in 20 years?

But even as eco-guards intensify their efforts, poachers are getting hungrier for ivory; the precious commodity is selling for hundreds, even thousands of dollars per kilogram on the black market. The lucrative poaching market has been built on high demand from Asia, attracting organized criminals who are increasingly using more sophisticated methods in their illegal activities.

“These crimes are committed because of the elephant tusks, which are sold to big traders within the community,” says eco-guard Simon Pierre Mpouop. “The traders go and sell the ivory at higher prices in other big towns. This explains why it has become a recurrent activity in Lobeke.”

Last year, heavily armed poachers from Sudan arrived on horseback at the Bouba Ndjida Park in northern Cameroon. They slaughtered more than 300 elephants within a matter of weeks, taking only the tusks. In some cases, poachers waited for surviving elephants to return to the scene to mourn their dead before shooting them as well.

At the end of it all, poachers had eliminated more than half of that park’s elephant population, leaving the park to resemble a battlefield, instead of a tourist destination. Under-equipped eco-guards are no match for these kinds of well-coordinated attacks.

“It’s frustrating that we should be doing so much to protect the species in this park, yet those who take the laws into their hands continue to slaughter elephants because of their tusks,” says Mpouop.

Second in size only to the Amazon rainforest, the Congo Basin spans six African countries, including the Central African Republic and the Republic of Congo, which share part of their borders with Lobeke.

Lobeke and its peripheral zone cover more than 650,000 hectares. There are currently 40 eco-guards in place but that’s not enough to properly patrol the entire length of the park.

Nzooh says they need more than twice as many guards, as well as better equipment and weaponry to ensure surveillance across the whole park.

“We need to have a permanent monitoring station,” he says. “And for eco-guards to work, they must have the appropriate equipment, appropriate arms to first ensure their protection, but also to serve as a deterrent.”

The park’s rangers earn $15 each day they patrol. Tasked with enforcing the law, the park guards often cover the forest on foot, gathering clues to track an evasive enemy.

“We often walk several kilometers without even getting to a small stream from which we can fetch drinking water,” says Mpoup. “It’s really difficult because you can come across a wild, harmful animal, and you won’t be able to escape; this is a regular phenomenon here,” he adds.

Last year, more than 60 rangers died in the line of duty, protecting parks around the world. According to the International Ranger Federation, more than half of these deaths were homicides.

Whether clashing with poachers or confronting wildlife, danger seems to always lurk for these guardians of the forest.

“I can say that our missions are calculated risks,” says Mpoup. “Anytime we enter Lobeke, it’s a big calculated risk,” he adds.

Bur despite the risks and the often limited means, Nzooh says there’s a glimmer of hope. Though it is harder to come by elephants in the park today, the conservationist still envisions a clearing filled with animals the way it was 10 years ago.

He says the elephant stands a chance so long as the crackdown on ivory markets continues.

“The number of elephants in the national park of Lobeke has not reached a critical stage,” says Nzooh. “I am certain that if significant efforts are put in place the elephants will survive. Those efforts must be made on different levels, on site level, on an international level and on a national level.”

With Easter coming soon, pet stores are stocking up on bunnies to sale.

The truth is over 90% of bunnies bought for Easter presents will not see their first birthday.

Many of these bunnies are bought on impulse, without knowing all the responsibility a rabbit requires. Not too long after Easter, many of these bunnies are neglected or taken to local shelters once the novelty wears off.

Before buying that cute, fluffy bunny in the window of the pet store, think about it. Do you have the time and patience to devote to a rabbit? And most important, rabbits and young children are usually not a good combination!

If your family’s set on getting a rabbit, start by giving a chocolate bunny or a stuffed toy for Easter and, if your young children are really serious about it then grab a book on rabbit care. If they’re still begging you for a bun after the holiday has passed, go to your local shelter or rescue group and find out how to adopt the rabbit.

You can also help spread the word that rabbits are not disposable pets. Started in 2002 by the Columbus House Rabbit Society, the campaign aims to educate the public about the challenges of owning a rabbit and encourages parents to give chocolate or toy bunnies as Easter gifts instead of live rabbits. Check out the group’s website, MakeMineChocolate.org, for more info.

If you are here you probably know it is not smart to give a rabbit as a Easter pet so take a it a step further and spread the word via Facebook and social media.

Here is a great image to share via social media, feel free to steal it!

Thank you and Happy Easter!

Luckily modern day intellect has helped the average person understand the facts about the situation apposed to whatever the media tells them to think. For example, Pit Bulls have less violent per the capita that more unthought full owners have them. Pit Bulls do tend to get bought by low IQ thug types that do not give them the love and discipline they need.

So in turn they have violent emotions that they have no idea how to control. It makes perfect sense really.

Bottom line: Pit Bulls are not worse than any other dog like it. They just tend to have worse owners! If you really want to help Pit Bulls then start with the people who really are responsible, the ones that did not take good care of them

The 600 plus people now using citydogshare.org now can swap dogs with others for a small amount of time. Another interesting thing this growing new website has is the chance to try out a dog type for a while before you go and get a new one. With over 70 million stray cats and dogs living in the U.S. we are happy to see anything that might detour people from not taking a life long commitment to their pets.

We are all moving forward but there still millions of people a day letting their pet go and it’s costing the US hundreds of millions and worse it’s the lives of innocent animals.

December capped a year in which fewer dogs and cats were impounded and more were adopted out, she said. That gave shelters space to keep animals longer — and saved the lives of almost 4,000 that might have been euthanized last year.

A coalition of animal welfare and rescue groups helped make that happen. Led by Best Friends Animal Society, which brought together volunteers and shelter officials, the group has mounted an effort to end euthanasia in Los Angeles in five years.

That seems impossible in a city that puts to death more than 50,000 would-be pets yearly. The numbers make it easy for cynics like me to consider last month’s no-kill campaign little more than a feel-good gesture aiming at putting a happy face on a very ugly situation.

Not many people knew Sylvester Czopek during his life. But now many animal lovers will come to know his name after his death.

Czopek bequeathed over $1.5 million to local animal shelters, but only the kind that follow a no-kill policy.

The 84-year-old died in a Joliet hospice in October 2011, but not before setting up a trust that would direct his estate’s assets solely to animal shelters that strive to nurse and adopt out their clients.

Czopek was the last of five brothers from Lemont, all of whom never married. Czopek’s lawyer says he did not know how much money came to him — mainly through family real estate — but was delighted when he realized he could make a difference to the beings that meant the most to him.

The $1.5 million will be split between five no-kill shelters:

Will County Humane Society in Shorewood
West Suburban Humane Society in Downers Grove
Naperville Area Humane Society
Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge
PAWS Chicago Adoption Center

PAWS Chicago has grown into the country’s largest no-kill shelter. In 15 years the number of animals brought in has dropped by more than a third, and the number killed is down 60 percent.

I think this is much more then him just helping the no kill shelters.

This speaks volumes for his legacy and compassion for animals. I hope we all can learn from this.

As sales of dairy products in the U.S. continue to plummet, PETA is hoping to keep the nasty white stuff off consumers’ shopping lists by
re-releasing its ads that parody the “Got Milk?” campaign, with phrases such as “Got Prostate Cancer?,” “Got Veal?,” “Got Zits?,” and
“Got Sick Kids?” that highlight the health risks and cruelty to animals associated with the dairy industry. All the ads are available
here on PETA’s blog.

“It’s no surprise that sales of dairy products are at an all-time low, given the adverse health effects of a product full of calories and
cholesterol that is meant to grow hefty baby cows,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “If PETA’s ads get people thinking about
how cows live in mud and muck-filled pens and have their calves taken
away from them, that’s terrific.”

Is this something that you might be interested in? Please let me know if there’s anything else that you need.