A bill pending in Congress known as the HAPPY Act, would entitle pet owners to a tax deduction up to $3500 per year for expenses related to pet care including veterinary care.
Read more about this bill and how you can help pass legislation that will save animal lives and keep more pets in their homes.
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/animals-and-politics/article/1019
I was recently contacted by Adopt-a-pet.com, and since I share their passion for combating the pet overpopulation crisis and promoting pet adoptions through animal shelters and animal rescue groups, me and my cats have given Adopt-a-Pet.com all our collective PAWS up!!!!
Admin. Note: On the heels of the issues with the Vermillion Rabies Control Center in Kaplan, Louisiana, reported earlier this month, comes this news alert, courtsey of NOLA.com
Louisiana SPCA to investigate Jefferson animal shelters
by Richard Rainey, The Times-Picayune
Tuesday August 18, 2009, 11:20 AM
The Louisiana chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals will begin investigating allegations today of high euthanasia rates and cruelty at Jefferson Parish’s animal shelters, parish officials said.
Parish President Aaron Broussard’s administration requested the local SPCA examine charges from animal activists that Dr. Marci Miranov, the shelters’ senior veterinarian, had improperly disposed of dozens of animals last week to quell overcrowding at the Elmwood facility.
Tim Whitmer, Broussard’s chief administrative officer, said Monday the request was made in response to dozens of e-mails circulating Friday among local animal rights groups.
Jefferson Parish’s two animal shelters, one in Elmwood and another in Marrero, have come under intense scrutiny after the abrupt resignation Wednesday of Shelter Director Lee Ann Matherne.
Local animal activists sounded an alarm Thursday that Miranov had killed 18 dogs and more than two dozen cats. The SPCA will examine the allegations and determine if proper protocol was taken to select the animals for euthanasia and that the proper procedures were followed to dispose of them, said Deano Bonano, Broussard’s chief administrative assistant who oversees the shelters.
Bonano said he checked the average daily euthanasia rates last week and discovered that the number killed Thursday was not unusual. Late summer is a busy time for shelters, which are accepting abandoned pets at an alarming rate, Bonano said.
However, it was best to bring in an independent arbiter, he said.
It was unclear this morning how long the SPCA’s investigation would take.
Mark your calendars for the weekend of September 11-13, 2009, for that weekend is Petsmart’s nationalwide Second Chance At Love Fall Adoption Event!

PetSmart Charities®
“Second Chance for Love”
Fall National Adoption Weekend
September 11 – 13, 2009.
PetSmart®, PetSmart Charities® and Hill’s® Science Diet Brand® are presenting the “Second Chance for Love”, Fall National Adoption Weekend. The three-day sponsored adoption event takes place Friday-Sunday, September 11 – 13, 2009, in all PetSmart stores. The goal is to find homes for more than 18,800 pets in need. Contact the store in your area for participation times of local agencies.
To assist New Pet Parents on caring for their new family member every Cat and Dog adopter will receive:
The Hill’s® Guide for Lifelong Health ($30 Value).
$7 off a bag of Hill’s® dog or cat food (U.S. stores only).
A coupon for a FREE sample of the new Science Diet® Dog Treats.
A “Welcome to Pet Parenthood Guide” that includes information on caring for your pet plus savings on products & services totaling up to more than $224. (Up to $146 in Canada.)
PLUS valuable coupons and FREE product samples.
Hill’s® Science Diet Brand® is the proud sponsor of the PetSmart Charities® “Second Chance for Love” Fall National Adoption Weekend and has donated $100,000 to help save the lives of homeless pets.
Stop by the Lafayette, Louisiana Petsmart on Johnston Street (across from Acadiana Mall) and meet the cats we have for adoption! You can see their photos at the Adoptable Cats page of this blog.
“Which is the more beautiful, feline movement or feline stillness?”
~ Elizabeth Hamilton~

Be sure to check your local PBS station listings for a documentary called “Fifteen Legs” to be airing soon! The documentary is based on Bonnie Silva’s book, “Fifteen Legs”

In Fifteen Legs: When all that stands between death and freedom is a ride… Silva recounts her travels as an uninvited and sometimes suspiciously eye-balled guest aboard an Internet enabled escort service for last-chance animals.
Smitten by an inner urge to tell the public at large about the largely undiscovered world she stumbled upon, Silva writes, This notion of volunteers connecting in cyberspace on behalf of desperate, unwanted animals had stolen my heart. The thought of perfect strangers coming together and working as a team to shuttle society’s non-human cast-offs out of harms way was too wonderful a story to pass up. I had to tell it.
I came home from work today to find the latest issue of Cat Fancy in my mailbox, and I was absolutely DELIGHTED to see Joe Mantega, who plays FBI agent David Rossi on CBS’s “Criminal Minds” on the cover! I love Criminal Minds, and IMHO, Joe Mantega gives Criminal Minds quite an unique presence, much more than Mandy Patkin did.
You can see part of the exclusive interview at Cat Channel.com by clicking the link here. Be sure to pick up the October 2009 issue of Cat Fancy to read the complete interview!
My cats all give PAWS UP!!! to Cat Fancy for featuring Joe Mantega!