Blogs > Pets Unleashed

Those who love their pets tend to enjoy all animals. Our animal owners are no different. Check in on News-Herald staffers Robin Palmer and Cheryl Sadler as they share their own animal tales and announce upcoming events in Lake and Geauga counties.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Adopt a Cat day on Saturday

Kirtland Feed, 8281 Chardon Road, just east of Route 306 in Kirtland, will host “Adopt a Cat Day” on Saturday, June 5.

It will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event, featuring adoptable cats and kittens from the Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary, will include complimentary soft drinks and chips as well as some special sales of the store’s cat products. Kirtland Feed will donate a free bag of cat food with each adoption.

The free event will be co-sponsored by the cat sanctuary, which is filled to capacity and is striving to find more adoptive homes.

The adoption fee, usually ranging from $65 to $85, will be discounted to $50 to $70, and persons who adopt more than one cat or kitten will get a further discount.

The cats are up-to-date on vaccinations, spayed or neutered, and tested for feline leukemia and FIV (feline AIDS).

All of the adoption money will go to the cat sanctuary.

Since 1982, cats of all ages have found refuge at the Chester Township-based, nonprofit, mostly cageless Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary.

The sanctuary has found adoptive homes for many cats, but some will spend their lives at Happy Tails because they are not traditionally adoptable because of age or disabilities.

For more information about Saturday’s event or directions to Kirtland Feed, call 440-256-1891 or 440-729-3768, or send an e-mail to dlazarus@hlcommunications.com.
Inquiries and donations to help the cats at the sanctuary can also be mailed to: Happy Tails Cat Sanctuary, P.O. Box 581, Chester, OH 44026.

-- Robin Palmer

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

June is Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

Geauga Humane Society's Rescue Village is making it very easy to celebrate June ... Adopt a Shelter Cat Month.

The agency is hoping to adopt out 100 cats in June.

All adult cats ages 1-7 will be available for $40.

All cats that have been at the shelter 60 days or more will cost just $25.

And... all cats that have been looking for a home 90 days or more will be available for FREE.

The shelter, at 15463 Chillicothe Road, Russell Township, is open for adoptions from noon to 7 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays; noon to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Rescue Village is closed on Wednesdays.

Adoptions are stopped 45 minutes before closing.

For more details, call 440-338-4819.

-- Robin Palmer

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Take me out to the ballgame


Dwayne Bailey, service director, snapped this photo Friday of a 2-hour-old fawn in the middle of the big field at McMinn Baseball Park.

-- Robin Palmer

Friday, May 21, 2010

Palmer's Pet Peeves

People who feed birds and then get upset when squirrels invite themselves to dinner.

Squirrels get hungry, too

-- Robin Palmer

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Rodent scurries past president


More than reporters were in the audience when President Obama spoke Thursday in the Rose Garden. Read on...

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the midst of his battle with the titans of Wall Street, President Barack Obama was nearly upstaged by a rodent.
Obama had just begun a Rose Garden statement lauding the end of a Senate filibuster on his financial overhaul when some kind of rodent dashed out of the bushes to his right, just outside the Oval Office.
As photographers snapped away in the sun-drenched garden, the critter scurried straight past the gray podium with the presidential seal and made a bee-line for another set of bushes to Obama’s left.
It’s not clear if the president could even see the streaker, but he didn’t show any reaction. And he concluded his statement minutes later, returning to his office without answering a few shouted questions on other topics.
Once he was safely inside the Oval Office, a fierce debate erupted among the photographers and reporters who’d witnessed the dash. Was it a rat or a mouse? Or maybe a mole, or some other kind of related creature.
Before long, experts had joined the fray.
“I would partially rule out rat,” said Russell Link, a wildlife biologist who works for the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. “That’s due to the lack of a tail that is typically equal to body length.”
After viewing a photograph of the surprising scurry, Link said, “My suspicion is it’s a vole, commonly called a ’meadow mouse’ out our way.”
In fact, this wasn’t the first time a rodent’s been spied in the White House, or even the Rose Garden.
Just last week, as camera crews set up for an Obama statement on the Gulf oil spill, what’s believed to have been the same rodent made a dash across the famous garden.
The press work areas behind the White House briefing room have had at least one rat sighting, though that was before a multimillion-dollar rehab project finished by the Bush administration.
Moreover, rodents of all kinds are pretty common in Washington. From time to time, city officials issue alarms about surges in the rat population when residents put out extra-big summer piles of garbage.
Washington is, after all built, along a river, on what used to be a malarial swamp.

-- Robin Palmer

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Pets included

News-Herald Staff Writer Betsy Scott wrote about Northeast Ohio Convoy of Hope coming to the Lake County Fairgrounds next month.

This year, pets will benefit.

Read on ...

A huge outreach to benefit area families in need just added a couple more major means of assistance.

Pet supplies and 1,000-plus articles of clothing are among the latest offerings planned at the Northeast Ohio Convoy of Hope event taking place June 26 at the Lake County Fairgrounds in Painesville Township.

That is in addition to free groceries, 500 pairs of shoes from Samaritan’s Feet, health and dental care, haircuts, makeovers, family portraits, fun and games for children and more.

Jo Ann Rokosky, editor of Country Critter Journal, contacted the local event coordinator about providing help for pets — a first for a COH outreach. She is seeking donations to provide dog and cat food; supplies such as leashes, collars and treats; certificates for spay/neutering, grooming and training services; and she will be bringing in pet consultants.

“Many times, low-income families receive food, clothing, etc., but nothing for their pets,” Rokosky said. “That is where we will come in and help with their family pet needs. God loves all his creations, including his animals.”

The clothing will be donated from Betty’s Boutique, part of The Well ministry at Willoughby Hills Friends Church. Items for men, women and children of all sizes will be made available to outreach guests, said Eleese Gosselin, a Boutique volunteer and The Well’s women’s shelter coordinator.

Gosselin learned of the COH opportunity through Judy Burr of Project Hope, who also is participating in the event.

“We were trying to find another outreach for ourselves. … We’re kind of excited,” Gosselin said.

COH provides food and pure drinking water to people in need across the United States and around the world. Each year, in the United States alone, the organization holds up to 50 community events.

COH visitors are treated as honored guests and are shown love and respect regardless of age, race, physical appearance or spiritual condition, according to the COH website. Although the cause targets low-income residents, no one will be turned away, Event Coordinator Carrie Garland said.

The poverty rate in Lake County increased from 5.1 percent in 2000 to 8.5 percent in 2008, according to U.S. Census data.

Up to 1,000 volunteers are needed to put on the event, with opportunities ranging from welcoming guests to bagging groceries, to helping out with food preparation or in the kids play zone.

Other outreach goals are:

* Preparation for 5,000 guests

* 75-plus churches involved (about 50 are on board so far)

* 100-plus businesses and organizations participating

* A $50,000 budget (More than $45,200 has come in from individuals, churches and local businesses.).

COH provides funding for “fixed expenses” such as about 5,000 bags of groceries, national director and outreach team travel, literature, training, supplies, transportation, warehousing, logistics and administration. The variable expenses are the responsibility of the host community and involve things like printing for promotion, various equipment, inflatables, carnival games, trash bins, a forklift, generators, portable restrooms, stages, chairs, tables and tents.

Discussion already is under way to have four, smaller regional COH events next year.

For more information, visit sites.google.com/site/neohconvoyofhope/. To donate or get involved, contact Pastor Carrie Garland at 440-354-6805 or pagevangelism@ameritech.net. To donate pet items, contact Jo Ann Rokosky at 440-478-4800 or countrycritterjournal@gmail.com.

-- Robin Palmer

Friday, May 14, 2010

Palmer's pet peeves

Things that tick me off...

People who dump their pets.

People who don't wave thanks when you let them over in your lane while driving.

OK, the second has nothing to do with pets, but it just ticks me off.

-- Robin Palmer

The Geauga County Dog Warden is holding an adoptathon event Saturday and Sunday, May 15-16, at the shelter, located at 12513 Merritt Road in Claridon Township.

It will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

It will include baked goods, dogs baths for $15 and nail clips for $8.

For more information, call the shelter at 440-286-8135.

-- Robin Palmer

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Seeking (pets) shelter

An Associated Press poll released says most people get their pets from shelters rather than stores. Read on...

LOS ANGELES — Remember that old song, “How much is that doggie in the window?” For most Americans, it seems it’s no sale.

More than half of people in an Associated Press-Petside.com poll said they would get their next dog or cat from a shelter, nearly seven times the number who said they would buy their next pet from a store.

And more than four in 10 said they thought store pets could have hidden medical or psychological problems.

That’s significantly more than those who expressed the same concerns about pets from animal shelters or breeders.

Just 8 percent of those polled said they would get their next cat or dog at a store, while 13 percent said that’s where they got the pet they have now.

Fifty-four percent of those polled said they would probably get their next pet from a shelter, while 23 percent went for a breeder.

More than half of those polled said their dogs or cats came from places other than shelters, breeders or stores. They might have been strays, gifts from friends or favors for neighbors. Since some people have more than one pet, the numbers add to more than 100 percent.

-- Robin Palmer

Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo slated for June 12

One day a year Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, home of numerous exotic animals, becomes a temporary haven for dozens of domestic dogs and cats looking for homes.

The 10th annual Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 12, during which visitors can meet more than 100 adoptable pets from 20 local animal shelters and rescue groups.

The event is free and takes place on the Zoo's Ticket Plaza. For health and safety reasons, visitors should leave their current pets at home.

Representatives will be on hand to offer advice on how to choose the right pet for you and how best to care for it. Each shelter sets its own adoption fees and policies, and some require a waiting period.

Since the event's inception in 2011, more than 750 cats, dogs, kittens and puppies have been found good homes this way. The Zoo is easily accessible from Interstates 71, 77, 90 and 480. To learn more, call 216-661-6500.

-- Sandra M. Klepach, SKlepach@News-Herald.com

P.S. This will likely be my last blog for Pets Unleashed, as I will be leaving The News-Herald tomorrow to become communications specialist with Geauga Park District. With future pet news, please e-mail fellow blogger Robin Palmer at rpalmer@news-herald.com. Readers, thanks for your support of the blog, and rescuers and shelters, your work is far more appreciated than you know! Keep it up!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Bark-B-Q is Friday

The Euclid Pet Pal Organization is hosting its seventh annual Bark-B-Q from 6:30 to 11 p.m. Friday at the Manor Party Center, 24111 Rockwell Drive, Euclid.

Tickets are $30 each and include chicken and rib dinner with all the fix-ins, cocktails, music and dancing. The event will feature a 50/50 raffle, Chinese auction and door prizes.

For tickets, call the Euclid Animal Shelter at 216-289-2057. Proceeds will be used for animal care.

--Cheryl Sadler
CSadler@News-Herald.com

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Thursday, May 6, 2010

Looking for a home: Cosmo the cat

Cosmo needs a home by May 15 because his owner cannot take him where he's going.

"I sense he is sad," Cosmo wrote in an e-mail to potential adoptive parents. "I will be loyal with my love and affection regardless of yours to me, but yours to me would be so nice."

Cosmo clearly believes he's a good sell, too:
I’ll follow you around and stay with you often – I don’t spend the day under the couch and come out only to eat. I will love your company and be there with you, lying on your feet. You can pet me all you want and I love lying on my back while you pet my belly ... oh how I love the belly pets!

I don’t have my front claws and that’s fine as I have never been outside. A window or two with a soft cushy perch is enough for me, and remember, I will use the perch while you are in the room – if you move to another room like my current owner often does, I will follow and lay in the middle of the floor, just so I can see you, until you are ready to pet me some more.

I will play fetch like a dog when I’m in the mood, and that bright red dot (laser pointer) really gets me going sometimes – other times I don’t care. I never bite and have only hissed twice in the five years I have been with my current owner. Hey, sometimes I get a little excited, what can i say?

I have had all my shots (I hate that, but the smells at that place are pretty good) and my back nails have just been trimmed so when I do get excited playing with you I won’t scratch too deep. I am about 5 years old or so, and I think I’m pretty big compared to the other moving things I have seen out the window. I weigh about 18 pounds but the guy in the white coat at that place with the good smells says I am not overweight – I guess I’m just big-boned.

Oh, and I love to open the kitchen cabinet doors whenever I can. I hope you don’t mind – I find doors a challenge and just have to figure out how to open them. I like big doors, too, if I can find one to swing open so it hits another one. You can pick me up and I will let you hold me for a while so long as you let me look around at the ceiling and things I don’t usually see, and then you have to put me down. I really don’t like being in your lap so please don’t make me, but I will lay between your legs on the recliner or next to your legs when you lay on the couch.

And oh, I do love the feet...
To inquire about Cosmo, contact Jim McDonald at 216-251-4624 or jimmcd3834@sbcglobal.net.

-- Sandra M. Klepach, SKlepach@News-Herald.com

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Garage sale benefits cats

It's spring and that means one thing ... GARAGE SALES!

On May 20, 21, 22, a garage sale at 4935 Willoughcroft Road in Willoughby will benefit the 250 cats residing at Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue sanctuary in Concord Township.

The sale will be from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on those three days.

All proceeds from the sale will go to the no-kill sanctuary.

Money will be used for spay and neuter procedures, food, cat litter, medical expenses and daily care.

Stop by the sale, make a purchase and help a cat!

-- Robin Palmer