Find A New Best Friend

• www.petfinder.com
  Probably the very best resource for finding your new pet. Petfinder is a huge national database of homeless animals. Information is supplied by shelters and rescue groups across the country. Search by animal type, breed, age, size, gender or location. Their site also has classified ads, a learning center, videos, and numerous other resources.

• 1-800-save-a-pet
  National database of shelter and rescue animals. Search by location, animal type, breed, gender, size, color or age.

Please remember that for each and every "designer dog", "AKC registered dog" or purebred cat purchased, there are hundreds--even thousands--of wonderful and deserving shelter animals being euthanized each day. Shelter and rescue animals make wonderful pets! So before searching the newspaper or the phonebook for that purebred or designer breed, click on the above links and see what's available at your local shelter or rescue.

If you are determined to purchase a puppy or kitten from a breeder, make sure the breeder is reputable and follows strict breeding and health guidelines to promote the quality of the breed. And remember that just because a dog is AKC registered does not guarantee good breeding or good health. Do your research.

Never buy a pet from a pet store. Pet stores get their "product" from many irresponsible sources, including puppy mills and backyard breeders. Irresponsible breeding churns out imperfect or unwanted animals who eventually wind up abandoned in shelters, left out to die, sold as healthy pets in pet stores, victims in research laboratories, or wind up as pets to irresponsible owners who perpetuate irresponsible breeding. By patronizing pet stores who sell live animals, you unknowingly are perpetuating the problem of animal abuse.

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Why Spay/Neuter Your Pet?

Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. - and each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all the animals. As a result, every year 4 to 6 million animals are euthanized because there are no homes for them.

• Spaying and neutering helps dogs and cats live longer, healthier lives.
• Spaying and neutering can eliminate or reduce the incidence of a number of health problems that can be very difficult or expensive to treat.
• Spaying eliminates the possibility of uterine or ovarian cancer and greatly reduces the incidence of breast cancer, particularly when your pet is spayed before her first estrous cycle.
• Neutering eliminates testicular cancer and decreases the incidence of prostate disease.

How common are these problems in unspayed or unneutered pets? Extremely common!

• Spaying and neutering makes pets better, more affectionate companions.
• Neutering cats makes them less likely to spray and mark territory.
• Spaying a dog or cat eliminates her heat cycle.
• Unsterilized animals often exhibit more behavior and temperament problems than do those who have been spayed or neutered.
• Spaying and neutering can make pets less likely to bite.
• Neutering makes pets less likely to roam the neighborhood, run away, or get into fights.

Read more from The Humane Society of the United States.

Get the facts from The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. Click here and download the .pdf report.

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Pet Food

Just like with humans, proper diet and nutrition are key to extending your pet's life in a healthy, happy way. If your pet suffers from lethargy, excess shedding or poor coat quality (including dandruff), behavior problems, obesity, dental disease, urinary tract disease, allergies, or other health- or behavior-related problems, it may be directly linked to the food you are feeding it.

We at Perpetual Friends recommend holistic and/or human-grade quality foods to maximize your pet's health. Holistic and human-grade pet foods are not sold in grocery stores or pet supply chains such as Petco or PetSmart. Some name brands we're familiar with include: Innova, Wellness, Canidae, Flint River Ranch, Newman's Own, California Natural and others. Do an online search for healthy holistic pet food to find more and to find retailers near you.

Interested in making your own pet food? Click here.

A responsible pet owner should be as aware of what's in their pet's food as they would be about their family's food.

What's In Your Pet's Food?
- A Report from the Animal Protection Institute

Plump whole chickens, choice cuts of beef, fresh grains and all the wholesome nutrition your dog or cat will ever need -- these are the images pet food manufacturers promulgate through the media and advertising. This is what the $15 billion per year U.S. pet food industry wants consumers to believe they are buying when they purchase their products.

What most consumers don’t know is that the pet food industry is an extension of the human food and agriculture industries. Pet food provides a convenient way for slaughterhouse offal, grains considered “unfit for human consumption,” and similar waste products to be turned into profit. This waste includes intestines, udders, heads, hooves, and possibly diseased and cancerous animal parts. Read more

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Help with Veterinary Expenses

If you are facing unforeseen expenses and meet certain low income requirements, there may be a financial assistance program available to help you with the cost associated with your pet’s treatment.

• Local low cost spay neuter programs are listed on PETS 911.
  
  
• www.carecredit.com offers a revolving line of credit for veterinary expenses at participating veterinarians.
  
  
• The Helping Pets Fund is a program of the American Animal Hospital Association Foundation.
  
  
• Spay/USA offers a nation wide low cost spay and neuter program.
  
  
• IMOM.org provides information about financial help with non-routine veterinary care.
  
  
• The Pet Fund is a nonprofit association that provides financial assistance to owners of domestic animals who need veterinary care.
  
  
• Orthodogs Silver Lining Foundation will accept applications from groups or individuals in need of financial assistance for the purpose of providing medical treatment for any orthopedic condition or injury for their dog.
  
  
• CanineCancerAwareness.org will consider applications for financial assistance for those people struggling and in need of assistance to provide their dog with cancer treatment.
  
  
• Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance Program is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides financial assistance to cat and kitten guardians who are unable to afford veterinary services to save their companions when life-threatening illness or injury strikes.
  
  
• WestieMed, Inc. is an all-volunteer, IRS-recognized non-profit corporation created to distribute financial aid to injured or ill rescue Westies.
  
  
• HELP-A-PET is a nonprofit organization with a single purpose: to provide financial assistance nationwide for the medical care of pets whose owners are unable to afford the expense.
  
  
• United Animal Nations Lifeline Grants help Good Samaritans, animal rescuers and low-income families with the high cost of caring for their pets by providing grants to meet emergency veterinary expenses they otherwise couldn’t afford.
  
  
• Pit Bull Rescue Central has a program to help qualified people with a Pit Bull or Pit Bull mix in need.
  
  
• The Pet Samaritan Fund provides financial assistance to Utah Pet Owners who cannot afford medical care for their pets due to extreme financial hardship.
  
  
• Ashley’s Angel Fund offers a program for qualified North Carolina dog owners.
  
  
• NY Save is a program for qualifying residents of the five boroughs of New York City who are truly in need of financial assistance to be able to take their pet to any participating veterinary hospital for emergency veterinary care.

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Pet Care Library

Answers to frequently asked questions about pet care can be found on the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) website. The AAHA is an international association of more than 36,000 veterinary care providers who treat companion animals. Established in 1933, AAHA is well known among veterinarians and pet owners for its standards for hospitals and pet health care. Click here.

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Other Resources

• Ultimate Pet Directory
  Pet Links  
  We have got all kinds of informative and cool pet sites for pet lovers and plenty of great animal information.
  
  

Perpetual Friends does not endorse or recommend any of the individuals or organizations listed herein. Mention of an individual or organization is for informational purposes only. Perpetual Friends is not associated with nor has any control over their services and has no way of verifying their competence. Every effort was made to to ensure that the information herein was accurate at the time of publication. Perpetual Friends assumes no responsibility for any changes made by individual businesses.