A valuable resource for us all
By Athena Bennett – Best Friends Network
We’ve all received the frantic phone call, or the urgent e-mail request: “Please help find this dog/cat a home.” Or “Lost: Beloved family pet missing, children are heartbroken”.
There is the question from your neighbors or co-workers: “My new puppy won’t stop chewing/peeing/pooping/barking, etc. What should I do?”
Then there are the horror stories…Hoarding, puppy mills. The people who abandon their animals on the side of the road. Tales of beaten and abused animals. Stories that even the most seasoned volunteer or animal caregiver cannot possibly begin to fathom. We all want to help, but the question is “Where do we begin?”
We may not have all the answers, but Best Friends is working diligently to assist animal lovers with these problems. It’s simply and aptly titled “Animal Help”.
Animal Help is a wonderful web site dedicated to encouraging people to work on solutions to help the animals and the humans who want to help them.
As many of you know, with the premiere of “Dogtown”, Best Friends is becoming a well-known name across the nation, which is wonderful. However, most people don’t really understand what the actual Sanctuary in Utah is all about. While they would love to take in every single abused & unwanted animal, it is just simply not possible. The Sanctuary is dedicated to helping those animals who are in dire need of medical attention and those who usually have no other chance of survival. They currently house about 2,000 animals! Of the thousands of requests received each week, only about 5% of those animals are actually admitted to the Sanctuary. But that doesn’t mean all hope is lost for these wonderful creatures that have no voice. Thus the birth of Animal Help.
The website is dedicated to a vast array of vital resources to assist us in helping our furry friends. There are links to resources on animal behavior, health and rescue, as well as wonderful stories. We call these “Happy Endings”.
The site offers great ideas for helping you find a home for that cold, wet, beautiful dog you found in the parking lot. Or what to do with, and how to help the feral cats in your neighborhood. There are places you can go to or call for information on shelters & rescue groups. There are also resources that you can go to help you report animal abuse or neglect as well as Legal Resources. The site also includes a section to assist you in spay/neuter programs and services as well as transportation & travel resources for your pets. There is even a section to help you deal with the loss of a pet. The list of resources is large and will continue to grow, but we need your help.
Get the word out there. You would not be reading this right now, if you didn’t have a special place in your heart for animals. We thank you for that. These critters need all the help we can give them.
The next time you receive that frantic phone call or e-mail, please visit:
Best Friends Animal HelpWho knows, you may just save an animal’s life by doing so, and definitely sweeten yours.
Thank you.