Honda Caters to Pet Owners

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Joys of Pet Ownership

Pets are still a popular choice for a best friend. According to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association,

• Petting and talking to an animal lowers blood pressure and stress levels
• Aquarium viewing is a proven stress buster
• Pet owners make fewer visits to the doctor
• Pets increase the survival rate of people with heart problems

* According to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey, 63% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 71.1 millions homes


* In 1988, the first year the survey was conducted, 56% of U.S. households owned a pet as compared to 63% in 2006


Breakdown of pet ownership in the U.S. according to the 2007-2008 National Pet Owners Survey

Number of U.S. Households that Own a Pet (millions)

Bird 6.4
Cat 38.4
Dog 44.8
Equine 4.3
Freshwater Fish 14.2
Saltwater Fish .8
Reptile 4.8
Small Animal 6.0
Total Number of Pets Owned in the U.S. (millions)

Bird 16

Cat 88.3

Dog 74.8
Equine 13.8
Freshwater Fish 142.0

Saltwater Fish 9.6

Reptile 13.4

Small Animal 24.3

* Ownership statistics are gathered from APPMA’s 2007/2008 National Pet Owners Survey

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The Right Time to Place a Kitten

The most desirable age to place a kitten is between 8 and 12 weeks of age. Kittens obtained after 12 weeks may be more difficult to manage. Your kitten will need time to adjust to its new environment, and understanding this is the first step in getting off to a positive start.

Place your kitten in a small, quiet place with food and a litter box. As it becomes more comfortable, you can gradually allow it access to other rooms in the house. Talk quietly to your kitten and gently pet it. Set a regular time and place for feeding your kitten.

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Kitty Litter Box Training Tips

• Litter supplies you'll want include a roomy litter pan, tray for outside the box, and a scooper.

• Some cats prefer a hooded litter box and others like a more open pan.

• Keep the litter box in a place that's convenient, yet out of the way of your family's line of traffic and away from anywhere that you would not want to smell the odor.

• Bring the cat over to the box to stimulate interest in the litter by stirring it.

• Place the kitten in the box and let it jump in and out of it instead of restraining him.

• Place some kitty stool in the litter box (builds associations between litter box and bathroom needs).
  

• Make sure the litter box is cleaned daily. Your cat will start using other places if the litter box is too dirty.

• Cats can be picky if you change brands of litter . Be consistent with litter brands, cleaning and changing the litter.
  

• When kitty box training, place the litter box and your cat in a small room, like a bathroom. Make sure he has plenty of food and water. Check on your cat periodically. If the cat has eliminated correctly in the box, praise the cat and let them out for some playtime, or give them a treat. Then put them back in the room.

• If the cat misses the box, place the feces in the litterbox and do not pay further attention to the cat. Leave the room and check again in an hour.

• If your cat is avoiding using the box, take him to the vet to make sure there is no underlying medical reason for this behavior

• When you move, it's a good idea to confine your cat to a small area of the new house at first. This will ensure that he feels safe and knows where his litter box is, and reduce house soiling.

• Do not punish your cat for soiling in the house by rubbing their nose in it.

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Wisconsin Dance Instructor Fulfills Dream to Create Wildlife Sanctuary

A dance teacher in northwestern Wisconsin has permanently protected her property for wildlife by donating a conservation easement to The Humane Society of the United States Wildlife Land Trust. The resulting wildlife sanctuary comprises 100 acres in an area that is rapidly losing farmland and forest to development.

Jill Forster acquired the now-protected property near Bruce in 1985. Miss Forster first celebrated the land as an idyllic place for her horses, but soon became attached to the wild animals who called it home as well. Ultimately, she made up her mind that it must never be developed. "This piece of land supports so much life, I don't ever want to see it subdivided," says Forster.

After exploring various land trusts, Forster eventually decided that The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust provided the best fit. "They were the only one that I found that would protect wildlife," For




ster remarks. In addition to her concerns about increasing development, Forster laments the extensive hunting of wildlife around her. "I think there's room enough for everybody, but these are 100 acres where I want the animals to just be. In this area especially, wildlife needs a voice."

A conservation easement is a permanent and legally enforceable agreement between a landowner and a land trust. The landowner agrees to establish the property as a permanent wildlife sanctuary—an agreement that is binding on all future owners of the property—and the land trust enforces the terms of the agreement. For The HSUS Wildlife Land Trust, these terms always include no recreational or commercial hunting or trapping.

Since its founding in 1993, the Wildlife Land Trust has worked with private landowners to create 99 permanent wildlife sanctuaries where recreational and commercial hunting and trapping will always be prohibited. In addition, the Wildlife Land Trust works in collaboration with a variety of partners to protect many other vulnerable lands to benefit wildlife. Proud of its affiliation with The Humane Society of the United States, the Wildlife Land Trust joins in campaigns to protect wildlife from cruel and indefensible practices such as poaching, steel-jawed leghold traps, Internet hunting and canned shoots. Join our online community at wildlifelandtrust.org. Saving Lives by Saving Land.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization – backed by 10.5 million Americans, or one of every 30. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education and hands-on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty – On the web at humanesociety.org.
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About Petfinder

Petfinder is an on-line, searchable database of animals that need homes. It is also a directory of over 10,000 animal shelters and adoption organizations across the USA, Canada and Mexico. Organizations maintain their own home pages and available pet database.

Our mission

To use Internet technology and the resources it can generate to:

1. Increase public awareness of the availability of high-quality adoptable pets
2. Increase the overall effectiveness of pet adoption programs across North America to the extent that the euthanasia of adoptable pets is eliminated

From the comfort of their personal computers, pet lovers can search for a pet that best matches their needs. They can then reference a shelter's Web page and discover what services it offer. Petfinder also includes classified ads, discussion forums and a library of animal welfare articles.

Petfinder is updated DAILY.

BETSY SAUL, President/Founder

520/400-1279

Petfinder.com Gives Shelter Pets New Byte

TUCSON--Over 250,000 homeless pets in approximately 11,000 animal placement organizations across the U.S. and Canada have their own homepages, thanks to one of the most unifying initiatives to ever hit animal welfare--Petfinder.com, the oldest and largest searchable directory of adoptable pets on the Web.

From the comfort of their own homes, pet seekers enter their search criteria, such as size, gender, breed and age, and get back a list of adoptable pets ranked in proximity to the searcher's Zip code. Updated continuously by the animal welfare volunteers and staff themselves, the Web site gives potential adopters a photograph, a description of the animal and contact information.

Shelters and rescue group members also have their own home pages on the site. Many of them attribute over 50% of their adoptions to Petfinder.com. Some have reported that their euthanasia rate dropped significantly within months of joining Petfinder.com. They also report that Petfinder.com adoptions are more successful, with fewer pets returned. This may be because the adopter's choice is more informed.

"Many people find visiting shelters traumatic, especially those who feel guilty when they can't take all the pets home," says Betsy Saul, who developed the site with her husband, Jared, in January 1996 as a New Year's Resolution to help homeless pets. "Petfinder.com allows you to focus your search from home, which makes finding your new best friend much easier." The site went national in August 1998. Petfinder.com, a labor of love for the Sauls, was the first searchable directory for homeless pets.

Thanks to its sponsors, Petfinder.com is free to use. Animal shelters and rescue groups can register to join Petfinder.com online and can start entering pets the same day. Purina signed on as the Web site's premier sponsor. Purina provides nutrition and pet care information for Petfinder.com's online libraries and assists in marketing efforts, helping to spread the word about the thousands of pets that need a new home.

Other exclusive sponsors are BISSELL Homecare, Inc., a manufacturer of home cleaning and floor care products, PETCO, a national pet supply retailer that sponsors in-store adoptions and provides coupon books for new adopters, The Animal Rescue Site, which contributes a percentage of sales of Petfinder merchandise to the Petfinder.com Foundation, and Merial, maker of the number one veterinary-recommended flea and tick preventative FRONTLINE®, and heartworm preventative HEARTGARD®.

Petfinder.com, whose founders are scientists by training, not business people, is among the busiest sites on the Internet. The Sauls attribute their site's success not only to hard work, but also to the press. "We never had to spend a dime on advertising," says Betsy Saul, who admits it was a good thing since, at the time they created the site, they didn't have any dimes to spare. "As soon as we launched and the press first got a glimpse of the site, we've been in a race to keep up with ourselves."

Petfinder.com was named one of the 300 best Web sites by Forbes magazine and one of the top 100 sites by Family PC magazine. It has repeatedly gotten top ratings from Internet tracking companies, including the most visited site among all U.S Web sites in the Hitwise Lifestyle - Pets and Animals category. The site has also been featured in most major magazines and newspapers, and their have been features on .The Today Show. and .The Ellen DeGeneres Show..

The Petfinder.com Foundation was established in 2003 to assist animal welfare organizations in time of need. Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Petfinder.com staff worked 24/7 to create an online database of pets rescued during the devastating hurricanes of 2005. It was the largest collaborative effort in animal welfare history with many agencies cooperating. "The site is a virtual shelter," says Jared Saul. "It is being able to sit down with your family and visit hundreds of shelters, get to know the pets, and not have to drive all around to do it. When someone finally does go to meet a pet because of Petfinder.com, they are more likely to be well suited for each other. What better use of the Web?"

In 2006, Discovery Communications Inc. acquired Petfinder.com, and the site became part of the Animal Planet family.

"It's hard to imagine what we did before Petfinder.com. Petfinder adoptions account for three out of every five dogs we place. We placed 1,000 pets last year!" --Susan Ragland, President, Animal Rescue Force, East Brunswick, NJ, Petfinder.com member since 1996

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