Merry Christmas All

Fluffy Friday #41

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely festive season and wish you warm wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012. To celebrate the first Fluffy Friday of the new year, I want to share with you a few of my animal moments this Christmas.

Happy Friday!

Seasons Greetings from The Animal News!

Hope you have a wonderful day xxx

Christmas Hiatus (Sort of)

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Can you hear the distant sleigh bells approaching?

Over the Christmas period we are going to be at home spending time with family which means I am without regular Internet connection.  This means that I will not be able to do any blogging until January, however, there is still plenty to be getting on with as animals need help every single day.  The best way to keep in touch and up to date is to follow me on Twitter which I am able to access via my mobile phone.

There are a lot of issues on my mind at the moment so it is with a heavy heart that I close down the blog over this period, but I will be active on Twitter so please, please join me there.

I will be back in January with more campaigns and some Christmas pictures of Suki and Rusty!

With love and best wishes to you all and thank you for all your hard work this year.

Helen x

Say it with an e-card

Have you sent your holiday cards yet?  

Quite often I will be pleased that I have managed to send all mine out on time only to then realise that I have forgotten someone and it is too late to reach them via mail, especially if it happens to be one of my friends in the USA.  


Every year I ask myself how I can use my holiday cards to spread awareness, I buy cards from animal rescue centres which donates money to a good cause and also advertises the centre on the card itself.  This year I wanted to do something extra so have decided to be extra festive by sending a card and an e-card.  

The e-card I have chosen is a snow leopard themed card from WWF.

The beautiful snow leopard resides in the rocky alpine regions of Central Asia.  Currently there are just 6,000 snow leopards in the wild across 12 countries including China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Russia.  The number is gradually declining due to hunting (for their beautiful fur and bones for Chinese medicine) and habitat loss.  Some snow leopards are killed by farmers as they prey on their livestock, they are preying on domestic animals due to the decline of their natural prey.

Send your own e-card to raise awareness

Spread the word by sharing this post on Facebook and Twitter.

Adopt a snow leopard for Christmas.

More e-cards

Snow leopard trust

If you would like an e-card from The Animal News please send your e-mail address to the.animal.news@googlemail.com.

Thank you.

Countdown to Christmas #2

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I am the proud owner of a donkey and a seal, although the seal doesn't live in the bath and the donkey isn't grazing in the garden but technically I have adopted them.  My adoption of Oscar the donkey was a birthday present from my Mum as part of the Adopta Donkey scheme at Elisabeth Svendsen’s Trust for Children and Donkeys; Kitto the seal was a Christmas gift from my Mum and the Gweek Seal Sanctuary. 

As part of adopting Oscar I receive a regular newsletter about how Oscar is getting on, as well as a certificate, birthday and Christmas cards and the option of popping along to the Sanctuary to visit him if I arrange an appointment.  My sister adopted Donk Dean from the same Sanctuary as Oscar so for my birthday one year we all went to visit them and it was lovely.

My Nan adores whales and dolphins so one year I adopted a dolphin called Whiskey for her, she received a video of Whiskey as well as a certificate and newsletter.  She was thrilled to bits with it and I think she was seriously considering making room in her bath for him!

It really is a fantastic idea to sponsor or adopt an animal for an animal lover this Christmas (maybe even treat yourself!), as well as spreading joy to the receiver - the gift of sponsorship or adoption can make a huge difference to the life of the animal.

Many organisations run sponsorship or adoption schemes which all offer something different depending on your preference.  For more information I recommend the following links:

World Wildlife Foundation (WWF)

Born Free

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS)

Elisabeth Svendsen Trust

London Zoo

Dudley Zoo (or your local zoo)

Dogs Trust

Cats Protection League

RSPCA

Always make sure you buy your adoption or sponsorship directly from the animal organisation concerned to ensure your money is going to the right place.

I would love to hear from any of you that do decide to adopt or sponsor an animal this Christmas.

Seasons Greetings!

Before you relax...

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As it's the holidays Lunch Time Links is on hiatus until the New Year, however, there is still work to be done.  Please spare a moment to take the very important and extremely worthwhile actions below, they won't take a minute but will make a BIG difference.

Ban the Tiger Trade Petition 

Tell Canada to protect Polar Bears

Take Humane Society International's Pledge and check out their tips for a Cruelty Free Christmas.


Support the new Animal Protection Law in India


Each action provides you with the ability to share with your friends on Facebook and Twitter, this makes a real difference so please spread the word!


Thank you!

Seasonal Safety – Part Three

Are you excited yet?  Not long to go until Christmas!  Suki has been sniffing her doggie stocking since we unpacked it in our new house back in October.  Over Halloween and Bonfire night you may remember my posts on Seasonal Safety, this is the third and final instalment and I hope you find it interesting reading and a source of help to you and your pets over Christmas.

Top Tips for a Carefree Christmas

Now, I don’t mean to be a kill joy but cute Christmas costumes come in the same category as Halloween costumes I’m afraid, they are simply not suitable for most pets.  They look utterly adorable and unquestionably cute but they can really frighten and annoy animals.  It is unsafe if animals are unable to see, hear or breathe and if the costume is too tight it can cut off circulation.  Basically, costumes can be a recipe for disaster and it isn’t fair to assume that your pet wants to join in with the festivities.

Keep the mince pies, Christmas pudding and mulled wine for human consumption only, do not under any circumstances let your pet have any sweets, chocolate or alcohol and make sure that this doesn't happen accidentally either.  Sweets and their wrappers can cause choking and obstruction so ensure that you dispose or wrappers safely.  Chocolate is poisonous and can cause nerve damage and potentially death.  If your pet has eaten anything they shouldn’t have and you notice a problem, consult your vet immediately.  Ensure that you explain this to all members of your household – especially children and your guests.

You might be lucky enough to receive a lot of guests over Christmas, make sure that they are sensitive towards your pets and if you are holding any Christmas parties ensure that your animals are able to escape to somewhere safe and quiet where they can relax if they want to.


I don't know about your pet but Suki loves to chew and eat anything and everything, so keep out of reach things that may cause harm (this goes for every day, not just Christmas time)  Some things worth considering keeping your pet clear of would be, Christmas trees(!), batteries, toys, pot pourri, spray on snow.


And the final tip....

Most importantly, don’t forget to enjoy yourselves and have a lovely time together!


Take care.

Countdown to Christmas #1

The true Spirit of Christmas is helping others, this extends to animals too.  When you are buying your Christmas gifts this year make a difference to the lives of animals by contributing to a good cause and ordering your gifts from one of the animal charities who have their own Christmas stores.

Charities that have their own gift stores include:

RSPCA

Dogs Trust

PDSA

Cats Protection

Mayhew International

Over the years I have bought many things from the RSPCA and PDSA online catalogues and found it an easy way to shop, purchasing several unique and competitively priced presents at the click of a button and having them all delivered at the same time.  The gifts on offer are suitable for all types of people and the cards and gift wrap are adorable, in fact so much so that I want to keep them for myself!

My picks from the catalogues-

Musical Moggies 2012 Catalogue

Look there’s Santa Christmas Cards

Westie Slippers

Dogs Galore Cushion Cover

Pink Heart Pendant Set

Owl Money Box

Joggy Moggy Micro Mouse

Happy 2011!

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Happy New Year to you all, I hope you and your pets had a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all the very best for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011.

I am sorry I have not posted for so long, the combination of being unwell, travelling back home and Christmas has occupied the last three weeks andI was unable to post.  Still, now the festivities are over it is back to reality and there is plenty of work for us to do so let's get cracking...