In bigger and better news,from 8/16 through 8/26/09, I am donating 20% of all my Etsy sales to Saving Shelter Pets animal rescue and so are other Etsy sellers. For more details, please visit their fundraiser page.

Lastly, thanks for reading, the picture of Percy (my baby) to the right is for all of you.

New Orleans has recently announced plans for the city to celebrate a Week for the Animals. This needs to be a worldwide holiday. Muttski’s readers, thank you pets and all animals in this world on the week of March 21-29.

Think of everything animals have done for us and let’s lend a helping hand to make their lives better in return. You can volunteer at you local shelter, donate blankets to the shelter, donate money to an animal charity or just take your pup on an extra long week, just celebrate!

Petside has a great contest where you can choose your favorite of 15 shelter animals. Every shelter included in the contest will be recieving a donation and the shelter that houses the winning pet will recieve $2500 towards vacinations. One great thing about the contest is that you get to see how many of the 15 have already been adopted.

I loved hearing about this Florida many who runs a wonderful sanctuary for over 500 cats. If you love it or hate it, please let me know so I can be sure to adjust Muttskis content accordingly. Thanks guys!

The rural town Ferris, in North Texas, has decided to legalize the shooting of stray dogs. The City Manager said they approved the policy because the area is a dumping ground for unwanted pets.

This sort of thing is dispicable in any place, particularly in our country where there are plenty of loving pet owners and fantastic rescue groups that would be happy to help these poor animals.

To reach the city and place a complaint, click here. To read more on this shameful policy, click here.

The Durham organization relies solely on donations and has been trying for years to find a better shelter to replace the building they occupied for 20 years.

Monetary donations can be made via their website, humanedurham.com, or by contacting the Ontario SPCA at 1-888-668-7722, ext. 323.

(Photo from Flickr user R’eyes)

Unfortunately, Mexico is not a forerunner in the animal rights movement. It is not uncommon to see street dogs wandering the city, picking through the trash and getting kicked by local residents. In an area with so much human poverty, it is no wonder that dogs are frequently used as convienant punching bags.

The YouTube clip above is not for the faint of heart. Indeed, it almost made me cry and I am terrified to see the movie it is advertising, Companions to None. But I do think it is an important issue that many people who do not live next to the Mexican border have no idea about. Living in San Diego, I have not only seen the way dogs in Tijuana are treated, but also how well they can recover when taken in by a good family.

I urge everyone to see this film and support the workers associated with it. This is something that spaying and nuetering can greatly improve, and that’s something that we can change with more conciousness of the problem.

In addition, I’d like to refer those interested to the Baja Animal Sanctuary. They specialize in helping dogs and cats from Baja Mexico get loving homes in America. My mother owns a wonderful muttski that once munched on rocks in the streets of Mexico and now she loves to cuddle up with her mom and her stuffed sheep and go right to sleep. The amazing thing about dogs is how many of them can come back from tramautic experiences. The Baja Animal Sanctuary can help. If you’re interested in donating, please click here.

And for those of you interested in helping out good old American born dogs and cats, I always recomend my favorite animal charity, Saving Shelter Pets. They work as hard as they can to keep dogs and cats in over-crowded shelters from being euthanized.