Text Box: P.O. Box 9234 Highland, IN 46322 Text Box: As I sit down to write this, I am having a hard time deciding which subject, of the two I am thinking about, is most important. Since I can’t decide, I am going to write a little bit about both of them. Usually at this time of year, we consider “kitten” season to be over. They just seem to keep coming in! Our adoption numbers for cats/kittens are down drastically over last year, which leads me to believe that the homes for these poor creatures are getting saturated. For years, most people would have 1 or 2 cats. Now, most of you that I speak to have 3 or 4. Many of the volunteers at Treasured Friends have many more than that. So, what can we do? Encourage your friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and coworkers to have all their pets, dogs and cats, spayed and neutered. If you need help convincing them, please let us know, and we will help you. The second subject which comes to my mind is planning ahead to make sure that your pets will be taken care of if you become incapacitated or die. Most of us don’t want to think that it will happen. A few years ago, I rescued an adult Siamese mix cat. He was about 10 years old at the time, and weighed a mere 3 1/2 pounds. He now weighs about 12 pounds. My husband suspects that he may have belonged to an elderly neighbor who passed away. He was found hanging around that house begging for food. Just yesterday, a man called Griffith Animal Control because he found a cat in his yard that was very disoriented. She is very old, probably 17 or 18, and can barely see or hear. She couldn’t have possibly wandered very far from her home in her condition. That makes me think that she was tossed out because her person could no longer care for her. What will happen to your pets if something happens to you? Will they be cared for, or will they be tossed out like these cats? Please give it some serious thought, and find someone you trust that will take care of your beloved pets. Text Box: Special points of interest: Volunteer Opportunities Wish List Neuter Scooter Support a Pet Www.TreasuredFriendsRescue.org. Text Box: Paw Prints Text Box: Words from Wowzer! Text Box: Today I want to talk about a few myths that concern how you relate and train your pets. Good owners with the best intentions can easily head down the wrong path. Remember that your dog and cat will respond to one softly spoken word — their name or a command—if it is followed by something that feels good. To show them what’s required of them, withhold a pleasant consequence if you don’t get a response the first time. The myth is that saying something over and over and yelling works. It doesn’t. Because a dog has bitten once, it’s not a pattern of behavior. You have to do something to indicate that it’s not acceptable behavior. But certainly don’t hit the dog or yell at her/him. Consult an expert if you need advice on how to help your dog. If you scratch the surface of the average cat hater, you will probably find a person who is actually afraid of cat at some kind of visceral, unconscious level. People will say they don’t know why, but they “just don’t trust cats.” The fears and lack of trust are just based on Text Box: Fall 2006 Text Box: Volume II Issue 3 Quarterly Newsletter, Treasured Friends, Inc.

 

 

 

President:

Elizabeth Canty

Liz

Liz

 

Liz 

 

 

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vice

 

1st Vice President

Lois Haskins

 

2nd Vice President:

Joan Roback

 

Treasurer:

Teri Martin

 

Newsletter Editor:

Lois Gamble

 

 

 
Text Box: Message from the President by Elizabeth Canty

www.treasuredfriendsrescue.org