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February is National Adopt a Rabbit Month

Hop on over to the ARL and ADOPT a bunny today!

Thanks to our knowledgeable staff and volunteers, the ARL has many types of animals available for adoption- not just cats and dogs. If a feline or canine is not the pet for you, or you have limited space in your home, consider SPREADING THE LOVE and adopting a rabbit!

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tifa

8-month-old Tifa is ready to hop her way into your heart! Click the picture to see her profile.

Here are 5 reasons why you should consider adopting a rabbit this February:

  1. Bunnies spend the majority of their day quietly inside their cage, making them the perfect companions for apartment dwellers.
  2. Cottontails can be trained to use a litter box, so you won’t have to rush home from work to let them out.
  3. Hares need minimal exercise every day, so they require less attention than cats or dogs.
  4. Rabbits are curious, friendly, and will entertain you for hours with their silly antics.
  5. Hop-a-longs keep themselves tidy and are all about “clean eating”, snacking on salad, hay, and carrots as treats.

Need a 6th reason? All adoptable rabbits at the ARL receive the following: health screening and veterinary examination, behavior screening and evaluations, vaccinations, parasite treatment, and more!

Don’t forget… to please bring a photo of the cage your rabbit will live in, as it’s required for adoption.

Dog Sweaters: Fashion vs. Function

Does your dog need a sweater this winter? Answer these 5 questions!

Love it or hate it, many animal-lovers can’t resist a dog in clothing. Whether it be a holiday sweater, a Halloween costume, or simply a fancy collar, photos of a dressed-up doggies are shared by the millions on social media each day.

While the pet retail business may seem frivolous to some, the reality is that some dogs, just like humans, need a little extra help staying warm in the colder months. Sure, your dog naturally sports its own “overcoat”, but some breeds are just not suited to survive in harsh winter climates.

Dog sweaters, coats, and booties may be fashionable, but they can also be extremely functional as well!

Not sure if your if your canine companion needs a dog sweater this winter? Answer YES or NO to our questions below:

protect your pet

Dog sweaters can be both fashionable AND functional! Answer YES or NO to these 5 questions to determine if your dog needs a sweater this winter!

1. Is your dog’s coat made up of short hair like a Boston Terrier’s or French Bulldog’s?

2. If your dog’s coat is made of fur, do you keep it groomed short, as you would a Poodle?

3. Is your dog considered a puppy (under one-year-old), a senior (over 7-years-old), or a toy breed, such as a Chihuahua?

4. Does your dog have a weakened immune system due to health issues, such as hypothyroidism?

5. Do you live in a climate where temperatures dip below freezing during the hours your dog spends time outside?

If you  answered “YES” to one or more of the questions above, you may want to consider buying a dog sweater for your canine companion to wear on cold days or during snowfall.

While this doesn’t necessarily mean that you need to run out and purchase 17 hound’s-tooth sweater options (unless you want to, of course!) you should browse a little to select outerwear that will work best for your dog.

Take your pooch shopping with you to determine what style, size, and fabrics fits your pup. Make sure whatever you select is simple to put on/pull off and has closures (buttons, zippers, etc.) that are easily accessible.

Your dog’s new sweater may just get everyone at the park saying, “now that’s one practical pup”!

For more useful pet safety advice, visit arlboston.org/helpfultips.

DIY: Winter Pet Emergency Kit

Simple and inexpensive to make, a pet emergency kit is a must for your home

Blizzards, flooding, and power outages are par for the course during the harsh New England winters. When you’re stocking your pantry and gathering snow removal equipment for the next big storm, don’t forget to plan ahead for your pet too! In the event of an evacuation, natural disaster, or other emergency the Animal Rescue League of Boston wants to make sure that your pet is already packed and ready to go with you! Follow these 7 steps to keep your pet safe during an emergency In addition to having a sturdy comfortable crate or carrier on-hand for transporting your pet, be sure to prepare a pet emergency kit ahead of time with the following supplies:

  • Water-resistant backpack or lightweight bag to hold everything
    pet emergency kit

    Don’t forget to bring a photocopy or portable USB drive of your pet’s medical records.

  • Food and water – at least 3 days worth!
  • Portable food and water bowls
  • Manual can opener and fork, or measuring cup
  • Litter or newspaper to shred and litter boxes
  • Paper towels and trash bags for additional pet sanitation needs
  • Bleach (dilute 9 parts water to 1 part bleach for cleaning)
  • Pet first aid kit
  • Collar with ID tags – be sure the information is up-to-date!
  • Leash
  • Medications and medical records stored in a waterproof container
  • Toys
  • Treats
  • Bedding
  • Grooming items

ALSO, DON’T FORGET… to make your pet easy to ID! If you become separated from your pet, you’ll want to locate and claim them as quickly as possible. Microchipping your pet is always a good idea and a fail-safe way to verify that you’re their owner. Also, keep a photo of you and your pet together handy to help others easily identify them. For more useful pet safety advice, visit arlboston.org/helpfultips.

ARL Remembers Mike Thomas

In Memoriam…

Mike Thomas
Caretaker, ARL’s Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the passing of Mike Thomas.

For over 46 years, Mike was a tireless advocate, champion, and compassionate Caretaker of the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s (ARL) Pine Ridge Pet Cemetery in Dedham, Massachusetts.

Starting at the age of 19-years-old it had been the only full-time job Mike ever had, and he took great care and pride in helping all families as they came to need his services. As he used to say, “Nobody wants to have to see me, but when they do they’re glad I’m here.” 

Mike was a kind-hearted soul who went above and beyond his duties to help all of the staff, volunteers, and members of the ARL family. There have been a tremendous amount of letters and notes of remembrance of Mike’s work pouring into the ARL.

We know the love Mike had for people, animals, and his work can never be put to words, but today we try to remember him and enjoy fondly the great sense of kindness and compassion that he showed to all who met him.

Please click here to read an interview with Mike Thomas about celebrating 45 years of service at ARL in 2015. 

A Happy Holiday Ending for “Santa Squirrel”

ARL’s Rescue Services frees squirrel stuck in a dog bone

Earlier this week, the Animal Rescue League of Boston’s (ARL) Rescue Services team was called to Hanover, MA, to help a squirrel that had a hollow dog bone stuck around its neck. The squirrel had been frequenting the backyard of a local residence for several weeks.

How did the family in that residence know it was the same squirrel? The critter had a very unique trait: a “white fur beard”. Given the holiday season, the family began referring to him as “Santa Squirrel”.

Read the full story, as covered by ABC.
Read the full story, as covered by People.com.

That was, until the family, captured a photo of the squirrel on a high-resolution camera. What the family had mistook as a beard was actually a hollow dog bone stuck around “Santa Squirrel’s” neck!

The Hanover family called ARL’s Rescue Services team for help. ARL promptly arrived on the scene and set up a humane peanut butter trap to capture “Santa Squirrel”.

Once safely inside the trap, “Santa Squirrel” was transferred to ARL’s Safford Memorial Shelter in Dedham, MA for immediate veterinary attention. With a little help from anesthesia to relax the critter, ARL’s Shelter Veterinary Medicine team was able to cut through the bone to free “Santa Squirrel”‘s neck.

Feeling much lighter the next day, “Santa Squirrel” was released back into the wild in Hanover – just in time for the holidays!

Bone removed from 'Santa Squirrel's" neck.

With the help of some anesthesia, a veterinarian was able to cut through the bone to free ‘Santa Squirrel’.

'Santa Squirrel' released back to Hanover, MA.

On Tuesday, ‘Santa Squirrel’ was released back into the wild in Hanover, MA.

HELP ANIMALS LIKE “SANTA SQUIRREL” HAVE A HOLIDAY THAT’S FURRY & BRIGHT 

ARL is a critical resources for animals in our community and for the people who care about them. Only thanks to YOUR support are we able to continue our important work.

Please join us in lending your support at this time. As we approach year-end, we still need to raise more than $500,000 by December 31 to meet our budget. 

Give as generously as you can and let us start the new year with the resources to respond whenever we receive that call for animals in need, like “Santa Squirrel”. Click the red button below to…

HELP ANIMALS NOW

Finding Positive Outcomes for Cats at Risk

ARL partners with other local organizations to help Pembroke cat colony

In early November 2016, a colony of community cats in Pembroke, Massachusetts found themselves in a dire situation; they lost their feeder and the property where they had been living was sold.

While there is no easy solution to helping community cats in this situation, the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL), along with many other animal welfare organizations, quickly rallied together to make sure that these cats had the best possible outcome.

Community cat colonies usually form due to a conducive environment, however, since a new caretaker could not be secured in their neighborhood, all efforts were focused on finding other alternatives for these cats.

Independent trappers began the process of trapping cats on this property (a procedure normally referred to as T-N-R, trap, neuter, return). However, with this particular colony, the goal was to see how many cats exhibited friendly behaviors*. If determined as friendly, the cats would either be adopted out as indoor companion animals, or could live safely outside on a barn property as a barn cat.

Cats like Bella, Namara, and Thumbelina, were spayed on ARL’s Spay Waggin’, discovered to be friendly, and transferred to ARL’s Safford Memorial Shelter in Dedham where they were adopted out to their forever homes.

A great outcome for these sweet cats!

Thumbelina pictured with her new dad.

Thumbelina is one of the many community cats who benefited from the swift help of the ARL and other local organizations, when her neighborhood feeder could no longer care for her.

Bella in Dedham's Adoption Center

Bella, formerly a community cat of Pembroke, waiting to be adopted at ARL’s Safford Memorial Shelter in Dedham, MA. It wasn’t long before this sweet kitty found her forever home!

thumbelina with her new family

Cats like Namara, pictured here with her new family, were determined friendly enough to be adopted!

Thank you to everyone who was involved with the plight of these cats, including the MSPCA, Standish Humane Society, independent trappers, and the State of Massachusetts, who provided funding for the spays, neuters, and vaccinations of these cats through the Massachusetts Animal Fund.

You Can Help Too!

Keep community cats safe this winter by building your own DIY cat shelter in your yard or to donate to a local rescue with this basic how-to video.

*Friendly cats show signs of wanting to interact with people, feral cats do not.

Tomorrow: We’ll DOUBLE your donation!

Donate on #GivingTuesday and make 2x the impact for animals like Mayfield 

Donate now for 2x the impact

Your unwavering support helps prevent the cruelty, suffering, and neglect of over 14,000 animals every year. Without you, ARL would be unable to provide the special police investigation necessary to protect animals across the Commonwealth.

All thanks to friends like YOU, animals like Mayfield now have a bright future ahead of them…

Earlier this year, a concerned citizen noticed something odd with the trash put out around Norfolk Street in Dorchester, MA. In the middle of the garbage to be collected was a birdcage filled with maggots and cockroaches– and an Umbrella Cockatoo.

ARL quickly responded to the call to help the discarded bird, later named Mayfield, and brought her in for immediate veterinary care. Weak and emaciated, it was determined that Mayfield had a serious medical condition and would require emergency surgery.

Mayfield

The concerned citizen reported finding Mayfield’s birdcage filled with maggots and cockroaches.

Despite all she’d been through, Mayfield maintained an upbeat attitude while she recovered in foster care post-surgery. Several weeks later, Mayfield was healthy enough for adoption.

Today, we’re happy to share that Mayfield is doing well by all accounts. “We took her to see the veterinarian for a check-up and received uplifting news,” says Mayfield’s owner. “Her incision is healing incredibly well and she’s finally gaining weight.”

Mayfield

Mayfield, pictured above, healing at ARL Boston after her emergency surgery.

Mayfield

Thanks to supporters like you, Mayfield was able to fully recover and enjoy a safe and healthy life with her adopters.

Sadly, Mayfield is not the first animal we’ve seen abandoned in the trash or on the streets. Your donations today allow us to continue our important work so that we can prevent cases of animal neglect from happening in the future.

Because ARL is an essential resource for animals in need and the people who care about them, ARL’s Board Chair Malcolm McDonald and an anonymous donor have teamed up to offer this exciting challenge:

Raise $25,000 and they will match it!*

That means your donation for #GivingTuesday 2016 can go twice as far.

Donate now for 2x the impact


WE’RE HONORED BY YOUR GENEROSITY: When you express your love for animals, compassion, and kindness with a gift of $100 or more for #GivingTuesday, we’ll feature your and/or your pet’s name on our Wall of Honor online at arlboston.org, available for viewing on December 6; just type your pet’s name into the ‘Additional Comments’ section of our online donation form.

 

*All money raised will go toward direct animal care; however the match will apply to the first $25,000 to be donated.

Hot off the Press: Our Four-Footed Friends

Check out the many ways YOUR support helped animals in need in 2016

ARL-Magazine-fall2016-Magazine-cover-400x520

Click the image above to read the Fall/Winter 2016 edition of Our Four-Footed Friends.

The Fall/Winter 2016 edition of Our Four-Footed Friends (OFFF) is here!

For more than 100 years, ARL has responded to the needs of animals and the people who care about them. In fact, we are often the first to respond, as seen in the recent Westport farm animal cruelty case, featured on Page 10.

All thanks to YOUR critical support, this year we served thousands of animals through our outstanding veterinary care, adoption, rescue services, special police investigation, and advocacy.

Read the incredible stories about what you helped make possible…

Today, we increasingly focus on prevention and the impact we can have on more animals; keeping them out of shelters and in the communities where they belong.

YOU make our important work possible – THANK YOU!

Bay State Goes Cage Free

THANK YOU to everyone who voted YES ON 3!

It’s official: Massachusetts voters said YES to stopping farm animal cruelty in last night’s historic election. An incredible 77.7% of Bay State residents voted yes on ballot Question 3, The Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals.

This groundbreaking ballot question is a great first step towards animal welfare protection in the Commonwealth. By 2022, highly-restrictive cages must be phased out giving farm animals enough space to turn around and extend their limbs. The ballot question will also protect Massachusetts families from substandard and unsafe food products.

citizens for farm animal protectionClick here to read more via The Boston Globe.

Animal welfare supporters from all over Massachusetts made last night’s vote a resounding victory. The ARL offers our sincerest thanks to the MSPCA, Franklin Park Zoo, The Humane League – Boston, Mercy For Animals, Farm Forward, Compassion in World Farming (USA), Animal Equality, Farm Sanctuary, the Mass Sierra Club, HSUS, ASPCA, and the hundreds of  other animal welfare groups, farmers, veterinarians, local businesses, and individuals who helped support this momentous effort to end the extreme confinement of farm animals!

Since the Summer of 2015, ARL’s volunteers and staff spent countless hours helping to collect over 170,000 signatures to get The Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals on the 2017 ballot, as well as educating Massachusetts consumers about the importance of voting YES ON 3.

“When there’s an effort to improve the protection and treatment of animals – whether they are companion, working, or farm animals – the ARL is here to help,” says ARL’s President Mary Nee.

Massachusetts isn’t alone… Ten states have already passed similar laws and nearly 200 major food retailers, such as McDonalds’s, Walmart, and Dollar Tree, and restaurant chains have policies phasing them out as well.

3 Reasons to Vote YES on 3

Prevent farm animal cruelty with just one vote: YES on Question 3!

With Election Day only a few short days away, the Animal Rescue League of Boston (ARL) wants to remind you why this is such an important election year. Sure, you’re voting for the next President of the United States — but you’re also voting YES to stop unnecessary farm animal cruelty and YES to protecting Massachusetts families from unsafe food products.

Endorsed by the ARL and all of Massachustts’ major animal welfare groups, The Act to Prevent Cruelty to Farm Animals, ballot Question 3, is a modest animal protection and food safety measure that will prevent breeding pigs, chickens, and calves from being confined in cages so small they can’t even turn around or extend their limbs.

Here are 3 reasons to vote YES on 3:

  1. Promotes responsible farming. Question 3 phases out the use of highly-restrictive cages by 2022, giving producers and retailers ample time to comply with the modest requirement that farm animals have enough space to turn yes on 3 blog thumbaround and extend their limbs.
  2. Protects food safety. Industrial animal operations put consumers’ health at risk. Unable to move and constantly stressed, confined animals suffer from weakened immune systems that lead to illness. The Center for Food Safety endorses Question 3 because numerous studies show that egg operations that confine hens in cages have higher rates of Salmonella, the leading cause of food poisoning-related death in humans in America.
  3. Makes economic sense. Most Massachusetts farmers are already cage-free and have shown that affordable food can be produced with animal welfare in mind. According to a study conducted by the egg industry itself, it costs just a penny per egg to produce cage-free eggs rather than battery cage eggs. The pork industry published a study that determined it can cost 11 percent less not to use gestation crates. In addition to the ten states that have passed laws prohibiting certain types of extreme confinement, nearly 200 major food retailers, such as McDonalds’s, Walmart, and Dollar Tree, and restaurant chains have policies phasing them out.

When you hit the polls on Tuesday, November 8, don’t forget to vote YES on Question 3 to prevent farm animal cruelty!