"He's one of the smartest dogs I know," says FKSPCA board member and shelter volunteer Georgia Favelli. "And he's so sweet, affectionate and friendly. And good with other dogs, too." Blue is a young dog, only about a year and a half. "He'd make a good family pet," says Favelli.
Blue sounds like a dream dog, doesn't he? And just because he's temporarily staying at the shelter, doesn't mean that he's not up to standard-- and that goes for the rest of the animals there. Blue is caged at our local shelter because someone abandoned him there.
Many animals are taken to the shelter because their owners (read: like parents to a child) "can't find an apartment that takes animals," "don't have enough time to take care of them," "they're unmanage- able," "too much trouble," "too big," "bark too much," "scratch the furniture," "their owner died," (make plans for the future of your pet), or innumerable other reasons shelter personnel hear every day.
But the fact remains that, asFKSPCA president Gwen Hawtof always says, "the shelter is a reflection of the community's wishes for their animals." And when an animal is brought to the shelter, hopefully, it will find a good home. Hopefully.
Small dogs and puppies have the best chance of being adopted, if they have sweet personalities, and short hair. Kittens are a sure bet too. But older animals, large dogs, finicky animals, and ugly animals have the least chance. That's the way it is, unfortunately. Too many animals need homes.
But if you adopt from the shelter, you will make a friend for life. And boy, will they be grateful.
Call the shelter at 294-4857 today. You may just find the love of your life there.
EDITOR'S NOTE: I spoke to Gwen Hawtof, president of the Fla. Keys Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (FKSPCA), the animal welfare agency responsible for the Key West and Marathon Animal Shelters. I asked Gwen to be a regular contributor to this page, and she graciously accepted.
Summertime is here and the living may be easy, but not always for your dog. Most of us know the obvious, like not leaving your dog in your car while you run a quick errand, and making sure there is plenty of shade and fresh water if you leave your dog outside.
But there is another insidious threat to your best friend in the form of a virus: Canine parvovirus, (CPV-2) better known as Parvo. First identified in 1978, this highly contagious disease is often fatal in puppies and young dogs. They may collapse and die suddenly with few symptoms to give warning.
Parvo is a highly resistant virus, able to survive several months in the environment. In our tropical setting, we are the ideal host to this deadly virus. Luckily, household bleach will kill the virus.
It's transmitted by the fecal-oral route: my dog smells your dog's poop, ingests the virus where it replicates in the intestines, and is shed in my dog's poop. Symptoms include depression, lethargy, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, with the more serious cases showing bloody diarrhea.
Even with a quick diagnosis and early treatment, success is not guaranteed. The best treatment is prevention. Your veterinarian can vaccinate your puppy against Parvo as well as several other life-threatening diseases during an annual exam. Puppies need a series of boosters to fully protect them.
Please don't neglect this area of your dog's health. Parvo is alive and well here in the Keys and
we continue to see new cases every week. Don't lose your dog to this preventable disease, and help keep
your neighborhoods safe and clean by picking up after your dogs when you exercise them.
Where would Big Cat, Morris and Mica (Czech for "kitty") be without Bob Lambert? Probably "six feet under," missing out on the good life they have now with their human hero.
Mica was a homeless cat that Bob adopted from the shelter three years ago. Then about a year ago, he adopted Morris, who has Feline Leukemia. Morris had been living at the KW Convalescent Center, but with the change of administration, Morris had to go. So Bob took Morris home.
Then, about three months ago, Big Cat entered the picture. "BG" as Bob calls him, is an18-pound-plus Maine Coon cat that hasFeline Aids (FIV). BG's owner, an elderly man, had to go to a nursing home, so his neighbor started feeding BG. The neighbor was moving and wanted to take BG with her. Then BG was diagnosed with FIV, so that plan was nixed. BG really needed a home now (he would have been euthanized at the shelter) and, through that reliable source of information we call the `coconut telegraph'— BG found a home with Bob.
Mica is the indoor cat. Morris and BG have Bob's fenced-in yard to themselves, because their illnesses are infectious to other cats. But there's lots of room to roam, and Bob even built a special perch for them to sit on so they could observe the goings-on outside their happy world.
When I asked Bob what he would tell people who are thinking of adopting a pet, he said, "Somewhere in Key West there is a human and a companion animal that are just right for each other. And some have special needs-- many times it's the people. But we all have something to offer each other."