Snow Day 2

As long as it's never going to stop snowing: why should dogs have all the fun!

Cats can have some fun in the snow too:

Frankie and Ashley step carefully out on the cattio trying to catch a few looks at the bird feeder.

Dillon enjoying some time out on his porch in the snow.

Maurice heads out to try to catch a little bit of that winter sun -And after a quick exchange of the secret greeting with Frankie-

It's off to the man cave- 

Members only of course!

And cats being cats - after all that fun outside, curling up for a nice relaxing winters nap is next up on their to do list.

Okay - not everybody's loving winter, some of us do have a touch of cabin fever. Poor  Dusty can't nap-                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          he's thinking hard about how he's going to shed this years winter layer!

Eagle Scout Project to Benefit Homeless Dogs

During the Autumn of 2014, Boy Scout Ryan Rancourt of Chaplin Troop 440 completed his Eagle Scout project and what he did was very empathetic and thoughtful.

The goal of an Eagle Scout Award is to better the community through a well devised project that shows off leadership skills and promotes teamwork. Ryan’s focus was to create raised Kuranda- style dog beds to donate to local CT animal shelters. These elevated beds will provide comfort, keep animals from sleeping on cold, hard floors and are easy to keep clean. Staff from Our Companions met with Ryan and had a chance to see the prototype that he had created and knew that these beds would be a hit!

Ryan’s project started by hosting a Halloween dance at his local school where guests brought pet supplies or monetary donations as their entrance fee. These supplies were given to Our Companions Animal Sanctuary to use for the animals in their care and helped raise funds needed to build the dog beds. Once the party was over and the money was raised Ryan and his troop purchased materials from Home Depot and scheduled their building event.

Here is the rundown of supplies that were donated. How impressive!

156 Cat Food Cans
14 Dog Food Cans
10 Paper Towel Rolls
3 Boxes of Dryer Sheets
5 Laundry Bottles
2 Bleach Bottles
4 Boxes Garbage Bags
2 Dishwasher Liquid
1 Cat Bed
1 Cat Tower
$90 Stop and Shop Gift Cards

This Eagle Scout had a well thought-out plan and decided to host a “how to build a dog bed” clinic one week prior to the building event. During this clinic he discussed the plans he had in place to create the dog beds, safety topics to prevent injury and discussed what each participant would work on during construction. This would prove successful as his fellow troop-mates would know what was to be expected and would allow them to work in a timely, effective and organized manner when the big event took place.

The building project was triumphant due to Ryan’s diligence and leadership skills. The beds were constructed as planned and there was even time to grab some pizza to celebrate! These beds are sturdy and well-built and they are even autographed by the troop. Our Companions helped spread the word to various shelters in CT and found that the response was beyond welcoming! After reaching out to shelters that could use these beds it was finalized, three beds were donated to the Glastonbury Shelter, three were donated to the Portland/Middletown Shelter, three were donated to the Berlin/Cromwell Shelter and one was donated to the Manchester Shelter.
These young men are wonderful, full of compassion and love. They have created bedding for dogs that otherwise might not have a bed and by doing so have bettered the lives of these wonderful animals as they await their forever home. Undoubtedly the animals are grateful to Ryan and Troop 440 for their kindness, a kindness that will surely have a positively ripple effect for both canine and humans alike.

Our Companions and homeless pets everywhere are proud of you, Ryan!

 A local shelter dog enjoying her new bed!

LET US PREY!

Some scream in horror at the mere glance of one scampering by-
           Others find them irresistibly cute and keep one, or several, as pets . . . and they also cause more than $1 billion dollars of damage each year in the U.S.

So, no matter which end of the spectrum you 

lean towards, chances are

that you have felt the effects of those little critters known as

MICE!

Like  them or not these nocturnal creatures have some amazing abilities: 
                                                                                                        *They are so flexible that they can get into your home through a crack or hole as small as 1/4".  
*They can jump as high as a foot and climb up almost any vertical surface including up smooth         vertical walls.

*They can run 12 ft per second and swim as far as 1/2 mile.
*They eat almost continuously, and will nibble or eat any available human food - as well as other
      household items.  And they don't need free water to survive.
*They have a very sharp sense of hearing and can hear and communicate in the human as well
     as ultrasonic range.
 *They are known to be very intelligent creatures and known to solve complex puzzles.

Now, while I hate to cast any doubt on their scientific research and conclusions, I find myself questioning the use of the word intelligent in describing these mighty midgets.  After all, what intelligent mouse would venture into and make themselves at home in a house full of cats?

Well - time after time we've seen this same scenario at the Sanctuary:

            

dillon

frankie

ashley

(Usually it's all fun and games for the kitties and we are left with the clean-up, but here's a fun fact: the size of an average cat dinner is nutritionally equivalent to approximately 5 mice.  That's a lot of hunting for a cat on the street.)

While the cats at the Sanctuary are usually limited to what type of prey comes their way it is interesting to note that cats do have individual differences in prey types.  They tend to prefer and are better at hunting some types of animals than others.
Most cats are specialists and prefer to hunt a certain type of prey, while others are generalists -or equal opportunity killers.

You might be wondering how this information could be of any use to your indoor kitty that doesn't have the chance to get at any real prey.
Well, indoor cats still have that hunting instinct, and using interactive toys to play with your cat can help enrich his indoor environment. Among other benefits, it will help to create a stronger bond between you and your cat.

Different types of interactive toys represent different types of prey, so you may have to go through several to determine which type of prey your cat likes best:

Cats that prefer birds will like feather type wands
Cats that prefer snakey things will prefer toys such as The Cat Charmer
Cats that prefer bugs will prefer toys such as Neko Flies or Cat Dancer
Cats that prefer rodents will prefer toys such as The Cat Catcher

It's a good idea to have a selection of interactive toys (including multiple options of each prey) as cats will get bored of the same toy before they will tire of the game itself.

And once you have discovered which toys your cat likes best, it is important to remember to move your toys like prey (don't attack your cat with the toy-prey usually runs away from it's predator).

 Find out what your cat likes best and allow your cat to use his hunting strategies.

Happy Hunting!

Super-Dog-Bowl 2015 -Who are you rooting for?

 You may mistake this beautiful girl as a dainty diva but rest assured that Hera is spunky and full of sass when it comes to tonight's big game! Hera's excitement is going to be matched by many other New Englanders tonight as the Seahawks and the Patriots duke it out  for total football dominance in Superbowl XLIX! 
Enjoy the game, the food and the commercials! 

Say it loud, say it proud!!

 Rumor has it that Johnny is behind deflate-gate.. 

its just too hard to resist gnawing on a tasty football!

Throwing, chasing, happy dances... this game rocks for dogs!!

If only we had two TV's then we could watch Puppy Bowl as well!