Monday, November 26, 2012
As an unwanted puppy, Nugget was smaller than a cup of soda. Now she's a young dog looking for her perfect home.
Mickie Blair attracts homeless dogs. She's mostly a cat person (good thing too, because she heads up most of the feline care and cat-saving operations at LifeLine Animal Project in Avondale Estates) but homeless dogs consider her irresistible, too. "They find me," she says, "no matter where I go." One day last year she was picking up a community cat that had mistakenly been taken to animal control when she was approached by a man in the parking lot. "Want a puppy?" he asked. "What kind of puppy?" Blair asked back, stalling for time while she tried to figure out where this exchange was leading. The man explained that his sister had gotten a pup from a neighbor who didn't want it, but his sister couldn't keep the dog either. Blair listened …
Monday, November 19, 2012
When a homeless animal is rescued, it's great news. Adopted? Even better. But given a whole new life through reconstructive surgery? Extraordinary.
Patch readers will remember Cliff the dog from an earlier story as the pit bull mix who was rescued by LifeLine Animal Project, then placed into a loving home, but remained in danger from a birth defect that often kills dogs before they reach adulthood. Cliff had a cleft palate, a condition that usually causes puppies to slowly starve to death because they can't feed normally from their mothers. Even if they do manage to get some nutrition from their mothers, or are fed by humans from a tube, liquid will often leak into their sinuses or lungs and cause pneumonia. At over a year old, no one knew how Cliff managed to survive into adulthood. He was rescued by LifeLine after being tied to a tree and left on an abandoned property. Soon after …
Monday, November 12, 2012
Pet adoption options at LifeLine include no-fee adoptions for veterans all year and, through Nov.18, cat lovers can adopt a new feline friend for only $9.
Up to 80,000 puppies, adult dogs, cats and kittens are euthanized in shelters in the metro area each year, making Atlanta one of the biggest "kill cities" in the nation. Why? The reason is singular, stark and heartbreaking. These thousands of pets are killed simply because they don't have homes. Not only can you save two lives when you adopt a pet from a shelter (the life of the dog or cat you adopt and the life of a homeless animal who gets the space that your new pet once occupied) but at LifeLine Animal Project this month, there are extremely affordable options for adoption. Veterans and current enlisted military can always adopt for free at LifeLine as part of their Pets Helping Vets program and, up until November 18, cat lovers can …
Monday, November 5, 2012
Adoption fees for felines at LifeLine Animal Project are 90 percent off Nov. 16-18. You can save money and, according to studies, owning a cat might just save your life.
Imagine if, at your next check-up, your doctor said, "Adopt two cats and I'll see you in six months." There may not be a single one-size-fits-all remedy for modern malaise and physical ailments but there is one thing that many people, from the scientific community to your local community, often agree on: pets are good for human health. Pets provide a companionship connection and ease lonliness. Dogs and cats have long thought to help human health by reducing stress and anxiety. And while it's certainly true that if you adopt a homeless cat from your local shelter you have the satisfaction of knowing you saved a life, is it possible that adopting that cat can save your own life too? Studies say yes. One Canadian study in 2006 determined …
Monday, October 29, 2012
"Mackerel," "Spotted," "Ticked" and even "Patched" are names for markings on tabby cats. Homeless Clea is a "Classic."
Question: What's the most common type of cat that isn't really a breed of cat of all? Answer: The tabby cat. "Tabby" doesn't mean a certain breed or even a particular color of cat, but refers to distinctive feline coat markings. Tabbies can be orange, brown, ginger or grey or a combination of colors. Because most domestic cats carry the tabby gene, even some solid-colored cats display faint tabby markings that are visible if you look closely or study them in the sunlight. When people think of tabbies, it's most often the cats with coats of stripes, swirls and dots, the eyes that look like they are wearing eyeliner and the distinctive "M" on their forehead. Popular cat lore says that M is a blessing from the Virgin Mary. Others say it …
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Maverick went from stray on the streets to safe in a no-kill shelter. Now he's in training to be of service to a veteran with PTSD--Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced that as of October 5, they would no longer cover the costs involved with assigning service animals to war veterans with mental disabilities. In an announcement made in September they stated the VA would continue to provide service dogs for people with visual, hearing or mobility impairments but cited lack of data that service animals supply any real medical benefit to vets battling mental issues, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). "Real world" data would tend to contradict the new VA policy on this subject, but nevertheless, if a veteran with PTSD wants or requires a service dog, they are now responsible for the cost themselves. However, in Atlanta, for one vet battling a …
Monday, October 15, 2012
Patra is a homeless cat who feeds and cares for abandoned kittens, including one named Echo who was born without eyes.
Remember when you were a kid and there was that one mom (it might have been yours) who fed and looked after all the kids in the neighborhood? In the cat world, in Avondale Estates, that super-mom is a homeless 2-year-old Tortoiseshell named Patra. Patra was living on the streets trying to keep her own four kittens safe when she was rescued by LifeLine Animal Project. Due to the rigors of street life and the vulnerability of kittens who are born homeless, only two of her babies, named Rita and Beanie by rescuers, survived. Some mother cats will shun kittens that are not their own, some will welcome and adopt them. Soon after losing two of her own, Patra adopted three very needy weeks-old kittens that came into LifeLine abandoned and hungry…
Monday, October 8, 2012
Ever seen a dog with a cleft palate? Probably not, and there's good reason. Almost all die as puppies. Cliff has beaten huge odds and surgery will ensure his survival.
Cliff is a beautiful, beefy pit bull mix who loves to go on runs, has never met a stranger, adores cats and if your lap is empty he considers it a place he'd like to sit. He's very much like millions of other dogs in neighborhoods, homes and shelters the world over. Except he's not. Cliff is a very rare canine. He's an adult dog with a cleft palate. Far from being a simple cosmetic issue, when a dog is born with a cleft palate it's usually a death sentence. They are not able to feed normally from their mother because they are not able to latch on and create the suction needed to nurse. Imagine trying to drink through a straw without being able to close your mouth around it. Even if they do manage to feed or are fed by tube, liquid will …
Monday, October 1, 2012
Valmar can't type, file or use a copier, yet he spends all day in an office. His resume includes purring, giving head butts and playing. Can he get a job being your cat?
At LifeLine Animal Project in Avondale Estates, the Dog House and Kitty Motel are often at capacity with homeless pets. Everywhere you look there are pets who were rescued off death row at kill-shelters, cats and dogs who were abandoned, abused or seized by authorities in criminal cases. All these animals are getting love and attention, medical care and, if needed, obedience training. All are waiting on adoption and their own, personal, new beginning/happy ending. Even the rescue and animal advocacy group's administrative office has a few furry occupants, mostly cats waiting on new homes, who spend all their time "helping" the staff work by taking up chair space for their naps, rolling pens off the desks, greeting visitors and sunning …
Monday, September 24, 2012
In a world where people and pets are lauded and desired for beauty and rewarded for being young and cute, what happens to dogs like Christie?
She's not pretty. She's not very young. Her coat is patchy, her teeth worn. Her skin is ragged in places and it's obvious that Christie, a female Rottweiler mix, has not led an easy life. Yet if you spend a few minutes with her -- and a few minutes is all it takes -- you soon realize this older girl is sweeter than sugar cane and has a lot of spark in her yet, despite some treatable health and "beauty" issues. There are no defects in her personality. She's being cared for at LifeLine Animal Project and the Avondale Estates-based animal advocacy and rescue non-profit is looking for someone who wants to help this part of Christie's life be the best part. They are asking that someone out there foster Christie in their home and show her a …
emani grant
4:49 pm on Friday, March 29, 2013
how can i contact you for nugget more ›