Atlanta Pet Rescue Founder Honored

11 Alive Community Service Award

Judy Price, the executive director and founder of Atlanta Pet Rescue, will be honored for her outstanding volunteer contributions in the Atlanta community by local media group, 11 Alive. For thirty-two years, 11Alive has honored the unsung heroes, the volunteers, in “The 11Alive Community Service Awards” telecast. The 2007 awards will be videotaped Tuesday, April 10 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Downtown Atlanta.

The show airs April 14th at 7:30 pm on 11 Alive, so mark your calendar! Three cheers for Judy! This recognition is long overdue!

Pet Personals

Blondes do have more fun!

Hi I am Mr. Bojangles! I am a nine year old Terrier mix and weigh about 26 pounds.  I was found in Grant Park and, after diligent but unsuccessful attempts to locate my previous owner, I am now available for adoption.

I love life to the fullest.  I enjoy dancing for my meals and prancing when I am going to be taken for a walk.  I get along well with people, dogs and cats. I am housebroken and quickly caught on to the dog door at my foster home.  My favorite hobby is cuddling.

My foster mom calls me "Mr. Bo", and I like that name too. Even though I would just love to be the "one and only", I have agreed to live amicably amongst my other foster siblings. Because of my zest for life, my foster mombelieves that I am younger than they originally thought, but I'm not going to tell what

my true age is... it will be a secret forever! I am at the shelter and available for adoption on Saturdays or by appointment. Come meet me at or see me online at: www.atlantapetrescue.org.

A Letter from Happy's Family

Happy has been a part of our family since April '06. It's been a wonderful transformation to watch how our household has changed. My female Chi didn't want anything to do with sharing her family with another dog, but with Happy's wonderful, loving personality, she was in time won over (as is everyone who meets him). The two are now the soulmates I had hoped they would become. I can't say enough good things about Atlanta Pet Rescue and the lives they touch, both human and four legged. Happy now knows what it's like to run in the grass, lay in the sun and be showered with love. To all of those who believe that "One Mans Trash is Another Mans Treasure", I found gold in something that someone else so cruelly threw away. No matter how hectic a day can be, he is

always there to make us smile, and we're the lucky ones. So, if there is room in your heart and time in your day, I highly recommend a rescued pet. Thank you again Atlanta Pet Rescue for your continued faith in us humans and the love you give to our helpless friends.

Cathy, Shelby, Tristian
Tinkerbell and Happy (the little white guy)

Volunteer Spotlight

also an accomplished artist who works in paints as well as in fabrics.  She is also mother to four spoiled cats and five well-loved dogs: Daisy, Singee, Charlee, Lil Bit and Pippi - not including current fosters in her care.

One of her most recent contributions to APR is shown in the finely-detailed trim painting in our cat room.  Whenever we have a job to do, one call is all it takes, and Gigi is there.  She's quiet and humble, but her contributions have been and continue to be priceless to APR. Thank you Gigi!

In light of the recent pet food recall and scare, we wanted to share some information from Dr. Tracy Land, DVM from her extensive research into commercial pet foods:

The vast majority of commercially available pet foods are anything but wholesome. To summarize, the few good foods out there have the following qualities:

• human grade ingredients
• no rendered proteins
• no meat “meals” or meat “by products”. The ingredient list should say “chicken”, not “chicken by products; or “lamb”, not “lamb meal”
• no artificial or chemical preservatives or dyes

This information is rarely on the labels, and often requires research and contacting individual companies. Very few foods will meet all these requirements. Be aware that these quality foods are going to be at the high end of the price range, as they use much better and more expensive ingredients. Also, the lack of chemical preservatives shortens their shelf life, making them more expensive for manufacturers and retailers to carry. Check expiration dates on all pet foods! Interesting Point: the following terms have no official definition, are unregulated, and may appear on pet food labels with no guarantee of quality or lack of potentially harmful chemicals what-so-ever:

• premium or super premium
• gourmet
• natural
• holistic
• organic

For more detailed explanations, read on – but be prepared to be disturbed.

1) Preservatives: Commonly used preservatives in dry pet food include propylene glycol, ethoxyquin, BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole), and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene. Ethoxyquin has been linked to cancer of the stomach, kidneys, bladder, and colon. The Department of Agriculture lists ethoxyquin as a pesticide. BHA & BHT have been linked to cancers of the stomach, bladder, and thyroid gland. Natural preservatives, such as tocopherols (a source of Vitamin E) can be used in place of the artificial, chemical preservatives above. They are not as efficient, and lead to a shorter shelf life, and contribute to the higher costs associated with high quality foods. Canned foods are preserved by the canning process.

2) Splitting: This is a marketing ploy that alloys pet food manufacturers to distort the ingredients listed on pet foods. The most prevalent ingredient must be listed first on the labels. But – the rules allow for “splitting”. This means that a food that lists meat as the first ingredient may also contain corn, ground yellow corn, and corn meal, all in equal parts, so that in reality, there may be three times more corn than meat. Sounds like cheating to me!

3) Meat By-Products & Meat Meal: May contain chicken feet, heads, beaks and feathers; animal hooves, horns, hides, and fur; stomach & intestinal contents; manure; blood; carcasses or portions of carcasses removed from the human food chain for suspicion of disease or spoilage; essentially any animal part discarded or scraped from the slaughter house floor and considered unfit for human consumption. And most are rendered (see#4).

4) Rendered Proteins: The source of most meat by-products and almost all meal. This process may involve chemicals not allowed in human foods. May also include the bodies of dogs and cats euthanized by pounds and animal shelters, including fur, flea collars, plastic bags, and most disturbing – the barbiturates used to euthanize those animals. Low levels of these drugs have been found in many major name brand commercial pet foods. Law requires that food animals, (cows, pigs, chickens), not be slaughtered for food for a long enough period of time that such drugs are cleared from the animals system before it enters the food chain. Because dogs and cats are not normally considered food animals, a loop hole exists that allows the drugs used to intentionally kill dogs and cats back into their food.

5) Research: Most companies that produce major name brand pet foods engage in research involving dogs and cats that any decent human being would find cruel and inhumane.

Further Reading, Foods Pets Die For by Martin & Messonier, is a must read for anyone interested in pet nutrition. It is available at www.amazon.com and contains many good recipes for homemade pet diets, which is the ideal alternative if you have the time.

Note: Please never feed raw meat or bones - a current fad diet prevalent on the internet. We regularly treat pets who are seriously ill from this dangerous practice, and numerous deaths have been reported. You shouldn’t feed your pets raw meat, any more than you would feed it to your children!