June is Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month

Calling All Cat Lovers!

June is your time to shine! Please join us each and every Saturday in June for feline festivities that will leave you purring. We invite each and every one of you to come visit our newly remodeled cat room (thank you New Leash on Life!) and meet our cats awaiting their forever homes.

Each Saturday enjoy the following:

• Food, drinks and fun
• Goodie bags with every cat adoption
• Your chance to enter to win a Marc Tetro original of Wiley the cat. Click here to read more about Marc Tetro.

We will also be giving away amazing door prizes:

• The Royal Feline portrait package by Leesia Teh Photography which includes one formal portrait sitting, a cd of high resolution images, 10 (ten) 4x6s and 1 (one) 5x7 of your royal feline. Click here to see some samples of her work.
• One custom framed Mutts™ comic strip print. Click here to see it!

...and much, much more! Don't miss the fun, and the chance to help our wonderful cats find great homes. Spread the word!

Microchip Your Pet Before the 4th of July

Microchipping provides an important safety net for your pet. This is especially important around this time of year when the stress from fireworks causes many pets to flea their homes in a state of panic.

If you have not already gotten your pets microchipped, June is the time to do it— please don't put it off another month. Atlanta Pet Rescue offers discounted microchip services to the public for only $35. This includes the implantation of an AVID microchip and lifetime registration of the microchipped pet. The process only takes a few seconds, and is not painful - it's comparable to your pet getting a vaccination.

Microchips are designed to last the lifetime of a pet—typically at least 25 years, and do not need replacing. Once the microchip is implanted, it will remain there and active for the life of the pet.

But don't forget: all pets should wear identification tags at all times. ID tag info should include a current address and at least two phone contacts, yours plus another, in case you are not at home. The second contact could be a neighbor, relative or friend. Proper identification tags are your pet's first ticket home if he becomes lost. Microchips provide an important extra level of protection in the event your pet becomes separated from his collar and tags. Providing your pet with both tags and a microchip can help ensure a happy reunion if the unthinkable happens: your beloved pet gets lost.

Please stop by anytime during business hours and get your pet(s) microchipped soon!

For directions and hours, click here.

Pet Personals

Like a Fine Wine...

I only get better as I mature. I am Madge - a sweet and gentle 10 year old, 19-pound Miniature Pinscher. I was rescued from an outlying animal control facility where I was brought in as a stray and never reclaimed.

I don't know how anyone could let me go, but somehow I ended up in doggy jail. I crave human attention and will sit in your lap for hours. Unfortunately for me, I was fed lots of table scraps in my "previous life" and now I am a bit plump.

I was recently spayed, vaccinated, and found heartworm negative and now I have sparkling teeth, too. I also have had diagnostic tests to check out my internal health, which I passed with flying colors.

Currently, my prescription is for a strict diet to get the extra weight off. I am very well behaved at my foster home, housebroken, and I get along with the cats and dogs living there. I am very obedient and quiet, too. I am in a foster home and only available for adoption on Saturdays or by appointment.

Come meet me at or see me online at: www.atlantapetrescue.org. Atlanta Pet Rescue is open Tuesday – Friday 11am-3pm and Saturday 1pm-4pm. For more information about Atlanta Pet Rescue or how to adopt Madge or any of our 80+ dogs or cats, visit our web site.

Tonka

Here is a picture of Tonka. I don't know if you remember that Tonka needed to put on a pound or two when we got him, and his skin was very dry and flaky. He's gained weight and has a nice shiny coat. He's brindled in spots, so what you see is that and not dry hair.

He wanted to play with his ball this morning when I made him take time out to pose, but he was very cooperative! You can see the remains of one ball behind him! He needed a bath then but had one this afternoon.

It seems all we do is keep the road to Wal--Mart hot buying beachballs, so Pete ordered a case of 125 of them!! Now Tonka will keep him busy inflating them.

Cynthia and Pete N. (and Tonka and his three sisters Dixie, Lucy and Katie)

Volunteer Spotlight

What You Need to Know:

Most snake bites are from pit vipers, which are poisonous snakes that are identified by their triangular heads, retractable fangs, and a special heat-sensing pit between the eye and nostril. North American pit vipers include five subspecies of copperheads, three subspecies of water moccasins, three subspecies of pygmy rattlesnakes, three subspecies of massauga, and at least 26 subspecies of rattlesnakes.

The potential for death in pets depends a lot on the species of poisonous snake in your area. The snakes that are most likely to be able to kill a dog or cat are rattlesnakes. Copperhead and water moccasin bites are less likely to be fatal.

Snake bites are really, really painful and even very mild tempered dogs will sometimes bite, or threaten to bite, when the area around the snake bite is touched, so be careful not to get bitten by your traumatized pet. If it is necessary to pick the pet up and carry it, you might consider a muzzle if you can't avoid putting pressure on the painful area.

Snake bites tend to occur on the pet's head or neck. Bites involving the trunk of the body have a poorer prognosis. Usually, if the snake is not poisonous or the venom was not injected, the pain, swelling, and bruising at the bite site will be minimal.

What to do if your pet gets bitten:

• Identify the snake if possible.
• Restrict movement of the pet.
• Loosely immobilize the limb in a functional position if bitten on an extremity.
• Antihistamines (benadryl) may be administered, if possible.
• Seek veterinary attention.

What NOT to do:

• Do NOT incise the bite wound to aspirate the venom.
• Do NOT apply a tourniquet.
• Do NOT apply ice to the area.

Veterinary treatment:

Once you get your pet to the vet, it will be kept quiet and the bitten area immobilized to decrease the spread of the venom. The area around the wound will be clipped and cleaned. Antihistamines may be administered and IV fluids given to help prevent low blood pressure. Oxygen is given if needed. Antibiotics are used to prevent secondary infections. Pain medication is provided as necessary. Laboratory tests to check for bleeding problems and organ damage will be performed repeatedly. The area above and below the bite wounds may be measured every 15 minutes to monitor the edema (swelling). The use of antivenin is controversial and is used at the discretion of the attending veterinarian. To be most effective, antivenin should be given within four hours of the bite. It becomes less effective as more time passes. All snake bite victims should be observed for a minimum of 12 hours.