Nonprofits are having trouble meeting their fundraising goals this year. To help make up the difference, more than 700 of your favorite internet retailers and travel sites including Amazon, eBay, Target, Apple, Expedia and more have joined forces with GoodShop.com to donate part of every purchase you make to your favorite charity or school (more than 66,000 nonprofits are now on-board, including the Randolph County Humane Society)! It takes just a few seconds to go to www.goodshop.com, select the Randolph County Humane Society as your favorite charity, and then click through to your favorite store and shop as usual. Also, Yahoo has teamed up with GoodShop’s sister-site, GoodSearch.com, to donate a penny to your cause every time you search the web. This is totally free as the money comes from advertisers. To give you a sense of how the money can add up, the ASPCA has already earned more than $17,000! Please tell 10 friends about GoodShop and GoodSearch today. They’ve been featured in the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Oprah Magazine and more. The shelter needs our help to spread the word now more than ever! This is one more way you can help without it costing you a dime and the benefits the animals in our care will receive is priceless.
With Halloween approaching we have to remember this time is filled with fun things for you and your family to enjoy, but it’s one of those holidays that is enjoyed more by people than by pets. Keep the following precautions in mind when preparing for the frightfully fun festivities and help ensure that everyone in your family—including your pet—has a safe Halloween.
· Keep your pet in a quiet place, away from trick-or-treaters and other Halloween activities. You may know that the miniature monsters and goblins who come knocking on Halloween aren’t real, but pets don’t. Dogs and cats are creatures of habit and could become frightened or agitated by the unaccustomed sights and sounds of costumed visitors. In addition, frequently opened doors provide a perfect opportunity for escape, which can go unnoticed during all the commotion. Be sure all pets are wearing collars and ID tags in case of an accidental getaway.
· Place live flame decorations like candles and jack-o’-lanterns out of your pet’s reach. Curious critters risk being singed or burned by the flame—they could also easily knock over a candle or pumpkin and cause a fire.
· Keep candy away from pets. All those sweets may taste great to critters, but candy, especially chocolate, can be toxic to pets. Candy wrappers can also be harmful if swallowed. Instead, tempt your pet with a few of his favorite treats.
· Resist the urge to put your pet in a costume. You may think your pet looks adorable dressed as a princess, but most pets don’t like the constraints of costumes. If you do decide to play dress-up, make sure the costume is safe for your pet and doesn’t constrain her movement, hearing or ability to breathe. Check the costume for parts your pet could chew off and choke on and look for dangling pieces like flowing capes that could injure her.
· Don’t let the family dog accompany the kids on their trick-or-treat outing. Children may have a difficult time handling a pet during the festivities and your pooch could get loose, especially if your dog is spooked by the strange sights and sounds of trick-or-treaters.
· Keep decorations that pets could chew on—like streamers and fake spider webs—and wires and cords from electric decorations out of reach. If pets chomp on Halloween decorations they could choke or become ill and, if they chew on electrical cords, they risk a potentially deadly electrical shock. Pets could also become tangled and injured by dangling cords or decorations.
