Get Your Furry Fix by Fostering

From the brilliant Dr. Pia Salk, who has extensive experience fostering pets: If you can't adopt a pet but want to get a temporary furry cuddle fix, support the work of your local rescue groups and save lives, then fostering is for you! Fostering is one of the most compassionate and rewarding actions an animal lover can take. The availability of a foster home can make a life-saving difference for a homeless animal. While many people envision rescue groups as having large facilities and a full staff, the reality is more grass roots than that. Many rescues groups are only able to take in as many needy animals as they have fosters for. Rescue groups work tirelessly to find homes for the animals in their care and to network the ones in municipal shelters, but all too often the time needed to find a home exceeds the time an animal has left. Foster homes provide the critical time needed to connect the dots between an animal in need and an adoptive home. Foster homes help not only by saving lives, but in other ways too. By getting to know a pet's personality, a foster helps the rescue group properly place that pet into a suitable home. A brief stint in a safe environment can also help provide the socialization needed to facilitate a smoother transition into a new home. And let's not forget the fun part! A foster parent gets to have a furry fix for a stint without the life-long commitment that may not suit their lifestyle.It's like getting to spoil your niece and nephew when they come to visit! Anyone interested in exploring foster should contact a few rescue groups in their area (click here to find rescues near you). The rescue can share info on their requirements and schedule a time for a home visit. Ask them to help you establish the kinds of animals you can accommodate and a time commitment that meets your lifestyle. If you're partial to a certain breed, you can also consider fostering for a breed rescue. You can also sign up to volunteer on Adopt-a-Pet.com's volunteer registry, and select "Fostering" as one of your interests. What a great way to advocate for the animals! Happy fostering! Contributed by AdoptaPet.com Blog

Inside a Dog’s Mind

Scientist Carl Zimmer has an extended article in Time Magazine that examines recent research into how your dog thinks. Attempting to fathom their dog's mind is a favorite pastime of dog owners. "Everyone feels like an expert on their dog," says Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist at Barnard College and author of the new book Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. But until now, scientists had carried out limited studies to test those beliefs. This fall, Duke University anthropologist Brian Hare is opening the Duke Canine Cognition Center, where he plans to test hundreds of dogs brought in by their owners. Marc Hauser, a cognitive psychologist at Harvard University, recently launched his own such research lab and has 1,000 dogs lined up as subjects. Other facilities are operating in the U.S. and Europe. What they've established out so far is that dogs can learn over 200 distinctive human words, but they may mean different things to a dog than to humans. And the intelligent, friendly, and obedient behavior we see in dogs evolved because those things are advantageous to the dog, even though we see them as advantageous to us.

The Honest Kitchen to Donate Pet Food to Organizations Housing Animals Displaced by Southern California Wildfires

The Honest Kitchen, Inc, makers of all-natural human grade pet products, will donate quantities of pet food to Southern California shelters and animal rescue organizations helping to care for pets who have been displaced by the wildfires currently blazing in the region. The batch of fresh food was made using white potatoes in place of the recipes sweet potatoes so it will not be added to stores shelves. Rather than destroy the food, company representatives decided to make the food available to displaced pets. The company will pay for all shipping costs associated with transporting the food from its manufacture facility to organizations that can use it. Any 401c(3) animal rescue organizations in regions affected by the wildfires interested in receiving the food are invited to contact The Honest Kitchen directly via email at info@thehonestkitchen.com with their organization's complete name, location, proof of charitable status and information on their work. While the company cannot guarantee that a donation can be made to every organization that inquires, every effort will be made to distribute the food to as wide a range of charities as possible. About The Honest Kitchen The Honest Kitchen is a holistic, human-grade line of dehydrated, raw pet food, gourmet treats and herbal supplements. Founded by Lucy and Charlie Postins in 2002, The Honest Kitchen provides all-natural pet products that promote nutritional awareness, environmental responsibility, and a sustainable community. All of their products are packaged in artistic, eco-friendly and bio-degradable boxes. For more information, please visit www.TheHonestKitchen.com.