Kitties need good home ASAP

Hi my friends!

I am trying to help out some very sweet kitties whose owner past away recently and who now need a new home ASAP. So, here are some pictures and description of each kitty. All of them are currently in Walnut Creek and ready for good forever homes.

Mitzy

Mitzy is a delicate little lady. She is five years old, healthy, and spayed. She has been around other cats all her life and especially likes male cats. But would also be fine as an only cat. She enjoys going outside on occasions but is also fine as an indoor only kitty.

Coco

Coco is a handsome five year old male Siamese. He is drop dead gorgeous but his left eye has lost a little color during a fight with a raccoon. Coco has always been around other cats and he tolerates them but does not play much with them. He does not like to be picked up but sits on your lap on his own terms. He loves to be brushed. A healthy kitty, neutered and with all his shots.

The two sisters

Two 18 months old litter mates who had all their shots, healthy, and spayed. One is very friendly and lovable and will follow you around with the goal of you rubbing her belly. She will lay on your lap and sit on a chair with you. The other is lovable and great too but does not require the same amount of attention. They both like to sleep together and play together all day long.

Savannah and her brother

Savannah and her look alike brother are both around five years old. They are healthy, spayed and neutered, and had all their shots. They are alone for over six months now and have become a little shy but will get better and back to their normal selves if someone spends time with them. They both are great hunters.

Those lovely six kitties are available and looking for wonderful homes right now because their owner past away. If you are interested or know someone that is interested, please contact my human and she will get you in touch with someone in charge. Please let all your friends know and their friends as well. We don't want any homeless kitties!

Love and Peace,

Tiny

Dental Care

Hello my friends!

Don't you just love this beautiful weather? It brings a big smile to my face. And speaking of smiles - make sure your pearly whites are healthy and clean because dental disease is a common problem in canines and felines which can be prevented with good dental hygiene.

Dental disease starts when plaque accumulates on teeth. Plaque is a combination of bacteria and food debris. After a while, plaque mineralizes and turns into tartar. When tartar accumulates below the gum line it causes damage to the gums and can lead to gum erosion which results in loosening of teeth. Plague starts to form at any age and can be prevented by good oral hygiene.

The first step to good oral hygiene is to get your pets teeth and gums checked by a veterinarian. The veterinarian removes the tartar and in case of gum disease prescribes an antibiotic. After that, it is your turn to keep your pets teeth and gums healthy.

The best way to keep gums and teeth healthy is by daily brushing. Yes, you can brush your canine's and feline's teeth! You can use a soft toothbrush for humans or buy a special pet brush at the pet store. You can also get tooth paste for pets there. Don't use human tooth paste because we don't rinse afterwards. So the tooth paste has to be eatable. For cats and small dogs you can use the finger brush.

At first, your pet might struggle a little until the brushing becomes familiar. Try to make it a routine. You can also give a treat as a reward after the brushing. That works very well with dogs. Every morning after breakfast I go to my human and let her brush my teeth as you can see in the picture. Then, I get a treat. I love it!

And speaking of treats, there are special dental treats and chews as well as toys designed to keep the teeth clean. Pet stores have an entire section dedicated to such items. Ask a sales person and they will gladly advice you. And don't forget to follow up with yearly check ups by the veterinarian.

As you can see, keeping your pearly whites clean and healthy doesn't have to be a problem. There are easy ways to do this with the right tools and the right routine. So, my friends, keep brushing daily and most of all, keep smiling!

Love and Peace,

Tiny

LITA

Hi my peeps, I would like to tell you about a great organization in Marin county by the name of LITA.

LITA stands for Love is the Answer and indeed, it is.

The organization was founded in 1975 by Mae Wygant, a wonderful lady who cared deeply about the needs of elderly people. The mission of LITA is to improve the quality of life for people living in retirement homes, residential care facilities, and nursing homes by providing volunteer visitors. They offer several different programs, suited for volunteers of all age groups and including pets.

One of the programs is called One-to-One-Friends. Here the volunteers are matched with residents of different facilities for weekly visits. Another program is called Bridging Generation where elementary and middle school classes are matched with facilities for monthly visits during the school year. There is also the LITA Families program where entire families are matched with residents for weekly visits. During the holiday season they provide the Holiday Gifts for Elders program. Volunteers collect and wrap gifts for elderly people in nursing facilities or low income housing facilities who would otherwise be forgotten during the holidays. And last but not least, there is the Pet Connection program which includes the volunteer's pets during the weekly visits.

The Pet Connection is very important because when people move to nursing facilities, most of the times they have to leave their pets behind. The separation from their pets can be very devastating. I am proud to say, me and my human are part of this program. Every Tuesday afternoon we go to the Senior Villa in Novato where we visit five lovely ladies.

Before we started to visit the ladies, we went to the office of LITA and my human filled out an application. I had a bath the night before and looked real sharp. Gerrda Focardi, the director of volunteers, petted me, touched my ears and paws to make sure I am not vicious, and looked me over for cleanliness. I passed the test! We were matched with the ladies from the Senior Villa and ready to go. Since then, we have been going there every Tuesday afternoon and I get very excited when my human tells me: Lets go see the ladies! And the ladies are just as excited when I visit them.

I have a great time when I go there not just because I get a lot of treats but also because I get a lot of affection. Mio pets me a lot. She is almost 100 years young and often sings and dances. Sometimes she wears a very pretty kimono since she is from Japan and I get to sit on her lap. Omi gives me 10 treats every time. I beg for more but my human says NO. Omi is from Germany and speaks German with my human. Betty is 98 years young and is a little fragile, so I just sit next to her and let her pet me. She doesn't always remember me but we have fun anyway. Anne is in a wheelchair and doesn't move much. My human lifts me up and holds me while Anne pets me. She is really happy to see me. The other Anne can move a bit more and she pets me and gives me treats. All the ladies there used to have dogs of their own and miss them very much. When they see me, it reminds them of their dogs and they feel happy.

I am so glad that there is an organization like LITA and so many people that volunteer for it . It makes such a difference in people's lives. LITA also has a great website with lots of information on it. You can find it at http://www.litamarin.org/ . On the website you can read what LITA is all about and more about the programs they offer. You can also join a mailing list, make a donation, and become a volunteer. So, my dear friends, check it out and consider making a donation or becoming a volunteer. And make sure you tell all your friends about it.

Love and Peace,

Tiny

Urgent! Beautiful kitty needs home.

Hello all my friends. I have an urgent message for you and your friends today.

This lovely feline lady by the name of Jasmine needs a home. She is about four years young and very healthy. She is a petite brown tabby, short hair, no health or behavior issues and so adorable.

Jasmine likes dogs and people but would prefer to be the only kitty in the household. My human told me that she likes to play and cuddle a lot. She likes interactive play as well as playing by herself with little catnip toys.

She is a very special kitty and deserves a very good home. So only serious cat lovers who will adore her can apply.

If you would like to have more information about this little sweetheart or would like to meet her, please contact my human and she will arrange it. You can contact my human via the form on her website. The link to the website is www.homealone.biz .

I am keeping my paws crossed that this lovely little girl will have a wonderful home soon.

Love and Peace to you all,

Tiny

Tara & Bella - The Odd Couple of Animal Kingdom!

Emotions

Hello my friends!

It has been a rough day yesterday. My human said that my toys are dirty and stinky and she gathered them up and put them in the big, noisy box that she calls washing machine. Well, I only had the toys left that I don't really like. But after a few hours, I got all my toys back and they smelled a lot better. And now the bad part, my reindeer that used to sing "Santa Claus is coming to town" did no longer sing. My human cut open its tummy and took a box out and sewed it up again. It's not fun without the music. My koala bear that laughs when I squeeze it, no longer laughs. But the worst, my favorite toy, the frog that goes "ribbit, ribbit" when squeezed, started to ribbit on its own and would not stop. I got really worried and tried to push it around the living room, hoping it would stop but it didn't. I cried because I was so worried that I had done something wrong while playing with it. So my human got out the scissors again and performed surgery on my favorite toy. Again, she sewed it up and gave it back to me but it was silent and that scared me even more. I worked on it all evening long but it remained silent. When it came time to go to bed, I tried again to make it go "ribbit" but only silence. It worried me so much that I crawled under the bed. I usually only do that when there is a thunderstorm or fireworks. My human got me out from under the bed and I fell asleep with my toy in my mouth. This morning I put it out in the back yard where it is sunny. That must have helped. When my human came home from work and let me in the back yard, my favorite toy looked like new, all clean, smelled fresh and was doing the "ribbit, ribbit" thing again. I was so happy and have been playing with it for hours. And that shows you that us animals have emotions too.

Scientists have been studying for years and years on this issue. Some say yes and some say no. Some scientists call it anthropomorphism, that means "the ascribing of human characteristics or behaviors to animals". Others claim that animals only have primal emotions such as joy, grief, and empathy. There was an article once in a scientific journal that stated that rats can feel joy, elephants grief when they have a loss, and mice feel empathy for their cage mates. Scientists at the University of Vienna went even further and discovered that animals are capable of secondary emotions such as jealousy and guilt. They had two dogs that had to "shake". One of the dogs was rewarded with snacks every time he gave his paw and the other one did not get a snack but watched the first dog get his rewards. He then stopped giving his paw and turned away from the handler and also nipped the other dog in the ear. That sounds much like jealousy to me.

Now, if you ask the humans that live with pets, they will tell you that their pets are very much capable of emotions. My human says that she is around me so much and that she knows my facial expressions and my body language and she can tell when I look happy or sad. She also claims that when I do something bad, I look guilty even before she reprimands me and at times I have a mischievous look on my face.

Some people say it takes a certain amount of intelligence in order to feel emotions. Well, let me tell you, I am a very smart cookie. I know that when my human says "sit", that means my rear end has to go down to the ground. When she says "stay", I'd better not come running after her. And when she says "come", I get to run to her and she calls me a good boy. Now, most of my doggy friends know the same words and do what they are supposed to do. My vocabulary however, is much bigger. I know exactly that when my human uses the word "walk", that means I get to go outside and explore. I even know what "dog park" means. I run straight for the car because we have to drive to the dog park and I know the way there too because I usually have my head out of the car window the entire way there. I also get very excited when my human tells me "lets go see the ladies". That means I get to go to the nursing home and I get lots of back rubs and dog snacks. When my human tells me to "get a toy", I will get one and bring it to her because she will throw it for me so I can fetch it again and that is a lot of fun. I also know that "NO, NO, NO! #@%&*$#$@&!!!!" means I am in a lot of trouble like the time when I dug a hole under the fence, fell in the neighbors pool that hasn't been used in five years, the neighbor had to use a net to fish me out and shove me through the hole again, and my human yelled "that is not my dog, I don't own a green and slimy dog!". And also the time when instead of running straight to the car, I ran up the hill by my house and didn't listen to my human calling me back and when I came back I was covered from nose to tail in stickers and mud and it took my human over an hour to take all the stickers out, give me a bath and dry my fur.

So, I know what all these words mean and I can often tell by the tone of voice if I am in trouble or if I make my human happy. I have also learned to mimic my human. She presses her mouth on my forehead a lot when I come to her. So I do the same to her, I press my mouth against her arm or leg and she gets very happy. I have watched her put her foot on my toy and it makes a noise, so I do that now too. I can make my toy make noises with my paw. When my human is happy, her mouth is slightly open and I can see her teeth. I do the same when I look at her and she gets happy every time.

Well, my friends, I can tell you that I do get sad when I am alone all day and I get excited when I get to go for a walk or to the dog park. I feel jealous when my human cuddles with the kitty and not with me. I felt guilty when I thought I broke my toy and I am happy that it makes a noise again. I found this video that shows you how much us animals can feel and I hope you enjoy it. Oh well, I am having trouble attaching the video. You just have to go to the next blog and watch it. Sorry about that.

Till next time, yours truly,

Tiny

The beautiful Lara

Hello my friends, I have a very special surprise for you, an interview with the very beautiful Lara.

Tiny: Hello pretty lady! What is your breed?

Lara: Hello Tiny. My name is Lara and my breed is Borzoi. However, I have been referred to as a "Russian Wolfhound".

Tiny: A Russian Wolfhound, that is very exciting. Can you tell us more about this breed?

Lara: Gladly. The Borzoi are a sight hound, which means we hunt by sight rather than scent. We have this in common with other sight hounds like the Greyhounds, Salaukis, Afghan Hounds, Irish Wolf Hounds, etc. My breed dates back as far as the 12th century when Europe was overrun by wolfs. More recently we were kept by the Russian Czars and nobility prior to the revolution. It was common back then for these nobility to go on great hunts together. Because we can run faster than horses, it was the role of us Borzoi to go out in packs ahead of the hunt to catch the wolf and hold it down until the Hunt Master caught up.

On occasion some of my breed would be gifted out to nobility in other countries who kept their own kennels. There are some very famous Borzoi kennels in Europe. It was because of this that my breed survived after the revolution because the Bolsheviks did not take too kindly to us because of our association with the nobility.

Tiny: Your breed has a very interesting history my dear Lara. What do you like to do for fun?

Lara: I enjoy going on walks and to the dog park. For the last two years I was also in the party scene of the Stapelton Ballet's Nutcracker. But mostly I love people and giving them love. That is why I am involved with the SHARE program.

Tiny: That sounds like a lot of fun. Can you tell me a little about the SHARE Program you are involved with?

Lara: The SHARE program is offered through the Marin Humane Society. SHARE stands for Special Human Animal Relations. Under that SHARE umbrella there are several services offered. The one I have been involved in for the past five years involves going to Assisted Living and Convalescent Centers and visiting residents there. Some of the other dogs go to oncology units and other area of acute care hospitals. I visit the Aldersly in San Rafael. I also visit the Redwoods in Mill Valley and Marin Convalescent in Tiburon with my cat pal Bocelli. We are really good pals and when Bocelli is sitting on a resident's lap I go up and lick his ears. This is guaranteed to bring smiles all around.

I am also trained in the SHARE A BOOK program. Dogs are used in this program to listen to children who have issues with reading while they read a book out loud. This helps build the children's confidence in reading, and it is fun to listen to their stories.

Tiny: That is a wonderful job you do there! And I am glad you have a cat pal just like I do. Tell me more about the felines you live with.

Lara: I share the house and my people with six felines. Some of them don't care that much for me. Prior to my arrival in the household my people were showing Balinese cats. Currently there are still four retired Bali's living with us. They are kind of older and not so playful anymore. So just over two years ago they adopted Bocelli a red-point, blue eyed rescue. He was in rescue with several dogs so had no problem with me and we became good friends from the start. Since the older cats were not too inclined to play with him, the people adopted another rescue, Bojangles. He is a green eyed white kitty. The rescue lady was afraid she wouldn't be able to find him a home because he is blind in one eye. But he gets around with no problems and is doing well here. He and Bocelli have great times romping through the house. He hasn't quite taken to me yet but I keep trying.

Tiny: Wow, that sounds like a wonderful household and you are a lovely lady. Thank you so much for the interview. It was very interesting and I am honored to have had you as my guest today.

Well my friends, that is what I love about my job, I get to talk to lovely ladies.

Be well! Until the next time. Yours truly,

Tiny