Unicorn Licenses Raise Money for Animal Care

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By M. MarksPosted In: Animals and Nature

Los Angeles County presented its inaugural unicorn license to a local first-grade girl in December, sparking a global phenomenon. Madeline’s heartfelt letter to L.A. County Animal Care and Control asking for permission to house a unicorn in her backyard if she can find one, has gathered significant attention worldwide.

While shelters all over the country are struggling under increased pet surrenders, insufficient funding, and staffing troubles, Madeline’s search for a unicorn has inspired a new fundraising initiative at the Los Angeles Count Animal Care Foundation. To help support local pet owners, the Foundation has started offering unicorn licenses in exchange for a donation. In 2023, 417 unicorn licenses have been issued to people around the world, and Madeline’s Magical Unicorn Fund has raised $17,420.

Marcia Mayeda, L.A. County Director of Animal Care and Control explains, “Local government can only fund resources and activities at a certain level… The foundation is absolutely critical in making sure we can go above and beyond that.” Mayeda is curious as to whether she will receive license requests for any other mythical creatures. She reassured the city that she “made it clear when I issued the unicorn license that if anybody wanted a license for a dragon, I was going to refer them to the fire chief.”

Tug-of-War Tournament

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By JohnPosted In: Animals and Nature, Charity ActivityTagged:

The 2019 Pull for Puppies event combines creativity, charity and fun.

The event involves a tug-of-war tournament between three teams—men’s, women’s, and coed. Tug-of-war tournaments are fun and competitive– all for a good cause.

Participants must be at least 18 years old; spectators of all ages are encouraged to attend.

The event is a fundraiser for the Pets for LIFE pet shelter. Tickets to this event are transferrable but non-refundable.

If you’ve always wanted to adopt a dog, this is your chance! During this event, dogs from Pets for LIFE will be available for adoption.

PatriotPaws: Helping Veterans with Service Dogs

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By JohnPosted In: Animals and Nature, PatriotPaws, Service dogsTagged: , ,

PatriotPaws is a unique charity that supports veterans through the use of service dogs.

PatriotPaws trains dogs and provides them at no cost to veterans who require physical or emotional support. Veterans with mobility issues or post-traumatic-stress-disorder often find that a service dog increases their independence while simultaneously decreasing loneliness.

PatriotPaws was founded by Lori Stevens in 2006. She founded the charity with a belief in the healing power of animal therapy.

Incredibly, it’s not only the recipients of service dogs that are helped. PatriotPaws has partnered with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to allow inmates to be part of the dog training process. Three prison facilities have successfully partnered with this innovative program.

Volunteers, especially other veterans, are welcome to pitch in for this wonderful cause.

Dog-Washing Events Raise Money for Man’s Best Friend

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By JohnPosted In: Animals and NatureTagged: , , , , , ,

 

Service Dog and Child

Dogtopia branches throughout the United States have held dog-washing events in an effort to raise money for service, therapy, military and police dogs. Charity Dog Wash events took place in local areas including Tysons Corner, Alexandria, Manassas, Woodbridge, Herndon and Dulles.

More than 1,750 dogs were washed and groomed over the past week, and the drive raised almost $21,000 for Dogtopia’s charity K9 Support. This organization helps other institutes purchase specialized equipment for search and rescue dogs. Contributions will go to Virginia Task Force 1, an urban search-and-rescue team that operates all over the world.

Dogtopia’s founder and CEO Amy Nichols explained:

“With the state of the economy and funding cut across the country, it is more important than ever to give back to the working dogs in our communities. I am so excited to see the community involvement and to watch this event grow every year. We are truly making a different in the lives of these canines and the people who love them.”

She added,

“The Dogtopia annual K9 Support dog wash is our biggest event of the year to raise funds for working dogs. I’m overjoyed to see so many of our locations working together to raise much needed awareness for the loyal canines that are dedicated to humans every day. Most family dogs leads pampered lives, and we want to show our appreciation for those working dogs that strive to protect and support their human counterparts.”

 

58 Year Old to Cycle for Bee Population

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By DouglasPosted In: Animals and NatureTagged: , , , ,

Quentin Given, 58, plans to ride his bicycle from London to Edinburgh in an effort to support bees.

The bee population has fallen dramatically, and Given, working full time for Tottenham and Wood Green Friends of the Earth, hopes to make a difference by cycling 510 miles next week.

The campaign, known as the Bee Cause, is one of the many Tottenham and Wood Green Friends of the Earth projects which will benefit from the journey. The organization’s other goals include promoting solar energy and preventing climate change.

Given said: “Cycling is part of the solution to some of the problems for health and environment and people doing things like this is demonstrating alternatives to the current way of doing things.

“It is not like saying to the government ‘we must do this’- there are so many things we need to do to bring the bees back, and we need to come up with an action plan.”

Mr. Given believes that the community is obligated to combine their efforts to save the bees. Though the exact cause is unknown, the honey bee population in the UK has fallen 54% in the last two decades. Some theories suggest that pesticide or parasites may be responsible.

As of April 25th, Given raised $2,504 for the cause.

Bees are an important member of ecology, and human society benefits from them greatly. The bee population is responsible for pollinating flowers, which are important for their beauty and fresh scents, as well as for producing fruit. Many areas depend on their produce in order to live, and the entire region’s economy can be affected by fruit production in the long run as well.

Simon Cowell’s Wildlife Charity Prepares for Another Drought Season

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By DouglasPosted In: Animals and NatureTagged: , , , ,

Surrey recently announced a state of drought, and wildlife charities are bracing themselves for an onslaught of suffering animals. According to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Surrey and the Thames Valley just faced two of the driest years since 1984, when the records were first established.

Wildlife Aid Foundation, founded and directed by Simon Cowell, is preparing for the “impending catastrophe” and the “devastating” effect it is likely to have on the region’s wildlife.

Simon Cowell explains that “last year was bad enough. You may remember the forest fires that occurred throughout the region. We’d had barely a drop of rain for weeks on end, and it wasn’t long before we saw the terrible consequences of that dry weather in the huge numbers of malnourished and dehydrated baby animals that were brought into our Leatherhead wildlife hospital.”

Mr. Cowell, along with the Wildlife Aid Foundation, encourages residents to leave shallow dishes of water outside in their lawns, as well as to be on the lookout for struggling animals.

He said: “In the circumstances I am not sure how we are going to cope, as we are chronically overstretched even without a large additional influx of patients. We are the only wildlife hospital in the area and only one of a few in the whole of southern England.”

Redhead Celebrities Support the Sumatran Orangutan Society

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By JohnPosted In: Animals and NatureTagged: , , , , ,

Famous redheads are pooling their efforts to support the Sumatran Orangutan Society, an Oxford charity, by donating items to be auctioned at the Jungle VIP online auction.

Sumatran orangutans share 96.4% of their DNA with humans. They are severely endangered, and may become the first great ape to become extinct since the evolution of humans. The Sumatran Orangutan Society, or SOS, works alongside local communities in orangutan habitats to create a more sustainable future for the species and their forests.

Some celebrities participating in the project include Nicole Kidman, Chris Evans, Nicola Roberts, Geri Halliwell, Anne Robinson, and even the band Radiohead. Donated items include celebrity fashion, handwritten lyrics, memorabilia and photos.

Comedian Tim Minchin donated one of his shirts from the ‘Ready For This’ tour. He said: “I think it’s a huge pity that any species should become extinct. Species have become extinct for different reasons and have done throughout history, but orangutans are having their environment destroyed in a way that doesn’t need to happen.”

Celebrity Jane Asher donated a green dress and joked: “I didn’t feel especially close to them before being asked to help with this campaign, but all redheads share an unspoken bond.”

Chris Evans said “Anything that helps to protect a species’ natural environment, within reason, is worth doing,” and donated a stay for two at his pub, called The Mulberry Inn.

Tesco and the RSPB Launch ‘Together for Trees’

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By DouglasPosted In: Animals and NatureTagged: , , , , , , ,

The RSPB, the biggest wildlife conservation organization in Europe, recently teamed up with Tesco in a project aimed at protecting rainforests across the globe, Together for Trees. The initiative aims to promote awareness and raise funds to support tropical rainforests as well as local conservation work in their areas.

As part of the new campaign, Tesco hopes to inspire donations from both customers and corporations. The RSPB and Tesco hope to raise more than one million euro for Together for Trees throughout 2012.

According to the project, soccer-field-sized patches of rainforest are cleared every four seconds. This is one of the largest causes of climate change, as more and more carbon dioxide is released into the earth’s atmosphere.

The planet’s rainforests are home to more than a third or earth’s wildlife (excluding marine animals, of course), while three-quarters of endangered bird species make their habitats there too. Over one billion of the world’s impoverished people rely on the rainforests for survival as well. The RSPB’s rainforest projects include Harapan Rainforest in Indonesia, West Africa’s Gola Rainforest and Centre Hills National Park.

Tesco shoppers will have the option of donating their green Clubcard points or Clubcard vouchers , as well as donating money directly to the RSPB. 75,000 euro will also be given to the organization from the sale of Together for Trees reusable bags, while funds raised through the Welsh carrier bag charge will also be donated to the RSPB efforts.

Tesco is also increasing its efforts to improve its environmental conscience, and highly recommends that other companies do the same. The retailer has pledged to continue “helping our customers make greener choices.”

Tesco’s Ruth Girardet said “Our aim is to create more sustainable ways of doing business and we have been working hard to reduce our own emissions. But as a leading retailer we also have a great opportunity to engage our customers to help protect our environment.”

Martin Harper of RSPB added “Rainforests are amazing places and saving them has never been more urgent- huge areas continue to disappear at an alarming rate. Current efforts to try and prevent the loss of these special places are not enough.”

 

Second Grader Raises Money for Police Dog Protective Vest

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By DouglasPosted In: Animals and NatureTagged: , , , , , ,

Last year, 8 year-old Ana Gent raised more than one thousand dollars to provide a bullet and stab-proof vest for a West Melbourne police dog.

The second grader was honored this past Thursday for her efforts, which put a protective vest on Baton, Officer Robert Nolan’s dog. Gent has a personal interest in the matter, as her father works for Palm Bay Fire-Rescue.

Gent worked alongside Meadowlane and West Shore Jr./Sr. High students, as well as Ducks Unlimited Conservation Society, Florida Flatsfishing Association and Palm Bay Fire-Rescue to raise the money.

She also held a number of car washes, and offered her community personally designed stickers in exchange for donations for her project.

“I love animals,” Gent explained. “I know when police dogs try to help us, I want them to be safe. I wanted to help them so they wouldn’t get hurt.”

Of West Melbourne’s three police dogs, only one had a protective vest. The equipment costs over $1,000. Commander Steve Wilkinson explained that “It takes a few minutes to put those things on.” He added, “If we know we are going into a dangerous situation, they will take the time to put it on the dog.”

Gent purchased the $1,006 vest with help from the non-profit group Vested Interest in K9s. The organization was originally created for dogs in Massachusetts, by Sandy Marcal, but the program went nationwide less than a year ago. As of 2011, the group has provided 64 dogs with the protective vests.