June is National Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

June 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

June is National Adopt a Shelter Cat Month. Cats are completely lovable creatures that fit into many homes. They are often considered to be the easiest pets to manage and care for in a home. This is because they do not take up much space, they eat little food and are generally much easier to handle.

Cats have become a favorite pet among people right behind the dogs. They are fast replacing man’s best friend especially for people living in urban cities where space is limited and conditions for renting a home are many. Individuals who own cats find them to be very lovable creatures, faithful and obedient.

National Adopt and Shelter Cat Month is sponsored by the ASPCA to highlight the issues surrounding cats and find homes for the four million cats that end up in shelters every year. The month has become popular and often yields some amazing results.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated” - Gandi

During this month communities are educated on how to care for the cats and there are many adoption assistance program. The National Adopt and Shelter Cat Month, is however not just about adopting cats. It also encourages people to provide or work towards providing shelters in their communities or sponsor causes such as the already existing shelters in their communities and those that are in the process of being built.

Some people may feel they may not be able to care for a cat properly but they can still sponsor a cat in the shelter. For some communities the sponsorship is individual, were one person offers to pay for the care and support of a specific animal until it is adopted. This trend is especially popular in urban areas where people lack the time and space to care for the cat. By paying sponsorship, they are able to play their part in rescuing abandoned cats.

During the National Adopt and Shelter Cat Month, community members who have played a major role in caring and ensuring the well being of cats are recognized. This is to encourage others to step up and take responsibility for abandoned cats.

Learn more about caring for your cat:

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Three Ways to Improve Your Photos for Nature Photography Day

June 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Nature Photography Day - June 15June 15th is Nature Photography Day. To celebrate, we have provided you with three easy tips you can apply to make your nature photographs the best they can.

Have a Love of Nature

The first and most important tip in nature photography is to ensure that you love the subject you plan to photograph. For example bird watchers often have the most amazing photographs of birds because they love birds, and are willing to spend time finding the perfect shot.

Nature photography involves no posing and the subjects you pursue are not aware that they are a subject of interest. It may therefore take more than a few seconds to make the shot. If the subject is of no interest to you then you may either get frustrated or even bored in what should be an amazing journey to photography. Wildlife photographers may spend hours or even days observing the subject on interest in order to gauge how they can get a perfect shot.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Secondly it is important to practice taking pictures especially those that are nature concerned. Practice allows you to be more confident when taking the pictures. Many people practice photography on family and friends and forget that nature cannot be coached as human beings are.

It is important to take photos of nature around you. Practice by taking pictures of birds, pets and other forms of nature in your home or area of residence. The more pictures you take, the more you understand the amount of lighting, pixels and other components you need to ensure that you get the pictures you desire. It is important to remember that you can only get better with practice. The more confident you get the better the pictures will be.

Know Your Camera

Third, many people do not take the time to understand the nature and components of their equipment and subjects. many people embark on photographing wildlife for example without understanding exactly how the cameras they are using works. In such a case you will find that photos have too much or too little light, are blurry and do not flatter the subject matter. Take the time to understand all the components of the camera so you can maximize on the use of the equipment.

Similarly, it is important to understand your subject matter and its behavior, in order to make the perfect shot. Read about the birds, animals or any other component of nature in order to understand better how you can communicate with them or entice them to the perfect poses.

Learn more about Nature Photography:

Photo Credit

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Animal Disaster Preparedness Day – May 14

June 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Animal Emergency PreparednessMay 14th is Animal Disaster Preparedness Day. In emergencies, animals are often forgotten completely yet they are as affected as the human beings. Many animal owners and lovers have no idea how to prepare their animals for an emergency.

More animals than human beings are lost during an emergency and disaster because of lack of preparation. An important part of animal preparedness that has recently been financed and introduced in many states is the animal and tertiary emergency response unit. These units have been equipped to deal with all emergency situations that may arise and affect animals. The units also conduct training sessions through which animal owners and lovers can learn the exact steps to take to ensure that their animals survive any form of emergency. It is important to note that the steps taken to ensure animals survive a disaster vary from one species to another and it is therefore important to attend these trainings and interact with the professionals.

Secondly you need to ensure that you are aware of the location of your nearest well-equipped emergency treatment and veterinary center. Many people only begin looking for the best veterinary clinic when they have an animal in distress. If you live in an area where the animal rescue unit is quite far, you can register to the animal health state office for a closer emergency and treatment center for your animals.

As you prepare and adjust your home to keep you safe during a disaster, you can also ensure that such adjustments are suitable for sheltering any pets you may have.

One organization that helps educate community leaders and provides assistance during disasters is Noah’s Wish. Their mission is to save animals during disasters with our rescue and recovery services and to mitigate the impact of disasters on animals through our educational outreach programs. Learn more at Noah’s Wish.info

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World Turtle Day – May 23rd

June 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

World Turtle DayThe world turtle day takes place midyear, on May 23rd. Not many people recognize that this holiday even exists, and for what purpose. For animal rescue, environmental lovers and stakeholders in industries that cover animals and animal conservation this is one of the most important holidays. The world turtle day began in the year 2000, when the American tortoise rescue organization saw the need for a day in which people would be educated and challenged to end the plight of turtles and tortoises. The day has expanded to include celebrations carried all over the world by animal lovers and rescue workers. Until this day began being celebrated on a wide scale such that it was given airtime in media, very few people knew of the plight of turtles and tortoises and their near extinction. Now more people are gearing up to rescue this little spoken about animal, and create homes and an environment that ensures the survival of this animals.

Many organizations have joined the efforts of the American Tortoise rescue organization ensuring that proceeds and funds are generated to educate people on the conservation of the turtles and tortoises. Such organizations include Herparts.Com who generate and direct all the sales on May 23rd to the rescue of turtles and tortoises. In addition, the Turtle survival alliance generates proceeds that are directed at combating the turtle and tortoise issues in Asia. This organization has made the turtle day recognizable in Asia, where the population of turtles has began increasing slowly since the introduction of the world turtle day and its celebration in Asia.

The day is celebrates in many forms depending on the culture and nature of the people in the country commemorating the day. For example there are those who settle on giving turtle and tortoise themed gifts to the turtle and tortoise lovers. On the other hand, there are those who give much more to the day going as far as to dress in turtle themed outfits. This is especially so, for the animal lovers and animal organizations who take this holiday much more seriously. In other  countries, the day is yet to make much impact.

Despite some resistance, the world turtle day has began to gain the respect and importance of a world event. Thousands of people take the time to recognize this holiday and therefore engage in activities that educate others on the challenges facing the current turtle and tortoise population in the world today, or that ensure the survival of the turtle and tortoise population. Organizations such as Chase have begun featuring the day in the world events publications. For this reason, there are more and more organizations that are taking the time to educate others and fund the cause to save the world population of turtles.

Although many turtles are dying annually, since the world population day was introduced, even more turtles are being saved. People across all gender, and ages are recognizing the importance of the turtle and tortoise, the issues surrounding the destruction and shortening of their lives and how each one can contribute to conserving the turtle and tortoise population.

Filed Under: Animal Observances, General Observances Tagged With: , , , , , ,

30 Great Quotes for Be Kind to Animals Month

May 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Be Kind to Animals MonthMay is “Be Kind to Animals Month”. To celebrate, we’ve gathered 30 of our favorite animal quotes. What is your favorite? Share it with us in the comments section.

  1. “Animals are such agreeable friends–they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.”
    ~ George Eliot
  2. “An animal’s eyes have the power to speak a great language.” ~ Martin Buber
  3. “A house is not a home without a pet.” ~ Unknown
  4. “It’s funny how dogs and cats know the inside of folks better than other folks do, isn’t it?” ~ Eleanor H. Porter
  5. “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~ Anatole France
  6. “The difference between friends and pets is that friends we allow into our company, pets we allow into our solitude.” ~ Robert Brault
  7. “The best thing about animals is that they don’t talk much.” ~ Thornton Wilder
  8. “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” ~ Immanuel Kant
  9. What is it that so many people find enchanting in animals?
    Their essence — their Being — is not covered up by the mind, as it is in most humans. “And whenever you feel that essence in another, you also feel it in yourself.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
  10. “Because dogs and cats still live in the original state of connectedness with Being, they can help us regain it. When we do so, however, that original state deepens and turns into awareness.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
  11. “You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us” Robert Louis Stevenson
  12. “A dog is the only thing on earth that will love you more than you love yourself.” ~ Josh Billings
  13. “Old age means realizing you will never own all the dogs you wanted to.”
    ~ Joe Gores
  14. “Dogs have owners, cats have staff.” ~ Anonymous
  15. “Don’t accept your dog’s admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful.” ~ Ann Landers
  16. “There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.” ~ Ben Williams
  17. “To err is human, to forgive, canine” ~ Anonymous
  18. “To err is human, to purr, feline” ~ Robert Byrne
  19. “A Horse! A Horse! my kingdom for a horse!” ~ Shakespeare
  20. “All of the animals except for man know that the principle business of life is to enjoy it.” ~ Samuel Butler
  21. “You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, ‘My God, you’re right! I never would’ve thought of that!’” ~ Dave Barry
  22. “Every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one” ~ Anonymous
  23. “Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled” ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky
  24. “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.” ~ Andrew A. Rooney
  25. “A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” ~ Chinese Proverb
  26. “Dogs come when they’re called; cats take a message and get back to you later.” ~ Mary Bly
  27. “Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.” ~ George Elliot
  28. “The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself, too.” ~ Samuel Butler
  29. “I care not for a man’s religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
  30. “If a dog jumps in your lap, it is because he is fond of you; but if a cat does the same thing, it is because you lap is warmer.” ~ Alfred North Whitehead

Photo courtesy of Photos8.com.

Filed Under: Animal Observances, Featured, General Observances Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Every Day’s a Holiday (When You’re Not Edible)

April 3, 2011 By 1 Comment

Respect for Chickens DayEvery Day’s a Holiday (When You’re Not Edible)

A sonnet to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday, from a literary chicken

Buckawk! Being a chicken doth grow weary,
Even a Shakespearean hen, forsooth—
And tho I peck till mine eyes do go bleary,
I’m still not blind to the batter-fried truth.

But lo! What site has my feathers astir?
Daily Observances, a happy niche
Where thou canst find holidays that occur,
Find a special day, month, or week for each.

At Celebrations Marketing I did spy
National Chicken Month in September.
On Respect for Chickens Day, none shall fry—
For May 4 is a date to remember!

Chickens unite! Peck at some libations,
And enjoy life’s daily celebrations.

Image by Photos8
Sonnet created for Celebrations Marketing by Nicole Stanfield Caile

Filed Under: Animal Observances, Celebrating Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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