Since opening in 2002, New Leash on Life has been responsible for saving over 5,000 animals while hosting, among other things, Lend-A-Paw, a therapy and assistance-dog program for rescued pets. But unfortunately it lost its major funding and its board of directors recently made the difficult decision to close The Ranch. But the board raised enough funds to keep the facility open through December 2009. They now must raise $250,000 by June in order to make the facility self-supporting.

New Leash on Life will host an online Black Friday Auction the day after Thanksgiving, during which the group hopes to raise $50,000. This amount would help keep The Ranch open through the spring while other funding avenues are pursued. Interested animal lovers are encouraged to visit NLOL.org, where you can bid on items like a four-day stay in a $6,000-per-night Mexican villa. Of course, you can also help out in a number of other ways, like purchasing pet items from the group’s online store, making a donation or adopting a needy pet.

The goal of Gypsy’s Eye Blind Dog Rescue is to accept blind dogs from shelters who would otherwise be euthanized, just for being blind.

All animals in our program are housed in loving foster homes. The blind ones get special training on how to follow voices and commands to go up and down stairs, watch out for dangerous objects, etc. Sometimes they also rescue blind and deaf dogs who are a special challenge when it comes to training.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Gypsy’s Eye Blind Dog Rescue or you can Fan Gypsy’s Eye Blind Dog Rescue on Facebook.

Kady’s Cure has partnered with Morris Animal Foundation, the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to funding research for animal health, to raise funds and administer research grants to leading scientific institutions.

Some symptoms of leptospirosis include lethargy, depression, vomiting and jaundice. When dogs contract leptospirosis, kidney and liver failure can occur. Even with prompt veterinary treatment 15 to 25 percent of these dogs may die, other may remain chronically ill due to kidney or liver damage.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Kady’s Cure and how you can donate.

Boone, Spree and Dexter may have faced many challenges but they now have a loving home with Connie. Connie made sure each got the care they needed from CSU’s Veterinary Medical Center. She and her dogs were frequent visitors which allowed Connie to notice all of the dogs there in kennels for long term care.

Eventually, she started to wonder if her 72 acre farm might be an answer. After meeting certain requirements, the answer was yes

Connie went into business as Canine Health Resort, LLC. Dog owners from around the country send their pets to her and she acts as something of a surrogate mom to them. Connie shuttles them back and forth from her farm to CSU for treatments.

READ MORE ABOUT Connie and the Canine Health Resort

The Acme Foundation helps seriously ill cats and dogs belonging to seniors and the disabled.

The Acme Foundation was created in memory of Acme, a beloved feline of the organization’s founders on March 6, 1998. Acme experienced numerous physical ailments during his fifteen years of life, but remained a lively companion to the other household felines and his guardians. Towards Acme’s end of life, while under veterinary care for diabetes and cancer the founders observed in the veterinary hospital’s waiting room how some individuals, especially senior citizens would give up funds for their own medicine to put towards the expenses for treatment of their seriously ill pets.

To help those less fortunate have a resource that could help them with the expenses for the treatment of their seriously ill cats and dogs was one of the main inspirations for the creation of The Acme Foundation . The other inspiration was Acme’s last veterinarian, Dr. Alan Stewart. Because of the compassion and quality medical care Acme received from Dr. Stewart the founders thought that same level of quality care should be made available to those with limited financial resources just as to those who are more fortunate.

The Acme Foundation upcoming champagne brunch fundraiser, “11th Anniversary Celebration of Caring,” is scheduled for September 20, 2009, at Rob Roy Golf Club in Cobb, CA.

Learn how you can help The Acme Foundation

In an opinion piece published Monday in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Franken proposed a pilot program that will train “a statistically significant number of dogs,” put them to work and measure the benefits they provide to veterans living with devastating war injuries.

Franken believes the dogs’ companionship provides invaluable health benefits and help “reduce the suicide rate among veterans, decrease the number of hospitalizations and lower the cost of medications and human care.”

Franken said service dogs typically cost about $20,000 to train and another $5,000 to place with a veteran. He believes that a service dog will more than pay for itself over it life time and provide service dogs to hundreds of veterans.

According to Franken, the legislation was inspired by a meeting he had last January with a wounded former Iraqi intelligence officer and his golden retriever, “Tuesday.”

Helping Paw’s Mobile Clinic Offers Low-Cost Pet Spay/Neuter Services

Veterinarian Dr. Diane Levitan of Helping PAW (Promote Animal Welfare) operates a mobile veterinary clinic. Helping PAW’s mission is to bring low-cost spay and neuter services for dogs and cats to pet owners on New York’s Long Island who would otherwise not be able to afford to have their animals fixed.

The van, a 40-foot Toy Hauler RV, is fully loaded with state-of-the-art veterinary equipment, and the spay-neuter services offered exceed the care guidelines for such programs as laid out by the Association of Shelter Veterinarians. The Helping PAW mobile clinic will operate four days a week, making scheduled stops to offer its services at pet care centers throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties.

According to Dr. Levitan, the goal is to raise awareness of the need to spay/neuter to decrease the number of unwanted pets and to make spay/neuter accessible to more people who may find these services beyond their means in today’s tough economy.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Helping PAW (Promote Animal Welfare)

Helping those pets left behind

Lost Our Home Pet Foundation is a nonprofit group of real estate professionals who rescue pets left behind due to foreclosures or other financial hardship.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

Volunteer: This organization wouldn’t be possible without the help of their loyal and dedicated volunteers.

Foster: Everyday, many pets are left to fend for themselves; abandoned by their owners due to financial distress.

Adopt: They have many loving pets that have previously been abandoned or neglected. Browse through their current database of homeless pets looking for their “”forever home.”

Donate: Lost Our Home Pet Foundation is funded entirely by the generous donations and business sponsors.

LEARN MORE ABOUT Lost Our Home

DogOcopes is so excited to sponsor the Dog Days Book Road Trip.

Michelle and Loren started on their adventure this weekend. They are now in Arizona at the Grand Canyon. Michelle reports on the blog that Loren is the perfect travel companion.

Here’s an excerpt from the blog:
“The weird thing about this trip is how natural it feels to be with Loren. I knew she was a special dog, but she really is the perfect travel companion. She doesn’t bark or get crazy, even with all the campground commotion – cars, dogs, people, ravens with wings so big you can hear them flapping against the wind, the loud cicadas chirping in the trees.”

Follow their adventure on their blog as they work to educate those that they meet about dog rescue and pit bulls.

If you live in the Denver area, then consider participating in the Denver Dumb Friends League’s annual two-mile walk and fun run, the Furry Scurry, in Washington Park (1000 S. Downing St., Denver, CO 80209) on Saturday, May 2. Day-of registration begins at 7 a.m. and the walk/run starts at 9 a.m. The registration fee is $50. This fundraiser helps DDFL care for as many as 25,000 homeless animals every year and provides valuable services to our community.

As of today, April, 29, they have raised $433,326. The goal is $875,000. So even if you don’t live in Colorado and can’t attend this fun event, you can donate to the cause. One-hundred percent of the money raised through pledges goes directly to the care of homeless pets in our shelters.

In addition to the walk/fun, you can get a microchip ID implant for your dog. You can watch the Ruff Flyball Club and the Colorado Disc Dogs demonstrate their skills. There will be Best Trick and Best Pet/Person Look-alike contests that you can enter. The event sponsors will be giving away samples of their products and fun items for your pets. Plus, you can shop for pet-related products and services for people offered by more than 100 vendors.

LEARN MORE ABOUT DDFL AND THE FURRY SCURRY