Traveling With Pets In America (or anywhere else)

Gargoyles Animal Rescue travels with pets all of the time. One of our kitties is an Emotional Support Animal trained to travel everywhere with her person. We also have a Service Dog in Training and she goes everywhere with her trainer. The other animals in our rescue have mixed emotions about traveling, the older cats want to stay put. The younger cats love the adventure, its that whole curiosity thing with them. All of the dogs love to go 'bye-bye', and readily jump into any vehicle offered.

Would like to give a few tips we have learned over the years on traveling with pets, these are things that work for us and the animals in our charge. Not all animals are going to react the same. Be patient and never raise your voice or hand to them - you are here to protect them - do your job well.

• When traveling by vehicle it is best to carry you some extra clothes (jacket, sweater, etc.), and crank up that a/c (protect any cold-prone animals with a place to hide or sweaters for them). It has been our experience that the cats aren't as vocal and most everyone just sleeps when it is cold - they hibernate so to say. That makes for easy driving conditions inside the vehicle.

• Do not feed or water for at least 12 hours before departure and make sure everyone has had a chance to empty their bowels and bladder before you load up. What this does is 1. keeps anything from being vomited and 2. cuts down on bathroom breaks for the animals or hurt their kidneys to hold their full bladder for extended amount of times.

• If canines are what you are traveling with, keep their collars on at all times (hopefully with i.d. tags or micro chipped). Do stop often to allow them to exercise and mark territory (if you withheld water they shouldn't need to urinate - but they will mark territory with a dribble here and there).

As summertime approaches and the temps rise, please remember that whatever the outside temp the inside of your vehicle will be at least 10 degrees hotter. 

In the above pictures the canines were traveling on FAT TUESDAY, they dressed for the occasion.

Organic Farmers (Certified) Numbers Are Growing - Fantastic!

(copied from a e-newsletter delivered to my inbox by U.S. Dept of Agriculture)

WASHINGTON, April 15, 2015 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today that the organic industry continues to show remarkable growth domestically and globally, with 19,474 certified organic operations in the United States and a total of 27,814 certified organic operations around the world.

According to data released by the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) National Organic Program (NOP), the number of domestic certified organic operations increased by more than 5 percent over the last year. Since the count began in 2002, the number of domestic organic operations has increased by over 250 percent. The certified operations list is available at apps.ams.usda.gov/nop.

"As demand for organic products continues to soar, more and more producers are entering the organic market," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "USDA tools and resources have created opportunities for organic farmers and more options for organic consumers. Growing demand for organic goods can be especially helpful to smaller family operations. The more diverse type of operations and the more growing market sectors we have in American agriculture, the better off our country's rural economy will be."

USDA is committed to connecting organic farmers and businesses with resources to ensure the continued growth of the organic industry. Along with programs to support conservation, provide access to loans and grants, fund organic research and education, and integrated pest management, USDA administers organic certification cost share programs to offset the costs of organic certification for U.S. producers and handlers nationwide.

Now, USDA is using funding from the 2014 Farm Bill to develop the Organic Integrity Database, a modernized certified organic operations database that will provide accurate information about all certified operations that is updated on a regular basis. The modernized system will allow anyone to confirm organic certification status using the online tool, support market research and supply chain connections, allow international verification of operator status to streamline import and export certificates, and establish technology connections with certifiers to provide more accurate and timely data. The initial launch is planned for September 2015.

Additional information about USDA resources and support for the organic sector is available on the USDA Organics Resource page at www.usda.gov/organic.

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Get the latest Agricultural Marketing Service news at http://www.ams.usda.gov/news or follow us on Twitter@USDA_AMS. You can also read about us on the USDA blog.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).

G.A.R. Organic Grow

SMR 58 Marketmore 76 Cukes & Beefsteak Tomatoes

Jessica the Hippo - part 1

Found this on YouTube and just had to share. Please do not attempt to approach wild animals. This hippo is an exception to the rule, not the norm.

O World Project Interview - Animal Communicator - Anna Breytenbach

Oliver's Campaign

Oliver is apx 1 - 2 yr old intact male cat who just showed up on our porch one day asking for help. We couldn't turn our backs on him. We are trying our best to raise the funds to vet and neuter him, so that we will feel comfortable adopting him into his forever home.

Rather the handsome chap he is.

Oliver just showed up one day.

His second day here he was picked up and brought inside.

He was mistaken for Mewen.

Best Picture of Him EvEr!

He didn't want to leave, he found true lovers of kitties! 

The other cats aren't accepting him - they say he stinks, must be the hormone called testosterone. A altering of his reproduction facilities would end that problem.

eBay listing to help the cats in our rescue!

Beltania's Vet Visit

 April 2, 2015 2:00 p.m. Richmond Hill Animal Hospital  Richmond Hill, GA

Beltania met the staff at Richmond Hill Animal Hospital, some were honored, some were terrified.

We are thankful that Beltania has been witnessed by a licensed medical doctor and treated thru and under his expert wisdom. We are eternally grateful to those who help us in the financial department, without you none of this would of been possible - thank you very much!

Kind and compassionate

Doc and Beltania did not hit it off well.

Doc was a bit hesitant on handling Beltania

I informed that her bark was way worse than her bite.

He said "he'd rather not find out".

The last one was a doozie!

We arrived home to goodies waiting on the porch.

So thankful, so very thankful!

We do have a foundation fund with the remainder of Beltania's 'Go Fund Me' account and are applying that to the Oliver's goal. Going to get each animal squared away - by gosh - one animal at a time.

Noodlers BeWare!

Ever since I seen the first airing of a redneck sticking his arm down deep into a murky river hole (which you can only imagine for the water does not show her secrets), I always wondered what would happen... if they met something a bit more dangerous than the catfish. Sure there are alligators in most of the water holes down in the southern states of North America. We are even starting to see pythons making their mark on the landscape. But the animal I'm referring to is a nasty attitude creature that will strike fear into your heart.

This animal is the Alligator Snapping Turtle and let me tell you, you do not want to meet this creature face to face on its turf (or rather surf), and you darn sure wouldn't want to stick your hand, fist, arm, any part of your body anywhere near this creature's mouth or within striking range.

Alligator Snapping Turtle

(Georgia Wildlife Animal Information)

Picture courtesy of: Georgia DNR Wildlife Resources Newsletter