Food Stamps For Pets
Marc Okon, Pet Food Stamps

In these rough economic times, many pet owners are forced to abandon their beloved pets due to the inability to pay for their basic food supply and care. There are over 50 million Americans who currently receive Food Stamps, many with dogs or cats, and that's why Marc Okon formed a program to ship pet food to those that cannot afford it, and to fill the void in the United States Food Stamp program, which excludes the purchase of pet food and pet supplies.

The Pet Food Stamps program sends out pet food through PetFoodDirect.com to people in the United States who are on food stamps, receiving public assistance or just simply having a rough time feeding their pets.

If you need assistance and are at or below the poverty level, whether you are on welfare, are just in a low-income bracket, you can apply at PetFoodStamps.org. After signing up, you will be contacted by an agent to begin the verification process.

What if your pet needs a special diet or a specific brand of food? Many brands and diets are available at PetFoodDirect.com. What if you have a pet other than a dog or cat? You are also able to get food assistance for other animals, including but not limited to parrots, reptiles and guinea pigs.

Once you are a verified and approved member of the Pet Food Stamps program, your pet food order is placed based on the amount awarded with your application approval and your pet's needs.

If all goes well, they are hoping to expand into offering free or heavily discounted veterinary care for all qualified program beneficiaries as part of the Pet Food Stamps program by the end of the year.

If you are fortunate and don't need this type of assistance to feed your pet, then maybe you can help out and donate to PetFoodStamps.org.

Bulletproof Vests For Dogs
Sandy Marcal, Vested Interest In K9s, Inc.

As our canine friends have become integral members of many police forces, it is becoming more apparent for the need to suit them properly for the dangerous job. That's where Sandy Marcal comes in. She's raising funds to help afford the $1,000 a piece vests that protect our working dogs.

Vested Interest In K9s has provided vests for over 200 dogs since their inception as a non-profit in 2009. This was done through fundraising events that they coordinated, private and corporate sponsorships, and events that businesses or individuals held independently.

Initially, Sandy focused on providing the bullet and stab protective vests for law enforcement dogs in Massachusetts. But as time went on, she realized there was a need for these vests all over. Now, she provides these vests for law enforcement dogs whose departments don't have the budget to provide them all over America. These include thousands of dogs that work in narcotics, or are tracking or patrol dogs.

Why do the dogs need vests? Recently a police dog in Florida was shot and in Minnesota a police dog was stabbed to death. These dogs are the first ones sent into a potentially dangerous situation. They are protecting their community and human partner. As a result, they need to be protected.

The dog vests last five years, which means most dogs will need at least two throughout their careers. The life of the vest is put at five years because the ballistic material breaks down after a period of time. So the manufacturer puts a warranty on them, just like a human's police vest would have. If a dog retires early, the vest can be recycled for another dog.

In January of 2013 Vested Interest in K9s was a charity partner of Groupon Grassroots for a regional campaign that raised over $55,000 and allowed them to provide vests to 53 dogs in 23 states.

Their next campaign will take place during the week of March 14-20, and will be a one-week national Groupon animal related campaign, which will be circulated to 25 million people. Their goal is to double the previous campaign and to provide vests for 100 police dogs nationwide.

They always need volunteers. To volunteer, please visit http://www.vik9s.org to see how you can help.

The Dogfather's Grooming Tip with Joey Villani

Grooming Cats
Joeys hears from clients who state that when they have to clip their cat down short, the cat hides afterwards. Joey wants everyone to know that cats are very sensitive. Cats know when something is completely different. So when you bald a cat, or essentially make it "naked," while it may not know it is bald, it does know that something is not right. As a result, their defense mechanism makes them hide.

While people may like the look of a "lion" cut on a cat, it is something that is very unnatural for the cat. A few cats might like the change, but most cats would prefer to keep their natural fur.

So to keep their natural fur, make sure your cat is knot and tangle free. This will make a big difference in how your cat feels and their attitude. You can do this by brushing and combing their fur. No matter the length of your cat's fur, if you do this twice a week, you will never have problems. Also, your cat will never get dirty. When a cat gets matted, they don't like to clean themselves, because they can't get down to their skin. As a result, they neglect their own grooming. If you keep them tangle free, you are going to have a cat that is going to look better, is going to feel better and will have less dander.

Cats don't normally need to be bathed. But if they aren't cleaning themselves, you can use a spray bottle, or wet towel, to get them wet and then wipe them down.

If you do have to get your cat's fur cut down short, only do it once! You can then start with a clean slate by keeping up the brushing and combing so it never develops knots and tangles, and your cat will never need to be clipped again.

Animal Radio® News with Stacey Cohen

Comparison Shop For Your Pets
A dog owner with an entrepreneurial bent has started a Web site aimed at making it easier for pet lovers to find the right products at the right price. DugDug is a new price comparison site that aims to provide pet product information from multiple online retailers in a clear, easily understandable format, said David Keh, the site's founder. Mr. Keh, a former hedge fund analyst, said he created DugDug out of his own frustration as a new pet owner (he owns a standard poodle). When searching for supplies online, he said, most comparison sites returned information that wasn't presented in a helpful way. So Mr. Keh's site attempts to sort products in a more meaningful way. A search on DugDug, for instance, for Advantix, a killer of canine fleas and ticks, returns a menu of options, based on the pet's weight. When you click on the proper weight (11-20 pounds, say), an appropriate list of vendors and prices appears. DugDug also includes any coupons next to each item. That way, users can receive the discount when buying the item, rather than having to scour the Web for potentially available coupon codes, he said. DugDug doesn't conduct any sales itself. Rather, once you find the best price, you select the vendor and are taken to that Web site to complete the sale.

Food Stamps For Pets
A new program to offer pet food stamps is getting a big response. The nonprofit Pet Food Stamps is not a government program but works just like human food stamps. Families who qualify for state assistance could qualify for assistance in feeding their pets as well. Animal shelters hope the assistance will ease their overpopulation problems. Applications can be filled out on the Pet Food Stamps website. Because the organization is a nonprofit, it is also in need of monetary donations while they search for federal funds and grants.

Dipping In The Fish Tank
One hotel guest's decision to skip the European resort's pool and take a dip in the 3,000-lobby fish tank has become a YouTube hit. The man's giggling friends used their cell phones to capture his impromptu swim at the more than $200 a night, four-star Radisson Blu hotel in the Channel Islands. A spokeswoman for the hotel says it was a "dangerous stunt" for the man and the fish, although none of the tank's regular inhabitants were harmed. The swimmer is seen being escorted out of the building by a hotel employee, although it's unknown whether he is facing any other form of punishment.

"Bad Dog" Statute Leaves Yellow Stain on Building
A giant statue known as "Bad Dog" is turning out to be good publicity for the Orange County Museum of Art. The 28-foot-tall piece of art from Richard Jackson depicts a dog lifting one leg and leaving a yellow paint stain on the side of the building. Museum spokeswoman Kirsten Schmidt tells the Orange County Register almost all of the reaction to the dog has been positive, although some people do wish the pooch wasn't quite so anatomically correct. Jackson, meanwhile, explains that his intention was never to shock or offend anyone. But he says people's reactions to a particular piece of art often vary, and it usually "Depends on whether you're going home from church or from a strip club" when you see it.

Too Warm For Vultures To Leave
Residents in Shelby, North Carolina are upset that vultures are flocking to their town. According to ABC News, the birds typically pass through the town on their winter migration South, but this year they have decided to stay because of the mild winter. Kristen Duren, from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension, the state's agriculture service, says the state is "Just not getting cold enough to push them along." As many as 150 turkey vultures have been calling the town home. The birds have been unsettling to many residents, but Joan Schmoutz doesn't seem to mind them. Every morning the vultures land in her yard and "Throw out their wings and catch the sun." While she enjoys watching the birds, she says they have been doing "A job on the yard."

Pasta Meals Contain Horse Meat
First centered on Britain and Ireland, the scandal over beef products filled with horse-meat escalated across Continental Europe after Nestle, one of the world's best-known food companies, said it was removing pasta meals from store shelves in Italy and Spain. There are growing calls for more oversight of processed food. The involvement of Nestle is a significant act in a fast-moving situation that is forcing Europeans to question the contents of their meals. Before the announcement, the horse-meat crisis had already spread, with perhaps a dozen countries caught up in product recalls. Nestle said it was confident that products in the American market were unaffected. "Nestle U.S.A. does not use meat sourced from Europe," a company statement said. "Additionally, U.S.D.A. meat inspectors are in all processing plants and also have responsibility to oversee any imported meat. We have also requested and received confirmation from all our meat suppliers that they do not provide Nestle U.S.A. with any meat from the affected countries and companies." The United States does not import beef from any of the countries where the contaminated meat was found, according to the Agriculture Department. Nestle U.S.A. uses beef from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia, the company said. Although the current horse-meat crisis has been considered mainly an issue of fraud and mislabeling, evidence emerged last week that a powerful equine painkiller may have entered the food chain. Eight horses slaughtered for food in Britain tested positive for the drug. Six of those carcasses had already been exported to France for use in human food. The European Union has also announced an increase in food testing, although there are growing calls for more regulation at a European level. Though tough traceability rules for fresh beef products were introduced after the crisis over mad cow disease more than a decade ago, a similar regime is not in place for processed food. There are no horse slaughterhouses operating in the United States, and no horse meat is imported for human consumption, making the chances that Americans are unintentionally eating horse meat fairly remote, a U.S.D.A. spokesman said.

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