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Abandoning Animals

April 28, 2017 By cscheafer

Abandoning Animals

People give up pets for a number of reasons. Sometimes it’s because they must suddenly move somewhere that doesn’t allow animals, or they didn’t realize the commitment involved with sharing their home with a pet. Whatever the reason, these animals deserve a fair shot at finding someone that can properly care for them.

Although pets can be brought to a shelter or rescue, many are abandoned and left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately, not everyone realizes that domestic pets don’t usually survive for very long on their own.

Abandoned animals usually suffer

Pets that are abandoned are more likely to suffer injuries or death, than they are to find a new home. Inexperienced pets often wander into roads, rivers or other dangerous situations. They can be attacked by wild animals or suffer silently from parasites and life-threatening infections. Those that escape these fates must still find food and clean water. These simple things that were once provided for them every day will never come easy for them again.

Some of these animals will be picked up by animal control. Unfortunately, many will be too sick or too fearful to find homes and will be euthanized upon arriving at the shelter.

You have options

No matter what kind of situation you are in, you should sever abandon an animal. Taking your pet to the shelter or even having them euthanized are more humane options than abandonment. If you have some time, try to locate a rescue that can help you. If you have a purebred dog or cat, check with one of the many local breed specific rescues. Your pet is relying on you to do the right thing for them.

Threaded Daisies offers topical T-shirts for animal lovers. We believe that every animal deserves to be safe and cared for. For more information about our shirts, please contact us.

Why You Shouldn’t Ever Leave Your Dog in Your Car

April 14, 2017 By cscheafer

Why You Shouldn’t Ever Leave Your Dog in Your Car

The warmer weather is upon us in Southern California and many of us are starting to spend more time outdoors. A lot of us enjoy the company of our dog while we’re out and about. While it’s ok to take your dog with you if you will be going to the park or beach, it might best to leave them home while you’re out running errands.

If you take your dog with you everywhere you go, it’s important that you never leave them in the car, even for a just few minutes. The consequences of doing so can be severe under conditions much milder than you might realize. The intense heat inside a vehicle, regardless of the make or model, can be brutal and unrelenting.

How dogs deal with heat

A dog’s primary defenses against the heat are panting and their coat. Panting releases moisture and their coat is specially designed to provide insulation against the sun’s rays. The average body temperature for an adult dog ranges from 99.5 to 102.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

What happens to a dog in a hot car?

When a dog is left in a hot car, they pant to keep cool. The more they pant the more body fluid they lose. Even after just a few minutes, a dog can develop symptoms of non-fever hyperthermia or heat stroke. The longer a dog is subjected to intense heat, the greater the chance that it will affect all of their vital systems. Even though senior dogs and puppies are at the greatest risk, dogs of any age that are left in a hot car can suffer from multiple organ failure and/or death.

How hot is too hot?

Vehicles are built from materials that trap, conduct and distribute heat. Parking under a shady tree, using a reflective dashboard or windshield cover or leaving the windows open only makes a very small difference. The interior of a vehicle gets extremely hot, very quickly. The air temperature only needs to be between 81 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit for a dog to begin showing signs of heat distress. If it is 89 degrees outside, the interior of your vehicle can reach 123 degrees within just 30 minutes.

What to do if you see a dog alone in a car

If you see a dog alone in a parked vehicle you should always attempt to locate the owner. Write down the vehicle’s license plate just in case legal action is necessary. Alert the local authorities. If you feel that you must intervene, remember that you do so at your own risk.

Threaded Daisies offers topical T-shirts for animal lovers. Please click here to view our products.

Teaching Kids Compassion

March 31, 2017 By cscheafer

Teaching Kids Compassion

Children are born with the natural ability to be compassionate. Kids typically relate and act compassionately to their favorite stuffed animal, other kids and their pets. Problems arise when their ability to be compassionate must compete with other developmental forces such as limited impulse control and the belief that their needs come first. This is why it’s not uncommon for children to hurt pets impulsively and have a hard time sharing with others.

Teaching Compassion

In a world filled with so much hatred, it’s more important than ever to teach our children to be kind to other people and animals. While this might seem like a difficult lesson to teach, it can easily be accomplished by setting a good example every single day. In fact, you’re probably doing this now without even realizing it.

How you speak to your child, how you help them solve conflicts and how much you encourage them to think about the feelings of others all play an important part in how compassionate your child will be.

Although studies show that the most important place that compassion is learned is in the home, for best results all adults in the child’s life should do their part. Children learn from what they see. Practicing compassion is the best way to teach it.

Consistency is Key

Some kids are naturally more tuned in to other people’s feelings than others. No matter which end of the spectrum your child falls, it’s always possible to teach them to be more compassionate.

Developing empathy is a lot like building muscles; the more you use them, the easier it gets. Children learn compassion through their experiences. Compassion is an emotional response and attitude that is deeply empathetic. Compassion allows us to connect to suffering with care and understanding. This enables us to act in ways that bring comfort to those around us.

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Adopt…Don’t Shop!

March 17, 2017 By cscheafer

Adopt…Don’t Shop!

I’m a firm believer that children should be raised around animals. Pets can teach kids about compassion, unconditional love and patience. Our pets are always there when we need them, ready to offer a friendly nudge of encouragement or a sounding board for our problems, no matter how complex they might be. Whether you prefer dogs or cats, birds or rabbits, our pets love us no matter what.

Never Shop at Pet Shops

What many people don’t realize is just how important it is not to purchase pets from pet shops. Pet stores get their pets from horrible breeding conditions, no matter how wonderful they make their breeders sound. Pets from pet shops are often sick or suffering from the effects of inbreeding and the filthy conditions in which they were kept before coming to the pet shop.

The trip to the pet shop isn’t much better. These pets are put in small crates on planes after being separated from their mothers before they are ready. They are kept with the luggage, where stress and air pressure is a constant problem. After landing, these pets are transported to different pet shops where inexperienced staff members are in charge of their care. It’s not uncommon for pets in pet shops to go without food, water or sanitary conditions for long periods of time.

Supporting Pet Shops Allows the Suffering to Continue

Many people believe that when they buy from a pet shop they are rescuing that animal from the horrible life that they have endured. While this might be true, every time someone buys from a pet store it makes the problem worse. More pets are bred, transported and sold. It becomes a never ending cycle. The only way to end it is by never shopping at a pet shop. Without your money, they cannot continue purchasing from breeders.

Adoption Saves Animals

When you adopt a pet from a rescue or shelter you give a deserving animal a second chance and you help to keep homeless pets off the street. Rescued pets make wonderful companions. While you can find available pets of all ages, older pets are already housebroken and are typically mellower than their younger versions.

Threaded Daisies offers topical T-shirts for the entire family. We believe that all animals deserve a second chance. For more information about our shirts, please contact us.

Raising Strong Women

March 3, 2017 By cscheafer

Raising Strong Women

Girls get so many mixed messages. They’re told that they can be whatever they want, but only if they’re skinny and pretty. They’re told to speak up and express their opinions, but only if it’s their turn to speak. They’re told that they have the right to say “no”, but that it’s ok for boys hurt them if they like them.

Life for girls is anything but easy. Being the parent of a girl is challenging as well. As parents, we want the best for our children. We want our girls to succeed and be happy. We dream of them becoming doctors and professors and being able to support themselves without the help of anyone else.

But we worry as well. We worry about the messages they hear from the media about their bodies. We worry about the boys that pick on them while the teacher shrugs it off with a comment like “boys will be boys”. We worry about the fact that women in the U.S. earn less than men. We worry that our daughters won’t be able to access reproductive healthcare when they need it. The list goes on and on.

Girls need to be strong to survive in this world. They need to be able to ignore the stereotypes and develop a positive body image. This might seem like an impossible task with every billboard and television ad working against you, but it’s not.

The way girls feel about themselves starts at home with you. If you feel good about yourself, your daughter is far more likely to as well. If parents set a good example by not worrying over their weight or other things that they have no control over, our girls will notice. They will learn to be resilient. They’ll learn to let these things roll off their backs. It’s not much, but it’s a start.

Raising girls today is scary. We all need to work together to banish stereotypes and teach our girls to be strong.

Threaded Daisies offers female-empowering t-shirts for the whole family. To learn more or to see our products, please click here.

The Problem with Conventional Pet Food

February 17, 2017 By cscheafer

The Problem with Conventional Pet Food

Individuals that are compassionate about animals might be surprised to learn that many conventional pet foods are inhumanely tested on animals. The subjects of this testing are usually confined in small areas and not provided with proper health care or socialization.

Conventional pet foods often contain parts from diseased or dying animals. They also contain hormones and chemicals that are dangerous for pets. Feeding your pet a cruelty-free diet is healthier and more humane.

Cruelty-free pet foods

By PETA’s standards, pet foods are considered cruelty-free if they do not involve animal testing in laboratories. There are healthy and humane alternatives to laboratory tests such as in-home testing where the test animal lives a normal life in a home with a family. Examples of cruelty-free pet food companies include Active Life Pet Products, Bravo Raw Diet, Evanger’s Dog and Cat Food Company, Feline Pride, Halo Pet Foods, Newman’s Own Organics, Raw Advantage and Veterinary Nutritional Formula.

Vegan diet

Vegan pet foods can provide pets with the nutritional content they need while avoiding animal products. Dogs and cats can live a long and healthy life when provided a vegan diet and nutritional supplements. Studies have shown that diets containing meat products can have negative effects on a pet’s health. Vegan pet food companies include Evolution Diet, Natural Life Pet Products, Nature’s Recipe and Pet Guard.

Low cruelty options

While some pet food companies do not pass PETA’s standards for cruelty-free, they still provide a healthier environment for test animals. For example, Purina provides their test animals with social interaction and health care. They also adopt all of their animals out once they have aged out of the program.

Vegetarian Foods

Some companies that make pet food also offer vegetarian products. These products are kept completely separate from products containing meat. When switching your pet to a vegetarian diet, sticking to the same company that your pet is used to can help with the transition.

Threaded Daisies believes that every animal has the right to a fair life, free from cruelty. For more information about switching your pet to a vegan or veterinarian diet, please speak with an experienced veterinarian.