Our post today is an homage to a wonderful woman.  A larger than life character, someone who lived her life with passion and a purpose.  A true animal lover.

Please watch this video:  Margaret  Moth: Fearless

This is a continuation from yesterday’s post

MYTH FIVE: “I want my dog to be protective.”

Spay and Neuter does not affect a dog’s natural instinct to protect home and family. A dog’s personality is formed more by genetics and environment than by sex hormones. The only changes in behavior you’ll see are positive ones.
Tom cats tend to reduce their territorial spraying depending upon the age they are neutered. If neutered young enough, before they begin spraying, they may never develop the behavior.
Neutered male cats and dogs fight less, resulting in fewer battle scars, contagious diseases such as Feline Leukemia and horrible abscesses.
And since they aren’t interested in pursuing females in heat, they also wander less, greatly reducing their chances of being hit by a car or getting lost.

MYTH SIX: “I don’t want my male dog or cat to feel like less of a male.”

Pets don’t have any concept of sexual identity or ego – HUMANS DO!
He doesn’t suffer any kind of emotional reaction or identity crisis when neutered – HUMANS project that onto them.
If your dog’s balls mean so much to YOU, and you have the resources to spend, consider Neuticles. </sarcasm>
However, you might consider getting a larger pair for yourself, and give your dog a break!
When I worked with a city shelter in the San Francisco Bay Area, I witnessed a young man trying to pick up his lost dog from the pound.

It was an intact pitbull. Very sweet – his owner not so much. He was informed that they wouldn’t release an un-neutered pit, and that by claiming the dog, he had to get the animal neutered within a certain time frame. He made a huge scene about how his beloved dog can’t be neutered. He couldn’t have his “baby’s balls cut off….”

The argument went on for a while.

Pitbulls are likely one of the most misunderstood and most abused breed in our society.

He finally said – “F*ck it – keep the stupid dog!!” - and stomped out.

Left his beloved dog, his baby there, on death row. Now jumped from “stray” up the death row chart to “owner surrender”. Needless to say – this once beloved baby was destroyed.
Why did I not do anything. Because our rescue was already over capacity, boarding dogs because foster homes were full and I personally had a house full of orphaned “wonders of birth”-kittens to foster.

neo natal orphaned kitten - death by ignorance of humans. Kittens like these are euthanized by default if no rescue will take them. And most won't/can't because of the lack of volunteers..

There are no resources.

Volunteers are hard to come by, and the ones shelters and rescues are so very lucky to have are exhausted!

MYTH SEVEN: “It’s too expensive to have my pet spayed or neutered.”

The cost of spaying or neutering depends on the sex, size, and age of the pet, your veterinarian’s fees, and a number of other variables.

But whatever the actual price, spay or neuter surgery is a one-time cost; a relatively small cost when compared to all the benefits.

It’s a bargain compared to the cost of having a litter and ensuring the health of the mother and litter; two months of pregnancy and another two months until the litter is weaned can add up to significant veterinary bills and food costs if complications develop. Most important, it’s a very small price to pay for the health of your pet and the prevention of the births of more unwanted pets.

Many counties offer free or low cost spay/neuter clinics or vouchers.

Contact your local shelter for more information. If it turns out that there are no resources in your area, consider getting involved in you community, and help organize a yearly event. Thanks to social networking it is getting easier and easier setting up events and get the word out.
Use this tool!
Remember to BE THE CHANGE – don’t wait for others to do it for you!

Fix your pets, educate your friends and family, and don’t forget to you join us on Facebook and invite others to do so, that way we can network and delegate the resources each of us has to offer.

Thanks to Misha Dickerson, Jedi Master of the Let’s Adopt US blog

"FREE to good home"... the "wonders of birth" come at a high price for the animals AND our communities

MYTH ONE : “My pet will get fat and lazy.”

The truth is that most pets get fat and lazy because their owners feed them too much junk food (canned or dry) and treats loaded with HFCS, and don’t give them enough exercise. A run around the yard is NOT exercise. Consider switching our animals to a raw diet, which will keep them healthy, happy, lean and your visits to the vet at a minimum.

Read our blog about why Let’s Adopt insists feeding our animals a raw diet.

MYTH TWO: “It’s better to have one litter first.”

Actually, science indicates just the opposite!!!
In fact, evidence shows that females spayed before their first heat are typically healthier. The best time to spay your female dog or cat is before her first heat. Early spaying greatly reduces the incidences of mammary cancer.
Both pregnancy and birth can be very stressful for the animal.
Animals giving birth sometimes die from complications.
Many veterinarians now sterilize dogs and cats as young as eight weeks of age.

MYTH THREE: “I’ll find good homes for all the puppies and kittens.”

You may find homes for all of your pet’s litter (in Turkey chances are YOU WON’T) . But each home you find means one less home for the dogs and cats in shelters who need good homes. Also, in less than one year’s time, each of your pet’s offspring may have his/her own litter, adding even more animals to the population. The original problem of crowded shelters is created by just one litter at a time.

There’s no need to breed – PERIOD!
This must stop!

orphaned kittens under the age of three weeks are euthanized on arrival at a shelter near you.... too much work, too little resources.

MYTH FOUR: “But my pet is purebred.”

So is at least one out of every four pets brought to animal shelters around the country. There are just too many dogs and cats; mixed breed and purebred.
Your purebred’s testes aren’t any more valuable than those of a mixed breed. They’ll contribute to the same problem.

Every once in a while someone approaches us and puts amazing talent at our disposal.

David Gross has reported war and human rights-related stories since 1999. The recipient of a World Press Photo award in 2003 he feels at home in places where most of us would die in an instant.

Claire Berlinski is a Phd in International relations, writer, journalist and citizen of the world. She has written for a wide scope of publications from the Oxford International Review to Playboy Magazine.

Both of them are great animal lovers.

Today I’m going to share with you what is probably their most special and intimate work. An amazing combination of photography, design and storytelling. The Seven Cats of Istanbul.

David and Claire have graciously agreed to put this beautiful story in our hands with the aim of spreading awareness about the plea of stray animals in Istanbul. So, please, return the favor and share it!… you can email it to friends, you can share it in your social media networks, you can download it and keep it, show it to your kids, print it and hang it in your wall, you can do  just about anything with it except publishing it yourself or turn it into a movie (you need to talk to them about that

Enjoy… (better viewed full screen)

The Seven Cats of Istanbul

Ne diyebilirim ki…İşte böyle küçük şeyler bizi farklı bir topluluk yapan. Eğer tarayıcı olarak Firefox‘u kullanıyorsanız lütfen ekteki persona’yı da kullanmaktan çekinmeyin. Onu arkadaşlarınıza gönderin ve Let’s Adopt’un ne olduğunu anlatın.

Eğer şu an işteyseniz neden onu patronunuza göstermiyorsunuz?

Ve merak etmeyin…Bu sadece bir başlangıç!

Bizimle gönüllü olarak çalışan Deniz Erguner‘e buradan büyük bir teşekkür gönderiyoruz; bu tarz küçük jestlerimizin çoğunun ardında Deniz var ve kendisi muhtemelen İstanbul’un en başarılı grafik designer’larından!

Deniz, harikasın!

What can I say…. Is the little things like these are what make this community so remarkable.

If you are a Firefox user please feel free to use this Persona.  Share it with your friends and explain them what Let’s Adopt! is all about.

If you are in the office why don’t you send it to your boss?

And don’t worry… it will be the first of many…

A big thanks for our volunteer/designer Deniz Erguner, the person responsible for most of the  little things you see going on in Let’s Adopt! and one of the best graphic designers in Istanbul.

Deniz, you rock!

These are the stories of 20 Turkish dogs, rescued by our friends Lale, Melek and Bilge.
They all left behind a sad story and started new lives overseas.
Two years ago the organizations saving those animals had to operate hiding as ultra-nationalists attacked them and slandered them.
Things have changed now.
Let’s Adopt! has brought legitimacy to international rescue. Thanks for our open approach everyone (except a few crazy whackos out there) recognizes now the efforts of those rescuers.
This is what we do… Join us.

If you cannot watch the youtube video please click HERE

Mat Tiyatro‘daki arkadaşlarımız 26 Mart Cuma günü sahneye koyacakları bir oyun için bize 40 adet bilet verme kibarlığında bulundular.

Max Aub‘un klasik eseri Örnek Suçlar, cinayet fenomeninin anlamsızlığını işliyor.

Suçlar, İntiharlar, Gastronomik ve Kitabeler olmak üzere dört bölüme ayrılmış bu metin, alelade ve çoğu kez rastlantısal olarak gerçekleşmiş eylemleri ironik bir şekilde yücelten kısa itiraflardan oluşuyor.

Detaylar BURADA

Elimizde sadece belirli sayıda bilet olduğu için, koltuklar, bağışladıkları miktara bakılmadan, Simba Fonu‘na katkıda bulunan üyelerimize ayrılacak.

Ben biletler için bir fiyat belirlemeyeceğim ve cömertliğinize güvenerek bu seçimi size bırakacağım; İstanbul’da tiyatro biletlerinin 30 ila 80 tl arasında değiştiğini ve Simba Fonu‘yla halihazırdaki kampanyamızın amacının, burada kimsenin istemediği köpekleri yurtdışında buldukları yuvalarına ulaştırmak olduğunu aklınızda tutmanızı rica ediyorum.

Katkıda bulunduğunuz miktar ne olursa olsun en fazla iki bilet alabileceksiniz.

Başvuruları tüm koltuklar dolana kadar kabul edeceğiz, o yüzden acele edin!

Viktor Larkhill

viktor@myletsadopt.com

Our friends at Mat Tiyatro have kindly offered us 40 tickets to attend a play on Friday, March 26.

The play, Exemplary crimes, by Max Aub is a classic text that examines murder revealing its absurdity. Divided into four parts—Crimes, Suicides, Gastronomical, and Epitaphs—the play is a collection of brief confessions that ironically elevates mediocre and oftentimes accidental acts to a level of admiration.

Regardless of the amount you contribute with you will get a maximum of two tickets.

We’ll accept applications until all the seats are allocated, so hurry…

Viktor Larkhill

viktor@myletsadopt.com

Sevgili Arkadaşlar,

Çoğunuz Coco‘yu hatırlarsınız…

Yol kenarında felçli bir halde bulunmuştu. Omurgasında bir kurşun olduğunu saptamıştık.

Çoğu insan onu ya bir Belediye barınağına bırakır ya da uyuturdu. Onun için en iyimser senaryo hayatı boyunca bir tekerlekli sandalyeyi ardından sürükleyerek yaşamaktı.

Ama biz öyle yapmadık…

Lütfen BURAYA tıklayın ve Coco’ya ne olduğunu görün. Almanca da olsa, lütfen videoyu sonuna kadar seyredin; söz gerektirmeyen nadir durumlardan biri bu. Size GARANTİ ederim, sevinçten ağlayacaksınız.

Bu operasyona katkıda bulunan herkese teşekkür ediyoruz; sizler olmasaydınız bunu başaramazdık.

Halihazırda kurtardığımız köpeklerden bazılarını yurtdışında bulunan yuvalarına göndermek için uğraşıyoruz. Eğer bu operasyonun bir parçası olmak isterseniz, Simba Fonuna yapacağınız katkı için müteşekkir oluruz.

Sevgiler

Viktor Larkhill

Viktor@myletsadopt.com