Interview with Thoughts Fur Paws
Thoughts Fur Paws is an entertaining blog about the author's experiences with anything and everything pet-related. It is educational and informative but also light-hearted and at times funny. The author is an experienced owner of multiple different types of pets. She is also an avid volunteer and does frequent chartity work. Some organizations she is involved with include: the Animal Protective League (APL), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Defenders of Wildlife (DOW), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the American Humane Association (AHA), and various local rescues and shelters. To read more about the author and this wonderful blog, please click here. See what the author of Thoughts Fur Paws had to say about her wonderful pets, which included 2 beautiful Golden Retrievers...
The Interview
I actually started the blog as a project for work. I work at American Greetings Interactive and we had a social media initiative to start communicating with the pet lovers community since it is so vast and since we have so much pet-related content (cards, ecards, pet loss cards, wallpapers, screensavers, etc). What started out as a small budget project ended up blossoming into a full-time initiative that was successful because of my passion and dedication to animals. The blog was my idea and I was given the permission to run with it. We hired a design company to do the layout, and I personally created the successful linking campaign and every single post on the blog through my personal experiences and history of working with animals. You will note on the About Us page that ThoughtsFurPaws is still currently sponsored by American Greetings. We are linked to from this page on AmericanGreetings.com: http://www.americangreetings.com/events/pets.pd. I also wrote that page.
Funny story. When I was still in college, my parents made the unwise decision to go to a breeder for a Golden Retriever. They did not do much research. I came home for the summer and they came home with Benson first. When Benny was about 4 months old, my Dad went back to the breeder to get his "papers." He found Gibson abandonded on the "other side" property, covered in ticks, fleas, cuts, open wounds, and practically starving and dehydrated. (Please see the post on this story here: http://thoughtsfurpaws.com/dogs/dog-breeders-not-all-good-gibbys-story/) My Dad swooped him up, bursted in the door and slammed some money down on the table and said "Im taking this dog." I personally reported the breeder to the AKC, PETA (at the time I was naive enough to believe in PETA's mission and tactics -then I did my reseach and found out what they really stand for.). The AKC did nothing. They said they don't have enough resources to check out every breeder. We found out that essentially an AKC paper means nothing. Both of our dogs have had severe medical problems, common in Goldens that have been inbred. If you look through past posts on the blog you will see that Benny has been extremely ill, Gibson has had three leg/hip surgeries.
Wow, this is a tough one. I don't really understand what you mean though. Do you mean if I could have one of their characteristics what would it be? If that's the question, I would want their undying positive attitudes and playfulness.
This is an easy one: they are like our children, without exception.
Since I was a little girl I have LOVED animals. I used to bring home every possible animal you can think of, cats, dogs, turtles, frogs, we even brought home a dairy farm rat once. I used to want to be a vet until I was 15 and had to be in the room alone when my 1-year-old cat had to be put down after being hit by a car. After witnessing that I knew I couldnt become a vet, I couldn'd handle it emotionally even though it was the best decision to make, so there had to be another way for me to help animals. I discovered that way was through volunteering.In Colorado, where I went to college, there is a deep appreciation of all things wild and made by nature. I applied for internships at the Division of Wildlife and Humane Society and ended up being chosen for them because of my passion to help animals and organizations that support them. That was just the beginning. I have since worked with PETA (I used to be a regional campaign coordinator for them in Colo, but I stopped supporting them in 2005 when I found out the truth about them), APL, and many local resues and shelters in California (where I lived from 2002-2006) and now Ohio (2006-present). I guess my inspiration comes from wanting to help a species that cannot speak for themselves. That and the deep bonds I seem to have formed with all animals since I was a very small child. I seem to be able to communicate with them in a way most people can't. Animals have a sixth sense that we humans lack, and compassion, and loyalty and intelligence that we will never fully understand. I plan on spending as much time as possible trying to figure it out.
I would tell other people to do some research in their locale and find smaller no-kill shelters and rescues, and go in there and tell them, face-to-face, that you are ready, willing, and able to volunteer for whatever they need help with. You might start out with cleaning litter boxes and picking up poop in cages, but the time you get to spend with the animals later makes it worth it, and makes their days so much brighter. If you have a skill set, you can volunteer in-kind as well. For example, when I interned at the Humane Society in Colorado in college, I was a Journalism/PR major and I launched a PR campaign for them to get more volunteers and more donations. The work you can do doesn't always have to be directly involved with the animals. Oftentimes, rescues also desperately need foster homes. If you can swing it, and if you spend a lot of time at home, become a foster parent. The shelter will pay for the medical expenses but you pay for food, toys, etc. Also, most rescues/shelters will allow you to simply spend time walking or sitting with the pets to keep them company. The animals look forward to that time every day. We humans are everything to them. Humans have our families, our friends, our jobs, animals have only US. One more thing: if you have tech skills or are computer savvy: offer to start a blog for your chosen rescue/shelter. (Its really easy on blogger.com) Its a GREAT way to get word out about the animals there and the work the group does. Good for donations too.
Blogging has become my absolute favorite thing in the world. It's my dream come true. I have met and become friends with some truly amazing people all over the world through ThoughtsFurPaws. Its amazing how kind, supportive and generous people you dont even know can be just by reading your blog. I wouldn't give it up for anything in the world, nor would I trade our Goldens for a million dollars. PS. Check out my Examiner page, I am also a Cleveland Pet Rescue Examiner:http://www.examiner.com/x-10601-Cleveland-Pet-Rescue-Examiner.
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