-*: Friends of the Animals :*- Cedar Creek Lake!

Friends of the Animals Celebrates Its 5th Anniversary

We just celebrated our 5th anniversary (and over 11,500 surgeries!) of saving lives at Cedar Creek Lake! This photo is of Dr. Campbell and just a few of our regular Tuesday volunteers...but there are many more who have done so much to make this happen... to you all: thank you and happy anniversary!

Your Lost Pet Comes Home – with Microchipping!

Every Tuesday, Friends of the Animals offers microchipping for pets. It's a simple, painless procedure: a tiny microchip is inserted into the scruff of your dog or cat. It has a number on it that shows up when your pet is scanned at a shelter. And your pet is returned home!

The cost is $16 and includes the national registration.

Friends of the Animals clinic is located in the southeast corner of highways 198 and 334 in Gun Barrel City behind the Chevron station. No appointment is necessary for microchipping.

Friends has run the low-cost spay/neuter clinic for 3-1/2 years, doing surgery one day a week, and has performed over 7000 surgeries, saving/preventing literally millions of little unwanted lives.

Surgery is done by appointment only and ranges in cost from $25 for a male cat to $65 for a giant breed female dog. Appointments may be made by calling 903-887-PETS (-7387).

Questions about the microchip clinic? Call the same number for more information.

Need Financial Help Getting Your Large Dog Fixed?

Friends of the Animals Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic has received a grant enabling people needing financial assistance in getting large dogs, male or female, spayed or neutered.

This grant will pay for the surgery of dogs over 45 pounds at the time of surgery.

The reason the grant is so specific is that smaller dogs are usually easy to place and have small litters. Large dogs, however, languish in shelters as no one wants them and can have litters of up to 15 puppies two to three times a year, most of which end up being put on the trash heap.

Large dogs are also the ones who tend to run in packs if allowed to roam doing much destruction to property, people and other animals.

The grant is, at this time, excluding cats mostly because the price for spaying/neutering cats ($25 for males, $35 for females) is so low already and they feel the large dogs need the attention at this time.

The Family Resource Center (903-887-4711) and the Christian Life Center Food Pantry (903-887-5429/Tuesday and Thursday), both in Gun Barrel City, have vouchers for making appointments.

Protect Pets in Summer

Summer may be a time of fun and relaxation but for animals, it's a time of wearing a heavy fur coat in 90 degree plus weather. Make sure your pets are protected from this summer's heat.

If your pets have to live outside, be aware that they will need shade at all times of the day. A yard that may be OK in the morning can become unbearably hot by late afternoon.

Fresh water: Check the water bowls at least a couple of times during the day to refill it if necessary. Your dog and your cat cannot survive the heat without lots of water.

If you walk or jog with your dog, make sure that you do so in the cooler mornings. And provide plenty of fresh cool water when you get home.

DO NOT TAKE YOUR DOG IN THE CAR THIS SUMMER! If you plan on stopping anywhere for any length of time. Even with the windows rolled down a bit, your car can become an oven in a matter of minutes. Dogs cannot sweat – they perspire through their mouths by heavy breathing – and inhaling all that hot air means that within minutes they can suffer heat stroke and can die.

Winter Protection

Your furry friends may come equipped with a warm winter coat, but that doesn't mean they're prepared for the dangers of extreme cold weather.

Ideally outdoor pets should be brought inside when the weather gets really bad here – our pets in this climate are not suited for extreme cold or ice.

But if you can't bring them in, plan to protect your outdoor pets during cold weather. Make sure they always have fresh water – you might check it a couple of times a day in case it freezes over. And a plastic bowl would be better than metal as a dog's tongue could stick to metal.

Your outside pet will need a three-sided shelter with a warm floor covering such as a blanket or hay. The shelter should be small enough to retain the animal's body heat – and of course, face the entrance away from the wind.

Store anti-freeze properly – many dogs die from being poisoned from anti-freeze as it tastes sweet to them.

Your pets depend on you to keep them safe and protected.