Be Kind to Animals Week is Coming!

That's right! May 3-10 is National Be Kind To Animals Week in America, and we're celebrating with our own little event right here in Bucks County, Pennsylvania!

The birth of humane education as a national effort dates back to 1915. In that year, “Be Kind to Animals Week” was inspired Dr. William O’Stillman, leader of the American Humane Association. AHA’s primary goals were visiting local schools to promote the development of humane education and publicizing the good works of the nation’s humane societies. Today, the annual event is used to bring to the fore the needs of animals as sentient beings, and it piggybacks with National Adopt A Pet Month in the USA.

O hai. U can haz party!

Miss Idgie here is all party animal, dressed up and ready to celebrate at Lackland Self Storage and Office Park at 8133 Easton Road in Ottsville. From 7:30-9:00 pm on Friday, May 8, she may decide to join us for a little neighborhood get-together, celebrating one of our country's best annual observances.

We'll be showing a brief slide show about disabled pets, presented by...me! That will be followed by a short reading from Almost Perfect: Disabled Pets and the People Who Love Them, and another by Pipersville author Betty Kerr Orlemann. She'll be reading a brief passage from Mission: Murder, first in her new Hattie Farwell mystery series. Hattie is an 80-year-old amateur sleuth who solves cases with the aid of her faithful sidekick, Wolf, a giant dog.

Betty and I will then sell and sign copies of our books to anyone who's interested. We'll be joined by Dr. Ellen Prieto, the Wonder Vet who saved Idgie's life, and who's in my essay from the anthology. Also we'll be joined by Denise Jeffries, Senior Veterinary Technician at
Tabby's Place, a cat sanctuary across the river in New Jersey. There will be representatives of several other pet-related organizations, along with some free light refreshments.

The venue is being generously donated by Lackland Self Storage as a community gesture, for which we are sincerely appreciative.

It'll be a family-friendly event, so join us, won't you, for a little animal kindness? Be there and feel the love!

Lemon's on Tour!

Photo by Tim Jean, staff photographer, Andover Townsman

I've posted here about Lemon the duck before, but thought you might enjoy an update on her ramblings.

Last week, Lemon visited the Professional Center for Child Development in Andover, Mass. He was accompanied by author Laura Backman, who wrote a children's book about him and read to the children there. PCCD teaches children of all abilities through a variety of programs, and wanted to show them how Lemon navigates his disability by getting around in a modified walker.

Learn more...

Part of the Plan...

Though our almost perfect pets bring so much joy into our lives, eventually we all must deal with the grief of losing our pet, as our very different lifespans mean most of us will outlive our furry, feathery or scaly companions.

Helping us deal with this inevitable event is Moira Anderson Allen's Pet Loss Support Page. This information-packed blog covers everything from quality of life and euthanasia decisions to how to handle bereavement and create a memorial. Anyone who has lost a pet knows the assailing, overwhelming grief and all the bewilderment and distraction that comes with it. Moira gathers here a huge assortment of welcome tips, resources and links we can all use to make this difficult time a little easier.

No one wants to think about the time when we'll have to say that final goodbye, but why not bookmark this useful site now for when you'll need it? Who knows? Maybe you'll be able to send it to a friend, colleague or family member who needs it before you do.

Get a Dog!

I want to thank Khyra the Siberian Husky (and sometimes, her mom) for suggesting this wonderful snippet from last week's CBS Sunday Morning show.

I saw this myself and -- for once -- actually agreed with Ben Stein (he and I are kind of polar opposites on the political spectrum, but apparently we're right there when it comes to critters). See? Even with politics, animals help us find the best of ourselves! As in concentrating on what we share instead of what keeps us apart.

On that note, I want to welcome Khyra and her mom to Almost Perfect Pets, and thank them for their wonderful comments. And I'd like to say "Hi, neighbor!" They also live here in "Pawsylvania."

Welcome, Khyra!

Who's Zoomin' Who?

Photo courtesy The Washington Post

Dr. Patricia Fitzgerald is a licensed acupuncturist, certified clinical nutritionist, and a homeopath. She has a Master’s Degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine and a Doctorate in Homeopathic Medicine. She is the founder and Medical Director of the Santa Monica Wellness Center and her mission is to inspire others to live their passion, while creating and enjoying optimal physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

She blogs over at The Huffington Post. This week, she welcomed Bo, the 6-month-old Portugese Water Dog that is now our country's First Dog, the Obama family's new pet. Apparently Dr. Fitzgerald is plugged into the same energy we are, as she has this to say:

Many of us know that animals add to our emotional and spiritual well-being. Since we live in a day where just about anything can and is often researched, many studies have demonstrated that having a pet is good for our physical health as well! Apparently, while we are taking care of our pets, our pets are taking care of us.

Hear, hear! Let's hope many, many others begin to wake up to this reality and to the reality that it's not just physically intact, "perfect" pets who perform this wonderful, loving service to their chosen humans. Read more of the good doctor's post.

Thanks, Roberta!

Well, bust my buttons! I'm holding my head up high this morning -- this blog has been given the Sisterhood Award by fellow author and blogger Roberta Beach Jacobson (also a contributor to Almost Perfect!).

Roberta blogs over at the Seattle Post Intelligencer site, and had this to say:

Almost Perfect Pets
Mary Shafer is a wonder who balances twenty projects at once. Her blog offers a pleasing combination of opinion, news and humor. How she has time for it with all her books and other endeavors, I have no earthly idea. I suspect she never sleeps.

Well, THANK YOU, Roberta! It's always nice to be recognized by someone you admire. Roberta is something of a wonder herself, what with all her own books, her blog and her tireless work on behalf of animals. 25¢ from each copy of Almost Perfect goes to support Animal Welfare Karpathos, an all-volunteer animal rescue organization that Roberta helped found and still volunteers with.

Roll On Over...

...to Julie Cardinali's awesome blog, The Pet Dish, at the online home of the Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard newspaper.


There, Julie dishes all the news that is news about pets, from puppy mills and rescue groups to our fave subject, disabled pets. Stop by and see what's being served in The Pet Dish!