Thankful for Kind Students & Camera-Friendly Cats!

In this season of thanksgiving, I like to reflect on all of the reasons why I love my job.   One of the very best things about directing the Humane Education program at the Washington Animal Rescue League is meeting students and hearing about the animals in their lives.  It's even better when I get to see those animals.  Maya, a student at D.C. Bilingual Public Charter School, sent me a photo of her cat, Tallita. She explained how the kitty got her name,  "We named her that because I wanted to name her Tye-dye, but my mom wanted something kind of Spanish like, so we combined the two and got Tallita!" 

Looks like Tallita is one relaxed cat who enjoys getting her picture taken.  Thanks for sharing Maya!

Be Prepared! Read This Book

Weathering a catastrophic event can be made easier when there is a safety plan in place. Author Howard Edelstein walks readers through disaster planning for animal companions. In his book, Ready or Not, Here it Comes, Fanny, the family dog hunkers down to ride out the hurricane with the narrator and his mom in a small, secure room in the basement only to get lost after the storm is over! Happily, Fanny is quickly reunited with her family thanks to the microchip under her skin and Mom's up-to-date contact information.
This book is a great tool to start a disaster planning discussion. What disasters are possible in your area, what would you have in YOUR disaster kit, where would you meet if you got separated, what special needs should be addressed? Hopefully, a disaster kit is never needed, but Edelstein's straight-forward text will leave readers ready and able to start making a plan, just in case.

Buy it here, http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Here-Comes-Howard-Edelstein/dp/1480917567/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448308628&sr=8-1&keywords=ready+or+not+here+it+comes

Giving is the Best Part of THANKSGIVING

WARL's wish list --
 http://www.warl.org/
support-us/donate/
other-ways-to-give/wish-list/

Halloween 2015 is long gone.  Less than two weeks until Thanksgiving!  The animals at WARL would like to celebrate Thanksgiving with toys, treats, and forever homes! This is the perfect time of year to collect kongs for dogs, mice (toy) for cats, and crunchy treats for all of the homeless cats and dogs waiting at WARL!   

Bat Mitzvah Biscuits Benefit WARL

Emily and Quigley pose before a display board and a container full of money!

Helping animals is easy when you have a cute mascot like Quigely, home-baked dog treats, and information highlighting the good work that WARL does every day on behalf of the animals. It's making it all come together that takes a huge effort.  When Emily decided to support WARL by raising money and awareness as part of her bat mitzvah project, she reached out to us to help gather information. Emily took it from there, creating an information-packed display board and baking dog biscuits, to sell in packages of three and five, at the Westover Elementary School  Fall Flea Market. The booth was a huge success, netting $125 for the cats and dogs at WARL. Thank you, Emily!