reality sound bites. Keeping Families Together.
Food For Thought: Every month, families relinquish their pets for a number of rea- sons. The stories shelter volunteers hear are heartbreaking. Expense is the number one reason for owner surrenders - the inability to pay for healthcare and/or provide food. While many of us agree that our pets are family and that we would never give them up, we can never know what people are going through, unless we’ve walked in their shoes. Shelters and animal advocacy groups have developed programs to help families
stay
Food donation for Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay.
together, providing food and sometimes dis- counted veterinary care in an effort to lower the number of owner sur- renders. Some programs work in tandem with Meals On Wheels, pro-
viding pet food to the pets of the homebound. Another good source for helping these programs are your
local area independent businesses, which is why we think it’s so important to support them. The New Barker enlisted the help of two local area businesses, Turner Expos, producers of Florida’s Largest Home Show and Pet Supplies Plus of Tampa Bay, to assist in supplying much-needed food for the benefit of two Florida rescue groups. Through this partnership, six months worth of food will be donated to Dalmatian Rescue of Tampa Bay and Second Chance Boxer Rescue.
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A GOOD REASON TO BARK LOCAL & BUY LOCAL. Did you know that every single advertising partner with The New Barker donates supplies, money and time to Florida shelters and rescue groups? That’s one more reason to support your local area independent business - the heart of your neighborhood.
Pet Peace Of Mind: We’re happy to report that more Florida assisted living facilities are becoming pet-friendly. It doesn’t take a scientist to know that pets make humans feel good. Science can, however, tell us how and why pets are therapeutic. Just 15 minutes bonding with an animal sets off a chemical chain reaction in the brain that lowers levels of the fight-or-flight hormone, cortisol, and increases pro- duction of the feel-good hormone, serotonin. The result: heart rate, blood pressure and stress levels immediately drop. Over the long term, pet and human interactions can lower cholesterol lev- els and fight depression. For people with Alzheimer’s Disease, evenings can bring
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moments of increased agitation and confusion, known as Sundowners Syndrome. Pet therapy has proven to be a powerful tool at memory care facilities. An animal’s non-verbal communi- cation and profound acceptance can be soothing for those with difficulty using language. Hospice is another service that knows the importance of the
animal bond. Thanks to the Pet Peace of Mind program through Banfield Charitable Trust, hospice patients can keep their pets at home with them throughout their end-of-life journey. Suzanne O’Barr, manager at Fluffy Puppies Dog Boutique &
Grooming in Clearwater, wanted to make room in the store to bring in a new line of dog food, Wild Calling. Tommy Brennan, a pet food industry veteran who is now with Wild Calling offered to buy back some of the food Fluffy Puppies would no longer be carrying to make room for the new food. The buyback gave Suzanne an idea to donate the food to a local charity. Her sister Ellen, volunteers at Suncoast Hospice and told her about the pet food drive they were having for their Pet Peace of Mind program. Suzanne called Kathy Roble, Suncoast Hospice Director of Volunteer Services, who was grateful for the offer of pet food. “The food donation was an incredi- ble surprise. My car was full,” said Roble. The Fluffy Puppies donation has so far, assisted a dozen families.
Sam helped his human, who has Alzheimer’s, through some tough times.
“Our hospice volunteers assess our client’s needs and deter-
mine which families would benefit the most from the food dona- tions. Suzanne advised us to have the families incorporate a little pumpkin into their pets’ diets to ease the transition with the new food. So we were able to get some cans of pumpkin to give to the families as well. We are so grateful to Fluffy Puppies for thinking of Suncoast Hospice,” said Roble. Suncoast Hospice will also be the beneficiary of Fluffy
Puppies 9th Annual Barkoween event on October 29 at O’Keefe’s in Clearwater.
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Pet Peace Of Mind Programs in Florida: Brooksville - HPH Hospice Clearwater - Suncoast Hospice Fort Myers - Hope Hospice & Community Service Gainesville - Haven Hospice Jacksonville - Community Hospice of NE Florida Miami Lakes - Catholic Hospice New Port Richey - Gulfside Regional Hospice, Inc. Ocala - Hospice of Marion County, Inc. Tavares - Cornerstone Hospice & Palliative Care Stuart - Treasure Coast Hospice.
Summer/Fall ~ 2015 THE NEW BARKER 19
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