vegansaurus!

Dog Pulls A Lassie, Saves Homeless Man  »

What is it, Mole, you adorable German Shepard mix? There’s a homeless man trapped under those rocks here on Mt. Rubidoux, near Riverside, CA? He’s totally dehydrated and has been there for a week or more? You need me to come help him and call rescuers? Is that why you’re pulling on my pant leg? It better be, because this is getting annoying. Good thing I brought you hiking with me, Mole! Dogs are the best!

True story. 

This Sunday! MickaCoo Pigeon and Dove Rescue Presents: WE CAN BE HEROES  »

Meet real pigeons and get vegan treats this Sunday with MickaCoo! Here are the details:

Come see The Stevie Bird Show! Meet Pigeons in pants!

Sunday, August 26, 2012 from 2 -5pm

MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue
Adoption Fair & Benefit
at the Romberg Tiburon Center
3152 Paradise Drive, Tiburon 94920

Suggested donation of $20, you’ll get two bird shows, snack on vegan tasty treats, get great deals on cool auction and raffle items and learn more about these beautiful birds and why they make such fantastic pets. Please visit http://mickacoo.eventbrite.com/ to learn more and RSVP (free raffle ticket to first 50, no prepayment required).

Help Save Toto the Dog!  »

Toto the dog got kidnapped and tortured, ARG. Why are people such evil bastards?

But now the SF SPCA is taking care of him and they need your help to raise $5000 by February 10th to pay for his surgeries!

Here’s the story, according to the SPCA:

“Toto is a 12-year-old Yorkie who was stolen from his fenced-in yard. Eight months later he was returned to his owner’s doorstep, in a crate, with multiple injuries including missing front teeth and a missing left eye. His owner rushed him to a vet hospital but couldn’t afford the necessary medical procedures. Toto is now receiving care at the SF SPCA Veterinary Hospital.”

To help, click here, or make a $10 donation by texting “SPCA” to 27722.

If you don’t have the cash, you could help by spreading the word to the rich people who do, especially the 1%, they all love tiny dogs, right? Go Toto go!

Fourteen moon bears rescued from bile farm; farmer vows to help end bile trade!  »

[The team transferring a bear for transport]

So, this is like, good news, but kind of gross? Fourteen moon bears were rescued from a bile farm in southern Vietnam, so that’s good, but they had a bunch of health problems indicating they might have been taken from the wild and trapped, so that’s gross. Not to mention that 40 bears are still imprisoned on that same farm.

We’ve talked about bile farming before. The main bullet point to take away from this presentation: It’s nasty. But apparently one of the owners of this farm, Mr Nguyen Ngoc Tien, realized the error of his ways and surrendered his share of the bears to Animals Asia rather than selling the bears. Now he’s encouraging other bile farmers to do the same. So, high-five to this guy!

Now the bears are hanging at the Animals Asia Moon Bear Rescue Center outside Hanoi. They’re recovering from fractured teeth, infected mouths, skin conditions, abdominal hernias, obesity, and probably internal damage from the bile farming practice. Go, bears, go! You’re needed in the bear army!

If you want to help, you can donate to Animals Asia’s bear rescue efforts or sponsor a bear!

On Cropped Ears & Adopting These Cute-Ass Puppies!  »

First off: People who crop puppies ears are total idiot assholes. Secondly: People who crop puppies ears at home with box cutters and no anesthesia are like, OMG LET ME AT THEM. I know it’s our fucked society that treats people like garbage and so they in turn treat animals, kids, and the elderly like garbage, and I waiver back and forth between being mad at individuals and being mad at society and mainly, I’m just hella pissed off all the time. Mainly at society. A society that would let these two sweet puppies get their ears cut off with box cutters! Ugh!

ANYWAY, San Francisco-based Rocket Dog Rescue just got these two sweet three month old puppies in and they are SO DAMN CUTE and need foster or adoptive homes STAT! If you don’t know what fostering is, it’s the greatest and I’m too pressed for time to explain it right now (not doing anything special, just gotta eat lunch) but read this thing I wrote for the Bold Italic about it. If you don’t know what adoption is, you are… I don’t even know what you are but I’m impressed you can read this blog post!

So anyway, these two sweet loving wonderful pups are named Mack (darker guy) and Jack (lighter guy) and they need your help! If you know anyone in the SF Bay Area who might want to foster or adopt, please text Pali from Rocket Dog Rescue at 415 756 8188. Be persistent! She gets a million billion calls, emails, and texts a day and she needs to be harassed to make sure she prioritizes you and your need to cuddle one of these cute-ass puppies!

Pali says of the pups:

These pups are coming to rocket dog rescue TODAY, the pups are 3 months old, came into the shelter with a horrible home “crop job” ears cut off with box cutters, duck tapped to cardboard. poor little guys. they need extra special homes that will love and protect them. Adoptions have slowed down and we really want to get these pups into the safe and happy homes they so deserve. They are nice boys… happy, playful, and have a natural sweetness that just glows from them. This is the best day ever (so far) and every day will get only better. 

I love you, Mack and Jack! May you get the best homes ever that are deserving of your wonderful selves and may you never not know a day filled with cuddles and scratches and long walks in the sunshine and many cookies, both of the canine and human variety!

Happy Adopt-a-Guinea-Pig Month! Get a pal!  »

I was on Pawesome and how surprised was I? It’s adopt a guinea pig month and I didn’t even know! The month is almost over but you still have some time to get in under the wire. Or, you know, adopt one in April. I’m sure the guinea pigs won’t mind and you can give them extra cuddles for missing their special month.

I have a special interest in guinea pigs because, while I don’t have any now, I had one when I was little. Poor Speedy, she never had the life she deserved and I will feel guilty forever! I was young and didn’t know much about guinea pigs. I had her all alone—guinea pigs are social animals!—in what I’ve now learned is the size of a gestation crate. They need friends! And room to play! If you are considering getting a guinea pig, here is a great guide for caring for these little guys. I found a great site all about how to make awesome cages for your pal and this super helpful video showing you how to make a cool cage in detail. I also found out guinea pigs can do tricks! OMJesus. The circle trick is my favorite I think.

Because I love you lazy fools, I looked up where you can adopt a guinea pig. Here’s a state-by-state rescue listing that might be helpful for finding a rescue in your area. Cavy Spirit has adoptables for the SF Bay Area. I’ve read that the SFSPCA doesn’t do small animal adoptions but that the ACC does. San Diego has a cute place, Wee Companions, that has guinea pigs and in San Jose, there’s North Star Rescue. For the New York area, there is the Have a Heart Guinea Pig Rescue and the North Jersey Guinea Pig and Hamster Rescue in New Jersey. These are both Petfinder sites and if you search, there are lots of other places to find guinea pigs on Petfinder (just enter your zip code; I set up the rest of the search for you, should work I hope. Otherwise, do it yourself!).

A lot of these organizations also need CASH MONEY so I was thinking for those of us who can’t adopt, we could donate some funds! You can check each site for their donation page. Oh and if you know of any other guinea pig adoption organizations, write them in the comments and I’ll add them to the list!

Update: Here’s a couple more places to adopt! Orange County Cavy Haven and Texas Rustlers Guinea Pig Rescue also have many guinea pigs up for adoption. (Thanks, Vegan Wheekers!)

Finally, here’s the famous pitbull Sharky giving his pig friend a bath!

[can’t see the video? Watch on Vegansaurus.com! Cute picture from WOAW-World Animal Welfare on flickr. Laura just taught me how to use creative commons so get ready for some flickr excitement in your future!]

More adventures with baby squirrels!  »

Remember the adorable video of the baby squirrel being rescued? Well, I’ve got another story for you! Reader Michelle A. sent me some photos of a baby squirrel she rescued a few years ago. Look at him eating that banana chip! Jesus Christmas!

Here’s the story from Michelle:

I saved a baby squirrel a couple years ago and he was the sweetest little guy I’ve ever encountered! I think squirrels might have the best damned personalities in the animal kingdom! I found him starving in the entryway to my then-boyfriend’s frat house near UCLA. He was shuddering and terrified, and desperate enough to come inside a house. We found his mom and sibling dead outside in the yard (we think they ate poison somewhere). I nursed him for a week before I took him to a squirrel sanctuary where they rehabilitated him and released him back into the wild. Part of me still wishes I had adopted him. Anyway, here are some pics of the little guy. We dubbed him Commodore Nibbles, because he liked to nibble on my fingers. He was also vastly inappropriate and liked to sleep on my crotch or in my sweater pockets. Best. Companion. Ever.

First of all, ew, frat house! Second, aww, inappropriate squirrel! Commodore Nibbles? Hilarious. I’m glad Michelle didn’t keep Nibbles forever because I don’t think squirrels are supposed to be house pets but how fun is that to play Squirrel Nightingale for a week? (Hint: so fun!) There is a serious issue here though: POISON is NOT SO GREAT! There are other ways to deal with “pests” that don’t endanger other animals and kids. Is rat poison even legal? It shouldn’t be. Earlier this year, seven kids in SF had to go to the hospital after eating rat poison at their school—WTF? We should ban that shiz, for real.

If you have any rescue stories to share, email me! I’ll make you internet famous! It’s like being regular famous except totally useless.

Shelter dogs make the best running buddies!  »

Another day, another tearjerker from Philly! Well, this one probably won’t make you cry but it’s super-adorbs. The Monster Milers is an organization in Philadelphia that hooks runners up with shelter dogs so they can go jogging together! For the dogs, getting regular exercise and companionship can be the thing that keeps them sane during their shelter days. For the people, Monster Milers say dogs are great running buddies because they are good motivators and they also keep you safe when you go running at night—Philly’s a rough town! But if you were jogging with a cute bully, nobody would mess with you! That’s my word.

Monster Milers encourages adoption in general but more specifically they target the running community. Nice strategy! And I bet if someone goes jogging with a dog a few times, it’s REALLY hard not to end up bringing it home. I mean, look at Chicken Dumpling! RIDICULOUS.

Head to Pop’s today to raise $$ for dogs!  »

There’s a new shelter dog rescue in town and they need funds! Northern California Family Dog Rescue looks super wonderful and what better way to support them to go to Pop’s Bar (800 24th Street at York in the Mission in SF) today, Sunday, January 23rd, from 5-8 p.m., and drink your little heart out for the dogs! Here’s the Facebook event for all the details or you know, just go there. And drink. A lot. Get shit faced. It’s for the animals, okay? 

From the FB event page:

There will be a adoptable dogs, baked goods for sale, and free dog treats!! Also, a percentage of the bar proceeds between 5-8pm will be donatated to the rescue!

If you’d like to help, you can bring something for the bake sale, or a cash donation to help with vet costs etc.. They will also have information on volunteering at the shelter.

I don’t know if any of the baked goods will be vegan but maybe?? Actually, especially if YOU bring something, right? if not, DRINKS DRANKS DRUNKS.

Here’s Zippy, he’s for adoption so FOR GOD’S SAKE ADOPT HIM: