Everyone knows we’re officially in a recession, people are giving up their pets at a record rate. Shelters are packed to capacity, too many dogs to keep up with.

Here at Dogster we want to provide our members with a fun experience, but also with up-to-date information that’s informative. Hopefully with some of the resources available at Dogster it will help make the situation a little more manageable.

Here is a list of Dogster resources that will help you to find out more or lend a hand during these rough times:

The Dogster Railroad - This is a special place for Dogsters to help Dogsters arrange for community transport of rescues or dogs being re-homed.

The Dogster Adoption Center - Find out about adoptable dogs here. You can find shelter dogs or dogs that are at risk of being sent to a shelter.

Dogster Local - This is where you can search for animal shelters and rescue organizations in your area.

Dogster Adoption and Rescue Groups - Browse through all kinds of organizations that work to provide furrever homes for dogs.

Dogster Rescue and Adoption Answers - Browse through, ask or answer questions that have to do with rescue and adoption.

As long as this crisis exists, we here at Dogster HQ will do our best to provide our members and readers with news, information and tips relating to the situation. Please feel free to pass links to our dog and cat articles and pet-centric services to any of your pet-loving friends who may find themselves in dire economic straights over the next few months.

On the Dogster  Site News & Updates page or on the FTLOD you can leave a note in the comments section for this post, if you have any thoughts or tips that you would like to share with other readers we welcome them.

Shelters are already bursting at the seams, and now due to the change in Pennsylvania’s dog laws they are getting many dogs from breeders being dropped off because of new code violations.

To try and help get some of the dogs adopted the Humane League of Lancaster County is slashing dog adoption fees in half.

“Just this past month, we got 98 more dogs here at the shelter,” Megan Gallagher Clark, the Humane League’s vice president of development and outreach, said. “So now we have about 345 dogs - with some in foster care.”

The reduced adoption fees for dogs go into effect today and will continue through Jan 31. The fees, which includes vaccinations and microchipping, are:

Puppies (8 weeks to 6 months), $87.50; adult dogs (7 months through 6 years), $60; and senior dogs (7 years and older), $25.

The recession is hurting everyone, times are tough, but there are still many people who could give a dog a good home.  Love doesn’t mean having a ton of toys or treats, it means providing a safe and caring environment.

“We know there’s people who have been putting off adoption because of the recession, but they can still provide quality care for one of our dogs,”  Gallagher Clark said. “So, we hope this discount is an incentive.”

Humane League of Lancaster County, 2195 Lincoln Highway East, can be reached at 393-6551. For more information, visit www.humaneleague.com.

* The adorable pup is Alesana, she’s available at the shelter. Photo courtesy Lancasteronline.com.

There is a Mets fan out there that is so excited about the new stadium she snuck in to get a look around, and maybe a scrap of food. This fan has four legs not two, she’s a brown and white German Shepard mix.

A stray dog led animal control officers on a rainy romp through the stadium Wednesday after construction workers said she spent several days sniffing around the Mets’ new digs.

The nimble pooch was finally snagged near the Jackie Robinson Rotunda after running the bases and racing up and down the aisles. Her rescuers have dubbed her Jackie.

“She was around home plate, ran up the first base line and ducked into the stands,” said Mike Pastore, head of field operations for New York City Animal Care & Control. “We were going to set up a trap behind home plate.”

The pup was eventually caught and taken to the Animal Care & Control’s Manhattan shelter for evaluation, and eventual adoption.

Some of the construction workers were worried about “Jackie” and inquired about adopting her, so I have no doubt she’ll be going to a new forever home soon.

* The cutie above is Jae, she has a  wonderful forever home.

There’s a wonderful organization, Operation Blankets of Love, that was started in California to help supply shelter animals with blankets for their cages to make them more comfortable.

Dear Animal Lovers,

How would you feel if your pet was in a shelter lying in a cage on a cold hard cement floor? You arrive at the shelter to adopt a family pet to see many of these abused, neglected and abandoned animals shivering and feeling isolated in their cages. Many of these dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens are euthanized if they are not adopted because of the crisis of pet overpopulation.

YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Operation Blankets of Love (OBOL) was established in mid-January 2008. Our goal is to ensure that all homeless animals waiting to be adopted be as comfortable as possible by providing blankets, comforters, pet beds, towels, and other pet related items.

This is such a simple, but terrific, concept.  Everyone has old blankets they don’t use, now you can drop them off to one of the participating shelters where it will be put to good use. Hopefully this will spread around the country so all animals entering a shelter will have a little bit of comfort.

To find out the drop-off locations or how you can become a friend of Operation Blankets of Love stop by their site for all the details.

* Photo courtesy of the OBOL website.

This is such great news, Linky and Dillon have a wonderful new home.  The best part is that they will remain together thanks to Jody Kinney.

This morning a Middleburg woman adopted the 10-year-old dogs, who came to the Jacksonville Animal Care and Control facility after their owner died last weekend.

Jody Kinney read about the dogs on the Internet over the holiday and in the Times-Union this morning. Kinney drove to Jacksonville first thing this morning to offer them a home.

Kinney has owned older dogs before, knows the costs and care involved and was the perfect fit for Linky and Dillon, Trebatoski said.

Good luck to the new family.

* Jacksonville Animal Care and Control assistant Lenny Dingman holds Linky (left) and Dillon. Picture courtesy newsJacksonville.com.

A Chihuahua and Dachshund, lifelong friends,  have been brought to the Jacksonville Animal Care and Control shelter after their owner was struck and killed by a car.

When the two old pals get a few minutes to run around outside, Linky and Dillon don’t stray far from one another.

Linky’s eyesight is starting to go and the Chihuahua leans on his dachshund buddy Dillon for help. Besides, the 10-year-old dogs need each other a little more now in this unfamiliar place.

Their home, for the time being, is the Jacksonville Animal Care and Control shelter.

They lost their owner last weekend when he was hit by a car.

Joseph Derrick dearly loved his dogs, and the dogs are inseparable, so the city is doing everything possible to keep them together.

The city wants an owner who’ll keep the two dogs together. As an incentive, it’ll only charge one $80 adoption fee to anyone who takes them both, said Misty Skipper, spokeswoman for Mayor John Peyton.

Linky and Dillon arrived at the shelter on Monday, the same day Tammie Hoffer was there rescuing three other dogs. Hoffer, president of Someone Cares Rescue and Placement Inc., knows the struggles of placing animals that are getting older.

For any Dogsters that are in the Jacksonville area and looking to share their home with a couple lovable seniors, now’s your chance.

For more information on adopting Linky and Dillon, or any animal, call Jacksonville Animal Care and Control shelter at (904) 387-8924. The shelter reopens today after the holiday and is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

* Jacksonville Animal Care and Control assistant Lenny Dingman holds Linky (left) and Dillon. Picture courtesy Jacksonville.com.

There are so many horrible dog stories in the news, the horrific things people do to animals. For the week between Christmas and New Year’s I want to focus on paying tribute to all those people that make incredible sacrifices to change the life of needy, abused, or neglected dogs.

I want to take a moment to give thanks, the real meaning of the holiday season, to all the wonderful people that really do make the world a better place. I’m going to start with the founders of a dog sanctuary in PA, Canine Corps, that provides loving care for dogs of those enlisted in the military.

Canine Corps offer a no charge “home away from home” for the dogs of Pennsylvania’s deployed military personnel. This will allow those service members to be assured that their canine buddy is safe while they are gone.

In addition, Paw Prints dog Sanctuary and Canine Corps will establish a no charge lodging facility to allow for visits by the families of deployed military personnel to escape the stresses of daily life, as well as members of our armed services who need some peace and quiet. They can come to this tranquil setting to relax and enjoy the company of dogs.

Our vision is to provide peace and comfort for these animals while they are in our care and to create an environment that feels like home.

I watched a segment this morning on The Today Show about Canine Corps and it really is an amazing place.  As if keeping up with the daily operations of one not-for-profit isn’t enough, founders Laurie Lyon and Kevin McCartin  also run Paw Prints Dog Sanctuary, a facility for homeless senior dogs.

Paw Prints Dog Sanctuary accepts dogs directly from Central Pennsylvania shelters and rescues, so those organizations can help a larger number of dogs. We provide a loving, safe haven either until a forever home is found or to live out their lives at this peaceful place. We define senior as approximately 10 and over, and seniors with disabilities or illnesses are welcome here.

If you would like to read some of their senior adoption  success stories, or make a donation to help out  Canine Corps or Paw Prints Dog Sanctuary stop by their site for more information.

Laurie Lyon and Kevin McCartin, we here at Dogster salute you for making a difference. We give you 5 out of 5 paws!

* Logo pic courtesy of Canine Corps.

Not for seniors, but to adopt a senior. Dog that is, not citizen. The Ashland County Shelter in Ohio is offering discounted adoption rates for senior dogs.

The downturn in the economy has led to increase in the amount of dogs being dropped off at the shelter.  Senior dogs, those five years and older, are always harder to adopt out.

The normal fee is $60. For dogs that are part of the “blue-tag” special, the cost is $14 with a license; $24 with license and vaccinations; and $34 with license, vaccinations and microchip.

The shelter is hoping with the low adoption price of $14 potential adopters will consider an older dog.  A dog like Grampy, who was found tied to a tree, starving and emaciated. He has been at the shelter since November 10th and is on the road to recovery. Now, he just needs to be on the road to his new forever home.

Having adopted an older dog in June I know how wonderful it is.  It can also come with a few benefits, you don’t have to worry about toilet training or destructive chewing. Plus, I really believe they know how lucky they are to be adopted and the amount of love you get in return is priceless.

The Ashland County Dog Shelter, 1710 Garfield Ave., is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Call 419-289-1455 or go to  www.ashlandcounty.org for more information.

The Sanctuary Animal Rescue in Clewiston, FL has a new family member.  Teddy Bear is six weeks old,  born with twisted front legs the breeder contacted the rescue to see if they would take him. The sanctuary didn’t even hesitate to make arrangements to get Teddy Bear.

Palena Dorsey started the Sanctuary in March 2004.  Her mission was to help those animals that were considered fearful and aggressive, or who were old and ill and about to be put to sleep because of the overwhelming influx of animals at local shelters.

The Sanctuary of course said they would take him. Teddy Bear had a very long trip and it took 30 hours to get there. He was very tired and  was coughing too. He was given fluids and put on antibiotics.

Palena is the Executive Director and Teddy Bear lives in her room and stays with her 24 hours a day. He has to be fed often and helped to go potty, but he’s happy.

The Sanctuary Animal Rescue is trying to raise money so Teddy Bear can have surgery to help him, hoping he can eventually  get adopted and have his very own home.

What a wonderful woman Palena Dorsey is, stepping in where others may have turned away. If you would like to help you can make a donation directly to Teddy Bear,  or for any of the Sanctuary’s residents.

In Our Hands Shelter in Brooklyn, NY is in desperate need of foster parents to help care for loving dogs whose time will be up without immediate intervention.

Dear Friends,

The lists of URGENT dogs at Animal Care and Control have been especially awful during the past couple days, and as a result, we have committed to placing the following NO CONCERN dogs and others. In order to SAVE THEIR LIVES, we are asking you, our faithful supporters to stand and offer to foster a shelter dog who would otherwise meet the same unhappy fate of millions per year.

Sweet Butter came into the shelter via police escort on 11/11/08. This gentle girl hopped right in and got a ride, thinking they must be taking her home. But no, sadly they took her instead to an overcrowded city shelter. Now her life is in grave danger, for there is no cage space left, and Butter has been there too long. Can you help by fostering or adopting her?

THIS SWEET SWEET Boy is going to be DUST unless you can commit to ADOPTING/FOSTERING or Sponsoring IMMEDIATELY!!!
2 year old MARLON was wandering the streets as a stray. They scooped him up and brought him to the Shelter.

He was soooo thin … very emaciated. But he hadn’t been on the streets for long, because his nails were overgrown. That means that someone kept him confined, didn’t walk him, and didn’t feed him. The staff has been feeding him extra meals to fatten him up. All the while, he’s proved a loving animal: great with people and fine with other dogs. He arrived weighing only 38 pounds and should weigh a lot more.

Although Marlon has been let down by humans, he’s nevertheless sweet as sugar, well-behaved AND smart! He plays nicely, fetching a doll and returning it. He’s happy to rest his head on your lap (to stay warm during this cold weather, and he probably knew about the treats in my pocket). Please consider this fine, affectionate dog!

Sweet Butter and Marlon are just two of the dogs in desperate need, please contact the shelter to find out about the others.

If you’re looking to adopt, or are available to foster, please contact Emily today at emily@emilygear.com.

* The beauty above is Kane.