WEEKLY UPDATE 11-18-18

National Adopt-A-Senior Month!

MAESSR - P.O. Box 807 – Goochland, VA 23063

 

UPCOMING EVENTS – save the dates!

 

None.

          

FEATURED DOGS

Each year MAESSR waives adoption fees for Senior and Special Needs dogs through its Home for the Holidays program, hoping to give these babies the precious gift of families of their very own.  This year’s Home for the Holidays season has begun and runs through December 31, 2018.  Please take a few minutes to read through the stories of the eight Senior/Special Needs dogs.  Some are “available,” some will become “available” and new ones will enter the program over the coming months.  If one touches your heart, kindly ask to bring it Home for the Holidays!  

Dogs over 9 years old are considered senior dogs, although a great number of them still have more energy than their owners. It all depends on the dog, some may have slowed down, even gotten a little gray in their beautiful coat or have some minor health issues requiring daily medication.  However, they still have a lot of love and kisses to give a loving family. The big benefit to a "senior" dog is they are already trained, have good house manners and life experience.  Special needs dogs may require a special home, such as few or no stairs, no children and etc. Some of these may be shy or unsocialized dogs who have grown enough to move with a medical issue that needs to be controlled on a daily basis, which does not prevent the dog from living a normal active life.  Take a few minutes to look over these seasoned dogs that still have much love to give.  If interested, contact Candi Lynn at frostysd1@yahoo.com.

MISCELLANEOUS FUNDING/RESOURCES

• The holidays will be here before you know it! This is a great time to do some early shopping for those springer lovers in your life and go to MAESSR.org Marketplace, open 24/7 for purchases. Click the Shop Now button on our Facebook page or go to MAESSR.org and click on Marketplace under Categories.  Check out our New, Almost Gone/Bargain, and Clearance items.  The 2019 calendars are in!  Link to http://www.maessr.org/2017maessrcalendars-1-1-1.aspx. 

• We can earn money through WoofTrax.com just by walking our dogs which most of us already do - in fact you don’t even need a dog, just a smartphone and some good walking shoes! Download the app for your iPhone/smart phone and follow the directions.  (If Wooftrax doesn’t come up, look for Walk For A Dog.)  When you are asked to pick a shelter/rescue (it may show the one closest to your home, but ask to change), pick VIRGINIA as the site, scroll to the M’s and select Mid-Atlantic English Springer Spaniel Rescue.  You will then be asked to verify your email address, but just keep following the directions, and the app will appear on your phone’s screen.  When you tap it, you’re invited to enter your dog’s information and start walking.  It is a simple process each time you go for a walk.  The more people who participate, the more money earned.  We can also win donations by signing up for CHALLENGES.  All you need to do is tap the Challenges button!  Currently we have 20 active (uses the app at least once a week) walkers.  Spread the word - make your walks count!
  

• Thanks to all of the families who feed VeRUS dog food. The free bags that MAESSR receives from the Rescue Frequent Feeder Program help the foster homes. To learn more about the Rescue Frequent Feeder Program, go to the Donations tab, then the Affiliates tab, find the Verus logo and click on the link or go to this link http://www.veruspetfoods.com/rescueprogram.html  for details. It is a really easy way to help foster homes. If you need a frequent feeder envelope, please email Debbie at springerfarm@aol.com.

BOOK BARKS

• TRAINING DOGS WITH DUNBAR (1 hour 5 minutes.)  In his entertaining and common sense style, Dr. Ian Dunbar covers a wide variety of topics, including people training games (to help owners see training from the dog's point of view) and methods for troubleshooting fighting dogs.  Dog training is not just about control, it's about relationships.  And successful relationships all depend on good communication skills. If you have a good relationship with your dog, he will do his best to please you. So make sure you use kind and patient training methods to enhance that relationship and produce a well-mannered companion.  Dr. Dunbar's easy and enjoyable lure/reward training techniques make training fun for you and your dog.

• INSIDE OF A DOG: WHAT DOGS SEE, SMELL AND KNOW (384 pages) by Alexandra Horowitz.   The answers will surprise and delight you as Alexandra Horowitz, a cognitive scientist, explains how dogs perceive their daily worlds, each other, and that other quirky animal, the human. Horowitz introduces the reader to dogs' perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog. What's it like to be able to smell not just every bit of open food in the house but also to smell sadness in humans, or even the passage of time? How does a tiny dog manage to play successfully with a Great Dane? What is it like to hear the bodily vibrations of insects or the hum of a fluorescent light? Why must a person on a bicycle be chased? What's it like to use your mouth as a hand? In short, what is it like for a dog to experience life from two feet off the ground, amidst the smells of the sidewalk, gazing at our ankles or knees?   Inside of a Dog explains these things and much more. The answers can be surprising--once we set aside our natural inclination to anthropomorphize dogs. Inside of a Dog also contains up-to-the-minute research--on dogs' detection of disease, the secrets of their tails, and their skill at reading our attention--that Horowitz puts into useful context.   Although not a formal training guide, Inside of a Dog has practical application for dog lovers interested in understanding why their dogs do what they do. With a light touch and the weight of science behind her, Alexandra Horowitz examines the animal we think we know best but may actually understand the least. This book is as close as you can get to knowing about dogs without being a dog yourself.

**The MAESSR library has over 150 titles of DVDs, CDs, and books, both non-fiction and fiction, to lend out.  You can borrow items directly from the Library on the group’s website by simply adding them to the shopping cart and checking out or you can send an email with your name, address and material you wish to borrow to library@maessr.org.  The material will be mailed to you and is due back in three weeks; you are responsible for return postage.  Unfortunately we can no longer mail materials internationally. 

**Check out MAESSR Library’s Facebook page. You will find Facebook links for many of our authors under “Pages liked by this Page” plus you can also access the library on the “Learn More” button.

**Go to https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1YSR57XGZDZXV/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1 to find the Training Library’s Amazon Wish List of books and DVDs.  You can purchase a book (new or used) off the list, and it will be shipped directly to the library.  Pretty quick and easy way to help out MAESSR as well as educate adopters!

 

DID YOU KNOW?

• If you have a pet in need of prayers please contact Linda Shope at stlrsgl@gmail.com  or Linda Johnston at springerlove@comcast.net.  They would be happy to add your pets name to the pet ministry prayer list.

• IF YOU SEE A SPRINGER NEEDING RESCUE:  For a springer being rehomed in an ad on social media or in a newspaper, please email relinquish@maessr.org.   For a springer in a shelter, please email shelterdog@maessr.org.  In your email include contact information such as links to the online post, shelter name, state, and phone number.

HELP WANTED

• Rainbow Bridge Crossings are noted on a monthly basis.  If you would like your MAESSR dog included, please send your name, dog’s MAESSR name if different than adoptive name, and year of adoption to updates@maessr.org. Feel free to include who fostered your dog.

• As a reminder, when you send your notes about events or requests for help to the website or Facebook, please cc: updates@maessr.org. This will help ensure that all events are mentioned periodically in the Weekly Update and equal attention is given to all. 

• Mistakes happen!  Corrections or omissions to the Weekly Update can also be sent to updates@maessr.org.

• If you have a favorite resource to help MAESSR earn some extra cash or goods for our four-legged charges that hasn’t been mentioned, please let me know so it can be highlighted, too.   Thanks!

PICTURES---PICTURES---PICTURES  ☺ ☺ ☺

If you want to share photos of your dog on our social media send:

• videos@maessr.org for the adoption site and the YouTube channel.

• socialmedia@maessr.org for Facebook photos, videos, and/or articles.

THIS WEEK IN MAESSRLAND

We have 26 dogs in our care this week.   There are 4 permanent fosters.  Five dogs are pending a foster home. 

Moving into Foster Homes were:   None.

Springing into Furever Homes were:  Pepper 10 and  Buddy 42 to Chesser

 

Submitted by MAESSR volunteer Cathy Moyer

with thanks to all those who helped with submissions/information.