Pets Animals Surviving The Economic Crisis

Last year, of the pets animals that shelters took in, most were due to owners who had "no time" to care for them or from "accidental pet pregnancies." This year, the overwhelming majority of pets arriving at shelters simply cannot be afforded by their owners during this rocky economic time.

In Chicago, there has been an 11% increase in donations, including pets that have had chips implanted and who had been loved their whole lives. Shelter workers say some pets arrive in need of expensive pet meds or surgery, but twice as many animals arrive appearing well-cared-for.

"People are making very hard choices," explained Rochelle Michalek, executive director of PAWS Chicago, a no-kill shelter. "Do I put food on the table? Do I feed my kids? It's heartbreaking."

It is a common myth that pets animals in shelters exhibit behavioral problems that cannot be fixed. In fact, being in a shelter with so many other animals is a stressful environment for any cat or dog for sale. It's sort of like a person who is loved and cared for their whole life being thrown in jail for no reason at all.

Most likely that person would also not act like him or herself while in jail! Once in a typical, nurturing environment again, many people and pets would then perk up and start acting normally again.

Additionally, many people avoid shelters because they prefer purebreds to mixed breeds. Yet 35 to 40% of the animals in shelters are purebred animals now. Moreover, there is no evidence to support that purebred pets live longer, are smarter or behave better.

While pets animals investments certainly aren't cheap, especially with all the tempting dog and cat supply products available, there are many more rewards to owning an animal. Studies show that owning pets lowers blood pressure, results in fewer visits to the doctor, relaxes the mind and improves the quality of life for people.

In fact, many people feel that pets are members of the family that make it easier to cope with loneliness, depression, anxiety and stress. By purchasing a shelter animal this month, owners can make the difference between life and death for a pre-loved pet.

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Shopping With Better Online Pet Supply Stores

Find pet products wholesale is easy if you find the right online pet supply shop. Whether you need pet crates, cat beds, horse supplies or reptile supplies, there are a number of websites that cater to the pet owner who'd rather not carry hefty items around the store and wait in line. With all the special online discounts and exclusive promotions, you'll wonder why you had ever shopped at an actual store.

Another ideal place to search online pet supply deals is at the Amazon marketplace (www.amazon.com), which has over 176,000 pet supplies online. By typing in "Pet supplies" on the homepage, pet owners will reach a landing page where they can narrow down the search to dogs, cats, birds, fish, reptiles or small animals.

Amazon pools together a number of other sellers, like PetCo, www.entirelypets.com, www.petfooddirect.com and others. Additionally, shoppers can search pet products by brand, such as Frontline Plus, Canidae, Wellness, Drinkwell and Advantage. While perusing cat or dog goods, consumers can also read product reviews, check ratings and get the guaranteed lowest prices for their items.

No matter where you decide to shop for your online pet supply goods, you'll enjoy the no-hassle approach. There are many different purchase options, including credit card, Paypal, Bill Me Later and Google Checkout. Purchasing pet supplies online is safe and secure, which is why over half of all pet owners have purchased something online.

In 1999, pet supply retailers were predicted to be one of the largest areas of growth online. At first there were a number of small pet store start-ups, but many of those sites (like www.pets.com, for instance) have since been usurped by giants like PetSmart and turned into pet owner social networks with blogs, photos, stories, forums and videos.

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Avoiding Chemicals When Controlling Weeds

Controlling weeds without chemicals is essential, if you wish to keep your organic garden free of chemicals, including herbicides and pesticides. By keeping your eyes open, you can see when weeds are starting to sprout and you can pull them out, before they grow too big. Another option is to purchase weed control fabric and mulch from your local nursery. This method will prevent many weeds from sprouting.

Weeds are a pest and if you let them take over your garden, then your garden plants will have to compete against them for nutrients in order to grow. Some weeds may even be poisonous against your plants. This is why you need to make efforts to control the weeds in your garden, without the use of toxic chemicals.

When you work in your garden, you should always wear garden gloves, especially when you are making efforts to control weeds, as some of the weeds may be poisonous to your skin and to other plants in your garden. Just like a doctor wears surgical gloves before he performs a medical procedure, you should always wear garden gloves every time you are in the garden.

By using these steps to control weeds, you are making it easier to grow plants in your garden and flower beds. Helping your plants retain the nutrients, rather than being stolen by intruders like weeds. You are then rewarded for your efforts, with pesticide and chemical free vegetables, fruit and herbs, helping to enrich your meals in the family home.

If you have been eating fruit and vegetable bought from the food store, you may start to realise all the taste and flavours you have been missing once you start eating organic produce grown in your garden. You may have not realised what these fruit really taste like, as many fruit and vegetables are treated with chemicals in farms.

Although you can buy certified organic fruit and vegetables in many food stores, you will feel you have made the effort to control the weeds in your garden, and therefore you do not need to buy as much organic produce, by growing your own organic produce in your garden.

After all, when you are taking your time to ensure everything grows chemical free, then you do not need to use chemicals for controlling weeds.

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Your Fish Pond With Live Water Plants

Water plants in a fish pond in the backyard, are quite common these days. Although many people place plastic plants, which require less maintenance, I choose to use live water plants, as I have plenty of experience with growing plants in water. I do not mind the extra time needed to keep the plants from taking over the living conditions of the pond.

When growing plants in a fish pond, you need to ensure that the plants to do not take over the pond and make the conditions difficult for fish. Just like, you need to keep weeds out of your garden, you need to ensure the plants in your pond do not proliferate everywhere and block out the light, making it difficult for the fish to survive and move around.

I also have an organic garden nearby, where I grow much of the organic produce we use for cooking and making delicious salads. Now that I have more time to look after my garden, I use my knowledge to grow pepper, tomato, cabbage, garlic, onions and many herbs. I now even have a small greenhouse nearby, so that I can grow my vegetable, fruit and herbs all year round, free from pesticides and toxic chemicals.

I have also placed a small number of miniature fruit trees, to grow fresh fruit, and pick them, fresh off the branch, whenever we need them. As our backyard is not huge, we have just enough room for the fish pond, the organic garden and the miniature trees.

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