At one time, Sparky the black & white dachshund was trapped in Nowheresville -- a shelter dog with few prospects for any kind of a quality life. After all, who would choose a deaf dachshund from among all the other animals without special needs?But then he was chosen to be trained in a prisoner rehab program in a Missouri state correctional facility. And instead of being returned to the shelter,
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Who's Savin' Who?
Starting this Sunday morning, I'll be pleased to share facilitator duties with my great friend and author colleague, Barbara Techel, leading the discussion about special needs pets and the wonderful and unexpected ways they change our lives, on the Facebook fan page of bestselling author and pet expert Darlene Arden!Darlene is a respected animal behavior expert, whose new book, The Complete Cat's
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Remembering Lucy
Lucy wasn't a special needs dog, unless you count needing a little extra attention every time she entered a room. Lucy was just special.She worked as a therapy dog for special needs people, and I just wanted to share this little memorial from Lucy's people. Lucy crossed the Rainbow Bridge yesterday, just shy of her 16th birthday. We send gentle thoughts to her family, whom we know will miss her,
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It's National Prevent Cruelty to Animals Month!
Photo by Jenna MackenzieApril is National Prevent Cruelty to Animals Month. Now, for some of us, that's actually every day, and I'm guessing that includes everyone reading this post. But I think it's a great idea to have a month devoted to reminding people that preventing cruelty is important and should be a priority every month.Here at Almost Perfect Pets, we're all too aware that cruelty,
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Blind As A Bat(ty)
Been away for a while and thought this would be the perfect way to come back with a bang.Many of you know that a quarter from each sale of Almost Perfect, our book about disabled pets, is donated to Animal Welfare Karpathos, the only animal rescue on the Greek island. The author of the final essay in the book, Roberta Beach Jacobson, runs the rescue with her partner, Alf Meier.They made this
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Petpourri
Today, I just want to share a little bit of this and a little bit of that, all of it about disabled pets.Daisy was always looking up to the positive side of life. Look at that smile!First off, it would hardly be fitting to start with anything other than a nod to Daisy, the sweet little Doxie who, for 16 years, was the mascot for our friends at Eddie's Wheels. Daisy crossed the Rainbow Bridge last
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Happy New Year!
Well, 2010 was an active year in so many respects, but it was certainly a banner year for animals! Many, many puppy mills closed down, hoarders raided and the animals moved to sanctuaries where they'd be properly cared for, and FINALLY some legislation with teeth regulating puppy mills in Missouri, Iowa and Oklahoma.There were, inevitably, major setbacks as well: hundreds if not thousands of
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