Ani-mail Post@ Animal Designs February 2004
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1. What's New
2. Pet Journals
3. Featured Item
4. Peanut Calling
5. Drawing and Fun Stuff
6. Comments-Questions-Suggestions
7. How to Unsubscribe

1) WHAT'S NEW
Happy Valentine's Day to one and all!! Thanks to everyone who
submitted names for our newsletter last month. There were so many
good and catchy suggestions, it was difficult to choose. As you can
see, the name "Ani-mail Post", submitted by Diane S., was the judge's
unanimous choice.
It will still contain your favorite pet stories plus other
information you can use. Previous newsletters can be viewed at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Animal-Designs/

2) PET JOURNALS
As a girl growing up on a small southern farm, I probably had a
wider variety of pets than most. My mother was an animal lover too,
which made
it a little easier to do the "Mom can I keep it?" thing with
success. As an adult, I continued my collection of pets, which by
now were only the domestic kind -- cats, dogs, hamsters, an
occasional squirrel, a pair of skunk and maybe a bird or two. That
is, until one warm May evening, when into my home and heart came the
animal that was to forever change my life. My son was visiting, and
since he is night sport's editor for a newspaper, he's used to
keeping late hours and there was a West Coast ballgame he wanted to
watch. My fur babies feel they have the obligation of training new
people to the true doggie duties in life. One of these duties
includes letting them in and out on demand. (No, they are not
spoiled!) After about a dozen or more in and out door openings, my
son decided to just leave the patio door open. Well, you guessed it -
- he fell asleep on the couch leaving the door open. The next
morning as I came downstairs, my dog Sammi -- all 160 pounds of her --
accompanied me to the kitchen, to make sure I didn't get lost, and
stopped at the bookcase by the door and started to bark her "one of
my babies is under there" bark. Sammi's babies can be anything from
a ball to a kitten, but I knew "we" would have to get whatever was
under there or there would be no peace in the house that morning. I
got down on all fours with Sammi's big ole' Newfoundland head stuck
in the way, trying to see what was there. There he was, all bristle
and blow, about two months old and scared beyond belief! A baby
opossum! He must have fallen off his mom's back and become lost in
the dark,
because he was much too small to be on his own. I guess he found his
way to the first warm dry spot available. Fully furred and with
almost all of
his fifty teeth, he did his best to scare away the two monsters.
But, after all, he was only a baby, and I'm a sucker for anything
furry and helpless.
Now, most southerners are not known to be possum lovers and I had
never been a particular fan of them myself. Like most other people,
I was
under the mistaken opinion that they were mostly rat like -- nasty,
garbage eating smelly things! Nothing could be further from the
truth!
Sweet Pea (don't laugh) was the sweetest, most gentle and cleanest
animal ever. They clean themselves as thoroughly as any cat and can
be
trained to use a litter box. With opposing "thumbs", they grip and
use their hands in a very humanlike fashion. I had no idea how to
take care of
this kind of baby, so I immediately turned to the modern day
information hub, the Internet. What little information available on
possums has been compiled by a worldwide network of "rehabbers".
These beautiful selfless people have made it their job to help these
little fellows and to educate the world on what wonderfully valuable
creatures they really are. That was then. This is now. And many,
many opossums later, I am
fully and thoroughly hooked! I have successfully raised and released
all but two that have been put in my care. Miss Molly is a non-
releasable due
to an injury to her right shoulder and leg. But she's my little
princess and an ambassador for her kind. She and I visit clubs and
schools to
educate people on the good that opossums do in our environment. We
try to show how gentle and smart they are and that they should be
left alone to dotheir little opossum thing. People are always
amazed at how sweet and soft and gentle she is. Now they're hooked
too! After all, when you live with a princess who has over 75
million years of heritage behind her, you are indeed privileged.
When she accepts you as one of her special people and looks to you
for comfort and affection, well let's just say your life is never the
same again.
www.petwarmers.com
We all have stories that we like to tell our friends about our pets,
so send us your favorite "tail", and we will select one each month
to feature in our newsletter.

3) FEATURED ITEM
Keep your teapot warm in this cold weather. This handcrafted cotton
padded tea cozy is washable and adjustable to fit most teapot sizes.
Makes a great gift or addition to your collection. See the many
pattern choices and select yours today at:
http://www.animaldesigns.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv

4) PEANUT CALLING
When the phone rings at Craig and Sue Harms' house, you aren't really
sure whether or not you should answer it. It may just be Peanut,
their adopted Congo African Grey parrot, doing his telephone ring
imitation. Peanut also mimics telephone conversations - in two
different voices - and he talks from morning till night. Craig and
Sue adopted Peanut after seeing him on Petfinder.com, the largest
searchable database of homeless pets on the Web. His photo and
description were posted by Perfectly Precious Rescue and Adoption in
St. Louis. Their adoptable pets can be viewed at
http://perfectlyprecious.petfinder.com. Peanut had been
relinquished by a family that no longer wanted him; perhaps they
found out that a parrot is a long-term commitment. Parrots can live
from 20 to 50 years or longer. When Craig and Sue arrived to meet
Peanut, he climbed up into their arms, nestled against their cheeks
and said, "Hello." The next thing Peanut knew, he was going upriver -
in this case to a new home in Illinois.

Petfinder.com has approximately 300 adoptable birds on its Web site,
which highlights about 130,000 pets in all. In 1998, The American
Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) partnered with
the site to provide shelter outreach and an extensive library of pet-
related materials.
Petfinder.com has also allied with PetHealth, Inc., to provide a gift
of two months of ShelterCare Pet Insurance, paid for by
Petfinder.com, to every dog or cat adopted from a Petfinder.com
member in approved states and provinces. The program is the first of
its kind for shelter pets.
Sources: Petfinder.com; www.petfinder.com; Happy Tails
© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.


5) DRAWING & FUN STUFF
Congratulations to Lianna S. ...the winner of the paw print polar
fleece scarf. February's drawing is a paw print drawstring bag.
After entering your name, check out the rest of the fun page at
http://www.animaldesigns.com/trivia.htm
Thanks to Sheila T. for submitting this month's photo of Duncan and
Fifi, cute enough to be pet stars! We would like to honor your pet
next month, so send us a copy of their photo either by email or snail
mail.
January's question was: Do you support any animal charities? It is
good to see all your support with (119) Yes votes followed by those
who volunteer their time (46) and (21) no votes.

6) COMMENTS-QUESTIONS-SUGGESTIONS
This winter salad receipe was submitted by Janet K. Thanks Janet.
Ingredients: 6 apples, quartered; 8 carrots, cut in three inch
pieces; 2 cups Quaker Oats; 1 cup sweet feed; Molasses.
Directions: Combine all ingredients and fold in enough molasses to
make the oatmeal and grain stick to the fruit. Chill overnight and
serve.

As always, we appreciate your comments, questions and suggestions
and we've provided this link for sharing this newsletter with your
friends. http://www.recommend-it.com/l.z.e?s=620320 Thank you for
taking the time to tell your friends and family about Animal
Designs. It is the ultimate compliment and we greatly appreciate it.

All the Best,
Jeanie
Animal Designs
www.animaldesigns.com
1.866.468.1739