Animal lovers in Somers Point, I have an amber alert for an orange kitten that is wandering around the Sea Aire Apartment complex on Chapman Blvd.
She is very friendly and appears to be about 12-16 weeks old.
She is a classic (blotched) orange and white shorthaired tabby and has a very healthy pair of lungs. She was screaming at me in the rain this morning when I went for work.
If you know anything about a missing kitten in the area, please call 601-2685. I have put myself on the “lost pet” e-mail alert hotline of the Home Again pet recovery Website.

Cooper

Alley Cat Allies is the wonderful national organization based out of Maryland that is at the forefront of the humane Trap-Neuter-Return program for feral cats. Instead of being captured and euthanized, the cats are captured, neutered, vaccinated and returned to the wild so that the population is stabilized. Alley Cat Allies have a strong presence in our area with the Boardwalk Cats program.
On Saturday, Aug. 1, kittens and other young cats from the Boardwalk Cats program will be looking for a new home at the Alley Cat Allies Adoption and Outreach Fair, 11am-4pm at the Petco store at 1335 Hooper Ave. in Toms River. As part of the Trap-Neuter-Return program officially sanctioned by the city and carried out by Alley Cat Allies and volunteers, feral cats who live at the boardwalk are humanely trapped, neutered, and vaccinated before being returned to their outdoor homes, where they receive regular food and water.

Mason is part Maine Coon.

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April is looking for a new home.

Beacon Animal Rescue, a terrific organization that helps animals that are on “death row” at other local shelters, holds its Annual “Paws on the Promenade” fundraiser on Saturday, June 13, from 11am-2pm at JFK Boulevard and The Promenade in Sea Isle City. All proceeds from the fundraiser will go to Beacon Animal Rescue for their work in helping animals.
There will be three categories in the competition: Best in Show, Best Behaved, and Best Dressed. Prizes will be awarded for both large and small dogs in each category. There will also be a Grand Prize of a $200 gift certificate to Parkway Veterinary Hospital. There will be three judges for the event, Dr. Nick Holland V.M.D. of Shore Veterinarians, as well as Michelle Dawn Mooney and Lorry Young, both of News Channel 40 NBC. Participants can pre-register for the event for $10 or can register the day-of for $15. For more information go here or call Beacon at 390-7946.

Mikum is a Beacon resident who wants to play.

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Beacon Animal Rescue is a great organization that takes animals that would otherwise be euthanized from other local shelters. I know because I fostered Lucky, a stray orange tabby cat that had its broken hip repaired, then was going to be put down before winding up at Beacon. Lucky is currently living with my nephew Ryan, his wife Katie and his animal pals Aiden and Evy.
This preamble is my way of asking animal lovers to support Beacon’s big fundraising event, Strut For Mutts IV that takes place on Sunday, May 17 at the Estell Manor Park, Route 50, Mays Landing at the softball field/pavilion C. The event runs from noon-4pm and includes a Chinese auction, raffle, and a silent auction. There will also be an appearance by Elwood, Animal Planet’s 2007 “Ugliest Dog” (pictured) and a demonstration of Frisbee catching featuring animal athlete One-Eyed Jack.
Bring your dogs to strut their stuff for homeless animals. There is a $10 registration fee to strut at 2pm, and all proceeds benefit the wonderful work by Beacon Animal Rescue, 701 Butter Rd., Oceanville. For directions go here and click on Recreation & Leisure/County Parks.

The Ocean City Humane Society is hosting a birthday party this Saturday, Jan. 10, for its dogs and cats waiting to be adopted. The no kill shelter presents the birthday bash from noon to 2pm at the shelter on 1 Shelter Rd., off Bay and Tennessee Aves. A bona fide canine celebrity, Elwood, winner of the 2007 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest, will be a special guest at the party. Elwood is a Chinese Crested Chihuahua mixed breed living in Sewell, N.J. with his best bud, Karen Quigley.
Grown-ups, children and their pets are all invited. The shelter requests that you R.S.V.P. by contacting Nancy Waddell at 398-7484 or email to: dwaddell1@verizon.net.
“The party will feature favors, birthday goodies, beverages and lots of good wishes and warmth for the animals, their caregivers and all guests,” says shelter volunteer Waddell. “Elwood will be on hand to remind us all that it’s okay to be different and that even if only one someone loves you, you’ll always have a home in their heart.”

An episode of Animal Cops has broken out in A.C. A dog was thrown from the overpass near the A.C. Expressway earlier this week. Local animal activists are offering a $2,500 reward to help smoke out the killer of “Angel,” a Boston terrier puppy thrown to its death. The dog died from massive head injuries. A driver heard a thump on his car and stopped to investigate, finding the dog. It is bad enough to see how animals are abused on the numerous episodes of Animal Cops on Animal Planet, but to have such a vicious act take place in our neighborhood is horrifying. Several animal-rights organizations have banded together to pool their reward money. A private citizen put up $1,000 with additional funds coming in from New Jersey Aid for Animals, the Animal Law Coalition and Pawtographs of Cherry Hill. Read the full story here. If you know something about this vicious act, call the local S.P.C.A.

It looks like Michael Vick will no longer stain the NFL with his presence. Now that Vick has pleaded guilty to financing dog fighting, gambling on fights and killing under-performing dogs, he is headed for the slammer. Even if it is only for a year, it sends a message to the other dogfight organizers out there. This country is ready to get serious about the horrendous underground sport of dog fighting. Maybe this will spur the justice system to change some laws on the books to make it easier to prosecute dog-fighting participants. If you’ve ever watched Animal Planet’s series of animal cop shows, you know that it is nearly impossible to catch dogfights in progress. The cops seem to arrive right before or after fights, and unless they catch them red-handed, it is difficult to get a conviction for the charges that include jail time. Michael Vick’s stupidity just might save some canines down the road. In fact it has already helped in one case.
In Mt. Vernon, NY, an animal shelter found 63 kittens dumped at their door, crammed into three boxes. Humane Society officials believe they were “bait” animals, used to give fight dogs in training a taste of blood. They also believe the Michael Vick headlines led the dog fighters to get rid of the kittens. You can read the story here. To find out about buying the shirt pictured above go here.

Here is a link to a whole bunch of pictures from the Alley Cat Allies Feline Frenzy that took place in our area last weekend. 49 feral cats and 19 strays and kittens were spayed and neutered. The kittens will be put up for adoption; the adult cats were returned to their colony at Buzby Village in Chelsea Heights.

Sunday at 5am I was setting up traps in an Atlantic City apartment complex to catch feral cats so that they could be checked for diseases, vaccinated and spayed or neutered. It was all part of the Feline Frenzy TNR (trap neuter release) organized by the Alley Cat Allies organization of Maryland to help control the feral cat population in the city. As the sun rose, the cats came out while the seagulls checked out the action.
This was my first time volunteering for Alley Cat Allies, who have been doing a great job controlling the cat population along the Atlantic City Boardwalk for the past six years. Saturday afternoon I learned how to bait and set the traps, but our efforts in the afternoon were not as successful. It turns out that mad dogs and kitty cats don’t go out in the noonday sun. (Pictured is a cat who was spayed; her kittens will be found new homes.)

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