By Mickey Kramer

Local baker cooks up treats that give back

Nicole Sirois, dog lover, baker, and guardian of Bert the “giant Yorkie,” recently began making and selling organic (vegan and non-vegan) dog treats, Bert’s Canine Cookies, with the intent of giving a majority of the proceeds to the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition (BARC), located in Williamsburg. “It’s a project that is very important to me and has great potential to build awareness and raise much-needed funds for BARC, which is a great organization,” Sirois says.

The timing of this venture could not have been better, as BARC, founded in 1987 by Vinny Spinola and Tony Spoto, recently began a campaign to raise $2 million for an expansion project to accommodate its growing needs.
Each Saturday, Sirois brings a basketful of the homemade biscuits to BARC for the dogs awaiting their new homes. BARC also sells bags of them in its pet supply store at a cost of $12 for 24 cookies, and has plans to sell them online at BARCShelter.org.

Sirois is selling the organic treats at Fresh Start Health Food Market and Organic Cafe [2913 23rd Ave., Astoria, New York, (718) 204-7868] and is working on adding pet stores, doggie day cares, and pet boutiques to the roster as well.

Although her website is not yet up and running, Sirois is offering complimentary samples of her treats, which come in flavors such as peanut butter, chicken, and beef; you can email her at bertscaninecookies@yahoo.com to request one.

Dogswalk Against Cancer to take place in Riverside Park and Hudson Valley

On Sunday, May 4, the American Cancer Society (ACS) will host two Dogswalk Against Cancer events to benefit local animal healthcare organizations.
The first event will take place in Riverside Park, located at West 108th Street in Manhattan. The walk itself is only a few blocks, but the day will feature live music, a raffle, and contests for honors such as best costume, dog/guardian look-a-like, trick for treat, and more. In addition, Animal Haven shelter will be on site with its adoption van.

Ten percent of the net proceeds from the walk at Riverside Park will go directly to the Animal Medical Center’s Donaldson-Atwood Cancer Clinic in New York.

Pre-registration is $25 per dog, while the cost to register on the day of the event is $35. Registration takes place at 9 a.m., with the walk beginning at 10 a.m.

The second Dogswalk Against Cancer event will include a 1.5-mile walk around Hessian Lake at Bear Mountain State Park, in Rockland County. Funds raised at this event will go toward a $2,000 grant ACS plans to make to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine for the treatment of animals with cancer.

For more information, call (212) 237-3830 or visit Cancer.org/nydogswalk.

The Unexpected Pit Bull calendars still available

It’s not too late to purchase The Unexpected Pit Bull’s fourth annual calendar, featuring gorgeous images of Pit Bulls and their loving families photographed by Laura Moss.

Founded by area resident Jyotshna O’Hare and first published in 2005 in part to combat the negative stereotypes held against Pit Bulls, The Unexpected Pit Bull got a great boost last year when talk-show host (and guardian of Isaboo, a Pit Bull) Rachael Ray stated her support for the calendar on her show. Soon afterward, the calendars
sold out.

This year, though, there are still calendars for sale for only $10 each. The organization has donated proceeds from sales to top Pit Bull rescue and advocacy groups from coast to coast, such as Animal Farm Foundation (Amenia, NY), Bay Area Dog Lovers Responsible About Pit Bulls (BAD RAP, San Francisco, CA), and Out of the Pits (Albany, NY).

For more information, visit TheUnexpectedPitBull.com.

ASPCA initiative encourages target communities to “go orange”

When you see orange, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) wants you to think animal welfare. Through ASPCA Mission: Orange, the organization has partnered with several target communities across the country, providing them with educational and financial resources as well as training opportunities to increase adoption rates of animals, among other goals, as away of attaining “humane-community” status.

The cities of Austin, TX; Gulfport-Biloxi, MS; Philadelphia, PA; Spokane, WA; and Tampa, FL make up the target communities for 2007. Through Mission: Orange, the organization has made a three-year commitment to each of these communities to enable them to raise shelter adoption rates 10 percent by the end of 2007 and to achieve a 75-percent save rate for shelter animals by 2010. ASPCA is engaged in an ongoing pursuit to incorporate other communities throughout the country into this initiative––eventually empowering them to actively promote and establish high levels of animal welfare.—Melissa Wiley

New technique provides alternative to major surgery for animals

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, along with other animal hospitals, has begun performing laparoscopic procedures instead of more dangerous invasive surgery for certain operations, such as biopsies, removal of bladder stones, and gastric volvulus (bloated and twisted stomach); this relatively new technique can even be used for spaying female animals.

Dr. Louise Murray, director of medicine at ASPCA’s Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital, has performed a handful of these procedures in the past few months and calls them “very cool.” According to Murray, “the animals bounce back so quickly. It is a great substitute for full exploratory surgery.” She adds that all laparoscopic procedures conducted by the ASPCA have been successful to date.

During a recent surgery that lasted only 15 minutes, Murray inserted two tubes into a dog’s abdomen and threaded a tiny camera through the needle of one tube. As a result, the surgical team could observe the dog’s internal organs, including the liver and gallbladder, on a nearby screen. Through the second tube, Murray took a small sample of the liver for biopsy. The team then monitored the area for several minutes to ensure minimal bleeding, removed the tubes, and sutured the small incision.

Days later, Whisky, a 10-year old black Standard Poodle, and his pet parents received excellent news. The results of the biopsy indicated that the spunky Poodle had only a mild inflammatory condition of the liver, which was treated with medication.

“Although laparoscopy is a common procedure for humans, it is still relatively new in the field of veterinary medicine,” says Murray, who is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine. “It is a significant development because it’s minimally invasive and doesn’t require patients to stay overnight in recovery.”

The cost of laparoscopy, including the procedure, anaesthesia, intravenous catheter, and general care at ASPCA, runs in the $800–$900 range.

For more information, visit ASPCA.org/nyc.

Spotlight on: Hunter College Elementary School’s Animal Club

Students at Manhattan’s Hunter College Elementary School (HCES) are getting a lesson in love—love for animals, that is.

Rebecca Kreinen, an assistant teacher at HCES, oversees an after-school program called the Animal Club, which she created in 2006 as a response to a city-council mandate for schools to establish curricula incorporating humane education. The club is dedicated to promoting awareness for animal welfare.

“Animal Club was created in response to what I saw was a deep interest of the students in the community,” Kreinen says. “It was also an opportunity to expand involvement.”

As an animal lover herself, Kreinen says that she tries to incorporate fundamental values in the classroom and that Animal Club teaches compassion and development of character to her students.

“The program is supposed to inspire, educate, empower, and inform,” she says. “There is a natural love between children and animals—the innocence of a child is parallel to the innocence of an animal.”

Currently, Animal Club has 15 students ranging from those in kindergarten through sixth grade. It’s a wide range of ages that Kreinen sometimes finds to be difficult.

“The biggest hurdle is explaining to the kids that some shelters kill animals when they’re not adopted out in a certain amount of time,” Kreinen says. “It brings up a red flag when you don’t know how to properly tell a child how something happens. If you can’t tell a child that, you know something is wrong.”

In the past two years, Animal Club students have participated in numerous events, sponsoring animals in shelters, fundraising and donating money, taking field trips, hosting guest speakers, and creating quilts—with the help of their parents—for animals who are currently in search of their forever homes.

Sam Maser, a parent of an Animal Club student, takes extraordinary pride in the fact that a program like this was started. A humane education cannot only impact an animal’s life, it can also impact the community, Maser explains. “Humane education is very important because too many people think animals are disposable,” says Maser. “When people learn empathy for an animal, it translates to empathy for people.”

Maser’s daughter, Maude Lechner, shares her mother’s enthusiasm for her teacher. “I think she is good. In fact, she is great!” says the first-grade student.

Kreinen admits that she is proud of her work, not only as a teacher, but also in being able to pass along her passion for animals to others. “I came to realize that what I do has some impact on other life forms in the world,” she says. “I love the program, and I’m such a better person for being involved with it.”

Kreinen and the Animal Club are always looking for help and support from the community. If you wish to participate, donate, or even help sponsor a pet, please contact Rebecca Kreinen at rkreinen@hccs.hunter.cuny.edu. —Elizabeth Piwowarski