by Shannon Escobedo

Shannon Escobedo is an Animal Advocate & Volunteer Manager at Valley Animal Center in Fresno, California. VAC shares their animal rescue adventures with us every month. Check out KRL’s interview with VAC to learn more about what they do.

Looking for a resolution for 2016? Try one (or more!) to start your year and your pet’s year, off the right way!

1. Spay and Neuter Your Pets
Do your part to help the pet overpopulation crisis by getting your animals fixed. This is also very good for your pets’ healthy, as it increases their life span, makes them less likely to contract reproductive cancers or diseases, and decreases aggression, marking of territory, and desire to roam.

Shanti, female, 13.5-year-old Domestic Shorthaired-mix available at VAC

2. Have Your Pets Micro chipped
Micro chipping your animals is a simple and quick procedure that can save your pets’ life if they get lost. Shelters and veterinary clinics have scanners that they can use to determine if a found pet is micro chipped. If the pet is micro chipped, the number can be used to find the owners’ phone number and address to get the pet safely back home.

3. Vaccinate Your Pets, and Don’t Put Puppies on the Ground Until They Are Fully Vaccinated!
Vaccinating your pets is a simple way to protect them against the many viruses and bacteria that attempt to get into their system. One of the worst of these attacks dogs, particularly young puppies, called Parvovirus. It can live in the ground or on surfaces for many years, and if a puppy is put on the ground before they have all three sets of their Parvo vaccines, it can infect them. If your puppy starts vomiting, is listless, loses interest in food, or you see blood in their stool, have them taken to a clinic or veterinarian immediately to get a Parvo test. If detected early enough, aggressive treatment with fluids can save your puppy’s life, but Parvo is very often fatal within just a few days without treatment.

4. Adopt From a Shelter if You are Considering Adding a New Pet
With so many stray and abandoned animals being put to sleep for lack of space each day, the easiest way to save a life is to adopt an animal from a shelter. Not only are you giving that pet a second chance at a forever home, you are also freeing up space for another animal to be rescued.

5. Fight Pet Obesity With Proper Exercise and Food Amounts
Daily exercise with your pet for 30 minutes –1 hour a day can really help them stay fit and active, such as walking or running with your dog or playing chase-the-toy with your cat. Also, make sure to feed your pet the amount recommended for their ideal weight so they do not over-eat. Lastly, cutting out feeding them table scraps or other human foods can significantly help reduce pet weight gain. Obese animals suffer from the same maladies as obese humans, such as joint and back problems, diabetes, and shorter life spans.

Mocha, female, 2.5-year-old German Shepherd-mix available from VAC

6. Try to Spend More Time With Your Pets
In today’s busy world, there is sometimes very little time to sit back and relax, or to spend with our friends and family. Please remember that our pets also desire attention and love, so make sure to take a few moments each day to spend with your animals to make them feel special and loved, too!

If you are looking to adopt a new furry family member this January, remember that the dogs and cats at the Valley Animal Center are either spayed or neutered, vaccinated, micro chipped, de-wormed, and given a topical flea and tick treatment. We also have a low-cost spay, neuter, and vaccination clinic to serve your existing pets!

For more information, call (559) 233-8717 for the Dog Adoption Center, (559) 233-8554 for the Cat Adoption Center, or (559) 233-8706 for the Spay and Neuter Clinic. Thank you and happy New Year!

Keep up with VAC’s animal rescue adventures here at KRL, and learn more about adopting from them, volunteering, and donating to VAC on their website If you advertise with KRL you can designate 10% of your ad fees to go to VAC.

Check out more animal rescue stories in our Pet Perspective section. Advertise in KRL and 10% of your advertising fees can go to a local animal rescue.