Making the News

The emBARK on Pet Health campaign asks pet owners to take a simple pledge to become more mindful of their pet’s ongoing needs at www.embarkonpethealth.com. Each pledge will trigger the donation of a Sergeant’s Pet Health Kit, which with the help of American Humane Association will be sent to help one of the millions of animals waiting for their forever homes at local shelters nationwide.

Next Sunday, almost nine million viewers—the same number as have clicked on “My Dog Can Talk!” on YouTube—will tune in to Puppy Bowl IX. The Animal Planet halftime show features a kitten scrimmage, with hedgehog cheerleaders dressed in tutus. An AHA safety rep was on the set for filming.

Ken Gold, 55, became a certified animal representative with the American Humane Association 11 years ago, assigned to monitor films to ensure no harm comes to animals on a set. Gold has worked on more than 230 film productions, including "Marley & Me," "Contagion" and "Django Unchained."

American Humane Association's Red Star Animal Emergency Services will offer its Basic Animal Emergency Services training on Feb. 6 and 7 in West Palm Beach to teach residents how to help rescue and care for animals in times of disaster.

The nonprofit org tasked with ensuring the safety of animals used in film and TV productions is asking the industry to step up with more funding to expand its monitoring efforts.

Most recently, Super Storm Sandy has displaced what looks to be thousands of pets. According to the American Humane Association, some 15 million dogs were in the storm’s path. Search and rescue operations and temporary emergency shelters for pets lost in the storm are in full effect to help reunite families with their animals. Visit TakeWinterByStorm.org for more information and helpful resources, such as a downloadable preparedness and maintenance checklists and emergency contact cards.

There were hundreds of first responders on the ground waiting for Hurricane Sandy. Among them was the American Humane Association's Red Star Animal Emergency Services Team. Their rescue rig equipped with a veterinary suite, boats and animal handling equipment was transported from Tennessee and pre-staged in Pennsylvania. Animal shelters were set up adjacent to the Red Cross shelters that housed evacuees. According to one of the Red Star staffers, every animal in the path of Sandy's howling winds knew something was happening.

After a series of deaths among animals used during production of Oscar-winning director Peter Jackson’s long-awaited adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, two leading animal rights organizations are seeking an expansion of oversight during filming.

Four in 10 individuals say that the loss of a childhood pet due to injury, disease or old age continues to affect them as adults—and even more adults (44 percent) still have strong feelings about a pet that was given away, ran away or had an uncertain disposition.