Green Acres Kennel Shop

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Contact:  Don Hanson
Green Acres Kennel Shop
945-6841

 [Bangor]¾ On Sunday, April 29th from 1PM until 4PM Green Acres Kennel Shop will hosting an open house to give people an opportunity to meet our two professional pet stylists; Paula Alexander and Amber Horr and to highlight our new expanded Sunday hours. Amber and Paula will be on hand to answer questions and will be providing free nail trims for all pets with proof of a current Rabies vaccination. Retail staff will be on hand to answer questions about pet food, products and to give kennel tours. All purchases of non-food merchandise will be 20% off during the open house.

Green Acres is now open between 8AM and 5PM on Sunday for Boarding, Grooming and retail sales.

Green Acres co-owner, Don Hanson, will also be presenting a free seminar that will focus on optimal nutrition for pets at 2PM. Hanson will discuss common myths about pet food and how to choose the best pet food for your pet while staying within your budget. He will help pet parents differentiate between the important information on a bag of pet food and the hype and will also demonstrate how to calculate the true cost of a pet food. The seminar is free but donations of cash or pet food for the Eastern Area Agency on Aging Furry Friends Food Bank will be accepted gratefully. Advanced registration is suggested.

In business since 1965, Green Acres Kennel Shop at 1653 Union Street is a Pet Care Services Association (PCSA) accredited facility offering boarding, daycare and grooming for dogs and cats, as well as pet behavior consultations and training classes. Voted Best Kennel every year since 2002, Best Pet Store every year since 2007, and Best Dog Trainer in 2011, the Green Acres retail store offers a wide variety of wholesome pet foods, treats and quality supplies. For more information, please call 945-6841 or visit www.greenacreskennel.com or https://www.facebook.com/GreenAcresKennelShop.

At Green Acres we encourage regular, consistent nail trims for our canine and feline friends. This keeps their nails short and also keeps our furry friends comfortable. Additionally, by ensuring your pets nails are trimmed frequently, they become more accustomed to the process and hence more relaxed over time. However, we recognize that many of you prefer to have us trim your nails which is why we offer a monthly Pet Pedicure Pass.

Pet Pedicure Passes may be purchased for $75.00 and entitle your pet to one nail trim per month for twelve months. This results in a cost of $6.25 per nail trim and an annual savings of $21.00.

Pet Pedicure Pass Terms and Agreements:

• Passes may be purchased in advance or at the time of the first nail trim and then used once a month for the next 11 months.
• Clients may come in on any day of the month for a nail trim, except Holidays, unless the pet is boarding.
• If a client does not come in on a particular month, the nail trim for that month is forfeited.
• Appointments are not necessary for nail trims, but please be advised that there may be a slight wait during our busier times.
• Clients are responsible for maintaining their Pet Pedicure Pass and it must be presented at the time of the nail trim, or the standard fee of $8.00 will be applied.
• GAKS is not responsible for misplaced passes.
• All dogs and cats arriving for nail trims must have proof of a current Rabies vaccination.

We have a new product from Nylabone which is causing us some concern. It's called the Nylabone Dura Chew and it consists of a shaped piece of nylon (see photos) with little red bumps on the surface (see below). It is labeled for "Powerful Chewers" but we have had clients return them because their dogs were easily able to break this toy apart. Inside are small plastic parts which could be ingested. While the company has not recalled this product we have removed it from our shelves. If you purchased this product from Green Acres we encourage you to bring it back for a full refund.
 If you purchased it eslewhere, we suggest you contact them to determine how they are handling this product.

From Our Friends at the Bangor Humane Society

Helping to Reduce the Number of Unwanted Pets - Low Income Spay / Neuter Program

Monday, February 6, 2012 – An estimated 6-8 million homeless animals enter animal shelters throughout theU.S. every year. The Bangor Humane Society alone takes in over 5,000 animals a year. Two-thirds of those animals are cats. That is why the Bangor Humane Society is thrilled to announce that due to the generosity of the Belvedere Animal Welfare Fund of the Maine Community Foundation, and from other generous local foundations, a Spay/Neuter Voucher Program for low-income cat and dog owners opens on February 6, 2012.

This program is available to anyone who receives or is eligible for Food Stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability (SSD), or Maine Care (Medicaid).  Starting on Monday, February 6^th, they can call 942-8902 to apply and then, if qualified; receive a voucher that they can use at participating veterinary practices.  For an average co-pay of $20 for male cats and $30 for female cats; $25 for male dogs and $40 for female dog (cost does not include additional fees that may be required by participating veterinarians) their pets can be spayed or neutered and receive a rabies shot.  The low-income spay/ neuter grant funds received by BHS will cover the remaining cost.

“The increased availability of spay/neuter will help to reduce the number of unwanted litters surrendered to animal shelters”, said Suzan Bell, Executive Director of the Bangor Humane Society. 

Last year BHS accepted 480 owner-relinquished dogs and 390 stray dogs.  During the same time it accepted 3,032 owner-relinquished cats and 597 stray cats.  Many of the dogs, and most of the cats, would not have arrived at BHS if owners had sterilized their pets.  In fact, many of the cats arrived at BHS pregnant or with a litter of kittens.

The funds available for the BHS program are limited and not expected to last more then a couple of months.  Last year, the BHS spay/neuter funds were able to assist over one hundred applicants, but almost 100 more names were put on a waiting list. 

Here are some of the facts about spaying and neutering:

• One female cat and her offspring can produce over 420,000 cats and kittens in seven years.
• One female dog and her offspring can produce over 67,000 dogs and puppies in six years.
• Neutered male dogs and cats are less likely to spray or mark their territory with urine than their unaltered counterparts.  They are also less likely to run away from home in search of a willing mate.
• A female kitten can get pregnant as early as 4 ½ months of age.
• It often costs less to have a pet spayed or neutered than to raise a litter of puppies or kittens to eight weeks of age.
• The Bangor Humane Society spays & neuters all pets before adoption into a new home. 

In addition to the grant funding, BHS is also implementing some other spay/neuter programs to help reduce the number of unwanted pets, available to assist those individuals in the community that do not qualify for the voucher program. BHS has contracted with local veterinarians to host a monthly feline spay/neuter clinic at the shelter. The clinic can accommodate a minimum of 40 felines per month and charges $25 per male cat and $50 per female cat. The clinic is cash only. For an additional fee, felines can also receive their rabies shot, flea and ear mite treatment, and nail clipping. Interested individuals can contact BHS for more details. Space is extremely limited and we have a waiting list through March.

Lastly, BHS is launching a new initiative called, “Spay Your Mama” available for female canine owners. If an owner’s female dog has recently had a litter of puppies, the Bangor Humane Society will spay the mom for nominal fee, if the owner surrenders the puppies for adoption. The mom dog will be returned to the original owner for a $50 reclaim fee, while the puppies are spayed or neutered and placed for adoption.

The community need for sustainable spay/neuter programs is vast and ongoing.  “The need is great (and increasing) in our region for low income spay / neuter programs, but the resources available through BHS, the State of Maine Animal Welfare program and other agencies are limited,” says Bell.

Each year the BHS cares for and works to find forever homes for more than 5000 homeless pets.  The Bangor Humane Society is an independent, non-profit organization, funded by local contributions and donations.  Finding safe homes for animals is not just our mission here at the Bangor Humane Society, it’s our tradition, and we thank the community for helping us accomplish this goal each day.