This information is provided as a public service from FOMCA (Friends of Madison County Animals): Pet Pantry Pet food is available to families in financial crisis who are having difficulty feeding their cats and dogs. Pantry hours are any time during normal business hours, 9:30 am to 1:30 pm, Monday & Wednesday; 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Tuesday & Thursday. We partner with Manna Food Bank in Asheville, NC who supply us with most of our pet food to be donated. We also welcome food donations from individuals and other companies. Ingles has donated dog and cat food to our... Continue reading

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Have you noticed the term “DE&I” bandied about lately by politicians, business leaders and heads of institutions? If you’re “woke,” then you know it stands for “Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.” What does that really mean? In the context of government or business policies, it basically represents treating everyone equally, regardless... Continue reading

Recent research suggests that consumer behavior is evolving when it comes to consumption. Two of the study's authors, Deborah Small (marketing professor at Wharton/University of Pennsylvania) and Carey Morewedge (marketing professor at Questrom School of Business/Boston University) were interviewed in a podcast for Knowledge@Wharton. They identify two important changes in... Continue reading

Blue Ridge Humane Society is offering free pet food on Monday, April 12 from 3 PM to 5:30 PM at Blue Ridge Humane Society AdoptionCenter, 88 Centipede Lane, Hendersonville, NC 28792. Cat and dog food will be distributed first come, first serve, as supplies last to those in need or affected by COVID-19. Social distancing and protective measures will be taken by all staff and we ask the public to do the same during the drive-thru pick-up. Masks are required to be worn during pick-up. Food will be distributed car-side, so all you need to do is pull up and... Continue reading

Gather your favorite hiking buddy, canine or human, and explore the amazing trails in the Hendersonville, NC area thanks to the work of Conserving Carolina in support of Blue Ridge Humane Society. During the week of April 11-18th hit the trails that have been made possible by Conserving Carolina with your favorite two- or four-legged friend and complete additional challenges for prizes from Blue Ridge Humane Society and Conserving Carolina! Hike options: Bearwallow Mountain: a moderate 2 mile round trip through beautiful woods to an open bald that is accessible thanks to a conservation easement and trail building by Conserving... Continue reading

Hiking Hounds is one of the most popular Asheville Humane Society volunteer activities. Each month, volunteers take shelter dogs on hikes as part of the enrichment programming. You'll spend a few hours in Bent Creek hiking the trails with dogs who will love you for it. The April hikes are every Sunday in April - April 4, 11, 18, and 25. Spots for two new hikers will be available on each hike. If you are a new hiker… once you sign up for a hike you will be sent a link to a virtual orientation. You must watch this, and... Continue reading

Ageism is a global issue, as I indicated in my previous post. One powerful and potentially lasting way to fight against ageism is to foster greater connections between older and younger generations. The generational divide -- caused as much by tribalism as by age -- may seem difficult to overcome,... Continue reading

Writing for Marketing Profs, Tim Brown says today, brands need to have quick reflexes. While the word "responsive" is most often associated with websites, Brown writes that the term "is better suited to describe a brand that can quickly adapt its marketing to communicate relevant messaging to customers as soon... Continue reading

Dogs can suffer from dimentia just like humans. About 68 percent of dogs ages 15 to 16, and 28 percent of dogs ages 11 to 12, are affected by Cognitive Dysfunction Syndrome (CDS). This helpful article discusses in detail signs, symptoms and treatments for CDS. According to the article: Many vets use the acronym DISHAAL to assess for cognitive dysfunction. DISHAAL stands for Disorientation alterations in Interactions with owners, other pets and the environment Sleep-wake cycle disturbances House soiling changes in Activity Anxiety Learning and memory impairment. If your dog exhibits any of the above signs, it could be CDS... Continue reading

Each year, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) releases a list of the leading pet toxins. These substances are commonly found in most every home so, as a dog owner, you should be aware of their danger. The following information is from the ASPCA. For the third year in a row, human over-the-counter (OTC) medications lead the top toxins list, making up nearly 17 percent of APCC’s total case volume. The most common items in this category include cold medications, vitamins, and pain relievers such as ibuprofen, naproxen, and acetaminophen, which can all cause life-threatening medical issues. Because these... Continue reading

Now you can train your dog using advanced machine learning through a company called Companion. Check this out from their website, joincompanion.com : Companion develops technology that automatically trains dogs to high levels using machine learning, robotics, computer vision, and state of the art reward-based training. Our products create high-quality solutions to the most pressing dog training and welfare issues for professional working dog businesses, boarding facilities, trainers and consumers. The Companion team includes world-class technologists, animal welfare experts, researchers, and entrepreneurs. We’ve partnered with the SF SPCA, Google, and top tier venture investors to bring a new category of... Continue reading

Blue Ridge Humane Society is offering free pet food on Saturday, March 27 from 10 AM to 1 PM at the Boys & Girls Club of Henderson County, 1304 Ashe St., Hendersonville, NC 28792. Cat and dog food will be distributed first come, first serve, as supplies last to those in need or affected by COVID-19. Social distancing and protective measures will be taken by all staff and we ask the public to do the same during the drive-thru pick-up. Masks are required to be worn during pick-up. Food will be distributed car-side, so all you need to do is... Continue reading

Who would think that WHO (the World Health Organization) would launch something called the "Global Campaign to Combat Ageism"? But they just did, stating this compelling reason: "Ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination against people on the basis of their age. Ageism is pervasive and has profound negative consequences... Continue reading

The latest "Brand Relevance Index" from Prophet measures brands across four characteristics generally shared by the most relevant: customer obsession; ruthlessness; pragmatism; distinct inspiration; and pervasive innovation. As reported by Marketing Charts, the ten most relevant brands for 2021 are: Apple Peloton KitchenAid Mayo Clinic LEGO Costco Honda Johns Hopkins... Continue reading

Greenville Humane Society (Greenville, SC) is offering $5 rabies vaccinations through the end of March. They are now accepting walk-in visitors from 9 AM through 3 PM for all vaccine clinic services. The number of clients in the building at any one time will be limited, however. Please call (864) 263-5611 before you come to avoid a wait time when visiting without an appointment. Alternatively, you can make an appointment here: https://www.greenvillehumane.com/vaccine-clinic/ Continue reading

One of the most popular dog breeds isn't a breed at all -- it's the mixed breed, sometimes affectionately known as a "mutt." The mixed breed is found throughout dogdom, very often available at animal shelters and rescue organizations. It turns out that mixed breed dogs are typically healthier than pure-bred dogs, so they are among the best dogs to own. Still, many dog owners would like to know the breeds that actually make up their dogs. This is the main reason dog DNA tests have flooded the market. Testing your dog's DNA is likely to be the most accurate... Continue reading

As dogs age, they slow down, exhibit behavior more typical of seniors and sometimes develop health conditions -- just like humans. If you have a senior dog, you probably already deal with some of these issues. If so, you will want to read an excellent and informative article, "Preventive Care for Senior Dogs" from the Dog Aging Project. This article offers comprehensive, authoritative answers to the following questions: How often should I take my senior dog to the veterinarian? What signs should I look for that would prompt me to take my aging dog to the veterinarian sooner than six... Continue reading

There are plenty of dangers lurking out there for marketers. MarketingSherpa reports in detail on eight dangers in a highly informative article. Among them are: Blindly trusting data - Don't place "blind trust in your tools and platforms to spit out accurate data and recommendations... Track everything!" Unnecessary barriers that... Continue reading

One of the most striking effects of this year-long pandemic has been the remarkable shift to the online world. Many Boomers were already comfortable communicating digitally, getting information from websites and ordering products online, but there has been a virtual explosion (pun intended) of online everything lately. Just a few... Continue reading

Hiking Hounds is one of the most popular Asheville Humane Society volunteer activities. Each month, volunteers take shelter dogs on hikes as part of the enrichment programming. You'll spend a few hours in Bent Creek hiking the trails with dogs who will love you for it. The next hike is on Sunday, March 21. Spots for two new hikers will be available on each hike. If you are a new hiker… once you sign up for a hike you will be sent a link to a virtual orientation. You must watch this, and sign a waiver before attending a hike.... Continue reading

"Canine enrichment" is a phrase dog behaviorists use to define specific ways for how to make a dog's life happy and healthy. In a recent article for The Bark, animal behaviorist and dog trainer Karen London discusses tips which she discovered in the book, Canine Enrichment for the Real World: Making It a Part of Your Dog’s Daily Life by Allie Bender and Emily Strong. London highlights the following important points about enrichment: "Ideal enrichment varies by individual as well as by breed" "Providing choices to a dog is a great form of enrichment" "Physical exercise affects the brain, mood,... Continue reading

Here's a novel program in our area you may not know about. The "New Leash on Life" program is a collaboration between Mountain Pet Rescue Asheville, Jenny White of Dog-Ed, an Asheville-based certified dog trainer, and Craggy Correctional Center, a medium security prison for men. Four dogs are placed with eight inmate trainers at Craggy for a period of eight to twelve weeks. During the training time, dogs are taught basic obedience, house training, and socialization through positive reinforcement training and repetition. Dogs are taught to walk off and on leash and to respond to basic commands. At the end... Continue reading

We've all been focused on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of late due to the pandemic -- so this is one piece of data from the CDC you may have missed: The growth of the country's 100-plus age group is impressive; it has increased by 44 percent since 2000.... Continue reading

Last year may have been generally challenging for marketers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but one bright spot was the continued resilience of email marketing. Open rates increased even as the volume of email grew, according to the latest report on the state of email marketing, as reported by Marketing... Continue reading