Treasured Pets Foundation

Please help us save millions of our treasured feline and canine family members. You are the solution to the growing problem facing millions of treasured pets, companion animals, and their guardians—millions of animals are being euthanized annually. With your contributions, we can provide the tools and support system that many struggling families and individuals need. Our success relies on you—whether you offer $5 or $5,000—we can only battle this deadly phenomenon with your support. Whether joining our community as a monthly donor or making a one-time gift, your support is crucial in achieving our mission. Your contribution goes toward developing our first two programs, Education for Parental Responsibility and Financial Aid for Urgent Medical Care. Thank you in advance for your consideration and helping us combat Economic Euthanasia. Click on the link to give now https://lnkd.in/dAc4bD88

Do you know where the term "sic 'em" originated? Pet guardians have been telling dogs to “sic ’em,” with the intent to have the dog attack since at least the nineteenth century. While this may seem odd given common modern definitions for “sick” or the variant “sic,” when this command first emerged, it made perfect sense. “Sick,” in this context, had nothing to do with the word meaning unwell, ill, or ailing but instead was simply a linguistic nuance of “seek,” which used to carry the meaning of seeking with the intent to attack. This meaning of the word “seek” was used as far back as around 1000 AD in the Old English epic poem, Beowulf. The date of composition is a matter of contention among scholars; the only certain date is for the manuscript, which was produced between 975 and 1025 AD. The first known instance of someone instructing a dog to attack someone using this “sic 'em” command occurred in Johnson J. Hooper’s 1845 Adventures of Captain Simon Suggs, "Here, Bull!" shouted the widow, "Sick him, Pomp!" but we cantered off, unwounded, fortunately, by the fangs of Bull and Pomp, who kept up the chase as long as they could hear the cheering voice of their mistress--"Si-c-k, Pomp--sick, sick, si-c-k him" Johnson J. Hooper

Why Spaying & Neutering Your Canine and Feline Loved Ones Is Essential One of the underlying causes of Economic Euthanasia stems from a lack of understanding of how important spaying and neutering are to the health of our canine and feline family members and the management of overpopulation. A fertile dog can produce an average of two sets of offspring annually and over 500 puppies can be born from one unspayed female dog and her offspring in seven years. The U.S. ratio of dogs to humans is about one to four. A fertile cat can produce an average of three litters annually. The average number of kittens in a feline litter is four to six, or 12 to 18 kittens annually from a single kitty. Within seven years, a single unspayed female cat and her offspring can give birth to around 5,000 kittens. According to the AVMA, the capture, impoundment, and eventual euthanasia of unwanted animals costs taxpayers and private humanitarian agencies over a billion dollars each year. According to the National Council of Pet Population Study, Shelter Statistics Survey, 56% of dogs and 71% of cats that enter shelters are euthanized. According to the ASPCA, roughly 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide yearly — of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. Spaying and neutering are essential in mitigating overpopulation and the health of our treasured pets and companion animals. Thus, spaying and neutering are critical in the relief of Economic Euthanasia. The average lifespan of spayed and neutered cats and dogs is demonstrably longer than those not. A University of Georgia study, based on the medical records of more than 70,000 animal patients, found that the life expectancy of neutered male dogs was 13.8% longer and that of spayed female dogs was 26.3% longer. The average age of death of intact dogs was 7.9 years versus a significantly older 9.4 years for altered dogs. Help us disrupt, combat, and alleviate Economic Euthanasia. To learn more about this deadly issue and how you can help, visit https://lnkd.in/dWaBx_3i.

How enormous is the Economic Euthanasia problem? Economic Euthanasia causes millions of our treasured canine and feline family members an early death. Increasingly annually, millions of pets and companion animals are being euthanized for the sole purpose of meeting their guardian's financial needs. It's a problem referred to as Economic Euthanasia — a condition in which euthanasia is elected based principally on the cost of veterinary care for animals that are treatable or have curable medical conditions. Often, the first step toward Economic Euthanasia is the animal shelter and then, when shelters become unable to sustain their inventory, animals are euthanized. This form of euthanasia, however, is classified as "Institutional Economic Euthanasia ". According to The World Animal Fund (2024), "More than 6.5 million animals entered U.S. shelters and rescues in 2023, marking the fourth consecutive year of overpopulation and adoption rates insufficient to meet the challenge." According to The World Animal Fund, on average, approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year — roughly 3.1 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. Each year, approximately 920,000 shelter animals are euthanized (390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats). Although 4.8 million cats and dogs were adopted in 2023, adoptions can’t keep pace with animal intake as economic factors such as job loss, inflation, and housing costs challenge owners to consider a pet or try to maintain one. According to the president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Matt Bershadker, "With more animals entering shelters than leaving, animal welfare organizations and their communities need to continue working together to keep pets in loving homes and out of shelters, including finding ways to increase access to veterinary care and advocating for pet-friendly housing policies." Help us disrupt, combat, and alleviate Economic Euthanasia. To learn more about this deadly issue and how you can help, visit https://lnkd.in/dWaBx_3i.

Cats and dogs - Best friends or deadly enemies? According to researchers, studies confirm the common beliefs about the sociability of dogs and the privacy of cats, but this does not result in continuous internal struggles. Most cohabitations are peaceful. Moreover, they speak different languages but appear to understand each other well and interpret each other's approaches properly. Thus, aspiring pet guardians should not blindly believe popular assumptions, but both knowledge and respect for species-specific pet behaviors are essential to establish harmony and balance in the household. The dog's sociability and interspecific communication skills are widely recognized, even by observational studies. Several researches, comparing dogs’ social skills with those of wolves or chimpanzees, have emphasized the role of domestication and selective processes on dogs’ sociability. For cats, however, the issue of sociability is even more controversial. Contrary to the dog, today's domestic cat is the product of natural selection in which humans have intervened relatively recently. Dogs were the first to be domesticated and have shared a common ecological niche with humans for longer than any other species — between 20-40,000 years ago! Domestic cats, however, are thought to be between 10,000 to 12,000 years old. Help us disrupt, combat, and alleviate Economic Euthanasia. To learn more about this deadly issue and how you can help, visit https://lnkd.in/dWaBx_3i. To read the 2020 study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted by the National Library of Medicine, visit https://lnkd.in/dQ4GpQHs

How many pet parents and US households with pets consider their pets part of the family? According to a new Pew Research Center survey, nearly all US pet parents (97%) consider their pets part of their family. About half of pet guardians (51%) not only consider their pets to be a part of their family but say they are as much a part of their family as a human member. Then, why do the Economic Euthanasia statistics continue to rise annually? Would you euthanize a family member? Okay, don't answer that! Help us disrupt, combat, and alleviate Economic Euthanasia. To learn more about this deadly issue and how you can help, visit us at https://lnkd.in/dWaBx_3i. https://lnkd.in/drzKkJkR

Economic Euthanasia— Do you know what it is and who's affected? Economic Euthanasia (EE) can be defined as 1) A condition in which euthanasia is selected based principally or to a great extent on the cost of veterinary medical care; 2) A condition in which veterinary care is bypassed based on the anticipated cost of urgent or curative care, and the progression of illness leads to euthanasia' or 3) A condition in which veterinary care is sought and minimal or no testing/treatment is elected based on the costs of care, resulting in subsequent euthanasia. With veterinary costs continually rising and household incomes declining, millions of pet caretakers are forced to make daunting decisions, either pay for basic living needs or seek curative medical treatments for their furry family members—often for common, easily treatable conditions. Although animal euthanasia incidents are not well documented and estimates vary, conservative figures reveal that nearly 70% of all euthanizations are due to economic reasons solely, however, according to many medical experts, this deadly figure is much higher. Millions of our canine and feline loved ones are euthanized annually and there's no end in sight. What unfortunate parties engage in Economic Euthanasia? Together with our loved canine and feline family members, the parties that primarily suffer from Economic Euthanasia are those who must engage in the unwanted but unavoidable measures—predominantly animal shelters, pet parents, and companion animal guardians. Help us disrupt, combat, and alleviate Economic Euthanasia. To learn more about this deadly issue and how you can help, visit https://lnkd.in/dWaBx_3i.

Do you know which canine species gave birth to all of today's dogs? Recent evidence proves that dogs are descended from the gray wolf (Canis lupus), domesticated about 130,000 years ago. But if they all share a common ancestor, why do toy poodles, German Shepherds, French Bulldogs, Dachshunds, and Great Danes appear to have little in common? We can thank the dog's best friends—humans. Decades of selective breeding by humans have resulted in the synthetic evolution of dogs into many different types or breeds. And, while there's only one species of dog—Canis lupus familiaris—a domesticated subspecies of the gray wolf; there are over 400 recognized dog breeds, each with distinct traits like body size, fur type, and coat color. These breeds have naturally and synthetically evolved over thousands of years due to human interaction and artificial selection. Visit our website at https://lnkd.in/d-MFz5rW

Welcome to the Treasured Pets LinkedIn page. Treasured Pets Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization incorporated in Florida. We are located in the St. Petersburg - Clearwater, FL area. The organization was formed by myself and Jason Testa for the sole purpose of disrupting and combatting Economic Euthanasia. We are dedicated to empowering pet and companion animal parents with the knowledge and resources needed to enhance and extend the lives of their beloved canine and feline companions. If you want to learn more about our organization and the Economic Euthanasia problem or stay up-to-date with us, follow our LinkedIn Page and visit us at https://lnkd.in/d-MFz5rW. Our Core Attitude and Belief… We don't own our pets or companion animals — We care for and love them just as they love us in their special way. We hope to see you join our community of animal and pet guardians. Sincerely, George J. Bianchi Cofounder, President & Executive Director