St. Stanislaus School benefit, 9 to 4 in Kolbe Hall, Adams. Bake sale, snack bar, games, Chinese auctions, money raffle, crafts, and pierogi.
Blackinton Union Church, 1373 Massachusetts Ave., North Adams; 10 to 2. Crafts table, bake sale, Chinese auction, the Christmas table, and kid's grab bag. Lunch $4, $2 kids.
First Congregational Church, North Adams, 9-2.
Nov. 28 Becket Federated Church, Route 8, holiday bazaar from 9-3. Lunch, crafts, baked goods, holiday and other items. Information: Mary Peltier, Parish House, 413-623-5217.
Dec. 5
Holiday Fair at First Congregational Church, 25 Park Place, Lee, from 10 to 3; handcrafted items, raffles, children's shop, bake sale, cut Christmas trees and lunch from 11 to 1. Includes angel-themed goods from SERRV. Information, 413-243-1033 or www.ucc-lee.org.
Dec. 12-13
North Adams Country Club, crafts 9-4; food from That's a Wrap from 11-2. Information: Sheryl Morehouse at 413-822-3329.
Planning a bazaar this season? Submit information to info@iberkshires.com to have it listed here.
We're trying out blogs to offer shorter, easy-to-find news. Let us know what you think.
Send press releases and announcements to info@iberkshires.com. Need to contact someone at iBerkshires? Here's how.
Mammography Dispute The government's issued controversial new guidelines stating that women shouldn't get annual mammograms until age 50, rather than age 40.
iBerkshires will be meeting with local medical experts Monday. Have a question you'd like answered on this issue? Send it info@iberkshires.com with "mammogram" in the subject line.
Berkshire Humane Society Announces New "Dog Blog" Web Page
02:19PM / Tuesday, February 17, 2009
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – The Berkshire Humane Society announces their new “Dog Blog” on the organizations website www.berkshirehumane.org. The features of the blog include videos of adoptable dogs, behind-the-scenes looks at the shelter's canine activities, and information on current animal welfare issues.
It was created with 3 main goals in mind: 1. To showcase dogs available for adoption. 2. To share the shelter's canine activities with the community. 3. To educate the public about companion animal welfare issues.
John Perreault, Executive Director of the shelter says,“ The Dog Blog Videos show what the dogs are capable of and how much of the staff’s time is spent on canine enrichment while they are at BHS. We have been successful in adopting two of our longer term canine residents, Corky and Tucker, in part because the new owners viewed the dogs at play and interacting with staff on these videos,” he added.
The Videos Dog Blogs are not just a quick clip of an animal playing fetch, each Dog Blog feature video is a playful, quirky mini-bio, complete with subtitles and music. In them, a dog can be seen in action: running an agility course, being trained, playing with staff, or just hamming it up. “It’s a great way to give potential adopters a view of the dogs that they just can't get from seeing them in the kennel,” added Perreault.
A common belief is that dogs in shelters sit and languish in their kennels all day. At BHS, this is far from the truth, and the Dog Blog has articles, videos, and photos showcasing the many canine activities that the shelter provides for its residents. Present and future posts cover such topics as: agility, obedience training, socialization, feeding toys, play training, and relaxation training. These posts give the community a behind-the-scenes look at what life is like for BHS dogs.
Getting information to the public is imperative to improving animal welfare. The Dog Blog provides Berkshire Humane with a voice to do so. Many animal welfare issues are especially pertinent to animal shelters because shelters are directly affected by them. For example, a two-part welfare post was recently done on internet puppy sales. When behaviorally or physically unhealthy “internet puppies” are no longer able to be cared for by the families who bought them (often from many states away, from someone they never meet), they often end up at animal shelters because the people they came from will not take them back.
BHS canine staff member Liz MacHaffie is the Dog Blog blogger and began the site in September. She says, "A blog is an ideal format for an animal shelter to communicate with the public: It is easily accessible to most people, can host photos and videos, provides a venue for discussion via comments, and is free." BHS hopes the Dog Blog will have a positive impact on animal welfare, both for the dogs at the shelter and in Berkshire County.
Purdue University Press is releasing a new book, Inside Animal Hoarding, which profiles one of the largest and most intriguing cases of animal hoarding in recent history. Celeste Killeen's investigation pries open the door to Barbara Erickson's hidden and closely guarded life, offering an in-depth view of animal hoarding. Dr. Arnold Arluke's discussion follows the Erickson story with current research on animal hoarding and how it ties into the Erickson case. This integration of investigative journalism and scholarship offers a fresh approach with appeal to a broad audience of readers, those new to learning about the phenomenon, and those with first-hand experience in the animal welfare field.
from: Celeste Killeen
on: 02-18-2009
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