Entries Tagged 'atlanta' ↓

Flying Change Equine Therapy, an Atlanta-based non-profit organization, is offering two week-long camps for teens this summer, “Learning with Horses” and “Healing with Horses.” The Equine Assisted Learning and Equine Assisted Psychotherapy-based programs use activities with horses to help teens in Vinings and South Atlanta develop emotional skills.

“Learning with Horses”
A fun, week-long camp that partners horses in activities to help girls learn essential emotional and life skills to become confident, thriving young women.

Who: Girls only ages 11-15
Cost: $250
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday
Dates:
June 7-11 (Fairburn location)
June 14- 18 (Vinings location)
June 21-25 (Fairburn location)
July 26-July 30 (Vinings location)
Registration: Call Jennifer Huffaker, Program Director at (678) 462-8905
Please bring a bag lunch and wear sneakers or boots.

“Healing with Horses”
An equine assisted psychotherapy camp partnering horses to help youth
Learn: communication, coping skills, impulse control, anger management, teamwork, and problem-solving. Camp is facilitated by a licensed therapist and an equine specialist with
advanced training with using horses in mental health.

Who: Girls and Boys, ages 11-15
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Monday through Friday
Dates:
July 5-9 (Fairburn location,Girls only)
July 12-16 (Vinings location, Girls only)
July 19-23 (Vinings location, Boys only)
Registration & Cost: Call Jennifer Huffaker, Program Director (678) 462-8905 to register
Please bring a bag lunch and wear sneakers or boots

For more information on Flying Change Equine Therapy, please contact Kristin Hauch, Director of Marketing, Flying Change Equine Therapy, 404-502-0283 or visit www.flyingchange.org.

Beltline Dog Walk

Times like this I really wish I had a dog.

Atlanta City Councilmember Kwanza Hall is inviting dogs and dog owners to join him for a walk on the Beltline tomorrow, June 12, at 9 a.m.

Irwin Street Market at 660 Irwin Street is the meet up location. The market will have free gourmet doggie treats, a water station, and for humans, gourmet coffee and tea.

Hall recommends that dog walkers wear sturdy walking or tennis shoes.

From the Irwin Street entrance to the Beltline, Hall will lead the group north to Somerset Avenue, where Hall will point out progress on the City’s newest greenspace, Historic Fourth Ward Park. Along the way, walkers will view temporary art installations included in this month’s Art on the Beltline initiative. See more about Art on the Beltline activities here.

Before heading back to Irwin Street, the dogs will enjoy refreshments and receive coupons for discounted spa treatments at Barking Hound Village Dog Spa.

For more information about the Beltline Dog Walk with Councilmember Hall, contact Hall’s office: 404-330-6038 or khall@atlantaga.gov. For information on the morning of the walk, contact 404-406-5296.

See more June events for Atlanta pet lovers.

Sometimes, it’s nice to get together with owners of similar dogs, to exchange breed-specific tips, learn more about the dog or just socialize. Here are several active dog owner meetup groups in the Atlanta area:

ATL-And -All Of -Georgia-GSD-Meetup Group (German Shepherds socializing)
Previous meetup:  Sweat Mountain Park

Atlanta’s Great Danes
Meets first Sunday of the month at Piedmont Park Dog Park

The Atlanta Rat Terrier (and similar dogs) Meetup
Next Meetup – Willis Park Pet Adoption Event – Alpharetta, GA

MUST LOVE DOGS’ Mutt Meetup
Previous meetup: CPR, First Aid and Care for Your Pets

The Marietta-Roswell Chihuahua Meetup Group
Meets 3rd Sunday of the month

Boston Terrier Meetup of Atlanta
Previous meetup: Burger Park

The Atlanta Pug Meetup Group
Next meetup: June 5

ATLANTA UNLEASHED! (on and off-leash recreation, such as hikes and dog parks)
Next meetup: June 2  Gwinnett Braves Bark in the Park

Dog hikers of Kennesaw Mountain
Next meetup: June 6 Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

The carriage horse involved in a crash earlier this month likely won’t work again.

Christy, the horse, sustained only minor injuries when a Lexus driver rear-ended a carriage carrying four people in what police said was a drag-racing incident. But she was so traumatized in the accident that her owner told the AJC her career is over.

“I just don’t want to take a chance,” owner Cecil White said.

The driver was charged with following too closely, driving on a suspended license and violating the open container law. The driver and his three female passengers had to be hospitalized, and the horse ran off.

Christy was considered the “Rolls Royce” of the stable because of her calm demeanor and eagerness to work. White said he would keep her at the Fantasy Carriages barn on Tift Street. He invited the public to visit her.

The animal-rights group PETA called on Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to ban horse-drawn carriages.

What’s your favorite place to go in Atlanta with your pet: Toy store? Dog park? Pet-friendly dance club? Scoutmob wants to know.

Send your answers to sweatervest@scoutmob.com or via Twitter @scoutmob.

Credit: Animal Planet

Each week on Animal Planet’s “It’s Me or the Dog”, British dog trainer Victoria Stilwell wows viewers with her ability to charm unruly pets into well-mannered family members. Stilwell lives in Buckhead with her husband, daughter and chocolate Labrador Sadie. We spoke about the transition from acting to training, her passion for positive reinforcement and the two dogs she couldn’t train.

You can read the interview here on AOL’s Paw Nation, along with two questions that weren’t published:

Did you have a dog growing up in England?
We weren’t allowed. My grandmother was a beagle breeder…and I spent a lot of time there. My father and mother both worked and they knew they didn’t have time for animals but I used to beg and beg and beg, “Please can I have a dog?” It never worked.

Where did you get the idea for the TV show?
I was living in New York and I watched the first episode of the American “Super Nanny”. I remember just getting so excited and thinking, “I do that with dogs. What a fantastic idea for a TV show.” I found the producers and emailed them and the next day, I got a phone call.

Tickets are now on sale for Atlanta Lab Rescue‘s 6th BARK FOR ART to benefit homeless and abused Labrador Retrievers and Lab mixes throughout Georgia.

WHAT: Culinary treats, wines, live entertainment and a silent art auction

WHEN: Saturday, May 15, 7-10 p.m.

WHERE: Mason Murer Fine Art Gallery in Atlanta

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $50 at the door or $45 through PayPal online at www.atlantalabrescue.com. Admission includes food, beverages and entertainment.

The circus zebra that broke through its enclosure last month and stopped traffic in downtown Atlanta is dead.

A statement put out by Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey says veterinarians were unable to repair the animal’s hooves, which she injured while running around the city, despite “numerous medical treatments.”

Spokeswoman Crystal Drake told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution it “wouldn’t have been humane to keep it alive.”

Source: Georgia Aquarium

The Georgia Aquarium announced today that beluga whales are back in the Georgia-Pacific Cold Water Quest gallery.

Maris, a 15-year-old female, returned after a few months at SeaWorld San Antonio, joined by her mate, Beethoven, an 18-year-old male who spent most of his life at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma, Wash., the aquarium said. They were flown in on a FedEx cargo plane, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The pair is still getting acclimated, and the aquarium has not announced when they will go on public view.

The aquarium temporarily moved its three belugas — Maris, her mother, Natasha, and Nico, a male — to Sea World San Antonio while it made some changes to Cold Water Quest, the AJC said.

Natasha will remain in San Antonio, because a mate has been found for her there. Nico, whom the Georgia Aquarium had rescued in 2005 from a Mexico City attraction, died in San Antonio suddenly of unspecified causes on Oct. 31. He was the third of Georgia Aquarium’s belugas to die. Gaspar, who had arrived with Nico, was euthanized in January 2007 because of a bone disease he contracted before coming to Atlanta. Both whales had significant health problems from their times in a foreign park, Dr. Gregory D. Bossart, chief veterinary officer at the aquarium, told CNN at the time.

Another beluga whale, Marina, died later that year from complications of old age.

There are just 36 belugas in captivity in North America, housed at eight aquariums.

While many of us humans were stalled in traffic this afternoon, dogs around Atlanta got to romp in the snow storm. Like this happy dachschund, Napolean, shot by Elaine LaRiviere:

Credit: Elaine LaRiviere