Delta Society Pooch Parade is beneficial to everyone involved

Dear Heloise: On behalf of the Delta Society of San Antonio, I would like to thank you for serving as our emcee for the Fiesta Pooch Parade, our annual fundraiser, on April 29, 2006. As you know, Delta San Antonio is part of a nationwide all-volunteer organization dedicated to bringing people and animals together for healing. Our registered Pet Partner teams (mostly dogs and cats, but it can be other animals, such as rabbits) visit people in health-care facilities, including nursing homes, hospitals, assisted-living centers and hospices.
Our teams also work in the public school systems to help fledgling readers develop confidence and reading fluency. Their success rate is measured by state-mandated testing called TAKS and has proven to be beneficial for those who've participated.
Another area of involvement is participating in patient rehabilitation. Animals have a proven beneficial effect on patients, both physically and psychologically. The patients use the animals to help them regain use of their limbs after injuries or illnesses. Furthermore, animals can help comfort people exposed to trauma, giving them calmness and a sense of well-being as well as improving their ability to deal with the world. For information about the human-animal health connection, visit www.deltasociety.org.
For more information about the Delta Society in San Antonio, you can visit www.deltasa.org or call (210) 614-6734. We are always looking for more pet partners to serve in the community.
Thanks again, Heloise, for making Fiesta Pooch Parade a great success! Mary Ann Richey, Delta Society of San Antonio
P.S. Cabbie looked so cute in her Express-News costume. Thanks for bringing her to the Pooch Parade!
Cabbie "(Her Grand Empress Caberinne"), our miniature schnauzer, and I both enjoyed the event. We made it halfway through the three-mile "parade" with all of the dogs and humans dressed for Fiesta! There were "water stations" for humans and pets, plus veterinarians on standby, just in case.
Visit my Web site, www.Heloise.com, and click on Pet of the Week to see Cabbie with her flowered newspaper-carrier saddlebags, custom sewn by me, stuffed with my hometown newspaper, the San Antonio Express-News. Heloise
P.S. The Delta Society and I go way back together, and I'm delighted to inform my readers about your group and all of its wonderful members -- two legs and four!
Dear Readers: Parakeets can get mites and parasites -- all the more reason to keep the cage clean. Frequently wash cage toys with soapy water. Also, change their drinking water every day -- would you drink yucky water?
To make cleaning the bottom of the cage easier, recycle newspapers and paper bags, and place several layers down at one time so that you can remove just the top soiled layer when cleaning. Heloise
Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.
King Features Syndicate