Jay & Jewell Kaiser

I recently saw this article and emailed the content to myself and maybe on active rain, but since I have had a recent pet incident and bills from the vet to prove it, I felt this worthy to pass along.

Holidays can bring unique foods and materials into the house that pose special threats to animals. Halloween, with its costumes and candy, can be a dangerous and stressful time for a pet.

The following tips showcase what pet owners should watch out for around Halloween.

Tricks, not treats! Some human treats can be deadly for pets

• Chocolate: Make sure your kids know to hide their Halloween stash from food-seeking dogs. Ninety-five percent of Pet Poison Helpline's chocolate calls involve dogs getting into chocolate candy. Keep in mind, the less sweet and the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is to your pet. Baker's chocolate and dark chocolate pose the biggest problem.
• Other candy: Remember when you felt ill after gorging on too much candy? The same thing can happen to pets. Large ingestions of high-fat, high-sugar foods may lead to a condition called pancreatitis - a painful and potentially fatal inflammation of the pancreas. Signs of pancreatitis typically show up two to four days after ingesting a large high-fat meal. Monitor your pet for a decreased appetite, vomiting, lethargy, diarrhea and other odd behavior.
• Raisins/grapes: While small boxes of raisins are popular and healthy treats for people, keep them away from dogs. Even small numbers of raisins or grapes can cause kidney failure in dogs (and possibly cats). Never offer grapes or raisins as snacks for your pets. Choose carrots, peas, green beans or apples instead.
• Candy wrappers: Not only is candy toxic to pets, but so are the wrappers. Few animals will bother to unwrap Halloween treats before eating them. Ingestion of foil and cellophane wrappers may cause a bowel obstruction when ingested in large quantities.

Halloween hazards

• Glow sticks/jewelry: Pets, especially cats, love to chew on these colorful toys. Though not highly poisonous, the glowing contents can cause pain and irritation in the mouth as well as profuse drooling, nausea and vomiting.
• Costumes: While dressing up our pets can be entertaining, keep in mind that your pet may not enjoy it. Make sure the costume does not impair their vision or movement. Also, beware of costumes containing metallic beads, snaps or other small pieces. If ingested, some metals (especially zinc and lead) can result in serious poisoning. Never dye or apply coloring to your pets' fur. Even if the dye is labeled non-toxic, many are not meant to be ingested and can potentially cause harm.

Additionally, pets may be afraid of people dressed in costumes and may not even recognize those they typically know. Fear can cause animals to act aggressively or in an unpredictable manner. If your pet seems nervous or afraid, make sure to have a safe area for them to hide or take a "time out.

• Candles: Wagging tails and curious noses do not mix with candles. Keep candles well out of reach of four-legged friends and, when possible, use safe, electric lights in jack-o-lanterns.

The best thing any pet owner can do is to be educated about the common foods and items that are potentially toxic to pets. Make sure to avoid accidentally feeding your pets human foods that may be dangerous for them and keep poisonous products out of your pet's reach. When in doubt or if you think your pet has been poisoned, contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline immediately at 1-800-213-6680 with any questions or concerns.

Pet Poison Helpline is a service available 24-hours a day, seven days a week for pet owners, veterinarians and vet techs that require assistance treating a potentially poisoned pet. Staff can provide treatment advice for poisoning cases of all species, including dogs, cats, birds, small mammals, large animals and exotic species.

Pet Poison Helpline's fee of $35 per incident includes follow-up consultation for the duration of the poison case. Pet Poison Helpline is available in North America by calling 800-213-6680. Additional information can be found online at www.petpoisonhelpline.com.

As you will see in one of my recent posts we had a fabulous motorcycle ride from Brevard to Cherokee NC. With over 40 bikes, we didn't have a single incident, not even a flat. Those those that ride, the twisties are the best in the US, as well as the views are spectacular. For more information just give me a call or e-mail me at Jay@HomeINBrevard.com 828-421-0375

To our Biker Friends,

I just wanted to send out this email of appreciation to all of you and thanking you for taking part with us at some point in our motorcycle ministry here at Brevard Wesleyan Church. This past Sunday was our final ride for this year, the Annual Fall Colors Cherokee Run and it was a blast! In spite of early morning cloud cover, the turnout was awesome! It was a great turnout of riders with your awesome bikes and trikes! We had a great group that rode up from a number of different towns in South Carolina and a great bunch of riders from places here in North Carolina that I've never heard of. It's always a rush to see everyone pulling into the parking lot and to meet each of you! This is what makes our ride - you the people! The fellowship that we have out in the parking lot is awesome, and then to get to sit around a table of good food and talk with each other is really good. There was even a fellowship taking place as we proceeded down the highway (40 or 50 bikes) behind a police escort with his blue lights flashing and our motorcycle headlights on and watch the oncoming traffic stop and pull off the road thinking it's a funeral (that's an indicator of the respectful community that we live in); then to ride in the convoy to our destination of Cherokee. When we got to where we were to get on the Blue Ridge Parkway and found that the clouds and fog were too thick to get onto the Parkway, we had to remain on Hwy 276 (for safety) and actually rode the ride in reverse order as to what our plans were. By the time we had finished our meal at Granny's the cloud cover had burned off for the most part and we got on the Parkway for the return back to Brevard. There was only about, maybe, a three or four mile stretch right at the end of the Parkway part (where we would get back on 276) that was foggy and it was doable.

I have received emails from many of you, expressing how great of a time you had and how you'll be looking forward to other rides that we will be having. Thank you for your kind words and we, Brevard Wesleyan Church, will be looking for ALL of you to come back and take part with us again for other rides in the future. Keep us in mind for next spring's Blessing of the Bikes, which will be April 18^th. An easy way to remember this event is that it will always be on the first Sunday AFTER tax deadline [April 15^th]. I think tax deadline is pretty well etched into our minds. The Blessing of the Bikes is not where we come together to pray for the chrome and metal, but for the safety of you for that new riding season. Here's a challenge to each one of you. For next spring's Blessing of the Bikes, each one of you bring others with you.

Keep in mind, if there is ever anything that we at Brevard Wesleyan Church can do to help you along the way in your spiritual journey, feel free to contact me by either phone or email (or you're welcome to come by the church). We are here to serve you!

Thanks again to all of you and safe motoring until we meet again!

Sincerely, Hank Moffitt

(828) 883-8408 pastorhank@citcom.net

Could This Dog Win $1 Million?

Transylvania County's Little Bitsy is nipping at the heels of a $1 million prize that will be used for animal rescue efforts in Transylvania County, but she's going to need your help to win.

Local residents Sylvia and Barney Evans recently adopted Little Bitsy from local animal rescue volunteer Evelyn Bridges, who found the Rat Terrier mix after she had been hit by a car.

Now that she's all healed, Little Bitsy finds herself as a front-runner in the All American Pet Brands Cutest Dog Competition. In order to be eligible for the $1 million grand prize, she must first win one of 12 weekly competitions; 10 of those have already passed.

"We've only got two more weeks," said Bridges. "Little Bitsy has been in the top five for the past five weeks, out of over 60,000 dogs. She's receiving over 2,000 votes a week, but the other weekly winners have had four or five thousand.

"If we could just get the community to vote for her, we could win."

The prize money will be used for animal rescue efforts in the county. Bridges, a passionate animal advocate, works closely with the Transylvania County Animal Shelter and animal rescue groups such as TAAG, Friends For Life,

Animal Lighthouse, the Animal Compassion Network and others to help place animals in homes.

According to Bridges, last month she and other volunteers and friends pulled 31 animals from the local animal shelter.

Eight puppies were flown by the Pilots And Paws program from Greenville, S.C. to Orlando, Fla., and were then driven by volunteers to Port St. Lucie.

Bridges' husband, Marion, recently drove another seven dogs from Brevard to Minneapolis.

"Chuck Byrd and the staff at the local animal shelter work diligently to help us rescue the animals, Bridges said. "They do a great job with limited resources. But our shelter is a kill shelter. Owner turn-ins are the first to be put down. Strays are kept for five days, unless they get full, in which case it's first in, first down."

For Bridges, saving animals has been a life-long crusade. She conducted her first animal rescue almost 50 years ago, when she brought home a stray mother dog and four pups.

"My father, Charlie Powers, showed me by his example how to love animals, and that it was my duty to take care of them," she said.
Bridges is the first to admit that her passion can get expensive, which is why winning the contest is important.

The animals must be spayed, neutered and vaccinated before they can be transferred, not to mention the cost of feeding and housing them.
In fact, that's how Silvia and Barney Evans first met Little Bitsy. They volunteered to keep Little Bitsy while she became healthy enough to have surgery on her injured leg. Ultimately, the leg healed itself, but by that time they were so attached to Little Bitsy that they decided to adopt her.

To vote, do a Google search for "Little Bitsy Cutest Dog," which will take you directly to the voting page. First-time visitors will have to give an email address and password. You can only vote once per day.

If she wins one of the next two weekly competitions, she will receive $500. The public will vote once again for the top four out of those 12.

The finalists will receive $5,000, and the one chosen as the winner by the judges will get the $1 million grand prize.

Regardless of whether or not Little Bitsy wins, Bridges plans to keep right on rescuing animals.

"I have six rescue dogs in my home, and one rescued cat," she said. "I stop for every dog or cat I see on the side of the road. That's how I met Little Bitsy. It's my passion; it's what I want to do."

Bridges is in the process of forming a 501-C3 non-profit, Charlie's Angels Animal Rescue, named in honor of her father.

If you would like to know more about Bridges' rescue efforts, you can e-mail her at ebridges@citcom.net. Monetary support can be sent to the Charlie Powers Memorial Animal Fund, c/o Evelyn Bridges, Steve Owen And Associates, 49 Pisgah Highway, Suite 4, Pisgah Forest, NC 28768. By Sean Trapp
Staff Writer

Riding my Motorcyle on Blue Ride Parkway looking at the Fall Colors & Check out the video's

Yesterday I rode with 60+ other riders from Brevard NC to Cherokee NC across the Blue Ridge parkway in the Pisgah National Forest. The fall colors were nothing but spectacular as well as the views at the overlooks.

We started our ride from the Brevard Wesleyan Church located in downtown Brevard and with a police escort as far as the entrance of the Parkway (maybe 2 miles) we headed up Hwy 276 to the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the entrance of the Parkway we rode into the clouds and often the visibility is so poor that it's hard to see 20 feet ahead of you so we decided to ride down into Waynesville and then into Cherokee NC.

After a buffet meal at Granny's (I highly recommend it) we headed back towards Brevard again but this time onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for some of the prettiest early season colors I have seen in a long time. The overlooks were full of lookers at the long range views and guessing some 60 miles of absolutely clear skies. Well it was cloudless until we got almost into Transylvania county and the clouds (some call it fog) rolled in as you will see in one of the below videos.

I hope you can get a since of the fall colors as they were really spectacular and ever changing almost every mile of the way. Don't ask how I took the videos' but after I told my wife she said now you know why I don't ride with you. She even asked how many times I checked my blackberry and e-mailed.

If you have never been to this part of Western NC its time you paid us a visit!

Riding in the Pisgah National Forest on the Blue Ridge Parkway http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGcyt9JiSsU

Here we are at over 5000 feet in elevation riding into the clouds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hkRO05-pB0

One more at almost 6000 foot Elevation on Blue Ridge Parkway headed home to Brevard from Cherokee NC http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xANgM50Ri3k

This is one tip I recently recieved from a home inspector that I am glad I got. I have been on a mission at home replacing all incandescent lights with CFL bulbs and was about to change the opener bulbs. Thanks to Altamont Inspections, LLC for some great tips.

There have been several warnings concerning the use of compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs in garage door openers. Most garage door openers use electronic switching similar to a dimmer switch to operate the light bulbs and it is not compatible with CFLs, even CFLs that are supposed to be "ruggedized" or dimmable. This switching incompatibility coupled with the inherent vibration of a garage door opener can damage the electronic circuits and can cause the electric motor to overheat to a potentially dangerous level. Neither the Genie Company, a company which makes door openers (call them at 800-354-3643), nor the General Electric Company, a CFL manufacturer, recommend the use of CFLs in garage door openers.