Food Stamps ... For Pets?

ABC OTUS News - Food Stamps ... For Pets? (ABC News)

When man falls on hard times, what's his best friend to do?

A new donation-based program called Pet Food Stamps aims to provide food stamps for pets of low-income families and for food stamp recipients who otherwise could not afford to feed their pets, reported ABC affiliate KVIA in Las Cruces, N.M.

Based in New York, the program is open to anyone in the United States. More than 45,000 pets have already been signed up in the past two weeks, according to the program's founder and executive director Marc Okon. Once need and income is verified, the families will receive pet food each month from pet food retailer Pet Food Direct for a six-month period.

"We're not looking for government funding at this point," Okon told ABCNews.com. "Should the government be willing to provide assistance further down the line, we will look into it."

The only way to apply for the program is through an online application, but Okon said applications would be accepted through mail once the program moved to its new office.

Okon said the program's nonprofit status was still pending.

There is currently no federal pet food stamp program in place, although the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service tries to provide protection for animals in case of emergencies or natural disasters. The 1966 Animal Welfare Act also makes no mention of providing food for pets.

Okon's program isn't revolutionary. Other animal shelters and rescue leagues around the country, such as the Washington Animal Rescue League, have been providing pet food banks, in addition to discounted pet care, for years.

"One of our missions is to provide income-qualified families with discounted pet care, vaccinations, vaccine clinics, neutered clinics and vet care," said Washington Animal Rescue League spokesman Matt Williams. "We have a new medical center on site. … We also have a food bank run entirely on donations."

Pet Food Stamps

The new pet food stamp program comes at a when monthly food stamp assistance could be phased out. A temporary food stamp boost for low-income families was initiated in April 2009 to help offset the effects of the 2008 recession and is set to expire on Oct. 31, 2013, unless Congress passes legislation to extend the benefits.

Approximately 46.6 million people used the federal food stamp program in 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Pet Food Stamps program, NYS non-profit corp. pending, with a Tax ID/EIN,  has been created to fill the void in the United States Food Stamp program which excludes the purchase of pet food and pet supplies. In these rough economic times, many pet owners are forced to abandon their beloved pet to the ASPCA, North Shore Animal League or other animal shelters due to the inability to pay for their basic food supply and care. There are over 50 million Americans who currently receive Food Stamps, many with dogs or cats, who simply cannot afford to feed their animals, and these cherished companions are dropped off at animal shelters where they will most likely be put to sleep. A recent New York Times article states that “animal shelters have reported a steep rise in the number of cats and dogs being surrendered as owners face unemployment, home foreclosures, evictions and other financial hardships.” As more families struggle with difficult choices like paying the rent or buying food, some have to choose between keeping their pet and putting food on the table..

The Pet Food Stamps program, due to the generosity of contributors and patrons, are able to eliminate that heart-wrenching decision by making sure these pet owners are given free monthly home delivery of all necessary food supplies to maintain the health and vitality of their pets. 

With the continued growth of the Pet Food Stamps program, it is expected in the 4th quarter 2013 to expand into offering free or heavily discounted veterinary care for all qualified program beneficiaries as part of the Pet Food Stamps program.
Once you are a verified and approved member of the Pet Food Stamps program, our staff will place your pet food order with  www.PetFoodDirect.com  based on the amount awarded with your application approval and your pets needs.
PetFoodDirect is an independent retailer and is NOT a subsidiary or affiliated in any way with the Pet Food Stamps program.

If you are not a member of the Pet Food Stamps program, we are able to offer a 10% discount on all orders over $49 with the code: DONATE2PFS at checkout @ www.PetFoodDirect.com 


If you are receiving Food Stamps or are in a low income bracket and would like to apply for Pet Food Stamps, please click HERE. If you would like to help the program by making a secure  donation, please click HERE. For any questions, comments or corporate sponsorship's, feel free to contact us HERE.

CBS News discussing the Pet Food Stamps program with Founder & Executive Director, Marc Okon.

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Food stamps for Fido?

Pet Food Stamps, a New York-based non-profit, wants to help low-income families feed their pets.

UPI /Monika Graff 

License photo

Published: Feb. 25, 2013 at 4:06 PM

By KATE STANTON, UPI.com

Pet Food Stamps, a non-profit organization based in New York has started a new program offering "food stamps" to families who can't afford to feed their animals, KVIA-TV reported last week.
The program's organizers hope that financial assistance will prevent low-income pet owners from abandoning their animals or leaving them at shelters. According to ABCNews.com, Pet Food Stamps gives six-months worth of pet food from Pet Food Direct to qualifying families anywhere in the United States.
So far, the organization's so-called "food stamp" program runs on donations, though executive director and founder Marc Okon said he would be open to federal funding.
"We’re not looking for government funding at this point," he told ABCNews.com. "Should the government be willing to provide assistance further down the line, we will look into it."
Okon said he came up with the idea after receiving a letter from a single mother who couldn't afford to take car of the family dog that helped her disabled son communicate. He said the program receives thousands of application each day.
"So in total we have over 40,000 cats and dogs already awaiting food," Okon told KVIA.

Was Mexican Drug Kingpin El Chapo Guzman Killed?

Dolia Estevez, Contributor

I cover Mexico's billionaires, politics and U.S.-Mexico relations

Although there is no official confirmation  in the Unites States,Mexico or Guatemalathat Mexican billionaire Drug Kingpin El Chapo Guzman could have been killed in Guatemala, the rumor spread faster than lightning throughout cyberspace.

Asked what he knew,  Drug Enforcement Administration spokesperson Rusty Payne responded by e-mail,  “Everything is just rumor. I have nothing to report.”  Pressed whether DEA was involved in trying to confirm the rumor, Payne said,  “We certainly weren’t involved in the firefight. I am sure we will find out at one point.”

The story broke late on February 21 when Guatemalan authorities said that  they were investigating whether Guzman was one of at least two men killed in the Peten, an area bordering  Mexico controlled by the Zetas, a rival gang to El Chapo’s Sinaloa cartel. While it is not clear what led officials to think that one of the dead men could be El Chapo,  according to the Guatemalan media, local residents reported a gun battle between drug gangs and said one of the dead “resembled”  the world’s most-wanted drug lord.  As I’m writing this post,  AP is reporting that the Guatemalan government “apologized”  for what it called a “misunderstanding” about  an alleged shootout where El Chapo might have been killed.

Analysts in Washington  questioned whether the leader of the world’s biggest narcotics cartel  looks anything like he did in the only known pictures of him, wearing a heavy sky jacket. The pictures were taken many years ago. Not only are they outdated, but Mexican drug criminals  in the past  have used surgery to change their physical appearance.  El Chapo is now believed to be 55 to 59 years old.

"El Chapo" Named "World's Most Powerful Drug Trafficker"Erin CarlyleForbes Staff

In light  of the confusion, Washington analysts took the news with caution.  “It’s very important not to jump to conclusions. There needs to be a full investigation,” said Eric Olson, an expert on Mexican security at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Olson added that while El Chapo has well established networks in Central America,  “he has proven to be a very slippery person.”

Meanwhile, in Mexico,  Interior Secretary Miguel Angel Osorio Chong called the report  ”rumors”  and said that  it has not been possible to determine where they came from.

In 1993,  El Chapo was arrested in Gautemala and extradited  to Mexico, where he was indicted and jailed on drug charges and murder. In 2001,  he escaped from a high security prison in Mexico after bribing prison and law-enforcement  authorities. Ever since, he has proven to be one of the most elusive criminals in modern times.  A week ago,  the Chicago Crime Commission and the DEA named Guzman Chicago’s Public Enemy #1,  a title held by Al Capone during Prohibition.

Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman: Most-wanted drug lord suspected dead in shootout By Simeon Tegel and Jill Langlois, GlobalPost Posted:   02/22/2013 08:18:21 AM PST Updated:   02/22/2013 08:23:39 AM PST Earlier this month, Chicago even officially named the elusive 5-foot-6-inch druglord, whose "El Chapo" nickname is Mexican slang for "shorty," public enemy No. 1. It's the first time in eight decades, since Al Capone terrorized the Windy City, that authorities there have officially used that term. Nevertheless, if one of the corpses at the scene of the shootout in Guatemala's jungle region of Peten does turn out to be Guzman, it's unlikely to stop the flow of cocaine into the US any more than the death of Escobar did. Behind Guzman, crime analysts say, is a long queue of brutal, highly ambitious lieutenants eager to take their turn at the top of the Sinaloa cartel. And most experts believe as long as demand for cocaine remains strong in the US, Europe, Asia  and increasingly in Latin America, particularly Mexico and Brazil, the trafficking is unlikely to stop. LIMA, Peru - Most-wanted drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is suspected to be dead after a shootout in Guatemala near the Mexican border.Guatemalan authorities said Friday they are investigating the possibility a man killed in the shootout was 58-year-old Guzman, but later backtracked, saying they hadn't yet located a body or even confirmed there was a gunfight, the Associated Press reported. If confirmed, the death of Guzman could be the highest-profile blow to the international cocaine trade since Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar died in a hail of bullets in a shootout with security forces in Medellin in 1992. As head of the ruthless Sinaloa cartel, Guzman, said to have amassed a personal fortune of $1 billion, is thought to be responsible for the deaths of thousands, mainly in Mexico but also in the US and elsewhere in Latin America. Forbes recently him the world's 63rd most-powerful person and is widely viewed as the Western Hemisphere's most-wanted criminal. Indeed, many analysts now believe Guzman is a more powerful and dangerous operator than Escobar ever was. That is in part because under his ruthless leadership the Sinaloa cartel has achieved what experts call "vertical integration" of the cocaine supply chain, with its tentacles stretching from the remote Andean regions where coca is grown into the heart of the world's largest cocaine market - the United States.

Vision for NASCAR's Future

 Published February 21, 2013 EFE

Brad Keselowski shares vision for NASCAR's future

Reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski details dramatic changes he'd like to see in NASCAR in a wide-ranging interview

(Photo: Douglas Jones, USA TODAY Sports)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Stroll through the compound where NASCAR's traveling circus lives, and it's easy to find Brad Keselowski's abode.

Just look for the motor home that doesn't resemble anyone else's.

At the end of a row inside the Sprint Cup drivers' gated community at Daytona International Speedway sits living quarters that could be disguised as a delivery truck .

"It's about $2.25 million for one of those brand-new Prevosts, and resale value is maybe $800,000 to $1 million," says Keselowski, 29, about his peers' motor homes. "That's ridiculous. They break down all the time."

So with the help of assistant Bill Cole, Keselowski built his home for about a third of the price but with a more spacious interior thanks to two pullout slides. The weekend he debuted his more reliable model last summer, he won at Kentucky Speedway.

It was further validation for the unconventional mind of the most iconoclastic NASCAR champion in recent memory.

"Every time I do something different, I'm more successful," says Keselowski, who was the first driver to tweet during a race a year ago when the Daytona 500 was stopped by a jet dryer inferno. "I know I'm doing something right when people look at me and go, 'You're (screwed) up.' "

PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500

Butting heads has been a modus operandi since Keselowski broke into NASCAR's premier series full-time in 2010, warring with veterans such as Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. He earned respect in qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup the past two seasons and becoming the eighth-youngest champion in history in 2012. Yet some drivers have dubbed him "Craze-lowski" because of his outspoken manner .

Whether it be about sponsors, the schedule, social media or Danica Patrick ("I don't think, 'Oh there's that girl.' I think, 'Oh, there's that 30th-place driver.'"), Keselowski seems to always have something to say.

PATRICK: Could change auto racing, sports forever

"I think we all sit back and chuckle at times at some of the things he says and does," five-time champion Jimmie Johnson says. "He is a great guy. He has the best of intentions for our sport; for his sponsor; for his team. He just needs to mature a little."

"I can always be wiser, if that's what he means," Keselowski says when told of Johnson's comments. "I can always make better decisions. Obviously, I'm mature enough to win a championship, so I can't be too far off."

IN DEPTH: Jeff Gordon talks wrecking, collecting and dancing

But it's not all bluster for the youngest of five raised by a Rochester Hills, Mich., racing family with bedrock Midwestern values and blue-collar work ethic. In his champion's speech last year, Keselowski struck themes of humility, piety and unity in pledging to help move the sport in a positive direction as it wrestles with relevance and recapturing a younger, hipper audience amid sagging TV ratings and attendance.

"I might not be that guy, but that doesn't mean I can't step up to the plate and try to swing the bat," he says. "It doesn't mean I'll be successful. You're trying to take a crack at a Randy Johnson fastball in his prime. It's a tough sell.

"But someone has to step up to the plate first. Until that happens, this sport isn't living up to its potential, and I think it has a very high potential. We've got a great story to tell."

USA TODAY Sports asked the reigning king of Sprint Cup to tell his. In a wide-ranging interview in that unlikeliest of motor homes, Keselowski shared his idyllic vision of NASCAR .

It's the world according to Keselowski. "It's a different place," he laughs.

Here it is in the champ's words.

Overall vision

The problem I see in the sport is that there are multiple entities that have to work together for us to be successful.

We have sponsors — partners, or whatever the hell you want to call them — tracks, the sanctioning body and the teams. Those are our four groups, and how well they cooperate dictates what we have as a product for our fans. And our fans create everything.

You combine that with the shift in all spectator sports to a TV-dominated world . For the longest time, NASCAR had twice the amount of people at the game than the NFL did, but we don't even have 50% of their TV viewership. What's happened is that TV has become more popular and attendance at the track or any sporting facility has dwindled with the exception of major events — Super Bowls, Daytona 500s, World Series.

PLAY NOW: USA TODAY Sports Fantasy Racing Challenge

We haven't adapted as a sport to that. But why haven't we adapted?

When Bill France Jr. was in charge of NASCAR, he had control of all these pieces and wasn't at the mercy of the TV world. He had control of the tracks and NASCAR, which is now divided in two with Lesa (France Kennedy, president of International Speedway Corp. that controls 12 tracks) and (NASCAR Chairman) Brian (France). France Jr. had relationships with the sponsors, drivers and teams. Now we don't have that. Those three other pieces are segregated. Those three pieces need to get together. And until all three of those can unite, we're a house divided, and we're making bad decisions that are affecting how to generate revenue for the sport.

In today's sports world, you have to be very powerful in drawing people to TV, and we're not TV friendly. That's one of the key areas for success. Part of that is we're not delivering a product. And we're fighting the tracks. We have to be up on the wheel a little more and looking for what's in front of us, and when we see it, we have to be able to react on it. And in order to be able to react on it, we need to be united.

PHOTOS: The career of Brad Keselowski

Brad Keselowski won his first career Sprint Cup championship, Nov. 18, 2012 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Kes

Jerry Buss Dead -- Lakers Owner Dies After Battle with Cancer

LAKERS OWNER JERRY BUSS
DIES IN L.A. HOSPITAL
Jerry Buss -- owner of the Los Angeles Lakers -- died early this morning at the age of 79, this according to multiple reports.

Buss had been hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in L.A. for the past few months due to a previously undisclosed intestinal problem ... though it was revealed yesterday he'd been battling cancer the entire time.

After starting his career as a chemist, Buss soon found his true calling in the real estate biz ... snapping up properties all over L.A. before moving on to the sporting world.

In 1979, Buss made history when he purchased the Lakers, the L.A. Kings and The Forum for $67.5 million -- at that time, the largest transaction in sports.

Under his ownership, Buss watched dozens of all-time greats -- including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant -- win the Lakers 10 NBA Championships. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Buss was also an avid poker player ... and appeared on several TV shows, including "High Stakes Poker" and "Poker After Dark."

He is survived by his six children.
Buss, Longtime Lakers Owner, Is Dead at 80

Associated Press

Jerry Buss at a victory parade in Los Angeles after the Lakers won the 1980 N.B.A. championship. The team won 10 titles under Buss's leadership.

By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN

Published: February 18, 2013

Jerry Buss, who bought the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979 and turned them into the N.B.A.’s glamour team, winners of 10 league championships and the cornerstone of his Southern California sports empire, died on Monday in Los Angeles. He was 80.

His death was announced by the Lakers.

A child of the Depression, Buss obtained a doctorate in physical chemistry and later prospered in real estate ventures, enabling him to pursue his love of sports.

He paid $67.5 million to buy the Lakers from Jack Kent Cooke in a deal that included the Los Angeles Kings of the N.H.L., the Forum sports arena in Los Angeles and Cooke’s California ranch.

In January, his Lakers were valued at $1 billion by Forbes magazine, second in the N.B.A. to the Knicks’ $1.1 billion valuation.

Buss spent heavily for marquee lineups headed by Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. Jerry West, the Lakers’ former star guard, orchestrated their success as general manager together with two of pro basketball’s most renowned coaches, first Pat Riley and then Phil Jackson.

Buss made it clear he was a big spender when he gave the charismatic Johnson a 25-year, $25 million contract after his second season.

“Anybody who makes an outlandish salary obviously attracts attention,” Buss told The Los Angeles Times Magazine in 2009. “That was what was behind my contract with Magic. I think it created a lot of attention for the Lakers.”

As Johnson told the magazine: “He has put the Lakers right up there with the New York Yankees as the top brands in sports.”

Buss was an innovator in melding basketball brilliance with show business dazzle. His 1980s teams, known as the Showtime Lakers, thrilled the crowds with their fast-paced style. His Laker Girls provided high-octane dancing. Hollywood stars, most notably Jack Nicholson, held courtside seats that went for thousands of dollars a game.

Buss was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

Affecting a western style with his customary jeans and an open-neck shirt, dancing at discos, and known for his eye for beautiful women, Buss was a celebrity in his own right. He once owned Pickfair, the Mary Pickford-Douglas Fairbanks mansion in Beverly Hills, and he loved to throw parties for the Hollywood crowd.

Buss did not attend any Lakers games this season, presumably because of his failing health, as the Lakers struggled, despite a lineup filled with star power.

But he had set in motion his family’s continued operation of the Lakers. His daughter Jeanie, who became engaged to Jackson in December 2012, runs the business operations. His son Jim oversees basketball decisions together with General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Gerald Hatten Buss was born on Jan. 27, 1933, in Salt Lake City, but grew up in Kemmerer, Wyo., raised by his mother, Jessie, who was divorced and worked as a waitress. At times, the boy waited for food on Depression bread lines.

“I can remember standing in a W.P.A. line with a gunny sack and I remember having to buy chocolate milk instead of white because it was one cent cheaper,” Buss told The Boston Globe in 1987.

He was a good student and obtained a scholarship to the University of Wyoming, then earned a chemistry doctorate from the University of Southern California. Through his years in the sports world, he liked to be called Dr. Buss.

Buss worked in aerospace technology for Douglas Aircraft in California as a young man. But his life changed in the wake of a small investment he made in 1959 to buy a West Los Angeles apartment building together with a former college friend, Frank Mariani. Profiting from a Los Angeles real estate boom, their company eventually owned hotels, office buildings, apartments and one-family homes.

Buss was the founding owner of the Los Angeles Strings of World TeamTennis in 1974, then stepped up to the N.B.A. and N.H.L. when he bought Cooke’s sports holdings five years later. He had also owned the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women’s National Basketball Association and the Los Angeles Lazers of the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Buss’s Lakers became the N.B.A.’s most thrilling team when Johnson and Abdul-Jabbar starred for the Showtime clubs that won five championships in the 1980s, the first one under Coach Paul Westhead and the others under Riley.

But the Lakers went without a league championship in the 1990s.

“In big-time sports the day of individual owners like Jerry is fading fast,” David Stern, the N.B.A. commissioner, told Sports Illustrated in 1998 as the Lakers prepared to leave the Forum for the Staples Center, which opened the next year.

“He’s sort of wealthy, but he’s not extraordinarily wealthy like some of our owners,” Stern remarked. “Given the size and risk of the asset, we are moving toward a combination of the Forbes 400 and the Fortune 500,” he said, envisioning the club ownership of the future.

But another stretch of brilliance lay ahead for Buss’s Lakers

They captured three consecutive N.B.A. titles from 2000 to 2002, led by Bryant and O’Neal in Jackson’s first coaching stint in Los Angeles. They captured their last two titles under Buss’s ownership in 2009 and ’10, during Jackson’s second stint, this time behind Bryant and Pau Gasol.

In addition to his daughter Jeanie and his son Jim, survivors include another son, Johnny, and another daughter, Janie Drexel, all from his marriage to the former JoAnn Mueller, which ended in divorce in 1972; his sons Joey and Jesse from a former girlfriend, Karen Demel; a half-sister, Susan Hall; a half-brother, Mickey Brown; a stepbrother, Jim Brown; and eight grandchildren.

When Buss was a neophyte club owner, he saw himself as a fan — but only to a point. As for running hockey’s Kings, money-losers in sunny Southern California, he told People magazine in February 1980 that “I think you can buy one ball club for fun.”

But he viewed his purchase of the Lakers and the Forum “as clearly a business deal.”

And, as he put it: “I don’t just want winners. I want champions.”

Daniel E. Slotnik contributed reporting.