Small Town Times 2-8 | Page 3

National Puppy Day By : RaNay Casper
National Puppy Day is held on March 23rd every year in hopes of improving the lives of puppies everywhere . National Puppy Day is celebrating the unconditional love of puppies that bring happiness to people ' s lives . It is also a day to save orphaned puppies all across that world . It is also to educate people about puppy mills and their many horrors . Puppies are young dogs and depending on the breed , some remain puppies for longer than others . The founder of National Puppy Day is also the founder of National Cat Day ; her name is Colleen Paige and she founded the celebration in 2006 . Since then , National Puppy Day has become an international celebration and has trended on social media every year since 2012 .
Here are some National Puppy Day Facts and Quotes :
● There are approximately 500-600 million dogs , including strays , throughout the world .
● In the USA , it is estimated that 2.11 million puppies are sold from puppy mills .
● Puppies Behind Bars is a training program that helps inmates to raise service dogs in prisons .
● Puppy mills are commercial dog-breeding organizations that focus on profit , while ignoring the health and welfare of the animals . 3 million puppies are killed in puppy mills because they are too full and not enough have found homes .
● A dog is the only thing on Earth that loves you more than he loves himself . – Josh Billings , famous humorist Here are some things that you can do on National Puppy Day :
● Visit and animal shelter and adopt a puppy in need . Most cities have a local shelter where you can visit and adopt a pet in the same day . Remember to spay or neuter your pet in order to control the stray dog population .
● Spread awareness by using the hashtags # nationalpuppyday and # puppyday on social media and also share pictures of your dog or pictures of dogs you like .
● Watch the documentaries Dog by Dog , Madonna of the Hills , and I ’ m Alive to learn about the realities of puppy mills
● Share a picture of your puppy ( or dog as a puppy ) on Facebook where you will be entered to win a complimentary nail trim , toy and treat from Briar Wood Animal Hospital .
● Donate your time or money to a local animal shelter or an organization that supports stray animals . There is always a need for help walking , feeding , playing with and cleaning up after the animals . You can also make a financial donation to organizations such as ASPCA and the Humane Society .
Source : http :// www . wincalendar . com / National-Puppy-Day
DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP CONFERENCE By : Joseph Ptacnik
On February 1 , Litchfield students 4th through 12th attended a Digital Citizen Conference in Loup City . The session was broken up into two groups ; 4th through 8th went in the morning and 9th through 12th went in the afternoon . In the conference , Nebraska Attorney Doug Peterson spoke to us about safety precautions in online use . He explained that you should review your privacy settings on social media accounts and download an app which will alert you when your information gets put online . He also spoke to us about sexting and cyberbullying . The presentation held a lot of knowledgeable information about online citizenship and students were grateful for the opportunity to continue their education on these subjects .
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