ASPCA Celebrates 2010 Victories
December 17, 2010
Last week, the ASPCA recapped highlights from their work throughout 2010 on behalf of companion and farm animals. With the deep involvement of concerned individuals who wrote legislators and raised awareness, this year has seen significant progress in the rights of our four-legged friends.

One of the year’s highlights is the recent passing of the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act. On December 9, President Obama signed the Act into law, prohibiting the creation and distribution of “crush videos” and establishing a penalty of up to seven years in prison. The passage of this legislation comes almost a year after the original Depictions of Animal Cruelty Act was struck down by the United States Supreme Court.

The Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, a recent ballot initiative in Missouri, is also prominent on the list of 2010 victories. On November 2, voters in the state came out in favor of the proposition, which will restrict commercial breeders and provide more support for the dogs in their care.


In New Hampshire, the Greyhound Protection Act, signed into law by Governor John Lynch on July 8, makes Greyhound racing illegal in the state. The bill also had enormous support in the state’s Senate.

5 Amazing Animals of 2010
Zootoo's top picks for Furry Friend of the Year
December 12, 2010
As 2010 draws to a close, many organizations choose to recognize those individuals who made a difference during the year. Here at Zootoo, we choose to celebrate those pets and other animals who achieved amazing feats, worked tirelessly to rescue humans, and touched our hearts with their inspiring stories.

1. When 3-year-old Victoria Bensch wandered off from her Arizona home in mid-February into the desert, family and searchers were frantic. As night fell, the temperatures dropped into the low 30s, and the toddler had only been wearing a T-shirt and pants when she disappeared. Rescuers were amazed to find Victoria in good health the following morning because her dog Blue -- who had previously never left the yard -- had followed her, snuggling with her all night to keep her warm, and very likely fending off the coyotes and snakes that populate the desert landscape.

2. As a puppy, the black lab Pearl was so spirited, her owners gave her to an animal shelter because she kept running away. But Pearl overcame the adversity of being given up to become a search and rescue dog for the Los Angeles County Fire Department. In this capacity, she has completed two humanitarian missions to Haiti following the devastating earthquakes in January -- saving the lives of 12 people over 17 days. For her heroism, Pearl was awarded ASPCA's Dog of the Year.

3. The Boston Terrier Nuts was only a fictional character on screen, but his presence in the April film The Back-Up Plan shined a spotlight on the needs of homeless and handicapped pets. Although three dogs who played the animals were not handicapped, movie magic created the illusion that they walked with a wheelchair. As a bonus, the lead character, played by Jennifer Lopez, owned a pet store that was a venue for rescued and shelter pets -- not pets for sale -- further highlighting the importance of pet adoption.

4. Born with only one front leg, labrador-chow mix Faith has inspired countless individuals by learning to walk on two legs, after the second front leg had to be removed. In August, Faith's owner announced that the dog would continue her mission of visiting veterans trying to overcome injuries sustained in war zones by visiting British troops who had served in Afghanistan.

5. The awe-inspiring canine lifeguards of the Italian Coast Guard are responsible for saving many lives during the summer months, acting as "intelligent lifebuoys" who assist human rescuers in pulling swimmers to shore. Most of the dogs tend to be retrievers, drawing on their natural instincts to doggie paddle their charges back to safety.

ASPCA Happy Tails: 5 Memorable Adoptions of 2010
December 30, 2010
Peanut
Survivor to Soul Mate
On September 21, the ASPCA joined the Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) in removing dozens of dogs from a puppy mill in Camden County, MO. Most of the dogs were transferred to the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri in Springfield and HSMO in St. Louis, but a few made their way to the ASPCA in Manhattan. One such pup—a darling Welsh Corgi named PEANUT—was adopted by one of our own: Julia Nelson, ASPCA Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Julia first met Peanut while the sweet pup was recovering at the ASPCA Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital. “She was in her temporary living quarters in our Adoption Center director’s office. She was so excited when she first saw me, and the feeling was mutual,” Julia recalls. “She was adorable!” The happy pooch soon joined Julia’s family of cats, Ireland and Woody, and quickly settled into life in Manhattan. Woody, the younger cat, and Peanut became best pals right away. “He showed her his tummy, and now they eat side by side in the kitchen,” Julia says.

Some of Peanut’s favorite things include her daily walks in Central Park and the area’s off-leash hours on the weekends. “She gets along famously when happily running—or herding— other dogs,” Julia says. “She is so cute when she runs—she has a little hop in her step.”

That’s not to say Peanut is all action. She also enjoys dozing on her back with her paws straight up in the air, and capping it off with a little light snoring. “When she wakes up in the morning,” says Julia, “she wiggles to say hello.”

“She has an excellent positive attitude, and constantly looks up to me with her soulful brown eyes to make sure I'm still there,” Julia adds. “I cannot imagine her locked up in a puppy mill missing out on life and love, and I'm very grateful to the ASPCA for rescuing her.”

Spike
Spike Captures the Hearts of Many
First, the scene made most New York City news viewers wince—then it made them downright furious. There, on the evening news, was footage of an enraged Queens woman, Maria Aguilar (right), brutally beating SPIKE, her 11-month-old English Bulldog puppy, on her porch. The puppy was howling in pain and fear. Sick of Aguilar’s constant abuse of the puppy, a Good Samaritan neighbor yelled at Aguilar to stop. When she didn’t, he made a video of her violence on his cell phone camera, thereby capturing undeniable visual evidence of what was a truly heartless act of animal cruelty.

The Good Samaritan and several other concerned citizens reported the horrific abuse to ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement, who responded by racing to the home that Aguilar shares with her husband. At first, Aguilar denied abusing the puppy, but confessed to the crime after ASPCA investigators showed her the video evidence. Aguilar was arrested for aggravated animal cruelty.

Spike was rushed to the ASPCA, where Anti-Cruelty Veterinarian Dr. Rhonda Windham, MVB, treated him. “Spike had multiple injuries consistent with blunt force trauma,” she says. “He also had a number of old injuries, including a left femoral head fracture, a broken right elbow, three broken teeth and ear injuries. He will have progressive arthritis in his left hip and his right front elbow for the rest of his life.” Windham says that according to Spike’s medical records, another veterinarian had treated him at least a dozen times in the previous seven months, before he was rescued by the ASPCA. The most recent attack captured on the cell phone camera had left Spike nearly blind in his right eye.

During his period of recuperation, Spike became somewhat of a celebrity at the ASPCA, receiving personal letters, gifts and get-well cards from fans. Gail Buchwald, Senior Vice President of the ASPCA Adoption Center, says that there were also hundreds of potential adopters for Spike. “This dog was so beloved by New Yorkers that we had to turn away many adopters. He had his pick of wonderful homes.”

In the end, the ASPCA placed Spike in a household with an experienced pet parent familiar with caring for animals with special needs. Though she prefers to remain anonymous due to the case’s intense publicity, she is delighted by the addition of Spike to her family. Apparently, Spike's new pup-brother Petey is, too. "The two of them hit it off right away," she says. "They are always together and you can tell that their friendship has really helped Spike regain some of his confidence."

Spike's physical condition has improved as well. "Spike will probably always have difficulty seeing and walking," explains his new pet parent. "But that doesn't stop him from getting around.”

Joseph Pentangelo, Assistant Director of ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement, says that while the outpouring of love for Spike was both deserved and gratifying, he would like Spike’s fans to recognize that there are countless other dogs awaiting adoption at shelters across the country.

"There are so many other pets in shelters in dire need of homes," Pentangelo says. "People wanting to help should consider adoption."

King
King of the World
When KING first arrived at the ASPCA, he was in rough shape. The elder pooch had been seized by ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement officers in September 2007, and suffered from an ear infection, hip dysplasia and various symptoms of neglect. After rest and treatment, he was eventually made available for adoption. Ashely Santana of New York, NY, was the lucky parent who fell for this big boy’s undeniable charm. We recently caught up with Ashely, who sent us a note detailing King’s happy adjustment to life in his cozy, new home—he even loves his kitty siblings!

In September 2008, I became an employee of the ASPCA—little did I know I would end up adopting a great dog about two weeks later! King, an adult Rottweiler, had been at the Adoption Center for some time and had become a staff favorite.

The second I saw him I knew he was meant to be mine, but my family wasn't sure about adopting a dog who was so big. I brought in my Miniature Poodle, Phoenix, to meet King, and the two got along great.

Now over a year later, King lives with Phoenix and two cats, including a kitten with whom he plays all day. He is a neighborhood favorite, especially with my landlord, who says he feels safer knowing King is watching out for the house. No longer the reserved Rottweiler I first met, King loves everyone he meets and even plays with babies!

I am so thankful to the ASPCA for helping me adopt the most amazing dog and for all the help and advice over the last year. King has found his forever home, and I couldn't imagine my life without him.

Barney
Mazel Tov!
Stuart Schenendorf of Manhattan first met his best buddy BARNEY at an ASPCA adopt-a-thon in 1998. He saw Barney’s cute mug in a photo, and immediately wanted to meet the charming pup. “When they opened his kennel, Barney ran out to me, spun around, sat at my feet, leaned back against my legs and looked up over his shoulder at me as if to say ‘I’m yours,’” Stuart recalls. “He is an incredibly affectionate dog and thrives on attention.”

Fast forward 12 years, and you have a deeply bonded pair who’ve been through many of life’s most significant moments together. One such life-changing experience occurred just a few months after the pair met. Deviating from their normal routine, they went for a long walk to a dog run in midtown Manhattan.

“Barney usually keeps to himself in dog runs, but that evening he started playing with a chocolate Lab,” explains Stuart. “I started talking to the dog’s owner, a beautiful, down-to-earth woman named Patti. Soon Patti and I started meeting at the dog run on a regular basis, watching Barney and her dog, Bailey, and getting to know each other along the way.”

Stuart adds: “Two years later, Bailey and Patti moved in with Barney and me, and six months later, Patti and I were married. The dogs remained just friends.”

Earlier this summer, Stuart and Patti started joking around about having a party for Barney to honor his thirteenth birthday. “When a Jewish boy or girl turns 13, the occasion is celebrated with a Bar or Bat Mitzvah—so why not host a 'Bark Mitzvah' for Barney?” Stuart laughs. “We thought we would make it fun and light, and not take it too seriously. We invited friends and their dogs, and asked for donations to the ASPCA.”

Held on June 19 in Manhattan’s Carl Schurz Park, the event was a rousing success and raised $200 for the ASPCA. The human guests enjoyed salad and sandwiches, while Barney’s four-legged friends munched on ample treats.

Mazel tov, Barney!

Mufasa
Rags to Riches
Over the summer, the ASPCA received a call from the Wayne County (TN) Sheriff’s Department requesting assistance with a critical hoarding situation in Waynesboro, Tennessee. A man had become overwhelmed while caring for 85 dogs, most of whom were living in overcrowded pens and unsanitary conditions on his property. After the rescue, the dogs were taken in by the ASPCA in NYC and other rescue groups to be rehabilitated and made available for adoption.

It wasn’t an easy road for most of the dogs, but happier days are no doubt ahead for all of them. One lucky pup named MUFASA has already found the new home of his dreams with Graham Skipper and Jordann Baker of Manhattan. “Mufasa’s one of the happiest, best behaved, sweetest dogs I've ever known,” Graham reports. “He was a little skittish at first about our hallway and the doorways in our apartment—the hardwood floor was a new experience for him!—but he's totally at home, loves his bed and his toys, and loves to cuddle with us on the couch.”

This amiable Shepherd mix is not only beloved by his new pet parents, but by his neighbors, too. Graham says: “He gets along really well with all the other people and dogs on our block—he's already a celebrity!” But Mufasa hasn’t let all of the adoration go to his furry head—he still enjoys a good romp. “He has these moments where he turns into a Tasmanian devil and sprints all over the apartment, leaping into his bed and rolling all over the place,” says Graham. “That warm, friendly dog who froze when you pet him is now a warm, friendly dog with a wild streak!” According to Graham, “he’s also the best friend either of us could have hoped for and a perfect addition to our family.

To read more heartwarming stories of furry fate, please visit our
Happy Tails archive √

Dog faithfully awaits master
December 29, 2010
Wayne Giroux passed away five months ago, but his dog, Spot, still sits on a road waiting for him to come home.

Click √ on image to view video

Submitted by EDITA NAZARAITE

More Treats, Longer Naps!
December 31, 2010
As we celebrate New Year's with reflections on 2010 and resolutions for 2011, our pets might also have some plans for the coming year.

Here at Zootoo, we thought it would be fun to imagine our pets' New Year's resolutions. (And we humans are sick of resolving to get organized and exercise more.) So enjoy our furry friends' list -- and toss in your own additions in the comments!

1. Learn how to open the treat jar on our own.
2. Plant a garden of catnip out in the yard.
3. Train our humans to behave better -- we're perfect already!
4. Register to vote so that we can promote pets' rights.
5. Schedule longer play dates with our four-legged friends (after all, it's good exercise!).
6. Reclaim the warmest napping spot from all of the other humans and pets in the house.
7. Learn to speak human -- or teach them to speak pet!
8. Catch. The Laser Light.
9. Catch. The Squirrel.
10. Enjoy a fun 2011 with our pet parents!

Everyday is New Year’s for Dogs
BY Erika Bleiberg
Baristanet
FRIDAY, DEC 31, 2010
Each day seems to begin anew for our beloved animal friends, without the structure of a human calendar of events. I imagine that the only thing they notice about holidays — as opposed to any other day of the year — is that the people in their packs are home more, and may be more likely to play. Perhaps there are also better table scraps

May your romp be long and healthy, and may a holiday feast be put in your bowl.

Stem cells therapy has Lexi wagging again
Valerie Hauch
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
As 2010 draws to a close, everyone thinks back to the faces in the news — who's in, who's up, who's down. In this six-part series, Star reporters revisit some of the faces from our pages over the past year. Today, Valerie Hauch checks on the progress of the first dog to have stem cell treatment totally in Canada.

Lexi’s feeling sexy again.
That’s not to say that the middle-aged Newfoundland dog, who had an injection of stem cells in October, has any sort of amorous intentions. Lexi is spayed, after all. And stem cells, while sometimes found to have mysterious, unplanned benefits, do not restore procreative proclivities. Rather, it’s obvious that the 7-year-old dog with the glossy ebony fur is feeling good as her big, black nose snuffles energetically in bushes and she gambols on the green in a park near the Mississauga veterinary clinic where her owner works.

In October, Lexi became the first dog to undergo a stem-cell injection done totally in Canada. Fat cells were removed from Lexi’s shoulder under general anesthesia, and the stem cells isolated and activated in an on-site MediVet lab that uses patented technology. The stem cells were then injected into Lexi’s back right leg, where pain from bilateral hip dysplasia and degenerative joint disease had taken a toll. The procedure was performed in mid-October at Malton Veterinary Services on Derry Rd. E., where Lexi’s owner, Nicole Pike, works as a receptionist. The normal $1,800 fee was waived.

A few short months later, there’s no sign of a limp and no obvious hesitation in Lexi’s back right leg. Before the operation, the 115-pound dog had also shown lesser symptoms of the same degenerative joint disease in her back left leg, and those have totally disappeared, Pike says. She’s delighted with the change in Lexi. “It’s like she’s drunk from the fountain of youth. Before (the procedure) she didn’t run very frequently. I used to walk her the same distance as now and by the end of the walk, she was incapable or unwilling, because of the discomfort, to keep up with me.

“Now she is forging ahead of me, as opposed to lagging behind,’’ says Pike. “She’s not showing symptoms of fatigue and she’s not showing symptoms of pain during those walks. It’s fantastic. “She’s back to playing with her ball and blanket — she grabs her blanket and tears around the house, which is good to see. She’s got a real zest for life.”

Pike still notices some symptoms in Lexi’s leg, but overall, the dog has vastly improved and is likely to get better still. “Sixty to 90 days is when Dr. (Erik) Sjonnesen says you see optimal results (from stem cell injections),” Pike says.

The procedure has also brought unexpected benefits. The inflammatory bowel disease Lexi suffered from seems to have disappeared. She had been on medication for the condition, which is marked by episodes of diarrhea and vomiting, but doing the procedure safely meant having to stop the meds for a while before and after the operation.

“Since the procedure she hasn’t been on any medication and there haven’t been any flare-ups,” says Pike, who believes the stem cells have “had something to do with changing something in her stomach that leads to this.”

There’s no way to prove a connection, says Sjonnesen, but “it certainly got my attention. I have heard of things like that happening.”

In another case at his clinic, a dog who got stem cell therapy for his knee had an auto-immune problem in his eye clear up after it was done, with no other treatment. “That’s another exciting little tidbit,” says Sjonnesen. That dog is also recovering well but hasn’t passed the 30-day mark for a full review.

To date, Sjonnesen has given in-clinic stem cell therapy to eight dogs, all of them still too recently for a full assessment. But the veterinarian is very pleased with the progress of Lexi, whose breed’s life expectancy averages between 10 and 12 years.

“She has a good range of motion now. . . she used to have some pain when you extended her right hip — she resented it, she’d cry out,” says Sjonnesen. “But now, she is perfectly calm when I do that; there’s no reaction.”

It’s not known for certain how long the benefits of the therapy will last. But Pike said she’d be willing to have the treatment done again if Lexi needed it because the results have been so positive.

Sjonnesen said the therapy could also be good for horses with osteoarthritis, as well as cats, but hasn’t had any requests yet.

Weird BUT true
Post Wire Services
By TODD VENEZIA
December 28, 2010
Vermont's outgoing governor, Jim Douglas, has often been criticized for turning his press conferences into "dog and pony shows."

So, for his last scheduled meeting with the media, he trotted out the real thing -- a yellow Lab named Annie and a pony named Iroc.

"They're certainly better behaved than the Legislature," he said.

German shepherd puppy gets stuck in a tight spot
December 27, 2010
An 8-month-old German shepherd named Rebel somehow squeezed his head through a hole in an 18-inch block wall at his Desert Hot Springs home Monday. Then he got stuck.

Rebel may have been chasing another animal or was just curious about the hole, said Sgt. James Huffman of Riverside County Animal Services. The dog cried and whimpered until a friend of the owner heard him and called authorities. The dog’s owner wasn’t home at the time.

County Animal Services officers arrived about 12:30 p.m. and determined that the dog was not in serious danger. Huffman said they concluded that if the dog was able to get his head into the hole, they would be able to pull him out without damaging the wall, but their main concern was not to hurt Rebel while getting him out.

An officer got on either side of the wall, tucked in the dog’s ears and nudged him back and forth for about 30 minutes before getting him out safely. Huffman said Rebel assisted in his own rescue and knew the officers were there to help him. The dog made it clear to officers when he was uncomfortable and would stiffen his hind legs to assist as they pulled him out, he said.

Rebel was released to the owner’s friend. Huffman suggested that the dog be kept away from the wall and that the owner should install chicken wire in the hole to prevent Rebel from getting stuck again.

Michael Vick: Still in the dog house
By Meghan Daum
December 27, 2010
What does Michael Vick want for Christmas? A dog, apparently.

Don't panic: He's not allowed to get one until 2012, when he finishes the probation that followed his nearly two-year prison sentence for running a dog-fighting ring. But there's much anticipatory anxiety in the air nonetheless.

It all started this month, when the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback told a group of children at the Boys and Girls Club of Newark, N.J., that he longed for a canine companion "more than anything in the world." He's said such things before, but for some reason the press took notice of it this time and Vick was soon reiterating the statement in interviews.

"I think [getting a dog] would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process," he told NBC News and the website theGrio last week. "I think just to have a pet in my household and to show people that I genuinely care, and my love and passion for animals; I think it would be outstanding."

Needless to say, many people are finding this idea less than outstanding. Though Vick has plenty of supporters (and that's to say nothing of his game performance this season), they seem to have been drowned out this week by a mighty wave of blogospheric indignation. Countless Internet commenters are wearing out their caps lock keys in disapproval. Meanwhile, a casual survey of those ultra-precise data collecting devices known as Internet polls suggests the no-dog vote is in the majority.

Though Vick has made a great comeback on the field, his name is still synonymous with the gruesome details surrounding the torture and killing of dozens of pit bulls in his underground operation, Bad Newz Kennels. These days, he's also known for making a rather strenuous-seeming effort to save his image. Last year, amid great controversy, Vick teamed up with the Humane Society in an anti-dog-fighting campaign, and he regularly talks to schoolchildren about how to treat animals humanely.

Whether or not Vick is sincere — and like any outside observer, I can't presume to know — I'd bet most people won't be able to look past his crimes any time soon. That's because as much as we love redemption stories, particularly those involving celebrities, a lot of us love animals even more, sometimes to a degree that defies rationality.

Let's say, hypothetically, that Vick had been imprisoned on spousal abuse charges. And say that after serving his time and declaring himself rehabilitated (and getting divorced along the way) he was suddenly in the headlines for marrying again. Would there be as much of a public outcry? Would newspapers take polls as to whether he should remain single forever? Would people actually be debating whether a judge should order him not to marry again?

There would certainly be interest and concern. But my guess is that a "Wedding Bells for Wife Beater" story wouldn't elicit quite the level of emotion we're seeing with the "Dog Abuser Might Get New Dog" story, and not solely because we're accustomed to reading about bad behavior and poor judgment on the part of humans. There's just something profoundly upsetting about an animal being hurt. On the day in 2007 that Vick's abuses came to light, there were undoubtedly countless other stories in the news detailing great human suffering. But it was the suffering of nonhumans that elicited the most outrage, not just because their torturer was a famous athlete but because, well, those poor, poor dogs!

Such responses are not a function of caring more about animals than about humans. On the contrary, it may be that human suffering, particularly child suffering, may be so painful to contemplate that we focus on animals instead. But I also wonder whether the uncomplicated relationship we have with animals often means that any distress we experience around them is equally uncomplicated, and therefore that much more intense. Just as the grief we feel when we lose a pet is a raw, untempered grief, the rage we feel when we learn of cases like Vick's is a pure rage, an anger undefiled by careful analysis or perspective. In that sense, the debate surrounding Vick isn't about whether or not he deserves a dog. It's about the power of visceral reactions.

In the face of this one, it's hard to imagine there's anything he could do to redeem himself.

NEVER FORGET!

Photo, top left: Harry Lynch/Raleigh News & Observer
Photo, top right: Google Images
"Shithead Vick" sculpture,bottom: Rodin S. Coane

For more of Rodin's "Vick-tory Memorial Works,"
click √ on "Shithead Vick"

Real Ace Ventura: Detective tails dog walkers
By CANDICE M. GIOVE
December 26, 2010
The mystified Manhattan dog owner noticed something was terribly wrong when her white border terrier began preferring the apartment's bathroom to a fire hydrant. And she knew there was only one man who could crack the case: Brock Schwartz, dog-walker inspector.

So the 29-year-old pooch private eye set up a palm-size hidden camera in the bathroom with remote Web access. Before long, the lens captured the dog's dastardly walker leading the terrier to do his business in the bathtub -- so that he didn't have to take the dog out. "He would clean the tub," Schwartz said. "We saw it all on the cam."

Just another day keeping paw and order.

Schwartz sniffs out lazy or larcenous dog walkers for well-heeled clients -- mostly from the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Chelsea and the Flatiron District. He says he has a list of more than 20 steady clients.

Often, new dog owners hire him for a one-time $50 inspection. Other times, owners solicit his services after observing that their best friend's behavior is off. "They notice something is going on," Schwartz said. "The dog is lethargic on certain days, not eating, something specific like that."

He also periodically spies on walkers during strolls. And he installs doggy cams -- which work just like nanny cams -- for $150.

The pet detective is a former dog walker himself, and he started his security business in 2008 after working for an "unethical" company. Schwartz said the now-defunct service had him walk two dogs at once, even though, unbeknownst to him, one of the pets' owners had paid for a solo session with another walker.

The Post recently tagged along with the real-life Ace Ventura while he monitored dog walkers in Madison Square Park.
"I've been very careful," said the secret agent, who obscured his face with a baseball cap and large sunglasses for the mission. "They don't know."

Schwartz blends into the cityscape, waiting for walkers to leave ritzy apartment buildings and following at a distance with notebook in hand. He has never blown his cover during a stakeout. "It's so beyond the scope of what a dog walker would think would be happening to them that it doesn't even cross their mind that they're being inspected," he said.

The most common canine caper, he said, involves walkers spending less time walking the dog than they should. Walkers charge $20 to $60 for hourlong walks. Recently, an Upper West Side woman hired Schwartz to tail her husky and his walker along Riverside Drive. "She was paying for the hour," he said. "She only got 40 minutes."

The second most frequent offense is passing off the dog-walking duty to someone else. "People are being subbed in on different days," Schwartz said. "The chances of [an owner] finding out are so astronomically impossible."

In one case, he caught a walker feeding a pit bull Halloween candy.

"I thought, 'Why?' " he said. "It was an idiotic thing to do.

Photo: ANGEL CHEVRESTT
Brock Schwartz -- following in the footsteps of Jim Carrey's pet detective, Ace Ventura -- keeps tabs on a client's pooch in Madison Square Park.

‘He’s famous and he doesn’t even know it’
Ralphie loves to play tug of war.
By Joseph Ruzich
Dec. 23, 2010
After news reports that he was tossed out of a car window in Elmhurst (IL), Ralphie might be the most popular dog in the suburbs.

The white and black puppy — made famous after he was thrown out of a vehicle earlier this month in Elmhurst — also thinks of himself as a lapdog, though he is far too big for most laps.

“He’s just a happy dog,” Veterinarian Technician Karen Meyer (pictured below with Ralphie) at the DuPage Animal Hospital in Villa Park said Thursday. “It’s like nothing ever happened to him. He’s famous and he doesn’t even know it.”

Ralphie will be transferred to the West Suburban Humane Society in Downers Grove after the New Year to be put up for adoption, hospital officials said.

The dog has been at the hospital since Dec. 10 after witnesses told police he was thrown out of a vehicle stopped in traffic at the intersection of North Avenue and Route 83. The vehicle fled the scene and a Good Samaritan picked up the dog and brought him to a fitness center until police arrived, according to reports.

On Wednesday, police announced that a Chicago man was charged with cruelty to animals in connection with the incident. Sergiu E. Muresan (left), 26, of the 2400 block of Greenshaw Ave., surrendered at the Elmhurst Police Station on Tuesday, police said. He is being charged with cruel treatment of an animal, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $2,500 fine, according to a news release.

Hospital officials named the puppy “Ralphie” after a character in the 1983 holiday classic “A Christmas Story.” He is believed to be six to eight months old.

Meyer said the staff at the hospital has become attached to him and added that he enjoys being taken outside for walks and just being around people.

Brian Jeffery (pictured at right with Ralphie), manager at the hospital, said he sometimes let Ralphie sit in his office with him and wander around certain parts of the building for exercise. Jeffery said dozens of people are calling the hospital each day wanting to adopt the puppy.

“We’re pretty confident that Ralphie will find a good home,” said Jeffery. “But we’re also hoping [his story] will encourage people to adopt other homeless pets at shelters.”

Photo by Joseph Ruzich

Rescued Injured Dog (and Supermom) Was Found Taking Care of Her Litter and a Kitten, Too
by Josh Loposer
Red Deer, Alberta
Dec 23rd 2010
They say Christmas is a time for giving, but one shepherd mix in Canada really went above and beyond. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, this severely injured single mother found room in her heart to adopt an orphaned kitten -- raising the feline like it was one of her own.

Esperanza, a fluffy white shepherd mix, was discovered on a wilderness reserve near Red Deer in Central Alberta by animal rescue worker Criss Gerwing earlier this month, according to the Free Press. Esperanza had reportedly been hit by a car and her leg was badly broken.

When Gerwing approached the friendly pooch, this exceptional mother led her straight to a den where she was nursing a very unusual litter. "I cried because she was in such bad condition with her leg, but she was obviously nursing her puppies and this kitten," Gerwing told reporters.published.

Touched by Esperanza's generous spirit, Gerwing took the whole mixed-species family straight to the Edmonton Humane Society. According to the shelter's executive director, Stephanie McDonald, "She had a severe fracture of the femur," yet this extraordinary pup was still managing to nurse "five fat, healthy puppies and a kitten."

McDonald speculates that the kitten has probably been with its canine family all of his life. "This canine mom had taken the kitten in as her own, a living example of survival and the power of motherly love," McDonald writes on her blog. Thus, shelter workers named the dog Esperanza, which is Spanish for "hope."

The kitten, according to McDonald, has been temporarily separated from his canine family while he learns to eat kitten food. "Drinking the dog's milk had caused severe stomach problems for the little guy," she says. They will all be together again soon.

Edmonton Humane Society

China online stores offering cat and dog skin products
SHANGHAI
Dec 21, 2010
Thousands of products made from the skins of cats and dogs are being offered on China's largest retail website Taobao, sparking outrage among animal lovers, state media reported Tuesday.

Search results and sales records from Taobao showed the most popular items were trousers and hats made from dog fur, which is touted for its ability to ward off the cold, AFP found after searching the website.

One seller with the username "sjz2ys" boasted that all the cat skin products available in his online store were authentic, though he had only sold one item -- a waistcoat -- in the past month, the Shanghai Daily said.

Animal rights activists said dealers usually targeted stray animals, selling their skins to fur traders in the country's east and the meat to restaurants in the south. "We have volunteers to protect the animals but their efforts are not enough as the government's supervision is inadequate," Zhai Yining, an official with the China Small Animal Protection Association, was quoted saying.

Animal lovers posted comments on popular social networking site Douban calling for the sales of such products to be banned.

"Would those sleeping on a mattress made at the cost of lives feel really happy and comfortable? Isn't that cruel?" one web user said in a comment on a picture of a mattress made from cat fur.

According to rules published by Taobao, online stores caught selling cat or dog meat, furs and fur products would be punished by having their rating points reduced, which could hurt their popularity. But an unnamed official with Alibaba, the operator of Taobao.com, said website inspectors charged with deleting irregular information were overwhelmed by the number of sellers publishing product details.

Weird BUT true
Post Wire Services
December 21, 2010
Tufts University in Massachusetts is throwing stressed-out students a bone -- therapy dogs to play with during finals.

"I hope these puppies make me happy and give me a nice break between studying," said freshman Chloe Wong.

As long as they don't eat her homework.

Pictured: Sully, 5-year-old Australian Shepherd

Dog in Germany gives birth to 17 puppies
BERLIN
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
A dog in Germany has given birth to 17 puppies, leaving their owner thrilled but fatigued after having to feed them with a bottle for several weeks because their mother couldn't cope with the demand.

Owner Ramona Wegemann (right) said Monday she barely slept for more than a couple of minutes without interruption during about four weeks in an "exhausting" struggle to make sure all of the purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback puppies would survive.

At least five times a day, Wegemann gave the dogs a bottle with special milk because their mother's nipples could have never coped with the demand, and when the puppies were not hungry, they wanted to be entertained, she said.

Wegemann said when dogs give birth to so many puppies several of them die within the first week. "But all of our puppies survived. This is incredible and wonderful," the 32-year-old added.

It was the second time that Etana gave birth. She gave birth to eight puppies in her first pregnancy, not uncommon for the dog's breed, Wegemann said.

"The birth of the puppies was very special. All puppies were born naturally, no cesarean was necessary," she added. It took Etana a full 26 hours to give birth to all of the puppies - and Wegemann was as baffled as amazed.

But caring for 17 puppies turned out to be a full-time job: Wegemann put her work as an independent animal psychiatrist on a hold and her husband took as much vacation as he could. Their lives have been turned upside down by the puppies, and their living room is now occupied by a giant box that houses the puppies.

But even Wegemann still struggles to recognize them: The females puppies are called Bahati, Binta, Bahya, Bashima, Batouuli, Binki, Bora, Bisa and the male ones are Baakir, Banjoku, Belay, Bruk, Bundu, Bayo, Bukekayo, Biton and Bulus.

Wegemann gave them all African names because the Rhodesian Ridgeback is an African hunting dog. Wegeman and her husband now plan to give most of the puppies away. A price of euro800 ($1,050) per puppy would only cover the expenses for the veterinary, vaccinations, food and the mandatory paperwork, Wegemann said. She hopes to get about euro1,000 ($1,315) per dog, but said they would only give them to families with children, not breeders.

Four of the puppies have been sold, two more are already paid for and will leave their siblings shortly.

Ap Photos/Markus Schreiber

Seventeen is enough!
By DAVID K. LI
Wire Services
December 24, 2010
Owners of a dog in Germany decided to spay their pooch after she gave birth to 17 puppies in a single litter.

Owner Ramona Wegemann, who bottle-fed the puppies after their mother couldn't cope with the demand, said he was worried she couldn't handle another pregnancy.

LOVE story twixt a woman and her dog
CINDY ADAMS
December 20, 2010
Central Park, 8:15 a.m., frrreezing temperature, the four-legged one flopped into a pond behind the Delacorte Theatre. Instantly, she dove in to save him. Somehow five fire trucks, two ambulances and a couple of police cars rushed to the scene to save her. She suffered from hypothermia. But saved the dog.

Only in New York, kids, only in New York.

The 'ruff' ride is over for pampered jet-setting pet
Jon Hilkevitch
December 19, 2010
While pet owners are renowned for going to extremes to keep their beloved animals happy and safe, Andrea and Bill Ferguson send such devotion straight through the stratosphere.

On Sunday morning, right on schedule, Andrea Ferguson, accompanied by the couple's son, Duke, two dogs and a cat took off in a chartered eight-passenger jet from DuPage Airport in West Chicago to spend the holiday at the family's vacation home near Beaver Creek, Colo. Only baggage flew in the plane's cargo hold.

Bill Ferguson arrived in the Rockies earlier on a commercial flight, missing out on the bone-shaped cantaloupe slices that were served on a silver tray to one of his family members aboard the Cessna Citation V Ultra executive business jet.

The special Pawssport charter flight, operated by Elgin-based Valley Air Service Inc., caters to pets that travel onboard with their owners.

At a time when many airlines have stopped providing pillows and blankets to passengers traveling in the economy section of planes as part of cutting costs, pets on Valley Air flights are given a blanket to sleep on and treats and toys to enjoy.

With less than a week until Christmas, Valley Air presented holiday baskets Sunday containing snowflake toys; "cookies"; a blanket, of course; assorted spa amenities; and other items. The human passengers were taken care of too.

Don't scoff or be jealous, please. Chances are, many animal owners wouldn't think twice about sending their pets first class if they could afford it. One Valley Air customer even took his pet fish on a flight. "They spend their winters in the South," said Maureen Cosyns, co-owner and director of flight operations at Valley Air Service. "So they brought their goldfish with them in a mayonnaise jar all the way to Florida."

The Fergusons, a well-heeled couple from west suburban Wayne, acknowledge this is a very expensive way to travel. Sunday's scheduled two-hour, 45-minute trip to Eagle County Regional Airport near Vail cost about $2,200 an hour, Cosyns said.

The plane, piloted by her husband, Capt. Steve Cosyns, Valley Air's president, and First Officer Jon Harrigan, of Huntley, later Sunday was to fly back to DuPage Airport without any passengers. The plane will return to Colorado in two weeks to pick up the Ferguson clan.

The family makes no bones about the fact that they fly charter for three reasons: Foolish, a Labrador retriever that loves cantaloupe and previously suffered a stressful commercial flight; a golden retriever named Mischief; and Dexter, the tabby. The two dogs are free to roam about the cabin, except during turbulence, takeoff and landing, when all passengers are required to wear seat belts or harnesses. Dexter never leaves his cat carrier.

"The dogs mostly lay on the floor, but the cat is just obnoxious on the plane," Andrea Ferguson said before Sunday's departure. "He's mad about being in the carrier, and he lets everyone know it."

The couple will no longer take what they consider a big gamble by transporting their pets in jetliner cargo holds. They made that decision long before last summer when seven puppies died after landing in an American Airlines plane at O'Hare International Airport. An investigation found that heat may have been a factor.

Winter is not an optimal time to transport animals by air, either, according to animal experts. If the temperature is forecast to be less than 45 degrees, many airlines require a "certificate of acclimation" before allowing an animal to travel in cargo holds. Twenty degrees is the minimum temperature that an animal will be accepted on most airlines. Sunday's temperature was in the teens in the Chicago area.

About 2 million animals travel by air annually, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Fewer than 200 animals have died while being transported by air in the last five years, including 28 this year through October, according to data reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. But those are only the cases involving pet deaths reported by the airlines to the government. The count does not include deaths involving animals shipped by commercial breeders or livestock, officials said.

"Flying commercial with animals is a tremendous hassle and really stressful — on the people and the pets," Andrea Ferguson said. "There are no two ways about it."

The Fergusons had several bad experiences at Midway Airport involving airlines that unloaded pets from arriving planes only after all baggage was removed, resulting in long delays and added stress on the animals. An incident at O'Hare was the last straw. "My husband absolutely loves these dogs," Andrea Ferguson said. "For him, what happened at O'Hare when our Labrador was lost in the baggage-claim area was the last time that dog was going to fly on an airline."

Such a sentiment might explain why 10 percent to 15 percent of Valley Air's executive charter business involves transporting pets, Maureen Cosyns said.

The 16-year-old company employs eight staffers and operates four aircraft, from a turboprop plane to a 12-passenger heavy jet. Though the charter service's business-related travel has suffered because of the weak national economy, Cosyns said, personal and leisure charters have not dropped off.

"We are not the cheapest air charter service, but there are reasons for that," Cosyns said, referring to the company's accident-free safety record and focus on personal service.

Photo: Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune

City howls at doggie tie-up law
By DAVID SEIFMAN
December 18, 2010
Doggone it, we've got enough to do!

That was the city Health Department's response yesterday to a bill that would make it illegal to tie up a pet outdoors for more than three hours.

City Councilman Peter Vallone (D-Queens) (left), an unabashed animal lover and a sponsor of the proposed law, said cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco have already enacted even stricter regulations that ban tethering entirely. "I don't expect the police to go around with stopwatches," he said during a hearing on the measure. "I expect it to be complaint driven."

But Deputy Health Commissioner Dan Kass said the city would be hard pressed to enforce such a measure under any circumstances since inspectors would have to witness the three-hour violation in order to give out $250 summonses.

Woman seeks answers from northern town
Couple's dogs shot
From THE STARPHOENIX
BY JEREMY WARREN
Saskatoon
December 17, 2010
A La Ronge woman is searching for answers after her three dogs were killed by a northern community's dog catcher earlier this month, even though the dogs were wearing collars with ID tags.

Nadia Persaud says her three dogs -- Robine, Hood and Aidan -- were shot by a dog catcher in Buffalo Narrows despite being loose for less than 24 hours and despite the tags that clearly identified their owner's phone number. The dogs were not strays, but merely lost for several hours, which isn't enough time to declare them strays, Persaud said, noting no one called her cellphone number on the tags.

"I'm still waiting for answers from the town," said Persaud, a teacher who travels to northern communities for her job. "They were clearly identified as owned dogs."

The town's mayor is sorry the dogs were killed, but he said public safety takes precedence. "I apologize to that lady," Mayor Bobby Woods (right) said. "Pets are family, but we don't know that when dogs are at large."

On Dec. 3, Persaud's partner, who asked not to be identified, was staying with a friend in Buffalo Narrows, a town of about 1,000 people about 500 kilometres north of Saskatoon. At about 9 a.m. that day, he let the dogs outside into a fenced area. An hour later, the dogs were gone. They couldn't be found despite several hours of searching.

Persaud arrived in Buffalo Narrows the next day and helped her partner scour the town. They stopped at the RCMP detachment and an officer told the couple that the dog catcher probably caught their dogs and that the dogs were probably already dead and buried at the town dump.

Shocked at the idea, Persaud said she started hyperventilating and went outside to calm down. She had rescued the dogs about 10 months ago from Cole Bay, west of La Ronge.

At the dump, the couple searched piles of garbage for their three companions. "We had to dig," Persaud said. The couple found their dogs -- two were shot in the back of the head, the third was shot through the mouth, Persaud said, adding RCMP told her the dogs were killed the day they went missing.

Persaud said the town has yet to answer her questions about the community's stray dog policies.

"I've been phoning every day and I finally gave up," she said. "We want to seek legal action to make sure responsible dog owners like us . . . don't have to go through what we did."

The provincial Northern Municipalities Act gives a town the power to regulate, license, prohibited, impound and destroy animals, all of which allows officials to deal with problems specific to their communities, said Municipal Affairs Ministry spokesperson Jeff Welke.

Buffalo Narrows has a bylaw that allows the town to destroy dogs it deems dangerous, said Woods. "The safety of the public comes first," the mayor said. "If somebody calls us about a stray, we consider it a dangerous dog." Woods said the town had received calls from residents concerned about Persaud's dogs.

The dog catcher probably ignored the tags on the three dogs because the tags were from a different community, Woods said. He has not talked to the dog catcher -- a job filled on an as-needed basis -- about Persaud's dogs. "It's a tough position because of incidents like this," Woods said. "He was following our policies and doing what we asked him to do."

Persaud said she understands that people believe dog catchers in northern communities are preventing maulings, but that's only part of the solution. "Tragedy has happened because of stray dogs," Persaud said, referring to dog mauling incidents from the past year. "I know there is a dog problem in the North, but owners have to spay and neuter their dogs or the problem won't go away."

Woods said the town will look at a different system for handling stray dogs -- such as establishing a small kennel or using live traps -- but the administration has limited funds, a problem faced by many northern municipalities.

"We have a small budget and most of it is used for roads and the landfill and now dog control -- we can't afford that, but we do it," Woods said. "We can't afford the kennels, even."

Disabled Veteran and His Service Dog Targeted by Fort Worth City Officials
Posted by: Megan S.
December 17, 2010
A few weeks ago, we shared Steven and Mimi's heartwarming story with you -- the disabled veteran who was able to get his service dog back, thanks to generous donations from people around the world.

Sadly, in a recent email from Randy Turner, Steven's lawyer, we learn that Steven is being targeted again:

It never ends for Steven Woods, the disabled Iraq war veteran, and his therapy dog, Mimi. Because of all the negative media coverage the city of Fort Worth received when it seized Mimi it has decided to retaliate against Steven. The city is now fining him $7,252 for "failure to quarantine dog," claiming that when he took Mimi and his other dog to the city animal shelter for quarantine last July as ordered by Animal Control they were not his dogs! And even though Steven lives on $779/month disability income the city refuses to let him into the court program for low-income people who can’t afford to pay fines. This is the worst case of malicious prosecution I have seen. Steven was told by the city attorney yesterday that that decision "comes from the top," which obviously means someone way high up in city government.

If unable to pay these additional fines, Steven could end up in jail and lose his dog, yet again. Randy will continue to fight for Steven and welcomes your help.

If you want to help Steven and Mimi stay together, please

sign this petition! √

Original Story

Good Samaritans Save Disabled Veteran's Dog from Death
Posted by: Megan S.
November 30, 2010
After being accused of biting a neighbor, Mimi -- service dog to disabled veteran Steven Woods -- was taken from her home. The neighbor took Mimi to court three months after the incident, despite initially claiming it was not Mimi who had bit him. On Veteran's Day, a two-day court battle ended with a judge ruling Mimi a "dangerous dog."

The judge gave Woods 15 days to pay a $500 dangerous dog registration fee, the impounding fees of $16 a day for six weeks, the cost to neuter Mimi, build a six foot fence and purchase a $100,000 liability insurance policy. If Steven did not follow these requirements, Mimi would be put to death. Steven Woods' monthly disability check is nowhere near enough to pay the fines -- leaving him fearful he would never get his beloved companion back.

Thanks to generous animal lovers around the world, donations were quickly sent to pay the fees needed to bring Mimi home. In the end, it was an emotional and happy reunion. Randy Turner, Steven's lawyer (right), expressed his gratitude to all who supported them:

"I want to say again how profoundly grateful that Steven and I are for the incredible outpouring of support that he and Mimi received from all over the DFW area, Texas, the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Thanks to your countless emails and phone calls to Ft. Worth government officials we were able to get Mimi back home without months of protracted litigation that, quite frankly, we might have lost in the end."

Canada Border Services Agency
marketwire
Minister Toews Welcomes Graduation of CBSA's First Tobacco Detector Dog Teams
RIGAUD, QUEBEC
Dec 16, 2010
The Honourable Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety (below left), today congratulated the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) on training the first detector dog teams in Canada whose job it is to find contraband tobacco products. The two teams, which received training at the CBSA's National Institute of Learning and Excellence in Rigaud, will be deployed to ports of entry in Montréal and Vancouver, the regions with the highest amount of contraband activity, including illegal tobacco.

The CBSA detector dog teams fulfill one of the key commitments made by the Government of Canada in May 2010 as part of an overall plan to combat contraband tobacco. Other initiatives include a special enforcement unit headed by the RCMP and an awareness campaign on the damaging effects of contraband tobacco in Canadian communities.

"The government continues to be vigilant because we recognize that the proceeds of contraband tobacco fuel organized crime and undermine the safety and security of our communities," said Minister Toews. "These specialized teams give the CBSA more effective tools for disrupting and reducing illegal tobacco activity."

Two detector dog teams from the Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) also completed training. "The participation of CSC at this graduation is a testament to the CBSA's international reputation as a leader in detection training and the contributions it makes to public safety," said Minister Toews.

The CBSA's new tobacco detector dog teams are: Daniel Valois and Fire, a Springer spaniel, and Arthur Tsu and Magnum, a Labrador retriever. Both teams are looking forward to deploying to Montréal and Vancouver to assist the Agency in the fight against contraband tobacco.

Detector dogs have been protecting Canada's border for over 30 years by helping border services officers find drugs, firearms, currency, food, plant and/or animal products, and now contraband tobacco, which are concealed and can be hazardous.

The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation?
New Book on the Animal Rights Debate
Law professor and animal rights activist Gary Francione (pictured) has co-authored a new book about the animal rights debate.

As a law professor at Rutgers, an author, and a lecturer, Francione is one of the most prolific leaders of the animal rights community. He maintains a blog called "Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach" which outlines his philosophy.

The new book is called The Animal Rights Debate: Abolition or Regulation? and features Gary Francione arguing for abolishing the status of animals as property, while political theorist Robert Garner argues for regulation of the animal agriculture industry.

The importance of the issue debated in this book cannot be overstated. Whether the movement should move forward purely on abolitionist, animal rights objectives or whether we should embrace animal welfare regulation defines everything from our rhetoric to our tactics to our future plans and objectives.

Only by changing their status as property can we ever have an ethical relationship with animals.

In the same way that the solution to the issue of African slavery in America wasn't to pass laws that made a slave's life marginally more comfortable. The solution wasn't to enact a "slave welfare act" that outlawed certain specific treatments of slaves. The solution wasn't to create a "humanely treated slave" label to attach to human beings to make people feel better about buying them. The solution was to abolish slavery, to fight against the status of human beings as the property of another.

In order to truly alleviate the suffering of the animals we torture, persecute, confine, kidnap, and murder, we must never cease to advocate against the status of animals as the property of humans. As long as animals remain the property of human beings, words like "humane" will always be a cruel mockery to the beings we exploit.

Click √ on cover to order from Amazon

President Signs New Crush Act into Law
December 10, 2010
On Thursday, December 9, at a ceremony at the White House, President Barack Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 into law. The new law prohibits the creation and distribution of “crush videos” and establishes a penalty of up to seven years in prison.

In April 2010, the United States Supreme Court struck down the original “Crush Act” (the Depictions of Animal Cruelty Act), a federal law passed in 1999, finding its language to be overbroad and unconstitutional. The law was meant to stop the creation and sale of crush videos and other depictions of illegal acts of animal cruelty. The animal welfare and law enforcement communities have been concerned that lack of a federal law to prohibit crush videos would lead to resurgence in their trade—done mostly via the Internet—which was suppressed effectively by the 1999 law.

The Court’s ruling did leave the door open for the Act to be rewritten—and to their credit, several members of Congress wasted no time in drafting and introducing amendments that would 1) withstand test of constitutionality, and 2) address one of the Court’s main problems with the original Act by including exemptions for visual depictions of hunting, trapping, and fishing. The Senate version of the legislation was introduced by U.S. Senators Jon Kyl (R-AZ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Richard Burr (R-NC); the House version was introduced by Representatives Elton Gallegly (R-CA) and Gary Peters (D-MI) (pictured below, left to right).

“The ASPCA has long recognized the dangerous potential for animal cruelty to lead to more serious crimes,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood (right), Senior Vice President of ASPCA Forensic Sciences and Anti-Cruelty Projects.

“By banning crush videos, our federal government is potentially helping to protect the community from other serious crimes and sending a clear message to individuals seeking to profit from the suffering of helpless animals. This law protects both animals and free speech by focusing specifically on crush videos, which clearly have no place in our society.”

The Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act has a narrower focus than the 1999 law, but still prohibits creating or distributing depictions of non-human animals being intentionally crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.

Sen. Kyl	Sen. Merkley	Sen. Burr	Rep. Gallegly	Rep. Peters

Cold Weather Pet Care
December 1, 2010
December has arrived! And though we may still be snacking on leftover turkey, snow in the Midwest and windy rainstorms in the Northeast remind us that Jack Frost is on his way.

As you prepare to head into the cold weather with your pets, keep these tips in mind so that your furry friend stays safe while having fun outside.

Fur only goes so far. If you’re feeling cold enough that you think it’s time to go inside, chances are your pet feels the same way. Even if your animal has a coat or winter gear, make sure not to expose him to the elements for too long. While outside, if you notice your pet becoming less active or looking for a place to burrow or hide, he may be telling you he wants to head indoors.

Don’t rub it in—the salt, that is. Well-meaning neighbors and shopkeepers treat sidewalks against the elements to avoid slips, but the salt can cause cracked skin and even bleeding on animal paws. After your pets come in from the cold, wipe their paw pads with warm water and dry the paws completely to avoid any rawness. Checking your pet’s whiskers for any dampness can also help to avoid discomfort.

Also, if your pet has been walking or playing in deeper snow, be sure to clean and dry his belly. This practice will also prevent the accidental ingestion of any antifreeze or de-icing chemicals that your pet may have on his fur.

Comfort food. When your pet is outdoors, staying warm consumes more energy than his usual activity. Keep your pet well fed with high-protein foods to help him enjoy the weather. And of course, make sure that water bowls are not only full, but also unfrozen—so that pets don’t seek alternate, potentially unsafe sources of water outdoors.

Tagging tips. Microchipping or tagging your pet is always important, especially in the wintertime, when more dogs are lost than at other times of year. Because animals can lose their scent in the snow and ice and become lost more easily, make sure that your pet’s ID is up-to-date for the season.

Indoors doesn’t always mean safe. Even indoors, dogs and cats will seek out just about any source of warmth, so take the time to “pet-proof” your home in cold weather by making sure that space heaters, fireplaces, and even car engines are secured against animals looking for a cozy place to nap. Also, bird owners should make sure that cages are a comfortable distance from any drafty spots.

Taking a few moments to protect your pet against winter weather will ensure his health and comfort, so stay safe before hitting the frosty outdoors.

Photos, top to bottom - Rodin, Frida, Sophie: R.Coane/From-The-DOGHOUSE.com

Let It Snow
By DogAge Staff
12/09/2010
When walking in your winter wonderland, keep canine safety in mind.

If you live in a cold climate, remember that chemical salt used to melt ice on sidewalks and roads can injure paws, so rinse and dry them after snowy walks. If fake spray snow is more the norm in your climate, discourage your dog from licking or eating it and allow proper ventilation when applying it to surfaces. Solvent fumes and aerosol propellants can cause harm to both humans and pets.

AP-Petside.com poll: Dogs are Santa's favorites
By SUE MANNING
LOS ANGELES
December 8, 2010
Dogs have more to look for under the tree this Christmas than cats do.

Fifty-six percent of dog owners say they'll buy their pets a gift this Christmas, but only 48 percent of cat owners plan a gift. A majority of all pet owners — 53 percent — said in an Associated Press-Petside.com poll that they plan to get their animals a present this holiday season.

Debbye Meszaros' two dogs, Sasha and Sophie (left), will be getting rawhide bones while the family hamster, Star, gets a bigger wheel and Princess, the guinea pig, gets new bedding.

"There will also be something under the tree from the animals to the kids, too," said Meszaros, 40, of Olney, Md. Last year, when her husband was stationed in Italy for the Navy, the family managed to find edible rawhide greeting cards to give other dogs in the neighborhood.

The AP-Petside.com poll, conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, also showed that women (56 percent) are somewhat more likely than men (49 percent) to buy their animals a gift.

The number of pet owners planning to buy presents for their animals this year is nearly the same as last year. In an October 2009 AP-Petside.com poll, 52 percent planned to buy a gift for their pet, an increase over 2008, when just 43 percent said they planned to buy their pet a gift. The results suggest the increase seen in last year's poll was sustained as the economy continued its slow recovery.

The Page family in Moriarty, N.M., will stuff stockings full of toys and bones for their black Labs, Addy and Bella. There may be a little something under the tree, too, along with all the gifts for the family's four children, said Heather Page, 32. "Our dogs used to get a lot more attention before we got kids, so if we can do this little thing for them I think that's good," she said. "The kids find it very entertaining to open the gifts for the dogs."

But the other animals? Out of luck. There will be no presents for the family's barn cats, koi or zebra finches.

Last year was a big year for Cindy Bailey's rescue cats — they got new beds. This year it will probably be toys, said Bailey, of Davenport, Iowa. The cats will also make the family Christmas card and photo — but not so Green Birdie, a parakeet. "We don't do much with the bird. He's an afterthought, poor thing. He was never a very social bird," said Bailey, 59, who still plans to buy a toy for Green Birdie.

Irene Belanger, 71, and her husband live in a retirement complex in Goffstown, N.H., and they aren't allowed to have any dogs, but that doesn't stop her from shopping for her "granddogs."

Elvis, a 13-year-old black Lab, belongs to her oldest son and likes chewy bones, she said. Her daughter's long-haired Dachshund loves treats and her smooth-haired Fox Terrier likes anything she can push around, Belanger said.

The poll showed that the majority of pet owners who plan to buy their pet a gift are dedicated even in the face of financial adversity: Even among those in families touched by job loss in the past six months, 56 percent planned to buy their pet a holiday gift.

Karen Wardlaw, 58, of Roseburg, Ore., said she plans to leave her Pomeranian Wolfee with a friend for the holiday while she visits her brother. There won't be a tree because she won't be home, there will be no cards because stamps cost too much and there will be no Christmas photo because she doesn't have a camera, Wardlaw said. But she has one last toy from a four-pack for Wolfee waiting in the closet for when she gets home.

The poll showed that renters (66 percent) are more apt to pamper their pets than homeowners (49 percent).

And while fewer than half of those who attend religious services weekly or more often say they plan to buy their pets a gift, 60 percent of those who never attend services do.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted October 13-20, 2010 and involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,000 pet owners nationwide, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Top left: Ap Photo
DOGHOUSE Solstice pitchoors: R. Coane/From-The-DOGHOUSE.com

Hot Holiday Pet Products
New gifts on the market to fit your shopping budget
By Charlotte Reed
December 9, 2010
As the holiday season kicks into high gear, many individuals are on the hunt for gift ideas for their fellow pet lovers or for their own pets.

Recently, Pet Socialite Events invited 25 pet product designers and companies to showcase their latest pet products at the "No Place Like Home" pet product showcase in New York City.

Guests at the event had the opportunity to check out the latest innovative pet products for the home. From hangout spots and games to cleaning and safety products, these solution-oriented products are ideal additions to any holiday gift list. And best of all, most of the items retail for under $15.

To challenge your dogs, try the unique line of puzzle toys from Kyjen. Most dogs instinctively enjoy the challenge of hunting and seeking out the hidden food, and these games occupy and challenge your dogs' cognitive skills.

And for kids who are learning to take care of the family pet, check out the dog-sized kid leash from Pet Acoustics. The product is ergonomically designed for kids to give them control and confidence while walking their dog.

Also, if you're looking to spice up your dog's dinner table, check out the pet bowl placemat from Dogs Unleashed . In pink, blue, or tan -- and at a retail price of only $5.99 -- this affordable mat soaks up spills to make clean-up a snap.

COMMENTARY
Daddy Bob says this is all fine and fun but we buy our presents where they do most good, at organizations that serve and care for aminals. Click √ on logos below and shop 'til you drop for a worthy paws!

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ON TO A NEW LIFE
The 123 dogs removed from a failed Arkansas shelter are now getting the TLC they need.
By Ted Brewer
December 3, 2010
Because of the mange she has, which can add years to the appearance of any dog, it’s hard to tell exactly how old sheis. By her grey muzzle, however, she appears to be rather old, which is why we’ve named her Grandma (left). By the low hang of her teats, she also appears to have had more than the one litter she’s nursing now, a litter counting nine.

Grandma and her pups are just ten of the 123 dogs Best Friends is currently caring for in Russellville, Arkansas, as part of an emergency response we’re calling the Razorbacks Rescue. In cooperation with Best Friends, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) removed the dogs from the deplorable conditions they were living in at a failed rescue a few miles outside of the town of Hector. The woman who oversaw the rescue and who may be charged with animal cruelty, voluntarily forfeited ownership of the dogs to Pope County, Arkansas. Best Friends has established a memorandum of understanding with the county that allows us to care for the dogs and place them, at the appropriate time, with other rescues or organizations.

“This was a situation in which animals were in dire need of immediate help,” says Judah Battista, interim director of Best Friends’ Community Programs and Services. “Thankfully, we have an Emergency Response team which was able to get there quickly and establish a staging area for the care of the dogs.”

When Best Friends’ Emergency Response team arrived on the premises last Tuesday, they found dogs starving. Many were suffering from mange, parvovirus, worms and other illnesses. While some were running loose on the trash-strewn property — the site of a former hog farm and two former puppy mills — others were crammed into barns piled with feces. A few had gunshot wounds, and some, including a puppy we’ve named Willy (right), were suffering from injuries that either never healed or were never treated.

When Willy was found, one of his eyes was infected and sealed shut. Further inspection revealed his eye had been stitched because of some previous injury, but the stitches had never been taken out, as they should have been. His eye, unfortunately, had to be removed.

Learning to trust again
But Willy, Grandma and the 119 other dogs are now safe and stabilized indoors at what used to be a diesel truck repair shop, adjacent to and owned by the Southwind Animal Hospital in Russellville. There, the Best Friends’ Emergency Response team and several volunteers are feeding and walking the dogs, cleaning their crates, helping see to their medical care and doing whatever else needs to be done to usher them through this rough stretch.

“The dogs are now settling into a routine,” says Clay Myers, logistics coordinator for Best Friends’ Emergency Response team. “They’re getting to know and trust us. We’re starting to see their personalities come out.”

All but a few of the dogs are well socialized. A group of six to 12 dogs are in excellent condition and look as though they had lived only briefly at the failed rescue.

Myers says that the mange, which will take a number of days to clear up, is obviously causing Grandma to suffer. In spite of her condition, she’s “incredibly sweet,” he says, and taking excellent care of her puppies.

“She’s got nine puppies, and she keeps track of every one of them,” he says. “She’s a good mama.”

Not turning a blind eye Myers says that it’s been “incredibly nice” to be caring for these dogs at a veterinarian clinic.

Veterinarian Dr. Corry Key, who is the owner of Southwind Animal Hospital, and her husband Justin were instrumental in saving the dogs. They both had visited the rescue and offered their assistance to the woman running it, only to be rebuffed. Because of their complaints to the Pope County Sheriff’s Department, the department decided to investigate. Now the Keys are working tirelessly alongside the Best Friends team to care for the dogs, with Dr. Corry spaying/neutering the dogs and performing other surgeries throughout the day.

“They turned over the entire clinic to the care of these dogs,” says Anna Gonce, senior manager of Best Friends’ Community Programs and Services. “They worked 12 hours on Thanksgiving and have turned away all but their critical patients to help these dogs. They’ve been nothing short of magnificent.”

The Keys aren’t the only locals turning up to help. The number of people showing up at Southwind to volunteer has continued to escalate since we put the word out last week via e-mail. Ronnie and Angie DeForrest, Best Friends members who received the e-mail, have been making the 160-mile round trip from their home in Little Rock to volunteer. Both are yearly volunteers at the Sanctuary and attended our “How to Start a Sanctuary” workshop.

“It’s sad what people can do, and the circumstances they can put animals into,” Angie says when asked what compelled her to volunteer. “I just can’t turn away.”

How you can help:

Volunteer!
Best Friends Animal Society needs volunteers to help with the daily care of rescued dogs in Arkansas. We need volunteers from Nov. 24 to approximately Dec. 4. The maximum time that any volunteer can work is seven days straight, but we will take anything in between. For details and information on how you can get involved in the Razorback Rescue, please e-mail tracyk@bestfriends.org.

Organizations Needed!
Best Friends is looking for good rescues and shelters that might be able to take some of these dogs. If your group can help, please e-mail lizf@bestfriends.org.

Donate!
Text to Give:
• Text the word SAVE to 90999 to give $10
• When prompted, reply with YES to confirm your one-time gift
• The $10 one-time donation will appear on your next mobile bill
• Receipts can be printed at www.mGive.org/receipt

Online donations: click √ below to show your support of these dogs in need.

Photos by Clay Myers & Barb Davis

Shelter Pet Project Creates Strong Network
Advocacy group highlights pet adoption on Facebook
By Amy Lieberman
December 3, 2010
Shelter pets received thousands of shout-outs on Facebook and Twitter on Nov. 30, as the Shelter Pet Project encouraged its present followers and potential new ones to use their Internet social networking skills for a greater good. But the designated one-day campaign appears to have stuck well with former shelter pet owners who continue to log in and share their love stories with their pets.

The Shelter Pet Project, a joint effort by the Humane Society of the United States, Maddie’s Fund and the Ad Council, launched its “Celebrate Shelter Pets on Facebook Day” on Tuesday, prompting social media coordinator Christie Keith (below right)to have to struggle to keep up with the heavy flow of stories, pictures and notes people posted about their animals rescued from shelters.

“It couldn’t have gone better. I was absolutely stunned. Not even in my wildest dreams had I imagined – it is still happening right now, even though it ended last night – just people posting tributes and love songs to their pets,” Keith told zootoo Pet News. “In a one minute period there would be 30 to 40 posts and I would refresh the page and then there would be a whole other batch of comments.”

Founded in 2009, the Shelter Pet Project is a unique advocacy group.

“We don’t want your e-mail address and we don’t take donations,” Keith said.

What it does is develop and promote unique advertising campaigns – often with multimedia elements – to appeal to prospective pet owners about the benefits of considering a shelter pet.

And there’s nothing better than hearing from thousands of people – the Shelter Pet Project had its number of “Likes” on Facebook increase from around 19,000 to 25,000 in one day on Nov. 30, and that number has since risen by several more hundred – about why they are glad they brought their dog or cat home from the shelter.

“We did research with the Ad Council and found that the number one reason people fail to follow through on their commitment to adopt from a shelter is because they believe something is wrong with pets in shelters, that they come with a certain amount of baggage,” Keith explained. “Most of the pets have nothing wrong with them.”

This initiative, which was a first of its kind, went above and beyond in showing that, Keith says. “I was very struck by the number of people who adopted animals most people would traditionally think of as a little less than adorable,” she said.

One Facebook user posted about her dog Zelda, who got abandoned at the age of nine by her family when they moved to a nursing home. “She was at a city shelter for six months, passed over by people wanting younger dogs,” Zelda’s owner said. “We are the luckiest people in the world to have found her. She was a dear friend and great love for five amazing years.”

Another Shelter Pet Project Facebook follower wrote about her four-year-old mutt, Chilidog, who survived five months in a kill shelter in Georgia and then a long journey by truck from Georgia to Connecticut. “Although it makes me sad to know what he lived through, we are so happy and committed to making the rest of his life wonderful,” his new owner wrote.

In the past, the Shelter Pet Project has done series of multimedia public service campaigns, including a series of T.V. advertisements that use live animation, enabling pets to “speak directly to you.”

“We try to use humor as we think it’s important to not just hit people with doom and gloom messages,” Keith said.

With News Wire Services
Man marries dog in wedding ceremony in Australia
BY JAIME URIBARRI
Thursday, December 2nd 2010
Dog is more than man's best friend for one Australian.

Joseph Guiso, a seemingly normal 20-year-old from the city Toowoomba, married Honey, his 5-year old yellow Labrador, in an elaborate wedding ceremony in a local park.

Thirty or so friends and relatives attended the unusual nuptials, which included Guiso getting down on both knees to read his vows to his freakishly hairy bride.

"You're my best friend and you make every part of my day better," Guiso lovingly said, according to the Toowoomba Chronicle.

Honey, who was decked out in a white cape for the occasion, responded by licking her groom's face, sealing the union for eternity.

A self-described religious man, Guiso laughed off critics and denied his relationship with the dog he adopted five years ago goes anything beyond Platonic love.

"It's not sexual," he insisted.

Despite some negative feedback, particularly from animal rights groups, Guiso is clearly relishing the attention the wedding has brought him.

"We're definitely Australia's hottest new couple… Brad and Angelina — your time is over."

That's not to say all's going smoothly for the new couple. "I think [Honey's] a bit angry about all the publicity; she's been giving me the silent treatment," Guiso said.

Suspects identified in death of police K-9
WPVI-TV/DT / 6abc.com
By VERNON ODOM
GLOUCESTER TWP., N.J
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
20-year-old Skyler Robinson (right top)and 19-year-old Evan Scotese (right bottom), both from Sewell NJ, are being held on $150,000 full cash bail.

Robinson was a standout high school football running back from Washington Township High School. A 2009 profile on ESPN.com said he was considering the Pittsburgh Panthers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Temple Owls, Delaware Fighting Blue Hens and the Villanova Wildcats. Both are charged with robbery and resisting arrest. Robinson charged with assaulting a law enforcement animal.

The dog killed, named Schultz, was a member of the Gloucester Township, New Jersey police force.

Around 7:00 Tuesday night, police say Robinson and Scotese held up the Lucky Dragon Chinese Restaurant in 400 block of East Church Street in the Blackwood section of Gloucester Township. Police say they assaulted an employee, grabbed money from the register, and fled on foot.

The canine picked up the scent of one of the suspects behind the restaurant. A half mile away, the German Shepherd caught up with Robinson on the shoulder of Route 42.

Somehow, police say Robinson got ahold of Schultz and threw him into oncoming traffic. Schultz was killed instantly. Robinson also was injured by the car that struck Schultz.

A person convicted of killing a police animal in New Jersey could be sentenced to five years in prison.

Overnight, Gloucester Township police officers lined up outside the Chews Landing Veterinary Hospital. They saluted a fallen hero, a K-9 who had served as part of their police force for nearly all of its three and a half year life.

The German shepherd lived with a family and they too came to the animal hospital to say a final goodbye.

"It's a very difficult time for us tonight," said Gloucester Township Police Chief Harry Earle (right). "There was no respect for injuring someone. And obviously no respect for injuring an animal as well."

Schultz was given his name as the result of an essay contest in a school in the Philadelphia suburb. The winning entry, from a fifth-grader, said the dog should be named after Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, a tough hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1970s.

Counseling was being offered to the boy who won the contest to name Schultz two years ago.

Gloucester Township Police announced on facebook that a memorial fund has been set up.

Click √ to access

UPDATE

Hero Dog Memorialized With Candlelight Vigil
KPHO Phoenix
The life of "Target" the dog will be remembered in a candlelight vigil at the Pinal County fairgrounds on
December 3.

The vigil is a community-wide effort to recognize the heroic actions of Target and other four-legged friends who have died.

Young said he wants this to be as big as possible.

He said he also would like to make sure not just Pinal County, but the whole nation understands that these "mistakes" need to end.

Young would also like those who are unable to attend to light a candle in honor of Target.

The vigil will be 6:30-7 p.m. Dec. 3

The Owner Was at Fault too
E-MAIL
November 19, 2010
To the Editor:
Re EXTRA!!! - SCOOP & HOWL - Afghan Hero Dog Is Euthanized by Mistake:
I agree it was terrible this dog was euthanized (it was on the news tonight) -- but, was she micro-chipped? Collar with ID tag? Tattooed? NO! That is irresponsible! Did the owner call AND visit the shelter to check to see if she was there as soon as she was lost -- every day? Did he leave a photo with his name and phone #? When he saw her photo on the web site, did he call up (frantically and in relief) to say "You have my dog-- I'm coming to get her!" and then rush down to retrieve her? No -- he paid a fine on-line and apparently didn't even check the web site to see when the shelter was open. I would have been down there as soon as I could, and I think you would too!

When our dog Bullwinkle got away from our dog-sitter we did all of the above, including huge signs up all over the neighborhood -- calling ALL the shelters (even near-by counties in case he had been picked up by someone from another area), had every kid in the neighborhood out looking -- we even called the county agency which picks up dead animals on the road -- several times. Though, as an obvious purebred Standard Schnauzer, micro-chipped -- and with an almost 100% no-kill local shelter -- he was probably pretty safe had he ended up at the pound. (He finally came home on his own after 4 days in the woods).

It's what you have to do to ensure your dog's safety ... they depend on you and it is up to you to keep them safe.

No, she should not have been euthanized but the owner was at fault too -- IMHO!

Gail M.

Lesson in Hero Dog’s Death
LETTER
November 19, 2010
To the Editor:
Re “Hero Dog From Afghan Base Is Killed by Mistake in Arizona”:
The story of Target, the Afghan hero dog, is truly heartbreaking. The important lesson, however, one that would add to Target’s legacy, is that all of us who love our dogs need to make sure that they have a tag and, even better, a microchip. This misadventure could have been avoided!

Sandy Brenner
Elkins, N.H.

Pinal County Animal Care & Control
Clarification
November 20, 2010
In regards to the incident which occurred at the Pinal County Animal Control Facility, the City of Casa Grande joins with Pinal County officials in their concern over this incident. For clarification purposes, the animal was under the control of Pinal County and housed at their facility at 11 Mile Corner. The facility is sometimes identified as the County’s Casa Grande shelter.

Worker Fired in War-Hero Dog’s Death
FLORENCE, Ariz
November 19, 2010
A Pinal County employee has been fired after euthanizing a dog that helped thwart an attack by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan, officials said.

The employee, whom officials did not identify, worked at the Animal Care and Control facility in Casa Grande and was placed on administrative leave after euthanizing the dog, a female shepherd mix, by mistake on Monday. The firing was announced Friday.

The dog, named Target, belonged to Sgt. Terry Young, an Army medic. He said she was a stray that intimidated a suicide bomber at his base in Afghanistan, preventing American fatalities.

Target escaped Sergeant Young’s yard on Nov. 12 and did not have a tag or microchip. Sergeant Young found her picture on a county Web site used to track lost pets. He went to the shelter Monday to claim Target, only to learn she was dead.

Arizona Accidentally Assassinates Hero Dog
By RAY GUSTINI
November 19, 2010
Arizona has been making a lot of people mad lately, a streak that's likely continue now that the Pinal County animal shelter has accidentally euthanized Target, the Afghan dog who became a media sensation and went to live with a nice family with a big yard after she foiled a suicide bomber's attack on an Afghan-U.S. military base in February.

Afghan Hero Dog Is Euthanized by Mistake in U.S.
By MARC LACEY
FLORENCE, Ariz.
November 18, 2010
When a suicide bomber entered an American military barracks in Afghanistan in February, it was not American soldiers but Afghan stray dogs that confronted him. Target and two other dogs snarled, barked and snapped at the man, who detonated his bomb at the entrance to the facility but did not kill anyone.

The dogs were from the Dand Aw Patan district, in the eastern Paktia Province near the Pakistani border. One died of wounds suffered in the blast, and months later, Target (right, with Rufus,pictured at left) and the other dog, Rufus, were flown to the United States by a charity and adopted by families. Target — who received a hero’s welcome, including an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” — went to live with the family of Sgt. Terry Young (below right), 37, an Army medic who witnessed the animals’ bravery that night and helped treat the dogs and several American soldiers who were wounded.

The glory, though, was short-lived. Target, after learning to get along with the Young family’s other dog in Arizona, becoming accustomed to dog food and to using a doggie door to relieve herself, escaped from her yard. She was captured last week and euthanized by mistake.

“My 4-year-old keeps saying: ‘Daddy, bring Target home. Daddy, get the poison out,’ ” Sergeant Young, a father of three, said in a telephone interview, his voice choking with emotion. “Obviously, at first there was extreme anger and horror. Now that a couple of days have passed, the anger has been replaced by sorrow.”

To say that Target was a celebrated mutt would be an understatement. Beyond caresses from Oprah, the shepherd mix had appeared on all the major television news channels upon her move to the United States and had won a local Hero Award as dog of the year.

Target, not used to being confined, escaped Friday afternoon from Sergeant Young’s home in the San Tan Valley area in central Arizona. After being spotted on the loose, she was reported to Pinal County’s animal control. Target was brought to the county animal shelter in Florence, where she was held just like any other run-of-the-mill stray. Because she had no tag, microchip or license with the county, her photo went up on the shelter’s Web site on Friday in hopes that her owner might respond.

Sergeant Young spotted Target’s photo online on Friday and paid the fee by computer to recover her. He mistakenly thought the shelter was closed for the weekend.

By the time Sergeant Young arrived at the pound on Monday, the shelter employee in charge of euthanizing animals that day had apparently picked the wrong dog out of the pen and administered a lethal injection, performing what the shelter referred to as “P.T.S.,” or put to sleep.

“I am heartsick over this,” Ruth Stalter, the county’s animal care and control director, said in a statement. “I had to personally deliver the news to the dog’s owner, and he and his family are understandably distraught.”

Barraged with criticism, the county ordered an investigation and placed the unidentified woman who euthanized Target on administrative leave. “This is unacceptable,” Ms. Stalter said, “and no family should be deprived of their companion because procedures were not followed.”

The county offered the Young family the services of a grief counselor who specializes in pet issues and agreed to refund the recovery fee and waive any fines, said Heather Murphy, a county spokeswoman. “We are not shying away from this,” she said. “We screwed up, and we’re acknowledging that.”

Target’s fate has mushroomed into more than a family tragedy. Because of the dog’s fame and her heroics in battle, there has been an outpouring of grief.

A candlelight vigil is planned for Dec. 3 to honor Target.

Sergeant Young said he might spread the dog’s ashes, which were provided by the animal shelter, at a memorial service, perhaps at the park where Target used to frolic off leash.

A lawyer specializing in animal issues has also contacted Sergeant Young, who said a lawsuit was possible.

Recalling those difficult days in Afghanistan, Sergeant Young said that perhaps because he and the other soldiers were living like dogs themselves, they bonded with the strays that found their way onto the base. “Our rooms could be mistaken for kennels with the cement floors, smell of urine and feces, razor wire and chain-linked fence all around the compound,” he wrote for his hometown paper in Oklahoma, The McCook Daily Gazette, just days after Target joined him in August.

Target had her own Facebook page for those who wanted to follow her new life in the United States. Since word of her death has spread, fans have written of their shock and outrage.

The page has been used to organize a write-in campaign to Pinal County officials to express outrage at what happened.

“Nooooooooooo!!! So so sad :-( Thank you for all you did Target! Amazing that you survived a war, but not an American shelter ... something is wrong here, baby,” read one posting.

The No Kill Advocacy Center has used Target’s death to raise the profile of its campaign to end the euthanizing of millions of cats and dogs at shelters every year.

And the Puppy Rescue Mission, the organization that raised the several thousand dollars to bring Target to the United States, has expanded its mission to encourage pet owners to install microchips in their animals so they can be easily traced.

At the shelter where Target died, there is significant despair as well, county officials said. “On Monday, I spoke with the director and if she was not openly crying, she was fighting back tears,” Ms. Murphy said. “You don’t do this work if you don’t care about animals.”

“They love when someone adopts an animal or an animal is returned to its owner. That’s the best part of the job,” Ms. Murphy said. “But there is roadkill to pick up, and we recently had to pick up 154 cats from a trailer with no running water. These jobs are thankless even on a good day.”

The official investigation into what happened will go beyond one employee’s error and look into the policies of the shelter, officials said. Already, one former employee has come forward to say that he almost euthanized the wrong animal on several occasions.

“They said, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it, mistakes happen,’ and we went on,” the former employee, Jason Melroy, told local television station KTAR. “I sedated a dog that wasn’t supposed to be put to sleep. Thank God another officer found it."

Photo of Rufus and Target: Johnny Crawford/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, via AP

ORIGINAL STORY

Hero to be reunited with soldier he saved
Dog gets his day
By CYNTHIA R. FAGEN
July 27, 2010

Rufus with Sgt. Chris Duke	Rufus
Click √ on images above for Archive story

In Memoriam

TARGET

COMMENTARY

NO KILL
THE KILLING MUST STOP
Animals are not "euthanized", they are not "put to sleep".
THEY ARE KILLED.
No kill. No Mistakes.

Rodin Schnauzer Coane
Edior in Chief

Click √ above for information

It's not that no-kill is a better way; it's that stopping the killing is the only way.

As long as the humane establishment accepts killing as a solution, there will never be a solution. And the sooner they take killing off the table, once and for all, the sooner the shelters will adopt the real solutions.

And the sooner we take killing off the table as a means to relating to people whom we don't like, the sooner we'll bring an end to war as a way of bringing about peace.

MICHAEL MOUNTAIN
President, Best Friends Animal Society

To Kill or Not to Kill?

No Kill Resources

Guardians of Rescue Ask Where Is Afghan Hero Dog Target's Combat War Medal?
NEW YORK, NY
Nov 18, 2010
On Monday, November 15th, 2010, Target -- a hero dog brought home from Afghanistan and reported on by the media, including being featured on Oprah Winfrey -- was purported to have been accidentally euthanized while at the Pinal County Animal Care & Control shelter in Pinal County, Arizona. She had been living with Sgt. Terry Young, one of the fifty soldiers whose life she had saved in Afghanistan.

What happened to Target? Young and Robert Misseri (left), president of Guardians of Rescue, both want to know.

Sgt Terry Young has asked The Guardians of Rescue to look into what happened to Target and to work so that steps can be taken to prevent this type of tragedy from repeating itself at other shelters.

Robert Misseri, president of Guardians of Rescue, was instrumental in securing customs documents for Target -- as well as Rufus, another hero dog. Misseri brought their story to the media's attention. Misseri says, "Puppy Rescue Mission and NOWZAD worked very hard on the plight to bring Target to the states, assuming she would live a peaceful life." "There's the personal side to this, to love a valiant dog like Target and see this type of thing happen, but there's much more," said Misseri.

Misseri feels that pressure needs to be put on county commissioners as well as shelter directors to see that the staff is following protocol and proper procedure at all times. When an animal's life and safety is on the line there is no room for error.

Misseri continued, "The following points need to be focused on: Target's owner, Sgt. Terry Young was told by an employee at the shelter that Target was a 'bag of bones.' Why this type of disgraceful behavior?"

Misseri has one big question on his mind:

"What happened to the combat medal Target was given for her bravery, who took it?" When Sgt Terry Young was given Target's collar by the Penal County Shelter the medal that was attached was missing.

Guardians of Rescue is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving conditions in animal shelters throughout the country. Some of their focus areas are:

• Improving communication between the pet loving public and municipal animal shelters.
• Transforming more shelters into "no-kill" shelters, as well as to increase the adoption rate at public shelters. This would spare other animals the unjust and tragic fate Target met with.

CONTACT:
Ara E. Chekmayan
Tactical Public Relations
212-794-0004
ara@tacticalpr.com
www.Guardiansofrescue.org

Click √ above for information

Should TSA let passenger screening go to the dogs?
It's time to send bomb-detecting dogs sniffing up and down lines of passengers at airports, say some security analysts. Dogs may reduce the need for TSA screening that is more invasive of personal privacy.
By Mark Clayton
November 30, 2010
Is there a friendlier, tail-wagging alternative to explicit body screens and "enhanced" pat downs of the flying public?

So far, being nosed by an explosive-sniffing dog is not an option for travelers at airports, who for security reasons are now being screened via the high-tech scanners or intrusive pat downs. But some passengers and security experts say it's high time to send dogs sniffing up and down airport lines, perhaps reducing the need for methods that are more invasive of personal privacy.

For decades, canine explosive-detection teams have been used to screen air cargo on passenger flights. The US military uses dogs in Afghanistan and Iraq. In June, the European Union for the first time approved use of explosive-sniffing dogs to screen airline passengers. Bomb-sniffing hounds already pad aisles on Amtrak and many US commuter-rail trains.

"Dogs would be a wonderful solution," says Jeffrey Price(right), co-author of a textbook on aviation security and chief of Leading Edge Strategies, a security consulting firm in Denver. "They're much friendlier than some of the current processes – and yet, if you're hiding something, the last thing you want to see is a dog."

Bomb-sniffing dogs could improve passenger screening and explosives detection, while reducing concerns about privacy and radiation exposure, some US security experts say.

And Congress, after the 9/11 attacks, mandated increased use of explosive-detection dogs. By 2008, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) had deployed 370 certified canine explosive-detection teams to 69 airports and 56 teams to 14 mass transit systems, the Government Accountability Office reported. That year, TSA's aviation canine explosive detection teams received $36.3 million in funding.

Today, more dogs than ever are sniffing for explosives in the US transport system, though TSA will not say how many teams now scan air cargo, specifically.

"More than 750 TSA-certified explosive detection canine teams are deployed to mass transit systems, airports and cargo facilities," says Greg Soule, a TSA spokesman, in an e-mailed response to questions. "These teams are a highly effective, mobile layer of security to detect explosive materials in various transportation environments." But TSA has not approved use of dogs for routine passenger screening in airports. Why?

Concerns about costs and passenger resistance (whether possible allergic reactions or fear of being bitten) top the list. Training a single dog and the dog's handler can take 10 weeks or more, not including regular recertification. Moreover, real explosives must be used to train dogs, which can be both inconvenient and potentially hazardous.

One big concern, Mr. Price notes, is that explosive-sniffing dogs are effective for only one or two 30-minute sessions a day. They may become ineffective after that, mostly because they get bored, he says. Their record is not perfect, either. Earlier this month, bomb-sniffing dogs in England initially failed to detect bomb material hidden in printer cartridges shipped from Yemen. Three bomb-sniffing dogs assigned to inspect cargo at Philadelphia International Airport earlier this year were reported to fail recertification tests.

"Explosive-detecting dogs are held to a higher standard of performance than other types of dogs, like narcotics-detecting dogs," Price says. "If a dog misses drugs getting on a flight, that's not a huge problem. If a dog misses some explosives, that's a major issue."

Even so, dogs' noses are as sensitive as any mechanical explosive detector now deployed and can detect trace amounts of scores of explosive vapors. Unlike machines, a dog can track a suspicious scent to the source. They also work cheap – for a little kibble and the praise of their handlers. Bomb-sniffing dogs are not necessarily breeds that present a fearsome posture to travelers, but include Beagles, Labrador Retrievers (left), and familiar guard dogs such as the Belgian Malinois (right).

The number of dogs required to sniff at least 2 million domestic airline passengers a day would be large, acknowledge Price and others. There would need to be a huge force of such dogs, not to mention kennel space near airports.

TSA cannot rely solely on dogs from its Canine Breeding and Development Center at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, canine explosives experts say. Many dogs are purchased from private breeders. Even so, only a handful of canine teams are available per mass transit system, and they are spread thinly just for sniffing cargo, some experts say.

It's not known which method would be cheaper: scanning machines or trained dogs. TSA has conducted some passenger-screening tests using dogs, but it has not done any comprehensive pilot study to see how dogs compare overall with body scanners on costs and detection rates. Machines can cost $150,000 or more.

"I'm not saying we should rely solely on dogs, but there's no question they can provide great deterrence in passenger screening," says John Pearce, associate director of the Canine Training Center's Animal Health Performance Program at Auburn University in Alabama (below). "How do you calibrate a dog's nose? A terrorist can calculate a lot of things about mechanical detectors, but concocting a plot that deals with a dog's nose gets complicated for them."

Mr. Pearce's center specializes in "vapor wake detection," which trains a dog to detect and track an explosive's odor to its source, even in a crowd. A VWD dog, he says, can also sample a plume of air coming off a person or that person's bag as he or she passes a choke point.

Diag-nose, based in Britain, shows on its website a picture of airport crowds filing past an explosives-detecting dog – the dog separated from the people by a plastic sheet perforated with holes. The dog sniffs the air passing through the holes and alerts the handler if it detects something.

"Dogs are really relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of technology out there," says Pearce, whose canine-training center is talking with TSA about using vapor wake dogs for airport passenger screening. "To those who say dogs can be used for only 20 to 30 minutes before taking an hour break, I would say that dogs can work much longer if they are trained to do it, just like long-distance runners."

There is at least some anecdotal evidence that dogs would be accepted – even preferred – by air travelers. "Why not the use of trained dogs instead of pat downs and body scanners," writes one anonymous commenter in a Facebook debate, one of several on the Internet pitching dogs as a solution to the privacy-protection conundrum. "Much cheaper and far less invasive."

Writes another contributor on Yahoo.com: "Dogs could detect everything those scanners do and more. Why not make them standard at every airport gate?"

Photo, top left: Alex Brandon/AP

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Wolf Politics
EDITORIAL
November 29, 2010
These days, the Gray Wolf is in trouble in the Rocky Mountain West and in Washington, D.C. Several members of the House have introduced a bill that would permanently remove wolves from the protection of the Endangered Species Act. A more “moderate” proposal sponsored by two Montana Democrats, Senators Max Baucus (left) and Jon Tester (right), would exempt only wolves in Montana and Idaho. Both bills could be pushed hard in the remaining days of Congress’s lame-duck

Either would set a terrible precedent, opening the door for special-interest groups to push other inconvenient species off the list. The bills would undercut one of the primary reasons for the act, which was to relieve Congress of the impossible task of legislating protections species by species and leave the final determination to scientists and wildlife management professionals.

Meanwhile, Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter of Idaho (left) — furious at a court decision canceling his state’s wolf hunt — has said he won’t allow a dime of state money to be spent safeguarding Idaho’s wolves. He announced that Idaho won’t do biological surveys, won’t investigate illegal kills and won’t go after poachers.

What accounts for these outbursts, besides the usual political pandering to hunters? The main reason is an August decision by a District Court judge in Montana that restored wolves in Idaho and Montana to the list. The Interior department had earlier agreed (wrongly in our view) to lift protections in those states and let them manage wolf populations on their own.

Federal protections remained in place in Wyoming because the state’s management plan did not pass Interior’s muster.

This led Judge Donald Molloy (right) to rule that protections for what is a single species living in an interconnected region cannot be different in each state. Absent an approved plan in Wyoming, he ruled, protections would have to be restored in Montana and Idaho, which meant that Idaho could not have its hunt.

What’s needed is a stronger, long-term federal management plan that provides for a sustainable number of wolves across their entire range. If the states can guarantee that number, then let them manage their wolves. If they can’t, then federal protections must remain.

People can brighten holidays for homeless pets
Published by Daily Democrat
Woodland Calif.
November 28, 2010
As valley temperatures dip near freezing and life on the streets becomes harsh, community members are invited to add a touch of warmth to the holidays for the pets of Sacramento-area homeless people by donating toward holiday gift baskets, prepared by volunteers at UC Davis' William Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital.

Each year around the holidays, the hospital's "Voice" newsletter committee members and Mercer Veterinary Clinic student officers fill some 130 "baskets" with gifts for pets of the homeless. The baskets are actually decorated boxes, filled with canned and dry food, treats, toys, leashes and pet-care products.

The boxes will be provided to homeless clients who visit the December Mercer Veterinary Clinic for the Homeless with their dogs and cats. The clinic is located next to the nonprofit Loaves & Fishes facility for the homeless in Sacramento.

The holiday pet baskets will be assembled from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, at the veterinary hospital and distributed Saturday, Dec. 11, at Mercer Clinic.

"We really depend on the generous monetary donations of the community to help purchase pet toys, which are such a source of joy for the animals and their owners," said Eileen Samitz, a clinical microbiologist at the veterinary teaching hospital.

Checks donated for the holiday pet baskets should be made out to:

"UC Regents -- Mercer Holiday Pet Baskets"
and sent to
UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, Office of the Dean
P.O. Box 1167, Davis, 95617-1167
Attn. Mercer Holiday Pet Baskets.

More information about the holiday pet basket project is available online.
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NJ girl and her service dog represent Peds and Pets program
RIVER VALE, N.J
November 26, 2010
Eight-year-old River Vale resident Molly Kimball and her service dog, Ava, have been named as local ambassadors for the "Pediatrics and Pets: Coping With Cancer Together" campaign, a free public service program for children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.

Molly and Ava will serve as the public face of the program. Peds and Pets, as it is known, uses therapeutic readings and a discussion guide based on the children's book "Jack & Jill: The Miracle Dog With a Happy Tail to Tell" by Jill Rappaport.

Reading and discussion sessions, when possible, include the participation of companion animals who are themselves survivors of life-altering diseases.

Molly, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 5, has had six brain surgeries in the past three years and has endured chemotherapy and hospital stays.

This past spring, Ava came into her life as a service dog and is still in training to learn ways to help Molly.
Molly said recently, "Being in the hospital makes me so sad, because it is hard to sleep with all the noise and they constantly wake you to give you medicine or check you out. The only good part of the hospital is when the therapy dogs come to visit me."

Hospitals, rehabilitation facilities, and support programs are encouraged to invite the Peds and Pets program to their facilities to help children who may be struggling with difficult medical issues.

Those who wish to schedule a visit, buy a "Jack & Jill" book or donate to Peds and Pets may contact Tails of Hope Foundation at 845-926-3478, www.tailsofhopefoundation.org.

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People can brighten holidays for homeless petsThankful dog owner donating to canines
Published by Beaumont Enterprise
ROCHELLE HAWK
Logan, OH
November 26, 2010
Sherri Myers is grateful this Thanksgiving season for her dog Dolly. She wants to express that by giving something back to the place that made their friendship possible: the dog shelter.

Myers, a Logan resident, met Dolly in the spring of 2009. “I was taking a walk past the dog shelter [at the Hocking County Fairgrounds] and saw her outside. I told my husband, ‘I’ve got to take her home.’ ” Dolly was about nine months old at the time.

Hocking County Dog Warden Don Kiger said of the Great Dane mix, “She’d been at the shelter at least a couple of weeks. She had been abandoned in the woods near state Route 664. It took several attempts to capture her; I had to build up trust. She had to be reconditioned; she had reverted to her canine instincts. It took about a week to capture her and she was at least 40 pounds underweight.”

Myers is touched by the efforts Kiger extended to take in the abandoned dog and the care he provided at the shelter that made her adoption of Dolly possible. So moved is she that Myers wants to help the shelter and the other dogs still there.

“I’m collecting dog food for the shelter and [dog food] donations at my place of employment,” explained Myers, who also is extending the invitation to the community at large. Those who would like to contribute to Myers’ collection for the dog shelter canines may call her at 740-385-2679.

Myers will present the food to Kiger on Monday, Dec. 6.

Residents turning out for Logan’s annual Santa Parade on Dec. 4 will see an example of the kind of quality shelter dog that will be helped by such a donation or that is available for adoption; Myers appears in the parade with her beloved Dolly and her mastiff-St. Bernard mix, Bruiser.

Myers is dressing as an unlikely character given her generous fundraising efforts: the Grinch. If readers remember from their Dr. Seuss children’s book, the Grinch is the character who does not like Christmas and steals all the presents and decorations from the Whos in Whoville. When the Whos proceed to celebrate the holiday without those extras, the Grinch learns the true meaning of Christmas.

Those inspired to donate this holiday season to the Hocking County Dog Shelter may call Myers to contribute to her fundraising efforts, or contact Kiger directly at the dog shelter for other donations at 740-385-2319. Kiger often is out in the county responding to calls about stray dogs, so please leave a message at the recording. Though this is a county dog shelter, the facility receives no funding from the county. The shelter generate

Weird BUT true
Here's a drink that's really the "hair of the dog."
By TODD VENEZIA
Post Wires
November 25, 2010
A Dutch beer-maker has found a way for man to share a brew with his best friend.

The company's so-called Dog Beer is made from beef and malt, and hopefully Fido will find it's less filling and tastes great, and lap it up.

The Dutch brewed Dog Beer is made from a special blend of beef extracts and malt to keep a beer taste but add some meaty goodness.

Makers say the beer is alcohol free and market it as "a beer for your best friend."

"For large dogs we would recommend one bottle a day and for things like a chihuahua, well they prefer shorts," said a spokesman.

Dog owner Wiktor Piotrowski, who tried the drink when it was launched in Poland this week, said: "My dog loves it. Now when we go for a walk we can both go to the pub."

City Room
Just Be Thankful It Didn’t Happen to You
Thanksgiving disasters
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
November 25, 2010
My brother’s new wife insisted on having everyone over to their newly decorated apartment in Forest Hills. I was told it would be okay to bring my 6-month-old Basset Hound puppy so she could play with my brother’s huge German Shepherd.

In the first 15 minutes there, my puppy christened their new wall-to-wall carpeting; their German shepherd knocked my dad right into the coffee table which sent a bowl of dip flying onto the living room wall and sofa. Then, as my sister-in-law was carrying the beautiful, orange glazed turkey to the dining room table, it rolled on the platter right into her pretty pink suit. Just then we heard a muffled explosion in the oven. The stuffing that was heating wasn’t in an oven-proof dish, and it was now all over the oven… burning. It set off the smoke detector. Which started both dogs barking wildly.

— Native NewYawker

Washington Square Park Serial Squirrel Killer Remains at Large
By Jen Doll
Tue., Nov. 23, 2010
Squirrels. Yes, they're rodents, but they're also rather cute. And: Not rats. Not that we want to cuddle with them or bring them into our homes. Still, the news that a woman (described as a "willowy brunette" by AnimalTourism.com) is allowing her dogs to kill squirrels in Washington Square Park -- at least five of them have turned up dead -- is sad. And not very Thanksgiving-ish! Nor appetizing, no matter how much time we've spent in the South.

According to the site, "Everyone from the wildlife rehabilitator community to dog people, Bernie Goetz (left) (subway vigilante/squirrel lover), to Parks Enforcement Police is now on the lookout" for the squirrel-hating lady and her dogs, a German shepherd and a shepherd mix. They think her name may be Lena, and she may live on Barrow Street.

One squirrel with two broken legs was found near the Hangman's Tree and taken to a veterinarian that specializes in wildlife. "He has two broken legs, which Dr. [Anthony] Pilny set. "With luck, he'll have use of at least three, but is going to have a hard recovery.

If you've seen "Lena" in the park, call park officials at 212-387-7676.

Gray wolves regain federal protections under Endangered Species Act
November 24, 2010
On August 5, 2010, a federal judge overturned a decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA), paving the way for these critical predators to rebuild their numbers to ecologically sustainable levels. This ruling is the result of a lawsuit brought against the FWS in 2009 by Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation organizations.

"This decision is a significant victory for wolves, for the integrity of the Endangered Species Act, and for all Americans who care deeply about conservation,” said Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife. “The court’s ruling makes it clear that decisions under the Endangered Species Act should be based on science, not politics.”

This victory is the culmination of efforts by the Defenders of Wildlife legal team, on-the-ground work of our staff and volunteers and ongoing support from our dedicated and passionate conservation activists. Our supporters have sent hundreds of thousands of messages to federal and state government officials and attended critical hearings to ensure scientifically sound wolf management legislation and regulations.

Under the Gun for Political Gain
After Defenders of Wildlife led efforts to restore the gray wolf population in the Northern Rockies in 1995, this great success was dealt a serious setback when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar approved a plan from the Bush administration era to delist gray wolves from the ESA. Once off the list, the wolves were quickly approved for hunting in Idaho and Montana, where more than 350 wolves—almost 20% of the total population—were killed in 2009.

Defenders at Work
Defenders of Wildlife is a national leader in efforts to save America’s wolves. In addition to suing the government to relist the species, we’re working proactively with livestock owners to prevent conflicts, countering anti-wolf rhetoric in the media and mobilizing activists in support of a science-based approach to wolf management.

What’s Next for the Wolves
One of the immediate impacts of the ruling is that the hunting seasons in Montana and Idaho, originally planned to begin this fall, will be canceled.

While this court ruling is a great win for wolves, many challenges remain. There will undoubtedly be some people who oppose this decision. Defenders of Wildlife will continue to work hard in all our efforts mentioned above to ensure the wolves have a lasting future in the region.

At a broader level, we also need a new approach to delisting endangered species so similar ill-advised decisions can be avoided in the future. Our wildlife’s survival cannot be left to the whim of short-term political goals.

Defenders of Wildlife is committed to the long-term survival of the Northern Rockies wolves and other imperiled wildlife. We will continue to work in the field, in the courts and in Washington to ensure healthy, interconnected populations and ecosystems.

We Wooves!

Behind the Facade, Post-Traumatic Stress
By KAREN BARROW
November 23, 2010
A soldier returns from war unable to get the images of battle out of his head. An earthquake survivor rides out long, anxiety-filled nights. A young woman in a pretty floral dress walks her dog along the streets of Manhattan. All three may be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The woman walking her dog is Robin Hutchins, 25. She looks confident and self-assured, and few would guess that a year ago she discovered that she had the stress disorder.

“When I tell people I have P.T.S.D., it’s like I have to convince them it’s a real issue,” she said.

The disorder — in which a traumatic experience leaves the patient suffering from severe anxiety for months or years after the event — is often associated with battlefield combat and natural disasters. But as Dr. Frank Ochberg, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Michigan State University, noted in an interview, the typical trigger is more mundane — most commonly, a traffic accident.

In Ms. Hutchins’s case, it was sexual violence. During her first year in college, on a weekend home to tend to a broken leg, she was raped by a young man she knew. She returned to college without telling her parents about it. “I just really wanted to be a freshman in college,” she said.

Ms. Hutchins spoke to a counselor there and resumed her routine — attending class, hanging out with friends and trying to put the trauma behind her. “Nobody ever said, ‘You need to stop your life and deal with this — you can’t just walk through it,’ ” she said.

The following year she was briefly pinned to a wall by a drunken male student. Seemingly a minor incident, but it sent Ms. Hutchins into a tailspin. Anxiety and panic began to strike her without warning. The prospect of leaving her dorm terrified her. She stopped going to class. Her reaction was not to get help, but to leave college. She traveled to Mongolia in hopes of clearing her head, but a car accident during her trip only made things worse.

Friends didn’t understand why she never wanted to go out. They would play down her anxiety and say, “Oh, you’re just going to laugh at this in a couple days.” It took years of sleepless nights and paralyzing anxiety over tasks as simple as grocery shopping before she began to look for help.

She sought out psychologists, but some dismissed her. “They’d say, ‘What does a pretty girl like you have to worry about?’ ” she said. Others were simply too expensive. Finally, during an initial consultation, a psychologist heard her full story and said the simple phrase that changed everything: “You have P.T.S.D.”

Dr. Ochberg, the Michigan State professor, who has never met Ms. Hutchins, estimated that as many as 80 percent of rapes may lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress. But the stigma of rape, along with a general misunderstanding of the disorder and how it can affect anyone who has suffered trauma, often gets in the way of a proper diagnosis.

For Ms. Hutchins, the diagnosis came as good news. “When you can’t control your emotions at work, at home, with friends, you stop trusting yourself,” she said. “Knowing that my panic attacks came from P.T.S.D. was such a relief.” Understanding the cause of her emotional outbursts gave her tools to change them.

Dr. Ochberg explained that the disorder causes violent memories to surface despite a person’s best efforts to tame them. Worse, the memory often feels more recent than it should. “There’s no sense of place in time,” Dr. Ochberg said. Studies suggest that the disorder may be associated with structural changes in the brain — in particular, a shrinking of the hippocampus, a region associated with memory.

For most young professionals, a night out at a bar is routine; for Ms. Hutchins, the strange faces and crowds put her on high alert. Crossing the street calls up a swarm of terrifying possibilities: Will the bus hit me? Is that guy following me? Should I run? Should I fight back? If I do, will I put others at risk?

Weekly therapy sessions helped her work through some of those irrational fears, and anxiety medications helped prevent some of the panic attacks. Still, she remained unnaturally vigilant.

Then she met Dexter

After reading that “emotional support” dogs can be trained to comfort people with post-traumatic symptoms — staying by their side in overwhelming situations, for example — Ms. Hutchins adopted a small Lhasa apso from a shelter. Now, she and Dexter are training each other.

Dexter keeps Ms. Hutchins calm on airplanes and forces her to go outside for long walks. People who see Dexter in his little blue service jacket smile at him — and at her, calming her further.

She is still working on gaining control of her emotions, and she knows that the post-traumatic symptoms may linger. But there is less anxiety, fewer panic attacks. About Dexter she said, “He’s given me a partner in all of this.”

Click √ on image at right for video

Video stills: The New York Times

Barking-mad ex sues dog walker
By WILLIAM J. GORTA
November 22, 2010
A Brooklyn man is biting back at his dog-walking business partner, claiming he's had to hound her for his share of the profits since their romantic relationship went sour.

Miriah Harvey and Eric Pye spent more than three years as 50-50 partners in the Happy Dog Walking Company, but since their December 2009 breakup, she has moved to dissolve Happy Dog, founded the Good Dog Walking Company and poached Happy clients, says a lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court this month.

Pye, 36, says he's gone from steak to kibble, with his take from Bushwick-based Happy Dog shrunk by two-thirds.

Harvey, 27, denies leashing Happy clients and insists that Pye's monthly shareholder fee is based on business, not spite. "I .opened up a new company to move away from him," she said. "I'm trying to dissolve [Happy Dog] -- but he just won't leave.

Playing the field
Six new breeds will compete in this year’s National Dog Show on Thanksgiving. Here’s how they match up.
By REBECCA WALLWORK
November 21, 2010
Once the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is over on Thursday, the TV options are simple: football or dogs. While the New England Patriots take on the Detroit Lions on CBS, dogdom’s best athletes will be battling it out in the show ring on NBC — competing in the National Dog Show Presented by Purina.

In the world of dog shows, this is akin to the playoffs (with the Westminster Kennel Club show in February being the Super Bowl). The dogs have competed in regional shows all year, and now come head-to-head, breed-to-breed in the race to Best in Show.

While the show’s on-air analyst David Frei (left) likes the look of certain breeds in this year’s lineup — the smooth fox terrier, Irish setter, boxer and Pekingese, in particular — he says, “The beauty of our sport is that dogs are judged on the day. Peyton Manning doesn’t throw five touchdown passes every time out, and the dogs may not always have their best day, either.”

As you watch this year’s National Dog Show, keep your eyes peeled for these six new breeds. Frei, who used to work for the Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers, compares the dogs to the other stars of Thanksgiving TV — football players.

Boykin Spaniel
Sporting Group

Doggy details: A medium-size, energetic and cheerful hunting dog, the Boykin has plenty of stamina and a keen willingness to work. They’re also easy to train and they get along well with other dogs and children.

If he were a football player, he’d be: LaDainian Tomlinson of the Jets

“They have to be light on their feet,” says Frei of the Boykin. “But they’re very sure of themselves and very athletic. To me, they’re like a little running back.”

Leonberger
Working Group

Doggy details: A large working dog originally from Germany, a Leonberger’s most important task is to be reliable, friendly and willing to please family companion.

If he were a football player, he’d be: David Diehl of the Giants “They’re big. That’s the starting point for an offensive lineman and for Leonbergers,” says Frei. “Also, they’re a protection dog — and the offensive line has to protect the quarterback and pave the way for the running backs.”

Cane Corso
Working Group

Doggy details: This Italian breed is a loyal, powerful watchdog. They are very intelligent, which makes them easy to train; however, they require a lot of exercise.

If he were a football player, he’d be: Ray Lewis of the Ravens

“No question in my mind — they’re the middle linebacker of dogs,” says Frei. “They can seem intimidating because they’re watching everything that’s going on and making sure nothing gets past them.”

Icelandic Sheepdog
Herding Group

Doggy details: Originally used in Iceland to herd sheep, cattle and horses, this just-
under-medium-size breed is playful, social, confident and friendly.

If he were a football player, he’d be: Darrelle Revis of the Jets

“A herding dog has got to be a great athlete, so I think of a defensive back,” says Frei. “They’ve got to be smart and quick on their feet. Their job is to watch what goes on around them. Defensive backs do that — watch who comes into their area of the field. And they can’t be too big or else they’ll tire too quickly.”

Bluetick Coonhound
Hound Group

Doggy details: One breed distinguished by different coats, the Bluetick is active and ambitious, and the Redbone is known for its determination and versatility.

If he were a football player, he’d be: The Bluetick would be any wide receiver.

Redbone Coonhound
Hound Group

Doggy details: The Redbone Coonhound descends from foxhounds imported from Ireland before the Civil War and has been a respected breed for over 100 years. This sporting breed with a flashy red coat has an even temper and a natural treeing instinct.

The Redbone? Coach Rex Ryan of the Jets.

“They’re a marathon-type dog who runs and runs and runs, so I think of wide receivers,” says Frei. “But one thing I’ve heard about the Redbone Coonhound is that they can bark 125 times in a minute. So for them, I think of Rex Ryan. They’re running off at the mouth — but in an endearing way. I love Rex Ryan, and I love dogs. But both can make a lot of noise!”

16 Years for Wife's Slaying
Rochester, NY
November 20, 2010
A college professor suffering career setbacks drew a sentence of 16 years to life in prison Friday for strangling his wife and taking her body the next day to a western New York wilderness park that she revered.

Timothy Wells, 58, who was later diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder, said in a rambling address in court that his professional and personal troubles escalated to a point where he thought his wife, Christine Sevilla, a noted nature photographer, would leave him.

"Over the years, I was shrinking -- I couldn't progress, I couldn't maintain, I couldn't keep up," said Wells, who pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder. "I felt I was failing her. I feared that, if she knew, she would leave me."

After killing her in their home in suburban Rochester Nov. 30, 2009, Wells said, he drove around all day with her body in the trunk. He wound up a few miles out of town after midnight in an isolated section of Mendon Ponds Park known as the Devil's Bathtub, "her favorite place."

Wells told investigators he was looking for the ideal spot to kill himself and the couple's beloved dog, a Springer Spaniel named Anna Riley. But, during the trip, he said he lost a knife he intended to use, unsuccessfully tried to kill the dog with a rock, and then called 911 from the park to turn himself in.

Judge Joan Kohout said evidence that Wells was suffering from an extreme emotional disorder when he killed his wife was a factor in her decision to accept a plea, along with "his willingness to accept responsibility without excuses for what happened."

BACKGROUND

Timothy Wells fretted more over dog than dead wife
GARY CRAIG
Rochester, NY
MAY 27, 2010
After finding the body of Christine Sevilla in a car apparently abandoned by her husband, sheriff’s investigators set out to find her family dog that was left for dead at Mendon Ponds Park.

Timothy Wells, then under interrogation on suspicion he killed Sevilla, helped lead deputies to the dog, according to testimony in a pre-trial hearing Wednesday.

In fact, a sheriff’s investigator testified, Wells, 57 , seemed more concerned about the dog — an English springer spaniel named Anna Riley — than about his slain wife

Dog gal's rabid fury
Cops 'tag' stroller's vaccinated pooches
By DAN MANGAN with Jamie Schram
November 20, 2010
Doggone it, that bites!

An Upper East Side woman is barking mad after police stopped her as she walked her four little dogs -- and then slapped her with a handful of tickets for failing to vaccinate them for rabies, even though their tags showed they had their shots.
"I was furious!" yelped Jin Won (left), 35, an art collector's assistant, who was cited. "This is not fair. Now I have to miss work to go to court because of this wrongful accusation," snapped Won. "This is the most ridiculous thing that ever happened to me!"

Won said things got hairy on Nov. 13 as she walked along East 99th Street with her dogs -- Betty, a Maltese, a Lhasa Apso named Mini, and their offspring, Trouble and Lauren.

"There was a police van slowly driving in front of me, and the driver rolled down the window, asking me if they're all vaccinated. And I said yes," recalled Won. "On the tag, they saw '2009' with the vet's name and address, and they're questioning me, 'Why are they not wearing tags from 2010?' " Won said.

Won said she replied that the dogs had gotten their rabies shots in 2009 -- which is reflected on their tags with the name, number and address of Animal Health Center -- and that those vaccinations are good for three years. "And they said, 'Do you have the paperwork with you?' And I said, 'No,' " Won said. "I mean, who carries the paperwork with them?"

Then the cop told Won, "OK, you can walk your dogs, but I'm going to write you a ticket," Won said.

"I was stunned," said Won, who was ordered to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on Jan. 25. The next day, Won went to her local station house with the summonses and paperwork and asked to have the tickets dismissed. "The receptionist said, 'There is nothing we can do. You have to go to court,' " Won said.

A police source said, "This officer was doing her job in addressing quality-of-life concerns of neighborhood residents."

Won's vet, Dr. Daniel Giangola, said Won's dogs "all got three-year rabies vaccines in 2009," and added that he doesn't know of any vet who issues tags with the expiration date, as opposed to the year that the shots are given.

Photo: DAN BRINZAC

What Should Vladimir Putin Name His Puppy?
By RAY GUSTINI
November 19, 2010
Vladimir Putin (left) has a new puppy. That is adorable. Less adorable is the fact the dog--a twelve-week-old Bulgarian Karakachan--does not yet have a name. (He had a name--Yorgo--but Putin discarded it for unknown and possibly hilarious reasons.) Now the prime minister is asking his countrymen to submit possible names for the prized pup to the nation's official website. This too is adorable, although less so than the Reuters report that Putin--upon being presented with the fuzzy European mammal by Bulgarian Prime Minister Boris Borisov (right) --"snuggled the fluffy, floppy-eared puppy of three months before gently planting a kiss on his snout."

Putin's new dog accommodated at his residence
16 November 2010
Russia Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who was in Bulgaria to sign a gas pipeline deal, was presented with the Bulgarian shepherd dog puppy by prime minister Boyko Borissov.

Putin already has an 11-year-old Black Labrador, called Koni (left), which was given to him by Sergei Shoigu (right), the emergency minister.

During Mr Putin's visit, the two countries agreed to speed up the construction of a 2,200 mile pipeline to carry Russian gas to Europe, Telegraph.co.uk reports.

Putin's puppy love was in the news recently when it was revealed that he told President George W. Bush that his dog was "bigger, stronger, faster," than Bush's Scottish terrier.

While known for his dour public persona and macho posturing, Putin's pooch cuddling showed a softer side of the Russian premier.

Peach the Chihuahua: Japan's newest police dog
by Elaine Lies with Paul Casciato
TOKYO
Fri Nov 19, 2010
Meet Japan's newest police dog -- all 3 kg (6.6 lb) of her.

In what is a first for Japan and perhaps the world, a long-haired Chihuahua named "Momo" -- "Peach" -- passed exams to become a police dog in the western Japanese prefecture of Nara. The brown-and-white, perky Momo was one of 32 successful candidates out of 70 dogs, passing a search and rescue test by finding a person in five minutes after merely sniffing their cap.

"Any breed of dog can be entered to become a police dog in the search and rescue division," said a Nara police spokesman. But he admitted that news a Chihuahua had been entered may still come as a surprise to many. "It's quite unusual," he said.

Television footage showed the 7-year-old Momo bounding across grass or sitting proudly, long hair blowing in the breeze.

Momo will be used for rescue operations in case of disasters such as earthquakes, in the hope that she may be able to squeeze her tiny frame into places too narrow for more usual rescue dogs, which tend to be German Shepherds.

The public response to the news of Momo's selection took police by surprise, the spokesman said, adding: "The phone's been ringing all afternoon."

Police Brake Up Dog Fighting Ring In Baltimore
Weijia Jiang
BALTIMORE
Nov 18, 2010
Police believe they've broken up another dog fighting ring in the city.

Unfortunately not all of the dogs survived, but the ones that did are being taken care of at Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter in southwest Baltimore. Police say all their injuries point to dog fighting.

Debby Rahl can't believe 5-year-old pitbull Charlie is alive. "He's got bite wounds all over his face, on his legs, on the side of his belly," Rahl said. "He's missing teeth. His teeth look like they were filed down or broken off."

Rahl is a manager at the BARCS animal shelter where Charlie and five other pitbulls were taken late Wednesday night. A police report indicates that investigators found the animals in a vacant rowhome on the 1600 block of Payson Street. They were responding to a call that claimed a dog fight was in progress.

"That's gruesome," said Volante Preston. "That's really horrible that people would stoop to that level."

Police say feces and urine were scattered throughout the house. They found the dogs in crates or tied up without food or water. Most of them were covered in scars. And a seventh dog was found dead inside a garbage bag; his body was badly abused.

The officer who responded to the scene and wrote the police report believes the dog fighting took place in a bedroom on the third floor. Inside the home, the officer found a large amount of blood on the walls, the bed and the floors.

"You could just hear them barking," said Jenee Smith. "It's a real bad odor coming from that house. When you walk up close to it, you can smell it."

"We're hoping that in cases like this, they bring charges and they show that this is wrong and the people are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," Rahl said. She said she is certain that Charlie was used for fighting and two other puppies were in training. She urges anyone who suspects other cases to report them.

Police have suspects of interest but have not made any arrests in this developing investigation.

The dogs will be held at BARCS throughout the investigation. After that, the staff hopes someone will adopt them.

To adopt a pet, call BARCS at 410-396-4695

Click √ below for baltimoreanimalshelter.org

Retired police dog gets special chair
MARLBORO, NJ
November 17, 2010
A retired police dog in New Jersey can no longer walk a beat. But he can get around thanks to a New Hampshire company.

Vaik retired from the Marlboro Police Department in August after being diagnosed with a progressive spinal cord disorder that has left him unable to walk on his hind legs.

Stem cell therapy alleviated pain in the 9-year-old German Shepherd’s right hind leg and hip.

His partner, Patrolman Joseph Chaplinski, told the Asbury Park Press he sent word out to manufacturers for a support device.

Owner Mark Robinson of HandicappedPets.com (right) in Nashua, N.H., drove five and a half hours to donate a doggy wheelchair. The two-wheeled harness, that sells for about $450, provides support for Vaik’s hind legs.

Click √ below for information

Court says 'stay!'
Condo meanies waste 100G in nixed dog evict
By CHRISTINA CARREGA and JOE MOLLICA
November 11, 2010
A Queens condo board spent a whopping $100,000 during a three-year battle to evict a cute, 3.5-pound pooch named Charlie -- and in a stunning upset, the underdog scored a knockout.

For those counting, the figure comes to nearly $28,600 per pound of pup.

The teacup Yorkshire terrier is owned by Donna Forman, a 10-year resident of the Village View Condos -- a 24-unit development in Middle Village. She got the great news about her best friend earlier this week.

"I picked up Charlie and said, 'Yes, Charlie you're staying right here!' " the 52-year-old mail carrier said. "Everyone loves this dog. He makes everyone smile in this building -- except the board."

A lower court had ruled against Charlie, but the decision was overturned by the Appellate Division last week, said her lawyer, Michael Mauro, who disclosed the legal cost to the condo owners -- nearly $4,200 each.

This wasn't Forman's first dogfight with the board.

It unsuccessfully tried to oust her previous pet, Rugby -- a Shih Tzu her son inherited from grandma. Rugby died in 2006. "I fell in love with Rugby, and when he passed I felt like I couldn't live without a dog," said Forman, who now lives alone with Charlie.

She said her anxiety over losing Rugby grew so intense, she consulted a shrink -- who recommended another dog. But three months after she adopted Charlie, the board sued. "I was worried sick over the thought of losing Charlie," she said.

After she lost the lower-court decision, she said, "the board laughed in my face."

Charlie won the appeal on a TKO -- after the case turned on a technicality. The condo's bylaws say unit owners, their pets and guests shall not create a nuisance, Mauro said. By including the word "pets," he said, the rules implied that dogs that are not a nuisance are OK.

The rules have since been changed to eliminate the word "pets" -- but they won't apply retroactively to Charlie, Mauro said.

Charlie now is strutting around wagging his tail.

"Charlie's happy about the outcome," Mauro said. "I take him everywhere with me. He's my buddy."

Messages left for the condo's lawyer with his office staff were not returned.

Photo: JAMES MESSERSCHMIDT

COMMENTARY

this too is animal abuse.
KNOW IT!

"After she lost the lower-court decision, she said,
'THE BOARD LAUGHED IN MY FACE.'"

Typical of the arrogance of co-op boards! Megalomaniacs all. A breed apart. Been there.

Four years ago, after unsurmountable problems and incessant harassment from the co-op board of our allegedly Dog-friendly building over our three small puppies, we bought the Dogs a cottage on a wooded hill in the upper elevations of the Hudson Valley north and west of the city and got the hell out of CO-OP HELL. It's called The DOGHOUSE. And IT IS THEIR HOUSE, where we serve at their wagging pleasure.

Come visit us at From-The-DOGHOUSE.com

Wish we'd known Michael Mauro. 'Co-op board' is an oxymoron.

Wanna buy a gorgeous apartment in a beautiful building on one of the most attractive blocks in Manhattan (East 10th Street between 5th and University)?

CAVEAT EMPTOR: NASTY AS CAN BE BOARD not worth spitting at!!!

May the Dogs be with you, Donna and Charlie!

Maybe I'll contact attorney Mauro....

Michael A. Mauro, Attorney at Law
Contact Info:
Phone: 718-426-0698
Main Office Location:
8000 Cooper Ave Ste 8309
Glendale, NEW YORK, 11385