ohmidog!

     One of the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina — pretty much the same lesson the police officer in San Marcos, Texas learned — is that, no, it’s not just a dog.
    People will go to great lengths to save their pets, or even refuse to leave them behind in a disaster. And the public sentiment is clearly that pets deserve to be rescued as much as we do.
    In response to the demand for emergency preparedness plans for animals in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the National Disaster Animal Response Team was created, and states, counties and now cities have begun creating their own disaster response teams.

    The city of Baltimore is looking for volunteers to assist in forming a team that will rescue and care for animals during disasters and emergencies.

    At the state level, the teams are knowns as State Animal Response Teams or SARTs. At the city level, the teams will be knowns as CART (for City Animal Response Teams). Volunteers will be trained in animal emergency preparedness and response, according to the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS), which issued the call for volunteers. 

    For information about SART and CART, go to www.sartusa.org. For information about how you can get involved with the Baltimore CART volunteer group, contact Alexis Mitchell at alexisrizz@gmail.com

(Photo: Cover of “Pawprints of Katrina,” by Cathy Scott, Wiley Publishing, Inc.)

Here’s the conclusion the Watsonville City Council reached Tuesday, when they pooh-pooed the idea of enacting regulations against specific breeds of dogs:

Dogs aren’t the problem. People are.

Instead, the council directed staff to stiffen existing rules, develop an educational outreach program and explore having city or civil court authorities oversee hearings about vicious dogs.

The city began looking into breed specific legislation after two pit bulls escaped from a yard in June, frightening neighbors and killing five cats. Pit bulls also were involved in two other conflicts in 2007.

“In many cases it’s not the dog, it’s the owner,” said Councilman Manuel Bersamin. “Sometimes teens get pit bulls to add to their sense of manliness. I don’t know if they’re good owners. … We only find out when there’s an attack.”

Several people spoke out against adopting specific regulations for pit bulls, Rottweilers or other large breeds, according to a San Jose Mercury News report.

City Finance Director Marc Pimental, who helped prepare the report for the council, said while targeting breeds was an option, he didn’t recommend it. Cities that have adopted such legislation have found themselves fighting court battles.

Christine Allen, a local member of San Francisco-based Bad Rap, a pit bull rescue group, praised the city for looking at options other than breed restrictions.

A lot of times it is the owner,” she said. “A lot of these owners don’t know they can do it better. They don’t know how. They don’t have the resources.”

The North Shore Animal League — in an attempt to give voice to the estimated 25 million owners of mixed breed dogs — has launched the The American Mutt-i-grees Club.

With Kathryn Erbe, co-star of “Law & Order Criminal Intent,” serving as spokesperson, the club intends to register and provide certificates to mutts, elevate their standing and rally their owners to help stop animal cruelty and end euthanization of dogs by the millions each year.

Muttigrees.org is the website of the group, created by the Pet Savers Foundation, the developmental arm of the massive North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington, N.Y.

“People are incredibly proud of their mixed breeds, and the time is ripe for there to be a way for them to communicate, share ideas and celebrate their choice,” J. John Stevenson, president of NSALA and managing director of the foundation says.

Stevenson, USA Today reports, thinks the new club for mongrel lovers will not only be appreciated, but will “change, over time, the way many people view mixed-breed dogs in shelters.”

Mixed breeds make up more than three-fourths of the dogs that enter shelters, are slower to get adopted, and make the majority of the 3 million dogs euthanized in shelters every year.

The American Kennel Club, though its focus is on purebreds, has also put forth opportunities for mixed breeds and their owners, including registration operations that issue paperwork for hybrids not recognized by the American Kennel Club, and by sponsoring organizations that put on competitive events for mixed-breed dogs.

Mutt-i-grees will “occupy a very different space” from the existing registries and clubs, says Stevenson. “We want to become somewhat the AARP of mixed-breed dogs. Just as AARP advocates issues relevant to seniors by aggregating a tremendous number of members, we, too, want to channel the voice of 25 million mixed-breed owners, to raise awareness and promote regulation to diminish the stronghold of puppy mills and irresponsible breeders.”