Archive for April 3rd, 2009
N.J. man gets jail for booby trapping fence
A New Jersey man who admitted driving nails through a fence in hopes of injuring his neighbor’s dogs has been sentenced to 15 days in jail.
David Lench, 50, of Middletown also was ordered to pay $4,000 in fines when sentenced Wednesday by Middletown Municipal Court Judge Richard Thompson. He had pleaded guilty to three counts of animal cruelty.
Officials say Lench drove 18 3-inch nails through the a wooden fence separating his yard from Michael Flynn’s, which led one of Flynn’s three German shepherds to suffer puncture wounds to its face.
Neither Lench nor his lawyer, Michael V. Gilberti of Red Bank, could be reached for comment Wednesday, according to an Associated Press report.
Posted by jwoestendiek April 3rd, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal cruelty, david lench, dog, dogs, fence, fine, german shepherd, guilty, jail, middletown, monmouth county, nails, new jersey, punctured, sentence, spca
Comments: none
Trunking: The dogfights nobody sees
Everybody knows about dogfighting, and the evils thereof, but not everyone is familiar with an even sicker — if that’s possible — version of the practice known as “trunking.”
As this video report shows, it involves placing two fighting dogs in the trunk of a car, closing it, turning the music up to avoid detection and letting them go at it — either while the car is parked or on a ride. The dog that survives is the winner. The loser’s body is sometimes tossed on the side of the road.
You can find a full report on the practice on Zootoo.com.
Posted by jwoestendiek April 3rd, 2009 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: dog, dog fighting, dogfighting, dogs, humane, investigation, police, trunk, trunking, video, zootoo
Comments: 1
When a house of God becomes a house of Dog
Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the doors and see all the … dogs?
A handful of churches have found a new way to fill empty pews, catching on to what a lot of hotels and other business establishments have already figured out: When you let people bring their dogs, you get more people.
A recent USA Today article looked at a dog-friendly church service in Omaha at the Underwood Hills Presbyterian Church — one where some dogs took seats on the pews, others sprawled on the floor and a few seemed intent on being social. But all eventually settled down for the sermon.
“Just relax,” the Rev. Becky Balestri, 51, said to open the service. “It’s like having kids in church.”
At least two other U.S. churches, in New York and near Boston, also allow dogs at regular weekly services, the article said.
“I hadn’t been to church in many, many years, and this gave me a reason to come back with my friend,” said one churchgoer who hadn’t attended church regularly since about 1988.
Posted by jwoestendiek April 3rd, 2009 under Muttsblog.
Tags: allowed, attendance, balestri, church, churches, congregations, dog, dogs, dogs in church, god, increase, mass, new york, omaha, paws, paws and prayers, prayers, presbyterian, religion, underwood hills, weymouth
Comments: 4
Rescued from a pit — tonight on DogTown
Dumped into an underground death pit, two homeless dogs named Haley and Hana are rescued and rehabilitated on tonight’s episode of National Geographic Channel’s “DogTown,” proving once again that dogs are a lot more forgiving than us more “intellectually developed” humans.
The dogs are believed to have spent two months in an underground cave in Ethiopia where locals periodically dispose of unwanted dogs, unfortunately while they are still alive. With no food or water, they may have survived by consuming the bodies of other dogs that died in the cave.
Best Friends Animal Society behavior consultant Sherry Woodard works with the former street dogs to help them overcome their fears and improve their social skills.
Also on tonight’s episode are the stories of Hugo, a 100-pound bloodhound, returned to DogTown after seriously biting a family member, and Ava, a golden retriever whose paw has been ripped apart by a coyote trap.
Posted by jwoestendiek April 3rd, 2009 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: animal society, ava, behavior, best friends, bloodhound, cave, channel, disposed, dogtown, ethiopia, golden retriever, haley, hana, homeless, hugo, kanab, national geographic, sherry woodard, street dogs, underground, unwanted, utah
Comments: none
















































