ohmidog!

Anne Madison, an ohmidog! friend and correspondent, provided us with a copy of a letter she has sent to her city councilman, James Kraft.

As it so articulately sums up the concerns and feelings of many dog owners — both in regards to the recent increases in fines and the city’s overall lack of dog-friendliness – we’re reprinting it here in its entirety:

(A City Council committee is holding a hearing on the fine for unleashed dogs today –10 a.m., on the fourth floor of City Hall — and is considering lowering the fine from $1,000 to $250 for a first offense.)

Dear Councilman Kraft:

I have been a resident of Baltimore for almost thirty years, and for the past twenty have resided in your district. My husband and I own a rescued purebred Beagle who was acquired by us as the direct result of two violent crimes–a burglary and a home invasion in which my then 80-year-old mother was seriously injured by criminals who robbed her. While not an “attack dog” by any means, the dog provides us with security and peace of mind by barking appropriately and alertly when anyone comes into our space. My husband works on the third shift, and our dog provides additional comfort and security for me because I do not need to feel I am alone at night. Frankly, after what happened to my mother, it was buy a dog or buy a gun. We chose the sane and non-violent alternative.

We are responsible dog owners. Our dog is exercised on leash in the neighborhood or off leash at the Canton Dog Park, which as you know was built through the efforts and fundraising of the dog-loving community members of Canton. Our dog is properly vaccinated for rabies and other canine diseases. He is microchipped. We acquire and pay for the correct license each year from the city. He is neutered.

I am appalled by the punitive animal control fines recently enacted by the City Government for various transgressions that are, to be blunt, fairly minor. I am stunned by the fact that one careless failure to “scoop the poop” or one lonely afternoon of dog “separation anxiety” can net a fine TWICE THE AMOUNT of that levied against someone running a dog fight or running an unlicensed boarding facility or (as it appears) hoarding animals or running a puppy mill.

What was the City Government thinking? It appears at first glance that you may have chronicled the impression that this was some sort of untapped revenue source there for the taking. It appears at first glance that you, the members of the City Council, care more about rolling in the bucks than you do about the welfare and well-being of either the city’s human or animal population. We’ve heard a great deal of hoopla about dog parks in various areas of the city–but there’s been little action. People in the Patterson Park area have been trying for seven years to get some small area of that vast expanse set aside for their use. Apparently giant balloon-like skating structures and asphalt tennis courts are “attractive” but a fenced dog park is “not attractive.” It appears that the “Friends of Patterson Park” aren’t actually friends to all.

You should be aware that average, working, tax-paying, bill-paying people regard dog ownership as a quality-of-life issue. When the quality of life gets too poor, or the cost of living in the city becomes too burdensome, people flee their city homes for the suburbs or the country. To be honest, we’re at the point where if a friend asked us whether to move to Baltimore City or one of the surrounding counties, we’d seriously advise that person not to come here.

While I am on the subject, I found it singularly unattractive that someone sent two Baltimore City police officers to make their presence felt at the recent MD SPCA March for the Animals at Druid Hill Park. Frankly, Mr. Kraft, it was bad PR. It had the appearance that they were looking out for tickets they could issue. I hope the event will be relocated to a county park next year.

I urge you and the other City Council members to reconsider these outrageous fines.There should be warnings and progressively larger tickets to weed out people who genuinely don’t care. And you should punish animal abusers just as severely or more severely. While you are at it, it is past time to make a move towards reasonable off-leash exercise areas in various parts of the city. Tomorrow’s hearing provides the City Council with a golden opportunity to set things right. Please do your part to see that they avail themselves of it.

Respectfully,

Anne Madison

(Photo by Anne Madison)

Despite easily available alternatives, more than half of American colleges and universities are using live and dead dogs and cats for teaching and training purposes — including animals that were once pets, according to a new report.

The report, “Dying to Learn: Exposing the Supply of Dogs and Cats to Higher Education,” is the result of a two-year investigation by the American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS). The report was released today by Animalearn, the education division of AAVS.

You can download the full report, learn how to take action, and explore alternatives to animal dissection at the new AAVS website, dyingtolearn.org.

The report says 52 percent of the colleges and universities covered in the study still used dogs and cats to teach and train students in life science, veterinary, and medical education.

According to the report, former pets are also ending up in the mix — either obtained by universities directly from shelters, or sold to universities by an animal dealer. With more pets ending up in shelters due to the economic downturn, the likelihood of that happening is growing.

“The numbers of pets being relinquished to shelters is drastically increasing. This puts an ever increasing number of former pets at risk of ending up in labs,” said Animalearn Director Laura Ducceschi.

The report traces the route that sent dogs like Cruella, a shepherd-mix from Michigan to end up being used in a college laboratory. Once someone’s pet, she was purchased from a shelter and sold to a university. The dogs and cats are used for live surgeries and other procedures.

The reported looked at animal acquisition procedures at 92 public colleges and universities in the U.S.

Read more »

Animal Planet takes a look at puppy mills tonight with a special episode of “Animal Cops” (“Puppy Mills: Exposed”) that provides video footage and firsthand accounts of the squalid conditions in some of the nation’s 10,000 puppy mills.

Starting in Pennsylvania, Animal Planet follows the law enforcement officers of the Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) to take viewers inside the world of puppy mills, including Limestone Kennels, in Chester County, Pa., where investigators last July rescued more than 80 dogs, some with birth defects and missing eyes, that were packed into  cramped cages.

The program airs at 10 p.m.

“We rescued all of the dogs from the appalling environment and conditions they were subjected to, which was the most important thing,” said Humane Law Enforcement Officer Ashley Mutch. “But for the dogs that came before them, we were too late. Whether they survived or not, all of those dogs were victims of a puppy mill and will be forever damaged.”

The Pennsylvania SPCA, in addition to rescuing and sheltering animals, is responsible for enforcing Philadelphia and Pennsylvania animal cruelty laws.

The segment also features Deborah Howard, the president of Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), a non -profit organization dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals, and uses CAPS undercover video taken in USDA licensed kennels.

“Puppy mills are a blemish on a country that loves and respects its dogs,” says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. “Puppy Mills: Exposed” tells the truth about these operations — no matter how disturbing.”

(Photo: Limestone Kennels, courtesy of PSPCA)

Compare this picture with the one in our earlier entry and you get some idea of how taking your dog to the park in Baltimore city differs from a lot of other places, including just across the border in Anne Arundel County.

Anne Arundel County has four parks (not counting the town of Bowie’s) and two dog beaches that welcome well-behaved unleashed dogs.

We spent some time at the dog beach in Pasadena (Downs Park) Sunday, partly to beat the heat, partly because we don’t feel too comfortable or welcome in our own Baltimore city park since the city imposed $1,000 fines for leash law violations.

Other than the privately built and funded Canton Dog Park — not really big enough for a big dog to get his run on — the city of Baltimore has no dog parks, no place for dogs to run freely and get the exercise they need, though work is underway to open the first city-built one at Latrobe Park in Locust Point.

Maybe tomorrow’s city council hearing will get things moving. Until then, there’s always Anne Arundel. Here’s where unleashed dogs are allowed there:

Downs Park - Dog Beach only
8311 John Downs Loop
Pasadena, Maryland 21122

Quiet Waters Park - Dog Park and Dog Beach
600 Quiet Waters Park Road
Annapolis, MD 21403

Bell Branch Park
2400 Davidsonville Road
Gambrills, Maryland

Broadneck Park
618 Broadneck Road
Arnold, Maryland

Maryland City Park
565 Brockbridge Road
Laurel, Maryland