Tag: animal welfare
Patti Page changes her tune
Singer Patti Page has re-recorded her classic hit, “How Much is that Doggie in the Window?” in hopes that a more politically correct version — “Do You See That Doggie in the Shelter?” — will steer the public away from puppy mills dogs.
The 81-year-old Page, whose autobiography, “This is My Song,” comes out next month, originally recorded “How Much is That Doggie” in 1952.
The re-recorded tune, she says, is an effort to bring attention to the plight of shelter dogs awaiting adoption and the deplorable conditions in puppy mills that supply dogs to some pet stores.
The new lyrics were written by Page’s publicist, Sanford Brokaw, and Chris Gantry, composer of the 1968 Glen Campbell classic, “Dreams of the Everyday Housewife.”
The first live performance of the song, during its recording, was played to an audience that included three rescued Bassett hounds and a rescued Italian Greyhound.
Page says she hopes that when people now hear the old familiar “Doggie” melody, they’ll think about homeless animals and animal shelters instead of pet stores and puppy mills.
Posted by jwoestendiek January 3rd, 2009 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: animal welfare, do you see that doggie in the shelter, dog, doggie, dogs, how much is that doggie in the window, hsus, humane society, pattie page, puppy mills, recorded, rerecorded, rescue, shelter, song
Comments: 1
Texas town approves shooting stray dogs
The rural North Texas town of Ferris — about 20 miles south of Dallas — has approved a policy that allows authorities to shoot “wild” roaming dogs.
Ferris City Manager David Chavez said the Ellis County town approved the policy because it was becoming a dumping ground for unwanted pets. People drive out to the country to release pets they no longer want, but the starving animals breed, form packs and wind up scavenging for food, he said.
Ferris Police Chief Frank Mooney said the city would shoot only “potentially violent dogs,” and only as a last resort — after attempts to humanely capture the animal had failed.
This is a case, once again, of dogs being punished for the acts of humans; it’s the sort of thing you might expect in Baghdad, or maybe Alaska; and it’s full of faulty reasoning.
Every dog (like every human) is “potentially violent,” especially when it sees a lynch mob coming after it. My dog once roamed the streets himself, and gentle as he is, I’m sure he might have given indications otherwise if someone came after him with a rope or pole, much less a shotgun, which the new policy permits. I’m not entirely sure smalltown Texas lawmen should be acting as judge, jury and executioner.
As you might expect, the new policy has enraged animal welfare advocates.
“It’s unfathomable to me that the city of Ferris just outlandishly wants to go out and shoot these stray dogs,” Niloofar Asgharian, a board member of the nonprofit Animal Connection of Texas, said in a story in the Dallas Morning News. “It doesn’t do anything except that these dogs end up dying a slow, miserable death.”
Animal welfare advocates have suggested trapping the animals and better enforcing laws that prohibit dumping dogs.
“It seems like a cruel punishment to the animal when the blame is on people,” said Sherwin Daryani, the executive director of Operation Kindness.
There are 50 to 100 feral dogs roaming Ferris’ streets, said Misty Clark, the city’s lone animal control officer.
The town of Ferris can be reached through this contact form.
(Image: From dallasartsreview.com, ”Stray Dog,” a painting by Roger Winter, an artist and teacher from Denison, Texas, who served on the faculty of SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts)
Posted by jwoestendiek December 29th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: abandoned, aggressive, animal connection of texas, animal control, animal welfare, contact, dallas morning news, dogs, dumped, feral, ferris, law enforcement, news, ohmidog!, operation kindness, opinion, policy, shoot, shotgun, texas, wild
Comments: 3
Dogfighting on rise in Afghanistan
Dogfighting is experiencing a resurgence in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports.
Banned under the Taliban, who considered it un-Islamic, the “sport” has regained its earlier popularity since the Taliban’s ouster in 2001. Dogfighters line up weekly for informal tournaments on dusty lots in the country’s major cities.
In Kabul, there are two tournaments every week, both on Friday, the larger of which takes place in the morning at the bottom of a slope on the city’s outskirts and draws thousands.
Times reporter Kirk Semple describes a scene in which dozens of mastiff-like dogs, some of which required two men to restrain them, awaited their matches.
Some fights had been organized days in advance, with hundreds of dollars, sometimes thousands, riding on each, he reported.
“The event was presided over by a ringmaster, a toothless old man with a turban and a limp. He carried a wooden staff that he used to beat spectators who crowded the pitch and members of the dogfighters’ entourages who blocked the spectators’ view.”
The country’s elite frown upon the dogfighters, seeing them as uncultured and the criminal.
“In my personal view, it’s not a good thing,” said Ghulam Nabi Farahi, deputy minister of information and culture. “In today’s world, these animals should be treated well. But unfortunately, there’s a lot of fighting.”
Posted by jwoestendiek December 29th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: afghanistan, animal welfare, dogfighting, dogfights, dogs, increase, mastiffs, matches, new york times, popularity, resurgence, rise, sport, taliban
Comments: none
Silent Night, from Sarah McLachlan
Posted by jwoestendiek December 24th, 2008 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: animal welfare, bcspca, christmas, dogs, public service announcement, rescue, sarah mclachlan, shelter, silent night, song, spca
Comments: none
Man says he beat dog with rock in self defense
An assistant fire chief charged with beating a 6-month-old puppy on the head with a 12-pound rock said yesterday that he acted in self-defense after the animal bit his thumb.
Glynn Johnson, 54, who works for the Los Angeles County fire department, was arrested by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department last week and charged with one count of maliciously wounding his neighbor’s dog, Karley. He was released the same day on $10,000 bail.
Speaking at a news conference at his attorney’s office in Beverly Hills, Johnson portrayed himself as an animal lover, and said the top of his thumb had nearly been ripped off and had to be sutured back on because of the bite.
The dog, meanwhile, a German shepherd mix, suffered a fractured skull and had to be euthanized, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Posted by jwoestendiek December 23rd, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal welfare, assistant, beat, bit, bite, county, crime, cruelty, dog, dogs, felony, fire chief, firefighter, glynn johnson, los angeles, riverside county, rock, self defense, stitches, struck, thumb
Comments: 1
Seeking a dog, she brings home 27
Colleen Spalioni went to an animal shelter to find a dog.
She went home with 27.
The rescued pooches — including 10 Chihuahua mixes, one purebred Chihuahua, a Jack Russell, a poodle, two shepherd mixes, two miniature pinschers and an Australian cattle dog mix — were apparently facing euthanasia.
Spalioni, of Sparks, Nevada, was looking for a dog to replace the pointer she lost in November to a car accident, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.
She found one on the website DogsinDanger.com, which posts photos of dogs in shelters and the number of days until they are euthanized. It was nearly 400 miles away, but Spalioni made the trip to Delano, Calif., near Bakersfield, accompanied by a neighbor, in her pick-up.
There she learned how many more dogs were facing euthanasia — and adopted them all. Delano police animal control officers helped her load the 27 dogs into her pickup. Some fit in the cab, with the rest in the truck bed with a down blanket and a tarpaulin over the top.
Spalioni did all this while her husband was away on a business trip. He returns home today.
One dog died on the trip home, and two more since. The 24 others yelped enough to lead her neighbors to complain, and it has been pointed out to her that a local ordinance sets a limit of three dogs per household.
“I didn’t realize I was going to be in so much trouble or that so many people would be so angry at what I did,” Spalioni said. “But after I lost my dog who gave me so much unconditional love, I couldn’t leave these dogs to die.”
She had found homes for all but three of the dogs as of Monday, and said she hoped to place the remaining dogs before her husband got home.
Posted by jwoestendiek December 17th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: 27 dogs, adopt, adoptions, adopts, animal control, animal welfare, california, chihuahuas, delano, dogs, dogsindanger, euthanasia, nevada, pickup truck, pointer, reno, rescue, rescued, rescues, shelter, spalioni, sparks
Comments: 1
BARCS cuts adoption fees for rest of year
Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) is lowering its adoption fees for the rest of December, and will waive it entirely for animals two years old and older.
The move comes amid a surplus of abandoned dogs and cats — many of them dropped off by families facing financial difficulties.
“We’re being inundated with healthy, adoptable animals,” said BARCS executive director Jennifer Mead-Brause told the Baltimore Sun. “We have people driving up in U-Hauls, dropping off their pets. It’s heartbreaking.”
On top of that, the economic downturn has resulted in fewer people showing up to adopt.
For pups and kittens six months and younger, the fee will continue to be the usual $65, which includes spay/neuter, vaccinations, and preventatives. For animals aged 7 months up to 2 years, the fee hs been dropped to $10, and for animals under two, there will be no fee at all.
The reduced fees are in effect from Dec. 13 through Dec. 31.
To see the animals now at BARCS, you can visit BARCS Petfinder page, or visit in person, at 301 Stockholm St. Shelter Hours are Monday to Friday, 12:30 to 6:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Posted by jwoestendiek December 15th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: adopt, adoption, animal welfare, animals, baltimore animal shelter, barcs, cats, deal, dogs, fees, holiday, hours, lowered, ohmidog!, older, petfinder, rescue, shelter
Comments: 1
Animal rights: A way of life (and death)
Animal rights activists can continue fighting for their furry friends from beyond the grave — thanks to a new, PETA-sanctioned, all-wood coffin that bears a PETA slogan.
In a partnership with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a New Mexico company is building human coffins that bear painted slogans, such as “Lifetime PETA Member,” ”I saved 500 animals,” or “Told You I Wouldn’t Be Caught Dead in Fur!”
The coffins, which went on sale last week, are priced from $620 to $670, according to an Associated Press report. For each one sold, PETA receives a $75 donation.
They are made by Dienna Genther, 44, a former construction worker from Bellingham, Wash., who operates a company called The Old Pine Box in rural Edgewood, about 30 miles east of Albuquerque.
She began handcrafting Earth-friendly coffins from pine, cedar, maple and other woods in 2004. They are made without screws, nails, hinges or animal-based glues.
When initially contacted, Genther thought PETA wanted to discuss marketing coffins for pets. Her company builds those, too. “But then they sent the designs, the classic toe-pincher style, and I realized they wanted human coffins,” she recalled. “I told them, `We can do it.’” Genther is not a PETA member but says she supports their cause.
Michael McGraw, a PETA spokesman in New York, said he expects a “healthy interest” in the coffins from the organization’s 2 million members. “It’s the best way for people to continue to use their voice for animals in death.”
More information on the coffins can be found at Genther’s website.
(Photo from theoldpinebox.com)
Posted by jwoestendiek December 13th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal rights, animal welfare, coffin, coffins, dienna genther, earth-friendly, edgewood, new mexico, old pine box, people for the ethical treatment of animals, peta, peta coffins, wood
Comments: 2
Firefighter shoots his dogs, takes vacation
A 12-year veteran of the Columbus, Ohio fire department is under investigation for allegedly shooting and killing his two dogs.
Dave Santuomo is accused of shooting the animals several times and dumping their remains in a Dumpster outside his fire station, 10TV in Columbus reported. An anonymous tip led officers from the Capital Area Humane Society to the Dumpster, behind Station 27, where they found two bloody bags containing the dogs’ bodies.
Investigators believe Santuomo killed the dogs inside his home, and were looking into reports that Santuomo strung the dogs up on a beam in his basement before shooting them.
“This is a very grave, very horrific situation,” said Kerry Manion of the Capital Area Humane Society. “We’re treating it very seriously.” Read more »
Posted by jwoestendiek December 12th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal welfare, antifreeze, columbus, dave santuomo, dog, dogs, dumpster, firefighter, gun, humane society, kills, ohio, pets, shot, toxic, vacation
Comments: none
N.C. dogfighting operation shut down
Authorities seized 127 dogs from an apparent dogfighting operation in western North Carolina and arrested the man who wrote the book on raising fighting dogs — or at least a book.
Officials of the Humane Society of the United States said Thursday that three arrests were made during the raid at Wildside Kennels in McGrady, N.C., which was the culmination of a three-year investigation by the Wilkes County Sheriff’s Office, Wilkes County Animal Control agency and HSUS.
One of the men arrested, Wildside Kennels owner Ed Faron, is a known pit bull breeder and an influential figure in underground dogfighting, HSUS said. He co-wrote The Complete Gamedog: A Guide to Breeding and Raising the American Pit Bull Terrier, which includes graphic, supposedly fictional accounts of dogfight injuries.
More information about the kennel can be found on its website.
Faron and the other two men were each charged with felony counts of dogfighting and baiting; additional charges are pending.
Authorities found suspected dogfighting paraphernalia on the property and seized 127 dogs. Several dogs had scars consistent with dogfighting, according to an HSUS report.
“The raid of this suspected dogfighting operation is the culmination of an extensive investigation, and dogfighters everywhere should worry that they could be next,” said Chris Schindler, deputy manager of animal fighting law enforcement for HSUS.
It is a felony to possess a dog for the purpose of dogfighting in North Carolina. Those involved in illegal dogfighting can receive four to 10 months in prison.
(Photo: Ed Faron, from Wildside Kennels myspace page)
Posted by jwoestendiek December 11th, 2008 under Muttsblog.
Tags: american pit bull terrier, animal welfare, arrests, book, dogfighting, dogs, ed faron, felony, fighting, hsus, humane society, investigation, north carolina, operation, pitbulls, raid, ring, seized, the complete gamedog, westside kennels, wilkes county
Comments: 1