ohmidog!

Hoping to make Los Angeles a no-kill city, a new coalition of animal welfare and rescue groups has come together to try and stop the killing of homeless pets.

It hopes to reach that goal in five years, and that, by ending euthanasia of healthy pets in Los Angeles city animal shelters, it will pave the way for other cities to follow.

Last year more than 17,000 healthy pets were killed in Los Angeles.

Led by Best Friends Animal Society, No-Kill LA (NKLA) is a coalition of animal rescue organizations, city shelters and individuals. It launched last week.

“Our plan is straightforward,” NKLA says on its website. “Provide spay/neuter services where they are needed most so fewer animals go into shelters, and increase adoptions through the combined efforts of the NKLA coalition so more animals come out of the shelters and go into new homes.

“Best Friends is providing grants to coalition partners for every pet they adopt to a new home over the number they adopted last year, as well as finding spay/neuter projects for pet owners who can’t afford to have their pets fixed.

“We’re making this happen because the animals deserve it. Standing united toward this singular goal, our mission will become reality.”

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake tomorrow will kick off a campaign urging young people to “Show Your Soft Side” when it comes to cats and dogs.

The campaign was developed to combat the alarming incidence of animal cruelty in Baltimore, with most of the abuse being perpetrated by teens.

“Only a punk would hurt a cat or dog,” is one of its messages.

The campaign is one offshoot of the Mayor’s Anti-Animal Abuse Advisory Commission, which examined ways to change the mindset of young people who often view the maiming and torturing of defenseless dogs and cats as a sign of “toughness” or “manhood.”

The campaign attempts to put forth the message that “being a man,” has  many facets to it, including a “soft side” when it comes to animals.

Because research shows that kids who abuse animals often graduate to even more violent crimes, the campaigns goal is to reach children early.

The campaign will showcase several Baltimore men as role models, when it comes to animals, including Baltimore Oriole Adam Jones, MMA fighter John Rallo, and Baltimore Raven Jarret Johnson (pictured above with his dog, Tucker, in one of the campaign posters).

They will be appearing with their pets on billboards and print ads that make the point that ”only a punk” would hurt a cat or dog.

Pets are invited to the campaign’s launch, at 9:30 a.m. Thursday (Sept. 29) in the plaza outside City Hall, 100 N. Holliday Street.

The campaign is made possible by funding from Eddie’s of Roland Park, Fullmoon Marketing & Events, Kirk Designs, Inc. and Media Works, Ltd.

For more information, visit the campaign’s Facebook page.

Three days after we bemoaned the seemingly trending practice of putting words in dogs’ mouths via animation, a new Internet e-card company has launched, offering just that service.

It’s pretty much the same schtick as Pedigree’s “Denture Your Dog” ad campaign for “DentaStix” – upload a photo of your dog, position the talking mouth, type in what you want your dog to say, click, wait and, voila, you have a talking dog video you can distribute via Facebook, Twitter and email.

To hear what Ace thinks of it all, click on his picture above, then click on play on the page to which you are taken. (I swore I’d never do it, but then again, I also swore I’d never use the word “trending”.)

Pet-a-Greeting launched Tuesday, calling itself the first-ever site that allows members to upload a photo of their dog, cat or other pet and create a customized talking message to share.

“We’re taking the e-greeting card experience to a whole other level,” said Gregory Baker, co-founder of Pet-a-Greeting.  (Confession: I tried to find a photo of Baker online so I could use his website to make him bark, but there are too many Gregory Bakers.)

“We developed Pet-a-Greeting because we love our animal friends,” Baker continues in a press release, “and we want people to be able to share a unique experience with their friends and families, while giving a voice to those that typically don’t have one.”

If that’s not noble enough for you, consider this: Pet-a-Greeting says it has a strong commitment to helping animal welfare organizations both locally and nationally. “By becoming a member and sending Pet-a-Greetings, you are supporting the welfare of companion animals.”

No details, or percentage, or beneficiary is mentioned in the news release, so I guess we have to just take their word for it.

Pet-a-Greeting offers a 10-day free trial, where members can send unlimited personal greeting cards. A year’s membership is $9.95, and a two-year membership is $14.95.

 
A dog collar that will allow pet owners to map their pets’ location on their computer or other wireless devices will soon be hitting the market, Apisphere, Inc.  and AT&T announced.

“The dog collar, with an embedded wireless SIM, will leverage Apisphere’s award winning geo-mobility platform to transmit location-aware data across AT&T’s nationwide wireless network directly to a pet owner’s wireless handset or personal computer,” according to an AT&T press release

In other words, what the communications company is saying, I think, is that the new gizmo will tell you where your dog is.

Apisphere is a provider of “location-smart technologies” for mobile applications and devices.

Pet owners who use the technology will be instructed to register their pets and important contacts as soon as they attach the collar. Owners may establish a “geo-fence” around the home where the pet can roam freely. Through the technology, owners can locate their dog if he strays outside of his established parameters.

Apisphere software will transmit street level data for easy pet location. Owners will have the option to program text, email, video or audio alerts, to be distributed as often as they like.

“There are few things as important to my daughter as knowing the whereabouts of our dog,” said Glenn Lurie, president, AT&T Emerging Devices, Resale and Partnerships. “The peace of mind that a wirelessly connected collar will bring my family and pet owners across the country is long overdue. We’re extremely excited about this product and its possibilities.”

Pricing, distribution, and design details of the collar will be made available at launch, expected later this year.

(Art: From Peterclarkcollage.com)