ohmidog!

Chicago’s oldest pet store has decided to stop selling dogs purchased from breeders.

Sonja Raymond, whose family has been operating Collar & Leash since 1956, says the shop will deal only in adoptable dogs from shelters and rescues, according to CBS in Chicago

Raymond said she’d been considering the switch for five years – after noticing animals coming into the store with genetic defects and incurable illnesses, despite the assurances she received from her suppliers that the pups didn’t come from puppy mills.

“You know I had gone on the word of my distributors that I get my dogs from — that ‘Oh yeah these people are reputable, I’ve known them for years,” she said. “Within the past year I have found out they lied.”

Also pushing Collar & Leash to make the switch was the The Puppy Mill Project, a Chicago-based non-profit organization created to raise awareness about cruelty in puppy mills.

“We’d been in touch with the Puppy Mill Project Founder, Cari Meyers, for a long time, and realize it’s time we take this jump with them to help make a statement to put an end to puppy mills,” Raymond said.

“We will no longer buy and sell cats and dogs from mills and are proud to align ourselves with The Puppy Mill Project,” she said.

“It’s my biggest hope that as they become humane, other Chicago pet stores selling dogs and cats will follow in their footsteps, said Puppy Mill Project founder Meyers.

The store will hold a grand re-opening weekend Saturday and Sunday, April 6 and 7.

Obie, the former 77-pound dachshund, reached another milestone this week, weighing in at under 60 pounds.

According to his Facebook page, “Biggest Loser – Doxie Edition,” Obie tipped the scales at 59.14 at his weekly weigh-in Tuesday.

That brings his total weight loss to 17 pounds in 12 weeks — an average of 1.5 pounds a week, according to his foster mom for now, Nora Vanatta.

Vanatta, a veterinary technician who volunteered to foster the dog for Oregon Dachshund Rescue, has also started an Obie store, selling, for now, Obie t-shirts.

Obie, formerly known as A.J., was surrendered by his elderly owners, who apparently didn’t know when to stop feeding him.

Vanatta immediately put him on a diet, detailing his progress on a Facebook page and getting some major media attention in the process.

After that, Oregon Dachshund Rescue owner Jenell Rangan filed a lawsuit, claiming Vanatta wasn’t properly caring for him and seeking to get Obie back.

The case has yet to be heard, but a judge ruled last month that Vanatta should maintain custody for now.

Vanatta has collected thousands of dollars in donations for Obie from supporters, and says the money is being used for his care. He still needs dental work and may eventually need to have excess skin surgically removed.

“Whatever is left over after his rehab will go to help other reputable rescues and continue to educate the public and bring awareness to obesity,” she says on his Facebook page. But, she adds, she will have to use some of the donations to pay legal fees in connection with the lawsuit.

“The saddest part is that legal fees for 2 weeks are already 5 times what Obie’s medical bills are in 3 months,” Vanatta wrote in a Facebook post.

That doesn’t seem to be a big issue, judging from those leaving comments on the page. Wrote one commenter, ”I donated through Paypal and I don’t care how you use the money. Take yourself out to dinner if you want.”

The far more common message is this: Go Obie!

The Los Angeles City Council tentatively approved an ordinance Wednesday that will make it the largest city in the nation to ban pet shops from selling dogs obtained from commercial breeders.

The council voted 12-2 in favor of the ordinance, the Los Angeles Times reports.

People can still buy dogs directly from breeders, but pet stores will be limited to selling animals obtained from shelters, humane societies and rescue groups.

The law is aimed at curbing puppy mills and preventing tens of thousands of animals from being euthanized in city shelters each year.

Stores that violate the restrictions could face penalties starting at $250.

Similar ordinances are in effect in at least three other California cities — Irvine, Hermosa Beach and West Hollywood.

Pet shop owners called the law unfair.

“It’s just making us suffer,” said Candice Ro, owner of Olympic Pet Shop in Koreatown.

Councilman Paul Koretz, a longtime supporter of animal rights, championed the ban and said lawmakers have a duty to stick up for animals who “cannot speak for themselves.”

City officials said the ban, which returns to the council for a final vote next week, could affect two dozen pet stores. The restrictions will be reviewed after three years to determine if they should be continued.

A pet owner in Honolulu says groomers at a local Petco cut portions of her dog’s ears off, then apparently used glue and tape to reattach them.

Gladys Kapuwai said she dropped off her Pomeranian-Maltese mix at the Petco store in Kaneohe for some simple grooming, and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary when she picked up the dog.

Within a matter of weeks, though, pieces of Dodo’s ears fell off, and upon examination by a veterinarian, it was discovered that the bottom portions of the dog’s ears had been cut off and reattached with tape, according to a lawsuit.

Kapuwai’s attorney, Michael Green, filed the lawsuit on her behalf and also on behalf of his wife, who claims her dog was injured during a grooming session at the store. Estelle Green says her dog Hope had the tip of her tail cut off, and suffered other injuries.

Fox News reported that San Diego-based Petco issued a statement saying it takes “any animal care concerns very seriously and we’re actively investigating these cases.”

“We can’t comment on the specifics at this time, but we can tell you that we have very strong standards and policies in place for the care and treatment of animals in our grooming salon and we provide training on those standards and policies for our grooming associates,” the statement said.

Glendale, California, has joined the list of cities voting to ban the retail sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in pet stores.

The Glendale City Council unanimously approved the ordinance in August. It goes into effect later this month, but store owners have a year to come into compliance.

According to Examiner.com in Los Angeles, those pushing for the ordinance included Christy Schilling, a Glendale resident instrumental in helping to convert Glendale’s Pet Rush from selling puppy mill dogs to only offering rescued dogs for adoption, and Lindsay Reeves, a member of the local group Citizens Against Puppy Mills, which conducts pet store demonstrations and public outreach.

Reeves attended a council meeting with her dog Eliza, a Yorkshire terrier that spent 8 years as a breeding dog in a Missouri puppy mill before being rescued two years ago.

Robert Holloway went to a Virginia PetSmart to pick up some bird seed and dog food.

Instead, he slipped on a pile of dog poop in the pet-friendly store, hurting his back and knocking out four of his false teeth.

Now he wants $1 million, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. PetSmart and its employees “negligently allowed animals to enter the premises and deposit feces in such a manner as to create a dangerous and hazardous condition,” his lawsuit states.

PetSmart has filed an initial reply stating that the store and its manager that day were not negligent in the accident. Pet accidents are a fact of life in its stores, where leashed pets are welcome, a company spokeswoman told the Virginian-Pilot.

Holloway, of Poquoson, went to a Newport News PetSmart on Jan. 18, 2009.  While he didn’t fall to the floor after slipping, his body twisted violently and he smacked his head against something nearby, his lawyer said. As a result, Holloway, 70, who already had back problems, had to have surgery.

A spokeswoman for PetSmart, the largest pet specialty retailer in the country, said employees are trained to clean up messes and customers are encouraged to clean up after their pets. Every store has “oops” stations, clearly marked, with clean-up supplies. “They’re animals. There’s always going to be accidents,” she said.

A similar suit was filed by a woman who slipped and fell in dog urine at the same store.  The judge ruled against her, saying the woman failed to show that any store employee knew there was urine on the floor.

The owner of a western wear shop in North Carolina has apologized for kicking a 5-year-old girl’s service dog out of his store — but not until after threats of a boycott and lawsuit surfaced.

“I had no intentions to offend anyone, but if I have I apologize for it,” said Robert Bryant who owns the Western Shop in New Hanover County, N.C. He said he wasn’t famliar with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Bryant’s raspy “apology” — you can see more of it here — was in stark contrast to what he reportedly barked at the girl and her mother: “Get that (expletive) dog out of my store.”

Bryant said the dog smelled bad and he didn’t want dog hair on his merchandise, sounding much like the Colorado attorney who was hit with $50,000 in fines this week for banning a woman and her service dog from his law office, for fear it might soil his new carpet.

Ellie, a golden retriever, belongs to 5-year-old Amanda Ivancevich, who has cerebral palsy and is missing the left side of her brain. She relies on the dog to get her through the day and alert her family to pending seizures. Her mother, Susan Ivancevich, said it was Amanda’s first trip outside in a year.

“I’m a law abiding citizen, yes,” said Bryant. “I had no intentions of offending this child. I love children.” He also pointed out repeatedly that he runs a “Christian business.”

Since learning more about what the law says about service dogs, Bryant says he would act differently if Ellie walked into his store again.

After Susan Ivancevich posted a comment about the incident on Facebook, dozens have come to her support, and some have vowed to stop patronizing Bryant’s shop.

The Borders bookstore in downtown Ann Arbor is dog-friendly no more.

After years of allowing dogs, the bookstore has decided to enforce the chain’s company-wide policy prohibiting pets from entering.

“We prioritize the safety and happiness of our customers,” Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said. “We think that it’s important to put this particular store in line with our other stores, which currently only allow service dogs.”

AnnArbor.com reports that the store’s general manager said she had “received a number of complaints about the dogs, some of which she described as ‘nasty,’” (meaning the complaints, I’m pretty sure, and not the dogs).

Borders declined to specify the nature of the complaints. At least one was made to county health authorities, who pointed out the store, since it houses a coffee shop, is licensed as a food service establishment.

Some patrons expressed sadness about the new no-dog policy.

“My dog has never fought with another dog or eaten a book or a person,” said Marcia Polenberg, who was standing outside the store with her dog, Caravaggio. “I don’t know that this is a good policy. I will be much less inclined to shop here.”

The mural of Philadelphia Eagle Michael Vick choking a dog in a Dallas Cowboys uniform was painted over Friday by the city of Philadelphia’s “graffiti abatement team.”

The painting had gone up recently on the side of a “Tires ‘R’ Us” store on York Street in the city’s Kensington section.

Within a day of images of the artwork showing up on assorted blogs, the city covered it over, saying no permit had been issued for it, NBC in Philadelphia reported.

Permits are needed for murals on any buildings in the city, said Andrew Stober in the mayor’s office of transportation and utilities.

The manager of the building gave the “OK” to paint over the mural, said Stober, but Stober would not comment on who put it up or if there were any complaints about it.

Nine of the 32 dogs removed last week from the Wizard of Claws — a Pembroke Pines, Florida, store that was notorious for selling puppy-mill-born designer dogs — were put up for adoption over the weekend, and they all found homes.

Dozens of people lined up outside the Broward County Humane Society to adopt, many returning home empty-handed after learning that most of the dogs taken from the store aren’t ready for adoption yet.

The dogs were removed from The Wizard of Claws on Thursday after an anonymous donor purchased the entire stock of the store, which had declared bankruptcy and closed its doors Monday. The shop was the subject of a class action lawsuit claiming it had sold sick and dying pups.

When The Humane Society of the United States learned the bankruptcy trustee intended to auction off the remaining puppies housed at the store, an anonymous donor stepped in to sponsor the dogs, and The HSUS brokered a deal to have all 32 dogs placed for adoption.

The dogs include Yorkies, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Pomeranians, dachshunds and Shih-tzus. Read more »