dogwordz

Many of us in the animal care world have received this message from Bill Smith of Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs, PA (I’ve received it from at least three listservs already today!).  Sadly, Pennsylvania has some of the worst puppy mills in the country.  Here’s hoping this spotlight calls to attention both the problem and what folks can do to combat it.

—

Well friends, once again, the cat is out of the bag – or should we say the dog out of the hutch!  This Friday night, March 27, ABC’s Nightline will be investigating puppy mills! <emphasis mine>

ABC Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and investigators from Nightline travel the byways and back roads of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania – visiting numerous puppy mills and filming Main Line Animal Rescue’s volunteers as they rescue breeding dogs and puppies from Lancaster County’s notorious Amish commercial breeding facilities.

This promises to be a very special program. If you are involved in rescue, advocate on behalf of the millions of puppy mill dogs interned in our nation’s commercial dog breeding facilities, or if you just simply love animals, you will not want to miss this.

Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed, on camera, an Amish breeder while touring his facility – a first for network television. With approximately 500 dogs housed on his property, this commercial breeder speaks openly about an industry cloaked in secrecy and suspicion – the cruel factory farming of man’s best friend.

PLEASE tell your friends, your family, your coworkers – ABC Nightline investigates puppy mills – this Friday at 11:35 pm (Eastern Standard Time). Please take the time to forward this to all the rescues, shelters, and legislators in your area.

It has been almost one year since Oprah’s puppy mill show aired. That program received the highest viewer response of any Oprah Show in years. Now we need to spread the word about this very special Nightline. Only by educating as many people as we can, will we be able to help these animals. And after you watch the program, please don’t hesitate to contact ABC and Nightline to thank them for casting such a strong light on the plight of our nation’s puppy mill dogs.

Bill Smith

Main Line Animal Rescue

Friday’s airing of Nightline’s investigation of puppy mills is subject to breaking news. If for any reason it is not shown, it will air the beginning of next week. Please check listings for your time zone.

###

Ohio bill would remove pits from vicious list

on ohmidog.com, 3/25/09

I don’t like the idea of breed-specific legislation.  It’s punitive, not progressive.  It doesn’t help people know what they should do, as opposed to “can’t,” “won’t,” “don’t,” etc.  In short, it’s negative.

And that doesn’t help either dogs or people.  People have created many of the problems that people then want to solve.  A better solution takes a preventive approach to manage the environment and its inhabitants — both human and animal.

I don’t deny that pits — and other animals — have caused harm to humans.  So have dachshunds, for that matter — recently named America’s top biter du jour according to a study at the University of Pennsylvania.  The point is, dogs are individuals.  In our current society, their humans are responsible for their behavior.  It’s the humans who need to be held accountable, on a case by case basis.

Puppy Love at the Veep’s House

by Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
The Reliable Source
Washington Post
Wed., March 18, 2009

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/03/rs-champ18.html

Kudos to the Veep for planning to get 3-month-old Champ an adopted companion instead of one from a breeder.  (No, I know that not all breeders are bad, but with all the animals discarded by society who land in shelters, those are clearly the #1 kinds of places to look first!)

Glad to hear Champ is learning his ABCs.  I looked up trainer Mark Tobin’s K-9 Camp Dog Obedience School, where Champ is enrolled, and while it’s good to see the claim to using “only positive training methods designed to be non-confrontational,” I have to question why choker and pinch collars are considered acceptable.  If I’m not mistaken, the world’s top trainers and behaviorists — folks like Ian Dunbar, Jean Donaldson, Karen Pryor, Patricia McConnell, Pat Miller, Turid Rugaas and others — all oppose these types of collars.  Head collars and Martingales are much more preferred.

There are plenty of interesting comments on The Ultimate Dog Blog.  Here’s one that I think responds to the issue in a well-reasoned manner:

Byron says:

OCTOBER 7TH, 2008 AT 5:24 PM

Other trainers?  Your two-cents’-worth?

With Dog as My Co-Pilot
A Cross-Country Drive Seems Like a Walk in the Park

By Melanie D.G. Kaplan
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, March 15, 2009; Page F01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/13/AR2009031301235.html

I’m jealous.  Melanie’s beagle Darwin got to go all kinds of places I could never take Cori, for the simple reason that Cori has a variant of separation anxiety that does not allow her to tolerate my leaving her in the car (only in comfortable weather, of course) for even as little as just a few minutes while I run a short errand.  When she’s by herself like that, you would think she is being put to death.  The tortuous wail she emits can be heard as far away as three entire blocks.

Now, I’m glad to be loved and all that, but it’s really not necessary for her to put on the emergency siren!  Ever since the one and only time she got away with that piteous sound at a mall, I’ve restricted her travels to those places where we both know she can come inside with me, and nowhere else.

So Darwin, you are a much higher evolved beagle than Cori.  My hat’s off to you and your mom.  (Thanks for the great photos, too!)

###

After the strain of living their entire lives until recently in an alleged puppy mill in North Carolina, the first of the 15 dogs received by the Montgomery County Humane Society have found the warmth of human contact and new loving homes.

Nana, now known as Pumpkin, was the first to be adopted.  A small white poodle mix, she was somewhat intimidated at first, says adopter Kathleen Fornatora, from Ashton.  “But she’s adjusted wonderfully well,” Fornatora says.   “She’s coming out of her shell and is more relaxed.  She just bounces at mealtime.”

At first, Pumpkin would simply sit on her new mom’s lap for a couple of hours, watching TV.  She tolerates getting her toenails trimmed, but at only nine pounds, Fornatora says she’s easy to manage.

Pumpkin now walks out of her crate on her own, rather than waiting for someone to reach in for her.  Her housetraining is progressing as well, no small feat for a puppy mill survivor.  Thanks to confinement to a cage their entire lives before now, these dogs are trickier to train.

Most recently, Amber, a tiny Chihuahua who has been renamed Kiki, went home with Tana Stellato and her son Jason, 17.  Her family is experienced with rescue pets – their previous dog, Sabrina, was also a puppy mill survivor who lived 16 years under their loving care.

“Kiki is so sweet and really doing well,” Stellato says.  “She was slow to eat and drink the first 24 hours while she was checking out her new environment, but now everything appears normal.”

Stellato says Kiki is also smart.  She already knows how to sit on command and understands “outside” when it’s time to do her business.  She loves her little bed and wants to be petted a lot.  “I never leave her alone,” Stellato adds.

Upon arrival last month at the MCHS Private Rescue in Rockville, the dogs were groomed and examined by a veterinarian before being made available for adoption.  Prospective adopters are advised that there needs to be an adult at home around the clock and extra precautions are important to help the dogs adjust to everyday activities most people and pets take for granted.  Commitment to the animal’s rehabilitation is key, whether for housetraining, feeding treats, or playing.

FAQs on Rehabilitation of a Puppy Mill Dog

###

Hey, kids and teens attending schools in Montgomery County, Maryland!  Here’s a cool pair of contests for you to learn and show what you know about what it means to be a responsible animal caregiver.  As a project for the Montgomery County Humane Society, a team from the Leadership Montgomery organization has organized an art poster contest for students in grades 2-5, and a YouTube PSA video contest if you’re in grades 6-12.  Read the full contest rules

Rules to Love By:  10 Commandments of Responsible Pet Ownership

1. I’m probably going to live 10 to 15 years. Please keep me my entire life. To be separated from you would be very painful.

2. I’m a slow learner. I need some time to understand what you want of me.

3. Give me food and exercise every day. To stay healthy, I need the same kinds of things you need.

4. Please have me spayed (if I’m a girl) or neutered (if I’m a boy). I will be a better pet and you won’t have to find safe homes for all my babies.

5. You are my best friend. Please don’t stay mad at me or lock me up as punishment. I can’t understand why you’re doing that.

6. Talk to me. I like hearing your voice, even if I don’t understand what you’re saying.

7. I don’t hurt you. Please don’t hurt — or hit — me.

8. Before you yell at me for acting lazy or not doing what you say, remember I might be tired, hungry or sick.

9. Take care of me when I get old. One day you’ll need someone to take care of you, too.

10. Stay with me when I’m scared. I feel safe when you’re around.

See a sample of the kind of video you can produce

DEADLINE UPDATED FOR BOTH CONTESTS:  

April 15, May 1, 2009

###

Biased?  Moi?