High kill rate plagues animal shelter OH Montgomery County animal shelter officers blame a high euthanasia rate in Montgomery County's largest animal shelter on 'irresponsible ownership.' Unconvinced, fully half of the Humane Society board members quit in protest of the kill rate and called for an investigation...
'...not enough people spay, not enough people keep their animals identified and not enough people come to the shelter looking for a new pet' The county's higher than normal amount of feral cats, sickly dogs and pit bulls have boosted the kill-rate because they are automatically excluded from adoption, according to one investigator's analysis... [Dayton Daily News]
Illinois: trust funds okay'd for pets In Illinois, a proposal for a bill to allow pet owners to create trust funds for their pets has passed its first hurdle on the way to permanent legislation. 'The average amount of money pumped into a pet trust is $25,000, according to a survey released last year by Lawyers Weekly USA...' [Ottawa Daily Times]
Comment: Every pet guardian/owner who cares about their pets needs a plan in place for their pet's welfare. A friend of mine who volunteers at a Humane Society shelter said that when a parent dies, the children almost always dispose of the pets... at a shelter. Guess what happens to those pets? They almost always end up put down within days... nobody wants a 'used' pet... your pampered dog may just get snuffed... if you die without providing for its welfare afterward.
Miracle dog survives with vital organ displacement Annie, the stoic dog, may have had her vital organs in her diaphragm and chest cavity, but her heart was always in the right place... [ic Coventry]
The city where babies are disposed of safely (so they won't be eaten by dogs... ) [Hootinan.com]
Maryland halts sale of Canadian feed containing animal products [WHO-TV, IA]
Movie Pooper Spoils Your Movie Endings [Research Buzz] off topic but it will save you time if you really don't want to watch a movie, but you want your friends to think you did...
What's your animal personality? [quizilla via LilacRose: Grr..]
Animal rights gains ground [vegan blog]
Kuro5hin says maybe the whole mad cow disease thing is overblown... I'd say if you actually ate a 'mad cow' part, you wouldn't think it was overblown. Mad cow disease... many of us would never eat 'cow' or 'meat' anyway, but we're still concerned. What about the pet who DOES eat meat and what about the person who 'kisses' their pet (ie, lets their pet slobber all over their faces); not a likely scenario for mad cow disease transmission. (a must read... the comment thread is priceless)
Carving bone makes the point: 'Meat eaters continue not to accept the facts that the animal product food chain is tainted and diseased...' Hmm... that's a broad statement. In these polluted times, it doesn't hurt to err on the side of caution, which the meat industry wants to do. The meat industry is based on profit, not 'kindness to animals.' Animals suffer in the process and this is reason enough, imo, to not eat meat. (but that's just my opinion... )
Are you a 'pet' parent? If so, you're spending a bundle on your 'baby' dog/cat/bird/... and the pet industry has you in mind...
"The 'parents' segment comprises just over one-third of pet owners and represents the prime market for pet manufacturers... These consumers have given their pets a central position in the family. Demographically they have the lowest incidence of children at home and are more likely to be single, so the pet becomes the 'baby' of the family. They spend between 50-66 percent more annually on pet extras and are more likely to shop at specialty pet food stores for the more exclusive luxury brands of pet food. Today's pampered pet is the beneficiary of all kinds of luxury indulgences..." [Businesswire.com]
We are pet parents... Already, in the space of a week, we've spent over a thousand dollars on our new chow chow. Most of that was vet bills... sigh... my reward is walking in the rain with two happy dogs, one oblivious to the rain and the other, in a sopping wet mood of 'take me home, now...' Our older chow decided that if he just STOPPED walking, maybe the rain would stop too. It didn't, but he was onto something. There's nothing more humbling than coaxing a dog out of his 'I'm an immovable object' mode... Both dogs arrive home, muddy, wet, and ready for fun.
Once inside the door, they burst into the house and shake and shake... so much for a clean house... the new chow has already thrown up several times since we got her; I usher both dogs outside and of course, they both want to come back in; once inside, they both race through the house chasing each other... until I capture each one and put them outside to chase each other some more... in the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to permanently keep them from getting any more 'hot spots.' The tee-shirt look (on the dog) can only last so long...
Ask dog lady [USAtoday.com]
Woof Woof Bureaucrats encourage dogs to clean up after themselves. [Boing Boing]
That Canadian mad cow may have been packaged into dog food. Authorities have downplayed the risk to dogs, but they aren't taking any unnecessary chances:
'Pet Pantry International of Carson City, Nevada., which issued the request Monday, said customers should search for two products: Maintenance Diet with a use by date of 17FEB04 and Beef with Barley with a date of 05MAR04... Customers who purchased dog food since February should check their supplies and, if found, should call the company at 1-800-381-7387.' [The Telegraph Online]
Did SARS come from outer space and only then infect civet cats in China... [Exploding Cigar]
(Anthrax, SARS, West Nile Virus, mad cow disease; what next?... ahhh.. the good old days when you only had to worry about rabies and lyme disease... ) Related: China Seizes Wildlife to Stop SARS Spread, CHRONOLOGY-The spread of mad cow disease [Forbes.com], FDA wants limits on use of deer, elk in pet foods [Toledo Blade]; The buzz on West Nile: anybody can get it... [St. Catharines Standard], New occupational hazards [MSNBC]
Stray dogs attack, kill man near his home SC The first fatal dog attack in 22 years in Richland County, South Carolina, is blamed on stray dogs turned loose in the country side; however, authorities remain unsure of the dogs' origins and have warned area residents to leash their dogs. Officials say more complaints about stray dogs turned feral has occurred in recent years...
"People think they're bad owners if they leave their puppies at the animal shelter because they think the dogs will be euthanized. But leaving them here to fend for themselves is more cruel..." [TheState.com]
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Pets on Wheels!
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