First Lady, Kids & Bo Visit Children's Hospital

Article on the visit here

Treats on the Internets

You gotta have Faith

A USDA licensed exotic pets warehouse in TX was raided by authorities this week, more than 20,000 animals seized

Bo steals the show as he shows off his training during Oprah's visit to the White House

Article on TNR in IL and another on an effort to neuter feral cats in the UK and put them to work as critter control on farms

Small study indicates no difference in how much owners love cats adopted for free from shelters vs. cats adopted for a fee

Morris Animal Foundation survey finds cats suffer from a bad reputation

I just loop my leashes through the handle in order to dispense with the need for a collar so I'm not sure how useful this leash would be for me

I hate to hear about young dogs dying of cancer - this one was a successful crime fighter

Proposed "Caring for Animals" license plates in AR will cost extra but the money will go toward a spay-neuter program for low-income residents

OR program to send senior rescue dogs to live at youth correctional facility

HSUS on Bobama

From time.com:

The Humane Society's Pacelle acknowledged that the Obamas never flat-out promised to get a dog from a pound or rescue group.

Admitting a fact as truth FTW - yay!

And the society has kind words for Obama on its Web site: "Thanks, Mr. President, for giving a second-chance dog a forever home," it says.

"He's in a gray area," Pacelle said of Bo. "But I will say that many animal advocates are disappointed that he (Obama) didn't go to a shelter or breed rescue group, partly because he set that expectation and because so many activists are focused on trying to reduce the number of animals euthanized at shelters,[...]

Those would be "activists" who don't work for the HSUS I guess?

[...]and there's no better person to make the case to the American public that you can get a great dog from a shelter than the president."

Dude, really? It's true I look to the President for guidance on issues like why we need to send our troops overseas, how the new tax laws will impact our economy, etc. But he never claimed to be a dog expert and I certainly wouldn't consider him a source for guidance on how to get a dog any more than I would check what kind of socks he wears before I go to the dollar store to get me some new ones.

No, I think if I had to name someone who was in an excellent position to make the case to America on the joy of adopting a shelter dog, I might say perhaps someone who runs the frikkin' Humane Society of the United States! But apparently THAT GUY thinks the President should do HIS job (in his spare time, when he's not writing memos on his Leader of the Free World stationery). Dang, talk about buck passing. I say, let the President make decisions on how best to run the country and take the task of shelter dog promotion off his honey-do list. That'll be good. You know, one less thing.

The group later removed its congratulatory message and replaced it with: "First Dog Unveiled. Concerns about impact on shelters, demand for breed as Bo makes his debut."

[insert Debbie Downer sound effect] Hello again old friend Truthiness. Short trip, eh?

Obama Dog - Say What?

In the flurry of reporting surrounding the arrival of a new dog for the Obama family, I have come across multiple references to a shelter donation being made by the Obamas.  Exactly where the donation is going is a bit puzzling.

Lynn Sweet is reporting it's "a Humane Society".

Dogtime says it's "the Humane Society" (with link to HSUS site)

CNN:

CNN has confirmed that President Obama and the first lady will make a donation to the Washington D.C. Humane Society.

I think CNN is referring to the Washington Humane Society. They have a blog but it hasn't been updated since April 9 (before the Obama dog story broke).  Since the HSUS doesn't operate any shelters for pets and Washington Humane Society does, I'm thinking it's probably the latter who will receive the donation.



HSUS doesn't say anything about a donation but inexplicably, they write:

Families, like the Obamas, who are interested in a particular breed of animal or have special circumstances such as allergies in their household can turn to their local animal shelter or breed rescue group. About one-quarter of all dogs in shelters are purebreds, many surrendered by their owners like the new First Dog.

This certainly could be interpreted as indicating the Obamas got a dog whose original owner surrendered him to a shelter.  This is not only misleading but completely misses the point that has responsible breeders across the country cheering the coverage of this story:  The Obamas got a dog who didn't work out in his original home and so the breeder took him back.  This is what responsible breeders do - take dogs back who, for whatever reason, can no longer be kept by the original buyer.  This is why responsible breeders are not contributing to the shelter population and why, despite what radical AR activists say, all breeders are not alike.

I'm just happy the Obamas got a dog.  Dogs make good pets.  Per me.