Begins at Home

A couple who visited the Memphis Animal Shelter last year (prior to the raid by authorities) took home three dogs including an "injured and bleeding dog that had not received any veterinary care". This was the beginning of their "Streetdog Foundation" rescue which is currently caring for a dozen dogs. They have been boarding dogs, paying their Vet bills and fostering a couple at their home - all out of their own checkbook.

I would love to do something like this except I'd like to do it at our house. I'm willing to do the work and frankly, even if we had terrible luck finding permanent homes, I would be happy to keep a small group of dogs for their entire lives if necessary. It's that checkbook thing that is holding me back. Maybe someone reading this post has been thinking, "I have the money to fund a small no kill shelter and I'd really like to help some dogs but I'm not able to do the work". Hey - you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!

Room for Four More?

Chicago area: The wife in this story had been battling lung cancer for the past year. She apparently felt up to a short motorcycle ride with her husband, a maintenance man at an apartment complex, on Labor Day weekend. Sadly, they were both killed when a car struck them.

For Susan and Mike Kelms, their four dogs were like their children. And they always hoped they would stay together if anything happened to them.

About two weeks after the Kelmses were both killed in a fatal motorcycle crash over the Labor Day weekend, their family and a Burr Ridge shelter is looking for someone to adopt the pack.
[...]
They are 6-year-old Anacortes, a 47-pound female American Eskimo lab mix; 3-year-old Cedonia, a 34-pound female husky mix; 7-year-old Tacoma, a 92-pound male lab mix; and Everett, a 4-year-old, 47-pound, male Austrian Shepard lab mix.

The dogs are described as "well-mannered" and "best friends" who hang together at the shelter. Their late owners, who rescued each of the dogs, considered them family members. I hope what remains of this family can stay together, even if it's a long shot.

What is a "Puppy Mill"? - Part 2

The following post was written in 2008 by Saluki breeder Betsy Cummings. I thought it would be perfect food for thought in my series on the subject of defining puppy mills. I'm most interested in your reactions, thoughts, and opinions on her points.

***

I got in late last nite from Springfield, MO. What is there to interest me? Well, the 18th Spring Educational Seminar and Meeting of the Missouri Pet Breeders Association. Yeah, the puppy mill folks. They prefer Professional Breeders. And after what I saw this weekend, I'm quite willing to cut them some slack.

On Friday were 4 seminars, although one was cancelled because the State Veterinarian had been bitten by a dog and the rabies vaxx was questionable, so the poor guy has to take the shots and wasn't feeling well. So another guy came and spoke on something else. On Saturday was Pat Hasting's Puppy Puzzle Seminar - which was FREE. To anybody. How many have paid $150 or more to a kennel club to see this seminar?

I'm now going to propose a viewpoint that I know full well isn't going to be popular, nor is it going to win me friends. Many of you will scoff and criticize. It's ingrained in "us" to do so. Say the words Puppy Mill, or Commercial Breeder and most of us have a knee jerk reaction of total horror. We picture "bubba's" on Walmart parking lots and highway corners selling puppies to anybody who comes along. Not that that doesn't happen. However, those folks tend to be wannabe's and illegal puppy mills. There were only a few people there I'd call "Bubba's" this weekend. MOST of the people were people just like you and me. You couldn't have told by dress or manner what these folks did for a living. Most even spoke "educated beyond the 1st grade" english. And it was obvious from the gal with the poodle died pink to the gal who came in with a sheltie she'd rescued off an 8 lane highway and wanted her put somewhere safe, that these folks live and breathe DOGS. In that respect, they aren't that much different from you and me.

Friday's program included one that has me shaking my head and asking where "we" ("we" being the show dog fancy) are. The MPBA has no less than 3 professional lobbyists. One in Washington DC, and 2 in our state capital. Even more, the State Representative from Salem, MO is one of "them." These 4 folks stood before a room of about 300 people and gave us a list of the legislation they've had a part in killing altogether, or getting changed to something reasonable. My question is...where the hell are WE??? If the MPBA can have THREE full time professional lobbyists...what's OUR problem??? My next question is...Why the HELL aren't we working with these people???? They know how to do it. They aren't starting from scratch. They've been working in the trenches for quite awhile. And all supported by the puppy millers! These folks are fighting for OUR rights as much as for their own, but the end results are the same - I can still own dogs in the state of Missouri, and they don't have to be spayed or neutered either.

Saturday's program was Pat Hasting's seminar. It was not quite as well attended as some of the Friday seminars since it was a 'voluntary' program. (I'll explain that in a minute.) However, the room was probably over half full - call it 200 people give or take. She played the angle toward "If you're breeding better dogs structurally, you make more money." It was a good call. She went over 7 lab puppies - some were from show bred lines, and some from a commercial kennel. She wouldn't say which were which. And based on the strengths and faults she found I certainly couldn't tell. One had an ewe neck which she demonstrated by flipping that puppy's head over onto its spine - no distress to the puppy! One had no muscling on the inside of it's legs so when she stacked it and pushed just a teensy bit from the side the puppy fell over. 3 had slipped hocks. One had a herring gut. The gasps when each of these faults were demonstrated were...quite loud. And she flat out asked why they weren't breeding away from these faults - they'd make more money providing a quality, well bred dog than ones with health and structural issues. There were some good questions from the audience, and some questions that are so basic as to be laughable...except nobody laughed. These folks are putting forth good effort, and I for one am willing to give them some credit for that. (And btw - Pat commented that each puppy was in it's own crate and that when she does show litters they usually come in ONE crate. And those crates were scrupulously clean, with food and water. *G*)

Having said this, I'll also state I'm not willing to sell to them, or breed with them. But there are show folks I can say the same about, so that's nothing different. These folks are however, policing themselves. They don't tolerate sub-standard kennels and they turn them in immediately. That's better than "we" can say when we tolerate folks we KNOW have starving animals, or worse. And just who is it on most of the news when a rescue makes the news? More often than not it's a "rescuer" or show breeder turned in by a neighbor...NOT by US.

Anyway, these folks are working to improve their industry. For 18 years they have continually raised the bar for their members. They provide seminars on everything from puppy nutrition to health in their kennels to structure - FREE. Not just for their members, but to ANYBODY. It was a very strange feeling to be in a building full of people I have always thought of as the "enemy." So much so I was very reluctant to admit I'm a show breeder. But when I did once or twice, these folks never blinked. And just who was there? The AKC. Bil-Jac. Eukanuba. Royal Canin. Hunte Corp - who btw, had fully 1/5th of the room for their booth.

And let me detour on Hunte Corp a minute. They were handing out information on their standards for buying puppies. IE, the breeders must meet some minimum requirements before Hunte will purchase their dogs. On top of those minimum requirements they pay a bonus for such things as health tested parents, Ch parents, and something else that escapes me at the moment. So they too are not only raising the bar, but leading the way in doing so.

APRI was there. With videos of their events. I always thought they were just a paper registry. Well, they're not. And lemme tell ya, the shutzhund and agility events looked pretty tuff. And not only that, but APRI alone gave $10,000 to the legislative fund - IE, the fund that pays for the lobbyists. Our little fledgling groups, PetPAC, etc would KILL for that kind of money right now.

And in all of this, I have to wonder...where are we? What are WE doing? If we choose to attend such a thing, it's voluntary. These folks are requiring it of their members. You want to be considered a top breeder...then you MUST have continuing education. Not when I feel like it, but MUST, every year, have so many credits of education. Not even our JUDGES have to do that beyond what they do to earn more breeds. We watched folks spend THOUSANDS on equipment, food, meds, and by god TREATS. Just who gives treats to their dogs? Those who LOVE them. That's who.

I had a conversation with a guy this weekend about his kennel. He proudly told me he is a "Blue Ribbon Kennel" - meaning he's met the standards for the MPBA to earn that. He gets his education credits, etc, and I assume, has met some standards of health and cleanliness in his kennels. He said he's *never* had an outbreak of anything in his kennel. Not even kennel cough. His "bio standards" are set so high that even his family must follow them in the house not just in the kennel. So I asked him what happens when the dogs leave his kennel. Their immune systems have never been challenged and suddenly they're out in the big bad world being hit with everything all at once. He went, Oh. I never thought of that. Hm. He said "What do you do?" And I had to admit I'm a show breeder, so I breed once every few years and I do take extra precautions while the bitch is pregnant and when the pups are less than 9 weeks old, but that after that I have those puppies out and about every week or two so that not only do I immunize but I give their immune systems exposure to things outside of home so that when we do go on the road to shows and such they aren't suddenly overwhelmed and have a chance to fight. I'm not sure I changed his mind exactly, but I did give him something to think about.

I admit, I went for the chance to see Pat Hasting's seminar for free. Beyond that I was prepared to keep my mouth shut. Instead, I found myself going...wow. Just how many of us would goto this level of effort to keep our dogs? These people put their money where their mouth is. And I am quite willing to allow them the title Professional Breeder and to stop having a knee jerk reaction and give them some credit for things even "we" don't do. That doesn't mean there aren't "Bubba's" in this world, or that I include those folks in the term Professional Breeder. A professional of any kind be it lawyer, doctor, handler, veterinarian, engineer, architect, etc has professional standards to meet. These folks do too. And since *I* don't care to provide puppies for every home that wants a dog I'm willing to allow the professionals to do so. It keeps MY dogs safe in the hands of those I feel will have respect for the dog, treat it the way I want my dogs treated, and HOPEFULLY they never end up in a shelter or dumped on the side of the road or as bait for a dog fight.

And I refuse to slam or denigrate these folks further. They are providing a service not ONE of us wants to do. And they have been working for at least the last 18 years to improve what they do - both in what they produce and the conditions under which they produce it. That JQP tends to treat dogs as a throw away commodity isn't entirely their fault. It's not ours either. It's a societal thing and ALL of us must work to change that. Somewhere between dogs in shelters and puppymills lies the answer. I don't know what it is. But JQP wants dogs - that much is obvious. And right now, even our basic rights to HAVE dogs is under attack. I for one am willing to work with the folks who have the experience and the know how to fight these things. And I'm willing to give credit where credit is due - here in Missouri at least, we have come under LESS attack than other areas and I recognize that a good part of that is because of the professional breeders and their lobbyists efforts.

Betsy

Betsy & Kevin Cummings
Tribute Salukis

Copyright © 2008 Betsy Cummings

Document may be reproduced in its entirety (not in sections), as long as the author is credited.

What is a "Puppy Mill"?

Although I'm not prepared to put as much thought into this post as would be required to answer such a question, I am ready to put down a few thoughts on the subject. I'm sure at some point I will add on to these and hopefully eventually come up with an answer, albeit a subjective one, to my own question. Perhaps this can be viewed as an installment series or some similarly lofty sounding endeavor.

To me, dogs are pets. What constitutes living a good quality life as a pet is interpreted differently by individual owners. For me, it means living in the house as part of the family, and receiving daily personal care, exercise, discipline, affection, and good food. I can however, understand how another owner, for example someone who keeps a dog to protect his sheep from predation, might specifically want his dog to live primarily outdoors. So long as adequate shelter is provided in conjunction with meeting the personal needs of the dog I mentioned previously, I can agree that this is good quality life for a pet, even though it's different from my personal choice. Similarly, I can imagine other variations outside my individual choices where the dog is ultimately treated as a member of the family and as such, I would agree that the dog has a good quality of life.

There are some practices though that fall so far outside my comfort level, I view them not just as different but as cruelty. In a broad sense, that would include any dog who is not treated as a member of the family. Specifically, a dog who spends most of his day to day life unattended in a cage or kennel, on a chain or roaming the streets. Keeping the area of confinement clean, while a good practice, does not make up for the dog's social deprivation. Nor does putting out a bowl of food for a dog allowed to roam the neighborhood - again, good practice to feed a dog regularly but that doesn't make the dog a family pet to my mind.

This is not strictly a numbers issue for me. I can envision a family with plentiful resources being able to provide a good quality of life for a large number of pets just as I know that an owner of a single dog can be neglectful. Put another way, where numbers come in is anytime there is neglect. If a family is neglecting some or all of their dogs, there is a problem. If a breeder is neglecting some or all of his stock or pups, it doesn't matter to me if that breeder produces 2 litters a year or 2 litters every 10 years - there is a problem.

What I think would be helpful:

Educate the public about responsible breeding and buying including the importance of having a personal relationship with the breeder and the benefits of getting a shelter dog.

Encourage more responsible breeding. The demand for responsibly bred dogs far exceeds the supply. This is the main reason people I know have turned to pet stores - they couldn't find the pet they wanted in a shelter and/or were turned down by rescue and/or didn't want to be placed on a lengthy waiting list with a responsible breeder with no guarantee of getting a pup ever. My vision is to increase the supply of responsibly bred pups while promoting the benefits of adopting shelter dogs. If we could convince the public that these are the two best ways to obtain pets, we could reduce (eventually eliminate?) the demand for pet store pups. It's not like it's a hard sell: going to a shelter saves a dog's life in many cases and buying from a responsible breeder means having a personal relationship with someone who cares about what happens to their pups enough to screen buyers and provide support for the life of the dog.

I know lots of people hate these ideas. Some people are stuck on the "don't breed or buy while shelter pets die" mantra. The reality is that, while we can and absolutely must do everything possible to promote shelter adoptions, some owners will not adopt from a shelter. Rather than ignore that fact or condemn those folks, I'd rather provide them with an alternative: buy a responsibly bred pup. Right now, there are not enough of those and so people turn to other sources. I'd like to increase the supply of responsibly bred pups.

Other people hate the idea of promoting breeding for pets. Breeders who compete with their dogs often consider the only justifiable purpose of breeding to be the production of more competition dogs with "pets" being a leftover effect. The reality is that most owners do not want competition dogs - they want couch snugglers, jogging partners, ball chasers, etc. Ignoring that fact or condemning those folks to wait indefinitely on your waiting list in case you have a "leftover" at some point in future drives people to other sources.

I often use a personal experience as an example. I once wanted a Papillon. In fact I'd still like to have a Papillon someday (in case you are reading Santa). I checked every shelter in my area for a Pap or even a Pap-ish mix - no luck. I applied to Pap rescue but the number of applicants far exceeded the number of available dogs and honestly, the process seemed humiliating to me. I am all for screening buyers but there has to be some reasonable limit on that. My experience turned into a competition - literally. I bowed out. I inquired to several responsible breeders but it was explained to me that Pap breeders are breeding to supply themselves with a new pup. Sometimes they make an agreement with the stud dog owner to give a pup in lieu of stud fee. As such, one or two pups from each litter were already spoken for. Since Paps have small litters and many breeders have just one or two litters per year, the best I could hope for was to be placed on a waiting list and perhaps in some future year, I might get a call about an available pup. I didn't want a Pap in some future year, I wanted one at the time it was appropriate in my life. Should I be condemned for wanting a Pap within a reasonable time frame? Should I be condemned for not taking a shelter dog instead? I know some people would answer "yes". For the record, I did end up adopting a shelter dog instead. But I know more than one person who has turned to alternate sources when faced with the situation I was in - they bought from pet stores or irresponsible breeders. Like me, they wanted to rescue a dog or buy from a responsible breeder but the supply fell short of the demand. I do not condemn them. Rather, I want to see the supply of responsibly bred pups increased in conjunction with education about the benefits of rescue.

OK obviously my random thoughts did not wind up answering my title question. Good thing I said that "installment" thing at the beginning. I'll try to answer my question eventually and I hope if you have some answers, questions, or random thoughts, you'll join in the discussion. I always enjoy hearing different views.

AZ: Pitbull Rescue Fail

From CBS news in Phoenix:

Dozens of dogs and puppies, mostly pit bulls, are being pulled from a New River home by Valley rescue groups.
Rescuers said many of the animals had only green or brown water to drink, and two were so badly hurt they died from their injuries.
The man who was supposed to be caring for the dogs was a volunteer foster parent for one of the rescue groups.
[...]
Rescuers said several of the dogs had gotten into a fight and were bleeding. One dog died before they got to the property this weekend.
Another was taken to the hospital, but her injuries were too severe and she died late Monday afternoon. Two others were deemed vicious and had to be put down.

Well suck, suck and double-suck.

Mangano [who sent the dogs to this "foster parent"] added she may need to start a better screening process for potential foster parents in the future to make sure the animals go to good homes.

Oh, ya think?

TN Pitbull Rescue Posts Response to News Story

A website page has been posted by someone claiming to be Casey Phelps in response to the story run by a TN news program. In the interest of fairness, I hope you will read the entire posting as I will only be quoting parts of it here.

Regarding criticism that she rescues and breeds at the same time (which I have no problem with, as long as both are done responsibly and euthanasia is reserved to end suffering in dogs deemed hopeless or unmanageable by a Veterinarian):

I just felt like If breeders would also help out with the over population along with the rescues then a major dent could be made in the homeless Bully Population.

There is no pet overpopulation. That myth has been debunked to my satisfaction by Nathan Winograd. But I would agree that if breeders, along with all pet lovers, would participate in helping to save homeless pets, we could in fact get all of them into homes or sanctuaries. I have no problem with - and in fact I fully support - responsible breeders who stand by the pups they produce and will take them back if necessary at some point in their lives. Rescues who condemn breeders just for breeding usually cite the overpopulation myth which, as I said, does not resonate with me.

Regarding dogs with human aggression, Ms. Phelps writes:

But with the good parts of rescue also comes the bad parts. The human aggressive dogs! It's heartbreaking,because with every people aggressive dog that comes in ,I regardless of being nervous I have to work with it. I have to feed it,walk it,clean it! They come around and they learn to love,but they only love me.

I've worked with them and I have walked them to other family members who live here but do not do the work with the dogs that I do. So to these people aggressive dogs my family members might have been a potential adopter,and they lunge,they growl,they snap and tuck that tail and they try to bite!!

Now I am not a certified behaviorist nor do I claim to be an expert at dealing with human aggressive dogs (far from it). But to my mind, a dog with aggression issues is not going to be helped by someone who is nervous. I can see a dog growing accustomed to being handled by this nervous person and falling into a routine which may give the false impression that the dog is being rehabbed. But the moment a family member or stranger is introduced, the truth of the situation would quickly be revealed - the dog has not been rehabbed, the aggression issues are still there, and no progress has been made. Time to call in a professional for assistance. If that is not possible, it may be best to redirect owners surrendering aggressive dogs to another rescue. Because the method currently being employed by Ms. Phelps is to have the dog killed:

So I did the right thing and I took that dog to Animal Control where they can handle him and have him put down.

I mean,should I have gave the aggressive dog to people with a family,and let the dog bite them or a neighbor?? Am I supposed to keep all the aggressive dogs forever!

I don't see either option as advisable nor would I agree that these are the only two choices. Reach out for assistance from the dog community when needed. Ask for help.

Every dog that I have taken into Animal Control has either been human aggressive ad or un-stable. Some of those guys will wag their tails and growl at the same time.

Again, I'm not an expert but how do we know these dogs are "unstable"? Because they growl and wag their tails at the same time? Tail wagging does not always indicate happiness. It sometimes indicates excitement or fear. Would I kill an unevaluated dog over it? Absolutely not.

PEOPLE AGGRESSIVE DOGS CANNOT BE REHOMED!

If that is your position as a rescue, why accept dogs that you feel can't be adopted? Why not redirect the owners elsewhere or seek out a sanctuary for the dog? Believe me, I understand the challenges but that's part of what rescue is all about to my mind - to meet those challenges head on, to rally the community to save pets' lives and to help dogs in need. Adopting a policy that basically says "dogs that I am nervous about handling and unqualified to help must be killed" is inconsistent with the goal of saving dogs' lives.

I want to support rescues with all my heart. But charging money to an owner for surrendering a dog and ultimately taking the dog to AC to be killed is not "rescue" to me - especially given that the dog never had a real chance to see if he could be rehabbed with guidance from a professional. That's quitting on a dog. Every dog deserves a fair evaluation by a qualified individual to determine a direction for rehab training and/or the type of home environment for which he is best suited. Every dog deserves a chance. I don't expect 100% success. I do expect a chance.

We are a no kill nation and a humane society. Join us.

TN Pitbull Rescue Takes Dogs to Pound for Killing

For $50, a Pitbull rescue group in Nashville TN may or may not take your dog to the pound to be killed:

For three years hundreds of people have turned over dogs to a Nashville rescue group with the hope they will find new homes, but it turned out to be a death sentence for the dogs.
[...]

"Some are strays. Some are owner releases," said Billy Biggs with Metro Animal Control.

Officer Biggs said Phelps brought in 261 dogs to Metro Animal Control since 2006.

"The bad thing about a pit bull is once you release them to us it's a death penalty it's our policy not to adopt pit bulls," said Biggs.

The Phelps' insist they are only surrendering animals that can not be adopted.

"Only the aggressive ones, the ones you can't find homes for," said Curly [Phelps].

Oh crap. We need a rescue to rescue the dogs from rescue.

Police said a fraud case would be extremely difficult to prove, and animal control does not have the power to go after a rescue group simply because it was misleading people.

Really? Surrendering a pet to a rescue who took money in exchange for finding the dog a home and then brought him to the pound to be killed is the legal equivalent of telling a fish tale? I'm not a legal expert but I would think there would be some sort of case here. If anyone felt like pursuing it that is. It kinda sounds like no one is motivated to do that. Will anyone stand up and speak for the 261 dead Pitbulls whose owners thought they were buying them a chance at a new home?

Save Dale - Don't Balk!

My supa-clever blogger friendy Heather posted recently about a li'l chicken she has on her farm named Dale. Please read the delightfully entertaining comments in her post to learn about raising chickens and also about the grassroots movement to keep Dale out the crockpot.

Today Heather has thrown down the gauntlet and issued a challenge (or an ultimatum, if you're looking at it through chicken-colored-glasses):

If NESR [National English Shepherd Rescue] receives checks and paypal donations totaling the amount of my one-ton feed order by June 30, Dale McNugget will earn a permanent sinecure among the laying hens here. I'll keep his picture on the blog

I will have the total on the feed order in a couple of weeks, but we are looking at between $ 210 and $250.

Contributions must be marked Montana Rescue -- SAVE DALE.

Otherwise -- coq a vin.

OK peeps (haha), let's do this thing. Whether you want to save a chicken from the pot or you want to support the many dogs in English Shepherd Rescue or you just want to hand Heather a feathery beatdown, dig into your Paypal account and see if you can come up with a little donation. Remember to mark your donation "Montana Rescue -- SAVE DALE".

Rescue Forwards

Many of us regularly receive e-mails regarding dogs in need of rescue.  They are often forwarded messages and sometimes we receive them multiple times because several well intentioned forwarders send them to everyone in their address books as well as e-mail lists.  Here's the thing -  if you really want to be helpful, count to ten before hitting that forward button: 

1.  If the original message you are about to forward was not written by someone you know and trust (which is usually the case), try to verify the facts.  The message may contain partially or entirely erroneous information.  Example.

2.  Who are you more likely to listen to carefully:  a person speaking in a calm, normal voice or a child throwing a temper tantrum?  For me, it's the former.  That's why I tend to go into automatic-tune-out mode when something hits my inbox in all caps [HELP NEEDED], with dramatic language [SUPER SWEET DOG WILL BE GASSED TOMORROW AM], and repetitive exclamations [XXX URGENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  SAD, SAD, SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!].  It's just overload.  And it keeps me from getting the info the forwarder wanted me to have because I'm glassy-eyed and searching for the delete key.

3.  If the original message is buried beneath a bunch of people posting notes that say "Don't reply to me, I'm just the messenger", that wastes a lot of my time trying to dig down to the message the sender wants me to see.  I understand the idea that the sender doesn't want me (or anyone else in his address book) to think he has first hand information about the subject of the forward, but I do get that it's a forward and as long as the original poster's info is preserved, I have no need to see all the previous forwarders' disclaimers.  Likewise, I need only the original sender's permission/request to crosspost/forward - not Dick, Jane, Tom and Harry's.  If the extraneous fluff is trimmed, I can get straight to the original message.  (Trimming all those sigs at the bottom=BONUS.)  

4.  Before forwarding the message to an e-mail list, forum, or other group, check to see if someone else has already done so.  Repeat messages in a group environment are another trigger for my automatic-tune-out setting.  And I may miss an important reply to the message because of that.

5.  Important info that I'm looking for in the message:

• City and State where dog is located
• Exactly what kind of help is needed (foster for 1 week, ID a breed, donation for Vet care, etc.)
• Contact info for person/group to get in touch with if I can offer assistance
• Original poster's contact info (if different from above)
• Specifics on dog in need of help, if known (breed, gender, age, no cats, etc.)
• Exact time of deadline, if applicable (e.g. "Dog will be PTS Wednesday morning, May 5th", NOT vague references like "Tonight" or "Soon")

6.  Info I don't need:

• Life story of the owner/former owner who can no longer/never did care for this dog.  If you say the dog is in need, I believe you.  'Nuff said.
• Condemnation of a "rival" rescue group - yo, it's not a competition.  We're all just trying to help the dogs, right?
• Philosophizing on what the judge/animal control officer/shelter director should have done - das what blogs is for - get one!
• List of mis-formatted links which may have worked in the original post but have been forwarded so many times they are now just a jumbled mess of AOL-speak.  If you can fix the links before forwarding, that would be a great timesaver.

Got more ideas? Comments are open!

What's So Great About Tossing Puppies in a Ditch?

Nothing, as far as the puppy dumping goes, but a lot as to how the story was reported here:

Suzanne Kratz said she didn't think much about seeing a man throw something out of the back of a red pickup truck, until she realized that his street litter was actually a litter of puppies.

[...]

"They feel like instead of bringing it to a shelter where they believe they'll get killed, they think dumping the animal off might be give the animal a chance," Thompson said.

[...]

"We know that we're all faced with hard times right now, and you know this person, maybe they were laid off from their job and couldn't afford to feed them, but there are plenty of people willing to foster," Kratz said.

This happened in Montgomery County, Texas which is close to Harris County, where 187 Pitbulls were "rescued" and then secretly killed by the rescuers late last year.  So one can imagine how local folks get the idea that turning dogs in to the animal shelter might be a death sentence.  I'm happy to see that mentioned in this article.  Shelters - take note!  Your community is aware of what you do and your actions affect how people handle their pets.

In addition, I'm glad the rescuer doesn't outright condemn the person who tossed the pups.  Yeah it's a horrible deed but she extends a compassionate hand of understanding while offering a little education.  That's the way to do it.

P.S. - Watch the video of the pups - they're dang cute!  (brief commercial at beginning of vid) 

S & R Dog Saves Ontario Woman

A rescue dog turned Rescue Dog (as in Search & Rescue) found a woman (Donna Molnar, 55) who'd been buried 3 days in the snow in Ontario this week:

Alongside his search-and-rescue dog Ace, Ray Lau on Monday tramped through the thick, ice-covered brush of a farmer's field, not far from where Molnar's van had been found a day earlier.

He kept thinking: Negative-20 winds? This is a search for a body.

"Then, oh, all of a sudden, Ace bolted off," said Lau. "He stooped and looked down at the snow and just barked, barked, barked."

Lau rushed to his Dutch shepherd's side.

The fact that Mrs. Molnar was alive and conscious stunned everyone. In a good way:

David Molnar is calling his wife's survival his "Christmas miracle."
[...]
As for Ace, he's still awaiting his reward: a T-bone steak.

Ace says, "Shucks, I was just doin' mah job. And don't be stingy with the trimmings!"

Research Dogs in Need - Raleigh, NC

UPDATE, May 28: The News & Observer is reporting that the future looks bright for the research dogs:

...arrangements have been made for three of them already. And enough people have called in that the other six will be placed in homes, too...

Thank you BB for the tip.

Original Post:

Dogster is reporting that nine research dogs are in immediate need of adoption at the Vet school in Raleigh. Full details, including photos of the dogs, are on the Dogster blog.