Massachusetts! Speak Up!

April 25th, 2009 by admin2

Massachusetts Bill Would Allow Cities to Discriminate Against and Ban Any Breed of Dog

March 27, 2009 : 7:42 PM

Your Action Needed! Ask your Massachusetts Representatives to oppose H.B. 1997

Written by Best Friends Staff

Representative Vincent Pedone has sponsored Breed Discriminatory Legislation (BDL) in Massachusetts. H.B. 1997, introduced by Pedone, states that municipalities may pass canine profiling and ban breeds of dogs if they so desire. It also establishes a panel appointed by the mayor or city manager to “identify and determine the breed of dogs in the city or town,” thus placing all dogs at risk. Please contact your state Representatives and politely tell them you oppose this bill.

H.B. 1997 states:
Section 174H. (a) Nothing in this chapter shall prohibit a city or town or district from banning or further regulating a particular breed of dog.

(b) Any city or town may further regulate or ban a particular breed of dog with a majority vote of the governing body.

(c) Upon the vote of a city or town to regulate or ban a particular breed of dog, said city or town shall establish a board consisting of 3 members to identify and determine the breed of dogs in said city or town, subject to the governing regulation. The 3 board members shall consist of: 2 members of the public that are appointed by the city manager or mayor, one of which must be considered an expert in field of animals; and the animal control officer or a designee.

(d) If a particular breed of dog is further regulated or banned, the regulation or ban shall not take effect until 180 days after the vote by the city or town.

Contact Your State Representative Today!

• Locate your Massachusetts Representative

An effective email/phone call to Legislators needs only three things:

1. Your name and address at the end of your letter AND on the envelope or in the email/phone call.
Legislators want to know that you are one of the people they represent.

2. Ask for specific action
Ask Your Representative to oppose H.B. 1997.

3. Give reasons and examples
Chose from the list below or share your own. Remember to be always be respectful and avoid being emotional. This is your chance to educate someone about truly effective ways to manage dangerous dogs.

• It is often difficult for even experts to determine the breed of a dog, particularly with mixed breed dogs. Click here to find the pit bulls on the web. Many dogs are misidentified and confiscated simply for their appearance.

• Breed discriminatory laws cause unintended hardship to responsible owners of friendly dogs that happen to fall within the regulated breed category.

• Breed discriminatory laws compromise public safety by requiring officers to enforce regulation on dogs that may or may not be dangerous instead of investing resources into proven, effective tactics that make the community safer.

• A dog is an individual with its own personality. It should be judged on its temperament and not its appearance.

• Studies of pre and post breed ban dog-bite-rates in the United Kingdom and Spain concluded that their pit bull breed ban had no affect whatsoever on reducing dog bites.

Additional Information and Resources

• Join the Stop BDL community for more information on how you can help put an end to breed discrimination.

• Learn more about breed bans and dog bite facts at National Canine Research Council.

Posted by Cheri Moon, Best Friends Staff

** Best Friends Animal Society believes dogs are individuals and opposes any breed discriminatory law.
Best Friends Animal Society opposes this legislation.   

HELP NEEDED NOW!

April 25th, 2009 by admin2

PLEASE HELP ROWAN COUNTY, KY DOGS NOW!!!!!   We are in desperate need!

My dear, sweet Annabella is from this same shelter!

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Folks, this is a very rural shelter/pound with extrememly difficult challenges! We’ve rescued many fabulous dogs from here and need help badly.  Please consider helping our furbabies!!!

The Spring puppy rush has started and we have huge numbers at the pound and dumped on the rural roads.
There are many pregnant dogs and hunting rejects. There are lovable and discarded mutts, who deserve a chance at happiness. Sad as it is, it happens every year…but I strongly feel if we prepare for it in advance, that many more lives can be saved.

We are in need of supplies of all kinds. I realize this is a big and lofty list but I assure you the supplies are very much needed and will help save the dogs at the Rowan pound.

Medium and small crates.
Food.
Blankets.
Puppy pads.
Eagle Pack Holistic Solution…excellent product to fix little tummies.
Dewormers, panacur and pyrantel.
Gerber powerded electrolytes.
Frontline Spray.
Puppy vaccinations.
Adult vaccinations.
Ex-Pens.
Funds for vetting/pull fees/additional meds/etc…paypal buttons on both sites.
Gas cards for our transporters.
Leashes and collars.
Pens and tarp covers are desperately needed for temp holding…we have a Lowes locally that carries them.
Dog houses.
Jiffy Tags ID tags for transport.
Small baby pools-hard plastic for whelping/nursing moms.
Radiant (non-electric) Heating pads.
Ivermectin- to treat sarcoptic mange.
Heaters for winter/fans for summer.
Cleaning supplies/trash bags/rubber gloves.
Steel bowls/buckets.
Nylabones, kongs, other easily sanitized toys.
Office supplies- manilla envelopes/paper/ink.

We are also in need of a few more good rescues that can commit to Rowan dogs on a regular basis.  

My Petfinder site: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY224.html
STAR’s petfinder site: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY224.html

Checks can be made out to STAR and mailed to:
Julia Sharp, 164 East Main Street, Morehead, KY 40351

Any supplies you can donate can be sent to this address as well. Thank you so much for any help you can give. We have few resources in this very rural area and many, many needy animals. We would not have been able to save as many lives as we have if not for the kindnesses of caring people like you! I hope 2008 is the most successful year ever in this life saving mission…Julia

*ALSO: I AM IN MASSACHUSETTS AND AM WILLING TO PICK UP DONATION ITEMS FOR THE RESCUE OF THESE POOR PUPS!!  F8T4DOGS@GMAIL.COM*

Please! Kentucky Needs Help!

April 16th, 2009 by admin2

DB Readers,
This is from my dear friend Julia in Kentucky. This is a very rural pound, that operates with very little means and relies heavily on the work of it’s volunteers, just to keep dogs fed! They desperately need our help and no donation is too small!  Even $5 helps.  Please give what you can!   Bless You Julia and The STAR Team!!
callie
From Julia:
I know how upset everyone is over Holstein. We are heartbroken. The 3 members of STAR absolutely loved this boy.
Please DO NOT start calling county officials and emailing the police. It will do NO GOOD! What it will do is cause conflict that we do not need.
Our warden Jimmy is installing a new gate today. You have to realize the pound is in an isolated location. Holstien was there for several weeks and he was seen by many, many people. Lots of people wanted him but they did not want him neutered. Those people were NOT allowed to adopt him. NO DOGS are adopted out of Rowan unless they are spayed/neutered!
Frankly, we need more rescue help. We need a few good bully breed rescues to step up and start helping us with these dogs. We need money badly!!!! We simply cannot afford to board every dog in the pound until they get a rescue commitment.
I had posted the below yesterday to a group I belong to. We, STAR, have done an excellent job on a shoestring budget of changing things at Rowan.
 
“Many of you know what we have faced at the Rowan county dog pound in Morehead KY. I am very happy to let you know that a small rural KY county pound that used to euth 60+ dogs a MONTH only PTS a total of 64 dogs ALL of last year. Those 64 dogs that were PTS were either vicious or injured/sick beyond hope.

So Rowan county can now be considered a low kill facility.
This has been accomplished by STAR working with our dog warden and rescue groups and lots and lots of hours put into networking our dogs. STAR is made up of 3 women. Sue Creasap, Jan Dacci and myself. We bust our butts every single day.

We would not have accomplished this without donations and help form others. We also did this by maintaining a good working relationship with our dog warden, Jimmy.

We are very proud of our work for the animals.
 r.com/shelters/ KY251.html <>http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/KY251.htmlhttp://www.petfinde
 
We spend every minute we can doing it all, the hands on work, the transporting and the networking. It’s exhausting and there are many days that we want to throw in the towel and quit. But when we see it in black and white, when we see those low kill numbers, it makes us all keep on keeping on!”
 
Yes, Rowan IS a low kill facility now because of the efforts of STAR. I think everyone can agree that the stats above are amazing and reflect just how hard we work!!!! We do our very best in spite of our personal lives suffering, in spite of the non stop dumping of animals, in spite of the long days on the road transporting and saving animals. We simply cannot control what a bunch of worthless criminals do! I wish we could but we can’t! We are doing our very best. It’s not our fault, it is not Jimmy’s fault. We cannot be at the pound 24/7!!!
 
So I am begging everyone to please not call the police or hassle our warden, Jimmy. We are offering a reward for Holstien’s safe return. If you really want to help our dogs please help us network them and get rescues for them. We have only a few people that take the bully breeds. We need more.
 
Thank you for reading….Julia


Breed Specific “Discrimination”

April 11th, 2009 by admin2

You know, it’s troubling to think that someone adopting a child, will not be able to do so with a german shepherd dog.  Does this make sense?  Can we not be as biased when it comes to people, careers, ethnicity or socioeconomic status?  If not, than how can we be so breed discriminating?  On which scientific theory or statistic has this decision been based? I think that these “assumptions” are grossly inappropriate displays of ignorance and based on nothing more than that. 

Frustration….  I have a pure german shepherd, that is not only a therapy dog, but one of the loves of my life.  Nonsense deserves to be called nonsense.  Punish irresponsible breeders and cruel humans.

Kentucky Needs Our Help *NOW*

April 10th, 2009 by admin2

From Julia in Kentucky! PLEASE HELP US!

Hi, STAR has been extremely busy keeping up with the HUGE numbers of dogs at the Rowan County Pound. Thankfully we have a great dog warden (Our Jimmy) that works with us. Because of STAR’s efforts, a former high kill rural dog pound is now a low kill facilty.
 
We practically emptied the pound a week and a half ago and now it is full up again:( We also step up to help many strays and abandoned dogs in this area. If you can help rescue some of our dogs, please contact staradoptions@ yahoo.com (yahoo.com)
 
There are a few ChipIn’s on the homepage. We desperately need funds. STAR (Saving The Animals of Rowan) is a 501c3 and all donations are fully tax deductable.
You can also mail checks to:
STAR

123 Oakwood Drive
Morehead, KY 40351

 

 

 
OR you can make checks out to STAR and mail them to me and I will personally deposit them!
STAR
c/o Julia Sharp

164 East Main Street
Morehead, KY 40351

 

 

 
We still need to raise $225 to finish paying for Story’s HW treatment. Story was a street dog that had been terribly abused. Story needs a kind rescue ASAP!!!! She needs human socialization that she is not getting at my house. She adores me and my husband but she needs to be exposed to more people. She is a very sweet and unusual girl. She is very dog friendly and kitty friendly. She is smallish, only about 38 lbs.
Mountain Cur Picture
 
Poor Rosco was tied to a tree in a closed campground and left to starve. He is simply too adorable! His initial vet bill was almost $80 and he is not neutered but is HW neg and UTD on shots and dewormed and started on prevention. http://www.petfinde r.com/petnote/ displaypet. cgi?petid= 13440222     [***Ok Julia- I'm in love with him and will take him, if we can get tranport even close!]
 
We DESPERATELY need small and medium collars. Used ones are fine! We have LOTS of larges and extra large but no mediums or smalls. We also need slip leads.
We need more Frontline Spray badly since fleas and ticks are TERRIBLE here. We prefer the spray because it works so quickly and you can adjust the dosage for size of the animal.
 
We need all sorts of supplies. So if you have extra anything, I am sure we can put it to good use! Some things we need:
 
-Puppy pads
-Leashes and collars.
-Cleaning supplies/trash bags/latex gloves/etc.
-Food.
-Eagle Pack Holistic Solution…excellen t product to fix little tummies.
-Dewormers, panacur and pyrantel
-Ivermectin
-Gerber powerded electrolytes.
-Frontline Spray.
-Puppy vaccinations.
-Adult vaccinations.
-Medications such as antidiareah/ antifungals/ wound treatment (Cloud Star makes a great product called Buddy BooBoo) 
-Ex-Pens.
-Gas cards for our transporters.
-Nylabones/Kongs/ easily sanitized toys
-Pens and tarp covers are desperately needed for temp holding…we have a Lowes locally that carries them.
-Dog houses.
 
Thank you for reading. We could not do the work we do without your kindness and generosity.. .Hugs and Blessings… .Julia

 

Animal Companionship….And Goodbye Smokey

April 6th, 2009 by admin2

Hey DB Readers!

I was so excited about Kymber designing this website that I didn’t even realize one of my dear friends, had lost his animal companion.  Smokey wasn’t a dog, he was a cat. And having 3 cats myself, I know just what wonderful companionship they provide.  Well, this was his only animal companion and he is so saddened by the loss.  I can only imagine the grief and sadness, from missing the companion that you love, and loved you so unconditionally.  So, today my thoughts are with smokey and his owner that has loved him every day, since seeing him.  Our animal companions never leave us….. and their love everlasting.  Thoughts, prayers and condolences………  and a beautiful voyage for Smokey, where he will meet his friends at the bridge.  <3

Article: Newsweek, April 13th

April 6th, 2009 by admin2

 Special thanks to Gail in CT, for this contribution!!

The current, April 13, edition of Newsweek has a superb article, by Suzanne Smalley, mostly about puppy mills, which is titled, “A (Designer) Dog’s Life, and sub-headed, “If the Obamas choose a hybrid, unethical breeders will try to cash in—and puppies are likely to suffer.”

The article opens with:

“The White County sheriff’s department noticed the stench from a mile up the road. By the time rescuers entered the series of sheds in Sparta, Tenn., some were forced to wear respirators. Inside each shed were scores of dogs in tiny cages, many covered in feces. The sheds reeked of urine and were so frigid the officers had to set up portable heaters to work inside. Authorities, who raided the farm in February after receiving tips from angry customers who’d purchased sick puppies, discovered 300 dogs on the three-acre property—many of them malnourished, mangy and infected by parasites. Some were housed a half dozen to a cage in near total darkness. Many of the pups were ‘designer dogs’—trendy new breeds like puggles (which result when a pug is bred with a beagle), Maltepoos (a Maltese-poodle mix) and Chipins (a Chihuahua-pinscher cross). ‘It’s market driven,’ says Melinda Merck, a forensic veterinarian who assisted with the Tennessee raid. ‘People just see a designer breed and
say, I’ve never heard of that dog but it sounds cute’. And for puppy mills like this one, designer dogs—many of which sell for more than $1,000 apiece—have become a huge business.

“The line connecting this canine hellhole to the White House is admittedly indirect. But any day now the Obama girls will bring home the puppy their father promised them in his election-night speech. In January, Obama told ABC News the family was strongly considering a Labradoodle, a Labrador-poodle hybrid that’s become especially popular among allergy sufferers—a group that includes Malia Obama. Michelle Obama has said she favors a purebred Portuguese water dog; a White House spokesperson won’t comment, but an announcement could come this week. No matter which breed the Obamas choose, animal-welfare advocates expect to see a “101 Dalmatians” effect: a sudden burst in popularity that results when a movie or a celebrity puts a spotlight on a particular dog, a phenomenon breeders try to capitalize on it by mass-producing similar dogs.”

The article has more descriptions of puppy mills, such as:
“Often, the animals are left outside during the frigid winters. Their feet slip painfully through the cages’ wire floors—and sometimes, so does their excrement, which rains on top of the dogs below when breeders stack cages to save space. Some of the dogs are nearly as big as their cages, leaving them little room to move. In front of the farms handwritten signs advertise the different breeds available. On these farms, hybrids like Labradoodles and puggles are plentiful.”

We read about the huge profits puppy mill owners can make, and legislative efforts to improve conditions. The lengthy article also gives us information about the unreliability of the designer dogs’ traits. The piece is accompanied by photos of dogs living in tiny stacked cages — those photos are also on line.

Please check out the article at http://www.newsweek.com/id/192478 and email it to your friends; magazines keep count of clicks and email forwards, and thereby learn which topics are of the most interest to readers. You can leave a comment on the web page, underneath the article. And please send an appreciative letter to the editor discussing the joys of adoption, so that Newsweek readers learn more about this topic in upcoming issues as they read your letters.

Newsweek takes letters at letters@newsweek.com

Please also remember to take the opportunity to speak up for shelter dogs any time you see the Obama dog story covered in your local media. Some smaller papers publish close to a hundred percent of letters they receive so why not take just a few minutes to spread the good word throughout your community?

Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.

Yours and the animals’,
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited — leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews and see a fun celeb-studded video and an NBC news piece on Karen Dawn’s new book, “Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals,” which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the “Best Books of 2008.”

It’s True….I am “Dog Blessed!”

April 5th, 2009 by admin2

That’s right!  I have 3 of the most wonderful dogs, in all of the world!  Now, anyone that knows me knows that if I had 22 dogs, I would tell you no different.  They would also be the best dogs, in all of the world.  So, I’m just a softie for my dogs [or anyone's dogs- for that matter].

I’ve come to love and understand the canine species and truly love all breeds, all dogs.  I don’t love all people, or some of the things that they are responsible for, but the dogs are pure goodness. We should all have friends that love us unconditionally, show us undying loyalty and give their lives for us, without a moment’s hesitation.  What a world that would be!

And what kind of world would boast of “pro-life” and “family values” when such a wonderful species is clearly omitted, from that rationale.  I ask you- what other country in the world depends on animals for a meat trade, leather trade or experimentation?  Also, where else in this world are 800 animals an hour euthanized, for lack of social responsibility?

Look, I know the world is not perfect.  My soapbox can only hold my weight for a short bit, believe me.  I am not the best person in the world, but I do show undying love and devotion to my worthy canine souls.  They will not suffer the sins of my humanity.  I wish that this economy would support other like minded individuals, but that is my own fantasy.

Within the last week, the MSPCA has closed doors to 3 facilities, in Massachusetts.  Well, that may not sound devestating, but last year 11,000 animal lives passed through their doors.  Now what?  And the comical aspect of this is that at least 5 of their employees were making $200k ++ per year.  Hmmmm…. we’ll all make sacrifices so that greed and bad business [along with gross misappropriations of funds] previal?  Ok, maybe it’s me being cynical, but that’s just crushing.  These voiceless creatures suffer at those hands?

I can’t save the world.  I can’t save every dog.  But I will celebrate the lives that have meant so much and the numerous lives they’ve touched!  Just ask the nursing home, where my 135lbs German Shepherd visits and loves on everyone.  They’ll tell you.  Life is sunnier. Life is better. Life has been fantastic and I have been Dog Blessed!

Dog Bless You All

Love,

Brenda

Welcome to Dog Blessed!

April 5th, 2009 by admin

Littleton, Ma -April, 5, 2009 – For Immediate Release

The Dog lovers website, DogBlessed.Net, announced today that its brand new website is released and ready for the public.  Built exclusively for dog lovers, rescuers and advocates, www.dogblessed.net will feature tips on training, adoption, Breed Specific Education and success stories from happy adoptions and anything DOG!  The new website and weblog is searchable,  for easy navigation.

Brenda Waters, Founder
Brenda Waters, Founder

Brenda Waters website owner, and avid dog cruisader, hopes that this newly  established website is a meeting place for dog enthusiasts and those looking to find out about various breeds.    Www.DogBlessed.net  will  publish a website that offers a wealth of informative articles about dog care, behavior, grooming, adoption and so on.  We hope to allow for each breed to have its own section as people write to us with their success stories to be published.

Brenda states, “ My vision for www.dogblessed.net was to see a place for all dog lovers to come, feel comfortable, share their stories, as well as gather knowledge.   Breed specific legislation is an issue right now and I wanted a place for all breeds and all owners of dogs to come and share their experiences!”

“Some of  these dogs have changed peoples lives.  These are the stories that need to be told!”

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