News Reel - Dumpster Dog One Year Later

I don't think I blogged about this when the story first hit the papers last year ... in a nutshell, there was a 4 month old Shih Tzu puppy that was put in a cardboard box, its lid taped shut, and thrown into a dumpster in Toronto. The pup was found and the newspapers took the story and ran with it. Big news. Not that this sort of thing doesn't happen often but sometimes a poster-child is needed to remind people of the nasties out there.



One year later, "Charlie", the dumpster puppy is again hitting the papers; this time with a pupdate. Check it out. I thought we were due a happy ending (well, I know I needed one)



Abandoned dog wins the hearts of new family

One of those weekends ... ARGH

Again my weekend was too busy to blog. ARGH. This is becoming habit. For that, I'm sorry ... now I'm going to whine about it. I sometimes wonder what I did to deserve some of this? What did I do? Did I do some really terrible things in my past life or something?

This weekend something got in with our laying hens. Killed the whole flock but one and she is pretty beat up - can't get within 10 feet of her (which is unusual - they are normally quite friendly). Ate the heads, forming eggs and kidneys but many of the bodies are gone. We have spent the last few days cleaning up the mess and will spend next weekend rebuilding the hen-house. (The roof has some snow-damage and there is a "new" hole where we think it came in)

I've also spent the weekend calling dumbass people back regarding my fosters (why can't some of them be "normal"?? All we need is one good, normal call.). I'm sure this wouldn't bother me if I hadn't spent so much time cleaning up the blood and bodies and planning out how to fix the fence. Then to deal with people who actually argue with me about the dog (and the cat too!) ... was just a bit much.

If I have to say "That's nice that she looks like your old dog, but she's not your old dog and she WILL require training ... " or "She needs a fence ... I understand that your last dog didn't run away but she WILL" or "NO, she will not make a good guard dog" or "NO she will not be good around young children ... Why? Because she is 75 lbs of clumsy" or "Sorry but this cat needs to stay indoors because he can't outrun the coyotes" one more time, I am going to go postal.

I'm sure my nasty mood stems from the loss of the laying hens but stupid people don't make it better. Maybe tomorrow will be better ... at least, that's what I keep telling myself.

The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar

That tomorrow

There'll be sun!

News Reel - From calm to crazy, and back again

I love this article. It's about the zoomies ... you know ... those wild-crazy I-Love-Life-Yaaaaaaa-Watch-Out-Run-Run-Run-Run-Run-Yahoo moments that your dog has. It is hard to remember as a dog person that not everyone is familiar with this behaviour and it may seem weird or bad. Here is one columnists' opinion about the zoomies:



From calm to crazy, and back again



I have found that my guys get the zoomies when we go swimming at the pond. Our ACD gets them every few days in the house - no set time. Of course, any time we have a group dog walk we have at least two dogs who get them. Has your dog ever experienced the Zoomies? When? Is there a set time? Does he/she still?

News Reel - Seized pit bulls stuck in legal limbo

I read this article Seized pit bulls stuck in legal limbo and the first thing I thought was "Great! Another dog fighting ring closed." Then I re-read the article and the next thing I thought was not as upbeat. I hope when you read articles like this you read between the lines ... Here are a few quotes from the article; the ones that stood out to me ... hopefully this will explain what I see when I read an article like this:




The 16 pit bulls seized as part of a raid on an alleged dogfighting operation remain at Heartland Humane Society in Corvallis ... Heartland is holding the dogs as “living evidence” while law enforcement and prosecutors sort out the case.




That means the animals can’t be adopted out or even evaluated for adoption potential until it’s decided who they belong to ... animals that were already at the shelter have been sent to foster care or to partnering humane societies.



So ... do you see the problem I see?

This Humane Society has two Municipal Pound contracts which means they serve as holding cell for cases like these. The Humane Society will likely be paid for board for the duration of the dogs' stay. Not that this is a bad thing - how else would they pay for all the services they offer to the public??

Are you coming to the same conclusion as I did?

Let's face it. There are only so many cages/kennels to put dogs into. According to the Humane Society's website, they keep Lost/Found dogs for the minimum of 3 days. They profess to euthanize as few "adoptable animals" as possible ("save rate" of 90% -- what the hell does "save rate" mean?!) but that doesn't mean they don't euthanize. So, any new dogs that come in are kept in holding for 3 days ... then what? Like it or not there are only so many cages. If the cages/kennels/foster-homes are all full and another dog comes in, there are few options.

Here's hoping this court case is over quickly so the Humane Society doesn't keep those 16 cages/kennels full of dogs that are in limbo - not adoptable, not moveable.

Featured Rescue - Jag the Australian Silky Terrier

Last week's GTB was a Silky Terrier; because of this, I have found a Silky that is available for adoption. His name is Jag.

Here's something weird ... the Forsyth Humane Society lists him as "claustrophobic" because he "gets sick" in small crates (I assume that means he vomits). Have any of you ever heard of this? I haven't. I wonder if he has anxiety issues and gets himself so worked up that he vomits?

News Reel - Eighth Senior Employee at THS Charged

Thought I'd post a quick update to the happenings at Toronto Humane Society. Former THS supervisor Vijay Kumar was arrested on Saturday afternoon. This is the Eighth senior employee at THS who has been charged according to Globe and Mail report on March 15, 2010. Read the entire article here, Another official charged from humane society.



According to the article "23 staff members have been laid off and, as of the first week in March, only 373 animals remained: 208 cats, 32 dogs, 122 small mammals and 11 birds."



There is also this article here "Suspension THS Foster Care Program - Myths vs. Facts from the Ontario SPCA".



If you are interested in more details about the THS, please take some time to check out the website ART (Association for the Reform of the Toronto Humane Society).

Black Dog Monday - Nemo the Bernese Mix

Today's black dog is Nemo. He is listed as a Bernese Mountain Dog/Shepherd mix. He is guessed to be 3 years old and has been looking for his forever home for sometime. Nemo is picky about his people and will require an experienced dog home so finding the right family for him is required.

I have never heard of the rescue listing Nemo ... anyone know about them? Francisvale Home for Smaller Animals

Featured Rescue - Lady the Beagle

I am always amazed at how many Beagles are out there waiting for homes in the rescue world. Wow. The numbers are in the thousands (over 8000 on Petfinder alone). Today's Featured Rescue is Lady, a 2 year old S/F beagle. Not sure how she came to be in rescue but she's there now and that's really all that matters. She is currently living with another dog and some children; she has reportedly adapted well. If you are interested in offering Lady a home, contact 4 Love of Canines - Ugly Mutts Dog Rescue from Hamilton, ON.

Guess the Breed #16

Apparently as a finalist of the TrainPetDog.com 2010 Dog Blog Award I get 10 free subscriptions to their "Elite Dog Club". I have no idea what that means or what it entitles you to but I'm going to make that the first prize for the next 10 Guess The Breed entries (and yes, this means MORE Guess The Breed so be sure to check back often).









This one might be super easy, but I hope not. What do you think she is? Take a good look.



Ready? Set? GO!











What would a contest be without rules?



1. No bashing other peoples' opinions.
2. Post your opinion. Don't be shy.
3. Have fun!



The winner for GTB #15 was ChrisJ with the American Water Spaniel. Congrats, ChrisJ!

Pupdate - Herding Lessons

Well, I've taken the plunge ... I've booked in for Herding Lessons starting next week. Yikes! This is totally new territory for me ... we have had sheep before and one of my first dogs was a BC/Heeler mix who worked them, but I was not part of the training for her, nor was I the one who was up at 5 AM to tend the sheep ... I was the lucky duck who got to bottle feed the lambs and shovel the "end result"!



I am very excited as I specifically looked for a dog I could herd with when I was ready to accept a new perma-dog. I was told after her Herding Instinct Test that we had to wait until the spring (dog had some mental growing to do). I have been waiting. Sometimes patiently ... sometimes not. Right now ... not so paitent! I can't even think of anything else to blog about right now (weird, eh?).



I will let you know how it goes ... if it is anything like her HIC, it will probably be a lot of running on her part and circling on mine.

Fun Stuff - When Irish Dogs Are Smiling

Well this is cute When Irish Dogs Are Smiling: 12 Fun St. Patrick's Day Dog Costumes ...





Dressing up your dogs ... it makes many people shake their heads in disgust. Some will disregard the people who do this as silly without much between their ears. Perhaps it's true, but not always. Sometimes people who spend time teaching their dogs to allow them to put on costumes have taken time to spend with their dogs. This teaches their dogs to allow touch as well as change. I can't believe how many people can't touch their dogs in certain places!



That said, there is a fine line between teaching your dog to accept touch, dressing them in the occasional cute costume and going crazy with the tu-tus.

Featured Rescue Followups Dec, Jan, Feb

Well this will be interesting ... I haven't run a Rescue Followup since December! It will be quite a list. Here goes ...



Rafe and Redman the Rhodesian Ridgebacks
Status: Redman - Adoption Pending. Rafe - Not adopted.
Featured on January 12, 2009



Codi the Welsh Corgi
Status: Not Adopted
Featured on May 10, 2009



Eubie the Border Collie
Status: Not Adopted
Featured on May 13, 2009



Jack A Roo the Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler
Status: Not Adopted.
Featured on May 30, 2009



Lady the Greyhound
Status: Adopted
Featured on August 28, 2009



Junie B the Pit Bull Terrier
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured on October 16, 2009



Roxy the Redbone Coonhound
Status: Adopted
Featured on October 28, 2009



Ms. Angela Sweethe the Chihuahua
Status: Not Adopted
Featured on November 25, 2009



Barney the Bichon Frise
Status: Adopted
Featured on November 28, 2009



Gator the Yellow Labrador Retriever
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured on December 1, 2009



Chester the Labrador Retriever
Status: Adopted
Featured on December 3, 2009



Otis the Bassett Hound
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured December 9, 2009



Juliet the German Shepherd Dog
Status: Not Adopted
Featured December 14, 2009



Sampson the Affenpinscher
Status: Adopted
Featured December 21, 2009



Coco the Rottweiler
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured December 22, 2009



Sophia the Dalmation
Status: Adopted
Featured January 6, 2010



Ben the Border Collie mix
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured January 8, 2010



Abby the Basset Hound
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured January 13, 2010



Sherlock the Australian Shepherd
Status: Not Adopted
Featured January 17, 2010



Dixie the Bluetick Coonhound
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured January 20, 2010



Oscar the Black Labrador
Status: Adopted
Featured January 25, 2010



Jester the Yorkshire Terrier / Papillion mix
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured January 28, 2010



Corey the Black and Tan Coonhound
Status: Not Adopted
Featured February 1, 2010



Amber the Boxer/American Bulldog
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured on February 6, 2010



Xena the Australian Kelpie / German Shepherd mix
Status: Adopted
Featured February 9, 2010



Dante the Shiba Inu
Status: Not Adopted
Featured February 11, 2010



Suzy the American Water Spaniel
Status: Not Adopted
Featured February 14, 2010



Featured Rescue - Frank the Beagle
Status: Listing Removed - Assumed Adopted
Featured February 19, 2010



Feather the Labrador Retriever
Status: Adopted
Featured February 22, 2010

Black Dog Monday - Copper the Manchester Terrier

These guys are cute - and often mis-identified. Many shelters ID the Manchester Terrier as a Min Pin. Check out Copper. He is 1.5 years old and is looking for a new home. Unfortunately for him, the rescue that has him (Happy Tails K9 & Feline Rescue in MI) will only accept "Local adoptions". I hate it when rescues do this because it really limits the dog's chances of finding that perfect home. Some people will travel far and wide looking for a specific breed in rescue. Unfortunate only for the dog. I hope he finds a good home.

Beautiful Blogger award from Lilligirl

I got an award from LilliGirl at It's a Great Life... Thank you LilliGirl!

Here are the rules of this award:

A. Thank the person who gave you this award. Thank you LilliGirl

B. Share 7 things about yourself.

1~I have a big mouth

2~It gets me into trouble

3~Sometimes I say what I'm thinking

4~That's not always a good thing

5~People piss me off most days

6~I don't have patience for idiots or asshats

7~Did I mention that I don't really like people?

C. Pass the award along to 15 bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic!

Ok, so I'm pulling 15 blogs off my blogroll for this.

Dog Reflections

NORWOOD UNLEASHED

http://www.dog-blessed-silverwalk.org/

Stumpy's Daily Dose 'o' Dirtville

EL DIARIO DE LORENZA

Three Happy Heeler's

This Vet's Story

Miniature Yorkshire Terrier

GoLightly - Fiction

bermudabluez

Maggie and Mitch the Airedales

Butchy & Snickers Blog-2 Wild & Woolly WFT's

tula monstah

Homer, the Golden Retriever

We Don't Rent Puppies

Featured Rescue - Sally the Cocker Spaniel

My inlaws have Cockers and I think they are cute dogs - not the right breed for me (the fur is somewhat inappropriate for a farm environment) but cute dogs all the same. Unfortunately, like many small breed cute dogs, they are often the target for Puppy Mills.

Meet Sally, a 2.5 year old female Cocker who came out of a Mill. She had cherry eye in both eyes and has had surgery but it didn't resolve the problem. Sally is in a foster home coordinated by LOYAL Rescue out of Peterborough, ON.

TrainPetDog Finalist

Holy Jumpin'! So I totally had forgotten that I had entered this blog as a contestant for the TrainPetDog.com 2010 Dog Blog Award. Lo and Behold! Yesterday when I logged in to read my emails, I received an email that this blog is one of the 20 Finalists! Check it out!

2010 Dog Blog
Award

Thank you to all of you loyal readers who voted for my blog. Now the rest of the voting is up to the subscribers of the TrainPetDog newsletter.

Training Rant - Grey Matter

Ok, I've read trainers who preach both sides of some arguments and it drives me crazy. On the Furniture. Off the Furniture. Feed rawhide. Don't feed rawhide. Do this. Don't do that.

I really dislike it when it is all or none ... black or white ... good or bad. It bothers me. Why? Probably because it is misleading and it's not real life. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in my experiece, real life is not yes/no, black/white, good/bad answers ... it is full of grey matter. When trainers start preaching their way or the highway and push that the only way is their way, it really irks me.

On the flip side, it really bugs me when I am talking to a client and they want a definite answer. I can't always give that.

Sometimes the answer really IS "maybe".

Next time you're talking with a trainer or veterinarian about your dog, please don't get mad if their answer is maybe. It could be that "maybe" is the best answer they can give.

Have you ever had an experience with this? When? What was it about? Was there any grey matter?

News Reel - Coyote Attack In Pickering

I've blogged about Coyotes before but I thought I would post this anyway since it is recent. Check it out ...




Police warning public of coyote threat after puppy snatched in Pickering
March 3, 2010




The owner was walking her two dogs and one of them was snatched away by a Coyote! Granted, they are small dogs (Pomeranians) but that doesn't mean we shouldn't beware. The important thing is not how big the dogs were but the fact that the human was right there walking the dogs.




Scary. Watch out for those Wily Coyotes!

Featured Rescue - Jessie the Bluetick Coonhound

Ok, so I'm a bit cynical today. Been a rough week and I'm running out of patience for stupidity.



Today's Featured Rescue is a Bluetick Coonhound. Jessie is due to have puppies in 3 weeks. Her ad says that "She is really shy at first but warms up quickly". Jessie is at the Auglaize County Humane Society in Wapakoneta, OH. This ad makes me angry ... and of course I'm going to tell you why!

Here's what we know ... Normal canine pregnancy is 9 weeks. If Jessie is due in 3 weeks time, plus the minimum 3-5 days that she would have had to be sitting in limbo as a 'stray' (let's add two days for the shelter staff to get the pictures up on the internet plus their vet to look her over and give her a timeline). That makes 4 weeks. Subtract that from the 9 weeks we know most canine pregnancies run for. So, Jessie must have been around 5 weeks along in her pregnancy IF she only just arrived at the shelter.

Here's what really bothers me. WHY HAVEN'T THEY ABORTED THE PREGNANCY?




Puppies are easier to adopt out, right? Like it or not, puppies make the shelter money not to mention the great fundraising campaign you can run with them. Some shelters will let a bitch go to term instead of aborting the puppies. I know many vets who will do an abortive spay provided the bitch isn't too far along. There are also many drugs you could use to terminate a canine pregnancy without spay. From what I've seen and read, you can use the drugs up to the 30 days marker (4 weeks). After that you have to look to an abortive spay. Jessie isn't too far along (or at least wasn't when this ad was posted).




I've often figured the reasoning is either the people are pro-life who won't agree to abortion or that financially, puppies bring in more money for the shelter and so it makes financial sense to let her go to term. Funny thing - I know many pro-lifers in the animal rescue business; most do NOT agree with an abortive spay.

But tell me this, in 6 - 12 months time, when the puppies are no longer cute, how many of them are going to end up at Canine Control or an Animal Shelter where they will be euthanized?

How did that work for the best?

Asshat Rant - Some People Shouldn't

You know, I strongly believe that some people just shouldn't own dogs. No, let me re-word that statement, I believe many people shouldn't own dogs. Owning a dog is not a right; it is a privilege.

Check out this ad on CL this week from Toronto ... the OP's words are blue, mine are red.

Border Collie puppy needs a new home (Toronto/Whitby)

He is not neutered. Of course he's not. Why would you spend money to neuter the guy if you weren't planning on keeping him? He had his Rabies shot last year. Im located in whitby. There is an adoption fee that applies. No kidding. You'll probably want to re-coup the money you spent on his original purchase price as well as his vaccinations. Very good dog. They all are. And they are often "beautiful" when they are looking for new homes - did you know that? Energetic. He's a Border Collie - what did you expect? A couch potatoe? I dont have the time to play with him as much as I should. Than why did you get a Border Collie? Asshat. Good with kids, and other pets. Very cute. That's nice. His cuteness was obviously not enough to prevent you from getting rid of him. House trained and understands when you tell him to sit, stay, sleep. You taught your dog to sleep? Interesting ... I have to find a home for him because I have a baby and he is to energetic. You have a baby and he's energetic? Wow - I couldn't see that one coming. Do you know how many people out there have dogs AND babies?? Good grief - some people can even chew gum and walk at the SAME TIME. Astonishing. He is a border collie. He is 8months old. Woah. Hold on there skippy. He's 8 months old ... Did you not have a baby when you got him?? Did you forget you were pregnant? Did you just find this baby on the side of the road somewhere and BOOM suddenly your world changed? Now you can't keep your dog?

You know, the sad thing is that this dog probably has the potential to be a wicked-awesome dog. He's probably smarter than the owner. Let's hope she hasn't done too much damage and it doesn't take too long to retrain this poor guy.

Asshat. Congratulations.

You've been awarded the Dogs Deserve Freedom Asshat Award.

Black Dog Monday

After a brief hiatus from the Blogsphere, I am returning to my daily posts. Sorry all.








Today's Black Dog is Leo. I saw his picture and thought he'd make a perfect featured rescue. Leo has been in rescue for over a year. Leo is 8 years old! He has been diagnosed with Perianal Fistulas which is like a human with chrohns disease but it doesn't seem to bother him much. Leo is available for adoption through Grand River All Breed Rescue in Cambridge, ON