60 Minutes Interviews Michael Vick
August 17, 2009 in Inhumane Practices, Law Enforcement, News
CBS, which owns 60 Minutes, has a huge NFL TV Contract.
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by Kenn Bell
by Kenn Bell
Rachael Ray Plans Mutt Madness Pet Charity Contest
August 17, 2009 in Charity, Entertainment, News
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • AUGUST 17, 2009
Rachael Ray is looking for 64 charities to compete in a $200,000 contest to find the most deserving pet cause in the country.
Using basketball’s March Madness format, Mutt Madness will start with 64 contestants, Ray said. These will be whittled down by Ray and a panel of pet lovers from entries submitted through www.rachaelray.com/muttmadness by Sept. 30.
Each of the top 64 groups gets $1,000. Winners of the next several rounds, chosen by online votes, will get another $1,000. The final voting showdown is worth $25,000 for second place and $50,000 for the winner. The champ will be announced in early December, Ray said.
Ray, an Emmy-award winning talk show host and the mastermind of Food Network’s “30 Minute Meals,” joined forces last year with the Ainsworth Pet Nutrition company to develop a line of dog food and treats called Rachael Ray Nutrish.
Everything she gets from the sale of dog food goes to Rachael’s Rescue
(www.rachaelsrescue.org), an organization dedicated to helping at-risk animals through adoption, medical care, education, training and outreach initiatives.
The rescue raised $400,000 last year, but Ray wanted to help more people and animals. “We thought Mutt Madness would be a fun and fair way to spread the love and the money,” she said by telephone.
Ray’s first dog, a pit bull named Boo, was her inspiration for the rescue and the contest, she said. “She changed my life in every good way possible.”
Boo died a few years ago, but Ray said she had plenty of love left for Isaboo, who appears with her in Nutrish commercials.
“Pit bulls are the perfect example of dogs that are tortured and abused,” she said. “I just don’t see how everybody can’t be doing something for animal rescue. It’s heartbreaking to see the innocents so mistreated.”
by Kenn Bell
by Kenn Bell
South Korean Firm To Open Major Dog Cloning Center
August 14, 2009 in Health & Science News, News
A South Korean biotechnology firm will early next year open a centre capable eventually of producing up to 1,000 cloned dogs annually, a company executive said Friday. “We need this new facility to turn dog cloning services into a full-fledged business,” Cho Seong-Ryul, director of RNL Bio, told AFP.
The centre in Yongin city south of Seoul will cost some five million dollars and focus on cloning pets, working dogs and endangered species including wolves.
RNL Bio is one of the world’s few companies operating dog cloning as a business. Another is San Francisco-based BioArts, which is involved in a patents dispute with the Korean firm.
RNL Bio says it successfully cloned puppies of a retriever trained to sniff out cancer cells in humans. Four puppies are currently being trained in South Korea and Japan.
Last year it arranged to re-create a pitbull terrier for a US woman in what it claimed was the world’s first commercial cloning.
by Kenn Bell
The Most Hated Man In Sports Signs With The Philadelphia Eagles
August 14, 2009 in Endangerment, Inhumane Practices, Law Enforcement, News
Vick, Eagles agree to 2-year deal
Quarterback Michael Vick has signed a two-year deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, his agent, Joel Segal, confirmed to ESPN.com.
Vick arrived in Philadelphia Tuesday morning and remained there Wednesday evening. The Eagles will hold a news conference on Friday morning to announce his signing. The first year of the deal is for $1.6 million with an option for the second year at $5.2 million, sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Vick can also earn an additional $3 million in incentives over the two years of the contract, sources told ESPN.com’s Len Pasquarelli.
Vick was the No. 1 draft pick in 2001 by the Atlanta Falcons and once the highest-paid player in football. But he has not played since 2006 when his career came tumbling down. He was convicted in August 2007 of conspiracy and running a dogfighting operation, sentenced to 23 months in federal prison and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
But after serving his time and being released from home confinement July 20, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conditionally lifted Vick’s suspension, allowing him to sign with a team.
Vick can immediately take part in preseason practices, workouts and meetings and can play in the final two preseason games. Once the season begins, Vick may participate in all team activities except games, and Goodell said he would consider Vick for full reinstatement by Week 6 (Oct. 18-19) at the latest.
“I’m a believer that as long as people go through the right process, they deserve a second chance,” Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “He’s got great people on his side; there isn’t a finer person than Tony Dungy. He’s proven he’s on the right track.”
The Eagles went to the playoffs last season under quarterback Donovan McNabb, and are still looking for their elusive first Super Bowl win.
McNabb has led the Eagles to five NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance in the last eight years, and was rewarded with a $5.3 million raise in the offseason. The Eagles tore up his old contract with two years remaining, and gave him a new deal worth $24.5 million over the next two seasons.
The team is a surprise landing point for Vick. It was among 26 clubs that said there was no interest in Vick, but that may have changed when backup Kevin Kolb strained a knee ligament earlier this week. Kolb’s injury isn’t serious and he’s expected to return next week. The Eagles also have veteran A.J. Feeley.
“There won’t be a quarterback controversy,” Reid said. “We have to make sure he gets back in football shape. He comes into a good, stable unit here. Donovan and Michael are very close.”
Reid made sure he spoke with McNabb before signing Vick.
“I pretty much lobbied to get him here,” McNabb said. “I believe in second chances and what better place to get a second chance than here with this group of guys. … He’s no threat to me, not for Kolb. We had the opportunity to add another weapon to our offense.”
Vick could be used in a variation of the Wildcat offense that the Miami Dolphins made popular last season. He’s also familiar with the West Coast offense, though Atlanta ran a different version than the one Philadelphia uses.
“He’s an unbelievable athlete, both running the ball and throwing it,” Reid said. “I’ll think of something for him.”
Team owner Joe Banner said Vick’s deal was basically complete two days ago, but that the team met with him before it was signed, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. He said the team’s due diligence included discussions with commissioner Roger Goodell’s office, with Dungy, who is serving as Vick’s personal adviser, and the National Humane Society.
“I just hope the people will understand that we did our research,” Banner said, the newspaper reported.
“It was very tough initially, but everybody we talked to said the same thing, that he was remorseful and that he had gone through an incredible transformation, that he was basically good at heart,” Banner said, according to the Daily News. “We heard this over and over again from people who felt he deserved a second chance.”
When news of Vick’s signing circulated in the press box during the first half of the Eagles’ preseason opener against New England, even the team’s public relations staff seemed surprised.
The stadium was buzzing by halftime as word spread. Fans standing on the concourse were in disbelief. One fan wondered how quickly he’d be able to buy a Vick jersey. Another asked if this was a joke.
“We got quite a few calls from people who were upset. But there was a fairly significant, large number, in favor. I’d say there was a smaller number opposed,” banner said, according to the Philadelphia Daily News. “We’ve been hearing anecdotes of people in sports bars who were enthusiastic about it. There were some chants for Vick here at the game.”
In a “60 Minutes” interview set to air Sunday, Vick accepted blame for not stopping the illegal dogfighting operation he bankrolled.
Vick said he feels “some tremendous hurt behind what happened.”
He said he should have taken “the initiative to stop it all … I didn’t.”
Asked if he was more concerned about his playing career or the dogs he hurt, Vick replied, “Football don’t even matter.”
The animal rights group, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wasted no time reminding people exactly what Vick had done.
“PETA and millions of decent football fans around the world are disappointed that the Eagles decided to sign a guy who hung dogs from trees. He electrocuted them with jumper cables and held them under water,” PETA spokesman Dan Shannon told The Associated Press.
“You have to wonder what sort of message this sends to young fans who care about animals and don’t want them to be harmed.”
Reid believes most Eagles fans will accept Vick.
“This is America. We do make mistakes,” Reid said. “This situation is a chance to prove he’s doing the right things. He’s been proactive speaking across the country.”
Vick filed for bankruptcy protection last July, listing assets of about $16 million and debts of more than $20 million.
Vick pleaded guilty after his three co-defendants had already done so. They told of how Vick participated in the killing of dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning or slamming them to the ground.
Vick’s appearances at federal court in Richmond, Va., prompted large groups of protesters to gather outside. Many were with PETA and held signs depicting photographs of pit bulls ravaged in dogfights.
Still, there were supporters who wore his No. 7 jersey.
A three-time Pro Bowler, Vick rushed for 1,039 yards in 2006, the most by a quarterback in a single season in NFL history. His 8.45 yards a carry average that season is also an NFL record. Vick appeared in 74 regular season games (67 starts) from 2001-06, completing 930 of 1,730 passes for 11,505 yards and 71 touchdowns. He rushed for 3,859 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is 2-2 as a starter in the playoffs with both losses coming against the Eagles.
The Eagles travel to meet Vick’s former team, the Falcons, in Week 13 on Dec. 6.
Senior NFL anlyst Chris Mortensen, ESPN reporter Sal Paolantonio, ESPN.com senior writer Len Pasquarelli and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
by Kenn Bell
This Dog Loves To Swing!
August 12, 2009 in Fun Videos, News
A little video to make your day brighter!
by Kenn Bell
World’s Oldest Dog Turns 26
August 11, 2009 in Entertainment, Health & Science News, News
In dog years the terrier-cross is 182, the equivalent of being born in 1827.
He lives in Louisiana in the United States of America.
“I never spoiled Max,” said his owner Janelle Derouen.
“I’ve never fed him anything but Kiddles and Bits [brand of dog food] and a few treats like those beefy doggy bones.
“We don’t give him any food from our table,” added Janelle, 49, who lives with her husband Billy, also 49, in New Iberia.
Max, who is greying, has a veterinary birth certificate to prove his age and is awaiting official confirmation from Guinness World Records Photo: BARCROFT
Max, who is greying, has a veterinary birth certificate to prove his age and is awaiting official confirmation from Guinness World Records.
Janelle and Billy bought Max from a local sugar cane farmer in 1983.
“He was the only one in the litter that was brown and I liked the colour so I took him home,” said Janelle.
Max has been visiting the same vet since birth at the Robichaux Veterinary Clinic in New Iberia. An 80s puppy Max’s birth was formally logged in 1983.
Until recently it was believed that Chanel, a geriatric Daschund-cross from New York was the oldest dog alive but Chanel, who turned 21 in May, is a full five years junior to Max.
Chanel is riddled with health problems, struggling desperately to see, walk and hear.
But Max is still in fine health and only suffers from mild arthritis and some cataracts. His secret, says Janelle, is not worrying about anything at all.
“He’s a very, very laid back dog,” said Janelle.
“He likes to lie down, relax, nap, sleep a lot and keep life simple. He’ll play with the kids for a bit but if they bother him too long he’ll wander off.
“He doesn’t have any fancy toys, just a bit of rope and a regular squeaky ball.”
Janelle and Billy held a special birthday party for Max on Sunday.
“We spoiled him just a little bit that once,” said Janelle.
by Kenn Bell
Dog Battles Own Foot For His Bone!
August 8, 2009 in Fun Videos, News
Sometimes we just shouldn’t try to figure out what’s going on in the mind of our dog.
