Christmas Tree Disaster: Cute Video
December 17, 2010 in Fun Videos, Holidays, News
Very cute. The poor dog.
You are browsing the archive for 2010 December.
by Melody Chen
by Melody Chen
Dog Dancing Around The Christmas Tree: Cute Video
December 17, 2010 in Fun Videos, Holidays, News
Merry Christmas!
by Kenn Bell
Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen’s Guitarist Writes Open Letter To Sports Media Regarding Michael Vick
December 17, 2010 in Celebrity, Endangerment, Inhumane Practices, News
By Nils Lofgren
An open letter to the men and women of the sports reporting community,
I am so disheartened and disappointed by your collective, lopsided praise of Michael Vick due to his recent spectacular on-field performance.
Jemele Hill stated on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters” that if Josh Hamilton could win one of baseball’s MVP awards after recovering from alcohol and drug abuse, why couldn’t Vick win the award in the NFL? Well, for one thing, Hamilton has neither tortured dozens of dogs nor murdered defenseless animals.
I do not know what is in Michael Vick’s head or heart. But in a recent ESPN interview, and elsewhere, he stated that while he was committing these heinous acts of cruelty, it never occurred to him that he was doing anything wrong.
What a chilling, telling statement.
In Vick’s case, I believe his second chance should certainly allow him to be free and to love and raise his family. I think he should make speeches about the error of his ways and help animal groups. I understand that he is doing some of these things and I applaud that. He’s also admitted to being haunted by his dogfighting days. That growth is welcome and necessary, but comes too late for me and those dogs.
I support his right to earn a living. But, while I can’t fault him for taking great advantage of the opportunities afforded him by playing in the NFL, I feel he does not deserve that lofty a place in our society and culture. However repentant he may be, he committed acts whose vileness will resonate down the years. When you do what Vick did, a second chance should never include the rare gift of an NFL career and the potential bounty it offers.
Shame on the NFL for not banning him permanently.
How can we justify this saga to our children?
The fighting is bad enough. But when the dogs aren’t up to their standards of violence, they’ll beat the dogs against walls until they’re dead, hang, electrocute or drown them.
And if the schedule is too busy for torture that day, they’ll just shoot them dead as the poor dogs gaze desperately into their eyes for just one moment of love or kindness. But love is one thing those dogs are forever and viciously denied.
by Kenn Bell
New Survey Says Pets More Trustworthy Than People
December 17, 2010 in Lifestyle News, News
Is this guy more trustworthy than humans?
BY NEIL HAESLER For Edmontonjournal.com
Canadian pet owners would rather deal with their furry friends than other people, according to a recent study by Harris/Decima.
The study revealed that 53 per cent of Canadians who own pets find them more reliable than people. Ninety per cent of Canadians talk to their pets and one-third have confided their deepest, darkest secrets to Fido or Milo or Hero.
According to the survey, conducted for Purina and its pet connection website, PawsWay.ca, pet owners look to their animals for all manner of interactions including using them as confidantes, matchmakers, personal trainers and possibly even therapists.
Shiri Joshua, a psychotherapist who specializes in animal-human relationships, agrees that pets are good friends for people.
“There are many reasons why people trust their pets, but what’s really important is that we learn from their behaviour,” Joshua said in a release Wednesday. “We can honour what they teach us by offering the same gifts to the people in our lives; namely, by being kinder as human beings towards one another.”
Joshua said sharing our lives with a pet may make it easier for us to deal with the other people in our lives and those we come into contact with.
“Sharing a life with a companion animal actually acts as a catalyst for human-to-human interaction; by observation alone, it’s quite obvious that people talk to one another, laugh and smile more if there is a pet involved,” she said.
Pets have always been a social network of sorts. According to the survey, 61 per cent of pet owners say their neighbours talk to them more when they are with their pet, and about 41 per cent say their pets have helped them begin a new relationship with someone they might not have otherwise met.
Pet people seem to meet other pet people.
Animals have also been found to help people deal with illness, Joshua said.
“I once spoke with a woman who was quite depressed before she adopted her puppy,” Joshua said. “Her dog helped her open up to the world and she met her husband shortly after. She says if it wasn’t for her pet, she never would have learned how to trust others and build strong relationships. Her pet helped her connect with people.”
“Companion animals are very sensitive to their owner’s emotions and energy because they share their space,” said Joshua. “They are able to sense when things are not right and respond accordingly. They often pick up on our moods and even physical illness before we are aware of it ourselves.”
This might go toward explaining why 61 per cent of survey respondents said their pets deal with them differently when they are sick. Pet owners said their animals helped lift their spirits.
The feelings are mutual it seems. Thirty per cent of pet owners said, if permitted, they would bring their animals to work because they don’t like to think of them home alone all day long.
According to Statistics Canada, about half of all households in the country have at least one pet. The average expenditure on pets in Canada, according to the government agency’s 2008 data, is about $439 a year.
“Pets are powerful. Research shows us that the bond we share with them spills over into other areas of our lives and greatly enhances our connections with people,” said Karen Kuwahara, president at Nestle Purina PetCare Canada.
BY NEIL HAESLER For Edmontonjournal.com
The poll was conducted between Nov. 11 and Nov. 14. It surveyed 1,014 adult Canadians, of which 781 own or have owned a cat or dog. The margin of error for this subgroup was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
Harris/Decima pet survey facts:
- 73 per cent believe pets can sniff out illness.
- Women more likely to confide in pets (33 per cent) than men (18 per cent).
- 44 per cent would bring their pets to a hotel if allowed.
- 86 per cent believe pets can help lift a bad mood.
- 82 per cent of retirees (65 plus) feel less alone in their home because of pets.
- 67 per cent believe their pets help to keep them active.
by Kenn Bell
Ancient Mexicans Bred Wolf-Dog Hybrids, Anthropological Study Finds
December 17, 2010 in Health & Science News, History, News, World
Photo: A wolf-dog jawbone found in the Quetzalcoatl pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico. Credit: Raul Valdez / European Pressphoto Agency
Mexican researchers said Wednesday they have identified jawbones found in the pre-Hispanic ruins of Teotihuacan as those of wolf-dogs that were apparently crossbred as a symbol of the city’s warriors.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History said the jawbones were found during excavations in 2004 and are the first physical evidence of what appears to be intentional crossbreeding in ancient Mexican cultures.
The jawbones were found in a warrior’s burial at a Teotihuacan pyramid. Anthropological studies performed at Mexico’s National Autonomous University indicate the animal was a wolf-dog.
“In oral traditions and old chronicles, dog-like animals appear with symbols of power or divinity,” said institute spokesman Francisco De Anda. “But we did not have skeletal evidence … this is the first time we have proof.”
Wolf- or dog-like creatures appear in paintings at Teotihuacan, but had long been thought to be depictions of coyotes, which also inhabit the region. But archaeologists are now reevaluating that interpretation.
Several jawbones were made into a sort of decorative garment found on the warrior’s skeleton at the 2,000-year-old site north of Mexico City.
The wolf-dog apparently served as a symbol of strength and power.
Dogs and wolves are very similar genetically, and there has been evidence of ancient remains that may show natural crossbreeding.
But archaeologist Raul Valadez said the animal was the result of intentional selection. While the inhabitants of Teotihuacan had dogs, wolves and coyotes, they almost exclusively used wolf-dog bones in the ceremonial arrangement.
Of the bones found, eight were wolf-dog, three were dogs and two were crosses of coyotes and wolf-dogs.
by Kenn Bell
Are Michael Vick’s Dog-Fighting Days Behind Him?
December 16, 2010 in Dog Safety, Inhumane Practices, News
This article comes to us from Ted Casablanca’s The Awful Truth Column on EONLINE.com.
– Kenn
If you haven’t been checking the Bitch-Backs lately for fear of Robsten fans, you’ve missed a topic in the past few blabfests that’s sparked quite the debate between readers.
Michael Vick.
While a handful of readers have come to the defense of the football player slash dog fighter, Team Truth is not Team Vick, ’cause the awful horrendous truth is that we think, sure, Vick may have served his sentenced, but just how sorry is he?
Not very, it would seem.
A source close to Vick’s people says that the infamous sports star is frequently in Atlanta making his rounds lecturing kids about the evils of dog fighting and how it ruined his career and personal life.
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Plainfield, Illinois School Service Dog Is Head Of Class
December 16, 2010 in Inspirational, News, Service Dogs
Seventh-grader Brandon Kopec, 12, (right) shakes hand with Biscuit, (left) a service dog.
Principal Ed Boswell walked into Ira Jones Middle School on Friday with a co-worker who had a wag in his tail and snow on his nose.
Boswell now shares his office with Biscuit, the school’s service dog.
There, the yellow Labrador sniffed his bed and water bowl and played with his furry fox toy before school started.
“This is his down time. He wanders. Teachers get excited to see him every morning. He is greeting everybody,†Boswell said.
Biscuit’s job is to help students with behavioral and emotional disorders and support autistic students.
Before students arrive, Boswell calls Biscuit into his office, taking off the service vest that lets Biscuit know he’s on the job.
Each day, Boswell brushes the dog’s coat, cleans his ears and brushes his teeth.
“It’s chicken-flavored. It stinks, but he likes it and I guess that is all that matters because he lets me do this,†Boswell said of the toothpaste. “Good boy, you did a nice job. Touch.â€
With that last word, he gives Biscuit a high-five, hand to nose.
Last spring, Boswell applied for a service dog through the Indiana Canine Assistance Network.
After an intensive application process where he was interviewed at school and home, Boswell was matched with Biscuit.
As part of ICAN, Biscuit was born in a prison and raised by prisoners who train puppies.
A prisoner named Rheann was Biscuit’s handler and taught him almost 50 commands.
Biscuit can do tricks children like to see, such as sitting, crossing legs and bowing.
He also has working commands that help disabled kids, such as tugging off their gloves, pushing doors shut and helping students up from the ground.
“Biscuit knows how to brace himself. He knows the word, brace,†Boswell explained. “Brace,†he told Biscuit, prompting the dog to stiffen his body so Boswell could lean on him to get up.
Boswell and school social workers Chris Pavlich and Christy Sprangers went to the Indiana Women’s Prison for a week of intensive training to wean Biscuit off of Rheann and teach him to listen to Boswell.
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6-Pound Terrier Mix Dog Still Struggling To Recover From Alleged Torture Gets Outpouring Of Support
December 16, 2010 in Endangerment, Inhumane Practices, Law Enforcement, Legal News, News
A 6½-pound dog named Lacey is seen after she was allegedly struck in the mouth with a golf club and had her eyes sprayed with bleach.
By Amity Address, for Eyewitness News
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A 6-pound mix-terrier dog named Lacey is still struggling to recover after allegedly being struck in the mouth with a golf club, having her eyes sprayed with bleach and being left untreated for days.
Lacey’s plight has outraged not only people in Kern County, but people around the world.
Donations are pouring in from as far away as Australia and England.
But what people still want to know is why someone would do this to a seemly innocent, defenseless little dog?
Bakersfield police believe Lacey was abused by her owner, Robert Gonzales.
Sophia Slider, Gonzales’ next-door neighbor and ex-mother-in-law, said Lacey was very loyal to Gonzales.
Slider said she is surprised Lacey is still alive after seeing pictures of Lacey’s injuries.
Lacey is described by Slider as a “sweet animal” and a mild-mannered dog.
On Monday, Eyewitness News talked with Gonzales over the phone.
He said he’s being falsely accused and claimed Lacey got the chemical burns from turning over a bucket filled with cleaning supplies.
But the Department of Public Health doesn’t think Gonzales’ story holds up. Director Matt Constantine said, “You can’t do this to an animal. This is a 6-pound terrier who didn’t have a voice. We need to give a voice to that animal.”
Because a public agency can’t accept donations, Public Health has partnered with Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation to raise money for Lacey.
“Based on the overwhelming response, there is enough money to cover Lacey’s costs, but (also) money that can be used in the future to help other animals,” Constantine said.
Donations can be made on the Friends of the Kern County Animal Shelters Foundation’s website or by sending a check to the foundation at P.O. Box 11494, Bakersfield, CA, 93389.
The foundation requests donors make note if the money is intended to help Lacey.
The animal hospital that is treating Lacey said she’s slowly recovering and has more surgeries ahead.
Once police are finished with their investigation, the case will be sent to the district attorney’s office for review and consideration of charges.
