Love Among Pompeii’s Ruins Extends To Dogs

Admin: Melody Chen

Categories: Adoption News, History, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By Elisabetta Povoledo for The New York Times

POMPEII, Italy — One of Pompeii’s most famous mosaics is of a leashed dog with the warning “cave canem,” or beware of the dog.

That message had become all too appropriate in recent years, as visitors to the city buried by Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79 could attest. Droopy dogs wandering forlornly along ancient streets were a common sight here. Fights could erupt at a moment’s notice, over females in heat or territory, but mostly over food. There were isolated cases of dogs attacking people. More commonly, people were scared, because the dogs tended to travel in packs, tracking tour groups in the hope of scoring tasty treats.

When the Italian government declared a state of emergency for Pompeii in 2008, Culture Minister Sandro Bondi cited the strays as among the principal problems, along with illegal tour guides, inadequate washroom facilities and general neglect of the site.

But all that began to change last November, when administrators at the ruins introduced a project to promote the adoption of stray dogs from Pompeii.

On its Web site, the project is rendered as (C)Ave Canem. Giacomo Bottinelli, the coordinator of the project, acknowledged that the Latin was not correct. “It should be Ave Canis” — for Hail Dog — “but we didn’t want to get into anything too complicated,” said Mr. Bottinelli, who studied classical philology in college.

To read the rest click here.

Police & Vets Kill 58,000 Stray Dogs in Baghdad to Stop Frequent Attacks

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Environment, Government, Inhumane Practices, Lifestyle News, News, Tragedy, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

Officials in Iraq have released a report today, which says the number of stray dogs that have been killed since 2008, in an attempt to stop a series of attacks within and around the city of Baghdad, RAW reports.

The killings are a part of a campaign that started in 2008, after increasing reports of dog attacks began to come in from local citizens and soldiers.

With Baghdad slowly returning to normal, and open markets becoming more common, there is more food left around the city.

There is also more food left in garbage heaps outside of the capital. This means better meals for stray dogs, which leads to them gaining health and having larger litters.

This has had a marked effect on the amount of strays around Baghdad, with tens of thousands causing havoc all over the city.

The campaign is carried out by security teams made of veterinarians and police officers, who correlate with other security forces in the area.

They sweep the city in the early morning, using poisoned meet to lure and kill stray dogs, warning civilians to stay away from the food left for the animals.

This is similar to the shootings that occurred under Saddam Hussein’s reign, which was mandatory part of security in Iraq.

California Dogs Get New Leash On Life North Of Border

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Adoption News, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By SUE MANNING For The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Life after doggy death row was just a three-hour jet ride away for 60 pooches flown to Canada on Friday for adoption north of the border.

Canadian philanthropist Jan Folk watched as the small dogs were loaded into her private, 11-seat Gulfstream III headed for Edmonton, Alberta, where she said all of them would find new homes within three weeks. There will be a long line of people at the shelter early Monday, she said.

Thirty terriers, cockapoos, Yorkies, Chihuahuas, bichons and other breeds from the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority in Downey took off from Long Beach Airport, along with 30 small dogs from the Central California Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Fresno.

The Downey dogs were all unclaimed, unchipped and untagged and had been at the shelter just south of Los Angeles between 13 and 30 days, Reyes said.

They were literally on doggy death row.

“We are only mandated to keep them for three days per state law,” Reyes said. “We hang on because we know these little cuties are a hot item somewhere. These are not feral dogs. They are fluffy little cute things that are trained. It’s mind-blowing that dogs so adorable can sit in an animal shelter and not be claimed or adopted.”

Folk, who has a 10-year-old chocolate Lab named Molly, has sponsored four freedom flights in the last year, so she has now taken 312 small dogs to Edmonton, where she sits on the board of the humane society.

While Folk lives in Canada, she has a boat in Huntington Beach. “I’ve had dogs since I was 7 years old. I am absolutely crazy about dogs. They are the one thing that can make me smile in a day.”

Because she was spending time in California, Folk said she figured, “I might as well save some dogs.”

Folk said she sold her two Canadian companies — National Home Warranty and J. Folk and Associates — a few years ago.

She wouldn’t reveal the amount of money she’s spent on the international dog flights, except to say “it’s pretty substantial.” She is looking for a partner so she can sponsor more flights.

“They don’t have to go to Canada. I’d fly them to New York, as long as they go somewhere and get adopted,” she said.

Hundreds of California dogs have been flown to New York and other eastern U.S. cities where — like Edmonton — there is a severe shortage of small dogs.

Unfortunately, 30 dogs barely made a dent in the dog population at the Downey shelter, which is full with 200 dogs, Reyes said.

In February, Folk took 114 dogs from Fresno to Canada. That is how many dogs the Fresno shelter alone will euthanize in a day, she said.

Heroic Dogs Of Wartime London

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: History, News, Working Dogs, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From The BBC

Seventy years after World War II, the People’s Dispensary For Sick Animals in Britain is commemorating seven dogs who helped rescue hundreds from the rubble of wartime London.

To see all the incredible photographs click here.

Chinese Astronaut Ate Dog In Space

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Health & Science News, Inhumane Practices, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From The Columbus Dispatch.com

Disappointed, but not surprised.

– Kenn

Dog was among the foods eaten in space by China’s first astronaut, according to his recently published autobiography as reported in a British newspaper.

The Daily Telegraph reported that Yang Liwei, who was launched into space in the Shenzhou 5 mission in 2003, made the revelation in a matter-of-fact way in his book, The Nine Levels Between Heaven and Earth.

“Many of my friends are curious about what we eat and think that the astronauts must have some expensive delicacies, like shark fin or abalone,” Yang wrote, according to a translation in the newspaper. “Actually we ate quite normal food.”

Yang listed braised chicken and steamed fish in addition to dog meat. Dog was also eaten during a later space mission, the newspaper reported.

Dog meat is a traditional food in China, though it is not widely eaten. Earlier this year, the Chinese government issued a draft proposal to prohibit the practice.

Animal-rights activists criticized Yang over the revelation.

“Yang Liwei is a role model for so many young people, and he is one of China’s greatest heroes,” Jill Robinson, founder of Animals Asia, told The Telegraph.

Robinson pointed out the role dogs played in China in 2008 when the animals rescued victims from the Sichuan earthquake and provided protection during the Beijing Olympics. “We hope that (Yang) might recognize dogs as the heroes they are, too,” Robinson said.

Dogs Banned From More Than 70 Nottinghamshire, England Parks

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Government, Law Enforcement, Legal News, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From BBCNews.com

Dogs have been completely banned at 72 parks in a Nottinghamshire district.

The measures have been brought in by Newark and Sherwood District Council after some owners failed to clean up after their pets.

Dog walkers who flout the ban face £75 on-the-spot fines, which can rise to £1,000 if the matter goes to court.

Some owners have said the ban is unfair on people who do clean up dog waste and that it will force them to drive to sites where they can walk their pets.

The ban will be enforced by animal welfare officers, park rangers and police community support officers.

Other measures have been brought in for other parks and open spaces in the area, including a ban on walking more than six dogs at a time and a rule obliging owners to keep dogs on a lead at all times.

Dog walkers have expressed concern they will be breaking the measures unwittingly as signs are not yet in place in all areas.

The council has not produced a list of where pet owners can exercise their animals.

Nottinghamshire resident Jane Jenkins said: “It’s ridiculous. Where do they think you’re going to take them? Up the village where the shops are? On the pavements?”

Caroline Kisko, from The Kennel Club, said: “I think this is really well overstepping things.”

She also believes that the ban could encourage dog owners to use their cars in order to get to different places to walk their pets.

Councillor Nora Armstrong said: “Dog fouling is rightly becoming a social taboo in today’s society.

“These powers, which also help us to control where dogs are taken and how many, should help us make sure more people enjoy a cleaner, greener and safer environment in Newark and Sherwood.”

Junk Food Killing Pet Cats And Dogs

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Health & Science Files, Lifestyle News, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By Isabelle Toussaint For AFP

PARIS — The junk food and poor eating habits affecting humans is also killing their four-legged pals, say veterinary surgeons and experts.

Allergies and obesity are reducing the life expectancy of Lassies and Mittens nourished worldwide on industrial foodstuffs, said Gerard Lippert, a Belgian acupuncturist for animals who has just completed a study on the diets of 600 dead dogs.

“Pets, like humans, are victims of junk food,” he told AFP.

Of the 600 furry corpses he examined “those fed on processed foods died three years earlier than those fed on food made in the home.”

Dogs, he added, “originally were omnivores who shared their food with humans.”

Rippert said he was increasingly called on to heal skin, motor and digestive problems as acupuncture was an all-embracing method enabling work on practically all organs.

“Dry dog food and cat food croquettes are over-heated, which destroys vitamins, trace elements and other basic nutritional elements,” he said.

“We don’t know the origin of the proteins in the foods,” he added. “And there’s an excessive amount of cereal, often genetically modified, and very little vegetables.”

“We’re turning our dogs and cats into ruminants,” he said.

Laurence Colliard, a veterinary surgeon and nutritionist located in the Paris suburbs, estimates that only five percent of French pet-owners cook food for their four-legged companions.

France is Europe’s top pet nation — with 7.8 million dogs and 10.7 million cats, according to a 2008 study by the Sofres/Facco polling institute.

“I’m seeing an increasing number of allergies, diarrhea, vomitting, skin dermatitis as well as cases of obesity, specially amid cats because of the excessively high energy content in industrially-produced cat foods,” said Colliard.

Pet owners tend to favour processed foods because of the difficulty of preparing nutritionally balanced meals, which in an ideal world should contain some 50 nutrients as well as meat, vegetables, rice and pasta. An animal’s age, weight and exercise routine also need to be taken into account.

The packs on offer on supermarket shelves also claim as a bonus to reduce nasty urine smells and modify the consistency of animal poop.

The pet food industry was born in England where James Spratt produced the world’s first dog biscuits in 1860.

Some 150 years later, many Internet sites are calling for a return to natural foods for pets.

BARF or Biologically Appropriate Raw Food is a type of pet diet that consists of raw meat, bones, and organs,” says www.barf.com. “It is the practice of feeding domestic pets their evolutionary diet as a way of maximizing their health and longevity.

“Dogs should not eat cooked or processed food,” it adds. “Instead, your pet should consume foods that are similar to a dog?s wild ancestors. This includes bones, fat, meat, and vegetable materials.”

Likewise offers tips for natural home-made meals.

It’s only in the last 100 years we have we been led to believe that dogs cannot survive without packaged food. We are told it would be harmful if we were to give them the scraps from our own home cooked meals. This is pure poppycock!”

Military Working Dogs At Practice

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Military, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

‘Hero’ Army Dog Sniffs Out A Bomb Factory

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Military, News, Working Dogs, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

Katie Cassidy for Sky News Online

A year ago Chocolat the dog could not obey a command to sit, but he has now been praised for saving the lives of British soldiers in Afghanistan.

The Army canine has been hailed a hero after he detected a booby-trapped Taliban bomb factory.

A trained dog can track down explosives by smell and these unique skills are proving vital for troops in spotting roadside bombs.

Chocolat the Belgian Shepherd sniffed out enough explosives to make 10 deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during a routine search of a bazaar.

His handler Private Steve Purdy said Chocolat’s behaviour made him realise that bomb-making equipment was hidden in the shop.

“Chocolat totally right-angled, went in, and wouldn’t come back,” he said.

“Normally he would never go out of my sight. That’s how sure I was. It was enough for me to pull him back and say that there was something there.”

Chocolat was able to lead Private Purdy and his team safely into the booby-trapped building and find where the IED stash was.

“Chocolat… literally didn’t know how to sit when I first got him in March 2009,” the soldier said.

“He is very cheeky, but a really good dog, really good at his job.

“He is also a bit of a character. He tends to wake me up a lot in the night just with his toy wanting to play, or he’ll destroy something that’s close by – like my flip flops.”

Chocolat is one of 11 sniffer dogs currently deployed in Afghanistan.

Captain Vicky Tannahill, who is a vet with the Military Working Dog Support Unit, added the animals in the military work as hard as their human counterparts.

“They are saving lives day in and day out. But we do give them the best possible care,” she said.

Abandoned Toronto Dog Wins The Hearts Of New Family

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Adoption News, Endangerment, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

Mark Collins For The Star.com

When I walk into the room, he wags his tail so hard that his whole back end wiggles.

He wiggles when my wife comes home from work. Sometimes he wiggles for no reason at all. I’m fairly certain he would wiggle if Hannibal Lecter dropped in for some fava beans and a nice bottle of Chianti.

He’s a happy dog. He loves everyone. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Yet one year ago, on March 26, someone taped him into a cardboard box, wrapped it in plastic and callously tossed him into the garbage dumpster of a luxury North York condo. I can’t figure out why they did it … but I’m so glad they did.

To read more click here.

Japan’s Unwanted Dogs Face Almost Certain Death

Admin: Kenn Bell

Categories: Adoption News, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

By Kim Kyung Hoon and Olivier Fabre For Reuters

TOKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters Life!) – It’s a dog’s life for a stray mutt in any country, but in Japan a canine that ends up in the municipal pound is far more likely to be put down than to find a new home.

While in some other industrialized countries the idea of “saving” a pet from a shelter is well-established, in Japan animal welfare activists say strays often fall foul of an attitude that prizes puppies and pedigrees as status symbols.

“In Britain, the public go to animal welfare shelters to adopt an animal and save a life. The mindset in Japan is still ‘if you want a pet, go to a pet shop’,” said Briar Simpson, a New Zealander who works for Japan’s animal shelter ARK, via e-mail.

In Britain, approximately 6 to 9 percent of dogs in pounds are put to death every year, 2007-2009 figures show, according to the website of Dogs Trust, the nation’s largest dog welfare charity.

In Japan that figure is more than 70 percent, the Japanese animal welfare organization ALIVE says.

To read more click here.

Want To Look Rich In China? Buy A Tibetan Mastiff

Admin: Melody Chen

Categories: Lifestyle News, News, World

Click to join our Facebook Fan Page and follow us on Twitter!

From The Associated Press

BEIJING — China’s latest must-have luxury for the ultra-rich, to go with mansions and sports cars, is a large, slobbery dog with massive amounts of hair best known for herding sheep in Tibet.

Once banned by the Communist Party as bourgeois, pet ownership is booming in China, and the Tibetan mastiff is the dog of the moment for those who want to spread their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.

“I used to invest in German shepherds, but Tibetan mastiffs are what’s hot right now,” said Sui Huizheng, a business owner who has about 20 of the dogs and attended the 6th annual China Tibetan Mastiff Expo this past weekend.

Hundreds of the hairy dogs were on hand, and owners and handlers marched the most expensive ones down catwalks as though they were fashion models. Some carried the names of wealthy Americans like “Warren Buffett,” while others were called “God” and “Prince.” Among the owners was a controversial running coach who trained world track champions in the 1980s.

Their hoped-for prize: breeders willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for a mate for their mastiff. Sui spent $43,000 for a large platform and a poster-plastered booth to show off his dogs. One breeding session with Sui’s top mastiff King goes for $40,000.

To read the rest click here.