The video above is in respond to the McDonald’s radio commercial.

– Kenn

McDonald’s has apologized and pulled an ad that came back to bite it.

The ad said eating a Chicken McBite was less risky than petting a stray pit bull, shaving your head, naming your son Sue or giving friends your Facebook password. It enraged pit bull owners and their supporters.

The radio ad for Chicken McBites only ran for a few days in the Kansas City area before the complaints started. The campaign against the ad circulated on social media sites, and the apology was delivered the same way. People who called a well-publicized toll-free number got a recorded apology.

“The ad was insensitive in its mention of pit bulls. We apologize. As soon as we learned of it, we tracked the source and had the local markets pull the ad immediately. We’ll do a better job next time. It’s never our intent to offend anyone with how we communicate news about McDonald’s,” Ashlee Yingling, spokesman for McDonald’s Corp., said Monday, quoting from the apology.

“I found it extremely offensive and reckless,” said Rachele Lizarraga of Sacramento. “Why would you try to promote the safety of food?”

Lizarraga, who owns a pet-sitting business and is social media coordinator for Chako Pit Bull Rescue, started a Facebook page called “Pit Bulls Against McDonald’s,” launched an online petition calling for an end to the ad and started one of many Twitter threads.

Many of the 8,200-plus people who liked the Facebook page said an apology wasn’t enough — they wanted a donation to some pit bull organizations and a McDonald’s ad featuring a pit bull.

Others thought the apology was enough.

“We are just asking them to promote positive pit bull imagery. We are not asking for donations. I don’t think that should be a demand,” Lizarraga said.

“It was stupid marketing, playing into the media hysteria about pit bulls,” she added.

“The McDonald’s response was immediate, unambiguous and apologetic — not sure what more anyone could ask. I’ll soon be ordering those McBites, and likely lovin’ it,” radio host and syndicated pet columnist Steve Dale wrote Sunday.

The campaign against the ad built swiftly and fiercely Friday. Then the ad disappeared, except on YouTube and online.

It was not a national radio ad, Yingling said. “Working with the local market, we took immediate action to pull the ad and apologized for the mistake. Again, it’s never our intent to offend anyone,” she said.

She did not say if McDonald’s would be making any pit bull rescue donations or making an ad with a pit bull.

“I am pleased that they pulled the ad after their customers spoke out about it. Not all companies listen so closely to their customers so I appreciate that they did — and so quickly,” said Stephanie Filer, communications manager for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa and a member of ARL Pit Crew Club.

She posted an illustration, showing a box of McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets and a pit bull laying on its back with the caption “Which is safer? Eating this? Petting this?”

She also posted a photo of herself and her pit bull named Freedom with a word bubble describing the ad. It read: “Hey McDonalds — I created an ad on Facebook that went viral today, on behalf of the ARL Pit Crew Club because my pit bull was a STRAY.”

Laura Goldman, senior social media writer for ilovedogs.com, was one of the first to post about the ad. Friday was the second highest traffic day ever on their website, said Goldman, who has two rescued pit bulls of her own.

“It made me really angry. It seemed like a stupid advertising campaign, insinuating eating their food is risky. I would rather pet a million stray pit bulls that eat one pink slimy Chicken McBite,” she said.

COLUMBUS, OHIO — A bill that would remove the “vicious” label from pit bulls is likely headed for the governor’s desk.

The Ohio Senate approved House Bill 14 by a 27-5 vote on Tuesday, with some changes.

Those modifications will have to be approved by the Ohio House of Representatives before the bill can be signed into law.

PitbBulls reportedly are the only specific breed labeled as “vicious” in the Ohio Revised Code (ORC 955.11). That will change with the new law.

The law currently defines a “vicious dog” as an animal that “(i) Has killed or caused serious injury to any person; (ii) Has caused injury, other than killing or serious injury, to any person, or has killed another dog. (iii) Belongs to a breed that is commonly known as a pit bull dog.” The label does not apply to police dogs doing their jobs.

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT — While everyone was able to safely escape a fire Saturday at Da Legna restaurant in New Haven, something special was left behind in the rubble.

To those watching the flames rip through the State Street apartments, above the restaurant, it was obvious there would be some major damage. However, once the fire was out and crews started tearing the apartments down they found a surprise.

“All of a sudden a big pit bull sat up in the middle of the debris,” said Kevin Plummer of United Cleaning and Restoration. “We grabbed him by the collar and brought him down to the ground. He didn’t bark. He didn’t growl. He’s a good dog.”

The pit bull, named Spooky, was immediately taken across the street to the animal hospital.

Another dog, named Mona, and a cat, Sammy, were rescued from the fire and all three are on oxygen from the fire. Their owner was hospitalized after a car crash last week, and wasn’t home at the time of the blaze.

Three cats didn’t make it out.

“It does injure the lungs where they can’t process oxygen and they can’t breathe as well,” said veterinarian Kim MacDonald. “It predisposes them to other problems like pneumonia.”

The workers are still amazed they saw Spooky staring at them. The dog was able to survive the fire and frigid weather by hiding in a closet.

“Everything else you can replace, but an animal is like a child,” said Plummer.

The workers feel for Spooky’s owner who lost their apartment and the owner of Da Legna, which has only been open around a month after taking over the former Amato’s Pizza, but they’re hoping Spooky will remind them something good always comes out of something bad.

“It just put a nice sunshine on a little bit of a gloomy day,” said Pat Deleva of Cherry Hill Restoration.

The State Street neighborhood is rallying around the owner of the apartment, whose name is Mike Simonelli, a veteran, who was in a car accident on Friday, and in serious condition in the hospital when his apartment caught fire on Saturday.

“He is a really good guy,” said Lisa Siedlarz, of New Haven, “He served our country. He has lived here a really long time and to have this happen it is a series of tragic events.”

While the animals recover in the vet clinic, Simonelli is recovering in the hospital. Neighbors are hoping everyone will be released soon.

In the meantime, neighbors are raising money for the vet bill and already have more than $1,000.

“On top of that there are people out there who want to donate items for Mike because he lost everything,” said Siedlarz. “We have kitchenware lined up, we need to find out more about clothing size. People are really stepping up for this.”

Nick Santino And Rocco In Happier Days.

A sad example of how breed discrimination affects humans as well as dogs. So sad.

– Kenn

A down-on-his-luck soap-opera actor took his own life this week after he was forced to put his beloved dog to sleep under pressure from his Upper West Side condo and became wracked by grief, pals said.

Nick Santino euthanized his dog, Rocco, Tuesday — on Santino’s 47th birthday. That night, his guilt over the gut-wrenching decision became too much to bear.

“Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend,” a despondent Santino wrote in a suicide note, said close friend Stuart Sarnoff.

“Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn’t deserve this.”

The Brooklyn-born Santino — a struggling actor whose TV credits include “All My Children” and “Guiding Light” — adopted Rocco from a shelter several years ago.

The man, raised in an orphanage and foster homes, soon began to write about his pet on Facebook, writing, “I did not rescue Rocco, Rocco rescued me.”

But in 2010, his building at 1 Lincoln Plaza announced strict new dog regulations, including a ban on pit bulls. The ban didn’t apply to pit bulls already in the building, but friends and neighbors said Santino began to be harassed.

“People were complaining about his dog,” said neighbor Kevan Cleary, 63, an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School. “It was open season on him.”

Rocco couldn’t ride in the main elevators and wasn’t allowed to be left in the apartment alone for more than nine hours.

Santino was then threatened with a $250 fine for having a barking dog, neighbors said.

“The dog was not a barker, but somebody complained that the dog would bark,” Cleary said.

“He felt like he was in this battle because he was the only guy in the building with a pit-bull mix,” Cleary added.

Another neighbor, Lia Pettigrew, who runs a pet-care company, said, “Everybody knows that he had been harassed by the building management.”

The building’s management refused to comment yesterday.

After months of increasing anguish, Santino had the healthy dog put to sleep Tuesday.

Neighbors said a tearful Santino brought dog treats to the building’s doorman and said: “Give these to the other dogs. Rocco is no more.”

Dog owner James Steven Grant said Santino left two rawhide bones on his doorstep and earlier was seen tearfully giving away Rocco’s fluffy bed.

“Rocco was the sweetest dog in the world. Rocco wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Grant said.

He spent Tuesday in agony over what he had done to Rocco.

“He was distraught and remorseful about putting down his best friend,” Cleary said.

The last phone call he made was to a former girlfriend at 2 a.m. Wednesday. Later that day, police found his body in his bedroom. He had overdosed on pills.

According to IMDB, Santino was part of the first team to lead search & rescue on World Trade Center 9-11-2001. He used his ConEdison Engineering ID & Asbestos Certification to gain access.

Rocco has been cremated, and friends said Santino’s remains will be, too, and they will be reunited.

“One way or another, their ashes will be together forever,” Sarnoff said.

Pit Bull File Photo.

Another pit bull was found Saturday inside a brand new dog crate. He had just been shot in the face. His body was still warm and blood was still flowing. It had a collar on. The killer or killers shot through the crate.

The Houston animal loving community is in shock about the horrific cruelty inflicted on these dogs.

BBRR is asking for help from Houston police to investigate these killings.

We’ll bring you more info as we receive it.

ILLINOIS — She was abandoned, had nearly starved to death and hobbled on swollen, infected feet. But the strawberry-blond pit bull with a tan nose and brown eyes rebounded – and waltzed her way into many people’s hearts.

Along the way, she earned a new name.

“We named her Audrey because it means ‘noble strength’ – and that just kind of fit her from day one,” said Cookie Huber, general manager for Animal Care Centers. The veterinary clinic’s Fairfield location has cared for the dog since authorities found her Dec. 19 in Hamilton’s Joyce Park.

The year-old dog then weighed just 27 pounds – about 18 pounds underweight. Huber called the animal “the thinnest, skinniest dog I’ve seen that was actually alive” during her 30-year career with animals. Audrey was so cold that her body temperature, which should have been around 101 degrees, didn’t even register on a thermometer.

“She had to have a great will to live,” Huber said, and that’s why her recovery has inspired everyone at the clinic and touched so many hearts.

At first too weak to show much personality, the dog now displays a friendly and playful disposition. She has added 13 pounds to her frame, attracted donations of money, food and toys, and even has a Facebook page, “Justice for Audrey,” dedicated to her.

On Tuesday, followers of that page welcomed news that authorities had tracked down Audrey’s owner, Edwin L. Saunders, 53, of Lockland.

Butler County Dog Warden Julie Holmes said Deputy Warden Kurt Merbs waded through hundreds of tips before finding one that led him Friday to Saunders, with the help of Fairfield police Officer Sandy Sears.

Authorities wouldn’t say what brought Saunders to the Hamilton park where Audrey was found, but they say he admitted to owning and abandoning the dog there.

After hearing that Saunders had been found and charged, one of Audrey’s supporters, Tracy Padgett, posted on Facebook that she wept tears of joy. “People need to know that these animals (cannot) be treated like this,” Padgett wrote. “Give Audrey a big hug. … Let her know she will never be hurt again!!”

Saunders, who couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, faces misdemeanor charges of cruelty to a companion animal, abandonment, failure to license and failure to confine the dog. If convicted, Saunders could be sent to jail for up to six months and could be fined $1,000.

Audrey’s supporters say that punishment is insufficient. They said they intend to pack Hamilton Municipal Court when Saunders appears; Holmes thinks his court date will be late this month.

Audrey likely will need to remain at the veterinary center awhile longer before she is strong enough to be spayed and then released for adoption in a permanent home, Huber said, adding, “We want to set her on the best road to life that we can.”

Officials are working with a pit-bull rescue group to secure a loving home for Audrey. Despite the breed’s being designated “vicious” by law, Huber says Audrey has been “nothing but darling.” She gingerly accepts food from her caretakers’ hands and behaves lovingly and appropriately in every situation she has encountered, Huber said.

The outpouring of love and support for the dog has been heartwarming – and so has Audrey’s response, Holmes said.

“She went from being a dog that nobody wanted to being a dog that is adored,” Holmes said. “It just melts me when you see a dog who has been so neglected react like this. She never lost the capacity to love — and I think that says tons about these animals.”

Robbie giving me one of his many "cute" looks.

On Saturday, December 17, 2011, I went to meet Ylva and her dog, Robbie. We were filming them for a video for Eleventh Hour Rescue in Morris County, New Jersey.

Robbie is a pit bull that had been starved and beaten for years. Eleventh Hour rescued him and they placed him in a great foster home and nursed him back to life.

As I interviewed his new owner, Ylva, I thought that Robbie was just a dog that had needed a home. Then Ylva showed me the photo of Robbie when Eleventh Hour first got him. The change is amazing.

Robbie is an incredible, cute and loving pit bull that hit the jackpot. But many pitties never even get a chance to pull the lever. They are judged guilty of being a Pit Bull and then put to death.

I thought I’d share some video grabs of Robbie and Ylva from the day’s event. At the end, you’ll see how Robbie first looked when Eleventh Hour Rescue received him.

Thanks!
Kenn Bell

Ylva and Robbie during the interview.

Robbie loves to cuddle!

Robbie the Pit Bull.

Robbie strikes a pose!

Robbie and Ylva, best friend's forever!

Robbie as he came to Eleventh Hour Rescue. The change is unbelievable!