Saturday, June 22, 2013

Cat nurses week-old abandoned puppy


A pit bull rejected by its mother is being taken care of by an unlikely surrogate: A mama cat.

When Noland was merely 1 day old, he was taken to the Cleveland Animal Protective League without his mother.

"Obviously a 1-day-old puppy, even in the best of circumstances, [the chance of survival] is pretty iffy," Sharon Harvey, president and CEO of the CAPL, told Yahoo News by phone. "We want to give him every chance we could."

The staff decided Noland's best chances were to join a litter of nursing kittens. The question: Would the cat accept a puppy into her brood of four? Amazingly, mom-cat Lurlene welcomed the outsider.

The image says it all: The pit bull is being nursed back to health by a very tolerant feline.

“They’re a happy family now,” said Harvey.

Read the full story on Yahoo News.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Petition: Black Bear Shooting in Uniontown, OH

Calling for an investigation of the recent shooting
of a black bear by police in Uniontown, OH


 The tragic incident of a young black bear killed by police on May 31, 2013, as he wandered through backyards of Uniontown in Ohio, can only be described as an unjustifiable, misguided and a tragic overreaction by police officials. Their unprofessional behavior, coupled with the complete absence of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) has led to the death of a young, healthy and non-threatening wild animal—a black bear, who had simply lost his way in search of a mate and food and protected as an endangered species under OH’s wildlife law.

This unnecessary and tragic outcome could and should have been easily avoided. Neither was the police officer “forced to shoot the bear,” nor was killing of the bear “necessary for safety reasons,” as claimed by police, the Ohio Department of natural Resources (ODNR). The real reasons for this tragic incident are the fact that Uniontown’s police officers are untrained to solve encounters with wild animals in nonlethal manners—they didn’t even have a tranquilizer gun--and the ODNR, being unresponsive and unavailable for more than 13 hours after the first sighting of the bear was reported to the state wildlife agency. Why?

Please take action today and request an investigation of the circumstances that led to the killing of a harmless, young healthy black bear, who simply got lost in our urban jungle in search of a mate and food. Send a letter and follow-up with a call to John Kasich, Governor of OH and the Trustees of Lake Township, Stark County, OH, who oversee the Uniontown Police Department, and let them know that you want questions answered.

For more information, please contact anja@idausa.org.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Sign Petition Against Ohio Kitten Shooting


From Alley Cat Allies:

A "humane" officer in North Ridgeville, Ohio, shot and killed five kittens in a resident's yard on Monday, June 10. This is a clear act of cruelty in violation of state law—but this officer will have no charges brought against him.

Please sign our petition urging North Ridgeville Mayor David Gillock to meet with Alley Cat Allies immediately to discuss more humane measures for feral cats, including community-supported Trap-Neuter-Return.

Calling this brutal killing “euthanasia” and claiming it was a public safety issue is absurd. Officers should be educating residents about how to treat animals humanely and coexist peacefully, not shooting kittens in front of children.

We can’t stand by while more cats are needlessly killed. Urge Mayor Gillock to meet with Alley Cat Allies—and to issue an immediate order halting the “euthanasia” of healthy cats.

Alley Cat Allies will be on the ground in North Ridgeville on Monday, June 17, for a rally protesting this cruel kitten killing—and we will present your signatures at the City Council meeting that evening. We need as many signatures as possible by Monday, so please ask your friends and family to sign!

Thank you so much for taking action.

Sincerely,

Becky Robinson

UPDATE 6/19/13:  Alley Cat Allies Meets with North Ridgeville Police Chief about a Humane Approach

Pit Bulls: Responsibility

Cesar Millan
Cesar Millan

 A Letter from Cesar Millan:

A month ago today in Little Rock, California (a small town located forty miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles), a woman named Pamela Devitt was out for a jog when she was attacked and killed by a pack of four dogs.

Of course, the dogs were immediately identified as pit bulls in the headlines, whether they were or not. So far, only one dog’s photo has been released, and it is clearly a pit bull mix — but the problem with most news stories about people being attacked by dogs is that every dog becomes a pit bull in the headline.

This is nothing new and only the breed changes. At various times in the past, it would have been Rottweiler, German shepherd or Doberman pinscher. However, in the tragic case of Pamela Devitt, authorities have gotten one thing absolutely right, and it offers a bit of hope that things may be slowly changing when it comes to anti-breed prejudice.

Three weeks after the attack, Alex Donald Jackson, the owner of the four dogs, was charged with murder by the LA County district attorney — possibly a first for the area, according to prosecutors. They decided to do so because, since January of this year, there had been at least three reports to police about his dogs attacking other people.

Ultimately, the courts will decide Jackson’s fate and I’m not going to discuss his case specifically. However, this incident should be a reminder to dog lovers everywhere that, ultimately, we are responsible for our own dogs’ safety and behavior, and we are the ones who should face the consequences if they should ever attack someone.

Read more: http://www.cesarsway.com/the-scoop/cesarsblog/Responsibility#ixzz2WUnCUpfT

100 Problem Puppy Mills

PRESS RELEASE
The Humane Society of the United States

May 9, 2013


As part of its seventh annual Puppy Mill Action Week, The Humane Society of the United States is releasing “A Horrible Hundred,” a report listing 100 puppy mills. The HSUS is calling on authorities to more closely monitor these and the thousands of other facilities across the country and is also urging state legislators to pass stronger laws to protect dogs in puppy mills. The puppy mills were selected based on the conditions documented in publicly available inspection reports and on evidence obtained during HSUS research and investigations.

“Every year, millions of puppies are born in horrific puppy mills and sold to unsuspecting families,” said Melanie Kahn, senior director of The HSUS’s Puppy Mills Campaign. “We urge consumers to do serious homework before buying a puppy, and we ask lawmakers, law enforcement officials and the pet industry representatives to support laws that will crack down on this cruelty.”

During Puppy Mill Action Week, The HSUS asks supporters to spread the word about the realities of puppy mills by sharing this video, pledging not to buy a puppy mill dog from a pet store or Internet site and by always considering adoption from a shelter or rescue or purchasing only from a responsible breeder they have met in person.

The HSUS is not charging that these are the worst 100 mills in the nation, but these are operations with deficiencies and inadequate attention to animal welfare. They are indicative of the puppy mill culture that has become widespread and causes immense suffering for dogs.

Some states require pet stores to post the names of the breeders in a visible location, such as on the dogs’ cages, so consumers have additional information about where the puppies came from, and other large-scale commercial dog breeders sell directly to consumers over the Internet.

The HSUS found that:
  • Most of the 100 facilities have been cited repeatedly by federal or state inspectors for violations such as injured and sick dogs who had not been treated by a veterinarian, animals left in the freezing cold or blistering heat without protection, filthy conditions, and, in some cases, operators who performed surgeries on dogs without a veterinary license or shot and killed unwanted dogs.
  • States with the highest numbers of puppy mills on this list include Missouri (24), Ohio (15), Kansas (11), Iowa, (8), and Indiana and New York (6 each).
  • More than half of the puppy mills listed had more than 100 dogs and puppies on the premises according to their most recent state or federal inspection reports. At least 30 of the facilities had more than 200 dogs and puppies, and one (Clearwater Kennel in Minnesota) had more than 1,100.
  • The report covers puppy mills in 20 different states, but puppies from these breeders are shipped to pet stores and Internet buyers across the country so consumers never see the real conditions in which they were born and raised.
  • Many of the facilities in the report claim to be affiliated with the American Kennel Club. The AKC increasingly lobbies against laws that would require puppy mills to be more uniformly licensed and inspected.
  • The HSUS urges the USDA to swiftly finalize a rule to require all large-scale commercial puppy sellers to be uniformly licensed and inspected, including those that sell directly to consumers over the Internet. Additionally, the USDA needs to streamline its procedures for reporting problem operators to law enforcement and preventing operators from re-starting under a new name or license number.
See the list by state here.
Read the full report here.

FACTS:
  • Puppy mills are mass-breeding facilities that churn out puppies for the pet trade with an emphasis on profit over welfare. Breeding dogs in puppy mills have no real quality of life, often living continually in small wire cages with little or no personal attention, exercise or veterinary care.
  • In recent years The HSUS has assisted in rescuing nearly 10,000 dogs from more than 50 different puppy mills across the country churning out more than 2 million puppies per year for the pet trade.
  • While The HSUS stands ready to assist law enforcement with closing down illegal puppy mills whenever feasible, there remain an estimated 10,000 puppy mills across the United States, and many of them are legal. 
Media Contact: Niki Ianni, 301-548-7793, 610-999-6932, nianni@humanesociety.org