HSUS Victories in 2008

Ohio House Bill 418

Important news from the ASPCA Advocacy Center...

Currently pending in your state’s senate, Ohio House Bill 418 is important animal welfare legislation that will:

· increase the penalties for certain acts of animal cruelty;

· mandate psychological counseling for juveniles who commit animal cruelty; and

· give Ohio’s courts the power to include pets in protective orders.

Sadly, animals often are used as pawns in domestic disputes. Sixty percent of female victims of domestic violence have had a pet killed by their abuser(s)—and up to 40 percent of battered women delay going to a shelter because they fear what will happen to the pets they must leave behind.

Many states have already passed laws allowing pets to be included in court-issued orders of protection. This is your chance—help Ohio become the next state to take this important step in the fight against domestic violence and animal abuse.

What You Can Do
HB 418 has already passed the Ohio House and now has to pass the Senate to become law. However, this must happen by the end of this month—if the bill doesn’t pass by December 31, it dies.

Please call your Ohio State Senator now!
Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to learn more and to find your Ohio state senator’s phone number.

Thank you, Ohio, for joining the fight against domestic violence.

Dog Tags

I found this wonderful story on the Petcentric website...

The Washington Humane Society (WHS) recently launched a brand new program, "Dog Tags," which provides a very different kind of training to soldiers. Injured soldiers recovering at Walter Reed Army Medical Center come to WHS's new Behavior and Learning Center, located across the street from the hospital, twice a week to learn and study animal training and behavior. The soldiers in the program work with the homeless animals in the care of WHS. They teach the dogs behaviors that will help them succeed in their new homes, and the soldiers gain new skills, which prepare them for future careers in animal training and behavior.

To read the entire article, please click here.

If I Didn't Have a Dog or Cat

If I Didn't Have a Dog... or Cat

I could walk around the yard barefoot in safety.

My house could be carpeted instead of tiled and laminated.

All flat surfaces, clothing, furniture, and cars would be free of hair.

When the doorbell rings, it wouldn't sound like a kennel.

When the doorbell rings, I could get to the door without

wading through fuzzy bodies who beat me there.

I could sit on the couch and my bed the way I wanted,

without taking into consideration how much space

several fur bodies would need to get comfortable.

I would have money and no guilt to go on a real vacation.

I would not be on a first-name basis with 6 veterinarians,

as I put their yet unborn grand kids through college.

The most used words in my vocabulary would not be: out,

sit, down, come, no, stay, and leave him/her/it ALONE.

My house would not be cordoned off into zones with

baby gates or barriers.

I would not talk 'baby talk'. 'Eat your din din'.

'Yummy yummy for the tummy'..

My house would not look like a day care center, toys everywhere.

My pockets would not contain things like poop bags,

treats and an extra leash.

I would no longer have to spell the words B-A-L-L,,

F-R-I-S-B-E- E, W-A-L-K,, T-R-E-A-T,, B-I-K-E,, G-O,,R-I-D-E,, would not have as many leaves INSIDE my house as outside.

I would not look strangely at people who think having ONEdog/cat ties them down too much.

I'd look forward to spring and the rainy season instead
of dreading 'mud' season.

I would not have to answer the question 'Why do you have

so many animals?' from people who will never have the joy

in their lives of knowing they are loved unconditionally by

someone as close to an angel as they will ever get.

How EMPTY my life would be!!!

Peaceful Rally Against Puppy Mills - Columbus, Ohio

On November 20, 2008, The Humane Society of the United States revealed the results of an eight-month investigation into Petland Inc., the country's largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores. The results showed that many Petland stores across the country are supporting an abusive puppy mill industry, even while telling unsuspecting customers that the dogs only come from reputable breeders. Founded in 1967 and headquartered in Chillicothe, Ohio, Petland, Inc. currently has 140 stores in the United States and 63 in foreign markets.

According to Mary O’Connor-Shaver of Columbus Top Dogs, “HSUS investigators visited 21 Petland stores and 35 breeders and brokers who sold puppies to Petland stores. They also reviewed interstate import records of an additional 322 breeders, USDA reports and more than 17,000 individual puppies linked to Petland stores. At many of these large-scale breeding operations, investigators saw appalling conditions: puppies living in filthy, barren cages reeking of urine, with inadequate care and socialization.”

In response to findings revealed during The HSUS’s recent investigation, and in support of Companion Animal Protection Society’s (CAPS) 2008 North American Protest against pet stores that sell puppy mill dogs, Columbus Top Dogs will be hosting a peaceful rally on Saturday, December 20, 2008 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM near the entrance to Petland stores located in Hilliard, OH and Lewis Center, OH.

The goal of this event is to raise awareness of Petland and its relationship to puppy mill breeders and to solicit support from the community asking that Petland stop selling puppies while Central Ohio homeless dogs and puppies wait to be adopted.

Columbus Top Dogs, based in Columbus, Ohio, is a group of independent pet consultants for Shure Pets, the premiere direct seller of pet products and accessories. Since 2005, the team has donated over $64,000 in financial and in-kind contributions to 33 animal shelters and rescue organizations located throughout Franklin, Delaware, Licking and Fairfield counties.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is the nation's largest animal protection organization — backed by 10.5 million Americans. For more than a half-century, The HSUS has been fighting for the protection of all animals through advocacy, education, and hands-on programs.

As the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals, Companion Animal Protection Society's (CAPS) foremost concern is the abuse and suffering of pet shop and puppy mill dogs. Founded in 1992, CAPS actively addresses this issue through investigations, legislative involvement, puppy mill dog rescues, consumer assistance and pet industry employee relations.

For More Information:
Mary O’Connor-Shaver
Columbus Top Dogs (Shure Pets)
Cell: 614-271-8248
www.ColumbusTopDogs.com

Let's Say Thanks

Dogs Singing Christmas Song

This is just too cute!

Studies Show Dogs Have Sense of Fairness

This is a wonderful article that I found online:
http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MjE1MjQzMA==

Dog Rescued from Drainage Pipe

I monitored this story from start to finish. There were some awesome rescuers who fought hard to get media coverage for this dog. Without it, he probably would have died in that drain pipe.

Enjoy this heartwarming tale:
http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2008-12-03-0022.html

Mortgage Meltdown Results in Pets Going to Pound

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Furry signs of a down-trending economy peer dolefully from every kennel at the Broward County Humane Society shelter in Florida and hundreds of others across the country.

Bentley, a 3-year-old Lhasa apso, was given up by his owners because they just couldn't afford to keep him any more.

Tinkerbell, a sweet, docile house cat, was surrendered by her owners after they found out that they had lost their home.

With foreclosures disrupting life, from the family house down to the dog house, and as Americans toil through a tough economic landscape, some of their pets face an even bleaker future in the pound.

"People lose their homes and have to move to apartments that don't accept pets, so they give them up," says Cheryl McAuliffe, a spokeswoman for the Georgia State Humane Society.

Read the article in its entirety by visiting CNN.com.