With the economy taking a downturn and more and more people losing their homes, their dogs are suffering the consequences. I watch my local morning news and the dogs they bring on to be adopted are increasingly dog victims of foreclosure. These dogs are generally older, had been loved but are being sacrificed. Not only are the dogs coming from homes but they are coming from pet stores that have gone out of business. A lot of the problem is that when people have to move (& many times they are moving into apartments), dogs aren’t allowed. So the dogs have to go.
Martha Stewart, the queen of domesticity lost one of her beloved Chows in a deadly propane blast at a kennel in Pennsylvania. Seventeen dogs were killed when a propane tank exploded during a delivery this past Friday.
Max the dog wasn’t acting like his old self & kept sniffing his owners breath & nudging her breast & backing away unhappy. So his owner went to the doctor. Turns out she had breast cancer. Thanks to Max, the cancer was removed.
Max isn’t unusual. Many dogs can detect diseases in humans. A friends dog kept biting at her stomach & it turned out that she had a tumor right where her dog was biting. The tumor was successfully removed.
The Japanese obviously find humor in torture. I’ve seen clips of game shows where people put rubber tubing around their nose, throw themselves into solid walls, all to win a prize. Watch as they torture dogs with treats. Is it funny or sadistic? You be the judge.
The Presidential dog will be a Portuguese Water Dog and it’ll be coming to the White House in the Spring (April). This breed of dog was selected because one of the Obama girls is allergic to dogs. Portuguese Water Dogs are a hypoallergenic breed (like poodles – as a matter of fact, they look similar to Standard Poodles which they may be related to). Sen. Edward Kennedy even owns 2 two Portuguese water dogs (aka Porties). The Obama’s are checking rescue organizations to see if they can find one.
You thought only women were obsessed with trying to be super skinny. Well now it seems to have creeped over into the dog show world. Some dogs are being starved in order to make weight limits. It sounds like boxers trying to make weight before a big fight. The whole issue boils down to money. If a dog wins in its breed category (even though the prize money is modest), the owners of the dog can make a lot of money breeding the dog.
In the state of Maryland, officials are cracking down on puppy mills & dog breeders. The House Bill 495 would limit the number of breeder dogs an owner could have to 50, would make it mandatory for the dogs to get at least 2 hours of exercise a day, and expand the size of the cages the dogs are kept in. Most dogs in puppy mills are breed continuously, and never get let out of their small, cramped cages. The measure calls for each violation to have a penalty of up to $1,000.
By now you’ve heard that a 70 year old dog (in people years) won the Westminster Dog Show. The Sussex spaniel named Stump, who was a crowd favorite, won best in show &Â is the oldest winner in Westminster’s 133 year history. Stump only came out of retirement last week and almost died in 2004 from a medical condition.
Akira, an 11-year-old Siberian husky who was caught on store surveillance tape shoplifting a rawhide bone was brought back to the store by her owners recently. The grocery store employees all identified Akira as the dog that stole the dog treat just before Christmas. Akira’s owners let her lose in the store & she made a beeline straight back to the scene (aisle) of the crime.
Owners of barking dogs in Riverside county in Southern California must stop their dogs from nuisance barking or face a fine of up to $500. Owners will receive a warning the first time the police or animal control officers have to come out. But if another complaint is made within a year of the first, the dog owner must go to a hearing & plead their case. The hearing is to determine if the dog is in fact a nuisance.
If the dog is found to be a nuisance barker, the owner has 10 days to do something about it. That could include training, putting it somewhere it can’t be heard or even debarking. If the owner fails to comply, the first violation is $100, a second violation within a year is $200 & any subsequent ones are $500 each!
With today’s economy people are reluctant to pay these kinds of fines. Some are even giving their dogs up. Don’t do that to your best friend. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to stop your dog from barking. Get “The Ultimate Guide to Stop Your Dog From Barking…FAST!”
The Presidential dog will be a Portuguese Water Dog and it’ll be coming to the White House in the Spring (April). This breed of dog was selected because one of the Obama girls is allergic to dogs. Portuguese Water Dogs are a hypoallergenic breed (like poodles – as a matter of fact, they look similar to Standard Poodles which they may be related to). Sen. Edward Kennedy even owns 2 two Portuguese water dogs (aka Porties). The Obama’s are checking rescue organizations to see if they can find one.
