Category Archives: animal welfare

My temporary dogs

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

One of the great things about visiting and working at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary is the range of dogs available for sleepovers.  Since I am on my final night of sleepovers, it is time to pay tribute to all four of my sleepover dogs…

Timothy, a one-year oldAmerican Staffordshire Terrier. Beautiful boy with good manners. I'm sorry we fed you so many treats in training class that we caused your diarrhea!

Timothy, a one-year old American Stafordshire Terrier. Beautiful boy with good manners. I’m sorry we fed you so many treats in training class that we caused your diarrhea!  Timothy’s underbite makes this wee boy adorable.

Chester, a Boxer cross (I think Boxer/Mastiff cross because of his wrinkles and large head size), age 7. Chester is very bright and we practiced 'sit' during his stay. A snuggly boy who snores!

Chester, a Boxer cross (I think Boxer/Mastiff cross because of his wrinkles and large head size), age 7. Chester is very bright and we practiced ‘sit’ during his stay. A snuggly boy who snores, I took Chester because he hadn’t been on a sleepover or outing for almost 2 months.

Madison, a young pit mix. A fairly new arrival at Best Friends, she's not even on the website yet. Really intelligent, and happily slept the night through. Only drawback - she's a covers hog who enjoys the middle of the bed.

Madison, a young pit mix. A fairly new arrival at Best Friends, she’s not even on the website yet. Really intelligent, and happily slept the night through. Only drawback – she’s a covers hog who enjoys the middle of the bed.

Clover, another fairly new arrival and her photo isn't on the website yet. A cattle dog mix, this young girl has good manners on leash and loves to disembowel toys. A rubber chicken and a small squeaky sheep were victims during our evening together.

Clover, another fairly new arrival from Texas and her photo isn’t on the website yet. A cattle dog mix, this young girl has good manners on leash and loves to disembowel toys. A rubber chicken and a small squeaky sheep were victims during our evening together.  She also adores tummy rubs.

These dogs and many others can be viewed through the Best Friends website and so if you are thinking about adoption, this website is well worth a look.

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Sanctuary

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

A sanctuary is a place of refuge or asylum.  Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah is a place of refuge for homeless animals; it is also a relaxing and peaceful place for the humans (like me) who visit and volunteer here.  Think of it as a refuge from the rat race of everyday work and life.

If you would like a holiday where you can give back and help homeless dogs and other animals, I hope you will think about Best Friends!

May Peace Prevail on Earth

Dedication on Peace Pole

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At Angels Rest

Posted on May 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

Today, I ate my lunch at Angels Rest, one of the two pet cemeteries at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  This large cemetery is the resting place of many animals including some sanctuary animals (in recent years, a new cemetery for sanctuary animals and the companion animals of Best Friends staff has been used).

This is truly a peaceful place and a fitting tribute to the role of animals in our lives.  It’s a wonderful location for some peace and quiet and reflection.

Here’s a number of photos and a brief video tour of Angels Rest:

gates from outsideAngel's Rest sign

windchimes

Niches within the walls hold urns and other memorabilia

Niches within the walls hold urns and other memorabilia

Many of the markers have been decorated by the owners of the animal

Many of the markers have been decorated by the owners of the animal

named graves

Mass graves

Don't Weep for Me

katrina memorialSaying stone

My sunshines comes

gates from inside

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Sleeping with Timothy

Posted on May 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

Firstly, I’d like to say that this will not be an x-rated post!

Timothy is my Sleepover Dog tonight from the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary.  Timothy was abandoned at the sanctuary, left to fend on his own on the property until someone found him.  This is a risky strategy because the area is home to mountain lions, rattlesnakes and other deadly creatures.

Timothy face shot

Because of the nature of his surrender, there are no records on why he was abandoned.  He’s a young boy of just over a year and he’s very sociable.

You may notice in these photos that Timothy is wearing a green collar.  Green collars signify dogs that can be handled by adults and children who visit the sanctuary.

Peeing Timothy

Timothy enjoyed riding in the car on the way home tonight.  He also let me know that he prefers to sleep on the bed, not the blanket that accompanied him in his overnight pack.

Timothy in car

Sleeping Timothy

I particularly find Timothy’s overbite appealing and so far, the only negative behaviours he’s shown is a liking for digging in the rubbish (a common characteristic of many dogs, which is very manageable) and a dislike for two people wearing large cowboy hats.

Sitting Timothy with overbiteTimothy with overbite

I’ll be submitting a full assessment form when I return Timothy to his kennel in the morning.

Timothy is a very trainable dog (he already knows sit) and would make someone a lovely pet.

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When a poodle isn’t a poodle

Posted on May 2, 2013 | 2 Comments

Poodle vs ferret

Last month, a story circulated worldwide about a man in Argentina who had purchased what he thought was two toy poodles from a local market for a bargain price.  The poodles turned out to be ferrets that had been loaded with steroids to plump them up and make them appear more like a poodle than a ferret.

I have two things that concern me:

1.  While some people focused on debates about ‘how dumb could the guy be….?’, my thoughts were – ‘what a shocking case of abuse.’

These ferrets were loaded with damaging steroids to make money.  There was no thought given to their welfare and the impacts on their health from the steroids.

2.  There is no such thing as a free lunch.  If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is…

When dealing with animals, people really need to think about quality.  Are they buying quality?  Is it a cheap product that could damage animal health (how many cases have we seen with cheap, spot-on flea treatments and the damage that they cause?)

In this case, the buyer should have questioned the bargain price.  At a minimum, he was probably purchasing a poodle with health problems resulting from poor breeding practice.  What he got was even worse, a different species of animal that had been altered to deceive…

So, in summary, I think it is good that this story was circulated.  However, I am disappointed the track that many media took about the story.    We need to put animals first.  Welfare of the animals is top priority.

What do you think?

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National Greyhound Adoption Month

Posted on April 11, 2013 | Leave a comment

April is National Greyhound Adoption Month in the USA.

Although Greyhound racing is increasingly banned in many parts of the country, breeders continue to produce large numbers of the dogs for the racing industry.  And when these dogs are too old to race, or not good earners at the track, their days are numbered…

Murray is a Greyhound currently up for adoption through Greyhounds as Pets

Murray is a Greyhound currently up for adoption through Greyhounds as Pets

Greyhound rescue groups around the globe need more adoptive homes for retired racing Greyhounds.  And they are prepared to get creative in their promotions.  Here’s a great ad from The Greyhound Project:

In New Zealand, a petition has been presented to the Green Party in Parliament to investigate the Greyhound industry.  Read about that initiative in my earlier (January 2013) posting.

If you are interested in adopting a Greyhound, please do some homework about whether this breed is for you.  Rescue groups are interested in finding forever homes for these beautiful dogs and have lots of information to help you make a decision.

SOME GREYHOUND TRIVIA

  • The greyhound is the only dog mentioned by name in the Bible. King James Version, Proverbs, 30:29-31
  • Greyhounds can reach speeds of 45 miles(72km) per hour
  • Greyhounds became the first European dog in the New World when they accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second expedition, which set sail from Spain in September 1493

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The Full Tummy Project

Posted on March 23, 2013 | 1 Comment

I love true stories about how dogs bring people together.  This one comes from Florida, where people at The Doglando Foundation have created the Full Tummy Project.

The Full Tummy Project sets up every Thursday evening at the Global Outreach Center in Bithlo, Florida (east of Orlando, home to DisneyWorld) to provide food and other essential supplies to homeless pet owners.

photo courtesy of Pets of the Homeless

photo courtesy of Pets of the Homeless

The Center has traditionally provided meals for the poor and homeless (like most soup kitchens and homeless shelters), but the folks at the Doglando Foundation recognized that many homeless also own animals and the animals suffer from their poor living conditions and inability to pay for veterinary care.

“Between 5 to 10 percent of homeless people have dogs or cats, and in some [rural] areas of the country, it’s as high as 24 percent,” says Renee Lowry, executive director of Pets of the Homeless, a national organization that helps provide food, medical care and assistance to homeless people who need help caring for their animals.

People are homeless for many reasons; for example some have mental illness but others have lost their jobs in the enduring recession and have had mortgages foreclosed.  The family, including the family pet, ends up on the streets.

So the Full Tummy Project is a soup kitchen for animals and there are currently over 150 families registered with the project.

Orlando Weekly cover

The Orlando Weekly covered the stories of the people involved in the Full Tummy Project, so read the full story by clicking on the Orlando Weekly cover page above.

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Dogs and history: blood transfusions

Posted on February 17, 2013 | 1 Comment

A little bit of history in this post.  Did you know that the dog had a key role in the development of blood transfusion technology in humans?

Unfortunately, this is a story of animal experimentation.

blood tranfusion bag

In the early 1600s, an English physician named William Harvey explored the circulatory system and declared that ‘blood must continuously circulate.’  For the next 50 years, more work was done to understand the circulatory system.  Dogs were unfortunately chosen for animal experimentation and they were injected intravenously with a range of fluids including opium, wine and ale.

In 1665, English physician Richard Lower drained the blood out of a dog almost to the point where it had no blood volume left and was on the verge of death.  He then took a larger dog and replaced the blood supply.  (Poor dogs)

If you are really interested in the topic of human blood donation, this Science Show video on YouTube explains the whole history of human blood donation…

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Winners of Inspiration in Action awards

Posted on January 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

Heska Corporation has announced the winners of its 2012 Inspiration in Action awards.  They are:

Peter Emily logoGrand prize winner ($25,000) – Peter Emily International Veterinary Dental Foundation

Kindred Canines

Second place ($10,000) – Kindred Canines in Motion

Christian veterinary

Third place ($5,000) – Christian Veterinary Mission (a veterinary shuttle for the Navajo Nation)

Congratulations to the winners and to Heska Corporation for giving back to the community!

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Investigating the NZ Greyhound racing industry

Posted on January 25, 2013 | 1 Comment

Greyhound

The Greyhound Protection League in New Zealand claims that there are over 10,000 greyhounds unaccounted for in the country at present, with a further one thousand unaccounted for annually.   You can sign a petition that requests that the relevant Ministers use their statutory powers to conduct an independent investigation into New Zealand’s greyhound racing industry, and that this information be made publicly available.

By signing this petition, you ask for an independent investigation that makes public:

  • The number of greyhounds bred and imported annually for the racing industry
  • The number of greyhounds retired annually through the Greyhounds as Pets scheme, other agencies or privately*
  • The number of injuries which occur annually in all racing-related activities (such as training, trialing, and competing)
  • The number of greyhounds euthanased annually due to race-related injuries
  • The number of greyhounds euthanased annually for other reasons (and what these reasons are).

*Private rehoming can typically fall into two categories: household pets or breeding stock for pig hunting. As the welfare implications of greyhounds as pig hunting stock may be significantly different than those of a household pet, it would be prudent to define whether a “private adoption” is for the purpose of hunting stock or pet.

Interested?  SIGN HERE.

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