pet connection

Of all the petcentric blogs I read on a regular basis, few are as unflinchingly unsentimental as Nathan Winograd’s.   In “The Tragedy of San Francisco,” Winograd adopts an entirely new tone.   Mourning the end of San Francisco’s tenacious defense of the animal community, his sadness is palpable.

The San Francisco SPCA—first under Sayres, then under his hand-picked acolyte, Daniel Crain, and now under Jan Smith—abandoned all pretensions to No Kill entirely. The Law & Advocacy Department doesn’t exist anymore, closed by Sayres. And today, the SPCA turns needy animals away from its $30-million state-of-the-art fee-for-service animal hospital; even though it claimed the hospital was necessary to help needy animals. It allows the brutal city shelter to kill animals, choosing to impound more “highly adoptable” ones from outside the city. It even kills savable animals itself, something that I would have called “unthinkable” if you asked me about the possibility in those early, heady days. And it is leading the fight against a No Kill San Francisco—backed by our former enemies because of their promotion of killing, the regressive ASPCA and Humane Society of the United States—in hearings before the cowardly Animal Welfare Commission, the very same Commission it stood in front of in 1993, demanding that they embrace it. Oh how times have changed.

That’s just one paragraph.  Please read the rest of Nathan’s post.

A guide dog’s last marathon journey: I am forever in awe of the tireless dedication of working dogs.   Comet, a Labrador retriever, was suffering from cancer of the spleen, but he loyally and successfully guided his owner home from a 120-mile trip across Great Britain.   And that was the last act of assistance he performed.  Rest in peace, Comet.  You were a very, very good dog.

May is free eye exam month for working dogs:   For the month of May, veterinary clinics across the country will be offering free eye exams for working dogs as part of the 3rd annual ACVO/Merial National Service Dog Eye Exam Event.    I’d like to give a particular shout out to the great folks at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine, who will be participating in the event.   Pet Connection’s favorite veterinarian at Purdue is, of course, our very own Dr. Tony Johnson.  For registration information and qualification details, click here.

Creative (and inexpensive!) parrot toy: Although Pet Connection was well-represented last month at the Global Pet Expo and our team saw the thousands of products displayed in Orlando, that doesn’t mean you can’t create engaging products for your own pets.   Here’s a fun toy for parrots, courtesy of Best in Flock.  All you need are dixie cups and a leather string.  Check it out!

Friends don’t let friends’ pets root for certain teams: This is just embarrassing.

Finally,….

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I always like to hear from readers, especially if you have tips, and links for interesting stories.  Give me a shout in the comments, or better yet, send me an e-mail.

Photo credits: Kittens, NathanWinograd.com. Comet: Ross Parry Syndication.

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