pet connection

I’m back! I am telling myself you missed me terribly, so don’t disillusion me. I was in Los Angeles at the Xena: Warrior Princess convention, and yes, I was working, but also yes, I’d have gone anyway. I am just that geeky.

I was digging through a pile of email that reaches to the virtual ceiling. I go through my email backwards, which can be confusing, but it does mean that while I haven’t read my Google alerts from last week, I did read one that bounced in a few minutes ago.

Seems Florida’s Palm Beach County is considering a mandatory spay/neuter law, and some kind constituent sent each of the county commissioners, the ones who’ll be voting on the issue, a copy of Nathan Winograd’s “Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America” to assist them in making this decision that will impact the lives of dogs, cats, and people in their county.

Now it seems that one of the commissioners, Burt Aaronson, has no plans to read the book, saying, “If people want me to read something, they could have enclosed a letter: ‘We’d like you to read this, we’re giving it to you as a gift.’”

Wow, commissioner, you’re a tough guy to do a favor for. It wasn’t enough that this constituent purchased the book and sent it to you, you wanted them to schmooze you up, too?

The rest of the story’s here.

And hey, did you miss my lame headlines? Or just me in general?

I’m reviewing a book for the Pet Connection syndicated feature. I don’t get much room for those reviews, just enough to give readers an idea of what the book is about. And I’m not going to “spoil” the review for you here.

I just wanted to share a small excerpt from the book itself, because it took me by surprise and gave me hope, and I thought it might brighten your hearts, too.

The book is Bonnie Silva’s “Fifteen Legs,” and it’s the account of the nationwide network of animal rescue transporters who move dogs, cats, and other animals from areas where they’re unlikely to be adopted to foster and forever homes.

But this post isn’t about rescue transport, nor even Silva’s book. It’s about a network of cat lovers caring for a feral colony in Newburyport, Mass. The cats live in a waterfront area full of expensive shops and restuarants, and were becoming a nuisance, stealing food off the diners’ plates in the summer, and mewling pitifully outside the restaurants in the winter.

Several residents went to the head of the local Chamber of Commerce, herself a cat lover, and suggested something be done to help the cats, and in 1992, the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society was formed.

And all that’s very wonderful and heartwarming, but it’s not the part that made me cry. This is:

We have twelve feral cats living on the waterfront right now that are fed out of four feeding stations by thirty-five devoted volunteers who are there twice a day feeding and caring for the kitties. The volunteers are all between twelve to fifteen years of age.

Twelve to fifteen years of age. Go give those kids some love.

Yesterday I went to San Francisco to get some errands done (this week I’m driving the 2008 version of our DogCars.com Best in Show, the Honda Element). Stopped off at Christie’s to have lunch and have her cut my hair. (In another life, Christie owned a handful of chic salons in SF and is the only one who really “gets” my thick, curly mop.) Became re-aquainted with her sweet Rebel, the gorgeous 130-pound Scottish Deerhound who makes my retrievers and shepherd seem small, and Miss Kyrie Borzoi in all her silken elegance. Christie’s mom, too, who understands that me giving her last name to my dog McKenzie is a compliment.

I had Heather and Drew with me, and they enjoyed seeing Christie, too. In all the time I’ve had Drew, Christie had never met him. They liked each other, no surprise.

In addition to her work for the Pet Connection and SFgate.com, Christie’s also the editor at PetHobbyist.com.

From Christie’s Dogged blog:

One of the PetHobbyist.com family of websites, RescueNetwork.org, is presenting an evening with Nathan Winograd as the opening event of its 10th Annual Chat Week — which is, in honor of the anniversary, going to be Chat MONTH this time around. Please help spread the word, thanks!

An Evening with Nathan Winograd
Friday, February 1, at 9 PM Eastern Time

The event is free. For more information or to sign up for a free email reminder of the chat:

http://www.rescuenetwork.org/articles/NathanWinograd.html

Nathan Winograd’s 2007 book “Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America” set off a firestorm of controversy — and inspired an army of animal lovers across the country, calling for serious reform of the American shelter system and an end to the use of killing as a tool of animal population control.

RescueNetwork.org is proud to present an evening with Nathan Winograd as the opening event of PetHobbyist.com’s Tenth Annual Chat Month. Please join us on Friday, February 1, at 9 PM Eastern Time in the Auditorium. In addition to authoring “Redemption,” Winograd is the director of the national No Kill Advocacy Center. He is a graduate of Stanford Law School, a former criminal prosecutor and attorney, was director of operations for the San Francisco SPCA and executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA, two of the most successful shelters in the nation. He has spoken nationally and internationally on animal sheltering issues, has written animal protection legislation at the state and national level, has created successful No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities, and has consulted with a wide range of animal protection groups including some of the largest and best known in the nation.

Other guests during Chat Month will include Joan Miller, legislative analyst for the Cat Fanciers Association, and Karen Delise, author of “The Pit Bull Placebo.” More information and updates as they are announced, at this link:

http://www.pethobbyist.com/ChatMonth10.html

Hey Christie, weren’t you going to review “The Pit Bull Placebo” for Pet Connection?

***

By the way, the Element is still an awesome DogCar. This time I’m driving the 2008 SC, which is the sporty version, in a nifty sparkly root beer color. Manual transmission on the tester, which I like … or would have liked if holiday traffic hadn’t kept me on the freeway for more than four hours on the way home — it should be a two-hour trip. Folks, that’s a lot of shifting in stop-and-go traffic! On the other hand, the Element’s manual transmission is a kick in tight city traffic in downtown SF (but you’d better know what you’re doing to drive a stick on those hills in the neighborhood where Christie lives!)

News sources tell us that this is “Cyber Monday,” when everyone gets back to work and starts shopping online.

Don’t forget our books are perfect for holiday giving.

Our latest books are just out and we love how they turned out, especially with the wonderful illustrations from Molly Pearce:

“BowWow: Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales and Trivia Even Your Dog Won’t Know,” offers an entertaining blend of must-know fact and just plain fun. You can read an excerpt here.
>>Order here.

“MeowWow Curiously Compelling Facts, True Tales and Trivia Even Your CatWon’t Know,” ranges from the couch to the far-flung corners of the world for great fun and facts on cats. You can read an excerpt here.
>>Order here.

Earlier this fall, Dr. Becker and I teamed up with Audrey Pavia, former editor of Horse Illustrated magazine, and award-winning rider Teresa Becker (Dr. Becker’s wife) to add an equine edition to our New York Times best-selling “Why Do?” series. The result is “Why Do Horses Sleep Standing Up? 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered About Equine Enigmas, Medical Mysteries, and Befuddling Behaviors.” We’ve put something in there for everyone, from the from-afar horse-lover to long-time riders.
>> Order here.

And don’t forget we have some signed copies available of our top-selling “Why Do?” books from 2006 — and unlike holiday cookies, these stay fresh! Our friend Pam is selling signed copies through her online bookstore.

All of our books — Dr. Becker’s, mine, and the ones we’ve done together — can be found and ordered through our bookstore.

Need an added incentive? Send us a self-addressed, stamped, legal-sized envelope and we’ll send you a pair of BowWow and MeowWow cardstock bookmarks to go with your gift:

Pet Connection
Universal Press Syndicate
4520 Main Street
Kansas City, Mo. 64111

Please note that you’d like the bookmarks … we get a lot of mail!

Here’s our weekly Pet Connection syndicated column as it has appeared in our client newspapers across the country. In addition to the lead article on the no-kill nation — with a request to join in on the discussion–  Dr. Becker writes about sunblock for pets,  Susan and Dr. Rolan Tripp offer some attention-getting tips, and I review the zoomzoom four-door hatchback that’s the Mazda Speed3:

By Gina Spadafori
and Christie Keith
Universal Press Syndicate

Where others see death, Richard Avanzino sees hope. Where others see an intractable problem, Nathan Winograd sees a solution.

Together, the two men — one carrot, the other stick; one preaching evolution, the other revolution — are the visionaries of a grassroots movement to change the way the nation’s animal shelters do business.

Their vision is a no-kill nation, where no pet is killed for lack of a home. They say it’s not a dream, and it will be a reality.

“We think we will achieve success in less than 10 years,” said Avanzino, president of Maddie’s Fund. Based in Alameda, Calif., it was founded with the fortune of software moguls Dave and Cheryl Duffield and was named in memory of their dog.

Read the rest. And check out the full transcripts of Christie’s interviews here.  Join the discussion!