pet connection

Pet killing debate now high profile issue in Illinois: This November, Illinois voters will be going to the polls to select a new governor.  You remember the whole Rod Blagojevic mess?  Well, he was replaced by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn.  Quinn (a Democrat) is now running for election in his own right, and last week came out with a statement about who his prospective running mate might be:

“I think it’s important for our lieutenant governor to be someone who loves dogs,” Quinn said.

That might sound a little odd for a governor’s race, but The Huffington Post tells us the remark has its roots in an ongoing debate over the use of the carbon monoxide gas chamber to kill shelter pets in multiples.

In 2009, the Illinois legislature passed a bill banning the use of carbon monoxide gas chambers for the mass [killing] of dogs. At the time, Sen. [Bill] Brady voted against the bill. And recently, just days after the Feb. 2 primary [for the GOP nomination]  he introduced a new bill to re-legalize the practice.

Brady took considerable flak over the proposed legislation from the Humane Society [of the United States] and the story garnered a good deal of media coverage.

According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Brady was pretty quick to back off this porcupine:

Brady  gutted the legislation Wednesday and turned it over to another sponsor after the Humane Society of the United States condemned the measure and characterized the procedure as cruel.

“A constituent asked me to do it, and I have an obligation to represent my constituents,” Brady said.

“I was never for it, but I thought it was a subject that deserved discussion. But the politics surrounding me being the nominee created an environment that’s more attack mode than discussion mode, so we shelled the bill.”

The Sun-Times reports the “constituent” was an animal-control facility in Brady’s district, apparently one with management that believes killing pets in a cruel and terrifying way is preferable to, you know, just plain old killing them. Someone, please, get those people information on building a no-kill community. Or better yet, replace them with people who at least live in this century.

Oly the Olympic puppy: You may have seen something about a bunch of winter sports taking place in and near Vancouver over the last couple weeks.  Jordan Malone is an American short-track skater. He didn’t have a great Olympics, but he did have a best friend who got him through it all.

Uncanny canine carousel carvings: You may know Tim Racer as one of the co-founders of BADRAP. However, you might not know about Tim’s phenomenal talent in creating drop-dead gorgeous canine carousel sculptures.   Tim takes up to 700 hours getting these works of art exactly right, and has been known to fly across the country to meet his models, using the opportunity to take precise measurements with calipers.   Thanks to Susan and Gina for tipping me off to this SFGate article.

So what does “Cami Missy Diva Piglet Punky Girl” mean? I’m a sucker for psychological discussions that try to analyze tidbits about me and use those little factoids to draw broad-brush conclusions.    This one from Forbes Magazine is perfect, then.  What you name your pet gives clues as to your personality.

Your dog’s name says a lot about who you are. “The name of a dog reflects the personality and sense of humor of the owner,” says Lisa Peterson, spokeswoman for the American Kennel Club. “For example if you name your toy poodle ‘Brutus,’ that shows a sense of irony.”

Ok, so maybe I won’t learn as much as I hoped, but you should still check it out.

Funny things that veterinary clients say: PetConnection BFF Dr. Patty Khuly has a funny piece on Dolittler about great stuff uttered by her clients.  The comments yield even more, so be sure to read them too.

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 email.

Image:  Ruff weekend on the campaign for state Sen. Bill Brady (HuffPo image).

When the Los Angeles Superior Court ruled in December of last year that L.A. Animal Services could no longer participate in any program to neuter and release feral cats, the sheer scope of the order hit the animal welfare world like a sledgehammer. Today, the No Kill Advocacy Center and the Los Angeles Stray Cat Alliance, a TNR group, are fighting back with the filing of a lawsuit calling the ruling unconstitutional and in violation of state law.

I spoke with NKAC director Nathan Winograd, who said the judge’s order in the case, known as Urban Wildlands Group vs. the City of Los Angeles, was unconstitutional, ignored state law, and was incredibly far-reaching.

The judge issued a writ that prevented the city from even telling people that there were services available anywhere in the community. It prohibited the city from waiving trap rental fees for trap-neuter-release programs. It ordered city shelters to stop releasing feral cats to rescue groups.

The court even went so far as to tell city shelters they could not change any laws that would allow any kind of TNR initiative in the future. The order oversteps the authority of the court, telling legislators they can’t pass laws. It also violates California’s Hayden law, which explicitly gives rescue groups right to take those cats who are going to be killed.

The ruling is so far-reaching that all the shelters were ordered to remove from their premises any literature that even expresses support for TNR, including independent magazines in the shelter waiting rooms. We think this order is unconstitutional, and we are going to make that argument in court.

Representing us pro bono is national law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, and they have filed an emergency motion in superior court asking the court to allow us to intervene as defendants in the case, as if they sued us instead of the city. We have heard the city may not appeal, so we would appeal the court’s order as the intervener-defendant. Even if the city does decide to appeal, we believe that the law impacts our interests in a very significant way, and believe we will provide a more vigorous defense of the cats.

We believe we have an incredibly strong case both as to our motion to intervene and the legal merits of the court order, which is so wide ranging and ignores several facts of law.

One, we don’t believe the city actually has a TNR program. It’s being done by rescue groups and volunteers. The city only provides low cost vouchers for spay and neuter.

Even if the court finds that constitutes engaging in a TNR program, the claims by the Wildlands Group is barred by statute of limitations, as the city has been doing it for years. Their action was not filed in timely manner.

Last, the order went too far and impinged on the sovereignty of the legislative branch in telling it that it can’t make laws that are constitutional.

Aside from the legal issues, we want to make it clear we’re not willing to allow the Urban Wildlands Group to turn back the clock on shelter policies to the dark age of catch and kill, and make it the official policy of the city of Los Angeles. We also don’t think it addresses the real cause of bird species decline, namely, human activities and pollution.

One of the other things we’re going to cite is that Urban Wildlands takes great pains to say they’re not advocating for the killing of cats, but that is exactly the effect of the ruling. One of the studies we’re bringing before the court is a 2006 study in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, looking at all shelters in Ohio over an 8-year period. It found that only one shelter had cat deaths dropping instead of rising, and it was the only one with a TNR program.

In 2008 or 2009, there was a study Alley Cat Allies brought to light, a national study conducted by the Harris Poll that found that over 80 percent of respondents thought it was more humane to leave a cat in the street if they knew animal control would put a cat to death.

Given that L.A. city shelters can’t discuss TNR, or refer people to a rescue group, or offer low cost spay/neuter vouchers, or release a feral cat back to the person calling animal control about the cat, the net effect will be an increase in the number of free roaming ferals in the city of Los Angeles. So even if the goal is to reduce numbers to reduce predation, this ruling acts in opposition to that goal.

Winograd said that one of the attorneys involved in the case also represented the NKAC in its previous successful lawsuit against the county of Los Angeles about the rights of access for rescue groups to animals in the county shelters. They expect a fairly rapid ruling on their request to be recognized as an intervener-defendant, which will be heard by the same judge who issued the order. If he rejects it, they’ll appeal, and a different judge would hear the case at that time.

Hi everyone.  I’m back from sunny, gorgeous San Diego.  We won’t discuss how wonderful it was, because it’s currently cold and snowy again here in New England.  Meanwhile, a Scottie won at Westminster.  Yawn. (Unless you’re Terrierman, in which case you  furiously explain everything that’s wrong about the Scottish Terrier while taking yet another easy shot at fat people.)

Natural disasters, love, hope, human failings and survival. Of the thousands of heartbreaking stories to have come out of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, few were as saddening as the struggles of the thousands of pets left behind in the flood waters and devastation.  Philly Dawg introduces us to “Mine”, an Independent Lens PBS documentary, debuting this week.  “Mine” is an examination of love, despair, and the heroic efforts of rescuers and pets alike.   Check your local listings for airtimes.

We’ll pass on his cookbooks, thanks: 77-year-old chef Beppe Bigazzi was suspended Wednesday from his popular morning show on Italian TV after he offered a recipe for preparing “cat stew,” and said he had enjoyed the dish many times:

When his 27-year-old female co-host looked stunned as Bigazzi said he has eaten cat stew “many times,” the white-haired, grandfather figure defended his tastes.

“Why, people maybe don’t eat rabbit, chicken, pigeon?” Bigazzi said. He could have added horse meat, which many butchers and supermarket meat departments stock.

“Who’s not fat, kills the cat,” is how Bigazzi began his lighthearted prattle about cat stew.

Bigazzi claimed cat stew was a Tuscan specialty near the Arno river valley, but co-host Elisa Isoardi looked so embarrassed she ducked behind a cart of fresh salad greens whose healthy virtues the two were supposed to be chatting about.

Italian law protects cats from Bigazzi’s stew pot, officials noted. For those who understand Italian, the “humor” that has probably ended his career is apparently a hit on YouTube. You find that on your own, sorry.

No more doggies in the windows: West Hollywood, Calif.,  is about to enact an ordinance banning the sale of pets by retail pet stores.

Councilman Jeffrey Prang said the move would strike a blow to puppy mills and other cruel, assembly-line breeding. [...] More than 500 independent pet shops nationwide, including 38 in California, refuse to sell puppies in their stores.   Under the West Hollywood proposal, all pet stores would have to stop selling cats and dogs by September 2011.

Although it’s not the end of the industry, any law on any level that chips away at puppy mills is fine with me.

Anti-fur, meet anti-civility.  Again. All of you who follow the world of figure skating probably remember a kerfuffle over American skater Johnny Weir wearing white fox fur at at the U.S. National Championships.   In my humble opinion, Shirley at YesBiscuit nails this one perfectly (and eloquently, too) with a delicious, concise paragraph.

Gee, I wonder how receptive Weir will be in future to education on fur farming. I’m guessing slightly less than zero. It would have been a good opportunity to share an opposing view without condemnation but that’s probably lost now. And it’s a shame because I have no doubt he will be a huge fashion designer one day soon. So thanks all you death threat mailing, bucket of red paint throwing, creepy stalker types — way to help your cause.

Dickens’ collar: There are dozens of reasons why it’s great to see our friend Maria Goodavage writing for the Dogster blog, including wonderful tidbits like this.   A dog collar selling for over $11,000 at auction might sound silly, until you learn that the collar was used by Charles Dickens’ dog.  Good, sturdy leather and brass, too.  What else would you expect from one of the greatest writers in the history of English literature? (I meant Dickens … no offense, Maria.  You’re great, too.)

Pawsitively lovely protection: My mother likes animals, but what she really loves is fashion.   Hence, she was my source for this NYT photo essay on the latest in high end paw-wear, aimed specifically at city-dwelling pooches.  My only editorial comment on the highlighted items is this: Selling boots for dogs by the PAIR (instead of four) is sneaky.  Seriously, are you going to get boots for the left but not the right, or front but not the back?  I didn’t think so.

Perfect parrot with an off-switch: African Grey parrots are apparently brilliant birds  — remember Alex, who had an obituary in the New York Times and a best-selling memoir? — but they’re a lot of work to live with.  Think messy, bright and inquisitive toddler who never, ever shuts up. Fun, sometimes, but … well, not for everyone. If you’d like to enjoy a parrot pal, but only occasionally, you can check out streaming video of Bibi. So notes “Heckled By Parrots” blogger Rebecca O’Connor, who knows a thing or two about living with an African Grey herself. … and staying with the avian theme, check out the best in parrot foraging toys on the Best In Flock blog.

Human Choice? Check the ingredients: Gina mentioned the problem with the HSUS’ new dog food earlier this week, based on the sound thrashing given it on Terrierman. Raised by Wolves blogger Heather Houlahan has an even funnier take on the issue of feeding dogs like chickens.  Read the fine print, bottom line.

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 email.

Photo credits: Katrina puppy, pbs.org.  Dickens’ collar, Bonhams.

Your presidential pet fact of the day:

According to the Presidential Pet Museum, only two U.S. presidents were completely pet-free while in office: Chester A. Arthur and Franklin Pierce. All other presidents and their families have shared their lives with many different companion animals, starting with George Washington, who was well-known for his fine eye for a good foxhound. The presidential pets have had a lot of interesting names, but perhaps the one that says most about the power of the presidency is the name James Garfield gave to his dog: Veto.

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How much do I love Glenye Oakford of “Full Cry: A Hound Blog”? So much that she and I are pitching an article together  to the Smithsonian magazine on a historical topic related to horses, lawyers and land grants.  But you don’t have to wait until (if) we get to write that piece to enjoy her writing. Get over there and read:

• About what those who follow the hounds do when the footing’s too treacherous for horses: They break out the beagles and go for a long, brisk walk.
• About a mysterious hunting horn bought for a song at an auction in Zimbabwe.
• About the work of the houndsmen, part 1 and part 2.

While the rest of us are pretty much writing about the same shared topics — even if not the same shared point of view — there is absolutely nothing else on Teh Internets that’s even remotely like “Full Cry.” Fascinating stuff, and I’m utterly hooked.

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Start with the really, really bad idea of turning carnivores into vegans. Or better yet, stop with that idea. If you want a vegan pet, get a rabbit. If you have dogs and cats, feed them in a species appropriate way. To do otherwise is not humane, even if the Humane Society of the United States says so.

But the idea of vegan carnivores isn’t the only thing wrong with the new “food” from the HSUS. As Terrierman notes:

How much of a kickback is HSUS getting? They’re pocketing a 6 percent kickback from the wholesale price of each 6.6-pound bag of dog food sold, and that’s money that comes straight out of the pocket of anyone buying this dog food.

What? The dog food is being sold in a 6.6-pound bag?

Yes, that’s what the HSUS press release says.

Apparently you can never have too much packaging in an “environmentally friendly and ethically responsible” dog food!

Of course at the price this dog food is going for — $18 for a 6.6 pound bag — no one would even think of buying a 20- or 40-pound bag of the stuff.

And what about freshness?

Well, I can assure you that this dog food will be about as fresh as any dog food can be after it bounces from warehouse to warehouse for 5,000 miles across the steaming-hot equator.

And what is in this dog food made out of?

The first five ingredients are ground canola seed, brown rice, soybean meal, buckwheat, and flaxseed.

Eh? That’s not dog food, that chicken food!

Read the rest. And note: For far less than $3 a pound you can feed your pet while supporting local, sustainable family-owned ranchers and farmers. Join a buying co-op, or make some bulk buys with friends. Really, it’s damn easy to to feed your entire family in a healthier, cheaper way that supports family farms and ranches, not questionable foreign imports or massive U.S. food processors and agribiz. Support a farmer as if your life depends on it, because it does.

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David was on the road over the weekend, but still managed to find a piece about … DUCKS! Turns out that it’s true what Pet Connection BFF Dr. Patty Khuly and I have been warning all along: Chickens and ducks are a gateway drug as far as livestock is concerned. You get one. You want more. The next think you know, you have a goat. And it won’t stop there.  The City of Cambridge, Mass., knows if they allow a duck or chicken, the next thing they’ll be looking at is a stockyard. Or a professor of medieval English literature. Either way: Bad news.

From the Boston Globe:

In the photograph, Penelope, Potassium and Ferdinand pose in a backyard looking as cute as can be. But the Cayuga ducks and their two Wyandotte chicken companions, Henrietta and Frances, may have to leave their coop — if the city of Cambridge gets its wish.

Cambridge has determined that the backyard birds are illegal and violate city ordinances. And for the past 11 months, the birds’ owners have been locked in a fight with city officials and their neighbors over their residency.

The city’s zoning board and inspectional services department have agreed [with a cranky pants neighbor], saying the birds were not considered customary pets like dogs and cats and must go. [The owners] filed an appeal in December, in a futile attempt to save the birds. They also launched a website called savetheducks.org.

But the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals rejected their plea on Thursday. Now the group is turning to the City Council for one last reprieve.

Seriously, if there’s a smell or fly problem, fix the problem. The problem isn’t the poultry: It’s the people. Lighten up Cambridge. Save the ducks. And the Wyandottes, too.

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No, of course it all can’t be light and amusing.  The Anchorage Daily News reports on a cost-saving measure by one Alaska town that decided it was cheaper to shoot their shelter dogs rather then put any effort into finding them homes or even killing them humanely. Authorities there are befuddled that anyone sees a problem here.  Hey, Mr. Mayor: “Common practice” isn’t an excuse.  Incest is common practice, too, after all.

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But … we end on a good note!

Pet Connection pal Laura Bennett of Embrace pet health insurance has asked us to help get the word out on the first-ever conference for pet-related bloggers, and I’m happy to do so. It’s BlogPaws 2010, and it’s being held April 9 & 10 in Columbus, Ohio.  I’m on a world-of-hurt book deadline this spring — yes, that’s a good thing — and also giving a keynote address in Houston that same month at the Texas Federation of Animal Care Societies conference, so I won’t be there except in spirit. Maybe next year!

Finally: Christie and our Dr. Becker are en route to the Western Veterinary Conference in Las Vegas, and they’ll both be writing from there this week, and maybe Dr. Tony, too. So stay tuned.

Image: President Garfield. Just say “Veto.”

Got something cool to share? Toss it in the comments. And David’s back, so you can also let him know by e-mail.

The Pet Connection team has a notable presence in the new issue of The Bark magazine.

Christie on the realities of no-kill today: Yes, our very own Christie Keith has a feature article in the current issue on the no-kill movement, which is both the hottest, most controversial  issue in sheltering today and the most promising. Since the magazine’s articles are not available on Teh Interwebs, you’ll just have to go to your newsstand and pick up a copy, or better yet, do what I’m doing: Get yourself a subscription!  To whet your appetite, I’ll give you a snippet of Christie’s piece:

For decades, the dream of a no-kill nation was considered exactly that: a dream. Yet today, communities across the country are closing in on the promise of saving all their healthy and treatable dogs and cats. Almost all organizations involved in tracking shelter data, including the Humane Society of the United States and Maddie’s Fund, estimate that the number of animals killed annually in shelters has plummeted from more than 25 million in the 1970s to around four million today. The United States has never been closer to becoming a no-kill nation than it is at this moment. But will we ever get there?

Best, brightest … and here: But wait, there’s more.  Our own Gina Spadafori gets a mention in this issue, as well.  She has been named one of the 100 best and brightest figures in the dog world, as well as Pet Connection’s Dr. Narda Robinson, of Colorado State University.  Now how totally cool is that?  Brava Christie, Dr. Narda and Gina!  Other names on the list most likely to be familiar to Pet Connection readers include:

• Nathan Winograd, no-kill movement trailblazer
• Dr. Kate Hurley, shelter medicine pioneer
• Dr. Robin Downing, pain medicine expert
• Dr. Nancy Kay, internal medicine specialist and author of the  Speaking for Spot blog
• Dr. Paul Pion, world-famous veterinary cardiologist and founder of the Veterinary Information Network and the  VIN News Service
• Dr. Donald Strombeck, who wrote the book on home-prepared diets
• Dr. Marion Nestle, truth-teller, food industry expert and author of the Food Politics blog
• Dave Duffield, founder of Maddie’s Fund
• Richard Avanzino of Maddie’s Fund
• Wayne Pacelle of the  HSUS

It’s not the first time Dr. Pion and Gina Spadafori have been on a magazine’s “Best of” list, by the way: Cat Fancy magazine named their book “Cats For Dummies” as one of the top 100 events of the 20th century for cats.

The pet beats the honey: If you’ve walked past any card store, flower store or jewelry store in the past week, you know that Valentine’s Day will soon be upon us.  I’m not a big fan of the “holiday” for my own reasons, but MSNBC.com warmed my heart with the assertion that one in every five adults would rather spend Feburary 14 with their pet.

The survey of 24,000 people in 23 countries found 21 percent of adults would rather spend February 14 with their pet than their spouse, although the French were least likely to choose a furry friend over a human, with only 10 percent taking that option.

Bayer allows Advantage and K-9 Advantix to be  sold via retail: Edie Lau at the VIN News Service says we can expect to see wider retail sale of some flea-and-tick products from here on in.    Although you’ve been able to buy Bayer’s Advantage and K-9 Advantix through some online vendors and feed stores (which use legitimate but murky “gray market channels”), far more retail and internet outlets have been kept out of the selling of these products.  Some veterinarians aren’t pleased with the development.

Expressing a resentment shared by others, Dr. Carl Darby, a practitioner in Seneca Falls, N.Y., wrote in an online discussion on the Veterinary Information Network (VIN): “I hope that Bayer understands that losing their highly educated, motivated and dedicated free sales force may have long-term impacts on their business, and it may be difficult for them to regain the trust of the profession.”

It’ll be interesting to see if other companies follow Bayer’s lead.

Teen kidnaps puppy to save it: Bronson Stewart is 19 years old and lives in New Zealand.  His puppy was hit by a car and badly injured.  When the family couldn’t pay for the surgery, they elected for euthanasia to end the dog’s suffering.  Bronson wouldn’t accept that.

“I just knew I had to get my dog back. He’s like my brother,” Stewart told TV One’s “Closeup” program Wednesday.

“They can’t just kill him because I haven’t got any money.”

Stewart went to the veterinary clinic last Friday and asked to see Buck, grabbed the little dog and ran home.

Things got dicey after that, but it has a happy ending, promise.  Go read.

Note: This is where I usually remind you to send links or tips for stories to me, but I’ll be out of town for a few days, and Gina will be pitching in for Monday’s column, so send tips and links to petconnection@gmail.com.  See you next week.

Photo credit: Millie, thebark.com.