Yes, it’s time for PETA’s annual filing of the statistics from their death factory, as required by Virginia law, which for reasons pretty much passing all understanding thinks it’s a “humane society,” even though they kill virtually every animal who comes in their doors, every year, year after year.

Their 2010 statistics are here (PDF), but to give you an idea, they took in 1,553 cats and killed 1,507 of them, and 792 dogs and killed 693 of them.

In other words, out of 2,345 dogs and cats they took in under Virginia law as being for purposes of adoption — virtually all as owner-surrenders — they saved exactly 145 of them. Sixty-three of those were transferred to another Virginia facility (although their fates there are unknown) and 7 were reclaimed by owner, meaning they did a whopping 44 adoptions in the entire year.

No wonder they don’t believe in “no-kill”; they’ve never gotten a glimpse of what it means to be in favor of saving animals’ lives.

But by all means, fellow journalists, keep running to these pet-killers for quotes and commentary on animal welfare.

Sing it with me, Pet Connection readers: Why is anyone still listening to PETA?

According to board-certified veterinary criticalist Dr. Kelly Hall, the hope is that the University of Minnesota’s new trauma center model will be adopted by other large veterinary medical centers and teaching hospitals across the country, creating a network that will work collaboratively to continually develop methods to improve trauma patient care.

“By working collaboratively with leaders in the veterinary trauma field throughout the country, advancements in trauma care will be shared between centers rapidly, assuring the most severely injured patients have access to the most advanced therapies,” Hall said.

Like human trauma centers, the Animal Trauma Center will also provide leadership in education and research. The Animal Trauma Center designation reflects a depth of resources as opposed to just an ability to deliver medical care.

Let’s see more of these to come in other parts of the country!

Prop B to be reversed: We kept close track of Missouri’s Proposition B in November. Though it passed with 52 percent of the popular vote, the state Senate is now watering it down in a big way. Business Week reports the legislature is concerned Prop B will destroy the state’s dog breeding (read: puppy mill) industry.

Missouri has about 1,400 licensed commercial dog breeders, according to the Missouri Department of Agriculture. They amount to a $1 billion industry that employs thousands of people and spends millions of dollars annually on dog food, veterinarian services and utilities, said Sen. Mike Parsons, R-Bolivar, who is sponsoring the legislation reversing parts of the voter-approved initiative.

[...]
The Senate bill would strike a provision in the voter-approved initiative that limits businesses to owning 50 breeding dogs. It also would roll back various requirements on the dogs’ living conditions. For example, it would replace a mandate that water bowls remain free of debris, feces or algae with a general requirement for water to be provided in a safe container. Parsons had argued that, under the ballot initiative, breeders could be jailed if dog dropped a piece of food in its water bowl.

Specific language mandating that dogs have sufficient space to lie down or turn around in their cages? That’s being struck down. Plus more. Maybe the “Show Me” state could show some concern over the dogs forced to live their lives in these places?

Iditarod update: The 2011 Iditarod Sled Dog Race is underway in Alaska. Defending champion Lance Mackey’s team is seriously depleted, and two other teams have already withdrawn. Thanks to AP and the Anchorage Daily News for the updates.

Caution on Easter rabbits: Easter is April 24. For those considering buying a rabbit as an Easter gift, please don’t, unless you’ve thought it through very carefully. The House Rabbit Society gives you a few points to keep in mind.

• Rabbits are not “low-maintenance” pets, and are a poor choice as a pet for children.
• They have a lifespan of 10 years and require as much work as a dog or cat.
• Your home must be bunny-proofed, or Thumper will chew cords and furniture.
• Rabbits must be neutered or spayed or they will mark your house with feces and urine.
• They should live indoors, as members of the family.

Perhaps it might be better to consider the Make Mine Chocolate campaign. That’s right, I’m urging you to support your local chocolatier. You could send me some, too. Dark, please.

Work out with your dog! A fun iVillage slide show to remind you about the importance of getting enough exercise for your pooch – and yourself. Stay tuned for a post later today from me on the topic, too….

Caring for Cara: Do you read Covered in Cat Hair? Robin’s tale of the enduring struggle of monitoring her cat Cara’s ongoing health issue is exhausting, scary, and at the same time, it leaves me with lots of hope.

Al fresco in Poe’s back yard: Now here’s some legislation I can get behind. The state of Maryland is considering a bill to allow dogs to accompany diners in outdoor venues. Ever had fresh Chesapeake stone crab on a warm summer night in Baltimore? It’s worth trying, trust me. (thanks, NBCWashington)

Irony – Ur doin’ it right. Finally, a Thursday chuckle. Enjoy.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures,

Note: The news wrap is taking a short hiatus. You’ll be hearing from me plenty over the next week, but most of it will be from Global Pet Expo 2011 in sunny Orlando. I’ll be joined by a Pet Connection posse: Ericka, Gina and Dr. Becker. Plus, a cameo appearance by our own Dr. Tony. Hmmm, Dr. Becker, Dr. Johnson and yours truly in the same place? This could be fun (or dangerous, take your pick).

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 credit: UMN ATC screenshot courtesy KARE11.com. MMC logo, makeminechocolate.org.

The topic is dog coats. Not the fur, but the coat you buy so they can wear in the cold, ice and snow. The Wall Street Journal‘s Gwendolyn Bounds discusses the need for small, short-haired dogs or those without a good, thick undercoat to have extra protection in the winter.

“There’s no question in winter with rain, snow and ice that these dogs are more at risk because of their size and inability to keep body heat,” says [Dr.] René Carlson, president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Normal dog body temperature runs 101 to 102 degrees. A drop in body temperature of five or six degrees can put dogs at risk of low blood pressure and kidney damage, as well as decreased blood flow to the liver and brain, which can possibly lead to hypothermia.

Elderly or ailing animals may need to don extra layers, regardless of their breed, says [Dr.] Stephen Zawistowski, science adviser to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In the extreme cold, and particularly on salted walkways, consider booties, too.

Labradors are No. 1 again, maybe: Labrador Retrievers are the most popular dog in America for the 20th straight year, according to the American Kennel Club. The full list of breed rankings  is here, but pardon me for not giving this news top billing.  Here’s why: The AKC’s registration numbers have been falling steadily, and if a dog isn’t AKC registered, it doesn’t count. Most dogs, even purebreds, probably aren’t AKC registered these days. So an accurate accounting of the country’s top pooch is anyone’s guess. Maybe it is the Labrador retriever, but it could also be another breed. A good guess: the pit bull.

Big news from Petmate: Two important happenings were announced last week at pet-products giant Petmate (full disclosure: a Pet Connection sponsor). They acquired Bamboo Products, the folks who brought you Fat Cat. The bigger news is that Petmate itself has been bought by a private equity firm called Wind Point Partners, based in Chicago. Interesting developments.

PETA’s at it again: In the timeless logic of PETA, No Kill is the same thing as hoarding. Hey, I didn’t say it made sense, that it was correct, or that it was even a defensible statement, I just said that’s their logic. In the current issue of PETA’s Animal Times magazine, they make their case, such as it is (it’s not available online to link to). Gregory Castle points out the problem in his recent, wordy Best Friends blog post.

PETA’s presiding mentality on pets appears to overlap that of a hoarder at the motivational level: obsessive control of pets and an almost phobic aversion to risk when it comes to trusting the public with the care of animals.

Hoarders believe that no one but themselves can be trusted to look after their animals, so they keep them under lock and key. They are blind to the pain and suffering they inflict as a result of their obsessive risk aversion.

PETA, too, is obsessively risk-averse when it comes to pets. Like hoarders, they believe that most people can’t be trusted with the care of a pet, but rather than keep them under lock and key, PETA simply kills them or advocates for killing them. They, too, are blind to the effects of depriving an animal of its most fundamental right — the right to life.

That’s about right. Altogether everybody: Why is anyone still listening to PETA?

Baltic update: Remember Baltic? The dog who was found drifting on an ice floe last year? H was adopted by his rescuers, and he’d be the first to tell you life is good now. The story is at Dogster.

There’s no excuse: Fair warning — this story will make you very angry. An 11-week-old hairless Sphynx kitten was being transported from Utah to Connecticut. The flight landed in 7 degree temperatures, and then sat on the tarmac for close to an hour. Pawcurious hits the nail on the head.

This was totally preventable. TOTALLY.

Yes, it was.

Requiem for a clinic: The saddest article I read all week wasn’t about the loss of any single animal, but a Salon piece recounting the end of a veterinary clinic. I’d be very interested in the opinions of veterinarians out there on lessons to be drawn from the story.

Catty positions: I think this big chart should be enlarged and framed. I just love it.

Video time!!

Thanks to Ericka for this one. If I remember correctly, this ad for EDS debuted two years ago on Super Bowl Sunday. Cowboys herding cats.
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Simon’s Cat is having a tough time in the snow. I know this didn’t take place in our yard because you wouldn’t be able to see Simon behind the four foot high snowdrifts, and the bird would be a colorful block of ice.
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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 credit: Dog with coat, Getty Images.

My first-pass impressions of the “Meet the Breeds” booth — an idea the AKC borrowed from its U.K. counterparts’ Crufts show — triggered predictable responses. Patrick Burn, a/k/a Terrierman, was first into the fray, muttering about the canine “freaks” and the human “frauds” who show them. (To be fair, I had goaded him more than a little, sending him a picture from the “Parson Russell” booth of a trio of terrierists. “Ask any of them if they own a locator collar,” he snarled back.) Next in, Heather Houlahan of Raised by Wolves, her wrath prompted by the image of a smiling Leonberger. The Leo, like the border collie and others, is a breed that was “recognized” by the AKC over the intense objections of many of its breeders, who (quite rightfully) saw the move as a money-grab by an ailing organization that (quite accurately) has shown itself an institutional supporter of puppy-mills and a lip-service advocate for better canine health.

Thereafter followed “discussion” that mostly consisted of the desire to see the American Kennel Club bombed into tiny fragments, the pieces then bulldozed into a very deep pit  and covered with concrete. Seriously, if you think PETA hates the AKC, you haven’t listened to non-AKC breed advocates. Funny thing is, except for the bombing, bulldozing and cement-covering bits, I agree with these non-AKC breed advocates. The AKC, instead of changing its game to actually be what it pretends to be (‘the dogs’ champion”), is instead doubling down on the same bad bet that has plunged it into a state of financial retreat and increasing irrelevance.

But if you don’t want to toss all the reputable, ethical breed advocates who are more or less forced to work within the confines of the American Kennel Club, how can that organization be changed to do what’s right?

Mind you, I’m also not sure it can be. One need only look at the AKC/Eukanuba link at the top to see what the problem is: The marque event is the beauty pageant. You have to navigate back to the AKC home page to find information on the ugly stepchild championships, agility and obedience, that were also in the convention center (agility in the corner, obedience in the attic). And while I have put show championships on my dogs, it’s sort of because I have to do so  to be considered “reputable,” not least of which is by my county, which will not recognize my boy retriever’s hunting work as an acceptable excuse to allow him to keep his testicles under the breeding ban but happily considers his show championship as sign of his value to the future of his breed.

Believe me, I’m far happier with Woody’s ability to mark where a game bird falls, crash through cover and swim through anything to get there, locate the bird with his nose and bring it back than I ever could be with a few people’s opinion on how he trots around a show ring. Sadly, I’m forced to play the cards I’m dealt here.

As has been pointed out in discussions here many times, the fix is pretty easy for working dogs: No “beauty” titles without proving working ability. Throw in a well-planned outcross program to break genetic bottlenecks that make many breeds (including mine) tragically predisposed to cancer or other health disasters and ban “stud of the month” popularity-contest inbreeding and there you go. A performance requirement, along with a change in the beauty blueprint that is the breed standard, after all, would deny championships to the worst excesses of fashion in breeds that previously were working dogs, eliminating, for example, the shameful low-slung disaster that is the AKC’s show-quality German Shepherd Dog. (I tried to get pictures of these dogs walking on their rear heels instead of their toes at the show, but the light a ringside was just too dim.  And I was retching, which didn’t help.)

Other working breeds haven’t strayed as far afield. Aside from the cancer in flatcoats (and note: that’s one big hairy and completely unacceptable aside) you’ve still got a pretty damn good retriever, a great companion for an active home that can still do not only the work for which is was developed — hunting — but also excel at modern dog sport such as agility. (Above is my friend Teresa Rodney and her dog Sprint, who is my dog McKenzie’s littermate. T-Rod and Sprinty are world-class agility competitors, and at the AKC Invitational they blasted to second place in the most competitive division, a split second away from taking it all. Thanks to our mutual friend Debbie Best for the picture.)

But what do you do with a breed that has been developed for companionship only, like the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel? Or a breed whose purpose has long ago disappeared, like the Bulldog, a breed so utterly and completely destroyed by fashion that last summer at the American Veterinary Medical Association conference, I listened to a presentation where a top specialist said the only way to offer Bulldogs (and Pugs, too) a shot at a life not full of oxygen-deprived, overheated misery is to have their nostrils surgically widened and their soft palates clipped at the time they’re in for a spay or neuter, before the age of one year.  Otherwise, noted the veterinarian, many will have to be euthanized young when the build up of scar tissue from their struggles to breathe finally blocks their ability to do so. If, that is, they haven’t dropped dead from overexertion already from walking around the block on a mildly warm day. Folks, if breeding for an appearance not compatible with breathing or walking isn’t animal cruelty, it’s hard to imagine what would be.

Every time this topic  comes up here people with working dogs advise going to someone who breeds working dogs if you want a puppy from a certain breed or another. But as regular commenter Lis points out, where does that leave people who want a companion breed? Where do they go? And how can we fix breeds who have no working standard?

And more to the point: Is it possible to fix the American Kennel Club to force those fixes?

Sometimes I’m in the “blow ‘em up” crowd. Othertimes I’m not. Today … I don’t know. You?

Is your list of pet-related gifts completed yet? If not, relax; we’ve compiled a list of suggestions from across the media spectrum. We even checked it twice.

First, we’ve got a selection of gadgets from the Mashable gang. A few of them are ho hum, or been there, done that, but I have a personal favorite — bacon flavored bubbles.

Also from Mashable is the Cat Attack scratching post that makes kitteh feel like Catzilla. (Pictured; thanks to Susan F. for the tip)

The Orange County Register has suggestions of their own. You can check them out, but here are a few holiday factoids from a recent Pet Supplies Plus survey:

• 56 percent of pet owners will spend more on their pets than their in-laws.
• 58% of pets will unwrap their own gifts
• 49% of people will sing holiday songs to their pets
• 63% of people will make special holiday treats for their pets
• 19% of pets will have New Year’s resolutions made for them by their owners.

I just want to say that if I had the temerity to make a New Year’s resolution on Cami’s behalf, it would be broken by first thing New Year’s morning. She doesn’t like people putting words in her mouth…just breakfast, dinner, and the occasional snack.

Bird counting time: It’s December, so that means it’s once again time for the annual Christmas Bird Count. PetHobbyist links to the Audubon Society‘s story.

From December 14 through January 5 tens of thousands of volunteers throughout the Americas take part in an adventure that has become a family tradition among generations. Families and students, birders and scientists, armed with binoculars, bird guides and checklists go out on an annual mission – often before dawn. For over one hundred years, the desire to both make a difference and to experience the beauty of nature has driven dedicated people to leave the comfort of a warm house during the Holiday season.

If you want to get involved, click here.

Dr. Merck involved in new controversy: It was just a week ago that I noted an NPR profile of Dr. Melinda Merck, the animal CSI expert who works with the ASPCA. Dr. Merck is now at the center of a whole other kind of story, this one much less complimentary, and also much stranger. Read this odd tale from the Sun-Sentinel.

Censorship in the Old Dominion. I once lived in Arlington, Virginia, so this one caught my attention. There’s a dog park in the Shirlington neighborhood, and overlooking it is a 1,000 square foot wall-sized mural. That mural is the subject of a federal lawsuit. Why? Because there’s some question as to whether it’s art (permissible) or advertising (not so much at that size). Details at Business Week.

Those wacky, zany jokesters from PETA are at it again: PETA is a godsend for news hounds like me. I love them for exactly the same reason that late night comedians love Sarah Palin: you can never have enough great material at your disposal. This time, it’s about the Pope, animals, and condoms. I thought USA Today‘s Faith and Reason column was deliciously restrained in their reporting. Thanks, PETA. As long as you’re still in business, I’ll never run out of reasons to mock you.

Find Marisol! Marisol is a very cute, mixed breed 3 year-old dog from Medford, Mass.  She’s been missing for more than a month after a terrible moment at the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The Boston Globe reports that the search for Marisol is noteworthy because it has taken so many forms, thanks to the creativity of her owners, Andrew and Anindita. They met while working together at MIT’s Media Lab, so I retain hope that if Marisol can be found, they will find her.

Generosity from Paul Allen: The co-founder of Microsoft, Paul Allen, dropped out of Washington State University. Nevertheless, he has given the university’s current $1 billion campaign a boost. Allen donated $26 million — the largest single gift in the school’s history — to expand WSU’s School for Global Animal Health (SGAH). As a result, it has been renamed the Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. Thanks to the News-Tribune for the story.

Chicken wedding: I cannot end today’s column without giving due mention to a particular post from the Painting Puppies blog. Alert reader Cathy B. thought I might be interested in the post’s video about a momentous chicken wedding. Ok, not me so much as someone else on our staff who has a backyard collection of featherheads….

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 credit: Cat attack scratching post, mashable.com. Mural, ij.org. Marisol, boston.com.

The line of people waiting to adopt gathered even before the doors opened this morning for a free cat and kitten adoption special event.
Most of today’s 106 adoptions were cats, but 16 dogs were also adopted.
The organization’s largest adoption day on record was on Aug. 1, which was the first day they ever offered free adoptions for cats and kittens and were able to place 117 animals.

Meanwhile, in Johnson County, Kansas (outside Kansas City), adoption fees were waived for cats, and lo and behold, adoptions doubled. The Kansas City Star tells us a summer promotion was such a hit, they decided to extend the deadline, and….

Shelter officials said the summer promotion successfully gave adopters an extra incentive to take in adult cats — often the last to be adopted at animal shelters.
“It’s a good way for us to get them into homes quickly so they’re not staying in the shelter too long,” said Animal Haven spokeswoman Lindsay Haake.

The campaign allowed the shelter to bring in new adopters and free up space to save more animals.

“We pulled about 28 cats from a hoarding situation in western Kansas,” Haake said. “If the space wasn’t there we wouldn’t have been able to help out as easily.”

You know what that’s called, gang? Communities coming together.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the tracks….while I just highlighted what works, Nathan Winograd lambasted PETA for what doesn’t, namely disregarding all pretense of common sense and ignoring the reality of the no kill movement’s success.

Attention: Dog and cat killers. Ingrid Newkirk of PETA would like to protect you, shield you, promote you, and defend you. There is only one criterion: call yourself an animal shelter. It doesn’t matter if you kill in the face of readily available lifesaving alternatives.

Why should it? They do the same, every single day.

It doesn’t matter if you neglect and abuse them before you kill them. It doesn’t matter if you don’t feed them, it doesn’t matter if you allow puppies to drown in drains, and it doesn’t even matter if you beat them to death. PETA will champion your cause.

Of all the bloggers I read on a regular basis, few writers can match Nathan’s withering scorn when he’s on a roll.

My pet is lost — how can I get her back? One in three pets will get lost at some point in their lives. I know from personal experience the dread and horror in the pit of your stomach when you realize a pet is lost out there in the big, scary world. AOL’s Paw Nation gives us 10 invaluable tips on increasing the odds of getting the beloved dog or cat back safely and quickly. Take it from me, when you’re frantic and thinking the worst, what you really need is to be calm and think creatively. For that eventuality, perhaps you should print the column and keep it somewhere safe.

The First Dog’s summer vacation: Bo Obama had a better summer than I did, because Bo got to play on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. and Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse in Maine, and, well, I didn’t. Cami and Harry would like to point out that Bo’s front yard is also much nicer than theirs. True enough.

Anyway, Bo was kind enough to send us pictures of his summer vacation through our pals at People Pets. My favorite picture in the slideshow shows Bo marching down the front stairs of Air Force One. I presume he didn’t need to salute.

Our conflicted relationship with animals: In discussing Hal Herzog’s new book “Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat“, Kerry Lauerman of Salon asks questions worth pondering — we’re easily angered by videos of cats being “binned” in England and puppies thrown off a bridge, yet, our relationships with and views toward animals are less than straightforward. It’s a thought-provoking interview, and made me ponder why we think what we think.

It takes two to boogie: You’re going to love this video of Snowball the dancing cockatoo from Best in Flock, and you’re also going to start shimmying in your seat. It’s ok. I did, too.

Since it’s a holiday week, I’ll see you day after tomorrow with the next wrap.

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: Adoption kitty, Chris Oberholtz/The Kansas City Star. First Dog Bo on AF1, Cliff Owen/AP.

With a television crew on site, a 4-month-old puppy was killed. YesBiscuit puts it best in the following:

Yeah I guess no one will adopt him NOW but golly, doncha think having a frelling TV news crew at the shelter would have been a super opportunity to put a spit-shine on this li’l monkey and a bandanna around his neck and mention that he’s looking for a new best friend? He probably would have been adopted by the end of the day and perhaps even some other dogs could have benefited from the overflow. But instead of doing something to help him get adopted while the news crew was there, the shelter chose to kill him.

And in case you didn’t get the point, the shelter operations manager drives it into the dirt:

[Xiomara] Mordcovich said, “People need to realize what happens here, and they need to understand that this is the consequence of what happens in the community out there. This is what we all do to our best friend.”

WE ALL? – No ma’am. This is not what we all do to our best friend. Killing pets and blaming the public is what you do. WE ALL are a humane society and we don’t want pets killed because they’re homeless. We want them sheltered until new homes can be secured. That’s why it’s called an animal shelter. Look it up.

Yep, what better way to teach people kindness than to kill pets to teach them .. uh … um … what?  And the shelter industry wonders why the no-kill movement is gaining ground …

What do they know, and how do they know it? The bond between people and pets that Dr. Becker talks about so eloquently is based largely on mutual trust. Studies out of Duke University’s Canine Cognition Center are revealing new insights. From the Charlotte Observer:

Brian Hare, the Duke evolutionary anthropology researcher who runs the center, opened his lab last fall as part of a small research field nationwide looking at canine cognition.

[...]

To test how quickly and accurately dogs process hand gestures, Hare and his group test them with a modified shell game. Hare shows the dog a piece of food, hides it under a cup, and steps back to see if the dog can find it. Then the test gets harder. He adds a cup, shields both while he hides the food, steps back and points to the cup hiding the treat.  At first, most dogs hesitate to trust anyone other than their owner to lead them to food. Over time, however, many realize strangers can also be truthful about where to find snacks. The question is how and why they make that deduction.

A separate piece on Discovery.com compares and contrasts the cognition of dogs with that of horses.

According to the study, published in the latest issue of Animal Behaviour, horses are able to decipher certain types of human-given visual and auditory cues.  Dogs, however, appear to be far more adept than any other species at figuring out what we are trying to communicate, especially when we’re attempting to direct an animal’s attention to an external object.  The reverse “Dr. Doolittle” phenomenon — how well animals understand us — seems to be tied to two factors: domestication and an animal’s predisposition to how we communicate.

Studies show dogs excel in the testing, but Animal Behaviour researchers also believe that with more training, horses would improve greatly.  The difference is that dogs don’t need so much training.  They just get us.   Cats, well, they’d prefer to have us to do what they want.  There’s something to be said for that, too, don’t you think?

Submarining hot dog: I’d be the first to tell you that dachshunds are an odd breed. This Los Angeles Times story shows how adventurous some doxies can be.  A Russian guy named Sergei Gorbunov is a professional scuba diver in Vladivostock, and his dachshund Boniface doesn’t want to be left behind.  I know that Cami and Harry love to swim, but neither of them enjoys going underwater. Boniface is different. Decidedly different.

[Gorbunov] had a diving suit complete with helmet made for the dog and is teaching him the tricks of the trade. In a recent demonstration, Boniface barked eagerly as Gorbunov readied the equipment and uncomplainingly endured being hung upside-down as Gorbunov fitted the suit on him.

No thanks, Sergei. If it’s all the same to you, we’ll stick to wading placidly in local ponds and rivers.

Poll shows the word hasn’t gotten out yet: Our friend Valerie Hayes conducted an informal reader Examiner poll to get a sense of people’s impressions of PETA, well-documented record of killing the animals in its care.

Seems most of the respondents, animal-lovers all, presumably, had no idea of PETA’s record, which is on file with the Commonwealth of Virginia. My take on it? I’m not surprised. That said, as long as the word hasn’t gotten out, it’s best not to stay silent. Education is always beneficial. So here at Pet Connection, we’ll keep working at it.

The best article of the week: Here’s this week’s example of an article I want you to read because it’s just flat out interesting. The story of Eadweard Muybridge. You may know him from his 19th century filmed motion studies,  especially his images proving horses did lift all four feet off the ground when they galloped, but there’s so much more. From Randy Malamud in The Chronicle of Higher Education.  It’s just a great piece.

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: Miami puppy, YesBiscuit. Boniface, AP.

You may have heard about the annual Pride Parade held last week in San Francisco. You probably didn’t hear about this confrontation between our friends at BadRap and some PETA representatives who happened to be on the adjacent float. It has to be a little bit strange to hear a person who’s allegedly a staunch supporter of animals arguing loudly about how the two peaceful, happy dogs you’re sitting with should be killed.  OK, not “strange,” exactly, but this is a public forum, and that’s the best word I can use without getting in trouble.

Fortunately, the dogs had perfect manners, even if the PETA fanatics didn’t.

Must read commentary from KC Dog: In my most recent news wrap, I pointed you to a post by Nathan Winograd where he vented his disappointment with Best Friends’ refusal to support Oreo’s Law’s passage in New York.  Since then the fallout from Oreo’s Law has reverberated around pet blogs.   I think the best, most rational post summing up the whole affair can be found over at KC Dog Blog.   I usually tell you he’s worth reading, but this one puts a tangled story into crystal clear context. Ultimately, it all comes down to this:

I want to say, I’m all for everyone being on the same page when it comes to creating new laws — it is certainly helpful that way. But if recent history has told us anything, sometimes the national organizations need to be dragged along to new ways of thinking. It wasn’t because of collaboration that HSUS began supporting TNR programs or deciding that all dogs from fight busts should NOT be immediately killed. Oh sure, EVENTUALLY they got there through collaboration, but only after loud public outcry.

At some point we cannot let the organizations with the money and the big names continue to dictate animal welfare policies (or in this case) hold back a progressive one.

At some point you have to just push for what is right — regardless of who agrees with you. And while collaboration is always preferred, we can’t wait around forever, forgoing solid policies while animals die in uncooperative shelters because one organization’s feelings were hurt and doesn’t want to go along with it.

Incredible rescue in an Arizona canyon: From MSNBC, a video that I had to watch a couple times to believe….

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I’m not sure what’s more amazing — that the rescue took place at all, or that it was captured on camera.  Thanks to Patti S. for the link.

All hail the humble Epsom Salt: Before sitting down to compose this post, I took Cami and Harry on a long walk through tough, hilly wooded trails on a blazing hot day. On our walk, we came across a big golden retriever who looked like her paws were sore (as well as being hot and tired). She wanted a rest in the shade.  Had I read this post from our BFF Dr. Patty Khuly’s Fully Vetted blog beforehand, I could have offered her owner a solution when they got home: soaking the tired tootsies in a bath of Epsom Salt. In this gotta-get-the-newest-thing era, we oftentimes forget the oldest cures can still be the best.

Heavy petting in Osaka: As of a few years ago, Osaka, Japan, had a population of 8.8 million people.  A sizable percentage live in apartments where cats aren’t allowed, so how do they get their fix of quality kitteh time?

This cafe, highlighted in a Time Magazine video piece.  Just like hotels in the United States where you can rent a dog, this is simply brilliant. Furry snuggles for those who can’t have a pet full-time!   If I were a cat fancier in Osaka, I’d be at this place every day.

Portraits for the neediest: Mary Swift is highlighted in a Baltimore Sun article.  She’s a photographer who makes terrific portraits of pets waiting for adoptions at shelters.   How could you possibly resist this face? You can’t, right?  That’s the idea. Hey, I’m a dog person and I’m smitten.

Three-legged dogs aid robotics: It’s not unusual to encounter a 3-legged dog who can run faster (much faster, sometimes) than their four-legged counterparts.  I have no idea how that’s possible, but scientists in England are trying to get at the bottom of that exact question: how do dogs who’ve lost a limb compensate so well? According to the BBC, they want the answer because it will help them build better robots.

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:  Top Hat, BadRap. Tulip, Mary Swift Photography.

“Friendship with dogs is a blind imitation of the West,” he was quoted as saying in Javan daily. “There are lots of people in the West who love their dogs more than their wives and children.”

Guard dogs and sheep dogs are considered acceptable under Islamic law but Iranians who carry dogs in their cars or take them to public parks can be stopped by police and fined.

Do Dachshunds count as guard dogs?

Five-year anniversary of the Piggly Wiggly: Our friend Valerie Hayes reminds us it was five years ago that PETA employees were caught dumping the bodies of dogs into dumpsters behind a Roanoke-area supermarket.  Valerie’s link-rich post (some links send you back here to Pet Connection) points out that in the past five years, very little has changed.

PETA continues to lie about the policies and procedures of its grossly misnamed Community Animal Project, claiming that it “euthanizes” only incurably ill animals or severely injured ones. The dozens of animals found killed by PETA and dumped in a grocery store dumpster over a one-month period in North Carolina were apparently healthy, however, and those who have requested that PETA back up its claim that the animals it kills are irremediably suffering have been threatened and ignored. The question remains–where is the “community” in killing healthy animals?

Good question. Five years on, we’re waiting for an answer.

Eye see: I liked this feature from 83 Degrees Media on Dr. E. Dan Wolf, Director of Tampa’s Southern Eye Clinic for Animals.

In the playroom, Wolf uses a variety of methods to determine the condition of the eye. He’ll toss cotton balls or small toys to watch how the animal’s eyes move. He’ll tinker with the lighting. Different eye movements guide Wolf in how he will treat the animal.

He’s had experience with just about the entire animal kingdom and uses a traveling clinic so he can examine and treat more exotic animals, such as elephants, that might not be able to make it through the front door of his office. He spends a lot of his working time at Busch Gardens and makes house calls.

An interesting look at a veterinary specialty many people don’t even know about.

Who is Richard B. Berman? An important read from the New York Times, especially for you if you’re an animal lover trying to figure out who’s pulling the strings behind causes, and what their motives might be. Put another way, is the enemy of your enemy your friend?

Bandit’s back on the job in Sacramento: Bandit, Sacramento’s bravest police dog, is back on the job with a stylin’ new bullet-proof vest for crisis situations.  The Sacramento Bee has an outstanding photo essay on Bandit.  Good boy!

New blogs to check out:   As part of my tour director duties here on the S.S. Pet Connection, I’d like to bring your attention to our left hand blog bar (doing my best Vanna White impression).  Specifically, a couple new blogs you might not have noticed….3 Woofs and a Woo adds a new Border Collie lover’s site to the mix.  Sea Spot Run is the brainchild of Laurie and Casey, and absolutely has the best picture to check out on a Monday morning when you could use a smile. No, I’m not posting it here.  Go look!

OMG Cat couldn’t believe the British goalkeeper’s mistake, either. Today’s video is from YouTube.  (A tip of the cap to Dr. Arnold Plotnick for the link)  I haven’t had a chance to ask my new favorite cat about his take on last week’s US vs. Slovenia controversy.

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: Piggly Wiggly logo, pwadc.com. Dr. Wolf, 83 Degrees Media. Bandit, Lezlie Sterling, Sacbee.

Spayed dogs and young female puppies are showing up in veterinary exam rooms with markedly swollen vulvas as if they are in heat. Male dogs present with enlarged mammary glands and abnormally small penises. Animals of both genders experience fur loss.

The phenomenon frequently stumps veterinary practitioners; sometimes patients go undiagnosed for weeks or months because clinicians don’t recognize the connection. Medical doctors in the human realm likewise are unfamiliar with the situation, a Veterinary Information Network (VIN) News Service inquiry found.

The problem appears to stem from the use by pet owners of hormone replacement treatments in the form of lotions, gels or sprays that are applied to the arms — especially inner elbows and wrists — or legs. The users then handle and snuggle their animals, unwittingly transferring the drug to the pets.

Symptoms of hormonal imbalance also may occur in pets that ingest the medications, either by licking where product was applied or eating an improperly stored or discarded transdermal patch or similar item.

The problems in the pet can increase with longer exposure to exogenous (outside) hormones, as illustrated in Edie’s article. Fortunately, the solution for the pet owner is straightforward: Apply the cream or spray using gloves, to a part of the body fully covered by clothing (i.e. under a shirt).  Your pet will thank you.

Flu vaccine fully licensed: After a year of testing, the USDA has fully licensed the first vaccine against the canine influenza virus.  The vaccine is made by Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health. Veterinary Practice News reports the vaccine is known as Novibac Canine Flu.

“Though not considered a core vaccine, Nobivac Canine Flu is commonly recommended by veterinarians for at-risk social dogs, i.e., those regularly receiving Bordetella vaccination because they are frequently in contact with other dogs,” [said aid Steve Shell, head of Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health’s Companion Animal Business Unit.]

The company noted that the vaccine was developed in response to the growing threat posed by the virus as well as to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s 2006 call for the development of a vaccine against the spread of the disease.

Discuss this vaccine with your veterinarian if you think your pet is at risk.

Dog-fighting DNA database: Now THIS is a good concept.    From an ASPCA media release.

The nation’s first criminal dog-fighting DNA database has been established by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO) and the Louisiana SPCA (LA/SPCA), and will be maintained at the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) Veterinary Genetics Laboratory. Known as the Canine CODIS (Combined DNA Index System), the database is designed to help the criminal justice system investigate and prosecute dog fighting cases and address the growing problem of dog fighting using 21st century technology.

The database will contain DNA profiles from dogs seized in dog-fighting operations and samples from suspected fighting venues. Let’s see how it’s applied in practice.

Preventing deaths in hot cars: Temperatures have already risen to mid-summer levels all over the United States, and our friend Shirley at YesBiscuit posted a terrific column warning of the fatal dangers that come with leaving dogs by themselves in hot cars.

1. If the weather can be described as warm, hot, or not cold – do not leave your dog unattended in the car.
2. When in doubt about whether it would be OK to leave your dog in the car, do not leave dog in car.

My thinking is that the overwhelming majority of owners who kill their dogs by leaving them in a hot car thought the dog would be OK.

[...]

Here’s the thing: No matter what your reasoning – which may on its face be sound – you are leaving your dog. As such, you do not know what will be happening to him in your absence. The clouds may shift and place him in direct sunlight or he may become stressed due to a factor other than the temperature – you just don’t know.

It’s simple. When in doubt, do not leave your dog unattended in a car that could become warm or hot.

Southwest Airlines not so funny for bunnies: On the heels of a freshly released survey highlighted on CNN.com that says Southwest Airlines is at or near the top in passenger satisfaction, I was given a sign that not everyone is so happy to “Fly SWA.”  Loyal reader (and rabbit rescuer) Mary Mary alerted me to a formal request asking Southwest to allow domestic rabbits aboard aircraft, as they already allow dogs and cats.  A polite letter requesting an extension of the policy on pets was sent to Southwest last October.  A week ago, the response made it clear that Southwest decided a professional, respectful answer was unnecessary, and they could poke fun at and mock their customers.  An excerpt from Southwest’s response:

Though we certainly agree that rabbits make adorable, beloved pets, I’m afraid that the only ones who could ever “hop” onboard Southwest are Easter bunnies (or perhaps millionhares like Bugs Bunny, only because we really want his autograph!).   Our research indicates that rabbits often display aggression toward people (especially in stressful, hare-raising situations) and have a tendency to dig and chew (especially wires).  Not to mention, we’ve heard that bunnies reproduce at incredible rates, and we don’t want to see some “Bugs and thugs” engaging in a reenactment of Carrotblanca in the air!

We know that the majority of Flopsys, Mopsys and Cottontails are good little bunnies, but we simply can’t resist having a Peter Rabbit in our midst — t would make our Flight Attendants absolutely LooneyTunes!  We understand that your little Napoleon Bunnyparts want to get out and explore the world with you, and we’re sorry that we can’t allow them to fly.

Perhaps you could invest in some Hare Jordans for them instead?

Perhaps I could fly another airline instead.

PETA says no tanks for The Fish:  The Florida Marlins baseball team is in the process of building a new ballpark in South Florida, scheduled to open in 2012.   Copying the Tampa Bay Rays’ touch tank in St. Petersburg, the Marlins want to embed giant aquariums in the backstop near home plate in the new stadium. In a recent USA Today story, PETA insists it’ll be too stressful for the fish.  My solution:  fill the 450 and 600 gallon tanks with PETA executives.  Everybody wins!

Pickle Von Corndog:  VPI has just introduced their annual list of the stupidest, I meant to say most unusual pet names in the United States. The 2010 losers, sorry, winners are now available for your viewing pleasure on msnbc.com.   I warn you, some of these will make you shake your head. Others will make you want to shake someone else’s head. Disclosure: VPI is a PetConnection sponsor.

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 credit:  Marlins aquarium, Miami Herald.