Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas and Seasons Greetings to all

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy Holidays to all from Shasta, myself and Enok (our rescued kitty)!

I thought I would post the intuitive of a canine. After all, Shasta as my service dog HAS to know prior to even me when my health is run a muck to alert me and at times respond to my necessary medical needs.

This can't be taught as it's a 6th sence that perhaps all dogs may have, but since it's not needed it isn't developed. That's my own theory anyway.

While I did have to train her to meet my needs as far as physical help and gaining me more independance, their are many things she does that put me in awe at how she taught me. An example being that while I was in a chronic fatigue flare and not able to fuction properly. I was either sleeping for extremely long periods or when I did wake up, I felt so groggy and impossible to function normally cognitively.

A dog is a ham’s best friend



By Arthur BLACK
Dec 24 2006


Science ignores things that make life worth living for the simple reason that beauty, love and so on, are not measurable quantities and science deals only with what can be measured.

Aldous Huxley

Mister Huxley was bang on. Science is pretty useless when it comes to measuring immeasurables like beauty and love.

And, it turns out, heroism in dogs.

We all grew up with tales of dog heroism. Larger-than-life, smart-as-a-whip canines like Rin Tin Tin and Lassie pulling kiddies out of raging cataracts or barking sleeping families awake to save them from a house fire.

All heart-warming folk legends – but what if they were just that? Legends. Mere myths designed to make us feel warm and fuzzy about our warm and furry friends? Researchers at the University of Western Ontario decided to question the widely held belief that pets – dogs specifically -- are capable of understanding emergencies and reacting appropriately.

The researchers designed two experiments. In the first, a dozen owners of 12 different breeds of dog walked their pets through a field. Each owner, on a pre-assigned signal, stopped, clutched his chest, gurgled a bit and fell to the ground.

Rin Tin Tin would know what to do. He’d bark an SOS. Lassie would haul the apparent heart attack victim to a taxi stand. The Littlest Hobo would probably find a phone and dial 911 with his nose.

The twelve dogs in the experiment did next to nothing. Some of them barked a little or nuzzled their owners. The toy poodle did search out a bystander, but curled up in the bystanders lap and went to sleep.

In the second experiment the scientists put the dog owners under a collapsed bookcase making it look like they were pinned and helpless. The dog owners then cried out to their dogs, telling them to ‘go and get help’.

The twelve dogs checked their owners out. Sniffed around the books some. Not a one of them made any move to go and find assistance.

“I wasn’t surprised that they didn’t,” said Bill Roberts. “It appears that (dogs) don’t understand when an emergency has occurred or what to do about it.”

Now I can tell you a thing or two about Bill Roberts. He’s a psychology professor and co-author of the study that resulted from the two aforementioned experiments. I learned that from the newspaper story, but I can tell you one more thing.

Bill Roberts doesn’t own a dog. Or if he does, he hasn’t been paying attention.

Of COURSE the dogs didn’t react when their owners faked heart attacks or pretended to be helpless under a fallen bookcase – dogs may or may not be smart enough to go for help in an emergency – but they are definitely smart enough to recognize lousy acting when they see it.

Dogs don’t see situations so much as smell them. Real victims of emergencies give off chemical cues that Christopher Plummer or Meryl Streep couldn’t fake.

Those twelve dogs in the University of Western Ontario weren’t failing an emergency response experiment – they were evaluating an amateur acting seminar – and giving it a ‘four paws down’ rating.

The best reaction to the experiment appeared in my newspaper a day or two after the article about the non-responsive dogs. It was a letter to the editor from Michelle Poulton of Nanoose Bay, B.C.:

“Did the researchers consider that dogs understand when people are faking an emergency? I have had dogs as pets for many years. While living on Salt Spring Island in the 1980s, I had two dogs, a terrier-cross lab and a coon hound. They were dear but not the smartest bricks in the load. They were trained never to stray on the roads, which were twisty with blind corners.

“One day Nipper and Boomer didn’t respond to my calls. Then Nipper appeared at the top of the driveway, refusing to come in. I followed him and found a small child tottering down the middle of the windy, dangerous road.

“On either side of him were my two wonderful dogs.”

To which I can only add: Amen, Michelle.

And Professor Roberts? You still have a lot to learn.

Get yourself a dog.

Thursday, December 21, 2006

WARNING: Fake Dog Trainer

From:
Danielle Reno
Shelter Officer
Humane Society of Atchison KS

Recently we received a call from a man claiming to be a dog trainer. His name was Will Duncan. He said that he rehabilitated dogs and trained them for various companies including for the handicapped. He also said he was from USA Dog Training and he personally trained Cesar Millan.

He will tell various different stories, but basically wants to get free dogs. He claims to have federal and state licenses. He recently stole dogs from a Jefferson County shelter. He is from Topeka and claims that he just moved there from California .

If fact, he is a big scammer. Nothing he says is true. He told us he wants aggressive dogs to rehab and med. to large sized high drive dogs.

We got a call from the Kansas Animal Health Department to warn us about him.

They were trying to warn everyone before he called, but he had already called us.

We believe he is using these dogs for pit-bait. We believe he is selling these "high-drive" or "aggressive" dogs that he gets from shelters to pit fighters who use them to "train" their dogs to fight and kill. He lives in a trailer in Topeka with his brother. Last time it was checked, he had 14 dogs that he keeps in tiny pens in and around his trailer.

Please do not release any of your dogs to him. If he does call, please cal l J udy Bishop at 785-633-7002 with any information you obtain about him.

They are trying to make a criminal case up but he just keeps staying one step in front of the law.

The personal information I have obtained about him is:

Name: Will Duncan
Address: 1123 NE Jefferson, Trailer #4, Topeka , KS (actual address)
Cell Phone: 785-231-7245
Toll Free Number: 877-949-9DOG
Fake Company Name: USA Dog Training

Thanks and Good Luck

Please forward to other shelters and animal people!

Danielle Reno
Shelter Officer
Humane Society of Atchison
125 North 21st St . A tchiso n , KS 66002
(913) 367-DOGS

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Loyal dog, dispicable owner

WARNING: Not approprate for viewing by young children.

This is the sad truth why our bullies here in Ontario, other cities and states are being banned. This woman who treats her dog as a baby, has also taught it how to dangerously defend her and itself. This is exactly the type of person we would like to keep dogs safe from. She is the cause of the harm being done and you will see a brutal attack on her command.

Who's to blame here? The woman has made her dog into a weapon, but just prior, you'll notice the dog seems very obedient and happy. The dog only did as the woman had taught and told it to. Weapon? Yes! But this dog was trained to be a weapon.

Loyal dog, despicable owner.

View the video here.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

PLEASE BE AWARE!!!

The following was sent to me in several emails. I'm not sure of the authenticity of it, and prefer to have information to back up what I put on my blog. Only because of the extreme importance I will post it but hope to find information to confirm.

Please forward this to any and all of you email contacts!

They have been requesting animals in Michigan and surrounding states. They use multiple e-mail addresses but usually the JaRuleW@ portion.

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE FOLLOWING....Permission to crosspost. As a matter
of fact, PLEASE crosspost to all boards you are on.

Shelters/rescuers, Tony & Rebecca Williams (e-mail: JaRuleW@... )claim to have a rescue in Rocky Mount, NC and are trying to get dogs from all over the Eastern Seaboard. (She offered to take 14 dogs since Monday.)

She continues to take dogs. Most are pit bulls, with some offers toadopt Presa Canarios, Rottweilers, Dobermans, and Wolf hybrids.

In addition, she had previously posted that her roommate was looking fora Great Dane or Great Dane mix.

She also posted that she was "desperate" for a Chihuahua and she really wanted a Mini Pin and a Jack Russell.

She claims her rescue is a pit bull rescue, but another pit rescuer called the local Animal Control.

Animal Control's comments: "She's been barred from taking any dogs from the shelters in her area."

He also said she has a long criminal history, has been selling Pit Bulls on street corners for 15 or 20 dollars and has been under investigation for dog fighting.

Atlantic Rescue has now banned her, after finding out this information.

These are the breeds she has asked for:
a. Pit Bulls
b. Rottwiellers
c. Dobermans
d. Presa Canarios
e. Tea Cup Chihuahuas
f. Jack Russell Terriers
g. Shar Peis
h. Min Pin
i. Great Dane (Pure Breed or Mix)

She uses the little dogs as bait!

They are going out of their area looking for dogs to adopt.

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Teens on trial for puppy torture

Often children at the age of about 6 start showing signs of brutalizing or torchuring small critters and reptiles. If not found out as they become older, they go on to larger animals, like the beloved family pet or perhaps a neighbours.

As the kids get older, the touchure becomes more severe and hidious as they need a greater taste for the bizzare.

Untreated, the victims often become humans which may start of with peeking through windows and fantisizing.

When that no longer satisfies their sick minds, they begin stalking, raping, torchuring that evenually leads to death. You now have a braver, outlandish serial killer on your hands and all the signs were there as a child.

I don't know if this is what happened to the Moulder boys, but to do an act like this without any remorse and to have small children watching, it wouldn't surprise me, but I'm only speculating.

This article was from News 11 Alive. It's horifying and outrages,

Teens on Trial for Puppy Torture
Web Editor: Tracey Christensen

ATLANTA (WXIA) -- Jury selection began Tuesday morning in Fulton County in the case of two teenage brothers who are accused in a horrific case of animal abuse.


Justin and Joshua Moulder

Joshua Moulder, 17, and Justin Moulder, 18, are accused of dousing a puppy with paint and then baking it inside an oven at an apartment complex last August.

They also lured neighborhood children to see the crime scene, and then threatened them if they told anyone, police said.Authorities said the pair also vandalized the community center at the Englewood Manor Apartments.

Both are charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, cruelty to children, vandalism, burglary, criminal damage to property, and terroristic threats.The brothers have separate attorneys. Opening statements could start Wednesday.

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Pit bull hounds owner

In the Hamilton Spectator it claims the city's animal control department is destroying an average of 10 pit bulls a month. How sad is that when you can't prove the dog is not a Pit bull over the vague definition. Still, for the dogs safety and you have no intentions of breeding the dog, why not get it spayed or neutered? I suppose it's a personal right that is involved here.

Pit bull law hounds owner
May lose Buddy to vague definition
Dana Brown

Sheryl Nadler, the Hamilton Spectator
Elli McAllister says her seven-year-old dog, Buddy, is only a partial pit bull and she worries that the SPCA will put him down because he is not neutered.

The city's animal control department is destroying an average of 10 pit bulls a month.

Susan McGrath, manager of standards and licensing for the city, said the city has put down 128 dogs in the 13 months since new pit bull legislation came into effect. Of those, 44 were surrendered for euthanasia, while most of the rest were abandoned.

"It's been consistent since '05," she said. "We haven't seen it rise and it's not dropping off."

McGrath said when dogs don't comply, there are three options: the animal can be destroyed, it can be transferred out of the province or it can be given to a research facility if requested. So far, the city has only used the first option.

Since Oct. 28, 2005, dogs identified as pit bulls must be spayed or neutered and leashed and muzzled in public.

Elli McAllister's seven-year-old pooch Buddy is now in the hands of animal control after being caught running loose. It may soon be put to death for not being neutered. Although Buddy was registered as a pit bull terrier with the city in 2004, McAllister said the dog is only a quarter pit bull and she wasn't aware he needed to be neutered.

"He shows no pit bull traits and because of his age, I didn't think I had to."

She argues the rules need to be more flexible. But McGrath said there's only so much wiggle room with the legislation and the city must obey what the province has mandated.

For McAllister, her only hope now is to prove to the city her dog is not a pit bull. So far, the three veterinarians she has approached have all said he is.

The city has not made a firm decision on whether Buddy will be put down.
McGrath said the city wouldn't be forced to destroy pit bulls if owners made sure their pets met the law.

There has been criticism that the amendments to the Dog Owners' Liability Act, specifically how a pit bull is defined, are too vague. In addition to listing several breeds, the legislation says "a dog that has an appearance and physical characteristics substantially similar to any" of the designated breeds can be labelled a pit bull.

A court challenge to the law's constitutionality awaits a judge's ruling.

David Lake, animal control supervisor for Burlington, said that in the past year, animal control has given two owners 30-day grace periods to get animals spayed or neutered. Animal control delivered them directly to the vet before they were returned home.

Lake said it's better to be cautious about destroying the dogs because of the unresolved court case. There are 857 licensed pit bulls in Hamilton.

dbrown@thespec.com
905-526-4629