ANIMAL CONNECTION

Archive for the ‘Rescues & Shelters’ Category

I have been very discouraged watching the news and reading articles about the oil disaster.  Every time I turn around I see, or hear, more negative.  My goal is to empower people, not bring them down. I have been making calls and doing research to find ways that people can help with the oil disaster. The information I get varies from source to source.  I got a call from Jeff Dorson today.  He is the Executive Director for the Humane Society of Louisiana.  He told me about a couple of groups that are actually qualified to help the wildlife in the Gulf.  Even though we have a long way to go, there are people who are able to make positive changes, if we help them.

I found out that there is so much red tape when it comes to helping these creatures. You need the proper training, an organization has been approved and the list goes on. Otherwise, you are not allowed to do anything with the animals.   In many ways that could be good.  We want to be sure the people dealing with these animals know what they are doing.  After all, this needs to improve the quality of life for the wildlife, not make it worse.  There are people who have had experience but don’t have the specific training needed to be approved for this mission.  Then there are those who are doing it for other reasons and it’s a good thing they are not allowed to be close to the wildlife.

Below are some wonderful organizations that could use your help.  You can give your time as a volunteer, send money or make calls/ send emails to officials that have the authority to make the changes needed.

1.  Operation Here to Help, is a joint effort launched by the Humane Society of Louisiana and Clearwater Wildlife Sanctuary to help wildlife adversely affected by the oil spill. Clearwater’s staff and volunteers are trained and certified wildlife rehabilitators who are working at the triage sites and administering direct aid to captured birds. They are providing logistical support by utilizing dozens of their volunteers who are transferring oiled birds directly from wildlife agents to the recovery centers. They’re also providing real-time information to state and federal agents by providing them with photos, notes, and coordinates. They are taking volunteers out on boats, contacting legislators, and more.

Operation Here to Help has staff and volunteers that have been out to the barrier islands in Barataria Bay, near Grand Isle, twice during the past several days. In the six total hours they spent surveying the area on boats, they spotted a mere three agents with nets with two large plastic dog carriers in the back of their boat. Meanwhile, they witnessed hundreds of oiled birds in distress. These trips made it clear to them that more aid is necessary to account for the significant number of birds currently in need of assistance.

That’s why they set up “Operation Here to Help”, a program of the Humane Society of Louisiana, with the goal of surveying the affected areas and providing coordinates to state and federal agencies. Although red tape still prevents them from handling oiled wildlife ourselves, They can provide critical information to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries so that they can most effectively mobilize their extremely limited manpower.

The facts are sobering. They were told by a wildlife agent that, for the entire Louisiana coastal area, there are a mere 100-150 officers licensed to rescue oiled wildlife, on shifts from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM and they do not work at night. These are incredibly inadequate numbers. Additionally, most of the barrier islands, including Cat and Four Pass Bayou, which are rookeries and home to tens of thousands of water birds, have already been contaminated with oil.  The utilization of booms as buffers is extremely ineffective and dates back to the 1960’s. That is why their team wants to be “here to help” direct officers to areas where their work will have the most impact.

They have identified several ways that each of you can help them save more marine life and wildlife, whose lives hang in the balance. Their goal is to complement state and federal agencies in order to achieve the results they want. As one of Louisiana’s most dedicated humane organizations, they cannot sit back and let a handful of government workers and BP contractors respond with disgraceful inadequacy to the worst disaster in modern history to hit our precious wetlands. Here are their plans; they need your help to implement them:

Advocacy:

Call Robert Barham, Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife, and ask that he assign more agents to the capture of wildlife and ask him to ask for reinforcements from other states or other agencies if needed. Please use their reports from the front lines as evidence that much more help is needed. Call 1-225-765-2800.  Remember that there are between 100-150 agents out in the entire Gulf Coast assigned to wildlife capture. These numbers are not sufficient for the task at hand.  In the six hours they have spent surveying the areas on boats, they have only seen three agents with nets on one occasion. They had two large plastic dog carriers in the back of their boat, both empty.  At the same time, they also saw hundreds of birds in distress.

Information Gathering:

They will be going out in chartered boats during the next several months to obtain first-hand information and photographic evidence of the mistreatment of marine life.  If you would like to join them, please write an email to contact us at stopcruetly11@gmail.com.  Cost of trip per person: $60.00 for a three-hour trip. They are currently scheduling one to two trips a week, out of Venice and Grand Isle.

Information Sharing:

They will be hosting a two-day conference in New Orleans at the end of July. They intend to invite representatives from BP, the Coast Guard, the White House, members of Congress or their staff, social justice groups, animal protection and environmental groups to attend, speak, and listen to one another with the intention of developing and implementing short- and long-term goals. They will send out additional announcements during the next several weeks. They plan on visiting the coastline on the second day as a group.

Fund-raising

Funds are needed to keep their chartered boats in the water, to underwrite their upcoming conference, and to help mobilize volunteers from around the country. Please be as generous as possible. Each of you can help by donating through their PayPal account at: http://www.humanela.org/bpoilspill.htm.

65% of those proceeds from their website link will go to Clearwater Wildlife Sanctuary, whose staff and volunteers are caring for the wildlife. They have pledged to support them. The remaining 35% will go to the logistical support their group is providing. You can also send them a donation by mail to: The Humane Society of Louisiana at P.O. Box 740321, New Orleans, LA 7017

2. Nature Conservancy

We can’t afford to wait. The damage done by this spill demands that we ramp up our efforts as rapidly as possible.

They know we could be building 20 to 30 miles of reef a year, and promote hundreds of acres of seagrass and marsh recovery in the process. Within 3 to 5 years, they could complete 100 miles of oyster reef and at least 1,000 acres of seagrass and marsh habitat. That’s conservative — it’s possible, perhaps even likely, that a properly designed restoration could support 10,000 acres of seagrass and marsh.

Rebuilding such a system will have huge benefits beyond kick-starting the oil spill recovery:

• If designed properly, oyster reefs will slow, and in many cases, halt the massive erosion that continues to carve into Alabama shorelines.
• Reefs will help to filter the loose sediment that turns Mobile Bay a dark chocolate every time the wind blows.
• Light-loving seagrasses return, tying down still more mud.
• And in the quit eddies created by the reef, marshes will get a toe-hold and spread rapidly.

Best of all, re-creation of these reefs, seagrasses and marshes will result in an explosion of life. It won’t just be old timers who remember what it was like to go floundering in the seagrasses along the shores of Mobile Bay:

• Harvest of white shrimp, once Mobile’s prized catch, will almost certainly rebound.
• Crab habitat will increase dramatically.
• Tens of thousands of young speckled trout, redfish, sheepshead and other Gulf game and food fish will once again find a place to grow and thrive.

To learn more about this endeavor, and how you can help, click here.

3. The National Wildlife Federation has been on the front lines responding to the wildlife crisis unfolding in the Gulf since the BP Oil Spill started on April 20.

Their Louisiana-based staff–already working on existing Coastal Louisiana restoration efforts before the spill–was deployed to help with the initial response. They have been joined by national staff, affiliates in the region and a growing network of volunteers.

They believe strongly they have an obligation to find out what is happening, share this information with the public and do everything they can to help wildlife survive this tragedy.

You can learn more about their “Search and Rescue”, how they are raising awareness and what they are saying on behalf of wildlife.  Click here.

If you have dogs or ferrets, this is your lucky Friday. It has been a challenging week for me.  I have had a number of issues come up regarding dogs and ferrets.  I had to do some research and contact other rescues and shelters for help.  It’s amazing how animal people all stick together and help each other so animals can have a better life.  Thank you!!

One challenge I had were ferrets with fleas. I never had ferrets with fleas so I was not sure what to do about them.  I know they are delicate animals and it can be deadly if they are treated like dogs and cats for a flea problem. Here are some of the things I found out:

1. A flea condition is 100% fixable.  I spoke to rescues who told me that ferrets die from fleas. They are such small animals and it doesn’t take long for them to be sucked dry. The fleas are coming in from a source.  Once you find out what the source is, you can correct it.   Ferrets, being indoor animals, should not have fleas.

2. If you have dogs or cats that come in and out you can give them Capstar. You have to get it from a veterinarian.  This should not be given to ferrets, unless you just adopted them and need to get the fleas off this one time.  (Talk to your vet about dosage).

3. You can also get an 8oz. spray bottle.  Put about 2 tablespoons Skin-so-soft with 1 teaspoon alcohol (to cut the oil) and fill with water. You can spray that on the dogs and cats and rub it in.  This will kill fleas.  Again, be very careful not to use this too much with ferrets since they have very sensitive skin.

The one recommendation I got over and over again, get everyone and everything out of the house.  Fumigate the whole house and have the yard treated.  While you are gone, get all of the fleas off of all the animals.  When you return, you are starting new. Make sure all of the animals stay in the house.  If they must go outside, make sure they stay in your yard, if possible.  Give them Capstar before they go out to be sure they don’t get any fleas.  The ferrets should no longer have a flea problem, ever.

I also had people asking me about the proper food they should be feeding their dogs.  Since I have not had dogs in years, I was not sure what to tell them.  I have a friend, Greg Martinez, DVM who just wrote a book called, “Dr. Greg’s Dog Dish Diet”.  That book has a wealth of information when it comes to feeding your dog. It gives you histories of different breeds, what different breeds eat, how different foods affect different dogs, etc.  Did you know dogs are not suppose to have any corn or beef?

Here are a few tidbits I got from the book that I thought were interesting and I wanted to pass along:

1. A Tablespoon of olive oil or canola oil on the food daily, or an egg yolk in the food three or four times a week, can have a wondrous effect on health.

2. Never give your dog chocolate.  That goes for ferrets too.  Ferrets should not have any sugars or fruit.

3. The closest ancestor to a dog, the wolf.   99.8% of a dog’s DNA matches the wolf. To feed dogs well on a diet that resembles the natural diet of a wolf, make sure the mix of ingredients and nutrients are similar.

4. Wild game provides the wolf with a high-water, low-carbohydrate diet that is also high in protein and fat.   With the exception of a few of the newer diet; canned dog foods most closely match the wolf’s natural diet.

5. Ounce for ounce, canned dog food has about a third the calories of dry food.

6. A healthier diet may actually prevent, decrease and often cure many of the common chronic problems in dogs.

These are the top 10 claims for Veterinary Pet Insurance:

A.Ear Infections

B. Skin Allerfies

C. Pyoderma (hotspots/ bacterial skin infections)

D. Gastritis/Vomiting (stomach upsets)

E.  Enteritis/Diarrhea

F.  Urinary Tract Infections Benign

G.  Skin Tumors

H.  Osteoarthritis

I.  Eye Inflammation

J.  Hypothyroidism

7. Allergies in dogs are caused by three common allergen groups:

A. Fleas

B.  Pollens, grasses and molds

C.  Allergenic food ingredients (most often wheat, beef and corn)

8.  Wolves keep their teeth clean by chewing on the bones of prey animals. In that tradition, you can give your dog raw or frozen chicken theighs, smoked pork bones or beef knucklebones, and they’ll gnaw the tartar away.  PLEASE, be careful what you give your dog. They should be able to chew NOT eat bones.  The book goes into detail about this.

To learn more about dogs and their diets click here for Dr. Greg’s Book.

Then I had questions about adopting dogs.  The best timing in the world because I had information sent to me from “The Camping Dog”.

It specifically talked about adopting a shelter dog. They say one of the best gifts you can give yourself is adopting a shelter dog.  Are shelter dogs right for everyone?  Absolutely not.  You never really know what you’ve got until you get your new friend home.  And odds are even that your dog will need specialized attention and care for health or behavior issues for some period of time.  Unless you’re willing to be patient and work with your pup, you have no business having a dog at all – and especially not a shelter dog who may well have had traumatic experiences.

There is nothing more rewarding than watching a dog blossom into their true personalities. Seeing a dog learn how to play for the first time is a delight.  And watching them grow as they learn new behaviors and have new experiences is so much fun!  And they do thank you for it in so many ways!

If you would like to know the questions to ask yourself if you are thinking about adopting a dog click here.

Can anyone explain why the USDA will NOT step in and help the dogs and puppies in the mills? There has been so much evidence of mills abusing and neglecting these animals.  Many of these animals are dying horrible deaths.  Most people have heard about these atrocities.  The flip side, they go into a pet store to buy something for their animal. When they are there they see the poor puppy eyes looking at them.  At that very moment they feel they need to buy this puppy and give it a good home.  They forget where the puppy came from.   It is a vicious cycle.  I like what they have done in West Hollywood California.  The stores only sell puppies that come from shelters or rescues.  Click here to learn how you can do the same thing in your community.

This past week there was a report about the USDA failing to cut down on puppy mills.   They detail the horrific conditions and lax enforcement.  If you would like to read this article, click here.

There was also a show on Animal Planet that exposed Petland puppies. Since the airing of that show they have had so many people coming forward telling them stories about the health issues, and medical challenges, their puppies have had. In addition, the cost to care for these animals.

So many stories were sent in describing what it has been like for the owners of these puppies since they purchased their new family member.  The stories include Bailey, a Cairn terrier (pictured here), who became deathly ill and had to be hospitalized after she was purchased in Texas, and Little Red, who reportedly had the worst hip dysplasia her veterinarian had ever seen.

On the positive side, hopefully this show will get people to do more research on the stores and breeders of  puppies.  Even people in your community might have a small mill going and you don’t even know it.

If you would like to read more about this, or know of a puppy that you want to report because they have medical issues, click here.

Over the past few weeks I have had so many conversations regarding our world and where we are headed.  I have always said, “Humans are blessed with an exceptional brain.  We have made wonderful advances in technology, medicine, etc.  At the same time, we also seem to use it to destroy the world and harm innocent animals.  Right now we are harming and destroying at the same time (oil drilling, polluting the waters and killing all kinds of fish and wildlife).

I came up with the name of my show, “Animal Connection” because I know animals and humans are connected.  I never realized the timing of my show would be so perfect with the events going on in our society, in such an extreme way.  One major issue, once we destroy this earth that’s it.  No matter how much money anyone has, we can’t replace it!

The animals were here long before we were.  We should respect them and not use them for profit.  Someone said to me, “We should go back to the times of Little House on the Prairie”.  I’m starting to believe that’s not such a bad idea, although it was a very hard life!

I don’t know what the answer is.  We don’t seem to be able to get along and respect other humans (look at the wars).  How do we expect people to respect animals?

I want Friday’s to bring awareness to other organizations that are doing wonderful things for animals. I also want to empower people. Please pass this link on to bring awareness to these wonderful organizations, thanks!

1. A French Journalist contacted me.  She wanted to know if I could send her true stories depicting peculiar relationships between a child and one or several wild animal(s).

Some examples:

* They’re going to tell the story of a little girl in South Africa looking after elephants with her parents in a sanctuary.

* Two little boys in India who protect snakes with their father and who are not scared to handle them. They’re “working” with their father at freeing the snakes they find in the cities to protect them.

They’re looking for a young girl or boy (aged under 15), fond of scuba diving, swimming with dolphins, whales…. In the end a child passionate in marine life.   Any histories are welcomed!!

One important thing: Their aim is not to promote proximity between wild animals and humans. They DO NOT want promote people taming wild animals!  They’re just looking for extraordinary stories relating a peculiar relationship between a child and an animal at a specific moment.

If you’ve heard about such stories you are welcome to contact Mélodie TISSOT directly.

melodie@maijuin.com

+33 1 58 05 16 60

+33 6 77 24 58 03

Www.maijuin.com

2. Emergency Situation at Wild Animal Orphanage, San Antonio, Texas

The Board of Directors of The Wild Animal Orphanage in San Antonio, Texas, announces the existence of a financial, personnel, and management crisis at their sanctuary where more than 400 wild, exotic, and domestic animals reside.  The sanctuary has been in operation for 24 years and the decline in contributions along with the recent discovery of severe personnel and management issues have created this crisis.  Steps have been taken by the Board of Directors to resolve some of the problems including replacement of the CEO with an acting director, Mr. Jamie Cryer, a Texas businessman, who has willingly agreed to work without compensation to assure the feeding and care of the resident animals.

Funds are needed immediately to continue providing food and care for the lions, tiger, bears, wolves, cougars, primates, and other species that reside at the 2 sites of the WAO. Compassionate animal care-givers are still reporting to work to feed, clean, and care for the animals, however, there are no funds available for payroll and their pay is already several weeks behind.  Six of the animal care-givers are temporarily working without compensation. The Board of Directors is reaching out to all caring individuals and humane organizations to please step up to the plate and help us take care of these 400 animals that have no one to depend on except generous people.  To learn more and find ways you can help click here.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be measured by the way its animals are treated.” — Mahatma Gandhi

3. Tragically, 50% of domestic violence victim’s delay seeking help for fear that an abuser will harm a pet… Animals are the silent victims of domestic violence. Most people treat pets as members of the family. Unfortunately, when it comes to domestic violence, pets are also deemed part of the family unit and forced to suffer in silence at the hands of abusers. Some studies estimate that: *50% of domestic violence victims delay seeking help out of concern that their pet may be harmed by the abuser. *88% of companion animals living in households where domestic violence occurs are routinely threatened, harmed or even killed. The ASPCA witnesses firsthand the connection between animal abuse and domestic violence. Just last month, police in Little Falls, NY, arrested Mark Beacraft, Jr., for assaulting a four-year-old child. The suspect has a history of violence—including a guilty plea in 2007 for murdering a neighborhood cat. He was sentenced to one year in a county jail but was later released under house arrest. This is unacceptable—and they need your help to keep criminals like Beacraft off the streets. The ASPCA works tirelessly to educate law enforcement and the public about the link between animal cruelty and domestic abuse and to lobby for stricter punishments for pet abusers. To help click here

4. May is National Arthritis Month

Just like humans, many dogs suffer from arthritis pain and inflammation as they age. Joints and bones naturally degenerate over time. Fortunately, arthritis can often be managed with the help of acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine, supplements and nutrition. Natural and alternative therapies are generally safe, effective and can be used in conjunction with western medicine.

Ancient Solutions for Canine Arthritis is a site for dogs suffering from arthritis.

If you are an acupuncturist interested in learning more about treating arthritis in dogs with TCM, and getting continuing education credits, click here.

5. Best known for the  “I’m Tired of” bracelets, ITo introduced the No More Homeless Pets bracelet and now supports nine different animal causes. ITo will give half of every sale to Best Friends Animal Society to help support their efforts to dramatically reduce the number of homeless pets.

Best Friends Animal Society is guided by a simple philosophy: kindness to animals builds a better world for all of us. In the late 1980s when Best Friends was in its early days, roughly 17 million dogs and cats were being killed in shelters every year. Despite the commitment of shelter workers to the animals in their care, the conventional belief was that little could be done to lower that terrible number.  Read more about this on their site by clicking here.

6. If you live in California, or will be visiting, you might want to attend the “Power and Action for the Animals” May 9th Newport Beach, CA.

It’s a gathering of animal advocates, lovers, caretakers, guardians & protectors. Click here for more details.

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7. MOSCOW DOGS

I thought you might enjoy this story. Dogs are allowed on public transport in all of Europe, but generally with their master. This is even more interesting.

Here is a Canine commuter…. A wild dog waits on the platform!!

STRAY dogs are commuting to and from a city centre on underground trains in search of food scraps.  The clever canines board the Tube each morning.  After a hard day scavenging and begging on the streets, they hop back on the train and   return to the suburbs where they spend the night.

Experts studying the dogs say they even work  together to make sure they get off at the right stop after  learning to judge the length of time they need  to spend on the  train…

The dogs choose the  quietest carriages at the front and back of the train.  They have also developed tactics to hustle humans into giving them more food   on the streets of Moscow.

Scientists believe the  phenomenon began after the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, and Russia’s new capitalists moved industrial complexes from the city centre to the suburbs.  Dr. Andrei Poiarkov, of the Moscow Ecology and Evolution Institute, said: “These complexes were used by homeless dogs as shelters, so the dogs had to move together with their houses”.

Because the best scavenging for food is in the city centre, the dogs had to learn how to travel on the subway to get to the centre in the morning, and then back home in the evening, just like people.

Here is an experienced dog enjoying a nap on the underground.  Dr. Poiarkov told how the dogs like to play during their daily commute.  He said: “They jump on the train seconds before the doors shut, risking their tails getting jammed”.  They do it for fun. Sometimes they fall asleep and get off at the wrong stop.

This dog is tired …  A mutt naps on tube seat in Moscow.

The dogs have learned to use traffic lights to cross the road safely, said  Dr. Poiarkov.  They use cunning tactics to obtain tasty morsels of shawarma, a kebab-like snack popular in Moscow.  They sneak up behind people eating shawarmas then bark loudly to shock them into dropping their food.

With children, the dogs play cute by putting their heads on youngsters’  knees and staring pleadingly into their eyes to win sympathy and scraps.  Dr. Poiarkov added: “Dogs are surprisingly good psychologists”.

The Moscow mutts are not the first animals to use public transport.  In 2006 a Jack Russell in Dunnington, North Yorks , began taking the bus to his local pub in search of sausages.  Two years ago, passengers in Wolverhampton were stunned when a cat called Macavity started catching the 331 bus to a fish and chip shop.

I want Friday’s to bring awareness to other organizations that are doing wonderful things for animals. I also want to empower people. The best way to do that, give people options so they can make a difference.  All of my posts give you options to help.  If you have information you want to share, send me a paragraph on the topic with a link to the website, by 11am on Thursday.  I will do this each Friday.  Please pass this link on to bring awareness to these wonderful organizations, thanks!

At the end of this post is a wonderful, entertaining, loving, inspiring video from National Geographic.

1.  You’ve adopted animals but have you ever been adopted by an animal?  Here is a website where you can read stories about animals that have a happy ending.  Join the Story Club. It is totally free and safe. Just by joining you will be helping to save lives and ease the suffering of unfortunate animals.

Floyd the Dog writes, and encourages others to write, stories about animals and their interaction with each other and with humans. His concern and compassion for animals is the basis for the free website publication of these stories both here and on his Story Club.

Daphne adopted me. She hates the cold and was flying from the north of England, where she says she was born, to her winter home in the much kinder climate of southern Spain.  Click here read more about my adopter.

2. With the seasonal closing of the Melbourne track in Florida, it is wonderful how various Greyhound organizations have supported one another to ensure good homes for the Greyhounds. While Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions has already fostered a handful from Melbourne already, they need additional foster homes.

Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions is greyt to work with, as they pay for all expenses related to the care of the fostered Greyhound.  It includes food, medical, crate, etc.  All you do is supply the love.  It takes anywhere from 2 days to several weeks to find a home for a Greyhound.  You are not expected to adopt the fostered Greyhound, either.

If you are able to foster, or know of someone interested in fostering a Greyhound, contact Joanne at: joanne.wuelfing@gmail.com

Update—April 14, 2010: Congratulations, New Hampshire advocates! At around noon today, the New Hampshire Senate overwhelmingly voted to end greyhound racing in the state forever. We expect that the governor will sign the bill into law. Click Here To Keep It Enforced and get the bill passed in your state!

3. This was sent to me by, Jacob Versnel, one of my contacts in the Netherlands. It’s a hard story to read but they are working towards a happy ending.  You can help.

No rest. No water. No care…  He traveled more than 1,000 miles to his death.

Bred only for food, he spent his life unloved and unnamed.  His final indignity was the tortuous journey from Romania to Italy to his slaughter.

Every year over 50,000 horses are transported from Eastern Europe to Italy for slaughter. Compassion has investigated the long distance transport of horses across Europe – we were shocked by what we found.

Just imagine being pushed and pulled into a truck, standing for hours on end, without water or a chance to rest. It is proven that horse welfare deteriorated after 8-12 hours of transport. Yet our investigators found that the truck filled with horses that they followed, traveled for over 24 hours.

What a sad reflection on modern Europe that this cruel practice is still allowed to continue. But you can help.

The final journey – When our investigators followed a truck transporting horses from Romania to Italy, they found the drivers broke an important EU regulation by not providing these animals with water. They also broke with basic human decency, in their cruel disregard for animal welfare.

If, like us, you believe that no farm animal should be transported for more than 8 hours, please support our work to end live transport and factory farming.

We want to stop to this heart-breaking disregard for animal welfare. Through investigations, lobbying and vigorous campaigning, we’re working to limit transports of farmed animals to 8 hours and ultimately to stop the long distance trade in live animals. At the very least, we want to see the existing welfare laws properly enforced.  YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE BY CLICKING HERE.

4.  The eye of the Tiger.  Have you ever heard of Tony The Tiger?  He does exist.

Tony the Truck Stop Tiger is a 9 y/o Siberian/Bengal tiger who has lived his whole life at a truck stop in Grosse Tete Louisiana. His home is one of concrete and steel. In Dec 2009 the Louisiana Dept of Wildlife and Fisheries granted a permit to Tony’s owner to keep him at the Truck Stop. This permit is valid for 1 year.

Tony’s living conditions are abhorrent.  He is not living the life of a Tiger. He urgently needs to be rescued and allowed to live out his life in a sanctuary. Big Cat Rescue will take him in.  Tony needs heros, click here to help.

The people who have Tony say that they have had him since he was a baby and he’d be traumatized if he were sent to live someplace else. They also say the Big Cat Rescue would not love, and care for him, the way they do. They say they are providing him a good home.   The owner, Michael Sandlin, says: “People from out of state are telling the most outrageous lies and half truths about Louisiana’s Tiger Truck Stop. When they came to the Parish Council Meeting to argue against my rights, they resorted to yelling and name calling, finally stooping so low as to demean me and my family by labeling us as “inbreds”.  Classy talk from supposedly sophisticated activists.”  Michael’s family and friends extended every courtesy to those people and were repaid with ugly slurs and hate speech.

Please let us know your thoughts and ideas to resolve a situation like this.  There are a lot of issues like this in the US and around the world.

5. They lay on an ice pan, just a few feet apart — two seal pups sleeping quietly, blissfully unaware that a sealing vessel was bearing down on them, just 100 meters away.

As painful as it is to bear witness to this horror, the people with HSUS know they have to keep going there — because every picture, video, and word that they send out to the world touches the hearts and minds of people and governments. That’s why the sealing industry doesn’t want them there. And that’s why they need your help.

Give now and your donation will be tripled by the Giant Steps Foundation and other generous donors.

Watch this video of the beautiful harp seal nursery to see what your donations and support are working to protect.

6. “The Cove”, a documentary and winner of audience awards across the world, including Sundance, SilverDocs and Hot Docs. The Cove follows a team of activists and filmmakers as they infiltrate a heavily-guarded cove in Taiji, Japan. In this remote village they witness and document activities deliberately being hidden from the public: More than 20,000 dolphins and porpoises are being slaughtered each year and their meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan, often times labeled as whale meat.

Under the direction of the film’s Ric O’Barry, Save Japan Dolphins.org/Earth Island Institute is actively working in Japan to shut down this brutal practice.

There are ways you can help make a difference.  You can donate here or you can send letters, emails, sign petitions or help in other ways.  Learn about other options here.

7. What will happen to the rescued animals that Martina Navratilova has at the sanctuary she owns, but is selling?

Martina and her partner were very much in love when they paid more than $1 million for land where they could rescue 26 malnourished cows likely to be made into dog food.

They bought the land through their new company, MT Nest. M stood for tennis legend Martina Navratilova; T was her partner, Toni Layton.

The couple turned the 20-acre site in East Sarasota County into a sanctuary where about 100 cows, horses, pigs and other animals, many saved from slaughter, could live in peace.

But in 2008, the couple split and Navratilova threw Layton out of her luxury home on Casey Key, a claim by Layton based on lawsuit records.

Now Layton and other local animal lovers say Navratilova plans to sell the sanctuary and the animals with it. Animal activists who placed animals there are worried they will now be sold to farmers and slaughtered for meat.  Read the whole story here.

8.  Watch this video that was on National Geographic.  It is funny, heartwarming, educational and something that will make you feel good all over.

Have you ever thought about going on vacation but you’re concerned about what to do with your pet?  How about taking your pet with you?

It is estimated around 85% of pet owners travel with their pets by car. If you’re planning to take your pet with you on trips in the car, start early when the pet is young so they get used to the routine.   Short jaunts across town and back, or easy day trips, will get your pet used to the ride.  A carsick pet can make the trip miserable for everyone.

A seat upholstery protector, such as a pet hammock or waterproof seat cover will make clean-ups easier in case your pet does get sick or has an accident.

Be sure to bring along cleaning supplies to avoid having to search out a place to purchase them at the last minute.

If you are going to be riding on buses or trains you need to check the state and local restrictions. Some prohibit pets from riding on buses or trains unless they are assisting visually impaired or physically challenged persons. Always check in advance with these transportation providers to find out what regulations they may impose.

Before you travel with your pet, check with your veterinarian to make sure your pet is physically able to make the trip. Some senior or physically impaired dogs and cats do not travel well. You may want to consider a local, reputable kennel for your pet, or if your pet is would be more comfortable at home, you may want to contact a pet sitting organization to locate a pet sitter in your area who can take care of your pet in its own, familiar surroundings.

If you decide that your pet is able to take the trip there are still a number of things to consider.

Traveling with pets internationally can be much more challenging than domestic travel with pets because of long waiting periods, quarantine requirements and other importation regulations. If you are considering traveling internationally with your pet, it’s important to begin planning way ahead of your intended time of travel. Proper planning will help better prepare you and your pet for the trip, lessen the stress on both of you and provide realistic expectations of international pet travel.

Here are a few things you should think about:

1. What types of airline restrictions do you have for international pet travel?
2. Do you limit the number of pets allowed in cargo and in the cabin?
3. Are certain breeds of pets not permitted or not advised to travel internationally?
4. What are the container requirements?
5. Will my pet have to change planes?
6. Will my pet be able to relieve himself somewhere if it is a long flight?
7. When and where should I drop off my pet?
8. What documents will I need to transport my pet?
9. Where will my pet clear customs?

What do you do if your pet needs emergency care, at home or while you are away? What if your pet gets lost or even worst, what if there is a disaster in your area?  You will need to find resources for all of these issues.

We can help you find answers to these and other issues.  If you have suggestions you have used for your animals, please post them so that other pet owners can learn from your experience.

Our world is ever changing. Remember when there were only three networks on TV?   Now there are so many choices that people are overwhelmed.   You add reality TV networks to the mix and it’s impossible to keep up.  A lot of people record, or “Tivo” shows so they can see them “when they have time”.  When does that happen?  We have become so overwhelmed with keeping up with work and family life that most people don’t have time for TV.  When they do watch it I wonder, how many people really take in what they are watching?  Are their minds still on something else?

Now, add the internet to the mix. Most people are on their computers for work and play.  It’s no wonder TV shows try to direct you to their website.  That’s where most people spend their time.  It is the place to find love, food, cars, investments, TV shows you missed, coupons and specials, old friends, as well as anything you need regarding animals.  That is why I am placing my show on the internet, so I know you will see it!

I wanted to share with you some sites I think you might want to put into your database.  You never know when you might need them.  You’re already on the computer reading this    I have posted them below.

There is also a term a lot of people have heard but really don’t understand.  It is called “Fostering”.  I recently did a report on Greyhounds.  The dogs are rescued, sent to prison and trained by the prisoners.  After they are trained they are sent to foster homes, or rescues, until they are adopted.

I always thought that fostering meant you HAD to keep the animal until a new home was found.  That is not the case. Most of the time animals are only with you for a short time, maybe a week or two.  If you have to leave for a trip, the organization will take the animal.  If you only want a “friend” for a few weeks or a month, that is fine.  There is a HUGE NEED for foster homes everywhere.  There are all kinds of animals that need a foster home.  It can be fun to learn about a new animal without the long term commitment.  The animals come with food.  Any medical care is also taken care of for you.  All the animal needs is a safe and loving place to stay, temporarily.  In addition, think of the love you will get in return.

The other nice thing about fostering is that you just opened up a spot for another animal.  If it had not been for you, that animal might have been put down because there was no place for it to go.

If you would like to find out more regarding fostering, I suggest you contact your local shelter, rescue or other animal organization.  Ask, “what does takes to be a foster parent”?

If you are looking for animals to adopt:

1.www.petango.com – These are all PetPoint Shelters.  They also have a web based store and will make a donation to a selected shelter as a result of the person’s purchase.

2. www.adoptapet.com – People can do a “search saver” which will send them an email when a specific breed they are looking for becomes available.

3. www.pets911.com

4. www.petfinder.com

5. www.akc.org – breed specific rescue groups

If you lost an animal:

1. http://petharbor.com

2. http://helpmefindmypet.com

3. http://dogdetective.com

4. http://haveyouseenthispet.com

5. http://www.pets911.com

6. http://petfinder.com

7. http://www.missingpet.net

Organizations that will help owners that cannot afford vet care.

Most of them handle serious medical conditions and injury.  Some focus on low income, elderly and handicapped owners.  A couple of them are for rescue organizations and homeless pets.

1. www.angels4animals.org

2. www.carecredit.com

3.www.fveap.org/sys-tmple/door

4.www.imom.org

5.http://thepetfund.com

6.www.uan.org/lifeline

7.www.corgiaid.org

8.www.handicappedpets.com

9.www.labradorlifeline.org

I am sure there are many more organizations that can be added to this list.  If you would like to post about one you know of, please submit it under our “Resources/ Organizations” page.  Thanks for all you do for animals around the world!

What is your first impression when you hear a rescued dog was sent to prison?  Do you conjure up images that are not pleasant?   READ THE INFORMATION AND GO BEHIND THE SCENES, WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW. I think you will be pleasantly surprised and your heart will pound, in a good way.

There is an organization called 2nd Chance at Life.  They place Greyhounds in prisons once they have been rescued.  They have placed over 600 dogs nationwide. These dogs are fostered by the prisoners.

What Does The Greyhound and Inmate Prison Partnership Do?

Greyhounds

1. Delivers an Obedience Trained Greyhound to the Community

2. Provides a Network of Prison Foster Homes for Greyhounds

3. Gives them a place to live until they can be adopted

4. Allows two 24/7 inmate caretaker’s for each greyhound

5. Saves thousands of retired racing greyhounds

Prisoners

1. Allows inmates to give something back to the community

2. Allows inmates to experience un-conditional love

3. Relieves inmate idleness in prison facilities

4. Teaches inmates patience and responsibility

5. Establishes vocational jobs for the inmates

ALL OF THE DOGS ON THIS POST ARE UP FOR ADOPTION!

Who is a typical adoptable Greyhound?

They’re really a 45 mile an hour couch potato!!!!!!

Usually between eighteen months and five years old.

They do not require a great deal of space to run, as many people think, but they do enjoy their daily walks.

These ex-racers are intelligent, quiet, clean, good-natured, adaptable, sensitive, dogs who adjust readily to their new home environment.

They are eager to please and respond positively to any attention.

They provide their new owner with never ending loyalty and affection.

What does Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions do?

Find the best prescreened, match as possible for your family, with current shots, cleaned teeth. Prescreening includes cat testing that would help ensure compatibility with cats and other small animals.

Find loving and qualified homes for the Greyhounds entrusted to our care. We spay/neuter provide vaccinations and make sure all Greys are in excellent health, including teeth.

Provide ongoing support to those who adopt Greyhounds from Gold Coast Greyhound Adoptions, Inc. or any other group.

Educate the public and raise awareness about the availability and suitability of retired racing Greyhounds as pets.

Promote harmony and teamwork among all segments of the worldwide Greyhound community.

How can someone adopt a prison trained or even a non-prison trained rescued Grey?

There are a number of organizations where you can adopt these wonderful  dogs.  One that I know about, in my area, is Gold Coast Greyhound.

ALL OF THE DOGS ON THIS POST ARE UP FOR ADOPTION

You can complete the adoption form from Gold Coast Greyhounds here. You can also call them  at 941-312-1750.

More Foster Homes Are Needed!!

1. They provide extension into the community

2. Conduct reference checks

3. Provide ongoing support to the Grey and his forever home.

4. Great option for snow birds or anyone without a long term commitment.

Everyone asks, “Is it difficult to give up a foster?” Yes and No.  It’s very easy to develop an emotional attachment but when you place a happy Grey in his forever home with wonderful & caring families we are very happy! Then we know we can foster another Grey and help them find a loving home.  If you cannot foster and cannot adopt, donations help support the cost of caring for our Greyhounds and preparing them for our prison training program.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION….

ALL OF THE DOGS ON THIS POST ARE UP FOR ADOPTION.

Racing Greyhounds spend most of their lives in the company of other dogs, their trainers and handlers. Racing Greyhounds have all the advantage of breeding and training when it comes to being a good pet. Their social ability generally makes them great with other pets. Their temperament makes them wonderful around children and friends. Their intelligence and breed make them perfect house pets. A clean, quiet loving companion, a well-mannered Greyhound could be just the pet for you.

I want Friday’s to bring awareness to other organizations that are doing wonderful things for animals. If you have information you want to share, send me a paragraph on the topic with a link to the website, by 11am on Thursday.  I will do this each Friday.  Please pass this link on to bring awareness to these wonderful organizations, thanks!

Enjoy the 6 posts below:

1.  A Love Story: A) Here, his wife is injured and the condition is fatal.  She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road.

B) Here he brought her food and attended to her with love and compassion.

C) He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead. He tried to move her….a rarely-seen effort for swallows!

D) Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again,he cries with adoring love.

E) He stands beside her, saddened by her death.

F) Finally aware that she would never return to him, he stays beside her body with sadness and sorrow.

Millions of people cried after seeing this picture story in America and Europe and even in India .  It is said that the photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the most famous newspaper in France .  All copies of that newspaper were sold out on the day these pictures were published. And many people think birds and animals don’t have a brain or feelings!!

1. 2.  On December 15th, 2009 the SPCA of Texas took custody of 26,000 exotic animals from US Global Exotics in the largest animal seizure in US history. USGE was a major distributor of exotic animals from wallabies to hamsters; warehousing them in horrific conditions until they could be brokered to stores, breeders and retailers. Thousands of reptiles, amphibians, small mammals, arachnids, and many other animals were cruelly confined in filthy conditions, literally crammed into cattle-feeding troughs, boxes, bags, and even pop bottles. They did not have food, water, or veterinary care. According to reports 500 animals a day were dying at USGE, ending up tossed in their dumpster.

Thanks to an undercover PETA investigation the animals were permanently awarded to the SPCA of Texas on Feb 1, 2010. Love or hate PETA you have to give them credit for this one.  Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary was proud and honored to be selected as one of 30 rescues in the nation to receive some of the rescued animals from the US Global Exotics animal cruelty and neglect
case. Located in Northern Illinois Critter Camp board member Shary Stelter made the trip to Nashville, TN to meet up with the SPCA of TX transport on Superbowl Sunday where she was interviewed by Nashville Television station WSMV.  See the 75 critters from USGE now calling Critter Camp Exotic Pet Sanctuary their home, including adorable Texas Spotted Ground Squirrels, short-tailed opossum , Roborovski hamsters and little white mice; and find links to more information on our Global Exotics Rescue Page:
Click Here For More Information.

Critter Camp is the only exotic pet sanctuary of its kind in the U.S. giving a safe, healthy happy home to the elderly, sick, disabled and aggressive un-adoptable exotic pets that have nowhere else to go, currently caring for over 300 animals of 36 different species!  Click Here to go to Their Website

3. Pepsi is funding grants in various categories until 2/28. Many Houston dogs are euthanized due to heartworms in a good economy, it is at a horrendous pace currently.

The drug to treat this is very expensive and each bottle only treats 22 lbs. This group is desperate to move up into the funded top ten. More information and pictures of saved dogs are on the site.  This could help dogs at many rescue groups and shelter.  People can vote every day, until the 28th. PLEASE, CLICK HERE to go to this site to vote today, and everyday until the 28th.

4. TAKE ACTION TODAY!!! 36,000 elephants were killed last year for their ivory. In 16 DAYS 111 tonnes of ivory will be traded at the CITIES* conference if certain countries have their way.

This will pretty much kick-start the ivory trade in a massive way meaning the end for tens or even hundreds of thousands of elephants.

If this bothers you too, please try and stop this happening by signing this petition, CLICK HERE (you’ll need to confirm your signature).

5.   A documentary was just completed.  It’s about No Kill Pet Rescues and Shelters as well as the challenges they face. In November of 2008 a family adopted a new family member from the Animal Welfare Society and learned about the lack of awareness of the No Kill shelters.  They took it upon themselves to finance and create a program about these shelters.   They have pledged 60% of all profits to go to the AWS and if they can get great distribution, will split some for other local shelters in the Detroit area.

6.   Dachshund Rescue of Bucks County & NJ  have on-line workshops. They are hosted by dachshund experts and are designed to help you have a long and happy relationship with your doxie of any size.  There is a small donation fee charged for attendance with all proceeds donated to DRBC for the high medical fees incurred in the rescue and rehabilitation of our beloved breed.

This Month’s First Topic: Dental Disease and Your Dog
Those amazing toofers. How to keep them clean, bright and where they belong.  Are doxies more prone to dental disease?   How often should I clean my dogs teeth. How often should my vet clean my dogs teeth?   Dental and cardiac disease,yes, they are related.  Did you know there is anew vaccine to eliminate 4 out of 5 of the causes of tartar?   You can find out all about it at this session.

Click Here To Register

An update on my post last week….. The West Hollywood City Council passed an ordinance on February 16, 2010 banning the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores unless from rescues and shelters.  I was overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to know, how can they do the same thing in their own town?

I contacted Carole Davis with the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) to get the information.  They did the work to get this passed.  The Animal Legal Defense Fund and Humane Society of United States helped as well.   CAPS now helps other cities with the drafting of legislation against puppy mill sales in other communities.  Here are excerpts from The American Dog Magazine, with links to each article and videos.

If your state has the puppy lemon law then move forward by going to your pet stores and asking for information about the breeder they buy from.  If not, ask your legislators to get the Lemon Law.  This law allows you to get the information about the breeder from the pet store.  Once you have that information, go to CAPS website and fill out a puppy complaint.   Please read all of the information below if you have interest, or know someone who does.  It was very time consuming and costly for CAPS to do this, but it has been worth it.

1. Pets, Lies & Legislation

Puppy mills are a hot political issue. Public outrage is growing over the legal multi-billion dollar puppy-producing business that forces millions of breeding dogs to endure inhumane treatment in factory-like conditions until death. They’re kept 24/7 in wire cages caked with their own feces, with no veterinary care or socialization. Average dog lovers want puppy mills to become illegal.

Consequently, a war about dogs is escalating in America -  a battle as complex as any fought in the history of social movements and waged with a proportionate scale of strategists, lobbyists, and commanders vying for control, power, and money.

To puppy mill investigators, the idea that commercial breeders are treating their dogs well or socializing them is laughable. A miller’s idea of playtime is to throw a bunch of females in heat with a male in one cage. As for being responsibly placed, mass volume breeders use brokers to ship barely weaned (and often sick) pups indiscriminately to pet retailers around the country. The dogs are crated in trucks for thousands of miles at an age when they need food and water every two hours. They are also sent in crates to buyers across the country on long flights with layovers. Transporting eight-week old dogs that way isn’t safe, and according to Lewis Turner, owner of the Petcare Company in California, four out of ten dogs that were trucked in to him by brokers Lambriar and Hunte were sick, “with green liquid coming from their eyes or nose.” Hardly “responsible placement” by any standard.

To Read More about This Subject Click Here.

2. Spay and Neuter Laws ……..Humans Debate While Dogs Die

It’s Tuesday, 9 AM at a Los Angeles shelter and a worried little terrier has just been “red-listed.” Unless someone adopts her, she’ll be killed. Another dog will take her place and that dog, too, if he isn’t adopted, will be killed. Could spay and neuter laws make a difference in this dog’s life?

In California, in 2008, municipal shelters reporting to the California Department of Public Health took in 833,304 dogs and cats. Of those, 429,987, or 51%, were killed. That would be a sad enough number for the whole country but it’s just for the state of California. In the U.S., the number of pets killed in shelters is astounding. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) reports that every year, between six and eight million dogs and cats enter U.S. shelters and three to four million of those animals are killed because there aren’t enough homes for them. In 2009, uncontrolled breeding compounded by record job losses and home foreclosures are causing the number of animals flooding our shelters to rise sharply. When the figures are finally reported, they’ll be tragic.

Until we get a handle on this crisis, we need to refrain from buying animals and adopt from shelters instead. We ought to promote adoption to our friends. And we must fix the dogs we have.  To Read More About This Click Here.

3. Undercover Investigations Prove Pet Shop Puppies Were Coming From Puppy Mills

Though there has been lots of press coverage on the subject, there are still people who don’t know that pet stores are supplied by large brokers and inhumane breeding operations. There is no other way for pet shops to have a constant supply of puppies of different breeds. It was time to take a stand and convince puppy buyers to stop shopping and start adopting. Los Angeles, the second largest market for pets after New York, was the perfect place to tell the public about the ugly truth behind the pretty store fronts.

In California, they have a Puppy Lemon Law, which requires pet store owners to post the name and address of the breeder of the dogs on their display enclosures. Putting that law to use, people were recruited who were willing to do some reconnaissance trips to pet stores. They wired themselves up with undercover cameras and disguised themselves.They fanned out across the city, hitting all the pet stores to find out exactly where the puppies were coming from.

They called on some professional investigators from LCA (Last Chance for Animals) to go and film the addresses they provided. When the photos and video came in, the proof was irrefutable. Bingo. Just like they expected, the puppies at Posh Puppy were coming from a puppy mill.

What they found out through their in-store investigations is that pet stores are openly defrauding the public – not just Posh Puppy in Beverly Hills, but all the pet stores they visited. They discovered that pet store owners, managers and employees routinely lie to people.   To Read More About This Subject Click Here.

4. A March for Free Speech for Those Who Have No Speech – PUPPY MILL DOGS

On December 19, 2009, the Saturday before Christmas, eighty animal welfare activists marched in a silent vigil for dogs suffering in puppy mills. The grass roots group was also marching for the five million companion animals who are killed every year in the shelter system because there are not enough homes for them. Local activists had been planning the event for months following an investigation by the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), which claims that Barkworks, a pet store chain in California, sells animals from puppy mills. The CAPS investigation included evidence from the United States Department of Agriculture inspection reports that the Midwest commercial breeders supplying the stores had multiple violations.

The puppy mill awareness drive that took place on the busiest puppy-buying day of the year, was intended to raise the awareness of consumers and to steer them to the overcrowded Los Angeles shelters to adopt or rescue a pet for Christmas.  Read More Here.

5. Victory for Dogs as Pet Stores Go Humane

Sadly, millions of dogs are suffering in shelters and puppy mills. This year, a record number of dogs are being dumped and euthanized at shelters because of the current economic crisis. Commercial breeders and pet stores are also feeling the pinch. “People just aren’’t buying puppies right now,” says pet store manager Justin Vanert.

Growing numbers of commercial dog breeders in the Midwest are selling their homes for a pittance – advertising them as “turnkey investments,” which often include kennels with hundreds of breeding dogs “free with the property.” As bleak as it all sounds, this recession just might have a silver lining for the dogs who are wasting away in puppy mills and shelters.  Perhaps this economic downturn might be a dog’s chance to get out alive.

The dog trade is showing signs of weakness. Successful business is all about supply and demand and right now the demand side is shrinking as buyers of puppy mill dogs snap their wallets shut. But the reasons aren’t just the economy – it’s a combination of decreased spending, public awareness of inhumane breeding practices, legislation that limits and criminalizes dog factory cruelty and effective campaigns led by animal rights activists.

This spring, a group of Los Angeles activists celebrated yet another victory. After five weeks of protests, the owner of Elaine’s Pet Depot signed an agreement to hand over all of her puppy mill dogs to Good Dog Animal Rescue for adoption. The agreement with the lynchpin store of a national chain of pet stores included a statement that reflected the store’s commitment to working with rescue organizations. The store agreed to hold adoptions and end its sale of puppy mill dogs. Reliable sources from within the franchise claimed that the entire Pet Depot chain was considering conversion to a humane business model within a few months. If the large chain stops buying from brokers and mass volume breeders, the strategy to cripple the puppy mill industry by hitting them where it hurts, in the wallet, is working.

The “go humane or go out of business” campaign has been able to gain momentum by combining its ability to exploit the current economic downtown and its skilled use of visual evidence from undercover investigations. The stores that were protested saw as much as 70 percent of their weekend business deterred by activists brandishing signs depicting graphic photos of dogs suffering in mills. An increasing number of stores in the heart of Los Angeles have been closed down or converted – more than a dozen so far in a little over a year.  Learn How You Can Do This, Click Here.

6. Now the Internet is overflowing with puppy mill sales

As the animal protection movement wages its battle against the maltreatment of dogs in puppy mills, it faces a powerful new enemy -  the Internet Pet Store. The Internet, as helpful as it has been for rescuing animals with sites like AdoptAPet.com, has become a perfect stealth shield for abusers of animals looking to make a buck. A Google search for information on dog breeds will lead any gullible browser to tens of thousands of online breeders. For the buyer in a hurry, there are Web portals to make shopping easy, like NextDayPets.com, which unite hundreds of dog dealers on one site. With a click, you can pay to have a pup mailed to you in a crate. Though it’s a convenient way to buy a dog, you might be inadvertently contributing to animal abuse.

Deborah Howard, president of the Companion Animal Protection puppy dealers. “One should never, ever buy a dog on the Internet because you’re not seeing the conditions under which the puppy is being raised,” she said. “There are no good ones because reputable  reeders don’t sell puppies this way.” “The HSUS receives hundreds of complaints about sick and dying puppies sold over the Internet,” says Kathleen Summers, Deputy Director of the puppy mill campaign of  The Humane Society of the United States. “In fact, several of the puppy mills that the HSUS has helped close down recently were Internet sellers, including a mill in Tennessee with almost 700 dogs and a millin West Virginia with almost 900 dogs. Both of these facilities posed online as small family breeders.”

A lot of them arrive sick with Parvo, worms, Giardia, coccidia, kennel cough or pneumonia. It’s even more dangerous than buying in a pet shop because legal recourses are more challenging. You have to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s office in the state of the breeder and if you want to sue the seller, you have to go to small claims court in their state, not yours. These Internet sellers know this.

Many of the sites linked to substandard breeding operations will say anything to deceive buyers into believing the business is ethical or humane. They often describe themselves as “Christian” and “familyrun.” A common lie is that their dogs are “raised in the home.”

Read More About This Here.