Pets and Pools - A Swimming Summer Safety Idea!

With temperatures soaring, everybody loves a nice cool dip - but did you know that your swimming pool could be a death trap for your beloved pet?

A bit of forethought can help avert disaster though!

• Any pet owner with a pool should introduce their animal to the water gradually and in a non-threatening way, to prevent panic the first time Fluffy or Fido is chased, falls or jumps into the pool - because it will happen sometime!


• Even if your animal loves the water and is a strong swimmer, they can panic if they can’t find their way out, get fatigued or distressed, so ensure a happy ending for everyone by making sure any animal (pet or critter) that ends up in the pool can easily get out.

The Skamper Ramp is an animal safety product that can save the lives of dogs, cats, critters - even kids - by providing an easy way out of swimming pools!

As soon as we saw it, we thought, "What a fantastic idea! Why hasn't anyone thought of it before?!" And as a bonus, it's recyclable and 100% made in America: Safe, Green and Patriotic - why not pick one up for that 4th July puppy play date?

See the Skamper Ramp in action.

It's hot out there - don't leave your dog in the car!

Did you know that even on comparatively cool days, such as 72 degrees, a car's internal temperature will rocket to 116 degrees within 60 minutes? And keeping the windows open a crack hardly slows the rise at all. (source: Article on Stanford study).

Every year, countless dogs die unnecessarily, after being locked in cars while their owners work, visit, shop, or run other errands.

Check out www.mydogiscool.com for more information and a handy temperature checker form to see if it's too hot to take your dog out today. Also check out the ASPCA's hot weather tips - and remember, if you love your dog enough to take them with you - you love them enough to know when to leave them at home.

If you wouldn't leave your child in the car, don't leave your dog in the car - enjoy a humane summer!

Dallas City Council votes YES to new animal control ordinances

After hearing literally hundreds of people speak for and against the proposed updates to city animal laws, the Dallas City Council voted 10-3 in favor of the changes.

The new ordinances include the following provisions (for more details, go to http://www.dallasanimaladvocates.org/):

• A charge of $70 per animal for breeders to obtain permits.


• A single house be limited to six cats and/or dogs. People owning more than a half-acre of land would be allowed eight - something not contained in earlier versions of the proposal. People who today own a greater number of animals could apply to the city for grandfathering, allowing them to retain their animals without penalty.


• Dogs and cats be spayed or neutered. But the ordinance would provide numerous exceptions to a previously proposed mandatory spay-neuter provision. Dogs and cats younger than 6 months old, a service animal or the property of a licensed breeder would be exempt from spaying or neutering regulations. A veterinarian may also certify that an animal shouldn't be spayed or neutered for health reasons, the briefing document states.


• The city could seize, then impound a dog suspected of causing bodily injury to a person until after a hearing to determine the dog's fate. Now, such dogs are quarantined for 10 days, then returned to their owners in many cases.


• Tethering unsupervised dogs to trees or poles be prohibited except "for a period no longer than necessary for the owner to complete a temporary task."


• Owners must provide at least 150 square feet of space and a "building or properly designed dog house" for a dog confined outdoors.

Dallas City has a dreadful pet overpopulation problem, as well as extensive evidence of people in certain areas tethering their dogs outdoors 24x7 with little to no shelter or protection. These changes are designed to start addressing the problem and hopefully reducing the number of animals being euthanised in the City's shelter.

The Rescuer and The Rainbow Bridge

Today we'd like to share a moving story that was emailed to the North Texas Animal Rights Network (NTARN) recently by Dr. John Pippin, a cardiologist on the board of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine who is a huge animal rights supporter...

"Almost all animal rescuers know of the Rainbow Bridge, where departed animals wait for their people to meet them for the last joyous walk across the Bridge together. This story is also about the Rainbow Bridge, but concerns those animals who never found their forever homes on earth. Although NTARN is not a rescue or adoption group, many of us who are activists also do rescue and adoption because the need is there, and because our hearts are there. This essay is not original to me, but it is my tribute to the rescuers, who are granted automatic sainthood in my book."

THE RESCUER AND THE RAINBOW BRIDGE

Unlike most days at the Rainbow Bridge, this day dawned cold and gray. All the recent arrivals at the Bridge did not know what to think, as they had never seen such a day. But the animals who had been waiting longer for their beloved people to accompany them across the Bridge knew what was happening, and they began to gather along the pathway leading to the Bridge.

Soon an elderly dog came into view, head hung low and tail dragging. He approached slowly, and though he showed no sign of injury or illness, he was in great emotional pain. Unlike the animals gathered along the pathway, he had not been restored to youth and vigor upon arriving at the Bridge. He felt out of place, and wanted only to cross over and find happiness.

But as he approached the Bridge, his way was barred by an angel, who apologized and explained that the tired and broken-spirited old dog could not cross over. Only those animals accompanied by their people were allowed to cross the Bridge. Having nobody, and with nowhere else to turn, the dog trudged into the field in front of the Bridge. There he found others like himself, elderly or infirm, sad and discouraged. Unlike the other animals waiting to cross the Bridge, these animals were not running or playing. They simply were lying in the grass, staring forlornly at the pathway across the Rainbow Bridge. The old dog took his place among them, watching the pathway and waiting…yet not knowing for what he was waiting.

One of the newer dogs at the Bridge asked a cat who had been there longer to explain what was happening. The cat replied, “Those poor animals were abandoned, turned away, or left at rescue places, but never found a home on earth. They all passed on with only the love of a rescuer to comfort them. Because they had no people to love them, they have nobody to escort them across the Rainbow Bridge.”

The dog asked the cat, “So what will happen to those animals?” Before the cat could answer, the clouds began to part and the cold turned to bright sunshine. The cat replied, “Watch, and you will see.” In the distance was a solitary person, and as he approached the Bridge the old, infirm and sad animals in the field were bathed in a golden light. They were at once made young and healthy, and stood to see what their fate would be. The animals who had previously gathered along the pathway bowed their heads as the person approached. At each bowed head, the person offered a scratch or hug.

One by one, the now youthful and healthy animals from the field fell in line behind the person. Together, they walked across the Rainbow Bridge to a future of happiness and unquestioned love. The dog asked the cat, “What just happened?”

The cat responded, “That was a rescuer. The animals gathered along the pathway bowing in respect were those who had found their forever homes because of rescuers. They will cross over when their people arrive at the Bridge. The arrival here of a rescuer is a great and solemn event, and as a tribute they are permitted to perform one final act of rescue. They are allowed to escort all those poor animals they couldn’t place on earth across the Rainbow Bridge.”

The dog thought for a moment, then said, “I like rescuers.” The cat smiled and replied, “So does God, my friend. So does God.”

... and so do we! THANK YOU to everyone who rescues an animal - you're saints in our eyes too!

Getting serious about new animal control ordinances in Dallas, Tx

Today the animal control ordinance debate before the Dallas City Council hits its home stretch. Dallas Animal Advocates are presenting the case for the changes in a council briefing session today, highlighting the benefits of spay/neuter, the costs of shelter overcrowding and the unacceptable numbers of animals being euthanised every year, animal cruelty implications of unsupervised tethering and more. They will showcase shelter worker interviews, videos and case studies of other cities that have approved similar ordinances.

The council votes on these changes next Wednesday, June 25 - we ask all Dallas residents and business people who'd like to see Dallas held to a higher standard to visit the Dallas Animal Advocates website to learn more, and to sign the petition supporting these changes.

There are a lot of people with financial interests in maintaining the status quo who are pushing hard against the changes - "hobby" and commercial breeders among them. Breeding more animals in an overpopulated city is only contributing to the problems, so if you'd like to see more animals finding homes and fewer animals being killed in overcrowded shelters, please speak out in support of the changes!

Piano playing cat

Because it's Friday and everybody deserves a smile - check out Nora's latest piano-playing exploits. She is just too cute!

Dogs more likely to bite if not neutered

In case you needed another reason to spay/neuter your dog:

An article in the New Yorker a while back by the business author Malcom Gladwell points out that “A 1991 study in Denver... compared a hundred and seventy-eight dogs with a history of biting people with a random sample of a hundred and seventy-eight dogs with no history of biting. The breeds were scattered: German shepherds, Akitas, and Chow Chows were among those most heavily represented. (There were no pit bulls among the biting dogs in the study, because Denver banned pit bulls in 1989.)

But a number of other, more stable factors stand out. [Among them]:
(a) The biters were 6.2 times as likely to be male than female,
(b) and 2.6 times as likely to be intact than neutered.

Neutering your male dog will not only help the pet overpopulation problem, but can reduce the likelihood of him biting people - especially children.

Have you made the appointment yet?

Father's Day is this weekend!

Want to give Dad something that's environmentally and socially responsible for Father's Day? How about making an honor donation in his name to his favorite animal-related cause or local animal shelter?

The Humane Society of the US allows you to make gift donations, while Organic Bouquet will donate 5-10% of the retail price of any gift purchase to the HSUS.

You can send your dad a special eCard (see image for an example of one of the eCard choices) if you make a Fathers Day honor gift donation to the ASPCA or, if you prefer to give by phone (call 1800 628-0028), they’ll send him a greeting card in the mail.

Celebrate your Dad by showing off those strong values of compassion and responsibility that he taught you - and save him from having to pretend he loves that garish Garfield tie!

I can't believe he's a purebred!

A Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy recently rescued from Dallas Animal Services shelter

There's a common misperception about that if you are looking for a specific breed of dog or cat for your next pet, you should contact a breeder or buy your new companion from a pet store.

But did you know that fully a quarter of the animals in shelters are pure bred? And that's in addition to the multitude of breed-specific rescue groups around the country who are always at capacity, desperately trying to find homes for the animals they have rescued from abandonment, abuse or saved from the dreaded euthanasia needle at a shelter.

In fact many less reputable breeders who are selling their animals for a huge premium will dump unsold "inventory" on the shelter system, contributing to the problem of shelter overcrowding that results in thousands of animals being euthanized every year.

While there are good, trustworthy breeders out there, recent reports by the Humane Society, Oprah Winfrey and PETA show that the majority of animals sold in pet stores, over the internet and through classified advertisements come from "puppy mills" - commercial breeding facilities that see animals as pure commodities for profit generation. The breeding stock live in often inhumane conditions, caged and bred repeatedly until they can't bear any more and are killed or dumped on a shelter. The litters are sold to credulous people who are taken in by a cute, furry baby-face or dumped when they can't sell.

Often people feel that you don't know what you are getting with a rescue animal. In fact, if the animal is being fostered by a rescue organization or staying any amount of time at a good shelter, they have mostly likely been fully vetted and trained, and the volunteers and staff will know if the animal is good with children, good with other dogs or cats, housebroken, etc. On the other hand, pets bought from pet stores and unregistered breeders often have behavioral and health problems that might not be apparent for months —problems that can cost thousands of dollars to treat, if they are treatable at all.

A pet store purchase has helped to unnecessarily perpetuate a system of cruelty and exploitation, whereas adopting a rescued animal is doing something good in a world that could sure do with it! And, as with responsible breeders, a good rescue always takes their dogs or cats back if there is a problem.

Ultimately one of the smartest way to get a new pet - whether you want a specific breed or a mutt - is to adopt. By choosing not to buy from disreputable breeders, you'll get an animal that has been vetted, vaccinated, spayed or neutered, and most importantly you'll save a life.

Contact your local animal shelter, search the American Kennel Club site or look for a purebred cat rescue group - you could make the ultimate bargain: get a pure bred pet for less than it costs to buy from a puppy mill or pet shop and save a life!

2 Minutes in the Dallas City Animal Shelter

This video is a brief introduction to some of the "inmates" of the Dallas City Animal shelter. The dogs featured in the video are as individual as they come - some are pregnant; some scared; some are hopeful that you might be their next forever home; while others are clearly depressed - their faith in humans dashed by their callous abandonment or surrender. To spend two minutes looking into their faces is to open your heart to their plight.

Dallas Animal Services have too many wonderful animals in their shelters and are forced to euthanize thousands every year for whom they can't find homes - please consider adoption if you're looking for a new pet - click here to see all the pets available. Your adoption could save a life.

Dallas residents should also get informed about proposed changes to the City's animal ordinances - click here to visit the Dallas Animal Advocates site to learn more - while you're there, why not sign the petition supporting spay/neuter ordinances as a measure to address the pet overpopulation crisis? Speak out now by writing a letter to the council, signing the petition or speaking at an open mic session - whatever you do, don't do nothing. Dallas animals need your voice because they don't have one of their own.

New Baby? Boston based school helps baby-proof man's best friend

If your dog is prepared for a new baby's arrival, it can make the transition a lot easier, reducing stress and potential danger. Planning ahead like this can help reduce the number of dogs surrendered to shelters when couples decide to have children.

Check out this video about a Boston-based doggie school that helps you prepare pup for the new kid on the block!


Baby-Proofing Man's Best Friend