I just found this very interesting post from Lisa Wogan over at the Bark Blog.

“If the obstacle to pet overpopulation is money–consider that challenge handled. Orthopedic surgeon, inventor, and 346th richest American Gary Michelson will give $25 million to the brainy someone who conjures a safe, one-time non-surgical means to sterilize male and female cats and dogs. And that’s not all.

Michelson’s non-profit Found Animals Foundation will provide an additional $50 million to support the research into plausible approaches. Michelson and others, including the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs, believe an inexpensive, convenient alternative to traditional spay and neuter is the essential missing line of attack in the battle to save millions of dogs and cats from euthanasia every year.

My favorite line in the USA Today story on the program is when Michelson says, “No one will stop what they’re doing and turn their attention to this problem for $10 million. That’s not enough.”"

I think this is such an important news story, don’t you? Please cross-post as you see fit.

Here is an update on our friend, Mr. Capone, the English Bulldog. He is our hu-Mom’s friend Nicole’s dog. Boy is he a sweetie. And boy is he funny. We just love Capone (and English Bulldogs for that matter. They are just a comical dog breed we think.) It’s been awhile since we last heard from Capone.

Capone the English Bulldog

The past few months have been a little crazy to say the least. In a short matter of time, Capone was not only fixed, but he also had his hernia repaired, and had a “nose job.” (Like most celebs, let’s just say it was due to a deviated septum.) *wink, wink!*

Yes, that’s an awful lot, but let me explain why we had all of these procedures done. (After all, we’d do anything for our little guy!)

To Fix or Not to Fix

We really had no intentions of breeding him. While my husband and I would love a little friend for Capone, we realize we’re not breeders and would have absolutely no idea what we were doing. Plus, it’s very expensive!

According to our vet, Bulldogs, who have a short life expectancy as is, are expected to live a little longer once this procedure is done. Besides, had we not had him fixed, he’d be able to smell a female dog in heat almost 5 miles away, and you better believe he’d try to find her!

Hernia Repair

When Mr. Capone was just a pup, we noticed he had what looked like a protruding belly button. Well, upon examination, the vet informed us that when he was born, the vet who delivered the pups cut the umbilical chord too close, thus preventing it from completely healing. (Hence, the hernia. )

We knew right away that when we were going to get him fixed, we’d have that taken care of in order to avoid any complications later in life.

A Nose Job?
The vet had noticed over the course of a few months that Mr. Capone’s nostrils were unusually narrow. (Before any assumptions are made, let me just say that my husband and I LOVE Mr. Capone’s snoring and grunting like a pig!)

I was afraid to get the procedure done for a few reasons. First, the vet mentioned the snoring might completely go away. (Thank goodness it didn’t!) Secondly, he might get a “piggy” nose. Fortunately, that didn’t happen either! (Either way, we’d love him just the same!)

Anyways, we had his nostrils enlarged, thus enabling him to breathe more easily. This, too, will hopefully enable him to live a longer life than the average bulldog.

Looking back, I’m amazed at just how well he recovered.

As I picked him up from the vet, I broke down. He was on so many medications, had so many stitches and it looked like he either didn’t remember me, or he was so upset with me for taking him to get all of this done, he didn’t want to know me. I swear, I thought it would take months to get my lil’ Capone back in tip-top shape.

Well, it took about 6 weeks until he was completely healed. Let me tell you that Mr. Capone definitely is back to normal, and boy is he full of energy! He’s taken up a new sport, softball and even has a new lil’ lady in his life, Maggie May. (Friends of ours got her just a few months ago.)

It was a tough decision to have all of these things done, and it was a bit pricy, but the well-being of our Capone has made it all worthwhile. The fact that he can breathe more easily, and run for longer amounts of time definitely allowed us to see that we had made the right decision.

Mr. Capone’s giving me his puppy dog eyes right now. It looks to me like he’s ready to “Play ball!”

Here’s a picture of him and his new girlfriend:

Capone Getting a Kiss!

Wags,
Benson and Gibson

Coming up in August are two important days for our nation’s pets:

August 16th: International Homeless Animals Day, sponsored by the International Society for Animal Rights.

According to the ISAR’s website, ISAR was the first organization in the United States (and probably the world) to use in its corporate name the moral principle of “animal rights.” The first federal and the first state court legal decisions to invoke the moral principle “animal rights” were in cases brought by ISAR.

Not sure how this group has gone unnoticed by me until now but it’s definitely worth mentioning.

According to the President’s Message from a 2007 Newsletter, ISAR inititated the first Homeless Animals Day in 1992. They “launched a crusade to enlighten society, our elected officials, and the media about the urgent need to spay/neuter our companion animals in an effort to halt the massive killing of millions of unwanted dogs, cats, kittens and puppies each year in our nation’s shelters.”

ISAR began National Homeless Animals’ Day and Candlelight Vigils to publicize dog and cat overpopulation in its overwhelming magnitude. National Homeless Animals’ Day and Candlelight Vigils, commemorated on the third Saturday of August each year, have grown enormously in both number and content. Animal Rights/Welfare organizations, as well as individuals from around the world have taken part in the event to increase public awareness of this issue. In the U.S, it is now recognized in most states as National Homeless Animals Day. The group encourages locally organized vigils to run on these days. See their website for more info.

Send this free pet eCard to other pet lovers on National Homeless Animals Day this year!

August 23rd: National Dog Day 2008, created by the National Dog Day Foundation, National Dog Day has two goals: to honor dogs and to rescue dogs from homelessness and abuse. It’s an opportunity for us to recognize and appreciate the value and importance of dogs in our lives.

According to the National Dog Day’s website, “National Dog Day serves to help galvanize the public to recognize the number of dogs that need to be rescued each year, and acknowledges family dogs and dogs that work selflessly each day to save lives, keep us safe and bring comfort.

National Dog Day’s founder, animal behaviorist, author and founder of the Animal Miracle Foundation, Colleen Paige, felt it was time to honor dogs more than we do now, to give them a day, to show appreciation for our deep connection to each other – for their endearing patience, unquestioning loyalty, for their work, their capacity for love and their ability to impact our lives everyday in the most miraculous ways. National Dog Day wishes to encourage dog ownership of all breeds, mixed and pure – and embraces the opportunity for all dogs to live a happy, safe and abuse-free life.”

This week, May 4-10 is the American Humane Association’s Be Kind to Animals Week! The group created this celebratory week in 1915 to celebrate the unique bond between humans and animals.

Though we all love our fur-babies, there are some special things we can do this week to work towards a better future for all animals, everywhere.

So how can you be kind to animals this week? The AHA recommends the following:

Speak out for animals. Get active in local animal welfare policies and legislation.

Report animal abuse. While acts of violence against animals are tragic in their own right, they are also a red flag for other violent behavior, including domestic abuse and violent crime.

Appreciate wildlife. Create an inviting space in your yard or garden for butterflies and birds. Feed the local birds, ducks, bunnies, deer, etc. (Some people might disagree with this one, but oh well. This is my feeling on the subject of starving wild animals).

Make a donation to a local animal shelter. A donation can be monetary, but you can also volunteer or offer up some other service in-kind like contributing to the shelter’s marketing efforts, etc.

Adopt a pet from a shelter or a breed-specific rescue. Approximately 8 to 12 million animals enter our nation’s shelters every year, and more than half of these pets will have to be euthanized because of a lack of homes. Local shelters are the best place to find companion animals, even purebreds — 1 of every 4 dogs in a shelter is a purebred.

Educate others. Share information about animal welfare issues with friends, family and co-workers. Research an issue close to heart, i.e. puppy mills, factory farming, breed-specific legislation, and do something about it! Write letters, call legislators, and get involved with animal welfare advocacy groups!

Spay and neuter. Help solve the problem of euthanasia of adoptable animals by not contributing to it. Make sure your cats and dogs are spayed and neutered.

Who knew?

I know this topic came up quite awhile back but I think it’s worth re-introducing.

I got some snail mail recently from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)asking me to buy a membership. I always do research before donating to animal welfare groups because I get so many mailings in a week, and half of the so-called non-profits are shams that spend like 1 cent of a dollar on the animals. (Once you donate to one you get on ALL the mailing lists.)

Anyways, I found a website called PETAKillsAnimals.com. They report that PETA killed 97% of pets in their care in 2006 (most recent year for which stats are available).

97 percent.

This information came to light after a highly puclicized trial of two PETA employees who were arrested in 2005 for animal cruelty. They were found with a roaming “death van” and had been euthanizing pets and throwing them in trash bins. They were, to the dismay of the public, acquitted in 2007.

I wanted to find some back up information to support the claim from PETA Kills Animals and I found out, from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, that PETA killed (“put down”) 14,400 pets between 1998 and 2005. Pets that were supposed to go to homes. In fact, PETA actually told the vets and shelters they picked the animals up from that they would be going to homes and getting adopted out, according to the PETA Kills Animals site.

PETA employees even admitted on the stand that the group frequently kills animals. How frequently? Well in 2006 the group took in over 3,000 animals. Only 12 were adopted out.

This completely shocked me. This is sickening.

PETA’s own philosophy holds that people and animals are equal. It’s President, Ingrid Newkirk, has likened dogs to boys. And coming from a group that works so hard for animal rights and to harm the reputation of animal abusers…

PETA has become every piece the animal killer as the companies it commonly attacks.

So much for animal welfare.

Tell me what you think about this.

No, I am not talking about your crush on the neighbor.

I am talking about a chance to help animals throughout the country!

Thanks to Best Friends Animal Society for this news article…

AnimalAttraction.com, a social networking site that has been called “MySpace for pet lovers,” is offering current and future members an opportunity to choose Best Friends as the recipient of donations from the website.

When somebody joins AnimalAttraction they are given the option of four animal welfare organizations to support: Best Friends, ASPCA, PetFinder and North Shore Animal League America.

The site donates $1 to a chosen group when a member signs up, then a penny each day that person logs on. It also donates $1 for each friend the member refers to the site. There is no cost to join the site.

Read the full article here.

This is a great opportunity to donate to the hard-working animal welfare community and a chance to make some purr-fectly pet-loving friends in a forum atmosphere. AnimalAttraction has all kinds of other features, too when you join including forums, photo contests and galleries, chat rooms, videos of the day and more! They have all kinds of educational materials as well so you can learn about your pet’s health and other information.

Click here to join AnimalAttraction today and start donating (for free!). It’s an awesome site where you can upload photos of your pets and create your own personal home page.

Thanks again to Best Friends Animal Society for this news.

Four paws to the City of Los Angeles! It was announced yesterday that the Los Angeles City Council voted to require sterilization of cats and dogs 4 months of age and older.

The ordinance, passed 14-1, is meant to help reduce the number of stray animals the city’s shelters have to kill each year. It’s also hoped it will discourage illegal breeding, dogfighting and hoarders.

Los Angeles is the largest municipality in the entire country to adopt such a measure.

Bob Barker, the former “Price is Right” host and vehement animal welfare advocate (remember at the end of every show how he would ask the viewers to please spay and neuter their pets?), is one of the measure’s staunchest supporters.

According the Orange County Register, Barker has spent $35 million of his own personal fortune on U.S. programs that subsidize the spay/neuter surgeries. Imagine how many pets that has taken care of…

For more details, read the Orange County Register’s full story.