The United States Postal Service has announced that it will now begin offering Animal Rescue: Adopt a Shelter Pet commemorative postage stamps. They are intented to help promote animal rescue efforts, and purchases will help feed 1 million shelter pets. Pre-order yours today! To learn more, click here or visit http://stampstotherescue.com/.
PEOPLE Pets reports:
Forget the Iditarod. Earlier this week, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, were all about the Snausages Man Sled Race, a crazy event in which people pulled pups!
Four teams of humans dragged sleds — with dogs as the mushers — and raced across a frozen pond to win money for their pet charity of choice.
In a photo provided by Del Monte Foods, Malmute musher Buddy rides the sled as it is pulled by dog sled racing veterans Danny Seavey, left, and Dallas Seavey, center, and teammate Mari Troshynski during practice Tuesday, March 2, 2010 in Anchorage, Alaska, before the first-ever Snausages Man Sled Race. The race benefited local pet-related charities. Buddy's team won the race. (AP Photo/Al Grillo/Del Monte Foods)
PEOPLE Pets is reporting that celebrity couple, Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo have adopted a husky from a rescue organization.
The 1-year-old Siberian husky, named Kona, was on display at a roadside adoption event in Los Angeles. “I was driving down Ventura and we saw rescue dogs on the side of the road,” he explained. “Vanessa was with me — I don’t make those kind of decisions alone anymore — but since I grew up with a husky, I couldn’t resist.”
To read more, click here.
When was the last time you went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning? Now think about the last time your little furry friend had his teeth cleaned… Did you know that his bad breath could be a sign of something serious, like gum disease?
According to the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC), periodontal disease is the most common clinical condition in companion animals, and 80 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats have the disease by age 3.
To combat and prevent dental problems for your pet, start by scheduling your pet’s annual dental exam at your veterinarian.
You can also care for your pet’s teeth by brushing them regularly, managing your pet’s diet and giving him dental-friendly toys and treats.
To read the entire article, click here.
An 18-month old golden retriever, Angel, saved her 11-year-old owner, Austin Forman, from a cougar attack in his backyard. Austin was outside collecting firewood when the cougar suddenly appeared.
When the cougar charged, Angel ran to protect the boy.
“She intercepted the cougar,” Forman said. “Austin came into the house very upset, and I had to get him to calm down so I could understand what he was saying. Finally he said ‘there’s a cougar eating Angel.’”
Angel and the cougar fought under the family’s deck, while Austin’s mother called 911 for help. A constable was in the area and able to make it to their home and kill the cougar quickly.
Forman said when her nephew pulled the cougar’s body off Angel, who at first appeared fatally injured, the dog sucked in a “big breath of air and then got up.” Ever the protector, Angel “walked to Austin, sniffed him to make sure he was alright, then sat down.” Despite receiving a few deep bites and scratches Angel’s prognosis is good.
To read the entire article, click here.
Acting on a tip, animal control went to a sled-dog breeding facility in Colorado. There they found approximately 100 starving huskies and husky-mixes. Eight were already dead.
Mary Steinbeiser, regional shelter manager, said that on a weight scale of zero to 10 with zero being dead and 10 being obese, these dogs were probably about a one.
“It looked like no one had been there to feed and water them for quite some time,” Steinbeiser said. “The conditions were horrible. They found empty dog food bags with bodies in them.”
The worst part is that this was not the first time animal control had been called to this facility.
Animal control officers said they had been called to the property before and records show that the owners were issued “notices of warning” by the state on cruelty to animal violations in 2004 and 2006.
To read the entire article, click here.
A Maryland resident, Valerie Silensky, wrote an opinion piece for the Gazette.net regarding the a suggestion made by police that getting a dog will help protect your family and deter crime.
I hate to be negative in the face of what overall is a helpful article ["Police warn residents of holiday crime," Nov. 26], but I do have to take issue with one of the suggestions apparently made by the police in the article. Get a dog for protection is not an appropriate suggestion.
Dogs are living beings who need to feel part of a family and a pack; those who get them for protection do not have the interest of the dogs’ well-being in their consciousness, and it usually shows. Moreover, most dogs are not appropriate for guard work. The police suggestion implies that people should just go out and get a dog so that she or he can scare would-be intruders away.
Click here to read the entire article.
Do you agree with what Ms. Silensky wrote?
Check out this cute news article and related video captured by a Texas police officer’s dash-cam. He had pulled over an SUV for a traffic violation when a persistent kitten decided it wanted to say hello.
Police Chief Jeff Straub said Urban never mentioned the feline encounter until he became concerned that the cat might have been injured when they parted ways.
Straub said the video shows “incredible patience on the part of the officer.”
Do you think this police officer handled the situation well? Do you think he could/should have done things differently?
We all love happy endings, right? Well, take a look at this story: A bomb-sniffing Labrador in Afgahnistan went missing, but was found 14 MONTHS later!
Sabi was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country’s highest bravery medal.
But there was no sign of Sabi after the battle, and months of searching failed to find any sign of the retriever — until now.
Defense officials said Thursday that a U.S. soldier recovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan. Further details about the base were not given. [...]
Exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months will probably never be known, though her being in good condition when she was found indicated somebody had been looking after her, military spokesman Brig. Brian Dawson told reporters in Canberra.
See the entire story here.
Breeder Sheri Thompson has been charged with two felony counts of cruel treatment to animals and five misdemeanor counts of violation of owner’s duties and operating a kennel without a license. On Oct 16, two adult dogs, a Labrador Retriever and a pregnant Siberian Husky, and four Lab puppies – one deceased – were discovered at Thompson’s 10-acre property without adequate food, water or shelter.
According to the forfeiture petition by Lee County prosecutors:
“Two puppies were found in a wire metal cage that was propped off the ground by cement blocks. There was not any food or water in the cage. The third [living] puppy was found in a pull-trailer with two small holes on the door. There was not any food or water in the trailer. The Husky was in a metal fenced kennel and was pregnant. The kennel did not have a clean water supply nor appropriate bedding. The cage had feces throughout. The Husky gave birth to [seven] Husky puppies on October 31, 2009. The animals were seized by members of the Lee County Animal Control and the Lee County Sheriff’s Department.”
The dogs and puppies are all doing well in the care of the Lee County Animal Shelter.
It’s no surprise the article also mentions that Thomson previously pled guilty to two counts of animal cruelty and operating a kennel without a license in 2006 and was given a year’s probation.
“Several months later, the American Kennel Club suspended Thompson’s privileges for 10 years and imposed a $2,000 fine.
Nearly a decade before that, the AKC banned Thompson from breeding cocker spaniels and collies for 10 years after she refused to allow an inspection of her records and practices.”