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Siberian Husky Rescue in Virginia

Category Archives: news

Starved, Neglected Huskies Rescued from Breeding Facility

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.

Don’t Get a Dog for Protection

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?

Cat Food Recall

Diamond Pet Foods recalled select bags of dry cat food Tuesday after 21 reports of health problems in cats.

Select bags of Premium Edge Finicky Adult Cat and Premium Edge Hairball could lead to gastrointestinal or neurological problems for cats, because they do not contain enough thiamine, an essential nutrient for cats.

If cats fed these foods have no other source of nutrition, they could develop thiamine deficiency. If untreated, this disorder could result in death.

For the entire store, click here.

Video: Kitty Loves a Man in Uniform

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?

Missing Bomb-Sniffing Pootch Found in Afghanistan

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.

Illinois Dog Breeder Charged with Animal Cruelty

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.”

Some Employers Offer Pet Health Insurance

The Washington Times reports that some employers are offering pet health insurance as a part of their employee benefits package.  These companies are hoping to remain competitive and meet the demands of current and potential employees.

Many companies are afraid their best employees will leave when the economy recovers, but offering competitive benefit packages is one way to retain them, he said.

In fact, pet insurance is one of the three most requested voluntary employee benefits, according to a 2007 survey by Vsurance of Canton, Ohio.

Companies can help employees purchase the insurance at discounted rates by offering it as a voluntary benefit, which can generate “tremendous good will,” Mr. Lummis said.

Concerto Networks is one of those companies. The D.C. company, which provides information technology support to small businesses, makes an effort to appeal to “pet-loving employees” by offering pet insurance to its small staff and allowing them to bring their pets to work, owner John Videna said.

Other companies are slowly catching on. Just 3 percent of U.S. companies offer pet insurance as a benefit, according to a 2009 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management.

While it costs employers nothing to offer pet insurance to employees, many bosses simply don’t know about it. Others are afraid they will confuse employees if they load up their benefit packages with too many options, said Ken Stallings, sales director at Veterinary Pet Insurance of Brea, Calif.

“McDonald’s can’t have everything on their menu,” Mr. Stallings said. “You have to pick and choose what’s the best for your customers.”

Read the entire article here.

Does your employer offer pet health insurance?  Would you like to see this benefit offered?  Would it help persuade you to work for (or stay working for) a company if they offered this benefit?

Shelter Dog Becomes Surrogate for African Painted Pups

The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium staff were desperately seeking a surrogate mom for nine African painted puppies when they searched the Western Pennsylvania Humane Society‘s North Side shelter and found the perfect match.  Honey, a lab mix, had just given birth six weeks prior and was still able to nurse.

This domestic mixed-breed dog is acting as a surrogate mom for nine African painted dog pups at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The pups mom died a few days after their birth.

This domestic mixed-breed dog is acting as a surrogate mom for nine African painted dog pups at the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. The pups' mom died a few days after their birth.

“Latching onto nipples is huge for them, much better than latching onto a bottle,” said Dr. Stephanie James, the zoo’s director of veterinary service. “Raising African painted dogs on a domestic dog has not been done before. We’re breaking the mold.”

[...] “[Honey]‘s just been perfect, an absolutely fabulous mom,” Dr. Baker [the zoo's president and chief executive officer] said. “All of the pups are gaining weight.”

It’s too soon to know if all nine pups will survive, but thanks to this local shelter dog they’ve been given a fighting chance.