Dog announces $35000 matching donation to studies rabies vaccine

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 1, 2008 -- Chiclet T. Dog, canine co-author of the award-winning book 'Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care', announces a $35,000 matching gift to the Rabies Challenge Fund. The Fund is conducting studies to prove that vaccine immunity persists for at least five years, and maybe as long as seven. Phase Two of the study will investigate vaccine additives called adjuvants and set up a reporting system for adverse reactions.


A feisty four-pound Maltese dog named Chiclet, her guardian Jan Rasmusen and two anonymous donors announce a joint $35,000 matching gift to the Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust. Rasmusen and Chiclet, co-authors of the national award-winning book Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care (http://www.Dogs4Dogs.com/), hope to raise public awareness about problems with present rabies vaccination protocols and encourage other dog lovers to help fund this important study.




The Fund's study does NOT challenge the need for this important vaccine. Rather, it employs USDA vaccine-licensing standards to determine if immunity provided by a rabies shot persists for at least 5 years, and hopefully seven. Phase 2 will investigate the safety of veterinary vaccine adjuvants and set up a badly-needed reporting system for adverse reactions to this and other vaccines.


Rasmusen began studying vaccination dangers when her dog Jiggy developed autoimmune liver disease after a rabies shot. She says, "We have the chance to better the lives of, not just hundreds of dogs, or even thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of dogs. We can potentially help improve the health of every dog in America. How exciting is that!"


Throughout the summer, the donors will add $1 for every $2 donated (for donations of $100 or more). Thus, public donations totaling $70,000 will bring the Fund $105,000. Chiclet will throw in a paw-tographed copy of Scared Poopless for donations topping $500.


Although the rabies vaccine is well-documented to give immunity for three years, blood studies (serum antibody titers) have shown protective immunity to persist seven years after vaccination. Regrettably, some states and localities in the U.S. still mandate vaccination annually or biannually. Because the vaccine is linked to numerous behavior and health problems, over-vaccination can be dangerous. Documented immediate, and delayed-onset, reactions include:

• Injection site cancer

• Seizures and epilepsy

• Autoimmune diseases

• Blood diseases

• Allergies

• Skin diseases

• Chronic digestive disorders

• Muscle weakness

• Behavior Problems: aggression, OCD, separation anxiety

• Loss of consciousness

• Death

Unfortunately, official reporting of adverse reactions s is voluntary and rare. Rasmusen says, "Few of us are warned about the rabies vaccine's possible adverse effects. Worse yet, delayed or unexpected reactions often go unlinked to the shot."


Nationally-renowned pet vaccination experts Dr's. Jean Dodds and Ronald Schultz, and their staffs, are donating their services for this study. The University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, site of the study, has waived its normal 48% overhead charge. For all involved, this is a labor of love.


Rasmusen has prepared an entertaining and informative video slideshow starring Chiclet called Dog Rabid About Rabies Vaccine Dangers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQHQw-5XCw). Rasmusen hopes the humorous video, packed with cute photos and easy-to-digest information, will alert dog "parents" to vaccine dangers and prompt them to take action.


Chiclet's friend, the canine superstar Benji, has a cameo role in the video and also lends support: 'This important study is long overdue. I give the Rabies Challenge study four BIG paws up!'


Surprising Facts:

• In 2007, the Center for Disease Control declared CANINE rabies nonexistent in the U.S. Dogs will not contract rabies from other dogs, but only from wild animals such as bats, coyotes, skunks, raccoons and foxes.

• A Chihuahua and a Great Dane get the same size dose of vaccine.

• The USDA will not accept blood antibody tests showing seven-year immunity, or a 1992 French challenge study proving five-year immunity. As a result, dog lovers wanting to stop needless over-vaccination must fund research themselves.


Dog lovers, many of whose dogs have experienced severe vaccine reactions, have funded approximately eighteen months of the study. Donations to complete the study may be made at The Rabies Challenge Fund Charitable Trust (http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/about%20the%20RCF.html), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Extensive information and vaccination safety tips are available at Truth4Dogs.org (http://www.truth4dogs.org). Rasmusen urges dog lovers to post their experiences with the rabies vaccine in this Guestbook (http://www.Squidoo.com/rabiesvaccine).


About Rasmusen and Chiclet:

Scared Poopless won the Ben Franklin Award for Best Health Book and the USABookNews Award for Best Pet Health Book. A frequent guest on numerous television and radio broadcasts, Rasmusen publishes a popular free e-newsletter on natural health care for dogs (http://www.Dogs4Dogs.com/).


Contact Jan for interviews and hi res photography at 858-449-8898 (PDT). Short-notice interviews are welcomed.


Charitable Inquiries:

Rasmusen currently makes donations only to the rabies vaccine study. Low-cost copies of Scared Poopless, and her natural nutrition recordings, are offered to nonprofits for fundraising.


Jan Rasmusen

858-449-8898 PDT

San Diego, CA

Recipe for natural flea and tick repellant

I've seen many recipes touted for fleas, but the woman who shared this with me actually had a tick infestation that year and found this to be very effective against them!

Use 2 to 3 drops of each oil in 16 0z. water, OR 1/2 teaspoon of each oil in
a gallon of water.

tea tree oil, rosemary, sage (there are a few different types - it doesn't
matter which you choose), cedarwood, peppermint, sweet orange, eucalyptus,
citronella and pine needle.

It can be pricey to get the oils, but once you have them, they last a good
long time.

Blessings!
Ev

Recipe modified by Madalyn (two oils intentionally left out because they don't mix well with what is already there, although they are effective repellants in their own right:

peppermint - 3 drops
sweet orange - 1 drop
sage - 1 drop
citronella - 4 drops
lavender - 1 drop
eucalyptus - 1 drop

-----------------------------
According the the "Dirt Doctor" in Dallas (organic gardening guru) here is a natural mosquito repellent that works pretty well. I have used it and had few bites - but you have to PUT IT ON for it to work ;-). And it SMELLS GREAT!

Vanilla home remedy for personal use:
8 oz water
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp. orange oil
Spray on liberally.

Betty


----------------------------



More info:
With so many people (and dogs) getting lyme disease, I got curious if there are any safe ways of repelling ticks. I don't know how well these work, but here are some ideas I found after a few minutes of quality time with Google.

I can't personally vouch for any of these approaches, but I had previously never heard of any methods of coping with ticks whatsoever, other than "cut down all the vegetation for miles around," "spray the hell out of everything" and "stay indoors or in wide open expanses of pavement at all times, and if you venture off the pavement for five seconds cover yourself from head to toe in thick clothing taped shut at every seam." So, at least this is a start of some other ways of thinking.

Some of these come from people trying to sell a product, and again I don't endorse any of these ideas as necessarily effective or environmentally sound. But I wanted to see what if anything was out there and this is a sample of what I discovered, as a jumping off point for anyone else who might be interested in doing some further experimenting or research.
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
From : http://www.care2.com/greenliving/tick-repellant.html

a.. A... good repellent that also worked on our dogs, is to eat garlic pills (but don't give garlic to cats). A number of people have written me to say that they have had good luck with their dogs and themselves, by keeping to the garlic pill eating regimen every day.
a.. The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides (NCAP) reported in their winter of 1996 Journal of Pesticide Reform that nymphal ticks are reduced from 72.7 to 100 percent when dead leaves are removed from the forest areas surrounding residential areas.
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -
From: http://www.gardensalive.com/article.asp?ai=462&bhcd2=1194649877

....ticks could be in the house-especially if the previous owners had dogs. Most cats "catch" ticks before they can latch on while they're grooming themselves (the cats, not the ticks). But dogs don't give themselves a tongue bath every hour. And when an engorged female tick drops off undetected, she can give birth to a huge number of 'babies' who can live a long time-sometimes years-in between meals.

Easiest way to check would be to set carbon dioxide traps. Get a big load of dry ice (handle it carefully, with big thick gloves) and put some in the center of each room, surrounded by big circles of sticky tape. Nearby ticks will head towards the CO2 and get caught on the tape. If the tapes are free of ticks the next day, the house is likely clean.

That leaves the great outdoors. Most ticks climb to the top of tall blades of grass or brush-generally a foot or more off the ground-wait for a red-blooded creature to pass by and then hop on. (So keep your brush cut; it keeps the suckers further away.)

Garlic based sprays, like Victor's "Mosquito Barrier" DO keep skeeters away from the sprayed area for two weeks, and might work on ticks. The only way to find out would be to spray a known tick-infested spot, wait a few days and then set some dry ice traps or use a tick drag to see if they've left the area. ('Tick drags' aren't parties where arachnids dress up like Barbara Streisand; they're big sheets of flannel that are dragged through the brush by researchers, who then count the number of ticks on the cloth.) Oh, and the sprays do have a strong garlic scent when you first use them, but the smell dissipates-at least to our noses-within a few hours.

...having a flock of fowl like guinea hens-the most excellent consumers of ticks-running loose on your property....

journal The IPM Practitioner, our old buddy Dr. Bill Quarles reported on the hot new trend of using naturally-occurring fungi to control insects AND those nasty members of the arachnid family, ticks. Bill explained that a strain (designated 'F52') of a green-colored fungus named Metarhizium anisopliae ("Meta-rise- e-um Ana-sof-a-Lee" )-discovered way back in 1879 in a cereal beetle that the fungus had sent to its eternal reward-has been shown to be toxic to ticks as well as many other pests. Both it and a closely related species are already being used to control locusts in Africa, termites in the US (under the brand name "Bioblast"), and greenhouse pests worldwide. And it's already EPA registered for use on ticks.

Earth Bio Sciences, a company based in New Haven, is developing both a spray and granular form for commercial use. I spoke with company president Tom Corell last week, and he confirmed that some field tests on the product, called "Tick-Ex", have already been completed, more are underway, and he hopes that the fungus might be available on a limited basis in some areas as early as next Spring!

The EPA's official "environmental risk assessment" found the fungus safe for humans to touch, ingest and inhale; and to have no detrimental effect on birds, mammals, fish, plants, or earthworms-not even bees and beneficial insects! And like I said, its already in use against other pests; we're pretty much just waiting for a few more studies to be finished and a distribution system to be put in place.

------------ -------
http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Products/mosquitobarrier.htm

Garlic treatment for yards, alleged to kill mosquito and tick larvae
------------ --------- -

A few posters at various forum type places said that oil (of any kind, including soy or olive) smothers ticks. The speculation was that it could be tried as a spray to kill larvae, applied a few times a season to yards or other frequently traveled areas. Also suggested as an idea for people and pets who may have been exposed and want to kill any on their body, though one person wondered if a tick that had already bitten you would just stay latched on forever, further infecting you, if it got smothered while already on your skin. I also worry that a broadbased oil smothering campaign could kill beneficials in the yard, but I haven't looked into the details.

------------ --------- ----
Diotomaceous Earth was suggested in numerous places, as effective against both fleas and ticks. You can get food grade and sprinkle it around the house or the yard. Some people even feed it to their pets (or eat it themselves) to kill internal parasites.
------------ --------- --------- -
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_InsectPrevention.php

Beneficial nematodes spread in the yard to control flea larvae? No one says it would work for ticks but many of the articles I found in my tick search also talked about fleas.
----------
Steve Tvedten has numerous free publications on line in which he describes less toxic pest control methods (including for termites and lice) but I got tired by the tie I got this far, and so I don't know if he has a response to ticks. It would be very interesting to find out if he does.

www.getipm.com
www.thebestcontrol.com

String of Illnesses Affects Nutro-fed Pets

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/04/pet_food_recalls93.html

String of Illnesses Afflicts NUTRO-Fed Pets
Company insists its food is '100% safe'

By Lisa Wade McCormick
ConsumerAffairs.com


April 18, 2008
• RECALL LIST
• Consumer Complaints
---
A worrisome health trend among dogs and cats across the country has surfaced in the past few months. Scores of pets from California to South Carolina have experienced sudden and recurring bouts of diarrhea, vomiting, and other digestive problems.

Through an examination of reports submitted by readers, ConsumerAffairs.com has uncovered a common link among these pets: They all ate the same brand of food: NUTRO pet food.

In all of the cases we've examined, the animals' conditions improved once their owners switched them to another brand of food.

"I've been feeding my chocolate Lab, Indy, NUTRO for almost four years," said Laura F. of Las Vegas, Nevada. "He's always been happy, healthy, and big. Recently I switched him to NUTRO (Natural Choice) Lite at my vet's request. Three weeks ago, he started vomiting uncontrollably."

Laura said her veterinarian initially thought Indy had pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas. The vet prescribed some medication and Indy's condition gradually improved.

"Now, three weeks later, he started vomiting again," she said, adding she continued to feed her dog NUTRO. "He's now lost about 8 pounds in three weeks and is weak and lethargic.

"The vet believes -- as do I -- that it is the food," she said.

Laura switched brands of dog food and Indy's health improved. After a while, Laura tried mixing in the NUTRO with the new food. But that turned out to be a bad idea.

"The vomiting started again," Laura said. "I also noticed that he only ate about half his food and was actually dropping the NUTRO out and trying to only eat the Science Diet. I think even my dog knows there is something wrong with the NUTRO food.

"I will never feed any of my pets NUTRO again."

Similar stories
We've heard similar stories and sentiment from scores of pet owners nationwide -- many of whom are loyal NUTRO customers. We've also heard from a pet store employee, who noticed these same digestive problems with her clients' pets that ate NUTRO products.

A pet owner in South Carolina told us that she found foreign objects in her last few bags of NUTRO foods.

And a disabled woman in California said all these pets' health problems have given her a horrible sense of déjà vu. Her service dog, she said, experienced these same digestive problems a few years ago – after eating NUTRO food.

"I would not venture to give any pet one nugget of NUTRO food after what my dog went through," said Maggie D. of San Francisco.

NUTRO responds
NUTRO, however, defended its products.

A spokeswoman told us she is unaware of any substantiated medical problems like these linked to her company's pet food.

Many NUTRO customers also tout the food, saying it's an excellent product. Veterinarians told ConsumerAffairs.com that many factors can cause gastrointestinal problems in dogs and cats, including changes in diet, newly-developed sensitivities to pet food, or viral infections.

But scores of pet owners who've contacted us are convinced that something is now wrong with NUTRO's food.

They're pet owners like Lynn C. of Cabot, Arkansas.

"I've used NUTRO for years and never had any problems," she told us. "But my 10-year-old border collie, Boo, became sick six weeks ago. He was lethargic, lost weight, and when evaluated by a veterinarian, his liver enzymes were critical. They were elevated…off the chart. My vet said we've got to do something.

"She put him on antibiotics and a strong amino acid, but he continued to deteriorate."

A week into Boo's treatment, a co-worker told Lynn about problems she'd read about regarding NUTRO's pet food.

"I had never dreamed it could be the food," she said. "I'm feeding all four of my dogs the food, so why all of the sudden would it affect Boo? The other three are still thriving. But they're younger—and he's the smallest dog."

Lynn did some digging and found the complaints filed by pet owners on ConsumerAffairs.com.

"I was shocked at the information that I found on NUTRO," she said. "I faxed pages and pages of this information to my veterinarian, who became alarmed and told me to stop feeding him the NUTRO."

Within days, Boo's condition improved.

"He started acting like he felt better," Lynn said. "It's amazing. He wasn't responding until I took him off the NUTRO food. Within a week, he had regained two pounds, and after two weeks, his liver enzymes were still high, but improving.

"I cannot explain why this happened all of the sudden since Boo has been eating this food for years. But I know my dog and I know it was the food."

Another pet owner in the small town of Cabot, Arkansas, who shows Westies, said her dogs experienced the same problems with NUTRO's food.

"I started using NUTRO Natural Choice for my show dogs last fall," said Judy Y., who has fed dogs NUTRO on and off for years. "With the last two bags my dogs started to lose weight and their stools were extremely soft. One litter had constant diarrhea. They were losing weight, their coats were not in the condition they should be. And after they ate, they would suck up water like they hadn't had any all day.

"The only dog I wasn't having problems with was the old dog that can only eat raw meat, no dog food at all."

Judy also noticed that one of her puppies wasn't growing.

"She was growing fine until I put her on NUTRO," Judy said. "And then it was like she just stopped growing. She looked like she had been starved and her coat looked real bad."

Judy's vet examined the dogs -- and their stools -- and didn't find any problems.

"So I said the heck with the commercial dog food and I started feeding all my dogs raw food," Judy said. "They've all bounced back. They have all gained weight and their hair is growing again."

The only exception is the puppy that had growth problems.

"My puppy is 10 months old now and her growth seems to be stunted," Judy said. "I have never had this happen in the 40 years I have been showing and breeding dogs. I'm not sure this show quality puppy will now get big enough to show or breed. It is so heart breaking to see such a good quality dog not live up to her potential because of a dog food."

----------------------------------
There is more to the article at the above link.

4 Types of Dog Vomit

The Four Types of Dog Vomit
Author Unknown

YELLOW URKA-GURKAS

Dog runs around the house and hides under furniture while making a prolonged "uurka-guurka, uurka-guurka" noise (the only noise guaranteed to wake up a dog lover who is hungover from a 3:30am post-dog-show celebration) . After a mad scramble to capture the dog and drag him outside, the episode ends with an indelible line of slimy yellow froth from the living room rug to the back door.

BLAP DISEASE

Dog exercises hard and

a) eats large mouthfuls of snow (winter blap disease) or

b) drinks a bucket of water (summer blap disease).

Within two minutes of returning inside the dog spews out large amounts of clear, slimy liquid, making a distinctive "blap" sound and sharp percussive noise as it hits the linoleum.


GARKS

Dog suddenly clears his throat with loud and dramatic "gggark, gggark" noises, followed by a prolonged "iiksss" and then loud, satisfied smacking noises. There is nothing on the rug. Don't investigate, you don't want to know.

RALFS

Apropos of nothing, the dog strolls into the dining room and waits 'til the innocent dinner guests are all watching him. Then, with a single deep gut-wrenching "raaaallff", disgorges the entire week's contents of his stomach on the rug. Variation: he eats it.

In all of the above events, the dog is entirely healthy and indeed, deeply pleased with himself.

The boys playing with papa Cooter up in the storage area

They were helping me clean, can't you tell?



I called the nearby kitty, but she looked at me and said, "No thanks. Those boys have too much energy."

Pug In Violets

Does this make her a pocket pug?

I was feeding Little Bit (Millie) out on the front porch this morning in the beautiful morning air when something came up. As I was talking with some folks, she started to get cold and shake, so I put her in my sweatshirt to keep warm. She climbed up on my shoulder, down my sleeve and popped her head out the end so she could keep tabs on everything going on :)

Video of the boys at the reservoir

First real day out for Ellie's boys

We've been dabbling with the good weather. Some time on the porch, in the yard and in the gravel (introducing to different textures/surfaces), but today was our first all out big day out. It was gorgeous, the sun was shining, and it probably hit pretty near 70 degrees. Our first stop was an oil change where the boys got proper admiration. The next stop was the reservoir. We weren't near the water, but we had fun in the grass. The adults got a full out run in GREAT BIG circles and got to stretch their legs good. We took pictures until the batteries in my camera died, which unfortunately wasn't very long. Here's a shot of Isabelle followed by Ellie and Jolene in one of their big circles.



Hey - where did my brothers go??



I was starting to edit this next picture, went into the other room to check on supper, and the dogs jumped up on the desk to see what they were missing out on and found the shortcut key for changing the picture to black and white on the keyboard. I kind of liked the effect, so I kept it :)



Geesh... there she is with that camera AGAIN...



The boys romped, played, bit my toes, ate some grass, sniffed some smells, ran in and out of the crate, and had a blast. These boys might be total angels, but even I was pleasantly surprised when they voluntarily all climbed back into the crate at the same time I was ready to pack up and go home. Talk about SMART DOGS!!




Then we went to Mom's house and took a nap. Both me and the dogs! After our nap, we visited the neighbors where the dogs met a pug outside their pack, got lots and lots of hugs and kisses, and were introduced to another toddler. They had an absolute blast, tails wagging full on the whole time. They even managed to steal a bone or two away from the adults. Yes, they were quite proud of themselves and strutted to show it.

It was a great first outing for the boys and I'm so proud of them. They were a little timid at times, but by and large they handled the big old world like pros. It helped having the moms there. Their next outing will have a little time with mom and a little time with just me. We try to give them new exposures and experiences a little at a time so that they know they are safe even if the whole pack isn't there. We eventually wean them down to some one-on-one time and some alone time to help them adjust in a familiar setting before going to a new home.

Updates on Winter, Ellie's Boys and Millie

Wow, that's a big world!!




Winter the Cat

Winter was dropped off here just before Christmas and although Luna, the resident cat, thought two cats were too many for one house, she has since relented and now they seem to be friends. Winter has an appt for her spay in early May and then we will be actively looking to place her in a home. If you know of anyone interested, please let us know! She is snow white and very flirty. She is litterbox trained (although she will kick a bit of litter out the front every now and again), she is friendly and affectionate and hasn't attempted nipping me once for anything I might have done wrong.

Ellie's Boys

If it's possible, they're even more cute today than they were yesterday. Every day is an adventure for these little guys, bringing something new to explore, something new to learn. They're curious, loving, and ever so sweet. Mom came over this past weekend and it was their first day outside. A great, warm spring day. They discovered the shoelaces and the little tab on the back of mom's shoes and they are the new favorite toys. Made for puppies, don't you know?

Ellie and Isabelle have been keeping them fat and happy, so they have been turning up their noses at every weaning food I've offered them. And I offer a 5-star restaurant quality, I'll have you know. But Ellie is thinking about having them try some adult food. She saved part of her chicken quarter the other day and let the boys gnaw on the leg for a while. Same with another piece of meat. I can't say that I've seen them get any meat off the offerings so far, but it gives them a good mental challenge as well as works out some of their nibbling urges. Gives mom's tail a break - lol. Toys only keep their interest half the time!

The boys also found a bowl of kibble while on one of their evening excursions around the house. They jumped in and ate a few bites. So they have a little bowl of Blue Buffalo kibble in their pen if they get hungry between feedings, as well as fresh water. And this morning they had some ground pork with a bit of water, some pro-biotics and some zeo-clear with diatomaceous earth. They gobbled it right up! Now they're working on attacking a stuffed duckie that's the size of two of them put together :)

Ellie has also taught me a few new tricks about mothering. She took the opportunity with the bone to teach them manners. Now I bring the bone to you, now I growl and you back off. Now I bring it to you again, now I growl and you move away. Basically, they are given food at her will and command and they are to respect her space and her wishes, but she will ensure that they are fed and cared for. Both she and Isabelle take their development very seriously. I'm so proud of the little mommas!

Millie

Millie has already earned her scouting badge for therapy work. Many a client this tax season has come through the door stressed and worried and left relaxed and calm due to the presence of little Miss Millie. They talk to her, hold her, love her and bottle feed her. She loves the attention. She's the official greeter an therapy dog.

She has her eyes open and is very mobile, but is just now starting to track and see things farther than just in front of her nose. She sleeps through the night and lets me know when she needs to either potty or eat. A very good communicator for her age!

Stay tuned for more updates!

An elephant with talent!

History of Pet Food

An awesome trained dog!

What a great example of what a trained dog can do - this one ought to be a service dog!

Click Here

Boys peeking out of the crate

And the Award Goes To:

The adult dog who best drinks out of a puppy feeding bottle is...

..... drum roll please

Jolene!

Jolene is the clearcut winner in getting puppy formula out of a puppy feeding bottle followed closely by Ellie Mae and somewhat loosely by Isabelle. Among those who could care less are Petunia, Daisy, Tiki, and Cooter.

However, they all seem to be interested in stealing the plastic bottle and chewing it down to a mangled mess somewhere between 2:30 am and 6:30 am.

What a difference two and a half weeks make!

Ellie and Isabelle have found their happy medium. Ellie has regained control of her babies and Isabelle is the faithful and much needed assistant. The girls are working together and even giving each other kisses while the puppies are feeding. It's nice to all be on the same page again!

Tiki's puppy is thriving, but she's so much more tiny than the boys! You can see her as the speck in the picture. But the boys are so fat and happy that the little girl can crawl circles around them right now! I had to get the boys out on the bed and make them do laps for their milk - lol. They'd head for the teat and I'd put them back on the other side of the bed. It was most unfair, to be sure, but they are walking much better and are more lively and rambunctious. In fact, I heard the first bark yesterday. Two of the boys were playing and one of them told the other what was what! Very bossy!

Daisy made me feel better tonight. She was sitting on the floor barking at an unknown threat. Then I figured it out - she barked at the featherduster!!! Hahahaha... she was just trying to make me not feel so stupid ;)

The featherduster and the coup

Ellie's boys are 3 weeks old now and they are so incredibly cute!!! But man are they fat. And I do mean FAT!! I knew that they'd be getting extra milk since there were only 3, but we've had to take the boys out and literally exercise them and make them work for their food to keep them moving around.

Well, the mystery of why they are so big has been solved. Isabelle was going through a false pregnancy and she would watch over the boys when Ellie went out to go potty or went to get a bite to eat. She faithfully sat by the whelping pen, staring adoringly at her charges and chasing away any other dogs who tried to sneak a sniff of the little fuzzies. But then watching turned to active participation. Before we knew it, Isabelle was jumping into the pen with the pups and feeding them EVEN MORE!! Holy cow, it's no wonder we can barely see their legs.

However, feeding the pups has kicked in Izzy's maternal drive. So after working with the three milk-bearing females yesterday to get one of them to permanently adopt Tiki's (with no success), I finally gave in and we're back to the bottle. I was tired and needed a good night's sleep. But at midnight, Izzy decided to stage a coup to take charge of Ellie's pups. I was wakened by growls and posturing. Amazingly, Izzy won and she stayed in the crate with the pups as Ellie slept by my head and stared longingly at the whelping pen with a big sigh. I told her to enjoy the break and I'd take care of it in the morning. After a few more skirmishes that night, Ellie managed to gain control of the whelping pen, but Izzy jumped in after her. There they were, two mommas and 3 babies, all squished into the pen. So I brought Izzy to work with me to give poor Ellie a break. Those crazy girls!

Between their skirmishes and the little one's feedings, I don't think I got much sleep last night. So this morning as I walked through the house with closed eyes, I walked by a chair with a big black feather duster in it and I patted its head, thinking it was a pug. The next step is the loony bin!

If...

If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when loved ones are too busy to give you time,
If you can overlook when people take things out on you,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can face the world without lies and deceit,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can do all these things, ............ ...

Then you are probably the family dog.

Tiki Surpise!

We thought Tiki was experiencing a false pregnancy, but as it turns out she gave us a tiny little baby girl on Wednesday, March 12th. The puppy came out breech and as a result, took in some fluids in her passageway. It took a concentrated effort to remove the fluid and get her breathing properly and by the time we got her up on her feet and knew she was out of danger, her scent was different than Tiki expected. Tiki is still trying to figure out exactly where her puppy is. She will nurse this one if we sit with her, but she is not identifying with it. We have to bottle feed it to ensure she gets enough to eat. I wish I would have taken pictures when she first came out to show how small she was, but she is 4 days old here and has stamped her little pawprint on this world with great fervor. The first 24 hours, she would not open her mouth to nurse, so we had to force it open each time. Then she started accepting a bottle better. Now on day 4, she has learned that Momma's milk comes in 3 different scents and flavors (Isabelle has pitched in a couple of times with her false pregnancy milk), and rubber nipples come with several different human scents. And the source doesn't matter as long as there's a nipple within reach when she demands it!! You would think with three available nursing females we'd be in the clear, but that just isn't the case. None of them will feed her unless they're curled up on our lap getting pets and kisses while they nurse. Other than that, they ignore the little girl other than to chase away the other non-nursing females in the house. But we're making do and the little girl is thriving! She's a doll.

Sleepy little boys

Ellie's pups at 10 days old. They were passed out cold from just having eaten a nice, warm dinner courtesy of Miss Ellie. I barely got any reaction out of them!



The adults were playing and snorting in the background. Those noises aren't coming from the babies!! :)

Two have opened their eyes and the third one is halfway there. They seem very aware of their surroundings, where they want to be and what they want to do. But their little bodies aren't quite there yet. They're getting their legs up underneath them better. In another week they'll be walking, then look out world!

Jolene the ninja

Jolene doesn't like people to know, but she is a gifted and talented dog of many faces. Here, with a hidden camera, Jolene was caught in the act of being a ninja. Please don't let her know that it's on the web. She likes to use her super powers anonymously except when she's in the house. In this never-seen-before picture, you can see that she easily handled 4 trained attack dogs and came out without a scratch.

Can't we all just get along? The dog, cat and rat

Three Little Boys

On Saturday, February 23, Ellie Mae surprised us with an early delivery of 3 beautiful baby boys. She was so large and producing so much milk, we were guessing that she had 6 in there, but we were wrong. They were a very nice size coming out and full of life and vigor. Getting the first one out was hard for her and we nearly called the vet, but then it came at 7:30, then another at 8:30, then the final one at 9:30 and then I stayed awake till 12:30 watching her... just in case.

The boys went to the vet at 3 days old and got their dew claws removed. That was almost a huge mistake because when I made the appointment for dew claw removal, they wrote down to also dock the tails!! ACK!! I double-checked when we got there and made them change it to dew claws only. It was a new girl at the counter, but it was too close a call to be comfortable! Momma and the boys received checkups from head to toe with positive feedback. They are snorty, snarfly and already think they're more mobile than they are, trying to crawl around and investigate before their eyes are even open!

Ellie's first litter didn't think much of being on their backs, no matter how much we worked with them. But this litter is different. From day 1, they have settled into my hands quite comfortably and don't mind being on their backs. Same father, same mother, makes you wonder why so different. The only thing I can figure is that Ellie is a more relaxed mother this time and knows that no harm will come to her babies in my care. I don't handle them much, just enough to check them from head to toe once a day to make sure all is well.

The little black boy is already showing some spunk and attitude. When I have him on his back, he will lift first one lip, then the other. In other words, he does a great Elvis impersonation. Cracks me up. Then he'll yawn and snuggle down and relax.

We do puppy development exercises with all of our litters and today I put them through the paces. Days 3-15 involve very light stimulation, not much time spent away from Mom, but enough to react to the stimuli to help stimulate brain and reflex action. Studies of these exercises have shown to increase critical thinking, increase ease of adjusting to situations, and other side benefits and was first put into play on an organized basis by the military when raising and training their dogs. Part of the process is to put the pup down on a wet washcloth for 3-5 seconds. Just enough time for the body to register an unpleasant sensation and move away from it. They are never left there long! I usually sit them at the edge of the washcloth so that when the cold registers, with one swoop they can be off of it themselves. So today, all 3 recognized the cold sensation very quickly and were off of that washcloth in a heartbeat. But the black pup, he scooted off and then wondered what that was and came back and put his head on the washcloth. I've never seen a pup do that before!! To be this curious this quickly?? Very interesting.

I also caught the darker fawn boy dreaming on day 2. He was trying to suckle, making sucking noises with his mouth and moving his paws back and forth. Too cute.

We're having a poll to give the boys temporary names that you can see on the right. please vote!

We're very busy these days and are spending all our spare time with the dogs and the puppies, but we'll try to keep you posted with news as it arrives!

The Laundry Detergent Bucket

I went to Sam's Club and stocked up on some of the necessities. Because we go through a lot of laundry, I got two of those big pastic buckets of laundry detergent, but only have room for one of them beside the washing machine. So the other one ended up in the middle of the kitchen and seems to get kicked around from place to place since we're both burning the candle on both ends and haven't taken time to find it a home till it gets used.

The dogs love it, though. It has made a really cool pedestal that one pug at a time can sit on and beg while someone is fixing food. And if they catch your eye as you pass by them and tilt their head *just right* then they might even get a tidbit of your yummies.

Well, that bucket made its way over near the stove. I was home at lunch and busily preparing a sandwich. I opened my bread on the stove, put some mustard on and went over to the sink to grab a knife. That little stinker Rizzo climbed up on the detergent box, stretched her little body as faaaaaar as she possibly could and with the edge of one of her toenails, she barely snagged the crusty edge of the bread. But it was enough! Down came the bread and she was the temporary hero of the day according to the other pugs who helped her scarf it down. I would have given her some MEAT if she would have been a good dog. They don't need bread, but try telling them that with their mouths full of contraband!

So I shook my head and kicked the bucket away from the stove, not realizing it landed near the 33 gallon trash can. Until the next night. When I heard... noises. And I heard a yell from the kitchen, "Get out of there!" Fabio had taken the opportunity to jump up onto the bucket and somehow managed to jump up from there into that trashcan. How, exactly, I have no idea. I'm not sure even he knew because he was good and stuck. All for a bit of macaroni he could smell from the floor. I hope it was worth it!!

USDA Forces Dog Lovers to Foot the Bill of Rabies Study

http://www.newstarget.com/022525.html

A revealing article by News Target

NewsTarget.com printable article
Originally published January 22 2008
USDA Forces Dog Lovers to Foot the Bill of Rabies Study
by Christine Agro

(NewsTarget) When you go to the Rabies Challenge Fund website and click on the “Challenge Fund Team” page you don’t see pictures of people, you see pictures of their dogs. You see Meadow who developed a malignant mass cell tumor, directly on the site of his rabies vaccination and Izzy who, after receiving a rabies vaccination, began experiencing a variety of life-long autoimmune issues. You’ll also find Woofit, Chi, Willie, Argyle and Velvet.

The Rabies Challenge Fund is a testament to the power of the people and to the love and concern people show for their dogs. For years, the issue and implications of over vaccination have been at the forefront of concerned animal guardians’ minds. A handful of Veterinarians such as Dr. W. Jean Dodds who is Co-trustee of the Rabies Challenge Fund and Dr. Ronald Schultz, who has both donated and dedicated 7 years of his life to conduct the challenge study have been speaking out about the adverse reactions to the rabies vaccine since the 1970s.

At the heart of the issue is this question, “how long does a rabies vaccine provide immunity?" Why this is at the heart of the issue is how the Rabies Challenge Fund Trust came into existence. When drug manufacturers create a vaccine, they are only required to meet criteria set out by the USDA in order to receive licensing. That criteria does not mandate testing for maximum duration of immunity. If the drug company can complete its testing in a year, the vaccine is labeled as ‘vaccinate every year’. That does not mean that immunity only lasts for one year. There is nothing scientific about the current vaccination schedule for American domestic animals. The schedule is directed by the research, or lack of research done by the drug companies.

In turn 70 million domestic dogs and 90 million domestic cats throughout the United States are subjected to unscientific vaccination protocols; rabies laws are dictated by drug manufacturers' labels and dedicated animal guardians are paying for something that not only is unnecessary, but carries many harmful side effects (1). The rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and has been linked to adverse reactions such as autoimmune diseases affecting the thyroid, joints, blood, eyes, skin, kidney, liver, bowel and central nervous system; anaphylactic shock; aggression; seizures; epilepsy and fibrosarcomas at injection sites.

In 1992 Michel Aubert and his research team conducted a French Rabies Challenge Study, demonstrating that dogs were immune to a rabies challenge 5 years after vaccination, while Dr. Schultz has demonstrated through serological studies that immunity is conferred up to 7 years post-vaccination.

The USDA will not accept foreign studies and does not consider serological studies to provide definitive proof of immunity, and they do not require vaccine manufacturers to provide long-term duration of immunity studies documenting effectiveness when licensing products. According to Kris Christine, founder and co-trustee of The Rabies Challenge Fund Trust, “Concerned dog owners have contributed the money to fund this research themselves. We want to ensure that rabies immunization laws are based upon independent, long-term scientific data.”

The Rabies Challenge Fund recently met its goal of $177,000 to fund the study's first year budget. Contributions have come from dog owners, canine groups, trainers, veterinarians and small businesses. The Rabies Challenge is a seven-year study that requires an additional $150,000 be raised annually.

Dr. Dodds states, “This is the first time in my 43 years of involvement in veterinary issues that what started as a grass-roots effort to change an outmoded regulation affecting animals will be addressed scientifically by an acknowledged expert to benefit all canine in the future.”

The total cost of this study is over $1 million and that doesn’t factor in the fact that the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine in Madison, where the study will be conducted, has waived its 48% overhead expense or that Dr. Schultz, who will over see the Challenge Study, has donated 7 years of his service.

Instead of the drug companies footing this bill, it is concerned dog lovers who are digging deep to ensure that this study is completed and that the health and wellness of their companions are protected.

Laurynn Simpson, concerned guardian of Velvet and Rabies Challenge Fund member, hits the nail on the head when she writes “To say nothing...to do nothing...stops nothing."

Sources:
1) American Pet Products Manufacturers Association 2005-2006 National Pet Owners Survey
Press Release: Canine Rabies Challenge Study Beings
(http://www.rabieschallengefund.org)



About the author
Christine Agro is a Clairvoyant Natural Healer with a unique approach to animal health, wellness and Spiritual understanding. Trained to work with people at the School of Natural Medicine in Boulder Co, Christine's clients began bringing her their animals when conventional methods were not helping. Christine soon realized that conventional veterinary medicine dis-empowers animals and disconnects their natural healing ability. After working with thousands of animals Christine has become an advocate for the healing rights of animals; supporting their natural healing abilities, speaking on their behalf, conveying their needs, wishes and desires.
Christine has written for Animal Wellness Magazine, Nature's Corner Magazine, has been seen on Animal Planet and is the host of Conscious Animal Radio (www.consciousanimalradio.com), a live internet call-in show. She is also the founder of Healingdog.com. Christine lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband, son and their senior adopted cat Christopher.
Listen to Conscious Animal Radio live every Monday at 12 Noon EST. Access the "listen live" link at http://www.consciousanimalradio.com Shows are archived and available as a podcast.
Listen to the November 26, 2007 Conscious Animal Radio show interview with Dr. James Busby, DVM and author of "How To Afford Veterinary Care Without Mortgaging The Kids."

http://cdagro.audioacrobat.com/download/consciousanimal_nov26_jbusby_ahurst.mp3
Listen to the September 17th Conscious Animal Radio interview with Kris Christine from the Rabies Challenge Fund Trust - http://cdagro.audioacrobat.com/download/consciousanimalradio_Kris_Christine.mp3

My Dogs Live Here

My dogs live here, they're here to stay.
You don't like pets, be on your way.
They share my home, my food, my space.
This is their home, this is their place.

You will find dog hair on the floor,
they will alert you're at the door.
They may request a little pat,
a simple 'no' will settle that.

It gripes me when I hear you say
'Just how is it you live this way?
They smell, they shed, they're in the way.'
WHO ASKED YOU? is all I can say.

They love me more than anyone,
my voice is like the rising sun.
They merely have to hear me say
'C'mon, time to go and play.'

Then tails wag and faces grin,
they bounce and hop and make a din.
They never say 'no time for you,'
they're always there, to GO and DO.

And if I'm sad? They're by my side,
and if I'm mad, they circle wide,
and if I laugh, they laugh with me,
they understand, they always see.

So once again, I say to you
come visit me, but know this too...

My dogs live here, they're here to stay.
You don't like pets, be on your way.
They share my home, my food, my space.
This is their home, this is their place.

------------
by ~ Katy ~

Winter has arrived

Winter, the cat, that is. A couple of days before Christmas, someone creating very bad karma for themselves dropped off a young (approx 8 mo) pure white cat in town and dumped her because she was pregnant. She found her way to my porch and meowed at me, pleading. When she tried to come into the house despite the presence of the dogs, I knew she needed some help. Because she arrived near Christmas and she is snow white, her temporary name is Winter.

She is now comfortably established upstairs with the black cat and they are finding their way around each other. We will be looking for good homes for the kittens and the mom once they are all ready to leave the nest. I'm guessing that she's about 4 weeks away from delivery, but it's hard to tell for sure. She seems to be a very sweet girl.

Anyone willing to help socialize little kittens in preparation for their new home, let me know!!

Walking in a Doggie Wonderland

WALKING IN A DOGGIE WONDERLAND
Sing along!
- author unknown

Dog tags ring, are you listenin?
In the lane, snow is glistenin,
It's yellow, NOT white,-I've been here tonight,
Marking up my winter wonderland.

Smell that tree? That's my fragrance,
It's a sign for wand'ring vagrants,
Avoid where I pee, It's MY pro-per-ty,
Marked up as my winter wonderland.

In the meadow dad will build a snowman,
Following the classical design,
Then I'll lift my leg and let it go man,
So all the world will see It's mine -mine-mine.

Straight from me to the fencepost,
Flows my natural incense boast,
Stay off my TURF, this small piece of earth,
I mark it as my winter wonderland.

Here we go round in circles

Rizzo takes her food very seriously. As it turns out, she has exposed my disfunctional habit of eating at the computer desk. Because when I have food in my hand, she will run past my feet and launch her body into the office chair full speed ahead, causing it to spin in circles. But she is very adept. Her little body counter-circles at the same rate of speed and she manages to continue to keep an eye on both me and my food!!

The other night when I got home from work, everyone was trying to greet me, but I was trying to change out of my work clothes into something more comfortable. With the snow outside preventing any desires of leaving the house the rest of the night, flannel jammies seemed like the perfect solution. Once I got changed, I reclined on the bed to wrestle with the dogs a bit. Petunia jumped up on my chest and started licking my face like I was a 2 year old who just ate ice cream. The paw in my throat cutting off my breath made me gently push her rear end over so that she would step off my body. In her excitement, her body continued to walk, all the way around my head and back up onto my chest while she was still licking my face in the same spot. Talented! There's no lack of love in this house!

Pug Movie Preview

Forgotten Dog's Christmas

Forgotten Dog’s Christmas
Although there are an untold number of great reasons to wish for a companion, everyone in the family should agree as to the proper treatment before one is brought home. This poem is a good reminder of an unfortunate circumstance that happens all to often.

~~Forgotten Dog's Christmas~~

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there

The children were nestled all snug in their beds
With no thought of the dog filling their head

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap
Knew he was cold, but didn't care about that

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter

Away to the window I flew like a flash
Figuring the dog was free of his chain and into the trash

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But Santa Claus - with eyes full of tears

He un-chained the dog, once so lively and quick
Last year's Christmas present, now painfully thin and sick

More rapid than eagles he called the dog's name
And the dog ran to him, despite all his pain

"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!

To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall!
Let's find this dog a home where he'll be loved by all."

I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year
For Santa Claus had made one thing quite clear

The gift of a dog is not just for the season
We had gotten the pup for all the wrong reasons

In our haste to think of the kids a gift
There was one important thing that we missed

A dog should be family, and cared for the same
You don't give a gift, then put it on a chain

And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of sight
"You weren't given a gift! You were given a LIFE!"

Author Unknown

General Updates

Our little miss perky pants Jolene the show pug got evaluated by her breeder/handler recently and we're very sorry to say that right now, it looks like she won't make the cut for the show ring. What a shame, because she's a beauty! She has a sweet, positive disposition. She is bright and happy. She has a gorgeous diamond on her forehead and she's sooooo tiny you could tuck her into a jacket and take her everywhere! This little girl is destined for diamond studded collars, gourmet dinner on silver platters and the comfiest of pillows. So if you know of a perfect home for her, please have them contact us.

Also, our friends have a bassett hound that they are fostering and hoping to find a good home for, and we have a springer spaniel field-trained bird dog possibly available to the right home.

We heard from Gypsy's mom today, one of the pups from Ellie Mae x Cooter. She told us several times about Gypsy loving the water, but I figured that was just because it was summer. No, here we are in the winter and miss Gypsy jumped back into the bathtub after her bath 3 times before her mom could get her dry and out the bathroom door safely. What a goof! She also sent me a pic of her in her halloween costume and is she ever so cute!

We hear from others occasionally and always welcome stories and pictures!

As to this household, many of you might know from my other posts that little Fa Zhou has taken the german shepherd as his best friend. Together they monitor the activities in the neighborhood, patrol the yard, and keep the house safe. With the girls starting to come into season, we got Fa Zhou neutered, but the studs in the house are unsure whether he is a threat or not for their female attention. Well, the german shepherd is making sure that everyone is minding their own business. I went to find out why the dogs hadn't come back in from going potty and she was keeping the boys segregated - each had their own spot in the yard. lol... she's a great dog and a shepherd with a job that she loves. She's such a gentle soul with the pugs and a great guardian.

Video - adult lion kisses rescuer

How sweet!

Should parents go to jail for not vaccinating kids?

Excuse me? With autism running rampant, deaths from the new papilloma vaccine, and many other adverse reactions, there are some out there who are trying to send parents to jail for refusing vaccinations for their children. And social services has taken children away for the same. What kind of country is this when pharmaceutical companies can dictate criminal policy??? Vote here

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21839794/_

Speaking at the Speed of Light

Author: Kathy Coachpike

Life seems to be moving at the speed of light. I try to bring a grounded presence into every aspect of my daily life. However a fast paced world can often pull me out of my authentic self. Our culture is based on high-speed everything. Speed is becoming a value. The faster something can work or go the more desirable it is. The
element of speed brings many good things, and it may also be taking away just as much.

During EELC programs I drop into `horse time' a spacious place where the breath is deep, the mind reflects, and the pacing is slow. Years ago I would have resisted this. I thought that my quick mind and lightening fast ability to ask questions, solve problems, and jump to future scenarios for possible applications, was one of the most valuable assets of my being. Once I started to work with horses I
saw how this very behavior was not based on my authentic nature, but instead a hyperactive, over functioning performance behavior based on proving to myself, and others, that I was `smart' and that I was `right.' I was living in fear, not in my power. My behavior gave me a false send of safety and security.

This highly mental approach to communications and relationships was detrimental to my success. A heady and often defensive approach took me out of my heart. My breath would become shallow. My lightening speed communication style often over-lapped other people's sentences, cutting them off in mid-thought. Too busy in my own mind finding my next comment, reply or question I failed to hear others.

The last four years horses have taught me to let go of this `false' part of myself. When I attempt to create connection and train horses in this `false' state of being, the horses do not respond well. It takes us twice the amount of energy and time to achieve something together. They turn their hinds, move away, become agitated, or
simply tune out. This is my clue that my breath is short, my mind is full of racing thoughts, and I am trying to achieve through my head and my head alone. One can only imagine the discomfort this false heady approach creates for a sensitive creature.

To be authentic one must learn to distinguish what is real and what is false about the self. High-speed head based means of communication are false. All heart connections start from the heart, not the head. When a person cannot feel their heart it is difficult to create the heart connections.

Those who want to have more companionship (both with horse and humans) must learn the art of a heart-based communications. Heart-based communication occurs when a person is aware of their own heart space, breathing deeply into their body, and adjusting their style (timing, rhythm, and intensity) of communication so another can hear them. They must be willing to sit in a silent pause, not needing to fill it with words. They must be willing to reflect and listen deeply to the communications another is offering them. They must also be sensitive to the energy of those around them. In essence they must learn how to `graze' with inner peace to honor those around them. When two beings are heart based their hearts become synchronized and in essence they begin to see and feel the world in harmony, even if their views differ.

What might shift in your relations if you were to take a breath and pause after someone spoke and before you offered your next thought or question? When do you feel heart connections with others? What is false and what is genuine in your communications with others? Where do you spend most of your time, in your head or in your heart? How do your horses respond to you when you are breathing deeply into your heart space?

Can't get enough of pugs?

Check out the links to other cool blogs. We've added some of our friends and their pug blogs. Gotta love em!

You're the One That I Want Dance Video

Proper Pug Grooming (video)

Ellie Mae & Jolene at the Reservoir

What beautiful days we've been having! Inspired by pictures of dogs in leaves, after work we went to the reservoir knowing there would be tons of leaves to have in pictures. Not to mention the beautiful water in the background. We searched and searched and they must do a really good job of keeping the reservoir picnic areas clean. Or maybe the wind had blown all the loose leaves into the woods. But either way, we had no luck with the leaves. The setting sun was gorgeous. Ellie Mae decided she wanted to play some fetch. Jolene kept tossing her head over her shoulder and barking at the BBQ pit on a pole. It stayed right where it was, too! She must really sound ferocious to inanimate objects.

As hard as I tried to keep them on the side of me where the sun was shining on them, not behind them, they still kept going to the other side. And the props I had with me were cute, the reservoir was gorgeous, but no.... the best shot was with their heads in the Walgreen's plastic bag. Go figure. You'll see the abandoned fuzzy rabbit toy in the background.

As a perfect end to a perfect evening, in the midst of acres of perfect grass, Jolene peed on my jacket laying on the ground. They're a litte bit too trained with the puppy pad.

A Note From a Rescue

Cross posted from some different boards - original source unknown.

We don't get the elegantly coiffed, classically beautiful, completely trained, perfectly behaved dog. We get the leftovers. Dogs that other people have incompetently bred, inadequately socialized, ineffectively "trained," and badly treated. Most Rescue dogs have had it. They've been pushed from one lousy situation to another. They've never had proper veterinary care, kind and consistent training, or sufficient company. They've lived outside, in a crate, or in the basement. They're scared, depressed and anxious. Some are angry. Some are sick. Some have given up.

But we are Rescue and we don't give up. We never give up on a dog. We know that a dog is a living being, with a spirit and a heart and feelings. Our dogs are not commodities, things, or garbage. They are part of sacred creation and they deserve as much love and care and respect as the next Westminster champion. So please, please don't come to rescue in the hopes of getting a "bargain," or indeed of "getting" anything. Come to Rescue to give, to love, to save a life -- and to mend your own spirit. For Rescue will reward you in ways you never thought possible. I can promise you this -- a rescue dog will make you a better person.

Frenchies at halloween

Gator & Mariah got to greet the trick-or-treaters last night during Beggar's Night while being dressed as a dinosaur and a spider. They were very scary, as was witnessed by the screams heard behind the snickers as their spider legs and dinosaur tail bobbed happily behind them. It was as good a dog night as it was a kid night!

Help our local dog shelter win a makeover!

The fun site ZooToo offers a great way to support your local dog shelter!

For anyone wishing to join the site, it would be great if you would follow the instructions below so that I get referral points to help our shelter earn more points!

1. Go to the website:

www.zootoo.com/register/referrer/briarwood

2. Register, confirm your email address.

3. Now click on "volunteer" on the website header.

4. At the bottom of the page, click something (anything!) from section 1, and click add.

That's it! You've just earned the shelter some serious points. Now have fun with the news reviews, the product reviews, etc. Upload pictures of your pets utilizing the products you've reviewed! After each review or upload, you should see a message flash on the screen telling you how many points you've earned. Don't click on anything until you see this acknowledgement. I'm trying to work with them right now to recover another 100 points that should be showing for me!

The Clark County shelter is trying to accumulate enough funds to be able to expand their property. Right now, there is no good area for isolation. At some point in the future, they would even like to host a low cost spay/neuter clinic which would really help this area tremendously. Please take a look and write a few reviews to help either our shelter or yours. Thanks for investing the time!

Pet trusts?

All too often pets are left homeless when their owners die and haven't made preparations for their care. More and more owners are turning to trusts to care for their beloved pets after their passing. However, most trusts are expensive to set up, maintain, and amend. Meet PetGuardian LLC, a company that specializes in setting up trusts. In specializing, they are able to create and maintain trusts for much less than the average attorney fees. Setup fees for a simple trust run $1000-2000 through an attorney but cost a minimal $500 through PetGuardian LLC. For more details, visit their website:

http://www.petguardian.com/common.php?v_section=1&flash=yes

AMVA Evacuation Disaster Preparedness Plan for Animals

In light of the fires in California, it reminds us all to have an emergency plan in effect, especially where our pets are considered. The AVMA has written an excellent guide outlining many of the aspects of emergency management where pets are concerned. Definitely worth bookmarking!

http://www.avma.org/disaster/saving_family.asp#before

More Pug Rap!

Mutts & Moms Rescue

The recent situation exposed on the Ellen show (Ellen adopted a dog with a signed contract not to rehome the dog, but return it to the rescue and she gave it to her hairdresser's family), many questions have come into light regarding rescue organizations. Some are more strict, some are more lenient. This particular organization has a rule about no small pets with children under age 14. Realize that many dogs in rescue have issues with children because of prior mistreatments, and only the rescue knows where the best placement for these dogs would be. However, it would have been nice if they would have been in a position to truly evaluate that particular family, the interaction of the children with the dog, and base their opinion on that.

We have been involved with personal and family rescues and with humane societies, and we do our best to help animals find loving homes, but it is not always easy. The rescues write the rules based on where they have been burned before. Like the dog who had multiple surgeries and months of recovery in the home of a foster to be placed with a nice woman in a nice home. The woman later sold the dog for $100 to a family who had no regard for the animal's health or well-being and the dog was eventually returned to the rescue malnourished, hair matted badly, and with serious dental issues and low state of health. If the dog had been returned to the rescue per the contract, then a more suitable home and the dog could have avoided that dark period of time.

Here is a cross-post relative to this situation that might help someone understand, in part, the daily frustrations of a rescue worker.

Hello: You have reached 555-5555, Tender Hearts Rescue. Due to the high volume of calls we have been receiving, please listen closely to the following options and choose the one that best describes you or your situation:

Press 1 if you think we are veterinarians and want free medical advice.

Press 2 if you know we are a rescue organization but want to save money and have us give you free, untrained medical advice anyway.

Press 3 if you make $200,000 a year but still want us to pay to spay the "stray" in your yard (house).

Press 4 if you have a 10-year-old dog (or cat) and your 15-year-old son has suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home right away.

Press 5 if you have three dogs (or cats), had a baby and want to get rid of your pets because you are the only person in the world to have a baby and pets at the same time.

Press 6 if your dog (or cat) is sick and needs a vet but you need the money for your vacation.

Press 7 if you just got a brand new puppy (or kitten) and your old dog (or cat) is having problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.

Press 8 if your little puppy (or kitten) has grown up and is no longer small and cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.

Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy (or kitten) who is not active and is going to outlive you.

Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for their elderly dog (or cat) because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.

Press 11 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your 150 pound, 8-year-old dog or your 16-year-old cat.

Press 12 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home today and pick up the dog (or cat) you no longer want.

Press 13 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not you r dog (or cat).

Press 14 if you are calling at 6a.m. to make sure you wake me up before I have to go to work so you can drop a dog (or cat) off on your way to work.

Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know you have left a dog in our yard in the middle of January, which is in fact, better than just leaving the dog with no message.

Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to take your dog (or cat) that you have had for fifteen years, because it is not our responsibility.

Press 17 if you are going to threaten to take your ten-year-old dog (or cat) to be euthanized because I wont take it.

Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the volunteers had the audacity to go on vacation and leave the dogs in care of a trusted volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.

Press 19 if you want one of our perfectly trained, housebroken, kid and cat friendly purebred tiny dogs that we have an abundance of.

Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your neighbor's cats.

Press 21 if you have already called once and been told we don't take personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this time with a different answer.

Press 22 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to board your personal dog (or cat) while you are on vacation, free of charge, of course.

Press 23 if it is Christmas Eve or Easter morning and you want me to deliver an eight week old puppy (or kitten) to your house by 6:30 am before your kids wake up.

Press 24 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.

Press 25 if you want us to take your female dog (or cat) who has already had ten litters, but we can't spay her because she is pregnant again and it is against your religion.

Press 26 if you're lying to make one of our younger volunteers feel bad and take your personal pet off your hands.

Press 27 if your cat is biting and not using the litter box because it is declawed, but are not willing to accept the responsibility that the cat's behavior is altered because of your nice furniture.

Press 28 if your two year old male dog (or cat) is marking all over your house but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.

Press 29 if you previously had an outdoor only dog (or cat) and are calling because she is suddenly pregnant.

Press 30 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and have had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it is cruel.

Press 31 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening phone number and you left your work number when all volunteers are also working and you are angry because no one called you back.

Press 32 if you need a puppy (or kitten) immediately and cannot wait because today is your daughter's birthday and you forgot when she was born.

Press 33 if your dog's (or cat's) coat doesn't match your new furniture and you need a different color or breed.

Press 34 if your new love doesn't like your dog (or cat) and you are too stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next month anyway) instead of the pet.

Press 35 if you went through all these presses and didn't hear enough. This press will connect you to the sounds of tears being shed by one of our volunteers who is holding a discarded old dog (or cat) while the vet mercifully frees him from of the grief of missing his family.

WE SALUTE YOU RESCUERS AND VOLUNTEERS!! !

Storytime - Mariah

Whenever I yell for the dogs, they always come running and whenever my dog partner Tony yells for them, they scatter to run under the bed or under the office desk. They figure he's either going to crate them or they're in trouble for something - lol. So when I'm gone I'll ask how things went and he'll tell me who he could and couldn't catch - lol.

Anyway, the other day I took Ellie out of her crate and I knew she had to use the bathroom, but I wanted to check her to be sure she's not coming into heat yet. As I was reaching for a paper towel with the other hand, she got away from me and ran toward the bedroom. I'm yelling "Elle Mae, darn you, get back here" and running after her because I'm scared if she goes that direction, she's going to wet on the carpet and I just shampoo'ed it. So I get to the bedroom in enough time to see 5 little tails going underneath the bed, including Mariah. Shoot, I thought some of those were too big to fit their hineys under there anymore, but they sure did.

So I sighed, went to the door, opened it and yelled, "who wants to go outside." I see those huge ears pop around the doorway of the bedroom horizontally like a kid spying. She was the ambassador sent to see if it was a trick or not so the others could remain safely under the bed. She realized the door was open and she starts her feet moving like the road runner in the cartoons, then all of a sudden they catch traction and she's off and running. The rest followed her outside and I didn't have any messes on my carpet!

Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation

This is a book review by an contributing author for the San Francisco newspaper. The review can be found here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/10/02/petscol.DTL

YOUR WHOLE PET
Is pet overpopulation a myth? Inside Nathan Winograd's "Redemption"
By Christie Keith, Special to SF Gate

Tuesday, October 2, 2007


In the still-heated debate over reducing shelters deaths in California, there is probably no more polarizing figure than Nathan Winograd, former director of operations for the San Francisco SPCA.

At first glance, Winograd has all the credentials any animal rights activist or shelter professional could ask for. He's a vegan. He left a lucrative career as a prosecuting attorney to devote himself to helping animals. Last year, his income was only $35,000. He has spearheaded the No Kill Advocacy Center, a national organization aimed at ending the killing of pets in animal shelters. While director of operations at the San Francisco SPCA, he worked with then-president Richard Avanzino to implement a wide variety of animal livesaving programs, and then went on to achieve similar success as director of a rural shelter in upstate New York.

But Winograd isn't making a lot of friends in the shelter industry these days. That's because he authored a book called "Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America" that challenges the very foundation of nearly every theory and principle of shelter management in this country: The idea that there are more pets dying in shelters each year than homes available for those pets.

In fact, with between 4 and 5 million dogs and cats being killed in shelters nationwide every year, denying the existence of pet overpopulation seems ridiculous. If there aren't more pets than homes, why are so many animals ending up in shelters in the first place?

Conventional wisdom tells us it's because of irresponsible pet owners who aren't willing to work to keep their pets in their homes. It's a failure of commitment, of caring, and of the human/animal bond. If fewer pets were born, there would be fewer coming into shelters. If people cared more about their pets, they wouldn't give them up so easily, would spay and neuter them so they wouldn't reproduce, and wouldn't let them stray.

That is exactly what I always believed, too, for the nearly 17 years I've been writing about pets. And yet, after reading "Redemption," I don't believe it anymore.

Winograd's argument is simply this: Based on data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Pet Food Manufacturers Association, and the latest census, there are more than enough homes for every dog and cat being killed in shelters every year. In fact, when I spoke to him for this article, he told me that there aren't just enough homes for the dogs and cats being killed in shelters. There are more homes for cats and dogs opening each year than there are cats and dogs even entering shelters.

He's not suggesting this is really nothing but a numbers game, though. "When I argue that pet overpopulation is a myth, I'm not saying that we can all go home," he said. "And I'm not saying that there aren't certain people who are irresponsible with their animals. And I'm not saying that there aren't a lot of animals entering shelters. Again, I'm not saying that it wouldn't be better if there were fewer of them being impounded. But it does mean that the problem is not insurmountable and it does mean that we can do something short of killing for all savable animals today."

There is probably nothing Winograd could say that would more inflame the shelter and humane society establishment than calling pet overpopulation a myth. But Winograd doesn't just stop there. In "Redemption," Winograd lays the lion's share of the blame for shelter deaths not on pet owners and communities, but on the management, staff, and boards of directors of the shelters themselves.

"If a community is still killing the majority of shelter animals, it is because the local SPCA, humane society, or animal control shelter has fundamentally failed in its mission," he writes. "And this failure is nothing more than a failure of leadership. The buck stops with the shelter's director."

Redemption makes the case that bad shelter management leads to overcrowding, which is then confused with pet overpopulation. Instead of warehousing and killing animals, shelters, he says, should be using proven, innovative programs to find those homes he says are out there. They should wholeheartedly adopt the movement known as No Kill, and stop using killing as a form of population control.

Mike Fry, the executive director of Animal Ark Shelter in the Minneapolis area, was one of those who had a problem with Winograd's analysis. Interviewing Winograd on his radio show, he said, "I was one of those people, when I saw the title "The Myth of Pet Overpopulation ..." the hackles kind of went up on the back of my neck. This is a problem we're struggling and fighting with literally day in day out in the animal welfare community."

Winograd, who has been in the same trenches himself, responded with some specific examples of the buck stopping at the shelter director's desk. "Let's just look at various animals dying in shelters around the nation today," he said on Fry's radio show. "If ... motherless kittens are killed because the shelter doesn't have a comprehensive foster care program, that's not pet overpopulation. That's the lack of a foster care program.

"If adoptions are low because people are getting those dogs and cats from other places, because the shelter isn't doing outside adoptions (adoptions done off the shelter premises), that's a failure to do outside adoptions, not pet overpopulation.

"And you can go down the list. If animals are killed because working with rescue groups is discouraged, again, that's not pet overpopulation. If dogs are going cage-crazy because volunteers and staff aren't allowed to socialize them, and then those dogs are killed because they're quote-unquote "cage crazy," because the shelter doesn't have a behavior rehabilitation program in place, once again, that's not pet overpopulation; that's the lack of programs and services that save lives.

"And you can say that about feral cats being killed because a shelter doesn't have a trap-neuter-return program. You can say that about shy or scared dogs because the shelter is doing this bogus temperament testing that's killing shy dogs and claiming they are unadoptable. It goes on and on and on."

Winograd's not just talking about something that could happen, but something that has already happened many times in a number of American communities — including San Francisco, which in 1994 became the first city in the United States to end the killing of healthy dogs and cats.

Of course, the San Francisco SPCA was not the first no-kill shelter in the United States. There have always been individual shelters and rescue groups that have not used population control killing. What San Francisco did was to institutionalize No Kill on a county-wide basis, guaranteeing that animals would not be killed simply for lack of shelter space. The SFSPCA promised to take all adoptable, treatable, and rehabilitatable pets that came into San Francisco's municipal shelter, and find homes for them if the city shelter could not.

"If you look at what San Francisco did between 1993 and 1994, the number of deaths didn't decline by one percent or two percent," Winograd said. "In the case of healthy animals it declined 100 percent. In the case of sick and injured animals it declined by about 50 percent." Nonetheless, instead of adopting similar programs for their own communities, most observers of the time shrugged it off, saying that it wouldn't work anywhere else. San Francisco, they said, is special.

As a fourth-generation native, I'm the first to admit my city is special. But the reality is that No Kill has worked in a wide variety of communities. Winograd later left California and took over the SPCA in Tompkins County, N.Y., which held the animal control contract for the region and has an open admissions policy. One of the most compelling sections of "Redemption" tells how Winograd walked into the shelter and, literally overnight, ended the practice of killing for shelter space:

"The day after my arrival, my staff informed me that our dog kennels were full and since a litter of six puppies had come in, I needed to decide who was going to be killed in order to make space. I asked for 'Plan B'; there was none. I asked for suggestions; there were none."

He spoke directly to his staff, saying, "Volunteers who work with animals do so out of sheer love. They don't bring home a paycheck. So if a volunteer says, 'I can't do it,' I can accept that from her. But staff members are paid to save lives. If a paid member of staff throws up her hands and says, 'There's nothing that can be done,' I may as well eliminate her position and use the money that goes for her salary in a more constructive manner. So what are we going to do with the puppies that doesn't involve killing?"

The story of how Tompkins County stopped killing for population control and started sending more than 90 percent of the animals that come into its animal control system out alive may be one of the greatest success stories of the humane movement. It's certainly one of the most compelling parts of the argument laid out in "Redemption."

Because, although it wasn't always easy, these programs worked, and not only in San Francisco or Tompkins County. "In Tompkins County, we reduced the death rate 75 percent in two years. In Charlottesville, Va., they reduced it by over 50 percent in one year. And Reno, Nev. ... has reduced the death rate by over 50 percent," Winograd said.

"If all shelters not only have the desire and embrace the No Kill philosophy, but comprehensively put into play all those programs and services that ... I ... collectively call the no-kill equation, then we would achieve success."

The issue of pet overpopulation is only one piece of the story told in "Redemption." Within its pages, readers and animal lovers can find the blueprint not so much for our failure to save the animals in our communities, but for our ability to start doing so today. It challenges us to demand more of our shelters than the status quo, to insist on an end to the use of killing as a form of animal population control, and tells us to stop allowing our tax dollars and donations to support shelters and animal control agencies that refuse to implement programs that have been proven in communities across America to work to end the killing.

Bay Area residents will have the chance to hear Winograd speak on "Redemption" and the No Kill movement. He'll be at the Women's Community Building at 3543 18th St. in San Francisco on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 6 p.m. The event is free, and space can be reserved at www.eventbrite.com/event/64640341. There is also more information, and a list of speaking dates in other parts of the country, at www.nathanwinograd.com.

Christie Keith is a contributing editor for Universal Press Syndicate's Pet Connection and past director of the Pet Care Forum on America Online. She lives in San Francisco.

Diet Coke & Mentos Experiment

Reminder - keep artificial sweeteners away from your pets, especially xylitol!