Is The Puppy Purse Animal Abuse?

It's the ultimate fashion accessory for people who "love their dogs a bit too much."

Imported from the United States, these colourful and stylish "doggie bags" enable devoted dog owners to carry their puppies and little pooches wherever they go.

Designed to be "lightweight" with an adjustable strap, the "Puppy Purse" is exactly as it sounds.

I find these "pooch pouches" to be completely obscene. If you look at the photos of these types of devices, how can a dog breathe properly? "Teacup" dogs, especially, are known to have fragile internal organs. What about the dog's circulatory system? And what about exercise? And what about having to urinate or defecate? What about learning to walk on a loose leash and obeying? What is the justification for using such a thing? How can this be healthy?

In my opinion, anyone who would do this doesn't deserve to have a dog. Is this animal cruelty? I’d want a veterinarian opinion on such a device before I’d make that determination here. But, if it is, I would advocate arresting, fining and jailing anyone who would subject their dog to such a device.

This fashion thing started with Paris Hilton, who I think is a terrible role model.

Fashion trends are no excuse for animal abuse.

Presa Canario Mauls Woman To Death

In a ferocious attack never before seen in Broward County, a powerful, pit-bull-like dog mauled its owner to death Friday afternoon as she tried to give him a bath.

Here is a family dog attacking the owner's girlfriend. There are some clues in the story to tell us what happened. Assuming this story is accurate, here is my opinion of what was going on:

a.) Willey -- who has been cited in the past for having dangerous dogs. So, these owners had warnings about owning dangerous dogs. They had problems with more than one dog. And they own more than one dog.
b.) The dog was of a breed called Presa Canario, akin to a pit bull. They had a powerful breed, which is marketed as being a guard breed.
c.) The two officers who arrived at 3:25 p.m. saw the dog standing over her bloodied body. It was ''acting aggressively'' and they shot and killed the animal. This was a very personal attack by the dog. This was aggression with intent, and the dog knew what it was doing.
d.) Neighbors on Friday in this well-heeled neighborhood said warning signs had appeared in the past. The owners had allowed their dogs to threaten other people.
e.) Rafi Horwitz, 19, said a friend of his came over recently and gasped: ``I just got chased by two dogs.'' Willey had been walking a dog the day before and was struggling to maintain control over the canine, said neighbor Clemente Vaslo, 47. ''She had him on a leash but he was clearly having his way,'' he said. In other words, the dog wasn't under her control. The dog wasn't trained. She couldn't lead or manage the dog.
f.) In 2000, she was charged with having a dog at large, according to Hillsborough County court records. A dog ''threatened [a] witness into the house,'' records show. So, she had a history of having no control over her dogs.
g.) Willey also has a son in middle school. One neighbor, who declined to give his name, said the son had cautioned against playing with the dogs because ``they are mean.'' So, the family knew the dogs were challenging them in their own home!

Here is a perfect example of why you should train your dogs to obey. When you don’t have control over a dog, and that includes leadership over a dog, especially a large breed known for being protective, then you will endanger others, yourself, and your family. And to you "all positive", clicker training folks, or those of you who baby your dogs: this is what happens when you figure that you can train a dog without any rules, boundaries or leadership. This dog clearly got all it wanted in life, and it ended up killing someone.

Just because you think it would be cool to have a certain breed of dog, doesn’t mean you are going to be able to handle it on your own without professional training.

I get emails from people all the time telling me that they are having behavioral problems with a dog, but don’t see the need to train the dog.

In fact, these are the types who don't know a thing about dog behavior, but when it comes down to them having to work with the dog, they would rather either blame the dog, or tell me how they think the dog should be trained.

Check out this email I received last week:

"Hello, We got this puppy at eight weeks old he is now 7 months old. This is what I am noticing about him (my husband doesn’t think it's that bad). He sometimes growls when you try to put him in is cage. He sometimes tires to jump up and bite the kids when they are fighting they are 10 and 16 years old. When we took him to the kennel when we went on vacation they said he tried to bite them the first night and then he was fine (maybe he was scared)? The one girl actually said she was going to miss our dog. Sometimes when you are in the yard with him he tries to jump up and bite your hand (my husband thinks he just playing) I don't know if he is or not. He has showed his teeth to me and he doesn't like you to touch his feet at all especially trying to cut his nails. He is a little dog, Boston Terrier mix. He can be such a loving dog also he cuddles with you , but there is a side that can be mean. My husband doesn’t see it or doesn’t want to see it. I don't know what to do. My husband doesn’t think we should get rid of him. What do you think?"

I told her: "This can all be sorted out in obedience classes. There is no good reason to get rid of the dog. This is a problem created by not training your dog… it is your fault, not the dog’s."

Then, she responded: "There's only one problem with what you are saying, we had a dog before this one for 11 years who passed away last year and he never went to obedience class and he never did any of these things. Can you explain that?"

Just because you have owned a dog doesn't mean you know what you are doing with ALL dogs. This pup of theirs is heading down the wrong path. Training can and would fix this. Imagine such a person, letting a powerful breed of dog head down this path. You'd get the horrifying story you read about above.

MORAL OF THE STORY: All dogs need dog training. If you are too cheap, foolish or lazy to train the dog, then do us all a favor, don't get a dog.

Olympic National Park: REVERSE THE DOG BAN!

Olympic National Park is getting a new management plan that will set a course for the park over the next 20 years.

The public is asked to comment on whether the park should continue to be managed as it is today; whether to place greater emphasis on preserving the park as a wild ecosystem; or to increase development for visitors and tourism.

National Park managers have extended the public comment period on the plan, as well as scheduled a public hearing on it in Seattle.

The hearing is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Seattle REI, 222 Yale Ave. N.

To review the plan, go online to http://parkplanning.nps.gov/olym. Or, to request a printed or CD version of the document call 360-565-3004.

Copies also are available at the Seattle Public Library and at the University of Washington Library.

The public-comment period is open through Sept. 30.

Dogs are banned from our National Parks. I think you should write them and tell them that you want dogs allowed in the parks. They cause no harm at all.

Be prepared for the timid, politically correct letter back saying how dogs upset the “wilderness experience” for some people. In other words, Dog Haters are preventing you, the taxpayer, from using parks that you paid for, and should have every right to use.

Just remember, native Americans had pet dogs in these parks long before the European and Russians arrived on the West coast. So, dogs ARE a part of the natural habitat of that area.

Dolphins and Whales... Just Animals After All

Dolphins and whales are dumber than goldfish and don't have the know-how to match a rat, new research from South Africa shows.

For years, humans have assumed the large brains of dolphins meant the mammals were highly intelligent.

Paul Manger from Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand, however, says it is not intelligence that created the dolphin super-brain -- it's the cold.

To survive underwater, these warm-blooded animals developed brains that have a lot of insulating material -- called glia -- but not too many neurons, the gray stuff that counts for reasoned thinking.

The same goes for whales because they share the dolphins' brain composition, he said.

Uh Oh, another animal rights propaganda myth bites the dust. The argument has been that since these animals have brains as large as ours, they are really just some kind of fish people, equal to us in every way. Bah! This was then used as a way of enacting draconian animal rights legislation all around the world. Remember that Star Trek episode where they saved the whales? Even though I am a Star Trek fan, this kind of pseudo-science has been used to bludgeon pet owners all over the world.

Why can’t we be satisfied that an animal is just an animal, and that is OK? Is this just a way for those who want “something more” to invent their own gods, because they don’t want to accept that God really exists? I think so.

Animal Rights vs Animal Welfare

"We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. . . One generation and out. We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding." Wayne Pacelle, Senior VP of Humane Society of the US, formerly of Friends of Animals and Fund for Animals, Animal People, May, 1993

NOTE: (Wayne Pacelle’s initial training was as a PeTA activist. Today he heads HSUS under the guise of "legitimacy". It is the largest and most profitable of the animal Rightist lobbying organizations.

Many people think that every “humane society” is part of the same organization. But, they aren’t. They are each distinct non-profit companies. Some are animal rights oriented, some are animal welfare oriented. You had better do your research before you send your money off to one of these groups.

Would you want to send your money to a group that was against the domestic dog?

WEIRD: Cancer Can Spread To Dogs As A Parasite

A strange form of cancer is being transmitted as an infectious agent among the world's dogs, without help from viruses or bacteria, a research team in England has found.

The discovery, reported in the journal Cell, shows how a single cancer cell can become a parasite, grow and then spread worldwide in susceptible animals.

Fortunately, even though the tumours grow aggressively at first, they eventually shrink and then succumb to the host dog's immune system. Remarkably, after the cancer has disappeared, the dogs have gained protective immunity, which blocks further infection by the cancer cells. The dogs' blood also can be used to vaccinate other dogs and block infection.

ANOTHER Mass Slaughter Of Dogs In China?

SHANGHAI, China — A second Chinese city plans a mass dog slaughter to control a rabies outbreak, state media said Friday, days after a similar cull in which dogs were beaten to death prompted a torrent of criticism.

Officials in the eastern city of Jining said Thursday they would kill all dogs within three miles of areas where rabies had been found, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

The measure came in response to the deaths of 16 people from rabies in Jining in the last eight months, Xinhua said. It didn't say when the cull would begin or how the animals would be killed. It said the city had about 500,000 dogs.

Rabies cases are on the rise in China, with more than 2,000 people dying from the disease each year. Only 3 percent of the country's dogs are vaccinated against rabies.

So, let me get this straight… China is going to do ANOTHER mass slaughter of dogs to control rabies, when all they’d have to do is vaccinate the dogs? And how bad is this problem? In a country of over a billion people, they only have 2,000 deaths per year as a result of rabies? So, they figure that to save the 2,000 per year, they need to kill off entire cities full of dogs? This makes no economic sense... but then again, when have Communists ever understood economics?

There is more going on here than meets the eye. Did you notice, last week, that people went out and CLUBBED THEIR OWN DOGS TO DEATH? This sure smells bad. Wouldn’t you have to be COERCED to beat your own dog to death? I know I wouldn't do it voluntarily.

C’mon, folks.

This is why a closed and regulated media is bad for public policy. You don’t get the straight story, and a lot of bad things can be covered up.

Here’s the other weird thing, they were paying people about $.60 per dog as compensation. Now, figure this… if they were to purchase rabies vaccinations for all these dogs, how much do you think each shot would cost? Probably no more than this amount. And do you really think that killing off all these dogs will stop the rabies problems? This whole thing is completely inhumane and should be stopped immediately.

SHAME ON YOU, CHINA!!! You know better!

What Is Dog Whispering?

There are more and more dog trainers out there starting to call themselves “Dog Whisperers”. So, what does that mean, and how do you know if you are working with a Dog Whisperer? And should you hire someone who calls themselves a “Dog Whisperer”?

We Haven't Won Yet...

Have we won our fight against the Dog Haters? No, not yet.

Have we convinced the public that pit bulls are not inherently vicious? No, not yet…

But, a hint of sanity has appeared in the mainstream media (LA Times) today…

No one is suggesting that pit bulls have replaced the Chihuahua as the new "it" dog — at least not until Paris Hilton gets one. And county statistics show that the biggest concentrations of licensed pit bulls are in Compton and Lancaster, not Malibu or Beverly Hills. But trainers and animal shelter staffers and rescuers see a trend: increasing adoptions by families, professionals and others willing to attempt to raise a civilized pit bull.

Many who own or rescue pit bulls want to rehabilitate the image of a breed they believe has been unfairly maligned.

"I would say we're trying to restore the image," said Donna Reynolds, 44, who lives in Oakland. She and her husband rescue pit bulls and run a website, http://www.badrap.org , that seeks to dispel the belief that pit bulls are vicious and unmanageable. Reynolds says a pit bull is "an exceptional family pet…. People who tend to believe they're scary have been educated by the media.

"I say, 'Have you hung out or met a dog you consider to be a true American pit bull?' 'No, I haven't, but my neighbor has one chained out in the backyard.' Well, any dog chained in the backyard is going to be mean."

Cesar Millan, the famed "Dog Whisperer" who has his own show on the National Geographic cable channel, says pit bulls, like all the power breeds, can be trained through exercise and discipline.

He keeps pit bulls in his resident pack at his South L.A.-based Dog Psychology Center, which is part dog camp, part rehab center.

"My kids are around pit bulls every day," said Millan, who believes the dogs have been unfairly stigmatized. "In the '70s they blame Dobermans, in the '80s they blame German shepherds, in the '90s they blame the Rottweiler, now they blame the pit bull."

Mass Slaughter Of Dogs In China... Again

A county in south-west China has ordered all 50,546 dogs to be killed to fight a rabies outbreak which has killed three people, state media says.

It has taken five days, but authorities in Mouding County in south-west China say they have killed almost all of the 50,000 dogs in the area.

Some of the dogs were clubbed to death in the street as their owners watched.

Other dog owners took matters into their own hands, poisoning or electrocuting their pets.

They were paid around $0.60 (£0.32) for each dog in compensation.

China has a poor record of animal protection. There are no laws to prevent cruelty to pets.

This is reminiscent of what happened during the Cultural Revolution, when dogs were slaughtered en masse for evil political purposes. This is why we refer to these kinds of things as a Dog Holocaust.

There had to be a better way to do this. They could easily have asked animal welfare groups to help raise funds for vaccines (though, if you read the article, they even killed the vaccinated dogs). This cull was inhumane in every way. This is why you need better laws protecting dogs and dog ownership everywhere in the world. You couldn't do this in the USA

I really don't dislike China. I have great hopes for China, but they have so much baggage left over from their feudal ways, then colonialism, and the horrors of Communism... It is going to take a long time. I would love to travel there, and even better, conduct training seminars for dog owners and government officials. There is a lot of good to be accomplished. Who knows? Maybe someone is reading this and might make that connection happen.

What To Do About A Spoiled Dog?

From time to time, I get interesting emails that illustrate important points about responsible dog ownership. I publish these for the education of the general public, but remove identifying information about the persons involved to protect their privacy. This is just such a letter. Here is what happens when you spoil a dog.

How many times do we see people spoil their dogs… not willing to give them order and leadership, feeling that is somehow harsh… only to see the owners being bullied and bitten by those same dogs, the owners ultimately either yelling and hitting the dogs, having these dogs put to death by veterinarians for biting problems, giving the dogs away to a shelter, or causing the breakup of families over the dog issues?

If you have a spoiled dog, then hire a professional to help out, and do what they say:

Here is a real case study, and a classic example of the Mommie / Daddy type of dog owner:


Dear Sam,

I have a 1 ½ year old standard poodle. I have had her since she was 8 weeks old.

I enrolled in an obedience class and have completed 7 sessions. In these classes, she learned to sit and off (sometimes).

My problem is I got married in January. My husband is afraid of dogs, yet he is with her while I am at work. He tells me she is quiet all day long and good. When I come home from work, she starts to jump on me, and at night she bites my hands. She loves to chew on my skinny wrists and it hurts. Then, she will get a little aggressive as I pull away and she’ll come after me. I have to let her outside to run. When it comes time for food she sits at the table with me and eats with me and wants my food. She wont stop barking for food so I have to give it to her to keep her quiet.

I can't eat with my new husband I have to eat with the dog to keep her quiet. It is ruining the marriage. I won't give her away.

She is my child and means the world to me.

I tell him not to yell at the dog. When he yells at her, she gets worse, and he’ll go into the bedroom to close the door. She lunges after him and then I have to try and grab her to get her away from him. She is uncontrollable to get, but I grab her and get my hands scratched. I won’t have her attack him to keep peace.

She is spoiled with the food and the bones. That I agree. But the biting is the major problem. Why is she biting my arms, and why does she get aggressive towards my husband? She gets even more aggressive after he yells at her. She bites hard, and I have been bitten and bloody. I have to be careful so I don’t get my arm bitten or finger bitten off.

I love this dog. Why does she do this?

The dog is great otherwise with me. When I‘m alone with her she is fine. If he is alone with her she is fine. But, when we are both together she is biting my arms. or my legs. I have to give her bones to chew to keep her from biting me to quiet her down.

I don’t know what to do anymore.

I was married before but my first husband of many years died and I just remarried. My first husband loved dogs and they loved him but not this new one.

It is awful!!!!

My first husband saw my new pup when she was a baby and he loved her. He said to me before he died “take care of her; she’ll be your best friend.” Now, she’s a year and a half old, and I’m married to a retired military man who hates dogs but puts up with her. One minute he talks nice to her but as soon as my dog jumps up to him he gets scared and yells and it sets the dog off. I don’t know what to do anymore.

If I knew this I would never have married him and put myself in the position I’m in now.

He knows it’s my dog and she comes first to me. I hate to say it, but, after my first husband died, I lost the love of my life, I didn’t need to remarry and now be in this situation with someone who can’t tolerate my pup.

Thank you,

XXXXXX


Dear XXXXXX,

Your dog is a spoiled brat. This problem is being created by both you and your husband. This can be fixed with proper obedience training and house rules. You need a better trainer to work with. No need to get rid of the dog or your husband. Both of you should be involved in the classes to learn more about your dog and how to manage her. This is easily fixed.

The biting is because she is a spoiled brat. You gave up your leadership position with this dog long ago, and it doesn’t help your husband is afraid of the dog. Fear doesn’t make you act like a calm, directed leader around a dog, so the dog takes advantage of that. You baby the dog, and so you are half the problem, your husband is the other half.

The bones are a small part to fixing this. If you do this on your own, without a professional, you will not fix this.

I see from your letterhead that you are a professional person. Do you think I could just walk into your job today, without any training and experience, and do what you do? You believe in education otherwise you wouldn’t have the degrees you have. However, you don’t believe that training and experience play a factor in becoming a good dog trainer or dog owner. You can have this fixed in a month if you work with someone good. On your own, this will keep going on and on because you don’t know what you are doing. You need a new type of education: dog training.

This is a piece in the puzzle for sorting out your marriage problems, too. This is a way for you both to learn to work together better. It can be good for you, your husband, and your dog.

Best wishes

Sam Basso
www.samthedogtrainer.com

UPDATE: This person has contacted me and told me they are setting up lessons. This is a good sign. I have encouraged her to stick with the training to see this through.

This Is What All Those Dog Hating Journalists Are Causing

Lynnwood police are investigating the hanging of two pit bulls.

After hearing barking and yelps, the owner found his dogs, 1-year-old Peanut and 10-month-old Wiggles, hanging by their necks on ropes over his fence. One of them was limp, and the other was struggling.

"I put in an incredible amount of time training them, taking them to obedience classes, working with them to be sure they were calm, submissive, playful dogs and not aggressive at all," he said.

He speculated that a neighbor may have killed the dogs out of fear of the breed. He said his dogs had never had problems with people. But while walking the dogs, he said, some residents expressed concern there were pit bulls in the neighborhood.

After cutting the dogs down, the owner said, he lay next to them for 20 minutes and cried.

Pasado's Safe Haven is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

Rita Morgan, national cruelty investigator for the Monroe animal shelter, said people often have preconceived notions about pit bulls. Sometimes those fears are well-founded, but often, she said, pit bulls are well-behaved family pets.

She said Pasado's took in three pit bulls after Hurricane Katrina. All three, she said, are "sweet, gentle and very social. They've won over all our volunteers."

This is what is going to happen the more that the media prints Dog Hating stories focusing on pit bull breeds. This was totally unjustified, cruel and meant to send a message. The person who did this deserves some serious time in prison.

This is why you should fight back whenever you see Dog Haters writing articles against dogs. These relentless attacks on innocent dogs encourage this kind of vigilantism.

This is a case of Dog Hating Terrorism.

Pet Dating Services

I have been seeing the rise of so-called “pet matching services”, where dog owners can find breeding partners for their pet dogs. The latest one is a new internet “dating” service for pets. Makes me sick…

Though I am not against breeding dogs, I have seen way too many people breed dogs for sentimental reasons, instead of breeding great dogs that will be good as pets. Modern breeding is a science. You can wreck a puppy if the parents aren’t free of genetic problems. Do you realize how devastating it is for a pet owner to have to put their dog to death because of a serious health or temperament problem?

I received a letter just the other day from someone who had to put their dog down because it became vicious, most likely from a brain tumor.

If you recall, I mentioned an article, at www.DoggieNews.com concerning the Top 10 dog diseases reported by pet insurers.

How many of these novice breeders will be genetically screening for these issues? Probably none. How many know how to breed for proper temperament? Probably none.

To me, being a breeder is a highly respected hobby or profession. It represents someone special, making exceptionally good pets through scientific breeding principles. It doesn’t represent this kind of backyard breeder who knows nothing and who contributes to the misery of untold numbers of dogs and dog owners. I won't mention the names of these services here because I don't want to increase their popularity.

Retired Gwent Police Dog Doesn't Deserve Death

A police dog who saved his handler from an axe-wielding attacker has been put on death row at the end of his service, according to the handler's family.

Saxon, a five-year-old German Shepherd, protected Mike Townley, 47, many times during his time with Gwent Police.

But his licence has been withdrawn as he is now considered "unsafe". The last dog this happened to was destroyed. The Townleys want to keep Saxon as a pet.

This is a tragedy and should be fought against. An otherwise healthy dog, which has a responsible family that wants to adopt it, shouldn’t be put to death

To register your opposition to killing Saxon please e-mail the following policeauthority@gwent.pnn

How to contact Gwent Police A Division –
Newport Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Kevin Price Tel: 01633 244999 Police Headquarters Cardiff Road Newport NP9 2EH B Division –
Monmouthshire & Torfaen Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Paul Symes Tel: 01492 764711 Police Headquarters Glantorfaen Road Pontypool NP4 6YN C Division –
Caerphilly & Blaenau Gwent Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Alun Thomas Tel: 01495 223673 Police Headquarters Blackwood Road Pontllanfraith Blackwood NP2 2XA D Division –
(based at Police HQ) Divisional Commander Chief Superintendent Ray Wise Tel: 01633 838111 “D” Division provides operational support to the territorial divisions through a range of specialisms thereby assisting them to realise their own objectives.

Tethering Dog Ownership?

Tie up your dog to any stationary object for more than three hours and you could go to jail if Senate Bill 1578 passes. The bill would make it an infraction or a misdemeanor to tether a dog for more than three hours a day.

This is in California... and being proposed by animal rights activists...

Have you noticed, all over the country, you see this same bill being proposed and passed? Dogs can’t be tethered longer than 3 hours a day…

Though I’m against tethering as a way of restraining an unsupervised dog, this is an organized animal rights campaign. I don’t feel good about it. Something stinks about this legislation, but I’m not sure why. I don’t know the larger agenda here, but something is afoot.

I do know that they are passing “standard of care” statutes in Europe, regulating pet owners to the point of mandating the minimum sizes of dog houses and kennels, types of food, hours of play time, etc. I think this is just another foot in the door to get these larger goals implemented.

Beware!

Sneaky Backdoor Ways Of Banning Dog Ownership

Chicago aldermen have cracked down on foie gras, public smoking, noisy street musicians and drivers yakking on cell phones.

Now they want to microchip Fido.

"Tags come off sometimes," said Patrick McNulty, director of the county's Department of Public Health, which oversees Animal Control. "If an animal is involved in a bite situation, we can identify it. But mostly, it's to return your animal to you."

Other new provisions include new licensing categories for grooming facilities, guard dog services and pet day-care facilities. Also included is a new ordinance that sets guidelines for tethering dogs, including setting a time limit of three hours and mandating access to food, water and shelter.

This is a sneaky effort by the city of Chicago to go after your dogs.

This won’t make people more responsible over their dogs, prevent dog bites, or do anything. It is just a way to track dog ownership and make more revenue for government to waste. It is just more government intrusion into our lives, to make it more difficult to own a dog, and to cut into the dog business.

This is all driven by animal rights activists. They are incrementally using the law to ban dog ownership.

Two Pit Fighting Dogs Die In Pontiac, Michigan

Fifteen people were arrested for dog fighting after police were called to a Summit Street garage early Monday.

Someone called police after seeing people sneaking into a garage at a home on the 100 block of Summit Street about 3:45 a.m., said Sgt. William Ware of the Pontiac (Michigan) Police Department.

"After the officers got there, the dogs would not stop fighting," Ware said.

The practice of dog fighting is prevalent in the city even though it is illegal. It is part of an underground culture and is notoriously difficult to track.

There are very few arrests or prosecutions for dog fighting because fights typically take place in the early morning hours in pits set up in basements, garages or abandoned houses.

In the practice, dogs fight until one dies or is so severely injured it cannot continue.

Ware said gambling is involved in many of the fights.

So, do you want to be involved in this kind of thing? Two dogs died, 15 people were arrested and will probably go to jail. What’s the point? Why be involved in this kind of butchery? A dog is a pet, worker, and protector. Why make a dog fight for its life for no reason other than to gamble for money and to see animals tear each other up? It is sick. You are sick, if you support this kind of barbarity.

Police Mistakes Cause Death Of Dog

A preliminary autopsy has revealed that a New Brunswick police dog died from strangulation over the weekend while out hunting for a man.

Hrain was on the hunt for the man, trying to sniff him out of the woods but then he got loose. It was while on the prowl without his handler, leash flailing behind him, that Hrain ran into trouble.

Here's the way I see what happened. This is both a serious handler error and a training failure. The dog went on attack without first being released from the leash. So, the dog could be strangled once it found the suspect. Also, the dog didn’t come back. I’m sure the handler called the dog back, but it didn’t return. This is a training failure.

So, you want a protection dog? Do you have any idea of how to deploy the dog? Do you have any idea of how to prevent accidents like this? Do you have any idea of how to train and control such a dog? No. I'm sure you don't. And if you don't, you could not only cause the death of your dog, you could be killed by the criminal, too.

Liposuction For Dogs?

Patch is believed to be the first dog in Australia to have undergone liposuction, an increasingly popular operation for overweight humans.

His problem was not obesity, but fatty tumours. One, on his left hind leg, was so large it was threatening to cripple him within months. "To see him degenerate was tearing at my heartstrings," Ms Williams said.

Amazing. Though you have to figure that this isn't a cure, just a treatment. Hopefully this dog is doing well and lives a long and happy life. With modern technology, we are on the verge of saving dogs that really should be put down. I have seen dogs that were too old and too sick to have treatments, but the owners did it anyway. The dogs still died and the treatments were painful and highly stressful for the dog, not to mention extremely costly. You have to use your judgment in these cases, and decide what is best for your dog, even if it means euthanasia, not what will make you avoid the pain of losing your pet.

QUIZ

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