The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Dog DNA to be used in investigating and prosecuting dog-fight suspects

  Say what we want about sick Michael Vick, and I’ve said plenty, he did help to publicize the horrors of dog-fighting and to arouse the public.

The country’s first dog-fighting DNA database has been set up to help criminal investigators establish ties among breeders, owners, fighting pit operators and the dog victims themselves.

Even though dog-fighting is illegal in all 50 states, there is a lot of money made on fight purses and side betting. Multimillion dollar dog-fighting operations are often associated with other illegal activities like drug trafficking and gambling.

Big scale operations do not go to the pound to find fighting dogs. They are breeding them from established bloodlines. The real money comes from breeding champion fighting lines. A champion fighter can bring in up to $50,000 and a promising puppy can have a price tag of $5000.

The database, a joint effort of four different organizations, was developed following a large scale investigation last July covering seven different states which resulted in the largest dog-fighting raid in history. Twenty-six people were arrested and 400 dogs were seized.

The DNA taken from the dogs showed that many of them were related. Fighting-dog breeders will often pretend that they are just breeding pet dogs for the love of the breed and “don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no fightin’.” The DNA shows otherwise.

Using the database it will be possible to trace a dogs’ DNA back to the breeder. DNA evidence by itself will probably not result in a conviction, but combined with other evidence it makes a convincing case to take to a jury, hopefully eventually wiping out dog-fighting operations.

Many of the 400 dogs seized in the raid were injured and mutilated, but nearly 250 of them have been rehabilitated. Dogs who chose not to fight when given a choice are now serving as pets, service or therapy dogs.

Abby revisited

Some commenters wrote that they didn’t think ugly Abby was that ugly. I purposely chose a picture that showed her cuteness and sweetness, but this picture shows the genetic deformities.

You may be able to see why I didn’t want to post it.

Coyote attacks on pets continue—is the ‘”Coyote Roller” the answer?

In 30 years of living in his Scottsdale, Arizona home, Jim Saffert has heard coyotes howling at night, but has never seen one during the day until last week. 

Around 7:30 last Thursday morning he let his four Shih Tzus out to do their business in the yard protected by a six foot masonry fence.

Suddenly he heard blood curdling screaming coming from outside.

He ran out to see Kona, a 4-pound Shih Tzu, in the mouth of a coyote with plans for Shih Tzu Stroganoff. The coyote was biting down hard trying to break her neck. But before Saffert could act, Tucker, another Shih Tzu, jumped to the rescue.

Tucker, all of 11 pounds, bit the leg of the coyote until he let go of Kona and ran away. Tucker bit so hard he broke his jaw and now will have to wear a wire for about six weeks. Kona has claw marks on her side and a big gash on her neck, but both dogs are expected to be OK. Source

Other dogs have not been so lucky. Ozzy Osbourne, Jessica Simpson and a lot of people without publicists have had beloved dogs carried off by coyotes from their own backyards as these predators are growing ever bolder.

  The Coyote Roller

I don’t have any experience with this product and, of course, everything looks terrific on internet marketing sites.

But the Coyote Roller seems like a great idea for not only keeping predators out of a yard, but also for keeping pets in the yard, without making the yard look like a prison compound.

The rollers are placed on top of almost any kind of fence to make it difficult for animals to gain a foothold to pull themselves over the top. The roller rotates with as little as 2 ounces of pressure and withstands 250 pounds of weight.

According to the manufacturer, here’s how it works:

Our research indicates that a coyote can go over a 6-foot high fence and be in your yard in just over one second! Consequently, it may appear as though the coyote jumped completely over the fence, without touching it. In fact, the "jump" consists of two phases.

First, the coyote jumps to grab hold of the top of the fence with its front paws. The coyote then adds to its vertical momentum by pulling on the top of the fence. This allows him to gain additional height. At the same time, he brings his back paws up to the top of the fence, so that momentary, all four of his paws are in contact with the top of the fence. All of this takes less than half a second!

Next, the coyote then uses his back legs to spring off the fence, while he extends his front paws in preparation for landing. The Coyote Roller interferes with the first part of the jump by making it virtually impossible for the animal to grab the top of the fence. Denied traction, the coyote loses its footing. And combined with the forward momentum, ends up banging into the fence and falling down.

In the demo video a coyote-size dog scales a fence easily, but with the Coyote Roller installed he can’t begin to get a foothold. In fact after a few attempts the dog won’t even try.

Coyotes, being highly intelligent animals, would probably bypass the fence after a few tries and seek his snacks someplace else.

Pricing depends on the size of the yard and the length of the fence.

If the Coyote Roller is all it claims to be, it is an idea whose time is most definitely here.

The 2010 NYC Chihuahua Pageant results

Some of you may not have been aware that the Annual New York City Chihuahua Pageant was held this weekend.

There were three categories to the competition:

• Street Chihuahua went to the dog with the best casual wear
• Bowwow Talent to the dog with the best talent
• The Bling Award for the best formal wear  





In the end it was Spidey and his owner Rick Caran (center) who took home the grand prize.

Spidey was also the winner of the talent portion of the competition. He demonstrated the art of pushing a cart across the floor and also gave advice on how to train a dog to do the trick.

Although not everyone got a prize, everyone had a lot of fun with their dogs and raised money for dog charities. The story and slide show

Princess Abby chosen “World’s Ugliest Dog—2010”

 The 22nd annual competition of aesthetically challenged canines at the Sonoma-Marin Fair has come to a conclusion with the crowning of Princess Abby, a Chihuahua whose deformities are probably the result of faulty breeding.

Judge and veterinarian Karen Halligan said, “She’s a poster child for spaying and neutering your dog. A lot of these dogs are going down.”

But what may be ugly to some is engaging to another. Her owner Kathleen Francis from Clearlake adopted Abby five months ago just as she was about to be euthanized because of her physical appearance.

“I saw her and she saw me and that was it,” she said. "I don't think she's ugly at all. I think she's the most beautiful dog."

Twenty two dogs competed for the honor of being the World’s Ugliest Dog, many rescued from shelters where they had been abandoned because of cosmetic reasons, even though they were loving and healthy dogs.

Dog contestants must undergo a veterinary check before the competition after concern  when Gus, a Chinese Crested with severe health problems won two years ago.

Chinese Cresteds had a lock on winning until last year when Pabst, a sweet Boxer mix with a serious underbite took the honors.

The annual Sonoma-Marin Fair World’s Ugliest Dog contest attracts international attention and raises money for dog charities.

UPDATE. Some of the commenters have said that they didn't think she was ugly. I chose not to post a picture showing Abby's genetic deformities. This is why.

What makes a pampered dog? A quiz

Which would dogs prefer? Choose the answer A or B that you think applies to most dogs. Scoring below.

A. A trip to the spa/groomer
B. Rolling in a dead seal on the beach 

A. Three million dollars
B. A hot dog 

A. A $15,000 Cartier necklace
B. A rotting fish head

A. A pink tutu and a tiara
B. Being naked

A. A diamond collar
B. Being naked

A. A gold Cadillac Escalade
B. A ride in the car that doesn’t end up at the  groomer’s

A. A luxury bed
B. Yours

A. Aromatherapy candles
B. A dog’s butt

A. A stroll through the park on a leash
B. Chasing squirrels

A. Gourmet dog food
B. A garbage can

Score 5 for each B answer, 0 for each A answer

45-50 – Dogs have taught you well—you get it.

0-5 – You probably write those stupid anthropomorphic newspaper stories about how lucky those wealthy “pampered” dogs are.

What was your score?

Man run over by truck after dog puts it in gear

In Florida, 43-year-old Christopher Bishop was under his Ford F-150 checking for oil leaks. He had left the engine running and the truck in neutral.

Unfortunately he had also left the driver’s door open.

Naturally Tassey his Bulldog thought they were going for a ride. He jumped into the truck and knocked it into gear. The truck rolled over the left side of Bishop’s body.

He managed to drag himself into the house. After several hours of pain, weighing the humiliation of admitting what had happened against the possibility of impending death, he called for help.

He was taken to the hospital and treated for injuries that are not considered to be life threatening. Source

Tassey will probably be barred from watching NASCAR.

Doggie boot camp is for humans too

Thank Dog Bootcamp is one of the best ideas for a business we have seen for a while.

The instructors are certified in both fitness and dog training. Classes take place in a public park, starting as early as 6 am. Instructors wearing camo drill the class in traditional boot camp style.

For the humans 30 minutes of cardio is followed by 30 minutes of weight training. For the dogs it is exercise and obedience training. The humans and leashed dogs run along park trails and through a marked obstacle course. During weight training the dogs learn to follow commands with various distractions going on around them.

Started by twins, Jill and Jamie Bowers, the program has grown to several California locations.

"People need to exercise, and dogs need to be trained and exercised," said Jill Bowers. “When you can do both at the same time in one hour before you even start your day, you can't beat it."

Bowers came up with the idea after she joined a bootcamp-style workout and lost 40 pounds. She realized that her Doberman could benefit from the workouts too.

Probably the best part is that if participants feel like skipping a day, their doggie companion won’t let them. More information

Court rules that red-light cameras are inadmissible as “hearsay”

I haven’t been too subtle in ridiculing some court decisions, but this latest ruling has me shaking my head in bewilderment.

For several years some cities (not mine) have been using cameras at certain busy intersections to snap pictures of drivers running red-lights and then sending the picture of the car with the license plates showing along with a ticket for $360 by mail.

No one denies that this is a money maker for cities, but they also argue that it is a safety measure. They can’t post a police officer at every intersection to catch lawbreakers and running a red-light endangers the public.

Now a court in…(oh, surprise! Southern California)…has ruled that the red light cameras are inadmissible in court. This evidence is “hearsay because no police officer witnessed the driver run the red light and the camera company did not testify about the validity of the photos.”

The good news is that my city has suspended indefinitely their plans to buy ten cameras.

If I’m going to get a ticket, I want it to be from a real police officer and NOT from technology.

Fight at the dog park—but it wasn’t the dogs

Should we be more concerned about socializing the humans who come to dog parks?

A California woman, Shelly Riley, was talking with other owners in a small dog area of a dog park in Roseville when her dog Diesel, a Miniature Pinscher, started mixing it up with two Pugs. The Pugs were on top of Diesel and she was concerned that he would get hurt.

As she was pulling the Pugs off by their harnesses she felt someone grabbing her from behind. As she turned she saw a fist coming at her face and the woman saying, “You threw my dog.”

Other dog owners jumped in and detained the woman until police officers arrived. She was arrested and cited for battery with a court date scheduled for next month.

And, get this: the woman was identified as Monica Estephanie Chavez, 32, a deputy in the Sacramento County sheriff’s department. She has been given “modified duties” pending an investigation.

Riley, 34, suffered scratch marks on her back and bruising on her face, but a CT scan showed no fractures.

Unfortunately when any law enforcement officer does something stupid, it gets a lot of local publicity and reflects on the entire department. It’s easy for some people to forget the hours and years of service just because of one wacko.

After Chavez completes an anger management course, she really should consider a profession that would not put her in contact with people…or dogs. Source