The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

Golden Poodle Awards for April

The Golden Poodle Award goes to the Wichita, Kansas Fire Department for all the time, equipment, and manpower they used to save Taz, a dog caught under a concrete embankment with the water rising.

No doubt they will be criticized for wasting taxpayer money on just a dog.

But they know that what is important in life… is Life.

 

The Lizard Brain Award goes to Associated Humane Societies of New Jersey for abysmally poor public relations.

They have done a lot of good work in the world of dogs and they feel they have a legal right to Patrick. But Patrick is not property. After his horrendous treatment he deserves to be left with the people who saved his life and continue to love him.

A message to AHS:  your continued insistance on custody has alienated the mayor, the judges in court cases, and the public. Whether true or not, our perception is that you want to use Patrick for fundraising. This is not the image you should be projecting.

Patrick was never your property. You were an ambulance service. Move on.

 

The Neanderthal Award goes to Nestle Purina whose Waggin' Train treats made from chicken jerky from China have been blamed for more that 600 dogs getting sick or dying for the past two years.

And yet the treats keep appearing on the shelves of almost every store that sells dog products.

Purina is a trusted brand going back to the 18th century. They have made $$$billions selling dog products. We expect more from them.

Why dogs are funnier than cats

Puppy Traps Himself Underneath Box - Watch More Funny Videos

Why cats are funnier than dogs

Maybe it’s because they have more confidence in their abilities and when something doesn’t work out and someone adds sound effects to add to their embarrassment, they brush themselves off and say,

I meant to do that.

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Is microchipping all newborn puppies a solution to dangerous dogs?

Sometimes the logic of lawmakers eludes me.

From the BBC: To solve the problem of dog bites, a proposed law in Britain would require newborn puppies to be microchipped so that a dangerous dog can be traced back to the owner to be held accountable.

Once again lawmakers are penalizing the millions of law abiding citizens by requiring them to pay for microchipping puppies while the criminals and irresponsible will disregard the law.

How will it be possible to enforce this? Will  a puppy gestapo go door to door seeking out lactating mother dogs?

The Dangerous Dog Act of 1991 was supposed to get rid of dangerous dog breeds, but millions were spent unsuccessfully trying to enforce it. Innocent dogs and heartbroken owners suffered under the law, but dog bites continued.

The more unenforceable laws we have, the less respect people have for laws.

Most dog bites take place in the home or yard where the dog lives. Bites also happen at the homes of friends, neighbors, or relatives where the question of dog ownership is not an issue.

Microchips are only as accurate as the data they contain. They are not a sure way to track down an owner of a dog. People move and forget or don’t bother to update the information. Someone could easily claim that the dog had run away or been stolen.

Does anyone think that a person who breeds and trains vicious dogs will comply with the law? Or that an owner of a vicious dog running loose has made sure the dog is microchipped and the data is kept up to date?

Show of hands?

Here is the most famous dog of the week

Byrdie, a 30-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, delayed several flights at New York’s LaGuardia Airport when she escaped from her crate and had a good time evading efforts to catch her for ten minutes.

Finally the owner was brought out. She called the 14-month-old pup who came running to her.

Great recall!

Dog on a Hot Thatched Roof

As someone who gets altitude sickness on a stepladder, this whole thing makes me a little queasy.

Five-year-old Axel has been joining his owner, Richard Haughton, as he works as a thatcher in the UK ever since Axel was a puppy.

It’s great to be able to take your dog to work.

Class action suit filed against Nestle Purina's Waggin' Train

It was bound to happen.

A Chicago man, Dennis Adkins, claims that although Nestle Purina and Wal-Mart knew that the Waggin' Train treats posed a risk of illness to pets,  they continued to manufacture and sell them. The product in question, Yam Good, is yams wrapped with chicken jerky.

The chicken comes from China and the company assures us that there is no danger if the treats are used according to directions. In other words if your dog gets sick, it’s your fault for not following their directions.

Over 600 complaints have been registered with the FDA about Waggin' Train treats, but Nestle Purina refuses to do a recall.

They obviously know that there is a problem or they wouldn’t try to secretly bribe a customer whose dog had gotten sick and then lie about it.

According to the lawsuit, 9-year-old Pomeranian, Cleopatra, ate one chicken jerky treat a day for three days before getting sick and eventually dying of kidney failure. Adkins claims that there were no other changes in her diet and that his other Pomeranian, Pharoah, did not eat the jerky and remained in good health.

Winning a case like this is difficult. Adkins will be going against high price corporate lawyers to show that Cleopatra did not ingest another substance and that she was fed according to directions.

This is not an impossible task. In 2010 a Texas dog owner was able to win a case against Hartz Mountain for causing the death of his Bulldog.

Unfortunately there are companies that seem to feel that harming dogs, bribing owners, and fielding lawsuits is just the cost of doing business.

Your monthly contribution will save lawyers and lobbyists

Thanks to Steve Olsen for sending me this very clever and funny video.

I love farmers, the ones I know from the internet and in real life. Steve is one of the people who works long hours to produce the food we take for granted.

Many people think that by contributing to the Humane Society of the United States they are helping furry little animals to live a better life.

Actually what HSUS does with all that money has little to do with helping animals and much to do with hiring lawyers and lobbyists to promote their own agenda.

 

Only you can help abused lawyers and lobbyists.
PETA with suits and deodorant.

Josh Hutcherson has adopted a rescue Pit Bull

My daughter and granddaughter must think I need more eye candy on my blog because they said I should post this:

Josh Hutcherson, the 19-year-old star of  The Hunger Games, recently adopted an injured Pit Bull puppy named Driver.

Driver has had a rough start in life. He was dropped off as a stray and sat in the shelter in a lot of pain for 11 days with a broken leg that was about a month old. He also has two missing toes.

The 3-month-old pup had been pulled out of a Los Angeles Shelter by the rescue group, Hands, Paws, Hearts when a worker heard about someone who wanted to adopt a rescue Pit Bull.

Someone turned out to be Hutcherson who had been looking for a Pit Bull and he wanted a rescue pup.

The two met just before Driver went into surgery and they hit it off right away.

 

Cute couple!! Good role model!!

The legal case for Patrick drags on and on

The case of Patrick, the Pit Bull who was starved and thrown down a 19-story garbage chute in Newark, New Jersey, shows no signs of coming to an end, as fight for custody continues.

The good news is that Patrick is healthy and happy with a family that loves him. For now he is living with Patricia Smillie-Scavelli, the administrator of Garden State Veterinary Specialists, the hospital that brought him back from near death.

Last March Patrick was found weighing 19 pounds. Today he weighs 50 pounds. 

Until the case is resolved, Patrick remains in formal custody of the prosecutor’s office because he is both victim and evidence in the criminal case against his owner Kisha Curtis.

Although the prosecutor believes that Patrick is being well cared for, Associated Humane Societies, which first took possession of the dog before turning him over to the hospital for care, continues to press for custody. The custody suit cannot be settled until the criminal case is closed.

This week their request to have a veterinarian and animal behaviorist check on Patrick was heard in court. The judge questioned their motives and criticized their actions before dismissing their case. In his ruling Judge Joseph Cassini III said:

The question I have is AHS’ fidelity and integrity. The story

AHS insist their motives are pure, but it appears that in spending money on a lawyer to continue to pursue their custody case, they are putting their own interests ahead of the dog. It would appear that they want the world famous Patrick to be a cash cow to help in their fundraising efforts. 

Patrick’s owner, Kisha Curtis, was indicted on an animal cruelty charge in November and could spend a year in jail. Her attorney has requested a pre-trial intervention program but no further court appearances have been scheduled.

Let’s hope that she learns to wear a more appropriate garment to court than she did before when she wore a red T-shirt that said, KEEPIN’ IT REAL LIKE A HAPPY MEAL.