Advocacy

Aussie Rescue Calendars

spiritdogs — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:01:59 GMT

Anyone who would like to support Australian Shepherd Rescue and Placement Helpline can now purchase their 2010 calendar:

http://www.aussierescue.org/Home/tabid/53/ctl/Details/mid/408/ItemID/24/Default.aspx

Pit Bull Awareness

clr4425 — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:10:46 GMT

The Unexpected Pit Bull is an organization trying to raise awareness for this wonderful breed. In doing so, they have published great calendars featuring Pit Bulls and their people. Please visit www.theunexpectedpitbull.com to purchase one or several of these beautiful calendars! Bulk pricing is available, also.

Federal Pet Safety and Protection Act

Sunshinegirl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:58:16 GMT

The Federal Pet Safety and Protection Act would prohibit Class B Dealers and unlicensed individuals from selling dogs and cats to research laboratories.

Class B Dealers are people who collect dogs and cats to sell to the research industry. They sometimes obtain their animals through illegal or unethical means, such as by responding to “free to good home” ads in newspapers, falsifying records to keep the true origins of the animals unknown and stealing pets kept outside in yards. They also buy animals in bulk from “bunchers,” whose methods are even more questionable.

Eliminating Class B Dealers will also take away the profit motive of bunchers, providing a much-needed safety net to ensure beloved pets are not stolen or acquired under false pretenses and sold to facilities that test on animals.

What YOU Can Do: Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center Online [website@aspca.org] email your U.S. senators and representative urging them to support and cosponsor the Pet Safety and Protection Act. You may use the same link to read about this legislation in greater depth.

Thank you for supporting the ASPCA and America’s animals.

This is for all dog owners how microchipped. Current and going to be chippers please read!

thranax — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:43:28 GMT

This is a relatively new thing to be opened up to the community. There are problems with microchips you need to look out for. This link will lead you to the full out article about it.

Microchipping Your Pet - Unforeseen danger you need to know about!

Basically whats covered:

Your loved one might not be fully protected.
A false sense of security might have been installed in you if everything isn't up to par.
There are changes you might need to make to protect them.

I strongly urge you to read the article!

The best for your pets,

~thranax~

Save Majlo !!!

aplrt — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:26:25 GMT

An innocent dog needs your help ! Please take the time to sign these petitions and spread the news about Majlo, before he is unjustly KILLED by the Norwegian police !!!

------------------
Petition description:

Majlo is a sweet and gentle dog who has never harmed anyone. Still he is confiscated and ordered killed by the police of Norway, and has been held in a secret place since February 2009. His family haven't seen him since he was taken away. They are claimed for 500 dollars to see their own dog, in addition to the 250 dollars they pay each week for his imprisonment. Their crime: Not knowing that the amstaff breed was banned in Norway when they came over from Sweden, where the breed is legal.

Although the law offers banned breeds to leave the country with their owners, the police insist on Majlo being killed instead. A behaviour test on Majlo proves that his temper is very good, but it has become a question of prestige to the police to take his life. Now it is up to the court to decide Majlo's fate. The trial will be held in december. Please tell them how wrong it is to kill an innocent dog and deprive a family of their beloved friend, just to make an example!
-------------------

Majlo is a loving pit bull who until recently lived happily without incident with his family in Sweden. That is until Majlo's family moved to Norway unaware of the Breed Specific Laws there. Now the Norwegian police have Majlo in a cold, dark kennel and they want to kill him. There is a picture of Majlo on the petition site. Look into his eyes and PLEASE take a moment to sign these petitions. Even better, please take a second to write to the police department.

HOW YOU CAN HELP MAJLO:

1. Sign the petitions at :

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/816719846
http://www.opprop.no/opprop.php?id=ajlo

(note: the text on petition no. 2 is in Finnish ! But all you need to do is give your name, e-mail and location (only country required) under "Signer oppropet!" in the upper center of the page - cream coloured box, type in the code that's shown in the right box, and click on ”Signer”. The main fields are marked in english, so you can't miss them.)

2. Send an e-mail to the Norwegian police : politidirektoratet@politiet.no Att.: Christian Budsberg Pettersen

3. Send an e-mail to the Minister of Justice: knut.storberget@jd.dep.no

All you need to do is send mails with the heading ”FREE MAJLO”, or, for more impact, personalize your mail – tell them they have no right to kill an innocent animal, simply based on his breed.

4. Join the facebook group called ”Redd Amstaffen Majlo”, which currently has nearly 35,000 members, all in support of Majlo. Here you can also find a detailed background story about Majlo.

5. Contact the Norwegian tourist office and threaten to boycott Norway. An outline for such a mail, together with the contact information, has been provided by Roxyrock

http://www.dogpages.org.uk/forums/index.php?showtopic=209011&st=0

6. TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO DO THE SAME !

Thank you for caring about Majlo !

Is it true if your dog passes Therapy training or service dog training they won't be affected by BSL?

Abbeyroad86 — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:05:12 GMT

There are talks of BSL in our area again and we don't know if we can beat it this time and all of us mutt owners are getting scared and so are the pit owners.

Neighbor of ours said we should do therapy training being that we have a mutt. That is why I have been asking about it a bit. her pit bull went through therapy dog training. The dog can live in apartments with breed restrictions. (No apartements around here allow Pit bulls, dobies, GSDs, akitas, chows, huskies, rotties, or anything resembling those breeds unless they are Therapy certified or sevice certified) The dog isn't affected by BSL. She says she suggest to anyone who has a good dog that could be at risk to put it through therapy dog training/service dog training and the dog would be safe.

Is this true or just a misconception. Because if it meant my dog would be safe I would do it in a heartbeat. Maybe thats the wrong reason to do it but hey.

We have won against BSL 4 times now but this time they kind of snuck it up on us and we don't know if we can stay BSL free this time

My dog passed 3 levels of obedience about to get CGC certification. And we are hoping to continue on if indeed that will work to keep her safe, we feel she may be at risk

If it passes this time : No grandfather law. Any dog with a broad chest, wide head, shorter fur. Anything resembling a pit big or small. would have to be turned over

BSL - British Columbia

Bruister — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:49:00 GMT

Does any know if there any groups already in existence in B.C. monitoring BSL? Guess I'll hit the net and see what I can find out. All info welcome.

Seen a Lost Aussie in Asheville, NC???

spiritdogs — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 23:01:46 GMT

From Aussie rescue:

This dog was lost in the Asheville, NC area about 5 weeks ago.

She is an older female tricolor with a graying muzzle, and she is not chipped.

She bolted from her owner whose info is below.

If you know where she is please contact the owner.

Her number is 828-776-2116.

Her name is Elisabeth Watson.

Border Collie Breeder Busted

brookcove — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:38:32 GMT

Just because this operation was discussed not too long ago here. I backed off when it was pointed out that it was basically heresay, though I did personally rescue dogs dumped by this operation in shelters. The facts regarding Swafford are now public knowlege: http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090925/MICRO060301/90925047/Portland+puppy+mill+busted http://www.wsmv.com/news/21113965/detail.html?taf=nash http://media-newswire.com/release_1100297.html Say a prayer for these abused animals and their future, please.

Vick turns tide against dogfighting

BlackLabbie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 18:25:57 GMT

Vick Turns Tide Against Dogfighting
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=dw-vickhumanesociety092409&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

________________________________________________________________________________________

Maybe it was one of the times John Goodwin found a more receptive audience while lobbying politicians for stricter sentencing against dogfighting.

Maybe it was one of the times a law enforcement training session was packed with police.

Maybe it was while he was riding along on what is an increasing number of raids on dogfighting operations.

Whenever it was, there was a moment over the past two years that Goodwin, the anti-dog fighting expert at the Humane Society of the United States, realized that of all the unexpected things, a silver lining had formed in the ugly clouds of the Michael Vick (notes) scandal.

“People campaigned against dogfighting ever since the first dogfight ever happened,” Goodwin said. “But never had there been a spotlight put on this issue like when Michael Vick was involved in it.

“What we’ve all learned is certain high-profile events change the trajectory of issues and this was that moment for dogfighting.”

Vick returns to the NFL on Sunday as a backup quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s nearly two and a half years removed from his arrest and subsequent imprisonment for funding and operating Bad Newz Kennels, a major dogfighting operation in rural Virginia.

Goodwin will be watching his return. He once led animal cruelty protests of Vick outside court proceedings. Now they are on the same team, the Humane Society enlisting Vick as a spokesman.

Goodwin isn’t going to call Vick a friend; he isn’t going to forget the violence that occurred under his watch. Yet the two have become strange partners – each using the other for their own selfish purposes. Vick needs the public relations help. The Humane Society needs the star power and credibility Vick has brought to speaking engagements to children in Chicago, Atlanta and Philadelphia.

“People always ask if he’s sincere,” Goodwin said. “He certainly comes across as sincere but I believe in the long run his actions will either prove or disprove his sincerity on this.

“I do think the young people who’ve come and heard him speak really believed him. That is what’s most important. That’s why we entered into this relationship. After we weighed everything out it became a no-brainer that giving Michael Vick a platform to speak out against dogfighting would be quite powerful.”

While Goodwin is pleased that he has someone capable of reaching certain groups, particularly inner-city children, the speeches Vick is giving for the Humane Society are a drop in the bucket to the impact he unwittingly had on the issue.

The brutality that surrounds the sport was once, for most Americans, out of mind. This was an underground, backwoods activity. Now it is common knowledge. A million speeches couldn’t duplicate the media coverage and public discourse on the issue.

“I think there is a heightened sympathy for the animals because people who may have been against dogfighting from the start, now realize that it’s actually more horrible than they imagined,” Goodwin said.

“People didn’t think about the fact that dogs that performed poorly might be electrocuted. Now a lot of people know that.”

It’s also silenced nearly everyone who doesn’t consider it such a big deal.

“You’ve also got people who may have been antagonistic and they’ve seen the public outcry over this and no one wants to face that,” Goodwin said.

The result has been 27 new laws passed at both the federal and state levels to increase punishments against dogfighting since Vick’s arrest. The crime is now a felony in all 50 states (it was 48 pre-Vick). Police, now sensing that this is a crime the public won’t stand for, have increased their enforcement of the law, stepping up raids and following tips.

And presumably, people that may have just looked the other way or even partaken in dogfighting have had second thoughts due to the publicity about ramifications of their involvement.

Make no mistake, Goodwin wishes it never happened. The murdered and mistreated dogs are his chief concern. Yet it did happen and the moment he heard about it he sought to “gather the facts and then see what could be done to turn this into a net plus for the dogs, who are the victims of dogfighting.”

In more than two years later, that net plus has been realized.

The fight against dogfighting continues, Goodwin is busier than ever, but at least something good has come from the bad news of Michael Vick’s kennels.

Please help Save.....

Mechelep — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 05:06:36 GMT

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/rescue-being-forced-closed-change-or-amend-town-of-saltvilles-new-dog-ordinance

dog fights and dog races

tazbaby — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 15:11:03 GMT

what can you say about dog fights and dog races?

i don't agree with these. i think they should be stopped. the animals are put in way too much cruelty

Animals Rights and Abuse

AgileGSD — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:01:56 GMT

http://www.thedogplace.org/PROJECTS/BBR/09092-Animal-Rights-Abuse_CardozoEsq.asp

Help keep dogs allowed at outdoor seating please

kpwlee — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 20:43:08 GMT

Ugh just when Raleigh was getting a wonderful, dog friendly, cosmopolitan feel the clearly under worked powers that be at the Food Protection Branch are 'reinterpreting a rule' and want to ban dogs from accompanying their owners at outdoor dining facilities.
What a huge step backwards!!!
To me it reeks of someone within the department or someone with influence in the department who hates dogs.
Seriously do they have so little work that they need to find work?
If so in this time of severe budget crises let's transfer these bored workers to a department that is running on the skin of their teeth!

But more importantly what can you do?
Well you can write to the idiot in charge:
Larry Michael
Food Protection Branch
NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources
1632 mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1632

Even if you are not local we would appreciate you writing a letter in - it would be a terrible shame for Wake County to allow this to happen. All the coolest hangouts allow dogs on the patio.
Just when we were getting cool............
Here's the original link

LINK

Parade magazine poll re banning pit bulls 9/13/09

kpwlee — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 14:41:26 GMT

www.parade.com has a poll on the left hand side asking people if it should be illegal to own a pit bull

please vote no, it should not be illegal

How can I help these two dogs (Shiba inu and St. bernard)

Beejou — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:18:41 GMT

I've been living in my new town for several months, and have been coming here for about a year and a half. As long as I've been coming here, a purebred Shiba Inu and purebred St. Bernard have been living outdoors, alone, in a smallish pen. The St. can take about 8 steps in any direction. They each have their own old doghouses. They bark constantly because they are so lonely. I've talked to the old timers in the neighborhood and apparently this has been going on for several years (the Shiba is newer, but the St. has been there basically since he was a pup) They are fed and the pen is kept relatively clean, the dogs are not starving but the St. has horrible coat quality. Dirty, matted, etc. They have no grass in their pen. It is just dirt/mud where they've run it. Nobody EVER walks them, plays with them, or does more than feed them. They aren't breaking any laws, I guess, but I feel like I need to try to help. I would offer to walk them, but if an excited St. decided to pull the leash and he takes off.... put it this way.... I don't want to give these people any power over me. If their dog gets sick they'd blame it on me.

So what does one do? How can I help without being directly involved? If I do have to get directly involved, is there anyway to protect myself from the owners if something goes wrong with the dog and isn't my fault?

Moving and BSL Concerns Help

Abbeyroad86 — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:41:51 GMT

I originally put this in general chat but I think it really belongs here

My husband might be accepting a job in Virginina....specifically the Richmond Area. And I was looking to see if they have any BSL there. I found this page

http://www.understand-a-bull.com/BSL/Locations/USLocations.htm

What stands out is:

The States that currently have State level laws prohibiting local municipalities from passing BSL are listed below.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________-

Sorry cant get the color changed back after pasting that in. Does that mean if we move to Virginia or Florida (another place he is considering taking a job) that there is no BSL there and we don't have to worry about our Terrier mix when we move there?

Or is it saying they have statewide BSL Laws?

We have an adopted Terrier mix of pretty much unknown origin and have been told if we were in a BSL area her adoption paperwork really wouldn't hold up because most of the BSL laws are based on looks. She was adopted to us as a Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix and has been mistaken for a Staffy bull Terrier or SBT cross in the past. She is a small dog of 21 lbs. Anyways the 3 places we are looking to move are Richmond VA, Orlando/kissime FL, or the Lexington or Louisville area of KY. So I am just trying to figure out who does have BSL, who doesn't. Who is looking at BSL.

I heard in Louisville Ky the courts deemed it unconstitutional. So that is really good

Thanks and is this website a good site to get that info....the site that i linked you to?

What's Your Opinion?

JackieG — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:14:23 GMT

http://www.avma.org/issues/policy/animal_welfare/tail_docking.asp

The AVMA has taken a stance against ear cropping and tail docking. I am in agreement.

TEXAS Rabies Law--Bell County

Kris L. Christine — Sat, 30 May 2009 22:13:21 GMT

PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

A debate over the annual county rabies protocol in Bell County, Texas has erupted (see Killen Daily Herald stories Regulations for rabies vaccination under debate http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=33495 and County debates changing rabies law http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=33636) and it is urgent that any and all concerned pet owners contact the county officials below to urge them to change the protocol to the national 3 year standard. A copy of my letter to County officials is below. Texas state law recognizes the 3 year rabies vaccines licensed by the USDA and at least one town's 3 year protocol is overridden by the County order.

What You Can Do to Help

Contact the Bell County Commissioners, County Attorney and/or District Attorney via phone, e-mail, or fax (contact information is below) and tell them it is time for them to adopt the 3 year rabies protocol recommended by all the national veterinary medical associations and adopted by all the states. Please share this action alert with all the pet-owners you know.

County Commissioners: Phone 1-800-460-2355 or 254-939-3521 Fax: 254 - 933-5179 Richard Cortese richard.cortese@co.bell.tx.us; Tim Brown tim.brown@co.bell.tx.us; Eddy Lange william.lange@co.bell.tx.us; John Fisher john.fisher@co.bell.tx.us

County Attorney Richard Miller richard.miller@co.bell.tx.us Phone 1-800-460-2355 or 254-939-3521 Faxes 254-933-5150 and 254-933-5176
District Attorney Henry Garza henry.garza@co.bell.tx.us fax: 254-933-5179 phone Phone 1-800-460-2355 or 254-939-3521

May 26, 2009

Bell County Commissioners
County Attorney Richard Miller
District Attorney Henry Garza
101 East Central Avenue
Belton, TX 76513

RE: BELL COUNTY ANNUAL RABIES VACCINATIONS ORDER

Greetings Messrs. Cortese, Brown, Lange, Fisher, Miller, and Garza:

Bell County should amend the outdated section (4.01) of its Animal Control County Order governing rabies vaccinations which requires annual rabies boosters following the initial puppy and kitten series of shots and institute a 3 year rabies immunization protocol conforming to the national standard adopted by all the states, including Texas, and recommended by the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians as well as the American Veterinary Medical Association.

The CDC’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarian’s Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2008 states that, “Vaccines used in state and local rabies control programs should have at least a 3-year duration of immunity. This constitutes the most effective method of increasing the proportion of immunized dogs and cats in any population (50).” They specifically warn that, “o laboratory or epidemiologic data exist to support the annual or biennial administration of 3- or 4-year vaccines following the initial series.”

It is recognized that most, if not all, currently licensed annual rabies vaccines given annually are actually the 3-year vaccine relabeled for annual use -- Colorado State University's Small Animal Vaccination Protocol for its veterinary teaching hospital states: “Even with rabies vaccines, the label may be misleading in that a three year duration of immunity product may also be labeled and sold as a one year duration of immunity product.” According to Dr. Ronald Schultz of the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, whose canine vaccine studies form a large part of the scientific base for the 2003 and 2006 American Animal Hospital Association’s (AAHA) Canine Vaccine Guidelines, as well as the World Small Animal Veterinary Association’s 2007 Vaccine Guidelines, “There is no benefit from annual rabies vaccination and most one year rabies products are similar or identical to the 3-year products with regard to duration of immunity and effectiveness.” [1]

Bell County’s code requiring annual rabies boosters may have been intended to achieve enhanced immunity to the rabies virus by giving the vaccine more often than Texas state law and the federal 3-year licensing standard, but, more frequent vaccination than is required to fully immunize an animal will not achieve further disease protection. Redundant annual rabies shots needlessly expose dogs and cats to the risk of adverse effects while obligating residents to pay unnecessary veterinary medical fees. The American Veterinary Medical Association's 2001 Principles of Vaccination state that “Unnecessary stimulation of the immune system does not result in enhanced disease resistance, and may increase the risk of adverse post-vaccination events.”

By requiring pet owners to pay for a yearly veterinary medical procedure from which their animals derive no benefit and may be harmed, the county’s current rabies immunization code may violate the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (Title 2, Chapter 17) and may place veterinarians in the uneasy position of violating Title 4 Chapter 801Subsection 402 (12) of the Veterinary Licensing Act, which cites as grounds for license denial or disciplinary action any veterinarian who “performs or prescribes unnecessary…treatment.”

Immunologically, the rabies vaccine is the most potent of the veterinary vaccines and associated with significant adverse reactions such as polyneuropathy “resulting in muscular atrophy, inhibition or interruption of neuronal control of tissue and organ function, incoordination, and weakness,”[2] auto-immune hemolytic anemia,[3] 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 are all linked to the rabies vaccine.[4] [5] It is medically unsound for this vaccine to be given more often than is necessary to maintain immunity.

A “killed” vaccine, the rabies vaccine contains adjuvants to enhance the immunological response. In 1999, the World Health Organization “classified veterinary vaccine adjuvants as Class III/IV carcinogens with Class IV being the highest risk," and the results of a study published in the August 2003 Journal of Veterinary Medicine documenting fibrosarcomas at the presumed injection sites of rabies vaccines stated, “In both dogs and cats, the development of necrotizing panniculitis at sites of rabies vaccine administration was first observed by Hendrick & Dunagan (1992).”[7] According to the 2003 AAHA Guidelines, "...killed vaccines are much more likely to cause hypersensitivity reactions (e.g., immune-mediated disease)."

County officials should note data indicating that compliance rates are no higher in areas with annual rabies immunization requirements than in those with triennial protocols. A 2002 report compiled by the Banfield Corporation for the Texas Department of Health on rabies vaccination rates determined that a “comparison of the one-year states and the three-year states demonstrates no difference in the delinquency rates” and that, “A paucity of scientific data exists to demonstrate a clear public health benefit of a one-year vaccination protocol versus a three-year vaccination protocol.” [9]

On behalf of The Rabies Challenge Fund and the Bell County pet owners who have contacted us, we strongly urge you to amend Section 4.01 of the Bell County Order governing Animal Control and Rabies Vaccinations to conform to the 3-year national standard recommended by the Center for Disease Control’s National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians and endorsed by the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Sincerely,

Kris L. Christine
Founder, Co-Trustee
THE RABIES CHALLENGE FUND
www.RabiesChallengeFund.org

cc: Dr. W. Jean Dodds
Dr. Ronald Schultz
Belton, Harker Heights, Killeen, Saldo, and Temple City Officials
Justin Cox

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

[1] Schultz, Ronald D.; What Everyone Needs to Know about Canine Vaccines, October 2007, http://www.puliclub.org/CHF/AKC2007C...20Vaccines.htm

[2] Dodds, W. Jean Vaccination Protocols for Dogs Predisposed to Vaccine Reactions, The Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, May/June 2001, Vol. 37, pp. 211-214

[3] Duval D., Giger U.Vaccine-Associated Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia in the Dog, Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine 1996; 10:290-295

[4] American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Executive Board, April 2001, Principles of Vaccination, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Volume 219, No. 5, September 1, 2001.

[5] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.

IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans: Volume 74, World Health Organization, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Feb. 23-Mar. 2, 1999, p. 24, 305, 310.

[7] Vascelleri, M. Fibrosarcomas at Presumed Sites of Injection in Dogs: Characteristics and Comparison with Non-vaccination Site Fibrosarcomas and Feline Post-vaccinal Fibrosarcomas; Journal of Veterinary Medicine, Series A August 2003, vol. 50, no. 6, pp. 286-291.

American Animal Hospital Association Canine Vaccine Task Force. 2003 Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Recommendations, and Supporting Literature, 28pp. and ibid. 2006 AAHA Canine Vaccine Guidelines, Revised, 28 pp.

[9] Texas Department of Public Health, Zoonosis Control; The White Paper, Options for Rabies Vaccination of Dogs and Cats in Texas, 2002

__________________

Please check out Ratbone Rescues - a not for profit National Rat Terrier Rescue!!

SuzieRedhead — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:26:56 GMT

Hi Everybody!

My name is Sue Carello and I am a volunteer with Ratbone Rescues. We are a not for profit rescue organization that rescues Rat Terriers and we have fosterhomes across the United States! We can always use volunteers, whether it be fosterhomes, application processors, home visit coordinators, transport coordinators - any help would be appreciated!!

Please check out our website: www.ratbonerescues.com and if you'd like to volunteer, please fill out our form:

http://www.ratbonerescues.com/ratbone_volunteer_app.php

THANK YOU!

Sue Carello, Scotia, NY (near Albany)
Ratbone Rescues Northeast State Coordinator, Fostermom, etc...
www.ratbonerescues.com
Mom to Sandy, Snoopy, Kaci, Ben and Springy (RIP Bandit and Sasha!)
Fostermom to Loolie and Anastasia "Anna Banana" Ratbone
Please check out Ratbone's ONE OF A KIND Stained Glass Rat Terrier Lamp Raffle! http://ratbonerescues.com/rbr_lamp.php

Who do YOU GoodSearch/GoodShop for? Go to www.goodsearch.com and type in Ratbone Rescues!

Senate May Vote On Animal Rights Fanatic (with update)

eaglerock814 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:49:38 GMT

Radical Animal Rights Attorney Cleared

To Become Obama’s Regulatory Czar

Dog Owners, Hunters, Farmers Urged To AskTheir Senators To Stop Sunstein Nomination

by JOHN YATES

American Sporting Dog Alliance

http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

asda@csonline.net

This report is archived at http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=general&thread=52

UPDATE July 22, 2009: WASHINGTON (Fox News) -- President Obama's nominee for "regulatory czar" has hit a new snag in his Senate confirmation process -- a "hold" by Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who's says he's not convinced that Harvard professor Cass Sunstein won't push a radical animal rights agenda, including new restrictions on agriculture and even hunting.

Senators are permitted "holds" to prevent a vote on a nominee from coming to the floor. They are often secretive and for very specific reasons.

"Sen. Cornyn finds numerous aspects of Mr. Sunstein's record troubling, specifically the fact that he wants to establish legal 'rights' for livestock, wildlife and pets, which would enable animals to file lawsuits in American courts," the Republican's spokesman, Kevin McLaughlin, said in a statement to FOXNews.com. The American Sporting Dog Alliance contacted Sen. Cornyn earlier this week. Please write to Sen. Cornyn and thank him for his support: http://cornyn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm . Also, please contact your own two U.S., Senators (see below for information and links). Sen. Cornyn’s hold makes it vital to convince the other senators to block Sunstein’s nomination.

WASHINGTON (July 21, 2009) – Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) has lifted his “hold” blocking the nomination of Harvard Law School scholar and animal rights legal strategist Cass Sunstein for the post of regulatory czar in the Administration of his close personal friend, President Barack Obama.

Sen. Chambliss had blocked the nomination based on concerns of farm groups because of Sunstein’s strong animal rights beliefs, including support of stringent regulation of people who raise animals and a ban on hunting. Last week, however, Chambliss met with Sunstein and announced on the Senate floor that he had lifted the hold on the nomination. The Senator added that the way is now clear for the U.S. Senate to confirm Sunstein before its August recess.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance is urging all dog owners, hunters, firearms rights advocates, farmers and civil libertarians to take immediate action by urging the U.S. Senate to reject the Sunstein nomination to head the powerful Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) in the White House. Taking action now is of the utmost urgency.

Sunstein has the strong support of the Humane Society of the United States, which is the political arm of the radical animal rights movement, according to a July 15 statement by HSUS Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Michael Markarian in The Huffington Post. Referring to the regulations to implement the federal Animal Welfare Act, and new rules about animal fighting and importing dogs, Markarian wrote: “These kinds of legal changes are precisely why Americans need a regulatory czar like Cass Sunstein in charge of OIRA -- to make sure the federal agencies properly implement regulations to enforce these new laws.”

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) “reviews and alters regulations created by federal agencies,” according to Congress Daily.

Sunstein, who has published 15 books, would have broad powers to review, recommend changes and possibly engineer changes in all federal regulations, including those about dog ownership, farming, hunting on federal lands, and enforcement of gun control laws.

In his published writings and speeches, Sunstein has advocated:

Giving animal rights groups the power to file lawsuits on the behalf of animals against their owners.

Very strict regulations about animal ownership, farming and hunting.

The elimination of hunting.

The elimination of the individual right to keep and bear arms.

Moving toward a vegan vegetarian society.

Rewriting the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

And restrictions on free speech.

Each of those assertions will be documented later in this report by direct quotations from Sunstein’s published books and speeches.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance believes Sunstein would have a severely negative impact on dog owners, farmers, hunters, gun owners and civil libertarians – Indeed, to all Americans!

This is underscored by Sunstein’s status as a close personal friend and advisor to President Obama since they met in 1992, when Sunstein taught law at the University of Chicago. This will give Sunstein unprecedented influence and access to the President.

It is further underscored by numerous mainstream reports that Sunstein is slated to be President Obama’s next nominee to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. This adds to the urgency of convincing the Senate that Sunstein’s beliefs are un-American and in direct contradiction to the basic principles outlined in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Although Sunstein’s nomination had been blocked by Sen. Chambliss until last week, Government Executive reported that he actually has been working at the job in the White House on a daily basis.

Sunstein’s potential use of power – and potential abuse of power – has been increased because President Obama redefined the role of OIRA shortly after taking office. The Wall Street Journal reported July 6: “In a significant, but little noticed, memo written 10 days after taking office, Mr. Obama ordered up a rewrite of how OIRA goes about its work, the first such revision since 1993. ‘Far more is now known about regulation -- not only when it is justified, but also what works and what does not,’ the president wrote. A regulatory review would make use of new tools and would ‘clarify the role of the behavioral sciences in formulating regulatory policy.’ "

The Wall Street Journal called the OIRA “obscure but powerful.”

The American Sporting Dog Alliance believes that Sunstein will use this position to influence President Obama’s directives to all federal agencies on how to write, interpret and enforce all federal regulations. This includes regulations about agriculture, raising animals, hunting on public lands, and gun law enforcement and procedures. This is a dangerous power to be held by someone of Sunstein’s clearly radical and unconstitutional beliefs.

Thus, we are urging every American to immediately contact both of his or her U.S, senators, and as many other senators as possible, to urge them to vote against the Sunstein nomination.

This link will provide a search engine to locate each state’s senators, and an alphabetical list of the senators to link to contact information: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm. Each state has two U.S. Senators who represent all of the citizens of that state.

We recommend at least two forms of contact: Send an email as a first step, plus also send a letter or fax, and/or make a phone call. Please do this immediately, as a Senate confirmation vote could come at any moment.

In addition, please send this report to all of your friends and contacts and ask them to help, and post it on any message boards that you use. Also, please write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and any other papers you read.

Here are some direct quotes from Sunstein to illustrate our concern:

1. "We ought to ban hunting"

- Cass Sunstein, in a 2007 speech at Harvard University

2. “We should focus attention not only on the enforcement gap, but on the areas where current law offers little or no protection. In short, the law should impose further regulation on hunting, scientific experiments, entertainment, and (above all) farming to ensure against unnecessary animal suffering. It is easy to imagine a set of initiatives that would do a great deal here, and indeed European nations have moved in just this direction. There are many possibilities.”

--Cass R. Sunstein, “The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer,” John M. Olin

Law & Economics Working Paper No. 157, The Law School, The University of

Chicago

3. “…(R)epresentatives of animals should be able to bring private suits to ensure thatanticruelty and related laws are actually enforced. If, for example, a farm is treatinghorses cruelly and in violation of legal requirements, a suit could be brought, on behalf of those animals, to bring about compliance with the law.”

--Cass R. Sunstein, “The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer,” John M. Olin

Law & Economics Working Paper No. 157, The Law School, The University of Chicago

4. “But if, as a practical matter, animals used for food are almost inevitably going to endure terrible suffering, then there is a good argument that people should not eat meat to the extent that a refusal to eat meat will reduce that suffering. Of course a legal ban on meat-eating would be extremely radical, and like prohibition, it would undoubtedly create black markets and have a set of bad, and huge, side-effects. But the principle seems clear: People should be much less inclined to eat meat if their refusal to do so would prevent significant suffering.”

--Cass R. Sunstein, “The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer,” John M. Olin

Law & Economics Working Paper No. 157, The Law School, The University of

Chicago

5. “Less modestly, anticruelty laws should be extended to areas that are now exempt fromthem, including scientific experiments and farming. There is no good reason to permit thelevel of suffering that is now being experienced by millions, even billions of livingcreatures.”

--Cass R. Sunstein, “The Rights of Animals: A Very Short Primer,” John M. Olin

Law & Economics Working Paper No. 157, The Law School, The University of

Chicago

6. “Everything depends on whether and to what extent the animal in question is capable of suffering. If rats are able to suffer, then their interests are relevant to the question of how, and perhaps even whether, they can be expelled from houses.”

--Cass R. Sunstein, Martha C. Nussbaum. Animal Rights: Current Debates and

New Directions. (Oxford University Press, USA, 2004). P. 12

7. “A system of limitless individual choices, with respect to communications, is notnecessarily in the interest of citizenship and self-government.”

--Cass Sunstein, arguing for a Fairness Doctrine for the Internet in his book,

Republic.com 2.0 (Princeton University Press, 2007), p.137

8. “In what sense is the money in our pockets and bank accounts fully ‘ours’? Did we earn it by our own autonomous efforts? Could we have inherited it without the assistance of probate courts? Do we save it without the support of bank regulators? Could we spend it if there were no public officials to coordinate the efforts and pool the resources of thecommunity in which we live?... Without taxes there would be no liberty. Without taxesthere would be no property. Without taxes, few of us would have any assets worthdefending. [It is] a dim fiction that some people enjoy and exercise their rights without

placing any burden whatsoever on the public … There is no liberty without dependency. That is why we should celebrate tax day …”

-- Cass R. Sunstein, “Why We Should Celebrate Paying Taxes,” The Chicago

Tribune, April 14, 1999

9. “Much of the time, the United States seems to have embraced a confused and pernicious form of individualism. This approach endorses rights of private property and freedom of contract, and respects political liberty, but claims to distrust ‘government intervention’ and insists that people must fend for themselves. This form of so-called individualism is incoherent, a tangle of confusions.”-- Cass R. Sunstein, The Second Bill of Rights: FDR’s Unfinished Revolution and

Why We Need it More Than Ever, Basic Books, New York, 2004, p. 3

10. “lmost all gun control legislation is constitutionally fine. And if the Court is right,then fundamentalism does not justify the view that the Second Amendment protects an

individual right to bear arms.”

- Cass Sunstein, writing in his book, “Radicals in Robes”

11. “…[T]he Second Amendment seems to specify its own purpose, which is to protect the"well regulated Militia." If that is the purpose of the Second Amendment (as Burger

believed), then we might speculate that it safeguards not individual rights but federalism.”

-- Cass R. Sunstein, “The Most Mysterious Right,” National Review, November

12, 2007

12. In his 2004 book The Second Bill of Rights: FDR’s Unfinished Revolution and Why We Need It More than Ever, Sunstein claims that “citizens’ rights exist only to the extent that they are granted by the government.”

Those views are why the American Sporting Dog Alliance adamantly opposes the Sunstein nomination. His track record is frighteningly consistent.

Thank you for helping.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We also welcome people who work with other breeds, as legislative issues affect all of us. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society and life. The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are funded solely by your donations in order to maintain strict independence.

Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org . Our email is asda@csonline.net .

PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS

RSPCA campaign to protect racing greyhounds - URGENT!

RSPCAgreyhounds — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:26:06 GMT

Hi all,

I’m working on behalf of the RSPCA to raise awareness of their urgent campaign to protect racing greyhounds. We have a chance to protect racing greyhounds from an uncertain future through legislation but need thousands to send a letter to the Government by 22nd July so timings are really tight!

Every year at least 10,000 greyhounds are retired from racing. The fate of many of these greyhounds is unknown and huge numbers simply ‘disappear’.

We’ve set ourselves a target to get at least 20,000 people to respond by 22nd July – this is the government’s own deadline for the close of their public consultation on the welfare of racing greyhounds. The more people that respond to the government consultation, the more chance we’ll have of influencing what goes in the new legislation.

For example, just some of the aspects that we’re calling for the regulations to include would be:

One system to track all greyhounds from cradle to grave
One open access injury database
Independent regular inspection of trainers’ and breeders’ kennels
Greyhounds must be transported in cages which enable them to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably
Greyhounds to be humanely euthanased by a vet only if rehoming is not an option (e.g. extreme behaviour / irreparable injury)
Vets to be specially trained and have financial independence

You can join the campaign here - Join the Race to Protect Greyhounds

The sooner we can reach 20,000 people, the more chance we'll have of protecting racing greyhounds from cradle to grave. If we lose the race, so do greyhounds.

I hope you can help!

Thanks

Katie Houghton, on behalf of the RSPCA

Free mp3 music Great song Great singer GREAT cause

Tikanis — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 10:56:53 GMT

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I live in Crete in Greece where the ongoing appalling suffering of animals sadly continues unabated, you don’t need to spend one penny – but spare one minute and you CAN help.

There is a lot of effort being made by many people who are all trying desperately hard to help the many cases of cruelty, abuse, abandonment, disease, and poisoning suffered daily by Greek animals.

We are simply asking for Greek MPs to at last act humanly and with compassion for their animals, and set about enforcing their own animal welfare laws.

Greece’s present control of stray animals is by the use of baited poison. There are many cases here of poisoning strays and indeed owned dogs and cats. The poison is insidious it causes extreme pain and results in a prolonged and agonising death for these animals.

This is illegal by their law!!!!!

I am not asking you for donations, there are numerous animal welfare organisations where you can specifically do that and I know that every single penny will help.

I want you to please help maintain ‘pressure’ on this government if we are persistent and refuse to give up on these animals we surely must win justice for them

PLEASE LOOK at CARE 2.com for petitions relating to the plight of Greek animals – and sign them all.

Please visit my petition at http://www.thepetitionsite.com/110/Stop-animal-abuse-NOW

Visit this address and download for free . http://www.care2.com/news/go/1191524

The hard-hitting and very moving song GREEK TRAGEDY, written by Maria Daines and performed by her and guitarist Paul Killington, was inspired by the story of ‘Boney Fingers’, a very thin hunting dog rescued on 25 March in Kavala, northern Greece. Now called BONNIE, the dog made a full recovery and her future is secure.

Please help spread the word and awareness to the plight of animals in Greece, pass this message on to as many people that you can think of your valuable help is appreciated enormously mention too that 'Greek Tragedy' MP3 is available for FREE download

Thank you very much

K9 Cop Starved Dog to Death

BlackLabbie — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:02:45 GMT

So sad...

LINK

Free Bruce!! BSL Sucks!!

Sunshinegirl — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 21:30:42 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aQLog460Io

Please watch this video. It's so sad and frustrating.... poor Bruce ripped from his loving family in Ireland and could be euthed any day now. He is deteriorating and they reuse to allow his family to see him. We can help free Bruce.

Sorry, can't make this link live.....