There’s a lot of great dogs on the ASPCA Birthday Stroll but here’s one who has to work just a little bit harder to stroll at all. Her name is Chloe the Pug. The top photo here shows a darling girl but if you look at the bottom picture you’ll see why Chloe’s stroll is a bit harder than most. That’s because she’s strolling in a cart.

Chloe was a victim of abuse by a family that dumped her at the pound to be euthanized. But it must not have been her time to go because one of our loving Dogsters saved her and thus Chloe found her forever family.

So the next time we read about abused dogs, let’s remember that there are many others like Chloe who find their human angels.

Thanks to Howard Pugpants, Winnifred Wigglepants, Java Musclepants and Pantster Mom, Nancy for telling us all about Chloe.

If you think our four-legged friends have any thing like legal protection in our society, think again. Case in point, Kahn, the three-year-old Newfoundland who lived in Wetumpka, Alabama was abducted by dog fighters, thrown in with pit bulls being trained to fight in barbaric dog fights, mutilated, tortured and ultimately murdered. The misbegotten sociopathic short ends of the gene pool only got fined $400!!!

There is a petition you can sign at The Petition Site. You would think there would be more we could do to prevent this kind of atrocity from happening again, wouldn’t you?

So what are your ideas? Short of violence, what can you suggest to stop the violence against our furry friends and family members? Bark out!

Florida was white in March when Westies Unite hit the beach! Reports are that Murphy, Atticus, Duncan and Maggie (shown above) had a howling good time. And like every great party there MUST be pictures. Atticus Finch was kind enough to share his photos with us so you can enjoy them too. The only question I have is how high an SPF sunscreen do you have to use with all that white??? It’s a big bark-out to Westies Unite!

If your Dogster group gets together PLEASE send photos! We LOVE photos!

A few weeks ago we reported that the “Canine Mengele” of Sopron, Hungary had been shut down and the hundreds of dogs being tortured and starved were being rescued. Here’s the most recent information from our sources working with the rescuers.

So far 177 dogs have been placed with dog shelters/rescue centres in Hungary.

We continuously provide the shelters with quantities of dog food and financial help as and when they request it thanks to the donations. Among others a special thank you to PURINA, Pet Hungaria Ltd and private donations! In this way the care of the dogs at the shelters is being provided for.

The reason for this announcement is that we have received information that various donations are being collected for the “starving Sopron dogs” and we have no knowledge as to where these donations are going.

In Hungary, at the moment with the help and coordination of MATSZ (Hungarian Association for Animal and Nature Lovers) Peter Kis (Szezam) is coordinating and collecting (primarily material) donations, which we then allocate to the various centres.

We would like to ask all concerned if there is a possibility to visit the rescue centres closest to their residence to hand over any material donations personally. All these centres are very much looking for physical help in caring for these dogs. Their physical, dietary and medical care is only part of their needs; only human contact and tender loving care can help rehabilitate their souls.

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been following the “woofs” on “Dog Blog Mystery — Who Started Mooie Stroll???,” then you’ve seen that our Dogster heroes have come forward. So I want to apologize to Mo and Tessa Lee for not mentioning them earlier.

Mo, seen to the right here, is a Katrina survivor who saw Mooie’s story and started the Mooie forum with the aim of gaining justice for the murdered puppy.

Tessa Lee, in the picture to the left, saw the story on the forum and began the stroll for Mooie.

I’m glad to claim both of you as Dogster pack members! Big, meaty bones to both Mo and Tessa Lee!

I’ve been getting a lot of questions from Dogsters on how to comment on posts. When you see a posting you want to comment on (and I hope you see a lot of those) simply roll your cursor over the link in “woofs” near the top of the posting. Click on “woofs” and that will take you to a page where you can comment.

You can also just bark at me directly. That works really well when you want to suggest a post subject (and I appreciate those!).

Here’s gravy in your eye! Write in soon!

It turns out we have a mystery here at the Dog Blog. Last week I reported that Bono of the Over the Rainbow Group, started the Mooie Stroll. Now Bono has said that he didn’t start the Mooie Stroll. Instead, he was the first Catster to cross the species line — he was the first feline to take the Stroll for Mooie and actively encourage other cats to do the same.

Wow, that is too cool! HOWEVER, I can’t take full credit for this.
I’m not sure who the dog portion of the stroll was set up by, but mom heard about it the Squeaky and Fuzzy - for the love of toys group. It was only dogs. Our family WAS the first to add cats to the stroll and I did post the note here asking everyone to tag their photos, but I didn’t start the whole thing! I wonder how whoever started it can get the credit??

Bono

Okay, Bono might not have started the Mooie Stroll but he has made it much stronger by bringing in his meowing brothers and sisters! Paws Up Bono!

So who really DID start the stroll? If you did or you know who did start this very important stroll PLEASE let the rest of us in on the secret. I want to apologize for not giving him/her/them the credit they deserve. This selfless Dogster or Dogsters deserves a BIG barkout!

Are you a fan of dog stories? How about audio books? Combine the two and you have Hunting Elf, the adventures of an adventurous Silky Terrier named, you guessed it, Elf. Here’s what Dan Donelson, the writer and sometimes dog handler has to say about the fictional Elf modeled on his own Elf, also a Silky Terrier.

Welcome to the world of Elf, a champion-bred puppy who leads his accidental owners on an exciting chase –and sometimes into life-threatening but hilarious danger.

If that doesn’t sum it up, I don’t know what else will. Hunting Elf has a rollicking movement that pulls you into it and keeps you listening.The online book is free and the chapters are available at the Hunting Elf site. Although this is a dog story, it is one of the new breed of dog stories that includes some adult aspects so Donelson does warn readers to listen to the chapters before introducing them to children.

So if you’re looking for something new to listen to on that IPod or while you’re working on the computer, click on over to Hunting Elf and hear something new –an online only book about dogs, kidnappers and dog shows.

When I got the email from Jeannette W. alerting me this news piece I thought, “Oh yeah. We’re now in tabloid land.” Boy was I wrong! The article is on the National Geographic website.

There’s a strange, seemingly hairless creature hunting in the area around the Tyco Corporation’s woodsy headquarters outside Raleigh, North Carolina. It is so unusual that every time its spotted, the Tyco employees flock to windows to see it. Speculation on what the long-necked animal ranges from a doq with mange to a mythical Mexican chupacabra.

So what do the experts think?

Perry Sumner, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, said it’s likely a red fox with a rare genetic condition known as Sampson, an abnormality in which the animal lacks a layer of fur called guard hair.
Without this thick outer coat for protection, the normally nocturnal fox would be forced to hunt during the day when it’s warm and sleep under heated buildings at night.

In recent years, Sumner said, other Sampson foxes have been spotted in urban areas around the state.

So is anyone going to try to catch the “Tyco fox?” Sumner and others say no. He’s causing no harm and they figure it would be much more stressful on the fox to catch it just to ascertain what he really is. The biologists said they have no plans to capture the animal, since the Sampson abnormality can’t be treated, and the creature isn’t posing a threat to people or wildlife.
Read the rest of this entry »

Now this is reality TV I can get into! DogBlogTV.com is the video chronicles of two daring, darling Yorkies as they face everyday adventures such as bad hair days and doggy doors.

This is a barking blast! Siblings Tigger and Seeka are real reality stars! Move over Clay Aiken and every human who’s ever been on a human “survival-type” show of any kind. DogBlogTV is here!

Thanks Lynn H. for letting me know about DogBlogTV.com.