After Uno the beagle  won the 2008 Westminster Dog Show you would think that it would have been a giant step forward for the rights of all beagles.  However, you’d be wrong.  Poor Hank the beagle has been banned from the dump and a parade, a double whammy. This story out of Eastham, MA  isn’t exactly as it seems.

It all began in May, when Hank - a fixture at the town transfer station for two years - was summarily banished by Amaral’s new boss.

Neil Andres, the new Public Works Superintendant, would not allow Hank at the transfer station because he didn’t believe pets should be brought to work.  While Janet Amaral did obey orders and leave Hank home she thought of a way to showcase her housebound beagle.

To show the town just what it was banning, she also planned to showcase Hank and local beagles in need of homes on their own float in the Sept. 7 “Windmill Weekend” parade, complete with a soundtrack that would include “Bad Reputation” and “You Better be Good to Me.”

The choice of music for the float may have been just enough to get Hank banished from the float. “The music might have rubbed it in a bit,” Amaral said. “But it would also be a chance for people to meet this dog that never bothered anyone.”

Dowman and his committee, however, believe a “Hank” float would only “continue to fan a confrontation.”

“This situation has been building into a rivalry between an employee and the administration,” Dowman said, “and we just don’t want to get in the middle of it.”

Oh well Hank, there’s always next year.

Greatest American Dog moved to the Wednesday night time slot and the outcome was a bit controversial.

The dog bone challenge seemed easy enough last night. The owners had to predict if their fuzzy partner would take or leave an item placed on a plate six feet in front of them. This included steaks, sticks and tofu. In the end JD and Galaxy won and Travis and Presley sent to the dog house.

But the excitement in the show didn’t really start until the main event of last night’s show, centering around a one hour photo shoot with a professional animal photographer. The kink in the tail with this challenge was that each contestant had to select a word from a hat (i.e. love, curious, lazy, angry, etc.) that they had to have their prized pet capture on film.

There were some truly clever ideas. My favorite was Andrew peering through the telescope out at the world/universe, however it was Galaxy who won best in show for his portrayal of the word sneaky.

So the show came down to the worst three: Ron and Tillman exhibiting lazy, Brandy and Beacon showing love and Teresa and Leroy displaying the toughest word of the night, angry.

First the Tillman photo. Sure Ron was lazy and didn’t put any thought into his photo shoot, but if there was ever a dog made for the word lazy, it’s Tillman. I thought the picture was adorable and captured the word nicely, but then again I’m pretty lazy myself. The judge’s comment that this was the worst picture of a bulldog ever was totally unwarranted.

Brandy and Beacon had the word love, and I gotta be honest, the picture she chose wasn’t very good. It was Beacon sitting, looking up. If it was the word begging, it may have worked. If it were the words sit or stay it would have worked. But this picture for the word love? Not so much.

Leroy’s picture of an angry dog was marvelous, however let’s talk about the way in which it was obtained. Teresa, his owner, put snarl bands (i.e. a rubber band thingy) around his upper snout to make him look like he was growling. He did not appreciate having this done to him as evidenced by his reaction. This, coupled with the fact Teresa just annoyed the heck out of him throughout the shoot to get him to be angry made it difficult to watch. She did, however, get a great picture out of it.

So who should go? I thought Teresa and Leroy should go. The question I asked myself was, “Does the end justify the means?” In my book the answer is no. In the judges book the answer appears to be yes.

Since the judges were going strictly on the outcome of the pictures then surely Brandy and Beacon would be judged off, right? Not so, they chose Ron and Tillman to take the last lap! Granted, Tillman wasn’t very good at any of the events but he was a blast to watch. I’m certainly going to miss seeing him and his down to earth owner.

I think this was a mistake, but hey I’m just a dog loving blogger. Let’s just hope next week they’re going to let one of the annoying people hit the road. You all know who they are!

Note to the producers of the show: I want to see more dog. Outside of Tillman farting in the pool, was there any non-human action caught on camera? Get in there and re-edit the footage. Bag the human stuff and add the dog stuff. While I’m ranting…we don’t need a ten minute intro recapping everything that happened the previous week.

That said, I’ll still be back next Wednesday to watch more.

I know you have opinions…please keep sharing them below!

After the update on the woman from Tarpon Springs, FL getting 60 of her dogs back I received a moving letter from my friend Paddy Boy.  He, along with mom Nancy, are fostering one of the dogs that were removed.  Cinnamon, their foster girl, is a two year old Pomeranian who was used and abused at the puppy mill.  She was bred too many times and as a result is dealing with many medical issues.  Under the loving care of her foster family, and with proper medical attention,  she was finally starting to get well and now she may be handed back to the person that hurt her.

Paddy sent me an entry from his diary that’s a tribute to Cinnamon and all her companions that were removed from the deplorable conditions in Tarpon Springs.

Missing Blue
July 30th 2008 11:55am

For my friend, Cinnamon and all her pals; Imagine this if- you can….

You are living in a cage; small crowded space. You have been there your entire life. You have never been outside; you have no concept of the world except for your imprisonment.

You have no place to relieve yourself except for that cage; neither does anyone else. It smells rotten in there but you have no other choice. The food comes and you fight to get some but when you start to chew, it hurts because your teeth are rotting. You give up; you go lay down if you can find room. You try and sleep on your side but that is agony because of the lumps on your right side. You try and lay on your left but it makes your painful ear worse.

You have it bad but others have it worse. The two-year old female next to you can barely walk with her bloody paws. The one next to her can’t breathe from a collapsed trachea. Is this what life is really like? Do you want to exist anymore.

Can you imagine living like this????

One day you wake up and these people come. You are really scared and become more frightened when they start to take you away. You can’t help wondering if you are going to another place as bad as the one you are leaving.
You arrive at your new destination. They speak softly to you as they bathe the horrible smells away. They give you your own bowl of food and it is soft so that you can eat it. They tend to your hurts. They take you outside to this wonderful place and you sniff the grass for the first time. You want to thank them but you are still scared. You approach and they touch you lovingly. God, this is wonderful, you think. You slink up to the first person and she whispers “good dog”. You don’t really know what that means but the tone of her voice is so pleasing. You lick her hand and she begins to cry. I think she knows what you have endured. You are lucky you have survived.

IMAGINE LIVING LIKE THIS???? Imagine this as if it were your life and tell me truthfully if you can ever let this happen again.

STOP THE FLORIDA PUPPY MILL BREEDER NOW….Stop Theresita Hughes from getting these 121 puppies back; they deserve so much better!!!

Thank you Paddy for the insight into the life of a puppy mill dog.  Thank you Nancy for putting action behind your words,  for taking in a foster dog that needed your help.  We commend you both.

Remember, all you need to do to enter is leave a comment why you want to win a DogPause bowl.  Twenty lucky winners will be selected at random.  Time is up Thursday at midnight (PST), so get typing.

Introducing DogPause, the first dog bowl with proprietary SlowZonesTM and integrated portion control.
You know how you feel when you eat too fast (or eat too much). Same thing with your dog - it’s not healthy for him or her to inhale the food.

Greatest American Dog has switched nights from Thursdays to Wednesdays but remaining in the 8ET/7CT slot.  Hopefully that won’t affect your ability to view this week’s episode, number four in the series.

We’re down to nine contestants, and their relatively hairless owners. So who’s going to be taking the last lap tonight? Give me a second while I ask the dog in the sky to do all of us a favor, “Please, please have it be one of the annoying humans.”

Don’t forget to check out each contestants’ Dogster page and make sure to join the Greatest American Dog Fan Club to find out all the latest and greatest info.

Enjoy and we’ll do a recap tomorrow.

That may be an old Elvis song,  but to the Snodgrass family it has a whole lot more meaning than just a title.

In September 2001 Deputy Kody Snodgrass worked with his bloodhound, Jimmy,  to help track a 13 year old boy who had gone missing. The young boy, who had tried to take his life, was found alive and saved due to their effort’s.   After this miraculous recovery Kody knew he wanted to train more dogs to aid in search and rescue.  Unfortunately, two weeks later Kody died in a motorcycle accident.

Deputy Kody Snodgrass, 24 years old,  was the only son of Carrie Snodgrass.  To fulfill her  son’s dream she started deputydogs.org .  As Carrie Snodgrass stated “Because sometimes, you just want to take an active stand for the right things in the world, rather than passively accept the disappointments and bad things. . .”

The Kody Snodgrass Memorial Foundation, Inc. is dedicated to providing law enforcement with exceptional bloodhounds trained for policework, at little or no charge. This organization was formed in the memory of my son, Deputy Kody Snodgrass. He grew up with bloodhounds (my husband and I became involved in search/rescue after my sister’s murder), and so was a natural to begin handling the bloodhound “Jimmy” for Lake County Sheriff’s office in Florida. Kody was on the Tactical Team and a road deputy, but he felt most effective when he and “Jimmy” were on a track. They saved lives, discovered evidence, and helped locate evading criminals in the community.

Thank you to Carrie Snodgrass,  and all the others, who stand up and make a difference in this world.

In Fairhope, AL the mayoral race is heating up. Willie Bean, one of seven candidates, wants your votes.   This wouldn’t be so strange except he’s only 7 years old and a yellow labrador.

“I think he polishes up the field,” said Vince Kilborn, 66, of Fairhope. “We need new blood.”  Some of his supporters say all the politicking, name-dropping and sign-maneuvering in the seven-man Fairhope mayoral race is wearing on them weeks ahead of the Aug. 26 election.

While he may have some supporters Willie Bean also has his share of opponents.

Willie Bean may not be up for that rough-and-tumble world.
“When a little dog barks at him, he cringes and he runs away,” owner Tress Turner told the Press-Register in a story Sunday.

Before you think Willie Bean doesn’t have a shot, keep in mind some of his fellow politicians who beat the odds.

In 2004, Rabbit Hash, Ky., elected Junior Cochran, a black Lab, as mayor. It was the second canine elected to lead the small Northern Kentucky town, according to the town’s Web site. The first was a mutt named Goofy Borneman, according to Laurie Lamblin, a resident and employee of the town’s historic general store.

In the Hoefinger household Willie Bean can count on 12 paws in his favor.

I love taking pet action shots and there’s nothing quite as active as dogs shaking themselves dry. Bulldogs and Basset Hounds are particularly fun to watch because they carry a lot of extras that tend to flap around a bit. And then with bulldogs there’s the whole drool thing going on, too.

Just make a comment on this post and replace “What was I thinking?” with your own suggestion. The winner–to be announced next Monday, July 15–will score 25 Zealies that they can spend in the Gift Shop!

Here’s an uplifting story of a dog who’s a true hero and deserves to be barked about.

A dog has been hailed a hero after saving its owner from a deadly snake that attacked her in her home.

Rodica Sterescu’s dog, Maria, saw the 6ft snake that slithered into her house while she watched TV.  Now that’s a big snake.  I don’t know what Rodica was watching but it must have been really good, probably Greatest American Dog,  for her not to have noticed a 6 foot snake in the living room.

‘I’d probably be dead if it wasn’t for her,’ said Ms Sterescu, from Slatina.

Way to go Maria!

A few days back I posted a story,  Faces Of A Puppy Mill: Read The Amazing Stories Behind The Faces,  on the 121 dogs that were seized from the woman in Tarpon Springs, FL. The dogs had been taken to the Suncoast Animal League where foster homes were found to care for them and nurse them back to health. The dogs were doing very well with the love and care of the volunteers who took them in.

The Suncoast Animal League took possession of the dogs in April. The animals were said to be in deplorable conditions.

Now, I received a disturbing update from Dogster member Jessica (proud mom of Chanel), that a judge ruled 60 of the dogs seized must go back to this woman.

A woman who had 120 dogs seized from her Tarpon Springs home will get 60 of them back, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Although the Suncoast Animal League, who went in and seized the dogs, had permission from a county judge they did not have Pinellas County commissioners permission which is stated in the law. Rick Chaboudy,  Suncoast’s Executive Director, will try to get permission and go back to a judge for custody.

The dogs’ owner Teresita Hughes admits she had too many dogs but her attorney says it was an illegal search in the first place.

“I’ve been doing this for 20 something years and it’s never been a issue,” he said. “So this caught me completely by surprise.”

I think the biggest surprise is that a woman who kept 121 dogs in deplorable conditions is going to get any of them back. These dogs have extreme medical conditions and two have already died.  Let’s hope that one piece of paper doesn’t stand in the way of getting justice for these dogs.