Today’s guest blogger is Michael Blacksburg, Attorney at Law. He is an expert in estate-planning, helping to ensure that a pet is cared for if a guardian dies or becomes incapacitated.

Emergency Care for Your Dog

Most of us don’t like preparing for worst-case scenarios. Unfortunately, nearly 10% of all animals dropped off at shelters got there because their owners died. It totals up to 500,000 pets each year. Below you’ll find helpful tips on how to create a safety net for your pet, just in case something happens to you.

HERE’S HOW:

1. Find a reliable emergency care person for your dogs. Ask them to agree to take on caretaking responsibilities should something happen to you.
2. Give that person limited power of attorney. You may also want to provide them with access to a particular savings account to help with expenses.
3. Write out instructions on how to care for your pets. Make sure that the emergency caretaker knows where those instructions are. Include instructions on food, medication and exercise needs, and include contact information for your dog’s veterinarian.
4. Be sure to give the caretaker keys to your home.
5. Carry a card in your wallet that says that you have pets at home. Your emergency card should include the name and phone number of your emergency pet caretaker. (I give my clients a “Pet Alert Card” that ensures that a caretaker will be contacted in case of emergency.)

An emergency caregiver’s limited power of attorney ends if you should die. At that point, a will or living trust needs to take over. For more information on how to prepare for longer-term solutions for your pet in case something happens to you, read about pet trusts.

- Michael Blacksburg, blacksburg-law.com

MORE RESOURCES:

Dog Laws & Legislation Forum
Dogster Answers: Laws & Legislation

This news makes me soooo want to visit Brisbane! Any place that has a mayor like this one must be filled with great people and pups!

If anyone knows how we can send well wishes to the Lord Mayor and the City Council please bark it in!

Thanks to ABC Brisbane for this good news.

Labor councillor slams university experiments on pound dogs

The Brisbane City Council is awaiting a report into the use of live dogs in veterinary research.

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Most of us don’t want to think about the time after we die and what will happen to those we leave behind. I mean of course our dogs and cats. But if you have pets its part of your job to think ahead and make sure you have a plan in place to care for them if you go to the Rainbow Bridge before them.

Thanks to Eddie Essig for barking in this reminder and this link to this excellent article on how to make sure your furfamily is cared for.

I don’t know if you happened to see this announcement about Noelle’s Mom, but it sparked my thought process:

This poor Dogster Mom suddenly passed away in her sleep at the young age of 47, and left behind 3 furkids with no one to care for them, thus giving them an uncertain future. What a scary thought!! In Snoop Dogs, along with the fun, I try hard to discuss important issues also, so I made this post concerning the matter:

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Please Crosspost!!!

What’s in the water the North Carolina State Trooper K9 handlers are drinking? Whatever it is, someone needs to cut them off. One handler is already in trouble for horrible abuse of a dog in his care. Now we find out that the more of the folks in the same department may also be dog abusers, all in the name of training.

News flash, NC canine cops, abuse is abuse no matter who does it or what the excuse. If you can’t train a dog without abusing her, you DEFINITELY are in the wrong line of work!

If you want to let the appropriate NC authorities hear your views on this situation, their contact information is at the end of this post.

Thanks to Lynn H. for bringing this terrible case to my attention.

First we find out that a 12-year veteran of the NC Highway Patrol has been videoed repeatedly kicking a roped trainee dog. Then it turns out that the rest of the Canine Unit is also tainted.

Please be aware that this article contains EXTREMELY upsetting information and video. I was sick to my stomach as I put together this post.

This article comes from The News & Observer.

Video of trooper kicking dog released
Jones was fired after 14 years with the patrol.
Dan Kane, Staff Writer

Dog handlers for the State Highway Patrol have stunned dogs with Tasers, swung them by their leashes until they became airborne, and hit them with plastic bottles full of pebbles.
None of that was an issue until a trooper used his cell phone to record a video of a sergeant kicking his police dog repeatedly while it was leashed to a loading dock, its hind legs just touching the ground. The video was made public for the first time Monday, and it shows Sgt. Charles L. Jones kicking Ricoh, 7, a Belgian Malinois, five times, causing the dog to swing as much as two feet under the loading dock.

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ACTION ALERT: Calling all animal welfare advocates for Monday, March 31st!

March 21, 2008 : 11:38 PM
Peaceful presence needed for Victor Rodriguez sentencing-supporters of Edna and Bill Whiting are requested!

On March 10th Victor Rodriguez was found guilty of numerous charges but the question still remains - WHERE IS EDNA?

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PLEASE CROSSPOST!!!

Joe barked in to ask for support in court when his son’s dogs’ alleged murderer goes to trial on Monday, March 31st. If you’re in that area and can get away he, and his son’s murdered furbabies, would appreciate your presence.

Please be advised that this is a hard story to report, much less read. There are some very upsetting points in this story.

Here’s the story from Joe:

Last year, Joe’s son, whom I’ll call young Joe, was nice enough to let his friend Christopher Anzalone and his friend’s pregnant girlfriend Kristine move in with him when they faced financial difficulties. His repayment? Kristine became jealous of young Joe and Chistopher’s friendship and tried to poison young Joe by putting Visine in his iced tea. Oddly enough, this form of poison actually CAN work and young Joe became sick. Fortunately, young Joe survived but his two canine furbabies, a chihuahua and a pit bull did not.

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School defies agency order to admit service dog
BY CARL MACGOWAN

Defying a state agency’s order to comply with New York’s human rights laws, a Westbury principal yesterday refused to allow a deaf student to bring his service dog to school.

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What do you do if you’re the mayor of Randolph, Iowa and you want to cut decrease the numbers of stray cats and dogs. You take a page from history and enact a bounty of them. Why use more modern (and sensible) tactics when its so easy to do something so 18th Century?

How many ways is this wrong? Let’s start with unscrupulous adults and children kidnapping dogs and cats to make money.

Here’s the mayor’s own newsletter openly admitting his retro tactics.

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Here are the most recent updates from Bill Whiting on the Edna murder case.

Victor Rodriguez was just convicted on four misdemeanors.

DA, Heidi Grogan appeared in front of Philadelphia juvenile court Judge Docherty. A wise decision on Ms Grogan’s part led to not to pursuing the felonies, as she had a card up her sleeve. Seems, young Rodriguez also had an outstanding warrant for auto theft. He was tried this morning for car theft, and was an adjudicated juvenile delinquent just moments before entering the Edna hearing. He will be sentenced on March 31st. He remains in custody.

And here is some additional information also from Bill Whiting, Edna’s furdad.

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Do you want to know how your legislators’ voted on animal welfare issues? Check out the 2007 Humane Scorecard. I know I’m checking it before I vote in this next election.

Here’s a post from Michael Markarian’s Animals & Politics Blog about the Scorecard.

How Did Members of Congress Score on Animal Protection in 2007?

The Humane Society Legislative Fund today posted its 2007 Humane Scorecard, and you can read it here. The scorecard, which is published annually, provides the records of U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives on major animal welfare policies. This most recent report card covers the first session of the 110th Congress.

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