In Santa Cruz, CA the restaurants are going to the dogs.  Three months ago Whitney Wilde came up with  Woofers and Walkers, she wanted to organize a group of dog lovers to go for weekly walks ending in lunch at a local restaurant where they could sit and socialize. I’m liking the sound of this already.

“I’ve wanted to do this for five years now,” Wilde said. “As 41 percent of Santa Cruz County, I wanted to get dog owners together and put a public face on responsible dog ownership. Dog owners can be a real force in town.”

So far six restaurants have opted in, all have outdoor patio dining where dogs are now allowed.  The only rules, dogs must be leashed and cleaned up after. Many of the group members have dogs that are rescues, this is a great way to help socialize them.

Nelli, a mixed breed terrier, along with the majority of the dogs in the group, were rescue dogs the owners saved from being killed, or in Daphne Morrissey’s case, from the life of a greyhound race dog.

“She didn’t know how to be a dog,” Morrissey said, describing her dog, Bean, when she first got her. “She didn’t know what stairs were or what a mirror was or how to play.”

After training and joining social groups such as Woofers and Walkers, Bean has grown more comfortable around other dogs and animals.

“This is to show how thankful we are to have these rescue dogs, and yet we are all rescued because of them,” Wilde said during a special remembrance ceremony for Tilly, a terrier owned by Jeanne Allen of Santa Cruz that had to be put down last week after battling illnesses.

“Not only is someone like Jeanne a person who has rescued dogs from being killed, but she is a great person,” Tess Cain said. “This group goes way beyond dog walking. This group has bonded us together and our dogs have been playmates ever since.”

We have a lot of dog walking groups in the Atlanta, GA area but none that end with lunch.  This is such a great way to show those who don’t own dogs that dog owners are a responsible group.

If you live in the Santa Cruz area you can join Woofers and Walkers every Sunday for a different adventure.

*(Picture courtesy Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

In North Wales, UK two officers living together are facing possible jail time for cruelty against their pet dogs.

A neighbor who had noticed some disturbing behavior called the RSPCA, when they came out to evaluate the situation they found no evidence of abuse.

Now comes the award for good neighbor (to dogs) of the year, she took it upon herself to set up a camera to get the abuse on film.

Prosecuting, Glenn Murphy said: “To her credit this lady purchased a camera and she took many hours of video footage.”

A DVD, about 15-20 minutes in length, was played to the court.

In one scene Mason was filmed hitting the pup’s head and kicking her.

Later the dog was seen pulling washing from a line before Macleod emerged from the house and chased it to a corner of the yard. Out of shot of the camera the dog could then be heard yelping.

Officers Anja Mason, 29 and Craig Macleod, 34 now face losing their jobs.  Both have been removed from frontline duty pending the outcome of the case.  Thanks to the caring neighbor these two will hopefully get what they deserve.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

Here’s a fun trivia quiz to win 10 zealies.  It’s not hard, just requires a little digging.  The first one with the right answers wins.  Here goes…

What was the first group started?

What is the last group started?

Which group has the most members?

Which group has the least members?

Times a wasting, go dig up some answers.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

I recently covered a story, Mayor’s Dogs Killed In House Raid, where Mayor Calvo’s house got raided and his beloved black labs were shot. Not only were his dogs innocent but so was the mayor, the raid turned out to be a horrible mistake. Many dogster readers left comments about alternative ways for the police to handle dogs, during a raid or any police situation, and today I came across an article on just that.

In Omaha, NE the Humane Society is working with the police department to help keep its officers safe around dangerous dogs. New police recruits will be taught how to handle dangerous dogs, to keep both officers and dogs safe.

OPD Officer Rich Kyler was attacked by a pit bull while responding to a car accident near 19th and Lothrop streets on June 13.

“These two fingers were completely in the dog’s mouth,” he said, demonstrating. “A large pit bull came out from under a tree and before I could do anything, it jumped and grabbed hold of my hand.”

Kyler broke free, but the pit bull charged him again. He drew his pistol and shot it.

“The last thing you want to do is shoot an animal, but the dog attacked me,” he said.

 That incident was just one of many which led the OPD to come up with a solution to help officers deal with these kinds of dangerous situations. Currently the program is only given to new police recruits, administrators said, but hopefully will expand to include all officers.

The Nebraska Humane Society has already provided aggressive dog training and equipment to Omaha’s emergency response unit.

“We provided a catch pole for the ERU to use and they’ve successfully used it,” said Mark Langan of the Omaha Police Department.

I realize this is just a start, but at least it’s a first step.  I hope this program expands to cover all police departments across the country  and will include all officers, not just new recruits.  An ounce of prevention may be the cure to stop what happened to Mayor Calvo’s beautiful black labs from happening again.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

In the following story you’ll see the importance of making sure your dog is always licensed.

OGDEN, Utah — A police dog that was left in a pickup with the engine running apparently knocked the vehicle into gear and ran down a woman who was walking to her mailbox.

Driving without a license, never a good idea. I do hope the woman will make a full recovery.

The dog, a German shepherd named Ranger, had been left in the truck while its handler responded to a domestic disturbance call Tuesday, police Lt. Loring Draper said. The truck’s engine was on so Ranger would have air conditioning.

Good for Lt. Draper,  he must have read the article Dog Days of Summer: Saftey Tips , and the importance of not leaving your dog in a hot car. Apparently he didn’t read the part about German Shepherd’s instinct for driving, particularly when they have “Autobahn on the mind”.

Draper said police were trying to determine if there might have been some malfunction that would have allowed the gear shift to be moved easily.

That’s interesting,  when my wife had an accident she also mentioned something about a “malfunction”.  I’m more inclined to think that it was user error.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

Now, I’ve think I’ve heard everything.  It always amazes me that there is more concern for criminals than the victims,  human or canine.

UNITED KINGDOM – Police dog handlers have been told to consider whether criminals could be frightened of dogs before using them in raids or searches.

They should also think carefully about the possibility of suspects being allergic to dog hair, according to draft guidelines drawn up by senior officers.

Lately there have been a rash of stories involving police dogs that have been abused,  but unbelievably, here is a proposal  that worries about the rights of the criminal.

The proposals follow fears that suspects with medical conditions affected by dogs could sue forces which authorise the animals’ use during arrests or raids.

Perhaps, if you’re not doing anything illegal you won’t have a police K9 trying to nip you in the behind.

‘The traditional shout of “stand still or I will set the dog on you” will presumably now have to become “excuse me, my police dog is quite hairy and might cause alarm as he sinks his fangs into your right thigh – is that all right with you?”

If only  lawmakers would focus on  creating laws that impose stricter penalties on animal abusers, what a better  world  it would be.

A serving dog handler, who asked not to be named, declared: ‘I have never heard anything so ridiculous. What’s next? Sparing people custody because they have a fear of enclosed spaces?

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere: