Her mom participates in lots of groups and has been very active in the Dogster community until recently, she found out she has cancer and is about to undergo surgery and chemo.

I don’t want to go into all the details but Morgan’s mom has a lot on her plate, understandably she is scared and trying very hard to keep her spirits up.

Although she isn’t going to be on Dogster as much because of all that is happening it would mean a lot if you could stop by Morgan’s page and leave a little message, show her that we care and are thinking about her.

Let’s see how many Dogsters we can get to send her the  Power of the Paw : the gift of encouragement, hope, support and prayer.

I want to thank Wilson for barking this cute story to me.

If you live in the Macon, GA. area be on the lookout for a red haired beauty riding on the back of a candy-apple red Roketa 250.

When Johnny Ray rides his scooter down Gray Highway, he’s used to people pointing and staring.

Gizmo, his Pomeranian/cocker spaniel-mixed pooch, rides in style in her own “K-9 unit” fastened to the bike.

“She loves it. She rides good,” Ray said.

She took an interest in the scooter as soon as he drove it home last year.

“When I got back from my maiden trip, she put her little paws on the running board like, ‘Daddy, I don’t know what this thing is but I want to go with you,’ ” said Ray, 64, who retired in 1996 from doing in-house printing for the Atlanta Braves for 15 years.

Ray at first thought he could hook her up with a harness and leashes, but he decided instead on a double-decker contraption. He hinged two black milk crates together and fastened them with bungee cords.

While she’s waiting outside the restaurants, people come up and stick their fingers through the holes to pet her soft, graying fur.

“Everybody just loves her,” he said.

Gizmo might let out a couple of coughs – a symptom of congestive heart failure that could have ended her life years ago.

But she keeps hanging on.

Ray says strangers in the restaurant will ask, “‘Who’s got that motorcycle with the dog on it?’ I tell them, ‘I can call my motorcycle woman a dog, but don’t you call her a dog.’”

See a slideshow with more cute pics of Johnny Ray and Gizmo on the Macon.com website.

* Pic courtesy Jason Vorhees

A woman in Phoenix, AZ. has been fined $940 and sentenced to three years probation for her barking dogs.

Reness Maurer’s neighbors had filed a petition earlier in the year to have her prosecuted for allowing her dogs to bark non-stop over three years.

Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Certa told Maurer that she is not required to report to a probation officer, and the $940 will be reduced to $296 if the terms of her probation are completed successfully after the three years.

Other conditions of the probation included keeping Corky and Koo-Boosh, Maurer’s two dogs, inside when she leaves, and putting bark collars on the dogs if they are outside for longer than 15 minutes.

Maurer said she was disappointed about the sentencing and about her neighbors.

“I feel ostracized in my own community,” said Maurer, adding that neighborhood relations will now be “extremely awkward and uncomfortable.”

I realize how annoying incessant barking can be, it’s happened before in our neighborhood. After a while it can start to drive you a bit nutty. Maurer has two small dogs that are obviously not outside dogs, she should not be leaving them there for hours on end.  As a pet owner she needs to take responsibility for her dogs and deal with the problem.

However, the real reason I posted this wasn’t because of the barking issue but because of the penalty. The maximum sentence for violating the city’s barking-dog ordinance is six months in jail, a $2,500 fine and a misdemeanor charge.

Over the last few months I have posted numerous stories on animal abusers and time after time they  get a slap on the wrist.  If you do something that affects a person, like disturbing the peace, the penalty is actually harsher than for animal cruelty in some states. It sends a clear message that it’s alright to kill or torture an animal because it still isn’t taken seriously in our justice system.

It’s a sad statement on society when a barking dog disturbing a person takes precedence over someone killing a dog. There’s something wrong with this picture. Why is the penalty so harsh?  It is a law meant to protect people, their right to peace, not animals.  It just goes to show, once again, laws need to change if we are ever to see justice for animals.

* Windswept’s Diamond Royale CGC

I just received sad news about the Osbourne’s beloved dog Little Bit, he was attacked and killed by a coyote.

Here’s the story from Peoplepets.com.

It’s a gloomy day for the Prince of Darkness: the U.K.’s Telegraph is reporting that Ozzy Osbourne’s Pomeranian, Little Bit, was eaten by a coyote at his family’s Los Angeles home on Tuesday. The rocker and wife Sharon were apparently watching the Michael Jackson tribute on television and couldn’t hear their dog’s yelps as he was attacked in the backyard, said the report.

Daughter Kelly Osbourne took to Twitter on Wednesday and wrote that her father is “devastated…she was his other women![sic].” The attack reportedly prompted authorities in the Los Angeles area to issue a warning about coyote attacks, saying, “Wild animals are opportunistic, and coyotes fit this mold very well.”

Our condolences to the Osbourne family.

* Pic courtesy Chad Buchanan/Getty

I recently posted an article, The Eleventh Hour, to try and help raise funds for the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense. They were going to be attending an upcoming dog auction and money raised would be used to buy dogs that faced almost certain death. The auction has since taken place and thanks to some generous donors they had enough funds to buy 56 beautiful dogs.

Sharon L. Peters wrote a special article for USA Today. It’s a very moving piece on what happens at the auction, you may want to get out the tissues.

Some 250 or so dogs and puppies were, before the sale, living in a brick warehouse-like structure (which I drove to in order to make sure that others’ descriptions were accurate) a stone’s throw from the interstate. The building, essentially windowless except for in the front, where customers view puppies, is surrounded by asphalt and commercial buildings with no place for dogs to be outside. Adult dogs are kept behind doors posted with “Employees only” warnings.

In early May, PBK decided to sell many of the dogs in advance of relocating, according to the seller statement filed with the auction company.

When Last Chance and the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense heard the dogs would be sent to auction, they offered to pick them up and find them homes, says Last Chance’s Julie Sarff. “The dogs are perpetually pregnant or nursing; they live their lives in cages,” Sarff says. “We wanted something better for them.”

When PBK said no, the animal welfare groups flew into action: One contacted shelters and rescue groups, one raised funds online. In four days, animal lovers had donated $16,000. The National Mill Dog Rescue near Falcon, Colo., which has rescued more than 2,000 mill dogs, was on board to send someone to Missouri to buy as many of the dogs as funds allowed, and Denver Dumb Friends League had agreed to take the animals.

I cannot even begin to imagine how horrible a dog auction is, attending one must be a life changing experience.  There is actually an auction catalog that describes the pertinent qualities of the dogs, like they’re cattle. There were fifteen males who were described as “aggressive breeder,” this really translates into  dogs who will persist in impregnation efforts no matter how unwilling the female. It’s beyond sickening to think this type of thing goes on.

When bidding began, the National Mill Dog Rescue representative followed the agreed-on strategy. Since rescuers couldn’t afford all 202, preference was given to the older dogs “already worn out,” says Sarff, so “they could finish out their lives in a loving home living like a normal dog” rather than being “sold to a miller to produce another litter or two.”

The 56 PBK dogs purchased that day (plus some Pomeranians the auctioneer offered for $2 each because they hadn’t sold and would be killed) were driven Saturday and Sunday to Denver. The Denver Dumb Friends League’s examinations found that many had bad teeth and gums (at least one needed all teeth pulled) and most had foot lacerations and extremely long toenails from walking on wire cages. Nearly all, says Sarff, had poor muscle tone from lack of exercise, and some had infected ears and eye issues. Almost all were fairly well socialized.

I would like to say thank you to the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense and all the other rescues that were there to help. The lives of 56 dogs will now be forever changed because of their efforts and willingness to get involved. It’s because of groups like this that we have Logan, our Bernese Mountain dog who was rescued from the same situation.  Logan was terrified of everything when we got him but with lots of hard work he has become a loving, happy dog. He now wags regularly.

Somehow saying thank you doesn’t seem enough. I’m not sure how you sufficiently thank the people who step up to the plate and do this kind of work. I think for them, knowing the dogs they saved now have loving forever homes is all they need.

If you have a few dollars to help out the Rocky Mountain Animal Defense you can make a donation online. Remember, the next dog you adopt may be one they saved.

*Photo courtesy RMAD

It feels like everyday I’m posting a story on a puppy mill raid. It’s great that something is finally being done about bad breeders, but where on earth are all these dogs going to go.

People are turning in their dogs at an alarming rate already, add on top of this thousands of dogs from puppy mills being thrown into the mix.  A recipe for disaster.  In this case, more dogs put down per year than ever before.

It’s time the laws are changed to make the penalty fit the crime. Backyard breeders will never stop as long as the reward outweighs the risk. The profit outweighs the penalty. The time to change things is now, before it’s too late.

J.B’s Precious Puppies located in Seneca, MO was raided after a tip came from someone who went to purchase a dog.  The tipster was shown an unhealthy looking dog and requested to see another one, after being turned down the buyer became suspicious.

A tiger and cat were seized along with over 360 dogs found at this facility. This is not the first time the owner has been in trouble with the law.

Public information indicates that the breeder has had previous violations, the Humane Society release said. In January 2006, the U.S. Department of Agriculture levied $10,000 worth of fines against the breeder for multiple violations within the Animal Welfare Act, the news release said.

In 2007, the state seized 150 dogs from the property and sold them at a private auction. The proceeds were given to the owner. No charges were filed at that time .

It is unbelievable that this woman received the proceeds of the dogs auctioned.  As mentioned above, until the penalty outweighs the profit these people will just keep going.  The animals just rescued were living in wire cages covered in urine and feces. There was no food visible and the water they had was frozen. Obviously, this person has no regards for the animals and needs to be stopped once and for all.

The dogs will be taken to the Humane Society’s headquarters in St. Louis for triage. This rescue comes just days after the Humane Society took in 100 Yorkies from a breeding facility in Greene County.

Dogs rescued from the Seneca facility included small-breed dogs including chihuahuas, Boston terriers, miniature pinchers, Lhasa apsos, Pomeranians and Westies, according to the news release. There were also 25 to 30 large breeds including huskies, chow- chows and Shar Peis.

So far the Humane Society has been able to cope, but they are calling on all their volunteers to help out. I’m sure they could use as many volunteers as possible, if interested visit their site for more info.

* Pic courtesy Missouri Humane Society

Jane Snyder’s three Pomeranians were stolen from her car in York County, PA. She is offering a $10,000 reward for the safe return of her beloved pets.

A man called claiming he had her dogs and would hand them over in return for the reward. He wanted to meet her at the K-Mart parking lot for the exchange. She left the money where she was told but never got the dogs back.

“I wouldn’t have to go through all those emotions of thinking I was going home with them and everything be the same way and they were going to be so happy and glad to see me and stuff like that,” said Snyder. “To go through that again, that was terrible.”

 It’s horrible to think someone would play on this woman’s emotions and take advantage of her. Ms. Snyder has filed a police report on the stolen money and is still offering a reward.

* Photo courtesy WGLA-TV

I received a message about Casper, an adorable 7 month old Pomeranian, who is in desperate need of a heart operation.

He was diagnosed with Pulmonic Stenosis,  it affects the right artery so that it is barely pumping blood into his heart.  Casper is at risk of his heart enlarging on the right side; leading to cardiac arrest and possible sudden death.

The operation is very expensive so Casper’s buddies put together a raffle to raise money to help out.  Some very generous Dogster members donated great gifts for you to win.

We are holding a raffle of Gift Baskets and other prizes to raise funds for Casper.   You can purchase the tickets now and choose which prizes you want before the drawing on September 8.

PRIZES
Here is a list of donated gifts so far as prizes for the raffle. I will update this list as more donations come in.

$5.00 TICKET CATEGORY

A. $20.00 gift certificate to www.dieseldoggie.net
-Donated by Diesel (ID146642)’s Mom Sherry

B. Basket of doggie cookies
- Donated by Cosmo Enyce Politan (ID380677)’s mom Raquel. www.tiptopwebsite.com/noahsbarkwoofery

C. A Tastefully Simple gift package include items from

www.tastefullysimple.com

- Donated by Tessa (ID 121303)’s mom.

D. A butiful blanket made and donated by Dayzee (519632)
’s mom

$10.00 TICKET CATEGORY

A. $55.00 gift certificate to The New York Dog Shop
www.thenewyorkdogshop.com
-Donated by Brodie’s mom (ID690517)

B. Basket of doggie grooming supplies. Shampoo, brushes etc. valued over $50.00
-Donated by Sophie’s (ID679446) and my mom

C. A Bath & Body Works gift card value $50.00. Check out Bath & Body Works at

www.bathandbodyworks.com

- Donated by Tessa (ID 121303)’s mom.

$20.00 OR ABOVE TICKET CATEGORY

A. $200.00 gift basket of women’s fashion jewelry
-Donated by a very generous Anonymous Donor

If you’re interested in buying a raffle ticket, or making a prize donation,  stop by Have A Heart for Casper. Good luck little buddy!