Happy Columbus Day, Dogsters! The winner for last week’s contest was one of those no-contest scenarios. Throw in a really bad pun that works with the photo and you’re almost guaranteed victory. Congrats to Peanutty for the best in the bunch.

Another one is on its way tomorrow. Stay tuned…

Shih Tzu's Happen

Photograph© 2009 MarkRogersPhotography.com all rights reserved.

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There’s not many things cuter in this world than a Shih Tzu puppy…except maybe two Shih Tzu puppies. Have at it, Dogsters, tell me what you think this pair has on their mind. Submit your entries by commenting on this post. The winner–announced next Monday, October 12th–gets world fame and 50 Zealies.

A pair of Shih Tzus

Photograph© 2009 MarkRogersPhotography.com all rights reserved.

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Yesterday I received a heartbreaking letter from Bobbie, she had given her pup Nikko a Windee chewie and the dog choked to death. I am not familiar with these treats but we had a scary experience with Copper years ago when she was chewing a rawhide.

I was away on business and Lisa had given her one of the chewies with the knots on the end. Copper had eaten them before with no issues, the girl can chew. This time she almost choked to death when one of the knots separated and got stuck in her throat. Lisa thought she was going to watch her die, it was horrible. Eventually she was able to grab hold of a piece and pull it from her throat, we were very lucky, she never would have made it to the emergency vet.

We have never bought those types of chewies again. I have heard horror stories about many different types of rawhides/chewies, and while some pups have no issues it is always good to be aware of what can happen. Here’s Bobbie’s story…

On Saturday night, (8/16/09) my 6 year old Shih Tzu, Nikko, was eating a dog chewie named Windee (a/k/a Moo tubes & Beef Trachea). He began choking and I tried but could not get the Windee chew from him. I thought the choking stopped before I went to bed but the next day I woke up and Nikko was dead. The necropsy performed that morning revealed approximately 2 inches of the chew lodged in the trachea leading to death by asphyxiation.

The 6″ Windee chew is manufactured by Jones Natural Chews Company (the label says Jones Gourmet Chews Company) located in Rockford Illinois.  The chew is advertised as \”good chewing for all size dogs\”. There are absolutely no warnings that choking can occur and cause death OR the Windee can lodge in the trachea and thus cause death by asphyxiation. Read the rest of this entry »

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In Mashpee, MA. a new kind of witch hunt has begun, not for humans, but for pit bull and pit bull mix puppies. Under the guise of a new bylaw claiming to protect children the owner (or keepers) of any “pit bull type dog” who has a litter must bring them to the town kennel for destruction. The bylaw claims certain breeds have “a strong instinct for dominance” and a prey drive that results in “aggressive pursuit of . . . human children.”

I find this disturbing on so many levels, I hardly know where to begin.  When your power of choice is taken away and someone else steps in to make your decisions you no longer live in a free country. This isn’t about protecting you from a dangerous breed,  it’s about the government coming in and telling you what it deems a dangerous breed and therefore making it so.

Are we not capable of making our own decisions anymore?

Here’s a comment from Best Friends Animal Society, eloquently summing up all that is wrong with the proposed bylaw.

Best Friends Animal Society feels compelled to emphasize that the aim of this bylaw is to hunt down all dogs that have the appearance of a certain breed of dog and destroy any offspring.

This bylaw is a representation of misinformed policy-makers and public making panic-induced decisions without consideration of civil liberties and reason. It takes on a school of thought similar to the witch hunts that took place in Massachusetts over three hundred years ago whereby paranoia and panic is taking over logic and reason.

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After years of being used for breeding, 200 dogs are finally getting their chance at life. Thanks to a coordinated effort between Utah based Best Friends Animal Society and the National Mill Dog Rescue, located in Colorado.

More than 200 dogs that were rescued from certain death at puppy mills in the Midwest arrived Monday at North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington.

The dogs, purebreds that had been used for mass breeding of puppies, which are then sold to pet stores, had reached the end of their natural breeding lives and were about to be euthanized, rescue groups said.

Monday, an air-conditioned truck carrying dozens of cages pulled into the parking lot at North Shore Animal League America, where volunteers opened the cages and carried the dogs into the treatment building.

The dogs, including everything from shih tzus to Labradors, had suffered from neglect while at the puppy mills, rescue workers said. Most had matted fur and rotted teeth. Some had nails that had grown more than an inch long, and most had spent their entire lives in wire cages.

The dogs will be treated for medical conditions, spayed or neutered, and groomed at North Shore and several other area shelters before becoming available for adoption. The league plans to charge a $200 adoption fee for each dog.

I hope all the dogs are adopted and get a chance to live the life they were meant to live. Our boy Logan was in the same situation as the dogs above, a stud dog at a puppy mill who was used and abused. He may not have many teeth, and the ones he does aren’t pretty, but he’s the most beautiful Bernese Mountain dog in the world to us.

If you’re interested in one of the rescued dogs you can sign up for the North Shore’s e-mail alerts to be notified when they are available for adoption.

* Photo of pup courtesy North Shore Animal League

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Really, it doesn’t get much crappier than this.  Jason LaMunyon of Salt Lake City, UT picks up dog poop for a living.

Realizing that the pet industry was growing and tired of being on the road working in sales he decided to start his own business, Fido’s Poo Crew.

“It’s extremely busy,” he says. “It’s a lot of work. Let’s put it this way: It’s really picking up.”

LaMunyon picked up his first dookie about a year ago, shortly after adopting a Labrador from a friend. At the time he owned an independent sales agency and estimates he spent about 140 days a year on the road – often with his dog riding shot gun. And at every hotel they stayed, they found the same thing: a stinky brown mess all over the designated pet areas. The poo – and an article from a business magazine that showed how fast the pet industry was growing got LaMunyon thinking.

“So I decided I was going to start my own bus and be home every day,” he says. And thus one crappy job was exchanged for another.

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A puppy mill in Mt. Vernon, Washington has had hundreds of dogs removed in a two part raid.

Nearly 200 dogs were confiscated from two separate kennels south of Mount Vernon after authorities served search warrants for animal cruelty and neglect, Chief Criminal Deputy Will Reichardt of the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office said.

The dogs were mostly Chihuahuas, Shih Tzus, poodles and Yorkshire terriers.

There was also a room that was housing about 20 female dogs that were nursing litters of pups.

About 25 volunteers removed about 150 dogs Wednesday that were evaluated to be in need of better care.

Those dogs were taken to a temporary shelter at the Skagit County Fairgrounds in Mount Vernon or to the homes of volunteers.

Another 40 dogs that were living in small crates, many of which were contaminated with their own feces and urine, were seized from another location on West Big Lake Road, Reichardt said.

The dogs were mostly Australian Shepherds. They are being housed temporarily in private residences of local volunteers until other accommodations can be made.

This is a huge operation, a second raid on the property seized over 300 more dogs.

The animals had been left behind during an earlier seizure at a home in the 16000 block of Mountain View Road.

Two of the 135 dogs seized in the original warrant have tested positive for a potentially deadly intestinal disorder called coccidia, and three more dogs seized Friday are suspected of being infected with it.

The dogs are being moved to the Skagit Valley Fairgrounds for treatment. Then they will be moved to shelters and foster homes.

Animal control officers are asking that anyone who has purchased a dog from the Mountain View kennel belonging to Richard and Marjorie Sundberg to call the Skagit County Sheriff’s Office as this information may be important to their investigation. Call Animal Control officer JoHannah Deterding at 360-336-9450 or e-mail Officer Deterding at johannad@co.skagit.wa.us

The group Saving Pets One at a Time is helping the dogs. People interested in volunteering or donating can find out how at the group’s site.

Also, the Chuckanut Valley Veterinary Clinic is helping the rescued dogs. They can be reached at phone: 360-757-3722 or e-mail:  info@chuckanutvet.com.

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In Vineland, NJ  Mike Snyder is dealing with his wife’s illness. Taking care of her and their two dogs was becoming an overwhelming task, the couple made a very hard decision to give the dogs up. 

City residents Mike and Miriam Snyder  brought Gabby and Marty — brother-and-sister Shih Tzus her brother gave the family as pups two years ago — to a shelter Aug. 1. It was a decision they hated to make then and regret more now.

Early last week the family’s situation changed when one of their sons quit his job in New York to move home and help care for his mother. Now that Mike Snyder was going to have some help he would be able to take care of the dogs again. The couple immediately went back to the SPCA to retrieve Gabby and Marty.

One dog, Marty, was gone. He had been assigned a new owner a day after being dropped off.

The family says they were told they had seven days before that would happen under SPCA rules. But the organization only holds stray dogs for seven days.

Gabby still was at the shelter, though, and the Snyder’s filled out adoption papers to reclaim her. Mike Snyder said he was told to come back Friday after the dog had been spayed. When he did return, he was told the animal had already been adopted out.

 The Snyder’s were devastated that Gabby had already been adopted.  The shelter’s Executive Director, Bev Greco, stated “An adoption application was received Aug. 5, a day before the Snyder’s came to ask for their dog. The rule is “first come, first serve” when there are two application.”

Executive Director Bev Greco went on to say that the shelter tried to call the family about the situation, but a phone number they left was not working.

Mike Snyder says he was not told about the competing application. He also says both phones the family uses are working.

Greco said she would not contact the people who adopted Marty and Gabby. “They’ve both got very good homes,” she said.

However, on Wednesday,the family got a lead on the possible placement of Gabby.  A phone call was generated from an ad the Snyder’s had placed in a local newspaper.

Mike Snyder stated “A caller identified herself as having driven a woman who adopted Gabby to the SPCA. She promised to contact the woman about giving back the dog.”

So far the Snyder’s have received no word back.

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