Snotface & Twiggy

Dre: Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Like many of you, I've been sick over Dre being stuck in an animal shelter labeled as a "dangerous" dog when he's hurt no one. Brighton, CO does not have BSL, but obviously they still have breed discrimination. If Dre was a Golden Retriever or a Lab or a Pomeranian or just about any other breed, I have no doubt he would be home with his family right now. If you haven't signed his petition, please do so.

Dre's family has been able to visit him in the shelter where he wagged his tail, licked their hands through the cage and took some treats from them. They asked him to sit and he sat. They asked him to lay down and he laid down. And he stared at them, absorbing the love they brought him, and then had to watch them leave without him...again. All because Officer Herrara, the animal control officer on the case, has determined him a "dangerous" dog. He sits in that kennel with a Dangerous Dog Will Bite sign on his kennel. He's not even allowed of out of his kennel because they don't let dogs on court hold out. Who's bright idea is that? Being locked in a tiny area for a prolonged period of time isn't good for ANY dog. No running around, no walks, no playing, just the attention his family is able to give him through a wire fence. Dre is part of a family. He is on a special diet and allergy medication that his family brings him to the shelter. Right now he's stuck with such little interaction, he's confused. He's stressed and he's barking. Apparently barking is a sign of aggression because due to his barking and the 7 complaints the city received about him running around the neighborhood barking at people Officer Herrera is recommending that Dre be destroyed. Maybe she need to read this story about Officer Dan who rescued a "vicious" pit bull who was basically in the same scenario as Dre. He chose to believe innocence before guilt, unlike Officer Herrera, and now has a loving pit bull addition to his family.

Help Needed ASAP: Dre, Pit Bull, is a Family Dog!

I was still heart broken over Wicca & Lennox when I decided to Google "Pit Bull Rescues Colorado." Mostly I thought I would find some local rescues I could help support. That search led me to Colorado Pit Bull Rescue based in Longmont, CO. I went to their Facebook page and a post someone put there caught my eye. All I could see was "Time is so critical for our Dre. Please can someone help and..." Of course I had to click and find out what help was needed, and now I need to make everyone else aware of what is happening right in my own backyard.

The complete story:

On July 26th, two dogs got out of their home because a child got a hold of the garage door remote and accidentally pressed the button. A family member was watching the kids and didn’t realize what had happened and that the dogs were loose. The dogs, Dre and Machomotto, were running amuck through the neighborhood. Dre was barking at people and apparently some lady jumped into her car...for whatever that is worth. Several people called animal control and someone called 911 reporting "vicious" dogs running loose. Supposedly it took 5 officers to obtain Dre, thou NOT ONE person was injured, bitten or scratched. 

Imagine having 5 strangers chasing YOU. 

BSL Takes Another Life: RIP Wicca

I love dogs. All dogs. I hate Breed Specific Legislation (BSL). Hate is strong word. I don't use it lightly, but I use it in when I talk about BSL. It's some of the most ridiculous legislation that exists - and there are some doozies out there. 

During the evening of July 27th BSL took another life. You can read about Wicca's story here and how Montreal treated her and her human, Chris. There even seemed to be some hope when the shelter Wicca was being held at refused to euthanize her, but in the end Wicca wrongfully took an early trip over the rainbow bridge. My heart breaks again.

The thing is, this happens every day, all over the world. How a dog behaves is only half of the equation. Spooking a Golden Retriever so much it snips at you would probably be considered your fault because Goldens are not aggressive dogs. But, scare a bully breed dog and it's OFF WITH THEIR HEAD! One day I'll figure out how to rid the world of all the ignorant bull headed humans out there.

BSL is senseless. It's racist. It's ignorant. It's infuriating. It needs to change.

Thankful Thursday: Pets Add Life

It's possible that I am addicted to my dogs. I'm spreading the word about the Pets Add Life campaign, or PAL as it's referred to, and it got me thinking about my "addiction". The whole purpose of PAL is to talk about how amazing it is being a pet parent and how it brings great things to your life and to encourage others to be pet parents. I can get on board with that! And, according to Dr. Phil I'm definitely addicted to my dogs. His 10 signs of addiction are:

1) Recurrent failure (pattern) to resist impulses. Guilty. I'm constantly faced with impulses to give my dogs treats and love and attention, and I always give in.

2) Frequently engaging in those behaviors to a greater extent or over a longer period of time than intended. Guilty again. "Oh, don't give me that look...ok, ok...here's another treat! Yes, I love you!"

3) Persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to stop, reduce or control those behaviors. Yup. That's me. I constantly tell myself that I'm caving in to cuteness, but I always do it anyways.

4) Inordinate amount of time spent in obtaining the object of addiction and/or engaging in or recovering from the behavior. Well, I definitely go out of my way to give my dogs attention, which only makes them throw me the 'treat' eyes, which ends up with me giving them treats. However, I'm not sure I will ever recover from this action and I'm not sure I want to! 

5) Preoccupation with the behavior or preparatory activities. Since my husband tells me I like my dogs more than him due to giving them my constant attention, I believe 'preoccupation' applies to me. Hold on, Twiggy need me...be right back! :)

Wordless Wednesday #70: MY Bed!

The Pet Community Steps Up for Lucky Dog Rescue

I'm happy to report that everyone who shared Lucky Dog Rescue's story helped get the charity the prize they deserved and then some. Even though 1800Flowers spent Sunday deleting all the comments being posted to their Facebook page, there was no way for them to hold their stance under the pressure of thousands from the pet community. Today they announced that they would honor the prize and up it from 1 year of dog food to 2 years. They sent emails to those who emailed them on Sunday questioning their behavior that basically mimicked their Facebook statement posted this morning:

"At 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, we pride ourselves on offering creative and engaging contests for our customers. We apologize that there has been a misunderstanding about the prize fulfillment regarding our recent There's a New Bunny In Town. We are looking into the matter immediately and we promise to follow up with the winner to ensure the prize is fulfilled appropriately."

I believe they have learned who we are.

1800Flowers Denies Charity of Prize Winnings

Really? Really? 

Yup.

The short version of this story is that a loyal friend of Lucky Dog Rescue entered 1800Flower's There's a New Bunny in Town contest and won the grand prize including one year of dog food. However, when she asked for the prize to be sent to the rescue she entered for, things went silent. Months passed and it took Ashley, founder of Lucky Dog Rescue, calling and calling and calling to get any response from 1800Flowers. A prize like this means everything to a small 501c3 like Lucky Dog Rescue. In the end, after being transferred from person to person and being laughed at by at least one of the those people, she was told the prize was non-transferable and the woman who won rendered her winnings "null and void" by asking them to be transferred. Yes, you read that correctly. 1800Flowers stance on this is that they would only give the prize to the person who won, not a charity on her behalf.

I get that there are rules, but in this case there were no clear rules. Even the site I Love Giveaways that posted the contest lists "No clear Official Rules, Entry Frequency, Country Restriction, or Age Requirement." 1800Flowers took down the contest page shortly after giving the final say to Ashley, so I can't cite the specifics that were listed there. Even so, the rules are meant to cover the company when something goes wrong and to give guidance to those who are entering on what needs to be done in order to win. Whatever rules 1800Flowers thinks it had for this contest did not do either. Nothing went wrong. Someone won and that someone wanted to do something good for someone else. 1800Flowers response is to refuse to issue the prize.

Tragedy in Colorado...Again

Things feel a little somber around my home town today. We haven't even processed the affects of the wild fires yet when this happens.

As a Mom to a human child I cannot fathom what the friends and family of those affected by the Aurora Movie Theater shooting are going through. It hurts my stomach to even imagine what that must be like. My heart goes out to everyone affected, including the officers processing the scene and notifying the families of the lost victims. This is a day where sides don't matter, beliefs (or lack of beliefs) does not matter, none of that matters. Please take a moment today to hug your kids, your spouse, your family, your friends, your fur babies and maybe even yourself. Whatever you are doing right now can wait. Spread the love. 

Wordless Wednesday #69: Boredom

This is a blog hop!

Tougher Laws for Animal Fighting!

Over at Pet News and Views, Michele shared that "The U.S. House Agriculture Committee approved an amendment to the House Farm Bill to strengthen laws against animal fighting. The amendment, introduced by Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), makes attending an animal fight a federal offense and imposes additional penalties for bringing a child to a dog or cockfight. The McGovern amendment was approved by the Committee by a bipartisan vote of 26-19.  This amendment is similar to the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, standalone legislation with strong bipartisan support from 199 cosponsors introduced by Reps. Tom Marino (R-PA) and Betty Sutton (D-OH)."

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA)

The news is good news so I had to share it too. Check out her post for the full details, but what makes me happy about this is that someone is finally succeeding in changing animal fighting laws. I've always thought that the people who attend animals fights are criminals too, not just the people who fight the animals. And those who actually expose children to it and raise them in an environment where they begin to think it's normal or ok, well that is just sick and disgusting. We have a long way to go before I would be satisfied with the laws surrounding animal fighting, abuse and neglect, but each step makes a difference.