Someone Special's "GOTCHA DAY"

I hope she knows who she is...

First of all, some sage advice...

Stay away from these...



These are the ones your mom warned you about...



To help with your "issues"



To calm those reactive nerves...



Congratulations to Tula's mom for being soooooo smart as to pick Tula out of all the dogs in the world needing homes.

Happy Gotcha Day, Tula!!! We are so happy you got got!!!

a

National Geographics' Unlikely Animal Friends

From the National Geographic channel: "Unlikely Animal Friends," which aired on Saturday and will air again, tonight.

Kitten and crow (my favorite!)

Hippo and tortoise


Christian the lion meets his past, twice.


see more videos at:
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/unlikely-animal-friends-4317/Photos#tab-Photos/0

Dogs in Danger

Who is in danger of being euthanized in your neighborhood?

DogsInDanger.com is an award winning web site owned and operated by The Buddy Fund Inc. and was founded by two dog lovers, Alex Aliksanyan & Brenda Bush, both directors of The Buddy Fund. The website was launched in October 2007 with the goal of:
1.Getting as many of these dogs adopted into loving homes as possible, before their time runs out; and
2.Raising awareness of the number of dogs being killed in shelters.



We are a nation of dog lovers. Then why is it that the shelters that are expected to provide these animals with a second chance at life are instead being forced to euthanize them?

Shelters are the last line for millions of innocent dogs. The public has no idea of the magnitude of this national tragedy. The sad reality is that over four million dogs are killed each year in shelters. Why, in a country of dog lovers, are so many dogs homeless? Because their families abandon them, for reasons like job change, divorce and new baby… and most shelters don’t have the necessary programs to get the dogs the exposure they need to find new homes. Shelters find homes for many dogs, but millions are euthanized. For far too long we have been told there is no other way.



Another milestone was reached by DogsInDanger, as the number of kill animal shelters registered with the web site reached 500! It has taken the web site 21 months to penetrate approximatelly 25% of all kill shelters in the United States. Sadly though, many of the shelters that have at one point registered never used the site. Concerns over their public image, anger by Board members unhappy about being publicly associated with the killing of dogs etc. etc. made many shelters reconsider their participation.



In a groundbreaking move, DogsInDanger announced a revolutionary program giving money to shelters for participating in their life saving mission. The program rewards shelters by giving them $1.00 for each dog that is uploaded to the web site, regardless of whether the dog is adopted or euthanized.

Registered shelters don't have to do anything more to participate. Commencing May 1, 2008 shelters will see the amount of their earning each time they log on. The money will be distributed to the shelters annually. Oh, one more thing, there are no strings attached to the use of funds - we just know that people who care enough to go through the extra one minute it takes to upload a dog will also do the right thing with our money.



The finger of shame though is exclusivelly reserved for shelters in the Northeast, 10states where not a single shelter is using the free, life saving service DogsInDanger provides. How they look at themselves in the mirror each morning is beyond our comprehension.

It was a sad day for dogs on June 15th, 09 when DogsInDanger announced it's abandonement of a long running attempt to reform the NY animal control agency. For nearly six months The Buddy Fund had been working with two brilliant attorneys from the global firm of Kaye Schoeler LLP in devising a legal avenue by which The Buddy Fund would be able to expose some really bad stuff happening at the shelter.

On the aforementioned date a document nearly 100 pages long was delivered to DogsInDanger that basically stated "no way to bring a lawsuit against NYAC&C under current NY State laws". Apparently when it came to animal affairs in NY, only parties directly involved can bring an action. Well that left the dogs, (their speech is incomprehensible therefore they make terrible witnesses) and The City of New York (since they sign the contract with AC&C). r local politicians.ou

If a shelter in your area doesn't use the website, please encourage them to do so. there are printable letters available here, along with an application to find local politicians.

What am I doing? Being out here in dirtville, I finalyy found a way to contribute again. I am going to be adding dogs from multiple shelters to dogsindanger, petfinder and other adoption resources! It's not much, but I can't tell you how excited I am to be doing SOMETHING again.

I freely admit cut and pasting most of this information... I simply couldn't word the information any better than they did. The pictures are dogs featured on the website.

Searching different states for dogs, I have come up with a list of states that are not participating...Check by zipcode for a more local picture.
Alaska
Connecticut
Delaware
Washington, DC
Florida
Hawaii
Kansas
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Puerto Rico
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Wyoming

WOW!!! Out of 52 possible locations 33 do not use this service. A service they actually get paid to use! I am going to say it's a lack of voluteers. Running a non prifit, that depends on volunteerism, we are always on the verge of closing our doors and have, in fact, been unable to open several times due to the lack of volunteers.

To help some of the shelters get their red listed dogs posted all it takes is an an internet connection and a camera, on site....

check out shelters in your locale at:
http://www.dogsindanger.com/searchIndex.jsp

Could you hand me a towel, please?

I could easily mistake this Shar-Pei for a towel. I am thinking, too, that the first photo was probably lightened to make the puppy less discernible. Still, that's a lot of wrinkles and that's goal of the byb.













The Shar-Pei is a Chinese breed of dog that is well known for its distinctive features of deep wrinkles (towel look) and a blue black tongue. As puppies, Shar-Pei have numerous wrinkles, the majority of which should disappear once they mature. Bad breeding practices have led to a dog that has too many wrinkles and eye surgery is often necessary. There are quite a few genetic/medical issues associated with this breed.




So what do you think, does Towel Dog have a few too many wrinkles?






The breed is not one of my favorites... but I have to say if I stumbled on something as cute and ugly as this, I would be bringing it home. I can always use an extra towel....



Below, for comparison is, a litter of champion bred Shar pei pups ...plenty of those adorable wrinkles.

And the winner is....

Evie Foundation Baby Love Fund


In honor of Louie's sister, whose life was tragically cut short by hydrocephalus.

Baby Love is the inspiration for The Evie Foundation's Baby Love Fund. She was born on July 7, 2007. Her mom "Amber" was a pregnant stray picked up by animal control and brought into their facilities just a few days before giving birth. Amber was underweight and not showing. She had 9 puppies, 3 were premature and died within a week. Baby Love was the smallest of the litter left. During her first weeks of life she was not in the "puppy huddle", was rarely seen nursing, her head was facing down when standing and was by herself most of the time - away from the group. She was given bottles daily to supplement the feedings she was missing. At 4 weeks old she contracted kennel cough & ringworm. That's when she came to live with Suzanne, of the Evie Foundation Baby Love Fund.

She recovered from both and started to blossom. She felt attention and affection for the first time and loved it. She buzzed around the house, running into everything but never stopping. We soon realized she was blind. Her behavior was odd also, and her balance and walking was not normal. I started looking for answers. Hydrocephalus was my hypothesis based on the limited pieces of information I put together. A fund raising campaign began and generated the funds for an MRI which confirmed that was was hydrocephalus. Her condition was severe and only shunt surgery would improve her symptoms and quality of life.

People generously donated and she became a little celebrity. She had her surgery, recovered well and soon there was a noticeable difference in her symptoms. What an amazing time! Her mind was clearer, she was able to do more physical things and her love of life was amazing!

Her shunt quit working in May 2008. The symptoms went back to being the way they were. Again, donations helped to fund a second surgery. A few days after returning home she starting having a very violent, abnormal seizure. After doing all that could be done she was euthanized June 26, 2008.

Her legacy is this foundation, this cause!

Read more here:
http://www.pethydro.org/home.html

Our friends Louie (Baby Love's brother) and the other two Happy Heelers, Gus and Callie.

Stumpy's been busy....

making postcards


dog wishes...






dogvice...









Contest rules are here: http://betterwords.typepad.com/petpostcardproject/how-to-make-postcards-for-the-pet-postcard-project.html

Keep feeding those shelter animals! Send a postcard!

The Pet Postcard Project helps shelter animals one postcard at a time.
Nikki Moustaki of the Pet Postcard Project http://betterwords.typepad.com/petpostcardproject/ and Rachel Ray are sponsoring a contest to feed shelter dogs, too. Rachael Ray's Nutrish has pledged 1 pound of dog food for each homemade postcard received in the mail by the Pet Postcard Project! The goal is to give 3 TONS of food to both Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and Sabbath Memorial Dog Rescue -- They need 6,000 cards! we only have until the end of September, so get cracking!

It's easy! It's fun! And there are individual prizes to win, too!

Basically, all you need to do is make a home made postcard and send it to:
Pet Postcard Project
676A Ninth Ave.
#321
New York, NY 10036

There are five categories(each for cats and dogs) for the cards: Dogvice and Catvice (advice FROM dogs or cats), True Dog Confessions and True Cat Confessions; Dog Wishes and Cat Wishes; Dog Excuses and Cat Excuses, and "You know you love your dog/cat when . . ."

Contest rules are here: http://betterwords.typepad.com/petpostcardproject/how-to-make-postcards-for-the-pet-postcard-project.html

See how the postcards are helping the Sabbath Animal Shelter.



Stumpy sent this "dogfession," and is busy making more.











Here's one of our favorites:











We only have until the end of September so we need to get cracking and get creative!

To date the pet Postcard Project has received 4,211 postcards. That translates to 4,211 pounds of food to the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and Sabbath Memorial Dog Rescue!

Everyone loses, especially the animals...

Yup!! I am a little bummed... There were no winners in my contest... no one really even tried. The Happy Heelers answered one question, but not in an e-mail as directed. Khyra also kinda sorta answered a question, but again, not in the requested e-mail...

What should we do? Send the donation to one of my favorite rescues? Ask the Heelers for their favorite rescue, and send it there? Or continue the contest for another week... I am open to your suggestions. If I get a consensus of opinions, that's what we will do...

Just so you know, three of my favorite rescues and shelters get a monthly donation from me, it comes out of my retirement check before I even see it, so I don't even miss it... I budgeted this extra twenty five dollars to help somewhere else.

here's the link to the contest...
http://giantspeckledchihuahua.blogspot.com/2009/09/contest-2500-to-rescue-or-shelter-of.html#comments

Here comes the rain!!! (I hope!!!)

Right now, I would guess it to be about 8 to 10 miles northeast of here. I hope it doesn't dry up before it reaches us.

No Surprise Here...

When I first read, back in February, that, "Jon and Kate plus 8," were bringing home, not one but TWO German Shepherd puppies, I was aghast. And I was angry that there was a breeder out there, that thought this was a safe, forever home for two, high energy, working dogs.

It came as no surprise,today, when I read, that reality television personality Jon Gosselin, had sent his two German Shepherd packing, back to their breeder!!! Yup!!! Jon and Kate have discarded their family pets, Nala and Shoka. It is being said that Jon is blaming his estranged Kate for the entire situation. He is claiming that Kate refused to take care of the dogs while she spent time at their home.

It may not be the worst thing for the two German Shepherds. Earlier this summer Jon Gosselin’s comments about how the eight children treated the dogs were overheard and passed on to People Magazine. "Those kids beat them up, climb on them, pull their tails, bite at them, drag them around and everything you can imagine not to do to an animal, they've done.”

Any responsible breeder would have seen this for the train wreck that it is. I will give the breeder a little credit for taking the dogs back.

I hope the dogs aren't too scarred from their experience. Just as I hope the 8 children in this train wreck make it out whole and happy. I hope, too, the dogs don't end up with the octo-mom, next.

CONTEST!!! $25.00 to the rescue or shelter of your choice

Do you remember to click "FREE KIBBLE" daily, to help feed shelter dogs? Here's a little test. You'll have until Friday, September 18 at 5a.m. MST, to answer these question correctly, as they were answered at Freekibble.com. The winner will recieve a $25.00donation to be donated to the registered 501(c)3 non-profit rescue/shelter of their choice.



The questions may or may not be posted as they were on the Freekibble.com website. But, your answers must match the answer given by http://www.freekibble.com/default.asp (whether they are correct or not is not debatable.)

Email your answers to me at giantspeckledchihuahua@live.com

AND post here,in the comments, to let me know you are participating (I created a new email for the contest)

I will not open emails with attachments!

The shelter or rescue you choose must be a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

One entry per person/dog/blogger/creature. The first person/dog/blogger/creature to answer ALL the questions as they were answered on FreeKibble.com will win $25.00 to be donated to the registered 501(c)3 non-profit rescue/shelter of their choice.

In the event that no one can answer the questions as they were answered on Freekibble.com, the first person/dog/blogger/creature answering the most questions correctly will win the contest.

READY???? and GO!!!








1. The search and rescue (SAR) dogs that worked tirelessly to save lives after the tragedy of 9-11, were...
A. Labs
B. Retrievers
C. Shepherds
D. All of the above and MORE!
HINT!!!! Here's a link to a picture gallery of the SAR dogs involved in the 9/11 SAR effort:
http://dogsinthenews.com/issues/0109/articles/010915a.htm

2. Name the rarest dog breed in the world.

3. In what region of which country was the Australian Shepherd developed?

4. What is the name of Canada's largest Dog Show?

5. What percent of single dog owners say they wouldn't date someone who didn't like their pet?
A. 40%
B. 25%
C. 70%
D. 100%


6. Which of the following is NOT an actual breed from South America?
A. Brazilian Terrier
B. Peruvian Inca Orchid
C. Chilean Chihuahua
D. Argentine Dogo

7. A big part of socializing your dog is the process of _____?

8. What is the correct ending to this superstition: "A newborn baby licked by a dog will be ______."

9. Which dog breed originated in Louisiana, and in 1979 became the official state dog of Louisiana?

10. Dogs urinate on fire hydrants in the city because _____.

11. Our very good friend Johny Wood celebrated his 50th birthday w/family, friends & ______, his beloved Welsh Corgi.

12. Pugs are considered "brachycephalic" dogs, which means _______.

13. Who painted the now famous series of paintings titled "Dogs Playing Poker"?

14. Who's responsible for the quote: "There is only one smartest dog in the world and everyone has it"?

15. To which "group" of dog does the Bouvier des Flandres belong, and where did the breed originate?

16. Give me 3 reasons Newfoundlands (Gentle Giants) excel at water rescue.

17. Poodles were developed in Germany in the 16th and 17th century as ________.

18. What dog is the national dog of Germany AND the official state dog of Pennsylvania?

19. Dogs in the ______ "group" were bred to perform such jobs as guarding property, pulling sleds and water rescues

20. The oldest existing dog guide school in the world is ______ and first began training dogs in the year ______.

21. What city has the most dog parks (per capita) in the world?

22. Are dogs that eat poop reacting to a learned habit or a medical problem?

Email your answers to me at giantspeckledchihuahua@live.com

AND post here,in the comments, to let me know you are participating (I created a new email for the contest)

I will not open emails with attachments!

Remember, the "correct" answers are those given by free kibble.com and are not open to debate. I realize that a few of the answers maybe debatable, but the point of this is to get more people clicking to help feed shelter/rescue dogs because I will be running the contest, again, in the future.


GOOD LUCK!!!

PS I tried to make an email gadget and as is the case with just about everything I can't seem to master it. Sorry about the inconvenience.

I am LOVING this!!!

Bill Smith, CEO and founder of Main Line Animal Rescue, told ESPN Tuesday that he plans to take out an advertisement in Wednesday's Washington Post. The ad, a copy of which has been sent to ESPN, the Eagles and various national animal rights groups, reads:

"Attention Football Fans. Philadelphia is playing Washington on October 26th.

"Every time Michael Vick is tackled during the game, Main Line Animal Rescue will donate 5 bags of dog food to your local animal shelter."

"Because there are no second chances on an empty stomach."

"We feel guilty sending Michael Vick to these other cities," Smith said. "Maybe it's our way of apologizing for bringing Michael Vick on our team."

The advertisements will appear in the local newspapers of other cities the Eagles visit, Smith said. Washington was selected as the first city to launch the ad campaign before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the announcement to re-instate Vick in Week 3. "There's really nothing we can do about Michael Vick being in Philadelphia," Smith said. "But I thought this would be a good way to come up with a solution where we could help a few dogs."

Main Line Animal Rescue, a no-kill shelter near Valley Forge, Pa., takes in more than 1,000 dogs a year, according to Smith.

This is not MLAR CEO Smith's first advertising ploy. MLAR sponsored a billboard four blocks from Oprah's famed Harpo Studios in Chicago and the Great Oprah Winfrey, her producers, and internationally respected investigator Lisa Ling took note and created a very special program which aired in april of 2008. If you missed the episode it can be viewd on oprah.com at: http://www.oprah.com/dated/oprahshow/oprahshow_20080404



You can see more of MLAR's billboard campaigns here:
http://www.mainlinerescue.com/our_billboards

It's raining!!!!

Yes, it has rained out here in dirtville, a few times. We are in our monsoon season. Monsoons have more to do with wind direction (they blow in every direction) as opposed to precipitation. Sometimes a monsoon is a big, nasty dust storm.

However, we have had some rain and some glorious thunder and lightning.

The last two times, after the REAL (you know, drops of water) it rained ant-like critters. And for some reason, they swarm over my deck making it no fun to sit out and enjoy the cool, clean, morning air.




I really resent these critters, not only do they make it impossible to enjoy my deck but it seems they "hook-up" mid air and fall to the deck doing the dirty. Millions of them. An ant orgy on my deck??? Who needs that?





The joys of living in dirtville!

huh?????? Post-Rapture Pet Care????

OK, now I am all in favor of having plan B and covering all my bases, but I think I am drawing the line somewhere before this... besides which, I am sure many dogs will be going to heaven before a lot of people walking this earth... Anybody want to buy some ocean view property here in Dirtville????


Eternal Earth-Bound Pets
http://eternal-earthbound-pets.com/

You've committed your life to Jesus. You know you're saved. But when the Rapture comes what's to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each
Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you've received your reward. Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus.

We are currently active in 20 states and growing. Our representatives have been screened to ensure that they are atheists, animal lovers, are moral / ethical with no criminal background, have the ability and desire to rescue your pet and the means to retrieve them and ensure their care for your pet's natural life.

We currently cover the following states:
Maine,New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana ... and growing.

Our service is plain and simple; our fee structure is reasonable.
For $110.00 we will guarantee that should the Rapture occur within ten (10) years of receipt of payment, one pet per residence will be saved. Each additional pet at your residence will be saved for an additional $15.00 fee. A small price to pay for your peace of mind and the health and safety of your four legged friends.

Unfortunately at this time we are not equipped to accommodate all species and must limit our services to dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, and small caged mammals.

Thank you for your interest in Eternal Earth-Bound Pets. We hope we can help provide you with peace of mind.

In an interview, the scammers, I mean business owners claim to already have more than one and less than 175 clients. You can read more, here:
http://www.mainstreet.com/article/lifestyle/all-dogs-dont-go-heaven-post-rapture-pet-care?page=1