Pit bull's barking alerts sleeping teen to house fire

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=40722
Fort Myers, Florida - A recently adopted pit bull whose barking alerted a sleeping 17-year-old may have saved her from a house fire.

Chato had just been brought to the home a couple weeks ago after he wondered onto a construction site in Lehigh. By the time firefighters arrived at the house, Jerrica Seals, who had been sleeping, was safely outside. Firefighers are calling the dog a hero.

A deputy fire chief says the blaze appears to have been caused by a bad extension cord on a window air conditioner.

(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Golden agers welcome a pit bull with a heart of gold

Minneapolis/St Paul

http://www.startribune.com/785/story/709099.html

Golden agers welcome a pit bull with a heart of gold
Joe Kimball, Star Tribune
September 28, 2006 11:07 PM

Ruby was a big hit at a Bayport nursing home Tuesday morning, nuzzling and licking faces, doing a few tricks and climbing onto laps. The folks all said they'd never seen a calmer, gentler or more patient dog -- which might come as a surprise to some, because Ruby is a pit bull.

Owner Pat Bettendorf of Scandia said Ruby is a certified therapy dog rescued from abuse three years ago. She has a heart of gold, said Bettendorf, who's very supportive of her breed.

"Pit bulls have been maligned because they're misused by bad people," he said. "In the early 20th century they were considered the top family dog, good with kids."

Residents at the Croixdale home in Bayport enjoy Ruby's visits, said activities director Mary Jo Ducklow. "Petting a dog has a real calming effect," she said. "The residents smile and relax with Ruby in the room."

What a WONDERFUL PROGRAM!!!

http://www.animalprotectionsociety.org/programs/spayneuter.shtml

If you live in Orange , Wake, or Durham counties and are on a fixed income, you may qualify for the $20 Fix. This program is sponsored by AnimalKind at www.animalkind.org. Once you have been approved for the program, you can schedule your pet’s surgery at the Nicks Road Veterinary Clinic.

APS is concerned about the high number of pitbulls being abused in our community and with the large numbers of these dogs entering and being euthanized in our local shelters. We work to reduce these numbers by offering $30 spay/neuter surgeries for pitbulls. Contact Nicole Carper at the APS Adoption Center (919-304-2300) for more information about this program.

APS is also concerned about the large numbers of feral cats being euthanized in our shelters and works with various humane organizations to reduce these numbers. These organizations humanely trap feral cats from colonies and bring them to the Nicks Road Veterinary Clinic for sterilization. The clinic charges $30 per cat and the humane organization then releases the cats back into their colonies and continues to care for them as they live out their lives. Please contact the Nicks Road Veterinary Clinic for more information about this program.

Programs try to curb pit bull numbers

Programs try to curb pit bull numbers
By CINDY SWIRKO
Sun staff writer September 24. 2006 6:01AM
Ray Sim calls pit bulls "the national dog of Alachua County" for good reason - lots and lots of them live here.

But as director of Alachua County Animal Services, Sim knows that yes, they are popular, but they are also difficult to find homes for. They take up kennel space at the shelter and drive up costs.

Veterinarian Debbie Cottrell of West End Animal Hospital in Jonesville realized the same thing and came up with an idea to cut the pit bull population - Operation Pitnip. She began offering free spaying and neutering to any pit bull or pit mix - a service that typically costs about $150 at her clinic. Her efforts have been rewarded with $20,000 in grants to keep the program going.
"Now we can start pushing more and try to reach these people who don't understand or are unaware that they are contributing to the problem," Cottrell said. "At least two or three times a day people come in with pit bulls and when I start to talk about spaying or neutering, they say, 'Oh no, we're going to breed her because she's special and all my friends want a puppy.' They are completely unaware that that is the problem. Nationwide, close to 40 percent of all dogs euthanized at shelters are pit bulls."

No More Homeless Pets of Alachua County - a coalition of veterinarians and animal advocates - donated $5,000 to Cottrell to pay for surgeries for 100 dogs living in low-income families. No More Homeless Pets several years ago landed a multiyear grant from the nonprofit Maddie's Fund to try to end euthanasia of healthy cats and dogs at the county shelter.

Meanwhile, another $15,000 was awarded to Cottrell from Florida Animal Friend - the organization that administers money raised through the sale of spay/neuter license plates.
University of Florida veterinary professor Julie Levy, president of the coalition and board member of Florida Animal Friend, said the grants are well-deserved and should help reduce the population of unwanted pit bulls.

"(Cottrell) was very farsighted and saw that we need to nip the problem at its source, which is reproduction, rather than trying to deal with this huge number of animals after the fact," Levy said. "They are trying to save adoptable animals at the (county) shelter and there are so many pit bulls. Even though they are technically adoptable, nobody wants to adopt them. It's a burden on the shelter, it's a burden on the community, it's a burden on the Maddie's project to try to find homes for all of these dogs that nobody wants."

Pit bulls are either reviled or adored. They are a breed so associated with dog fighting and maulings that many communities nationwide ban them. Florida now prohibits such breed-specific laws, but an ordinance that was already in place in Miami-Dade County was grandfathered in.

Yet others say that with proper training pit bulls are loyal, family-friendly pets with a clownish, loving personality.

Sim said some county shelters in Florida will not put pit bulls up for adoption, euthanizing them instead. Alachua County evaluates pit bulls to determine if they can make a good pet in the right hands and tries to find homes for them.

"They are hard to adopt and I think a lot of that is the stereotype of a pit bull. They are a powerful dog. Are they always a bad dog? Definitely not," Sim said.

Jerri Sullivan said her six pit bulls are wonderful dogs. She had all six sterilized by Operation Pitnip, giving the program a $250 donation for its efforts.

Sullivan said she found a pit bull in her yard when she moved into a rural High Springs home. Despite her prevention efforts, it bred with another dog. Eventually one of the puppies had a litter. Sullivan was able to give most of the puppies away, but got some of them back because the owners couldn't take proper care of them. Operation Pitnip was a godsend for her.

"It was great to get it done, and I donated because there might be another family that can't afford it, as well. It was a whole lot cheaper than the regular veterinarian," Sullivan said. "It would be taking me another year to get all of the dogs done if Dr. Cottrell didn't have this. It's very expensive."

Spay/Neuter services in Alachua County, Florida: Operation Pitnip at Westend Animal Hospital (pit bulls and pit bull mixes): 472-7626

Maddie's Spay/Neuter project at Micanopy Animal Hospital (any pets in Medicaid families): 466-0067

Operation Catnip (stray and feral cats): 380-0940

Alachua County Humane Society (NMHP free red vouchers for low-income non-Medicaid pets): 373-5855 x 13

Jean Donaldson of the SFSPCA Slams Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer...

 

http://www.sfspca.org/Viewpoint/index.shtml 

 

A Pit Bull-Related Shoplifting News Story!

 

 

http://cbs2.com/local/local_story_269001858.html

Health of puppies may scuttle pit bull auction

I am very glad this auction won't take place. These dogs need to be spayed/neutered and in companion homes if possible, not returned to where they can contribute to the sad situation regarding this breed. Babesia is contagious and transmitted through breeding, dogs with babesia should not be bred.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/4185592.html
Sept. 13, 2006, 11:31PM
Health of puppies may scuttle pit bull auction
5 of the seized animals have died and most of the remaining 27 have virus or parasite
By CINDY HORSWELL
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

An unusual auction of pit bull puppies, confiscated from what authorities
believe was a nationwide breeding operation for dogfighting, may never be
held. A majority of the pups are sick and five have died. Animal rights advocates and the Houston Humane Society had feared the pups, from a valuable fighting dog bloodline, would fall into the wrong hands and be used to perpetuate the illegal blood sport. It would have been the first dog auction involving an animal cruelty case the Humane Society can ever recall in the Houston area. Such auctions are normally held only for livestock, authorities said. Hundreds of dogs seized. But now 27 puppies, the last remnant of 285 dogs seized from a 23-acre spread in Liberty County on Aug. 2, may not be suitable for the auction block.

The other 258 dogs were euthanized after experts determined they could not be rehabilitated as pets. However, the puppy auction has not been scheduled because the Humane Society recently discovered a majority of the pups are sick from Parvo (a deadly virus) or Babesia (a blood parasite) they had contracted prior to the seizure. At the same time, investigators have disclosed that possibly seven of the most valuable dogs from the breeder's stock, estimated to be worth about $1 million, may have been transported out of state before the seizure. We had pictures and videos that had showed all the breeder's pens and carriers were full. But when we returned with a seizure order, a couple of pens were empty and some carriers were missing," said Liberty County Sheriff Sgt. Kenny Dagle. He said it took a couple of days to arrange for an animal cruelty investigator to come to the scene and then secure the seizure order, as authorities had gone to the site initially to investigate a fatal home invasion.

The breeder, Thomas F. Weigner Jr., 27, bled to death after being shot in the leg by three masked intruders. His wife, Julie Laban, their three children and her parents witnessed the shooting while bound with tape. Dagle said the intruders are believed to have been searching for $100,000 cash that Weigner recently won at a dogfight in Brazoria County. The intruders did not harm the other family members and missed a couple of thousand dollars in cash because "they weren't expecting it to be in plain sight on a closet shelf," Dagle said. Investigators also discovered a pound of marijuana at the house. "Neither Weigner nor his wife had a job, other than the dogs. But they had paid $215,000 in cash for their home and property and were making payments on three nice new cars," he said. Worldwide business Investigators are tracking down many leads on the homicide as data taken from the house showed the breeder was doing business "all over the world," Dagle said.

Laban went to Michigan to bury her husband and has not returned. She could not be reached for comment. Her attorney, Dick Wheelan of Houston, said his client was unable to post
the $30,000 bond necessary to have an independent examination of the dogs
that were confiscated. "We don't know the condition of these puppies," he said. "We also don't agree with the sweeping generalizations made that these dogs are aggressive." Wheelan's client has denied that the pit bulls were ever being raised to fight, and has argued the animals should be returned to herz. But Liberty County Justice of the Peace Phil Fitzgerald ruled the dogs should be seized because of abuse. Mark Beausoleil, assistant Liberty County attorney, introduced evidence that showed the dogs were possibly being bred to fight. He pointed to heavy chains hanging for a treadmill and a large tank, in which a dog would be
placed to swim and could not escape, that were used for endurance training. Parvo is a highly contagious intestinal virus, and none of the puppies had been properly vaccinated against it. "This illness can be 50 to 75 percent fatal even with excellent medical care," said Dr. David Shell, a Humane Society director and veterinarian. The blood parasite, on the other hand, is a chronic illness that can be difficult to treat and require blood transfusions, Shell said. cindy.horswell@chron.com

LETTER/ Justice For Puppy Baked Alive In Oven in Georgia

9/10/06 - Justice For Puppy Baked Alive In Oven

KINSHIP CIRCLE ACTION CAMPAIGN
http://www.KinshipCircle.org
SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Brothers Charged With Torturing, Killing Puppy http://www.wsbtv.com/news/9796419/detail.html
Police: Teens Bake Puppy in Oven
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=84347
DA Office Contact Information From:
http://www.atlantada.org/contactus/index.htm
PETITION: Seeking Felony Indictment for Puppy's Torturous Death http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/564805100
Animal abuse cases are TIME-SENSITIVE--depending upon the nature of a crime as well as court dates. To check the status of a case, search the Animal Abuse Crime Database for updates. Many animal cruelty cases (but not all) are on file here:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/database/
Also check National Court Watch about upcoming cases:
http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/courtwatch.php

=====================================================
SAMPLE LETTER Feel free to use portions of our letter, but please add some original thoughts. Hundreds of identical letters may lessen the impact. =====================================================
Paul Howard Jr., DA,
Fulton County District Attorney Fulton County District Attorneys Office
136 Pryor Street, SW, Third Floor
Atlanta, GA 30303
ph: 404-730-4981;
fax: 404-730-4785
email: nicole.vaughn@co.fulton.ga.us

The Honorable Sonny Perdue,
Governor State of Georgia,
State Capitol Atlanta, Georgia 30334
ph: 404-656-1776; fax: 404-657-7332 web email: http://www.gov.state.ga.us/contact_dom.shtml

Dear District Attorney Howard and Governor Perdue,

I am very troubled by the case of Justin, 17, and Joshua Moulder, 18, the Atlanta brothers charged with burglary, criminal damage to property and felony aggravated cruelty to animals.

Last month, the teens vandalized a newly renovated recreation center at an apartment complex. They brought a five-month-old puppy along. They doused the dog in paint, hog-tied his feet, duct taped his mouth, and attempted to burn him alive. When flames didn't kill the still alert puppy, they baked him to death inside an oven. The brothers even boasted about their act of violence to peers.

Brutality without remorse rarely occurs in isolated pieces. More often, teenage "pranks" that victimize animals form a pattern of aggression. I commend the Fulton County District Attorneys Office for recognizing the gravity of this case. I urge uncompromising prosecution, with the maximum five-year prison sentence and $15,000 fine allowed under present Cruelty Statues of Georgia (16-12-4. Cruelty to animals).

Please stipulate psychiatric evaluation, and mandatory counseling for these troubled youths. They should also be barred from owning or harboring animals in any context.

I fully support Mr. Howard's call for even tougher felony penalties for offenders who "knowingly and maliciously cause death or physical harm to an animal by rendering a part of such animal's body useless, or by seriously disfiguring such animal."

Inez Marshal, community association president at the Englewood Manor Apartments, claims she'll never forget the mutilated puppy she found in the oven.

Indeed, this haunting imprint ought to serve as a red flag. Randall Lockwood, Ph.D., a frequent consultant to cruelty investigators, law enforcers, court officials and mental health professionals, assesses an offender's distinct style of animal abuse. Among qualities outlined in his "Factors in the Assessment of Dangerousness in Perpetrators of Animal Cruelty," Lockwood cites violence against non-threatening creatures as a precursor to assaulting vulnerable victims such as children, the elderly or disabled. Few creatures are more helpless than a puppy. It is the intensity of this crime that demands your attention. In particular, young males with a history of parental neglect/abuse may vent feelings of powerlessness upon innocent animals.

Columbine High School shooter Eric Harris, 18, smashed the heads of mice and set them on fire.

Washington D.C. serial killer Lee Boyd Malvo killed stray cats with a slingshot.
Kip Kinkle blew up a cow and burned a live cat before he shot 25 classmates and murdered his parents in Oregon.

Andrew Golden and Mitchell Johnson, both 13, brutalized dogs before killing five people in an Arkansas school rampage.

Luke Woodham, 16, mortally stabbed his mother and shot nine students. He later confessed to pouring lighter fluid down his dog Sparkle’s throat and setting fire to her neck.

Please do not let Justin and Joshua Moulder hurt another living being.

Good Bully Article

   

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_pitbull

Dog Whisperer?

Is he really?  Read it for yourself.  I am supportive of people being in control of their pets but through positive reward based methods and non confrontational methods.  Dogs are individuals with unique training needs that vary with each dog.

 

http://www.linder.com/archives/category/the-dog-whisperer/

Information regarding the current lawsuit against Mr. Milan regarding abuse at his facility

 

http://www.seattledogs.com/seattledogsdiscussion.htm

Discussion from a well known Seattle dog trainer

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/31/opinion/31derr.html?ex=1157688000&en=7829de861ec87e60&ei=5070&emc=eta1

 

http://www.dogwhispererdvd.com/faq-national_geographic_dog_whisperer.html

The Original Dog Whisperer, speaks out