Saturday 24 March 2012

Brilliant Summary of Best Friends Society

I found this great summary of the work that is done by Best Friends Society, Utah. The recent edition of this magazine also has a section on Pit Bulls, with an interview with Josh Liddy, which I shall purchase as soon as possible. 

Here are a couple of snippets from the summary;

"Because Best Friends evolved from a hands-on, grassroots approach to animal welfare, our work at a national level is grounded with an understanding that the ultimate test of any big-picture decision is how it affects individual animals as well as the frontline rescuers and volunteers who drive our movement. How a policy affects a feral colony in Iowa or rescued pit bulls in Los Angeles matters every bit as much as the numbers, percentages, and trends by which we measure our progress and effectiveness."

"A fact that may surprise some is that, nationwide, cats comprise close to 70% of the animals dying in shelters and most of those are free-roaming (stray or feral) community cats. In order to achieve no-kill, we must institutionalize Trap, Neuter, Return (TNR) as the accepted management protocol for community cats at the municipal level. Frightened or fractious cats never make it to the adoption room. They have no business entering a shelter in the first place."

"Pit bulls and other bully breeds and their mixes are also at tremendous risk in our shelters and are further victimized by media hype and regressive policies in some communities.
Examples of this discrimination range from outright breed bans to shelters that refuse to even offer these dogs for adoption. Best Friends has fought against breed discriminatory legislation in 110 communities and has won victories for pit bulls in 73 of them-benefiting an estimated 63,000 dogs that won't need to look for new homes and that won't be seized by enforcement officers."

Read the full article here


Wednesday 21 March 2012

BSL Victim Pardoned

Venus, a Staffie mix, has finally been pardoned after a year long battle, and has been returned to her family in Liverpool, UK.

Venus and her sister, Athena, were seized by police, and whilst Venus was deemed type, Athena was let go.

"The dog was seized by Constable P. Casson, “dog legislation officer” of the Merseyside Police.  In the 13 minute long assessment video in which the dog is virtually terrorized by the assessor and yet remains totally docile and obedient, the assessor labels her as “friendly and quite well-behaved”."

Read more here.


Saturday 17 March 2012

Grufts Exhibition Artwork

Here are my pieces for the Grufts Exhibition at Portobello Road recently, with their accompanying texts:


"Boxers are, like many pedigrees, subject to inbreeding to retain their breed characteristics. Inbreeding heightens the chance of diseases arising, and malformation. The boxer breed has suffered an outbreak of Juvenile Kidney Disease. This distressing disease inhibits the dog’s ability to rid themselves of toxins, meaning they slowly poison themselves to death. Sufferers drink water almost constantly and become very skinny as a result. Because it is a recessive gene which causes the disease, dogs with no symptoms can still carry it and have puppies who may suffer from it. "


"The Working German Shepherd Dog and the Show German Shepherd Dog differ quite substantially in gait and stance. For some reason, within the dog show ring, a sloping back and bent hind legs has become a favoured distinction for the breed. This causes problems for the animals in terms of strains on joints and muscles, and increases the chance of early onset arthritis, and hip dysplasia. The dogs will be in discomfort in old age, with decreased mobility, and possibly a large amount of pain."


"The Cavalier King Charles Spaniel has been bred to favour a round, domed skull. Unfortunately, a side effect of this selective breeding has brought about cases of Syringomyelia. This hereditary disease is, simply put, where the brain is too big for the skull. It creates pressure on the spinal cord, which, at best, causes fidgety behaviour, and, at worst, causes an immense amount of pain, calling for swift euthanasia. Dogs carrying the disease have been able to compete and win dog shows, with the outcome that many puppies are potentially born with the disease as well."


"The pug’s popularity has rocketed in recent years,. In order to retain it’s cute flat faced appearance, inbreeding has been essential. It has been suggested that the gene pool of the pug is more greatly compromised than that of the giant panda. The flat face on a dog is highly unnatural, and their short muzzle is actually just a normal dog nose squished into a smaller space. As well as condensing the palate and teeth, this is restricting breathing and the dog is less able to cool itself and is prone to overheating. The dogs are gasping for air, trapped inside their own face. The cute curly wurly tail brings with it increased cases of curved spines and the discomfort that entails."



IF BUT ONE DOG SHOULD SUFFER AT THE HAND OF A HUMAN WHO KNOWINGLY TAKES THE RISK FOR AESTHETIC GAIN, WE HAVE FAILED AND NO LONGER DESERVE THE RIGHT TO PLAY GOD WITH THE CREATURES OF THIS EARTH.

Friday 16 March 2012

Interview with Crufts Vet

Fascinating interview direct from one of the vets chosen to examine dogs at Crufts 2012. I'm startled, relieved, anxious, but hopeful about the future of Pedigree dogs in the UK. We cannot let this slide, it is WORKING. 

"This high-profile breed scheme is a hugely important step towards reducing the problems associated with extreme conformation. Nobody ever said, "Oh good, I’ve produced a puppy which is going to suffer pain as a result of the body shape I chose!”, but it’s all too easy to overlook chronic low-level discomfort, and I think it’s undeniable that some breeds are associated with issues of this kind. Dogs that have always had exposed, irritated inner eyelids aren’t going to scream with pain or stop eating because their eyes hurt; they don’t know any differently, but surely the same dog would have a better quality of life if its eyelids fitted better to the eyeballs. It must be better to be a Pug who can chase its friends in the park than to be a Pug that struggles to walk along a path. Surely these things are not in dispute, or they shouldn’t be."

Read more here

Thursday 15 March 2012

Abused Staffie is rescued and given his sight back :)

A Staffie is rescued from a home where he was abused as a result a video tape of the owner beating him. After some surgery, he can now see again. :)

Full story here.


Monday 12 March 2012

PETA's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad History of Killing Animals

From the Atlantic 

"PETA's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad History of Killing Animals

In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) behaved in a regrettably consistent manner: it euthanized the overwhelming majority (PDF) of dogs and cats that it accepted into its shelters. Out of 760 dogs impounded, they killed 713, arranged for 19 to be adopted, and farmed out 36 to other shelters (not necessarily "no kill" ones). As for cats, they impounded 1,211, euthanized 1,198, transferred eight, and found homes for a grand total of five. PETA also took in 58 other companion animals -- including rabbits. It killed 54 of them."

Read more HERE.


Wednesday 7 March 2012

Shelter Reform for No Kill

The No Kill Advocacy Centre has released these steps for reaching a No Kill State.

"If you want to make a difference do the following:

Get informed: Read Redemption
Be thorough: Follow the step-by-step guide to reforming animal control
Be successful: Use the proven model of the No Kill Equation
Don’t settle: Demand endorsement of the U.S. No Kill declaration
Require accountability: Seek passage of the Companion Animal Protection Act"

Read more HERE.


It is very encouraging for me to find these publications and am busy reading away now!