DogTales

Read a bit about where he stands and how he’s voted on animal-related issues. While I appreciate his anti-war stance and am impressed by his campaign’s guerrilla marketing tactics, his record with animals is deplorable.

All I’m sayin’ is know where your candidate stands on *all* issues before you vote.

Mike Markarian, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund and author of the Animals & Politics blog, is doing a series of posts about where the major presidential candidates stand on animal-related issues.

The first posting in The Presidential Files series about Mike Huckabee was disturbing. Be sure to read about his alleged family history of cruelty to animals and the suggestion that as the governor, he obstructed justice.

Markarian has also covered John Edwards.

I look forward to reading about all of the candidates.

Puppies and shelters are a bad combination. They have no immunity to the germs and diseases often found in shelters and are often too young to be given vaccinations. Getting puppies out of shelters as quickly as possible is a good thing.

Here’s a way to do just that–and anyone can help. This excerpt is from a recent BARC email:

As some of you might know we were invited to be a part of the North Shore Animal League puppy transport. Yep, they want BARC puppies in NY! Can you believe there is a “shortage” of puppies in the NE? Now, once a month they are transporting a van full of puppies from New Orleans to NSAL in NY. This is to deter people from buying a puppy from backyard breeders and pet stores. We tell you all of this to announce that the first 12 BARC puppies were loaded up last night headed to New Orleans. It was a tight fit, but they were all ready for the adventure! To think they will be playing in the snow in less than 24 hours is crazy! Thanks to the 3 fosters that raised these puppies with love and care! It’s not easy letting your baby travel across the country, but they will make a new family very happy. If you would be interested in fostering puppies for BARC or for the transport please contact Tammie our puppy lifeline coordinator. Or if you would like to sponsor a puppy for the next transport contact Julie. These ladies can fill you in on all the details. If you haven’t heard about NSAL check them out.

Puppies are fostered out of BARC, then transported to New Orleans where they and other shelter puppies make the trip to New York. I’m sure it’s quite an undertaking.

The sponsor transport cost is only $35 per pup and it’s tax deductible! (If you want a tax receipt you can send the money to Friends of BARC and specify the transport.) The next transport should be around Christmas.

Since I’m not in the position to foster or adopt, this, for me, was an easy way to help several dogs in a short amount of time. I sponsored 10 puppies–well worth the money, IMO, to help get these dogs into loving homes.

The Petco on Weslayan is giving away a Astros/Saving Animals 2008 calendar with the purchase of a Petco gift card of $5 or more. It’s a nice calendar with good pics for good cause. Nice gift. You can also purchase the calendars from SavingAnimals.org.

Poodle Rescue of Houston is awesome! The were willing to take in Bonnie and Clyde, clean them up (boy did they need it!), groom them, have them spayed/neutered, treat the little boy for heartworms, and find them loving homes! (I told the director I’d make a donation to cover their them spay/neuter.)

I dropped them off yesterday and they’ve already been given a bath. Poor things have been so flea bitten and neglected over such a long period of time. Their skin is a mess. The director said Clyde could be a poodle or a Bischon and Bonnie is probably a poodle/terrier mix.

Here are some pics from before their extreme makeover. I should be getting another pic once they’ve been all coiffed.

Clyde looking sweet

 Bonnie’s all smiles

Dogs are so easy to give meds to. I can wrap a pill in a piece of cheese and my work is done.

Cats, on the other hand, are another story. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to give a cat medicine. Butter, my foster kitten, is on three different meds at the moment–ear drops and two liquids. Twice a day, I have to administer these. She hasn’t been wholly uncooperative, but you know she doesn’t like it. Well, last night she definitely displayed her displeasure with my medicine administering technique. The ear drops went fine. I was giving her the first of two droppers of the liquid stuff and the minute I squirted it into her mouth she became a whirling buzzsaw of fur and claws. I took a couple of claws across the nose and received two nice bloody wounds. Scars of inexperience. Once we both calmed down and I disinfected, I gave her the second liquid then let her have her space.

This morning went much more smoothly. I hope to give her the remaining two doses without incident.

I was so happy to read this story. The judge, a dog owner, sentenced a guy who threw his girlfriend’s 10-week old puppy off a third floor balcony during a fight, to five years in prison, suspended to three years with two years of probation.

Can I just say whoohoo?! It’s about time this crime was taken seriously by the courts.

Unfortunately, the little pup was severely injured and had to be euthanized. (Please don’t tell me his girlfriend is dumb enough to stay with him after that.)

In addition to being absolutely horrendous, there is a connection between animal cruelty and abuse and other crimes.

On Sunday, October 7, 2007, at 4:00 p.m., bring your beloved pet to Houston’s downtown Christ Church Cathedral Bishop’s Courtyard for a blessing in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, founder of the Order of the Franciscans, and a poet. Pets will receive a St. Francis medal for their collar.

I’ll be there getting my foster dog, Wrigley, blessed. We need all the help we can get.

The Cathedral is a beautiful and historic church in downtown Houston. My husband and I were married there three years ago. If you go, check out the stained glass and woodwork.

When I moved to Houston as a kid in the late 70s/early 80s I remember thinking how weird it was seeing people selling stuff along the side of the road. On a Saturday afternoon along FM1960, a road on the north side of Houston , it was common to see things for sale like fudge, bar-b-que, crafts, seafood, as well as animals–puppies, kittens, rabbits, birds. I’d never seen anything like that before coming to Houston.

It’s taken 25 years, but the powers that be in Harris County have *finally* decided it’s a bad idea to sell animals by the roadside. It’s about damn time.

If you see someone selling animals by the road in Harris County, report it. Call 281-999-3191.

Being a good corporate citizen is something I look for and admire in a business. Amazon does not fall into that category.

Several months ago, I learned that Amazon sells magazines and other publications related to cockfighting. I participated in a letter writing campaign through the Humane Society asking Amazon to stop selling these inhumane publications that support illegal activity. I received a response about free speech. Hey, I’m all for supporting freedom of speech, but supporting cruel and illegal activities? Come on! Don’t hide behind the first amendment to protect your profits.

Any person or corporation who promotes inhuman activities doesn’t deserve my business.

Learn more. Tell Amazon what you think. Don’t shop at Amazon.