Cbtopdog: Januari 2011

Rabu, 26 Januari 2011

What Gives???

Here's a great article that I thought I would pass on...hope you find it interesting! –Kim

Those Darn Dog Rescues with All of Their Rules and Questions!
Penny Eims
March 17, 2010

If you have tried to adopt a dog, you know what I'm talking about. Dog Rescues – so many in-depth, personal questions; just to adopt a dog! For goodness sake – do they really need all of that information?

After all, aren't these homeless dogs? Wouldn't any owner be better than being a dog, lamenting in rescue? Than being homeless??

Nope – as a matter of fact, those questions and in-depth applications have a purpose. The individuals who run these rescues have seen quite a bit of dog stuff in their day. They have seen the circumstances that brought these dogs into rescue in the first place.

There are a few "real" cases where a dog needs the help of a rescue because the owner has died or fallen gravely ill, but the majority of dogs in rescues are there because they had owners who did things all wrong.

So, why does the application ask the names and ages of those in the household? Because they need to know if there are kids in the house that might be at risk if an inappropriate dog is placed in the home.

Why does the application ask you where the dog will be at night, or while you are away? Because many of the dogs in rescue are there because a prior owner had to get rid of them after neighbors complained about constant barking.

Why does the dog rescue care about training? Really, if it is your dog, shouldn't training (or not training) be your decision? Nope. Many of the dogs in rescues are there because nobody took the time to train them.

The dogs become unruly, hard to own and guess what? Dumped at a shelter or in a rescue. The dogs become somebody else's problem. Unfortunately, at that point, they are often out of control and require considerable work to even become adoptable.

Why should the rescue know about your prior dog-ownership? Is it really their business? Yep. If you had a couple of dogs that you got rid of after they peed in the house, or because you were having a baby, or God forbid – moving, the rescue needs to know.

You see, rescues would not function if dogs were not re-homed. There would be no need for organizations to exist if all owners kept their dogs, no matter what. If all owners altered their dogs and prevented unwanted litters of puppies. If all owners kept their dogs safely indoors, instead of out in a kennel or yard where they might bark, or even get out of a yard and possibly injure someone or something.

The questions on the application (and if you're lucky enough to get that far, those asked of you in a phone interview) have been designed to weed out the bad owners. Is the system perfect? No. Nothing is perfect. However, the situations that the rescue organizations have encountered through the years has given them a pretty good idea of what to ask in order to find exceptional homes for the dogs.

Why are exceptional homes needed? So these dogs do not end up without an owner again. So the dogs don't end up at a shelter where they might be euthanized. The rescues aren't able to take in every dog that needs a place to go. Too many dogs are in danger at the shelters.

So the next time you are looking to adopt, be prepared to complete a lengthy adoption application and to spend some time chatting on the phone with a volunteer. Don't be offended or annoyed – be thankful that those rescue-minded individuals care enough about the dogs in their care to ask the questions that need to be asked.

Rescue organizations find some phenomenal homes – amazing people are out there. That being said, so many of the dogs in rescue are amazing too. They are worth the time and effort and they deserve the exceptional home. They deserve a home that will keep them until the end of their days.

And a final note – a bad owner is not better than getting a dog "out" of rescue. Getting out of rescue, only to be left in a kennel for 10 hours a day or chained in a yard is not better than sitting in rescue. Those "sitting" dogs will eventually get adopted and the new owner will not be keeping them in a bad situation.

Please adopt. Please alter your pets. Please own responsibly.

Dog News Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/dogs-in-national/those-darn-dog-rescues-with-all-of-their-rules-and-questions-what-gives

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Selasa, 25 Januari 2011

7 Things You Didn't Know About HSUS

Here's a revealing article that I thought I would pass on...hope you find it informative! –Kim

Still the Same Old Hidden Agenda
April 20, 2010

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a "humane society" in name only. It isn't affiliated with any hands-on "humane society" organizations, and it doesn't operate a single pet shelter or pet adoption facility anywhere. During 2008, HSUS contributed barely $450,000 – less than one-half of one percent of its budget – in grants to dog and cat shelters. In 2009, HSUS took in $100 million but made only six grants to Missouri pet shelters, totaling less than $43,000, according to its filings with the IRS. By comparison, that same year it gave $2.25 million to a political campaign committee behind an anti-meat ballot initiative in California, and put $2.5 million into HSUS's executive pension plan. HSUS is the wealthiest animal-rights lobbying organization on earth. It agitates for the same goals as PETA and other radical groups, but uses fewer naked interns.
Beginning on the day of NFL quarterback Michael Vick's 2007 dogfighting indictment, HSUS raised money online with the false promise that it would "care for the dogs seized in the Michael Vick case." The New York Times later reported that HSUS wasn't caring for Vick's dogs at all. And HSUS President Wayne Pacelle told the Times that his group urged government officials to "put down" (that is, kill) the dogs rather than adopt them out to suitable homes. HSUS later quietly altered its Internet fundraising pitch. Vick now gives HSUS "sponsored" speeches. And most of his dogs have been rehabilitated – without any help from HSUS.
HSUS's senior management includes a former spokesman for the Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a criminal group designated as "terrorists" by the FBI. HSUS president Wayne Pacelle hired John "J.P." Goodwin in 1997, the same year Goodwin described himself as "spokesperson for the ALF" while he fielded media calls in the wake of an ALF arson attack at a California veal processing plant. In 1997, when asked by reporters for a reaction to an ALF arson fire at a farmer's feed co-op in Utah (which nearly killed a family sleeping on the premises), Goodwin replied, "We're ecstatic." That same year, Goodwin was arrested at a UC Davis protest celebrating the 10-year anniversary of an ALF arson at the university that caused $5 million in damage.
A 2008 Los Angeles Times investigation found that HSUS receives less than 12% of the money raised on its behalf by California telemarketers. Professional fundraisers keep the rest. If you exclude two campaigns run for HSUS by the "Builda-Bear Workshop" retail chain – which consisted of the sale of surplus stuffed animals (not really "fundraising") – HSUS's yield shrinks to just three percent. This is typical. In 2004, HSUS ran a telemarketing campaign in Connecticut with fundraisers who promised a return of "zero percent" of the proceeds. The campaign raised over $1.4 million. Not only did none of that money go to HSUS, but the group paid $175,000 for the telemarketing work. Similar filings exist in Massachusetts, New York, and other states. In 2008 HSUS collected more than $86 million in contributions, but spent more than $24 million on fundraising.
HSUS's heavily promoted U.S. "boycott" of Canadian seafood – announced in 2005 as a protest against Canada's annual seal hunt – is a phony exercise in media manipulation. A 2006 investigation found that 78% of the restaurants and seafood distributors described by HSUS as "boycotters" weren't participating at all. Nearly two-thirds of them told surveyors they were completely unaware HSUS was using their names in connection with an international boycott campaign. Canada's federal government is on record about this deception, saying: "Some animal rights groups have been misleading the public for years … it's no surprise at all that the richest of them would mislead the public with a phony seafood boycott." A documentary director also caught an HSUS film crew abusing a dying seal while they shot a 2007 fundraising video on the ice floes of Atlantic Canada.
HSUS raised $34 million in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, supposedly to help reunite lost pets with their owners. But comparatively little of that money was spent for its intended purpose. Louisiana's Attorney General shuttered his 18-month-long investigation into where most of these millions went, shortly after HSUS announced its plan to contribute $600,000 toward the construction of an animal shelter on the grounds of a state prison. In 2009, Atlanta ABC affiliate WSB-TV reported that public disclosures of the disposition of the $34 million in Katrina-related donations added up to less than $7 million.
After gathering undercover video footage of improper animal handling at a Chino, CA slaughterhouse during November of 2007, HSUS sat on its video evidence for three months, even refusing to share it with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. HSUS's Dr. Michael Greger may have perjured himself before Congress, testifying that the San Bernardino County (CA) District Attorney's office asked the group "to hold on to the information while they completed their investigation." The District Attorney's office quickly denied that account, declaring that HSUS refused to make its undercover spy available to investigators if the USDA were present. Ultimately, HSUS chose to release its video footage at a politically opportune time, as it prepared to launch a livestock-related ballot campaign in California. Meanwhile, meat from the slaughterhouse continued to flow into the U.S. food supply for months.

Source: http://www.consumerfreedom.com/article_detail.cfm/a/184-7-things-you-didnt-know-about-hsus

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Sabtu, 22 Januari 2011

The Complete Dog Food & Nutrition Guide

Valuable Resource...

Finally...All You Need
to Know about Your
Dog's Diet and Nutrition

Click below now to watch this short dog food video....

From Sharda Baker
Monday 11 May 2009

Dear fellow dog lover,
We have all heard the "horror stories" about the tainted, and sometimes toxic, dog foods on the market, AND ABOUT ALL THE DOG FOOD RECALLS.

Many of us are aware of the poor quality, sometimes useless, filler ingredients in many commercial dog foods and the dangers of many foods cooked in our homes for our dogs.

Even if you prepare your dog's food at home, there's the danger of feeding the wrong type of food.

They can rob your dog of… IT'S ENERGY, IT'S HEALTH, AND OF IT'S VERY LIFE ITSELF.

You are probably just like me, and like most responsible dog owners, just want the best for your dog within a certain budget, right?

Click Here to Start Improving Your Dog's Health Today

Alarm bells first started ringing for me regarding dog food, several years ago, after seeing the pain an acquaintance, Sonia (not her real name) went through after losing her 2 dogs, one aged eight and one six and a half. One of her dogs died of pancreatitis and one of heart failure, both of which can occur as a result of poor diet.

It wasn't really her fault though...

It's not that Sonia was a bad dog owner, she just did what many dog owners do… And what I used to do, she fed her dog a standard dog food she found in the supermarket plus some regular table scraps.

Like many of us, she didn't understand how to make sense out of a dog food label. On closer examination, the dog food she had been feeding was one of the worst ones available.Simply understanding the label would have alerted Sonia not to use that dog food. Plus, the indiscriminate feeding of table scraps also contributed to her two dog's untimely deaths.

And that was just the beginning for me.

Ever since I witnessed the pain that can be caused by losing a pet at a young age, I started looking into dog food more closely. It's been quite a journey I can tell you. We all recognize deep down that our dog's diet is paramount to good health, just as our own diet is vital to our own good health. Yet, we are often unsure, or at worst ill advised, how to best manage our dog's nutrition.

To Keep Your Dog Healthy, You Must Discover What to Look For, and How to Properly Read and Understand the Deceptive Practices in Dog Food Ingredient Labels.

This information I have put together will show you what some dog food companies don’t want you to know.

I put together the "Complete Guide To Your Dog's Nutrition" ebook and audio package over the last 11 and a half months and inside you'll find:

12 OF THE BEST dog food brands for you and… It informs you of what is actually used in each of the dog foods. And clearly tells you why each of the12 brands are some of the best to feed your dog. It also discusses in depth home cooked dog food, the BARF diet plus much more.

Would you like to know which brands of dog food and which human foods are the safest to feed your dog?

Don’t you owe it to your pet to find out?

Can't we just trust what the dog food companies tell us in their glossy multi-million dollar advertising campaigns?

Unfortunately, often we can't!

I know you are a lot like me and want to be sure you are feeding your dog the absolute best diet… and best foods, within your budget.

All dog food is not equal in their nutritional values and there are many that are downright detrimental to your pet's health.

I have put together all the research that I and my team have carried out over the last 11 and a half months on dog food and health, into one big collection.

Reserve Your Copy Today

Some of the information revealed will shock you! The books and audios cover everything that you need to know about providing the best and most nutritionally healthy diet for your dog. You will quickly start to become a dog nutrition expert… learning how to make nutritional adjustments to help most of your dog's problems or maladies.

Continued - Click for more information, plus BONUSES....

Minggu, 16 Januari 2011

People Food for Pets

Here's a great article that I thought I would pass on...hope you find it helpful! –Kim

Is "People Food" Good for Dogs and Cats?

Babette Gladstein, V.M.D

You share a lot with your pet: your home, your affection. To help build strong muscles, bones and a shiny coat, you should also share home-cooked meats, veggies and whole grains. Here's how to do it right.

Work with your vet. Design a home-cooked diet that's right for our pet's breed, age and size with advice from your vet. Have your pet's eating plan reevaluated at annual check-up time, or sooner if you notice health changes like lethargy or a dull coat.
Serve a variety of foods. About 30% of your pet's diet should consist of food you make yourself, and should include grains, vegetables, fruit and meat (ask your vet whether meat should be raw or cooked).
Don't overfeed! More than 45% of dogs and 55% of cats are overweight due to overfeeding. Any homemade food you feed your pet should be part of their normal diet – not in addition to it.
Teach good table manners. Incorporating people food into your pal's diet doesn't mean you should teach him to beg for table scraps. Serve meals in a bowl from which he's used to eating, away from your table and on a regular schedule – two or three times a day depending on activity level.
Avoid these toxic foods. Some human foods contain ingredients that can harm dogs and cats. Never feed them grapes or raisins, chocolate or caffeine, onions or garlic, processed food or raw eggs.

Babette Gladstein, V.M.D., is a New York-based veterinarian who employs traditional and alternative therapies.

www.RemedyHealthMedia.com
© 2010 Remedy Health Media LLC

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Kamis, 06 Januari 2011

Who me? Handicapped???!

Here are some great videos that I thought I would pass on...hope you find them inspiring! –Kim

Trey, the 3-Legged Wonder Dog

Trey is a lab mix. He was named Trey because he was three legged. Three legged dogs are often named Trey or Tripod, as it is a play on the word "three."

Trey had a very rough start in life. Now his days are filled with fun-fun-fun. He lives to swim with is sister and loves his Doggie Dinghie (float).

Adoption is truly a rewarding experience. Trey shows his appreciation every day with hugs, kisses and heart-warming looks.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Opwz4ti29I

Two-legged Dog Dominic – Even More Amazing!