Mother Dog and Nine Puppies sent from Taiwan to LA

On June 2, one animal rescue group was on hand to welcome a special shipment they had arranged to arrive at Los Angeles International Airport.  Nine puppies and their mother landed in a plane from Taiwan.  The young family had been trapped in a drainage ditch and nearly lost their lives.

The rate of abuse to dogs in Taiwan is rampant and beyond rational understanding.  It is commonplace for dogs to be tortured with hot oil on their faces and backs or to be caught in metal traps and left to bleed to death.  And like the dogs that arrived at LAX, many are dropped into deep ditches so they cannot get out and eventually die of starvation.

So when A Dog’s Life Rescue (ADLR) was contacted by Animal Rescue Team TAIWAN, they knew they couldn’t turn the four-legged family away.  The group quickly made all the necessary arrangements to put the dogs on a plane the next day.

More at link:

http://www.care2.com/causes/animal-welfare/blog/group-rescues-mother-dog-and-puppies-from-taiwan/

Rescue Roulette

A stolen dog, the microchip sliced out of him; a "rescuer" who is definitely up to something fishy. And no questions, no accountability? Hi Hola!

Good lord! Another edition of "Rescues Gone Wild"!

‎Why did Brenda Barnette not demand an immediate investigation of the L.A. rescue group removing the microchip of a shelter animal (or any animal) before transporting it? AND what happens to shelter animals when they are transported into an area with plenty of dogs already looking for homes?.

There is no required accounting for the dogs after they leave Los Angeles, just lots of PR rhetoric on how each one finds a home. It has been reported that some don't arrive alive.  If they do, do they stay alive?

Are L.A.'s 'Transported' Dogs Stolen or Rescued?

http://www.opposingviews.com/

This is the story of Dexter, a non-descript German Shepherd/Chow-mix, 50-lb. dog, like thousands in shelters across the country.? In February 2011, Dexter was scheduled

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The Perry Paradox

Insanity reigns supreme in Texas. Breeders being regulated out of existence, but it's fine to bring dogs across the border to sell on the street....

Perry vetoes roadside animal sales bill

By Matt Stephens | Posted: Wednesday, June 22, 2011 1:56 am

Having passed the other 41 steps to become law, House Bill 1768 failed to pass the 42nd, as Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the bill Friday, which could have prevented the roadside sale of animals in Montgomery County.

"House Bill 1768 would encroach upon the rights of private enterprise and property owners while fundamentally altering and expanding the role of county government," Perry said in his veto statement.

"It would be unfortunate if, through regulation, we unintentionally prevented, for example, the owner of a peach orchard with baskets of fruit or a Girl Scout troop with cartons of cookies from reaching their consumers. As a state, we should not raise barriers of entry into the marketplace, stifle competition or hinder the entrepreneurial spirit."

While Perry vetoed one animal bill, he passed another, as the Puppy Mill Bill, HB 1451, was signed into law Friday. The bill allows the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to perform annual inspections of breeders who have 11 or more breeding females and sell 20 or more animals in a year. Breeders are required to pay a fee and apply for a commercial breeder's license.

http://tinyurl.com/3gpp8kx

Funny that Perry didn't worry about "the rights of private enterprise and property owners" when he authorized placing most all serious dog and cat breeders in Texas under USDA regulations with the so-called "puppy mill bill". I guess the HSUS didn't grease his palm enough on this one. Well, supposedly he is going to have back surgery soon, so maybe he is under the influence of some heavy narcotics. <SHRUG>

 "As a state, we should not raise barriers of entry into the marketplace, stifle competition or hinder the entrepreneurial spirit."

I love this! and will be using it in my letters to legislators. And, if I have enough room, I might even reference the author, too!!

So, let's get all this into perspective. We don't want the very best breeders in Texas to own or produce more than a handful of dogs, but it's OK for someone to sell puppies out of the back of their pickup truck that they bring across the border from Mexico. And hey, with the ranks of legitimate breeders dwindling, there will be more pups sold out of boxes or truck beds. Lots more. Yep, that's the government "improving" our lives. Aren't we lucky??

FOX LA-Journalistic stupidity

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/los-angeles-moves-to-ban-factory-bred-pet-sales-20110607



This article is so full of lies!! Whatever happened to journalistic integrity?


I do not believe in sitting idly by while fools such as yourselves force out of business those who are licensed and inspected, only to create a black market for pets that is getting worse every year. Many “rescues” these days are importing dogs from overseas to meet the demand for pets. This is happening right now in the City of Los Angeles! A “rescue” group here in LA imports dogs and sells them for hundreds of dollars each. Per the “Dogs Without Borders” website: “We currently rescue most dogs from local shelters and strays, but sometimes we rescue dogs from as far away as Taiwan!....Some of the dogs you see on our site are not here in the States.”

Dogs are currently being imported from the Caribbean, Romania, Taiwan and Mexico. These dogs are produced under unknown conditions and bring with them parasites and rabies! There was a case in 2004 of a dog brought up to Los Angeles from Mexico with rabies. First case of rabies here in over 30 years, but with continued imports of foreign strays, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more RABIES. Get rid of those who are licensed and inspected would have many adverse unintended consequences.

If Koretz and Barnette really want to help save dogs in shelters, they should attempt to implement some proven methods; increasing the pet limit ceiling is a good first step. More dogs in homes=fewer killed in the dog pound. Lower the ridiculous license fees for intact dogs. $335 per dog per year is outrageous! Repeal the mandatory spay-neuter law. Mandatory spay-neuter laws only cause shelter numbers to increase. It's a FACT that LA shelter intakes have increased by 38% since the mandatory spay-neuter law went into effect. This, after decades of progress and a steady decline in numbers. Good going, Los Angeles! You are a real model for the country. A model of failure!

Pet stores cannot sell dogs from unlicensed, noninspected breeders. How will this law affect anyone else? You know, those evil people who abuse dogs? They do not sell via pet stores!

Claims of high incidence of illness in pet store puppies are totally unsubstantiated. There is evidence that the pet industry provides more veterinary care for puppies than the public at large. DVM/VPI Insurance Group, the largest provider of animal health insurance, testified during a hearing in California that "preconceived notions" concerning pet store puppies "could not have been more wrong."

After insuring more than 89,000 pet store puppies and kittens and handling health claims from a pool of more than 500,000 insured animals, the insurance company reduced its premiums for pet store puppies and kittens substantially by as much as 22 percent compared to premiums charged for animals from other sources. Why? Pet store puppies receive more veterinary attention during the first 12 weeks of age than any other puppies and, as a result, have fewer claims.

Let's debunk the false claim of high number of pet store puppies ending up in shelters.

A Las Vegas shelter collects data on their intakes. Here is an excerpt from an article written on the subject:

'Officials should focus on finding the origin of the animals that rescue groups, shelters and animal control agencies come in contact with, said Harold Vosko, co-founder of Las Vegas-based Heaven Can Wait Animal Sanctuary. Without accurate information on the source of the crisis, addressing it is impossible, he said.'

'The Lied Animal Foundation, which operates the regional shelter, recently started asking people how they obtained their pets, said Jason Smith, who took over as director of operations about six weeks ago. The data will help Lied shape how it educates the community about responsible pet ownership.'

'Statistics collected over the past two years at Heaven Can Wait showed more than 85 percent of the animals came from a neighbor or friend’s litter, Vosko said. Fewer than 5 percent were from pet stores and no more than 1 percent or 2 percent were from professional breeders.'

'Michael Maddox, director of legislative affairs for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council in Washington, D.C., says, 'The “overwhelming majority” of pets in shelters come from sources other than pet stores.'

Fox LA, DO YOUR HOMEWORK  and stop printing LIES.

“Los Angeles - The City Council today instructed the Department of Animal Services to draft a law banning the commercial breeding of dogs, cats, rabbits and chickens in Los Angeles and the sale of factory-bred animals in pet stores.

The motion, which was introduced by City Councilman Paul Koretz and was approved unanimously, also asks the department to arrange frequent adoption drives for shelter animals at licensed pet stores...Koretz said he unknowingly purchased a "puppy mill" bichon 20 years ago, and it required expensive medical care.

‘This is frequently the case because these animals are inbred and raised in terrible conditions, and that results in medical problems, behavioral problems ... often that leads to those animals winding up in our animal shelters,‘ he said. “

So let’s see...stop the pet stores from selling animals in pet stores (since commercially bred and factory bred, in L.A. City terms, covers EVERYONE), but “ask” them to sell animals from shelters instead. IOW, yeah, you can sell animals, but only when your inventory comes from shelters. Especially since most animals in shelters come from puppy mills (which, according to Koretz, et al, is synonymous with commercial breeders and factory bred). So the pet stores are continuing to sell the same animals, but all the income goes to the shelters. What a deal! Not for the legitimate pet stores, only for the shelter pet stores, but that doesn’t matter, does it?

All of this, apparently, because Koretz “unknowingly purchased a ‘puppy mill‘ bichon 20 years ago,“ which I guess he knew came from a PM because it required expensive medical care. I guess that would be one of those puppy mill dogs that end up in shelters, which the shelters then get to sell at pet stores now that the pet stores aren’t allowed to sell them. Ain’t guv’mint great?

All of which might have been avoided if Paul “head up his ass” Koretz had purchased his freaking Bichon from a responsible breeder. But he didn’t know to do that because he had his head up his...well, you get my drift.

The South Responds

The article below originally appeared in the May 27, 2011 issue of Dog News. It is reprinted here by permission of the author.

The South Responds

Carlotta Cooper

I was very happy to see Matt Stander writing about “The Alabama Effect” in the May 13 issue of DOG NEWS. However, as a daughter of the South, I have a slightly different take on the situation.

I think that unless you live in the South, or perhaps unless you were born and raised here, you may not be sensitive to the disdain that comes from some of our northern friends. It applies even to the way we in the South treat our dogs. Just in the last month I’ve been told on e-mail lists and Facebook that people in the South do not give their dogs heartworm medicine and that people in the South have “an attitude of casual cruelty toward animals.” I have a suspicion that there are probably people in the north who think we are all barefoot and toothless, too. (I assure you, I have lots of shoes and all my teeth.)

I don’t know what to do about some of these stereotypes, but most people in the South take very good care of their dogs. Your dog breeder friends treat their dogs the same way the rest of you do. Puppy buyers are likely to raise and love puppies the same way as people anywhere else in the country. And cruelty is not confined to any one region of the country.

Per “The Alabama Effect,” I personally despise these northern shelters, along with the ASPCA, which have been coming down to the South to pluck dogs from shelters and even out of people’s yards in the wake of devastating tornadoes and now flooding. They claim to be saving animals but what they are really doing is making sure that the owners of these animals will never be able to be reunited with their pets.

For someone who has lost their home in a tornado, who may have family members who are injured or dead, and their dog is missing, they may be hoping that someone has kindly found the dog and taken him to their local shelter. They have no idea that there is a “dog relocation program” in place to take their poor dog off to a state a thousand miles away and that they will never have a chance to see their dog again. It seems horrible to me that these animals are being whisked away before their owners even have a chance to get their lives back together and start searching for them. These dogs are not ordinary stray dogs or unwanted dogs. These dogs are homeless due to disasters and they should not be taken out of their states.

Yet, these shelters in northern states, and elsewhere (there are some midwestern and other states involved now, too), are taking the dogs and putting them up for adoption! They are making money from the tragedies that have befallen other human beings by selling their dogs. I honestly can’t think of a much lower thing to do than that. And they are doing all this in the name of “saving the dogs.” Saving them from being found by their owners? Saving them from going home? They have taken money-making and taking dogs from their owners to new depths.

My heart really goes out to the owners of these lost dogs who will never be able to find them.

So, I do agree with a great deal in “The Alabama Effect,” but for me the onus is on these shelters which have taken the dogs. But I suppose it takes both shelters on the giving and receiving end to make this terrible system work and it should be shut down. What began as a good idea to send shelter animals where they could be adopted has now become a big-time money-making business for shelters in which animals are being taken away from owners who want their pets back. Last time I checked, shelters were not supposed to be in the business of stealing animals from people or selling them like pet stores. What’s more, these shelters are touting these dogs as “Tornado Dogs!” as a selling point! They’re trying to make people feel sorry for the dogs in order to get them adopted. How about the poor families who are looking for their pets? Doesn’t anyone feel sorry for them?

Please tell your friends to avoid shelters which engage in these practices. If they are taking animals from areas that have been hit by tornadoes and flooding, there are most likely owners who don’t know where their dogs are. Tell those shelters that people want their pets back. The least they can do is post pictures of the animals they have taken so owners can search for their pets online. Some shelters which have taken dogs have refused to do even that and they are refusing to answer anymore questions about the dogs they have taken.

And, please remember that the South is part of the United States. There are cultural differences here but we do love dogs very much. Rednecks can be nice people, too. Hunters love dogs. Good ol’ boys love dogs. If you want to find people who have a problem with dogs in the South, it’s likely to be someone’s stately grandmother who hates dirt and hair, but she would never hurt an animal.

When you’re posting on e-mail lists and other places, you might try to remember that about half the people reading your messages are from the South and they might be offended when you make stupid comments about people from the South not taking care of their dogs. I spend a lot of money every year on heartworm medicine, flea and tick prevention, vaccinations, and all the rest, for my five dogs, so such comments really don’t go down well. And everyone I know does the same for their dogs. We fought this war once so let’s not fight it again over dog care.

TX: As We Say, Not As We Do

http://www.ussportsmen.org/page.aspx?pid=2758

As We Say, Not As We Do 6/3/11 While anti-hunting and animal rights groups were pushing the infamous puppy mill bill through in Texas, looks like it was a case of "do as I say, and not as I do" with one Austin, Texas group. A report by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) reveals how the group actually treats dogs in their care.  During the first three months of 2011, the Austin ASPCA group euthanized 106 dogs, had six dogs die that were in their care, and actually lost three dogs. Maybe Texas will follow the lead of other states and place the ASPCA and HSUS kennels under the rules of the same puppy mill bills that those groups worked to pass. Can you say huge fines?