Courtesy Dallas Examiner:

The group Animal Advocates of Arizona is behind a boycott against the companies which are sponsoring "The Michael Vick Project," a reality show featuring the convicted felon, now airing on BET. The show began airing on Feb. 3.

Plans for the show were announced a few months ago, amid a great deal of criticism about Vick's motives for the show. Many believe that the NFL quarterback is not truly remorseful for his crimes, and should not be given another opportunity for more fame and money.

In October 2009, Vick told the Los Angeles Times: "I just want people to really get to know me as an individual. What I want to do is change the perception of me. I am a human being. I've made some mistakes in the past, and I wish it had never happened. But it's not about how you fall, but about how you pick yourself up."

What Vick calls "mistakes" were actually felonies which could have sent him to prison for much longer than the 18 months he spent incarcerated. The fact is, he spent years torturing and killing defenseless animals.

When police raided Vick's house in Surry County in 2007, they found 65 dogs (nearly all pit bulls), a dog-fighting pit, blood-stained carpets, and various equipment commonly used in dog fighting.

Read more

Charlie Brown just knows he'll find the perfect home. This adorable beagle mix loves to play ball with siblings Snoopy, Linus, and Peppermint Patty. Interactive and love-able, Charlie is patiently awaiting a family of his own, please come visit him at Yucaipa Animal Placement Society today! YAPS is located at 11937 13th Street in Yucaipa and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 4pm, or call about Charlie and his gang at (909) 790-1440.

Tinkerbelle is a real sweetheart! She was rescued as a pregnant stray and she had 4 beautiful kittens who have all been adopted. Now she is spayed and ready for her forever home. Tinkerbelle is 1-2 years old, friendly and affectionate. Please contact Menifee Valley Humane Society if you would like to give this precious girl a home. (951) 301-6506 info@mvhumanesociety.com

After almost three years, the owners of Chemnutra, Inc., the company responsible for importing and distributing a tainted ingredient used in pet food and responsible for thousands of pet deaths, were sentenced in federal court. On Friday, February 5, 2010, the Office Of The United States Attorney Western District Of Missouri issued this press release:

Sally Qing Miller, 43, a Chinese national, and her husband, Stephen S. Miller, 57, both of Las Vegas, Nev., were sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Maughmer this morning to three years of probation. The court also ordered their company, Chemnutra, Inc., to pay a $25,000 fine. Sally Miller and Stephen Miller were each ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

The court ruled that no further restitution would be imposed in light of a $24 million settlement in the related civil suit reached in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Read full press release

Depth and scope of the 2007 pet food recalls
I vividly remember reading the paper on a sunny Saturday in March of 2007 - St. Patrick's Day, learning about the beginnings of the 2007 pet food recall. At least the beginning of what was to published. Case reports of animals becoming ill or dying from pet foods actually began quietly in late 2006. The pet food recall timeline spanned many months.

At first, the cause of kidney problems and death in dogs and cats were a mystery. Officials suspected aminopterin as a toxic component to the foods. That was later ruled out and determined to be melamine, an agent high in nitrogen that was used to falsely boost protein levels in the wheat gluten used in pet foods.

Read more

Karley was a six-month-old German shepherd puppy beaten to death by LA Firefighter Glynn Johnson. He was convicted of animal cruelty on January 26 and faces sentencing on March 8.

The Press-Enterprise has followed the story since the beginning and you can read the timeline here:

Original report

Trial information

Johnson countersues

Trial begins

Johnson convicted

Karley's owners, the Toole family of Riverside, have created a Web site in Karley's memory to raise awareness and hopefully bring just for Karley. There is a petition the Toole's have created hoping to get severe sentencing that they hope will send a message to animal abusers.

There is also a fundraiser promoted by the LA County Fire Department which will assist with the Toole's legal expenses and will help prevent animal abuse.

Read Karley's story

I am a 2 year old, neutered, Pit Bull. I am very playful and I love treats. I get along well with other dogs and all people too! I like to go for walks and I love the smell of fresh air. If you're looking for a new addition to your family, look no further! I am here at the Riverside Animal Shelter and I am ready to go home today! My animal ID # is A763402 and I will be looking forward to meeting you!

County of Riverside
Department of Animal Services
5950 Wilderness Avenue
Riverside, CA 92504
Phone: (951) 358-7343

This little boy is a true Romeo! Tigger is 5-6 months old, super fun & playful. He also likes to snuggle under blankets. He'll be a joyful addition to any home! Please contact Menifee Valley Humane Society if you're interested in adopting (951) 301-6506
or info@mvhumanesociety.com

By Jean Clement
Limelight PR

Little did I know nine and a half years ago when I adopted the gangly, shorthaired 'trouble maker' in the litter of adorable, longhaired kittens, like those that adorn the pages of calendars that I actually was getting a Maine Coon. Now that I've learned more about the breed, I realize her long legs, large eyes and ears, and the longest tail I've ever seen on a young cat are physical characteristics of Maine Coons.

Missy didn't have the large body to match her extremities. She was akin to a human teenager in the midst a growth spurt.

However, that soon changed. By her first birthday, Missy's fur was getting longer and her body was filling out...and filling out...until she reached the robust 19 pounds she is today (down from a peak of 21 pounds).

The Maine Coon is known to be a strong, rugged and healthy cat. This is due to survival of the fittest over two centuries of bitter-cold and snowy New England winters. It is America's oldest, natural, longhaired breed and one of the largest breeds.

Lore would have you believe that Maine Coons derived from the mating of a wild raccoon and domestic cat. That's not genetically possible. Most breeders today believe the breed originated in mating between local shorthaired cats and longhaired cats, perhaps Angoras, introduced by New England seamen returning to what is now the state of Maine, or longhairs brought to America by the Vikings. (It wasn't until 1985 that the breed officially became the state cat of Maine.)

Most shelters will tell you that black cats are less likely to be adopted than other color. Sadly this is true even at the Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center. They currently have several available.

According to ezinearticles.com black cats are often the last choice for people interested in getting a new cat. Some shelters will not even take them since getting them adopted is so difficult. Why are black felines shunned? In the cat world, black is one of the most common colors. Potential owners may want a different look such as various color combinations, stripes or a different solid color.

Some people are superstitious of black cats. A common superstition is that a black feline walking across a human's path brings bad luck. A black kitty can make humans that subscribe to that particular belief very fearful or at least, uneasy. Interestingly, in other places such as the UK, black-coated cats are believed to bring good luck. Also, discovering a white hair on a black feline is considered to be good luck. Since white hairs are common on black animals, there are many chances to find good luck for the owner of a black kitty.

Historically, black cats have often been considered to be harbingers of evil. They were thought to be friends to witches, and witches could supposedly take on the physical form of a cat in order to hide among humans in order to carry out evil deeds.

Potential owners may avoid black felines if they have a a lot of light-colored furniture and carpets or a tendency to wear a lot of light-colored clothing. Unfortunately, black coats shed like any other colored coat, and black hairs do tend to show up more on light colors.

The Magic of Music Brings Together Dogs From Animal Shelters to Truckers Who Adopt Them With Love!!! One Person Can Make A Difference!

The mystery of life sometimes is revealed in such interesting spiritual ways. I would never have dreamed that my country music performances would lead to bringing together truckers and dogs from shelters and being able to save animals' lives while giving a trucker a dear companion for his travels. My entire life I have held a deep passion for animals, always owning at least two pets, one time I had six adult dogs, and ended up with 39 puppies, all at the same time. I actually got every puppy adopted by a trucker, except for one, Tiller, of which I had to keep because she growled at six weeks old at everyone in the universe, but me.

The West Hollywood City Council passed legislation that would ban the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores within the West Hollywood area. This is a huge step forward for animal advocates who wish to ban the sale of animals from puppy mills. By not providing a venue for sale of dogs and cats from mills, proponents of the legislation feel that this will cut down on the "animal trade" and will give more opportunities to encourage consumers to adopt rescue and shelter animals.

West Hollywood has been on the forefront of animal related legislation for quite some time, including passing a cat declawing ordinance and referring to animals as "companions" instead of as "pets". There were many animal advocates who spoke strongly in support of this ordinance, which would allow pet stores to sell animals only from rescues or shelters. Ideally, this would take animals out of shelters and reduce the number of pets which are euthanized each year.

Advocates hope that this legislation will now spread to other cities including Los Angeles and surrounding areas, which still allow sale of animals in pet stores.

Courtesy Union-Tribune:

Seven prized and highly trained horses that San Diego police officers used in mounted patrol will go up for auction today.

The mounted enforcement unit, founded in 1983, patrolled Balboa Park and also was deployed in special details across the county such as major conventions and at Qualcomm Stadium.

The city disbanded the unit in December to help close a $179 million budget gap.

Selling the horses is expected to save the city $243,000 annually in upkeep for the animals and their equipment, San Diego police Assistant Chief Bob Kanaski said.

The horses, ranging in age from 9 to 12 years old, as well as their tack and other equipment will be offered for sale online through Feb. 10, Kanaski said. Starting bids for the horses are expected to be $500 to $1,500, he said.

Potential buyers can view the animals from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday. The horses cannot be ridden or handled before they are sold.

Blankets, saddle pads, heaters, saddle blankets, pipe rails and other items also will be up for auction.

More details

Currently the horses are going from $3,000 to $8,000.

View the online auction

Question:

Every morning at breakfast when I sit down to read the paper my cat jumps up and lays on the paper? What's she trying to tell me?

Crazy Cat Lady:

I know the simple answer, but just in case I was missing something, I did an internet search on the question. Would you believe there were 1,810,000 links to that particular question? I only checked a dozen or so, but the fact remains they ALL came to the same conclusion as I already had: Your cat lays on the newspaper while you are trying to read it because she wants YOU to pay attention to HER and not what is happening in the world! They know that if they plop themselves right under our noses, so to speak, they will get attention, and usually good attention. I actually have to read my newspaper either standing up or sitting outside in the yard if I want to get through it in a timely manner. Or, if I want to stay at the table, I re-direct the cat's attention by taking a section of the paper and placing it on another part of the table or on the floor because cats seem to be very attracted to newspaper -- maybe the feel, maybe the crinkle - and they will most often move over to the "new" spot. But more times than not, I will succumb to the charms of whichever cat is needing a little extra love and attention and pet and talk to them until they get bored with me! I recommend doing that - a few extra soft and sweet moments will make everyone's day better!

Eight million pets enter America's shelters each year, and of those, three million healthy, treatable animals are euthanized because no one adopts them.

Those figures come from The Humane Society of the United States and Maddie's Fund, and they've joined with the Ad Council in The Shelter Pet Project, a new campaign designed to promote adopting pets from shelters. The Shelter Pet Project brings together the country's largest animal welfare organizations and shelters from all across the country to change the public's perception of shelter pets and encourage those looking to get a pet to make shelters their first choice for acquiring companion animals.

The humorous PSAs, created pro bono by Draftfcb Chicago, feature stories of how pets come into shelters through no fault of their own, but due to owners' issues, such as divorce, financial difficulty and ill-prepared owners. The TV, radio, print, outdoor and web ads direct audiences to visit a new comprehensive website, www.theshelterpetproject.org, to find out more information about how to adopt a pet from a shelter. The website includes a "Pet Personals" section, a matchmaking tool where users are asked questions about themselves and are then matched through the Petfinder.com database with potential pets from a local shelter or rescue group that will match their lifestyle.

In addition to the new PSAs and website, The Shelter Pet Project also has Facebook, Myspace and Twitter pages. We encourage you to become a "fan" and take a pledge to adopt a pet on Facebook, join our group on MySpace and sign up on Twitter to receive tweets about adoptable shelter pets.

Willa Bagwell, executive director at Animal Friends of the Valleys in Lake Elsinore, wrote to me a few weeks ago about the outcome of an animal cruelty case in Temecula and she was upset.

It seems Steven Waterbury had a grudge with his neighbors over their dogs. According to Bagwell, after months of wrangling with neighbors, Waterbury stabbed the dogs and put large shards of glass in the fence that further injured them.

Waterbury was arrested by animal control and charged with animal cruelty. Fortunately the dogs recovered from their injuries.

Bagwell's disappointment was based on the fact that Waterbury was able to plead the animal cruelty charges down to disturbing the peace.

"Unfortunately this is not unusual in animal abuse cases," she said, "It is heartbreaking for both the animals and for those animal control officers that serve to protect the animals."

Perhaps things might improve with the formation of the California legislature's Animal Protection Caucus headed by Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Moorpark, Assemblymembers Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, and Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara. The California caucus is patterned after the successful Congressional Animal Protection Caucus according to the Humane Society of the U.S. who also lauded the caucus formation.

Unfortunately there are no Riverside or San Bernardino county legislators serving on the caucus. In fact, according to political action committee PAWPAC, Inland Empire legislators have received poor grades when voting for animal issues. The group, formed in 1980 to monitor and advocate for better laws to protect animals from abuse, exploitation and neglect, rates each legislator on their voting record for animal legislation.

Download the ratings here PawPac2010VotingChart.pdf"

For the most part our local legislators have not rated high with some rated D or F, according to PAWPAC. Check your local assemblyman or senators rating by downloading a copy of PAWPAC's rating from www.inlandsocal.com/pets. Read more about the PAWPAC on its Web site www.pawpac.org.

RUSTY TO THE RESCUE

Remember Rusty the little dog abandoned at the San Bernardino County School District in December? Although he isn't well enough yet for surgery to repair his broken leg he's doing well.

He recently earned the title of hero when he alerted owner Kim S. McJimsey of Hesperia that her 80-year-old mother had fallen at 3:00 a.m. She heard a noise and listened again but Rusty jumped up off of his doggy bed and ran toward the door barking and whining. It was Rusty that told her something was wrong. When she opened the door Rusty immediately ran to her mother and sat next to her crying.

"For such a little guy, he has the heart of a lion," said McJimsey.

Corky is 7 year old, neutered male, white, short hair, Chihuahua mix. This little guy is looking for a quiet, adult home where he would be the only pet. Corky is super sweet, affectionate, friendly, a perfect companion for someone who is looking for that presence, so you will never be lonely. He is already crate trained, so there is no reason to hesitate, come see for yourself what a little treasure you can have in your life.

Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care
11768 Arrow Route
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 466-7387

Copper Kitty is a 2 year old, neutered male, orange tabby, domestic short hair feline. A somewhat shy kind of guy, he is very sweet and is looking for a quiet home with soft voices (prefers women) and no loud voices. He gets along with older cats, but definitely no kittens. Copper Kitty likes climbing high places; anywhere he can have a good view of the outdoors, especially the birds. According to his foster parents, he also enjoys watching movies with his human friends and prefers to sleep in the bedroom, as he does not like the darkness. If you have patience, he may be just the one for you; he needs your attention and would love to be your lap cat!!!

Rancho Cucamonga Animal Shelter
11768 Arrow Route
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
(909) 466-7387

Courtesy CNN

When 8-month-old Astana started getting her adult teeth, her owner, Gayle Warren, didn't expect any problems. She has a number of Black Russian terriers and developing new incisors was never a big deal with her other dogs. But Astana had a condition known as "twinning," where two teeth form in the same area. It can cause discomfort, overcrowding and early tooth decay. Warren decided to take Astana to a specialist in animal dentistry to have the extra teeth removed.

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, Warren is unusual. The association estimates about 80 percent of people brush their teeth every day, but far fewer pet owners do the same for their furry friends. In fact, very few even think about their pet's teeth.

"Most people have no idea that dental health is so important to their pets," says Dr. Mark Lutschaunig, a spokesperson for the association. "That's why we designated February as Pet Dental Health Month."

Entire story

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is calling on the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to return all the funds it has raised under the pretense of "saving" animals in the wake of Haiti's devastating earthquake. A disaster relief expert working with Humane Society International (HSUS's global arm) reports that there are no animal issues resulting from the earthquake and that no actions can be taken to help animals there. This follows a thorough assessment of the situation in Haiti.

HSUS continues to raise funds for "emergency" donations, claiming Tuesday that "Humane Society International's team on the ground in Haiti continues its work of helping animals in distress."

Read the rest of the story here

Another report

Looking for a Valentines gift for your sweetheart that will give love all year long? Corona Animal Control will waive the adoption fee for Valentine's week from Feb 9th to 13th for all pets.

The non-profit CCARE will be providing Valentines adoption baskets for all pets adopted during that time.

For details contact the shelter at 951 736-2309 or visit them at www.petfinders.com.

West Hollywood, California (January 28, 2010) - This just in: West Hollywood may ban the sale of dogs and cats next week.

City Council member Jeffrey Prang made the first announcement yesterday, a brief mention in the prospective City Council agenda for Feb. 1; Carole Davis of Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) confirmed for WeHo News late on Thursday that the item would be on the agenda.

Ms. Davis said, "CAPS assisted the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the City of West Hollywood in drafting the ordinance, as well as providing evidence," sufficient to cause City Council to act.

Resident Ed Buck, Director of Social Compassion in Legislation and a Golden Retriever rescue volunteer, said of the proposed bill, "could be the beginning of the end of puppy mills and it's happening in West Hollywood, one of the most progressive cities on animal welfare issues."

The ordinance stems from an investigation of a West Hollywood pet store, Elite Animals near Hancock and Santa Monica Boulevard, which uncovered evidence they allegedly sold puppy mill dogs.

Read the entire story here

Rancho Cucamonga Animal Care is seeking donations from Feb. 5 through March 17 for the Furry Friends Flea Market scheduled for March 20 at Lions Center West.

Donations of usable items can be taken to the animal care center at 11780 Arrow Route, Rancho Cucamonga and receipts will be provided for tax purposes.

Help spread the word by downloading and distributing the flyer Wanted Flyer.pdf

For more information email

No large appliances or computers accepted.

This cute little Chihuahua is about six-years-old. He's a really nice little man and loves other dogs. He is on his third roommate since coming here 11-24-09. Adoption fee is $55.00 which includes neuter. If this dog is going to live in Corona, there is also an additional $12.00 license fee. Unless animal has already been altered, they will stay with us until the surgery has been done. WE ARE CLOSED SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

Corona Animal Shelter
Corona, CA
951-736-2309