Give the gift of green to dogs and dog lovers this holiday season!

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No Surprise Here: Angry Dog Lovers Sack Michael Vick's Book Tour

After his tour announcement went up, angry online commenters rallied. Some, however, resorted to threats of violence.

Michael Vick planned on having book appearances at Atlanta, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania Barnes & Noble stores to celebrate the release of his oddly named book, Michael Vick: Finally Free.

Dog lovers had a different idea. They took to social media -- Barnes & Noble's Facebook, most often -- and generally raised hell. 

Michael Vick is not having book appearances anymore. He's cancelled them. Or rather, his publisher did. Here's the statement:

"While we stand by Michael Vick’s right to free speech and the retailers’ right to free commerce, we cannot knowingly put anyone in harm’s way, and therefore we must announce the cancellation of Mr. Vick’s book-signing appearances,” said Byron Williamson, president of Worthy Publishing. “We’ve been assured these threats of violence, which have been reported to the police, are being taken very seriously by local authorities.”

Yeah, there were threats of violence, which is horrible and should never happen. But many of the comments were haranguing Barnes & Noble for showing bad judgment and threatening to never shop at the store again. 

A sampling:

"You people were going to sponsor Michael Vick's Book tour?!?! I will never support your store again. I hope there are enough people outraged with this.""Dear Barnes and Noble, you have officially lost my business after promoting the POS Michael Vick's book. How you can promote ANYTHING this subhuman being does is beyond me.""SHAME ON YOU BARNES AND NOBLE for trying to do book signings and even promoting Michael Vicks book .... I'm done with you!!!!""Add my name to the growing list of people who will never again visit your bookstore. There is no way I could associate myself with an organization that could have anything at all to do with the likes of the despicable Michael Vick.""SO disappointed to hear that you're hosting Michael Vick for a book signing at one of your PA stores. Even if you decide to cancel it, the fact that it was scheduled in the first place shows very poor judgement. You've lost a good customer with me."

Looks like those threats of violence offered B&N a way to back out of a nasty PR fumble.

Don't think this wasn't a small appearance, either. More than 1,000 people had already RSVP'd to Vick's signing at the Atlanta store. 

Vick spokesman Chris Shigas, meanwhile, has gone on the offensive. "We understand that a lot of people out there will never forgive him," Shigas told Philly.com. "But at what point do we say a line has been crossed?"

Also: "He's going to continue to work in the community. It's just a shame that there's a level of hatred out there."

Let's hope more bookstores back away from Vick. They could start by not carrying his book.

Via Philly.com. 

Read more about Michael Vick:

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Dog Lovers Have a Beef with McDonald’s Over Radio Spot

Less risky than petting a stray pit bull?

More risky than Chicken McBites? (Photo of formerly adoptable pit bull from stephskardal's Flickr photostream)

Hey guys, did you know that eating McDonald’s McBites is less risky than petting a stray Pit Bull? McDonald’s says so itself in the first few seconds of a recent radio commercial! Check it out below. (The YouTube version comes with a visual of Chicken McNuggets, not McBites, but you get the idea …)

Way to anger dog lovers everywhere, Mickey D!

After some major growling of dog people, McDonald’s finally issued an apology. “We apologize for running a local ad insensitive in its mention of pit bulls,” said a statement from the company’s Twitter account. “We didn’t mean to offend anyone and the ad is being pulled.”

The ad is probably being pulled because the promotion ended Feb 5, but hey. Sounds like the ad came back to McBite the company where it needed it.

Source: Consumerist,

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How animal lovers can help quake, tsunami victims

March 11, 2011

How can animal lovers help those affected by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan today, and any other areas impacted by the tsunami?

Friends, I’m in New York City today taping two segments for “The Dr. Oz Show” and have limited access to a computer, but I needed to stop by and answer that question, which I was hearing from so many of my readers and viewers.

In addition to the Red Cross, which has a dedicated tsunami donation page here, please consider making a donation to World Vets, an international veterinary aid organization that provides free veterinary aid, resources and support during times of disaster all over the world. They are currently coordinating with one of my Japanese veterinary colleagues to begin their relief efforts there.

Another great animal-related cause is the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, a FEMA-certified agency. Searching for survivors in wreckage is what they do, and they have teams standing by. [Update: teams have deployed!]

I have spoken to veterinarians in Japan many times, and have lots of friends there. They are strongly in my thoughts and prayers today.

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Increased Commissions, Redesigned Site For Amazing Conversions!

Check it out!

Catchy Video Postcard for Dog Abusers (and Dog Lovers)

Warning: If you don’t like the F-bomb, do not click on the video below. The very catchy song is dripping with the word. But the message of the video makes it worth my taking a chance at curling some Dogsters’ ears. (Please keep in mind that the Dog Blog is not the part of Dogster that mandates posting only material that would be appropriate for a 7-year-old child. We’re a little more adult than that around here.) The F-bomb is a most fitting word here, by the way.

The video is worth sharing with fellow dog lovers, as well as any people who treat their dogs badly. You can send it to them and still smile. “Check out this great video!” you can say. They may get the message.

But watch out. The song doesn’t leave your head. I keep finding myself on the verge of singing it in the car, and at the store, and that would not be good.

(Thanks to Life With Dogs for posting this first, and making me realize that with a little warning, it’s perfectly fine to include in a blog.)

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