A Poodle Named Dream Adopts an Aussie Puppy in Need

Dream already had one puppy of her own, but when another turned up at the rescue needing a mother, she brought her into her family.

A four-year-old Poodle named Dream turned up in an overcrowded shelter in the high desert near Lancaster, California -- dirty, matted, and skinny. Shelter workers labeled her a stray. They didn't even know she was pregnant, but she was, and she gave birth to two tiny puppies on Dec. 2. 

One died right away. The other fought to survive, as Dream, so sickly herself, did her best to nurse him. The pair needed to get out of that shelter and get some real help, and that's when a kind soul spotted Dream and her puppy and pegged them for transfer to the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe, California. 

It was there her life would change. Not only did Dream and her puppy -- staff named her Cupcake -- get placed in a great foster home right away, but Dream gained a new reason to live: Candy, an Aussie mix puppy who was having a rough go at life. 

On Jan. 10, not long after Dream and Cupcake found their foster home, the Helen Woodward center brought in a mother Aussie mix named Karly and her seven puppies. One of them, Candy, was tiny compared with the rest. She had been getting trampled, struggling to get her mother's milk, and she was left stunted, weak, dehydrated, covered in bite wounds, and suffering from a nasal infection. 

The center's veterinarian, Stephanie Oba, took Candy in, fostering her separately and giving her round-the-clock care. She would get better, but she still needed one thing. She needed a mother. 

Someone on the staff had an idea: What about Dream? Her puppy Cupcake was Candy's age. And the pups looked nearly alike, despite one having a Poodle mom. What if Dream accepted Candy as her own?

Foster Pam Fleischman agreed. Dream met Candy, and immediately took her in. She treated Candy as "though she were the baby she had lost," reports the center.  

“Dream has been an amazingly good mother," said Fleischman. "She is content to spend most of her time lounging with Cupcake and Candy and attentively caring for them. We’re looking forward to seeing how the puppies’ personalities develop during the next month. They are both angels and immediately became the best of friends.” 

This story had a happy ending, but it's not over. Cupcake and Candy will soon need their own homes. The two dogs will be fixed in a few weeks and will be ready to be adopted after that, according to the center. If you're interested, please contact the Adoptions Department at 858-756-4117 (ext. 1) or visit the Helen Woodward Animal Center. 

Check out these adorable stories on Dogster:

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How Does a Puppy Burn Down a House? Chews on a Deodorant Can Near a Lamp, That's How

No one was hurt in the house fire, including the Greyhound who inadvertently set off the "bomb."

If you're sitting around today, listing all the things in modern life that could kill you, here's something to add once you've finished covering the obvious things like smoking, drinking, red meat, unfiltered tap water, too many carbs, swine flu, bizarre yoga accidents, malfunctioning electronics, industrial waste, the carbon monoxide pouring out of the cars in front of you during your commute, chemical toxins in sunscreen, skin cancer caused by not using sunscreen, some weird cancer that no one has identified yet, sex, and the stress from making this list: What if your dog chews through a can of cheap, spray-on deodorant and blows up your house?

Don't laugh. It could happen.

No one was killed in this case, but Kerry Leech of South Yorkshire, England, found out exactly what can happen when you leave a six-month-old Greyhound puppy alone for 10 minutes with a can of deodorant. Like a lot of puppies, Leech's dog Zeus is at the stage where, as Leech says, "he'll chew anything." While she was out of the apartment, Zeus punctured a can of Lynx deodorant with his teeth. As the deodorant sprayed out of the can, it was ignited by the heat of a nearby lamp.

The resulting explosion shattered the apartment windows, ripped through the floorboards, and set the couch on fire, for a total of £2,000 (about US$3,300) worth of damage. Zeus and five other pets in the apartment managed to escape relatively unharmed, but perhaps feeling a bit warier about deodorant cans.

Leech and her partner, Matthew Heckler, were on their way to the store when a neighbor texted them about the explosion in the apartment. The fire department initially thought that it was the result of a leaky gas main but soon pinned the blame on Zeus. Heckler said, "I didn't even know we had a can of Lynx in the living room. It was a Christmas present from Kerry's parents and was in a gift box right next to the fire and back boiler."

Lynx is the name that Axe body spray goes under in England, Ireland, Australia, and other formerly British nations. As in the United States, it's marketed using a series of variations, such as "Anti-Hangover" "Anarchy for Him," "Dark Temptation," and "Fever." Is there perhaps a "Pyro Puppy" variation in the mix now?

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A Pink Chihuahua Puppy Grabs Hearts and Finds a New Home

You'd think that someone who lost a pink dog would look for her, but you'd be wrong.

When the Powers That Be sent out this story from their secret lair at Dogster HQ, I have to admit that my first thought was, "How do you lose a pink puppy?" Even in the Bay Area, where formal attire for an evening might consist of leather shorts, boots, and strategically placed electrical tape, a puppy that's been dyed hot pink will attract attention. There just aren't so many of them around here that one will blend in easily.

The dog in question is a two-month-old Chihuahua, which was found in East Palo Alto last week. She wasn't tagged or chipped, and an X-ray showed that her right back leg had a hairline fracture. The Peninsula Humane Society in San Mateo said that the fracture could easily have happened jumping down from a large couch or someone accidentally stepping on her, and that it wasn't necessarily a sign of abuse. The staff named her Candy, and, despite having her hair washed, she stayed pink.

"This is a little more unusual than your usual stray dog because the dog had an injury and the dog was dyed," Director Scott Delucchi said. "It shows some level of care and attachment that someone went to the trouble to do that. You would think that someone who would show that level of attachment would look for their dog."

But based on the story of Candy, more dogs might want to think pink in order to get rehomed. The press release about Candy went out yesterday morning, and by the evening, she had a new home. According to the society's website, the response was overwhelming. "We were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for and interest in Candy, receiving more than 100 voicemail messages before her story aired on all stations or appeared in print media," they wrote. "We've selected a home for her, a fantastic home. We apologize that we may not be able to return all calls. We trust that people will understand and -- even though they weren't chosen -- take some comfort in knowing Candy will have a wonderful, permanent home."

But in the meantime, the Peninsula Humane Society has 30 more non-pink Chihuahuas still waiting for homes.

"They aren't two-month-old puppies dyed pink," the site says, "but we consider these regular adoptions to be every bit as special as Candy's adoption."

To back that up, for a limited time, the PHS is waiving all adoption fees for Chihuahuas and Chihuahua mixes. Thanks to a punked-out pup, if you're in the area and have been wanting a Chihuahua, this is the time to do it.

Via Patch, SFGate and Peninsula Humane Society

Check out these adorable stories on Dogster:

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We Are Dying to Hug Chesty, the Marines' Adorable New Bulldog Puppy Mascot

The 14th Chesty is a splendid dog. He should discharge his duties nobly and with much cuteness.

A new, impossibly green recruit reported for duty earlier this week, stepping off the bus from his hometown of Stephens City, Virginia, and joining the ranks of his esteemed peers in the armed forces.

His name is Chesty. He is a nine-week-old English Bulldog.

But before he can assume his duties as the official United States Marine Corps mascot, Chesty must survive a relentless boot camp, a hell-on-earth struggle that will test his resolve and bring him face to face with his worst fears -- he'll go to obedience school, in other words.

“After obedience school and recruit training, the young puppy will earn the title Marine, joining the ranks of his well-known predecessors,” the Marine Corps said on its website.

Those predecessors include 13 other Bulldogs named Chesty, all of whom are named after the late Lt. Gen. Lewis “Chesty” Puller, one of the most decorated officers in the history of the Marine Corps. The post -- mascot -- goes back to World War I, when our boys, responding to the German habit of calling Marines ‘teufel-hunden,' or devil dogs, created a U.S. Marine recruiting poster with a snarling English Bulldog wearing a Marine Corps helmet. 

After the poster with a Bulldog, the Marines set about getting an actual Bulldog, according to author Marion F. Sturkey, who wrote Warrior Culture of the U.S. Marines.

“At the Marine base at Quantico, Virginia, the Marines obtained a registered English Bulldog, King Bulwark. In a formal ceremony on 14 October 1922, Brig. Gen. Smedley D. Butler signed documents enlisting the bulldog, renamed Jiggs, for the ‘term of life.’ Pvt. Jiggs then began his official duties in the U.S. Marine Corps.”

He was later renamed Chesty, after the famed Chesty Puller, and the naming tradition stuck.

As for this Chesty, his duties will include marching in the Friday Evening Parades and supporting various events around the National Capitol Region, according to the Marine Corps' website.

That is, after he gets into fighting shape.

"We do like what we do with regular recruits, our human recruits," said Captain John Norton, according to Fox 59 News. "We’re going to take a good civilian and we’re going to make him a little bit better and turn him into a U.S. Marine.” 

Via Fox 59 News 

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Study: Puppy Mills Are Selling Thousands of Dogs Online

“The Internet is the Wild West of puppy mills," says the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

A scathing new report from the International Fund for Animal Welfare finds that puppy mills are doing a massive business through online puppy-sale websites. How bad is it? Each day, the report claims, hundreds of thousands of puppy-mill puppies are advertised online. 

“The Internet is the Wild West of puppy mills. It’s a 24/7 unmonitored, anonymous marketplace, the world’s largest marketplace," Jeff Flocken, director of the IFAW office in Washington, told the Huffington Post. "It’s very difficult to monitor and therefore easy for sellers to circumvent laws." 

On one day in July, nine investigators from IFAW and 16 volunteers tracked ads on six sites known for high-volume puppy sales: Animaroo, DogsNow, NextDayPets, PuppyFind, PuppyTrader, and TerrificPet. They also scoured three more general-interest sites: Craigslist, eBay Classifieds, and Oodle. 

They found 733,000 puppies for sale out of nearly 10,000 puppy ads. Investigators determined that 62 percent of those ads were from puppy mills. How do they determine whether an online ad is from a puppy mill? 

According to HuffPo, "Investigators used a variety of factors ... including if the seller screens potential owners, if puppies under eight weeks old are offered, and if the same puppy is advertised as a different puppy elsewhere."

Other criteria include whether sites have no-refund or -return policies, whether 20 or more puppies are simultaneously advertised, whether the seller offers registration papers, whether ads include slogans such as "Easter Pets" or "Christmas Pets," and whether it appears that images of puppies have been digitally placed into different settings.

Flocken also said that another sign is whether the seller will let you visit the kennel: “Never buy an animal unless you can see the facility in which it was raised.”

The report went on to break down the sellers themselves, as well. Animaroo was the worst offender, with 85 percent of the ads seeming to come from puppy mills. Next was PuppyTrader (64 percent) followed by DogsNow (62 percent), NextDayPets (61 percent), PuppyFind (55 percent), and TerrificPets (44 percent). 

Needless to say, you should never buy a puppy from any of these sellers.  

When confronted with the evidence, Dean Hamill, president of PuppyTrader.com, told HuffPo that he bans breeders who receive a complaint "with merit."

"Breeders of bad reputation are usually found out quickly with this type of feedback," he said.

He also disputed the report: "The writers even admit to the report's likely inaccuracy by using their criteria to come to a conclusion that the advertisers were to be classified as only 'likely a puppy mill.'" 

With the report, IFAW aims to increase consumer awareness and keep websites from posting ads from puppy mills. The group held a press conference in Los Angeles with actor Ben Stein. 

“Consumers opting to purchase puppies over the Internet are duped into believing they are buying from reputable breeders,” Stein said. “The cute puppy images shown on many seller websites hide the heartbreaking reality of the overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in which the dogs are housed.”

To see the full report, click here. 

Via the Huffington Post

View the original article here

Reflections on My Drive Through Lancaster, the Puppy Mill Capital of the World

I felt queasy making my way through this part of Pennsylvania on a recent trip because I know its dark secret.

"Green beans, peach pie, Akita puppies."

If only I had my cell phone with me when I recently came upon that sign outside of a picturesque Amish country road leading up to a seemingly charming house. Journalism Rules 101: Have a camera with you at all times. Which I had failed to do. The words etched on that sign, however, are an eternal snapshot in my mind.

Seeing that sign on a recent trip to Lancaster, PA, left me with a different feeling than I'd gotten on previous trips in the region. Since my previous visits I've learned that this agrarian community is home to a deep dark secret: The area is known for its dog factories, puppy mills, torture houses -- call them what you will -- and the sign was evidence, however slight, of what goes on there. 

The tourism bureau boasts that there are “so many things to do, you’ll come back again and again,” but it neglects that Amish Country is also dubbed “the puppy mill capital of the world” by several animal advocacy groups.

Lancaster County is home to what many consider the oldest and largest population of Amish in the United States, about 30,000. Often called “Dutch Country” because of the Pennsylvania Dutch who were among the first Europeans in the region, this area was also the home of my dog’s veterinary specialist for years. We took the road less traveled to appointments, through Amish towns including Intercourse, Blue Ball, Lititz, and Bird-in-Hand -- and on a few occasions, we turned the vet trip into a vacation, yet I somehow missed the seedy secrets.

Of course, not all Amish are puppy-mill breeders, and scores of non-Amish folks are horrible puppy-mill producers. But my interest was piqued in returning to Amish Country while channel scanning this fall. I stumbled on the TLC reality show, Breaking Amish, and spawned by “must see” instincts, I headed for corn rows.

The Amish are depicted as comprising a quiet, hardworking culture, people who grow their own foods and live without electricity and modern conveniences.

According to the website Pet Watch New Jersey, “Many puppies sold in New Jersey pet stores originate from Amish and Mennonite puppy mills in Pennsylvania, with the highest concentration coming from Lancaster County.” How could I have driven through this area so many times and not seen it? Apparently, this is what the area relies on: clueless tourists.

Undercover video obtained by Main Line Animal Rescue (located near the Valley Forge National Park in Chester County, PA) several years ago revealed dogs are improperly bred and live in filthy conditions. Many never see the light of day. In a story reported by ABC News, Bill Smith (of Main Line Rescue) shared that dogs are often euthanized and sometimes are “legally” shot. Smith told ABC News, “Unfortunately, if a kennel breeds less than 60 dogs, they can shoot them," he said. "If it's over 60 dogs, they can't be shot."

Many people -- including the governor -- have called for reform of the law that allowed that, and web research was inconclusive as to whether the law still stands. Regardless, it's horrific to think that as recently as 2009, courts in Pennsylvania ruled that it was legal -- if disturbing -- for people to kill their pets if they wanted to.

In 2008, Main Line Animal Rescue put up a billboard in Chicago, which caught Oprah Winfrey's eye. It said, "Oprah: Do a show on puppy mills. The dogs need you." Winfrey sent journalist Lisa Ling into Pennsylvania's puppy mill country for what became an award-winning expose.

The Amish in Pennsylvania are not alone in their outrageous and harmful breeding practices. Just recently an Amish farmer in Ohio was busted for the offense of cruelty to animals and operating a puppy mill.

A recent puppy mill bust in Tarlton, Ohio, merited 50 dogs seized, some so matted and laden in fur that their breeds were unidentifiable. The dogs are being taken to several rescue organizations around the state. Sadly, the owner of the operation complained he was most upset that reporters were present and calling attention to the bust.

How is this allowed to happen? Are these quiet folk immune to the law? The Animal Legal Defense Fund is working to change legislation, which would require reform, as Dogster reported. But things are not moving along swiftly enough, and millions of innocent dogs are being bred as trash and then discarded as such. What can we do? This is what played through my mind as I sickeningly faced a three-hour ride home from the sign that shook me to my core.

The Humane Society of the United States has an actionable kit for folks to get involved, and it also provides tips to avoid buying a dog from a puppy mill.

Also, though this video may be hard to watch, it exposes what is happening and what we can do to give these innocent animals a voice.

Being registered and having papers does not ensure a puppy did not come from a puppy mill. Refuse to shop at stores that sell puppies from puppy mills. My first dog was a puppy-mill rescue, and this I know: I loved her more than life itself, and she had extenstive health problems. 

I know better now, but the problem that causes such suffering continues.

View the original article here

Los Angeles Bans the Retail Sale of Dogs, Crushing Puppy Mills

Last week, the city banned the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores. I'm over the moon. What do you have to say, Dogster readers?

They don’t call it the City of Angels for nothing. We’re not being sarcastic -- Los Angeles has a serious soft spot for little furry critters. Last week, on Halloween, the L.A. City Council pulled off an impressive trick: formalizing its approval of an ordinance that bans the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits, becoming the largest American city to do so.

You heard right. In the future, the dogs, cats, and rabbits seen in Los Angeles pet stores will be from shelters or rescue groups. Products of puppy and kitten mills will simply not be available for sale in L.A. Animal advocates around the country are cheering this as a giant leap toward the Golden State becoming the largest no-kill community in the country. Way to go, Los Angeles!

The action is significant. It makes L.A. the largest city in the U.S. to enact legislation that puts an effective stopper in what, until now, has been a seemingly unstoppable stream of puppy-mill pets. As more and more Americans learn about the cruel reality behind these cuteness factories, and that the majority of the commercially-bred animals impulse-purchased at pet shops wind up on death row at animal shelters, this legislation is a major scoop -- and reason to cheer, for it will have a profoundly positive impact on California's pet overpopulation problem.

L.A. alone operates seven municipal, open-admission animal shelter facilities, each one of them overloaded with beautiful dogs (and cats) who are killed every day for lack of space, because impulse buyers have been busy maxing out their credit cards at pet shops. Well, no longer.

“It’s a very good day for the people and animals of L.A.,” said Elizabeth Oreck of Best Friends Animal Society, the highly respected non-profit headquartered in Kanab, Utah, which has been at the forefront of puppy-mill initiatives for years now. “Not only will this restrict the flow of animals coming into our city from pet mills and backyard breeders, it will help alleviate the pet overpopulation problem in our shelters by providing more opportunities for rescued animals to find homes.”

Said Carole Raphaelle Davis of the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS), “After eight years of investigations and protests, we are satisfied and optimistic about breaking the blood money contracts between puppy mill owners who abuse animals and L.A. pet retailers." CAPS provided the L.A. City Council with the results of its two-year investigation into L.A.’s retail pet stores and the commercial breeding facilities, located mainly in the Midwestern states and in rural California, that supplied them.

“This ordinance will relieve mill animals and help save the lives of animals who are killed at Los Angeles Animal Services,” Davis added. “The 2011-2012 body count is unacceptable, with 9,056 dogs and 12,061 cats killed in our shelters. We are relieved that finally, the cries of L.A.’s shelter animals have been heard. Puppy mills and cruel pet factories will fade into history at last.”

OK, so putting emotions aside for a moment, let’s say you don’t care about shelter euthanasia rates or the greed of commercial breeders. With the general election just days away, fiscal matters are top of mind right now for all taxpayers, regardless of which candidate you intend to cast your vote for. And on top of the terrible karmic cost of taking innocent animal lives, killing shelter pets puts a huge dollar burden on us, the American taxpayers.

“More than 70,000 animals are euthanized in Los Angeles city and county shelters every year -- at taxpayer expense,” Oreck explained. “To continue importing puppies and kittens from mills in other states while we are killing the surplus that are already filling our shelters simply doesn't make sense. Today, Los Angeles took a reasonable and progressive step to addressing these issues in our city.”

Oreck was careful to add that the ordinance will not affect responsible, hobby breeders, the existence of whom Dogster has evidence, who will remain a source of purebred animals for those who are not able to find the purebred of their choice through shelters, purebred rescue groups, or online databases such as Petfinder.com. In fact, the ordinance should actually help increase business for the breeders in local communities, which is preferable to importing business from outside of Los Angeles, she added.

Oreck has been busy fielding calls and emails from people all over the country, asking how they can enact an ordinance to ban retail sales of pets in their own communities. "We are witnessing a cultural shift that comes from true grassroots advocacy in action,” she concluded. “It is only a matter of time before there will be very few places where one will be able to walk into a pet store and purchase an animal from a puppy or kitten mill.”

Here's what this reporter says: Hear, hear! What do you think, Dogster readers? Is this the kind of political-cultural trend you’d like to see more of? Please make your voices heard in the comments!

View the original article here

Great Dane Puppy Cam: Watch Future Service Dogs Grow Up

Explore.org and Dog Bless You provide a look into the lives of six puppies as they're trained.

Here at Dogster, we love big mutts and we cannot lie. While there's definitely a place in our hearts for petite breeds, big dogs like sweet giant George and record-breaking Zeus amaze us with their sheer size, engaging our imaginations and inviting us to hug them tightly.

We are no stranger to puppy cams -- in fact, we've got them all bookmarked in our browsers and we sneak a peek of adorableness whenever our boss isn't looking (well, all right, here at Dogster, our boss is usually looking at puppy cams with us and the squeals of glee echo throughout the office). But this particular cam of Great Dane puppies is especially awww-inspiring -- the six big pups are destined to become service dogs to disabled veterans, children, and people suffering from diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Friedrich's ataxia.

Thanks to the efforts of explore.org and Dog Bless You, we get a glimpse into the lives and training of these amazing service dogs with multiple cameras, which allow you to watch puppies Perry, Lola, Ebony, Mia, Willow, and Roxanne grow into healthy, noble dogs.

But that's not all! For every one thousand likes Dog Bless You's initiative, Dog Bless USA, receives on its Facebook, Tumblr, and Pinterest pages, the organization will donate one service dog to a disabled veteran. Since June, more than 150 dogs have began improving the lives of men and women who have fought to defend our country.

Are you ready for cuteness? You can watch the puppies sleep with the indoor cam and during the day you can watch them outside at the "puppy hill."

Photos via the Service Dog Project

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A Pet Store Puppy For Suri? Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, You Can Do Better Than That

Did you see the photos last week of Suri Cruise tearfully looking at puppies at a pet store? No? You didn't see them? What's wrong with you? That was a choice piece of center-cut pop culture. You got a job or something?  

Truthfully, it has us a bit worried. If Suri Cruise wants a puppy from a puppy store, then that means Suri's daddy is going to want a puppy from a puppy store, and there's not much that can stop Tom Cruise besides a well-executed escape plan and a crack legal team. 

We fear this might get more people thinking about buying puppies from pet stores instead of where they should be getting them: shelters (editor's note: or reputable breeders). Hell, we wouldn't be surprised if backyard breeders are working up a Suri breed right now (half Maltese, half Staffordshire Bull Terrier, one dab dragon's blood), or if Petland opens 15 more stores on the Eastern seaboard based on that photo alone. 

Many pet stores, of course, stock their shelves with dogs from puppy mills, and you don't want a dog from a puppy mill. You could start by reading this piece on puppy mills. For just the choice quotes, read on:

"Puppy mills are often dirty and unsanitary. You often see dogs in cages with their own filth, left out in the heat and cold, malnourished, and with skin problems.""Puppies are not hand-held from birth like most reputable breeders' are. This means they have little or no human interaction until they're sold. This can lead to aggression, anxiety, fear, indifference, and a whole host of behavioral problems. Also, living in a small cage crates a poorly adjusted dog.""Dogs are usually caged their entire breeding life.""Dogs are often bred every six months, with never a break. After their fertility ends, they are often sold or sometimes killed."Nice, huh? No, that's not nice. Tom, if you really want to go purebred, buy the Westminster Kennel Club and give it to Suri through her lawyers. Go big. 

But what we think Suri really needs is an intervention -- an indoctrination, if you will -- into the joys of getting a dog from the shelter, which costs far less money, much less than your life savings doled out piecemeal throughout the years until you're so brainwashed you think you've moved across the Bridge to Total Freedom and achieved Clear when you've really just gone utterly and completely insane thinking you're descended from aliens who died in a volcano. Ahem. 

So, Tom, Katie, legal teams on both sides, Gloria Aldridge, Martha Stewart, James Van Der Beek, or anyone else with a direct line to Tom: Consider this a public service announcement. Give Suri a shelter dog. Two if you can handle the extra food expense. You can do this. 

Just picture Suri and Katie traipsing down their Manhattan sidewalk with a shelter pup surrounded by 32 people carrying $350,000 of recording equipment and broadcasting the adorable dog's every move to TMZ and probably Tom's computer in his secret office in the closet -- um, basement. I bet Xenu himself might reveal himself in the foyer and tell the kid she did good. 

Remember: Thetans don't let thetans buy puppies from pet stores (bumper sticker?), and nor should the rest of you.

View the original article here

The Puppy Mill Song: A Catchy Tune with a Serious Message

Here at Dogster we believe that you can never denounce the evils of puppy mills enough. They are bad, no good, and wrong. We want them to go away forever.

In an effort to continue raising awareness about the deplorable conditions of puppy mills and encourage people to adopt their fur friends from shelters, the San Francisco SPCA has teamed up with the Jullien Brothers and BBDO San Francisco to create this charming and informative little video about why you shouldn't purchase puppies from puppy mills.

Beneath the video's cuteness lies a very serious message. While purchasing a dog online may seem fun and convenient, the truth is that most Internet puppies come from mills that don't give a damn about the welfare of their animals. Adult dogs are bred and bred and bred until they can no longer produce offspring, at which point they are callously destroyed. Their puppies are confined and overcrowded, exposed to the elements, malnourished, and dehydrated.

But while all of us Dogsters are well aware of the sinister puppy mill cycle, a lot of people just don't know the story behind the doggie in the browser window. Even in San Francisco -- a city committed to social awareness -- 30 percent of dogs purchased in the city came from puppy mills! For shame.

Do your part and help spread the word. It's as easy as showing someone this video.

Via Laughing Squid 

View the original article here

"Lost Puppy" Found on Camping Trip Turns Out to Be a Wolf Cub

Campers in Ketchum, Idaho, found a lonely, hungry, tiny, cute baby furry creature by the side of the road and decided to help him out by bringing him to a vet. However, upon closer inspection, the vet suspected that the little four-legged guy the rescuers thought was just a puppy might actually be a wolf cub.

The little lost wolf cub hadn't eaten in days when found.

Folks, do not try this at home! Vets conducted DNA tests to find out whether the pup is pure wolf or perhaps a wolf-hybrid. Frightened of people and in poor health, the cub was handed over to a local zoo for temporary care and housing. Workers from Fish and Game are on the hunt for the cub's family in an effort to reunite him with his pack. A wolf pack had been observed near where the cub was found, and it's suspected that while in the process of moving a litter, the wolves were startled by humans and became separated.

Defenders of Wildlife have stepped in to assist Idaho Fish and Game in locating the cub's family. Their wolf expert, Suzanne Stone, explained the urgency in reuniting the pack, since wolf cubs have only a slim chance of survival without their mamas. 

Suzanne Stone points out the wolf tracks they hope will lead the cub back home.

For now the cub is being kept away from people so he'll have a better chance of being reassimilated into the wild, which we hope will happen soon. 

Defenders or Wildlife found tracks that "indicate that the mother wolf was using the road to move her litter through Sawtooth National Forest where they were disturbed by human activity and the one pup got separated from his family."

They plan on following the tracks back to what they hope will be a den site so they can get the little cub back home.

Our paws are crossed for a happy ending to this story!

Via Dog Heirs

View the original article here

Chris Brown Wants to Sell You a Pit Bull Puppy

You know, the world just doesn't have enough pit bulls. Especially pit bulls from famous singers accused of beating up their girlfriends.

Fortunately, singer Chris Brown has stepped in to fill that gaping hole in the market. Check him out here with one of the pups.

Aww, what could be more innocent and cuddly, right? That pic tops the web page CB Breeds. It features eight ridiculously cute 2-month-old pups listed for $1,000 each. According to various sources, Brown's publicist claims he is not going into a side business of breeding. She said something to the effect that his pit bull got preggo, and Brown wanted to see the dogs go to loving homes. So Brown's mom made this site and tweeted the link.

First: I'm not sure that's the best way to find a loving home. But hey, it's nothing if not convenient. Check out this screenshot of how easy it is to buy one. Really, there's nothing like screening your puppy's future owners. Of course, the only screening they have to go through to get a pup is having money that can be sent online.

Second: Wow, what a coincidence! His dog happened to get knocked up by another pit bull! What are the odds? I guess like attracts like, because these pitties sure look pure. Check out a few of them.

Here's Princess. Aww!

Meet Pretty.

And feast your eyes on Beauty.

Let's not forget the more scraggly Fortune.

What's up with those names, anyway? It really shows the namer has some deep and meaningful core values. (In fairness, the others are named Precious, Freedom, Jett, and Music.)

If Chris Brown has a publicist, he or she should probably have stopped this train wreck before it started. It's a real black eye for him. (And he knows from black eyes.) Check out some comments on stories from other news sources and sites:

"That's an amazing marketing idea! 'Buy this puppy before I beat the crap out of it!' "

"Because 'puppy mill operator' is just what he needed to add to his resume."

"Something along the lines of 'Hope these bitches don't disrespect him.'"

"One is a rabid, disgusting and dangerous creature that should be euthanize and destroyed,sent to the depths of Hell where it belongs. The other is a cute pitbull puppy."

At Dogster World HQ in San Francisco, our hackles were up in force when this news came through. Dogster's Community Manager, Lori Malm, dashed together a letter to Brown and sent it off to the e-mail address listed for the puppy business. I'm reprinting it here because it really gets to the heart of the matter:

Dear Chris Brown,

I am so disappointed to learn that you are breeding and selling Pit Bull puppies. A talented and successful man such as yourself can do so much better.

Today, thousands of Pit Bulls will be euthanized because there just aren't enough homes for them. There are currently 1,051 pit bull puppies listed on PetFinder that are in shelters waiting to be adopted. Why are you selling them when so many need homes? Please do the right thing and put your time and resources toward helping this wonderful breed by supporting pit bull rescue and adoption efforts.

Following is a link to thousands of rescue organizations and shelters with Pit Bulls available for adoption.

Thank you for considering how you can help Pit Bulls by supporting rescue and adoption efforts.

Lori Malm

So far, no answer ...

(Sources: CB Breeds, Washington Post, LimeLife, The Hollywood Gossip, Buzzfeed)

View the original article here

The New Office Puppy Is Cute Enough to Eat! But We Can’t Do That, So…

Every other Friday, Dogster’s social media gal, Anna Zeman, rounds up the best of the dogcentric Web (outside the awesomeness found right here on Dogster). In case you missed them, check out her first, second, and third columns. — Your Friendly Neighborhood Dogster Editors

++++

This is the new office puppy. As you can see, she is !~@#$%^&*(*&^%. Yeah, those are the feelings I get when I look at her.

I also get a total uncontrollable desire to put her in my mouth. To protect her? To eat her? I’m not really sure, but when I see her, I get so overwhelmed with how freaking cute she is that I want to fit her whole tiny little puppy body in my mouth.

It’s weird, and I know that it’s totally inappropriate to want to eat my co-worker’s dog, so instead I’ve rounded up a bunch of really cute things that I can eat without getting fired and/or getting arrested.

+ Chocolate Puppies:

OMD, these are the cutest furkin’ chocolates I’ve ever seen. The Poodle? I die.

I need to have a box of these at all times on my desk. Assistant! Fetch me these NOW. (Just kidding. I don’t have an assistant, but if I did, I would require fresh-cut flowers and dog-shaped chocolates on my desk daily.)

+ Hot-Dog-Shaped Dog:

I don’t eat meat, but if I did, I would be making this.

I think you should make one right now if you have the time.

+ Dog Bento Box:

I looooove cute bento because it combines my two of my passions: food and cuteness.

I really need to start crafting adorable little animal-themed lunches for myself. Seriously, what could possibly make you happier than having this packed in your lunch box?

+ Wait till you see these cakes:

Each of these breed-themed cakes is a work of art. I don’t think I could cut into one of these, never mind eat one.

The time and skill it must take to make them is unreal. SRSLY, they’ll blow your mind.

+ French Bulldog Cake:

Unlike the previous cakes, which are incredible but outrageously complicated, I think I could make this one.

Obviously that is because I am completely delusional and narcissistic so I always overestimate my skill levels (insert memory of me crying over my BF’s second birthday cake that fell circa 2008). But whatever! I’m going to spend $80 on fondant and drive myself crazy this weekend.

+ Wedding cake toppers for the Pom love:

There is something about Pomeranians that turns their owners into breed fanatics. Perhaps it’s their glorious floof, their tiny little dragon faces, their incredible personality, their OMG I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

Annnnyway, If you are a Pom fanatic, and you’ve been lucky enough to find a partner who is also crazy about Pomeranians or just one who accepts how craycray you are, this could be the topper on your wedding cake! Or if you’re supercrazy, you could have this for your Pom’s very own wedding!

Anna Zeman is a Social Media Monkey Scientist Strategist at SAY Media (Dogster and Catster’s pawrent company). She is pro-smooshed-faces, pro-kawaii, and anti-animal testing.

View the original article here

Hero Puppy Nudges Family Away From Potential Gas Explosion

Ollie, the hero

It was supposed to be a cozy evening at the Hyde family’s home earlier this month. Jason Hyde had turned on the gas in the gas-log fireplace in their Georgia home and the family started putting up Christmas decorations. Unbenowst to them, as they were decking the halls, the home was filling with highly flammable gas from the open gas line into the logs. No one had lit the fire.

With the gas pouring into the house, any spark could cause a tremendous explosion. And there was also a real risk of asphyxiation. No one realized what was going on. No one but a 6-month-old boxer named Ollie.

“He knew something we didn’t know,” Hyde said to an Atlanta TV station. “He sensed something wasn’t right.”

Hyde said Ollie arched his back and started nudging family members until they figured something was wrong and followed him outside. Only then did Hyde realize he’d left the gas on without lighting the fire.

How this puppy figured out something was amiss and that the family had to get away from the danger is anyone’s guess. And how a 6-month-old dog knew how to direct the family away from the potentially deadly area is even more unfathomable.

“He cared about us enough to get us out,” said Sheree Hyde. “He was not giving up until we all came outside. We loved him before and obviously we still do, but we thank God for such a smart dog.”

Jason Hyde agrees: “I just think it’s cool that God has made a creature, made a dog, as smart as this dog and I am glad to have him.”

What a great dog! How can any untrained dog – especially such a young dog – sense danger, and then do something about it? What do you think happened here, Dogsters?

(Source: PRWeb.com)

View the original article here

5 Great Holiday Gifts for New Puppy Parents

Are you searching for the perfect holiday gift for a friend, family member, or coworker with a new dog or puppy? Here are a few of our favorite suggestions for new pet parents this holiday season!

The Gift of Good Behavior

Whether your friend has a new puppy or has adopted an adolescent, adult, or senior dog, enrolling the dog in a positive-reinforcement-based training program will help dog and owner develop a solid relationship based on trust.

Giving the gift of education will help ensure a dog is able to stay in his new home for a lifetime. Gift certificates for training services from a skilled behavior professional or trainer in your area make great stocking stuffers and can be purchased in nearly any denomination.

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) publishes a handy checklist (PDF) to help you find a good local trainer.

The Gift of Knowledge

Training books and DVDs can also make great Christmas gifts. My favorite sources for training information are Tawzer Dog Videos, Dogwise, and Karen Pryor Clicker Training. Tawzer now offers a Netflix-type delivery service. Annual memberships in programs like these can be a dream for committed dog owners!

Consider giving your friend or family member an annual subscription to the Whole Dog Journal, a monthly independent publication that offers up-to-date information on holistic training, nutrition, and health care.

The Gift of Safety

You need management tools to keep your dog safe and out of trouble while teaching him desirable foundation skills. Crates, baby gates, exercise pens, and tethers are all invaluable in helping your dog adjust to a new household environment.

Susan Garrett’s Crate Games DVD teaches dogs not simply to tolerate, but to actually love time spent in their crates!

The Gift of Zen

Most dog owners prefer a dog who is happy and relaxed at home to one who is rambunctious with an overabundance of energy. Products like Through a Dog’s Ear and Dog Appeasing Pheremone (D.A.P.) help promote a state of emotional well-being in dogs.

Food-dispensing toys are another way to promote mental wellness and reduce boredom-related behavior problems in dogs — we’ll talk about those in more depth next week.

The Gift of Sanitation

While we all love dogs, they can certainly be messy. Appropriate grooming tools make great holiday gifts and will satisfy any neat freaks on your Christmas list. If you know what breed your friend’s dog is, call a local grooming shop and ask what type of tools they use. Adopters of dogs with high-maintenance coats may also appreciate gift certificates for a well-recommended groomer.

Even if your friend or family member has adopted an adult dog who was previously house-trained, dogs may need reminding that the rule “go potty outside” applies, even in a new environment. Clean-up tools, from enzymatic cleaners specifically designed to clean up dog waste like Nature’s Miracle to poop bags and scoopers, make it easier to keep the home and yard clean while new puppies and dogs are being house-trained.

Stay tuned! Next week, we’ll discuss some great gifts for dogs.

View the original article here

Why You’re NOT Doing a Good Deed When You “Rescue” that Poor, Pleading Pet Store Puppy

“If you think that puppy mills are so horrible, why aren’t you buying these dogs and rescuing them from the awful situations they’re in? Why aren’t you encouraging your clients to buy them so they don’t end up in shelters or rescues?” This is a summary of a comment left on one of my previous Dogster blog posts about the behavioral effects of puppy mills.

It’s rare for me to respond to comments on the Dogster blogs I’ve written (time is a precious thing when you’re an entrepreneur like me!), but I felt as though this particular comment needed addressing since it taps into what I find to be a very pervasive myth – that you are doing a “good deed” when you purchase a dog from a pet store or “rescuing” this dog from the puppy milling cycle.

Buying a puppy from a pet store is NOT “rescuing” the puppy from the mill cycle; it is making a cash contribution to the perpetuation of a cycle of greed which sees puppies as commodities. Puppies are big business to all millers, and like all businesses, puppy milling operates on the “supply and demand” principle. No business stays open without client support. Each pet store puppy purchased positively reinforces the pet store and miller for inappropriate breeding practices.

Of course, I hate seeing a single dog suffer for any reason. I really hate seeing millions of dogs suffer for a single reason – lining the wallets of individuals who prey on the pain of sentient beings.

It’s hard to see a six month old puppy, too big for his crate, with his large, sad, brown eyes begging you to “please take me home. Get me out of here.” But essentially, taking that dog home only opens up that crate for the next six-month-old dog who has missed the opportunity to spend his critical stages of development with a family who will treat him well. Eventually, another well-intentioned dog lover will feel pity for him and take him home. The cycle continues, ad infinitum.

I hate the puppy mill industry on two levels. I hate it for the dogs – I hate that mill breeding dogs are made to live in squalor their entire lives, never seeing a moment of compassion, never knowing what it’s like to feel grass on their feet, the fun of learning a new trick, the pleasure of a deep sigh on a warm bed after a great hiking adventure.

I hate that these dogs are given inadequate medical care, inappropriate nutrition, and have substandard living conditions. I hate that puppies are taken from their litters too early, transported during critical fear periods, and are placed in environments which are dangerous to their physical and behavioral development. I hate that my new client’s Chihuahua mix, recently purchased from a local pet shop at five months old, is terrified of children and most adults, and has already learned that biting hard is a very effective strategy for creating space, already drawing blood daily, nearly every time someone tries to touch him.

I hate the industry for what it does to pet owners too. The mill industry is a scam, and its employees are con artists – selling dog owners and their dogs a lifetime of frustration for exorbitant prices. My new client wanted a cute and wonderful puppy. She loves dogs. Her heart melted when she saw this puppy cowering and trembling in his crate, and she took him home. Now she’s afraid of her puppy, and her puppy is terrified of life. She didn’t get a pet, she got a behavior modification project; likely the result of a combination of poor genetics and extremely poor experiences during critical socialization periods. She wanted to take her new doggy to new places, new experiences, to give him all the opportunities he’d been denied in his early puppyhood. She won’t be able to do that for some time, and is likely looking at an extensive training investment (financially and in terms of her time), plus a lifetime of careful management.

People who buy puppies from pet stores are not bad people. I would venture to say that virtually every person who purchases a puppy from a pet store a) doesn’t know about the mill industry or b) does know, falls in love, and honestly wants to help this one dog experience a fantastic life with a loving family. But how we as pet owners invest our money is bigger than us, bigger than this one dog on this one day in this one pet shop.

Will the investment you make the next time you bring a dog into your home break or perpetuate the cycle?

View the original article here

Puppy kindergarten: What playgroup would your pup be in?

Housebreaking tips, anyone? Or do ya’ll have completely housebroken puppies already?

No matter how many dogs you’ve owned and no matter how good you are with dogs, there’s no replacement for socialization and going out to partake of the big world. That’s why puppy kindergarten is so important for puppy development, not to mention great photo opportunities.

After lengthy waits for puppies from responsible breeders, two of my friends each ended up with puppies who were born one week apart: Olivia, a lovely and earlicious German Shepherd dog with a wise face, and Niles, an adorable, fluffy miniature schnauzer with natural ears. Their owners decided they should go to puppy kindergarden together. The puppies met before the first class when they got into the same car (different crates).

For these two puppies, there were no less than five women with them at their first day of school. I wanted to stand at the bus stop and wave at them as they left home to go to school. I don’t think anyone cried. Oh wait, I did. It was the perfect antidote to living with a beloved geriatric.

I have never been to puppy class before because I generally adopt adult rescues, and I have to say it was just about the cutest thing I have ever seen. Seriously. Dogs of every size, color and activity level seemed to be there, all in darling, sweet, miniature baby form with puppy breath, puppy faces, and sharp little puppy teeth.

The best part of class was play time. The instructor, a lovely woman from Patricia McConnell’s Dogs’ Best Friend, said that they would break the puppies into three play groups based on their personality and activity level.

“Some dogs like to play football, and some prefer to have tea,” she said.

She also said that over the course of the class some puppies would switch back and forth between those three levels and people shouldn’t worry about it. Don’t worry, be happy…it’s puppy school!

The football players, including Olivia, went outside where there was a wading pool with water. The average-activity puppies, which constituted the largest group and included Niles, goofed around in the large sectioned-off area of the main room. The two or three puppies who preferred to have tea went to the small sectioned-off area. It took a while for the tea puppies and the average puppies to get going.

Outside, the football players were rocking. There was a Labrador, and there was a wading pool with water – need we say more? Olivia didn’t go in the pool, at least not when I was looking, but she chased the lab around and was clearly having a great time.

Niles took a moment to get into the spirit of playtime. “Really, I’m supposed to go out there without you? And do what, exactly?” He eventually did get himself into the crowd, although it also may have come to him. One of the puppies skittered across the linoleum like a wind-up toy.

The tea party had a hard time getting started, as you can imagine. It’s hard to party hearty from between mom’s legs, but the people stood close together.

The first change was a puppy who came in from the footballers to the average group, but ended up playing too hard for the average guys and thus had to play on a leash. One of the average guys went for a cuppa tea. Eventually another dog was removed from the footballers, but so late in the game that she just stayed outside standing behind her people.

Next week everyone will know what to expect, but none of the dogs will be any less enthusiastic. After all, they’re puppies!

View the original article here

Madonna of the Mills: Puppy mill expose next week on HBO

Mark your calendar for Wednesday August 24th so you can watch the HBO documentary, “Madonna of the Mills.” I was able to preview the film and liked what I saw. The movie documents the passion of Laura Amato (the Madonna) on her forays into Lancaster, Penn. Her sole purpose for traveling into the heart of Amish country is the rescue of puppy mill dogs, specifically those who are “used up” (no longer capable of breeding) and slated to be destroyed.

Laura is an intriguing main character. Her composure remains completely passive as she interacts with puppy mill breeders. She is therefore allowed access into the kennels and, on occasion the camera is allowed to follow. When this happens, what we see is predictably gruesome. One wonders how Laura can remain so emotionally detached while in the midst of such inhumanity. Clearly, she understands that such passivity is required if she is to accomplish the task at hand, namely the rescue of innocent victims, one at a time. The movie credits state that Laura has rescued more than two thousand dogs.

For those who are familiar with puppy mills, there’s really nothing new revealed here. The kennel conditions are beyond horrific, the dogs are physically and psychologically traumatized beings, it is clear that legislation is needed to make things better, and there are some happy endings thanks to generous, kind-hearted, patient people.

One could argue that, through her actions, the Madonna is enabling puppy mills to thrive. I wasn’t clear to me if Laura actually purchases the dogs she rescues. What was clear was that that none of her actions would deter the puppy mill trade. Laura is clearly a prisoner of her passion. One senses she would give up anything and everything in her life before surrendering her rescue missions. In a brief moment of emotional vulnerability she talks about the enormity of the puppy mill situation while seemingly trying to convince herself that by rescuing one dog at a time, she is making a difference.

Whether or not you agree with what Laura is doing, the beauty of this documentary is that it will educate the public about puppy mills. Someone contemplating purchasing a pup from a pet store just might be dissuaded from doing so after watching this movie. By the way, I wish the movie had more strongly emphasized that pups purchased on line (site and sight unseen) are also likely to be puppy mill progeny. Nonetheless, kudos to those responsible for making this documentary. Have a look and tell me what you think. By the way, you may want to have a box of Kleenex close at hand, and perhaps something to soothe your nerves while viewing the graphic scenes.

View the original article here