51 Maltese Dogs Abandoned on a Country Road in Texas

A puppy mill operator's cowardly act nearly cost dozens of dogs their lives. Rescue is under way.

Police in Flower Mound, TX, received a call last month that "a large number of small dogs" were running loose beside a country road. Animal service officers were sent out, and they captured the dogs.

Fifty-one dogs, to be precise. All of them Maltese. They were in terrible hygienic condition, with "severely matted hair," and all were in poor health, with "issues ranging from staph infections to broken bones to cancer," according to Star Local News.

A video released later detailed those injuries, which included such horrors as a dislocated jaw, mammary tumors, tooth decay from eating urine-soaked food, a broken and dead tail, cauliflower ears, a deformed leg, nails grown into pads of their feet, and so on. The level of neglect surprised even veteran rescuers, according to the video. 

Who would dump 51 ailing and neglected Maltese? There's only one theory: a puppy mill operator. Though there is no specific breeder in mind, police suspect the dogs were abandoned due to a new Texas law requiring minimum care standards, inspection, and licensing of commercial breeders. There's a $6,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.

Thanks to the efforts of Flower Mound Animal Services, who rescued the dogs with police, all of the dogs were placed in local rescue groups.

"It is always gratifying to see how the rescue community pulls together in these situations," said Stacy Smith of Flower Mound Animal Services. "It would have been difficult for any one group to provide the level of care and attention that these dogs required."

Smith said that nearly every dog needed extensive medical treatment, and most suffered from anxiety and fear issues. 

"The organizations who took these dogs on committed to a great deal of expense and rehabilitation," Smith said. "These are not dogs that were ready to be adopted out immediately. They needed a lot of work."

The rescue groups did that work, however, and yesterday Flower Mound Animal Services was happy to report that many of the Maltese have already been adopted. Others are still rehabilitating in foster homes. One Maltese, Audrey, gave birth the day she was rescued. Her puppies will never know the horrors of the puppy mill.

Smith wants people to think about these dogs when they consider buying a puppy from a store.

"These dogs spent their lives as the mothers and fathers of puppies you purchase in pet stores, online, or at trade days," she said. "They live their entire lives in filthy cages. A puppy purchased from one of those sources supports the puppy mill industry and this kind of cruelty. If you want to make sure you aren't contributing to it, adopt your next pet from a shelter."

We couldn't agree more.

Via Star Local News

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VCA Animal Hospitals offer free boarding – Texas Wildfires

Wildfires continue to ravage drought stricken Texas in one of the most devastating outbreaks in Texas history. Over 1000 homes have been burned to the ground leaving families and their animals homeless. VCA Animal Hospitals have graciously offered to help by boarding pets effected by the wildfire’s destruction. Below is a listing of participating vet hospitals for those of you who reside or have family members living in Texas who affected by the raging wildfires. Thank you VCA!!!!! You are Texas sized angels!

If you are advised to evacuate please do so. Don’t leave your animals behind if you can at all help it, they most likely can not survive on their own. For the rest of us, this is a good reminder to have a disaster readiness plan for our families and pets in the event of an emergency. Do you know what you would do?

VCA ANIMAL HOSPITALS OFFER FREE BOARDING FOR PETS
AFFECTED BY TEXAS WILDFIRES

To help those affected by the fires in Texas, VCA Animal Hospitals today announced that VCA facilities located in the areas surrounding both Austin and Houston are offering free boarding assistance for companion animals whose families have lost homes or have been evacuated. “For residents affected by these devastating wildfires, VCA is continuing to assist them by providing free pet boarding so they focus on the safety and welfare of their families and homes,” said Art Antin, Chief Operating Officer of VCA Animal Hospitals. “During this difficult time, families can keep their pets safe and comfortable with VCA’s free boarding offer.”

VCA Animal Hospitals located in and around Austin and Houston can provide safety and security for affected family pets on a space available basis as long as firestorms persist. The following VCA hospitals are participating in the free boarding program:

VCA Ben White Animal HospitalVCA Northwest Hills Animal HospitalVCA Tanglewood Animal Hospital2110 Slaughter Lane, Suite 120VCA Tomball Veterinary HospitalVCA Woodlands Animal HospitalVCA Spring Animal HospitalVCA Ashford Animal Hospital

Boarding assistance for pets is based on space availability at participating hospitals and owners can call their local VCA in advance to ensure that the facility has space available to accept additional pets. Contact information for the participating VCA Animal Hospitals near the wildfires can be obtained at www.vcahospitals.com.

About VCA Animal Hospitals

VCA Animal Hospitals operates more than 530 animal hospitals in 41 states across the nation in the VCA network. The hospitals are staffed by more than 2,000 fully qualified, dedicated and compassionate veterinarians and more than 200 board-certified specialists. VCA Animal Hospitals provide a full range of general medical and surgical services as well as specialized treatments. For more information on VCA Animal Hospitals, visit www.VCAHospitals.com, or find VCA on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/VCAAnimalHospitals or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/VCAPetHealth.

Here is the link to the the Texas Forest Service for more information on fires in your area. There are a few names and numbers of ranches that have available boarding for horses floating around on facebook as well. If you know of anyone that can help, please feel free to post the information in the comments section.

Photograph by L.M. Otero, AP

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Merrick Pet Care Recalls Jr. Texas Taffy Pet Treats

Merrick Pet Care is recalling its Jr. Texas Taffy pet treat (Item # 27077, UPC # 02280827077, all Lots up to and including 10364) because they have the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. So far no illnesses have been reported. A company press release states that so far no illnesses have been reported, but that “Merrick Pet Care has made the decision to recall all Jr. Texas Taffy pet treats in the abundance of caution.”

Anyone who has purchased the Jr. Texas Taffy treats should return the unused portion to the place of purchase for a full refund. (Be sure to wash your hands immediately after handling them.) Read more about Salmonella symptoms here. If you have questions, phone Merrick at 800/664-7387 M-F 8 am – 5 pm CST.

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Dog: It’s What Was for Dinner in Texas 9,400 Years Ago

The oldest domesticated dog in the Americas was probably very similar to this modern-day Peruvian dog, say scientists

The partial skullbone of a dog much like the Peruvian breed above wound up in somebody’s dinner in Texas 9,400 years ago, according to new research. Scientists recently found the bone and identified it as being part of the oldest domesticated dog yet found in the Americas.

“Not only were (dogs) most likely companions as they are today, they served as protection, hunting assistants, and also as a food source,” said bone discoverer Samuel Belknap III, a University of Maine researcher in the Department of Anthropology and Climate Change Institute.

Belknap didn’t set out to find the oldest dog in the New World. That was just a lucky fluke he discovered when examining someone’s fossilized waste. (Yum!)

“I started out trying to understand human diet in southwest Texas. It so happens that this person, who lived 9,400 years ago, was eating dog,” Belknap said in a press release.

He surmises that dogs were eaten in times of desperation or celebration, according to an interesting article in Discovery. If you want to know more, check it out. It’s worth a little visit if you’re interested in dog history.

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