“Toto,” a 7-year old Chihuahua mix, spent his life tied up in a locked garage before a neighbor alerted L.A. City Animal Control. He then spent another five months sharing a kennel with three other dogs at the West Valley Animal Shelter before a concerned dog lover noticed him and initiated a massive media campaign to find this dog a home. Due to being kept in the dark for so many years, his little eyes bulged from exposure to sunlight. But according to the Shelter’s staff, he was one of the sweetest, most loved dogs there. Toto also became very ill from the crowded conditions at the shelter and was not expected to survive.  But he did survive and was rescued by a kind lady who fostered him until he was adopted on January 26, 2010.  Today, as a result of many people working together, Toto is now a ‘pet’ for the first time in his life. No longer tied up or left alone; he has a family to love.  For complete story click HERE.

A Michigan man, Kenneth Lang Jr., has been sentenced to five years of probation in a mental health program and ordered not to own animals after authorities found hundreds of live and dead dogs at his home. Lang’s sentence comes after pleading guilty to a single count of cruelty to 10 or more animals.  Kenneth Lang Jr. told the judge that he loved the dogs like they were his children but knew he had too many of them.  For complete story click HERE.

Owners of injured animals say they’re stunned to discover state veterinary boards that dismiss up to 80 percent of the complaints filed against their members, and a legal system that regards pets as mere property, with no way to recover damages for emotional loss. Laws vary, but in most state courts animals are worth their market value.  That could be a considerable amount of money for a high-value show dog but for most household pets, it’s not. The number of complaints against veterinarians seems to be going up.  It’s difficult to know how often medical errors occur in pet care. The AVMA collects no statistics on veterinary malpractice suits and the group which offers malpractice insurance for vets refuses to release numbers or outcomes of such cases. In a nation where 63 percent of people own pets and many regard them as members of the family more animal lovers are paying attention to medical errors and hoping to stop them.  For complete story click HERE.

In New York City this week a small Westie was mugged… while tied up outside a market where her owner ran in to get some milk, something thousands of New Yorkers do every day… some criminal made off with the pooches plush snow jacket. When her owner came out the dog was shivering in the snow. Can you believe this? Her owner was just glad that the thief didn’t steal her dog!

Read the full article here: http://www.pawnation.com/2010/02/10/nyc-dog-gets-mugged-for-a-jacket/

Valentines Day goes to the Dogs this year!

This group is sending 15,000 Valentines Day cards to dogs that are tied, penned up, or forgotten in their area in an effort to bring awareness to this cruel act. “Dogs of every breed, size, shape and color end up outside through no fault of their own. Caretakers claim they are not housetrained, too big for the house, or too dirty to be inside. Yet through it all dogs just want to be with humans, part of our pack, and putting a dog outside for life when he/she becomes a burden is not an acceptable solution.”

“This is the perfect opportunity for people who pass chained dogs every day but feel powerless to help them to make a difference,” continues Thayne. “People anonymously provide us with the addresses of these dogs, or make us a batch of Valentines, and we do the rest”

“Meanwhile, countless backyard dogs are spending yet another winter in the cold. Often, they shiver day and night in hole-riddled doghouses, suffer from thirst because their water is frozen, and pace neurotically from lack of exercise and attention. Perpetually chained dogs often become aggressive from their constant confinement, thereby posing a danger to people, especially small children.”

For more information about the Valentine’s Day outreach, go to http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/Valentines2010.html or email info@dogsdeservebetter.org.

Title: Valentine’s Day Pet Adoption Event – Malibu
Location: Pacific Coast Pets – 23705 Malibu Road, Malibu, CA 90265
Description: Celebrate this Valentine’s Day by saving a life and sharing your love with a new pet! Amazing shelter and foster dogs and cats available for adoption and needing a new family to call their own. Come save a life and meet your new soul mate!
Start Time: 11:00
Date: 2010-02-14
End Time: 16:00

Boyfriends and girlfriends may come and go but your one true love (your pet) will be with you for a lifetime. So in celebrating love don’t forget your pooch! I spent the night at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs where dogs are more than welcome and I can tell you, this is a romantic get away you won’t forget. Dogs are allowed in the pool area (not in the actual pool, but that’s fine by my dogs, they hate the water.) We had a lovely room, with a patio, plenty of room for dogs to play and frolic. The bar is very cool, the restaurant is delicious, and my dogs had a great time. So when celebrating Valentines Day don’t forget your pets!

The Cesar and Ilusion Millan Foundation joined forces with the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, Last Chance for Animals, Animal Advocates Alliance, and North Shore Animal League America to fly 47 small rescue dogs from overcrowded shelters in Southern California where euthanasia is eminent to the North Shore Animal League’s facilities in Port Washington, NY. The trip began on Sunday, January 31st and took thirteen hours in a private plane provided by Cloud Nine Rescue from San Bernardino to New York, where they landed in the early hours of February 1st. For complete story click HERE.

Under Riverside County’s Pit Bull Project, launched last month, residents with a pit bull or pit bull mix can have it spayed or neutered for free, but must pay for a license and microchipping if they haven’t already. So far more than 300 people have signed up and 60 dogs have undergone the free surgery. For complete story click HERE.

Best Friends’ rapid response team, alongside the Animal Relief Coalition for Haiti (ARCH,) are in the capital city of Port-au-Prince helping the animals of Haiti. The team is going in on a daily basis to do vaccinations while also ready to provide emergency care and field spays/neuters whenever needed.  Their primary goal is to give as many vaccinations as possible. By vaccinating animals they can prevent a public health concern that could possibly lead to government officials’ culling of street animals. For complete story click HERE.