Now, getting children acclimated to dogs and other animals at an early age is essential to curb fears and to instill love for other creatures.  I applaud the trainer for wanting to encourage the child’s desire to get to know the dog more.  However, what she did next was beyond comprehension. 

Since it was obvious the boy was nervous about petting Conan at the head, the lady moved down to the shoulder, saying, “You want to pet him here?”  He didn’t.  So she moved down to the hip and said, “You want to pet him here?”  Still no.  So she (the PROFESSIONAL TRAINER, mind you) grabbed Conan’s tail and starting yanking it back and forth, telling the toddler to just grab on to the tail and do the same thing she was doing!  I know I should have said something, but I was too thunderstruck at what I was seeing to make my mouth work properly.  This dog-care professional was encouraging a young boy to walk up to a dog and start yanking its tail!

Fast forward to a few months.  I can see it all too clearly.  This same boy, with the image of Conan imbedded in his mind, is going to come across another dog, one who isn’t so well-trained and gentle with children.  Rather than approaching him in the appropriate manner, he is going to walk right up to the dog, grab it by the tail and start yanking it, causing the now irritated dog to take a nice little chunk out of the boy.  The boy will need stitches, if he’s lucky, and the dog will more than likely be put to sleep.  All because this trainer didn’t have the foresight to realize that you do NOT teach a small child to yank a dog’s tail!

I hadn’t posted about this until as of now because I didn’t think it needed mentioning.  I just thought it was common sense.  But after this display today, I knew it was worth bringing to light.  Parents, please, when introducing your child to dogs, teach them the appropriate means of approach.  You walk up slowly to a dog, in a non-threatening pose, and you hold your hand out, palm up, to let it sniff you.  Then if he seems happy and wags his tail, you can proceed to petting.  If he growls, snarls, or otherwise looks grumpy, move along.  It is NOT appropriate to approach a dog by running quickly up to it, waving your arms in a threatening manner (or what may be perceived by a dog as a threatening manner), or making loud, startling noises.  It is also not appropriate to approach a dog from the rear.  Always make sure the dog knows you are approaching it!

As if yanking his tail wasn’t enough, after the boy had at last gained enough courage to pat the dog (thankfully he only gave a cursory swipe to the tail), she had Conan get up to walk away.  After he was up, she was trying to get him to take the rubber chew toy she was holding.  She did so by whacking him lightly on the face and rear until he grabbed it.  Now I, and any other adult, could see that he wasn’t hurt by the action.  However, this child, who was still present, has now witnessed that not only is it ok to yank a strange dog’s tail, it’s also perfectly acceptable to whack him with a toy!  This trainer just put a potentially fatal accident into motion, and I just hope the boy wasn’t paying too much attention to what she was doing and will quickly forget it all.  Because if not, the next time he encounters a dog, this dog might not be so amenable to children, and disastrous results can ensue.

So please, always remember when dealing with dogs, these three important things: 1. All dogs are different in personalities and temperaments.  2. Most dogs hate being startled or scared.  And 3. All dogs have teeth!

While yes, the parents should be held responsible, it is ridiculous that absolutely no repercussions be placed upon the boy.  This was an intricate, complicated action, and he must have known that what he did was wrong.  This is a strong implication of deep-seated psychosis, and while authorities repeatedly choose to ignore the facts, animal cruelty at a young age almost inevitably leads to violence against humans as an adult.  If we take care of the problem while they are young, such as with aggressive therapy, it should reduce the risk of recurrence.  People who argue, “But he’s just a kid,” always tend to forget that Jeffrey Dahmer was “just a kid” as well.  Once they are allowed to be desensitized to violence against “lesser” beings, it’s just a hop, skip and a jump away to being desensitized to violence against humans.  The facts can not be denied, animal cruelty equals cruelty to all beings.

As with any movie, product placements are essential, and done right, they can boost that company to new levels.  Men in Black did it with Ray-Ban Sunglasses, E.T. did it with Reese’s Pieces.  Unfortunately, dog movies, particularly ones centered around a certain breed, do it for puppy mills.

It happened with 101 Dalmatians, it happened with Beethoven, and it will most certainly happen with Beverly Hills Chihuahua.  Kids across the country will flock to the movie, and upon exiting the theater, will utter the phrase that sends shudders down any animal rescuer’s spine, “Mommy, I want a chihuahua!”  And parents, oblivious to the tried-and-true fact that kids will maybe play with a pet for a couple of days before they get bored and move on to the next craze, nevertheless heed their little children’s cries and rush right out to surprise them with one.  Then, after the couple of days have past and the new wears off, the parents are left to feed, water, clean, and otherwise take care of the present that their precious one just HAD to have. 

To the dedicated few that stick with it, realizing that puppies and dogs are large responsibilities and shouldn’t be thrown out at the earliest stages of inconvenience, I applaud you.  However, the blissfully ignorant majority are those that, once they realize, “Wait, puppies poop?  I thought they were just cute and cuddly, not stinky!” and they notice little Fifi has left a nice little puddle on the rug, rather than take the time to potty train, little Fifi will be getting the next ticket out of town straight to the local shelter.  There, if she’s lucky, she’ll be adopted to a loving home that actually WILL take care of her.  However, remember, there is going to be a surplus of chihuahuas flooding the shelter system now, so little Fifi is going to have a lot more competition in the cages surrounding her!  So in the event that little Fifi isn’t one of the lucky ones, after her requisite 3 days, she will be taken on that “long walk” and her cage will be filled by the next chihuahua that some child just HAD to have.

In addition to the already bloated shelters and rescues being filled to now overwhelming capacity because of this new surge of chihuahua love, the puppy mills are going to be having one heck of a bumper crop this fall.  In preparation for this movie, they have been churning out the chihuahuas like you’ve never seen, to make sure each pet store is fully stocked with wriggling bundles of joy that will later be deposited into a cage at the animal shelter.  I’ve already discussed the horrors of puppy mills, so I won’t rehash it here.  Please check out my earlier post on the subject if you missed it.  Rushing out to buy a chihuahua from the pet store to appease your precious babe not only increases the workload for animal shelters, but your money is going directly into the hands of those wishing to exploit and torture dogs for their own profit.

To best combat all of these occurrences, if you must get your child a chihuahua, please check out Petfinder.com and see what chihuahuas (or lovable chihuahua mixes!) are available for adoption in your area.  You will be saving a life rather than contributing to the destruction of one.  Also importantly, rescues work with adopters to make sure the right dog is matched up with the right family.  Chihuahuas are not the easiest family dogs.  They are tiny, and can easily be broken by overzealous little hands that want to love them too much.  Their temperaments can range from sweet and docile to rather ill-mannered.  Pet store employees neither know nor care about the temperament of their “products,” so all you need to do is walk in, point and say “I’ll take that one,” and once the right amount of cash has changed hands, it’s yours.  At a rescue, the employees will work with you to ensure you don’t make a mistake in picking the wrong dog, which would end in heartache and possible expensive vet bills if the dog is indeed “loved too much.”  Also, keep in mind, chihuahuas (if taken care of) can live 15, 20, even 25 years, so please make sure you are ready for such a commitment when you take it on.

That being said, enjoy the movie, it looks quite cute!  And please, when you hear the inevitable cry of, “Mommy, I want a chihuahua!” take the time to sit down and think about what adding another mouth to feed to your family would mean, and if you still think it’s a good idea, head right on over to your local shelter, NOT your local pet store.

Case in point: Michael Vick (boo! hiss!).  This person bred and fought pit bulls for years.  Now it is common belief that dogs rescued from fighting rings are inherently vicious and must automatically put down.  Yet of all the dogs they rescued from Vick’s property, most of them pit bulls, do you know how many they had to euthanize?  Two.  That’s right, two.  The rest have all been rehabilitated, one even to the point that he is now a certified therapy dog, going into hospitals and retirement homes, giving comfort to the sick and elderly!  How’s that for a vicious brute for you?  The only vicious brute in this case was Vick himself, along with all of his despicable cohorts.

In reality, because so many pit bulls are bred to fight, there is a possibility they made be aggressive to other animals, especially dogs.  However, there is absolutely no reason they should be aggressive to humans.  How would the dogfighters be able to train them if they were too vicious to handle?  They breed them to fear humans, and perhaps even to love them, because abuse and depravity is all they know.  So if they are tame with those who abuse them, why on Earth would they be vicious with those who show them love and affection?  It just doesn’t add up.

Pit bulls have not always been abhorred.  Think back to your childhood and remember how much you loved the Little Rascals.  Did you use to wish you had a dog like Petey?  Adorable, sweet Petey that wouldn’t hurt a fly?  Yup, that’s right, Petey, one of America’s favorite dogs, was in fact the same breed that many Americans are now wanting to eradicate.

Now something else to chew on.  What would you say would be the ultimate American dog, sweet, loving, loyal, great with kids?  Did the image of a Golden retriever pop into your head?  Well, get this.  In a comparison study of CGC (Canine Good Citizen) tests, pit bulls scored HIGHER than Golden retrievers!  That’s right, you are more likely to be bitten by a Golden than a pit bull!  Only difference is, Golden bites don’t make it onto the front page news.

Yet people ignore this and listen only to what the media tells them.  They don’t realize that for every “VICIOUS PIT BULL ATTACKS CHILD!” story, there are dozens more stories of dog attacks and bites that don’t get air time.  And don’t always take the news story at face value either!  The truth might be that the dog was perhaps only one-sixteenth pit bull, he only briefly snapped at the child, and the child was poking him with a stick at the time.  But “CHILD IRRITATES DOG” isn’t exactly news-worthy, now is it?

The truth is, banning pit bulls won’t stop dog attacks from happening.  Pit bulls aren’t mean, people make them mean.  If pit bulls are exterminated, the thugs that train them to attack will only move on to the next breed of dog, then we get to start all over again!  And since when is it acceptable to discriminate against a breed of dog but not an ethnicity of person?  Saying, “Pit bulls are responsible for some attacks, so let’s kill all pit bulls” is akin to saying “(Insert ethnic group here) are responsible for some murders, so let’s kill all (ethnic group).”  That would raise an uproar, but breed bans are going up all over the country without so much as a whimper.

Here’s another analogy for you.  Like I said before, pit bulls don’t kill because of their own free will, they are trained to do so by people.  So in actuality, people are responsible for most dog attacks.  Did you know that one of the biggest killers in America is car crashes?  Car crashes kill far more people than any dog bite.  So why don’t we ban cars?  They are much more lethal than dogs!  Because a car with a responsible driver, who is alert, focused, knows how to handle the car and knows proper maintenance to ensure the car is running at peak performance, has little likelihood of doing damage to anyone else.  On the flip side, a car with an irresponsible driver, who doesn’t care about traffic laws, who doesn’t care for his car to the point it might break down or cause problems, who is only using his car as a status symbol, is a lot more likely to hurt someone else.  Why can we punish irresponsible drivers, yet not irresponsible dog owners?  If Colonel Mustard hadn’t been in the library, the candlestick would have hurt no one.

So no, pit bulls are not the evil beings of mass destruction that the media and the public so love to make them out to be.  They are simply sweet, loving, misunderstood souls.  The next time you nod your head in support of a breed ban, just keep in mind, it could be your dog next. 

I just love hearing stories like this, not because of the trauma the terrier faced of course, but to hear the lengths that people will go to rescue their pets.  Time and time again, we hear only stories of people doing deplorable acts to animals.  It’s wonderful to hear about how people are willing to risk their own safety to rescue a furry friend.  Thank you, Jake’s owner.  You showed the world that Jake, or any other dog, isn’t disposable.

Because ferals localize in areas where there is ready food, they tend to live close to businesses and residences, places where there are plenty of people with lots of trash.  In addition, they are likely to find a couple kind-hearted souls that leave food out for the cats so they won’t starve.  Good news travels fast, and that goes double for hungry ferals!  Since they live in more populated areas, they start becoming viewed as nuisances.  People complain because the cats walk on their cars, scratching the paint, and many see them as nothing more than vermin.  This leads to the popular, yet horribly misguided notion, of Trap and Kill (TK).

People use the TK method because they are unable to look forward into the future.  Gathering up all the cats and exterminating them may solve the problem, for now.  However, give it some time, and you’ll be forced to repeat the process.  Cats are territorial animals, very turf-minded.  Once a colony has settled into an area, they generally aren’t receptive to outside cats entering their turf. 

TNR traps the cats, neuters or spays them so they can’t procreate, vaccinates them, then releases them back into the area and sets up feeding stations to manage them.  Some ferals can also be adopted out as barn cats, keeping the mouse population in check.  The cats that are in the TNR program (generally identified by having the tip of an ear clipped) are disease-free.  After that, all you have to do is keep them fed, and the population will control itself.  If you trap and kill them, that opens up your area for cats that have not been vaccinated and thus could contain any number of diseases. 

Trust me, where there is people, there is food.  Where there is food, there are feral cats.  It’s a sad inevitability in this Disposable Pet World.  In the Stafford, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, VA area alone, there are an estimated 100,000 feral cats, and that is a conservatively low estimate.  Would you rather have feral cats who have been fixed and vaccinated, or would you rather have cats who may be diseased and are breeding freely?  Trap, Neuter, Release is the only humane, viable option for handling the feral cat problem, and will be until all cats have loving, safe homes.

Today we are here to honor not only the life of Buddy but all those whose lives were tragically cut short in much the same way.  While we could just sit here and place blame on those responsible, and there is plenty of blame to go around, it’s important we take a step back and examine the real situation here. 

            Though Spotsylvania Animal Control may have been the catalyst for such a deplorable act, they really are only a product of our Disposable Dog Society.  We are a society peopled with the mentality that dogs are here for our purpose only, and once we no longer need them, we can simply throw them away.  We are plagued with an “It’s just a dog” ideology that leaves our four-legged friends caught in the crossfire.  Think about how many times you have heard people utter that callous and insensitive phrase.  For every person that actually says it, many more are still thinking it. 

            Take what happened to Buddy as possibly one of the most blatant examples.  When the Blevins learned their family companion had been euthanized, where did they find him?  Cremated in an urn?  Buried in a respectable plot?  No, they found him literally in the trash can, headed out shortly for the landfill!  Our most faithful friends give us love, devotion and time, and all they ask is for an occasional pat on the head.  In return, we thank them by turning them into nothing more than refuse.  Now, I’m not here to argue whether we should treat dogs the same or better than humans.  We may all have differing viewpoints on that subject.  However, everyone here should agree that dogs should be treated better than garbage!             

            Unfortunately, that’s exactly how many people seem to view them.  The animal cruelty laws are lax at best, and that’s if they are even enforced.  People dump their dogs at shelters or into the streets at the first sign of inconvenience.  So what can we do about it?  How can we ensure that others don’t end up like Buddy?  We can get active.  We can contact our representatives, those that we elect and whose salaries we pay out of our tax dollars, and tell them how important non-human animals are to us.  We can adopt dogs from shelters or rescues, or make sure only to buy from respectable breeders.  We can show the world that just because dogs can’t speak our language, that doesn’t mean they are disposable. 

            And tonight, when we go home, we can hug our own dogs a little tighter, thank them for being who they are, and for helping to shape who we are.  And while we are curled up next to our favorite furry companion, we can say a prayer for all the ones languishing in shelters, waiting for a home that will never come.  And lastly, we can spare a thought to all the dogs like Buddy, out on the street, lost and scared, praying that the one that does happen to find them won’t think that they are disposable.  Because to people like you and me, to people like Nancy, Maureen, and the Blevins, it’s not just a dog.

Buddy ran away and his owners put up signs everywhere, went to Animal Control every day, called them a couple times a day, and were always told that there was no sign of him.  Then one day a lady who saw their poster called to say she had found Buddy in a ditch, possibly had been hit by a car, but was awake and alert enough to have some food and water.  She called Animal Control, who came out, assured her he would call Buddy’s owners, whose number was on the tag on his collar, and instead removed the collar, and euthanized him right there in the truck.  After being told all of this, Buddy’s owner then went to Animal Control who took her back to the freezer where she found Buddy laying in the trash can with a dead cat on top of him, about to be shipped out to the landfill.  The collar has never been found, no report was ever filed on Buddy, and Animal Control had no intention of ever calling his owner.  Had that lady not seen the sign, they would never have known what happened to Buddy.  When his owner called the director of Animal Control to ask him about this situation, he allegedly responded that he was in the middle of dinner and couldn’t be bothered to come to the phone.  His collar, still, has not been found.

One positive update that I received this evening is that the officer responsible for killing Buddy no longer works there.  Now we are asking to form a Shelter Advisory Board to oversee the operations and investigate complaints, to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Along with other speakers, I will be saying a few words at the vigil myself.  For those unable to attend, I will post my speech here tomorrow evening.  Let’s make a stand and honor not just Buddy, but all others who have lost their lives in this manner!

A young man with seizures adopted a service dog, a German shepherd.  He had trained the dog to find a phone and to hit the speed dial button to call 911.  However, what the dog went on to do was a bit more extraordinary. 

His companion was having a seizure, so he did what he was trained to do: find the phone and call 911.  Not stopping there though, the 911 operator was asking what the problem was, obviously confused by the lack of a voice on the other end.  In response to her questions, the dog actually stayed on the phone, whimpering and whining into the mouthpiece until the operator decided to dispatch the paramedics.  Without his foresight to actually answer her questions in his own doggy language, the operator might have just chalked it up to a prank! 

This canine companion surely went above and beyond to rescue his human.  Yet another example of the undeniable bond between people and their furry best friends.  Hope this little tidbit put a smile on your face!

The concept of a rehoming fee is one of continuing controversy. Of course everyone knows why rescues and shelters charge one, they need the money to sustain their organization. Why then do individuals need to ask for one? Isn’t that akin to selling? While some do ask ridiculous prices, $400 for a mixed breed dog is a bit much and a red flag for someone just trying to make a profit, asking a reasonable adoption fee (usually $50-$100 is about right) is actually the best way to go.

Sure, there’s the argument that people place more value on something they pay for than something they get for free. There’s also the point that if you can’t afford a reasonable adoption fee, how will you be able to afford basic care of the pet, especially should emergencies arise and vet bills start piling up?

Both those points, though valid, do have their criticisms. However, there is one very large point that many people still don’t know about that is hard to argue with.

Free to Good Home ads are beacons for people called “bunchers.” Bunchers work for Class B Dealers. Laboratories don’t just use rats, mice and monkeys in their tests. They use dogs, cats, and just about any animal they can get their hands on. And where do they get these dogs and cats? From the Class B Dealers (which incidentally are also licensed and “inspected” by the USDA. That’s right, our tax dollars hard at work once again.).

These dealers often hire bunchers, who collect dogs and cats to sell to the dealers, often by any means necessary. This means answering Free to Good Home ads, giving false information, telling you anything you want to hear (”Oh yes, we have 15 acres of rolling hills with a beautiful pond. Rover is just going to love our farm!”), and even bring their kids with them to complete the perfect family portrait. You can check references, though they’re going to be fake, you can drive by their house, though they’ll give you a wrong address, but the easiest way to ensure your pet doesn’t wind up in a laboratory is to ask for a rehoming fee. These bunchers are usually getting paid around $10-15 per animal. Why would they pay $50 for one then? It’s simple math. They want their pets free so they can make a profit, even if that means literally stealing pets out of yards (yes, it does happen!).

Again, the rehoming fee isn’t going to ensure a happy home in and of itself. You still should check references and do a home visit. Put all of them together and you’ll get much more peace of mind that your pet has gone to the right family.

For whatever the reason, you are unable to take care of your beloved furry friend anymore. It’s tearing you apart, but you’re doing what you feel is best. Don’t add the guilt of having inadvertently sent your pet off to torture on top of the sadness you feel over having to give up your loved one.