Nightline Show on Puppymills March 27, 2009

Hi everyone — set your TIVO’s for a show about puppymills tonight, Friday 27th, at 11:35 PM.  I can’t stress enough how much suffering is caused by these people.  As our board member Ivy’s email signature says,

“Puppy mills thrive on secrecy. The people who buy puppies from pet stores or the Internet have been duped into
believing that the high price they pay means that their puppy has been carefully bred, his parents loved and treated well. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

It is such a relief that this veil of secrecy is beginning to be pierced.

From a local rescuer to the Lancaster County puppymills, and part of tonight’s show:

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ABC Correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi and investigators from Nightline travel the byways and back roads of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania – visiting numerous puppy mills and filming Main Line Animal Rescue’s volunteers as they rescue breeding dogs and puppies from Lancaster County’s notorious Amish commercial breeding facilities.

This promises to be a very special program.  If you are involved in rescue, advocate on behalf of the millions of puppy mill dogs interned in our nation’s commercial dog breeding facilities, or if you just simply love animals, you will not want to miss this.

Sharyn Alfonsi interviewed, on camera, an Amish breeder while touring his facility – a first for network television.  With approximately 500 dogs housed on his property, this commercial breeder speaks openly about an industry cloaked in secrecy and suspicion – the cruel factory farming of man’s best friend.

PLEASE tell your friends, your family, your coworkers – ABC Nightline investigates puppy mills – this Friday at 11:35 pm (Eastern Standard Time).  Please take the time to forward this to all the rescues, shelters, and legislators in your area.

It has been almost one year since Oprah’s puppy mill show aired.  That program received the highest viewer response of any Oprah Show in years.  Now we need to spread the word about this very special Nightline.  Only by educating as many people as we can, will we be able to help these animals.  And after you watch the program, please don’t hesitate to contact ABC and Nightline to thank them for casting such a strong light on the plight of our nation’s puppy mill dogs.

Bill Smith
Main Line Animal Rescue

Heartworms — aka HATEWORMS March 20, 2009

Oh, how I hate heartworms.  I hate them, hate them, hate them.

When we take a new dachshund into DREAM, one of the first things that happens is a heartworm test.  When the vet calls me with results, my own heart beats fast, hoping for the magical word, “negative.”  When I hear it, I cheer.  When I don’t hear it, when I hear the dreaded “positive,” my heart and my stomach sink.

When a dachshund is positive for heartworms, here’s what happens at DREAM:

1)  a foster space is taken up for at least 2 months, and likely 3 months. This means fewer dogs saved.  That means we probably say no to 2 other dachshunds.

2)  the vetting cost for that dachshund triples.

3)  the dachhsund cannot be spayed or neutered, or any other kind of surgery, for 6 months.  Which then means — special circumstances in the adoption contract, potential for confusion, and additional tracking to be done by our volunteers.

4) I have to explain to the animal shelter where I got the dachshund why I have not spayed / neutered it, when they call me to check up.  I then have to remember to fax them proof when the spay/neuter actually happens, months later.

5) the foster home must be very patient and diligent with the treated dog, as they must be kept as quiet as possible for 60 days after treatment as the adult worms die off and enter the broader system.  Some foster homes do not want to deal with heartworm treated dogs at all.

6) I know the dog has a tough 2-3 months ahead.  The injections can be painful, and the recovery activity restrictions are frustrating.

7)  For an older dog, or a dog with other health issues, everything is complicated by heartworms.

I HATE HEARTWORMS!

Heartworms are not like other parasites, the intestinal ones.  Those are generally pretty easy to deal with.  Heartworms are spread by mosquitoes (another reason to hate THEM!).  So any dog that can be bitten by a mosquito can get heartworms.  (A dog with heartworms is not contagious to other dogs.)  And it’s SO EASY to prevent — just a little pill in a treat once a month!

This week we had a particularly terrible heartworm experience.  One of the sweet Waycross doggies, the ones we spent SO MUCH time and effort, SO MUCH stretching at the seams, SO MUCH emotional turmoil and driving and coordinating, to save, has heartworms.  It’s a miracle that only he had them, out of the 6 we took in.

But what was really terrible about this situation was:  we found out he had them AFTER he was adopted.  No, of course that isn’t supposed to happen.  I was horribly embarrassed, mortified.  Through a series of minor missteps, caused by our franticness to get those dogs to safety on very short notice, and using a different vet than we normally use, and getting them into town late one evening as the vet was closing, we thought he had gotten tested when he had not.

So, we adopted him out to a wonderful family, and they love him.  And then they found out that he has heartworms.  How awful.  Those “minor” missteps, individually not so important, added up to a MAJOR screw-up. We have been kicking ourselves (and worse) for the past few days, and going back over our processes to make sure this doesn’t happen again.  (And it won’t.)  But for now, this poor family has to take care of a dog they love, making sure he’s okay.  We paid for the treatment, of course, but they have to help him through the next 90 days.  And we are all praying that he is okay, because we loved him first.  And we really, really, really want him to have a long and happy life with them.

I HATE HEARTWORMS.

Here kitty kitty! March 11, 2009

One of our foster homes is working with her new foster to acclimate him to life with a cat.  Thought I would share — as many dachshunds have kitty issues!  (Names have been changed to protect the innocent.)

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Major breakthrough here!  As late as last night, Toto was only good with the cat if we were all sitting still.  If the cat got up to move, he would try to chase or nip at him.  If the cat was outside, he would try to go over to him and was hard to distract.  I would have to really coax him to get him to come away from the vicinity of the cat and after we went back in, he headed straight for the doggie door to go back out after the cat.

Zeus (kitty) was off doing his own thing all morning and part way into the afternoon so we didn’t have any run ins.  Then, later this afternoon, I had him on the leash outside (I had seen Zeus out there under the bush in his favorite spot).  I had some chicken bits with me but Toto didn’t know it at first…  I took him within a few feet of the cat.  All the sitting still with the two of them stuff be paying off cuz he looked at the cat for a second and then looked away (exactly the behavior I’ve been reinforcing) I told him he was a good boy and gave him a bit of chicken.  He stood there in the same spot for the next couple of minutes:  he’d look at the cat for a second and then look away…treat…  look at the cat and look away…treat…  LOL  He has definitely got the idea!  So we walked around near the cat for a few more moments and he kept doing the same thing, glance at cat and look away.  Sometimes he’d just get a “GOOD boy!!” and sometimes chicken as well.  Then we went elsewhere in the yard and he came quite willingly, never looking back at the cat.  Never attempted to go back to the doggie door even though he had to know Zeus was still out there…

Back in the house a couple of hours later.  I’m in the kitchen preparing supper, he is on the leash so I can stand on it if necessary.  Cat walks into the room… Toto looks at him, looks at me and wags his tail.  ”GOOD boy!!”   Gave him a piece of chicken, gave the cat a piece of chicken…  For the next ten minutes or so, the cat wandered around in the kitchen and Toto hardly even looked at him, watching me for the next bit of chicken.  LOL

Couple hours later, we’re coming in from outside and the cat is standing on the laundry table meowing.  I stop to pet him, Toto keeps right on going into the house.  He stopped halfway through the kitchen to look back and see if I was coming but never even looked at the cat!  I’m sooooo happy!

Annual Post on Pending Georgia State Animal Legislation! March 2, 2009

Folks, there are several bills in play in the Georgia State Legislature this year that you should know about. I’ve developed this blogpost to give you an overview of them, as well as step-by-step instructions on how to get your point of view known by YOUR state legislators – YOUR Georgia state senator and representative. This year’s General Session is slated to run through the end of March, but the day to get a bill passed on one side (House or Senate) and progressed to the other is March 12. NOW is the time to get your voice heard … and it’s EASY to do.

First, here’s a quick brief on each of the bills.

Bill: Grace’s bill, outlawing the remaining gas chambers in 15 Georgia counties. I can’t speak strongly enough about this one. These gas chambers are cruel and unnecessary, with animals’ lives ending in panic. The gas is dangerous to the workers, and bad for the environment. In addition, when pets are not euthanized individually, tracking of accurate statistics is impossible. Reference House Bill 606. This bill is NEW and has just been assigned a number. Ask for a co-sign and any help getting it out of committee.

Bill: Antifreeze Safety. This would mandate the addition of a bittering agent to make antifreeze (which is both poisonous and pleasant-tasting) less appealing to animals, who often find it spilled on the road. Reference House Bill 219. This bill is on its second reading, which basically means it is in committee. Ask for a co-sign and any help getting it out of committee.

Bill: Cockfighting. This would create similar restrictions on cockfighting as we currently have on dogfighting, making it illegal to attend a fight, or raise the birds for fighting. Since cockfighting is often atmosphere for other crimes (drugs and weapons especially), this will have a huge social impact. Believe it or not, there is a large opposition to this bill, with professional lobbyists fighting it. Reference House Bill 109. This bill is on its second reading, which basically means it is in committee. Ask for a co-sign and any help getting it out of committee.

Bill: Pet Protective Orders. This would include pets in restraining orders in domestic violence cases, preventing the abuser from using the pet as a threat to his/her victim. Reference House Bill 429. This bill is on its second reading, which basically means it is in committee. Ask for a co-sign and any help getting it out of committee.

Bill: Local Farm Animal Ordinances. This bill would prohibit cities and counties from regulating the production of agricultural or farm products on farms larger than 5 acres. Doesn’t sound like a big deal at first, but it would prevent local communities from making any laws dealing with animal welfare, food safety, or environmental protection in their own communities.  It is essentially a power grab by the Farm Bureau. Reference HB 529. Ask for a NO vote.  This vote has PASSED committee and will next go to the Rules committee to be scheduled for floor debate.

WHEW!  That’s five important bills!  Good news — It’s EASY to get your point of view heard by your state legislators. Citizen activism is a very influential type of lobbying for most legislators at the state level. They LOVE to meet their constituents, and it makes a big impression.  Remember, our Georgia state legislators are only “employed” about 40 days out of the year, so they are really just regular guys who live in our neighborhoods most of the time. They are not too busy to talk to you, and they are not too much of a big shot to talk to you. It is their job to talk to you, to understand your concerns and your wants as a constituent. And most of them take this very seriously. I have never met a legislator yet who wasn’t glad to sit down with someone from his or her district, even unannounced. Many of them will give time to people who are NOT even in their districts.

It takes only 3 contacts from constituents to wake up a Georgia state senator / representative about an issue and get it on their radar screen. I am often amazed when I hear a leglislator say that no one in the district has contacted them about an issue, when it’s something I hear people talk about all the time. People really do not take advantage of the accessibility of our state legislators – which means that everyone who DOES contact them really has a voice.

Step One. Know who (and where) your legislators are.

This is easy. Go to this site http://www.votesmart.org/ to figure out who your Georgia state senator and representative are. You need your zip +4 code. (If you don’t know the +4 part of your zip, use this site first — http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp).

When your search results come up, scroll down to “State Legislative.” There should be 2 names – a senator and a house representative.

Now that you know who your guys / gals are, go to this site and look them up to get phone numbers, office locations, email addresses, or whatever you want. http://www.legis.state.ga.us/ (See “Fact Sheet” on each.)

Step Two. Understand the bills that are in play.

See my overviews above, and research the details on the Humane Society, ASPCA, and other animal welfare websites. If you want to see the actual bills, go to this site http://www.legis.state.ga.us/. Use the “Legislative Search” feature at the top right to search for keywords of interest or the bill numbers.  You can also attend the Humane Society grassroots event on Tuesday March 3 in Atlanta.  https://community.hsus.org/humane/upcoming-events.tcl

Step Three. Let your legislators know how you feel about the bills.  Three hints.

1. Clearly reference the bills. Say the bill’s number and some key words about it.
2. Create your story, to reflect why this is important to you.
3. Be specific about what you want the legislator to do.
   

Always be professional and courteous. Never threaten in any way, not to withhold your vote, or anything. Speak from your own experience. Tell your story and how the issue has affected you. If you don’t know the answer to a question, say so, and offer to find out and get back to them later.

So, a sample conversation might go like this.  “Hi David, thanks for meeting with me.  I want to talk to you about the Gas Chamber bill, HB 606.  New gas chambers are already illegal, but 15 counties still use it because existing ones were grandfathered in.  This is such a cruel practice, with animals’ lives ending in panic, and I really hope you’ll help to end the practice.  The gas is also poisonous to the workers, and of course gets released into the environment when they open the chamber.  In my rescue experience, I am also very frustrated by this “mass killing” of animals because it also means that we cannot accurately track how many animals are euthanized, making the true extent of our animal overpopulation problem difficult to quantify.  Please vote YES on this bill, and consider cosigning it.

I’d also like to mention the Antifreeze bill.  I really hope you’ll support that, and my understanding is that even the antifreeze manufacturers aren’t against it.  It will add only pennies to the cost of a gallon.  My neighbor’s cat died last year from drinking antifreeze he found in their driveway.  It was horrible.  This bill would make the antifreeze taste bad so cats and dogs wouldn’t be attracted to it.  That’s HB 219.  Please consider cosigning this bill, and vote YES for it.“

In Person

The most effective way to contact your representative / senator is in person. This is amazingly easy to do, and makes a huge impression. These guys WANT to see you and meet you. They LOVE IT when constituents come see them. You can call and ask for an appointment, but it’s easy to just go down to the Capitol — it’s simple on MARTA — or find the office in the district itself. If the senate or house is actually in session, you can go to the desk and ask them to go into the chamber to get your guy / gal. They send a page in (kids!) and the rep comes out to see you in the hall. Yes, they come out of the session just to talk to little old YOU. Introduce yourself as someone in their district and say your piece about the bills. If possible, tell a story about your personal experience and why this is important. (For example, I told my senator yesterday about puppies I have gotten from people after they found out they had birth defects that couldn’t be seen at the young age they got them. And he was shocked to find out that I have dogfighting in my neighborhood. That really woke him up). Make sure you mention the bill number and key words from the bill’s name. If possible, leave a card with a little note on it, with the bill numbers. If you get there and your senator / rep is away, ask to talk to his / her staff person. Then send a thank you note or email reiterating your conversation.

By Phone.

The second best way is by phone. Call and leave a message with the bill numbers and names, and your request to support them.

Email or Letters

It is also effective to send an email or snail mail letter or card, to tell your story. Same deal, make sure the bill numbers are in the subject line. The staffers who check the email keep a running tally of “for / against” based on the email / letters /calls they get.

Step 4: Sonny.

Lastly, contact the governor’s office (ideally by phone, but email is ok) and ask Sonny Perdue to rally his people around for / against your pieces of legislation. If you like a bill, request him to sign it when it gets to his desk. 404-656-1776, or you can go to the website and fill out a little form. http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,78006749_94820188,00.html . Or you can write a note and fax it to 404 657 7332.

Want Extra Credit?

For bills that you really like, write a note to the originators and sponsors of the bill and the cosigners to thank them for their leadership. That may keep their commitment going if things get controversial.

Let’s do it!

- Look at your calendar. Is there a day between now and the end of the session that you could go to the Capitol? Book it! Then call your senator and rep and make an appointment to see them or their staff, or just go hang out during the session itself and have a page sent in to get them.

- Get your laptop out and write and email right now.

The ideal situation is that every senator / rep hears from 3 people in his/her district about your issue. Think of ways you could find people in each district to make the same contacts you did for yours.

Forward this post to every person you know who is interested in your issue. Ideally, copy and paste it into your own email message and add your own spin. (This is why they say organization is so important.)

Remember — It takes only 3 contacts from constituents to wake up a senator / representative about an issue and get it on his / her radar screen. Imagine what an effect we would have if all of us made a phone call or went down to the Capitol this session.  If anyone wants to go, I’ll happily go with you — it’s a rush!  Viva democracy!

Helpful Links at a Glance

Finding your legislators (requires zip + 4) http://www.votesmart.org/

Finding your zip + 4: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp

http://www.legis.state.ga.us/

http://gov.georgia.gov/00/gov/contact_us/0,2657,78006749_94820188,00.html

Big few days for DREAM Dachshunds February 10, 2009

Wow, we have really had a chaotic few days.  I feel like I’m driving a big weiner dog train, and all the weiner dogs are hanging onto the tails of the ones in front of them with their teeth, like circus elephants used to do, and I just have to have faith that they will all hang on and get to where they need to be.  Thank goodness my “real” (read, paying) work isn’t too hectic right now, so I can keep all of this going for the moment.

Miller, fostering with Robin, may have distemper. This is one of the poor Waycross doggies.  He was vaccinated for it at Pets are People Too, but Village Lilburn thinks he has it. I’ve never had this happen before, so I don’t have any insight on why / how that could happen, but he’s not able to be neutered this week as scheduled.  He is at Village now, and will go back to Robin’s in a couple of days with antibiotics.  He should be okay, but has a nice snootful of yuck in the meantime.

Pauly, another of the Waycross boys, is being neutered Wednesday at Village Lilburn. Yay Pauly!  Yay, Village!

Ben and Stewart (2 more from Waycross) are being neutered tomorrow. After that, Stewart may be adopted by one of the Pets Playhouse people, and I want to move Ben to Jackie’s as soon as we know that Frannie’s adoption will “stick.”  Mara is taking them to Lifeline in the morning, and I’m picking them up to take them back to Pets Playhouse in the afternoon.

The final two Waycross girls, Maura and Chamblee, will have their surgeries early next week.

Sneakers (the “down” dog) is still at Village. He will not allow his bladder to be expressed, and we don’t know why. They have to catheterize him. We’ve started him on some drugs to relax the bladder sphincter, and we hope this will help. As soon as he can be expressed, he will go to Kim. He has some tone in his back legs, and deep pain, so I am hopeful for him learning to walk again.  He is a very handsome dapple boy (so many dapples seem to have the IVDD disc back problems), and he needs to lose a lot of weight.  That will really help with his recovery.

Scooby (currently with Kim) has his recheck on Wednesday at Village, hoping that broken pelvis is healed. If all goes well, he can move to Vicki’s after that.

Petunia is coming up from Savannah tonight, and has her mammary tumor surgery on Thursday at Village, and can go to Vicki’s after that.

The puppies (Callie, Boo, and Miss Maudie) were spayed/neutered today. Callie is being adopted tomorrow, and Miss Maudie has a good app by one of the Syrens of the South gals. Their mom, Scout, started heartworm treatment today.

I picked up three new puppies (Brulee, Beefsteak, and Gumbo) today, along with their mom and a dog that might be their dad.  The pups will be neutered in 3 weeks, and ready for adoption then.  Their mom is Vivien. They are all at Village tonight, being checked out tomorrow.  Cross your fingers for negative heartworm tests.   I’m picking them up tomorrow from Village. Clark, the possible dad, is a very handsome black and tan. He’s being neutered tomorrow.  He is a very friendly dog and I think he would love an active house.  THANK YOU CHATTOOGA COUNTY for being proactive to find rescue for your dogs!

I think Rammy needs to go to the vet for bloodwork. He is skinny, and drinking a lot.  I’m going to wait until we get through all of the above, though, my brain can’t take one more thing!

We are waiting to find out when Little Miss Fiona’s appointment is at UGA.  She’s the darling little longhair girl with the strange birth defects in her back legs, but man, she does not let that slow her down.

We’ve done good work lately — and a lot of it.  Send good vibes!  Send money!

Humane Society’s lobbying day is tomorrow at the Georgia State Capitol.  I learn so much at those events.  I have high hopes for the animals in this year’s legislative session.  I’ll post later this week about the bills in play, and what you can do to support them (or oppose them) with your own state legislators.

Waycross Dogs January 28, 2009

26 dogs were seized from a hoarder in Waycross, GA.  The dachshund rescue network (all us loonies out there who jump in to help) sprang into action, thanks to the coordination of All American Dachshund Rescue.  DREAM got 6.

Four boys, two girls.  All sweet, scared, dirty, skinny, and practically hairless from years of malnutrition.  It took a lot of coordination to get all of them safe.  Michele picked them up on her way to Atlanta from Savannah.  We took 4 to Village Vets and 2 to Pets Are People Too, so everyone could get shots and tests.  Thankfully, none had heartworm (a minor miracle in Georgia).  They showed evidence of demodex mange (non-contagious), but skin scrapes were negative.  We think Stewart is only about a year old, the rest about 3 years old.  None was healthy enough to spay/neuter.

After a weekend at the vet, we had to negotiate short-term fostering so that they could get healthy enough to be sterilized.  So — 2 weeks with a weiner dog, anyone?  We called in all favors.  Pets Playhouse on Ponce graciously agreed to house the 4 boys for 2 weeks, and the girls could go to our newest foster home in Gainesville.

I got up Monday morning, picked up Stewart and Miller at Pets Are People Too, and took them to Pets Playhouse.  Then I went to Village, and took Ben and Pauly to Pets Playhouse.  (Then I was exhausted and crabby.)  Gina’s hubby agreed to pick up Maura and Chamblee at Village and get them home.  (YAY, Gina and hubby!) So then, we’re settled for about 2 weeks.

Now, how to get each dog to the spay/neuter appointment, and picked up again later that day to get to the foster home?  And which foster home?  It’s not like we have enough foster homes, ever….and we’re actually worried about adding more foster homes, because it’s too hard to manage a large number of them as a volunteer.  The orchestrations and coordinations become mammoth.

That’s this week’s puzzle…but we have until February 10 to figure that out, and we have several new foster home applications, so we’re very hopeful that each dog will be in his / her real foster home right after surgery — and then, on to a wonderful real life.

Several news stories and blog entries on this out there.  Here’s one.  Very sad.

4 Dachshunds in One Day – and 26 more January 17, 2009

So, I’ve been flat on my back for 9 days now, struggling with what at first seemed to be a minor tickle in the throat, then a little sniffle, then a raging respiratory infection of evil that basically stole 4 days of my life.  On Tuesday my kind doctor prescribed a Zpack over the phone (for once I didn’t have to go in an give him some of my blood, he loves that) and I started to feel better within hours.

That’s the back story.

During all of that, I would occasionally lurch upwards in bed to a semi-seated position, grab my computer from the pillow on the floor (thank goodness for wireless), swig some formula 44, and log onto email to see what havoc the world has wrought upon the weiner dogs.

This week we got 4, actually we got them all squared away in one crazy day yesterday.

One is a sad sad story from Henry County.  A sweet little senior lady with mammary tumors, turned in when her owner had to go into a nursing home.  She has a host of medical problems, but now she is at Village Vets (man, do we love them!- www.thevillagevets.com) getting the full treatment.  She is also anemic, so there are lots of things to figure out for her.   Her story was all over the rescue email lists, and I was glad that DREAM was able to step up and get her.  Big thanks to Kate for getting her out, and to Sherri for fostering once she’s ready.

The second is another sad one (is there another kind?).  Dekalb County Animal Control’s rescue coordinator, Jamie, called to tell me they had picked up a tiny longhair dachshund puppy stray.  (Right!  Tiny “stray” puppy!  How does that happen?)  She was beautiful, friendly, and playful — but has some kind of birth defect so that her back legs are malformed and she cannot walk.  The theory is someone out there bred a litter, and then put this one out in the cold since it couldn’t be sold.  Good work Jamie getting her to us!  We’ll know in the next few days if she can have any kind of surgery or therapy to help her walk.  If not, she’ll get the teeniest wheelchair ever.  Belinda, who picked her up from Jamie, called that little sweetie Fiona.  She’ll be fostered soon by Ashley, who better guard her heart.

The last 2 have been in Habersham County shelter for a few days.  We finally got some room for them, and two brindle girls will be on their way to us on Monday.  A very kind volunteer there couldn’t bear to see them put down in that shelter, so she pulled them and had them boarded at her own expense until rescue could help.  (This is what I mean when I say that I see the best of humankind and the worst of humankind, doing rescue).  Debbie is certainly an example of the best.  Those two will get all their vetting next week and then foster with Kay and Vikki.

Last, we got word of a hoarding situation in Waycross, GA.  26 dogs in animal control there, and they are bursting at the seams.  DREAM is coordinating with All-American Dachshund Rescue to find places for them all over the next week.  We’ll be calling on all of our dachshund rescue buddies and the Doxie Underground Railroad for that one, I’m sure, to get some of these to the Northeast, where they do not have the overpopulation problems we have here in the south.  We are grateful to our friends at AADR for taking the lead on this one.  www.allamericandachshundrescue.org

Several of our sweeties found forever homes this week.  That makes us so happy, in two ways — seeing the dogs we’ve helped move on to their new lives, and making room for the endless stream of others in need.

Have a dachshund-filled day!  (as Michele’s voicemail always says!)

Dogs and Emotions December 11, 2008

I am continually amazed at the depth of denial people can be in.  Especially people who say that dogs don’t have emotions.  Are they kidding?  I know my dogs love, hate, get pissed off, and fear.

So dogs can’t say what they feel, in words.  Does that mean it doesn’t exist?  Do the emotions of infants not exist, or of mutes?  What more evidence do you need than the expression of love on a dog’s face, the sighs of contentment, the joy of greeting, the growls of rage, the wildly wagging tail, or the tremblings of terror?  Come on, people!  That’s evidence of emotion, not just some Skinnerian conditioning!

A couple of video / audio pieces I think you’ll enjoy, if you’re interested in this topic.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1659825399/bclid1716449804/bctid4328463001 (click on the “Chile’s Hero Dog” to the right).  TEARJERKER WARNING.

New Experiments show that dogs understand fairness, feel jealousy. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97944783 (The “listen” version is better than the printed one.)

The British are always ahead of the US on dog-related stuff.  http://www.purina.co.uk/Home/All+About+Dogs/Living+Together+Dog/Get+More+Out+Of+Life+Dog/Do+Dogs+Have+Emotions.htm

And lastly, a somewhat contrarian point of view.  I question, though, his conclusion that because a dog transfers its loyalty to a new home, that the dog didn’t really love his old family.  I believe this is proof of a dog’s limitless capacity for love.  http://www.rps.psu.edu/probing/dog.html

As I write this, I have five dachshunds all snuggling me, and not because they are cold, or insecure, or because they think they get status from being around me (the royalty of the house).  They want to be close to me, because they love me.  No one can convince me otherwise.

And that is why it is so heartbreaking to walk through places like the DeKalb Animal Control, where there are currently more than 30 dogs, many of them who wagged their tails hopefully as I passed, hoping I would be the next one they could love.  I got one out, but only one, and only because she had short legs.  The rest didn’t understand.

Dog Neglect / Abuse Case Dismissed in Virginia December 7, 2008

Sigh.  This is the kind of thing we are up against.  I can’t imagine how much work it took to even get the dogs out of this situation, and now they are all going back.

http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/animal_abuse_case_dismissed_for_timing_technicality/22305/

And another question — how can a former animal control officer, who has seen more first hand of the ravages of overpopulation, be a breeder?  I will never understand people.

I hope you will post your constructive comments on this story’s webpage.

Yay MAD-MUG Dachshund Meetup Group! December 7, 2008

We had such a nice afternoon.  The Metro Atlanta Dachshund Meetup Group (better known as the MAD-MUGs), held a special meetup for DREAM.  They generally meet each month at different places, just for dachshunds and their owners to have a chance to hang out together (this really means:  everyone shows off their little sweeties and admires everyone else’s).

Several of the MAD-MUG-ers gathered at one of our board member’s home, so the weiners could all roam around and explore the back yard.  Since it was cold, though, most of the dachsies spent their time on their moms’ laps, as we chatted around an outdoor fire.  Nice and cozy!

They all brought items that DREAM needs, like kongs, toys, and crate beds.  Belinda clipped a bunch of nails, and I ran the “express lane”  (heheheh).  Many thanks!  I hope Lorene will send the group photo so I can post it.