| Housebroken pet knows enough to do his business in the bathroom
In the fall, we adopted Charlie from a rescue shelter. He was cute, cuddly, and a complete mess. Matted hair. An ear infection. An eye infection. And bathroom habits that would shame any well-behaved animal. Well, a trip to the vet took care of the infections. And then the groomer, Marianne, had her way with the clippers. Our new little Shih-Tzu/Lhasa Apso mix was bald. And cuter. The only odd thing revealed by the haircut was that his little nose and mouth seemed to be pushed to his right, giving him a perpetually quizzical look. We took this in stride. But the house-breaking issue was something else. He peed and pooped everywhere but outside. And we gave him plenty of fresh-air opportunities. We figured he'd been shuffled around so much that his bathroom priorities had been scrambled.
Healthy Pets Act could save millions of dollars
These people come to us from animal shelters, rescue groups, law enforcement agencies and veterinarian groups - a wide array of backgrounds united by the common goal of reducing the number of pets needlessly killed each year. But with any high-profile legislation there is always a vocal opposition as well, and in this case, breeders from across the nation have gone on the offensive. They will stop at nothing to defeat this common-sense measure - even if it means calling local Assembly members and threatening them with relocating their AKC National Championship out of Long Beach. These threats were made despite the fact that this bill very specifically and expressly exempts show dogs and animals from out of state. I commend Long Beach-area Assemblymembers Laura Richardson and Betty Karnette, who would not be bullied or intimidated by these unfortunate and undeserved threats.
Golden Retriever Foundation donates to canine cancer campaign
The Golden Retriever Foundation has pledged $500,000 over a five-year period to the Morris Animal Foundation's Canine Cancer Campaign. In April, the MAF officially kicked off the campaign, a large-scale, $30 million initiative to cure cancer in dogs within the equivalent of a dog's lifetime of 10 to 20 years (see JAVMA, May 1, 2007, page 1287). The GRF was the first breed foundation or club to pledge a major gift to the campaign. "Cancer is the leading cause of death among Goldens, as it is among many breeds," said David Kinghorn, president of GRF. "We hope that other breed groups will follow our lead and support this important endeavor." Established in 1997 by the Golden Retriever Club of America, the GRF supports research, rescue, and education and has awarded more than $1 million in grants.
SOCIAL STOOP
June 10, 2007 -- IT'S funny how dogs make friends out of strangers - like my late neighbor Mitch Pressler. A fixture on East 90th Street for decades, he'd sit on his building's stoop, surveying the block. Passersby stopped to hang with him, especially those on four legs: Savory the miniature pinscher, Paco the pug, Paddy the Lhasa apso, Lincoln the beagle, Lola the bulldog and my pack of pit bulls and mutts all gravitated to Mitch because he loved dogs. Mitch regularly followed this column, too. "Very good article," he'd call out to me from his stoopside perch. Certain stories really got him talking, notably the one about how senior citizens struggle to keep pets in rent-stabilized apartments. He added his voice to the outcry when City Council Speaker Christine Quinn failed to support Intro 13, the Pets in Housing Bill.
Local bulldog is Chicago mascot
Meatball arrived here Friday.
Unless greetings at the Avalon Estates home of Dominic and Bernice Marino count for anything.
By Saturday morning Meatball a 3-year-old, rescued, pure-bred, 52-pound English bulldog was basking in the sunshine with his traveling companion Alice Bean and owner/activist Molly Marino.
The trip from the Windy City was grueling, but not near the pace that Meatball has been living since being named winner of Fans Best Friend.
Meatball, who owes his life to Marino, a 1991 Howland High School graduate and marketing director at a Chicago investment research company, was chosen as the official mascot for Comcast SportsNets advertising campaign that hypes live games broadcast for the Chicago sports teams the White Sox, Bulls, Cubs, Bears and Blackhawks.
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