In a cleverly titled New York Times article called “As West Harlem Picks Up, Dog Owners Don’t,” the newspaper was its usual proper self when it didn’t once use the word “poop,” “poo,” or of course, the S word. (The paper does use “poop” in quotations from others.) The article is about the gentrification of [...]
Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog

What’s a dog to do to pass the time when he’s left alone in the house? Age-old options include sleeping, playing with toys, looking out the window all day, barking, crying, listening to music or to the TV, or tearing things up. Or all of the above. But now we can add one more option [...]
Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog

Seamus, in his golden years, looks back on that terrifying roof ride atop Mitt Romney’s car in 1983. Pretty cute animation. And oldest dog ever. (Please note: I’m not being political, I’m just reposting, as I would no matter what candidate — from any party — did this to a dog.)
Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog

Each May, one of my favorite organizations, Doggone Safe, sponsors Dog Bite Prevention Month, an awareness campaign designed to help us live more safely with our canine companions. While it’s a great idea, I’d like to suggest that we celebrate Dog Bite Prevention Month throughout the year. Current events like news anchor Kyle Dyer getting [...]
Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog

Workers dig up a mass grave of sled dogs near Whistler, B.C., last year.

British Columbia now has the toughest animal-cruelty laws in the country, a year after the discovery by the SPCA of a mass grave of up to 100 sled dogs in Whistler.

The provincial government has introduced the Sled Dog Code of Practice, which sets standards for health, nutrition, housing, working conditions, transportation and euthanasia.

Marcie Moriarty of the SPCA says the code will provide minimum standards that will improve the welfare of working dogs.

The issue arose last year when a leaked workers’ compensation claim indicated a man working for tour company Outdoor Adventures had developed post-traumatic stress disorder after killing the animals following the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The discovery of the slaughter horrified the province and led to amendments to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, increasing fines for animal cruelty convictions to a maximum of $ 75,000 and allowing jail terms of up to two years.

It also increased funding for the SPCA, which hired a team of internationally recognized forensic experts and exhumed the bodies of 52 of the dogs in May last year.

Outdoor Adventures has since been transformed into a not-for-profit foundation that uses its proceeds to improve animal welfare. No criminal charges were ever laid.

The Dog Files

Awww, look at the face on this poor bull mastiff. This is a dog who had no idea the Brie cheese is actually a sharp cheese. At least it is when you eat the cheese knife along with the entire wedge of Brie. That’s what happened to 118-pound Bean, who took advantage of her owner [...]
Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog

Show Dog—the Charmed Life and Trying Times of a Near-Perfect Purebred by Josh Dean I seldom start a review this way, but I totally enjoyed reading this book. Show Dog might have been a book that glorified the purebred dog and the lifestyles of the rich and privileged. Or… It…
The Poodle (and Dog) Blog

This story brings up a lot of questions. What would you do if this happened to you?

– Kenn

Lisa Gossett’s one-year-old Chihuahua Lola was viciously attacked by another dog four months ago.

The veterinarian told her the outlook was grim and gave Gossett two choices.

“Pay out all this money and there’s a 20% chance that she’ll live or euthanize her, so it was hard,” said Gossett.

Gossett says she didn’t want Lola to suffer so she signed on the dotted line and said a painful goodbye.

It hit her 5-year-old daughter Bianca hard, she said.

“When she prays she says I want to see Lola again – I want to see Lola again,” said Gossett.

The family had moved on until this week, when Gossett got a phone call.

It was the company that programs the ID microchips that go into pets.

The caller said a woman was requesting to switch Lola’s chip over to a new owner.

“And I said ‘oh no, you’re mistaken Lola is not alive we had her put down she was in an accident’ and they said ‘no ma’am in fact she is alive and there’s a request for ownership for her,’” said Gossett.

Gossett immediately called the vet demanding answers.

It boils down to a document the owner signed when she gave the vet the go-ahead to euthanize the dog.

What she didn’t know, and what wasn’t explained to her, was she was surrendering all ownership rights to the veterinarian.

A worker at the vet’s office chose to turn Lola over to the foundation “Second Chance” which rehabilitates dogs.

They assigned Lola to a foster home for her recovery.

After finding out about the miscommunication, Second Chance put Gossett in touch with Lola’s new owner, Leslie Mason.

“When I was asked to take it I didn’t believe it had an owner and it was just in bad shape and needed to be nursed back to health,” said Mason.

Mason says she recently lost a dog to disease.

She says the only thing that got her through it was nursing Lola back to health – who she named Tinker.

“I want to say take her but then I want to say no, I want her – it’s just, it’s hard,” said Mason.

In an act of complete kindness, Gossett and her daughter decided to let Lola stay at her new home.

“I’m grateful that she’s in a place that she’s so happy, I’m grateful just to be able to see her again,” said Gossett.

Even though there was a happy ending, Gossett still has questions for the vet.

She says it was never explained to her that the vet could choose to keep the dog alive.

Clinic administrator Lynda Stevens says the worker who removed the dog violated policy and has been fired.

The Dog Files

Our earlier story about a bull mastiff who ate an entire wedge of brie cheese – knife and all – got me reminiscing about some things Jake has eaten in his life, especially in his puppyhood. I wince when I think of all the horrid things he noshed. Included on his menu of unabashed abscondery [...]
Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog

Lots of rescue stories found their way to me last week while I was all wrapped up in the Westminster show, so I’m combining them here (in no particular order) in one big post. This unknown dog was rescued by firefighters from a lake near Denver. Calypso, who was rescued from near-certain euthanasia after suffering [...]

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