Our favorite animal advocate groups, Rescue Ink, helped uncover a gruesome case of animal torture and killing on Long Island this past Saturday.  This case is truly heinous.
The group, acting on a call to their tip line,  made a trip to Selden, Long Island to check on a home where  animals were being mistreated.
What [...]

The Fur Ball
Mile Thomas Denied Entrance
“Fur Ball” Corporate Sponsors
Giardia Invited to the Ball
Giardia – What is It?
Conditions at the Harrisburg Humane Society
Baron’s Treatment at the Harrisburg Humane Society
Call to Action/Contact Info
Background on Miles Thomas and Baron
A Plea for Help Contributed by a friend of FTLTD
The Fur Ball
Last night was the Harrisburg Humane Society’s annual fundraiser, [...]

Problem: Unowned cats are “out of control” in Las Vegas.
Not a Solution: Mandatory spay-neuter of owned pets, four months of age or older.

Wha?

Too bad no one was paying attention when the No Kill folks were in Vegas recently offering actual, you know, solutions. Instead, we get the same old batch of “We have no proof mandatory spay-neuter helps, nothing but proof that it kills more pets,  but we gotta punish us some people we hate, so …  we’re good with that!”

From the Las Vegas Review Journal:

[E]uthanasia is not a solution to pet overpopulation, animal officials say. That’s why the city of Las Vegas is seeking to follow North Las Vegas in adopting a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for dogs and cats as a way to break the cycle of rampant reproduction.

The measure has its critics, though, and even supporters acknowledge that the approach isn’t a magic bullet.

“A mandatory spay/neuter (ordinance) is a good place to start,” said Karen Coyne, head of Las Vegas’ Detention and Enforcement department, which includes animal control.

A good place to start would be with policies that work.  Be nice if someone actually considered that.  Instead, more pets will die everywhere these ordinances pass, instead of people working together for communities supporting progressive, proven shelter policies that are pro-people and pro-pet.

Hey Vegas, why don’t you call Reno? You might learn something.

Hunting dogs are athletes. But, sometimes you can have an underweight dog. Their excellent work ethic and eager-to-please spirit make them the ideal partner for a variety of athletic endeavors.

The Redbone Coonhound dog breed is robust, elegant, handsome, and strong. The dogs have a well-modeled head, hanging ears that extend to the tip of the nose, compact paws, and an upright tail.

There are two levels of dog training. The first level is obedience training at dog school to tame the wildness of the dog and create a well-behaved family member. The second level is to teach the dog tricks. This training makes the dog an amusing companion and little performer.

What is a dog good for? Many things. The kids can confide in the dog. The dog will go along with the kids goofy schemes. And the digs willingly help with kitchen cleanup by gobbling leftovers.

In case you’ve been under an Internet rock, you might have missed the news that the FDA has issued an alert about Vetsulin, an insulin product for diabetic dogs and cats, warning that is formulation may be incorrect and it might thus fail to act correctly in patients who are using it — which in the case of diabetes is not a minor problem.

The short version: If you’re using it, call your vet. She might not actually know about the alert yet, so if you’re the first to tell her, you might want to have the alert handy, as well as this FAQ from the drug’s manufacturer, BigPharma giant Intervet/Schering-Plough.

So, I was mulling over the wording of the alert when an email popped into my inbox, cc’d to Marion Nestle. It was a reader, asking if either of us had any thoughts on the fact that Wysong Pet Food is saying that they didn’t issue an press release about their ongoing pet food recall because “the matter was of small enough consequence that we have even been told by the FDA that a news release is not necessary.”

Huh, I thought. Good question.

That was on Saturday, and I figured that Monday morning I’d talk to the FDA and see if that’s true. And then reality, in the guise of a “wake up and smell the coffee!” note from Marion, reminded me that getting comments from the FDA is getting to be right up there with getting them from, well… industry.

Worse, actually, because sometimes industry will actually talk to you. FDA? Not so much.

It’s not just us pet food junkies getting the cold shoulder. From the Society of Professional Journalists:

The Association of Health Care Journalists and SPJ are fed up with federal agencies’ use of public information officers to chill the flow of information. The two groups sent a letter this week to the FDA urging the agency to stop requiring interviews between reporters and government employees to be approved by PIOs and attended by PIOs.

This practice has become widespread throughout all levels of government, and it needs to stop. While PIOs play an important role in answering questions and facilitating interviews, they are hampering the flow of information when acting as delaying middle-men or go-betweens. Having information transmitted through a middle person is hearsay and fraught with accuracy problems – a disservice to the public.

If you cover an agency that practices this form of information control, don’t put up with it. Request that the higher-ups put an end to it. And if they don’t see the importance of direct communication, then circumvent the Big Brother channels and talk to people directly, as journalists must do to ensure accuracy. It’s our duty to get it right.

So wish me luck as I call a government agency and attempt to pry information out of it without having to file a Freedom of Information Act request.

Although, on the other hand, that’s not actually a terrible idea…

Reagan Avelle Shannon

Born last night!  Weight:  7 lbs., 11 oz.  9:29 pm PT.

It may be a while before she starts blogging, though.

Congratulations to her parents, Mikkel Becker Shannon and her husband, Patrick Shannon. And more congrats to the grandparents, especially our own Dr. Marty Becker.

Wow!

The Becker-Shannon pugs, Bruce and Willy, are said to be delighted. They hear that babies drop food … a lot!

Yes, you know I am a racing fan.  It has been my privilege and honor to have seen Zenyatta win in person three times. Alas, yesterday was not one of those times: I had to watch a taped replay after, from 500 miles away.

There has never been one like her, and I will never see one like her again. This, I know.

I do not care what you think about racing. I do not care what *I* think about racing. I know there are problems, many, and for this one day I do not care.

Today … I salute Zenyatta, the charismatic Queen of Racing.