My Sleepy puppy

Our dog Winnie lives out her lazy days sleeping on the couch :) (These two pictures, although identical, were actually taken a few days apart!)

What a happy girl :)

The Truth about Pit Bulls

Thanks to http://truthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/ for this video. It captures the way I feel about my Winnie- who falls asleep and wakes up as close to me as possible :)

Urgent Part-2 (Facebook)

Today I came across an amazing Facebook page that posts all of the dogs on death row in NYC. Since I began following the page, 2 of the 4 dogs on the kill list in Brooklyn were killed this morning.

These two still need to find homes IMMEDIATELY before they are euthanized. (Slipknot (10 yr-f) and Sweety (a 5 yr old mama pitty)

UPDATE: Both these girls' lives were spared today, Slipknot was rescued by an upstate shelter and Sweety was given at least given one more day to live (She still needs help! Click here.)

The page is a great resource because not only does it get the word out quickly, it keeps the pictures of the dogs that have been destroyed in an album entitled "Gone but not forgotten." It also keeps an album of the "Saved" dogs that have been pulled from the kill list and adopted. As sad it is to look through the destroyed album, it is very uplifting to look through the saved album, because without this facebook groups at least some of those dogs would not be alive. (Click here to see all of Urgent's albums, a good way to see with a glance how many have been saved and how many have not.)

One dog on the "Destroyed list" really tugged at my heart, this is Lola just a tiny baby who caught kennel cough at the shelter and was put down 5 days after being brought in as a stray. I was really touched by how furious and emotional the posts were in Lola's case. It gives me hope that people are emotional enough about this cause to help change the city so no babies like Lola need to be put down anymore.

The page also links to classified ads in Google. It is so smart to post these ads on google surrounded by dogs that cost 300-1000 dollars because potential puppy-buyers may be convinced to save a dog's life instead. The keeper of these classifieds also updates the listing when a dog is saved. I've copied the list of saved dogs below. One of them is Bear, the one I saw adopted at ACC on Monday :) And another is "Boy" a sweet boy who lost his home when his owner went to jail-I know he was a favorite of the shelter volunteers and it is good to see that he was saved as well.

Thursday, November 4

1. 
   SAVED! 5 Yr Old EMACIATED Pittie Mix in High Kill Shelter   - Please Contact (New York)
2. 
   SAVED! PRINCESS: Young, BEAUTFIUL, Akita Mix on Death Row!   - Please Contact (New York)
3. 
   SAVED! 1 Yr Old Handsome Male Pit-X Needs a Home NOW!   - Please Contact (New York)
4. 
   SAVED! 4 Yr Old Female Pittie/Shepherd Mix   - Please Contact (New York)
5. 
   SAVED! Exotic Louise Needs a Home IMMEDIATELY!   - Please Contact (New York)
6. 
   SAVED! AMAZING TONY Can be KILLED at ANY TIME!   - Please Contact (New York)
7. 
   SAVED! Boy: Gorgeous, Unique Looking 3 YrOld Pittie Mix   - Please Contact (New York)
8. 
   SAVED! Sasha: A STUNNING 3 YrOld Pitbull Mix, Very Affectionate   - Please Contact (New York)
9. 
   SAVED! BEAR: Stunning 1 Yr old Male Pittie, Sweet, Adorable   - $152 (New York)
10. 
    SAVED! Liz Loves EVERYBODY! 2 Yr Old Grey/White Pittie Mix   - Please Contact (New York)
11. 
    ADOPT JORDAN ASAP- beautiful pit shepard mix with spunk and heart   - Please Contact (Brooklyn)
    
    Read more: http://newyork.ebayclassifieds.com/dogs-puppies/?catId=100126#ixzz14QLlxsd6

Lex!

Lex was finally posted on AC&C's website since my visit on Monday. I'd love to see this teeny tiny bundle of joy and kisses go to a good home. :)  Click here.

Prop 8 is passed in Missouri!

Even though the Missouri Proposition 8 looked like it would be shot down in the polls all night on November 2nd, by midnight the campaigners called a victory (at 51.6% "Yes") because all the rural districts which were more likely to vote "No" on the animal rights proposition. (The rural counties were more likely to vote "No" because of a supposed smear campaign claiming that this would lead to more stringent rules for dairy, beef and poultry farmers and higher prices for eggs.)

"'This is a watershed moment for the dogs in Missouri’s breeding facilities,” said Kathy Warnick, president of the Humane Society of Missouri." Read more from the Humane Society article here.

Prop 8 makes it illegal to house dogs in wire cages, will limit the number of breeding dogs to 50, will limit breeding two twice every 19 month per dog, and insures veterinary care and exercise for every dog. As of now, 30-40% of puppies in pet shops come from one state-Missouri, a number that is sure to drop as a result of this legislation.

My visit to AC&C-Manhattan

Last night I visited Animal Care and Control - Manhattan to see it for myself, visit with the dogs and talk to some of the staff. I was really pleasantly surprised at how happy and well-cared for the dogs seemed despite their circumstances. Maybe that's just because the unhappy ones were stashed out of sight. I had made a list of dogs I wanted to visit and half were presumably in what one employee described as "the sick ward." Although I had trouble imagining that half of the dogs were ill, I chose to assume that they were all being taken care of.

When a man came in looking for "Milo" who he'd seen on the website and asked the employee is he was still there, the man replied "Yes" while shaking his head "no." It seemed like a defense he'd picked up over time to tell people the dogs they were looking for were either no longer around or waiting to be put down. It seemed like a cruel joke and he apologized, saying to the man, "Sorry, I was just trying to be cheerful. I really don't know unless you have an ID number."

(Save Whitney here.)

After some prodding questions about how long the dogs stay and where I could find the ones at risk, I was told that "well it could be anywhere from 3 days to 2 months," and "I don't know anything about that." I was confused but realized something very sad was going on here. All of the dogs had been admitted within the last few days; they had so little time to be found  and rescued. These dogs who looked so happy and full of life had to be put down regularly, and the staff who clearly knows a lot about this process, was simply not able to talk about it anymore.

Most of the dogs I saw had been picked up off the street so they didn't seem to mind their spacious warm cages, food, water and friendly visitors. One (named Bear) was even being adopted on the spot. I remarked at how cute he was and his new owner said triumphantly that Bear was coming home with him. This made me really happy as I quickly did the math in my head and realized that at least 2/3 of these great dogs would probably find homes.

(Save Angelica here.)

Not surprisingly, all but 2 of the dogs in the whole place were pit mixes. It was like heaven for me as I walked through wishing each and every one of them could come home with me. They wiggled their bums and wagged their tails, their eyes brightened up and they licked my hands through their bars. Some jumped and romped around seeming to say "Please pick me!" I felt sad for the ones who looked too tired or scared to even try to sell themselves; they had been worn down by the constant barking or constant visitors or the brusque nature of the employees who couldn't possibly comfort them all.

One dog was being admitted while I was there. He was a tiny tiny white pit mix named Lex. When the employee tied him up to the wall while he went to ready his cage, the dog shook and quivered by the wall. I knelt down to hold him and he jumped into my arms and licked my face all over. This lucky guy was destined to find a home, I thought. He was the smallest adult pit mix I'd seen and so charming.

Here are a few pictures I was able to take of Lex, along with a few I got of his neighbor, Tyson. Lex and Tyson are exact opposites- and show the diversity of this great breed. Tyson was 70 pounds and probably mixed with a Great Dane, while Lex almost looked like a 30 pound white bunny rabbit. Somehow their outward appearances can change so much, but their dispositions could not be more similar. Both were wiggely waggely mushes.

(Lex is not yet on the ACC website)

(I could barely get a good picture of Tyson- he was jumping and wiggeling so much!) Save Tyson here.

These are some of the other dogs I saw, Whitney, Angelica, and Rexxi. All as sweet as could be- especially Rexxi-truly a cat in a dogs body who purred and rubbed herself against the bars seeking scratches)

(Save Rexxi here.)

Eat Chocolate - Save Lives!

If you want to help pit bulls and other dogs in need through donations to Animal rescue organization and get chocolate at the same time, please click here.

Rescue chocolate- (who doesn't want a chocolate flavor called "pit bull peanut butter"?) is a great way to help. Its vegan, kosher, eco-friendly and 100% of the net profits go to animal rescue.