Some Events from May 4 to May 8

This article lists a few events from May 4 to May 8: http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2011/04/events_cat_fostering_rally_for.html

May 4th: “Catstravaganza” foster information session

May 6th: Rally for Patrick the Pit Bull

May 7th: Feral Cat Coalition Fundraiser

May 7th-8th: Northwest Pet and Companion Fair 

Awesome Craigslist Post

Was browsing through craigslist pet's section and came across this awesomely titled post:

The kittens are coming, the kittens are coming! (Spay your cat for $10!)

Yes, it's true - we can spay or neuter your cat for only $10!

Kitten season is here! To avoid another litter of kittens, get your female cat spayed now.
Spaying and neutering can also help stop (or prevent) spraying, keep your cat from roaming, and help them live a longer, healthier life.
Don't wait until it's too late, we can spay and neuter cats as young as 8 weeks old.

To qualify for the $10 special price, you must:
• Currently receive government assistance such as Medicaid, WIC, Food Stamps, SSI, Section 8 Public Housing, AFDC, TANF or Oregon Health Plan

• Be a resident of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas or Clark County

Multiple cats/kittens welcome!

If you are not currently receiving government assistance, we may still be able to help. Please call the Spay & Save hotline at (503) 802-6755 or 1(800)345-SPAY for details.

• Location: Spay your cat for $10!

• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Besides the awesome title, seriously, it is a very important thing to do and $10 is cheap! Spay or neuter your cats!

Original craigslist post: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/pet/2351162770.html
What looks to be a(n old) pdf flyer for Multnomah County: http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/dbcs/pets/Spay_week_final.pdf

Tuffle Sniffing

I'm still not sure how I feel about this. Seems to have been and may still be a trend to train your dog to sniff out truffles here in Oregon. I find it both silly and interesting at the same time. Using your dog to sniff out truffles seems useful and a potentially fun activity, but what about the pigs? Are their feelings going to be hurt now that they are getting outted for dogs in one of their traditional roles (besides bacon, mmm bacon)?

Or perhaps they will start taking on some dog roles as well? Or perhaps it just doesn't matter? It's not like there are stray pigs roaming the streets nor a scarcity of pigs.

Suppose this is a legit site then: www.nwtruffledogs.com

(Image found here.)

PDX Pit Bulls

One of my favorite blogs, pdxpits.blogspot.com, has created a wonderful video! Quoting their post:

" Tuesday, April 19, 2011

What we are all about!

My friend and partner in this madness is a wonderful woman named Cheryl. She made this video about our walks... it is amazing! check it out! "

China Dog Rescue

Between technology and blogging a man was able to recruit about 200 fellow dog lovers to blockade a truck transporting hundreds of dogs in horrible conditions to be used as food meat. There are no laws or legislation in China for animal welfare and this was a rare successful case of social activism for them.

The article is quite good. Ponders on how values seem to be changing in China amidst current conditions and touches on a bit of their cultural history as well. There is a growing middle class that can now afford to have animals as pets and cultural opinions and values are starting to change.

They were able to buy off the dogs for about $17000, majority contributed by "a pet company and an animal protection foundation." Dozens of volunteers are pouring in to help with the care of these poor dogs.

freekibble legit!

Mimi of www.freekibble.com

So digging around and turns out www.freekibble.com (there's also www.freekibblekat.com for kitties) is a legitimate charity donating kibble to dog shelters. Go check our her press page on www.freekibble.com, it's amazing how wide spread the impact of the girl who started this charity has been.

FreeKibble was started by a 7th grader, Mimi, working with her parents and inspired by the charity site www.freerice.com. Every day there is a new trivia question to answer and in doing so you can donate ten pieces of kibble. It has been around since 2008 and they have helped out in multiple disasters, including when hurricane Fay hit South Florida in 2008 and the latest 2011 disaster, the earthquake-tsunami-combo-hard-hit Japan.

Mimi is (was?) an eleven year old from Bend, Oregon. She regularly donated pennies and change to her local Humane Society shelter until she turned old enough to start volunteering there at the age of 9. She aspires to one day open her own animal shelter "similar to Best Friends in Utah, the country’s largest animal refuge." (Article)

Social Networking for Dog Lovers

Came across this article about a social networking site for dog lovers in the UK (April 11th). A gent started this site, which can be thought of as similar to Facebook or Myspace but specific to dogs: www.k9united.com Apparently there's a super dog store and blogging as special features of the site.

Got me thinking, what about Portland? And sure enough, there's a social networking site specifically for Portlandia Dog Lovers:  http://pdxdog.com/ (founder: Andrea Schneider). As far as I can tell, the site is legitimate and one of the biggest for the Portland area. Found this article mentioning pdxdog, the theory is the new trend is creating social network sites that are specific to users' needs and interests, forming communities that are not only web-based but can also interact in real life.

I think I'll give it a try!

Doggie Dash 2011 - May 14th

Perhaps you have been seeing it as well. The Doggie Dash held by Oregon Humane Society is fast approaching! And doggie groups and lovers are forming teams.

When: Saturday, May 14th
Where: Downtown Portland, Oregon
Link to event: http://www.oregonhumane.org/doggiedash/event.asp

Definitely sounds like an awesome event!

Bill to ban pets in lap while driving

Oregon Senator Ginny Burdick has presented a bill that would ban "driving with any animal that obstructs the driver. " Article (April 8th, 2011): http://www.kval.com/news/local/119511244.html

This includes all those who go around with their doggies sitting in their lap. (The article also mentions a hilarious story about someone saved from choking by crashing his car. Irony?)

I have nothing exactly against this. On an intellectual level it makes sense and it's safe-driving to restrain your animal (though admittedly I don't often follow this common sense). But wondering why isn't her efforts going to more important issues...

And is this really credible? really? is there enough evidence behind this, or rather danger, to make this worthwhile to push? Yeah dogs can be distractions, but so can children? and radios, cell phones, bright sunlight, bugs, that itch behind your right knee...

Instead of wasting money and paper and time on a law that is going to be difficult to enforce (because everyone knows our police force doesn't have enough work to do), why not be encouraging and organizing public education on this? Public education about how to travel with a dog in your car (crates, seat belts, etc) would be more effective and accurate then law pushing that's going to be near impossible to enforce. I'd rather have our law enforcement available and responding to my burglarized home rather than writing a ticket for a dog in someone's lap.

Yes! See right here, training! http://www.perfectpaws.com/whytr2.html

SE Foster Road

Article from April 4th, 2011: police are staking (staked? looks like may have been last Tuesday) out Southeast Foster Road with pedestrian-safety patrols: http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2011/04/portland_police_plan_tuesday_p.html (may not want to click that link, Firefox keeps blocking a pop-out it doesn't like from that site, looks like a legit site though)

Yes, yes, yes! For those unfamiliar with the road, it gets kinda crazy, especially past 82nd and on out to Damascus, OR. Tons of speeding (the speed limit is high to begin with) and tail-gating. According to the article, number of pedestrian deaths on this street has increased to 15 in 2010 (up from 11 in 2009 and 5 in 2008; so seems to be just getting worse year by year, doesn't it?).

I have a personal grudge against this road. I used to live on it out near Damascus (renting a room which allowed me to have four dogs out in the country). Every time I got ready to pull of of the gravel driveway, in the back of my mind was the question: am I going to get rear-ended today?

Unfortunately, what did end up happening was much worse. One of my dogs (originally my sister's puppy that I hadn't re-trained yet) had gotten loose since she was in heat and I was trying to catch her. Neighbors large brown dogs came out and chased us, biting my little Papillion. She ran out in the road, both me and the large dogs knew to stop while she didn't. She immediately got hit head-on by a speeding car and flew up into the air. The car never stopped, barely even slowed. The dog was dead by the time I picked her up and crossed the road with her in my arms. Needless to say, it wasn't long before I moved from there.

Unsinkable Dogs

Came across this lovely blog post from the perspective of a pooch: http://fidoscityguide.com/lady/2011/02/22/unsinkable_dogs/

It is about a business that offers a special service for our four-legged doggie friends: a Warm Water Swim Center dedicated to dogs. Specifically, dedicated to dogs recovering from surgery and those with special conditions such as arthritis. Puppies, seniors, socially-challenged dogs, dogs that need to lose some weight and other dogs are also welcome and encouraged to take advantage of the pool. Especially sounds like a fantastic idea to me for teaching puppies how to swim and having a fun time!

Watching the video from this article gave me a better idea of their services and pool: http://www.kgw.com/community/blogs/drew-carney/Unsinkable-Dogs-80629087.html



The have floaties for dogs! In the video both an over-sized dog (who had lost 9 lbs already, go doggie go! show us humans up when it comes to exercising and losing weight) and a partially paralyzed dog took of advantage of their floating 'vests' to get around in the pool mostly on their own while working with a trainer. According to the report, there is no group swimming. You must contact ahead of time and schedule a swimming session.

And that's not all there is to offer, there is also Training. Both for Agility and a newly developing dog sport, K9 Nose Work. As far as I can tell, they are offering their services in abouts the Seattle area and the Vancouver-Washington area.

Old website: www.unsinkabledogs.com
New website: http://joycesdogs.com/

Tomorrow is the last day to vote for a park!

Don't worry, not voting doesn't mean it doesn't happen! One of the parks will get a makeover, this is just your chance for some input.

April 13th is the deadline to pick a Portland doggie park to get a make-over funded by the team efforts of Banfield Pet Hospital and the Portland Trail Blazers! Check out this article for further information (hopefully they'll do a follow-up on this!):

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/03/one_portland_dog_park_to_get_e.html

Bully Walks!

Just discovered an awesome event that has started here in Portland: Bully Walks! Apparently on the first Sunday of every month a bunch of dog lovers get-together to show off their pit-bulls. The goal is to change public perception about these wonderful dogs and to try to educate others to counter-act all the vicious myths that are spread about these dogs.

(Yes, yes, there's some truth in all myths. But it's not just pit-bulls that bite and can attack, other breeds do too. Heck, Chihuahuas probably bite more but who cares? They're five pounds and their owners think they're being 'cute.' Pit-bulls are just the current scapegoat, especially for uneducated and/or bad owners.)

Check out the blog behind this wonderful eventful: http://pdxpits.blogspot.com/

You know you're lazy when...

...you're blaming the dog for being lazy because they will not stand on their hind-legs to clean the ranch dressing you spilled all over the kitchen. No, they will only clean the floor and the parts of the cabinets that are within easy reaching distance of all fours.

Admittedly this would not be a problem if my dog were not the size of a football. Oh well, I guess I will just have to clean my kitchen myself. So much for my portable garbage disposals/food vacuums.

Patrick the Pitbull

So I came across a current sensation on Yahoo today: Patrick!

First thought and still is: This is wonderful! Well, the support and outrage over such a horrible act is wonderful. The abuse and story of this poor dog makes me want to vomit.

Patrick is a brown pitbull that was found in a trash bin and had been neglected and starved. Some articles say he was found in a trash chute or was noticed moving in a garbage bag by the trash collector. Regardless of whether true or not, he was found abandoned and thrown away and starved. You can't fib starvation and abuse with an animal.

He was taken to an animal hospital where he was cared for and not only survived, but is recovering and is just the sweetest thing on four legs. Tons of people are donating toys, food, money and so on for this cute puppy, along with adoption requests pouring in.

Everything has mentioned beware of SCAMS. And in trying to find a good Facebook fan page for Patrick, I've only come across more information saying some of these pages (including Patrick's Law) are scams or are there for self-centered reasons and only about the animals in so far as they can promote themselves and sell products. So: BE CAREFUL! If you want to donate, go with charities that you know and can verify are legitimate. Giving your money away to a scammer will not help any of these animals.

Here's more stories on Patrick:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/04/abused_newark_pitbull_patrick.html
http://www.gsvs.org/news/patrick.asp (*photo from here)