CritterBlog

From Dream to Reality

August 17, 2008 – 5:33 pm by RGilbert

The accomplishments of Michael Phelps in Beijing this week have been truly inspiring. The Olympic champion won his eighth gold medal of the 2008 summer games, when team USA placed first in the men’s 4×100-meter medley relay on Sunday, August 17, 2008. “Nothing is impossible,” Phelps said. “With so many people saying it couldn’t be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that’s something I learned and something that helped me.”

Like stars across the sky
E per a vincere
Tu dovrai vincere
We were born to shine
All of us here because we believe
–from Because We Believe by Andrea Bocelli / Amy Foster Gillies / David Foster

The man who sang “Because We Believe” at the opening of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy also inspires through action and achievement. Born with congenital glaucoma and blind since a soccer accident at age 12, Andrea Bocelli has not let a physical handicap slow him down. He reminisced about his childhood in a December 2007 interview with the London Sunday Times. “I was a daredevil. I loved danger and doing crazy things. Even when I lost my sight I was exactly the same — I would have had to change my brain to become different from what I was. I loved riding bikes and horse-riding.”

An international superstar, Andrea Bocelli has sold more than 55 million albums worldwide. He still goes horseback riding, wind surfing, scuba diving, water skiing and sky diving. “I have no more dreams,” said Mr. Bocelli. “Reality has overtaken my dreams.”

Note: Andrea Bocelli Incanto will be released November 18, 2008.

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See Also:
Andrea Bocelli Biography
Andrea Bocelli: ‘Some voices have tears inside’ (Telegraph.co.uk; October 4, 2007)
Relative Values: Andrea and Alberto Bocelli (Times OnLine; December 16, 2007)
Cruise: Launch with Bocelli a beautiful thing (New Zealand Herald; August 15, 2008)
Michael Phelps: Record-breaking eighth Olympic gold for American swimmer (Guardian.co.uk; August 17, 2008)
Phelps wins 8th gold medal; breaks tie with Spitz (AP; August 17, 2008)

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Oakland A’s Dog Day at the Park

August 16, 2008 – 3:14 am by RGilbert

The Oakland A’s hosted their third annual Dog Day at the Park on Friday, August 15, 2008. Fans over age 18 were invited to bring their dogs, along with a copy of a current vaccination document from a licensed veterinarian. The dogs were required to wear an identification tag.

Prior to the game against the Chicago White Sox, a Pup Rally was held in the parking lot. There were goodie bags for the dogs, containing an A’s bandana, samples of dry dog food and a dog treat. The rally featured raffle prizes and included a contest for the dog that looked most like its owner.

The Oakland A’s are donating a portion of the proceeds to Dogs4Diabetics, a non-profit organization that trains medical-alert service dogs to detect hypoglycemia (low blood glucose) in diabetic youths and adults and alert their partner or other family member of the situation.

Here is the lineup of Oakland A’s and their dogs:

• Daric Barton, 1st Base; Tank (Pit Bull) and Duke (Pit Bull-Lab mix)
• Eric Chavez, 3rd Base; Hank and Zena (Boxers)
• Mark Ellis, 2nd Base; Brutus (Pug)
• Jack Cust, Outfield; Rocky (Jack Russell Terrier)
• Joey Devine, pitcher; Lilly (Teacup Yorkie)
• Dana Eveland, pitcher; Jackson (Pomeranian)
• Huston Street, pitcher; Major (French Bulldog)

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Druck/Hunter’s Ties to Horse Killer

August 15, 2008 – 3:56 am by RGilbert

Before Senator John Edwards’ 42-year-old mistress moved to Los Angeles and started calling herself Rielle Hunter, she was a New York party girl named Lisa Druck. She was also a race horse owner in Ocala, Florida. Her horse, Henry the Hawk, was the victim of a killing-for-hire, staged so Ms. Druck/Hunter’s father, James, could cash in on a $150,000 insurance policy.

According to Lester Munson of ESPN, James Hunter, an attorney, “started Tommy Burns on the way to his grisly career as a horse killer,” and even taught Mr. Burns how to kill a horse by electrocution. Mr. Burns earned the nickname “The Sandman.” He eventually testified to a grand jury about “36 people for their role in conspiring to kill horses — 35 of whom would be convicted of their crimes, mostly insurance fraud.”

Rielle Hunter’s father served six months in jail. He died of lung cancer in 1990.

Author Jay McInerney (Bright Lights, Big City) met Ms. Druck/Hunter in 1987 and dated her for several months. She was his inspiration for Alison Poole, the main character in Mr. McInerney’s book Story of My Life, about “a budding actress already fatally well versed in hopping the clubs, shopping Chanel falling in and out of, lust, and abusing other people’s credit cards.”

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See Also:
Edwards’ “other woman” revives memories of a gruesome scandal (ESPN; August 14, 2008)
John Edwards’ former babe inspired lusty, party-girl character in novel (Daily News; August 9, 2008)

Posted in Animal News, Political Animals | No Comments »

Congress Combats Monkey Menace

August 14, 2008 – 4:02 am by RGilbert

Thanks to resolute action taken by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and the 110th United States Congress, Americans may no longer have to live in fear, as exemplified by this alarming news item from the Columbia Tribune (July 17, 2008):

Monkey bites raise public health issue
Despite their adorable furry faces and quirky expressions, it is best not to monkey around with exotic animals.

That is the advice from local Environmental Health Manager Gerry Worley, whose office for the second time in less than a year has found itself responding to a report of a monkey biting.

On June 17, 2008, after nearly a year of debate, the U.S. House of Representatives decisively passed The Captive Primate Safety Act by a vote of 302-96. Just before beginning a five week recess, on August 1, 2008, the bill was placed on the Senate calendar.

If this landmark legislation successfully makes its way through the Senate, our children can rest peacefully in their beds, knowing they are safe from attack by captive monkeys. One of the bill’s sponsors, U.S. Representative Bernice Johnson (D, Texas) explained, “This is a common-sense piece of legislation that will protect both primates and people — particularly children.”

U.S. Representative Mike Simpson (R, Idaho), speaking before a chamber of commerce luncheon in Idaho Falls on Tuesday, August 12, reflected on his constituents’ priorities, such as the price of gas, saying, “And when it hit a peak of $4.14, we debated and passed the monkey safety act. So we are working hard. I tried to put out feelers about how Idahoans felt about the monkey safety act…. I didn’t get a lot of responses, which tells me you don’t really care about monkeys.”

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Rep. Mike Simpson Discouraged with House Leadership (KPVI.com NBC News; August 12, 2008)
Monkey business (Chicago Tribune; June 25, 2008)

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Pennsylvanians Compost Poodles, Shih Tzus, Cocker Spaniels

August 13, 2008 – 4:20 am by RGilbert

In Pennsylvania, it is legal for commercial dog breeding kennel operators to kill their dogs. On July 24, 2008, Elmer Zimmerman, owner of E & A Kennel in Berks County, did just that. He shot and killed 70 dogs, while at about the same time, his brother Ammon Zimmerman, owner of A & J Kennel next door, shot 10 more. The 80 dogs comprised their entire stock. The corpses of the Poodles, Shih Tzus and Cocker Spaniels were tossed into a compost pile by the brothers. They used a backhoe to cover the bodies with dirt.

The shootings were the Zimmermans’ response to being cited on July 24 by a Pennsylvania dog warden for numerous violations, including skin infections on several dogs caused by fly bites and fleas, extreme heat, poor maintenance, insufficient bedding, and wire flooring through which the dogs’ feet could fall.

The majority of puppy mills in the United States are in Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Jessie Smith, the Pennsylvania dog-law bureau’s special deputy secretary, said current kennel regulations are being enforced in an effort to improve conditions. Elmer Zimmerman said that some of his dogs were old “and we were hearing that they don’t want kennels anymore. The best thing to do was get rid of them.”

“He could have treated the dogs with medication for $40 or $50,” said Howard Nelson chief executive officer of Pennsylvania SPCA. “Every humane society in the state would have taken those dogs.”

Both Elmer and Ammon Zimmerman have surrendered their kennel licenses.

On August 12, 2008, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolf issued the following statement in response to the killings:

“The recent shooting of 80 dogs at two Berks County kennels is saddening. The decision by commercial breeders to kill healthy dogs instead of paying to repair a kennel and seek veterinary care is alarming, and will likely outrage many people. Unfortunately, the killing of the dogs was legal under current Pennsylvania law.

“The two kennels involved have both voluntarily closed, but until our state’s outdated dog law is changed kennel owners may continue to kill their dogs for any reason they see fit, even if it is simply to save money. We can’t afford to wait any longer to pass legislation that would ban commercial kennel owners from killing their dogs.

“House Bill 2525, introduced in May, would allow only veterinarians to euthanize dogs in commercial breeding kennels. The bill would strengthen current dog laws and provide better standards for the health and safety of dogs in commercial breeding kennels without burdening other types of kennels that house dogs. The legislature has an opportunity to pass this important legislation this fall, and they should — as doing so will assure that this activity will be illegal in PA commercial breeding kennels moving forward.”

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SECRETARY WOLFF: PENDING LEGISLATION WOULD HAVE SAVED DOGS KILLED BY BERKS KENNEL OWNERS (Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; August 12, 2008)
Pennsylvania kennel operators killed 80 dogs after vet exams were ordered (The Olympian; August 12, 2008)
PuppymillRescue: What is a Puppy Mill?
Stop Puppy Mills

Posted in Animal Advocacy, Animal News, Animal Rescue | No Comments »

Michael Phelps and Herman the Bulldog

August 12, 2008 – 4:45 am by RGilbert

Michael Phelps, 23, the American swimming phenomenon pursuing his Olympic dream in Beijing, lives with an English Bulldog named Herman. Mr. Phelps and Herman are featured in NBC ads for the summer games:

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A Swim For the Ages By a Team’s Oldest Racer (New York Times; August 11, 2008)

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Catch a Yawn

August 12, 2008 – 3:25 am by RGilbert

Contagious yawning is a sign of empathy, although why it is catching is not understood. Scientists at Birkbeck College, University of London have now discovered what many dog lovers already knew to be true: our canine companions will usually yawn in response to the yawns of the people around them.

Years ago I worked in a town about 100 miles from where I live. My dog and I would get up early Monday morning and make the two hour drive to the art studio I managed. My employer had a guest house where the dog and I would stay for three or four days as I did my job, then we would make the two-hour drive to return home.

I had adopted a four-year-old McNab/Queensland that was not accustomed to traveling by car. He had a tendency to try to climb into my lap and take the wheel. Even when he was restrained in the back seat or riding in his crate, he would whine and pant. A veterinarian told me that when the dog was agitated, I should yawn. She said that the dog would yawn in response, and then would relax. That’s what I did, and it did the trick.

The technique also worked at night when the dog was not ready to settle down to go to sleep. All I had to do was yawn, and my canine friend would soon be yawning too. Before long, he would find a comfortable spot on his bed and fall asleep.

In the study of 29 dogs, 21 of them yawned when the stranger in front of them yawned. The scientists hope to expand their study. They might discover even more things about dogs that many of us already know.

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Pet dogs can ‘catch’ human yawns (BBC News; August 5, 2008)

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Dushku Kills Deer; PETA Kills Pets

August 11, 2008 – 5:15 am by RGilbert

Eliza Dushku, the actress who played rogue slayer Faith on Joss Whedon’s television series, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” raised a few eyebrows and the ire of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) when she revealed that she hunts deer and elk with a bow and arrow. “A lot of people eat meat,” she said, “and I eat what I kill.”

A PETA spokesperson issued a statement saying, “Slaying bloodthirsty vampires on ‘Buffy’ is brave, but slaying innocent animals where they live and raise their families is cowardly and cruel.”

How does PETA explain the thousands of animals deaths that they have caused in the state of Virginia? PETA killed more than 90 percent of the adoptable animals in their care in 2007. Just down the road from PETA headquarters, the Virginia Beach SPCA found homes for 70 percent of the animals that they sheltered.

From mid-1998 through 2007, PETA has killed more than 19,000 animals out of the 22,896 dogs, cats and other companion animals that they received, according to records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. With an annual income of $30 million, why isn’t PETA willing to spend some of it to save these homeless dogs and cats?

In a June 23, 2005, column, Debra Saunders references a 2003 New Yorker profile of PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk.

…(S)he became involved in animal rights after a shelter put down stray kittens she brought there. So she went to work for an animal shelter in the 1970s, where, she explained, “I would go to work early, before anyone got there, and I would just kill the animals myself. Because I couldn’t stand to let them go through (other workers abusing the animals.) I must have killed a thousand of them, sometimes dozens every day.”

Ms. Saunders goes on to say, “In 2003, Newkirk hectored late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat because a terrorist blew up a donkey in an attempt to blow up people. Newkirk also told the New Yorker the world would be a better place without people.” (Emphasis added.)

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PETA Kills Animals Exclusive: PETA Killed More than 90% of the Animals in its Care in 2007 — PETA’s 2007 Euthanasia Records Available Only at PetaKillsAnimals.com
Dushku Upsets Animal Lovers with Hunting Boasts (SFGate Daily Dish; August 8, 2008)
Better dead than fed, PETA says by Debra J. Saunders (SFGate; June 23, 2005)
Dying for Liberation by Wesley J. Smith (NR0; July 13, 2005)
PETA and the ethical treatment of humans (American Thinker; August 10, 2008)
Center for Consumer Freedom

Posted in Animal News, Wildlife | No Comments »

Dog Bites Pose Olympic Peril

August 2, 2008 – 3:08 pm by RGilbert

If you are traveling to Beijing for the summer Olympic games, be on the lookout for stray dogs. According to Phyllis Kozarsky, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine, you are less likely to contract an exotic disease than you are to get bitten by a dog infected with rabies.

Richard Lee, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University, who is a specialist in geographic medicine and travels frequently to China, suggests that if a feral dog approaches you, “pick up a rock or a stick.”

CritterBlog previously reported that many restaurants in Beijing are taking dog meat off the menu, out of respect for Western visitors. But Dr. Lee cautions that “there are cat specialty restaurants.”

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See Also:
Health Tips for Olympics Travelers (Kansas City InfoZine News; July 29, 2008)
Travelers To China For 2008 Olympics Warned About Respiratory Illnesses And Dog Bites (Medical News Today; August 1, 2008)
Chinese Dog Dish Unfit To Serve Man (CritterBlog; July 12, 2008)

Posted in Animal Health, Animal News | No Comments »

LA’s Top Dogs - LATimes

August 1, 2008 – 2:31 pm by RGilbert

If you want to know the hot pedigree in Los Angeles County, check out the fun new feature launched this week on the online edition of the Los Angeles Times: LAs Top Dogs - LATimes.

As of August 1, 2008, the most popular breed in L.A. County is the Chihuahua, and 1,262 of them are named “Princess.” The next most popular name of those lucky little dogs is “Chiquita,” with 1,138. Oh, did I say “Lucky?” That’s the name of 819 of L.A.’s Chihuahuas.

What will L.A. Times will come out with next? Perhaps a list of SoCal’s Top-10 best dressed pooches?

Posted in Animal News | No Comments »