BAD RAP makes great points, PETA scores a [big, fat] zero

Mojo, party animal. [Have you ordered your calendars yet? Better hurry, before they sell out!]

Who wants to kill shelter dogs? Ingrid Newkirk and PETA, that's who. They want all pit bulls dead ["for their own good," of course], and they'll get around to your breed, eventually, since their ultimate goal is the extinction of all domestic animals -- your dogs and cats included.

Irony of ironies, none of this stops PETA from using pit bulls in their ads: "Please send money to help us kill these poor dogs."

Ingrid Newkirk was selling her snake oil at a Berkeley, CA bookstore recently, and who should be in the audience but Tim Racer and Donna Reynolds of BAD RAP. With [gasp!] two pit bulls! And lots of pointed questions. Read all about it here. Yay, our side.

How to housetrain a dog

Photo by Gordon M. Grant for the New York Times.

Whatta ya think I'm gonna share my secrets? Fuhgeddaboudit! I'm packing my bags and moving to Manhattan --- gonna housetrain the dogs of hedge fund managers. Gonna make a mint.

Mr. Strict’s recommendation for solving Steffi’s housebreaking problem was much more onerous — on us. He said we had to make Steffi sleep in her crate at night with the door closed instead of on the bed. (“Dogs don’t like to soil where they sleep,” he noted.) He also wrote out a detailed schedule that called for us to feed Steffi twice a day and take her out for walks three times a day at exactly the same times.

“Hiring a dog trainer won’t solve your problems,” Mr. Strict said. “This process is 70 percent owner and 30 percent dog. You have to make a commitment to doing the exercises for at least a month to see lasting results.”

Ms. Gentle’s housebreaking prescription was conscientiously canine friendly. While she also insisted that we consign Steffi to sleep in her crate at night, she encouraged us to make the crate “den-like” by stuffing it with favorite toys and by partly covering it with a sheet before we turned out the lights. But she was even tougher on us than Mr. Strict. In addition to taking Steffi out for extra walks, we were supposed to keep a log of her eating, drinking, defecating and urinating.

“Adults learn much faster than puppies,” Ms. Gentle insisted. “So you can almost always teach an old dog new tricks if you commit yourself to taking the time.”

To my chagrin, the family voted to shelve the housebreaking issue. Harrison claimed he did not prefer Ms. Gentle over Mr. Strict or vice versa. Alison claimed that her work schedule and Harrison’s school schedule weren’t compatible with the recommended walking and feeding schedules for Steffi.

And boy, does Dr. Stephen Zawistowski, executive vice president and science administrator of the A.S.P.C.A., let these folks off the hook. Dr. Z knows as well as I do that the problem isn't "the relentless scheduling demands modern life puts on all concerned." The problem is that some people are unwilling to spend even a minimal amount of time training their dogs. Money on trainers, though --- they'll spend that.

Big Apple, here I come.

Mondo Congo

Photo by David Hunsinger for the New York Times.

From the Gray Lady [and that would be the NY Times, thank you very much]:

It’s man versus beast in Princeton, and the town is in an uproar over a dog on death row.

The curious case of Congo, an 85-pound German shepherd sentenced to die for attacking a Honduran landscaper, is making its way through New Jersey’s courts. Protesters have packed the courtrooms here and have staged rallies waving signs that say “Free Congo!” And the landscaper, Giovanni Rivera, who suffered a six-inch bite wound and other injuries, has been vilified by some of the dog’s supporters in this well-to-do Ivy League town, who have been sending newspapers and blogs angry anti-immigrant slurs.

State Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen, a Democrat from Union, has introduced legislation, which he calls Congo’s Law, that could spare the life of Congo and other dogs in similar situations by giving judges more discretion in meting out punishment.

And now, thousands of people from Princeton and elsewhere are petitioning the governor for a pardon. (There is precedent for such things in New Jersey.)

So shoot me, but the whole "Save Congo" outpouring of public sympathy reminds me more and more of the efforts a few years ago to "Save Max."

Town Rallies To Save Dog On Death Row:

NEARLY six months after he was sentenced to death by the Watertown animal control officer for biting a child, Max the golden retriever was lying on his back like a baby in the arms of Audrey McKay, the animal control officer in New Milford, luxuriating between belly rubs and doggy treats.

''He's ferocious, let me tell you,'' Ms. McKay said facetiously as the 16-month-old dog looked up and licked her chin.

The pending execution of Max has Watertown in an uproar, with his family and their supporters from several states signing a petition to save the dog. Earlier this month, there was a rally for Max on the town green of neighboring Litchfield and the head of the national animal rights organization, Last Chance for Animals, came in from California on Monday to assist the family. Even the governor has written a letter of support (he doesn't have the power to commute the sentence).

Escaping Execution (Amid Wags and Cheers):

Thousands of letters and e-mail messages poured in supporting the return of Max to his family, especially after he passed several animal behavior tests proving him to be a safe and gentle pet. ''Save Max'' signs were posted in pet stores, on front lawns and on vehicles around the state, and rallies for the dog were held on various village greens.

For months, the town remained firm in its stance to euthanize the dog, but pleas for mercy from Gov. John Rowland and the national animal rights organization Last Chance for Animals, helped change the course. After a formal hearing by the State Department of Agriculture, Richard Blumenthal, the state attorney general, mediated an agreement on June 17 between the town and the Pyons to spare the dog's life and have him returned home.

For a Dog, Another Attack on a Child Was One Too Many:

WHEN Max, a 2-year-old golden retriever who lived in Watertown, was happy, his whole body would wiggle when his tail wagged. Like many dogs, he was a face licker and a ball chaser, and it was his gentle, joyful demeanor that persuaded so many people, including the attorney general and the former governor, to come to his defense when the town's animal control officer said the dog was dangerous and must be destroyed after seriously biting a boy in 2003.

And a more succinct headline from the local NBC affiliate: Max The Dog Put Down After Mauling Another Child.

I'd be less worried about Congo biting again if his owners had a better record of keeping their dogs on their property, and if they had bothered to have their dogs vaccinated for rabies, and if they hadn't bred Congo at... what, a year of age? He was 18 months old at the time of the attack, with six-month-old pups, oy.

Years ago I owned a German shepherd that looked quite a bit like Congo. Mine was a dark sable with a great heart and a bold, fearless temperament: she was a Bodo vom Lierberg granddaughter, bred by Margaret Pooley of the old Rocky Reach Kennels. I'd give a lot to have another GSD like her. That may be one reason Congo's owners offend me so much: I think he deserves better. To me, Congo and his owners reflect what the ASPCA's Randall Lockwood calls "a perfect storm of bad human-canine interactions -- the wrong dog, the wrong background, the wrong history in the hands of the wrong person in the wrong environmental situation."

Patterns of drought

Dry as dust. Click on photo for a larger view.

In much of California last winter, it just didn't rain. Even when parts of the state are in the middle of a drought cycle, our hills here in SoCal always turn green in the winter -- or they did until last winter. Next-to-no-rain, with all that entails, can be a scary, expensive, miserable thing. [Ask Atlanta.]

Compare this blog's header photo with the photo at the top of the post. Both photos were taken the same day. The ranch in the header photo is twenty miles from the ocean, and as green as you'd expect for its location, but the photo of the farm at the top of the post was taken inland: fewer than twenty miles inland from the ranch in the header. Given the time of year [early May] that land should should look much more like this:

Green as grass.

The pasture above is on Anna Guthrie's place in inland San Diego County, but last spring it was as parched as the ranch at the top of the post.

Was I happy when it poured buckets for the better part of 24 hours last week? I can't begin to tell you how happy. Mudslides and rockslides are a pain, but drought is in an awful category all by itself.

West of Big Bear Lake.

Mountain lion magnet

What is it with Redlands and mountain lions? People see them in local parks, by the local mall, out in the canyon, in their homes... and the next thing you know, it's another news story:

The mountain lion was tranquilized after it and another cougar were seen perched in a tree near two schools in Redlands, about 60 miles east of Los Angeles.

Local officials locked down the schools as state Department of Fish and Game wardens surrounded the tree, said Redlands police spokesman Carl Baker.

One mountain lion jumped down and ran into a wash toward an orange grove that was less than a mile away. The wardens surrounded the tree and shot tranquilizer darts at the other mountain lion as children in the nearby elementary school, whose mascot is the cougar, shouted from their classrooms.

“They kept saying, 'Don't shoot our mascot,'” Baker said.

[The tranquilized mountain lion was later released, according to this article.]

There have been a lot more sightings in the local mountains than usual -- probably due to the fires.

Where are they now?

One of the Vick pit bulls.

The Vick survivors are alive and well, I'm sure, and getting the kind of terrific care every dog deserves. Waaay back in October, the BAD RAP folks mentioned on their blog that

BR's Tim Racer flew back to VA to assist attorney Rebecca Huss in re-evaluating the dogs in order to create solid placement recommendations, and, we helped organize the transfer of 16 Vick dogs that were deemed foster care candidates to warm and ready foster homes for TLC and observation.

According to the rescue application, sixteen dogs "showed no sign of aggression or threat to either people or dogs" and were headed to foster placement; two dogs "exhibited suitability for a specialized program for highly energetic and motivated dogs" and will be evaluated for detection work in a program like Law Dogs; twenty dogs showed "fear or a lack of socialization with people or other dogs" and will be placed in sanctuaries with possible fostering in the future; and ten dogs "exhibited mild to intense threat to stimulus and may have shown high arousal towards people," and may spend their lives in a sanctuary program -- although foster care placement in the future is not ruled out entirely for these ten.

Donna of BAD RAP can't give out any details [yet], though foster placement of course means homes with kids, other pets and so on. Keep tuned to the BAD RAP blog -- and this one, too -- for more information on the progress made by these rescued dogs. If only they could talk...

Oh, and you can support BAD RAP's great programs [and cross names off your gift list] by purchasing a cool calendar with, um, Tim's butt on it ;~) If that's too exciting, you can buy the wonderful Pibbles 'n Kids calendar. Better still, buy them both! And don't forget to order your copy of The Unexpected Pit Bull calendar before supplies run out [as they did last year -- these calendars are classics]. Actually, wait a few minutes before you order --- I need to order my copies first.

Vick wonders - can dogs count?

I'm working on it.

A farmer is wondering how many sheep he has in his field, so he asks his sheepdog to count them. The dog runs into the field, counts them and then runs back to the farmer.

"40," says the dog.

"How can there be 40?" asks the farmer. "I only bought 38!"

"I know," says the dog. "But I rounded them up."

[Classic joke, and sweet photo, from the good folks at Dogs in the News.]

Michael Vick has been held to a promise he made in court: he has deposited a cool $928,073.04 into an escrow account to provide for the lifetime care of the pit bulls taken from his property last spring.

And people are complaining about this! I've read comments along the lines of: "If our government can find the money to pay one million bucks for a bunch of dogs, maybe they can find the money to fix health care/education/starving children in [insert country here]!"

But the government isn't paying -- Michael Vick is paying. And he had the option, during his salad days, to fund any number of worthy causes rather than siphon God knows how much into his dogfighting habit.

And yes, it seems like a lot of money -- unless you've left three dogs at a good boarding facility for a week, lately, and winced at the sight of the bill.

Let's use boarding kennel prices to estimate the cost of care. In my neck of the woods a decent boarding kennel charges at least $20 a day, more for extras like individual exercise, special medications and grooming. Even a multi-dog discount won't save you much. Let's pretend you could find a boarding facility charging $15 a day. That's $5475 a year, and $43,800 for eight years. [My oldest dog lived to sixteen, and quite a few live longer.]

If Michael Vick had been found guilty of torturing just one dog, and had agreed to pay for that animal's lifetime care, the bill would be [based on the figures above] just $43,800 -- and I expect people would be demanding that Vick fork over quite a bit more. But Vick chose to mistreat over fifty dogs. $43,800 for 50 dogs works out to $2,190,000 -- more than double the amount Vick was actually required to pay.

Michael Vick promised in court to pay for the lifetime care of his dog... and his other dog, and his other dog, and his other dog, and his other dog, and his other dog... and $928,073 is the least he should be paying, if you ask me.