Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: FoxNews, May 2, 2010

THE man who bred the first labradoodle – and in the process made the mutt a desirable accessory – says it’s the great regret of his life.

The coveted accessory has pushed out other breeds in terms of desirability.

Wally Conran, 81, coined the term labradoodle in 1988, when he was the manager of the puppy program at the Royal Institute of the Blind.

He received a letter from a woman in Hawaii who needed a seeing eye dog, but her husband had allergies. She wanted a dog that would not shed hair.

Mr Conran crossed two popular pedigree dogs: a labrador from breeding stock at the institute and a poodle owned by his boss to create the labradoodle.

The puppies were supposed to have the best traits of both dogs: the affable, controllable nature of the labrador, and the curly, non-shedding coat of the poodle.

“But now when people ask me, `Did you breed the first one’, I have to say, `Yes, I did, but it’s not something I’m proud of’,” Mr Conran said.

“I wish I could turn the clock back.”

The labradoodle is now recognized as the first of the so-called “designer dogs”, selling for more than $1000 a puppy. In essence, it is a mutt, or mongrel, yet it has raced ahead of pedigrees in terms of price and desirability.

Some pet shops report mongrels outselling pure-breds three to one, despite the high price of both.

As a result, labradoodles and their cutely named cousins — spoodles, schnoodles, cavoodles, moodles, groodles and roodles — are being pumped out across the nation, to meet demand

“I’m not at all proud of my involvement in it,” Conran said. “But the genie’s out of the bottle, and you can’t put it back.”

His dismay isn’t shared by breeders of the curly cross-breeds, who say they are merely meeting demand for a family-oriented, non-shedding dog of compact size, and happy temperament.

Nicolette Gallagos, of Australian Labradoodle Association, said: “Labradoodles are family-oriented dogs. They are perfect for families that want a dog that is good with children.”

The association has set a breed standard for itself, and hopes the dog will soon be recognized as a breed by the Australian National Kennel Council.

The process may take 20 years. It has been so long since a new breed has been added to the Kennel Council’s register that nobody can remember when it last happened.

Once recognized, the labradoodles will be able to enter shows, and win prizes.

The rise in popularity of the mutts angers pedigree breeders, who complain that cross-breeders are exploiting the fad for money, and forcing pedigree bitches to give birth to dozens of cross-bred pups every year.

Source: kfbb.com, Mar 6, 2010

Imagine forcing your dog to live his or her entire life in a small wire cage, with no toys or comfort and little hope of survival. Believe it or not, that is what life is like for dogs that live in puppy mills across our nation and right here in Montana.

It is the topic of a new book written by one local woman. Dozens of people gathered at the Barnes and Noble Bookstore in Great Falls Saturday, to attend a book signing with local author, Carol Bradley. Her new book, “Saving Gracie” is a true story about her dog’s rescue from a puppy mill in Pennsylvania.

The book follows Gracie, a cavalier king charles spaniel, who is worn out from bearing puppies at a puppy mill and her journey into a loving new family. Gracie’s story explores the disturbing world of large volume kennels but also takes a look at the generous people who helped her along with way.

Bradley says, “The book kind of peels back the curtain on puppy mills. These dogs suffer from a variety of diseases. They often live in dark barns filled with rats and venom. They sometimes are starved. It’s incredible the ways the dogs are treated considering how expensive the puppies wind up being.”

The book was inspired by the Camp Collie case that took place in Montana back in 2002. That is when a tractor trailer packed with neglected collies was discovered as it passed through the border station near Shelby. Local residents ended up caring for close to 200 collies until their owners were convicted of multiple counts of animal cruelty and the dogs were finally free to be adopted.

Saving Gracie is available on Amazon, at Barnes & Noble, or any web site where books are sold.

Carol Bradley is an award-winning former newspaper reporter who studied Animal Law as a 2004 Nieman Fellow at Harvard. She spent 26 years covering the U.S. Congress and state legislatures in Tennessee and New York, and writing features and investigative stories for the Great Falls Tribune.

Bradley has written about many aspects of animal welfare, including horse slaughtering, rodeos, animal hoarding, and animal cruelty. She grew up in Kingsport, Tennessee and lived in Nashville, Knoxville, New York and Washington D.C. before moving to Great Falls, where she now lives with her husband, Steve L’Heureux, and their two dogs. Saving Gracie is her first book.

Source: PetProductNews.com, Feb 12, 2010

Maryland legislators have introduced a bill that would prohibit retail pet stores from selling dogs that are less than nine months old in age. A hearing for the measure, Senate Bill 505, is scheduled to go before the Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 18.

As introduced, SB 505 defines a “retail pet store” as a “for profit establishment open to the public that sells or offers for sale domestic animals to be kept as household pets.”

If approved, Maryland pet stores would not be allowed to display, sell, deliver, offer for sale or adoption, barter, auction, give away, transfer or dispose of a dog less than nine months old.

The rule would not apply to breeders; a publicly- or privately-operated humane society or nonprofit animal adoption organization; or an adoption event operated by a humane society or nonprofit animal adoption organization out of or in connection with a retail pet store.

Violators would be subject to a $500 fine for the first offense and $1,000 for each subsequent offense.

If approved, the measure would take effect on Oct. 1, 2010.

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Giveaway-a-day contest promotes new section launch

Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- DogChannel.com, the premier online
destination for dog lovers, announced the launch of its newly redesigned,
highly expanded Adopted Dog section, dedicated to adoption and dog rescue.

To celebrate the launch, DogChannel will host a "giveaway-a-day" promotion,
with prizes valued at $100 awarded to one visitor daily who registers at
DogChannel.com/adopted. The promotion runs from September 15 through October
14, 2009.

"We know our visitors share their lives with all kinds of dogs. We're happy to
be able to give those who adopt and rescue dogs a place to call their own,"
said Dog Fancy((R)) and DogChannel Editor Susan Chaney.

The Adopted Dog section, sponsored by North Shore Animal League America, the
largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization in the world, provides
DogChannel visitors with the most credible and authoritative adoption and
rescue information and resources, including:

    --  Access to Adopt-a-Pet.com's database of thousands of adoptable pets
        looking for homes
    --  An "Ask the Adoption Expert" section, where DogChannel
        visitors can submit questions to Joanne Yohannan, senior vice
president
        of operations at North Shore Animal League America, to be answered on
        the site
    --  Adoption and rescue articles and success stories
    --  Information on mixed-breed dogs and canine breed tests
    --  An adoption forum where users can ask for and receive information from
        others interested in adoption and rescue
    --  An adoption resource center

    --  "How We Met Photo Gallery," which lets visitors post a photo
        of their adopted or rescued dogs and write about how they first met
        their fabulous pets

The Adopted Dog section is a partnership between DogChannel, North Shore
Animal League America, Adopt-a-Pet.com, and Purina((R)) brand dog food.

To schedule an interview with the editor, contact Lisa MacDonald, marketing
director, at 949-855-8822, ext. 3345.

About BowTie, Inc.
BowTie, Inc. is the leader in special interest pet magazines, trade magazines,
books and websites dedicated to pet-loving consumers, pet-supply retailers,
veterinarians, breeders and pet professionals worldwide. Divisions of BowTie,
Inc. include BowTie Magazines, BowTie Press, BowTie News, Thoroughbred Times
Company, Global Distribution Services and www.AnimalNetwork.com.

Source: Associated Press, August 11, 2009

CHICAGO — Thanks to a Chicago TV judge, a Coney Island freak show operator is up $4,000 but down a five-legged puppy.

Judge Jeanine Pirro ruled during a taping of her show Wednesday that freak show owner John Strong is entitled to the cash after the dog’s owner backed out of a contract to sell the Chihuahua-terrier mix to him.

Calvin Owensby agreed to sell the five-legged puppy formerly known as Precious to Strong on June 29. Strong sent Owensby $1,000, with a promise to deliver $2,000 more when Precious got to New York.

But Owensby, an unemployed electrician from Gastonia, N.C., balked days later after researching Strong online.

“I didn’t know it was a freak show,” a tearful Owensby told Pirro. “He said it was an amazing animal show.”

After a flurry of media attention, Owensby said he got threatening phone calls, including one from a New York man who said only a freak would sell his dog to a freak show.

Strong’s show has 27 odd animals, including a two-headed turtle named Pete and Repeat, a six-legged cow and an eight-legged pig.

Owensby was so spooked that when Allyson Siegel of Charlotte, N.C., offered to buy Precious for $4,000 to keep the dog from going to Strong, he accepted.

Siegel took Precious, renamed her Lilly and quickly had the extra leg removed. Owensby returned Strong’s $1,000.

But Strong still wanted the dog — or what Owensby was paid for her — and sued for breach of contract.

Pirro agreed Strong was wronged.

“We’ve got a contract, and the defendant broke it, pure and simple,” Pirro said.

She also sided with Strong in Owensby’s countersuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress, ruling that while the situation was undoubtedly stressful, Strong couldn’t be blamed.

Strong said after the taping that he’s thrilled with the decision.

“This is such an emotional case, and it could’ve gone either way,” he said. “I just wish I’d met Calvin before all this happened.”

Owensby said he doesn’t harbor any hard feelings and understands Strong is just doing his job.

Strong said once Pirro’s show airs on Sept. 8, he’ll sue Siegel to reclaim the dog — despite her lack of an extra paw.

“I certainly am not chasing four-legged dogs around the world,” he said. “Because of the cuteness of the dog … I would still like to have the dog.”

It probably also helps that he said his business has increased 60 percent since the story hit the news.

Lilly, meanwhile, is doing well at her new home.

“She is just a ball of fire,” Siegel told a North Carolina TV station. “I hope she is going to have a normal life.”

Source: Star-Telegram.com, July 11, 2009

Source: TheNewsTribune.com, June 30, 2009

Owners of the Pasco Petland store on Monday denied charges the store gets its puppies from mills and brokers who mistreat animals that they crank out for profit.

“I never would’ve opened this (store) if there were shady things going on,” said co-owner Dan Miner. “I mean, there’s too much money at stake to do things like that.”

Miner’s comments were in response to a report the Humane Society of the United States released Monday that claimed more than 95 percent of Petland stores have bought dogs from large-scale brokers or directly from puppy mills in the past few months.

The Humane Society, a national animal protection organization separate from the Benton-Franklin Humane Society that operates a shelter in Kennewick, used public documents to trace shipments of more than 15,000 puppies from commercial brokers to Petland stores.

The Humane Society said the Pasco Petland — the only Petland store in Washington — gets its puppies from Mid-America Pet Broker LLC of Neosho, Mo.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture earlier this year cited the broker for buying from breeders without verifying that they were licensed, for using expired and incorrect medications and for using cages that were too small, the Humane Society reported.

Miner acknowledged the Pasco Petland gets the majority of its puppies from Mid-America, but he said the broker hasn’t mistreated animals as the Humane Society portrays.

“Absolutely not,” Miner said. “I would stake my building on it. I wouldn’t do business with them if that was the case.”

Miner said he wasn’t concerned with Mid-America’s past citations, saying just because a driver gets a traffic citation doesn’t mean they shouldn’t drive anymore. If anything, the citations showed the USDA was doing its job, he said.

He also showed a March 2 inspection record of Mid-America that reported no violations at the time.

All puppies sold at Pasco’s Petland receive three parvovirus shots before the store even gets the animals, and they receive physical exams from Coleman Animal Health Center before they are made available for sale.

Of the 700 puppies that have gone through the store since it opened last July, only three were found to have parvo, Miner said.

Nevertheless, the Humane Society recommended consumers not buy puppies from pet stores or internet sites, but instead buy from an animal shelter or a breeder’s facility that they can inspect in person.

Puppy mill dogs typically receive little to no medical care, live in squalid conditions with no exercise, socialization or human interaction and are confined inside cramped wire cages for life, the Humane Society said.