20,000 Pounds of Natural Dog Food to Go to Idaho Humane Society

Posted March 8, 2010 By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: Earthtimes.org, Mar 8, 2010

Dynamite Marketing will deliver more than 2,000 pounds of its Super Premium natural dog food to the Idaho Humane Society on March 10 at 10:30 a.m. The donation is valued at $3,000 and is enough to feed the approximately 200 dogs for 125 days.

The gift is the result of Dynamite’s Facebook contest, in which Dynamite pledged to donate a pound of natural dog food for every Facebook fan who has signed up since Jan. 1.

In addition, Dynamite will enter the names of all Facebook fans into a drawing, and will donate 200 pounds of natural dog food to the shelter of the winner’s choice.

The gift is in keeping with Dynamite’s tradition of making charitable donations to motivate sales. Last year, the company offered its top distributors a choice of a personal prize such as a trip to Maui or double the value as a donation to charity. The result was $22,000 in charitable donations.

“People who buy our products are passionate about their animals and about making the world a better place,” said Callie Novak, Dynamite vice president. “We attract people who are driven by projects that help animals, improve soil, save lives and make the world a better place. We knew that for many of them, giving to a charity actually would be more of a motivation than a personal prize or special offer.”

“We are extremely grateful for the donation, as well as the visibility that the competition has brought to the humane society,” said Chris Wiersema, development director at the Idaho Humane Society.

A family-owned business that has specialized in animal nutrition for four generations, Dynamite Marketing makes products for virtually every member of the animal kingdom. It has long developed natural dog food and nutritional supplements for prize-winning working dogs and show dogs across the country.

Dynamite uses only natural ingredients, made in the United States for better quality control. Throughout its history, it has always looked at alternatives to animal by-products, antibiotics, chemical preservatives, fumigants, artificial coloring and other additives that have later caused health problems.

Dynamite products are available through more than 4,000 individual distributors across the country.

Additional information is available at www.DynamiteMarketing.com or by calling 1-800-697-7434. The company is based in Meridian, Idaho.

Categories: Adoptable Dogs, Feeding, Heros, Natural/Healthy Pet Foods, Press Releases, Recent News, adoption
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After two years apart, Portland man and his dog are reunited, OR

By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: OregonLive.com, Mar 7, 2010

The story of the man, his dog and the lost and found began on a spring day two years ago near an open field in Chicago.

Roger Mallette  was playing with his black lab, Ike, when his cell phone buzzed. Mallette turned around, took the call and Ike took off.

“It was extremely painful,” Mallette said Sunday at his office in Southeast Portland. “I never got over it.”

For the longest time, it seemed to Mallette the story would end right there and he’d never see Ike again. It seemed like all he could do was nurse his broken heart and tell friends about the dog that got away. But then, late last year, Mallette got a phone call and the whole story changed.

Mallette, who is 45,  found Ike on Craigslist in 2004 when he lived in Seattle. He went to pick him up and found his new friend in a muddy backyard, bounding around, full of energy. This did not bode well.

Ike is a runner. If he’s not on a leash, he’ll sniff around and take off. Mallette estimates that in their first few months together, Ike ran away five or six times.

But Mallette always managed to find his dog. He gave Ike a rabies tag and had a microchip implanted between Ike’s shoulder blades, both of which identified Mallette as his owner.

Together, in early 2007,  Ike and Mallette moved to Chicago. It was there, in spring 2008, when Mallette took that fateful cell phone call.

He’d taken Ike off the leash to play ball with him in a grassy lot. One minute, Ike was running around, chasing the ball. The next minute: gone.

Mallette put up fliers and placed an ad on Craigslist. No luck. He eventually gave up, too distraught to get another dog.

In late 2008, Mallette moved to Portland. He owns and operates a company that makes cycling jerseys and he wanted to be in the sport’s epicenter.

This is where he met his fiance, Elizabeth Everman.  He told her all about Ike.

“I’d heard all these stories about him,” said Everman. “Roger, whenever we saw a lab, would almost tear up.”

That’s where the story stood in early December, 2009.

Then early one morning, when Mallette was asleep, he got a phone call. It was a woman from a dog shelter southwest of Chicago. She had Ike, she said on the voice mail. Call us back.

“I about fell out of bed,” Mallette said. “I was in utter disbelief. I was so caught-off-guard I was hoarse. I could barely talk.”

Apparently, Ike had run away again and someone in Romeoville, Ill., southwest of Chicago, called the animal control department. An officer came and picked Ike up.

After the microchip and the rabies tag confirmed that Mallette was the owner, Mary Helton gave him a call from the shelter.

“He started crying,” Helton recalled.

With help from a friend, Mallette had Ike flown to Portland several days later.

Now when he tells the story about his dog, it has a happy ending.

“I have to say man, it’s the coolest thing,” Mallette said. “The greatest gift the universe has ever given me.”

Categories: Human/Canine Bond, Lost Dog, Recent News
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Desperate need for help – Gaston Shelter, NC

Posted February 21, 2010 By aschae and has no comments yet.

This post is quite old but the situation at Gaston AC has NOT improved.

Permission granted to forward and cross-post!!

There is an immediate need for a rescue coordinator volunteer at the Gaston County Animal Shelter. Unfortunately, all dogs/cats lives coming into the shelter DEPEND on this non-paid position as shelter management does not have the foresight to see or care about saving dogs/cats lives; it is not now nor has it ever been a priority at this shelter to see that the dogs/cats make it out alive. Shelter management sees the overpopulation of pets as a nuisance to deal with, not as living beings that should be shown compassion and love. It is the animals who are punished, not the uncaring people that continue to allow their animals to breed.

The shelter is only open from 11-5 weekdays (no extended hours for people to come before or after work to see the animals) and only open one Saturday per month. They euthanize EVERY day, sometimes twice depending on how crowded it is. Rescues pulling these animals are usually the only chance they have as many are deemed unadoptable by the judgment of shelter workers without a thorough or repeatable evaluation process. They are proclaimed adoptable or “other” as soon as they are dragged through the door into a building that reeks of urine/feces/death and where dogs are barking and pleading for their lives. It’s truly a traumatic environment that causes all but the very confident animals to retreat and cower into their death sentence of being proclaimed unadoptable. It is especially traumatic for the cats as they are thrown into a pen at the end of the run, so they have to be walked down the loud/echoing aisle past all the barking/shrieking dogs before they are tossed (literally) into a pen with a 5 -10 other cats. When it rains the entire pen gets flooded. There is no heat or air conditioning in the cement/concrete building.

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE is there someone who has time to devote to try to get the word out about the dogs/cats coming into this shelter and try to find them a rescue??

It is a HUGE undertaking, but these poor animals have no one else to depend on – the kennel workers and animal control officers at the shelter do not care about these enough to devote any time to this effort at all. They don’t care that they get gassed at the end of the day – plain and simple. It’s so very sad for these animals and the conditions that they have to endure for the 3-5 days that they are there. It is truly a jail for animals and they need our help.

If you or someone you know can help, please have them contact:
Leah at lepodz@yahoo.com or Marcie at buckeyepetlover@gmail.com

It doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you can use a computer and telephone during the day. Rescues from out-of-state and the surrounding tri-state area need to be able to speak to someone during the day via email and telephone to coordinate getting the pets pulled from the shelter, taken to foster homes or boarding kennels, and make arrangements for transport. The Rescue Coordinator does not have to physically do these things, but they must be able to communicate freely with people who can.

The few of us trying to do this have been shut down from emailing and taking calls at work, so we are trying to find a person who is either retired, semi-retired, out-of-work, or who works from home that has some time to spare during the day to help the pets in need.

We can give you all the contact information you need: rescue names, emails, phone numbers; names and numbers of people who transport, pull from the shelter, foster, etc.

Please forward this to anyone you know who might be in a position to help. We are DESPERATE to find someone IMMEDIATELY, as we currently have no one able to freely correspond throughout the day.

Animals will die, for lack of being able to communicate in time, if we can’t find someone to help.

Categories: Abuse/Neglect, Adoptable Dogs, Recent News, Rescue, adoption
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Death of dog thrown from roof inspires NY bill

Posted November 20, 2009 By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: Associated Press, Nov 19, 2009

A shelter’s decision to euthanize a dog that was thrown from the sixth-story roof of a Brooklyn building has inspired new state legislation.

State Assemblyman Micah Z. Kellner said on Thursday that he introduced a bill requiring shelters to release any animal they plan to kill to a legitimate rescue group that offers to take in the animal.

Animal activists were outraged last week when the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals put down the pit bull mix named Oreo. The ASPCA said it tried to rehabilitate Oreo, but she was too aggressive.

Before Oreo was euthanized, at least one upstate sanctuary had offered to take her in. The ASPCA said sanctuary was not appropriate in her case.

ASPCA attorney Debora Bresch says the agency is reviewing how the bill fits with existing law.

Categories: Abuse/Neglect, Legal, Pit Bulls/Dog Fighting, Recent News, Rescue, adoption, behavior
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Memphis Animal Shelter Raided After Three Dogs Die

Posted November 5, 2009 By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: WREG.com, Oct 27, 2009

The City of Memphis Animal Shelter was the scene of a early morning raid by Shelby County deputies Tuesday morning.

Shelby County District Attorney Bill Gibbons and Shelby County Sheriff Mark Luttrell say deputies with the Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at the shelter located at 3456 Tchulahoma Road and temporarily secured the facility as part of an investigation into alleged animal abuse and cruelty.

District Attorney Gibbons requested the Sheriff’s Office investigation of the City of Memphis Animal Shelter earlier this month after receiving a tip from a citizen on the conditions at the shelter.

Sheriff Mark Luttrell told us, “We are finding that some of the allegations that we have heard are true. That will just take a more through investigation to determine just how bad the situation is but on its face, we can definitely see that there are some problems here.”

According to the search warrant, “detectives have learned that some animals have been deprived of food and water while at the Memphis Animal Shelter…” and while in the shelter’s care, “some dogs have been starved to the point of requiring euthanasia.”

According to the search warrant, some of the dogs “are involved in court cases involving dog fighting and have been marked ‘Hold for Court.’”

Additionally, the warrant says that shelter employees keep “…dogs that are to be quarantined for rabies with dogs that are not required to be quarantined in the same kennel.”

“The information we received about the conditions of the Memphis Animal Shelter clearly warranted a criminal investigation, and it is very possible that one or more individuals could face criminal charges based on the outcome of the investigation,” said District Attorney Gibbons.

Janet Hooks, Director of The Division Of Public Services and Neighborhoods, suspended 12 employees to allow investigators unfettered access to the shelter and the animals. No one has been charged.

While deputies are executing the search warrant, the facility will not be open to the public, and deputies will supervise limited employees inside the shelter. Animals brought to the facility during this time will be transferred to another shelter in Shelby County.

Trained investigators with ASPCA and emergency responders with the American Humane Association are at the shelter assisting the deputies.

Categories: Abuse/Neglect, Feeding, Health, Recent News, Rescue, adoption
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Vigil held at Lucas County dog pound, OH

Posted October 27, 2009 By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: ToldedoBlade.com, October 25, 2009

Troy Teneyck’s voice choked with emotion Saturday night as he stood before a candlelit crowd of more than 120 people outside the Lucas County Dog Warden’s animal pound on Erie Street. Two months earlier, the Teneyck family dog, a 6-year-old chow named Bear, disappeared from their East Toledo home. And two days after Bear’s disappearance, the family learned over the phone that their pet had met a fiery fate in the dog pound’s incinerator.

Mr. Teneyck shared the story of his family’s loss during a candlelight vigil in memory of all the dogs that have died at the county pound. The vigil, though planned months in advance, fell on the same week as an Oct. 20 presentation by an oversight committee for the Lucas County dog warden that said too many dogs were euthanized and not enough adopted out to new homes.

Stephen Serchuk, chairman of the dog warden advisory committee, told the county commissioners that the dog warden’s agency, headed since 1987 by Tom Skeldon, lacks standard procedures for its daily operations, including protocols for euthanasia and the use of tranquilizer darts to subdue mangy dogs. Members of the 11-person committee issued four recommendations for improving the agency, including the reinstatement of controversial door-to-door dog license checks.

“They took my dog from me,” Mr. Teneyck said, his voice heavy with emotion. “At first it was a shock to me. As the shock wore off, it turned into anger. And as the anger left, it turned into sadness.”

Anger seemed to mix with sadness during the hour-long vigil, organized by the Ohio Coalition of Dog Advocates. “We want to raise the public’s awareness of what goes on down here at the dog pound,” said Jean Keating, the coalition’s co-founder, who gave the opening remarks at the vigil.  She spoke from a podium near a board marking every dog euthanized this year at the shelter.

Many in the crowd said they were disgusted by the high kill rate at the county’s pound, said to be one of the highest in the state with 2,483 dogs euthanized last year, or 80 percent of all dogs taken in. “This reign of terror needs to stop right now,” speaker Sarra Beam said.

“We could save a lot of dogs but they won’t let us,” said Rita Bonnell of Rossford, who operates a rescue shelter and disagrees with the warden’s policy against transferring animals to “all-breed” operations other than the Toledo Area Humane Society.

The evening included a moment of silence for the departed dogs and those animals currently in the kennel, and the playing of the Sarah McLachlan song, “I Will Remember You”. The event also paid respect to the memory of Princess, a 10-pound Pomeranian-beagle mix who died in February after being shot with a tranquilizer gun by a deputy dog warden.

Cheers and applause broke out when speaker Dan Grove called for the removal of Mr. Skeldon, who has served as dog warden since 1987. An assistant to Mr. Skeldon on Friday said he was aware of the planned vigil but would not comment on it or the group’s claims.

Mr. Teneyck said his dog Bear got loose on Aug. 16 and was observed being hit by a silver or gray car. He said his family scoured the neighborhood looking for the dog and visited the county pound on two separate days to see if he was there. Although Bear was not licensed, his name was put on a missing dog list, Mr. Teneyck.

Mr. Teneyck said he then received a phone call from the dog warden’s office the morning of Aug. 18. He said he was told that they had found his dog with a broken leg. However, in the next breath he was told that they had euthanized the animal that morning. According to Mr. Teneyck, his injured dog was picked up by warden deputies just steps away from his home at about 7 a.m. that morning. “It’s pretty sad that stuff like this happens,” Mr. Teneyck said.

Categories: Pet Loss/ Grieving, Recent News, Research
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Animals From Puppy Mill Rescue To Be Released Soon, KY

Posted October 17, 2009 By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: WBKO.com, October 13, 2009

The Green River Animal Shelter may soon say “good-bye” to more than 40 animals they rescued from a puppy mill 7 months ago.

The animals were rescued from Adair County resident, David Coppage’s home back in March, where officials say he was running a puppy mill.

Despite being convicted on 34 cases of animal cruelty, Coppage was able to appeal for custody of those animals.

Tuesday, a motion to dismiss the appeal was granted.

The decision to end this case and release the 45 animals court-ordered to the Green River Animal Shelter couldn’t have come soon enough.

It appears that after seven months of litigation the animals will finally be ready to be moved to rescues throughout the area.

“Between RePets in Bowling Green and their shelter and the rescue coordinator that we have, we’ve got rescues lined up for 99 percent of them right now,” says shelter director, Jeff Thomas.

The puppy mill animals take up 65 % of the space in the animal shelter.

Cages usually reserved for sick animals or those heading to rescues are occupied by the dogs from the puppy mill.

A court order prevents the overcrowded shelter from euthanizing or moving these animals, which has caused major problems for its employees.

“Unfortunately, we’re taking between 300-350 animals a month in. We’re having to move animals quickly by sending them to rescue groups, adopting them, or unfortunately euthanizing most of them,” Thomas says.

The shelter is only able to keep strays and other animals about 10 to 12 days now because of the lack of room.

While it appears that the animals from the mill will be leaving soon, that doesn’t mean they are ready to adopted out yet.

“From spending their lives in a small cage they’re not socialized. We’ve worked with them the best we could, but they’re still going around in really small circles. You can tell those are the area they’re used to,” notes Thomas.

According to Thomas, an official time to move the animals has not yet been set.

He says there is paperwork that must be processed before the animals can be moved.

Categories: Abuse/Neglect, Puppy Mills, Recent News, adoption
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Pet Nutrition and Holistic Veterinary Care Seminar to Help Homeless Animals, CA

Posted September 16, 2009 By aschae and has no comments yet.

Source: Send2Press.org, September 15, 2009

Ask Ariel Your Pet Nutritionist (www.AskAriel.com) is hosting a pet nutrition and holistic veterinary care seminar “Natural Cures For Pets” to help save the lives of homeless pets. With the current economy, abandoned cats and dogs are entering shelters at an alarming rate and Ask Ariel is hoping the seminar will raise much needed funds to help save them. The pet nutrition and holistic veterinary care seminar will provide valuable tips to help pets live longer and healthier lives through holistic pet care using nutrition and natural pet supplements. Speakers are Dr. David Gordon, Medical Director, VCA Arroyo Animal Hospital and Susan Blake Davis, Pet Nutritionist and founder of Ask Ariel Your Pet Nutritionist.

“Natural Cures for Pets” will provide an overview of holistic veterinary care and teach pet owners about the best foods to feed their pets as well as how to use nutritional supplements for common pet health issues. The seminar will be held on Saturday, September 26th from 10 – 11:30 a.m. at VCA Arroyo Animal Hospital in Lake Forest, CA. Admission is a $15 donation to Ariel Rescue, an IRS approved 501 (c) (3) public charity that saves the lives of shelter dogs in impoverished communities. Seating is limited so please RSVP by email at askariel1@gmail.com or phone 949-499-9380.

Details about “Natural Cures For Pets” can be found on the Holistic Vet and Pet Nutrition Journal blog (www.askariel1.blogspot.com). Recent topics covered on the blog include natural treatments to treat kidney disease in cats, foods that contribute to allergies in dogs and holistic treatments for cats and dogs getting chronic urinary tract infections. Pet owners learn that many of these chronic pet health conditions can be caused by certain foods. For example, the common practice of giving dogs peanut butter can cause allergic reactions, yeast overgrowth and ear infections.

“Many pet owners are frustrated because their pets suffer with chronic health conditions such as endless scratching and itching, canine arthritis or inflammatory bowel disease; conditions where conventional veterinary care has offered limited options. Many of these pet health conditions can be successfully treated using holistic veterinary care including dietary changes, nutritional supplements and acupuncture,” says Susan Blake Davis.

Davis, along with Dr. David Gordon, holistic veterinarian, address a full range of pet health concerns on their blog “The Holistic Vet and Pet Nutrition Journal” (www.askariel1.blogspot.com). Pet owners can submit questions to the blog about their pet’s health problems. Advice is offered so that pet owners can understand their options from both a conventional and holistic veterinary standpoint. For example, owners that have senior dogs with arthritis may be giving their dogs daily pain medication without realizing the benefits their dogs can experience using joint support supplements. While medications may help with the dog’s pain management when necessary, the Holistic Vet and Pet Nutrition Journal explains how fish oil and other joint support supplements along with acupuncture and chiropractic, can help improve the dog’s mobility and quality of life overall. The popularity of The Holistic Vet and Pet Nutrition Journal as well as holistic pet Web sites such as www.AskAriel.com follow an ever-increasing trend by pet owners who are looking for answers beyond traditional veterinary care to improve their pet’s health and longevity.

100 percent of the proceeds from “Natural Cures For Pets” will be donated to Ariel Rescue, an IRS approved nonprofit charity whose mission is to save the lives of shelter dogs in impoverished communities. Since 1999, Ariel Rescue has saved the lives of over 1,200 dogs that would otherwise have been euthanized. Ariel Rescue volunteers rescue the dogs from animal shelters, bring them to the veterinarian and then feature the pets on www.petfinder.com.

For more information about Ask Ariel Your Pet Nutritionist, Ariel Rescue or Susan Blake Davis, CCN, pet nutritionist, please visit www.askariel.com or call 949-499-9380.

Categories: Aromatherapy, Cancer, Education/Training, Feeding, Flea/Tick Preventatives, Health, Herbs, Homeopathy, Natural Remedies, Natural/Healthy Pet Foods, Raw Food, Recent News, Rescue, adoption, natural remedies
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