Has Pennsylvania's Dog Breeding Law Been Thrown In The Garbage

MLAR: Rendell Refuses to Enforce His Own New Dog Laws. Millions of Dogs in PA to Remain Trapped Inside Cages in Hot Barns, Forced to Stand on Painful Wire Flooring


Shock soon turned to anger as animal advocates attending last week's Dog Law Advisory Board meeting were told by Governor Rendell's Special Secretary Jessie Smith and Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement's Sue West that important elements of Pennsylvania's hard fought new dog law would not be enforced. Almost two years ago, Governor Rendell, at the urging of the General Assembly and citizens throughout the Commonwealth, signed a law that would require among other things that breeding dogs in commercial kennels have unfettered access to the outside (indoor/outdoor kennel runs), and that all dogs over the age of twelve weeks not be housed on wire flooring (solid or slatted floors only). Historically, dogs in Pennsylvania's puppy mills have been forced to spend their lives standing on painful wire strand flooring in too-small cages often without any access to the outside. Governor Rendell's new law was meant to improve conditions for millions of dogs in PA's commercial kennels in the years to come. Instead Smith and West have decided to ignore the Governor's wishes and the new law, by creating a policy that would allow pregnant and nursing mothers to be forced to stand on the now-outlawed wire strand flooring up to six months of the year and deny these poor animals unfettered access to an outside exercise area.

Members of Pennsylvania's animal welfare community are asking for Jessie Smith and Sue West's immediate removal and see their new policy as just one more attempt by the Bureau to protect the commercial breeders rather than the dogs of Pennsylvania. In October of 2009, as the new dog law went into effect, Smith and West issued waivers to 81 of the 111 commercial kennels, exempting over two thirds of PA's commercial kennels from Pennsylvania's new dog laws. Some of these waivers were for up to three years. "The Governor should be outraged by what his staff is doing. If the Governor does want to help the dogs of Pennsylvania, he would demand that his Special Secretary and his Director of Dog Law enforce his new law rather than searching for loopholes to help the breeders keep their dogs on wire flooring" said Bill Smith, founder of Main Line Animal Rescue and an ASPCA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. The ASPCA permitted HSUS' Sarah Speed to express their opposition to the Bureau's new policy at last week's DLAB meeting. The Humane Society of the United States, United Against Puppy Mills, North Penn Puppy Mill Watch, Animal Law Coalition, Main Line Animal Rescue, and Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter's Nancy Gardner have all expressed their opposition to the Bureau's new policy of allowing kennel owners to circumvent the new law.

"Everyone who worked so hard to pass these new laws in an effort to improve conditions in PA's mass dog breeding facilities should know all their hard work was for nothing - now that the administration plans not to enforce them" said one angry volunteer who helps rehabilitates rescued puppy mill dogs in Lancaster County. "And after all the Governor's promises, dogs continue to suffer - breeding dogs trapped inside barns in 101 degree temperatures." In spite of Jessie Smith and Sue West's announcement last week that dogs could remain on wire, the two administrators listed breeding dogs removed from wire flooring as one of the Bureau's accomplishments in their 2009 report to PA's General Assembly. Only last month, PA's Canine Health Board, consisting of nine veterinarians, also voted against the use of wire flooring in commercial kennels. "I feel like I live in North Korea" said one advocate for the animals. "The government can do as they like - and in this case, not only are they not enforcing the law, they're encouraging people to break it."

The requirements for solid flooring and unfettered access to the outside exercise area are two of the more important aspects of the new law, and many believe anyone who feels that it is alright to keep dogs trapped inside hot barns and standing on wire flooring has never been to a puppy mill and is hardly qualified to comment or shape new policies. "The governor once said that he knows how bad these kennels are - he didn't need to see them" said Bill Smith "Well, I think its time the governor visit a few of these places, see 700 dogs unable to walk properly after spending their lives on vinyl coated chicken wire. How can the administration claim that Pennsylvania now has the toughest dog laws in the country if the governor is not insisting they be enforced?" Animal advocates are planning a rally to protest the Bureau's ongoing policy of continuing to allow PA's puppy mill dogs to suffer - either in Harrisburg or Philadelphia's City Hall near the governor's Broad Street offices.

Main Line Animal Rescue 610-933-0606

Who’s Poisoning The Dogs In Houston, TX?

After watching the video you kind of wonder if there is some sick person going around trying to poison the dogs for some strange reason. Luckily Charlotte Liberda was smart enough to bring her dogs to a vet or her beautiful dogs would have been dead.

I hope all the dog owners in that area are on the watch for any cheese balls that might be laced with strychnine.

Read the article by Andy Cerota here.

This Years 2010 Guiding Eyes Golf Classic With Eli Manning Raises Nearly $500,000

33rd Annual Guiding Eyes for the Blind Golf Classic with NY Giants Quarterback Eli Manning Raises Nearly $500,000

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the internationally accredited nonprofit guide dog school, recently welcomed the return of NY Giants Quarterback Eli Manning for his fourth year as host of the 33rd Annual Guiding Eyes Golf Classic. 252 golfers teed off, raising close to $500,000 for the organization. The sold-out event was held June 14, 2010 at the Mount Kisco Country Club in Mount Kisco, NY and the Whippoorwill Club in Armonk, NY.

Guiding Eyes for the Blind, the internationally accredited nonprofit guide dog school, recently welcomed the return of NY Giants Quarterback Eli Manning for his fourth year as host of the 33rd Annual Guiding Eyes Golf Classic. 252 golfers teed off, raising close to $500,000 for the organization. The sold-out event was held June 14, 2010 at the Mount Kisco Country Club in Mount Kisco, NY and the Whippoorwill Club in Armonk, NY.

Founded in 1977 with the help of PGA legend Ken Venturi, the Golf Classic has raised over $10 million for the organization since its inception. As part of the Classic, Guiding Eyes also presented the Corcoran Cup, the “Masters” of blind golf, on Sunday, June 13. Thirteen top U.S. Blind Golfers Association (USBGA) players from around the country vied for the coveted award. This year, Patrick Browne, Jr. (of New Orleans, LA) was named Corcoran Cup champion for the twenty-first time. David Meador (of Nashville, TN) took home the Cribari Trophy for his second place finish.

Sheila Drummond (of Lehighton, PA) was awarded the Joe Spoonster Trophy for most improved from the previous year. The 2010 Ken Venturi Coach of the Year Award went to Keith Drummond, who coaches his wife – blind golfer Sheila Drummond. William McMahon (of Framingham, MA), won the McFarland Trophy, which is given to the competitor who exceeds his or her point target by the most points.

Eli Manning was introduced to Guiding Eyes’ Golf Classic through family friend and current tournament champion Patrick Browne, Jr. Pat taught Eli and his son, Patrick III, how to golf as boys. The elder Browne, coach by this year by Patrick III, reunited with Eli at the recent tournament. This time, the father and son team showed the star quarterback how to golf blind.

“This was my fourth year hosting Guiding Eyes for the Blind’s Golf Classic and it’s very special to me. I look forward to it every year,” says Manning. “We’ve had fun and we’ve done a lot of great work. It’s definitely been rewarding. To see some of the people who’ve gotten use out of Guiding Eyes’ guide dogs and how it has changed their lives is unbelievable.”

The 2010 Guiding Eyes Golf Classic gained major support from 21 individual and corporate sponsors including:

Diamond Sponsors: Entergy & Gatorade
Presenting Sponsor: The Journal News & LoHud.com
Platinum Sponsors: The Canine Fence Company, Hudson Valley Mechanical Contractors Association, and Southeastern Farms / Kinloch Insurance Services
Gold Sponsors: A. DeVito & Son, Inc., Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, and JP Morgan Chase
Silver Sponsors: Aero Hardware, Avant Business Services, Citibank, Stanley Cohen, Emblem, Paul Holland, Ken Nilsen, Rolex, Skanska USA Civil Inc., The Stewart Family, TBS Shipping, and Wilson & Son Jewelers

Guiding Eyes for the Blind is located at 611 Granite Springs Road in Yorktown Heights, NY. They can be reached at 914.245.4024 or by visiting www.guidingeyes.org.

About Guiding Eyes for the Blind
Guiding Eyes for the Blind (www.guidingeyes.org), an internationally accredited nonprofit guide dog school, was founded in 1954 to enrich the lives of blind and visually impaired men and women by providing them with the freedom to travel safely, thereby assuring greater independence, dignity and expanded horizons of opportunity. Since that time, Guiding Eyes has become one of the foremost guide dog schools in the world, graduating more than 7,000 guide dog teams. It provides superbly bred Guiding Eyes dogs, professional training and follow-up support services to students at no cost to them and depends on contributions to fulfill its mission. The comprehensive cost of breeding, raising, preparing, training, and supporting a Guiding Eyes team is $45,000. Guiding Eyes for the Blind's Headquarters and Training Center is located in Yorktown Heights, NY and the Canine Development Center is in Patterson, NY.

Meet Scuba Dooby Doo

Photo by Caters News


This little Dachshund named Boniface has done the ultimate adventure by going scuba diving with the renown Russian diver Sergei Gorbunov. This is just amazing to see a dog get the chance to scuba dive and see what most people don’t ever get a chance to do.

Read the article by Sara Nelson here.

Indonesian City Hit With Rabies Outbreak

An Indonesian city called Bali has had a breakout of rabies from all the dogs that are running around though out their city with sixty five people dieing within the last two years.

Can you only imagine that there are three hundred people being bit a day in their city. With their Hindu beliefs that the dogs are sacred their are about five hundred thousand dogs running around living off the streets.

I can see why their are so many people being bitten by these dogs. Hopefully the Bali Animal Welfare Association can keep up the demand and vaccinate all the dogs before more people die from the rabies outbreak.

Read the article by Roger Maynard here.

United Pet Group Expands Recall of Nutritional Supplements For Dogs

United Pet Group, Cincinnati, Ohio is voluntarily expanding its recent recall of its Pro-Pet Adult Daily Vitamin Supplement tablets for Dogs to include additional pet nutritional supplement products for dogs and cats due to possible Salmonella contamination. The list of recalled products is provided below. The Food and Drug Administration is aware of this recall.

The recalled products are sold nationally at various retailers. The products include various United Pet Group Pro-Pet and Excel branded products for dogs and cats, and certain other private label brands of the same products. All of the affected products are in tablet and powdered form. These products are being removed from retail stores and consumers should immediately stop feeding these supplements to their pets. The affected products are those with expiration dates that include and are between "01/2013" and "06/2013." Products with expiration dates earlier than 01/2013 or later than 06/2013 are not included in this recall. The expiration date can be found imprinted vertically on the right side of the product label.

Laboratory testing has revealed that some lots of some of these products may be contaminated with Salmonella. The company is recalling the additional products out of an abundance of caution.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

People who handle these products can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with them or any surfaces exposed to these products. Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments, including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation, and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with the product should contact their healthcare providers.

Consumers who have purchased the affected products are urged to contact United Pet Group or the place of purchase for further direction. Consumers may contact United Pet Group at 1-877-399-5226, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm EST.

See The Recalled List Here

OK Cat Lovers, There's Another Cat Food Recall

Feline’s Pride is announcing a voluntary recall of Feline’s Pride Raw food with ground bone for cats and kittens, Natural Chicken Formula, Net Wt. 2.5 lbs. (1.13 kg., 40 oz.) produced on 6/10/10, because it may be contaminated with Salmonella. People handling raw pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with the raw pet food or any surfaces exposed to the product.

When consumed by humans, Salmonella can cause an infection, salmonellosis. The symptoms of salmonellosis include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, minimal diarrhea, fever, and headache. Certain vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems, are particularly susceptible to acquiring salmonellosis from such pet food products and may experience more severe symptoms.

Pets with Salmonella infections may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever, and vomiting. Some pets will have only decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain. Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.

The product is packaged in uncoded plastic containers and sold frozen to private consumers nationwide. Once thawed, the pet food has a shelf life of about 1 week. The firm manufactures the pet food by an as-ordered basis. This recall affects only those orders placed and shipped from June 10 through June 17, 2010.

The firm and FDA are investigating this matter to determine the source of this problem, and will take any additional steps necessary to protect the public health.

To date, both the firm and the FDA have received no reports of Salmonella infection relating to this product.

This product should not be fed to pets but should instead be disposed of in a safe manner (e.g., in a securely covered trash receptacle). People who are experiencing the symptoms of Salmonella infection after having handled the pet food product should seek medical attention, and report their use of the product and illness to the nearest FDA office.

People should thoroughly wash their hands after handling the pet food – especially those made from raw animal protein such as meat or fish -- to help prevent infection. People may risk bacterial infection not only by handling pet foods, but by contact with pets or surfaces exposed to these foods, so it is important that they thoroughly wash their hands with hot water and soap.

Since certain vulnerable populations, such as children, the elderly, and individuals with compromised immune systems, are particularly at risk from exposure they should avoid handling this product.

Consumers with questions should contact the company at (716) 580-3096, Monday –Friday from 10 am - 4 pm EDT.