They're ready to play now

It took about 24 hours - but Charlie's friendly nature got the better of him, and he has beguiled DOG into a play bow.
I think that DOG may be the quickest dog ever to have assimilated into our household - but for my health's sake - at least my cardiovascular health's sake - I'm glad she's got a new foster home tomorrow, with a much younger, and healthier foster Mom.

Meet D-O-G!

This is D-O-G - pronounced Deeohgee - I've been calling her G-O-D though - pronounced Geeohdee - I like that better. She's nine months old and I just picked her up tonight from the Antigonish SPCA as a short term foster.
I'm hoping that her new foster is going to pick her up on Wednesday. She just had 10 puppies on June 5th - a 9 month old puppy having 10 puppies of her own! That's like a 12 year old girl having a baby! Poor little thing! So she's currently looking for a forever home.
She is so cute - and has no issues whatsoever - she is a perfect little dog who is probably going to max out at 40 or 50 pounds - she's ready to mold into whatever you want her to become.
The dogs so far have been amazingly good to her. I think it really speaks to her need to get along with everything around her - she is very sociable - and she really wants to be loved.
This is what Charlie thinks of her - she is currently unspayed, which is going to be remedied very shortly - he's all like - I'm the only large male in the house - and you're an unspayed female - and I'm ready to play with you, my lady!!"


Charlie is in love!


You can contact me at dogkisser@gmail.com if you're interested in pursuing looking at adopting G-O-D and I'll hook you up with the people who are in charge of her.

Chapman Kennels vs Gail Benoit & Dana Bailey

There's an article in today's Chronicle Herald where Noemi Chapman says she wasn't responsible for the sick puppies that the Benoit's sold to unsuspecting customers in the last week - and on CTV news Dana Bailey said that they had 12 of the puppies die on themselves as well - so that's 18 puppies of the 37 puppies died. Noemi Chapman said she couldn't guarantee the puppies because the Benoit's were taking them without taking the mothers as well - and the puppies still needed them.

So obviously the puppies were as young as 3 - and I hope not, but maybe 2 weeks old. But probably about 3-4 weeks old.

So this is what I think happened. The Benoits knew that Chapman kennels was having a sale on puppies - so they figured they could have a landfall payout this summer. As I said in a previous post they paid $100 for each of those 37 puppies - and they stood to make at a minimum $20,500 if they had all lived.

But I don't think that even the Benoit's were used to taking 37 puppies all at once. That's a lot of product to get rid of - and probably the way that the Benoit's treat their product before they sell it isn't very good - they were probably just putting kibble, or at best - soft food - in the box where they kept the puppies - and were expecting them to eat it. No formula like they promised, no bottle feeding - that's too much work.

So now we're 2 weeks into the debacle - 2 weeks away from their Mom's that they were taken from way too soon - and they're starting to die like flies - they're dehydrated, they're starving to death - they're doing what any baby would do when they've been separated from the only source of nutrition that they can metabolize at this point in their life - die.

And so here we are today with the circus that has become Dana Bailey and Gail Benoit's lovely professional life. They got very greedy - and hopefully this will finally have some impact on their bottom line. And also affect the professional business of "Chapman's Kennels" as well.

I'd be willing to bet money that as each of those dying puppies were sold, the minute the doors to their van shut - the Benoit's were wiping their foreheads going - thank God we got rid of that one - another couple of hours and that thing would've been dead and we wouldn't of gotten any money out of it!"

If that couple are anything - they are master salespeople - they've been in this business since 1992 some people have told me - so they've had 16 years to hone their skills - they have an answer for every sign of illness that a puppy could possibly present themselves with.

I'm not sure how we can change people's minds like the Benoit's about companion animals. We say that the way to stop puppy mills and brokers is by legislation and not buying their product - but maybe we should also try and change their minds too - wonder why they can't see the suffering they cause, and try to find some way to show them how to be more humane. It would be a lot easier to have treated those puppies in a healthy way, and kept them healthy - so why didn't they? That's a question only the Benoit's can answer.

Here's the Chronicle Herald article:

N.B. breeder: Not my fault puppies died

By KRISTEN LIPSCOMBE Staff Reporter
Mon. Jul 28 - 5:23 AM

New Brunswick breeder Noemi Chapman says finding out that several of her puppies died shortly after selling them to someone she thought ran a legitimate business was "a terrible surprise."

She defended her business, Chapman Kennels, over the phone from her Kilburn, N.B. home on Sunday night, saying she wasn’t responsible for the sick pups recently sold to a Nova Scotia woman, who in turn charged residents here several hundred dollars each for the animals.

Within the last couple of weeks, at least a half dozen puppies have died within hours of being sold by Gail Benoit of the Digby area.

Ms. Benoit recently blamed the New Brunswick business for the puppies’ poor health.

Ms. Chapman, however, said it "broke my heart" to hear about the deaths of the puppies. She said she was sure Ms. Benoit would care for the dogs and that they were healthy when she sold them.

"When she left here she left me a phone number because I want to keep track of my babies," she said. "When I tried to phone her, after a week . . . the phone number she gave me was the wrong one."

Ms. Chapman said she initially promised to make a deal with Ms. Benoit as long as the puppy seller also bought the puppies’ mother, because they weren’t ready to be separated at that time.

"She said, ‘look, I can’t take the mother’ and I said ‘no, that’s not a deal because the babies still need them,’ " she said. "So she turns around and makes me another offer."

Although she was at first unsure whether to accept the new offer, Ms. Chapman said she trusted Ms. Benoit, who assured her she had decades of experience with dogs and promised to buy formula and other necessary supplies on her way back to Nova Scotia.

"I said ‘look, if that is the case, you know what you’re doing,’ " Ms. Chapman said. "‘But one thing — I can’t guarantee those babies. You take the responsibility.’ "

Ms. Benoit, meanwhile, claims she was "roped in" by Chapman Kennels of Perth-Andover, N.B., telling The Chronicle Herald last Friday that she "had no indication" they were sick when she sold them.

Ms. Benoit said that the New Brunswick breeder was selling "tons of dogs" for "good deals." She also told CTV News she would reimburse the families who had lost their puppies — after getting her own cash back from Chapman Kennels.

Kijiji Selling Animals

I've had my blog for so long now, I think I've talked about just near everything now - including Kijiji! When Kijiji first started here in Halifax, people in the animal rescue community got all up in arms - because we knew what it was going to be used for - and what would be happening - like what is happening right now with the Benoit's and Chapmans - looking for a clean way to sell their dirty, dirty product.

For those of you who don't remember - Kijiji was originally marketed as a "regifting site". There was originally an article announcing it's launch in the then Halifax Daily News - the article doesn't exist anymore, but the press release from Kijiji does - at Kijiji.ca's press release section - and it says:

Right gift, wrong person? Turn unwanted gifts into cash

Local online classifieds-style site turns unwanted gifts into cash
With the holiday season over, many Canadians are faced with the dilemma of what to do with a gift that may not be right for them. Did you receive a pair of skis, leather pants, or a piece of artwork that is not your taste? Would you rather have the cash instead?

Though well intentioned, gift-givers don’t always get it right. Once considered a taboo subject, re-gifting is gaining in popularity as Canadians try to figure out what to do with their unwanted gifts. In fact, two out of every three Canadians (67 per cent) receive at least one unwanted gift during the holidays1.

To turn these unwanted gifts into something more useful – cash – try Kijiji (www.kijiji.ca). As one of Canada’s leading online classified sites, Kijiji enables you to sell your unwanted gifts locally. Kijiji is free-of-charge and features a simple format that allows people in the same city to trade various goods and services. So if you’re looking to get rid of an unwanted gift or get a great deal on that special something that was not under your Christmas tree, consider Kijiji.

Kijiji has even created a new category, launching this week – "Right Gift, Wrong Person" – specifically for re-gifting items. Besides this category there are dozens of other categories on the site. Some of the most popular categories are "Clothing, Jewelry", "Art, Antique, Decorations, Collectibles", "Sports, Leisure, Bikes, Camping", "Computers" and "Electronics".

With Kijiji you can easily turn the wrong holiday gift into something you really want.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About Kijiji

Kijiji, which means "village" in Swahili, is a group of classifieds-style web sites that offer a convenient, fun, and easy way for people in the same city to meet, trade, share ideas, and help each other out in areas such as housing, jobs, goods, and personals. Kijiji sites are currently available in more than 215 cities in 19 markets around the world.

Once Kijiji was launched - a lot of us sent emails to their support department - imploring them not to have a "pets for sale" section - and I wrote a blog post with my email to them there - it was in January of 2006 that this all went down - so Kijiji has been allowing local puppy millers and brokers to peddle their product unimpeded since then.

It's funny that anyone who dares try to post anything that actually points out WHO these people are, or the fact that Kijiji is ALLOWING THIS TO HAPPEN - are having their posts immediately deleted. That is very interesting, I think.

If you want to read my post from January 10, 2006 (and I wasn't the only person who wrote in, there were a lot of us who wrote in - I remember Janet Chernin, Tara Bayne, Netta Armitage, Lisa Davis, among others who all tried to have it shut down - it's here - "an Offshoot of Ebay is Selling Live Animals"

Another super blog has spoken out about puppy mill brokers

I have talked about Silvia Jay here on my blog before - she is a local dog trainer that our area is most blessed to have that moved here in the last couple of years from Alberta - she published a book called "Dump Dog" that is must read, and when it got mentioned in the magazine "Modern Dog" I mentioned it here in the blog.

She also has a blog - and today she chose the topic of puppy brokers and puppy mills in her post - and it's a must read.

She posited an excellent idea that I had to mention here - that anyone who has a dog website, or is a dog trainer and who has a website - is behooved to devote a section of their site on how to properly acquire their companion animals. That really - that is the only way we're going to stop people like the Benoit's and Chapmans - and the Pet's Unlimited from continuing to profit from the suffering of puppies and dogs. The people who learn the truth one by one will then tell other people and eventually the word will get out.

It's such a simple thing to do. And so important. And will make such a difference. Tell people the truth about pet stores, puppy brokers who sell dogs on the side of the road and in parking lots - where those puppies are coming from and their chances of a long life - and the truth of puppy mills and back yard breeders. And then tell them where healthy puppies and dogs are - responsible breeders and responsible rescues. Pretty simple. And all will be right with the world.

I just wrote a post to the Kijiji forums that I'm pretty sure will get deleted because I was mean to Kijiji and I also posted a link - so I thought I'd paste it here for posterity - it's on a thread that's started called "Certain puppy killers out Digby" - have I said to you, Brainiac - that I love you! haha! I love that title!

(NB - after I made my post below to KIJIJI - I was right - my post DID disappear - I guess Kijiji doesn't like having anything true about their website said on it).

"I wonder though how many people after seeing last night's news coverage of the puppy mill up in New Brunswick are now headed to that puppy mill because the woman said she had several dozen puppies left - so people are now going to go to that puppy mill hoping to get a good deal on a puppy. That's the sick thing about this whole thing - people still want cute little puppies - they don't think about the fact that these "cute little puppies" have been brought into this world with no thought to their genetic health, or what they're going to be like 2 or 5 years down the road - what are hips or knees going to be like? How are their eyes going to be? Did anyone notice the eys on those pug puppies? They were as bugged out as a pop-eye gold fish. It was so sad - and people are going to buy those puppies because they look cute as puppies - but when they're 2 years old and blind because the dog can't close their eyes and they have chronic dry eye like my Jackie does - what are they going to think then? Are they going to think they're cute then? That's the sad thing about these puppy mill puppies.

And what's going to happen - and what is happening right now at this moment to the Mom's and Dad's of those puppies? Have they ever felt grass on their feet? Have they ever gone for a walk in the woods? Have they ever gotten proper veterinary care? Can they properly breast feed the puppies that are taken away at 2 or 3 weeks old by people like Gail Benoit because of all the mammory tumours that are on their bellies? That's the problem with puppy mills - like the place we saw yesterday on CTV news.

And these places exist RIGHT HERE in NOVA SCOTIA and NEW BRUNSWICK and PEI and they use KIJIJI to sell their product

Joan
http://dogkisser.ca/gail_benoit.html

Gail Benoit's Puppy Mill Supplier Speaks Out

So here are images that I grabbed from the below video. This is a picture of puppies' mom - maybe all of the dachshunds that died that were in the news the last couple of days. Doesn't she look happy? Doesn't she look like she's living a nice healthy, contented life at this puppy farm? Yeah, she looks like a dog I'd like to spend $900 on a puppy she gave birth to.
This Mom looks rather frantic - she almost looks like a springer spaniel. In the video this is when the "breeder" is coming into the cage to try and pick up one of the puppies - you can tell how comfortable this Mom is with her "owner" coming into the cage.
This is another shot of the 1st photo above - of the daschie Mom and one pup she has left. Sad.
These are some yorkie pups that are in cage with some pug puppies you'll see below - what in HELL is in that water bowl? I can't figure it out - do you think maybe antibiotics or something?
Yeah - I really like the looks of THOSE eyes? I don't see this puppy having any vision issues with THOSE eyes as he or she ages. No dry eyes and then blindness caused by THOSE eys.
Hell - both of these little guys may ALREADY have poor vision issues.
Are these poor little things pugs - or ALIENS? And where is their MOTHER? Was she just to UNSIGHTLY for the camera so she was put away for the interview? I'd be willing to be money that she was! Disgusting. I may be starting to get a little bit angry now...
-

Here is tonight's video - the puppy miller has her say -

Happy Jack

What a walk we had this afternoon, I don't think the guys have had this much fun in a long time. The woods are a virtual tropical forst right now, lots of long grass to eat, lots of things to smell - and I'm cooking liver at the moment - so all is right with the world.

Jack especially is enjoying himself at the moment - he seems just SO happy all time, I don't know what I can peg it to, his tummy hasn't been upset in a little while - so maybe that's what it is - he has got the most rotten stomach - I feel bad for him. And when his tummy's upset - the whole world knows it, let me tell you.
Daisy was having a good time today, following my pocket along the trails...
This is a cropped shot of Jackie's eye - you could see my reflection in it! Creepy, eh?


Is this not the cutest photo, ever? My first montage of Jackie running towards me - and he does not disappoint!

Daisy at her cutest

New Web page for Information about Gail Benoit and Dana Bailey

I thought I'd build a web page to put any information that I could find out about Gail Benoit and Dana Bailey - knowledge is power - and that's the only way we're going to stop people like them - by telling people one by one, about couples like them.

It always bothered me that anytime I did a google search about them that there was never anything on the internet that came up about their names. That's why I added my sidebar info about them - so that they'd have an online presence somewhere.

I get a lot of comments left because of my posts - but it's only AFTER people have bought puppies from them and they've died that people go searching for their names - which is too bad. Hopefully their press this summer will put enough recognition, but I don't imagine that it will.

I put up a page here - http://dogkisser.ca/gail_benoit.html - let me know what you think - and if you find anything new that's not there, let me know and I'll add it - you can email me at dogkisser@gmail.com

Gail Benoit & Dana Bailey Speak Out

Gail Benoit and Dana Bailey spoke out on CTV News last night and it was an interesting story they had to tell. They bought 37 puppies for $3,700 2 weeks ago from "Chapman Kennels" in New Brunswick - and they paid $25 extra so that they wouldn't have to take the puppies mother with them because they didn't have the space for the mother. The "breeder" said that because the puppies were so young she couldn't guarantee the health of the puppies.


So in other words - the Benoit's bought the puppies way too young from the "Chapman's Kennel" - and then spent the next 2 weeks attempting to sell these too young puppies to an unsuspecting public, while minimally trying to keep them alive until they could sell them. $3,700 divided by 37 = $100 each that they paid for each puppy - and in my previous post you can see that they were charging between $650 and $900 for each puppy. Now that's a pretty good turnover/profit for each puppy! $550 - $850 for each puppy times 37 = $20,350 at a MINIMUM! Who wouldn't want to be in this business!!!!!

So with those 37 puppies - AT A MINIMUM - the Benoits are making $20,350 - that's if they all lived - so we can now see why they are so pissed off, eh? That's a big cut into their profits if they died before they could be sold. I'd go on tv poor mouthing it too.


I digress. I hear that they are due back in court on October 24th for their pending animal cruelty charges. Surely to dog something can be done in the mean time so that these most notorious purveyors of greed and puppy pain can be shut down until then. But as we all know the NS SPCA is the only enforcer of animal cruelty legislation in the province of Nova Scotia. So don't hold your breath.


Here is the video from last night's news where the Benoit's are telling their side of the story:

What Gail Benoits's ads Look like

Gail Benoit was on the news again tonight but I missed taping the early news so I'll have to catch it at 11pm. And the keyboard on my computer isn't working so this is coming to you from my I-touch!
but I wanted to show the kinds of ads that Gail Benoit puts on Kijiji so that she can sell these puppies. I was able to grab caches versions of the ads for the puppies that are now dead.
These ads all make the puppies look cute and healthy, don't they? It's sick.

Below is the Chronicle Herald article with the CORRECT email address of the lady to contact

http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Front/9007736.html

Puppy seller investigated in deaths


A Digby woman already facing animal cruelty charges is now being investigated by the SPCA for selling dying puppies.

Roger Joyce, chief provincial inspector with the SPCA in Nova Scotia, said Friday his agency, along with the RCMP and the SPCA in New Brunswick are investigating the sale of seven unhealthy puppies within the past two weeks.

He said four of the six dead puppies are being autopsied in Truro and a seventh is “hanging on” in a veterinary clinic in Prince Edward Island.

Four of the owners say they bought the puppies from a woman they now know as Gail Benoit, and who is already facing animal cruelty charges laid by the SPCA in Digby provincial court last year.

Ms. Benoit said Friday she was “roped in” by a puppy seller in New Brunswick where she purchased the dogs, and that she “had no indication” they were sick when she sold them.

“He had tons of dogs,” she said when reached briefly by cell phone Friday. “He had a good deal on the computer. I’ve got nothing else to say.”

Esther Smith of Earltown, Colchester County, said her husband and friend wanted to surprise her with a miniature dachshund which died 10 hours after she picked it up in a Windsor parking lot Wednesday morning.

“At first I was so sad. But now, I’m so angry,” Ms. Smith said Friday.

She said Ms. Benoit, driving in a van with the words Puppies R Us, handed her the dog wrapped in a curtain, saying she needed to be kept warm because she’d just had a bath. She paid $500 and the woman left.

“I was devastated when I opened the curtain. There was nothing to her. She was thin and too docile for a puppy.”

The animal lover cuddled the puppy she named Cinni Girl and fell in love during the three-hour drive home. Once home, the puppy wouldn’t eat and drank only a little water.

Ms. Smith called a veterinarian and made an appointment for Thursday, but the puppy died Wednesday evening.

Three other owners reached Friday described similar situations of making contact with Ms. Benoit online and arranging to meet in public parking lots to purchase Yorkshire terriers and Pomeranians for between $500 and $650. All described the puppies they received as being tiny, frail and lethargic. Most received paperwork, including veterinary reports stating the dogs had been examined.

Della Despres of Shediac, N.B., purchased her Yorkshire terrier for $550 last Saturday at 5:30 p.m. It died two days later.

Her husband, who picked the puppy up in a parking lot in Elmsdale, noticed it was lethargic but thought it was just car sick. It vomited a few times during the drive home. It wouldn’t eat and had diarrhea throughout the night.

“When I got up in the morning, she was going downhill, so I took her to the veterinarian and they put her on IV fluids.” That was Sunday and the dog died the next evening.

“It was so sad to see,” Ms. Despres said.

Sandy Reed of Lantz, Hants County, got her Pomeranian puppy in an Elmsdale parking lot for $650 last Monday.

Ms. Reed asked about the puppy’s condition, in particular that its head seemed to be flopping around. She said Ms. Benoit told her the dog was car sick and that she had to give it something for motion sickness.

“When we got home, it wouldn’t use the bathroom, it wouldn’t eat.” The dog died the next day.

“I’m really upset, I’m still upset,” said Ms. Reed who has shed more than a few tears this week. “I’m hurt.”

Another owner from Halifax, who did not want to be named, bought a Pomeranian for $500 at 3 p.m. July 18 in an Elmsdale parking lot. It was dead by 10 a.m. the next morning.

She had planned to take the dog to the veterinarian, and was holding it on her chest when it started convulsing, foaming at the mouth and shaking all over.

“Oh, the dear little thing.”

Mr. Joyce said the SPCA can’t comment much on the status of the investigation, but said the complaints are being taken very seriously.

Owners of the other two puppies live in Halifax and Yarmouth.

Ms. Benoit and her common-law spouse Dana Bailey are facing animal cruelty charges related to the SPCA seizing 10 pups over two days from their Roxville home last fall. That case is still before the courts.

Ms. Smith wants to hear from other people who have purchased sick and dying puppies. She can be reached by e-mail at loving_poohbear52@yahoo.com

Another Halifax Dog Blog!

A lady named Heather emailed me last night, and I'm so glad she did - she also has a dog blog about here in Halifax - and her dog has got to be the most beautiful dog in the world. She has a dogue de bordeaux, and she has got a knack with the camera that has to be seen to be believed.
These are a couple photos that she took of her dog Gary - her blog is called "For the Love of the Jowl" - and you should definitely check it out - I was actually laughing out loud last night when I was going through it, because the photos of Gary are so engaging and - good.

Another great local dog blog to check out is "This is Alice's Wonderland" - about a yellow lab's local adventures. Her name is Alice Moon Dance - and she is also very cute!



Tonight on our walk in the woods I noticed that the BLUEBERRIES are starting to come out! Yummy! I love Spryfield - it has everything that a person could possibly want. And more.
This is Jack saying - "forget the blueberries - where the liver?"
And tonight I got my first photos of a post surgery Buttercup running towards me! It was such a beautiful thing to see. I think this 2nd surgery actually might have been a good thing, because she is walking a lot better now. I've got my fingers crossed - I just need to build up her muscles - which our nightly exercise hopefully is going to do.This is Daisy trying to avert the gaze of the bossy Jack, while still trying to stay close to the liver pocket. It's a hard job - but Daisy is up to the task.

Gail Benoit on news a 2nd night for more dead dogs

Gail Benoit was on the news tonight again because someone else - Sandy Redden - has come forward because she spent $650 on a pomeranian puppy that died 24 hours after she bought it from Gail Benoit. This afternoon she went to the NS SPCA head office in Bedford to tell her story, and they've sent his little body off to PEI to have an autopsy done. There's also 5 other little puppies who they are having autopsies done on - and one little guy who's on life support over in PEI right now.

CTV news have their big guns on this story - Rick Grant - so I hope they keep on this. It would be nice to get some video of Gail and or Dana Bailey spitting at the camera or going off at a reporter. That would be lovely - the camera loves that kind of stuff. It would really show what kind of a professional puppy broker she is.

Pugapalooza - and Percy - in today's Chronicle Herald

I was happily surprised to be reading the Chronicle Herald today when I saw Percy and Krystle Sutton's photo and an article about the upcoming Pugapalooza this weekend. I think the photographer really caught the essence of Percy's eyes - that's for sure! Percy is so cute.

Pug lovers, pets to gather for beach bash and fundraiser

DARTMOUTH — They’re small in stature and have funny little noses, but the pugs of metro have it going on.

Not only do they have regular meet and greets throughout the city, they have their own beach bash coming up this Saturday dubbed Pugapalooza.

And that’s the way it should be, says pug lover and organizer Krystle Sutton, who will be at the event with her own Percy.

"They’re a great little dog," she said. "They’re a lot of fun to watch."

Sutton said this is the first time such an event has been held here and she and others thought it would be a fun day for the dogs and their owners alike.

Hosted by Pug Pals of HRM and Nova Scotia Pugs, the beach-themed day will include a barbecue, games and dress-up contests for the pooches. Donations will also be collected on behalf of the Metro SPCA.

Pugapalooza runs from noon to 4 p.m. at Fetch Inc. in Burnside.

Sutton said the event is an offshoot of the monthly get-togethers attended by herself and other pug owners around the city. "We get them together and just let them run around," she said.

She said 30 to 40 people usually show up for the gatherings, so she’s expecting a good turnout for Saturday. As of last week, more than 70 people had said they would attend Pugapalooza.

Sutton said 14-month-old Percy is her first pug, but probably not her last.

"I always, always, always wanted a pug," said Sutton, who works for Capital Health.

As an apartment dweller, she wanted a small dog but one with personality.

"They’re a great companion dog," she said.

Sutton said if all goes well on Saturday, Pugapalooza could become an annual event. For more information, see www.novascotiapugs.com.

Gail Benoit was on CTV News Tonight

Gail Benoit - Nova Scotia's most notorious purveyor of sick and diseased puppies - was on CTV news tonight - so I taped it and put it on You Tube, you can see it below. I have information about her on my sidebar here on my blog so that there is an online presence for information about who she really is.

She went to court on June 26th and 27th about the charges she was charged with late last year - and then attempted to have thrown out in February, and I haven't been able to find out yet what happened at the trial - but I am continuing to try and find out - so hopefully I'll be able to report on the results. It's kind of odd that no news organization reported on the 2 day trial. I guess that puppy mill brokers aren't very high on their news worthy agendas. Which is too bad. People like her need to be in the news as much as possible so that everyone knows what she looks like and knows her name so that she can't do what she does anymore.

The Idiots Seem to Think that they are Pulling Ahead

PETA are quite happy with themselves right now. They were able to put an ad in the current issue of Dog Fancy magazine - see below - it seems innocuous enough - call this number to get a free gift bag if you've bought yourself a new puppy.
The problem is that when you call the number they tell you it's not a gift bag - it's a body bag for the shelter dog you've killed because you're supporting puppy mills and breeders instead of rescuing a dog from a shelter.

I am the first person to say that shelters and rescues are where you should get your companion animals from - but I am also a strong supporter of responsible breeders - I think that those are what every responsible rescuer should be working towards as the ultimate source of our companion animals. We should be working towards emptying shelters and having responsible breeders being the only way we can access dogs. That to me would be an ideal world - as I'm sure it is for the responsible breeders!

But unfortunately PETA doesn't feel that way - they are saying on the surface here that people who buy puppies are killing a puppy in a shelter - but really - PETA doesn't want anyone to support any kind of companion animal interface. They want to get rid of companion animals altogether because they believe we have enslaved the species of cats and dog - and gerbils and hamsters, and etc. and that it should just be stopped altogether. Any dog they take into their rescue - 97% of them - are killed - because it's better to die than to be placed into a home, only to be enslaved by a human.

So PETA is feeling pretty proud of themselves - they even put out a press release announcing the fact earlier this week.

In another instance of pin-heads thinking they can take over the world - a lady in Seattle Washington was bit by a pit bull last year, and she has made it her mission in life to eradicate the species from the face of the earth. And she's pretty sure she's going to do it. She's started a website and blog called "Dogs bite - and some don't let go" - she's tried to build the blog and website to make it look like it's a national organization, but don't be fooled, it's just her.

She obviously has a "Google Alert" set up so that any news story coming in about pit bulls or breed bans get sent to her email in box - I have the same thing set up myself - and she posts them to her blog - so she's making her site look pretty impressive now.

The problem is - every post says the same thing, and every post targets the wrong end of the leash, and mostly - the wrong dogs. The term "pit bull" is too general - almost all short coated dogs with a wide face could be seen to have characteristics of a pit bull - and 99% of pit bulls will never hurt anyone - so why obliterate a breed that 99% of them will never hurt a fly?

It's because of websites like "dogs bite, and some don't let go" - it gives people the permission to say things like -

"The pro-pit lobby, which is primarily backed by dog fighters and back yard breeders, is losing ground and getting more desperate as public opinion clearly favors public safety over preserving criminals rights to breed these dogs. As more and more communities ban the dogs, dogfighting and breeding operations will be forced into neighboring communities, which will be forced to ban them also when incidents of gruesome attacks happen.

Dogsbite.org needs to keep up the good work of supporting victims and compiling information that tears apart the lies promoted by the for-profit breeder lobby.

That quote comes from a commenter on her page - "Dogsbite.org Comment Policy" - where she talks about why she only posts comments from people who are pro-pit bull bans.

I found the page AFTER I had left a comment and it wasn't posted, and was wondering why it hadn't been posted because it wasn't mean or rude, I was just confused as to why she was so angry - because otherwise she sounded very intelligent - but she was just so dog-gamned wrong.

And then I found her comments policy page - and I knew why she didn't post my comment - it was because I was the enemy - a pit bull apologist - what she calls a "misguided animal activist". Can you imagine.

Her big thing is that she wants to stop attacks BEFORE they happen - and the only way to do that is by banning pit bulls entirely. I would like to submit though that the same people who own the dogs that are causing the dog bite fatalities - are still going to be walking this earth even if the breed of dog that they've chosen to own up until now does not continue to exist. They will continue to not maintain their fences, chain whatever breed of dog they DO now choose to own, they will continue to not supervise the children they continue to pop out of their bellies. People will continue to die and be maimed. Just by another type of breed - because all dogs bite - and guess what - all dogs hold on if they're not very happy.

Some New Zeus Photos!

It turns out Zeus's new owner loves taking photos and is an avid photographer, so I'm happy to have some new photos of him.
These seem to be end of day shots, but Zeus has been out rolling around on the grass and playing and jumping and having a very good time on lawns.
He seems to be revelling in his new found freedom and enjoying himself in whatever he's doing and is trying his best to be the very good boy that everybody know that he is.
We're hoping that the next set of photos are going to be taken at the beach at low tide - now those will be some good photos - and I'm sure that Zeus will enjoy the cold sand between his toes too!