Gail Benoit gets caught conning woman out of litter of puppies

Gail Benoit has surfaced again - this time on local social media - Facebook.

And it is turning out that this is something she has done before. A lady was advertising her puppies on kijiji - and Gail contacted her that she wanted all the puppies - free to good home of course.

Gail wanted one for herself, one for family, and ones for a couple co-workers.

She even got the puppies delivered to her for free from Cape Breton because someone had posted that they were driving from Cape Breton and if anyone had anything they wanted delivered, they`d do it for free - so she emailed them that her puppies needed a drive up.

The guy who delivered the puppies to her said she looked familiar, so when he got home he did a google search on her name - and when he saw her picture, he immediately knew who she was - and that`s how we`ve come to know what she`s done this time.

And now that this has come to light - other people are coming forward with similar stories.

So once again - it`s another opportunity to get the word out there that - PLEASE - if you are looking for a canine companion - it doesn`t matter where you look for them - whether it`s from a rescue, from a breeder, from Kijiji - wherever - make sure you do not just pick them up at a neutral location - you MUST go see where they were living, you must make sure that there is some application process - you must also interview the person you are acquiring the animal from.

If you are giving the person money - you must get some value for the money. Do your research - at the very least - do a google search on the name of the person you are getting the animal from - if anything negative comes up - RUN FAST.

We now have a more than ten year history of news files about Gail Benoit and her partner Dana Bailey at http://gailbenoit.ca/

The reason I built that website was because when you did a google search on her name - nothing came up - nothing good, nothing bad - and that was wrong - if people wanted to find out anything about the puppy they had dying in front of them - they wouldn't be able to find out anything - and now they can.

There's also a lot of other people advocating to try to end dog brokers in Nova Scotia which is also fabulous - and they've got some great educational materials as well -

Here's a video with some voice mails from the lady herself -



Today the Facebook group "People for Dogs" issued a public warning about Gail Benoit that as of the evening of January 3rd had almost 3,600 shares, and 140 comments which is fabulous - the word is getting out there - they said "PUBLIC WARNING - Please be advised that convicted animal abusers and puppy traffickers Gail Benoit & Dana Bailey have recently conned a litter of puppies out of lady in Cape Breton. Not only did they use aliases to convince the lady to turn over the 5 pups, but also targeted and conned a good Samaritan into transporting them to the Fall River exit ramp for them. Although these actions by Gail Benoit & Dana Bailey are nothing new, it’s something that everybody should be aware of, and exercise extreme caution when being asked to hand over litters of puppies and/or provide transportation for puppies to Waverly / Fall River / HRM roadsides / parking lots."

Gail Benoit has said over and over that she will never stop selling puppies - and everytime she gives advocates in the dog community to provide educational opportunities about the way that she sells dogs - we will never stop trying to show people that there are safer and more humane ways to acquire puppies and dogs.

As a last note - you may ask why we think it's bad to get dogs from people like Gail Benoit - I had a comment left on one of my posts about Gail today that said "People don't want older dogs. Plain fact. This will continue forever"

The thing is - people like Gail Benoit don't care about the quality of product they are selling - they only care about getting the money out of your pocket.

And they've been very good at it - when they were on trial for animal abuse in 2008 they said under oath that they had sold more than 30,000 puppies in the past 16 years they'd been in business - that's a lot of puppies, and of course some of them would've had to be healthy.

But I continue on because I want to see Nova Scotia become a place where people know that you can get puppies at shelters, that if you want to get a puppy on kijiji - that you shouldn't meet the person in a parking lot - you should go to the person's home to meet the puppy's mom and dad - it's just common sense.

It's as simple as that - we do not need a middle man.

We have almost completely gotten rid of pet stores in Nova Scotia.

Now it's time to get rid of dog brokers. The time has come.

The law definitely is not going to do it. Public education and pressure is.

Introducing Sidney!

Here is the newest addition to the Dogkisser family - Sidney - he's a littermate of Bubby

He came from the same puppy mill in Cape Breton as Bubby and suffered the same fate - was bought from the puppy mill until he was 6 months old so therefore isn't socialized to humans at all - and he has the added problem of having skin problems
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Judging by his vet records though - he had a horrible vet who wasn't very interested in actually healing him - he was only interested in making money - so I think his skin problems are going to resolve pretty easily with a good healthy diet

He is an interesting counterpoint to Bubby - he doesn't bark nearly as much - but he's a much rougher player, and is more interested in playing with me than with the other dogs - I suppose that comes from being in a human only household for almost a year - but he'll get used to Bubby pretty soon - that's why I got him - to be a companion for Bubby - so I think it's going to work out on that level - they are both following each other around pretty much all the time

If you can't tell - the first picture in this post was Sidney - and this picture is Bubby! You'll be able to tell them apart eventually - Bubby looks like the class clown and Sidney looks like a poet and is quite delicate in person!

Buttercup of course HATES him - but hopefully she'll come around - here she is rolling in something on the lawn oblivious to the other dogs around her - but at least she isn't attacking anyone here - she's been attacking the other dogs for some reason.

She hasn't been feeling well at all lately - I had to the vet a couple weeks ago and her thyroid is super low - we tried putting her on thyroid drugs and she had a bad reaction to them - so we took her off and are going to try something else, or a lower dose - so Buttercup is in a bad spot right now. At 18 years old I think she is feeling her age, she is sleeping almost all the time right now. Poor Buttercup.

Is Bubby a sign of things to come with pet stores not selling puppies anymore?

It is what we've been working towards for years - here in Atlantic Canada - Pet's Unlimited have stopped selling puppies, and throughout Canada, their affiliate chain PJ's Pets - are also going to stop selling puppies as of September 1st.

It is a huge breakthrough and shows that the public does have the power to change long ingraine business practice. It's totally awesome.

I have been saying for years that pet stores selling puppies is a business model that is completely unnecessary - Global Pets have proven that you don't need to sell live animals to be a highly successful pet franchise, and it seems that the Pets Unlimited company has finally realized that the common person on the street has learned that the puppies in pet stores DO come from unhealthy places - the parents of those puppies are suffering, their genetic heritage is very flawed - and it's not a good deal in any sense.

Pet's Unlimited has always says they get their puppies from "reputable breeders - but that is absolute twat. Chapman kennels up in New Brunswick used to supply the company before they shut down - and we all know what that "breeder" was like - and in an article in the Cape Breton post "Nova Scotia SPCA executive director Kristin Williams told the CBC that one of two “mass breeding facilities” under investigation in Nova Scotia is shutting down because it supplied Pets Unlimited with puppies and will lose that business."

Kristin goes on to say something rather troubling, but it's for a different post - Williams differentiates between “mass breeding facilities” and “puppy mills,” but the distinction is somewhat obscure."

So suppliers to Pet's Unlimited are under investigation by the SPCA - that doesn't really sound all that warm and fuzzy to me - and for the rest of of the suppliers - the ones who aren't shutting down - what are they going to do?

Now though - we're living in the age of Kijiji - and the puppymillers can sell their product very easily straight to the public - without needing the clean face of the pet store anymore.

The problem is though - the market is flooded now with cute puppies - and they are all hidden in basements, in barns, at the end of very long roads - tucked way, way away - instead of behind acrylic glass at a pet store - getting one day older every day and a little less cuter as each of those days go on.

I would like to put my dog Bubby out there as a symbol of what we might be seeing in rescue more and more in the future - a very cute, 9 month old dog who is super well socialized to other dogs - and absolutely terrified of humans - because for the first six months of his life - he was at a puppy mill - and never saw any humans.

The puppy mill owner was not successful in selling all the pupppies from Bubby's litter - so the puppies lingered - and as they did, they became more and more damaged - puppies need to have certain socialization.

He didn't have the slick marketing tools of the pet stores, the instant gratification of people going in and going goo-goo-gaa-gaa through the glass - which is what had successfully sold all his puppies for the previous "41 years" - now he's having to hoof it all on his own - and it's proving to be a tough job.

I know this - because I know the name of the "kennel" where Bubby came from, and about a month ago - I saw their ad advertising new puppies on Kijiji - so I answered the ad. And to my horror he wrote back to me and said - " The puppies sell for $800.00 and the buyers must sign a non breeding agreement, I also have a couple of male pups that were born on Nov. 28th. and I am going to sell them for $400.00, without the papers."

So that means that they still have puppies there as old as Bubby - who have had no interactions with humans whatsoever - that they're going to sell to some unsuspecting person - and they think that person isn't going to have a problem?

So we now have all these puppy millers across Canada who sold their product so easily to pet stores - who will now be pushed on to use Kijiji to try and sell their animals.

They no longer have their brokers anymore - their middle men, and things are going to become a lot more difficult.

And it would seem that it's still going to be the puppies - and the humans who buy them - who are going to pay the price unfortunately.

It was back in November 2006 that Advocates for Responsible Pet Ownership held our first protest outside the Pet's Unlimited store in Bayer's lake here in Halifax - and it was a huge success - and even at that time we were blown away by the amount of people who already knew about where puppies in pet stores really came from.

Now ARPO has got some more educating to do - about the evils of Kijiji.

And it's going to be beautiful, perfect little dogs like Bubby who will provide us with the fodder for education.

I had really hoped that I'd get an "easy" dog this time - but I guess we really do have things happen in life for a purpose - and there is a reason why I got Bubby - so that he can be a voice for all the puppies who are going unsold in puppymills everywhere - and what's to be done about them.

And most of all - to beware of them.

Thundershirts and doggy diapers

I am learning more and more about Bubby's personality and quirks - what he can handle - what he can't, things that he's afraid of and how he reacts to them - it's all very interesting.

I've had him for 2 months now, and I've pretty much settled on what I think his background "story" is - at least one that pleases me and answers the questions that I have - I don't know if his rescuer would agree with me - but it's what I've cobbled together from what she said, and what I've figured out from Kijiji postings that his puppymill operator has made in the last little while -

It seems like Bubby spent the first 6 months of his life at his "breeder" - which I am henceforth going to call a puppymill - because it is very obvious that he has had no human socialization whatsoever - and that's where almost all his problems and quirks are stemming from. He is deathly afraid of humans and gets overstimulated really quickly - and when he passes his threshold - he lunges out will bite, and it's a pretty hard bite.

So he spent his first six months at the puppymill - completely missing every kind of human socialization that he needed to be a normal dog - but luckily he was around other dogs - so his dog/dog skills are awesome.

At 6 months - he was purchased - probably for a cut price - because when I contacted the puppymill he came from a couple weeks ago when he was advertising on kijiji for puppies - the puppies were $800 - but he had some dogs left over still from a breeding last November - and he was selling them for $400. I can only imagine how damaged those dogs are now.

So at 6 months - Bubby was adopted by a family - and they thought they were getting a normal dog - but I guess he only bonded with the wife - and there were also children involved - and any children that Bubby has come into contact since I've had him - he almost immediately attacks - so he probably did the same thing to this family.

Atlantic Small Dog Rescue said the husband told the puppymill "I was told you were selling me a family dog - this isn't a family dog" - and the puppymill offered to take Bubby back and give them another dog - but for some reason they didn't do that - and they instead dumped him at a campground in Truro - and that's how Altantic Small Dog Rescue got involved - and then I adopted him.

So where do the thundershirts and doggy diapers come in?

They are what I bought today - although the doggy diapers are too small - his penis sticks out the top - so they are no usew hatsoever.

But 2 months after I got him - he's still peeing and pooping wherever he feels like. It could be indoors, it could be outdoors - if he wants to go - he'll go. He could be laying next to me on the bed - and he'll stand up - and just start peeing - right next to me. He'll walk right through his poop - it's all typical behaviour for former puppy mill dogs - and I am struggling with it currently.

If you keep track of myy photos - the background of my house has changed in the last couple of months - I have thrown out my couch, all my carpets, I've bought a new bed, every room has a baby gate on it, every dog bed that I had for Charlie and Daisy has been thrown in the garbage - all because Bubby has peed on everything.

I have great hopes for the thundershirt - I'm hoping that it will calm him down in stressful situations around humans - I'm going to try it out tomorrow night -

We are going to dinner at my sister's house and there are going to be 5 humans there - and I have a very dog-intolerant family - so if he tries to bite anyone - there will be shrieking and freaking out and very bad energy in the room - it won't be pleasant.

I hope that it operates as advertised. We've got about 18-20 years ahead of us and the world needs to have a people friendly Bubby - he is too beautiful to keep in private. I hope he and I can figure things out.

What a crock of shit - Canadian Federation of Humane Societies

I was one of the probably kajillion people today who received one of the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies spring plea's for money in the mail today, and I have to say - I was blown away by it. As a person who is familiar with the lingo and rhetoric of the humane movement - it had all of the catchphrases in there that are so old and boring - and untrue -  I wondered how could a national, and supposedly well-respected organization be taking in any money at all with this promotion.

The only thing I thought of when I read the letter was that I felt slightly dirty, and that the best way to spend my dollars that I set aside for charity - was to give them to my local shelters and rescues - because I know where that money is going - and I can see the results of my hard earned dollars first hand - not giving it to some pencil pushers up in Ottawa who are prostylytzing a bunch of untrue bullshit.

And you may ask - what bullshit is it of which I speak? Well let me break it down for you in a paragraph or two.

#1 is when I was verbally slapped across the face in the 4th paragraph of the letter when the CFHS deigned to tell me "Cat overpopulation in Canada is mainly caused by irresponsible pet owners who let their cats roam free without being spayed or neutered. Their unwanted litters flood animal shelters, especially in the spring and summer, along with cats whose owners have not bothered to provide microchips or other identifications".

I really thought that the humane community had moved beyond blaming pet owners for the problems in the shelter business. Has Nathan Winograd really made no impression at all up here in Canada? Really?

And then on page 2 is where it gets really interesting - because that's where they start to talk about puppy mills.

I don't know if you know this - but there is a conspiracy of sorts within the humane movement in that the Canadian Federation of Human Societies, the CKC. the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association and puppy millers - also known as the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council "PIJAC" up here in Canada - formed a coalition and it's called the "National Companion Animal Coalition" - according to PIJAC's website -

"The National Companion Animal Coalition (NCAC) was formed in 1996 to promote socially responsible pet ownership and enhance the health and well being of companion animals. It is comprised of representatives from the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies, the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council of Canada, and the Canadian Kennel Club."

So these 4 organizations have been working together for the last 15 years to make pet ownership - how could we say it - I'd say it as - "making pet ownership more profitable".

If they were working together FOR the animals - they certainly would NEVER have included PIJAC in the mix - because the only reason why PIJAC exists is to give a clean face to puppy mills - EVERY puppy sold at a pet store comes from a puppy mill.  I don't know who could disagree with that statement and still have a straight face.

The CKC have it written into their bylaws that their members are forbidden from selling their puppies to pet stores. NO responsible breeder would EVER sell a puppy to a pet store - so where are they getting their livestock from?  (it's in their code of practice - page 78:  "No breeder shall sell or donate dogs for the purpose of their being auctioned, raffled or to pet stores.")

Which leads me to my next section - I'm going to the "Summit for Urban Animal Strategies" next week here in Halifax - it'll be the 3rd one I've gone to - and this year it's about - shit, I can never figure what they're about - I just go and listen to whatever is happening on the day - but this year - some guy from PIJAC is going to be there giving a talk - and I'll be interested to hear what he has to say.

In preparation for getting people excited about the Summit - they sent a link to a blog post today called "The Industry Drives to Eliminate Illegimate Breeding Practices" - and in that blog post it says the following -

According to the 2008 and 2009 National Urban Animal Surveys there are more than a million cats and dogs being placed into Canadian homes each year. Of these homing episodes it appears that adoptions from legitimate animal welfare organizations account for 11%, registered breeders account for 8% and compliant retail establishments are thought to add another 16% of these placements. Only these 35% of placements come from inside the industry system of compliant homing organizations.

What in the h-e-double hockey sticks do you think a "compliant retail establishment" is?

Do you think that's a pet store that cleans the shit out of the cages every 6 hours instead of every 18 hours? What in the hell is that?

Hopefully next Thursday, I'm going to find out.

I'm also hoping to find out how an organization like the CKC - that forbids it's members from doing business with a segment of an organization - ie pet stores - can still form a coalition with a branch of the organization - ie PIJAC - it's a conflict of interest in my eyes - and to me is sickening - and gives respect and a clean face to PIJAC where they definitely do NOT deserve it.

As for the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies - in the letter they sent me today - it's like they're speaking out of both sides of their mouth - they say "The CFHS will also be turning up the heat on puppy mills and online pet sales when we launch our national awareness campaign next month. Thanks to your commitment to animals, we will be alerting Canadians to the dangers of buying pets from disreputalbe sources".

I guess they mean buying pets from pet stores - which is PIJAC - which is their member organization in the National Companion Organization - I sense a circular argument starting to begin....

Bud Wheatley - was hiding 17 more dogs

The puppy miller of PEI had 17 more dogs seized from his home this past weekend - it turns out that last year when he had 76 dogs seized from his property that they only had a warrant to search his barn - and like other animal hoarders before him - he had dogs stashed inside his house - 17 of them. His aunt and another caregiver were supposed to take care of them while he was in prison - but they flew the coop - and on the weekend they called the authorities to tell them the animals were at Bud's house and someone needed to go take care of them - and so they did - and this time they also picked up the dog that Bud was told he could keep.

Thank dog for that.

This really shows that Bud has no care for the law - he thought he was getting away with this - he knew he had a 10 year ban on owning animals - and he figured he'd be able to get away with keeping these dogs in his house - no one would notice them - he could do whatever he felt like doing. And by the looks of it - he probably could.

The news video from PEI is below for your enjoyment.

P.E.I. pet seller has more dogs seized

The owner of an online pet store who was recently sentenced to jail time for cruelty to animals has had 17 more dogs seized from his Covehead, P.E.I., property.

Bud Wheatley, who ran PuppiesAcrossCanada.com, was sentenced to five months in jail Oct. 5 for causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to animals.

Bud Wheatley has previously had 76 animals seized from his property. (CBC)
Seventy-six dogs and cats had already been seized from his property in Oct. 2009. Some were emaciated, two had to be euthanized and one died before it could be treated.

Wheatley, 62, had arranged for a caregiver to look after his elderly aunt in his home while he was in jail. It's not known how long the dogs were in the home.

The aunt and caregiver moved out of the house and left the dogs behind.

The Department of Agriculture recieved a call that said someone needed to care for the dogs. Officials went to the home with a veterinarian Saturday night and took them to the P.E.I. Humane Society, where they remain.

When Wheatley was sentenced by a provincial court in Charlottetown, he was ordered not to have any pets for 10 years. The one dog the court said he could keep, 13-year-old Sacha, was also taken in Saturday's seizure.

Wheatley has not been charged in connection with this seizure, though the situation is still under investigation.

During his sentencing Wheatley was ordered to pay a $200 fine and cover $68,000 in expenses incurred by the provincial Department of Agriculture.

Excelsior! Bud Wheatley is going to jail!

Bud Wheatley has his own category on this blog for a reason. The first post is way back in 2004 when he still owned a pet store named "Snookums" - he had sold a puppy to a family in Nova Scotia, and surprise suprise, it had died on them. The puppy probably died from parvo.

Over the years it's a story that people who follow the news about puppies, pet stores and puppy brokers - have heard over and over.

And today - Bud Wheatley was sentenced to 5 months in jail, fined $200 and has to pay back the provincial government $68,000 for the cost of taking care of the animals - and a 10 year ban on owning animals. Finally a judge has given a criminal conviction for the criminal way that a human has treated sentient beings. I think that's awesome - I hope it's the beginning of the way these types of cases are handled.

In the CBC news story below - it seems that what the evidence that made this decision happen was -


Lisa Goulden, the crown attorney said that "the animals were filthy, that they were matted, that they had ear infections, that the animals had mites, lice, that a lot of the animals showed lack of grooming, that their nails were too long, that the kennels themselves were inadequate - that they were too small, that they were coated in feces and urine

The kennels were stacked 3 high - there were too many animals in each of the kennels, access to the kennels was very difficult, the lighting was very bad, ventilation was observed to be practically non-existent, food and water dishes were dirty, animals got no exercise, some were emaciated"....

So - if those things can be proven in other situations - why wouldn't crown attorneys in other jurisdictions be able to get the same convictions now? I don't see any reason.


It is especially interesting - because Gail Benoit is due back in court October 7th for a plea change, and hopefully sentencing will be handed down at that time as well - for all the puppies that died during the Chapman puppy mill kennel debacle in 2009 - so it would be lovely if this case has some residual effect on Gail Benoit's case, wouldn't it? That would be wonderful - we can only hope!!
The judge, Nancy Orr said she was urprised animal officals allowed Wheatley to operate for 15 months.

Below is the local CBC news video

And here's a CBC report of the story as well - and you can also read other articles from the past about Bud Wheatley by checking out by "Bud Wheatley category"


Online pet shop owner gets 5 months in jail


Bud Wheatley, owner of PuppiesAcrossCanada.com, was sentenced to five months in jail Tuesday for causing unnecessary pain, suffering or injury to animals.

Wheatley, 62, was also ordered by a provincial court in Charlottetown to pay a $200 fine and cover $68,000 in expenses incurred by the provincial Department of Agriculture during both the seizure of the animals and their care. He's also prohibited from owning any companion animals for 10 years with the exception of his 13-year-old dog Sacha.

He told the court he had a hard time keeping staff and couldn't sell enough animals.Bud Wheatley pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday. (CBC)
"He knows that he was ultimately responsible for the situation that led to the problems with the animals in his care and is remorseful it got to the point it did," said Wheatley's lawyer, Brenda Picard.

Wheatley had been facing five criminal charges and two under the provincial Companion Animal Protection Act in connection with a raid by RCMP officers on his place of business on P.E.I.'s North Shore in October 2009. He pleaded guilty early Tuesday to one criminal charge and one under the provincial act.

About 80 cats and dogs were seized in the raid and taken to the P.E.I. Humane Society for treatment. Some were emaciated, two had to be euthanized and one died before it could be treated.

"Almost every furry animal was severely matted, there was filth," said Crown attorney Lisa Goulden. "Many of the animals had infections, ear infections, ear mites; some of the animals had lice. A lot of the animals showed lack of grooming, their nails were too long. The kennels themselves were coated with feces and urine."

Judge calls case 'incredible'
Officials said the animals were kept in a storage shed in packed kennels stacked three high. There was little ventilation and poor lighting. The animals received no exercise and their food and water dishes were dirty.

Wheatley had previously operated the pet store Snookums in Charlottetown, and was in the news with customers complaining that dogs they bought from him were seriously ill. Wheatley blamed the customers, saying he sold only puppies.

Wheatley closed Snookums about three years ago, and went on to operate PuppiesAcrossCanada.com.

"We know now that what happened to those animals was a crime and it was punished and the full force of justice system was shown today," said Kelly Mullally, executive director of the P.E.I. Humane Society.

Judge Nancy Orr called this case "incredible" and said she found it surprising that Agriculture Department officials allowed Wheatley to operate for 15 months without a licence, even though inspectors visited his operation.

The court heard the department is reviewing training for its staff and the way they conduct their inspections.

Benoit Love Shack For Sale

A nice view of the yard
Want to own a humungous amount of dead puppy's bones? Gail Benoit's house is for sale down in Digby, Nova Scotia for only $119,000 - you can own all the puppies that have died on the Benoit/Bailey's in the last 20 or so years that they have operated their puppy brokerage business!

Here's the kitchen
In court they have admitted that they've sold more than 30,000 puppies in the time they've been in the puppy brokerage business. If they've sold that many live puppies - they've probably had a few die on them over the years - and in the below video - they admit that when they die - they bury the ones who don't make it to sale - and I don't imagine they pay to bury them in a pet cemetary!

A shot of the front of the house
So here's the perfect opportunity to get yourself some hallowed canine ground - for a bargain price - don't miss this once in a lifetime chance!!


Here's the barn where they kept the puppies aka as "parvo central"


Here's where you'll find the Benoit cemetery...also known as the "back yard"

Quoted from the below video -
Rick Grant asks:
"If you have 12 dead dogs - where are they?"
Gail Benoit responds:
"After they're dead? If a dog dies you bury it"

Ursa

This is a hard post for me to write. I have known Ursa pretty much her whole life, and today she died.
She was only 8 years old - a purebred rottweiller - who had the highest and best quality veterinary intervention and care for the entire time that she lived, and she was let go by that same veterinary team in the comfort and safety of her own home - surrounded by the dogs and smells and family who loved her for the - mostly painful - life that she lived.
My deepest condolences go out to her Mom Janet Chernin and the 2 people who took care of her and own her brother and sister - Mark and Bena - they are currently devastated that Ursa was given such a genetically bad body.
Ursa had all the best personality qualites of the rottweiller breed - she was gentle, loving, patient - she had the most beautiful eyes that looked deeply into yours and felt like she was trying to tell you something important - and the best thing - she had the cutest wiggle butt that only docked tail breeds can show you.
But also unfortunately for Ursa - she had all the physical problems that large breeds can have - her anterior cruciate ligaments - almost from the beginning - were a problem, and by the time she was 2 years old - she was toe tapping, and by the time she was 4 - both back legs were done. One ACL was done the old fashioned way, and the other was done via a TPLO - total ACL replacement - which means that once it's done there's nothing else you can do. And for Ursa - her back legs never really got better, and hers was a life spent in pain.
Ursa was very stoic though - and soldiered on - but her Mom Janet knew that Ursa was in pain - and sent her to stay at her friends Mark and Bena's house - because they live on one level - and Janet's house is on 3 levels - so a lot of the time Ursa didn't get to spend at home in the end - which was really hard for Janet I'm sure, but she knew it was best for Ursa.
Ursa was certainly full of personality - as full as all the dog's in Janet's house - she had a thing for stuffed toy animals, she'd tear all the stuffing out of them - and this is the only time I've ever seen Janet be patient - Janet would actually let Ursa do it (people who know Janet would be equally amazed) - Janet actually indulged Ursa - she'd let her take the stuffees out of the toys - and then give her back the unstuffed animals to play with. I used to buy bags of toys at Frenchy's for a couple bucks and take them over and Ursa could tear them apart one by one.
Ursa loved all the dogs in the house - but she and Pickle had a special relationship - they'd suck on each other ears - I'd imagine that Pickle will really miss Ursa.
It's funny - almost all the photos I took of Ursa over the years - she's laying down in the them. In the end - her legs gave out - her front legs stopped working too, and her immune system started shutting down - so Janet let her go today. It is such a hard decision.

A dog can live really well with 3 legs, they can live pretty well with 2 legs - but with no legs - a dog can't really live anymore. Especially when they're in pain and there's nothing you can do but watch them be in pain.

When you choose to bring a purebred dog into your life - make sure you do your homework so that you don't cause yourself heartache down the road. Find out if the parents have been tested for hip and knee problems - and ask to contact other people who have purchased puppies from the breeders to see how other littermates have made out with their dogs. Any responsible breeders will be able to comply with your request.

Unless you're rescuing a purebred dog and don't have access to this kind of information and are willing to take on the risk of heartache down the road because the dog may have come from a puppy mill or back yard breeder - do your research - you and your canine life companion will thank you for it - and you'll both have many many years of pain free living - most probably.

Ursa didn't deserve to have such shitty body parts - she had such a beautiful spirit and personality - she deserved to live a long full life. It's such a shame that her body gave out on her only 1/2 way through.

Rest in peace, Ursa. We all miss you terribly, already.

Halifax Regional Municipality Kennel Regulation's Misinformation 101

It would seem that the bureaucrats within the Halifax Regional Municipality really do not want dogs to congregate - they don't want dog owners to be able to let their dogs go offleash, they don't want dog owners to be able to take their dogs to in-home doggy day cares - and they also don't want people to have and operate responsible hobby breeding kennels in their own homes - which is the best - and really, only way - to operate a responsible breeding operation - in your own home where the puppies can be socialized in a home setting with a mother and father present, and maybe a couple other adult dogs - and humans and all the normal sounds of the type of environment that he's going to be in for the rest of his life.

But the HRM says - NO - there is no way this can be LEGAL. Having this type of operation would be a nuisance. And for the next very many paragraphs - I am going to break it down for you - and show you why you need to do something about it - especially since they have legalized a business as a kennel in Hammond's Plains that should NOT be a kennel - and have legalized a pet care facility in Lawrencetown that if I'm correct - should have been a kennel.

So maybe we'll start with the most controversial one - the bylaw over in Lawrencetown - the process that has been ongoing since July 8, 2008 with the Marine Drive, Valley & Canal Community Council.

Nothing is every easy or straightforward when David Hendsbee is involved - and this is within his purview - so this story is going to be long and drawn out - but this is what the minutes from the first Council reports begin the story saying -

"The initial request for amendments regarding kennels came from Marine Drive, Valley and Canal Community Council who asked staff to undertake a public consultation process to consider where kennels may be located within the Lawrencetown and Planning Districts 14 and 17 (Shubenacadie Lakes) plan areas. Due to public input on the requested amendments and the differences between the 2 plan areas, the application has been split into two separate cases. Therefore, this report shall only focus on amendments in the Lawrencetown plan area.

When the original planning MPS (Municipal Planning Strategy) and LUB (Land Use Bylaw) was adopted for Lawrencetown in 1990, there was relatively little market for boarding facilities for dogs. The traditional definition of kennel was used to broadly encompass both boarding and commercial breeding. Strong community concerns existed relative to dog breeding, and as such no new kennels were expressly prohibited. However, two existing kennels were recognized in the LUB as permitted uses.

You can find the names of those 2 kennels in the Lawrencetown Land Use bylaw - they are "Terra Nova Kennels" and "Airedale Investments Ltd." - page 70.

In a report in April, 2008 they outlined where kennels were allowed in all 3 areas of the planning districts and at that time recommended that nothing be changed in the Porters Lake/Chezettcook land use bylaw - because kennels were allowed in almost all the planning area of that MPS - so to change anything there would be to take away services from that area - I wonder if that happened - if they did stick to that. It says in subsequent reports that the case was broken up into 2 parts, so maybe it did.

I find the Lawrencetown case fascinating - because it didn't seem to be initiated like the other ways that doggy day cares got legalized - it seems that the MPS was investigated just because - for no reason, almost - I can't figure it out. And I've been watching this story for almost 2 years.

What is has done is get breeders very confused - because in the meantime - the HRM has instituted bylaw A300 - which removed the licencing of kennels.

When we had bylaw D100 - you could licence your kennel and pay a $100 kennel fee - and then have as many dogs on your property as you wanted - and call yourself a kennel.

Now even if you have a kennel - you have to register each dog individually to be legal - so I could have Dogkisser Kennels - be the most respected breeder of terri-poos in Canada - and I have to pay $50 for every unaltered dog in my house - OUCH! And if I have a kennel - my dogs are not going to be spayed or neutered, are they? That hurts!

And right now - for some reason, there is a ton of misinformation going around on the local purebreed Yahoo groups because they are telling each other that if they have 2 or more more dogs - they are going to have to consider themselves a "kennel" - and they will now be considered an "illegal kennel" - because kennels are "illegal" in the HRM.

Well I am here to tell you that - that is BULLSHIT.

For one thing - the bylaw states that kennels consist of dogs that are MORE THAN two. Where did people read TWO OR MORE? It's MORE THAN TWO. Do you see a difference there? There is a difference of one - and that makes THREE. You are considered a kennel when you have THREE.

And the only land use bylaws in the HRM that do not have definitions for kennels in them currently is Dartmouth, Downtown Dartmouth, Halifax Mainland, and Halifax Peninsula - now granted - that is where the bulk of people in HRM live, BUT a lot of people live outside of those places too.

"Pet Care facilities" were approved by the Marine Valley Drive Council on May 19th - we're still waiting for the minutes from that meeting to be published - so I can't say exactly what came out of that meeting because I wasn't there - but it seems ridiculous to me that pet care facilities are now legal in Lawrencetown, but kennels still aren't, if that is indeed the case. That in certain areas of Lawrencetown you can now board up to 12 dogs - but you can't have 4 breeding dogs, or have 5 show dogs in your home. But you CAN have 8 regular dogs.

And there will certainly be people who will keep 50 dogs in their basement - you'll never know about those people, regardless. That type of suffering goes on unchecked everywhere and only leaks out occasionally when something goes really wrong and the abuser - because they certainly aren't a breeder - really screws up.

So I'm going to just really quickly talk about the other two cases in the HRM where doggy day cares HAVE been legalized - and it's been done differently than in Lawrencetown.

In Hammond's Plains - it's like they went to the moon or another planet they did it so differently. Who did this case - I have no idea - but the planner on this case was the same one for the Marine Drive/Lawrencetown one - so it totally confuses me - but Pampered Paws Inn - which is a doggy day care - and she takes in like a KAJILLION dogs every day - and she's allowed to - she has NO LIMIT on how many dogs she takes in every day - has been classified as a KENNEL.

She was not classified as a "pet care facility".

So figure that one out, people. How she got that designation - because she's in a mixed use zone, because she's next to other businesses, because of her Councillor - WHO KNOWS, but her business was classified as a kennel. Congratulations to her for getting that designation.

I think - because of that - EVERY OTHER PET CARE FACILITY SHOULD ALSO BE DESIGNATED AS A KENNEL. But that's just me.

And then on the Halifax Peninsula - Janet Chernin's Canine Casbah - was designated as a "pet care facility" - like the facilities in Lawrencetown/Marine Drive will be designated - she has a limit of 12 dogs per day that she can take in. And she is happy with that. She can only have one employee. She has to keep her business on one floor of her home. And any other person who wants to have a business like her's on the Halifax Peninsula has to go through a prohibitive development agreement process that would put hair on the chest of an orchid. It's completely gross what you have to go through - there's like 20 steps.

And on the peninsula - kennels are illegal altogether - so you can't have 3 breeding or showing dogs - only 2. There is no definition for kennels.

There is no equality throughout the Municipality - and there never will be because the HRM believes that every area of the HRM has it's own flavours and it's own needs. That's why every area has it's own municipal planning strategy and it's own land use bylaw and it's own Community Council - so if you don't like the land use bylaw where you live - then your only option is to move to another area that has a land use bylaw that you like and you can live with. Really, that is the only answer.

So do your research - and start looking for new real estate. And start voting with your dollars - and speak out.

All of the HRM's land use bylaws are on their website at http://halifax.ca/planning/map.html

If you've read down this far - you probably love your dogs enough to move - unless of course you're a rebel enough that you don't mind being a scofflaw and operating an illegal kennel! Which has it's own merits too. You could rise above the frey - and make an example of yourself so that the laws could be changed so that you change them and make yourself legal where you are now. Half a dozen of one, six of the other.

You have a couple facts now, anyway!

It was a pretty good weekend

Me and the dogs had a pretty good weekend - today me and Charlie had a family reunion with a couple of his siblings at Point Pleasant Park which was a lot of fun - I have been very lucky to meet up with 9 out of 12 of Charlie's siblings over the years, because somehow Charlie's brothers and sisters have all looked exactly alike -
and because back yard breeders don't really care who they sell their puppies to, just about everyone in the litter has ended up at the SPCA - so I've been lucky to always been notified that a dog who looks exactly like Charlie is at the SPCA - and I've always gone over and met them, and in some cases adopted them. Today we had a great time - until Charlie hurt his foot, and I had to drive my car into the middle of Point Pleasant Park and pick him up! Poor Charlie. It sucks to be old - but I was very lucky to meet very friendly people - a family with a miniature schnauzer named Rudy - who are regulars at the park - were very kind to wait with Charlie while I went and got my car - so it was great. He's now resting, and groaning like only he can do - you can see a facebook photo album if you care to delve further into our morning.

Saturday I went over for supper to my friend Janet's house - this is one of her dog's Paxton - who as you might be able to guess is a little bit intense - but he's a beautiful dog.
And guess what we had? Yummy. One of my favourite foods in the world, if not my favourite food - I was definitely born in the exact right spot on the planet, that's for sure - if only I could go and catch lobster myself and owned a cow so that I could make my own butter, I would for sure be living in the middle of the garden of eden.

Sunday morning was spent shooting the shit over at the Harbourview Market in Dartmouth manning the booth for the 2nd Chance Charity charity that raises money for the SPCA - I spent quite a bit of my time reading up on a case that I'm going to be talking about this week about a development agreement over in Lawrencetown where they are trying to have pet care facilities defined and trying (as in HRM Bureaucrats) to also say that kennels are illegal - even though that land use bylaw has a definition for kennels - not every land use bylaw in the HRM has a definition of kennel in their bylaw - so the fact that Lawrencetown has one would say to me that they should in fact be legal in that area - sounds like some bullying is going on over there - but I'll get more into that later this week

I spent some of Sunday afternoon over in the Metro Animal Emergency Department - Buttercup had knocked one of little front teeth out - a 16 year old dog with gingivitis finally taking its toll, and I wanted to make sure it had completely fallen out and not broken off - because I know what tooth pain feels like, and I didn't want Buttercup to feel pain unnecessarily - so over we went. Luckily the tooth is completely gone and maybe now I can teach her to whistle and we've got some tramadol cut up in half for the next few days instead of just silly old metacam. She hadn't stopped eating so I knew she wasn't in too much pain, but I just wanted to make sure.

But while we were there I saw the owners of this dog in complete torture - for some reason there doesn't seem to be any meeting rooms at the emergency clinic where the vets can give bad news - and the vet delivered the horrible news to the family of this dog that this dog - who's name was Bear that this dog didn't have any hip joints left - they had obviously brought him over because he was in agony and couldn't walk - and upon examination the vet couldn't even pop the hip joint back into place - there was no socket there to pop it into - all she could do was to give the dog pain medication and send him home with the owners so that they could discuss things with their own vet - he needed 2 total hip replacements.

Even before she brought the dog out I absolutely knew she was going to be bringing out a bernese mountain dog. I knew it. When they brought him out I asked if I could take a picture - and I asked them where they got him - if he was from a pet store, or a breeder - and they said they got him from New Brunswick - which as we all know is - the 2nd puppy mill capital of Canada.

So tragic. They were obviously so bonded and in love with this dog - the whole family had come to the clinic - when I arrived they were all outside the clinic crying. Awful.


Here's a couple pictures from Saturday as I was outside in the backyard continuing on with my ongoing project of installing my vinyl wing slats on to my chain link fence - one slat at a time....
And here is Jackie peeing on stuff...



Now here is something that is seriously neat - at the bottom you will see an article that I got from the Chronicle Herald last week - I thought it was a great idea - a playground for adults, after I read it - it occurred to me that Muscle whatever at Venice Beach California is probably the same thing - but in the article this playground was targeted at people older than 60 years
And then today I was at Point Pleasant Park and here is this thing here that is an exercise thingee - that is for the public and you can exercise on! And I think to myself - wow, this is great! What a great start! I hope people use this - and people get to know about it, and thank the city for it - and tell them what a good idea it is - and ask for more at other locations around the city.
Because truly, I think this is a great idea.