Grudgingly, I'm going to give Vick a chance

As you've probably guessed, I am no fan of Michael Vick's. Vick was released from prison this week to serve the rest of his 23-month sentence for dogfighting on house arrest in Virginia. He will work a $10 per hour construction job during this time.

Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, visited Vick in prison (at Vick's request) before his release. Vick claims that he has been traumatized by his experience and that he is a changed man. He asked Pacelle to allow him to help in the HSUS's effort to end dogfighting, which is most prevalent among young black men in urban areas.

Now, admittedly, this guy has been punished for his crimes: almost two years in prison, expulsion from the NFL, the loss of all his endorsements, and bankruptcy. It is still up in the air as to whether Vick will ever play football professionally again. There is a part of me that hopes Vick will not be welcomed back into the NFL, but I think it's just a petulant part that is not going to let go of what's happened until Vick demonstrates that his commitment to end dogfighting is real and not a ploy to win back public favor.

When you look at this from a positive perspective, as Pacelle points out on the HSUS blog, Vick's willingness to help end dogfighting could be really valuable. He can tell his story and talk about what he has learned from his experience. Hopefully some of his celebrity will go to a good cause and he will be able to reach out to young men who think dogfighting is cool or acceptable. Perhaps he can lead by word and example.

I hope Michael Vick realizes what an impact he can have, and that he uses his influence to better our society. For now, call me cautiously optimistic and keep your fingers crossed.

Chicago: New Five Dog Limit?

Alderman Ray Suarez (31st) introduced a city ordinance at yesterday's council meeting that would limit the number of dogs Chicago households are allowed to have to five. Suarez said that a 27/50 majority have already communicated support for this ordinance.

Due in large part to the problem of people not picking up their dogs' feces and allowing it to stink up their - and their unappreciative neighbors' - yards, Suarez hopes the ordinance (if passed) will allow all people to enjoy their yards stink-free.

The ordinance will be debated by the council's License committee, but a date for that has not been set. It will be a public hearing, so if you have strong opinions on this matter you should plan to attend.

As for me, I think this ordinance will be mostly useless if passed. I mean, first and foremost, how are they going to enforce it? And why do I want them to take time to enforce how many dogs my neighbor has pooping in his backyard when that takes away from other, more important, laws they could be enforcing?

Also, I don't love the idea of the government telling me how many pets I can have. We have animal cruelty laws in place (though I do think those could be stepped up in severity) so that if people are neglectful of cleaning their pets' living areas properly there are penalties. Perhaps the focus should be on amending the laws already in place, rather than adding new ones that will be hard to enforce and which restrict peoples' freedom.

I mean, if I had six dogs I'd make sure their poop was cleaned up.

Chewcifer

My dog was a beast this weekend. I was away for Mothers' Day, but every time my husband turned his back (and sometimes in plain view!) Arlo was destroying some contraband household item.

We adopted Arlo from the SPCA in Charlottesville, VA, when he was eight months old. Back then, he chewed the occasional shoe and that was it. We thought to ourselves "Man, did we get lucky!" and kept our shoes well-hidden (mostly).

Now he is two and it's like anything within reach is up for grabs. We have definitely been downgraded in the behavior department.

He chews tissues, dryer sheets, my (ahem) personal products, pens, socks, shoes, cardboard, feather dusters, dish towels and the list goes on and on. Nothing is too gross, too hard, too potentially dangerous for my dog's little jaws.

Short of keeping our apartment pristine at all times (ha!) we aren't quite sure how to handle this situation. We scold, we rub his nose in whatever he's shredded, we glare, we even resorted to crating him yesterday while we were up at my mom's in the suburbs.

We super-duper-really-a-lot do not want to go back to crating Arlo. He has some separation anxiety issues that make that a not-so-great idea and we were thrilled when he seemed to do well out of the crate. Mostly he sleeps when we are gone. We lock up our bedroom and closets and give him free reign of the kitchen, living room, and bathroom. For about four months now it's been easy livin'.

Now we are never sure what we'll find decimated when we get home from work and school.

As I said, we would really rather not go back to crating Arlo. We are gone long enough during the day that if we can avoid that at all, we will. So now I'm asking: Do you have any advice for young pup parents whose dog has turned into Chewcifer?

This Just Isn't Enough

On May 1 Minnesota dog breeder and owner of Pick of the Litter, Inc. Kathy Bauck was sentenced to 20 days in jail, a $500 fine and was ordered to allow Humane Society inspectors access to her breeding facilities for drop-in inspections. She was also sentenced to probation and community service. Bauck was convicted in April of four misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. The two felony animal cruelty charges were dismissed by the jury.

Oh yeah. Did I mention that this woman is notorious for performing veterinary services (surgeries, vaccinations) without ever having been to vet school? And that she has numerous citations for animal cruelty and animal torture?

If you can believe it, the state of Minnesota is allowing her to keep all her dogs.

Um, excuse me?!

I thought that dropping the felony charges and letting her off without much jail time or heavy enough (in my opinion) fines was bad. But this...I feel like the very FIRST punishment should have been to order Ms. Bauck not to have access to any companion animal ever again!

If you have the stomach for it, you can watch a video of the abuse Bauck inflicted here.

I think I am too mad to write more about this now. What are your thoughts?

Good News for Canada's Harp Seals!

Each year on the east coast of Canada, a terrible slaughter takes place. Focused mainly on harp seals but also including some hooded seals, hundreds of thousands of animals are clubbed or shot before being skinned; their white spotted fur is valuable in many countries.

Sealers are generally fisherman who take part in the hunt during the fishing off-season. Killing seals brings in approximately one twentieth of their annual income, with the rest being made up by commercial fishing. Still, the Canadian government subsidizes this unnecessary hunt, which was declared inhumane after veterinarians studied it in 2001. Most of the animals killed are baby seals under three months of age, and too often they are not dead before being skinned. Many are shot from a distance and fall under the ice to die slowly, lost before the hunters can even harvest their fur.

The good news: today we've reached a milestone in our efforts to end these horrible seal hunts. European Parliament voted overwhelmingly to ban the import and sale of furs from commercially harvested seals. The U.S. and Mexico already have a ban on importing most seal fur products and Russia just made it illegal to hunt seals under one year of age in the White Sea in March 2009. However, Europe's ban does not cover the seals hunted by the Inuits and other indigenous tribes from the north, who kill them as a source of sustenance.

Canadian minister of trade Stockwell Day has said that if Europe doesn't exempt Canada from the ban they will challenge their decision at the World Trade Organization.

We'll see what happens, but ultimately this is a huge step forward in protecting Canada's seal population!

Major Setback for Our Nation's Wolves

Remember when I told you about the gray wolf being kicked off the Endangered Species list? And we signed that petition urging Ken Salazar to reconsider this problematic decision?

Well, he didn't. And they were.

Beginning May 4, it's open season on gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. All but 300 of the 1,300 wolves in Montana and Idaho can be legally killed and Idaho - which is home to the majority of the U.S.'s gray wolves - has already declared its intent to kill more than half of its wolf population within the year. The Northern Rockies is thought to have about 1,600 wolves total in the region.

After we spent so much time (over 30 years!), energy and [government] money on reviving the gray wolf species, what sense does it make to turn around and sign legislation allowing their population to be immediately decimated?

Why, none of course.

Defenders of Wildlife plan to sue Salazar as soon as possible.

Is Swine Flu a Danger to My Pet?

So far there's been no indication that dogs and cats are at risk of contracting swine flu.

The new A/H1N1 virus is currently being studied to determine its origin and little is known about it. However, it doesn't seem that cats and dogs are catching it. If you have a potbellied pig or other types of pigs, you should closely monitor their health. If they begin showing signs of health issues, take them to the vet right away. There are vaccines for the Influenza A virus, which is a common cause of respiratory disease in swine all over the world.

And just some fun facts I've gathered:

*You cannot get swine flu from eating pork product. Bacon lovers, live on.

*Not a pig in the U.S. has been reported to have swine flu.

*Swine flu thus far has been passed person-to-person only.

*The 2009 H1N1 flu virus consists of North American swine influenza viruses, North American avian influenza viruses, human influenza viruses and swine influenza viruses found in both Asia and Europe.

*People are contagious as long as they are symptomatic and for about 7 days afterward. Younger children could be contagious longer. Cover your mouth when you cough/sneeze and wash your hands a ton. I'm carrying hand sanitizer since I ride public transportation everywhere. Stay home if you're sick.

If you want more information on people & swine flu, you can check out what the CDC has to say. If you want more information on how this will affect animals, you can click here to get to the American Veterinary Medical Association's take on the situation.