Dairyland Greyhound Park Is Closing

Dairyland Greyhound Park in Kenosha, WI, is closing its doors on December 31, 2009 after almost 20 years. And along with the 180 jobs that will be lost, as many as 900 greyhounds will find themselves suddenly homeless.
Dogs who do not find new homes, foster homes, or are not filtered out to various rescue groups will be euthanized.

Probably the biggest myth about retired racing greyhounds, and indeed greyhounds in general, is that they need lots of exercise, a big yard, and are high-energy dogs. I was surprised to learn that this is not true at all! Actually retired racers are pretty lazy; on average they spend 18 hours a day sleeping.Greyhounds are sprinters, not marathoners. They need a decent walk everyday, much like any dog, and the ability to run freely in a fenced environment occasionally. They also need a warm, soft place to while away most of their time.

Greyhounds are generally anywhere from 40-100 pounds, and because there are so many retired racers available it would be fairly easy to find a dog who would be a good match for your lifestyle. Contrary to popular belief, having a greyhound in an apartment in the city is perfectly acceptable as long as you have time to walk it (again, like any dog!). There are plenty of available dogs who are good with kids, cats, and other dogs. All adoptable greyhounds at Dairyland are up-to-date on vaccinations and undergo a health examination by a veterinarian. They are also spayed or neutered before going to their new home.
Unlike many purebred dogs, racing greyhounds don't have inherited health problems, such as hip dysplasia. They require little grooming and are quiet, gentle, and easily adaptable animals. They also have a pretty long lifespan for a dog of their size - usually about 12 years.

If you are interesting in adopting or fostering a Dairyland retired racing greyhound, or if you just want to learn more, please contact Joanne Kehoe, Operations Director at 312-559-0887 or Dairyland Race Track Adoption Center at 262-612-8256. You'd be saving a life!

Please pass this message on to anyone you think might be willing to help give these loving dogs a chance at a good life. They deserve it.

The Shelter Pet Project

Today The Humane Society of the United States is launching is largest-ever ad campaign, The Shelter Pet Project, to promote shelter adoption in the U.S. With two commercials, one airing tonight on Animal Planet, focusing on the positive aspects of shelter adoption, the hope is to end the common misconception that there is something wrong with or undesirable about pets who come from a shelter.The fact is, shelter animals make wonderful pets. They are loyal, well socialized, loving, and oftentimes less expensive and less work than animals from pet stores and breeders. They are all spayed or neutered, updated on vaccines, treated for health and behavioral issues, socialized with other animals in the shelter, and nowadays many are even micro chipped - all before setting one paw on the adoption floor. That is A LOT of money saved in vet bills and a lot of time and effort saved by new owners!

Many people seem to think that if an animal is at a shelter it's because it has a behavioral problem, is not housebroken, or has expensive health issues. That could not be further from the truth. Most animals who end up at shelters are not there through any fault of their own. Things like divorce, financial hardship, allergies or a move can land the most devoted and well-behaved pets in a shelter.Another myth about shelter animals is that you cannot find a purebred at a shelter. Actually, one in four dogs living in shelters are purebred. There are also tons of animal rescue groups who focus on finding homes for specific breeds of dogs and cats. However, it's my personal belief and a common belief held among animal workers that mixed breeds have all the advantages of purebred animals and fewer of the problems associated with various pure breeds. It's more important to choose the individual dog or cat than to choose based on a particular breed; there is no guarantee that the animal you end up with when choosing on breed alone will have the qualities you admire about their pedigree.

I think The Shelter Project is a great way to spread the word about the positive aspects of adopting from shelters. There are so many benefits and much fewer risks. If just 20% of people who welcome new pets into their homes each year adopt from shelters, it would save over 3 million healthy dogs and cats from euthanasia.

Please help spread the word about adopting homeless pets from shelters. Through The Shelter Project you can send an Adopt-A-Gram to friends and family urging them to adopt their next furry friend from a shelter. You can go here, then click Adopt-A-Gram at the bottom of the page to send yours today!

Mah Baybees

Sappho

Rawr.

ArloWhaddaya mean this isn't my bed??

Ella

Dis where I hide mah Twinkies.


Sappho

I can has some privacy here, Dad? Sheesh!

FIV+ Cats

Plenty of cats living in shelters throughout America were brought in as strays. Which usually means that they are not fixed and not vaccinated. Many of these cats test positive for FIV, or feline immunodeficiency virus. If that sounds familiar it may be because this retrovirus has a similar name to the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, which is the cause of AIDS in humans.

Now, there's good news and bad news for cats living with FIV.

The bad news is that it slowly kills off their immune systems, leaving them susceptible to all manner if illnesses that could cause death. They are also some of the most difficult cats to find homes for, as many people do not understand FIV or are unwilling to take on the responsibility of having a cat with the virus.

The good news is that cats living with FIV are often healthy, happy animals. FIV is passed only between cats (which means you cannot catch FIV or HIV from your cat, neither can you give the viruses to a feline). It is actually quite a difficult virus to transfer. FIV can be passed through blood transfusions, severe oral infections, or deep puncture wounds (most often betwen outdoor unneutered male cats, who are more prone to fighting). So things like playing, cleaning, and eating & drinking from the same dishes cannot transfer FIV from one cat to another. Also good news: cats can live years and years without complications from FIV. Yes, it is important that you have a vet who is up-to-date about current FIV practices. It is also important that you keep FIV+ cats indoors, both to keep them from spreading the virus and to protect their weakened immune systems. Lastly, FIV+ cats should be kept updated on vaccinations and fed a good quality diet.

My point is that there are SO MANY wonderful kitties waiting in shelters for the home that will never find them. And there's just no reason why they shouldn't be welcomed into the lives of people looking for a new cat, especially if the people don't already have a cat. When kept indoors and monitored closely, FIV+ cats are like any other feline companion: fun, loving, and full of personality.

And now, because I think this is a great little fact sheet from Best Friends:

FIV Facts

1. The Feline Immuno-deficiency Virus is a slow virus that affects a cat's immune system over a period of years.

2. FIV is a cat-only disease and cannot be spread to humans or other non-felines.

3. FIV cats most often live long, healthy, and relatively normal lives with no symptoms at all.

4. FIV is not easily passed between cats. It cannot be spread casually - like in litter boxes, water and food bowls, or when snuggling and playing. It is rarely spread from a mother to her kittens.

5. The virus can be spread through blood transfusions, badly infected gums, or serious, penetrating bite wounds. (Bite wounds of this kind are extremely rare, except in free-roaming, unneutered tomcats.)

6. A neutered cat, in a home, is extremely unlikely to infect other cats, if properly introduced.

7. Many vets are not educated about FIV since the virus was only discovered 15 years ago.

8. FIV-positive cats should be kept as healthy as possible. Keep them indoors and free from stress, feed them a high-quality diet, keep and treat any secondary problems as soon as they arise.

The Newest Philadelphia Eagle: Michael Vick

Michael Vick has signed on to be part of the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles. He is expected to be fully reinstated to the game by week six of the season, which is in October.

"I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for [the] opportunity I have been given," Vick said in a statement last month upon his reinstatement [to the NFL].

"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward," he said in last month's statement.

Vick is also aiding the Humane Society of the United States in their effort to eradicate dog fighting and animal cruelty by sharing his story with at-risk youth.

Petland Employee Drowns Injured Rabbits

I'm sorry to post this violent and disturbing photo. I know it's not something anyone wants to see, at least not any sane people, but I think it's important that people witness exactly what happened to these two rabbits at the hands of Elizabeth Carlisle, a Petland employee in Akron, Ohio.


After being allowed to "attack" and "eat" one another, Carlisle decided to drown the rabbits rather than seek veterinary attention or even humane euthanasia. The rabbits had sustained many deep wounds, a missing eye, what appeared to Petland employees to be a broken jaw, and possible paralysis from the waist down after fighting each other. These are not injuries that happened in the course of a few minutes. With proper supervision and care, they could have been prevented altogether.

Carlisle admits to a friend on Facebook that "[T]he manager took the pic for me. [S]he reminded me that there were people outside as [I] was swearing at them to just hurry up and die but then she was so kind as to take this picture."

This is not the first time allegations of cruelty and irresponsibility have been brought against Petland.

In a statement released on August 4, Petland says that Elizabeth Carlisle was "immediately dismissed" from her position at Petland upon their discovery of her heinous acts of cruelty and that "the case is now being handled by local law enforcement." Good. I was wondering when law enforcement was planning to get involved because HELLO! I smell a giant lawsuit and hopefully some jail time coming Ms. Carlisle's way. Jesus, something better be done about Carlisle's actions, as well as whomever else was involved, other than losing their jobs. The type of person who would drown injured rabbits, yell and swear at them to die faster, and then pose for a disgusting photo with them after they are dead has issues we should all be concerned about. As I've said before, people with a history of abusing others often start with abusing animals.

Please join me in writing to Petland President Frank Difatta to request that Petland stores no longer sell rabbits. After demonstrating their gross inability to provide even the most minimal care and protection for rabbits, they should not continue to accept responsibility for their wellbeing. I honestly don't think Petland should be allowed to sell animals at all if they are not going to care for them properly and make sure their employees are not psychopaths.

PETA's letter to Petland can be found here.

Would you like to touch my whale?

And no, that's not a euphemism for something dirty.

If you happen to have 200 extra bucks lying around, Chicago's Shedd Aquarium now offers visitors the opportunity to touch a beluga whale. Pretty exciting, even if it does cost a small fortune. Included in the $200 price tag is an orientation on animal care, a private meeting with the whale, some touchy time, and maybe a tongue scratching or the chance to hear the whale's heartbeat. At the end of the experience you get a souvenir photo with your new friend. And the chance to tell people that you TOUCHED A WHALE! Aaaaagh!

I think this is a really cool idea, but I wonder if it stresses out the whales? I don't know much about the temperament of belugas, but I can imagine that it might be confusing and stressful to have strangers grabbing at you two days a week (the face-to-face interaction is only available on Fridays and Saturdays). Then again, maybe it's nice to have some new company after seeing the same trainers day in and day out. Who knows?

Anyway, this is a pretty unique attraction and thought I'd share!

Hello again, let's talk about something depressing!

Why, hello! I have a blog! About animals! Right.

Sorry for my long absence, it's been a hectic few weeks. But I'm back! And sad to say that today's discussion is about puppy mills. Sigh. I look forward to the day when I don't have to think about puppy mills anymore because they no longer exist...

Anyway.

I am on a bunch of animal welfare-related email lists and I must say that between the attention puppy mills are getting among animal activists groups and the rising number of mainstream media reports on them (and the busts!) I am hopeful we can get some more legislation involved in the regulation of dog breeding. I mean, puppy mills are B-A-D. They are filthy, disgusting, inhumane, cramped, and often the dogs are sick and not vaccinated. Which, as a consumer - even if you don't particularly care about puppy mills - you should be pissed off about.

Have you ever bought a puppy from a pet store? If so, how was your dog's health? Because often that is how puppy mills come to light: after angry customers report buying sick puppies from an organization and after further investigation it becomes apparent that said puppies were born and raised in disgusting conditions with inadequate veterinary care for the parent dogs and the puppies. Wow, run-on sentence much? But really, it makes me so mad!

Defenseless animals are completely vulnerable to whatever kind of care we humans are willing to provide. And keeping the parent dogs in squalid conditions is bound to have ill effects on their offspring (which are then purchased for hundreds or even thousands of dollars by unsuspecting people who want a [healthy, duh] family pet). I know the last dogs my family bought from a pet store (yes, I KNOW, bad Austin!, but I was in 6th grade and didn't know better yet, I promise) were VERY sick. They were sister lab-dalmatian mixes and had worms so bad that when they shat it was nothing but a squirming pile of white parasites. Gross, no? We had no proof they came from a puppy mill, but it was obvious that their care had been lacking until they came to us. But don't worry, they both recovered after some medical attention and grew into happy, loving dogs.

Also for the consumer to think about is what ELSE the people who are running puppy mills have their fingers in. Are you inadvertently supporting puppy mills by buying, say, organic milk? Also, if an organization (or farmer, in this case) thinks it is okay to run a puppy mill, what do they think is okay to do with the milk you are buying? In my opinion, being an irresponsible producer is not often concentrated on just one product if you know what I'm saying.

It's come out in recent months that a puppy mill in Lancaster County, Pa., called B&R Puppies, also supplies organic milk to Horizon Organics, a popular brand found anywhere from Jewel-Osco to Dominick's to Whole Foods Market. And if you know anything about Whole Foods (I can't speak for the others) you know that animal welfare is of the utmost importance to them. Here is an update on the Newsweek article "A (Designer) Dog's Life", which solicited a wonderfully supportive response from Horizon Organics. Upon receiving word that Newsweek was about to publicly announce that Horizon buys milk from a puppy mill farm, they immediately sent out an inspector who reported that dogs were indeed being kept in filth. Horizon suspended the farmer, John Stoltzfus, at the urging of Whole Foods. Stoltzfus has since stopped his puppy mill and has begun supplying milk to Horizon again as of early July.

My point of telling you all this is that WE HAVE THE POWER. I know it's cheesy, but as consumers we do have the power to choose which organizations to support. Part of that power is knowing when to lean harder on an organization in order to stop terrible things from happening, like the continuation of puppy mills. If you suspect that puppy mills are behind the scenes at a store you love, write them a letter. Get a petition started. Get the media involved (that'll scare 'em). Demand that they stop their relationship with sources who condone inhumane treatment of animals. It can be done; just look at Whole Foods Market.

All you ever wanted to know about eggs, and then some

Chickens are arguably the most abused animals in the agricultural business. Currently the Humane Society of the United States is trying to ban the use of battery wire cages, which give hens less space than a single sheet of letter-size paper. Confined their whole lives in these cages, the hens can't spread their wings, dust clean themselves, nest, forage or perch, all of which are the natural behaviors of these birds. California passed Prop 2 (the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act) with an overwhelming 63% in 2008, which outlaws the use of battery cages for chickens, gestation crates for pigs, and veal crates for calves.

If you grocery shop for yourself or your family then you know what I'm talking about when I refer to the four frillion different labels on egg cartons. Organic, Cage-free, Free-Range, Hormone & Antibiotic-Free, on and on and on. But what do those labels really mean? And why is it important to know the difference?

Let me start by answering the latter question. It is important to know the difference, for instance, between Cage-Free and Free-Range; a significant distinction is that Cage-Free hens are kept in barns or warehouses without access to the outdoors, while Free-Range hens are also kept in barns or warehouses, but have some access to the outdoors. However, neither has third-party auditing to make sure guidelines are being followed. The smallest word variation can mean quite a difference in the lives of the hens who supply your eggs.

From the perspective of animal welfare, none of the labels, save one, is 100% hen-friendly. Animal Welfare Approved eggs ensure that chickens are not kept in cages at all, are allowed unfettered access to the outdoors, and forced molting (by starvation) as well as beak cutting is prohibited. Unfortunately, as of yet there are no producers who sell Animal Welfare Approved eggs to grocery stores.

A complete list of what those confusing labels actually mean can be found here. You might be surprised at what you discover about the origins of your favorite breakfast food.

Now the United Egg Producers (UEP), our nations largest trade organization for eggs, has put out cartoons depicting chickens wishing they'd never been taken out of their cages to try and make kids think that a caged lifestyle is preferable to a free one. And since I can't get my computer to cooperate, you can see the cartoons here. Please go look. They will infuriate you.

It seems the battle to end animal cruelty is constant and always uphill. But we carry on because otherwise millions of animals each year continue to live, suffer, and die in horrible conditions. And honestly? They deserve better than that.

Should the military use animals in training medics?

New videos have surfaced depicting the use of monkeys and goats in military medical training. Acquired by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, now the videos are causing controversy about whether the military is violating its own regulations regarding animal welfare.

Similar to the question about whether using live animals for vet school training is ethical, the debate is strong over whether using live animals in medical training in the military is acceptable. Some say it's essential and invaluable; others argue that it's a poor substitute for actual human experience and that it's inhumane treatment of the animals. In the CNN article I link to above, one doctor argues that no animal has ever died from their experiments so it's okay to conduct them. But I ask this: how much do they suffer? How often are they allowed to recover only to be used again in some other test? What kind of life is that?

While I have the utmost respect for our service men and women and want to ensure their health and safety out in the field, I don't believe that testing nerve agents on monkeys or learning how to put a chest tube in a goat is particularly pertinent practice for military medics. Animal anatomy - even monkey anatomy - is pretty different from human anatomy. How a monkey reacts to the nerve agent might be totally different from how a human would react; I can't imagine the chest of a goat is so similar to a human that it would be devastating to a person's education to miss that day in medical school.

I believe that military medics should do rounds with doctors in hospitals, in trauma centers, where they will have the opportunity to experience real human medical problems and crises and will learn how to deal with them. I imagine this next suggestion might be considered too resource-consuming or impractical, but perhaps medics-in-training might be assigned to an active-duty medic and follow him or her on a tour in order to get some hands-on experience.

Not only am I an advocate for animal welfare and the humane treatment of animals, I also want our military medical staff to receive the best training possible. I do not think that the best training available requires animal involvement. Find another way, a better way, not only for the animals, but because using them just isn't a good substitute for the real thing.

Chicago is a rock star!

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but MY CITY is doing some amazing stuff with animal welfare.

A study went underway in May here in Chicago that, when complete, should give some concrete information about what the problems associated with homeless or at-risk pets, what neighborhoods in the city are most at-risk for animal abuse and neglect, how much companion animal issues cost the city. Because it's the first study of its kind, it is unclear what type or how much information will actually be useful, but researchers are collecting as much information as they can. The study will conclude by the end of this year with a report to the Chicago city council on its findings. More on the study as news unfolds.

*****

In other happy and Huzzah Chicago! news, a bill that would mandate a cross-reference of animal and child abuse has passed both houses of the Illinois legislature and is now awaiting Gov. Pat Quinn's signature to be signed into law. This bill could be instrumental in decreasing violence toward children and animals Chicago.

Basically, when a call of child abuse comes in, officers will be required to check to make sure that the same family has not also had reports of animal abuse, and vice versa. It is well documented that there is a significant connection between animal abuse and child abuse. In approximately 9 out of 10 households where children were abused, a 1983 study found that animals were also abused.

I'd like to encourage all you folks in the Chicagoland area to contact Gov. Quinn and ask him (nicely and respectfully 'cause we're all good people around these parts) to please sign this bill into law. And also give yourself a pat on the back, 'cause your town is the shit.

All I want for Christmas

Go watch this video of Kingsford the piglet.

AWWWWWW. My heart feels all squishy looking at this. He's even litter-box trained!

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.

Coyotes Are Not Dogs

If you know me, I'm sure I've mentioned The Daily Coyote to you. It's this great website where author/photographer Shreve Stockton narrates her experiences raising a wild coyote, Charlie, in rural Wyoming. He was brought to her before his eyes even opened after his parents were shot and killed. Shreve took him in because the alternative for Charlie was death. She posts a new photo of Charlie every day on her site.

Shreve writes from home and lives in a tiny cabin in the middle of the woods. Her lifestyle allows her to spend lots of time, money and energy on making sure that Charlie has a good life, a life that is safe for him and one that keeps other people safe from him. Shreve's opinion on raising a coyote can be found here, and anyone considering the idea should read this and do a ton of research before taking on a wild animal.

Because that is what a coyote is: a wild animal.

Dogs and cats and other domesticated animals have been bred for centuries to trust humans, to be passive, to be trainable, to be companions. Coyotes have not. While coyotes are not inherently aggressive or mean animals (don't want to give them a bad rep here), they are unpredictable. They can turn on you without warning, just like any wild animal, and you might not see if coming.

Also, coyotes don't trust easily. They are shy animals by nature. Shreve addresses this on her website and in her book; she and one friend are the only people Charlie feels comfortable with, which means no visitors, no extended vacations. She can't endanger other people by having them to her home and making Charlie feel threatened and she can't leave him with just anyone because he only trusts two people in the world.

On the legal side of things, you often need a permit to keep a wild animal in your home. In Illinois, my home state, the state legally owns all wildlife, and coyotes are protected as furbearers. If you are not in Illinois, you can look up your state's laws on harboring a wild animal here, as well as what to do if you have nuisance wildlife you want removed; in some states (like Illinois) you need a permit for removal from your property.

Please, please if you find a coyote or any other wild animal, contact a wildlife rehabilitation center for help. Do not try to raise a wild animal on your own. The best, kindest thing you can do for either of you is to turn it over to experts who will help it as necessary and nurture it appropriately, with the ultimate goal being a safe reintroduction to its natural habitat.