Crazy for Critters

Blog On Vacation

I'm actually in the Boston area for a few days of R&R and probably won't post again Thursday. At the moment, I'm looking out at a lake where several happy Golden retrievers are cavorting in the water. The leaves are turning, so the landscape is aflame with yellow, red and orange. Longtime South Floridians tend to forget what a season actually looks like, so I'm enjoying it.

To all who are celebrating Rosh Hashanah: Happy New Year.

Lab Needs a Home

She's sweet and affectionate but has not been treated all that well and needs training. She has lived outside. She has all her shots, the owner has the paper work and she is healthy.
For more info or if you're interested call Eric at 786-470-7639 .

Sammie Boy!

This adorable guy needs a home ASAP. His name is Sammie Boy and his human died. He's obviously a mix of something - or maybe everything. He's about 3 and gets along with kids. Call Rachel at 786-493-2972.

 

APB on a lost Yorkie

He's an old guy named Timmy and he went missing in Hollywood. He weighs 4 pounds and has a collar and tags. He needs medication and needless to say, his humans are frantic. He was lost near the Estates of Lauderdale off Stirling Road, kind of on the cusp of Hollywood and Dania Beach.

Call 954-963-7252 or 954-961-0605. There is a $500 reward.

Sick, sick, sick

Whoever did this needs to go to a very bad place for a very long time:

Intruder kills family dog, leaves cruel messages

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A little boy was left heartbroken
after someone trespassed into his family's yard, killed his dog and left
handwritten notes with mocking messages throughout the scene.

Issa was 7-year-old Germer Aguilar's best friend. "Yesterday I was playing
with her," he said. "I threw the bone, and then she caught it."

When Aguilar's mother arrived to her home on Southwest 109 Court, Monday,
she found blood stains on the patio and a note scribbled on the shed saying
things like "Ha, ha, ha! I had fun!" In the grass she spotted the nearly
2-year-old terrier mix's bed and, farther away, her collar. Then she would
find the little dog's black and white body, on the other side of her
chain-linked fence, in her neighbor's yard.

"It's like saying, 'See, there's your dog,'" said Jose Orellana, a young
relative of the family. Blood was also found inside the shed, which also
had a smiley face scrawled on it as well as "bow wow."

Miami-Dade Police don't know if Issa was dumped in the neighbor's yard or
somehow crawled there before she died. "It disgusts me, the person that did
this. It's just sickening," said Orellana. "I don't think that they were in
their right minds. It's just disgusting. How would someone torture an
innocent dog? She's just playful. She wouldn't do anything wrong to
anybody."

"The people who did this, I just think that they should go to jail," added
Alfredo Davis Jr., a young neighbor of the family.

Late into Monday evening, detectives remained at the home to find out who
killed the dog, which the family received as a gift from a relative. "I
feel sad for my dog," Aguilar said, "cause I can't play with somebody else
now."

When asked what he would tell the killers if he had the opportunity he
said, "I think I would say, 'Don't do this. If you do this, you go to
hell.'"

If you have any information that can help police, call Miami-Dade Crime
Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and
you may be eligible for a reward.

Tidbits

Friends of Greyhounds is now hosting open houses from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays at their new satellite office at Boss the Pet Connection, 2063 N. University Drive, in Sunrise.

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From Protect Children & Dogs in Miami-Dade, pcmiamidade@bellsouth.net

Please help the chained dogs of Miami-Dade County. On October 7, Miami-Dade County Commissioners will vote on an ordinance to restrict dog tethering in the county. This is important legislation that must be passed. Please write to the Commissioners to ask them to pass this anti-tethering ordinance.

District1@miamidade.gov, BMORRIS2@miamidade.gov, District3@miamidade.gov, District4@miamidade.gov, district5@miamidade.gov, District6@miamidade.gov, District7@miamidade.gov, jcarlos@miamidade.gov, District8@miamidade.gov, District9@miamidade.gov, District10@miamidade.gov, district11@miamidade.gov, District12@miamidade.gov

Commissioner Natacha Seijas, district 13, does not have an email address. Please take the time to send her your letter by fax at 305-375-2011. Or mail your letter to: Commissioner Seijas, Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. 1st Street, Suite 320, Miami, Florida 33128

SAMPLE LETTER (please personalize)

Dear Miami-Dade County Commissioners:

I understand you will soon be voting on an ordinance to restrict tethering dogs in Miami-Dade County. This is important legislation that should be passed. Miami-Dade County wants to be known as a glamorous and fun tourist destination. A dog suffering on a chain in the hot tropical sun tarnishes this image. The ordinance imposes humane conditions for tethering, including requiring people to be outside when their dog is chained.

The evidence demonstrates that chaining is cruel and inhumane, often making "vicious monsters" out of otherwise gentle and social animals. Dogs are social animals who instinctively want to be part of a group or pack. Leaving dogs chained outside makes them aggressive. The Center for Disease Control reported that chained dogs are almost three times more likely to bite. Children have been injured or killed by going into a chained dog's area, or by a dog who has broken free from a chain. A dog loose in a neighborhood could be one who was made aggressive by chaining.

Tethered dogs are easy targets for attacks by other animals. They are killed or injured by extremes in weather, poisoned by humans, and made sick from animal feces or bird droppings. Often, the necks of chained dogs become raw and covered with sores from the dogs' constant yanking and straining to escape confinement. Dogs have been found with collars embedded in their necks.

Many other places protect humans and dogs by having tethering ordinances, including Fort Worth, St. Louis, Washington, DC, Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach, Hollywood, FL, Macon, Georgia and the entire States of California, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Connecticut. Miami-Dade County should pass the anti-tethering ordinance.

Broward Bite Law Claims a Couple's "Children''

   Two more Broward County dogs have run afoul of the odious new îîbite law'' that disregards both mitigating and aggravating circumstances in canine altercations.

   You bite, you fight, you so much as growl at someone who feels threatened? You die. No second chances, even for first-time offenders that have never been designated vicious. Four Siberian Huskies are on Death Row now because of this law (see previous post). Their owner is suing.

   Jennifer and Andreas Linnuste of Pembroke Pines are facing the same agony as the Huskies' owners. Their female American Staffordshire terrier, Haley, 4, and Boxer mix Caymen, 10, have been there since yesterday, too.

   I should note that I have not confirmed any of this with authorities at Animal Care and Regulation … I'm awaiting a callback, so I'm taking Jennifer, 35, at her word.

She says that a neighbor's Yorkie hopped through a hole in the the neighbor's fence, came to her yard and "aggravated'' her dogs. One pushed open a gate left unlatched by a worker and grabbed the Yorkie; the other never touched it, Jennifer insists.

   She said that her mother tried to pick up the Yorkie, which bit her, while she, Jennifer, grabbed the other dogs. She said she rushed the Yorkie to the vet, where it died. She said she paid a $3,600 vet bill.

   An investigation is underway, while Jennifer and her husband pay the county $25 per dog per day, even though they're in the same run. They are, needless to say, borderline hysterical about the fate of their beloved pets. They have no kids, and consider their dogs to be children.

   Should the investigation go their way, Caymen and Haley will go home. Should it not, there's an appeal: $500 per dog.

   "It was an accident,'' said Jennifer. "My dogs shouldn't die because of an accident.''

   It's sad that one dog died in this fight, but it would be even sadder if three died. It's a bad law and it should be repealed.

Chocolate. Yummy!

Look at this handsome chocolate boy! His name is Spencer and he needs a loving home. He's had a rough way to go but is in fine shape - thanks to Lab Rescue. Here's the story:

He is the most easygoing, happy, 8-year-old you may ever meet. Spencer was found lying on the side of a deserted road by a good Samaritan over a year ago. He could  hardly stand, his eyes and ears were swollen shut from infections and  he had very little hair. Spencer spent almost two weeks on IVs, but 
through it all every day his tail still wagged. Today, after a year of  good food (he has a restricted diet no wheats and flours and lots of  moderate exercise (he loves to swim and fetch squeaky balls), Spencer  is one of our greatest rescues. He seems truly thankful to be alive! He is very polite and well mannered, loves everybody and everything. 

Spencer is a special boy and we are looking for that special family that will love and treat him as  a loving gentle soul that he is. If you are interested in meeting or adopting Spencer or one of our other labs please contact Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida by visiting our website labradorrescue.net  or call 1-866-464-LABS. LRRoF has all our Labs microchipped, spayed or neutered and current on shots. Each adoption comes with a 30-day, pre-paid pet health insurance plan. All applicants will have a home inspection and  vet reference (if applicable).

Benefit Dog Wash

Allen Babcock Rescue, Inc.'s Dog Days of Summer Dog Wash

   When: Sunday, September 21, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

   Where: Four Your Paws Only Kennel, 5365 N. Nob Hill Rd., Sunrise (SW corner Commercial/Nob Hill).

   How much: $15.00 suggested donation includes shampoo, towel dry, nail trim, bandana.

   All funds raised will directly benefit Allen Babcock Rescue, a No-Kill, Not-For-Profit 501c3 organization that rescues injured, abandoned and abused animals, provides veterinary care and helps place them in loving homes. For more information, contact babcock_rescue@yahoo.com.  To see the group's adoptable pets, click here.

Broward Bite Law Hearing

From Siberian Husky Rescue:

   A hearing concerning “bite with injuries” citations will be held at 1 p.m. on  Friday, September 26 at the West Regional Courthouse. 100 N. Pine Island Road, Plantation, Room 240.

  Supporters and pet lovers, alike, are urged to attend the hearing which is open to the public. This hearing will be an important precursor to a lawsuit currently filed challenging
Broward County's inconspicuous new îDangerous Dog' ordinance, which slipped into effect earlier this year. The lawsuit, filed Friday, September 5, 2008, was filed in Broward County Circuit Court on behalf of Julie Roberts, whose four Siberian Huskies were seized by Broward's Animal Control on August 25 after an altercation with a neighbor's dog allegedly caused the neighbor's dog's death.

   Robert's Huskies are being charged under Broward County's new 'Dangerous Dog' law which classifies any dog as dangerous if it kills another dog off of the owner's property, irrespective of
whether the offending dog has had any previous bite history or history of aggression.

   Current Florida law gives all dogs a second chance, but not according to Broward County's new amendment which stipulates that the first offense is no defense. The lawsuit claims that the
Broward County law is invalid because it conflicts with state law. The lawsuit states that under Florida law, 'a dog that has not been previously designated as dangerous may not be destroyed
unless it attacks and causes severe injury or death to a human.'

   None of the four Huskies in this case have ever been previously designated as dangerous, and therefore cannot be automatically destroyed for causing the death of another dog under Florida law. The lawsuit seeks to have the Broward County ordinance, which is subordinate to Florida law, declared invalid and the Huskies returned to their owner.

   The lawsuit additionally explains how Roberts' Huskies accidentally got out of her home and ran down the street. The Huskies came across a much smaller dog, and at some point during the encounter, the smaller dog died. It is unknown what actually caused the dog's death, and there is no indication that a necropsy of the dog has been performed.

   A total of five Huskies share the home with Ms. Roberts, Damien, the father (age five); Ivy, the mother (age three) and the puppies Champion, Dimberland and Chloe (all two years of
age). Damien was not involved in the incident and is home alone waiting for the return of the rest of his family. If you would like to help in Roberts' fight or learn more about the pending lawsuit and how it affects all animal lovers within Broward County, Roberts' attorney, Jason M. Wandner will be featured as part of Charlie Kaufman's, Kaufman and Company show on WDNA's 88.9 FM Public Radio, Wednesday, September 17 at 11 a.m. Supporters can call into the show at 1-866-688-WDNA (9362) and can also log onto savethehuskies.com to learn more about Roberts' pet family and to sign the Save the Huskies petition.