A pound in Washington is trying to encourage adoptions by cutting prices this month. At the same time they continue to strictly enforce a policy prohibiting anyone from saving a pet to give as a gift. Better dead than gift, I guess. (Thanks Mary Frances for the link.)
This sad sack claimed a lost dog from a Good Sam in VA who listed her as “found” on Craigslist, then turned around and tried to sell her on the same site. The true owner alerted authorities and arranged his own undercover sting operation to get his dog back. Sad sack was arrested and charged with obtaining property under false pretenses.
Using what one pet owner described as “gestapo tactics”, tribal officials in Pine Ridge, SD rounded up loose dogs, including owned pets, and shot them to death after a child was killed by loose dogs on the reservation. Officials refused to say where the remains were taken and also refused to allow journalists to view the remains. But they deny any wrongdoing. (Thanks Kathleen.)
Like most bans based on a dog’s skull/body shape, Petsmart’s pitbull ban is vague and harmful.
But how’d they get them to sit under the hair dryer all that time?
Redd and I started shopping at Petco when we found out about Petsmart’s Pit Bull ban. The employees there are affectionate with Redd and make shopping there an enjoyable experience. The people at Petsmart ought to consider that a lot of Pit Bull owners and admirers are animal advocates and quite vocal about discrimination.
This was news to me since they allow pitbulls to shop with their owners in the store but don’t allow them in the playgroups apparently. I guess pitbulls buying kibble are fine to shop with the kids but in playgroups, they’re dangerous.
I took Redd to two Petsmart stores (Martinsburg, WV, and Hagerstown, MD) before I learned of the play group ban, and I didn’t like the way the employees reacted to him in either store; they gave him nasty looks and made me feel unwelcome. It seems to be something in their corporate culture. It’s totally different at the two Petco stores (Charles Town, WV, and Winchester, VA).
The employees at the Petsmart I go to here in Austin love my pit bull, and they were the same way with my American Bulldog mix. So if it’s the corporate culture, Austin has gone rogue. Wouldn’t be the first time.
OMG, some of the comments on that first article are so ridiculous. I mean obviously maximizing the number of permanent adoptions would be ideal, but so what if some of those dogs end up coming back? Would that really be so terrible? If having a short stay in a home for the holidays is somehow worse than being killed, then Austin Pets Alive is doing it wrong. http://www.austinpetsalive.org/get-involved/home-for-the-holidays/
I was really surprised to read about Petsmart’s pit bull ban, because I’ve never had a problem there bringing in a bully-type dog for shopping or grooming. The play group ban is pretty scary, and I would tell anyone to avoid Petsmart’s doggie day camps, not necessarily as a boycott to protest the ban, but because of what the ban says to me. When I read “we ban pits from our play groups” what I read is “We’re not willing or able to separate dogs by size or play style, and we’re not willing or able to watch for potential problems and stop them before they escalate. We’re just hoping this ban will take care of all that for us.”
I am getting ready to take my best Christmas present ever to the vet. My wonderful husband adopted him for me 11 years ago, He was a surprise, for a split second when I was handed him I thought he was an animatronic toy.
While I hadn’t requested a puppy, let alone one who would grow to the size of a shetland pony, I have never and will never get a present I love more.
Honestly, a lot of the time it does work out. Love for Christmas and many years of it, what could be better?
I’ve wanted a puppy under the tree since I was old enough to form the thought. I’ve never gotten one although some of the Dogs Who Wander In have wandered during the holiday season so that’s sorta kinda like it. I don’t imagine I’ll find a puppy under the tree until dogs stop wandering in during the rest of the year though.
Those silly dogs that don’t know how to look at a calendar – why aren’t they learning in this in school and at home, ya know?! Our education system has gone to the… uh, never mind. Snort!