I am regretfully placing the blog on a brief hiatus and leaving up this open thread so that readers can share links, stories, greetings and all other animal related sundries. I will miss the regular commenters (and even you irregular ones) but I hope to contribute to this open thread during the break as a way to keep in touch. I truly hope you all find what you are hoping for ‘neath the Christmas tree, over the rainbow or in your own back yard, as the case may be. All my best wishes for the holiday season and I hope to see you back here in January.
YesBiscuit! 
you have us worried let us know you are OK have a good and positive holidays season
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For sure, just let us know you are okay.
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Hoping you are alright and nothing serious to worry about. Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!
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Our positive energy is coming your way as you do whatever it is you need to do to be well. If you can see your way clear to giving us a couple doses of Jade and Newt during your break, it would be easier for us to get by without your daily appearance for a while. Your presence is always felt, of course. And we hope you can feel our deep concern for you as you cope with what’s going on in your life. Peace — elaine
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Enjoy your well deserved break!
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Thank you for the well wishes and kind thoughts. I am all right and will be online, just not creating new blog posts for the next few weeks. I intend to keep in touch and post links/comments here during that time though so you may well be tired of me before too long.
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I hope your break is restful and restorative.
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I will never tire of you. Rest, read and eat some good food – love those that love you. (and I’m betting those are many) Peace to you and for us all.
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I wrote a comment but spelled my name wrong – I need a break too I suppose – have a good break with doing what you love with those you love. And I will not tire of you ever.
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Thinking good thoughts that you will enjoy the break and that nothing is more than a teensy bit of an annoyance. This has been a dumpster fire of a year, and if this break helps you with regrouping, then I say, “Good on ya, Shirley!” Also, Happy Solstice, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year (and all the other holidays you celebrate)!
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Hope you have a restoring break and lovely holidays.
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I will miss your daily blogs, which keeps me up-to-date about animal welfare, or lack of it, around the country. And your sense of humor always brings a smile. Enjoy your hiatus, because we all want to see you back soon! Merry Christmas and a most Happy New Year!
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My wish for each of you during the holidays. Enjoy this beautiful carol. https://soundcloud.com/beckenhorst-press/05-silent-night-peter-anglea
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I seem to often post about movie trailers. This documentary is about cats in Istanbul — especially poignant given what’s happening in Turkey right now.
http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/oscilloscope/kedi/
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Here’s a review: http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/kedi-review-1201890566/
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Man reunited with his lost dog at and adoption event: http://www.wpxi.com/news/trending-now/watch-man-reunited-with-lost-dog-at-pet-adoption-event/476945083
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Have a Great Christmas and Fun New Year!! Thank you for all the work you do the the Furrbabies and keeping us informed. Be Blessed and Safe!!
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Fayette, AL, animal shelter to kill all pets not adopted by noon on Christmas Eve: http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/news/20161219/fayette-animal-shelter-to-euthanize-all-dogs-not-adopted-before-christmas-eve
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Breaktime videos. Happy Holidays
Adorable squad of beagles get their exercise! – http://mashable.com/2016/12/19/beagles-chasing-car/
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Video: I’m sure owner and dog are grateful for this guy’s polar bear swim! https://youtu.be/rJ604vN4HsI
“A brave man risked his life by jumping into partially frozen lake to save a stuck dog.
According to the clip’s YouTube description, the incident occurred in Simferopol, a city on the Crimean peninsula. In the video, the man can be seen disrobing before hopping into the icy water, and swimming towards a small dog.
Thankfully, the man was able to reach the dog quickly and direct it towards the shore before picking it up and climbing onto a snowy bank.”
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New York State is considering a law requiring licensing of all dog trainers.
Though I can sympathize with the idea and why they want it, I think this is a very bad idea.
Among other things, passing laws with requirements to be determined at a later date strikes me as an incredibly bad idea.
The dog world as a whole cannot agree on what makes a “good” trainer, attempting to put down restrictions on paper is a very bad idea.
This gives certain political platforms (*cough*PETA*cough*) an opening to create restrictions that are just ridiculous again.
Any added fees that a trainer has to pay will just be added back in to what they charge their customers. Make the cost high enough and your average household won’t pay it, resulting in more dogs given up for bad behavior that should have been fixable.
proposed bill: https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2015/S8219
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Federal Court rules that if a dog “moves or barks” police are within their rights to shoot it.
http://www.fox26houston.com/news/225440017-story
quote: One officer testified that he shot the first pit bull after it “had only moved a few inches” in a movement that he considered to be a “lunge.”……The second dog was shot and killed in the basement by another officer after it was just barking at the cops…….The court said the Brown family failed to prove that the first dog didn’t lunge at the officer and that the second one didn’t bark.
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Service Dog training business fined: http://www.dailyprogress.com/starexponent/news/madison-service-dog-business-now-faces-in-fines/article_f1bb87dd-4564-51f9-979c-1a3bd7a4b0b3.html
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An anonymous donor gave $10,000 to my local shelter to pay adoption fees and there was a run on the place yesterday–they ran out of “adoptable” pets (they deem a huge number of animals “unadoptabe” to justify killing them, so the place is probably still full of animals and they will probably kill just as many as ever): http://wncn.com/2016/12/28/durham-shelter-runs-out-of-animals-during-first-day-of-free-adoptions/
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Henderson Co (NC) pound kills family’s microchipped dog … wjile knowing full well that she had a home and a family who wanted her back. http://wlos.com/news/local/dog-12-29-2016
“Indy was a boxer mix and was found an eighth of a mile from home, though Jake was not allowed to rush to the shelter to get her.
“The animal control officer from Henderson County Sheriff told me that I couldn’t pick up until Tuesday when they reopened,” Jarvis recalls. “He assured me she was fine and told me there was no way I could get her before Christmas.”
Because of work, Jake couldn’t make it to the shelter before closing Tuesday.
On Wednesday, he was told Indy was put to sleep.”
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An interesting, short piece on how Leo Tolstoy linked vegetarianism to humanitarianism but disagreed with legal punishment for animal cruelty:
http://www.openculture.com/2016/12/how-leo-tolstoy-became-a-vegetarian-and-jumpstarted-the-vegetarian-humanitarian-movements-in-the-19th-century.html
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Rowan County (NC) pound just hired a new staff vet, and yet when a dog comes in who needs medical care, they post to FB that she must be “out of the shelter” by the following morning: https://www.facebook.com/RowanAnimalShelter/photos/pb.140803139439378.-2207520000.1483491005./619286108257743/?type=3&theater
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Lawsuit: Police wrongly killed man at Alabama animal shelter
Man refused to show driver license at shelter when he tried to drop off a stray dog.
Source: The Associated Press, http://www.wmur.com/article/lawsuit-police-wrongly-killed-man-at-alabama-animal-shelter/8558038
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Cute! Kitten Found Cooped Up and Cuddling with Chickens
Now Carmel sometimes sits on the eggs. Family in Alexandria, Minnesota, found him in their back yard and fell in love with him.
– http://people.com/pets/kitten-found-cooped-up-and-cuddling-with-chickens/
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Franklin County, Ohio – Animal advocates work with county after dog-shelter controversy.
The summer distemper controversy at the Franklin County Dog Shelter sparked a movement that united animal advocates, helping them gain political clout and bring improvements.
– http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2017/01/02/1-animal-advocates-work-with-county-after-dog-shelter-controversy.html
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Springfield, Missouri – Fulnecky pushes City Council to reckon with controversial pit bull restrictions
In an unconventional move, Fulnecky plans to introduce a bill at the Jan. 9 City Council meeting to strike “breed specific legislation” from municipal law. The controversial provision has, for years, drawn criticism from pit bull advocates, who say the law discriminates against a breed of dog because of unsubstantiated prejudices.
– http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2017/01/02/fulnecky-pushes-city-council-reckon-controversial-pit-bull-restrictions/95957284/
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“Rolling Stone” magazine. Article and video – The Dog Factory: Inside the Sickening World of Puppy Mills
An investigation into the underworld of America’s overcrowded dog farms, the secret shame of the pet industry.
http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/the-dog-factory-inside-the-sickening-world-of-puppy-mills-w457673
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Hilarious commercial for a shelter: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/animal-shelter-funny-cat-commercial_us_586bc6bce4b0de3a08f98179?ir=Good+News
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That commercial rules. Thank you for posting.
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Manatee county FL animal control kills a dog the same day he is brought in
http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article124559479.html
Yet they still claim to be no kill.
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This is also the same county that killed Buck and Bill, and tried to get Padi put down
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PT Barnum, horrible human being:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/17/the-racist-origins-of-ringling-bros-and-barnum-bailey-circus.html
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Once a shelter is into that pet killing habit and they’re looking for their next fix, oops killing like this isn’t that surprising: NLR Animal Shelter Admits to Mistakenly Euthanizing Woman’s Dog,
– http://www.arkansasmatters.com/news/local-news/nlr-animal-shelter-admits-to-mistakenly-euthanizing-womans-dog/643587733
Those in Arkansas who want this to stop, please use the terrific info available to reform your shelters and laws like some others have. See links at top of right sidebar.
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A puppy was stolen from the Durham County (NC) Animal Shelte on Saturday but staff didn’t notice it was missing until Monday. Do puppies not get fed or kennels cleaned on Sundays? http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/community/durham-news/article128514624.html
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Alaska has become the first state in which judges are required to consider animal welfare in cases where divorcing couples have a pet — that is, it’s no longer at judges’ discretion.
Another amendment in Alaska protects pets in domestic violence cases, allowing courts to include animals in restraining orders and requiring abusers to pay support to their victims for pets in their care.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alaska-divorce-pet-law_us_588a1ef3e4b0024605fe3246?jeomvx6r&
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Proposed legislation in NJ, anti-tethering and anti-crating law.
“The bill gets even worse when it comes to crating. The requirements are absurd. Animals may be transported in a vehicle if the animal’s head can’t touch the ceiling when sitting or standing and can lie with its limbs outstretched. This makes basically most forms of dog transport illegal. Great Dane owners will probably have to get horse trailers to have the proper room for their dogs. Even the state of the art expensive dog trailers with individual climate controlled compartments for dogs will not meet these size requirement. Further, crating is only temporarily allowed (with the size requirements) for transport, exhibitions, shows, contests, classes, training, and hunting. Just as hunt tests and field trials will be affected by tethering, so too will shows and other dog sports, and a decline in events will hurt the local economy.
The crate size requirements are unrealistic and ludicrous; event participation will decline because participants will not meet the size requirements. Most absurd of all, the bill reads as making crating at home illegal, yet the exceptions to the bill such as shelters can do what is illegal for everyone else. Crating at home is commonplace for many dog owners, including this author, and is done for many reasons in the best interest of the dog including but not limited to: destructive dogs and young puppies are safer contained, multiple dogs in households are kept separated when unsupervised to prevent altercations, and containment in small crates that young dogs will not mess in to aid with housebreaking.”
Article summary: http://cqrcengage.com/naiatrust/app/make-a-call?0&engagementId=282033
Actual text: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/S2000/1640_I1.HTM
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whooops, wrong bill text, here’s the actual text: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2016/Bills/A2500/2426_I1.HTM
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As a result of Trump’s Muslim ban, many people are stranded overseas and unable to get home to the US to their families, including their pets. Dr. Nazanin Zinouri of SC is one:
http://thetab.com/us/clemson/2017/01/28/nazanin-zinouri-1560
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Follow up on this story for anyone interested: Thanks to a stay on the ban by a federal judge, Dr. Zinouri was able to return home. Her dog Dexter greeted her at the airport.
http://www.postandcourier.com/ap/the-south-carolina-woman-who-was-stuck-in-iran-following/article_c42935b2-ecaa-11e6-af63-734b282a5dc8.html
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Thanks so much for the follow-up! Great to see Dexter and Dr. Zinouri so happy.
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Kids have been joining Memphis Pets Alive! at the Memphis shelter to read to the dogs on Tuesday nights. The kids are wonderful and the dogs really calm down to listen to them. http://www.fox13memphis.com/top-stories/kids-read-to-shelter-dogs-at-memphis-animal-services/496562745
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