Finding the Right Pet Sitter

Finding a good pet sitter can be a serious issue. Anyone can set up shop and call themselves one. Here is an article about find a good one.

Everybody seems to agree throughout the pet care industry that Pet Sitting in addition to being one of the fastest growing home business sweeping across America has some unqualified “baby sitters or house sitters” offering services that perhaps they are not qualified to offer to the pet owning public. Many people who own pets prefer, rather than board their pets, to hire well trained pet sitters to care for their beloved pets in their home when that pet owner, perhaps a busy professional themselves, must be away from the home for business trips.

A professional pet sitter should be trained by one of the national pet sitting organizations such as NAPPS (National Association of Professional Pet Sitters) a non-profit organization with pet sitter members across the country.

This organization provides a well trained pet sitting professional for America’s pet lovers. According to Candance Godfrey, President of NAPPS “When you are considering a pet sitter to care for your beloved pets be sure that the pet sitter is insured and has received training regarding emergency care procedures. A professional pet sitter should also have a number of references you can call to give you peace of mind. Remember that this trained pet sitter also cares for your home as well as your loved “family pet”. When your pet is cared for in its own home there seems to be much less stress to the pet in addition to there being a safeguard against diseases that could be contracted in public surroundings such as kennels or boarding facilities.

I don't know if ours is a member, but if you live in the Seattle area, Pets Dig Me is awesome.

Pet Cafes for Humans

The Bau House Cafe in Seoul is a place where people can come in and have more than coffee and a bite to eat.

The first thing that hits me at the door is the smell -- unmistakably of urine and dogs. Then it's the sound of all the canines yelping their hellos to me, followed by the brief sensation of being the center of attention as all eyes -- canine and human -- check out the newcomer.

Things settle down quickly and now a beagle named Anny won't leave my side. As closing time nears, and I'm on the last few sips of a $5 Diet Coke (I pass on eating dinner here; fried rice with shrimp is on offer), it occurs to me that I'm lingering, happy to be surrounded by mutts as they vie for attention, sniff for treats and stage playful sneak attacks on one another.

The 20 or so other customers seem reluctant to leave as well. A few of them have brought their own pooches, who mix with the resident dogs, but many people are here because they can't have their own pet for various reasons: Their apartment building bans animals, their urban lives are too hectic (or transient) or their living spaces are too cramped. Some cafe customers are considering buying a pet, and visits serve as a sort of a trial run.

I'm not really sure what to think about this idea. The article has information about the pet "rental" boom in Japan as well. Let's hope they don't start selling puppies in vending machines over there...

Photo by Lazlo-photo

More on the Japan Dolphin Slaughter

An Animal Friendly Life has a great round up of protests about the slaughter of dolphins by the Japanese.

Can Evangelical Religion be Useful in Animal Activism?

The LA Times has an interesting article about Karen Swallow Prior, a professor at Liberty University who has taken up the cause of animal welfare there.

It's a thought-provoking article, and I hope that there are Evangelical Christians that take up the cause. But, I have my doubts. Evangelical spirituality seems just too tied to genitalia issues (gays, birth control, abortion, pornography, and s-s-s-sex in general). Not that I doubt the sincerity of Professor Prior and others. Even the Humane Society is reaching out to religious conservatives.

I guess I'm skeptical because I don't see the religious right advocating that people get treated decently. So I doubt they'll take up the cause of the other animals on this planet in any serious way. When is the last time you heard Tony Perkins, Pat Robertson or others of their ilk talk about the poor or the downtrodden? What chance is there that they will come out against factory farming or animal abuse? How many of the "value voters" at this conference were thinking about values like compassion when vetting the Republican primary candidates.

I know, I'm generalizing. But, frankly, I don't find evangelical Christianity much of a force for compassion in the world. I think these are people who would rather have people die in Africa then distribute condoms there. I think they'd rather have their own daughters get cervical cancer because the vaccine might suggest that they have sex as a teenager.

I'm not saying that there aren't religious people that care about animals. There certainly are. There are probably a few cattle ranchers that like kitty cats too. I just don't find it a particularly fertile ground for compassion towards anything.

Photo by 13bobby

Help Chained and Penned Dogs

Great website for those of you concerned with the abuse of dogs who are kept perpetually chained and/or outdoors in all weathers.

Check out www.dogsdeservebetter.org.

Thanks to reader Monica for directing us to it!

Puppy Mills Infesting Virginia

Here's a new Humane Society investigative report on the burgeoning number of puppy mills in the State of Virgina.

A five-month, undercover investigation by The HSUS revealed a substantial Virginia puppy mill industry that is largely unregulated and often in violation of state and federal laws.

Some key points...

*Commercial dog breeders in Virginia number nearly 1,000.

*Like many states, Virginia has no kennel inspection program to ensure that dog breeders meet basic standards of animal care.

*To sell puppies to pet stores, facilities with more than three breeding females are required to have a license from the United States Department of Agriculture...In Virginia, only a handful of dog breeders hold a USDA license; many of the unlicensed sell to pet stores, anyway.

*Virginia's puppy mills significantly contribute to the state's pet overpopulation crisis: last year, shelters in Virginia had to euthanize more than 42,000 dogs for lack of homes.

There's a video posted on the page too, if you want to watch.

Photo by jsdart.

Israel Cat Lovers Society Helping Homeless Cats

Here is an interesting article in the Jerusalem Post about the Israel Cat Lovers Society and the work they do. It's always interesting to see what activists around the world are doing on these issues.

The Israel Cat Lovers Society's front line of activity is the rescue of abandoned and street cats, and spaying and immunization. The Second Lebanon War and evacuation of northern settlements left a heartbreaking population of abandoned animals. "This was widely publicized but brought us in more stray cats rather than donations," Ringel wryly pointed out.

The society's aims include education and advocacy, arousing the awareness through schools and a hotline on feline care and the importance of spaying and immunization, particularly to prevent illegal and cruel methods of extermination such as poisoning. Youngsters are encouraged to help at information centers and be involved in running the shelter.

Here is a link to the Israel Cat Lovers Society. The photo on the page is a little jarring at first...

Photo by Wilson Afonso

Japanese Kill Dolphins Too

Is there any animal the Japanese won't eat?

Hayden Panettiere and some fellow animal rights activists drew angry shouts and some shoving from fishermen in Japan when they tried to interfere with a dolphin hunt, according to video footage shot by the protesters.

The six activists from the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd paddled out on surfboards to a cove in the town of Taiji in southwestern Japan on Tuesday to interfere with the annual hunt.

The local fishermen and their supporters say hunting dolphins - in this case, pilot whales - is a Japanese custom that outsiders have no business interfering with.

"Whales and dolphins are traditionally being used (as resources) in Japan," said Hideki Moronuki, chief of the whaling section at the Japanese Fisheries Agency. "In this light, we cannot accept an argument simply based on emotional causes."

Sounds like he's using an emotional argument too by claiming it's a Japanese custom and, therefore, implying a cultural prerogative. Oh boo hoo (insert crying baby here).

Photo by chatallot.

Monkeys in Kenya Linked to Global Warming

There's a double-edged ecological sword in Kenya.

The bad news....

Kenyan conservationists discovered the De Brazza monkey population in the country's arid north, yet the species is largely known to live in the wet areas west of the Rift Valley, Nairobi-based Wild Direct said in a study titled "Primates in Peril."

While large populations of De Brazza's monkey, known for their white beards andshyness, exist in central Africa, the population in Kenya is low and under immense anthropogenic pressure.

"This latest discovery really underlines our ignorance of changes in the landscape over a relatively short period of time," said world-renowned Kenyan conservationist Richard Leakey....

Before the latest discovery, De Brazza's monkeys were not known to exist east of the Great Rift Valley, which is dry.

And the GOOD news...

"I was not expecting to find more than two to three groups. When I realized that there were such healthy populations existing in an unknown habitat, I was overwhelmed," said Iregi Mwenja, who has been studying the species in Kenya for four years.

The new discovery puts the species out of threat in Kenya, where it was facing extinction owing to human-wildlife conflict -- rampant deforestation and competition from other species, Wildlife Direct said in the statement.

Photo by charliejb.

Some Restaurants Coming Around to Humane Sourcing

After years of pressure by animal welfare groups, some restaurants are committing to get at least some of their meat and dairy from more humane sources. While still a small percentage, I think it's great that companies like Burger King can throw their weight around and demand this.

"If you look at the past three years, it's more [movement] than in the prior three decades," said Paul Shapiro, senior director at the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society of the United States. "It's clear we're seeing a real tidal wave of progress."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has no official definition of "humane." For activists, the definition can be 30 pages long.

But, generally, they would say it means the animal is fed, housed and slaughtered in a way that doesn't inflict unnecessary pain or discomfort.

This year, Miami-based Burger King, the nation's second-largest burger chain, along with regional burger chains Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, the Cheesecake Factory restaurant chain and celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck made humane sourcing commitments, agreeing to get at least some of their products from humane vendors.

At one end of the spectrum is the whole-hog approach of Wolfgang Puck, who announced in March that throughout his fine dining, fast casual and catering operations, he would use only eggs from cage-free hens and pork and veal from animals not kept in crates.

Photo by Maulleigh

Gitmo for Animals: Primates Kept in Wretched Conditions

Michelle Thew, the head of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection, has an excellent article about a facility in Spain where animals are kept in bare metal and concrete cages in the hot sun. The BUAV has it on film:

The film, made by an undercover investigator for the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection (BUAV) reveals the animals at Camarles are kept in bare concrete and metal cages under the searing Spanish sun before being sent to European laboratories to end their lives undergoing painful experiments.

Despite being bound by EU rules, the pens shown in the secretly filmed footage cannot possibly meet the animals' needs, the BUAV believes.

Catalan authorities banned the building of new primate "supply" centres in 2003 after a public outcry over the Camarles compound, reflecting wider EU public opposition to the laboratory primate trade. The BUAV's investigation shows the compound is being expanded in defiance of such public concern, to grow its housing capacity from 1,000 to 3,000 monkeys.

Here is a link to the BUAV site that has more information and some of what they filmed there.

They allege that ownership can be traced to a company called Covance.

Covance has been fined in the US for violating the Animal Welfare Act.

Critter of the Week is Back!

This week, it's our hammie Montana. She's had an eventful week. She's always had one lame back leg, and got tired of it and chewed it off. Yes, that is disgusting.

She didn't seem to feel it, and is now fully recovered after being taken care of by Doctor Dan at the Seattle Bird and Exotic Clinic.

Maggie the Elephant Flown to San Francicso

She was flown about an Air Force C-17 from Anchorage to San Francisco.

The 3.6-tonne-pachyderm was moved from her chilly concrete home in Anchorage in a heated crate for a 5,000-kilometre flight aboard an Air Force C-17.

The 16-hour trip means she will now run free in a 40-hectare enclosure with seven other African elephants. Maggie has not enjoyed the company of other elephants since 1979, when Alaska's only other elephant died. Gardner said the elephants at PAWS were taking their time to introduce themselves, and though they grazed close to each other, they had not yet touched.

The story of the move dominated news in Alaska for the past week. Maggie was accompanied on the trip by two veterinarians, an animal behaviour expert, several handlers, zoo officials and a TV crew for a total entourage of two dozen.

Photo by Collisionality

Irish County Council Bans Wild Animal Acts

Here's a movement against wild animal circuses in Ireland that's been under the radar.

FINGAL County Council has become the first local authority to ban circuses using wild animal acts from performing on public land in its area.

Circus Watch Ireland spokesperson Nuala Donlon congratulated the north Dublin councillors for passing the motion and called on county and city councils throughout the Republic to follow their example and impose similar bans.

"This is an extremely important first step towards ending the Victorian practice of keeping wild animals in travelling shows, and it reflects the growing opposition in this country to the cruelty of animals which is inherent in all animal circuses", she said.

Both Circus Watch Ireland and the Alliance for Animal Rights groups have continuously highlighted the conditions which circus animals are forced to live in and the dubious practices employed to get the animals to 'perform' once in the ring....

On the other side....

A spokesperson for Fossett's Circus said last night that they were "disappointed but not threatened" by the decision by Fingal County Council.

Fosset's Marketing manager, Charles O'Brien, said that they had studied the final decision in full and believed it to be an interim one.

"Fingal County Council is perfectly within its right to take any decision it wants, but it has to take cognisance of the people who voted for its members. "It would be a very sad day for the people of Fingal if Irish circuses could not play there and the people had to travel to outside the area to see the circus," he said.

He added that it was "an undoubted fact" that animals would remain part of the circus tradition.

"While other contemporary circuses such as the Cirque du Soleil are very laudable, the traditional circus in Europe and the UK and Ireland always had animals and will always have animals. In our opinion this will never change," he said.

Photo by Joe_B

Vulture Restaurant is Not What You Think

When I first read the headline Nepali Vulture "Restaurant" Aims to Revive Decimated Population, I thought they were cooking vultures in Nepal in order to save the species. That sounded like a Seinfeld episode (think of what you need to do and then do the opposite!)

But no! I was wrong.

A decade ago, an estimated 300,000 vultures cruised the Nepali skies.

Today only around 1,000 birds remain.

The culprit is Diclofenac, a painkiller and anti-inflammatory drug commonly administered to the cattle that are a mainstay of the vultures' diet.

"Studies have found that vultures feeding on carcasses treated with Diclofenac died of kidney failure within 24 hours," said Hem Sagar Baral, a Nepali ornithologist with Bird Conservation Nepal (BCN) who came up with the idea of a "restaurant" where the birds could eat uncontaminated carrion....

Since early this year, BCN has been offering to buy terminally sick cattle for three dollars each. The dying animals are then taken to the restaurant's farm in a community-owned forest where they are treated, if needed, with another, vulture-friendly painkiller....

Once the carcasses are declared free of Diclofenac, they are skinned to make them easier for the vultures to eat and taken to a spot in the jungle where the birds come to feed.

"Our objective is to provide uncontaminated food to vultures to save them from becoming extinct," Tila Bhusal, secretary of the restaurant management committee told AFP in Nawalparasi district 120 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of Kathmandu.

As well as providing a place where the birds can get clean meat, BCN has successfully campaigned for the veterinary painkiller to be banned in Nepal.


Very clever!

Photo by _pauls