This Week's Heros and Villains

Thumbs UP For:

9 year old Jamarea Mills who stood up to a 12 year old bully who was beating up a tiny kitten.  Unfortunately, the kitten died, but Jamarea is being celebrated as a hero.
Jamarea Finds His Calling

Elizabeth Oliver, a 70 year old British woman who went into the Fukishima radiation zone to save animals left behind.
Braving Radiation to Save Animals


Edward Gardner who was killed Memorial Day weekend when he stopped on an Illinois interstate highway  to help ducklings on the freeway.  He was described as someone who loved animals. To lose someone this compassionate is a sad loss for the world.
Memorial for Man Who Died for Ducks

Thumbs Down For:

Those in the Maine legislature who rejected instituting an animal abuse registry (similar to registries for sex offenders).  This is a measure all states need; it would help raise awareness of abuse and let those with pets know if an abuser lives near them.
Maine House Rejects Animal Abuse Registry Proposal

Tammy and Larry Gowin in Iowa who abused two Boxers, starving them almost to death. They put the dogs in cages and dumped them in a ditch.  Someone spotted the dogs, who are now recovering.
2 Charged after Dumping Abused Dogs in Ditch

Pet  Shops that sell puppy mill pups  (and kittens): Highlighted this week:  Pets Plus (VA, PA, NJ and elsewhere? They're on FB, also).  Like them, leave a few comments, and then unlike.

Adoptable Pets at Gallatin KY Shelter

Working to Ban Dog Auctions in Ohio

On Memorial Day weekend, I spent a few hours Saturday and Sunday at the dog park, collecting signatures on a petition for The Ohio Coalition to Ban Dog Auctions.  The hope is that banning dog auctions in Ohio will put a dent in Ohio puppy mills, and also hurt those mills in other states that come here to auction dogs.

This is the second time around for the petition drive, since not enough votes were collected the first time. With enough signatures, the measure to ban dog auctions will be put on the Nov. 2012 ballet.

I'm hopeful, but worried.

Does the general public know enough about puppy mills to vote against dog auctions?  Even a few of the dog park people hadn't heard of puppy mills.  Will anti-puppymill groups be able to raise money to help educate the public about the horrible lives (or living deaths) mill dogs live?  Will the news media provide coverage of the issue?

My dogs have gone out to lie on the grass in shade.  I think of how happy and comfortable they look, then I think of mill dogs in cramped cages in dark barns where the air doesn't move.  I think of matted hair, flies gathering around open sores, mosquitoes carrying heart worm.  The mill dogs spend their lives like this, no doubt going quietly insane.

If everyone knew the conditions of puppy mills, would mills still exist? 

I continue to work on new dog welfare designs and messages for my POD shops, convinced it's one thing I can do to try and help spread the word about homeless dogs and puppy mills.   Bringing the plight of mill dogs to everyone's attention and educating others is critically important. It's something everyone can do.

Anti Puppy Mill Bumper Sticker

The Good and the Bad for Dogs This Week: In the News

Thumbs Up

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster who took action against two puppy mills, resulting in one being shut down while the second, under a temporary restraining order, is in effect shut down.

Sadly, in the first case, the judge ordered the dogs to be either auctioned or turned over to a shelter. If auctioned, the dogs will probably end up in another puppy mill.
Puppy Mills Shut Down

Wes Snyder who ran to a park when he heard Jamie Kanzler screaming; her Lab had gotten a ball stuck in his throat, blocking his breathing. Kanzler couldn't get it out.  Snyder was able to pull it out, saving the Lab's life.
Stranger Saves Dog's Life

Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro who said, "The Prosecutor's Office has made animal cruelty one of its priorities . . . because people who are cruel to animals are also cruel to other people."  This month, his office charged a puppy mill with 153 counts of cruelty.  The mill dogs were taken in by the Hawaiian Humane Society.
Prosecutor Makes Animal Cruelty a Priority

Thumbs Down

Linda Smith who ran LOLAA Kennel, a puppy mill in Nevada. She's been charged with 10 counts of cruelty (only 10?)  At a Nevada Senate hearing on regulating Nevada puppy mills, a LOLAA Kennel employee testified that Smith would shake, slap, and whip the dogs if they were noisy.
Puppy Mill Owner Charged with Cruelty

The person who abandonded a month old puppy in a trash can in Texas.
Puppy Tossed in Trash Can

Shelters that still use gas chambers (which are banned in 17 states) to kill dogs and cats.
Protests at Ohio Shelter that Uses Gas

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Jeffrey was rescued!