Dog Politics

Pet Massacre In Puerto Rico - Mayor Condones Raids After Warning Of No Pet Policy

There has been a pet massacre in the town of Barceloneta in Puerto Rico, according to the AP.

Animal control contractors conducted a mass raid on pet owners residing in housing projects there, coming in the night and seizing dogs and cats from innocent and unsuspecting pet owners. 

Their crime?  Owning a pet.

"They came as if it were a drug raid," said Alma Febus, an animal welfare activist. "They took away dogs, cats and whatever animal they could find. Some pets were taken away in front of children."

This who story stinks - as does the Mayor Sol Luis Fontanez who hired the killer animal control contractors.

Fontanez said the city hired Animal Control Solution to clear three housing projects of pets after warning residents about a no-pet policy. 

The AC contractors were paid SIXTY DOLLARS PER HEAD! to "recover" the dogs and cats, which were then "injected with a sedative" on their way to a "shelter".

But instead, the animals were tossed like trash off a bridge, where their rotting carcases were then covered in lime to stop the stench. 

Hey - why waste gas money taking them all the way to the shelter to kill them there?

Sounds like PETA was on the job - after all, euthanizing innocent animals in the back of a truck is what they do best, and if PETA"s lawyers are advisign these guys -why they'll all get off on a "littering" charge.

Mayor Fontanez said, "This is an irresponsible, inhumane and shameful act," he told The Associated Press.

Let me get this straight - Mayor Fontanez is blaming the contractor?

But apparently he think's it was OK to conduct a mass raid on pet owners in the night, seize animals likethey were drugs, deprive people - poor people - of due process, and rob them of their property - namely their animals.

Sounds like a great election platform to me - maybe someone should tell Mayor Fontanez that My Dog Votes.

Election Day Is My Dog Votes Day

Yesterday came the thrilling news that the Canadian Kennel Club actually declared Election Day as My Dog Votes Day.

And today, all eyes are upon the Province of Ontario, awaiting the outcome of the provincial elections.

Will Dalton McGuinty and the Liberal Party - the political party that banned pitbull type dogs from the province and condemned new puppies to death - stay in office?  Unlike the U.S>, Canada has a MULTIPLE party system  - and there could be a vote that splits in unforseen ways.

For many dog owners and dogs in Canada, this will be a life and death decision.

For many dog owners it will be the difference between being a law-abiding citizen or becoming a criminal.

To help you understand why this is such a critical issue - Here are some photos of the people who are or could become criminals in the Provice of Ontario, thanks to Dalton McGuinty..........

Light A Candle, Save A Life On August 19th - Join The Vigil

A Special Invitation..................

On August 19th at 8 PM, please join dog owners all over the world to Light A Candle, Save A Life in the My Dog Votes 3rd Annual Worldwide Candlelight Vigil Against Breed Bans.

Help take a stand against breed bans and tell the world to stop killing innocent dogs. This is a peaceful way to send a very powerful message to legislators and other organizations that we have a voice and a vote, and that we need laws based on Deed, Not Breed.

LIGHT A CANDLE, SAVE A LIFE

In the spirit of Deed, Not Breed, we'd like to announce the launch of a new website as the official site of the vigil: http://www.lightacandlesavealife.com

LightACandleSave A Life.com has news, information and tools to help people connect, get organized or ................

Dublin, Ireland Bans 11 Dog Breeds - Dump The Dogs Or They Will Be Destroyed

Dog lovers around the world are outraged at the Dublin City Council in Ireland for enacting one of the most Draconian breed bans in recent memory.

The City of Dublin has banned eleven different dog breeds from Dublin City Council properties - meaning public housing - according to a report in Ireland.com

The Dublin Breed Ban , which is effective immediately having been backdated to July 1st, includes:

• English Bull Terriers
• Staffordshire Bull Terriers
• American Pit Bull Terriers
• German Shepherds (Alsatian)
• Rottweilers
• Dobermans
• Rhodesian Ridgebacks
• Japanese Akitas
• Bull Mastiffs
• Bandogs
• Japanese Tosas

The sponsor of the Dublin breed ban thinks it doesn't go far enough, that's why he's planning to take this breed ban nationwide to include all of Ireland.

Are all you German Shepherd people awake yet?  How about you Rhodesian Ridgeback lovers?  Wake up dog lovers!  Dublin's City Council also banned are cross-breeds of these dogs or

UPDATE: Canada's Breed Ban - "Pitbull" Ruled Unconstitutional

Take a good look at this photo of Michael "PuppyKiller" Bryant  - and remember his face.

He is the man responsible for the one of the world's most notorious breed bans - a ban intended to exterminate pitbulls and their owners from the Province of Ontario, Canada

But poor Michael was looking rather red-faced last week after losing part of the challenge to his breed ban.

The Red-Faced AG Comes Up Empty

Let's just say that the Ontario Attorney General's pants were hanging down to his ankles last week when the appellate judge, hearing the constitutional challenge to Ontario's notorious  Bill 132 - "Dog Owners Liability Act", left some of the act in place but ruled that the term "pitbull", found throughout the law,  is unconstitutionally vague, striking it from the law.

We're not sure which part of Michael Bryant was redder - his face or his arse - having been spanked  hard in public..........

SAVE THE DATE! SUN 8/19 - 2007 My Dog Votes Worldwide Candlelight Vigil Against Breed Bans

Mary, a Dog Politics reader, out in Kansas City, MO wrote this evening:

"Just wanted to let you know that I’ll be lighting a candle on August 19, 8PM to support the ongoing fight with breed bans"..........

Mary - you rock!  What better timing to share that SAVE THE DATE reminder, than right now.

While we all anxiously await word on just how deep a crack responsible dog owners in the Province of Ontario, Canada, were able to pry open in the DOLA -one of the most oppressive breed bans in the world  - one thing is exceedingly clear.......................

There is an all-out war against innocent dogs going on around the the world. 

Or would it be more fitting to say there is an all-out war on the PEOPLE who own these innocent dogs of a certain breed.

Over the weekend, Michael Bryant, the Attorney General in Ontario, promised to export his breed ban - his dog hate  - his not-so-thinly-veiled racism - throughout the rest of North America.

Well, Michael, not so fast.  Last time I checked - this is still a democracy.  And here in the States - unlike Canada - my dog is still my property. 

There's something standing in the way of your anti-pitbull, anti-dog agenda .....................

Please Save My Dog - UK DP Fan Asks Readers For Help

Please Save My Dog - Don't Let Them Kill My Pet

Attention dog lovers!   Friends in the UK need your help!

As pitbull owners in North America may already know,  pitbulls across the pond in the UK are being rounded up, seized and euthanized under what authorities call  "Pitbull Amnesty" programs in Liverpool, Merseyside and Northern Ireland.

Neighbors have been asked by the government to report neighbors with "illegal" dogs.  K9 Magazine, a British dog enthusiast publication, reported that the local paper, the  Liverpool Echo, is running a campaign to coincide with the controversial dog amnesty to encourage people to contact the authorities if they suspect a neighbour to be keeping an illegal dog.

State-Sponsored Dog Killings

This sick and disgraceful law (the Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991) - the mother of all breed-specific legislation - and recent round of state-sponsored dog killings has been condemned throughout the UK and here in the US by almost every animal welfare organization. (PETA has been - shall we say - silent on the issue, no surprise there.)

A Desperate Plea

Desperate to save her dog, UK reader Joanne , who lives just south of Belfast, Northern Ireland, writes to Dog Politics pleading for the life of her dog:

I live in Lisburn and just yesterday the thing that you might call a neighbour reported my pitbull to the dog wardens they have given me till tuesday before they take my dog. My pitbull is our family pet not a monster so if anyone thinks i have a leg to stand on i will fight the case  I will muzzle him and even neuter him if  I thought i could keep him if anyone knows of any laws that can stop them destroying my pet please speak out help this innocent dog.

On behalf of Joanne - can anyone in the UK or the Republic of Ireland save her dog?  Can anyone out there help? If you can, please email:  richardhuthwait@btinternet.com

Meanwhile - back in Belfast...................

S. Korea To Slaughter Dogs & Cats Over Bird Flu Concerns

S. Korea To Slaughter Dogs & Cats Over Bird Flu Concerns

According to an article in the Malaysian Star,  South Korea plans to kill cats and dogs to try to prevent the spread of bird flu after an outbreak of the deadly H5N1 virus at a chicken farm last week, officials said Monday.

Animal health experts, however, suggested it was “a bit of an extreme measure” when there was no scientific evidence to suggest that cats or dogs could pass the virus to humans.

However, it would not be the first time for South Korea to kill cats and dogs due bird flu concerns. An official at the Agriculture Ministry said South Korea slaughtered cats and dogs along with 5.3 million birds during the last outbreak of bird flu in 2003.

The official declined to be named, saying he was not authorized to talk to media.

'Highly unusual'
Dogs specially bred for eating are slaughtered for consumption in South Korea, where many people enjoy dog meat as a delicacy.

Another ministry official, Kim Chang-sup, insisted killing cats and dogs to curtail the spread of bird flu was not unusual.

“Other countries do it. They just don’t talk about it,” Kim said, adding that all mammals are potentially subject to the virus. He declined further comment.

But animal experts disputed the validity of killing cats and dogs.

“It’s highly unusual, and it’s not a science-based decision,” said Peter Roeder, a Rome-based animal health expert with the U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization or FAO, who published research about cats and bird flu earlier this year in the journal Nature. “We’ve got absolutely no reason to believe they’re important,” he told The Associated Press.

Read the rest of the article HERE.

My Dog Bob Votes! Pooches Win At The Polls

My Dog Bob Votes! Pooches Win At The Polls 

See Bob.  See Bob's owner Jan. See Bob and Jan at the polls in California.  See Bob and Jan Vote.  Jan says, My Dog Votes! 

Jan and Bob, a Bull Terrier, care about voting  - especially in LOCAL elections. 

Jan and Bob care very much about who represents their interests on the local town council.

Jan  - seen here proudly wearing her election chic My Dog Votes Long Sleeve Tee (plug, plug),  and Bob  are both sporting a "I Voted!" sticker,  went to the polls to send a very clear message to local politicians...................

The Shameless Exploitation Of Doogie - Where Is He?

The Shameless Exploitation Of Doogie - Where Is He?

Where's Doogie?  That's what I - any every other dog lover want to know.  We want to see him - and see the evidence that Doogie was abused, neglected and left to die - and we want to see those responsible prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

So far - Tammy Grimes of Dogs Deserve Better -  who supposedly rescued "Doogie" - nee Jake - has refused to produce Doogie and let authorities do their job.  If indeed Doogie was in such dire straits - why not cough him up?  What is Tammy afraid of?

Or - has Doogie been shamelessly exploited by Ms. Grimes in one giant publicity stunt engineered to bring her national attention - not to mention dough?

The Fickle Finger Of Fate

In what could be nothing less than the fickle finger of fate, both Tammy Grimes of Dogs Deserve Better and Barbara Haywood of My Dog Votes (yours truly), are scheduled to be speakers at the Virtual Dog Expo tomorrow.

Why I am telling you this?  Is this a shameless plug? (Hey - no more than that teary-eyed video Tammy sent around).  For the price of a movie ticket - a measly $12.95 -  you'll get an all access pass to the whole weekend of seminars, presentations on everyone's favorite topic - dogs - on a whole ranges of topics - from a TON of great speakers.  Here's the link:   http://global.co-opworld.com/dogsvirtualexpo.php

LIVE At 10 AM EST on Saturday - you can hear Tammy  Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better.  Tammy's recent arrest for stealing someone's dog has sparked controversy in the dog world - you can hear her defend her actions to "Save Doogie". She'll be taking questions from listeners about her recent escapades and it's your chance to ask her personally why she feels justified in her actions. 

UPDATE 9/23 - TAMMY GRIMES CANCELLED HER APPEARANCE ON VIRTUAL DOG EXPO

LIVE At 3 PM EST - you can hear me - Barbara Haywood - author of this blog - DogPolitics.com and founder of My Dog Votes - tell you why Tammy is not only wrong, wrong, wrong --I'll tell you WHY Tammy is (inadvertently) messing with your rights to even own a dog! Before anyone starts sending any hate mail, find out why not only do Dogs Deserve Better by why we all need to "Save Dogs & Democracy"  - LIVE at 3 PM EST.

While I fundamentally agree with Tammy that we need to save dogs from a 24/7 life on a chain,  I couldn't disagree with her more about how she went about the Doogie/Jake case - here's why.............