Day: May 1, 2013

BOOKS: Loyal Forces—The American Animals of World War II

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

Loyal Forces:  The American Animals of World War II by Toni M. Kiser & Lindsey F. Barnes Louisiana State University Press (3990 W. Lakeshore Drive,  Baton Rouge,  LA 70808),  2013. 192 pages,  hardcover.  $35.00.

Loyal Forces:  The American Animals of World War II honors the many animals who helped the U.S. military during the war.  The informal use of dogs for military purposes in previous wars was made official in 1942 by the creation of a U.S. Army program called Dogs for Defense.  The program debuted by soliciting donations of German shepherds,  Labrador retrievers,  collies,  and mixes of their configuration who might have the intelligence, disposition,  and ability to obey the commands that they had to learn to do guard work and to carry messages. Contrary to the claims of pit bull enthusiasts today,  bully breeds were not used,  and are not shown among the 157 dogs depicted in Loyal Forces. Read more

Train Your Dog Positively

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

Train Your Dog Positively, by Victoria Stilwell Ten Speed Press (c/o Random House,   1745 Broadway,  New York,  NY 10019),  2013. 248 pages,  paperback,  $14.99.

Whether rescued or from a breeder,  all puppies need training to learn potty manners,  basic commands,  and how to walk on a leash.  Adopted older dogs may need to brush up on their skills.  Television dog trainer Victoria Stilwell offers her perspective on how best to do this in Train Your Dog Positively.  Read more

BOOKS: Trident K-9 Warriors

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

Trident K-9 Warriors  by Mike Ritland with Gary Brozek St. Martin’s Press (c/o MacMillan,  175 Fifth Avenue,  New York,  NY  10010),  2013. 272 pages,  hardcover.  $25.99.

A health issue forced Navy SEAL Mike Ritland to retire from active duty.  While serving in Iraq,  the precision of military dogs impressed him.  So Ritland combined his love of dogs and service to the U.S. by forming a company that trains military dogs.  Read more

BOOKS—Led Astray: Reforming New York City’s Animal Care & Control

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

Led Astray:  Reforming New York City’s Animal Care & Control by Scott M. Stringer,  Manhattan Borough President  (lead researcher/writer Shaan Khan),  January 2013 Free download from:   www.mbpo.org/uploads/FINALLedAstrayReport.pdf

Led Astray is the latest of many evaluations and exposés of alleged deficiencies within the New York City Center for Animal Care & Control,  originally known as the CACC,  now abbreviated AC&C.

Twenty years after AC&C was formed on short notice to take over the New York City animal control contract,  held for the preceding 100 years by the American SPCA,  the city rate of shelter killing has fallen from about six animals per 1,000 residents,  which would still be very low today,  compared to the national rate of 9.7,  to 0.82.  This is the best record of any major U.S. city,   bar none,  even factoring in that New York City residents keep about half as many pets as the U.S. national average.   Read more

BOOKS: The Secret Life of Dog Catchers

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

The Secret Life of Dog Catchers: An animal control officer’s passion to make a difference by Shirley Zindler 2270 Gravenstein Highway South,  Sebastopol,  CA  95472 https://www.createspace.com/4096859?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026 250 pages,  paperback.  $18.00.

One New Year’s Day,  rain flooded Rohnert Park,  California.  The county animal shelter was closed,  but Sonoma County animal control officer Shirley Zindler worked emergency calls.  “Muddy, rapidly rising water swirled and eddied around the small sandbar where the old dog lay,”  recalls Zindler in The Secret Life of Dog Catchers.  The senior dog, wet and cold, had obviously struggled to pull herself onto a dry sliver of land as the raging creek almost swallowed her up.  Sizing up the precarious situation,  Zinder realized there was a nearby fire station.  Within minutes four firefighters arrived in a truck and pulled the dog to safety. Read more

Failures of Humane Slaughter Act confirmed

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

WASHINGTON D.C.––The Office of the USDA Inspector General report Food Safety and Inspection Service—Inspection and Enforcement Activities At Swine Slaughter Plants should have shocked the pork-eating public. Instead,  released on May 9,  2013,  it went almost ignored until Farm Sanctuary senior director for strategic initiatives Bruce Friedrich on May 28,  2013 described the content in The Huffington Post.   Read more

Indian ban on tail-docking undone

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  May/June 2013:

CHANDIGARH––Kennel Club of India general secretary Harinder Singh Aulakh in mid-April 2013 advised dog breeders via the Indian Kennel Gazette that they may resume cropping the ears and docking the tails of dogs, after the Madras High Court ruled that the Animal Welfare Board of India lacked the authority to ban ear-cropping and tail-docking if done by a “qualified veterinarian.”  The AWBI had issued an order against ear-cropping and tail-docking in November 2011. Read more

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