The “bloodhounds” feared in the 19th century were a different breed of dog

October 1, 2010 Dylan Forest One comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2010:
(Actual press date November 3.)
Wrote Jim Gorant of pit bull terriers in The Lost Dogs:
Michael Vick’s dogs & their tale of rescue & redemption:
“In the 19th century a different breed of dog was considered
so vicious and insidious that it inspired almost universal fear and
loathing. That breed was the bloodhound.”
Gorant merely restated a claim often made for decades by pit
bull advocates and opponents of breed-specific legislation, but
anti-dogfighting blogger Dawn James–an animal rights activist for
more than 30 years– found this difficult to believe.

Record $7 million verdict in pit bull fatality case & related legal updates

September 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2010:
(published October 5, 2010)
HENDERSON, Texas–A Rusk County District Court jury on
September 17, 2010 held pit bull terrier owners Rick and Christi
George of Leveritt’s Chapel responsible for a record $7 million in
damages for allowing their two dogs to escape and kill skateboarder
Justin Clinton, 10, on June 15, 2009. “The jury heard evidence
from 46 witnesses and viewed 125 exhibits which documented the
vicious attack and conduct of these two animals,” attorney Cynthia
Kent told ANIMAL PEOPLE.
“Although several defense witnesses testified that they had
never seen the dogs act aggressively and one even referred to the
dogs as ‘lovable little fluff balls,’ law enforcement officers and
other witnesses testified to the dogs’ vicious and aggressive nature
as compared to other breeds,” Kent added. Kent, representing the
victim’s family, was previously a district judge in Tyler, Texas.
Soon after the fatal attack Kent announced that she would pursue the
passage of legislation to restrict or prohibit breeding or keeping
pit bulls.

Dogs in hot cars

September 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2010:
(published October 5, 2010)
At instigation of Animal Issues founder Phyllis Daugherty and
state assembly member Anthony Portantino, the 2011 California Dept.
of Motor Vehicles drivers’ handbook is to include a warning about the
dangers of leaving dogs unattended in vehicles–which can carry a
fine of up to $500 plus six months in jail if harm to the dog
results. The handbook advisory follows a public education campaign
by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

BOOKS: The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s dogs and their tale of rescue & redemption

September 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2010:
(published October 5, 2010)

The Lost Dogs:
Michael Vick’s dogs and their tale of rescue & redemption
by Jim Gorant
Gotham Books (375 Hudson St., New York, NY 10014), 2010.
287 pages, hardcover. $26.00.

The Lost Dogs, like a Three Stooges film, should open with
the warning, “Don’t try this at home, kids.”
Yes, the American SPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, and
several other partner organizations were able to avoid euthanizing 47
of the 51 pit bull terriers who were confiscated from football star
and dogfighter Michael Vick in April 2007. About two-thirds of the
dogs were eventually placed in homes; the rest remain in sanctuary
care.

Testing dog heroism

September 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 2010:
(published October 5, 2010)
Do dogs have an innate capacity for heroism on behalf of
their people? Do dogs instinctively know how to fetch help for a
person in crisis?
Hal Herzog in Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat
acknowledges the abundance of heroic dog stories–“Just Google ‘dog
saves owner,'” he challenges–but cites a 2006 study by University
of Western Ontario psychologist Bill Roberts and dog breeder/trainer
Krista Macpherson which found that none of a dozen dogs they tested
responded at all to either a man who was faking a heart attack or a
man who was pinned to the floor by a fake falling bookshelf.

BOOKS: Two Bobbies: A true story of friendship and survival

July 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2010:

Two Bobbies: A true story of friendship and survival
by Kirby Larson & Mary Nethery
Illustrated by Jean Cassels Walker
Walker & Co. (175 5th Ave., New York, NY 10010), 2008. $16.99,
hardcover. 32 pages.

No one foresaw the nightmarish devastation to people,
property and pets wrought by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005.
Many and perhaps most of the people who evacuated New Orleans–just
as a precaution–imagined they would return within a few days, if
not hours. Someone left behind a brown dog named Bobbie, chained to
a porch. Somehow the hungry and thirsty dog yanked the chain so hard
that he freed himself. Not known is how Bobbie came to be the
inseparable companion of a white cat whom rescuers eventually named
Bob Cat: did they know each other first, or just become buddies in
the crisis?

BOOKS: The New Holistic Way for Dogs & Cats

July 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2010:

The New Holistic Way for Dogs & Cats
by Paul McCutcheon, DVM and Susan Weinstein
Random House (1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019), 2009. 256
pages, paperback. $18.99.

“In the new holistic perspective, a truly healthy dog or
cat will have all systems functioning in the home that is her
body–her own living terrain,” write Paul McCutcheon, DVM, and
Susan Weinstein.
Holistic medicine traces back to the ancient Chinese method
of treating diseases with herbal remedies. In recent decades the
holistic approach has crossed into western veterinary medicine. A
holistic practitioner treats the whole body; a holistic veterinarian
treats the whole animal. McCutcheon and Weinstein contend that all
living creatures can heal themselves from most conditions. Pet
owners can aid the healing.

Dog breed popularity

July 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

Dog breed popularity
from 3.2. million classified ads surveyed in June 2009

Labrador retriever  11.6%
Pit bull terrier     4.1%
Chihuahua            2.4%
Husky                2.1%
German shepherd      1.8%
St. Bernard          1.8%
English bulldog      1.7%
Boxer                1.6%
Chow                 1.6%
Great Dane           1.3%
Jack Russell         1.3%
Beagle               1.2%
Cocker spaniel       1.2%
Golden retriever     1.2%
Greyhound            1.2%
Dachshund            1.1%

BOOKS: Forbidden Creatures

June 1, 2010 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2010:

Forbidden creatures
by Peter Laufer, Ph.D.
Lyons Press (246 Goose Lane, Guilford, CT 06437), 2010.
272 pages, hardcover. $19.95.

“The chimp killed my friend,” screamed Sandra Herold into
the telephone on February 16, 2009 as her pet chimp Travis mauled
her friend Charla Nash. Nash had come to help corral the
out-of-control animal, who had previously behaved well for her,
but Travis pulled her from her car, bit and clawed off most of her
face, and tore her hands off. Cornered upon arrival in his patrol
car, police officer Frank Chiafri shot Travis dead after Travis
pulled the driver’s side door open.

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