2 Chainz, meet kittens. Kittens, meet 2 Chainz. The "I'm Different" rapper has been busy exploring the finer things in life for GQ's Most Expensive Sh*t series, giving everything from $48,000 sunglasses to diamond-infused vodka a spin. Next up on his lavish list? Meeting some of the world's most expensive cats, of course. There are several important takeaways in this video, chief among them that 1.) 2 Chainz can't whistle and 2.) an exotic serval kitten goes for a cool $15,000. If you're in the market to drop as much money on a cat as, say, a semester of college tuition, this one's for you.
As ISAR’s many supporters know, addressing the scourge of dog and cat overpopulation is one of our major programs. We have been fighting that problem for decades, and although ISAR and other organizations have been making some progress—mandatory spay/neuter, prohibitions on retail sales, crackdowns on puppy mills—still the cycle of birth-suffering-death goes on unabated: too many shelters do an incompetent job of obtaining adoptions; spay/neuter programs, if they exist at all, are ridden with exemptions; dogs and cats continue to breed (and be bred!). And as they multiply endlessly, the dead bodies of their predecessors go up in smoke, literally. It has been estimated that at least 70,000 puppies and kitties are born in the United States every day. Many are born into households whose members cannot provide for them, or mistakenly believe they can but later learn otherwise and relinquish the animals. For decades most shelters have been at capacity, with routine ever-ending euthanasia the rule rather than the exception. Indeed, the Humane Society of the United States has reported that between six and eight million dogs and cats enter shelters each year, and over half of them are euthanized. To read more on this story, click here: Dog and Cat Overpopulation
It’s really sad that animals, particularly domesticated animals trust and rely on people, and are often the victims of abuse and exploitation with heartbreaking frequency. Horses, for example, are some of the most beautiful and majestic animals around, but because they are large, useful, and expensive to keep, they are often pushed to work harder than they should, or neglected, as we saw with sweet Flora until she was finally rescued. Among the most controversial horse-keeping practices is the long-standing tradition of using horses for carriage rides in big cities, particularly New York City. Recently, shocking images have emerged showcasing why it’s time to comfortably retire NYC carriage horses once and for all. Carriage horses are a long-standing New York City tradition dating back over a century. Many big cities maintain horse-and-buggy scenic rides as a novelty for tourists visiting the city — in this case, New York’s Central Park. Of course, not all traditions are worth maintaining, especially when the health of innocent animals may be at stake. The matter of horse-drawn carriages has long been fraught for New Yorkers and visitors to the city. There have been countless allegations of abuse by the carriage drivers, and new regulations have been put in place by the ASPCA to protect the horses. Unfortunately, many of these rules are hard to enforce beyond occasional spot checks. In the meantime, two photos have emerged that showcase exactly why it’s so urgent that we end this practice as quickly as possible. Over Labor Day weekend, a Long Island man named Bogdan Paul Angheluta was leaving a nightclub at 2:00 a.m. As he walked out, he asserts that he witnessed a driver encourage his horse to move quickly to make it through a green traffic light before it changed. The horse, unable to keep up with the pace, collapsed on his side. A veterinary investigation and a statement from the New York carriage industry say that the horse, a 14-year-old named Norman, simply tripped. The spokesperson, Christina Hansen, characterized the horse as “kind of a klutz.” Meanwhile, the witness who snapped the photos, Angheluta, remains concerned about the animal’s welfare. Angheluta says that Norman lay on his side for 20 minutes before he was able to get up, and required the assistance of a group of men from his stables, the Clinton Park Stables. Angheluta stayed with the horse throughout the experience, and sent his pictures to NYCLASS, an animal welfare organization, which in turn contacted the NYPD. Norman is now just fine, despite his scare, but activists are concerned about what could have happened. Investigations concluded that Norman tripped, but Angheluta and the folks at NYCLASS don’t buy it. NYCLASS has released an official statement condemning the incident and calling upon Mayor Bill de Blasio to enact legislation ending the practice. If you’re interested in learning more about ending carriage rides or donating to the cause, check out the NYCLASS website, where you can also sign their petition to end the practice. For those in the greater New York area, there will also be a protest in front of Gracie Mansion this Thursday at 5:00 p.m.
Horses like Norman deserve an open pasture and plenty of oats from here on out.
Garmin, the company known for GPS devices that help drivers navigate and runners record their mileage, released a new product for dog owners last week. The Delta Smart, a small, smartphone-compatible contraption that slips onto a collar, can help keep pooches fit by tracking the time they spend active or sedentary. But the product’s primary selling point, according to Garmin, is its ability to “reduce or eliminate unwanted behaviors” and make your dog a “more enjoyable member of the family.” How? By either beeping, vibrating or issuing “static” at one of 10 levels when a dog does something its owners don’t want it to do, including barking. In other words, it can function as what’s more commonly known as a shock collar, and it can work remotely.
“Dogs aren’t born with manners,” Garmin declared in a video posted Thursday to its Facebook page. In it, the company calls out some familiar canine offenders that the product purports to help: the blinds shredder, the trash can tipper and the moccasin dismantler, among others. The video was clever, and it featured very cute canines. But many dog lovers were not amused. As of Tuesday afternoon, the video had nearly 2,800 comments, the most popular of which collectively amounted to a flood of condemnation. “As a veterinarian, I would NEVER recommend a product like this,” a Facebook user named Ella Richardson wrote in a comment that won more than 2,400 likes. “It is aversive, and these sorts of training techniques have long ago been scientifically proven to be far less effective than reward-based training, and far more damaging to your dog’s general well-being. Shame on you Garmin for trying to make outdated training seem modern and innovative.” “Great idea, Garmin! Let’s electrocute the kids while we’re at it, too!” wrote Jill Botti. “Save some money on a babysitter and raising them ourselves, ain’t nobody got time for that, amirite??” That got nearly 300 likes. An online petition launched Friday by a Virginia woman, Tracy Krulik (who has written for The Washington Post), had nearly 5,000 signatures by Tuesday. It called on Garmin to remove the product’s “electric shock feature.” It’s not the first time passions have flared over these kinds of gadgets, which are also known as e-collars. The devices are banned in some European nations, and countries including Canada and Scotland have considered prohibitions. They’re opposed by some researchers, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and other national organizations, and by many trainers, who dismiss them as unhelpfully punitive and stressful for dogs. “An issue with punishment as a training method, which includes shock collars, pinch collars, choke collars and even verbal reprimands, is that you aren’t really telling the dogs what to do,” said John Ciribassi, AVSAB president, told the Post earlier this year. But they also have vociferous backers, who say that they’re humane and effective when used correctly. James Hamm, who bills himself as the “Lone Star Dog Trainer,”he helped tested the Delta Smart. “Depending upon the sensitivity of the dog, you can use tone, you can use vibration or stimulation,” Hamm, who is shown using Garmin training collars in videos on the company’s website, said Tuesday. “Once the dog understands it, the system comes off the dog. It’s just a training tool. It’s not a forever tool. It’s not a punishment tool.” Yes, that’s right: Garmin makes training collars, plural. As some who stood up for the company on Facebook pointed out, the Delta Smart isn’t the first dog behavior device released by the company, which also makes products called Bark Limiters. It’s just the first to stir up such a storm. “It did come as a bit of a surprise, because we’ve been selling these products for quite some time,” said Ted Gartner, a Garmin spokesman. “These sorts of tools have really, really been able to save the relationship between a dog and a family. That’s what we’re all about.”
I'm a homeless vet and can't pay my pet sitter. I would like a good home for my 12 and 3 year old lab mix dogs. They have to go as a pair. Please reach out if you can help. I don't want them to go to a shelter. I only have until tomorrow September 14 at 5 pm. Craigslist ad link:Someone to help and keep my dogs (Washington) Please Share!
Join us this Saturday for our Puppypalooza at Petsmart – Columbia, Maryland. WHAT: Puppypalooza WHEN: Saturday, September 17, 2016 TIME: 12:00 noon - 4:00 p.m. WHERE: Petsmart 9041 Snowden Square Drive Columbia, MD 21045 Check out our adoptable dog album:Adoptable Dogs Puppies, kittens, dogs and cats available. Same day adoption. All pets spayed/Neutered. Up-to-date on age appropriate vaccines. Volunteer at the event: volunteer@lastchanceanimalrescue.org or 301-885-8538.
