Baby Alligator Escapes Zoo And Accomplice Was The Tortoise, Gator Still On The Run In Michigan

A baby alligator named Carlos has pulled of the zoo version of the greatest escape with the help of a local tortoise. GarLyn Zoo officials believe they know how the little gator managed to pull off its caper but the animal is still on the loose in Michigan’s upper peninsula.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, gators are not just escapees, they can be the good guys, too. One car thief found himself thwarted by an alligator in Florida. Still, they are known to be a touchy lot. One guy was caught on video trying to move an alligator out of the road, and that went about as you would expect.

GarLyn Zoo is home to about 100 animals, including two adult alligators and little baby Carlos, who has only been with the zoo for a few months. The reason the alligator escaped the zoo was because the 12-inch little guy was being housed in a pond with turtles, which has a fence with one-inch openings. Manager Gary Moore says a large tortoise has a tendency to wear the dirt away from the bottom of the fence when it makes its rounds of its cage. They believe a hole was opened up that was large enough for the baby gator to escape.

Carlos is the first escapee in the 21 years the zoo has been in operation. In fact, Moore did not even notice his gator was missing until a state trooper visited him and told stories of witnesses seeing a young alligator ambling along U.S. 2:

“I’m asking people that if they see a little alligator holding a sign on U.S. 2 that says, ‘Florida or bust’ to call us.”

Unfortunately, while the situation sounds kind of funny, it’s actually quite serious for the baby alligator. Moore does not believe Carlos will survive in the wild past October and are hoping people will help find and recover him. Although the gator is said to pose little threat to humans since he only stands about an inch and half tall, Moore recommends not touching the alligator and they ask people to call GarLyn Zoo at 906-477-1085 or contact the police.

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Don't Let Ag-Gag Bills Hide Animal Cruelty - The President and CEO of the HSUS, Wayne Pacelle, Rev. Al Sharpton and Undercover Investigator Cody Carlson Discuss Ag-Gag Laws and Video Footage Touching on Food Safety in America

In recent years, whistleblowing employees have repeatedly exposed animal abuse, food safety threats, unsafe working conditions, and environmental problems at industrial agriculture operations. Unfortunately, the agricultural industry has introduced "anti-whistleblower" bills in an attempt to hide animal cruelty and prevent the American public from finding out about the abuses in the first place.

These bills would criminalize undercover investigators doing important work, such as our very own Cody Carlson, who went undercover to capture footage at four different factory farms -- inlcuding two in Iowa -- where there already is an "Ag-Gag" law in place.

Cody witnessed horrible abuse and found that workers had absolutely no regard for the animals' well-being. Watch as Rev. Al Sharpton, Wayne Pacelle, and Cody Carlson discuss Ag-Gag laws on MSNBC.




TAKE ACTION
Join The HSUS and animal lovers nationwide to protect animals from dangerous "ag-gag" bills by signing our pledge HERE.

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You May Have Read Erin Auerbach's Recently-Published Column ("Why I'd Never Adopt a Shelter Dog Again") - Lisa LaFontaine, President and CEO, Washington Humane Society, Responds - ("Why I Would Always Adopt a Shelter Animal")

If you missed Erin Auerbach's article, you can read it here: Sharing This Story from The Washington Post (PostEverything Section) - Why I’d Never Adopt a Shelter Dog Again - What Are Your Thoughts?


From: Lisa LaFontaine:
For anyone who saw the recent column about adoption of shelter animals ... read my blog in the Huffington Post about why people SHOULD ADOPT from a humane society ~

To read Lisa's story, click here: Why I Would Always Adopt a Shelter Animal



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How to Clicker Train Your Cat

What Is Clicker Training?

Clicker is a method of animal training that uses a sound a click—to tell an animal when he does something right. The clicker is a tiny plastic box held in the palm of your hand, with a metal tongue that you push quickly to make the sound. Most people who’ve heard of the clicker know that it’s a popular tool for dog trainers, but clickers can be used to train all kinds of animals, wild and domestic—from lions to elephants to household cats, birds and rats!

Cat training has often been considered an elusive goal by pet owners who've been conditioned to view cats as "untrainable." Yet many cat owners have found an enjoyable way to train and interact with their pets through the process of clicker training for cats.

So what is cat clicker training? Cat clicker training is an easy and fun way to help shape your cat's behavior. The scientific term for the method is operant conditioning - simply put, it means you can take advantage of your cat's natural tendency to repeat an action that has a positive consequence. With clicker training, punishments are not used. You "mark" a desirable behavior with a click, and then reward it with a treat.

The clicker is a small plastic device with a metal strip that makes a clicking sound when it's pressed. The value of the clicking sound is that it is completely distinct within the cat's environment. Unlike the sound of your voice, which your cat hears all the time, the sound of the click becomes a clear form of communication. The click is something that he can uniquely associate with the desired behavior. The treat then immediately follows the click, reinforcing the positive consequences of the behavior.

Cat clicker training definitely requires your patience. Before you begin, look for examples of clicker training videos on the Web, or go through your local bookstore to find guides full of clicker training tips and tricks. Set your goals for cat training, and decide which behaviors you want to encourage, which ones you want to replace, and whether you want to teach your cat a few simple tricks.

The first step is to get your cat used to the sound of the clicker. When you have your cat's attention, give the clicker a click, and follow it immediately with a small morsel of something he loves to eat. Commercial cat treats are ideal for this process. It's important to give just a small taste of something yummy so your cat is left wanting more. You can either toss the treat to the cat, or hand-feed it to him.

Be patient. Some cats will associate the click with the treat almost immediately, while others may be slower to catch on. This process is sometimes referred to as "charging the clicker." Once the clicker is charged, and your cat readily makes the association between click and treat, he's ready for more advanced cat clicker training.

Perhaps the easiest command to teach your cat is to "come" at the sound of the clicker - wherever he is, he'll come out of hiding to retrieve the treat. It's the same principle by which cats learn to come running at the sound of a can opener. And if you have a new kitten that hasn't yet acquired an aversion to the cat carrier, you can use clicker training to get him to enter his carrier on demand.

Some cat owners have successfully replaced clicks with voice commands or visual cues. Once a behavior has been learned, it doesn't have to be rewarded with a treat every time, but should always be accompanied by praise.

Keep The Following Clicker Training Tips In Mind As You Train Your Cat:

• Click during the desired behavior, not after it. Timing is crucial, because the click sound may actually cause the cat to terminate the behavior in anticipation of a treat.

• Begin with something easy that your cat is likely to do on his own (sit, come, touch your hand with his paw or nose, scratch on a post, follow a target object like a wand or pencil).

• Only click once per behavior. Multiple clicks can confuse your cat.

• Keep your cat training sessions very short.

• Focus on coaxing or luring your cat into a position area; never push him or pick him up to move him. Your cat's movements should be voluntary, even if they are accidental, he'll gradually associate the click with the movement you're training him for, whether it's sitting or jumping on a stool.

• Start by rewarding for small movements toward your goal, and then shape a behavior by raising the goal. For example, if you're training your cat to enter his carrier, at first you'll reward for any steps he takes in that direction, then for walking right up to the carrier, then for entering it.

• Don't punish bad behavior, but refocus your cat on good behaviors by rewarding them. For example, instead of punishing a cat for scratching on the furniture, reward him for using his designated scratching post. (You can begin by rewarding him just for being near the post.)

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How to Clicker Train Your Dog

What Is Clicker Training?

Clicker is a method of animal training that uses a sound—a click—to tell an animal when he does something right. The clicker is a tiny plastic box held in the palm of your hand, with a metal tongue that you push quickly to make the sound. Most people who’ve heard of the clicker know that it’s a popular tool for dog trainers, but clickers can be used to train all kinds of animals, wild and domestic—from lions to elephants to household cats, birds and rats!

Giving the Clicker Meaning

It’s easy to introduce the clicker to your pet. Spend 30 minutes or so teaching him that the sound of the click means “Treat!” (For the sake of simplicity, let’s assume that you’re going to clicker train a dog.)

Sit and watch TV or read a book with your dog in the room. Have a container of treats within reach.

Place one treat in your hand and the clicker in the other. (If your dog smells the treat and tries to get it by pawing, sniffing, mouthing or barking at you, just close your hand around the treat and wait until he gives up and leaves you alone.)

Click once and immediately open your hand to give your dog the treat. Put another treat in your closed hand and resume watching TV or reading. Ignore your dog.

Several minutes later, click again and offer another treat.

Continue to repeat the click-and-treat combination at varying intervals, sometimes after one minute, sometimes after five minutes. Make sure you vary the time so that your dog doesn’t know exactly when the next click is coming. Eventually, he’ll start to turn toward you and look expectant when he hears the click—which means he understands that the sound of the clicker means a treat is coming his way.

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Be Nosey - If You See Either of These in a Hot Car...Call Police!

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Atlantic Small Dog Rescue Has Set Up a Veterinary Fund to Help Care for the Dogs From Puppy Mill in Virginia - Can You Help?

Atlantic Small Dog Rescue has received some dogs who were rescued from a Puppy Mill. These dogs have been kept and raised in deplorable conditions, and have not received proper veterinary care their whole lives.

Now that they have been rescued their new lives will begin! ASDR will bring these dogs in to care, bring them to the vet, and ensure any medical problems are addressed. We already know that a number of these dogs have dental issues and will need deep cleanings, and possibly extractions. These procedures cost hundreds of dollars each, but mean a great deal when it comes to the future comfort and health of these dogs. Every dog will also be spayed or neutered before being sent to their new home.

We are also taking in at least one dog who may be pregnant, so her puppies will require their puppy vaccines and a thorough health check.

Are you able to donate even a little bit to our veterinary fund for these pups? Every dollar counts and will make a huge difference to these little guys!

Keep an eye out for their adoption advertisements to be posted on our Facebook page!

If you want to help these Puppy Mill dogs on their road to recovery, please consider a donation to our GoFundMe campaign. Every one of them will require spaying or neutering which will cost approximately $2,000 alone, and many will also need dental work. Please visit http://www.gofundme.com/56n79c or email money transfer your donation to paypal@asdrescue.com every little bit helps! Even $1!

If you would like to donate to help these dogs, click HERE!

A full write up on the details of their rescue will be posted some time in the afternoon or evening for you all to see!

The dogs will NOT be available for adoption right away, but we will be posting photos of them as we can. If you are interested in adopting one, please be patient, and wait until we post the dogs as available. They will each have their own post in our "available dogs" photo album with as much of a writeup on them as we can manage. But remember, they are from a puppy mill, so their lives have not been the best before now. Thankfully most of them seem like nice dogs, and even a few are quite friendly! We will be doing our best to bring them out of their shells upon their arrival, but for some that may take a while!

Some statistics on the dogs coming in: of the 10 dogs who are coming to us 6 have known dental issues that will require treatment, 8 have skin issues including scabby ears and hair loss, 1 has a heart murmur, 1 is possibly pregnant, 1 has an eye infection, and 1 has a hernia! That's a lot of health issues for one small batch of pups! These dogs range in age from 1 or 2 years old up to possibly 10 years old, and approximately half of them are 5 or under. Just a bit more information to tide you over until we can give more!

The transport has been delayed by a week, which gives us a bit more time to get prepared! We're coming close to the $1,000 mark, do you think we can reach it today?
About: Atlantic Small Dog Rescue

Just in case anyone was wondering, not ONE person who does work for ASDR is paid for their time. In fact, board members and other volunteers often donate their own hard earned money to fundraisers to help the dogs we take in. 97% of all funds raised go directly towards helping the dogs in our care, the vast majority of which is veterinary bills. The remaining 3% of the money we take in is spent on administration (banking fees, promotional materials, etc). And of all of the money we take in, only 50% is from adoption fees. That means that in order to continue the work that we do we must fund raise! We just wanted to clear up some misconceptions about non-profit organizations in order to allow you, especially those who are new to us, to understand how we work!

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ISPCA Warns That Casual Dog Fighting Is On The Rise

Casual Dogfighting, or  “rolling” is on the rise, according to the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA).

The ISPCA this week released photos of an English bull terrier named Garth who was found bloodied and beaten after a suspected dog fight.

The ISPCA’s Conor Dowling says that Garth’s case is not an isolated one.
“It is definitely a problem,” Dowling told TheJournal.ie.

He said that there is two forms of the bloodsport, with the second form becoming a problem.

Though dog fighting has been illegal for 170 years, it has still gone on and is generally linked to criminal community.

“These events would have their own rules and regulations, but it’s difficult to infiltrate.

“Previously, the fights would have been fairly organised and had weight classes and rules. But what we’re seeing is people just putting two dogs together that they think will fight.

“It’s called street fighting or rolling.

It’s a problem in built-up urban areas and is often linked to gangs. It is used to increase the macho image of someone and has been used to settle gang fights, rather than having two people fight.

As Garth proves, the impromptu nature of rolling doesn’t lessen the impact and damage on the dog.

There is also the danger that dogs are stolen for the purpose of rolling.

“There is certainly anecdotal evidence that people see what they think is a violent dog and steal them.”

For that reason, among others, the ISPCA says that anybody who has a dog should be micochipping it.

Dog fighting carries punishments including an up to €250,000 fine and two years in prison. The ISPCA has been buoyed by changes to the law that made attendance at a dog fight and keeping dogs for the purposes of fighting illegal.

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