Puppy Update

From Connie:

We named the puppies today and made up this sign for their cage. I hope you like the names we chose. We had a lot of fun.

A couple of them are starting to open their eyes. They are growing so fast. I am loving every minute of watching them.

I have a lot I took today. I have to edit them so they are not so big. I will try to get it done soon. I wanted to show you how cute these boys are. Elwood and Manning. Elwood has his eyes open. So so cute! The last one is Freya and Gracie sleeping on me. I love those girls.

I will get the rest to you soon.

New Monsters

We picked up some new friends yesterday from Gallia and one we found on the side of 32 on our way home. I swear these dogs just seek us out and know when we are coming and they will stop at nothing to find us.

The little one is Penny, the puppy is Lilly (she is smaller then she looks), and the big man is Hank. He is so funny and does the Lab butt bump. He will run full speed into you and then just run away. He is a riot.

Donna Karan drops fur from lines

We have news for you!

Thanks to the hard work of PETA's staff, members, and volunteers and after nearly a year of pressuring designer Donna Karan to drop fur from her designs—by protesting outside her boutiques, crashing her runway show, and exposing her cruel use of fur online—Donna Karan has announced that all her Fall 2009 lines will be fur-free and that she has "no plans" to use fur in the future. Well done, everyone!

Karan's turnaround came days after PETA launched our online campaign and after mega–fashion guru Tim Gunn sent Karan and designer Giorgio Armani a video that he narrated for PETA showing animals skinned alive for their fur and urged them to open their eyes to the violent and bloody fur industry.

Thank you for helping to make this happen. Let's keep going strong! While Donna Karan has followed in the footsteps of top designers—including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, and Calvin Klein—Armani still refuses to stop using fur

Economy Forcing Some To Give Up Furry Friends

Reported by: Suzanne Murray Email: Suzanne.Murray@wcpo.com Last Update: 9:54 am

Related Links Financial Survival Guide SPCA Morning Money The economy is forcing Americans to cut back and some are being forced to part with their pets. Nationwide more cats and dogs are being turned over to animal shelters as times get tough. A new survey shows that one in seven pet owners have reduced spending on their pets this year. Of those cutting back, one in four say they have seriously considered giving up their pet. The survey by the American Pet Products association says the yearly cost of owning a dog is $1,400 and a cat is $1,000.

Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Fascinating Dog Facts

• The oldest dependable recorded age for a dog is 29 years, 5 months for a Queensland 'heeler' called Bluey in Victoria, Australia. The common dog lives to approximately 15 years of age.

• The tallest dogs are the Great Dane and the Irish wolfhound.

• The usual dog's mouth exerts 150 to 200 pounds of pressure per square inch. Several dogs can apply up to 450 pounds.

• Puppies can't keep their bladders under control overnight until they are at least four months old. Until then, cover the flooring around the puppy's bed with newspapers.

• Dogs are omnivorous. They require more than just meat to do well.

• Dogs chew up your underwear for the reason that it smells like you. One in every three US families own one or more dogs.

• A one-year-old dog is physically as mature as a 15 year-old human.

• Dogs' inner clocks are especially magnificent. They realize when it's time for you to appear home, feed them, or go to bed if you are typically on a schedule.

• Brush your dog 3 times a week in the spring, and you'll have a summer free from shedding.

• If your dog reacts anti-socially regarding visitors, place her in an alternative space until she calms down. When you permit her out, pay no heed to her. This forces your dog to go to the visitors for social goings-on.

• When a dog howls at the moon, it is following a primitive urge to call the pack all together.

• The burying of bones is part of a dog's intuitive feeding ritual; shaking things violently is part of the hunting ritual.

• Dogs grow to be loyal, not because you nourish them, but because of the friendship you provide to them.

• Dogs have two times as many muscles for moving their ears as humans.

• A dog's nose is not just utilized for smelling, but furthermore to keep him cool. That's why a dog pants. The longer the dog's nose, the better his cooling system works.

• Dogs and cats go in circles prior to lying down for the reason that in the wild this inborn act turns lengthy grassland into a bed.

Is a service dog necessary for autism?

A few on Nileydog's have been considered to be service dogs, Bentley was going to be trained to help children with Autism. They all ended up finding home before they got into the program. One of the groups was for autism. Jenny and I think that all dogs can be a huge benefit to people whether they have a disability or not.

Autistic Boy’s School Says No To Service Dog

Horst Hoefinger

In St. Paul, MN an 8-year-old named Wally LaBerge has a Golden Retriever. Many children have dogs, what makes Wally’s story unusual is that his dog is connected to him with a harness to help teach him.

Wally has autism which makes it difficult to interact with other people. Last year his doctors thought a service dog may help with socialization, as well as keeping down anxiety. After Wally passed the qualifications to get a service dog, his mother Victoria contacted Wally’s school to advise them of the situation.

The St. Paul School District does not have a service dog policy, so Como Park Elementary told Victoria they’d have Newman come to school on a trial basis. For three weeks, Wally’s team gathered numeric data on his social interaction and anxiety.

“We first must determine if the dog is needed in order for the child to benefit from special education,” said Cecelia Dodge, St. Paul School District’s Director of Special Education. She declined to discuss the specifics of Wally’s case.

Victoria said the district would not provide a handler, so she volunteered to go to school with Wally and Newman each day. She said Como Park Elementary set strict rules to prevent Victoria from interfering with the learning process.

To the school, that meant Victoria wasn’t allowed to talk to Wally or any of the other children in the class. Victoria thought the trial run unfair because she believed it was too short and didn’t allow Newman and Wally to interact like they’d been trained.

“They essentially interfered with the team process of Wally and Newman,” she said.

On Wednesday Victoria was informed by Como Park Elementary that Newman would not be allowed back to school. The school district did not feel Newman was of benefit to Wally in the public school setting and therefore chose against his being there.

The decision can be appealed, but the family has decided to sue the school to see if it would help get Newman back in school sooner.

Since there was no policy in the school regarding service dogs it was ultimately up to them to decide. Do you think the decision was fair? Would Newman be more distracting to the other children than beneficial to Wally? Give me a bark, share your thoughts.

* Photo of Newman courtesy wcco.com.

Hank

Jason has held Hank for me for 3 weeks, and we finally found him a foster home.

Puppies 8 days old

They are getting so big

Another one from Gallia! There has to be a breeder out there somewhere breeding these little ones.

What your donation to NDR can really do

$20 - To feed an abandoned dog for 3 weeks!
~ You'll fill the empty belly of a lost puppy brought in off the streets to NDR.

$35 - To0 vaccinate 10 homeless dogs
~ Your kindness will not only save lives. Your gift will spare animals the fate of horrible diseases through NDR.

$50 - To provide a medical exam for 2 puppies!
~ You and I must make sure that pets taken to a shelter get immediate medical care - the very best possible.

$100 - To spay or neuter a dog!
~ You can end significant suffering among animals by helping us spay and neuter as many pets as possible.

My new foster, Ruger

Ruger is from the Clark Co. shelter. He is a Great Dane mix and the sweetest thing every!

Freya Update!

From Connie:
What a turn around today! She had so much energy and kept wanting out. We let her play in the room with the kitten for awhile because she was not too interested in being in the yard with it being so cold. She is eating well and all the babies are doing great. I worry about the runt, she is so tiny compared to the others, but she seems to be doing good, just small. She could care less if we were holding them over all today, she just wanted to sit on your lap and get some TLC. She is a funny girl!
We are feeding her can i.d. so I hope that helps her. I hope we did not give her too many treats and all. I am so glad so many people care about this sweet dog and everyone is always looking after her. Its not something you have at work everyday. This is the first litter of pups we have had in the 4 years I have been there. We have a had a mom with 3 week old kittens dropped off and they were a lot of fun and they all have wonderful homes now.

She is very protective of the little guy. She would give us a soft growl and we would tell her its ok its your new baby. And put him with the rest. By 2 she was feeding him and cleaning him. Poor girl is so wore out. A couple of those pups are huge! They are piggy’ s

Puppies 5 days old

From Connie:

Freya was not feeling so good today. L

She accepted her new foster baby. He finally latched on to her and she bathed him. He climbed all over mom just like the rest of them.

The one dark brown / black pup loves to lay on his back and the black and white one was flipping all around while eating. It is a little piggy. A couple of them are getting huge already. We are trying to make sure the little runt gets a lot to eat though. She is so tiny.

Hopefully mom feels better tomorrow. We gave her a huge dog bed that was donated and she climbed right on it and curled up. She was so happy laying there. I wish I had my camera with me then.

It is so awesome watching them grow every day.







The foster puppy Leon

Get the dog's input when decorating for x-mas

Uh oh, it looks like someone did some decorating without the dog's input! This lil Fox Terrier is determined to make sure that every ornament's in the right spot but what a smart pup to stay a safe distance away while doing so! I love her tippy toes dance around the tree and I'm sure you'll get a kick out of it, too so check it out below.

Nileydog just rescued a BEAR!!!

Turns out the new puppy we just added to Freya's litter is a Leonberger! He is going to be HUGE. We are very excited. Here is what he will look like when he is full grown. Ha and we were worried we wouldn't be able to tell them apart once we mixed them up. We think he might be part bear.

Freya has 1 more!

So we introduced Freya and the 2 day old puppy and she accepted him! We were all very nervous but it went very well. He even started nursing! So luckily this little guy will live a long healthy life. This little guy is so lucky we had a nursing mother.

Freya is doing great and is a very happy mom!

Pictures of your pets

Sunday December 14th 10am – 4pm
County Animal Hospital
1185 Reading Road Mason Ohio
Holiday Pet Photos
Proceeds benefit Ohio dog rescues:
$10 each pose - 5x7 print $2 additional copies $20 for 20 copies
* Prints will be mailed by Dec 19th *

Support animal protection

Urge President-elect Obama to support animal protection

Go to this link and take action!

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2008_obama_secretaryofag2

Petland Ban

Petland Linked to Puppy Mills

Nov. 20, 2008—Today, during a news conference, The Humane Society of the United States reveals the results of an eight-month investigation into Petland Inc., the country's largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores. The results show that many Petland stores across the country are supporting cruel puppy mills, even while telling unsuspecting customers that the dogs only come from good breeders.

There are approximately 140 Petland stores in the U.S., selling tens of thousands of puppies each year. In the largest ever puppy mill investigation, HSUS investigators visited 21 Petland stores and 35 breeders and brokers who sold puppies to Petland stores. Investigators also reviewed interstate import records of an additional 322 breeders, USDA reports and more than 17,000 individual puppies linked to Petland stores.

Take Action for Dogs:

Contact Petland now, and help end puppy mill cruelty»

According to Stephanie Shain, director of The HSUS Stop Puppy Mills Campaign, "Petland is perpetuating the abusive puppy mill industry, where dogs are treated not like pets, but like a cash crop. They know that consumers won't stand for the cruelty inherent in mass-breeding facilities, so they make outrageous claims to hide the reality that the dogs came from puppy mills. People have a right to know exactly what they are buying, but the real victims are the breeding dogs who are confined to life in a cage for as long as people are duped into buying their puppies."

This is the latest in a series of HSUS investigations exposing abuses at puppy mills, dog auctions, and pet stores around the country. The new Petland investigation revealed:

• Despite assurances by Petland staff and on their corporate website that the company knows its breeders and deals only with those who have "the highest standards of pet care," many Petland puppies come from massive commercial breeders in Missouri and other Midwestern states, where hundreds of breeding dogs are packed into cramped, barren cages—often for their entire lives, with no socialization, exercise, or human interaction.

Hear from a former Petland employee

"People need to see what goes on inside a puppy mill. Once you see it, it hits you."

• When HSUS investigators visited 35 of the large-scale breeding operations linked to Petland stores, they witnessed puppy mills where puppies are factory-farmed in large numbers. At many, investigators saw appalling conditions: puppies living in filthy, barren cages reeking of urine, with inadequate care and socialization.

• Many of Petland's puppies are not supplied directly by breeders but are purchased from a "middle man"—large-scale "pet distributors," otherwise known as brokers—showing that the company may not even know who the breeders are or what their standards of care may be like. The investigation revealed that some of Petland's brokers are also buying from puppy mills.

	This is just one of the many puppy mills investigators visited which supply puppies to Petland stores. ©The HSUS

• Some of Petland's puppies are ordered online via a pet auction website called the Pet Board of Trade—demonstrating that many Petland stores are not screening breeders as the company's website claims. In fact, in some cases it may not even know the breeder's name until after purchase.

• One of the most common sales pitches made by Petland staff is that the company uses "USDA licensed" breeders. However, investigators reviewed publicly available state and USDA inspection reports for more than 100 Petland breeders and found more than 60 percent of the reports listed serious violations of basic animal care regulations. Many USDA breeders exhibit a long history of substandard care and yet remained licensed. While USDA regulations are minimal, some of the Petland breeders are not even complying with these basic animal welfare standards.

• Documented USDA violations at some of Petland's breeders and suppliers included dirty, unkempt enclosures; inadequate shelter from the cold; dogs kept in too small cages; and inadequate veterinary care. Some of the breeders were found with sick or dead dogs in their cages.

Puppy mills are a source of unbearable cruelty where breeding animals are kept in tiny cages without any socialization for the sole purpose of supplying pet stores and the Internet market with puppies. The HSUS urges all of its members and supporters to spread the word about the great suffering associated with these mills, which also contribute to tragic pet overpopulation.

1 day old puppy

Sarah called me today to tell me there is a 1 day old puppy in Indiana whose owners killed the rest of the litter. Luckily a woman was able to get one out of there. We are trying to go get this one and see if Freya will accept her as one of her puppies. It is probably the only chance this little one will have. Keep your fingers crossed!

Puppies 3 days old

Everyone is still doing great!!! We really need a foster home for Freya and the puppies. Please help!

Animal Testing

Have you ever wondered how many animals suffer in labs? It's a good question. Because there are so many animals in laboratories and records are not kept for all animals, estimates of the number of animals tortured and killed annually in U.S. laboratories vary widely but are in the millions.

The Animal Welfare Act requires laboratories to report the number of animals used in experiments, but it does not cover mice, rats, and birds (used in some 80 to 95 percent of all experiments). Because these animals are not covered by the act, they remain uncounted, and we can only guess at how many actually suffer and die each year.

Many household products and cosmetics companies still pump their products into animals' stomachs, rub them onto their skin, squirt them into their eyes, or force animals to inhale them as aerosol sprays. Charities use donations from private citizens to fund experiments on animals, and the FDA requires all drugs to be tested on animals. However, animals differ from humans significantly, making animal drug tests unreliable and dangerous. New research methods, such as computer models, cell cultures, and human studies are more accurate, less expensive, and much more humane.

Companies that do not test on animals proudly state it on their labels. Send back items that you have from companies that test on animals, and write a letter to the companies explaining why you won't buy their products anymore.





Thanks for the link Lou!

http://search.caringconsumer.com/





Sign the Pledge Against Animal Testing

Nileydog needs a big car!

I have been looking for a car to buy for the rescue. We spend so much money renting all kinds of vans, trucks, and suvs it would be smarter for us to just buy one. In the past few months we spent almost $1,000 just on the rental cars. That doesn't include the insurance or gas or any of that fun stuff. I am looking for an Expedition or something of that size. If you know anyone who is selling one let me know. I need it to be under $5000 so clearly I am not looking for a new one. Or if you know anyone who would want to donate a large suv or give a monetary donation to help us be able to afford one, just tell them to stop by any Nat City bank in the country. We need something this big for when we are transporting 20+ dogs. We have prescious cargo we need to make sure there is room for everyone.

Wish us luck!

Dog health tip of the day!

So I get all these great dog emails and tips all day long so I thought I would start sharing them, everyday Ill put a new dog health tip, or fun fact or something up for you guys to read!


An exercised dog may rest more calmly at home and be less nervous when left alone. Exercise can improve dogs bone and joint health, heart, and lung function. Exercise makes show dogs look better and feel better to a judge's exploring hands. Because a happy dog looks more gorgeous.

Your smooshy needs a sweater!

Don't forget if you have a Boston or other small dog, they will need to wear a sweater when it get cold out. I know I know. I too said I would never dress my dog. Then I also said I would never get a small dog and now I have two and they both wear sweaters... Winston also got some new boots for the ski house but those are going to take a lot of getting used to. Winston sure is ready for Lake Placid though.

Rita

Rita (new name coming soon) & Murphy. Will be rescued from Stranton OH before being sold for scientific research. There are a lot more at the shelter that need help. Jenny and I can only afford to save 1 of these guys. If you want you can help by boarding one of the dogs until its transport can arrive. Luckily a friend of ours, the Lab Rescue in Eastgate, is taking Murphy if we can get these people to write us back.

There are a lot of rescues and a lot of people out of state saying they will take one or three dogs, but transport for these dogs will not be before Wednesday. They have to go somewhere while waiting for their rescues and fosters. We were given until Wednesday to find rescues and fosters. The best way to save these dogs from scientific research is to board them. Can we find 11 people who will board 11 dogs for 30 days. I'm sure a rescue would arrive for each dog before 30 days, and boarding would only charge for the days there. Boarding is $8 at the low end and $15 at the high end, per day. If one boarding fee is expensive, then maybe two people could sponsor one dog. This appears to be the only way to save these dogs in twenty-four hours.

If you want to rescue a dog, and cannot get the dog until a later time, then we must board the dog.

If you want to board a dog to keep it safe while awaiting transport, please call and email your telephone number. Or on Thursday, six of the dogs you see will have their lives changed forever, and their bodies. They will no longer be family dogs but test subjects. Little do they know, but we know. If we are blaming the scientific research companies, where are we to get these dogs to boarding?