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Multiple Puppy Mill Rescues in Missouri Highlight Need for Prop B
The ASPCA is currently on the ground in St. Clair County, MO, where we are managing the removal and transfer of 34 dogs from a puppy mill. The dogs were relinquished to Half-way Home Pet Rescue, the organization that originally contacted the ASPCA for assistance with the transfer. This rescue marks the third time in one week that the ASPCA has been contacted to help transfer dogs and puppies from Missouri puppy mills—as well as private residences—where owners have failed to provide adequate care for their animals.
“These incidents reinforce the need for Missourians to vote ‘yes’ on Proposition B,” says Tim Rickey, the ASPCA’s Senior Director of Field Investigations and Response. Also known as the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, Prop B aims to raise the standards of care for dogs in Missouri’s more than 3,000 commercial breeding facilities, which export more than 40 percent of all dogs sold in pet stores nationwide. If passed, Prop B would require Missouri’s large-scale breeders to limit the number of breeding females to 50, as well as enact common-sense standards such as requiring dogs to be provided with sufficient food and clean water, regular veterinary care, adequate housing and space, and access to regular exercise.
“Current Missouri regulations concerning puppy mills are not being enforced properly because they are vague, complicated and confusing,” says Kyle Held, the ASPCA’s Midwest Director of Field Investigations and Response and team leader of the recent Missouri rescues. “Breeding operations in clear violation of existing laws have been able to stay in business or regain their licenses after being cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. If Prop B passes, it will provide clear standards for the care of the dogs—and give local law enforcement officials the ability to enforce them.”
We Need Your Help!
The ASPCA strongly urges Missouri citizens to vote YES! on Prop B and transform your state from the puppy mill capital of the United States to a national leader in puppy mill reform.
Don’t live in Missouri, but still want to help? Please support puppy mill dogs by posting this article on your Facebook page or blog, or by visiting www.yesonpropb.com.
The answer is simple: it is the stimulants caffeine and theobromine. These two stimulants affect the heart and central nervous system of your dog. They also increase the frequency of urination (act as a diuretic).
And just how toxic it is to your dog depends upon the type of chocolate eaten and your dog’s weight. Baking chocolate and cocoa beans have the highest level of toxicity (level of stimulants) and white chocolate has the least.
Once toxic levels are reached, signs of toxicity include: restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination and/or excessive panting. If your pet isn’t treated, he could go into a seizure – possibly even die.
From The PetPlace.com:
White Chocolate. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 45 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe toxicity occurs when 90 ounces per pound of body weight in ingested. This means that a 20-pound dog would need to ingest at least 55 pounds of white chocolate to cause nervous system signs. A 10-pound cat would need to ingest 27 pounds. Yes, that is twenty seven pounds! White chocolate has very little real chocolate in it. Therefore, the levels of caffeine and theobromine are very low. Tremendous amounts of white chocolate need to be ingested in order to cause toxic signs from chocolate. It is highly unlikely that white chocolate ingestion will result in the toxic neurologic signs. Continue Reading…
Puggy, a 10 year old Pekingese from Texas has just been awarded the Guinness World Record for longest tongue in the canine world. Puggy’s tongue measures 4.5 inches! His owner, Becky Stanford, found him as an abandoned dog.
A tongue this long doesn’t come without its perils. Puggy’s owner, Becky, has to cut his food into really small pieces because when he chews, he chews with his tongue.
People often do a double-take when they see Puggy walk by but according to Stanford, “It makes me feel good that he can bring a smile to someone’s face. That, in itself, brings me so much joy!”
Due to advances in veterinary healthcare, our dogs are living longer lives. In today’s society, we tend to think of our dogs in a different light than in the past. Dogs have become members of our family. We spend more time, energy and money on them than previously. And since they are living longer, we need to consider and plan for their care in their “senior” years. The old standard of converting dog years to human years was for every 1 dog year, multiply that by 7 (so if your dog was 2 years old, he would be the equivalent of 14 in human years). And generally speaking, a dog is considered a “senior” when she reaches the age of 7 (in dog years).
Joe @ 15, resting comfortably
That being said, dogs age differently. How they age and their longevity varies between breeds and even their own litter mates. Small breed dogs tend to live longer than the larger breeds. Small dogs are considered seniors at 9 years of age, medium-sized dogs at 7 years and the larger, giant breeds at the age of 5 years. Vets consider the onset of decline in physical condition, immune response and organ function as the signals of entering their senior life stage.
You are the key to your dog’s well-being during their senior years. You are first in line to assessing his overall being during his golden years. You will see any changes to his normal, predictable routines and behaviors. A change in his eating, weight, activity or bathroom patterns could be a signal that something serious could be developing. Your chances of having a better outcome with any problems will be due to early detection. Don’t wait until his next annual exam to bring it to your vet’s attention as it may be too late. Veterinarians recommend that healthy senior dogs be examined every 6 months.
Dogs age the same as we do but at much quicker rates. Below is a chart of that progression:
When your dog enters his senior years, you should make the appropriate changes within your home to accomodate his needs. Two important factors are safety and comfort. Older dogs are less agile and more likely to slip on floors, fall down stairs or even out of a car window. Don’t leave them in situations where they could potentially be in danger. Your older dog may suffer from muscle weakness or arthritis or vision problems. They may have problems getting up and down from furniture (or in and out of cars). A pet ramp is ideal for those situations.
Make their golden years as easy as possible for them. They’ve given you so much joy through the years, make their senior years golden.
My mixed breed dog, Emma, celebrates her 10th birthday this week. For her size (in pounds) that makes her in human-equivalent years, 64. Where did the time go? I remember her coming into my life like it was yesterday. . .
I was running errands that cold, February day. We were short on dog food, so I decided to stop in at a Pet Store that I’ve never shopped in. As I wandered around, I was drawn to the back of the store. There, along the wall was a glass enclosure and several puppies in cages. In one of the cages was this adorable puppy. She had long, floppy ears and the biggest brown eyes I have ever seen. Okay, I know what you’re thinking, “A pet store puppy? You have got to be crazy!” And yes I was, crazy, as in I fell head-over-heels in love with her. Yes, it was love at first sight.
I took this adorable puppy into their meet-n-greet room. We bonded instantly. There was no turning back. Her I.D. card said she was an Australian Shepherd and there were papers for her stating that too. The breeder said that Aussies can be liver colored and even showed her a picture of one with such coloring. Ah, an Australian Shepherd . . . I had wanted one of those! So, against all conventional wisdom, I purchased my little beauty, a crate and puppy food (as well as the dog food I was originally in there to purchase).
My new puppy and I climbed into my van and we began our journey together.
4. Vote for the $100K Challenge Community Engagement Award
Earlier this week, we announced that the $100K Challenge contestants have saved a total of 33,268 animals’ lives since the competition began on August 1. That’s an increase of nearly 10 percent over last year! Remember, the shelter that saves the most lives by the end of October will take home the competition’s $100,000 grand prize.
And though we’ve been talking a LOT about numbers these past few weeks, another essential part of this Challenge is the innovative way each shelter is motivating its community to get involved in its life-saving mission. So essential, in fact, that we’re granting $25,000 to the shelter that motivates its community the most!
For the next two weeks, please visit www.VotetoSaveLives.org to cast one vote each day and help decide which shelter in the $100K Challenge will receive the Community Engagement Award and a $25,000 grant. Even one vote can make a big difference to your favorite Challenge contestant. The three shelters that receive the most votes and save at least 300 more lives over the same period in 2009 will become finalists for the Community Engagement Award. So get clicking and cast your vote every day from October 15 through October 31!
For more information about the ASPCA $100K Challenge, or to cast your vote for your favorite shelter contestant, please visit www.VotetoSaveLives.org.
Missouri has a proposition on their ballot this November. It is not only important for the dogs in Missouri, but in the long run, important for dogs everywhere.
From the ASPCA website:
Proposition B proposes to vastly improve the lives of dogs in Missouri’s commercial breeding operations by limiting the number of breeding dogs to 50 per facility and requiring basic elements of humane care including clean water, regular exercise and adequate rest for female dogs between litters.
Proposition B is a citizen-sponsored, state ballot initiative to pass the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and reduce the suffering of tens of thousands of dogs in Missouri’s puppy mills. Known as the “Puppy Mill Capital of America,” Missouri is home to an estimated 3,000 puppy mills—23% of the mills in the U.S. and far more than any other state—and is a leading source of puppies to other areas of the country.
Missourians for the Protection of Dogs /YES! on Prop B, a grassroots organization supported by the ASPCA, the Humane Society of Missouri, the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation and the Humane Society of the United States, gathered more than 190,000 signatures and secured a place for the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act on the November 2010 state ballot as “Proposition B.” On November 2, Missouri voters will have the opportunity to vote YES! on Prop B and end some of the worst abuses of dogs routinely committed by puppy mills in their state.
What Is Prop B?
Proposition B (the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act) will vastly improve the lives of dogs in commercial breeding operations in Missouri. It will limit the number of breeding dogs to 50 per facility and require large-scale dog breeding operations to provide each breeding dog under their care with basic humane animal care, including:
Sufficient food and clean water;
Necessary veterinary care;
Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements;
Sufficient space to turn and stretch freely, lie down, and fully extend their limbs;
Regular exercise; and
Adequate rest between breeding cycles.
“While dog fighting and other blood sports often dominate headlines, puppy mills are just as insidious a form of animal cruelty,” says Ed Sayres, President and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “This joint effort and ballot initiative is a crucial step in combating the horrific cruelty perpetuated by many commercial breeders. This measure will provide man’s best friend the opportunity to breathe fresh air and feel sunlight on their face; meeting these very fundamental needs should be unquestioned.”
Dogs at puppy mills typically receive little to no medical care, live in squalid conditions with no exercise, socialization or human interaction, and are confined inside cramped wire cages for life. They must endure constant breeding cycles, and their offspring are sold in pet stores, online and directly to consumers with little to no regard for the dog’s health, genetic history or future welfare.
If you’re a Missouri citizen, please vote YES! on Prop B on November 2 and transform your state from the “Puppy Mill Capital of America” to a national leader in puppy mill reform.
Don’t live in Missouri, but still want to help? You can make a difference in the lives of countless dogs by contributing a donation to support Prop B. Visit www.yesonpropb.com to donate today!
