To Mom:

Greetings Animal Lovers,

Today I've decided to deem this post an apology to my mother, whose patience and lenience was constantly tested while I was a child.  I can remember conveniently finding dogs and kittens around the neighborhood that I begged to keep and promised to take care of.  Surprisingly enough Mom allowed me the freedom to take in animals, and even purchased their necessities.  In the meantime every animal I desired contributed to a house of chaos and unwanted smells and messes, not just from my friends and I, but my pets as well.  Although sworn into having full responsibility for the animals, I had to be repeatedly reminded of chores that needed to be done and proper ways to do them.  I swear for eight years my mom had to remind me to clean out the cat box, which I account for her having such a keen sense of smell.  I had a fish tank full of fish that often began to smell a week after changing the water, I always had to be told when it was time and reminded the procedure of doing it correctly.  

There were countless times when the duo of my cat and dog together caused haywire around our household on a regular.  Despite the fact that they were playing they often chased each other full speed and when caught, inevitably tussled into knocking things over.  Whether glass was being broken or rugs were being stained with spilled drinks, my pets never failed to let their appearance be known.  I had a bunny when I was 11 that would poop and pee everywhere when I let it out to play.  I was pretty good for cleaning it up, but too many times I had to be shown where I missed a few pebbles.  My dog would always track in the house whether he walked through dirt or not.  I could probably go on for essays about burdens that my animals brought upon my mom, and it is for this I am giving my apologies. 

Mom:
I am truly sorry for the unwanted smells of cat urine that steamed through your guest bathroom.  I'm sorry for the need of warnings to your company to be cautious of small pellets on the floor, or aware that my dog would awkwardly sniff them just once 'then he knows ya'.  I'm sorry for the messes and spills that I half-assed cleaned up but most of all I'm sorry for Taz and Zeus breaking your crystal wreath.  You really stuck it out for me while I lived there and now that I'm gone I hope your enjoying your peaceful and pet free abode.
Love,
Your Daughter 

18 Year Old Charged With Cruelty

Greetings Animal Lovers,

In true fashion I've found myself hung up and analyzing a recent article I browsed last week online.  On Friday, October 26 the ASPCA reported to their blog that on Tuesday, October 23 they had arrested a Queens woman over neglect.  By woman, they're referring to 18 year old Crystal Lashley who allegedly neglected a six year old German Shepherd mix.  The dog, named Briana was tied up so long outside that her collar became embedded.  Over time, if a collar is too tight around a dog's neck their skin will slowly begin to grow over and around it.  Once the skin reattaches itself on the surface of the collar facing away from the dog, your end result will be a collar embedded in the skin of the animal. Cutting the skin open and removing the collar is the only method for appropriate healing. When Crystal signed over the animal on August 21 she was signing to the responsibility of whatever condition Briana was found to be in, which was confirmed as an embedded collar, underweight, infested with fleas and dehydrated.  Crystal was charged with a single count of misdemeanor cruelty, and will face a possible year in jail and/or $1,000 in fines if convicted.

Embedded Collar (in this case rope)

The response I have to this case runs along the lines of is Crystal the only one to blame for the cruelty of the animal.  There is no doubt that she should be charged, claiming ownership of Briana deems her responsible to make sure the dog receives adequate care, but an 18 year old girl certainly doesn't live alone.  The dog was found tied to a tree outside of a home that was not owned by Crystal.  The article didn't specify but I would assume an 18 year old girl still lived with parent(s) or guardian(s) that would know better than to allow a collar to be embedded into the neck of an animal.  The completed process takes an estimated 5-8 weeks. Whether or not the people she lived with were her parents or friends, there were other people who could have prevented the situation from occurring, by simply calling attention to it.  The ignorance spreads across the entire household and I believe its unfair to just punish one person.

The wound of a embedded collar removal

I by no means am expressing everyone in the house be charged the same as Crystal, but I do believe she is not the only one to blame.  In my lens justice has not been completely served for Briana and her permanent wound around her neck.  When I was 18 I was a full time student and part time worker, luckily I had a sensible enough parent to help care for my dog, who in reality was viewed as the family dog even though he technically belonged to me.  

NPBAD

Greetings Animal Lovers, 

Scrolling through the ASPCA blog forum I couldn't help but read the article behind this adorable character.  Turns out it's not primarily about this Pit Bull, but all Pit Bulls in general.  On Wednesday, October 17, 2012 the ASPCA announced that National Pit Bull Awareness Day (NPBAD) would officially be termed ten days post the announcement, 10/27/12.  Pit Bull Awareness day was originally coined in 2007 by Jodi Preis, a member of the Bless The Bullies foundation of middle Tennessee.  After introducing the idea nationalizing the day she got a lot of positive feedback, enough for it to deserve an official ASPCA recognition.  

I appreciate the idea of NPBAD and as I've mentioned previously I have a special attachment to the Pit Bull breed.  As the article mentions there are more negative connotations to the breed than there are positive, making them the most banned or legislated against.  Because of this, in response to the article I'd like to suggest maybe an awareness week or month rather than just one day.  I understand things take time to be considered for a request as such but I strongly believe the way Pit Bulls are treated is an issue that requires far more than a day to educate individuals on.  In order to truly ".. change perceptions about Pit Bulls.." as the article suggests, more time is going to have to be designated to thoroughly get the job done.  

The ASPCA is asking for any Pit Bull Owners to register for the National Pit Bull Awareness Day Event on October 27th.  Come help spread the truth about Pit Bulls ! 

How to Live With a Neurotic Dog

Greetings Animal Lovers,
If anyone is seeking a good read for grins I'd like to offer an incentive for Stephen Baker's How to Live With a Neurotic Dog.  Last week's Expository Writing assignments included a book review on the subject, animal awareness, in which I've chosen this semester for a blog project.  I checked out a used bookstore near campus and actually scavenged up a plethora of books by Baker, including How to Live With a Neurotic Cat and How to Live With a Neurotic Person.  Although neurotic dog wasn't  necessarily backing my blog baseline of animal adoption or cruelty, I was engaged by the illustrations as I thumbed through the book.  I was eager to read the information presented with the pictures so I decided to focus on it for the review.

For my readers who are dog owners I wanted to focus one of my posts on some tips and pointers Baker introduces for living with a neurotic dog, which according to him is pretty much every dog in the American society.  The following information I've included from the book is what I found to be most interesting in the reading.  As an experienced dog owner some aspects of the book were a bit elementary, but there were some fresh points I thought were worth knowing.

• Chapter 3 - One of the most successful ways of keeping the neurotic dog off your bed is by making a soft bed of his own. Dogs need 24 hours of sleep per day and its hard to get comfortable on human chairs, not made for the kind of support pups need.  Also included in this chapter was that dogs will always sleep at a constant depth, rather than fluctuating up and down as we do. This can be useful to those trying to wake their dog.
• Chapter 6 - An important thing to remember when feeding your dog is that "man invented dog food, not dogs.  They were not even consulted (Baker , 87)."  I liked this aspect of the book because I've always believed human food should never be consumed by dogs.  Baker informs that there's no need to make a separate plate for our dogs,  but we should keep in mind that  there stomachs can fathom things other than Kibbles N' Bits. Dogs will appreciate scraps of human food more often than not. 

Here are some of the illustrations that caught my eye while thumbing through the book: 

Chapter 7: The Neurotic Dog Vs. Baby

Chapter 6: Feeding the Neurotic Dog 

Chapter 3: Sleeping Habits of the Neurotic Dog 

Abandoned

Greetings Animal Lovers,

Imagine being left behind when your parents moved away.  As a child you can't provide for yourself.  It's necessary to have your parents around to prepare food and make sure your being properly taken care of. What would happen if they just up and left you abandoned by yourself? 

To answer this we can all look to Tiffany, an adoptable cat at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay who was left behind when her owners moved out of state.  She had nothing to eat or drink or even an adequate place to go to the bathroom.  She was neglected, and found by a landlord a week and a half after her owners had moved away. When he took her into the HSTB she was extremely underweight and reeked of urine and feces she had been walking around in. She immediately warmed up to the staff and volunteers and is described as "having a ton of love" and "liking to be held and cuddled". Tiffany is fully recovered and back to her regular weight.  

If you'd like to give this once neglected girl a forever home head on down to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay located on 3607 North Armenia Ave in Tampa, Florida.  She's a year old domestic shorthair and she is spayed and litter trained.  She also has a microchip embedded in her shoulders, so if she gets lost shelters can scan it to pick up registered owner information.  Since  Tiffany has been at the shelter for more than thirty days she is now a special price of $19.00.  Maybe she's the missing piece to your family.  Go meet her and find out! 

Free Fixings and Vaccines, Maybe

Greetings Animal Lovers,

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay (HSTB) has recently announced the offering of free vaccines and sterilizations for cats under one circumstance, you have to live in the 33610 zip code area. The Petsmart Charities have awarded the HSTB with a $190,000 grant to make it all happen. Starting on September 24, 2012 until September 2014 cat owners in the 33610 area can call to make appointments to spay/neuter and vaccinate their cat(s), free of all costs. The purpose of this grant is to compliment the HSTB's program aimed to prevent the reproduction of feral cats, also known as the Trap/ Neuter/ Vaccinate/ Return Program (TNVR).  The free roaming cats in this program are trapped humanely, which is something I wanted to make sure to include for my animal loving readers.  After being spayed/neutered they are returned to their original location, free of disease and unable to have countless litters of future feral cats.  

I can't deny granting these funds to continue the TNVR Program is a great idea, what I'm having a hard time with is the fact that their limiting the funds to the 33610 zip code area.  Looking over the policies and procedures of the program I've found nothing limiting the original treatment to those within that specific zip code.  For this, I can't make sense of limiting the extra $190,000.  The HSTB services animals all over the Tampa Bay area, and to me not allotting services to more than one zip code is a kick in the face to the residents of outside communities whom associate and donate to the society.  

Feral cats in communities are technically homeless, but remain socialized and fed by random residents in surrounding areas. 

I'm curious to know whether the restriction of the extra funds was ruled by the actual HSTB, or if Petsmart Charities gave them strict ultimatums when receiving their money.  Either way it goes the only plausible explanation I could think of for restriction would be to have funds last longer.  Although that would be smart, it would be more beneficial to extend the services among three or four surrounding zip codes for a shorter period of time.  Preventing the constant reproduction of kittens is something that will inevitably lower the number of cats in the future, so having two years of free treatment for such a select area may prove less efficient than treating a wider community for say, a year.  I guess for now it's good to know those feral cats in the 33610 zip code will decrease in the future, while the two surrounding areas continue reproducing like rabbits.  What's going to happen in the future when the untreated offspring migrate over to the treated area? This is the question I raise to the HSTB.  

Chicken or Beef Toothpaste Does the Trick

Greetings Animal Lovers,
Think about how often humans brush their teeth. Although recommended at least twice a day I'm certain some of us may exceed or fall behind this number by one or two brushes. Now, think about how often humans brush their dog's teeth.  I asked four friends with dogs if brushing their dog's teeth was an activity practiced often.  All of them admitted to not doing it on a regular basis, and only one admitted to even trying it before.  According to the K-9 Lifesavers, a veterinary clinic in Virginia, its essential to brush your dog's teeth regularly to avoid periodontal disease.  The web-post on brushing your dog's teeth points out,

"Periodontal disease can lead to tooth loss and affects most dogs before they are 3 years old. Bacteria from [this] disease can spread to affect other organs and cause illness."

Many people are unaware of this disease and the effect it has on their pet's overall well being.  Brushing your dog's teeth can prove difficult, and for this reason I wanted to highlight the proper technique involved in this task. To prepare, all you need is a child-like toothbrush, pet toothpaste (because regular toothpaste would definitely upset your dog's stomach and cause illness), and a treat to give your pup after the cleaning is complete; this acts as positive reinforcement.  If your dog doesn't like the toothbrush, your can substitute a cut of a washcloth to get the job done.

• First things first: get your pet used to you fiddling around in their mouth by rubbing your finger along their teeth and gum-line. Lift their lips, open their mouths and just feel around for some time.  This will let your dog know that someone touching in their mouth is okay and not harmful or scary. 
• Next: let your dog sniff and lick the toothbrush and toothpaste you plan on using.  Let them lick some paste off of the brush. It's important for them to get used to the hard texture of the bristles, so they get a sense of what to expect when the brush enters their mouth.  Many experts suggest chicken or beef flavored toothpaste, so that the taste is something your dog will enjoy.  
• Now: understand that dog's teeth don't need to be as thoroughly brushed as humans.  The outside of teeth (facing the cheek) are the only parts that really need attention.  Rub the toothpaste on your finger, and then rub your finger across two or three teeth at a time.  After that take the toothbrush with just a couple short circular strokes, and brush the outsides of the teeth you previously applied with paste.  Work quickly. *K-9 Lifesavers suggest only 30 seconds on each quadrant of the mouth about every other day to be affective.  
• Last: once you have successfully completed the task be SURE to give your dog some type of treat or reward for them allowing you to finish. The positive reinforcement needs to be there if you want your dog to get used to their regular brushings.  

As stated before dog's don't require as much scrubbing as humans do, so be careful not to over brush. Over brushing can lead to redness of gums or bleeding, which will prevent your pup from ever letting you brush their teeth again.  The most important part of this process is the positive reinforcement.  It's essential for your dog to relate getting their teeth brushed with something they appreciate. Rewards can be rawhide bones, treats, or just a long period of praise with extensive petting and what I call "doggy talk". Its good to start your dog's brushings at a young age, so when they get older their used to the process and how painless it really is.  Patience is also essential in this process, your dog may or may not allow you to complete the cleaning the first or second time.  Just stop if they start to get stressed, and pick up again the next day.  Not all dog's will appreciate this care.  For those who under no circumstance will allow you to brush their teeth, there are pretty priced plaque-preventive products that can be purchased from a local veterinarian to get the job done. Take a look at this video of a first time brushing for Katrina and her dog Talula. They help illustrate how simple and stressless this task can be.

The Mighty Toro

Greeting Animal Lovers,
Although licking his chops in true predator fashion, this pup is very compassionate and truly wouldn't squish a grape. Toro is a three year and seven month old Terrier / Pit Bull mix looking for a home at the Tampa Humane Society. Unfortunately like every other dog that is any part Pit Bull, Toro is banned from a grand majority of resident communities and complexes. Toro's owners were forced to give him up due to the rules of an apartment complex that they have recently moved into.  Pit Bulls are often directly linked to angry or aggressive behavior and for this reason, complexes feel the need to take precautionary measures and ban the breed from living in their perimeters.  Although this definitely prevents any potential accidents from occurring, it is forcing people to surrender their Pit Bulls and mixes. With such a big difference in entrance and exit rates of this highly banned animal, dogs like Toro end up staying in shelters for an overwhelmingly long period of time.  This case proves no different, and because Toro has been at the shelter since August 19 (over 30 days), his adoption price has dropped from $150 to $75 and he comes with shots for life.  If you or anyone you know is looking for a sweet boy who loves other animals, Toro is your guy.  He is also neutered and comes with an embedded microchip, so if he gets lost or stolen his owner's information will be attached to him.  Feel free to go down to the Tampa Humane Society, located on 3607 N. Armenia Ave in Tampa, Florida for a meet and greet, get to know him.

Is 5 Years Enough?

Greetings Animal Lovers,
I came across an article from the Tampa Bay Times about a recent five year prison sentence given to a local Town 'N Country woman. Cynthia Cuervo, age 47, was found illegally hoarding twenty-two dogs; most of which suffered from broken bones and eye ulcers.  Cuervo was on probation in February for a previous animal neglect case when authorities reported seizing sixteen dogs along with a crate of bones from her residence. Probation forbid Cuervo from owning any animals, therefore the twenty-two dogs found in her possession were enough to have her arrested. Animal investigators reported seizing more than eighty animals from Cuervo in the past six years.
In her recent trial Cynthia Cuervo pleaded guilty to all twenty-five charges that had been put against her.  Among these charges were three counts of felony cruelty, and twenty misdemeanor charges of unlawful confinement with no food/water. Two of the charges were unrelated to animals.

"[Judge Gregory Holder] gave Cuervo the maximum 25-year prison sentence, but suspended 20 years of it. When she gets out of prison, she'll be on probation for twenty years and will again be restricted from owing animals."

The fact that Cuervo is even doing five of the twenty-five year sentence is a shocker.  Jodie Tillman, Times Staff Writer,  informs us that prison sentences for animal cruelty cases are not common.  I can say I'm pleased with the fact that a prison sentence has been sought out for this case, but I do believe Cuervo doing 40% of the time rather than just 20% would have had a more lasting effect on any individual who is currently committing animal cruelty cases unnoticed.  Since it is so rare for anyone to be ordered anything other than large fines or community service, I wish the Hillsborough County Court would have, in the nicest way, made more of an example of how serious animal cruelty truly is.  I would argue that the reason cruelty and neglect of animals is growing so rapidly is because individuals are aware that prison time is never a for sure consequence of committing the crime.  Let it sink in.