Dunkirk, NY
Sixteen year-old female Husky named Peppy has called her 2 1/2′ X 7′ outdoor metal cage home for fifteen years. Her living situation was noticed three year ago. Offers were made to buy her, walk her, build a fence in the yard and so on. The owner has yet to take people up on their offer. Dunkirk animal control and cruelty investigator were contacted regarding Peppy’s living conditions, they responded by saying her living conditions were legal. The entire metal enclosure is off the ground and roughly consists of five feet of metal grate flooring in which Peppy stands on. The owners states she is a “deer tracking dog” and that he took her out every Saturday to track deer–3 yrs ago. Her age and arthritis (which she is taking medication for) may be preventing her from doing this anymore. According to a neighbor Peppy is taken out of the cage only a few times a week. Continuously walking on a metal grate floor and taking medication for arthritis equals an uncomfortable and excruciating situation for her. Not to mention the constant exposure to the outdoor elements and lack of socialization.Recently, pictures were taken of her and shared in order to get her help. The bottom line is to either get media attention for this situation, or a public outcry….this issue is similar in how puppy mill dogs live.

Kindly contact the following asking for Peppy to be released to a loving rescue or for her conditions to be greatly improved:

Chautauqua County Humane Society
Attn: Jeff Lubi
2825 Strunk Road
Jamestown, NY 14701

County Executive
Gregory J. Edwards
Gerace Office Building
3 North Erie Street
Mayville, New York 14757
(716) 753-4211
County Executive’s Page

I have read something horrible in the last Sunday Times: A greyhound breeder offers slow dogs and puppies to be killed for reasearch. This is the full article:

“The largest breeder of greyhounds in Britain is offering to sell healthy young dogs to be killed and dissected for research, an investigation has found.

Charles Pickering told an undercover reporter that his breeding programme continually throws up dozens of “fit and healthy” dogs that are “just a bit too slow for the tracks” and therefore a financial burden to him.

Pickering, who offered to sell them for £30 each, said he was helping to supply dogs to the animal teaching hospital at Liverpool University.

He provides yearling greyhounds to Richard Fielding, a greyhound trainer, who gives his older dogs for free to university veterinary staff, who put them to sleep and remove organs for teaching and research.

Pickering said he wanted to keep his dealings “nice and confidential” because it was “extremely sensitive”. The disclosure throws fresh light on the way in which the greyhound racing industry treats both retired dogs and those that fail to make the grade.

The Sunday Times disclosed in March that the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) was buying canine body parts from John O’Connor, a vet whose clinic was willing to euthanase healthy greyhounds, no questions asked.

An undercover reporter approached Pickering after hearing he was quietly sending young dogs to be put down at Liverpool University.

Pickering, a former pig farmer, breeds about 200 racing dogs a year at his Zigzag Kennels. Its website says: “We make the welfare of all our stock our highest priority.”

The reporter told Pickering that he was from another university and was interested in procuring surplus dogs for research. Pickering, 56, who is based at Dunholme in Lincolnshire, said: “We look to sell them [for racing] for a minimum of £200-£300 at 12 weeks [old].

“When they get to a year old we are hoping that we can get between £800 and £20,000 for the very fastest. But, of course, along the way we get some that aren’t quite suitable. If it’s in the interest of someone for scientific purposes or study purposes, well that’s a good thing. It’s better than just being put down and disappearing.”

Asked which of his dogs were not “suitable” for racing, he said: “We’ve got ones that simply won’t chase, they are absolutely healthy, fit as you could want, but just choose not to chase the artificial hare or are just a little bit too slow for the tracks. Or the ones that turn and fight.”

Pickering said he had been supplying up to 30 dogs a year to Liverpool University but “we could do more if required”. He later said that the dogs sent to Liverpool had either “finished racing or they are the ones that don’t make the grade” and were taken there by Fielding, who is accredited by the National Greyhound Racing Club, the sport’s governing body.

Pickering said that he could supply as many dogs as required at £30 each and could even breed them specifically to be killed. “When we are breeding, the ones that only reach the minimum standard for what we want, if we get too many of those it becomes a complication because we have to look for pet homes and all that sort of thing,” he said.

“I do give as many away for pets as we can, but these young ones, they are not used to the house environment. If they can have a use and help someone somewhere, and it gets me a tiny bit of money back, that’s all the better for me.”

Fielding, who is based in Lancashire told the reporter he had four “very healthy” dogs which he was happy to have taken away and killed immediately.

“I got shot of 10 old ones last year. Liverpool is a godsend in that respect because they are used for a good purpose.” He did not charge the university for them.

When contacted by the Sunday Times he denied taking any of Pickering’s dogs to the university and insisted the only greyhounds he took there were old and not rehomeable.

Pickering later denied ever having sent dogs for reseAs long as greyhounds are allowed to race there will ALWAYS be surplus dogs. People like Colin Denwood go on about the ‘good’ owners - the only ‘good’ greyhound owners are the ones like me - who give these awesome dogs a home after they are spat out by the racing industry.arch.

Dr Eithne Comerford, who works at the university’s hospital and had arranged to take greyhounds from Fielding, told the undercover reporter that it was “not something we’re particularly mad about . . . we’re all vets”. She stressed that the dogs were “euthanased properly” and used for “multiple projects”. She said they were not paid for and the RVC scandal had caused “huge havoc”.

A spokeswoman for Liverpool University defended its activities. “Our approach to veterinary research is of the highest ethical standard. We only carry out research on tissues of dogs and cats that have died or been euthanased and with the full consent of the animal’s owner.”

The stamps above are all in honor orf working dogs

Endal’s story continues, because Allen, his owner, has been in contact with us and sent lots of great photos. The photo below shows one of Endal’s amazing talents by posting a letter. He’s such a star! Many more photos are posted on Endal’s and Allen’s website.

Endal’s owner Allen writes the following amazing and poignant report about the relationship between him and his dog Endal:

“Endal ” Like a shinning Star”

Following a serious Head injury suffered while serving in the Royal Navy during the Gulf war and after three years in Hospital and rehabilitation the sum of my

condition was that - I could not recall getting married, the birth of my children and I had lost about 50% of my history. (none of which has ever come back!). My speech was awful and my behaviour bizarre. My memory then and now lasts about two days and I’m dependent on a wheelchair for mobility.

Because of my own self pity, anger and bitterness I was stuck in the darkest

soulless place a person can ever be - void of any hope!!. Without the emotions Love, Hate, Happiness or Sadness I was beyond human help, even out of the reach of my loving wife and two young children. I defended myself from people by being horrible and rude, that way I could be left alone.

One Dog cut right through that defensive armour and saw the real Allen Parton.

Like a shinning star Endal came bounding into that dark place and touched my very heart. He just said to me with those Doggie eyes “hold onto my tail and I’ll pull you out of here, at your pace and with no conditions”. He has to this day never stopped pulling. His unconditional love has healed so many of the hurts, his mischief making brought laughter into my saddest days and his zest for life has rubbed off on to me.

He never judges me, he never looks away because of my condition and his aiding of me when I at my weakest makes us both an invincible team. I can put my hand out to my side day or night and he is always there. He has taught me to love, laugh and live again.”

This is the amazing story of Endal, a collegue of mine. I admire him greatly!

“Endal (b. 13 December 1995) is a male Labrador retriever in England whose abilities as a service dog and as an ambassador for service dog charitable work have had considerable news media coverage.

Among other distinctions, Endal has been described as “the most decorated dog in the world” (including “Dog of the Millennium” and the PDSA’s Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry and Devotion to Duty, the highest award available to an animal) and the most famous dog in the UK has been filmed by over 300 film crews from around the world and has a number of world “firsts” as an assistance dog to his credit.

Endal is a pedigree yellow Labrador retriever. Unusually, Endal suffered from birth from the lifelong debilitating joint condition osteochondrosis in both of his front legs, which brought his suitability for assistance dog training into question. However, with the help of a specialized diet and controlled exercise, Endal qualified as a fully operational assistance dog. He became the service dog for disabled ex-Royal Navy Chief Petty Officer Allen Parton in the late 1990s.

Endal’s fame has led to his taking on the role of an animal ambassador for service dog related training and charities.

Allen Parton

Allen’s head injuries from the Gulf War are serious. They include 50% memory loss and inability to reliably make new memories for more than around 2 days (for example, not recognising his neighbour of 7 years duration), physical disability - he is wheelchair-bound - speech and word difficulties, inability to perceive items that cannot be seen, and inability to safely judge speed and distance of traffic. For a considerable time after partnering Endal, he was unable to speak and was limited to basic sign language.

Work as a service dog

Endal is able to respond to over one hundred instructions as well as a very large number (”hundreds”) of signed commands. He can retrieve items from supermarket shelves, operate buttons and switches and load and empty a washing machine. He is able to put a card into an automated teller machine, retrieve the card when the process is complete and return the card to a wallet.

“When I couldn’t talk, he learned sign language – if I touched my head I wanted my hat, if I touched my face it was for the razor. He learned hundreds of commands in signing. Eventually one day, in this very silent world we lived in, I grunted. That was like an electric shock going through him, he was so excited. They said I’d never speak again, but Endal just dragged the speech out of me.” Able Magazine.

The above Able Magazine article continues by noting that “Over the years, Endal has learned to pull the plug out of the bath before going for help if Allen falls unconscious whilst bathing, and is able to put Allen in the recovery position, hit the emergency button on the telephone and summon help … Endal has learned how to use cash and chip and pin machines, as well as helping out with the shopping, opening train doors, operating lifts, unloading the washing machine and more typical doggie skills like getting the paper.”

Parton states that Endal’s ability to intuit his wishes and needs showed when they first met, and was responsible for helping him recover from the initial deep depression and trauma caused by his disability. As well as intuiting the operation of a cashpoint (ATM), Endal came again to national attention in a 2001 incident, when Allen was knocked out of his wheelchair by a passing car.

In this incident, Endal pulled Parton, who was unconscious, into the recovery position, retrieved his mobile phone from beneath the car, fetched a blanket and covered him, barked at nearby dwellings for assistance, and then ran to a nearby hotel to obtain help.”

I definitely think that each dog should have their own armchair. Alright, Underdogs like my daughter might have to rest in baskets… I allow her during daytime to have a snooze in my armchair, when I want to stretch my legs under the kitchen table. But night time is armchair time for me!

Today I want to write about “Puppy Mills” which are a very “inhumane” way of breeding us.

“Puppy mills are nothing new. These mass dog-breeding operations have been around for decades. They continue to thrive because they prey on unwitting consumers who are smitten by too-cute-for-words puppies in pet store windows and on fancy websites.

But behind the friendly facade of the local pet shop, the pastoral scenes on a “breeder’s” website, or the neighborhood newspaper ad, there often lies a puppy mill. These canine breeding facilities house dogs in shockingly poor conditions.

Life is particularly bad for “breeding stock,” dogs who live their entire lives in cages and are continually bred for years, without human companionship and with little hope of ever becoming part of a family. These dogs receive little or no veterinary care and never see a bed, a treat or a toy. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are commonly killed, abandoned or sold to another mill. The annual result of all this breeding is hundreds of thousands of puppies, many with behavior and/or health problems. Read more about puppies and breeding dogs who suffered at puppy mills at the Survivor Stories page »

Puppy Mills: An Endless Cycle of Cruelty

Several hundred thousand puppies are shipped cross-country to be sold in pet shops, but many are sold via newspaper classifieds or Internet sites and are often accompanied by false claims such as, “We’d never sell puppies from a puppy mill” or promises that the puppies are “home raised,” farm raised,” or “raised with kids/grandkids.” The ploys of the puppy mill are designed to dupe a well-intentioned family into buying a puppy and keeping the engine of cruelty working overtime.”

Good job I had my puppies at home and could bring them up properly… Read some of the survivor stories here>>>

The HSUS

Breeder dogs in puppy mills are often forced to spend their entire lives caged in shocking environments.

“The Frog” (acrylics on canvas, 70cm x 50cm)

The other day I was told by Alpha Su that black dogs are hardly possible to be painted, because they’re black. Well… I always thought that Black Is Beautiful!
Anyway, she transformed me on this painting into a yellow lab. Why not, I don’t mind, as long as I get a bone for modeling for her.

Read this!! Good job I am far too large for a fashion handbag… these humans seem to get crazier by the day. I feel very sorry for those tiny creatures (even if I cannot stand their high pitch barks!).

Pet owners warned over latest celebrity craze - the pooch pouch handbag for mini fashion dogs
By GEORGE WEYMAN - 20th February 2008

All the rage: A woman takes her dog for a walk in a ‘puppy purse’

Animal charities are warning pet owners to keep their dogs on a lead after the latest in a range of carry cases for small dogs was launched.

Dog owners can now carry their pet in a small fashion bag, slung across an arm and hanging loose from the waist, in a style made popular by Hollywood celebrities Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson.

But the bags, which cost as little as £22, could cause serious distress for dogs, the RSPCA has warned.

It has joined animal welfare charity Four Paws in condemning the bags, which have helped create a boom in small dogs like Chihuahuas and toy Yorkshire terriers.

“A dog is not an accessory and people should not be influenced by fashion,” an RSPCA spokesman told the Daily Express.

“The RSPCA is concerned about the practice of carrying dogs in handbags as some celebrities do. It could actually become distressing to the animal.

“A dog’s welfare should always be of primary importance.”

The charity warns the growing demand for miniature puppies so popular with celebrities has fuelled a cruel and illegal puppy smuggling trade from Eastern Europe.

The puppies are often bred in filthy conditions before being taken to street markets, it claims.

The abolition of EU border controls means there are no checks on whether dogs have been inoculated or are old enough to be transported.

And the dogs are often traumatised by the experience, with as many as 30 dogs a time being crammed into the back of car boots in Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland for a painful journey to Britain.

Animal welfare charities warn the latest trend in dog handbags can only increase the demand for small pups.

Designer carriers are considered de rigueur for celebrity dog owners and such upmarket labels as Gucci, Hermes and Louis Vuitton report a roaring trade in the pooch ‘purses’.