I don't know if you're reading Raised by Wolves yet (linked at the left under Man's Only Friend).

It's a really good place.  I wish Heather would post a bit more often but I can't say much about that.

She's got a good piece up about a horrid dog pound she visited.  I haven't personally seen anything as bad as what she describes, but some places have come close.

Find out why this pound is failing the animals: I Can Get it for you Wholesale.

Thanks to an upstanding Mississauga councillor, a terrier of a lawyer and the folk at Ador-A-Bull rescue, Rambo has escaped from Ontaristan and is now living among people with common sense and the ability to determine good dogs from bad based on their behaviour.

Seriously though, if you want to see what passes for being substantially similar in appearance to three purebred dogs in Ontario, take a look at the photos of Rambo in his new home that accompany the story.

Does anybody still believe this law is about 'breed'?  I mean besides the low-information haters who don't think for themselves and therefore don't count.

Hot on the heels of the New Brunswick Veterinary Medical Association's divided vote deciding that certain procedures will no longer be performed, the PEI association will be debating cosmetic surgery at its own meeting on November 1.

Information at Wag the Dog.

I moved my ultra-rude post to the G-r-r-r-r category.  It was a bit too blue for public consumption.  This morning (Monday), I deleted it because I don't usually use that kind of language here and I don't want to start.  It worked, though, I feel much less angry and more determined today.

Legendary American Pit Bull terrier breeder Floyd Boudreaux, whose property was raided by the HSUS (among others) in 2005 has been acquitted of all charges due to a lack of evidence.

The tragedy is the loss of his line - they killed every dog and puppy on his property.

These yahoos at the HSUS are out of control, yet people keep sending them money.  I just don't get it.

Blue Dog State has the grisly details.

Fred over at One Bark at a Time has a really interesting article today about how dogs 'see' the world. He's a good writer and has a way of explaining things so that everybody can understand them.

Here's a snip:

It's been theorized but never confirmed that dogs smell fear. Now there's proof. Swiss scientists have discovered that the Grueneberg ganglion, which is a bundle of nerve cells residing in the olfactory system, is responsible for the detection of alarm pheromones. Alarm pheromones are given off by animals and even some plants, in the presence of danger, real or perceived.

Scientists were able to pinpoint the Grueneberg ganglion as the alarm receptor in animals by removing it in mice (a lot of mice paid dearly for this little piece of knowledge). Unaltered mice froze when alarm pheromones were sprayed into the air around them but mice with their Gg's removed behaved normally.

The reaction of an animal on sensing alarm pheromones is fight, flight or freeze. You see this all the time between new dog interactions. Two dogs will approach each other, sniffing. Sometimes, the sniffing continues undisturbed and maybe play or indifference follows. But other times, the sniffing suddenly stops and one or both of the dogs freeze. Tensions rise - even the humans can sense that - and the dogs need to be pulled apart immediately or else a scrap breaks out. Because the anxiety level amongst the dogs at Toronto Animal Services is pretty high, as at any shelter or pound, the place must be saturated with alarm pheromones and it's no wonder that a lot of dogs will snarl or cringe in the presence of other dogs there. It's actually quite amazing that it doesn't happen all the time.

Oh me oh my.

The Humane Society of the United States and Jennifer Fearing (formerly of HSUS and now with Humane California) have been charged had complaints filed against them by egg farming groups, who accuse them of wiretapping, among other things, in both California and Maryland.

What a surprise.  They have not been formally charged yet.

Pet Defense has the news release.

Thanks to PD for the clarification, I've modified my post to suit.

Here's some good news for a change!

Gina Spadafori, accomplished journalist, blogger, long-time pet columnist and author, has a new series of books coming out with Dr Marty Becker.

The Ultimate Dog, Horse and Cat Lover books will be out soon.  I can't wait.

Here's some info from Gina, who blogs at The Pet Connection.

You can get the books on Amazon or do a pre-purchase snoop to check them out with the 'Look Inside' feature.  See my Amazon link at the left sidebar.*

Congrats on a surefire hit, Gina!

-----

*Reminder:  You can click through my Amazon links, US or Canada, and shop throughout the Amazon site to generate a contribution to the Banned Aid legal fund.  It doesn't cost you anything so if you buy from Amazon, please use my click-through links and tell your friends!