Writer makes a clear point against those trying to repeal Missouri’s Prop B

Martin Matheny makes a great point in the lead to his Feb. 17 column on Change.org. He suggests the puppy mill industry is “the only industry Missouri legislators care about these days.”

I like the headline too – “” Missouri Legislators Determined to Keep Puppy Mills in Business. “”

On Tuesday, the Missouri House Agriculture Policy Committee voted unanimously to send forward House Bill 131, which will gut Proposition B.

Matheny goes on to say the bill “will strip the requirements for clean water, room to move around in cages, and time to rest between breeding cycles out of Proposition B. In essence, it makes Prop B a do-nothing law. It’ll still be on the books, but with no real requirements for breeders. And, it’ll be back to business as usual for the puppy mill owners.”

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The success of Vick’s former dogs is a far bigger story than Vick’s football comeback

While the sports media in general has focused so much effort into proclaming Michael Vick as the top comeback story of the year, some of the dogs he put through hell are engaged in a far more touching story of revival.

In fact a headline over a recent column on the San Francisco Chronicle website reads – “Best animal book of 2010 tells story of Vick’s ‘Lost Dogs’.”

The book is titled – “The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick’s Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption” – written by Sports Illustrated editor Jim Gorant.

What are your thoughts on this? – breed specific spay/neuter

Heritage.com out of Michigan is reporting the Ypsilanti Township Board of Trustees voted 6-1 Tuesday to approve an ordinance requiring “all pit bull owners to spay or neuter their pets.”

The local Humane Society of Huron Valley supports the measure, indicating there are multiple problems in the area relating to an overpopulation of pit bulls, backyard breeding, aggressive animals, and dog fighting.

‘Puppy farms’ and greyhound racing in the UK news

Newly proposed legislation in Wales would set better standards in what are called “puppy farms” in the region. And two greyhounds recently lost their lives after injuries sustained during races at Manchester’s Belle Vue Stadium.

First, the puppy farm news: The BBC reports the plan to replace the Breeding of Dogs Act in Wales will, among other things, set a standard of one human caregiver to 20 dogs at breeding facilities.

From the BBC piece –

Pit bull saves guardian from health crisis

The Las Cruces Sun-News out of New Mexico ran a story June 5 about a pit bull who awakened his pet sitter one night during a health crisis where her blood sugar had dropped to a dangerously low level.

Sam, a 90-pound 8-year-old began nudging Marlene Ham in the middle of the night. When Ham woke up, she quickly realized her blood sugar was plunging. She managed to make to the kitchen in time to ingest cake and milk and moderate the blood-sugar count.

The fact that Sam is a pit bull is noteworthy. The fact that Sam actions more than likely were the result of sensing her health crisis is is even more noteworthy.