Pit Bull in Yer Engine?

I saw this on the news this morning and had to post it. What a cutie! He can crawl up in my engine any day!

(I would like to state that I do feel sorry for the poor little pup and realize he’s terrified. And I hope he’s found himself in a pittie tolerant situation.)

Pit Bull Gets Stuck In Engine Of Truck
Man Had Just Paid $1,000 To Fix Truck

VACAVILLE, Calif. — A Vacaville, Calif., man found a pit bull stuck in the engine of his truck and chewing through wires Tuesday morning, his family said.

Walter Witthoeft had just woken up and went outside to put power steering fluid in his truck. When he popped the hood, he saw a pair of eyes, heard growling and then noticed a dog wiggling around in his engine.

The dog worked his way up and under the truck the night before and got stuck, Sacramento Station KCRA reported.

Witthoeft’s family called police and reported the incident.

Witthoeft said he had just paid $1,000 to fix his truck last week, but the truck had to be towed back to the shop for repairs due to damage caused by the pit bull.

The dog eventually was able to wiggle out and animal service brought it to a county shelter.

- Denver Channel 7 News

Lost Dog in Chicago

This just-adopted dog escaped from his new home in the Marquette Park area.

From: Crystal Vuletic (crystalvuletic@hotmail.com)

In the past two days Theodore (the Rottweiler) escaped twice from his adopter. Now he is missing. He’s been missing for about 12 hours. He is 5 years old, underweight at about 75 lbs, up to date on all vaccinations and neutered. We are listed as the default fosters on his adoption application if his situation w/ his adopter did not work out. Obviously it has not worked out. I am heartbroken over this and cannot believe Theodore has been missing for so long. He ran away at around 68th and Campbell on the southside near the marquette park area. I went online to petfinder to get emails for local rescues to pass this info to.

His adopter has contacted animal control, the police and is hanging flyers.

My husband & I feel responsible for this since we placed Theo in this home. My husband Bob is off work today and went to AC on 27th & western around 2pm and checked all the dogs. Theo was not there. He is currently driving around the Marquette Park neighborhood looking up and down all the streets & alley ways in hopes to find Theodore. I emailed Chicago Ridge animal welfare since the AC on 27th & western said there’s a chance he may be there. Bob is headed there next to look for Theo.

Theo is microchipped and his info links back to a shelter in Ohio. We contacted his previous foster mom Tina to let her know and she contacted that shelter. If they get a call from Chicago they will call her & in turn will let us know where to find Theo. He has tags but again, they have his Ohio information.

Theo comes from abuse. His previous owner beat him. He is missing his two bottom front teeth and is scared of men (tall men to be exact) he may be a fear biter but he has NO history of ever biting. He LOVES women. The entire transport up from Indy he was a complete doll. He literally ate from my hand and was a complete love bug. I am attaching a picture from Sunday of him. I do not know if he knows his name. He acted very responsive when I called him but apparently he did not pay attention when his adopter called him by his name.

My cell is 708-945-6021, please cross post this info far & wide! We need to get Theo back and safe! ~Crystal Vuletic~

Shepherd Mixes

From the Rescuer:

These boys were picked up as strays and only have until the end of this week. They are located at the Hancock County dog pound in Carthage, IL which is in west central IL. They have been on their own for some time now, they are on the skinny side. I don’t know if they are related but they have identical EARS! The more shepherd one I believe is neutered, maybe around 4-6 years old, mellow and very sweet. The other boy I also believe is neutered, sweet and mellow and maybe 3-4 years old. They both are around 40 pounds, med/large size. Nice, calm, quiet boys and they will be pts if not rescued. Please if you can help sponsor/foster or rescue contact me at westhancockk9@mchsi.com ASAP! Thank you, Anissa

Pretty Girl Needs Help

From the rescuer:

Can anyone tell me what are the chances of saving this girl? How sickening! She is at my vet now waiting to see what kind of response I can get on helping her. If you can help, please email Anne at ausiersq@dstream.net.

Pretty Girl is a 2-3year old pit that was hit by a car 2 weeks ago. She also had a litter of 6 puppies approx 8-10 weeks ago. I was called by a client about her today–my client brought her back to Quincy from Missouri this past weekend. She stated that Pretty Girl had been given to someone they knew in Missouri after she had her puppies. The guy found homes (or sold) all but the last puppy. When they met her, he was planning to shoot her and the last puppy. They felt sorry for her and brought her back. They love animals, but cannot afford to treat her for her injuries. They stated that this guy only fed her scraps and was rough with her–they witnessed him kicking her. They spent the weekend cleaning her up, treating her abrasions with topical antibiotics, and feeding her. The puppy was still trying to nurse from her, for which she was becoming annoyed. The puppy appears well nourished and is still with them–I hope that they will eventually surrender her to me, but feel she is ok at the present. I will be returning to vaccinate her and check on the situation. Pretty Girl adjusted well over the weekend with their pets–a German Shepherd dog and a cat. She also was good with their small children. She would allow me to take food away from her without any aggression and loves to be petted. She has been sleeping in their bed and seems to be house trained. There is no vaccination history, but can assume she has not had any vet care recently. She was checked for heartworm today and was negative. The vet recommends that the hind leg be amputated because of the length of time since injury. She tolerated the exam well. Can anyone help us with her?

Stanley the Talking Cat

He’s so cool, he’s with the Chicago Canine Rescue! They write: Stanley is a wonderful three-year-old orange and white green-eyed Dreamsicle of a cat looking for a loving home. It’s hard not to notice Stanley; he’s very talkative, active and fun-loving. He enjoys the company of both cats and dogs and loves everyone he meets. Stanley greets all new guests with a friendly “meow” and always encourages chin rubs! He is currently living in a foster home with other cats and dogs. Stanley was recently diagnosed with Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (or AIHA). He gets a medication called Predisone every other day and as long as he stays on the medication Stanley is expected to live a long, healthy, normal life. To find out more about AIHA, please visit www.marvistavet.com/html/body_imha.html Stanley is neutered, up-to-date on vaccines, micro-chipped, virus-tested and de-wormed.

Eight Belles

My husband asked me last night if I agreed with PETA’s outrage over Eight Belles, the horse that snapped her two front legs after the Kentucky Derby and had to be euthanized. When I said yes, he rolled his eyes and asked me why? It was an accident, it was nobody’s fault.

First of all, these races push these animals beyond their limits for money and entertainment. They are whipped, they are drugged, they are punished, and they are continually forced beyond their physical capacity. My husband replied, “But that’s what horses do, they run.” Yes, and they love to run, but not under these conditions.

The San Francisco Gate reports, “Numerous factors are being cited as root causes for fatal injuries: 1) The use of medications that may have weakened the breed, 2) an emphasis on training for speed instead of stamina, 3) racing horses at too young of an age, 4) the proliferation of races around the nation and 5) the track surfaces.”

Just as with many breeds of dogs, the breeding is creating a more fragile animal. “Where once there was an emphasis on breeding durable animals who could race resolutely at distances up to a mile and a half, now the goal is to breed fast horses who can show some brilliance in a short career and retire to breed more fast horses. The result is a breed that many people in the game think is more fragile,” reports Sports Illustrated.

“There’s no question that we have seen an emphasis on precocity and speed,” says Bill Casner, co-owner of WinStar Farm, whose Colonel John was the No. 2 betting choice in the Kentucky Derby after winning the Santa Anita Derby.

“You see faster horses running on smaller feet and smaller limbs,” trainer and former jockey Art Sherman told the San Francisco Gate. They are also racing younger, before their bones have properly formed. “Racing is so rich for younger 2-year-olds that people push younger stock and then when they are three they’re more apt to get hurt,” Sherman says.

So the horses are physically weaker, but their racing and training schedules are more intense than ever. That makes sense.

Years ago you didn’t have as much racing; now you have it year-round and horses don’t get a break,” Sherman said. “To turn one out (let the horse rest a while) is not feasible to a lot of owners because it’s so expensive even on the farm. The game has got to the point that it’s just so hard to maintain them at their peak all year long.”

Eight Belles had nine starts with five wins prior to the Kentucky Derby. None of the other 19 horses in the Derby had that many starts but all had at least five, except Big Brown (three) and third-place finisher Denis of Cork (four).

dd to all of this the drugs they use to push the horses beyond their physical limits. According to the Boston Globe, rules vary from state to state but all allow the race-day use of the diuretic Lasix to control internal hemorrhaging that can affect a horse’s airways. Butazolidin, an anti-inflammatory agent, is allowed on race day in most states, including California but not Kentucky.

Eight Belles’ owner is requesting a necropsy to see if she suffered some sort of cardiac or pulmonary event that caused her to stumble and break her legs. That would take some of the blame off of the jockey, and the whipping her to run when maybe she was breaking down. But still, could these drugs cause this pulmonary attack?

So now there is a call for, at the very least, synthetic tracks. Churchill Downs has a hard dirt surface and this is what thoroughbreds race on. It’s hard on their bones/joints which are also not as strong as they used to be. One study of track surfaces between June and early this year reported 1.47 fatalities per 1,000 starts on synthetic tracks compared with 2.03 per 1,000 on dirt tracks.

I don’t necessarily blame the jockey. He may not have known or been aware. He did ride and he did whip her, but I don’t think he should be a scapegoat. Let’s look at the moneybags that instigate this problem. The fault lies within the whole horse racing institution; and in an even broader sense it’s how we see and treat animals in general.

After years of racing, injuries and deaths are rapidly increasing. In just two years, three horses have died at major races: Barbaro in the 2006 Preakness, Pine Island in the 2006 Breeders’ Cup, and George Washington in the 2007 Breeders’ Cup.

Plant Sale for Animals!

Come for a blooming good time and purchase your spring flowers all while helping the animals at the West Suburban Humane Society.

West Suburban will host their third annual plant sale on Friday and Saturday, May 9th and 10th from 9am to 3 pm daily. It will be held at the shelter located at 1901 Ogden Ave, Downers Grove.

Buster Brown

From the Rescuer: 

Help me save this dog!!! Dumped and limping due to a hip injury - Buster Brown needs a foster and rescue by next week - please!

Spotted by Tricia in a South Bend, Indiana cornfield wearing a bright blue harness, a smile (see picture), and a noticeable limp, Buster Brown accepted her offer of a ride. Tricia set about posting “lost dog” notices, contacting vets and state police yet no one came forward to claim him. After an initial vet visit, she took him to a boarding facility for evaluation. Buster brown was found to have a good temperament around other dogs but it was noted he was really interested in cats ….and not in a good way. He knows basic commands, enjoys people and apparently was someone’s pet. He’s social, loves car rides and wags his whole butt when happy. Not food motivated - but craves attention and human contact.

Unfortunately for Buster Brown, after an additional follow-up exam and x-rays were taken last week, the vet advised that the hip needs to be drained and the bones reset. The vet’s additional comment: he’s a “real nice dog” and absolutely friendly considering the pain he’s enduring.

There’s no guarantee that the surgery will rid Buster Brown of the limp - but the pain should abate!

Tricia cannot keep him and since South Bend does not allow pits to be adopted out - county policy, - to save this much deserving good boy, I am having Buster Brown fully vetted at:

Western Veterinary Clinic
25190 State Road 2
South Bend, indiana 46619
(574) 234-3098

After surgery this week: if you can foster Buster Brown until I can locate a rescue or an adopter - please, please advise. Any donations to the vet in Buster Brown’s name would be truly appreciated!

He is having surgery this week to repair the hip, get neutered and receive all shots. He may end up walking with a limp but hopefully he’ll heal correctly and his pain will be lessened so he can concentrate on making a family very happy.

Thank you all for any consideration!

Tricia says: if you could just meet him he would melt your heart.

Sponsor Me

I’m doing the ADOPT walkathon this weekend, and taking one of my favorites from the shelter. I’ll attach his picture. I hate asking for this kind of stuff and haven’t done it in years, but this is a pretty cool way to do it. Now, instead of filling in the folded up, printed-out spreadsheet that I would most likely lose anyway, you can sponsor and donate walkers online! Here’s mine.

http://www.firstgiving.com/nicoleflack

Admiral!

Love Mutts!