Category — News

In a rather shocking decision to animal lovers across the United States, the Supreme Court voted 8-1 to invalidate a law that prohibited individuals from profiting off of videos of animal cruelty. That’s right, it is now perfectly legal to sell and profit off of videos of animal torture now that the Depiction of Animal Cruelty Act has been deemed unconstitutional. Justice Samuel Alito was the lone dissenting vote. The Chicago Tribune reports.

 Continue Reading Supreme Court “Crushes” Animal Cruelty Law

Upon moving to the big city, one of the toughest things was finding dog-friendly establishments. Sure they were out there and Chicago is for the most part friendly to our canine friends. But there just wasn’t a guide to it laying around and I felt I was flying blind.

Now for just about everything else in the city, Yelp! was an amazing resource. A huge Yellow Page of places with user reviews in an easy to use format. So if you need a nice Italian restaurant or a dry cleaner that won’t ruin your favorite shirt, you’ll probably be able to find it on there.

 Continue Reading Yelp For Dog Owners

Legislators in California want to expose individuals who are cruel to animals. Proposed is a bill that would estable the first ever registry for these criminals. This new registry, built similar to the sex offender registry would allow all citizens access to a database of names of convicted abusers. The bill states that abuses such as intentional maiming, multilation, torture, and wounding or killing a live animal.

The registry is not just built so you can snoop on your neighbors. It has a goal to make it easier for rescue shelters and adoption groups to identify those with criminal pasts that would not make them suitable owners. Law enforcement will also utilize the new tool for crime fighting.

 Continue Reading California Proposes Animal Abuser Registry

PETA has never been an organization to back off a major celebrity. But it appears they may have met their match with Tiger Woods. A planned billboard that attacks the iconic golfer while spreading a message to spay-and-neuter pets has been scrapped after careful consideration (and a phone call Tiger’s legal team).

A statement from their website:

After unveiling our plan for a spay-and-neuter billboard featuring Tiger Woods, our phones rang off the hook and our inboxes were inundated with tons of feedback from supporters and skeptics alike. Among the rapid responses? A courteous call from Tiger’s lawyers asking that we pull him from the ad—a request that PETA quickly honored.

 Continue Reading PETA, Tiger Woods, and Pet Population Control

For better or for worse, puppy breeding is a big business in this country. It’s there because there is a demand for pure bred dogs. While there are the horrible stories that show up ever too often in the news, it’s worth noting that there are good breeders who are humane and seek what’s best for the animal. Unfortunately, amateur breeders can cause a slew of problems due to their inexperience in the process.

Case in point to an article reported by WYFF in Greenville, South Carolina. Twenty-two dogs were packed into a U-Haul and dropped off at the Greenville Animal Shelter because they were “the wrong color”. That’s right, puppies abandoned because their color just wasn’t right. I could see this disregard if we’re talking about a pair of shoes, but not another living animal.

 Continue Reading The Unfortunate Effects of Amateur Breeding

Lassie has nothing on a Queensland heeler named Blue. That’s because Blue is being credited by police for helping save the life of a lost 3-year old girl. The NY Daily News reports.

Little Victoria Bensch happened to wander away from her Cordes Lakes, Arizona hom on Thursday. With vast mountains surrounding the valley, a search party scoured through the night trying to rescue the girl as local temperatures dropped below 30 degrees. Fifteen hours after she got lost, a rescue helicopter spotted her in a dry creek bed and saved her.

 Continue Reading Dog Credited with Saving Little Girl’s Life

Poor Kevin Federline. The ex-husband of pop superstar Britney Spears has been a punching bag of sort over the years by the general public. Whether it be for his failed rapping career or other questionable antics, he has only had to fend off attacks from humans thus far. Well that changed recently as the D-lister was attacked by dogs in front of millions of television viewers.

Fortunately for Kevin, it’s not as bad as it sounds. The dogs were muzzled and props in a recent episode of Celebrity Fit Club on VH1. In an activity designed to get Federline to shed a few pounds, he was put in an obstacle course. If K-Fed was able to reach the gate in time, he could have locked the dogs in and avoided the encounter. Unfortunately, the gate wasn’t locked in time and a terrified Federline cowered in the corner as the dogs jumped at him with not-so-friendly growls.

 Continue Reading Even Dogs Don’t Like Kevin Federline

If you’ve ever watched an episode of the Dog Whisperer, there’s a good chance you saw Cesar Millan’s sidekick Daddy. The loyal, well-behaved pit bull was not only a friend of Cesar, but a key character on the popular National Geographic Channel show and appeared on over 50 episodes. He died peacefully on Friday, February 19th in front of family at the age of 16 years old.

Daddy lived a rich life and helped create a healthy environment by calming some of the most troubled dogs. His balanced demeanor was essential in assisting Cesar in these interactions. Perhaps his most important contribution was way he became an ambassador of sorts for Pit Bulls. His gentle and loving nature showed the side of this breed that is often overlooked by society. He showed the public that Pit Bulls are not the killers that they are portrayed to be, but loving companions.

 Continue Reading Cesar Millan’s Pit Bulls Passes Away

Those cute scenes where doggies are placed in a store window for sale may be over in West Hollywood, California. That’s because the city is set to approve an ordinance that would ban the sales of cats and dogs. This is a direct stab at puppy mills that promote inhumane breeding conditions. KTLA provides a report.

The ordinance is nothing new in the State of California. South Lake Tahoe adopted one last year and other cities have looked hard at placing bans on the selling dogs as well. The city is also no stranger to pet friendly laws as they banned the practice of cat declawing back in 2003.

 Continue Reading West Hollywood Takes Stand Against Sales of Dogs

While only a year old, Scooby-Roo has mastered the art of Hollywood. He’s schmoozed with movie stars and has a life story that it is straight out of a Disney script. This 11-year old mutt has defied the odds thanks to the help of some high-profile friends and a rescue organization that refused to give up on him. MSNBC Reports.

Scooby-Roo was born without his two front legs. Some cruel owner decided to dump him and his sister in South Central Los Angeles without any help. They managed to live in an abandoned car near a freeway onramp. Upon rescue, Scooby-Roo was covered in blood from having to drag his body across the rough asphalt.

 Continue Reading Celebrities Help Save Two-Legged Dog