Poop and Scoop Debacle

Even if you don't own a pet, pet poop effects you every day and especially in the early spring when all the snow melts. Municipalities and SPCA's typically spend many, many hours through out the year educating pet owners on proper poop etiquette. It appears though, that two couples from Ontario missed out on that education and now a judge has told them "they are acting like children." Maybe some further education is in order for this psychiatrist and oil executive.

Read the full story here.

The Search for the Top Ten Dog-Friendly Cities in America

To celebrate the joyful life people share with their dogs, Beneful(R) Brand Dog Food recently launched an interactive, online destination where dog lovers can find and share everyday adventures with their dogs. WagWorld.com

WagWorld offers visitors the opportunity to find new dog-friendly places to visit, add their favorite places to go with their dogs, write reviews, upload pictures of themselves with their dog and pass along their favorite posts to friends and family.

In celebration of the WagWorld launch, Beneful announced its search for the Top 10 Togetherful Cities in America, the dog-friendly locations where dog owners and their dogs can enjoy daily adventures together.

Dog owners are invited to visit WagWorld to "buzz" about their favorite dog-friendly places. The 10 cities with the most activity on WagWorld.com, including postings, reviews and photo uploads, between July 27 and September 27 will make the list of Top 10 Togetherful Cities in America that will be announced in October 2009.

"Dog lovers know that life truly is better together with their four-legged friends. Our dogs are our best friends and help make every day full of play and adventure," said Matt Ferch, Beneful(R) assistant brand manager. "We created WagWorld to celebrate the relationship between dog owners and their best buddies and to provide them with a place where they can discover and
share dog-friendly places wherever their adventures may take them."

DNA My Dog Event

Trace Your Dog's Family Tree

Although all dogs are descended from common wolf ancestors, each breed has specific genetic markers that uniquely identify it. Now there’s an affordable test to reveal all of the breeds contained in a dog through that unique genetic makeup.

‘DNA My Dog’ have been offering pet owners a special kit that involves a one minute cheek swab. The swab is then sent away and in just over a week a full analysis is returned that includes your dog’s dominant breeds, personality traits and health concerns. The Canine Breed Test was developed and validated using U.S. dog populations and will show all popular breeds in Canadian and U.S. dogs. (95% of all breeds). The test has been popular in the U.S. for years and is catching on with curious Canadians.

‘DNA My Dog’ will be on hand at the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA's premier pet event -- the Wiggle Waggle Walk-a-thon -- on Sunday September 13th with registration beginning at 9am.

“We’re thrilled to be able to offer this service to everyone participating in the walk,” said Jacqueline Roth, VP at the HBSPCA. “All proceeds from pledges raised and a portion of the ‘DNA My Dog’ fees will go to support our protection and adoption departments as well as the educational programs offered by the Hamilton/ Burlington SPCA.

Local Service Providers: Hamilton Burlington SPCA

Safe and Found

Found a Dog?
Think Safety First!

If you see a stray dog in your neighborhood, your first concern should be for your own safety. If, for any reason, you suspect the animal may bite or it is acting aggressively, contact your local Humane Society or Animal Control Centre. They have the proper equipment and skill to get the dog safely under control without harm to man or beast.

If the pet is manageable, you may choose to put him (or her) in your fenced back yard or in a room in your home.

Safe and Found
Before you log onto the Internet or begin phoning in an effort to locate the dog’s owner, make sure it cannot escape from your home or yard. Put it in a bathroom or other small room where it can’t hurt itself or anything around it.

Creature Comforts
Provide the dog with an old towel or blanket to lie on and a bowl of water to drink. But don’t feed it right away! Give the dog an hour or so to settle down first and then feed small quantities of dog food over a period of a few hours. A ravenous dog may overeat and then become sick. Or it may have dietary restrictions that you are not aware of and certain foods could be harmful. If you don’t have any pet food, offer a bowl of plain cooked rice—or nothing at all for the time being.

Never, EVER, feed milk to a stray dog (or cat) of any age. Milk can cause severe digestive upset and diarrhea, especially in puppies and geriatric pets.

Start your search to get the lost dog HomeSafe by registering it with Petlynx.

Calgary Shelters at Full Capacity

Vacationing owners and the recession result in kennels being filled to capacity

CALGARY, August 12, 2009 ~ A story published in today's Calgary Herald revealed that Calgary's two largest animal shelters are in crisis.

The City's shelter is getting close to capacity, with 70 cats and 44 dogs waiting to be claimed by their owners or be adopted into new homes.

Similarly, the Calgary Humane Society is overrun with 484 cats and 95 dogs.

"We always get a bit of a spike in our numbers in August," said Bill Bruce, The City's director of Animal & Bylaw Services. "But it's our return-to-owner statistics that really slump out on us because of [the fact that people are on] vacations. We have trouble reaching the owners to let them know their pet is here. At some point--after 10 to 14 days of trying to reach them and getting no response to our calls -- we have to act in the animal's best interests, which is not to keep it languishing in a shelter forever and it gets adopted."

"[Capacity] is usually high this time of year," said Calgary Humane Society spokeswoman Pamela Amos, noting it is kitten season so some owners are surrendering the mother cat and her entire litter. The shelter has also noticed an increasing number of owners turning over their pets due to the recession.

Local Service Providers: City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services, Calgary Humane Society

Cat Licence Does Double Duty

A camera is lost, then found,
thanks to kitty’s new licence

The employees at The City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services have helped re-unite thousands of lost pets with their owners. Despite the fact that they have the highest return to owner statistics of any animal shelter in North America, every single reunion is something special. A recent very unique case, however, put a new spin on the power of a pet licence.

Excited about the new cat they had adopted from Animal & Bylaw Services, a Calgary family went snap happy, taking several digital photographs of their new fur family member. A few weeks later, before they had downloaded these and other precious memories, the camera was lost while the family was on a ski trip in Fernie, British Columbia. Naturally, they were upset, not only because the camera was expensive but also because the photographs were irreplaceable.

Here’s where the story takes a positive twist. A Good Samaritan found the camera and, after inquiring at the ski lodge if anyone had reported it missing, decides to take it home. In an effort to find any clue that would link the camera to its rightful owner, the Good Samaritan scrolled through all of the photos. The only possible lead was the photos of the cat, wearing a City of Calgary cat licence. By zooming in on the photo, our Samaritan was able to write down the tag number and call ‘3-1-1’ for assistance. A city employee then contacted the cat’s owners and provided them with the name of the individual who had found their camera. Within a few hours, the camera was safely returned to the family – all because of a cat licence!

While this is one of the most unusual lost and found cases The City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services has been involved in, it’s proof that a pet licence can bring about many happy endings.

Local Service Providers: City of Calgary Animal & Bylaw Services, Calgary Humane Society