…if you lost your dog and someone in your neighborhood was walking around with him the next day and wouldn’t give him back??  I’d be pissed….big time.  I could definitely see myself getting arrested while trying to get Oscar back!

Who knows, maybe this lady is crazy - but I’m assuming the microchip company will have a record of if/when the data was changed.  Very curious to find out the real story here…

Wow, if I’m reading this article correctly, it looks like legislation in England and Massachusetts is effectively putting FlexPetz out of business.

“FlexPetz growth, CEO and founder Cervantes said that as a result of the recent legislation, she has decided to “shelve” operations in the US and London, and that each pet in all FlexPetz locations will be offered to a renter for adoption. Haddix said that the two remaining dogs at his NY location are slated for adoption in the coming weeks.”

One of the arguments against FlexPetz is that even though they are rescuing dogs from shelters, they are rescuing dogs that are the most “adoptable” and would almost surely be adopted by people/families and have a normal life. 

If you disagree with their business model, would you feel any differently if they were adopting dogs that were going to be euthanized? 

It might take additional resources to rehabilitate these dogs, but it could also address the ethical concerns.  There are a lot of great dogs being put to sleep in the US every day, wouldn’t they be better off being alive even if it meant having different people doting on them each night of the week?

Another way to mitigate the ethical concerns might be to push hard to get the dogs adopted after a shorter amount of time…of course, this might make the business infeasible because it would directly impact the profitability of the business.

I do think that the concept of a business that provides a responsible option for people to determine whether or not they can handle the responsibility of a full-time pet is interesting (as long as it can be done in a way that’s also beneficial to the dog) - thousands of dogs end up in shelters every year because people realize that they can’t handle the responsibility of caring for a dog AFTER they purchase one.

What do you think?  Is there any way to that FlexPetz could alter their business model to address the ethical concerns inherent in rental of a living being?

Okay, I wasn’t going to comment on the show…but I can stay silent no longer!!!  First, let me say that ALL of the dogs are terrific.  Now that I got that our there…how on earth can Tillman and Elvis be gone while crazy Beth Joy and Brandy are still there?!?!?

So, this is my tribute to Tillman the skateboarding dog (check out his videos on YouTube, if you haven’t seen them already)….

and our local GAD, Elvis…. 

You guys were robbed!!

As for their owners…a shout out to David (of Elvis & David) for being a great dog dad and an all round good guy - you make us New Yorkers proud!!   And Ron (of Ron & Tillman) won me over big time when he told Brandy something to the effect that he wouldn’t be able to make her wedding because he’d either be jumping in front of a truck or drinking bleach!!  HAHAHAHA….

So, I guess now I’m rooting for Bill & Star, Travis & Presley and Laura & Preston.  Who do you think should win??

Uh-oh…our neighbors to the west are experiencing a doggie flu outbreak.  Hopefully it won’t make its way across the Hudson, but that is probably wishful thinking. 

I’m assuming the annual 5-in-1 vaccinations Oscar gets every year cover canine influenza?  I’m going to have to check on that…

Just saw this article in The Villager about the opening of the new Thompson Square Dog Run.  I didn’t realize that this run would be the unveiling of a special new surface…

“Using several layers of rock, landscaping fabric and a new top surface called Plymouth Brown Screenings, the surface will allow dog urine and rainwater to drain directly through the run, meaning it won’t emit unpleasant odors.”

I can’t wait to check it out.  We frequent the Leroy St. and Washington Square Park dog runs and have frequently commented on the fact that neither surface is ideal…the paved surface at Leroy St. makes for a very clean environment, but no traction (especially when it’s wet).  On the other hand, Oscar loves to tear it up in the pebbles at the Washington Square Park dog run, but that place stinks to high heaven during the summer months.

I have high hopes for this new surface - especially since the article states that it will be used next in the renovation of the Washington Square Park dog run. 

If you get a chance to check it out before we do, let us know what you think…

With the upcoming Olympic Games, the world’s attention is focused on Beijing and our four-legged friends are (at least temporarily) benefiting from this attention…dog is off the menu in Beijing for the duration of the Games!!

But dogs in Beijing aren’t quite celebrating yet - a long-standing Beijing law prohibiting dogs taller than 35 centimeters (1.1 feet) is still being enforced.  A friend sent me this really interesting article about the law and its origins.  Apparently, historically dogs in China were primarily kept as pets by the wealthy.  During the rule of communist leader Mao Zedong, dog owners were “scorned as bourgeois timewasters” and strict laws were enacted that still are enforced today.

It’s ironic that a country that has given us so many varied breeds of dogs has become so unfriendly to canines.  The Shar-Pei, Chinese Crested, Pekingese, Chow Chow and Shih-Tzu are just a few of the popular breeds that have originated in China.

Local dog lovers are hoping that the attention focused on China for the Olympics will force officials to address their outdated dog-UNfriendly attitude.  With registered dog ownership in Beijing up a staggering 17% from 2006 to 2007 (~600K –> ~704K), there is certainly a huge dog-friendly contingent growing in the capital city - keep in mind that only dogs meeting the 35cm or less rule can be registered!!

Two bizarre dog-related stories in the news this past week…

First a girl in Queens is reunited with a dog that she lost 5 years ago.  He turned up in 850 miles away in Georgia!! 

More cute pics of Natalie & Rocco can be found in the Post Photo Gallery.  I really need to get Oscar micro-chipped…

Next, a scary story from the Bronx…a pitbull was bitten by a rattlesnake on Tuesday in a public park near the Bronx Zoo.  Stone (the dog) was rushed to the hospital and treated with anti-venom.  The parks department is searching for the snake, which they believe is probably someone’s escaped pet. 

We wish Stone a speedy recovery and hope Natalie & Rocco enjoy their second chance!

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Best Friends Again dog cloning auction that was held in mid-June .  (Click here if you missed the first post.) Still no word on how much bidders were willing to pay for each of the 5 doggy cloning slots - bidding started at $100K.  But there is some news on the cloning front…

I don’t know how I missed this (because I surely would have entered Oscar), but there was an essay contest to find the most “clone-worthy dog” with the winner receiving free cloning of their dog. 

I guess it’s just as well that I didn’t spend too much time working on my “Why Oscar Should Be Cloned For Free” essay, because it sounds like there was some stiff competition.  As WONDERFUL as Oscar is, I’m not sure that he could compete with Trakr…

Trakr is credited with finding one of the last survivors at Ground Zero after the Septermber 11th terrorist attack.   The 15-year-old German Shepherd suffers from a degenerative neurological disorder, which experts believe could be related to exposure to toxic smoke from Ground Zero.

Will be keeping an eye out for Trakr II…

When we leave Oscar home alone, we always try to leave the radio on…I would say that the purpose is two-fold.  First, we want him to be calm and relaxed, but we also want to drown out the city noises so that every truck going by and person ranting incoherently doesn’t drive him crazy.

Or at least those are the reasons that I leave the radio on for Oscar.  I normally leave the radio on low-volume and tuned to some easy-listening station.  But somehow it always manages to get cranked up and turned to the classic rock station…okay, it’s not a mystery how it happens - my husband says that Oscar “likes rocking out to the Classics”.  Of course, once again…I’m proven right (by a vetrinary neurologist, no less).  According to Susan Wagner, dogs are calmed by music with slower tempos, fewer instruments and simpler melodies.  Maybe it doesn’t seem like rocket science, but this article from the Worcester Telegram is all the evidence I need to make my case.  

Apparently many animal hospitals and shelters have been reaping the benefits of music therapy to calm the animals in their care.  The Telegram article specifically mentions our very own ASPCA, as well as two county shelters in California that installed a continuous Muzak system.

Continuing on the music in shelters theme, a recent article from the Downtown Express talks about how music is used at two different shelters in downtown Manhattan - Animal Haven & Pet-I-Care.   While I’m very familiar with Animal Haven from meet-ups and training classes we’ve attended there, I don’t know very much about Pet-I-Care.  I love that they provide free lifetime surgery to all animals adopted from their shelter, but maybe they need to rethink their music selection…

There has been a lot of dog news in the last few weeks…most of it very sad.  If you haven’t been paying attention, here’s a quick update…

First we had another dog electrocuted by stray voltage (in Queens).  Then a dog was killed by a street cleaner and a dog fighting ring was busted in the Bronx.  And finally, poor Trouble got her inheritance chopped from $12 Million to $2 Million!

Okay, that last one isn’t exactly in the same league as the first three, but nonetheless…this is not turning out to be a fun summer for the four-legged residents (or previous residents, in Trouble’s case) of New York City.  Let’s hope all the sad doggy news is behind us…