Just a heads-up...

Things are running a little slow this week. Mr. Armadillo is wrapping up seven years' worth of PhD work in defending his thesis today, and things have been a bit manic around here this last week. I'll be attending his lecture today, we'll be taking tomorrow off together, then spending a long weekend with family. Also in early August we'll be taking a week off to spend with family as well. We'll try to keep things moving, but please expect some delays.

Thanks for your patience, we appreciate it. It's an exciting time for us. Honestly... I've got what I feel is some small measure of tenacity in my soul, but this dude's wrapping up what amounts to twelve years of concentrated study on a single topic. The mind, it boggles. Mad respect for endless hours at the bench that would drive me out of my mind.


"Ah, there's nothing more exciting than science. You get all the fun of sitting still, being quiet, writing down numbers, paying attention...[chuckles] Science has it all!" -Principal Skinner

Scary stuff! Learn the heimlich... it really does save lives.

A friend's geriatric pug, Mandi, nearly choked on a hunk of turkey neck today. Jon was able to save her by quickly performing the canine version of the heimlich maneuver: turn the pooch upside down and give several hard thrusts to the abdomen just below the crest of the ribcage. Here's a printable PDF with excellent, clear instructions. Everyone should familiarize themselves with the techniques: http://www.theanimalspirit.com/dogcpr.pdf

On choking and raw food, the most common culprits seem to be chicken or turkey necks, foods small enough to encourage hasty gulping and cyllindrically-shaped to make an effective airway plug. Common preventative measures are to crush the bones internally with a mallet (Mandi's turkey neck had been crushed prior to serving), to serve foods partly frozen in order to encourage slower eating, and holding one end of the food while the chewies commence. Serving ground or chopped foods is the ultimate solution for choking prevention. Though going this route circumvents some of the other perceived benefits of a whole-foods raw diet, in the end, we all have to troubleshoot in the ways that work best for our own pack.

Hugs to old puggles, and here's hoping to never to hear similar stories again.

Cross-posted!

Shout-out to Raw Doggers everywhere: anyone in that area of the country willing and able to help?
______________________________________

PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST

Shiba Transport, Jupiter, FL to Chicago, IL Saturday, August 1st to Sunday, August 2nd
**17 LEGS STILL NEED TO BE FILLED OVERNIGHT**

PASSENGER INFORMATION LISTED AT BOTTOM OF SHEET
NUMBER OF PASSENGERS - 1 Shiba Inu
RESPONSIBLE RESCUE - Shiba Inu Rescue Association www.savingshibas.com
RESCUE COORDINATOR - Aimee Winkler

Please respond to admin @savingshibas. com (remove spaces) if you can take a leg/legs or part of a leg. Please include your car's make and model, license plate state and number, and contact phone number that will be used during the transport.

Coming from: Foster Home
Going to: Foster Home
Every leg allows a 10 minute break

**ALL LEGS AND TIMES ARE VERY FLEXIBLE**

***** ALL DAY 1 TIMES ARE LISTED IN EASTERN TIME UNLESS NOTED! *****

DAY 1:

Leg 1
Jupiter, FL to Vero Beach, FL
64 miles
1 hr
7:00 am to 8:00 am
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 2
Vero Beach, FL to Titusville, FL
70 miles
1 hr 5 min
8:10 am to 9:15 am
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 3
Titusville, FL to Palm Coast, FL
70 miles
1 hr 5 min
9:25 am to 10:30 am
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 4
Palm Coast, FL to Jacksonville, FL
68 miles
1 hr 5 min
10:40 am to 11:45 am
FILLED! Thanks Tammy!

Leg 5
Jacksonville, FL to White Springs, FL
74 miles
1 hr 5 min
11:55 am to 1:00 pm
FILLED! Thanks Jill!

Leg 6
White Springs, FL to Adel, GA
71 miles
1 hr
1:10 pm to 2:10 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 7
Adel, GA to Vienna, GA
71 miles
1 hr 5 min
2:20 pm to 3:25 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 8
Vienna, GA to Macon, GA
61 miles
55 min
3:35 pm to 4:30 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 9
Macon, GA to Atlanta, GA
77 miles
1 hr 15 min
4:40 pm to 5:55 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 10
Atlanta, GA to Calhoun, GA
67 miles
1 hr
6:05 pm to 7:05 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 11
Calhoun, GA to Chattanooga, TN
56 miles
50 min
7:15 pm to 8:05 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 12
Chattanooga, TN to Manchester, TN
66 miles
1 hr
8:15 pm to 9:15 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

**OVERNIGHT NEEDED IN OR NEAR MANCHESTER, TN**

***** ALL DAY 2 TIMES ARE LISTED IN CENTRAL TIME UNLESS NOTED! *****

DAY 2:

Leg 13
Manchester, TN to Nashville, TN
65 miles
1 hr
7:00 am to 8:00 am
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 14
Nashville, TN to Cadiz, KY
74 miles
1 hr 5 min
8:10 am to 9:15 am
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 15
Cadiz, KY to Metropolis, IL
68 miles
1 hr
9:25 am to 10:25 am
FILLED! Thanks Katie and Cindy!

Leg 16
Metropolis, IL to Benton, IL
65 miles
55 min
10:35 am to 11:30 am
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 17
Benton, IL to Effingham, IL
89 miles
1 hr 20 min
11:40 am to 1:00 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 18
Effingham, IL to Champaign, IL
80 miles
1 hr 10 min
1:10 pm to 2:20 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 19
Champaign, IL to Kankakee, IL
77 miles
1 hr 10 min
2:30 pm to 3:40 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

Leg 20
Kankakee, IL to Chicago, IL
64 miles
1 hr 5 min
3:50 pm to 4:55 pm
NEED VOLUNTEER!!!

PASSENGER #1
NAME: Norton
BREED: Shiba Inu
AGE: 5 yo
SEX: Male
COLOR: Sesame
SIZE/WEIGHT: 25 lbs
SPAYED/NEUTERED: Yes
SHOT UTD: Yes
HEALTH: Good
HOUSETRAINED: Yes
SPECIAL NEEDS: None
DOES THE DOG RIDE WELL IN A CAR: Yes, but must be closely monitored when doors are opened
DOES DOG GET ALONG WITH OTHER ANIMALS: Needs slow introduction to dogs, NOT good with cats
ADDITIONAL INFO: Proven escape artist. Please walk on leash at all times (even in a fenced yard) and be very careful around doors
ITEMS PROVIDED: leash, collar, vet paperwork
ITEMS NEEDED: water bowl, extra leash, crate
REASON FOR TRANSPORT: Foster Home to Foster Home

Aimee Winkler
President
Shiba Inu Rescue Association
www.savingshibas.com

Reposted from Portlanders Against Breed Bans

Thanks to Green Dog/PABB Julie for the following. Karen Delise's article is a fantastic one.
___

There have been a number of good articles this week about the difficulty of identifying dog breeds visually, an issue that is especially concerning for dogs labeled "pit bull mixes", considering the implications of being a "pit bull type dog" in our world. Brent over at KC Dog Blog had a great post about this today, which I've included below.

I also would encourage you to check out Karen Delise's historical view of "dangerous" dogs on her site by visiting this link: http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/canines-issues/a-historical-view/
It is basically an overview of her book, The Pit Bull Placebo, but is a must-read if you haven't had time to read the whole book yet.

Enjoy!

How well can we really identify breeds of dogs?
http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/

Our friends over at the National Canine Research Council have been having some fun with DNA testing of late.

Last week I noted some new research from the AVMA is indicating that DNA testing may just be debunking any studies ever done on dog bite studies by breed. Basically, every dog bite by breed study out there is based on people's visual identification of the dog breed -- and we're finding out that people really aren't that good at identifying breeds of dogs by looks -- and in fact, it is more or less impossible.

But when you put images with it, it is really telling.

So last week, the NCRC published a "Find the Labrador Retriever mix" visual ID game. Similar to other version of the Find a "Pit bull" game, it turns out that a lot of mixed breed dogs that we assume to be mixed breeds that are predominently common breeds don't often contain any of those breeds at all.

Most people, including many who work in animal rescue, are not all that great at knowing the looks of all the different dog breeds. The AKC/UKC combined recognize over 150 different breeds of dogs....but at this point, there are over 400 recognized dog breeds. And often, when these breed intermingle, they don't carry with them looks of any of the breeds they represent.

However, because we are familiar with a few dog breeds, we have become pretty good at grouping dogs together in groups with other similar looking dogs. Is the dog about 80 lbs and black? "Lab Mix." Boxy head and muscly? "Pit bull". Long hair and snout? "Shepherd mix". Never mind that there are several breeds of "Shepherd" that don't look all that much alike -- and many of the "shepherd mixes" don't really look like any of those breeds.

We group them, because in our mind, it's easier to classify them. Besides, what does a Chesapeake Bay Retriever/Chihuahua mix look like? And what does that mean to a potential adopter? Mostly nothing. But it's a cute black dog that kind of looks like a Lab, so let's call it that.

So what do our classifications mean? It means we group a lot of mixed breed dogs of uncommon breeds into a grouping of more popular breeds. So go to PetFinder, your local shelter, or look at any bite study. Almost anywhere you look for classifications by breed, you see "labs", "shepherds" and "pit bulls" as the most common breeds. Most often it's not because these dogs share the same DNA -- but because the LOOK similar to each other and it they are more easily categorized that way.

I think this is a really important distinction. When communities say they are putting restrictions based on "breed" because they say they are "inherantly dangerous based on their DNA" -- we need to be honest about what that means. These communities are not making decisions based on DNA, or breed at all -- but on LOOKS. They are determining that a LOOK is aggressive - not genetics. Which is an even crazier notion than the genetics argument which doesn't hold up to science either.

It's turning out that the more we learn about dogs and breeds, we find out the less we ever knew in the first place. And that pretty much every study we have ever done about dogs and breeds is completely irrelevant now because we didn't identify the breeds right in the first place.

Have room for a shiba in your life?

Shiba folks are apparently drowning in spare shibas at the moment. These primitive little dogs are awfully attractive, but definitely more dog than many folks looking for an attractive little dog are prepared to handle. As such, it's not surprising that in our impulse-buy and puppies-as-commodoties world, too many end up in rescue. And, too, sometimes people are just embarassed, after having been warned and lectured, to admit that maybe they're just not suited to the task.

It's a tricky thing in the breed-fancy world. Humans have a hard time hearing "no", and people seem to take a dog-breed-assessment very personally... even though it's no reflection on a person as a human being if their situation isn't quite right for any given dog. After all, no breed is any "better" than another, just different, with different needs. It sounds like a "well, hello Mr. Obvious!" thing to say, but I'm a big proponent of people choosing the breed or type that best suits their current needs and lifestyle. In other words, no matter how deeply in love you are with any given breed or type of dog, sometimes you just have to be able to take a step back, look at your situation with an objective eye, and ask yourself if you're pursuing the breed because you want one or because you really think they're a suitable match for your lifestyle. In today's "dog owning world", just as in with plenty of other things, people often choose dogs because they want. They want a particular look, or they want what the breed represents, or they just find themselves irresistibly drawn to a particular breed for any given number of reasons. People often convince themselves that they will change their lifestyle to accommodate the dog; like the treadmill that's now a clothes hanger, the dog's very presence will mean they "have" to exercise more, or socialize more, or take up a dog-related sport or hobby. Whatever the adjustment is, making changes to our lives, major changes, is hard. As the dust-gathering exercise equipment can testify, good intentions don't carry very far.

Something else that's difficult for some people to hear and understand: it is not absolutely true that a dog is a dog is a dog. Consider the hypothetical case of a dog handler with some experience who lives a moderately active life, has some background in dogs, and a compelling interest in, let's say, the rottweiler as a breed. They also spend much of their time working with sheep. This person thinks "I have room in my life and budget for a dog, and now I can get the rottweiler I've always wanted". The person knows rotties like most dogs of any active breed need a job, something to keep their brains and bodies occupied. This person thinks they can teach the rottie to herd--after all, rotties are former cattle drovers, no?--and thus occupy the dog, get some help on the farm, and enjoy the company of his or her chosen companion.

Now, this story could end in a lot of ways, but the two main potential results I see are this: maybe the person is able to pull it off and work their rottie brilliantly. Maybe the person is dedicated enough to the individual dog, maybe the dog has the innate skills and smarts to pick up a non-traditional job, maybe it all works out great. Maybe, on the other hand, the person learns that rotties just aren't bred with herding in mind. Most dogs could probably be trained to some level of proficiency, and some dogs could probably perform the task extremely capably, but you'll increase your chances of success exponentially (and have a far easier time getting there), if you choose a purpose-bred herding breed... and a molosser enthusiast who needs a farm dog has other, more suitable options. Why make life difficult for yourself?

There are a lot of reasons dogs end up in rescue, some of them beyond our control--especially in these tough economic times--but I do strongly feel that the vast majority of rescue situations could have been avoided from the start with a little bit of introspection and a healthy chunk of brutal self-honesty.

Shibas are an interesting lot. They are beautiful little dogs, but they are a handful. They are primitive hunting dogs, despite their plush and cuddly exterior. Hopeful shiba owners should be prepared for a dog that will bolt after anything it wants to and really really really really really likes to kill stuff. Lots of stuff. If nothing interesting to chase and kill, perhaps your sofa will suffice. I myself am not an experienced shiba owner, but word from those plucky (and/or masochistic) folks is that The Misanthropic Shiba is your go-to source for down & dirty, real-world shiba news. If you want to know what life with a shiba is like, this is an informative (and hysterically funny) place to start.

SO! All that having been said... if you have room (and courage) in your heart for some hot shiba action, please look to S.I.R.A, the Shiba Inu Rescue Association. They are reaching the point of "overwhelmed" with nineteen dogs currently housed and several more either on the way or being held temporarily elsewhere. They've got a lot of incredible and incredibly deserving dogs waiting for permanent placement. Shibas are difficult dogs and these pooches have already been through multiple placements; they do not need more inconsistency in their lives, so please consider your long-term commitment capabilities very carefully before taking the leap. Keeping primitive dogs presents a host of challenges that many other dog owners will not have to face... but in the end, I think the rewards are greater, too, for those up to it.

Check out beautiful Rosalie, sweet Emi, lovely Shika, or cuddly Momiji:



...and a good fifteen or so others. If you don't have room for a shiba in your life, please consider donating to help them with their work.

Foodie nerdgasm:

A couple weeks ago I made a sticky toffee pudding, for no particular reason other than it just seemed like a good idea at the time. I am a total Potter nerd and mild anglophile. I love toffee and butterscotch and when I saw the words "sticky toffee pudding" in print I knew that whatever this confection was, it had to be a win. Turns out, I was right:


I don't keep a food scale in the kitchen, and most proper recipes I found online were written by weight, so I found an American version for the ingredient proportions and used the traditional UK ingredient list. After baking, I aerated the top, threw a couple shots of Kahlua Especial over it and let that sit for about ten minutes while the sauce thickened. I soaked the pudding with about half of the hot toffee sauce and let that sit for another ten minutes or so.

Have I yet mentioned that I'm emotionally bonded to my stand mixer? I lufs it. This is not entirely because of the incredible ice cream attachment, but it sure doesn't hurt. That bad boy was a wedding gift from our friend Peter, who also bestowed upon us a copy of the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream Cookbook so that we may never again be saddled with the whims of our local scoop jockeys, and their staunch refusal to keep Chubby Hubby on tap. This time it was a straight-up sweet cream base made with good local cream and half-and-half, sweetened with brown sugar.

Final cut, spoon a bit more toffee sauce over, and add a scoop of ice cream. Snap photo quick and nom.

Incredible!

Cherry on this story, I posted the above food porn photo to The Naked Chef, Jaime Oliver* this morning, who responded a minute later with a "wow" =D
Rockin' ;0)



*my secret boyfriend

Bassetfest 2009

Oh man... I'll say one thing: Basset people know how to party ;0)

So! Here's the scoop: rockin' basset-girl Heidi called me up a couple months back from Oregon Basset Rescue; she had seen our gear at Green Dog in Portland, and wanted to invite Raw Dog to set up a booth at their annual reunion/summer party: the Basset (not technically "Olympic") Games! Who could resist?

They actually have a full weekend's events, Saturday kicked off with the Basset Waddle, a low-slung parade through the local shops which I would have loved to see, and a BBQ in the park. We weren't able to make a weekend of it, but arrived early on Sunday morning to set up before the Games. I got busy unpacking while Mr. Armadillo did the canine reconnaissance (he scoped out the pooches). A few minutes later, he made the very astute observation that one dog in particular had stayed put. For, like, ten or fifteen minutes! Just... staying! And wagging! In light of the Raw Dog's notably poor impulse control when there are faces to be slurped, I can see why he'd be astonished. He was suitably impressed, and wandered over to say "hi". The owner expressed concern said pooch might wear out his wag prior to competition.

It's a serious concern, the wag-factor at this event was nearly unbearable.

I haven't quite sorted out this whole Flickr thing yet, but here's a link to the photo set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23005609@N06/sets/72157621648026439/


Schedule of events!

Basset Limbo!



An obstacle course




Wet T-Shirt Contest



And the crown jewel of the Games: Synchronized Swimming...! The key to this event is to synchronize all four paws; get them to put all four paws in the water at the same time by way of bribery, cajoling, demonstrations, or demands. Any means legal excepting physical compulsion (no dragging or foisting allowed). Described as "a near-impossible feat".


Spectacular. I haven't laughed this hard in... I don't know how long.


Some of my favorite images:

This just in:

Basset parties = amazing.
I'm beat... more tomorrow. Apéritif: limbo, wet t-shirt contests, and synchronized swimming. Stay tuned.

2009 Oregon Basset Hound Rescue Games!

Hooray for tubular canines! We're pleased to announce that this year we'll be joining the Oregon Basset Hound Rescue for their annual Olympic-style Basset Games! Starting at ten (gates open at 8:30) tomorrow morning at Legion Park in Portland, this should be a rockin' good time. Even if you are not, of yourself, in possession of a long-bodied, short-legged hound dog, it will most definitely be worth your time to stop by and see the fun. This is my first year for attendance, though I did experience many a UC Davis Picnic Day's annual Dachshund Derby (quite a spectacle). Those longdogs know how to party ;0)

Come see us!



View Larger Map


*Random basset trivia: show up for the party and name-drop Scott Kurtz' totally awesome PvP pupsters and YOU will walk away with a fine piece of custom gear!

Web TV: viewing schedules I can handle!

I am enjoying the hell out of Kevin Pollak's new web show, a weekly broadcast live interview show, usually with two guests and interviews that run about an hour to two hours each. It's great--a really pretty uninhibited venue for chit-chat with folks you don't usually get to hear talk for more than a minute or two at a time (Kevin Smith, excepted).

A clickeroo here will get you to the archive of episodes. I was gonna toss out a couple of my favorite segments as places to start but honestly I've legitimately LOL'ed up every single interview so far. They're all great--the ones with the names I recognized, but even and especially the names I'd never heard. What I'm loving about it is exposure to all these brilliant and funny people who I'd never come across because they hadn't been "marketed" to me. The web is the great equalizer, where people with real talent can put their work out into the world and sink or swim on wits and merits. It's no longer necessarily about who you are or who you know or how much money you have. Real people are finding real audiences and I can't adequately describe how awesome this conceptual shift is. Kevin Pollak is a celebrity with clearly more showbiz resources than the norm, but the show itself is decidedly grassroots in feel even so.

An unapologetic Charlie Rose rip-off, Pollak started out the first couple months mining his address book for guests. Although I'm sure this wasn't so much a choice as a function of convenience with a healthy dose of necessity, I think it was a brilliant way to start. Chatting with his friends in an ultra low-key setting instantly set the tone for the show's greatest asset: candidness. Several guests so far have mentioned what an unusual experience it is for them to be able to actually talk. Kevin Smith said it best about Dana Carvey's appearance the week before: "I just thought it was so delightful to hear him be like '...is this okay? Can I keep talking?'" Carvey talked about Tonight Show appearances as "complete performances". You get zero sense of these people as actual human beings in a three-minute, tightly scripted "segment". Pollak's round table, on the other hand, is an easy, relaxed forum where conversations wander miles from any recognizable topic. We heard an in-depth description of Carvey's heart plumbing escapades. Ninteen minutes of Felicia Day's interview were dedicated to cat-chat. Several guests talked extremely candidly about adoption and parenting issues. Matthew Perry turns out to be a funny guy. Who knew?

The word "grassroots" came up early on. As quite a few corporate entities have discovered, money, spit, and polish do not always translate to endearment with the greater internet public's fickle hearts. Pollak observed with glee and maybe a little awe a few episodes in "they just don't care if you screw something up". Not only do I not care if he flubs a line, misses a joke, knocks over his water glass, or his guests have to army-crawl in under the cameras, I'd a million times rather see this honest-to-goodness humanity than a tightly produced and carefully edited "show". It seems like broadcast TV gives us impossible standards of perfection on just about every level. The LA Times called it "TV with its corset off" and I guess that's just about right. This show feels like a bunch of friends got together to produce a show in someone's basement. For the first handful of episodes, Pollak seemed very self-conscious of this. He kept apologizing for being "not ready" and moments of "unprofessionalism" when the show's hem showed. By the fifth or sixth episode as it became apparent that these moments are exactly what differentiate him from, say, Disney's lame attempts at entering this forum.

On the subject grassroots entertainment, I've almost entirely abandoned my cable subscription for the joys of audiobooks, podcasts, web tv, netflix, and OTR goodness. Broadcast TV is largely irrelevant to me these days and honestly I couldn't be happier about it. This world of web-based viewing and digital audio listening is a world of entertainment without guile, of talent and creativity for its own sake. Also... I have never been adept at revolving my life around the TV Guide. I know there are still plenty of kinks to be worked out, but I cannot wait to see people start getting paid real money for grassroots, web-based entertainment.

Please help save Bruce!

Eleventh Hour Mercy Plea to Save Death Row Dog Bruce

July 2, 2009 by K9 Magazine News Editor

Dog lovers around the world have reacted in horror to the recent news that the high profile case of pet dog “Bruce” may finally be over as a court orders he be destroyed in a few days time ending an exhaustive twenty one month battle to save him.

Bruce was a young Staffordshire Bull Terrier living happily with his family in Northern Ireland. On September 19th 2007 Bruce was seized by council officials as an alleged “pit bull type” and taken to secluded kennels whilst his owner was taken to court for owning a banned type of dog contrary to the Dangerous Dogs Act (Northern Ireland) Order 1991.

Whilst incarcerated in kennels his family were allowed to visit their dog in October 2007, Bruce had lost weight, muscle tone and had an open cut to his muzzle. Five months later Bruce was allowed a second visit from his family in March 2008, they were shocked with what they found: The wound on Bruce’s muzzle was larger, weeping and had become infected, he tail had been amputated due to damage and infection, he had open pressure sores, was underweight and looked totally broken and rejected, yet despite the clear pain he was in, is described by experts as being a friendly dog that poses no danger to the public.

A trial was heard at Bangor Magistrates’ Court on 27th August 2008 and the court determined that Bruce was “of type” despite the evidence from two expert identification witnesses who said he was not. Judgement was given two weeks later on the 12th September and Bruce was ordered destroyed devastating his family and supporters.

A legal appeal was lodged and a brief hearing on the 12th November 2008 listed the case for mention on 12th January 2009.

A further hearing in March 2009 was scheduled to set a date for the full Appeal. But, as we understand it, at this hearing the Judge gave Bruce a reprieve, as she believed Bruce does not pose a danger to the public. It was unclear how this potentially groundbreaking ruling would proceed as the Judge did not contest that Bruce had been found to be a pit bull type but decided as he posed no danger to the public he could be returned to his owner under the conditions that apply to pit bull types in England: Bruce’s owner was trying to obtain third party liability insurance for him as a pit bull type in Northern Ireland. As it is illegal to have a “pit bull type” in Northern Ireland no insurance company was able to offer insurance cover.

A further court date was set for 29th June 2009 to decide how this ruling for Bruce could proceed and the Judge ordered destruction.

In a desperate attempt to save Bruce, owner Shannon Brown, supporters and neighbours have created petitions, online networking groups and videos resulting in worldwide support to “Bring Bruce Home”. Bruce remains on canine death row, removed from his family home, alone and unaware of the worldwide support he has to spare his life.

Despite being debated several times, Northern Ireland has not adopted the provisions within the1997 Dangerous Dogs (Amendment) Act allowing friendly pet dogs found to be unlawful by appearance, but posing no danger to the public, to be allowed to live. In England, Scotland and Wales, a dog found to be “pit bull type” by the courts can be ordered entered onto the Index of Exempted Dogs as an alternative to destruction. If the Amendment had been accepted in Northern Ireland, the court would have been able to exercise discretion as with the rest of the UK - Bruce is likely to have been home long before now, alive and well registered on the Index of Exempted Dogs.

If Bruce lived across the border in Southern Ireland where no breeds are nationally banned he would never have been seized and imprisoned at all. Bruce has been offered a place of safety with a dedicated rescue and sanctuary in Southern Ireland where he could legally live out the rest of his life; this offer has been conveyed in writing to the solicitor but has sadly not been accepted by the court.

Bruce hasn’t actually ever put a paw wrong; he is sentenced to death due to the way he looks and the fact that NI has a mandatory death penalty unlike the rest of the UK who gave the courts discretion when sentencing twelve years ago.

Bruce and his family have endured much mental and physical anguish and pain solely due to a draconian law. His owner is simply a young dog owner who has been struggling for nearly two years to save her dogs life.

All that needs to be done to let a friendly dog live is for Bruce to be allowed safe passage from Northern to Southern Ireland and Bruce needs your support again during his eleventh hour.

We are asking supporters to contact the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Shaun Woodward MP) and Ministers urging them to use compassion and discretion by granting Bruce a Pardon removing the penalty imposed – the mandatory death sentence with the provision that Bruce is moved to the rescue placement ready and waiting for him in Southern Ireland. For a nation who claims to be animal lovers this would be the expected outcome.

As the court has ordered that Bruce be destroyed someone will be expected to administer the fatal injection. Veterinary surgeons take a sworn oath and promise to safeguard the welfare of animals committed into their care. In line with this sworn promise we are calling on all veterinary professionals within the UK to take a stand and refuse to kill Bruce - a healthy, wanted animal who poses no danger to the public & has a rescue space waiting for him in Eire. Bruce’s legal owner does not give consent for Bruce to be destroyed.

Please help by contacting the relevant authorities (template letters available) – details below to add your support to “Saving Bruce”.

For Further Information – Please Contact:

DDA Watch

Email: mail@dangerousdogsact.co.uk

www.dangerousdogsact.co.uk