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Pet issues - Zoomies

The cushion plotters and the pooch index

May 5th 2010 03:26

Life has been complicated here of late, and I am blaming certain “fans” of this blog who suggested that Scratchy, convalescing with a broken leg, would enjoy the comforts of a heated dog cushion.

“Yes!” barked Scratchy.

“I demand one too!” barked Daisy. “In two-toned sepia shades, stripes on one side and closely-spaced polka dots on …”

“Shut up!” barked Scratchy.

The intentions of these blog fans, whom we shall identify only by their first (okay, only) names of Heidi and Clyde, may have been caring and honourable, but my simple refusal to acquiesce has led to Daisy sulking and Scratchy giving me long, cold stares which suggest I am a manic plotter of mass exterminations of sentient beings.

All of which leads to the news, published in local media today, that Australians spend an average A$2,452 a year on “pet luxuries”, or more than $25,000 over the life of a pet.

The figure, which comes from latest annual Family Pooch Index published by Bankwest, includes all food, but it is still astonishing. The second-biggest item, veterinary outlays, came in at an average $450 a year.

No doubt the dogs will claim it is as statistical support for their demands, but I’m not giving in on the heated cushions.

images: wooforlando.com, thesun.co.uk, images.businessweek.com, www.zimbio.com

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Greyhound, Dog accessories, News, Pampered pooches, Pet issues

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Bed-time story

April 26th 2010 07:42

There is a dog rule in our home which we admit could be a little confusing. The rule is that dogs are not allowed on beds, except when they are.

When we first got Scratchy, he was allowed on the bed. He repaid this generosity by never getting off it. It is the only time I have ever seen him hesitate when dinner is on offer.

Eventually we had to make the tough decision to reverse the territorial permission, and ban Scratchy from the bed. This was because Scratchy's favourite part of the bed on which to spend long sleeping hours turned out to be the pillows. Greyhounds leave almost no scent, but lowering one's sleepy head onto the pillow each night began, more and more, to evoke Scratchy.

Also, it could be hard to get into bed at all. Once off the pillows and stretched out, Scratchy is a world-class bed hog.

By the time we got Daisy, some months later, the difficult adjustment in bedroom procedure had been completed. We were no longer feeling guilty and Scratchy had almost stopped sulking. Occasionally, he was even talking to us again.

The procedure changed again one morning when Daisy leapt on the bed to offer new day greetings to Little Boss.

My wife is a world-champion sleeper and, while we go to bed at the same time, I am happy with seven or eight hours sleep and so usually rise before she does. When she finally wakes, usually about a week later, she gives a cute little squeal as she stretches, and the dogs have learned to listen for it.

The result is the thundering of paws as they run from wherever they were, to stand whining and excited outside the bedroom door until Big Boss arrives to open it. In they rush to greet Little Boss, and one morning Daisy got so excited she leapt on the bed.

Little Boss thought this hilarious and exciting, and it has become a ritual.

Scratchy doesn't even try this, apparently having learned the lesson all those years ago. As for Daisy, we have tried to demonstrate in various ways, including arm-waving, yelling, growling and household conferences with a whiteboard and diagrams, that this morning access is to be her only access to the bed.

But she doesn't get it, or willfully ignores it, and we have to leave all the bedroom doors closed when we go out, or else, coming home we will be greeted by a slightly shame-faced Daisy and a tell-tale dent in the middle of the bed cover.

She's a sweet, bright girl is our Daisy. But only when she wants to be.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Greyhound, Pet issues

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A case of animal rights taken too far?

March 8th 2010 19:47

Most of the clients of Antoine Goetschel, a lawyer in Zurich, Switzerland, are animals. Goetschel represents mostly dogs, cats and cows, although in a high-profile case last month he represented a dead fish.

Goetschel is at the forefront of Switzerland's animal rights movement, and Switzerland is at the forefront of the global animal rights movement.

Well, it was until Sunday, when voters rejected a plan to allow all abused animals the right to legal representation.

Sunday's referendum needs some historical perspective.

Two years ago, Switzerland put into practice animal protection laws which, according to some, led the world and, according to others, took animal rights to untenable lengths. According to the Swiss law, for example, it is an offence to keep just one pig or one goldfish — you must have at least two so they can keep each other company. And dog owners have to attend an accredited training course to learn how to care correctly for pets.

Despite these elaborate provisions, animal rights advocates said the Swiss laws did not go far enough. They said the laws in place were not being sufficiently strictly applied, and they wanted to expand nationally a law existing in Zurich since 1992 which allows the appointment of special lawyers to represent the animals in animal abuse cases.

The Swiss government decided that was a step too far, but instead of vetoing the idea, agreed to conduct a referendum. The result: 70.5 per cent of voters cast their ballot against stricter implementation of the code and addition of the special animal lawyers.

Public opinion may have been significantly influenced by Antoine Goetschel's dead fish case. A Zurich court heard the case of a fisherman accused of cruelty for taking 10 minutes to land a pike. Goetschel was in court representing the dead pike.

The court found the angler not guilty. The nation found the case for more such prosecutions unproven.

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Animal cruelty, News, Pet issues, Politics

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Where's Solomon when you need him?

February 12th 2010 10:43

A teenage boy in New Zealand has done entirely the wrong thing — or has he? — by stealing his own dog from a veterinary surgery where it was about to be humanely euthanised.

The five-month old puppy, named Buck, was taken to the vet after being hit by a car. Buck was diagnosed with a broken leg and his owner, Bronson Stewart, 18, was told he had two options: pay NZ$2,500 to have the leg pinned, or pay $800 to have the leg amputated.

Bronson said he didn't have the money for either option, and the vet said that the dog would therefore have to be euthanised because it was in pain.

Bronson then asked to see his dog, at which point he grabbed it and ran.

``I just knew I had to get my dog back. He's like my brother. I need to have him. They can't just kill him because I haven't got any money,'' Bronson said.

Now the SPCA has weighed in, threatening to prosecute Bronson unless the dog's injuries are tended to.

The story became national news in New Zealand, and the SPCA found itself with another role: fielding phone calls from people who want to help, and taking money from a steady stream of people marching into its offices to donate money towards saving Buck.

Stewart's father said he didn't entirely approve of his son snatching the dog from the clinic, but he knew something had had to be done.

``I love my son dearly and I love my grand-pup dearly too. He's stolen my heart alright. It's a story about a dog that deserves to live.''

And it seems Buck will live. At last count the donations totalled $900.
Wanganui Chronicle

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: News, Pet issues

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Would you want your pet cloned?

July 7th 2009 06:58

pets dogs greyhounds clone pit bull puppies

Bernann McKinney and one of her five cloned pit bull puppies

In August 2008 a Californian woman named Bernann McKinney sold her house to raise US$50,000 to buy five puppies, and declared the deal a "miracle".

The puppies were the world's first commercially cloned dogs, produced by a South Korean company named RNL Bio. They were genetically identical to each other, cloned from the frozen remains of an ear of Bernann McKinney's original dog which had died two years earlier of old age. He was a pit bull terrier. His name was Booger.

The puppies were “perfectly the same as their daddy. I am in heaven here," McKinney said. “I had to make sacrifices and I dream of the day, some day, when everyone can afford to clone their pet, because losing a pet is a terrible, terrible loss to anyone,” she said.

So, a woman swaps a house for five copies of a pit bull named Booger, a faithful companion of 10 years. That's her right, and we wish her every happiness with Boogers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Where we might take issue is with her final statement above. Yes, losing a pet is tough, but McKinney implies that, for anyone with the money, the "terrible loss" can be erased by cloning. A new version of the old. A recyclable dog.

This is surely debatable. For many people, recreating a pet in this way would be a travesty. A dog cavorts through puppyhood, provides love and support through middle age and needs love and support through old age. Leaving out all religious, moral and philosophical arguments, there is still a question of why anyone would want to repeat the story of a life.

A much-loved dog is a near-perfect story. Is it one which should be retold, or should we look for a new story?

Would you want your pet cloned?

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Posted By: Chris Champion - Category: Pet issues

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