I know you're sick of him but...

So I know this issue has been hammered into the ground, but I've found myself to be suddenly unsure. When Michael Vick was first charged with dog fighting it broke my heart. I'm a pit bull fan and to mistreat any dog, regardless of breed, is just wrong. Thankfully many pits from Vick's kennels were able to be rehabilitated and given great homes. Do I think what Vick did was wrong? YES, of course!! But where's the equal justice in this situation? Yes, what he did was wrong, but there are other players in the NFL that have committed crimes and served their time and they are now playing in the NFL. Vick has served his time and has also attempted to make amends with organizations such as the ASPCA and The Humane Society of the United States. I suppose what I'm trying to say is: if we're going to allow others who have committed crimes to return to play in the NFL, then why won't Vick be able to? Either allow all "badly behaved" players to play or none.

Vick has recently been allowed back in the NFL, but many teams are refusing to consider him as a member of their team. Is this because animal issues play at the heartstrings of America more than other crimes? Are teams worried that if they allow Vick to play for their team they will receive flack for it?

I'm interested in what will be the results of this issue and don't get me wrong, I hope he never plays in the NFL again and ends up working at a local 711.

I made a mistake in my last post when I said I was going to post a "Pup Du Jour" in each post. I suppose I should change this to "Pet Du Jour" since canines won't be the only critters I'll be posting.

I'd like you to meet Mollie ...

Mollie is at a rescue in Southern California called CARE (Cat and Canine Assistance, Referral and Education). The website doesn't specify her age but it does say that she's a senior citizen who's enjoying the important things in life. I think her one brown eye and one blue eye are so cute and unique.

To service dogs and meatballs...

I've always thought the idea of owning a service animal would be amazing. Who doesn't want a dog that is extremely well trained that they can take EVERYWHERE with them? But due to me not being in need of a service animal I will most likely not be able to enjoy this pleasure. But this does not mean that I have not looked into the many programs that are available and how I can get involved. Many programs throughout the country offer service puppy's to pet owners to be socialized from 16 weeks to 12 months. So you get a lab/golden/shepherd puppy and raise it for one year and expose it to as many elements as possible. The problem with this is what happens at 12 months? You have to give service puppy back to finish training for its future owner. It would just be heartbreaking.

A friend of mine recently brought this program in Oregon to my attention. Unlike many other programs that use specific breeds for assistance dogs, this program takes rescue/shelter dogs and trains them to be of assistance to those who are hard of hearing. The program's called Dogs for the Deaf and it's out of Central Point, Oregon. According to their website, in over 30 years they have managed to provide 3,000 dogs for people. Their program is broken down into 4 different categories. They have Hearing Dogs (rescue mixed breed dogs up to 36 months old who help the deaf population), Miracle Mutts (pups that provide emotional support for those who are struggling with depression or loneliness), Harmony's Hounds (humans aren't the only one's with special needs. Harmony hounds are dogs that may have medical problems or need a bit more tlc.), and Career Change Dogs (dogs that are wonderful companions). They also have a program for Autistic persons that provides a dog to specifically help Autistic children.

Overall the program costs about $25,000 to train each dog but the placement of a dog is free-of-charge for the person receiving the canine.

I think this program's awesome because not only are Dogs for the Deaf training animals to assist individuals but they're also giving homes to dogs that may be otherwise euthanized.

I've decided that for each post I'm going to have a Pup Du Jour. I'll show a dog that in need of a home in various parts of the country. And of course they'll be super cute!

And so, without further ado....

Meet Meatball

I found Meatball through the ASPCA group on my Facebook. I receive updates from them regularly but this one caught my attention more than most. He's a pit bull and he's estimated to be about 3 years old. Those crazy ears and that speckled nose just did it for me. You can find Meatball through the ASPCA in New York City. I hope you all enjoy him as much as I do!!

7.28.09

I chose to create this blog to put my passion for animals in print. I work part time at an animal clinic and I have been there for about three years. I have a 13 year old lab mix named Midnight and a 4 year old tuxedo cat named Bumble (or Kitty and sometimes Bit).

I'll try my best to not drown this blog in negative animal news, as we all know, cruel things happen out there in the world but there are an equal number of great things that are happening for our pups and kitties.

Here are a few photos of my loves.

My pup Midnight

She's a bit older in this photo, 14 this year.

Bumble

Being silly.

As a college student I tend to get side-tracked so every post may not be about our fuzzy loved one's, but I'll try and I'll try to post semi-often.

Enjoy!