Gotta Poop, Gotta Poop, but too much snow!

Not my guys, but it could have been, except we had been wearing down paths for them and they'd stick to those!  Do love seeing Black Rottweilers plowing through the snow, makes it very easy to see where they go, particularly with a full moon!

Please Help Prevent Needless Malamute Slaughter

Please help prevent a needless death

Mozart the Malamute

Mozart, a 6 year old beloved family Malamute who once had a wonderful life is now facing a death sentence.  His life has been documented on U Tube; he is trained, highly responsive and has many behavior skills including walking backward on command. 

He once found rats in wood pile and played with them rather than attack. Despite two highly qualified  rescue offers both including qualified trainers; in one case a Northern Breed rescue and sanctuary,  Multnomah County Animal Services in Troutdale Oregon,  has stalled in any decision to release him to rescue, and  the kennel care technician working for MCAS who evaluated Mozart has recommended  euthanasia. No one else believes that is necessary.  The two rescues who have offered to take him continue to wait for a response.

The county’s indecision and delays in releasing Mozart to rescue cannot continue. Every concern has been met. Excellent options exist. When humane options exist it is unconscionable to kill an animal.

Mozart has been held at MCAS in stressful solitary confinement since November 29, 2013 deprived of exercise and socialization after he was released to be killed by an adopter who did not follow the adoption terms. The brief term adopters were repeatedly advised that Mozart was a wonderful dog but his stressors were food guarding and head patting. 

The advice was completely ignored. As a result Mozart bit the hand of one of the new owners after the second pat to his head. It required several stitches. Mozart’s life long owner has contested the county’s ownership of Mozart and wants humane options for Mozart. There has been no response.

Please help prevent this needless killing. Write the Multnomah County Commission and ask that Mozart be allowed to go to a rescue.  

Contact information:

Multnomah County Chair: Marissa Madrigal

E-mail mult.chair@multco.us 

Telephone: 503.988.3308

      

Commissioner Liesel Wendt, District 1

E-mail district1@multco.us

Telephone: 503.988.5220

Commissioner Loretta Smith, District 2

E-mail district2@multco.us

Telephone: 503.988.5219

 Commissioner Judy Shiprack, District 3

E-mail district3@multco.us

Telephone: 503.988.5217

 Commissioner Diane McKeel, District 4

E-mail district4@multco.us

Telephone: 503.988.5213

Happy German Cows Saved From Slaughter

Unreported Animal Die-offs And Radiation Affecting United States

Radiation reaching the United States from the nuclear meltdowns in Fukushima, Japan is causing significant harm; affecting newborn Human babies in California, Pacific Ocean sea life, and even inland wild life. Radiation is causing massive die-offs of sea life as well as mammals, birds and reptiles inland. High percentages of inland animals that are not already dead are losing their fur, bleeding from lesions all over their bodies and failing to reproduce.



Radiation contamination of sea food is already confirmed and contamination of the inland food supply is now taking place as rain carries radiation from the Pacific ocean to inland farms. U.S. Government propagandists are claiming everything is all right – but they aren’t even monitoring radiation levels – while scientists outside the government are warning the worst is yet to come. Newly released government projections (contained in this article) show parts of Hawaii, Alaska and the entire west coast of North America may become uninhabitable due to radioactive Cesium-137 making its way toward us in the Pacific.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was a nuclear energy accident at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, caused by an earthquake and, later, a tsunami (tidal wave) generated by that earthquake on 11 March 2011. The tsunami caused equipment failures and without this equipment, coolant stopped flowing into the reactor cores allowing them to get so hot, they melted. During the meltdowns, radioactive materials were released into the air and water beginning on March 12, 2011. Fukushima is the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and the second disaster (along with Chernobyl) to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

The plant comprised six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric (GE) and maintained by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).

At the time of the earthquake, reactor 4 had been De-fueled and reactors 5 and 6 were in cold shutdown for planned maintenance. Immediately after the earthquake, following government regulations, the remaining reactors 1, 2 and 3 shut down automatically, inserting control rods in what is termed a “SCRAM event.” Following this, emergency diesel generators came online to power electronics and coolant systems which operated right up until the tsunami. The tsunami arrived 50 minutes after the initial earthquake. The 13 meter (40 Feet) tall tsunami tidal wave overwhelmed the plant’s seawall, which was only 10 meters (30 feet) high.

The tsunami water flooded rooms in which the emergency generators were housed. The flooded diesel generators failed, cutting power to the critical pumps that must continuously circulate coolant water through a reactor to keep the fuel rods from melting down. Even though the control rods had come down and the nuclear reactions had halted, the fuel rods remained red hot following the SCRAM event. In fact, the rods remained hot enough to melt themselves down when no adequate cold sink was available.

Once the diesel generators failed from the tsunami flooding, secondary emergency cooling pumps kicked-in; they were run by batteries. One day later, the batteries died for the secondary emergency pumps. The pumps stopped and the reactors began to overheat due to lack of water to cool the fuel rods. As workers struggled to supply power to the reactors coolant systems and restore power to their control rooms, the overheating reactors released hydrogen gas; an incredibly explosive gas. A number of hydrogen-air chemical explosions occurred, the first in Unit 1, on March 12 and the last in Unit 4, on March 15. These explosions tore the reactor buildings apart, and did severe damage to whatever cooling systems remained; making them all but useless.

EXPLOSIONS OBLITERATE THREE REACTORS

The first explosion took place on March 12. The remaining explosions took place by March 15. The results are shown below:

CONGRESSIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE EXPLAINS THE DANGER

In 2012, the Congressional Research Service reported to Congress as follows:

“As it approaches the west coast of North America, the North Pacific Current splits into the southward California Current and the northward Alaska Current. Although these currents have the potential for bringing radiation from Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident to U.S. waters, their flow is slow … Regardless of the slow flow, radioactive contaminants with long half-lives (e.g., cesium-137, with a half-life of about 30 years) could still pose concerns if transported over long distances by ocean currents.”

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution advised that radiation levels in seafood should continue to be monitored … there remains the potential for a corridor of highly contaminated water leading away from Japan and a very patchy distribution of contaminated fish; extensive monitoring will determine the exact dispersion of these radioactive contaminants. [...]

It has been suggested that cesium-137 may move up the food chain and become concentrated in fish muscle or that radiation hot spots may occur. Another potential concern is related to accumulation of strontium-90 in fish bone [...] additional radiation from [Fukushima] might eventually also be detected in North Pacific waters under U.S. jurisdiction, even months after its release. Regardless of slow ocean transport, the long half-life of radioactive cesium isotopes means that radioactive contaminants could remain a valid concern for years.

FOOD CONTAMINATION

On March 30, 2011, Mr. Lake Barrett, a former official with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and now an adviser to TEPCO, said “The environmental release is the growing challenge; you’re going to read more and more about it in the paper. Wait until the first cesium-137 shows up in Alaska salmon, which is only a matter of time.” Mr. Barrett’s warning was prescient.

In 2012, out of twenty Pacific Tuna fish caught and tested from various points in the ocean, one hundred percent (100%) tested positive for radiation contamination! Researchers at Stanford University studied samples from 20 blue-fin tuna caught off California between May and August 2012 and said they detected radioactive cesium. They concluded the source of the contamination was the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

In British Columbia, Canada, Pacific Herring have been found to be bleeding from their eyes, mouths, fins and tails. Independent fisheries scientist Alexandra Morton is raising concerns about a “disease” she says is spreading through Pacific herring causing fish to hemorrhage. “I did a beach seine on Malcolm Island [near Port McNeill on northern Vancouver Island] and I got approximately 100 of these little herring and they were not only bleeding from their fins, but their bellies, their chins, their eyeballs. “It was 100 per cent … I couldn’t find any that weren’t bleeding to some degree.”

Morton dragged up several hundred of the fish and found the trouble had spread – instead of their usual silver color the fish had eyes, tails, underbellies, gills and faces plastered with blood. “I have never seen fish that looked this bad,” In June, the affected fish were only found in eastern Johnstone Strait, but have since spread to Alert Bay and Sointula, she said.

COVER-UP BY TEPCO OF MASSIVE AND ONGOING RADIATION LEAKING INTO PACIFIC OCEAN

On July 22, 2013, more than two years after the incident, it was revealed that the plant has been leaking 300 Tons of heavily contaminated radioactive water into the Pacific OceanEVERY DAY since the accident of March 11, 2011, something long suspected by local fishermen and independent investigators. TEPCO had previously denied this was happening and the situation prompted Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe to order the government to step in. It was then revealed how — and how much — radiation is pouring into the Pacific Ocean:

On August 20, 2013 in a further incident, it was announced that an ADDITIONAL 300 metric tons of heavily contaminated water had also leaked from a storage tank at the plant and had gone into ground water and into the Pacific. What this means is that the water pouring out of that plant today is just as poisonous as the water that came out the first day this accident took place; and it has been that way for over 1,000 days — and counting!

Scientists at the University of Alaska are concerned because some radiation has arrived in northern Alaska and along its west coast. That’s raised concern over contamination of fish and wildlife. More may be heading toward coastal communities like Haines and Skagway.

Douglas Dasher, a researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, says radiation levels in Alaskan waters could reach Cold War levels. “The levels they are projecting in some of the models are in the ballpark of what they saw in the North Pacific in the 1960s,” he said. Those levels occurred after the US conducted open-air blasts of nuclear weapons in the south Pacific.

This contamination is taking place because the major ocean currents running east from Japan, split as they approach the North American continent; part of the current heads north toward Alaska, the other part heads south toward the U.S. west coast. Those currents are carrying highly radioactive water from the Fukushima disaster throughout the Pacific ocean.

NOVEMBER, 2013: SHARP INCREASE IN U.S. EFFECTS

In November, 2013, enormous amounts of Star Fish on the sea floor off the California coast have begun dissolving into mushy piles of white goo. During an ocean dive Thursday morning, November 7, 2013 off the coast of Santa Cruz, Pete Raimondi [UCSC ecology professor] watched two halves of a broken sea star ravaged by a “wasting syndrome” walk away from each other. Not long after, they would turn into mushy piles of goo, disintegrated by a disease that has so far perplexed scientists. It appears the syndrome is impacting as many as 10 sea star species up and down the West Coast, wiping out entire populations in certain areas.

“They can go from great — to pieces — in 12 hours,” said Raimondi. The Pacific Ocean is in the middle of a cooling trend, so biologists are at a loss to explain the outbreak. Others, speaking to Turner Radio Network on condition of anonymity fearing retaliation from authorities, said the cause has already been identified: radiation poisoning. These biologists have been threatened with losing their jobs if they reveal this publicly.

On November 11, 2013 FOX NEWS reported that since June, researchers have seen the disease spread from as far as British Columbia, Canada, down through California and, within the past year, from Maine through New Jersey. The scientists tracking the disease find this simultaneous bi-coastal infection especially alarming. “There is no direct route to get from Providence to Seattle,” Gary Wessel, a molecular biologist at Brown University. However, when one considers the evaporation of radiation-contaminated water from the Pacific, being carried inland by weather systems, and the jet stream then carrying those weather systems to the east coast, the explanation becomes obvious.

On November 23, 2013, thousands of dead sea birds began washing up on the shores of Alaska. Many of the carcases were broken open and bleeding.

The toxic effects of radiation on sea life is getting so terrible it is actually causing sea creatures to flee the deep ocean and head toward the shores.On November 24, the New York Times reported: It began with the anchovies, miles and miles of them … in the waters of Monterey Bay.

Then the sea lions came, by the thousands … then pelicans … bottlenose dolphins in groups of 100 or more have been spotted. But it was the whales that astounded even longtime residents — more than 200 humpbacks … and, on a recent weekend, a pod of 19 rowdy Orcas … the water in every direction roiled with mammals.

For almost three months, Monterey and nearby coastal areas have played host to a mammoth convocation of sea life that scientists here say is unprecedented in their memories … never that anyone remembers have there been this many or have they stayed so long. Last month, so many anchovies crowded into Santa Cruz harbor that the oxygen ran out, leading to a major die-off.

Marine researchers PUBLICLY say they are baffled about the reason for the anchovy explosion. PRIVATELY, they tell the Turner Radio Network the cause is Fukushima radiation but they’ve been told to keep quiet to avoid causing a public panic. INLAND WILDLIFE BADLY AFFECTED

According to a November report by the U.S. Geological Survey: Alopecia (loss of fur) and skin lesions were recently observed in polar bears off the northern coast of Alaska. According to the Alaska Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network since the spring of 2012, a total of 23 polar bears from Barrow, Deadhorse and Kaktovik have been identified with variable degrees of hair loss/ thinning, inflamed and crusting skin, and oral lesions. The prevalence of these symptoms appears to be in about 28% of observed animals.

The concurrent presence of hair loss in seals, walrus and polar bears has suggested a possible connection between the events. Biologists in Alaska have observed a high rate of non-viable eggs in nests of greater white-fronted geese. Northern fur seals and soil samples in Alaska are also showing unusual signs. In another study, the Alaska Science Center has documented surprisingly high mortality (20–30 percent) of adult female musk ox during mid- to late summer in northwestern Alaska.

In Montana, Wyoming and inland to Minnesota, the effects of Fukushima are already being seen. According to the Billings (Montana) Gazette, Nov. 18, 2013: Jared Jansen said, he and his father, Mike, have seen up to 100 dead deer at a time along the Musselshell River. … die-offs have whittled the once hardy deer herds down to a handful. “I’ve only seen three does this year. . . It used to be when I was haying along the river, early in the morning, I’d see 200 to 500 head in the meadows.”

The reasons attributed to these die-offs sound like something out of a science fiction thriller: epizootic hemorrhagic disease, sylvatic plague, bluetongue, brucellosis, chytrid, chronic wasting disease … Yet the all-too-real afflictions threaten to reduce the populations of wild mammals, birds and reptiles across Montana, Wyoming and other regions.

“There is a general consensus among scientists that we are seeing more disease,” said Jonathan Sleeman, director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Wildlife Health Center in Madison, Wis. . . so many diseases afflicting such a wide variety of animals … A study is being conducted in northwestern Montana to examine the possible causes.” Others within the USGS who asked to remain anonymous for fear of their jobs say that radiation is the cause, but the government won’t admit it because there is nothing they can do about it.

In Minnesota, the Independent Record newspaper Oct. 31, 2013 reports Moose in the northern United States are dying … The die-off is most dire in Minnesota, where ecologists say moose could be gone within a decade. Concerns have prompted a 10-year study of moose in Montana. It’s not just in Montana, either. An aerial survey of moose in northeastern Minnesota earlier this year showed a 52 percent drop in population, which prompted the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to completely call off the 2013 moose hunting season. In various regions of British Columbia [Canada], populations have declined from 20 to 70 percent in recent years.

HUMAN BABIES IN CALIFORNIA ALREADY SHOWING SIGNS OF RADIATION EXPOSURE

A new study of the effects of tiny quantities of radioactive fallout from Fukushima on the health of babies born in California shows a significant excess of hypothyroidism caused by the radioactive contamination traveling 5,000 miles across the Pacific.

The article will be published next week in the peer-reviewed journal Open Journal of Pediatrics. Congenital hypothyroidism is a rare but serious condition normally affecting about one child in 2,000, and one that demands clinical intervention – the growth of children suffering from the condition is affected if they are left untreated. All babies born in California are monitored at birth for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels in blood, since high levels indicate hypothyroidism.

Joe Mangano and Janette Sherman of the Radiation and Public Health Project in New York, and Christopher Busby, guest researcher at Jacobs University, Bremen, examined congenital hypothyroidism (CH) rates in newborns using data obtained from the State of California over the period of the Fukushima explosions.

Their results are published in their paper Changes in confirmed plus borderline cases of congenital hypothyroidism in California as a function of environmental fallout from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown. The researchers compared data for babies exposed to radioactive Iodine-131 and born between March 17th and Dec 31st 2011 with unexposed babies born in 2011 before the exposures plus those born in 2012.

Confirmed cases of hypothyroidism, defined as those with TSH level greater than 29 units increased by 21% in the group of babies that were exposed to excess radioactive Iodine in the womb. The same group of children had a 27% increase in ‘borderline cases’.

RADIATION ALERTS ISSUED FOR MULTIPLE U.S. CITIES - NO MEDIA COVERAGE

The Nuclear Emergency Tracking Center (NETC) provides free radiation monitoring information to the public from about 300 private monitoring sites and many more government monitoring sites like “RADnet” from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In the past ten days, the Nuclear Emergency Tracking Center (NETC) has issued radiation alerts for several major U.S. cities after background radiation levels in those cities suddenly spiked to record high levels or jumped to fifty percent higher than normal in the “Counts Per Minute” (CPM) of deadly Gamma Radiation in the 600 – 800 keV range. Those Alerts are known as “RADCON – 5″ Alerts because the radiation has climbed to the highest level on the 5 step scale. Despite the issuance of RADCON-5 Alerts, no mass-media in ANY of those cities, bothered to report the condition. Cities affected were / are:

OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON

RICHLAND, WASHINGTON

RENO, NEVADA

JUNEAU, ALASKA

COMPARISON TO READINGS AT FUKUSHIMA Now that you’ve seen the numbers here in the U.S., take a look at the reading at Fukushima itself:

AREAS OF THE USA, CANADA, EXPECTED TO BECOME UNINHABITABLE

The graphic below, (File is 14.4 MB May Take Time to Load) produced by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) an agency of the United States Government, shows the MONTHLY predicted spread and potency of radioactive Cesium-137 from Fukushima throughout the Pacific Ocean. The GIF runs from March, 2011 when the disaster took place, all the way through to the year 2041.

Based upon these projections, northernmost Hawaii will be uninhabitable by January, 2015. The government is concealing this to protect real estate values and tourism because there’s nothing the government can do to stop the radiation.

By October, 2016, all of southern Alaska including the Aleutian Islands will be uninhabitable. The government is concealing this to protect the fishing industry because there’s nothing the government can do to stop the radiation.

By June, 2017, the entire west coast of Canada and the United States will be uninhabitable. Both the U.S. and Canadian governments are concealing this to avoid a panic, to preserve real estate values in some of the wealthiest areas of both countries, to preserve farming and fishing industries in those areas from being driven out of business when consumers shun their products due to radiation contamination and because there is nothing the governments can do to stop the radiation.

(Note: The government projection below uses only 1/3rd the amount of Cesium that was actually released initially and DOES NOT take into account the 300 metric tons of contaminated water which has leaked into the Pacific Ocean EVERY DAY since the accident in March, 2011.)

To simply download the file above, right-click here and select “Save Link As”

EXPERTS: THE WORST IS YET TO COME

Beginning on Tuesday, November 26, 2013, TEPCO is to begin attempting to remove the 1,534 used fuel rods that remain inside Reactor #4. These rods contain pellets of nuclear materials like Uranium and Plutonium as well as other radioactive materials. Experts say that the fuel rods may snap during the removal process because the reactor pool is physically damaged and the rods may not be able to come out perfectly straight.

In the event a rod snaps, and fuel pellets fall out from inside the rod onto the floor of the reactor pool, they could begin reacting with each other on the floor of the pool. They would become self-sustaining mini reactors, completely uncontrollable, boiling-off the pool water, thereby allowing the remaining fuel rods to overheat and meltdown and releasing tons of radioactive gases into the atmosphere. One byproduct of such a scenario would be large amounts of hydrogen gas. The temporary structure built around Reactor #4 after the earthquake, would hold enough of that hydrogen gas to make the equivalent of a nuclear explosion once the gas ignites.

Experts say that if such a scenario takes place as TEPCO is removing the remaining fuel rods, “it is bye-bye Japan and people on the west coast of the United States and Canada would have only DAYS to evacuate to avoid lethal doses of radiation.”

- See more at: http://healthydebates.com/unreported-animal-die-offs-radiation-affecting-united-states/#sthash.lE78O4ll.dpuf

Bulldog on Trampoline Video

HSUS’s Ongoing War Against Animal Agriculture Suffers Another Significant Loss:

  “Pork, The Other White Meat” Lawsuit

WASHINGTON, D.C., Sept. 26, 2013 – After spending significant amounts of donor dollars, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) was dealt a significant loss in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. In what was considered to be a futile legal challenge and a very personal attack on U.S. pork producers, a U.S. district judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by HSUS over the National Pork Board’s purchase of the “Pork, The Other White Meat” trademark from the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC).

HSUS, which was joined in the suit by a lone Iowa pork producer and the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) – and Secretary Tom Vilsack – over approval of the trademark purchase and the Pork Board’s annual payments to NPPC. HSUS argued that the sale and payments were unlawful since the Pork Board is prohibited from using checkoff dollars to influence legislation.

The court dismissed the HSUS case, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked standing and that no one had suffered any injury from the Agriculture Secretary’s actions.

NPPC applauded the Secretary’s willingness to defend the case and pork producers across this country. The Secretary’s actions should send a strong signal to HSUS supporters that frivolous lawsuits will not be tolerated and should not be pursued.

“If I were a donor to HSUS, I would be very disturbed that my money was wasted on yet another expensive lawsuit that had nothing to do with improving the welfare of farm animals,” said NPPC President Randy Spronk, a pork producer from Edgerton, Minn.

 “This is clearly a vendetta against the U.S. pork industry by the leadership of HSUS, which has made their mission to permanently end animal agriculture very clear. It was frivolous and a waste of the taxpayers’ money and the court’s time. HSUS donors deserve better than that.”

For more information regarding the case of HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES et al v. VILSACK, click her

Unprecedented concentration of sea creatures near shore in California; escaping radiation?

MONTEREY, Calif. — It began with the anchovies, miles and miles of them, their silvery blue bodies thick in the waters of Monterey Bay.

Large numbers of whales have congregated off Monterey Bay to the delight of camera-wielding whale watchers like the ones aboard Nancy Black’s Sea Wolf II.

Sea lions have also been attracted by an enormous late bloom of anchovies.

Enlarge This Image

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

Guests on the Sea Wolf II examined a piece of the filter system in a whale’s mouth.

Then the sea lions came, by the thousands, from up and down the California coast, and the pelicans, arriving in one long V-formation after another. Fleets of bottlenose dolphins joined them.

But it was the whales that astounded even longtime residents — more than 200 humpbacks lunging, breaching, blowing and tail flapping — and, on a recent weekend, a pod of 19 rowdy orcas that briefly crashed the party, picking off sea lions along the way.

“I can’t tell you where to look,” Nancy Black, a marine biologist leading a boat full of whale watchers last week, said as the water in every direction roiled with mammals. “It’s all around.”

For almost three months, Monterey and nearby coastal areas have played host to a mammoth convocation of sea life that scientists here say is unprecedented in their memories, inviting comparisons to African scenes like the wildebeest migration or herds of antelope on the Serengeti. 

Humpback whales, pelicans and sea lions are all common summer sights off the Monterey coast, with its nutrient-rich waters. But never that anyone remembers have there been this many or have they stayed so long, feeding well into November. 

“It’s a very strange year,” said Baldo Marinovic, a research biologist with the Institute for Marine Sciences at the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

What has drawn the animals is a late bloom of anchovies so enormous that continuous, dense blankets of the diminutive fish are visible on depth sounders. The sea lions, sea birds and humpbacks (which eat an average of two tons of fish a day) appear to have hardly made a dent in the population. Last month, so many anchovies crowded into Santa Cruz harbor that the oxygen ran out, leading to a major die-off. 

Marine researchers are baffled about the reason for the anchovy explosion.

“The $64,000 question is why this year?” said Dr. Marinovic, who noted that anchovies had been unusually scarce for the last five or six years and that when they do thrive, they usually appear in the spring and early summer. 

He and other scientists speculated that a convergence of factors — a milder than usual fall, a strong upwelling of colder water, the cycling of water temperatures in the bay — have created what Dr. Marinovic called “the perfect storm.” 

“Now they’re all kind of concentrating on the coast,” he said of the anchovies. “They seem to seek out Monterey Bay because the water tends to be a little warmer and the eggs will develop quickly.” The fish, he said, “are providing a feast for all these things that feed on them.”

The frenzy has been a boon for whale-watching companies like Monterey Bay Whale Watch, of which Ms. Black is the owner, and for their customers. 

In a normal season, passengers are lucky to see one or two humpbacks and a single whale breaching. On the trip last week, more than 60 whales were spotted feeding in the deep water of the canyon offshore, and the breaches were almost too numerous to count — in one case, two whales arced their bodies out of the water in unison, like competitors in an Olympic synchronized swimming event.

 Foul-smelling whale breath occasionally permeated the air. Ms. Black said that for the first time this year — she has studied whales here since 1986, specializing in orcas — she has seen evidence that the humpbacks are feeding cooperatively with groups of thousands of sea lions. 

The sea lions dive simultaneously, surfacing a few minutes later. They herd the anchovies into tight balls, called bait balls, and the whales scoop them up, several hundred in a mouthful. Food is plentiful enough that the giant cetaceans — an adult male humpback measures 45 to 50 feet in length, Ms. Black said, and weighs a ton per foot — can afford to take breaks to play. 

The humpback population off the California coast, once rapidly decreasing, has rebounded with restrictions on hunting, to about 2,000, experts say. Many whales and sea lions have been congregating to feed near the rim of the Monterey Submarine Canyon offshore. Bottlenose dolphins — groups of 100 or more have been spotted this year — feed closer in. 

In most years, the humpbacks would have departed for Mexico weeks ago and the pelicans flown south. But with the anchovies still in abundance, no one is sure how long they will stay. They could remain through December, scientists said, or depart any day.

“I hope it doesn’t end,” Ms. Black said. “But it will.”

Beaver Anal Secretions In Natural Flavors?

Yes, it's true. Millions of people across the globe are eating "beaver butt" and don't even know  that they're consuming such a substance. It's called "castoreum," and it's emitted from the castor sacs within the animal's anus.  For a beaver, this slimy brown substance is used to mark its territory, but for us  humans, it's used as an additive that is often labeled as "natural flavoring" in  the foods we eat - vanilla, strawberry and raspberry probably being the most  common. Why is castoreum used? The most notable characteristic (after being processed) has  to be  the smell of castoreum. Instead of smelling horrible, like most people would  expect from an  anally produced secretion, it has a pleasant scent, which supposedly  makes it a perfect candidate  for food flavoring and other products. The question that many people put forth would have to be "who in their right mind  actually made this odd discovery?" Another industry that utilizes castoreum is the fragrance world. For decades, perfume manufactures have been using it to make various types of fragrances. These anal  secretions are said to contain around  24 different molecules, many of which act as  natural pheromones. From perfumes to air fresheners,  castor sacs are quite versatile within the fragrance industry. Is it natural? Sure it's natural, but does "being natural" make it right to use or consume? Many disgusting substances are considered "natural," yet eating them may not be the best idea. The act of labeling something so vulgar and disgusting as "natural flavoring," should be illegal in many people's eyes, but the FDA views it all in a different light. Having the anal secretions from a beaver take the place of a strawberry in something  like strawberry ice cream hardly seems like an efficient process. Why go through the process  of harvesting "anal secretions" when a strawberry is much easier to pick? It hardly seems like a better option... The food industry is a tricky business to figure out, and it will continue to boggle the minds of  many on issues exactly like this. Much like with other additives that have raised concern over  the years (aspartame, high fructose corn syrup and food colorings), castoreum is proving to be  just as questionable. It's the deceptive labeling that seems to be the root of the problem. Instead of stating what  castoreum truly is, the FDA has allowed it to be labeled as something that sounds pleasant  and healthy. As with many questionable additives in today's food market, the power lies within the people.  Read your labels thoroughly if you wish to subtract these types of ingredients from your diet. In all honesty, castoreum is probably safe to consume, being that is derived from an animal,  but who\really wants to eat a beaver's anus? For further information on castoreum, be sure to check out the sources section below. Sources for this article include: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov http://beauty.about.com http://www.encyclopedia.com MORE INFO:  But the anal sacs are removed from beavers raised for their fur; it’s the second most valuable part of the animal.    Food use In the United States, castoreum is considered to be a GRAS food additive by the Food and Drug Administration.[10] It is often referenced simply as a "natural flavoring" in products ' lists of ingredients. While it is mainly used in both foods and beverages as part of a substitute vanilla  flavour,[11] it is less commonly used as a part of a raspberry or strawberry flavoring.[12] The annual industry consumption is very low, around 300 pounds,[13] whereas vanillin is over 2.6 million pounds annually.[14]

Teach Your Dog To Speak Before You Teach QUIET

Teaching your dog to speak on cue isn't just a cute trick; your dog needs to know the speak command before he can learn to be quiet when asked. Training your dog to "speak" and be "quiet" can be a great behavior management tool. If you haven't heard your dog's voice before you might be surprised, some are surprisingly LOUD!

Teach Your Dog To Stop Barking

Want To Train Your Cat To Use The Toilet?

A toilet-trained cat may seem like something only Hollywood could dream up, but you really can teach your cat to use the potty — and say goodbye to kitty litter forever. Inspired by a scene in the Ben Stiller film Meet the Parents, Jo Lapidge created the Litter Kwitter after she grew tired of cleaning up her cat’s litter. The potty training system is so effective that Lapidge claims it takes less time to toilet train a cat than a child.

Cats bury their waste in their litter largely to get rid of the smell. The Litter Kwitter works on the odor-elimination concept by giving cats the same satisfaction of hiding elimination smell by using the toilet, rather than burying their waste in the litterbox. Although cats can be trained to use the toilet without the Litter Kwitter, its step-by-step system is the simplest way to gradually introduce your cat to the toilet.

The Litter Kwitter

The Litter Kwitter is ideal for people looking to end litterbox woes of gritty floors and frequent cleanings. Bold, confident cats 3 months of age and up are ideal candidates for potty training.
But potty training isn’t the right fit for every kitty. Fearful kitties, arthritic felines or cats who already have difficulty using the litterbox are not the best candidates for toilet training.

 Going to the bathroom outside the litterbox is one of the top reasons cats are surrendered to shelters, so teaching your cat to consistently go in a designated area — either a litterbox or a toilet — is much more important than eliminating litter from your cat's routine.

Curious about how toilet training a cat works?

 Wondering if it could work for your cat?

Here’s the step-by-step process to get your cat reigning on the porcelain throne with the Litter Kwitter. (It does everything but teach your cat to flush!)

How the System Works

The Litter Kwitter system consists of four color-coded training trays that fit over the rim of a standard toilet. The first tray is a white rim that fits over the toilet seat and anchors the other trays. The second tray is red and has no hole but holds four to five cups of litter just like a regular litterbox; it hooks onto the white tray.
 
Start by placing the red tray (which has no hole) inside the white tray; put them both on the floor of the bathroom. Show your cat the litter and place her inside the tray. Put the regular litterbox away so her only choice is the Litter Kwitter system.

Clean the tray regularly throughout the day with non-ammonia-based cleaners. After meals or playtime, or when your cat wakes up, she should be taken to her bathroom area and praised for proper elimination. If you have more than one cat, you will need to get them used to sharing one litterbox before expecting them to share the Litter Kwitter and, eventually, one toilet.

Your cat should only move to the next level of training once she has made a habit of using the first tray without any accidents. If you have multiple household cats, progress at the pace of the slowest learner.

The next step is to get your cat to hop up onto the toilet seat. Practice at first with the lid down; set treats on the lid to lure your cat up. Most cats can easily jump onto the toilet, but for cats with any difficulty, a step stool can be used. Once your cat is comfortably hopping up onto the toilet, move the first Litter Kwitter tray from the floor to the porcelain rim of the toilet and clip it in place. The toilet seat can be left in either the up position or down on top of the Litter Kwitter.

Eliminating the Litter

Once your cat is comfortably going over the hole (this typically takes at least a couple of weeks), you’re ready for the green stage. The green tray has a large hole with a narrow recess into which you scatter only half a cup of litter. Gradually decrease the amount of litter in the tray, as your cat continues to successfully use the toilet.

Once the cat is reliably using the green tray without any litter in it, you can remove the Litter Kwitter system so there’s only a toilet seat left. At this point, celebrate! Your feline is officially potty trained and you have bragging rights galore. Just be ready to wait your turn when the kitty gets to the bathroom first.

Ensure that the bathroom door always stays open so your cat can easily access the potty whenever needed. If your cat eliminates outside the Litter Kwitter system, never punish her; this will just make her anxious. Instead, reward your feline for proper elimination with a treat or praise.

If needed, go back to an easier step such as the red stage — cats rarely learn new skills in a straight line, so going backward and forward during the training is perfectly natural.

NOTE:  Don't forget your doggy family members too.  If you don't like where they go potty, then this  Pee Post helps keep the pee where it should be!  Or this simple Pheromone Treated Yard Stake
will also help direct your pet, and maybe your husband or son, to where you want them going potty outside!

Teach Your Dog The Leave It Command

There are many temptations for dogs, from a chicken bone on the street to a baby bottle on the floor to the household cat. The leave it command can help your dog avoid danger or a potentially messy situation.

Sometimes, some dogs are particularly stubborn and will insist on negotiation or campaign contributions before they'll leave something of great value. That's not a problem, just bargain with them. If you want that cooked bone from them and they don't want to LEAVE IT, give them something of greater value, that could be different things to different dogs. Sometimes a ball, sometimes a different type of treat, maybe another command works, like SIT. Anything to disrupt their focus on what they have so you can nab it the second they drop it.

Realistically, not all dogs will always respond to their training, so in those cases, negotiate, you still come out the winner and you've saved your dog from the dangerous object.

Training Your Cat To Come When Called

Teaching your cat to come when called is not only handy but could save his life. If he escapes outside, you can call him back home.

You can also call him when inside the house to make sure he's accounted for before leaving the house, or to gather him up for a trip to the veterinarian.

If he's an indoor and outdoor cat, you can call him inside before you leave the house. You can call him to walk with you when your hands are full and the door is open.

And you can just call him to you when you want to visit with him. Even if he's an outdoor cat, you can call him home if a storm or other danger is looming.

Teach Your Cat to Come on Command

Your cat probably already comes when called — only he comes to the call of the electric can opener or the ping of dry cat food hitting his bowl. It's just one step to go from that to coming to the call of your voice or to a whistle — whistles aren't just for dogs!

Just as the sound of a can opener signals good food is on its way, your come command should also signal that good food comes to those who come. You should teach him that when called, it's not just good food, but wonderful food. Experiment to see what your cat really likes — tuna, cat treats, sardines — and reserve it only for those times you've called.

Although you could just play a recording of the can opener, that would be inconvenient, so instead, decide how you will call your cat. Use something you don't otherwise say during the day. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty" is a favorite, or you could use a whistle.

Don't, however, simply use the cat's name. His name is just to get his attention; it should be followed by a cue to actually come. Everyone in the house should use the same way of calling.

A deaf cat can be trained to come to vibrations, such as thumping your foot on the floor, or to visual cues, such as a light flicking on and off.

NOTE:   This works so easily you might be surprised.  When feeding outdoor "guest" cats I would do so at the same time as I would feed the horses.  My lack of creativity didn't stop the kitties from quickly learning me singing MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, MEOW, MEOW meant yummy food was being delivered and they'd come running from across the pastures, out of the barn, down from trees.

The amusing part was that the horses also learned that it would mean their hay was also being delivered, so they'd come charging down from distant places, running, kicking up their heels to arrive snorting at their feeding area.

Teaching your animals to come is also a good way if you want to move their feeding location, just use your consistent CALL, and they'll show up.

Now, we have several areas of guest cats.  Some are fed over by the barn and others are fed on our South Porch.  Those on the south porch are triggered by dogs leaving the area.  The instant the last dog paw leaves the area, the cats start prancing up the stairs for their meal.  They learned the sequence of events based on the dogs activities.

7 Things Pet Owners Do That Drive Veterinarians Crazy

It’s a tough subject to tackle. After all, veterinarians do plenty of annoying things, too. But this particular post is all about you — well, not you, but the annoying yous among you. Not that most of you deserve this, but some of you just might! So without any further hedging, let me launch into the most annoying things pet owners do.

1. Answer Their Cells

Need I say more? Is there anything more annoying and disrespectful than answering a phone call while your vet is delivering her state-of-your-pet’s-health address? OK, it might be worse if you dug out your phone to initiate a call midexam, but only by a smidge. They’re both just plain rude.

2. Bring Their Kids

I dearly love children (mine mostly, but yours can also be cool), but very young or badly behaved children are an unnecessary liability in a veterinary environment. It’s hard enough to keep pets safe — much less kids. So unless your children are old enough and/or chill enough to hang out in a vet setting, they should probably stay home.
One exception: If your pet has an emergency and you have no one to care for your kids, you are most definitely excused. We’ll understand. Call ahead and we may even assign an employee to keep tabs on them so you can concentrate on what’s wrong with your pet.

3. Let Their Dogs Run Amok

This is not the dog park. And, for the record, retractable leads should remain in the shortest, locked position for the duration of your visit. After watching an innocent human get taken down in the lobby by an overlong retractable line, I decided there should be a law against these in vet hospitals.

4. Carry Their Cat

I've never been able to fathom why some owners insist upon bringing their cats to the vet hospital without carriers. Some will use harnesses, which won’t help them when faced with a truly motivated dog. And, honestly, I’d never blame a dog for attacking a cat in a veterinary hospital environment. After all, these cats are probably giving off cornered prey vibes that some dogs can't ignore.

Remember my post on cats in carriers? Cats are more comfortable in uncertain environments when they’re enclosed.

5. Deny, Deny, Deny

It drives us crazy. These clients effectively employ us to be their experts, then they put up roadblock after roadblock: No, my pet is not fat. No, my pet’s teeth are not rotting. No, he’s too old for surgery. No, her claws are not too long. It’s exasperating!
I can understand why you might (and should!) question your veterinarian about health care issues that are important to you, but why come to the vet if you’re unwilling to have an open dialogue about what your pet needs and doesn’t need?

6. Refuse to Pay

It happens more often than you’d think. Pet owners agree to hospitalization and procedures — and later refuse to pay. Sometimes they say that they forgot their checkbooks. Other times they claim to have misunderstood the payment policy, even though there’s a sign in almost every veterinary hospital in the United States that explains payment is expected when services are rendered. I even had a client cancel her Amex payment after we saved her anemic cat’s life with a blood transfusion.

7. Don’t Follow Through

There’s no shame in admitting that you can’t medicate your difficult cat or trim your unruly dog's toenails. Veterinarians are pet owners, too. We absolutely understand why you might not be able to manage these not-so-simple tasks.

But you’ve got to let us know if you can’t, don’t or won’t do what we say. After all, we have plenty of alternatives to offer. And there are few things more frustrating to a veterinarian than failing to treat a patient who could have been helped if only the vet were able to employ some ingenuity.
Want to give your veterinarian the best holiday gift ever?

 Resolve to be a more honest, open, conscientious, cat box-carrying, child care-finding, cell phone-shirking client. For my part, I promise to offer you a New Year’s post on my personal mea culpa. It’s a fair trade, don’t you think? That is, as long as I do as I say and follow through.

Five Out-of-Fashion Dog Breeds This Vet Misses

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The popularity of a dog breed can change faster than you can say “Yo quiero Taco Bell.” One day Chihuahuas are feisty, fun little dogs you’d see only occasionally; the next day (or so it seems), you have three of them back-to-back on your appointment calendar, and your local shelter is running a special on Chihuahua adoptions because there are so many looking for homes.

I see a lot of Chihuahuas over the exam room table these days, along with Labradoodles, Pit Bulls, Bulldogs and the eternally popular Labrador Retriever. I love them all, but I have to admit I do miss seeing some of the dogs who used to be in my waiting room, pets I rarely see now that they’ve lost the cachet they once enjoyed.

  Five Breeds That Used to Be More Popular

Here’s my list of five dog breeds I used to see a lot of, and miss seeing now.

1. Irish Setters: I used to see a lot of these bouncy red dogs in my practice. I know the rub is that they’re too energetic and not the brightest bulb on the light string, but the ones I used to know were great family dogs who loved to be around people and really wanted to please. I miss their smiling faces and the feathered tails that never stop wagging.
2. Scottish Terriers: These stylish, strong-minded dogs can be difficult to handle, since they are terriers through and through. In my family we’ve loved a lot of terriers, including our forever-missed Wire-Haired Fox Terrier, Scooter, so I understand some of the challenges. These days I’m more likely to see a Scottie on a Monopoly board than on an exam table. Too bad, because these high-style pups really know how to make an entrance.
3. Collies: When Lassie is in, so are Collies. Otherwise, their size and the challenges of their massive, beautiful coat no doubt put many people off. And that’s a shame, because a good Collie, while not likely to be saving Timmy from the well every day, is a great family dog — smart, loving and always keeping an eye on his flock.

 Anyone Need a Great Little Hunter?

4. Brittanys: I suspect that as hunting has become less common as a sport, the breeds so closely associated with the pursuit have fallen out favor. And that’s unfortunate, because the Brittany is a dog that can do more than just hunt. The Brittany's compact size makes him a good match for an active family, and he's a natural at modern-day canine sporting events such as agility.
5. Cocker Spaniels: These little bird dogs were top of the heap for decades, the most sought-after of all purebred dogs. Their reign at the top of the American Kennel Club rankings finally ended with a wave of Poodles. I still see a fair number of Poodles — and even more Poodle-oodle mixes — but Cockers are relatively rare. And that’s a shame, because like the Irish Setter, these dogs are sweet, beautiful and full of fun.

Make no mistake: I love all the dogs — and cats — I see whether on the street or over the exam room table, and I live to help them all be healthier and happier. But I do miss some of the dogs who used to be so popular. I know, however, that they’re only one hit TV show, movie or commercial away from being popular again.

Your dog is 10,000 years older than scientists thought

 


The domestic dog originated from wild European wolves in the Stone Age before the development of farming, when humans hunted and gathered their food, according to a genetic analysis of ancient canine remains.


Scientists have long puzzled over how domestic dogs came into existence and their efforts have centred on the grey wolf, their closest living relatives of dogs, but there is conflicting evidence on when and where wild wolves were first tamed.

Earlier studies suggested that wolves may have been domesticated by the first farmers about 10,000 years ago in the Middle East or Asia, possibly to guard livestock. However, the latest study has found that it began much earlier in Europe, long before the development of agriculture.

Professor Robert Wayne of the University of California at Los Angeles said that an ancient European lineage of grey wolf, which has since gone extinct, is the most likely direct ancestor of the first domesticated dogs based on similarities in genetic sequences.

"We found that instead of recent wolves being closest to domestic dogs, ancient European wolves were directly related to them. This brings the genetic record into agreement with the archaeological record - Europe is where the oldest dogs are found," Professor Wayne said.

The study, published in the journal Science, analysed the mitochondrial DNA of ten ancient "wolf-like" animals and eight "dog-like" canines, mostly from Europe. The age of the remains ranged between 1,000 and 30,000 years old.

These DNA sequences were compared with the DNA from present-day dogs and wolves. This showed a clear relationship between modern dogs and ancient European wolves, but not between modern dogs and modern wolves, Professor Wayne said.

"None of those [modern] wolf populations seemed to be closest to domestic dogs. We thought one of them would be, because they represent wolves from the three possible centres of dog domestication, but none was. All the wolves formed their own group, and all the dogs formed another group," Professor Wayne said.

However, modern dogs were found to be closely related to the ancient wolves that had lived in Europe before they became extinct. The scientists reckoned that the domestication must have occurred about 20,000 or 30,000 years ago.

"If domestication occurred in association with hunter-gatherers, one can imagine wolves first taking advantage of the carcasses that humans left behind - a natural role for any large carnivore - and then over time moving more closely into the human niche through a co-evolutionary process," Professor Wayne said.

Previous studies showing a link between domestic dogs and wolves living in the Middle East may have been confused by interbreeding between ancient domesticated dogs and wild wolves living in that region, he said. "It does not necessarily suggest an origin in the Middle East," he added.

"This alternative hypothesis, in retrospect, is one that we should have considered more closely. As hunter-gatherers moved around the globe, their dogs trailing behind probably interbred with wolves," Professor Wayne said.

Further genetic studies based on the DNA of the chromosomes rather than the mitochondria, could finally confirm the European origin of the domestic dog, he added.

Support Oregon's Independent Rescues Against Warrantless Searches

Support Oregon’s small independent rescues against warrantless searches

 

 

Small animal rescues in Oregon, the primary stakeholders affected by Sections 10 and 11    of Senate Bill 6, were not allowed a voice in this legislation by the bill’s main sponsors OHS and HSUS.  When we asked for input we were told we had to first give up the right to object.

 

A False Claim: The proposition made by the sponsors of Senate Bill 6 that Sections 10 and 11 are “necessary” components of the bill because independent animal rescues are at “high risk” for animal abuse/neglect offense and must be regulated (by them) is shocking and completely unsupported by the facts. Exploiting one recent isolated sensational criminal case, the Alicia Inglish case in Salem, Oregon, a case successfully prosecuted under existing laws, is a calculated misleading effort driven by an unspecified political agenda.

 

The incidence of neglect or abuse among Oregon’s hundreds of small independent rescues is extraordinarily rare. Why are independent rescues being targeted as a class instead of simply prosecuting abuse or neglect where it is found, individually or as an entity?

 

 Under the guise of providing modest accountability, Sections 10 and 11 of Senate Bill 6 grant unfettered police powers to enforcement agencies to search and inspect the private property of rescues, often their homes and homes of foster families, without the need to show probable cause. That is very likely unconstitutional.

 

The Reality: No one works harder out of pocket, driven by compassion, than Oregon’s independent small animal rescues. That can be proven every day.

 

As small rescues we have no political agenda and no lobbyists at the legislature. Our mission is humanitarian not politically motivated or driven: rescuing and saving the lives of Oregon’s homeless companion animals. When small independent rescues fund raise we do so for the sake of homeless animals, not to fund campaign efforts. We have no other group purpose.

 

Large corporate animal protection societies, some who are sponsors of SB 6 have never represented us nor do they represent our interests now. We are the rescues that take the animals that large humane societies and county and city animal control agencies deem “unadoptable” and discard. If we didn’t take them they would have no future. The majority would be killed. We are given no funding by the corporate animal protection groups (including the bill’s sponsors) to meet the necessary and often prohibitively costly rehabilitation of the homeless animals they reject. 

 

For example, one small independent rescue was called by a large well endowed humane society and asked to take a Rottweiler puppy with hip dysplasia. The humane society kept the puppy’s littermate, the one without a handicap. Overwhelmingly small animal rescues (unlike corporate entities) provide all necessary care, do home checks as part of due diligence, take back adoption returns without question and correct the problem. Most corporate animal entities do not have the same exacting high standards. We do not abandon the animals we have been charged with caring for to the system.

 

We ask Oregon’s legislature to please allow our concerns and views to be heard. Take the time to pass a good bill, not a profoundly flawed bill with empty promises of later “corrections”. Vote to amend the bill and delete Sections 10 and 11. It is misguided and there are too many apparent civil rights violations for the bill to be enforceable.

 

Will All The Kings Horses Harrass Portland Homeless?

To: Michael Oswald

     Kim Peoples, Director of Community Services
To: Multnomah County  Commission

 

 

See below: so often addressed. Any one with any current knowledge and common sense knows that fines punishment and extorted surrender accomplish nothing in animal enforcement ( the most insignificant of crimes) although sometimes they have an effect by frightening  citizens, especially the vulnerable and poverty stricken into surrendering their animals when humane alternatives exist.

 

At MCAS, however failure and bad policy are no reason to reconsider. The lack of government performance standards at the county commission and this agency is astonishing for an urban community; a complete squandering of tax payer resources without accountability,  best suited to a private club not public office. 

 

Additional ticket examples in part one:

 

NOI 90107 a $300 fine issued for a first offense minor bite  to  Mary Mackrill, homeless, an accident, with the requirement that  her dog must wear a muzzle at all times except when eating or drinking or in extreme heat. What is extreme heat, Mr. Oswald ( What most of us feel when impossible conditions are issued) ?. Or her dog will be  surrendered.

 .These are my questions:

 

How is a $300 fine a deterrent to someone who  is homeless and has no money? Of course you will send this to collections so you can ruin a poverty stricken homeless person's "credit". Exactly what have you accomplished?

 

We can't offer legal help because only you have a way to contact  Ms.Mackrill.

 

The imposed conditions of constant muzzling except for extreme heat ( What is that: 85 degrees; 95? What is the measure?. Should the homeless person carry a thermometer? ) amount to animal cruelty and is an impossible compliance requirement, just as impossible as the oft cited requirement of homeless persons that they build a secure concrete based enclosure on property they don't have because they don't have a home.

 

Why don't you permit  an owner education diversion class that teaches new skills instead of futilely punishing those with challenges who have no skills? Other places have "Street Smarts for the Street Dog". This  intervention, so successful  elsewhere, falls on deaf ears because you have fixed ideas and failed polcies and refuse to budge.

 

NOI 89562 to Joseph Razzouk, a UPS driver, who realy loves his dog. His dog gets out. Help him instead of issuing a $500 fine making any solution impossible.

 

There are other tickets just like this one, equally thoughtless, and I will just begin posting them every week so the public can know where its taxes go.

 

If you will not honor this community's values and direction, please resign. A community government agency  on auto pilot needs a new leader. All the King's horses and All the King's men can't fix this when no effort is made and leadership just doesn't care.

 

Gail O'Connell-Babcock

503.625.4563,

Keep Kali Walking

Kali is a 4 year old pup that my has had since she was about 6 weeks old. She is a loving dog who just wants to live a long and happy life.

Kali is a very friendly black lab who can sadly hardly stand up. She has some sort of degenerative knee problem that was not caused by an accident she was just born with. It did not bother her until about two years ago. We have had basic surgery done to it twice by our local vet and it has only gotten worse after. He recommended we see a specialist. To get better surgery and have hospital stays and pain management it is going to cost about $5000 to $6000.
She is a very sweet dog who loves everyone and always seems to be happy no matter how much pain she is in. Lately she wines all day and at night when she is not asleep. She bows out her front legs when she tries to walk because she cannot push much pressure on her back legs. She falls more often and can barely get up unless one of us lifts her hips up for her.
Any help would be so wonderful. God Bless :)

NOTE:  Happy Tails is posting this for someone who needs help raising funds for her dog's surgery.