For every Beagle rescued this week from a suspected hoarder in Encinitas, Calif., there are about eight people eager to give the pooch a forever home.
“For these Beagles, the timing couldn’t be better. Beagles are in the spotlight,” Jim Silveira, president of the Rancho Coastal Humane Society (RCHS), said in a press release. He was referring to this year’s Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show Best in Show winner, a Beagle named Miss P.
A total of 35 Beagles and six Pugs were brought to RCHS Monday by Four Paws Rescue after the dogs’ elderly owner told the organization she could no longer care for them. They range in age from puppies to adults.
And there may soon be 35 more Beagles available for adoption: a few of the rescued dogs are pregnant. Their puppies will be ready for forever homes in early June.
The Pugs have been taken in by Pug Rescue.
Silveira said the Beagles would be released by the shelter’s medical director “as soon as they’re examined, vaccinated, altered and pronounced to be in good health.”
Although they spent their lives locked up in kennels with little human interaction, the dogs seemed to be happy and healthy. Some had inner ear infections and others needed dental care.
Rebecca Stevens of Four Paws Rescue told CBS 8 that despite what it sounds like, the dogs had not been in a puppy-mill situation.
“These dogs lived in a clean environment. She just needed some help,” Stevens said. “It was a woman who loved dogs, and it just got away from her.”
According to the RCHS Facebook page, the approved applications have been entered into a lottery system, and the winners will be contacted by the end of the day today.
Des Hague, who resigned as the CEO of Centerplate in September after being caught on camera kicking a Doberman puppy in an elevator, pleaded guilty today to one animal cruelty charge of causing an animal to be in distress, Global News reports.
Hague was initially charged with two animal cruelty counts under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, according to a CTV Vancouver story Jan. 23.
If convicted, Hague faces a fine of up to $75,000, a maximum of two years in jail and a lifetime ban on having pets, CTV Vancouver reported. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for April 15.
After the video went viral in August, Centerplate’s board of directors put Hague on probation, but didn’t fire him — despite growing outrage and boycotts of Centerplate food, which is sold in many major sports venues.
Per the board of directors’ request, Hague agreed to donate $100,000 to establish a “Sade Foundation,” named after the puppy he kicked, to protect animals in Vancouver, where the kicking took place. Nearly six months later, there has been no news about the foundation.
Hague was also asked to complete 1,000 hours of community service for an animal-welfare organization and to attend anger-management sessions.
In the video, taken inside an elevator July 27 at the upscale Private Residences at Hotel Georgia, Hague can be seen repeatedly kicking the puppy’s stomach, and then choking her by yanking up her leash and suspending her in the air.
When BC SPCA investigators tracked down Hague in one of the condos, they found the puppy, named Sade, in a urine-soaked crate, with food and water bowls beyond her reach. When Sade was removed from the crate, she was skittish and appeared to have been physically abused.
Hague released a contrite statement in late August through his attorney, claiming the incident was “completely and utterly out of character. I am ashamed and deeply embarrassed … a minor frustration with a friend’s pet caused me to lose control of my emotional response.”
Here’s the surveillance video showing Hague as he lost control of his emotional response.
MARCH 13, 2015 UPDATE: Two U.S. senators have asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to investigate the lawsuit’s claims and provide updates about measures being taken to prevent the contamination of pet food.
Thousands of dogs have been sickened or died after eating Beneful dry kibble, according to a class-action lawsuit filed Feb. 5 against the Nestlé Purina Petcare Company.
The suit says the food’s main ingredient — propylene glycol, which is also a component of automotive antifreeze (!) — is toxic to dogs. This ingredient apparently helps keep the kibble moist, but it has lead to problems including internal bleeding, liver malfunction or failure, vomiting, diarrhea, dehydration, weight loss, seizures, bloat or kidney failure in at least 3,000 dogs who digested it, according to the lawsuit.
On its website, Nestlé Purina says propylene glycol is safe: It’s “an FDA-approved food additive that’s also in human foods like salad dressing and cake mix.” Well, that’s good to know.
The lawsuit says Beneful may also contain mycotoxins, which are toxic byproducts of mold.
Frank Lucido, who filed the suit in a California federal court, said he began feeding his three dogs Beneful dry dog food in December. Within a month, all three began suffering stomach and liver problems. His English Bulldog died on Jan. 23 due to internal bleeding and lesions on his liver. His other two dogs, a German Shepherd and Labrador, are showing similar symptoms.
These were far from being isolated cases. According to the lawsuit, there are thousands of complaints on the internet (including several hundred on ConsumerAffairs.com) “about dogs becoming ill, in many cases very seriously ill, and/or dying after eating Beneful.”
All of these dogs had the same symptoms — mainly vomiting and liver problems.
“If it’s a hundred or so, it’s like, ‘Okay, a lot of dogs eat Beneful; things happen,’” Jeff Cereghino, one of Lucido’s attorneys, told The Daily Beast today. “But when I look at 4,000? Holy hell, there’s a lot of people out here.”
Cereghino said he plans to send the Beneful food he and others in the class action suit have saved to a lab to be tested for mycotoxins. The lawsuit will enable pet parents to know if there’s a “connecting piece in the storage or the grain, the sourcing of it all, that sort of make sense,” he told The Daily Beast.
The lawsuit charges Nestlé Purina with breach of implied warranty; breach of express warranty; negligence; negligent misrepresentation; strict products liability; violating California’s consumer legal remedies act; violating California’s Unfair Competition Law; and violating California’s False Advertising Law.
Lucido wants the lawsuit to represent two classes, according to Top Class Actions: a nationwide class and a California subclass for pet parents “who purchased Beneful dog food in the past four years and who incurred any out of pocket costs due to illness, injury or death of their dog resulting from the ingestion of Beneful.”
The lawsuit asks that Nestlé Purina Petcare Company pay actual, statutory and punitive damages to all those filed under it, and forfeit profits earned from the sale of Beneful dry kibble.
Not too surprisingly, Nestlé Purina Petcare Company does not think the lawsuit has any merit.
“We intend to vigorously defend ourselves,” Keith Schopp, vice president of corporate public relations, said in a statement to The Daily Beast.
“Beneful is a high-quality nutritious food enjoyed by millions of dogs each year and there are no product quality issues with Beneful.”
FEB. 26 UPDATE: Nestlé Purina Officially Responds to Lawsuit
In a statement on its Beneful FAQs website Feb. 26, Nestlé Purina repeated what Schopp had told The Daily Beast about Beneful being “high-quality, nutritious food.” It calls the lawsuit “baseless” and blames social media for spreading “false information”:
“As pet owners ourselves, our priority is the health and well-being of the millions of dogs who enjoy Beneful. We take these allegations very seriously and stand by our product, which is backed by Purina’s strict quality controls and comprehensive food safety program.
Unfortunately, class action suits are common these days. They are not indicative of a product issue. In fact, we’ve faced two such suits in the past with similar allegations. Both were found to be baseless and were subsequently dismissed by the courts.
Adding to the confusion, social media outlets can be a source of false or incomplete information, as many other pet food brands have experienced themselves.
We at Beneful want you, our valued customers, to know that this lawsuit is baseless; you can continue to feel confident feeding your dogs our food. We stand committed to our Brand, our products and your pets.”
The company stated that anyone with questions should call 800-877-7551 or go to its website for “a behind-the-scenes look into how the Purina Nutrition Research team evaluates the safety and ingredients of Beneful dog food.”
There’s been a lot of well-deserved controversy over the lack of diversity in this year’s Oscar nominees. Women and people of color are glaringly absent from the ballot — which may or may not have something to do with the fact that 94 percent of academy members are white and 77 percent are male.
Also missing are any non-human nominees. Okay, they’re missing every year. But just imagine if some of the 2015 Best Picture nominees had starred dogs instead…
‘Amstaff Sniper’
An American Staffordshire Terrier named Smoochie becomes one of the most skilled “snipers” in Denver. He sneaks up on breed-ban supporters and kisses them, efficiently killing their hatred of “Pit Bull type dogs.” Spoiler Alert: Thanks to Smoochie, Denver’s Pit Bull ban is lifted, as are all others around the world.
‘Birddog’
Has-been Rover Thomson (portrayed by Best Actor nominee Michael Keeshond) once played the superhero Birddog in a series of popular films. He tries to get back in the limelight by putting on a dog show in Central Park.
‘Boykinhood’
During a 12-year span, a Boykin Spaniel experiences the joys of puppyhood, middle age and being a senior dog.
‘The Grand Bouvier des Flandres Hotel’
The whimsical tale of Monsieur Gooddog (left), iron-pawed concierge of a five-star hotel for dogs in the Republic of Shihtzubrowka. Gooddog loves the older bitches (quite literally).
‘Whippetlash’
A young Whippet wants to become a great agility dog. He works with an intimidating trainer who humiliates him by repeatedly jabbing his neck and yelling, “TSCH!”
In book publishing news as exciting as Harper Lee’s upcoming sequel to “To Kill a Mockingbird,” it was announced this week that the work of another beloved author will be published in late July.
That author, Dr. Seuss (aka Theodore Geisel), died nearly a quarter century ago. While going through her husband’s office shortly after his 1991 death, Audrey Geisel found the manuscript for “What Pet Should I Get?” She set it aside — for 22 years.
“While undeniably special, it is not surprising to me that we found this, because Ted always worked on multiple projects and started new things all the time,” she said in a press release from Random House Children’s Books.
“What Pet Should I Get?” features the brother and sister from the Dr. Seuss book, “One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.” The text and illustrations were found nearly complete. It was probably written between 1958 and 1962, according to the author’s former art director, Cathy Goldsmith.
“My connection to Ted remains as vital as it was when we worked closely together years ago — I know he is looking down, watching over the process, and I feel a tremendous responsibility to do everything just as he would have done himself,” Goldsmith said in the press release.
Audrey Geisel said the book’s publication “is especially heartwarming for me, as this year also marks 25 years since the publication of the last book of Ted’s career, ‘Oh, the Places You’ll Go!'”
More good news: At least two additional Dr. Seuss books will be published in the future from the manuscripts Audrey found.
“What Pet Should I Get?” will be available on July 28.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. You can opt-out if you wish.Got it!RejectPrivacy Policy
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
