Category: News

Golden Globes, Schmolden Schlobes: First-Ever World Dog Awards Airs Thursday

Last night the Golden Globes kicked off the start of awards season. Next up? The World Dog Awards, which will air on The CW this Thursday, Jan. 15.

“For the first time, dogs will be celebrated for their work in entertainment, health services and the military, along with everyday dogs who found fame on the internet,” the network stated in a press release last July.

The show, hosted by George Lopez, was taped Saturday afternoon in the appropriately named Barker Hangar at Santa Monica Airport. (This seems to be a pawpular venue for canine-related shows. “FOX’s Cause for Paws,” which aired on Thanksgiving last year, was also taped there.)

“The dogs and their humans walked down a green carpet and paused for photos ops and questions,” writes Juliet Bennett Rylah on LAist.com, which published plenty of those photos.

“Bodhi [the dapper fella in the photo to the right] was described to us as an Instagram-famous Shiba Inu, and we were also introduced to Duke, a 7-year-old dog who was elected mayor of Cormorant, a village in Minnesota. We also met Peanut, the ‘World’s Ugliest Dog.’ Before making fun of Peanut’s appearance, though, remember that this little survivor was set on fire as a puppy and lived to bark about it.”

During the ceremony, winners received edible awards in categories ranging from “Best in Film,” to “Celebrity Dog Selfie,” to a “Most Dog-Like Cat” award for a feline. People were asked to vote for their favorites in each category from Dec. 15 to Jan. 9.

Four honorary awards were also presented:

  • Dog’s Best Friend: Presented by the ASPCA, this award will go to a celebrity who has advanced the welfare of homeless dogs and dog-related causes.
  • K911: Presented by Subaru, this award will go to a dog who’s an everyday superhero for helping to save a child’s life.
  • “The Dog’s Life” Achievement Award: Awarded to an iconic dog character in popular culture who has had a huge cultural impact.
  • Underdog: This honor will be bestowed upon a dog who overcame incredible obstacles or odds.

Among the celebrities scheduled to appear at the WDAs were Ian Somerhalder, Lance Bass, Lisa Vanderpump and Andy Cohen.

“We also saw Paris Hilton’s new dog, which is said to have cost $25,000 and fits in the palm of her hand,” Rylah writes.

Ugh. Hopefully there was an award for “Dog Mom Who Really Should Adopt Instead of Buy.”

The World Dog Awards was produced in conjunction with and for the benefit of the ASPCA and the PEDIGREE Foundation. The show airs Thursday at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. CT) on The CW.

Photos: The CW, Twitter

Petco and PetSmart Will Stop Selling Treats Made in China

You can expect the dog treat shelves of your local Petco and PetSmart stores to start looking pretty barren. As both national chains promised last year, they will no longer sell pet treats that were manufactured in China.

More than 1,000 dogs have died after eating chicken, duck or sweet potato jerky treats made in China, and nearly 5,000 more have become ill. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been investigating these cases since 2007 (and taking way too long to do so, many pet parents complain). No link has yet been found between the treats and the illnesses.

About 60 percent of the illnesses reported to the FDA were gastrointestinal problems; 30 percent were kidney or urinary issues; and the remaining 10 percent were symptoms including convulsions, tremors, hives and skin irritation.

“We know some pet parents are wary of dog and cat treats made in China, especially chicken jerky products, and we’ve heard their concerns,” Jim Myers, CEO of Petco, said in a press release last May. “As a leader in the industry and the trusted partner for our pet parents, we’re eager to make this transition and to expand our assortment of safe and healthy treats, the majority of which are made right here in the U.S.”

Since September, Petco has been pulling the products from its online store and 1,300 physical stores; PetSmart will finish removing them by March.

Petco Vice President John Sturm told the Associated Press the chain will substitute the China-made treats with those made in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Last week Jump Your Bones recalled some lots of its Roo Bites, treats made in Australia from dehydrated kangaroo meat, because they may have contained Salmonella.

It seems like it may not be a good idea to feed your dog commercially made jerky treats, no matter where they’re manufactured.

Photo credit: Tony Alter

R.I.P. Gracie, Vick Dog Who Became Vicktory Dog

Gracie, one of the 50 Pit Bulls rescued in 2007 from Michael Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels in Virginia, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.

“This morning, little, old, bow-legged Gracie passed away and got her angel wings,” according to the Gracie’s Guardians Facebook page.

Named in her honor, Gracie’s Guardians, an initiative of the Richmond Animal League, is focused on improving the welfare of Pit Bulls in the Richmond, Va., area.

“Any words we write here could never begin to express the profound, positive and lasting impact that this little, black Pit Bull had on so many people who encountered her or heard the story of her suffering and triumph. We are and will be forever grateful for this little, broken black dog and everything she personified.”

According to the Gracie’s Guardians website, Gracie was chosen as its namesake “in tribute to her perseverance and that of countless other Pit Bulls who have suffered or continue to suffer at the hands of people, yet whose spirits and love for humans remains untarnished.”

Gracie was adopted by Sharon Cornett, who told CBS 6 news in April 2014 that of all the dogs she’d ever had, Gracie was probably the most docile. “Honestly, I think her legacy is to show that the public has absolutely nothing to fear,” Cornett said.

Will Lowery, co-founder of Gracie’s Guardians, agrees. He told CBS 6 that the successful rehabilitation of the Vick dogs has led to more adoptions of abused dogs.

“I think everybody involved would probably admit that there’s a lot learned about these dogs, and how to handle them, and what their future might hold,” Lowry said.

Prior to 2007, most dogs rescued from fighting operations were euthanized. Even Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, said back then that the rescued Vick dogs would never be suitable as pets, and should all be destroyed.

But dog experts at animal welfare organizations like the Richmond Animal League, Best Friends Animal Society and BAD RAP knew better. They took in the Vick survivors, rehabilitated them and found loving forever homes in which many of these “unadoptable” survivors thrived.

Along with Gracie, another of those lucky dogs was Jonny Justice, who was awarded the prestigious ASPCA Dog of the Year award last year. Yet another was Hector, a Vick dog who became a therapy dog. Hector died three months ago.

The CBS 6 news report below from April 2014 features Gracie and more Vicktory dogs who defied the odds. It also shows the horrors inside the Bad Newz Kennels, including the trees from which Vick himself hanged dogs who weren’t good fighters.

The property has been transformed into the Good Newz Rehab Center, which treats abused dogs who have been kept in chains or pens.

Rest in peace, Gracie. To make a donation to Gracie’s Guardians, click here.

Photos via Facebook

Soaked Pup Runs to Catalina Island Bar, Alerts Patrons to Owner’s Fate

For the past few years, Bruce Ryder lived on a boat with Pretty Boy (aka P.B.), his beloved Yellow Lab, in Avalon Harbor at Catalina Island, Calif.

Ryder and P.B. were inseparable, and well known by the locals.

Although Ryder no longer drank, he still paid frequent visits to the Marlin Club, Avalon’s oldest bar. So when P.B. ran into the bar alone, wet and shaking, during an unusually fierce storm Tuesday night, inventory manager Randy Jackson feared the worst.

“That dog was his life and his life support,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times.

Concerned, Jackson called Ryder’s cellphone, but got no answer. So he called the harbor patrol.

Ryder’s body was found around 7:30 the next morning, floating in the harbor.

The 4- to 8-foot swells whipped up by the freak storm destroyed five boats, broke off part of a pier and took the lives of Ryder and Tim Mitchell, a harbor patrol officer who was crushed between rocks and a boat he was trying to save that had broken loose from its mooring.

“People were just zombied, absolutely stunned” by the two deaths, Mary Schickling, of Avalon, told the Los Angeles Times. Along with many other residents, she’d known the two men very well.

Both Ryder and Mitchell had worked for Scuba Luv, a diving operation on Catalina Island.

“There are no words to describe the devastation, and the Scuba Luv family appreciates your thoughts at this difficult time,” the company wrote on its Facebook page Wednesday.

Since Tuesday night, Marlin Club patrons have been comforting P.B. The bar’s owner, Tony Underwood, told the Times it will be P.B.’s new home.

Photo credit: Klownacide Records

DigAlert Rose Parade Float Features Digging Dogs

Jan. 1, 2015 UPDATE: Congrats to DigAlert for winning the Rose Parade’s Bob Hope Humor Trophy! And it was so cold in Pasadena this morning (32 degrees) that the real water would not spurt as it was supposed to from the broken pipes. Oh well!

“Inspiring Stories” is the theme of the 2015 Tournament of Roses Parade. While there apparently won’t be any inspiring snowboarding or adoptable dogs on floats, as there have been in recent parades, an animated dog wreaking havoc with a backhoe is featured on the DigAlert float, “Do It Right — Call 811.”

DigAlert (aka the Underground Service Alert of Southern California) is a free service that locates underground utilities on properties in this region. It was formed in 1976 after a construction crew accidentally struck a petroleum pipeline in Culver City, causing an explosion that killed nine people and burned a city block to the ground.

“Before you stick anything in the ground, including a shovel, make sure you first contact DigAlert at www.digalert.org or call 811,” DigAlert warns in a fact sheet. “Underground utilities can be just about anywhere on a piece of property. If you hit a gas line, you could start a fire that destroys an entire neighborhood. Strike an electrical line and you could be electrocuted.”

To bring this to people’s attention, the service, which is funded by more than 900 local utilities, has created a humorous 2015 Rose Parade float, described as follows:

“The whole community has shown up to lend a helping hand to install a new bird-house condo. White picket fences line the manicured lawn bordered with colorful hollyhocks and a wisteria pergola. A crew of comical canines steadies the teetering birdhouse posts as a drilling backhoe driven by a madcap dog sporadically jerks and sputters up and down as it moves from side to side. Oh, my gosh, the backhoe auger has hit a main water pipe, and now a torrent of water is flooding the scene! Watching the zany backyard dishevelment unfold before are wide-eyed neighbors and feathery friends.”

The backhoe will emit puffs of theatrical “smoke,” while real water spurts from the broken pipes.

In keeping with the Rose Parade float rule of only using flowers and plant materials, the dogs’ fur is created from golden and brown flax seed, curly white coconut chips, dark brown nyjer seed, dried cranberry leaves, gold strawflower petals, orange-red safflower spice, orange marigold petals, silky grass, uva grass and pampas grass. (Wow.) Their eyes are decorated in black seaweed, green split peas, blue sinuate statice and brown flax seed.

As for the “Inspiring Stories” theme, Cliff Meidl will be riding on the float. In 1986, Meidl suffered an extreme electrical shock when his jackhammer touched unmarked high-voltage electrical cables at a construction site. He was told by doctors at the time that he would never walk again, but defied the odds and became a two-time Olympian and flag bearer for the USA team.

DigAlert made its Rose Parade debut in 2014 with the float, “Protecting Your Dream, Right in Your Own Backyard” — which also featured an animated dog operating a backhoe. The float won the award for Best Animation & Movement.

The 2015 Rose Parade will be broadcast Jan. 1 beginning at 8 a.m. PST on ABC, Hallmark Channel, HGTV, NBC, Univision, RFD-TV, Family Net, Rural Radio on Sirius XM and Sky Link TV. It will also air in Los Angeles on KTLA, beginning at 5 a.m. and repeated throughout the day.

Photo via Facebook

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