Category: News

‘Cause for Paws’ Will Air Thanksgiving Night on FOX

THANKSGIVING 2015 UPDATE: This year’s show, which has been renamed again to “The All-Star Dog Rescue Celebration,” will air Thanksgiving night on FOX.

NOV. 11, 2014 UPDATE: “The Great American Dog-a-thon” has been renamed “FOX’s Cause for Paws: An All-Star Dog Spectacular.” Jane Lynch has been added as a co-host, and the celebrity lineup now includes P!ink, Kristin Chenoweth, Kathy Griffin, Sharon Osbourne and many more. Pedigree Food for Dogs will present a “Shelter Hero of the Year” Award to someone who has dedicated his or her life to making sure shelter dogs receive the love, care and resources they need to find forever homes.

In what will hopefully become as traditional as a slice of pumpkin pie after dinner, the first-ever “Great American Dog-a-Thon” will air Thanksgiving night on the FOX network as a means of finding adopters for homeless pups.

Hosted by two-time Oscar winner Hillary Swank and featuring Betty White (of course!) and lots of other celebrities, the special will be a celebration of rescue dogs.

“I have long been an advocate for animal adoption and know first-hand the immense joy a shelter animal brings to our lives,” Swank said in a press release.

“Yet, every year more than 4 million animals are euthanized because of overcrowding in shelters. We are so fortunate to have an animal advocate in the FOX network that not only sees the need for more awareness surrounding this issue, but is willing to set aside a two-hour block for this important cause. This partnership will change the path of a soul for thousands of animals looking for their forever home.”

hillary swank great american dog-a-thonAlong with Swank and White, other stars scheduled to introduce adoptable dogs include Scarlett Johansson, Josh Duhamel, Miranda Lambert, Kristen Bell, Fergie, Paula Abdul, LeAnn Rimes, Kesha and Carrie Ann Inaba.

Awards will be presented in categories such as Cutest Puppy, Best Celebrity/Dog Lookalike, Guiltiest Dog, Best Licker, Smartest Dog and Best Viral Dog Video. There will be musical tributes to hero dogs as well as segments honoring people who rescue animals in need.

The show will give viewers the opportunity to make a donation to raise funds for rescue organizations. Information about how to adopt dogs in the viewers’ local areas will also be provided.

“The Great American Dog-a-Thon” starts at 8 p.m. ET/PT on November 27.

Photos via FOX Flash

NIH Stops Funding Biomedical Research Using Randomly Sourced Dogs

As of today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s largest provider of funds for biomedical research, will not pay for research conducted with dogs obtained from random source Class B dealers.

These dealers get their dogs in a variety of ways, including from animal shelters and Craigslist ads, or by stealing them from their yards. They then sell the dogs to research laboratories.

In 2012 the NIH stopped funding research that used cats from Class B dealers, but it’s taken three years to include dogs as well.

“We thank NIH for its work to institute this policy and we welcome this step forward,” Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), wrote on his blog today. “We also thank the many other organizations who devoted their energies to achieving this important milestone, including Last Chance for Animals and the Animal Welfare Institute.”

As many as 2 million dogs and cats were sourced by Class B dealers before the passage of the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act in 1966, according to Pacelle. Over the next two decades, there were still more than 200 registered Class B dealers in the United States.

Today there are only three registered Class B dealers, and one of them is being investigated by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

“Careful scientists don’t associate with these dealers,” Pacelle wrote, “and the campaigning and exposés led by animal advocates weakened the dealers and shut off some of their sales routes.”

While this is good news, Class A dealers continue to breed dogs — particularly Beagles, because of their trusting personalities — to be used in biomedical research. Nonprofits like the Beagle Freedom Project are working to provide homes for these dogs after the research is completed, and are also advocating for alternative, dog-free ways to conduct the research in the first place.

Photo credit: United States Marine Corps

Westminster Adds Coton de Tulear and Wirehaired Vizsla to 2015 Dog Show

Barbra Streisand is probably delighted with this news. (No, not that her new album, “Partners,” is No. 1, although that’s kind of exciting.) Her constant companion Samantha — who posed with Babs in her very first Instagram photo — is a Coton de Tulear, one of two breeds that will make their debut at the 2015 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.

“Wild tales of 16th-century pirates and shipwrecks surround the origins of the Coton de Tulear,” says the Westminster Kennel Club (WKC) in a news announcement.

The breed, which will compete in the Non-Sporting Group, was developed in Madagascar. It got its name from the fluffy, cotton-like texture of its white coat. “Intelligent, quirky and clown like, Cotons became a favorite of the island’s aristocracy, who proclaimed them the ‘Royal Dog of Madagascar,'” according to the WKC.

The other breed appearing for the first time in next year’s show is the Wirehaired Vizsla, which will be competing in the Sporting Group.

“Developed by hunters and falconers in Hungary, the Wirehaired Vizsla is a lean, athletic hunting dog whose most distinguishing features are its weather-resistant, dense wire coat with beard, eyebrows and brushes on the legs,” says the WKC.

The 139th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show will be held Feb. 16 and 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

If you’re interested in adopting a Coton de Tulear or Wirehaired Vizsla, here are a couple of rescue organizations you can check out:

If you’re interested in adding any purebred dog to your family, I urge you to adopt, not shop. Plenty of rescue organizations and shelters across the country probably have just the dog you’re looking for.

Photo credits: Uschi Goess (Coton de Tulear); Noveczki Katalin (Wirehaired Vizsla)

Therapy Dog Susie, Survivor of Horrific Abuse, is 2014 American Hero Dog

Susie, the Pit Bull/German Shepherd-mix therapy dog who last night received the prestigious honor of being named the American Humane Association 2014 American Hero Dog, had a rotten start in life.

When she was just a 3-month-old puppy in August 2009, her owner’s boyfriend, Lashawn Whitehead, beat her for 15 minutes, doused her with lighter fluid and set her on fire — only because Susie had jumped on the couch where Whitehead’s baby son was resting. Whitehead dumped Susie in a park in Greenboro, N.C., and left there to die.

Despite a broken jaw and teeth, as well as second- and third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body, Susie survived. She was found two weeks later, covered in maggots, and taken in by the Guilford County Animal Shelter. After several months of treatment, Susie found a loving new forever home with Donna and Roy Lawrence.

Donna was extremely fearful of dogs at the time. Less than a year before, she’d been attacked by a neglected, chained Pit Bull. But Susie — herself a Pit mix — helped Donna heal.

“If Susie hadn’t come into my life, I don’t know that I ever would have gotten over the fear,” Donna told TODAY. “I was drawn to her spirit — her love and affection for people when she should hate them, you know? She was living in the moment, not living in the past, happy … I thought, ‘If this puppy can forgive humans, I can forgive dogs.’”

Within a few months, Susie was certified as a therapy dog. She began visiting schools, hospitals and nursing homes, helping other people who, like her dog mom, were recovering from traumatic events.

As for Susie’s abuser, he was turned in by his mother, who’d witnessed the attack, three months later. Whitehead pleaded guilty to burning personal property, which carried a sentence of up to eight months in prison, and to felony animal cruelty. At that time in North Carolina, animal cruelty was considered a misdemeanor and only resulted in probation — no jail time. If the probation was violated, the abuser might face, at most, up to five months in prison.

The outrage over the slap on the wrist given to Whitehead led Lawrence and other animal lovers to campaign for Susie’s Law, sponsored by Sen. Don Vaughan. Susie’s Law increases the penalty for the malicious abuse, torture or killing of an animal to a Class H felony. Anyone found guilty of these crimes can be sent to prison.

Susie’s Law was passed in December 2010. The official copy includes Gov. Bev Perdue’s signature as well as Susie’s paw print. Lawrence founded the non-profit organization Susie’s Hope to continue raising awareness of animal abuse in the U.S. and working to end it.

At the Hero Dog Awards ceremony last night, Susie fittingly received a standing ovation. The purpose of this annual national competition is to recognize dogs who unconditionally help humans. The winners in eight categories were selected from more than 1 million online votes and a judging panel.

The American Humane Association 2014 Hero Dog Awards will air on the Hallmark Channel on Oct. 30 at 8 p.m.

 Photos via Facebook; Facebook

Study Shows Dogs See the Water Bowl as Half Full…or Half Empty

Just like us humans, dogs can have an optimistic or pessimistic outlook on life, according to a new study published last week in the Public Library Of Science (PLOS).

The research, conducted by Melissa Starling, Ph.D., and a team from the University of Sydney, involved 40 dogs of various breeds and ages. Its purpose was to test the dogs’ judgment bias — “how animals interpret ambiguous signals and whether they expect more positive or negative outcomes,” according to the study.

“The remarkable power of this is the opportunity to essentially ask a dog, ‘How are you feeling?’ and get an answer,” Starling said in a press release.

Similar to Ivan Pavlov’s famous bell-ringing study that conditioned dogs to drool when they were about to be fed, the University of Sydney researchers used one distinct tone when they offered the dogs water. They used another tone that was two octaves higher when they offered lactose-free milk, considered a tastier treat.

When the dogs became used to those two tones, the researchers started using nine alternative tones. If a dog didn’t respond to any of those nine tones, he was considered to be a pessimist.

“Pessimistic dogs appeared to be much more stressed by failing a task than optimistic dogs,” Starling said. “They would whine and pace and avoid repeating the task, while the optimistic dogs would appear unfazed and continue.”

Most of the dogs in the study turned out to be optimists, but Starling said it’s to early to assume that’s true of the general dog population.

According to the study results, we may incorrectly peg our dogs as being optimistic or pessimistic, when they’re actually the opposite.

“There was a tendency for owners and trainers to overestimate the optimism of dogs belonging to pessimistic, moderately pessimistic and balanced groups,” the study reports, “and to underestimate the optimism of dogs in moderately optimistic and optimistic groups.”

Being labeled as a pessimist is not necessarily a negative, especially for working dogs. Because they are less likely to take risks, pessimistic dogs make good guide dogs, Starling said. Optimistic dogs are better suited for tasks requiring tenacity, such as sniffing for drugs or bombs.

Knowing whether a dog is an optimist or pessimist could also be helpful in determining the most effective training method to use.

“This research has the potential to completely remodel how animal welfare is assessed,” Starling said. “It could be used to monitor their welfare in any environment, to assess how effective enrichment activities might be in improving welfare and pinpoint exactly what a dog finds emotionally distressing.”

Photo credits: Noël Zia Lee, hannah k

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