Life is No Circus for Animals

Years ago when people heard the circus was coming to town, children screamed in delight and families packed tent arenas for the "greatest show on earth." Nowadays, the video footage of circus animals being mistreated behind the scenes causes many animal lovers to scream in disgust.

We recently learned that Carson & Barnes Circus is coming to Sonoma County June 8-11 with stops in Petaluma and Santa Rosa. While laws and regulations are now in place to offer some protection of animals who perform, they are minimal and rarely enforced. Carson & Barnes Circus has violated many of them and still uses bullhooks on performing elephants.

Pets Lifeline is against the use of animals in circuses and the misery they face everyday. Circuses with animals also teach the wrong message to children; that wild animals are meant for our pure entertainment.

Wild animals do not naturally ride bicycles, stand on their heads, balance on balls, or jump through rings of fire. To force them to perform these unnatural and physically uncomfortable tricks, trainers use whips, tight collars, muzzles, electric prods, bullhooks and other painful tools.

Wild animals who are forced to perform pose a real threat to public safety and are unpredictable. Remember the elephant in Wisconsin who charged the crowd injuring a child at a circus? No amount of training can eliminate this danger.

So please forgo the Carson & Barnes Circus this year and let them know that animal mistreatment is not tolerated in our community. There are many wonderful circuses that do not use animals, like Cirque du Soleil, that are just as exciting and even more entertaining than those that do.

Organizations that oppose the Carson & Barnes Circus and performing animals include:

Pets Lifeline
Sonoma Humane Society
Forgotten Felines of Sonoma County
Marin Humane Society
IDA (In Defense of Animals)
FAPP (Farm Animal Protection Project)
CCFE (Citizens for Cruelty Free Entertainment)

Biting Commentary

Spring is in the air and that means several things. Kittens, of course! But we've already talked about that. It also means its time for National Dog Bite Prevention Week -- May 17-23.

Approximately 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs annually and the majority of these victims are children bitten by the family dog or another dog that they know. Dogs most likely to bite include those not spayed or neutered, not properly socialized, and those that spend their lives chained in a backyard or otherwise lacking in attention. However, any dog, regardless of breed, has the potential to bite in specific circumstances.

Some of my best friends are dogs and they assure me that they would rarely bite out of the blue. A growl is often one of the final signals. So don’t punish the growl. Take the message and get help immediately from a qualified dog behaviorist before someone gets hurt.

The good people at Pets Lifeline recommend that guardians reduce the chance of a bite incident through spay/neutering their pet, providing regular veterinary care, proper dog training and socialization and by educating themselves on bite triggers and canine body language.

Doggone Safe, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bite prevention education recommends the following to keep the kids in your home or neighborhood safe:

The 3 Most Important Things to Teach Kids
1. Dogs Don’t Like Hugs and Kisses – Teach your kids not to hug or kiss a dog on the face. Hugging the family dog or face-to-face contact are common causes of bites to the face. Instead, teach kids to scratch the dog on the chest or the side of the neck.
2. Be a Tree if a Strange Dog Approaches – Teach kids to stand still, like a tree. Trees are boring and the dog will eventually go away. This works for strange dogs and any time the family dog gets too frisky or becomes aggressive.
3. Never Tease a Dog – That includes never disturbing a dog that’s sleeping, eating or protecting something.

The 2 Most Important Things Parents Can Do
1. Supervise – Don’t assume your dog is good with kids. If a toddler must interact with your dog, you should have your hands on the dog too. Even if your dog is great with kids and has never bitten – why take a chance?
2. Train Your Dog – Take your dog to obedience classes where positive-reinforcement is used. Never pin, shake, choke, hold the dog down or roll the dog over to teach it a lesson. Dogs treated this way are likely to turn their aggression on weaker family members.

The 3 Most Important Things Dog Owners Can Do
1. Spay or Neuter Your Dog – Neutered pets are calmer, healthier and less likely to be aggressive. Neutering prevents unwanted dogs that end up in shelters or in situations where they may grow up to be poorly socialized or aggressive.
2. Condition Your Dog for the World – Give your puppy lots of new positive experiences. Train using positive methods.
3. Supervise Your Dog – Supervise your dog at all times around children. If visiting children are bothering your dog, put the dog away or send the children home.

For information on summer puppy socialization and dog obedience classes and summer camp for kids to learn animal safety, call one of the wonderful staff at the shelter at 707-996-4577 or visit www.petslifeline.org.

Stay Safe!

Cats Rule and Dogs Drool!

Did you know that cats outnumber dogs by nearly 10 million, making them America's #1 pet?

The recently formed organization called CATalyst Council is working to raise the stature of America’s number one companion, the cat. A week ago they announced the CATalyst 2009 Top 10 Cat-Friendly Cities. The CATalyst Council, a coalition of the veterinary community, academia, nonprofits, industry and animal welfare organizations, hopes to call attention to how much the cat is loved and cared for in these cities, and set the bar for other cities to follow in the annual rankings. The cities named include two cities in California: San Francisco and San Diego, followed by Portland (Ore.), Denver, Boston, Seattle, Tampa, Phoenix, Atlanta and Minneapolis.

The list was compiled after reviewing the top 25 standard metropolitan areas for such data as cat ownership per capita, level of veterinary care, microchipping and cat-friendly local ordinances. Extra points were given to cities with mayors who have cats.

Can Sonoma make it to the Top 10 next year? Maybe with your help. Come and visit some of the wonderful cat companions we have available for adoption at Pets Lifeline today!

My buddy Arrow the dog

Have you heard the story of Arrow? A sad tail. He was tied to the fence of the shelter one day. A three-legged, mostly blind, hard-of-hearing older little guy.

He must have been terrified. Fortunately, the good people here at Pets Lifeline brought him in and did their best to make him comfortable. Not the same as "home" but he seemed happy to have the companionship of people and he LOVES to sit on laps! I can relate.

It seems his elderly owner could no longer afford to care for him and so now he waits for the right person to come along and give him a cozy spot to live out his golden years. Could you be the one he is waiting for?

Click here to read his full story.