On Loving Animals...

I haven't featured our dogs at the shelter for some time now, and so here are three dogs who are in need of loving homes. Rex maybe named a king but he isn't big at all. I would say he's on the lower end of medium. Rex walks in a dainty way, like he doesn't want his paws spending more than half a second touching the ground, more typical of a miniature pinscher than a pitbull. No problems at all when walking Rex, he's not a puller. You just cruise with him. Rex's face reflects his natural sweetness, loves human contact. However, I don't think he tolerates some dogs. People should come and see this dog. He's definitely a keeper. Now, Duncan, he's more a teddy bear than a dog. He's fluffy, round, and hugable. Duncan's wears a beautiful bronze fur that goes along with his brown eyes and nose. No problems with his temperament, Duncan will be a great addition to any family. I grade Duncan as an A+. Kane, a full-size German Shepherd, has been at the...

Last evening’s protest at Madison Square Garden went off pretty well although a light rain fell upon us the whole time, soiling our clothes, signs, and handouts. The rain also prevented us from setting up the big screen TV used to show the undercover videos of elephant beatings and chaining. Before high tech, we unfurled a white bedsheet and projected the videos on it. It also acted like a sail and demos on windy days required two people to hold it up. It worked but it could be better. The big screen TV will make a quantum difference. As always, when there are shows, the cops patrol the area around the garden. We had a good team of cops last night. They talked to us with respect, reminded us about the physical boundaries of the garden, and that was it. No macho displays, no attempts at intimidation. Some cops can act like, well, like themselves, you know. Demos are scheduled for this entire weekend. Complicating last night's leafleting was the Wizard of Oz , a program showing conc...

Believe it or not, there is not one major department store that has gone fur-free in spite of all the protests, all the video and photo evidences of cruelty, all the common sensical arguments against the fur trade. But In Defense of Animals (IDA) cautions us about Nordstrom, a fourth generation family business whose owners reportedly refuse to wear fur themselves although their store sells it. The department store managers claim that there is a demand for it, and so fur coats are on the racks. Every year, fifty million wild animals are brutally slaughtered for their fur, for the sake of high(?) fashion. That's 50,000,000. The animals are usually dumped in a heap, without skin and fur, still alive, to suffer a slow death. Think of that the next time you see a classy(?) lady stride pass you in her(?) fur coat. I don’t know if the Nordstroms are in a moral dilemma, if they are agonizing over which way to go. Should they seek a clear conscience or continue to squeeze every little bit ...

Just a quick note. The clothing store, Urban Outfitters , has agreed to give up fur-trimmed items in its inventory. Welcome to the civilized world. They have joined Zappos, Juicy Couture, Polo Ralph Lauren, Gap, Forever 21, to name a few, in rejecting animal cruelty in fashion.

Is there any good news about red meat? Really, every time it appears on the news it's about premature death and animal cruelty. The Archives of Internal Medicine will soon report that higher health risks exist in half a million people (test group) whose diet included red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts. Excuse me, is there a vomit bag within reach? We have to distinguish the person from the body; the person loves the stuff while body doesn't. Twenty-two percent higher risk of dying from cancer for anyone who consumes a quarter-pound hamburger everyday for ten years. Lord, that's not as rare as it seems. There must be millions of them out there. Also, twenty-seven percent higher risk of dying from heart disease for anyone on the same diet of red meat. I don't think that tastiness is worth this kind of risk. No way. One can quibble about a little meat here and there, but a little meat here and there equates to a lot of cruelty f...

People can say whatever they want about Putin and Russia, but for at least one instance they are better than our neighbor to the North. Putin and his government have announced a complete ban on hunting of all harp seals less than one year of age. This follows their initial ban on 11-day old seals last month. Not only did the Russians make a step towards the right direction, but they made two! Supposedly, more than 40,000 messages were sent to Putin in the last month and in the last year demonstrations were held in twenty-five cities in Russia under the aegis of IFAW. With the ban in effect, an expected 35,000 baby seals in the White Sea will be saved from slaughter. Now, this is progress and we’re just waiting for Canada to emulate Russia’s example. Canada's seal hunt began today at 5:48 am EST. The first seal has been killed. Canada will allow commercial sealers to kill 280,000 seals this year. Will the real evil empire please stand up? Help HERE And HERE

Count your blessings, not your money. Your blessings could include surviving a house fire with two of your eleven pets. That's what happened to Symone Negrini, our part-time animal control officer at the Bloomingdale Animal Shelter Society which also serves as the animal control facility for several towns in Passaic county. While two pit bulls survived the fire in early February 2009, nine pets perished including a third pit bull, four cats, two birds and two ferrets. The house was situated off the Newark-Pompton Turnpike (Riverdale), and it was declared uninhabitable after the fire. Ms. Negrini, her husband, and their four children received help from the Red Cross for their living arrangements. It was reported that local families have also responded in kindness---clothes, etc. Here you see, Judge , one of the surviving pit bulls. As you can see, he was burnt severely and a life-saving skin graft is required. I apologize to those with weak stomachs, but I am not a big fan of cloa...

The following is a message from the USHS. Bill A1669 passed both houses of legislature in New Jersey. The governor can sign the bill or veto it. S.802 and A1669 are identical bills. We need to make the call and send the emails. I just got off the phone with the governor's office, and I said my piece. Stand up and be counted. ====================================================== Despite calls and emails from animal advocates like you, the NewJersey legislature has just passed legislation (S. 802) which would allow bow hunting on Sundays for the first time in more than a century. This bill has been sent to Governor Corzine for his signature. We just have one last chance to stop it -- please take action TODAY! Hunters are already permitted to hunt six days a week, and the much larger population of hikers, horseback riders, birdwatchers, and other outdoor users should have one day of theweek to enjoy their activities in relative quiet and safety,even on their own property. Allowing h...

Driving up Main Street in Hackensack last weekend, mainly to check out a location I saw in an old photograph, I noticed the office of the Hackensack Riverkeeper . It's pretty much self-explanatory unless you suffer from what H.L. Mencken loved to describe as a paralysis of the cerebrum. I know that environmental preservation has been done on the marshes in the Meadowlands / Secaucus area, including protection for wildlife habitats, but I was not sure if this was the same group behind the project. At least, they must have something to do with it. Our fellow person-of-conscience at the The Vegan Good Life blogged about this organization not too long ago. The Hackensack River I know well is the part that runs North from Little Ferry to and around Oradell. This is a tidal river. There are times when there is hardly any water, and you can see all the junk that has been thrown into it. A section of the river snakes by the Kenneth B. George Field (KGB) in River Edge. This field is used f...

Here is the second television ad for the benefit of homeless animals in the Philippines. This pitch is specifically for stray dogs. The Tagalog blurb at the end roughly translates to: he's a good guard dog but he doesn't even have a home. Stray dogs seeking shelter underneath parked vehicles are very common in the Philippines. I can recall my Dad, many years ago, checking underneath the car for dogs or cats before driving off. Life is so different in other countries, isn't it? The dog featured here, judging from its physical condition, probably was once a stray dog. I suspect this dog is one of the many dogs up for adoption at the Philippine Animal Rehabilitation Center. An actual street dog would be dirty and haggard. Nevertheless, you can see that the dog is street savvy, able to recognize engine starts, knowing when to move out of the way. I am pretty excited about these television ads. God knows how much Filipino animals need help and sympathy. Adopt a rescue cat or d...

From the NJARA: Forward Far and Wide The bill that would allow bowhunting on Sundays, A1669 , passed the Assembly Agriculture Committee yesterday, despite opposition from numerous individuals and groups as well as the Coalition Against Sunday Hunting , of which NJARA is a member, and which represents over 500,000 New Jersey residents.Now that bill goes to the full Assembly for a vote on Monday, March 16. That's bad enough, but there are two other bills that NJARA also opposes and we ask that you make calls again today to your state assemblymembers and ask them to vote NO on the following bills.-- A1669 , the bill to allow Sunday bow hunting. This bill will increase the likelihood of hunting accidents by having hunting on Sundays, the day when non-hunting activities are traditionally enjoyed. According to the U.S .Fish and Wildlife Service’s latest survey, over 1.5 million New Jersey residents are “wildlife watchers." This is 23% of the population. And this doesn't take in...

For all the pain and suffering animals go through here in America, I believe that life is worse for them in Asia. You've got the usual acts of animal abuse, and then there is the dog/cat meat trade. Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, China, these are just a few places where being a stray can lead to being a meal for someone. Apathy towards the suffering of animals is also greater in Asia. The attitude that animals are just animals is prevalent in many Asian countries. That region of the world is just backwards when it comes to animal welfare. Look at what the Chinese are doing to the moon bears. You can read about the extreme cruelty towards moon bears at Animals Asia 's website. As I recall, there are no animal welfare laws in China. Can you understand that? As for the Philippines, there is some hope. In 1998, the country enacted the Philippine Animal Welfare Act . It was a beginning. That law established a legal basis from which cases of animal abuse can be prosecuted or at least...

It's two days prior to voting day on A1669 , the bill that would allow bow and arrow hunting on Sundays in New Jersey. The hunters already have six full days to shoot animals, and now they want the last remaining day of the week---Sunday, the day of worship. This bill is about taking all and leave nothing to decency and compassion. In Bergen county, you can't even buy lumber because it's Sunday. We still hold in awe the day we worship the Lord, the day we spend with our family, the day of rest. And we've got a bunch of bowhunters who want to kill more sentient beings on that day. Have they no decency anymore? I have sent emails to state Assemblymen Nelson T. Albano , John F. Amodeo , and Herb Conaway , imploring them to vote against the bill. Today, my follow-up phone calls reached two out of three. Assemblyman Albano's number was eternally busy. I urge you to send in your emails and make those phone calls. When you do connect, you don't reach the public officia...

Driving to Manhattan this morning, I had the radio softly tuned to New York 1010 News when John Montone came on. He's the on-the-street reporter for the station which reportedly attracts three million listeners a week. When I first came to America in the 1970s, 1010 was always on the radio in the mornings at my aunt's apartment where I was staying. I don't think Montone reported back then ; he came later. I've listened to them for that long a time. Anyway, Montone's pieces are meant to break the monotony of hard news with his human interest stories and probing questions for amiable pedestrians. Well, this morning, he featured some cast members of Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus. They're in town again, doing New Jersey and Manhattan. I have not attended the planned demos at the IZOD Center ( Meadowlands ) and the Prudential Center ( Newark ) for this early part of the year, but they are held several times a year. Invitations to the demos is how I lea...

I am cross-posting an alert from the New Jersey Animal Rights Alliance regarding a very disturbing move by hunters in New Jersey to rain death upon wild animals seven days a week. Even on the day reserved for worshipping our Lord, the hunters want to be able to kill an animal through a sport that has no redeeming societal value. Hunting is unproductive, dangerous to human population, and violent. You can help fight it today. Here's a copy of the email I sent to the assemblymen : March 9, 2009 Assemblyman Nelson T. Albano, Vice-Chair Assemblyman John F. Amodeo Assemblyman Herb Conaway Dear Gentlemen: I am writing to ask you to vote against A1669. Hunters already have six days of hunting. There is no justifiable reason to allow Sunday, a day of worship and rest, to become another killing day. This offends my sensibility, and disrespects the day of worship. You were put in office to have the power to maintain a civilized society without restricting many of our individual rights. Howe...

Paul Harvey (1918-2009) was a great supporter of animal rights. If you are not familair with his name, you would recognize his voice. Paul Harvey was considered the most listened-to commentator in America. Twenty-five million people listened to him in a week. Imagine your influence if that many people lent their ears to you. Well, Paul Harvey put it to good use in many ways, not exempting animal welfare. He was considered a good friend of the animals. Here are some quotes from him: " How dare we limit food stamps for poor people and heating oil for old people, yet waste - absolutely, utterly waste - four billion dollars a year on useless, duplicated, unnecessary medical experimentation on live animals? … [t]he issue is purposeless suffering, and whether you should be paying four billion dollars a year to perpetuate it ." " To wear fur is to make a living creature give up its life, often with pain, exclusively to adorn oneself ." “ Farm pigs and calves in confinemen...

The sun is setting on the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) in Louisiana. I dare say that the facility could be more aptly named New Iberia Abuse Center from what was revealed in Nightline’s report on animal cruelty in laboratories. The welfare of lab animals is entrusted to the scientists, lab workers and administrators, that the animals must be treated humanely. As Terri Moran asked, who would know if they are not? Sunset? Well, it was reported that Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack ordered an investigation of the facility based on this nine-month undercover work by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). "In light of the video evidence presented today, I am ordering a thorough investigation of animal welfare practices at New Iberia Research Center… If the allegations prove to be true, the American public can expect the perpetrators to be held fully accountable. I take the protection of animals very seriously, and will do my utmost to fully enforce the Animal Welfare ...

This is kind of a short notice, but Nightline will be presenting an in-depth report on the maltreatment of chimpanzees and other primates used in experimentation, all funded by taxpayers, whether you approved of it or not. The show will air on ABC at 11:35pm tonight, March 4, 2009. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) will be teeing off from this report beginning tomorrow, launching a more vigorous campaign to free these animals from their miserable lives.

No matter how ugly you are, there is someone out there who can love you.