Bradenton Dog

Dog News

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Dog Wash – Manatee County Animal Services

Looking for a wet and wild experience this weekend?  Please come this Saturday July 14th at 10:00 am to Manatee County Animal Services to help with much needed bathing and grooming of our shelter pets.   Animal Services has plenty of towels but if you can bring shampoo it would be helpful!

This is a great opportunity for local animal lovers to show unity in the humane treatment of these pets and get to meet like-minded people!    Be sure to look for Commissioner Carol Whitmore who is organizing this event.

Cat lovers. . .you are welcome too!  Our kitties won’t be bathed but would love to spend some quality time being combed or petted.   Attention and love helps improve both the mental and physical health of our animals in the shelter.

This event will be held at the Palmetto site and in the future we will have this same event at our Bradenton downtown center. The address for Animal Services is:

305 25th St. W.
Palmetto, Florida 34221

941-742-5933 and press 1 – when you get there if you need help.

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Breed Profile: Boston Terrier

By Alisha Corsi

With their refined personalities and dapper tuxedo markings, Boston Terriers are known as the “American Gentlemen” of dog breeds. Originating in the stables of Boston (where else would they?), Boston Terriers were the first US breed to be recognized by the American Kennel Club, making them the all-American dog!

Physical Traits

Size & Weight: Boston Terriers stand between 15-17 inches at the shoulder, and weigh between 10-25 pounds. They are small, compact dogs with short muzzles and square faces.

Coat & Color: Boston Terriers have short, smooth coats that are most often brindle, seal, or black with even white markings on the face and chest. “Seal” is a color that is exclusive to Boston Terriers, and refers to a black color that reveals red highlights in the sun. Boston Terriers can also be liver, brown, cream, or red, but these are rare.

Life Expectancy: 11-13 years

Temperament
Boston Terriers are gentle, well-mannered dogs with happy-go-lucky personalities. They love their human companions, and are always eager to please. Highly intelligent dogs, Boston Terriers are easy to train and are usually enthusiastic about learning new things. Because of their affectionate personalities and excellent character, Boston Terriers are extremely popular in the United States.

Something to Bark About: The American Kennel Club breed standards state that Boston Terriers should be wrinkle-free—be grateful that we’re not all held to that standard! The Boston Terrier serves as the mascot for not one, but two institutions of higher education in the US—Wofford College in South Carolina, and of course, Rhett the Boston Terrier at Boston University.
Wags
• Boston Terriers get along well with children, elderly people, and animals.
• Boston Terriers are easy keepers who require only a moderate amount of exercise and a minimum amount of grooming.
• Boston Terriers learn very quickly, and have very affable personalities.

Yelps
• Like most pure dog breeds, Boston Terriers are prone to some health issues, including eye problems, heart murmurs, and allergies.
• Their compact body type causes a few challenges that can also be seen as endearing—they can be quite flatulent in the absence of a proper diet, and their shortened muzzles make them prone to snoring. Nothing a little Febreze and ear plugs can’t cure!

If you’d like to learn more about adoptable Boston Terriers in your area, visit Boston Terrier Rescue of Florida for more information.

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Breed Profile: Shetland Sheepdog

By Alisha Corsi

One of the brightest dogs in the world, Shetland Sheepdogs, or “Shelties” as they are more commonly called, are known for their keen sense of intelligence and intense loyalty (think of a smaller version of Lassie). As athletic as they are smart, Shelties excel in agility and herding competitions, but are most successful when it comes to winning the hearts of their human families with their loving personalities.

photo by: Kelsee Dupras

Physical Traits

Size & Weight: Shelties stand between 13-16 inches at the shoulder, and weigh between 11-31 pounds, with males generally being larger and heavier than females.

Coat & Color: Shelties have a double coat. Their topcoats are long, straight, and water-repellent, while the undercoat is short, furry, and very dense. Shelties usually shed their coats in clumps, making them easier to groom than other smooth-haired dogs. Their coats come in three different colors: black, blue merle, and sable, with sable being the most common.

Life Expectancy: 12-15 years

Temperament

Shelties are exceptionally intelligent dogs, ranking 6th out of 123 breeds. They learn new commands quickly, obeying a command the first time more than 95% of the time. For this reason Shelties are one of the most successful obedience dogs. They are also herders, and are so adept at it that they can often be found attempting (and often succeeding) at herding people! In addition to their performance skills, Shelties are very devoted and docile dogs who make great family pets. While not as intimidating as some other dog breeds, their intense loyalty to their owners make them excellent watch dogs.

Travis, A Sarasota Dog

Something to Bark About: The original working sheepdogs of Shetland are now extinct, and have been replaced by Border Collies. In fact, the Shetland Sheepdog as it is now known has never been used as a working dog on Shetland, and ironically, these dogs are very rare there!

Wags

  • Shelties may just be the total package when it comes to dogs, possessing brains, beauty, and loyalty—need I say more?
  • Shelties are alert and have a keen sense of understanding.
  • Diverse in their talents, Shelties are great at herding, agility competitions, and simply loving on their families.
  • Great with kids if reared with them from a young age.

Challenges

  • Shelties require lots of exercise and mental stimulation. Ignoring this may lead to the development of bad behaviors, such as excessive barking, nervousness, and phobias.
  • Shelties will herd anything, including cars, so owners must constantly be watchful.
  • Can sometimes be aloof with strangers, so they must be socialized at a young age.

If you’re ready to welcome a Sheltie into your family, find a list of Sheltie rescue groups near you at nationalsheltierescue.org.

Check out this amazing Sheltie we saw at a local pet event.

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Progress on the LongBoat Key Dog Beach Possibility

By:  LBK-9

It’s been a long time since the last update. Many of you have asked where we are in the process. So here is a brief update.

The dog beach committee of seven residents met 5 times over the fall and winter to study dog beach issues and to formulate a proposal to present to the Town commission.  This was no easy task and the information out there is multitudinous. We feel we have left no stones unturned.  We have enough information and are in the process of trying to condense it into a concise proposal worthy of presentation to the commission.

I provide here little bits of information.  We named the group LBK-9 Coalition.We wrote a mission statement.  We have a logo, we have set up a Facebook page and have just recently set up an on line petition, which we need you to sign. The link is below.  One thing we learned during the process was that we must show local (LBK) support for a dog beach.  There is a lot of opposition and the show of support is going to be a crucial element of our proposal.  Thus the on line petition.  Below I am copying and pasting the e mail that each of you were to get from the on line website.  For some reason, I am learning that not everyone got their e-mail.  So the link is below within the body of the e mail that the petition site originally sent out.  Please sign the on line petition.  Your information is safe and only your names will be used in a show of support for this effort.  I ask you to sign the petition and to share it with others.  It is listed on the Facebook page but we need all of the exposure that we can get.  Recently there was an article in the USA Today, May 15th, speaking of the effort of communities all over the country to obtain a fair share of the beach for themselves and their dogs.  LBK was mentioned in the article.  The effort was on ABC channel 7 in Sarasota and Bay 9 news in Tampa.  So there is interest out there.  The task at hand though is convincing the LBK Town Commission of the importance of a dog beach designation.

So, below is the petition e mail.  Please read, link on to the website, sign the petition, and pass along to all that you think will be wiling to support our efforts.  If in our zest to reach out to everyone you may receive this petition request twice. We apologize. We hope to present the petition and the proposal to the commission in the early fall and hope for approval by the end of December or January.  Thank you in advance for your support.

LBKLUVSDOGS for the LBK-9 Coalition    Click here to sign!

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Manatee County introduces a new plan for pet adoptions

The Manatee County Animal Services staff just announced the beginning of a new, exciting program.  Any dog or cat who has been living at the shelter facility more than 90 days can be adopted for free!  Shelter dogs and cats are just like other pets, except that they don’t have a home.  There will be a strict screening process to ensure that animals are released only to very good homes with owners who are willing and able to care for them properly.

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Manatee County’s Journey to No Kill – May Update

by Jean Peelen

It is so exciting to be a part of a movement that involves great leadership and people of commitment.  The no-kill movement is still on track in Manatee County and is spreading quite quickly through Florida.  Broward County passed a No Kill resolution last month. Hillsborough County announced its intent to become a No Kill community. Members of the public are pushing for it in Hernando, Citrus, Brevard, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties. And Sarasota just announced that they are looking to collaborate with Manatee to replicate their success. YES!

I would predict that within a year the major counties in Florida will become no-kill.  How exciting it will be to be the first no-kill state in this great country.

For the month of April we reached a wonderful 79% save rate.  When we began last October the save rate was 55% and the goal was to increase the save rate by 2% per month until we reach 91% by December 2012.  This means that although we have a little variation from month to month we are well ahead of our necessary rate of improvement.  The staff of Animal Services and the rescues deserve great appreciation for the turn-around they have made.  It’s not often people get to change their vision so radically as they have.  I am grateful.

You will remember that Carol Whitmore was awarded a grant of $50,000 from the Tampa Bay Lightening Foundation.  The grant application was submitted under the auspices of The Animal Network.  The recipient had to give the grant money to approved non-profit organizations.  She gave $10,000 to the Homeless Coalition and $40,000 to the Animal Network.  The $40,000 went into the No Kill fund maintained by The Animal Network in a separate account.

Caro requested that the $40,000 be used to keep the dogs and cats healthy, mostly at Animal Services, until they can be adopted.  A committee of three was appointed to monitor how the no kill money is spent.  The committee is Sue Kolze (Animal Network), Kris Weiskopf (Animal Services) and Jean Peelen (Animal Services Advisory Board).

The major uses for Carol’s donation will be ventilation systems in the cat rooms at Animal Services.  In the past, the cats had too high a rate of respiratory illnesses, making them difficult or impossible to get adopted.  An engineer has visited The Cat Depot in Sarasota which has a wonderful ventilation system and we may base our ventilation system on it.

Another use for Carol’s money is to create an area at the loading dock at Animal Services where dogs brought in can be vetted by the new certified Vet Tech and kept separated from other dogs until we can ensure sure that they are healthy.  Finally, we want to get fencing to provide a much bigger exercise yard for the big dogs at Animal Services.

I really don’t think the $40,000 will cover all of that.  Everything is very expensive – especially the ventilation systems because of the configuration of the cat rooms at Animal Services.  We also were stunned at early estimates of the cost of fencing.  We are looking for a fence company that will considering donating, or taking a deep discount for fencing.  If we could get that, it is possible that the County may provide the labor at no charge.

So if you know someone connected with fencing, please do contact me at [email protected] or Sue Kolze at [email protected].

Another great piece of news: It looks like Manatee County is going to pass a new law that prohibits a dog from being tethered in your yard unless someone is outside with the dog.  It has passed the first reading and has one more reading before it becomes law.  I am delighted.  In some areas, the major source of dog bites is tethered dogs, and often children are the ones bitten.  Additionally, female dogs that live tied up outside are often dogs that have not been spayed.  They get impregnated by passing sailors J and we have yet more unwanted puppies.

Finally, Animal Services is starting a fostering program.  Right now they particularly are looking for people to foster large dogs who are heartworm positive.  The dogs can’t really be treated at Animal Services because there is too much stimulation and too many other dogs.  Such dogs used to be euthanized immediately.  Now they have a chance to live.

These fosterd dog must be kept quiet – no walks and certainly no running – for at least a month or two or more.  There should be no other dogs or cats in the household.  If you are up for it, think what a gift you could give to a dog—a chance at a new life.  If you think you can foster a heartworm positive dog, please contact Kris Weiskopf at [email protected].

See you next month!