Bradenton Dog

Dog News

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Manatee’s Journey to No-Kill – January 2012

by Jean Peelen

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! The “father” of the no-kill movement, Nathan Winograd, will be speaking on November 4 at the Tampa Tribune Auditorium in Tampa from 3-5:30 p.m.  Nathan is very much worth hearing, so if you can possibly go, do so.  He is being hosted by a group in Hillsborough County that is trying to create no-kill there.  Tickets are going very quickly, so if interested you need to act quickly.  Go to the Web site http://save90.org/ .  Many of us will be there too with our “No-Kill Manatee” t-shirts.

And now on to our monthly report.

It is a happy new year indeed for Manatee County’s dogs and cats.  In September 2011, only 55% of the dogs and cats taken in by Manatee County’s Animal Services made it out alive.  On October 11, the County Commission declared that by December 2012 Manatee County would be no-kill: that by that date, at least 90% of the dogs and cats taken in would get out alive.  Now THAT is an ambitious goal.

The intention was to increase the save rate by 2% per month.  Animal Services and the whole community has done much better than that so far.  By the end of October, our save rate had increased to 68%.  That is quite a jump over two months.  At the end of November the save rate was 77% – yet another impressive increase.  And for the month of December, our save rate was 71% – a drop from November, yet we still are way ahead of the game.  If we were at out 2% per month, we would only be at a save rate of 61% by now.  So we are doing well!

I think there are many reasons for our success:

  • a revolution in thinking at Animal Services
  • the opening of the downtown adoption center
  • the support of  the County Commission
  • the new, healthier partnerships of Animal Services with rescue groups,
  • the increased pulling of animals by those group of dogs and cats from Animal Services
  • the wonderful feral cat programs
  • the effective spay-neuter programs of several local groups and shelters
  • the team of professional photographers and volunteers taking photos of the dogs and cats at animal services, and the most wonderful recent event
  • the generosity of 13 Manatee County Walgreen’s stores who have put barrels in their stores to collect donations of food and toys and money to support no-kill.

This whole effort has been such a wonderful demonstration of a community coming together for a good cause.  I feel lucky to be a part of such a beautiful project.

And there still are needs and problems to solve.

  • The photographers need volunteers willing to go with them to Animal Services to wrangle dogs for them.  The job sounds harder than it is.  The helper would get a dog from his/her cage, give it a quick walk to burn off the energy built up staying in the cage, and then distract it with toys or words so the photographer can get great photos.  This would take about 1 ½ hours once a week or even less than that.  Whatever time you have would be great.  If you are willing, please contact Caryn Hodge at [email protected].
  • We need some research done about rescue groups nationally that will take pit bull mix dogs to get them adopted.  We need to market our dogs to make them attractive to the groups, but right now we just need someone to do the research.
  • We need to have Animal Services dogs at more adoption events, and to do that we need volunteers to transport some dogs to the events and back again to Animal Services at the end of the event.  If you are interested, please call me at 941-896-5827.
  • And as always, we really need more foster homes for both dogs and cats.  If you can foster, please do contact me.

Finally, on a personal note:  my dear sister in Orlando was recently widowed.  She has been lonely for sure.  This week she fell in love with an Underdog Rescue of Florida doggie on the Petfinder Web site.  It was a ten year old blind Shi Tzuh named Sylvia.  Yesterday, she adopted Sylvia and gave her a new name: Sweetie.  She and Sweetie are madly in love.  As my sister said:  “This is just one old broad helping another.”  Yes!  I couldn’t have said it better.

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Deborah R. Millman joins Honor Animal Rescue

Deborah Robbins Millman, APR, has been named executive director of Honor Animal Rescue, one of the area’s largest no-kill animal shelters.

“We are delighted to welcome Deborah,” said Honor Animal Rescue President Rob Oglesby. “Honor has been growing steadily and we anticipate making even greater strides under her leadership.”

“Honor Animal Rescue represents everything quality, progressive animal sheltering should be and I am truly honored to be a part of it,” Millman said. “The dedicated board members, staff and volunteers work together for the good of the animals and there are so many exciting plans in the works which will truly benefit our community. I am eager to introduce everyone to this wonderful organization and its many programs and services.”

 

Millman, an accredited public relations professional (APR) and Leadership Sarasota graduate, has more than 20 years of nonprofit management experience, most recently with the Humane Society of Sarasota County, where she spearheaded operations for more than a decade. Millman is active in animal welfare on both a local and national scale – this spring, she will represent Honor Animal Rescue as a featured speaker at the Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Care Expo in Las Vegas, the largest international education and training conference for animal care and control, rescue and emergency services professionals.

 

Honor Animal Rescue has three locations. The eight-acre Ranch, at 4951 Lorraine Road in Bradenton, houses dogs and cats in spacious, environmentally-friendly cottages; Nate’s Place, at 8435 Cooper Creek Blvd., University Park in the Cooper Creek Shopping Center, is a state-of the-art adoption and education center; and Paws Attic Thrift Shop, at 3518 53rd Avenue W., Bradenton, offers a wide variety of donated items with all proceeds benefitting Honor’s animals.

 

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Breed Profile: German Shepherd

by Lauren R. Tharp

The fourth most popular breed in the United States, the German Shepherd has long been known for its heroic exploits and loyalty as a family pet. First recognized by the AKC in 1908, the German Shepherd is the leading police, military, and guard dog breed in the world…and is also known for being a wonderful pet!
Physical Traits

Size & Weight: Medium to large dogs (with the males of the breed being larger). They’re usually 22-26 inches in height and weigh 75-90 pounds.

Coat & Color: German Shepherds have a double-coat of short to medium length. Their outer coat is extremely dense, while their inner coat is more on the plush side. The most common color is black with tan, but sable, solid black, and solid white are also available.

Other: Rin Tin Tin was a German Shepherd! As were Batman’s dog, Ace; Bolt in the computer-animated movie of the same name; and Charlie Barkin in All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Life Expectancy: 10-13 years.
Temperament

The German Shepherd in one word: Dependable. These dogs are muscular, intelligent (rated the 3rd most intelligent dog breed in the world!), and highly active. They are protective and obedient although early and thorough training is required early on. They do not bond quickly, but once they do bond, it’s for life.

Wags

• Is incredibly obedient, quick to learn, and eager to please.

• A loyal and loving family pet if socialized early on.

• An excellent guard dog—as stated above, the German Shepherd is the leading breed of guard dog in the world!

Challenges

• Early socialization and obedience training is a must. German Shepherds can become very territorial, overly protective, and stubborn if not taught “right” from “wrong” at a young age. If not, they can be hard to control and sometimes dangerous. (Note: With proper training, you couldn’t wish for a better pet! Put in the effort and you’ll get the reward).

• Regular grooming is required, and even with regular grooming, German Shepherds shed a lot.

• Exercise, exercise, exercise. The German Shepherd is always on the go!—and you will be too if you own one!

Looking for a German Shepherd? Please contact Tampa Bay German Shepherd Rescue to learn more about their adoptable dogs.
A special thanks to Dog Mountain for use of this featured image of the German Shepherd.

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Manatee’s Journey to No-Kill: December Update

By Jean Peelen

Manatee County’s no-kill train is chugging right along.  We so far have had wonderful results.  Rescue groups are stepping up to increase adoptions, foster homes are increasing, marketing is greatly improving, PR is gaining momentum.  In September 2011 only 55% of dogs and cats that came into Manatee County Animal Services were saved.  The rest were killed because there was no room for them.  In October our percentage of animals saved rose to 68%.  And in November, we hit 77%.  That is simply amazing.

Credit can go to so many people and groups.  There is no one person, group, or agency that can create no-kill alone.  It truly is the work of the entire community.  I feel honored to watch a community come together around such a worthy issue.  Canine Christmas, held by The Animal Network November 19, is always wonderful, but this year it was more so than ever.  This year Canine Christmas was a celebration of no-kill.  We sold no-kill t-shirts and bumper stickers.  Many dogs were adopted at the event.  And besides all of that, it was great fun.

There was yet another great November happening. The Walgreen’s on Holmes Beach put a barrel in their store to collect food and toys for animals.  The donated items will be used to support shelters and foster parents and to support people for whom feeding their pets is financially difficult.  Walgreen’s is considering putting a barrel like that in every Walgreen’s in Manatee County.  Can you imagine the impact of something like that?  Hurray for Walgreen’s!

Just after Thanksgiving, the group of photographers organized by Caryn Hodge, is now going full tilt.  A photographer and a helper go to Animal Services almost every day to photograph new dogs and cats coming in.  The photographs are heart-grabbing, and we believe they will help create more and more adoptions.  The photographers range in age from thirteen to eighty five.  They all are volunteers as are their helpers.  One of the wonderful photos, this one taken by Jack Elkins, is on this featured here.

You may remember that in early November, Senator Mike Bennett of Bradenton introduced a bill into the Florida legislature to create movement toward no-kill in the entire State of Florida.  That was an unexpected and wonderful surprise.  He gave us in Manatee County the credit for modeling no-kill.  We are doing everything we can to support his bill.

Unfortunately, not everyone is so supportive.  In early December, the Florida Animal Control Association issued a letter to all of its members in Florida telling them to oppose the Florida no-kill bill.  The letter was shocking given who was writing it, and also shocking in that it was filled with misinformation.  I have written to them asking them to stop defending past practice and to become leaders in no-kill.  We’ll see what happens there!

If you think you might like to foster a dog or a cat, just call me.  We love snowbirds too, so don’t let that stop you!  You can have a dog or cat for the winter.  Call me at 91-896-5827.

That’s all for now.  I wish for all of you and your doggies and your kitties a wonderful holiday season.

 

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The Spirit of Jingle Paws Jubilee

By now, you’ve probably heard about the Jingle Paws Jubilee coming up this Sunday December 4th. This day offers a wonderful opportunity to connect the pet lovers in our area with the local businesses serving the community and also the hardworking individuals and volunteers that support our local rescue organizations. We hope to see you on Sunday for the fun, the food, the great music and festivities.


But if you can’t make it, we hope you’ll remember this year that there are hundreds, maybe thousands of adoptable animals right here in our area and they need our help. If you can’t adopt right now, maybe you can consider providing a foster home for a dog or cat. Fostering an animal can be a great way to instill the importance of the human-animal bond in kids! If you can’t foster perhaps you might volunteer at a shelter and walk a dog or pet some cats. No time? Even a small donation can go a long way to helping pay for food, or medical treatment that is needed for the little ones. Want to get involved but not sure how? Send us a note to [email protected] and we’ll help guide you to an organization that fits.

Jingle Paws Jubilee is co-presented by Sarasota Pet Magazine, Ace Pet Resort and SarasotaDog.com.

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Breed Profile: Saint Bernard

by Lauren R. Tharp

There have been plenty of famous Saint Bernards over the years!  Fortunately for dog lovers everywhere, these pooches are more like Beethoven than Cujo.  Part of the Working group, the St. Bernard was first recognized by the AKC in 1885 and currently reigns as the 37th most popular breed of dog in the United States.

 

Stephen Huneck Gallery

Physical Traits

Size & Weight:  Extremely large.  24-25 inches tall at the shoulder and typically 130-200 pounds.  Males are
larger with the females on the “smaller” end of the spectrum.

Coat & Color:  Red and white with varying degrees of color dominance (mostly white with spots of red, or mostly red with spots of white).  Brownish-yellow is also a known color for the St. Bernard, but not as common. Their coat is shorthaired, dense, and rough to the touch.  Medium-length coats (sometimes called
“longhaired”) are also available.

Other:  While most St. Bernards fall within the size/weight range listed above, in 1981 a St. Bernard named Benedictine V Schwarzwald Hof reached 315 pounds and earned a spot in the Guinness Book of
World Records!

Life Expectancy:  7-10 years

Temperament: These gentle giants have been used as avalanche rescue dogs and family pets for many, many years.  Easily trained and highly protective of their owners, these dogs are perfect for men and women of all ages (though children and smaller adults may have trouble with getting toppled over by the Saint’s loving greetings!).  These dogs are friendly, patient, and make excellent watchdogs.

Wags:

  • If you start early, these dogs are incredibly easy to train and socialize.
  • Wonderful with children.  Again, if you start  the socialization early, you couldn’t wish for a better dog.  St. Bernard’s are incredibly patient and gentle with children, often treating them as if they were their own pups!
  • Alert and protective, these dogs make wonderful watchdogs without being too “barky.”

Challenges:

  • They slobber incessantly.  Be prepared for a cascade of drool to the likes you cannot imagine without
    experiencing it first hand.  You and everything you own will be wet.
  • Regular grooming is a must.  And even with regular grooming, your Saint will shed. A lot.
  • These poor dogs just do not do well in the heat.  In hot weather, you will need to take extra special precautions.

Looking for a St. Bernard? Please contact Florida St. Bernard Rescue  to learn more about their adoptable dogs.

A special thanks to Dog Mountain for use of this featured image of the St. Bernard.