Animal Rights Issues

[MuffyBee]

Thanks, *******.  This is a link to a campaign by In Defense of Animals to tell the Puerto Rican government what we think about the bridge killings.  There's a form letter, but you can revise it any way you wish.  It only takes a minute!  Please write Monkeys! 

http://ga0.org/campaign/prgov



Muffy, you know those beagles were being used as chew toys for the fighting dogs.  Beagles are often chosen to be used in research because of their gentle nature.   

Lil Puma I am glad the nine beagles will be able to be homed.  When I first read there were a number of dogs seized from the property, I feared all would be put to sleep, because of the way they had been treated/raised and I wasn't sure of their condition and whether they would be adoptable for families.  I am so relieved there are some of the dogs that will get a home.  The idea the beagles were probably used as "bait" just makes me ill.  The airports sometimes use beagles in the baggage claim areas to sniff for meat, fruit and veggies being brought in.  They are used because they are gentle and non-threatening, walking among the passengers and bags. 

[MuffyBee]

Abandoned horses pose dilemma for ranchers
11/19/2007 1:41 PM
By: Associated Press
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=195543

LA GRANDE, Ore. -- Ranchers in the old West saw their herds of horses depleted by rustlers. Today, it's different. Increasingly, people are abandoning unwanted domestic horses on ranches and public lands.

High hay prices and the closure this fall of the nation's last domestic horsemeat processing facility in Illinois may be partly to blame.

But even trucking horses to Mexico and Canada for slaughter may end. Congress is considering legislation to prohibit killing and processing horses for human consumption or transporting them across international boundaries for that purpose.

At least nine horses have been turned loose on Wannie MacKenzie's ranch north of Jordan Valley, Oregon, in the past 18 to 24 months. He's bracing for more old and hungry horses as cash-strapped owners in Idaho's Treasure Valley run out of winter hay.

A spokesman for the Amarillo, Texas-based American Quarter Horse Association says he's heard similar stories "from all over" of horses being abandoned at livestock sale yards.

-----------------------------------------
This is very, very sad.  What a way to treat horses...

[LilPuma]

Update and Petition on Puerto Rican Pet Killings: 

Here's an excerpt: 

On Sunday October 21, hundreds joined a march in San Juan to protest the pet massacre and, according to media reports, Puerto Rican authorities have started an investigation into the mass killing of dogs and cats. So far, more than 16,000 people have signed Nadia’s petition.

To read more and sign the petition: 

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/nadiad.html

[LilPuma]

Abandoned horses pose dilemma for ranchers
11/19/2007 1:41 PM
By: Associated Press
http://www.news8austin.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=195543

LA GRANDE, Ore. -- Ranchers in the old West saw their herds of horses depleted by rustlers. Today, it's different. Increasingly, people are abandoning unwanted domestic horses on ranches and public lands.

High hay prices and the closure this fall of the nation's last domestic horsemeat processing facility in Illinois may be partly to blame.

But even trucking horses to Mexico and Canada for slaughter may end. Congress is considering legislation to prohibit killing and processing horses for human consumption or transporting them across international boundaries for that purpose.

At least nine horses have been turned loose on Wannie MacKenzie's ranch north of Jordan Valley, Oregon, in the past 18 to 24 months. He's bracing for more old and hungry horses as cash-strapped owners in Idaho's Treasure Valley run out of winter hay.

A spokesman for the Amarillo, Texas-based American Quarter Horse Association says he's heard similar stories "from all over" of horses being abandoned at livestock sale yards.

-----------------------------------------
This is very, very sad.  What a way to treat horses...

As one of the people who sent out many e-mails to close down the horse slaughter industry in this country, this is very sad news.  Horses are such magnificent animals.  I always think of Elton John's words "like freedom feels when wild horses run".  It's a beautiful image and these creatures deserve better.  Sadly, there are those who move and leave cats and dogs behind also, alone in yards or apartments.  Unless some neighbor is aware and alert and willing to get involved, these animals don't stand a chance.  Be aware that people do things like this.  Be aware.  Get involved. 

[LilPuma]

'Twas the night before  Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a  mouse
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that  St. Nicholas soon would be there
The children were nestled all snug in  their beds
With no thought of the dog filling their head
And mamma in  her 'kerchief, and I in my cap
Knew he was cold, but didn't care about  that
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter
I sprang from the  bed to see what was the matter
Away to the window I flew like a  flash
Figuring the dog was free of his chain and into the trash
The  moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear
But Santa  Claus - with eyes full of tears
He un-chained the dog, once so lively and  quick
Last year's Christmas present, now painfully thin and sick
More  rapid than eagles he called the dog's name
And the dog ran to him, despite all his pain
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On,  COMET! on CUPID! on, DONNER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! To the  top of the wall!
Let's find this dog a home where he'll be loved by all."
I knew in an instant there would be no gifts this year
For Santa  Claus had made one thing quite clear
The gift of a dog is not just for the season
We had gotten the pup for all the wrong reasons
In our  haste to think of the kids a gift
There was one important thing that we  missed
A dog should be family, and cared for the same
You don't give a  gift, then put it on a chain
And I heard him exclaim as he rode out of  sight
"You weren't given a gift! You were given a LIFE!"

Author  Unknown[/color]

[MuffyBee]

    
NFL Fines 5 Falcons for Vick Tributes    
Dec 18 03:24 PM US/Eastern
NEW YORK (AP) - Roddy White and four other Atlanta Falcons were fined by the NFL for violating uniform regulations with tributes to Michael Vick during last week's Monday night game.

Vick, Atlanta's suspended Pro Bowl quarterback, was sentenced to 23 months in prison on federal dogfighting charges the morning of Dec. 10. The Falcons played at home against New Orleans that night.

After scoring a touchdown, White displayed a "Free Mike Vick" T-shirt under his jersey.

He, along with tight end Alge Crumpler and cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and Chris Houston, were fined $10,000 each. Crumpler, Hall and Houston all wore black eye strips with written tributes to Vick, which the league called "displaying an unauthorized personal message."

Wide receiver Joe Horn was fined $7,500 for pulling up White's jersey to show the black T-shirt with handwritten white lettering. The fines were confirmed Tuesday by NFL spokesman Randall Liu.

Hall also had a poster of Vick on the field during pre-game introductions.

The Falcons lost the game 34-14.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TK2PS00&show_article=1
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I wasn't sure where to post this, but since it had to do with Mike Vick, I thought it appropriate to post it here.  Tributes to Vick?  Maybe he was a good athlete, but in my opinion, he had a black heart for what he did in regard to the dogs.  No need to glorify one so cruel to poor, defenseless animals. 

[LilPuma]

Free Michael Vick?  That's disgusting.  Anyone who abuses another living, breathing being who is smaller than him, dependent on him, is a sorry excuse for a human being.  Drown the dog, beat the dog, electrocute or hang the dog because he isn't the fighter you want him to be.  Maybe that's what should be done to those Atlanta good ol' boys if they don't perform.     I'd like to see signs outside the stadium to that effect next time they lose.  Scum.   

[LilPuma]

The battle by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) to stop the slaughter of baby seals in Canada continues.  I hope that all of you (Canadians especially) will go to this site and express your objection to this practice. 

www.stopthesealhunt.com


Here's an excerpt: 

On the opening day of the Gulf seal hunt, IFAW monitors bore witness to the astounding cruelty of baby seals being shot in loose ice. One sealing vessel followed by an IFAW team searched out small pans of ice for seal pups, firing at seals on slushy, moving ice.

Seals were seen in agony after being shot at and injured, but not instantly killed. One seal was hauled alive onto the deck of the boat with a steel hook before finally being beaten to death.

Tell the world in your own words

www.stopthesealhunt.com

[LilPuma]

In an e-mail I got this week, the National Anti-Vivisection Society reported this: 


“Chimp Haven is Home Act” Passes House and Senate and awaits President’s Approval

Amidst the passage of other significant energy and budget legislation, the U.S. Congress has found time to help chimpanzees. A long-awaited amendment to the CHIMP Act, the Chimp Haven is Home Act, passed both the U.S. Senate and House, making the retirement of chimpanzees under the Act permanent.

The Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act, which passed in 2000, contained language that would have permitted chimpanzees who were retired to the federally-designated sanctuary to be returned to research, if needed. NAVS, which was instrumental in passing the original CHIMP Act, worked diligently towards making this retirement permanent.

Please give your thanks to Representatives McCrery and Melancon and Senators Burr, Vitter, Landrieu and Durbin for sponsoring this legislation and giving chimpanzees once used for research the opportunity to live in peace.

Representative Jim McCrery (R-LA) (202) 225-2777
Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) (202) 225-4031
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) (202) 224-3154
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) (202) 224-4623
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) (202) 224-5824
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) (202) 224-2152

The legislation passed without opposition on December 19, and awaits the President’s signature.
 

[MuffyBee]

In an e-mail I got this week, the National Anti-Vivisection Society reported this: 


“Chimp Haven is Home Act” Passes House and Senate and awaits President’s Approval

Amidst the passage of other significant energy and budget legislation, the U.S. Congress has found time to help chimpanzees. A long-awaited amendment to the CHIMP Act, the Chimp Haven is Home Act, passed both the U.S. Senate and House, making the retirement of chimpanzees under the Act permanent.

The Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance and Protection (CHIMP) Act, which passed in 2000, contained language that would have permitted chimpanzees who were retired to the federally-designated sanctuary to be returned to research, if needed. NAVS, which was instrumental in passing the original CHIMP Act, worked diligently towards making this retirement permanent.

Please give your thanks to Representatives McCrery and Melancon and Senators Burr, Vitter, Landrieu and Durbin for sponsoring this legislation and giving chimpanzees once used for research the opportunity to live in peace.

Representative Jim McCrery (R-LA) (202) 225-2777
Representative Charlie Melancon (D-LA) (202) 225-4031
Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) (202) 224-3154
Senator David Vitter (R-LA) (202) 224-4623
Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) (202) 224-5824
Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) (202) 224-2152

The legislation passed without opposition on December 19, and awaits the President’s signature.
 

I'm really happy the lawmakers were compassionate and made the effort to insure the chimps permanent retirement.

[LilPuma]

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is working to stop the killing or capture of wild animals by those who then sell these products, like ivory or animal pelts, on the Internet, including eBay.  I was appalled to read that even live wild animals are being sold.  Please: 

Keep your eyes open when surfing the Internet!

If you come across online offers on the Internet dealing in wildlife products or live protected animal species, then you should report these activities to your national authorities:

Richard Charette, Compliance and Enforcement Office - Environment Canada, 351 St-Joseph boulevard P.V.M., Gatineau QC J8Y 3Z5, E-mail: Richard.Charette@ec.ge.ca
 
(I copied this portion from an IFAW alert I received by e-mail)

[MuffyBee]

The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) is working to stop the killing or capture of wild animals by those who then sell these products, like ivory or animal pelts, on the Internet, including eBay.  I was appalled to read that even live wild animals are being sold.  Please: 

Keep your eyes open when surfing the Internet!

If you come across online offers on the Internet dealing in wildlife products or live protected animal species, then you should report these activities to your national authorities:

Richard Charette, Compliance and Enforcement Office - Environment Canada, 351 St-Joseph boulevard P.V.M., Gatineau QC J8Y 3Z5, E-mail: Richard.Charette@ec.ge.ca
 
(I copied this portion from an IFAW alert I received by e-mail)

Okay.  Will keep an eye out.  I wouldn't have known where to report it if I had seen anything.  Now I know.  Thanks LilPuma.

[LilPuma]

Possible, according to this: 

Posted Jan 5th 2008 5:15PM by JJ Cooper
Filed under: Falcons, Atlanta, NFL Police Blotter, Featured Stories

Michael Vick might be back sooner than we think.

Humane Society and PETA picketers better keep those posters ready, as there's a chance Michael Vick could be back on the field for the 2009 season.

Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Falcons quarterback could end up serving as few as 12 months of his 23 month sentence thanks to his entry into a drug rehab program in prison. By connecting the dots, the story speculates that Vick could be back in the NFL for the 2009 season, as he would likely wrap up his sentence early next year.


Apparently the drug treatment program, which is only in place at the Leavenworth, Kan., federal penitentiary, allows inmates to wipe off up to a year of their sentence if they complete the drug treatment program. Vick has tested positive for marijuana, which ended up likely adding time to his prison sentence. But now that same drug test might end up helping him cut time from his current sentence.

Vick has to be in the program for a year, which apparently hasn't begun, so he's likely looking at a February or March 2009 release.

Now, there are several other obstacles to Vick getting back onto an NFL field. Commissioner Roger Goodell will have to end his indefinite suspension, he'll likely have to pass frequent drug tests, and probably most importantly, he'll have to find a team willing to have a dog killer on their roster, with all the bad publicity that will come with it.

But getting his prison sentence over six months or more before the 2009 season does make it much more likely that Vick will end up getting back onto the field.

Hat Tip: Sports By Brooks

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/01/05/vicks-prison-sentence-may-be-shortened/?ncid=NWS00010000000001

 

If he gets back on the field and loses, will he be drowned or hanged? 

[LilPuma]

This is from an e-mail from IFAW (asking for donations).  While I don't expect folks to run over to www.IFAW.org and send money, I don't expect anyone to become an animal rights activist (although it could happen!   ), but I am trying to raise awareness among a group of compassionate people.  The e-mail talks about Russian hunters using dogs to kill mama bears, but dogs have also been used in "our" neck of the woods to chase bears up a tree until the hunter can come along and shoot it.  That's called sport and fun.   

In Russia, wealthy hunters pay more than US$2,000 to rouse brown bears from hibernation and kill them.

The hunters' dogs dig and bark at the den while the hunters wait nearby with rifles poised. When the bear climbs out of the den, the hunters shoot and the bear's cubs are made orphans.

Each year 3,000 to 4,000 bear cubs are left with no chance of survival by the Russian bear hunt.

You are their only hope

Since 1995, IFAW has funded the Orphan Bear Project, run by world-renowned scientist Valentin Pazhetnov. More than 100 Russian bear cubs have been rescued by the Orphan Bear Project. Mr. Pazhetnov’s innovative techniques for raising and rehabilitating bear cubs have resulted in hundreds of bears being successfully released into the wild.

Most bear cubs when rescued weigh only one or two pounds and cannot survive without their mothers. But with your help, these tiny handfuls of fur will grow up to become healthy bears – eventually released into Russia’s protected forests.

The rescued cubs are bottle-fed warm milk formula five times a day, massaged after each feeding, and warmed with special carpets. Voices are never used while working with the cubs and human contact is kept to a minimum, enabling the cubs to successfully return to the wild without becoming tame.

The more contributions IFAW receives, the more cubs we can save

In many places in Europe, brown bears are extinct in the wild. The bears being hunted in Russia are from the last healthy brown bear population in the world.

IFAW has already successfully campaigned for a ban on den hunting in three Russian districts and is pushing hard for federal anti-cruelty legislation in the Russian Parliament. Together, we can make a real difference for these cubs and other animals around the world.

[LilPuma]

A $5,000 reward is being offered in my city for information leading to a conviction on dog fighting. 

 

I'm sure mine isn't the first, but it would be great if more cities did this. 

[LilPuma]

As many of us are sending prayers and good thoughts to the crew of the Persistance, I thought I'd post about other heroes on ships.  This from a Greenpeace e-mail: 

January 15, 2008

It's taken 8 weeks, but we found them!

The Japanese whalers thought they would escape us. Using the cover of darkness and help from the Japanese navy, they gave us the slip as they departed Japanese waters eight weeks ago. Then came some tough luck for Greenpeace when we had to leave our helicopter, Tweety, behind in New Zealand for repairs. But even in the vast and unforgiving Southern Ocean, against all odds, we've tracked down the whalers.

Some would call that luck. I call it fate.

Now, we've got them on the run. We've been tailing the factory ship Nisshin Maru for 5 days now and we've literally chased them out of their hunting grounds. As long as the factory ship is on the run, the fleet can't conduct any whaling.

If they do try to start whaling, we're ready to do what we do best - to place ourselves between the whales and the grenade-tipped harpoons of the whalers. We'll use high-powered water pumps from the back of our boats to create a curtain of water and shield the whales from the harpooners' view.

We're doing our part to protect the whales here in the Southern Ocean. Now it's your turn. You don't have to place yourself in harm's way to protect whales but you can take action now.

We need YOUR help to ask President Bush to demand that Japanese Prime Minister Fukuda immediately abandon this illegal and unnecessary whaling operation and to spread the word to your friends and family. The fight to defend the whales has never been more urgent.

Please, take action and support our efforts to defend the whales. I promise to keep in touch with you over the coming days and weeks as we work tirelessly to protect the whales. Thank you for the support you've given us already, and I hope we can continue to rely on you.

Sincerely,



Heath Hanson
Boat Driver

More News on Whales:
If you haven't already heard, thanks in large part to our pressure, the Japanese government has already agreed to abandon plans to kill threatened humpback whales this year. While this is good news for humpbacks, we won't rest until the nearly one thousand whales still being targeted by the Japanese government are safe.


 
www.greenpeace.org/USA

[LilPuma]

Just when you think you're doomed, the Aussies show up. 
 

Update e-mail from Greenpeace about illegal Japanese activities: 

For eleven days, we've been chasing the Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru through Antarctic waters. Every day they've spent trying to outrun us has been a safe day for whales. In fact, we estimate that by shutting down the whaling operations, we've saved as many as 82 whales through our efforts.

But today, the Nisshin Maru engaged in a different type of illegal activity, and we were there to stop it. It attempted to refuel in Antarctic Treaty waters. The Panamanian flagged ship Oriental Bluebird arrived on the scene, in an effort to refuel the fleet and take on packaged whale meat, processed in the weeks before we located the fleet. Refueling in the Antarctic is dangerous and a serious threat to the Antarctic environment which is recognized internationally as a specially protected area.

We immediately launched our inflatable boats, including mine. We steered a course between the Nisshin Maru and Oriental Bluebird. The Esperanza warned the vessels of our presence, but they continued to maneuver together, essentially trapping us between the two huge ships.

Two of the Japanese hunting ships were also on the scene, harassing our activists for more than an hour by performing close-quarter maneuvers near our boats, as we documented the exchange of whale meat and fuel between the Nisshin Maru and Oriental Bluebird.

Our boats are less than 26 feet in length, but we managed to keep the Goliath whaling ships apart long enough for another ship to appear on the horizon: Australia's Oceanic Viking. Now the Australian government is on the scene and documenting the Japanese whaling fleet's illegal activities for themselves.

[MuffyBee]

LilPuma ~  Thank you for bringing the information and articles. 

[MuffyBee]

an 26, 3:42 PM EST

An Unlikely Rescue for Pit Bulls

By CHERYL WITTENAUER
Associated Press Writer
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/A_DOGS_JOURNEY?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

His back resting comfortably against her chest, Hector nestles his massive canine head into Leslie Nuccio's shoulder, high-fiving pit bull paws against human hands.

The big dog - 52 pounds - is social, people-focused, happy now, it seems, wearing a rhinestone collar in his new home in sunny California.

But as Hector sits up, deep scars stand out on his chest, and his eyes are imploring.

"I wish he could let us know what happened to him," says Nuccio, the big tan dog's foster mother.

Hector ought to be dead, she knows - killed in one of his staged fights, or executed for not being "game" enough, not winning, or euthanized by those who see pit bulls seized in busts as "kennel trash," unsuited to any kind of normal life.

Instead, Hector is learning how to be a pet.

After the hell of a fighting ring, he has reached a heaven of sorts: saved by a series of unlikely breaks, transported thousands of miles, along with other dogs rescued with him, by devoted strangers, and now nurtured by Nuccio, her roommate, Danielle White, and their three other dogs.

The animals barrel around the house, with 4-year-old Hector leading the puppy-like antics - stealth underwear grabs from the laundry basket, sprints across the living room, food heists from the coffee table - until it's "love time" and he decelerates and engulfs the women in a hug.

Nuccio wishes he could let her know all that happened.

But what she does know is this: Hector has come such a long way since he was trapped in the horrors of Michael Vick's Bad Newz Kennels.

---

Authorities descending last year on 1915 Moonlight Road in Surry County, Va., found where Vick, the former NFL quarterback, and others staged pit bull fights in covered sheds, tested the animals' fighting prowess and destroyed and disposed of dogs that weren't good fighters.

Vick is serving a 23-month federal sentence after admitting that he bankrolled the dogfighting operation and helped kill six to eight dogs. Three co-defendants Purnell Peace, Quanis Phillips and Tony Taylor also pleaded guilty and were sentenced, and the four now face state animal cruelty charges. Oscar Allen, who sold a champion pit bull to Vick's dogfighting operation, was sentenced Friday on a federal dogfighting charge.

Officers who carried out the raid found dogs, some injured and scarred, chained to buried car axles. Forensic experts discovered remains of dogs that had been shot with a .22 caliber pistol, electrocuted, drowned, hanged or slammed to the ground for lacking a desire to fight.

A bewildered Hector and more than 50 other American Pit Bull Terriers or pit bull mixes were gathered up. So were "parting sticks" used to open fighting dogs' mouths, treadmills to condition them, and a "rape stand" used to restrain female dogs that did not submit willingly to breeding.

The dogs, held as evidence in the criminal prosecutions, were taken to a half dozen city and county pounds and shelters in Virginia.

Hector was bunked in the Hanover pound in a cage below a dog named Uba who was smaller and more clearly showing anxiety.

Uba flattened on all fours when Tim Racer, an evaluator on a team assembled by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, arrived at his cage.

"Are you going to kill me now?" was the message another evaluator, Donna Reynolds, read in Uba's eyes.

The black-and-white dog tried to wriggle away once out of the cage, but he came around after a while. He wagged his tail when the team showed him a 4-foot doll, to test his response to children. He spun around and got into a play position when they brought out a dog.

"This is the big secret. Most of them were dog-tolerant to dog-social. It was completely opposite of what we were led to believe," Reynolds said.

How much to trust the capacity of fighting dogs to have a new life as pets or working dogs in law enforcement or therapy settings is an issue that has divided animal advocates; some believe most such animals should be put down as a precaution, while others say they must be evaluated individually. One dog seized at Bad Newz was euthanized as too aggressive, but the others, four dozen plus in all, have had different fates.

Nearly half have been sent to a Utah sanctuary, Best Friends Animal Society, where handlers will work with them. None showed human aggression and many have potential for adoption someday. Others, evaluated as being immediate candidates for foster care and eventual adoption, went to several other groups.

Among the latter was Hector.

A team of animal welfare experts got things rolling last July when federal authorities sought ownership of the seized dogs. The result, they say, was groundbreaking.

The Oakland, Calif.-based pit bull rescue and education group Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit bulls, or BAD RAP, which had done similar rescues from fighting busts in California, asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gill for permission to evaluate and rescue as many of the dogs as possible, with the hope of eventually placing them in adoptive homes.

"Much to our amazement, he said yes," said Reynolds, who heads BAD RAP. "This doesn't happen. People don't say yes to pit bulls."

Gill declined to comment, but those familiar with the Vick case said the Justice Department hoped early on to find a way to give the dogs a second chance. As part of his plea deal, Vick agreed to pay for the dogs' care.

The court even appointed a guardian and special master, Valparaiso University animal law expert Rebecca Huss, who oversaw the dogs' disposition and recommended which rescue groups would accept them.

One result of the unusual process, said ASPCA's Stephen Zawistowski, is that shelters that always euthanized such dogs are now saying "you've given us permission to care" about giving them a second chance.

Each dog was evaluated as an individual. Huss recalled the good-natured but quiet Rose, whose overbreeding had led to mammary tumors. In the end, needing surgery but unable to tolerate anesthesia, Rose was mercifully put down, just days after being transferred to a foster home.

"The good thing was she didn't die in the shelter," Huss said. "She had a little time in the sun, not enough, but a little time in the sun."

Huss received reports from an ASPCA-led evaluation team and from volunteers who observed and worked with the dogs where they were being held as evidence in shelters and pounds.

Nicole Rattay, a volunteer from BAD RAP, spent six weeks visiting the Vick dogs in shelters every day, e-mailing and phoning her observations to Huss.

"Some dogs were ready to learn 'sit' and obedience," she said. "Some needed more time to accept touch and feel comfortable in their surrounding. Sometimes I would just sit in their kennels." For some, bits of roasted chicken became a "motivator," she said.

She mentioned Handsome Dan, who bridled at touching at first but gradually grew more comfortable, though not enough for foster home placement, at least not yet. He ended up going to Best Friends.

"I hope that he can overcome what was done to him," said Rattay.

---

BAD RAP won government approval in mid-October to transport a group of dogs to California foster homes to get them out of confinement.

Hector and a dozen others were about to make the cross-country trip in a rented 33-foot Cruise America RV.

But first, they had to get ready.

Four BAD RAP members - Racer, Reynolds, Rattay and Steve Smith - cruised a Richmond, Va., Wal-Mart, loading up with doggy sleeping mats, crates, bowls and chew sticks. The next day, they split up in twos to pick up, bathe and exercise the 13 pit bulls from four shelters. Then they loaded them up.

Rattay walked through the RV, cooing and checking her cargo to the thump-thump-thump of happy tails against dog crates. Alert to an adventure, one dog circled his bed. Another stretched and yawned. A third slathered her outstretched hand with kisses.

"Oh my goodness," she cooed to them. "It's nice to see you again. Hi buddy, hi."

At first, the caretakers put cardboard between the crates to offer the dogs privacy and calm. "But they were happier when they could see their neighbor," Rattay said.

She and Smith took turns driving and napping on the 2 1/2-day trip (Racer and Reynolds flew home to prepare for the dogs' arrival).

The dogs drifted to sleep in their crates - atop the RV table, benches, queen bed and couch, and an area above the cab - but jumped right up each time the RV stopped for a break at a highway rest area.

Assembly-line style, the couple walked, watered, and fed each of the 13 dogs, causing some gawks from other drivers who'd stopped, but never any questions from the dogs.

"They did fabulous," Rattay said. "They understood the program right away and got in and out of their crates."

Mostly things went fine for Hector and his fellow passengers in the rolling kennel, though one incident briefly worried Smith and Rattay.

It hadn't occurred to them to map a route that avoided places with ordinances banning pit bulls. A groundskeeper at an Arkansas rest stop warned them that "further down the road, they will take that dog from you unless you have proper paperwork."

"We finished it up and got moving," Rattay said.

At 10 a.m. on a Tuesday, Rattay pulled the RV in front of Racer and Reynolds' house.

It had been a long trip, and soon after the two couples unloaded and walked the dogs, both drivers and animals fell asleep in the living room waiting for foster families to arrive.

Smith snored a little, Rattay remembered, and a dog gave a low grumble.

---

Hector's settling into his new life, getting further and further from his past.

Weekly AKC "canine good citizen" classes are correcting his social ineptitude. And he's taking cues on good manners from patient Pandora, a female pit bull mix who's queen of the household's dogs. Once Hector graduates, he'll take classes to become a certified therapy dog, helping at nursing homes and the like.

For now, he's learning the simple pleasures of a blanket at bedtime, a peanut butter-filled chew toy, even classical music.

"I put on Yo-Yo Ma one day and he cocked his head, laid down and listened to the cello next to the speaker," Nuccio said. "He's turning out to be a man of high class and culture."

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I am relieved to see that some of the dogs that were seized from Michael Vick's place are being worked with and may be able to find homes.  I was so worried that after the way the dogs  were treated and with the fears that the dogs would be a danger and a menace and not be able to be homed, there would be a mass killing of the dogs.  However, it  looks as if the dogs are being taken on a case by case basis for evaluation. Some can be homed and some will be going to Best Friends in Kanab, Utah.  I was also glad to see Mike Vick is having to pay for the dogs care.  As should be!

[LilPuma]

   This makes me so happy.  There usually isn't enough money, people or patience for pit bulls brought out of a fighting situation.  Obviously the shelters are afraid of liability if they adopt out a dog that is aggressive.  This is such great news!