Helena Sung

Dog Chews Up Police Car, Lands in Doggie Jail

by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts): Mar 19th 2010 @ 1:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pets News

Om nom nom nom! pluto665, Flickr

A dog in Chattanooga, Tenn. who chomped on a police car like a giant chew toy, flattening two tires and ripping off the fiberglass front fender, is behind bars at a local animal shelter, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press. The pit-bull mix, named Winston, is waiting to hear his fate, to be decided at a hearing on March 25.

The story, which "sounds funny if you're not in the middle of it," says one person familiar with the case, began on Sunday afternoon. Officer Clayton Holmes of the Chattanooga Police Department was sitting in his patrol car "running radar," when he felt the car shaking and got out to investigate, reports the Chattanooga Times Free Press. Officer Rebecca Rayval tells Paw Nation that Holmes "saw a dog chewing on one of the car's tires. The dog was apparently very aggressive."

Officer Holmes fired pepper spray at the dog, but it only moved from tearing up the tire to tearing up the front fender. "The dog had a hold of the front bumper and Officer Holmes used the Taser on him, which stopped the dog for about three seconds," Officer Rayval says. "But the dog ripped the Taser probes out of his skin and went back to chewing on the bumper."

When a second police officer arrived in his car, the dog flattened its tire too, says Officer Rayval. Winston also chewed the tires on two cars that drove by trying to get through the area, says Karen Walsh, executive director at the McKamey Animal Center, speaking to Paw Nation.

Golden Retriever Eats Three-Carat Diamond Worth $20,000

by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts): Mar 18th 2010 @ 3:00PM Filed Under: Pets News

Talk about a diamond in the ruff!

A hungry golden retriever made headlines when he swallowed a three-carat diamond worth $20,000, reports WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.

The expensive meal was eaten at Robert Bernard Jewelry Store in Rockville, Md., where Sollie goes to work everyday with his owner, George Kaufmann, who co-owns the store with his business partner, Robert Rosin. When a visiting diamond dealer was showing the men some loose diamonds, one of the glittering gemstones dropped to the ground, according to WTTG-TV.

What occurred next was stunning. "Saw Sollie go for the diamond -- gobbled it up," Rosin told WJLA. "Tried to get it, couldn't get it -- gone!"

"Stones have dropped before and [Sollie] doesn't pay attention," Kaufmann, the dog's owner, told WTTG. But this particular diamond fell and landed right in front of his mouth.

The men quickly called the veterinarian, who had some sage advice: Let nature takes its course.

Kaufmann walked Sollie morning and night, collecting the dog's stool for inspection. On the third day, the diamond surfaced. "It was 7 a.m. and they had just come back from their morning walk," Rosin tells Paw Nation. "George was going through everything on his deck and, eureka, there it was!"

Sollie still goes to the jewelry store every day, but now Kaufmann and Rosin make sure to have lots of doggie treats on hand. "It wasn't so funny then, but I guess it's funny now," laughs Rosin.

Crufts Dog Show Judges on Alert for Competitors in Makeup

by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts): Mar 12th 2010 @ 1:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pet Grooming

A stylin' poodle at Crufts. Contadini, Flickr

Judges at Crufts, the world's largest dog show, are on high alert this year for canine competitors whose looks have been enhanced with cosmetics, reports the (U.K.) Telegraph. We're not talking blue eyeshadow or contouring blush, but the use of products such as hair removal creams and color dyes.

"Although competition rules do not specifically ban the use of cosmetics and other beauty treatments on dogs, they do forbid anything that alters an animal's appearance during dog shows, to gain extra marks from judges, who award prizes for entries that best match the 'ideal' characteristics of each breed," reports the Telegraph. Dog owners who show hairless Chinese crested dogs have been suspected of using "female depilatory creams" to rid their champion canines of excess hair. Owners of other breeds have been suspected of using lipstick, eyeliner and Clearasil acne cream.

The notion of using makeup on dogs is so strange that it's led one British veterinarian, Peter Wedderburn, to wonder, "What's next, dope testing?" "It seems bizarre to me that it happens at all: if showing dogs is about celebrating the health and vigor of animals, what does it matter if there's an occasional tuft of hair in the wrong place?" Wedderburn asks.

Switzerland Votes: No Legal Aid Lawyers for Animals

by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts): Mar 12th 2010 @ 11:00AM Filed Under: Pets News

West Zest, Flickr

Forced to decide whether their country of Switzerland should create a national system to provide state-funded lawyers to represent animals in court, the Swiss people voted, and the outcome was a resounding no. "The measure was rejected by around 70 percent of voters," reports BBC News.

Currently, Zurich is the only Swiss canton (an administrative district similar to a county in the United States) to have a government-subsidized animal lawyer. Antoine Goetschel represents dogs, cats, guinea pigs, farm animals, and even fish who have been abused, reports the (U.K.) Telegraph.

"People accused of animal cruelty very often hire lawyers to defend themselves," Goetschel tells the Telegraph. "Why shouldn't someone speak for the animal as well? It's about fairness and defending a minority."

The referendum was required to be held after "activists from the Swiss Animal Protection (SAP) collected more than the 100,000 signatures required to force a national ballot," reports the Telegraph. But the animal activists were in the minority. The majority of voters in 26 cantons in Switzerland voted against the measure. Goetschel wasn't surprised. "Animal welfare has been a big topic in Switzerland in the last few years and perhaps this has been too much for some Swiss," the Zurich animal lawyer told the Telegraph.

Switzerland has some of the world's strictest animal protection laws, reports the Telegraph. "It recently changed its constitution to protect the 'dignity' of plant life and made a law last year establishing rights for creatures such as goldfish and canaries," states the Telegraph. "Pigs, budgies and other social creatures cannot be kept alone; horses and cows must be regularly exercised outside their stalls and dog owners are required to take a training course to learn how to properly care for their pets."

What do you think? Is the notion of state-funded lawyers for animals just too bizarre? Or is it a great idea?

British Man Loses License for Walking Dog While Driving Car

by Helena Sung (Subscribe to Helena Sung's posts): Mar 11th 2010 @ 3:00PM Filed Under: Dogs, Pets News

A lurcher. sheyne, Flickr

A 23-year-old British man was charged with reckless driving and lost his license after police witnessed the man, Paul Railton, driving his car and walking his dog, a lurcher, alongside the vehicle as he held the dog's leash out of the driver's side window.

Railton pled guilty to "not being in proper control of a vehicle," reports the (U.K.) Guardian. He was fined the equivalent of about $100 and -- due to prior penalty points accumulated on his license -- was banned from driving for six months.

The matter was initially brought to the police's attention by a concerned cyclist, who was riding down a country road and spotted what appeared to be a dog being dragged alongside a car that was traveling at about five miles per hour, reports the Guardian.

Railton's lawyer admits that his client didn't use the best judgment. "He accepts it was a silly thing to do and there was an element of laziness. He does not usually drive in a such a manner," the Guardian reports attorney Paul Donoghue as saying.

But Railton doesn't think there was anything wrong with what he did. "A lot of people exercise their dogs in that manner," Fox 5 News reports Railton as saying.

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David McKelvey/http://www.flickr.com/photos/dgmckelvey/3748491903/

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