http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/ Blogging about pet issues, food safety, shelter reform, veterinary medicine, the no-kill movement -- and, strangely, "Glee."-Christie Keith en-US Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:27:45 -0500 http://www.typepad.com/ http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification DoggedBloghttp://feedburner.google.com http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/how-peta-is-betraying-vegans-and-the-animal-rights-movement.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/how-peta-is-betraying-vegans-and-the-animal-rights-movement.html The annual PETA "shelter" death report is out again. Thanks to the Commonwealth of Virginia for requiring this transparency, and making the world aware that PETA has no commitment to animal life, just publicity and donations. Why is anyone still listening to PETA? I blogged about it over on Honest Dog. Check it out. Creatures No Kill Christie Keith Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:27:45 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/because-on-low-carb-you-totally-have-to-suffer.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/because-on-low-carb-you-totally-have-to-suffer.html After a long descent into emotional eating and food crazies that started near the end of my mother's battle with cancer and continued until recently, I seem to have gotten my mojo back. Food went back into its corner and seems willing to stay where it belongs in my life -- ie, as food/fuel, and an occasional form of entertainment rather than comfort -- and I got back on what worked to help me lose 187 pounds, whole-foods, sugar-free, grain-free, low-carb eating. This way of eating never felt like deprivation to me. It does for others; I'm speaking here only for myself. But one of the misconceptions people have about whole foods low-carb is that it cuts you off from some of your favorite foods. It's true, if pasta and pizza and flour-based layer cake is your favorite food, it... The Body Politic Christie Keith Sun, 19 Feb 2012 11:24:37 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/was-the-westminsterpedigree-split-really-about-pet-adoption.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/was-the-westminsterpedigree-split-really-about-pet-adoption.html Did the Westminster Kennel Club dump longtime sponsor Pedigree because it has a problem with shelter pet adoption, or because Pedigree's ads promoting shelter pet adoption made them want to kill themselves? The New York Times covered the story, reporting WKC spokesman David Frei as saying, "We want people to think of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show as a celebration of the dogs in our lives. ... Show me an ad with a dog with a smile; don’t try to shame me." Pedigree responded by saying Westminster was actually against the cause of shelter dog adoption in and of itself, particularly the adoption of mixed breed dogs rather than purebreds. I have no idea of what's really behind the split, but as I read the Times piece, I was struck again by the great divide in how different people... Creatures No Kill Christie Keith Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:21:56 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/why-all-your-special-modern-pet-hair-targeting-vacuum-cleaners-suck.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/02/why-all-your-special-modern-pet-hair-targeting-vacuum-cleaners-suck.html Look, a vacuum cleaner just shouldn't be this complicated. A few months ago, I purchased a Panasonic JetSpin Cyclone based on a review I read on the old Pet Connection. I knew the Dyson Animal was supposed to be the pinnacle machine for pet owners, but $500 for a vacuum cleaner? Just no. But the Cyclone had good reviews on Amazon as well as the one on Pet Connection and was a fraction of the price, so I bought it. The reviews may be accurate, but I have to assume the people who wrote them grew up in a different era than I did. Every vacuum I've ever used has worked just fine in picking up dog hair, cat hair, and whatever else was on my rugs. I haven't experienced all these clogs and suction-failures the TV ads wax dire... Creatures This Is What I Think About That Christie Keith Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:28:22 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/thirty-percent-of-the-top-ten-stories-shared-on-facebook-were-about-animals.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/thirty-percent-of-the-top-ten-stories-shared-on-facebook-were-about-animals.html From Schools.com as reported by PRDaily, an infographic showing that of the top ten stories shared on Facebook in 2011, three were about animals: Still think animal journalism is just fluff and filler? I'd argue it's at the heart of how a very large chunk of the population relates to news, politics, social change, current events, and their personal lives. Maybe this will mean PR people are going to stop sending me so many releases about new puppy purses and focus on the authentic role animals play in our lives. Hey, I can dream, right? Creatures How Writerly Christie Keith Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:32:17 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/failing-shelters-dodge-blame-news-at-11.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/failing-shelters-dodge-blame-news-at-11.html Take a look at these two photos of puppies in an animal shelter. Which photo would you think would be more effective in getting homes for those pups? I was giving some assistance to a rescue group in another state that was dealing with a particularly difficult rescue situation. After looking over their proposed adoption listings, complete with all the details of their tragic story and gory photographs of the hellish animal control facility they'd been rescued from, I told them their approach, and in particular those photos, were not going to be effective in marketing those pets for adoption. I got back a blistering tirade over how I shouldn't "accuse" or "blame" the shelter (words I never used, by the way), but rather blame the people who "forced" the shelter to treat animals this way because they wouldn't spay... No Kill Christie Keith Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:38:41 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/why-greyhounds-wear-pajamas.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/why-greyhounds-wear-pajamas.html For those who think I make up the stories about how my Greyhounds shiver if they sleep without their pajamas... even WITH her jammies, Stella is still mostly buried in blankets and pillows. And no, I didn't do this. She did it all on her own. Creatures Christie Keith Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:43:20 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/speak-up-before-the-internet-dies.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/speak-up-before-the-internet-dies.html Not blogging today. This is why. Reality Christie Keith Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:44:51 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/could-scruffys-law-have-saved-lucy-the-lab.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2012/01/could-scruffys-law-have-saved-lucy-the-lab.html The Kansas Humane Society took about ten minutes to kill a young, healthy Lab named Lucy after her owner surrendered her -- just enough time for the owner to break down in the parking lot, change her mind, and come back in to get her back. From Yes Biscuit: Ms. Nott went to her car in the pound’s parking lot and called her sister, sobbing. Together, they decided that Ms. Nott should go back and get Lucy and they would “figure something out”. But when she returned to the pound’s lobby, she learned the Kansas Humane Society had already deemed Lucy unadoptable – due to the description of the inappropriate chewing behaviors – and had killed her. Their defense of this turbo-charged timeline is that her behavior problem -- excessive chewing and destructive behavior when alone -- would have precluded... Creatures No Kill Christie Keith Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:33:03 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2011/12/scruffys-law-making-animal-organizations-tell-the-truth.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2011/12/scruffys-law-making-animal-organizations-tell-the-truth.html Here's a law I can get behind. That's because it's not an unfunded mandate, and it's not micro-management. It's just truth in advertising. We need to pass a law that animal organizations that kill more than 10 percent of the animals that come in their doors may not use the words "humane," "shelter," or "prevention of cruelty" in their names. I suggest we call it "Scruffy's Law," after the bottle-fed kitten killed by the Arizona "Humane" Society the other day, after they refused to provide emergency medical care for a cut that needed stitches unless her owner signed her over to them -- even though his mother was ready and able to pay for the care immediately with a credit card over the phone. From Yes Biscuit: A 49 year old Phoenix man named Daniel Dockery bottle fed a kitten... Creatures No Kill Christie Keith Wed, 28 Dec 2011 16:42:55 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2011/12/comcasts-horrible-customer-service-rides-again.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2011/12/comcasts-horrible-customer-service-rides-again.html I sometimes wonder why Comcast is still in business. After my last go-around with them, when they randomly gave my phone number away to someone else for no reason and professed to be unable to fix it for several days, you'd think nothing would surprise me. But after Rawley, my dog, took my remote control out into the woods in a snowstorm, I contacted them about getting a replacement, a ten buck purchase. They informed me I'd need to provide them the following to buy -- not be given, but purchase -- a replacement remote: 1. Name on the account, 2. Address, 3. Telephone number associated with the account, 4. One of the following: 4.1. Last four digits of the Social Security Number of the account holder, 4.2. Security Code, 4.3. Account Number, 4.4. Amount and date of most recent... This Is What I Think About That Christie Keith Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:59:21 -0500 http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2011/12/a-greyhound-christmas.html http://www.doggedblog.com/doggedblog/2011/12/a-greyhound-christmas.html Stella on Christmas night, saying, "What do you mean, Santa's not coming again tomorrow?" Rawley, the little varmint, hid not just his new toy in the woods, but hers, too. I can't find either of them. He didn't have enough time to bury them... they've got to be out there somewhere... Creatures Christie Keith Mon, 26 Dec 2011 11:03:25 -0500