Animal Abusers Registry

An article of interest regarding animal abuse appeared in the NY Times on Monday, 2/22/10, Page A10. The article by Jesse McKinley indicates that California is considering a law listing animal abusers in an online registry, complete with their home addresses and places of employment. The bill was introduced Friday by the State Senate's majority leader, Dean Florez. The law would be the first of its kind in the country and is just the latest law geared toward animal rights. Under Florez's bill, any person convicted of a felony involving animal cruelty would have to register with the police and provide a range of personal information and a current photograph. That info would be posted online, along with info on the person's offense.

An Assistant Attorney in the Commonwealth of VA , is a supporter of the bill saying such a registry could also be valuable in tracking people who run puppy mills and animal-fighting rings as well as hoarders who collect hundreds of animals resulting in neglect.

The bill is also endorsed by the US Humane Society.

Write California's State Legislature in support of this bill and write your state representatives acquainting them with the proposed law and asking for consideration in your state.

Adopt a Shelter Pet Stamps

First Day of Issue: April 30, 2010, Burbank, CA 91505

With this pane of 10 stamp designs, the U.S. Postal Service hopes to raise awareness of the need to adopt shelter pets.

The pets depicted on the stamps were photographed by Sally Andersen-Bruce near her home in New Milford, Connecticut. All had been homeless at one time; all but one had been adopted when they were photographed.

-- Contributed by Isabella Marcotrigiano

Happy Birthday Penny

It's little Penny's 2nd birthday !!!!!! Shes my little diva. Tons of attitude in a 15 lb little body! She knows shes cute and can get whatever she wants!

-- Lisa Vaughan

Dickens Dog Collar Sells for $11,000

A leather and brass collar belonging to one of the greatest writers of the 19th century has sold at auction for $11,599.

That is one sturdy and very cool dog collar. You can imagine Dickens’ hands buckling it around his dog’s neck. Being that the collar is 23 inches, it probably wasn’t for one of his smaller dogs. Dickens’ Pomeranian,  Mrs. Bouncer, was not likely the wearer.

The description on the Bonhams web page states that “Like many Victorians, Dickens maintained a strong fondness for animals, dogs in particular.”

It then goes on to quote from an 1870 article in the Atlantic shortly after Dickens death:

Dickens shares a relaxing moment in this 1900 engraving in Life

Dickens shares a relaxing moment with his dog Turk in this 1900 engraving in Life

“All animals which he took under his especial patronage seemed to have a marked affection for him. Quite a colony of dogs has always been a feature at Gad’s Hill. When Dickens returned home from his last visit to America, these dogs were frequently spoken of in his letters. In May, 1868, he writes: ‘As you ask me about the dogs, I begin with them. The two Newfoundland dogs coming to meet me, with the usual carriage and the usual driver, and beholding me coming in my usual dress out at the usual door, it struck me that their recollection of my having been absent for any unusual time was at once cancelled. They behaved (they are both young dogs) exactly in their usual manner; coming behind the basket phaeton as we trotted along, and lifting their heads to have their ears pulled,—a special attention which they receive from no one else. But when I drove into the stable-yard, Linda (the St. Bernard) was greatly excited, weeping profusely, and throwing herself on her back that she might caress my foot with her great fore-paws. M.’s little dog, too, Mrs. Bouncer, barked in the greatest agitation, on being called down and asked, ‘Who is this?’ tearing round and round me like the dog in the Faust outlines.’ ”

And there’s a bit of dog-based literary history for your reading pleasure!

- From Dogster.Com

Buster and Lady and their Forever Family

From Canine Learning Experience

John and Rebecca Brewster adopted bonded foster pair Lady and Buster in July of 2009. Since that time, their foster family the Thelins have kept in touch with the Brewsters. They were all able to get together at the Canine Learning Experience in Allentown PA last month.

It was great for Alexandra and Ellen to see and hug Lady and Buster again, and it was clear that they were thriving with all the love given them to the Brewsters. What a wonderful ending for these pups who had been looking for their furever home! They certainly have hit the doggy powerball lottery!

Below is a link to more pictures of their visit:

Canine Learning Experience

Ori Finds a Furever Home

Ori (short for Oreals) is an almost 4 year old puppy mill girl which means she's done nothing but push out puppies her entire life. The miller was afraid she would get fined for having a dog with 3 legs and needed her out ASAP which is where Sparky's Project and NEBTR stepped in.

It doesn't slow her down very much. She supposedly injured it in a dog fight and it was amputated as a result.

She was placed with the Rowe family, which consists of Vicki, Nick and Molly, who was also rescued by the NEBTR and loved by the Rowes. They previously had a heart dog, Tinker, who is watching and smiling down from the rainbow bridge.

Vicki was her foster mom, and she recently wrote that Ori now has the perfect furever home. Ori's home, where she is well loved and well cared for, "..is here with Nick, Molly and me! The Mill mama with 3 legs that was supposed to be transported to Ellie in January, never left our house as we couldn't bear to part with her... Something about her captured our hearts and she is finally home. We officially signed adoption papers on Feb 14th--Ori (and Moo!) will be loved for the rest of their lives here with us!!

It's been a little over 4 months since Tinker crossed the rainbow bridge and while a day doesn't go by that I don't think of her or miss her, it has been healing having Ori here with us. Molly and Ori a great little pair and we are so blessed to have them as a part of our family!

I've attached a few pics of Ori and then a pic of the 2 girls snuggling together...a little slice of heaven on earth! We do love our girls. And we really love and appreciate all the members of NEBTR too!

Happily,

Nick, Vicki, Molly, and Ori
Etown PA"

What wonderful news! Congratulations to the whole family!
You can read more about their adventures at And Tinker Makes Three.

DJ's Happy Ending

I just wanted to share the success of my first foster for NEBTR. DJ was surrendered by a truly loving family because he had some aggression issues – with both people and other dogs. The reason they finally made the hard decision to relinquish him (after working with a trainer for months) was the escalating fights with their other Boston, who picked on DJ. DJ ended up with an eye injury from a fight and they were just afraid one of the dogs would get seriously hurt.

Anyway, he's a great dog – just a loving little sweetheart once he gets to know you. He did have dog aggression issues with a couple of my dogs, so NEBtR helped me work with him and then helped find him a home as an only pet.

He is THRIVING! His adopter, Susannah, who is a law student in NYC, fell instantly in love and it seems to be mutual. She loves what a sweet, snuggly boy DJ is. Since he's been with her, he has had zero aggression issues. He is living in the East Village and made the transition to city dog with no problem.

He goes to the dog park under close supervision and does well – though he mostly likes to sit on Susannah's lap and observe. He loves long walks through Susannah's neighborhood and Susannah is working with a trainer to ensure DJ continues to make progress.

I have been able to pass along some updates to his original family. They really miss him but realize this was the right thing to do for DJ and are so grateful to NEBtR for helping them and DJ. He is so happy in his new home!

I wanted to thank everyone at NEBtR who helped DJ along the way!
I posted a couple of photos under a photo album named "DJ" so you can see what a handsome boy he is!

Molly
Penn Yan, NY

Allentown Fund Raiser Photos

Check out the photos of the Allentown Fund Raiser, which was so successfully spearheaded by Cynthia Musselman! Fabulous job to you and all those who participated! Click below to see all the photos in the album.

Allentown Fund Raiser

Through a Dog's Ear

Can music soothe the not-so-savage beast? Lisa Spector, the concert pianist featured in the Through a Dog's Ear series, says certain kinds of music can surely do the trick and help dogs with separation anxiety, sound phobias, nervousness, excitement with visitors and more. Read the exclusive Dogster interview with Lisa and download some free tracks to see how your pup takes to music crafted with dogs in mind.

Norman's Furever Home

Norman has his furever home! He is offically part of the Jansky zoo! Much love to Norman and the whole family!!

Joan Stark and Belle

Belle was rescued by Joan Stark, who drove three and a half hours each way to a vacant apartment building in Pennsylvania.

A mother had written to NEBTR, saying that a woman in her daughter's apartment building moved out in the middle of the night, leaving the dog and a kitten behind in the apartment. She left a note on my daughter's door stating that she would not be coming back for the animals. The daughter, a true hero, is a full time college student and does volunteer work with the Hillside SPCA in Pottsville, PA. She cared for the animals until NEBTR came for the dog and found a cat rescue group for the kitten.

Joan writes, "Belle saw the vet today and weighs in at a whopping 12.7 pounds. Her left eye had a mature cataract and an obvious old healed ulcer on the cornea. The other eye is blue and has a beginning cataract that we can watch for now. She does have a significant heart murmur and the vet said we have to watch her carefully as she could experience heart failure quickly if the symptoms are not caught early. (This is very similar to what happens in humans, so I do know what to watch for). Her skin is very dry (some fish oil should take care of that. They did a titer and we went ahead with the rabies and Bortadella and I got her heartworm meds. She also had a senior blood panel which I have done for my seniors and it was good. The only real concern is her rectum that is close to prolapse. Vet feels this may be due to not enough fiber in her diet and suggested that I add some to her food. It is not a surgical candidate right now but could be if diet is not attended properly. Overall in pretty good shape. She is missing a number of teeth but the ones remaining are in pretty good shape. And it certainly does not affect her eating. Vet feels she may be a little older than thirteen. Wish we could get the vet records but, Oh, well, we will deal with whatever needs to be done. She is eating well and socializing with the other dogs more each day. I bought her a lovely purple harness today because all she had was a collar that was too big and her little head kept slipping right through it. She walks well on the leash and appears housebroken. Being a senior she just can't wait as long as a younger dog. She comes and tries to get your attention when she has to go out. If she can't wait she finds the potty pad and goes on it. She is settling in very well and appears comfortable with us. I left her home with hubby today while I went to get my stitches out and he said she never left the front room by the door til I came home. When I did she ran right up with the others to greet me with a real tail wagging and kisses. She is not a snuggler and I haven't found a toy she wants to play with yet, but she is happy to climb up on the couch and snooze on a pillow off and on through the day.

She is settling in nicely and is a real little love. But sure can snore!! I think she is louder than my boys are. She is eating well and goes out to potty and is even snuggling up with my 12 1/2 year old Gidget.

I think I will just call my house the BT nursing home! My Gidget is 12 1/2, Missy will be 10 in April, Boston (Mr,. B) will be 9 tomorrow. Now Belle is 13. Poor Duke is the youngster at not quite 4! Since my hubby and I qualify for the senior citizens discount, we all fit rather well together."

Pictured above are Joan and Belle on Valentine's Day. Joan has decided to keep Belle because of all she has been through in the last few months. Her original owner gave her away to the woman who abandoned her. Belle certainly deserves all the care and love in the world, and Joan will certainly give it to her! Thank you Joan, for taking Belle into your heart and home.

Joan Stark

Snowed In

We're a little snowed in, just a little lol

-- Lisa Vaughan

Bandanas for Fosters

For anyone currently fostering:

Isabella, Amy and myself are working on making bandanas that read "Adopt Me" for the dogs we have in foster. Tonight I finished screen printing the bandanas Isabella sewed and sent to me. (The bandanas were so beautifully sewn that I kind of felt bad having to alter them.) I have attached pictures of the bandanas as they are right now. Some need to be touched up. The one with the little red flowers still needs to be printed with white paint so I will do that tomorrow when the screen dries.

Can anyone who would like one of the bandanas please email me privately (casey1838@aol.com) and let me know the following:

Whether you have a male or female foster
Whether your foster is small, medium, or large in size (the bandanas vary in size slightly)
If you have a preference for which bandana you would like
Your home address

I will send the bandanas out later this week when they are finished. Amy is completing another 6 pink and 6 blue bandanas as well. We will make more bandanas if necessary.

Thanks,

Jessica
Emmaus, PA

And here is a picture of Pittsburg wearing her bandana. How could anyone not want to adopt her?

Four Is Enough

From The New York Times, by NEBTR member and Foster Parent Julie Klam:


It’s a recent March morning in our small New York apartment, and my husband is looking at me with a half-smile on his face. Not the kind of half-smile that says, “I will love this woman till the end of my days.” It’s the kind that says, “I told you it was going to cost over $300 to get that rug cleaned, even though you said it wouldn’t because you had a coupon from the Internet.” So while the man from the rug-cleaning place goes on and on, calculator in hand, about how very, very bad our rug stains are — and the smell! — I give my husband my own half-smile, which says, “Oops.”

We’ve been living with these four dogs. It’s all an accident: we had one dog, a Boston terrier (a female), and then in August we fostered an elderly dog, another terrier, to save her from being put to sleep, and then somehow in October she had puppies, just two, small-size, no bigger than teeny baby mice when they were born — the three of them fit in a little box from FreshDirect. And it was so sweet how this dog from the streets, who’d been through hell, was able to have her puppies in a nice home and not in a shelter. … Well, if she’d stayed in the shelter she wouldn’t have had them because they were going to put her down. But now here she was, getting to be their mother, and to take care of them. And we were so amazed and so moved that we, or I, decided that she and her puppies would always have a home with us and we would all live happily ever after.

Until a few days later when we realized that her ancient body wasn’t providing her babies with enough milk, and we had to spend $500 at the vet. (We’d been to a vet with her before, a vet who thought she had Cushing’s disease! Silly! She was pregnant!) And so we got the formula and the little bottles and the eyedroppers the vet said to get, and we fed the puppies every two hours, and after a while the mom’s milk finally came in — hurray! — so we were able to sleep through the night again. But then the mother got in a fight with our original dog and got her cornea scratched. And though I never go anywhere, I was about to go to Miami for two days for work, and the vet said the mother couldn’t nurse while she was on antibiotics: “Sorry.” My husband would have to feed the puppies every two hours while taking care of our young daughter; I told the vet that just wasn’t an option, because I was already on thin ice, so the vet sent me to a fancy emergency place that was able to fix her eye for the weekend. It was $500 for the regular vet, another $1,000 for the emergency vet. But it was worth anything to keep my husband from having to nurse those puppies for 48 hours by himself.

After that we decided we couldn’t keep all the dogs, just the original dog and the male puppy, and maybe the mother because she’d been through so much and she was so old and the idea of putting her in another home brought tears to our (my) eyes. The problem was that I’d become very attached to the female puppy, so I didn’t want to give her up either.

At first, when the puppies started leaving the little box to do their business, it was sort of cute — teeny puddles and tiny poopies — and I tried to teach them to go on the Wee Wee pads ($39 a pack). Then after they got their shots ($875) it was O.K. to take them out to housebreak them. But they screamed on the leash. Like, “Yow!” And walking four dogs in the cold wasn’t that fun for me, either; four dogs like to go in four different directions. (A couple of times, I was this close to letting them all go — after all, if you love something, you’re supposed to set it free.) So I decided to put off housebreaking till spring, and in the meantime let them go on the Wee Wee pads, or near the Wee Wee pads. But usually they went “nowhere near” the Wee Wee pads. They were born in our daughter’s room, so that’s where they liked to go, in particular the needlepoint rug with the pale blue and pink roses.
The result is that we’ve been living in a litter box. And my husband hasn’t been happy about it. (He calls the mother the “Trojan Dog.”) Somehow I thought that if we just got my daughter’s rug cleaned, things might go back to normal. I called the rug cleaners, and over the phone they said it was something a square foot, under 10 bucks, so I said, “Sold!”
But now the guy is here with his calculator. And my husband, who is putting his coat on and getting ready to leave for work, says, “So far they’ve cost us more than a month’s rent, Julie.” (It’s never good when he uses my name; he does it so I can’t pretend he’s talking to someone else.) As he gets in the elevator, I lean out into the hallway, and I yell, “I’ll figure something out.” And I will. I swear I will.
Julie Klam is the author of a memoir, “Please Excuse My Daughter.”

Snow Boston Jack

My snow Boston Jack.  He loves the snow!!!!

-- Jill  Dunn

How Joy Wakes Up

At about 4 am, I was woke up by weird noises in my living room (dog-type). I dragged out of bed, went down stairs and found Jaime (BT foster-who was fast asleep under the covers on my bed when I first went to sleep) and Carrie (greyhound) playing tug with a HUGE dog bed!!!! I have to say, it was one of the funniest things I've ever seen!! Of course, that got Paige (greyhound) all fired up, so Paige and Carrie ran the Riley Stakes in the backyard at about 4:30. What a way to *reluctantly* start the day!
Gotta love 'em.

-- Joy Riley

Photos from Amy

Had to share a couple photos… my handsome Lucky man in his famous penguin hat (that he despises!)… and Normie boy. As you can see from the photo, he is very happy!


-- Amy Jansky

Short Essay on Fostering

Hi Friends, Just thought I'd share this short essay with you.
THANK YOU
[Author Unknown]

Thank You for bringing this foster dog into my life.

Had I not made the decision to participate in rescue, I would never have had the chance to meet him. If I had sat here comfortably in my home and said "I already have four dogs and I know that I couldn't take in another - even on a temporary basis," I would never have met this dog.

Yes, it takes time to rescue and foster... but who gave me Time in the first place? And why or what was the reason I was given Time? To fill my own needs? Or was there another reason ever so small and seemingly insignificant, like rescuing this one dog, that could make a difference in another's life? Perhaps to add joy, hope, help and companionship to another who is in need?

With great sadness, I sat down on a footstool in my kitchen this morning and watched as this foster dog bounced back into the house and skidded across the floor to sit ever so perfectly in front of me. He was the picture of health, finally. He was all smiles for me.... and I smiled back at his happy face. Deep in his eyes, the storm clouds of illness and generalized poor health had blown away, and the clear light of his perfection radiated out from his beautiful soul. He holds no ill will toward man. He forgives us all.

I thought to myself as I impressed this one last long look of him into my heart, what a very fine creature you have created. Tears slowly pooled and spilled over my cheekbones as the deeper realization of how wonderful this dog is sank into my internal file cabinet of Needful Things to Remember. Lord, he's a dog - but he's a better human being than I am.

He forgives quickly. Would I do the same?
He passionately enjoys the simple things in life. And I have often overlooked them.
He accepts change and gets on with his life. I fuss and worry about change.
He lives today and loves today. And I often dwell in the past or worry about the future.
He loves no matter what. I am not that free.

This very lovely dog has gone to his new home today and already I miss him. Thank You for bringing this dog into my life. And thank You for the beautiful and tender lesson on how to be a better human.

-- Contributed by Isabella Marcotrigiano

Dogs Movie

Something to cheer up your day. Had to share, watch carefully for the BT’s.


Linda V.

Elmwood Park, NJ

Meet Otto

Meet OTTO!! He is a handsome little man. He is a big boy. I would estimate he is roughly around 25 lbs. He was an owner surrender to the Philly SPCA. He came in with a Boxer buddy. So far he is doing great in our home. He is a little skittish but warming up quick. He is potty trained. Doesn't really have any interest in toys or playing. Just likes to nap and sit around. He likes Cleveland, our other male BT. We haven't introduced him to the rest of the crew yet. He is up to date on most of his shots; he will need to be fixed though. Seems like a sweet little guy. We will keep you updated!

Lisa
PA