Shedding is every pet parents nightmare. From hair all over the house, the car and your clothes.. it’s enough to make you want to pull your own hair out sometimes. However, with the proper diet and regular grooming [both at home and with a professional] shedding can become manageable.

The best use of the Furminator brush requires a two step process: Pre bath and post bath.

Pre Bath:

• Brush your dog to ensure they are free of tangles. Any tangles or mats that are left in your dogs coat before you brush them with the Furminator brush will make brushing difficult and possibly painful for your dog. While brushing your dog if you come across any matting or tangles you can’t get out with brushing or combing, call your groomer. Most groomers will offer mat removal or brushing services for a very small fee.
• Brush them with the Furminator brush after you are sure your dog is free of tangles for 5-10 minutes with a light pressure. Please note: hard pressure can cause skin irritation and possible injury. If your dog starts showing signs of discomfort- give them a break.

After you are done brushing, you will have something like this: 

After brushing, it’s time for the bath!
For best results use the Furminator deShedding shampoo and conditioner because it:

• Promotes healthy skin and coat to reduce shedding
• Helps reduce excessive shedding by releasing the undercoat during the bath
• Enriched with Omega 3 & 6 Fatty Acids, Calendula Extract and Papaya Leaf Extract
• This blend of natural ingredients helps protect against excessive shedding leaving a healthy and shiny coat
• This unique blend of natural ingredients conditions the coat and releases the undercoat during the bath to help protect against excessive shedding
• Contains no parabens, artificial colors or chemical dyes

 The Bath:

• Your dog will more than likely not want to be in the tub. If you have a larger dog, you will probably need a second set of hands to help you get the dog in the tub and to keep them there. It’s highly recommended this bathing process be done either at home with a force dryer or at a self service dog wash that can provide you with one.
• Be sure your water is lukewarm, not too hot or too cold: dog skin is different from ours and hot water can burn dogs more easily  and dogs don’t enjoy being cold as much as we do, avoid using cold water or outdoor hose water.
  
• Be gentle around the face and any sensitive areas and remember if you do get any soap or debris in the eyes to use your eye wash.
• Using the deShedding conditioner will help loosen the shedding hair. After application, leave the conditioner sit for approximately 2-5 minutes.
• Using a force dryer on a low setting, start to ‘dry’ your dog to help blow out the loose hair.
• After the blow out, rinse your dog of all the conditioner and dry with a towel; completely dry your dog with the force dryer.

Post Bath:

• Brush your dog with the Furminator brush again for anywhere from 10-15 minutes or until the undercoat stops coming out.
• After the brushing and drying you should notice quite a difference in your dog’s coat: from less bulky to much shinier.

Photo timeline of Padfoot’s Furminator transformation:

With regular use of the Furminator brush at home as well as regular baths, you will notice a major change in your dog’s shedding. The Furminator brush reduces shedding up to 90%, and as a professional groomer I have offered the service outlined above to pet parents as an alternative to shaving their dog and almost every person has been completely satisfied with the results.

The vacuum attachment makes brushing clean up a breeze! The attachment allows the loose hair to be sucked up straight into a vacuum, so there is very little clean up.

Proper use is the key to success with the Furminator products and the company’s website has a wonderful guidelines and FAQ’s to help pet parents get the most out of their products.

Broadus, 53, is facing eight charges: six counts of animal cruelty, one count of trafficking a controlled substance and one count of unlawfully dispensing a drug without a license.

Louisville Metro Animal Services conducted a search two weekends ago and seized at least 20 dogs- ten of which were puppies and some of which were badly injured. Police reported that one female dog had multiple open wounds, two of which went down to the muscle (she also had scarring from previous injuries) and two other dogs suffered injuries consistent with dog fighting.

During the investigation, police say they also found a substance believed to be cocaine, money and bullets.

Michael Hollins, a neighbor of Broadus said he has seen several pit bulls on the property in the past and that they were being bred to be sold. ”Every once in a while, the dogs would fight amongst themselves,” Hollins said. “I had never heard anything about him having any dog fights or anything like that.”

Broadus faces three counts of animal cruelty in the first degree and three counts of animal cruelty in the second degree.

• Cruelty to animals in the first degree is a Class D felony according to the Kentucky revised code and a Class A Misdemeanor in the second degree
• Trafficking a controlled substance is a Class A Misdemeanor 
• Unlawful Distribution without a license is a Class A Misdemeanor for a first offense and a Class D Felony for a second offense.  

He will face a maximum of five years in prison for each Class D Felony charge  and a maximum of one year in county jail for each Class A Misdemeanor charge.

Image and quotes courtesy: WLKY

Johnny Rodriguez, who was visiting the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary nearby, said he and three other people alerted nearby police officers that the owner of the dog was in danger of being hit by traffic. “He was having a seizure, I saw him lying down on the ground..” said Rodriguez. ”I told one of the cops, ‘Hey, that dog is growling, be careful,’ because they were getting pretty close.. I used to have pit bulls and that’s just how they are, they protect their owners.”

Kenn has been building The Dog Files for around five years now and has done some of the most amazing web video series revolving around dogs, he has even had a special on Animal Planet called Hero Dogs of 9/11 which is the most moving piece I have ever seen.

I have had the most amazing opportunity to build a friendship with Kenn since the conference and help him with some stories for The Dog Files. Recently, he shared the story I wrote regarding Congressman Steve King and his comments surrounding dogfighting.
I have made it clear that I am leaving partisan politics out of it, I don’t care what party you are affiliated with- if you are against the humane and ethical treatment of dogs (or any animal) I am against you, plain as that.

Recently, Kenn has been attacked via comments and emails after sharing the story I wrote.. ,any people attacking him regarding the story being of  left/democrat influence, being un-true, right vs. left/left vs. right… you get the idea.

Kenn and I take the same stand on this, and we are on the side of Dog Politics.

Below is the piece Kenn wrote in response to these attacks, I ask anyone who reads it to head over to The Dog Files website and Facebook and show Kenn you are on the dog’s side- which is all that really matter in the end.

Kenn, Thank You for everything you do to help dogs!

“He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” -Immanuel Kant.

This isn’t the Congressman’s first attempt to stop legislation about animal rights:

2003-2004:

• Voted against an amendment that would ban the National Park Service and Forest Service from using federal funds to kill Yellowstone bison. (H.R. 4568)
• Voted against an amendment to prohibit the use of funds for bear baiting on federal lands. (H.R. 2691)

2005-2006:

• Voted against a bill to ban the transport, possession, purchase, or sale of horses to be slaughtered for human consumption. (H.R. 503)
• Voted for an amendment to delay implementation of the Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (Amendment to H.R. 503)
• Voted against an amendment to prohibit the Bureau of Land Management from using tax dollars for the sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros. (H.R. 2361)

Highlight of 2006: Voted against a bill to require state and local authorities to consider the needs of people with pets and service animals in their disaster planning. (P.L. 109-308) (this vote came in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina; The vote passed 349 to 24 and President George W. Bush signed it into law later in 2006.)

2006-2007:

• Voted against the Animal Fighting Enforcement Prohibition Act, which strengthened the penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, making it a felony to transport animals across state lines for these gruesome and barbaric fights. (H.R. 137)
• Voted against a bill to restore the prohibition on the commercial sale and slaughter of wild horses and burros. (H.R. 249)
• Voted against an amendment to bar federal funding that permits the import of sport-hunted polar bear trophies from Canada. (H.R. 2643)
• Voted against a bill to assist conservation programs that protect rare dog and cat species outside North America and Europe. (H.R. 1464)
• Voted against a bill to provide assistance to conservation programs aimed at helping imperiled crane populations in the U.S. and around the world. (H.R. 1771)
• Voted against a bill to prohibit interstate and foreign commerce in primates for the pet trade. (H.R. 2964)

2011-Present:

• Voted against an amendment to save millions of taxpayer dollars by ending subsidies for lethal predator control for ranchers. (H.AMDT.471/H.R. 2112)
• Voted against an amendment to remove a devastating rider that would prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from protecting any new species or designating critical habitat for currently listed species. (H.R. 2584)

Highlight of 2012: Voted against McGovern amendment to the Farm bill to make it a crime to attend a dogfight or cockfight or to bring a child to an animal fighting venture. That amendment was approved by the House Agriculture Committee.

Also in July of this year Congressman Steve King successfully proposed the ‘Protect Interstate Commerce Act’ to the House Committee on Agriculture-an amendment to the farm bill that would  prevent states from regulating how agricultural goods are produced, effectively prohibiting California from enforcing its animal housing restrictions [embodied in Proposition 2, passed by voters in 2008.]  Congressman King’s Protect Interstate Commerce Act as it is worded, would essentially nullify all state-enacted anti-cruelty measures by preventing states from dictating how agricultural products are produced in other states for sale in their own state, such as:

• Alaska, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Washington laws requiring labeling of farm-raised fish
• Maryland’s ban on arsenic in poultry feed
• State pollution standards, such as bans on spraying sewage on crops directly before they are fed to people
• Bans on use of dangerous pesticides on crops, such as California’s ban on methyl iodide use for strawberries;
• Iowa’s requirement for labeling of artificial sweeteners in products.

In his attempt yesterday at clarifying his statement regarding dogfighting, Congressman Steve King said ”It’s wrong to rate animals above human beings”… but by putting laws and punishments in place for those who do abuse animals- you discourage the activity, protect citizens, and help protect communities against what these people bring to them.

People who treat animals in this manner also bring a mess of other violent activities and behaviors to the table:

This report was released by The Humane Society of the United States, and the rest of King’s voting record can be found here.
Steve King direct quotes courtesy The Daily Caller/Yahoo! News.

During a tele-townhall event last week, King complained about an amendment to the farm bill that prohibits attendance at organized animal fights and imposes additional penalties for bringing a child to these bloody and horrific displays. Staging fights, possessing and/or training animals or moving animals for fighting purposes is already a federal crime. This amendment to the US Farm Bill would extend that to anyone spectating and wagering on animal fighting.

Congressman King went as far to say in his live town hall video broadcast [LiveStream page] that “it’s a federal crime to watch animals fight or to induce someone else to watch an animal fight but it’s not a federal crime to induce somebody to watch people fighting, there’s something wrong with the priorities of people that think like that.”

In a statement released by Wayne Pacelle,President and CEO of The HSUS: ”Spectators are participants and accomplices who enable the crime of animal fighting, make the enterprise profitable through admission fees and wagering, and help conceal and protect the handlers and organizers; Federal investigators who raid large-scale animal fighting operations may soon be able to prosecute the entire cast of characters who sustain dogfighting and cockfighting.”

It is illegal in 49 states to be a knowing spectator at an animal fight. A majority—29 states—impose felony-level penalties on spectators. This legislation imposes federal misdemeanor penalties for knowing attendance and felony penalties for knowingly causing a minor to attend.

The amendment was introduced by Senator David Vitter-La., and strongly backed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Conn., Maria Cantwell, Wash., Mark Kirk,-Ill., Scott Brown, -Mass., and Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, -Mich.
The amendment passed in the Senate on an 88 to 11 vote  (With only 1 not voting).

Apparently, this isn’t Congressman King’s first attempt at stopping animal rights in his five terms in Congress. According to a release from the Humane Society of the United States:

King has led the fight in Congress to block legislation to crack down on the barbaric practices of dogfighting and cockfighting. During consideration of the 2012 Farm bill, King led an unsuccessful effort to defeat a McGovern amendment to make it a crime for an adult to attend or to bring a child to a dogfight or cockfight.

A three-year study by the Chicago Police Department found that 70 percent of animal offenders had also been arrested for other felonies, including domestic and aggravated battery, illegal drug trafficking, and sex crimes. That pattern of behavior undoubtedly encouraged the Fraternal Order of Police, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and nearly 200 law enforcement agencies from across the country to support the current effort in Congress to quash illegal dogfighting and cockfighting.

Every other federal lawmaker in Iowa – including Republicans Charles Grassley and Tom Latham –supported this policy of forbidding adults from bringing children to these spectacles of violence. South Dakota Senator John Thune also voted in favor of barring adults from taking kids to animal fighting spectacles.

King also stood alone in Iowa’s delegation in opposing a previous upgrade of the federal law against animal fighting. In 2007, he was one of a just a small group of lawmakers to oppose H.R. 137, a bill to make it a federal felony to transport animals or cockfighting implements across state lines.

Tell Congressman King that PEOPLE make their own decisions to fight OTHER PEOPLE-and more often than not are NOT subject to the cruel, unusual, and inhumane slaughter upon loss of a match. Dogs, Roosters and other animals are forced by people into barbaric situations and suffer terrible treatment before, during and after these terrible happenings. Click here  to directly contact Steve King and tell him that watching people fighting and watching a dogfight is NOT the same!

You can find Dogs Against Congressman King on Facebook, you can also find Congressman King on Facebook and Twitter and Sign the Petition against Steve King

Featured Image courtesy: Huffington Post
Reports courtesy: HSUS 

Casper, a 3 year old Presa Canario has been contained in a Westchester country animal shelter for  over six months while his owner is facing $80,000 in fines, eviction and fighting to save his dog’s life after events led to Caspar injuring a visitor in his condo parking lot.

When Eric Leinwand of Westchester bought Casper as a puppy from a breeder- he was encouraged by the dog’s breeder to train the dog for protection as well as leaving him in-tact to use a stud dog to bring in some ‘extra cash’ later down the road. Unfortunately, ‘later down the road’ Casper grew and started showing some troublesome behavior such as marking in the house, lunging and barking at other dogs and strangers outside home, and showing fear aggression toward people inside the home due to lack of proper basic training and socialization.

Eric then decided to take the advice from some acquaintances and purchased a shock collar to attempt to control Casper’s behavior. The result of the shock collar was worse than the original situation as the behavior intensified and was made worse, especially towards strangers.

In an attempt to fix his situation, Eric and Casper appeared in the third US season of Animal Planet’s It’s Me or the Dog, hosted by Victoria Stilwell. During the show, Stilwell tried to show Eric the potential of his dog’s power and what could happen WITHOUT proper training. The original story reported by the New York Daily news said that “On the show, a trainer waved a big stick at Casper in a threatening manner and the dog lunged at him after being released by Eric Leinwand.”

In reaction to the article, Stilwell has come out with a statement explaining “I arranged for Eric to watch a demonstration with an experienced handler and his own trained protection dog to show, in a controlled scenario, how powerful a bully breed can be.  This segment included the handler, his trained protection dog and an experienced trainer in a bite suit, who waved a bite stick at the trained protection dog and NOT CASPER – a common scenario in protection work.  At no time was any stick waved at Casper.”

At the time when Eric purchased the dog, his condo association gave him permission to keep the dog despite the community’s no-dog rule. Over time the community grew worried about Casper and his owner, and even though reports suggest “all of the problems” started when they appeared on the show, Stillwell states “there is no doubt that the biting episodes which actually triggered the dispute would have occurred (probably even sooner) without him appearing on the show.”

The episode of It’s Me or the Dog shows that despite urging from Stilwell to have the dog neutered and arrangements made by her for Eric to work with other area trainers after her departure- Eric did not follow through on much of the training, did not work with any trainers nor did he neuter Casper, leaving him to his previous behaviors which lead to events that caused the dog to act out towards the visitor.

Westchester County judge Walter Rivera labeled Casper as “dangerous” but also ruled to spare his life. The judge also ordered that he must be neutered, visit a “board certified animal behaviorist” and not go out in public without a muzzle.

July 23,2012:

(Updated July 25,2012) Cincinnati, Ohio- A dog is still on the loose in Cincinnati’s West Price Hill neighborhood, and five people remain in police custody facing 4th degree felony charges for dog fighting after a raid done by Cincinnati police Tuesday afternoon.

Cincinnati Police were called to a vacant house around 1:30p after a tip from a woman in the neighborhood. The woman reported that she saw dogs and people  going in and out of the house, knowing the building was vacant, suspected there was dog fighting going on inside.

The officers who where first on the scene reported the sounds of dogs and cheering coming from inside the home, one person broke a window and attempted to flee the scene to escape police- but was apprehended along with four others inside the home.

Officers found two  dogs in the house-one in the basement and one in a front living room. The dog who was found in the basement had wounds consistent with dog fighting, according to police.  The dog who was found upstairs  was frightened and bit an SPCA worker when it was approached, and escaped into the neighborhood. Hamilton County Animal Contro/SPCA is still looking for that dog.

The charge in Hamilton County, Ohio for dog fighting is a fourth-degree felony punishable by up to 18 months in prison and a $5,000 fine; the suspects are expected to appear in Hamilton County Municipal Court today.

More details will follow as they are released.

Story courtesy: Cincinnati Local 12

In the midst of the pet community demanding answers from 1-800-Flowers, and being ignored for the first 24 hours- there was a company who reached out to Lucky Dog Rescue via Facebook:

"I wanted to show Ashley and the internet community that not all ecommerce companies are run by accountants in a board room. Decisions like these are simple, you just act from the heart."-Alan Attal, Chief Operating Officer, MrChewy.com

As soon as I saw the posting, I immediately reached out to Mr.Chewy via Facebook to get in touch with a representative from their company. When I got my response, I was not corresponding with a PR or customer service rep- I was in contact Alan Attal, Chief Operating Officer of Mr.Chewy.com.

When I asked Alan how he had found out about about Lucky Dog’s story- he saw the story here on Blog Four Paws via Google Alerts on Monday and his thought was, you have to be kidding me.

After reading the post all Attal could do was shake his head. “1-800-Flowers could so easily have recognized and celebrated the amazing act of kindness Maria offered Lucky Dog Rescue and doubled the prize right from the start. They would have come away as major heroes…but instead, they dragged their feet and put both Maria and Ashley through hell and created a media nightmare.”

1-800-Flowers did indeed create a media nightmare: the story has been seen by 10,000+ people here on Blog Four Paws, and over 25,000 people on TheDogFiles.com. The petition on Change.org received over 500 signatures in 1 day, the story was submitted and featured on The Consumerist, and is still on the hot page with 90 comments on Reddit’s dog page.

When I asked him how they decided to donate the food, the answer was not one I expected at first: “It really wasn’t a hard decision to do something. Not only are we an online pet food retailer, we also work with close to 100 animal shelters and rescues, so this was very near and dear to our hearts. We know how hard these amazing people work at rescuing, adopting and caring for animals in need. It’s a very tough and under appreciated effort.” After receiving this answer and personally speaking with Attal, I discovered MrChewy.com has a huge passion and heart for animal rescue.

MrChewy is a different sort of internet retailer: they are not owned by a giant corporation focused exclusively on the bottom line or venture backed for a quick build up and sale-they are a privately held U.S. company with a simple focus-satisfying customers.The company’s operations center around customer satisfaction, and they stand by that. “Call us at 3am and we’ll answer and not offshore either” said Attal.

The MrChewy.com team works extremely hard to offer a huge selection over 120 brands of pet food (veterinary prescription diets are available), treats and supplies with great prices and fast shipping- which is free on orders over $49.

MrChewy.com also believes in giving back, they are a business supporter of Best Friends Animal Society and they also donate food and money through our Mr. Chewy to the Rescue Network. (If you are part of a no-kill shelter or rescue, please email rescue@mrchewy.com for more information on joining the network.)

I wanted to do this post to highlight MrChewy.com for donating to Lucky dog, but after learning more about the company- I want to applaud their work with animal rescues and to point out, not just to 1-800-Flowers, that you don’t mess with the Power of the paw.

On Sunday afternoon, 1-800-Flowers refused to respond to the public outcry that came through via their Facebook page and were deleting all comments related to the story. They had since come forward with a statement (after their story had gone viral via Reddit, Facebook and Twitter, and the petition on Change.org had 400+ signatures in under 24  hours) saying:

At 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, we pride ourselves on offering creative and engaging contests for our customers. We apologize that there has been a misunderstanding about the prize fulfillment regarding our recent There’s a New Bunny In Town. We are looking into the matter immediately and we promise to follow up with the winner to ensure the prize is fulfilled appropriately.

Many people wo voted and heard the news of the winnings for Lucky Dog Rescue- and the donations started to dwindle. “A lot of people voted thinking I would win this dog food, and now that they think I’ve won it, no one is really donatingdog food because they think we have a year’s supply of dog food coming, and I don’t,” Ashley Owen Hill said in a statement to Mississippi news station WTOK 11.

As of 5:30pm EST,  WTOK released a statement saying they had gotten in touch with a 1-800-Flowers PR Representative Yanique Woodall and she has confirmed that the company has donated a 2-year supply of dog food to Lucky Dog Rescue.

–
This story will continue to be updated as information is received.