Unusual Animal Laws

Here are some strange, but unusual animal laws: It is illegal for hens to lay eggs before 8 am and after 4 pm in Norfolk, Virginia. In Pennsylvania, no one is allowed to shoot bullfrogs on a Sunday. French Lick Springs, Indiana, once passed a law requiring all black cats to wear bells on Friday the 13th. In Texas, it's illegal to put graffiti on someone else's cow. It is illegal to ride a mule down Lang, Kansas' Main Street in August, unless the animal is wearing a straw hat. Over in Berea, Kentucky and also in Willamantic, Connecticut, horses are not allowed out on the streets and highways at night unless the animal has a "bright" red taillight securely attached to its rump. Horses may not wear cowbells inside the city limits of Tahoe City, California. In Washington, though, every cow wandering the streets of Seattle must be wearing a cowbell.

PRESS NOTICE: Muffin, the Gentle Giant, Dies.

Issued by
Tracy Forte, President
WET NOSE ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE
It is with great sadness that the Wet Nose Animal Rescue Centre issues this press release.

MUFFIN, THE “GENTLE GIANT” DIES

Wet Nose welcomes public support at the trial to ensure that this beautiful animal did not die in vain.

Muffin, the Great Dane rescued by Inspector Le Roux and the Wet Nose team on 6 May 2008, passed away on Friday 6 February 2009.
Just 10 months ago, Muffin the “Gentle Giant” as he became known, was found on a plot in Pretoria North, comatose, dying a painful, lonely death as a result of malnutrition, dehydration and total neglect. His former owner’s abuse was widely covered by the media and caused an unprecedented uproar from animal lovers in South Africa and abroad.

Vets at Valley Farm Animal Hospital joined with Wet Nose staff in a feverish bid to save Muffin’s life. Everyone believed that this special dog deserved a chance to live and know love. After three weeks in High Care at Valley Farm Animal Hospital, Muffin was discharged and placed in the foster home of Norman and Anne Jackson. His liver and kidneys had been so damaged from the sustained abuse inflicted on him, that Dr Tim Kraft noted that his life expectancy would be two years maximum. Royal Canin sponsored special liver food for life and presented Muffin with a beautiful red bed and special hamper on the day.

Wet Nose pressed charges of animal abuse against his previous owner under the Animal Protection Act.

Muffin received the Wet Nose ISAR Award on 3O August 2008 at Homeless Animals Day for his remarkable courage and fighting spirit in terms of his recovery – he just didn’t give up.

What a beautiful sight he was at Homeless Animals Day! He had gained weight and condition. Visitors flocked to meet the “Gentle Giant” and e-mails of support streamed in from far and wide. But the abuse had taken it toll. Although Muffin was flourishing with the love and attention from his foster family, the internal organ damage was irreparable. Everyone agreed that rehabilitating him and restoring his faith in human beings was some consolation. (Muffin attended church with Norman and Anne on Sundays and became an honourary member of the church.
He even gained a godmother, Lyn Gardener.)

In the beginning of February 2009 Muffin’s body started failing, although his will to live was so strong. Muffin spent three days in hospital on a drip and, as Tim Kraft didn’t think Muffin would survive the night, he was discharged to spend time with his family. Yet again, Muffin surprised everyone by pulling through. At 9h00 on Friday, 6 February, ten months to the day of his rescue, Wet Nose staff joined his family to hear what his prognosis for recovery was. The test results indicated that he was dying. Nothing more could be done for the Gentle Giant, and to end his suffering, it was decided to take him back home.
He was surrounded by the people who loved him when the vet administered the injection to end his life.

What a sad day for all whose lives he had touched! The only consolation was that Muffin had held on to life and fought so hard to finally know love and human compassion.

The trial date for Muffin’s previous owner is set down for 9h00 on Friday 13 February 2009 at the Pretoria North Magistrates Court. Wet Nose has vowed to go for the jugular and will do all in its power to ensure that justice is served. Wet Nose welcomes public support at the trial to ensure that this beautiful animal did not die in vain.

Wet Nose thanks all those who supported Muffin through e-mails, calls and their presence at Homeless Animals Day. You touched his life and made a difference to his last days on this earth. Muffin’s ashes will be returned to Wet Nose. A painting of Muffin will be put up in the entrance to the Wet Nose offices in his memory. This will serve as a reminder to each and every one of us what we are fighting against and to NEVER give up the fight for abused and abandoned animals; to stay strong no matter what the challenges. Together, we can do this. Muffin would have wanted it.





MUFFIN ON OUR ARRIVAL AT THE SCENE

MUFFIN AT VET UNDER TREATMENT;

6 MAY 2008







Muffin at Valley Farm Vet Clinic in High Care

Our proud Muffin two months later in his foster home playing in the field.

Fighting to live: 7 May 2008







Muffin receiving his award on Homeless Animals day. With him, his foster
mom: Anne, his godmother: Lyn of Wet Nose patron: Micheal de Pinna, Taryn from Royal Canin and Wet Nose president, Tracy

Muffin and Inspector Le Roux sharing a moment, a special bond of love and trust.





MUFFIN: HIS FINAL FAREWELL IN IS HOME SURROUNDED BY ALL HIS ERSCUERS. 6

FEBRUARY 2009. 3:00PM

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DARG's protest against the new animal by-law

DARG
Main Road – Hout Bay
Phone - (021) 790 0383 Fax - (021) 790 2050 Email - info@darg.org.za Web - www.darg.org.za


Dear Friend of DARG

You’ll doubtless know of the City of Cape Town’s new Animal By-law which is presently open for comment from the public. You’ll know too that there are many voices against the by-law, ours among them, and you will likely have seen some media coverage on the subject.

While we agree on the need to consolidate current legislation, we believe that the Animal By-law should result in improved animal rights, be easy to implement and should not render an already flawed system even more difficult to administer. (Some of our objections are noted in greater detail at the foot of this message.)

We need your support in voicing effective opposition to the By-law and in ensuring that the opinions of animal rights groups are taken into account by the City. You can help directly by –

• Attending our Promenade Parade on Saturday 25th October at 10:30. We’ll meet at Three Anchor Bay, opposite Sea Point Place and, at 11:00, will walk to the Pavilion to present a Memorandum to a representative of the Mayor;
• Circulating this message as widely as possible;
• Joining our Facebook Group at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42869030751;
• Downloading the Animal By-law at http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/ByLaws/Pages/Draft_by-laws.aspx;
• Before 31 October, emailing frederick.venter@capetown.gov.za to directly voice your concerns to the City.

Let us put our collective voices together to ensure that the Animal By-law serves our City, its citizens, and our animals, in the best way possible.

We hope to see you on Saturday.

Sincerely

Joy Giovanini

________________________________________
Key Animal By-law Concerns
The by-law, as it presently stands, is unconstitutional and is a violation of animal rights. In particular –
• The by-law intends to unreasonably curtail the number of animals that may be kept on any premises;
• It suggests monitoring processes which will be at best, ineffective, and at worst impossible to administer;
• The draft document is silent on the qualifications of persons charged with enforcing the by-law;
• Where more than two dogs will live on the premises, a permit will be required, for a fee, and the consent of neighbours will need to be sought;
• The provisions to seize, impound and “destroy” animals are a disgrace and, far from encouraging responsible animal ownership, will have quite the opposite effect;
• The education of animal owners, as well as animal sterilisation and adoption campaigns have not been addressed by the by-law.

We have compiled a detailed schedule of objections and shall submit this to the City.

DID YOU KNOW: Dogs in Space

Did you know that dogs were the first living Earth-borne creatures to enter space? During the 1950s and 1960s, the USSR launched a program that is commonly known today as the 'Soviet space dogs programme' which saw a number of friendly pooches finding out what it means to travel into the final frontier. They were used to determine whether or not space flight and travel would be safe for humans.

Scientists chose female stray dogs for this program for a number of reasons, but primarily because:
- dogs were best suited to the long periods of inactivity that they would experience on their trips
- stray dogs were more likely to cope with the stressful space traveling, and would not pine for their adopted family members like the average household pet might and,
- special devices were constructed to collect the dogs' waste matter that were particularly designed for female dogs rather than males.

Each dog wore special pressure suits and bubble helmets, just like you would imagine you might see in a cartoon drawing. These suits were specially designed to keep the dogs safe and healthy while the climate and environment changes around them.

Other creatures who were also included in space flights include rabbits, mice, rats, flies, and a number of plants and fungi.

2009 anticipates the release of the animated Russian feature film titled Star Dogs: Belka and Strelka which is inspired by the first successful Earth Orbit mission with the two legendary Russian dogs Belka and Strelka. As an interesting aside, Strelka went on after her successful space mission to have six puppies, one of which was presented to President J.F. Kennedy's daughter and continued to have her own puppy family!

A follow up on teeth brushing

This is just a follow up to yesterday’s entry on animal health and teeth brushing. There are many different methods that you can use to brush your cat’s or dog’s teeth – but the most important thing to remember is that you cannot make your animal spit out whatever you brush their teeth with. That is why special animal toothpaste is recommended.

The most popular animal toothbrush for dogs is a little silicon finger glove that has toothbrush-like bristles on it. These are readily available from pet shops, and make brushing your dog’s teeth a lot easier. Alternatively you might choose to get a doggy toothbrush that has a handle – especially if you have a bulldog or a larger dog that produces a lot of saliva!

Brushing your cat’s teeth is another thing altogether. You need to coax your cat into letting you put your fingers in her mouth – never mind the toothbrush! Once your cat is comfortable with your fingers in her mouth, introduce some toothpaste. Once she is comfortable with the taste (mmm, chicken) then you can introduce a small cat toothbrush. Remember, don’t brush too hard because it could hurt your animal.

The more you brush their teeth, the more comfortable your animal will become with the procedure. Please don’t hesitate to email us if you have any queries!

A fun cat news article

Hi everyone,

I was catching up on the latest news at News24.com and came across this hilarious animal article, and I thought that I just HAD to share it with you all. It is about an animal behaviorist school in New York – the Acatemy – that encourages cat owners to behave like their pets in order to understand them better! I can’t wait to read all of your comments about this one!

Please note that the text can be found on the News24 website at this address: http://www.news24.com/News24/World/News/0,,2-10-1462_2169306,00.html – and it is also included in full here.

Getting to know your cat - 24/08/2007 14:42

New York - To know a cat, you must walk a mile in its paws, say animal behaviourists running a training school in New York where cat owners get to behave like their animals to understand them better.

The "Acatemy" is offering cat owners various classes such as"cat-isthenics" where you exercise like a cat, climbing on oversised scratchers and batting an oversized ball of yarn, and "cat-napping" where you curl up on a bean bag and snooze.

"People are going to learn a lot just by acting like a cat, and people are going to relieve a lot of stress in their lives," said Warren Eckstein, a radio show host and author of How to Get Your Cat to do What You Want.

The school, set up at New York's Daryl Roth Theatre by Del Monte Foods' catfood label Meow Mix, argues that if people can think like their favourite felines it will foster mutual understanding between cats and their humans.

Carol Puttra, 50, of New York and her 19-year-old daughter Anastasia attended the six-day training camp hoping to understand more about their deaf cat who twitched her ears a lot for no particular reason they could see. "She's so much more mysterious," said Puttra. "We'd love to learn more about her."

What makes cats happy?

Feline behaviourists, cat therapists, veterinarians and pet psychics were on hand to answer questions about what makes animals happy.

The Amazing Kreskin, aka George Kresge, a mentalist who became popular on a television show aired in the United States and Canada in the 1970s, says he spends much of his time reading the thoughts of his beloved cats Miss Kitty, Squeaky and Bugsy.

He said cats "know our whims, they know our feelings and our body gives off heat. The way we touch them tells them an awful lot".

"I say this as a mentalist and with a degree in psychology, You want to learn a lot about a person, see how they treat animals," said Kreskin who is holding a seminar at the event.

Pet psychic Emerald DuCoeur was offering to connect with people's cat - both alive and dead - to find out about their previous lives, their health and views on harmony.

After a six-day stint in New York, the Academy is making an 11 city tour of the United States starting on August 29 in Pittsburgh and ending on November 4 in San Francisco.