One thing we ourselves have tried is to encourage breeders to declare a moratorium on breeding for several seasons. Whenever we make this suggestion, however, breeders reply, "We have good homes already lined up for ALL the new pups, and we guarantee that we will take back any of them at any time in the future," or, "It's not us, the registered breeders who are the problem; it's the puppy mills and backyard breeders." We've stopped pointing out that the homes that are lined up for the new pups could be used for other dogs of the breed who have become homeless; that a breeder's "guarantee" to take back a dog often melts into thin air when reality arrives in the form of an inbred dog with genetically-based health/behavior problems or an old dog who has grown deaf or blind; and that legal means of dealing with puppy mills and backyard breeders could be better implemented and enforced.

We all treasure living in a free society, but, as we look back on the events of September 11 and read in the newspapers that our FBI's efforts to uncover the 9/11 plot were thwarted because of "privacy" issues, we wonder whether certain aspects of our free society lead to disaster -- for humans and animals alike. We believe that "rights" come with responsibilities, and that certain rights cannot be protected if, by abusing them, certain individuals in our society are allowed to wreak havoc on other members of our society. In the case of animals who must be euthanized because people have been negligent or sought to make profit from their sale, it is both the animals and those who must euthanize them who suffer. And, for those of us who do "rescue" work, there is simply no end to the time we spend trying to find new homes for animals and the pain we experience when an innocent animal must be euthanized. Of course, the issues of "freedom" and "rights" are very delicate, and it is difficult to "draw the line," so we'd like to know your opinion:

Should registered breeders be asked to declare a moratorium on breeding for a specified length of time?
Should we have stronger legal means to close down puppy mills and to stop backyard breeding?
Should people be required to become educated about and to be certified before they can have a companion animal?

Please let us know what you think.

*The campaign's goal is to make "guardian" the correct term to describe a person who has responsibility for the care and well-being of an animal, and to replace the term "owner" with the term "guardian" in legal and other documents.

On April 22, 2002, the Houston Chronicle ran an article by medical writer Leigh Hopper that discussed annual vaccinations and the current thinking about them. The srdogs site has advised for several years that the necessity of annual shots is no longer the preferred protocol taught at many veterinary schools. The Houston Chronical article cites experts who reinforce this point of view. The article notes: "What many pet owners don't know, researchers say, is that most yearly vaccines for dogs and cats are a waste of money -- and potentially deadly. Shots for the most important pet diseases last three to seven years, or longer, and annual shots put pets at greater risk of vaccine-related problems."

Dr. Michael Dym checks Iggy's ears at Burl-Moor-Driben Animal Hospital, Moorestown, NJ. The cat suffered from asthma attacks that Dym believes were brought on by an allergic reaction to a vaccination.

Dog Vaccinations

The article states that research has shown, "The shots apparently caused feline fibrosarcoma, a grotesque tumor at the site of the shot, which is fatal if not discovered early and cut out completely. Dogs developed a vaccine-related disease in which the dog's body rejects its own blood." One expert points out that, the more vaccines that are administered, the greater the danger of causing adverse reactions, and, by the same token, the fewer vaccines that are administered, the less chance there is of adverse reaction.

Preventive Care:

Vaccinations--It's Wise to Immunize

There is an in-depth discussion of incontinence on the srdogs "Care" page. Among the points made is that, if your dog is incontinent, in addition to using a product like Hot Pants, it is critical to keep the dog's rear end very clean and as dry as possible.

"Hello, I have had my dog for close to ten years now. She has become very sick and I feel that she is on the verge of dying. We were never able to take her to the vet because of our financial situation. The one time we took her was when we collected enough money to fix her eye infection and a hernia, which ended up being very costly. She is a Cocker Spaniel, and I love her so much and so does my family. I just wanted to know what one does with a dying dog and what happpens when she dies? Do we bury her or is there a place to take a dead dog? I am very frustrated because I don't know what to do and we don't want to see her go. Please write back. Thank you very much."

We wrote back to offer help, but never received a reply. It is terrible that animals suffer because their families are unable to pay for medical care; but, a city agency can usually be of help in the kind of situation described above. In the city of San Francisco, for example, if a dog is in pain and can't be treated medically, the city's Animal Care & Control center will humanely euthanize the dog. If the dog has already died, the guardians can relinquish the dog's body to Animal Care & Control. There is no charge in either case.

The Associated Press distributed an article on May 16, 2002, about a Golden Retriever named Bullet who saved a baby's life by alerting the infant's parents that he had stopped breathing. According to the news article, "Pam Sica had left her three-week-old boy on the bed while she warmed a bottle. When Bullet began barking and running back and forth, Sica followed the dog and discovered the baby was turning blue. She screamed for her husband, who ran out of the shower and began CPR. Paramedics arrived minutes later and took the baby to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs. The baby came home Wednesday after a two-week hospital stay."

Aside from the fact that the baby was saved, the part of the story that we liked best was this:

Two years ago, Bullet was diagnosed with cancer and needed a $5,000 operation to remove a tumor. Their veterinarian had advised the family to euthanize him because he was 13 years old at the time. They opted to do the surgery and spend the money. Thus, Bullet was still around two years later to save their baby.

The Senior Canine Rescue Society

H.A.R.T. (Humane Animal Rescue Team)

Seniors Saving Seniors

Senior and Special Needs Dobermans

Senior Golden Retrievers

Pets for Seniors

If you can help possibly help with a contribution to any of these organizations, please do so. More details on how to contribute are on their websites.

Pet Resource Network of Kalamazoo, MI, is a charitable organization run by volunteers. They write: "Currently we house over 70 dogs and puppies. Some of these animals are at our kennel and get very little run time outside. In order for the animals to get adequate exercise, we are raising funds to fence in two areas at our kennel -- one for small dogs and one for larger dogs. We have quotes ranging from $8,000 to $11,000. If you can help us meet this goal, please send a contribution. It is tax deductible." Box 3034, Kalamazoo, MI 49003. Phone: (616) 388-2180 E-mail: prnmail@petresourcenetwork.org

April 5, 2002 -- On April 2, we posted an "Urgent" ad for Ginger, a 9-year-old Shepherd mix who had captured the hearts of volunteers at the Contra Costa shelter. On April 5, we received the following E-mail:

"Thank you SO much for your efforts on Ginger's behalf. Happily, the ol' girl DID get adopted late this afternoon!.....not, as it turned out, by anyone we expected, but, nonetheless, all of our efforts panned out so that Ginger was still alive this afternoon when her new mom did finally show up. It's uncanny how it happens that way sometimes. Anyway, here's the story:

"Ginger was scheduled to be put to sleep today, but I got a call from a woman in Fresno this morning who had seen her on the srdogs website and thought a friend of hers might be interested. So, when I went to the shelter around 11:00 AM, I was able to get her a stay of execution until tomorrow. I still hadn't heard from the Fresno woman by around 3:30 PM, when an elderly lady showed up with her grown son and daughter to look for a dog. She'd been in yesterday, too, looking at some of our younger dogs. Although she seemed kind of frail to me, she'd had bigger dogs all her life and seemed determined to get another one. Today, I steered her to Ginger. The woman walked out of the shelter just before 5:00 PM with Ginger in tow. I was SO relieved and happy for her! Thanks, again, for your efforts. If it hadn't been for the woman who saw her on your site this morning, I wouldn't have gotten her extended through today, and she wouldn't have been alive to be adopted by this lady later this afternoon."