Sassy Sunday 10/3/10

Well, we got an email from Jackie.  The people who took Flopsy love him and have officially adopted him.  Hopefully, they've changed his name.  Flopsy is fine for a cute little puppy.  But it's not too masculine for a bigger boy. :)

Anyway, Jackie told Barb to let her know when we were ready for another foster.  Hmm.  I'd say never!  But I'm sure it won't be long.  We'll probably have one this week.

Barb has promised us a trip to the dog park today.  It's a nice fall day so it should be great.  We've already been on a walk today.  The reason for all this activity?  Well, apparently I'm not the only fat-assy in the house.  Ginger weighed 73 pounds the other day at the vet.  A wee bit too much, says the vet.  She called her "a hefty girl".  So, as I mentioned last week, we are eating diet food.  Not a good thing.  But getting more walks and trips to the dog park.  That is a good thing!

Here are a couple of pics from the last time we went to the dog park.

So there is a new law people are gonna be voting about in Missouri, the next state over.  It's called Prop B and it would set some standards for "dog breeding operations" (aka puppy mills) in the state.  Some opponents say the conditions are too tough on the breeders.  Like "provide the dogs with access to food at least once a day and potable water continuously", "house dogs in pens large enough to stretch out fully", "prohibit stacked cages and wire flooring", "bar breeders from having more than 50 breeding dogs and breed dogs to produce no more than 2 litters in an 18-month period".   Hmmm.  Do these seem over the top to you?  They sure don't to me.  I get fed twice a day (even if it is diet food).  I always have access to water and I'm never kept in a cage.  (Chili has to spend some time in her kennel each day.  But that's because she refuses to be house-broken.  But her kennel is the biggest one on the market, has a pillow in the back for her to sleep on, a blanket in the front for her to lay on while she plays with toys, and room for a water bowl.)  

The poor dogs who are living their lives in puppy mills are often standing on wire that hurts their feet, in stacked cages that let the urine and feces drop through the floor onto the dogs below, never get groomed so that in one case the matted hair cut the circulation off to some of the dogs limbs which subsequently died off.  The Humane Society of Missouri is constantly doing stories about the dogs and puppies they've rescued from puppy mills.  Last month they rescued 116 dogs from 2 puppy mills.

Let me just say that if you buy a dog from the internet and the "breeder" won't let you come to their facility but wants to meet you somewhere along the interstate, that should be a red flag.  If you get a puppy from a pet store, it most likely came from one of these commercial breeders.  

K.  We are off to the dog park so I'll get off my soapbox.  Thanks for stopping by.

Sassy