Animal Rights » Big Dog Blog

Your dog may be your best friend, your family member, and mean the world to you. However, he is the one family member you can’t sue for pain and suffering as dog’s are considered property, and only worth the value paid for him. That’s about to change thanks to the outrage of family members suffering as a result the contaminated pet food crisis.

“Lawsuits filed in the last week by owners of dogs and cats felled by contaminated pet food could press lawmakers and courts to upgrade pets’ legal status. The food, produced by Menu Foods of Canada, is believed to be responsible for the deaths of dozens of dogs and cats nationwide.” With a change in the legal status of pets, they’ll be seen not as property, but as “entities like humans.”

See the LA Times, A Dog’s Life: What’s it Worth? for the full story.

It’s a sad story anytime man hurts his best friend but this one is especially tormenting. We’re still not sure his name, but this is the story of a survivor…

"The cries for help went unanswered for who knows how long.

It was about 10:45 p.m. Saturday when Melissa Vanderpool and Robbie Wilson first heard the whimpers. They thought it was just a neighbor’s whiny puppy, yearning for attention.

But Sunday, while working in his backyard, Wilson decided to investigate. He looked over his privacy fence and saw a dog’s nose poking out of the ground.

Wilson called Vanderpool, his fiancee, who called for help. An Animal Control officer responded…"

Story continues at Pensacola News Journal

California Govenor Arnold Schwarzenegger just signed into law a bill that would prohibit people from tethering their dog(s) to any stationary object for more than 3 hours.

From San Francisco Gate:

“We’re very excited the governor has joined other compassionate Californians in taking a stand against this practice,” said Pam Runquist, a member of the board of the California Animal Association, a coalition of 15 animal rights organizations.

Violation of the new law, which will go into effect Jan. 1, could result in an infraction or misdemeanor, depending on the offense, punishable by a fine not to exceed $1,000 per dog and up to six months in county jail.

“Officials in Medfield are growling they’ll seize and potentially euthanize any lawless Labradors and criminal collies unlicensed as of Sept. 15.” according to the Boston Herald

Authorities there are trying to get 1300 dogs that were licensed the previous year to again re-license. It appears to be an annual right to keep your dog or, depending on how you look at it, “just a way to make money” according to McCloud. And the authorities are cross-referencing past licensing lists to find them.

Once they find you, the Boston Herald reports “[and if the] owner refuses to pay up within 10 days and no one is willing to adopt the animal, state law permits the town to execute the dog by any means “other than gunshot.”

Seems just a bit extreme doesn’t it?

It may be the year of the dog in china, but the zodiac sign of luck apparently isn’t for the dogs. Authorities in Beijing ordered a brutal mass-murder of all dogs in their county after 3 people died as a result of rabies contacted through dog bites. The dogs were either ordered to be killed by owners, which were paid just over $.60 for each dog, or they were slaughtered at large by the government. The raids occurred over 5 days under the cover of darkness and the bait was noise. Executioners went throughout the neighborhoods with banging pots and pans while setting off firecrackers to get the dogs barking, at which point they were beaten to death. China, known for its deficiency in people’s civil rights in the country, now shows their true colors with all forms of life.

This was a few days ago. Now a second Chinese local government is planning a similar slaughter. This needs to stop! China can deal with the problem humanely and rationally. It is because of their lack in leadership that this problem even exists.

An internet petition to urge our US ambassador to condemn the slaughter is already off to a good start but needs to continue. Please make your voice heard.