by Margaret A. Cleek, Ph.D More than 25 years ago I was off-put by the claims of positive non-reproductive outcomes for neutering dogs. The recent ANIMALS 24-7 article Does castration really alter male dog behavior? reminded me of my concerns. Proponents of surgical neutering, the sooner the better, were and remain largely concerned with pet overpopulation. Animal […]
Retired: Bob Rohde personified “your Dumb Friends” for 45 years
Worked his way to the top from cleaning cages DENVER, Colorado––Possibly the longest serving executive ever of a humane society that he did not himself found, Robert “Bob” Rohde, 68, on February 9, 2018 turned over the presidency of the Denver Dumb Friends League to Apryl Steele, DVM, after nearly 45 years with the organization […]
Panhandlers & street corner animal exhibitors: who is who?
Animals dancing for pennies are regulated. Panhandlers’ animals are not. NEW YORK, N.Y.––Is Joseph Ramos, 70, also known as Joseph Noal and Joseph Noah, a street corner animal exhibitor, or just one of the longest active and most controversial panhandlers using animals as an adjunct to begging in downtown Manhattan? Joseph Ramos a.k.a. Noal/Noah […]
Distemper & transport incidents slow Hurricane Harvey rescue effort
Best Friends, after wrongly ripping the Houston SPCA via Change.org, has disaster on own watch HOUSTON, Texas––Best Friends Animal Society efforts to rehome dogs and cats collected after Hurricane Harvey have reportedly stalled, with 455 animals remaining at a temporary shelter at NRG Arena in Houston as of October 1, 2017, and an adoption […]
AVMA insight: cats are not dogs, so “Fix felines by five months”
Early-age sterilization, already widely practiced, is on pace to win full AVMA compliance by the year 2100 SCHAUMBERG, Illinois––Having realized that a cat is not a dog, following the advice of an expert panel issued in July 2016, the American Veterinary Medical Association board of directors in July 2017 “endorsed a document recommending that […]
We cannot adopt, warehouse or rescue our way out of dog & cat overpopulation!
by Jeff Young, DVM My name is Jeff Young. I have been a veterinarian for more than 25 years. I have been on numerous humane society boards, was an animal control officer before I became a veterinarian, and I speak and consult on companion animal overpopulation issues all over […]
Rabies plummets in India while “experts” ignore the data
Global Alliance for Rabies Control still says there are at least 120 times more rabies deaths than found by 14 years of annual body counts NEW DELHI––New national rabies survey data from the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence, the Indian equivalent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, shows for the 14th […]
Update: Vermont Gov Scott signs HSUS bill to cut puppy mill cage sizes
Vermont H. 218 weakens cold weather protection of farm dogs too, agree two of state’s senior animal advocates Vermont Governor Phillip B. Scott on June 16, 2017 signed into law state bill H. 218, which reduces the cage space allocated to many dogs in breeding kennels by from half to 75%. Introduced by Hartland […]
Bali better at handling farting goats (or sheep) than canine rabies
Gaseous ovines gone in hours; rabies outbreak still killing after seven years DENPASAR, Bali, Indonesia––An animal welfare issue in Bali made global headlines on November 4, 2015, but it wasn’t the ongoing mishandling of a canine rabies outbreak by the Made Mangku Pastika gubernatorial regime that has frustrated control efforts since 2008, at cost of […]
Jack Woodall, 81, the James Bond of animal/human disease prevention
Cofounder of ProMED-mail LONDON, U.K.––Jack Woodall, 81, perhaps the most influential person in the animal welfare field whose name almost no one involved in animal welfare recognized, whose work helped to save countless human and animal lives, died on October 24, 2016 in London, England, where he was under treatment for pancreatic cancer. Cofounder […]