From the category archives:

Cool Dog News

Men charged in biggest dog-fighting bust plead guilty

by Jean-PierreRuiz

In what was reported as the biggest dog-fighting ring bust in the history of US law enforcement, in July of this year authorities arrested 26 people and seized more than 500 dogs, mostly pit bulls, across eight states (Missouri, Illinois, Texas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arkansas and Mississippi).

Five of those men from Eastern Missouri have pleaded guilty to charges filed in federal court.. 56-year old Robert Hackman, of Foley; 50-year old Teddy “Teddy Boggart” Kiriakidis, of Leasburg; 34-year old Ronald Creech, of Leslie; 38-year old Michael “Missouri Mike” Morgan, of Hannibal; and, 35-year old Jack Ruppel, of Eldon had been indicted in Jefferson City. In federal court in St. Louis, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate federal animal fighting laws and agreed to forfeit their weapons, dogs and dog fighting equipment.

Dog fighting is banned in each state, and is a felony in 40 of them. Each of the defendants faced up to five years in jail and a $250,000 fine for each charge, a class D felony. Each defendant was charged under 18 U.S.C. 371 (conspiracy), 7 U.S.C. 2156(a) and 18 U.S.C. 2 and 49 (sponsoring or exhibiting an animal in an animal fighting venture). However, under federal sentencing guidelines for the crimes pleaded to, each of these individuals could face from probation to six months in prison, depending on a variety of factors, including prior convictions.

In August 2007, Michael Vick (former star-quarterback and franchise player for the Atlanta Falcons) entered into a plea agreement and was suspended from the NFL. In December 2007, he was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison, and 3 years probation. The maximum sentence was 5 years in prison. A 3-year sentence in the state penitentiary was suspended upon condition of good behavior. Mr. Vick also paid $1M in penalties for the care and rehabilitation of some 60 dogs which were removed from his property at the time of his arrest. The discrepancy in sentences has lead to charges of racial discrimination by some parties.

“This was the largest dog fighting raid in US history, but it will not be the last” according to FBI Special Assistant Michael Kaste, who went to state that: “This case sets precedence for the FBI along with our local, state and federal partners to aggressively root out underground dog fighting rings where people have absolutely no qualms about torturing man’s best friend for money and entertainment.”

The Humane Society of Missouri is presently providing shelter, veterinary care and behavioral evaluation for 407 of the rescued dogs, and 100 puppies born since the rescue. Outside the courtroom, Hackman’s lawyer, Joel Schwartz, said the dogs were “incredibly well taken care of”(!) and most were healthy when seized. However, dogs associated with all the five individuals had numerous wounds and scars ; one was missing its lips; while another was missing a leg. Many reportedly had internal parasites, ear infections, and broken  or missing teeth..

The initial raid may serve to dispel the myth that dogfighting involves uneducated, poor and/or rural citizens. One of the defendants, 48-year old Cris Bottcher worked as a nurse at a Bethany (MO) hospital. Another, 55-yr old Rick Hihath, was a physical education teacher. In a 1998 letter, Mr. Hihath wrote to a local newspaper, he claimed to have known about 50 “men,” some of whom he identified as “close friends,” who hosted cockfights. Mr. Hihath called them “good, old-fashioned American people.” Also dispelling the perception that only men are involved in dogfighting, at least one of the defendants, Jill Makstaller, is a woman.

For more info: www.examiner.com/examiner/x-9726-Seattle-Pet-Laws-Examiner~y2009m7d11-Biggest-dogfighting-bust-in-history.

Photo: AP Photo/The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Emily Rasinski

Virginia court to consider the “value” of a companion animal in a case of domestic dispute

by Jean-PierreRuiz

AP Photo/Studio Animal ServicesJeffrey Nanni and Maurice Kevin Smith were domestic partners for some 12 years. Nanni was a paralegal, while Smith headed his own construction company. Over the years, the couple had had a total of 12 dogs, including a 12-pound Chihuahua named Buster which Nanni adopted in 2005.

Two years ago, on July 9, 2007, during a domestic dispute, Smith took a wooden board and hit Nanni several times. At the time, Buster was in Nani’s arms and was allegedly hit over the head. Rushed to the hospital, Buster died in Nanni’s arms. A subsequent necropsy showed that Buster died of blunt force trauma to the head.

Smith, who denies killing Buster, was arrested that night. He later stipulated to the facts and took a plea. As a result, he spent 10 days in jail and one year under probation.

Since Buster’s death, Nanni who is 42, single and living in a farm in Middleburg (VA) where he tends to animals, has allegedly suffered “severe emotional distress” for which he now seeks compensation in an amount greater than $15,000.

The case may redefine property law in Virginia. Under the law of all 50 states, all companion animals are considered “property.” As such, when a pet is injured or killed, the care-taker (also called the “owner”) is deemed entitled to recover the “value” of the pet. Most states have interpreted this to mean the replacement value of the animal. That is, how much it would cost to buy the same breed of dog, cat, etc. In Washington state, a recent case held that caretakers whose companion animals had been injured or killed could recover “fair market value” where the animal had such value; “replacement value” where the animal had no fair market value (e.g., where the dog suffers from a blood clot disorder such that no one would buy it); and, “intrinsic value” (i.e., the value to the caretaker) where no replacement value existed.

Nanni’s attorney is Lanny Davis, a partner at the law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and former White House Counsel for President Clinton. Davis, who took the case Pro Bono hopes to prove that companion animals have an “irreplaceable relationship” with the care takers. Smith is representing himself (i.e., Pro Bono).

It is interesting to note that, in the Washington state case referred to earlier, both the American Kennel Club (“AKC”) and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (“PIJAC”) joined to file briefs advocating that a caretaker, who companion animal had been inured or killed, should only be entitled to “fair market value.” One must consider this an interesting position for organizations which are based on the human-dog bond. In fact, in his report, AKC’s Chairman writes about how “canine health remains a top priority for AKC.” Furthermore, the organization’s website includes a “Resource for dog lovers” and the organization’s core values include: (1) “cherish[ing] dogs as companions”, and (2) a “commit[ment] to the interests of dog owners.” For its part, PIJAC’s webpage states that: “Many people in the US would not consider their family complete without a pet []. Pets bring considerable joy into people’s lives and studies show that their companionship substantially benefits human health and well-being.” One could call their stance double-faced.

Courts throughout the country have been struggling with redefining property law as it applies to animals, recognizing that an animal is not an inanimate object and that there is a mental and emotional human-animal bond.

For more info: Ecostar Law’s newsletter discussing Washington property law as it applies to companion animals, as well as the AKC’s and PIJAC’s position: http://ecostarlaw.com/news.asp#article4

Dogs Can Sniff Out Cancer?

by Cool Pet

From BBC News:

Dogs can be trained to sniff out bladder cancer, the first controlled experiments published claim.

There have been anecdotal reports of dogs spotting cancer in their owners, but now researchers say they have proved this phenomenon scientifically.

The scientists at Amersham Hospital, Buckinghamshire, ultimately hope to build a tool that is as good at discerning these smells as dogs’ noses.

Their findings appear in the British Medical Journal.

Read the rest of the story here.

Dog Walking in A Winter Wonderland

by Rose De Dan

This morning when I woke up I knew, even without my contact lenses in, that something was different. There was a kind of glow coming from the window. I did not have to squint, there was snow on the rooftops! Having lived in Massachusetts for 22 years before moving here you would think that snow would not be such a big deal, but in the eight years that I have lived on Alki here in West Seattle we have not had a major snowstorm.

While engaging in my morning routine of feeding the animals and preparing to walk my dog, Puma, it became clear that I was going to have a snow day for the first time in a long time, as all of my clients made the decision to reschedule.

While making lists in my head of all the things I could get caught up on, such as laundry and holiday party prep, I realized that I had perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get out in the snow, have some fun, and take some photographs. Time to play a little hooky from chores!

My dog, Puma, was adopted from a shelter in Montana, and has not really seen snow since. With his snowshoe like feet and thick winter coat (I think his parentage is Anatolian Shepherd/Alaskan Malamute but will never know for sure), he was ideally equipped for the weather, and after donning a coat I have not been able to wear since living in Massachusetts because it is so heavy, furry boots, leg warmers, scarf, hat, and fingerless gloves (for camera operation), so was I.

I also packed some all-natural beef dog treats. Today I was going to let Puma off-leash so that he could fully enjoy his time in the snow. Normally I do not do this as Puma has a tendency to not listen to me off-leash, forging ahead and leaving me behind. I think it is the sled-dog heritage, very helpful when he helps you drag out the trash, which he does with tail held high and waving, not so good otherwise.

Arriving at Schmitz Park, we had it all to ourselves, although there was evidence in the snow that others had been there before us.

Saying a prayer to Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer, for all that I have learned and was now about to apply, I had Puma sit, and when he did I rewarded him with a treat. He is a smart dog, having seen me prepare the treats he could see that there were more where that one came from, and that I was the purveyor. It was my hope that that piece of knowledge would enable me to call him back when needed.

I unleashed Puma, and he was off like a shot. Charging down the path, diving off into the underbrush, he was a wild man, and then he disappeared from sight. I called his name—no response. Sigh, maybe this would not work. Taking a deep breath, I grounded and centered myself and called again. No response.

Placing my faith in Puma’s innate intelligence, I decided to simply move forward and trust that he would return. Sure enough, here he came, at top speed. I whipped out my camera and managed to get a shot before he arrived, panting and smiling. When he sat I rewarded him with a treat. From that point on, every time he would return to me I would reward him. He did not always respond immediately to my calls (and then he did not get rewarded), but he did a decent job of not making me wait too long. Long enough, I guess, to establish that I still need some work on being alpha, but not long enough that he was demonstrating that he had no respect for me. A delicate balance in dog protocol.

I got some lovely shots of him in the falling snow, my favorites are the one of him catching snowflakes on his tongue, and another where he is running down the path under the arches of snow covered branches. (You can see all the photos from our Alki adventures at my Flickr site.)

We had so much fun that we decided to check out Alki Beach and see what it was like there. By now Puma was back on leash, and back to being his usual well-behaved self. He is truly amazing. He will always stop while I am taking pictures, and if I take a moment he will sit and wait patiently until we move on.

We made a stop along the way to watch people standing around in groups talking while dogs played tag in the snow. The funniest was one golden retriever, who I swear was making snow angels while his person talked on his cell phone!

Down by Alki Beach, on the shore of Puget Sound, the wind was quite brisk, and the snow was still falling heavily. I watched pigeons struggle to make headway against it, finally managing to stay in one place while airborne, and then simply giving in, and resting as a flock, on the ground. Seagulls made hovering in gusts of wind look easy, spreading their wings wide and staying motionless, I have no idea how you do that when the wind keeps changing direction.

Watching them made me wonder how difficult it must be to find food in such weather. One seagull had it handled, however. He waited by the seawall for a crashing wave to dump whatever it carried at his feet, where he could look it over and beat any other contenders to a tasty morsel.

By this time the wind had picked up even more, and my legs were starting to feel frozen. But I kept taking pictures, trying to capture the right moment where the waves crashed against the seawall. Now my fingers were getting numb. Still, I needed to take one more set of shots, of Lady Liberty, the Statue of Liberty that was recently restored and dedicated on Alki Beach. Looking at her from her right side, her figure and garments were dusted with a blanket of snow from the midline to the front, making her appear as though she walked forward into the teeth of the snowstorm holding her torch aloft and not faltering. Unfortunately that angle also included a backdrop of trees, wires, and stores, which ruined the effect. I had to content myself with a shot of her from the front—she still looks resolute.

Puma had been really patient through all of this, and my fingers were now definitely getting harder to move, and I wondered at one point does a camera get too cold? Time to head home. We’d had our walk in our Winter Wonderland, and like any child who has been playing in the snow on a day off from school I suddenly yearned for comfort food. Calling it a day, Puma and I made our way back, and I decided that after downloading the photos, I would kick back with a cup of hot cream of tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. My day off would be a day of memories to treasure—the chores could wait.

Rose De Dan
Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC
Website: http://www.reikishamanic.com
Blog: www.wildreiki.wordpress.com
Animal and Reiki Art: www.cafepress.com/reikishamanic

See the article here:
Dog Walking in A Winter Wonderland