Flashback of this weeks news about pets: Show dog from Westminster poisoned, Store cameras show puppy stolen, the Itidarod sled dog race begins, and some goods news about a dog protecting a toddler.
Dog from Westminster Show Poisoned
Controversy continues to follow the Westminster Kennel Club. In 2012 they were in the news over the firing of Pedigree – their TV sponsor of 24 years. Westminster claimed that their commercials about adopting homeless pets were just too depressing. What’s depressing to Wagbrag are the millions of homeless pets in the US, but we digress. Fast forward to 2013, and we are seeing another controversy getting ready to unfold around the Westminster Kennel Club. According to Yahoo news, one of the owners of the dogs who competed in this year’s competition claims someone may have deliberately poisoned her dog while at the dog show. The three year old dog named Cruz, a Samoyed, died several days later. The veterinarian said he doubts it was deliberate, but the dog owner is not so sure, and is considering taking additional legal actions.
Puppy Stolen
It’s no secret, Wagbrag is not a fan of pet stores who sell animals, but this recent news has us shaking our heads. Store cameras caught it all on tape. A woman walks into a pet store with her son in Orlando FL, and then stuffs a tiny little Bichon puppy into her purse and leaves. The pet store is offering a $500 reward upon the puppy’s safe return.
Iditarod Race Begins
The legendary Iditarod sled dog race begins this Saturday, March 2. The first part of the trip is an 11 mile stretch through Anchorage. Then it’s only about a 1,000 more miles until they reach the finish line in the town of Nome. Talk about a controversial topic. Animal rights groups all have opinions – though some stronger than others. These dogs love to run, but this race length is massive. In recent years, several measures have been put in place to monitor the health and treatment of these dogs during the race. However, what’s probably the most concerning are the alleged breeding practices to obtain these top performing dogs. There have been several known cases in which the slower dogs of a litter are “culled” – meaning they are euthanized.
Family Dog Protects Toddler
Ok, Ok, so you want some good news from this past week? We had to do some searching, but in South Dakota a toddler wondered off from his home. Emergency personnel formed a search party and soon found the young child. He was with the family dog, a Pitbull. The dog would not allow anyone from the search party to approach the child until the boy’s father arrived. We hope that dog received a nice bone for watching over the toddler!
Photo: Courtesy of http://www.petsadviser.com via Flickr (CC by 2.0)
