First Annual Brooklyn Bridge Pup Crawl TONIGHT!

 

Giorgio and I will look for you  there tonight!

 

Please join us for a moonlit walk across the Brooklyn Bridge to take in the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan Skyline—and to help provide food to animal shelters across the country. 
The ASPCA estimates that 1 million pets are at risk for being put up for adoption this year due to home foreclosures and heart-breaking decisions about how to reduce household expenses. 



The night will include refreshments for you and your pooch, as well as a special doggie bag with treats to say thanks for helping to feed other pets in need. Prior to the walk, your pup will receive a stylish illuminated dog leash to keep us visible and to light up the night to draw attention to the cause.

The event is free, but we ask that you make a small donation when you register online. All donations go directly—and in full—to our partner shelters.

via First Annual Brooklyn Bridge Pup Crawl.

Save the date: New York Week for the Animals

 

 

{quote from their website]  We are thrilled to announce the 1st New York Week for the Animals kicks off on Saturday, October 10th and will conclude on October 18, 2009. Animal World USA, who is presenting the 1st New York Week for the Animals as part of our AWUSA Weeks for the Animals campaign, is honored to be working with the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. Learn much more about the AWUSA Weeks campaign at http://www.weeksfortheanimals.org/

See the Calendar pages for details on the wide array of events that will be taking place across the entire state of New York during this amazing 1st New York Week for the Animals!

via Home.

Heartbreak on Second Avenue

cutting down the trees

We all know about the numerous trees that were toppled in Central Park this August.  As a dog walker, bird watcher, people watcher, I’m in Central Park every day.  Recently, public service announcements have begun airing on TV seeking donations to replenish the numerous lost trees.

So, could someone please tell me why perfectly good, mature trees on Second Avenue have been cut down and turned into wood chips instead of being relocated to Central Park and other NYC neighborhoods?  The trees have been cleared because of the construction of the Second Avenue subway.  The sidewalks are being sliced to next to nothing for pedestrians, and, single lanes for traffic in certain areas.  It is a living HELL on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.

But I wasn’t moved to tears until today when I witnessed the chain saws cutting down our precious trees.  I just don’t get it.

NYC Dogs Say So Long to Summer 2009

 From leisure to laundry.

In Central Park today, and, on Second Ave.

Note:  the photo’s of the dogs were taken around 9:15 just inside the entrance to Central Park at 79th Street in the grassy areas behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art.   Several hours later as we exited the park using that same path we noticed the Steiner school kids and instructors and it is worth mentioning that the group appears to be single-handedly destroying the area, having no respect for the trees and foilage.  Especially the side closest to the museum…grass doesn’t stand a snowball’s chance in H*ll of growing there.  And these children are mighty aggressive.  They take rough-housing to new levels.  I wouldn’t want my children engaging in such nasty, physical “play.”

Wrong on so many levels.

NYC really got on my last nerve this week. I’m beginning to think an evil entity has put some stupid- making potion in the drinking water. I will never understand how anyone can leave their dog unattended ANYWHERE at ANY TIME for ANY REASON. But I see it all the time in NYC. Give me a break. If you simply MUST bring your dog along when you go for coffee, at least have the common sense to find a safe location to leave the poor animal and not inside a car, or, tied to a meter that’s too close to parked trucks about to pull out. Aroooooooo!

Sunday In New York With Giorgio

Just pic’s. Central Park. Madison Ave. Fifth Ave vicinity. Labor Day Weekend.

BARK TO SCHOOL: Empty Kennel Syndrome

Its September and dogs as well as humans are experiencing empty-nest-syndrome. The young children are going off to school again, some for the very first time, and the eldest children are returning to or going away to college for the first time. Dogs and humans alike are rattling around in their empty nests. At least we understand that the children will return, and, we can still keep in contact with them through social networking online, through email and phone calls, and, by paying the bills. Our dogs aren’t as fortunate. Especially any puppies who are being left home alone for the first time in their young lives. After a summer or more of being the center of their humans’ universes, dogs can get depressed now too. I have several ideas to help both humans and dogs adjust and have some fun while we’re at it. Most important, remember to feed and walk the dog! Seriously, if the younger family members have shouldered that responsibility, its not so far-fetched that the dog’s routine might suffer. To help alleviate any stress from loneliness, we want to stick to the dog’s routine, meals as usual, walks on schedule. Please remember to have good long walks with your dogs, add some “doggie calisthenics” (sit, down, wait) into the regular walks for fun and mental stimulation and, don’t forget to build in time for play sessions as well (and please remember to obey the leash law, take advantage of off-leash dog runs and parks, and, obey any park department courtesy hours of off leash between 9pm and 9am and ONLY IN DESIGNATED AREA–stay out of the nature preserves and waters and off the ball fields and leash your dogs when on the paths into and out of the parks).
First, when the going gets tough the tough go shopping, right? And, what better way to raise our spirits than to feed our shopping gene and pick up some items that will engage us in fun activities with our dogs, and, give them something to do on their own, to help with their coping skills. There’s plenty out there in both the brick and mortar and cyber shops but for this post I’m singling out one online merchant and several great items they have to offer for this post. FETCHDOG is a shopping site that offers more than terrific pet products, they also provide newsletters, charitable links and pet adoption information. They run periodic special offers, so, do sign up for their email alerts and take advantage of any discounts. Check out their interactive toys which may be perfect if your dog is food motivated: The Dog Tornado or their new Dog Brick toy. Both are designed to challenge the dog and build confidence. I’m sorry to say we haven’t personally tested these toys yet, but, they look good to us just the same. Check out the toss, retrieve and tug toys too.
Something wonderful you can do for yourself and your dog is to get involved in obedience training and/or trick training and agility training. Or, you might be interested in getting involved with animal assisted therapy. For training, there are many facilities available. Look for a facility where the program is fun for you, and, good for the dog, where they take a positive approach and use rewards not just punishment and correction. Learning new behaviors not only makes our dogs great to be around, it helps build independence and confidence and gives them coping skills in a variety of normally stressful situations (like going to the groomer). One training facility that I can recommend because I have had personal experience with them (albeit many years ago) is FOLLOW MY LEAD in Manhattan. They offer group classes in several locations (the new sessions start soon so give them a call!) as well as individual training.
Animal assisted therapy requires basic obedience training and a well-socialized dog. Dogs and their partners have to be certified. In Manhattan, the ASPCA and DELTA offer classes and certification. Check their website because classes fill up quickly and enrollment is on now.
Whatever you choose to do, remember to keep up with your dogs’ daily routine, feeding, walking, play and affection and you and your dog will not only survive the changes that come with Fall and back to school, you’re sure to thrive. Arooooooooo!

Odd Kissmutt in NYC Involving Gerard Butler

NYC dogs...saying hello has its risks.

UPDATE:  Apparently, Gerard Butler’s Pug was off leash and it was at 4 in the afternoon, not even in a park.  The Greyhounds were on their leashes.  Hey Gerry, if your precious little Pug is so important to you, get her on a leash for Heaven’s (and Lolita’s) sake.  And if not for her sake then for ours, for the rest of us who don’t think we’re above the law and leash our dogs ALWAYS unless we’re in a designated are of a park that obeserves the 9pm to 9am off-leash courtesy hours.  I’m so sick of off-leash scofflaws  It’s neither here nor there that we humans have these verbal altercations (which sometimes escalate into physical threats), what matters is the leash law is meant to protect John and Jane Q public’s right to safe streets, and, I believe, to keep our dogs from accidental (or intentional) injury.  Its always the poor dog that ends up suffering for his owner’s arrogance.  And Lolita’s injury is entirely your fault Gerry, not the Greyhound’s, not Lolita’s, YOURS FOR NOT LEASHING HER.

 

Another altercation involving off leash dogs. I don’t see what time of day this happened but I hope the off leash dogs were obeying the leash law and within the 9pm to 9am hours, enjoying their off leash time in designated areas. This is the sort of thing that keeps me out of NYC parks until well after 9 in the morning; even then, this sort of run-in happens almost daily between people with legally leashed dogs and those who just think the laws don’t apply to them and their “friendly” dogs. I can’t make out who’s the irresponsible one in this incident but my gut tells me it is the dogs that were off leash. What do you think? Greyhound Vs. Pug? I can see a Pug menacing a tall dog’s legs for fun, and, I can see Greyhounds being not all that friendly towards another dog, especially a small one (but that’s stereotyping the dogs).

New York Man Accuses Gerard Butler of Hitting His Dog – Gerard Butler  People.com via New York Man Accuses Gerard Butler of Hitting His Dog – Gerard Butler : People.com.

NYPD spokesman Martin Speechley confirms that a harassment complaint was filed Monday. “The victim states that the male’s dog was unleashed and charged at her dog. She stated, ‘Your dog should be on a leash,’ to which the perp cursed her out,” says Speechley, noting that this is not an offense that could result in an arrest. “They are claiming someone cursed at them.” The spokesman says Butler won’t be interviewed by cops nor will he be sent a ticket. While the Vareckas were filing their complaint, Butler took his pug to a Manhattan vet, says a source. “She’s recovering right now,” says the source, who doesn’t know the extent of the injuries or what kind of treatment the dog received. There is at least one dog who benefited from this canine scuffle. “When Gerry was in the waiting room, there was a couple whose dog was really, really sick and to get further treatment they needed $3,000,” the source tells PEOPLE Pets. “Gerry overheard the situation and offered to pay and the dog is surviving because of this.”

And Huffington Post reports the following:

The owner of Mayfly, a greyhound in New York City whose head Gerard Butler allegedly slammed against a fence on Monday, has filed a police report. Fred Varecka claims that Mayfly touched noses with Butler’s unleashed pug, Lolita, and Butler flew into a screaming rage, smacking the greyhound in the head and calling for her euthanasia. “In a matter of seconds he slapped the dogs face, dog went flying up against the fence,” Varecka told ABC news. Butler’s story differs. According to his spokesperson, “huge, menacing” Mayfly took several chomps out of Lolita’s neck and the pug spent the afternoon being treated for her injuries at an Upper East Side vet. No vet bills or photos have surfaced.

Senator Edward Kennedy 1932 – 2009

Senator Edward M. Kennedy

“Every American should have the opportunity to receive a quality education, a job that respects their dignity and protects their safety, and health care that does not condemn those whose health is impaired to a lifetime of poverty and lost opportunity.”

Senator Kennedy’s contributions included championing humane treatment of animals and the love of his family pets.

Remembering Ted Kennedy: A Lion for Animals, As Well Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society of the United States, August 26, 2009 His compassion extended far beyond his own family’s pets. He was a stalwart ally over the years on a wide range of legislation to protect companion animals, farm animals, animals in research, and wildlife. Measures he cosponsored and voted for included those to crack down on dogfighting and cockfighting, ban horse slaughter, curb abuses at puppy mills, end the slaughter of “downed” animals (those too sick or injured to stand and walk), limit federal subsidies for very large factory farms, condemn Canada’s commercial seal hunt, halt poaching of bears for their viscera, block oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and restrict taxpayer funding for use of steel-jaw leghold traps on national wildlife refuges. Sen. Kennedy also consistently joined calls, beginning in 2001, for increased funding to ensure viable oversight and enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, and other key laws. [Excerpt...click here to read the entire tribute.]

I hope you’ll visit the family’s official page and add your tribute to Senator Kennedy.

Ask not to whom the torch is passed; it passes to you and me and to all Americans who believe “the dream never dies.” (c. m. pellicano 8-29-09)

Building Hope – The New Yonkers Animal Shelter

 

 

BUY-A-BRICK

BUILD-A-HOME for the animals.

via Building Hope – The New Yonkers Animal Shelter.  Create a lasting memory in honor of a beloved pet, in memory of a special person, to celebrate an important occasion or simply to show your support and love of animals. Each brick will be individually crafted with your personal inscription and will become a permanent part of the new Yonkers Animal Shelter.

Or you can celebrate any person, any occasion including birthdays, anniversaries and graduations while helping build a new shelter and continue our mission to rescue, nurture and adopt pets into loving forever homes!  Make a donation and they will send a personalized card on your behalf to the loved one of your choice in celebration of that special event or holiday.
 

“A lot has changed in the 48 years since the original Yonkers Animal Shelter was built. Modern shelters now focus on adoption as a primary goal, so comfortable, humane living conditions for the animals are emphasized. The new Yonkers Animal Shelter will stand in stark contrast to the existing facility. It will be nearly double the size at 14,000 square feet, feature an expanded kennel area with room for 50 percent more animals, including modern medical land exercise areas, and contain inviting public spaces to showcase the animals for adoption.”