Little Jordan, an 8-month-old lab puppy, disappeared last month from weather reports on KVBC-TV, and now there’s a dispute over who took the popular dog off the air.
His owner and on-air partner, animal-loving KVBC weatherman John Fredericks, issued a statement last week saying it was the NBC affiliate’s decision to send L.J., as the pup is known, to the doghouse over a contract dispute.
The dog “was removed from the broadcast … pending the resolution of contractual terms for L.J.,” the statement said.
Little Jordan had replaced Jordan, a golden retriever who long shared airtime with Fredericks and died last summer.
The station’s general manager, Lisa Howfield, said last month that L.J.’s disappearance was Fredericks’ decision.
“It was John’s choice to take the dog off the air,” she said. “I would have liked us to keep the dog on the air.”
Fredericks said he “wants nothing more than for L.J. to return to the broadcast, and believes that the contractual issues resulting in the current situation will soon by resolved.”
Howfield and Fredericks did not return requests for comment.
The Fur Flies Over Las Vegas TV Weather Dog
Filed under Puppy Equipment by on Feb 4th, 2012. Comment. 
This story is part of the first day in a three-day series dubbed “Cruel & Unusual,” in which The Brownsville Herald looks at the problem of animal cruelty in the Rio Grande Valley and the ways in which local law enforcement is addressing it.
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BROWNSVILLE — The range of animal abuse cases in the Rio Grande Valley is broad — from leaving a horse in a hot field for days with no fresh water, to throwing two roosters or dogs into a ring to fight to the death.
In rare cases, people have been charged with sexual abuse of animals.
Nicole Nicotra, a pet advocate in McAllen, has seen too many cases of animals being “thrown out the door to fend for themselves.”
“You’ve got dogs giving birth in a hole in the ground in 100-degree heat,” she said. “That is just not right.”
One especially horrific case occurred a few months ago down the road from Cinderella Pet Rescue in Mission. Suzanne Herzing, owner of CPR, said someone tossed out a plastic bag bearing the decaying remains of at least one puppy and what she believes was the mother. Another puppy lay nearby, barely alive.
“He was just a solid coating of mange, and so emaciated,” Herzing said. “You picked him up and he was just limp.”
He survived, though, “and he turned into a beautiful dog,” she said.
Dee Labunski, executive director of Tip Of Texas K-9 Rescue in Harlingen, regularly sees horrible cases of abuse.
One man drove up to the rescue with a dachshund in a garbage can and asked her to put the animal to sleep. The dog was covered with mange, his condition so bad that no hair was left on his body. The man had used a remedy many believe will cure the problem: dipping the dog in motor oil. When that didn’t work, she said, he wanted to have the dog euthanized.
Dr. Sherri Wooding, the veterinarian at the Brownsville Spay and Neuter Clinic next to the Brownsville Animal Regulation and Control Center, said motor oil can indeed kill some types of mange, but it also is very toxic.
“They do it a lot around here,” she said. “In fact, we have dogs with scars on their backs, where they put the hot motor oil on it and it burned the skin. It’s a very bad, bad idea. It’s very toxic to the liver, and if they lick it, they get really sick.”
Labunski took the dachshund and asked the man to leave. She then washed off all the motor oil, had the animal treated for mange, and within two months all his hair had grown back. The healthy dog was adopted by a proper new owner.
Herzing shared a recent, all-too-common example of neglect: A plastic-coated cable placed around the neck of a Labrador retriever when it was a puppy had never been replaced as the dog grew. The cable “was so far into the meat, you couldn’t even see that they had the clip still in there,” she said. “When we put her up on the counter to get it off, we had to dig in there to get at the cable to cut it out.”
The dog, Labigail, recovered from the ordeal — in a big way.
“She has been adopted,” Herzing said, satisfied. “She’s in a great home, she’s doing great.”
Nicotra said people too often tie up their dogs outside to guard the house. If not done properly, this can be a form of abuse.
They say, “‘Oh, it’s for protection,’” Nicotra said. “Well, explain to me how it’s going to help you when it’s on a six-foot chain, it’s just about collapsed from heat. It’s got no water, it’s got no shade.”
Animal rescuers have the burden of dealing with sick people, as well as sick animals.
“Time to time, rescuers hear of an animal having been raped by a person,” Nicotra said. “There was a dog a while back, just torn up and bleeding, a real mess, that someone gave to a rescuer and said it had been raped by a neighbor.
“People are reluctant to talk about things like that, afraid of retaliation from the offender,” Nicotra said. “How do you prove it unless you catch them at it?”
ABUSE FOR SPORT
Cockfights, too, are a problem in the Valley. The extent of the problem is evident in the presence of farms where fighting cocks are being raised beneath small, steep-pitched, triangular-shaped shelters, said Omar Garza, chief of misdemeanors for the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department.
“It’s a rampant problem down here,” Garza said.
Law enforcement can’t prosecute people for having a field full of fighting roosters — people must be caught at a cockfight. But that is easier said than done because the fights don’t take place at the farms where the roosters are raised; they take place on isolated ranches, and people generally do not call police or the Sheriff’s Department to report a cockfight.
“By their nature, the guys that go to those things don’t want the cops to know about it,” Garza said. “They like to go see this stuff.”
One man who is engaged in cockfights, and who would not reveal his name because it is illegal, conceded that cockfighting is cruel, but maintains there is more to it than that.
“It’s an art,” he said. “There’s a lot of money invested in each one of these animals and a lot of training goes into them. So basically, the rooster that is successful is going to fight for his life.
“It’s like the bullfights,” he said.
“The only thing is that, here, (the cockfights) are banned.”
Sibyl Simpson, president of the Brownsville Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said her organization has rescued animals that appear to have been used in dogfights.
“One rescuer, just a citizen, was going down a road and saw a vehicle pitch a dog out the window,” Simpson said. The rescuer tried to pursue the vehicle and take down its license plate number, but it was going too fast.
“But they went back for the dog,” she said, “and the dog had road rash on it, of course, and wounds like perhaps it had been fought. It was a pit bull.”
Like other dogs with fighting histories, the pit bull is “dog aggressive” and has to be kept away from other dogs, Simpson said.
But “she’s a real sweet dog with people and kids,” Simpson said. “She recovered from her injuries. She had heartworms and she’s been treated for that. The thing is, that’s probably why she was thrown out.”
Simpson said the dog is being fostered by a family that is likely to adopt her.
Travis M. Whitehead writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers.
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CRUEL & UNUSUAL: DAY 1
>> Many cases of animal abuse unreported, officials say
>> Mixed-breed named Kalila recovers after gruesome torture
ANIMAL ABUSE CASES
Hidalgo County
Animal abuse cases handled by the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s office since 2005:
SOURCE: Omar Garza, supervisor of misdemeanors for the Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office
Cameron County
These are the animal abuse cases handled by the Cameron County DA’s office since 2006.
Felony
Misdemeanor
SOURCE: Cameron County District Attorney’s Intake Division
<a href="http://www.themonitor.com/news/day-57059-range-animals.htmltag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.themonitor.com/news/day-57059-range-animals.htmlMon, 05 Dec 2011 05:31:02 GMT”>Valley animals subjected to range of abuses
Lab Puppy search terms:
- labrador training in rio grande valley texas
- cockfighting
- Diane Schult therapy dog
- PUPPY TRAININ EQIPMENT
Filed under Puppy Equipment by on Dec 10th, 2011. Comment.
Puppy Barking My Top 3 Gadgets, These days most of us are living closer to each other in our houses because they are constructed in close proximity to each other, presently there is an increasing desire for dog owners to control their barking puppies and pet dogs. Long lasting or excessive barking can be infuriating to both the dog owner and their neighbours. The recommended technique to curb too much barking is to teach are four-legged friends when it’s right to bark and when to quit on your “be quite” order.
With dog owners working lengthy working hours or just because we have busy lives simply we don’t possess enough hours in the day to teach our dogs and puppies to stop barking .
Training needs time but aside from that it requires consistency, patience and persistence. Training is not necessarily an quick remedy and you will probably not have immediate successes. If your puppy is a fear barker, this is when your puppy is barking and running, tail between its back legs as well as having it’s ears flat or on the other hand you have an aggressive puppy, I highly recommend you consult your vet or a specialist Dog trainer prior to attempting any kind of barking control.
I will now talk about quick methods to be able to manage a puppie’s barking habits.
Right now there are numerous products and solutions that can be purchased these days to stop your barking puppy.
The main 3 tend to be bark collars for dogs, stand alone devices and gadgets where by you can be in complete control of when your puppy barks. The 3 types of gadgets are ultrasonic, spray or electronic.
I have research each and every one these kinds of dog barking products,the ultrasonic systems is a stand alone gadgets and can be used indoor or outdoor. You need to place the device in your house or back garden and when your puppy barks it gives off an ultrasonic noise that people are unable to hear, it distracts the puppy from barking. A great deal of people have used this outdoor device to manage the barking of their neighbour’s dogs. You can also get hand held ultrasonic devices where you basically push the button whenever you wish to make a correction. This could certainly be helpful if you are bothered by barking dogs whenever you go for a walk around the block, jogging or cycling.
By far the most efficient dog collars are either the citronella spray collars or electronic bark collars. The citronella collars give off a spray whenever your puppy barks. This will distract them furthermore they don’t unsualy like the smell of citronella. Many people have experienced great results with this particular style of dog bark collar but in reality it is dependent on the puppy’s personality. If your puppy is a happy go lucky type and really wishes to please you then you have got a great chance this particular collar could work for you. If your puppy is hard headed and obstinate, barks at anything at all, then you will most likely have a lot more success by using an electronic dog barking collar. Excellent results have been created with these types of collars over the past couple of years. You now have considerably greater control over the amount of correction the puppy gets whenever he barks.
Lab Puppy search terms:
Filed under Puppy Equipment by on Dec 7th, 2011. Comment.
In the tradition of recent Holiday traditions, the Hallmark Channel has devoted a good portion of the past year to working on a new, animated seasonal special. Jingle All the Way, wrapping production less than two months ago, and scheduled for its cable premiere this week, features the talents of Bent Image Lab (Portland, OR). Jingle All the Way is the story of a Husky pup in search for a home; the television special also happens to be Crown Media Holdings’ first adaptation of an original character/property for such a seasonal TV presentation.
The story begins with a little boy, Andrew, whose parents visit a local tree farm just as the Holiday season gets underway. Distracted, the boy comes across a box of puppies for sale, and is quick to bond with one Husky in particular. Andrew is a kind and levelheaded kid and asks of his parents to keep the pup. But naturally, mom being mom, adopting a new dog during such a busy time is a no-no. Andrew leaves the pup at the tree farm and returns home, no doubt a little sad at having to leave behind his new friend.
Meanwhile, the pup, named “Jingle” by his new buddy, hops out of the box and tries to follow the family car out of the lot…. but Jingle’s little legs can’t keep up, and he soon loses his way.
As Jingle All the Way continues, the Husky pup makes his way down a pair of snowy country roads, following the sound of Christmas bells, eager and hopeful that he’ll once again come upon Andrew and his warm embrace.
The stop-action animated TV special is scheduled to premiere on Hallmark Channel this week, on the evening of Thursday, November 25, 2011.
Jingle All the Way is a commercial half-hour program and represents a number of “firsts” for its producers. Hallmark, until now, apparenetly hasn’t developed such a television special on an original character or series of cards (e.g., Jingle).
Bent Image Lab, similarly, is marking its foray into cable television with Jingle All the Way. The twenty-two minute short film took twenty-five weeks of production to complete. The northwest U.S. animation company is a commercial animation group whose skills for many years have permeated stop-motion animation, computer animation, and paper cut-out animation, among other techniques.
The television special engenders the usual Holiday sentiments of togetherness, humility, and more, as Jingle enlists the help of a reliable cardinal bird and even Santa Claus himself in his search for Andrew and the town of Pineville. It’s not an easy journey for little Jingle; at times, the pup spends a few lonely nights on the side of the road, shivering in an empty milk can, before summoning the strength and hope to move on with his search
.
Fortunately, in Jingle All the Way, it doesn’t take long for the pup and the boy to reunite. As long as they can outmaneuver a determined city dogcatcher and outlast the winter elements, it looks to be a warm and comfy Christmas for Jingle and Andrew.
Credits for Jingle All the Way include director: Chel White; producer: Tsui Ling Toomer; writer: Allen Neuwirth; director of photography: Mark Eifert; editor: Jeffrey Dawson; production designer: Solomon Birbridge.
<a href="http://www.animationinsider.net/article.php?articleID=2960tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.animationinsider.net/article.php?articleID=2960Mon, 21 Nov 2011 19:19:18 GMT”>New Holiday Special 'Jingle All the Way' from Bent Image Lab
Filed under Puppy Equipment by on Dec 5th, 2011. Comment.
Thousands of Volunteers Donate Time and Talent in the Medical SettingBy Ann-Elise Henzl November 4, 2011 | WUWM | Milwaukee, WI
Over the weekend volunteers in Milwaukee will help older adults prepare for winter, by putting up storm windows and raking leaves.
The effort will be part of Make a Difference Day, an annual, national day for helping others.
All year long, of course, thousands of residents donate time and skills, to an array of causes. In the world of health care, volunteers support patients.
WUWM’s Ann-Elise Henzl reports.
More than two decades ago, when Jeff Grabowski was 19, he was almost killed in an industrial accident. It did land him in a wheelchair for life, starting with seven months in Froedtert Hospital’s spinal care unit.
“I knew when I got out that I wanted to turn a negative into a positive,” Grabowski says.
Grabowski’s “positive” was becoming a peer counselor, talking to others new to wheelchairs – and one demographic in particular.
“My actual peer counselor was a female, which sometimes for a young teenage male can be a bit awkward, asking personal questions or sexuality-related questions. So I figured we needed more young male counselors,” Grabowski says.
Grabowski has worked with hundreds of Froedtert patients. He says he offers a perspective the staff cannot provide.
“You know, therapists can tell them to do certain exercises and stuff like that. But to see someone who’s been out of the hospital and actually is functioning out in public and hopefully doing well — it inspires them to work harder,” Grabowski says.
Grabowski says he preaches patience, and the need to take one day at a time.
“I try to tell everybody I talk to that has a spinal cord injury that it’s probably one of the most devastating things that can happen to a male or a female. Because it’s not just a matter of ambulating differently, where instead of walking you’re now in a wheelchair. There are a lot of other things you have to deal with. And for a lot of people it’s really overwhelming, and I just try to tell them it gets better,” Grabowski says.
Grabowski is among the thousands of local people who donate their time in a medical setting.
Dozens of opportunities exist, according to Bonnie Andrews of the Volunteer Center of Greater Milwaukee.
“For example, you think of all the advocacy organizations doing different kinds of education around their issues. In addition, you think about a gift shop at a hospital, people directing visitors or delivering newspapers. But also at a senior center, they need people to take blood pressures or teach a yoga class or just be a companion to someone, because those friendly visits also contribute to someone’s well-being and health,” Andrews says.
Eileen Clark works for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She coordinates a program that connects young patients with trained dogs. “The mind and body have a connection, and we have to keep our minds healthy as well. Therapy dogs – especially in a hospital setting – allow children and staff to keep their minds healthy. If you have that connection, I’m going to go on record as saying you’ll probably heal faster,” Clark says.
One of the two dozen dog handlers at Children’s is Diane Schultz. She and her big, white Labradoodle named McGraw walk the hospital’s halls, making dozens of stops.
“I always ask the nurses if there’s anyone they think would like to see one of the dogs, and I usually get lots of business that way,” Schultz says with a chuckle.
Schultz and McGraw pop in on a girl who asks for help lowering her bed and removing a brace from her arm, so she can pet the dog.
Diane Schultz: “I’m going to put his head closer to you so you can reach him. There. How’s that? Does that feel good?”
Patient: “Uh huh.”
Schultz: “He has kind of rough hair, do you notice that? Do your dogs have smooth fur?”
Patient: “They have rough hair. They’re crazy puppies.”
Schultz: “They keep you guys hopping at home?”
Patient: “Yeah.”
Schultz carries with her a stack of her dog’s trading cards. They feature a portrait of McGraw on the front and his stats — birthday, breed and handler’s name — on the back. The girl wants her card taped to the wall, next to photos from home.
“A lot of kids have been here a long time, especially on the ‘hot unit,’ where the transplant and cancer patients are. Some of them have pictures of every dog, they’ve been there so long,” Schultz says.
Schultz says the therapy dogs bring a cuddly presence and give children something to focus on, other than their discomfort.
“A lot of times, like in the lab when they’re having blood drawn, they’ll be crying. But when you go in there with the dog, that will sometimes stop it. Sometimes I go into the room and the physical therapist is there — they’re trying get them to do something — and they will do it better with the dog there. They’ll stretch or stand, so it always helps that way, also,” Schultz says.
Schultz says she gets something out of the experience, too: “I have a disabled grandson who spends a lot of time at Children’s Hospital. And he’s almost 6 years old now. And so I thought, all the times we were here, was there some way I could give back something?”
<a href="http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=9451tag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.wuwm.com/programs/news/view_news.php?articleid=9451Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:13:53 GMT”>Thousands of Volunteers Donate Time and Talent in the Medical Setting – 89.7 WUWM
Filed under Puppy Equipment by on Nov 29th, 2011. Comment.
