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Friday Fun: Shih Tzu Rescued From Rocks

Not exactly fun, but a very happy ending.  Long distance paddle boarder, Charlie Head, spotted the little Shih Tzu stranded on rocks by the incoming tide.  Charlie interrupted his attempt at a 600 mile row from Cornwall to London to rescue the very lucky pup.  No one on shore was aware the dog was out there.

Many dog owners seem to think their dogs don’t need to be kept safe around water.  However, even the strongest swimmer is no match for rip tides and any dog will eventually tire & drown in just calm water.

Hypothermia is probably the biggest threat to a dog’s safety in water.  A dog’s coat loses its ability to insulate well when wet.  The water doesn’t need to be extremely cold for hypothermia to set in.  Temperatures that would be fine on land can be deadly in water.

A water temperature of 10 °C (50 °F) often leads to death in one hour, and water temperatures hovering at freezing can lead to death in as little as 15 minutes…Water at a temperature of 26 °C (79 °F) will, after prolonged exposure, lead to hypothermia.

Get your dog a good life jacket!  One that is secure and keeps their head above water—not all of them are good.  I’ve posted previously about our favorite life jacket.

http://youtu.be/0vDjItZhUw4

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Michael Vick Has A New Dog

I don’t quite no what to say.  Michael Vick confirmed he is again a dog owner.  I find it unreal he is allowed to have any pets.  He was banned from having dogs only while he was on probation.  I always want to be sure I know what I’m talking about, so I read over the Summary of Facts from the plea bargains of Michael Vick and his co-defendants, Purnell A. Peace, Quanis L. Phillips, and Tony Taylor.  That made for some pretty sickening reading.  Gut-wrenching.

I also came across the USDA Inspector General’s Office report on their investigation.  This is what would have come out in court if these men hadn’t plead guilty and I don’t remember ever seeing this in the news coverage.  It’s particularly applicable to his suitability for having a pet dog.  This section describing his use of to known family pets as bait dogs is particularly chilling:

Unfamiliar with the horrors of bait dogs?  Do a google image search on “bait dog”. Warning, it’s graphic .  Imagine the worst wounds possible—the reality is even worse.

The report goes on to detail dogs being killed by hanging, shooting, drowning, electrocuting, and slamming on the ground until the dog’s neck & spine were broken.

This barbaric shit went on for 5 years.  And now he has another dog.  I don’t care how much speaking he does on animal welfare, someone who does these sorts of things, hears the sounds these poor dogs made, is broken.

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DIY: Make A Pumpkin Stencil Of Your Pet

Use photos of your own pets to make a nifty stencil for your jack-o-lanterns this year.  These three tutorials show you how to do it.

If that’s too fiddly, there’s a program called Pumpkinshop you can buy that converts your photos into stencils.

If you don’t want to make your own patterns check out these cat stencils and these dog breed stencils.

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