SFDOG News

Dog Chases (A Very Big) Cat

One brave little dog saves his village from a Tiger:

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Dog comes to racer's rescue

Two-time adventure racing world champion Danelle Ballengee has her dog and a search and rescue team to thank for saving her life after she spent two nights in sub-freezing weather near Moab, Utah, last week. Ballengee, 35, of Dillon, Colo., has competed in adventure races in the wilds of Canada, Mexico, Sweden, China, Argentina, Fiji and Morocco. But it was a relaxing two-hour trail run with her dog that nearly did her in. (Photo: Pam Mindard) Taz, a 3-year-old German shepherd/golden retriever mix, helped a search and rescue team find Danelle Ballengee on Dec. 15 after she fell while trail running near Moab, Utah. She started what she thought would be a casual 10-mile run from the Amasa Back trailhead south of Moab around noon on Dec. 13. Temperatures were in the low 40s and she was wearing light running pants, two lightweight running shirts, a lightweight fleece top and sunglasses. She also carried her iPod and a small hydration pack. Midway through the run, Ballengee slipped on a patch of black ice near Hurrah Pass and tumbled about 60 feet down three successive rock faces, each of which was 10 to 25 feet below the next. After crashing to the bottom of a rocky canyon, she knew she wasn't paralyzed but was in too much pain to stand. Although dazed and in severe pain, she managed to crawl about a quarter mile on her hands and knees over the next five hours before darkness set in. During the night, she did sit-ups and kept her upper body moving to keep warm. She drank snowmelt from a puddle when the water in her pack ran out and ate two packets of raspberry energy gels that she carried on the run.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Implanted Microchips Cause Cancer

http://www.freedom.org/news/200612/20/janewilliams.phtml

By Jane Williams GFN contributing writer---
(For Publication in the January 2007 "American Family Voice")

At the National ID Expo in Kansas City, Arkansas Animal Producer's
Association President Michael Steenbergen asked, "What safety studies have
been conducted on the chips that are inserted into animals?" His question
was met with total silence. Did these manufacturers not know, or were they
unwilling to admit that research has confirmed that implanted microchips
cause cancer?

Melvin T. Massey, DVM (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)
from Brownsboro,Texas, brought this to the attention of the American Horse
Council when he wrote, "I am a retired Equine Veterinarian and still breed a
few horses. Because of migration-infection s-increased risk of sarcoids I
will not want to have microchips in my horses."

The Institute of Experimental Pathology at Hannover Medical School
in Germany reported , "An experiment using 4279 CBA/J mice of two
generations was carried out to investigate the influence of parental
preconceptual exposure to X-ray radiation or to chemical carcinogens.
Microchips were implanted subcutaneously in the dorsolateral back for unique
identification of each animal. The animals were kept for lifespan under
standard laboratory conditions. In 36 mice a circumscribed neoplasm occurred
in the area of the implanted microchip. Macroscopically, firm, pale white
nodules up to 25 mm in diameter with the microchip in its center were found.
Macroscopically, soft tissue tumors such as fibrosarcoma and malignant
fibrous histiocytoma were detected."

Ecole Nationale Veterinaire of Unite d'Anatomie Pathologique in Nantes,
France, reported, "Fifty-two subcutaneous tumors associated with microchip
were collected from three carcinigenicity B6C3F1 micestudies. Two of these
52 tumors were adenocarcinoma of the mammary gland located on the dorsal
region forming around the chip. All the other 50 were mesenchymal in ori!
gin and were difficult to classify on morphological grounds with
haematoxylin-eosin."

Marta Vascellari of Instituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie at
Viale dell'Universita in Legnaro, Italy reported examining a 9-year-old male
French Bulldog for a subcutaneous mass located at the site of a microchip
implant. "The mass was confirmed as a high-grade infiltrative fibrosarcoma,
with multifocal necrosis and peripheral lymphoid aggregates."

The Toxicology Department of Bayer Corporation in Stillwell, Kansas
reported, "Tumors surrounding implanted microchip animal identification
devices were noted in two separate chronic toxicity/oncogenicity studies
using F344 rats. The tumors occurred at a low incidence rate (approximately
1%), but did result in the early sacrifice of most affected animals, due to
tumor size and occasional metastases. No sex-related trends were noted.

All tumors occurred during the second year of the studies, were located in
the subcutaneous dorsal thoracic area (the site of microchip implantation)
and contained embedded microchip devices. All were mesenchymal in origin and
consisted of the following types, listed on order of frequency: malignant
schwannoma, fibrosarcoma, anaplastic sarcoma, and histiocytic sarcoma.

The following diagnostic techniques were employed: light microscopy,
scanning electron microscopy, and immunohistochemistry. The mechanism of
carcinogenicity appeared to be that of foreign body induced tumorigenesis."

Additional studies related to cancer tumors at the site of microchip
implants have been conduced in China; however, at this time these studies
are not available in English. At this time, no long term studies are
available covering more than two years. It only seems logical to conclude
that if carcinogenic tumors occur within one percent of animals implanted
within two years of the implant that the percentage would increase with the
passage of time. Additional studies need to be conducted, but don't hold
your breath for the manufacturers of microchips to conduct such research
and be leery of any such "research" they may conduct. Even the limited
research available clearly indicates that implantation of microchips within
an animal is gambling with the animal's well being.

* * * * * * * *End Article* * * * * * * *

For additional Information:
www.vetpathology.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/4/545
National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health,
www.pubmed.gov, google for "sarcomas associated with implanted microchips".

Park pooches get a leash break

Henry was running afoul of the law yesterday morning when he fetched a small log on Prospect Park's Long Meadow. That's because the 8-month-old yellow Lab wasn't on a leash.

But Henry, and his owner, Eric Rochow, 43, are scofflaws no longer, thanks to a much-anticipated vote yesterday by the city Board of Health.

The change in the health code means that dogs will now officially be able to run around off-leash from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. at some city parks, as has been the unofficial policy for two decades.

"I wouldn't live in the city if we couldn't run the dog in the park," said Rochow, who has lived in Park Slope for 20 years.

The off-leash rule is soon expected to become the official policy at city parks, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said.

"The daily presence of dog owners during early morning and late-evening hours [has] made parks safer," he said.

Bob Marino, president of an off-leash advocacy group, NYCdog, said other cities, including San Francisco, are looking to follow New York's lead.

"We are the first city where off-leash [rules] will be extended throughout the city," he said.

The city was sued over off-leash dogs this year. Though a judge ruled last week in favor of the city and the dogs, formalizing the off-leash policy is a move to avert further legal action.

Nancy D'Addario, 30, of Park Slope, who was throwing a tennis ball for her border collie, Doyle, said she looked forward to the rule change.

"If we didn't come here, it'd be a long day for me, for Doyle and for my furniture," she said.

But not everyone was pleased about the dogs' new lease on a leashless life.

"They come into other people's space," said Fatimah Hidalgo, a Crown Heights resident who is in her early 30s. "They chase people."

Hidalgo arrived at Prospect Park at 9 a.m. to avoid the dogs. She was there to do Falun Gong exercises.

"I used to come here at 7, but it was too overwhelming," she said.

Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said his department can rescind the change if there's an increase in dog bites or a risk of rabies.

Once-Abused Dog Saves Couple Who Adopted Her

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- An elderly couple's dog helped save them from freezing to death during a surprise storm by digging a 20-foot tunnel through the snow.

The snowstorm fell in the Buffalo, N.Y., area in October. Eve Fertig, 81, and her husband, Norman, were taking care of injured birds in a wildlife sanctuary on their Alden property when it hit.

The storm intensified and the couple became trapped by falling trees and heavy snow.

"It just started piling up," Eve Fertig said. "I said, 'Norman, we can't stay here, we'll die.'"

The couple's 160-pound German shepherd-timberwolf mix, Shana, started digging under the trees and through the snow. She dug a 1-foot-wide tunnel 20 feet back to their home.

Shana then came back to Eve and Norman and barked. When the couple hesitated, Shana wouldn't give up. She grabbed Eve Fertig's jacket with her mouth. They all went through the tunnel.

"It was quite a distance," Eve Fertig said. "We get out and she pulls us out. We got on the back deck, got the back door open and we fell inside. And we laid there all night."

Shana, rescued as a neglected puppy at two weeks of age from an apparent puppy mill operation, now has a hero's plaque and an honorary fire helmet from firefighters who later checked on the Fertigs.

Shana's hero award for bravery came from the group Citizens for Humane Animal Treatment.

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Read original article with images and video here.

NY News: A Victory for City Dogs That Prefer To Run Free

http://www.nysun.com/article/44476

A Queens County court has ruled that dogs may be exercised off-leash in city parks between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m.

Yesterday's decision in state Supreme Court upholds the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation's 20-year policy of allowing dogs to frolic unrestrained in parks early in the morning and late at night. It also affirms Commissioner Adrian Benepe's authority to set off-leash hours, but urges the department to clarify this policy "known by few and misunderstood by many."

A Western Queens community group, the Juniper Park Civic Association, in August filed a lawsuit alleging the department's off-leash policy violates the "Leash Law" of the city's health code. The code states that dogs must be "effectively restrained by a leash or chain not more than six feet long" while in public places.

The president of the civic association, Robert Holden, called Judge Peter Kelly's decision "complete lunacy," and said he was weighing an appeal. "The public outcry will be there when someone is attacked — and that will happen — but the parks department is willing to take the risk," Mr. Holden said.

Mr. Benepe hailed the ruling, saying it paved the way toward formalizing an off-leash policy that "has made parks and neighborhoods safer, reduces bites, allowed responsible owners to exercise and socialize their dogs."

He added: "Tired dogs are good dogs."

A dog's exercise requirements depend on its breed, age, and temperament, though many need to run for about an hour a day to avoid becoming "anxious and neurotic," the co-director of the Humane Society of New York, Sandra DeFeo, said.

Applauding the judge's decision yesterday were many city dog owners. "People have their children running around, but dogs in New York have very little time to be free." the owner of a year-old West Highland Terrier named Agnus, Sydney Masters, said.

The New York City Board of Health has scheduled a December 5 vote on whether to amend its "Leash Law."

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SFDOG Holiday Party Dec. 10th 2-5PM

SFDOG Holiday Party

Sunday, December 10, 2006

2 pm to 5 pm

Perfect Paws

251 6th St (between Folsom and Howard)

Celebrate the holidays with your friends -- both furry and non -- in this fun-filled afternoon.

We'll have agility equipment set up for your and your dog to try your paws at jumps, tunnels, and weave poles. Even if you don't try it with your dog, it's a blast to watch others try to convince their pets to get all four paws off the ground and climb that darned A-frame.

Get a free photo taken of your dog. We'll provide holiday attire for the dogs.

Raffle includes a training class at Perfect Paws, free nights at the new Wag hotel for dogs, and gift baskets from San Francisco pet stores (contributions to SFDOG are tax deductible).

We'll have some games, good food and drinks.

Bring a holiday present for needy dogs (toys, winter rain gear, sweaters, blankets, collars, leashes, halters, treats, etc). We'll give everything collected to VetSOS, to be distributed to the pets of the homeless.

DOGS WELCOME!

Open to members and non-members alike. Bring a friend!

Suggested donation: $10

Please RSVP for the holiday party to: info@sfdog.org or 415-339-7461 (but not both) so we know how much food to buy.

Street parking should be plentiful (parking meters are free on Sundays) By MUNI: take the 12 inbound, get off at Folsom and 6th St

Hope to see you there!