Dipped Jewitt, a Cleveland resident who never has been to the polls, received a voter registration application from a nonpartisan group recently. But will she register Democat or Republicat?

Here’s the story, from The Plain Dealer.com
(photo by Scott Shaw)

Voter registration mailing misguided, cat receives application

Posted by Brian Albrecht
September 03, 2008 20:45PM

Dipped the cat may have an independent streak, but that won't be enough to get her past poll workers on Election Day. The feline's owners recently received a voter registration application addressed to Dipped from a national group called USAction Education Fund.

Dipped Jewitt has the purrfect opportunity to make sure the interests of pets are represented in the upcoming election.

She recently was given the chance to vote via mailed registration materials sent by the USAction Education Fund, which describes itself as a national nonprofit, nonpartisan group that has organized voter-registration drives since 2004.

But there's one problem -- Dipped Jewitt is a cat. She received the voter registration application, addressed to her, at her former domicile in Cleveland where her owner, Jeff Jewitt, 54, runs Homestead Finishing Products.

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It's a dog-eat-dog world out there on the campaign trail, as one party's convention winds up tonight and another one begins soon. So as the spinning starts, here is one gun the candidates may want to add to their arsenals:

Pet endorsements.

Yep, a Democrat running for a hotly-contested Ohio Congressional district recently issued a statement broadly claiming the support of "dozens of area dogs, cats and other pets."
Leading the pack were Mary Jo Kilroy's own three dogs, Murphy, Chase and Dodger, who have launched their own "Pets for Kilroy" site. (click here to see it.)

Mary Ann Akers, who writes "The Sleuth" column for the Washington Post, made some snarky comments about Kilroy targeting "crazy pet people... many of them DINKs (double income no kids) who attend bark balls... and treat their pets as children." Geez, Akers, you got a problem with bark balls??

If this idea catches on, then -- opps! -- Obama is in trouble, since he doesn't have any family animals to give him two paws up.

Some quick research on my part did not uncover the pet status of Obama running mate Joe Biden. Does anyone know about Sen. Biden's stand on this important issue? Anyone?

Click here for Akers' complete column.

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Want to hang with your best friend – forever?
It’s now legal in Florida.

State legislators last year amended state statutes governing the funeral industry, allowing people to be buried, or their ashes interred, with animals. Yep, before that you were breaking the law if you and Spot were resting in peace side by side. Who knew?

The change was proposed by Sen. Jim King, a Republican from the Jacksonville area. King had asked his family to bury him, when the time came, with his beloved black Labrador retriever Valentine, who had died nine years earlier and was cremated. The senator was surprised to learn that cemeteries did not allow humans to be buried with their pets.

The law does have two caveats: The ashes of pet and person cannot be co-mingled. And the deceased, or his or her legal guardian, must have given permission in advance. So if this is your wish, make sure you add it into your final exit planning.

(photo of pet urn from Angel Ashes. Go to www.angelashes.com)

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The "Sun-Sentinel" story yesterday (click here to read it) about Nikki, the local poster dog for the Humane Society's campaign against abusively tethering dogs, came at a perfect time. It also was the last day of Dogs Deserve Better's national Chain Off, an event held since 2003 to bring awareness to the misery, discomfort and sometimes fatal conditions animals face when they are chained or penned for hours in unsafe environments.

An estimated 6 million dogs spend most of their lives chained. The American Veterinary Medical Association has condemned the practice, saying it makes dogs aggressive, neurotic and potentially vicious.

Last year, the Chain Off drew more than 108 people in 36 states, who chained themselves to doghouses in backyards, on street corners or in local parks for eight to 24 hours to simulate what many of these dogs endure.

This year, one of the participants was Bryan Wilson, 39, who shackled himself to a doghouse in a park in Sanford, near Orlando. He and his wife, Carla, are lobbying Seminole County to pass an anti-chaining law.
Click here to read the full "Orlando Sentinel" story and see the video.

Nikki and her owner, Tony Vincent of Southwest Ranches, are pushing their hometown city council to pass a similar ordinance, as 12 Broward County cities already have done. But there is resistance in the Ranches, as there has been in Seminole County. Excuses have ranged from that exisiting animal cruelty laws already cover abusive chaining to that it would prohibit low-income people from having pets as they can't afford to fence their yard.

And here's a comment from Southwest Ranches council member Don Maines: It's better to put your dog in a pasture under a tree, with a bowl of water, he said in the "Sun-Sentinel" story, than leave it "in the garage cooped up all day."

Gee, maybe neither option is very humane. Perhaps Mr. Maines should spend 24 hours shackled to a tree in the July heat and see if he changes his opinion.

Click here for more information about Dogs Deserve Better, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting laws against abusive tethering and chaining .

Chaining laws do stir up strong opinions, and we welcome yours at Sit, Stay, Speak!
Keep reading for one from Monica Schreiber, posted on the "Sun-Sentinel's" comment board, in response to Maines' statement and the article.

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Hallandale is the latest city considering adding a “dog park.” The $3,000 proposal calls for areas of three parks to be fenced off for dogs. Click here for Thursday’s Sun-Sentinel story about the project, which will be evaluated after a three-month trial.

But I’m not a dog owner. I have two cats. So should I support public money being spent on, and public land being set aside for, a dog park?

I easily can answer yes. Why?
Because dog parks are good for dogs – a place for them to get exercise and socialize with other animals.

And dogs are good for people. They provide companionship and unconditional love. Research shows that pets can enhance the quality of human life, literally lowering blood pressure.

That means dogs are good for the community. So as a member of the community, I support what’s good dogs.

I don’t have kids. But I certainly don’t begrudge tax dollars (including a lot of my own) being spent on schools. That’s because kids are good for the community, and I support what’s good for kids.

Having said that: I noticed a few posters to our news story complained about owners not following the rules at existing dog parks.

What should the guidelines be in Hallandale? What bad pet parent manners have you seen in other parks?

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The 2008 Florida legislative session is over. And it's still legal in our state to sexually assault animals.

So that’s why an unnamed Palm Beach Gardens man, suspected of sexually abusing his two German shepherds, may walk away if it turns out he’s guilty of the crime. Because there is no crime. Florida is one of 20 states with no laws addressing this kind of behavior. That leaves prosecutors and police stuck with trying to prove animal cruelty – a much tougher standard, where it must be shown abuse happened deliberately and over time. Not to mention the two potential victims can’t speak out against the man who, quite simply, may have raped them.

In the meantime, however, police were able to arrest a Royal Palm man today (Friday) for keeping five dogs in wretched conditions. The animals were crammed into cages filled with waste, with no food and water. At least these dogs received some justice. Click here for the story.

County animal care workers have gained temporary custody of the German shepherds that may have been assaulted, while the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation. Click here if you want to read the Thursday Sun-Sentinel story on this case.

Sen. Nan Rich tried to change all this, though. And for that, everyone who believes animals deserve our respect and protection should send her a thank-you note.

The legislator, who represents parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, introduced a bill this past session, SB 0744. It would have made it a felony for people to have sex with animals, aiding another person in having sex with animals, or knowingly permitting such an act.

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On our politics blog yesterday, reporter Scott Wyman wrote that the Broward County Commission has reworked the ordinance that defines “dangerous dogs.”

In a nutshell, a dog now will be considered dangerous if:

1.) It severely injures or kills a person; or
2.) It kills a domestic animal in an unprovoked attack off the owner’s property.

Once a dog is declared dangerous, it must registered with the county, muzzled in public and kept in a confined area with a warning posted.
(Click here if you want to read Scott's complete post on the new law.)

Notice there is no mention of specific breeds. But it is a stricter law, as previously dogs had to kill a pet twice before being labeled dangerous.

This ruling made me think back to an April post on SSS! by Karla, who uses a Rottweiler as a service dog and also is a dog trainer. Karla said she travels a lot overseas and thought that regulations they had in Majorca, an island off the coast of Spain, would work great here. Requirements include:

1.) All dogs over 22 kilos (48.5 pounds), or those considered “bully breeds,” must be registered.
2.) Owners of these dogs must have a muzzle with them at all times when with the dog (don’t have to make the dog wear it, though).
3.) Owners must have a criminal background check, a medical clearance saying they are physically and mentally capable of handling such a pet, and carry $250,000 in insurance.
4.) Dogs cannot be walked on a flexi-leash or leash longer than 6 feet.
5.) A vet must certify the animal has been vaccinated and is not vicious.

(Click here if you want to read Karla’s full post.)

So what do you think of Broward County’s new law? Does it go too far or not far enough? Should there be additional guidelines for specific breeds? Should owners be required to carry extra insurance, as they are in Spain?

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SSS! reader TJF sent us an update on Gretchen, the German shepherd that had been adopted from an animal shelter by South Carolina Senator Kent Williams last year. Williams returned the dog, which was pregnant, to the shelter earlier this year. Her puppies were fostered or adopted.

A rescuer apparently took Gretchen herself as a foster dog, but was bitten due to the dog's stress and confusion. The article sent by TJF said the dog was malnourished and apparently had not been vaccinated (not to mention not spayed).
Click here for the complete story.

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The pet blogs have been buzzing since the news got out that South Carolina State Senator Kent Williams returned his pregnant German shepherd, Gretchen, to the Marion County shelter he adopted her from the previous year. Turns out he never had the dog spayed, and kept her outside in a fenced yard.

Gretchen gave birth to eight puppies, all that went to rescue groups, but no update on what happened to mom. Williams said he was only trying to “help” Gretchen when he took in her and two other dogs (the other two he gave to relatives).

Wonder what the voters will have to say about this when Williams needs their "help" come election time?
Click here for the story.

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Looks like the fate of Buddy and Bear, the two Rottweilers that attacked a 10-year-old in Davie on Friday, won't be decided by county animal control officers after all. It will be up to their owner, Victor Cantelmo.

County officials considered the attack "provoked," as the boy entered the fenced yard where the dogs were kept without permission to retrieve a baseball.

So what should happen next? Comments on our Sun-Sentinel Web site are running far in favor of no punishment for the dogs or owner, saying it was not the Rotties' fault that they went after a stranger intruding on their territory.

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Dog bite attacks -- like the one on Friday, in which a 10-year-old Davie boy was severely bitten by two Rottweilers when he jumped into a neighbor’s backyard to retrieve a ball -- always jump-start the never-ending debate: Are certain breeds vicious? Expect to see folks from two camps at city commission and council meetings soon: those who insist “dangerous” types of dogs should be banished from their neighborhoods; and others who insist there are no bad breeds, only bad owners.

While owner Victor Cantelmo was cited for not having his pets licensed or vaccinated, the police have released his Rottweilers from quarantine, ruling the incident an accident. The dogs were in Cantelmo’s yard, behind 6-foot fence with a gate fastened with a security cord and a warning sign posted. Broward County animal officials will decide the animals’ fate.

Now State Rep. Perry Thurston, D-Plantation, says he will push for state rules that would give municipalities more leeway in banning specific breeds.

What do you think? Should some breeds be outlawed in residential neighborhoods? If so, which ones and how would they be selected? Should there be more restrictions on owners, as far as licensing, warning signs or fencing?

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Oreo McCain from Bideawee.org

Still wondering whether the vote you cast in the Jan. 29 presidential primary will ever count? You have another chance.

Bideawee, one of the oldest humane organizations, offers an opportunity to vote for First Pet.

Should the White House be occupied by feline Oreo McCain? Or canine Seamus Clinton? Or, a dog to be acquired later by Barack Obama?

Help decide who will succeed Barney and Mrs. Beasley.
Let your Pet Choice be heard!

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