Puppymills can be stopped!

I'm sure that many of you heard of the puppymill bust in Skagit and Snohomish counties back in January. Well out of that sad, horrible event change is possible. State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, and Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo have introduced legislation that would establish basic care standards for breeders and limit the size of commercial breeding operations. The bill, SB5651, now needs your help.

Call or write your local legislators and ask them to support this bill. County legislation on this issue is piecemeal, at best and the state needs to mandate a standard level of care for animals, whether they are considered "property" or not.

To learn more about the bill there is a great Website that has sprung up in response to the Skagit bust called http://www.puppyjustice.com/ . Check out their legislation page to read the bill and learn more. Ready to write your legislator and ask her or him to support this bill? Then link to the "find your legislator" page on the state legislature's Website and get to work.

It is imperative that we push for this bill to pass while this tragic story is still in the public's mind. Please forward this info to your friends and family - now is your chance to help Washington state become a place that makes life tough for the criminals who run these places. Having rehabbed a dog who was a breeding bitch at a mill for over 6 years, I can tell you that the psychological scars that these dogs carry are even worse than the physical neglect they suffer.

Want more reason to sit down and make that call? Check out the videos on the Humane Society's Website.

Tilly's big adventure

We had to spend the weekend in Spokane since our son is participating in All-State Orchestra. Because Frodo is too much of a loud mouth and Laika is an active puppy they had to stay with friends, but Tilly is quiet and not too wild so she came along with us.

She has been such an awesome traveller - quiet in the car and the hotel room and willing to be hauled around for walks in the snow.

It has been great for her to get a chance to be an only dog for awhile and she is eating it up. She plays and wrestles on the hotel bed and then does a flying leap off the bed and tears around the room. There's a park not far from the hotel with tennis courts and we have been taking her there so she can have some off-leash time. She tears around, does rolls and flips in the snow and really enjoys herself.

The photo above was taken in the car while we were waiting for the hotel to let us check-in.

Puppy Stalking

Frodo cannot make up his mind whether he loves or hates Laika. He loves her toys, that's for sure - all of those soft, delicate, plush, puppy squeakie toys just waiting to be gutted. He also loves her puppy food (who are we kidding, Frodo loves anything that is remotely edible.)

Laika is quite the messy eater and every meal she flings food left and right as she shovels through the bowl. Frodo has learned that this makes for some easily snagged kibble. He just sits next to her crate, and waits for kibble to fly out. Sometimes, if she isn't messy enough for his liking he tries reaching in to grab some, however Laika will growl and snap if he gets too annoying about it and knocks her bowl around.



So Frodo waits until we take Laika out for her after meal potty break and then sticks his paws into the crate, working any stray kibbles out of the crate and into his mouth as you can see him doing in the above photo. As intensely as he does this one would think the poor dog is starving, but this is a dog who will eat until he throws up and then try to eat some more. In his mind there is no such thing as "enough" food. How very "terrier" of him.