Change CAN happen!

Check out this post on Bad Rap's blog. It's about how the organization and community's concerted efforts to promote owner education, spay/neuter programs, free training classes, and shelter-dog adoptions has actually made a dent in the number of pit bulls showing up in the Berkeley Animal Care Services Shelter.

Amazing. We can only hope that someday B-More Dog can post a similar story on our blog.

Good work, Bad Rap, what an inspiring effort!

Pit Bull Conference on Long Island

Found this story in New York Newsday about a conference held on Long Island to discuss changing the pit bull's bad image. Wish the story was a bit more in depth about what, exactly, these folks are doing. But at least it's good press!

Dog Bite Prevention Week

Man, time flies--May is already here, which means it's almost time to start thinking about National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which is May 18-24.

The effort, which happens every third week in May, is designed to reduce the number of dog bites that happen in the United States--according to the Humane Society of the United States, 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs each year, ranging from nips to serious bites. A lot of those bites, of course, happen to children.

If you want to order a dog-bite prevention kit in honor of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, we hear the HSUS has a good one aimed at elementary-school aged kids called BARK (short for Be Aware, Responsible, and Kind), and you can get it online at the HSUS Youth web site. It's got worksheets, coloring books, a video, and a board game.

March for the Animals

The March for the Animals event was a great success for Bmore Dog. We hope it was successful for the MDSPCA too!

Come and Meet B-More Dog, Sunday April 20th!

B-More Dog will be attending their first event this Sunday April 20th at the Maryland SPCA's 13th annual dog walk, being held at Druid Hill Park. The event will run from 10am to 2pm, come rain or shine!

Please look for our banner and stop by to say hello.
We're looking forward to meeting lots of new people and dogs!

Directions:
http://www.mdspca.org/events/mfa.html#Directions

April 15!

Did you do file your taxes on time this year? We did! Actually, for the second time in my life, I had my taxes done weeks before the deadline, which was a huge relief. And I used $15 of my refund to buy Doc a nice new collar. Tucker too. Nothing fancy, just some plain black and brown leather with studs that we picked up from a vendor at the Tri State APBT Club ADBA show in Woodstown, NJ this weekend.

Pictures will come eventually, as soon as I get around to unloading them from my camera!

"Big black dog" syndrome

Recently, the AP reported a story about how big black dogs, lab mixes, rottweiler mixes, and the like, are the hardest dogs for shelters to find home for. CNN also posted the story to its web site last week.

This quote from the story pretty much sums it up:

It's not just that large dogs can be frightening: Animal shelters say black dogs of all sizes are difficult to photograph for online listings, and are hard to spot against the shadows of their crates and cages in dimly lighted kennels.

Older black dogs with a little white in their muzzles can look elderly. Bigger breeds like German shepherds or Chows aren't as fashionable as small, cuddly lap dogs.

Then there's the reputation. The idea of a big, black dog unleashing destruction is a common theme in books, movies and folklore as diverse as "The Hound of the Baskervilles," the "Harry Potter" series and "The Omen."

It's such a sad thing that the generic "black dog" is so hard to find a home for, and as the owner of a "big black dog" (my old lady dog Reba) it always depresses the hell out of me to read about this subject. But I have to say, I was beyond thrilled to see national news organizations actually pay attention to it--and it's a pretty good story too! I can probably count on one hand the number of times I've thought mainstream national media did justice to a dog issue. Usually, most stories about dogs in the media are of the biting dog variety or the animal rights variety. This one is neither. Anyway, you can read it for yourself here.