8/13/2019 PetCare June7 2007 LittleMan

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Also for Adoption

Little Man

Young male

Little man was picked up as a stray in Hillsboro. His fostermom tried to find his owners, to no avail.

Hes approximately one year old and possibly a Beagle/Labmix. He looks like a Lab in the face and is all black, but his bodyis built like a Beagle and he definitely has a lot of Beagle charac-teristics.

Little Man is extremely small, even smaller than some Beagles,at 23 pounds and hell stay small. People say he looks like ayoung puppy at times, and thats how he stole his foster momsheart.

He adores other dogs and does very well around young chil-dren. Hes still playful like a typical puppy and loves attention aslong as he doesnt have hunting rabbits on his mind.

Little Man appears to be house trained but still needs to bewatched closely.

He needs a forever home that will have patience with his puppytendencies and has a fenced yard. His hunting instincts are strongand when given the chance, he heads to the brush to find a rabbitand will not come back until hes finished. When hes indoors,however, he is extremely loving.

Little Man has had all his shots and his foster mom had himneutered.

If you're interested in Little Man or would like to see more photos,e-mail his foster mom at izzy@dragonbbs.com or look at his profileat http://search.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=8442998.

By ERIC OLSONThe Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) BobBaker has seen the worst of theworst in his 27 years as an animalcruelty investigator.

There was the Missouri breederwho would skimp on food by skin-ning dead dogs and feeding them toother dogs in his kennel. There was

the South Dakota breeder who useda handsaw to amputate the leg of apregnant Rottweiler, injured in anattack by another dog, in hopes thatthe Rottweiler would survive longenough to give birth to another litter.

Baker says such cases are theexception, but adds that mistreat-ment of dogs in large-scale breedingoperations remains common andtroubling.

Most breeders learn how tokeep their standards just above vio-lating cruelty statutes, but the condi-tions are still unacceptable, saidBaker, a St. Louis-based nationalinvestigator for the AmericanSociety for the Prevention of Crueltyto Animals. Its difficult dealingwith these people. We file charges onthe most egregious ones.

State legislators across the nationare attempting to crack down onrogue breeding operations and petsellers.

The week after the May 16 res-cue of 173 dogs from the propertyof a Dawson County man, theNebraska Legislature passed a lawthat increased the number of statekennel inspectors from one to fourand requires new operations to beinspected before opening.

Puppy lemon laws, which let

buyers get their money back ifhealth or genetic defects are discov-ered within a set time, are on thebooks in 16 states and were intro-duced in four others this year.

California lawmakers are study-ing a bill that would require cats anddogs over 4 months old to be spayedor neutered, unless the person caringfor them obtains a breeding license.

Laws that would tighten the regu-lation of retail pet shops are pendingin Oregon, Massachusetts and RhodeIsland, and bills establishing stan-dards for breeding operations were

introduced in Minnesota and Ohio.Mass breeding has been a hot-

button issue for decades with animalwelfare activists, who use the termpuppy mills to describe the mostunsavory of operations, which areusually situated in rural areas.

The Humane Society of theUnited States has long identifiedMissouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska,Oklahoma, Arkansas, Ohio andPennsylvania as the major puppy-mill states, said outreach directorStephanie Shain.

Of the 7 million to 9 million

dogs brought into U.S. families eachyear, Shain said, an estimated 2 mil-lion to 4 million are products ofpuppy mills.

The demand for popular breeds,and the high prices people are will-ing to pay, keep breeding operationschurning, Shain said. A quickInternet search showed many pup-pies with four-figure sale prices, andsome breeds, including bulldogs

and Belgian Malinois, with topprices exceeding $3,000.

Many dog breeders chafe at theterm puppy mill, saying it isinflammatory and lumps conscien-tious commercial dog breederstogether with the unscrupulous.

Clem Disterhaupt, president ofthe Nebraska Dog BreedersAssociation, said most commercialbreeders have the animals bestinterest at heart.

We dont associate ourselveswith puppy mills, but sometimespeople are under the impression thatif you have a lot of dogs, you mustbe a puppy mill, Disterhaupt said.

Disterhaupt said reputablebreeders are licensed with state orfederal agencies and provide ade-

quate space, cleanliness, heat and airconditioning and ventilation.

Thats not a puppy mill, hesaid. People need to distinguish thedifference.

Daisy Okas, assistant vice presi-dent of communications for theAmerican Kennel Club, said breed-ers, kennel operators and pet storesregister all types of breeds with herorganization. The AKC has 15inspectors who visit about 5,000places a year where significantnumbers of dogs are registered.

Shain, however, said people whowant a puppy should avoid petstores and instead buy from a hobbybreeder or adopt from a shelter.

Puppy mills, Shain said, damagedogs emotionally and physicallybecause the animals are confined intight, unsanitary quarters with littleor no socialization with humans orveterinary care. Females are bredrepeatedly, some when theyre asyoung as 6 months.

The overbreeding, combinedwith the dismal environment, resultsin sickly puppies that have geneticdefects and temperament problems,she said. The dogs are sold in petstores or on the Internet to unsus-pecting buyers.

Investigators such as Bakerinspect breeding operations afterreceiving complaints. Breeders usu-ally cooperate, but when they dont,he said, he gathers information byinterviewing neighbors and observ-

ing the facility from afar.Baker, who said he has visitedmore than 750 breeding facilitiessince 1980, said that when he findsevidence of animal cruelty, he noti-fies local law enforcement.

Most abuse we see is neglect,Baker said. They know some ofthe stuff theyre doing is wrong, andtheyre embarrassed. They apolo-gize a lot of times when we comesee them. But theyre blinded by thegreed and money theyre making offof this.

Some start out with the rightintentions. They breed a few andmake money, so they get more dogsbut dont put money back in. Theyget swamped.

On the Net:Humane Society of the United

States: http://www.hsus.orgAmerican Society for the

Prevention of Cruelty to Animals:http://www.aspca.org

American Kennel Club:http://www.akc.org

Nebraska Dog BreedersAssociation: http://www.nedba.com

PET CARE

Page 8B Times-GazetteThursday, June 7, 2007

957917

Butterscotch

Young MaleButterscotch is neutered

Kitcat

Young femaleKitcat is spayed

Pretty Boy

Young malePretty Boy is neutered

Chelsey

Young femaleChelsey is spayed.

For Adoption

A Journey Home Animal Refuge News

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: AJHAR is desperate for volunteers

as the shelter gets up and running. Please call 937-840-9918 if youcan help volunteer or donate in any way.

ABOUT AJHAR: If you are interested in finding out more aboutA Journey Home Animal Refuge, visit http//wandaritt.tripod.com orcall 937-840-9918.

If you have an item for the Pet Page, email

Lori Roush at lroush@timesgazette.com

Lawmakers across the

nation consider laws tocrack down on puppy mills

The Associated Press

Dogs rescued from a puppy mill in Lexington, Neb., are seen at the OmahaHumane Society, in Omaha, Neb. A short time after the May 16 rescue of 171dogs from the property of a Dawson County man, the Nebraska Legislaturepassed a law that increases the number of state kennel inspectors from one tofour and requires new operations to be inspected before opening.