Europe No-Kill by 2016?

image courtesy of michellehenry.fr

Animal welfare for pets varies enormously throughout Europe. Not only do countries legislate differently. Even towns legislate differently. Last week's story on Dancing Dog Blog about the Swiss town threatening to put down dogs for unpaid taxes was yet another example. Thankfully the Swiss government quickly stopped the local authorities before any dog could get hurt. A painful reminder of the incoherent policies throughout Europe.

Seen in this light, there was positive news last November that this is about to change. The EU announced that the protection of companion animals - meaning dogs and cats - will be integrated in EU animal welfare legislation. See the press release her: Good news from Brussels: Dogs and cats under protection of the EU. When the EU legislates, it overulles all other country and community laws. In one blow they are able to harmonise all legislation about animal welfare.

The plan

What does the plan from the EU entail? It is very ambitious. They will focus from 2011 onwards on companion animals as part of their animal welfare policy for the first time. The overall goal is that no more healthy pets are put down by 2016. In short: No-Kill in the whole of Europe. Some of the measures that will be implemented are:

• birth control
• closing of puppy mills
• EU wide pet licensing and registration
• rules for breeding and trading

All will benefit. Even countries like Germany and the Netherlands that already have the above in place, suffer from puppy mills in Eastern European countries that keep the illegal influx of puppies alive. Germany is an excellent example of what can be accomplished by the plan. Their efforts have resulted in only 8% of the population owning a dog. As far as I know, Germany is no-kill already. Compare that to France with a much softer legislation where 38% of the population has a dog. Great-Britain with 23% and 15,000 healthy dogs killed each year. The southern and eastern countries have even more issues. Strays, puppy mills, etc. So many lives can be saved. It would be great if we could follow the German and Dutch scenario all over Europe without local exceptions.

Can the EU make a difference?

The goals are ambitious and sound like music to my ears. As wonderful this news might seem, I have mixed feelings about it. The EU is definitely the place that could make a change, unfortunately it is also the Mecca of bureaucracy and compromise. The track record of the EU in the area of animal welfare is very poor. So far they have only focused on life-stock and progress in this area is futile, hindered by big fat agricultural lobby groups.

I hope the EU can break with its own past and accomplish their goals. This is their chance. No, this is our chance. The pet industry, puppy mills in particular, have no EU lobby power like agriculture. Neither is it likely they have the financial means to build up an EU sized lobby. On the other hand we have also seen the whole of Europe making the wrong decisions in animal welfare due to some farmers going to the barricades in just one of the member states.

Fair enough. I am excited, this gives hope nonetheless.

First steps

The action plan has just been set in place, and therefore nothing concrete has come out of Brussels yet. But some first steps already are visible. At the moment they are building websites to inform the public and gathering data to develop the policies. Everything will be published online. Keep your eyes on this unfolding website: http://www.carodog.eu/. Data from all European countries and from most other countries in the world will be collected here, with numbers and performance indicators about companion animal welfare. How many dogs are sheltered, how many re-homed, put down etc. Together with showcases of successful projects, the tools to analyze it, and what was done to reach those numbers. Compared per country. Bookmark this site, it will become a rich source of information.

Hovawarts and health

We all worry about our dog's health. What about Hovawarts? What conditions do they fight with as a breed?

A Dog and a Rescue

The story of Shiloh is about the spirit of a dog and the love of a rescue.

Whoever it was that named her Shiloh - the place where Mozes took the Ark - couldn't have picked a better name. Already diagnosed with hip dysplasia at the young age of 1½ year, her chances for a fulfilling life seemed non-existing. Not for Shiloh. She defied all odds and made an unbelievable come-back. Fighting her way through the surgeries and rehabilitation programs without loosing her spirit and sweet character. Her special affectionate personality left intact. Today Shiloh is fully recovered from her ordeal and waiting for adoption.

The rescue that took her in, project HALO, fought the battle together with Shiloh. Understaffed and under-financed, they did everything in their power to help Shiloh. It took them more than a year. They cared for her in foster, spreading the word and organizing fund raisers for the necessary surgeries and treatment. When the funds finally came available they helped her through two FHO surgeries, one for each hip, and the following long rehabilitation back to a life with proper use of both legs.

Lets write a happy end to this story together. Spread the word. Retweet, like, and share Shiloh's story. And she will find a home.

Update January 2012: Shiloh adopted after 2 years

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If you are interested in adopting Shiloh please visit http://www.projecthalo.net/ to fill out an application or contact Rhonda at projhalo@bellsouth.net for more information

Pet Blogger Challenge: The Day After

Yesterday's Pet Blogger Challenge turned out to be an awesome party. I made it to reading 55 blogs only to return to my own blog and finding 30+ comments of the same bloggers I was reading about. It was like you were all sitting in the room with me. What an energy. Could you feel it too? I am still shaking. And there is more, entries are still coming in!

I don't want to dwell, but I cannot help myself wanting to have a "the day after" chat. It is that passion thing again. If I would have had a schedule my next blog post would already have been shining out there. But now you know me, so why hide?

Thanks to all that participated. I found so much inspiration, advice and kind words. It has helped me tremendously to sort my own thoughts on how to "un-bully" this blog and how to move it forward. Key in it all was the schedule, suffocating the passion from which I write. I cannot point to one particular post, but all of you together convinced me to forget the schedule and continue to write from passion. And, important lesson learned 2, not mistake writing with the "publish" button. So the publishing is getting a schedule treatment. Not the writing, that will still come when it comes.

Now we are talking schedule or not-scheduled, did you read the entries from two of the most professional bloggers around, Roxanne Hawn's Pet Blogger Challenge Q&A, and Kim Clune's Pet Blogger Challenge. Both successful and established writers, yet a total different approach. A perfect example that personality and background define how you write. There is no right or wrong. The right style is the one that fits you best.

I am looking forward to next years Pet Blogger Challenge. Whats wrong with a yearly virtual group hug? Maybe we should call it mini-Blogpaws. Talking about Blogpaws, I would love to visit and meet all of you in real life. But as you know I take Viva and Kenzo with me everywhere, and having them on an intercontinental plain-trip is a nut I haven't cracked yet. Blogpaws Europe maybe? Does that exist? Nah, we would get lost in translation.

A huge thank you to Edie from Will my dog hate me and Amy from Gopetfriendly.com for hosting and organizing this challenge. You guys just rock.

Bad, bad blog!

Wake me up when it is about me again

This post is answering to the call of The Pet Blogger Challenge by Will my dog hate me Edie Jarolim and Go pet friendly Amy Burket. The challenge is to look back at what we've done with our blogs and forward to where we want to go with them, guided by 8 questions. A great opportunity to reflect and to have a peek in what other bloggers thoughts are.

The challenge was born from a feeling Edie and Amy had their blogs where bullying them. Not my problem? On second thought, this blog was bullying me too! Kenzo and Viva agreed to allow me for this one time, not to write about them, and to show the blog it's place. Bullying me is their privilege.

I am also going to brag a little, as Edie said that bragging is good. Just so you are warned in advance.

Blog: "Get a plan, stupid"

A blog born out of passion for dogs. And in particular a passion for the Hovawart breed, nose work and tracking. It just had to come out. They say passion cannot be planned. A convenient dream for me as I am just not the "plan" type of person. But sure it can.

I only needed a little push to actually start blogging. That push came in May of last year when my twitter pal Kim Garisson, @kimhalligan1, urged me to write a How To about tracking. The joy of my newly won plan-free blogging freedom soon faded. I realized that with my handicap of not being a trainer, behaviorist, vet, rescue volunteer, foster parent, author, or a native English speaker for that sake, left me with only one thing to do. Get a plan asap!

Quickly scrambling a plan together I decided to - next to writing about Hovawarts and tracking - focus on stories based on Kenzo and Viva's experiences that touched some "higher" subject of importance. Stories like Are you prepared for a dog fight, Kenzo stopped visiting the dog park or Viva into BAT. I also made a schedule to blog regularly, resulting in a couple of book reviews to fill up spaces. Which turned out to be not one of my best sides, so I dropped the schedule. More about the schedule later. But at least I had a plan of what to write about, the core of any blog.

Blog 1 - 0 Kenzo

Blog: "Stay focused, stupid"

Some events that enfolded in Denmark during the year, like the new Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), Cesar Milan's visit, the Danish puppy mill exporting to US, etc. were obviously out of scope for the blog. But I just had to speak out about them.

As it turned out it was also interesting enough for my audience overseas to read what was going on in a different part of the world. That made me glad, as we can all learn from each other's solutions, as well as our mistakes. When Mary Haight from Dancing Dog Blog listed the puppy mill story in her top 10 for 2010, I was swept of my feet. I have Mary and her blog on a pedestal, and having her sign it off as "news worthy" is for me a tremendous compliment. They don't come better than that.

Blog 1 - 1 Kenzo

Blog: "Speak English, stupid"

Deborah Flick from Boulder Dog blog was the first to mention us. She featured this blog in one of her Follow Friday recommendations as "versatile" and "international". What a terrific incentive was that! It also helped me to focus on what this blog was about and to stick with the plan. But most of all that recognition helped me to come over the block that my English is ... well, you probably already noticed.

Blog 1 - 2 Kenzo

Blog: "Listen to your audience, stupid"

Some of the feedback I received during the year was from people that either started tracking, or expressed their thanks for the inside information about Hovawarts. Information they felt they couldn't find anywhere else. That was pretty awesome too.

Some of the stories I wrote about Kenzo also touched a wider audience. I was so honored that the Small fearful dog therapist made it to the top 10 of 2010 from other bloggers like Little dogs on long leashes, Rescued insanity, Bark'n About and Dashing dachshund. How cool is that !?

What I like best about blogging is the rush when you find out people are actually reading what you are writing. It is just so exciting to get a comment and find out what that person has got out of the story. It is different for everybody and enriching the story itself. It makes me see things differently. What worries me is when I stay empty handed for a couple of weeks and the blog remains silent. I know the right story can be around the corner. I rather wait instead of squeezing something in that not originates from the passion that started the blog. It would just be fake. Seeing most people return after such a silence, makes it worthwhile I like to think.

Blog 1 - 3 Kenzo

Blog: "I told you so, stupid"

So actually this blog turned out not so Hovawart and tracking specific after all. But it is still the main mission.

Coming to the plan part for this year ... makes it awfully quiet once more. I must admit I don't have one yet. Neither did I find a solution to the schedule problem. I you find me blogging regularly next year, then you will know I have untied that knot. Any suggestions are welcome. Actually I hope to find some inspiration with the other participants of the Pet Blogger Challenge.

Blog 2 - 3 Kenzo

Slam-dunk.
I am afraid the bullying blog is not joining for the ride. Kenzo and Viva will be proud. For me, I enjoyed bullying back. This can keep me going for the whole year.

He came, he saw ... and did not whisper

The Dog Whisperer supporting the message against shock- and prong collars. How did that came about ?

Cesar Milan came to Denmark today, invited by the Danish national television. During the whole week up to the show the TV station couldn't keep a lit on their excitement about having this celebrity on their show. Commercials and teasers reminded us daily about this upcoming event, inviting people to take their dog and come meet the "Dog Whisperer". And not just any dog, dogs with issues please.

But something changed during the week. A lot of people wrote to the TV station expressing their concerns. Not only conveying their second thoughts about the use of harsh methods like yours truly, but also about Cesar's earlier shows on National Geographic where shock collars, prong collars, etc. where used. As it happens, these collars are illegal in Denmark.

The TV channel did it's research with a legal department working overtime, and changed the show at the last moment. No "Dog Whisperer magic" was shown and the whole thing was cut down into a 8 minute clip: After addressing the many concerns the station had received during the week, Cesar was interviewed about the use of shock- and prong collars. The host closed the interview by shortly stating - clearly directed to the viewers - that these type of collars are illegal in Denmark. Only one dog was invited in to meet Cesar for leash pulling issues. Cesar's session with the dog was not aired and the host only commented that "during the session we did not witness the use of harsh or illegal methods." Cesar's fans must have been really disappointed.

No promotion of "dominance" and "pack leader" methods, but focus on the harm done by shock- and prong collars. What a wonderful outcome.



Update January 7:
You can find a video of the clip here: "Doglovers angry on "Good evening Denmark". Cesar is interviewed in English. Unfortunately the initial introduction and close is in Danish and not subtitled.

Update January 8:
The discussion still continues in Denmark. Most major newspapers wrote about the story and the sentiment is the same. One newspaper, B.T., made a clip with their interview of Cesar. Note how the press officer in the end breaks off the interview: Accused of animal abuse. The Danish Kennel Club criticized Cesar's training methods "officialy" in one of their press release's on their website.