by Jacques Von Lunen , Special to The Oregonian

Saturday May 30, 2009, 7:22 PM

About 100 dogs from a puppy mill in Washington arrived at the Oregon Humane Society today.

These miniature American Eskimo dogs are part of the 371 dogs seized Wednesday at a Kennewick, Wash., puppy mill owned by Ella Stewart, 66. Benton County sheriff’s officials and local animal rescue volunteers seized the dogs from Stewart’s home and housed them at the Benton County fairgrounds.

OHS was contacted by representatives of the Humane Society of the United States and offered to take 100 of the dogs.

Three vans left Portland this morning to pick up the dogs. Temperatures were high today in Kennewick, about 93 degrees, so the team tried to get the dogs to the Portland shelter as quickly as possible. OHS animal care manager Autumn White was on site and said that about half the dogs are in bad shape with urine burns and coats matted with fecal matter. OHS had volunteer groomers on standby for Sunday and Monday to help these animals.

– Jacques Von Lunen; pets@jvonlunen.com

Technorati Tags: shelter dogs

As a nation, we claim to love cats and dogs. Millions of households have pets, and billions of dollars are spent yearly on pet supplies and food. But as a nation, we should take a hard, sobering look at a different annual statistic: the millions of dogs and cats given up to shelters or left to die on the streets. And the numbers tell only half the story.

Every cat or dog who dies as a result of pet overpopulation—whether humanely in a shelter or by injury, disease, or neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed. Here’s information about this crisis and why spaying and neutering is the first step to a solution.

Visit http://www.brightlion.com/ for more information.

Technorati Tags: animal shelters, euthanization, spay and neuter

January 19, 1:21 PM

by Helena Sung, Pet News Examiner

From now until July 16, 2009, for every ticket purchased to see "Hotel for Dogs," the Pedigree Foundation will make a donation to help shelter dogs–up to a maximum of $250,000.

For the past four years, Pedigree dog food has been running "Adoption Drive," a mutli-million dollar fundraising and awareness campaign meant to help the millions of homeless dogs in shelters and at breed rescues across the country.

Its past efforts have already raised $3.5 million dollars for 3,500 shelters and breed rescues across the country.

I think it’ll be a cinch to help Pedigree max out their donation from ticket sales to "Hotel for Dogs." 

To inspire more people to adopt dogs; to raise money and awareness for dogs living in shelters; to live up to our brand promise that ‘Everything we do is for the love of dogs…"

–Pedigree’s mission

"Dogs rule" is a promise and a celebration. It’s a promise that to us, dogs come first. That everything we do is because we love them.

–What the "Dogs rule" slogan means to Pedigree 

*For more information go to www.dogsrule.com

Technorati Tags: hotel for dogs, shelter dogs