Animals & Pets
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
New Orleans trying to decide where to build new dog parks
Posted by Kevin Allman on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 at 1:33 PM
Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration is surveying citizens and holding meetings about the development of dog parks in New Orleans. More than 1,400 residents have responded to an online survey aimed at determining the needs of dog owners (you're welcome to do so; the survey closes Friday). This week, the city’s Office of Neighborhood Engagement is holding a series of six public meetings last week (one in each council district; two in District C) to explain the fact-gathering process and get more community input. Tonight's meetings are at 6 pm at Holy Angels Church (3500 St. Claude Ave.) and the Cut-Off Recreation Center (6600 Belgrade St.).
“The goal is to put one dog park and one dog run in each council district,” explained Vince Smith, director of capital projects, to a group of about eight people gathered at the District A meeting last night at the Robert E. Smith Library in Lakeview. Smith said the city had identified 23 unofficial dog parks across the city — 10 of which are in District A — in addition to “City Bark,” the membership-only dog park in New Orleans City Park. Dog owners pay $43 per year for a permit to use the 4.3-acre off-leash park, a fenced area with amenities that include a dog wash and a smaller fenced-in area for little dogs.
It’s not only the sites that are unknown right now — it’s the funding. “We have no dedicated funds,” Smith said. “This is a site-selection process only.” Smith explained that the city isn’t sure yet whether any dog park monies would come from the capital operating budget or from New Orleans Recreation Department (NORD) funds, so there’s no timetable on building.
Those who can't make the meetings can still provide feedback to the city at dogpark@nola.gov.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Despite court order, Tony the tiger still at truck stop
Posted by Alex Woodward on Fri, Apr 6, 2012 at 3:55 PM
Yesterday, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) filed another lawsuit in the now years-long appeal to force the Tiger Truck Stop in Grosse Tete, La., to remove Tony, an 11-year-old Siberian-Bengal tiger.
Despite last year's ruling to prevent Tony's owner Michael Sandlin from confining the big cat, Sandlin, the suit charges, still houses Tony at the truck stop. In November 2011, Judge Michael Caldwell of East Baton Rouge District Court ruled that Sandlin's permit to keep the cat (issued by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, or LDWF) was illegally issued, must be revoked, and can't be renewed. The suit would, according to ALDF, "compel the (LDWF) to take steps to enforce the law and report Sandlin's illegal possession of Tony to local law enforcement for prosecution."
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Animal and pet events this weekend
Posted by Kevin Allman on Sat, Mar 31, 2012 at 8:00 AM
If the Final Four isn't your thing — and your only problem with our Pet Issue was that it was too short — there are a couple of events this weekend you need to know about:
• On the same day, the Spaymart organization is holding a "Paws Cause" fundraiser at the Shamrock in Mid-City, with games, food, a cash bar, a silent auction, pool and dart challenges and more. It's only $10, and funds go to the Spaymart Community Kitten Foster & Adoption Program. Spaymart says it found homes for more than 300 cats last year.
• And, as Alex Woodward wrote, the Villalobos Pitbull Rescue Center opens today on N. Claiborne Avenue. Read his January article on New Orleans' homeless pit bull problem.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Villalobos pitbull rescue center opens tomorrow
Posted by Alex Woodward on Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 6:00 PM
Founded by Tia Maria Torres, Villalobos Rescue Center is the star of the Animal Planet reality series Pit Bulls and Parolees, which follows Torres and the crew at the center. After being forced to move from its California facility, it opened another, this one in New Orleans. The new location celebrates its grand opening tomorrow.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Report: Louisiana dolphins "severely ill"
Posted by Alex Woodward on Fri, Mar 23, 2012 at 5:20 PM
- NOAA
- Dolphins jump over strands of oil in the Gulf of Mexico in July 2010.
In Barataria Bay, scientists and researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association have been studying bottlenose dolphins in the wake of the BP oil disaster.
The NOAA performed physicals on 32 dolphins in 2011, and today, the early results are dramatic: many are "underweight, anemic, have low blood sugar and/or some symptoms of liver and lung disease," and "nearly half also have abnormally low levels of the hormones that help with stress response, metabolism and immune function." One of those dolphins died in early 2012.
An "Unusual Mortality Event" was declared by NOAA following a spike in dolphins entering (and dying in) the northern Gulf of Mexico — since February 2010, NOAA said, more than 675 dolphins have been stranded there (atypical of an average 74 per year). Most have died, but 33 were stranded alive, and seven were put into rehabilitation, according to NOAA.
NOAA told Baton Rouge's Advocate that though a link can't be made between the 2010 oil disaster and the plunge in dolphin health, it's been seen before.
The study was performed under the Natural Resource Damage Assessment, a requirement under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints love homeless pets
Posted by Alex Woodward on Thu, Mar 22, 2012 at 9:45 AM
- LA/SPCA
- Gumbo, Mark Ingram and a friend.
As the New Orleans Saints organization squares its feet following one of the biggest blows to its entire world, some team members, in likely one of their first public appearances following Bountygate 2012, are publicly announcing... their love to animals.
And not just Gumbo, everyone's favorite juiced up St. Bernard. Defensive end Jeff Charleston, center Brian de la Puente, golden-footed kicker Thomas Morstead and center Matt Tennant are active volunteers with the Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (LA/SPCA) — last year, the players completed volunteer orientation and they spend downtime at the Algiers shelter. (Running back Mark Ingram also recently donated $5,000 to the organization's Pet Trust for animals in need.)
Charleston will emcee this weekend's Dog Day Afternoon at City Park, the LA/SPCA's 30th annual event, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 25. The event has live music from Amanda Shaw, a walkathon, food and dog contests.
For more information on pet adoptions, check out some resources in Gambit's fifth annual pet issue.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Local cat achieves global Internet fame
Posted by Kevin Allman on Fri, Mar 9, 2012 at 10:37 AM
If you've ever been to Molly's at the Market in the French Quarter, you've probably seen Mr. Wu, the bar cat who's always ready to greet any thirsty patron (except, perhaps, the health inspector). Local Internet man-about-town The Cajun Boy captured a great photo of Mr. Wu enjoying a drink before Krewe du Vieux, and now the image of Mr. Wu on a barstool has gone big time on I Can Haz Cheezburger, the website repository of thousands of "kitteh" pictures with misspelled captions:
Cue squeals of girlish delight around the globe, but note: No, the cat doesn't hang out at a bar called "Cajun Boy."
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Sens. David Vitter and Mary Landrieu honored by Humane Society
Posted by Kevin Allman on Thu, Mar 8, 2012 at 10:29 AM
Sen. David Vitter, R-La., was named the Humane Senator of the Year for his leadership on securing needed funding to strengthen USDA enforcement of key animal welfare laws, as well as on bills to require licensing and inspections of puppy mills selling directly to the public via the Internet or other means (the PUPS Act, S. 707) and to prohibit interstate and foreign commerce in nonhuman primates for the pet trade (the Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 1324). Sen. Vitter helped get a bipartisan group of 34 Sens. to join in seeking funding for USDA to improve its oversight of puppy mills, laboratories, zoos, circuses and other regulated facilities; rein in the illegal “soring” of show horses (where trainers inflict severe pain on the animals’ legs and hooves to make it hurt them to step down, so they will exaggerate their high-stepping gait and win prizes); strengthen enforcement of the humane slaughter law; prevent illegal animal fighting; ease a shortage of veterinarians in rural areas and USDA positions through student loan repayment; and help address the needs of animals in disasters. Sen. Vitter also has been a champion over the years on legislation to require accurate labeling of fur apparel regardless of dollar value, to crack down on dogfighting and cockfighting, to ban the creation and distribution of obscene animal torture (“crush”) videos, and to strengthen the law against shark finning (cutting the fins off and throwing the rest of the living animals back in the water).
Vitter announced the news himself on his Twitter feed, noting "My fmly adopted rescue dog-Elle-in '09."
Last month, the Humane Society named Sen. Mary Landrieu its "Humane Horsewoman of the Year":
because of her tireless efforts to introduce and gain support for the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act (S. 1176/H.R. 2966) in the U.S. Senate. We also recognized her successful efforts as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee to help secure a 40 percent increase in funds for the enforcement of the Horse Protection Act to crack down on criminal soring of Tennessee walking horses in show competitions."
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Win a ride with the Budweiser Clydesdales at Mardi Gras
Posted by Kandace Graves on Tue, Feb 14, 2012 at 10:33 AM
- Photo courtesy Budweiser
Do it for the horses (and the police officers who ride them). Listen to music, eat food from popular restaurants and enter a raffle to ride with the Budweiser Clydesdales in a Carnival parade. You can do those things and more at the Louisiana Hospitality Foundation’s Horses, Hops & Cops fundraiser from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) Mounted Division in City Park (Harrison Avenue and Marconi Drive).
Proceeds go to the NOPD Mounted Division to purchase horses and pay for training, technical equipment and supplies for mounted police officers.
The event is co-hosted by local Budweiser distributor Southern Eagle Sales & Service, and the Budweiser Clydesdales will be there. Partygoers can have photos taken with the long-haired equines or participate in interactive activities with the horses. A raffle features a chance to ride in a Mardi Gras parade in a wagon pulled by eight Clydesdales.
Cafe Hope, Cafe Reconcile, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, Ernst Cafe, Galatoire’s, Remoulade and Zea’s Rotisserie & Grill are among vendors offering food and drinks for $5 per serving. There’s also a crafts marketplace.
DJ Captain Charles and Imaginary Frenz provide the music.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
On pit bulls and writing about your best friends
Posted by Alex Woodward on Tue, Jan 17, 2012 at 2:40 PM
- Cheryl Gerber
- Bowser and Banks at Animal Rescue New Orleans
In college, I figured I could manage two and a half jobs. My senior year, on top of classes and keeping deliriously long hours at the school paper and freelancing, I quit a restaurant job and answered a Craigslist ad for a graveyard shift at a soon-to-open clinic for special needs dogs. I was hired, and from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., I'd walk, feed, pet and try not to doze off for too long with dogs big and small, in wheelchairs or incontinent, epileptic or with severe anxiety or worse. Not too sure how I looked or performed in classes the rest of that year, but I remember graduating (then going to work).
The first dog I met there was a white, one-year-old pit bull named Party, who was found over Mardi Gras, abandoned and covered in spray paint. He greeted me when I arrived for the interview, and he never left my side after I arrived for work. The clinic fostered him. He later was adopted, and I was a little heartbroken. There were many, many other pit bulls, and I was lucky to be friends with all of them.
I mention pit bulls because I wrote this week's cover story on them.
Top Commenters
Recent Comments
-
Re: Casting Confederacy
Great, but I think John Goodman would be better to play Ignatius and he lives…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Public Transit Tuesdays: Kenner Local
I had to laugh at the vision of you, in your floral dress, kicking in…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
Personally, I'm glad they are printing the paper less. I think it is a waste…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I am sad.
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
It's not the market, it's the cretins who own the paper. It has been making…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
It's inevitable that this would happen someday. The TP/SI has alienated a good portion of…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I live out of state and used NOLA.com to get my fix…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
The new, revamped NOLA.com is horrendous. I live out of state and…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
@markmayhew - markets are harsh sometimes, but the people involved can still be decent. That…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I cannot imagine not enjoying tea and the TP each and every morning.
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
All the people whining about the loss of the paper should have supported the goddamned…
- on May 24, 2012
-
Re: Times-Picayune employees in shock as extent of Newhouse cuts begins to emerge
I read multiple news websites every morning on my iPhone but I'm also an automatically…
-
on May 24, 2012
via mobile
- More »
