A (Vick) Dog's Life!

CNN has a story about some of the dogs who were seized from the Michael Vick property last year. They were cared for and rehomed by a group out in California. And let's just say their life now sounds a bit more comfortable than the federal pen in Virginia. Some of the dogs have been taken in by Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. They have video of the dogs on their page and you can even sponsor some of them. And check it out--the dogs even have their own lawyer!

The Oakland, California-based pit bull rescue and education group Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls, or BAD RAP, which had done similar rescues from busts in California, asked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gill for permission to evaluate and rescue as many of the dogs as possible, with the hope of eventually placing them in adoptive homes.

"Much to our amazement, he said yes," said Reynolds, who heads BAD RAP. "This doesn't happen. People don't say yes to pit bulls."

Gill declined to comment, but those familiar with the Vick case said the Justice Department hoped early on to find a way to give the dogs a second chance. As part of his plea deal, Vick agreed to pay for the dogs' care.

The court even appointed a guardian and special master, Valparaiso University animal law expert Rebecca Huss, who oversaw the dogs' disposition and recommended which rescue groups would accept them.

I hope Michael Vick buys them bully sticks and stuffy toys every day. And lobster and steaks. I hope they get access to his credit card and buy us ALL lobster and steaks.

Fetch Me My Lawyer!

My always helpful granny sent me a story about doggie lawyers! They handle important matters like inheritance and custody disputes:

The result has been the beginning of a qualitative shift - not merely the stiffening of animal cruelty laws, though in most states that has happened, but changes that are turning animals into legal beings with their own interests, and, in a few cases, their own enforceable preferences. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia now allow pet owners to endow pet trusts, the kind of legislation that made it possible for New York hotel billionaire Leona Helmsley to bequeath $12 million to her dog, Trouble. In some states, veterinarians are now required to report suspicions of animal abuse in the same way pediatricians have to report child abuse. Courts are starting to take seriously the claim that pet owners are entitled to compensation for pain and suffering in cases involving the death of an animal. And, in a Tennessee case this spring, a court appointed a legal guardian to represent the interests of a dog in a custody dispute.

I MOST DEFINITELY need a lawyer to handle my important business including managing my large estate of squeaky toys, securing my inheritance from my ma ape (don't worry ma ape, I wasn't really try to push you down the stairs, I swear!), and for suing the neighbor dog who always barks at me and runs away. Harassment! Also, I get relatively frequent sexual harassment on the Internets, though that might be because I'm always posting pictures of my bum. Also, I kind of like it.

Oh Barf (and not the good kind!)*

Some British dude ate CORGI MEATBALLS in protest of Prince Phillip's fox hunting habit. Here's a story about it.

Mixing animal rights activism and the Royals can be a tricky business. But that's what a British performance artist tried to do when he ate part of a Corgi, one of the royal household's favourite animals. He choose one of those little dogs the Queen drags behind her every time she cuts a ribbon at a gallery or corner shop to demonstrate against the RSPCA's failure to prosecute her husband. “I’m raising awareness at the inability of the RSPCA to prosecute Prince Philip and his friends for shooting a fox this year. It was left to fight for life for five minutes then beaten to death.”

Here's another story, should you have a taste (no pun intended) for the macabre. And I'm not one to defend the royals (especially stupid Phillip), or fox hunting, but this is pure jackassery. And the story says that the corgi was not killed for him to eat but did die on a "breeding farm." WHAT?

Now, I feel the need to interject on behalf of my ma ape. She doesn't eat the manimals, either. But she DOES understand the difference between doing something meaningful on behalf of manimals and engaging in stupid, attention-grabbing stunts that have more to do with the naked apes' insatiable need for attention than they have to do with animals. That goes double for you PETA, and your stupid exploitation of women.

*Good barf=Biologically Appropriate Raw Food, barfing after a nice after-dinner snack of grass, barfing on my sissy as a funny joke.