Pet Trust Bill Becomes Law
In late July, Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 685, the Pet Trust Bill, into law. The new statute, authored by Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), makes pet trusts valid and enforceable in California.
California courts have recognized honorary pet trusts for many years, but they have had no enforcement capability. SB 685 requires trustees to carry out trust instructions regarding pets and includes oversight provisions to guarantee performance.
SB 685 (Chapter 168), which was supported by The San Francisco SPCA, The Humane Society of the United States, and several other major organizations, will go into effect on January 1, 2009.
Noe Dogs Frolic Again
For more than a year, the dog run at the Noe Valley Recreation Center and Park between Sanchez and Church Sts. on 30th St. in San Francisco was closed, much to the dismay of its canine neighbors and their humans. Now it’s open again, a bit ahead of schedule, no less. Thanks to the efforts of vocal locals, the dog run was reopened in late July.
Joby’s Run is now the official name of the spruced up dog play area, after Joby Shinoff, a leading off-leash advocate who died of cancer last November. Several years ago, he began lobbying for a play area for dogs separate from the athletic field, and more recently worked with the city’s Recreation and Park Department to create a permanent dog run in the agency’s renovation plans for the park.
Dog Adopts Tiger Cubs
A dog in southeast Kansas zoo is playing nursemaid to three rare white tiger cubs snubbed by their actual mother. When the tigress showed no interest in caring for her cubs, born in late July at the Safari Zoological Park in Caney, Kansas, owner Tom Harvey’s Golden Retriever, whose own puppies had recently been weaned, took on the job of nurturing them.
Harvey said he got the Golden Retriever, Isabella, after his wife saw a show on Animal Planet about dogs caring for tiger cubs. Isabbela licks, cleans, and feeds the cubs just like they were her puppies. For pictures of this unusual (though apparently not unheard of) phenomenon, visit www.safaripark.org.
Dogwalking a Sin?
In a move designed to discourage the mixing of the sexes, Saudi Arabia’s Islamic religious police – the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice – has outlawed dog-walking in public in the capital city, Riyadh, as well as the sale of dogs and cats as pets.
Authorities insist the law will be enforced (unlike similar prohibitions in other Saudi Arabian cities) and that pets found outside with male guardians will be confiscated. Observers say it was always rare to see anyone walking a dog – much less a cat – in the city, and that the prohibition is meant to discourage pet ownership, which conservative Saudis view as a corrupting Western influence.
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