Dogged Blog

Liveblogging the No-Kill Conference: Saving lives 2.0

Walked into this session a bit late, as Kim and I had to go in search of caffeine. I'm sorry that we are both at the same session, but I'm a big fan of Mike Fry, who's giving it, and it's on social media, so... ummm. Duh.



When I came in, he was talking about emerging communication standards -- more info at atechworld.ning.com.



Then he went into social networking. Some jokes about Friendster. Today, if Facebook were a country, would be third largest country in world.



Email is full of spam now, lots of email we don't want. Send a big huge email blast, everyone's like, "Animal Ark's sending me spam again."



On social network, you are 'friends' with people and WANT to see their stuff.



Social networking is like buying a beer at a baseball game... you pass down your money, people pass back your beer.



People are more likely to do things when asked by their friends on social media. An underlying expectation that people are working for a common good -- underlies Internet, social networking site.



"The idea of the "common good" foundation of the Internet, I mean it down to my bones."



Basis of Internet is service providers forwarding on "bits and bytes," like email, of people they have no relationship and pay nothing... it's pretty phenomenal.



The Internet is a working model of the human mind... social vs. neural networking. We use Internet to adopt animals, raise money, but it's real value is that it elevates the consciousness of the world.



Used to be that a small number of media outlets controlled all information flow. Social media has changed all of that.



Parallel in animal welfare: Large organizations used to control flow of information. Cultural myths from the top down: "Pet overpopulation." "Have to kill bust dogs." Became social norm.



Organizations who are used to GIVING information became deaf to the people who were receiving the information. But that is changing very rapidly.



No Kill Nation Facebook page -- around 70,000 followers/fans/direct connections. (http://www.facebook.com/NoKillNation)



Example of Wilkes County, NC, bust dog massacre (note from Christie: "Massacre" is my word). In 2009, HSUS policy to kill all dogs "rescued" during dog fight busts went viral on social networks, and triggered HSUS to change its policy.



Other example: There is a "media blackout" on Gulf spill, but local residents and fishermen are using their cell phones and cameras and loading up to YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, Twitter -- forcing mainstream media to do a better job with that story.



"The importance of how we use this can't be overstated."



"Transparency of elections in Africa, due to use of Twitter among citizens, credited with reducing corruption."



Another example: Best Friends and Oreo's Law.



Oreo's Law modeled on Hayden Law in CA.



Best Friends has supported Hayden and similar shelter access laws. But Best Friends was quiet on Oreo's Law. Why?



Assemblymember Micah Kellner went on Mike's radio show, AnimalWise Radio, and said Best Friends was working behind the scenes against Oreo's Law.



No Kill Nation Facebook page posted link to radio show -- huge eruption on Best Friends Facebook page inundated with users asking about it -- totally pushing their own organizational posts off the page.



"If you fail to operate in a transparent way, social media will kick your butt."



Best Friends was not transparent, and they've acknowledged that, and they got their butt kicked for it.



They apologized later -- but poor word choices. Kind of fed the flames.



Donors and supporters saying, this issue (shelter access) is so important to our movement -- this should have been a pub.ic discussion.



Target markets itself as a gay-friendly.... turns out the CEO of Target donated money to an anti-gay candidate... and the company itself donated $150 K to the campaign. Some of this candidate's associates actually advocate death for gay people. If you go to Target's Facebook page, it's all over it.



When Human Rights Campaign was silent on it, the gay community went to THEIR Facebook page and forced them to speak up.



"That $150,000 donation Target made is going to cost them millions of dollars."



"If you become connected through social media, you can literally change the world in a matter of days."



Recommends that organizations have multiple Facebook pages -- for instance, for a campaign or area of focus. (Fromes  Christie: HUGE agreement from me!) "Split your messages into different 'channels.'"



(Note from Christie: He's a fan of more automation in social media than I am -- which makes sense, he's a techie!)



Says to add widgets to your organization's website.



Add a "share" button to all your web pages -- he likes Add This.



Don't try to get followers just by "liking" others.



He says to automate your Tweets. (From Christie: Again, this is something I disagree with him on -- I'm not against automation per se, but Twitter works best when you engage personally. And I don't feel it's possible to compose a message that equally effective on Twitter as on Facebook. JMO. And I'm totally sorry for so many of my own opinions here!) He does say they never did anything better than automate Tweets of adoptions and volunteers coming in. (Okay, yes, I think that's a good idea. I will sincerely try to stop editorializing now.)



Keep your messages on topic. Don't talk about what you had for breakfast.



Organizations/influencers/anyone who wants to change the world should strive to have ten times more people following them on Twitter than they follow.



Only follow people who are really doing things you want to hear about. Improves the strength of your network. Makes it more useful.



He says, "Don't be a Debbie Downer."  Not all the dire sad warnings about pets -- people tune out. (YES!)



Says BE PROVOCATIVE. Don't be afraid to have an opinion. (YES TIMES TEN!)



This technology can be used in virtually everything we do. These examples are just the tip of the iceberg.



Now Mike is my hero because he's giving us a ten minute break! Yay! George Morris from the No Kill Nation Facebook page came over and introduced himself and I snapped his photo -- at right.



Next Mike introduced the video below, from the "Turbocharged" adoption program at the Nevada Humane Society.



I love the hell out of this video, a take-off on the massively viral "Wedding entrance video." Because, as they say at NHS, they make a really big deal out of adoptions.



No kidding.



Watch... enjoy... we are!







Lots of laughter in the room, and applause when the dog makes his entrance!



Mike: "How much do you think that cost them? Virtually nothing." Been downloaded more than 50,000 people with a fun, exciting message.



Announced that social network-integrated shelter management software they use at his shelter (Animal Ark in Minnesota) will be available for free to shelters in the US and Canada. Applause.



Will start with pilot programs with hand-picked shelters, and will try to include some rescue groups too. Email [email protected] if you want to try it.



Another secret of the Internet a lot of people don't know is how much money you can make. Animal Ark generates at least $50K a year from animal sponsorships on their website alone. http://www.animalarkshelter.org



I asked if it's mostly local money or national; he said it becomes more national/international every year. Been doing 2000, but as got bigger voice (they have a radio show etc), people from all over the country and world started to donate.



Said the only cost to those who use their system, which includes this donation sponsorship system, will be a "tiny cut" to cover their costs. "A cut of money you're not getting now." Believes with his experience that shelters and rescue groups should be able to raise money easily with this.



Full blown shelter management system, integrated to website of organization, Facebook, Twitter. Full medical system. Content management for website.



Mike feels that Twitter can be invaluable for Tweeting lost and found pets. Conversation on this now on http://atechworld.ning.com/fourm/topics/tweeting-lostfound-pets



By the way, you can follow Tweets from the conference on Twitter hashtag #nokill

Liveblogging the No-Kill Conference: Forcing Transparency

The "Forcing Transparency" session is part of the legal track, and focuses on how to use "open government, public records, and freedom of information laws to get statistics, policies, internal documents and more." It's given by attorney Kate M. Neiswender. From official bio:

Kate Neiswinder is an attorney specializing in land use, business litigation and environmental law. Kate was the Chief Consultant to the California Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildlife. In the course of this work, she defended and litigated under California's landmark 1998 Animal Shelter Law, the nation's first law making it illegal for shelters to kill animals if rescue groups are willing to save them.

Starting in five minutes...



And here we go.



"I'm not a recovering lawyer. I actually continue to practice." (Laughter."



Said in our swag bags is a disc with more info on using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get public records.



Said she feels very frustrated when she doesn't have power. So often public agencies have all the power and hold their cards close to their chests. "It's maddening."



Wants to give us tools not to get mad, but "get even."



We want public records to monitor what's happening in shelters. In CA, we have the Hayden Law, which creates a system to make the shelter run better. Lengthened holding periods, required shelters to give access to rescue groups. Other law mandated all shelters spay/neuter before adoption and prompt and reasonable vet care, and some other things.



But no one was following the law. Even when she'd show them the law. Then in 2004, they sued Kern County Animal Control.



First made series of public records act requests. Found out they weren't following law. Prelude to litigation.



But she's learned rescuers are also using public records laws to get shelter statistics to go to their legislators to try to change things in their areas by showing what other counties are doing.



Legislators are only human and flawed, but if you can provide them with statistical evidence of what's happening in their jurisdiction they will often step up.



First, who can we get public records from? State and federal government, and any public entitity.



Federal government, FOIA. All 50 states and DC have some kind of public records act or "Sunshine Law."



Recommends IRE.org and one First Amendment Center.



Praised reporters for doing most to get public records. In survey, say that their legal requests for information are often ignored or denied. This, she says, proves how important those records are, and access to them.



The ultimate remedy is filing a lawsuit, but you have to carefully take all the steps before that. Lawsuits are expensive. Reporters say that greatest obstacle to enforcing public records laws is cost of litigating. But this is a constitutional issue and you have a RIGHT to these records.



First: KNOW YOUR LAW.



California has a really good public records act.



Go to your law and see what your state's procedure is,and how much you can get. Most public records can be obtained if you name them, describe them, correctly. Start with Google, state name and "public records act." Many of your best resources are tied to journalists in your state. Ask a friend who is a reporter.



(From Christie: Society of Professional Journalists has good resources on this.)



Every state is different. If you live in MD, don't think you know what VA is like.



What is a record?



What you're asking for is as important as knowing the law. A record includes written docs, emails, computer records, kennel cards, medical records, adoption records. But they are not required to do a complication of records, answer questions, do an audit or survey.



Chameleon is a shelter computer system. If they've got Chameleon say you want all their Chameleon records for a given time period. Computerized records makes this SO much easier.



You want specific information that will help you with your outcome. For example, we had a suspicion from rescue workers that the people who were euthanizing animals did not have any training to do so. In CA, it's the law that a shelter worker have a min of 8 hrs training to do euthanasia.



First, we asked for names of all shelter workers. Then asked for every document you have for people named in request one have training. We got one certificate for 8 people. It was very helpful because it's truth they're not following the law.



Law is black and white. Judges don't want to hear shelters didn't do a 'good enough" job or didn't provide "reasonable vet care." Those are a gray area. Stay out of it. Try to show they BROKE THE LAW. Not that animals aren't being treated fairly, but black and white clean that they broke the law. "Didn't hold the dog for four days, law says you have to. " "They don't have required training." Etc.



One shelter didn't have computer, gave us hundreds of kennel cards. "It was a bear, but it's doable."



Recommends using a copy service if you have to review and copy public records on site, found under "Attorney services" on google. Says they're usually very reasonable, and it's something they do all the time.



When to use public records laws?



Holding periods. Often anecdotal information from rescuers that animals are not being held as long as required. Use public records laws to find out how long animals are being held.



Medical records. We had anecdotal info that animals were being held without treatment of broken bones etc. Always ask for big chunks of time... 1-2 years in time. Judges don't like records older than that.



Controlled substances. Put in mirror requests to the county or state, and also to the DEA (Federal request). Compare what they say to the DEA to what they report locally.



We had one shelter where a rescue worker said a shelter worker was euthanizing dogs for a rescue after hours for no cost. And technically, the minute there is an owner surrender, EVEN FROM A RESCUE, the animal has to be held for 4 days if you have worker-friendly hours, 6 if you don't. (In CA.) So a mirror request to DEA and locally can provide proof of this.



Many shelters in CA use inmate labor. In San Luis Obispo County there was evidence inmates were getting into the drugs, and they were losing a lot of euthanasia solution. Go to the DEA.



Staff qualifications. Ask for copy for policy and procedures manual that tells what staff is given when hired. What are qualifications to become employee?



Statistics. Again, not always useful for courts, but very important for your legislatures.



It's also important to know your shelter. Knowing what shelters do on a day to day basis can make it easier for you to know what to ask for.



Note: (Took questions from audience at this point -- had huge wave of jet lag so took a little blogging break. Sorry.)



Said you will often find shelters don't know the laws in many cases, and in some know it but choose to ignore it.



But don't assume they know the law.



What you can't get:



In most states, you can't get annual reports, pay scale, disciplinary records in personnel files.



Can't get names of adopting parties in CA, other places.



Names of complaining parties are privileged.



Helpful hint: Offer to allow redactions.



Which agencies must cooperate? All state and fed'l agencies, public shelters, private shelters with public contract, counties, cities, DEA.



Federal gov't is different from states, cities and counties. FOIA is Freedom of Information Act. Sample letter in packet she provided.



Often good to start with broad brush stuff, like Chameleon records. You might see something in those that prompts additional requests -- such as, "Gee, they're killing all the ferals." You're not limited -- you can make a new request every day for a year. They may get annoyed with you, but it's your right.



Not going to candy coat this: They make you wait. They delay. Don't waste your time to force them to give records more quickly than they're going to give them to you, unless they're stonewalling and it drags on for months. Because by the time you file a lawsuit, they'll have given you the records -- and they know it. So don't get too excited about time lines.



There is no fee for access, but fees for copying. In your letter offer to pay the cost of copying so they recognize you're aware of the law.



If agency withholds records, have to tell you what they're withholding, and why. When you get to this point, you're probably talking to someone who works for the government or a shelter director. They tend to feel threatened because you're a lawyer and they know a lawsuit is coming. So try to get to talk to a LAWYER, and try to get a lawyer to talk to them for you. City attorney, county counsel, will know the law and that they have to release records.



My clients tend to get very emotional about these issues. "Don't get mad, get even." Don't raise your voice, or a fuss. Be quiet, reasoned, rational. Gov't thinks animal rights people are table-pounding and irrational. Be ultra-rational and cooperative.



Eventually you'll file a lawsuit and pounding the table doesn't work. You need the law. The black and white stuff.



With FOIA, they have to provide you something in writing within 20 days. Most shelter-related FOIA requests will be to the DEA.



If a private organization holds a contract animal control, just go straight tot he city or county and request the information from them, not directly from organization.



For a 501 C 3, you can ask for their federal tax return -- can get a lot of info that way. Pretty amazing. Go to Guidestar.org, get 990s,can see if there is federal or state grant funding, and go to the gov't grantor and ask for information.



Some private shelters are the worst offenders and it's very infuriating, but they often are doing work for cities and counties and you can get it that way.



And once you get this information, you can put it on the web. It's public information. Just be careful disseminating personal information about an individual. Be very shy of that, talk to a lawyer in your jurisdiction.



Keep record of every phone call you make. Keep a log. Write down who you talked to, when, what was said. Keep every letter, every email. If you file a lawsuit, you have to show you were reasonable and they didn't give you what you asked for.



Lawsuits. Once you get to that point, you've made your calls, written everything down, now it's time to file a suit. What kind of suit?



Fighting public entities is a specialty. To find a lawyer, go t0 environmental lawyers who are used to suing government. Very few lawyers do animal law -- there's no money.



Don't just pick any lawyer. You need someone who knows how to fight government.



You'll file a petition for writ of mandate. You are suing the government to perform a ministerial act. There are no damages. You get an order, a writ, and it says City, immediately release the following records to this person.



It's an expedited procedure, it's very fast. You need to find someone who is familiar with this.



The cost is an obstacle. In most jurisdictions, filing fee $200-500. My recommendation is if you have an organization, use the organization to sue, not yourself. If you are trying to sue for something that is for the benefit of the public, it's better to have an organization so at the end of it all, I was suing on behalf of an organization that was formed to protect environment, companion animals -- better claim on getting fees awarded.



You can do this without an attorney. It would take a smart person quite a bit of time on the Internet and in a law library. You may be able to find an attorney who is willing to give you some help but not appear in court.



Remember as you look for records, you may end up in front of a judge. Never forget. This is why you always act very reasonable. Every letter you write, every call. Never forget. Stay calm, measured. Passion is wonderful, but it's a young man's sport. The older I get, the more I know: stay calm.



Getting excited, passionate, is a mistake. Don't do it. They already think animal rights people and environmentalists are crazy, emotional.



When I changed my presentation style, I started winning in trial court all the time.



Kern County case one of my favorites. It was 2004, six years into Hayden. No one had filed a suit under the law.



We had three rescue groups, two dog, one cat, told us this was the worst shelter in the history of time. Locked gate, wouldn't show you any animals, all owner relinquished killed on impoundment, holding periods not met, 97 percent of cats killed. Never followed Hayden. Anecdotal evidence untrained people euthanizing.



Put together a temporary restraining order motion. You only give them one day notice telling shelter you're asking for an order stopping all euthanasias at the shelter.



Had a very nice cooperative county counsel, which is not usual!



Judge had 6 photos of his dog in his chambers! They got the restraining order, and then stopped euthanasias temporarily.



The shelter started working with them. County counsel was working with them. Judge sympathetic. Don't go to court at that point -- keep lawsuit hanging over their heads to motivate them.



We got a lot of reform at that shelter, although it's still far from perfect. We did finally go to trial, though, because we couldn't solve some of them. We lost on vet care, because there was no vet who examined the animal on intake and could testify that care provided was not up to the standard of care. Expert testimony is a big area in law.



We got them on violation of holding periods, drug laws, feral cats... but we couldn't do it on the "gray area" of vet care. Law likes black and white.



Ultimately, litigation is a means to an end, a tool.



Resources:



http://www.ire.org/foi/bga



http://www.firstamendment.org/resources.html

Liveblogging the No-Kill Conference: Welcome and keynote

Hi, everyone! I'm here in Washington DC with our own Kim Thornton right next to me, waiting for the welcome and keynote addresses for the 2010 No-Kill Conference.



Just a general note about liveblogging: This is really live, so there will be typos. Anything in quotation marks is a direct quote, other things are a paraphrase, but as close as I can get them. From time to time refresh the page to see new material. When each post is done, I'll put the body of it behind a "cut" so as not to mess up the main page.



Throughout today and tomorrow, Kim and I will be liveblogging the sessions we attend, so keep coming back!



Now, we wait...



Nathan Winograd takes the stage to much applause.







"You are among friends here."



Says a revolution is taking place across the country. There will be many shelter directors here saving more than 90 percent of the animals in their communities, and have "heard all the excuses" about why every community can't do that.



There are no-kill communities in red states and blue states, north and south, all over the country and the world. Many new since last conference, including Duluth, MN and Shelby County, KY.



All have done it with the same programs and with leadership.



Discussed litigation as well as using existing laws to save animals. Voices for feral cats and pit bulls.



"Killing animals is never an act of kindness when those animals are not suffering."



"It is our desire, our goal, that you will leave inspired."



Attorney, animal control director, rescue group, activist, animal lover -- part of army of compassion in a battle for the hearts and souls of America's shelters. "This is our country, there are our shelters, these are our animals."



"There is no doubt that the No Kill movement has come into its own over the last two years."



Compares no-kill movement to social movements of the past, while also saying those struggles were different from this one. But we can learn from those movements. "History is our guide."



All those movements knew that in order to sustain the changes they were seeking, they must change the law.



Today, most shelters can legally kill animals that come through their doors. The choice is up to the shelters (except strays).



It's at the discretion of the shelters.



We have made huge progress. Killing is on the decline and there are many no-kill communities. But... still many problems. Gives example of woman who was not able to adopt at a shelter due to hours, red tape, etc.



"We can make that reality a thing of the past... just like other movements have."



The main focus of Nathan's presentation so far is that we have to codify these changes in law.



(Comment from Christie: Nathan just put up slides of other social justice movements -- for civil rights, he used Dr. Martin Luther King and Harvey Milk! Thank you for that, Nathan!)



We have laws for voting rights, environmental protection, ending discrimination. We shouldn't just want a promise that shelters will do better -- we must demand accountability, not rhetoric. We need reform that will survive beyond a current director.



Introduces "The Tragedy of Oreo."



"Wasted opportunity for redemption."



Could lessen futility of her death if we learn from it.



Said Oreo's Law sought to level playing field between big nonprofits in our movement, and the small ones that are prevented from doing their mission by the large, wealthy organizations.



ASPCA, he said, used its power to defeat the bill despite massive public support that shut down New York State Assembly servers more than once.



But while lifesaving law was being undermined in New York, the State of Delaware passed groundbreaking legislation protecting lives of sheltered animals.



No fear mongering about hoarders or dog fighting or burden to small shelters or costs... because big national organizations weren't involved. Passed UNANIMOUSLY in both houses of Delaware legislature.



"Who in their right mind could possibly be against legislation to save animals?" Common sense policies.



"Imagine NRDC opposing legilsation to make sure the BP spill didn't happen again." "That is the humane movement we have inherited." We have to fight very groups founded to save animals.



Social justice movements first need to win hearts and minds of American public -- this is an obstacle we do not face.



Even in down economy, spending on animals and giving to animal charities are up. We cut back on our own needs to meet the needs of our animals. Evidence people care is all around us.



Thank you letters from people who adopt animals. People at dog park or on morning walks, at the vet's offices, the faces of scared people wondering what's wrong or tears when they say goodbye. Best selling books about animals. Success of movies about animals, a reflection of our love for them.



No Kill success is the result of PEOPLE, and it has been the PUBLIC who makes the difference in terms of volunteering, donations, foster care. "There is enough love and compassion to overcome the irresponsibility of the few."



Animals do not need to die in animal shelters "because people are irresponsible and do not care about them. People love animals."



If we introduce the laws to save animals, the public is on our sides.



"I am not a religious person, but that does not mean I am a man without faith." He says his faith is in the compassion of his fellow people.



"I understand that my love for animals and your love for animals is not so unique as we've been led to believe. it resides in most people."



"In our movement, out battle is not against the many, but the few, those with a vested interest in the status quo."



"Force them by the rule of law to no longer kill."



We outnumber those people by the millions. We have to stop deferring to leaders who let us down again and again.



What was once called impossible is now inevitable.



Now Richard Avanzino takes the stage.



Thanks everyone for being here. Calls Nathan's welcome message inspirational and exciting. Thanks Nathan for giving him a chance for speaking.



"We are on the brink. A new day is on hand. We are about to achieve what was once called impossible."



"We believe that the no-kill nation is at hand."



Says there is hard fact evidence.



More shelter medicine programs, more no kill nations showing all the ways to market pets, save treatables. Increased donations. Shelter Pet Project.



Talked about numbers from research done developing Shelter Pet Project (Ad Council campaign promoting shelter pets.)



Only need to convince 3-4 million out of 17 million people who are "undecided" but willing to adopt from shelters to do so. Then we'll be saving all healthy and treatable dogs and cats.



Talks about how he came into the movement. Introduces photo of Sido, calls her "the love of my life... although my wife might take exception to that."



Sido's owner died, left in will she should be euthanized. SF/SPCA refused to comply. Reporters would ask, "Why are you fighting to save 11 year old dog?" Then they'd meet Sido and she'd lick their hand and look into their eyes, and Rich wouldn't have to say anything.



Sido had 3000 people who wanted to adopt her... who says you can't adopt older pets? When people saw the spirit and love and unconditional devotion of this devoted friend, they did the job.



Rich used to be a lobbyist and "a recovering attorney." They went to court. Sido had three volunteer lawyers. Governor decided to sign bill which legislature passed in 17 days. Court ruled dogs have the right to love. First time!





"Too many animals, not enough homes? Bunk. Baloney." Talked about Maddie's Matchmaker Adoptathon. 1810 animals adopetd in one weekend.



Says it's a myth that free adoptions are poor quality. Says it's a myth that we can't adopt our way out of the problem.



"It's not that there are too many animals, not enough homes. It's that we need to get their story out better." When people know the story, they respond.



YES WE CAN!



We'll look back on today as the tipping point. "Some of us are radical... Nathan...." (Laughter.) But we can all do this, we're already doing it.



Don't listen to the naysayers. Instead of being marginalized, or impossible dreamers, we are the futures.



We need to stand up and say, "This pet does not died. This pet goes home. This pet needs to live, because to take its life is a crime."



Rich and Nathan hug, then Nathan returns to the podium and says, "Everyone, go out and seize the day!"



Now, on to the sessions!

Reptile food recalled for salmonella contamination

From Cindy Steinle over at kingsnake.com, news about a recall of frozen rats, mice and chicks sold as reptile food by Mice Direct. From the FDA notice:

The frozen reptile feed was distributed in all states, except Hawaii, through pet stores and by mail order and direct delivery.



Frozen reptile feed was shipped in plastic bags with the following product codes M-SP100, M-P100, M-PF100, M-F100, M-H100, M-W50, M-A50, M-JA25, R-P100, R-F50, R-PUP50, R-W50, R-S50, R-M20, R-L10,R-J5, R-C5, R-M3 followed by E9, F9, G9, H9, I9, J9, K9, L9 or A10, B10, C10, D10, E10, F10, G10 and whole frozen chicks in 25 count bags.



Human illnesses that may be related to the frozen reptile feed have been reported in 17 states. The recalled product should not be fed to animals, even after heating in a microwave oven, since the heating may not be adequate to kill Salmonella. The recall is based upon sampling by the FDA of frozen mice. The company continues their investigation.



Products shipped after 07/24/2010, will be irradiated in a similar manner as raw food for human consumption in order to address the Salmonella issue associated with these products.



Consumers who purchased reptile feed from Mice Direct are urged to contact Mice Direct by telephone at 888-747-0736 from 9:00a.m-5:00p.m EST Monday-Friday or by e-mail at [email protected] for instructions concerning this recall and for credits towards replacement of unused product.

For all of you tracking these things, no, there's nothing on the Mice Direct website about it yet. And frozen rats, mice and chicks aren't only fed to reptiles -- I know a number of cat owners who feed them, too.



This is also interesting in a couple of other ways. One, it seems FDA is testing pet foods of all kinds -- dry, frozen, raw, for cats, dogs and other pets -- in its laboratories. From the rate of the recalls lately (Feline's Pride, Iams, now this, in just a couple of weeks), it seems they're doing it pretty aggressively -- and finding a heck of a lot of salmonella.



This is also the first release I've seen that mentions human illness that might be related to the salmonella contamination, and the first to mention irradiation of raw foods as a "cure" for the problem.



(As you know, my "cure" is to prevent the salmonella from contaminating the food in the first place by improving food safety standards for pets and humans nationwide. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?)



Steinle said she's contacted Mice Direct and will update when she hears from them.

Dogs in my dreams: What does it mean?

In keeping with the "sleep" theme of the last couple of posts...



For the last few mornings, I've woken up with clear memories of my dreams. I'm not taking any medication and I'm not having any trouble sleeping, so I'm not sure what's up with that.



I do know, however, that all my dreams are somewhat full of anxiety and they're all about my dogs.



The first one was simple. I was in front of a theater with the comedian Kathy Griffin, and asked her to hold my dog's leash while I ran to the ATM down the street. (I'm pretty sure it was Rawley, but you know how dreams are.)



As I walked away, my dog chewed through his leash to follow me, and ran out into the street. I was watching him dodge cars and feeling terrified, and then I woke up.



The next night I had a bizarre dream involving Maddie's Fund, my pet tiger (!) and the Mafia. We're not even going to get into what that was all about, but it involved laptop thefts, breaking and entering, and trying to save a toy dog's life. My own dogs played only a walk-on role at the end of this one, when I was attempting to get home after a Mafia shoot-out. Oddly, the most extreme anxiety in this dream centered on my lost laptop. Because tigers and the Mafia are just not enough.



Then there was last night's dream. In it, my mother was still alive and we were living with eight dogs on our old property in the country. There was an evacuation order for a wildfire, and we were trying to evacuate and having trouble locating all the dogs and getting them all into our vehicles.



I've had dreams like that last one for years. Sometimes they're pretty tame, with me wandering around a park looking for a dog who ran off after a squirrel, and sometimes they're full on nightmares, where I'm trying to save a beloved dog from some kind of supernatural horror. But the general theme of searching for my dogs, trying to round them up, trying to get them out of danger, is a recurrent one for me in dreams, mostly at times of my life when I'm under a certain amount of stress.



Are your pets frequent fliers in your dream world? Or do you stick with the human race?

What is the Tea Party bus doing in San Francisco tonight?

So, I'm out walking the dogs and what did I just see parked at the corner of 20th and Wawona, right behind 19th Ave. in San Francisco, but a big Tea Party bus with smaller little Tea Party minivan? I tried to take a photo but it was too dark, but it looked essentially like the one here, only with a Tom Paine quote about patriots protecting the country from its government instead of the "Tea Party Express" sign.

What I'd really like is these losers out of my neighborhood and my city, but it being a free country and all, I'll settle for an answer to this question: Where the hell have you guys been for the last few years?

Why is it that all during the Bush years you were silent as they imposed the Patriot Act, with its draconian infringement of personal liberty and basic civil rights, as the  government wiretapped its own citizens and built up the biggest government spending program of all, the war in Iraq?

Why is it that until we had a Black man as president you couldn't be bothered to stop listening to Rush long enough to gas up the Tea Party bus and drive around shaking your tiny fists in the air?

Why is it that nothing the government did bothered you, no matter how it indebted our nation and its future generations and destroyed our image and prestige across the world, until you thought the government was giving people too much -- health care, extended unemployment benefits, public education?

I don't think there has ever been a more transparent bunch of hypocrites in the entire history of this country.

Iams prescription kidney diet recalled for ' potential ' salmonella contamination

Procter & Gamble has recalled its Iams prescription dry food for cats with kidney disease for "having the potential" for salmonella contamination. From the company's press release, issued today:

The Procter & Gamble Company is voluntarily recalling two specific lots of its prescription renal dry cat food as a precautionary measure, as it has the potential to be contaminated with salmonella.



The following products are included:

Product Name	Lot Code	UPC Code
Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal 5.5 lbs	01384174B4	0 19014 21405 1
Iams Veterinary Formulas Feline Renal 5.5 lbs	01384174B2	0 19014 21405 1

This product is available by prescription through veterinary clinics throughout the U.S.

No illnesses have been reported.  A FDA analysis identified a positive result on the lot codes listed above.  Lot codes can be found in the lower right corner on the back of the bag.



Consumers who have purchased dry cat food with these codes should discard it.  People handling dry pet food can become infected with Salmonella, especially if they have not thoroughly washed their hands after having contact with surfaces exposed to this product.  Healthy people infected with Salmonella should monitor themselves for some or all of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping and fever. Rarely, Salmonella can result in more serious ailments including arterial infections, endocarditis, arthritis, muscle pain, eye irritation and urinary tract symptoms. Consumers exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare providers.



Pets with Salmonella infections may have decreased appetite, fever and abdominal pain.  If left untreated, pets may be lethargic and have diarrhea or bloody diarrhea, fever and vomiting.  Infected but otherwise healthy pets can be carriers and infect other animals or humans. If your pet has consumed the recalled product and has these symptoms, please contact your veterinarian.



For further information or a product refund call P&G toll-free at 877-894-4458 (Monday – Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM EST).

Read the whole release here.

The 'food of love' thing: How I learned to stop hating food and how to cook

 I was chatting with someone the other day about emotional eating, and she made a remark that "comfort foods" could be "like an old, familiar, good friend."

I was speechless. I have never felt that way about food in my life.

No, I had despised, loathed and feared food. I wanted nothing more than to take a daily pill and never, ever have to eat again. It wasn't a friend, it was my bitterest enemy. And when I succumbed to emotional eating, it was never comforting or reassuring; it was like going back to the spouse who beat you, because it was all you knew.

Something like ten years ago, I had a food epiphany, and slowly, with the help of hours spent watching the Food Network (which was different then than it is today), I healed that relationship. I wrote about it on my dog website, since this was in pre-blog days. I'm going to re-publish it here, because it's been on my mind a lot lately.

The 'food of love' thing

Ask people with weight problems if they love food, and most will say yes – too much! But do they?

If your consumption of food is accompanied by feelings of shame and the desire to stop eating even as you eat, if you hide what you eat, if you measure, weigh, balance, and ration what you eat, if you lie in bed at night cataloguing the day's food intake with guilt and regret, that isn't love. Or rather, it's only "love" in the way a woman who is involved with a man who cheats on her and insults her in front of her friends and blows their joint savings at the track is in "love."

True love, on the other hand, enriches your life. It makes you feel more connected with the world around you. It softens your heart, and helps you feel better about yourself and others. Can someone who has spent his or her life seeing food as the enemy and the kitchen as a battleground find true love with food?

The answer is yes, and I'm the living proof. And it wasn't a diet plan or nutritionist or therapist or doctor who changed the way I related to food. It was a TV chef named Emeril Lagasse.

For those who don't know, Emeril hosts an unbelievably popular daily show called Emeril Live on cable's Food Network. Emeril has a few opinions about food that fly in the face of common wisdom about healthy eating, "pork fat rules" probably being the most obvious. At first it was hard to understand all the bacon fat and butter and exactly how that was supposed to fit into a nutritious diet. But Emeril's message started to get through to me after I read the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, a cookbook cum manifesto reclaiming traditional ways of preparing food and questioning our society's demonization of dietary fat.

But it was not ideas, facts or theories that cured my dysfunctional relationship with food. It was Emeril himself, with his silly "BAM!" as he threw a palmful of salt onto a dish, the look of glee on his face as he added "thirty thousand cloves of garlic" to a stew, the rapture apparent as he solemnly asked his adoring studio audience, "Can't you feel the love in there?" as he added sausage to a pan of greens.

And they did. And so did I, as I finally understood that to learn to cook, you have to lose your fear. You have to decide that it's worth it to plan a meal in advance. To sit down at the table and enjoy dinner. To care what you are putting into your mouth, and appreciate what it smells, tastes, and feels like. To build into your life the regular stocking and re-stocking of your refrigerator and kitchen cabinets, and not always have a meal be something you think of and prepare approximately five minutes before your blood sugar crashes to levels that leave you light-headed and irritable (or worse, five minutes after).

Isn't that what true love is about? Being thoughtful, appreciative, considerate? Making room in your life for the one you love?

The other way Emeril taught me how to cook was by demonstrating. I suppose all cooking shows do that, but I'd never had the slightest interest in a cooking show before this one. Watching Emeril slice food, add food to pots, and sauté, brown, deglaze, and perform other previously-arcane culinary arts, I found that I was able to do those things myself. I could see what they looked like, see what it meant to "brown" a chicken breast, understand what "blanching" was, see how plunging broccoli into an ice bath would stop it from cooking and preserve its green color. I'm sure that many people have this experience in their own homes, being taught to cook by a mother or grandmother, but that wasn't what happened to me. I honestly believed I couldn't cook, and my rare attempts at it produced food that tasted all right most of the time, but no pleasure or joy on my part. My culinary dreams involved eating at restaurants, not in my own dining room. My definition of a successful home-cooked meal was one that I could make in less than five minutes in a single pan.

I know that many of us who struggle with weight problems and eating disorders would consider it a huge relief if we could stop eating altogether and just subsist on a daily pill. The struggle with food can consume your life. But you could stop struggling, and stop disrespecting yourself with fast food, binge eating, starvation dieting, eating things you don't like because they are "good for you," secret eating, last-minute meals, and self-loathing. Because it's not only food I'm suggesting deserves your love – it's YOU.

Still don't get it? As Emeril would assure you, it's a food of love thing. Believe it. 

How to deconstruct a Deerhound drama

Yesterday, Rawley destroyed my bathrobe while I was in the shower. Last night he had a tummy ache.



The two things might have been connected. They might not. It didn't appear he'd eaten my robe, just shredded it, but you never know.



What I do know is that I'd have been a whole lot more worried if he hadn't been waking me up every half hour to rub his tummy, kiss his little nose and tell him he was a good dog. He curled up on the pillow next to me, shoved his head under my arm, and nudged me awake whenever I stopped petting him.



The reason none of that worried me, despite being totally unlike my scrappy little boy dog, is because I've learned over the years I've had Scottish Deerhounds that the more trivial the illness or injury, the more histrionics they'll engage in.



A stubbed toe? A Deerhound will hold it pitifully aloft while screeching his three-legged agony.



A tumor consuming all her vital organ systems? Nothing you couldn't chalk up to getting older, or hot weather.



That's why I wasn't worried (although of course, I poked and prodded his tummy many times, always concerned about bloat and torsion). All that drama was a pretty sure guarantee nothing too bad was going on.



How about your dogs? Drama pooches when it comes to the small stuff, stoic and silent when it's serious? The opposite?



Photo: Remember when? Rawley in an earlier angelic time.

Who says you can ' t decorate for your pets? Not the New York Times

You can have a beautiful home and pets, too. The New York Times said so -- and they quoted Pet Connection BFF Kasie Maxwell to prove it.



Kasie's the founder of SF Raw, the buyers' group Gina and I belong to, which focuses on sustainably and locally-raised foods.



No, the Times isn't writing about SF Raw. They're writing about what they see as a growing trend for pet owners to decorate their homes to accommodate their pets' beds, bowls and other accouterments.



(I had to qualify that "growing trend" with a "what they see as" because my cat enclosure was actually featured in a similar piece around 7 years ago, for USA Today.)



Regardless of who got the scoop, it's an interesting piece, and they feature Kasie's home both for the cool custom dog beds, shown above, and the agricultural tank they used to create a little piece of turtle paradise in their living room.

“When I tell people how many animals live in my tiny space, they always think they’re going to walk in and be overpowered,” said Kasie Maxwell, 39, who shares her 660-square-foot Bernal Heights home in San Francisco with her partner, Ron Love, 40, and a dog, a cat, three doves, three turtles and one goldfish.



A home with such a menagerie might be expected to look like a scaled-down Petco, but Ms. Maxwell, who owns an online holistic pet supply store, and Mr. Love, who works in finance, have managed to maintain their style.



“I hate how pet stuff looks,” Ms. Maxwell said. So instead of buying a pricey aquarium for their 40-something Reeves turtle, Martha Mayhem, she bought a 150-gallon galvanized-steel livestock tank. The makeshift pond serves as a home for the turtle and a room divider that separates the couple’s bedroom from the living room.



To make tank cleanups easy, Ms. Maxwell kept decoration to a minimum, with basic rocks, an ultraviolet lamp and simple plants.

Check out the whole article here.