AMERICAN COLLEGE OF THERIOGENOLOGISTS---MSN POSITION
... from the American College of Theriogenologists – the vets who study reproduction.
http://www.theriogenology.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=53
This points to a page of position statements; be sure to read both their "Position Statement on Mandatory Spay/Neuter" and the following"Basis for Position Statement on Mandatory Spay/Neuter."
Important points include: "the decision to spay or neuter a pet must be made on a case by case basis and this decision should be made between the pet's owner and its veterinarian."
And, "research has shown that in locations where mandatory spay and neuter programs have been instituted, a decrease in the number of vaccinated and licensed animals has been seen due to poor program compliance."
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Weekends Are Too Short
The weekends are definitely too short.
Saturday we had great lessons with our sheepdog trainer, but of course it took up the whole day. Coal and I worked on "getting to the next level". He did some really nice outruns of increasing length and difficulty, taking sheep off of another dog and handler. His driving was nice but we have some pesky inside flanks to work on, as well as getting some more control (i.e., stops) at a greater distance.
Bid got a less extensive workout but did fine in the heat even though by the time he had his turn it was noon. I was quite pleased with his attitude. He did one long "Zamora Outrun" where he disappeared from sight over the hills, but eventually (after what seemed like an incredibly long time) came up behind the sheep in a perfect line to bring back them to me.
Sunday was mostly taken up with worming some of the sheep and banding the new lambs (ugh). Coal got some real chores in, splitting moms/babies off of the big group and bringing them in separately, against their wishes, or so they thought. There is nothing like real work for an eager young dog like Coal.
Bid and I also worked on our shedding techniques both days. He's showing understanding of what is needed for everyday farm-type chores.
Monday will be here all too soon.
Saturday we had great lessons with our sheepdog trainer, but of course it took up the whole day. Coal and I worked on "getting to the next level". He did some really nice outruns of increasing length and difficulty, taking sheep off of another dog and handler. His driving was nice but we have some pesky inside flanks to work on, as well as getting some more control (i.e., stops) at a greater distance.
Bid got a less extensive workout but did fine in the heat even though by the time he had his turn it was noon. I was quite pleased with his attitude. He did one long "Zamora Outrun" where he disappeared from sight over the hills, but eventually (after what seemed like an incredibly long time) came up behind the sheep in a perfect line to bring back them to me.
Sunday was mostly taken up with worming some of the sheep and banding the new lambs (ugh). Coal got some real chores in, splitting moms/babies off of the big group and bringing them in separately, against their wishes, or so they thought. There is nothing like real work for an eager young dog like Coal.
Bid and I also worked on our shedding techniques both days. He's showing understanding of what is needed for everyday farm-type chores.
Monday will be here all too soon.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Another new resident
This little guy appeared yesterday, August 6.
Following mom like a good kid. He's got her ears!
He's fast, even though he's only a day old!
Here's a new photo of the lamb who came last week.
And the culprit who is responsible for all this foolishness!
Monday, August 4, 2008
CA AB 1634 - State Senate vote will happen soon
Forwarded by request from Laura Sanborn:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AB 1634 will be voted on in the full California State Senate sometime on or after Thursday, August 7, 2008. The deadline for legislation to pass is August 31. Please forward this email to your organization or club distribution lists and let them know that we need everyone's help to defeat AB 1634. We are close to having enough State Senators lined up to defeat it. But we are not there yet. We need an avalanche of phone calls, emails, and faxes to stop it.Information about the current version of AB 1634 and how individuals can take action can be found on the Save Our Dogs website http://saveourdogs.net/. The current version of AB 1634 differs significantly from last year's version, and is in some ways much worse. The "new" AB 1634 establishes owning an intact dog or intact cat as a "secondary offense" according to bill author Assemblyman Levine in his testimony before the Senate Local Govermentment Committee. Make no mistake about what this means. It means that owing an intact dog or intact cat will be illegal in California -- NO EXCEPTIONS. NO exceptions for law enforcement dogs. NO exceptions for working ranch dogs. NO exceptions for hunting or sporting dogs. NO exceptions for search-and-rescue dogs, guide dogs for the blind, or service dogs for the disabled. NO exceptions for purebred dogs or pedigreed cats. NO exceptions for dogs or cats owned by responsible breeders. NO opportunity to purchase an intact permit. All of that was deleted when the bill was gut amended. The "primary offense" that triggers the "secondary offense" that can lead to a forced sterilization order need not be valid or upheld... it can be a frivolous or malicious allegation that is dismissed. Please let me know if you need any help.
Thanks very much.
Laura Sanborn
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Sonoma County Fair, July 31st
Coal did very well at the RESDA-sponsored sheepdog trial at the Sonoma County Fair. Even though we had drawn first in the running order, he spotted the sheep just fine and put in a very nice run for 38 points out of 50. This was good enough for sixth place in a very competitive evening trial. The sheep (wooly ewes from a ranch in Mendocino County) worked evenly for most of the dog and handler teams. It was a great way to celebrate Coal's 23-month birthday which was on the 29th. It's hard to believe he will be two years old in just one more month.
There was a large audience of dedicated sheepdog fans which made it all the more fun. Thanks to all who participated.
Results:
http://web.mac.com/jackmathieson/RESDA/Results.html
There was a large audience of dedicated sheepdog fans which made it all the more fun. Thanks to all who participated.
Results:
http://web.mac.com/jackmathieson/RESDA/Results.html
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
AB 1634 - Senate Vote - Please Help
Cross Posted with Permission from saveourdogs.net:
AB 1634 will face its final hurdle in the California state legislature over the next few weeks. The bill was "gut amended" in June into a different bill, one that on the surface appeared to remove many objections. Unfortunately the new AB 1634 is arguably worse than the old bill. If Californians don't seriously step up the response, this bill will soon pass the California state legislature. If the governor doesn't veto it will become illegal to own an intact dog or intact cat in California.
As Assembly member Levine explained in his testimony before the Senate Local Government Committee several weeks ago, AB 1634 makes owning an intact dog or intact cat a "secondary offense", analogous to the seat belt law which made driving without a seat belt a secondary offense.
Make no mistake about what this means. It means that owning an intact dog or cat will be illegal in California, no exceptions. No exceptions for registered purebreds. No exceptions for dogs or cats owned by responsible breeders. No exceptions for police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, detection dogs, hunting dogs, working farm and ranch dogs, or any other dog. There are no longer any exemptions or ways to obtain intact permits in AB 1634. All that was removed when the bill was gut amended.
Furthermore, the primary offense that activates the fines and sterilization mandate in AB 1634 includes "complaints" -- mere allegations that need not be valid or proven. Your neighbor can complain that your intact dog was in his yard, and even if you can prove the allegation was untrue, even if no one believes the allegation, you can still be fined or ordered to sterilize your dog. Mr. Levine used this very example in his committee testimony.
AB 1634 will be voted on in the full California State Senate sometime between August 5 and August 31 (the deadline). It already passed the Assembly.
The State Senate is not receiving as much opposition to the new AB 1634 as they had about the previous versions. I have spoken with Senate staff and heard this message. I am seeing only a small fraction of the response that we had last year. Your letters, faxes, and emails sent last year don't count anymore.
If Californians don't seriously step up the response, this bill will pass the California state legislature. We managed to stop the old bill and can stop this one. We cannot stop it with well-reasoned arguments alone. It doesn't work that way. We can stop it if those arguments come from tens of thousands of Californians. If you own an intact dog or intact cat in California, if you want responsible dog or cat breeding to continue in California, or if you just don't like the idea of the state government declaring all intact dogs and cats illegal, then please take action now. There is no longer any time to wait.
Ways that you can take action are on the home page of the Save Our Dogs website. http://saveourdogs.net/ Some of them only take a few minutes of your time (a brief phone call to your state senator's office and a customizable email using NAIA's capwiz that already has major objections for you to select). The most effective thing you can do is to visit the district office of your state senator and discuss your objections.
A review of the major objections to the bill is here, formatted as a sample letter you can edit as you see fit. http://saveourdogs.net/documents/senateSample.doc
Please help.
Laura Sanborn
http://saveourdogs.net/
AB 1634 will face its final hurdle in the California state legislature over the next few weeks. The bill was "gut amended" in June into a different bill, one that on the surface appeared to remove many objections. Unfortunately the new AB 1634 is arguably worse than the old bill. If Californians don't seriously step up the response, this bill will soon pass the California state legislature. If the governor doesn't veto it will become illegal to own an intact dog or intact cat in California.
As Assembly member Levine explained in his testimony before the Senate Local Government Committee several weeks ago, AB 1634 makes owning an intact dog or intact cat a "secondary offense", analogous to the seat belt law which made driving without a seat belt a secondary offense.
Make no mistake about what this means. It means that owning an intact dog or cat will be illegal in California, no exceptions. No exceptions for registered purebreds. No exceptions for dogs or cats owned by responsible breeders. No exceptions for police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, detection dogs, hunting dogs, working farm and ranch dogs, or any other dog. There are no longer any exemptions or ways to obtain intact permits in AB 1634. All that was removed when the bill was gut amended.
Furthermore, the primary offense that activates the fines and sterilization mandate in AB 1634 includes "complaints" -- mere allegations that need not be valid or proven. Your neighbor can complain that your intact dog was in his yard, and even if you can prove the allegation was untrue, even if no one believes the allegation, you can still be fined or ordered to sterilize your dog. Mr. Levine used this very example in his committee testimony.
AB 1634 will be voted on in the full California State Senate sometime between August 5 and August 31 (the deadline). It already passed the Assembly.
The State Senate is not receiving as much opposition to the new AB 1634 as they had about the previous versions. I have spoken with Senate staff and heard this message. I am seeing only a small fraction of the response that we had last year. Your letters, faxes, and emails sent last year don't count anymore.
If Californians don't seriously step up the response, this bill will pass the California state legislature. We managed to stop the old bill and can stop this one. We cannot stop it with well-reasoned arguments alone. It doesn't work that way. We can stop it if those arguments come from tens of thousands of Californians. If you own an intact dog or intact cat in California, if you want responsible dog or cat breeding to continue in California, or if you just don't like the idea of the state government declaring all intact dogs and cats illegal, then please take action now. There is no longer any time to wait.
Ways that you can take action are on the home page of the Save Our Dogs website. http://saveourdogs.net/ Some of them only take a few minutes of your time (a brief phone call to your state senator's office and a customizable email using NAIA's capwiz that already has major objections for you to select). The most effective thing you can do is to visit the district office of your state senator and discuss your objections.
A review of the major objections to the bill is here, formatted as a sample letter you can edit as you see fit. http://saveourdogs.net/documents/senateSample.doc
Please help.
Laura Sanborn
http://saveourdogs.net/
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