by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

So another book about a dog – among the countless books out there that are about pets – Wallace the book is a page turner and surely stands out from the rest, in my opinion.  Now am I biased because I am a Pit Bull owner and advocate?  Maybe, but I think anyone who owns any kind of dog, who reads this book will be brought to happy tears, inspired by the people who never gave up on a dog, and his amazing journey along the way.

I can’t tell you how happy I am that Wallace’s story, and the tireless, dedicated efforts of his owners Roo and Clara Yori and his many friends, is going to be on the book shelves for the entire country to see.  I was lucky enough to read this prior to the release – and I could not put it down – many nights after long work days I would start reading it and next thing you know I have read for over and hour, and it’s the middle of the night – but loving every minute of this book that I didn’t want it to end!  The book is wonderfully written by Jim Gorant, who also authored The Lost Dogs about the Vick Dogs.  When reading it you feel like you are right there watching Wallace and Roo flip and jump through the air at each disc competition.

I knew of Wallace years ago, and became an instant fan when I heard about how he was dominating the disc dog circut – but I had no idea to the full extent that he did, how he got there and all the effort that Roo and Clara put into it.  Wallace was astonishing at weight pulling too – but Pit Bulls do tend to excel in weight pulling – so Wallace being a frisbee flying pit bull just warms my heart.

The story of how Wallace came to be, how he was rescued, trained in being a World Champion and National Champion disc dog, yes that’s right a world champion and national champion American Pit Bull Terrier disc dog is truly an amazing story.  And it just goes to show that dogs shouldn’t be given up on because of their breed, behavior or situation.  Dogs want to learn, be part of a family, have a routine and dogs are resilient – Wallace is the true spirit of resilience.  I can’t wait to see this book in everyone’s hands.  So  pick up Wallace coming out August 30, 2012, you will love this book!  And next week, in the ‘Where in the World is Max‘ contest, guess what the prize is?  Yep, yep that’s right you can get your paws on your very own hardcover copy of this book!  Be sure to check the Pet Events Newsletter on August 29th, 2012 for the giveaway – don’t get the newsletter? Sign up here.

Wallace we love you here on Long Island! I hope to one day get to meet you. 🙂

Wallace changing minds, one disc at a time.

photo by Josh Grenell

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Just the other day our friends at Newsday did a nice article about the most popular breed of dog on Long Island, according to the American Kennel Club (AKC).  But I think the article was not quite accurate.  Many people who have dogs, who are AKC registry worthy, meaning they were from an official AKC dog breeder and they have ‘papers’ for the dog – doesn’t mean they actually registered their dog with the AKC.  For example, I had a beautiful Doberman who was from a fantastic Long Island Doberman breeder and I had her AKC papers (which I still have) but I never registered her because I had her spayed and never bred her.  I am sure that is the case with many pure bred dog owners here on LI.

There are also a lot of dogs adopted through rescue groups that may or may not be a pure breed dog – that are also not registered through the AKC – so they were also not accounted for in the article either.  Newsday listed, according to the AKC most registered dog breeds, the top 10 on Long Island:

1. Labrador Retriever; 2. Golden Retriever; 3. German Shepherd; 4. Bulldog; 5. Rottweiler; 6. Poodle; 7. Boxer; 8. Yorkie; 9. Shih Tzu; and the 10. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

And while I suspect there are a ton of Labrador Retrievers,  Goldens and Bulldogs on LI – what about other really popular dog breeds like the American Pit Bull Terrier, (or for you dog fancy people, The American Staffordshire Terrier), I am pretty sure there are a lot of lucky pit bulls owned in loving homes, like my own Max on LI.  Other breeds I seem to see everywhere I go are Chihuahua’s, Shelties, Jack Russell Terriers (Parson Russell’s if you will), and Doxie’s – their not on the list either. Hmmm

So if you have a dog that is not registered in with the AKC, is a mixed breed or you have adopted – we want to know about him or her too!  Please take our 1 question survey here and tell us what kind of dog you have!  Let’s see if we can get a more accurate account of the diverse dog breeds on LI.

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

This Sunday, November, 13 from 11am to 3pm there will be a celebration in Wantagh of a much loved and much debated about breed – the American Pit Bull Terrier.  The first ever ‘Bully Breed Brigade’ will be taking place in Wantagh thanks to the efforts of Last Hope Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation in cooperation with The Town of Hempstead Animal Shelter.  Last Hope has taken the initiative in the past with a Pit Bull Expo a few years ago to try and solve the pit bull over-population problem in our local town and private shelters here on LI.

The Bully Breed Brigade starts at 11am on Sunday, on Beltagh Avenue in Wantagh between the Last Hope Shelter (formerly Bid-a-wee shelter) and the Town of Hempstead shelter.  (For a Map click here). The celebration will include an adoption fair with vendors, trainers, breed advocates, rescuers, speakers, holistic experts, T’touch demos and more! At  12:30pm the Brigade of adopted, rescued, owned and to be adopted American Pit Bull Terriers, Pit Bull Mixes, Amstaffs and other bully dog types will be on parade for all to see, learn about and of course get lots of kisses and wiggle butts from!  The parade of ‘Ambassdogs’, (breed ambassadors), from shelters and rescues across LI with many ready for adoption will be a first on LI!

At 1:30 pm a special pet celebrity Tia Torres from Animal Planet’s very own TV show, ‘Pit Bulls and Parolees.’  Tia has been tirelessly saving pit bulls and helping parolees get back on their feet at Viallobos Rescue Center in California.

Tia will be there because she and her team have driven across country to take 6 pit bulls ‘The Hempstead Hopefuls’ from the Town of Hempstead shelter back with her to California to help rehabilitate the dogs and find them forever homes. These 6 happened to be pulled from an Elmont dog fighting ring over the summer and Tia is generously taking the time out of her own life to not only drive across country but to help these 6 dogs.  My hat is off to you Tia for all you do for our beloved breed of choice.  Tia and her crew have never traveled this far to rescue any dog!

While the image of the Pit Bull may be getting better, meaning more and more people are realizing it’s not the breed but how a dog is raised, socialized, trained, etc. we still have a lot of pit and pit mixes in our local shelter.  As with ANY other breed –it’s how they are brought up – but with that said, there are some pit and pit mixes that were born in a shelter or lived their entire life in a shelter and are just the best dog you may ever encounter.  This loyal, super smart, athletic, adaptable, fun and goofy breed just love humans – and most of them just absolutely love dogs and other animals too!

To cap off this amazing day, what better than a movie premiere all about the breed?  At 7pm the Long Island debut of the movie, ‘Beyond the Myth’ a documentary about Pit Bulls and breed discrimination by Libby Sherrill will be shown at the Cradle of Aviation IMAX Theatre in Garden City. (1 Davis Avenue, Garden City, NY).  Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 per person and a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go to Last Hope is a 501 c 3 non-for-profit organization.  For more information on the Bully Breed Brigade or the movie premiere contact bbb@lasthopeanimalrescue.org or call 631-671-2588. If you’re bringing your own bully, be sure they are well behaved, socialized, up-to-date on their shots, NYS licensed and on a 6-foot sturdy leash.

Harley – one of Last Hope’s Alumni dogs!

by Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net

Huge turnout, Shelter Link Benefit

On Saturday, April 2, Shelter Link held their ‘Goodbye to Winter’ fundraiser at the Nutty Irishman in Bay Shore, NY. It was a great time, with lots of food, fun and raffles and a huge turnout from the community. Town of Islip Councilman Steve Flotteron and Shelter Supervisor Joanne Daly and other animal shelter staff members were there also.  The monies raised will help the Shelter Link a non-profit liaison to the Islip Animal shelter continue their work with the animals there, help with their rescue effort, and provide free spay and neuter program to pit bulls to qualifying residents of Islip township.  There was an awesome, emotionally moving video showcasing the dogs and cats at the shelter along with the hard working volunteers. There was barely a dry eye in the place! The Shelter Link team worked tirelessly to create a wonderful event; there were over one hundred beautifully wrapped gift baskets and lots of happy winners.  Best of all, funds raised will help Shelter Link continue its mission of saving animals.

Shelter Link also has a volunteer who is a dog trainer certified in evaluating dogs for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) and have already passed a bunch of dogs at the shelter.  What’s better than that? You will be saving a life by adopting a wonderful dog from the shelter and can now brag your dog already has a CGC Diploma to boot.  Adopt, don’t shop!

Shelter link is a recognized, 501(C) 3 all-volunteer organization based in Islip.  They provide volunteers for the Islip Animal Shelter, and offer a feral cat spay and neuter program and a free pit bull spay neuter program to qualifying residents of Islip Township.  They also have a Foster Care Program and are seeking foster homes for rescued animals.  For more info, visit www.shelterlink.com.

Lovely Volunteers of Shelter Link

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Show Me Your PITS!

This coming Monday, March 7, 2011 there is a national Facebook Campaign is taking place called, ‘Show Me Your Pits!’  This second annual campaign is a simple, fantastic and fun way to spread awareness to show your love of Pit Bulls, the other good dog.  If you are a Pit Bull owner, aficionado or rescuer all you have to do is change your Facebook profile picture to a picture of your beloved Pit Bull on March 7th.  The event last year had about 322 participants that took part and this year there are already over 2,000 people planning to part take in the event, you know my dog Max will be gracing my profile picture!

The event was created by Christy Boecker who also started the Facebook group ‘Pit Bulls – The Other Good Dog’ in 2009.  Christy is a pet behavior therapist for almost 25 years and a Pit Bull Advocate for 10 years.  One day while working at a local animal shelter as the of Director of Operations, the plight of the Pit Bull touched her very deeply with the surrender of a lovely 6 year old Bully mix named Buddy.  Buddy’s owner was a military man and he was being transferred to a base that had Breed Discriminatory Rules and he could not take Buddy with him.  He had raised Buddy since a pup and was a loved member of the family that included 3 small children.  Christy immediately felt she had to do something more, and because of Buddy’s story is the reason behind the Facebook group and this second annual campaign.  The Facebook page has over 16,000 fans and growing and just goes to show no matter how the media has ruined perception of this breed, the American Pit Bull Terrier is a very loved and loyal family dog, they work as therapy dogs and police dogs, are smart, fun, funny, active, adorable, and of course ‘The Other Good Dog.’

In order to keep the fan base growing and the Pit Bull community involved Christy decided to start the Facebook campaign of changing profile pictures to Bully breeds in hopes of seeing their lovely faces all over facebook.

Christy is also a national co-speaker for a day long workshop designed for shelter staff and employees to better understand the Pit Bulls in their care and to adopt them out responsibly. The workshop has been sponsored by Petco Foundation and Christy hopes to reach most major cities in the United States during 2011.  Christy also hosts the ‘Bully Ball in the Park’ annually in her home town of Waterman, Illinois.  On a Sunday afternoon in mid September Bully owners can gather in the park to mingle, join contests and just have a good time.

Christy’s Pet Perfection will be if she can get over 5,000 people to partake in Monday’s ‘Show Me Your Pits’ event, so come you know you want to!

Max, AMERICAN Pit Bull Terrier, and he votes for only dog friendly candidates!