By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

What’s in a horse rescue?  Why do we even need a horse rescue?  Well if you are not sure of those answers, you have to read this.  In the US, horses are still being shipped off for slaughter across our borders to Canada and Mexico, for consumption in other countries. As disturbing as that is, we are very fortunate to have a horse rescue on Long Island, in which the founder of this NFP works tirelessly day and night to ensure the rescues she has in her barn have the best life.  With 55 horses currently in her care, Christine Distefano of Amaryllis Farm Equine Rescue goes more than out of her way to make the horses healthy, safe, loved, comfortable and amazingly well cared for.  Along with her daughter, Rachel, the ASPCA Kid of the Year 2007 and a handful of volunteers, the hardest part is not just raising awareness of horses in need, but raising funds.  You would think living in the affluent area of Sagaponack – that it would be easier to do so, but it is simply not the case.

To hear the stories of how one horse came in with long hooves and could barely stand, starved and it’s previous owner ready to send it to slaughter, is heartbreaking.  But to see this beautiful creature today, you would never know it had that background.  There are numerous stories like that, and if it wasn’t for Christine and her crew, who knows what would have happened to these equines.

Amaryllis opened the Island’s first horse sanctuary.  In total, 8 locations throughout the East End are at full capacity with grateful, though homeless horses.  Many are aged and can no longer carry a human.  And who wants a horse they can’t ride?  Well I would take one if I could after seeing them, absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t tell from a layman (or laywomen thank you very much) that they had any ailments.  I have been riding my entire life, but I am not an expert.

So what can you do?  Why not send an email to christine@amaryllisfarm.com and inquire as to volunteer opportunities?! Recently there were over 2,000 people at the Extreme Makeover Home Edition pep rally, many people were disappointed that they didn’t get called to volunteer, so why not keep it local and help out Amaryllis?   Or if you are fortunate enough to help out financially please do so.

This amazing, special place to see these beautiful animals so well cared for will do wonders for you.  And the goat there is pretty comical.  They also often have events, petting farm days and pony rides on Sundays so it is a great place to bring your family.

Visit the site www.amaryllisfarm.com

One of the horses in the Sanctuary, what a beauty!

Check out this slide show of more pictures taken at Amaryllis:

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By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Update! Local Law 9 was repealed last night after a long night of public outcry from dog owners across Long Island, New York City, and Westchester who were in attendance at the Rockville Centre Village hearing.  Due to the large crowd, at least 250 people, the hearing was held in a larger location where everyone who wanted to speak out against this illegal law was able to do so.

A very important point that was made, was the Rockville Centre does not need to add ANY additional dog laws, that there are already state laws in place that are excellent laws to help protect citizens from ANY dog, regardless of the breed, that may be deemed dangerous.  A point the Mayor and Trustee David A. Krasula clearly did not know about.  Rockville Centre officials need to enforce existing leash laws, NYS Dog Licensing requirements (all dog owners in NYS need to have their dog licensed through the state), and deal with any problem dog (and owner) based on a case by case basis, i.e. the existing state law as described above.

Trustee David A. Krasula who doesn’t seem to be a dog friendly person mentioned that what if ALL dogs were to be muzzled in public, he was booed and yells of “No!” from the crowd.  He then suggested what if it was based on dogs over a certain weight – again boos and shouts of no.  So think about that, if they decided to add another law of muzzling dogs, ANY DOGS regardless if they have ever done anything but be great dogs, but because they are over a certain weight, they would be need to be muzzled in public?  That means YOUR dog too – Labs, Goldens, Standard Poodles, Wheaten Terriers, Dalmatians, Greyhounds, Border Collies, etc. etc. etc., you get the point.  This is where BAD laws like this turn too – “Well if we can outlaw certain breeds then why not just muzzle them all?”  Because that makes so much sense, right? (Can you hear my sarcasm?).  So I would say while we are thrilled the Mayor and trustees that originally voted, (Trustee Oppenheimer voted against the ban from the get go), to ban Pits, Rotties or any dogs that kinda sorta look like one of those breeds, I would tell the dog owning community, especially in Rockville Centre, to pay attention to what your government may try to pull next.   Watch their hearing calendar’s like a hawk on their website to make sure another absolutely ridiculous, discriminatory law is not passed.

Rockville Centre needs to offer free education classes to its citizens, like the Towns of Islip does, and Huntington did – and the board of Trustee’s should be in the very first class offered.

There were also at least 25 dogs there with their owners in protest of this (in the parking lot), and while there were different breeds the majority of breeds were Pit Bulls.  Every dog was perfectly well behaved, friendly, and super sweet.  It is not hard to be a responsible dog owner, own a Pit Bull or Rottweiler and have one of the best dogs in town – the owners & dogs in attendance last night proved that.  Two of the sweetest Pit Bulls were there, and they are working therapy dogs here on Long Island.

A sleeping giant awoken…

A huge turnout of dog owners, rescue groups (Littler Shelter, Forgotten Friends of Long Island, Bobbi & the Strays, etc.), and dog organizations, (Rottweiler Club of America, LI Dog Coalition of Dog Fanciers, LI Dog, AKC Members, Long Island Pet Professionals members, Rescue Ink and more), showed up in full force of over 350 people strong to protest and speak their opinion at the Rockville Centre Village hearing on June 28.  Only 108 people were let into the actual hearing, and everyone that spoke and addressed the Mayor and Village Trustees were all completely against this ban of Pit Bulls and Rottweilers within the Village (or anywhere for that mattter).  The law, enacted on June 8th unbeknownced to anyone in the dog world on Long Island or in the New York area is now suspended until July 20 where their will be a pubic hearing on the topic.  It was very clear that the village officials did not expect the giant crowd that attended, and the hearing was delayed a bit before letting anyone in.  The police cheif even said, “They were not expecting this many people to show up.”

News vans from ABC, CBS, NBC, News 12 and Fios1 were also there and gave great reports about on each news station.  In speaking with fellow outraged dog owners, many were saying how horrible this law is, discriminatory, unfair and illegal too.  There were many animal lawyers in attendance that oppose any Breed Specific Legislation and planning on coming back with even more people on July 20 at 7:30pm (Anderson Recreation Center, 111 North Oceanside Road, Rockville Centre, NY).  Rockville Centre Village officials should plan to host the July 20 meeting in the local high school auditorium as everyone there plans on coming back and bringing even more dog owners with them. *Note the location change above – guess they were listening.

Frankie – too cute!

People all the way down the street and around the corner.

Rescue Ink crew

Standing room only

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Breed Specific Legislation on Long Island?

On June 8, 2010 the Village of Rockville Centre, NY passed a new law banning two popular breeds of dog here on Long Island, the Rottweiler and the American Pit Bull Terrier/American Staffordshire Terrier — or any dog that resembles that breed. The catch is, this law is completely illegal and cannot be enforced by village authorities. Why is this law illegal? The law is illegal because New York State prohibits any municipality, (hamlet, village, town, city, county), from banning a dog based on breed alone:

New York State is one of 13 states that prohibit discriminatory breed profiling and breed specific dangerous dog laws. New York municipalities with breed specific laws cannot legally enforce them. Article 7, Paragraph 107, Section 5 of Agriculture and Markets law states:

Nothing contained in this article shall prevent a municipality from adopting its own program for the control of dangerous dogs; provided, however, that no such program shall be less stringent than this article, and no such program shall regulate such dogs in a manner that is specific as to breed.

Link to law: http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/AI/AGM_ART_7.html

The outrage of this illegal law being passed is growing like wildfire as many responsible dog owners on Long Island are finding out about this. There was no reason or incident for the village of Rockville Centre to pass such a law, according to the LI Herald report, (http://bit.ly/bRfZdr), just complaints about one house with a few supposed American Pit Bull Terriers.  Even if there was an incident, the Village is still prohibited from passing such a law based breed alone. So it makes you wonder what message the Village of Rockville Centre is really trying to get across?   If there was a real problem, did RVC officials reach out to any of the many dog organizations, experts or canine behaviorists for help or guidance? Or was this yet another knee jerk reaction to a complaint on one house by neighbors?

Luckily for the dogs on Long Island we are an immensely strong community of voting citizens and will not stand for any illegal discriminatory laws against any breed of dog. RVC should take a lesson from the dog friendly Towns of Islip and Huntington who have offered and still offer Free Responsible Dog Ownership classes, which have been a huge success in helping educate dog owners of all breeds including Rotties & American Pit Bull Terriers.  RVC should pay attention to the many amazing dog groups, trainers and associations that are helping every day to keep Long Island, dog friendly and dog safe.  RVC should embrace the hundreds of people planning on attending the hearing at their Village Hall, (1 College Place, Rockville Centre, NY), on Tuesday, June 29 at 7:30pm, where the LI Coalition of Dog Fanciers who will be addressing Village officials.  The Mayor and Trustees should be open minded and learn from the many professionals, who work and live on Long Island who happen to own dogs, including the breeds they think they can ban.  We should also applaud Trustee Edward Oppenheimer as he was the only member of the board that voted against this.  According the LIHerald article, Oppenheimer said he felt the village’s current vicious animal law was sufficient, and that it wasn’t necessarily right or fair to target specific breeds of dogs. (Oppenheimer for President!).

If you are a resident of Rockville Centre and happen to own one of these wonderful breeds of dog, your dog is grandfathered in, meaning you can keep your dog if you already owned it prior to this illegal law being passed under our noses.  Here is a link to this absolutely ridiculous, illegal law.

http://www.rvcny.us/rvcagenda/2010%20DOCS-773201-v1-RVC_LL_9-10_pit_bulls.pdf

RVC needs to rescind this law and apologize to dog owners in Rockville Centre, on Long Island and in NYS.   If that is not done by June 29, I think the trustees should prepare themselves for a lot of dog loving and upset folks to be at that hearing.

June 21, 2010
By Pamela Fitzpatrick, of YourDogWalkers, shihtzu58@optonline.net

This Friday, June 25^th, is TAKE YOUR DOG TO WORK DAY (TYDTWD). Businesses, pet care professionals, and animal shelters around the work will work together to better the lives of shelter dogs everywhere by participating. Created in 1999 by Pet Sitters International, TYDTWD is designed to celebrate our canine companions and encourage the adoption of dogs from humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups. This annual event allows employers to recognize a special day to promote pet adoptions. If you can, join us in celebrating dogs on their special day!

If bringing your dog to work is impossible, ask your employer if you can organize an off-hours event for the dog lovers in your group.

If you plan to participate in Take Your Dog to Work Day, there are a few steps you need to take to get ready.

1. Get Permission Unless you are the boss, get permission. In all cases, talk to co-workers to make sure that no one is allergic or has issues with dogs. Make sure that there is adequate room for your dog and those of others and that that everyone can get along. Assess your space- can you safely and responsibly keep your pet there during the work day? This is especially critical if you share space with others.
2. Is Your Dog a good Candidate? In order to participate in this event, your dog must be well behaved, socialized with both people and dogs, and able to deal with the stress of an unfamiliar environment. Knowledge of basic obedience commands is a must! Health is another important factor to consider…..make sure your dog is up to date on all vaccines, is in good health and well groomed. Don’t bring a puppy or very young dog. If in doubt……err on the side of caution. (You can always bring photos of your dog if you decide they’re better off at home) If you work close to home, you might want to consider bringing your dog in for a half day the first time to see how things go. Remember that one of the main purposes of this event is to encourage animal adoptions, so you want your dog you demonstrate his best qualities.
3. Be Prepared Make sure you have the right supplies for the comfort and safety of all. Make sure to have a leash and collar, water/food bowls, dog treats, and toys. Don’t forget to bring a bag for waste cleanup.

Hopefully you will have the opportunity to introduce your four legged “best friend” to your co-workers this Friday. For more information on this event, visit the PetSitters International website at www.takeyourdog.

June 6, 2010
by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Did you know that not all dogs can swim? Most people think that swimming comes naturally to dogs. We have all seen the funny videos of little dogs doing the doggie paddle in the air when held above the bath water by their owners, but that movement doesn’t mean they will be able to swim, stay afloat or tread water.

Being on an Island, dog owners should consider this when out at the beach, near a lake with their dogs, or hanging out by the pool. We are lucky that nowadays there are life jackets made for dogs, scamper ramps to help dogs out of a pool and dog trainers willing to teach dogs to swim. But that doesn’t mean your dog is going to like it or have a swimming technique come naturally to them.

Some things dog owners should never do when trying to get your dog to swim, is force your dog into the water by dragging or throwing a dog in. It’s not only cruel, but can scare a dog or make the dog fearful of water. If you have a puppy, you want to start young introducing the pup to the water, always, always monitored by an adult and never left alone near a body of water. Keep the puppy leashed, and it you have a dog life jacket (properly fitted for the dog’s size), have the puppy wear it. You can get the puppy accustomed to wearing it, by having the dog wear the vest for a few minutes at a time while indoors or on a short walk. While the puppy is leashed you can go into a pool or in the calm water on a shore and just have the pup wade in the water along side of you. Let the dog go in on its own or if you have a dog or friend with a dog that likes the water – that will often help your puppy have less fear.

When teaching the puppy how to swim, make sure that you eventually take the life vest off during lessons for short periods of time, so the dog learns to become buoyant on their own. Owners can assist by helping hold up the dog’s body from the mid to back section of the dog:

Photo, American Boxer Club.

Some dog breeds do take much more naturally to the water as that is what they were bred for. Labs, Goldens, Portuguese Water Dogs, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, to name a few are natural water dogs, but they still may need help along the way learning. Some breeds are not designed for long swims or swimming at all. My Pit Bull Max, is an excellent swimmer, but his mouth is so wide that he tends to inadvertently swallow a lot of water while swimming. Which can make him sick, so his swim time is never more than 10 to 15-minutes, and that is in and out of the water.

If you are unsure how to teach your dog to swim, the best thing to do is to hire a skilled dog trainer who knows how to do this properly. (Interview the trainer to be sure they know how to teach this). In teaching a dog to swim it’s best to be in the water with the dog as some dogs can panic, and you or the dog trainer can help assist them out.

Another thing to consider is if you are at the ocean beach, be careful of throwing a ball or stick into rough surf – this could easily knock down a dog and injure the dog. Dogs can easily be tossed around by a wave. Some bay beaches have a quick drop off, and if your dog is not used to swimming, a deep drop off can be dangerous. While we all want our dogs to cool off, not every dog is suited to swim. So take steps to enjoy the water with your dog, but safety first!

Writer note: The life jacket can also be a safety precaution while out kayaking or boating with your dog. Also a long line, not a retractable leash, a long leash made of cotton that can be purchased at most pet stores in 10, 15, 25 and 50 in length, is a great tool while teaching a dog to swim. If the dog is over enthusiastic and not on a leash the dog can keep going and going. Believe me I have witnessed this in person. Funny at first, scary when the dog was pretty far out into the bay, luckily for the owner the dog turned and finally headed back. If the owner had a long line, he could have gently pulled the dog back towards the shore.

I owned a Doberman who was not a graceful swimmer at all, and her rear end always tended to sink, so her doggie paddle was more in the air than in the water. She also jumped off the dock once, and we had to coax her around the shore. She did it, but was panicked and exhausted when she came out. While she loved the water, she was smart enough to know her lack of swimming capability and only went out so far (where she could still stand!), not all dogs are that smart!

Don’t let this picture fool you, her back paws were touching here!
And this was clost to the shore of the bay.