For anyone who's interested there's an exhibit of Give a Dog a Bone black and white photographs at CitiPets in West Portal (183 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco CA 94127). These are portraits I've taken of some of our dogs over the last few years. Prints are for sale and proceeds will go to GADAB. You can check out all the images in this gallery and buy prints from it, too.
We at Give a Dog a Bone are outraged and sickened by the dog fighting and animal cruelty allegations brought against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and his subsequent guilty plea.
Sadly, it's naïve to think that such violence occurs only in certain regions of the country or in rural areas. Here in San Francisco, the most humane city in the country according to the Humane Society of the United States, we see the effects of dog fighting and attend to its victims
on a regular basis.
Give a Dog a Bone, a pioneering environmental enrichment program, cares for long term shelter dogs at San Francisco Animal Care and Control. Dogs, especially pit bulls, who have been used in fighting are among those we care for. We also care for dogs who have been subjected to felony cruelty, similar to those in the Vick case.
Our program ensures these dogs have kind human contact, yummy treats, rawhides or bones to chew on, soft blankets to sleep on, and clean quarters. We give these dogs affection, and strive to relieve their suffering and stress by giving them outlets for natural dog behavior. Additionally, we engage in training which the dogs look forward to. In short, within the confines and constraints of a shelter, we try to provide these dogs with the love and affection each companion animal deserves.
There is no doubt that even dogs "bred to fight" suffer terribly -- they would not and do not choose this life for themselves. Dogs are by nature social predators—that is, they survive by collaboration with each other, not by fighting each other to the death. Breeding dogs to fight is a perversion of this essential nature.
Dog fighting is unspeakably cruel, and we at Give a Dog a Bone work for the day when animal cruelty no longer exists.
Give a Dog a Bone would like to extend a thankful paw to the good folks at the Severns Family Foundation for their generous grant to GADAB. We appreciate their ongoing support and interest in what we do. Their contribution will help us not only continue to improve the quality of life for the long-term shelter dogs at the San Francisco municipal shelter but also allow GADAB to better share its practices with other animal agencies nationwide.
This has been one of the sadder periods I've had in 6 years of volunteering for Give a Dog a Bone. Two of our long-term charges, Minna and Momo, were euthanized recently after spending 14 months in our care. Sad as it is, it was the right decision--Minna was too fearful and Momo too unpredictable to make viable pets or rescue dogs. They both failed multiple temperament tests. The damage was done long before they came into the program and--with a shelter and city full of unwanted animals--they simply didn't have a chance.
In a program like this saying goodbye is something you have to be prepared for. A lot of the dogs that come through our doors simply don't get back out. It's a cold, hard reality and, as much as we'd like it to be, our role isn't to rehabilitate every single pup into an adoptable, pet-worthy dog. Sometimes our gift is to give them a chance, even if brief, to be a dog for a change: to sniff and mark, to get their ears scratched, or maybe even learn a few behaviors "sit" or "come". In cases like Momo and Minna, the dogs have endured prolonged abuse at the hands of their owners and they haven't had the chance to learn how to be normal around other dogs or people. All we can do is work with them, play with them, be patient and kind with them and show them that not all people are cruel.
I say all this now as I try to reconcile the loss of these two friends. Saying goodbye to a dog at GADAB is a bittersweet thing--no matter the context. Sometimes you wish them the best as they return to a home you know in your heart of hearts is not right for them and that they'll probably be back. Other times, as with Momo and Minna, they work their way into your heart and, in turn, you work as hard as you can to change the odds--knowing full well the chances are slim. From time to time, though, there is a happy ending and a dog like Murphy or Franco makes it to a rescue group or loving, adoptive home.
This is indeed a heartbreaker because we tried really hard with Momo and Minna--hoping against hope that they'd fall into that last, special group. As sad as this moment is, though, it underscores the need for a program like GADAB to not only care for dogs like Minna and Momo who've been dealt a rotten hand but to also get the word out that there is a very real and horribly sad consequence to irresponsible pet ownership.
Momo and Minna, it was an honor to know you.
We have a lot planned for the upcoming year at Give a Dog a Bone. The kind people at PetSmart Charities have provided funding for a training manual and video that we plan to release this summer for other shelters nationwide who have an interest in starting up environmental enrichment programs like GADAB. If you have any questions about this or want to know how you can do something similar just write us at info@gadab.org
Give a Dog a Bone has joined the 21st Century. We have a blog!!!! This is going to be a group effort with several of us posting. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions as we wade into these new waters.
There's a lot of cool stuff you can find on this thing. We've got a new slideshow up on the top right side that's pulling in photos of all the dogs directly from flickr. In addition, there's now a way to donate to GADAB by buying photos of any of the dogs. You can do this by going to this gallery and picking the dog or dogs you're interested in. All their photos are grouped by animal.
We'll be adding lots of stuff to the site in the weeks to come and are open to your suggestions. Just post them by comment.
