Pet Products Review - Dogswell Bow-Wow Bailout

You've heard car companies offer to pitch in and help should you lose your job this year.  Now, finally, there is a company that has the same respect for you and your pet.  Dogswell. This comes from the Dogswell website:  "Is your career in the pooper scooper?  Have you recently been canned and are desperately in need of some kibble?  Are you simply tired of this doggone economy?  DOGSWELL® is here to help!  From April 15 - May 15, DOGSWELL® will offer one free bag of dry dog food to the first 10,000 eligible people."

Bravo Dogswell, I applaud you. It just breaks my heart when I hear of pets being abandoned only because their parents can't afford to keep them.

For more information and the registration form, go to: http://www.dogswell.com/index.php?id=148

This is a limited time offer, so please foward to people you know who may need this assistance.

Let me state up front that I'm not upset the Obamas didn't adopt a dog from a shelter or rescue group. It would have been wonderful if they did, but because I love dogs so much, I'm grateful they brought one into their home and perhaps encouraged others to do the same thing.

On the other hand, I can see how a rescue would have done so much to ease the overcrowding at shelters around the country. If the First Family had found their dog at a shelter rather than a kennel, it might have provoked a significant interest in rescuing. Too many dogs need homes.

So maybe it's understandable that so many were upset when the Obamas adopted Bo, the Portuguese Water Dog puppy who will be formally introduced to the country on Tuesday. He isn't a mutt and isn't from a shelter. But he's darn cute.

He didn't work well with his first family, so the kennel essentially is re-homing him. That doesn't make him a rescue, but he clearly was in need of a loving family.

Here's what Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, told the Christian Science Monitor: "Clearly our best hope was that (President Obama) would go to a shelter or a breed-rescue group. He didn't do that, but he also didn't go to a pet store or puppy mill either. It's a gray area."

But Abbie Moore of Adopt-a-Pet.com considered it a missed opportunity. "If Obama had adopted a pet from a shelter, it could have been the turning point for the pet-overpopulation problem in this country," she said. "With pet relinquishment up 20 to 30 percent due to the poor economy, pets in shelters can use all the help they can get."

What do you think? Should the First Family have rescued a dog?

If you want a dog, go to a shelter. If you want a pure-bred puppy, find a reputable breeder.

Never go to a pet store. Repeat: Never go to a pet store. Although I can't say for sure, it's a safe bet that virtually all pet-store puppies are the products of puppy mills.

That's why I wish more U.S. cities would do what the town of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., appears ready to do - institute a ban on the sale of dogs and cats by pet stores.

The city's planning commission is going to review an ordinance today that would prevent stores from selling cats and dogs. It's South Lake Tahoe's attempt to combat puppy mills and high-volume breeding facilities that the Humane Society of the United States considers inhumane.

Originally, city officials discussed a ban on the sale of dogs bred in puppy mills. But because the city council realized such a ban couldn't be enforced, it pursued a ban on the retail sale of dogs and cats. 

The report says: "A prohibition will also encourage local pet consumers to adopt dogs and cats from shelters, thereby saving animals' lives and reducing the cost to the public of sheltering animals."

There are so many dogs and cats that need loving homes, it's surprising that anyone would purchase a puppy from a pet store. But it happens.

Maybe if more cities took the kind of action that South Lake Tahoe seems prepared to take, we'd finally see the end to puppies being bred in horrendous circumstances.

I don't know if you saw the story about the woman who recently adopted 27 dogs from a shelter to prevent them from being euthanized. When I first read it, I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

I'm sure Colleen Spalioni's heart was in the right place. She lost her own dog in November when it was struck and killed by a car, and she wanted to find another that looked just like him. Her Internet search led her to Dogsindanger.com, a site that posts photos of dogs in shelters with the number of days they have left until they are euthanized.

Spalioni, who lives near Reno, hired a teenage neighbor to drive with her almost 800 miles to a shelter near Bakersfield, Calif., where she found a dog that resembled her own. But after seeing so many dogs in need of homes, she just couldn't help herself.

She adopted the dog she wanted - and 26 others, including one Chihuahua, 10 Chihuahua mixes, two German Shepherd mixes, two Miniature Pinschers, a Jack Russell Terrier and a Poodle. She loaded them into her truck and drove home.

Everything would have been fine, except that her new dogs did what dogs normally do. They barked -- so much, in fact, that the neighbors began complaining. And then she was told that a local ordinance allows no more than three dogs per household.

Since then, Spalioni has been looking for new homes for the dogs. So far, she's found places for almost all of them.

And, she said, "I learned my lesson. I promise I won't do this again."

Her concern for the dogs is admirable. I commend her. I'm sure others would love to do the same if they had the space and time to love and care for dogs in need.

But as someone who owns four dogs, I could have told her: It's a lot of work.

A few days ago, I wrote about concerns I had over the movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua,"  which opens nationally today and is certain to increase the popularity of the tiny, delicate dog. Many people are likely to see the film and immediately purchase a Chihuahua for their kids, not realizing the commitment it takes to own and care for a pet, especially one so small.

I worry that many people will think of Chihuahuas as little more than accessories - or worse, toys -- rather than dogs needing love and attention. In fact, Chihuahuas have increased in popularity largely because of celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Paula Abdul, who are often seen carrying their dogs on red carpets.

If you take your children to see "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and want to buy one, here's my advice: Visit your local shelter before contacting a breeder. Or get hold of a rescue group.

Shelters are brimming with Chihuahuas. At the Humane Society Silicon Valley in Santa Clara, Calif., for example, 45 percent of the dogs available for adoption are Chihuahuas or Chihuahua mixes. Between July 2007 and July 2008, almost 30 percent of incoming dogs were Chihuahuas or mixes.

Why the increase? Thanks to celebrities like Hilton, the dog's popularity has risen sharply. But in time, people realize that Chihuahuas (or any other pet) require a big investment, so they give them up for a variety of reasons: they're moving, the dogs aren't good with children or their vet bills are too expensive to fit their budget.

If you truly feel you can meet a dog's needs and want a companion or family pet, visit a shelter or contact a rescue organization such as Chihuahuarescue.com or Chihuahua-rescue.com.  There are plenty that need love.

I hope "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is a hit, and I hope it spurs folks who want to love and care for a dog to visit their local shelter and adopt one.

"It could be a good thing, that we'll get more people wanting to come in and adopt," said Laura Fulda, a spokeswoman for Humane Society Silicon Valley. "We just don't want people going to a breeder and then coming in a year from now to drop them off because they can't take care of them anymore."