Schipperke

I have two of these wonderful dogs called Schipperke's, Trooper and Tami. Both are Show Dogs. They are sometimes called 'the little captain' as the name is often mistranslated into Skipper Key, as in boat skipper. The legend has it they are Flemish or Belgian Barge Dogs.

The reality is somewhat different. They look like small version of the Belgium Sheep Dog though they are not directly related, and they too are a sheep dog.


The Schipperke (pronounced: skipper-key) has been known for centuries in the Flemish Province of Belgium where he was bred as a watchdog and hunter of vermin.

He is a bright, active and inquisitive dog that makes an excellent family companion. He is very good with children and suspicious of strangers, making him a good watchdog. Smart, loyal and loving, the Schip needs attention and companionship. He is active and loves to learn, and will excel in such activities as obedience, agility, flyball, tracking and herding.

Peasants in the Flemish Low Countries were not allowed large dogs, like horses and swords these were the symbols of the ruling classes and their Knights. So the peasants bred a small dog called the Schipperke to act as a shepherd, and the name means shepherd in Flemish. The peasants were Flemish Weavers and they brought their dogs with them when they traded with England and Europe.

THE WEE DOG FROM WALES
 By Sharon Pflaumer
 As with most breeds, there are a number of theories concerning
 the origins of the Pembroke Welsh Corgi in addition to the
 fanciful tale (about the fairies leaving two children wee dogs
 as a gift). This sturdy, all-around worker may have come
 from Schipperke-like dogs introduced to the British Isles
 by Flemish weavers in 1107. These weavers settled in Wales,
 where their canine companions evolved into cattle dogs.
 Another theory maintains the Pembroke is descended from
 the Swedish Vallhund, which may have been introduced to
 Wales by the Vikings.

Sumptuary Laws of Edward III's Reign

In 1337 when war was again declared with France, the English Parliament enacted
 a law intended to restrain  extravagance in dress and to promote the consumption 
 of English manufacturers. The 1337 act dealt with furs, limiting the wearing therof 
 to persons of gentle birth (or persons with annula incomes of 100 pounds or more). 

 The Black Death reached England in 1348 and the end of the following year had spread
to the north of the  country. It was estimated at least 20% of the population died.
This led to the  imposition in 1351 of the Statute of Labourers which fixed wages to
pre Black Death  levels and prevented mobility of labour in an attempt to restore stability
at a timewhen demand for workers was much greater than the supply (Pearsall, 1996).

People were often paid in apparel and foodstuffs. In 1355 an act was passed concerning the 
  dress of prostitutes. This related to restrictions of wear with the purpose of 
  distinguishing prostitutes from  respectable women. The parliament of 1363 passed an 
  act regulating both apparel and consumption of foodstuffs. This act amended the 1337 
  act and reduced the threshold for permissible wearing of furs to any non-peasant 
  with annual income of 40 shillings or greater. The legislation had two objectives 
  i.e.. protectionism i.e. only members of the royal family could wear cloth of 
  non-English manufacture and partly as an anti-inflationary  measure. Prior to this,
   Flemish weavers were taking English cash out of the country,  restriction to the 
   royals, was an economic means of keeping English money in the country. 

The Schipperke look more like foxes when they are mature, and like little bears when they are young pups. They are bright, intelligent, and obstinate hence the designation Little Captain, they push their way around. They are the perfect anarchist dog and the perfect dog for an anarchist.

They were later adopted by the Flemish Tailors Guild sometime in the late 15th Century or early 16th Century, because of their beautiful ruffs. The Tailors would make decorated collars and show them off on the ruffs of their Schipperke's in local competitions, walking them through the streets, and thus the origin of the dog show begins with the Flemish Tailors and their Schipperke's.

uring the 15th Century, Brussels became the tapestry capital. The extravagant use of gold thread in these works, inspired the name Tapis D'Or (cloth of gold). The most prominent weaver, Pieter Van Aelst, was responsible for creating "The Acts of the Apostles" which was commissioned for the Sistine Chapel. And in the 1500's Queen Elizabeth made the weaving industry the basis of England's trade. William Sheldon designed a series of county maps which were a charming mixture of geographical representation and decorative design. Mary, Queen of Scots, employed 2 Master Embroiderers for the Crown: Pierre Oudray and Charles Howart. The first embroidery book published in England was "A Schole House for the Needle" by Richard Schorleyker in 1624. It illustrated most of the usual motifs of the time, and also some lace and cut work. Embroiderers were also influenced by the designs from a manuscript by Thomas Trevellyan. These may be seen in many variations of Elizabethan Age embroidery.

They were later adapted for use on the Flemish canal barges, as a rat dog, to hunt and kill the scourge of barges and the working class ghetto. Thus the confusion about them being barge or boat dogs and the terms Skipper Keys, or little captains.

My Year of the War Including an Account of Experiences with the Troops
in France and the Record of a Visit to the Grand Fleet Which is Here
Given for the First Time in its Complete Form

When I think of Belgium's part in the war I always think of the little
Belgian dog, the schipperke who lives on the canal boats. He is a
home-staying dog, loyal, affectionate, domestic, who never goes out
on the tow-path to pick quarrels with other dogs; but let anything on
two or four feet try to go on board when his master is away and he will
fight with every ounce of strength in him. 

They are a rare dog breed that has become popular over the last few years. Since we adopted Trooper and Tami, I see more of them around the neighbourhood now. But folks still stop us and ask us what kind of dog they are. Most folks have heard of them as the rare Belgium Barge dog.

Both our dogs are from Diana Kinnear's Majekin line of Schipperke's and we are their adopted guardians. They both still do dog shows and Trooper is a Champion breed stud. This photo is of his winning pose in Camrose, the year we adopted him.

We found them by looking on the net. We had used the net to find rescue animals, in particular cats, we have a long standing tradition of adopting older cats. Since we lived in an apartment for many years. When we moved into our house I began to suggest we get a dog. A small dog, this funny dog with a funny name, we had seen at the dog show, which was just a bit bigger than our cats.

So we were looking for the dog with the funny name Schipperke and looked it up on the Internet. We came across Trooper through Diana who had moved from Calgary to Edmonton and needed to adopt him out to a home since she had another male in her menagerie and Trooper being the Alpha Male he needed a home of his own.

And eventually so did his granddaughter Tami, who really is a a spoiled little princess. She is my partners little girl. She lived with other Julie and the other 'girls' at Diana's house but really needed to be in her own home. And yes it is her home, she bosses Trooper around.

So what started out as a us looking at getting one dog, ended up with us adopting two of these wily intelligent guard dogs. And let me tell you they are better than any alarm system when it comes to protecting 'their home and property'.

Julie at 10 weeks(Mazeru Heavensent to Majekin) bred by Anna Verleg

( Ch Majekin Poetry In Motion x Ch Roetmop Qiwi)

Tami at 4 months(Majekin Talk About Me)

(Ch. Ebonorth Autumn Stormy Boy x Ch Majekin Ombrelle de Orval)

SCHIPPERKE CLUB OF CANADA SPECIALTY WINNER:
AM/CAN CH MAJEKIN NEMESIS DE SANGBLEU (TROOPER)
















Now what prompted me to write about them, which I had been intending on doing for some time actually, was this recent story in the news. If you are a regular reader of this blog, and of course who isn't, you know my position on crimes against animals.

Well this story was in the press recently. It's a terrible case of animal abuse and cruelty and it happened to a Schipperke puppy and it is horrible because the puppy was in the care of this person, totally dependent on them for it's survival. And of course as I have pointed out before if a person can do this to an animal they can do the same to children or even adults.

Three months for puppy drowning

Karen Kleiss, edmontonjournal.com

Published: Friday, November 16

EDMONTON - A man who drowned his friend's four-month-old puppy in a bathtub while she listened on the phone was sentenced today to three months in jail.

Jeffrey Vince, 46, is banned from owning pets for two years after his release, Crown prosecutor Prima Michell said after court.

Vince pleaded guilty in June to causing pain and suffering to an animal in connection with the Sept. 6, 2006 incident.

Michell said the incident began when Vince and a female friend got into an argument because the woman had been discussing Vince's mental health with a neighbour.

Vince pointed at the four-month-old puppy, a Schipperke lap dog named Shadoe, and the tiny dog nipped at his fingers. Angry, he grabbed the animal, shoved it into a carrier and drove home to his apartment, Michell said.

A short time later, he called his friend and asked her if she wanted to hear her dog dying. He placed the dog in the carrier in the tub, and ran the water until it died. He then attempted suicide by overdosing on pills, Michell said.

"This is not a case of somebody who might have some weird notions of discipline, and it is not a case of someone who is too poor to feed their pet," Michell said. "This is a deliberate act by someone who is mad at the owner."

Michell said psychological reports entered into evidence during the trial show Vince has a history of mental illness, but that the illness did not prevent him from forming the intention to kill the animal.

In court today, Michell said told the judge he feels bad for killing the dog.

And well he should. But he also needs medical help for his mental condition, which no amount of jail time will address. And it shows the failure of our social system that does not consider mental health as a public health issue. Instead it allows people to suffer alone, as the Klein government did when it closed Alberta Hospital and left the mentally ill to wander the streets homeless. And thus contributes directly to their alienation and subsequent mental illness which they deny they have.

On the other hand here is a story about how important that bond is between us and our animal companions, and no they are NOT pets. It is a bond that is as deep as humankind, since we domesticated wild animals to join us in our communities. And it too is a sad story, because it deals with the death of family member.

Another Sad Day

Posted Tuesday, October 30, 2007, at 3:37 PM

I'm just popping in for a quick minute today. My wonderful, sweet Schipperke, Bear, passed away suddenly and quite unexpectedly yesterday morning. He didn't feel well on Sunday. We just thought his arthritis was bothering him. By 3:00 a.m. yesterday morning, we knew something was seriously wrong. We flew out the door for Dr. K's office, where he was waiting for us. We were all with him, when he crossed the bridge. Dr. K feels that it probably was a blood clot brought on either by an auto immune response or a disease called DIC. He assured us, that there was nothing that we could have done.

Bear was such a bright light in my house. I know that it will be dim for a while, and never quite as bright before. Bear was a friend to everyone who met him, whether it was another pet or person. He became the official greeter of my neighborhood. We made rounds to visit all of the neighbors. He hadn't been getting out quite as much, because of his arthritis, but he still liked to visit.

Casey and I are still in quite a bit of shock. I may not be around for a couple of days, and I hope that you all understand. I'm still processing. This was an exceptionally hard blow, so soon after losing Slate the first of September. Please send good thoughts and prayers this way.

Goodbye Bear. You were a loyal, uplifting friend. You will be terribly missed.

But I will end on a more positive note with this final post I came across while Googling Schipperke's in the news. I have two cats and two dogs, and they all get along well. I will tell you my cat tales in another post. This final post ends with a message about the importance of adopting animals, especially rescued animals, those that have been abandoned by their owners. Often through no fault of their own, because in Alberta with the lack of affordable housing landlords are refusing to accept 'pets' or overcharging for the privilege of living with your companion animal.

Juanita's Juanderings
Claws and Paws
By Juanita Harris

I have two cats, Ebony and Ivory, who are about five years old, and who have become fat, lazy, and quite comfortable in their surroundings. In other words, quite spoiled. Until recently they have been able to lounge anywhere they darn well choose to lounge, be it on the furniture, my bed, or the dining room table. Now there is a battle for �top dog� in the house, and the cats seem to be losing the war. So much so that I haven�t seen much of them in the last two weeks. I think they have taken permanent lodging underneath my bed.

Their calm, cool, complacency has been greatly upset by my bringing home another four-legged fur ball � namely Roxie, a three-year-old Schipperke. Now to picture this. Here�s Roxie, all of seven pounds, and both of the cats are at least 12 to 14 pounds each. You see, Roxie doesn�t much like cats, and my cats don�t much care for dogs as it turns out. I am hoping that things will eventually settle down to a dull roar instead of the growl, bark, chase, and hide routine that now takes place every time the cats appear.
But, have no fear. I have not abandoned the cats. I go into the bedroom every day, shut the door, and spend quality time with them. I don�t want them to feel unloved. In fact, I moved their food into the master bathroom so they would not have to traverse the dog�s line of sight in order to be able to eat. But, they still must do that to get to their litter boxes.

At this time of year, with Christmas rapidly approaching, if you are considering a pet for your family, please consider adopting from the Humane Society as I did. There are plenty of beautiful, loving dogs and cats, puppies and kittens that deserve good, loving homes. But, if you do adopt a pet, please make sure your family is properly educated in the proper care and training of that animal before you bring it home. And, if you decide to get a pet from a private party, please make certain that your pet is properly vaccinated and spayed or neutered at the proper age. It is better for the animal and it avoids the unnecessary euthanizing of unwanted puppies and kittens.

'Til next time, be safe and have a very Happy Thanksgiving.

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animal abuse dog shows, Belgium barge dog, animals, Flemish, little captain, cats,Edmonton, animals, dog killers, dogs, pets,
mental illness, Belgium, dogs, animal abuse, schipperke, humans, domestication,

Chupacabra A Shunka Warakin

A what? Well thanks to BigCityLiberal perhaps we have a solution to what the Chupacabra is. Perhaps this cryptozoological phenomena is just another name for a different cryptozoological creature. Perhaps they are one and the same. Since they are both cryptids. Perhaps the Chupacabra is a Shunka Warakin.

In the Great Plains of the American West, from at least Montana to Nebraska, there have been reports of an animal that seems to be a hyena. With a sloping back and hyena-like features, this beast was known to the Ioway Indians as the shunka warak'in. Similar creatures, with different names, were reported from the lands of other tribes. This animal was generally described as having dark fur, often black and sometimes red. The shaggy areas were distributed in a different way than on wolves. White settlers also thought they had seen this creature, and some were even mounted as trophies. Although the present wherabouts of these trophies is now unknown, one famous trophy had a picture taken of it, although it might have been a strange-looking wolf mounted by an incompetent taxidermist. Only DNA testing could settle the question.

After all the later is a supposed extinct North American Wolf Hyena hybrid as this picture shows of one shot and preserved in the 19th Century.

Shunka Warak'in

In the late 19th century, the Hutchins family moved into an area of Montana along the Madison River's West Fork, in Broadwater County. They were soon to report encounters with a mysterious canine beast known to Native Americans.

One of the descendants of the original clan was zoologist Ross Hutchins. In 1977, he would write Trails to Nature's Mysteries: The Life of a Working Naturalist. Within this book is reference to one of the most obscure creatures to grace North America's cryptozoological landscape. The following account is reproduced from that book.

One winter morning my grandfather was aroused by the barking of the dogs. He discovered that a wolflike beast of dark color was chasing my grandmother's geese. He fired his gun at the animal but missed. It ran off down the river, but several mornings later it was seen again at about dawn. It was seen several more times at the home ranch as well as at other ranches ten or fifteen miles down the valley. Whatever it was, it was a great traveler...

Those who got a good look at the beast described it as being nearly black and having high shoulders and a back that sloped downward like a hyena. Then one morning in late January, my grandfather was alerted by the dogs, and this time he was able to kill it. Just what the animal was is still an open question. After being killed, it was donated to a man named Sherwood who kept a combination grocery and museum at Henry Lake in Idaho. It was mounted and displayed there for many years. He called it ringdocus.

An Ioway Indian named Lance Foster approached Loren Coleman in 1995 and informed him of traditions existing in that tribe of an animal called a shunka warak'in ('Carrying-Off-Dogs') which cried like a human when killed. Foster's descriptions of an animal that looked something like a hyena and the existence of one in an Idaho museum are testimony that the animal killed at the Hutchins ranch was a Shunka Warak'in.

Coleman speculates that the creature may have represented a survival of a prehistoric species known as Borophagus, although my own researches into the animal makes it seem even more likely that it may belong to another prehistoric species, a creodont known as Hyaenodon montanus. H. montanus was a rather lightly built member of the Neohyaenodon subspecies

And these pictures shows the alleged Chupacabra caught in Texas this summer.

Eric Gay / AP

Phylis Canion holds the head of what she is calling a Chupacabra at her home in Cuero, Texas, Friday, Aug. 31, 2007

Creature ID'd As Coyote, Not Chupacabra

updated 8:32 a.m. MT, Fri., Nov. 2, 2007
SAN MARCOS, Texas - The results are in: The ugly, big-eared animal found this summer in southern Texas is not the mythical, bloodsucking chupacabra. It's just a plain old coyote.

Biologists at Texas State University announced Thursday night they had identified the hairless doglike creature.

Oh well.....there are lots more Chupacabra still out there.

But the Shunka Warakin is extinct. Or perhaps not....

Wolf,dog,Shunka Warakin?

Posted by Mark on February 24, 2007, 11:04 am

Did anyone ever here of the dna results on that wolf creature they shot from a helicopter in Nov 2006 in Montana,that killed 120 sheep? It was 106 lbs,& orangeish color.In the 1800's a settler in Montana shot & mounted what they called Ringdocus,the Indians called it Shunka Warakin ("carrying off dogs").I have a picture of the mount in a book I have.Anyway both storys r neat but I never read a follow up story on the dna results.Some said it could've been a wolf from the great lakes region but I never saw an orange wolf out here.Mabey a Wolf-dog X. Who knows?

Your True Tales
August 2007 - Page 6

Shunka Warakin
by James

I was eight in 1992 and went camping with my friends in his backyard. We made camp and lit a fire. We were in the tents when a shadow was cast on the side. We thought it was a dog at first and I went outside to chase it off. But it was not a dog. The most I remember is its eyes, they were red. The fur was black and reminded me of a hog. It smelled awful. Its front legs were longer than the back legs. It just stared at me and then it just walked back into the woods.

I talked to an Native friend of mine and he heard of it. My wife brought home a book called Weird Georgia and it had a picture and an article about it. The picture made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. The book called it a "wog". We Googled "wog" but didn't get much, but then we found a picture of "shunka warakin" and the hair stood up again. I live in southern Georgia and actively deer hunt, but have never seen another creature like this - and hope never too.

Cue eerie music....


Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Monsters, myths,cryptid,Shunka Warakin,coyote, legends,Chupacabra,Texas,cryptozoology,

Gator Killer

See strange animal and shoot it. What a Dweeb! By crickey he missed the whole point of Crocodile Hunter; Steve Irwin's shows on croc's and gators. It is to preserve them not kill them.

Town of Farmington -Ed Long has a new, but strange for these parts, hunting trophy.

What Long thought was a snapping turtle slithering through the upper reaches of the Milwaukee River in Washington County was actually a nearly 4-foot-long alligator, which he promptly shot.

Of course this is all perfectly alright because croc's and gators are not indigenous to Wyoming. Despite being an endangered species around the globe.

Worried that Long may have broken some law, they called the state Department of Natural Resources violation hotline. They said a warden later called them and told them they were not in any trouble and had removed an invasive species from the river.

But the shoot first ask questions later hunter still proves he is an idiot, like most of his ilk; the irresponsible hunter.

Long said he is calling taxidermy shops to see if he can preserve the gator.

"I'd like to have it mounted," Long said. "Or at least get a belt or wallet out of it."

And this is not the first gator of its size to appear in the area. So how come there is no animal control policy for capture and release instead of shooting them in the head?

Alligators have popped up in Washington County before. In August 2006, two 4-foot-long alligators were found in the Rubicon River west of Hartford. Authorities believe those gators also were pets that got dumped.

Ah yes that other species of idiot; the irresponsible 'exotic' pet owner.

Whereas in Muncie, Indiana, and Virgina Beach, Virgina, also not noted for thriving croc and gator populations, folks have the right idea.

Muncie 'gator headed for Florida
ASSOCIATED PRESS

MUNCIE, Ind. -- A nearly 5-foot-long alligator nicknamed Vader Gator was heading to Florida two weeks after being rescued from the streets of Muncie.

The Muncie Animal Shelter sent Vader off Monday on the first leg of his journey to Croc Encounters, a reptile park and wildlife center in Tampa.

Shelter workers rescued Vader on Sept. 5 after it was found wandering through a neighborhood. The 4-foot-11 reptile had escaped an outdoor kennel by climbing over a fence, said Karen Gibson, the shelter's superintendent. Vader had outgrown a box it lived in inside its owners' home.

Vader spent 12 days at the shelter, confined to its own kennel, equipped with a heated water pool and a heat lamp.

Alligator captured in Virginia Beach, headed to zoo
Daily Press, VA - 11 Sep 2007
A private contractor caught the reptile Monday on the grass near Lake Holly. The resort city's animal control officers believe the alligator was released

The irony is that this poor gator would have been alive if he hung out in the Ukraine.

And even in areas of the U.S. which recently allowed limited 'hunting' of gators they are tough to kill. Which you would think would discourage folks from hunting them. You would think. But give a guy a gun and he thinks he can kill anything. And gator hunting is just another game for thrill seekers. And like other big game sport hunting, which is often excused as conservation; culling of over population, should be banned.

Jesse Latham, Eric Creigler, Stephen Creigler and Charlie Latham pose with 480-lb. alligator.

Four alligator hunters may have heard the theme music from the movie "Jaws" playing in the background as they wrestled with a hooked monster that pulled their boat around the Mobile River delta and then, in an outrage, charged the boat and bit into the fiberglass hull.

That was just part of the excitement of the midnight to almost daylight fight the gator hunters experienced the final night of the second state-sanctioned alligator hunt in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. They eventually landed the 12 foot-six inch reptile that weighed 480 lbs.

The gator was just shy of the state record of 12 feet, 10 inches but ranked in the top three killed during the season.

Jesse said the group learned a lot of things during the hunt. He said they were lucky that they had a larger boat. A smaller one could have been overturned by the gator's attack or as they tried to load it.

"I've been skydiving and gator hunting ranks right up there with that. I'd go again but next time we'll know to be better prepared. There are some big gators out there."

And then there are those folks who keep the gator alive to exploit it. 65 years old and in a tiny cage, I would be pissed off too.

BIG AL

Billed as a 65-year-old, 13-foot Florida alligator, it turns out Big Al is good at performing a single amazing trick: staying perfectly still.

"I think he's heavily medicated," said Phylicia Cardiel, 18, after paying a buck to see the once-proud reptile. "He doesn't do anything. He just looks pissed off."

Photo by John Harte

Big Al, the 13-foot long, 1,200-pound alligator, was photographed from a floorboard opening in the sleeping quarters of Tim Wilson, Big Al's handler.

Mind you those guys in Alabama could have just gathered around his cage and took a photo with him instead of having to kill the gator they did. Since Big Al is bigger than the gator they executed.

Oh by the by I am not opposed to hunting. Just trophy hunting and stupid hunters like the guy from Farmington..


SEE:

Another Croc

I Don't Do Mornings

Croc Tales

Animal Tales

Shark Bait

Coren Is An Idiot

Animal Crimes

Tigers As Commodities

Post Katrina Monster Executed

Find blog posts, photos, events and more off-site about:
Alligator, Milwaukee River, croc, crocodile, Alligator hunting, endangered species,

Children and Dogs

As I pointed out here earlier; children and dogs in North America share something in common; being abandoned in hot cars to die of hypothermia.

Two recent cases involving a child and a police dog made news the same day.

Ohio Mother Leaves Child in Car for 8 Hours

Yesterday we brought you the tragic story of a 2-year-old girl who died after her mother left her in a locked car for eight hours as the temperature approached 100 degrees outside -- and came close to 150 degrees inside.

The mother, Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby, had changed her daily routine that morning before going to work as an assistant principal at a middle school in Ohio. Instead of dropping off her daughter with the babysitter, she went to buy donuts for her fellow teachers, then went to work -- forgetting that her daughter was still asleep in the back seat.

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- A suburban police officer is accused of leaving a police dog in a patrol car for more than 12 hours on a 109-degree day, killing the animal The sheriff's investigation showed Bandit was in Lovejoy's patrol car from about 9 a.m. to shortly after 10 p.m. August 11. During that time, the investigation found, the officer ran errands, napped and ate out with his wife. Lovejoy later found the dog dead in the car.

And surprisingly there are as many dog fatalities as those of children.

Dogs

Ga. police dog also dies after being left in patrol car

Amherst Police arrested a Niagara Falls man Friday afternoon at the Boulevard Mall, after the man's dog was discovered suffering from the heat in a vehicle.Humane Investigator William Sullivan said they used a special thermometer to check the temperature in the vehicle. "It was 105 degrees," he said.

A woman was charged with animal cruelty Tuesday after her dog died after being left in a closed car, allowing the pet's temperature to reach 108.3 degrees,

Cary police have charged a woman with leaving a dog inside a 122-degree car

Man Arrested after Dog Left in Hot Car Dies - Associated Content

Absecon woman charged after dog left in car dies - Topix

Dog Left In Sweltering Car As Owner Goes To Beach -

Man charged with locking a dog in hot car, leaving it to die

Man Arrested After Dog Dies In Boiling Car

Children

New City man charged with DWI; child in car

Mother pleads guilty to leaving toddler in car

Florida Toddler Dies After Being Left in Hot Car Outside City Hall

Father Arrested After Leaving Toddler in Car at Brothel Parking Lot

Police: Man Leaves Child In Car, Shops For Porn

MOUNTAIN VIEW: NANNY ARRESTED AFTER LEAVING CHILD IN CAR

Sometimes the child or dog is rescued.

Torrance police rescue baby trapped in car

Statistics for children and dogs left in cars shows a wide discrepancy. While the statistics for children left in cars is for the U.S. the stats for dogs are from the Ontario Humane Society. Despite the disparities in numbers they share the same underlying causes.

In 2007 there have been at least twenty-six deaths of small children after being left inside a hot vehicle. Last year there were at least twenty-nine such fatalities in the United States due to hyperthermia after they were left in hot cars, trucks, vans and SUV's. This sadly followed forty-two child deaths in 2005. Since 1998 there have been at least a total of 323 of these needless tragedies. This study shows that these incidents can occur on days with relatively mild (i.e., ~ 70 degrees F) temperatures and can occur very rapidly.

STATISTICS

• Total number of U.S. hyperthermia deaths of children left in cars, 2007: 26
• Total number of U.S. hyperthermia deaths of children left in cars, 2006: 29
• Total number of U.S. hyperthermia deaths of children left in cars, 1998-2007: 347
• Average number of U.S. child hyperthermia fatalities per year since 1998: 36

In the summer of 2006, the OHS EAPS responded
to 93 calls about dogs left in cars in extreme heat
conditions. We're pleased to see the numbers of these
calls decreasing each summer. Thanks to our educational
efforts and public awareness campaigns, more
people are becoming conscious of the dangers of
leaving animals in hot cars.

The reason for child car deaths and those of animals is simple lack of laws and severe enough penalties.

An Associated Press analysis of more than 310 fatal incidents in the past 10 years found that prosecutions and penalties vary widely, depending in many cases on where the death occurred and who left the child to die - parent or caregiver, mother or father: -Mothers are treated much more harshly than fathers. While mothers and fathers are charged and convicted at about the same rates, moms are 26 percent more likely to do time. And their median sentence is two years longer than the terms received by dads. -Day care workers and other paid baby sitters are more likely than parents to be charged and convicted. But they are jailed less frequently than parents, and for less than half the time. -Charges are filed in half of all cases - even when a child was left unintentionally.

It's wrong that an Ohio mother has escaped prosecution for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, who the mother forgot and left inside a sweltering SUV while she went to work.

The decision not to prosecute Brenda Nesselroad-Slaby of suburban Cincinnati for the death of her daughter Cecilia came yesterday from Clermont County Prosecutor Don White. He said leaving Cecilia in the car was ''a substantial lapse of due care'' but did not meet the legal test for reckless conduct requiring prosecution.

We don't buy it. A toddler died because the primary caregiver forgot her primary duty. The loss of a child's life can not be written off as an unfortunate mistake, no matter how unintentional, or how much the parent is grieving personally.

The legal obligation of a parent to protect a child has few rivals, and the law must penalize the failure to meet that obligation.

His name is Cyrus and he's lucky to be alive. But he faces a long road back and he may never be what he was before Tuesday. He's the three-year-old Rottweiler who was found locked in his owner's SUV in a parking lot near King and Jameson. The pet was near death when Toronto Humane Society cruelty investigator Tre Smith knocked out a window to rescue the creature. The dog was foaming at the mouth and in severe distress as it was rushed for emergency treatment.

Now veterinarians have determined what they most feared - that the sad-eyed pooch has suffered both brain and kidney damage from which he won't be able to recover. "There's definitely some brain damage there," sighs the Society's Lee Oliver. "It's not as severe as we thought. He's able to stand on his own with some help. We've had him out for a walk. He's able to move his feet in a normal walking order which means he's got motor functions."

While cruelty charges have been laid against the owner, there's a terrible irony in the fact that the man accused of the crime could one day get his animal back. It's an old dilemma Smith faces every day in his difficult but rewarding job. The penalty for a conviction is a $2,000 fine or up to six months in jail and a possible two year prohibition against owning animals. Smith is aware pets can't be put on the same scale as humans, but he wonders if the law is adequate enough to send the right message about mistreating one of the tender hearted creatures.

"They're not tough enough," he makes clear. "They don't have any teeth. We're gumming our way through this thing. How can anyone expect us to do our job properly if we don't have the tools, the resources and the laws and the people to back us up?"

The other factor is the use of car seats. And now this is being pushed for use by children up to eight and nine years of age!

Ironically, one reason was a change parent-drivers made to protect their kids after juvenile air-bag deaths peaked in 1995 - they put them in the back seat, where they are more easily forgotten.

Texas leads the nation with at least 41 deaths, followed by Florida with 37, California with 32, North Carolina and Arizona with 14 apiece, and Tennessee with 13. There were deaths recorded in 44 states - most in the Sun Belt, but many in places not known for hot weather.

The correlation between the rise in these deaths and the 1990s move to put children in the back seat is striking.

"Up to that time, the average number of children dying of hyperthermia in the United States was about 11 a year," says Jan Null, an adjunct professor of meteorology at San Francisco State University who has studied this trend. "Then we put them in the back, turned the car seats around. And from '98 to 2006, that number is 36 a year."

And sometimes it is simply thoughtlessness.

When Andrea Williams and her boyfriend returned to their car, they found their puppy strangled by her leash.

Now Williams wants to spread the word about a danger she had never considered.

"We are so devastated," she said. "The notion never even crossed our minds to unhook the leash."

The puppy, a pug named Lucy, was nearly 6 months old. She apparently jumped from the back seat to the front and back and got caught up in the leash, which Williams found wrapped around the passenger-side seat.

Or I didn't think I would be gone that long.

Family and friends stand by mom after baby left in car

Which means that this wouldn't help anyways; Baby In Hot Car Reminder Devices

Even on a relatively cool day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels if the sun is out, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found. They hope their findings will put to rest the misconception that a parked car can be a safe place for a child or pet in mild weather.

“There are cases of children dying on days as cool as 70 degrees Fahrenheit,” said lead author Catherine McLaren, MD, clinical instructor in emergency medicine. Though past research has documented the temperature spike inside a car on extremely hot days, this is the first time anyone has looked at cooler days, she added.

McLaren collaborated with James Quinn, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine, and Jan Null, an independent certified consulting meteorologist, to measure the temperature rise inside a parked car on sunny days with highs ranging from 72 to 96 degrees F. Their results, published in the July issue of the journal Pediatrics, showed that a car’s interior can heat up by an average of 40 degrees F within an hour, regardless of ambient temperature. Eighty percent of the temperature rise occurred within the first half-hour.

Pets, more so than humans, are susceptible to overheating. While people can roll down windows, turn on the air conditioner or exit the vehicle when they become too hot, pets cannot. And pets are much less efficient at cooling themselves than people are.

Dogs, for example, are designed to conserve heat. Their sweat glands, which exist on their nose and the pads of their feet, are inadequate for cooling during hot days. Panting and drinking water helps cool them, but if they only have overheated air to breathe, dogs can suffer brain and organ damage after just 15 minutes. Short-nosed breeds, like pugs and bulldogs, young pets, seniors or pets with weight, respiratory, cardiovascular or other health problems are especially susceptible to heat-related stress.

Why compare dogs and children?

Because in North America dogs and cats have become surrogate children (and grandchildren). And in Japan too.

They are no longer 'pets', property, but companions.

Approximately one half of all Canadian families include a companion animal, so many of us care passionately about these animals and how to improve their care.

They have evolved a new social role.

Profound changes are happening in the animal health market. Pet owners in the United States are demanding more advanced and expensive treatments for companion animals, driving growth in the companion-animal sector. At the same time, concerns about livestock health care and feeding are driving changes in industrial animal husbandry.

And if you cannot take care of your companion how can you take care of a child.

Media reports of illegal dogfights and illegal betting prompted police to raid 1915 Moonlight Road. After that, Vick began to lie about his involvement in dogfighting and gambling. He lied to his coach, to the team's ownership and to the commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). Not until his lawyers were confronted by the overwhelming amount of evidence against Vick in the federal indictment did he begin to tell at least part of the truth. He signed a plea bargain admitting guilt. He turned state's witness. Last week he held a nationally televised press conference at which he apologised, expressed his shame, and renounced dogfighting.

Vick will be sentenced on December 10. He will go to jail. He will receive a heavy fine. When the new NFL season starts this Saturday, he won't be there. He has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL. The $US71 million in salary for the remaining seven years of his contract has been suspended. He has lost all endorsement contracts. The Atlanta Falcons will seek reimbursement for up to $US22 million of his signing bonus.

Polls show that most American sports fans never want to see him on a football field again. All this even though he has not been convicted of any violent crime against another human being, nor any involvement in narcotics. Rather, Vick's years in the violent underground world of dogfighting represented an affront to the special place dogs hold in society.

What does it mean, then, that this special place is being eroded by the pressures of modern life? In Australia, keeping dogs as companions is in serious decline. Earlier this year, a study commissioned by the Australian Companion Animals Council found a significant decline in the dog population. In 2000, Australians kept 4 million dogs as companions. By this year, the number had dropped to 2.75 million, a plunge of 31 per cent. (Cat numbers also declined over the same period, from 3.2 million to 2.3 million, a fall of 28 per cent.)

Experts attributed the sharp decline to children spending less time playing outdoors and much more time playing video games, and watching TV and the internet. One byproduct of this behavioural shift has been a surge in childhood obesity. Another byproduct, it appears, has been a decline in the role that companion animals, especially dogs, occupy in family life.

Researching this subject, it was fascinating to find the many scholarly studies which measured positive roles that companion animals play in social life, with dogs at the forefront. Various studies have concluded that animal owners have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, higher survival rates after serious illness, and suffer less from loneliness or depression. A number of studies have concluded that companion animals tend to enhance family life.

If dogs are being pushed aside by the accelerating pace of modern life - more technology, less time - if we have less time for the altruism required to keep a dog exercised and engaged, then we are in danger of losing a better part of who we collectively are.

SEE:

Animal Crimes

Katrina: It's a Dog-Gone Crime

Tiger Tiger Burning Bright

We Love Animals

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Humanness

I would hope so.

Human toddlers outperform apes in social learning

One theory holds that humans have distinctive "cultural intelligence," she said. Alternatively, some think humans hold an advantage in social cognitive tasks simply because they have more general intelligence.

Human toddlers show markedly better social learning skills compared to their primate cousins, a new study finds.

"Social cognition skills are critical for learning," Herrmann said in a news release.

"The children were much better than the apes in understanding nonverbal communications, imitating another's solution to a problem and understanding the intentions of others," she said.

Hermann's study involved 230 subjects -- 100 chimps, 30 orangutans and 100 children.

The children were two-and-a-half years old. That age was picked because the subjects could handle the test's tasks, but they were not old enough to know too much.

The apes resided in sanctuaries in Africa and Indonesia. They ranged in age from three to 21 years.

All the subjects were subjected to the cognitive tests of the Primate Cognition Test Battery.

In areas such as space, quantities and causality, the toddlers and the primates were found to be about equal.

For communication, social learning and theory-of-mind skills, the children scored 74 per cent and the primates only 33 per cent.

Sometimes it takes an art historian to define what science and religion cannot agree on; what makes us human.

In "The Human Animal in Western Art and Science" (University of Chicago Press, 320 pages, $40), the Oxford art historian Martin Kemp offers a new solution.

Mr. Kemp's new solution proposes to draw a line between man and beast not on the basis of reason or the presence of a soul, but in accord with a subtler distinction. Although some animals use crude tools, no animal uses what he calls "indirect tools." These are tools, such as a needle or a bow and arrow, which require a series of imaginative "pre-visualizations," both to invent and to use.

To conceive a needle, one must be able to envisage the process of connecting two pieces of material; this in turn involves picturing such implements as thread or the needle's eye and, in a further stage, the specific looping motion of sewing. As in chess, the ability to picture objects and processes in future and successive stages is required. This seems clearly beyond the capacity of any animal.

Mr. Kemp's argument is persuasive. Such strategic visualization, proceeding by a logic of images rather than of concepts, does appear peculiarly human. And yet, the puzzle of our apartness remains; to be human is to be caught in a strange midway kingdom. We sense but can't know the minds of our fellows in that neighboring realm. Montaigne put it best, in a remark Mr. Kemp quotes: "When I play with my cat, how do I know that she is not passing time with me rather than I with her?"

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Shark Bait

More stupid human speciesism.

Since all sharks look the same.

Lucky for the shark there was a 'Life' guard at the beach to save his life.

These are Michael Coren's kind of folks, beating up on a poor shark.

When a Coney Island lifeguard spied a shark near an upset group of swimmers, he did what he thought was right: He rescued the fish

Marisu Mironescu, 39, said he was prompted to action Monday after seeing about 75 to 100 people circling the 60-centimetre sand shark off the beach and "bugging out."

"They were holding onto it and some people were actually hitting him, smacking his face," said Mironescu. "Well, I wasn't going to let them hurt the poor thing."

He grabbed the largely harmless shark in his arms and carried it, backstroking out to sea, where he let it go. "He was making believe like he's dead, then he wriggled his whole body and tried to bite me," Mironescu said.

The rescue ended a holiday weekend that began with another city shark scare Saturday, when a 1.5-metre thresher shark washed up on Rockaway Beach, sending hundreds of swimmers out of the water.

And size does matter. Five feet is a lot bigger than 3.5 feet.

At least these New Yorkers did do the 'right thing'. Since sharks are an endangered species thanks to stupid humans.

A five-foot-long thresher shark that washed up on a crowded city beach this weekend — and was pushed back into the sea by beachgoers — is dead.

Rockaway Beach was back open Sunday, a day after a shark sighting shut it down.

Park officials say a shark washed up on the shore Saturday near Beach 109th Street. Some New Yorkers approached the creature and pushed it back into the water.

The Parks Department ordered swimmers back on the shore and closed the beach and surrounding bay for the rest of the day.

Sunday morning, a dead thresher shark, five feet in length, washed up on the shore at Beach 113th Street. Parks officials say they believe it was the same shark as Saturday.

An expert from the New York Aquarium told the New York Post that thresher sharks don't attack nearly as often as the famous Great White, although swimmers have been injured by their tails.

Thresher Shark

The genus and family name derive from the Greek word alopex, meaning fox. Indeed the long-tailed thresher shark, Alopias vulpinus, is named the fox shark by some authorities.

All three thresher shark species have been recently listed as vulnerable to extinction by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

Sand Shark

The sand tiger (Carcharias taurus) is a coastal shark often encountered by shore fishermen while fishing for striped bass and bluefish. Please note that this species is protected by both State and Federal laws .

Sand tigers have two dorsal fins of equal size and are grayish brown in appearance, often with dusky spots on their sides and tail. They are most often confused with smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis), but sand tigers have very noticeable long thin teeth while smooth dogfish do not. The spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) is another small coastal shark, but can easily be distinguished from a sand tiger by its two dorsal fin spines and the lack of anal fin. If you accidentally catch a sand tiger,you should take care to return it to the water unharmed.

SEE:

Prison Zoo Complex

They Walk Among Us

Nessies Relative

Nessie?

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Chupacabra

What is it? And since she found this corpse in July why are the professionals speculating instead waiting for the forensic pathology and DNA test of this creature. Dog, fox, coyote, whatever, lets quit the 'scientific' explanations until the science is done thank you.

Phylis Canion holds the head of what she is calling a Chupacabra at her home. She found the strange looking animal dead outside her ranch and thinks it is responsible for killing many of her chickens. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

But what folks are calling a chupacabra is probably just a strange breed of dog, said veterinarian Travis Schaar of the Main Street Animal Hospital in nearby Victoria.

"I'm not going to tell you that's not a chupacabra. I just think in my opinion a chupacabra is a dog," said Schaar, who has seen Canion's find.

The "chupacabras" could have all been part of a mutated litter of dogs, or they may be a new kind of mutt, he said.

Wildlife officials say the animal is actually a very sick, grey fox that possibly has a parasite.

Phylis Canion found the corpse of a strange looking critter on her property in late July. Claiming that the animal killed numerous cats in the area and sucked the blood from her chickens for a number of years, Canion collected the blue-colored road kill off Hwy.183. Upon closer inspection, she couldn’t place a name to it.

Determined to find out the identity of her discovery, she contacted KENS-5, a CBS broadcast affiliate in San Antonio. The news station was also curious, and sent a tissue sample to Texas State University-San Marcos for DNA testing.

The Department of Biology received the remains late this summer and is currently running tests to divulge the classification of the animal in the lab’s Beckman-Coulter CEQ 8800 DNA sequencer.

“This is part of a Mexican, Caribbean and Latin-American cultural phenomenon,” said Michael Forstner, professor of biology at Texas State and facilitator of the DNA tests. “While we don’t have the skull, from the images we have we can tell you that it’s a canid, it’s in the dog family Canidae.”

The reason the department doesn’t possess the skull is because the head of the animal was removed by Canion. She placed it in her freezer to preserve it for a decorative mount on her wall, leaving DNA testing as the remaining means in which to conclusively identify the beast.

“We’ll extract the DNA and amplify it using DNA markers suitable for mammals and carnivores,” Forstner said. “When we’re done, we’ll run the results against our online database and see what it matches.”

Supposed chupacabras that have undergone testing in the past often turn out to be wild dogs, foxes or coyotes. In this case, Forstner says the department should easily be able to find a match.

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