Hope Floats, We are all in the same boat!

Hope Floats came to Richmond Animal Care and Control (RAC&C) in July of 2012 as a stray. When no one came for her, she was given the name Hope Floats and soon became a shelter favorite. After passing multiple behavioral evaluations and still no adopter, Ring Dog Rescue, sponsored Hope Floats; she was spayed, heart-worm tested, vaccinated and micro-chipped.

In an attempted to find her the right home, she was promoted on Ring Dog Rescues sites and social media. No luck! In, November of 2012, renovations at RAC&C began. Hope Floats, started to degrade, with sounds, limited space and the fact that she had now been at the shelter for 5 months. It was clear to staff and volunteers that something had to be done, and after 5 months no one wanted to euthanize her.

Ring Dog Rescue contacted their partner, Heritage Humane Society. We talked about her testing, medical, and her potential. On November 20th, Hope Floats got a new chance. She was picked up by a Ring Dog Rescue volunteer and driven to Williamsburg. After being introduced to their volunteers and staff, she was set up in a large cushy run, given a meal and allowed to rest peacefully. The fantastic staff and volunteers, who were awaiting her arrival; quickly got to work, taking Hope Floats out for walks, running, and yummy snacks. On, Sunday November 25th, Hope Floats was adopted into a loving forever family.

This story is a true testament to working together. Municipal shelters having a relationship with rescue organizations, and them in turn having relationships with other organizations and humane societies, can change the life of an animal. And while, Hope Floats, may only be one dog, she like all are deserving of a chance when that chance is there. Sharing of resources and relationships can make a change, even if it is only one lucky dog.

Richmond Animal Care & Control, Ring Dog Rescue and Heritage Humane Society, all wish Hope Floats a great new life.

Efforts to combat dogfighting gain major ally in RICO statute

Dharma the three-legged pit bull is a survivor.

The canine was found mangled in 2009 when federal investigators busted a massive dogfighting ring that spanned from Illinois to Texas. The raids resulted in the seizure of more than 400 dogs and numerous arrests.

Animal welfare workers said Dharma wasn't used in the dogfights but rather was left chained outside in rural Missouri to produce fresh litters of puppies. The dog's abusers, they said, amputated one of her front legs.

Suzanne Schemm, the dog's adoptive owner, believes Dharma, now 5, is lucky to have escaped from an underground world where crimes against animals are common but often difficult to solve and prosecute.

"This case was just the tip of the iceberg," said Schemm, a southwest suburban resident, referring to the Missouri raid.

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Authorities Bust Bronx Dog-Fighting Ring

Police said they were forced to remove up to 50 dogs from the basement of 1254 Sherman Avenue in the Concourse section Thursday, where a suspected dog-fighting ring was being run. NY1's Dean Meminger filed the following report.



Scars on a pitbull's face represented evidence of what was going on in the basement of Sherman Avenue and 168th Street in the Bronx.

Investigators said 50 dogs as young as 12 weeks and as old as 5 years were bred, trained and put in fighting matches here.

"There is extensive training equipment," said NYPD Deputy Inspector Anthony Favale. "There's treadmills, it looks like homemade makeshift treadmills. They would put the dogs on to build them up and exercise them. There were areas that were clearly staged for fighting."

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300 pit bulls saved from Philippine dogfighting arena

Philippines said it helped police bust a South Korean syndicate operating a massive dog fighting ring and rescue 300 pitbulls.

Two South Korean nationals and several Filipinos were arrested in the Friday raid at a two-hectare farm in the city of San Pablo just south of the capital Manila, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society said.

Many of the dogs were severely injured, with ripped ears and tongues, including 20 that needed to be euthanized, it said.

"This appears to be a large operation and these South Koreans need to be punished," PAWS program director Anna Cabrera said.

Those arrested were part of the same South Korean group whose operations were busted in December in a nearby province and who later posted bail, PAWS said. About 240 dogs were also rescued in that raid.

"Too many animals have already suffered, and criminals are becoming bolder, taking only two months after arrest to get back into their illegal operations once they have posted bail," the group said as it urged tougher laws to protect animals.

Those found guilty of animal cruelty can be jailed for between six months and two years, but suspects can go free on bail as the often-lengthy legal process continues.

PAWS said many of the dogs in the latest bust were not properly fed and sheltered, and showed scars and wounds from recent fights. The contests are broadcast online to a betting audience.

A picture released by PAWS on its Facebook page showed one emaciated dog chained to a tree in open grounds. In the background, steel drums were used as dog kennels.

Police were not immediately available for comment.

Copyright 2012 AFP Global Edition

One reason we do what we do!

I would just like to take a moment to update you about Boz' new life!  He has had a very hectic and exciting couple of months! 

         We brought him to our home in early May and it was immediately evident that he was going to settle into his new life in no time.  He sniffed around the house for a couple hours, explored, napped, explored some more, snuggled on the couch, napped again, etc.  He was a little bit wary of using the bathroom at our house, but after one small accident IN the house, he caught on to using the bathroom outside and hasn't had another mess-up since!!  It probably took him less than a week to amass a very large collection of toys and he goes through his "toy box" daily to make sure they're all still there and give them a good shake and squeak.  He LOVES his new fenced in yard!  He loves to roll around in the grass, chase tennis balls for hours and run run run.  He thinks it is hilarious to play "chicken" with us - he runs at us a very high rates of speed and at the last second, darts around our legs to avoid a collision.  He has discovered a love for ice cubes.  Any time the freezer door is opened he sticks his head right in and hopes that a couple cubes will be accidentally knocked out - almost every time he walks away with an icy cool treat!

        We entertain friends at our house usually about once a week or so and he has been great with meeting new people. He is usually very friendly and sociable with females immediately.  He is a little more wary of new men, until they start playing with him, then he is their new best friend!  He is beginning to remember the friends who come over more frequently and he gets so excited to see them!  Two friends of ours have a 9 month old baby and he LOVED her!  He would lick her little toes and she would shriek with laughter and you could just see the happiness on his sweet face.  He was so gentle around her and so sweet!  He took his first weekend trip with us last weekend when we spent some time at my boyfriend's family's lake house on South Holston Lake in Abingdon, VA.  He spent about an hour exploring the house and the yard, decided it was suitable, then decided it was time for a nap.  (He naps all the time!  We are nap-friendly people, so he fits in great with us!)  The attached photo is of me and Boz on the lake's shore, and there is one of him hanging out on the dock.  It was actually kind of difficult to get the pictures of him - he was astounded by the world's largest water bowl!  He didn't take the plunge into the lake, but I have a suspicion that if a tennis ball was tossed in, he would jump in in a heartbeat. 

        Boz has settled in perfectly and we really couldn't ask for a better dog.  He knows his basic commands and we are working on some fancier ones, and he will also start his intermediate training soon.  It took him no time to adapt to our lifestyle and our schedules and he seems to love being in our family.  As I mentioned before, he only had one accident in the house!! ONLY ONE! I could hardly believe it.  I have had dogs all my life and it has never been so easy training one to do their business outside!  He is very quiet (even with our new neighbors and their very, very vocal Irish Setters, he just stands in the yard and looks at them, never answers back to them!) and calm (except during playtime) and he sleeps ALL night long.  In fact, when I wake up in the morning to take him outside I have to coax him to get out of my bed - I think he would probably sleep until noon everyday if I would let him.  Speaking of sleeping, I do have one minor complaint - Boz is a terrible bed hog!  How he pushes me to the edge of the bed throughout the night without waking me, I'll never know, but I wouldn't have it any other way!  He's a great little snuggler and we love him very much! 

       Thank you for helping Boz prior to my adopting him (I'm secretly glad his home in Maryland didn't work out!) and thank you for helping all the other bullies (and others) that Ring Dog helps everyday!  My hope for Bozzy, as I call him, is that with his good nature and precious personality, he can help bully breeds everywhere by changing opinions held by people who have believed the media and haven't given some of the best dogs out there a chance. 

Thank you again!

Stephany Campbell