Monday, May 31, 2010

Hunger Strike to Protest BSL

During the month of June, Chako's founder will be joining two other woman on a hunger strike to protest breed-specific legislation across the United States.

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Auburn Attacks Pit Bulls

Will Wong, Auburn's Community Development Director, today released the draft dog ordinance that the city council has been pondering for months. Despite the fact that several city council members expressed their belief that all dog owners should be held equally accountable for their dog, the city is now considering an ordinance that singles out Pit Bulls.

In an email to one of our supporters (who kindly forwarded it our way), city councilmember Bill Kirby stated, "I support the spay and neuter of all dogs except licensed breeders and certified show dogs."

City Councilmember Keith Nesbitt told the supporter, "Staff will be bringing back recommendations for a stronger ordinance. I do not believe it will be breed specific."

When we directly asked city council member Mike Holmes whether Auburn would be considering a Pit Bull specific ordinance, his response was a succinct, "No."

That leaves a clear majority of the city council who have said they will not support a Big Brother government by enacting breed specific legislation. So what happened? Well, apparently, a few of them flip-flopped, but we'll find out for sure during the May 24th city council meeting.

Read the full draft ordinance via our Google Docs account.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Procter & Gamble purchases Natura -- Bye, Innova and Evo!

Procter and Gamble has purchsaed Natura Pet Products, which sells the premium dog food brands Innova and Evo. Innova has been a privately held company based in Davis, CA. Procter and Gamble also sells California Natural and Karma, among other brands.
Procter and Gamble has a very spotty record when it comes to putting the health of its customer pets over its bank account. A few years ago, Proctor and Gamble lowered the recommended feeding guidelines for its Iams and Eukanuba brands in order to claim its products were cheaper to feed. Pet owners and a competing manufacturer sued Procter and Gamble. According to the Dog Food Report, "The suit claims that Iams misled consumers by lowering the portion sizes. It also refers to five independent studies testing Iams feeding instructions and statements made by the company. In all five studies, the humane officer terminated the study because of 'significant weight loss suffered by the dogs following Iams' feeding instructions.'"

Visit the Washington Post to read more about what Proctor and Gamble did with Iams and Eukanuba after purchasing those brands.

Another nationwide class action suit against the company filed in 2007 claimed that Proctor and Gamble and other dog food companies misled customers about the quality of its dog food, stating, "Millions of euthanized cats and dogs are 'rendered' and ultimately made into pet food. Drugs used in the euthanasia process have been detected in pet food because the drugs are not destroyed by heat." You can download the complaint via our Google Docs account.