Tragic Fire at Sweet Pea

     On November 22nd at 10:45 pm a fire broke out and engulfed Sweet Pea no-kill animal shelter in flames. Firefighters did their best to get rid of the flames and save the animals. They were only able to rescue five dogs out of all of the animals. At about 11:45 pm, While the staff were treating the dogs for smoke inhalation the firefighters extinguished the flames and did their best to rescue cats and other dogs. Unfortunately, they were too late and they couldn't be saved. 

     Some of the cats were able to flee to the woods during the event, so cat carries were set up with food in hopes on bringing the cats out of the woods. Two of the dogs that were being treated sadly died. There were about 50 animals lost in the fire.

     During the fire, staff tweeted and posted to facebook asking for help and to bring supplies "this is not a drill". Volunteers showed up with blankets and water for the animals, and also water for the firefighters. They said most of the dogs who fell were smaller breeds. Fire officals from not only Paxton, but, Spencer, Leicester, Oakham and Holden showed up to assist.

     The first theory was believed to be an electrical cause to the fire but, now some are guessing Arson comes into play. How someone could set fire to an animal shelter is beyond me. Shelter director, Richard Clark said Sweet Pea will need a lot of help getting back on it's feet. They added a "wish list" to amazon, including items like pet food bowls, paper towels, canned dog and cat food. He said gift cards to pet stores would also be helpful. 

     With the holidays coming, everyoneshould  be in the giving spirit, so whatever help you can would be appreciated by the animals and the staff. 

Pitbulls and Their Bad Rep's

     When someone is walking around with a golden retriever vs. a pit-bull usually someone's reactions are completely different. From personal experience, I've witnessed people tend to get more nervous around an adult pit-bull then they do around an adult golden retriever. Why do pit-bulls get such a bad rep? I've always wondered this, so I decided to do some research. I did online research and I also made a Facebook post to get multiple people's opinions.
     When I typed in the Google search bar "pit-bulls and their bad rep" I got so many results like 'Monster Myths', 'Why do Pit-bulls get such a bad rep', and 'What's Hype, What's not'. If you want to know the deep history of pit-bulls, the Greeks used them as guard dogs and in times of battle, they would follow their leader into war. For four-hundred years they were used as war dogs. Also, they were used to sub-due an agitated bull, hence the name. In the 19th century bull-biting became banned and then came dog fighting. Pit-bulls were the often used and original fighters in these dog-fights. Although, dog fights are illegal, they still happen. Pit-bulls were not recognized as domesticated home pets until 1963. In the early 1980's there was one specific dog attack to make the papers, most likely because a man sicced 26 dogs after one woman. Some believe it made the papers because a lot of these dogs were pit-bulls. As time progressed, more often the only time a pit-bull showed up in the news was in puppy ads. More people started believing pit-bulls weren't vicious fighters by nature, but, raised to be that way. This is where "canine racism" comes in. Which is the thought that one breed is more naturally vicious, better, friendlier, etc; then others. On the same website I found most of this information, I also found some comments.

There is still Pit-Bull controversy, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion. In my personal opinion, I believe the dog's behavior is based off of its master. I got great feed back from my Facebook post. Although, most of the people agree that it's how they are raised, other people have biased opinions.

     I'm not going to use full names in respect of their privacy, but, LD said "This is the result of how the animal is raised, NOT an indication of the dog's temperament." Another person, Initials VB said "If you teach them to be a great family dog than that's what they will be. If you teach them to be aggressive, fighting dogs, than that's what they will be".

      I got some personal experience comments as well, for example GM said "I have a red nose pit bull. He is the sweetest thing. It's all on how the dog is brought up". EAC said "My brother had two wonderfully sweet pits." CH said "I've only ever owned pit bulls I can tell you first hand that every single one I've added to my family had been sweet and gentle".

      Then there's always that one person with the other opinion. PB said "That's the breed my daughter was attacked by. That is the breed I never have or never will trust. And before it's said, the dog was sweet to everyone. They are an aggressive breed." And of course a debate was formed and it caused me to delete the status. Wether or not pit bulls are friendly and if they have a good rep, really depends on the person. It seems as if more people are for pit bulls then against them. What side do you land on? 

Animal Planet Live Animal Cams

     Some of us, don't particularly like visiting zoo's and supporting animals in cages. But, we also want to watch animals we don't get to see everyday. A perfect way to do this is to watch Animal Planet Live videos. If you follow this link,  http://www.apl.tv/ you can watch live stream videos of a panda bear family, kittens, puppies, polar bears, sloths, birds, an African watering hole, bigfoot, bunnies, cows, chicks, Pacific Reef, bugs, penguins, hedge hogs and sea otters. My personal favorites are the pandas, puppies, the African Watering Hole, kittens and the penguins.