Sunday, March 31, 2013

'Hero beavers' struggling to survive effects of fuel spill






'Hero beavers' struggling to survive effects of fuel spill



OGDEN — The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation credits a beaver dam for preventing a diesel fuel leak from reaching Willard Bay earlier this week, but now its builders are in trouble.
Two beavers, soaked in diesel fuel, were found by cleaning crews working to contain the leak in Willard Creek Tuesday. The leak stemmed from a problem with a Chevron diesel fuel pipeline, and officials believe it was the beavers' dam that stopped the fuel from reaching a nearby wildlife habitat in Willard Bay.
The animals, now being dubbed "hero beavers," were taken to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah to be cleaned and treated for their injuries. Wednesday, employees said their conditions are still very much up in the air.
"They were dripping with (diesel fuel). The smell was absolutely overpowering," said DaLyn Erickson, executive director of the rehabilitation center.
Employees spent Wednesday evening bathing the two beaver siblings for a second time. They got a good scrub with Dawn dish soap and some antibiotics, followed by a dose of Kaopectate.
Erickson said there's evidence the pair ingested fuel, and the diesel is wreaking havoc on their internal organs.


"Beavers have a very sensitive respiratory system," she said. "Problems could also be neurological problems."
If they survive, the beavers may be orphaned. Their parents, also likely caught in the spill, have evaded wildlife officials thus far. By the time they're tracked down, it may be too late.
"The animal that people complain about building dams, their dams actually saved Willard Bay, which is a critical habitat," Erickson said.
The center received a donation of Dawn and paper towels, but the beavers are still in need of help. They eat trees, specifically Cottonwood and Willow branches, still green and fresh.
If you're doing some yard work and have discarded branches lying around, the rehabilitation center needs them. Call 801-814-7888 for details on how to donate.
Contributing: Jordan Ormond

Saturday, March 30, 2013

"Faux" Fur is Often Real Fur from Real Animals


“Faux” Fur is Often Real Fur from Real Animals. Don’t Buy It.

“Faux” Fur is Often Real Fur from Real Animals. Don’t Buy It.
Are you opposed to wearing fur? It will be an unwelcome surprise, then, to learn  that you may have some hanging in your closet.
“Fur is back in a big way,” Jezebel has announced. Winter coats sport fur trim around the hoods, but that is just the beginning. Jezebel says that designer houses’ shows previewing their fall lines were heavy on fur, including those of BCBG Max Azria, Caroline Herrera, Ralph Lauren and J. Mendel.
Sadly it looks like time to break out the red paint again. But how can we distinguish between real and fake fur coats, and between people who knowingly bought real fur and people who thought their fur was fake?
People who oppose fur buy it accidentally because some clothing manufacturers and sellers are mislabeling it as “faux fur.” Much of it is from raccoon dogs (see the picture above). Both manufacturers and sellers know that Americans are less likely to buy fur if they think it came from a dog or cat, so they say it didn’t.
The fur of rabbits and other animals also winds up mislabeled as faux fur, perhaps because manufacturers realize that there is widespread opposition to using animals for fur and want to capture more customers than they could if they admitted the fur was real. I can’t think of any other reason businesses would mislabel clothing, especially since their inaccurate labels violate federal law.
An investigation into New York City’s popular discount department store Century 21 revealed real furs masquerading as fake both in the store and online. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and New York Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal conducted an undercover probe and discovered that garments with real fur lining and others with real fur trim were labeled as faux fur or were not labeled at all.
HSUS then went online and bought three Marc Jacobs jackets from Century 21′s website, which described the garments as having fake fur trim. When the jackets arrived, lo and behold — they carried labels stating that the trim was real fur from China. HSUS had the trim on one of the jackets examined and confirmed that it came from a raccoon dog. Under New York law both manufacturers and retailers are liable for mislabeled fur according to Rosenthal, who wrote the 2007 legislation.
Woody Harrelson narrates a video for HSUS that gives some very basic facts about how living animals are turned into fur products — don’t worry, they use a stuffed animal for demonstration purposes, no images of violence to real animals:
Video courtesy of HSUS
China is the largest source of fur in the world. Fur farmers there strangle, bludgeon, and electrocute some of the animals to death — the lucky ones. The rest are skinned alive, as described in the following graphic video, narrated by Olivia Munn.
Warning: this video contains disturbing images of cruelty to animals.

Video courtesy of PETA
The only way to be sure you are not buying real fur is not to buy anything represented as faux fur either. If you think you have found an instance of mislabeling, contact HSUS.



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/faux-fur-is-often-real-fur-from-real-animals-dont-buy-it.html#ixzz2P2vq291h

Dog Treks 10 Miles to Find Mate


Dog Treks 10 Miles In Freezing Cold To Find Beloved Mate

Dog Treks 10 Miles In Freezing Cold To Find Beloved Mate
This is the best canine love story you will read today – or possibly ever!
If you thought dogs don’t have feelings, get ready to change your mind.
Ben, a 4 1/2-year-old mixed breed (above left), and Jade, a 1-year-old German Shepherd mix (above right), were two strays who met on the streets of Terre Haute, Indiana, and fell in love. (Yes, dogs can fall in love.) The pair was well known and cared for in the local community, but when Jade became pregnant last summer, the Terre Haute Humane Society (THHS) brought them to their shelter.
The couple were initially kenneled together, but after Jade gave birth to six puppies, a THHS adoption counselor Kali Skinner took the mom and babies home to take care of them for eight weeks. She eventually found homes for all six puppies. Jade was timid, but a “very caring mother,” Skinner told the Tribune-Star.
The new mother and father were reunited back at the shelter until Courtney and Jason Lawler decided they wanted to adopt Ben, but not Jade. They decided that one pet was enough, partly because they have a 3-year-old son who can be quite a handful himself.
They should have checked with Ben before separating him from his mate.
The Lawlers had Ben for about three weeks in December 2012. Just after Christmas, on Friday, December 28, while Jason Lawler was taking out the trash and talking on his cell, quick-pawed Ben seized his chance, raced out the door and kept running. And he didn’t look back.
He trekked the ten miles to the shelter in the bitter cold, arriving back there the following night to look for his love.
Dogs are awesome – if only all people were as loyal!
Jacob Harrod, an adoption counselor at the shelter, says he’s never seen anything like this happen before. He recalls arriving at work and being totally shocked when he saw Ben outside the fence. “We were amazed, really, really surprised!” says Harrod. But he adds that Ben is very skittish, and obviously didn’t want to get caught.
Jade was inside a fence, and Ben was out. She must have been warning him, because he would not go inside. He did, however, “kiss her through the fence,” said (Kali) Skinner, (of the Humane Society), one of several who worked feverishly to capture the street-savvy Ben.
The shelter workers renewed their efforts on Monday, New Year’s Eve, and finally used a dart gun to tranquilize and slow him down, although he put up a long, hard fight once again and it took another several hours before they captured him.
There ensued a happy reunion, with the two dogs barking and wagging their tails furiously.
When Courtney and Jason Lawler heard from THHS what Ben had done, they decided that they had to adopt Jade along with Ben. “He’d keep getting loose if we took him and not her,” Ms. Lawler told NBC2 News.
The happy couple are doing wonderfully together, according to Harrod. Since the two were adopted as a pair, the THHS has checked up on them and apparently life is good. Let’s hope Ben and Jade will never be apart again.
If this story doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, you are tougher than me.
What a beautiful tale of doggy love!



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/dog-treks-10-miles-in-freezing-cold-to-find-beloved-mate.html#ixzz2P2sMVu00

Save Nosey the Abused Elephant!


care2 petitionsite actionAlert
action alert!
Nosey the elephant has suffered for years at the hands of her abusive owner, desperately in need of space, care, and company. This month, the USDA has the chance to free her for good.
Please sign the petition today!
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Dear dixie,

Elephants are gentle, incredibly intelligent creatures who, if they must be in captivity, deserve to live in large enclosures where they can be comfortable and socialize as normally as possible. But for an elephant named Nosey, this is not an option -- and every day, she suffers more from the abuse and continued neglect of her owner.

According to government inspectors, Nosey's cage contains sharp edges and nails where she could easily injure herself. She suffers from a painful skin condition that her owner reportedly continues to ignore rather than treat.

She's often tethered in a way that prevents her from even lying down. During one inspection, Nosey's ankles were chained so tightly that she couldn't even stand normally, let alone move from side to side.
This is a disgusting abuse of a creature that should be treated with respect, dignity, and care. Nosey doesn't deserve this horrible treatment, and it's our responsibility to stand up for her.
Later this month, the USDA will have the chance to take away Nosey's owner's AWA license, which would prevent him from keeping or exhibiting her or any of his other exotic animals. This means that if we make our voices heard, Nosey could be set free. Urge the USDA to take immediate action to save Nosey!
care2
Thank you for taking action,

Kathleen
Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team

Happy Easter! Happy Spring!