Michael Vick and punishment for crimes

The animal rights people are out for blood--blood and a pound of flesh of a human, an athlete, an African American, a celebrity, a rich guy. Not only has Michael Vick received far more punishment, jail time and faster justice than athletes who beat up girl friends and wives, but now they want to take what's left of his sorry career, too. After a good part of my professional life in the agriculture and veterinary libraries of Ohio State--where I collected their publications--I'm not surprised, and yet I am. Animal rightists baffle me (don't confuse with animal welfare). People who go all soft and quivery over cruel and despicable actions toward animals, who liberate research lab rats who could save the lives of children and pets, who think your pet dalmation has the same rights as you and therefore you can't own him, don't bat an eye lash at chopping up an 8 month old human fetus in the name of choice, or depriving millions of African children of protection from malaria with DDT in the name of saving the environment.

Would you like a cute Chihuahua?

No, not my grand-puppy, but one at this Chi Rescue. Look at that talented pup who walks on his two front legs. Jinky, the Hollywood dog, is out advertising his book, making a case for rescued dogs. He's led a pretty fabulous life, first blogging which is how I met him, and now as a celebrity author. You'll fall in love with the Lambster, an abused Bichon, that Jinky writes about.

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The Scarlet Letter - A

is for Amish. Someone should hang a big "A" on the back of their buggy. The Columbus Dispatch yesterday had an editorial about the terrible problem of puppy mills--the indiscriminate breeding of dogs, poor conditions, and the resulting auctions. Reading between and above the lines--Millersburg and Holmes County, the only words missing are, "Amish farmers."

But on Sunday, April 22, the Dispatch wasn't so reticent: "There are 186 USDA-licensed breeders in Ohio, and more than 100 of them are in Berlin, Millersburg and Sugarcreek, the heart of Amish country." The editorial in yesterday's paper says Holmes County licensed 478 kennels in 2006, a 40% increase. So a county license and a USDA license are not the same, if these numbers mean anything. Not only will these dogs not be healthy, but their resulting behavior problems will cause their early death at the hands of owners (who will have them euthanized) who wanted to save a few bucks by going to the pet store.