Posted: Thursday, March 4th, 2010 No Comments »

From the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department:

Cumberland County Sheriff Earl R. Butler has taken a stand against crimes of animal cruelty in the local community.  The Sheriff’s Office has partnered with County Animal Services to hire a full-time law officer to investigate reports of abuse in the county and city.  The position was created to provide in-depth felony investigations and enhance public awareness about roadside puppy mills, dog and cock fighting and reports of neglect.  These crimes have become a concern for many citizens throughout the United States.

Cumberland County Animal Services Director Scottie Harris recommended the partnership with the Sheriff’s Office in October, 2009.  Following discussions and interviews with perspective candidates for this position, both Sheriff Butler and Harris agreed to hire 30-year old

Detective Jonathon Perkins.  Perkins is a former U.S. Army soldier and has served three years as a Sheriff’s Deputy.  He is a “Nationally Certified Animal Cruelty Investigator” and is the first for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.  Detective Perkins will join a team of civilian investigators already in place at Animal Services.

The position, which will be paid by Cumberland County Animal Services, will come with an annual salary equivalent to a Sheriff’s Deputy III.

Posted: Sunday, February 28th, 2010 No Comments »

Thor is a one year old black Great Dane who is neutered and up to date on all of his shots.  He is a social boy who is good with dogs of all sizes, as well as the cat in his foster home. Thor is very playful when he goes outside, but is generally just a huge couch potato who loves to snuggle  He walks well on a leash, loves riding in the car, and is always very friendly when taken out in public.  Thor has a wonderful disposition and would make a great addition to almost any family. For additional information about Thor, you can find him on the “Available Dogs” page of www.MAGDRL.org

Posted: Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 No Comments »

Posted: Friday, February 19th, 2010 No Comments »

Check out these dogs enjoying their snow days!

Posted: Wednesday, February 17th, 2010 No Comments »

Murray is a healthy, high-energy boston terrier who is ready for a good home. He is 4 years old and new to the Boston Terrier Rescue of NC’s foster program. He is good with other dogs and is currently being crate and house trained by his foster family. Murray would love a forever home. To learn more about Murray or to give him a home, visit www.btrnc.org.

Posted: Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 No Comments »

A SPECIAL COMMENTARY BY EDITOR SUZANNE JALOT

Press releases cross my desk every day.  Sometimes dozens of them.  I try to sort through them all, but because of the sheer volume of emails I receive, and the impossibility of covering every single story, anything that doesn’t immediately catch my attention or that is irrelevant to our readers will unfortunately get tossed away.  But on this particular day there was one press release that caught my eye.  The headline read:

“Unleashed by PETCO Offers Chula Vista Pet Parents a New Way to Shop for Happy, Healthy Pets”

North Carolina is no where near Chula Vista, but what caught my attention was the fact that Petco was opening a new store under a different name and calling it a “community” pet store.  A community pet store?  As opposed to the “Big Box” stores in the area?  Well, isn’t that what Petco is?

Several questions immediately came to mind.  If community stores are so much better than Big Box stores, where does Petco fit in?  Are they saying Petco is for those with no imagination or “hip” factor and the truly original pet owners should shop at Unleashed?  What does that say about their Petco customers?  If Unleashed is so great, why not shut down all the Petco stores?  If Petco was good enough, why the need to start a new brand?

But what really bothered me was the fact that they are trying to pass off this new brand as a community store.  Ding, ding, ding!  Then it hit me.  They realize that some people are turned off by big chains and prefer to shop locally.  Voila!  We’ll create a “local” store then.  In….every……city.

I’m sorry, but it is impossible for a store owned by a national chain to be a “community” store.  Do they think they’re fooling anyone?  A community store is a store owned and operated by local business owners.  A community store does not answer to corporate headquarters several states away.  A community store makes it’s own decisions on what to carry, what hours to operate and what charities to donate to.  A community store puts approximately $0.70 of every dollar spent back into the community in which it is located. (compared with approximately $0.40 for a national chain)

Go to www.unleashedbypetco.com and the site tells you Unleashed is your neighborhood store.  Really?  Because the neighborhood stores I know don’t have a corporate headquarters.  They’re not owned by a national chain.  They are run by hardworking small business owners who care about the community they serve.  They’re not looking to put a store on every corner, they just want to serve their neighborhood and serve it well.

Even better, the website says at Unleashed you’ll find “premium, natural, organic, and raw pet food selections unavailable in local grocery stores.” REALLY?  They must also mean the kind of pet food unavailable at Petco stores as well.

I think Petco is having an identity crisis.  The company can’t decide if it wants to be a big, national chain or a quaint, neighborhood store.  You can’t be both, in fact, it’s impossible to be both, no matter how many brands you create.  If you’re a big chain, then be a big chain and be proud of it.  But don’t try to create illusions in an effort to fool people into believing you are a community store.  Personally, I will be patronizing my locally-owned pet stores.  They are not having an identity crisis.  They know exactly who they are.

Posted: Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 No Comments »

Ming Ming has a checkered past.  She got knocked up by a one night stand and gave birth to a litter of pups with no baby daddy in sight.  Sadly, none of her puppies survived.  Not giving up hope, Ming Ming managed to grab the attention of a nice lady from the Sunburst Foundation.  Things were looking up!

I am full of love!

The lady was able to find Ming Ming a foster home and also paid to have her checked out by a real veterinarian.  And then like a one-two punch, Ming Ming received more bad news:  She was heartworm positive and her current foster mom had to move out of state.  Well she was able to escape shelter life again when a temporary foster mom stepped in, but she still needs to find a permanent home and receive heartworm treatment.

Sunburst Foundation needs to raise $600 to save Ming Ming’s life and get her the needed heartworm treatment.  No donation is too small.  600 people donating $1 will do the trick or 12 people donating $50 will work too.  Ming Ming has been through enough, let’s hope she doesn’t have to suffer anymore.

You can contact the Sunburst Foundation at 910-622-0011 or (sunburstfoundation@gmail.com) sunburstfoundation (at) gmail (dot) com.

Ming Ming is a boxer mix and weighs about 45 pounds.  She’s super soft and loves to lean up against you.  She’s spayed, house-trained and crate-trained.

Posted: Monday, January 18th, 2010 No Comments »

Do you like to make your own homemade dog treats, toys, or clothes? Would you like to see your dog related projects in the monthly e-newsletter? If so, we want to see what you’ve got. We want to know what your DIY project is and step by step instructions of how to create it. We would also like a picture of the finished product.  

 Send your Doggy DIY ideas to (intern@doglivingmagazine.com) intern (at) doglivingmagazine (dot) com.

Posted: Friday, January 15th, 2010 No Comments »

This Walker Hound was found wandering alone on Wrightsville Ave in Wilmington in December. Her shots are up to date and it is estimated that she is about 5 years old. She is not yet spayed, but will be before being adopted out. She also has a few teeth that may need attention in the future. She still needs some training, but seems to pick up on house rules and expectations relatively quickly. She gets along with other dogs and is a real sweetheart.  

If you’d like to give this wonderful hound a home, contact Daniel at (970) 903-9202 or via email at (dmdebesis@live.com) dmdebesis (at) live (dot) com

Posted: Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 No Comments »