It’s local election day in the UK and up and down the country people will be trekking to their nearest polling station to have their say on who should run their local councils.

One registered voter won’t be getting to join the democratic process though.

According to website This is Wiltshire, a man who registered HIS DOG to vote could find himself in the dog house:

A MAN who registered his dog to vote in tomorrow’s local elections could face jail or a £5,000 fine.

Gavin Huckvale, from Toothill, has had to tuck his tail between his legs and write a grovelling apology to Swindon Council’s director of law and democratic services, Stephen Taylor.

If the letter does not arrive today Gavin could be prosecuted for the offence of supplying false electoral information.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 51 weeks’ imprisonment or a fine of up to £5,000.

Gavin, 29, told the Adver earlier this month that his dog, Bobby, had been sent a polling card and hinted that it would be interesting to see how far he could take it.

Asked at the time whether he had put Bobby’s name on the electoral roll as a joke Gavin said he hadn’t.

But after a visit by the police, prompted by Swindon Council, Gavin has now admitted that it is definitely his handwriting on the list.

He said: “I just don’t have any idea how I’ve done this. I must be cracking up.

“I must have put it down completely unconsciously - it certainly wasn’t a practical joke.

“I don’t know how to explain it. I know it sounds crazy but it really was a mistake.

“If I’d known that it was me who had put the dog’s name down I wouldn’t have gone to the press and made all that fuss.”

Mr Taylor said: “Because of Mr Huckvale’s statement in the Adver last Saturday to the effect that he didn’t put his dog’s name on the form and that he planned to take the dog to the polling station to vote, I referred the matter to the police.

“False information was given by Mr Huckvale as the form clearly showed that Mr Huckvale did write the dog’s name on it.

Gavin said: “I’ve sent a letter to Mr Taylor saying that I’m sorry and I’ve sent the polling card back as well, so Bobby definitely won’t be voting.

“He didn’t like the look of the candidates anyway.”

SOURCE:

Whilst Bobby might not be able to have his say on the political issues of the day, he might be interested to know that there IS a brand new organisation set up specifically for pets and their owners to have a voice on the major policies and laws affecting pets and their owners.

The Pet Owners Parliament is a free, democratic organisation formed with pet owners in mind.

Members are able to contribute their opinions, ideas and advice on any issue related to the welfare of pets in the UK.

You can join here

The RSPCA is conducting a survey of UK dog purchasing habits.

Picked up a Puppy? Let us know!

Anyone who has bought a puppy in the last three years is being invited to take part in a national online survey organised by the RSPCA.

Questions include where the puppy came from, how it was advertised, how much it cost, and if you’d buy another puppy from the same place. Results will enable the charity to identify if buying a puppy is generally a positive or negative experience.

RSPCA campaigner Justine Pannett said:

“You can pick up a puppy from a newspaper advert, a neighbour, pet shop, farm or breeder, so we’re trying to get a grip on how successful people’s experiences actually are. It’s obvious to say, but a puppy is a living creature, and this survey will help us determine whether or not these dogs are suffering throughout the experience, or if in general they are treated well.”

Anyone who has bought a puppy in the last three years is encouraged to take part in the survey, which runs until Monday 12 May. It can be found at www.rspca.org.uk/puppysurvey

An animal ambulance driver from The Blue Cross pet charity undertook a dramatic dog rescue last week when she spotted a dog dangerously dodging traffic on the highspeed A312 near Feltham, Middlesex.

Tracey Brown was on her way to The Blue Cross animal adoption centre in Southampton when she noticed the dog attempting to cross the busy dual carriageway, where vehicles reach speeds of up to 50 MPH.

Tracey said: “I was driving along and noticed this dog, she kept darting in front of the cars as though she was trying to cross. I knew that if I didn’t stop and catch her she could be killed. I pulled over and managed to get her attention using pet toys I had in the ambulance. She was obviously very frightened but eventually came over to me and I got her safely into the vehicle.”

The friendly crossbreed dog was brought back to The Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria where she was checked over by a vet. Nurses scanned her for an identifying microchip and were delighted to hear a successful beep. The unique code enabled nurses to find out the dog was called Scooby and a contact address and telephone number to trace the owners.

Frustratingly, the contact details were out of date and so nurses began detective work to track them down another way. The council dog warden in the area where Scooby was found said that a family had been in touch about their missing dog. The description matched Scooby so the owners were finally contacted.

Scooby’s family all came to the Victoria hospital together to fetch Scooby the following day. The family’s three young children were especially ecstatic to be reunited with their adored pet.

Scooby’s owner, Lisa from Hanworth said: ” We were so worried when we couldn’t find Scooby so it was such a relief when The Blue Cross got in touch with us. We were horrified to find out that Scooby had been so close to danger when she got out of our garden. We are really grateful to The Blue Cross for returning her safely to us. In future we will make sure she is always wearing her ID tag when outside, her microchip details are updated and do everything we can to make our garden more secure so that she won’t be at risk again.”

The Blue Cross advises all pet owners to microchip their pets in case they are separated, and ensure that contact details are kept up to date after moving house or a change of name. Dog owners should also make sure their dog is wearing a collar and ID tag, displaying their name and address, if they are in a public place.

Proving correct the old adage that all publicity is good publicity, Japanese car maker Nissan has followed hot on the heels of Volkswagen in placing a dog in the front seat of a car to promote its new model.

The Volkswagen advert, featuring a ’singing’ dog drew a slew of complaints from viewers and even attracted criticism from the RSPCA.

The Nissan advert shows a dog ‘driving’ a car through a ring of fire. Oh, the danger!

You need to a flashplayer enabled browser to view this YouTube video

An inquest has returned a verdict of accidental death in the case of a baby girl who died after being attacked by two Rottweilers at a pub in Leicester.

The guard dogs took the five-month-old Cadey-Lee Deacon from the living area of the Rocket pub on Saturday September 23 2006.

The youngster was taken to hospital but was certified dead a short time after arriving.

The dogs, which belonged to Cadey-Lee’s grandparents were destroyed.

(more…)

An animal welfare charity is hitting the headlines as allegations and claims emerge that it is in crisis and near to closure.

A report by the Southern Daily Echo states:

Crisis-hit Hampshire charity St Francis Animal Welfare has suddenly closed after dramatic developments in the internal dispute threatening to tear it apart.

Fears have now been raised about the long-term future of the Fair Oak shelter, with some fundraisers telling the Daily Echo they will not be collecting money or food donations for the shelter anymore.

Some St Francis charity boxes have even been removed from display around the county.

However bosses say it is business as usual and there is no doubt over the sanctuary continuing.

A month after the Charity Commission revealed it was investigating complaints about the way the charity was being run, the ruling committee has suspended two of the shelter’s four full-time staff.

One of them is the shelter’s live-in manager of nearly 30 years, Ann Hillman.

The other suspended worker was escorted from the premises amid an internal investigation into comments posted on the social networking website Facebook.

Read this article in full >

(more…)

Canine Partners Launches in Scotland

Assistance dog charity is poised to help people with disabilities throughout country

Monday 28th April 2008: Canine Partners (Registered Charity No. 803680), a charity specialising in providing highly trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities, is today announcing its launch into Scotland. The Charity’s first Scottish partnership is established in Dumfries, there is a satellite office in Angus and, in response to demand, Canine Partners aim to set up a further 6 new partnerships in Scotland this year along with a new satellite office in Glasgow.

For people with severe disabilities, every day tasks become impossible obstacles. Becoming increasingly dependent on carers for support can lead to a loss of independence and self-esteem. Canine Partners aims to assist people with disabilities to recover their self-confidence, through partnering them with an assistance dog that can help with tasks such as dressing, operating a pedestrian crossing, picking up dropped items and supermarket shopping, as well as emergency response procedures.

Canine Partners has its Head office in West Sussex and satellite offices in Angus, the Isle of Wight, Southampton, Cheshire, East Sussex, Hull and Bedford with over 140 partnerships throughout the United Kingdom. Canine Partners already has a volunteer Committee in Scotland chaired by the Earl of Eglinton.

Vivien Mullett has Spinal Muscular Atrophy & Cauda Equina Syndrome. She lives with her husband in Dumfries and graduated with Canine Partner Cosmo at the end of 2007. “Prior to having Cosmo, life was somewhat frustrating as I had very little personal space and lacked the confidence to go far in my chair.” comments Vivien. “Cosmo has given me the ability to get out of the house and enjoy the outdoors. He provides me with unconditional love.”

James Barr from Canine Partners in Scotland comments: “There are in excess of 8,000 people with severe physical disabilities in Scotland and a large percentage of them could benefit from a Canine Partner. Expanding into Scotland seemed a natural progression in the charity’s growth plans, enabling us to provide our amazing dogs for Scottish people. It’s hard to believe the impact a Canine Partner can make on the life of someone with disabilities, as well as potentially saving £65,000 on the cost of carers during a dog’s working lifetime.”

Canine Partners is looking for applicants for dogs, volunteers, Puppy Parents (specifically in Angus area) and fundraisers throughout Scotland. For further information on Canine Partners please visit www.caninepartners.co.uk or call 08456 580480.

A family have hit out about the dangers of choke chains after receiving the heart breaking news that their beloved family pet had been hanged to death having been left in the care of a professional animal care service.

Sharon Maxwell left her Huski x Akita, Takara, with a service called Doggie Daycare, whilst she attended her day job.

But just a few weeks into the pet care arrangements she received the horrendous news that her dog had died.

The dog, which belonged to Sharon’s 13 year old son, had twisted and choked after being left alone in a back garden.

(more…)

“My cat doesn’t match my carpet”

For the second year running - and for a variety of different reasons - the world’s largest animal welfare charity rescued nearly 150 thousand wild, exotic, farm and domestic animals from dangerous and distressing situations.

The rescue figures include a 23 per cent increase in the number of animals abandoned by their owners - from 5,959 in 2006 to 7,347 in 2007. Almost half of these were cats.

Typical examples of how animals were abandoned* in 2007 include:
· a litter of kittens dumped in a dustbin bag for refuse collectors (London)
· a rabbit abandoned in a box in a crushing machine at a recycling centre (Northallerton)
· a puppy dumped in a cardboard Cadbury’s box on a street in Orpington (Kent)
· five hamsters abandoned in a plastic tub - two of which were dead - at the side of a road (Southampton)

(more…)

Switzerland is to introduce its own version of the dog owner suitability test when it introduces a new law requiring pet owners to sit an examination and practical assessment in order to prove their capability to responsibly care for a domestic animal.

Today’s Daily Telegraph reports:

Dog owners in Switzerland will have to pass a test to prove they can control and care for their animal, or risk losing it, the Swiss government said yesterday.

Animal lovers will have to sit an examination and undergo a practical test under rules to be introduced in September.

(more…)