Birthdays and blogging

It's been such a news-packed few weeks there's been little time for more trivial blogging. I thought I'd share with you my day in prospect so when you are having a relaxing time you can think of me. My stepson is 10 next week and today he is having a party that starts at 10am and goes through to 11.30 tomorrow morning. Girls and boys.
I have the vitamin bottle to hand.
Back to dogs, in the next few weeks I have the chance to meet both Gordon Brown and David Cameron. I'm only likely to get a couple of questions in at best, what should I ask them/tell them for the greater doggie good?
And of course, please don't forget the petition... wouldn't it be great to have that grown as big as possible when I meet those politicians!
Dogs Today now has a fan page on Facebook - thank you to whoever set that up!
I think this is the link

And here's the petition... please tell everyone you meet to sign!

Were you moved by Pedigree Dogs Exposed?
(the distressing documentary about the health of dogs shown on BBC1 in August?)

You may have heard that the RSPCA and Dogs Trust have since pulled out of Crufts in an attempt to encourage the Kennel Club to reform. If you would like to send a clear message to both the Kennel Club and to Government that change is urgently needed to stop future dogs from suffering then please sign this e-petition on the official 10 Downing Street site. The latest letters sent out from Defra suggest they haven't yet heard from enough of the general public to make this issue significant. Please do all you can to change their perspective!

Here's the petition wording:

Following the powerful Pedigree Dogs Exposed documentary on
BBC1 the Kennel Club still seems reluctant to grasp the nettle,
face the problems and reform itself. The program revealed it
urgently needs to bring in mandatory minimum standards on
levels of inbreeding, make health testing mandatory, prevent
unhealthy physical exaggerations being rewarded and stop the
culling of healthy non-standard pups by changing breed
standards. The KC continually complains that it lacks the
backing of legislation to bring in these urgent and much needed
reforms, so we the undersigned urge the Prime Minister please
instigate legislation to ensure pedigree dogs are saved from
unnecessary future suffering.

If you would like to add your name to this petition please go to this link:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/ReformtheKC/

If you'd like to know more about the issues raised by the TV programme, follow the petitioner's blog for all the latest developments http://coldwetnose.blogspot.com/
For example, did you know that the Cavalier Club are holding a Special General Meeting to expel one of their members from the health committee. Had they chosen to expel the woman who knowingly bred 20 plus litters from a dog affected by syringomyelia - the disease that was so memorably described on TV as "like a having a brain like a size 10 foot stuffed into a size 6 shoe," we'd all be very happy - but still no action has been taken against that breeder who used the affected dog at stud twice more after the documentary makers confronted her on camera! But no, astonishingly, the club instead plan to expel Margaret Carter, the brave lady who revealed on camera that this dog had been diagnosed with SM and that the owner had been advised not to breed from him. The meeting will be held on October 5th - more details to come on the blog as we know them.

Comments

alfmcmalf said…
You could ask them "how on earth did they each get to have such lovely wives?"

Ooops sorry. I don't think that is quite what you had in mind.

My one question to them would be -
"Please could they meet with Lord Rooker and get him to explain why he appears to be slow in responding to the growing "mass" concern over the current state of our pedigree dogs?
Politicians of both parties have been in touch with Lord Rooker - and his response so far remains disappointing - to be polite about it."

There. Is that better.

Philippa
Anonymous said…
Philippa's comment is also very much what I would what to ask too (about Lord Rooker, not the wives!).

Defra's letter says that they know there is a problem with pedigree dog breeding, but then goes on to say it's not a priority and changes should be made voluntarily. Which is exactly what is not happening, and why we are writing to Defra!

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