QUICK HITS: News briefs from the dog world

Hi everyone, I've got a bunch of stuff to catch you up on today, so I'm doing a quick-and-dirty (OK, maybe not dirty, per se) type of post.

Bad news first
Did you hear about that poor old dog in Wixom shot six times in the head with a pellet gun and then dumped, still alive, in a Dumpster behind an apartment complex? The dog had tumors around its neck, leading some to think that perhaps whoever was responsible for the cruel act was actually trying to euthanize the dog.
Euthanize, however, is a term that refers to killing an animal humanely. This dog was not killed, and even it had been, it certainly would NOT have been humane.
The saddest part of it all? If someone was trying to put the dog out of its misery, they were wrong about the misery part. The tumors were not life threatening.
Such a shame.
The dog was later euthanized by a veterinarian after its pellet gun injuries proved to severe to fix.
We have a photo of the dead dog. Because it depicts a dead animal, we thought it was too graphic to use in the paper.
On the other hand, using it could have helped someone identify who owned the dog.
What do you think? Should I post the photo here, or leave it be?

Some good news
The same day I wrote about the Wixom dog, I also learned that the Humane Society of the United States upped the reward for Lady's assailant — the friendly pit mix who someone poured gasoline on and lit on fire — to $10,000.
It's a pretty penny and I hope it encourages someone to come forward and start pointing fingers.
Lady, by the way, continues to improve.
Though not a dog, the Humane Society of the United States is also posting a reward for the cat found with an arrow shot through it in Brandon Township earlier this month. That reward is now $2,500 and unfortunately, the cat had to be euthanized due to the severity of its injuries.

OK, this is definitely good news
Whew, finally on to something that's not about animal cruelty.
This weekend, Victoria Stilwell — the dog trainer who stars in Animal Planet's show It's Me or The Dog — will be in Novi for a pet expo.
Read all it about and learn more by clicking here.



Wolf article coming soon
Those who remember a post earlier this summer about wolves in Michigan may recall a promise I made to follow-up to the process of delisting wolves from the endangered species list in Michigan, and the confirmed presence of wolves in the lower peninsula. Well, it's been a long time coming, but I'm finally putting together a big article on this. It should be published in the next two weeks and I'll be sure to let you all know!

Also coming: series on trimming a dog's nails
I also promised to give tips and tricks on trimming a dog's nails, following a story about a pit bull who died after a groomer muzzled and sat on the dog.
I've begun writing about it and surprised myself with how much information there is to share!
I'll post the first in a series later this week. Your patience is appreciated while I work on putting some videos together with my own dog too!