Huh?  Yep, that’s what happened.  According to MSN Eric Favetta was working the night shift and didn’t want to leave his Begian Malinois home alone all night.  Can you blame him?  So he took his dog to work with him.  He was the only person working the night shift to prepare the store for some big inspection.  He placed his dog in the dog daycare area of the store and checked on him every 15 minutes.  When his manager found out about it he was fired for theft of services.  Again, HUH?  As there was no one actually working in the daycare area how is putting the dog in that area any different than putting him in the grooming area (where he wouldn’t get groomed) or some other empty room?

Is PetSmart saying that during the day when dogs are actually in the daycare area they aren’t being supervised?  Because that’s what it says to me.  The actual service of a dog daycare is not the room they are staying in, it is the “care” part of the word “daycare”, which leads one to believe the dogs are supervised and cared for.  So where does the “theft of services” come into play?

Eric Favetta and his Begian Malinois Gizmo

I’m pleased to announce that the Los Angeles Dog Blog has it’s first guest blogger!  Below is a very informative article about storm water and keeping your pet healthy and our city cleaner.

Some Paws-itively Great Tips to Keep Your Dog Healthy

As a dog owner, I know that your pooch is an important part of your family.  Dodger (yup, like the team) is the name of my furry friend and his “siblings” include two cats named Boo and Xeni. In addition to being an animal lover, I’m also the public education manager for the City of LA’s Stormwater Program. For that reason, I know the importance of picking up after Dodger every time in order to protect his health (and that of other dogs) and also to keep my community and ocean clean.

Not everyone is aware that while indoor waste water gets processed at sewage treatment plants before being discharged into the bay, outdoor water (i.e. rain, hoses, etc) carries waste on the ground directly out to the ocean, without receiving any treatment, via the 1500-mile storm drain system. This means that litter, motor oil and pet waste are unintentionally washed down into our storm drain system which leads to our local waterways and ends up at the beach and our ocean. This pollution negatively impacts aquatic life and those who swim at our beaches.

Not to mention, unattended pet waste can cause diseases such as Canine Parvovirus, Canine Distemper and Giardia amongst people and pets! The increased spreading of such diseases is in part due to pet owners not picking up after their dogs.  When someone doesn’t pick up after their dog, you and your pet’s chances of getting infected with one of these diseases are increased.

So have fun with your furry friends – but please remember to keep your community clean and preserve our environment by always picking up after your pooch!

Make sure to visit our website and sign up for our pet eUpdates.  Also, send us a Halloween themed photo of your pooch before November 9^th to win an Eco-Pet gift card in our photo contest!!

Joyce Amaro
City of Los Angeles Stormwater Public Education Manager

In the past few weeks there have been a few new pet food recalls.  If you feed any of these foods please check your bags for the lot #’s and get rid of the food if it falls into one of these categories.  Recalls such as these just reinforce my choice to feed my dogs raw food that I control.

The first was “Premium Edge” Cat food, due to a thiamine deficiency.  Then last week it is Wysong brand dog food because of mold contamination:

• Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090617
• Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090624
• Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090706
• Wysong Maintenance™: lot #: 090720
• Wysong Senior™: lot #: 090623

And now Nutro brand is recalled because of plastic contamination.  The types affected are sold in Petsmart stores in CA, AZ, TX, NM, and CO.

and this type went to Petco stores in CA, HI, NV and UT

“Saturday, September 19 has been set aside as Puppy Mill Awareness Day, and events are planned in England, Ireland and across the United States to draw attention to the plight of animals who are victims of puppy mill abuses.”