Sadly few dogs simply pass away naturally. Many become old, weary, in pain and suffering from disease which inevitably warrants euthanasia. How do you know though that is time and can you cope with this trauma?

As we age we all become more acutely aware of how the years fly by. For our beloved pet dogs, this time passes by seemingly at the speed of light. With each dog year roughly equating to seven human years their precious lives all too soon slip away. If you are a caring dog owner, you will do you very best to ensure that your dog is well, healthy and never suffers. This can mean that sooner or later you will be faced with the job of having your dog put to sleep.

As medical care for animals improves the average length of a dog's life has improved also. Dogs with heart problems, diabetes, arthritis, thyroid disorders, amputated limbs and more can all have a good quality of life. We must remember though that every living creature has to die eventually. It is not easy knowing when it is time to put your dog to sleep but the advice below will help.

Veterinary assessment.

Most vets will offer a quality of life assessment for your dog. They will discuss the animal's quality of life, medication, diagnosis and prognosis with you in order to establish the best course of action. Of course, the ultimate decision will be yours. You know how the animal is on a daily basis and whether or not it still has some quality of life.

The family.

A dog soon becomes part of the family and will be greatly missed by all. Talk to the family members so that everyone knows what is going to happen. This can be a hard time for children. If necessary buy a book on this subject, which is aimed at helping a child to understand.

Signs and symptoms

Over the years, we all get to know our pets well. You will obviously notice some age related changes in your pet. Other signs may show that it is time for euthanasia. These may be total loss of appetite, severe weight loss, painful tumours or constant pain.

The dog.

Often a dog knows when its time has come. The dog may look at you almost pleading for release. Heed any signs and warnings and take the appropriate action. Sometimes euthanasia may be needed in a younger animal. This could be due to disease, illness or an accident. The dog's veterinarian will be able to advise.

Putting your dog to sleep.

Knowing this is the right course of action does not make it any easier. Your vet will try to make the process as calm as possible for all concerned. When you book the appointment make sure that your vet understands your requirements. The dog is usually injected with a lethal injection, which acts fast. In a matter of moments, your dog will drift away.

Many owners find it too painful to stay with the dog until the end. If you think that you will be too upset, settle your animal down say your good-byes and wait in the waiting area. In some ways staying with your animal until the end seems the final act of kindness to it. As long as you are not in too much of a panic this will help the animal settle and make the process easier. Remember though that if you get very stressed so will the dog. This will make it harder for the animal also. Some dog owners include their other dogs for this final goodbye but this is up to you.

After euthanasia.

These days you can opt to have your dog's remains cremated or buried. Both can be costly. If you have the pet cremated you can scatter its ashes at a familiar spot, bury them in your garden or keep them as long as you want. You may alternatively opt to bury your dog in your garden. The pet undertaker will collect your pet's remains from the veterinarian's surgery and contact you when it is ready for collection or delivery.

All of the above can be very traumatic to a dog owner. You must give yourself time to grieve. It is probably not a good idea to take another dog into your home immediately although some people find it does help. However, remember that you will never replace the lost animal, as all dogs are different and individual.

It is so easy to feel a traitor having had a pet you love put to sleep but, in your heart, you will know that you did the right thing. You will have countless good memories and the knowledge that you made your dog's last journey as easy as it could possibly be.

British charity, the RSPCA, Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is the largest and longest established animal charity in the World. Its recent Hunt prosecution has reportedly resulted in a loss of support.

The RSPCA has centres around the UK. In towns, cities and rural areas the RSPCA has carried through investigations into allegations of animal neglect and cruelty. Some of its branches struggle to survive, financially. The Clough Road branch in Kingston-upon-Hull has launched various appeals, and held fund raising events, in order to keep this branch operational.

Ten days ago the Telegraph reported that the UK charities watchdog had warned the RSPCA of excessive spending in bringing a 'Hunt' prosecution.

On February 18, 2005 a ban on hunting with dogs became law in the UK. Recent polls suggest that the majority of people in Britain want that ban to stay in place.  In December a survey published by the Guardian showed that '76% are against fox hunting being legalised, rising to 81% for deer hunting and 83% for hare coursing, based on a survey of 1,943 people.' The conclusion was that the majority of people in the UK wanted the ban to remain. The poll was carried out by Ipsos Mori.

The Countryside Alliance, and England's 320 registered hunts, have campaigned hard for the ban to be lifted. Hunts still occur but are 'watered down'. Hunting supporters claim that it is '"half life", meetings with all the traditional finery and customs but the Hunt barred from deliberately running foxes or deer to their deaths.'

Hunts which have broken the law have taken place. Prosecutions rarely, if ever, carried through.

The UK coalition government, elected in 2010. promised a free vote in Parliament in 2012, regarding the fox hunting ban. David Cameron clearly backed reform. The government's environment secretary Own Paterson said in December that, 'there was no immediate likelihood of winning a Commons vote to make hunting legal again and that supporters of hunting would need to do "more work" to win around sceptical MPs.

In December the RSPCA spent £326,000 prosecuting the Heythrop Hunt. The cost was nearly 10 times the cost of the defence’s £35,000 legal bill. The Heythrop Hunt is PM David Cameron's local hunt.

According to the Telegraph report, The RSPCA met with the Charity's commission after Simon Hart MP, former Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, along with Tory peer Lord Heseltine, lodged a complaint.

The Oxfordshire Heythrop Hunt has links to the Chipping Norton Set. A group of influential people including David Cameron and Rebekah Brookes. Cameron has rode with this hunt in the past. As the Guaridan reported at the time, members of the Hunt believed the prosecution was politically motivated. Aimed at pressurising the PM so that he would not allow a free vote in Parliament.

Perhaps what is most shocking is the damage that this prosecution has caused the RSPCA.

Results of a poll revealed a few days ago show that the Heythrop Hunt prosecution has negatively affected the British public's perception of the RSPCA. The RSPCA's reputation recovered slightly in late January.

OPINION
Supporters of fox hunting in the UK are fighting hard to have traditional hunting with dogs reinstated in the Britain. When the ban came into force in 2005, those whose work was associated with fox hunting were hit hard, financially. That is always the case with such changes. Is the reason that a ban will hit a person's pocket, or livelihood, enough to carry on with traditional methods? Advances often hit some people financially. The car, trains, bear baiting, ivory retailing and hunting whales are all prime examples. Does that mean that we must stand still?

The RSPCA should not have had to bring this prosecution. Rather than condemning this charity, for the money it spent, ask why the 'law' of the land did not act?

Ultimately the Charities Commission supported the RSPCA but 'bad press' had already damaged public perception of the charity. Whilst some Tory ministers may claim that the Heythrop prosecution was politically motivated, that is exactly what the RSPCA accusers are guilty of. Fox hunting in the UK was a very cruel "sport". It does not belong in the 21st Century. Was the RSPCAs reputation damaged due to the money spent on this prosecution or by pro-hunting sections of the media.

The RSPCA has now made a formal complaint to the Press Complaints Commission.
'We have started the formal process of making a complaint against the Daily Telegraph newspaper to the Press Complaints Commission after it failed to print an apology or offer a right to reply after printing a series of potentially defamatory articles. The stories are factually incorrect and reflect biased and unbalanced reporting style. The articles show clear support for the political agenda of the Countryside Alliance in seeking the return of blood sports. In their factual inaccuracies and bias they are not consistent with high standards of journalism.'

Authorities visited 50-year-old Irene Vandyke's home following a neighbour complaint. The neighbour complained there was an excessive smell of cat urine and faeces seeping into their home .The smell emanating from Vandyke's ‘squalid’ home, in Wright, near Albany, New York, was overpowering. What they discovered was shocking.

The woman had 67 dead cats stored in plastic bags in her freezer. The smell of cat urine and faeces came from another 99 felines living in stacked crates. The cats were living in cramped conditions, housed in small cages.

Schoharie county sheriff Tony Desmond said Ms Vandyke may now face criminal charges. "We felt sorry for her and bad for the kittens at the same time", he told the Times Union of Albany. The Sheriff will meet with local prosecutors next week to decide whether or not to charge Vandyke. Although he expressed empathy with the woman he is hoping the District Attorney will prosecute.

The dead cats will be examined in an attempt to determine the cause of death. The Animal Shelter of Schoharie is temporarily caring for the rescued cats. Kerrie Colin, the manager of the animal shelter told the media that she knew Vandyke had a ‘cat crisis’. He had in fact known this for two years. Ms Vandyke had refused all offers of help.

Vandyke visited the shelter in the past for offers of help. She accepted food for the cats. However when workers at the shelter tried to persuade her to hand over some of cats she ‘freaked out’ Visitors to her home who tried to coax her to surrender some of the cats, were hastily shown the door. Consequently Ms Vandyke stopped visiting the shelter.

Mr Kerrie said "She definitely had a hoarder mentality. She's not a horrible person. She just needs help and counselling."

According to The Times Union, "The excessive collecting of items, frequently animals, is also called compulsive hoarding syndrome. It is a psychological affliction often related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. In severe forms, psychological treatment is recommended".

Ms Vandyke was widowed in December 2010. She works for a local Walmart.

Opinion

Whilst Ms Vandyke may need help and counselling she should also face a prosecution. A stark message needs to be sent out to others. Whether she was misguided, foolish, mentally unstable or cruel, the outcome for the cats has been pretty much the same. More than one hundred cats have suffered.

Perhaps what is most surprising, though, is why the shelter did not act sooner? Mr Kerrie told media sources he had known of her problems for two years. Surely an animal shelter’s priority should be the animals not their owner? Had he acted sooner he may have helped both.

The images show the cats in cramped conditions although they do not appear mistreated. Whether they lived 24/7 in the cages is not known. The surviving cats are receiving medical treatment.

When the rescued cats have recovered and been given a clean bill of health they will be available for adoption.

Animal Shelter of Schoharie Valley website

Sources

Times Union of Albany, SkyNews

Our latest email from PETA involved some graphic images. There is worse online but we have chosen to show just one small image of a maltreated, sad looking rat. If you want to read the whole story and view the footage please follow the link at the end of his report.

Here is what it said:

A PETA undercover investigation into a California rat- and reptile-breeding warehouse found that thousands of animals—including rats, snakes, geckos, and turtles—were neglected, abused, and left to slowly die in filthy, crowded conditions. It went on:

The full story can be found at PETA here

Share the link online at PETA and sign the petition to urge Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach to file criminal charges against all appropriate parties.
Thank you

We were shocked to read of the sexual abuse of animals in countries such as Germany. Many people have read an occasional news story regarding bestiality but few would realise just how frequent terrible sexual abuse of animals may be. Although this story relates to Germany that country is not the only one to allow such criminal acts. The problem is that in Germany it is not a criminal offense. There has been an increase in animal brothels in Germany in recent times. The fact that there are any in the first place is surely shocking in itself.

One online petition  to be sent to Ilse Aigner, agricultural minister of Germany carries the following information:
"The German agricultural minister Mrs. Ilse Aigner says, sodomy with animals is just an administrative offense and should only be punished with a little fine. Sodomy has been decriminalized since 1969 in Germany. Sex with animals right now is not categorized as a problem of missing moral (anymore)"

Animal protection laws in Germany are to be reformed but it is doubtful that they will strike at the heart of these issues. Animal brothels are said to be increasingly popular and described by some as offering "lifestyle choices" It does not take more than one brain cell to know that is wrong. No matter what religious beliefs you have, believing that it is right to have sex with an animal is completely off the mark.

The laws regarding animals in Germany are completely at odds in that to spread bestiality porn is illegal, but the act itself is not.What sort of law is that? In other words the law condones bestiality. The outdated animal laws of Germany date back to 1969. Like us you may have felt they dated back to the dark ages. If the law is not fully and effectively reformed animal brothels may continue to increase.

Animals subjected to bestiality often on a regular basis suffer greatly. The German authorities can choose to try and play this down but it is a fact. Restrained cruelly and abused they will be terrified. Many will also experience physical pain.

Apart from the animals' pain and suffering though what of the people who want to have sex with animals? Decent, fit individuals who have a rightful place in society? Hardly. It is a terrifying prospect that such monsters are roaming free. To enjoy animal brothels you must surely be less than a decent human being?

Opinion: Barbaric, depraved, cruel, sickening and heartbreaking. Shame on Germany. Call yourselves civilised?

Please do not shy away from the images, words and petitions relating to this terrible tale of barbarism in China. We personally have no axe to grind with China nor the Chinese people but are appalled at their careless disregard for human and animal life.

Their complete ignorance or empathy for another living creatures pain is appalling. Whilst in all countries there are some who will do the "dirty work" as far as animal slaughter goes only a minority, we hope, do so without feeling or compassion. There is a right and wrong way to care for animals and that includes their slaughter.

No matter what you feel or belive about eating meat and animal poducts, if you are a half decent human being you will surely not want an animal to suffer unnecessarily so you can purchase boots, eat a ham sandwich and the like.

We have placed the video associated with this story at the bottom of the report. Take care when viewing. It is not suitable for the squeamish nor children. We should all however know what is going on.

We always thought that Shark fin soup was something of the past. It is not. Classed as a bit of a delicacy and sign of wealth in China the apparently bland tasting soup comes at a high price, not least to shark populations.

The following information can be found online:
"Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). Shark fins are being "harvested" in ever greater numbers to feed the growing demand for shark fin soup, an Asian "delicacy".

Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%. Due to the clandestine nature of finning, records are rarely kept of the numbers of sharks and species caught. Estimates are based on declared imports to shark fin markets such as Hong Kong and China."

At the weekend we watched a documentary about fishermen in a part of Africa. With little income they were happy to supply the shark fin market. Sharks are caught and drown as they are dragged back to the coast. There the shark's fins are hacked off and the rest of the shark returned to the waters to rot. In other parts of the world the shark's are treat more brutally.

The fishermen are paid around 40 dollars for a set weight of the fins. They are of course just the middle men and further along the line are others making huge sums of money. In Hong Kong a bowl of shark fin soup will cost upwards of £63.

Many 21st Century Chinese want to prove that they area a civilised nation. With a terrible track record as far as human rights and animal welfare goes they still have a mountain to climb. Instead of their quest for social improvement by the slaughter of many sharks they would be better addressing these issues.

The depletion of the shark population world wide should be a cause for concern to us all. Apart from harvesting for fins sharks are often killed in order to protect tourism. Fine beaches with perfect bathing have to be shark free these days. It does not have to be like that though.

The delicate balance of our Oceans and Seas relies on all of the waters inhabitants. Sharks protect the fish stocks available for traditional fishermen. Without sharks these stocks are doomed.

Education will go some way to solving all of these problems. The fishermen in Africa are being taught how to make a living from tourism. Tourists are being taught how to understand a shark's behaviour and why shark slaughter is neither necessary nor practical.

Finally the Chinese who foolishly pay the earth to buy a relatively unpalatable dish that is a status symbol need to be educated. Now that will be the mammoth task.

More about the brutality of Shark fin fishing here

Here at TEK we have covered this story before. Time has moved on though and nothing has changed. We have received an update via PETA and so it is time once again to name and shame the US military.

PETA wrote,
"If any of us learned of someone chopping up a living animal, I know we would do all that we could to stop that cruelty the moment we found out about it. That's why I am hoping you will take action today.

Last week, I sent you an e-mail that included disturbing video footage in which U.S. military course instructors cut off the limbs of live goats with tree trimmers, stabbed the animals with scalpels, and then pulled out their organs. Eleven members of Congress recently asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to review—and potentially cancel—newly awarded contracts to the firm behind these courses.

We need your help to stop horrors like those revealed in this video. Please take a moment to sign our petition urging Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and other military officials to help end these abuses right now.

Thousands of sensitive animals like the goats seen in the video are killed and millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars are wasted every year in experiments and training exercises ordered by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). Nearly 80 percent of all NATO countries—including Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain—do not use any animals in military training exercises. Yet the DOD has failed to phase out the cruel use of animals in these exercises in favor of more-effective non-animal training methods that better prepare troops for saving lives on the battlefield.

PETA is ramping up our efforts to demand that the military—and others—stop the slaughter of animals in cruel, crude, and inferior training and testing practices such as those documented in this recent video, but we need your help.

By signing our petition to the secretary of defense and other officials, you'll be telling some of the highest-level U.S. military officials that there's no excuse for the military to continue to shoot, stab, mutilate, and kill more than 10,000 live animals each year.

Thank you for your vital support of this important campaign."

There can be no acceptable excuses for such behaviour. We in the West are appalled when we read, see and hear of animal cruelty in the Far East, for example. If it is in our own back yards are we simply going to make excuses for causing such terrible suffering to innocent creatures. We hope you agree with us that, no we are not.

We have signed the petition, will you join us in doing so? Thank you

Graphic Video footage here

I first wrote this report, on animal cruelty in China, a few of years ago. It has received thousands off acknowledgements on Facebook and the like but sadly little has changed in China. We know full well that China has a poor record of human rights. We also know that Western leaders are now prepared to do business with China. As Western economies fail this may make good financial sense but do we really want to be condoning a lack of animal and human rights and welfare? If we work with China then surely we are condoning all of this.

If you are not prepared for gruesome reading go no further. This article is not designed to shock but neither does it pull its punches.  The images of course speak for themselves. Street dogs In China are not alone at being treat appallingly. The same end result is seen in Romania and the Ukraine.

So just to reiterate, China's non-exsistent stance on stopping animal cruelty - This article will not be for the feint hearted but will hopefully help to publicise China's terrible treatment of animals. PLEASE BE WARNED THAT THERE ARE UPSETTING IMAGES ON THIS THROUGHOUT

I first joined hub-pages in order to promote an English animal charity which was finding that the economic downturn was seriously affecting its funding. I have long been passionate about the welfare of animals. This means farm and wild animals and well as those domesticated as pets.

My current rescue dogs suffered much pain and maltreatment in their early days at the hands of cruel individuals. Such cruelty needs to be acknowledged so that it can be addressed and removed.

Whilst I was researching some additional information on the animal charity in question I came across some worrying details relating to the animal Olympicswhich were held in China in 2006. However there was worse to come. I knew that China had a dismal performance on the world stage as far as human rights went but did not realise that it currently has no laws in place to protect animals or aid their welfare.

Although the images in this report are shocking I could have displayed far worse images. If this subject is not given wide scale publicity it will stay buried out of sight and sound of anyone who can change it.

If you find this article distressing please do not click onto the YouTube videos included. However if you feel moved, try to add to one or two of the petitions that are online or take some sort of positive action against this barbaric treatment of animals in China.

Originally posted in 2006/7 but what has changed?

Animal charity PETA works hard to ease the suffering of animals. There is always a ton of work to do. There are never enough funds to go round. Supporting such charities in whichever way you can is vital. It might be that you cannot offer financial help but you could support the charity in many other ways.

Here at TEK we circulate copies of emails sent to us via PETA in the hope that our readers will sign any petitions, send donations to PETA if they are able, raise money and more. The latest email we received is as always bad news.

It contains a graphic image for which we make no apologies. Yo can look away as much as you want to, but that does not help the animals who suffer at the hands of mankind. Animals such as Double Trouble.

Meet Double Trouble a cat killed by UW-Madison

Double Trouble was a gentle tabby cat who was mutilated and eventually killed after months of pain, suffering, and neglect by experimenters at UW-Madison.

Double Trouble was not unlike the cat you might share your home with, who snuggles with you at night, loves to give kisses, and enjoys sunshine, attention, and love. UW treated Double Trouble like nothing but a test tube, drilling holes into her skull, screwing a metal post to her head, and applying toxic chemicals to her ears in order to deafen her. She developed infections and became depressed, and half her face was paralyzed. Eventually, experimenters labeled Double Trouble's experiment a failure, and they killed and decapitated her.

DON'T LET ANOTHER CAT SUFFER LIKE DOUBLE TROUBLE:
TAKE ACTION NOW!