In Memoriam & Save Lennox BSL

Brook. Crossed OTRB 28/9/2011. Run Free sweetheart

In honour of our dear & beautiful furriend Brook, Charlies Angel of Hilsider, who unexpectedly crossed OTRB this week, there is no Friday Funny this week. Instead, in her memory, we'd like to talk about BSL, Lennox & dangerous breed stereotypes. 

Dobie Brookie was the first Doberman I had actually had face to face contact with, and although loving all dogs big & small, I was a little weeny bit nervous incase she didn't like me! Now in the media, we hear about Pitbulls, Staffies etc as the 'dangerous' dogs, but when I was little, it was Dobies & Rottweillers. Of course though, my fears were completely unfounded!! The first time I met Brook I was confronted with a big, powerful, sleek barrel of love & soppiness :) We had lots of cuddles and kisses and I only wish there had been chance for more. I am truly heartbroken that the world has lost her beautiful doggy soul...BUT I do know she is rocking up a storm over in Rainbow Bridge right now with her brother Byron :) Our thoughts and prayers are with  her family, Karen, Neil, Kayleigh, Dino & Sox at this painful & sad time. Love you all!!

Today, a decision will be made on the fate of American Bull Labrador cross, Lennox, in Ireland. He is Micro chipped, Neutered, DNA Registered, Pet Safe Registered, Insured and Licensed every year with the Council yet on Wednesday the 19th May 2010 he was taken from the family home by Belfast City Council as they believe he falls under the dangerous dogs act for Northern Ireland. They declared Lennox to be a breed of "Pit Bull Type" and so wish to kill him simply because of the way he looks... Racism anyone?! Belfast City Council took Lennox from his loving family home using a wrongly addressed warrant and copyright ADBA (American Dog Breeders Association) breed standards guide which the Council were never authorised to use. Lovely  Lennox has never attacked anyone or anything yet the authorities have removed him from his home where he lives with his family kennel mate Juicy a 2 year old female boxer and various other foster dogs. You can find out more here. So, today, in memory of another doggie who would once have been looked at like she was a monster, everyone please join the #pawcircle of positivity for gorgeous #Lennox.

Breed-specific legislation, BSL, is, according to Wikipedia: 

"a law or ordinance passed by a legislative body pertaining to a specific breed or breeds of domesticated animals. In practice, it generally refers to laws or ordinances pertaining to a specific dog breed or breeds." 

We firmly believe each dog, like every human being on the planet, is different & should be judged individually. Yes, like some humans are born and are just a nasty piece of work, you do get some dogs who are more volatile or angry, but for 99.9%, we believe any angry behaviour is down to the owners & the way the animal has been handled. Dogs, by nature, are loyal and loving to the humans that they idolise and rely upon. We could talk for hours on the subject, but I think this picture sums it up perfectly....

We have shared this image onto our facebook page wall, please share it with your friends and help spread the word. 


Under BSL, this little pitbull Sharky could be seized just like Lennox ... does he look like a dangerous dog to you? Do watch these videos, they are just beautiful x x

Petscorner.co.uk Dog Toys Review

Our Buzzy is one very happy dog at the moment... he was lucky enough to be chosen to do a review of 3 (yes, not 1...3!!)  fab new dog toys for one of t'interweb's best online pet shops... www.PetsCorner.co.uk!! We already knew that Pets Corner online pet shop have so many fab items in stock so we were v excited when the parcel arrived.... here's what Buzz got to try out:

1) Great&Small Rubber Toy "Extra Bouncy...bring it on!"

2) Great&Small Rope Toy "Boring toy... pull the other one!"

3) Great&Small Squeak Toy "For dogs that live LOUD!"

First off we tried out the Rubber Toy which is a soft but sturdy rubber ring that you can throw, play tug with, or doggie can chew... Buzz has never had a dog toy like this before so was a little puzzled at first until I threw it, then  he bought it back to me with this face which I think pretty much sums it all up... H.A.P.P.Y!!! 

He also had a little chew on it later, holding it easily between his paws and we also played toss with it inside the house and as you can see here in our little video, it definitely has the paws up from Buzz:

I'm also very impressed at the quality...here is the toy after a whole afternoon of Buzzy's knasher abuse (usually his toys struggle to make it past a couple of hours entact! lols) and it still looks great. I think that it will certainly become one of his faves and last a loooong time too! Pawesome!


Next up was the rope toy tugger!! Now, Buzz always has a penchant for tuggers and I knew he was going to go crazy for this one... I wasn't wrong... Check out those canines!!



I did make a video of this too but he was just soooooo noisy that I've opted for pics instead. (I also fell over from the force when I let go of the other end which was slightly embarrassing and did not make for great footage! *blush*) The colours are lovely and vibrant and it also didn't get too mucky after being thrown and pawed around the garden which was a nice surprise :) It's soft but tough and Buzz also thinks it makes a nice nose warmer from the looks of it, and again it withstood lots of tugging and nibbling. He is a bit of a shredder after all, but I was pleased to see only little tufts had come free! 

Lastly we played with the Squeaky Ball which I was the most concerned about in terms of it's longeviety - tennis balls tend to have a max 1 hour lifespan once Buzz gets his paws on them as do any rubber/plasticy toys with air inside. However, as yet, he has not punctured it! The squeak is not very loud really which although dogs would probably enjoy it better if it was louder, I think owners will be very satisfied with indeed. It has a nice little squeak which is not at all irritating after long periods of play. Buzz very much likes the ball - infact out of the 3 I think it could be his favourite as he kept returning to it over the other two. He has always been very good at playing by himself and balls are great for that where they roll... here he is (looking somewhat cat-like actually! lols!) playing ball:

As you can see he really has been trying to chew on it with his sharp teeth and strong jaw but without making a hole yet :)

So...all in all... 3 wonderful, fun, and good quality dog toys from those fab people at PetsCorner.co.uk!! From Mr Buzz and myself, thankyou so much lovelies! On the PetsCorner website it states that they are a family run business with a 'commitment to the environment & animal welfare' and 'with providing their customers with the best value' and I really do think that not only do they do that, but that this comes across clearly in all their products and price points - from cosy cat beds & Buzz-proof dog  toys to the more exotic reptile feeding equipment! Go check them out now!! ;) 

M & B x x

P.S. To see our furriend Teagan's review of her selection of toys from PetsCorner, head on over to her blog at www.teagantimes.wordpress.com by clicking here!

Great Greyhound Gathering & this week's Friday Funny

Happy Friday Puppy Love-rs! What do you have planned for the weekend? We are going to the Great Greyhound Gathering in Nottingham tomorrow and rather excited indeed! So many of our fab twitter & facebook pals will be there, including gorgeous Lisa Rees with her Dog O'Nine Tails stall and Soxi, Dino, Karen & Neil....we can't wait to see Karen and hear her news...she has been training as a Galen Myotherapist  - dog massage - and will very soon be qualified! So any achy pups out there, get in touch!! 

The show tomorrow will include fun & more serious dog shows, stalls, etc, and takes place at the Nottingham Racecourse, Colwick Park, Nottingham NG2 4BE from 9am. We will also be meeting up with beautiful Bethan from Greyhound Rescue Shropshire & Borders and the rest of their fundraising team. We have launched a range of ECO shoppers made especially for GRSB, part of the Retired Greyhound Trust, and they will also be selling other Puppy Love items on their stall to raise much needed £££ for the Greyhounds in their care. 

You will be able to buy the shoppers directly from our eBay store from next week where a good percentage of the sale will go directly to GRSB! Here's a sneaky preview of one of the designs...

And of course, being Friday it can mean only one thing.... it's time for this week's Friday Funny! This one is just soooo cute.... meet MAY(yorkie) and LUNE (maltese) in a bonio speed eating contest! Enjoy! x x

9/11 Dogs Ten Years On

10 years ago today, the world changed. Big time. 

As George 'dubbleya' Bush said in a rare moment of sincerity & depth, at yesterday's memorial for Flight 93 in Pennsylvania ... 

“When the sun rose in the Pennsylvania sky 10 years ago, it was a peaceful September morning,” he said, “By the time it set, nearly 3,000 people had lost their lives." 

Even a decade on, whenever I look at the images from that day, my brain still struggles to process that what I'm seeing is not a movie still or some angry computer game. Today we want to honour the bravery of all involved in the rescue operation at Ground Zero, the Pentagon and those heroes of Flight 93 who really were the first to stand in the 'War on Terror' or whatever the politicians term it. To us, they just fought back and triumphed against pure evil. 

Of course, it wouldn't be Puppy Love if we didn't move on to the heroes of the furry variety... and we can't believe that somehow we missed this story over the last ten years! Maybe it has something to with the leaky eyes of grief and outrage but at last we have discovered the story of Michael Hingson and his guide dog Roselle who were working on the 78th floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center when the first plane hit Tower Two. Together, beautiful yellow lab Roselle leading the way, they began the evacuation and ended up just 100 yards away when Tower Two collapsed. And her fellow guide dog Salty also did the same for his owner in another area. I never have words for the loyalty of dogs, just a big lump in my throat. Roselle, like so many of the rescue dogs who worked on 9/11, has now crossed the Rainbow Bridge but just like the thousands who lost their lives that day, and in the resulting conflicts and attacks around the world, they will never be forgotten. 

Over 350 dogs worked at Ground zero and Boston journalisist Laurel Sweet worked with vet Dr Cynthia Otto who was treating their injuries from searching through the debris ... "I think the dogs were the only thing that kept people going at Ground Zero," Sweet quotes Otto as saying. "You'd actually see their faces change when a dog walked by."

Dutch photogrpapher Charlotte Dumas has tracked down the 15 still living FEMA doggies and complied a beautiful book called 'Retrieved' which is available now... 

If you don't want the leaky eyes, and believe me they'll come big stylee, click away now, as here are some of those doggie-heroes :

From the NY Times: Bailey, age 14, Thompson Station, Tenn. She went to the Pentagon following the attacks of 9/11.

Bretagne from Cypress, Texas, arrived at the site in New York on September 17, remaining there for ten days 

Moxie, 13, from Winthrop, Massachusetts, arrived with her handler, Mark Aliberti, at the World Trade Center on the evening of September 11 and searched the site for eight days

Tara, 16, from Ipswich, Massachusetts who stayed for 8 days from Sept 11th

Kaiser, 12, pictured at home in Indianapolis, Indiana, was deployed to the World Trade Center on September 11 and searched tirelessly for people in the rubble

Guinness, 15, from Highland, California, started work at the site with Sheila McKee

Merlyn and his handler Matt Claussen were deployed to Ground Zero on September 24, working the night shift for five days

Red, 11, from Annapolis, Maryland, went  to the Pentagon

Abigail, left, was deployed on the evening of September 17

Tuff arrived in New York at 11:00 pm on the day of attack to start working early the next day

Hoke from Denver searched for 5 days

From the NY Times: Orion, age 13, Vacaville, Calif. He worked at the World Trade Center for five days after the attacks 
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2033628/Surviving-9-11-rescue-dogs-scoured-Ground-Zero-bodies-commemorated-decade-difficult-mission.html#ixzz1Xdnr20gt

Black Dog Appreciation Day

Today we are not doing our weekly Friday Funny as we want to talk about a serious cause close to our hearts. Today is Black Dog Appreciation Day where, worldwide, animal lovers celebrate  black dogs and highlight Black dog bias or Black Dog Syndrome. 

Now if you haven't heard of Black Dog Syndrome before, you will be as surprised as we were to find out that all those beautifully sleek, glossy furred, gorgeous black dogs and cats are more than often the last pets in rescue centres and shelters to find homes, if at all, because they are passed over in favour of the lighter coloured animals. And it's not just the bigger breeds or Heinz 57's that the phenomenon applies to - even the toy & pedigree breeds are affected. 

As you know we have two black rescue dogs in the Puppy Love family, Buzz and Lubo, both of whom spent a long time in the rescue centre waiting for us... Lubo was at the Mayhew for 3 months:

and also these three beauties in our extended family, where again Brook's fursis & bro Soxi and Dino are rescues:

Noone is 100% sure why this happens - it is thought that they don't photograph as well so aren't as appealing on adoption websites, and that people often still associate black with superstitions ie: black cats etc (although I always thought that a black cat crossing your path was lucky!?) Other theories put forward include the idea that in movies and the media as a whole black dogs are usually the aggressive, mean ones or that noone wants the dark fur malting. Personally I LOVE black dogs and cats but I must say when I went to the rescue centre all those years ago in Hull, Buzzy provided the perfect example of Black Dog Syndrome and I am eternally grateful to the staff there for spotting we would be perfect for eachother. He was stood there quiet as a mouse hid in the background away from us, whilst all the other dogs jumped and barked, and I think this is another factor. Certainly in the smaller rescue centres and shelters where it can be a little dark and gloomy, the black fur just doesn't show up :( A shelter in LA did a study to try and challenge the Black dog bias or Black Dog Syndrome by saying a full 28% of adopted dogs were black, but the facts still stand sadly... 

So, today help us promote how totally p-awesome black dogs and cats are and raise awareness of Black dog bias/Black Dog Syndrome! There is an event on facebook here  today with over 12000 people attending online where you can share pics of your black dogs and share your stories - sooo many gorgeous pups! x x

For more info on  Black dog bias/Black Dog Syndrome check out the links after the jump>>  

Dutch Dogs, Sailing & Sewing

It's that time of year again already... Back to School. How times flies! But for us it has been Back to Sewing!! We had a fab time in Holland visiting Dad and learning to sail :) We even met this handsome chap who has years more experience sailing than we do... he has been sailing for 13 years!! Wowza! That sea-air must be good for you huh?! We met him in the harbour at Lelystad which was the first harbour we moored up in on our 3 day sailing trip. He had a fab bright orange doggie life jacket-coat which I must say was not only good to see for his safety but also looked very fetching & cosy. 

Infact, in general, the Dutch seem to be big animal lovers! We saw sooo many gorgeous dogs out running alongside their owners' bicycles, in little baskets on the front or in trailers behind... and of course just w-a-l-k-ing the usual way! And did you know...there is a tax on dogs in the Netherlands which is paid annually and calculated according to the number of dogs in the household. We are not sure whether this is a good thing or a bad thing.... whilst promoting responsible dog ownership we fear it may also mean that the rescue rate is low and abandonment rates high. What do you think?

Being back at Puppy Love HQ means that the Puppy Love eBay shop is now back to business as usual, as is the Online Store here so if your little sea-pup is in need of  nautical dog bandana like Lubo is sporting below, you know where to go! ;) x x