President-elect Barack Obama has assembled his transition team, and will make a raft of important choices over the next couple months as he prepares to govern the country. He will not only look forward, but will also evaluate the actions of his predecessors and learn from the mistakes of presidents past.
Not since Richard Nixon’s famous Checkers speech has a dog featured so prominently in presidential politics. During President-elect Obama’s acceptance speech on Tuesday night, he told his daughters, Sasha and Malia, they “have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us to the White House.” When asked about the puppy during his first post-election press conference on Friday, Obama explained in more depth:
It’s no secret that Virginia was a hotbed of illegal cockfighting until the one-two punch of felony laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 2007 and the Virginia General Assembly in 2008 started to push cockfighters out of the Commonwealth.
Army Sgt. Gwen Beberg of Minneapolis is ready to return home from duty, but she was hoping she wouldn’t be heading back alone. While serving in Iraq, Beberg had befriended and adopted a stray puppy named Ratchet. But the military snatched Ratchet before the pup could reach the Baghdad International Airport to catch a flight bound for the United States.
The Humane Society Legislative Fund today posted a preview of its 2008 Humane Scorecard. The scorecard, which is published annually, provides the records of U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives on major animal welfare policies. This most recent report card covers 2007-2008, the two-year span of the 110th Congress.
One of my favorite places in Washington, D.C., is the National Mall, with its monuments and museums, its natural beauty and historical significance. It was even better than usual on Sunday, when I joined animal lovers and their dogs at the 2008 Humane Society Walk for the Animals.
This Saturday is no cause to celebrate at The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund. However, on this National Hunting and Fishing Day we are happy to lend our voice and remind Americans of outdoor activities that definitely are NOT hunting.
Sport hunters, let’s remember, are quick to claim concern about conservation. Indeed, the whole purpose of having a National Hunting and Fishing Day, according to its organizers, is to celebrate “good conservation.”
The last couple weeks have had the nation bracing for the triple-fisted punch of Gustav, then Hanna, then the latest threat, Ike, which has left millions of homes in Houston and Galveston without power, gas, or running water. The damage has been severe, and we don't yet know the complete picture on what's happened to the animals in the affected communities.
Eleven lucky horses who had been abandoned last week on a rural road near Molalla, Ore., got a new lease on life yesterday. Authorities still don’t know who discarded the malnourished horses, and the owner might not come forward since he or she could face criminal charges of animal neglect.
