Calendar: Our 2007 Calendar is illustrated with spectacular photos of all the puppies who survived missile attacks, starvation, and dehydration to find homes in the U.S. $18.00 each (free shipping within the U.S.)

Notecards: Ten cards with envelopes, each one featuring a different selection of the puppies. Enter your own personalized message. $18.00 (free shipping within the U.S.)

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NEW BEGINNINGS
We are grateful for your support now and throughout the year, which makes all our work for animals in Israel possible. Read about our campaigns and successes on our website  http://www.chai-online.org

Yours for a more compassionate world, Nina Natelson

CHAI - Concern for Helping Animals in Israel
PO Box 3341, Alexandria, VA 22302
ph: 703-370-0333; email: chai.usa@verizon.net
web: http://www.chai-online.org

Grimes and her attorney rejected a plea bargain which stipulated the return of Doogie in exchange for Advanced Rehabilitation for Grimes, and elected instead to go to a jury trial. Mr. Thomas Dickey will concurrently file for a motion to dismiss all charges against Grimes. Grimes states, "All evidence in the case clearly points to abuse and cruelty neglect on the part of the Arnolds. Pennsylvania anti-cruelty law is not being upheld in this case, and with eyewitnesses, video, photos, and vet testimony, there is more than enough evidence to convict the Arnolds.

The Arnolds have shown no remorse, and have been charged with no crime by what I feel is a very corrupt system in Freedom Township and Blair County, Pennsylvania. I could never in good faith return Doogie, presently flourishing and treated with the utmost respect by his caretakers, to a situation which would lead to his most certain demise."

Kim Eicher, the Arnold's neighbor, stated that Doogie had been unable to stand for three days, and she had gotten no response from the local humane society after calling both 911 and the humane society.

Grimes, upon seeing Doogie from the road, initially felt he had already died.

Her team went to investigate, and found that he was still alive, but was unable to stand, his legs flailing about in the mud and his own feces. She then documented his condition with video and photos, and took him to a local veterinarian, getting him immediate and necessary care.

She was later arrested for her refusal to return Doogie to a certain and immediate death on the end of a chain.

Video of Doogie's condition at the time of his rescue has been viewed over 41,000 times on You Tube. Subsequent videos can be also be seen on You Tube, with the latest showing Doogie's much-improved condition from October 18. The case has made national headlines, and has been featured on Inside Edition, the National Enquirer, Animal People, animal magazines, and onblogs all over the internet.

A further pretrial conference is scheduled for February 5, 8:30 a.m., in the Blair County Courthouse.

One petitioner said Mr. Hu's chief secretary had told her the president had read her two petitions, signed by more than 60,000 people, calling for an end to the campaign. She said Mr. Hu was unhappy about the complaints and international media coverage of the campaign, and had put a stop to the programme late last month.

A government official confirmed Mr. Hu had ordered a halt after reading the letters. Tens of thousands of dogs have been culled since the eradication campaign began in August. Authorities maintained it was necessary to deal with a rise in cases of rabies.

In Beijing, the so-called "civilising dog keeping" campaign began in October and was to have ended in the middle of this month. Under the campaign, dogs taller than 35cm were prohibited from downtown areas and each family was restricted to keeping a single pet dog. Fines were introduced for owners of dogs that defecated on the street or were found unchained.

The move infuriated dog owners. About 500 staged a protest in the capital a month ago against the seizure and killing of the pets. Beijing authorities announced rosy results from the campaign on Monday, saying more than 550,000 dogs had been registered and vaccinated against rabies and progress was being made in efforts to find new homes for more than 600 seized or abandoned dogs.

Yu Hongyuan, deputy director of the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PSB), told Xinhua only 180,000 dogs had been registered in the city in 2002. But the official news agency said experts believed there were about one million dogs in the city, which would mean the authorities' job was only half done.

PSB spokesman Yang Yaling would not say whether the campaign had ended. He said education of owners would continue. No officials would say how many dogs have been culled.

Pet owner Zhang Tian said she had been despondent since one of her dogs was taken away. "The seizure comes back to me again and again. Police came in and grabbed him from under my bed. Without even glancing at him, an officer took away Duo Duo, who had been with me for five years," the 31-year-old said. "Friends told me many dogs were burned in a suburban area. I can't bear thinking about it...”

Thanks to thousands of letters from concerned animal lovers the anti-dog crackdown in China has been officially stopped. The crackdown started in Beijing at the end of October and in response letters were sent to various Beijing authorities (police, mayor's office, Olympic Organizing Committee etc.) and groups outside of China (Chinese Embassies and IOC). The mass of Letters from all over the world created enough pressure for the police to stop the crackdown. This announcement was confirmed to IFAW by the Beijing Police Bureau on Friday (December 7).

The crackdown involved confiscation of dogs from homes due to excessive size limits (over 35cm), or lack of registration license. Since the halt of the anti-dog crackdown, the Beijing Police Department has initiated efforts to communicate with Beijing animal welfare groups. Beijing Police organized a meeting with IFAW representatives on December 7 where IFAW emphasized its concerns about the treatment of dogs during the crackdown...

On December 11, we were invited to tour the police pound. It was apparent the pound had recently been renovated. Many of the dogs were wearing collars and tags, indicating they were previously owned dogs... IFAW acknowledged that efforts have gone into building the pound. However, we pointed out that shelter is not the proper solution to the problem.

Dogs are companion animals and every dog at the pound should have a home. IFAW urged police to return the owned dogs to their rightful homes.. IFAW is urging the authorities to understand the importance of the positive role dogs play in communities and asking them to take a long term view to address the root of the problem rather than the symptoms. IFAW has pledged support to the authorities to help with the following:

• Production/printing of educational materials to promote responsible pet ownership, including registration, vaccination, spay/neuter, maintaining cleanliness in the environment, and harmonious relationships with neighbors.
  
  
• To introduce amendments to the Beijing Dog Regulation to make it more humane and realistic for dog owners to comply with. Our suggested changes to the Regulation focuses on the following:


• Size limit (35cm) has no scientific base. A dog's temperament cannot be judged by size. The size limit also is making the regulation unenforceable.


• The regulation should regulate the behaviour of PEOPLE, not dogs. Violators of the regulation are people who should be punished (through fines, community service etc.) not the dogs who are already victims of irresponsible owners.


• The breeding of dogs for commercial purposes and markets should be regulated. Un-controlled breeding for trade is the main cause of the dog overpopulation problem.


• To work with the legal community in China to introduce national legislation for the prevention of cruelty to animals

On September 7, 2006 the U.S. House voted in an overwhelming bipartisan vote (263-146) to pass H.R. 503, the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act — favoring animal advocates over the agriculture lobby in passing a bill to establish a permanent ban on horse slaughter. The Senate version of the bill, S.1915, received the support of 33 cosponsors but did not come up for a vote before the clock ran out...

Animal Fighting Bill Poised for Passage in 2007: The Animal Fighting Prohibition Act also got remarkably close to passage, and it was largely one man who held it up. The bill unanimously passed the Senate, but House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) used his position to block final House consideration of the legislation, even though the bill had 324 cosponsors. With Democrats now in the majority, and a strong animal advocate, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), taking the helm at the House Judiciary Committee, we are very optimistic about passing this legislation… The 110th Congress convenes on January 3, 2007.

Seventeen animals perished in or after the wreck Sept. 27 on Interstate 44 near Stanton, Mo. They were being shipped to a horsemeat-processing plant in DeKalb, Ill. The crash spared the survivors. But as veterinarians and other caretakers tended the animals' wounds, no one could guarantee that the efforts wouldn't be wasted — until this week.

The Humane Society of Missouri announced Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the animal owner's insurance company. Northland Insurance Co. handed over ownership to the Humane Society. In return, the society agreed to waive any efforts to recover more than $84,000 spent on rescuing and treating the animals, which were being hauled from Stroud, Okla., to DeKalb. The insurance company represented the animals' owner, broker Charles Carter of Loveland, Colo.

...Now that the Humane Society legally owns the horses, it can put them up for adoption. When the animals have recovered, they will be available for $200 to $1,000, depending on each one's value for riding, age, gender, color and other factors, Cole said...

The slaughterhouse where the horses were headed, Cavel International Inc., is one of only three horse-meat processors in the United States. The product is sold in Europe and Japan, where horse meat is considered a delicacy...