New, ridiculous way to scam animal lovers...

Just how dumb do they think we are: I received this email this morning, and cannot believe the cajone's - please DO NOT fall for this scam:


U S A

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION FBI.WASHINGTON DC.

ANTI-TERRORIST AND ANIMAL CRIMES DIVISION

Federal Bureau of Investigation
J. Edgar Hoover Building
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535-0001
From: Agent Alex Harrington
Animal Abuse Complaint Center (AC3)

Attn Sir/ Madam,

Following the recently reported animal abuse matter,we wish to inform you that we the Federal Bureau of Investigation are aware of your stolen pet. Animal Abuse Complaint Center (AC3) choose to reach you through this medium of communication irrespective of the fact that it has been greatly abused. (AC3 accepts Animal abuse complaints from either the person who believes their animal where abused or from a third party to the complainant.)My name is Agent Alex Harrington of the FBI.

I write to inform you that we receive a complaint about some Animal abuse attempt which involves you and some culprit.this complain has been reviewed and approved for immediate actions.this complain came to us as a result of a young girl who does not support evil.in other ways brought a report against her two brothers who gamble with the heart of innocent people by stilling their family pet and run to another state.Meanwhile,once a family is victimized by this act, kids who are close friends to their family pet are been put in a perpetual sad mood.this is a crime.

The United States Law that guides Animal abuse related crimes says that a thief caught in such act must pay a fine of $5,000 to the owners of the pet for damages. Therefore,to expedite actions in your favor and to avoid your pet been harm, you are to immediately pay to the attorney in charge of Animal abuse cases a legal fee of $450 to have your matter registered and filed against the culprit so this fine will be paid to you and as well have your pet returned back to you. once you are able to meet up with this payment,we the FBI will immediately move for the arrest of the culprit in your favor since we have already dictated where this hoodlums are hiding with your family animal..

Please note that the AC3'is a new commission which is been sponsored by the FBI.our mission is to serve as a vehicle to receive, develop, recover stolen animals back to the owner and refer criminal complaints regarding the rapidly expanding arena of Animal related crimes. The AC3 gives the victims of animal crimes a convenient and easy-to-use reporting mechanism that alerts authorities of suspected criminal or civil violations. For law enforcement and regulatory agencies at the federal, state, local and international level, AC3 also provides a central referral mechanism for complaints involving Animal related crimes.and please, what we need from you is the truth and noting but the truth.... Good Luck.


We request that you provide the following information for proper clarification:

Your full name:_____________________
Your mailing address:________________
Your mobile number:_________________
Your Age and Sex:___________________
Your Occupation:____________________
The state were you leave presently:_______


You are also advised to answer The below questions accordingly.


Have you truly lost a pet? if yes,
When and where exactly did your pet got missing? ____
What kind of animal are you looking for?__________________
Can you send the recent picture of the pet which you have lost?_________


Fill appropriately and forward to me immediately.
Indicate if you are making the payment of $450 so we can send you our payment method.


Best Regards,
Alex Harrington
FBI SPECIAL AGENT.
WASHINGTON, D.C. USA
Below is our Website but it is still under construction.
http://www.ac3.gov

If you haven't seen it already, The American Dog magazine has launched the Humanitarian Awards - if you haven't voted already, you have until December 5, 2010 - and you can vote every day until then. There are some names you'll no doubt recognize like Best Friends Animal Society, Nathan Winograd, Rescue Ink and Shorty Rossie, as well as some you might not know - Tamira Thayne & Dawn Ashby of Dogs Deserve Better, Pinups for PitBulls, Surf Dog Ricochet and Sarge the Elderbull.

Even though I read and write about this stuff pretty much every day, I was still amazed by the number of people (and dogs) involved in helping dogs and the number of dogs helping people too. The categories range from general rescue groups, special interest groups (ending puppy mills or unchaining dogs), "spokesdogs" therapy dogs and service dog organizations. One concern close to my heart is also one of the largest categories: "Voice for Saving the Pit Bulls".

(One name that is missing is Mimi Ausland, the founder of FreeKibble.com, although their sponsor Halopets is listed. If you haven't signed up for your daily FreeKibble reminder do - two simple questions a day - learn a bit and donate a bit for free.)

While it's not clear if the winners are going to receive a huge cash prize for their cause-of-choice, the publicity, discussion and awareness raised is great too. In a way, the Humanitarian Awares are another "awareness event", which are as important for the education the public as they are for placing pets or raising money.

So please do vote every day and get to know some of the individuals and groups you don't see on TV or read about in the headlines. Share some of the links on Twitter or Facebook and email a few friends or better yet your government representatives a few interesting articles. Sign up for a blog or two. Make a small donation.

Working together we can improve the lot of dogs everywhere.

Dogs and Death

My Auntie sent me the clip below from Dr Michael Fox's newspaper column. Once I wiped the tears away, I realized it needed to be shared. Too many of us (me too, at one time) don't think about whether dogs miss the friends THEY lose along life's journey.

I didn't start thinking about how dogs react to loss until Ben and I lost little George. They didn't get along in life - my bad - and I never thought young Ben would miss little, old crotchety George when she died. It wasn't until I saw Ben crying as if his heart would break when by chance we saw a dog who looked a bit like George that I I started asking questions. My friend and dog walker said, "Ben cries like that every time we see a little gray dog when we're walking." The vet and behaviorist I consulted weren't surprised - they both said that many dogs feel loss as much as we do, and we need to be more aware, more responsible and more comforting.

When I saw the article my Aunt sent me, I remembered Ben and George, and started thinking about all the dogs who are separated from human, canine, feline or other "friends", with no goodbyes, no explanations, and no understanding when the sad, confused and perhaps frightened dog goes off the rails:

- When a dog "couple" is separated due to death or the breakup of a human relationship.

- When dogs enter a "shelter" as a "couple" or become "friends", but aren't adopted together.

- When a dog is next to a compatible dog in a "shelter", and his neighbor is euthanized. (Do dogs suffer the canine-equivalent of "survivor's guilt"?)

- When puppy mill mothers and puppies are separated without due care to proper weening.

- When dogs in laboratories watch the dog in the next cage disappear for the "final" experiment.

- And of course, when a beloved human dies, and the dog doesn't realize their master or mistress isn't coming back.

Here's the article - apologies for the quality, but I couldn't find it on-line:

I did find one very interesting article on Dogster, discussing Dr. Fox's article, as well as the subject of dogs and grief: When a Dog Loses a Loved One: An Interview with Dr. Michael W. Fox.

The next time you suffer the loss of a loved one, take a moment to consider how it effects your dog. If you're ending a relationship, think about how your dog will be effected. If you're adopting a dog who has a long-term relationship with a fur-friend, seriously consider keeping the partnership together.

And everyday, remember that critters have feelings too...