Congress to Vote on Horse Slaughtering

The Humane Society of the United States is asking all citizens to urge the 111th Congress to protect horses to "end the gruesome act" of slaughter once and for all.

"The time to act is now to keep America's horses out of foreign slaughterhouses," stated a press release. "The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act will put a stop to this brutal practice by ending the slaughter of American horses for human consumption and preventing their export for slaughter in other countries."

To take action on this issue, access https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=4351.

In unrelated animal news, four new Texas teams of the Search Dog Foundation were recently announced.

"In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, we are all reminded of the importance of search dogs in finding people trapped in the wreckage of disasters," said Debra Tosch, executive director, in a statement. "These dedicated handlers and their new canine partners will begin training intensively to attain certification about one year from now."

The new group will serve as part of Texas Task Force 2 and are made up of Keri Grant and dog Tucker of the McKinney Fire Department, Patti Kraft and her pal Hula of Dallas Fire and Rescue, Bret Patterson and canine Hayden of Cook Children's Medical Center Fort Worth, and Laurel Pittman and Sonic of Dallas Fire and Rescue.

To learn more about the new teams, see http://www.searchdogfoundation.org/98/html/1_meet.html.

You can see them in training at http://www.keyt.com/news/local/81597912.html .

In other pet news, the MSPCA-Angell Animal Care and Adoption Center in Boston, Mass., has been offering its help to the Arlington Housing Authority to implement a pet policy that would allow existing pets on the property who live with responsible owners to stay.

For more information, look up mspca.org online.

Carrie Mumah, who runs the "Help End Chimpanzee Experiments" Facebook page, is urging those interested to take part in the group's Idea for Change which is "End Chimpanzee Experiments, Pass the Great Ape Protection Act."

To vote, go to http://www.change.org/ideas/view/end_chimpanzee_experiments_pass_the_great_ape_protection_act on the Net.

February is the national Adopt a Rescued Rabbit Month. According to pet experts, before you add such a creature to your household, do your homework first.