Pittsburgh Dish

Lost Dog in the Mexican War Streets

Please contact Dish if you have seen this dog. Her name is Nikka and she escaped or was stolen from a yard on Resaca in the Mexican War Streets last night. Not wearing a collar. Very friendly. Her owner is out of the country and neighbors are desperate to find her. Email (editor@pittsburghdish.com) or call 412-997-0314.

UPDATE: Amazingly, little Nikka was heard crying in her own back yard this morning...no more details available yet, and yes, she is being taken to the vet. Thanks to all who were concerned, worried and helpful.

Lost Pup

North Side pup found

From a North Sider:

We assume someone left a four month-old puppy in our yard on Wednesday night.  We found her trying to get out of my yard, but was stuck between fence rails.  It appears that she is just a little too big to get in without some help.

We live in Fineview and have placed fliers in the neighborhood.  We have also reported her lost to the Humane Society. SO IF YOU ARE MISSING A PUPPY, LET US KNOW ASAP.

She is absolutely adorable with a great temperment and is almost housebroken.  We would keep her if we didn't have two dogs already! 

We wanted to put the word out to our fellow dog park friends and neighbors that we will be taking her to the Humane Soceity on Western tonight.  They will hold her for 48 hours before putting her up for adoption.  If interested, please make sure she gets a good home (I feel very obligated)!  email: natbyrne2001@yahoo.com

All the news that's fit to pet

Humane Society and Animal Friends battle the cold.

Signs like this one are posted all too often. Lost dog, lost cat, lost parakeet. Families are desperate to reunite with their animal companions. They post signs around their neighborhood, using the telephone pole to send the message, hoping someone has found Fluffy or Fido.

In response to this practice, The Western Pennsylvania Humane Society (WPHS) and the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania (ARL) started Telephonepole.org as a way to post information about a lost pet--either yours or one that you've found. The free service collects information about the animal and where it was found/lost.

Gretchen Fieser, Director of Marketing and Communications for WPHS said the four year-old website hasn't been as successful as they'd hoped. "There have been matches made, but not as many as there could," she said. "We'd like other shelters to use it as well."

Telephonepole.org is even more important as winter months approach. Spread the word.

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Animal Friends is offering free straw for outdoor animals. Straw and hay help keep animals warm. With cold weather on its way this Thursday, you might want to take advantage of their Winter Straw Drop. AF will deliver as well:

Animal Friends is doing its part to help keep companion animals warm and dry this winter with its annual Winter Straw Drop.

Beginning November 15 and continuing through the month of January, Animal Friends is offering free bundles of straw to anyone who owns or cares for outdoor pets. Straw delivery is also available for those without transportation or are unable to pick up the straw from the shelter's Camp Horne Road location. Interested individuals should call (412) 847-7066 to reserve a bundle. Every request will be answered.

(Hopefully the poor old dog who lives under the porch on the corner of Buena Vista Street And North Taylor in the Mexican War Streets will receive some straw from a friend. His/her owners most likely won't provide it.)

Sleeping bear evicted for non-payment of rent

According to the Post-Gazette today, an enormous hibernating black bear was removed from under a porch in Effort, Pennsylvania. It took much effort to remove him.

by Mark Weimer, Bear Correspondent

After having been discovered by two fanatic children, the game commission promptly shot the bear with tranquilizer and moved it to state game lands, which unfortunately are not contained with electrical fencing and razor wire.

Under the porch, a common place of depression for dogs on their last leg, seemed to be the perfect place for a bear, an indigenous animal to central Pennsylvania, for take a winter nap. Unfortunately this forest staple seemed ignorant of human dominion over the earth and was not aware of the ramifications of his actions. Apparently this diminutive species of animal believed the place for the bear was the “wilderness,” a word created by humans to separate themselves from the madness of nature.

Education, believed to be the cure for all human problems, is offered to select animals and not usually American black bears.

Although being shot with a dart, an unpopular form of being awoken, the ursus americanus was very docile as the debilitating poisons coursed his veins. “He just picked his head up. He didn’t bother us at all,” explained the state Game Commission spokesman. The bear, surely feeling the effects of the tranquilizer, was most likely in great fear during his relocation, though this was not his/her first time under a porch. Two winters before, the same bear had to be removed from beneath a porch a few miles away.

Though there are no interspecies supremacy laws, it is now clear to bears that humans reserve the right to eminent domain and have the power to evict animals and destroy their homes. Bears, should they receive an education could possibly file lawsuit on grounds similar to the American Colonists (“Legislation without representation”), but there is no evidence to suggest that bears have rights or are even a political entity.

Currently, the bear resides in the wilderness and as far as humans care, is happy. It had nothing to say that was understandable by the human ear but we can only imagine that it was thankful for the friendly homo sapiens removal of himself from his annual sleep and that he can only hope that other bears trying to sleep in what was formerly their home can be evicted with the care and numbing effects that he was afforded.

Help

Dish may be irreverent most of the time but we do have a heart. The following is a list of local and national organizations accepting donations for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Many were reported by Ervin Dyer of the Post-Gazette:

Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund: 1-800-435-7669 or go to www.redcross.org.

The Pittsburgh Foundation: www.pittsburghfoundation.org.

United Way of Allegheny County: www.uwac.org

The Salvation Army of Western PA: Donors are advised to make checks payable to The Salvation Army and list "Katrina" in the memo section. They may be sent to the army's Western Pennsylvania Division, 424 Third Ave., Pittsburgh 15219.

Locally, the United Methodists also have been active in preparing and distributing health care and flood relief kits. The church's Committee on Relief has established a number for contributions: 1-800-554-8583.

The United Jewish Federation is accepting donations online at www.UJFpittsburgh.org or by check, payable to UJF Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief, sent to United Jewish Federation, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh 15213.

Brother's Brother Foundation, a North Side-based charity that specializes in international relief, is sending 5,000 pairs of shoes and new clothing and hygiene items. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will help with the distribution. Donations to assist with shipping can be made by calling 412-321-3160, online at www.brothersbrother.org or by sending checks payable to the Brother's Brother Foundation to BBF/Hurricane Katrina, 1200 Galveston Ave., Pittsburgh 15233.

Catholic Charities USA, P.O. Box 25168, Alexandria, VA 22313-9788.

Byzantine Catholics of the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh: Checks should be made payable to the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh with the notation "Hurricane Katrina" and mailed to Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, 66 Riverview Ave., Pittsburgh 15214.

Donations can be made online at www.pcusa.org/pda/donate/accounts.htm , or checks payable to the Presbyterian Church (USA) can be mailed to Presbyterian Church (USA), Individual Remittance Processing, P.O. Box 643700, Pittsburgh 15264-3700.

For other donating options, visit the Web site www.networkforgood.org/topics/animal_environ/hurricanes.

The Humane Society of the United States: www.hsus.org (Click on the banner located on our right sidebar).

Calico Kitty is Home!

The little puss found wandering about near Sampsonia and Monterey streets was just visiting after all. A neighbor took her to the Humane Society today who discovered she had an implant (not that kind) or a locator chip. She was reunited with her human who was apparently searching for her. We'll miss her but neighbors are happy that she's home safe. The little vixen was just out catting around cutting a caper or two.

Lost or Just Visiting?

This sweet calico appeared either last night or this morning at the back door of a home on North Taylor in the Mexican War Streets. The homeowners think this very friendly cat squeezed under their backyard fence which faces Sampsonia Way. She/he is well groomed, chubby and comfortably around humans.

If you have any information, please contact randy@casciola.net or call (412) 322-6071.