Scraps & Treats

The city of Lombard has gone to the dogs, literally. This spring, the western suburb’s downtown area will be dotted with decorative fiberglass canine sculptures. “[It’s] like the Chicago cows,” says Deb Frederiksen executive director at Lombard Town Centre, “only we’re doing dogs.” The sculptures are available for public viewing all summer long and will be auctioned off in the fall with proceeds to benefit The West Suburban Humane Society, Animals Deserving of Proper Treatment (ADOPT), Naperville Humane Society, Cat Guardians, and Canine Companions for Independence. But the sculptures are only the beginning. After the unveiling on April 29, the city will be hosting a number of dog-centric events including the 5K Mutt Strut in May, the Strut your Stuff Pet Parade in June, The Four-legged Follies Dog Show in August, Yappy Days in September, and much more. For more information visit the events section or contact Project Coordinator Cher Herlache at (630) 916-1369.

Move over Great Wall of China, you’ve got competition. Angered by the number of unwanted dogs put to death each year in her native Ireland, artist Mary O’Connor has decided to take matters into her own hands. She’s created the Million Dog Wall Project to take a stance against pet overpopulation. O’Connor is asking people all over the world to upload a digital pic of their dog and email it to her website for $1 (or whatever is affordable). Once she hits the million dog mark, she plans to use the donations to print a giant photograph of the pooches and display it in capital cities around the world to show how important pets are to their people. Remaining funds will be used to build a new shelter in Dublin. So far hundreds have participated.
For more information visit www.MaryPOconnor.com/dogwall.html or email Dogs@marypoconnor.com.

Recent legislation across the U.S. has animal advocates smiling. Lawmakers in Maine made history in March when they enacted a first-in-the-nation law that allows judges to include pets in protection orders for spouses and partners leaving abusive relationships. Growing evidence of the link between domestic violence and animal abuse fueled the decision. In Santa Clara County California, an ordinance passed that calls for adding the word “guardian” to any reference to people with pets in county documents (the term is now pet “owner/guardian”). In making such a change, Santa Clara County joins other U.S. cities including Boulder, Berkeley, West Hollywood, and the state of Rhode Island. County supervisors are hoping the wording change will be part of an overall education program ultimately reducing
the number of stray and abandoned animals in the county. And finally, in Chicago, the City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits the sale of foie gras, a culinary “delicacy” made by the inhumane factory farming practice of force-feeding ducks or geese to create a diseased, fattened liver. According to HSUS, Chicago joins California and more than a dozen countries—including the United Kingdom, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Israel, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland—in taking legislative action on the issue of foie gras and cruel force-feeding practices.