Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Coton de Tulear Watchdog Sign

Coton de Tulear Watchdog Sign

Coton de Tulear Watchdog Sign




Made in America!!   Coton de Tulear Watchdog sign is 9" x 12" and made of quality aluminum which will not rust.  This is a fun and collectible item for the Coton de Tulear fancier.

Mounting Tips:  We suggest mounting outdoor signs with aluminum bolts, screws or nails.  This will keep the face of your pretty sign free of rusty streaks.  Posts are not included.

$17.95 plus shipping.
Sales tax included in price.





Coton de Tulear sign is copyright protected by the manufacturer.




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Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Help protect the future of the Coton de Tulear

The Future of the Coton de Tulear . . . . . .

The Future of the Coton de Tulear is in Peril

The Coton de Tulear needs your help. In 2009, one of the Coton de Tulear breed clubs, the USACTC, decided to seek AKC recognition. They were approved as the AKC Parent Club and hope to move into the miscellaneous class in June 2012. AKC is a show organization that supports puppy mills, dog auctions, and large volume commercial breeders by registering their dogs and litters. It has been proven that an AKC registered dog is not necessarily a purebred dog.

Past history has demonstrated that AKC recognition is synonymous with the deterioration of breed health. We believe the future health of the Coton de Tulear will suffer, and this once healthy breed could end up being riddled with health issues. The USACTC has already written a newly revised breed standard. This minority group, led by a committee of three individuals, has made a drastic, unilateral decision regarding the future appearance of the Coton de Tulear. The new USACTC breed Standard seeks to limit the prevalence of color to a mere 1% of the body. This means that they are attempting to “breed out” the color to produce a purely white dog. As lovers of the Coton de Tulear, you know that color occurs naturally in the breed. Eliminating certain color genes from the Coton de Tulear could be detrimental to the health of the breed, as some of these genes are believed by genetics researchers to control certain functions of the immune system. We believe this is the first step in putting the health of our beloved breed at risk. Please watch the following video which shows what can happen to a breed when attempts are made to change the appearance in order to make them more popular in the show ring.


Can you imagine what is in store for the Coton de Tulear!

Last year the Coton de Tulear community asked for your help in signing a petition against AKC recognition. Now we need your help again. A lawsuit has been successfully filed and served against the USACTC & the American Kennel Club to stop the Coton de Tulear from joining the ranks of the AKC breeds. A group of dedicated Coton de Tulear owners has formed for the sole purpose of preserving and protecting the Coton de Tulear from harm (Advocates for the Coton de Tulear).

The Coton de Tulear needs you. Please help us in our efforts to retain the heritage of this wonderful rare breed. Funds are needed to help defray the costs involved in the lawsuit. You CAN make a difference. Be a part of the future and history of the Coton de Tulear. Stand up and be a voice for your beloved companion. Please send in a contribution, and forward this email to your family and friends. Together we can ALL make a difference!

For more information visit: http://advocatesforthecotondetulear.blogspot.com/

Contributions may be mailed to:
Advocates for the Coton de Tulear
c/o Lisa Vatistas, Treasurer
10926 E. Becker Lane
Scottsdale, AZ 85259

Or you may contribute with your credit/debit card online at:

Any amount is welcome and will be greatly appreciated.

Advocates for the Coton de Tulear

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Westminster's decision to shield audience from misery of shelters

Leslie Smith, Editor in Chief
Wednesday February 15th, 2012

The 2012 Westminster Dog Show came to a close yesterday, but the hubbub around the split with longtime sponsor of the show, Pedigree Dog Food, isn’t going away. Westminster announced earlier in the week it would be dropping Pedigree, contending that the images of shelter dogs featured in their ads are too depressing and a turn-off for their audience.
Westminster spokesperson David Frei explained the decision this way:
"Show me an ad with a dog with a smile. Don't try to shame me. We told [Pedigree] that and they ignored us."
Must feel terrible to be ignored and forgotten, Mr. Frei. Almost as if you don’t have a voice at all.
He goes on to say: "Our show is a celebration of dogs. We're not promotingpurebreds at the expense of non-purebreds. We celebrate all dogs."
If by “celebrate all dogs,” you mean “let only purebreds enter the show,” I totally get it.
Frei clarifies: "When we're seeing puppies behind bars, it takes away from that. Not just because it's sad, but it's not our message."
Dude, yes! Euthanasia isn’t only a big-time buzz kill, it’s soooooo not what we want to think about as we endorse the breeding of more and more dogs in search of the perfect hind quarters and ideal withers while thousands die each day in shelters.
Call me cynical, but I just don’t believe this is an argument over how to talk about dogs. It’s a question of whether we talk about dogs: shelter dogs. And scenes of unwanted innocent animals spliced between images of dogs with hundred dollarhaircuts and pristine pedicures — the contrast is stark. It might even make you feel like your priorities are a bit skewed. And no one wants that.
Even more surprising than the WKC’s “Let them eat cake” attitude are its various supporters. Pet columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle Christie Keith points out in her blog “Dogged” that Ad Council researchers found images of suffering animals don’t inspire people to adopt. They do something much more sinister: they inspire people to give money.
I have to admit, I’m not sure what the objection to giving money is. Few shelters I’ve worked with have been over-resourced or cash saturated. The majority need all the financial support they can get — and are fairly savvy about stretching their dollars. If Pedigree wants to give a chunk of change to my local shelter with the goal of making it shiny and inviting, by all means, I’m for it.
That’s not to say every ad needs to be doom and gloom. I love the spots of happy dogs in clean, modern shelters surrounded by enthusiastic volunteers. I know that approach is extremely successful with some audiences — it lets people see that a shelter can be a great, uplifting place to get a dog. But it's certainly not representative of the scene at most shelters. And that story needs esposure too.
Nor am I saying that dog shows are inherently bad or that we can’t enjoy showing off and admiring beautiful dogs. I peek at the show footage with the same guilty pleasure I do the Miss America contest. It’s fun to ooh and ahh over gorgeous physical specimens. And while contestants of the dog pageants probably come away with less emotional baggage than the beauty contest entrants, I have a hard time seeing much real value in either.
Bottom line, shows like these are entertainment for humans. Dogs couldn’t care less about their measurements falling into some pre-determined range. And when the AKC (of which Westminster is an affiliate) won’t even acknowledge the harm its standards impose, it’s not about love for a breed. It’s about prestige, bragging rights, and genetic engineering.
So, Mr. Frei, I would argue that Pedigree is not shaming you. Heck, the name of the brand is Pedigree. What it is doing is presenting an accurate portrayal of the fate of millions of companion animals. If you experience shame, those feelings originate with you, and the responsible thing to do is evaluate your actions rather than look away and pretend it doesn’t exist.
And if your audience chooses to turn the channel when those images are presented, and continue to support widespread breeding, that choice will not have been made in ignorance.