What do Pugs make – Prizes?
Have just watched what could be the worst TV ever – the Keith Lemon Lemonaid show.
Who in their right minds thinks that is acceptable to give away a puppy as a prize to kids on a Saturday night prime slot TV show?
At one point Keith did say to the parents this was a big commitment and were they ready for it – like they were going to change their minds on TV with their kids so hyped up that they might win a puppy. In response to “why haven’t you got your child a puppy” one of the parents said because they had never been in a position to afford one – so how are they going to be able to afford the ongoing costs over years of a puppy – or perhaps all food bills, vet visits & insurance were also part of the prize – I think not.
Never having really thought about it I would have hoped that it would be illegal to give away a live animal as a prize on TV but apparently not – unless the parent has not concented – however in Scotland it is. Given the programme was also aired in Scotland as well then surely ITV have broken the law
We have just watched what could be the worst TV ever – the Keith Lemon Lemonaid show.
Who in their right minds thinks that is acceptable to give away a puppy as a prize to kids on a Saturday night prime slot TV show?
At one point Keith did say to the parents this was a big commitment and were they ready for it – like they were going to change their minds on TV with their kids so hyped up that they might win a puppy. In response to “why haven’t you got your child a puppy” one of the parents said because they had never been in a position to afford one – so how are they going to be able to afford the ongoing costs over years of a puppy – or perhaps all food bills, vet visits & insurance were also part of the prize – I think not.
Never having really thought about it I would have hoped that it would be illegal to give away a live animal as a prize on TV but apparently not – unless the parent has not consented – however in Scotland it is. Given the programme was also aired in Scotland as well then surely ITV have broken the law?
If you like us are outraged by this then please complain.
Firstly to Ofcom: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/
(Keith Lemon’s LemonAid broadcast ITV Saturday 28th April at 18.15 on ITV – you’ll need this for your Ofcom complaint.)
For anyone in Scotland then please visit this site: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2006/11/section/31 – specifically ‘A person commits an offence if the person offers or gives an animal to another person as a prize.’ and cc the RSPCA, the SSPCA in Scotland and Dogs Trust
You can also complain directly to ITV their email address is: viewerservices@itv.com
Keith Lemon’s production company email address: lemonaid@talkback.co.uk
If you’re on Twitter then you can contact Keith direct about this: @lemontwittor
There are also a couple of Facebook groups which you can join:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/163117710484642/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/KeithLemonsPuppyPrizeProtest/167266606732141
We at Puddle Pet Care will be complaining loudly to everyone we can about this and hope that you will join us. Programmes like this completely trivialise the responsibilities of dog ownership comparing it to winning a TV or holiday. If ITV are allowed to get away with this there is no knowing where live animals may turn up next as prizes.
Tackling Irresponsible Dog Ownership Legislation
There has been a lot of talk about the Governments plans to introduce compulsory microchipping in England as part of the Tackling Irresponsible Dog Ownership– however this is not yet law and is only at the consultation stage. Consultation is due to finish on June 23rd so there is time for lots of views to be taken into consideration.
There are a number of options being put forward from compulsory chipping of all puppies to chipping of all dogs regardless of age.
It appears that sometime ago there was talk that tattoos would be given as an alternative to microchips but this appears now not to be the case.
The proposed legislation also includes changes to the Dangerous Dogs Act. One change that appears significant is that there is a proposal to remove the need for the police to seize and kennel dogs seized as a suspect of being a Dangerous Dog until after any court case.
Puddle Pet Care would urge all dog owners to read the full details on the Defra Website –http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/2012/04/23/dangerous-dogs-1204/
and in particular the PDF document Annex A – Consultation Document (this is 19 pages long but is clearly written.)
http://www.defra.gov.uk/consult/files/dangerous-dogs-annexa-condoc-120423.pdf
Anyone may reply to this consultation. Defra would like to hear from anyone with an interest in responsible dog ownership, including: enforcement agencies; people working with dogs; animal welfare organisations; dog keeping orgainsations; and the general public.
You can complete the survey on-line at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/dogsconsultation2012
So if you have concerns about this proposed legislation then we urge you to make your feelings known to DEFRA
Blame the Owner – ‘Don’t Blame the Dog’?
A new series airs on BBC3 tonight at 9pm entitled ‘Don’t Blame the Dog’. Running for 6 weeks this unique series challenges young dog owners with bad attitudes to spend a week living with people who depend on dogs – some for their survival in extreme environments around the world and others who depend on them for their jobs.
In tonight’s episode Holly, who paints her dogs’ nails and puts diamantes on them, and Mikki, who is bite training his dog for protection, leave their dogs behind and travel to South Africa to spend a week with dogs that are trained to track down rhino poachers. Rhinos are endangered and one is killed by illegal hunters every day.
Sounds like an interesting experiment but will it really make any difference? The aim of the programme is that the experiences they have will help them re-evaluate their own lives and that of their pets and help them become better pet owners.
We at Puddle Pet Care will be watching tonight, will you? Be great to hear what you think of the programme.
National Pet Month Competition
7th April saw the start of National Pet Month. Now in its 22nd year, National Pet Month is a registered charity whose aims are:
- Promote responsible pet ownership
- Make people aware of the mutual benefits of living with pets
- Increase public awareness of the role of pet care specialists
- Raise awareness of the value of working and assistance companion animals
Lots of events take place during the month to raise awareness of responsible pet ownership and also to raise money for animal charities.
To find out more how you can get involved or for information about events that might be taking place near you visit the website at http://www.nationalpetmonth.org.uk/
To celebrate National Pet Month we here at Puddle Pet Care are running a competition. In keeping with the theme “Your pets and you: a winning team”. We would like to hear why you and your pet are a winning team – make us laugh make us smile or even cry with you & your pet’s story in 500 words or less (minimum 100 words) and if you wish to include an optional photograph you can do so.
The Winner will receive £50 to spend at Puddle Pet Care and we will also donate £50 to an animal charity of the winner’s choice. There will also be runner up prizes of treats.
Entries should be sent via email to npm@puddlepetcare.co.uk
Entries are open to UK Residents Only
Closing Date for Entries is 7th May 2012
Tuesday Treats – Natures Menu Cat Treats
I’ts Tuesday Treats time again. This week we have a selection of Natures Menu Cat treats to give away to 3 lucky winners. All you need to do is tell us what flavour these treats come in for cats.
(hint – answer can be found on our website!)
How to Enter
Please email your answer to the question, along with your name and address to tuesdaytreats@puddlepetcare.co.uk
Closing date and time: Tuesday 3rd April 9pm.
Important Information:
This compeitition is open to residents in the United Kingdom
Winners will be chosen at random and contacted by email.
Information will not be saved to our database.
Puddle Pet Care reserves the right to re-draw names if the entry is incomplete.
Tuesday Treats – Win Gift Voucher!
Ok – here is the very first Tuesday Treats & it is a competition to win £25 Gift Voucher, to spend at Puddle Pet Care, plus 2 runner up prizes of a selection of Natures Menu Treats
All you have to do is answer the following question:
What are the names of our 4 doggy product testers?
(hint – answer can be found on our website!)
How to Enter
Please email your answer to the question, along with your name and address to tuesdaytreats@puddlepetcare.co.uk
Closing date and time: Tuesday 27th March 9pm.
Important Information:
This compeitition is open to residents in the United Kingdom
Winners will be chosen at random and contacted by email.
Information will not be saved to our database.
Puddle Pet Care reserves the right to re-draw names if the entry is incomplete.
Launching Tuesday Treats!
Today Puddle Pet Care are launching “Tuesday Treats”
Each Tuesday we will be running something, be it a Competition, Prize Draw or Special Offers on selected products.
So follow us on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to our blog for all the details.
Out of Hours Veterinary Cover – what does your vets do?
There was a very interesting piece on Radio 4 You & Yours yesterday (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01d0prk#p00q0h64) discussing out of hours cover for vets.
More and more vets are now contracting their out of hours cover, just like GP’s surgeries, often now if you call your vet in the evening or at weekends you will be passed to a service which is covering for them rather than speaking to a vet or nurse at your own practice.
The article talks about the vast difference in costs between emergency treatment at your own surgery and those charged by the cover vets which is of course worrying and the fact that sometimes if you pet has to stay in you will have to go back and collect them at 8am the next day to take them to your regular vet.
What concerns us more is the fact that often you will have to travel a much longer distance to get to see a vet which in an emergency can be hard. The vets in our local village do not have their own out of hours service and the journey to the emergency surgery is around 40 minutes.
Even with 7 Puddle Pet Care Product Testers we fortunately do not often have to make use of the out of hours service (we spend enough time at the vets during their normal opening times!) but are very grateful that our vets Alphapet run their own out of hours cover. This means that we only have a 15 minute journey to get to them and that our pets will be seen either by their regular vet or someone else in the practice who can at least look up their notes and see any history which may be relevant.
We would be interested to hear of your experiences relating to out of hours cover with your vet.
Is your pet’s name in the Top 10?
The most popular names for dogs in 2011 have been released and show no change since the previous year.
The Veterinary Pet Insurance Company recently revealed its findings and Bella has remained at Number One. The trend seems to be for “human” monikers and Bella is closely followed by Bailey, Max, Lucy and Molly.
From 5 – 10 the popular names are Buddy, Daisy, Maggie, Charlie and Sophie.
Names like Whisky and Brandy seem to be assigned to the past and there’s no place for Rover anymore.
However, there are still dogs walking around out there with whacky and fanciful names. Remember Charlotte’s pampered pooch in Sex and the City? She was called Elizabeth Taylor and amongst the list of top 10 whacky dog names was Audrey Shepburn – a clever and witty nod to the glamorous actress, Audrey Hepburn.
Other weird and wonderful names included Almost-A-Dog, Franco Furter and Seamus McPoop.
These names may seem funny but you need to be aware that you’ll be shouting it out loud and you don’t want to feel embarrassed whilst out in public!
If you’re happy screaming for Stinkie McStinkerson, also in the Top 10, then all well and good but if not, maybe Bella or Bailey is the perfect name for your pampered pooch.
Let us know what your dog’s called!
Is Pet Insurance a good investment?
The majority of cat and dog owners still don’t have pet insurance. That’s according to The Co-operative insurance firm. Research released in January calculated that 64% of people do not hold policies for their pets.
As a result, 29% of them end up putting off visits to the vet because of the cost.
Unexpected vet bills can break the bank and direct debits make it easy for people to put money aside for their pampered pooch or feline friend.
You can pick up insurance with your groceries at the local supermarket or get it from online companies. However, are they really worth the money?
The BBC recently reported that Carrie Daniel took out a policy for her mini dachshund Rufus but when the dog suffered a ruptured disc her insurance did not cover the £4,500 needed for an MRI scan as it had a cap of £2,500 per injury.
However, pet insurance can be used for much more than paying vet bills.
Some policies will put up a reward if your pet goes missing, others cover property damage, and some even cover bereavement counselling for you if your animal dies.
There are hundreds of policies on the market and prices vary.
Recently, a dog owner told me that her pet insurance cover had been so inadequate for her dog that she would never do it again. She had been paying a monthly amount but when her Weimaraner needed an operation she discovered she wasn’t covered.
The mother-of-two has now decided she will pay a monthly amount into a savings account and if the money is needed for vets’ bills it’s there and if it’s never needed, they can have a family treat.
However, it is also worth remembering that some pet owners who are on benefits, and who cannot afford vet bills, could be eligible for free treatment from the UK’s largest veterinary charity, PDSA.