This Blog is overdue for a puppy-pic!

And when you are ready for some more click here!

donlineuk.blogspot.com

Iran: where having a pet could soon land you in jail

The Iranian parliament could soon approve the Protection of the Public's Rights Against Animals bill, which would restrict pet ownership across the board.

Police there recently announced that walking dogs in parks was a crime. The ban was justified as a measure to "protect the safety of the public".

According to the proposed legislation, pet ownership would be subject to a permit issued by a special committee. There would also be a minimum fine of around $800 (790 euros; £670) for the "import, purchase and sale, transportation and keeping" of a range of animals, including common pets such as dogs, cats, turtles and rabbits.

"Debates around this bill started more than a decade ago, when a group of Iranian MPs tried to promote a law to confiscate all dogs and give them to zoos or leave them in deserts," Dr Payam Mohebi, the president of the Iran Veterinary Association and an opponent of the bill, told the BBC.

I'm struggling to get my head around some countries: Pakistan, Iran, Russia, China, and others. Do they not look at themselves in the mirror & realise: we're the baddies?

www.bbc.co.uk

More dogs in the neighbourhood often means less crime

If you want to find a safe neighborhood to live in, choose one where the residents trust each other - and have a lot of dogs to walk.

In a study conducted in Columbus, researchers found that neighborhoods with more dogs had lower rates of homicide, robbery and, to a lesser extent, aggravated assaults compared to areas with fewer dogs, at least when residents also had high levels of trust in each other.

The results suggest that people walking their dogs puts more "eyes on the street," which can discourage crime, said Nicolo Pinchak, lead author of the study and a doctoral student in sociology at The Ohio State University.

"People walking their dogs are essentially patrolling their neighborhoods," Pinchak said. "They see when things are not right, and when there are suspect outsiders in the area. It can be a crime deterrent."

www.phys.org