User Posts : The Southwest Voice

I NEED A HOME

Kern county animal shelter is holding their off site adoption day at Petco on Rosedale hwy, Dec 6th 10am-3pm..

If you are looking for a dog for your kids or family " PLEASE" stop by..

Adoption fees are $75, all dogs are already spay & neutered, have their shots, and their tags for a year, and a free visit to see a vet..

The shelter needs donations in the way of, dog food, dog beds, blankets, news papers, shoeboxes... Or whatever else you think might help ease the cold winter days & nights for these dogs & cats at the shelter.

If you cant make it to the shelter to drop off donations,, You can drop them off with us at Petco,, We will be happy to take your dontaions to the shelter for you..

It is going to be a cold winter this year, and its going to be even colder for the poor dogs at the shelter, with no home or bed to sleep in this winter..

I know times are hard on everyone right now, but its even harder on these unwanted dogs & cats dropped off at the shelter everyday..

Every little bit helps..

The shelter is also in need of valunteers,, if you would like more info on being a shelter,, please contact Maggie at,, kalarm@co.kern.ca.us

Or stop by Petco... We are there every first Saturday of the month...

Santa will also be there on the 6th taking pictures with your pets...

Eddy

LOCAL DOG PULLS OFF " BIG WIN "

Eddy Aldridge and Deerwoods Sheila, pull off winning first place Saturday & Sunday Nov 8th & 9th,, 2008

Winning High In Trial both days, with scores of 137 & 139.5 out of a score of 150..

at the AHBA, Parcours "A La Francaise, French Ranch Large Flock trial.. "Advanced Level" Competting againest dogs From Nevada, Ca, Washington, & Oregon...

In Wilton Ca..

I would like to thank Laurie Batson for Sheila,

my dad for going to all the trials with me to make sure I get up every morning,

and trainer Karen Wessinger of Leona Valley, for all her help,...

But most of all I would like to thank Sheila for pushing my limits, even though she can a hard to handle dog, she always gets the job done...

For more info on French Trials here in Ca,, please check out this web site...

http://www.herdingontheweb.com/french-ca.htm

Hope to see you at PetCo on Rosedale every first Saturday of the month for the Kern County Shelter dog adoption day...

Eddy

LOCAL DOG EARNS HERDING CHAMPIONSHIP

After taking the year off from competing in agility with his Australian Kelpie Spooky.

Local Dog Earns Sheep herding Championship..

After a few years of hard work and training, and a long hard year of herding trials this year.. Local dog owner Eddy Aldridge and his 6 year old Australian Kelpie Deerwoods Sheila.

Earned their Australian Shepherd Culb Of America, Started, Open, High In Trial, and Advanced sheep herding titles.

They also earned their Amercian Herding Breed Association, Started and Advanced, Herding Trial Arena Dog Sheep herding Titles.

Their Amercian Herding Breed Association, Advanced Herding Ranch Dog title, Sheep"

Their Advanced Ranch title "goats"

Started, Open, and Advanced Ranch Large Flock title, using over 100 head of sheep..

Sunday Oct 26th, 2008 Deerwoods Sheila also earned her Amercian Herding Breed Association, Championship title..In Pescadero Ca, Winning the Advanced Ranch Goat Trial.. With a score of 94,1/2 out of 100.

Other awards earned this year were Cal Poly Pomona herding trial High In Trial..

IEHDA High In Trial..

She was also San Joaquin Valley Border Collie Association Novice High Point dog 2008.. Along with may other awards..

Whats next ? I dont know ? Maybe we will go for the Pro Novice Dog of the year..

But I think I am going to take some time off from a few of the herding trials to get my other dog Spookys agility Championship..

In my spare time, I also teach obedience class and volunteer for the Kern County Animal Control offsite adoption day at PetCo on Rosedale hwy, every first Saturday of the month...

Stop by say hi, we may have your next pet..

Eddy Aldridge

Kern County Animal Shelter Adoption Day Saturday Oct 4th

The Kern County Animal Shelter a long with the Friends Foundation, will be holding an adoption day. Saturday Oct 4th at PetCo on Rosedale hwy..

From 10am to 3pm.. They will be holding these adoption day there, every first Saturday of the month..

If you are looking for your next dog or puppy,, Please come and have a look around...

Remember when looking for your next pet, Please try your local shelters and rescue groups...

Please help find these loving pets forever homes...

Eddy

BASIC OBEDIENCE CLASS Monday Aug 18th 7pm

I have a new basic obedience class starting Monday Aug 18th at 7pm.

Learn basic obedience while spending time with your dog..

We will cover, heeling on lead, sit, down, stay, and recal, and whatever else might come up ?

$75 for 8 weeks..

For more info you can contact me at 832-0762 or 345-8711

Eddy

VOLUNTEER HELP NEED, Kern County Animal Shelter Adoption Day

So of us are getting together Monday July 14th at 630pm, at Riverwalk Park, to see what we need to do to get the Kern County Animal Shelter to hold an off site adoption day..

I am asking everyone that might want to valunteer at an adoption day, to help find forever homes for these pets..
Please come to the park to find out what you can do to help...
I will be be wearing a Bakersfield Obedience Training Club Tshirt..

Help us find homes for these unwanted pets.....

Eddy

BAKERSFIELD OBEDIENCE TRAINING CLUB DONTAES $1000

In June, The Bakersfield Obedience Training Club donated $1000 to the Kern Humane Society.spay & neuter voucher program. This month they are going to be donating something like $500.

There are still a lot of people out there that dont know, if you dont have enough money to spay & neuter your pets.. You can go to the Kern Humane Society.and they will give you a voucher to help pay for it..

Most vets here in Bakersfield except the vouchers,, so more then likely you will be able to take your pet to your own vet...

I would like to challenge all the other dog clubs in town to do the samething..

There are far too many unwanted pets out there already.. This is our way to help out... Please do your part to help..

When looking for your next pet PLEASE visit your local shelter or rescue group..

If you would like to help out by donating to the Bakersfield Obedience Training Club spay & neuter voucher progam...

You can contact the president ,JoAnne Rowles, at: jrowles@bak.rr.com

Or myself Eddy Aldridge eddy2001@earthlink.net

Eddy Aldridge

BOTC member

GAS PRICES, SMOG & being over weight

With the price of gas these days, smog & so many of us being over weight..
A good answer to many of these problems we are facing in the days a head of us.

Would be to close the drive thrus & cut down on so many smog tests.. Cars that are only a few years old dont need a smog test anyway..
Do you know how many millons of cars sit running in drive thrus & smog tests every day in this country ? or just here in Bakersfield ?

You can sit in line at toco bell for 10 or 15 min with your car running, with 10 cars in line..
I dont know how many fast food drive thrus or smog check places there are in Bakersfield, Ca, or the country. But I am sure there are millons..

Do you know how much smog is being put into our air ? & how much gas is being waisted ?

When its only 20 feet to the door , & walking is good for everyone..
The walk to the door & back to our cars, would be good for all of us.

Drive thrus arent really any faster when you think about the time you are sitting there, you could already be inside eating..

I say close the drive thurs, cut back on smog checks, walk the 20 or 30 feet..

Save gas the earth & be healther...

KERN COUNTY ANIMAL SHELTER

After going to the April Animal Control Meeting, I left there with the feeling that the Karn County Animal Shelter, Would rather raise fees, and fines, pass laws, put down animals, & blame the public, rather then address the problem of to many animals being at the shelter & finding them homes..
If the problem is there are to many animals being put down at the shelter, then why arent they doing more to find them homes ?
If the SPCA can hold an adoption day & adopt out 50 dogs in 1 day, the why cant the KC shelter do the samething ?
Passing new laws, adding fines & raising fees, arent going to find homes for the dogs & cats in the shelter now..
I was at the garden fest last weekend, animal control had a booth out there, How hard would it of been to take a few dogs out there, walk around with them. for people to see, & try to find homes for them ?
I see other shelters holding adoption days all over Bakersfield,, Where are the Kern County Animal Control Adoption Days ?

I will be dontating 1/2 of whatever my next obedience class brings in to a spay & neuter voucher progam,, My next class starts May 21st @ 7pm, $75 for 8 weeks.

For more info contact me at 661-832-0762 or 661-345-8711

Eddy Aldridge

PAINTED DESERT SHEEP

Characteristics of the Painted Desert Sheep

Color

The characteristic that sets these sheep apart from other breeds is their colorful markings. They are often marked in a combination of colors and can be tri- or quad-colored. Some individuals have white markings on a dark body; others have dark spots on a white or roan body. They may have spots within spots. Patterns can be distinct with oval or splashed markings (much like the tobiano and overo patterns of the paint horse) frosted, or marbled where the colors just blend together. Patterns may be highly marked while others have only minimal markings. Sheep with Jacob influence may have blue eyes.
Horns

At this time, the Painted Desert Sheep is known primarily for the ram's ability to grow a trophy class set of horns. They are in demand for stocking exotic hunting leases. These sheep have been crossed with other breeds such as Merino, Rambouillet, Jacob, and Navajo Churro to improve the horn and reach trophy class quicker. Rams will have different shaped horns according to the influence of other breeds. Tight horn curls growing close to the head are indicative of Barbados blood and can cause problems if the horns are close enough that they grow into the face. True Barbados Sheep are a polled breed and cross-breds often have poor horns. Although there are sheep in the registry with polled ancestry, horns are preferred. Mouflon influence is shown by large supracervical (sweeping out and curving behind the neck), heart-shaped horns, or homonymous (sweeping outward in a spiral) horns. Horns should be well-balanced and symmetrical. You will see some magnificent horns on these sheep and even beautifully matched sets of four horns (or more). Ewes don't have horns unless they are a result of a cross where the ewes are horned (Mouflon or Jacob, for instance).

Size

The size of these sheep varies due to the influence of other breeds. There is no strict standard at this time. Ewes may range in weight from 60 to 120 pounds and have heights from 21" to 25" at the shoulders. Rams weigh from 75 to 200 pounds and may be 30" or more at the shoulders.

Adaptability

The Painted Desert Sheep has resistance to disease, heat, and cold. The conscientious flock owner should still make sure that his sheep receive regular immunizations and dewormings, but management is made much easier with this hardy sheep. A shelter that provides shade and protection from cold drafts and driving rain is usually sufficient.

Coat

The Painted Desert Sheep is not a "woolless" breed (a misnomer, really), but actually a double coated breed that casts its wool in spring. They are adaptable to extremes in weather. In the fall, they begin growing their undercoat of wool which gets even thicker as the weather get colder. The rams will grow a luxuriant mane (another feature that makes them a favorite of trophy hunters) often beginning at the shoulders with a thick bib at the front of the neck. In the spring, the wool is shed in clumps along with some of the longer, outer guard hairs. What remains is a short, slick coat of hair. Most rams will completely shed their mane by summer while others will have a sparser version of one. Because of their short hair during the summer, these sheep will rarely be bothered by the external parasites that plague wool breeds. The tails of these sheep are not docked as there is no real need to. There should be no wool remaining on the sheep for the summer months. If so, then the sheep has obviously close wool breeding. The only exception would be lambs that don't usually shed until the next year.

Temperament

The Painted Desert Sheep has a strong flocking instinct when disturbed, but when at peace will scatter about the pasture. They can be very docile if handled from birth. A four foot mesh fence is adequate enough to keep them in your pasture (make sure it's dog and varmint proof), but they are quite capable of clearing this height if crowded. When working these sheep (for vaccinations, etc.), it is best to confine them in a stall where they will mill in a corner for easy catching.

Fertility

Due to the Barados influence in some of these sheep, the Painted Desert Sheep will have two lambings a year with intervals ranging from 6 1/2 to 8 months (depending on how you manage your flock). Although the ewes will come in heat while lactating, and the ram will tend them, they often don't get pregnant until the lambs are taken off. Most breeders will wean lambs between 2 and 3 months of age to get another lambing that year. These sheep, again due to Barbados blood, have been known to deliver up to five lambs in one birth! They also breed out of season (anytime of the year). Ewe lambs ideally should not be bred until one year of age, but they are commonly bred at seven months of age with no ill effects. Ram lambs reach sexual maturity early and have been known to breed as early as 4 months of age. For this reason, keeping juvenile rams in your flock will make determining paternity of your lambs impossible.

Mothering and Milking Ability

The Painted Desert ewe has a strong mothering instinct. Even with multiple births, she seems to count heads if one should wander off and is not happy until they are all by her side. They have excellent milking ability, even with triplets, but should be watched and given assistance if need be, espcially if one lamb is stronger than its sibling and getting more than its share of milk. Some of these ewes have udders to rival dairy goat breeds.

Grazing

These sheep seem to prefer lush tender growth of grasses but are also partial to some weeds and shrubs. There are some things they just will not eat. However, they are excellent for keeping lots mowed and fencelines clean and manicured-looking.

Carcass

Lambs are in growing demand for their lean carcasses that do not have the strong flavor or fat of domestic mutton. The meat is used in a variety of ways. In Texas, it is most popular for the barbecue pit or made into sausage.

Conclusion

The Painted Desert Sheep is for you if:

*you want to raise meat for your freezer

*you don't want to bother with shearing

*you want a low maintenance lawnmower

*you want large lamb crops for market

*you want something different (most important)-The Painted Desert Sheep is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.

If you would like more info on the Painted Desert sheep.

Or what to get one for yourself..

Feel free to contact me at 661-832-0762 "Eddy"

OBEDIENCE CLASS May 21st @ 7pm

I just want to let everyone know that I am no longer teaching for KCA dog club.

I have gone out on my own.. My next obedience class will be held Wednesday May 21st @ 7pm... It will be an 8 week course @ $75...

I will also be donating 1/2 of whatever the class brings in to Bakersfield Obedience Training Club.. To help start a spay & neuter voucher program, for low income pet owners...

For info you may email me at eddy2001@earthlink.net or call me at 661-832-0762 or 661-345-8711....

Thank you

Eddy Aldridge

KERN COUNTY MANDATORY SPAY & NEUTER

I know we have all heard about Kern County wanting to pass a mandatory spay & neuter law.. Everyone is fighting over why it should be or shouldnt be passed..

We all know there are to many animals in our shelters, & too many being put to sleep.. But noone wants to come up with any answers..

Last night we held a rally at the KCKC dog show at the Kern County Fairgrounds.

I was very disapointed in how few people showed up for.. I saw a few people from BOTC & KCKC just a few, I didnt see anyone at all from KCA...

Its easy to see that most of the people in the dog clubs here in Kern County are all talk & no action.. Its really sad, that all of you just sit back and watch these laws get passed all over Ca, and you do nothing about it.... While your rights as pet owners are being taken away from you..

Not only do they want mandatory spay & neuter, they want to limit the number of pets you have to 4.. So even if you wanted to adopt a dog from a shelter you couldnt if you already had 4 dogs or cats,, 4 total..

We know once 1 law gets passed it just makes it easier for them to start passing other laws...

What needs to be do is to make Animal Control their own department, so they money they make stays in the animal control department.. so they dont just get the left overs.. They need to start enforcing the laws we already have, going door to door to enforce rabie shots & county tags.. But we know that wont ever happen..

Everyone blames the problem on the breeders of Kern County.. But how do they know all these animals are coming from Kern County ? They are people moving here by the 100s every month... How do they know they arent being brought in from somewhere else ? People buying from petstores, those dogs arent coming from Kern County...

The Bakersfield Californian says it the breeders,, We all saw the story in their paper... But they never tell the other side of the story.... Even one person blamed it on the news paper for letting people place ads in the paper...

What I would like to see is animal control become their own department and doing the jobs they have now... I would really like to see all the dog clubs in Bakersfield & Kern County, donate to a low cost spay & neuter program.. I dont know how many dog clubs there are in Kern County,,?? But I know there are a lot..

Its time to stop all the talk, and DO SOMETHING !!

I would even like to see the Bakersfield Ca, news paper donate $10 for each ad placed in their paper for dogs & cats for sale..

But we know that will never happen either.. Just like everyone else, they would rather pass the blame on to someone else..

I would also like to see the shelters offer help to everyone that adopts a pet from a shelter, in the way of obedience training & taking care of the pet they just adopted..

Once you adopt a pet, you are pretty much on your own... If you have a problem with it.. You either find help on your own or you pss the pet on to someone else..

Then it starts all over again..

Again like I said before, I was very disapointed the turn out at the rally last night from our local dog clubs.. And I call on KCA, BOTC & KCKC,& ever dog club in Kern County to standup for your rights as pet owners,,,

Not just just by being at the meetings but by doing your part as pet owners & responsable dog owners & dog clubs... By coming together donating to start a low cost spay & neuter program here in Kern County, or to bring HOPE back to Bakersfield..

I know some of the dog clubs here in Kern County have money... Use it to get something done, rather just blame each other....

I am sure I just made some people in the dog clubs that I am a member of mad at me..

But thats ok.... They donate money to fight things,, why not donate to help now..

If enough dog clubs here in Kern County got together & helped out with low cost Spay & Neuter, there would be no need for MANDATORY SPAY & NEUTER...

Eddy

Local Dog Owner Competes For Advanced Sheep Herding Title

Local dog owner Eddy Aldridge & his 5 year old Australian Kelpie Deerwoods Sheila. Competed the weekend of March 1st & 2nd, in Tulare at the Australian Shepherd Club Of America "ASCA" all breed stockdog trial...

Deerwoods Sheila got her advanced title on Saturday, So they will be moving on to compete in the Border Collie, "USBCHA"all breed herding trial at the Great Western Livestock show March 9th at the Tulare fairgrounds...

After that we will held out in April for an AHBA trial in Lancaster to try to get our Ranch Large Flock title... Sheila just needs 1 more qualifying score to earn her started title.. After that I think I am just going to move her right into advanced, & skip the open level..

Then in May we will be heading to Cal Poly Pomona to try for our Post Advanced ASCA herding title, sheep. Then there is nothing left in ASCA.. So it will be all USBCHA & AHBA trials..

So I will be taking Sheila up north to Lodi in May also to compete in the USBCHA stockdog trial..

I also breed registerd Painted Desert Sheep.. I started breeding sheep so I would have something to train my dogs with..

I didnt want your everyday wool sheep, I wanted something not everyone else has.

The painted desert is a hair sheep, so they shed out each spring. So there is no shearing in the spring.. They are a big horn game sheep, but they are not really a big sheep like most.. Ewes are around 100lbs at most and rams are maybe 120lb.. But what makes them so different from the rest, is their big horns & painted coats.

The painted desert come in many different collors and coat patterns...

This year I will be selling of some of my stock to bring in new blood lines..

If you would like more info on these sheep, there are many good web sites..

Or you can email me,, I hope one day to get a breeding stock class at the Kern County Fair. So these sheep can be shown.. There is really no class for them at this time..

Right now there is only a little more then 1000 in the registry right now...

Eddy Aldridge

Local herder competes at Cal Poly Pomona Herding Trial

The weekend of Nov. 3 and 4, I competed at the Cal Poly Pomona herding trial with my 5-year -old kelpie Deerwoods Sheila.

Sheila placed first and second with scores of 89 and 90 out of 100 both days.

I really haven't been herding that long. Three years ago I got a border collie/kelpie cross named Spooky, mainly for agility, but decided to give herding a try with her.

After taking lessons with her and working with my trainer's dogs, I was hooked.

Spooky ended up not being the type of herder that I liked, so the hunt was on to look for another dog.

After looking at many different breeds, I knew I wanted an eyed breed, so that left me with only two breeds left to look at, the border collie or the kelpie.

I knew I wanted a tough and hard dog, and everyone has border collies, so I went with the kelpie. Little did I know what I was getting into..

Then last year I found Sheila. The lady that had her let me bring Sheila home for a while to see if I liked her. If not I could send her back. Sheila was an untrained 4-year-old dog.

So I brought her home for a while, and took her to my trainers one day. We walked out into the pasture and turned Sheila loose to see what she would do. The chase was on,, we chased Sheila around the pasture for almost two hours before we could catch her.

When I came home that day I was ready to send her back home. But I knew kelpies are a hard to train and like to do things their way, so I decided to give her a chance. I said I would give her one month and see how it goes.

In that month I fell in love with her. I went out and bought sheep, and that is when the hard work started.

And after a long hard year of training and practicing everyday. Driving everywhere I could to practice in new places. We started competing at some fun trials..

Then I wanted to try my hand at AHBA trials, So I went to over the summer, where Sheila took 3rd & 4th her first time out. AHBA is an all breed herding trial..

When I found out about the Cal Poly Pomona ASCA herding trial, I said, "What the heck, lets try it.," knowing I would have the only kelpie at the trial.

I really didn't think we would do much there, no less place at all, but I wanted to try it anyway.

The Aussie is an upright breed that herds by staying on its feet and moves sheep by barking and moving around a lot. Kelpie move sheep by looking at them, the way a cat would hunt a bird. No barking at all.

I thought it would be good practice in a trial setting. Well, we ended up in first on Saturday with a score of 89 out of 100. Then we took second on Sunday with a score of 90 out of 100.

My next trial will be this weekend in Lodi, then in Lancaster. My goal is to make it to the Kelpie nationals in Washington in October.

I still have my first dog Spooky. She is still competing in agility, she is 2 1/2 years old now, and running in level 4 and 5.

Sheila is now competeing in open level herding in ASCA and AHBA, and next year will be running in Pro Novice USBCHA.

A MESSAGE TO OUR VETS

*Message to Our Veterinarians*

Are you aware that the California Veterinary Medical Association
has chosen to proactively support and promote bill AB1634, the so-called
"California Healthy Pets Act," an act aimed at eliminating pet ownership?

This bill requires /mandatory/ sterilization of ALL cats and dogs
by four months of age and imposes substantial penalties for
noncompliance. Though purporting to allow certain exemptions, these are
not guaranteed and even if available are made meaningless by the
imposition of impossible requirements.

This bill attempts to end all purebred dog and cat breeding in
California.

Less than 4% of dogs in California enter the shelter system. Less
than 1.5% are euthanized. Euthanasia in shelters is down by 86 percent
since the 70s though work still needs to be done. This bill, however,
does not and will not do that work. It does NOT address the real issue
of adult animals in shelters abandoned because of behavioral issues or
the impact of the feral cat problem on shelter numbers.

This bill affects your clients' privacy and property interests and
interferes with the right of a veterinarian to make medical decisions in
consultation with his or her clients. The end result of this bill will
be the decimation of your practice.

*I ask you to immediately take the following steps to protect yourself
and your clients:*

1. Contact CVMA and demand they publicly retract their support of
this bill.

2. On your letterhead, contact the Committee on Appropriations of
the State assembly at FAX # (916) 319-2113 expressing your opposition
to this bill and CVMA's support of it.

3. Also fax this letter to your local assembly representatives.
See *www.assembly. ca.gov* for names and contact information.

4. Urge all your clients to do the same.

These steps must be done immediately to be effective.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Summary of Progress regarding Dogs in California Shelters
Based on 1995 -2005 Official California Statistics

Official California Statistics show for 1995-2005 show:

1. 40.4% in the number of dogs processed in shelters

2. An increase in the dogs reclaimed ( 22.2%) and adopted (30.3%)

3. There has been a 59.1% reduction in dogs euthanized.

4. Loose dogs captured have been reduced by 36%.

5. Owner surrenders have been reduced by 55.6%

These reductions are even more impressive when one considers the rapid
population growth of California during this same time since the number
of pets are directly related to population - the AVMA 2002 survey shows
that 67.7% of the population are pet owners!

The counties which have passed mandatory spay/neuter laws are the only
ones bucking this trend in the reduction of number of animals in
shelters. Their shelter populations have increased perhaps because they
are no longer educating people but instead are relying on draconian
measures which simply drive people underground. These same counties
have suffered reductions in the number of dogs licensed and vaccinated
for rabies thus increasing public health danger! It is proven that a
mandatory sterilization law does not reduce shelter populations! ! See
www.saveourdogs. net for more information on jurisdictions which have
abandoned mandatory sterilization laws.

Eddy Aldridge