Now more than ever, you are needed to donate your old blankets, towels, and sheets to your local animal shelter. With financial cut-backs, repairs on shelters are often put off, so if it's drafty, the animals suffer. I know my shelter uses rags to stuff under doors. No kidding! Empty out those closets... this is your chance to get rid of stuff and do something useful!


Saturday, February 6, 2010

Want to See The Trouble With Puppymills?

via ASPCA:

It's not so bad at first but keep watching; you begin to see the squalid conditions as the camera moves back, the wire-bottomed cages, and the first dog that looks completely neglected (apart from dogs living continuously (as in forever) in little cages), is the white poodle, who has so many matts she cannot stand correctly. In fact, go to this link and make sure to see the third picture from the end, of what appears to be a brown poodle, if you want to see what puppymill dogs look like. These are the dogs that breed pet store puppies.  http://www.slide.com/r/d0z4DMOn5z8_HXvfV_-Az8_7ctYMvfSk?map=2&cy=un




The ASPCA under the authority and request of Shirley C. Byers of the Marshall Co. Prosecutor’s Office in Marshall County, MS, is managing operations in the investigation of a local puppy mill where 94 dogs as well as a cat are being seized.

The Marshall County Sheriff’s Department, led by Sheriff Kenny Dickerson, served a warrant, along with Sgt. Kelly McMillan, Investigators Gary Byrd and David Pannell and Officer Tracy Jefferies. Charges against the puppy mill’s owners are currently pending, but the dogs have been signed over to the ASPCA.
Tim Rickey, the ASPCA Senior Director of Field Investigations and Response, says the dogs, which include small breeds such as Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsos, Pugs, Yorkshire Terriers, Corgis and Chihuahuas, were discovered living in feces-encrusted pens and filth. He says many of the dogs are underweight and appear to have skin problems, among other medical conditions. Several dead adult dogs and puppies were also discovered.

Also on the scene with the ASPCA are the American Humane Association, Marshall County Humane Society, Mississippi State University and Collierville (TN) Humane Society, who are removing and transporting animals to an emergency shelter site at the Marshall County Humane Society Clinic in Byhalia, MS, where they will be triaged by a veterinary team and temporarily sheltered before being exported to other animal welfare agencies and ultimately made available for adoption.

“The ASPCA works in partnership with local groups to rescue animals like these from deplorable conditions,” says Matt Bershadker, Senior Vice President of Anti-Cruelty for the ASPCA. “Without the support and collaboration of these agencies, this crucial, life-saving work would not be possible.”

Veterinarians, including Dr. Rebecca Coleman of Memphis, TN, Dr. Phil Bushby, a faculty member at Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Dr. Kimberly Woodruff, also with Mississippi State, are examining animals, and those requiring immediate medical care will be treated.

“We appreciate the diligence of the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office in pursuing this case and are pleased to be able to lend our assistance, both in terms of human resources and equipment, in our ongoing fight against animal cruelty,” says Rickey.

The investigation was set into motion after local officials contacted the ASPCA several weeks ago. For more information about puppy mills and how to fight animal cruelty, visit http://www.aspca.org/.



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xoxo (Thanks to the ASPCA for rescuing them.)