Good People

...Doing good deeds. If you can't build a new shelter, update the one you have.



Share

Kudos to Terrell, Texas!!

via Facebook:

BREAKING NEWS FROM TEXAS:


Via Stop Gassing Texas Pets -

City of Terrell ENDS gassing! Confirmed 11/29/11 by Police Chief Jody L. Lay "All procedures are conducted with the dignity of the animal in mind and are humanely administered. We are dismantling our chamber and recycling it as scrap metal."

Share

Kudos To Macon, Georgia Animal Control

The shelter signed a pledge to go no-kill for a week. This is a big deal in the south, where there are far fewer spay-neuter programs, and many many strays.  I do not mean that as a gratuitous knock on the south!

SIGNED, Macon Animal control has officially signed the PAWS of Hope & Faith Pardon.  During the week of Nov.6th thru 12th there will be no animals put down! The goal is to save everyone of them. Small steps: one week of no-kill will lead to more!

I appluad small steps like this. It's so easy for advocates of worthy causes to feel frustrated at not getting a big committment. But this small step is a measurable thing that can be done. It's something to build on. I do think a month would have been nice, but I'm also thinking that if they agreed on a week, a week of no-kill is likely a big deal in that community.



Share

Memphis Animal Shelter Director Resigns

YesBiscuit! has the goods.

Look at the pictures of staff "doing their job."  Mindless idiots.


Share

Miami Dade Gets a New Director

via Animal Rights Examiner Michele Gwynn, of the wonderful Examiner.com:

In the rescue community, knowing a dog is at Miami Dade Animal Services is like knowing it has a death sentence. The infamous C-ward is the place dogs rarely make it out of. A few months ago abuse was alleged and now the animal protestors there have had their day. Thank you to them, and to Grace Avila, whistleblower extraordinaire!, and to the Mayor, for heeding the many calls made. Good luck (and we'll be watching) to the new director.

Pizano's resignation comes as no surprise. In addition to a lawsuit against the county by a pet owner whose dog (that was microchipped and identified when picked up by animal control) was euthanized before the owner could pick him up, it was reported here on Examiner back in January that 30 cats had been illegally euthanized by heartstick (IC or intra-cardio injection; a last ditch form of euthanasia reserved for feral cats at kittens too small to be euthanized via an I.V.) in roughly 15 minutes. This massacre was brought to light by then employee, Grace Avila, who, after reporting vet tech (DavidPerez) for violating shelter procedure was "let go" from her position with the shelter.

Share

1,000 Dogs and Cats Up For Adoption in Riverside California, or They Will Be Euthanized

Folks. This. Is. Your. Chance. To. Do. Something. For. Shelter. Animals.

Go here. Get on a plane, get your dog or cat. Or give, and make it possible for a rescue to pull a dog or cat. Due to overcrowding, Riverside California is euthanizing (already begun) a staggering 1,000 animals.

Who's to blame? We can thank stupid movies that picture dogs that can talk, or celebs that carry around dogs like accessories, sheeple, and those looking to make a quick buck. And let's not forgot people who adopted a dog, bought a dog, and then disposed of them like trash.

Please, act now. Go get your dog or cat. I did it with Mr. Wiggins (from a gassing shelter in Louisiana) and have never regretted it. He's such a light in my life I cannot imagine not being with him.

All breeds and mixes are available.



Share

Great Job, Washoe County, Nevada!

This is via Nathan Winograd, an ardent no-kill advocate. He conducted an interview with a shelter out in Nevada that has seven times the intake as New York City shelters. That is a lot, but it sounds worse than it is. The greatest intake is in places where they are no spay-neuter programs and where backyard breeding is rampant. I happen to know that little Abbeville, Louisiana (a parish of 13,000 people) took in 600 dogs one March alone. That's the place where I got Mr. Wiggins, in March of '10 (that same month). Dogs there have four days till they are gassed in a chamber that is old and barely works. Often they have to be gassed twice. Very sad. (Here's their link, BTW).

But this is a good story, and one that could only be told after lot of hard work and dedication. The shelter that deserves kudos is in Washoe County, Nevada, which includes the Reno area. Mitch Schneider heads up the shelter.

Our success is a result of a willingness to embrace continuous process improvement, which requires not fearing change. That, in turn, requires understanding that you can’t solve the problem with the same thinking that created the problem. You can’t get a different outcome if you keep doing the same thing.

Share

Great Job, Austin Texas!

Remember this story? There's hope (and now accomplishment!) in Austin, Texas.

Abandoned dog adopted from Town Lake Animal Center

Achieving 90% no-kill is doable.  The Town Lake Animal Shelter shows how.

“This is truly an accomplishment and it shows that the hard work of the staff, partners and volunteers is paying off,” said Abigail Smith, chief animal services officer. “Despite the busy season and an influx of kittens and cats, we were able to overcome some serious challenges and continue to lead the nation’s largest cities in live outcomes. It’s a testament to Austin’s commitment to the no-kill goal, and an example of what success looks like when the whole community comes together. We are very grateful that Austin cares about its animals. This is no-kill in action.”

The Animal Center continues to work on the Austin City Council-approved 34-point No-Kill Implementation Plan, which focuses on programs, services and partnerships to reduce animal intake and increase live animal outcomes.

TLAC's rescue partners are a significant contributing factor in reaching the no-kill status, according to Smith. Austin Pets Alive! and the Austin Humane Society, the top two rescue partners, save hundreds of animals from the shelter each month. In June, APA! saved 350 pets and the humane society rescued 90.

The article goes on to mention how fostering has helped. Many times, a dog gets to a shelter and they are stressed and might misbehave. They don't know what's going on, they might have been lost, given up/abandoned, and their world has turned upside down. A foster family gives the dog a sense of security again, which is the main thing they want. They re-learn, or learn for the first time that they are safe, secure, and will be getting regular meals. Dogs are so adaptable and they respond extremely well to a regular routine.   Dogs that have been successfully fostered have a much higher rate of a successful adoption. And it allows the shelter to take in another dog and not have to make room by euthanizing.

It's not as hard as you may think to give up a dog you've fostered, especially when you take the time to get to know his/her new family. It actually gives you a sense of real accomplishment. I say this from experience.

Kudos to Abigail Smith, Town Lake's director, and to the City of Austin, who took very seriously the need for a dedicated, driven, and enthusiastic shelter director, and found the right woman for the job.



Share

NYC Animal Care & Control Kills A Dog Wanted By Rescue

Saving Shelter Pets has the scoop.

I really hope we can keep the pressure up on these people. As a reminder, here are some places you can call to complain:

Julie Bank, Director of NY ACC at jbank@nycacc.org

Mayor Bloomberg:  mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov

Jane Hoffman (Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals) an email at info@animalalliancenyc.org

Share

Incompetence Alleged Against NYC's Animal Care & Control's Executive Director, Julie Bank

I have to say that this story gets worse and worse in New York City. Julie Bank - the Executive Director of Animal Care & Control - has a terrible reputation in the rescue community.  Apparently it's "too painful to go to the shelter."

Oh, really? Well, then, what the hell are you doing in your job, may I ask?

Now they are not only not searching their own shelters for citizen calls about lost dogs, they not only still haven't hired back Emily Tanen, but now they euthanizing the wrong animals.

I'll be running regular updates on these folks. The gloves are off. By the time this many people are calling for your resignation, it's Gospel. Rescue people like good animal shelter directors, because it can always be worse.
Read and see.


Share

Compassion Program in NYC Animal Care and Control (AC&C)... the Yin to the Yang of Emily Tanen Being Fired

These people are hardcore. Take a look. Absolutely admirable. These people go into the "belly of the beast" as far as I'm concerned. But it's not the dogs that are the beasts... it's our national penchant for buying animals when so many die in shelters.

Every night one of nine people show up at the Animal Care and Control center in New York to spend the night, and create a lasting memory for a dog who will be euthanized the following morning. Whether it is a long walk, a special treat, or just time spent cuddling, members of the Compassion Program make it their priority to ensure the dog is happy and loved on his final night.

As a person who never thought she could even walk the dogs at a shelter, and now I (with the help of other volunteers) manage my way through that, this is The Brass Ring -- not only of what needs to be done for shelter dogs but it is truly the hardest thing there is to do. I respect these people so much.

To be clear, NewYork City's Animal Care & Control partners with many non-profits and even spontaneously-started citizen efforts that provide comfort to the system's animals, like the Compassion Program, started four years ago by people who wanted to provide love during an animal's last moments. You can visit the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals to get more info on all the groups and people that partner. It is a truly impressive consortium of organizations working on behalf of the animals in NYC's shelters.

But every good thing has a bad side, right?  Coins have two sides. This week Manhattan Animal Care & Control (AC&C) did something right and they did something wrong.

The Compassion Program and it's fine work does not un-do the recent firing of an animal advocate at NYC's AC&C. Her name is Emily Tanen (from the New Hope Program) and not only did she help partner with local rescue organizations that adopted out the many dogs on the nightly euthanization list at Manhattan's AC&C, but she took beautiful photos of dogs who needed exposure with the public. Those efforts lead to many dogs being adopted. People cannot respond to a dog in need if they don't know she/he exists. I responded to the picture taken of my Mr. Wiggins (from a gassing shelter in Lousiana) and it prompted me to get on a plane to get him. I'll always be grateful to Bonnie E. on Facebook, who "shared" my little guy and pitched for his life to be saved.

Emily Tanen's story has been told by Penny Eims, nationally-known animal advocate and writer of a column for the National Examiner. You might consider writing a note on her behalf. Penny provides the address of NYC's Mayor and various appropriate parties. Many of us are angry Emily Tanen was fired, and are concerned dogs will now not get enough exposure to get adopted. Remember the slide I posted that showed the rate of euthanization going down in NYC? That success will be in jeopardy now.

Here are two graphs from New Hope's own site. These demonstrate the success that can be had when rescue groups and animal shelters are closely connected, and when animal's stories get told.

Please take a moment and protest Emily's firing.

From Penny's article about Emily Tanen:

If you would like to take part in bringing this situation to the attention of officials in the area, please do one or all of the following:

Sign the petition (there are currently 3,930 signatures on it and the goal is 10,000)... please pass this around!

Email Julie Bank, Director of NY ACC at jbank@nycacc.org

Drop Mayor Bloomberg a note at mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov

Send Jane Hoffman (Mayor's Alliance) an email at info@animalalliancenyc.org

Share

Jasper Tennessee Shelter Needs Help... Give a Hand to Paws of Love

Not all shelters are run by municipalities; some are private, and some are run out of people's homes.  This seems like a good idea at the time, and for a lot of reasons (33 in this case) it is, until someone running the place cannot do it anymore. In Jasper Tennessee, a small private shelter gave numerous dogs sanctuary for years. But then one owner died, the property eventually sold, and now the dogs have to be out by the end of May. Most of them have lived their lives at this small private shelter and only know each other. And, it's out by the end of May, or they will be euthanized.

I'm hoping this place gets the great response Miami Dade Animal Shelter received when they had to temporarily close to disinfect the entire shelter. Rescues lined up. My feeling is there is less "rescue-traffic" in Tennessee than in Florida, so I'm a little worried.

They also have mostly older dogs. Not everyone knows how wonderful an older mellow fellow can be! They are no drama, just love.

Janah Moore, a volunteer at the Paws of Love Dog Sanctuary near Jasper, Tenn., said the shelter and its 33 dogs need new homes. Moore said people can find a good pet among the shelter's dogs.

Staff Photo by Ben Benton/Chattanooga Times Free Press

Ben Benton has the story at Times Free Press.

TO HELP THE DOGS

To find out how to help the Paws of Love Dog Sanctuary or to adopt a dog, call 423-942-1056. Shelter officials have waived all adoption fees but reserve the right to do home checks to make sure the dogs are being placed in a safe environment.


Share

Well Done Chippewa County Animal Shelter!

Thank you for this work you have done.

Shelter Manager Holly Henderson said the 2010 numbers were very similar. Of the 966 animals — 523 dogs and 443 cats — brought in last year, only 29 had to be euthanized for very specific reasons. The remaining animals were primarily returned to their owners or adopted out to good homes.

“We have worked very hard to ensure no healthy adoptable animal is euthanized at our shelter,” said Henderson.

This wonderful shelter is in Michigan.

Soo Evening News.com has the story.




Share

Garland, Texas Animal Services

They have some really cute dogs at this gassing facility. Act now and adopt one.

You can go to get your dog. Remember, I flew to New Orleans to get Mr. Wiggins. I cannot imagine life without him.

You can also work with an area rescue to pull a dog you want, and then arrange transport.

Act now. Save a life!



Share

Going in the Right Direction

Animal Care & Control in NYC has a great volume of animals with which it deals. Over the last few years numerous organizations have been instrumental in adopting out more dogs and fortunately the numbers of adoptions vs. euthanizations are going in the right direction.

From the Mayor's Alliance of NYC's Animal's website:

(This group partners with Picasso Veterinary Fund,

who are the ones that hosted the Second Annual Spot Olympics.)

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, Inc., founded in 2002 and powered by Maddie's Fund, The Pet Rescue Foundation, with support from the ASPCA, is a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters that is working with Animal Care & Control of New York City (AC&C) to end the killing of healthy and treatable cats and dogs at AC&C shelters. To achieve that goal, the Alliance, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation, helps its Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs) work to their highest potential to increase pet adoptions and spay/neuter rates, with the goal of transforming New York City into a no-kill community by 2015.

See their results: (sorry for the fuzzy graphic; if you click the pic it will enlarge)

How do Alliance Participating Organizations save all the animals not appearing in the euthanization rates in the above graph?

Each month, the Mayor's Alliance Wheels of Hope for NYC's Homeless Pets transport van program

moves approximately 150 animals out of NYC's Animal Care & Control (AC&C) shelters

 and transports them to other Alliance Participating Organizations (APOs)

— shelters and rescue groups that will find them new homes.

Some trips are short; others are long hauls.

But either way, they carry a price tag

— and that cost is particularly related to the price of fuel.

When fuel prices rise, the cost of these life-saving transports can increase dramatically.

What can you do to help?

The Wheels of Hope for NYC's Homeless Pets fundraising campaign is seeking to raise much-needed funds to keep the wheels turning every day, and help the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals continue to transport as many animals as possible on the next leg of their journeys to permanent loving homes.


Thank you for helping to keep the wheels turning for New York City's Homeless animals!

Give here to keep the wheels of progress turning!

The Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (EIN: 73-1653635). All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. A copy of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals' latest annual report may be obtained, upon request, from the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals or from the New York State Attorney General's Charities Bureau, Attn: FOIL Officer, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

Share

Can it be?!

Hope in Austin Texas

via Cindy Marabito for Examiner.com:

There's a new Shelter Sheriff in town! And she's being officially charged with a 90% "live outcome" goal. That's no small potatoes.

Meet Abigail Smith, Austin's new shelter director ...

(Photo courtesy of City of Austin Communications Office )

How will she do it? She'll help Austin become a no-kill shelter. And she has the experience to do it.

Read all about it.

Congrats, best wishes, and way to go Austin!! I particularly like how the local community set a goal, then searched nationally for the best person for the job. It indicates a level of seriousness not seen in most shelter situations.


Share

Investigation of Chesterfield South Carolina Animal Shelter Continues

Here's another news report.

Seems there are some minor discrepancies with past reports but here's what I think based on watching the
video:

• Chesterfield County left just $14,000 after salaries and benefits to care for dogs at the local shelter.
• They intake 70-90 dogs a month.
• To save money, staff at the Sheriff's Office, who are charged with running the shelter, euthanized the dogs using firearms, which may not be a crime in South Carolina. It is unclear whether the Sheriff, who's information is listed in the previous post, knew ahead of time about this method being used. His office is investigating itself.
• They did not anticipate the outrage that would follow such an act.
• Now the State Attorney General's Office and the State Law Enforcement Division (which may ultimately find that no law was broken) are investigating.

What to do?

Keep pressure up. The news station above made their question of the day ask what should happen to the staff that shot the dogs? Local government offices are being inundated with calls. Here are some more numbers to call, courtesy of Pets Alive Blog (no pun intended).

The town is run by the town council though, so be SURE to cc them as well: cftmclerk@shtc.net and ccgov@shtc.net.

Council members: http://www.chesterfieldcountysc.com/secondary.aspx?pageID=129

Contact the Governor:

Governor Nicky Haley
grassroots@nikkihaley.com

Contact the Attorney General’s office and demand that the sheriff’s own office not be able to investigate themselves and that a higher authority do so.

The Honorable Alan Wilson
P.O. Box 11549
Columbia, S.C. 29211
803-734-3970
http://www.scattorneygeneral.org/ag/contact.html

The Sheriff, in case you want to voice your concern over the unprofessional response to an overpopulation problem.
Phone: 843-623-2101
Fax: 843-623-3534
Email: admin@chesterfieldsheriff.org

Animal Control:

Brian Burch – Supervisor

Joe Campbell – Animal Control Officer

467 Goodale Road

Chesterfield SC 29709
Phone: 843-623-3585
Fax: 843-623-9223

Senator Lindsey Grahm
http://lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.LandingPage

Senator Jim DeMint
Phone: 843-727-4525
Fax: 843-793-6839

Rep. Mick Mulvaney
803-327-1114
FAX: 803-327-4330
Email Address: https://mulvaney.house.gov/Contact/default.aspx
WWW Homepage: http://mulvaney.house.gov/
Twitter: @RepMickMulvaney

Betty Lynn Watson

Municipal Clerk
Town of Chesterfield
843-623-9104
cftmclerk@shtc.net
http://www.chesterfield-sc.com/

And, don't forget the local news stations:

Chesterfield County Newspaper:
Phone: Main Office – (843) 537-5261
Fax: (843) 537-4518
email- cherawnews@thecherawchronicle.com

WRIC- local news network
804-330-8000


What may come out of this, like many tragedies that need something bad to happen to galvanize people, is that legislators and local citizens will put their heads together to find funding or raise it, deal with the problem of poor spay/neuter programs- which lead to overpopulation, cracking down on puppymills- which breed misery, and encouraging adoption- which is the best answer possible. Here are the local rescues in the area, who likely have been screaming about these things for some time, and who have stepped up in the wake of this tragedy which did not have to happen.

In the meantime, please give a few calls today to encourage South Carolina to act like it lives in the 21st Century.

Is that bitchy?


Share

Another Shelter Ends Gassing

If you read this blog even semi regularly, you know I am on a tear about gassing.

But here is welcome news reported by Pawsitively Texas.com, a group I know from Facebook that does a lot of dog rescue. Congratulations (and thank you!) goes out to SEAGOVILLE Animal Shelter, for doing the right thing and banning this barbaric practice.

Turns out they work with a group called CRASH, Citizens for Reform of the Animal Shelter, and they report that only one shelter in Texas with a population over 35,000 people, Garland, still gasses to euthanize.

Gassing in neither quick, nor painless, nor humane.



Share

Well Done!

Anytime a kill-shelter has a 96% rate of adoption in a month, it's worth noticing!

Williamson County, TX - The Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter ended the month with a 96% lifesaving rate! Last month, they took in over 500 animals and only had to euthanize 19. WCRAS, in conjunction with the other regional shelters and the local Humane Society are trying to make Williamson County a No Kill community, where only animals that are sick and suffering, or dangerous animals that cannot be rehabilitated, are euthanized.

Now, I do not know how they categorized "dangerous" and there are places where "sick" and "suffering" can find homes, be cared for, and cured, but this is still worth noticing, if only because a shelter in a state that euthanizes a lot of dogs is thinking "no-kill."

Read on to see what they say works ("Community," which means many things, including fostering and spay/neutering). They offer examples on what works, and it's worth reading.

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Texas shelter ends month with 96% save rate - National dog rescue
Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/dog-rescue-in-national/texas-shelter-ends-month-with-96-save-rate#ixzz1DczpTyC0
 
Share

Welcome News in Kentucky

This is nice.

"Crisis averted at the Rockcastle County Animal Shelter."

Way to go Kentucky!

Share