Adopt A Dallas Pet

On April 28th the Quality of Life Committee voted unanimously in favor of sending the new Dallas animal related ordinances to the full City Council in June.

One of the proposals causing the most controversy centers around mandatory spay/neuter legislation (you can read the entire ordinance on the Ordinance Summary page of this website). Even though this plan contains numerous exemptions, it has become the center of a very vigorous debate. Simply stated, the proposal will require owners to spay or neuter their pets (dogs, cats) unless they pay a yearly breeder fee.

Opponents argue that this interferes with their "rights" as pet owners. What they leave out of the discussion is that last year Dallas Animal Services euthanized almost 30,000 animals. The number rises to nearly 200,000 when you look at totals for shelters city wide. 25% of the animals euthanized each year are purebred.

The bottom line: this ordinance is not about "rights", it's about life and death. Every three minutes a dog or cat is killed in Dallas. It is cruel to bring one more litter, even a purebred litter, into the world as long as we are killing so many healthy animals on a daily basis.

Please help show your support for responsible pet ownership by signing this petition in favor of the new mandatory spay/neuter ordinance.

The animals of Dallas thank you!

Please go to http://www.spayandneuterdallas.com/ and help show your support by signing our on-line petition.

Every signature counts so please forward this email, or send a personal note, to everyone you know who is also in favor of passing the mandatory spay and neuter ordinance.

Thanks so much for your time!

Laura Beikman
petition@spayandneuterdallas.com
www.spayandneuterdallas.com

WARNING: DISTBURBING CONTENT. PLEASE READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

BISBEE — City police are investigating an early Wednesday morning incident that the responding officer called “very cruel.”

Police Officer C.V. Austin went to Greenway School in Bisbee’s Warren District and was told a puppy had been found hanging from the flagpole by Christmas tree lights and a racial slur had been scraped across the doorway of the first-grade wing.

Police received the incident call at 2:01 p.m., five or six hours after the puppy had been found by state corrections trusties who were working on the grounds, Austin said.

“It was a white and brown puppy,” he said in describing the animal.

No one affiliated with Greenway  School,  which is closed for holiday break, called the police, Austin said. A guard who transports the state Department of Corrections inmates on a work crew to and from work projects called when he arrived to pick them up and they told him of the grisly discovery.

The inmates found the puppy alive, but it died after being brought down, according to the police report. They placed the puppy’s body next to a trash bin. 
 
The officer did see the racial slur but is not sure the misspelled graffiti and the hanging puppy were done by the same person.

Sgt. Teron Maddux, spokesman for the Bisbee Police Department, said the incident was under investigation, but he added there was a person who stood out in his mind as a suspect.

“We do have a lead that we are pursuing,” Maddux said. “There is a problem with that five- or six-hour delay in contacting us and the removal of the puppy before police arrived.”


To READ THIS FULL POST, PLEASE VISIT THE DAILY DISPATCH SITE AT: http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2007/12/29/new
s/doc4776a639a5a4b952663683.txt

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS DISTURBING CONTENT. PLEASE VIEW AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.

(Note from AADP: One day a man posted a comment on this blog that he would never submit to a home check from a group who had a dog for adoption. (As most groups do check out where a person lives when adopting a dog or cat.) I just want to say that this story is precisely why we do scrutinize people -- to make sure that the animals we care so much about do not end up in the hands of people like this.)

Man held in deaths of 7 dogs
By Susan Schrock and Cynthia Neff
Star-Telegram Staff Writhers

ARLINGTON - It wasn't unusual for residents to hear or see a pack of pit bulls roaming the yard of the small brick home in east Arlington.

But after the dogs' owner moved out, a man living next door noticed a bad smell coming from the Timberview Lane property and called the city.

"I looked over the fence and saw a dead dog," said the next-door neighbor Fernando West, who added that he hadn't seen the dogs'owner since October. "It looked like it had been there a week or so."

West called 911 on Dec. 8, and Arlington police and animal services officers discovered a sickening scene at 719 E. Timberview Lane. At least seven pit bulls -- including three puppies -- were dead in the backyard, said Alan Pierce, Animal Services field operations supervisor. Two adult dogs' bodies were still chained up. A dog's skull and a bag containing another dog's skeleton were found at the property, Pierce said.

TO READ THIS FULL ARTICLE, PLEASE VISIT THE FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM'S WEBSITE AT: http://www.star-telegram.com/389/story/370350.html

On September 11, 2006, I rescued a dog that was dying at the end of a chain in a muddy yard in a small Pennsylvania town. I was subsequently arrested. A little over a year later, on December 15, 2007, I was convicted of theft and receiving stolen property.

The last year has been the most traumatic and the most inspirational of my life. I have been labeled a "terrorist" a "vigilante", a "publicity hound" and an "anarchist." I have been called a hero. I have been humbled by encouragement and well wishes from people all over the world. I have been attacked in person and in print in my small town, where the prevailing view is that it is fine and dandy to tie a dog to a tree or a dog house and leave it to pace back and forth for year after agonizing year, in skull-cracking cold or 100-degree weather, with nothing but parasites for company. 

I don't regret what I did. Not for one second. And when it comes to rescuing dogs and changing minds and laws, I'm just getting started. Here's why.

The dog at the center of all this, a dog we would eventually name Doogie, had been lying in the mud and rain for three days, chained to the dog house he had been attached to for years. He was unable to stand and was pawing the air in desperation. His owners chose to go four-wheeling and to work on Monday instead of getting him the vet help he needed and deserved, but most importantly was entitled to by law. A distraught neighbor had called animal control repeatedly over the course of the three days. But as so often happens, no "humane" officer called back. No one ever showed up. (Surprised? Trust me, it happens all the time, and not just in my town.) The frantic neighbor eventually reached out to me and to Dogs Deserve Better.

What I did next set in motion a chain of events that would eventually garner national attention, the wrath of some, the support of others, and an agonizing trial during which I had to listen to lies and mischaracterizations for three days: I removed that dog's chain and I took him to the veterinarian. It was all very clear to me as I lifted the emaciated, wet dog into my van. I had been in animal rescue long enough to know that I would probably be labeled the villain while the dog's caretakers wouldn't even be questioned for leaving a suffering dog on the ground for three days, not to mention all the years they tied him to a shabby box in the yard; letting his toenails to grow so long they were curling back toward his pads, denying him vet care when he most needed it.

But I also knew that what I was doing was morally correct. It was the compassionate thing to do. It was the only thing I could do. Time was of the essence. A dog was suffering. I felt he was dying.

In court, it became increasingly clear that our 'humane officer' left me "holding the bag," in this case little more than a bag of bones. He had been offered the dog by me as part of what should have been a cruelty case against the caretakers 2 times on September 11th, but ignored me both times. On the witness stand the officer, in an attempt to cover his own hide, stated he told me and the vet assistants not to remove Doogie from the vets. This is absolutely untrue, and if he had done so I would not have been put in the position of choosing between Doogie's skin and my own.

So, now I'm guilty. Ah yes, guilty of caring about a dog that had been left to die. Guilty of putting myself and my reputation on the line because I can't stand to see suffering. Yes, call me guilty.

At Dogs Deserve Better, we see dogs in horrific situations every day. Sometimes these sad animals are neurotic or aggressive from years at the end of a chain. Sometimes, they are half-starved or have collars embedded in their necks. Sometimes they are dead. So, why go out on a limb for one old dog? Why take a moral stand in this one instance? Why challenge a law, when Dogs Deserve Better has stuck to the letter of the law in almost 1,000 rescues to date?

The answer is simple: because it was the right thing to do. Because our laws regarding personal property and animal welfare are contradictory and archaic. Because Michael Vick can't kill his dogs, but the Arnolds can. Because, at the end of the day, I knew I simply couldn't live with myself if I walked away from that dog and left him to suffer there in the mud. 

Doogie blossomed after we got him medical care and showed him a warm bed and a little love.  He not only walked again, but actually ambled around with a spring in his step. Imagine. A dog that for many years could not take more than a few steps before being yanked back by a chain, was trotting around a yard and enjoying soft hands and a warm home!

I have no illusions about my life's work. I know some people will never get it. I know some people think "it is just a dog." I know some people consider me the representation of all that is evil because I have compassion for animals and because in one isolated incident, where the clock was ticking and life was ebbing, I took someone's "property" -- property that the owners had for all intents and purposes abandoned on the ground like a used-up piece of junk. But I don't care what my detractors think because I now know that I have more support, more friends, more allies, than I ever dreamed possible.

The support I have received during the last year has made me stronger in my convictions and more steadfast in my work. I know that the vast majority of reasonable, educated, compassionate people believe that it is barbaric beyond imagining to chain a dog for its life. I know that anti-tethering laws will continue to be passed in states, cities and counties across this country. ("No-brainers" a recent news article called these laws.)  And I'm going to work harder than ever to make sure that happens.

Five years ago, when I started Dogs Deserve Better, people laughed in my face when I talked about laws against chaining. Today, three states have passed laws that severely limit the practice, as have hundreds of cities and counties, some banning chaining altogether. I know that I will see the day when our society sees tying a dog to a doghouse for 15 years as abhorrent as eating a dog.

Oh yes, make no mistake: times change and morality and compassion eventually triumph over ignorance and stupid, blind habit. Slavery ended. Women got the right to vote. Wife beating is no longer accepted. You don't see a lot of kids working in mines or sweat shops anymore. Even dog fighting was made a crime. 

I can't help but think about Rosa Parks. We can be sure she never regretted refusing to budge from that Montgomery bus seat. And though I may never be as brave as she was, I'll never regret taking a half-dead dog from someone's yard.

In memory of Doogie. May he rest in peace.-Tammy Grimes, December 17, 2007.

MICROCHIP CLINIC FOR DOGS AND CATS

Saturday November 10, 2007
9:00am-2:00pm
Hurst Animal Services
891 Cannon Dr.
Hurst,Tx

$20 per pet, includes enrollment

HART is proud to offer the HomeAgain Microchip. It is a safe, permanent, and unalterable method of identification that helps reunite you and your lost or stolen pet.Top Five Reasons to Microchip

1.) 10 million pets are lost or stolen each year!

2.) More than half of all impounded animals arrive at shelters without a collar!

3.) Collars can be lost and tattoos can fade or be altered, but Home Again is permanent and tamper-resistant.

4.) A Home Again Microchip together with a one-time enrollment fee, and your animal is protected for life. Updating your information in the database is easy and free!

5.) It is the best way to protect your pet should they become lost or stolen.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Bonnie Hill
Kaufman County Animal Awareness Project
972-472-3500

KCAAP OFFERS TWO-FUR-ONE STERILIZATION SPECIAL

CRANDALL, Texas, October 31, 2007-- Thanks to several generous gifts from several private foundations, Kaufman County Animal Awareness Project (KCAAP) will provide a TWO-FUR-ONE special on dog and cat surgeries during the holiday season.

Puppies and kittens can mature as early as 5 months and deliver their first litter at six - eights months of age. More than 50% of the litters delivered to shelters and killed, are first time litters that new owners were not expecting. Our shelters are over whelmed with puppies and kittens each spring and 95% of them do not make it out alive.

Throughout the months of November and December, any two cats, male or female, will be spayed or neutered for $25 and any two dogs, male or female will be spayed or neutered for $45. This cost includes a rabies vaccination, a flea pill and an e-collar for all male dogs. This program is limited and is offered on a first come first service basis. Surgeries will be available Monday – Friday; you must call to schedule an appointment.

Residents from anywhere in the northeast Texas area can take advantage of the programs thanks to their shuttle service. The KCAAP Critter Cruiser picks up pets in Waxahachie, Mesquite, Garland, Canton, Winnsboro, Mineola, and Corsicana. There is a $3 transport fee that is not covered on this grant.

Because Texas law requires current rabies vaccination, if proof cannot be provided at the time of surgery, the animals will be vaccinated.

The program also provides complete vaccinations, Felv/FIV and heartworm testing, microchips and flea preventive at reduced rates.

We are sorry but this grant can not be used for rescue groups, animals up for adoption or those that will be relocated to new homes.

KCAAP is a non-profit, 501 (c) 3 volunteer organization that has provided low-cost pet sterilization surgeries and vaccinations, as well as free surgeries for the pets of disadvantaged Texas residents, for almost 3 years, performing more than 11,000 surgeries.

KCAAP's low cost spay/neuter regional clinic is located at the corner of US Hwy 175 and FM 148 in Crandall. For more information, to schedule surgery, or to become a volunteer, call 972 472-3500.