No More Homeless Pets
Weekly News

July 18, 2004
From super adoptions to revolutionary changes in animal control, each week we bring you news of successes large and small in the campaign to bring about a time when there will be No More Homeless Pets.

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The city's venerable Anti-Cruelty Society plans a major policy change. "The status quo needs to change," says Gene Mueller, president of the Anti-Cruelty Society. We need to work together to make the system work to save more lives." Special Report

It all started when a stray kitten was born under the living quarters of the U.S. Army 3rd Brigade Combat Team, stationed in Balad, Iraq. At that point, the homeless kitten had neither rank nor name, and few prospects for a happy future. Special Report

It is a sight guaranteed to put a knot in the pit of your stomach - a bored, lonely dog chained to a doghouse, far from his people. For Tammy Grimes of State College, Pennsylvania, that sick feeling has served as a call to arms. Special Report


Animal Balance, a new animal sterilization organization, spent several weeks in April and May spaying and neutering cats and dogs on the Galapagos Islands. On one island alone, a large crew sterilized 240 dogs and 81 cats - about 70 percent of the animal population, and the magic number for gaining control of animal overpopulation. Read the story in the Alameda Times Star.

AnimalKind, a non-profit, all-volunteer organization based in North Carolina, is sponsoring "The $20 Fix" to help low-income families spay and neuter their pets. Read more from project co-sponsor News 14 Carolina.


The Sheboygan County Humane Society pulled out all the stops recently in an attempt to relieve severe cat overcrowding, contacting the media for emergency help, mobilizing volunteers, and advertising an adoption discount. Before the adoption drive the shelter housed approximately 200 cats, about twice its capacity, but within a week that number was down to a more manageable 131. Find out more about how they did it in The Sheboygan Press.

Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio amazed the nation with his 56-game hitting streak. But now the Tompkins County SPCA is seeking to dethrone the Yankee Clipper with its own record, aiming for 57 straight days of adoptions at its new Pet Adoption Center. How are they doing? Check it out at www.SPCAonline.com.

Peninsula Humane Society Vice-President Scott Delucchi has fun with his weekly pet ads, and has found that silliness and sarcasm can work wonders. All but one of the pets he has featured in the past nine months have been adopted, including "Mandy" the tabby, who complained in her ad: "If I hear one more visitor singing that Barry Manilow song, I may hack up a fur ball on the spot." Read more about Delucchi's magic touch in the San Jose Mercury-News. (Content is free, but registration required.)


A small clinic in North Seattle has passed a big landmark, recently performing the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project's 10,000th feral cat sterilization in seven years. A (former) tomcat named "Slinky" was the proud recipient of this momentous fix. For more about this project and an excellent Q&A on feral cats, visit KING 5 news. (Content is free, but registration required.)

A cat rescue group in England has found a new way to "market" feral cats who have been spayed or neutered, but who are not welcome back to their old hunting grounds in the city. Cats Protection is marketing the cats as "experienced mousers," and trying to find them "work" in rural areas. But there is one condition: Employers must be willing to provide their feline workers with food, water, comfortable shelter, and veterinary care. Read more in Leeds Today.

Alley Cat Allies is looking for nominations by Aug. 16 for its 2004 "Friends in the Field" awards, honoring special contributions to help stray and feral cats. The organization will grant scholarships to one veterinary student and one veterinary technician student, and will recognize the 2003 contributions of an outstanding organization, public agency, veterinarian, and activist. The group is also accepting submissions for its "Feral Foto Contest."

In honor of National Feral Cat Day on Oct. 16, New York City-based Neighborhood Cats will present the National Feral Cat Summit, in partnership with In Defense of Animals and the ASPCA. The event is co-sponsored by the Mayor's Alliance for New York City's Animals and features a variety of workshops and speakers.


The organizers of "Dog Day 2004" in Whately, Massachusetts, have amassed about 300-400 pounds of dog fur - on purpose! About the size of a minivan, the fountain of fur will be sculpted into the artistic centerpiece of the Pioneer Valley Humane Society's July 18 fundraising event, which will also feature a "paw-reading," a "Parade of Pugs" and, of course, the sale of souvenir mini-fur balls. Read more in The Republican.

Following the fine protest tradition of their hometown, masses of dogs in Berkeley, California, will participate in a sit (and stay) -in, during the seventh annual "Bay to Barkers" festival July 18. Last year, 87 dogs "stayed" for two minutes, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records. Event organizers hope to do even better this year, and to attract up to 500 people and 300 dogs to the festival, which will benefit the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society. Find out more about the festival in the Alameda Times-Star.

Eighty works of art created by students in pre-school through high school will hit the auction block in Elmore, Ohio, on July 25, with the benefits to be split between the Humane Society of Ottawa County and the students' schools. The 2004 Art of the Animals program is co-sponsored by area libraries, and will culminate in a garden auction featuring food, classical music, and wine tasting. Read more about this event in the Port Clinton News Herald.

Third and fourth graders from the First Presbyterian Church in Fayetteville, Tennessee, held their 5th annual "birthday" party in May - for a shelter cat named Gracey. Several feline friends attended the party, and human guests took birthday gifts of cat litter, collecting 265 pounds of litter to donate to the local shelter. Read more about this unique fundraiser in The Elk Valley Times.

An annual rummage sale in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, has morphed into a permanent thrift shop where animal lovers can shop, tell stories about their pets, and benefit the Humane Society of Lebanon County. Now a year old, the shop sells clothing, books, collectibles, and houseware items, and has helped to raise thousands of dollars for the shelter. Learn more in the Lebanon Daily News.

The bonds between country music artists and their pets are the subject of a new book, Music Row Dogs and Nashville Cats: Country Stars and Their Pets. The book features photographs and stories from nearly 100 artists, including Vince Gill, Trisha Yearwood, and Wynonna, who talk about the special relationships they have had with pets ranging from cats and dogs to horses and hedgehogs. Part of the book's proceeds will go to benefit Nashville-area shelters. Find out more about these famous pets in the Nashville City Paper.

El Paso, Texas, is hosting its first annual Calendar Paws Pet Contest, developed by local photographer Rene Rodela. A competition - with costumes "encouraged" - is being held to select pets for the 12 coveted spots in the calendar, and the proceeds will go to local shelter partner Pets Alive and the El Paso Health Department's Pet Care-A-Van mobile spay/neuter clinic. Read more in the El Paso Times.


The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved an amendment that would allocate an additional $1.2 million to the Department of Agriculture to enforce laws against dog-fighting and cock-fighting. Federal law already prohibits trafficking of animals for fighting, dog-fighting is banned in all 50 states, and cock-fighting is banned in 48 states - but these provisions often aren't effectively enforced. Sponsored by Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), this bill would provide money for a crackdown on animal fighting rings.

Trevor Pierce, a student in Connecticut, used a sixth-grade school project to raise awareness about the plight of abandoned animals, with impressive results. Trevor designed and sold T-shirts to benefit the Connecticut Humane Society and the North Shore Animal League, volunteered at a vet clinic, and successfully campaigned for a statewide proclamation declaring Aug. 16 to be Connecticut's Abandoned Animal Awareness Day. (We sure hope he got an "A"!) Learn more about Trevor's project in the Farmington Valley Post.

The Barstow Humane Society is using a new grant to offer free care and boarding for the pets of seniors who are hospitalized. The California-based humane society has previously provided care for the pets of car accident and fire victims, taking in 40-50 animals from the Big Bear fire last year. Read more about this program in the Desert Dispatch.

About 350 people attended a Memphis, Tennessee, meeting to discuss how to prevent and address cruelty to animals, in a program hosted by the Memphis Area Coalition for Animal Welfare.


The English parliament is considering the biggest crackdown on animal cruelty in nearly a century. A draft of the new Animal Welfare Bill would give more power to cruelty inspectors, ban the practice of giving animals as fair prizes, prohibit children from buying pets, and outlaw the docking of dogs' tails for cosmetic reasons - and may even stop the use of animals in circuses. (Let's hope the U.S. Congress is paying attention!) Read more from the BBC.

It has become almost a tradition in Italy for owners to abandon their cats and dogs on the way to their summer vacations - some 150,000 dogs and 200,000 cats are dumped every year. But the Italian parliament is finally getting tough with these irresponsible pet owners, giving final approval recently to an animal cruelty bill that would impose one-year prison terms and fines of up to $12,350 for those convicted of abandoning their pets. Read more at Boston.com.

Maryland-based Animal Advocates is attempting to aid a U.S. citizen who has taken in dozens of stray cats during her stay in Saudi Arabia, and is worried about what will happen to her furry friends when she leaves the country. The threat of an imminent departure has Diane Peterson scrambling for homes for 14 of her charges, who are all spayed or neutered, and tame to varying degrees. Peterson is paying all of the expenses for the cats, including airfare back to the states - now all they need are good homes. Read more.