No More Homeless Pets
Weekly News

August 8, 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.

TOP STORIES:

An unprecedented collaboration between the Navajo Nation, Best Friends, and local rescue groups saved the lives of dozens of dogs and cats. Special Report

Spay/Neuter News

• Bowling Green citizens may pay for not altering pets
• Group makes it cooler to neuter in Texas
• Auction held to benefit Ohio shelter clinic
• Florida Spay/Neuter Day fixes 280 pets

Adoption News

• Overcrowded shelter adopts 185 in one night

Feral Cat News

• "Frozen" feral gets new chance at life
• Groups fight for lives of Puerto Rican street cats

Fabulous Fundraisers

• Shelter thrift stores bring in big bucks in Florida
• Ceramic dogs go to work for Minnesota shelter

Community Campaigns

• Texas city passes ban on chaining dogs
• Arizona kids help homeless pets at Camp Ruffin' It
• California girls run school food drive for shelter cats

International News

• Australian vet clinic places 1,200 homeless cats

SPAY/NEUTER NEWS

Bowling Green, Kentucky - The Bowling Green city commission is considering an ordinance that would require a $500-per-year kennel license for anyone who has two or more unaltered pets. The ordinance would also greatly increase single license fees for unaltered pets, require a kennel license for anyone who has more than six dogs and/or cats, and establish strict guidelines for animals kept on chains. Read more about this proposed law in the Bowling Green Daily News.

Austin, Texas - DogBoy's Dog Ranch, an Austin-area kennel that only accepts canine clients who have been spayed or neutered, has formed the Spay-Neuter Incentive Program (SNIP), with the cooperation of 50 businesses and 15 nonprofits. SNIP business members offer incentives such as discounts, free toys and extra services to customers who have spayed or neutered pets. The Dog Ranch will be celebrating the program's success with SNIP Fest 2004 on Aug. 21, featuring food and music from Austin band Vallejo. Read more about SNIP on the Business Wire.

Zanesville, Ohio - The Animal Shelter Society, Inc., is holding an auction at Zane State College to raise money to help pay for the surgery room built at its shelter last year. With a price tag of $72,500, the room has been used to spay or neuter 20 to 30 animals a day, many of them from shelters around the region. Organizers hope that the auction, which netted $26,000 last year, will help pay for the project within three years. Read more in the Zanesville Times Recorder.

Collier County, Florida - About 280 dogs and cats were sterilized Aug. 2 on the first annual Spay/Neuter Day, an event organized by Collier County's Domestic Animal Services. www.colliergov.com/animalcontrol Eighteen veterinarians throughout the region participated in the day by performing spay/neuter surgeries at reduced cost. Find out more in the Naples Daily News.

ADOPTION NEWS

Omaha, Nebraska - The Nebraska Humane Society asked for help this week and got an overwhelming response from the community - resulting in 185 adoptions in one night and donations of truckloads of supplies. After taking in 250 neglected and abused animals from an Omaha pet store, the shelter found itself severely overcrowded and issued a plea to the community, along with a "half-price" special on adoptions and extended hours. Find out more about how they did it on The Omaha Channel.

FERAL CAT NEWS

Brooklyn, Ohio - "Tom Brooklyn," the feral cat who was found alive in a freezer after a failed attempt at euthanization by city animal control, has become a national celebrity and the poster child of trap/neuter/return. More importantly to Tom, he also has a new chance at life, and is currently in foster care with Gary Barnby, the president of the World Animal Foundation. Read more about Tom, and the plight of feral cats, on Tom's personal website.

San Juan, Puerto Rico - Feral cat advocates campaigning against the U.S. National Park Service's plans to trap and euthanize an estimated 200 street cats in Puerto Rico have won a temporary victory, as the park service has agreed to a four-month moratorium before they begin trapping. The cat advocacy groups, including Save a Gato ("gato" means "cat" in Spanish), are urging the park service to instead implement a plan to trap, neuter and return the cats, who have become cultural icons in Old San Juan. Learn more about the controversy in the San Jose Mercury News.

FABULOUS FUNDRAISERS

Pennington County, Minnesota - Seven ceramic terriers are going to work to raise money for the Pennington County Humane Society. Participating groups are decorating the dogs, and residents will pay $1 to vote for their favorite before the ceramic canines are sold via auction. Find the story in the Thief River Falls Times.

Sebastian, Florida - The Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County plans to open a new thrift store in Sebastian this month, and is asking for volunteers to help. The store would be the second one to benefit the humane society - a larger store in Vero Beach generates about $450,000 a year in operating revenue, and has more than 50 regular volunteers who work as cashiers, clerks, sales assistants, stockers, and sorters. To learn more, and find out how to volunteer, read the Sebastian Sun. (The content is free, but registration is required.)

COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS

Big Spring, Texas - Big Spring residents have 90 days to get their dogs off of chains, after the city council unanimously approved an ordinance banning the chaining and tethering of dogs within the city limits. Officials warn that the ordinance will be strictly enforced, with fines of up to $500 a day for violators, but residents have until Nov. 1 to come into compliance by constructing appropriate enclosures and shelters for their dogs. Read more about this progressive move in the Big Spring Herald.

Phoenix, Arizona - Kids are learning about animals through hands-on experience at Camp Ruffin' It, a summer camp run by the Arizona Animal Welfare League. Now in its third year, the program for 10- to-12-year-olds teaches students about responsible animal care, while the kids also plunge in and help take care of the shelter's 200 cats and 100 dogs. Read more in the Arizona Republic.

Escondido, California - Two 11-year-old girls answered the call for help when they heard that the cats of the Escondido Humane Society needed food. Kaeli Plaks and Sarah Attar held a cat food drive at their school, complete with posters, food boxes, and speeches in front of other students - and collected more than 160 cans and bags of food, as well as kitty litter and nursing bottles. Learn more in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Australia - Australia's new Cat Adoption Centre Program successfully uses veterinary clinics to house and find loving homes for displaced cats. The most successful vet clinic in the program has been Hume Animal Hospital, which has found homes for 1,200 cats since October 1999. In addition to finding loving homes with the help of Catmatch, the program uses the clinics to guarantee that all of the adoptable cats have been altered, vaccinated, and fully checked by a veterinarian. Read more about the program's success in The Border Mail.