No More Homeless Pets
Weekly News

August 15, 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.

• Spay/Neuter News
• Adoption News
• Feral Cat News
• Fabulous Fundraisers
• Community Campaigns
• International News

SPAY/NEUTER NEWS

Maine - Maine has now become the third state to offer a statewide spay and neuter program, financed by an increase in dog license fees and contributions from Maine residents on their income tax forms. With 68 participating veterinarians and $100,000 in start-up funds, the initiative will sterilize the pets of people on public assistance for a minimal fee - $10 for cats and $20 for dogs. The state Department of Agriculture program was developed in conjunction with Spay Maine, a consortium of shelters and rescues, and the help of high-profile backers such as M*A*S*H star Loretta Swit. Find our more about the program by calling the "Help Fix ME" toll-free number, (800) 367-1317, or reading the article in the Kennebec Journal.

Baltimore, Maryland - The Maryland SPCA's "Neuter Scooter" mobile spay/neuter van has sterilized its 10,000th pet - a three-month-old cat named Snowy. The van travels through several Baltimore neighborhoods four days a week offering free sterilization services, and has logged nearly 8,000 miles over four years. Read more in the Baltimore Sun. (Content free, but registration required.)

Albuquerque, New Mexico - The Hooters restaurant in Albuquerque is hosting a weekend of free spaying and neutering, in conjunction with the New Mexico No More Homeless Pets Coalition and the Spay Neuter Assistance Program. First launched in Utah, the "Hooters for Neuters" campaign uses the slogan that "Real men neuter their best friends." New Mexico organizers say they hope the event will attract "young men with big macho dogs." Learn more about the program in the Albuquerque Tribune.

Three Oaks, Michigan - Two homemakers and a childcare provider have teamed up to begin a new organization, Animal Lovers Inc., to promote spaying and neutering in their hometown. Kathy Beldorth took out a classified ad looking for like-minded people to join with her to fight pet overpopulation, and received responses from Irene Vavra Sinner and Eve Moore. The trio plans to solicit funds from the community to pay for free and reduced-cost pet sterilizations. Read more about their efforts in The Herald Palladium or call the group at (269) 756-9271.

Learn more about how to start your own local spay/neuter program here.

ADOPTION NEWS

Detroit, Michigan - The third annual Pet-A-Palooza met with great success last week, finding homes for 346 animals. Almost every major animal shelter in southeast Michigan attended the event, bringing hundreds of adoptable animals. Notably absent was the Detroit city pound, one of the largest animal shelters in the state, which refused to participate because it would require too much employee overtime. Find out more about the event in the Detroit Free Press, our see our gallery of pictures here.

Rutland, Massachusetts - A partnership between a local rescue and a school for troubled kids has yielded great results for local homeless animals, placing 200 of them in the last two years. The adoptions have come as a result of the work of the Sweetpea Friends of Rutland Animals and the Devereux School, which treats adolescents with emotional, behavioral, intellectual or neurological impairments. The school takes in overflow shelter animals, who are then cared for by the students until they find homes. Read more about how this program has helped both kids and pets in the Rutland News.

Oakland, California - Bay-area shelters and rescues will host a marathon 36-hour adoption event later this month, to be held at the Oakland SPCA and the Tri-Valley SPCA in Dublin. At least eleven groups are expected to participate in the event, which will last from Friday, August 27th at 8 a.m. through Saturday, August 28th at 8 p.m. For more information, call (925) 479-9670 or (510)569-0702.

Black Mountain, North Carolina - A shelter mutt rescued just before euthanasia and a dog left to starve after his person died are the first two graduates of the New Leash On Life pilot program at the Black Mountain Women's Correction Center. Sponsored by the Mimi Page Foundation, the program puts troubled dogs in the hands of inmates who train them to be good companions, and is credited with boosting the spirits of both the canines and the inmates. Learn more in the Black Mountain News.

FERAL CAT NEWS

A new report by two prominent scientists indicates that despite claims made by many wildlife organizations, cat predation is not having any significant effect on bird populations. Commissioned by the Defenders of Wildlife, the report found that although millions of birds die every year from such causes as crashing into windows, cats, West Nile virus and wind turbines, all those factors combined are not having a measurable effect on the population size of any continental bird species. The real culprit? Destruction of the birds' tropical winter habitat through deforestation in Central and South America. Read more about these findings from the Defenders of Wildlife.

Pacoima, California - The Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division has introduced its "Fe-9" corps, a colony of feral cats recruited to defend the police station and surrounding area against rats and other pests which have been eating their way through the police filing room. The project is part of a campaign by Venice Animal Allies, a rescue group that previously installed managed feral colonies in the LAPD's Wilshire Division and around the downtown Flower Mart, and is working to enlist Fe-9's for all of the city's 18 police stations. Find the story in the Los Angeles Daily News.

Oneonta, New York - The cat population at Messina's Trailer Park is becoming more manageable, thanks to the work of local veterinarian Dr. Joan Puritz and the Susquehanna SPCA. In less than a week, Puritz spayed or neutered about 70 cats in the trailer park, and gave them all rabies vaccinations. Most cats were released back into the trailer park, although the SPCA took some to put up for adoption. Learn more about this project in The Daily Star.

FABULOUS FUNDRAISERS

Knox County, Maine - Art by prominent local and national artists will be auctioned off to benefit the Humane Society of Knox County at its annual Art for the Animals Silent Auction. Items for sale range in value from $10 to $2,000, and include paintings, wood carvings, posters, jewelry, pottery, books and restaurant gift certificates. Last year the event netted $20,000 for the humane society, and this year organizers hope to bring in over $25,000. Read more in the Belfast Village Soup.

Wetumpka, Alabama - The Elmore County Humane Society is hosting a student art auction as part of Wetumpka's Riverfest celebration. The auction will feature animal paintings by student artists from Art Quest in Montgomery, and is aimed at helping the society raise an additional $100,000 in operating expenses. Read about the auction in the Montgomery Advertiser.

Salem, Oregon - Downtown Salem's First Wednesday celebration will feature the "Dog Days of Summer" this August, with several dog-oriented events such as free dog caricatures and a performance by local music group "Lucky Dogs." Highlighting the event will be the annual Downtown Dawg Parade, to benefit the Humane Society of the Willamette Valley, and a Doggie Dress-up Contest. Read more in the Statesman Journal.

COMMUNITY CAMPAIGNS

Utah: It's a new partnership between Best Friends, working through No More Homeless Pets in Utah, and the Utah County Animal Shelter.

The shelter will provide Best Friends kennel and cage space within its shelter, and Best Friends will fill the space with dogs and cats who would otherwise have been put down. Each weekend, those dogs and cats will be taken to an adoption venue such as a PETsMART, shopping mall, or Furburbia pet adoption center. Animals in the program will be cared for as long as it takes to find them a loving new family.

St. Louis, Missouri - St. Louis, Missouri has joined a growing trend by changing the language of its laws to reflect that people are "guardians" of their animal companions, rather than just "owners." St. Louis joins twelve American cities, one county, and one state in this change, which is championed by California-based In Defense of Animals. Locally, the effort was spearheaded by Stray Rescue of St. Louis and its Spokesdog Quentin, the dog who survived a trip to the city's gas chamber one year ago. Stray Rescue has also raised more than $18,000 to help encourage local animal control to make the switch from the gas chamber to lethal injection.

Columbus, Georgia - Amid much controversy, the Columbus city council recently approved a modest anti-cruelty law, requiring that dogs riding in the back of pickup trucks be tethered to keep them from falling out, that animals left outdoors at least eight hours a day have shelter, that animals cannot be left inside cars if it is 85 degrees or warmer, and that if a dog is chained, the chain or rope must be at least 12 feet long. Two council members voted against the provision, citing opposition to the truck tethering requirement, and a belief that "we're rushing into this." Read more about this new law in the Ledger-Enquirer.

Monterey County, California - The SPCA of Monterey County is playing on locals' love for their pets by starting a Web listing of pet-friendly operations in the area, including lodgings, restaurants, and property rentals. Many local businesses are already pet-friendly, including the Del Monte Center, an outdoor mall in Monterey that allows pets and also donates space to the SPCA for the display of adoptable animals. Learn more about the initiative in the Monterey Herald.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Calcutta, West Bengal, India - At a time when animal welfare organizations around the world are targeting the Greek capital for poisoning stray dogs in honor of the Olympics, Calcutta's trap/neuter/return (TNR) program to control its street-dog population has got an overseas pat on the back. In an editorial by Merritt Clifton, U.S.-based Animal People is lauding the efforts of city-based NGO Compassionate Crusaders Trust (CCT), which runs the TNR programme in town in tandem with the civic body.