No More Homeless Pets
Weekly News
November 28, 2004
From super adoptions to spay/neuter successes, people working together to bring about a time when there will be No More Homeless Pets.
TOP STORY
Publicity leads to positive change in Texas
Houston and San Antonio, Texas - High-profile newspaper reports about the dismal records of animal shelters in two Texas cities appear to be bringing about positive change for the animals.
The Houston Chronicle reported earlier this month that shelters in the city kill 80,000 of the 100,000 animals admitted each year, with the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care (BARC) killing 94 percent of the animals it takes in. Meanwhile, the San Antonio
Express-News ran a graphic expose of the city shelter in which it revealed that San Antonio kills 50,000 animals a year, more per capita than any other major city in the country.
Since these reports, both papers have received a flood of letters to the editor expressing outrage at the cities' poor treatment of animals, and city leaders have been overwhelmed by constituents expressing anger and demanding change.
And it appears that governmental leaders are responding.
In San Antonio, city leaders are promising to examine their system and enact wholesale reforms, even suggesting that they might switch to a no-kill approach. In fact, Mayor Ed Garza told the
Express-News that reforming the city's shelter system would be a top priority during the remaining six months of his tenure.
The response has been less dramatic in Houston, although there are some positive signs. For example, officials at BARC reversed their earlier position and agreed to supply a volunteer group, Friends of BARC, with 30 spayed and neutered dogs and cats a week to take to malls for possible adoption.
BARC officials had previously refused to supply the animals, after the
Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) offered the use of one of its vans for transport, claiming that the chance of increasing adoptions wouldn't be worth the expense. Houston city officials have also indicated their intention to form a shelter advisory panel to help improve shelter services.
Read more about these developing stories in the
Houston Chronicle and the
San Antonio Express-News.
AMAZING ANIMALS
Police dog killed in 9/11 tragedy continues service
New York, New York - Even in death, Sirius the Labrador is a hero. Sirius was the bomb-sniffing police dog who died in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, despite the efforts of his handler, Officer David Lim, to rescue him. Sirius has been immortalized by artist
Debbie Stonebraker in a portrait that now hangs in the Port Authority Headquarters building.
Stonebraker is selling signed and numbered copies of Sirius's portrait, with all of the profits going to benefit the Port Authority Police K-9 Unit, the NASAR Search and Rescue Dog Training Fund, and the Southwest Pennsylvania Retriever Rescue Organization. Stonebraker is also auctioning a number of other patriotic canine portraits to benefit
Military Mascots, an organization dedicated to helping animals that have been befriended by members of the U.S. military serving overseas.
ADOPTION NEWS
Cats enjoy CATS
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - The
Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals and the
Animal Welfare Association of New Jersey took advantage of performances of
CATS the musical to offer real live cats up for adoption from November 9 to 16. Five cats were adopted directly from the shows, with applications submitted for many more, while hundreds of theater attendees visited with the cats and learned more about the plight of the city's homeless animals.
Homeless dogs to sport designer vests
New York, New York - Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi helped kick off a new adoption program that features a partnership between
Animal Care & Control and
Biscuits & Bath, a provider of luxury dog-care services. Mizrahi, who adopted his dog through the Biscuits & Bath adoption program, also designed bright pink vests for the adoptable dogs to wear, so they will attract more attention as they take their daily walks through the city. Every animal adopted through the program will receive a six-month membership to Biscuits & Bath, worth $175, as well as significant discounts at local veterinary clinics.
Adopters can "Light Up a Life"
Phoenix, Arizona - The Christmas season in Arizona will be a little brighter this year, thanks to the
Arizona Animal Welfare League's Light Up a Life holiday adoption program. Under the program, anyone who adopts a dog or cat from the no-kill shelter gets to "light up" a bulb on one of the league's Christmas trees. Adopters are also given an ornament, donated by PETsMART and PETCO, to take home. Read more in the
Arizona Republic.
D.C. hosts huge adoption event
Washington, D.C. - Homeless animals from dozens of dog rescue groups in the Washington, D.C., area will be on display Saturday, December 4, in a major super-adoption event hosted by
GoodDogz.org. The event, to be held at the Reston Town Center, is the first D.C. super adoption to be held as part of the national "
Home 4 the Holidays" campaign.
SPAY/NEUTER NEWS
SNAP sterilizes 216 dogs in one day
San Antonio, Texas - The
Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) continues to set records with events using Neutersol to conduct non-surgical sterilizations on male dogs. During a "Fix 'Em For Free" event held recently in San Antonio, SNAP sterilized 216 animals in one day, and compiled a large waiting list for the next event.
FERAL CAT NEWS
TNR program reports 99% decrease in feral population
Folly Beach, South Carolina - The aggressive trap/neuter/release program of a local shelter has reportedly succeeded in reducing the feral cat population by 99 percent over the last 17 years.
Pet Helpers Rescue & Adoption Shelter attributes this success to great support from cooperative citizens and the city, which has given the shelter an annual grant of $2,500 to assist with the program for each of the last five years.
FABULOUS FUNDRAISERS
Community asked to "Save a Day"
Hamilton, Montana - When operations manager Vicki Dawson did the numbers, she saw that it took $548 a day to run the
Bitter Root Humane Association. The math exercise also resulted in a novel fundraising idea. Under the Save-A-Day program, individuals, businesses and groups are invited to fund a day at the shelter. For more on this unique campaign, visit the
Ravalli News.
IN YOUR COMMUNITIES
Sanctuary to cater to old dogs
New Germany, Minnesota - A number of "unadoptable" old dogs will be getting the red-carpet treatment soon, thanks to the fledgling Top Dog Foundation, Inc. The planned 10,000-square-foot no-kill sanctuary will offer all the amenities available at the
Top Dog Country Club, a canine boarding facility -- except that this time, the pampered dogs will be elderly dogs that had been labeled as "unadoptable" and scheduled for euthanasia.
These discarded old dogs will live out their lives enjoying orthopedic mattresses, private suites, heated floors, purified air and full-body massages.
Read more about this unique venture.
School kids seek to reunite lost pets with their people
Danville, Kentucky - If students at Jennie Rogers Elementary School have their way, more lost pets will soon be reunited with their people. After hearing a talk by Sallie Bright of the
Danville-Boyle County Humane Society, students in the Student Technology Leadership Program launched a
website where people can post pictures and descriptions of lost pets, or of animals they have found. Read more in
The Advocate-Messenger.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Bahrain shelter marks 25-year milestone
Bahrain - The Bahrain SPCA has reached a milestone this year, marking its silver jubilee. It has been 25 years since Dr. Khalil Rajab and Betty Rajab started the society. During that time, the organization has rescued and found homes for thousands of homeless animals. Those efforts drew official recognition from Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa this year, and the government has granted the organization its own piece of land, which one day will house a new sanctuary. Read more in the
Gulf Daily-News.
Duo will assess island ferals
Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom - Colonies of feral cats on the Isles of Scilly are being assessed by a veterinary nurse and a volunteer from
Cats Protection in hopes of controlling the growth of the colonies. The operation, called Project Scilly Ferals, aims to train local people to trap the cats and have them neutered. Find out more from the
BBC.
