A Plea for A Puppy Mill Dog
August 18, 2009
by Rachel LeGros
Dearest Friends,
Last week, Abby Animal Sanctuary pulled out a dog from the Downey shelter, and today we are asking for your help.
Gizmo is four years old and has spent his entire life (up until five days ago) in a room with a woman (whose son openly told the volunteer at the shelter) who has diabetes and doesn’t have time to deal with this “crap.” Prior to five days ago, Gizmo had never been groomed, taken to a vet or been outside – all of his days were spent in a filthy room with an apathetic woman who didn’t care.
By now you must be wondering why someone like that would even get a dog. Well, the woman’s friend owns a pet shop and when Gizmo wasn’t bought after six months, she “gifted” it to her. So, Gizmo, it turns out is a puppy mill dog. The day we pulled him out of the shelter, he couldn’t stand on his hind legs, and the vet initially thought that he was paralyzed. However, the x-rays showed that nothing is wrong with his spine or his legs. He is just vitamin D-deficient because he hasn’t had any exposure to the sun. By the second day (after sitting in the sun for an hour) he was able to stand on all fours, and he even walked!
Earlier today, Gizmo was rushed to the vet because his left eye was extremely inflamed and filled with blood. We were told he had a severe case of bilateral deep corneal ulcers and needed to be kept overnight to get a complete blood count, urinalysis, a fluorescent stain and serum and intravenous pain medication every four hours. He is being very closely monitored and the ophthalmologist will see him in the morning. We are going to need A LOT of financial help to make this little guy heal. I just got a call from the hospital and was told that he ALSO HAS PNEUMONIA! Just his stay at the hospital tonight will be a minimum of $2000.
Abby Animal Sanctuary is asking for donations to help us with Gizmo’s vet bills. THIS DOG HAS A LOT OF HOPE. HE JUST NEEDS THE RESOURCES THAT WILL HELP HIM HEAL – HE NEEDS OUR HELP.
After all that he’s been through, he deserves the opportunity to have a chance at a good life. Please help us spread the word – we rely solely on donations to help the animals, and we really need your help now.
*** Donations can be made on the Abby Animal Sanctuary website at:
http://abbyanimalsanctuary.com/id13…html.
** Paypal is our preferred method of receiving donations online because it makes the funds available immediately. Our paypal account is under rachel@abbyanimalsanctuary.com.
Rachel LeGros
Executive Director
Abby Animal Sanctuary
310.488.9173
Wish Upon a Hero – I wish we could give our rescue dog the medicine she needs to help her with her arthritis.
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Seven Signs of Dog Illness You Should Recognize
Don't just assume that your furry friend is getting older. Some symptoms can be a sign of more serious problems.
July 20, 2009
A friend of mine came across this list and having just recently lost a pet, she now sees there are some signs she may have ignored and passed off as, “Oh, she’s just getting older…”
Please keep these below in mind as you are mindful of your beloved pet’s health and their way of being. Remember, in the wild, they would be eaten if they appeared sick so they are programmed to act as if they feel normal…and around us too because they want us to be happy.
Pet Tip: Seven Signs of Dog Illness You Should Recognize
1. Lack of appetite – Anorexia is often one of the very first signs of illness in dogs. It can be difficult to determine if you feed your dog dry food only and keep the bowl full. For this reason, some vets recommended feeding dogs a scheduled feeding at the same time every day so that you accurately assess their appetite.
2. Less active – Dogs that don’t feel well are often less active and less interested in their environment. Many times this “less active” sign is mistaken for “getting older”. If your dog is less active, the safest thing to do is have your vet check your dog out.
3. Weakness – When dogs are less active and display a loss of balance and coordination, there could be a serious problem. Dogs should be evaluated by your veterinarian right away.
4. Weight loss – Losing weight is another common sign of disease or illness. Sometimes it is difficult to notice weight loss, especially in longhaired dogs or dogs that you see every day and may not notice subtle changes. If your dog feels bonier, lighter, or you can easily feel the ribs, this could be a problem.
5. Increased water consumption – Drinking more is often associated with a few diseases including kidney disease and diabetes mellitus. If you notice your dog is showing these symptoms, see your veterinarian.
6. Not grooming – Dogs that don’t feel well don’t groom or you just notice a dull lusterless coat. If your dogs coat changes, have him or her evaluated by your veterinarian.
7. Bad breath – Bad breath, also known as halitosis, can result from dental disease.
Don’t think for a minute that dogs can survive in a hot car
July 15, 2009
Veterinarian Shawn Messonnier says that "a matter of minutes, five or 10 minutes," is all it takes on a hot day for a dog to wind up organ-damaged or dead.
by Sharon L. Peters
In the Safeway parking lot, two hairy dogs are panting and pacing in a car with windows cracked about 5 inches. They’re hot and unhappy, but not yet in distress, I think. I wait a couple of minutes, then call the humane society. I share the facts, including that one dog has just crammed itself under the steering wheel, evidently to get out of the blazing sunlight.
They believe the dogs will be OK until help can arrive — five minutes.
Animal-control guy rolls up in four, eyeballs the situation and decides to give the owner a few more minutes to emerge.
Owner blusters up just under the deadline, annoyed that people surround his car. Doors are flung open, water offered. Owner receives a stern lecture.
I hope it made an impact. Too many locked-in-cars dogs die horrible deaths every summer, their brains, their organs literally heated into mush.
I have to assume that most owners who take dogs in vehicles love those animals. And that until the awful moment of returning to a stifling car and discovering the tragic aftermath of a bad choice, they just didn’t fully understand (despite warnings from vets and humane organizations) how fast things go really bad.
So maybe this will help: a graphic description of exactly what occurs when a dog (and it’s almost always dogs, since few people take cats for rides) is closed in a hot car.
Plano, Texas, veterinarian Shawn Messonnier, who knows something about hideous heat and animals and who has written several books, including Unexpected Miracles: Hope and Holistic Healing for Pets, out next month, agreed to be brutally descriptive about the process and physiology of heat stroke.
First, he says, it’s important to understand that the temperature doesn’t have to be in the 90s for a car-bound animal to be in deep trouble. At much lower temperatures, particularly if the sky is cloudless, the humidity high or the car dark-colored, a vehicle becomes a sauna fast. And cracking windows a few inches accomplishes practically nothing (though many owners of now-dead pets thought it would).
In fact, researchers learned that when it’s a sunny 78 degrees, the temperature in a parked car with windows cracked rises at least 32 degrees in 30 minutes. So: 78 degrees to 110 in half an hour.
“A matter of minutes, five or 10 minutes” is all it takes on a hot day for a dog to wind up organ-damaged or dead, Messonnier says.
Here’s how it progresses: First, the dog pants hard, trying the only way it can to cool off. As the temperature rises and the dog realizes it’s in trouble, it becomes frantic, tries to get out, scratching at windows or digging at the seat or floor. It’s an awful moment, the dog’s moment of realization. “If you want to compare it to humans,” says Messonnier, “it would be this: The person is too hot, stifling, feeling trapped. But a person knows things can be done,” like smashing a window or blowing the horn for help. Dogs, of course, panic, since they can devise no strategies other than digging desperately. They often bloody themselves in this effort to survive. Some have heart attacks.
The panic doesn’t last long. Very quickly the dog goes prostrate, begins vomiting, having diarrhea and lapsing into unconsciousness. Organs are disintegrating. “All organs function properly within a certain temperature range, and when body temperature reaches a certain level, organ cells begin dying. There’s inflammation, white blood cells rush in … a cascade of things happens in minutes,” he says. Liver, brain, kidneys are dying.
“When you do an autopsy on a dog that died this way, the organs are soupy.”
If caught quickly enough, some dogs can be saved. It’s crucial to open car windows, turn on air conditioning and race to the nearest vet, dousing the dog in cool water if possible during the trip, putting something cool under each armpit and against the groin (“but don’t waste 20 minutes trying to gather up those last things,” Messonnier says, as it’s most important to get experts involved fast).
“If you’ve caught it early enough and you’re real lucky, there will be no permanent damage,” he says, though ascertaining that is a “waiting game” since some dogs that seem to have pulled through have liver or kidney damage that may not be obvious at first.
It’ll likely cost “several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars” to save a dog with heatstroke.
Not to mention the misery the animal has endured.
The reality is those “dashes” into the market while the dog waits in the car are rarely as quick as we expect. I know of an owner who ran into the bank, tripped while walking to the counter, knocked himself out, and by the time he regained sense (not long) and got someone to check on the dog in his car, it was too late. That’s the kind of thing that could happen, really, during any dash-in visit.
There’s also the person who left the car running with the air conditioner on to keep the dog cool. Car quit running. You can imagine the results.
And, by the way, snub-nosed dogs such as boxers and pugs have an even higher risk of overheating because they don’t cool efficiently.
I hate to be so grim.
But really, if it saves a dog …
Sharon L. Peters is a writer for USA TODAY.
Elite Animals of W. Hollywood Uses Witchcraft to Repel Animal Rights Protesters
July 13, 2009
by Carole Raphaelle Davis
Elite Animals, a pet store in West Hollywood, California, has endured nine consecutive weeks of protests by animal welfare activists. Neither side is budging but Elite Animals is showing signs of battle weariness by utilizing a highly unusual tactic–witchcraft.
The Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS ) conducted an investigation of Elite Animals’ breeders which revealed footage and still photos of breeding dogs suffering in inhumane conditions. The dogs in the mill that supply Elite Animals are exposed to the elements, living in rusted wire cages and many of them are sick and injured. CAPS also has evidence of USDA inspection reports of repeated violations by several of Elite’s suppliers in the Midwest.
In addition to selling dogs from puppy mills, Elite Animals also sells puppies under the age of six months from Russia. Importing puppies under the age of six months old for resale from overseas is a violation of the federal Farm Bill passed in 2008.
Animal advocates hope the protests will push the store to convert to a humane business model and that Elite Animals will begin to work with reputable rescue organizations, making their profits from supplies and services, not from selling animals raised in factory-like conditions. Elite Animals’ owners did make a visit to the Amanda Foundation in Beverly Hills several weeks ago but no formal agreement with that rescue organization or any other has been announced.
Because the siege by protesters has deterred so many potential customers, two puppies, a Moscow Terrier and a Maltese have not found buyers and are outgrowing their cages inside the store. Activists are concerned that this long period of confinement in small glass enclosures with no socialization is detrimental to a dog’s well being. To our knowledge, these dogs have never been taken out for a walk. Representatives from several local rescue organizations have offered to take the dogs and find them adoptive homes but they have been rebuffed.
These two dogs are considered “easy placements” by rescue organizations. Loving and stable homes could be found within days if Elite Animals would agree to transfer ownership to a rescue organization. An ownership surrender document accompanied by an agreement to cease and desist from acquiring animals from commercial breeders would also move the negotiations forward and, most likely, would halt the protesting of the store.
Last week, Elite Animals closed for five consecutive days with the two dogs inside the store, alarming animal welfare advocates. The City of West Hollywood and animal services intervened, calling the owners and imposing an emergency inspection. The dogs had food and water and the store was not cited for violations at that time.
There is nothing illegal about the store leaving a dog in a cage for 24 hours a day, as long as he has food and water. Animal welfare advocates believe that though this treatment is not illegal, it is inhumane.
On July 11, week nine of the protest siege, a bizarre and culturally intriguing scene unfolded.
Outside, animal rights protesters chanted, “Elite! Elite! The meanest on the street!” Inside, the owners of the store, who are middle-aged Russian women, were visibly unsettled. They seemed highly agitated. One of them brought a heavy, crystal ball, the size of a bowling ball, from the back of the store and perched it ceremoniously on an ornate gold pedestal at their front desk.
Her face hidden behind long black hair, she placed a ghoulish-looking figurine next to the crystal ball. It looked like a scene from the movie “Rosemary’s Baby.” The figurine she was posing in front of the crystal ball looked demonic, with a long, black cloak–it looked like a child’s evil action figure or a cult object used for black magic. Then, oddly, the woman with the long dark hair walked briskly to the back of the store and returned with a fistful of loose, ten-inch long black bird feathers. She then hovered over the crystal ball, muttering–possibly some kind of incantation, while she waved the black feathers back and forth over the satanic figurine.
“They’re actually putting a spell on us!” yelled one of the activists. “Quick! Spit three times!” said activist Kimmy-Sue, laughing. “I’m half gypsy,” said Elizabeth, another protester.
This group of activists is highly experienced, having converted or shut down a large number of puppy mill fronts in the last two years. They have endured a barrage of insults and and have stood their ground against physical intimidation and harassment from store owners in the past. Sorcery is an unfamiliar form of bullying by dog dealers.
If Elite’s magical spells are effective, maybe they can teach us how to wave those magic black feathers over our local shelters so that an actual miracle can occur–a loving home for every homeless pet dying at the pound.
For animal activists, questions remain unanswered.
1. When will the store realize it has no alternative but to go humane?
2. When will they release the dogs suffering in their cages to a rescue organization?
3. When will they admit the truth that they have been lying to consumers about the fact that they are supplied by puppy mills?
4. Where did they get those large black feathers? Did the birds just GIVE them the feathers?
Given where their dogs come from, the worst mills in the Midwest, it’s doubtful they acquired their special incantation feathers humanely.
Carole Raphaelle Davis is the author of Jinky, Diary of a Hollywood Wife. More stories from her blog can be found at http://www.hollywooddog.blogspot.com/ .
Take Dog Fighting Seriously
July 10, 2009
Ask President Obama to urge State Governors to end this heinous sport forever!
Although dog fighting is a felony in all 50 United States, there are still some states that don’t take it seriously. As with any other illegal underground activity, it’s impossible to determine how many people may be involved in dog fighting, but estimates are in the tens of thousands. This brutal blood sport is a pastime for rich and poor alike, and dog fighting has been reported in urban, suburban and rural settings in all regions of the country.
Sign the petition below and help end this heinous sport forever.
Unfortunately, because dog fighting is such a secretive enterprise, it makes it difficult for law enforcement to infiltrate. A dog fight investigation requires many of the same skills and resources as an undercover narcotics investigation, a challenge for many local agencies.
Urge President Obama to tell State Governors that law enforcement should have the resources and motivation to take this crime seriously. Also, that there should be local or state task forces to ensure a collaborative approach to ending this heinous sport forever. Take action today! Sign the petition below and tell a friend.
This petition is sponsered by the ASPCA.
Busted puppy-mill operator back in business
July 8, 2009
by Jacques Von Lunen
A notorious neglectful dog breeder, whose Burns property was raided in March, was found to be at it again in another county.
Ted Tellefson, 58, was arrested in Sprague River, near Klamath Falls, July 1 for animal neglect, said Harney County Sheriff David R. Glerup.
Back in March, law enforcement and the Oregon Humane Society seized 131 dogs from Tellefson’s property in Burns. Glerup had forged an agreement with Tellefson, which obligated the breeder to get rid of all but 20 old, sterile dogs. In exchange, officials would halt prosecution for 100 counts of animal neglect.
The dogs had been living almost wild on Tellefson’s arid property. They were underfed, riddled with parasites and very fearful. At the time, OHS estimated the rescue and care of the dogs would cost them some $60,000. Rescue groups report that many of the dogs will be in permanent foster care – and some have been put down – as they are unfit for adoption.
Tellefson had had nearly 200 dogs on his property back in March. Under the agreement reached with authorities, Tellefson let OHS take the majority of these and promised to sell or give away most of the rest. He was allowed to keep 20 dogs he’d had for a long time, and which were too old to breed.
But he moved all of the remaining dogs to Klamath County instead, and got back into the business of selling dogs. He posted an ad for puppies on a Web site called klamathfallswantads.com on June 26.
Law enforcement finally caught up with him last week, after an anonymous tip sent deputies to his new property.
Klamath County animal control officer Michael Horton assisted Glerup with arresting Tellefson for breaking the agreement.
“He was supposed to get rid of (the dogs), but he didn’t,” Glerup said about Tellefson. “The day I arrested him, he had more than 60.”
Tellefson was taken into custody, but posted a $2,000 bail and walked away that same day.
Now he may have moved his operation again.
“I don’t know where he is now,” Glerup said. “This morning Klamath County said he wasn’t on his property.”
Horton said Klamath County is preparing its own case against Tellefson, and that he couldn’t comment on an ongoing investigation. He also declined to comment on the fate of the dogs at the property, except to say that Tellefson hadn’t taken all of them.
“There’s dogs up there,” Horton said.
Jacques Von Lunen is a writer for The Oregonian.
USA List of animal research labs – do you know them all??
July 8, 2009
Every year over 20 millions animals are killed in US labs. The complete list of USDA registered animal labs (by states) is in PDF file to be downloaded and distributed. See what’s happening in your town.
USA List of animal research labs – do you know them all?? – Care2 News Network
This article was obtained from the Care2 News Network.
A Dog’s Journey from Abuse
July 6, 2009
This story sounds like something you might read in a novel, but unfortunately the events really happened to this innocent little dog.
When a small terrier puppy was rushed to Project Hope’s sanctuary in Mississippi last year, her rescuer thought she had been attacked by a wild animal. The little dog was barely alive as the man picked her up from a ditch on the side of a country road. She was taken directly to the organization’s veterinarian and what he discovered was horrifying.
After shaving back her fur, he saw that she hadn’t been attacked by a wild animal, but had been tortured by a human being instead.
Project Hope’s recent report stated, “Someone had poured boiling water on her head that had dripped and swirled around her ears, down her back and onto her sides, severely burning her skin as it flowed.”
The little puppy amazingly survived this act of extreme cruelty and because of her remarkable will to live, Doll Stanley who is the director of Project Hope named her, Phoenix.
It became Doll Stanley’s main objective to keep Phoenix alive. During her first night, Phoenix moaned in pain. But over the next few days the staff saw signs of a spirited little puppy emerging.
That was a year ago and during that time Phoenix has blossomed into a smart and sweet natured healthy dog. She was loved so much by the staff that they put off placing her for adoption.
Project Hope is one www.idausa.orgIn Defense of Animals’ sanctuaries. Their mission is to “bring justice and compassion to rural America.” The conception of a sanctuary in the Deep South was the brainchild of Doll Stanley who saw the need to help abused and neglected animals in the area. She’s been their director for the past 15 years.
Finally the staff couldn’t put off the need for Phoenix to be adopted into a home of her own. She was chosen to be put on a van and taken to one of the IDA partner organizations that place homeless pets with new families as part of the Homeward Bound program.
However somewhere along the long journey to Salem, NH, Phoenix decided to choose the person who she wanted to become her new guardian.
Glen Bidwell was the transporter who shuttled Phoenix and several other dogs on the last leg of their trip. Here is what he had to say:
“I first met Phoenix at 1:30 in the morning in Winchester, VA, by that time she had already been in a crate for over 13 hours. I took her for a short walk and a small drink of water and Evan, the driver who had gotten her from Mississippi to Virginia, mentioned that she had been pretty badly abused. She was going to my last stop in Salem, NH, so she was one of the first loaded onto my van. She ended up behind my passenger seat on top of the other crates, so I could turn around just a little and see her and also stick my fingers in her crate. Whenever I used my cell phone or 2-way radio she would sit up and look at me. It wasn’t long before I snapped a picture of her with my phone and sent it home. I was smitten.”
And apparently Phoenix felt the same way because when they arrived in Salem, she refused to leave the van. Phoenix went home with Glen that day.
Glen reports that family life has agreed with Phoenix. She shares her new home with Glen’s wife and son, a dog named Seamus and several cats. And every day she hops into the same van where she met Glen, for a ride that she knows will take her back home at the end of the day.
This article was obtained from care2.com.
Animal Control Returns Neglected Dogs to Owner
July 5, 2009
by Grant Stinchfield
Animal welfare professionals say they want answers after the city of Dallas returned 27 dogs to an owner who let some of the animals become visibly emaciated and covered with open sores.
“This appears to be a clear case of animal abuse,” said Metroplex Animal Coalition spokesperson Jonnie England.
England said she questions the city’s decision not to investigate the case more thoroughly.
“There were piles of bones, dead dogs, this was just deplorable conditions,” she said.
The dogs were impounded two weeks ago from a property near Overton.
In a statement Dallas Animal Services said, “veterinary staff examined the dogs and determined one was sick, but the other 27 were in reasonably good shape, happy socialized dogs. The owner signed over the sick dog for euthanasia.”
But Skip Trimble, the Chairman of the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission disagreed. He saw the pictures and wonders how anyone could call them happy and in good shape.
“I am hoping they will pursue criminal charges against this guy, if he’s treating them and letting them die,” he said.
By phone the owner of the dogs said he’s not ashamed of anything and the dogs are well taken care of. He declined a request by NBCDFW to let us come out and see the dogs at their new Terrell home.
Adding to the concerns, documents show the owner only paid $350 to redeem the dogs.
Skip Trimble said he wonders why the city didn’t spay and neuter the dogs and micro-chip them as required by city code. Normally, he said, the cost to retrieve all 27 dogs would have exceeded $3,000.
“If they let sick and badly treated animals back to their owner, that is inconsistent with what they should be doing,” Trimble added. “We will be looking into this.”
The city says it let the dogs go with out performing the spay, neuter and micro-chip procedures because the owner vowed he was taking the dogs out of the city. But every animal welfare professional we spoke to says the city ordinance makes no exceptions, all dogs leaving the city shelter must be sterilized and micro-chipped.
“We need to make sure we get our procedures right and make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Trimble added.
Grant Stinchfield is a writer for the Dallas-Fortworth News.
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