RESCUE CLEARINGHOUSE NEWSLETTER

Our
National Newsletter 

The U.S. Animal Protection organization is giving voice to the concerns of rescuers throughout the U.S. and beyond. Please check them out and offer your support, your assistance, your volunteering spirit. This is a great opportunity to educate and inform!

The Witness
By Jerry Elmore Layne (of Animals Have Hearts, Too!)

A personal transformation took over my life in 1988, when I was a witness, through a small porthole window, of an animal shelter gas chamber doing its savage business. 

Two of the employees began pulling and tugging larger dogs toward the chamber -- this, in itself, was savage. The eyes of the dogs were full of fear as they were shoved into a large cylinder with another six dogs, all types. Next, five puppies were placed in the chamber.  Noise. Yelling. Fighting. All scared, they shivered again and again, their eyes huge, their nostrils flaring. They were completely bewildered. One dog in the chamber, a male chow mix about one year old, started snapping at the puppies. All the dogs and puppies were in a desperate struggle, and the gassing had yet to begin. 

Then a button was pushed, and the two employees walked away as the chamber machine began pumping out streams of carbon monoxide. The little puppies started to paw at the glass window. After one full minute they started to whine and then produced a piercing squeal. Then the larger dogs started a high, mournful wailing, then a deeper howl that rose in great desperation for 45 seconds.  That morning of my witness, the time from inception of hell for the dogs and puppies, to the completion of their cries of desperation, was between two and six minutes. 

As the employees walked away, I knew it was my love, my honor, my devotion to animals that I must not blink and watch every second, every animal struggle to avoid death. However, tears from my heart did overwhelm me that tragic morning, and the final insult was having to load the bodies of the dogs and puppies into a pickup truck and haul them to a local garbage dump.

Wide Disparity

Across the country, there is wide disparity among shelters and their methods and application of euthanasia. Problems stemming from inadequate training, insufficient funding, indifference to animal suffering, and failure to recognize the need to change and update procedures, are found everywhere, from small rural shelters to large city facilities.

The urgent need for a consensus on humane euthanasia is graphically illustrated by the following recent cases:      Rogers, AR. Lack of funding, lack of training, and lack of equipment were blamed for four years of "euthanizing" feral cats, skunks, raccoons, opossums, and other wild animals by drowning. Trapped animals were left in their cages and simply dropped into a plastic 55-gallon barrel (which was purchased for that purpose in 1996) filled with water. The shelter's employees were told by the director that drowning was humane and legal -- it's neither.

No charges were filed, but the practice was stopped as soon as the mayor found out about it. The shelter now uses lethal injection.     Long Hill, NJ. A kennel owner admitted using an illegal drug to kill more than 600 animals in 1998 and almost 300 in 1999. The powerful muscle-relaxing drug, succinylcholine chloride, was banned in 1988 for euthanasia in New Jersey. This drug essentially paralyzes the animal, including the diaphragm and breathing muscles, but has no effect on consciousness -- the terrified animal is fully aware that he cannot breathe, and helplessly suffocates to death. Numerous other violations were found by inspectors on several surprise visits, including failure to hold animals for the required length of time before killing them, and neglecting to provide veterinary care to a dog with a broken leg. Additionally, more than 300 cats were killed by injections directly into the heart -- which is not only stressful but acutely painful. The kennel owner was fined $18,715. 

Vermilion Parish, LA. Animals are still euthanized by a regular 6-cylinder gasoline engine that pumps acrid exhaust gas into the small room where they are confined. Even though the gas is pumped through water to cool it a little, the fumes are still hot, irritating, and painful. Their skin and eyes burning, the animals die slowly and horribly. Animal protection groups have been trying since 1992 to get the shelter to change to a more humane method of euthanasia, but in spite of lawsuits and letters, the parish remains resistant to voluntarily changing its ways.     Albuquerque, NM. An audit by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) found many serious problems with the care of animals at the two city shelters.

The audit team was so alarmed at the conditions that they issued a preliminary report blasting the treatment of animals. HSUS representatives found that dogs were killed by painful direct injections to the heart while conscious, a practice that even the lenient AVMA guidelines condemns as inhumane. Animals were restrained (and sometimes lifted) with a "catch" or "control" pole (a long-handled pole with a coated wire noose at one end that is placed around the animal's neck and tightened), allegedly to prevent injury to staff members. However, the audit team concluded that it was more likely due to lack of training, as well as an apparent lack of concern for the comfort, anxiety, and needs of the animals being euthanized. The report states, "The HSUS did not witness any instance where an animal was held or comforted for a  gentle death."

Worst of all, the HSUS team found that seven animals were still alive (their hearts were beating) after they were placed in the freezer. The Albuquerque shelters euthanize about 18,000 animals annually -- 75% of the animals that come through their doors. (For comparison, San Francisco's euthanasia rate is about 17%.)     Sacramento, CA. As it had in Albuquerque, word got out about the poor conditions at the Sacramento City animal shelter. The HSUS was brought in to assess the shelter and make recommendations. Consultants found "most staff displaying a lack of concern for an animal's anxiety level, pain response, and overall well-being," as well as an obvious lack of training. Supervision was extremely poor in many areas. Shelter personnel never scanned animals for microchips before killing them, refused to use tranquilizers for fractious animals (relying instead on brute physical force to restrain them), killed dogs in full view of live dogs awaiting euthanasia, and committed many other violations of shelter policy.

A chloroform chamber used to kill small animals was used improperly. A live newborn kitten was put into the chamber with six dead kittens who had been killed the day before. The following day, a live pigeon was placed in the chamber with the seven dead kittens. An HSUS team member finally asked a supervisor to check the chamber, at which time he removed the dead animals -- four days after the first six kittens died in it. Unlike Albuquerque, however, Sacramento immediately began to remedy the deficits, and has made an effort to be responsive to the report findings as well as to the concerned citizens in the community. 

Not all the news is bad, of course. At least one community has had a major wake-up call. In Greensboro, NC, frustrated Sheriff BJ Barnes, upset at learning that more than 75% of the animals entering his shelter were being killed, decided to televise the euthanasia of a dog on his weekly show. Viewers were shocked, but they also got the message: animal overpopulation is everyone's problem. Adoptions from the local shelter skyrocketed, and local veterinarians reported an increase in inquiries about spaying and neutering. And cities like San Francisco, where municipal animal control and the SPCA are working together to make sure that every adoptable animal gets a good chance for a home, have set a wonderful example for other agencies 

Utah Fighting use of Gas Chambers:

What do the Animal Welfare Organizations and Veterinarians Say?


As we can see below, many rural communities are trying to stop the stressful process of the gassing of animals whether in the best gas chambers that still force attendants to put up to 8 dogs on top of each other as they are wheeled around the shelter collecting them, and then wheeled into the gas chamber room; as the Utah County Mayors, myself and animal control officers witnessed at the Utah County Animal Shelter 4 yrs ago when Lte. Morgan arranged for the Animal Task Committee to compare Gas Chamber euthanization with the Humane and Stressless Euthanization by Injection and held individually by the employees of the Salt Lake County Animal Shelter.  HOpefully we can educate the decision makers here in Utah County with all the findings to date about the reason why the Humane Society of the United States and the American Humane Association feel that Gas Chambers are not humane. 

We are awaiting a report, from a Utah Veterinarian that worked for years in Utah County, about the   EBI and Gas Chamber Euthanization. 



 

From Animal Issues, Volume 32
Number 2, Summer 2001

Euthanasia and the Animal Shelter
By Jean Hofve, DVM

More than 12 million cats and dogs enter U.S. shelters annually, an endless tide of incoming animals. Few of these animals will be reclaimed, and many shelters lack space to keep even most adoptable animals. Of lost cats that end up in shelters, only 2% will be returned to their homes. Dogs have it better, because they are more likely to be wearing rabies or identification tags, but even so only 16% will be reclaimed. On average, only about 1/3 of animals put up for adoption at shelters will actually find homes. For the rest, euthanasia. 

"Euthanasia" literally means "good death," and is usually interpreted to mean a quick, painless, and humane method of dying. It seems self-evident that death should also be in the best interests of the animal. The decision to euthanize a sick, dangerous, or otherwise unadoptable animal is relatively uncomplicated to make. However, millions of healthy, friendly animals also end up in shelters. They are adoptable -- but there are just not enough homes available for all of them. It is the task of shelters to select those who will be placed in the adoption kennels. Animals who have been in the adoption kennel too long, and all the rest who never had the chance, are taken to the euthanasia room.

Methods

The euthanasia method of choice for use in animal shelters is the injection of an overdose of a barbiturate anesthetic called sodium pentobarbital. In API's view, it is the only acceptable method of euthanizing shelter animals. When injected into a vein, this drug produces rapid unconsciousness and death without the pain and distress that accompany all other methods. For cats, kittens, puppies, and other small mammals, a direct injection into the abdominal cavity is also acceptable, though not as rapid or reliable as the intravenous route. This method is the most cost-effective and overall least expensive of all euthanasia techniques (according to the Michigan Humane Society, the cost of lethal injection, materials and labor is $2.88 per animal). It does require adequate staff training, and because each animal is handled individually, it is somewhat more emotionally taxing to workers than mass euthanasia methods. The injection process allows shelter staff to provide personal  comfort to each animal in its last moments, which may greatly offset the emotional stress. Five states (CA, FL, ME, OR, PA) specify lethal injection (usually of a barbiturate) as the only allowable method of euthanasia, and similar laws are currently being considered in Tennessee and Rhode Island. About 20 states specifically allow lethal injection.

Shelters employ a number of other "euthanasia" methods. One common method is the gas chamber. Either carbon monoxide (CO) or carbon dioxide (CO2) is generally used, though some still use nitrogen gas. California banned the use of CO gas chambers for euthanasia effective January 1, 2001. Many injection givers initially resisted the change, because injection requires two workers and extended physical contact with the animal, but once they understood the process, they realized it is better for the animal, and actually less stressful for them. For some animals, the gentle touch of a shelter worker during the euthanasia process may be the only real affection they have ever had. The lethal injection technique allows the worker to comfort the animal and experience closure of the death process.

Three states (AZ, SC, TN) specifically allow nitrogen gas, and three (OK, SC, TN) allow carbon monoxide; all of these states also allow lethal injection, with gas as an alternate method. Gas chambers have many limitations which make the method less practical, slower, more dangerous to staff (a shelter worker died of CO poisoning just last year), and ultimately more expensive than lethal injection. Abuse of the  chamber is common. While shelter policies commonly require physical separation in individual cages and close observation of the process, in many cases animals are simply shoved into the chamber, the door sealed, the button pushed, and the employee walks away. The sponsor of the bill in Tennessee that would mandate lethal injection said of the gas chamber that it "results in a slow, painful death." Ronald R. Grier and Tom L. Colvin's 1990 Euthanasia Guide for Animal Shelters recommends that all animals should be tranquilized before placement in the chamber -- something that is virtually never done in practice.

Three states (DE, OK, TN) allow chloroform for animals under 8 weeks of age (young animals up to 4 months old are resistant to gas euthanasia). Eleven states defer to a higher authority, such as the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the state veterinary board (OH), or the state veterinarian (VA), or provide standards for humane death (IA, NH, ND, RI, SC, WA). One state (SC) allows shooting (in emergencies). Only one state (AZ) allows the use of T-61, a drug that is considered nacceptable by AVMA because it immobilizes and  suffocates the animal without causing unconsciousness, resulting in pain and distress. Twenty-five states have banned the use of "high altitude" decompression chambers, which were used extensively in the 1950s and
1960s, but were subsequently deemed to be cruel.

The Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia is used as a reference by hundreds of shelters around the country, and four states (GA, KS, MO, NY) mandate using only methods considered acceptable in this report. The report was revised in 2000; unfortunately, the updated version has significant problems, but nevertheless was passed and published by the AVMA, primarily through the force of will of a single individual who ramrodded it through -- over the reservations of the committee that produced it, as well as the unanimous disapproval of the organization's main governing body. The report fails to address the inappropriateness of CO for animals under 16 weeks of age, and sick, pregnant, injured, or old animals.

In spite of the report's own statement that CO2 "may be distressing" especially to cats, it is included as an acceptable method of feline euthanasia. Suffocating birds by pressing on their chests is referred to as "apparently painless." Kill-traps, which rarely function pro perly even under controlled laboratory conditions and are indiscriminate killers of any animal that gets caught in them, are promoted as "practical and effective" for wildlife. And electrocution is considered "conditionally acceptable" for dogs. 

Wide Disparity

Across the country, there is wide disparity among shelters and their methods and application of euthanasia. Problems stemming from inadequate training, insufficient funding, indifference to animal suffering, and failure to recognize the need to change and update procedures, are found everywhere, from small rural shelters to large city facilities. The urgent need for a consensus on humane euthanasia is graphically illustrated by the following recent cases:      Rogers, AR. Lack of funding, lack of training, and lack of equipment were blamed for four years of "euthanizing" feral cats, skunks, raccoons, opossums, and other wild animals by drowning. Trapped animals were left in their cages and simply dropped into a plastic 55-gallon barrel (which was purchased for that  purpose in 1996) filled with water.

The shelter's employees were told by the director that drowning was humane and legal -- it's neither. No charges were filed, but the practice was stopped as soon as the mayor found out about it. The shelter now uses lethal injection.   

Long Hill, NJ. A kennel owner admitted using an illegal drug to kill more than 600 animals in 1998 and almost 300 in 1999. The powerful muscle-relaxing drug, succinylcholine chloride, was banned in 1988 for euthanasia in New Jersey. This drug essentially paralyzes the animal, including the diaphragm and breathing muscles, but has no effect on consciousness -- the terrified animal is fully aware that he cannot breathe, and helplessly suffocates to death. Numerous other violations were found by inspectors on several surprise visits, including failure to hold animals for the required length of time before killing them, and neglecting to provide veterinary care to a dog with a broken leg. Additionally, more than 300 cats were killed by injections directly into the heart -- which is not only stressful but acutely painful. The kennel owner was fined $18,715. 

   Vermilion Parish, LA. Animals are still euthanized by a regular 6-cylinder gasoline engine that pumps acrid exhaust gas into the small room where they are confined. Even though the gas is pumped through water to cool it a little, the fumes are still hot, irritating, and painful. Their skin and eyes burning, the animals die slowly and horribly. Animal protection groups have been trying since 1992 to get the shelter to change to a more humane method of euthanasia, but in spite of lawsuits and letters,  he parish remains resistant to voluntarily changing its ways. Albuquerque, NM. An audit by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) found many serious problems with the care of animals at the two city shelters. The audit team was so alarmed at the conditions that they issued a preliminary report blasting the treatment of animals. HSUS representatives found that dogs were killed by painful direct injections to the heart while conscious, a practice that even the lenient AVMA guidelines condemns as inhumane. Animals were restrained (and sometimes lifted) with a "catch" or "control" pole (a long-handled pole with a coated wire noose at one end that is placed around the animal's neck and tightened), allegedly to prevent injury to staff members. However, the audit team concluded that it was more likely due to lack of training, as well as an apparent lack of concern for the comfort, anxiety, and needs of the animals being euthanized. The report states, "The HSUS did not witness any instance where an animal was held or comforted for a  gentle death." Worst of all, the HSUS team found that seven animals were still alive (their hearts were beating) after they were placed in the freezer. The Albuquerque shelters euthanize about 18,000 animals annually -- 75% of the animals that come through their doors. (For comparison, San Francisco's euthanasia rate is about 17%.)     Sacramento, CA. As it had in Albuquerque, word got out about thepoor conditions at the Sacramento City animal shelter. The HSUS was brought in to assess the shelter and make recommendations. Consultants found "most staff displaying a lack of concern for an animal's anxiety level, pain response, and overall well-being," as well as an obvious lack of training. Supervision was extremely poor in many areas. Shelter personnel never scanned animals for microchips before killing them, refused to use tranquilizers for fractious animals (relying instead on brute physical force to restrain them), killed dogs in full view of live dogs awaiting euthanasia, and committed many other violations of shelter policy. A chloroform chamber used to kill small animals was used improperly. A live newborn kitten was put into the chamber with six dead kittens who had been killed the day before. The ollowing day, a live pigeon was placed in the chamber with the seven dead kittens. An HSUS team mem ber finally asked a supervisor to check the chamber, at which time he removed the dead animals -- four days after the first six kittens died in it. Unlike Albuquerque, however, Sacramento immediately began to remedy the deficits, and has made an effort to be responsive to the report findings as well as to the concerned citizens in the community.   Not all the news is bad, of course. At least one community has had a major wake-up call. In Greensboro, NC, frustrated Sheriff BJ Barnes, upset at learning that more than 75% of the animals entering his shelter were being killed, decided to televise the euthanasia of a dog on his weekly show. Viewers were shocked, but they also got the message: animal overpopulation is everyone's problem. Adoptions from the local shelter skyrocketed, and local veterinarians reported an increase in inquiries about spaying and neutering. And cities like San Francisco, where municipal animal control and the SPCA are working together to make sure that every adoptable animal gets a good chance for a home, have set a wonderful example for other agencies.

The Last Stop

The local shelter is too often the last stop for a dog or cat. Shelters have been put into this unenviable position by the irresponsible breeding of far too many animals. Puppy mills, pet stores, backyard breeders, "responsible" hobby and show breeders, people who simply won't, don't bother, or "forget" to have their animals spayed or neutered, pet food companies who subsidize breeders with free samples and discount coupons, and the cat and dog breed "clubs" that encourage breeding -- all contribute to this massive problem. It is a sad fact that, when a human being chooses to create a relationship with another living being, then fails to live up to the responsibilities that go with that relationship, we allow the human to walk away guilt-free -- it is always the animal who pays 100% of the price for the human's errors. 

We often hear "responsible" breeders complain that the real problem is the irresponsible owners, backyard breeders, and puppy mills. And there's no doubt that those are huge problems. Puppy mills around the country contribute thousands of puppies to pet overpopulation every year. According to a 1999 issue of the Pet Products News Buying Guide, a pet store trade publication, "Livestock sales of dogs rose a healthy 35.6 percent in 1998." Sales generated from these puppies shot to $33.6 million in 1998, compared to $15.2 million in 1996.  But let's take a closer look at those "responsible" breeders. They generally advertise in a few well-known national magazines, or on their own websites. In one issue of one cat magazine there are individual listings for about 700 breeders; and a similar number in a comparable dog publication. If each of those breeders produces only three litters per year (an extremely conservative estimate), with an average of 6 per litter, those breeders are putting out more than 25,000 puppies and kittens per year. The American Kennel Club registered nearly 1,175,500 puppies in 2000; the Cat Fanciers Association registered about 107,000 kittens from 13,951 active breeders.

Whether they admit it or deny it, the truth is that each and every person who -- accidentally or purposely -- produces even one more puppy or kitten is part of the problem. We all have to work together to solve it -- nobody can be exempt. Until pet overpopulation is controlled, 8-10 million cats and dogs will be killed this year, and every  year, in U.S. shelters. (And this shocking igure doesn't include countless thousands  of animals who never make it to the shelter, but are abandoned to live and die on the streets or in the country.)

The good news is that pet overpopulation is on the decline. However, projections suggest it will be another twenty-five years before we end it; and that's only possible with continued hard work, dedication, and public education. We are making progress, but this is in spite of people who continue to breed and industries that support breeding. If those who are creating the problem would take full responsibility, we could reach the ultimate goal -  to eliminate the euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals -- much faster.

A shelter should be there to care for animals, to relieve suffering -- not amplify or prolong it. An animal may have already suffered greatly prior to ending up at a shelter, and the unfamiliarity, confinement, and noise of the shelter environment is extremely stressful in and of itself. Therefore, we have an obligation to ensure that needless suffering is not that animal's tragic end to life. 

Special thanks to Jerry Elmore Layne and Nicole Paquette for their extensive research and generous assistance. 

The Human Toll

Shelter workers must daily confront the need to euthanize many healthy, friendly, adoptable animals. They must accept these animals from the public, listen to the flimsy excuses for relinquishment ("I'm moving," "I got new furniture," "My boyfriend doesn't like him"), smile politely, and swallow the words that they must so often want to shout -- "This animal trusts you! This animal loves you! You have a responsibility here! How can you abandon him?" Having accepted these unwanted animals, shelter workers must feed, brush, walk, care for, and get to know them for three or five or seven days, and then, except for those few that have been adopted, they must take them into a small, barren room and kill them. 

How do shelter workers cope with their duties that, on one hand, require them to care deeply for the animals they work with, yet on the other hand, require them to release that attachment when the animal is either adopted or euthanized?

Research has shown that new shelter workers tend to become very attached to certain animals, whose subsequent death was terribly distressing. Over time, workers learn to keep a certain impersonal distance between themselves and the animals, seeing them as more of "a population of refugees" than as individuals, as pets. Those who are responsible for euthanasia concentrated on the mechanics of the act, becoming proficient at killing so that they can gain some satisfaction for making the death as quick and painless as possible. They may compensate by becoming more involved in foster programs, education about spay/neuter, or other means of increasing adoptions and reducing the numbers of incoming animals. They must all make a special effort to control their feelings of frustration, anger, and hostility in order to interact appropriately with co-workers and the public.

Shelter workers also learn to see euthanasia as a means of preventing  suffering. Death becomes a better alternative than other fates that could befall the animals -  starving to death, contracting a serious disease, or being abandoned, injured, predated upon, poisoned, sold to a research lab, abused in an unhappy home, or used as target practice or as bait for fighting dogs. 

Understandably, shelter workers sometimes transfer their frustration and anger onto the people who brought the animals in, and blame them as the ones who behaved wrongly or immorally toward the animals. They see the public as "the enemy." One shelter worker said, "People think we are murderers, but they are the ones that have put us in this position." And certainly much of the problem does lie with the throwaway attitude of society, the irresponsible people who fail to spay and neuter, who let their animals run loose. This attitude does not necessarily make it easy for animals to be adopted out, as some shelter workers see all people in the same tainted light, and they have trouble trusting potential adopters. 

One thing shelter workers should not do is to separate themselves so  much from the euthanasia act that they become apathetic. Carter Luke, a consultant with the Massachusetts SPCA, says, "I don't consider uncaring people effective. If you become too comfortable with euthanasia so that it doesn't affect you, you've lost an edge. Because euthanasia is not an acceptable solution to pet overpopulation. We should always see it as something we abhor, and wish to get rid of or at least minimize. We should never become comfortable with euthanasia."

While shelter workers eventually learn to cope with the stress of euthanasia, they all experience uneasiness at certain times, or at a low but constant level. Spring and summer -- when large numbers of animals, especially kittens, come into the shelters -- are especially difficult. "Some days we can be euthanizing all morning and you look at the pile of animals that nobody wants and it hurts." But then they remember the ones who lived, the ones who found wonderful homes. It is sometimes a dirty
job, but it does have its rewards.

---------------------------------
Kentucky Shelter Litigation
By Sheila Hughes Rodriguez

On July 10, 2000, API, In Defense of Animals, the Trixie Foundation, and 19 other Kentucky plaintiffs sued the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture and 70 counties for failure to protect and regulate dogs throughout the state (The Trixie Foundation, et al. v. Billy Ray Smith, Commissioner, et al., No. 00CI-00792). The case is best summarized in plaintiffs' pleadings: "Kentucky dog pounds come in two forms: (1) non-existent or (2) so pitifully inhumane as to be worse than non-existent."

The plaintiffs in this class action law suit are seeking to compel the defendants to maintain a dog pound, employ a dog warden, and humanely euthanize dogs, obligations which Kentucky officials have blatantly ignored for nearly half a century. In fact, there is evidence that several counties have permitted various forms of euthanasia which are not only inhumane but barbaric. 

On January 11 and March 6, 2001, the plaintiffs responded to defendants' motions to have the case dismissed on various grounds, namely venue. A ruling on these motions is expected soon.  

* * *

From: "alternatespirit" <alternatespirit@yahoo.com>
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 2004 00:23:55 -0000
To: theanimalspirit@yahoogroups.com
Subject: {The Animal Spirit Newsletter} Homeless Animals' Day -- August 21, 2004

August 21, 2005 is Homeless Animals' Day

In 1992, International Society for Animal Rights http://www.isaronline.org/
ISAR) conceived and commemorated Homeless Animals' Day and Candlelight
Vigils to magnify the significance of the overpopulation problem and why the
killing must stop. The annual vigils spotlight the cause of the tragic
killing of companion animals due to pet overpopulation and provide a
solution to end the killing: spaying and neutering.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

On Homeless Animals' Day, make a yearlong commitment to help solve the  tragic overpopulation problem. One homeless animal killed is a tragedy; the  fact that we kill millions, while continuing to breed more, is a disgrace.

**Have all animals in your care spayed/neutered. 

Join The Animal Spirit's Spay/Neuter Campaign:
http://www.theanimalspirit.com/spayneuter.html

SPAY USA:
http://www.spayusa.org/

State by State Listings of low-cost/free spay/neuter orgs.:
http://www.lovethatcat.com/spayneuter.html


**Adopt!

If you have room for an additional family member, please visit your local animal shelter, contact your local rescues, or visit  http://www.petfinder.org. Always choose to adopt and save a life. Do not  support the breeding industry.


**Distribute Homeless Animals' Flyers

Help educate your community about the homeless animal crisis. Print and distribute the "No Excuses" flyers found on the following page:  http://www.theanimalspirit.com/noexcuses.html (Rescues and shelters are free  to add their own contact information on the flyer.)


**Become involved with Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)

Learn how to help homeless cats in your community by visiting Feral  Cat Network at: http://www.theanimalspirit.com/feralcatnetwork.html


**Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper

Sample letter (please personalize and reword):


Aug. 21 is Homeless Animals' Day. The International Society for  Animal Rights began this day to publicize companion animal  overpopulation, increase public awareness of the millions of animals  killed in shelters annually due to a lack of homes and to emphasize the importance of spaying and neutering. The total number of animals killed in shelters is debated. Some  estimate there are about 4 to 5 million animals killed per year in  shelters, while others think the number is much, MUCH higher.

These estimates are only for shelter animals; they do not  include street animals who die before ever making it to a shelter.  Whatever the true estimate is, millions of animals die because there  are not enough homes.  On Homeless Animals' Day, make a commitment to support rescue  efforts. Support your local shelter, your local rescue group and your  local independent rescuers. You can do this by having your own  animals spayed or neutered, adopting your next companion animal and  educating others about the importance of spaying or neutering and  adoption.

We CAN end the tragic cycle of killing. Let's get to work!

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED AT COLUMBIANA IN OHIO: I'm sure most of you have seen posts about the Columbiana, Ohio county dog pound. It seems like every week we get messages saying that Columbiana is overcrowded and they are going to begin gassing dogs to make space.

Liz Jones of Peaceable Kingdom rescue in Allentown, PA has done a wonderful job pulling dogs from Columbiana County and getting them into rescue. Liz estimates she has saved about 20 dogs from that horrible place. But she's having a very hard time finding volunteers in the area to pull dogs for her while she arranges transport to PA. Right now Liz has 5 dogs sitting in the Columbiana pound, already altered and waiting for her to pull, but the person who usually helps her with this seems to have disappeared. Liz will pay the adoption fees, but once she has paid, the dogs have to be pulled within 48 hours or she loses both the money and the dogs!

Columbiana County is in eastern Ohio, south of Youngstown  and east of Canton. There really aren't any large towns in Columbiana, which seems to make it harder to find volunteers.  If you know ANYONE in eastern Ohio or western PA who might be able to help, will you please forward this message to them?  I am in Ohio, but about 2-1/2 hours away from Columbiana Co.  Volunteers can contact Liz at  ljones@ot.com.

Thanks so much!

Vikki Weals
Misfit Toys rescue and transport

There's been good news and bad this month -- but the one UNCHANGING aspect of RESCUE is all the wonderful people trying SO HARD to make a difference to all of these spectacular animals. We want you to meet all of them here and look forward to sharing their stories and information with all of you!

Some of the newest to the field are making the biggest splashes, not yet frustrated with the sheer magnitude of it all -- and all that fresh spirit is a boon to all those of us who spend too much time looking at the complexities and not nearly enough looking at all those FANTASTIC SUCCESSES that happen to us all, each and every day.

Yeah, THOSE! The ones that make your HEART SING! Isn't that, after all, the reason most of us are HERE? To make a difference?

We want to hear from you, your problems and successes, your ideas and strategies, what works and what doesn't... and we want pictures of you and of your wonderful pets -- the ones who tell you every day how much they appreciate you -- in their own special inimitable voices.

* * *

Louisiana rescue closure forces placement of animals

A forced closure of a rescue in Louisiana has resulted in many animals losing their lives and many more left homeless by the incident. Here is a plea for assistance from the rescue organization, explaining their plight... Please... for those of you in a position to assist, this is an urgent project.

Please go to www.petfinder.org/shelters/LA89  The pics there are current. The babies we still have are Effie, Ali, Dottie Sue, Lil'Man, Dominique, Ginger, Angel, Smokey, Stormy, Liza, & Lace.  They are all utd, hw neg (on preventative of course), most of them are housetrained and altered also, but ALL will be altered before they go ANYWHERE...

Nothing leaves my house without being spayed/neutered, so that won't be a problem... Also, on the site, the bio's are up to date, so all the info you would need should be there... If there is ANYTHING else I can do please let me know... These really are wonderful dogs... I have worked harder with this rescue than I ever have on anything else, and to have to put down any of them is something I can't even imagine... Myself and my partners in crime are all college students and we all work full time, but these dogs are our lives... Thank you so much for wanting to help... You really don't know what it means to us...

          

Jeanne

And this post from a bit later...

Hi! My name is Jeanne Daley and I believe you had replied to a list posting about my rescue having to shut down... Thanks so much for wanting to help!!!!!! We still have 3 hound/boxer mixes, 4 lab mixes, 1 beagle/cur mix (the sweetest thing ever to walk to face of the earth), and 2 pit bulls..... They have gone from living in a home environment where they were in and out all day and inside at night to living in kennels... Honestly, the yellow lab mix (angel) and the beagle/cur mix (man) are taking it the worst. I have had both of them since they were little pups... The hounds I have had since before they were even born... I found their mother, starved, toothless, 10 years old, and pregnant with 13 pups living out of a dumpster... Who could say no to that... Anyway, we also have one kitty :) Buuuuut, just let me know if there is anything you guys can do to help these wonderful dogs... Thank you so much....

           jeanne and the mutty krewe

• NO KILL SHELTER UNDER FIRE
  MADISONVILLE, TN SHELTER CLOSING

• What's Up With GREECE??

• From DVM: Urgent on Vaccinations

• THE HAYDEN BILL REPEAL: HELP!

• KILLING THE CALLED FOR: WHY??

• OUR ASSISTANCE NEEDED PAGE

• PLEASE CHECK OUT OUR URGENTS

• ABANDONED AS SENIORS...

• THE TRAGIC STORIES OF THESE PETS

• DONOVAN: TRUE STORY OF CHAINS

• ACCIDENTAL INGESTION OF MEDS?

• DNA in FOODS 'DANGEROUS'

•  IL ORDINANCE ATTACKS WORKERS

• DESPERATE PLEA FOR FOSTERS

• HOMELESS MAN PLEADS FOR PUPS

• NC TOWN ORDERS SHELTER CLOSURE

• Which E-LISTS FOR YOU?

• MONROE COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY CLOSING

• JUDE IS BEING DISPLACED AGAIN...
  
   

Hello everyone,

Free memberships are going out for the year at this cool new site:  www.loveunleashed.com It really is a cute site with lots of great doggie oriented information... and it's nicely done for a site that has a lot of dating info.

Write, Call -- Get Involved! 1.888.831.4365

We need you and so do they!

Got a Spot in your heart for a Dal?

TAHOE

If you're new to this site and just learning to find your way around, click on the pics of the pups to go almost anywhere... and the navigation program is set up for easy navigation.

We have special places for special pups... and they are divided into categories and such... we are currently building databases of rescues all over the country.

We were pushed into making it accessible sooner than anticipated because of the fantastic numbers of pups being put to sleep at this time, so we want you to know we're peddling as fast as we can.

Please bear with us and we will have this DONE soon -- for as done as a site like this can ever be with all the daily changes that need to take place. We're glad you're hear! Please tell everyone you know about us and our wonderful pets

 www.rescueclearinghouse.com

Some of the rescues featured on our site:

ALLIANCE FOR ANIMALS

SAFE HAVEN PET RESCUE

f

FERDET

EINSTEIN

MARLEY

MEMPHIS

MAXWELL

POKEY

ODIE

BARBARA

http://pawprints.8k.com
Think of this as "Doggie Audio" Available 24 Hours A Day!
 

SOLOMON

TIRZAH