Saturday, May 8, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
Keep Your Mouth Shut or Else!
The No Kill Advocacy Center has become increasingly aware that some officials who oversee shelters are threatening volunteers and rescuers that if they speak publicly about conditions at the shelter, they will be banned from volunteering or rescuing animals. But in actually banning or threatening to ban volunteers and rescuers, these officials nationwide are not only holding the animals hostage by threatening to kill them as punishment, they are also violating the civil rights of volunteers.
In 2008, Los Angeles rescuers teamed up with the No Kill Advocacy Center to file a lawsuit which alleged that the civil rights of volunteers and rescuers were being violated as retaliation for going public with their observations of inhumane conditions and neglectful treatment at the shelter. The court agreed.
In applying a federal civil rights statute to this area, the court gave animal activists a powerful weapon to reform the nation’s broken animal shelter system. Volunteers and rescuers no longer have to choose between remaining silent about abuses or risk losing their ability to help some animals by volunteering or rescuing them from death row.
Attorney Sheldon Eisenberg, who brought the ground-breaking lawsuit, argues that “Section 1983,” which was enacted as part of the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 “can now help extend the protection of laws to those individuals committed to safeguarding the welfare and rights of the animals entrusted to our care.”
Read the article by clicking here.
About the Author
Sheldon Eisenberg is a principal founding partner of the Los Angeles law firm of Eisenberg, Raizman, Thurston, and Wong LLP. For over 25 years, companies from all sectors of the Southern California economy have entrusted their most significant litigation problems to Mr. Eisenberg—from cutting edge technology and telecommunications companies to financial institutions and real estate developers, from Hollywood studios and other entertainment companies to software developers and publishers, and from literary and talent agencies to advertisers and national public relations firms.
He recently represented animal rescuers and animal protection organizations, including the No Kill Advocacy Center, to protect volunteer whistleblowers who document abuses from being fired, defend an animal's right to prompt and necessary veterinary care while in the shelter, and require that shelters offer animals to rescue groups or for adoption, rather than kill them. The case Nguyen vs. County of Los Angeles settled in plaintiffs’ favor.
Mr. Eisenberg will be leading a workshop on Litigating No Kill at the national No Kill Conference 2009 in Washington D.C.
To find out more, go to www.nokillconference.org.
No Kill Advocacy Center. 6114 La Salle Ave. #837. Oakland CA 94611. www.nokill.org Unsubscribe
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Pet Rules
To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - snout height.
Dear Dogs and Cats,
The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is not a secret exit from the bathroom. If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years --canine or feline attendance is not mandatory.
The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough!
To pacify you, my dear pets, I have posted the following message on our front door:
To All Non-Pet Owners Who Visit & Like to Complain About Our Pets
1. They live here. You don't.
2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. (That's why they call it "fur"niture.)
3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
4. To you, it's an animal. To me, he/she is an adopted son/daughter who is short, hairy, walks on all fours and doesn't speak clearly.
Remember: Dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
1. Eat less
2. Don't ask for money all the time
3 Are easier to train
4. Usually come when called
5. Never drive your car
6. Don't hang out with drug-using friends
7. Don't smoke or drink
8. Don't worry about having to buy the latest fashions
9 Don't wear your clothes
10. Don't need a gazillion dollars for college, and
11. If they get pregnant, you can sell their children.
Dog Breeders
If you buy from commercial breeders, they make a profit and breed more puppies.
If you adopt a rescue dog, the adoption fee is used to help more rescues.
It's your money. It's your choice.
This is hard to read, but it's the truth. Pass it on, please.
I Will Keep Posting This Until "You" get it (Everywhere)
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Reply to: see below
Date: 2009-01-03, 1:08AM MST
I am not the original author of this letter, but thought it was important to share with everyone, especially during such tough economic times when many people can't afford to keep their pets anymore. The shelters are OVERFLOWING, so please don't adopt from a breeder or worse yet a puppy mill.
A Letter from a Shelter Manager
I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.
First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.
That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.
The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".
Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.
Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.
If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.
Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".
First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.
When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?
I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.
I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.
Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.
My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!
Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Oliver is ready for his new home.


This is the nicest dog. He's a Labrador Retriever, about a year old.
He puts up with this, for photo sessions. He'd make a great family dog for a family with older children. He loves to play. He's neutered, and up to date on his shots.
Write us at amandasrescue@aol.com or azdesertrottis@aol.com for more info.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Meet Tipper
COMMENTARY: Rescuing animals is ‘God-given task’
Amy Forbus, May 5, 2010Crystal is being cared for by Amy Forbus while she awaits an adoptive home. |
Staff Writer
I knew it had gotten serious when I received this message from a friend: “You’re my doggy connection. Friend from high school is moving back to Texas in the spring and wants a big dog. I told her I know the Harriet Tubman of big dogs.”
At that point, I had helped place a couple of dogs with people who were willing to love and care for them, and had just begun taking foster dogs into my own home. My exposure to what we had jokingly called “The Underpup Railroad” was growing.
Since December, I have pulled 11 dogs from the euthanasia lists of two shelters under the auspices of three different rescue organizations. Some dogs I’ve packed into the car and driven out of state, where another driver waited to take them on the next leg of the journey to foster homes. Others have stayed with me before moving to long-term foster or adoptive homes.
Since March, we have had Crystal, a pit bull terrier, and Pooh Bear, a border collie mix puppy, as our long-term foster dogs. (Why yes, my husband is a saint. How did you guess?)
After I’d learned the two were about to be euthanized, I spent the evening in an e-mail frenzy submitting all of the proper rescue paperwork. Early the next morning, I drove to my local city animal shelter and picked up Crystal and Pooh Bear on what would have been the last day of their lives. They had been kenneled together at the shelter and were already fast friends.
Challenges
The following days were not easy. We treated Pooh Bear for a bacterial infection, and when she got past that, we had her spayed. Crystal had already been spayed, but we are working on helping her overcome her shyness around new people and places.
The bills for vaccinations, surgeries, medications and kibble start to add up. Not to mention the cost of patching a hole in the carpet after we’d made the wrong call on whether a dog was ready to be left alone in a room.
Our own dogs, an Australian Cattle Dog and a shepherd/collie mix, aren’t exactly thrilled with these strange critters coming through their house. But they’ve learned to cope, and sometimes it even seems as though they understand what we’re doing.
Caring for creation
And as I see it, what we’re doing is a ministry. It’s an act of caring for God’s creation, just like the recycling we place by the curb and the composting and organic gardening we do in the backyard.
Countless generations ago, humans used the dominion God gave us to domesticate a species. That process left the species dependent upon us for their well-being. I choose to be one of the humans who accepts a caretaking role, believing that it’s a God-given assignment.
Last weekend, as a friend and I drove away from a shelter with five dogs in the back of the car, she expressed her sadness that we couldn’t save every animal there—especially Tildie, a black-and-tan shepherd mutt who had gotten our attention.
I told her that when I fret over not being able to save them all, I rely on a story that’s easily found on the Internet called “Parable of the Starfish.” The upshot: If you can make even a small difference, then make one.
Euthanization day at that shelter was the following Monday, and that sweet black-and-tan girl was on the list. But on Monday, my friend called the shelter. She made the difference for one more.
Welcome home, Tildie.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Please consider helping this dog.

He is so weak, he can't use his muscles.

| This is our vet, holding up Courage's head Please help Courage. I Need A Hero. SPECIAL UPDATE! A three-year-old German Shepherd was tied up on a chain in a back yard without food or water. He was prone in the back yard whimpering...he could not rise or raise his head. He had not eaten in weeks and weeks...he could not escape to find water because he was chained. We have named this valiant boy Courage. He has already undergone extensive emergency treatment including blood and plasma transfusions, a complete GI flush, antibiotics, fluids...all to help save his life. His entire intestinal tract was full of DIRT---he had been eating DIRT to try to survive. At the time of his rescue, this adult shepherd weighed 37 pounds. He is currently bones and skin. Our vet confirmed that he would not have lived one more day without intervention. He just arrived 4/7 so we will provide more info as soon as possible. We are desperate for donations to help save his life. Please help. We are all in shock right now and will update soon. 4/10/10 Update -- Courage is defying the odds and responding very quickly to treatment and care. He is eating special intestinal diet dog food and keeping it down! Volunteers have been sitting with him, stroking him, and telling him what a wonderful boy he is. He went home for the night with an ER Vet Tech so that he could have round-the-clock care. He still can't stand, nor do we want him to until he has more strength. Right now, there is no muscle to support his bones, so he would fall an injure himself if allowed to get up. We are deeply grateful for the support and strength that we are receiving on his behalf. 4/11/10 Update -- Courage will spend his days at the ER clinic (but no longer on IVs) just being monitored, fed often, and kept comfortable on his heap of pillows. At night, he goes home with an ER vet tech, who feeds him his small meals round the clock. He is making impressive improvement already....he has gained 4 pounds on his special diet. We are astonished at how sweet and forgiving he is. It looks good for him to recover but long-term effects are yet to be determined. 4/12/10 Update - Continued improvement today with him starting to want to get up! His care givers say that he wants to eat everything in sight...bowls, blankets, etc. but he has to be fed small portions at regular intervals to protect his weak system. Everyone thinks it's a miracle that he is doing as well as he is after such a short time. Tomorrow, we will transmit a Press Release posting a reward for the capture of his tormentor. $1,000 Reward for information leading to arrest thanks to a generous animal lover who posted this for us. When paying with PAYPAL (the yellow "Donate" button), you can enter the dog of your choice that you want your donation to go to. If using a credit card, you will see a link that says "Add special Instructions to the seller" AFTER you have put in your Credit Card information. Click on the link and enter the dog's name. If you are using your own PAYPAL account,once logged in, you will the same link "Add special Instrucions to the seller". Click on it to enter a name. To complete your payment, review the details below and click Donate. | |||

He is so weak, he can't use his muscles
Please help this dog.....this one is a heart breaker.
German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County Adoption detail
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