HSUS Investigated by Louisiana AG's Office

Monday, April 17, 2006 News Updates Louisiana Opens More Katrina Investigations By Mark Hrywna The American Red Cross isn’t the only charity being scrutinized about its efforts after last summer’s Gulf Coast hurricanes. The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office is looking to The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) after complaints about pet/owner reunions. The office asked HSUS for an accounting of all money raised for pet rescue and reunion with pet owners in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last summer. The office received complaints from pet owners about problems finding their pets following the hurricanes. In some cases, pet owners claim that those currently caring for the displaced pets are refusing to reunite the pets with proper owners. Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr., said an official Civil Investigative Demand letter was sent to the Humane Society, which is issued on information and the belief that some act of consumer law has been violated. Asked how many complaints the attorney general’s office received, Wartelle replied, “Dozens, not hundreds,” including a couple from other agencies. Wayne Pacelle, president of The Humane Society of the United States, said a response to the inquiry was sent within days of the letter. “The reality was, we were working under the incident command structure of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry,” he said, which had originally set an Oct. 15 date to begin allowing adoptions of rescued pets. “As things were unfolding, we realized there would be many successful reunions post-October 15,” he said. The HSUS then lobbied the state to extend that date another month before getting local shelters to voluntarily agree to not adopt out animals until December. “We were really boxed in in a lot of ways,” Pacelle said. A temporary shelter in Gonzalez, La., about an hour from New Orleans, served as a staging area and emergency shelter for 1,300 animals. But those had to be moved to make room for the 300 animals rescued per day, he said, adding that the property owner was “quite hostile” and charged the HSUS $6,000 a day. On top of that, animals had to be evacuated again once Hurricane Rita was found to be heading for the area. “Frankly, I think this is the attorney general not understanding the degree of difficulty facilitating reunions,” he said. “It involves a lot of logistics.” The bulk of animals rescued were not spayed or neutered, and lacked proper identification, he said, and in some cases, animals were left to fend for themselves. “There were a lot of problems.” About $5 million in contributions were specifically earmarked for Gulf Coast disasters, according to Pacelle, with about a half-million coming from Louisiana specifically. The society has spent nearly all of the money it raised during the last six months on the Gulf Coast, he said, but also about $500,000 on other disasters, including Hurricane Wilma in Florida, the Pakistan earthquake and a cyclone in India. Pacelle said the reunion rate during disasters is usually 10 to 15 percent, but in the Gulf Coast hurricanes it was 23 percent. More than 10,000 animals were rescued and about 2,300 pets were reunited, with the humane society picking up the tab for transportation in most cases. Pacelle said it comes down to how one measures success. “For us, it was a very clear issue,” he said. “Local shelters played indispensable roles in taking in animals that were rescued…and they could not indefinitely hold these animals.” If a large facility has a capacity for 300 or 400 animals, it cannot hold 75 Katrina animals for six or seven months, he said. “That would be inhumane to be in a kennel that long. Fortunately, there were thousands of people across the country willing to adopt these animals.” “It’s a little bit galling” that the attorney general’s office is examining the Humane Society, Pacelle said. There were dozens of animal groups aiding in the Gulf Coast disaster and participating in getting animals’ photos onto www.petfinder.com. “We just happened to the most effective. “We have not misused any funds. We are beyond scrupulous in allocating these resources,” he said. The HSUS has spent or pledged more than $25 million to the Gulf Coast region. “We’re going to spend all of it on all these programs and activities. We’re very confident once (the attorney general’s) office looks at this, they’ll understand we’re doing precisely what donors asked. “We’ve been transparent throughout the process. Our response to the crisis has been very focused and thorough. It’s not just doing pet reunions; that wasn’t the entire purpose of the exercise,” Pacelle said. In addition to pet reunions, the agency has made commitments to reconstructing shelters, conducting spay and neuter programs, ongoing field projects and aiding other agencies. Copyright © 2005 The NonProfit Times.

Is this your ShihTzu or Lhasa mix?

This dog went from Lamar Dixon to the NW Louisiana Humane Society in Shreveport but was never posted on Petfinder. I don't know if this is a male or female, but it is very likely that it was rescued from or picked up in St. Bernard Parish. I'm also not sure of the breed, so if someone has a better idea, please let me know. If you think you recognize this dog, please contact me: noanimalleftbehind@gmail.com

In Memory of Mercy

Reward Now Stands At $10,000

POSTED: 1:17 am CDT April 24, 2006

UPDATED: 11:31 am CDT April 24, 2006

DALLAS -- Mercy, the 10-month-old puppy who was doused with gasoline and set on fire, died Sunday at about 9:30 p.m. at the veterinary clinic where she was being treated.Doctors said Mercy showed some improvement Saturday, but her condition started to deteriorate Sunday afternoon. She was given a plasma transfusion, but shortly afterward her heart -- weakened by burns over 60 percent of her body -- stopped beating.The young pit-bull mix was rescued Friday, April 14, by a Dallas man who saw her in the wooded area behind the Rock Creek Apartments at Preston and Belt Line in Far North Dallas. He took the dog to Operation Kindness Animal Shelter in Carrolton, where she was given immediate veterinary care.Mercy was transferred to the Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center last Monday. She had surgery the following day to remove most of her burned ears and begin the painful debridement treatment. Doctors cautioned that, because of the severity and extent of her injuries -- which also included stab wounds and cuts -- her prognosis was guarded."All of us at Operation Kindness, as well as thousands of people who have been moved by her plight, are grieving for Mercy," said Jonnie England, executive director at Operation Kindness. "We were so hopeful that this beautiful, gentle dog, who had suffered and endured unbearable pain, would pull through in the end. It's more important than ever that the person who brutalized her be caught and brought to justice, for Mercy's sake."The reward now stands at $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for torturing and, ultimately, killing Mercy.The case is being investigated by Dallas Animal Services' Cruelty Division and the Dallas Police Department. Anyone with information should call 311 or Dallas Animal Services at (214) 671-0246.

Animated Flashback of Hurricane Katrina