A Must-Read for Dog Lovers

...and please support your independent book seller. One of my favorites, Prairie Lights, is linked above, or search for one near you at Booksense.

55+ Dead and Dying Dogs at Waggin' Tails Animal Rescue in Iowa

Click on the link above to read the full story - photos are graphic & disturbing.

The dog above was one of over 40 found dead at the farm owned by Michele Kintzer in rural Eldora, Iowa (Hardin County).

She is yet one more hoarder who operated yet one more animal rescue scam known as Waggin Tails.

There were no waggin tails when this canine Auschwitz was discovered.

For some reason, both the county sheriff’s office and the county attorney have not actively pursued charges even though the evidence is about as damning and graphic as it could possibly be.

Original newspaper article here.

Pit Bull found inside truck engine is reunited with her owner!

To Tricia J. in Destrehan, LA who had Lucky the Beagle euthanized

Dear Tricia J,

I am sorry for the recent loss of your father, but frankly more sorry for the senseless and unnecessary death of Lucky. Your father was 75 years old and had a long and fulfilling life. Lucky survived Katrina as a puppy, was shuttled around and then spent two years with your family - her third "home."

And then you had her killed.

Several people offered to help Lucky find a new home with absolutely nothing in it for themselves. I know that some animal rescuers can become overbearing, self-righteous and dogmatic; I know that some can be "too much" to deal with at times. But I read over all the emails between you and those offering to help and they were simply offering to help - not being judgmental or critical of your decision to "re-home" her.

BUT, in spite of that, I don't understand how you can have this dog, any dog, as part of your family for two years and then decide that you just don't have room for her. A dog that "loved people" and was "great with children". Those are your words.

It makes no sense that you, your husband, your mother and your two kids can live in a house that's big enough for all five of you yet there's no room for a 25 lb. dog? One that "never once had an accident in the house."
A completely trained dog.
A spayed, sweet, healthy, friendly dog?



You also claimed that the backyard of your new house is too small? Too bad. I have a small, weed-infested backyard with no fence and I own three dogs. Now I know that this may come as a news flash, but I WALK my dogs at least twice a day, sometimes more in nice weather, and I take them to the dog park to run and play as often as possible.

You have a husband and two kids and between the four of you it was impossible to walk one medium-sized dog a few times a day?

Dogs are not meant to be left alone in back yards no matter their breed or size. They can escape. They can get stolen. Or they can just be very sad and lonely to be out in the yard when the rest of their pack is in the house.

I have a good friend (and fellow Katrina reunion volunteer) who was recently forced to sell her home due to having one of those mortgages, and had 6 weeks to find a house to rent. She has a husband, a pre-schooler and 3 PIT BULLS - not the easiest situation. But like most of us whose pets are part of our families, she was no more willing to give up her dogs than she would be to give up her son. So they worked really hard and finally found a landlord who was willing to rent to them. All of them; three pit bulls included. Imagine that! If she could find a house to RENT with 3 PIT BULLS, you could have taken one house-broken, sweet, lovable Beagle with you to the new house you bought.

You even knew that the St. Charles shelter was so full that if you took her there, she'd likely be euthanized. Well, thanks to you, she was euthanized.

So what went wrong here? Was this whole thing a scam? Were the logistics just too complicated for you? I've heard that it came down to you wanting her gone so you could show your house. For real? Like you couldn't take her with you for the hour or so the realtor was coming over with prospective buyers? You even said in an email to the person offering to help find a new home for Lucky that you didn't want to "break my kids' hearts."

Well, I'm guessing that you did.

HSUS offers rewards to report dogfighting

Animal Fighting Hurts Animals, Children, Communities and You

Be Part of the Solution

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) offers a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in dogfighting or cockfighting.

If you have information about illegal animal fighting, you are eligible for this reward. Here are the steps to take.

1. Call your local police department or animal control agency. Give them as many details as you can about the suspected animal fighting situation.
   
   You do not need to give your name to law enforcement to report illegal animal fighting.
   
   Tell the law enforcement agency about The HSUS's reward program.
   
   
2. Get a letter from law enforcement. If the suspected animal fighter is convicted, ask the law enforcement agency involved in the case to write a letter to The HSUS.
   
   The letter should state that your tip helped lead to the arrest and prosecution of the convicted animal fighter. The letter should be mailed or faxed to:
   

   Animal Fighting Reward Program
   c/o Ann Chynoweth
   The Humane Society of the United States
   2100 L St. NW
   Washington, DC 20037
   FAX: 301-721-6414

3. Call The HSUS for more information. If you have questions about the reward program, please call us at 202-452-1100 or go to humanesociety.org

Spread the Word!

Order our Animal Fighting Reward posters and display them prominently throughout your community or wherever you suspect illegal dogfighting is occurring. To order your free action pack of dogfighting reward posters and stickers, send an email to officeservices@humanesociety.org.

Additionally, The HSUS offers rewards in specific animal cruelty cases, at the request of local law enforcement, to assist in apprehending perpetrators. If you have information about any of the cases below, please contact the local law enforcement agency listed in the case descriptions. You can also contact The HSUS's Media Relations Department at 202-452-1100.

Note: In order to qualify for the Rewards program, this must be an open case. Additionally, law enforcement officers (including ACOs and Humane Officers) are not eligible for the HSUS Rewards program.

Recent Rewards Offered

April 7, 2008: Reward Offered In Shoreham, Vt. Dog Shooting Death

March 25, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward in Redstone, Pa. Dog Burnings

March 19, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Cheyenne, Wyo. Puppy Deaths

March 18, 2008: National Group Offers Reward After Dogs Stolen From Sumter County Humane Society

March 12, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward in Reported Billings, Mont. Dog Theft

March 7, 2008: Reward Offered in Pioneertown, Calif., Animal Cruelty Case

March 4, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Penn Township, Pa. St. Bernard Shooting

February 29, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Tacony, Pa. Dog's Burning Death

February 27, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Paterson, N.J. Pregnant Dog Abuse Case

February 19, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Indianapolis Horse Shooting

February 5, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward in Memphis, Tenn. Pit Bull Burning Death

January 11, 2008: Reward Offered in Union County, Tenn. Puppy Torture Case

January 10, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Galveston, Tex. Dog Tethering Cruelty Case

January 10, 2008: The HSUS Offers Reward In Cape May County, N.J. Pit Bull Death

January 9, 2008: Reward Offered In Edenton, N.C. Puppy Burning Deaths

UPDATE: Francisvale Home for Smaller Animals

All is not well at Francisvale.

A very young puppy was found dead / drowned in a bucket of water.

A member of the Board of Directors wanted to allow hunting on the property. This was actually put on the agenda, discussed and voted on.

I don't think I'm the only one who finds the idea of HUNTING AND KILLING ANIMALS ON THE PROPERTY OF A NO-KILL SHELTER to be horribly and tragically wrong.

Katrina dog gets reunited yesterday !!

Thank you Sue G. (i.e. Spiritsmom) and Susan F. (Stealth Volunteer) for your dedication to reuniting Katrina dogs with their families; and continued thanks to Sue G. for all the time and work you've devoted to maintaining your Flickr site.

Sue G. first posted Gracie on her site in 2006 with this Petfinder page, hoping that her owner might see her.

Fast forward two years when Sue then found this on Craigslist - Gracie was returned to the same shelter when the man who had adopted her was killed in Iraq.

Susan F. then worked hard to track down Gracie's original family who were located in New Orleans and Kentucky. When they saw the photo of their dog that Susan emailed them, they drove to the Fayetteville Animal Protection Society, Inc. to reclaim their beloved family pet.

Click on the title link to read the full story and see photos and video of the reunion.

It is no surprise that the word "Grace" translates to: thanks, fortune, luck; the exercise of love, kindness, mercy, favor; disposition to benefit or serve another.

Thank you Sue and Susan!!
Thank you Fayetteville Animal Protection Society.
Thank you to the family of the serviceman who returned Gracie to the shelter - I am so very sorry for your incomprehensible loss, and so grateful that in the midst of your grief, to think about his dog and make sure she was returned to the shelter. I hope that this reunion gives you a feeling of peace knowing that your small act of kindness helped to heal a family.

Thank You Oprah

Puppies are a cash crop in Pennsylvania

SE PA Puppy Mills Exposed on Oprah

Oprah responds to billboard request by local animal welfare advocate to do a show about Pennsylvania puppy mills.

"I would never, ever adopt another pet now without going to a shelter to do it," Winfrey said in a statement released yesterday. "I am a changed woman after seeing this show."

Click on above link to read today's story in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Friday, April 4th, 2008

4:00 p.m. EST

(show repeated at 1:05 am EST)

Booth's corner farmers market

No Buddy Gets Left Behind

The SPCA International is re-uniting American soldiers with the dogs they fell in love with while serving in Iraq.

Click on the above link to the Bagdad Pups site and from there watch videos and read more.

Interesting report about legal ramifications of animals rescued from disasters

(please use above link to read the report from the original source)

Do We Decon Dogs?

Legal guidance on decontaminating animals

Do your preparedness plans and protocols include the decontamination of animals? They should.

Historically, an ongoing debate has raged about whether animals have "rights." In other words, do humans have an ethical or legal duty toward animals in general or at least to some classes of animals?

Ethical rights and duties are determined and enforced by public opinion. Various religions have differing views on the ethical rights of animals, ranging from the Buddhist belief that all life is interrelated to certain Christian beliefs that animals exist only for the use of human beings.

By contrast, legal rights are conferred by legislatures or the common law and are enforced by court action. And responders have varying levels of legal responsibility to animals.

Animals are unequal under the law

Traditionally, the law distinguished between two types of animals, wild and domestic. As animals become domesticated, they-and their owners-acquire more legal status. For example, the owner of a lost pet clearly has a greater claim for its return than does a trapper who loses a captured animal.

The current legal view considers domestic animals to be their owners' personal property. This has several implications. Traditionally, common law has recognized that individuals have an inherent privilege to control and use their possessions as they wish, with minimal legal oversight. Because the law stipulates that someone may not use a possession to cause harm to others, for example, the owner of a dog known to be aggressive must muzzle that dog.

Pets: Under current law, an owner may recover only actual damages to a pet, meaning that any loss of a pet would likely result in a financial award sufficient only to replace that pet at the animal's fair market value.

Recently, however, some courts have allowed claims for loss of a pet to include some compensation for sentimental value.

Claims for emotional damages suffered by animal owners have seldom proved successful. But some legal scholars envision future claims for loss of companionship and have proposed laws to remedy this and other damage inequities involving the loss of pets.

A logical extension of this reasoning could allow an individual to file a lawsuit for a failure to decontaminate a pet. However, such a lawsuit likely would not succeed because of the immunity that protects public safety agencies under most circumstances-especially if the claim involved a mass casualty situation.

Although no laws require first response agencies to decontaminate pets, people most likely will have close contact with their pets, so it may make sense to decontaminate those animals-if only to prevent people from becoming recontaminated. This does present a couple of problems, however. Often, pets are not accustomed to being handled by strangers, especially the type of handling required to decontaminate them, so they could present dangers to responders. Additionally, most evacuation facilities do not admit pets, so the problem arises about where to put the animals. So you'll need to incorporate ways to solve these problems into your pre-incident plan.

Working animals & service animals: First responders will encounter two classes of animals in hazmat environments that do have special rights under the law: working animals and service animals.

Working animals-including police horses, arson dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs-have the rights and privileges of commissioned officers and must be treated accordingly. This means if your protocols call for the decontamination of commissioned officers in a hazmat environment, you also must decon these working animals.

Animals that have received special training and have unique responsibilities toward their disabled owners occupy a special niche in the law. Common examples of service animals include seeing-eye dogs, deaf-assistance dogs and paraplegic-assistance animals. Although dogs are the most common service animals, other animals, such as monkeys and pigs, have also been trained to fulfill special needs for the disabled.

Because service animals are usually the property and extension of a disabled person, they have significant legal rights derived from federal disability laws. Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12182[a]) requires that, "No individual shall be discriminated against on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations of any place of public accommodation."

Service animals are also generally exempt from laws that restrict the presence of pets. The U.S. Justice Department states, "Generally, a public accommodation shall modify policies, practices, or procedures to permit the use of a service animal by an individual with a disability."

The Justice Department explains that this statement "reflects the general intent of Congress that public accommodations take the necessary steps to accommodate service animals and to ensure that individuals with disabilities are not separated from their service animals. It is intended that the broadest feasible access be provided to service animals in all places of public accommodation."

Decontamination facilities are considered places of public accommodation. As such, they legally cannot restrict a seeing-eye dog just as they cannot refuse to decontaminate the dog's blind owner. Service animals are trained to be handled by strangers and would likely peacefully submit to decontamination procedures, especially in the presence of their owners. Therefore, any argument that decontamination of the animal might present a threat to health and safety likely would not override accommodation laws.

People who suffer discrimination under federal accommodation laws may file a civil rights lawsuit-even against public officials and government agencies. Civil rights lawsuits also lack immunities or damage caps, so a court may award a plaintiff both punitive damages and attorney's fees.

In addition, a flurry of recent state laws specifically addresses harm to service animals, and penalties for violation of those laws range from monetary damages to criminal penalties. Such laws likely will proliferate, and first response agencies should know the applicable statutes in their state and consult legal counsel on how such laws would apply in a mass casualty situation.

Although no legal decisions have specifically addressed the need to decontaminate service animals, federal and state laws indicate a clear responsibility to do so-and include penalties for not doing so.

First response agencies should develop policies and procedures to address the decontamination of both service animals and working animals and then train responders in those techniques.

For more information on the subject of animal decontamination, check out these online courses from the Federal Emergency Management Agency: "IS 10: Animals in Disaster - Module A Awareness and Preparedness" and "IS 11: Animals in Disaster - Module B Community Planning."

Spencer Hall, MD, JD, is an emergency physician and consulting attorney in New Mexico who teaches courses on preparedness for weapons of mass destruction for the National Defense Preparedness Consortium. He has ongoing field experience in fire, EMS, hazmat and emergency management.

The author would like to thank Lexis-Nexis andthe Texas Engineering Extension Service of the Texas A&M University System for research support for this article.

Homeland First Response is an online publication that trancends job titles (police chief, fire captain, EMS supervisor) and focuses on an all-hazards approach to major incidents for all segments of public safety. Originally started by Elsevier Public Safety as a print publication, it is now exclusively in online format. It serves as a conduit to inform each public safety sector with groundbreaking articles about important developments and intiatives in each area and appears as a featured section on JEMS.com .

Copyright © Elsevier Inc., a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy.

Suspect & fugitive in Edna case arrested

Victor Rodriguez, the 15 year old who has been under a bench warrant by the Philadelphia police for failure to appear at his arraignment, was apprehended today and is in police custody. He is the suspect sought for having placed terroristic and extortionistic phone calls to Bill Whiting while torturing a dog he claimed to be Bill's dog, Edna.

The Justice for Edna rally & press conference is Wednesday (see previous blog post for more details) in front of the Verizon building in Philadelphia at 1717 Arch Street. William B. Petersen, the President of Verizon PA, will be asked to accept the 839 pages of the petition that was signed by more than 5000 people from all over the world.

Beautiful Young Redhead seeks forever home in NYC area

If you are looking for a dog truly deserving of your love and devotion, please click on the above link.

Potential adopters will be carefully screened!

JUSTICE for EDNA rally Wednesday March 5th

The Philadelphia District Attorney's office has asked Bill to hold a press conference on Wednesday, March 5th, at 12 noon.

It will be held in front of the Verizon Tower at 1717 Arch Street.

New information about his dog, Edna's disappearance will be released to the press.

People are encouraged to make a presence and to bring their pets if at all possible.

Justice for Edna t-shirts will be sold for $5.00 at the rally.

Please cross-post this to anyone you feel might be interested in animal rights, and how animal cruelty escalates to violent crimes against people.

Chicago Premiere: Because They Have No Words

(EVANSTON, ILLINOIS) Piven Theatre proudly announces the Chicago Premiere of Because They Have No Words, written by Tim Maddock and Lotti Louise Pharriss, and directed by Emilie Beck.

• Production opens on Monday, May 12^th
• Production runs from May 12^th – June 15^th
• Tickets: $23-25 / group rates available for groups of 10 or more.
• At the Piven Theatre, 927 Noyes Street in Evanston.
• Ticket and show information at (847) 866-8049 or www.piventheatre.org
  

Because They Have No Words was nominated for the 2007 Ovation Awards in two catagories: World Premiere Play and Ensemble Performance.

This production focuses on the true story of Tim Maddock who, in response to Hurricane Katrina, traveled to New Orleans and threw himself into the chaos of animal rescue efforts in the wake of the storm. In September of 2005, Tim loaded his car with food, water, clothing and rescue gear. He said goodbye to his partner and his dog, and drove straight into the heart of one of the greatest natural disasters in our country’s history.

During his time in New Orleans, Tim witnessed great human tragedy and stupendous bureaucratic blunders. From the stranded animals somehow able to weather the storm, to the frantic, grief-stricken families searching for the pets they were forced to abandon, the flood of emotion was a constant reminder of the failures of a city, a state, and a nation to respond when their citizens needed them most.

The play, written by Tim Maddock and Lotti Louise Pharriss received its world-premiere in L.A. under the direction of Piven Theatre Workshop alum Emilie Beck. Piven Theatre is pleased to reunite the playwrights with their original director, Ms. Beck, for this Midwest Premiere and to announce that the play’s author and inspiration, Tim Maddock, will be starring in the production.

This riveting true story has been called “Raw, moving, and darkly humorous” by the L.A. Weekly and Backstage West proclaims it “Reminds us of what good theatre is capable of achieving.”

About The Piven Theatre:

For 35 years, the Piven Theatre Workshop has remained a nationally respected acting school and professional Equity theatre. Within recent years, Piven Theatre has received an After Dark Award for Outstanding Ensemble, several Joseph Jefferson Recommendations, a Jeff Award for Best New Adaptation, and a Jeff nomination for Best Original Score. Co-Founders Byrne & Joyce Piven have trained countless theatre artists such as John and Joan Cusack, Kate Walsh, Aidan Quinn, Lili Taylor and Jeremy Piven, to name only a few. Stagebill honored the Pivens with the designation “Chicago’s first family of acting.” The Pivens have been awarded the Evanston Arts Council Youth and Education Award, the Evanston Mayors Award for the Arts, Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Chicago Improv Festival, and the University of Chicago’s Glorious Gargoyle Award for lifetime contribution to the theatre. They were named 1996 Artists of the Year by the Chicago Tribune and were recipients of the Chicago Drama League’s 1998 Crystal Award. In 2000, they were awarded a Joseph Jefferson Lifetime Achievement Award. For more information, please visit www.piventheatre.org

Video of memorial for the murdered pets of St. Bernard Parish

Pam Leavy, the guardian angel for the animals of New Orleans since Katrina, made this video of last month's memorial service for the pets that were murdered at three schools in St. Bernard Parish as well as shot on the street murdered by St. Bernard Parish sheriff deputies.

The memorial service was conceived, planned and organized by Kelle Davis, a rescuer from Texas, who wanted to simply lay some flowers outside P.T. Beauregard School.

Because the memorial was planned for the day that the trial against the deputies was set to begin, other Katrina rescuers were in town, and Kelle's plan for a small, personal memorial soon took on a life of it's own as evident from the video.

People from all over the country who couldn't be there but who had been involved with Katrina rescues and reunions sent flowers and wreaths; some, like Kelle's rescue partner Barb, decided to hop on a plane from CA to Louisiana at the last minute. John Bozes drove many hours to be there - his dog Angel Girl was killed along with two of his family's other dogs.

One of the highlights of the video is Barb and Kelle's reunion with Mercedes, the dog belonging to Chris Acosta that they rescued weeks after the massacre. Kelle not only rescued Mercedes, but fostered her and then reunited her with her very grateful owner and was thrilled to see her and Chris again.

(Chris Acosta is featured in the film, An American Opera, for having rescued many elderly residents from St. Rita's Nursing Home; e saved the lives of many people before evacuating himself).

Thank you all for signing petition for Edna

More than 5000 signatures were collected and the petition was delivered to the Mayor of Philadelphia as well as to the Chairman & CEO of Verizon and the President of Verizon-Pennsylvania.

Click above for a complete update.

Happy Birthday Murphy!

Murphy taking a nap on Ruby

Murphy is three years old.

I will never know his real birthday so today seems like an appropriate day to celebrate the dog love of my life.

Murphy came to me as a foster in the fall of 2005, a Katrina orphan. I searched for his owner from the moment I first saw his Petfinder records in early September. One of the Petfinder records listed him as being eight years old.

Ruby was eight at the time, and she was the reason for what I did to help get Katrina pets rescued and reunited. The thought of her alone and terrified and separated from me made me do what I did and kept me going.

I named him Murphy because he looked like a little Irish cop. He was listed a being a Shih Tzu, a Lhasa Apso and a mix. He looked like a sweet little shaggy dog to me. I just knew that someone had to be missing him. But no one ever turned up.

It was only when I took him to my vet who told me that he was between 7-9 months old did it make sense that no one was looking for him.

If his owners had lost their home and all their possessions, and had him for only 3-6 months before Katrina, they probably were too overwhelmed to look for their puppy. I like to think that they were later able to find out that he was rescued and safe. I also like to think that when they get their lives back to order, they will get another dog or puppy. He was obviously well loved and cared for, and for all he had been through in his young life, he bonded with me instantly and strongly. And I with him. If it's possible for a human and a dog to be soul-mates, we are.

He is a Lhasa Apso, probably a pure-breed but I'll never know and don't really care. He has that somewhat stubborn, somewhat willful, playful, clown-like Lhasa personality. He is the most perceptive dog I've ever known. Every day he makes me laugh and opens my heart a little more.

I love the Tibetan legends surrounding Lhasa Apsos. One is that monks believe they are reincarnated lions and as such hold them in high esteem. Another legend is that priests who failed to reach Nirvana were reincarnated as Lhasa Apsos and that golden Lhasas are said to house the souls of the Dalai Lamas.

New Orleans Party for the Pit Bulls