https://www.facebook.com/nathanwinogradA few days ago, I received an email where a shelter killed a dog a rescue group offered to save: “knowing that someone was on his way to get her, Animal Control killed her anyway.”
Yesterday, the Dallas Observer reports that the Dallas pound killed seven kittens a rescuer had found a foster home for: http://goo.gl/Uetiuz. In other cases, shelters vindictively kill animals to get back at rescuers.
My film, Redemption (nokill.org), tells one such story:
“I went to the shelter because I was told they had a mother cat and four kittens that they had scheduled to be killed even though they were healthy. When I arrived to pick up the cat and kittens, the shelter manager asked to see me. She told me that a member of our rescue group wrote a letter complaining about the shelter to the Board of Supervisors and that they didn’t appreciate it. She told me I could therefore only have one kitten. I begged her to let me take them all, but she said that I couldn’t. She told me to pick one and she was going to euthanize the rest, including the mother cat. I didn’t know what to do. And so I picked. My hand was shaking as I filled out the paper work. After I got the kitten, I went outside and sat in the car. Then I threw up all over myself.”
In fact -- aside from questions about reforming high kill shelters and what to do when rescuers and volunteers are banned for exposing inhumane practices -- what to do about a shelter that kills animals rescuers offer to save is the most common question received by my organization, the No Kill Advocacy Center.
In a 2010 survey of rescue groups in New York, over 70% said they had been turned away by a shelter which then killed the very animals they offered to save. In a Florida survey, it was 64%.
It is time to make that a thing of the past.
Rescue rights laws make it illegal for shelters to kill such animals and they work.
In California, the number of animals transferred to rescue groups rather than killed increased by over 46,000 per year after a rescue rights law was passed, and increase of 370%.
Rescue rights laws not only save lives, they foster fairness, respect and consideration for people who both need and deserve it.
As a society, we owe a particular debt of gratitude to people who voluntarily offer a helping hand to the needy and that includes our nation’s homeless animals. Animal rescuers and shelter volunteers are compassionate people who open their hearts and homes to provide a safety-net for animals others may have abandoned and whom our dysfunctional shelters betray even further by killing.
They are already donating their time, their energy, their resources and their love to make our world a better place.
They shouldn’t have to sacrifice their emotional well-being, too.
Here’s a model rescue rights law: http://goo.gl/g2GKHL
Here’s how to get such a law introduced and passed: http://goo.gl/rq6Amy
Clear the Shelters a Sweeping Success! 20,000 Shelter Pets Adopted in One Day! By Jody on August 17, 2015
What would you say if you could be a part of helping 20,000 animals languishing in shelters find forever homes all in one day? I’d say, I’m in! And, that’s exactly what happened when Clear the Shelters, the NBC and Telemundo initiative with over 400 shelters, launched their much-publicized adoption drive last Saturday, August 15, nationwide.
This first-of-its-kind initiative literally emptied dozens of animal shelters around the country, when community members came out in droves to add a furry friend to the family. One family from Indiana was even reunited with their pitbull, Joe Cool, aka “Chief,” after he ran away from home, by visiting their local shelter on that day. The adoption drive was so successful, a Clear the Shelters date of Saturday, July 16, 2016, has already been set for next year.
“I am so happy with the huge success of Clear the Shelters. Our NBC and Telemundo stations, and our 400 partnering animal shelters across the country, with the help of the ASPCA and our friends at Overstock.com, found almost 20,000 thousand animals homes. We are grateful to everyone who opened their homes and added to their families on this national day of action,” said Valari Staab, President, NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations. “Clear the Shelters is an example of how, together, we can save animal lives and make a difference in our communities.
Heartwarming adoptions
The Clear the Shelters initiative was spearheaded by 29 NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations (11 NBC-owned stations, 17 Telemundo-owned stations and the regional news network necn) and more than 400 animal shelters across the country, with a goal of finding new homes for thousands of homeless pets. While the vast majority of the nearly 20,000 animals adopted on Clear the Shelters day were cats and dogs, other pets like rabbits, hamsters, hedgehogs, turtles, ferrets, monkeys, donkeys, lizards, cows and pigs also found new homes.
At the Humane Society of Calvert County in Maryland, a pot-bellied pig named “Channing Tatum” was adopted as part of Clear the Shelters, as was “Linda,” a 12-year-old poodle mix, who had spent six years at the Upper Keys Humane Society in South Florida, now adopted by Kellie and Joe Pardo, of Key Largo.
At the SPCA of Texas in Dallas, a five-year-old boxer who had lived a life of abuse and had been used for breeding was finally adopted by a family from Mesquite, after being passed over numerous times. In Oyster Bay, New York a two-month-old kitten named “June” was adopted and taken home early in the day.
Pittie Hannah, dressed up in a pink tutu by the Humane Society of Calvert Country in Maryland, left with her forever family, Amanda Krutilla, her 20-month-old son, Jax and her fiance, Jason Bowles. Hannah is Krutilla’s second pit bull. “They’re just the biggest babies,” said Krutilla, of California, Maryland. “Her tutu defines her.” [courtesy of NBCDFW.com & nbcwashington]
Clear the Shelters was sponsored nationally by Overstock.com, another animal-loving company. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) did the amazing thing of granting a total of $134,000 to 16 animal shelters that participated in the Clear the Shelters initiative, to help them offer no-cost or reduced fee adoptions or waive pet spaying and neutering fees.
With so many people inspired by the initiative, Clear the Shelters content was shared A LOT, receiving over four million page views, across several station platforms, from mid-July 2015 through August 15, including more than one million on the actual Clear the Shelters day!
You can watch the highlights
You can see highlights of Clear the Shelters when it is recapped on the NBC Owned Stations plus more than 100 NBC affiliate stations, in a 30-minute post-adoption drive special on Saturday, August 22nd, hosted by Natalie Morales, News Anchor and Co-Host of NBC News’ TODAY. The Telemundo stations will also air a post-adoption drive show on the same day, with Elva Saray, Host of Telemundo 52 Los Angeles’ (KVEA) daily entertainment show, Acceso Total, serving as Co-Host alongside Jessica Carrillo, Host and Reporter for Telemundo network’s Al Rojo Vivo.
http://barkandswagger.com/clear-shelters-sweeping-success-20000-shelter-pets-adopted-one-day
Aaw, lovely story.
Funny that those kittens jump on the water as usually cats don't like to get wet I suppose they thought that they might get those people petting them if they swim to them so they didn't mind getting wet in the process:yes:
http://news.alleycat.org/2015/08/20/tnr-across-the-pond-part-one/TNR Across the Pond: Part One
August 20, 2015 | Categories: Becky's Blog
When I first stumbled upon a colony of cats in DC’s Adam’s Morgan neighborhood 25 years ago, I didn’t know how much my life was about to change. I just knew there was something more I could do for those cats. I learned exactly what I could do thanks to information that had just made its way across the pond from England. A new, radical approach to community cats: Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR). I’ve been looking back on those early days of Alley Cat Allies a lot lately as I work on our 25th anniversary book (due out this Fall!) with English animal advocate and author Kim Stallwood. On July 30, I flew to London to meet with Kim, and we spent a week traveling around London and South East England to catch up with some of the most influential members of the UK’s TNR movement.
LN-RogerI was particularly excited to reunite with one of Alley Cat Allies’ very first friends–biologist and cat expert Roger Tabor. Roger and I met for dinner in London’s Piccadilly Circus, and we talked about all the latest developments in the TNR movement, and the latest theories on the history of the cat. From the beginning, TNR was driven by science and an understanding of the species, Felis catus. We have Roger to thank for that. He’s been researching cats and TNR since the ‘70s, and his many published books were a huge help to me as Alley Cat Allies worked to make TNR mainstream in America. In fact, we considered Roger’s book “The Wild Life of the Domestic Cat” required reading for anyone interested in helping cats. He spoke at Alley Cat Allies’ very first conference in 1994, and as our movement for TNR evolved, he continued to be a vital resource.
After dinner came the real treat: a trip to the famous Fitzroy Square. The Square was the site of Roger’s groundbreaking study of community cats in the 1970s–the first study of its kind. Roger carried out TNR for these cats, and as a result, the colony population stabilized and eventually started declining–there are no more cats there today! This colony site was famous not just for being the subject of the first large TNR study–it’s also the colony that inspired T.S. Eliot’s beloved work “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats,” which was later made into the musical Cats. I’d never seen Fitzroy Square before, and it felt like looking at the roots of our movement.
It’s easy to see why a cat biologist would be a huge supporter of TNR, but how about a repeat Vogue covergirl? The link between modeling to cat activism might not jump out at you immediately, but for Celia Hammond, it was unavoidable. After learning what cruelty went into the fur coats she once happily modeled, Celia devoted herself to animal issues–speaking out against the use of fur, and eventually taking up the cause of TNR to save community cats from cruel and unnecessary deaths.
LN-CeliaI’d never met Celia before, so I was glad to join her at the Canning Town London branch of the Celia Hammond Animal Trust (CHAT), which she founded in 1986 to provide low-cost spay/neuter services. The Canning Town branch opened the veterinary clinic and adoption center, or “homing centre” as they say in London, in 1999. This high-volume clinic – one of five CHAT locations – conducts plenty of spay and neuter for dogs and cats. But it does much more for animals– almost every kind of surgery and veterinary treatment. The CHAT Canning Town clinic recently expanded and now has five operating theatres and two x-ray machines. Every surgical suite is in use all day and every day.
The waiting room was full when we arrived. Celia says it’s always like that. Veterinary care can be expensive in London, and the Animal Trust provides high quality care at prices that are accessible to everyone. The clients I saw in the waiting room loved their animal companions and were so thankful to be able to afford care for them. I met Celia’s dedicated staff, who all told me how often they visit our website for information and resources about community cats and TNR, as CHAT prioritizes services for community cats. Celia has been not only carrying out TNR for four decades, but also leading her Animal Trust to provide veterinary services for feral cats in the greater London area as well as South England where their sanctuary is located.
Talking with Celia over tea was a true delight. I couldn’t help but think what a wonderful example she is of Alley Cat Allies’ National Feral Cat Day theme for this year: The Evolution of the Cat Revolution. Celia evolved her own activism from a truly Do-It-Yourself style of TNR in the 60s to being a leading provider of services for England’s cats. She saw a need and she worked to fill it. Her devotion to supporting her staff and training the next generation is invaluable to the TNR movement in England.
I had to ask Celia; why would she leave an incredibly successful and exciting modeling career? “That wasn’t important,” she said. “This is.” Her answer rang true for me, as I know it does for all animal advocates. That’s what drives us to spend as much time as we can working to help cats.
Roger and Celia came to cat advocacy in such different ways, but both have had an incredible impact on our movement. This year, I’ve been reflecting on the first 25 years of Alley Cat Allies’ work, and meeting with the people who were also there at the very beginning. It’s a perfect way to remember our early days and stay connected with the state of the movement in England.
Check back soon for more notes on my visits with cat lovers across the pond!
Visit Roger Tabor at www.rogertabor.com
Visit Celia Hammond Animal Trust at www.celiahammond
Kitten Season stage one has started early. For those of you who are uninitiated, Kitten Season is a train wreck for animals and rescuers and really heighten the urgency and work of rescue.
The first pregnant mums have just started turning up at pounds. That marks the sign that it's on us.
Kitten Season is the breeding season for cats. When the warm weather hits it goes mental, every single undesexed female WILL get pregnant. Kittens over 3 months of age WILL mate and babies will appear everywhere with no where to go.
This year is particularly bad as there has been no break. Nearly all of rescue has been taking in kittens all year. Normally there is a small break mid year as the season stops . . but with climate change and greater urbanisation, there has been ongoing kittens all year.
Kitten season is really three stages/seasons in one, starting in spring, peaking in late spring or early summer, and ending in autumn. In those seasons there are cycles of massive births and deaths and cats are out of options
As cats have very little difficulty conceiving and giving birth, nearly every undesexed female cat will become pregnant. She may even be bred by more than one male, including those related to her. Brother and sister cats, parents WILL mate.
Even females who are nursing kittens can be rebred and have another litter in the same year.
From November through to January each year, over 80000 unwanted cats will be dumped in australian shelters.
What you can do?
- If you are feeding local cats. Desex them. Get a group of friends together, trap and desex. Dont wait, they WILL get pregnant
- If you have undesexed cats, desex them. Even if they are related . . they dont read books . . they mate.
- If you have friends who have undesexed cats . . desex them. Find a way.
- volunteer at your local shelter or pound. It's going to need it.
If you have said "hey what's one litter I can sell them" you are going to be sadly upset. With 80000 kittens on market you will be stuck with kittens and bills.
With resources stretched, shelters at capacity and foster carers utilised, rescue simply can’t care and rehome all animals received.
The relatively low cost of preventing our pets from producing so many unwanted offspring far outweighs the cost to the community of caring for puppies and kittens in shelters. Regretfully, many of those in pounds and shelters are eventually ‘put to sleep’ because there just aren’t enough homes for them.
We will be pushing extra hard to rehome our various gangs to clear space, but with an early kitten season . . it's going to be a long year.
https://www.facebook.com/minikittyc...7999747356440/514556658700745/?type=1&fref=nf
These brave little kittens are fighting a monster
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3agoCKZmuw8