I still have a number of irons in the fire and am quasi-hopeful something definitive will emerge in the form of where these 44 dogs are now and what their statuses are. To recap:
44 dogs “rescued” by HSUS from a home in AL early this month
10 sent to Lincoln Co Animal Services in NC – a gassing shelter with a high kill rate. They killed 3 of the dogs shortly after arrival. After the local paper published an expose on flagrant mismanagement at the facility, HSUS asked other NC groups to take the surviving dogs. Four went to Humane Society of Charlotte including a pregnant bitch. Three went to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg shelter. Their kill rate is about 65%. 2 of the 3 are listed on Char-Meck’s site – Daisy (ID#A797513) and an unnamed male (A797514). The 3rd dog remains unaccounted for. (Searches for pets with ID #s A797512 or A797514 come up empty.)
From a couple of internet postings purportedly written by HSUS staffers (see below), we can surmise the following:
An unknown number of dogs went to “a humane society” and “a rescue group” in Nashville. 10 dogs went to the Nashville Humane Association. I had a very brief phone conversation with a gal there this afternoon and she said none of them are up for adoption but when they are, they’ll appear on the group’s website. She said she doesn’t know where the other dogs went. At this point, 14 dogs remain unaccounted for, presumably with a rescue group in Nashville.
An unknown number of dogs went “a rescue group” in GA. 1o dogs went to PAWS Atlanta, all remain in quarantine (see details in update at end of this post)
Anyone with info on the whereabouts of those dogs, please share. If any are in need of assistance, I will gladly refer readers to the appropriate links.
Here are the two postings from HSUS staffers (unconfirmed):
“From: Mindy Gilbert
Sent: Sat, December 25, 2010 11:48:29 AM
Subject: Marshall County dogsHello,
Thanks you for contacting me regarding the Marshall County dogs. I apologize for answering to a group of you at once.
This is a reply I sent to an angry e mailer yesterday:
I am happy to give you a bit of accurate information about the Marshall County Dogs. An individual in Georgia asked for any assistance that I might give as the result of a hoarding situation in Alabama. The hoarder was his sister, who was living with her elderly mother and aunt. At his request I traveled to their home and met with them. The 44 chow x retriever dogs in the back yard were unsocial, inbred, unvetted, unaltered and although were being provided with food and water to the best of the owner abilities, were in fact injuring and killing each other. They were loose in a large fenced area and had developed true pack behavior. The owner insisted that the only reason she had them was because the rednecks in Alabama didn’t know how to care for animals properly(her words). There is not an animal shelter in Marshall County. The reality is that all of the dogs were basically offspring of a few dogs that she originally owned. The dogs were surrendered and we had them heartworm checked, vaccinated, wormed, frontlined and health certificates issued for them to be transported to adoption programs.
Some of the dogs went to a humane society and to a rescue group in Nashville, some went to a rescue group in Georgia and 10 went to the shelter in NC. The NC shelter is large, clean and has a large volunteer base. They have worked closely in the past with our NC State Director. The dogs are walked every day by volunteers. Since we knew that these dogs needed a lot of socialization, we appreciated their offer to help. They also placed slightly over 1,000 animals last year through their rescue contacts. It is my understanding that one of the dogs bit a caregiver and one shut down and was not responding to care. Since there have now been allegations of wrongdoing at the shelter, the dogs have been moved. We cannot substantiate any of the allegations, however.
We did not do any local media on this case in order to protect the elderly family members, for whom the hoarder is the primary caregiver. I hope that you will respect that .
I am happy that HSUS was able to assist animals in need in an underserved county in Alabama. We placed the dogs with adoption partners that were willing to give this difficult population of dogs a chance at being adopted.
You are welcome to contact me at any time with any questions you may have,
Happy Holidays,
Now I feel the need to add to the message. The article printed in the Mobile Examiner was written by Sandra Nathan. She is an activist that has done a great job of bringing the plight of unwanted animals in Alabama to light. Unfortunately, in this instance, although Sandra has my contact info, she never contacted me about this case.
You may know that Alabama law requires each and every county to provide an animal shelter. 26 Alabama counties do not comply. Marshall County is one of them.
Anyone receiving this e mail is welcome to contact me.
Thank you for caring about animals.
Mindy Gilbert”
From the Examiner article on the subject, comments from “Sarah”:
I work at the HSUS and would like to make a few clarifications. I understand that this issue is extremely passionate – but here are the facts. The 44 chow x retriever dogs in the back yard were unsocial, inbred, unvetted, unaltered and although were being provided with food and water to the best of the owner abilities, were in fact injuring and killing each other. They were loose in a large fenced area and had developed true pack behavior. The dogs were surrendered and we had them heartworm checked, vaccinated, wormed, frontlined and health certificates issued for them to be transported to adoption programs
AND:
Some of the dogs went to a humane society and to a rescue group in Nashville, some went to a rescue group in Georgia and 10 went to the shelter in NC. The NC shelter is large, clean and has a large volunteer base. They have worked closely in the past with our NC State Director. The dogs are walked every day by volunteers. Since we knew that these dogs needed a lot of socialization, we appreciated their offer to help. They also placed slightly over 1,000 animals last year through their rescue contacts. It is our understanding that one of the dogs bit a caregiver and one shut down and was not responding to care. Since there have now been allegations of wrongdoing at the shelter, the dogs have been moved. We cannot substantiate any of the allegations, however.
We placed the dogs with adoption partners that were willing to give this difficult population of dogs a chance at being adopted. If you are with a shelter or rescue that wants to help in the future, you can find out more about our Emergency Shelter Placement Partner program at http://www.animalsheltering.org/espp
If these comments are indeed from HSUS staffers, I find them troubling at best. Inbred dogs who were killing each other in a yard and lacking in socialization would be terrible candidates to send to a shelter where they would be walked daily by volunteers. But before it even got to that point, why were they all tested for heartworm and given flea medicine? Wouldn’t the primary need be for behaviorists to work with and assess each dog’s needs so they could be placed appropriately for further training? I simply don’t understand how HSUS would look at dogs such as those described in this situation and think they should be treated for fleas and shipped off to be walked by volunteers at a gassing shelter (and whatever circumstances existed at the other locations dogs were sent). How could such dogs even be considered as adoption prospects without a qualified behaviorist being involved? And then allegedly one of the dogs bit someone at the Lincoln Co shelter. Gee, can you say “preventable”?
And how does any of that information jive with the now evaporated HSUS press release on the dogs?
“These dogs are already starting to warm up to their new caretakers at the shelter and want nothing more than to be part of loving homes this holiday season,” said Ashley Mauceri, deputy director of cruelty issues for The HSUS. “Please consider visiting the Lincoln County Animal Shelter and giving one of these resilient dogs a second chance at a happy life.”
Please reach out to the Lincoln County Shelter directly to find out how you can adopt one of these dogs.
Yes, what a super idea for the holidays – Adopt an inbred, unsocialized dog who may kill your other dogs. Flea-free!
Again, anyone with information on the whereabouts of any of these dogs – please share. There are many people here with expertise in canine behavior and surely we could come up with some help for the dogs who are still alive. But we can’t help if we don’t know where they are.
Update #1, 12-27-10: I have a snapshot of stats for the Lincoln Co Shelter in NC where 10 of the dogs were originally sent by HSUS. These numbers cover the period from January through August 2010:
Total Intake: 3071
Adopted/Transferred to Rescue: 1378 (553 adopted, 825 rescued)
Killed: 1470
That works out to 45% saved, 48% killed for this 8 month period. The trend for the year, when viewed on a month-by-month basis, is adoptions declining and killings increasing.
***
I also received a response from Laura at PAWS Atlanta who confirms they did receive dogs from HSUS on this case. I’m amending the summary info at the beginning of this post and sharing her reply, with permission:
We did receive dogs from the hoarding situation, but they are not yet available for adoption. We quarantine all of our animals for a period of time before adopting or fostering them out so that we can ensure they are healthy, well-adjusted, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and micro-chipped. The dogs were very timid upon arrival, though all of them were exceptionally sweet and kind-hearted. They are quickly coming out of their shells. The staff spends a lot of time showing them attention, getting them use to leashes, and just overall trying to make them feel less scared. I am not sure when the dogs will be released to the public. It will be on their own time, when they are ready. We will update everyone on the website and on Facebook when that happens.
Update #2, 12-27-10: 10 dogs went to the Nashville Humane Association. I had a very brief phone conversation with a gal there this afternoon and she said none of them are up for adoption but when they are, they’ll appear on the group’s website. She said she doesn’t know where the other dogs went. Further, she said she could not give me any other information about the dogs they received from HSUS so I don’t know if all 10 are still alive or what their statuses are.
At this point, 14 dogs remain unaccounted for, presumably with a rescue group in Nashville.
Extremely well summarized.
Not much to add to that other than I do hope that someone will contact Tennessee’s state veterinarian and ask to see the state transfer papers.
Legally, they had to be filed BEFORE the dogs crossed state lines.
Oh, and isn’t this the same group that argued that puppies from fight busts were deadly and had to be destroyed? Interesting viewpoints, no?
“Gee, can you say ‘preventable’?” Yes, Shirley, you’re right. This whole situation seems to be a series of errors and coverups which stem from a political/marketing group that is not qualified to handle these problems. I know they say they are, but they are not. Nor are their behaviorists.
First, look at a couple importnat statements in the above comments:
1) “…developed true pack behavior — were in fact injuring and killing each other.”
Response: This is not “true pack behavior” and reflects someone’s beliefs that should not be involved in these rescues. She is in way over her head.
2) “We placed the dogs with adoption partners that were willing to give this difficult population of dogs a chance at being adopted.”
Response: Shirley, your comments point out the stupidity of this stantement. The only thing I would add is in the response below.
3) “Wouldn’t the primary need be for behaviorists to work with and assess each dog’s needs so they could be placed appropriately for further training?”
Response: Yes, Shirley, I’m glad you see what the HSUS fails to see. However, it is imperative to stress that FURTHER TRAINING is putting the cart before the horse. They do not need training right now. They clearly need rehabilitation – not of their behavior (yet) but first, their level of trust in humans. Each one of the dogs needs to be reset to zero. They need to have their spirits restored. Then and only then will training have any real impact.
Behaviorists across this country do not know their heads from their asses when it comes to this distinction between rehab and training.
Finally, and the most important of all, why would any right-thinking person take a dog who has lived “loose” with no boundaries or rules and then jam that dog into a cage in a “shelter?” Dear God, the stupidity of this broken failed system.
Is there a better way? Most assuredly. But it sure does not try to fix this broken system – it replaces it. If you think what we have today is working then don’t waste your time looking at this short video slideshow. Link = http://youtu.be/2AaRuznrDb0
“However, it is imperative to stress that FURTHER TRAINING is putting the cart before the horse. They do not need training right now. They clearly need rehabilitation – not of their behavior (yet) but first, their level of trust in humans. Each one of the dogs needs to be reset to zero. They need to have their spirits restored. Then and only then will training have any real impact.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I didn’t want to make a comment on the “pack behaviour” issue, but this can certainly be pack behaviour if there are that many unaltered males and females in a small area without the opportunity to leave as they mature and no clear alpha, they will resort to this behaviour. Particularly when life is insanely boring and food is hard to come by.
Is it “normal” pack behaviour? NO. But this was not a normal pack, by any means. Check out the experiment in Yellowstone with released wolves crammed into an abnormal environment and you might be surprised by why what you read. I know I was.
However, coming from a group (HSUS) that claims to endorse the belief that dogs do not engage in pack behaviour, and are basically not pack animals, I found this line particularly hard to swallow.
Regardless of ideology, I agree with you 100% – these dogs needed behaviourists – or at least trainers who understand that training is not what you’re looking for and understand what is required to deal with a dog like this. A shelter should have been simply a holding area until qualified rescues and trained individuals could be found. The levels of uncaring and layers of deceit here are unbelievable – sheer irresponsibility from your average individual, perhaps, but something much more sinister when coming from an organization like HSUS.
Mindy says that one of the dogs bit a caregiver. In view of the fact that the dogs reportedly were not vaccinated before HSUS got them, I would think a dog that bit somebody would have to be quarantined to rule out rabies – in FL it would be quarantined by law for 10 days. I wonder what date they killed that dog.
http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/rabies/pdf/NCRabiesLaws.pdf
The 10-day confinement period is used when a dog or cat bites a person. The biter can be euthanized without quarantine if the animal is “Rabies Tested”…
FAIR WARNING, IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW A EUTHANIZED ANIMAL IS RABIES TESTED AND YOU ARE AT ALL SQUEAMISH STOP READING….
§ 130A-196. Notice and confinement of biting animals.
(a) Notice. – When a person has been bitten by an animal required to be vaccinated under this Part, the person or parent, guardian or person standing in loco parentis of the person, and the person owning the animal or in control or possession of the animal shall notify the local health director immediately and give the name and address of the person bitten and the owner of the animal. If the animal that bites a person is a stray or feral animal, the local agency responsible for animal control shall make a reasonable attempt to locate the owner of the animal. If the owner cannot be identified within 72 hours of the event, the local health director may authorize the animal be euthanized, and the head of the animal shall be immediately sent to the State Laboratory of Public Health for rabies diagnosis. If the event occurs on a weekend or State holiday the time period for owner identification shall be extended 24 hours.
A physician who attends a person bitten by an animal known to be a potential carrier of rabies shall report the incident within 24 hours to the local health director. The report must include the name, age, and sex of the person.
Quarantine would have sufficed, however the dogs are required to have their rabies vaccine prior to crossing state lines.
I’d be interested to learn from Lincoln whether the animals were vaccinated BY the HSUS before travelling.
If we can prove that all of these little things did occur (failure to provide health certificates to one state, APHIS to another, still no health certificates -likely- for the other group that requires HC’s within 30 days of arrival, failure to provide rabies vaccines before movement as a bare minimum) charges should be filed against the HSUS at the very least for illegal interstate transport – although charging a federal group in four states would be a challenge to say the least, it’s become pretty damn clear they have absolutely no concern for the laws governing their actions whatsoever.
And they have a bunch of lawyers willing to defend them pro bono cos they’re just so awesome.
Mindy Gilbert is listed as the AL state director for the HSUS. Someone unidentifed in GA calls her about his sister in AL, who is alleged to be a hoarder. Okay. She goes to see the dogs who are described by Sarah (also employed by the HSUS) as unvetted, unsocialized, unaltered, and aggressive enough to be killing and injuring one another. There are 44 of them! That’s a very full backyard. So Gilbert decides to take possession of these dogs, get them vetted, and ships them off to 3 states that have shelters with kill rates and stray dog problems at LEAST as severe as Alabama’s. I deeply resent the HSUS sending ANY dogs to GA, especially unsocialized, semi-feral dogs. That is outrageous. Why not at least send them to AL rescues and shelters? This whole fiasco smacks of back channel wheeling and dealing. And where on earth are these poor dogs now? If the truth ever comes out, I’ll bet we find out they were all capable of being rehabilitated and THEN adopted. But why not in AL where they came from?
I think PawsAtlanta MAY have been the group in GA that got the dogs. On their Facebook page on December 1, there’s a post that says:
“PAWS Atlanta Our new dogs should be here within the hour!! A hoarder in Alabama has been closed down and as an Emergency Partner with the Humane Society of the United States, we are helping out. We are expecting our 10 new dogs any time now!!”
Another post on 12/5 shows several dogs in runs.
I kinda think of PAWSAtlanta as one of the good ones.
http://www.pawsatlanta.org/Home.aspx
I have no affiliation with PAWSAtlanta, except for having donated $$ to them in the past.
*Thank you Janice!* I’ve got an e-mail in to the group. If I receive a response, I’ll share.
Regarding the term “hoarder” in this case – I’m not at all convinced this person was an animal hoarder. We don’t know enough info to make that judgment and I highly doubt that if the person truly was mentally ill and incapable of properly caring for other living things, she would have been left in charge of caring for her elderly family members.
Didn’t other, earlier reports describe the owner as “overwhelmed”? There’s a world of difference between being a true hoarder and being overwhelmed. And true hoarders are relatively rare. But the HSUS sure loves to whup out the H word every chance they get. Fear and loathing, indeed.
One day I will convince you that
1. in many cases the term “hoarder” is flung around and used to garner funds for animals that often aren’t even used for those animals – oh and ruining peoples’ lives in the process is just a bonus. It is easier to go after rescuers who are overloaded than to go after actual abusers, and often more lucrative, because people are more likely to donate money that they think will help many animals than to donate money for “just” one or two animals that have actually been abused.
2. Often these animals die. We had a situation here several years ago where 100 cats were taken from a lady – I’m sure this is where the cries of “100 cats is too many” are going to start – but they were HEALTHY and she was retired and that’s what she did – and 98 of those cats were killed within minutes of the custody hearing. Regardless of whether or not 100 cats is too many, DEAD is NOT better off.
I can’t even say this is just the HSUS, this happens all the time. I’ve been tracking raids in our area for years.
The “uns” in the HSUS post are “un”believable.. 44 dogs killing each other.. really.. that would not leave any dogs at all.or many would have has SEVERE injuries and surely highly infected wounds.. punctures don;t take long to become septic… personally I don’t believe a single word they have written.. this is pure spin.. but then that is what they are good at.. taking care of dogs.. not so much
LOL, thank you Janice. I just took a look at the facebook page and read the comments. Definitely an emergency!
Help yourself–
http://www.facebook.com/PAWSAtlanta#!/photo.php?fbid=10150099496679874&set=a.124430599873.124848.111305539873
Just the photo–
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j39/jprine/?action=view¤t=AL-dogs.jpg
Now I realize these MAY not be the same AL dogs in the yard of the same alleged hoarder, but it certainly looks that way.
I guess HSUS snapped that photo between killings. The dogs appear to be hanging out, mellow-like. If you came to my fence to take a picture of my dogs, then you’d see some real action – they go crazy when company comes!
I’m so sorry for those dogs–they look like great dogs, but I’m partial to retrievers (and chows). How many are dead just a few weeks after this photo was posted on the PAWS Atlanta facebook page? I’m not finding fault with PAWS for taking some of them even though they routinely turn down puppies on death row in Atlanta area shelters. These dogs can probably be adopted pretty quickly. Just so sad for the ones who didn’t make it. Also would like to see a breakdown of that 44-dogs figure into adults and puppies. HSUS’s Emergency Services Placement Partners program is certainly interesting:
http://www.animalsheltering.org/programs_and_services/emergency_services/placement_partner_program.html
I wonder if all the shelters and rescues who took these dogs were “partners?” Still not sure where the “emergency” was, but maybe the dogs DID get rowdy at the fence after this photo was taken, lol.
According to HSUS’s own guidelines, the emergency partners are supposed to take dogs seized as a result of “legal action” against hoarders or in the event of natural disasters. Well, this was certainly a disaster for the dogs.
While it is an admirable goal, to know where the dogs go, one must also understand the HSUS hype surrounding a raid. All the dogs are found in sub standard conditions. All the dogs are dirty and diseased. All the dogs are anti-social from lack of human contact. All the dogs are infested with parasites. Photos and video from the raid often belie these proclamations You see dogs that are clean, friendly, showing no signs of any disease. Those observations often are proven when the dogs, within days, appear for adoption here and there at the various venues they were moved to after the initial period of HSUS custody where they are supposedly vetted bathed and groomed to some extent. Other than HSUS having possession of a secret pill that works almost immediately to clear up all the aforementioned maladies, this merely leads one to believe that the proceeding proclamations were simply lies to justify the actions of HSUS.
An acquaintance of mine was witness to a raid, not by HSUS, but by another AR organization that follows the HSUS blueprint of claims and photos. Dirty, feces covered floors were created by raiders kicking over water dishes and tracking mud throughout the building (it had rained for several days preceding the raid), however, one could not tell that by the photos. Claims of dogs kept in too small crates for their size were validated by an unused small crate that was found in storage and used for photos with dogs in it and in front of it. A photo of a supposed feces covered dog was merely a mud splattered dog which even my not so experienced eye could discern.
They used the same terminology as HSUS about the dogs. They were anti-social, they were not properly fed, dirt and feces all over the place, diseased and full of parasites, and so on. They were ready for adoption within a few days.
I commonly refer to these events as fund raisers for the organizations involved. Many call it theft under cover of law.
In this case not even under cover of law since the seizure does not appear to have been court-ordered and local animal control in Marshall CO. AL was not even aware it had taken place. Just an arrangement HSUS made among friends, perhaps?
The comment at the end of my post was in reference to the two preceding paragraphs as that raid was done with a search warrant.
Yes, understood. I was drawing a parallel between that case and the “seizure” in AL.
So, you think the rescue a manufactured PR event?
HSUS will likely pull it out when it can be most useful to fulfill its agenda. I am sure that they photographed/video recorded the whole event, and you may well see bits and pieces in its advertisements begging for money to help dogs like these that were found in unbelievable conditions. They seem to be gearing up for a campaign against “hoarders”, perhaps as part of a legislative push against people who own and/or have control of x number of animals. HSUS can be patient. Some of the stuff they use now goes back many years.
Like much of the conversation, speculative. Not sure I want to defend HSUS, and in this case they seem to have made a number of errors in judgement, but backseat drivers are rarely helpful in my experience. I would like to know what happened to the missing dogs, but HSUS sniping is not likely to create an opportunity for an open discussion or an answer to the question.
where are the dead and injured dogs in this photo?? where are the “minimal conditions”.. they look really healthy to me.. although there are a lot of them..but of course to HSUS eyes anything that looks like a “pack” is a “hoarding situation”..amazing that HSUS can “label” a person as a hoarder just by saying it…when the actual definition of animal hoarder has not even been defined my medical doctors..
Why does HSUS work and work to get people to avoid buying purebred dogs from responsible breeders because the dogs are inbred and unsocialized? And then it is okay to buy – excuse me – adopt a truly inbred unsocialized mess because THEY rescued it? Sending dogs like that and expecting the shelters to deal with them is WRONG. They just got another quarter million bucks from Pepsi, why not use it to rehab these poor dogs? Instead they are using them to raise more money for their Moneyraising Factory.
I think it’s interesting that they aren’t *advertising* this case due to a sudden sensitivity to original owner’s family.
———
We did not do any local media on this case in order to protect the elderly family members, for whom the hoarder is the primary caregiver. I hope that you will respect that .
———
Newer, kinder HSUS *sensitive* to a family situation? Miracles can happen!
Like they were sensitive to Mr. Pang’s situation in Hawaii? For those that may not know Mr. Pang’s wife was a rescuer, No Kill by certain standards and she died. Shortly after her death, Mr. Pang realized he was not capable of caring for all their animals and turned to local HS who called in HSUS. Altho assured that the pictures being taken were only for training purposes, those same pictures were then used against Mr. Pang who was hauled off to court on cruelty charges.
HSUS was sued by Mr. Pang who won.
Whatever … Mr Pang seems to have taught them a lesson … either that or the family is higher up in AL social circles and politics than HSUS.
In trying to make a condensed version of the Pang story, I believe you left out a couple of crucial facts. Mr. Pang contacted the local Hawaiian Humane Society. They felt they could not handle all the dogs themselves. They called in HSUS. HSUS told Mr. Pang that it would be a few days to make arrangements for the dogs but the would, in the meanwhile, send someone over to take care of the dogs. Mr. Pang signed off on the dogs. Having this assurance Mr. Pang went about his business. No one showed to take care of the dogs. Four days later HSUS swooped in taking the dogs, documenting the conditions they were found in, and charging Mr. Pang with acts of animal cruelty. He was cleared of the charges. He has now filed a lawsuit against various individuals involved.
Interesting aside. When searching for information on this incident, I found that there are a lot of lawyers in the island state with the last name of Pang.
Your version isn’t exactly correct either and I’m sure that Pang is a common name on the Islands. The only business that Mr Pang went about was the mourning and burial of his wife. It was the local spca who he called … who called in HHS and there was *bad* history between them and Mrs Pang. She was not just a rescue of dogs, she rescued cats and birds, many of them ill and injured with no where else to go. People who think they might be interested in the case can read the sites below and decide themselves.
http://carrollcox.com/Pang.htm
http://humanewatch.org/index.php/site/post/federal_lawsuit_says_aloha_to_hsus/
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/global/story.asp?s=11121142
It’s called an “emergency shelter.”
What you (“you” being a legitimate rescue organization or law enforcement agency, depending on circumstances) do is, you put together kennel runs someplace that is sheltered, and you bring in the animals taken in a criminal raid or relinquished by an owner or displaced in a disaster.
You care for the animals, triage them, give them necessary veterinary attention with an emphasis on “herd health” issues such as parasites, vaccinations, etc., and start evaluating them behaviorally. (Evaluation and rehabilitation, properly done, have a lot of overlap.) You use a lot of properly-trained volunteer help for this, if you can. You start rehab — whatever you can do within the legal strictures that govern your specific case — immediately.
http://cynography.blogspot.com/2009/02/taming-wild-beast.html
At such time as the animals become your property — this might be immediately in the case of a willing relinquishment, or a very long way down the road in the case of a criminal prosecution, or one hopes, never, in the case of a natural disaster — you sort them into categories of adoptable or in need of foster, and then you get them into the appropriate foster or adoptive homes toot sweet. Because an emergency shelter is no substitute for a home. You prioritize, getting puppies, bitches about to whelp, and kennel-stressed dogs into foster immediately if not sooner.
There are large animal charities here and there that are said to have the simoleons, staff, transport, kennel components, political juice, and volunteer resources to quickly put up an emergency shelter and run it. And also the media chops to find homes for, say, forty or so dogs after suitable rehab.
One that claims all of the above is HSUS.
Amen Sister Heartwarming rescue stories/ PetConnection.com. Major ditto.
Here’s what I know. These dogs were taken from Marshall County, Alabama. I drive through that county twice a day, I’m afraid. I hate it because I must call the DOT 3 or 4 times a week to pick up some poor soul who lost the dog v. vehicle battle. There is no animal shelter. There is a single ACO for an entire county and he has no particular authority. He did not know about this at all. So not only was the media not involved, local animal control personnel were not informed.
I’ll be the first to admit that this county has problems. I’m not so sure the word undeserving is appropriate for any county.( Does that mean “unworthy”? Who knows.) Having gone off on that tangent, I am surprised that there was no apparent attempt to handle these dogs within the state in some manner. If there was an attempt, I wouldn’t have a clue but the ACO would know and I talked to him about this last week. He thought the story was a hoax.
I am not a fan of the HSUS and are fairly certain I never will be. That’s not a slam against any specific local person; it’s a reflection of my opinions about Pacelle (“oh yes, I think Mr. Vick would be a great dog owner”) and of how they market to people and then truly spend their money. The whole situation is just sad and as someone who feels the affects of what happens in this county, here are my immediate questions:
1 – what’s gonna happen the next time there is a large group of dogs in need? and
2 – does the HSUS plan to do anything to make this shelterless county more “deserving” for the future? I’m kinda doubting that one.
Brie, the term she used was “underserved,” not “undeserving.”
Under – served, as in, not receiving its fair share of services.
Yeah — I had to look twice when I first read it, partly because the type size on this blog is rather small.
Well, I must say that’s my token laugh of the day. Shame on me! Underserved is truly an accurate word in this case. Thanks for correcting me!
I wanted to apologize to the author of this blog, as I posted a link to this story at my own blog without asking permission first. You’d think that, by now, I could hold my temper when reading about another HSUS circle jerk. Perhaps I’ve had too much eggnog.
Also, kudos to Yes! Biscuit for being one of the best-documented H$U$ whistle-blowers on the Web.
any HSUS “official” press release that says they don’t want to release the name of the hoarder is lying for some reason.
Any official news organization/police department will release the name of a hoarder. It’s a great news story, because people will want to know.
I’ve worked in news for 16 years. Don’t believe this HSUS hype.
I wish we could hear the owner’s side of the story about how these dogs were given up.
As you point out, the protocol they said they followed makes no sense, which leads one to believe they’re bare-faced liars.
I looked at Nashville Humane Association’s website. Doesn’t say they are no-kill. Anybody know anything about them?
On their FAQ page, it says:
6. Does NHA euthanize animals?
The Nashville Humane Association is a low-kill shelter. This means we do euthanize animals, but only if it is necessary due to illness or behavior problems.
thank you all for your concern for these”rescue” dogs from HSUS. I am a volunteer rescuer in al. and again i was outragged over the fate of the dogs gassed. Facebook is telling the truth about the dirty little secrets of groups like the HSUS and how they spend the millions . thanks you all for giving a voice to the dead dogs and spreading the truth.
I, for one, am shocked that HSUS’ Sarah and Hillary have not yet shown up here to slap on a big old coat of the whitewash.
Thanks for the updated updates.
Perhaps HSUS is employing the “Hopefully this will just go away” strategy?
I am sure you know about the HSUS involvement with the seizure of dogs from SHARE Rescue in Boone County, WV recently. HSUS turned the dogs over to the Boone County Sheriff who GAVE them away for free at the county fairgrounds. Many unaltered saying that the sheriff will check up on the animals. Dogs were given to people who were known to have dumped animals over the fence at the SHARE rescue. When I questioned HSUS, they said it was not a HSUS seizure and to contact the sheriff dept. Check out their facebook page and scroll down to Nov 12th posts.
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=196013339962&ref=ts