I would just like to say something. Because of this blog, I have really begun to think of the plight of dogs in “shelters” and how they need our help. I’m 53 years old and have always been too shy to go to the shelter and volunteer but have always wanted to. Now I think of Wily Puppy and the other dear souls and their gentle spirits have given me the courage to make that phone call. I am officially a volunteer of the Brown County Ohio Humane Society and the Brown County Animal Shelter as of yesterday!
Today I received the June e-mail newsletter from the South Carolina Attorney General. In it is this update:
Many of you have been following the Chesterfield County Animal Shelter matter. Please know we are taking the time to carefully review this matter in the context of state law.
I hope they are reviewing it and not stalling in hopes that we will forget.
I know this is a long shot . . . but Olympic Animal Sanctuary in my state of Washington needs to pull a dog from a shelter in Wales, Massachusetts, Springfield, in the next few hours TODAY (Tuesday, June 7th), to keep her from being killed by AC.
The dog has a destination arranged: a kennel in Aberdeen, PA. What OAS needs is transport for the dog from the shelter in Wales MA to the kennel in Aberdeen PA. If anyone can help with transport, especially with the portion closest to the shelter, please contact OAS immediately. The plea is on their FB page:
Thank you so much, Michy! OAS has posted on their FB page that they have worked the transport out, so thankfully, all is well. I really appreciate you responding!
You and Morgana might both be interested in the story behind OAS’s transport plea, which Steven Markwell has now posted (also on their FB page). It was quite a saga. The dog is named Sally. I’ll see if I can cut and paste below since Morgana doesn’t do FB.
Thank you again!
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NEver heard of Wales, MA. Springfield is a bit far from us, and to go from there to PA would be a two-three day run for me, as I am in the middle. BUT, do they have a PF site as I do not do FB? Also, which dog?
Morgana, thank you for responding! OAS posted on FB just a few moments ago that they have the transport worked out. They never said which dog, only described the situation as extremely urgent.
They don’t seem to have a PF page and that actually doesn’t surprise me, because they take dogs with a bite history and rarely, if ever, adopt out to the public. Their tag line is “We save dogs you’d rather see dead.”
Morgana, after posting that all was well regarding the transport, Steve Markwell of OAS posted the story of the dog in question, named Sally. Since you don’t do FB I thought I would try to cut and paste here. Thanks again to you and Michy.
[Begin Steve Markwell post from OAS FB page]
For those who followed this thread (and the other one), I got a call from a donor several weeks ago about a female pit bull in a Mass. shelter; she looked like she’d had litter after litter of puppies and was pregnant again, as well as being emaciated. Not surprisingly the dog had some serious behavior issues, including severe resource guarding, defensive biting, and problems with other dogs. The animal control officer that took her in was planning to kill the dog, believing that she had no other options, since she was not realistically adoptable. OAS is full, with a two-year waiting list, but we still try to get dogs out of shelters and into rehab facilities or even temporary boarding situations until people can find other options for them. In this case, the ACO, who had dealt with some shady “sanctuaries” in the past, didn’t want us involved. However, she did agree that the dog’s behavior couldn’t be reliably assessed until she was healthy and her puppies were weaned, so she waited, and she and her family worked with the dog at her training facility.
The weeks passed and the dog, named Sally (or Bianca, depending on who talk to) turned out not to be pregnant, but rather having a pseudopregnancy. (Dogs experience the same hormonal and basic physical changes after estrus either way.) She was up to a good weight and doing well the with ACO’s son and son-in-law, but still having issues with women and other dogs, especially female, and thus was still not an adoption candidate. We were able to get a dialog opened up to discuss Sally’s options, and the ACO was put at ease somewhat by the fact that we weren’t trying to place the dog here – we were looking for rehab elsewhere. Unfortunately, she set a deadline of June 6th for Sally to be out of her facility. Then, a few days ago, the tornadoes came.
The Springfield area was torn apart by the tornadoes and communication became exceedingly difficult. One of our friends in New Jersey had found a boarding kennel that happily accepted pit bulls with or without behavior issues, so we just had to arrange transport. We intended to get Sally out over the weekend, but with the lack of communication we were unable to mobilize in time, and I found out at the last minute that we also had no vaccine records for her, which were a requirement for the kennel. We tried to make arrangements, but with the ACO involved in disaster response, we were on our own – one person in Washington, one in New Jersey, and one in the middle of the tornado area who couldn’t be reached at all. The ACO did bring another person into the discussion and we were able to buy Sally another day, but if she was not gone before tomorrow morning she would be dead.
We made a lot of calls, sent emails and text messages all over New England, and of course posted pleas on Facebook, but in the end the donor who originally contacted me about Sally was able to get her phone service restored long enough to coordinate with us and get the dog out. The ACO had already gone home, but since she knew someone was coming, she crated Sally for transport and left a key for our people to get in. Tonight Sally’s safe, and she’ll go to the kennel in Pennsylvania tomorrow, after a quick trip to the vet for vaccines. We’ll be keeping in touch with the kennel owners and learning more about the dog as the weeks go by, and we should have the time we need now to find her the right placement. We’re hoping she’ll eventually be able to go to a single dog home with someone who ‘gets her’. We still have to pay the $10/day boarding fees, which add up, but Sally is safe and we have the luxury of time. With a little luck we’ll find her a benefactor to cover her expenses until she’s ready for the next step in her life.
Got a few minutes? Read this!
http://wisconsinwatchdog.blogspot.com/2011/05/right-to-criticize-mine-yours-and.html
I would just like to say something. Because of this blog, I have really begun to think of the plight of dogs in “shelters” and how they need our help. I’m 53 years old and have always been too shy to go to the shelter and volunteer but have always wanted to. Now I think of Wily Puppy and the other dear souls and their gentle spirits have given me the courage to make that phone call. I am officially a volunteer of the Brown County Ohio Humane Society and the Brown County Animal Shelter as of yesterday!
Thank you for volunteering! Please let us know how things go over time and also feel welcome to submit a Shelter Pet of the Day from Brown Co anytime!
I sure will, thank you!
Hooray for you!! Wily Pup and the others have not died in vain, then.
Today I received the June e-mail newsletter from the South Carolina Attorney General. In it is this update:
Many of you have been following the Chesterfield County Animal Shelter matter. Please know we are taking the time to carefully review this matter in the context of state law.
I hope they are reviewing it and not stalling in hopes that we will forget.
I know this is a long shot . . . but Olympic Animal Sanctuary in my state of Washington needs to pull a dog from a shelter in Wales, Massachusetts, Springfield, in the next few hours TODAY (Tuesday, June 7th), to keep her from being killed by AC.
The dog has a destination arranged: a kennel in Aberdeen, PA. What OAS needs is transport for the dog from the shelter in Wales MA to the kennel in Aberdeen PA. If anyone can help with transport, especially with the portion closest to the shelter, please contact OAS immediately. The plea is on their FB page:
http://www.facebook.com/olympicanimalsanctuary
Apparently tornados in the Wales area have messed up communication in making the arrangements, and it is now down to the wire.
The man who runs OAS is Steve Markwell.
Thank you!
I meant, “a shelter in Wales, Massachusetts, near Springfield . . . “
I have sent an email to a BUNCH of contacts about this to see if we can get the word out, and shared it on FaceBook.
Thank you so much, Michy! OAS has posted on their FB page that they have worked the transport out, so thankfully, all is well. I really appreciate you responding!
You and Morgana might both be interested in the story behind OAS’s transport plea, which Steven Markwell has now posted (also on their FB page). It was quite a saga. The dog is named Sally. I’ll see if I can cut and paste below since Morgana doesn’t do FB.
Thank you again!
NEver heard of Wales, MA. Springfield is a bit far from us, and to go from there to PA would be a two-three day run for me, as I am in the middle. BUT, do they have a PF site as I do not do FB? Also, which dog?
Morgana, thank you for responding! OAS posted on FB just a few moments ago that they have the transport worked out. They never said which dog, only described the situation as extremely urgent.
They don’t seem to have a PF page and that actually doesn’t surprise me, because they take dogs with a bite history and rarely, if ever, adopt out to the public. Their tag line is “We save dogs you’d rather see dead.”
Their website is:
http://www.olympicanimalsanctuary.org/
I had never heard of Wales, MA, either, and I grew up in Massachusetts!
Again, thanks so much.
Morgana, after posting that all was well regarding the transport, Steve Markwell of OAS posted the story of the dog in question, named Sally. Since you don’t do FB I thought I would try to cut and paste here. Thanks again to you and Michy.
[Begin Steve Markwell post from OAS FB page]
For those who followed this thread (and the other one), I got a call from a donor several weeks ago about a female pit bull in a Mass. shelter; she looked like she’d had litter after litter of puppies and was pregnant again, as well as being emaciated. Not surprisingly the dog had some serious behavior issues, including severe resource guarding, defensive biting, and problems with other dogs. The animal control officer that took her in was planning to kill the dog, believing that she had no other options, since she was not realistically adoptable. OAS is full, with a two-year waiting list, but we still try to get dogs out of shelters and into rehab facilities or even temporary boarding situations until people can find other options for them. In this case, the ACO, who had dealt with some shady “sanctuaries” in the past, didn’t want us involved. However, she did agree that the dog’s behavior couldn’t be reliably assessed until she was healthy and her puppies were weaned, so she waited, and she and her family worked with the dog at her training facility.
The weeks passed and the dog, named Sally (or Bianca, depending on who talk to) turned out not to be pregnant, but rather having a pseudopregnancy. (Dogs experience the same hormonal and basic physical changes after estrus either way.) She was up to a good weight and doing well the with ACO’s son and son-in-law, but still having issues with women and other dogs, especially female, and thus was still not an adoption candidate. We were able to get a dialog opened up to discuss Sally’s options, and the ACO was put at ease somewhat by the fact that we weren’t trying to place the dog here – we were looking for rehab elsewhere. Unfortunately, she set a deadline of June 6th for Sally to be out of her facility. Then, a few days ago, the tornadoes came.
The Springfield area was torn apart by the tornadoes and communication became exceedingly difficult. One of our friends in New Jersey had found a boarding kennel that happily accepted pit bulls with or without behavior issues, so we just had to arrange transport. We intended to get Sally out over the weekend, but with the lack of communication we were unable to mobilize in time, and I found out at the last minute that we also had no vaccine records for her, which were a requirement for the kennel. We tried to make arrangements, but with the ACO involved in disaster response, we were on our own – one person in Washington, one in New Jersey, and one in the middle of the tornado area who couldn’t be reached at all. The ACO did bring another person into the discussion and we were able to buy Sally another day, but if she was not gone before tomorrow morning she would be dead.
We made a lot of calls, sent emails and text messages all over New England, and of course posted pleas on Facebook, but in the end the donor who originally contacted me about Sally was able to get her phone service restored long enough to coordinate with us and get the dog out. The ACO had already gone home, but since she knew someone was coming, she crated Sally for transport and left a key for our people to get in. Tonight Sally’s safe, and she’ll go to the kennel in Pennsylvania tomorrow, after a quick trip to the vet for vaccines. We’ll be keeping in touch with the kennel owners and learning more about the dog as the weeks go by, and we should have the time we need now to find her the right placement. We’re hoping she’ll eventually be able to go to a single dog home with someone who ‘gets her’. We still have to pay the $10/day boarding fees, which add up, but Sally is safe and we have the luxury of time. With a little luck we’ll find her a benefactor to cover her expenses until she’s ready for the next step in her life.
-Steve
[End Steve Markwell post]