43 thoughts on “Open Thread”

  2. The photo of the Tallahassee shelter’s empty cages is deceiving. A few days before the adoption event, the shelter killed dogs from its adoption area rather than giving them a few more days to see if they could be adopted at the event. The shelter classifies over 25% of the animals it takes in as unadoptable for behavior reasons, and it did not take any of those animals to the event. The shelter has no foster program for infants and is completely unprepared for kitten season. The shelter kills feral cats on intake as Tallahassee has no program for ferals. The photo itself is deceiving as there are MANY cages at the shelter that are not empty. In the past, adoption specials at the shelter have not led to any increase in adoptions overall because the shelter does not have a marketing program, and in between events adoptions slump. Tallahassee historically kills 50% of the animals the shelter takes in. Their empty cages are unfortunately not a cause for celebration.

    Reply

    2. This sucks. For about a year I lived in a small rural town about an hour south of Tallahassee. The county I lived in had a struggling high-kill shelter, with probably 5 adoptions…a month (and you can imagine how many they killed every week…). I have never forgotten that little shelter even though I moved away. With the news about Tallahassee I was hoping some progress was being made. So heartbreaking.

      Reply

  3. In my reading I came across this today. Sure sounds interesting to me. Neutering without surgery. Life would be so much better and probably more people would do this as there is no cutting involved. I understand it will be available the second quarter of 2012. It would be worth your time to check it out.

    Reply

      1. I’ve read about a medication to be put in their dogfood which will prevent pregnancy for ten (10) years! They supposedly have a “sterilization cookie” that http://www.600MillionDogs.org wants to spread around foreign countries that instead usually spread poison to control dog populations.

      2. l think that if it’s safe, lasts a lifetime, and requires only an injection rather than invasive surgery then I’m going to seriously consider this.

        The shelters may not like it as there goes a chunk of their income…the vets won’t like it as their goes a chunk of theirs and there won’t be any hospital stay charges either.

        For the dog himself, it’s a win in a big way. No recovery pain and no having to put him under. That, and he gets to keep his bits! What could be better?

  5. Shirley, can you please help get the word out on the Pet Placement Partners program at MAS? If we could get more out of town rescues on the program, it would increase the foster and adoption possibilities. We have people out of town who are willing to foster and adopt but can not because of the rules. If we can get a PPP partner in each state and a local rescue who is willing to work with them, along with a group of volunteer transporters, we could save a whole lot more lives. I am sending out this letter to a few rescues each day. Please feel free to copy, paste, change, tweak and send away!! Thank you!

    Hi Break The Chain Pit Bull Rescue,

    First of all, thanks SO much for all that you do!

    I am contacting you to see if you would consider being a Pet Placement Partner for Memphis Animal Services. I am not a representative of MAS, just a concerned citizen and animal advocate.

    As you probably know, Memphis has a huge pit bull overpopulation problem and MAS has an extremely high kill rate. We are hoping to get as many rescues as Pet Placement Partners as possible so that we can network all possible options and reduce the 70%+ kill rate (90%+ for pitties). There are some super sweet bullies we are trying to get out of there but there just are no good takers. We need help desperately.

    You can look over the info about the PPP program at MAS at this link:

    http://www.cityofmemphis.org/framework.aspx?page=622

    If you look in the upper right corner, you will see the PPP application in PDF format. If you have questions about the program or the application, feel free to contact Memphis Animal Services at:

    2350 Appling City Cove
    Memphis, TN 38133
    Phone: 901-636-1416
    Email: MAS@memphistn.gov

    If you decide to become a PPP, please let me know so that we can put you down as a contact in urgent situations. We have volunteer transporters who can help get the animals to you as well.

    Thank you for your consideration. We need all the help we can get to save any and all of them that we can.

    Sincerely,

    Christi Long

    (Or you can reach me on the Save A Pet in Memphis page on Facebook.)

    Reply

    1. Christi, can you please clarify when you say “because of the rules”, are you meaning that MAS has rules against people from out of town adopting/fostering Pitbulls? If so, do you know exactly what those rules say?

      Reply

  6. Yes, they will not just adopt a pit bull to someone out of town without being able to do a fence check, background check, etc. If there is a reputable rescue who will become a PPP, then they could take on the responsibility and then get the dog to the potential adopter or foster. So, say if someone in x city wants to foster a pit from MAS, they need to locate a rescue in their area who has a charter or 501(c)3 and get them to fill out the paperwork. The local rescues here will not pull and just send the dogs (or cats) out of town to a stranger they do not know. But if they can get a working relationship with out of state PPP rescues that they trust, we could get a whole lot more placed.

    Reply

    1. A fence check, a background check, etc?! My god, these people are constantly bemoaning that they can’t get Pitbulls adopted out. If someone wants one, why in hell are they denying them? Jesus Henry Christ – the dogs are GOING INTO THE DUMPSTER, how can any sort of “fence check” be in the dogs’ best interest if it prevents them from being saved? That is outrageous.

      Reply

      1. Sounds like they check potential adopters more stringently than they check potential employees.

      3. If you could help us reach folks and let them know the importance of recruiting rescues for the Pet Placement Partner program, it would be helpful and would save lives. This obstacle can be overcome if we have rescues in other areas (and eventually all states) who are willing to become Pet Placement Partners as they will then be able to help those in their area who want to foster or adopt outside of Memphis and Shelby County.

        While I am not happy with many of the things at MAS, I will have to say that I support home checks and background checks for those who want to adopt a pit bull. While we can usually tell who wants a bully breed for the right reasons, there are many who want them for the wrong reasons and it is sometimes hard to tell from an email or phone call. I had rather see an animal euthanized than to be thrown in dog fighting ring to have its face ripped off and then bleed to death very slowly and painfully. While it greatly saddens me to know how many pit bulls are killed at MAS for no good reason, I had rather see a dog go peacefully than to be tied to a tree for the remainder of its life, braving the elements, predators (human and otherwise) thieves and starvation. This is where home and fence checks come in handy. Sure, we can say “any home is better than none” but sadly sometimes it isn’t. There are some fates that are much, much worse than euthanasia. Home and background checks do not guarantee anything but it does help to weed out some of the clearly obvious bad environments.

        I have created a FB page to try to network the Pet Placement Partners program to get more people on board so we can save more of these animals from death at MAS. If you would help get the word out, we sure would appreciate it. Thank you.

        https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pet-Placement-Partners-for-Memphis-Animal-Services/338360979553799

        Information on the Pet Placement Partners program at the City of Memphis website:

        http://www.cityofmemphis.org/framework.aspx?page=622

      4. Christ, I agree with you. For some of these dogs, euthanasia is the only thing that will save them from more misery. Sad, but true.

  7. That is sweet. Below is the letter I wrote to Mr. Rogers.

    Dear Mr. Rogers:

    I want to thank you for taking the time our of your busy schedule to give me a personal tour of the new MAS facility on Thursday, March 29. It was very informative and I hope, full of realistic changes and positive feedback.

    While there, I did notice the stalls being much cleaner and beds replaced. As we discussed, there appears to be a failure of communication between MAS and the public. The water bowls are automatic, and not easily seen in most of the photos I have seen. The empty bowls for food is because the animals may have already been fed. However, you did have puppies with empty water and food bowls. I understand they may have knocked them over, but puppies need water and food often in order to grow healthy and be good pets.

    There were several stalls with feces and, of course, being logical, this could have happened after eating time, which makes total sense. I was impressed with the logs you have the employees fill out when they have done a walk through to their assigned area. However, it is my opinion if they had just walked before us the cages should have been in the process of being cleaned. It is a much nicer place for the animals than the former MAS.

    I also liked the fact list you have made with all the history of the dog, health and any necessary data for a person to make their decision to adopt. Once again, however, I feel if you made computers available to the public to view a dog and its history prior to going through the adoption area, this would make the decision easier and save a lot of time as well. You would only have to give the public access to the adoptable dogs and cats. The could be password protected, let’s say Feline and Canine. Simple.

    The veterinarian on duty, Dr. Coleman, was very nice and accommodating. The clinic is very new, clean and roomy. I also understand you are soon to get your digital xray machines. She explained to me in detail with much compassion, the decisions you are faced with each day. She parodied the atrocities of war and the plight of homeless, abandoned and injured animals. You can’t treat the one you know beyond a shadow of a doubt will not survive, the one in the middle that can wait for treatment, and the last who needs attention immediately because they have a better chance of survival. That to me makes sense. However, as we discussed, we need to educate the public on this and I know your goal is to communicate with the public as much as you can.

    Your goals and your ideas are very well thought out. It will be a difficult task to achieve and it will take time. But, I truly hope your plans succeed and MAS gets closer to becoming a no kill shelter. There is always room for improvement in any endeavor, and vast improvements still need to be made at MAS, but I see your vision as one that is very possible. I am hopeful that it is one that you are truly passionate about and comes to fruition, in order not to let this wave of cruelty continue to plague MAS. I hope I will not be disappointed.

    Last, but not least, I was very happy to see about 12 families adopting pets from kittens, puppies and adult pets. Two rescue groups also came while I was there to foster a mom dog who lost her pups but took up with abandoned puppies and another person taking 3 more puppies for foster care. That was a good feeling and I told those wonderful people how appreciative I was, for they were saving lives.

    Again, thank you for the tour and conversing with me about your plans. Let’s keep the public informed. I will continue to monitor MAS and visit, just so I can see the progress. I’ll be in touch.

    Respectfully,

    Denise Caccamisi

    Reply

    1. I don’t know how many people read my letter, but I want to post it again just in case.

      That is sweet. Below is the letter I wrote to Mr. Rogers.

      Dear Mr. Rogers:

      I want to thank you for taking the time our of your busy schedule to give me a personal tour of the new MAS facility on Thursday, March 29. It was very informative and I hope, full of realistic changes and positive feedback.

      While there, I did notice the stalls being much cleaner and beds replaced. As we discussed, there appears to be a failure of communication between MAS and the public. The water bowls are automatic, and not easily seen in most of the photos I have seen. The empty bowls for food is because the animals may have already been fed. However, you did have puppies with empty water and food bowls. I understand they may have knocked them over, but puppies need water and food often in order to grow healthy and be good pets.

      There were several stalls with feces and, of course, being logical, this could have happened after eating time, which makes total sense. I was impressed with the logs you have the employees fill out when they have done a walk through to their assigned area. However, it is my opinion if they had just walked before us the cages should have been in the process of being cleaned. It is a much nicer place for the animals than the former MAS.

      I also liked the fact list you have made with all the history of the dog, health and any necessary data for a person to make their decision to adopt. Once again, however, I feel if you made computers available to the public to view a dog and its history prior to going through the adoption area, this would make the decision easier and save a lot of time as well. You would only have to give the public access to the adoptable dogs and cats. The could be password protected, let’s say Feline and Canine. Simple.

      The veterinarian on duty, Dr. Coleman, was very nice and accommodating. The clinic is very new, clean and roomy. I also understand you are soon to get your digital xray machines. She explained to me in detail with much compassion, the decisions you are faced with each day. She parodied the atrocities of war and the plight of homeless, abandoned and injured animals. You can’t treat the one you know beyond a shadow of a doubt will not survive, the one in the middle that can wait for treatment, and the last who needs attention immediately because they have a better chance of survival. That to me makes sense. However, as we discussed, we need to educate the public on this and I know your goal is to communicate with the public as much as you can.

      Your goals and your ideas are very well thought out. It will be a difficult task to achieve and it will take time. But, I truly hope your plans succeed and MAS gets closer to becoming a no kill shelter. There is always room for improvement in any endeavor, and vast improvements still need to be made at MAS, but I see your vision as one that is very possible. I am hopeful that it is one that you are truly passionate about and comes to fruition, in order not to let this wave of cruelty continue to plague MAS. I hope I will not be disappointed.

      Last, but not least, I was very happy to see about 12 families adopting pets from kittens, puppies and adult pets. Two rescue groups also came while I was there to foster a mom dog who lost her pups but took up with abandoned puppies and another person taking 3 more puppies for foster care. That was a good feeling and I told those wonderful people how appreciative I was, for they were saving lives.

      Again, thank you for the tour and conversing with me about your plans. Let’s keep the public informed. I will continue to monitor MAS and visit, just so I can see the progress. I’ll be in touch.

      Respectfully,

      Denise Caccamisi

      Reply

  8. I have a question about something. It is an issue I have noticed for a long time at the no-kill shelter I volunteer for. How do you market the dog that doesn’t get along with other dogs? We have multiple dogs like this, and they get looked at by potential adopters from time to time, but the adopters always choose to go for a different dog when we tell them the dogs don’t like other dogs. The vast majority of adopters want a dog they can take to the dog park, or with them to the kids’ soccer game. You can teach a dog to behave properly on a leash, and sometimes with careful socialization a dog may like certain other dogs in controlled environments, but you cannot train out true prey drive or true dislike for other dogs.

    For example, we have a senior pit bull who WILL fight with other dogs if he gets the chance, and he will kill a cat. He was in a foster home for a while and he was housebroken, well-behaved, and liked to just lay quietly and look out the window most of the time. He loves people of all ages, and has never shown aggression to a person, and aggression to other animals is not the same as aggression to people.

    Another example is a chubby senior dog who has one prick ear and one crinkly ear (she had a bad infection in that one), she’s black and may be mixed with border collie, but it is hard to tell. She’s a very sweet dog and loves back scratches and tennis balls, and there were people that wanted her, but didn’t take her because she doesn’t like other dogs.

    We have a shepherd/chow mix as well who is the sweetest darn dog ever, housebroken, well-behaved, but very choosey about her dog friends (there were two males she came from a hoarding situation with who she was friends with. They have been adopted). She was adopted, but then returned when they stupidly took her to a dog park and she got in a fight with another dog. We told them from the beginning that she doesn’t like other dogs!

    How best to market dogs such as these? There are some that believe that if an animal shows any aggression to anything that they are “unadoptable”, but I don’t believe this. There are quite a lot of breeds who are very prey driven, and there are also quite a lot of breeds who tend to not like dogs of the same sex, or not like other dogs at all. Suggestions? Advice?

    Reply

    1. Hi CristyF, most dogs can be socialized. You may need to take it to a trainer for socializing in a safe environment. You have to remember most of these dogs were probably taught to fight and their breed makes it that more difficult. However, explaining to the public the situation, and asking if they know someone who could be patient, has a big yard and spend a lot of time with the dog, it could be adopted. Of course, there are dogs that just are not suited for adoption because their owners neglected them or were cruel to There are groups that will rehabilitate a dog who is aggressive. Find some groups in your city willing to take rescue dogs who need attitude adjustments and maybe they can help. Start a web page for these dogs or make sure any foster parent has no dogs or cats and can help rehabilitate these dogs. There are several of these sites on the web and in a lot of states. Don’t give up. You are headed in the right path.

      Reply

    2. You see this often enough in cats, too. But cat people don’t tend to hang out at the cat beach or the cat park…

      You tell people that these dogs need to be an “only pet” because they do NOT get on with other animals, but are extremely people-friendly. You remind them that the seniors won’t be high maintenance because they don’t have to housetrain and don’t have to “do the whole dog park thing” with these dogs. These dogs are looking for their special someone who will be their best friend and accept the fact that these dogs will make their people their whole world, so exercise/activities need to be one-on-one with their people.

      Make their shortcomings VERY CLEAR, but also point out that for the right people, these dogs will fit right in with their lives.

      Reply

    3. I am careing for a female mix who didn’t get along with other females, which 4 others are here. First, a dog can’t be trained to get along unless there are other dogs there to be trained with.

      Any time she snapped at or bit another dog, she got seperated in another fenced half of the yard for a period of time. Each occurance warranted a little longer period of solitary confinement. (You don’t want to confine them so long that they forget what the confinement is for)

      Starting from one hour up to 2 days, she finally figured out what her aggression resulted in solitary confinement, which she did NOT like. She still got all the food, water & treats the other dogs got, but just knowing she wasn’t in the house or had freedom to roam the rest of the yard was punishment enough to straighten her out.

      It will still require a person to be with her/them 24/7 to control any situation that may get nasty, letting them all know who the alpha dog/person is & immediately seperate the aggressor. Violence only begets violence so always refrain from roughness.

      This aggressive female, Dukee, may still not like other females, but she respects them now, gets along & knows any aggression is not tollerated. Patience is a virtue not wasted on any dog & is paramount.

      Reply

    4. How about something like:

      PEOPLE! PEOPLE! PEOPLE!

      If you are looking for a PeopleDog (as opposed to a DogDog), Fluffy may be a match for you. She is at her best lounging at your feet, chillin’ under a shady tree, or patrolling the yard for squirrels. Fluffy has no need or desire for doggy friends but she loves to hang around the house with her humans and would make a loyal and loving companion for any family.

      Reply

      1. That’s a great advertisment, Shirley! I have multiple dogs, so an ‘only’ wouldn’t work for me, but I’d still have good feelings about a dog ‘marketed’ that way and would be happy to pass on their info to someone else who only wants one dog at a time.

      2. I like this idea for a writeup! It keeps a positive spin on things.

        Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

  9. Sheltered Hearts Animal Rescue pulled sweet Darla, a hound mix, from the Person County, NC, shelter, but she has a massive tumor on her belly and she needs surgery soon. If you can spare a dollar (or more), please consider helping us help Darla: https://www.wepay.com/x4gi1yf. Sheltered Hearts is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization so your donation is tax-deductible.

    Here’s a link to a couple of pix on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.3328953935394.150814.1014828435&type=1

    Reply

    1. Oh my, that is some tumor! The poor dear is carrying so much extra weight, it has to be painful.

      Reply

      1. Holly cow! What a tumor! Direct me to a “Chip-In”. I’m not familure with “Wepay”.

      1. This one? https://www.wepay.com/donations/sheltered-hearts-darla-s-tumor-surgery?utm_campaign=donations&utm_medium=link&utm_source=facebook&ref_uid=2013837

        You can also donate by going to the Sheltered Hearts’ Petfinder page and scrolling down to the “Donate” button: http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/shelteredhearts.html

        You can put a note that it’s for Darla … or not. All of Sheltered Hearts’ money goes to their vet anyway, it seems ;-)

        Thanks for your interest!

  10. I’m wondering how often it happens where your dog, or other’s you know of, picks up a fatal disease from a vet clinic when your dog is there for something entirely different.

    Two seperate clinics, two deaths from parvo, doesn’t encourage me to ever return.

    Reply

    1. This is why I am extremely and careful about taking my pets to the vet. It is only when necessary. I have indoor cats which do not need annual shots so I only take them when they are having an actual issue, to reduce exposure to other more serious illnesses. It happens ALL the time, you take a healthy cat or dog to the vet for an annual checkup and they get very ill afterward. I have been in the pet care business for almost 20 years and have seen this happen more times than I could ever count.

      After all, they tell us to keep animals with contagious illnesses and diseases separate from other pets when we get them home, yet they are holding them against their body (then holding others) putting them on tables, weight scales, letting them walk across floors, etc., with a trail of animals coming in after them.

      Reply

    2. This is always a concern, particularly when it’s a young animal. I raise small parrots, and when a buyer takes the bird in during the first few days for a “well bird check”, I have reminded them to not let the bird have any contact with other birds or human in the vet clinic and to be sure the vet and assts. have properly sanitized their hands and the examination table. Young birds in particular are susceptible to polyoma and psittacosis, for example, especially polyoma, and they certainly can pick it up at an veterinarian’s clinic (esp. an avian specialist vet) if protocols are sloppy there.

      What I have also found recently is how subtly anti-breeder some of these vets are. When a recent buyer took her new bird to her avian vet, the vet asst. looked at the bird, said “oh, how pretty, too bad he won’t live long” [presumably because he is a relatively uncommon color mutation]. WTF. The buyer was shook up and talked to the avian vet (who also runs a rescue organization), and she said she’d talk to the asst. I told the buyer she should find another vet. The vet also prescribed antibiotics “just to be sure he’d be okay”. That is unacceptable behavior, IMO. In the 20 years I’ve raised parrots, I’ve only found one other vet that had this anti-breeder attitude, though I’m sure there are increasingly more and more, as the AR-poison is spoonfed in vet schools.

      Reply

    3. Fun Is Best – could you clarify what you’re talking about? Your dogs contacted parvo at a vet clinic? How old were they, and what was there vaccination status prior to going there? Did they stay for an extended time, and for what reason?

      Reply

  11. @Fun Is Best: We are not using Chip-In because it forces you to go through PayPal, which we are trying to avoid because they have a long history of arbitrarily seizing funds and wreaking havoc with fundraisers. You can read this post to learn just a few if the issues people have had: http://www.regretsy.com/2012/03/12/paypal-does-it-again/

    WePay is very secure: WePay operates entirely over SSL, using 256-bit encryption. Their practices are closely monitored by TRUSTe, DigiCert, McAfee, and the Better Business Bureau. It’s like any other online merchant, that takes credit card payments.
    You can read about their security here: https://www.wepay.com/about/security

    Reply

  15. Please join the National Rally May12,2012

    so far about 20 States have confirmed rallies on May12,2012. I found out about it on Face Book.

    it’s called “NTL PROTEST AGAINST KILL POUNDS IN AMERICA”..Public Event for New York Animal Rights Alliance America · By Kay Riviello..

    North Carolina’s rally location will be held at 288 Legion Drive, Whiteville, NC 28472

    This is a shelter that needs some serious reform.

    Here’s the list of States confirmed to participating so far.
    TENTATIVE LIST:

    ROUGH DRAFT:
    Corpus Christie TX, Confirmed
    Lehigh PA, Confirmed
    Devore CA
    Carson CA, Confirmed
    Des Moines IA, Confirmed
    NE IN, Confirmed
    Boston, MA, Confirmed
    North Chicago, IL Confirmed
    Puppy Mill St Louis MI, Confirmed
    Cincinnati OH, Confirmed
    Concord NH, Confirmed
    Washington DC -Confirmed
    NEW JERSEY AND CONN WILL CARRY BANNERS IN THE NEW YORK PARADE

    Please contact me:
    Kay Riviello,
    Co-Founder,
    New York Animal Rights Alliance America
    kay@radicalphotos.com
    845 856 7366

    Face Book link…https://www.facebook.com/events/401327389884235/..

    Reply

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