Regular readers may recall that nearly a year ago, the mayor of Decatur, AL ordered the local pound director to drastically reduce the number of pets from roughly 300 to just 45, despite the fact that the pound has hundreds of cages. The mayor has apparently been lobbying to have the director fired and this week, the city council voted 4 – 1 to terminate the director amidst allegations of poor management at the pound and mishandling of donations. I wonder if the mayor is specifically looking to hire someone who will agree to leave almost every cage at the facility empty. Stock up on Fatal Plus and prepare for an onslaught of resumes from lazy freeloaders, I guess. (Thanks Clarice for the link.)
A boarding kennel with a history of dozens of cases where staff gave animals the wrong medications during their stay is being sued by the owners of one of its victims who died as a result of the mixup. The kennel owners asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, stating that since the dog was a mixed breed, her life was worth nothing. The ALDF has filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the dog’s family. (Thanks Clarice.)
A teenager was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to the Manchester Dogs Home shelter in the UK last week, killing 60 dogs. Two local men heard the dogs howling, jumped the fence and kicked in the doors to the burning building, slipping leads on dogs, walking them outside and tying them to a fence before going back for more. They saved 20 lives. Compassionate people immediately responded to the news by opening their wallets, with roughly 1.5 million pounds being raised. I love the irresponsible public, whom the Guardian wants to point out, is totally irresponsible. (Thanks Kim for the links.)
More than 100 animals, most of them Irish Wolfhounds, were seized from an elderly owner in Galveston Co, TX who is ill with cancer. The animals were taken to the Houston SPCA. (Thanks Bonnie for the link.)
On Tuesday, Wyoming Co ACOs entered a private home on a tip and removed 75 cats, some dead, from deplorable conditions. The home has been condemned and the owners charged. The ACOs failed to check a locked room in the home which contained a live dog with no food or water. The dog died before being discovered the next day. (Thanks Arlene.)
The city of San Diego plans to work with US Wildlife Services to exterminate feral pigs from the county by chasing them with dogs, shooting them from the ground and shooting them from helicopters. (Thanks Kellee.)
The FBI is slated to start including crimes against animals in its database of crime statistics. (Thanks Valerie.)
Can a good photo of a shelter pet cause someone to fall in love? You tell me. (Thanks Casey.)