In Summit Co Colorado, an ACO resigned alleging that the pound director was violating policy and failing to enforce cruelty laws. The last straw was a Lab with a tumor on his leg who apparently starved to death without vet care, his owner admitting the dog only ate cashews. The director refused to allow the ACO to investigate the case. After the resignation, an internal investigation cleared the director on all accounts. (Thank you Clarice for the link. Warning: dead dog photos at link.)
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After an employee at the local news station adopted a cat from the Tri-Cities pound in Pasco, WA and he tested positive for FIV, the other six cats exposed to the positive cat were tested and one came back positive. The money quote:
The animal shelter in Pasco doesn’t usually warn people adopting cats of the potential risk of feline leukemia or FIV. I asked if perhaps they should start. “Should we implement those protocols? I can say yes, we should. Will we be able to? That’s a different story,” says shelter manager Angela Zilar.
She’s talking about educating cat adopters on FIV, which could be accomplished via a paragraph in a take home sheet and/or a verbal recommendation for testing. Or rather, she’s talking about not doing those things. (Thanks Mary.)
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Dallas Animal Services investigated itself and came up with an explanation for why they secretly killed 4 dogs slated for rescue: Oops. (Thank you Arlene.)
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Contenders for Biggest Jerks in the World, the Alabama State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners continues its crusade against vets who perform low cost spay-neuter in order to help save lives. A judge recently ruled against the board and in favor of one of the vets being dragged through the mud by the group. (Thanks Aubrie.)
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New study looks at why dogs roll on their backs when playing with other dogs.
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Headline of the Week, from Israel: Runaway emu braves rain to go to mall
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My next blog is going to be about koala mittens.
I just published an article about how to sew koala mittens in our weekly newspaper and today received an email stating that sufficient mittens had been sent. Now the clarion call is out for joey pouches to protect baby kangaroos. Be forewarned tho’ joey pouches look a lot more complicated to make than the koala mittens.
I am astonished that there exists a shelter that DOESN’T test cats for FeLeuk. FIV, okay, no biggie, but if your cat has it, you should be informed so you can make wise medical decisions (i.e. keeping up with dental cleanings, not brushing off that cold as “just a cold”, that sort of thing), but FeLeuk is much more contagious and positive cats need to be kept separate from negative (unlike FIV, where positive and negative can live together just fine). To run a shelter and NOT test is incredibly irresponsible and ignorant.
thank you for writing about Animal Control in Pasco, Washington – Tri-City Animal Control also has jurisdiction over Kennewick And Richland, Washington.
Among the many, many problems at Tri-City Animal Control – a huge problem is Tri-City Animal Control has a contract with Washington State University – Veterinary School of Medicine (WSU – VSM) – the contract allows for “shelter” animals to be used for practice surgeries, research and may also be harvested for body parts. The initial date of the contract was April – 2003.
Until the contract is terminated, Tri-City Animal Control has a priority to serve WSU – VSM and not the tax payers, pet-owners and the animals of the Tri-Cities.