One of this blog's first readers cared enough to send email - but only to ask why I named the blog what I did.
Sure, I was tempted to call it Cat Lady Wars or similar. But I'm not a lady. I'm a guy.
However, the inspiration behind this blog was/is a woman. My ex-girlfriend, actually. She was a volunteer with several animal rescue groups here in Dallas and Tarrant Counties. Sometimes she would talk to me about the vendettas carried out by certain prominent animal rescuers, and in hindsight I wish I'd been more sympathetic. All I did was raise my eyebrows. But she's gone now.
We had two cats when we lived together. She took one and I kept one. Natasha has been my little gray feline provocateur for the last three years. It bothers me a lot that so many of her fellow felines (and canines) are in danger from the same people who should be concerned about their safety, not their own egos. I hope that the right person, or persons, will eventually discover this blog and decide to clean house.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Dallas Animal Services' latest harassment campaign
This is from ex-Dallas Morning News columnist's Larry Powell's blog:
LOOKING FOR NEW PROPERTY: One of our longtime animal rescue tipsters, Gail Whelan, has been through ups and downs with the Companion Animal Network. She’s constantly overloaded with animals and periodically decides to stop working in rescue and avoid the frustrations and heartbreak. Then something good happens and she rebounds. But now she’s facing another situation and it is really upsetting her. Here is her story in her words. She distributed this e-mail yesterday. She wrote:
“I need to find a place to go with all my foster dogs. I realize this is a huge request, but I will be more than happy to live on property in a barn or something similar. I don't need a kitchen. I can handle being without heat, etc. I am pretty resourceful.
“For the past eight months, someone has been calling animal control regularly and saying my dogs are not vaccinated, have no water or shelter, etc. All of which is ridiculous. Dallas Animal Services has been to my house FIVE times and not once have I received a citation, any recommendations for changing our procedures, etc. The last time there were there THREE of them that came out, including the vet for the city ...who only took pictures of my laundry.
“In December I sent an FOIA letter to DAS requesting information on who is doing this to me. According to one of my attorneys, they had 10 days in which to respond, but never did (typical). I am calling the Attorney General's office today to see what else I can do.
“Meanwhile, I just cannot handle this anymore. I have taken so much time off work to meet these people and let them inspect, etc. I just can't do it anymore.
“The saddest thing is that there are dogs chained, starving, being bred in backyards, etc. and nothing is done. Your tax dollars at work.”
To offer to help Gail, e-mail can_rescue@yahoo.com.
LOOKING FOR NEW PROPERTY: One of our longtime animal rescue tipsters, Gail Whelan, has been through ups and downs with the Companion Animal Network. She’s constantly overloaded with animals and periodically decides to stop working in rescue and avoid the frustrations and heartbreak. Then something good happens and she rebounds. But now she’s facing another situation and it is really upsetting her. Here is her story in her words. She distributed this e-mail yesterday. She wrote:
“I need to find a place to go with all my foster dogs. I realize this is a huge request, but I will be more than happy to live on property in a barn or something similar. I don't need a kitchen. I can handle being without heat, etc. I am pretty resourceful.
“For the past eight months, someone has been calling animal control regularly and saying my dogs are not vaccinated, have no water or shelter, etc. All of which is ridiculous. Dallas Animal Services has been to my house FIVE times and not once have I received a citation, any recommendations for changing our procedures, etc. The last time there were there THREE of them that came out, including the vet for the city ...who only took pictures of my laundry.
“In December I sent an FOIA letter to DAS requesting information on who is doing this to me. According to one of my attorneys, they had 10 days in which to respond, but never did (typical). I am calling the Attorney General's office today to see what else I can do.
“Meanwhile, I just cannot handle this anymore. I have taken so much time off work to meet these people and let them inspect, etc. I just can't do it anymore.
“The saddest thing is that there are dogs chained, starving, being bred in backyards, etc. and nothing is done. Your tax dollars at work.”
To offer to help Gail, e-mail can_rescue@yahoo.com.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Nobody's safe from PETA in Dallas
I received a disturbing phone call last night in regards to a volunteer with Kittico, a nonprofit rescue who offers free spays and neuters through a grant program.
Many of the cats who benefit from this grant are ferals - stray, homeless and wild cats. When ferals are spayed or neutered through Kittico, the tip of their ear is removed to identify them as an altered cat. So, if the cat is trapped again, the trapper will (or should) know it's okay to release it.
The majority of trapped, neutered and released (TNR) ferals are provided with food and shelter by a feral caretaker. Much like the two brother tabbies who lived on my porch for about 10 years, until succumbing to old age. They had regular meals and a dog house with in-floor heating. I'd have liked to convert them to an indoor lifestyle but they wouldn't have it.
However, not everyone at Dallas City Hall supports TNR and feral cat management.
Recently, a Kittico volunteer who was involved in feral colony management - and who accepted trapped cats for release from Dallas Animal Services when they were discovered to be ear-tipped, fixed ferals - was subjected to search and seizure by the City of Dallas. Why? Because she was suspected of having too many cats under the local 2008 animal ordinance.
The ordinance has failed in several ways, which is no surprise as nobody likes being spied on. Since licensing your animals tells the city how many animals you own, it's a convenient way for the city to keep tabs on you. It's also easy to make mistakes about how many animals you own, since the licensing system isn't designed to remove an animal from your home's "head count" when it dies or is rehomed.
And no matter how big your house may be, you can't have over X number of animals unless you go fill out an application that proves you're a foster volunteer with a rescue group. And if the folks at City Hall don't like you or your rescue group, your application will be refused.
The plot thickens, and here's where it gets scary. At least two members of Dallas' Animal Shelter Commission are associated with PETA. And PETA does not support feral colony management or trap/neuter/release. They think feral cats should be killed.
Shelter Commission member Susan Oakey makes no secret of her PETA membership. PETA congratulated her on defending the infamous Ronald Reagan billboard, in which PETA's subgroup GoVeg suggested that Reagan was suffering from Alzheimer's disease because he was not a vegetarian.
Here's a quote from Oakey, courtesy of peta.org:
"I'm hoping that people will see the billboard and make a change in their diets," says Oakey. "Perhaps other families will be spared the heartbreak of watching a person they love become someone they hardly know."
Even though I didn't vote for Reagan and didn't particularly like him, to blame his dreadful illness on his non-vegetarianism is disgusting. PETA doesn't even bother to give us a scientific source for this allegation (yes, I researched this).
Skip Trimble won't discuss whether he belongs to PETA or not. However, in 2001, he received an activist reward from PETA - an award he could have refused, but didn't.
So, if you hear any member of the Animal Shelter Commission make noises about supporting feral management, you may want to think twice before believing them.
Standard Provocateur Disclaimer: If you have proof that anything I post here is incorrect or false, feel free to email me your evidence.
Many of the cats who benefit from this grant are ferals - stray, homeless and wild cats. When ferals are spayed or neutered through Kittico, the tip of their ear is removed to identify them as an altered cat. So, if the cat is trapped again, the trapper will (or should) know it's okay to release it.
The majority of trapped, neutered and released (TNR) ferals are provided with food and shelter by a feral caretaker. Much like the two brother tabbies who lived on my porch for about 10 years, until succumbing to old age. They had regular meals and a dog house with in-floor heating. I'd have liked to convert them to an indoor lifestyle but they wouldn't have it.
However, not everyone at Dallas City Hall supports TNR and feral cat management.
Recently, a Kittico volunteer who was involved in feral colony management - and who accepted trapped cats for release from Dallas Animal Services when they were discovered to be ear-tipped, fixed ferals - was subjected to search and seizure by the City of Dallas. Why? Because she was suspected of having too many cats under the local 2008 animal ordinance.
The ordinance has failed in several ways, which is no surprise as nobody likes being spied on. Since licensing your animals tells the city how many animals you own, it's a convenient way for the city to keep tabs on you. It's also easy to make mistakes about how many animals you own, since the licensing system isn't designed to remove an animal from your home's "head count" when it dies or is rehomed.
And no matter how big your house may be, you can't have over X number of animals unless you go fill out an application that proves you're a foster volunteer with a rescue group. And if the folks at City Hall don't like you or your rescue group, your application will be refused.
The plot thickens, and here's where it gets scary. At least two members of Dallas' Animal Shelter Commission are associated with PETA. And PETA does not support feral colony management or trap/neuter/release. They think feral cats should be killed.
Shelter Commission member Susan Oakey makes no secret of her PETA membership. PETA congratulated her on defending the infamous Ronald Reagan billboard, in which PETA's subgroup GoVeg suggested that Reagan was suffering from Alzheimer's disease because he was not a vegetarian.
Here's a quote from Oakey, courtesy of peta.org:
"I'm hoping that people will see the billboard and make a change in their diets," says Oakey. "Perhaps other families will be spared the heartbreak of watching a person they love become someone they hardly know."
Even though I didn't vote for Reagan and didn't particularly like him, to blame his dreadful illness on his non-vegetarianism is disgusting. PETA doesn't even bother to give us a scientific source for this allegation (yes, I researched this).
Skip Trimble won't discuss whether he belongs to PETA or not. However, in 2001, he received an activist reward from PETA - an award he could have refused, but didn't.
So, if you hear any member of the Animal Shelter Commission make noises about supporting feral management, you may want to think twice before believing them.
Standard Provocateur Disclaimer: If you have proof that anything I post here is incorrect or false, feel free to email me your evidence.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Fasten your seat belts...
... it's going to be a bumpy ride.
This blog is a whistle-blower about the goings-on in the animal rescue community in Dallas, Texas: namely the various organizations, commissions and groups populated by arrogant, We Know Better types who like to sit through endless meetings.
The Animal Shelter Commission is a good example of these.
More in March 2010, so bookmark this site if you're interested.
This blog is a whistle-blower about the goings-on in the animal rescue community in Dallas, Texas: namely the various organizations, commissions and groups populated by arrogant, We Know Better types who like to sit through endless meetings.
The Animal Shelter Commission is a good example of these.
More in March 2010, so bookmark this site if you're interested.
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