Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Is DAS finally headed in the right direction?

This following is from Larry Powell's blog. Forgive my cynicism, but I'd bet the rent that not every group who responds via RSVP will actually be invited.

THINGS CHANGING AT DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES:
From a shelter with its back to a wall, the Dallas Animal Services Shelter is acquiring a new image. This latest development may help a lot.

The Companions For Life people and Dallas Animal Services are inviting managers of local rescue groups (all-breed and breed-specific) and private shelters to come to the Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center to meet with the interim manager, Dallas Police Lt. Scott Walton, and DAS Rescue Coordinator Mark Cooper.

CFL President Rebecca Poling says there are two dates, space is limited and you have to have reservations. These get-acquainted sessions -- one on Saturday, Oct. 2, (9:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.) and the other on Oct. 14 (6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) – will be in the meeting room at the Dallas Animal Shelter and Adoption Center. Deadline for RSVP on the first one is Sept. 30, deadline on the second is Oct. 12) E-mail your RSVP to info@companionsforlife.org – get more info there, too.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Suzette! Please check in.

Sorry to contact you in this fashion but I replied to two of your recent emails. And both promptly bounced. Any idea why?

FP

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Overdue eviction notices

After reviewing the current status of our fair city's animal services, I feel rather ill.

Nobody seems to actually be running Dallas Animal Services. Tyrone McGill is playing golf on the taxpayers' nickel, while the folks running the Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) refuse to discuss why Suzette Watkins was shitcanned last month. And the Shelter Commission members continue to sit on their hands and pad their resumes.

Over on the Yes! Biscuit blog, a recent horror story was picked up - and a well-known No Kill advocate commented.

The link is here.


What will it take to dislodge the inmates from the asylum? Has Dallas begun to organize a No-Kill movement yet? If not, it's past due.

Friday, September 17, 2010

20/20 expose of local SPCAs, circa 2005

If you read the Comments under each blog entry, you may have noticed an anonymous commenter mention this:

http://abcnewsstore.go.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DSIProductDisplay?catalogId=11002&storeId=20051&productId=2004097&langId=-1&categoryId=100024

I decided to check it out and found the URL above.

I'm afraid one has to buy the 20/20 video segment, and I couldn't find it posted online anywhere. But the abcnewsstore link has a fairly comprehensive write-up of the contents of the segment.

While I was looking for a video, I also Googled a couple of names mentioned. The 20/20 report certainly riled up quite a few people on both sides of the fence. Some insisted that the report was totally erroneous, others said it was spot-on.

Currently I'm looking for legal documents associated with the seizures mentioned here:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=879660&page=1

This URL is ABC's response to the SPCA when they accused 20/20 of false reporting.

If you find any before I do, I would appreciate their being forwarded their URLs. Then perhaps we can find out who's truthing and who's lying.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

More about the THLN firing

Suzette Watkins is not a mealy-mouthed woman and is not afraid to let the chips fall where they may.

With this in mind, I'll let her recent Facebook entries do the talking (clicking on each screen grab will enlarge it for more readability).



Wednesday, September 15, 2010

THLN Chapter President asks question, gets canned. WTF?

Although I'm not a big fan of Facebook, and refuse to set up my own page, it sometimes makes for interesting reading.

Here is a screen grab from Suzette Watkins' Facebook page. Suzette runs a combined kennel/boarding facility/rescue in Ft Worth - and until last month, she was the Ft Worth chapter President for the Texas Humane Legislation Network.

However, it looks like Suzette asked the wrong question to the wrong person. This resulted in THLN promptly showing her the door. I'll let her Facebook page do the talking:


Considering the (alleged) role that the Shelter Advisory Committee plays in the running of Dallas Animal Services, I can't figure out why anyone would consider Suzette's actions as anything less than doing her job. Instead, it cost her the job.

More later - I fear my laptop battery is red and I'm in darkest Bell County without my charger.

Another link addition

I think some readers/comments have already discovered the KC Dog Blog, but just in case you haven't:

http://btoellner.typepad.com/kcdogblog/

The author knows his FOI (Freedom Of Information) rules and he's not afraid to use them.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Austin shelter update

Hey, look! A city in Texas that does NOT have a mandatory spay/neuter law - Austin - has managed to bring their euthanasia rate way down.

More about it here:

No Good Deed Goes Unpunished…. ASPCA-Style

Monday, September 13, 2010

Why it's time to quit preaching Mandatory Spay/Neuter

Every animal I've owned has been spayed or neutered, including the two purebred animals I owned. I didn't spay or neuter a single one because it was mandatory; I did it because it was the intelligent choice.

Can anyone who supports mandatory spaying and neutering answer these questions, please:

1. Do you really think you have the right to dictate others' choices regarding their pets?
2. Has making this part of a city code ever lowered a euthanasia rate? In other words, can you offer valid proof that mandatory spaying and neutering helps to stop the killing in shelters?

This 2005 article about Austin's shelter includes the opinion of a vet tech who carried out euthanasia duties on a regular basis. He didn't support mandatory spaying/neutering. Considering what he does for a living, I think he's earned his right to his opinion - perhaps more than most of us have.

What Happened to the No-Kill Millennium?

Austin's plan to end wholesale euthanasia at Town Lake shelter remains a distant dream.

Monday, September 6, 2010

More about Blogger's spam comment filtering

Unfortunately I can't turn turn this function off. Fortunately, I am not the only Blogger user who is annoyed with this.

So ... if your comment is delayed, all I can say for now is sorry about that, and please be patient. Hopefully Blogger will install a cutoff switch soon. By the looks of their Help forum, plenty of others are equally annoyed.

Saturday, September 4, 2010

A look back on July's Self-Righteous AR Advocate of the Month

A couple of months ago, a blogger with the typical "I know better" outlook decided to advise readers to spy on any neighbor who might be a (gasp!) hoarder.

Here is the link to the post, along with the comments.

I was clearing out some bookmarks earlier today and revised the page. I was surprised to see that my comment (the last one made) had *not* been censored. Anyone care to hazard a guess why it's still there?

I'm guessing that the author simply became weary of checking for new anti-spying comments. She's since returned to recycling very old tips about checking for animals in foreclosed homes and such, when not singing her own praises.

For example, she has described herself as a "very dedicated volunteer". Miss, either you're dedicated or you're not. Please don't abuse your adjectives in public.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Those disappearing comments

I receive email confirmations each time a new comment is posted, but when looking at the blog itself this morning, I realize that at least two of them aren't showing up now.

Seems that Blogger now has a spam filter for comments! Crap!

I've gone in and marked all comments "not spam", so hopefully everything's showing up now. Later today, I am going to see if I can turn off this silly-ass filter. I didn't ask for it to be activated.

I NEVER delete a comment - instead, if I disagree with one, I respond to it.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Opinions invited re Nathan Winograd

Since I haven't read any of Nathan Winograd's books, and don't know when I'll have time to do so, I wanted to ask blog readers to share their opinions of him via the Comments section below.

To post a comment, click on the Preview button after typing in your comment - this gives you the option to choose how to sign your comment.

Winograd looks good on paper, but I have never visited any of the shelters he claims to have assisted.

I should confess that, since Winograd is hated by PETA and Wayne Pacelle (PETA has dedicated a lot of Web site space to vilifying him), I am already leaning towards a favorable view of him.