Feline Provocateur

Mark Twain: Do not steal the kittens!

2012-01-27T11:13:00.001-06:00

This is an actual note left by Mark Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) to potential burglars. Click on the link below to be taken to the Letters of Note blog.

Besides being a brilliant writer, Twain was very fond of cats.

To the next Burglar

Yesterday's Animal Shelter Commission meeting

2012-01-13T16:12:00.002-06:00

I'm kind of glad I wasn't able to go.

According to this Dallas Observer article, the proceedings were just as painful as ever.

Some highlights of the meeting:

The shelter is still short 30 employees, as it has been since October 2011. Joey Zapata's excuse: "they want to make sure they get the right people". So why did they shitcan some of the better employees last year?
Animals are still disappearing from cages. Joey Zapata blamed the public for this.
The shelter is still euthanizing around 75% of animals admitted for "shelter".
Dwaine Caraway is now contributing.
The Shelter Commission gave the Dallas Companion Animal Project "approval to move forward". Huh?

I see nothing in place that will improve things one bit, especially when you look at DCAP's faults. They're in bed with the HSUS, run by a professional committee-sitter, and have an Advisory Board full of folks with NO experience in transforming kill shelters into no-kill shelters.

Dallas goes into overdrive to stop shelter killing. (Backwards.)

2012-01-12T17:02:00.002-06:00

By the looks of the city of Dallas' Companion Animal Project (aka DCAP), I don't think they could be getting any further away from lowering the shelter kill rate.

Let's look at the DCAP Facebook page. Instead of announcing any changes to the current m.o. down at Dallas Animal Services, we've been treated to excerpts from Wayne Pacelle's worst-selling book The Bond. From the Dec 29 posting:

From "The Bond": "Right now, slightly less than 25% of all dogs in American households come from shelters or rescue groups. That means that roughly three out of every four dogs come from other sources - from pet stores, puppy mills, small-scale breeders, or friends adopting out litters. There's still a stigma associated with shelters, the vague, sometimes snobbish, and always uninformed view that something is wrong with shelter animals." Here is what each of us can do: tell our friends to adopt from shelters or rescue groups! The dogs in shelters are just as wonderful as those in pet stores!

That's right, DCAP! Just tell her our friends to adopt from shelters and everything will be hunky-dory.

Over at thte DCAP Web site, the Advisory Board just gets weirder and weirder. New members include:

An architect, whose usefulness totally evades me. He is also often photographed with his purebred bulldog - a breed that's been infamously overbred over the decades.
Someone who runs an SCPA in Virginia (like that'll do a lot of good).
Someone who's stinkin' rich and owns Six Flags - a place that relies on smaller local rescue groups to help them manage their feral cats.
Someone who's already professionally committee-sitting (ie., no dirty work please, it'll fuck up my manicure) on another local animal "advocate" group.

Let's see what goes down at the Animal Shelter Commission meeting this afternoon.

An apology to my readers

2011-12-27T11:33:00.007-06:00

Readers of this blog have noticed that I don't publish a lot of updates any more. This is because things at Dallas City Hall took a nasty turn a few months ago with the formation of the Dallas Companion Animal Project, an exercise in Let's Preserve Our Positions By Promising No Kill, But Never Delivering.

Ever since the Dallas Companion Animal Project (DCAP) was launched, the hopeful kept hoping that things would change at Dallas Animal Services (DAS). But look who's chairing DCAP:

Rebecca Poling, the Chair of the Task Force OPPOSED lifesaving legislation in Texas which would have banned the cruel gas chamber, mandated collaboration between Texas pounds and rescue organizations by making it illegal to kill animals when qualified rescues were willing to save them, required transparency in how taxpayer monies were spent by requiring shelters to make their statistics public, and would have made it illegal for shelters to kill animals based on arbitrary criteria.

In addition, Poling’s tenure on the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission has been marked by staggering neglect and abuse at Dallas Animal Services, which is not only underscored by the fact that the agency routinely and needlessly puts to death tens of thousands of animals every year (24,793 of the 34,399 animals it took in), but allowed a cat to starve to death within its walls, while every single employee looked the other way at his cries for help. In short, you cannot create a true and authentic blueprint for No Kill success by empanelling a Task Force chaired by a person who has no track record of success and who opposes the very approach necessary to end the killing of savable animals.

You can keep hoping this will change. But they won't. I am willing to bet any sum of money on this.

Since DCAP came into existence, Poling and Co. have done nothing of value. Instead, they recycle old stories online at Facebook and the Net while kissing each other's bottoms until they're soda-cracker white. And since she has no real news to publish, Poling has recently begun to resort to publishing pretty photos of her friends, complete with their arms around their pets. The photo ops are getting downright nauseating.

Perhaps Poling should show us what's really going on at DAS. This is what is going on every day as DCAP pursues nothing of value:

(Note: This photo is from several years ago. The photo my ex took some 15 years ago was considerably worse. Animals were stacked in wire containers and some smaller bodies were falling out of the sides. She took it while visiting the now-closed DAS Forney Road shelter.)

But none of this is changing anything down at DAS. The killing goes on, day in and day out. Or, as Bruce Campbell would say,

"You ain't leading nothing but Jack and shit. And Jack left town."

At least the public is no longer banned from pointing out how the No-Kill Equation has worked in other cities and counties. Or are we?

From the DCAP Facebook page:

Also, please note - months of research has been conducting up to this point, so while we appreciate the sentiment, general comments like "look at what Richmond did", keep in mind that we've already researched Austin, Richmond, San Antonio, San Francisco, and many, many more.

From the DCAP Web site:

If you’ve got a suggestion, please let us know. We’re looking for specific programs and initiatives that have been used successfully in other areas, lessons learned from personal experiences, and unique, “outside the box” ideas that we may not have seen before. We want your input.

So...what are we waiting for?

Nathan Winograd described DCAP's real agenda - that of preserving the status quo, while only giving lip service to no-kill - accurately in his book Redemption. Specifically, the chapter Co-option.

Winograd also wrote a letter to the mayor of Dallas everything we need to know to stop the killing here in his blog - several months ago.

Does anyone know if our mayor ever responded to the letter?

Why re-invent the no-kill wheel?

2011-11-23T15:23:00.009-06:00

In addition to a ridiculous advisory board - two photogenic women with NO experience with no-kill - DCAP continues to make nice with the ignorant Dallas public via their Web site.

We are invited to make suggestions about how Dallas to become no-kill through an online suggestion box at the DCAP Web site. However, we are not allowed to discuss examples of shelters, groups and cities who have already become no-kill. Seems the DCAP task force thinks that Dallas is so fucked up that we can't learn from other cities. Why not? What's the difference?

This is from the DCAP Facebook page (not verbatim, I fixed their typos - repairs are in red font. No words were deleted where I inserted "are not welcome" but that's the jist):

Also, please note - months of research have been conducted up to this point, so while we appreciate the sentiment, general comments like "look at what Richmond did" are not welcome, Keep in mind that we've already researched Austin, Richmond, San Antonio, San Francisco, and many, many more.

Here's more DCAP Let's Re-Invent The Wheel While We Kill Hundreds More Animals humor:

The idea to move forward with a cooperative, “new breed” of no kill task force was conceived by Rebecca Poling and Mary Spencer back in May, and presented to the Animal Shelter Commission in June.

Clever way to buy some time, Rebecca and Mary!

And if you're wondering who Mary Spencer is, here's what the DCAP site says:

Mary Spencer is the former founder, co-owner and President of The Spencer Company, the seventh largest furniture dealership and the seventeenth largest woman-owned business in North Texas.

Maybe Mary's going to buy DAS staff Barcaloungers so they can be comfy when administering the phenobarbitol.

If DCAP had really researched other groups, they wouldn't need to ask the public what to do. These and other groups - like Seagoville - can tell DCAP all they need to know in half an hour. Network with other groups, work hard, publicize your adoption events, ask your community to help, be nice to your volunteers, and don't be snobs.

Some places have published comprehensive guides with details of how they achieved no-kill, too. Washoe County has published a PDF guide for how they went no-kill during a time when Nevada's economy was tanking. Here's a link their Web site. The link to the How We Did It PDF is small - look in the left-hand margin for it. I recommend it.

So why is DCAP taking this time-wasting, unnecessary approach, reinventing the wheel when we have plenty of wheels ready to help? Here are my guesses - readers are invited to add their own in Comments:

Poling and Co. want to take credit for suggestions.
If anyone posts an unworkable suggestion, the DCAP folks can feel superior.
Poling and Co. are doing exactly what Nathan Winograd described: pretend to want to go no-kill when all they're doing is pacifying the public for as long as they can. In the meantime, they can carry on with their committee-sitting, keeping their hands clean while they pass the blame to the public and the killing continues. (Task force chairperson has already told us she doesn't do "hands-on" stuff any more.)

I considered posting a polite, sensible suggestion at the DCAP site. However, I will never know what happened to it. Neither will anyone else.

This is because it's swallowed up by a survey-taking app called Survey Monkey. You enter your suggestion, hit the Submit button and it's gone - so DCAP can take the credit or, more probably, trash it.

Whatever happened to good old-fashioned forums?

DCAP's Advisory Board: Is this a joke?

2011-11-16T17:02:00.004-06:00

I decided to check out the Dallas Companion Animal Project's Web site today.

As expected, it's published absolutely nothing about successful no-kill shelters. Instead, they're collecting friends with the same juvenile enthusiasm as an SMU freshman pledging a sorority.

Take a look at their Advisory Board. I'm still scratching my head about this, trying to figure it out:

Can anyone tell me what either of these women have ever done to implement no-kill anywhere? The DCAP Web site doesn't. When you click on their photos, all you get is a larger version. So you can admire their dental work.

So far, all I can remember is that Elba Garcia supported the 2008 animal legislation. You know, the one with unenforceable pet limit laws and big fat registration fees for unaltered animals. The legislation that made Mark and Lynn Gideon spend thousands on attorney fees as they were over the six pet limit. You know - the stupid laws.

But Dr. Garcia did get a big fat lick on the butt from the Texas Animal Control Association. TACA gave Dr. Garcia a Presidential Citation in 2008. Who cares of TACA opposed the Companion Animal Protection Act? Who cares if TACA supports kill shelters?

Jocelyn White is equally mystifying. She's on the SPCA board but seems to concentrate on fundraising. But again, absolutely no experience with no-kill, although she can help you shop yourself into insurmountable credit card debt.

And Jocelyn has three pugs. She describes one as "rescued" at one site, but at another Web site she says all three are rescues. Why not shelter mutts, Jocelyn? Couldn't find any that matched your interior decor?

Former HSUS volunteer: Help a puppy, not a lobby

2011-11-10T09:40:00.000-06:00

CULP: Help a puppy, not a lobby - Washington Times

Running scared, or DCAP's co-option dance begins

2011-10-31T21:38:00.008-05:00

Earlier today, I listened to Nathan Winograd's October 30 interview on Animal Wise Radio. It's available as a free, downloadable podcast.

During the interview, Winograd referred to the "Co-option" chapter of his first book Redemption. He saw the Dallas Companion Animal Project (DCAP) coming a long time ago, because this sort of reaction is not uncommon. It's happened in other cities.

Here's how co-option works. It's a three-step process.

The folks who did nothing to stop killing in the past begin to get nervous, as more of the public insist that the shelter gets rid of bad management and stops killing the majority of animals in its care.
Eventually, these folks decide that the only way they can hang on to power is to begin to start tossing the phrase "no kill" around. This will buy them some time. For example, they'll probably begin to classify many more animals as "unadoptable". This cunning little math trick will immediately increase the numbers of "adoptable" animals that aren't killed. Easy!
However, this charade, combined with the others in store for us, won't fool us forever. When their failure eventually becomes obvious, the DCAP task force won't be blamed. Nor will they be held accountable. Instead, the public will be blamed for the killing again, as they were before the task force was formed.

DCAP's Rebecca Poling, is refreshingly honest about her unsuitability to chair this task force. If you read her "About Me" page here, you'll get the drift. For example, she admits she isn't involved in any "hands on" rescue any more. She's not lazy - she's "focusing on the big picture". And she thinks we need tons of unenforceable laws to keep the "stupid" members of the public in line.

And where are these brilliant plans to reduce shelter killing? Not for our eyes. DCAP's Facebook page and Web site have NO details of what the task force is planning to do to reduce euthanasia rates, even though Poling knew it was coming way back in May (see previous post).

Instead, DCAP's Web presence is nothing more than pages of cheerful mutual masturbation, thanking other shelters for joining the Project. Here are some examples from the DCAP Facebook page:

Welcome A Different Breed as a new Animal Advocacy Partner! Thank you for your support!

More new Animal Advocacy Partners... thanks Take me Home Pet Rescue for joining the Dallas Companion Animal Project!!

A big shout out to Paws in the City for joining us as an Animal Advocacy Partner. Your support is appreciated!

French Bulldogs are in the house via Short Mugs Rescue Squad! Thank you for joining us as an Animal Advocacy Partner!

To be fair, not 100% of the Facebook messages are suckups. I think some of the shelters who are now "Animal Advocacy Partners", whatever that means, mean well.

Occasionally, someone will dare disagree with this rubbish - including those who have been truly successful with the No-Kill Equation. But any message they post will be deleted in minutes.

They are also occasionally told to fuck off and not post any more. Here's an example:

Asking Poling and Co. to be accountable is kind of like asking Wayne Pacelle to be honest about the HSUS's fundraising efforts. (And since the HSUS reports have done nothing to improve things at Dallas Animal Services, can we have our $50,000 back?)

I feel sorry for many of the shelters who are joining, as they're ready to do what needs to be done to make Dallas a no-kill city. Instead, they'll eventually realize that DCAP's message hasn't changed - just the name.

In the meantime, the killers at Dallas Animal Services and in Dallas City Hall will continue to kill the majority of animals they take in, while they continue to tell us to shut up and let them do what they want to do behind closed doors, without accountability.

Dallas Companion Animal Project: Ouch, ouch and ouch

2011-10-28T11:14:00.008-05:00

Since Jody Jones was brought in to run Dallas Animal Services (DAS) a few months ago, I decided to take a wait and see attitude to see how she planned to manage.

Recently I have decided that she might as well have stayed in Richmond.

The bottom feeders at Dallas City Hall, especially the ones in the Animal Shelter Commission, have already got this no-kill Dallas thing wrapped up. (Not really, but this is what they want you to think.) They've named themselves the Dallas Companion Animal Project. Let's call them DCAP for short.

Seems that the committee-sitters have decided to retain their links to the folks who helped them kill the Companion Animal Protection Act earlier this year - namely, THLN, HSUS and similar - while attempting to pass off their mysterious plans for a no-kill Dallas as Nathan Winograd's No-Kill Equation.

To my mind, if you're in bed with the THLN and HSUS, there is absolutely no way you can make no-kill become a reality. But DCAP insists this is true.

DCAP's Facebook page proudly links to THLN, HSUS, and similar "hidden-agenda" organizations. Ouch One.

Winograd not only noticed that DCAP's Rebecca Poling borrowed an outdated quote of his; he was sufficiently outraged to write to the major of Dallas and to point this out in detail. He also made his letter public.

Here an excerpt from his letter, in which Nathan eats Rebecca's lunch one more time:

...you cannot create a true and authentic blueprint for No Kill success by empanelling a Task Force chaired by a person who has no track record of success and who opposes the very approach necessary to end the killing of savable animals.

Here is a link to Nathan's entire letter. That's Ouch Two, DCAP.

But even though Nathan's letter has been public knowledge for several days, DCAP has not had the courtesy (or the brains) to remove his quote from any of their materials.

Here is Ouch Three. Even if the previous has not convinced you of the disingenuous nature of DCAP, this may.

Someone NOT involved with No-Kill Dallas (a group separate from DCAP, and supported by Nathan Winograd) has wandered over and registered every usable No Kill Dallas Web address. If you visit Register.com and look up these:

www.nokilldallas.com

www.nokilldallas.net

www.nokilldallas.org

you will see that they're taken. NOT by a group, but by an individual. And they are not in use.

Here's a screen shot of one of them, courtesy of Register.com.

My guess is that she is busting a gut to sabotage the real No Kill Dallas group - the group that Nathan Winograd actually supports. Because if she can do this, she can keep the spotlight on herself. You can read about this group and find out how to volunteer at the No Kill Dallas Facebook page.

Does anyone care to hazard a guess as to what's wrong with Rebecca? For someone who pretends to love animals, her actions betray her at every step.

But here is the ultimate bad news: while Rebecca busies herself with her egocentric activities and confuses a growing number of newcomers to no-kill, Dallas Animal Services keeps killing more and more animals. Every day.

THLN celebrates animal deaths at Sambuca

2011-08-23T11:35:00.005-05:00

It appears that the Texas (In)Humane Legislative Network (THLN) thinks they have something to celebrate.

Click on the headline below to be nauseated by the story (but don't bother posting a negative comment, as it will be deleted):

THLN Victory Party Sunday at Sambuca

I suppose the THLN sycophants' celebration includes killing the Companion Animal Protection Act (CAPA). Killing this act means that Texas shelters can keep the current modus operandi.

Nathan Winograd's blog post contains details of what THLN fought to keep:

Thanks to opponents, pounds in Texas will continue killing animals cruelly (gassing them to death). Thanks to these groups, they will continue turning away rescue groups and then killing the animals those rescue groups offered to save. They will, like the Houston Humane Society, systematically slaughter dogs they claim are “pit bulls” for just being dogs. And they will continue to lie to the public, claiming they are doing all they can to save lives; even as they have shown they will do whatever is necessary to defend their ability to kill animals and to protect that ability for others, even in the face of readily available lifesaving alternatives they simply refuse to implement.

There's not much left to say.

Except fuck you, THLN.

Man faces jail time for TNR. WTF?

2011-07-08T17:39:00.004-05:00

From a St Paul, MN newspaper - click on the first sentence to be taken to the complete story.

****************************************************

Doug and Annette Edge thought they were doing the right thing for their community.

With feral cats roaming their North St. Paul neighborhood, the couple trapped the wild felines, took them to be sterilized and vaccinated, and then released them back into the city.

City officials, though, say the couple was breaking city animal laws.

In April, North St. Paul charged Doug Edge, 45, with two misdemeanors: failing to have a cat license and allowing domestic animals to run at large. Edge faces a fine and up to 90 days in jail.

"I'll go to jail before I pay that fine," he said.

****************************************************

The No-Kill Advocacy Center (visit their Facebook page by clicking here) has begun a letter-writing campaign to St. Paul's Mayor, Mike Kuehn, in defense of Doug Edge. Here's the mayor's contact information:

Fax: 651-747-2435

Email: mike.kuehn@ci.north-saint-paul.mn.us

Postal address:

2472 14th Avenue
North St. Paul, MN 55109

Shelter Commission meeting notes, part 1

2011-06-27T10:12:00.007-05:00

The feedback from last Thursday's Animal Shelter Commission meeting has been considerably more optimistic than usual, due to the presence of the new shelter manager Jody Jones. Nobody has yet to find anything in Ms. Jones' background to be concerned about, and she is believed to practice the No Kill Equation as outlined by Nathan Winograd.

Of course, the Usual Suspects provided their usual contributions - although Joey "I'll get back to you" Zapata was thankfully absent and saved everyone some time and irritation.

The most-mentioned highlight of the meeting was provided during the final hour, when Commission member Rebecca Poling (Examiner.com writer and professional committee-sitter) did an incredible 180-degree about face. Even though Nathan Winograd ate her lunch on Facebook a couple of months ago - click here to see those details - Rebecca was heard actually quoting Nathan during the meeting.

Of course she didn't get it 100% right. She also insisted on boring everyone by quoting from a Web site called No Harm, No Kill.

This Web site is downright weird: initially it appears to support the No-Kill Equation, but as you read through it, you eventually realize that it doesn't. When you hit the HSUS link, you know something's up.

But the site mentions the Richmond SPCA, a group that Jody Jones worked with, so it's obvious why Rebecca landed on it. It's a fast and easy way to suck up to the new shelter manager. And we're betting that Rebecca's hoping like hell that Jody doesn't notice that she published a shitload of fear-mongering crap online just a couple of months ago. (This is the same anti-CAPA fear-mongering crap to which Nathan Winograd took great exception.)

Overall, the No Harm No Kill site is a mess, but Rebecca still insisted on reading big chunks of it out loud while everyone else mentally drummed their fingers on the table.

When she got to the Five Freedoms (which date back decades, and originate from the UK), a new Shelter Committee member snapped "Why not six freedoms? Including freedom to life?"

I need to find out who that new Committee member is.

More later, including Skip Trimble's latest legal buck-passing and Jonnie England's continuing inability to accept that she ain't on the Commission this year.

Jody Jones: Dare we hope?

2011-06-24T15:43:00.003-05:00

Although local media has picked up the news that Dallas Animal Services has a new shelter manager, not much has been said about her management style. However, this was brought up in detail at yesterday's Animal Shelter Commission Meeting. (More about this meeting later, as I sort through the notes kindly emailed to me.)

Fortunately, the news looks good. I spotted this press release online at http://www.richmondspca.org:

Please join us for the announcement of a nationally-significant award recognizing the achievements of the Richmond community in saving the life of every healthy, homeless animal in the City of Richmond since Jan. 1, 2006.

Schedule of speakers:

Robin Robertson Starr, chief executive officer, Richmond SPCA
Richard Avanzino, president, Maddie’s Fund
Mayor Dwight C. Jones, city of Richmond
Jody Jones, shelter manager, Richmond Animal Care & Control

Maddie’s Fund designed the Lifesaving Award to acknowledge the contributions of community coalitions such as the partnership between Richmond Animal Care & Control and the Richmond SPCA, which result in saving the lives of all healthy, homeless pets in the community and that are likely to sustain an adoption guarantee in the future. This recognition is for lifesaving work in the years of 2006 and 2007.

Statistics for the two shelters making up the coalition were submitted to Maddie’s Fund by the Richmond SPCA. Both organizations collect data for the animals in their care based on the Asilomar Accords, which provide for consistent reporting across agencies.

If you're wondering what the Asilomar Accords are, check them out here.

I can't help but wonder if everyone at DAS, City Hall and the Animal Shelter Commission will be able to accept and implement the Asilomar Accords. If they do, perhaps the vendettas we've seen in the past - which were always fueled by a DAS and/or Shelter Commission member - will cease. It would be good for the animals, no?

Give a pit a break!

2011-06-12T22:41:00.002-05:00

(To those who have emailed me asking for news of Jody Jones, the new DAS manager: the reason I've not posted anything about her is that she's managing to keep a very low profile. Considering the mess she inherited, I don't blame her.)

However, while we wait for the next Animal Shelter Commission meeting and perhaps an appearance from Ms. Jones, we can still rely on the old guard to make us wonder.

Recently I switched my already-spoiled cat Natasha to the Blue Buffalo brand of cat food. While I don't mind the price, I prefer to buy the larger sized bag so my pet-sitter won't have to go out and find it when I'm out of town. Petsmart is the only place near my condo that sells this brand consistently and in larger bags.

Earlier today I was picking up some cat food at the Petsmart on Greenville Avenue just north of Lovers Lane and Central Market. As usual I stopped by the adoption center to see who the SPCA had taken in recently.

In the past, the SPCA often didn't bother to keep this adoption center at capacity, but these days they seem to be trying harder.

At about this time, I noticed a smallish pit bull being picked up from the Petsmart boarding area next to the adoption center. The volunteers for a rescue group that had set up mobile adoptions in the aisle nearby were petting the dog and making a general fuss over her. She was enjoying the attention and so was her owner.

Suddenly I saw a short woman half-drag the dog away, hissing "Not her!". The dog's owner looked confused but didn't protest. The rescue group volunteers shrugged. The hissing woman continued out the door, with the pit on a leash and the sheepish owner not far behind.

The dog looked sad. I think she'd been enjoying the petting.

The whole incident was really strange. I mean, who wouldn't want their dog to be admired? And the dog had no signs of mange or anything similar, so there shouldn't have been any reason for anyone not to pet her.

Suddenly I recognized the "Not her" woman. It was Rebecca Kornblum from the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission. I've mentioned her before on this blog; she always appears to be unhappy about something or another. I have yet to ever see her smile during a Commission meeting.

I'm still trying to figure out the meaning of the "Not her!" remark. Does anyone care to guess?

Mayor Pre Tend

2011-06-09T14:50:00.005-05:00

Since the current mayoral race is/was pretty boring, I thought it would be a convenient time to reflect on what the Dallas Observer's Jim Schutz wittily described as The Reign of Dwayne:

Saying Goodbye to Dwaine Caraway, the Mayor of our Dreams

Here's hoping the next guy is just as bold and bumbling.

I particularly enjoyed this excerpt:

Take his recent ethics reform push. It's been talked to death, but the basic concept is so wonderfully—how to put it?—so wonderfully Caraway.
With no public debate, he introduced a measure that he said would repair a grievous wrong perpetrated on citizens by an earlier ethics law. That law prohibited a citizen from giving council members money right after a council vote on something of importance to that citizen.
Caraway said the law was preventing a lot of people who wanted to give the council members money from doing so. The poor things. Wads of money in their hands and nobody to grease with it.
It's not unrelated to the poker house deal. The underlying principle is the same in both.
Hey, that's my money.
Hey, that's my poker house.

But again—and this is the more important part—it worked. The council voted unanimously to adopt the Mayor Dwaine Caraway Ethics Reform Ordinance.

Last but not least, just in case you missed these, here is a rarely-seen photograph of Dwayne doing what he does best - embarrass the crap out of himself, and the citizens of Dallas. I suppose the city was running short of dog-torturing sociopath football players on this occasion:

Memphis citizens' tax dollars at work

2011-05-17T00:37:00.005-05:00

I had some difficulty voting on Saturday. Although I'm glad to see the end of Mayor Pre Tend Dwaine Caraway, I wasn't that keen on the potential replacements either.

But after taking a look at today's Yes Biscuit! blog, I discovered that the citizens of other cities have it worse. Take a look at the goings-on at the Memphis Animal Shelter in Tennessee.

I hate using the word "shelter", as most of the animals don't get any at MAS. Instead, they have a few days (or hours) of ill-treatment and fear before they almost always die, usually for no good reason except that their time is up or they've been judged unadoptable.

Perhaps the most upsetting thing about MAS is that the management actually has webcams in the shelter. If you can stand it, you can surf the MAS webcams and watch the almost daily outrages carried out by the employees. Animals are dragged on choke poles and handled like garbage.

But here's the real icing on the cake: when an on-line petition was delivered to a Memphis councilwoman - a petition describing the daily horrors at MAS - she literally responded with:

"So what?"

I had to read the email over a couple of times. The first time, I literally couldn't believe the response, from a Janis Fullilove. (more like fulla shit, imo)

Read the petition, and Janis' smartass response, here.

And if you have some time to waste, try a Google search for Janis Fullilove. Between her DUI arrests, other arrests, numerous 911 calls to report alleged domestic violence, pole dancing during a party for the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (WTF?) and stint in rehab, she has little to recommend her as a public servant.

The return of Kent Robertson

2011-05-15T11:16:00.003-05:00

A lot of us were hoping that Kent had either taken early retirement or switched careers. Especially those of us who remember his non-performance at BARC in Houston. Also, the fact that euthanasia rates at Dallas Animal Services actually increased when he was running the place.

But I was reading the East Lake Pet Orphanage's newsletter yesterday and - WTF! I spotted Kent.

Here's the scary bit: He now RUNS East Lake Pet Orphanage. Whatever happened to the concept of background checks?

While I'm not familiar with how ELPO is run, I've not heard anything bad about it either. They claim to be no-kill, and I haven't received any information to challenge this. And their mission statement is careful NOT to bash other rescues. So maybe this is a job that doesn't require analytical thought processes from Kent. Or much else.

If you need proof, here's a photo from the newsletter:

The death of HB 3450 - for the time being

2011-05-13T16:23:00.003-05:00

In his blog entry No Hope for Hope's Law, Nathan Winograd described its opponents - including the THLN* and HSUS thusly:

"...they will continue to lie to the public, claiming they are doing all they can to save lives; even as they have shown they will do whatever is necessary to defend their ability to kill animals and to protect that ability for others, even in the face of readily available lifesaving alternatives they simply refuse to implement."

It will not be possible to re-introduce this bill to the Texas Legislature for another two years. The THLN's opposition to this was based on their claim that they weren't consulted (why should they be? Isn't public support more than sufficient?) suggest that now they have 24 months to craft something. But I'm betting the rent that they won't.

* I do not plan to spell out THLN's name any more, as I literally feel ill when describing this snotty little pack of sycophants and control freaks as "humane". Even though I didn't name them.

Tylerites beware...Pacelle is headed your way

2011-05-09T01:50:00.002-05:00

Hot off the H$U$ press. Read it and pass the bucket. (Might have helped if Wayne had told folks WHERE the Barnes and Noble is - usually invitations include such things as addresses.)

The postscript is especially annoying to me, as I doubt the chimps, burros and bobcats want to be bothered by a pack of naive gawkers. A sanctuary's supposed to provide some peace and quiet for animals, not turn them into roadside attractions. But where there's Wayne, there's a pitch for donations.

May 6, 2011

My Book Signing Event is May 14

Please join me as part of a national conversation about the protection of animals in our society. I've put my 25 years of work, experience and hopes into a book -- and I will be giving a public reading and signing next Saturday, May 14, at Barnes & Noble in Tyler, Texas, at 5:00 p.m. I look forward to seeing you at this event for "The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them."

In the meantime, you can watch this video from the book tour and check out the feedback.

I do hope you will join me next Saturday -- please RSVP on Facebook and help spread the word.

Sincerely,

Wayne Pacelle, President & CEO

P.S. Also, tour the new Doris Day Horse Rescue and Adoption Center next Saturday, May 14, and meet rescued chimps, burros and bobcats at Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch.

Tuesday fundraiser at Snider Plaza

2011-05-02T17:31:00.005-05:00

I noticed this online and thought I'd reproduce it here:

Half Shell's Oyster Bar and Grill has a monthly event called 1st Tuesday, which a portion of the entire day's proceeds will be donated to a local nonprofit. May 3rd's event features Texas Pawprints.

It's easy to pitch in - just show up at Half Shell's Snider Plaza location (near SMU) and chow down any time from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. 15% of the day's proceeds will go to support Texas Pawprints. Or more probably, go toward their vet bills. If memory serves correct, almost all rescue groups go into the red during puppy and kitten season.

Look for the wait staff with the cool logo on their t-shirts.

Seagoville shelter makes the news

2011-04-27T22:49:00.002-05:00

Even though Jonnie "Never Miss a Photo Op" England is mentioned - does she spend her days stalking TV reporters? - this WFAA article proves how any shelter can embrace No-Kill if they really want to.

I devoutly hope that the local fearmongers who oppose No-Kill and HB 3450 will sit up and take notice.

There's a lesson for Dallas waiting in Seagoville...if the committee-sitters will listen.

2011-04-26T09:34:00.004-05:00

The folks on the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission who oppose HB 3450 have produced lots of lame-ass excuses for their belief that CAPA would not work here in Dallas. Here are a couple of their excuses:

"They (Ed: CAPA requirements) require training and resources - things we don't have right now."

"No matter how hard the employees try or how many hours they work, there won't be time to walk them all, exercise them all, play with them all, bathe them all, clean up after them all, love on them all - there will barely be time to feed them all."

(Perhaps if the committee-sitters would drag themselves down to DAS and actually DO some of this type of thing...sigh.)

However, the tiny shelter in Seagoville, Texas - one with a tiny fraction of the resources/funding that Dallas squanders on crap like HSUS reports - is doing very well in the No-Kill arena.

Here is a recent article about the Seagoville Shelter, and how they're succeeding despite the convictions of the fear-mongering, self-described "experts" in Big Kill Big D.

I visited the shelter about three months ago when they were just getting started. The HB 3450 opponents at Dallas City Hall need to visit. It is in a tiny building. It started out with no real employees, no real funding. But No-Kill is how they're running it.

During my visit, Sgt Bailey, the Seagoville policeman involved in the shelter, told me that "I am not in the business of killing animals." He's not sitting on some useless committee and quarreling about who does the paperwork. He's saving animals by dedication and a belief that it's possible. So are the unpaid volunteers at Seagoville. They've decided to reject killing. I personally think this fearless attitude deserves many props and kudos.

While in the shelter, I also noticed that the elderly gas chamber at Seagoville had been turned into a filing cabinet.

Some interesting Poling/Winograd trivia

2011-04-24T17:30:00.006-05:00

Recently, Facebook readers following HB 3450 were treated to a smackdown administered by No-Kill advocate Nathan Winograd. (See my blog post of April 12.)

The receipient of the smackdown was Keep The Status Quo advocate Rebecca Poling. She never responded to Winograd's Facebook remarks.

Being stuck in yet another airport this afternoon, I decided to surf around and see if I could find any related postings regarding this altercation. Although Poling never replied to Winograd's comments on Facebook, perhaps she had elsewhere.

While I didn't find anything recent, I did find a snarky anti-Winograd remark posted by Poling almost two years ago, in May 2009. Click here and scroll to the bottom of the page, to the comments section.

The main article is about Nathan Winograd's book Redemption. Ms. Poling either didn't read the book, or she needed help with the big words. As her comment is:

Wow - Nathan just keeps taking credit for more and more doesn't he?*

The only problem with this is that, in Redemption, Winograd isn't taking credit for the tenets of No Kill. Instead, he's simply presenting his argument and the requirements for No Kill in a clear format.

I don't know why Ms. Poling made this remark. Maybe she just needed help with the big words in Redemption. Or, more probably, she never read the book. Maybe Stacy Smith told her not to.

Maybe she's just annoyed because Winograd refuses to blame the public for high euthanasia rates. You know, like like Skippy and the THLN sycophants continue doing, year after year after tired year...

* While it's possible that someone else pretended to be Poling and posted this, I doubt it. One has to register/log in to post in Yahoo.

The HSUS: Fighting HB 3450 in secret

2011-04-21T00:04:00.004-05:00

Even though the HSUS' official stance on the Texas Companion Animal Act - HB 3450 - is that they don't have one, this is yet another whopper. Like their previous lies, this one makes the truth sound like Alice in Wonderland.

When you visit the HSUS Web site, there is absolutely no mention of HB 3450. Instead, the Texas legal alerts page looks like this:

http://www.humanesociety.org/action/alerts/texas/

However, this is a tidy little cover for what's really going on behind the scenes.

The state director for the HSUS in Texas, Nicole Paquette, has been busy sending out e-mails to gather opposition to HB 3450. Thankfully, at least one person saw these e-mails, figured out what was going on, and decided to "out" Nicole.

Click here to check out these e-mails in PDF format, courtesy of Nathan Winograd.

She's already rounded up several so-called animal lovers who agreed to meet with her to discuss HB 3450, including two you may have heard of:

James Bias of the SPCA
Monica Hardy of the THLN

For everyone who's serious about supporting HB 3450, it looks like it's time for the gloves to come off, and for as many of us to expose the HSUS and THLN for what they really stand for.

Why would a so-called animal lover oppose HB 3450?

2011-04-18T17:17:00.003-05:00

Whenever I read the latest news about HB 3450 (CAPA), I am always surprised by the opposition to this bill. The opposition doesn't come from the grumpy neighbor who traps stray cats and hauls them down to Animal Control to be killed. Perhaps those who don't own pets, or care about them, aren't opposing the bill because of the possibility of saving some taxpayer money.

Instead, the opposition comes from so-called "animal lovers" who aren't ashamed to stoop to fear-mongering to keep the situation as horrific as is today.

Here in Dallas, the opponents boil down to two types:

1. Fanatics who don't believe in the idea of companion animals, and blindly follow PETA and similar groups. There are at least two of these scary people sitting on the Animal Shelter Commission. These people are shit-scared of the No Kill movement and act as if the bubonic plague's come to town.

2. The committee-sitters who consider themselves smarter than the rest of us. Some have adopted a disturbingly parental outlook to their superiority over their neighbors, and even quote their own parents when telling the rest of us what idiots we are. All of them have formed tight little cliques whose only real purpose is to control their domain, whether it be a suburban rescue or one of Dallas' many (too many, in my opinion) "coalitions". Bringing down the shameful euthanasia rate is not their problem, as it's too easy to continue to blame the population with their tired old rhetoric.

Nathan Winograd describes these people thus:

... there are those with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Those who will reject the No Kill Equation because it requires them to work hard, rather than sit in their office all day with their feet up on their desk. People like the disgraced, removed former Austin Texas shelter director, Dorinda Pulliam, who killed over 100,000 animals in the course of her sordid career because of nothing more than uncaring and laziness.

This group also includes the government bureaucrats who would rather protect under-performing shirkers, than hold them accountable. (FP Note: does this remind anyone else of the Trimble/Robertson/McGill saga? Although to describe Tyrone McGill as simply under-performing is to do him an undeserved kindness.)

And, of course, the Wayne Pacelles of the world who climbed the ladder of personal “success” (but I would argue, historical infamy) by catering to his killing colleagues, rather than defending the animals he pledged himself to protect as the leader of a large national animal protection organization.

For those who support HB 3450, why don't we take this opportunity to do a double tap*? In addition to ensuring that CAPA is passed, we can also start to change things at Dallas City Hall by insisting that it's time to clean house.

* Fans of Zombieland will recognize this strategy; it describes ensuring that a zombie is 100% dead by shooting it twice. Don't be chintzy with your shotgun shells, it helps keep you from turning into a human Happy Meal.

Comment format twiddled

2011-04-17T01:27:00.002-05:00

If you've had difficulty leaving comments in the past, I've gone into my blog settings and changed the format. According to the Google blog nerds, this one's more user-friendly across the board.

If you just want to post a test comment, I won't mind. Honest.

Not quite a ninja

2011-04-14T02:25:00.002-05:00

Problems with leaving comments

2011-04-14T01:08:00.003-05:00

I understand that some readers have difficulties leaving comments. I apologize for this; however, I don't know how to fix it.

When I leave a comment, I type in the comment and then hit Preview, NOT Comment. Blogger asks me what sort of identity I want to use, I sign in, and then I can hit Comment and it publishes.

I have looked at other blog hosts to find one with more user-friendly Comment features. But Wordpress insists that all commenters have a Wordpress account. I liked the looks of Squarespace, but it's not free. :(

If anyone else knows how to get Blogger Comments to work for everyone, or can suggest another blog host, please let me know. I admit I don't often check the email account associated with this blog but I'll do so more often.

Hey, look! Comments!

2011-04-14T00:38:00.003-05:00

I can only assume that the THLN folks are reading this blog, as when I went to check out the comments section at Examiner.com, I was pleasantly surprised. They weren't being moderated, ie., deleted if they made the author look anything else than a compassionate genius.

Take a look here. Scroll down to the bottom...and voila! Plenty of people with plenty of examples of how CAPA (HB 3450) is working. You know, like making shelter managers take responsibility and EARN their salaries. (This is an idea that scares the pants off the Animal Shelter Commission members. They prefer to chat about whether the Jumbotron at the shelter works and shit like that.)

Regarding the author's suggestion we check out a site called No Kill No Harm, I had to laugh when I got to the site. Why is she recommending it? It's not like DAS is actually following a single suggestion (although Lt Walton, the interim manager, has done a better job than the last two combined).

But hey, talk is cheap and so is Web access, and it only takes seconds to find a Web site that props up your argument. Anything's easier than serious journalistic research.

Not all examiner.com writers resort to lies...

2011-04-13T15:38:00.004-05:00

... in fact, the author of the Houston Animal Shelters section, Bett Sundermeyer, has done her journalistic homework when it comes to HB 3450.

Here is an excerpt:

Ms. Poling claims that the reason that Dallas' animal control “shelter” kills 23,000 of the 30,000 animals that enter its doors every year is because of “irresponsible people" but we have research that proves that this is not true.

This sort of attitude - branding the public as "irresponsible", and therefore responsible for the actions of a shelter that is not held responsible for its actions - is, well, stupid. It's the same blame-game attitude that helped bring in the 2008 animal ordinances.

According to the committee-sitters, people here in Dallas are too stupid to figure out how many pets they can handle, so this must be dictated. Or that those who own intact animals owe the city a big fat stinkin' registration fee as punishment for their decision not to spay or neuter their pet. (It doesn't matter that the owner may have a legitimate reason not to do so.)

Consequently, it's no surprise that, according to the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission, local pet registrations decreased in 2010. And hardly any owners of intact pets have paid the blackmail fee.

Treating the public like juvenile delinquents, while you get comfy on your committee-sitting butts, is no way to save animals. Neither is telling the public to shut up and keep accepting the same useless methods that ensure we continue to kill the majority of animals that end up at Dallas Animal Services.

Nathan and Rebecca: showdown at the Facebook corral

2011-04-12T17:21:00.011-05:00

This was just forwarded to me. Maybe I need to consider a Facebook page, as I had to ask someone here at the office to sign in so I could see all of this.

BTW, the link to the Alley Cat Allies Facebook page is here. So if these screen shots don't make sense, you may want to look at this page first if you can. It's a posting from Alley Cat Allies, encouraging people in Texas to support HB 3450. Lots of comments, including this one by Rebecca Poling.

Nathan Winograd spotted it and added his two cents' worth:

Others decided to exercise their right to comment afterward:

I checked the entire list of comments, and there was nothing else posted by Messrs Poling or Winograd. Not yet, anyway.

Be careful what you wish for, Dallas

2011-04-06T21:09:00.000-05:00

A certain Dallas Examiner.com writer published a real winner today. In her opinion, those who support HB 3450 should remember her mother's comment "Be careful what you wish for", ad nauseum.

I'm not going to identify the author, as the article was a shameful masterpiece of fear-mongering. Instead of doing what a real journalist would do - take a look at similar bills that have passed in other states, like Hayden's Law* in California - she insisted that passage of this bill would result in hell on earth for shelter animals.

Here's an excerpt:

Legislating that shelters hold every impounded animal five days, whether there is room for them or not, will result in further over-crowding of our already over-stuffed, understaffed, and under-funded municipal shelters.

She conveniently forgot to mention that if the city hadn't passed certain pet limit and registration laws in 2008 - laws that have crashed and burned time and time again - many would-be rescuers wouldn't be worried about a DAS raid if they pulled one or two additional animals from the municipal shelter.

She even suggests we send some money to THLN to support them. WTF? (Yes, I know I promised to stop mentioning THLN, but this suggestion was too ridiculous to let slide.)

All I can suggest to this author is:

Your refusal to research different methods of animal management, or to think for yourself, tells us that you only care about your own PR.

And while you're at it, go tell the employees at Dallas Animal Services that you're going to do your best to ensure that they continue to kill almost 80% of animals in their care, day in and day out.

You never took that compassion crap seriously, did you?

Excuse me while I find an Alka-Seltzer.

* Since its passage, Hayden's Law has not resulted in the hellish scenario dreamed up by Miss Be Careful What You Wish For. While it hasn't solved every shelter problem overnight, it has contributed to increased cooperation between shelters and rescue groups, and more animals saved.

Career suggestions for Tyrone McGill

2011-04-06T15:19:00.000-05:00

A lot of people are rightfully pissed off because our former Animal Services Manager, Tyrone McGill, is sitting around collecting full pay while awaiting trial for felony animal cruelty. (I don't think I need to reiterate this story, but if you missed it, details are here.)

Last night I received an e-mail from a reader who decided to run a background check on McGill. It's not bad news, really, he didn't unearth a criminal record. Seems that McGill is still a licensed Texas Code Enforcement Officer. At least until the end of April.

This means that, as long as we never let him near an animal, he can start to actually earn his $66K per annum. Here is allegedly what a Code Enforcement Officer does:

About Code Enforcement - Scope of Practice

Code Enforcement is the inspection, improvement, and rehabilitation of environmental hazards in public and private premises by determining the presence of fire or health hazards, nuisance violations, unsafe building conditions, and violations of any fire, health, or building regulation, statute, or ordinance.

I can think of many taxpayers who would be happy for Tyrone to spend his days in unsafe buildings. May I have a show of hands (and paws)?

THLN obfuscates; calls it a "clarification"

2011-04-05T13:31:00.000-05:00

This is taken verbatim from THLN's Facebook page. I think it's on their Web site as well. I've added my own cynical comments which are in italics.

Clarification to Position Statement on HB 3450

We would like to thank our supporters for all of the feedback and attention to our position on this bill. We would also like to clarify what seems to be gross misunderstandings and misrepresentations of THLN's position on HB 3450.

Dang. First we're pains in the neck, now we're gross.

First and foremost, as stated in our original position statement, THLN is 100% SUPPORTIVE of the intended good of the bill.

The Bill is well-meaning and has many admirable goals, goals that we support fully as an organization. However, as is currently written, there is significant potential for serious animal welfare problems that people may not fully understand.

Yes, we're all dumber than you, esp. those without law degrees.

By mandating many of the Bill's standards for all shelters of all sizes statewide there is profound likelihood for unintended negative consequences for the animals that all of us are trying to help.

THLN has received numerous statements of concern from private and public shelters, and animal care and control organizations regarding the unintended consequences which would result from HB 3450 as currently written.

Would you care sharing even 1% of these "statements of concern"? No need to identify the shelter or organization. Otherwise, some of us will think you might be making this stuff up.

Given the compact timeframe for this year’s session (less than two months left) and the numerous stakeholders involved, we standby our original statement that we believe it is impractical to expect to resolve the complex issues created in time to craft a comprehensive bill that all affected parties can sign on to, and that will truly benefit the animals.

Well, continuing to kill and gas animals won't benefit them at all. And you're asking us to shut up and behave for TWO more years.

The impact to the well being (sp?) of animals is at the core of our values. All bills must have the input of affected stakeholders to measure the true outcome and effectiveness of each bill. Currently, HB 3450 does not have the full input of all parties that work in animal welfare. Intent alone does not create good policy.

Inaction does not create ANY policy, nor does it affect positive change. You know, like fewer dead animals.

We are hopeful that all concerned parties can work together to craft a bill that has the capability for true change and reform for the animals of Texas. If the animal welfare community can come together with a consensus to move forward in the time frame left, THLN will fully support that effort.

Being hopeful works about as well as intent when it comes to creating good policy - or change, for that matter.

From THLN to the rest of us: you're a pain

2011-04-03T22:25:00.000-05:00

Others have noticed THLN's boneheaded opposition to HB 3450 - and THLN's Cile Holloway's opinion of those who disagree with them.

From the blog O is for Onward:

But not everyone who claims to love animals was happy about the bill. A group that calls itself THLN, or “Keep on Gassing” the “Texas Humane Legislation Network,” immediately expressed its opposition to the bill on the grounds that (1) the bill was too long (an evidently impenetrable 30 double-spaced pages), (2) THLN itself did not write it, and (3) the Texas animal shelters (you know, the ones gassing our pets as you read this), which THLN calls the “true stakeholders,” evidently did not support being forcibly reformed. Thus, THLN has urged its members to fight the bill for at least two years so that shelter directors can keep on gassing chew on it for a while. The group has deemed the public’s reaction to its indefensible position inconvenient, or, to use its exact words, a “pain in the neck.”

The "pain in the neck" line is direct from a gmail that THLN's Cile Holloway sent to another THLN member - and ALSO sent to the very person she was describing. Thankfully the "pain in the neck" did not take Cile's comment lying down. I enjoyed her response.

Read it all here, backwards of course. Start from the bottom up.

Nathan Winograd's take on the THLN and HB 3450

2011-03-30T11:40:00.000-05:00

With thanks to the anonymous commenter, I visited Nathan Winograd's blog to read his take on the THLN's decision to oppose HB 3450 (aka CAPA).

Winograd is not a mealy-mouthed individual. Here is an excerpt on his take on the THLN's stance:

"Calling for shelters to continue gassing animals, to continue killing in the face of a rescue alternative, and more, THLN’s position reveals sour grapes, stunning hubris, and a serious case of misplaced priorities."

Winograd's entire March 29 blog entry regarding the THLN is well worth a read.

And, if you haven't already figured it out, the folks at THLN are seriously in bed with the HSUS. A cursory glance at the THLN Web site confirms this. One of their top members, Skip Trimble, is holder of a PETA Activist Award - an award he downplays when anyone asks him about it. I guess he has it tucked under his bed along with Kent Robertson.

THLN opposes HB 3450...and here's why

2011-03-29T16:49:00.000-05:00

While surfing another site, I decided to visit the Texas Humane Legislative Network (THLN) site to see if they had an opinion of HB 3450, aka Companion Animal Protection Act, or CAPA (see previous posts).

Seems that the THLN folks oppose this bill, as they didn't get the chance to talk it to death first. Awwwww...

Here's an excerpt from their Web site.

It is THLN’s belief that it would be more productive to defer this legislation to the 2013 legislative session so it can be fully reviewed and discussed by the entire Texas animal welfare community. This will give all stakeholders the opportunity to debate the issues, offer their ideas as to solutions to the problems addressed and to determine how to best achieve the solutions sought by the bill – whether through statewide legislation or local ordinances or incentives.

THLN recommends that consideration of this bill be postponed and the entire Texas animal welfare community, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association, the Texas Animal Control Association, the Texas Municipal League and other interested parties work together during the interim period with the goal of bringing a comprehensive and well thought through bill next session that can be supported and endorsed by all stakeholders.

This all sounds nice, but who's going to actually arrange that "interested parties work together"? They left out that part. And why should we wait until 2013 to introduce a major strategy that could reduce the killing in shelters?

Also, unless they're keeping it a secret, THLN has spent zero time researching how well this sort of legislation has fared in other states. Houston's No Kill folks have done so:

CAPA is modeled after a similar law which has been in effect in California since 1998. An analysis of that law found that sending animals to non-profit animal rescue organizations saved the City and County of San Francisco $486,480 in publicly funded animal control costs. CAPA saves taxpayer money by mandating public-private partnerships that not only reduce expenses associated with having to care for, then kill and dispose of an animal, but which transfers expenses from taxpayers to private philanthropy.

Last but certainly not least, THLN has completely overlooked the fact that morale might improve in city shelters if the employees didn't spend so much time killing animals. This, in itself, is sufficient reason to pass this legislation.

But then research and empathy might cut into the THLN members' committee-sitting time. Can't have that happen, can we?

If you REALLY want the killing to stop in Texas...

2011-03-26T14:39:00.001-05:00

From the brilliant Yes Biscuit blog, here is information about the Companion Animal Protection Act.

HB 3450 was introduced by State Rep. Jessica Farrar.

To support the act, visit the Houston No-Kill Web site.

I have copied the following directly from the Yes! Biscuit blog, as the author has done a bang-up job of outline the act's provisions. They include:

* Shelters can no longer kill pets when an adopter or rescue group is willing to take them.
* Shelters can no longer kill savable pets at the owner’s request.
* Shelters can no longer kill owner surrendered pets immediately upon intake.
* Shelters can no longer kill pets when the facility has empty cages/kennels or when the pet can share a cage/kennel with another pet.
* Shelters can no longer kill pets when a foster home is available.
* Shelters can no longer kill nursing litters of puppies and kittens impounded without their mama unless they have exhausted all avenues of rescue and foster care, documented these efforts, certified in writing why the shelter itself can not provide care for the litter at present and what’s being done to change that situation. Said certification must be available for public inspection upon request for at least 3 years.
* Shelters can no longer refuse to adopt out pets based on arbitrary criteria such as breed, age or color.
* Before a shelter can kill a dog with confirmed parvo or a cat with confirmed panleukopenia, a licensed vet must certify in writing that the pet’s prognosis is poor, even with treatment. Said certification must be available for public inspection upon request for at least 3 years.
* Any agency – public or private – which kills pets must seek out and maintain a list of rescue groups willing to take pets and adopt them out. The agency must contact each group on the list who is willing to take the type of pet the agency wishes to kill before killing the pet.
* When shelters do kill pets, it must be done by IV injection after sedation (with limited exceptions made for IP injections and heartstick on unconscious pets under the direction of a licensed vet). Shelters can no longer kill pets in view of other pets.
* All municipal shelters must provide low cost spay-neuter programs to the public, volunteer opportunities, and pet retention programs.
* Shelters – both public and private – must report their stats monthly and those reports shall be available for public inspection upon request for at least 3 years.

Now - let's see if our local committee-sitters will support this act.

generosity at work

2011-03-17T21:38:00.000-05:00

When I posted the Chipin link last weekend, the donation total was only around $11,000. I'm glad to see how many people have donated to the rescuers.

For anyone who's wondering, I have made donations to the animal rescue, and two "people" nonprofits, including Americares.

Charity Navigator is a good place to check out the nonprofits currently working in Japan.

(Uh-oh...the HSUS' international arm has a 1-star rating at Charity Navigator. The report describes the division as being in "deep financial trouble". The HSUS is wallowing in money, so what's going on here?)

Help for animals in Japan

2011-03-14T12:52:00.000-05:00

After some research, I located two groups who are on-site in Japan, helping animals made homeless by the earthquake/tsunami. If you have additional links/information, please leave them in the Comments section. If you have problems leaving a comment, click Preview before Post.

Here are some links:

http://www.arkbark.net/?q=en/node/2901

Arkbark has a Paypal donation site. You can view the Paypal pages in English - click on the pull-down at the top right to toggle between Japanese and English. But you'll have to convert Japanese yen to your currency on another page. Here's a currency converter link:

http://www.x-rates.com/calculator.html

If you donate 2,000 yen, it comes out to US$24 and change.

Another group is actually three groups: HEART-Tokushima, Animal Friends Niigata and Japan Cat Network. Here is their blog and donation link:

http://japanearthquakeanimalrelief.chipin.com/japan-earthquake-animal-rescue-and-support

The Chipin donation widget wasn't working for me yesterday, but the donations have increased since then, so I am assuming heavy traffic is causing the problems with Chipin. (It may go to Paypal, anyway; Chipin can be redirected.)

It had to happen

2011-03-06T17:49:00.000-06:00

Animal rescuers file lawsuit against East TX city - KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |

2011-03-05T22:16:00.000-06:00

Animal rescuers file lawsuit against East TX city - KLTV 7 News Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville |

I haven't done any research into this - yet...

HB 963: No right of appeal unless you're rich

2011-03-05T19:55:00.000-06:00

HB 963 is a proposed bill that mainly relates to the judicial proceedings regarding anyone accused of animal abuse/cruelty.

The alleged author, Rep. Will Hartnett, has a black sense of humor in my opinion. Check out this clause:

(3) order the animal humanely destroyed if the court decides that the best interests of the animal or that the public health and safety would be served by doing so.

Since when is being killed in an animal's best interests? Sheesh.

(Rep. Hartnett may be attempting some damage control, as his plans to sell off Parrie Haynes Ranch as a means to help pay off the state's big fat deficit are not making any Texas Parks supporters happy.)

Since the RPOA* has already accurately described the true aim of HB 963 - to eradicate the appeals process for anyone accused of cruelty - I've reproduced their observations here.

This is an attempt to make the appeals cost prohibitive and force the owner to relinquish ownership of his animals to shelters for resale.

Just because an owner is accused of cruelty does not mean in every case the authorities got it right. It is an attempt to prevent an appeal without changing the statute to not allow appeals. The proposed law would require the owner to pay 150% of the “estimated” costs, again attempting to prevent any appeals.

One section is to ensure that not all of the appeals are trial de novo in County Court. This bill is supported by the HSUS and Texas Humane Legislation Network that opposed appeals altogether and said they would be back this session to overturn Rep. Mark Homer’s bill in 2009 that granted the right of appeal again.

It will likely have the support of humane shelters that stand to benefit and which were opposed to appeals including SPCA of North Texas, Houston SPCA, Houston Humane Society, and other similar corporations.

* Responsible Pet Owners Alliance

Texas Unites...

2011-02-28T16:58:00.000-06:00

... in spinning our wheels for yet another year.

This three-day seminar is back, but even with cutesy marketing, it won't get us any closer to being a No-Kill state. Instead, it'll the same old same old, with a big emphasis on how to efficiently push paper, hassle rescuers you don't like, and be a better bureaucrat. Perfect for those hoping for a career in committee-sitting. And of course, the HSUS and Texas Humane Legislation Network will somehow "sponsor" something.

And if memory serves correctly, some Dallas Animal Services employees got to spend three days in Austin last year attending the 2010 Texas Unites conference. This is the same Dallas Animal Services that distinguished itself in so many ways during the rest of 2010.

Anyway, here are your choices. You can fork out $200 (not including accommodation at the Renaissance Hotel, that's $109 a night extra) and do Texas Unites for three days, or you can pay $19.95 and attend Nathan Winograd's Building A No-Kill Community seminar. True, Austin offers visitors a bit more than Houston, and the Renaissance is nice. Building a No-Kill Community will be held in the auditorium of a law school. No open bar or opportunities to schmooze with your fellow committee-sitters (sigh). But it all depends on your priorities, I guess.

Building A No-Kill Community is being held on a Saturday - this means we office drones can go without taking time off. (I'm already paid up.) If you're doing the entire Texas Unites, you'll need to take a day off. But at least you get to spend the weekend in Austin.

Texas Unites wins one award: the Incredibly Bad Taste distinction. One seminar subject - prosecuting animal control officers for animal cruelty - is literally called Animal Control Officers Gone Wild. Like there's anything funny or sexy about the subject.

Michael Vick's key to the city

2011-02-09T12:52:00.001-06:00

Larry Powell's blog contains the entire statement made to the Dallas City Council by Richard Hunter. I thought Mr. Hunter did a particularly good job of describing how fucked up the situation was (and is).

Read it all here.

Now or Never: We're still just kidding about "Leave a Comment"

2011-02-09T11:24:00.001-06:00

Last month I mentioned how difficult it was to leave a comment at the Now or Never for Dallas Animal Services blog. Seems you had to have a Wordpress account to do so.

Recently, this was changed so that Wordpress isn't needed - but you DO need to agree 100% with the blog and its authors, or your comment won't be published. Instead, you'll be moderated with a DELETE key.

You see, when I left a comment to a recent Now or Never blog entry, challenging the poster's statement that the HSUS is a moderate organization, the comment was never published. Perhaps this is due to the fact that some of the Now or
Never blog authors publicly sing the HSUS' praises.

(If you're wondering why I have major problems with the HSUS, check out their annual reports. You can download them at their Web site. It puzzles me how anyone with a brain could continue to support an organization that contributes so little to animal welfare, and so much to their in-house legal team, senior staphers, pension fund and lobbyists.)

So...if you aren't kissing Wayne Pacelle's well-polished ass, fugheddaboutit.

Humor lives at the "Now or Never" blog

2011-02-05T21:31:00.000-06:00

While catching up on my reading, I found a rather mystifying posting at the "Now or Never" blog. (It's recently moved, and now lives here: http://noworneverdallas.wordpress.com/)

The posting is from February 2nd. I don't know the author, but he or she may have been smoking crack during this week's cabin fever-inducing Snowmageddon. For example, the posting states:

The HSUS has a reputation for being a moderate organization that prefers to operate well away from the radical fringe...

Anyone with basic research skills will discover that today's HSUS is no longer a "moderate organization". They started out as a hands-on organization that actually pitched in and helped local shelters until the early 1970s. But mission creep set in, and the AR fanatics began to get a toehold with the rise of John Hoyt.

Nowadays, the HSUS is pushing the "Rescued To Death" agenda just as hard as PETA, the ALF, and similar organizations. Hardly any of their funds go to local animal shelters - this is why their TV advertisements, which make it appear the HSUS are funding them when they aren't - enrage me. (Okay, about 50 cents of each $19.95 monthly contribution might go to a local shelter. Let's give Wayne Pacelle his due.)

On a lighter note, you can now leave a comment at the Now or Never blog without getting a Wordpress account first. But so far, the only comments that have passed moderation have been kudos - from the same few people.

When is the next Shelter Commission flea circus?

2011-01-25T10:58:00.000-06:00

Since the City Secretary isn't interested in posting dates/times for the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meeting, I thought I'd ask blog readers. Someone ought to know, and hopefully we'll get some advance notice. Several people I know have missed attending these meetings as they're not given enough time to take the afternoon off work.

If you're thinking of addressing the Commission at the end of the meeting, good luck. The usual reception reminded me of this statement from Nathan Winograd:

"And it is the most divisive incivility to tell true animal lovers they can’t complain about it, that they can’t fight for the animals, that they should sit down and shut up and allow the killing to continue."

Downright catty

2011-01-20T18:28:00.001-06:00

Someone recently sent me an amusing typo committed by one of the local Examiner.com reporters. I will be charitable here and not mention the reporter's name.

Dallas Animal Services employee Domanick Munoz was transformed into a girly-man.

Herewith an excerpt:

"Lt. Scott Walton, the interim director of Dallas Animal Services and Officer Dominique Munoz, the cruelty officer who pursued the cruelty case, will also be at this event to answer questions about cruelty cases and proper animal care."

It's about time for someone to begin whistling Monty Python's The Lumberjack Song.

"Domanick...I thought you were so rugged!"

Leave Comment. Nah, just kidding.

2011-01-18T23:13:00.000-06:00

During the past few months I've been a regular visitor to the Dallas Animal Advocates blog. Even though most of it is kissing up to the usual suspects - members of the Animal Shelter Commission, the HSUS, etc - at least it occasionally seemed to want to see some change.

A few weeks ago, I tried to leave a comment. Not so fast - you have to have a Wordpress account. I couldn't be bothered.

A few days ago, I had some spare time at the airport, so I got a Wordpress account. And I left a comment.

I can only guess I was moderated out of existence, as my comment never appeared. And after scrolling back through the blog, I realized that there are NO comments. And you can't even try to comment on older entries; the comments have been turned off.

It's yet another example of the pompous attitudes held by Those Who Think They Know Better.

A good snigger to help us ring in the New Year...

2010-12-30T00:29:00.001-06:00

To make the ad larger, just click on it.

I spotted and borrowed the ad from this blog.

Wayne Pacelle earns his lumps (of coal)

2010-12-26T16:56:00.000-06:00

I think it's fair to say that everyone has already heard Wayne Pacelle's ridiculous statement about Michael Vick being ready for pet ownership. Most of us think this is similar to Wayne's suggesting that pedophiles be given jobs at elementary schools, but I guess Wayne knows best. (insert eye roll)

Actually, he's trying to do some retro-spin about his Vick statement here at his sick-making blog, but I fear the dog shit is going to stick to Wayne for quite some time.

But on to an equally troubling, and disturbingly common scenario.

As the majority of this blog's visitors are aware, the HSUS is fanatical about its PR and fundraising. This is why pretty boy Wayne was hired. However, neither the HSUS or its leadership is fanatical about actually rescuing the animals they claim to have been instrumental in rescuing. Considering how often this has happened, their slogan should be Take The Credit, Grab the Donations, and Run.

The author of the excellent Yes! Biscuit blog has been following the latest HSUS "rescue" in Alabama. The HSUS spin on this case is dizzying. One minute, an alleged HSUS stapher insists that the dogs - rescued by a hoarder of course - were all unsocialized and reverting to pack mentality. This is why the HSUS dumped them in kill shelters, including one that still gasses animals. The next minute, the HSUS is recommending that we, the public adopt one of these dogs!

Of course, the HSUS is not spending one fucking penny of their own millions to help the dogs or the shelters that accepted them.

The author of Yes! Biscuit has decided to track down the 44 rescued dogs. So far, she's only discovered that several have been killed, and at the shelter that gasses them to death. (Thank you Wayne!) So far, the HSUS has only offered vague statements that the rest of the dogs have gone to shelters in other states.

Read about the whole sorry mess here.

The lowdown on the December ASC meeting

2010-12-13T22:42:00.000-06:00

Since the Animal Shelter Commission folks did their usual - which is to carefully avoid publicizing their meetings - I wasn't able to go to the most recent one.

But Andrea Grimes made it, thankfully, and live-blogged through the whole affair.

Here is a link to her report:

The Flea Circus: Liveblogging Today's Animal Shelter Commission Meeting

I particularly enjoyed her descriptions of Joey Zapata, the original We'll Look Into It guy. Larry Powell has also, although more subtly, alluded to Joey's amazing ability to look wide-eyed and scribble notes during these meetings. She also seems to have Rebecca Poling's modus operandi nailed down pretty well.

I hope you made it to the Tavern eventually, Andrea.

Lastly, I spotted this within the blog comments:

Ugh... watching this sausage-making made my stomach churn. And this is how we do things in Dallas folks! And why shit never gets done.

Is Dog and Kitty City being hounded?

2010-12-06T22:10:00.000-06:00

I've recently received a couple of emails from people asking if I knew anything about Dallas Animal Services' recent "interest" in Dog and Kitty City. Allegedly, DAS officers have been dropping in on the Dog and Kitty City shelter unannounced, accusing the group of various naughty things.

I've seen Dog and Kitty City's mobile adoptions at Petsmart several times in the past two years, and their animals always looked healthy and well cared for.

Perhaps this entry on the group's Facebook page pissed off the wrong person or persons. Remember, a large proportion of DAS/Animal Shelter Commission folks worship at the feet of Pacelle and Co:

TO CLARIFY: A Nov.29 Dallas Morning News article reports a study by a national organization, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), of the city pound: Dallas Animal Services (DAS). DAS is not affiliated with local Humane Society of Dallas County or our no-kill shelter, Dog & Kitty City.

Why do some people never learn from history?

2010-11-30T23:15:00.000-06:00

This is an excerpt from the Dallas Morning News' article about the current situation at Dallas Animal Services. The speaker: Skip Trimble.

As long as thousands of dogs and cats are picked up and put down every year, trouble will return to the shelter, he suggested. It is an all-but-certain outgrowth of the job's difficulty.

What Dallas must do, advocates agree, is put more focus on enforcing spay-and-neuter and registration ordinances, along with laws that are already on the books to promote responsible pet ownership.

That's more difficult than just running animals through the shelter. But the dividends would be greater, Trimble said.

"If there are fewer animals entering the shelter, you are going to be able to give each individual animal better care and attention while they are there. You are going to have a better chance of them leaving the shelter," he said.

So...even though the spay/neuter and registration ordinances have been consistent failures in other cities, Skip keeps preaching it, blaming the public for the never-decreasing kill rate at DAS.

The scenario isn't difficult to understand. You treat people as if they're naughty children, then accuse them of complicity in the daily killing at DAS, and they get pissed off.

Here is an excerpt from the Web site www.thenokillnation.com that describes Skip & Co's collective blind spot much better than I can. I've edited it a bit for space:

Those of us who work or volunteer in animal welfare for cats and dogs hear the same complaints over and over again from shelter staff (stated with disbelief and disgust):

“Why do so many people consider dogs and cats disposable? Why do so many deadbeat dog and cat owners relinquish their pets to shelters or never bother looking for their lost pets – which, in turn, has led to a system that kills about 4–5 million unwanted homeless pets a year in this country? Why do so many people neglect and/or abuse dogs and cats?”

I hear this a lot at shelters and rescue organizations, and I see firsthand how doing this public service and “dirty work” poisons the staff at shelters against each and every person in the “evil public” who walks through the their doors. Even people coming in to adopt may be treated as representatives of those deadbeat owners — given the third degree and put through tests and hoops to see if they will be allowed to adopt an animal that, in all likelihood, will die in the shelter if not adopted soon enough to escape illness or madness.

I see how these negative attitudes lead to more of that self-fulfilling prophesy of more unwanted animals, more killing, more restrictiveness, more policies and procedures that block animals from finding new homes or getting owners to keep those pets. It’s a vicious cycle that could be tempered with some compassion and understanding toward people by people. Because of the negativity and blame game, we are working less and less toward trying to talk to people on a human level and tap into their capacity for humane compassion for animals.

Web-savvy volunteer needed by MAC

2010-11-29T21:38:00.000-06:00

This isn't a message from the Metroplex Animal Coalition ...I'm just wondering why they still list Kent Robertson as a member of their Advisory Board.

Woopsy.

Didn't a MAC member manage the Feral Friends Web site for a while?

At long, long, long, long (whew) last...

2010-11-29T21:17:00.001-06:00

Somehow, the Dallas Morning News' Rudolph Bush managed to lay his hands on the HSUS' Shelter Evaluation for Dallas Animal Services. Here's a link and an excerpt:

Humane Society report sharply criticizes Dallas Animal Services
4:20 PM Mon, Nov 29, 2010
Rudolph Bush/Reporter

Dallas animal service employees feel alienated from supervisors and managers, lack a "cooperative spirit" and must daily face dueling goals laid out by the City Council and the city's Animal Shelter Commission, according to a 120-report by the Humane Society of the United States.

I have yet to read the entire, 120-page report. I'm still plowing through it. However, the HSUS' mention that the City Council and Animal Shelter Commission had set up "dueling goals" for DAS caught my eye.

Remember, some members of the Animal Shelter Commission* are ALSO part of the Metroplex Animal Coalition, aka MAC - the folks who allegedly raised the $25 grand for the HSUS evaluation bill. And then there are the Commission members who are card-carrying members of PETA. Perhaps the report's contents held up the report's release.

Think about it. $25,000 is a big price to pay for any report...especially one that bites you in the ass by saying you're not nearly as wonderful as you think you are. Sort of like that story about the emperor's new clothes.

* To see a list of members of the Animal Shelter Commission, click on the Board Members by Board link. I fear you'll have to download a large PDF, but the Shelter Commission is one of the first boards listed.

Tyrone McGill's brilliant career

2010-11-23T21:25:00.000-06:00

This 2004 article from the Dallas Observer should have warned us what we had to look forward to when McGill began managing Dallas Animal Services.

Waiting … and Waiting … for Animal Services Report | FrontBurner

2010-11-10T22:27:00.000-06:00

Waiting … and Waiting … for Animal Services Report | FrontBurner

Surprise! No surprise today.

2010-10-26T01:17:00.001-05:00

This was posted Sunday Oct. 24 at the Dallas Animal Advocates blog. I broke it up into paragraphs for easier reading.

Surprise briefing Monday!

Tomorrow, Monday 10/25/2010, the Dallas City Council’s Quality of Life Committee will be briefed by Dallas Animal Services. The briefing, scheduled to being at 1 p.m. was scheduled without the knowledge of the Animal Shelter Commission, who only accidentally found out about it.

DAS is scheduled to discuss the background of Dallas Animal Services, including the 2001 HSUS report, an operational overview of Dallas Animal Services, a review of recent events that includes “Manager of Animal Control Resigned” (well, yes, that’s what happens when you tell someone you’re eliminating their position and give them a pink slip!), and a nifty comparison of Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio’s animal control departments.

1st question – Does the City operate a shelter. Duh. 2nd question – “Is there a commission, and how many member are on the Commission?” Then questions about annual impoundments (stats from 2005), # of animals surrendered and are their drop boxes available? Read the entire briefing HERE. If you are interested, it’s open to the public, but there’s no public comment period.

Before you start thinking "Crap, I would have liked to attend," hang on - the Committee briefing was cancelled almost as quickly as it was announced.

I couldn't get Google Docs to upload the briefing, but if you surf over to:

http://www.dallasanimaladvocates.org/

You can download the briefing as a PDF from the blog entry.

My first question: why the FUCK are they referring to the 2001 HSUS shelter evaluation? Does this year's evaluation suck that badly?

Second question: Why does this briefing not mention our fair city's appallingly high euthanasia rate? Perhaps the City Hall mindset is: We've been killing around 80% of the animals we "shelter" for decades, so there's no reason to keep up the good work.

And when will we finally hear what the 2010 HSUS evaluation contains? If it took me - or most of my readers - as much time to present a single report, we'd all have been fired for incompetence.

Dallas Animal Advocates blog

2010-10-18T00:35:00.001-05:00

Like many others, I was initially encouraged by the title of this blog:

http://dallasanimaladvocates.wordpress.com/

Now or Never for Dallas Animal Services it proclaims in big black (and sometimes white) letters.

Okay ... so why can't anyone leave a comment unless they have a Wordpress login? Sheesh.

And alas, they're still kissing up to the H$U$. I couldn't comment about this posting, but at least I can copy and paste it:

The HSUS Shelter Evaluation Program
Posted in Uncategorized on October 11, 2010 by urbancritter

The Humane Society of the United States’ Shelter Evaluation Program offers “affordable (Editor's note: $25K is considered affordable? Think of how many spay/neuters you could finance with that), customized assessments to animal care organizations seeking assistance in making their shelter a better place for both animals and employees.” According to their website, they use “a tailored evaluation approach to meet your specific needs by utilizing a team of experts in the field of animal sheltering. Our team examines each issue, program, or policy in the context of your entire operation.”

A new link to clicky

2010-10-18T00:31:00.000-05:00

This blog, Vox Felina, discusses TNR research and TNR opponents. The author has done his research, which makes some blog entries a heavy read, but valuable nonetheless.

Check out Vox Felina here.

Dallas City Hall doesn't discriminate ... they'll screw any taxpayer

2010-10-08T17:14:00.000-05:00

This blog article was forwarded me to yesterday (I have an awful sinus infection and am behind on everything, including updating this blog). While the blog doesn't mention Dallas Animal Services, it illustrates how Dallas City Hall does whatever it wants. Taxpayers be damned, or sodomized, or whatever. If you're a taxpayer, you can't do shit about it.

(These are the same dolts who required TWO bond issues to be passed before they built a new animal shelter. Two years later and it's already broken.)

Think City Hall Should Get A Tax Hike? You Might Think Again After Seeing How Crappy It Treats Its Taxpayers. By Jim Schutze

In the last few weeks everyone has been talking about taking on a tax increase so we can give City Hall more money. I promise you this much: This story will make you wonder why on earth we would even consider giving the people at City Hall more money.

Is DAS finally headed in the right direction?

2010-09-29T11:17:00.000-05:00

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.

Suzette! Please check in.

2010-09-22T10:39:00.000-05:00

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

FP

Overdue eviction notices

2010-09-21T10:58:00.000-05:00

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.

20/20 expose of local SPCAs, circa 2005

2010-09-17T14:58:00.000-05:00

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.

More about the THLN firing

2010-09-16T15:30:00.000-05:00

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).

THLN Chapter President asks question, gets canned. WTF?

2010-09-15T17:46:00.000-05:00

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

2010-09-15T17:36:00.000-05:00

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.

Austin shelter update

2010-09-14T17:18:00.001-05:00

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

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

2010-09-13T15:57:00.001-05:00

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.

More about Blogger's spam comment filtering

2010-09-06T15:04:00.001-05:00

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.

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

2010-09-04T16:21:00.001-05:00

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.

Those disappearing comments

2010-09-02T09:40:00.000-05:00

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.

Opinions invited re Nathan Winograd

2010-09-01T13:53:00.000-05:00

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.

990 forms for Metroplex Animal Coalition

2010-08-29T21:01:00.001-05:00

You can find them by going to this page and searching by name and state:

http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/990finder/

Looks like Skip is doing their tax returns - not Rebecca.

You can also look up other groups recently discussed here, like Texas Humane Legislation Network, at the Foundation Center site.

Happy reading...

The HSUS, THLN and Humanewatch

2010-08-29T13:48:00.001-05:00

If you backtrack two blog entries, you'll see the new Humanewatch poster, along with a LOT of comments. One anonymous poster dared me to prove that the HSUS supports the THLN.

This was pretty easy; after I searched for the HSUS' annual reports, I found the THLN listed as receipient of an HSUS grant in 2005.

Next, I decided to go for the source and looked at www.thln.org.

Before I found the HSUS connection, I was pissed off to read that the THLN claims to be:

...the political arm and voice for every animal and animal welfare agency in Texas.

If they're really doing this, they're keeping it VERY quiet.

Anyway, enough of my bitchiness. The below is a screen grab from the thln.org's FAQ section:

So...if you're unhappy about the HSUS' deceptive advertising, illegal seizures, and other police state tactics, you "oppose animal protection legislation", according to the THLN. It's a bit of a stretch in my opinion, but there you go.

And if you look at other sites that judge and rate nonprofits , you'll see that the HSUS' rating is going down the tubes. Check them out here: www.charitywatch.org

(Charity Watch is the URL for the American Institute of Philanthropy - their real name doesn't lend it self to an URL, obviously. They have nothing to do with Humanewatch, even though their URLs are similar.)

Yesterday's Animal Services Commission trainwreck meeting

2010-08-27T09:39:00.001-05:00

Larry Powell attended yesterday's meeting and published a comprehensive report at Read Larry Powell.

It is truly painful reading. The "solutions" put in place are ridiculous. Herewith some lowlights:

Seems that Kent Robertson jumped before he was pushed.
There isn't a Shelter Manager position any more...an announcement everyone objected to, except the bureaucrats who introduced it.
Animal Services is actually run by Code Compliance. (This is why, after DAS couldn't persecute Laniq Adams any more, Code Compliance showed up with that bogus accusation that the shelter wasn't zoned properly.)
As usual, questions were answered by the "We'll look into that and get back to you." I guess they were channeling Kent Robertson.

After reading Powell's report - and I'd like to thank him for publishing it - I honestly don't think the situation at DAS can get any worse.

New Humanewatch ad

2010-08-26T23:35:00.001-05:00

I like it!

Today's Animal Shelter Commission meeting heats up

2010-08-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

Damn. Not only am I unable to get out of work, I am unable to stay in the county. I am 150 miles away in Killeen, working on a bid.

However I've had a chance to get online. The following is from Read Larry Powell:

ANIMAL SHELTER COMMISSION MEETING AND NEW DEVELOPMENT: First, the City of Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meeting is at 1:30 p.m. today in Room 6E South at Dallas City Hall. (No free parking, as I recall.) Lots of items on the agenda.

Coincidentally, we’d earlier reported about claims of harassment of witnesses in the wake of the indictment of shelter manager Tyrone McGill in the case of the cat allowed to die inside a shelter wall. Word comes now that one of the potential witnesses, noted animal cruelty investigator Dominick Munoz, has hired attorney Don Feare to represent him in “possible litigation against the city” – Mr. Munoz has been the target of threats allegedly orchestrated by supporters of Mr. McGill. He was, we’re told, the person who first notified the Dallas County District Attorney’s office about the cruelty incident that led to Mr. McGill’s indictment.

Agenda for the upcoming Animal Shelter Commission meeting

2010-08-24T10:10:00.001-05:00

As usual, this wasn't posted in time - legally these need to be posted 72 hours before the event. I need to find out where to complain about this.

Clicky here to see the agenda for the August 26 meeting.

Although I encourage anyone who can attend to attend, my current workload will probably prevent me from doing so. :(

Why you should Google yourself regularly

2010-08-18T12:00:00.000-05:00

I just received a post from someone who had been checking out members of the Animal Shelter Commission via the Internet. He'd spotted my notice of the next Commission meeting and, in the light of the recent McGill/Robertson departures, was planning to attend.

He had googled Susan Oakey and found that she had been attacking other animal rescuers on a forum site called www.indiadivine.org of all places. The site's tagline is "Welcome to the sacred world of Hinduism."

One of Susan's posts encouraged all readers of the Vegetarian Forum to attend Laniq Adams' 2008 trial for animal cruelty. Another post regarding this trial, crossposted by someone named Margaret Morin, begged for a big turnout at the courthouse.

Everyone's support is needed to help see justice done.

Justice for Laniq Adams came in the form of an acquittal that took the jury exactly nine minutes to deliver. To this day I wish I'd attended the trial, but it was held before I became sufficiently motivated to start researching this subject, and to begin publishing this blog.

Of course, neither Susan or Margaret bothered to publish the outcome of the trial in the forum.

Being unacquainted with Hindu beliefs, I did some cursory research. Although they can't be defined in a condensed form, karma plays an important role in the Hindu religion.

Does this mean that Susan and Margaret can look forward to some karmic payback?

Next Dallas Animal Shelter Commission meeting

2010-08-17T10:35:00.000-05:00

Considering we won't have Kent Robertson there to mutter that he'll look into things, it might be particularly interesting.

From a forwarded e-mail:

"The next meeting of the Dallas Animal Commission will be held on August 26...at 1:30 in the afternoon. It is not being held at the Animal Shelter, but at Dallas City Hall in room 6C South."

Has Kent Robertson resigned?

2010-08-14T17:12:00.000-05:00

I spotted this story at the D Magazine Backburner blog:

Posted on August 13th, 2010 11:39pm by Glenn Hunter
Filed under Animals, Local News

Capping a week that saw animal-shelter official Tyrone McGill charged in the negligent death of a cat there, sources tell us that Dallas Animal Services manager Kent Robertson has abruptly resigned, effective Friday. Callers to Robertson’s phone number at animal services tonight heard a recording saying he’s no longer with the city. Developing.

Tip of the Iceberg, Part 2

2010-08-14T16:45:00.001-05:00

I surfed over to this D Magazine story to see if any additional comments had been added since DAS manager McGill was formally charged with animal cruelty:

http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2010/08/02/shelter-cat-death-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/comment-page-2/#comment-96558

While there are plenty of additional comments, not many of them talk about McGill. Instead, some of the DFW chest-beaters who fit the definition of rescuer - someone who has one less animal than those they accuse of hoarding - are out in force with off-topic accusations thinly disguised as comments.

I have a pretty good idea who the commenter using the pen name "Reagan" really is. (This is ironic as he/she took me to task for not identifying myself.) Perhaps Reagan should consider a "new beginning"...

OK ... here it is!

2010-08-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

Clicky here to read the minutes from the April 2010 Animal Shelter Commission meeting.

Some highlights - or lowlights:

Animal registration numbers in Dallas are down, including those for unaltered pets. As if we needed more proof that the 2008 amendments to the City Code continue to backfire.
Off-site adoption numbers are down. So are the numbers of volunteers. But there was no discussions about recruiting and retaining new volunteers; instead, they decided to contact the inactive ones.
One of the more sensible Commission members asked why a search warrant was issued for a residence with only EIGHT dogs. As usual, Kent Robertson said "he'd look into it."
The Commission discussed printing and distributing flyers that advised people that it is illegal to abandon their animals. (Yeah, that ought to stop it.)
Tyrone McGill told everyone what a great time he had attending a shelter conference in Austin, and said he'd be "implementing what he learned" at the shelter. Did he learn not to rescue animals trapped in the shelter's walls?
ASC member Rebecca Poling went on another commission roll, introducing no fewer than NINE more sub-commissions. She really likes commissions. I have literally lost count of all of her commission roles, chairs, etc.
Dallas Animal Services might put up a Facebook page one day. (insert eye-roll here)

Minutes for the April 2010 Animal Shelter Commission meeting

2010-08-10T23:21:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the people who have forwarded this PDF to me during the past few days.

The reason I haven't posted the ASC minutes here yet is that several people who attended the April meeting do not wish for their names to be publicized here. Since I don't blame them, I won't be posting the minutes until I have time to open the PDF and remove the list of public attendees.

Who hired this guy, anyway? (Oops - sorry, Skip)

2010-08-10T23:11:00.000-05:00

The upsetting story of the cat allowed to die within the walls of Dallas Animal Services has a new chapter. From today's online version of the Dallas Morning News, updated at 11:10 pm:

Dallas shelter manager on leave over cat's death inside wall | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

Posted 11:10 PM CDT on Tuesday, August 10, 2010
By RUDOLPH BUSH / The Dallas Morning News
rbush@dallasnews.com

The manager of the city of Dallas' animal shelter was placed on paid administrative leave Monday while he faces charges of felony cruelty in connection with the death of a cat at the Westmoreland Road facility.

Tyrone McGill, 59, was indicted by a grand jury late last week, accused of failing to act to save a cat trapped between two walls at the shelter. Despite repeated requests from employees, affidavits say, McGill never tried to rescue the cat, who was heard crying and scratching at the walls before its death.

The case has called into question the management and day-to-day operations of the once-lauded shelter.

McGill, the shelter's manager for about two years, acknowledged when the took the position that he was not trained or experienced in handling animals, according to Skip Trimble, chairman of the city's Animal Shelter Commission.

"When we met, he admitted he knew nothing about animals, but that he was eager to learn. ... I have to say that I am shocked. But it's true he didn't have animal experience," Trimble said.

While I should point out that McGill has not been convicted of anything yet - I'm really tired of media convictions, especially when a jury ends up acquitting - he is obviously not the only one to blame for all this. Why on earth was McGill hired in the first place?

And when was the shelter "lauded"? Nobody I've spoken to, including plenty of rescuers who have spent their lives in the DFW area, can remember a time when Dallas Animal Services was anything other than a killing factory.

New links

2010-08-03T21:52:00.000-05:00

I am adding two new links:

Humanewatch - Ever since I found out about the dishonesty of HSUS' television ads - in which they beg for monthly donations for animal shelters, but only give HALF of 1% to help save homeless dogs and cats - the HSUS has been on my Don't Trust list. Humanewatch is on their case every day.

PETA Kills Animals - Penn and Teller's PETA expose was just the tip of the iceberg, sadly.

Please feel free to send suggested links. You can leave them as comments (to get the comment function to work, be sure to Preview your comments first!).

The tip of the iceberg at DAS?

2010-08-03T17:20:00.000-05:00

This link appeared in today's version of the Yes Biscuit! blog:

http://frontburner.dmagazine.com/2010/08/02/shelter-cat-death-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/

Almost all of the comments following the original article appear to have been left by Dallas residents - many who have visited Dallas Animal Services in person to adopt - and are an extremely upsetting read. Hopefully it's another nail in the coffin of the current management at DAS.

Ban on selling dogs, cats in Dallas is easier said than done | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Columnist James Ragland | Dallas-Fort Worth News

2010-07-29T12:33:00.000-05:00

Instead of pursuing uglier issues - like the Dallas Animal Services employees who let a cat die slowly within the shelter walls - the Animal Shelter Commission folks have decided to chase another windmill. Anything to stay in the media limelight...

Ban on selling dogs, cats in Dallas is easier said than done | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Columnist James Ragland | Dallas-Fort Worth News

A primer for Texas pet owners

2010-07-25T22:15:00.000-05:00

Last week, a blogger named P J Boosinger published two important posts after doing a LOT of research and homework into our fair state's current search and seizure laws.

I strongly urge anyone who owns more than one or two animals to read the blog entry Sniffing for Due Process. It explains how frighteningly easy it is for someone with ties to the local branch of the HSUS or SPCA, or city's animal control department -- in other words, anyone with some power to abuse -- to come into your home or kennel, seize your animals, and accuse you of animal cruelty.

We've all seen media coverage of accused hoarders' and abusers' homes. But all we see is what the media chooses to show us. You can bet that they're going to go for what will pull in the most viewers.

Furthermore, your local anchor person may or may not be accurate with numbers of animals, their conditions -- the catchphrase here is always "deplorable" -- or if the animals' owner is even charged with a crime. But once your face is on the 6:00 news with the phrase "animal cruelty" next to it, you might as well emigrate to Greenland unless you can afford a good attorney.

There are plenty of cases of unjust animal seizures. The motives are often greed, especially in the cases of purebred or rare animals. Details of two of these follow:

A licensed bird breeder is raided by a local chapter of the SPCA. During the seizure, the SPCA manages to kill some of the birds they were "saving" by improperly transporting them. The breeder's surviving birds are eventually returned and no charges are filed.

A dog breeder in South Dakota is illegally raided by the HSUS and a local rescue center. Before the charges are dropped, at least 28 of the dogs die while under the care of the local "rescue" group. After the raid, the HSUS issued some self-congratulatory PR then promptly decamped, leaving the local rescue group with a six-figure bill for care and feeding of the 170+ dogs. The breeder's legal costs forced him to sell some of his property, and he still does not know the fate of most of his dogs.

Good news for Delaware shelter animals

2010-07-25T21:59:00.000-05:00

Not every state is content to live with an unacceptable level of killing of shelter animals. Last week, the Governor of Delaware signed the Delaware Companion Animal Protection act.

Here is a Reader's Digest Condensed version from Nathan Winograd's blog:

... the Delaware Companion Animal Protection Act mandates collaboration between shelters and rescue groups. A shelter cannot kill an animal if a rescue group is willing to save that animal’s life. But that is just the beginning. It also makes convenience killing illegal—shelters can no longer kill an animal when there are available cages or the animals can share a cage or kennel with another one.

For Dallas Animal Services (DAS) to turn things around, they would have to make some major changes. In addition to actively recruiting more volunteers, DAS would have to work with ALL rescue groups, not just a few select ones. It would be a 180-degree turnaround from their current modus operandi. But it's way past due. And the legislators in Delaware couldn't find any reason to oppose it.

From Nathan Winograd's blog, again:

To legislators, to the Delaware animal loving public, to the shelters and rescue groups who participated in the passing of this bill, there was nothing controversial about it. No fear mongering about hoarders, no fear mongering about dog fighting, no fear mongering about overcrowding, no fear mongering about costs, no fear mongering about notice requirements being unfair to small rural shelters, no fear mongering about anything. The bill mandates that animals be given every opportunity for life, and no one thought that would be a bad or controversial idea. In other words, there was no HSUS, no ASPCA, and no Best Friends. It seems that in order for shelter reform legislation to be allowed to pass, the supposed leaders of the animal protection movement itself can’t be involved.

Given that our current DAS management:

Seems unbothered by an euthanasia rate that's stuck at 78-80%;
Needs a grand jury to investigate why staff allowed a cat to die in agony within the shelter's very walls;
Enables members of the Animal Shelter Commission to violate the very laws they helped bring in two years ago; and
Doesn't seem to care what the taxpayers think of their performance ...

isn't it time these people found other jobs - hopefully in an industry that doesn't involve animals?

PETA gets the Penn and Teller treatment

2010-07-16T13:21:00.000-05:00

I have hated PETA ever since I found out that they don't support feral cat management or Trap/Neuter/Release. Here's what they say:

Please do not allow the prospect of euthanasia to deter you from trapping cats. If you leave them where they are, they will almost certainly die a painful death.

Will someone please tell that to my neighbor's feral colony? Her oldest feral is 13. Yes, she's built a special shelter for them, but plenty of other feral caretakers have done the same thing. Even a doghouse works great.

I hated PETA a bit more when they tried to whitewash their Kill The Ferals attitude by setting up another Web site named - get this - Helping Animals.

Here's their nice page about ferals. Surprise, surprise - the links to their free feral cat brochure don't work.

Thankfully, Penn and Teller zeroed in on PETA a while back and did a bang-up job in handing their leaders their respective asses.

For anyone who missed the Penn and Teller Bullshit! episode that skewers PETA, or don't get Showtime, it's here.

But if you're near Premiere Video on East Mockingbird, they have this episode in stock at an extremely reasonable rental charge.

The real definition of hoarder

2010-07-15T23:58:00.000-05:00

Something that particularly bothers me is how most people will gladly swallow any story that the media serves up to them. They never pause to think about the possibility of spin, hidden agendas, or the like.

The current spate of raids of suspected animal hoarders are no different. For the majority of the lemmings who consider themselves incapable of cruelty, they also consider anyone labeled a hoarder to be the spawn of Satan.

But let's look at a few recent cases, like this one in Providence, Rhode Island.

Although the news presenter on the video chews the scenery up one side and down the other, I don't think we can assume with absolute certainty that there's a hoarding situation going on. Certainly, there are few of us who want 60 dogs, but take a look at the house they came from. It's a three-story house.

And look at the dogs themselves. I didn't see a single one that was underweight. Even an Animal Control officer (with an unfortunate name) said this on camera:

"They appear to all be in fairly good condition," said Pawtucket Animal Control officer John Holmes, who brought about 30 of the dogs to his city's shelter. "I didn't see anything that raised a red flag other than the large number of dogs."

But the obnoxious news presenter ended his spiel by muttering on about how hoarders are sickos and hoarding is a crime.

So... who wants to bet the rent that:

In less than two weeks, most of the dogs will be up for adoption?
The owners will never see any of their animals again?
The charges will be eventually dropped for lack of evidence?

I can't help but wonder if these people, and others like them, are turned in by self-righteous animal rescuers with plenty of animals in their own homes.

Want to know how one of these rescuers might define a hoarder?
Someone with one more animal in her home than she has.

DAS employees allow trapped cat to die - IN the shelter

2010-07-14T22:21:00.000-05:00

This story made me feel physically ill.

There is a video here (the URL will probably only work for a day or two):

http://cbs11tv.com/video/?id=56073@ktvt.dayport.com

Grand Jury Sniffing Out Shelter Cruelty Allegation

Some longtime supporters of the Dallas Animal Shelter are demanding firings and criminal charges after an allegation that a cat was tortured at the facility.

The allegations have led a Dallas County grand jury to convene and consider cruelty charges against several employees.

Sources tell CBS 11 a cat escaped from a cage at the facility and became trapped in a wall, and that employees continued working for days while the animal could be heard trying to free itself.

It's also alleged that some employees reported the problem to managers, but nothing was done and it wasn't until the cat died and created a stench in the building that someone had it removed.

Elaine Munch, a longtime supporter and donor to the shelter, is outraged over the incident. "I know the cat had to have cried, cried and cried it just breaks my heart, instead they let a cat die a horrible death. It's despicable."

Munch and others want a housecleaning by the city of employees who knew about the incident and failed to take action.

"The people that knew and didn't do anything need to spend time in jail or prison, This is the fault of a lack of leadership and it goes to the top."

The city says that it is aware of the investigation and is cooperating. The Dallas County District Attorney's office declined comment, but some shelter employees have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury over the allegations.

How not to treat your rescue group volunteers

2010-07-10T17:03:00.001-05:00

One well-documented tale that I am still hesitating to publish contains details of a particularly nasty course of events between a volunteer of a local rescue group and those who managed it.

The reasons I hesitate to publish the scanned documents are because: a) it happened to my ex-girlfriend, and b) it happened about 10 years ago. (My ex has given me the green light.)

But the guilty parties are still parading about at the occasional DFW-area fund raiser or rescue-related event, acting as if they're the best things since sliced bread or the iPhone. Still not getting their hands dirty, of course.

And, even though most rescue groups treat their volunteers well, some tend to go through them pretty quickly because of treating them like serfs or worse. Thus the pervading jokes about starting new groups called "Rescue Group X Rejects". So an outing might actually have some positive results.

Here's a condensed version of the chain of events. You can be the judge as to whether I should re-scan the evidence for publication.

1. A newish volunteer with Web knowledge (my ex) offered to provide a basic Web site for a local rescue group she'd recently begun volunteering for.

2. The site was published after the volunteer built it and paid for the .org URL with her own funds. This was before the days of cheap domains.

3. The site's passwords were freely distributed within the group, so any of the group's volunteers could upload, post and edit information about animals available for adoption.

4. About a year later, a new volunteer decided that she wanted to be the sole Web manager. So she logged in and changed the password, effectively kicking everyone else off.

5. When the original provider of the site (my ex) objected, she was basically told to fuck off and go clean litter boxes at Petsmart as this was "better use of her skills". This did not sit well with her, and she made no secret of it.

6. The new volunteer who changed the passwords got wind of the situation and felt threatened. So she called my ex's office and said that she was "using company computers to steal her Web site." This was impossible, as the ex created it on a Mac platform and software, and her office was/is a 100% Windows PC environment. But she was still dragged into HR and questioned about the anonymous phone call.

7. One of the group's Board -- an attorney -- actually wrote a lengthy letter to the ex, telling her to fuck off on corporate letterhead.

8. My ex called the attorney's boss and said WTF? The harassment stopped.

More later... probably.

Sorry for the hiatus...

2010-07-10T16:46:00.001-05:00

But I recently fell victim to the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times".

Not only did my company send me out of state to manage a commercial project, my PC's hard drive suddenly and totally crashed. Most, but not all of my information was backed up.

Last but not least, the news we've all been waiting for - the HSUS' 2010 shelter evaluation for Dallas Animal Services - hasn't been made public. Instead, there's a deafening silence. Not even the usual team of HSUS Kool-aid bathers have said anything on their various blogs, or within their news articles.

However, I did find a PDF of the 2001 HSUS report presented to Dallas Animal Services. I stumbled on it purely by mistake, as the Animal Connection of Texas - who had originally published it online - now has no live link to the PDF.

Click here for a link to the 2001 HSUS/DAS report.

Although I haven't read it verbatim, it made a few valid points. But it had its usual share of "We're the HSUS, so we're infallible" bs too.

And the biggest omission of all, in my opinion, is that it contained NO discussion of the value of volunteers. Nor did it suggest how DAS might attract and keep good volunteer staff. Shelters who have successfully lowered their euthanasia rates almost universally credit their volunteer staff as playing a vital part in their success.

tomorrow's ASC Agenda

2010-06-16T22:34:00.001-05:00

This was just forwarded to me but with no venue. So I guess it'll be a surprise. Please excuse the crap formatting.

AGENDA

1. Call to Order Skip Trimble, Chair

2. Approval of the minutes from the April 22, 2010
Animal Shelter Commission Meeting

3. Chairman’s Report Skip Trimble, Chair

- New Parking Decals for Commission members

4. Animal Services Manager’s Report Kent Robertson

Animal Services Manager

- Statistics Oct 09 – May 2010

- Community Outreach Efforts

- List of all civil seizure cases involving cruelly

treated animals this fiscal year to date; with

number of animals; and their ultimate disposition.

Also, what if any criminal charges were filed

against the owner.

- Status of Animal Cruelty Cases referred to District Attorney’s Office

- Follow-Up Items From Prior Manager’s Reports

- Follow up Items From 4/22/10 Meeting

5. ASC Advisory Group Updates & Discussion

Skip Trimble, Chair

6. Old Business Kent Robertson, Animal Services Manager

- Animal Services Citation Dispositions

(How to track)

7. New Business Skip Trimble, Chair

- Why can’t citations be mailed via certified mail

or left on door?

- Discuss new ordinance re requiring finder of a

stray dog to locate owner

- Request that staff notify Commissioners in advance

of any animal issue to be presented or discussed

at any City Council Meeting or Council Committee

meeting

- Question and/or discussion of items in Staff Commission Update of 5/14/10

- Review Rescue Group Transfer Agreement

8. Public Comments

9. Adjournment

A closed executive session may be held if the discussion of any of the above agenda items concerns one of the following:

(I deleted this bit to save space - FP)