http://enews.tufts.edu/stories/946/2003/02/06/FillingEmptyPounds

Filling Empty Dog Pounds

As U.S. shelters help solve local stray problems, a Tufts expert says many are importing dogs from other countries to meet demand for animal adoptions. No. Grafton, Mass.

No. Grafton, Mass. [02.06.03] At local animal shelters around the country, the dogs up for adoption may be a lot further from home than many people would imagine. With stray animals on the decline in many communities, but interest in adoption still high, a Tufts expert says many shelters are importing stray animals from around the world to meet the demand.
"Animal shelters in the USA are casting a wide net - from Puerto Rico to as far as Taiwan - to fill kennels," reported USA Today. "Critics say many shelters have solved the stray problem in their own area - but rather than shut down, they become de facto pet stores. Some charge more than $200 per adoption for imported dogs."
According to Tufts' Gary Patronek - the director of Tufts' Center for Animals and Public Policy at the University's School of Veterinary Medicine - U.S. shelters may be a victim of their own successes.
"The drive to have dogs spayed and neutered in the USA has cut down on unwanted litters. And adoption campaigns have helped empty dog pounds," reported USA Today. "But [the Tufts expert says] people who want to adopt dogs increasingly find aged dogs or undesirable breeds like pit bulls at shelters."
Imported animals are filling the demand.
"In the last seven years, one organization in Puerto Rico has shipped more than 14,000 strays to the states for adoption," reported the newspaper. "Shipments from other countries also appear to be increasing. Most imports are small to medium-size dogs popular among adopters."
In order to enter the U.S., the imported animals do not need to be quarantined - having certificates of good health and proof of rabies shots are sufficient.
"But Patronek said bringing dogs in from abroad runs a serious risk of importing a disease," reported the Scottish newspaper The Scotsman.
According to the Tufts expert, "What makes it so scary is that you just don't know what might emerge if you aren't at least looking for it."
And despite their similarities, shelters and pet stores have important distinctions from one another.
"[Patronek says] not-for-profit shelters may be chartered to insure animal welfare, but they are relatively unregulated," reported USA Today. "Pet shops, on the other hand, generally operate under more stringent state and local regulations."
But some pet owners don't mind that the stray animals they've adopted are from other countries, not their local communities.
"I read a lot about how hard their lives are in Puerto Rico," Marianna Massa - who adopted two imported stray dogs - told USA Today. "It just affected me so much. I had to do something. If I had a farm, I'd have more."

Raiders of the Lost Bark

HSUS conducting one of their famous "rescues" (i.e. RAIDS)

If any of the rest of us this treated our dogs like this we'd be arrested, fined and maybe jailed. And barred from ever owning animals again.

Hypocrites Shilling the Ultimate Scam

Ah, the HSUS.

"Hypocrites Shilling the Ultimate Scam"

Spending the bulk of their vast fortune on lobbying for anti-animal ownership legislation. Excessive political lobbying by a 501c3 "charity" is illegal. But hey, it's not ALL spent on lobbying; they do reserve a goodly portion of their money for executive salaries and pensions.

HSUS collects donations by exploiting abused animals, all the while not providing them with any sort of meaningful assistance. Hmm, isn't that exactly what they accuse others of doing? Exploiting animals for cash? They need only look in the mirror!

• Fay, an abused bull terrier who needed reconstructive surgery, was used for a donation appeal which drew millions, but HSUS never donated a penny to her care until called on the carpet by the actual foster caregiver. The woman who was caring for Fay stated: "I am rather sad that HSUS has chosen to use Fay in their fund drive. Fay has never received a dime from HSUS."
• Katrina disaster was a goldmine, with HSUS raking in over $34 million in donations. The Louisiana Attorney General demanded an accounting of the funds; HSUS could only account for $7 million. A pledge by HSUS to help fund a new animal shelter in Louisiana magically ended the investigation.
• Vick dogfighting incident. HSUS collected millions in donations, but NEVER had the dogs in their custody. HSUS urged the judge in the case to order all the dogs killed....even the puppies. Thankfully, the judge did not listen to HSUS, and REAL rescue groups successfully rehabilitated many of these dogs and placed them in homes. Later, HSUS partnered up with dogfighter Vick in an ad campaign to promote their organization and ask for....you guessed it....more donations.
• Scotlund Haisley, multiple illegal raids. HSUS president Wayne Pacelle: "I like the cowboy ways that Scotlund brings to the team". Haisley is now president of the radical AR group "In Defense of Animals" and heads up the Animal Rescue Corps, a group that recently conducted a raid in Tennessee that was determined to be illegal. Meanwhile, the animals are taken from their owners and sold, even when the owners are eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.
• HSUS likes to send in moles who illegally frame animal-related businesses for purported "abuse." See RICO suit filed by Feld Entertainment, which is one of the the more blatant incidents recently made public.
• HSUS lobbies against no-kill legislation in California and, more recently, in Texas, with their opposition to the Companion Animal Protection Act. Rather hypocritical to lobby against no-kill sheltering. But then, it seems that the hypocritical HSUS must enjoy the drama of shelter killings. In their "consultations" provided to shelters, they urge them to kill as soon as any mandatory holding period expires. The more killing, the better, seems to be their motto.
• Ariana Huemer, an HSUS government-affairs employee, wrote a check to fugitive animal-rights bomber Daniel Andreas San Diego. The check was recovered by the FBI from the trunk of San Diego's car. San Diego, currently on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list, is presumed responsible for 10-pound shrapnel bombs detonated in 2003 at two California biomedical research companies. One of these bombs was accompanied by a "secondary" device, timed to detonate after paramedics and firefighters arrived on the scene.
• Another stellar HSUS employee is legislative affairs staffer John Goodwin, a high school dropout and member of the domestic terrorist group "Animal Liberation Front". The ALF has been involved in arson, firebombings,and threats against farmers and scientists. "My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture," Goodwin wrote one Internet activist mailing list.
• HSUS has made regular contributions through "Waste.Org", an organization that funds about a dozen animal rights groups that are affiliated with the Animal Liberation Front.

Let us remain ever mindful of the threats posed by HSUS and other radical animal rights groups.

"How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways! - Top three Ways to Love Your Pet"

A MESSAGE FROM THE DESK OF BRENDA BARNETTE, LAAS GENERAL MANAGER WHO OVERSEES THE PROTECTION AND WELFARE OF OUR CITY'S ANIMALS  

City of Los Angeles  Department of Animal Services

221 N. Figueroa Street, Suite 500, Los Angeles, California 90012 / http://www.laanimalservices.com/

 For Immediate Release                                        

April 28, 2011                                                                

Contact: Brenda F. Barnette, General Manager

Email: Brenda.barnette@lacity.org                                                                                    Phone: (213) 482-9558

How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways!

Top Three Ways to Love Your Pet

 Number 3:  Spaying/Neutering -- A Change for the Better

You get a healthier pet.  Spayed/neutered pets are less likely to get injured in fights or get lost.  They live twice as long and are less likely to develop certain cancers.  This means lower medical bills.

You get a happier family member.  Spay/neutered pets are calmer because they are more focused on being a loving member of the family; and with adequate daily exercise and a reasonable diet, they don't get fat.

Your pet and your house will be cleaner.  Spayed females will not have heat cycles that soil your rugs and furniture.  Neutered males are less likely to mark furniture and rugs with urine.  This means less special cleaning bills.

Spaying or neutering your pet is a good investment.  Once you multiply the increased food, basic supplies, veterinarian and advertising costs to find homes for the animals, you will see that the cost of altering your pet is very smart investment.

Number 2:  Microchip your pets.

A microchip is a tiny electronic transponder about the size of a grain of rice.  The chip is embedded under the pet's skin using a simple, relatively painless procedure similar to a routine vaccination.  Each chip bears a 10-digit number that can be traced to the pet's guardian.  When your lost pet is found, anyone with a scanner – animal care and control agencies, adoption centers, veterinary clinics – can quickly reunite the family.

Microchips are available from veterinarians, some vaccination clinics, and public shelters at an average cost of $15 to $75, sometimes with additional registration fees.  Los Angeles City Shelters include a microchip for all dogs adopted from City Shelters.  We also microchip non-shelter animals for $25.

And the Number 1 Way To Love Your Pet:

Get Your Dog Licensed NOW!

Make sure your dog's license is current because it protects your dog if he/she accidentally gets out and gets lost.  License tags give you the peace of mind to know that Los Angeles Animal Services will be able to reunite you with your pet if she/he is turned in by a Good Samaritan or is picked up by one of our officers.  It is not only a great safety net for your dog, it is the law.

Do not delay; get your dog a license TODAY!

·         Fees: Spayed or Neutered: $20.00 with proof of rabies vaccination and proof of spay/neuter.

·         Not Spayed or Neutered (if qualified): $100 license plus $235 breeder's permit fee.

Call the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services at 888-452-7381 (TTY Hearing impaired: 877-875-8205) or visit our website at http://www.laanimalservices.com/ to find out how you can get your dog license today.

Golly, only $335 per dog, per year, for a license! Wow, let me call right away! What a bargain. If I have three dogs, that's only a THOUSAND dollars per year. For dog licenses.  No problem, I'll just cut back on food for my children. And what's that you say? I need to beg for government permission each year, or else my dog will be forced to have unnecessary surgery? Where is the hoop? I am ready to jump! How high?

Dear, dear. Seems Ms. Barnette has been swilling some serious AR Kool Aid. Well, after all, she USED to be a breeder, just like she USED to eat meat, but not any more. Maybe her brain is fogged from lack of Vitamin B-12? Just like the rest of her vegan friends. And maybe....just MAYBE....that KoolAid is laced with some serious psychedelic stuff!

Well, first, before I can address the string of lies in this propaganda, let me pick my jaw up off the floor. Gee, a government official who lies to us? Who would have thought?....I am absolutely SHOCKED!

Ready? Here we go:

Neutered pets live twice as long and are healthier? Where is the proof of this? The scientific evidence proves the exact opposite. Many studies that show that keeping all the original parts is the appropriate course of action if you want to promote health and long life. Ovaries promote longevity. Testicles and their precious hormones protect against prostate and bladder cancer. Intact animals have significantly lower rates of hemangiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, hip dysplasia, hypothyroidism, diabetes, pancreatitis, and senile dementia.

Happier family members who won't get fat? Baloney! Many studies show a link between speuter and obesity. When you lose essential hormones and your metabolism slows down, you easily get fat. And really, the dog is happier? You know this how? Behavioral studies show that sterilization increases fearfulness, shyness, and studies show that dog-to-human aggression actually increases! Oops!

Your house will be cleaner? I guess Ms. Barnette forgot that 20-30% of spayed females develop urinary incontinence. They even have a special name for this problem; it's called SPAY INCONTINENCE. Your house won't smell real great with pee all over the place; but seriously, for any dog with a housebreaking problem, or the minor problem of discharge during a season, whether that pet is intact or neutered, it is a simple matter to buy bitch britches or belly bands. Get over it already.

Guess what, neutered dogs get into the mud and get skunked just the same as those who are intact. Duh!

Spaying and neutering a "good investment"? After paying hundreds for unnecessary surgery, you then get the added bonus of extra vet bills for other health problems that come along with sterilization.

 But hey, since your pet likely won't live as long as it would if it kept all its vital organs, then I guess you will save a lot of money. Dead animals don't eat or have medical bills.


Typical AR swill. Do any of them have any kids? Two-legged ones, I mean. Do they turn up their noses in disgust changing a diaper, or at the messes kids make? Would they slice out their child's organs and then lie about their reasons for doing so? Yet they think nothing about doing exactly that to these victims "family members".

Guess when Animal Rights nuts make those claims of how "pets are part of the family", it's just lip service. Who would treat a family member like that?

      Someone with a VERY dysfunctional family.

  

Apparently, LA City Councilmember Paul Koretz is proposing a ban on the sale of commercially bred dogs, cats and rabbits in Los Angeles. This was presented as a ban on pets from "puppy mills," that undefined term which has lately been applied to breeders of any kind.

Perfect example of that incremental chip-away factor. First it’s puppy mills, then commercial breeders, then pet stores, then anyone who ever breeds a litter. So if Joe Blow’s dog accidentally has an “intimate moment” with his neighbor’s bitch, he won’t be able to make a buck off the puppies, so they’ll be let loose in traffic or dumped at the shelter. Not that I recommend this type of unplanned breeding, but it happens. The how or why isn’t the point. What IS the point is that Joe’s puppies will end up dead.

Wait, I forget, what’s the purpose of this type of legislation? To protect animals? Well, of course, what was I thinking? PETA has always said animals are better off dead than living on this planet with evil humans. When the intention of these laws is to end our association with animals, ALL animals, death is as good a way as any, right?

Hey, Paul, it’s working! Koretz is not Korect, he’s Korupt.