Friday finally got here -- how can a 4-day workweek be so long?
So much for temporal puzzles, let’s see what’s on the agenda today.
Oh, wait! The theme for the day is “FIND A NEW HOME!” You’ll see why as we discuss the Second Chance SPCA and the puppies of that Duck Team 6 Dog. And there's this dog with a broken-leg (that's him, Murdoch, at the Dallas animal shelter). Read on.
FIRST, SECOND CHANCE SPCA: Great news in the inbox this morning. You may recall that about a month ago we mentioned that Second Chance SPCA, the rescue group in Plano, was losing its physical address and needed a place to go. Here’s some of the personal note this morning from Anne Bracken of Second Chance SPCA: “We had all kinds of folks reaching out to help us and I know that is in part due to your posting.” Yep, you Readers rock.
Here’s the update from Anne, “Four weeks ago today we sent out a plea asking for assistance in locating a new home for our organization. The response we received was more than we could ask for; we heard from former adopters, supporters, volunteers, other rescue groups and concerned citizens simply wanting to help out. Since then we have followed every lead working non-stop to locate a new home and we are proud to say we have found it.
“We have found a wonderful property in Plano that meets all of our needs and will give us room to grow. Starting today we are kicking off a 30-day campaign to raise $30,000 toward the purchase of the property. So we ask for your assistance once again to help us reach this goal so we can purchase the property and set up a permanent home for Second Chance SPCA....With your assistance we can make it happen.”
You can see how to help by going to www.scspca.org.
AND THEN THIS HAPPENED WITH THE DUCK TEAM DOG PUPPIES: Things changed for some puppies yesterday. Big change. We’re not sure who gets the
credit for this change -- could be a group effort. But someone made a persuasive point and puppies are safe.
You may recall that people in the animal rescue world were raising questions about Dallas Animal Services leaving an obviously starving dog with a guy who didn’t know anything about taking care of such an animal. DAS said it wasn’t a thoughtless decision and promised sincere monitoring of the situation.
For lack of a better handle, the dog is being called the “Duck Team 6 Dog.” Why? Because there’s a connection to the local rescue group, Duck Team 6 -- the dog’s story first appeared on the groups’ Facebook page on the 17th.
The story includes spotting the dog, appealing for help from Dallas Animal Services, DAS deciding to leave the malnourished dog and apparently healthy puppies with the owner, then both some outrage and some agreement with the decision.
Ah, but things have changed.
Some people thought educating the guy was a good idea in spite of a chance of endangering the already weakened dog and some people didn’t. Some people questioned leaving the puppies with the guy with the starved dog. Others asked why wasn’t the dog spayed. Lots of questions and opinions.
Rebecca Poling, the Dallas Animal Shelter Commission member who also works as the social media person for Dallas Animal Services, sent Readlarrypowell.com a copy of what was posted on the DAS Facebook page by Thursday afternoon. Basically, there was a “re-visit” and the puppies are now at the SPCA of Texas.
The note from Rebecca on behalf of DAS reads: “City leaders want us to be a resource in the community and educating people on how to properly care for their pets, and encouraging them to come to us when they need help with their pets, is part of that job. Earlier this week, the folks at Duck Team 6 brought to our attention a situation involving a very skinny mother dog and five puppies. We sent an Animal Services Officer experienced in cruelty cases out to investigate and he was able to speak at length with the dog's owner - a young man who has never had a nursing mom before, who did not realize she needed extra food and care to stay healthy while lactating. The young man was compliant and eager to learn more about how to properly care for the dog and her puppies, all of whom appeared to be in very good health.
“Our officer determined that this was not a cruelty case, but an uneducated owner who very much wanted to do the right thing for his dog. Had we simply seized the dog without doing any education on proper pet care, the owner may have gone and gotten another dog and treated that dog the same way - the cycle of uneducated ownership would have been repeated and the idea of pets as disposable property would have been, sadly, reinforced. So keeping all that in mind, we decided that leaving the dog in the home, and conducting follow-up visits to make sure the owner does what he has been told, was the best course of action.”
That is also a version of what had been posted earlier on the Duck Team 6 page as a way of explaining why the starving mother was still with the guy.
Here’s the new part (and it explains those group photographs). Rebecca writes, “As promised, DAS officers monitoring the situation were back out this morning and spoke with both the young man who owns the dog and the property owner. Both expressed their desire to do the right thing for the dog, who they
clearly care about. (The dog's owner has already begun free-feeding the dog, so she has access to as much food as she wants.) Again, Our officer discussed the importance of good nutrition with the owner this morning, routine veterinary examinations and the legal requirements for pet parents in the City of Dallas. In an effort to help them come into compliance with the law, we also scheduled the dog for a spay surgery, vaccinations, and registration through the Big Fix for Big D.
“During the discussion, the dog's owner agreed to our offer of to help assist them in placing the puppies in responsible forever homes.
Since DAS has been working with The SPCA of Texas to help divert intake of owner surrendered animals, so we thought this would be a great opportunity for both agencies to collaborate once again. The SPCA agreed, so the puppies are now further along the road to their furever home!”
So, we asked about the “intake diversion efforts” and got an explanation from Dr. Catherine McManus, the DAS Operations Manager.
She explained, “We have a verbal agreement with the SPCA of Texas to divert some intake of healthy owner surrenders.
They will allow us to send them about 5 animals per day when they have space. It has been a great opportunity to lessen our intake (which is unfortunately increased compared to last February), and provide them with some healthy, adoptable animals.
“We need more resources in place in this community to divert or prevent intake. We have lots of spay /neuter options but no behavior resources and very limited medical options for owners that do not want to surrender their pet but otherwise cannot afford care.
“We push the envelope to do what we can to keep pets in their homes (leg amputations, wound repair, etc.), but we could save even more lives and limit intake if more resources were available.
“Our numerator (adoptions, transfers, etc) will max out at some point so we (the community) will need to intensely target the denominator (intake) to save more lives and be a humane community.
“We will only be successful if we do this together.”
The photographs provided by DAS (and you can see them on the DAS Facebook page, too) include a “group shot” of the puppies in one cage and, according to Rebecca’s note, a photo showing “the DAS officer who has been working with the dog’s owner and the great SPCA of Texas staff that will be caring for the puppies.”
She adds, “We will continue to follow up but so far the owner has done everything request of him and [we] are glad that in this case we were able to preserve and strengthen the human-animal bond. Because that is what it is all about.”
Oh, and that last dog photo? That is a dog named Murdock who came to DAS and has what may be a broken leg -- DAS can’t tell for sure because it doesn’t have an x-ray machine. In the meantime, DAS Rescue’s Danielle Fry says they’re keeping him comfortable with meds while seeking someone to get him out into a happier situation. He’s “sweet as can be,” about 3 years old and weighs 65 pounds. He can’t stay in the city shelter forever. To get him out, email [email protected].
Call it a chance to strengthen the human-animal bond for Murdock the dog.
NOT ALL STARVING DOGS ARE IN DALLAS AND THEY'RE LOADING THE GUN: We got the story on this fellow from our Burns Flat, Okla., rescuer Terry
Lynn Fisher. There’s a threat to this dog beyond starvation.
Terry Lynn writes, “This boy was found in the country. The lady took him home and has taken care of him for three weeks. He was skin and bones when she found him. He has put weight on and is looking better and better each day. She took to the vet and he is NOT chipped. He IS, however, neutered. They asked me to help place him and I have been trying. He is great with other dogs and loves kids.
“Tonight [Thursday night] they called me and told me if I can’t take him TOMORROW [Friday], they will take him out and
shoot him. I guess THAT is how they deal with sick, injured, or unwanted animals.
“PLEASE, if anyone has a safe place for this boy, let me know. I am full at the shelter and all extra kennels so I cannot take him.”
Contact Terry Lynn at [email protected] or call 580-330-1459.
WHAT? MORE PUPPIES? IT’S NOT EVEN SPRING! Yes, I don’t know how Punxatawny Phil pulled this one off, but whatever he saw on Groundhog Day appears to have resulted in an early puppy season. You see the combo DAS/SPCA above and here are a bunch of puppies from a home in Garland.
Rescuer Nicole Austin is trying to help these puppies.
Here’s the note: “These cuties are free to a good home. They [the family that has the mother] believe the daddy was Lhaso Apso and the mother is a mix with some Pit Bull in her. She is about 50-60 pounds.”
[Larry aside: We’ll stop right now to suggest that some spaying and neutering would be helpful in this neighborhood, perhaps some locks on gates...and we’ll also announce that the Lhaso Apso may be up for Ambitious Dog of the Year. Moving along...]
The pups are weaned, on dry dog food, ready to go. Two are short-haired, five are shaggy -- the black and white is the only boy in the crowd.
To offer to help these dogs find a home, txt 972-904-0483 or e-mail [email protected].
TEXAS UNITES DEADLINE: Texas Unites For Animals 2013 (March 16-18 in Austin) closes its bargain online registration on Monday -- bargain price online. Texas Unites has “40 workshops in 5 tracks” and those tracks are Communications & Outreach, Health & Behavior, Personal & Organizational Development, Adoptions & Promotions and Operations & Fundraising. And there are 2 “optional pre-conference workshops” at additional fees: Compassion Fatigue and Cruelty Investigations for ACOs. The website is texasunites.com and the contact is, wearing yet another hat, Rebecca Poling -- click HERE or email [email protected].
EASTER VOLUNTEERS: The traditional Easter In The Park & Pooch Parade are scheduled March 31 -- yep, Easter Sunday -- in Lee Park in Dallas and Tawana Couch says the Society For Companion Animals needs volunteers to help with its display. The work starts about 8:30 a.m. with unloading and carrying tables and chairs.
There’ll also be “setting up tent” time, and before that can happen, Tawana writes, “We are also in need of a tent to borrow or to purchase if we have some donations.” She’s hoping to get a 10-by-10 tent with all the stakes and equipment needed to hold it in place.
To volunteer to work, email [email protected]. To help the SFCA transport dogs from Dallas to a local airport and, thus, to safety out of town, email [email protected].
CONTEMPLATIONS: Regarding Tim Tebow canceling his appearance at First Baptist Dallas, this theory: He got a call from the Vatican. Something about an interview for a position. ... Can you believe that NBC, the powerful TV network, is 5th in national ratings for February? How can this be? I’ll tell you. God bless Jenna Elfman, but it’s 1600 Penn. That sitcom plays like some NBC executive’s son needed a job and they gave him a sitcom. It’s grindingly uncharming with actors who perform as if someone with a gun is keeping them from escaping the set. Bad judgement at the network. Oh, the ratings? Went like this: CBS, ABC, Fox, Univision and then NBC. My theory of the first words out of an NBC exec’s mouth when he saw the ratings: “Whew! At least we beat PBS.” CBS shouldn’t relax -- some of its shows are so bad they ought to be on NBC. ... Booing Josh Hamilton, the former Texas Ranger? It’s not about his leaving or his comments. It’s about not catching that easy fly ball. It’s about not hitting at key moments. It’s about becoming an “if” on the field. It’s about baseball.
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