Tom Mylar was a man in need of a senior dog. Some may wonder why anyone would “need” a senior dog, but for Tom, it was all about balance. He’d just lost Dawson, the senior dog he’d adopted a few years ago from the St. Louis Senior Dog Project. Now he was down to his two younger dogs, and things just didn’t feel right.
“There was a void in my household with just the two younger dogs. I needed an older dog to provide some balance.” Tom explains what he means by “balance” in this context. “Perhaps it’s a sense of maturity, of greater contentment, of wisdom even – hard to say.”
Tom also has a soft spot for senior dogs and figures he always has room for at least one. He’d already loved and lost two senior dogs from the St. Louis Senior Dog Project. Now he was back to look for another.
Sara was a plain black dog with a grey muzzle. She’d spent most of her nine years at the end of a chain with only a shed for shelter. Now she was safe in a foster home, learning about a new way of life, a life of comfort and love. Sara had survived her past; now she needed a future.
We brought Sara to her first adoption event not expecting much. We just hoped the situation wouldn’t be too stressful for her.
Then Tom met Sara.
As for the balance Tom wanted, he says, “Sara provides it. Having come from a situation where she was forced to find comfort sleeping within a woodshed at night, Sara seems to really appreciate where she is now. She wags her tail a LOT. She is quite content and happy. And thanks to Sara, so am I.”
Ellen Ellick
St. Louis, MO
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
PA: Ban the Gassing of Animals!
Dear Pennsylvania Advocates,
Pennsylvania Senate Bill 672, legislation that was introduced to outlaw the use of gas chambers on animals, passed the Senate Agriculture Committee in April but has not advanced since then. We now need your help to ensure passage of this important humane legislation in the Senate.
Gassing is an inhumane, prolonged process that can take as long as 30 minutes to work. Many animals panic during the procedure, and first attempts occasionally are unsuccessful.
What You Can Do
Please be the animals' voice and contact your state senator to ask him or her to support SB 672. Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center today to email your state senator on behalf of this bill.
In addition to sending this important email, please consider calling your senator about SB 672. You can look up your legislator's phone number on our website, ASPCA.
Thank you, Pennsylvania advocates—your support is invaluable!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Winston gets a 2nd chance!
Winston was just 2 years old when we removed him from another place where he had been dumped by his previous owner, one of many. He was terribly underweight (not fed with regularity and then sometimes only with bread) and rarely, if ever walked. He suffered from severe depression for the first 18 months that we had him, until we believe that he understood that this would be his forever home. We now have a happy, VERY HEALTHY 10 year old Golden that has changed our lives. We can't imagine not ever having him.
He's a beautiful, funny, goofy, lovable pet.
Janice Gibson
Hillsburgh, ON, Canada
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Bella makes two!
We rescued our black lab mix 2 yrs ago and named her Riley. She has been the best dog we ever had. She is so sweet, loving, and we laugh at how she talks to us. In my attempts to find a playmate for Riley, we started fostering. Riley has been great with all the dogs we have fostered. One day I received an email about White Shep/Lab mix puppy that needed a foster. I brought her (Bella) home only to find she has trust issues. Because she is scared she tends to snap at people and other dogs. I worked with her over the next couple months trying to socialize her in hopes to find her a forever home. Bella was such a challenge but I was certain we could make her feel safe.
She loved my husband and our pup Riley so much that she would follow them everywhere. I came home one day certain I found the perfect home for Bella. But, my husband said "I want to adopt her I can't let her go." We decided with all her trust issues she would probably be dumped again. We decided we coudln't let that happen so we adopted her. Bella has come a long way but still needs work. For Bella I think whe knew she found her forever home, with us.
Wendy Fujita
Mertztown, PA
She loved my husband and our pup Riley so much that she would follow them everywhere. I came home one day certain I found the perfect home for Bella. But, my husband said "I want to adopt her I can't let her go." We decided with all her trust issues she would probably be dumped again. We decided we coudln't let that happen so we adopted her. Bella has come a long way but still needs work. For Bella I think whe knew she found her forever home, with us.
Wendy Fujita
Mertztown, PA
Saturday, May 29, 2010
The ones that captured my heart!
On the left is Charlie, that I adopted from my local SPCA. When I went to "check him out" at the shelter he ran along side the fence wanting to play with the other dogs and when I called out his name (Spence at the time) he ran and jumped into my lap. I knew he was the one for me. He was sick when I got him and very skinny. The SPCA provided me a free vet visit and we got Charlie well and he's nice and healthy!
A family friend found Lily, on the right, in the streets, looking as though she just had puppies. After no one claimed her and waiting for what seemed like forever, I adopted her and she became exactly what Charlie and I needed. He got a new friend and I got an absolute doll, who loves to sleep in my lap when I study and make sure I wake up in the mornings. They are both so precious to me and really show unconditional love.
Audrey Schnitzius
Dallas, TX
A family friend found Lily, on the right, in the streets, looking as though she just had puppies. After no one claimed her and waiting for what seemed like forever, I adopted her and she became exactly what Charlie and I needed. He got a new friend and I got an absolute doll, who loves to sleep in my lap when I study and make sure I wake up in the mornings. They are both so precious to me and really show unconditional love.
Audrey Schnitzius
Dallas, TX
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
USA: Support the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act!
U.S. Representatives Diane Watson and Elton Gallegly have introduced the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (H.R. 4733), an ASPCA-supported bill that would require the federal government to purchase animal products only from entities that do not keep animals cruelly confined in gestation crates, veal crates or battery cages. Factory farms in this country commonly house animals in cruel confinement systems. Veal calves are chained in small crates without enough room to turn around; sows are confined in gestation crates only a few inches wider and longer than the sows themselves; and egg-laying hens are jammed into tiny “battery” cages with less space, per bird, than the size of a regular 8.5″×11″ sheet of paper.
Whether or not it intends to, the federal government supports these cruel practices by spending over $1 billion per year on meat and eggs from animals who are raised in overcrowded cages and cramped crates. (This food is distributed to our military, federal prisons, school lunch programs, and many other government programs and services.)
Since almost all major packers and distributors do business with the federal government, passage of the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act would have a significant impact. It would dramatically improve living conditions for countless farm animals across America, and would put an end to the federal government’s economic support of this form of cruelty.
What You Can Do
Your U.S. representative needs to hear that this bill is important to you as a voter. Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to email your representative and urge him or her to support the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act.
Thank you for taking action for animals!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
A New Plan to Stop Animal Abuse
Should the public know if a convicted animal abuser lives or works next door? A bill before the California legislature would require adults convicted of felony animal abuse to register with local law enforcement; their names would be placed in a database similar to the national sex offenders' registry. Tennessee, Louisiana, and New York are also considering animal-abuse registries.
"We're trying to reduce risk," says Stephan Otto of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, noting that animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against humans and four times more likely to commit property crimes than those without a history of violence against animals.
The registry would include people convicted of maiming, mutilating, torturing, or killing animals, as well as pet hoarders and operators of animal-fighting rings.
"To me, the bill seems like overkill," says California State Sen. Bob Huff, adding that he's wary of putting animal abuse and child abuse on a legal par. Huff also worries that fines imposed on animal abusers won't bring in enough revenue to cover the costs of the registry.
Alison Gianotto, a New York Web developer, started a volunteer pet-abuse database after her neighbor's cat was kidnapped and set on fire in 2001. At a cost of about $10,000 per year, Pet-Abuse.com now tracks nearly 16,000 accused or convicted animal abusers. Gianotto says government officials need to do more "to help the public understand that animal cruelty is everywhere, even in their own backyards."
Go to this site to vote.
"We're trying to reduce risk," says Stephan Otto of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, noting that animal abusers are five times more likely to commit violent crimes against humans and four times more likely to commit property crimes than those without a history of violence against animals.
The registry would include people convicted of maiming, mutilating, torturing, or killing animals, as well as pet hoarders and operators of animal-fighting rings.
"To me, the bill seems like overkill," says California State Sen. Bob Huff, adding that he's wary of putting animal abuse and child abuse on a legal par. Huff also worries that fines imposed on animal abusers won't bring in enough revenue to cover the costs of the registry.
Alison Gianotto, a New York Web developer, started a volunteer pet-abuse database after her neighbor's cat was kidnapped and set on fire in 2001. At a cost of about $10,000 per year, Pet-Abuse.com now tracks nearly 16,000 accused or convicted animal abusers. Gianotto says government officials need to do more "to help the public understand that animal cruelty is everywhere, even in their own backyards."
Go to this site to vote.
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