Yet Again, Man’s Best Friend Saves the Day

A story of the love and loyalty of man’s best friend.  Another reason to adopt a dog from an animal rescue or shelter - what if this were your story?

by Joanna Caroll
 
Man and his dog….a classic love story. Over the years, we have read the stories how dogs are used in detecting cancer in humans with an accuracy rate sometimes better than the most sophisticated hospital hardware; how dogs can sense when children are nearing epileptic seizure; how dogs can alert those with heart conditions of an impending attack.

It seems that in addition to their absolute unconditional love, these joyful creatures, these adored pets, cherished companions, four-legged members of the family, are able to save our life and save the life of those we love. This extraordinary sense, the Sick Sense, that dogs have does not necessarily involve special training. Sometimes, it just happens. But what a gift.

And so it happened in my house last night. While my father was finishing dinner, his dog, Agah, began barking. There was something different about his bark, different enough that I immediately returned to my dad’s room even though I had just been in there not more than ten minutes earlier. My father was sitting in his Lazy Boy, right arm hanging over the side of the chair, eyes closed. “Dad, open your eyes,” I said emphatically. Had it been later in the evening, I might have just covered his legs, lowered the sound on the TV, closed the door quietly and left him to nap til bedtime. “Dad, open your eyes!” His eyes remained closed but he mumbled something and raised his right arm to his head. “Pain pill, please,” is all I heard and in typical textbook fashion it was slurred. Dad was having a stroke. I immediately dialed 911 on my remote; recovering quickly, I got the phone, dialed 911. Help was on its way. One thing left to do was hug this bear of a dog and nose-to-nose just tell him thank you.

It’s been less than 24 hours but Dad’s doing really well. And the big guy in the picture is our hero!

‘Oreo’s Law’ Would Give Dogs a Second Chance at Life

A story has been drawing alot of attention on the Internet recently.  It’s about a long-abused animal who was ultimately thrown off a 6th floor roof by his abusive owner.  Miraculously, the dog named Oreo survived and was taken in by the ASPCA.  The animal received 5 months worth of life-saving medical treatment and presumably social interaction and affection.  However, recently, the head of the ASPCA made a decision to euthanize the dog, presumably because he had incurable aggression issues.  This decision was in spite of the fact that an animal sanctuary had begged to be allowed to take possession of the animal to care for him and re-train him.  The ASPCA leader’s decision has caused the organization to have to take a defensive position in the face of animal lover’s nationwide who are vocally outraged.  Now, politician’s in New York, the state where this incident took place, have proposed legislation to insure that a similar situation can never again occur in their State.

Read the details of the case below and let us know what you think.

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by Nathan Winogard

MANHATTAN — A bill to allow animal welfare organizations the right to request animals be given to their care when a shelter is planning to euthanize them will be introduced in the State Legislature this week by Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner and State Senator Thomas K. Duane.

The bill is named Oreo’s Law in memory of a pit bull mix who became well-known after she survived abuse at the hands of her former owner, including a fall from a six-story building, but was eventually euthanized after the ASPCA determined she was untreatably aggressive. Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary, a no-kill animal shelter located in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, specializing in the rehabilitation and care of abused animals, offered to take Oreo, but the ASPCA refused the request.

“As a dog owner and a foster parent for an animal rescue group, I was heartbroken to learn that Oreo was euthanized. When a humane organization volunteers their expertise in difficult cases, a shelter should work with them to the fullest extent possible.” said Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner. “I am hopeful that Oreo’s Law will ensure that no animal is ever put to death if there is a responsible alternative.”

“The humane treatment of animals in the care of shelters is an issue about which I feel very strongly,” said Senator Thomas K. Duane, who will introduce Oreo’s Law legislation in the New York State Senate. “No animal should be put down by a shelter if a reputable humane or rescue organization is willing to assume responsibility for its well being. Oreo’s Law would make sure that in instances where animals aren’t rabid or physically suffering, such organizations have the authority to take possession with the payment of the normal adoption fee, and that Oreo’s sad plight will not be repeated.”

“We are deeply moved that Assembly Member Kellner and Senator Duane have taken up Oreo’s cause. We all need to be the voice for these innocent animals,” said Kerry Clair and Matt DeAngelis, Executive Co-Directors of Pets Alive Animal Sanctuary. “We have asked our local legislators to support the bill and we hope that Oreo’s tragic and unnecessary death will offer life to thousands of others.”

Oreo’s Law is modeled after a provision in California state law, adopted there in 1998 as part of a general animal welfare reform package known as the Hayden Law (named after the Senator who authored it).

“Oreo’s Law” would prevent shelters like the ASPCA from killing dogs that legitimate rescue groups are willing to save. It is named after the dog Oreo who was killed by the ASPCA despite a No Kill shelter/sanctuary’s offer to provide her lifetime care.
 

The Meaning of Oreo

Over the last several days, the ASPCA’s killing of a dog named Oreo has ignited a furor among animal lovers nationwide. They tried to justify it by claiming she was aggressive. But the question of whether or not Oreo was beyond rehabilitation is merely a side story to the most significant issues raised by Oreo’s execution. And while Oreo’s killing by those who were supposed to be her protectors has left too many questions unanswered, what has emerged as the most significant one is why did Ed Sayres, the President of the ASPCA, rush to kill an abused dog when the public demanded that she be saved and a sanctuary had offered her lifetime care?

Last June, a one-year old dog named Oreo was intentionally thrown off a sixth floor Brooklyn roof top by her abuser. Oreo sustained two broken legs and a fractured rib. Although the facts are sketchy, Oreo also appears to have been beaten in the past—several of the neighbors in the building where Oreo lived reported hearing the sounds of the dog being hit. The ASPCA nursed her back to health and arrested the perpetrator. They also dubbed her the “miracle dog.”

The miracle was short-lived. According to Ed Sayres, the President of the ASPCA, when Oreo recovered from her injuries, she started to show aggression. After a series of temperament tests, Ed Sayres says he made the decision to kill her. The New York Times reported the story the day before Oreo’s scheduled execution. Despite the best efforts of Sayres to spin the outcome, the furor and condemnation by dog lovers all over the country was immediate.

In an attempt to contain the wrath of the animal-loving community against him, Sayres issued a press release replete with crocodile tears (“We are all upset by this”), saying that she was truly vicious, and arguing that lifetime care in a sanctuary would have meant no quality of life. Sometimes, Sayres said, there are no happy endings. Early on Friday morning, Oreo laid dead, the victim not of her former abuser, but of an overdose of poison from a bottle marked “Fatal-Plus,” at the hands of a shelter bureaucrat.

 

Refusing a Lifesaving Alternative

Facts are troubling things. Facts get in the way of a contrived story. And there is one troubling fact that all of Ed Sayres’ double-speak simply cannot overcome. Try as the ASPCA might to argue that Oreo’s death was unavoidable, Sayres’ misrepresentation has one fundamental obstacle: Oreo had a place to go. The issue doesn’t turn on the real extent of Oreo’s aggression. The real issue is that a No Kill shelter and sanctuary, with experience rehabilitating aggression in dogs, which works with area shelters that could have vouched for their credibility, which enjoys wide community esteem, and which is only a short drive outside of New York City, offered to give her lifetime sanctuary, and was refused.

They called and left a voice mail message on Sayres’ telephone. They called his secretary. They called the ASPCA Press Office. They contacted everyone on the ASPCA website contact page. And they were ignored, hung up on and lied to.

Pets Alive in Middletown, New York, is not only a member of the Mayor’s Alliance for New York City animals, of which the ASPCA is also a member, they are not only an Alliance-approved rescue partner, they not only have had experience with aggressive dogs, but they agreed to take responsibility for a dog the ASPCA was committed to putting in a body bag and then dumping in a landfill. Even though Pets Alive is already an approved rescue partner, the fact that Oreo may have presented a special case didn’t mean the offer should have been rejected out of hand. The ASPCA could have visited Pets Alive; they could have checked veterinary references, community references, could have insisted on specific precautions and liability waivers. But instead, early that morning, before the “media circus got out of hand,” Ed Sayres, willfully, neglectfully, cruelly, and dishonestly, chose to kill Oreo instead. That is the true face of the ASPCA. And that is intolerable.

 

Lowering the Bar

Ironically, had these events taken place in California, it would have been illegal for the ASPCA to kill Oreo instead of giving her to Pets Alive. In 1998, the California legislature overwhelming and bipartisanly passed a law making it illegal for a shelter to kill a dog if a No Kill shelter or rescue group is willing to save that dog—even in cases where the shelter says the dog is aggressive. Having worked in San Francisco, Sayres should be sensitive to the fact that the ASPCA, which claims a leadership position in this movement, should not have a more regressive policy than one approved by an overwhelming number of politicians on both sides of the political spectrum and the State’s Republican governor.

And yet the ASPCA, under Sayres, proves once again that the large national organizations have no vision, no desire to truly raise the status of animals in society, and despite claiming they are setting the bar on how society should relate to animals, that they are in reality staffed by those who would rather perpetuate the violence and betrayal Oreo already experienced by killing her—even as true animals lovers offered them a simple, life-affirming alternative, and the second chance at life Oreo so richly deserved.

And as an agency which claims to be the leading voice of animals, the ASPCA has a duty to continually push the envelope and raise the bar on these issues: to ask the tough questions, to give the issue the time it needs to arrive at a just and thoughtful resolution. Instead, the ASPCA rushed to kill Oreo and permanently closed the door to an animal that needed the full force of the ASPCA’s compassion—and vast resources—the most.

 

Ignoring the Public

A few short years ago, this case would have had the same tragic ending, with the majority of the dog loving public angry that Oreo’s life had come to this short end. But their anger would have been directed only at her former abuser. Today, that anger is still strong, but it is also being directed at the agency which was supposed to protect her from that ultimate harm and fundamentally failed. This is the same anger that forced Humane Society of the United States CEO Wayne Pacelle—like Sayres, another stalwart defender of killing—to stop pursuing the automatic destruction of abuse victims. Today, despite the claims of aggression which would have ended the dialog in the past, people want, deserve, and believe the dogs deserve the happy endings to which they are not only entitled, but which are readily available if men like Sayres and Pacelle would only give it to them. But time and time again, they choose not to.

That Oreo may not have been an immediate adoption candidate due to aggression issues is therefore secondary to the will of the people who wanted Oreo saved, who demanded that Oreo be saved, who were not swayed by false calculations of quality of life, of talk of being traumatized, of any other rationale that would have allowed Sayres and Pacelle to kill dogs without public condemnation. People are tired of the excuses, they are tired of the justifications, and they are tired of the killing.

Because I was quoted in the New York Times article (a bit misquoted actually as I would never call a dog an “it.” I was referring to the testing, not the dog), I was flooded by e-mails and telephone calls. The anger at Sayres was resolute. As one of those individuals noted,

Missing completely from the ASPCA’s response is any acknowledgment whatsoever of the concerns and outrage of the public who fund their work. The public was disrespected; their concerns guided by compassion disregarded.

The gulf between what the public expects from a humane society and the conduct of the ASPCA and others in their league is so at odds with humanity, a gulf so wide, it cannot be crossed. Instead of building a bridge to create needed dialog, Ed Sayres mounted a barricade from which he ran a self-serving propaganda campaign to force his views. He forgot that the ASPCA is publicly funded. He behaved like a dictator, not a leader.

 

Set Up to Fail?

No analysis on Oreo’s death would be complete without an evaluation of how the ASPCA determined that she was aggressive: Did the ASPCA evaluate her fairly? Given the abuse she suffered, how painful was she? Did they give her enough time to learn to trust again? Critics have charged that the ASPCA set her up for failure. That is an important issue and one that cannot be left to the often self-serving claims that have defined the ASPCA over the years.

As in many of these cases, people are questioning whether she was truly as aggressive as Sayres is trying to make out. There have been unconfirmed reports that staff and volunteers have claimed the ASPCA is exaggerating, and the ASPCA has not yet released any videotapes of her which would shed light on the real extent of her alleged aggression. According to unconfirmed reports, two staff members indicated that while the dog did show aggression, she could also be very affectionate, and as a result, they felt she was treatable. Unconfirmed reports also indicate that staff members asked Sayres for a reprieve so she could be placed in a sanctuary. And finally, unconfirmed reports indicate that a volunteer was able to go in and handle Oreo, despite some aggression issues. I have not been able to verify the veracity of these claims, but since this is secondary to the main issues above, their resolution would not alter what should have been the outcome.

On top of these nagging issues, there is the question of whether Ed Sayres is fit to make the final determination. I worked very closely with Sayres at the San Francisco SPCA. It was Sayres who was responsible for the decline and eventual abandonment of the No Kill goal in San Francisco. It was Sayres who embarked on the boondoggle of building a $20 million specialty hospital despite other specialty veterinary hospitals in that city and surrounding areas; and projections that it was not needed, would ultimately harm the San Francisco SPCA’s finances without meeting an unmet need, and cause programs for homeless animals to be curtailed. It is no surprise that those predictions have come to pass: The SPCA is now losing $3,000,000 every year, has eliminated 25% of its staff, has cut lifesaving programs, and appears to be racing toward financial oblivion, all due to the legacy of Sayres’ catastrophic leadership. As I wrote in Redemption about his tenure in San Francisco, Sayres inherited an,

SPCA with a strong infrastructure, departments that had become the envy of the growing No Kill movement, and a fundraising apparatus that had amassed an endowment of over forty million dollars. [He] would not fully leverage the opportunity he was given. In a short period of time, with money being wasted, fundraising opportunities missed, deficits created, an increasingly bloated bureaucracy developing, and key programs gutted or eliminated, the SPCA finally abandoned all pretensions toward No Kill in San Francisco.

This is a man who, as head of the wealthiest and most powerful SPCAs in the nation, claimed on the front page of USA Today, the most widely circulated newspaper in the country, that not killing was the moral equivalent of killing. This is a man who in Austin, Texas, has chosen to attack No Kill and shelter reform advocates and hinder their goals by throwing his organization’s support behind a shelter director who refuses to embrace alternatives to killing and who also kills tens of thousands of animals annually despite hundreds of empty cages at her facility. Sayres is also taking credit for the modest decline in killing this year which is exclusively the result of the work of a private rescue group saving the animals the ASPCA-partner shelter is otherwise determined to kill.

During my tenure with him in San Francisco, Sayres rarely ventured out of his office, almost never walked the kennels or interacted with the animals, and was so detached, that he simply signed off on whatever his staff said, no matter how regressive those he hired were (and there are plenty of regressive people at the ASPCA also). But there is one incident in particular which sheds light on the Oreo case.

When I was working with Sayres in San Francisco, he had signed off on the killing of a dog who I felt deserved further evaluation. He made the decision to kill a dog without seeing the dog, without observing the evaluation, without, I would venture, even being able to pick the dog out of a kennel of other dogs. I objected and suggested that we needed to set the bar higher. I gave him a formal proposal that, before killing an animal, he appoint a guardian ad litem, someone who would represent the dog (or cat) the same way an attorney would defend the accused during a death penalty case. It would not cost him anything, as I was an attorney, I already worked there, and I agreed to represent the animals whenever a behaviorist or veterinarian issued the death warrant. He said, “No.” Ironically, that is the process used in the criminal and civil case against dog slayer Michael Vick. A guardian was appointed by the federal judge overseeing the disposition of the dogs. As a result, the vast majority of Vick’s victims were saved. In other words, when Sayres is given the chance to be fully involved, he chooses not to be, even when it means death for dogs at the shelter he oversees; or when it means a lost opportunity to advance this movement, as would befit someone in his position.

 

The Great Betrayal

In 1866, over 140 years ago, Henry Bergh began the modern humane movement in the United States with the founding of the ASPCA. For the rest of his life, Bergh devoted himself to saving the lives of animals in and around New York City. For over two decades, Bergh spent each and every night, regardless of freezing temperatures, walking the streets of New York City tending to sick animals, fighting for their rights, working to save them, and confronting—and stopping—their abusers.

At the time, New York City had the largest horse-pulled railway in the world. In one poignant incident, one evening in February of 1871 during the evening rush hour, working people rushed for the cars, and the horses began to strain with heavy loads through snow and slush. As one overloaded car reached the corner near where Bergh stood, the driver was ready to give the horses another lash when the call came to “Stop!” and “Unload!” It was Bergh. “Who the hell are you?” came the reply from the driver. “Unload!” called the order again. When the driver refused, Bergh reportedly pitched him into a snow bank and unhitched the horses. Often, Bergh would completely stop traffic on the lines, causing traffic jams that would leave thousands of people stranded and cursing to no avail—because one man had stopped all the traffic to protect a single horse.

As hard as Bergh labored to protect all animals, he worked equally hard to protect dogs, particularly against abuses at the hands of city dogcatchers. Through prosecutions of abusive dogcatchers, lobbying for stronger laws and greater protections, and by striving himself to save them, he reduced deaths for dogs at the hands of the city pound by over 80 percent in just one year alone. Henry Bergh would not have killed Oreo.

Today, Ed Sayres sits in the chair once occupied by Bergh. He does not advance the cause of animal protection. He is not a tireless champion on their behalf. He does not faithfully represent Bergh’s vision, nor does he faithfully represent how most Americans now feel about animals. Instead, when given the opportunity to save the life of an animal, he cowers in his office, refusing to return telephone calls, while collecting a paycheck of half a million dollars a year. On the afternoon of Friday, November 13, Ed Sayres had a personal driver take him home. Oreo’s body was sitting in a freezer, waiting to be delivered to a landfill.

Toward the end of his life, Bergh would often lament, “I hate to think what will become of this [SPCA] when I am gone.” Ed Sayres has answered that question for him. And Sayres’ answer: “an agency that kills savable dogs,” would have hurt Henry very deeply.

When I was growing up, the ASPCA represented very little beyond an annual fundraising calendar with pictures of kittens and puppies and platitudes about the human-animal bond. And while we have all grown up to demand more than calendars and killing, the ASPCA has not. And while that agency claims to be a leading voice for the animals and the people who love them, their actions toward Oreo demonstrate otherwise: The ASPCA doesn’t represent the dog lovers at Pets Alive. It doesn’t represent the values of the American people. It no longer represents the fierce compassion of its founder. And it certainly doesn’t represent dogs like Oreo.

URGENT Situations for 3 HomeFur-ever Animals

We at HomeFur-ever would like to make our audience aware of 3 VERY SPECIAL ANIMALS which are in need of URGENT re-homing.  We are desparate to find a foster home, adoptive home, or sanctuary where each of these animals can be provided with the special care they need to give them the best possible quality-of-life in order that they may live out the remainder of their lives with the dignity they deserve. 

The animals are currently located in the Detroit metro area, however, if a suitable home is located for them outside the area we have several options available to insure they would be able to be transported to that location.  Obviously the Detroit area or State of Michigan would be easiest, but we’ll do whatever is needed to provide them with the special care they need.

Please read their stories and contact us  if you can provide assistance or refer us to someone who can.

Case #1 – Scrappy -

Scrappy is owned by a person in a section of Detroit where there is a high rate of animal abuse and neglect.  He does have an owner who keeps him in the house most times, but that is about the best we can say of the situation.  Scrappy’s tale of woe really began when he got loose and did not come home for a couple of days.  Someone in the neighborhood spotted him lying under a vacant home near the porch so the owner retrieved him.  Upon return, his condition indicated to the owner that he had likely been hit by car but even so, he neglected to take him to a vet for medical care.  Scrappy was forced to pull himself around dragging his back legs which were no longer functional. 

When HomeFur-ever became aware of the situation and got involved, we first asked the owner to surrender the dog to us since it was obvious he was not being properly cared for.  The owner refused to surrender him saying, ‘I love him, couldn’t possibly give him up’ – of course our thought was, if you love him so much why isn’t he receiving proper medical care?  So, alternately, we begged the owner for authorization to rush him to our most skilled/experienced vet, where we found out by X-rays that someone had shot him and the bullet was still lodged in his lower back.  If Scrappy had received treatment when found, the Vet thought he would probably still be walking. Unfortunately, by the time the Vet got him, he was unable to change Scrappy’s circumstance.

So, as an alternative and at the Vet’s urging, HomeFur-ever has purchased a cart for Scrappy in hopes that if he could be exercised daily in the cart that his spine would straighten out, which in turn could possibly give him better muscle control in the kidney area thus making him a good candidate for medication to better control his urine; the Vet thought it a good sign that he still had muscle in the anal area.

We trained the owner on how to place him in the cart and spent time teaching Scrappy how to walk in it so he could again become mobile under his own power.  We educated the owner about the importance of daily use of the cart to benefit Scrappy.  In spite of his physical challenges, Scrappy is the sweetest, most loving animal, who easily gives kisses and just loves any attention he is given.  He obviously has a strong will to live and make the best of things.

It has been a couple of months since Scrappy has received his cart, and the owner recently called our Director to tell her that he is tired of cleaning up after the dog and does not have time to put him in his cart.  He is planning to put him down so he can get a puppy.  We have begged him to give us some time to find an alternative arrangement for Scrappy so he can live the life he deserves, but so far have been unable to find a foster or adoptive home for him.  Time is running out as the owner is quite impatient to be rid of him, and we are terrified that he will be put down any day.

Case #2 – Sanford

HomeFur-ever rescued Sanford after he appeared to have been hit by a car. He had two broken legs, one with a compound fracture.  Poor Sanford was in so much pain that he had chewed off his foot to try to alleviate the pain. Unfortunately, that leg was damaged beyond repair and had to be amputated.

You would think he had suffered enough and the story would end there, but such is not the luck of our poor Sanford.  Unfortunately, during his recovery he was frightened and managed to escape from the veterinarian’s office where he was receiving care.  This led to him being missing for several weeks until a good samaritan finally found him hiding under a porch looking for scraps of food.  They saw his HomeFur-ever tag and we were able to get him back to complete his treatment and work toward giving him a much better life.

Unfortunately, due to a shortage of foster homes, Sanford has to live in a foster home that has a lot of other foster animals who are left on their own much of the day while the foster Mother is out working, including some who didn’t like him very much, so there are times when those animals have attacked him.  This resulted in Sanford becoming very timid and fearful.

Even with all of this, Sanford has been a trouper!  He adapted fairly well to the loss of the leg and learned to get around as needed, and as time has passed, he seems to have overcome his fear of other dogs.  Unfortunately, he has now suffered a spinal stroke and is starting to lose his battle to gain a new life.  As a result of the stroke the vet indicates he needs regular physical therapy with a professional, and daily physical therapy at home.  However, the home where he is currently placed is unable to provide this extensive type of care and Sanford’s condition is deteriorating quickly as a result.  We have been unable to find anyone else who is willing to take him on in a foster or adoptive situation.

Case #3 – Celeste

This is Celeste, a VERY small German Shepherd at only 30 lbs. She is somewhere between 10 – 15 years old, and unfortunately is dying from cancer.

She doesn’t have very long to live, so we’ve been trying to find a quiet foster home where she can end her days in a loving environment, but have so far been quite unsuccessful – she is currently living in a foster home with multiple animals where they are doing their best to care for her and give her the calm environment she needs, but it’s not the best situation for her.

She will need hospice care, but there is actually little more involved than giving some meds to keep her comfortable, feeding her in small amounts several times per day, and wiping her eyes to clear away the liquids that collect there. She’s a very quiet girl who doesn’t move very well, but just loves laying outside in the sunshine.  We believe she previously had a stroke, but the meds do help her move better so she can do her business when needed. She still currently has control of her bodily functions, though she does have a very hard time walking.

Each of these animals has had to suffer the worst that life has to offer; we hope that our readers will help us find a situation for each of them that will enable them to live the rest of their lives seeing only the best that life can offer them.  Can you find it in your heart to help?

HomeFur-ever Animal Rescue Suffers Huge Loss from Robbery; Ability to Help Animals Currently Hindered!

You never think it can happen to you – unfortunately, HomeFur-ever Animal Rescue is proof that it can happen to anyone; even those who dedicate their lives to doing good works!  We were robbed!  Yes, you read that correctly.  HomeFur-ever Animal Rescue was victimized by thieves this week who stole our donated van and trailer and everything contained within.

On the postive side, they abandoned our vehicle and trailer after removing almost every single thing contained inside.  A city-contracted towing company retrieved it, and we were eventually notified by police that we could claim the vehicle.  We are hopeful that vehicle damages sustained in the theft will be covered by insurance – we sure could use that bit of luck!

Unfortunately, luck is not on our side when it comes to the contents of the vehicles.  All we were left with were a few small crates (unfortunately, most of our dogs are large).  So now we’re in a quandry – do we cancel our participation in Saturday’s adoption event because we have nothing with which to transport our animals safely, or do we appeal to the community to assist us short-term and then develop strategies to help us obtain donations to replace all our stolen items (which, by the way, was pretty much everything we own – we don’t have a building; that van and trailer serve as our permanent storage).

We’ve decided to appeal to the community for help and try to re-group as quickly as possible.  Our dogs need us to keep moving forward as quickly as we can!  They need new homes!  But in the meantime, they also need fed, medicated, groomed, etc.  So we’ve all jumped into action and all of our volunteers are making extra efforts to get the word out and help us get back on track.

We’re starting to see some results.  So far, we’ve had TV coverage on two stations in Detroit. Click HERE to view our coverage; we’ll keep adding to it if we obtain more so feel free to check back.   We also posted our News Release on Twitter and Facebook; it’s getting re-tweeted and shared ALOT, so we’re hoping that will start to generate some donation activity. (By the way, if you would like to join us on Twitter and Facebook, our sites are located at:  http://www.twitter.com/homefurever and http://profile.to/homefurever).  Our volunteer marketing firm, Strategic Growth Concepts, will also be placing information about our dilemma on LinkedIN.

We hope you’ll send good thoughts our way as we work to recover from this setback and keep moving forward to help our animals.  If you are motivated to make a contribution, you may do so by clicking HERE.

Police arrest suspect in Roseville cat-killing

Now even animals that are living indoors in what should be considered a safe environment with a family who loves them can’t be considered safe.  We were appalled when we read this account in The Detroit News of an event which recently happed in our Metro Detroit community.

While we know that another animal cannot replace the tragic loss of a beloved pet, we hope that the Ross family will consider a visit to a local animal rescue or shelter to adopt another animal who would love to become a member of their family.

And we sincerely hope this felon receives the maximum sentence possible!

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Thursday, September 17, 2009; Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News

Roseville — A man accused of killing a family cat by stuffing it into a washing machine was arrested Wednesday night, saying he did it because the pet “was bothering” him, police said.  Roseville Deputy Police Chief James Berlin said detectives tracked Ty-Shawn Eric Bost to a Highland Park apartment complex, where he was taken into custody without incident about 6 p.m.  Bost was transported to the Roseville Police Department, where he confessed, saying he killed the cat because “it was bothering me,” police said.

The 19-year-old is being held in the department jail pending an arraignment at 1 p.m. today on felony charges of second-degree home invasion and killing and torturing an animal. The offenses could land him in prison for up to 15 years. The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office approved the charges Wednesday afternoon for Bost, whose last known address was near Six Mile and Gratiot on Detroit’s east side.

Bost is believed to have at least one prior arrest in Detroit, but police Wednesday declined to provide details about his record. Police said after he stole video games, cash and a laptop computer from Kimberly Ross’ home on Beaconsfield on Monday, Bost placed the kitten, Ruby, into a front-loading washing machine and turned it on, killing her.

Ross and her daughter, Lacey, 13, returned home just before 11 p.m. that night and heard a “clunking sound” coming from the washing machine. Ruby was found lifeless, spinning around inside.

Ross’ daughter Dayna was glad to hear police had a suspect Wednesday. “It wouldn’t matter to us if this person was 10 or 90; someone came into our house, violated our space and killed one of the members of our family,” said Dayna Ross, 20.  ”It’s just heartless.”

Berlin declined to reveal how police were able to link Bost to the crime, but said he did not know the family he allegedly victimized.

The Michigan Humane Society is offering a $2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, and CrimeStoppers is offering $1,000.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Roseville Police Department at (586) 775-2100 or call (800) 773-2587.

Michael Vick – a Multitude of Opinions

For those who are angry about Michael Vick – whether you believe he’s paid his debt and are angry people won’t let it go, or you believe he can never pay his debt and are angry he is being given a second chance at a privileged life - we would like to refer you to a blog called ‘A Day in Our Life’.  While the writer of this blog is definitely of the opinion that Vick is unremorseful, she does attempt to provide a fair analysis of the situation in several blog posts, as well as the links that are made available to additional Michael Vick-related content.

We at HomeFur-ever certainly understand that this subject is controversial, and we abhore Michael Vick’s actions - AND we mourn the lives of the innocent animals he took.  However, we also feel it is important to understand that there are some people who – even though they may be animal lovers – may feel he has paid his debt to society.  Therefore, in our coverage of events such as this, we will always attempt to provide information from both sides of the story so our readers can decide for themselves where their opinion lies.

As always, to us, it’s about saving the lives of innocent animals and we just want to get the word out about that need – in every way possible.

Lost Dog Saves Man With Down Syndrome From Nearly Fatal Seizure

The Story of a Dog Who Knows Where He is Supposed to be

July 22: RaeLee saved the life of Christian Mason, 21, in Port Tampa, Fla.

PORT TAMPA, Fla. —  Yolanda Segovia heard a knock on her door one morning, just before 8 a.m.

Her neighbor was on the porch, with a dog and a story.

Stacey Savige had found the little dog in front of an elementary school. He wasn’t very big, looked like some sort of terrier. Burrs clung to his belly. His honey fur was caked in mud.

He didn’t have a collar. Stacey had taken him to the vet and he didn’t have a chip, either.

Now Stacey had to go to work. Could Yolanda keep him?

Yolanda is 47. She’s a divorced mom with two boys. In recent years she has survived breast cancer and cervical cancer, lost her dark hair and eyelashes to chemo. A hairdresser, she hasn’t worked since 2006.

“You can leave the dog here,” Yolanda told Stacey. “But just for today.”

They took photos of the dog and made a FOUND flier. Stacey ran off 4,000 color copies. She and Yolanda stuffed mailboxes, put ads on Craigslist.

Yolanda took her boys to the dollar store and bought a collar, leash, ball and brown bed. Her 10-year-old, Azaiah, decided to call the dog RaeLee, pronounced “Riley.” He said he had heard it on TV. All afternoon, he walked the dog, threw the ball, laughed while the dog licked his face.

“Don’t fall in love with him,” Yolanda kept warning.

Her elder son, Christian, 21, watched through the window. Christian has Down syndrome and an array of other ailments. He has had heart surgery, a kidney transplant. He can’t speak or bathe himself.

That night, when the boys climbed into their bunk beds, the dog dragged his new bed from Yolanda’s living room, down the long hall, into their room.

——

Four days later, they still had the dog. He was starting to answer to his new name.

He loved roughhousing with Azaiah, knew to be gentle with Christian. He almost never barked.

On Saturday, Azaiah went to his dad’s house. Christian retreated to his room to watch a Barney video. The dog dozed beside him.

Yolanda had just stepped onto her porch to water the plants when the dog flung himself into the screen door, barking madly.

As she opened the door, the dog sprinted across the living room, into the boys’ room.

Yolanda screamed. Christian was slumped over, his body writhing in a seizure, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

The dog ran to the boy, still yelping. But as soon as Yolanda bent to cradle her son, the dog went silent.

“If he hadn’t come to get me,” Yolanda told Stacey later, “the neurologist said Christian would have choked on his own blood and died.”

Since no one had claimed the dog, Yolanda decided to keep him.

——

Stacey got a call the next morning. A man named Randy had recognized his lost dog and called the number on the flier.

Stacey sobbed. She had been working so hard to find the dog’s owner. Now that he had found her, everything seemed wrong.

She quizzed the man to make sure the dog was really his: Is the dog fixed? What tricks does he do? The man answered things only an owner could. His name is Odie, the man said.

Randy Cliff, 34, is an unemployed plumber who lives six blocks from Yolanda with his wife, their four children and infant granddaughter. He said he had been searching for Odie for more than a week.

Stacey told him, “That dog saved my friend’s son.”

———

When the van pulled up outside Yolanda’s house, the dog raced out and jumped into Randy’s arms. Randy buried his face in his dog’s soft fur.

Azaiah stood on the porch, crying. “We’re going to miss you,” he called.

As Randy remembers it, he looked at the boy. He saw Christian’s frightened face in the window. “Is that your brother?” he asked. Azaiah nodded.

Randy set the dog by Azaiah’s feet.

“Maybe Odie was supposed to find you,” Randy said. “Maybe you should keep him.”

———

Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://tampabay.com

Dearborn Shelter Gets Legal Custody of Chihuahuas

Tanveer Ali / The Detroit News

Dearborn — All 112 living Chihuahuas found in a bungalow last week where authorities recovered 151 frozen dead dogs now belong to the Dearborn Animal Shelter, paving the way for adoption that could begin as early as next week, city officials said.

City spokeswoman Mary Laundroche said the sister of Kenneth Lang Jr., who lived alone in the home with the dogs on Orchard, signed paperwork ceding ownership of the Chihuahuas to the city. Laundroche said the animal shelter will screen nearly 200 adoption applications received since authorities entered the home July 22.

“The gentleman no longer has any control over any of the dogs,” Laundroche said.

Police are still conducting a criminal investigation that could result in animal cruelty-related charges for Lang. Lang’s lawyer, James Schmier, has said he doesn’t expect charges to be filed against his client because police are aware he suffers from mental illness.

Laundroche also said the sister, who has become Lang’s legal representative, also gave the city the right to dispose of all furniture, trash and electrical equipment that clean-up crews took from the home as they searched for living dogs.

After the home was rendered unlivable, the city is seeking to demolish the home, but the legal process will take time, Laundroche said. The sister also is in talks with demolition crews to take down the house.

In an interview with WJBK-TV (Channel 2) from a Macomb County facility, Lang said he kept the dogs out of love.

“I’m thinking that I may lose the home and maybe lose all my possessions,” Lang said.

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HomeFur-ever Animal Rescue is very pleased that the citizens of the Detroit community have shown such strong support to the Dearborn Animal Shelter and the rescued animals.  Like our organization, the staff and volunteers at the Dearborn facility work very hard every day to help animals in need and we’re certain they are grateful for the support.

We would also like to mention to those who have applied to adopt the rescued animals, if your application is not one of those selected to receive one of the rescued chihuahuas, we would encourage you to contact us at Home Fur-ever as we also have a large number of wonderful animals in need of a loving ‘forever’ home!  We can be reached via comments on this blog or via our email address at homefurever@comcast.net .  We would love to introduce you to the many loving and deserving animals we are currently caring for!

Steep Vet Bills, Sour Economy Doom More Pets – But, There ARE Options!

As more and more pet owners are faced with hard choices mandated by today’s difficult economic climate, an unfortunate result is that many family pets are not getting the level of medical care they need.  Desparate pet owners are faced with ‘no-win’ choices of no medical care, minimal medical care, economic-mandated euthanasia, or surrendering their pet.

We at HomeFur-ever are aware that no responsible pet owner would make any of these choices if they had any other option.  Therefore, one of our goals in this blog is to try to provide you with education that leads to additional choices.  In that light, we would like to make you aware of the resources and options suggested in the article below.  Or, as a last resort if you are forced to surrender your pet, we urge you to contact a shelter or rescue in your geographic area to see if they can take in your pet and try to find them a new happy home, rather than implementing economic-mandated euthanasia.

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Owners facing hardship scramble for help or face ‘economic euthanasia’

By JoNel Aleccia, Health writer, msnbc.com

When Lara Yount saw her daughter holding the empty leash, she knew the news was bad. Daisy Mae, their 2-year-old beagle, had run away again, this time into the path of a passing car.

“You could tell the leg was broken,” recalled Yount, 38, a mother of three from Bloomsdale, Mo., who found her dog in a ditch three weeks ago.

But when Yount got the bill to repair Daisy’s injuries — a fractured pelvis and a shattered tibia — she knew the news was worse.  It was $3,200, a large sum in good times and an impossible amount since her husband, David, lost his steady construction job earlier this year.

 “I tried to talk the vet down to $1,500, but he couldn’t do it,” said Yount, who earns $7.50 an hour at a local feed store. “I talked to my husband on the phone and he said, ‘We’ll just have to put her down.’ ”

As the United States economy continues to spiral, pet owners grappling with financial troubles are facing terrible choices, animal care experts say. Confronted with steep bills for emergency injuries or sudden illness, cash-conscious owners are delaying care, opting for less-aggressive treatments, or in some cases, choosing to destroy family pets they otherwise would save.

“They come straight from the vet and say, ‘I can’t afford to treat my animal,’ ” said Mark Kumpf, president of the National Animal Control Association and director of an animal shelter near Dayton, Ohio. “They’ll say, ‘The vet said he should be euthanized and I can’t even afford that.’ ”

Kumpf said he’s seen a 20 percent spike in people turning in animals at his shelter in the past year, and an equal hike in the number of people who request what’s known as “economic euthanasia.” No national figures track overall rates of relinquishment or euthanasia, but some veterinarians across the country say they’re also seeing a rise.

Others are worried that they soon will.

“It is a big concern,” said Dr. Kimberly May, a veterinarian and spokeswoman for the American Veterinary Medical Association. “We have been hearing anecdotal reports of people not going for treatment or not going as far with treatments as they were two years ago or a year ago.”

2 million dogs, 82 million cats
In a nation where 72 million dogs, nearly 82 million cats and 11 million birds share people’s homes, the human-animal bond would appear to be strong. Nearly half of U.S. households with pets regard the animals as family members, according to the AVMA.

But less than 3 percent of pet owners have insurance to cover veterinary care, according to industry estimates, including emergency care that can quickly exceed hundreds or thousands of dollars. Even then, nearly all vets require a deposit of at least half the estimated bill up front, with clear means to pay the rest.  If owners can’t pay, vets can’t treat.

Increasingly, financial worries are prompting pet owners to seek alternatives at the vet counter, said Dr. Gary Stamp, a diplomat with the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care. They’ll refuse certain diagnostic tests or ask for less expensive treatment options.

“There’s the optimal option, then a less positive option,” he said. “Then there’s the option where you just put them on fluids and hope for the best.”

Other desperate pet owners are swamping the few agencies that provide financial assistance for veterinary care.  Demand for the Helping Pets Fund operated by the American Animal Hospital Association has tripled in the last several months, said spokesman Jason Merrihew.

200 calls a day
The Pet Fund, a California-based nonprofit, is fielding nearly 200 calls a day, more than double the volume of a year ago, said executive director Karen Leslie.

“This kind of response we have not had absent a national disaster,” said Leslie, who tells clients their animals must be stable enough to outlast a four-month waiting list. “We can’t do anything for people who need emergency care.”

Many calls come from people like Tracy Blinn, 37, of Surprise, Ariz., who can’t afford the cost of X-rays and blood tests to see what’s wrong with her 8-year-old rottweiler, Kona. A month ago, one of Kona’s legs became too swollen and painful to use and the dog’s right eye started drooping.

Even a few years ago, the $360 cost for diagnostic tests would have been nothing, said Blinn. But her family runs a direct-mail marketing business that served the struggling local automobile industry; nearly all their work has dried up. And the four investment houses that once provided a tidy income have recently slipped into foreclosure, she said.

Blinn asked a local vet for a break on the costs to treat Kona, but he refused.

“He said he’s been having a lot of issues with people not paying their vet bills,” Blinn said. “I’ve looked everywhere on the Internet and called everyone. I even put an ad on Craigslist.”

When she heard that Leslie couldn’t provide emergency help, Blinn grew quiet. She has four kids and three dogs and a husband who has one solution in mind.

“He’s just willing to put her down and I’m not willing. I have hope. Why not try?” she said. “I just think it’s sad. You get these animals and it’s a trust issue. I’m feeling terrible that just because of finances, she might die.”

Kumpf said he wished more pet owners facing financial crisis would try harder to keep their animals. He’s been known to waive fees and to provide some free medical care. This month, he’s launching a program that lets people earn $10 an hour toward paying off fines and fees for services.  But that hasn’t yet stopped the steady parade of relinquished pets, despite their owners’ obvious distress. 

“Many people are embarrassed to the point of complete shame,” he said. “They feel like they’re abandoning a family member.”

Animal care experts have a few suggestions for pet owners in financial trouble. They suggest applying for CareCredit, a veterinary credit service that essentially provides loans for care. They urge pet owners to borrow from friends and family, to hold personal fundraisers or to cut back on unnecessary — even necessary — expenses to pay for their animals’ treatment.

And they urge pet owners to be persistent.

‘He’s my little baby’
Lisa Vigilo, 41, a marketing executive in New York, lost her $80,000-a-year job in January 2008. It took her eight lean months to get another one, and by that time, her 16-year-old cat, Oreo, was diagnosed with diabetes.

With a job pending but no immediate money, Viglio quickly racked up more than $3,000 in vet bills. Friends and family charmed by years of Oreo’s photos helped. Vigilo applied for CareCredit, her vet allowed a payment plan and she was awarded a $500 grant from The Pet Fund for Oreo’s medication.

“Somebody else would have said, ‘He’s getting older, put him down,’” she said. “I’m so grateful I was able to reach out for help and be able to get it at the point I needed it. I know he’s not a child, but in my world, he’s my little baby.”

Lara Yount was persistent as well. She had $1,500 that she’d been saving for badly needed auto repairs, so she gave that to Daisy Mae’s vet, Dr. Mark Anderson of Veterinary Specialty Services in St. Louis. Then she turned to the Internet, where an agency called IMOM.org offers an online fundraising service for emergency veterinary care.

The Web-only resource was launched a decade ago by Jacki Hadra, a 64-year-old New Jersey woman, in memory of Magic, Hadra’s beloved black cat. Since 1998, IMOM has paid out $1.2 million for care for some 1,669 pets using the slogan: “Companion animals shouldn’t have to suffer or die simply because their caretakers are financially challenged.”

Online donations save Daisy
Within days of posting Daisy’s predicament, Yount had raised the remaining money — some $1,600 — that she needed. A week later, the beagle was back at home with Yount’s kids, Catelynne, 11, Catarina, 13 and Cody, 17.

“To have people you don’t even know donate that kind of money is just phenomenal,” she said.

But it will take more than intermittent donations to resolve the crisis of affordable veterinary care, said Leslie, the director of The Pet Fund. Her agency is working to raise awareness about the need for resources to pay for treatment, but also for education to help ensure more people are prepared to care for their pets.

“As eager as people are to see universal health care for people, we’re eager to see a larger fund for veterinary care for animals,” she said. “It’s not that pet owners are irresponsible, it’s that pet owners aren’t prepared for that $10,000 emergency.”

Ways to Pay for Vet Care

Ask your vet about setting up a payment plan. Nearly all veteriarians require at least half of the low estimate of charges to be paid before they’ll treat an animal. Most can’t accommodate payment plans, but some will.Consider pet insurance. Only 3 percent of all pet owners have insurance for veterinary care, but many animal experts support the coverage. Read policies carefully and consider plans with low premiums and high deductibles that essentially provide catastrophic care, experts suggest. Contact CareCredit. The firm is the nation’s leading credit service for veterinary bills. For treatment plans from $1,500 to $25,000, the agency offers 24-, 36- and 48-month plans.   Contact your local humane society or animal shelter. Many agencies offer some limited financial assistance, though demand may outweigh resources. Contact nonprofit animal rescue groups. Breed-specific groups often have funds to help owners in need. More resources: The Pet Fund, IMOM.org, the American Animal Hospital Association.  Click for related content Petland accused of scheme to sell puppies Fostering homeless animals is a leg up After 9 years, missing dog returns to family

Hundreds Seek to Adopt Chihuahuas Rescued from Dearborn Home

Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News

Dearborn — So many people have come forward looking to adopt Chihuahuas found in horrid living conditions in a Dearborn house this week that city animal shelter staffers used walkie-talkies Saturday to direct traffic.

Shelter volunteers were so swamped that they would only take contact information from prospective owners.

More than 400 people have signed up to take one of the dogs home, and the shelter on Greenfield Road was packed with would-be owners — as well as concerned residents — who dropped off donations of money and dog food for the animals.

The dogs cannot yet be adopted because they are undergoing assessments for health and temperament, according to shelter spokeswoman Sandy Boulton.

“They are being carefully cared for. We certainly hope to adopt them out. In the meantime, we are in a holding pattern,” Boulton said.

Boulton added that the legal issues with the dogs further complicate the adoption process.

Police say Kenneth Lang had 151 bodies of dead dogs in his freezers and 110 Chihuahuas roamed his house amid piles of trash and feces. The dogs were found Wednesday. His attorney, James G. Schmier, said Lang had a serious mental condition and thought he was doing the right thing by keeping the dogs away from the pound. Hazmat crews continued their work Friday and are expected to be at the house next week as well. Cleanup could finish on Tuesday, a city spokesman said.

Prospective owners stood outside the shelter Saturday as they waited to write their names on sheets of paper denoting their willingness to adopt the animals.

Volunteer Debbie Stewart said she cried when she saw news reports about the animals but became joyful on Saturday when she saw the outpouring of community support for the dogs.

“It is absolutely amazing. We are going to have such good things come from this,” Stewart said.

Muna Abdulrahim of Dearborn came to the shelter on Saturday with her daughters to donate money and to sign up as volunteers after hearing about the dogs’ plight.

“It’s a disaster. I didn’t think a human could do this. I feel sad, but I’m trying to help,” Abdulrahim said, as she petted Frankie, a 4-month-old light brown Chihuahua rescued from the house.

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HomeFur-ever Animal Rescue is very pleased that the citizens of the Detroit community have shown such strong support to the Dearborn Animal Shelter and the rescued animals.  Like our organization, the staff and volunteers at the Dearborn facility work very hard every day to help animals in need and we’re certain they are grateful for the support.

We would also like to mention to those who have applied to adopt the rescued animals, if your application is not one of those selected to receive one of the rescued chihuahuas, we would encourage you to contact us at Home Fur-ever as we also have a large number of wonderful animals in need of a loving ‘forever’ home!  We can be reached via comments on this blog or via our email address at homefurever@comcast.net .  We would love to introduce you to the many loving and deserving animals we are currently caring for!