Feral cat caregivers fight back
News and headlines for February 3 - 16, 2024
These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
A puppy arrived at the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority (SEAACA) in Downey (Los Angeles County), CA. He had a probable broken jaw. SEAACA is a regressive pound with a history of fighting animal protection legislation and violating the constitutional rights of rescuers and volunteers. Rather than provide medical care or contact rescuers for assistance, SEAACA’s staff found it easier to kill him. And that is what they did.
Gabriel would be alive today if Bowie’s Law, which required pre-killing notification to rescuers, had not died in a legislative committee last year because of opposition by regressive pounds and their enablers like Best Friends Animal Society and Austin Pets Alive.
California’s regressive pound industry is also trying to give itself even more power to kill dogs by introducing legislation to undo a unanimous Court of Appeal ruling that when rescuers offer to save them, “shelters” cannot kill dogs by claiming that "the animal has a behavioral problem or is not adoptable or treatable.” And they are doing it using one of the oldest tricks in the book: a “spot bill” that hides its true intentions. The No Kill Advocacy Center is fighting back.
Killing at the Denver Animal Shelter is the highest in 10 years. Still, the pound’s director fires volunteers for trying to save dogs, kills dogs that volunteers are willing to adopt, refuses to partner with many rescuers, and turns away dog trainers willing to work with stressed dogs so they are not killed.
According to a local news report,
Lew Young was dismissed as a volunteer at the shelter, along with her 9-year-old daughter in October after starting there in March.
“I want people to help and I want volunteers to do the training and go because the dogs need it but I believe that it can be much better,” she said.
Lew Young said the shelter told her she violated their confidentiality agreement by posting online about a dog that was euthanized, resulting in her dismissal.
“Another volunteer and me, we wanted to adopt her just to give her a safe haven, the last days of her life, but this was kind of like shut down ideas,” she said.
Lew Young said volunteers also found a different rescue willing to take in a few dogs on the euthanasia list, but the transfers were denied by DAS. She said they also found dog trainers willing to donate their time, but those ideas were also denied.
While Denver’s pound director says she is concerned about the number of dogs being turned in, she and her staff still find killing easier than doing what is necessary to stop it.
Do you have what it takes to save lives?
The following communities are looking for someone to run or help run their animal shelters: