Category: animal cruelty

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Help Paws of War Save Sweet Troop!

Three courageous female soldiers in the U.S. Army – a Major, a First Lieutenant, and a Lieutenant Colonel, who are deployed in the Middle East found two helpless puppies abandoned outside their base gate. Moments later they knew they had to act fast to save the pups’ lives and reached out to us for help.

The two deeply bonded brothers huddled together scared and starving; all they had in the world was each other. Locals told the soldiers that animal control was coming for them in the morning—and that would seal their fate, but looking into their innocent eyes and adorable faces, our heroes couldn’t let that happen. The pups became known as Tanner and Troop, and they were running out of time.

But something was wrong. We suspected that Tanner was suffering from even more than the effects of being abandoned. Both pups were taken for veterinary assessment where it was confirmed their harsh beginning to life had taken its toll; both were also anemic and suffering with internal infections. Treatment began immediately, but Tanner was still struggling. After further tests he was diagnosed with a debilitating condition affecting him right down to his bones. He was in significant pain and his health was deteriorating rapidly, but despite everything, his little tail wagged his tail whenever he looked at Troop. Tragically, although all efforts were made to save Tanner, the toll on his frail body was too great. He wasn’t responding to treatments, and he couldn’t fight any longer. His young heart stopped beating and he passed away peacefully. Who knows what the outcome would have been if he had been loved and cared for the way he deserved instead of being abandoned.

The soldiers and our team are heartbroken, but no one more than Troop. He is lost without Tanner, and on saying goodbye to his brother, he ran around him, kissing him, not understanding why he wasn’t responding. He has become so sad and quiet, and looks every time a door opens – hoping his best friend is coming back. The news has been hard on everyone, but we must continue with the knowledge that Tanner got the best chance to make it, and he was surrounded by love. Now we must save Troop.

YOU CAN HELP!
Please make Paws of War part of your GivingTuesday donations!

https://www.pawsofwar.org/donate

 

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Undercover Investigation: Stressed, Cruelly-Treated Animals Trapped in Mall “Petting Zoos” Including Woodridge, NJ

SeaQuest is the source of hundreds of animal abuse complaints

Keeping wild animals in small, bare cages inside a retail shopping mall is absurd and abhorrently cruel. Yet this is the business model of SeaQuest, a for-profit chain of shopping mall-based wild animal petting zoos that has been plagued with controversies and cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture more than 110 times for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.  

SeaQuest peddles public interactions with wild animals such as sloths, sugar gliders, capybaras, coatimundis, kinkajous, wallabies and Bengal cats, as well as various fish, reptiles and birds. Customers grab, handle, pet and poke at these animals intermittently all day long. The animals have no access to sunlight or fresh air, no means to escape the loud, chaotic environment created by scores of adults and children coming in and out of SeaQuest facilities throughout the day, and no space or natural habitat in which to express their natural behaviors.  

Such an environment—at SeaQuest and other facilities like it—doesn’t teach people to respect and admire animals. It teaches them that wild animals are playthings to be toyed with for amusement. The Humane Society of the United States sent an undercover investigator to two SeaQuest locations to shine a spotlight on this cruelty and strengthen our broader push for an end to it. 

There is a an abusive #SeaQuest “zoo” in #Woodridge, New Jersey in addition to other locales . 

Local animal activists are fighting to have this abomination CLOSED. We wish them luck!

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PIXIES AND PAWS “RESCUE” IS JUST AN EXTENSION OF CRUEL PUPPY MILLS

Pixies & Paws, which sells animals from cruel breeders

FROM NEWS 12 NJ AND LONG ISLAND

Documents provided to Kane In Your Corner News 12 Investigative unit show Pixies and Paws, a self-proclaimed “animal rescue” based in New Jersey and serving the tristate area, purchased more than 160 dogs from commercial breeders in Ohio. The purchases were made during a three-month period alone. It’s an arrangement some consumer groups say means Pixies and Paws is acting less like a rescue and more like an online pet store.
In an investigation in May, Kane In Your Corner spoke to Jonisha Lewis about her experience adopting a dog from Pixies and Paws. She said the dog had such significant health problems that her veterinarian deemed it “unfit for sale”. “My son was crying,” Lewis said. “And he was just like, ‘Why? Why Is this happening? Like, why is he sick’?” Then there was the adoption fee – a whopping $1,500… which at first, Pixies and Paws refused to refund, although it eventually relented after Kane In Your Corner began investigating.
PLEASE DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE ADOPTING. NO REPUTABLE SHELTER OR RESCUE WOULD ASK FOR $1500, FOR STARTERS!
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Help Paws of War and Staff Sergeant Hope Save Sweet Gizmo!!

As a violent storm battered an American base in a desolate part of Africa, U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Hope heard a desperate cry outside her door and when she looked out to investigate, a terrified kitten – Gizmo – rushed in and went into hiding. That was the moment she knew she had to act to save the vulnerable cat and reached out to Paws of War for help. Gizmo was abandoned near the base and with nothing around to survive on, her condition rapidly deteriorated. Staff Sergeant Hope and some other soldiers had been doing what they could – making a tiny lean-to for shelter, and sharing their food, but in a very remote area there wasn’t much available to them to help a struggling cat. Gizmo cowered in the makeshift shelter – afraid of the many predators lurking, and would only come out when she heard SSG Hope who she chose as her person. The sweet cat was so thankful to have someone be kind to her that she would bring gifts of bugs, leaves, and pieces of trash – all she could find to say “I love you” to brighten her hero’s day. In turn SSG Hope found comfort in having the little cat around but while she makes her smile, she can’t take her mind off the worry of knowing Gizmo can’t make it on her own when she returns Stateside and the fear in the young cat during the storm served as a reminder.
Aside from predators, other starving animals, the daily activities of an active military base and constant moving of heavy vehicles, the brutal weather conditions claim the lives of animals daily. Temperatures routinely reach more than 100 degrees through the day and torrential rains during storm season cause severe flooding and life-threatening destruction. There is nothing for homeless animals, and no way to keep them safe. Staff Sergeant Hope is a hero who has selflessly served our country for over a decade; spending many months at a time away from her family and she has never asked for anything, until now. All she is pleading for is help to save the life of the loving cat who became her best friend and a source of joy so far from home.
Our War-Torn Pups and Cats rescue team is in action as we speak – handling the complex logistics of a rescue mission to such a remote location, alongside complying with extensive CDC import requirements, but to save any of the animals who need our help, we need you beside us. Together we can get Gizmo out of harm’s way.. A kind donation of even just a few dollars today will make it possible to get her to the love and safety waiting for her with SSG Hope here in America.
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New Jersey Politicians Kill Another Good Animal Shelter – and Lots of Animals

MOST ANIMAL SHELTERS IN THIS COUNTRY ARE PART OF A BROKEN SYSTEM, ONE THAT HURTS INNOCENT, HOMELESS ANIMALS MOST OF ALL. BUT IT ALSO HARMS HEROIC STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS.

NEW JERSEY IS ONE OF THE WORST OFFENDERS.

Last year, the genius politicians of JerseyCity suddenly ended the contract with @LibertyHumaneSociety, and its team that many other shelters and rescues have very happily worked with for years. Still, the hiring of a new director, staff, and new procedures designed for the animals’ benefit heralded the possibility that things would actually work out. It wasn’t to be. When a dog attacked and seriously injured the new boss, bureaucrats who know nothing about a shelter or animal welfare, and even less about leadership and common decency emerged, once again throwing a promising start into turmoil.

https://jcitytimes.com/animal-shelter-morale-sinks-after-manager-is-bitten-hospitalized-fired/

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Help Get Justice for Starved Doggy!

Sweet Elmer, Starved to Death in Tennessee

In February of this year, a Selmer City, TN woman brought a horribly emaciated dog to a rescue group, claiming that the dog had been abandoned at her house. The rescue immediately rushed the dog, which they renamed Elmer, to an emergency veterinary clinic.  Sadly, despite all their efforts, this poor, sweet Great Dane died.

The Guardians of Rescue sent Elmer’s remains to a pathology lab to determine an exact cause of death. The results of Elmer’s necropsy were shocking and heartbreaking. While Elmer suffered from intestinal parasites and heartworm disease, the official cause of death was starvation–a painful, excruciating way to die. It was later determined that Elmer had, in fact, been living with this terribly cruel and heartless woman since 2020.

The Guardians of Rescue’s investigation showed that this lady was the owner of Elmer, and responsible for his gruesome death; in response, the Selmer City Police Department charged her with one count of animal cruelty and ordered her to rehome any animals in her custody.  Based on her history of breeding Great Danes, the presence of a heavy intestinal parasite load, heartworm disease and the intestinal obstruction that caused Elmer to die a slow, agonizing death by starvation, we believe she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

No matter where you live or whether or not you own a pet, we ask and encourage you to SIGN THE PETITION TO GET JUSTICE FOR ELMER – PLEASE!  The only deterrent we have to these horrible, cruel crimes is to hold the criminals accountable!

(The Guardians of Rescue is a registered 501(c)3, not for profit organization whose members work tirelessly to work to protect the wellbeing of all animals and come to the aid of those in distress. We are all about People Helping Animals and Animals Helping People.)

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Tell Your Congressperson and Senators to Pass “Goldie’s Act” and Stop Cruel Puppy Mills

A Puppy Mill

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a number of responsibilities and authorities, among them the oversight of dog breeders, often referred to as “puppy mills.” Certainly, there are humane and reputable breeders, who care for the animals they breed as well as their offspring, and do their best to ensure the puppies they sell are healthy for when they go off to their new owners.

But in far too many cases, these puppy mills are true mills–factories–where animals are cruelly abused and neglected, getting little or no health care, underfed, sick, in pain, confined in cages too small to even stand or turn, with pups being sent off to their new families with terrible, even fatal illnesses.

Named after a Golden Retriever (“Goldie”) who suffered extreme neglect and died at a “USDA-licensed” puppy mill in Iowa where she was known only as No. 142, the Goldie’s Act law will require the USDA to conduct more frequent and meaningful inspections, provide lifesaving intervention for suffering animals, issue penalties for violations, and communicate with local law enforcement to address cruelty and neglect.  

I’ve generally opposed breeders, even good ones, because I know that there are millions of homeless dogs in shelters, thousands of whom are killed each day because the shelters ostensibly “run out of space.”  And that’s because humans, far too often, selfishly insist on owning purebred dogs (who may not in fact be) or specific breeds, and simply ignore of the plight of so many beautiful angels suffering in shelters.
But until now, even I didn’t know how corrupt the USDA is, not just in ignoring its job to regulate and oversee breeders, but even corruptly covering up horrific crimes of animal cruelty: “Yet, days after the DOJ negotiated surrender of the [4000] beagles [from a USDA-licensed business, Envigo, where the USDA documented horrific cruelty during “routine inspections” over several months, including dead dogs, starving dogs, dogs in dangerous conditions, and dogs in need of veterinary care], the USDA renewed the company’s license for another year, and a shocking new report from Reuters revealed that senior USDA leaders went to great lengths to cover up both Envigo’s [cruel and horrific] treatment of the dogs, and the agency’s own refusal to protect the animals.”
TELL YOUR LAWMAKERS: Pass “Goldie’s Act,” protect the puppies, mommies, and daddies, and HOLD THE USDA ACCOUNTABLE!
To contact your US Representative and Senators:
See the full article from the Animal Legal Defense Fund here.
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SERESTO Flea & Tick Collars DANGER: July 2022 Update

In May 2021, I posted that SERESTO Flea and Tick Collars had been implicated in almost 2000 pet deaths and more than 75,000 incidents and illnesses, from relatively minor effects, such as animals suffering itchiness and skin irritation, to serious emergencies including seizures, convulsions, and, yes, horrible deaths.  Vets and health experts say this is no mere coincidence.

A little more than a year later, I am dismayed that they’re still being widely sold, despite a significant amount of damning evidence that they’re dangerous.  So much so, in fact, that the US Congress, not known for doing much if anything for American consumers, now links the collars to about 2500 pet deaths and more than 100,000 pet illnesses. The collar, made by Elanco Animal Health, is linked to a higher number of death and injury reports than competing products, claims the report from the Committee on Oversight and Reform’s subcommittee on economic and consumer policy.  And the report says they should be RECALLED and taken off the market.

US Congresswoman, Rep. Katie Porter, a Democrat from Southern California who also sits on the subcommittee, asked Alanco (parent company) CEO Simmons in mid-June 2022 about the fact that other countries including Australia and Colombia have large warnings on the packaging for Seresto collars and “label them as poison.”  Canada even decided to bar sales of the Seresto collar because its review of U.S. incidents and toxicology studies found it “posed too great a risk to pets and their owners to be sold in Canada.”

So that’s why I was even more dismayed when I was online with Chewy on July 3, ordering some things for my beloved Popeye, when I opened a chat with “Ashley H” at 3:53 pm. When I told her my concerns, within two seconds she had pasted in what I refer to as a “form-letter corporate PR response.” As we continued to chat, she wrote (verbatim): “I do apologize for the misinformation that you were given, at this time I am not obligated to discuss this matter any further, if you are uncomfortable using this product we do understand however we will continue to sell the item until we are told that we are no longer able. Then, remarkably, she accused ME of giving HER misinformation (verbatim): I do apologize that you feel that way about this product, the information that you are giving me is misinformation. (!!)

I’ve been a fan an customer of Chewy for years; their service is outstanding and their people (OTHER than “Ashley H”) are friendly. And Chewy says it loves our pets. But even if the data are not 100% conclusive, there is enough evidence that SERESTO collars should not be sold or used–if you care about the life and health of your pet! 

TELL CHEWY TO STOP SELLING SERESTO FLEA AND TICK COLLARS! corporate@chewy.com

https://www.congress.gov/event/117th-congress/house-event/114900

https://news.yahoo.com/congressional-subcommittee-epa-must-cancel-150304580.html

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/pet-owners-whose-animals-died-after-wearing-seresto-flea-collar-testify-at-congressional-hearing

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ASPCA: Marketing Juggernaut or Animal Welfare Organization?

I try to assume the best about all animal welfare organizations…until I don’t. I have found over the last 10 years that most of them do some good, and many do a lot of good. And others, such as the now-defunct NJSPCA–an absurd group of mostly obese wanna-be cops who couldn’t make the grade in real life, do no good, except for themselves.

But I never counted the ASPCA, the American Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in that disgraceful group.  And I still don’t. It definitely does some real good. And yet I am chagrined to see the just-released results of a CBS News investigation that shines a light on the “A’s” (as many call it) spending, specifically the percentage of donations that goes to actually help animals, and where the rest goes. According to CBS, “The ASPCA says the vast majority of donor dollars go directly toward its mission, but a CBS News investigation found there are questions about whether the money is going where donors expect.”

How is that? Well, the investigation continues, “Since 2008, the ASPCA has raised more than $2 billion for animal welfare. In that time, it has spent $146 million, or about 7% of the total money raised, in grants to local animal welfare groups. But during that same time period it spent nearly three times that, at least $421 million, on fundraising. Over $150 million of that went to Eagle-Com Inc, a Canadian media production company, to produce and place ASPCA’s ads.  I can only wonder how many tens of thousands of animals could have been saved, treated, loved and adopted out with $421 million dollars.

Certainly, you’ve seen the ads, unless you literally never watch television. They are heartbreaking, showing covering, shivering, and terrified animals, while a mournful Sarah McLaughlin tune, “In the Arms of an Angel,” plays in the background. Heartbreaking to me, and very effective tugs on the heartstrings of all but the coldest humans imaginable.

Now, obviously, any group funded by donations has to fundraise, and it’s not cheap or easy. But as someone who’s donated a couple times to the A, I became increasingly annoyed that once they had my address, they bombed my mailbox frequently with unwanted and unnecessary “gifts”–calendars I would never use, return address labels I didn’t want, “membership cards” with nowhere to present them, or just slick and glossy appeals for more money, which I would have happily given, except for the fact that I was mad as hell that they were using my original donations on such nonsense.

Moreover, the investigation points out, they give very little of those millions to the local SPCA organizations that do much of the heavy lifting, rescuing animals from abusive and hoarding situations, as well as providing veterinary care and adoption services. Unfortunately for those local organizations, much of the public wrongfully assumes that they’re local chapters of the larger ASPCA. Wrong. They have no affiliation whatsoever, and as the investigation points out, “CBS News spoke to more than two dozen local SPCA’s across the country. A few had received grants worth a few thousand dollars from the ASPCA, which they had applied for. Most, like in Nassau County and Houston, had gotten nothing.”

Finally, and I’m going to pick on him because it’s deserved, the CEO of the ASPCA earned more than $840,000 last year. I choked on that. Granted, it’s just one and the top exec, but for a non-profit organization that ostensibly exists to help homeless and abused animals, that kind of money is far beyond reasonable or remotely justifiable.

So…you can donate to the ASPCA, and again, they do some good works. But better yet, look for a local SPCA, or find a deserving rescue group or shelter, and put your money where it will do the most good.  And you can start with my shelter, Sammy’s Hope in Sayreville, NJ, or Island Animal Alliance, which rescues homeless dogs (“Satos”) from Puerto Rico.

You can find the CBS News clip here.

 

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Do You Love Dogs? The Canine Condition Podcast is for YOU!

If you love and care about dogs, come–sit–stay (and listen)!

Here are The Canine Condition podcast series, hosted by animal advocate and actress Jacqueline Piñol, who is also the producer and director, along with her husband Jonny Blu, of The Canine Condition “Dogumentary” about the state of homeless and shelter animals across the United State, and what’s being done about it.

The podcasts feature lots of shelter dog talk, and in my case the story of pitbull “Sammy,” our wonderful Sammy’s Hope Animal Welfare & Adoption Center in Sayreville, NJ  and its loving volunteers, the need for spay and neuter, the prejudice against bull-type dogs, and much more! Jacqueline and I also discuss the great work of wonderful animal advocate Niki Holloway Dawson and The Island Animal Alliance, which rescues dogs from hurricane- and poverty-ravaged Puerto Rico and transports them from Miami to rescues and adoptive families in New York and New Jersey.