Wherever natural or manmade disasters strike, animals become victims too. Animal victims of the earthquake disaster in Haiti have been found to desperately need help and animal welfare groups are joining forces to come to their aid.

Those efforts start off 2010 as we look back on 2009 and how animals fared.

Most state anti-cruelty laws exempted farm animals from basic humane protections. But, over the past decade, some states took action to outlaw common factory farming cruelties. Two states passed laws to ban battery cages (CA, MI); five passed laws to ban veal crates(AZ, CA, CO, ME, MI), and seven passed laws to ban gestation crates (AZ, CA, CO, FL, OR, ME, MI)

Anti-confinement legislation is planned In New York and Massachusetts in the coming year. And on the federal level, Farm Sanctuary will be pushing the Obama Administration to end the slaughter of downed pigs and other animals for food.

The Obama administration has locked in a federal ban on slaughtering downed cattle for human food. A similar ban should be enacted to apply to pigs and other species.

At the end of the last decade, for the first time in generations, the USDA’s year-end records showed that the number of animals killed for food in the U.S. dropped.

In “Eating Animals,” acclaimed author Jonathan Safran Foer, urged us, if we don’t become vegans or vegetarians, to at least give up eggs. (unless you raise your own hens).

Many puppy mills have been shut down throughout the US in the past year. And as long as puppies are big business for pet shops, and sale via the internet many more will hopefully be shut down in 2010 including those in central New York. After nearly a decade of campaigning by IDA activists, the Scamp’s pet store chain, peddler of puppy mill puppies, closed its doors for good.

Some other efforts that will continue in the coming years are: banning the sale of raccoon dog fur in all 46 Lord & Taylor stores; blocking a federal policy allowing canned hunting of endangered species; halting the false advertising of cruelly produced foie gras as a humane product; requiring the Department of Agriculture to provide key information concerning research on animal pain and distress; halting the slaughter of endangered wolves in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin; shutting down horse slaughter plants and fighting to stop long-distance transport of live horses to their deaths in Mexico and Canada.

In 2009, countless animals were saved from Advanced Trauma Life Support programs and medical school labs. The Great Ape Protection Act got more than 100 congressional co-sponsors. The construction of a primate-breeding facility in Puerto Rico was stopped.

Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine reported that under the BEST Practices Act, H.R. 4269, the military’s use of live vervet monkeys to demonstrate the effects of a chemical weapons attack would be ended immediately. The use of live animals in combat trauma training would be phased out by 2013 and replaced by superior training methods.

A report by the Animal Legal Defense Fund says that Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Mississippi, and North Dakota “are the five best states in the country to be an animal abuser.” The annual report, the only one of its kind in the nation, ranks all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories for the general comprehensiveness and relative strength of their respective animal protection laws.

In Defense of Animals (IDA) celebrated several major court victories, including a monumental Freedom of Information Act victory after a 7-year court battle with the USDA and the terrible animal abuser Huntingdon Life Sciences..

Defenders of Wildlife reports that “ climate change, overharvesting, invasive species and frightening new diseases are devastating wildlife around the globe A fifth of the world’s mamals are under the threat of extinction. Some scientists’ estimates state that nearly 40% of the world’s species are endangered.

Their report goes on to say that 
nearly 18 years ago, the U.S. provided vital leadership in negotiating the Convention on Biological Diversity — a vital international agreement to protect and preserve the world’s rich diversity of life. Now the U.S. and tiny Andorra are the only countries in the world that have failed to ratify this important accord. 

In 2010 — the International Year of Biodiversity — the U.S. has an opportunity to reestablish its role as a global leader in wildlife conservation. “

Billy (name changed here) is a court ordered surrender to the FLSPCA. The court order which included another dog was the last in a long string of problems these dogs encountered at the hands of their former owners. They were running at large and had been picked up by dog control several times. Each time the owner claimed them and was then told they suffered from heartworm, (a disease that can kill). The owners did not have them treated. Billy was taken into foster care where he lives with two other dogs and has learned to be a house dog . He is walked several times a day, has lots of attention and toys. He also has been treated for the heartworm by the SPCA. This fosterer had previously adopted a dog from the SPCA and then adopted a mistreated chow mix he was fostering.

Bonnie is alive and well in foster care because some kind person reported her terrible situation. She was only 3 months old and was tied outside to a tree without shelter, without food or water. She was emaciated, full of worms and fleas. Another kind person was on her way over to the puppy with a can of Spam, possibly her own meal, when Bonnie was rescued by the SPCA. She has been in my foster home for two weeks now and has simply become what a puppy is supposed to be—healthy. happy,trusting amd secure, and in the process of learning about many things.

Blaise, a pitbull mix, came to the shelter with no history and no name. Now he has a name of his own and his history includes a foster home. The same foster home took in a Jack Russell terrier that had been surrendered by her owner.

Charlie is a yellow lab that was on the brink of death with bloody bites covering every part of his body. He was lying motionless outside. He had been used as a bait dog for dog fighting by dogs also owned by his heartless owner. All dogs were rescued and the pitbulls had to be euthanized. The owner has been convicted and ordered by the court to not have a dog for three years. One wonders with this kind of penalty, which is commom, how such a cruel person is supposed to change in a specified amount of time. And, unless someone is watching, what is to prevent such a situation from occurring all over again.

Charlie has been slowly nursed back to health under the care of a veterinarian. His terrible wounds are healed and he is now looking for an angel of his own to either foster him or adopt him. He is young. He is still a special needs dog who will require more medical care at home and the kind of love that will continue to help him recover psychologically.

Not all dogs that are confiscated or brought in by dog control or by court order go into foster care. Many come directly to the shelter where, altho they live in a kennel, they have warm beds, plenty of food, toys, and people to walk them and give them affection.

Puppies are particularly at risk for mistreatment, even cruelty. I believe there are several things that lead to such mistreatment. The first is that many many people get a puppy without doing any basic research or giving much thought to what that puppy will need from them in order to grow into an easy-to-live-with dog. This is especially true of people that buy one from a pet store or a back yard breeder or even online. Some see a cute puppy and take out their VISA and make an impulse buy.

Shelters and rescue organizations not only screen potential adopters for these reasons but also give the adopter lots of puppy rearing tips and information. People without these advantages are the ones that will probably give up on the puppy when it pees or poops on the floor since they have no knowledge of how long it takes to house break a puppy and how often one must get up and take the pup outside. And puppy rearing must be done with only positive reinforcement- no hitting or yelling or the results will be unfortunate for both the puppy and the owner. Puppies cannot “hold it” until they are several months old.

Another drawback to a happy trained puppy is being stuck in a crate for long hours. Puppy rearing is time consuming and requires a lot of patience. It requires puppy proofing the rooms the pup will live in or else there will be things chewed up because that is what puppies do. But the rewards of living with a happy trained puppy are great!

Another thing that leasds to mistreatmnent is the anger some people feel toward a baby animal when it doesn’t do what is expected—anger that they don’t control. Learning about puppies can always help. There are many websites and books about puppy rearing. . And the rewards of living with a happy trained puppy are great! As Charlie Brown said, “Happiness is a warm puppy!”

Suppose you are retired and like to travel some of the time but still miss having a dog. Or suppose you have a job that takes you away periodically. Or suppose you work long hours. Or you are a couple with a dog and have divorced or split up. Or you are a senior citizen afraid of what would happen if you got sick or had to go into a care facility.

These are the situations where sharing a dog could work. The dog would simply have two homes and go back and forth either on a set schedule or flexibly whenever one person or family wants to be away for a time.

The two homes could share vet costs and each provide all that the dog would need at each home. The dog would undoubtedly have a great time with two families and feel secure with both. Details of training and exercise would need to be worked out between both “owners”.

Another advantage would be more adoptions by people who thought they were not in a situation to have a dog. And one more advantage: by splitting costs some dog owners would not feel they had to give up their dog in hard times.

Could we start a registry for people to sign up for a shared dog? Could it be done for cats as well? Or even horses, potbellied pigs and other pets?

Send me your ideas.

FLSPCA and Animal Advocates Launch Pet Food Drive

Pleas for pet food are coming in to both the SPCA and Animal Advocates from people who are having trouble feeding their pets in these hard economic times. Animals are even being abandoned.

The two 501c3 charity organizations are asking the public to buy an extra bag or two of pet food and drop them off in collection boxes at the following locations:

Peppers Discount Liquor, 307 West Genesee (convenient to TOPS)

Expert Tire. 2 Dill St. (convenient to Wegmans)

Dunn Tire and Pet Depot, both in the Grant Avenue Plaza

FLSPCA shelter at 41 York Street

And in Aurora: the Zwigards front porch, 331 Main Street

The donations of pet food and treats will go to the CCAP Food Bank, the FLSPCA shelter, and to people in need who call either the shelter at 315 253-5841 or Animal Advocates at 315 651-0186.

For all the years I’ve been writing this column I’ve held back on describing what I believe most readers do not want to know. Now I’m going to do that and I hope you’ll read it to the end.

We start with some irrefutable premise: animals are capable of suffering. They experience pain and fear just as we do. Many generations of carnivores have chosen to believe that animals don’t feel pain or that they feel it in a different (excusable) way.

In recent times we’ve seen many books written about the ethics and methods of eating animals (some are listed at the end of this column). The light of publicity is being shined on our current industrial animal agriculture (factory farms) and it has led to almost everyone who knows about it to be horrified. But not many meat eaters read these books. And most people who eat meat have developed since childhood an odd distance and ignorance of what it is on their plates.

Sam Anderson wrote a review of some of the books in the current issue of New York Magazine. He goes on a journey of discovery but first he descends into hell. An activist helps him sneak into an industrial turkey farm in the middle of the night where he witnesses unimaginable suffering.

In Jonathon Safran Foer’s “Eating Animals” the author describes genetically freakish animals, some of whom can’t walk, can’t mate, living in tiny cages in windowless sheds, suffering ritual mutilatio (Like the debeaking of chickens and the chooping off of pig’s tails) and sloppy slaughtering. Many end up getting boiled or skinned alive. This is common in the killing of chickens. Unprofitable babies are immediately disposed of –electrocuted, thrown into a chipper, bashed headfirst on the concrete floor. There have been documented accounts in the news of slaughterhouse workers going crazy with sadism. Foer’s book is by no means the only documentation of such terrible and common practices. They are becoming more and more known to those willing to face them. Horror at factory farming has become a small but growing part of our culture.

Anderson says that “the idea that meat eating is an inevitable part of some grand unchallengeable scheme , whether biblical (dominion) or natural (law of the jungle) or culteral (Thanksgiving)” is beginning to be challenged.

He describes his own conversion from loving his dog to that love covering the entire animal kingdom and this is not a unique experience. I had it many years ago. Maybe you’ll have it too.

The books: “ Eating Animals” by Jonathon Safran Foer; “Man and the Natural World” by Keith Thomas; “Fast Food Nation” by Eric Schlosser; “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan; “ The Face on Your Plate” by Jeffrey Moussaieff; “Animals Make Us Human” by Temple Grandin; “The Kind Diet”, a vegan cookbook and lifestyle guide by Alicia Silverstone; and the classic bulletproof case againsxt speciesism which compares our subjugation of non human animals to slavery by Peter Singer

Winter is coming and there will be animals suffering through it 24 hours a day, day after day, no matter what the temperature and wind chill. It is time again to remind ouselves of Buster’s Law which requires that all outdoor dogs have good shelter and fresh unfozen water daily and plenty of food. Acceptable shelter must be rain and snow proof, insulated, with a floor. The dog must be able to stand up, turn around, and stretch out. Older dogs simply cannot withstand our winter weather at all. They should be kept indoors. Puppies and short haired dogs are also at risk. I don’t understand why anyone would get a dog and then banish it to a life out doors.

Last week on WSYR TV’s five o’clock news someone had written in to say that all her efforts to get some agency to respond to a dog cruelty situation had gone unanswered. She wanted to know what the public should do when witnessing a suffering animal that is the victim of.cruelty or neglect. The news staff had checked around and came up with this: call 911. Law enforcement is required to respond though, depending on what they are dealing with at the time, the animal call may not take priority. They may also refer the complaint on to another agency such as the SPCA or dog control. Of course if there is anything the witness can do to alleviate the suffering we should all pitch in.

Winter will also cause suffering and sometimes death to feral cats. Some of us walk in Auburn for exercise. In every neighborhood, almost on every block, we see roaming cats. Some of those cats may belong to someone who allows their pet to roam without having been spayed or neutered or received shots. Those people are part of the problem in Auburn and in the county. But the biggest part of the problem are the feral cats, those who belonged to someone at one time and were abandoned, plus the generations of offspring of those cats. Here and there are the kind souls who feed these unfortunate cats and try to provide some kind of shelter for them. Here and there are some cats that get taken to the Finger Lakes SPCA of CNY low cost clinics where they are spayed or neutered, microchipped, and given shots and ear mite treatment then returned to the colony that is being fed. But there are just way too many of them who go on breeding, suffering disease and sometimes dying. The problem is so great and so many citizens view the cats as a nuisance that it should be addressed by the Auburn City Council and the Cayuga County Legislature. (it is against the law to harm the cats or even trap them unless it is done by a humane organization) The solution is for those public servants to set aside funds each year for spay and neuter. Eventually the number of cats will dwindle down by attrition.

Another part of that solution is to educate the public about the need to spay and neuter their

ANIMAL ISSUES IN THE NEWS

The National Geographic channel recently aired a program titled “Unlikely Animal Friends” which profiled some unlikely cross species pairings which showed that, for animals, being social works and can lead to the fulfillment of each others needs.

The most astounding and difficult to explain story was the African lioness and a baby antelope. They walked together and slept together in an example of the complex emotions between animals. It was thought that maybe the lioness had suffered a loss and was grieving when she adopted the baby antelope which would normally have meant prey to her but this time meant baby.

Then there was the rescued baby hippo put into an enclosure with a 130 year old tortoise. The tortoise taught Owen, the hippo, to eat food and Owen groomed the tortoise. They were also seen sleeping and cuddling together.

A relationship developed instantly, upon their first sight of each other, between a young urangutan and a hound dog. They played together all the time and also hugged and shared food with each other. Another unlikely pairing was between a four ton elephant and a 30 pound dog. They were devoted to each other and in each other’s company day and night.

And lastly was the relationship between a cat and a crow who played hide and seek, wrestled, and ate together.

All are examples that can revolutionize our notions of love. We see that animals can show attachment and devotion, and remembrance.

On the cover of Time Magazine (August 31 edition) was a photo of a package of ground beef and the title of the lead article, “The Real Cost of Food” and a sign on the meat package reading: “WARNING: This hamburger may be hazardous to your health. Why the American food system is bad for our bodies, our economy, our environment.”

The article makes the point that the way we in this country farm now is destructive of the soil, the environment and our bodies. Pigs, chickens, and other food animals are raised in confined pens packed in very tightly on factory farms. (They are just a commodity with no real life and a terrible death.) To prevent these animals from getting sick in such crowded quarters they are dosed with antibiotics. They are fed on corn that is grown with the help of government subsidies and tons of chemical fertilizers. Excess fertilizer as well as animal waste eventually gets into our rivers and into the ocean where it kills fish.

The article concludes that Americans are addicted to meat which contributes to our obesity epidemic.

The film “Food, Inc” released in theaters in June is also about our nation’s food industry. Filmmaker, Robert Kenner exposes the highly mechanized industry that has been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, the USDA and FDA. The film makes the point that America’s food supply is controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit before consumer health, before the health of farmers and workers, and before the welfare of our environment. It reveals some shocking truths about what we eat and how it is produced.

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Craigslist is the latest place bad pet owners are dumping their animals. Newspaper or Pernnysaver classified ads are also risky unless the advertiser is very careful to screen people who respond to the ad.

One kind and responsible way to find a home for unwanted pets is with the help or advice of one of the many animal shelters or rescue groups or via www.petfinder.com. Any legitimate way to rehome a helpless pet does require patience (it may take awhile) and the use of an adoption questionaire or at least the name, address, email and phone number of the adopter or buyer. And these must be checked. A few other questions to ask the potential adopter: where will this animal be kept? Will the pet be spayed or neutered if it is not already? What restrictions will be put on the children? Will the animal be allowed to run free? Will there be an annual vet visit and who is your vet? These questions can attempt to make sure the animal is going to a good kind home.

Animals given away for free can, and unfortunately often do, meet gruesome fates. They can end up in the hands of a sicko whose aim is the torturing and killing of animals. Don’t think that people like this are easy to spot. They often bring children with them so people would be comfortable handing over their animal(s).

Then there are those “bunchers” who obtain animals illegally from random sources to sell to research facilities for profit, and who often acquire animals by answering “free to good home” ads. Small animals advertised as “free to good home” are sometimes acquired by individuals who intend to use them as bait in training other animals to fight. Gerbils, rabbits, hamsters, and young kittens are often acquired to be used as snake food.

Animal dealers (again, not easy to identify) who may come to your home are the source for the about half of the animals scientists require for experimentation.

Rescue groups are starting to monitor Craigslist, which allows people in 450 cities to post classified advertisements for merchandise and jobs, as they’ve been noticing ads for “free” dogs, often purebreds Some of these animals turn out turn out to be old or sick.

If people monitoring the site even suspect you are selling, they will flag your ad and it will be removed without question. One can, however, put a small rehoming fee in the ad but the same screening applies to those who answer the ad as described above. Give some thought to the fact that dog fighters can afford a dog advertised for anywhere from $50 to hundreds of dollars and can also afford to buy bait dogs and other animals of all kinds and sizes.

In 2005 nearly two dozen Bay Area shelters and pet rescue groups asked Craigslist online bulletin board to ban postings that advertise certain animals for sale, saying casual transactions encourage backyard breeding and irresponsible adoptions.

Animal advocates led by the East Bay Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals were monitoring Craigslist postings for several months. In one month they found at least 183 unneutered pit bull puppies for sale. Pit bulls are often used by drug dealers as well as dog fighters.

They believe Craigslist’s free classified section is fertile ground for uncertified breeders who are trying to sell pit bull puppies for anywhere from $50 to $2,000 with no accountability for how they’ve bred the dogs or who they sell the pups to.

Backyard breeding can be tragic for dogs and humans. People who end up with difficult dogs often abandon them or drop them off at the shelter, where they may be euthanized.

Many area shelters have more pit bulls than other breeds. In Berkeley, they account for as much as 90 percent of the shelter population.

Craigslist does ban sales or other transactions involving illegal animals, such as endangered species. EBay, a more tightly regulated online marketplace, does not allow animal sales on its site.

Anyone who wants to have an effect on these ads can go to Craigslist in their area or any other area and flag ads that don’t seem right.

One of the greatest gifts that keeps the FLSPCA of CNY shelter running and gives a bit of happiness to the animals housed there is that of the volunteers and the donors. And there are never enough of them so you could make the difference to a dog or cat that has lost its home and everyone it has known by volunteering.

Fosterers take some of the animals into their homes and care for them, socialize them, exercize them, and give them love and a bit of training. FLSPCA executive director, Carol Russell, says “We have one special foster mom who always responds to our cries for help. Linda has cared for dozens and dozens of kittens over the years and has helped the days old babies who have lost their mother survive. We need more Lindas!!! Please volunteer to foster kittens or do other much needed jobs. We will provide training. We couldn’t open the doors without our volunteers!”

Some other faithful volunteers: Frannie who comes every afternoon to feed, water and clean the felines. She has been volunteering for about 3 years. Allison, Sally, Michelle, Elaine and Paula who volunteer for every spay/neuter clinic which usually last 12-14 hours or more. Sally faithfully tends to the front garden that makes the shelter entrance more attractive. Frank comes most days to walk dogs and help with minor repairs. Joe helps with temperament testing the dogs. Skip helps with data entry and anything else he is asked to do.

George and Tanja walk every dog in the Shelter on Sundays. Mary religiously walks sweet pitbull, Jed, and takes him for car rides and buys him ice cream cones. Sharon made a video of Jed and put him on YouTube.  Laurie comes every Monday to walk dogs. Robert ,who is new to dog walking, and Ron also give every dog a good workout.

Then there are those who volunteer for SPCA special events:  David, Tacie, Ginger and others.

More volunteers are needed as adoption assistants, cat socializers, dog socializers, foster moms/dads, someone to regularly take pictures of new animals for adoption websites, repair/maintenance and general clean up help. They can use any kind of help - from plumbing, electrical, carpentry, painting, and advice on many things. According to Carol Russell if people who possess these great skills would be willing to be on a list that we can keep and call on - we would promise to not abuse their generosity.”

The family of the late Dr. Mackey, DVM,  donated his operating table to the Shelter which is being used for the barn cat spay and neuter program. Welch Allyn donated two operating room/surgery lights for the spay/neuter clinics.

The garage that will soon arrive was donated and will be much appreciated by staff and animals alike as will the donation of stone for it’s base.

A roofer has offered to fix the building’s roof which leaks on the dogs. Carol wants them all to know how extraordinarily grateful everyone at the shelter is to those who donate not only their time but donate items that are desperately needed and also to those who routinely send monetary donations.

One more person to thank. Carol Russell herself stands up to cruelty and ignorance every day. She knows and lives with the saddest and most horrible stories and still keeps her sanity and doesn’t let her justified anger get the better of her. Her compassion never fails any needy animal. We are so lucky to have her!

Compassion fatigue comes from the day in, day out struggle to function in care giving environments that constantly present heart wrenching, emotional challenges. The first-hand knowledge that workers in animal shelters, humane societies and animal rescue organizations deal with daily in trying to affect positive change in society can cause chronic stress. It is a painful reality for some who have a strong identification with helpless, suffering, or traumatized people or animals.

Here are a few of the many incidents that our SPCA staff and director deal with:

Not long ago a puppy was found in a dumpster. The puppy was about 6 months old, very lethargic and covered in bite wounds and what appeared to be cigarette burns and she was diagnosed with parvovirus which was treated. As the puppy became stronger she began to display extrordinarily aggressive behavior towards dogs and most people. When all of the facts were put together, tt became apparent that this poor puppy had been used as “bait” in a dog fighting operation and when she became so ill that she could not fight back she was dumped liked yesterday’s garbage into a dumpster. She lost her life - not from illness or injury - but because of ignorance and greed.

Some years ago a beautiful white Turkish Angora cat was surrendered to the Shelter. Allergies was the reason. She was a very senior cat and deaf . She was stunning looking and understandably cranky having lost her home and everything she had known in her life. But a woman fell in love with her picture on the website and came all the way from Alabama to adopt her.

In January 2008 the shelter took in, on  a cruelty complaint, a yellow lab mix who they named Simone. Simone was found outside, shivering, starving and attempting desperately to care for 6 puppies. They were all brought into the Shelter where it was found that Simone had advanced heartworm disease. She was treated successfully ( it is an expensive treatment) and eventually Simone found a wonderful home as did all six of her puppies.

The SPCA responded to a cruelty complaint in the northern part of Cayuga County where their volunteer investigators found four Rottweilers and a beagle puppy at a residence with no shelter and no food or water on a frigid day. The investigators seized the dogs. The four Rottweilers were diagnosed with heartworm disease and the beagle puppy was diagnosed with parvovirus.

Before one of the Rotties could be treated on the way to the vet’s office he died in their arms. They were able to successfully treat the other dogs but at considerable expense to the Shelter

A small portion of these costs are defrayed by requesting an intake donation from people who bring in animals they no longer want or no longer can keep. The donation is not mandatory. The public is also asked to keep and help an animal in need if the animal is discovered after 10 p.m.

Several years ago the Shelter took in two cats at the request of a local veterinarian. The cats were in danger of being euthanized. Both of the cats became very depressed upon entering the Shelter, stopped eating and were in danger of starving themselves. One of the cats was fostered and subsequently adopted by an individual who worked very hard with her. However, the other cat continued downhill. Shelter staff fed him small bits of food and it took many weeks before he finally came around. He was at the Shelter (and was the staff’s office companion) for several years and has finally been adopted by a caring person.

And finally the heart wrenching stories of those faithful dogs that are brought in and…here’s one example:

A man brought in a dog that he had had for 5 years. His reason (excuse) was that he was moving. The shelter took the dog and the man walked out without a backward glance. For many weeks that dog watched constantly every time the gate was opened for this guy to come back to get her. It was very hard for shelter staff to watch this incrediable loyalty from a dog to the person she loved who didn’t care at all about her. She finally gave up. According to shelter staff this kind of thing happens every day of the week .

The shelter has three peace officers who answer as many cruelty/neglect calls as they are able to, They are trained volunteers. They have arrest powers and can issue appearance tickets