I’ve reported on various studies that have found that group housing, play groups, and plenty of socialization are absolutely crucial for dogs in shelters. Last week, I also reported about a new study on senior dogs that shelters need to go one step further and assign dedicated caretakers (i.e., a familiar face) as senior dogs “cope less efficiently with the emotional distress caused by a change of caretaker.” Two other studies yield even more guidance…
Last year, the Commonwealth of Virginia overwhelming passed SB 1381, a law which requires shelters to be “operated for the purpose of finding permanent adoptive homes.” In other words, SB 1381 does what the public already thinks shelters do and what the dictionary says they do, even though PETA, which is located in Virginia, does not. In fact, the bill was introduced in a response to PETA—which is licensed in Virginia as a shelter—killing over…
(Photo courtesy of Eileen McFall) For the animals of Napa County, CA, it was a good day at the ballot box. Voters overwhelmingly approved a law to provide better care and increase the number of animals who leave the shelter alive. Measure A requires that dogs, cats, and rabbits in the shelter be given “prompt and necessary veterinary care; appropriate socialization; [and] exercise.” It requires “accommodation of special needs in situations such as nursing mothers,…
Killing at the pound not only harms the animals who are killed, it harms animals outside the “shelter”* by fueling the puppy mill industry. It harms volunteers and rescuers, taking a severe emotional toll on them. And now comes a study that shows it can take “a psychosocial toll on the mental and physical health” of shelter veterinarians resulting in “emotional and physical exhaustion.” According to the study, veterinary shelter workers face “significant mental and…
For those who have been following my work, you already know that PETA is being sued for taking and killing Maya, a family’s dog. You also know that PETA rounds up and kills animals every year. Finally, you know that they have filed various motions to have the case dismissed by arguing that the dog was worthless, she had no value beyond the cost of replacement for another dog, they had permission by the property…
Effect of Breed Perceptions & Labeling on Attractiveness, Adoptions & Length of Stay for Pit-Bull-Type Dogs
Senator Tom Hayden has died. As obituaries are written across California and even our nation to honor the life and achievements of this stalwart champion of justice, those tributes will highlight those chapters of his life story for which Tom Hayden is most famous, including his efforts as an outspoken, young anti-war activist in the 1960s and 70s, his work championing civil rights and fighting poverty, and, of course, his marriage to Jane Fonda. But…
Part I: PETA tells a court that dogs are worthless and that stealing & killing a family’s dog is not “outrageous.” The Court disagrees. Maya. Killed by PETA On October 18, 2014, PETA representatives took a family’s dog, and then killed her with a lethal dose of barbiturates. Maya’s family was devastated. Although PETA initially denied doing so according to a family spokesperson, surveillance video proved they did. They subsequently admitted to taking and killing…
Yesterday, I posted about a court case against the Louisiana SPCA filed by a Bulldog Rescue group for the shelter’s refusal to provide information on the dogs they killed. In a victory for transparency, for the rights of the public, and for protection of animals, the Louisiana Court of Appeal ordered the Louisiana SPCA to do so. As I noted, transparency is the hallmark of accountability as the only thing that has forced the large…
Transparency is the hallmark of accountability, the best disinfectant for corruption. And there is no better example than the No Kill movement itself. The only thing that has forced the large national groups and shelters across the country to embrace positive, life-affirming changes to the way they have long operated and to reduce the sheer number of animals they have long needlessly killed was the court of public opinion. Public access to statistics about how…