Archives for November, 2009
Tomorrow we gather for our Thanksgiving meal, stuff ourselves and then spend a tryptophan-induced restful afternoon with the people we love.
Back in 1620, a group of about 100 religious dissidents from England found themselves in Plymouth, Massachusetts after a short stop in the Netherlands. They were the first settlers in this new world, and things were rough.
During the first winter here 50 out of a hundred settlers died of starvation and sickness. Tradition has it that in the spring they planted their first harvest and the abundance of some of the crops was amazing. They were able to pay off their financiers in England quicker than they expected, and there was still plenty left over.
They were thankful for their very lives – thankful to be part of the surviving Pilgrims. They were thankful for their harvest – thankful that they were reaping in abundance the seeds they had sown.
A little over a week ago we were all shocked at the senseless killing of Oreo, the dog who had survived being thrown from a six story rooftop, landing on air conditioning units which broke her fall.
As we know she died not from her injuries but as a result of the decision to take her life rather than respond to our request to take her to Pets Alive for rehabilitation.
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Animal Rescue by Admnistrator on Nov 25, 2009. There are comments.
So a lot of you had contacted us about the “Hunter situation” here in Orange County. Hunter is a dog at the Orange County Sheriff’s K9-Unit. His handler, Deputy Edward Josefovitz, was leaving the department and wanted to take Hunter with him. I must say that at first I felt like I had to be on the side of the handler. How could you live with a dog for two years and then be forced to give it up? This poor family must be heartbroken, I thought. So I looked for more information and all the web had was stories about how much the family loved him and that he was sick and elderly and was now living in a cement pen, depressed and dejected laying in the back of it, day after day. I confess I was really surprised and felt terrible for these people. So I reached out to the Sheriff’s department and spoke to Orange County Sheriff’ Carl DuBois. I’ve known Carl for a lot of years and was really surprised that he would treat an animal this way. REALLY surprised. That’s because Carl is a HUGE dog lover. In fact when his dog died this past year, he and his wife couldn’t get another one because they were so crushed and heartbroken by the loss. So how could this situation be true?
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Uncategorized by kerry on Nov 24, 2009. There are comments.
Tonight (Wednesday), as animal lovers hold a candlelight vigil outside the ASPCA offices for Oreo, the miracle dog killed by the ASPCA, we are thrilled to let you know that we received word that 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 modeled after a similar law in California (the Hayden law), and would have saved Oreo and brought her to us. This is a MAJOR step in the right direction for ensuring the safety of the animals in the care of organizations like the ASPCA. It must pass.
We expect that there will be shouting and foot stomping and doomsday predictions (as there was in California) from the ASPCA and the big money organizations, and it is VITAL that you help us keep their feet to the fire. Support this bill, and support the legislators who introduced it. Write the Assembly members and/or State Senators and let them know what’s going on and that they need to support this bill. Call them if you are so inclined. Spread the word to your friends and neighbors.
Send your expressions of support to:
Assembly Member Kellner at kellnerm@assembly.state.ny.us
State Senator Tom Duane at duane@senate.state.ny.us
Read the press release here:
http://www.micahkellner.net/2009/11/18/oreos-law-would-give-dogs-a-second-chance-at-life/
Please take just a second to email them and thank them.
Then spread the news. Post this to your Facebook and Myspace pages. Twitter it. Digg it, Reddit. WHATEVER social network you use, please use it. Let’s get everyone involved.
Kerry & Matt
Unfamiliar with the Oreo case?
You can read a great summary here in the L.A.Times.You can also read our own page here, and check our press page.
Be the difference. YOU are all the have.
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Animal Rescue by kerry on Nov 19, 2009. There are comments.
We are naive. For organizations like the ASPCA, “animal welfare” is big business. They are money raising machines, using star power to raise millions to further their efforts. Paying their CEO, Ed Sayres, the man who responded to staff emails trying to save Oreo, the dog thrown off the roof, nursed to health and then murdered by the ASPCA by saying “just do your job” more than half a million dollars a year.
Pets Alive is not a money raising machine. We save animals. That’s it. Every day we pour over emails, phone calls and phone messages from other shelters, trying our best to save as many as we can. Understand one fundamental fact that some people seem to be forgetting. They are all equal. Every soul is as precious as the next. Each one is completely innocent and each one deserves life.
I was broken when I left my office last night. I was completely disgusted. I went out to dinner and drank more than I ate. Kerry was heartbroken as well.
The question left in our minds is very simple: how could an organization that has virtually unlimited resources claim to have run out of options and kill an animal? We’re not talking about an animal dying of cancer or ripped to shreds in a dogfight. There are no shades of gray here. No wiggle room. There’s only a binary reality – right and wrong. Black and white. Yes or no. Life or death. They chose death. Period. Why? Because that’s what Sayres and his minions wanted for Oreo. That’s what they thought was best for her. Can you f’ing believe that? They gave us all the finger and told us that death was the best thing for Oreo.
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Animal Rescue by Admnistrator on Nov 14, 2009. There are comments.
Hi everyone. Matt here. At Pets Alive we are eager to collaborate with other shelters. We try very hard to set aside political views, debates over kill or no-kill, personalities and everything else, staying laser focused on the animals. They are all that matter. We will fight tooth and nail for each and every one.
You’ve helped us many times. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Many of our supporters donate to many animal welfare organizations. Many donate to the SPCA of New York City – I’m not talking about your local SPCA or the Sullivan County SPCA (good friends of ours), or the Westchester County SPCA (again, friends of ours).
I’m speaking of the New York City ASPCA – $85 million in donations last year, a President named Ed Sayres, whose salary is more than our budget for the year. They spent $10 million on advertising last year. $10 million. And we struggle to buy stamps.
Know what though? If they’re saving animals then we support them one hundred percent. And they saved 4000 last year. That’s great. That comes to roughly $20,000 an animal, but at least they’re saved, right?
You would think so. You’d be wrong.
Oreo was a pit bull mix that was thrown from the top of a six story building. She ended up at the ASPCA, who set her broken legs, fixed her shattered body and got her back on her feet. Then they killed her.
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Animal Rescue by kerry on Nov 13, 2009. There are comments.
Sanctuary animal updates:
Since my last update on October 6th we placed the following dogs: Blackjack, Olivia, Goldie, Lizzie, Jennie, Ashley, Kisska, Bones, Charlie, Kohli, Lenny, Autumn, Luka, Batman, Jolie, Bobo, Tinkerbell, Hannah, Posey, Abby, Zoe, Nana, Billy, King, Heaven, Deuce, Panda, Peanut, Rem, George, Shadow, Shayna, Kelsey, and Vaughn. We also adopted out the following cats: Charlie, Coal, Pixie, Serena, Petey, Patches, Oscar and Beebs.
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Updates by kerry on Nov 11, 2009. There are comments.
I’m supposed to be working on my monthly update right now but my heart it isn’t it. I can’t seem to concentrate on it and I was sitting here looking at the blank page and trying to figure out why. I wandered over to twitter and exchanged some tweets with others. Ahh. That’s what it is. This is grief. That’s why I’m distracted and emotional and having trouble focusing on things.
The thing is that the distress I’m feeling isn’t my own. Yesterday Rob and Mari lost their beloved Tyler. Our friend Trudy lost her precious Rexy, and at Pets Alive we lost Mush, Lizzie and Morgan this month. It’s been a rough month. These losses remind me of, and make me feel again, that horrible keening pain of the loss of losing my own animals over the years. I have eight dogs laid to rest in my yard. Every one of their deaths was a terrible sharp knife in my stomach that never fully went away. Losing each one of them took away a piece of my heart that never really grew back in.
When I lost Zack (also to cancer) I used his death to propel me forward and to save other animals as a way of making his life have more meaning. (You can read that story here: http://petsalive.com/blog/2008/01/27/farewell-to-zack-a-throw-away-dog/) . He became a catalyst for me – to spur me forward to saving other animals and want to stop the killing and the breed specific legislation. He was a great dog and to this day pictures of him and memories of him can still stab deeply.
So today and yesterday I have been thinking of Mari and Rob and their family and the loss of their precious baby, Tyler. You see Tyler was a catalyst too. Tyler, that previous little soul, was the connection that brought Rob and Mari into “our” world – the Pets Alive world. I am sure they loved animals BEFORE Tyler, and I am sure they did good on their behalf, and I am sure that – in fact I KNOW that – their families are all animal loving and compassionate people. But Tyler, ah, you see Tyler was something more.
Tyler was perhaps an angel sent here for a greater purpose, larger and farther reaching than we’ll ever know.
One little dog.
One little soul.
That little bundle of white fur that resulted in the salvation and the changing (for the better) of the lives of thousands of other animals.
Tyler had been a badly abused dog when he found his way to Pets Alive. Marisol and Rob fell in love with him here and adopted him. Because of Tyler, Rob & Mari became fierce and staunch advocates of Pets Alive. They have given us money, support, volunteer time, and the love and support of their fans. Because of that one little life, Pets Alive still has their doors open today. Without their help last year, we would definitely have closed our doors. That means that last year 1000 animals that we pulled from euthanasia lists, all would have been piles of bodies on the floor. Because of that little bundle of white fur, called Tyler (or Teetsie), those lives have been saved and have gone on to enrich the lives of the families that share their love now. This year, Rob is on tour and could not hold a benefit for us. I admit things are extremely tight and I worry all the time, but because of that one little soul Rob’s fans have come out and continue to support us whenever we need help. They have helped us financially, they have volunteered here, they have spread the word about us and they have lent us emotional support when needed.
Because of one tiny, little soul.
Because of that little soul, we have helped THREE other shelters become no-kill. How many lives have THEY gone on to save? How many more will THEY go on to influence and change? The rock is rolling and picking up all sorts of positive momentum.
Because of one little, tiny, soul, thousands more will be saved this year.
Thanks to Tyler and the love he showered on his family, they have paid it forward to showering it all over thousands of animals. Because of YOUR love for Tyler’s family, YOU have paid it forward to continue to help us to save lives and to stop the killing.
Because of one tiny, little soul.
How many other lives were touched by him as he passed through his short time on earth? How many of you paid attention when you saw him at a concert or on the streets? How did it change YOU? What did you think of a man that would cancel his concerts because he couldn’t go on due to the grief he had over the loss of this one little soul? Did it change you? Did it make you think? If it did, then that one little soul affected YOU too.
That little soul that left this earth yesterday, will manage to touch hundreds of thousands of lives.
That little soul may be the result of us changing this area. Our goal. To make this whole area no-kill.
Will that one little soul help to see Sara’s dream become a reality?
Today we placed two VERY difficult dogs.
Peanut. And Rem.
Someone said “What in the WOLRD is going on”?
I said “That’s Tyler. He’s still out there. Still helping ”
I am so deeply sorry for the loss of Tyler. Maybe though, his job here was done, and he could do more from the other side. I don’t know why our animals, our cherished bundles of joy, are yanked from us so early and before WE are done and before WE are ready to give them up. But perhaps there is a reason that we can not understand. Perhaps Tyler has done his part here and in leaving will take up a new role somehow. I can’t begin to understand. I just know that people that I care about are suffering a great loss today because of…
..that one little soul.
Rest in peace Tyler.
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Tributes by kerry on Nov 06, 2009. There are comments.