Archives for Updates category
Sanctuary Animal Updates
It’s been a few months since my last update and boy have we been busy!! We had a very rough few months and due to budget constraints and a decreasing population of animals we made the very tough decision to lay off nearly a third of our staff in March. Since that time the remaining staff has been working extra hard to cover all the shifts. I am so thankful to them all for their tireless dedication, passionate devotion and extraordinary love for the animals in their care.
Intakes and Adoptions:
February: Intakes- 14 dogs, 22 cats and 0 rabbits
Adoptions- 36 dogs, 27 cats and 1 rabbits
March: Intakes- 45 dogs, 11 cats, and 1 rabbit
Adoptions- 38 dogs, 26 cats and 2 rabbits
April: Intakes- 45 dogs, 25 cats and 4 rabbits
Adoptions- 56 dogs, 15 cats, 4 rabbits
That’s a total of 205 adoptions in 3 months!
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Updates by kerry on May 09, 2012. There are comments.
Paradise
It’s hard to believe that less than 10 weeks ago we packed up our life in NY and moved to Puerto Rico. In so many ways it was a move to Paradise. You’ve probably seen pictures of the house and property. A gorgeous house on the side of a mountain in the middle of the jungle. Spectacular views in every direction. Beautiful flowers everywhere – orchids grow wild here! There are bananas, papayas, almonds, avocados, mango, sugar cane, orange trees, peppers, tomatoes, herbs and we even found a pineapple! Lizards sun themselves on the walkway and scurry away as you approach. The days are filled with the the peaceful melody of the songbirds and the rustling of banana leaves. At night the music changes to a serenade of the tiny coqui (little frogs). On a clear night you can almost reach out and touch the stars. The people here are warm and loving, and they have welcomed us with open arms. We have already made good friends here. And new people come every day to visit! Some are neighbors, coming by to say hello and introduce themselves. Many are people who have heard about what we are doing and want to help. Or they are rescuers themselves and they need help. They need hope. WE ARE THAT HOPE. Read the rest of this entry »
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Updates by kerry on Mar 21, 2012. There are comments.
Sanctuary Animal Updates
It’s a new year and we have already seen many changes at Pets Alive Westchester (PAW). We said good bye to our beloved Executive Director Joy Carson and our Shelter & Facilities Manager Ken as they moved on to take on Pets Alive Puerto Rico. Joy and Ken did so much for PAW and our animals that I will be forever grateful to them! I’ll admit it- I was a little nervous when I first got to PAW. Many of you may know me as the Shelter Manager of Pets Alive in Middletown. I’m also one of the first staff members to visit the old Elmsford Animal Shelter when we originally stepped up to help. My first day at Pets Alive Westchester was in November, only about a year since I had been there last, and it was immediately apparent that a transformation of epic proportions had taken place. My nerves turned to overwhelming excitement and I have never been more certain that this is where I needed to be.
In January we adopted out 43 dogs, 31 cats, and 3 rabbits!! A total of 77 animals who found their forever homes in just one month! That’s a tremendous increase compared to January 2011. We are so excited to continue increasing our adoption rates each and every month. Due to the incredible rate of adoption we were able to collaborate on a mass rescue of over 100 dogs, with the ASPCA and committed to each and every animal from the JP Ranch Rescue in Arkansas, in addition to our regular intakes. Some of those dogs went to Pets Alive Middletown (PAM), but here at PAW we rescued 83 dogs, 12 cats, and 1 rabbit.
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Updates by kerry on Feb 27, 2012. There are comments.
WE NEED YOU AGAIN! CAARA back on the table (previously known as Oreo’s Law)
(Below written by John Sibley)
Though the ASPCA gives the occasional glimmer of hope, recent events remind me that they remain mired in a killing mentality and seek to preserve the status quo in sheltering, even fighting to expand the power of shelters to kill at will.
Recently the ASPCA convinced NYS Assemblywoman Amy Paulin to introduce their pseudo-shelter reform legislation. Embarrassed by the outcry in favor of Oreo’s Law (now CAARA), they immediately scrambled to write their own shelter reform law – one that they could claim made a difference for the better in the lives of NY animals while actually quietly blocking actual reform and expanding NY shelters’ power to kill.
The ASPCA co-opts meaningful shelter reform legislation largely by copying it but then including weasel words like substituting “may” for “shall”. So instead of requiring shelters to work with outside rescue groups, it simply says that they can if they choose to. Other meaningful reforms, like requiring shelters to scan for microchips, post found animals online, and make an effort to match lost and found animals are scuttled by including an exception if the shelter does not find it “practicable” to do so. Well, given the choice, they won’t find it practicable, which is why we need legislation that mandates it.
Most destructively and unbelievably, the ASPCA written legislation contains a clause that would, for all practical purposes, eliminate the legally mandated holding period for stray animals by allowing shelters to kill any animal who they found to be in “psychological pain”. This is nothing less than a declaration of war on feral cats, scared dogs, or any animal that found themselves scared and confused upon being brought into the chaotic shelter environment – or any animal they simply wanted to find a flimsy excuse to kill. Animals judged by laypeople with no training whatsoever to be in “psychological pain” could be killed instantly on admission to the shelter and bypass the legally required holding period to give their owners the chance to find them.
New Yorkers, we need your help – quickly. This bill, known as New York Assembly Bill A05449A, will face its first committee vote on Wednesday, February 15th. We haven’t much time. The first thing we need to do is to tell our elected officials that we will not tolerate an ASPCA encouraged increase in shelter killing in New York State.
Please visit New York State Assemblywoman Amy Paulin’s Facebook page and leave her a polite, personal comment asking her to withdraw her bill, A05449A, from consideration. Asw. Paulin is up for re-election in November and wants to be a champion of animals in New York State, and she probably would not want to risk her re-election on being dubbed Amy “Quick Kill” Paulin. You might also consider sending her a message on Twitter, although she appears to use that less. Also drop an email to ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres and ASPCA Board President Mary Jo White and let them know what you think of their organization’s legislation. Then visit the following four links to email key legislators to send them your thoughts:
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3
Link 4
Keep in mind that although you can use the text that’s been written for you, a heartfelt personal note always goes a long way.
Finally, support REAL change in the form of CAARA, which mandates REAL reform instead of making it optional. CAARA is trying to get the support of NYS Senator Patty Richie, Chair of the Senate Agricultural Committee, and her support would really help move the bill forward. Email her here and ask her to support this lifesaving effort – and you can read more about CAARA here and read the complete text of the bill here. New York’s animals deserve better than the deadly slight of hand of the ASPCA Quick Kill. They deserve the lifesaving provisions of CAARA.
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Updates by kerry on Feb 14, 2012. There are comments.
Ring Out The Old, Ring In The New
After one year as Executive Director of Pets Alive Westchester, I am leaving to take on the role of Executive Director of Pets Alive Puerto Rico. It’s a bittersweet transition for me.
While I look forward to the new challenge in Puerto Rico, I look around and see so much still to be done in Westchester.
Mostly I see the faces of the animals. I have come to love each and every one of them, and leaving them is very difficult. But I know I am leaving them in capable hands. Jenessa Taylor, the new Executive Director, is able to step into this role without missing a beat. She comes to PAW from Pets Alive Middletown, where she was the Executive Administrator working right alongside the President of the Board and Executive Director at Middletown. Jen has extensive knowledge and experience in handling the day to day operation as well as in keeping the long term goals on track. She knows that the top priority is to get these animals into loving homes and to ensure that their lives are enriched while they are still here. The staff at Pets Alive Westchester is a strong group of committed, capable, caring, compassionate people. Led by Jenessa, they will not only accomplish the goals already set forth, but with your support, they will take Pets Alive Westchester to places not yet imagined!
So go ahead – RING OUT THE OLD!
It has been such an honor working with you to lead this organization over the past year, and to be able to play a small part in helping to improve the lives of the animals at Pets Alive Westchester. Thank you all for being a part of PAW, and for all your support and encouragement.
Always remember that none of this can happen without you, so please give generously in 2012 of your time, your money and most of all your love. Thank you for loving the animals. Your love worked miracles in 2011. There are more miracles to come in 2012.
RING IN THE NEW!
Love,
Joy XOXOXO Read the rest of this entry »
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Updates by kerry on Jan 03, 2012. There are comments.
It all started 2 years ago. A rescue organization called Manos Por Patas asked us to help by taking the dogs they saved from Dead Dog Beach in Puerto Rico. Dead Dog Beach was known to be a dumping ground for unwanted dogs, and considered a place to go for “sport” by some of the locals to abuse and torment the animals. It was definitely a horror show and many organizations were trying to make a difference there and help the dogs. We were tentative at first, not knowing what to expect in these dogs, but could not have been more pleasantly surprised.
The dogs that arrived were some of the nicest dogs we have ever taken in. Happy, excited, friendly and grateful to be here. It was interesting to us because these dogs that had never lived in a home, had some of the best home “manners” of any we had seen. Almost all of them seemed to be house trained when we adopted them to families. We assume it is because they have always gone outside, so eliminating there was natural to them, having lived outside their whole lives. They also didn’t “take off” when the door or gate was opened. Most of them stayed right there at the house or in the yard. They had found a home, and no longer did they seem to want to wander or run. They were happy, and fed, and loved.
They were all also good with other dogs! Having lived their lives on the beach with a pack of dogs, they had adapted well to communal living and sharing space and food. Wonderfully social dogs. They were also almost all small to medium size which is highly adoptable.
We were pulling in dogs that had miserable lives, no vetting, no care, no affection or love – and they turned out to be some of the best and most highly adoptable dogs we had ever encountered. We not only felt we NEEDED to save more – we WANTED to! We worked more and more closely with this organization but ultimately they closed down and asked us to take over their mission. We met about it, and it was 100% unanimous. We had to help. We had to continue saving the dogs that were in such desperate need.
And so we continued to save dogs remotely, but this wasn’t an ideal arrangement. The expense for vetting and boarding was astronomical. Marisol and Rob Thomas are members of our board, and Marisol is a proud Puerto Rican. She has a fire in her heart for the dogs of the island. She and Rob wanted us to do everything possible to help. So Rob and Marisol, through their Sidewalk Angels Foundation, have donated $250,000 to set the wheels in motion, and we embarked on a mission to build a sanctuary in Puerto Rico. Read the rest of this entry »
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Updates by kerry on Dec 01, 2011. There are comments.
Updates -
I really can’t believe I have been so negligent in sending out the updates. My apologies to all! In the future I will try to make SURE I do one every month. I have been writing blogs though, and I hope you will read those as they do provide an update as to what has been going on. My favorite was “In the interests of Tyson”. Hope you will read it. There are also updates in the blogs regarding Pets Alive Puerto Rico and Pets Alive Westchester.
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Updates by Admnistrator on Nov 01, 2011. There are comments.
It’s been a very hard month for Pets Alive. All of us have been affected by it. We’re a family so if one of us is hurting we all are. Kerry writes about it in more detail in her blog and I would really encourage you to read it: http://petsalive.com/blog/2011/06/09/questions-doubts-and-recrimination/
This month has made me question my own rescue efforts and whether change can really be made. Really it has….
The Pets Alive annual ‘Furball’ was held last Saturday. The theme was ‘Can you feel the love tonight?’ and without sounding horribly cliché you really could. Hundreds of people joined together in their love of animals. It was humbling and incredible to witness. It gave me renewed determination to continue our work in PR.
A small glimmer of hope appeared on the horizon this week. For those who follow PAPR you know that we have a number of dogs in foster care. They had spent far too long in Dr Aguirre’s office and when I was in PR we built ¼ acre runs for these dogs at Iris’s house. I would like to take a moment to tell you all about Iris. Iris is an angel who appeared to me last year. I was transporting dogs back to NY and only had 5 crates to take. That left a spare place on my flight so I sent out a note to all the rescuers I know on the island. One of our biggest struggles as rescuers in Puerto Rico is getting dogs out of PR. They must have an escort on the plane and that can prove difficult to find. Somehow my email ended up in Iris’s hands and I received a call from her about a boxer she had rescued named Dio. Iris has been rescuing dogs her whole life with her own money. She finds wonderful homes for them in Puerto Rico. She had been struggling to find a great home for Dio.
Could I take him to Pets Alive she asked? With a heavy heart I explained that I could only transport dogs and I could not take any further rescues in. I could hear the heartbreak in her voice as she thanked me for what I was doing for the dogs of PR and that she would try and continue to find a home for Dio on the island. I felt terrible. So I called Kerry and asked if we had room at the inn for one more – a beautiful boxer who was neutered, healthy and up to date on shots. ‘Of course!’ said Kerry and I could hardly contain my excitement as I called Iris to tell her the good news. Dio and 5 others traveled with me on the night before Thanksgiving. It was a hideous journey. One flight got cancelled, and then the next one that American could put us all on got horribly delayed. We finally walked in the doors of Pets Alive at 6am on Thanksgiving morning. A wonderful family adopted Dio – he even has his own kids! That Thanksgiving Eve Iris and I became sisters and she has been helping PAPR ever since.
We have 18 dogs in foster care. Dogs that I have been promising their very own family…And this week I was told that they could finally come to Pets Alive! It is not something that I was expecting but that makes it all the more exciting! And scary. PAPR had certainly not planned for a large transport but we will make it happen – the dogs are coming in the next 2 weeks. It now costs us $175 PER DOG to send the dogs with American Airlines. And they are the cheapest. That’s in excess of $3000. So I again appeal to you, our loyal followers and supporters to help us bring these beautiful Angels to heaven on earth. They are so deserving and have waited patiently for so long. I am going to put up a chip-in on our website and I would encourage you to give whatever you can. If you would like to sponsor an individual dog and cover their airfare then even better! If you cannot donate $$$ then please consider air miles. We can fly ANY airline to GET to PR. We need to fly AA back as they transport dogs for us. Jet Blue is great because they don’t charge for baggage. And believe me I take a lot of baggage. I have a full rescue kit that I travel with and my wonderful vet, Dr Thomas LoBasso of Cobble Hill Animal Clinic in Brooklyn always send me with huge donations of heartworm and flea and tick medication. Plus I usually go a little crazy in the dog isles of Target before I leave to spoil our fur kids. They so deserve it.
I don’t know who said it but a picture definitely speaks a thousand words so I put this together for you all. You know who is coming and you can pick your favorite to sponsor : ) These dogs have been waiting for their ‘Someday’……… http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AcuG7Rs2YtHWQ
On a very frustrating note, 5 dogs have been dumped at the beach : (
The first one looks in really bad shape.
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Updates by kerry on Jun 18, 2011. There are comments.
Foster program
With more than 140 senior dogs and more than 100 senior cats up for adoption at PAW, creativity is the key to getting those furries into the loving homes they deserve at this time of their life. Unlike other foster programs in which the foster parent commits to taking in an animal temporarily while a suitable adopter is found, the Senior Foster program at PAW asks foster parents to commit to the animal for the rest of the animal’s life. We understand that the potential cost of medical care is one of the main reasons many people reject the idea of adopting a senior pet. So Pets Alive Westchester provides the medical care for seniors in our program.
With your help, we can get these animals home. Committing to a senior is one of the most rewarding ways you will ever find to help an animal in need. It has been heartbreaking to come here, go through the records and see animals that came in as puppies, still here 14 years later. Absolutely gut wrenching. Seniors, especially those who have spent most of their life in the shelter, are extremely grateful for any amount of love and attention that is paid to them. They have outgrown most bad habits, and appreciate simple things such as great smells coming from the kitchen, leisurely walks in the evening, and a soft, cozy place to rest their old bones at the end of a long day. In return they will be a faithful companion to you and give you uncompromising love and devotion. Won’t you please consider providing a loving home for one of these deserving animals?
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Updates by kerry on May 17, 2011. There are comments.
One month turned to two and a dream became a reality………
I arrived in PR mid-March to search for land for Pets Alive Puerto Rico and received an exciting phone call from my good friend, fellow rescuer and all around angel, Iris. The First Lady of Puerto Rico had heard about my rescue work over here from Iris’s husband, who works directly with the Governor of Puerto Rico. I was invited for an audience at her office to discuss plans for Pets Alive Puerto Rico. After running out and buying a frock (I didn’t pack anything apart from shorts and t-shirts – good dog rescuing gear!) I went to La Fortaleza, The Governor of Puerto Rico’s Mansion.
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Updates by kerry on May 15, 2011. There are comments.