Help is NOT on the Way.

At 11:09 AM on Sunday, July 24, 2011 an email went out to the Alamo Area Partners for Animal Welfare's Yahoo message board, that a pit bull had been tied with a short chain in front of a thrift store on Rigsby and had given birth to seven puppies.  The information came from a woman who had first seen the animal on Wednesday and reported it to 311.  In the subsequent days it was again reported to 311 as well as SAPD who said they would relay the message to ACS.  Still no one came to help.  The mama pitty was naturally protective of her pups and the woman and the owner of the store were too frightened to get close and free her. They pushed food and water close to her and tried desperately to find someone to assist. 

Within one hour of being notified, members of the rescue community had mobilized, alerted the media and planned to meet the news stations there at 1:00 PM.  Imagine everyone's surprise when, after five days of calls with no response, a truck from ACS showed up at the exact same time as the media and rescuers.  Of course, by this time half of the puppies were dead.

ACS employees, board members and volunteers have access to the message board and it was only after a private call for help went out and it was learned that the media would be involved that anyone from that agency was sent out to help. 

Kens 5 Story

How can we educate people in this City that animals matter, that pets are not disposable, when the agency responsible for their welfare doesn't think even seem to care.

My rescue recently took in a chihuahua mix with severe burns on her back. She was chained in a yard with no shade and had received no medical treatment for her severe injury, allowing infection to fester.  I was told we should have called ACS and allowed them to open a cruelty investigation, but with their response times, history of failing to properly care for animals and widespread disease at their facility, I didn't feel this little girl would survive ACS' "help".  So the people that hurt Audrey will go unpunished, but I refuse to take the blame.  The system is broken, the animals are suffering and the City management that allows this to continue is at fault. 

Mobilizing

I attended a meeting last night organized by Tracy Voss.  She's the incredible lady who has made it her mission to video the dogs at the Brooks kennels and get them out to the public.  She's saved a lot of lives, but like many rescuers all she can think about are the ones that she didn't save. The traffic on her YouTube site has increased dramatically and she is now getting requests from people all over the country to adopt or rescue the dogs that the fine people of San Antonio have thrown away.  Tracy has come up with a great plan to organize a network of rescues and transporters across the country so we can save as many lives as possible.  After last night I'm confident she has assembled a wonderful group of volunteers from all areas of the local rescue community that are going to help her make it happen.  It's not going to be easy, but she's motivated and her enthusiasm is contagious so onward and upward we will go! 

On a side note, I was very disappointed that no one from ACS attended the meeting to offer their insight and suggestions even though several key people said they would be there. It would seem this is a program that should be of interest to them.  An ACS Advisory Board member finally showed up as the meeting was wrapping, but rather than add anything helpful she snootily mumbled quietly to me (who had the misfortune of sitting next to her) about why certain suggestions wouldn't work or how she had come up with that idea for her organization years ago.  It made me think of one of my favorite quotes by C.S. Lewis, "A proud man [or woman] is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you're looking down, you can't see something that's above you."

Below is a link to Tracy's videos.  This is only a fraction of the dogs that are put down every day.  If you know animal lovers in other states that could volunteer their time to help with transports please let me know.  We need a network of angels across the country to make Tracy's vision a reality and save more of these precious pups. 

Dogs on Death Row

Animal Processing 101

Taken from the standard operating procedure at ACS:

303  ANIMAL PROCESSING

All animals placed in the intake area must be assessed by the veterinary and shelter staff before being moved.

All adult dogs will be vaccinated with Distemper-Hepatitis-Parvo-Parainfluenza (DHPP) immediately upon arrival.

All puppies will be vaccinated with Distemper-Parvo-Parainfluenza-Hepatitis (DHPP) vaccine at 6, 9, 12, and 15 weeks of age.

Cats will be assessed to determine if domestic or feral.  Healthy cats will be placed in the Cat Intake Room.  Sick or injured cats will be placed in the Cat Isolation Room.  Feral cats will be placed in the Feral Cat Room.

Upon arrival, all puppies 2 weeks or older will be dewormed with Panacur (fenbendazole) for 3 days.  All adult dogs will be dewormed with Strongid T (pyrantel).

Upon arrival, all kittens 2 weeks or older will be dewormed with Strongid T (pyrantel).

All dogs should receive a Bordetella vaccine as soon as they are old enough based on the vaccine label.

 I picked these 4 girls up yesterday from ACS and as is usually the case there is nothing on their medical paperwork to indicate they were dewormed.  Deworming a puppy as soon as possible can mean the difference between life and death if they are heavily infested.  Unfortunately, ACS chooses not to follow their own procedures.  I have two theories as to why this is not being followed other than the obvious fact that they're just plain lazy.  First, why should they deworm them if they are just going to turn around and kill them in a few days? If they wait they can save a buck.  Second, deworming can cause diarrhea and even vomitting sometimes and no one wants to adopt a dog they think is sick. Plus diarrhea and vomitting can also be signs of other disease which would make more work for staff in trying to determine if a puppy was just having normal wormy poop or if it was sick with parvo or distemper.  They would have to do away with the diarrhea = euthanization practice they have settled into.

The only time a dog or puppy will be dewormed is if it is "worked up" by the vet staff for adoption or rescue.  Since some dogs are pulled by rescues who do their own vetting it is becoming more and more apparent that procedure is not being followed over there. Puppies at ACS already have the deck stacked against them.  They can be immediately euthanized for no reason at all if they are under 4 months; if they actually make it past that hurdle then their tiny bodies and weak immune systems have to survive a general population kennel where disease is rampant.  Can we at least give them a fighting chance by clearing their bellies of the parasites that prevent them from gaining any nourishment?

Cut the crap, Hendel!

When this photo appeared on the ACS Pet Harbor web site it set off a flurry of emails to ACS for obvious reasons. Who in their right mind would think it was ok to post a photograph of a frightened puppy cowering in a mess of their own feces?  The emails from rescues started before 9AM demanding a new photo and information on the dog. 

FINALLY, at 6:00PM after repeated attempts for an answer from someone at ACS the following response was sent out:

RE: Feces Puppy Still in Cyberspace!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011 6:00 PM

From: "Elizabeth Brown"

 

Unfortunately, this puppy was euthanized earlier today due to behavioral and medical concerns.

 

Elizabeth Ann Brown
Senior Management Analyst - Live Release
City of San Antonio
Animal Care Services Department
O: 210-207-6655
C: 210-508-8953
Do your part to save lives! Please sterilize your pets.
Please consider the environment before printing this email.

 

Behavioral concerns?  What kind of behavioral concerns does a 3 month old puppy have?  And why wasn't rescue contacted when they realized this puppy was sick?  Why did no one answer the numerous emails sent to ACS employees throughout the day?  Actually, someone did answer an email.  ACS Director Gary Hendel sent the following email to a concerned citizen at 3:42PM.  Unfortunately, he was either lying or grossly misinformed about what was going on in his kennels at ACS.  Not only was another picture NOT taken or uploaded, but the puppy was already dead. 

 

 

From: Gary Hendel
Date: March 22, 2011 3:42:13 PM CDT
To: Brenda
Subject: RE: Puppy in Feces

Hi Brenda.

This photo was taken as the dog exited our animal care truck and we realize it's not the best.  A new photo has been uploaded.  Please be aware that we didn't put the animal in this condition.  It was picked up frightened and hungry and as soon as we got to the shelter the puppy was cleaned and given food and a warm bed.  We cared for this puppy as if it were our own.... because it is.

Gary


What is it going to take for them to get their proverbial shit together over there at ACS?  These are not isolated incidents anymore.  This kind of thing happens on a daily basis.  The right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing and the left hand just doesn't care. 

Hooch needs a home.

If you're missing your Dogue de Bordeaux you'll never find her on Pet Harbor.  ACS thinks she's a Sharpei. 

Why is every other dog at ACS a chow?

This morning they had this dog labeled a chow mix so I complained.  She's no more a lab than she is a chow, but at least she has a better chance now.  Chows are often subject to breed restrictions just like pit bulls. :(

More chow mixes at ACS...WTH?

For those that don't know, here are some chow pictures. There are at least 20 other breeds that better fit the dogs pictured above.

Breed Identification...

Why is this dog a German Shep mix?

But this one is a lab mix?

This is not a chihuahua!

It took days for me to get ACS to change the breed description on this dog.  Luckily, they gave her some extra time because of it, but a lot of dogs are not so lucky.

Kelly the Broken Chihuahua

"What's wrong with this dog?"  That's what rescuer Kelly Walls asked the kennel worker when she saw this little girl sitting in her crate.  In a perfect world, ACS should notify rescue when they have an injured dog that needs more medical attention than they can provide.  While they don't pretend to understand why, they know that there are rescues in this City that will take the injured dogs to make sure they have a chance.  Unfortunately, this little girl sat for two days, without any medication for her pain, before Kelly just happened upon her in the kennels. She was rushed to a private vet only to learn that her injuries were far more severe than anyone could have imagined.  Her spine had been severed, most likely from being hit by a car and the decision was made to euthanize her. The only ray of light is that she did not die alone in a cold and careless animal control facility, but peacefully while being comforted by two rescue angels.  She knew love and kindness before she left this earth.  Allowing an animal to wallow in pain with such a catastrophic injury is inhumane and the decision not to immediately euthanize or to contact rescue is inexcusable. 

No-kill 2012 is a Joke.

It sounded good on paper I guess and I'm sure they had the best of intentions six years ago, but no-kill 2012 is a joke and completely unattainable due to the utter lack of concern by the current city leaders and citizens in San Antonio.  There is no way you can increase intake (as ACS has been instructed to do) and decrease euthanasia.  It's basic math, people!!  The only way that it's going to happen is to change the culture in a city that doesn't want to change. A city that is currently being led by a mayor who could care less about the problem. 

Education regarding responsible pet ownership, free spay/neuter clinics, enforcement of existing city ordinances to stop the back yard breeders...all of these initiatives were to be put in place yet while I know they exist you'd be hardpressed to find them unless you were really looking.  We have to flood the city with these services so that people see them everywhere they go.  So they hear about them on the news, see them at the grocery store, the pharmacy, their workplaces, their schools.  There needs to be more money spent on mobile spay/neuter units, there needs to be education on responsible pet ownership in all the schools in every district.  There needs to be PSA's put out by the CITY and not just AAPAW. This is the only way to combat the stray problem in San Antonio so we can make the streets safer for everyone, to encourage companies to bring their business to a city that takes pride in itself and to stop the needless suffering of the animals in San Antonio and Bexar County.  But until someone who can make it happen gives a damn things will forever remain the same.  San Antonio will have one of the worst pounds in the nation for a city of its size and no-kill will remain something that happens in other towns.