animal rescuers - resources - support

[Diavolo]

I had another dog through her last month. He was a starved GSP. Super sweet dog. He wanted to press his head against me all of the time. I tried to get him to eat to no avail. I gave him to a friend of mine to foster, she only got him to eat some and she was cooking for him. She had X-rays done and nothing was there. Six days later another set and something was so egregious they opened him up. He was full of cancer so they let him go. He was a great dog and I'm happy that the last three weeks of his life were full of home cooked meals and love. We named him Sport.

[SoNotHer]

This is as insupportable as greyhound racing is.

Ticks “Crawling up the Wall” in Kennel at Tucson Greyhound Park



With each passing month, more evidence emerges of humane problems at Tucson Greyhound Park. Last week, GREY2K USA received new state records that document neglectful conditions in one of the track kennels, as well as an ongoing problem with greyhound injuries.

According to a March 6, 2012 Arizona Department of Racing Stewards Report, a state inspection revealed “ticks crawling up the wall” in the Brian Lewis Kennel:

“Brian Lewis kennel had ticks crawling up the wall behind the crates during a State Inspection and TGP Management told State Officials that the kennel would be addressed as far as cleanliness and to this date nothing has been done.”

This is not the first time that poor kennel conditions have been documented at Tucson Greyhound Park. In fact, similar conditions have been documented at the facility over and over again. Sadly, it’s becoming all too obvious that track management is simply incapable of addressing this chronic problem.

Meanwhile, the same March 6 Stewards Report also documents continued problems with track conditions at Tucson. The Stewards Report refers to a previous meeting between kennel operators and track General Manager Tom Taylor, and states:

“After nothing was resolved from a meeting with the GM and trainers/owners, some trainers/kennel operators are now holding the State responsible for all the injuries at Tucson Greyhound Park. As you can see there are 7 scratched greyhounds tonight ‘ALL LAME’”

Later in the report, state officials indicate that one kennel owner contacted them directly to voice her concerns:

“Donna Mann called the Stewards off the roof to talk about the out of control injuries. She has a list of 17 injuries which she gave to management, the racing office, and left copies in the racing office titled ‘DAN’ and the Director of Racing asked ‘why do you need him it’s our issue’ and to date Dan Reinertson has not received copies.”

Finally, it’s important to note that this Stewards Report also provides evidence that track management is indifferent to humane problems at Tucson Greyhound Park. Reading through the records, a sad pattern emerges. The state documents neglectful conditions in a track kennel, management tells the state they will address it, but then nothing happens. Kennel owners hold a meeting with management about injuries, but “nothing (i)s resolved.” A kennel owner takes her concerns about injuries directly to state officials, but the track Director of Racing discourages her from reporting the problem.

This indifference by Tucson Greyhound Park management is part of the problem. It proves that the track is incapable of being a good corporate citizen, and cannot be trusted to resolve even the most basic humane issues at the facility. That is why it’s time for Arizona lawmakers and voters to step up and help the greyhounds. If they don’t, no one will.

For more information, go to SavingGreys.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/ticks-cr...#ixzz1t9nNfGxg

[Diavolo]

Blech!

Poor Sport was covered with ticks when he got here. My vet pulled them all off of him. He was visibly happier.

[SoNotHer]

Help Sad Animals at Lagoon Amusement Park

by Alicia Graef
April 27, 2012



80 comments Help Sad Animals at Lagoon Amusement Park

A group of animal advocates are calling for a boycott of the Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah due to the poor conditions the animals are kept in.

A variety of wild and exotic animals can be seen from the park’s Wild Kingdom Train Ride, ranging from miniature donkeys and deer to elk, bears, Siberian tigers, Canadian lynx and camels, among others, who are kept in small enclosures with dirt or concrete floors that provide minimal space and no environmental enrichment. It might be advertised as the second largest zoo in the state, but the facility is not designed to properly house the species of animals that reside there.

“Lagoon has failed to meet minimal federal standards for the care of animals used in exhibitions as established in the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited Lagoon numerous times for failure to provide veterinary care to sick and dying animals, filthy enclosures, inadequately trained employees, and failure to provide animals with adequate space. Lagoon has had a high death rate and several unexplained deaths,” said Jordan Kasteler, who organized the group and operates LagoonSucks.com.

Lagoon spokesman Dick Andrew has denied allegations of abuse, claiming that there are four veterinarians who monitor the animals regularly and staff members who work with the animals every day, according to the AP …although ABC 4 News reports that he said they have three vets. Maybe he doesn’t really know.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter if there are vets nearby when no one calls them, or inaccurately communicates the issues when they do actually call, or when employees are not properly trained to monitor the behavior, health and well being of the animals in their care and don’t recognize problems when they arise in the first place.

Andrew also stated that the last USDA violation was in 2006 for a paperwork issue, but the most recent violation was in 2011 for failure to maintain a program of parasite control for its leopards, which included failure to follow up after treatment for intestinal worms to ensure that they were gone and the leopards were healthy.

The list of USDA violations is enough to leave anyone wondering why Lagoon has been continuously allowed to keep animals. A fallow deer fawn didn’t live through its first 48 hours because no one observed whether or not it was nursing, as directed by a veterinarian. Bison were found with no water. Sheep were found with nowhere to lay down in the shade because of the “concentration of feces that had accumulated’ in their shelter. This problem had been previously noted by an inspector seven times. Animals were left with overgrown hooves, but it was undetermined if this was because no one was maintaining records for when they were due for regular hoof care, or because no one actually knew they needed it.

Elk were found with ribs showing. Multiple animals were found limping, with no records regarding treatment or followup care. A common theme in most of the violations is that no record keeping system is in place or maintained to ensure that all of the animals receive appropriate veterinary care, but the list goes on and on.

However, this isn’t the first time issues over animal care been called out at Lagoon. The Utah Animal Rights Coalition has been continuously protesting the zoo’s conditions after reportedly receiving “hundreds of phone calls” from the park’s visitors who were upset over the state of the animals at the zoo, while others have spoken out on their own.

The park has plenty of other attractions for visitors that don’t involve animals. It is not a rescue, a sanctuary or an accredited zoo. The animals are practically a sideshow trapped in an environment that they don’t belong in and there is simply no reason for them to be there.

Kasteler said group plans to continue with protesting until their are actual changes.

TAKE ACTION!

Please sign and share the petition asking Lagoon Amusement Park to stop imprisoning the animals in its care and let them go to facilities that are better suited meet their needs.

Please sign the petition here -

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/lag...-imprisonment/

You will find the article here -

Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/help-sad...#ixzz1tLPH9tzg

[SoNotHer]

Dog that was spared the death penalty is released



NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A mutt who sat on doggy death row for more than a year before given a reprieve is now officially free from government captivity and headed toward TV stardom. Prada, the 4-year-old pit bull mix that was ruled vicious and ordered put down, was released Thursday from Nashville's Animal Control facility, where the dog had been held since January 2011.

Prada was ordered put down after attacking several other dogs. A judge spared the dog's life after the Villalobos Rescue Center in New Orleans agreed to take the animal. The center is featured in Animal Planet's reality TV show "Pitt Bulls and Parolees," which puts ex-convicts and abused dogs together so both man and animal can be rehabilitated. "Prada loves these people," Nicole Andree, the dog's former owner said after a representative from the rescue center came to Nashville to collect the dog.

Andree, a 35-year-old childless real estate agent, fought a lengthy court battle to spare the dog, vowing never to stop until she got Prada off death row. But she had to agree to give up her beloved pet to save the animal's life. The judge lifted the death order after Nashville lawyers said they would not object if Prada went to the rescue center. The dog, however, must stay there for the rest of its life. Andree says she plans to visit Prada at the center. She believes the dog will have a good life there.

http://news.yahoo.com/dog-spared-dea...230245022.html