Annise Parker’s Bait and Switch attempts to cover her No Kill failures

Houston, TX - As reported by the Chronicle, Mayor Annise Parker recently hired some Rice students to come up with solutions to BARC’s miserably low Save Rates.   ARA spokesperson, Christopher Newport is quoted as saying “It’s going to be useful for the council members. What they want to know is, ‘What can we do?’ You can’t really start grappling with that until you’ve got a tool in your hands like what these students provided”.

Apparently, Mr. Newport and Annise Parker have chosen to forget about the 2005 Mayor’s Task Force report which pinpointed many problems at BARC and offered many good solutions.  This lack of memory is stunning considering Parker actually served on the Task Force and she reminded animal lovers and voters many times of this fact while running for election to the Mayor’s office the first time  — for instance in her Policy Brief (see it at this link AnniseParkerPolicyBrief-2009)

Newport and Parker have also chosen to forget that in September 2009, the international, No Kill expert, Nathan Winograd came to Houston and assessed BARC.   Mr. Winograd prepared a 200 page report which details EXACTLY how BARC can stop killing healthy and treatable pets and achieve 90% or more Save Rates.  That was 3 ½ YEARS ago.  Remarkably, Parker even recommended that the city “Listen to the Experts” including Nathan Winograd, in her Policy Brief (linked above), yet she has failed to take her own advice.

If Annise Parker had hired leadership dedicated to saving lives when she first took office and required that BARC vigorously implement expert, Nathan Winograd’s recommendations, BARC would be well on its to No Kill by now.   Instead, BARC’s Save Rates have DECREASED every single year that Annise Parker has been in office.  EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

For those who are not familiar with Nathan Winograd, he created the first Open Admission, No Kill shelter in the US, which saved all healthy and treatable animals entering their doors.   Only the irremediable suffering were euthanized (this is the true definition of euthanize).   His shelter was responsible for animal control for 8 municipalities, yet they still saved 90% or more of all animals entering their doors.

Since then, 90+ other Open Admission facilities, representing approximately 300 communities, have followed the same No Kill model of sheltering (called the No Kill Equation) and those shelters have achieved the same successes.   When shelters vigorously implement (i.e. not half-assed as is the case at most kill shelters) all of Winograd’s  recommendations, they stop killing too.

Many of those 90+  Open Admission shelters have reached No Kill while the city of Houston has had Winograd’s assessment report in their hands.   More than 80 Open Admission shelters have passed Houston by on their way to No Kill, while the Kill Rates at Houston’s pound continue to rise, year after year.

In addition to having a step-by-step No Kill guide for BARC, BARC employees attended the national No Kill Conference in Washington DC in 2012.   Present at this conference were people who have actually stopped shelter killing in their communities, and they taught classes on how they achieved their successes.

So, Annise Parker and BARC leaders know EXACTLY what needs to be done at BARC to stop the killing  — the tools are already in their hands, and have been there for over 3 1/2 years. 

But, instead of using those tools, as Parker promised and recommended, she has chosen to ignore them and asked some college students to come up with “more” solutions.

The sheer insanity of choices made for BARC is simply stunning.

Don’t get me wrong,   I’m sure the students’ motivations were well meaning.  But did they research the many other Open Admission shelters that have already reached No Kill?  I have not seen the report, but the Chronicle article does not mention many of the crucial components of the successful No Kill model of sheltering, so it does not appear that the students researched what is already working.  So, essentially the students’ solutions are merely a guess.    

Why did Parker even ask college students to come up with solutions in the first place, when she already has the solutions and all the tools necessasry to stop shelter killing?  

The answer?  Asking the college students to come up with solutions is just a “bait and switch” charade and nothing more than the Mayor’s attempt to divert attention away from the fact that she has totally failed keep her No Kill promises.   She has never bothered to require that her employees do their jobs well and implement the solutions that have already been proven to work and already in her hands, so she asks someone else to come up with “other” solutions.

Annise Parker has repeatedly promised that she would do everything in her power to transition Houston to a No Kill city.  

Nathan Winograd gave Houston detailed solutions in September 2009. 

The only thing that Annise Parker has to do is DEMAND that her employees do their jobs and vigorously implement all of the recommendations in Nathan Winograd’s assessment report.

For almost 3 1/2 years, she has failed.

It is foolish, wasteful and dishonest to squander time, money and lives by continuing to refuse to implement proven solutions, and by asking others, with absolutely no life-saving shelter experience, to “guess” about solutions.  It a reprehensible and reckless use of our tax dollars and a reckless loss of precious lives that:

• she has allowed BARC’s kill rates to INCREASE every single year that she has been in office;
• she has allowed BARC to continue to ILLEGALLY ban volunteers;
• she allows BARC to continue to kill animals that others have offered to save;
• she allows BARC to make it harder for foster parents and rescuers to pull animals from BARC to safety;
• she has not hired a director for BARC that is dedicated to saving lives—one willing to work hard to implement the programs that are saving 90% of animals in shelters all around us;
• she has hired a director for BARC that does not even work onsite all day, but only makes a short appearance periodically;

There are a lot of things that BARC leadership and Annise Parker could be doing at this moment to save hundreds more lives every month, that would literally cost the city absolutely NOTHING, yet the Mayor and BARC leadership continue to refuse to implement these programs and services.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see where BARC’s problems lie.  It is the same problem that has plagued BARC for years — LEADERSHIP.  Annise Parker and BARC manager, Greg Damianoff that just do not care if BARC stops killing.  

As I have said before, that problem could be solved with a pink slip.

I urge everyone to demand that Annise Parker (and your city council member) require BARC to vigorously implement the recommendations in Nathan Winograd’s 2009 assessment report.  Call, write letters, fax and/or email them.   (Their contact information is linked here.)

If you just don’t have time to call or write, I have created a petition that will send them an email each time someone signs.  You can find the Petition here.    Please SHARE it with all of your friends and family. 

If we all do not speak up and demand better, BARC and city of Houston will continue the “business as usual” as a high kill pound forever.    This is an election year for the mayor and city council members, so remind them that you vote.

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The earth is flat, pet overpopulation exists and other myths we’ve been told

Houston, TX – For years, most people in the United States have been told that that there are “too many pets and not enough homes”.  We have been told that there is a pet “overpopulation” problem.  We have been told that the reason that America’s animal shelters are killing millions of pets every year is because of this “overpopulation”.   We’ve heard this over and over and we have accepted this as truth without question.

Until a few years ago, I too believed that there was a pet overpopulation problem.  After all, I have seen the large numbers of animals at shelters, and who would believe that an animal shelter would kill thousands of animals every year if there actually were enough homes for all of them?  The caring and rational people who work at animal shelters would not do such a thing……. would they?

The truth is that pet “overpopulation” is actually a myth.  It does not exist.  I know this sounds heretical to many people especially to those who have fostered many animals, or to the people who watch animals being killed by the thousands at shelters every year. The first time that I read that pet overpopulation was a myth on a book cover, I thought it was crazy.  I am sure that people felt the same way the first time someone suggested that the earth might actually be round, not flat.  It is hard to change our belief system when we’ve been taught one thing our entire lives.  But, people finally realized that the earth really was not flat after all, that people were not sailing off the edge of the earth and people will soon realize that pet overpopulation is a myth as well.

But, let’s look at the numbers to make some sense of what the true facts are.   According to a national study done by Maddie’s Fund and the Humane Society of the United States, 23.5 million people in the US will get a new pet each year.  Some of those people have already decided where they will get that pet i.e.  they will adopt from a shelter, go to a breeder or get a pet from free to good home ad etc.   However, 17 million of those people have not yet decided where they will get their new pet.  So these “undecideds” are the homes that are up for grabs.  These 17 million people could be convinced to adopt.*

Today, between 3 and 4 million animals are being killed in “shelters”.   So it’s pretty clear that the “demand” for pets each year (17 million) far outnumbers the “supply” of animals being killed in shelters (3-4 million).

And the supply of adoptable shelter pets each year is actually even less because a large portion of that 3-4 million being killed are actually lost pets that should be reunited with their owners.   For example, Washoe Co., NV animal control returns 65% of pets to their owners.  Conversely, most shelters in the US average a return of only about 5%.  If Houston’s animal control i.e. BARC would utilized the same Return to Owner program as Washoe Co. with the same success, it would save the lives 8,100 more animals every year; that’s 8,100 animals that BARC would not need to adopt out or put in foster care and 8,100 empty kennels for the animals that truly are homeless.  It is also a savings of $972,000 every year which could then be directed to programs like free spay/neuter or a Help Desk to keep animals from being relinquished by their owners.

In addition, that 3-4 million “supply” could be further reduced if all shelters TNR’d (trap, neuter, released) feral cats instead of killing all of them, as many shelters do.

That 3-4 million “supply” could be reduced further still if shelters had pet retention programs that kept many of those animals out of the shelter in the first place, as mentioned above.

So we can see that adopting out all animals entering shelters is doable.  And the fact is that it is already being done in many communities.  If pet overpopulation really existed, there would be no open admission, No Kill shelters.  They could not exist. But, they do exist.

So let’s break these numbers down and get a perspective on what it means for Houston.

According to the U.S. census, there are 310,895,000+ people in the U.S.  As we discussed above, 17 million people who will get a new pet each year, have not yet decided where they will get that pet.  Those “undecided” new pet owners equal about 5.4% of the U.S. population.

The latest census shows that Houston has just under 2.2 million people.  The “undecided” new pet owners in Houston would equal about 118,800 people.  That is 118,800 people who could be convinced to adopt their next pet.

We also know that approximately 80,000 pets are being killed in Houston’s five kill shelters each year.   Again, we can see that the “demand” for pets by the “undecideds” in Houston (118,800) far outnumbers the “supply” of pets being killed in Houston’s shelters (80,000).

This means that there is no pet “overpopulation”.  It just means that the 80,000 pets being killed in Houston shelters each year could be saved if they were better introduced to the people who would be willing to adopt them.

And the numbers above are a worst case scenario because again this does not take into consideration the feral cats that should be TNR’d; it doesn’t take into consideration the number of pets that “should” be returned to their owners but who are not (see above); it does not take into consideration the number of animals that could be kept out of the shelter entirely with a proactive “help desk”.

I’m not saying that there aren’t a lot of pets entering Houston’s shelters each year.  Of course there are.  And I’m not saying that there aren’t irresponsible people in Houston.  Of course there are.  I am saying that just because 80,000 pets are being killed in Houston shelters each year does not equate to “too many pets and not enough homes”.  The numbers prove that this is false.  It is myth and propaganda perpetuated by kill shelters.

I’m also not saying it is easy to save all healthy and treatable pets entering shelters.  To the contrary, it is hard work.  But therein lies the true heart of problem ….. saving all healthy and treatable pets is hard work and most shelter directors in the U.S. still refuse to do everything necessary to save them.  Continuing on the same path of “save a few and kill the rest” is easier.  Continuing to blame the public for pet “overpopulation” is easier.

So while I will admit there is an overpopulation problem, it is not a pet overpopulation problem.  The problem is an overpopulation of ineffective shelter directors who refuse to join the 21st century and put into place the programs and services that we know will save all healthy and treatable pets.

That overpopulation problem could be solved fairly quickly…. with a pink slip.

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Ask Mayor Parker why she has not kept her No Kill promises LIVE MONDAY online

Houston, TX – According to CultureMap Houston, Mayor Annise Parker wants to answer our questions on any subject we choose.  We will have the opportunity to ask our questions during a live web chat with Mayor Parker on Monday, April 29 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.

You can submit your questions now in the Comments section of this story;  Tweet them using the hashtag #askannise; record them in a YouTube video; or ask them LIVE by going to this article on  Monday.

Considering BARC’s ever increasing KILL RATES (see below), I have a few questions for Parker about her No Kill promises that she has yet to keep (read more about her promises here): 

In 2010, BARC had a 55.33% Kill Rate 

In 2011, BARC had a 56.20% Kill Rate

In 2012, BARC had a 57.27% Kill Rate  

Here are a few  of my questions for Annise Parker:

1)  You have made repeated promises to citizens, including during your election campaign, that you would do everything in your power to transition Houston to a No Kill city.  Yet, after 3+ years in office, records show that the KILL RATE at Houston’s taxpayer funded animal control (i.e. BARC) has actually INCREASED every single year that you have been in office.   I would like to know when you plan to keep your No Kill promises to citizens?

2)  In 2009, the international No Kill expert, Nathan Winograd, gave you a 196 page step-by-step guide which tells you exactly how to increase BARC’s Save Rates.   Why have you completely ignored Mr. Winograd’s recommendations for more than 3 years and allowed BARC’s Kill Rates to INCREASE every year that you have been in office?

3)  You know that the most important element to stop the killing of shelter pets is a hard working shelter director who is dedicated to saving lives and who will vigorously implement all of the steps of the No Kill model of sheltering.   So, why have you hired a shelter director who is not dedicated to saving lives?   Why have you hired a shelter director who does not even work at BARC’s facility full time?   Why have you hired a shelter director who has been responsible for BARC’s ever increasing Kill Rate, yet you have done nothing to rectify this problem?

4) Volunteers and rescuers are the backbone of shelters and absolutely necessary to saving lives.  Yet, at least five volunteers and rescuers have been banned from BARC since you have been in office. Some have been banned for simply asking questions.    I would like to point out that not only is this a huge waste of resources i.e. tax dollars and free labor, but it is also illegal.   Why have you allowed this wasteful and illegal activity, that costs lives, to continue under your administration?

5)  Considering that you have totally and completely failed to keep your promises to citizens and voters during 2 terms in office, why should we vote for you again this November?

I sincerely hope that everyone will ask Mayor Parker serious questions about her failures regarding BARC as well*.   She needs to hear from all you. 

It is imperative that she knows how many of us care deeply about this issue and that we have not forgotten her No Kill promises. 

She also needs to know that we all VOTE.  

The lives of the animals at BARC depend on us. 

*You can copy my questions if you wish, but please try to change them so they are not the exact same questions over and over.

Thank you for standing up for the animals.

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The deadly PETA-Houston SPCA connection

Houston, TX – PETA has been getting a lot of criticism lately, especially in the last few weeks, as people become aware of PETA’s UNethical, inhumane, deceitful and reprehensible practice of killing the vast majority of the helpless animals that fall prey to PETA.   Nathan Winograd’s books and recent Huffington Post article have raised awareness to new levels.  This is a good thing.   People deserve to know the truth about the “non-profits” that they support.   Several years ago I too was fooled by PETA and used to donate to them monthly.   I am sickened to now know that my donations were probably used to kill adoptable animals instead of save them.

I have previously written about another high kill facility, the Houston SPCA.  The Houston SPCA’s KILL rate was 65% the last time that they were honest and released their records to the public, and they had an adoption rate of only 25%.  Current and former employees have said that they believe that the Houston’s SPCA’s KILL rate is currently as high as 80%!    The Houston SPCA killed over 20,500 in 2004 alone.   According to reports coming from the public and former employees and volunteers, I assume that they have killed as many animals or more each year since then.

Although PETA has killed “only” around 2,000 animals per in the last 11 years (29,426 dogs, cats, rabbits, and other domestic animals in the last 11 years), their KILL rate is consistently a shocking 90% or higher and has reached as high as 97%.  

PETA and the Houston SPCA have a lot in common:  

• Both are multi-million dollar “non-profit” organizations;
• Both are funded by good hearted people who have been fooled into believing that their donations are helping to save lives;
• Both claim to “rescue” animals yet kill the vast majority that end up in their clutches;  
• Both are nothing short of slaughterhouses.  

There is another deadly connection between PETA and the Houston SPCA.

PETA and the Houston SPCA have actually teamed up to carry out their better dead than fed style of “rescue”.

Below is an article I wrote on Examiner.com in February, 2011.  Since I have new subscribers on this blog who may not have seen it, I am re-printing it below.

February 2011 – As I have written previously, I am no fan of PeTA i.e. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.  Their fight against life saving No Kill efforts is both mindboggling and infuriating.  In the past, PeTA has even taken time out of their busy killing schedule to attack and oppose No Kill efforts in Houston.

As background, in 2008, Houstonians began demanding No Kill reform in Houston’s city funded shelter BARC.  We were astonished when PeTA, a self proclaimed “animal rights” organization, began attacking our efforts (click the link and scroll down to “No kill shelters are no good”) and attacked Nathan Winograd (see Winograd’s  response here.)

At that time, No Kill Houston was a new and small organization, so we reached out to the national “humane” organizations and asked for help in combating PeTA’s killing agenda in Houston.  The only national organization that responded to my requests for help, besides Nathan Winograd of the national No Kill Advocacy Center,  was Priscilla Feral, President of Friends of Animals and Primarily Primates sanctuary in San Antonio.

During one of our conversations, Priscilla told me a very disturbing story regarding PeTA and the Houston SPCA.   In light of the questionable raids of late and the Houston SPCA’s refusal to make a commitment to life saving, this story seems particularly pertinent.

On October 13, 2006, before Friends of Animals took over the Primarily Primates sanctuary, PeTA caused the Texas Attorney General to raid the sanctuary.  PeTa had collected allegations from a former disgruntled employee and a volunteer with a vendetta.  Both had made connections with PeTA and allowed them onto the sanctuary’s property.  They schemed to shoot videos to cast the sanctuary in the worst possible light and then turned it over to the Attorney General.

Granted, there were weakness at the sanctuary since the founder and director at that time was in trouble with alcohol.   But, PeTA’s goal was not to help the sanctuary or the animals. No, instead they wanted to dismantle the sanctuary. Once dismantled they could force the sale of the valuable land and they already had several buyers lined up, ready to cash in.

A judge in Austin appointed a receiver for the sanctuary that had been recommended by PeTA.   Before Priscilla could hire attorneys in Austin, that receiver was installed along with a large group of PeTA employees and volunteers.   Priscilla remembers that they were “a deplorable mess of incompetent people — directed by a receiver intent on shutting the sanctuary down to follow PeTA’s agenda.”

The receiver later admitted to the sending away, and to the deaths, of 336 sanctuary residents.   Two hundred of those animals had been rounded up and trucked 200 miles to the Houston SPCA during the first week that the receiver arrived.   This included dogs, guinea hens, Canadian geese, several ponies, a 27-year-old horse, chickens and more. “It was a stroke of evil.”

Friends of Animals wrote, faxed and telephoned the Houston SPCA to ask about the confiscated animals, but the Houston SPCA was not cooperative.  Feral says that “the Houston SPCA treated Friends of Animals as though we were criminals.”

Priscilla further laments “I am sure the Houston SPCA killed all of the confiscated animals as fast as possible.   It breaks my heart to think of the killing and how heartless they were. The horse… how could a horse grazing on the property be dispatched to the flipping Houston SPCA — a kill center that answers to no one.   And the chickens, free-roaming birds … every peacock they could catch.   What hope did they have?   Our several feral cats escaped these goons and so did male peacocks.”

In late April 2007, the Texas Attorney General dismissed all allegations against the sanctuary and asked Priscilla to head up the Board of Primarily Primates.  A settlement was fashioned much to PeTA’s chagrin.   But it was too late for the 336 victims of the PeTA/Houston SPCA “raid”.   Two hundred animals had been captured and taken away, never to be seen again. The Houston SPCA never responded to requests regarding their fate, so we have to assume that they are dead.  The other 136 animals disappeared – many of them dead as well.

PeTA had also “confiscated” primates which were then trucked from the sanctuary to exhibits and zoos.   Primarily Primates did get a few of the primates back, as well as a Longhorn steer in May 2007.   Some of the primates had been sent to two other sanctuaries in Texas and it was decided that it was in the primates’ best interest to leave them there. (More details on this story are at the bottom of this article).

For several years, it has puzzled me why animals that were seized in a San Antonio sanctuary were shipped 200 miles to the Houston SPCA, a high kill shelter.  San Antonio has shelters and so do many other cities much closer than Houston.  I never doubted this story, but the circumstances have always puzzled me.

I recently ran across some information that sheds more light on the situation and bonds the Houston SPCA and PeTA together more tightly.

It seems that Houston SPCA director, Patty Mercer and PeTa director, Ingrid Newkirk are both on the board of Ruby McKibben Foundation for the Protection of Animals.  (Also note that Houston Humane Society director, Sherry Ferguson [89% KILL rate], is also a board member.)

So, it would appear that Newkirk and Mercer have bonded and joined together to carry out raids which ultimately cause the deaths of many of the unlucky animals involved.  And why wouldn’t they be buddies?  After all, they both run high kill “shelters”.

In light of the questionable raids, and the ghastly outcomes for many of the animals, the PeTA – Houston SPCA connection is a very disturbing connection indeed.

You can read more about PeTA’s attacks on Primarily Primates here:

* Wallace Swett of Primarily Primates Denounces PETA’s Continuing Attacks on Primarily Primates 

* Cumulative cost of PETA-funded lawsuits against Primarily Primates may reach $1 million

* Will the animals at Primarily Primates survive PETA’s single-minded determination to destroy this sanctuary along with the lives of hundreds of abused animals who want only peace and refuge?

* PeTA: End your lawsuit against PRIMARILY PRIMATES!

* Help stop the assault on Primarily Primates

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Houston SPCA continues to kill loving, adoptable pets

Houston, TX -  Many people believe that the Houston SPCA is a No Kill shelter, or that they are “working as hard as they can” to place as many animals as possible, or that they kill only truly “unadoptable” pets.  They repeatedly advertise that they place “100% of all of their healthy and behaviorally sound animals“.  To a lot of people, this sounds like they are a No Kill shelter, so, you might be shocked to learn what the Houston SPCA says is “unadoptable” and therefore should be killed.

Contrary to their advertisements and proclamations, the Houston SPCA is actually a high kill shelter, with a 65% KILL rate the last time that they were honest with the public.   Obviously, they are very good at hiding the truth from the donating public.  Animal lovers watch Animal Cops or see the nice press releases showing a “rescue”, however they never see what goes on behind closed doors, once the cameras go off.   Below is an example of what is really going on at the Houston SPCA.

I ran across this story posted by “Anne” on a complaint website. Anne’s story absolutely broke my heart.   I’m posting it in its entirety below (I edited only with line breaks or indents to make it easier to read).

“On Saturday March 23rd, 2013 I was faced with a difficult decision.  I had to give up my 2 yr old Neutered male Domestic short hair cat.  I recently had to take a job that is 90% travel.  After having a friend look after my baby boy for a month, she stated that she couldn’t do it anymore because she already had a full plate of responsibilities.  I searched and searched for a solution but to no avail. 

I saved My Valentino from The Pasadena Animal Control & Adoption (where I was an A.C.O. ) .   I returned there hoping that they may be able to find him a happy home or perhaps a foster parent for a short period.  They couldn’t accept him because they were at capacity.  I had two days to find a solution. 

I reluctantly chose HSPCA as a solution.

I will never regret another decision more in my life!  I cried the whole way there dreading the separation, i promised Valentino that this was the best thing and that they will find him a home ( i wholeheartedly believed this ).  

Upon my arrival ( i had an appointment ) the staff (Jasmine) was insensitively joking with other staff (while i was bawling my eyes out) making me wait 20 mins.  She finally called me up to the counter and began taking my information.  I told her everything i could think of about Valentino, how he’s really a cat dog, he loves to play fetch and get his belly scratched, showed her pictures of his funny sleeping poses. 

She was putting me at ease by telling me that she could see that he was highly adoptable.  I filled out the paper work, she even told me that i can send the pics i had so they could put them on his profile for the adoption site.

I said my goodbyes, tears streaming down my face i turned and walked out wondering what wonderful family or person would choose Valentino.  I left the next day to return to my job, and checked the website hourly.  I checked into Monday still no Valentino.  I began to worry that he wasn’t up on the site, so i asked a friend to call and see if they could find out what was going on. 

While waiting for them to get back to me, i received a TXT message from an unfamiliar number that read ” HSPCA just called, your cat was PTSed ( Put To Sleep ) for being aggressive”.

My heart sank my world turned upside down. The thought of that happening (even as a former Animal Control Officer who knows thoroughly how shelters work ) never crossed my mind.  I know my cat, he has never been aggressive, even under duress he was never aggressive, never during baths did he scratch or bite.  He was the most patient cat I ever saw.  He acted more like a dog than a feline, perhaps because the first year he was with me, he was constantly pal-ing around with my female Boxer Lucy. 

I can’t even describe how stupid and guilty I feel for entrusting an organization such as HSPCA (who claims to love and care for animals) with someone that meant so much and was so dear to me.  I feel like I let him down completely and must live with this for the rest of my life.  While he was just another number to the HSPCA.

Please, if you have an animal that you truly care about and can’t care for or keep anymore, please exhaust all other options before turning them into some shelter, and especially HSPCA.  They will lie to you and kill your animal with some bogus reason.”

Valentino, a beloved pet, before he was killed by the Houston SPCA

So, the Houston SPCA killed yet another adoptable pet.   They took Valentino on Saturday and he was dead by Monday.  How long did they wait before killing Valentino?   A day?  An hour?  Was Anne even out of the parking lot before the Houston SPCA killed Valentino?

Valentino was, by his owner’s account, a calm, laid back cat that even got along with dogs.   If he was “aggressive” as the HSPCA claims (which I highly doubt), did no one at the Houston SPCA think that maybe Valentino was stressed because he was in an unfamiliar place away from everything and everyone that he had ever known?   I’m sure he could smell death permeating from every corner.  That is enough to stress any animal.

The Houston SPCA is a 30+ MILLION dollar organization, yet we know that they couldn’t be bothered to spend a little extra time and a little extra money on what was probably a terrified and confused cat.   The Houston SPCA could not wait even 48 hours to see if this so-called “aggressive” cat would calm down with time.   They did not place him in a foster home or with a rescue group, where he could have gotten more one on one attention in a calmer environment.

And the Houston SPCA did not bother to call Anne to tell her that Valentino was at risk of being killed.  They did not even give her the chance to retrieve Valentino before killing him.   Anne and Valentino deserved a phone call, at the very least.

No, instead the Houston SPCA charged Anne a fee to rehome Valentino and lied to her face.   The Houston SPCA told Anne that Valentino was highly adoptable and even told her to send more pictures to them for their website, perpetuating the farce that they would use the pictures to help find Valentino a new home.

Instead Valentino was dead within 48 hours, killed by the Houston SPCA.

Anne’s story is just one of thousands (more stories like this are posted here)

**If you donate to the Houston SPCA, THIS is what your donations support.**

Do not let Valentino’s death be in vain.   Please stand up for the animals who will enter the Houston SPCA. 

Tell the Houston SPCA that you will no longer support them as long as they continue killing adoptable pets.  Tell all of your animal loving friends and family to do the same. 

It is up to US to demand more than just mass slaughter in our so-called “shelters”.

Click here for the Houston SPCA’scontact information.

Speak out for the thousands of loved, adoptable pets, like Valentino, that  have entered the Houston SPCA only to be killed.

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Animal advocates PLEASE apply for this job

Harris County, Texas – I have written several blogs and articles about the House of Horrors that was directed by Dawn Blackmar for decades.

I recently reported that Blackmar finally retired (and the world rejoiced).

Blackmar’s vacated position is now posted on the Harris County job board.

I implore all animal lovers, who want to make a difference in the lives of shelter pets, to please apply for this job.  

Harris County is the fourth largest county in the US, and it is also home to some of the most generous animal lovers on the planet.   If Harris County animal control had the right leadership who were truly dedicated to saving lives, I have no doubt that the entire county would come together to help make it happen, myself included.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that I think that this will be an easy job, but I do believe that there are so many simple things that could be done that would save thousands of lives IMMEDIATELY.   And I do believe that community will wholeheartedly support this type of leadership in droves!

Here is a link to the job posting:  http://www.harriscountytx.gov/hrrm/ProfessionalResults.aspx?PageID=5138

Please pass this information on to every person that you know.   In order to drag Harris County out of the dark ages of “catch and kill” sheltering, it is critical that Harris County animal control obtain new leadership who is dedicated to saving lives!

ACTION ALERT! Please take a few moments to help save shelter pets in Texas

Texas – Hundreds of thousands of healthy and treatable animals are killed by Texas “shelters”.   At least 80,000 are killed in Houston area shelters alone.   Texas House Bill 2981  aims to help rescuers save more lives while saving the state tax dollars.   HB2981, also called the Tax Saving Pet Adoption, Sterilization, and Transfer Act requires that government run animal shelters collaborate with qualified 501(c)(3) animal rescue groups who are willing to save animals at risk of being killed.

The passing of this Bill into law would mean that kill shelters would no longer be legally allowed to kill an animal that a qualified rescue group has offered to save.*

The average citizen would be appalled to know that ”shelters” frequently kill pets that others have offered to save.   But, just about any rescuer, who has worked to pull animals from a kill shelter, can attest to the fact that it does happen, either by accident and many times on purpose.   It is a dirty little “secret” that is happening all over Texas, all of the time.  It has happened to me.   Houston’s city pound i.e. BARC has killed cats that I offered to save.

Appallingly, but not surprisingly, several weeks ago, many of the directors of kill shelters gathered in Austin to oppose this life saving Bill.   They even told legislators that the Bill is not needed because they never turn down rescue groups.  (I suppose that it should not be a shock that some of the opposition of this Bill includes Patti Mercer, director of the Houston SPCA [65% KILL rate], Sherry Ferguson, director of the Houston Humane Society [89% KILL rate], Greg Damianoff, shelter manager of BARC [57% KILL rate] and Joanne Jackson from Citizens for Animal Protection [52% KILL rate].  Revolting, yes.  Shocking, no.)

Best Friends Animal Society and FixAustin.org are asking Texas rescuers to talk about their experiences with Texas animal shelters.  Rescuers know what is really going on in shelters, because they there day after day scrambling to save as many as they can.

Below is a link to a short on-line survey that Best Friends and Fix Austin have prepared to collect data from rescue groups regarding their experiences. (Note: They only want data concerning TEXAS shelters since HB2981 will affect only Texas shelters).

If you rescue animals in Texas, please take a moment to answer the survey.  Please do it  RIGHT NOW while you are thinking about it.  It only takes a few minutes to complete and you can remain anonymous, if you wish. 

Click here for the survey  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ShelterAccessSurvey

**A hearing on this Bill is expected to be set very soon so your survey responses are needed ASAP.   Legislators need to be aware of what rescuers face while trying to save shelter pets so that they will make the right decisions regarding this important Bill.** 

If Rescuers do not speak up NOW, then the kill shelters may win this battle and could retain their “right” to kill animals that others have offered to save.

If you would like to provide more information than requested in the survey, or if you have any questions, please contact Ryan Clinton at Fix Austin at ryan@fixaustin.org

*****Please share this survey with other Texas rescue groups.*****

Also, whether you are a rescuer or not, please contact your state representative in and tell him/her that you support HB2981, the Tax Saving Pet Adoption, Sterilization, and Transfer Act.

Click here to go to a site provided by Best Friends that makes it easy to contact your elected representative by typing in your name and address.

Please speak up for shelter pets TODAY.   It only takes a few minutes but it could help save thousands of shelter pets in Texas.

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*HB2981 also gives shelters the right to administer vaccinations on intake to protect shelter pet populations.

It also prohibits shelters from refusing to adopt out dogs or cats based solely on an animal’s breed (i.e. no breed discrimination).  It also and requires rescue groups to spay or neuter adopted pets.    HB 2981 is authored by Texas Representative Eddie Rodriguez.

Ding Dong, the witch is dead!

Ding dong, the witch is dead!  The wicked witch is dead!  

Randy Wallace, with Fox 26 news, reported that Dawn Blackmar has retired as Director of Harris County animal control…. and all over Texas rescuers, and animal lovers, are rejoicing.

A person who directed the torture and deaths of hundreds of thousands of helpless animals, during her decades long tenure, is finally gone. 

This is a good day for lost and homeless animals in Harris County, Texas!

Personally, I am THRILLED that Blackmar is out.  Some of the most horrific stories of abuse that I have ever heard have come from Blackmar’s vile leadership of Harris County animal control.   For those who are unfamiliar with Dawn Blackmar and the House of Horrors that she ran in Harris County, please read my blog here.

Nathan Winograd also gave Blackmar his Phyllis Wright “award” for being one of the worst of the worst in the entire country;  someone who epitomizes everything that is wrong with our broken animal “shelter” system.  Considering the horrific shape our sheltering system is in, that is saying a lot and Blackmar beat out a lot of heinous people to win.  Winograd even dedicated a page in his new book, Friendly Fire, to the atrocities at Harris County animal control.

You would be hard pressed to find a facility in the entire country with a worse reputation than Harris County animal control under Dawn Blackmar’s direction. 

So, today is a good day and I am celebrating.

But we all need to remember that, even after the Harris County Attorney’s investigation confirmed that Blackmar and her employees had been committing absolutely heinous and torturous acts against helpless animals;  and that she and her employees, had been breaking state humane laws for YEARS, the Harris County Commissioners did nothing.   The Commissioners allowed Blackmar to keep her job for over a year, and they allowed her to retire from that job.   I am assuming that she will receive a nice, fat pension from Harris County in payment for her decades of running the animal version of Auschwitz.

Folks, these are our ELECTED officials who have done nothing while humane laws were broken in the most horrific ways imaginable by county employees, and it is our tax dollars that is paying for it.  

We all should remember this when we go the voting booth in November to vote for County Commissioners.

And, although we are celebrating today, if the past at other kill shelters is a guide, the Harris County Commissioners are not likely to hire someone with a better track record than Blackmar.   What we have seen is city and county officials who hire the same types of people over and over again.  They hire people with experience in high kill shelters who just continue the slaughter.

We cannot sit by and wait for this to happen in Harris County again.  

We must tell County Commissioners that we expect them to hire someone who will allow Harris County join the other 200+ communities (and counting) who are saving 90% to 98% of all animals. 

We must tell them that killing 89% of all animals is not acceptable.

We must tell them that we are voters and this matters to us.  

We must continue telling them this until they do what is right, and hire a leader who is dedicated to saving lives.   Only this will turn around Harris County animal control.

The contact information for your County Commissioners is listed here.

Thank you for standing up for the animals.

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Rescuers, your input is needed to convince Texas legislators to save lives

ATTENTION TEXAS ANIMAL RESCUE GROUPS!!!  A version of the Companion Animal Rescue Act may be filed in Texas this session.

If passed, this bill would make it illegal for an animal shelter to kill an animal if either:
(1) a qualified rescue group is willing to save it, or
(2) a qualified adopter is willing to adopt it.

One of the things that opponents of the bill (i.e. kill shelters and their supporters) have said is that shelters NEVER turn down qualified rescue groups in Texas.   I know, for a fact, that this is a lie.   I have seen this happen dozens and dozens of times over the last few years.  In fact, I have written about this very thing many times here.

I know that any dog that remotely looks like a Pit Bull is particularly vulnerable as they are many times denied adoption, and killed more often, simply because of the way they look.  The Houston SPCA, Houston Humane Society and Harris County animal control all have policies to NOT adopt out dogs that ”look” like Pit Bulls or Pit mixes.

The “shelters” choose to kill them all instead.

Also, I know that the kill shelters are lying to legislators because BARC (Houston’s animal control), killed animals that I, myself, offered to save.  I placed Holds on animals because I had found homes for them, but BARC killed them before I could travel there to get them.   I was told that BARC employees did not bother to check the computer for Holds before killing animals.

A sweet, healthy cat killed by BARC even though I had found a home for her and placed a “Hold” on her.

Also, a kitten that I had put on Hold somehow “vanished” from BARC before I could return for her.  I was told that BARC “could not find her”.  This was just a day or two after I took the below picture of her.   I have since learned that “cannot find” usually means “already killed”.

A sweet, healthy kitten allegedly “lost” by BARC even though I found a home for her and placed her on “Hold”.

I was told that a third cat, an adult Tortie Point Siamese, that I had also placed on Hold, could not be found in her kennel either.   Luckily, dedicated volunteers were at BARC that day and searched the facility for the cat.   She was located sitting in a kennel outside of the Kill Room, next in line to be killed.  On top of her kennel was the kennel card for a 6 week old, solid black kitten.   So, not only did the shelter employees not bother to check the computer for Holds, they couldn’t even be bothered to verify that they had the correct animal.

Although, I had found a home for this cat, and placed a Hold on her, she was found in a kennel outside of the Kill Room with the kennel card of a 6 week old, solid black kitten. Shelter employees didn’t even bother to verify that they had the correct kennel card and animal before carting her off to the kill room.

RESCUE GROUPS, your input is needed to help get this bill passed to make these actions illegal.  It is vital that legislators  hear from you so that they know how often animals are killed that we have offered to save.   I know you have war stories just like I do.

If this has happened to you, or someone you know, please contact Ryan Clinton  ASAP at Ryan@FixAustin.org.  You can also contact him through his Facebook page.

Time is of the essence, as there is only a short window of time to convince legislators to file this bill.  If it is not filed within the next few months, it will be 2 more years before anyone can try again.

I realize that some rescuers are afraid of speaking publically about their experiences for fear of being banned by those kill shelters so, at your request, your identifying information will be kept confidential.

Thank you for standing up for the animals.

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BARC’s numbers are in…. and it’s not good

Houston, TX – I recently received the intake and outcome reports for BARC (Houston’s taxpayer funder, city animal control) for the last half of 2012.  Unfortunately, the numbers are not good.

As a reminder, before Bill White left office in 2009, he hired a Gerry Fusco calling him a “change agent” that would turn around BARC.  Fusco managed to fire about 70 bad employees including some really horrible people who got their jollies from torturing shelter animals.   Fusco also wrote new procedures for BARC.  He did not work on increasing adoptions as we were told that this would come later.  Taxpayers footed the $280,000 bill for Fusco’s 6 month contract.

Also, in September 2009, international No Kill expert, Nathan Winograd, performed an assessment of BARC and produced a 196 page guide which detailed exactly what BARC leadership needed to do to decrease BARC’s kill rate.   Citizens stepped up and donated all of the money to pay for Winograd’s assessment when the city claimed that they did not have $5,000 to pay Winograd.

So, when Annise Parker took office in 2010, BARC should have been poised to make dramatic increases in life saving.  They had all of the tools necessary and new employees to carry out the new procedures.

In fact, when Parker was campaigning for Mayor, several times she promised voters that, if elected, “I would do everything in my power to ensure that Houston transitions to a no-kill community”.

In 2012, BARC leadership attended the No Kill conference in Washington, DC. Leadership from many communities, who have already transitioned to No Kill communities, were there teaching attendees exactly how they reached No Kill status.  There was no shortage of information for those who were truly dedicated to making life saving changes.

So, call me a Polly Anna, but considering all of the above, I was expecting BARC’s Kill Rate to decrease in 2012.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed yet again.

BARC’s Kill Rate for 2012 was staggering 57.27%!  This is an INCREASE from 56.20% in 2011. (See the records here)

In fact, for the third straight year in a row, i.e. every single year that Annise Parker has been in office, BARC’s kill rate has increased.

Every single year.

During 2012, dozens of Open Admission shelters and animal control facilities reached the No Kill goal line i.e. saving 90% or more of all animals handled.  In fact, an average of one new shelter reached this goal every single week in 2012.   Every single week.   Yet in Houston, our city’s animal control facility is firmly rooted in the dark ages of catch and kill sheltering.  They have consistently refused to join the 21st century even when all of the tools necessary to transform themselves has been handed to them on a silver platter.

There simply is no excuse that BARC’s kill rate should still be rising every year.  No excuse.

There is a better, more efficient, more compassionate, more humane and more cost effective model of sheltering available today. The only thing BARC leadership has to do is open the instruction manual and implement it.  But, in order for that to happen, BARC must have leadership who is dedicated to saving lives and who is willing to work hard to accomplish this goal.   More than three YEARS after Annise Parker promised to do everything in her power to transform BARC into a No Kill shelter, BARC still does not have the leadership in place that is necessary to make this happen…. and the BARC animals continue to suffer and be killed at an ever increasing rate.     

If you are sick and tired of the mass slaughter in your taxpayer funded city “shelter”, then please tell the Mayor and your council member that you are a voter and you expect better.  

Tell the Mayor to keep her promises and hire leadership that is dedicated to saving lives.   Click here for their contact information.

It is up to us.

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Citizens for Animal Protection; not the “shelter” they claim to be

Houston, TX -  I just read an online article from a local news agency regarding one of the Kill shelters in Houston.   I was really amazed at how many complete falsities and very disturbing statements were contained in just one article.   I am quite often amazed at the information that is put out by some media because it seems that information that could be easily fact checked, never is.  Perhaps in the age of online, “news at a moment” journalism, fact checking has become a lost art.

The article is about Citizens for Animal Protection (CAP) and its director, Kappy Muenzer.  The article proclaims that ”Finding homes for animals still CAP’s primary mission”.  CAP is one of the five Kill Shelters in Houston.  It is a misconception among quite a few people in Houston that CAP is a No Kill shelter.  They are not.  In fact, far from it.  Their own 2010 BBB report states that CAP had a 52% KILL RATE.  Keep in mind that CAP is NOT an Open Admission facility, meaning that they can say no to intakes when they get full.   So, if “finding homes for animals” really is CAP’s primary mission, I’d say a 52% Kill Rate means that they are failing miserably at this mission.

Below are a few more false and/or disturbing statements that were printed in the article.

1) “With the highest adoption rate in the country according to its website, CAP is quickly becoming a driving force in animal protection and humane education.”

Highest adoption rate in the country?  This is absolutely untrue.   There are currently 83* Open Admission shelters (again, CAP is not even Open Admission) that are saving 90%-98% of all animals.  These are the shelters with the highest adoption rates in the country.  It is not CAP.  Not by a long shot.

As I said above, according to CAP’s 2010 BBB report, their Save Rate was a measly 48%.   And, that is a DECREASE from 2005 when they reported a 54% Save Rate.   Over the last couple of years, I have twice asked CAP’s director for their current intake and outcome records so that their current Save Rate could be calculated, but Muenzer refuses to be honest and produce this information.  Citizens should be very worried when a KILL shelter will not release their records as that means they have something to hide.  It would have been great if the reporter had asked for this information as well before printing that very false statement.

2) “I really believe CAP was the leader in reforming the shelter system”.   CAP reports a 52% KILL rate.  That KILL rate is only 6% less than Houston’s pound that Muenzer said is horrible in this article.   That is a serious disconnect in that she does not recognize her own massive failure.  (BTW: Houston’s pound is still just as “dingy and dark,”  and there are still “row after row after row of cages” as Muenzer describes in the article i.e. not much has been “reformed” there.  And certainly none of any reformation that has taken place at BARC in the last few years has been because of anything that CAP or Muenzer has done.   Seventy plus HORRIBLE city pound employees were fired after the true animal advocates spoke out about the atrocities there and convinced the city to take action.   Muenzer had nothing to do with this.)

In addition, there are FIVE kill shelters in Houston, including CAP, who are still killing approximately 80,000 animals every single year.   That is not a “reformation” by any stretch of the imagination.

3) “We have a general goal in all the presentations: to educate the public about pet overpopulation and what they can do about it,”  Pet overpopulation means too many pets and not enough homes.  It has been proven that pet “overpopulation” does not exist.

Just because “shelters” are still killing animals, does not automatically mean that there are not enough homes for them.  In fact, just the opposite is true.  A study by HSUS and Maddie’s Fund showed that 27 MILLION people will bring new pets into their homes each year.  17 MILLION of those people have not decided where they will get their pet and “could” be convinced to adopt IF they were better introduced to the pets who need homes. 

Conversely,  3-4 million pets are being killed in “shelters” each year. 

Clearly, there are many more MILLIONS of new potential adoptive families each year than there are pets being killed by shelters in the U.S.    (I’ve calculated the numbers for Houston here.)

Also, there are now 83 Open Admission, No Kill shelters in the US (See the list here)  If pet overpopulation really existed, there would be no way that these shelters could have stopped killing.  Yet, they have.

So why are the Kill shelters, like CAP, still killing healthy and treatable and adoptable pets when so many others have stopped it?  The reason is that the shelter directors refuse to implement the successful No Kill model of sheltering that is working across the country.   Obviously, if other shelters can save all healthy and treatable pets, so could CAP.  But they CHOOSE to ignore what is working across the country and they CHOOSE to continue killing.  It is, in fact, a choice.

4) “Children are they key to the future for animals,” Muenzer says. “We must educate our children about proper animal care so that abandoned animals and the city of Houston continue to benefit from our work.”

Again, this is absolutely false.  The 37 YEARS that CAP and Kappy Muenzer have been killing healthy and treatable pets should be more than enough proof that “educating children about animal care” has done absolutely nothing to lower their Kill Rate.   They have seen it first hand for 37 YEARS.  In fact, as I said above, CAP’s Kill rate has actually risen over the last few years.  Even the slowest of learners should be able to deduce that what they are doing is not working if their goal truly is to save lives.

The “we must educate the children” mantra does absolutely nothing to save the tens of thousands of animals entering Houston kill shelters today.   The only thing this mantra does is attempt to pacify the public into believing that, at some magical point in time, decades down the road when these children grow up, everything will be great because the public will magically change.

It doesn’t work that way.   37 years have proven that it has not worked at CAP.  It never has, and it never will

We now know that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that shelters will stop killing animals when the LEADERSHIP becomes dedicated to stopping it.  Not only that, but it can be stopped immediately.  It has been done for years now, and it is being done every day across the country.

To add insult to injury, No Kill Houston brought the leading, international No Kill sheltering expert, Nathan Winograd, to Houston in 2009 and 2011 for a “Building a No Kill Community” seminar so that he could teach everyone how we can stop sheltering killing.   No Kill Houston sent FREE tickets to the directors of all FIVE kill shelters in Houston, including Muenzer, yet NONE of the kill shelter directors bothered to attend.

As an aside, this fact has always puzzled and saddened me.   Let’s pretend that you are the director of a kill shelter that is killing 52% of the animals that enter your door.  You believe that you are doing everything right, and you are doing everything that you can to save as many as possible.   But, you hear that someone else has figured out how to do it much better.  Someone else is saving every single healthy and treatable pet.  All of them.   Even if you think that you are doing everything right, wouldn’t you be interested to know what the more successful person is doing differently?   After all, we are talking about alternatives to killing innocent animals.

Would your ego be so huge that you could not admit that someone else might doing it better and that person might actually teach you something so you could stop killing animals too?

Would your ego be so huge that you would not be the slightest bit interested in what this person has to say?

What if someone gave you free tickets so that you didn’t even have to pay for it?  The only thing you had to do was show up.   What then?   Would you show up and listen?

The directors of Houston’s five kill shelters did not show up in 2009 or 2011.

5)  “Muenzer caught a stray cat that had been meandering through her neighborhood and exchanged it with the pound for her personal cat.”   This statement absolutely stuns me.  Muenzer actually took a cat to the pound knowing full well that the cat would be killed.  This is simply beyond belief.   Why didn’t she just go to BARC and get her own cat back (and maybe save a few more from the slaughterhouse while she was there?)   Why in the world would she take another cat to a high kill pound?    Did she think there was some type of macabre exchange of bodies that must be met?  If BARC could not kill her cat, she had to give them another cat to kill instead?  Even at BARC’s worst, I’m pretty sure it never worked that way.

Who would do such a horrible thing to an innocent animal?

Perhaps this attitude explains why CAP’s KILL rate is within a few percentage points of the city’s high kill pound?

6) “We also try to have a target message for different types of audiences. A low income audience would benefit from lessons on proper animal care and the importance of spaying and neutering.”

Wrong again.   If a person can’t afford to spay/neuter their pet, then all the “lessons” in the world will not change this fact.   If they can’t afford it, they can’t afford it.  If it is a choice between buying groceries and getting Fluffy fixed, Fluffy will not get fixed no matter how many messages of “proper animal care” that CAP sends out.

Also, studies have shown that most people will voluntarily spay/neuter their pets IF it is free or low cost.   So, considering this, does CAP provide free or low cost spay/neuter for the companion animals of low income people, to go along with those “lessons”?   According to their website, they do not.  They simply list spay/neuter clinics in Houston.  The only animals that CAP spay/neuters for free are feral (unowned) cats.  Not that spaying/neutering feral cats isn’t needed; it is.  But it certainly does not help those low income people that CAP claims to be targeting.

There are so many things that could be done to end the killing of healthy and treatable, adoptable pets at CAP, and the other 4 kill shelters.   I would urge everyone to become familiar with the No Kill model of sheltering that has allowed 83 Open Admission shelters to stop killing.

I would urge everyone to visit No Kill Houston’s and the No Kill Advocacy Center’s website to find out exactly how we can end the killing of healthy and treatable companion animals in shelters.

This is a very solvable problem, but it will be up to us to solve it.   All of the kill shelters in Houston have proven that they will not stop killing voluntarily.

So, it is up to us.

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*83 is as of today’s date.  That number is increasing constantly.

On the radio…

Houston, TX – I was on the air with Vegan World Radio last night talking about the state of the animal sheltering system in Houston and Harris County.    Over the last few years, Vegan World Radio has been so helpful to our efforts to raise awareness of the plight of animals in Houston and Harris County’s shelter system and also how we can all join together to fix the problems. 

They host an interesting radio show every Wednesday night at 10:00 pm on KPFT 90.1 FM in Houston.  You can also listen online though KPFT’s website.

If you missed the show I was on last night, you can listen to the re-play by clicking  this link:  kpft_121205_220001vwr  (it may take you to another page where you will have to click the link again—I’m not sure why).   A small screen will then pop up and the show will start playing.

The biggest hypocrisies of the sheltering industry–Exposed!

Houston, TX – I just read Nathan* and Jennifer Winograd’s new book, Friendly Fire.   When I read the last page and put the book down, the sole word that kept going through my mind was WOW.   Even though I was already familiar with some of the stories, this book is still so stunning that I had trouble forming any other words but wow for some time.

The Winograds’ absolute honesty about the shocking state of our nation’s sheltering system makes this book, in many places, a hard read for anyone who cares about animals.  It is a hard read for anyone with a conscience, for that matter.  You cannot read this book and not be shocked, stunned, enraged and moved.  I read Nathan’s first book, Redemption over 4 years ago and was shocked and also moved to act.  It literally changed the entire way I thought about animal sheltering and quite literally changed the direction of my life.   And, even though I have personally experienced much of what is described in Friendly Fire within Houston and Texas’ broken shelter system, I was still just as stunned reading this book as the first time I read Redemption.

Friendly Fire is the biggest, most thorough, expose of absolute corruption and hypocrisy that the “humane” industry has ever seen.   It is methodical, like a criminal indictment.  Step by step;  one mind boggling story after another; one betrayal after another;  failure upon failure;  and lie upon lie perpetrated upon animal lovers who spend their very last dimes to donate to the “humane” organizations who have promised to save the animals that we love.  The proof is all there.

The massive lies perpetrated on animal lovers and the mass death and horror supported, and actually committed, by the “humane” organization is simply mind boggling.   The lengths that the multi-million dollar “humane” organizations have gone to sell out companion animals, and fool the animal loving public is in a word revolting.   It is particularly maddening to me as I have been fooled into donating to almost all of the “humane” organizations described in Friendly Fire before I learned that they are fighting against everyting that I believe in.

Others within the animal sheltering industry have been afraid, or simply unwilling, to speak about the atrocities and betrayals, but the Winograds are not.  They are not content to keep the lies a secret any longer.  They turn over all the rocks and expose the ugliness to the light of day, so it can be reformed.

This book also examines the excuses that kill shelters, and their defenders, use to continue killing even when faced with proven life-saving alternatives.  The absurdity of the arguments in favor of killing animals is beyond rational comprehension.  Arguments such as “an animal is better off being killed by a “shelter” rather than released to a rescue group because transporting might be stressful to the animal.”  You think that surely this must be some kind of sick joke.  But it isn’t.  The leaders of the “humane” organizations actually tell us that it is better to kill animals than allow rescue because a car ride might be stressful.  It is simply insane.

The “humane” organizations’ fight to maintain the horrible, sadistic status quo is so irrational as to be unbelievable.  But I do believe every word because, unfortunately, I have seen and experienced some of it personally.  Some of the stories in this book come from the kill shelters, and their defenders, right here in my community.

I live in a city with a non-profit kill shelter that claims to be “humane” and even has the word in its name, but that also has an 89% Kill Rate.  Pit Bulls or Pit mixes never leave this facility alive regardless of temperament and adoptability.  They are not Open Admission, meaning they can so no to intakes, yet they continue to kill the vast majority of animals that they take in.

I live in a city with a city pound that allowed puppies to be washed down kennel drains for years by abusive pound employees, and was only stopped after massive negative attention by reformers.  A pound that has killed cats that I offered to save.  A pound that, to this day, still kills animals that rescuers and the public have offered to save.  This is more than 3 years after our Mayor promised to do everything in her power to transition Houston to a No Kill city.

I live in a county with a county pound that has an 85% Kill Rate.  A pound that the County Attorney confirmed has broken state humane laws for years, maybe decades.  A pound with a director who forces severely injured animals to suffer for days with no medical care. A pound who has killed animals, out of spite, that rescuers offered, and even begged, to save.   Yet the pound director still has her job.

I live in a city with multiple kill shelters that kill all Pit Bulls or mixes, and who even label other breeds as Pit Bulls to have an excuse to kill them.

I live in state with a self-labeled “humane” organization who has taken donations from animal lovers and promised to protect animals by fighting for humane legislation.  Yet, they instead fought against critical, life-saving Texas state legislation in 2011 with ridiculously feable and egocentric excuses such as 1) the bill is 30 pages long and 2) they were not notified before the bill was filed.

This so-called “humane” organization joined with the sell-out HSUS and fought against proposed legislation that would have:

*ended the inhumane gas chamber and heart sticks;

*banned “convenience killing” (killing when there are empty cages);

*mandated collaboration by requiring shelters to work with non-profit rescue organizations to maximize lifesaving;

*mandated transparency by requiring shelters to report how many animals they kill;.

*banned the killing of animals based on arbitrary criteria such as breed, age or color;

*prohibited selling shelter animals to research labs;

*protected feral cats and feral cat caretakers.

Instead of supporting our efforts to pass legislation that would have prevented immense suffering and death of animals in Texas, the self-proclaimed “humane” organizations instead fought against our efforts.

The stories like this are absolutely astounding and sound too ludicrous and macabre to be true, but every word is true.

I think Friendly Fire is one of the most important books on animal sheltering issues that has been written to date.  It blows the lid off of the industry’s tightly held, horrible, secrets.  The Winograds expose a corrupt industry that, in many cases, has become very wealthy from the deaths of the companion animals that they have promised to save.  Once animal lovers read this book, it will leave the high kill shelters and the corrupt, self-proclaimed “humane” organizations that defend them, scurrying for cover.

This book also answers some of the questions that have perplexed me for a number of years, such as why do some self-proclaimed animal lovers and rescuers fight No Kill efforts?  Why do they continue to claim that the No Kill model of sheltering does not or cannot work even when it already is working in 82** Open Admission pounds and shelters.   It has been truly mind boggling to watch the “No Kill naysayers” fight efforts to reform high kill shelters in Houston, Harris County and Texas even when the animals in those “shelters” are subject to the most horrific treatment imaginable.

Just as described in Friendly Fire, the naysayers have gone so far as to personally attack me and even my family in their desperation to defend the kill shelters.  They have blamed animal advocates when the kill shelters continue to kill and commit unspeakably inhumane acts against the animals they proclaim to care for.   One Houston naysayer actually said that we were causing “Dr. Death” to kill more animals.  They claimed that Dr. Death was killing animals out of spite because we are speaking out, so we should just stay quiet about the atrocities that we witnessed.  (Dr. Death was the nickname given to the city pound’s horrible vet by volunteers.  She has since been fired because we kept speaking out).   Even after the naysayers have seen improvements such as puppies no longer being washed down kennel drains by cruel shelter employees and animals no longer being purposely starved for the entertainment of a psychopath shelter employee, the naysayers still support the kill shelter and fight reform efforts.   The positive changes that have occurred, such as dozens of horrible and inhumane  employees being fired, occurred solely because of our reform efforts.   Yet the naysayers still attack No Kill advocates and continue to defend the high kill shelter.   Their absurd reasoning and their fight to maintain the status quo of a high kill, inhumane “shelter”, is beyond all logic and beyond my comprehension.   But, Friendly Fire explains their motivations.

If we want to end shelter killing, and I believe the majority of us do, then we will be the ones that will have to fight for it.  The kill shelters have proven that they will not stop killing voluntarily even when we literally hand them the solutions.  The  wealthy, national “humane” organizations have proven that they will fight our life saving, shelter reform efforts.  So, it is up to us.   Luckily, Friendly Fire gives us the tools to reform an industry that has become the antithesis of everything that it proclaims to be.   If I could place this book in the hands of every animal lover in the America, I would.

The most important thing that you can do for companion animals is to read this book… then pass it on to everyone you know.

Friendly Fire*** is available exclusively on Amazon.

* For those who are not familiar with Nathan Winograd’s work, he can arguably be called the father of the No Kill movement.  He was the first person to take over a high kill shelter and transform it into a No Kill shelter, saving all healthy and treatable pets.  And he is the person who has pushed the No Kill model of sheltering farther than anyone else in history.   His work has, no doubt, made more of a difference in the lives of companion animals than anyone else.

** This number is as of today’s date.  The number of Open Admission shelters and pounds that are saving 90% or more of all animals is growing constantly.

*** To the No Kill bashers, and Winograd attackers, who have claimed that the Winograds are only in it for the money or to sell their books, I would like to point out that the Winograds are selling Friendly Fire at their cost.  Friendly Fire is being sold with the Winograds’ altruistic goal of ending shelter killing.

Follow Nathan Winograd on Facebook and Twitter.

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The upcoming Harris County elections

Save shelter pets by exercising your right to vote!

Houston, TX – As I’ve written previously, the upcoming elections for Harris County are really a one issue election for me.  The most important issue for me is who will step up, do their jobs, and fix the broken animal control system in Harris County.  Who will work to transform the House of Horrors known as Harris County animal control?

The Harris County Attorney’s office issued a report last February which confirmed that the Harris County animal control has been breaking state humane laws for years.  For instance, it was confirmed that Harris County animal control employees:

1) Killed animals in view of other animals.

2) Re-used euthanasia needles.

3) Placed live animals in freezers.

4) Performed painful heart sticks on fully alert and conscious dogs, cats, kittens and puppies

The report also confirmed sky high kill rates of over 82% and no effort to stop, or even slow, the killing.

Since the report was issued, over 8 months ago, not one elected Harris County official has recommended the firing of employees who broke state humane laws.   Not one elected official has shown even the slightest interest in trying to fix problems in this department.   In fact, they have done absolutely nothing.

No Kill Texas Advocates sent all of the incumbent candidates a candidate questionnaire so that voters could learn their position on Harris County animal control.  Not one of the incumbent candidates responded.

Chuck Maricle is the only non-incumbent candidate who responded to the questionnaire.  See his response here.

In addition, Chuck Maricle and Glorice McPherson are the only candidates who showed an interest in talking about these issues in a candidate forum.   All of the other candidates refused.

Maya Angelou is credited with the quote that “when someone shows you their true colors, believe them.” 

I think this is a valuable piece of advice.

Since the confirmation of inhumane and criminal activity in Harris County animal control, not one of the incumbent candidates has shown the slightest interest in fixing Harris County’s taxpayer funded House of Horrors.  I believe they have shown us their true colors, and I plan to vote accordingly.

I believe that every voter should be as educated as possible about the candidates.

Before you go to the polls, I urge you to contact those candidates who have refused to speak openly and honestly about the serious issues that are important to you i.e. transforming the House of Horrors that your tax dollars are funding.  Your vote matters and you need to know which candidates are worthy of your vote.

To make it really easy for you to contact the candidates before you vote, I have listed all of their contact information in this blog post.  I’ve even listed a few sample questions.

Make your vote count.  Vote for the candidates who will protect the defenseless animals in Harris County.

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Houston’s miniscule life saving goal

Houston, TX -  Over the last few weeks, BARC (Houston’s high kill animal control) has been advertising that they are a contestant in the ASPCA/Rachael Ray contest.  This is a contest in which shelters can win cash for increasing adoptions.  Increasing adoptions at a kill shelter is a good thing, considering the most often used alternative at kill shelters is to kill adoptable pets.   But a few things concern and puzzle me about BARC’s participation in this contest.

BARC’s press releases state that their goal is to increase adoptions by 300 animals from August through October.  In other words, their goal is to increase adoptions by only 100 animals each month.   BARC killed or lost almost 1,100 animals every single month in 2011.   BARC killed 7,336 animals in January through June of this year.  That is an average of 1,223 animals killed by BARC each and every month in the first 6 months of this year alone.

Considering the mass slaughter STILL taking place at BARC, my question is why is BARC’s goal to increase adoptions by only 100 animals per month?

Why is BARC’s life saving goal so absurdly low?

A goal of 300 more animals might be adequate, and even admirable if Houston were a small town and if BARC took in a few hundred animals per month.  But, Houston is the fourth largest city in the U.S. and BARC took in an average of 2,200 animals per month in the first 6 months of this year.   BARC’s goal of adopting only 100 more animals per month is a ludicrously tiny fraction of the number of animals that BARC is killing every single month.  It would be absolutely laughable if the results were not so macabre.

Why is BARC’s goal so miniscule and why did they set a goal only large enough to help them win money?   Mayor Parker promised voters that she would do everything in her power to transition Houston to a No Kill community.  So, why isn’t BARC’s goal to increase lifesaving by a large enough number to STOP KILLING?  Why do BARC’s actions never reflect the “We care deeply” rhetoric and spin plastered on their website?

The fact is that they just do not care whether they continue killing adoptable animals or not.  Saving lives is not important to them.  Only the money is important.

My second question is, why do BARC leaders never recognize that adoptions are hampered by BARC’s physical location?  The Mayor  said herself that BARC’s location DETERS adoptions, so why does BARC leadership continue to organize most of their adoption events in the very same location that has been proven to deter adoptions?   The intelligent thing to do would be to organize offsite adoption events in high traffic, highly visible locations, every single week, if not every single day.   Why not copy successful adoption events like this one in which BARC adopted out 400+ animals in just one weekend.  That is more animals adopted in one weekend than BARC generally adopts out in an entire month.  One would think that it would finally dawn on BARC leaders that what they have been doing has been an abysmal failure.  Killing over 1,200 animals month after month after month should drive this point home quite clearly.

But, as I said, it is clear that BARC leadership just does not care if they continue killing over 1,200 animals every month.  It does not matter enough to them to hire leadership who will work hard to save 90% or more of all animals just like the 69 Open Admission, No Kill shelters across the country.

BARC’s press releases also state that, if they win the contest money, they will use it to buy a “Mobile Adoption Center” (a van to take animals to adoption events).   Considering BARC’s horrible location, getting animals offsite is critical to save their lives.

But here is the puzzler:

In early 2010, I attended a volunteer meeting at BARC in which a volunteer made a presentation regarding a bus that she had worked to have donated to BARC … to be used for mobile adoptions.   We saw pictures of the donated bus.  It was huge–a Greyhound-sized bus so there would be plenty of room for lots of animals.  A local, well known, artist had even volunteered to paint the bus for free.

Since that meeting, I have never heard about the bus being used.  So, I emailed Christopher Newport, BARC’s PR person, and asked why they planned to spend $100,000 to buy a mobile adoption van when one was donated to them in 2010.  I received no response.

Newport was probably trying to hide the embarassing fact that, it turns out that BARC and city of Houston leaders could not figure out who would pay for insurance or who would drive the bus.  Folks, we are talking about the city that is home to NASA, but it should not take a rocket scientist to figure insurance and drivers.  The city pondered these “difficult” decisions so long that the bus company pulled their offer.  What a waste of a huge, life saving donation and a complete waste of that volunteer’s time.

Now BARC says that they intend to use the contest money to purchase the same thing that was donated to them 3 years ago.  Hopefully rocket scientists will not be needed to put this bus on the road to offsite adoption events.   If BARC hadn’t recklessly lost the bus donation in 2010, the Rachael Ray contest money could be used on additional life saving efforts such as to rent or buy permanent offsite adoption space that could be used every single day.

These are more idiotic decisions and wastefulness that seem to be a constant from the decision makers for BARC… all of which cost more animals their lives.

If you are tired of waiting for the Mayor to keep her No Kill promises…

If you are tired of the Mayor wasting your tax dollars on ideas that she has admitted are proven failures …

If you are tired of the Mayor wasting precious, life saving donations because BARC/city of Houston employees don’t care enough to get their act together to figure out who will drive a bus….

If you are tired of the Mayor hiring people who absolutely do not care whether they stop killing animals or not….

If you are tired of spin instead of actual life saving action…. then TELL her and your city council members.

If city council members do not hear from you, then the only thing they will hear are Alfred Moran’s lies about how great BARC is doing great and how hard they are working hard to save lives.  It is a lie and they need to know that you know truth and that you care.  Here is their contact information.

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