Posts tagged "spca"

There are heroes. And then there are superheroes. Meet Mary Spencer. She's giving Wonder Woman a run for her money.

Spencer joined the SPCA of Texas in 1992 and served as its chairman for eight years. Today, she chairs the organization's building committee and represents the mayor of Dallas on the city's Animal Shelter Commission. Last week hundreds who share her passion for homeless pets attended an event in Dallas to launch her book, "All My Fosters Are Rockstars," which weaves stories of some of her foster pets with information about the importance of microchipping, spaying and neutering, adoption, and other animal welfare issues. This week Paw Nation sat down with the affable advocate to talk about her life-saving work.

As a one-woman rescue organization, you have fostered an astounding 500(!) pets. Have you had a favorite?
There have been a few really special ones. Some I still keep in touch with. The blind standard poodles are an incredible story. They were puppy mill dogs I got from a shelter. They were in very bad shape, and their rehabilitation was a unique experience for me. They are now happily living at Rolling Dog Ranch in New Hampshire. It is a utopia for disadvantaged animals, where they can run and play and be cherished like children.

Shelter dogs often fall victim to the old stereotype: If it's been returned, there must be something wrong with it. Mixed breeds can have a tough time finding a home because potential owners are unsure of exactly what they're getting, but when the rescue pup has bull terrier in its bloodline, the stigma can be even worse.

The truth is that many rescued mutts, regardless of their breed backgrounds, go on to become incredible pets that are sources of inspiration for their families and everyone they meet. (Benji, the canine movie star, was a mutt that brought happiness to millions.) In honor of National Mutt Day, which raises awareness and encourages adoptions from shelters, and to prove you should never underestimate a puppy with a checkered past, we want to tell you Lily's story.

Near Starvation
We know what you're thinking, but despite her strong build, Lily wasn't rescued from a dog fighting ring. Nor is she the least bit aggressive. This pup's sad story is one of severe neglect. In fact, when Lily was rescued by Pennsylvania SPCA officers, she was on her way to starvation, confined to a yard with two other dogs, including one that had died from lack of food.

Lily's rescue was featured on Discovery's "Animal Cops: Philadelphia" in an episode titled "Dead Dog Denial." As the story goes, Lily's neighbors noticed the dead dog and alerted authorities. Lily's owner claimed she knew nothing about the dead dog in her yard, her neighbors told officers a different story. After an autopsy concluded that Lily's brother had died of starvation, the woman was charged.

Meanwhile, Lily was taken in by PSPCA for treatment and put into its foster program. Though Lily's rescue was dramatic enough in its own right, her rescuers had no idea what bigger and better things were in the skinny pup's future.

A cat from rural New Zealand got a free ride to Wellington this week when it slipped its way inside one of KiwiRail's passenger cars. The gray, short-haired male cat was discovered during a routine stop by a KiwiRail train conductor, according to the Wairarapa Times-Age. When the conductor attempted to coax the cat into a box, it reportedly left him in bandages.

The unfortunate run-in delayed the train for 30 minutes while the injured manager received medical attention and KiwiRail found a replacement driver. According to KiwiRail's Communications Manager, Nigel Parry, the conductor was trying to safely remove the cat from the train in order to take it to the SPCA.

As many cat owners have learned the hard way, cats and travel generally don't mix, especially the part where you try to force them into a box.

"It's very unusual indeed," Parry told the Times-Age. "In fact, when I spoke to the train manager after his hand had been bandaged up he said he had been working in trains for four decades and it was first time he has been attacked by a cat." Again, we wonder how many times in those four decades the train manager has tried to put a strange cat in a box.

KiwiRail officials believe the cat may have boarded the train somewhere in the Wairarapa region near Wellington. The train company is currently searching for the cat's proper owner, though not to send them the conductor's medical bills, or even a bill for the cat's unpaid ticket.

"We have no intention to charge a fare and we are obviously appealing for the owner to contact the Wellington SPCA for its return," Parry tells the Times-Age, "We can also assure we won't be charging the owner a fare."

Most cats have a desperate fear of travel; they can't stand cars, they detest airplanes, and they bemoan the bus, but what about trains? This adventurous kitty certainly didn't want to give up his seat. Maybe he was excited about getting to visit one of world's greatest beer drinking cities?

Trains and adventure certainly do go together. This article on Gadling about Australia's transcontinental railroad is proof!

There's a big, fat kiss waiting for someone at the Santa Cruz SPCA. Unfortunately, it will probably smell like canned cat food.

That's because the SPCA has a new, very affectionate feline guest. Marty the cat is making headlines with his incredible story, explains Mandi Heart of the Santa Cruz SPCA.

You see, Marty suffers from an autoimmune disorder called stomatits. It makes him allergic to his own teeth. Or perhaps we should say that he was allergic to his own teeth.

When he arrived at the SPCA, Marty's gums were constantly inflamed, so much so that he could barely eat or even close his mouth. Reaching out to the cat lovers in their community, the Santa Cruz SPCA asked for help to fund a costly surgery that would remove Marty's teeth. The outpouring of help and generosity was a testament to the incredible bond between mankind and feline kind. "It overwhelmed us," Heart tells Paw Nation. "We raised the money for his surgery in just a couple of weeks."

Now, without his annoying chompers, Marty is happy, healthy, and still spreading the love at the SPCA. "He'll just jump into your lap and start licking if you let him. He's that kind of cat, super affectionate like a dog," Heart says.

Marty's also waiting for that special someone who might want a highly affectionate cat who likes snuggling and an occasional kiss or two. And who doesn't want that?

According to Heart, Marty's only special need is that he needs soft food for the rest of his life. As an added bonus, any potential adopters can rest assured: no love bites

3,000 Postal Workers Are Hurt By Dogs Each Year
This week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and while many of us are focused on protecting our families, the postal service is recognizing the week in honor of the nearly 3,000 postal workers who were victimized by dogs last year, reports KERO-TV.

Octomom Says To Get Your Pets Spayed
Nadya Suleman has put an sign in her yard that says "Don't let your dog or cat become an 'octomom.' Always spay or neuter." The mother of 14 is being compensated by PETA with a $5,000 payment and a month's supply of vegan hot dogs and Boca burgers, reports L.A. Unleashed.

HSUS Offers Reward for Breaking Up Dog Fights
The Humane Society and Hudson Valley SPCA are teaming up to end dog fighting, reports WCAX-TV. The HSUS is offering $5,000 to anyone with information about dog fights while the HVSPCA is plastering posters throughout the area to raise awareness about the efforts.

Some San Francisco shoppers are coming home with fuzzy packages. The shop windows of Macy's Union Square are filled with adorable, adoptable animals from the city's SPCA. Don't believe us? Check out the live Web cam!

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the city's SPCA has done this for 22 years, sending shoppers home with more than 4,000 new pets from the Macy's windows (317 just last year!). Starting in late November and running through January 3, homeless pets fill six store windows from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, with SPCA staff on hand at all times to answer questions and screen potential adopters.

While they tend to bring the same animals back each day until they're adopted, according to the Chronicle, the shelter has a 97 percent adoption rate, so most of these animals will find happy homes whether they're adopted from the store windows or not. Most of the animals in the windows are cats, though small dogs are brought in as well. Large dogs simply don't fit.

When the Chronicle went behind the scenes at one of the adoption days at Macy's, they found that adoptable animals are described in three ways: "Cherry Blossoms" are animals that are a bit too shy for the windows. "Class Clowns" are a little rough-and-tumble, but could work. "All-Stars" are just what they sound like -- perfect for opportunities like this.

Want to know how you can lend a paw? Check out the SF/SPCA's Web site for more information.

Few would argue that it's cruel to starve a dog. But is it animal cruelty to feed your pet too much? A Scottish court said yes to that question when it convicted a man from Motherwell, Scotland, of causing his dog unnecessary suffering by letting him get too fat, the BBC reports.

Bob, a four-year-old black Lab, weighed 141 pounds when he was removed from his owner, Ralph Dryden, in January. Dryden claimed Bob was already hefty when he adopted him off the street, the BBC reports. But feeding the dog four tins of dog food each day, plus a fish dinner each night, certainly didn't help.

Dryden's sentence was deferred for good behavior, according to the BBC. Meanwhile, Bob is looking more svelte with every passing day. After moving into his new home and starting a strict diet-and-exercise plan, the portly pooch has already slimmed to 90 pounds.

"Bob had to be lifted into the car when we first got him. He couldn't even walk the distance from the car to the front door of the house," his new owner, Paul McShane, said in an interview with the BBC. Now, McShane added, Bob's a new dog. "The difference in him is amazing. He has got a spring back in his step," he told the BBC.