New year, perspective

Here we are, one full month into 2017. This marks the end of my time in Oklahoma and the last blog post of the Oklahoma era. I will be returning to my home state of Colorado,  what my role in the animal rescue world of Colorado will be, I don't yet know.
Since I began this blog a lot has happened in the town of Shawnee Oklahoma and it's animal shelter. It's been quite a journey.  I first learned about the Shawnee shelter before I even left Colorado. I would see posts from time to time about animals in need in this shelter, this gassing shelter. Rumors were rampant about the horrors that occurred at the Shawnee shelter, animals gassed for fun, animals abused prior to being gassed, an administration that didn't care. None of this really hit home until I moved to Oklahoma and became involved with members of the local animal rescue community. What an eye opener. They really did gas animals at the Shawnee shelter, at one point hundreds of animals were gassed each month. Rescues were reluctant to get involved with the shelter because it was so difficult to work with. Sickness was rampant in the shelter because animals received no vetting whatsoever. It wasn't at all uncommon for sick animals to suffer and die in the shelter. Volunteers weren't allowed, and very few rescues were involved. Being taken to the Shawnee shelter was almost certainly a death sentence for animals at one time.
The more I learned, the more I wanted to help, not just the animals, but the shelter as well. Things did not need to be the way they were! I began writing this blog in 2015. I also began a more hands on relationship with the animals of Shawnee. I began fostering, transporting, even keeping several myself.
There had been talk for some time about removing the gas chambers, but still they remained, and we're still in use.
In 2015 a new rescue appeared on the scene in Shawnee,  a group of locals doing incredible things. The kill rate at the Shawnee shelter dropped to almost zero thanks to the amazing efforts of this group. This continued until December of 2015. Word of the situation in Shawnee began to spread, eventually to a group of out of state animal advocates. This group organized a protest at the shelter. This was great news, so it seemed at first. Unfortunately this did not turn out to be the case. The first, most significant  impact of this protest was the gassing of three dogs in the shelter. Young, healthy dogs that had rescue interest. Three dogs that were condemned  to die a horrible death simply out of spite, an act of retaliation against the organizers of the protest. This act really focused the attention of the world on Shawnee Oklahoma and it's shelter. The outrage amongst the animal lovers of the world was loud and clear. In February of 2016 it was announced that the gas chamber would no longer be used. The world rejoiced, gassing would finally end in Shawnee! A local veterinarian agreed to euthanize animals by humane injection. Things were improving! Local rescuers continued to save most of the animals, but unfortunately illness was still rampant. There was still no vetting, and volunteers still weren't allowed to work with the animals. It was also discovered that animals were still being gassed, supposedly animals deemed feral or dangerous, and wildlife. Animals were still eligible to be euthanized after only 48 hours, and owner surrenders could be killed immediately. Most of the animals were rescued though, thanks to the wonderful local rescue. Despite the impressive work being done by this rescue they were the subject of a brutal smear campaign by the out of state group whose protest triggered the gassing of the three dogs in December of 2015. This group was doing everything in their power to discredit the group of locals responsible for saving most of the unwanted  animals of Shawnee . Eventually this died down and the local rescuers were able to continue their efforts without the constant harassment from out of state. 
Now, as of January 2017 we see very positive things happening in Shawnee. The gas chambers are gone, supposedly destroyed and used for scrap metal. The room that once contained the gas chamber is now an employee break room. Volunteers are now being recruited to work in the shelter. Some of the animals coming into the shelter are now being spayed or neutered. These animals are available to adopters or rescues. The shelter is open additional hours, allowing people to adopt or reclaim lost pets later in the evenings and on Saturday mornings. New kennels are being added to allow for more animals to be housed. That, and new policies on animal pick ups and surrenders  allow the animals to be safely held for much longer.  The shelter staff and the rescue community have developed a much better relationship which benefits everyone.
What a long way this Oklahoma shelter has come since I first became involved! I am so happy I was able to be a part of something so positive, and I'm very grateful to everyone who shared my posts, paid attention, and spoke up to help facilitate these changes . With that being said, please don't forget about the Shawnee animals and those who work so hard every day to save them. Also keep in mind, Shawnee is not an anomaly. There are still so many shelters in Oklahoma as well as the rest of the South, that desperately need change. Animals are still gassed, shot, neglected and abused in shelters everywhere. They need a voice and support just as much as the Shawnee animals did.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

It's been one year since I began writing this blog in an effort to let the world know what's going on at the Shawnee Oklahoma animal shelter. My first entry was about a young puppy who was picked up over the weekend and left to die in a kennel in the shelter. It was titled Innocence lost. I began writing this because there are a lot of things wrong in this shelter in Shawnee, a lot of things that desperately need to change.
The Shawnee Animal shelter has been in the spotlight quite a bit this past year, with stories in the local news media as well as nationally. It began last December when a group from out of state descended on Shawnee to protest the shelter and it's use of the gas chamber. This protest initially looked like a good thing. Things need to change in Shawnee, and this protest would bring the eyes of the world onto this Oklahoma town. The best part about this event was that it brought local Shawnee residents together. Locals who were opposed to the way things were being done at the shelter came together and began standing up and speaking out at city council meetings! In mid December the out of state group arrived for the protest. People in Shawnee were paying attention and speaking  up against the shelter, what could go wrong ? Apparently a lot could go wrong, so wrong in fact, that it resulted in three dogs being gassed to death shortly before Christmas. It had been months since any animals had died in that gas chamber. Rescues in Colorado and other parts of the country were stepping up and saving  them all. The local rescuers were tirelessly pulling and transporting the Shawnee animals to safety. The three dogs who died that day Delilah, Elroy and Brutus also had rescues willing to take them. The shelter was not full at that time in December, it was nowhere near capacity. The dog's were healthy and highly adoptable. So why were they subjected to that long agonizing death in the gas chamber? They died that day as an act of retaliation. The individual in charge of the shelter did not like the attention and harassment that was directed at him from the organizers of the protest. His act of "defiance" against this was to have those innocent dogs brutally gassed to death. It was this act that brought the initial wave of press and attention onto Shawnee and it's shelter. The city manager announced shortly after this that they would be stepping up their effort to end the use of the gas chamber. Within a few months it was announced that they had finally contracted with a veterinarian and would switch to lethal injection as the method of euthanasia. This brought the next wave of publicity into Shawnee. "The Shawnee shelter announces that it will no longer use the gas chamber"!!! People around the world celebrated, after years of talking about stopping the use of the gas chamber, the city finally announced that they were done with it!
The shelter also announced that they would extend their hours, staying open an hour later and opening for half a day on Saturday. Plans to expand and add more kennels were also announced. The shelter did extend the hours, which has been helpful to those looking for lost pets as well as rescues that want to pull animals on the weekend. The expansion has not yet happened.
So what's happening in Shawnee now, September of 2016? The local rescuers have continued their super human efforts to save the animals of Shawnee and get them to out of state rescues or adopters. The shelter has extended its hours, and a vet is humanely euthanising some of the animals. The bad news is that animals are still dying, recently large numbers of them. The people of Shawnee are still failing to spay and neuter their pets. Ridiculous numbers of unwanted litters are finding  their way into the shelter. Since these litters are unwanted, they are also unvaccinated, as are many of the other animals in the shelter. Shawnee Oklahoma is NOT  a model for exemplary pet care. The number of pets going unclaimed in the shelter speaks volumes towards that. The fact that most are unaltered, unvaccinated and often sick really sums up the attitude of Shawnee towards its pets. Many of these animals, especially the young ones are dying from illness, either in the shelter or at the hands of the vet that now euthanizes. One thing that has not changed in the Shawnee shelter is the lack of vet care for animals in the shelter. Animals are brought in sick, injured and malnourished nearly to the point of death. They are left in the shelter in these conditions until a rescue is able to save them, or until they die. Illness is rampant in the shelter because of these conditions.
Since Delilah, Elroy and Brutus were gassed last December many other animals have died after entering the Shawnee shelter. Some have died of illness or injury while in the shelter. Some have been euthanized by the vet due to illness, of course they don't attempt to treat the illness, there is still no vet available to the animals in the shelter. Some animals that find themselves in the Shawnee shelter are gassed. BUT THEY MADE THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT THEY WERE NO LONGER USING  THE GAS CHAMBER!!! Yes they did announce that, what they left out is a list of animals that that announcement doesn't apply to. Any wildlife captured by animal control or brought into the shelter is gassed, unless of course rescuers are able to get them released and taken to wildcare. Wild care is an excellent wildlife rescue and rehab facility not too far from Shawnee. Very few make it there from Shawnee, most are gassed to death. Then there is the matter of animals determined ( by animal control) to be feral or dangerous. These are often gassed. I am not privy to what criteria determines whether or not an animal is feral or dangerous. Having spent my life with animals I know how many could SEEM feral or dangerous when trapped or caged. I've had cats that turned into Saber Tooth Tigers when put  into a carrier.
Anyone who has paid attention to the intake numbers of animals posted on the Shawnee shelter web page is aware that there have been a lot of missing numbers over the past year. What happened to the animals attached to those numbers? How many were deemed  feral or dangerous and subsequently gassed? The answer is in the shelter records for anyone who wants to know.
So what has really changed in Shawnee and the shelter? They have expanded the hours, and some animals are being humanely euthanized by a vet.
Lately however, a lot of animals have been dying. Why? Illness, euthanasia and people no longer paying attention to the shelter and the plight of its animals. They announced that the gas chamber wasn't going to be used anymore, so now everything is magically ok in Shawnee! I'm here to say things are most definitely not ok in Shawnee. Animals have been gassed, ridiculous numbers are dying, there is still no vet care and far too many citizens of Shawnee still don't care. No one goes to city council meetings anymore. Rescues and pledgers are losing interest because they think things are ok in Shawnee.
Things are not ok and they won't be unless people continue to step up and work for positive change.

Someone saved this baby, now what?

Anyone who's ever seen a post for a dog in a shelter needing rescue has seen the comments; "someone please save this baby", "don't let this one die", "where are the rescues", "someone help", "praying"

Sharing these posts, and making pledges to help the dog are so important. If no one sees the dog, how can they save it? I've seen threads with thousands of comments and shares. Some rescues will only take a dog if the pledge amounts are high. Other rescues will pull the dog then solicit donations or pay the expenses with their own money. Sometimes, I think, on the animals where the drama and emotion is very high, rescues will pull with no resources or plan.
Once the announcement is made that the dog is safe and freedom photos are posted we see all the thank you's and words of celebration and happiness.
But what happens to the dog after all the feel good comments in the thread? Rescuing a dog is a demanding thing, financially, emotionally, and time wise. Once the dog is out of the shelter it needs a place to go. Most rescues use Fosters, some have kennel facilities,  others put dogs into boarding until....

We like to think that any rescue pulling a dog will have all these things in place and all will be safe and appropriate for the individual dog. How do we know? Just because a rescue has a 501c3 designation doesn't mean it is a quality organisation. If the dog goes into boarding, what is that like and how long will the dog be there? What are the Fosters like? How many animals do they have? Do they have experience with dogs with behavior issues? What is the dog's life like at the Fosters home? Is it in a crate all day? Chained in the yard? Locked in a bathroom? If the dog is to go on transport, what is that like?

The bottom line is that just because "someone saved this baby" , there is absolutely no guarantee it is truly safe. We hear horror stories everyday about abuse and neglect at the hands of a rescue.

Instead of praying the dog is safe it would be nice if people followed up, especially the rescue claiming the dog. Ideally anyone would be able to follow up on the dog at any given time after it is pulled.
Unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world. I would love to see as much transparency as possible in the rescue world, after all the dog's are the priority, right?

The thin line between right and wrong

Can and should every dog be saved? That's a question every rescuer and animal lover should spend some time really thinking about. It's a very touchy subject in the animal loving world. All of the big hearted animal lovers of course want to say yes,  save them all ! Is that really accurate though, and is it fair? Unfortunately hearts aren't the only oversized things in the rescue world,  far too many egos fit that description as well.  This is an excerpt from a post that I came across recently for a dog in a shelter;  "Bares teeth, growls, barks and charges the kennel trying to bite the assessor through the kennel.
02/29/16 15:58 mucopurulent ocular discharge, muscle atrophy, lichneification, hyperpigmentation, alopecia of chest and abdomen. yeasty smell. suspect allergies." This describes a highly aggressive dog, a dog who, in my opinion, hasn't been properly cared for in a home environment. Is this dog truly aggressive or is it fear and confinement causing this response? That's where things get difficult. Most shelter workers and volunteers aren't really qualified to do assessments on the animals that come in to a shelter. There really isn't time to do a thorough assessment either, sadly most shelters are busy places.
In a "perfect " world, only breed or behavior specific rescues would be able to pull this dog. A qualified assessor would evaluate the dog to determine the likelihood of successful rehabilitation. The dog would then go to a very skilled foster with no other animals to begin the process of becoming adoptable, or even more ideally, the dog would go to a behavior correction training facility. The dog would remain there until all the undesirable behaviors are corrected and the dog can safely be placed in a home. Of course the final placement would need to be carefully considered,  this dog may never be suitable for a family with children, but it could be great in a working home. A qualified person needs to make this decision as well.
Sadly we don't live in a perfect world. Dogs are not always pulled by the most qualified or appropriate rescues. Most often these dogs are pulled by those with the biggest hearts or the biggest ego's . Neither of these scenarios is ideal for a dog like this. What happens if the dog truly is aggressive and the behaviors don't diminish outside of the shelter? This opens up the possibility of many bad situations.
No one wants to admit defeat and put a dog down. This is absolutely heartbreaking,  and a very difficult decision to make. First of all, you face the "critics" the people who will criticize and attempt to paint you as a bad rescue. We've all heard the stories of the "horrible" rescues who pull dogs and then have them euthanized. Rarely do we hear the whole story in these situations. We mostly hear a lot of negativity and condemnation from the computer critics and the arm chair experts. Some dogs truly can't be saved, that's just the way it is. They are too badly damaged for too long. Prolonged attempts to help them will prove too dangerous, costly, and ultimately futile. The cost of trying to rehabilitate an aggressive dog goes  beyond just financial, time, danger and frustation are all elements here. Plus, what about all the other wonderful,  highly adoptable dogs who are not pulled because the rescues have committed all their resources to saving a high risk dog? How many dogs die each day because of these scenarios?
I don't have all the answers to these dilemmas, I would love to save them all! Unfortunately my common sense and experience with dogs tells me that's just not possible. I would love to see more common sense and intelligent handling of aggressive dogs in shelters and the rescue community. Please get an ACCURATE assessment of a dog before you decide to pull it, and please have a realistic plan for it after you pull.

Something stinks in Shawnee

 Something stinks in the town of Shawnee Oklahoma, and this time it isn't just the animal shelter.

 There was an incident in town recently involving an allegedly vicious dog, a pit bull named Blue. The statement given by Blues owner is that she was at school when she received a call from Shawnee animal control. The animal control officer allegedly told her that her dog had been picked up and impounded. According to animal control the dog would need to be quarantined at the shelter for ten days, the owner was responsible for paying the cost of the quarantine. If she did not pay these costs they would gas Blue and cut off his head to verify that he didn't have rabies. To me this seems very strange. All that is required to verify an immunity to rabies is usually a call to the dogs vet to get the date of the last vaccination, or a simple blood test to to check the titer level in the dogs blood. A sufficient titer level shows that the dog has immunity. Cutting off the head seems a bit extreme.

 According to the dog's owner, Blue was securely locked in the house when she left for the day.  Blue's owner claims that someone broke into her house and the dog got out at that time. This is the second strange part of the story. Blue apparently got into a fight with another dog, the other dog's owner tried to break up the fight and may or may not have been bitten. This possible bite might have been caused by Blue or the other dog, as far as I know this has never been made clear.  Blue was then picked up by animal control and taken to the shelter without incident. It is my understanding that Blue did not show any signs of aggression when he was picked up or at the shelter. Blue's owner managed to have Blue transferred to his vet for the quarantine period. Within just a few days a court hearing was held  to determine Blue's fate. How is that possible? A court date occurring just days after the incident? Even a town the size of Shawnee must have enough court cases to fill it's schedule at least a few weeks out. The court date was set and Blue's owner appeared with a statement and witnesses willing to testify to Blues character. Here's the next strange part, supposedly Blues owner was not allowed to give her statement or produce any witnesses, not even the animal control officer who picked Blue up and witnessed no signs of aggression. Blue was sentenced to death and his owner allegedly sentenced to jail time. 

 The next piece of this puzzle that may or may not fit, is the assistance Blue's owner was receiving from an out of state animal advocacy group. This is the same group that sponsored the shelter protest back in December. The same group that played a role in the events that lead to a retaliatory gassing of three dogs. Is there perhaps a bias amongst Shawnee city officials against this group? Could that be part of the reason for this crazy situation?  A pit bull who, by all accounts is not aggressive, was sentenced to death for a very vague and questionable  first time offense that might not even have involved a bite? Of course, its possible that Blue's owner wasn't truthful about everything that happened or maybe there were other misleading statements along the way, it's a very strange situation all the way around.

 There are facts in this case that are very questionable however, the speed of the trial, the harsh sentence, the fact that the animal control officer who picked up Blue was never asked for a statement. These all seem very strange to me and my instinct is to suspect corruption and bias among the small town city officials. Sadly, this sort of corruption and cruelty is seen all too often in and around animal shelters. Shawnee is not unique in that. 

 I will never understand how we humans, as so called higher beings, can allow and perpetrate this kind of unfairness and cruelty upon the most innocent among us, the animals. It's even more appalling to realize that many of those responsible for unthinkable cruelty, call themselves Christians.

 An appeal has been filed on Blue's behalf and the final outcome is yet to be determined.

A Happy New Year?

2016 is here, we've turned the page on 2015. 2015 ended on a very bad note in the town of Shawnee, especially for Delilah, Brutus and Elroy. These were the three dogs who died in a retaliatory gassing back in December. This led to more unpleasant events for those involved with the animal shelter. The shelter supervisor was put on administrative leave and news stories about these events were seen everywhere. The question of whether or not Randy Newton gassed the animals on his own initiative or on the order of his boss, Chris Thomas, grew from a whisper to a roar. We may never know for sure, either way it won't bring back the three innocent dogs who lost their lives in the gas chamber that day in December. With luck, the questions raised from this incident will prevent it from ever happening again.

 The new year has brought with it hints of possible change at the Shawnee shelter, potentially big change! An entirely new shelter administration may be on the way in soon! With a new administration, hopefully the desperately needed changes will also come to the Shawnee shelter. This is a bit hard for me to believe since the attitudes and behavior of many people connected with the animal shelter seem to belong in "The Hills Have Eyes". I would certainly love to see it happen though!

 One thing we know for sure, the winds of change have begun to blow through Shawnee. The events of last month and the resulting attention, in the media and of course, social networking, have forced the city and shelter administration to address the issue. Hopefully this really will result in a new and much improved shelter administration and policy. Perhaps Shawnee will become a no kill town, at the very least, may we never again  see innocent animals killed in anger or spite.

V is for victory or vendetta

The spotlight continues to shine on the town of Shawnee Oklahoma. Tonight kicks off the first of two nights aimed at protesting the Shawnee shelter. The events are no longer being called a protest however, they are now deemed a "victory demonstration " yes, victory. Since the protest and its associated events was first announced we've seen residents of Shawnee finally go to a city council meeting and speak up about the problems at the animal shelter. This is something that should have been happening for a long time now. In my mind that is a victory. 

 A few short days after this city council meeting, three dogs were gassed to death. The circumstances of this gassing clearly spell retaliation, at least in my mind they do. Someone was unhappy with all the negative attention being directed at Shawnee and its animal shelter. So unhappy it seems, that three innocent dogs suffered a horrible death as retribution for the unwanted attention.

 Less than a week after the dogs were gassed to death, we see announcements and headlines proclaiming that the shelter supervisor has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation. Even more attention is on Shawnee! Within hours this man is the object of everything from hatred to death threats. Is this the "victory" that is supposedly being celebrated? If this individual is responsible for a retaliatory gassing of three dogs, then yes, it is somewhat of a victory. My question is, what if it wasn't this individual's decision to kill the dogs? He has a boss, right? He is a city employee, subject to the authority of several others in the Shawnee city government. How do we know he wasn't following someone else's orders?

 With all that being said, lets examine this "victory " that is being celebrated in Shawnee by the group of people initially planning to protest. The gas chamber is stil being used, three dogs died in it on Friday. There is still no clearly defined timeline for the gas chamber to be discontinued and replaced with humane lethal injection. The rumor that has been going around is that gassing will be replaced with heartstick, definitely not something to celebrate. Nothing at the Shawnee shelter has changed. The shelter is still closed on weekends. The hold time for stray animals is still only 48 hours. Animals are still brought in sick and injured with no veterinary care available. The adoption process is still complicated and unappealing. It is still very time consuming and cumbersome for rescues to become approved to pull from the shelter. Volunteers are still not allowed to work with the animals, providing temperament assessment or other information that rescues and adopters need. 

 From what I can see absolutely nothing has changed other than one shelter staff member being placed on administrative leave, and it's uncertain whether or not he is even the one responsible for the decision to gas the dogs. The reality in Shawnee today is that nothing  has improved and three dogs are dead. Where is the victory?

Eyes of the world

 Once again the eyes of the world are focused on the town of Shawnee Oklahoma. This time however, they are not viewing it in a favorable light.

 On Friday morning, four short days after the long awaited announcement that a date for the removal of the gas chamber would finally be announced in early 2016, animal control gassed to death three dogs. Three young, healthy, friendly and highly adoptable dogs were cruelly pushed into a small metal box. After a few minutes of confusion and fear, those dogs began to realize they couldn't breathe. Once they began the slow process of suffocation, the fear and the cries became overwhelming, scratching frantically at the door they were just pushed through, they cried pitifully with the last breath in their lungs as their organs began to shut down and death finally came. This process can take up to 40 minutes.

 The world is now wondering why this happened. The shelter was not full, the dogs weren't killed for space. These three dogs were in the shelter since December 3rd and 4th, for at least three of the days between December 3rd and December 11th the Shawnee animal control website was down, giving the animals in the shelter  no exposure. One of the dogs had a definite rescue commitment, he was to be pulled Friday morning and put in boarding until transportation to his wonderful new life in Colorado was arranged. Animal control was aware of this . They were informed by the small group of local rescuers who are in that shelter daily. This is the same group of rescuers who have been clearing the shelter of animals in immediate danger EVERY FRIDAY for the last six months. Animal control was also very aware of this fact, the other dogs would have been pulled that same day. Typically if any animals are to be gassed it happens at the end of the day on Friday, this frees up space for animals coming in over the weekend. Last Friday, for some reason was different, very different.

The question now being asked around the world is why? A lot has been happening around the community of Shawnee lately, the animal lovers of the world have been paying attention to the small city for a while now. The fight to get rid of the gas chamber has been going on for years, in Shawnee and the rest of the state. Last February's announcement that Shawnee would remove the gas chamber was met with cheers from animal lovers everywhere! Nothing else has been mentioned since then.

 Recently it was announced that a protest would be held at the Shawnee shelter, freedom of assembly and the right to protest is a fundamental right of all Americans and a great way to draw attention to the plight of Shawnee's animals. The animal lovers of Shawnee were united and inspired to go to last weeks city commissioners meeting where they spoke about the issues at the Shawnee shelter. Of course the removal of the gas chamber was brought up, prompting a response from the city manager, he stated that they were working on it and expected to announce a date for its removal by early 2016. The animal lovers of the world celebrated this announcement! 

The animal control officers of Shawnee Oklahoma are NOT animal lovers however. It seems that they were not happy with any of the recent attention directed at the Shawnee shelter. Apparently they chose to express their displeasure by gassing the three innocent dogs on Friday. This act of retaliation has not gone unnoticed, more attention than ever is directed at Shawnee. This attention, of course, is not positive, inspiring everything from death threats to claims of evidence that will show the animal control officers are guilty of animal cruelty. Animal cruelty is now a federal offense, the FBI plans to track animal cruelty cases starting in 2016. Anyone making such claims better have irrefutable evidence.

 What started out as such a positive week in Shawnee has ended on a miserable note. Three innocent dogs are dead. Hatred and threats directed towards the city of Shawnee and its animal control officers are everywhere, and this is just the beginning. A rally and protest are slated for the end of the week, with all the negative attention focused on Shawnee we know the world will be watching. My question is what happens next? Will we be witnessing the unnecessary deaths of animals weekly ? Daily? Will this war escalate with the animals paying the ultimate price, or will the city of Shawnee and its animal control officers give up the power trip and work with the world to make Shawnee better for everyone, especially the animals?

Rumor has it, change is on the way

 Last night was an important night in Shawnee Oklahoma, at least for animals and animal lovers it was. 

 Last night saw the monthly city commissioners meeting in the town of Shawnee. What made this meeting different was the four residents of Shawnee who came up to the podium and expressed their dissatisfaction with the animal shelter and its use of a gas chamber. The maximum number of people allowed to speak on a subject is four, although I saw a number of other Shawnee residents who may have spoken as well if they had the opportunity.

 The usual rhetoric put out about the issues at the Shawnee shelter tells us that it's "only people from outside of Shawnee that are bothered by the gassing shelter. The people of Shawnee don't have a problem with it." Well, last night's meeting proved that this statement is false!

 The sentiments expressed by the Shawnee residents prompted the city manager to address the issue as well. According to the city manager people should expect a date for the cessation of euthanasia by gas sometime in January or February of 2016. It was announced in February of this year that the city of Shawnee was planning to transition from the gas chamber to lethal injection. Until last night no other information has been reported on the issue. The city manager again stated that lethal injection would be the new euthanasia method.

 Unfortunately there seems to be conflicting information about what exactly is meant by "lethal injection ". After the initial announcement about the change, rumors began to fly about the lethal injection actually meaning heartstick, a particularly brutal method of "euthanasia". Apparently those rumors have resurfaced in full force after last night's meeting. Heartstick is completely unacceptable and no one should be willing to accept this.

 Something else of note has happened today, the Shawnee animal control website is down. This is the website where all the animals currently in the shelter can be viewed. The website hasn't been properly updated since last week and none of the animals recently brought in to the shelter can be seen.

The fear of animal control retaliating against any unfavorable publicity or situations they dislike, by gassing animals, has been expressed by numerous people over the course of many years. I don't know if there have been incidents in the past that created this attitude or if it's just another product of the rumor mill. Either way, I'm hearing a definite current of fear with today's situation.

 Now more than ever the animals of Shawnee need us. As of right now they, and the shelter, are receiving more attention than ever. Over 1,000 people are talking about this subject on Facebook and there is an article from the Examiner about last night's meeting. The people of Shawnee need to stick together and see this through to a positive outcome for the animals. Those willing to speak up should continue to attend city meetings, ask questions and keep pushing the issue until the correct changes occur. Those of us outside of Shawnee shouldn't forget that nothing is resolved yet, there is much work to be done and Shawnee and its animals can't be forgotten.

The right to harm

 A nasty piece of legislation passed the Oklahoma house and senate recently. Question 777, misleadingly named the right to farm bill. This question is slated to go on the ballots for Oklahoma voters in 2016.

 The right to farm, this sounds fair doesn't it? It doesn't sound so good  when you read the fine print and understand what this is really all about, and what it's real objective is. 

 Question 777 wants to amend the Oklahoma state constitution so that no changes or regulations can ever be imposed on the farming or ranching industry in the state. Basically this will give the farm bureau, along with the department of agriculture, free reign to do anything they want within the state under the guise of farming or ranching. The vaguely worded question 777 doesn't leave anything off the table, anything that falls under the farm bureau or dept. of agriculture is fair game for them to do as they please. How would you all like to see Oklahoma's land taken over by huge corporate "farms"? Ever seen a factory hog farm? They are utterly disgusting. These corporations would be free to run these so called farms in any way they please. This means goodbye to the small independent farmer. The guy I see selling homegrown potatoes from the back of his truck, how will he compete with the likes of Monsanto ? The ranchers who maintain modest herds of cattle won't have a chance against the huge unregulated factory farms. Of course there won't be any restriction or regulation of pollution that might come from these giants, whether it is in our water, land or air, it's part of "the right to farm" and laws can't be imposed to regulate it. These giant "farming" corporations would be free to use Oklahoma's  resources any way they want. Are people really ok with that?

 Now, let's talk about what is really at the heart of this initiative. Animal rights activists. Oklahoma, in general, has such a deep hatred for animal rights activists that they would pass a dangerous piece of legislation like this just to keep these activists from the state. To a point I can understand this, animal rights activists can get pretty extreme and animals do have a place in the farming and ranching industry. However, on the other side of that coin, Oklahoma does have a lot of issues around the humane treatment of animals that need attention. Without the activists bringing these issues to light, they would never change. If this measure passes it's unlikely we will ever see the end of gas chamber "euthanasia" in the state.  Without any oversight, puppy mills will flourish. Animals  will be freely available for scientific research. We will never see the desperately needed shelter reform or increased access to shelters. What is so "extreme" about any of this?

 In Oklahoma, pretty much anything animal related falls under the department of agriculture. The same department working so hard to push this legislation into law. For a state that prides itself on strong Christian values, the principles  of helping and caring, the "Oklahoma standard" certainly doesn't extend to the animals of the state.

 A vote for issue 777 will be a huge setback for the state. The potential harm that could be done if this becomes law, is truly frightening. It's time for Oklahoma to drop the "us against them" mentality, join the 21st century and start improving the quality of life for ALL its residents.

Heartlessness in America's heartland

In most Native American cultures animals were viewed as equal to humans.  Of course, animals were hunted, but only for food, and no part of the animal was wasted. It was common practice to ask the spirit of the animal  permission to take the life of the animal before it was killed.

Prior to becoming a state in 1907, a similar attitude was held throughout what is now Oklahoma. At that time schools were required to spend at least 30 minutes each day teaching animal welfare. Children were required to learn compassion and humane treatment of "dumb animals" as they were considered at that time.

It seems to be a very different attitude that we see in Oklahoma today. A survey was done recently to gather information on animal shelters within the state. There are a total of 136 shelters in the state of Oklahoma, of those, 28 provided no data. Eight of those shelters told surveyors they would not provide any data, the rest didn't return calls or couldn't be reached. Only 33 of the state shelters complied fully with the survey. The survey resulted in some disturbing data about animal welfare in the state of Oklahoma. Euthanasia methods ranged from lethal injection to gas chambers to heartstick to  bullets to the head. Some of the shelters fail to comply with state animal sterilization laws, unaltered animals are released to adopters at some shelters. The majority of people living in rural areas have no access to animal shelters at all, the shelters only accept animals from within the city where they are located, those of us outside city limits have no shelter resources available. Oklahoma state law allows countywide access to animal shelters only in counties with populations over 200,000, only three counties in the state have populations that meet this guideline. None of those counties provide a county wide animal shelter or animal control. I guess that explains all the animals I see wandering the streets, getting hit by cars. Animal dumping  is rampant in the state and spayed and neutered pets are rare in rural settings. Several attempts to get rid of the population mandates that restrict the ability of counties to provide shelters have been made, they are shot down by the association of county commissioners every time, just as the attempts to ban the use of gas chambers in shelters have been shot down the last two years. Animal  welfare laws are motivated by something other than compassion in the state of Oklahoma. There have been numerous horror stories about conditions and incidents In Oklahoma animal shelters, only a few actually make the news.

Lawmakers and officials at all levels in Oklahoma like to tell people that it's only "outsiders" that are bothered by the way things are done here. I know this isn't true, there is an ever increasing number of Oklahoma citizens that are not happy with the way animal welfare, along with a number of other issues, is handled. 

Somewhere in the early part of the last century Oklahoma got stuck, many ideas and practices within the state are throwbacks to a much earlier, less enlightened time. Unfortunately for the animals at least, it isn't the time when compassion for animals was taught in schools.

Redress of grievances

Freedom of speech, freedom of peaceable assembly, these are two of the inalienable rights protected by the document known as the bill of rights.

Protest has been an integral part of American history. Without protesters opposing what they view as injustice America as we know it wouldn't exist.

 There is a nationwide protest planned for December 18, a protest against kill shelters and other acts of cruelty towards animals.  I don't necessarily agree with the specific plan of this protest, it is scheduled to be an overnight sleep out during one of the coldest months. That is a hard thing for many people to do. It seems to me, if you are going to protest something you would want as many people as possible to know about it. It's unlikely that many people will notice an overnight protest, especially since most animal shelters are not located in heavily populated areas. Shelters tend to be found on the outskirts or less populated areas of town.

 In order for this protest to have any impact people need to know about it and people need to show up to protest. I'd  like to encourage everyone to get the word out about this, slam the local media with information about this protest,start now, let every media outlet in the vicinity of the protest sites know. Social media is a powerful tool but it is not the only tool. Use every tool available. 

Peaceable protest is one of the more powerful instruments of change we have available in this country but protest is meaningless if no one is aware of the protest, the issues that are being protested and the desired resolution. If you want to be the voice of change you must be willing to speak up and make yourself heard.

Animals among us

Today I had the pleasure (it's difficult to use that word even sarcastically) of visiting the Shawnee shelter, inside, up close and personal with all the animals, even the one working the front desk. 

The kennel area was quite clean, the interior kennel area completely free of any kind of clutter. You know, those messy things like food or water bowls or beds. I couldn't say what was outside as I couldn't see it.  The animals in this place were obviously terrified. I saw several shivering as they sat or lay in their kennel. Others barked, whined or growled out of nervousness or fear.  They all shared one thing though, that same, sick, terrified look in their eyes. The most heartbreaking was the older shepherd mix who was an owner surrender. Yes, she was abandoned in this hellhole by her owner. How many years of loyalty had she given her owner, only to be discarded in this horrible place? 

Probably the worst example of animal behavior that I saw today came from the individual working the front desk. No greeting or acknowledgement for the rescuers coming in to save the animals relegated to his "care". I guess it's easier to throw them in the gas chamber than deal with paperwork. This attitude was quite obvious in his reaction to the paperwork that had been faxed in by the rescue that was trying to help me pull this dog. The same rescue that tried all Friday afternoon to call the shelter to find out what the procedure was, and to tell them they were sending their paperwork. This shelter employee was absolutely indignant that the rescue had the nerve to ask them to hold this particular dog for them. Imagine that, someone asking them to put in such a huge amount of effort to save a dog. This employee was so busy flinging the paperwork around and ranting about how they didn't hold animals for anyone, that he didn't hear my questions about how to get the appropriate paperwork to the rescue requesting the dog. Much like their inability to answer the phone, they seem to turn a deaf ear to anyone wanting to help.

The Shawnee shelter is one ugly nightmare created by a variety of factors; The attitude of the state government and many citizens toward animal welfare. The ignorance, willful or otherwise, of the locals in their refusal to spay & neuter , vaccinate, or properly care for their pets. The shelter staff, caring and compassion are definitely not job requirements and any venture into the modern world is obviously also unthinkable.

With all these factors, is there any hope for shelter reform in Shawnee,

or will the dedicated and overwhelmed rescuers continue to be the only hope for the unfortunate animals who end up there?

Primitive methods in a modern world

 I have yet another story about the nightmare that is the Shawnee Oklahoma animal "shelter". I am trying to get a dog out of the shelter so it won't be gassed to death, the dogs hold time is up Monday morning, it could be gassed anytime after its hold time ends. I have an out of state rescue trying to help me pull this dog. In order for any rescue to be approved to pull they must fax, yes fax, proof of their 501c3 certification to the shelter. Apparently they don't use email in animal control in Shawnee. Someone from the out of state rescue and I spent all Friday afternoon trying to call the shelter to tell them we were faxing the paperwork. Apparently they don't answer phones either...

 This brings me to the story of this poor cat who found himself in the Shawnee shelter this summer. This cat was picked up by animal control and taken to the shelter, sometime during the 48 hour stray hold it was decided that this was a feral cat. He was gassed to death. Very shortly after the cat was killed a woman and her young daughter came in to the shelter looking for their missing cat. They had tried repeatedly to call the shelter to ask if they had picked up any cats matching the description of their missing pet.The phone was never answered, so they came to the shelter. The woman was told that a cat matching the description of hers had come in, and had already been gassed. The woman asked to see the body of the cat so she could be certain it was hers. The woman, along with her young daughter, was told no, it was not something a woman should see.  What kind of condition was this poor cats body in? How horrific must the death have been? 

Death by gas chamber is not easy. It can take up to 45 minutes for an animal to die. 45 minutes of slowly suffocating, organs shutting down, lungs desperate for air. The animal screaming and clawing wildly at the walls of the chamber, and any other animal that might be in there with it. That, it seems is what happened to this woman's pet. Perhaps this cat would have been spared this fate if someone had answered the phone.

How many other lives have been lost over the years because of unanswered phones and rigid rules for approving rescues? Most people don't have or use fax machines anymore. Email is the communication method of the world today. Is there any good reason Shawnee animal control can't use email to get the required paperwork done? 

I will continue to do all I can to get this dog safety out of the shelter. I truly hope another life isn't lost because no one can answer a phone or use email.

An epidemic of ignorance

Most people in America, and much of the rest of the world, recognize that there is a serious  problem with over crowded animal shelters everywhere. Shelters are overflowing and most of the animals who end up in a shelter never get out. Those of us in animal rescue are acutely aware of this. We also understand that conditions in many of these shelters are deplorable. The holding areas are terrible and the shelter employees  are uncaring and even cruel. Animals are frequently killed because of limited space and sometimes for no discernible reason at all. I've heard of shelter animals being killed as retaliation because the shelter received complaints. The number of shelter horror stories is unbelievable. Animal rescuers and many other concerned people would like to change this.

 We hear a lot about the need for shelter reform, even efforts to make America a no kill nation. Is this a possibility? Can we achieve a no kill nation here or anywhere else for that matter? The answer is no. It is not possible, for many reasons. The number one reason no kill is impossible is the shear number of ignorant or uncaring people. Of course we don't like to think that about our fellow man, but sadly it's true.

 The biggest problem facing us is simple overpopulation. People don't spay and neuter their pets. The reasons why are numerous. The cost is too high, it's too hard to find a low cost clinic. Simple selfishness is often to blame, "I just can't do that to my pet." "I just want one litter." I think we've all heard these kinds of stories. The number of unwanted pets born each year is staggering.

The next biggest problem we see is animals that are not properly cared for. They are never vaccinated or given vet care. We see them running loose everywhere, getting in garbage, chasing other animals, often emaciated and unhealthy. Some of these animals actually have homes, they are not strays. In the area around my house dead dogs in or on the side of the roads are a common sight. They are hit by cars all the time. I don't live near a major highway or a heavily trafficked area. I live on a rural two lane road. The dogs are dying this way because people dump them in the woods or refuse to restrain them on their property. They run loose and get hit, or picked up by animal control and taken to a shelter.The other part of this particular equation is that many people don't even try to avoid hitting them. Animals lives just don't matter to many people. 

We see evidence of just how little value is placed on the lives of animals everywhere we look. It is in the over filled shelters. It is seen in the inhumane "euthanasia " methods used in many so called shelters.It is in the number of dead animals seen on roadsides everywhere. The abused, neglected, starving animals seen around the world are all irrefutable proof that there is not enough human caring and compassion in the world to hope for a system of no kill shelters anywhere. Until the attitudes of humans change we will continue to see shelters overfilled with unwanted animals that have found themselves there by many different means, none of which is the fault of the animals. 

Shelter reform is needed without a doubt,  but humanity reform is needed even more desperately.

Meet Bristol

Bristol is our OCD girl! She can only come into the house by going around the perimeter of the yard! Every time, no matter where she is in the yard she will follow the exact same route to come in. Bristol was our second dog, after getting Fritz we decided we wanted a female. We found an ad on Craigslist for a female German Shepherd for sale nearby. We drove out to the address we were given that evening. No one was home when we got there so we walked around the property. We found several dogs in a small kennel area, a horse in a corral and, in the middle of the horse corral, a pen. This pen was constructed of mismatched wire and old wood. Inside the pen was a partial wooden structure, it was made of three walls and part of a roof that had collapsed on one side. The pen was filled with horse manure and there was a large trash pile on one side of it. Also in this pen were two German Shepherd puppies. It was mid October which in Colorado is quite cold. We got back in the car to warm up and call the person who owned the puppies. She told us she was running late, she was picking up her daughter and would be there shortly. We sat and waited, playing with the puppies until we got too cold. We found ourselves really hoping that second puppy was spoken for because the thought of leaving any puppy in that horrible place was unbearable.

Eventually a car pulled up and a woman and young girl got out. The woman reeked of alcohol and Lysol. She was slurring her words as she tried to tell us all about the female puppy. The first thing we asked was if the second puppy was taken. No, she told us as she stumbled  over to open the pen, he was available. I crouched down as she released the pups, the little male  puppy immediately came over to me, put his paw on my leg and looked at me. My husband and I looked at each other and he told the woman we were taking both pups. We settled on a price for both, she was desperate for the money and agreed pretty quickly. We left with two puppies, brother and sister who became Bristol and Kuno.

 On the ride home both puppies vomited, large piles of horse manure, grass and cigarette butts. I think that had been the staple of their diet. 

This was an example of backyard breeding, not even the worst of it. I've heard many nightmare stories of backyard breeders that were far worse. These are the breeders who need to be stopped. 

When Bristol was about a year old we learned she has an autoimmune disease, it caused the muscles of her head and jaw to shrink making it difficult for her to eat. We adjusted her diet to soft foods and she began to gain weight. Apart from her small head Bristol is a very healthy active girl today, a little OCD but we love her!

Meet Logan

Today is Logan's third birthday. The only reason we know his birthday is because he was first dumped at the shelter in Lancaster Ca. when he was only a few weeks old. The shelter recorded his birthday at intake. 

Logan has been with us for a little over a year now. We found him when he was dumped in the same shelter for the second time. Logan was another one that just kind of grabbed us, he was emaciated in his shelter picture but still smiling. We had him pulled and brought him and Bellini back to Oklahoma to join the growing pack!

Meet Tripper

Tripper came to us two years ago. He came from the Devore shelter in California. This shelter had just taken in about forty dogs from a local hoarding situation. Most of those dogs were white German Shepherd mixes. I discovered Tripper when I learned about the hoarding situation. I was looking at shelter photos of all the dogs they had taken in. I don't know if Trip was part of that group of dogs or not. What I do know is that something about him grabbed me, he looked so sad and defeated in his shelter picture.

 We arranged to have him pulled and boarded as soon as he was available. In the shelter Trip wouldn't stand or walk on his own, he had given up. This continued even after he was pulled. Finally we got him home, he was covered in ticks and his ears were raw with fly bites. Tripper had to be half carried and half dragged into the house. Even though he was very thin he is still a large dog and getting him to move was not easy! 

 Tripper didn't know anything about being in a house, he had no idea how to go up or down stairs, he didn't even know what dog food was. Trip thought food was supposed to be taken out of the garbage can. The first few days he was very quiet and he kept to himself. Fortunately Trip started walking on his own soon after he came home. It took a little longer for him to start eating  dog food instead of garbage. We learned that Trip  had started eating when we discovered huge piles of unchewed dog food that he had vomited up! Apparently he started eating and didn't stop, stuffing himself until his poor stomach couldn't take any more! Eventually Trip learned to go up and down stairs (he's still pretty clumsy) he started interacting with the other dogs and he even learned to use the doggy door!

Now, just over two years later, Tripper is known as the big meatball, he is a total goofball!

Meet Maybe

I have been working with local rescue groups, fostering animals from the nearby gassing shelter. One Friday afternoon I got a call from one of the local rescuers, they were trying to get dogs out of the shelter. Animals are often gassed on Friday to make room for animals that come in over the weekend. They were desperate for fosters, could I take any? I chose a young dog labeled a lab mix, she reminded me of my Rita, I couldn't say no to that! I picked up the dog that evening, a tiny, emaciated girl. Within about an hour we were in love with her, and thinking maybe we would keep this one. 

By Saturday evening it was clear that she was sick. She wasn't eating and she had diarrhea and some vomiting. We feared Parvo, so first thing Sunday morning we took her to the emergency vet. Our fear was confirmed with a diagnosis of Parvo. She was admitted to the animal hospital for treatment. The next day she was transferred to our regular vet where she stayed for another three nights. 

As soon as I got the diagnosis of Parvo I contacted the group who had pulled her from the shelter, I wanted to make sure they were aware so they could let everyone who had taken dogs recently know. Parvo is often very treatable when caught early. I was told that they would do a fundraiser to help with the expense of the Parvo treatment. After three nights at the vet the little girl was ready to come home! She was a new dog, adorable and lovable and ready to play!

The promised fundraiser never happened and we never received any reimbursement for the vet bills we paid, but that was ok. Little Maybe had become a definitely and she was home to stay!

Meet Fritz

Fritz is our only animal that is not a rescue. Now, some people might think it strange that someone who rescues and advocates for animals would have a dog purchased from a breeder. Let me clarify by saying I am an advocate for ANIMALS and without good, ethical, conscientious breeders, where would animals be? We would be over run with unhealthy genetically weak animals. If the only people producing animals were doing it illegally what kind of animals would we have? Let's face it, a lot of people will only get specific breeds of dogs. Whether these dogs are for work or just companionship and love of a certain breed, people should be able to get the dog they want. 

Now let's talk about puppy mills, backyard breeders and those who churn out as many pups as they can just to make money. These are NOT ok. They do nothing to improve the breed. These people don't care about the health, personality or genes being passed on through breeding. It's all about making money. These operations need to be stopped and breeding left to the few quality breeders out there. Of course, no matter how good the breeder, there's no way to know what might happen to the dog after it leaves the breeder. Many top quality dogs do end up in shelters, this is not the fault of the breeder or the dog. The fault lies solely on the person who chose to take the dog to the shelter.

The majority of problems with pet overpopulation and full shelters come from irresponsible pet owners. The people who don't spay and neuter, the people who don't properly socialize and train their dogs, the people who don't take proper care of their pets, these are the problems. 

So by all means, let's protest puppy mills and backyard breeders, shut them down! Let's do everything we possibly can to educate people on the importance of spaying and neutering. Let's find a way to make low cost spay and neuter programs more readily available, especially in rural areas. Let's also find a way to educate people on what it means to be a responsible pet owner, and how important it is to be prepared for the pet they are getting. Let's do all these things, and then take a moment to appreciate the breeders who are doing things right.