Lawsuit alleges false advertising ST. LOUIS, Missouri; WILTON, Connecticut; RANCHO SANTA FE, California––Purina, long the leading pet food industry sponsor of animal shelter aid programs, on May 6, 2014 sued Blue Buffalo Company Ltd., sponsor of the Home 4 the Holidays adoption program, over alleged false advertising. Blue Buffalo countersued on May 14, 2014. […]
Veterinary protectionism rises again in Alabama (update)
Nonprofit clinic suspends operations COLUMBIANA, Alabama––A three-year push by Alabama for-profit veterinarians to close the four nonprofit spay/neuter clinics in the state partially succeeded during the last week of April 2014 when charges brought against William B. Weber, DVM and the nonprofit Alabama Spay/Neuter Clinic in Irondale intimidated Joy Baird, DVM into suspending operations at the […]
The fundraising potential of welcoming visitors to animal shelters
“People who rescue feral or abandoned or abused animals also tend to resemble the animals they choose, not in physical appearance but in the psychological sense.” “It has often been observed,” New Hampshire activist Peter Marsh told Spay/USA conference attendees in July 2000, “that people tend to resemble the animals they […]
Maddie’s Fund scraps model shelter plan
Model shelter is no shelter at all PLEASANTON, California––The long-awaited state-of-the-art Maddie’s Fund teaching and training shelter turns out to be no shelter at all. Whether this reflects a change in the Maddie’s Fund thinking about how best to transition the U.S. to no-kill animal control is unclear, but the decision to scrap the notion […]
Massachusetts SPCA is also transferring law enforcement duties to local police
MSPCA was second in U.S. to do humane law enforcement BOSTON––The Massachusetts SPCA, founded by humane education pioneer George Angell in 1868, is believed to have been the second SPCA in the U.S. to do humane law enforcement on a constabulary basis. Like the ASPCA, which was empowered by the New York state legislature to […]
New adoption center gives Fresno humane community a point of pride
A rare “good news for animals” event in a city which has had little to celebrate FRESNO, California––Celebrating a rare “good news for animals” event in a city which has had little to celebrate, the Cat House on the Kings and the Petco Foundation on February 15, 2013 together opened a new 1,500-square-foot adoption center […]
New AHA study finds adoption failure rate of 10% in six months
Failure rates half of what they were in 1993 WASHINGTON D.C.––Adoption failure rates may now be as little as half of what they were 20 years ago, suggests a newly published study by the American Humane Association’s Animal Welfare Research Institute ––but also appear to be about twice as high as is now conventionally believed. […]
L.A. shelter deal transfers cash crunch to Best Friends
LOS ANGELES–“There is progress in Los Angeles!” exulted City of Los Angeles Animal Services general manager Brenda Barnette on January 5, 2012, anticipating the imminent transition of the idle Northeast Animal Care Center from a costly liability to an operating asset, run by the Best Friends Animal Society. “The contract between the city and […]
Humane success makes market for mixed-breed pups
TACOMA–Why did the Humane Society of Tacoma & Pierce County fire one 15-year employee on May 25, 2006, and suspend another without pay for three days, for mistakenly euthanizing five Labrador-mix puppies? Why did Joseph P. “Jo Jo the Dog Man” O’Neill, 70, die alone of a heart attack on June 22, 2005 aboard a train in Poland, after 40-odd years […]
Hurricane Katrina & Rita rescuers shift gears from rescue & reunion to rehoming
NEW ORLEANS–All animals rescued from the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita became eligible for adoption on December 15, 2005, following the expiration of the last mandatory holding periods prescribed by the Louisiana and Mississippi state veterinarians. “We’re setting up two new rescue centers, in New Orleans and Gulfport,” Best Friends Animal Society president Michael […]