Animal Rescue Work Continues In New Orleans

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(photo courtesy of Editor B who is blogging about rebuilding a life in New Orleans at b.rox: Life In The Flood Zone. It’s a good read about the ordinary and extraordinary in New Orleans today.)

It’s been two years since Hurricane Katrina and the work of caring for animals still in New Orleans is still going on. Because it’s warm year round, it’s also kitten season year round and there are now 4th generation cats on the streets. The rubble left behind is now home to skittish, desperate dogs. Feeding, watering, trapping, and rescuing are still a concern two years later.

The Louisiana SPCA (LA/SPCA) lost its shelter, 80% of its staff and its entire infrastructure in Hurricane Katrina. Today the LA/SPCA has rebuilt their animal rescue & care facility after working 17 months out of a temporary warehouse. They still need donations to restart their public low-cost veterinary care center and have long range plans to open a training facility and a doggy day car/boarding facility to provide care for animals and earn income for the organization. You can donate here.

Animal Rescue New Orleans (ARNO) is also working to help the animals devastated by Hurricane Katrina. (Note: As of this writing, ARNO has applied for, but has not been granted 501(c)(3) charity status, so donations are not deductible on federal income tax yet. I’m waiting to hear back from ARNO on this.) ARNO is feeding and watering cats and dogs across the city, helping residents left destitute care for their pets, spaying/neutering feral cats, and running a shelter. You can donate here.

All of Hurricane Katrina’s victims need to be remembered and helped.

66 People Sickened By Salmonella Strain Linked To Dog Food

A salmonella outbreak going back 18 months affecting 66 people across 18 states is the same strain found in recalled Krasdale Gravy dry dog food and Red Flannel adult dry dog food. The specific lots recalled are found here.

Both dogs and cats can get Salmonellosis with symptoms of lethargy, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever. Humans are at risk of infection and the CDC has information on the signs and treatment of Salmonellosis in humans.

There is a very well maintained list of safe (not part of the previous huge recall) pet foods at PetSitUSA.com. I strongly encourage you to check it out.

You can find out much more on previous recalls on my Pet Food Recall Archive Page.

The Important Question About Michael Vick

Discussion of the Michael Vick case has raised important questions. Would he be getting the same treatment if he were white? I doubt it. Is this a cultural issue? Maybe. Should he be banned from the NFL for life? I want to say yes. But as I started thinking about these issues, I realized they should be secondary.

The primary question should be what has Michael Vick done? The answer? Michael Vick promoted, participated in, and financed some of the most barbaric behavior humans are capable of—forcing subjugated, terrorized creatures to fight torturous and deadly battles for his pleasure, for his profit, and for his ego.

The Humane Society of the United States is holding a video contest to pick a video to use in their campaign to stop animal fighting. I have avoided posting graphic images of dog fighting and animal cruelty because I think constant bombardment by such images can have a numbing effect or can cause people to give up hope or can cause people to go off half cocked in ineffective rages.

These videos are really well done and each one communicates their message in a unique and powerful way. They aren’t your typical anti-dogfighting videos. Even if it’s not easy, I urge you to watch them and pass them along. We should all be discussing the primary question, “What has Michael Vick done?” This is what he’s done. (If you have trouble viewing the video, try double clicking it.)

Video #1: Waiting on an Angel

Video #2: Ms. Paisley Sky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHH8Ap2Hw9w

Video #3: Man’s Best Friend
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDqWupiwQko

You can vote here.

Michael Vick Pleads Guilty

pitpup.jpgThe former Atlanta Falcon’s quarterback, Michael Vick, pleaded guilty today to charges related to dogfighting. While the prosecution has requested a sentence of 12 to 18 months in jail, Vick’s sentence is up to Judge Henry Hudson. Michael Vick could go to jail for up to five years.

Ask Judge Henry E. Hudson to send a message that dogfighting will not be tolerated in the U.S. Please write a respectful, concise, clean letter asking him to hand down a heavy sentence.

Hon. Henry E. Hudson
Lewis F. Powell, Jr., U.S. Courthouse
1000 E. Main St., Suite 305
Richmond, VA 23219-3525

Phone: (804) 916-2290
http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov