ANIMAL WATCH

ANIMAL WATCH-"Puppy-mill" bans are increasingly being exposed as unable to stop the commerce of mill-bred animals in cities/states where they have been passed.

ANIMAL WATCH-On November 27, 2017, Commissioner Roger Wolfson (photo above, right), one of Mayor Eric Garcetti's appointees to the Los Angeles Animal Services' Commission, introduced his initiative to switch the entire city shelter population of lost, homeless, abandoned and stray dogs to a totally meatless diet.

ANIMAL WATCH-Sheriff Jim McDonnell served with the Los Angeles Police Department for 28 years before becoming Chief of the Long Beach Police Department in 2010.

ANIMAL WATCH-On May 2, LA Superior Court Judge Shellie Samuels denied a request to reduce the sentences of the two Los Angeles Lucky Puppy Rescue Retail store owners, Rachel Kennedy and Sandra Vasquez, who are currently on suspended sentences with summary probation after conviction for animal abuse and neglect. 

ANIMAL WATCH-The Los Angeles Animal Services' website solicits donations to the Animal Welfare Trust Fund using irresistible images of puppies, kittens and a bunny and assuring donors their monetary gifts "will enhance the quality of life for shelter and other animals by funding animal supplies, medical equipment, improvements to Animal Shelters and other animal welfare-related projects undertaken by the Department of Animal Services." 

ANIMAL WATCH-#BanPitBulls flyers, with the heading, Pit Bull Facts, were posted widely this month in Los Angeles and other cities, including Boca Raton, Florida, and they seemed to catch activists by surprise.

ANIMAL WATCH-A Washington Post article, "Dog rescuers, flush with donations, buy animals from the breeders they scorn," sent shock waves this week through the animal rescue and sheltering world. It also prompted a call by the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) for federal investigation and regulation. 

ANIMMAL WATCH-Any dog attack is alarming, painful and can cause lasting injury -- whether it is by a Pit Bull or a Chihuahua--regardless of whether victims are merely knocked down or the animal sinks its teeth into their flesh. Plus, there are other victims in every attack--family members, witnesses, those who try to stop the attack, employers, and landlords or business owners on whose property the incident occurs. 

ANIMAL WATCH-Best Friends Animal Society last week named Julie Castle, 48, as its new CEO, heading the massive Kanab, Utah sanctuary. She will also be in charge of Best Friends' "No BSL" Pit Bull lobby, to assure Pit Bulls, regardless of temperament, behavioral history or involvement in dog fighting, have the opportunity to be adopted by families— maybe right next door to you. She will promote the TNR program for feral cats nationwide. And, Julie Castle personally pledged that the state of Utah will be “No Kill” by 2019 and the entire U.S.A. will reach this goal by 2025.

ANIMAL WATCH-Los Angeles Animal Services and other local animal-control agencies and rescue groups cite Pit Bulls and feral cats as California's biggest humane challenges today. Cows are pretty low on their list of trending animal-related public safety/health issues. Thus, in 2018, it is hard to envision that, less than a two-hour drive from opulent Beverly Hills and celebrity-studded Hollywood, reality is transformed into danger and destruction by wild Pit Bulls and feral long-horn cattle. 

ANIMAL WATCH-With the current dysfunction of LA Animal Services in regard to insuring public safety and providing wildlife expertise, it seems GM Brenda Barnette, the Commission and Mayor Eric Garcetti are oblivious to the growing danger of rabies across the nation. Have they assured that 911 operators, LAPD and City animal shelters know how to direct callers 24/7 in the event of an attack by a potentially rabid animal in LA.?  

ANIMAL WATCH-Why don't LA Animal Services’ General Manager Brenda Barnette and the LA Animal Services Commission want lost, stray, abandoned or unwanted animals brought to the Los Angeles City “No Kill" shelters (as recently announced by Mayor Eric Garcetti) for safety and quick return to owners searching for their furry (or feathered) family member? Barnette reports that dog impounds are down and owner redemptions are up at LA City shelters, so, why not continue a good thing? Could it be the stats aren't really telling the whole story? Or, could numbers have been achieved in a manner that is not sustainable and a new elusion is needed?  

ANIMAL WATCH-On November 28, Commissioner Roger Wolfson, one of Mayor Eric Garcetti's appointees to the Los Angeles Animal Services' Commission, brought a group of "experts" and speakers to convince the Commission to approve changing all LA city shelter dogs to a meatless diet. General Manager Brenda Barnette supported the report of Chief Veterinarian Jeremy Prupas, who advised against such a change for the City's shelter population. 

ANIMAL WATCH-If over eight million views and 100,000 shares on Facebook are a win, then Los Angeles Dog-bite Attorney Ken Phillips’ Super Bowl Commercial gamble paid off -- even though it didn’t hit the big screens on Sunday, February 4. 

PET SCARE--Canine influenza H3N2 is a highly contagious upper respiratory viral disease spread among dogs, and can infect cats as well. L.A. Animal Services recommends pet owners to consult their dog's veterinarian and ask if their pet should be vaccinated. 

ANIMAL WATCH-On January 30, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a fast-tracked motion by Councilmen Paul Koretz and Bob Blumenfield and supported by General Manager Brenda Barnette, to instruct the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance which removes LA's long-standing pet dog limits.  

ANIMAL WATCH-If you heard the KFI AM-640 news report about four adult Pit Bulls escaping in San Diego on Saturday and killing seven Chihuahuas in their own yard, get used to it! 

ANIMAL WATCH-Mayor Eric Garcetti, LA Animal Services' GM Brenda Barnette and LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and City Attorney Mike Feuer may find it an unnerving surprise that the vegan dog-food proposal to feed only meatless meals to Los Angeles city shelter dogs -- propounded by Commissioner Roger Wolfson and eagerly supported by Best Friends enthusiast Layne Dicker -- has found fervent support and visual prominence on the Liberation/blog page of DirectActionEverywhere.com, the new site connected to the Animal Liberation Front (ALF). 

ANIMAL WATCH-At the December 12, 2017, evening meeting of the LA Animal Services Commission to discuss approval of performing a feasibility study on feeding vegan food to the impounded dogs in all city shelters, GM Brenda Barnette, Commission President Larry Gross, and Assistant City Attorney Dov Lesel acquiesced to the persistence of two of Mayor Eric Garcetti's appointees, Roger Wolfson and Layne Dicker (photos above) -- turning an official hearing into a bully pulpit opportunity for their egocentric rants and grandstanding. 

ANIMAL WATCH-If you live, work, own a home or business in the city of Los Angeles, Councilman Paul Koretz has a holiday surprise for you! Soon, you could find that an unlimited number of Pit Bulls or cats "rescued" from city animal shelters are relocated to a “pet shop” next to your business or less than 500 feet from your home. (Most other impounded dogs are adopted.)  

@THE GUSS REPORT-Does one need to sue Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti in order to get the truth? That might be the case when it comes to un-licensed, un-permitted dog and cat breeders operating in the city. 

ANIMAL WATCH-In a shocking and embarrassing display of arrogance and disrespect at the Los Angeles Animal Services' Commission meeting on November 28, Commissioner Roger Wolfson – an appointee of Mayor Eric Garcetti -- included insults and bullying to attempt to overrule the decision of General Manager Brenda Barnette and Chief Veterinarian Jeremy Prupas and gain approval to switch impounded dogs in city shelters to vegan food.  

ANIMAL WATCH-Two Pit Bulls owned Ace of Hearts Dog Rescue, a West Hollywood group, recently attacked innocent victims in separate incidents while in the care of fosters in the city of Los Angeles. Both were declared Dangerous Dogs by LA Animal Services' GM Brenda Barnette. This means the dogs must be removed from the city or euthanized and that the owner cannot license or keep another dog within the city limits for three years. 

ANIMAL WATCH-“We are opposed to puppy mills," stated Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman on Wednesday, as the City Council discussed repealing a ban which would have restricted local pet shops from selling dogs, cats and potbellied pigs not obtained from an animal-care facility or rescue organization. "This will not affect puppy mills,” she said, “They’re going to continue to be there.” 

ANIMAL WATCH-At its Tuesday night meeting, Oct. 24, the Los Angeles Animal Services' Commission, appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, approved General Manager Brenda Barnette’s report requesting removal of all dog-breed ID labels from kennel cards in the interests of “transparency,” because she and the City shelter staff “really don’t know the breed of the dogs.” 

ANIMAL WATCH-Animal activists and crime-ravaged communities reporting rampant animal neglect and abuse, cheered when the long-sought Los Angeles Police Department's Animal Cruelty Task Force (ACTF) was formed in 2005 to address felony crimes against animals, including dog fighting and cockfighting. The motion was introduced by now-Congressman Tony Cardenas and seconded by current Secretary of State Alex Padilla, while both served on the City Council, and was approved on May 13, 2005. 

ANIMAL WATCH-“If there is nothing bad or dangerous in a dog’s history--especially Pit Bulls--why would Brenda Barnette hide its records?” asked a visitor at the September 12 Los Angeles Animal Services Commission meeting.  

@THE GUSS REPORT-On Friday, the National Football League (NFL) released a news nugget that was obscured by Friday’s Hurricane Harvey, President Trump pardoning former sheriff Joe Arpaio, and North Korea firing off some test missiles.    

ANIMAL WATCH- (WARNING: Content of this article may disturb some readers.) Sex with animals is not a common or popular topic of conversation, unless there is a recent arrest or conviction making headlines, or you are into bestiality. The thought of someone having sex with the family dog or any other animal is repugnant to most civilized sensibility and as enraging to many as the rape of a child. Experts confirm that it should be. 

ANIMAL WATCH--Let's say you’ve discovered some mouse droppings, maybe even seen a mouse or rat scurrying by one night.  So you decide to get some rat poison and put it out confident the problem has been solved. The rat eats the poison and makes its way across the yard where it catches the eye of a cat, a hawk, an owl that move in to catch this easy prey because it has slowed down or is moving erratically.  Let's say the neighbor’s cat catches it, eats it.  A few days later the heartbroken neighbor is posting signs wondering where their cat has disappeared to while a distraught neighbor a few doors over is calling dead animal pick up for the cat lying under the bushes. 

This is not an unusual scenario.  Using poison to kill rodents creates a serious hazard to cats and local birds of prey. 

From PetMD – 

Strychnine is a very strong and dangerous poison that is often added to bait for killing rats, moles, gophers, and other rodents or unwanted predators. Having a very short duration of action, the clinical symptoms of strychnine poisoning typically appear within ten minutes to two hours after ingestion, resulting in sudden death.

Patients often will die due to spamming of the muscles involved in respiration, resulting in strangulation. Cats of all ages are equally susceptible to the adverse effects of strychnine.

The following are some of the symptoms of strychnine poisoning:

- Limb rigidity
- Stiff muscles
- Uncontrolled violent seizures (sometimes in response to bright lights or noise)
- Severe spasms leading to arching of the head, neck and back in extreme hyperextension (opisthotonus)
- Elevated heart rate
- High body temperature
- Breathing difficulties, inability to breathe,
- Vomiting

So how do we get rid of rats without creating lethal danger to our wonderful local cats, hawks and owls, all of whom provide the BEST way to kill rats and mice?  

First of all a message to all the kind people providing food to their local feral population, do NOT put food out and keep it out.  Put it out at specific times in the day and pick up whatever the cat doesn’t eat.  That food attracts other creatures as well. Cats will know when the food is coming especially if you call them every time. 

We also discourage the use of glue traps as it is a particularly cruel and inhumane, time consuming way to kill a rodent.  The mouse runs onto it, sticks, and is terrified while its struggles to escape. It will either die slowly of dehydration or starvation. The traps can rip off fur and skin while they struggle, and rodents have attempted to chew through their own limbs to get free. Other animals can get trapped on it as well. 

There is now a popular, new and effective trap that is being used by responsible residents. An electric trap. Small box with lure at back. Only mice and rats can fit in and are immediately zapped.  More humane and less messy than the old fashioned snap traps. Just Google electric rat traps. 

Here are some websites that give excellent instruction on ways to discourage rodents from visiting at all including the use peppermint oil - Add 20-30 drops of peppermint essential oil to each cotton ball and lay strategically around your home. Refresh every week or so, or whenever you notice the smell is fading.) Did you know rodents hate to cross aluminum foil? 

MORE INFO 

• Rat trapping
  
  ● Getting rid of mice   

(Dianne Lawrence is a dog trainer and the publisher of The Neighborhood News. Reach her at: whatagooddogla.com/) 

-cw