Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Hey, have you heard that the Suncoast Animal League will be hosting the 20th Annual Oktoberfest in Dunedin on October 9th,10th and 11th, at Highlander Park. There will be a 5K Run, a DOGtoberfest on the Saturday including a dog friendly IHOP pancake breakfast and doggie dashes, a Home Brew beer competition, live entertainment, beer, food, German entertainment, games, family day on Sunday, Bark Art and more.

Also, on October 3rd, at Lansbrook Country Club, we will be hosting our first Golf Tournament called "Pars for Paws". If you golf, sign up now!

Friday, June 12, 2009

What's Going On!

In the past couple of days the Suncoast Animal League has rescued animals from some precarious situations. First, 6, eight - week old lab/ border collie puppies were found in boxes about 25 feet from the extremely busy Gunn Highway. These puppies could have easily climbed out of the boxes and made their way to the road. Fortunately, Ehrlich Animal Hospital was right there and brought the puppies to safety. Besides the obvious road danger, there was the heat factor. Those pups could have cooked in those cardboard boxes. However, the people did take the time to write the puppies names on the boxes and the word "help" several times. They also wrote that they had been evicted. You can see the pictures by going to suncoastanimalleague.org and clicking on Facebook. The puppies were covered with fleas and loaded with worms. The are doing well now. They have been vaccinated, de-fleaed, de-wormed and spayed and neutered. They are officially up for adoption.

Yesterday, a tiny 2-3 week old kitten was found in a recycling bin. This wasn't by accident because a can of cat food was opened and placed with the little kitty. The little medium haired, black kitten is currently in a foster home sucking down the kitten formula and doing quite well.

What's with these people? The act like they are saving these animals, yet, they put them in more danger.

Talk to me people!

Monday, June 8, 2009

The Tale of 2 Kitties

Check out the Suncoast Animal League website at suncoastanimalleague.org and read this true but tragic story about two Sphynx kittens. Let's make something good come out of this.

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Hoarding Knows No Age

Here we go again!

Today, a 90 year old women was brought to the shelter, by her neighbor, to sign up for our spay and neuter program. She wreaked of cat urine. ......RED FLAG #1 !!!!!!! After she seemed somewhat confused, Denise asked her how many cats she was signing up. She replied, " 10 or 11 males and 7 or 8 females". Denise asked her where she kept theses cats and she said, "My condo". .......RED FLAG #2 !!!!!!! And further discussion led to a litter or two. So, with great concern, Rick asked if could follow them home and see the numbers for himself. The lady agreed.

It was a nice looking condo in Tarpon Springs, at least from the outside. The approach to the front door led to an all to familiar odor. The stench of a hoarder.

Once inside, the nightmare truly began. Cats were everywhere and so was their feces and urine. The place was a mess., not fit for man nor beast. A search of the premisis turned up around 26 cats, although counting was difficult with the kitties bouncing off the wall. The 90 year old refused to give up any cats and so know we move forward with the authorities. We have contacted Children's and Family's Service. We know we must remove the cats but what about their 90 year old owner? How do we deal with her? How do we keep her from being thrown out on the street because she doesn't own the condo, she rents? How do we give her some dignity when all is said and done?

This is a lot for a goose to ponder. Help!

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Oh My Goose! Did you see the pictures of the Sphynx kittens? If not go back to The Suncoast website, suncoastanimalleague.org. Well, as difficult as the pictures are to look at, you should have seen them up close and personal. I had tears running down my beak. The poor little girls were just lying there on the tips of my feathers, looking up at me with thier eyes bulging from their little heads. They didn't ask for this kind of treatment and they surely didn't deserve it. It's up to us to do something about this!

Let me answer those questions at the end of the story....

· Would a visit to the vet have saved one kitten’s life and the other kitty’s eye sight?.... I'm no veterinarian and I know we can never say for sure but my guess is a simple visit to her vet would have saved Minnie's life and Lady G's eye sight. Proper nutrition and the right antibiotic prescribed a veterinarian is not too much to ask for. Venison...these are Sphynx kittens not Moutain lions.

· Why would a breeder, who supposedly does this because of their love of the breed, withhold medical care?..... Medical care costs $$$$ and that's her true love.

· Is it about the cats or is it about the dollar? ..... I may be a feather brain but she should stick with the venizon she talks about because it's all about "the bucks".

· Are they a breeder or are they a hoarder?..... To be a hoarder one must have a bit of a mental disease......HOARDER!

· Is this a feline version of a “puppy mill”?......YES! I think we get caught up in the puppy mills and we forget where many pure bred cats come from. Cattery's are really not much different from puppy mills. They are harder to detect because they are quieter and often kept inside but they are probably more prevelent in our area than puppy mills. Plus, let's face it, dogs are held to a higher standard than cats by most people.

· Has a crime been committed?.....I say "Let's find out!"

Rating: BAD EGG, SCRAMBLED EGG!

WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?