Looks like Corpus Christi, TX and the sentencing Judge, Judge Martinez, don’t give a damn about dogs or animals and don’t take animal abuse very seriously.  Wastes of human life, 44-year-old Daniel Luna and 45-year-old Norma Luna, who abandoned this once beautiful German Shepherd, Shepp, to suffer a cruel and painful fate, were charged with 4 counts of animal cruelty; not feeding Shepp properly, not providing sufficient water, providing no medical attention for the dog’s injuries, and allowing Shepp to be tied up at an unoccupied property, misdemeanor charges.

They could have faced jail time but good ole Judge Martinez, in a plea deal, sentenced them to one year probation and $900 in fines!!!

A year probation and a fine!! You’ve got to be kidding me!!  This poor dog suffered in the sweltering heat for a month, little to no food and water, bone protruding, open sores, maggots and they got a year’s probation!! OMG!! Where the hell is the justice in that??

Look at these faces! These are the faces of heartless monsters who are getting away with killing, with torture. I am so angry and incensed that I can barely write! I am beginning to think they need to take the word “justice” out of the phrase justice system!

Take a moment to read Shepp’s story, to watch the video and if you still have dry eyes, I will be amazed! HERE

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Poem by LeeAnne Hudson describing what every pet feels when their owners drop them off, abandons them or gives them away.

Unbelievable!! After seizing 28 dogs from a South Dallas home, animal services returns the dogs to the owner even though pictures of the animals show the dogs to be emaciated and covered with sores.

Is this the way an animal shelter is supposed to operate? Look at the pictures of these dogs and if you can come up with one sane, reasonable reason why they would be returned, please, tell me!

They were not treated for their numerous wounds and open sores, they were not spayed and neutered which is supposed to be mandated, they were not microchipped which is supposed to be mandate. No animal cruelty investigation was ever initiated. Two days after 28 dogs, dogs in terrible shape, living in horrendous conditions, all but one were returned to the owner. And no only were 28 emaciated, injured dogs found, there were also the remains of dogs that were left to die, just piles of bones. And they returned dogs!! I just do not even know what to say about such unbelievable incompetence!!

Whoever made the decision to return those poor dogs needs to be charged with animal cruelty because that’s exactly what this was! This shelter needs to be investigated and a serious overhaul undertaken. If dogs found in these conditions, in this shape, is considered acceptable, what does count as abuse? If pile of bones, dogs left to die, is not considered abuse, what is??

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Every day hundreds and thousands of dogs are surrendered at animal shelters all over the country.  You can tell someone when they sign that surrender form that their dog may not have much of a chance but I don’t think it really sinks that that surrender paper is often, sometimes more than 90% of the time, a death warrant!

A dear friend of mine told me the following story after a visit to her local shelter yesterday.  She is a rescuer in VA who almost every day drives to at least one shelter to pull as many “death row” dogs as room allows.  She see many sad and horrific things.  Yesterday’s visit showed her some images that she’s seen before but thought sharing them might wake some people up who really don’t know the reality.

While she was there, a woman brought in a dog to surrender.  The ACO handed her the surrender form and the woman asked if there was much of a chance of her dog getting adopted as the ACO told her to make sure she read the surrender form.  This woman was told straight out that there was absolutely no room n the shelter and that her dog would not even making to the holding area, it would be taken directly to the “euth room” to be put down.

The woman didn’t blink an eye, signed the form and handed her dog over. The dog was led off to its death.  After a few minute they noticed the woman still hanging around and asked her.  She actaully had the heartless audacity to tell the ACO that she was waiting to get the poor doomed dog’s collar and leash back!

The woman just signed this dog’s death warrant and didn’t have the heart to feel the tiniest bit of pain, empathy or compassion for it, an older dog who probably spent years with her.  No, she just want the $5 collar and leash back. Was she planning to get a new puppy to fill the now empty collar?

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With that gardening time of year in full force, I wanted to take a moment to share a poison/toxic warning with pet owners.  Sure, annoying pests often invade our gardens but if you have pets, you need to be especially careful of what you use to get rid of those pests, like snail bait.

Here’s one woman’s story who found out the hard way how dangerous snail bait can be to a beloved canine companion.  Luckily for her, her pooch is going to be fine, make sure yours is too.

Take the time to share this so everyone knows!

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For dogs, a life at the end of a chain is not a life but a life sentence.  This is becoming more recognized as more cities, towns and counties pass ordinances to ban or limit chaining and tethering of dogs.  Huntington, WV is just one of the latest to work on creating an ordinance to control dog chaining.  It’s a move that I and so many can stand behind and support.

One of the many tax cuts Gov Schwarzenegger is proposing is one that has been previously defeated but I guess he hopes that Californians who are feeling the pinch will let it get through this time, is to kill animals at shelters faster.  He wants to cut the hold time on strays and lost pets from 6 days to 3 days, saying it will save the state $24.6 million.

In 2004 this measure was defeated by animal loving Californians, will it pass now? Are Californian so desperate to close the deficit that they’re going to kill the voiceless, the innocent, the defenseless… just for the almighty buck?

“Obviously monies need to come from somewhere, but to do it on the backs of these animals is just really sad,” Kiska Icard, a spokeswoman for the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said.

Shelter animals have so little chance now, they are killed daily by the thousands.  This fine thread of hope is all so many have and now he wants to take this away.

Oh, and don’t forget his attempt tax vet care as a “luxury” item either.  Schwarzenegger doesn’t seem to like animals and pets very much, does he? Use them to make or save money, forget they are living, breathing, feeling creatures!

And not only will California animals and pets suffer, his cuts will also hit of segments of society that can take the hit the least; the elderly, schools, children, disabled. But he seems to have no problem with the $4-5 billion annually that goes to illegal immigrants.
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A few days ago I shared with you the heartbreaking story of Marcus Campbell and his sweet Boxer, Boost, that was killed a half hour after a couple dropped the dog off at the Walker County Humane Society. Boost had escaped from his yard and although collared, he had no tags so when the couple found him they did all they could. Unbelievable, within a half hour of being dropped of at the shelter, he was labeled aggressive and killed. Now the couple has come forward to dispute the shelter’s claims that Boost was acting aggressively.

Peggy Dunn and James Martin, neighbors of the dog’s owner, Marcus Campbell, said they had no problem getting “Boost” into a pet taxi provided by the agency on June 19.

“He didn’t fight or nothing,” Dunn said.

Martin said there was no reason for Boost to be euthanized.

“He was too friendly of a dog,’ Martin said.

However, Walker County Humane Society Director Lane Reno said the dog was acting in a hostile manner, behavior she said played a part in the decision to put the dog to sleep.

“The dog would not come out of the carrier so we had to use a capture pole. That is when he became aggressive.”

The couple, however, disputes this.

“They put a leash on him and he jumped out and walked right in the place,” Dunn said. “It was a regular leash.”

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Major Steven Hutchison, a Viet Nam vet, wanted to sign back up for duty after the 911 attacks but his wife persuaded him not to. After her death from breast cancer, Hutchison returned to active duty as part of a group of older seasoned soldiers that helped to train.

‘He’d been a soldier all his life, and that’s what he wanted to do,’ said his brother, Richard.

‘He hadn’t been drafted and he didn’t have to go, and he chose that he felt he could serve and make a difference,’ said US Army spokesman Lt Colonel Nathan Banks.

After a year tour of Afghanistan, Hutchinson’s life was taken on Mother’s Day when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Basra. At 60, he is the oldest casualty of the Iraq war. But like many US soldiers, this veteran and hero wasn’t alone. About 6 week previously he informally adopted a puppy and like many other soldiers, he did everything he could to keep his puppy, Laia, name after Princess Laia from Star Wars, safe and with him, including defying the military order of no pets.

Hutchison’s unit found Laia at just 1 month old in Basra. The local vet said he would have to euthanize the dog unless they adopted her as a mascot. As policy, soldiers are not supposed to adopt strays, and Hutchison defied orders to get rid of the dog, even moving her from base to base, his friend, Sgt. Andrew Hunt, told the SPCA. “He ignored this request several times up until it began to move toward punishment,” Sgt. Hunt said. “See, you couldn’t ever tell the Major he couldn’t do something, he [was] a stubborn old goat set in his ways. It was an endearing quality we loved about him.”

“Whenever Laia was around, his demeanor and personality changed 1000 percent,” Hunt told the SPCA. “He was never without a smile, he was so much happier in life, it was amazing.” (MSNBC)

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Again and again it’s been shown and proven that seldom is animal abuse a “stand alone” crime which is just one of the reasons that our judicial system needs to take animal abuse crimes more seriously and mete out harsher punishments.  Often it’s coupled with interpersonal violence such as domestic violence and child abuse.  Here is yet another example of that; Patrick McConnell, 42 of Jaffrey, NH, shot the family dog and beat his wife.

McConnell put a bullet into the family dog for some unknown reason. He did then take the dog to the vet for treatment and the dog survived and is now staying with family members.

Then a few days later he threatened his wife with a gun and beat her, leaving her bruised.

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