Secret Cat Adoption Tip Inside!

Some of you have expressed concern with a tweet from Hill's® touting the advantages of purebred cats. In fact, they have a similar statement regarding purebred dogs,

It is critical to know that purebred animals can come with their own set of "purebred problems", including major health and temperament defects. This is exacerbated if the source of your pet is a puppy or kitten mill where earnings and not responsible breeding is the driving business goal. It is also important to realize that breed is more predictive of appearance than anything else.

Shelters around the world are coping with an excess of animals who need loving homes. To that end we must adopt from the existing supply of homeless pets rather than to create a demand for unscrupulous breeders to fulfil. Additionally, about 25% of shelter populations are, in fact, purebreds. It is therefore possible, with patience, to get a specific type of dog or cat without contributing to our pet overpopulation problem.

I have reached out to Hill's and was assured that they would make some changes in their materials. They do spend a lot of corporate capital working with shelters and I am confident that we will be pleased with the results. When they do I will gladly share it with you.

Finally, here are some spcaLA faqs for adopting a pet.

PSSST: Here is my secret for success when adopting a cat: Sit in our cattery, wait for a cat to pick you- and voila - done!!

Hippo Selfies - That's a Thing!

Courtesy Google Images

No sooner did I express my outrage at those taking selfies with wildlife, to the demise of the wildlife, that it was brought to my attention that selfies with hippos at the Los Angeles Zoo is now a thing!

The "Hippo Encounter" tour allows customers to observe hippos as well as to touch them and take a photo with them. Notwithstanding a pending federal complaint that this exhibit violates the Animal Welfare Act, there is the question of what we are teaching our children, violation or not.

Hippos are wild animals and extremely dangerous. The fact that the zoo would allow people to stick their hands in and pet them seems quite risky to say the least. It also sends the message that it is ok to approach a wild animal, touch them and, yes, try for the selfie! This could end very badly for the child who simply assumes that this behavior is just fine in all instances.

When my children were young we took them to a lot of children's theatre performances. There, they were encouraged to interact with, shout at, and often join the cast on stage. A great time was had by all. However, the first time we took our kids to a Broadway play, they assumed the same rules applied, and that if Hamlet asked "to be or not to be" a loud response from them was expected. The worst case scenario was that we were mortified and/or required to run after them as they headed for the stage in response to a "come hither", but not faced with the tragic and life changing consequences of a wild animal attack while chasing a selfie.

The point, is that if the zoo wants to be considered seriously as an educational facility, it should educate responsibly and not recklessly.

Death by Selfie - Please Stop

coutesy google images

The obsession with selfies has become dangerous to living things.

In China, a peacock died of fright as he was passed around to tourists for selfies. An Argentina crowd did the same with a rare dolphin with the same result. A man dragged a shark out of the water on a Florida beach to take a selfie, also killing the shark. I have seen people, who should know better, attempt to grab a raccoon for a photo, or others in our deserts unable to resist a selfie with a tortoise.

In these instances there is certainly a risk to the photographers, but I must speak up for the risk to the animals. Whether they die on the spot, (how do you explain that to your children) or dehydrate and die slowly as is typical with tortoises, (you miss seeing that) it is an abominable thing to do and most certainly can be a crime. In one car commercial taking a selfie with your dog is used as proof of love and a reason to buy that car.

The craze has evolved from just posting photos of social encounters and meals, to staging weird and dangerous poses. This is not a new problem. Think back to shows about funniest videos or David Letterman's stupid pet tricks. They started out harmless and natural to choreographed daredevil stunts and a dog "trick" that was achieved by breaking the dog's back so he would walk funny.

Whether you are addicted to or apathetic towards selfies, you must agree that killing an animal by shooting a photo is the same as doing so with a gun. Let's think about our animals and not just about our "selfs".

The Animal Three Card Monte Game Continues With "Pet Shops"

Once again the Los Angeles City Council Personnel and Animal Welfare committee, chaired by Paul Koretz is doing something that will ultimately be detrimental to Los Angeles pets. 

Now, they want to change the definition of "kennel" in the zoning code to exclude pet shops thereby obviating the need for a kennel permit and allowing these "pet shops" to be in commercial zones. 

Though seemingly innocuous on its face, it is not, and here's why. A pet shop is subject to the California Health and Safety Code pet shop provisions among other things, even if they sell shelter pets. That would also be true of an animal rescue group that is not a 501(c)(3).  An animal rescue group that is a 501(c)(3) and operates a pet shop would be exempt from that statute, but typically, would have enough animals in said space to qualify as a kennel - thereby requiring a permit and be subject to inspection. The scary part under the proposed change, is that rescues can call their kennels "pet shops", warehouse animals all over town, and voila- no Health and Safety, no kennel permit required, and no inspections mandated! No scrutiny at all. There are already existing permitted places where you only need to walk nearby to smell the unsanitary conditions to then see depressed pets sitting in their own filth. Imagine no oversite.

Said another way, under this proposed change (to be heard in committee February 16th) those presenting the most danger to the health and welfare of our pets will lose the most routine oversight. I reiterate that I am not talking about the legitimate and wonderful rescue groups that we deal with routinely, and, of course, criminal charges will lie if applicable, but Councilman Koretz and his committee are offering a free pass to abuse and neglect animals on a large scale.

I can only theorize why he is selling this to us. In conjunction with Mayor Eric Garcetti and the commission that oversees the city's animal services department, they have figured out another way to move animals out of the shelters, off their books, and into the shadows to create an impression that they have a successful live release rate. Again, they are moving the queen around in their endless game of Three Card Monte. If they would only use their skills to figure out how to honestly place pets into loving homes instead of creating the illusion of placement, there would be far less suffering for our pets.

It is again the case where the emperor has no clothes, but this time, they are trying to sell us the clothes they don't have.

Let's say no to this.


The Committee:

Paul Koretz -- paul.koretz@lacity.org

David E. Ryu -- david.ryu@lacity.org

Marqueece Harris-Dawson -- councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org

Fostering animals saves lives and is now tax deductible!

In a recent opinion, the IRS has ruled that volunteers who foster animals for a duly registered charity may deduct expenses for food, medicine, veterinary bills, and supplies,  ( Van Dusen v. Commissioner) It is also possible to deduct a percentage of utilities in your home if that area of the home is used soley for fostering.

Make sure you keep all receipts and obtain a letter from the charity that verifies your volunteer or foster status with the organization.

This ruling also applies to other volunteer expenses for charitable work for an approved organization.

Finally, if you are working for an organization that purports to be a charity and is not - this won't work. So if the tax issue is important to you - trust but verify - and report scammers to the IRS.

The bigger the fish tank the worse the service ...

Courtesy Google Images

It is quite common for places of business to showcase fish tanks for the benefit of their waiting customers. Though a believer that fish should be left in their natural habitats, as a diver, I love watching fish and am drawn to the tanks immediately.

What I have noticed, as a frequenter of many business establishments, is that the bigger and more elaborate the tank, the worse the service and the more aggravated the clients in the waiting rooms are! It is so common that upon entering a business, I immediately brace for a battle when confronted with a happy plastic diver blowing bubbles on a beautiful artificially sunlit reef!

What I have also noticed, is that when the tank is placed primarily for the benefit of staff viewing, the service is great suggesting that the staff is under pressure to perform properly rather than trying to hypnotize those in the waiting area into believing that they are being treated efficiently and with respect.

How about leaving the fish where they live and just doing whatever job it is well and without guile!

When father does not know best ...

UPDATE:   Although found guilty of animal cruelty, the klansman's son was fined $100.00 despite the fact that the veterinarian testified that the dog would have died in 48 hours if untreated. Worse - the judge would not allow the veterinarian to testify that the dog suffered because she, the veterinarian,  is not a mind reader and that there is really no proof that animals suffer. The judge bemoaned the fact that there are not different standards for city and country kids as he really hated to convict the kid. 

What an outrage. Anybody smell something rotten here??



What should a parent not do when told that their child has been arrested for animal cruelty?

A prosecutor colleague of mine filed a case against a young man for animal cruelty. Rather than recognizing that animal cruelty is often a precursor to violence against people, seeking to identify the underlying reason for this aberrant behavior and interceding on behalf of the psychological wellbeing of his son - this father responded by threatening the life of the prosecutor. What if I told you that this father was a prominent and high ranking Klan member?

Raised in an environment where both the rhetoric and perhaps deeds condone bigotry and gratuitous violence, it is possible that children of these "wizards" will be praised for their sociopathic behavior. In fact, animal cruelty may be the accepted laboratory to destroy empathy in those children. When caught, the youth is taught to threaten the prosecutor with violence to solve the problem! This is particularly awful as mentoring humane behavior is the most efficient and successful way to teach it. What better imprimatur than the participation of parents, teachers, and peers to foster humane treatment of all living things? What chance do these kids have?

Shall we predict the future?

The prosecutor will get protection. The animal will receive care. The father and son will face charges.

But who will protect us all from these future sociopaths?