NC Public Schools benefit from animal advocates, did you know that?

How does your child going to a NC public school have any connection to my volunteer work as an Animal Advocate? I’m about to show you the direct connect and why I would welcome any support to help my cause which in turns helps your child’s education here in NC.

First of all please view the first screen shot from the NC School Board Association of NC. Pay close attention to the line that states “ North Carolina Constitution requires that public schools receive “the clear proceeds of all penalties and forfeitures and of all fines collected in the several counties for any breach of the penal laws of the State.” (Click on all pictures for full view)

Then view the second screen shot from the NC General Statues Articles 31 A 115C-457.1 Creation of Funds

Now please view the 3rd screen shot from the NC Dept of Agriculture site for civil penalties and fines accessed. When you view this screen shot or link for full view, you will find very few civil penalties placed and even less collected by the NC dept of Agriculture due to their lack of due diligence to uphold the current NC General Statues 130A-192 or the NC Animal Welfare Act. This shows a lesser amount of money going to your kids education here in North Carolina that what should be and therefore shows the connect of my work as and Animal Advocate and your child’s future education in the State of North Carolina.

view link: http://www.ncagr.gov/vet/aws/penalties.htm

Whether you have an animal or even care about animals in general my hopes are with me explaining how our NC School System could be awarded more money to keep the classrooms with teachers, with the much needed supplies or even the security to keep them safe while at school, I might be able to get you to view the issues and concerns some of us have with our County Animal Shelters in a different light.

I understand many people want to label all animal advocates as extremists, but if you look past those extremists you will find a large amount of caring individuals who work for the animals and their better care from their hearts and their own wallets. With any concern or issue in our world you will always find extremists, people who only scream and yell profanity’s and run without correct facts. However there are those of us that work only with facts, we work to help change the inhumane conditions that many of our homeless animals find themselves in even those that make their way into some of our failing county animal shelters.

We do understand that some wonderful shelters exists in NC along with a caring and humane staff, and this is not to taint those and their efforts. But sadly we do have a high number of county animal shelters that refuse to be humane to the animals in their care, who refuse to follow the current Animal Welfare Act as it’s written, and we do have a high number of shelter employees that need to be re-trained or possible be moved over to a different county positions.

We have county animal shelters that are feeding animals mouldy food, not removing the fecal matter from their water bowls, not going in on their weekend shift to care for the animals locked inside those cages, we have county animal shelter employee’s refusing to take pictures of the animals in their care, those who refuse vet care to sick and injured animals along with a high number of shelters who are euthanizing animals every day with no weigh scales prior to injecting them with fatal plus or another narcotic which you can view in the below screen shot needs to be followed.

We are more than halfway into 2013 and still the NC General Assembly still has been unable to move forward in correcting their own mistake with SB 467 ( GS 130 A-192 ) signed into law by then Governor Bev Purdue on July 7, 17, 2009.

4 years later, with many major agencies and overseeing offices being made aware on this issue, they have sat by and allowed a law to remain on the books under the incorrect enforcement office and done little to nothing to correct their own original mistakes. My question is how many other laws are on the books in NC just as this one under the incorrect enforcement office and basically making them null and void?

NC makes provisions thru the general statues for animals left unattended in vehicles

(click on picture to view larger text)

A huge thanks to Pricey Harrision for her hard work to make sure this provision was included with SB 626.

NC Animal Shelter Sanitation Rules

(click on picture to enlarge for view)

My local animal shelter hose down and clean the kennels with the animals still in the cage, is this acceptable in a NC County Animal Shelter? The answer No.

The animals must be removed from the kennels during the cleaning process for a number of reasons to include the assurance that the animal is not coming into contact with the cleaners and disinfectants, to keep the animal dry esp. if it’s a younger animal to ensure it stays clean and dry to better fend off the parvo or distemper virus, but mainly to be humane to these shelter animals who have found their way into a shelter environment that’s unfamiliar and frightening to them. And last but not least as it’s part of our NC Animal Welfare Act that these shelters must abide by.

What should you do if you see a NC County Shelter employee using cleaning products or a water hose in an kennel while the animal is still housed inside? Document the events. Write down the time, the employee’s name, the kennel number or ID number of the animal, take a picture if possible and report this to the shelter manager immediately but also follow up with an email to the NC Department of Agriculture on these events to ensure this situation doesn’t happen again.

Email address for the NC Dept. Of Agriculture: AGR.AWS@ncagr.gov

Update on the NC Wildlife Policy and our NC County Animal Shelters

(click on picture for full view)

Update on NC Animal Shelter Events: In late April 2013, most is not all NC County Animal Shelters were sent a reminder to NOT be transporting or euthanizing our wildlife unless they show signs of rabies. And if they shows signs of rabies then other steps must take place, not just euthanasia. If your NC County Animal Shelter is still euthanizing our wildlife for lack of knowledge or for the “ thrill”, please step up, write down the events that took place and contact both the NC Wildlife Commission( POC is Gordon Myers) Phone: 919-707-0010 email wrccomments@ncwildlife.org or gordon.myers@ncwildlife.org and the NC Dept of Agra at AGR.AWS@ncagr.gov

Opossums are not vicious creatures, their only means to frighten you is to show their teeth and play dead. Please respect our wildlife in NC and let’s learn to co-exist. Same for foxes, skunks, bats, beavers and so on.

To read the PDF in full:

http://www.ncwildlife.org/Trapping.aspx\Go then go to the right of the page and click on the link for PDF for ACO and wild animals

Bravo Raw Chicken and Cat Food Recall

Another recall, now on Bravo Raw Chicken: http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/warning-issued-two-brands-raw-dog-food/

Euthanasia Guidelines: The Gas Chamber Debate

It took way to long but FINALLY it’s here. The new AVMA’s statement on gas chambers, they are no longer being listed as acceptable ( due to conditions) to kill our companion animals. So NC remove your 13 Gas Chambers that still are in operation in 2013.

http://atwork.avma.org/2013/02/26/euthanasia-guidelines-the-gas-chamber-debate/

Euthanasia Guidelines: The Gas Chamber Debate
February 26, 2013 | Dr. Gail Golab

Now that the 2013 edition of the AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals has been issued, the debate over the use of gas chambers for euthanasia of unwanted dogs and cats in animal shelters is likely to take center stage once again.

In previous editions of the guidelines, the use of carbon monoxide (CO) or carbon dioxide (CO2) gas was considered ‘acceptable’ for euthanasia of dogs and cats. In the 2013 Guidelines, the classification for use of these gases has been changed to ‘acceptable with conditions’. Techniques that are ‘acceptable with conditions’ may have greater potential for operator error or safety hazard, are not well documented in the scientific literature, or may require a secondary method to ensure death. The use of these techniques requires that specific conditions be met to ensure that death is achieved in a humane way. When ALL of the conditions are met, ‘acceptable with conditions’ methods are equivalent to ‘acceptable’ methods. And, if all conditions are not met, they are not considered ‘acceptable.’

This means that the use of CO or CO2 for euthanasia of dogs and cats is ONLY considered acceptable when ALL of the following criteria are met. For more details, consult the full Guidelines.

1.Personnel must be instructed thoroughly in the gas’s use and must understand its hazards and limitations;

2.The gas source and chamber must be located in a well-ventilated environment, preferably out-of-doors;

3.The gas must be supplied in a precisely regulated and purified form without contaminants or adulterants, typically from a commercially supplied cylinder or tank;

4.The gas flow rate must allow operators to achieve known and appropriate gas concentrations within the recommended time;

5.The chamber must be of the highest-quality construction and should allow for separation of individual animals. If animals need to be combined, they should be of the same species, and, if needed, restrained or separated so that they will not hurt themselves or others. Chambers should not be overloaded and need to be kept clean to minimize odors that might distress animals that are subsequently euthanized;

6.The chamber must be well lighted and must allow personnel to directly observe the animals;

7.If the chamber is inside a room, monitors must be placed in the room to warn personnel of hazardous concentrations of gas; and

8.It is essential that the gas and the chamber be used in compliance with state and federal occupational health and safety regulations.

In the 2013 Guidelines, euthanasia by intravenous injection of an approved euthanasia agent remains the preferred method for euthanasia of dogs, cats, and other small companion animals. Gas chambers are not recommended for routine euthanasia of cats and dogs in shelters and animal control operations. The guidelines state that “alternate methods with fewer conditions and disadvantages are recommended for companion animals where feasible.”

We understand that some people believe these chambers should be banned for use for dogs and cats. Unfortunately, there are still shelters and animal control operations that do not have access to controlled substances and/or the personnel authorized by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to administer them. This limits these facilities’ options for euthanizing animals. If your local shelter or animal control operation uses a gas chamber to euthanize dogs and cats and you strongly believe its use should be discontinued, we recommend you work with the facility to develop a realistic plan to phase out the use of the chamber. Reducing the population of unwanted animals reduces the number of animals that may need to be euthanized, so efforts to reduce pet relinquishments and increase adoptions are the best long-term solutions.

Dancing With The Stokes Stars

Let’s Dance and support the Stokes Humane Society. This is going to be a fun night, grab those dancing shoes and head out this Saturday Night:

Charlotte NC Police bust reported dog fighting ring

By WSOC

Published: Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 13:42 PM.

http://www.gastongazette.com/news/local/police-bust-reported-dog-fighting-ring-1.92784

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On Friday, officers with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department’s Hickory Grove Division and Animal Care and Control Unit made arrests in a dog fighting ring in east Charlotte.

Officers said the house on Carelock Circle has several pit bulls in the backyard. When officers arrived, they reported several pit bulls were tied up with large chains that were attached to spikes driven into the ground.

Upon arrival, Animal Control officers said they located evidence consistent with training dogs for the purpose of fighting.

Officers located a total of 27 animals on the property and several of the animals had injuries consistent with dog fighting.

Both paraphernalia for dog fighting and a dog fighting arena were also discovered on the property.

Melvin Smith, 46, and Lefonze Williams, 42, were arrested and are both being charged with felony training animals with the purpose of dog fighting and baiting.

Based on the number of dogs and evidence seized at the scene, this location is one of the largest dog fighting operations the CMPD and Animal Care and Control have investigated to date.

NC Man wanted for animal cruelty, another charged

Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:20 AM EST Updated: Feb 11, 2013 5:59 PM EST

By: WECT Staff – email
Land where three dogs were found dead.
One of the dogs found chained up. (Source: Fair Bluff Police Department)
Xavier Hemingway (Source: Fair Bluff Police Department)

FAIR BLUFF, NC (WECT) – Officers with the Fair Bluff Police Department have arrested one man in connection to an animal cruelty case, and are searching for another.

According to Chief J.H. Hewett, someone called to report dog fighting in the area of Hamer Street but didn’t give any information about who was involved.

While officers were responding to a stolen property call on the same street, Hewett said several dogs were seen nearby that appeared to be mistreated.

After further inspection, the dogs appeared to have life-threatening injuries and were chained to stakes driven in the ground.

According to Hewett, Columbus County Animal Control took six bull dogs into custody. Officers also found at least three other dogs were found deceased and decomposed across the street.

Monday, Fair Bluff police received several calls from people who recently had dogs stolen. Officers tell us, they’re investigating to see if any of those dogs were some of the ones they seized. While we were at the animal control shelter, we learned people had already adopted some of the dogs.

James Earl Hemingway was arrested and charged with:

• six counts of cruelty to animals
• assault and battery
• two counts of communicating threats
• assault on a handicapped person
• attempted larceny of a motor vehicle
• two counts of possession of stolen goods

Officers are looking for Xavier Hemingway who will be charged with:

• six counts of cruelty to animals
• assault and battery
• communicating threats
• assault on a handicapped person
• attempted larceny of a motor vehicle
• two counts of possession of stolen goods

Anyone with information regarding Xavier Hemingway’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Fair Bluff Police Department at (910) 649-7323.