A cute story about a relinquised basset hound-beagle mix.....

This is a true story.....as told by Nathan, the basset hound-beagle mix.....

I was relinquised.....

There I said it.....Lord knows the humans in my life have said it enough, branding me with the cursed descriptive as if it were I who had to somehow explain the why fors and the what-the-hecks.....

Who knows the real reason I stayed for months behind bars at the Bakersfield SPCA?.....Relinquished.  That was the fancy word posted outside my cell.  It meant I was given up on, turned over to strangers for alleged crimes I cannot fathom.....

Yeah, right.  I'm a dog.  woof.  woof.....Guilty as charged.....

Still, as only a canine can be, I am sensitive about such things.  Never mind the head-line grabbing tricks of my bretheren - ferreting out drugs, explosives, even cadavers for a mere Attaboy!!!!!  I am an expert at sniffing out snobbery, the nuances in a human's carriage and tone.....

Relinquished.  People would tsk tsk after they read that damn word.  Some would wonder aloud why, maybe even ask an employee for the real story on the dashing basset hound-beagle mix.....

But there was no answer, certainly not on that paper outside my cell, probably not even in the cosmos.  It was disheartening to watch the limited human imagination then run its course.  People thought I might not play well with others, even though there were so many mongrels in that cell I could hardly chase my tail.  The humans figured me for a bed wetter, a howler, a digger, you get the idea.....

They thought I must have done something wrong to have landed in the joint and then have stayed there for as long as I had.  Also I was bargained priced, $35 out the door because I had already been neutered.  Don't get me started on what a human will fork over if they think your daddy's got a fancy string of names and the mama's had all her dates arranged.....

So the visitors to the SPCA would inevitably take in my relinqushed status and move on down the cell block, probably looking for a puppy, a canine without a past.  My sensitivity and soulful eyes only got me the cold shoulder and a cold cement floor.....

AND THEN-

Excuse me.  I still get emotional when I recall my liberation day.....

A human lady and her daughter asked for a little face time, just the three of us, in a side yard at the shelter.  Let me tell you, it was all I could do to occasionally lift my snout from the grass so fabulously redolent of those who had gone before me.  There was joy, freedom, one last, glorious piss-off, infusing those blades of grass.  My tail was a metrodome stuck on staccato.....

"Who would relingquish this sweet face?" said the lady to her kid.....

Exactly.  Who indeed?  Lo-ser!

But I don't dwell on the past, as it is not in my nature.  In the present, I answer to Nathan, or Nate, or Nattie, or just sweetheart.  I am loved and I am happy and the humans now in my life are over the moon with delight.....

Nathan's story of liberation from the SPCA shelter is told by Dianna Klein, a freelance writer who lives in Bakersfield.

"HOMEWARD BOUND KITTENS" HAS BEEN INVADED BY A NASTY AIRBORNE BACTERIA......KNOWN AS....."THE RINGWORM"

Debbie, my lovely wife, will explain how to get rid of this nasty bugger and also some "I think its all gone safety tips"

Also some ointments, dips and shampoos, that can clean up the mess.  

DIAGNOSIS RINGWORM!!!!!

For me, it made me feel horribly filthy.....we have several indoor/outdoor adult cats and thats how it got into the sanctuary.....Once the bacteria is in it attacks the old and the very young and the sick or weak.....In order to get rid of this infection you must treat everything.....Not only must you treat your pet but you must also do the following.....

1.  Vacuum carpet and sofa daily

2.  Treat yourslef as needed - use a anti-bacterial soap daily to help prevent infection

3.  Don't let you pet population be too over crowded

4.  Clean and sanitize with a residual cleaner.  (the type that continues protection after drying up.)

5.  Keep your cat boxes clean.  Both clean litter and a clean box. (remember not to use too strong of a cleaner or the cats will shy away from the box.

6.  Change the filters in your heating and cooling system.....

7.  And finally.....Don't stop doing any of this to soon.....Follow the instructions on the soap or dip you decide to use.....and we have used many.....

We have used MALASEB in the past and it is good but we are still searching for sometning better.....

LIMEPLUS DIP is sulfated lime concentrate and works really well.....all you do is dip in your pet, paying special attention to the spots, and then dry your pet.....this treatment is done for 5 days.....

HEALTHGUARD FUNGAL SPOT TREATMENT.....

This is the medicine 'HOMEWARD BOUND KITTENS" is using, and folks, this stuff works as advertised.....

A medication that claims spots cleared within three days.....so we ried it, and by golly it worked.....The HEALTHGUARD has other products like shampoo for all over, a spary that can be used on kittens and puppies as young as two weeks....Our shampoo is on back order.....if it works half as well we are going to celebrate!!!!!

There is also a laundry additive.  Not only for laundry but you can use it to clean your walls, floors, tables.  Add it to your soap for the carpet cleaner or use it in a portable room fogger to disinfect everything in the house.  And the anti-bacterial effect lasts for weeks.....

Its a good rule of thumb to continue treatment of everything for at least 4 weeks after the last dectection of the dredded "Ringworm".

That's about all for now.....hope ya' all learned something....The staff has learned a great deal about this bacteria in the last few weeks, and believe us that it ain't nothing to mess with.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttan.....Reid and Debbie 

SUPERVISORS WANT OTHER OPTIONS.....

Supervisors made it clear that they do not plan to enact a mandatory spay-neuter law in kern county.....

Supervisors Mike Maggard, Ray Watson, Don Maben and Jon McQuiston all said they don't believe in adding more laws.....

A supervisor said he hopes other solutions will get Kern County where it needs to go.....

Mandatory spay-neuter was the toughest of five options for contoling animal overpopulation and reducing euthanasias performed by the county.....

Supervisors had the choice to support several lesser options that would:

Create stronger enforcement of the current animal laws

Increase county low-cost spay-neuter efforts

Require permits for animal breeders and litters

This is really an irresponsible ownership issue that we're dealing with.....

Kern County Humane Society said the county needs to take other steps toward fighting overpopulation before it implements mandatory spay-neuter.....

We belive that those who can afford it do.....

Those who can't don't.....

Mandatory spay-neuter won't work until comprehensive low-cost spay-neuter surgeries are available to local citizens.....

The staff at 'HOMEWARDBOUND KITTENS' has stated a plausible solution.....WRITE AN ORDINANCE THAT REQUIRES LOCAL VETERINAIRIANS TO GIVE FREE CLINICS ONCE A MONTH TO THOSE WHO CAN'T AFFORD YOUR HIGH PRICES.....But I think we're beating our collective heads againt a wall.....nobody gives nothing away for free anymore.....

To bring ya' all up to date, here are some "Letter to the Editor' responses to this ordinance....

KERN; PET KILLER CAPITOL.....The numbers say it all.....18,669 euthanized animals in Kern County--more than in Los Angeles, a city with three million more people than Kern County.....

ENFORCE LAWS ON BOOKS.....Please make no new laws, but enforce existing laws and ordinances.....

PRESENT SYSTEM INSANE.....Thanks to columnist Lois Henry for showing people the insanity of destroying beautigul creatures.....

ANIMAL CONTROL; DO YOUR JOB.....Need anyone say anymore.....

KERN IS A NATIONAL DISGRACE.....

SPAY-NEUTER A NO-BRAINER.....

LEGISLATE COMPASSION.....

NO MORE MONEY TO KILL.....

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.....

ANIMALS GET MALIGNANT CARE.....

Upon reading the UC Davis Koret Shelter Medicine Program Report concerning the Kern County Animal Control Program I thought of the comment by St. Thomas Aquinas when he warned, "We must use animals in accordance with the Divine Purpose lest at the Day of Judgement they give evidence against us before the throne.....

Possibly, Denise R. Haynes, Division Chief of Kern County Animal Control, would benefit from meditating upon this observation.....

HER MALIGNANT INCOMPETENCY HAS AND CONTINUES TO RESULT IN THE NEEDLESS SUFFERING AND DEATH OF ALL ANIMALS ENTRUSTED TO HER CARE.....

It is the opinion of all at 'HOMEWARD BOUND KITTENS' that this woman should be kicked out of County employment and told to find a job in the private sector.....

HUMANELY EUTHANIZED.....What a contridiction in terms.....how do you humanely kill a living creature.....if the animal is injured or suffering humanely euthanizing the animal is a good thing....

EXECUTION.....Do they humanely euthanize prisoners????? they lay you on a table, stick needles in your arms and inject you with a lethal potion.....

HUMANELY EUTHANIZED.....Laying an animal on a table, sticking needles in its body and injecting with a lethal potion.....

PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS?????

HOMELESS SHELTER.....A place where one can obtain a meal and a warm bed for the night.....

ANIMAL SHELTER.....A place where animals go to be Executed.....

25,169 animals brought into Kern County Animal Control shelters.....

16,743 animals killed by lethal injection

3.147 cats, dogs and other animals adopted by the public.....

Lets get onto some other tidbits.....

Its summer and the weather is turning hot hot hot.....please remember to keep cool water and a cool place to lay for your furry friend.....

Its time to shut down for the night.....have a cool pepsi.....watch tv and wait for Debbie to cook her delicious enchiladas.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie

.....As word spread, a bevy of people worked to rescue the cocker spanial and the macaw, including a man who desperatly wants to adopt them: retired Las Vegas resident Jack Joslin.....

"I love animals.....I had two dogs up until the middle of March.  Then I had to have my border collie euthanized.....The day they called and said the ashes were back was when I read the story (about snickers).  It occured to me I could do something.....

On April 9, Norwegian Cruise Line workers rescued Snickers from Fanning and dropped him off in Hawaii, where he will remain in quarantine until he is flown to Los Angeles.....

Hawiian Airlines, moved by the dogs survival story, has given the go-ahead on flying the animal for free to the mainland.....

Snickers original owners, Jerry and Darla Merrow, had set out from California's Moss Landing but the catamaran developed mast problems.....

The boat drifted to the tiny atoll, where it hit a reef and the couple swam 200 yards to shore with Snickers and Gulliver.....The pets were left in the care of islanders.....

"They don't have the same concept of taking care of pets....."

Efforts to contact the Merrows have been unsuccessful.....(at the time this story was first published.....there have been no further storys in the papers or online).....

"The owners got to the point where they had to move on with their lives.....

An SOS was put out and a lot of people got involved in the rescue.....

The Hawaiian Humane Society took the lead in the rescue.....

The dog landed in Honolulu cleared Customs and has been inquarantine since, awaiting transport to Los Angeles.....

Getting the parrot off the island will be more difficult.....

*****IF ANYONE READS ANYTHING FURTHER ON THIS RESCUE PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE ON MY TAG BOARD.....THANK YOU.....

And a thank you goes out to Kerri, who reminded me to continue this story.....

It's almost time for the evening movie.....one I have been waiting for....."The Andromada Strain".....Lets hope its as good as its been hyped up to be.....I seen the original and it was good.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie

IT SEEMS THAT OUR LOCAL ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICE IS OUT OF CONTROL.....

Kern Countys animal shelter is critically underfunded, disorganized and INCAPABLE OF HUMANELY DEALING WITH THE GROWING NUMBER OF ANIMALS COMING INTO ITS KENNELS.....

The result is illness, suffering and death, according to a report developed during "informal animal consultations" done in 2007 by the UC Davis Koret Shelter Program.  Animal Control officials have not previously made the report public.

The most dramatic section of the report relates to the treatment of feral cats at the shelter.

The report says feral cats are stacked in cages in inadequate space.  The cats are carried into the cages dangling by the neck from catch poles.

On two occasions, the whole population of the feral cat room has been killed to avoid the epidemic spread of "horrible" infections caused by the cramped treatment of the animals.

The situation has been reported to the Animal Control Chief Denise Haynes since 2005

The Kern Board of Supervisors have been asked to remove her from this position.

Anyone that can condone this for that length of time doesn't belong there.

It was not as if we were being callous.  It was 'How do we fit this into my fix-it pile.....

Kern County supervisors have publicly rejected the idea of spending more money on shelter programs.  Their reasoning....People are more important than animals.....

It also comes as the Kern County Animal Control Commission makes a final recommendation as to how supervisors should address animal overpopulation with new programs - and funding.....

SPAY-NEUTER SPLITS PANEL.....

It also seems that the animal control comission has split on the spay-neuter bill.....there are five members on the commission and the night of the vote , one was absent, therefore causing a split decision.....sounds like politics to me.....A supervisor, who shall remain nameless has stated....."I support full mandatory spay-neuter....."It is good governance in my opinion that the government hold owners responsible for the uncontrolled breeding of their animals."

Maybe they ought to think about a Mandatory County Directive that says each Veterinarian in Kern County will donate one day a month for a "FREE" clinic.....not everyone in Kern County can afford such high rates and if this bill passes their rates  will go sky-high.....

Maybe the animal control board should stop talking and talking and start listening to the people.....The responsible pet owners are NOT THE PROBLEM.....take your fingers out of your ears and.....LISTEN UP.....

And we still have one more major malfunction.....The city nor the county can't get together and decide on the same rules and regulations.....one says only a certain number of pets.....the other, the county ordinance, says that you can have any amount of pets you can support.....

I have a question.....have the city, county and animal control ever got together and talked about the situation.....if they have its been kept under wraps.....maybe, just maybe, if they did talk they might come up with another solution.....Oh well, maybe I'm asking too much.....

What happened to the democratic way of handling the situation.....put it on the ballot and let the citizens decide.....oh, wait a minute.....we might vote in a way you don't like and then you would change the decision to fit your purpose.....

We have become the pet Murder Capital of the country.....I don't know about all the people in Kern County, but this makes me ashamed to say I live here.....

SOME GOOD NEWS.....

Homeward bound kittens has just adopted 5 of the cutest little siamese kittens.....Their mother was feral and abandoned the babys in a friends yard.....

It is and has always been the policy of "Homeward Bound Kittens" to spay and neuter all incoming fur people.....

I've done enough griping for tonight.....maybe next blog entry, the animal control and the city and county supervisors will come to some kind of decision.....or maybe this time they should have all the members present and get this whole mess under control.....

TO THE ANIMAL CONTROL COMMISSION.....The next time you take a vote, you should have all the members present, instead of playing politics with the lives of our fur people.....

To fur people lovers everywhere.....ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL.....And I would like to say a special Happy Mothers day to my favorite mother-in-law.....you deserve every bit of it.....you're a nice lady and deserve a nice mothers day.....take care and have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....Reid and Debbie

 TOP STORY OF THE WEEK.....

ANIMAL WORKER ACCUSED OF DROWNING KITTENS.....

Adelanto's head animal control office has resigned as he faces charges of drowning of nearly 50 kittens.....

Kevin Murphy was placed on paid leave in March after prosecuters accused the 36 year old of drowning the kittens over a four month period.....He faces six counts of animal cruelty.....

If this so-called animal control officer killed over 50 kittens......how come the jerk is only being charged with six.....count'em.....six counts of animal cruelty.....This man was a trusted animal control officer.....he should be charged with all 50 counts.....locked up and it would give me great pleasure to throw the key away.....

THE STORY OF SNICKERS.....A DOG LEFT BEHIND ON A TINY ISLAND.....(chapter 1)

Snickers the Sea Dog is barely more than a pup.....but hes already an old salt.....

The eight month old puppy spend nearly three months adrift in the south pacific with his owners and a parrot until their 48 foot sailboat ran aground in December on tiny Fanning Island, 1,000 miles south of Hawaii.....Snickers and Gulliver had to be left behind as their owners hitched a ride on a cargo vessel.....

Then in March, the SOS was sent out in a boating journal that the orphaned critters were to be destroyed on Fanning, one of 33 scattered coral atolls that make up the remote island nation of Kiribati.....

More on Snickers and Gulliver in next weeks journal.....

HOT FOOTIN' IT HOME.....

Moon.....a dog that ran away at a roadstop rest area has apparently made her way nearly 80 miles across Neavad'a high desert and two mountain ranges to return home a week later.....

UPDATE ON OUR LOCAL SPAY/NEUTER LAW.....

The war continues here in Kern County with no sign of a truce.....

Letters to the editor keep coming in, but its like any other political group......they just can't get their you know what together long enough to figure out what 1+1 is.....

"Don't punish pet owners"

"Mandatory rule unfiar"

"Require sellers permit"

"It's up to responsible owners"

"Spay/neuter event a success"

I have a solution to the problem.....All the Veterinarians donate one day to a "FREE" spay/neuter clinic.....with as many vets as we have in the area their name might come up once a year.....I'm quite sure that this will not break the bank.....Better yet.....Have the city council make it a directive that each veterinairian do just that.....that would solve the problem.....

Thats about all for now.....gonna' go watch some tv.....drink a soda and fall asleep on the sofa.....wake up with numerous kittens on my chest purring away.....ahhh.....the luxarys of cat people.....

ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie

THE STORY CONTINUES.....WE RETURN TO DEAD DOG BEACH.....

Since Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, there is no quarantine required, making travel from the island relatively easy.....The larger challenge involved is in raising money to pay cargo space on private and commercial aircraft.....But as word spread of the Puerto Rican sato airlift, so did money.....

Cornett helped route the dogs to area shelters, like the tri-county Humane Society shelter in Boca Raton, the Humane Society of Vero Beach and the Humane Society of the Treasure Coast.....

THE STORY OF ASLAN.....a srawny yellow Laradore mix she spotted on Dead Dog Beach.....He and his equally emancipated companion Leo, seemed a tight pair.....It seemed Aslan was destined for a good home on the mainland.....

But on the day he was to be recued,  Aslan was found dead.....

He met the fate of so many other satos on Dead Dog Beach.....he an eight other dogs were poisoned on the same day.....Luckily, Leo was adopted by a family in upstate New york.....

As horrible as those beach deaths were, they were not isolated incidents.....

Some 80 dogs and cats were massacred in the town of Barceloneta after government-contracted animal control workers seized the household pets from three poor housing projects.  The seized animals were thrown from a 50-foot bridge in a neighboring town.....Only a handful survived.....A $22.5 million lawsuit filed by Barceloneta families against local authorities and the contracted animal control firm alleges the pets were beaten and drugged before being hurled to their deaths.....

The massacre was business as usual....but a superior court judge found evidence to order the firms owner and two other workers stand trial on animal cruelty charges.....

Yabucoa officials have started a beach "clean up" on Lucia Beach (Dead Dog Beach).....The bad news is that most of these dogs will be sent to shelters and put to death.....

KITTEN SANCTUARY STORY OF THE WEEK.....

Kern County is having its own little spay-nueter war.....but as wars go.....someone had to bite the dust.....This little story is titled "He didn't have to shoot the dog....."

This letter is regarding the deputy who was bitten by a dog.  Why didn't the deputy go to the front door? What was he doing going into the fenced backyard with a dog inside and a sign saying: "Beware of dog"? I wouldn't be stupid enough to go into anyone's fenced backyard with a dog there, no matter what size.

We have dogs in our yards to protect us from strangers.  It seems we need them here.  So the dog bit the deputys arm.  Couldn't he just get out of there without shooting the dog three times?

With teens trashing vacant houses, if I had a vacant house I would have one big dog inside and two patrolling the outside of my property.  I would rather clean up after a dog than after some kids.....

The "Kitten Sanctuary" seldom asks for any opinions.....but there comes a time when something must be said.....

Do you think the deputy acted in a professional manner.....

I would like your opinion.....

please e-mail.....

homewardboundkit@aol.com

"Letters from the War Room....."

Readers keep shouting their opinion on the spay-neuter law/s.....

Kern.....pet killer capitol

Enforce laws on books

Present system insane

Animal control; Do your job

Kern is a national disgrace

No more money to kill

Spay-neuter no-brainer

Legislate compassion?

COMPASSION.....if there was compassion in the present system there would be no reason to have a spay-neuter program.....but with everyone after the american $$$$ no program stands a chance of survival.....

We have a perfect example in Kern County.....The H.O.P.E. organization was coming to Bakersfield once a week for their spay-neuter program.....with all the problems Kern County is having with their program this was a special angel in disguise.....But, alas, not enough cooperation with the local pet owners to make it worth the trip.....These people would volunteer their time to come here, pick up your pet, transport it to Fresno for the night and bring  her home the very next day.....all for the low price of $20.....this included a rabies shot.....but no.....ya' all had to sit on your collective duffs and do nothing.....because of your lack of caring the people that want the service can no longer get it.....

It's time to call it a day.....

Time to go sit in front of the tv and watch repeats.....thank goodness for the dvd player.....maybe time to watch some old "Duke" movies.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie

A few days ago I started a story about a miscarrige of animal abuse that should be written up in the pages of history.....

The story of "Dead dog Beach" continues.....

The beach, on an island with a dismal record of animal cruelty, called out to her in a way she had never experienced.  Cornett, who works for envirornmental consulting firm in Stuart, approached the dogs and spoke to them in soothing tones.  She stroked them, fed them, but she felt helpless to their plight.  Still, she made a promise to get involved somehow.

"I couldn't walk away. I had to make a decision right then to make a difference.  All my life I've been an animal lover, but I knew it was time to put up or shut up.....I was lucky my job to me to Puerto Rice once a month."

Once home, she sent e-mail and photos of the dogs to everyone she could think of.....She tapped into a budding network of animal rescuers in Puerto Rico, a place with no pet registration law, scarce spay-neuter programs, and exceedingly high kill rates in the few existing shelters.....

Cornett joined forces with a diverse mix of dog lovers and welfare advocates in the vicinity of Dead Dog Beach, across the island, and on the mainland.  She came to know the lost dogs of Yabucoa by their names: Aslan, Cooper, Angel, Nina, Nicole, Janice, Sabrina, Thor.  Some of her strays are featured in a new book titled "Street Dogs," (Merrell, $22.95), by fine arts photographer Traer Scott, author of the best selling Shelter Dogs book..... 

In 2006, she launched a Web site and a blog, www.manosporpatas.org.  She helped set up M.A.S.H-style clinics on the beach to sterilize and vacinate the strays, or satos, as they are known in Puerto Rico.  She helped arrange adoptions and transport for the screened, vetted, adoptable dogs, finding them homes in Florida and other states.....

Ya' all should check out the Web site for more information and interesting happenings on Dead Dog Beach.....

Our story will continue in a few days.....

WELCOME TO KERN COUNTY.....THE KILL CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.....

I hate to say this, but the county I reside in is one of the worst, as far as kill rate goes, than any other county around.....last year the spca kill rate was a little over 18,000 dogs murdered....oops, sorry.....humanely put to sleep.....and then dragged acrossed a concrete floor and then tossed into another pile of Dead Dogs....sounds like Dead Dog Beach in the County of Kern.....

I'm a lot like the lady in the story above.....I love animals.....and I don't like what our local spca is doing to our fur people....

We have a spay-neuter war going on here in Kern County.....

We have our typical pros and cons of the ordinance, but its like any other Government run panel, they can't seem to agree on anything.....meanwhile, we sit around on pins and needles wondering if this law passes, will we have any right to privacy in our own homes.....If this law passes, they can come into your home just like the police can.....Take away your pets and not give it another thought.....our invasion of privacy has gone far enough.....

Again I will state that I am 100% for this law, but it seems to me they had better work out the kinks ( like telling me how many pets I can have).....first and then present it to the public.....

As it stands right now.....THIS ORDINANCE STINKS!!!!!

There is another catch to their ordinance.....

The law will only cover the "Metro Bakersfield Area".....which is where "Homeward Bound Kittens" is located.....and not involve the outlying areas.....that means that any breeder or pet mill can relocate to another are and not be bothered.....another perfect example of the law-abiders getting the shaft.....we obeyed the law all along and now we get kicked in the ass because of the few jerks that won't obey the law.....

This "war" has caused some name calling and the name calling has been directed at the wrong party.....They have been calling the Local newspaper names because they reported the news.....folks this is their job.....If it wasn't for the original article, nobody would have known how many dogs our spca is killing each year.....

"Homeward Bound Kittens" has had it with these people who can't make up their minds and wish these people would concentrate on something else, AND LEAVE OUR PETS ALONE.....

Well, I've sounded off enough, so I think I will sign off for the night and go watch some tv.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....Reid and Debbie

It seems to me that there is a lot of b.s. going on behind the walls of the new spay-neuter bill just passed in the L.A. area.....every time somebody of importance gets involved with politics, they always get their way.....Don't get me wrong.....I am all for the bill, I just don't like the way they are going about it.....I also agree that there are irresponsible people out there thats making it miserable for the rest of us.....

QUOTE OF THE DAY.....

"I resent any legislation which reacts to the wrongdoing of others and forces me, who did nothing wrong, to obey rules made to punish those who have done wrong....."

Last Sunday our local newspaper published a picture of a dog being euthanized.....This picture has upset the petlovers of Kern County.....

"I am outraged that you would put a picture like this in your newspaper for small children to see.....

Pictures have a profound effect on all of us.....

"To be fair.....run in front-page color a close-up of a dog castration captioned, "Activists want Kern County to force you to do this to your animal....."

They should take all the money they are spending on the "Pet extinction Act" and funnel it to the local veterinarians on a spay-neuter program.....

Or, how about the feral cat program in the L.A. area.....The LAPD and the Sheriffs office are using feral cats to rid their parking lots and outside lockers of vermin.....They are also being used in the market place in the downtown area.....the program at this time is privatly funded, but the city is working it into their budget so they can maintain the program.....

ARE ANY OF THE HIGH MUCKY- MUCKS HERE IN KERN COUNTY READING THIS.....SEEMS LIKE A GOOD PLAN TO THIS BLOGGER....

I would also like to point out that it is "Homeward bound Kittens" policy to spay-neuter all rescued fur people.....And we do this at our own expense.....

NOT LIKE SOME IRRESPOSIBLE PEOPLE.....AND YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.....

Hissss.....boooo!!!!!

Article from a small town newspaper.....Randolph, Iowa.....

Attention cat haters.....There's money to be made in Randolph.....they are offering a $5.00 reward for each feral cat turned in.....

Those not claimed will be murdered.....thats not what the article said....but thats the word I chose to use.....

Why don't they try and round then up and send them to an animal shelter willing to house and feed them until adoption day.....I know all will not be adoptable, but there are those just looking to make someone happy.....

"A short stop on the way to a new life".....has been our motto since the program started 4 years ago.....we have managed to rescue and find homes for 97% of our tribbles.....We have taken in cats and kittens that our local SPCA would have humanely "put them to sleep".....

An article in the paper said that when they are "Euthanized" they are then dragged acrossed a concrete floor to be thrown on a pile of already "humanely" euthanized dogs.....The paper said that this causes stress on the people that have to do this terrible thing.....IF IT BOTHERS THEM SO D*** MUCH WHY DON'T THEY JUST QUIT!!!!!

The whole problem with this new law is that there are not enough low-cost clinics around to support such a law...."Homeward Bound Kittens" uses the HOPE center in Fresno.....mainly because there are no low-cost clinics here in Kern County.....The HOPE center sends two vans a month from Fresno, picks them up and takes them to Fresno and keeps them overnight and returns them the next day.....$20.00 gets them "Fixed" and also their first rabies shot.....Where can you do this in Kern County?????

DEAD DOG BEACH.....A story to remember.....

This is a rather long story, so I will do a little bit at each blog entry.....this is a really sad story and if you didn't read it in the paper it is well worth the reading now.....

A marine biologist travels to a remote beach in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, to test the impact of a chemical plant on the enviornment. The pollutants she is looking for fall into scientific research. But the scourge she finds on the beach defies every ounce of science she knows.

The biologist is a Port St. Lucie, Fla., women named Ginny Cornett and what she found that day in 2005 rattled her to the core.....Packs of abandoned, emaciated dogs.....rail thin dogs lingering along the beach road, strewn across the sand, drinking from saltwater puddles, scavenging for scraps and shade.....This was not a scourge brought on by chemicals or bacteria, but a contamination of a different sort.....one of indifference and inhumanity.....

As her boat cast off from the island's southeastern tip on its routine expedition, Cornett couldn't shake the images she has seen on the beach. They haunted her as she worked that day and as she returned to that spot the following day.....What was this unforgiving place? She had no idea it had a name....."Dead Dog Beach".....

Have I piqued your interest.....there will be more in a few days.....this story just gets worse and worse as it goes along.....

Its time to relax and watch some tv.....might even watch a monster movie on the dvd.....

ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie.....

  Its been a while since I have had any time to do anything else but work.....The Sanctuary is planning a move sometime this coming May.....We will be moving out of state and setting up shop in and around Gold Beach, Oregon.....Most of the spare time around the Sanctuary is spent planning the move.....And to put your minds at ease.....we have allowed for the "Murphys Law Syndrom".....

For more info about our new home enter Gold Beach, Oregon in your search mode.....Its nestled on the coast 30 some miles north of the Calif. state line.....along the Rogue River.....They have fishing, crabbing, hiking trails, horse back riding and lots of other boring things to do when you're retired.....I,m making up two signs....."Do not disturb"....."Gone fishin'".....

WEB SITE OF THE WEEK.....PETFINDER.COM

Animal Plant has greenlighted a weekly primetime series based on pet-adoption Web site Petfinder.com whcih the network acquired last year.....

Similar to the site, Petfinder will aim to match families with pets....ranging from pythons to pigs to puppies.....from local animal shelters.....The series is scheduled to begin the first part of 2008.....

The show will contain comedic and dramatic stories of the families looking for pets and animals themselves.....

Be sure to tune into this one.....It seems Petfinders has done it again.....

  BYE-BYE.....

Last U.S. medical school that uses dogs for surgery has ended its practice of operating on dogs to examine their beating hearts and disposing of them after the lesson.....

Case Western Reserve School of Medicine was the last to use this method.....

Among the 126 American medical schools, 11 still sacrifice animals for teaching.....Othe than Case, none of them use dogs.....

The use of animals was not done lightly and had value, but students will still become good doctors without it.....

PET SAFETY TIPS.....

• ID YOUR PET.....Making sure your pet has ID is one of the most important ways to keep your pet safe.....
• TAKE A HOUSE TOUR.....Think about how you can keep your pets from getting out in the first place.....
• PREPARE FOR PROBLEMS.....Put together a first aid kit for your pets.....
• SEND DOGS TO SCHOOL.....Training is one of the best kinds of mental excercise.....
• DON'T FORGET THE CATS.....Playing with your cats more is an obvious way to get them to excercise.....
• KEEP CATS CLEAN.....Don't forget that many cat behavior problems can be headed off if the humans keep up with routine maintenance.....

THE HIGH COST OF LAST CHRISTMAS.....

The cost of everything has gone up.....of course, we all know this.....So I am sending you another bill.....

Prices of items in the Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" according to PNC Wealth Mangement.....

PARTRIDGE; $15 (last year; same)

PEAR TREE; $150 (last year; $130)

TWO TURTLE DOVES; $40 (last year; same)

FOUR CALLING BIRDS; (canaries) $600 (last year; $480)

FIVE GOLD RINGS; $395 (last year; $325)

SIX GEESE A-LAYING; $360 (last year; $300)

SEVEN SWANS A-SWIMMING; $4,200 (last year; same)

EIGHT MAIDS A-MILKING; $47 (LAST YEAR; $41)

NINE LADIES DANCING (PER PERFORMANCE); $4,759 (last year; same)

10 LORDS A-LEAPING (PER PERFORMANCE); $4,285 (last year; $4,160)

11PIPERS PIPING (PER PERFORMANCE); $2,213 (last year; $2,124)

12 DRUMMERS DRUMMING(PER PERFORMANCE) ($2,398 (last year; $2,301)

Well ya' all, thats about it for now.....if I can find the time I will do an article on feral cats and how some law enforcement agencys are using our "Feral Friends"

Until then, ya all have a great rest of the day and a better tomorrow.....ttfn.....Reid and Debbie

               UPDATE.....UPDATE.....        

                   PET FOOD DEATHS INDICT 3

Companies of Chinese and U.S. origins charged.....

Two chinese businesses and a U.S. company were indicted Wednesday in the tainted pet food incidents that killed dozens of family pets and raised worries about products made in China.....

Xuzhou Anying Biologic Technology Development Co., Suzhou Textiles, Silk Light Industrial Products, Arts and Crafts I/E Co., and Las Vegas based ChemNutra Inc. were charged in two seperate indictments.  The U.S. attorneys office in Kansas City said the tainted food led to death and serious illness of pets in the United States last year.....

One of the indictments charged Xuzhou Anying Biologic, located in China's Jiangsu Province, and Suzhou Textiles, in Suzhou, China, with 13 counts of introduction of adulterated food into interstate commerce and 13 counts of introduction of misbranded food into interstate commerce.....

ChemNutra and company owners, were charged with 13 counts of introduction of adulterated food into interstate commrece and 13 counts of introduction of misbranded food into interstate commrece and one count of wire fraud.....

It also says the shipment was falsely declared to the Chinese government in a way that would avoid a mandatory inspection of the company's plants.....

The staff at "Homewardbound kittens" still are very careful about the food we purchase for our fur people.....

"Homewardbound kittens" has been blessed with 10 more furry little "Tribbles".....

Ya' all have a grear rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....ttfn(again).....Reid and Debbie

Jingle bells.....jingle bells.....jingle all the way.....I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas.....just like the one's I used to know.....Roudolph the red-nosed reindeer.....had a very shiney nose.....

Yep!!!!! its that time of year again.....so soon.....where did the time go? Does the time go faster the older you get or does everyone have the same feeling.....?

And the prices.....have you seen the prices?????

My next door neighbor bought his daughter a tricycle lasr year on sale.....$39.95.....Same tricycle this year.....on sale.....$45.95.....

Well, anywho....ya all have a great holiday.....

BAN BREEDING.....(Kern County)

I can't understand why people are so convinced that banning dog and cat breeding and requiring spays and nueters will empty our shelters of unwanted pets.....

Most people looking for a new pet, not someone elses discard, and are willing to pay for it.....and are willing to travel hundreds of miles to get the pet they want.....Banning breeding in Kern County won't stop that.....

Animal Control is unable to enforce the laws already on the books. And I agree, we need to find better ways to fine homes for our furry friends.....But this is definetly the wrong way.....

There was an incident here in Kern County involving Beavers.....and the problem they were causing along the Kern River bike path.....The first thing they want to do is kill them....Our friendly U.S. Forestry Servie was going to do them in.....But a public outcry, some from as far away as New York raised a stink and now we will have some new visitors to Kern County......

I have the feeling that this is what they have in mind for our furry friends here in Kern County..... 

GIFT IDEAS FOR YOUR FURRY FRIEND.....

More than half of pet owners buy a gift for their pet at some time in any given year, with dog owners putting out the most money.....

Christmas is the best time of the year say some experts.....

If you're inclined to repay the unconditional love.....here are a few gift suggestions.....

FOR OUR CANINE FRIENDS.....

Pet Murphy bed.....Fold it up when companys coming, and they'll never know this stylish end table hides a drool soaked, fur coverd dog pillow.....

Available at.....

www.midnightpassproducts.com

www.callingalldogs.com

or Hamacher Schlemmer ($200.00 to $279.00).....

New Skete Dog Bed.....The nuns of New Skete in Cambridge, New York, already famous for their cheesecakes and fruitcakes, also make dog beds.....

Sold at select pet stores or online at:

www.newskete.com

($49.50 to $81.50).....

FOR OUR FELINE FRIENDS.....

Cat Genie.....A commode for your cat.....instead of litter it uses wahable granules that never need changing....(What a concept)

Available at.....

www.catgenie.com

$297.00.....

Cat washroom Litter box Furniture Cover.....Another way to disguise unsightly pet belongings.....

Available at.....

www.amazon.com

www.pawshop.com

or at PetSmart.....

($100.00)

KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.....

Every pet lover with a computer has seen the e-mails and Web sites: the dire warnings, on common household products.....the miracle cures.....and behaivor-fix products and the well-meaning but ultimatley wrong health-care advice.....

There's great info online if you know where to look.....Listed below are some great pet-care sites worth visiting.....

www.veterinarypartner.com

www.altvetmed.org

www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc

www.dogaware.com

Thats about all for now.....its time to kick back and watch some tv and maybe have a late nught cup of coffee.....

Ya' all have a great rest of the day.....and a better tomorrow.....

Merry Christmas to our toops overseas.....lets hope and pray that all will be home next year.....

ttfn.....Reid and Debbie