The high cost of owning a pet is getting more exspensive as the ecnomy goes down the tubes.....

"Thirty years ago it was a choice between euthanasia and a week of penicillin.  And now it's way different from that."

There's good news and bad news for pet owners.....On one hand, advances in veterinary medicine are making more options available to extend the life of their four-legged companions.....

Often the high cost of these new treatments - cat kidney transplants can cost $10,000, roughly the same price of dual hip replacements for dogs - makes it that much harder for pet owners to decide whether to proceed......

It's different from people medicine, because reltively few people have health insurance for their pets.....

Veterinarians say people's willingness to do almosy anything for their pets has pushed the profession ever closer to human medicine.....

Even nontraditional medicine has crossed over to pets.....

When deciding whether to purchase expensive new equipment, veterinarians must weigh the size of their investment against what their customers can afford.....

Although many customers said they would pay the extra money, hospitals opted to hold off because of economic slowdown.....

There are financial options when deciding whether or not to proceed with care for your pet.....

Along with advanced new veterinary technology have arisen finaning options.....

Many practices and animal hosptials now offer financing through such companies as CareCredit, which works much like a regular credit card.....

Some veterinary centers help out by accepting post dated checks or allowing their customers to pay for services over an extended period.....

Pet owners can do other things to lower their vet bills such as setting up a savings account for new pets, as well as shopping around to find the best price for standard proceedures.....

Some simply do all they can to save up money for costly proceedures.....

"People will tell you they're willing to go without ffor their pet, which is an incredible thing for people to do.....It's an amazing sacrifice....."

PREVENTATIVE CARE FOR YOUR PET.....

The California Veterinary Medical Association offers these tips to help your pets live long.....

DENTALS EXAMS

GERIATRIC TESTING

WEIGHT MAINTENANCE

VACINATIONS

ALLERGIES

MENTAL ACTIVITY

ANIMALS ARE HARD WORK.....

This is taken from the comment sewction of our local newspaper.....

It has to do with the accused animal abuser Anita Gilbert.....

I urge the people who are in charge of deciding what to do with alleged animal abuser Anita Gilbert's animals to please have them euthanized.  They will never make good pets - they have been to traumitized.  I can't believe there are people who support her.

Our grandson wanted a puppy for his third birthday.  His parents taught him a pet is a big job.  He had to be cleaned up after, fed and watered.

He failed the clean-up test.  His father told him to get the pooper scooper.  His reply: It stnks.  My son told him it smelled bad to anyone who had to clean it up that included him.  My grandson looked up at his dad and said: But look, my nose is closer to the ground.

The next birthday he got a fish.....

This is all well and fine.....but I used to breed guppys and let me tell you, when you clean the filter under the sand, I can't tell you whch stinks the most....doggie do-do or fish do-do.....

Does this child clean up after the fish or is there the same problem????? I don't think so.....

It doesn't seem possible, but it looks like the holiday season is fast approaching.....as we all know, this year will have prices so high nobody will be able to afford anything but a bundle of sticks.....

And our elections are closing in on us again.....who will be our next president?????

Whoever wins the election it will make history.....

Have you registered to vote.....

That's about all the gossip for today.....not much pet news lately.....still waiting to see if the catch up with Anita Gilbert.....

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

The latest news on the happenings here in Bakersfield is the Anita Gilbert animal abuse case.....

UPDATE.....Anita Gilbert is accused of animal cruety and is facing teo felony warrents for her arrest because she failed to appear at her hearing.....She also stated thasty she as no intention of surrending.....

Gilbert was arrestewd by animal control officers on July 17 on multiple felony charges of animal abuse after they found her living in horrible conditions with 33 cats, 18 dogs and several animal corpses.....She also faces charges of threatening a public defender, which she denies.....

In a telephone interview, Gilbert refused to say where she is other than she's in the hospital undergoing cancer treatment.....

She said if she revealed her location, she'd be arrested and her doctor said she would die if jailed.....

A local county attorney has stated.....

"All we're dealing here with is the fears and thoughts of Anita Gilbert.....a fugitive from justice."

This is an ongoing case, and will post news items as they appear.....

ANIMAL(out of) CONTROL?????

Its time to violate one of our constitutional rights again.....I'm refering to the 4th amendment......

It seems that the local police officers from the animal control unit are going door to door looking for unlicensed dogs.....this is all well and fine if they do their jobs properly.....I want to know what gives them the right to go snooping in my back yard without my permission or without me being present.....Another question comes to mind.....This is a scenario.....they come to my door and ask me if I have any unlicensed dogs.....I tell them no, but they insist on looking.....I ask them if they are calling me a liar.....They reply that they are sorry but that they can't take my word for it.....I reply.....are you calling me a liar again?????.....This could go on, but the next thing is my reply....."If you want to enter my property and look for dogs, I suggest you get a search warrent.....ya' all have a nice day!!!!!

Here's the routine.....They knock on your door and if you don't answer and they hear a yelping doig they explain that your dog is not listed as licensed in this county.....another question arises.....what if!!!! the dog that is yelping is not from this county and that's why it isn't list on your books.....

This program actually grew out of concerns of animal overpopulation.....The county and city have so far resisted the idea of a mandatory spay-neuter program.....

SUPERVISORS SPINELESS.....

This missive is to those of our supervisors who appear to be spineless.....These individuals do not want to help the cats and dogs in our area.....Their idea of animal control seems to be hiring someone to pick up their lifeless bodies in the street, wait until they are ground into the pavement or simply put them to death.....

They need to visit the places of execution where the little ones are put to death.....They need to be the ones to pick up the remains in the street.....Maybe, just maybe, they'll find the spine that they now lack.....Then we may not have to pick up or kill so many little creatures.....

The Kitten Sanctuary has always had indoor out door cats.....but it is also our policy to spay and neuter as soon as they are old enough.....We will never contribute to any creatures dying because they were unwanted.....

Think about it.....It is cheaper to hire a compliance office than to hire all the drivers (and gas and maintenence), facility workers, etc.  Of course, there should be exceptions for legitimate and humane breeders.....

Kern County now has a helper in the system.....he was hired to help Denise "I can't find my fix-it list" Haynes.....now this is the catcher.....This man has no, absoluty none, experience in animal control.....So now we have a person who can't fix anything and a person that has no idea what the h*** he's doing!!!!!

Lord have mercy on us all!!!!!

I hate to say it, but it's time to throw everyone out at animal control and start all over again.....

And with that said, its time to put this edition to bed.....and also the editor.....

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

A San Diego police dog found dead in the back of his handlers car amid triple-digit temperatures died of a heat stroke.....

A San Diego police officer will do no jail time for killing his dog!!!!!

The most that he can recieve is not to be allowed to have another animal.....but we're talking about a police officer.....the penalty listed above is for us civilians and does not apply to law enforcement.....

Truth be known.....he might get a slap on the wrist.....given another dog and sent back out on the streets with yet another unaware police dog.....

This just proves to me that law enforcement has double standards.....

How many other cases such as this have gone unreported.....

TO THE TAXPAYERS OF SAN DIEGO.....Is this why you pay taxes......to both train the police office and train the k-9 and then allow the dog to die.....

He should be charged with felony animal cruelty and negligence, suspended without pay and sent to a school that will teach him how to take care of his dog.....But then again, we're talking about the law here.....you know, double standards.....

EXCUSE # 1.....I can't afford to have my animal spayed or neutered.....

The local classified pet section for one day has ads for 175 dogs and 30 ads for cats, along with 2 ads for stud service.....

Some ads had pictures of one to seven pups....

You have to wonder how many of these animals will be 'fixed', abandoned, mistreated or end up at the local spca for 'humane euthanization'.....those two words should never be used together.....

To all of you who use the excuse "I can't afford it".....There are plenty of free clinics around the state that will help you with your pet.....

To those who give love and care to their pets, the staff at "HOMEWARDBOUND KITTENS", thanks you.....

IT HAS BEEN SAID....."Never trust a man who mistreats his pet.....for he will likewise do the same to you"

LAW WON'T HELP ANIMALS.....A recent "Los Angeles Times" article stated that L.A. County estimates that only 60% of all dogs in the county are licensed.  Estimates for the city of L.A. is a dismal 13%.....

People don't bother to register, immunize, alter when appropriate, or otherwise properly care for their pets.....Yet both entities seem to think that a mandatory spy-neuter bill will have and effect on the number of pets in the local animal control facility.....

All such a law would accomplish would be additional regulation on people who obey the law and license, spay-neuter their animals.....It would have no impact on the jerks that don't give a damn as to how many animals they bring into a world thats already in a pet crisis.....

BEAR PROBLEM.....{recent letter to the editor}

LEAVE THE BEAR ALONE.....A recent article refers to a lady getting mauled by a wild bear.....

These animals are wild and will do what it takes to survive.....

Around 350 million people live here.  When one is attacked in the wild our great government saviors feel the urge to kill every bear and sample it until they are sure they got it right, no matter the amount of wildlife they kill.....

You would think the manpower could be better used doing something to conserve wildlife instead of destroying it!!!!!

A wise old proverb says....."If you don't want to be eaten by sharks, don't go swimming in the ocean.....'

I see by the computer clock that it's almost 10 pm.....time to bring this to a close.....

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

WHAT'S IN A NAME???

Anita Gilbert, arrested in Tehachapi Wednesday on animal abuse charges, may actually be Barbera Ryan, a Hemet woman who officials say skipped out on similiar charges in another county in 2006.....

Kern County Animal Control officers raided a home on Bear Valley Road on Wednesday and discovered Gilbert living in "deplorable" conditions with 15 dogs, 37 cats and 14 animal corpses.

A Kern County Animal Control officer stated that this was one of the worst he has seen in his 17 years on the job.  He described piles of discarded animal food cans two feet deep and feces-covered rooms buried in refuse.

Gilbert, Ryan, or what ever her names is, has been arraigned on 41 counts of animal abuse.

In a jail house interview Thrusday, Gilbert refused to take blame for the animals condition.

She claimed to have been in Florida until 10 days ago, undergoing an experimental chemotherapy treatment for bone cancer.

"That's not true" said an owner of an International house of Pancakes.....Gilbert has been a regular customer all year......at least twice a week.....

The owner said that she showed a lot of interest in the stray cats hanging around the back of the restaurant.....

She came in one day and asked if I had seen the black cat?  If you catch him could you hold him for me?  She said she was coming back later and she was going to get him.....

TUESDAY, JULY 22 '08.....

SHE WANTS HER ANIMALS BACK.....

The woman arrested on animal abuse charges in a Tehachapi raid last Wednesday, is trying to get her animals back from the Kern County animal shelter in Mojave.....

Kern County Animal Control Chief Denise "I can't find my fix-it list" Haynes said Gilbert filed a request for a "postseizue" hearing Monday morning in Mojave.

Gilbert then asked to see the animals but was denied.....

They are considered evidence in the case against Gilbert and when evidence is seized their owners don't get to see it, pet it, or have it back.....

Gilbert argued with the staff for well over an hour, until the sheriffs office was called in and persuaded her to leave.....which she did reluctantly.....

Gilbert has been arraigned on 10 counts of animal cruelty charges Friday.....

Her bail was reduced from $205,000 to $100,000 and she posted bail and was released for custody.....

*EDITORS NOTE.....Seems quite a lot of money for animal abuse.....considering there are worse criminals on the street who have commited worse crimes and have been released on less bail.....I would also like to know why the system does not prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.....this woman had 41 counts of animal abuse against her.....

Heres the final straw in this whole case.....CASES SUCH AS THIS TYPICALLY DON'T END IN JAIL TIME.....

But, after a conviction, a judge can rule that the person not be allowed to own animals again.....

Wow!!!!! what a tough sentence.....all this lady has to do is move again, change her name, and continue what she is being accused of doing.....

Maybe if some judge had enough intestinal foritude and sentenced these animal abusers to some good old fashioned jail time, and I don't mean clean up the side of the road, I mean some hard prison time, this, maybe, and I use the word maybe, this would be some kind of hinderence from abusing these animals.....

ANIMAL (OUT OF) CONTROL.....

A former supervisor at an Orange County animal shelter has been sentenced to 5 years for sexually assaulting six female inmates who were working there to fulfill their sentences.....Frank Bojoquez Jr. was convicted Friday in Superior Court......

A few months back I also reported another Animal Control Supervisor was prosectued for drowning 5 kittens.....

It seems that the whole Animal (out of)Control system needs to be overhauled and a lot more screening of their future employees.....Especially the ones applying for a supervisor position.....

This county also needs a new Animal Commission.....Those appointed to solve the animal overpopulation for over 2 years and have accomplised absolutley nothing......Meanwhile, they sit on their collective duffs and squabble over who does what, animals are still being mudered by our local Animal (out of) Control.

It looks like it's time to maybe fire all concerned, appoint new supervisors, and get a fresh opinion on the situation.....until this or something better comes along, this county will never control the pet population.....

Kern County has initiated a find the dog program.....That's where they come to your home, invade your privacy, trespass on your property to find out if you have any dogs.....if you do and they are not licensed you will be cited and have to pay a fine.....now the thing is.....if you tell them you don't own a dog, will they take your word, or will the enter your home without a warrent to "investigate" whether you are lying to them.....

I got news for the people doing this.....if you come to my home you had either better take my word that I don't own dogs, or come armed with a warrent and a couple of deputies.....And when you do don't you plan on coming in.....only the deputies will be allowed inside my home with a proper search warrent.....now, if you think that you can, you had better check my constitutional rights buddy.....

A FEW SAFETY TIPS FOR HOT WEATHER.....

1. Keep a clean, cold pan of water available at all times

2. Make sure there are plenty of cool places for your furry friend to hide from the hot sun.....

3. Don't leave your friend in the car while you run in the store for a "few minutes".....

It's about time to watch some tv.....or maybe a dvd.....there are so many reruns, a dvd is a good investment to keep yourself from getting surfers finger from changing the channel some much.....

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

ref#45

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