9/30/06

Alert-October Issues

The alert of a few days ago (good news, bad news) resulted in quite a few responses from you. Some of them were critical of our words, some applauded, and a few asked to be removed from the email list.

We appreciate the thoughts of each of you even when we do not agree with you. If you choose not to work with VVAW and instead work alone or with another group, that is fine. Just keep going and make a difference for Virginia’s companion animals. Change can happen, but it won’t happen without your applying pressure sufficient to overcome inertia and opposition.

Going forward, we are constantly asked to help and to do, and so many of the requests would not see the light of day were there responsible government, responsible breeding, and responsible ownership.

Here are some examples of issues we have been asked to help with and act upon in the last month. It illustrates the breadth of the problem and the crying need for rapid change. Just recently we have been asked to deal with:

the lack of uniform or complete animal records reporting by pounds, shelters and rescues means that no full, authoritative and unimpeachable record exists of the magnitude of the excess companion animal population and how many are killed

the failure of the State Vet’s office to ever examine animal health at public pounds, in pet stores, shelters or rescues

the reluctance and utter failure of the State Vet’s office to ever fine non-compliant jurisdictions whose facilities fail inspections

the county using gas which refuses to take any animals that are less than 16 weeks old, or are injured, old, or pregnant, as the law says those kinds of animals cannot be gassed, so the county simply refuses to take them; they are breaking the law

the single lonely person who attends the Board of Supervisors meetings in one of the gas jurisdictions, gets no support from any on the Board, and leaves with no change in the wind, and asks us for help and advice

the pathetic stories about Virginia dogs in excess of the number which could possibly be adopted locally who are shipped out of state to be adopted there, and instead end up with a hoarder in conditions that may well be worse than the death they faced in Virginia, finally recognizing you cannot adopt yourself out of this problem

the stories about give-aways at flea markets or in the newspaper, and the questions about how to get a local ordinance passed to require any dealing with companion animals – their sale, barter, gifting

the questions from cat owners and the "catch" for those helping cats who fear that by licensing cats, jurisdictions will know how many cats they have, and as a result have to relinquish some of those cats because they exceed the local pet limit law

the shelters that have intact dogs and cats living together, producing more dogs and cats

the abandonment of dogs generally which will increase again with the hunt season upon us, and the anticipation of more horrible stories about the treatment of hunting dogs especially

the report that a current ACO in a Virginia public pound broke his hand beating a dog, and what to do with this information

the witness to an abuse of gas chambers – stuffing multiple dogs into the chamber simultaneously – reported to the State Vet with no response

the jurisdiction where the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is a vet and the county gasses their animals

the State Vet who hides behind the national professional association for vets (AVMA) which has approved the utterly theoretical proposition that gas is an acceptable way to kill

the discrimination against certain breeds of dogs in many public pounds, in some cases reportedly not included in their animal records but simply killed, or keeping them the minimum number of days required by law and then immediately killing them, or when relinquished, allowing no one to adopt but instead immediately killing such dogs

the facilities holding a contract to serve as the public pound for a Virginia county that doesn’t feed, water, or clean over a holiday, and the non-response of the State Vet

the facilities including public pounds that provide absolutely no veterinary care for sick or injured animals

the dogs abandoned whose "owner" is known but still no one does a thing

the over-breeding and the need for s/n, and the vast majority of jurisdictions which are not asked raise the cost of a dog or cat license to fund s/n

the public pounds which prohibit volunteers from working with the animals

the public pound which prohibits touching of animals available for adoption until adoption has been concluded; prospective owners are able to only look through a fence at animals needing homes

the public pounds open "by appointment" and how that effects reclaiming and adoption

the rescuer who deals with animals other than dogs and cats and wants so much for other companion animals to be seen as equally worthy of attention

the rescue being harassed by neighbors and local officials for having a rescue in an area now being developed for homes, even though the rescue has been there for years

These problems brought to us are not isolated or old, and they come to us day after day, interspersed with constant requests to help with rescue by taking an animal, to help with rescue by paying for boarding and vet bills, to sign petitions – day after day.

Let me add to this that we are pushing as hard as we can to have gas chambers eliminated this year. That is our #1 priority as it is cruel and inhumane practice, and in addition reflects poorly on our entire state. But keep in mind that animals gassed in Virginia are a small part of the total killed every year. While we rally against gas, it is the bringing of standards, accountability, and responsibility to breeding, and prosecution of abandonment that will make the biggest difference.

If you haven’t already told us, how many of you have contacted your legislator or senator regarding the gas chamber? Regarding any of the other VVAW bills? We will help you with framing your contact if you need ideas, and we (Don, Lillian, the rest of the VVAW Board) will attend meetings with you. Talk with your legislators. Ask for an appointment. They are your representatives and their time is your time. Do this not because you may feel guilty as some suggest were our motives for speaking out bluntly, but because change is warranted and merited.

Thank you.

Lillian Clancy And Don Marro