Lizards... Enemy #1

The furry freaks all go absolutely nuts when they see lizards crawling across their windows. James is in full panic/hunting mode with this one! Sometimes I get the feeling the lizards know they can't be reached and so they walk back and forth across the window to taunt the cats....!!

24 Hour Adoption Event!!

MIAMI ANIMAL SHELTERS AND RESCUES HAVE UNITED FORCES TO SAVE MORE LIVES!!!

Humane Society of Greater Miami, Miami Dade Animal Services, The Cat Network,Inc and several rescue groups are getting together for a Mega ADOPTION event starting Friday, March 30 at 11:59pm and lasts 24hr non-stop. We are looking into having more than 500 deserving animals that just want to love you and be loved.

For more information call 305-749-1825.

More than 500 deserving animals between HUMANE SOCIETY OF GREATER MIAMI, MIAMI DADE ANIMAL SERVICES, CAT NETWORK and MANY LOCAL RESCUE GROUPS

Food and refreshments

Children's activities

Fun entertainment program

Adoption fees as low as $30 with tag.

Various specials throughout!

Splinter

She's a hard one to photograph, but windows provide the perfect lighting to show off her cute little face.
It's been 7 months since she was rescued from the sewer, making her a big girl at 8 months old!! She's got quite the energetic spirit, and loves night time snuggles (I often wake up in the middle of the night only to find her sharing my pillow...). She's also very talkative, and I'm certain she really believes she's having full on conversations with the people (she has this question and answer thing she does with anyone who will talk back with her... it's really funny!!).
Splinter's was definitely one of the best rescue stories I've had the opportunity to be a part of, and not a day goes by that I'm not thankful for the firefighters and sanitation workers who made her life possible.

Cat Obsessions

I don't know what you do with your bags, but it probably isn't as much fun as what James does with them...!! My RunDisney bag that I brought home from my Disney Princess half marathon last weekend became the cause for many pitiful cries from James until I finally caved in and gave him the bag to play with. He had only gotten about a 10 second taste before I moved it into the spare bedroom, but it was enough to spark a three day long cry fest outside the door. And not just regular meows, but drawn out horrible cries to the point that my mother came over to see what was wrong because she thought he was hurt... that's how pitiful these cries were.

Once he had the bag though it was like his whole world just brightened right up. He immediately crawled inside and made himself a little bed, which Splinter then decided would be the best place to sleep as well (only on the outside, and on top of James). After his nap was over it was play time, and he and Splinter went to town going in and out, playing with the drawstring, trying to wrestle from different sides of the bag. I never knew it could be so much fun to play with a simple bag, but that just shows how little I know (and how much the furballs have to teach me). He didn't get long with the bag before I finally took it away (paranoia about choking...), but the time he got was apparently the best thing ever because he's been in great spirits ever since!!

 

The Sharks Circle...

Late night feedings are like sharks circling a lost soul out on the open sea... adding in some screaming and crying in anxious anticipation. I know I've posted pictures of the cats all lined up like little piggies eating their late night meal, but it's the moments leading up to the food that are probably the most interesting. They start out in the living room... everyone getting antsy the closer the clock gets to midnight. Any person who moves in the house becomes the target - jumping and pawing at them, drawing them toward the kitchen.

And wow, when you get that cup of food in your hand they really start clamoring for it!! You have to push them away just to get the food down on the floor for them. That's assuming they haven't already knocked it out of your hand first.

You'd think by the way they act that they never get food at all... or more specifically, that by the time they get their late night meal that they haven't already had three other meals throughout the day!!! Make no mistake, these cats do not go hungry.... they're just dramatic little trouble makers, who would pig out if given the chance (which they've actually had before, but it ended in a lot of cat vomit from them over eating so that quickly ended).
The pictures aren't the best (it was midnight after all), but they do give a little bit of a glimpse into the late night feeding frenzy...!!

When Ferals Become Friends, part 4

Mario is the last of our ferals, for the time being at least. He's one of the males I neutered across the street from us, and I'm certain he figured out which house is the best. He won't let you pet him, but if you don't try to than he'll just continue to lie where he is and not care about whatever it is you're doing. He mostly hangs out on the roof of our house, and comes down to the top of the shed when it's time to eat. He also really seems to love leaf piles, as I often find him curled up in them asleep for hours at a time.

Cats in Jacksonville for treatment

Nearly 700 cats have been saved

Posted: March 1, 2012 - 12:00am

Bob Self, Morris News Service

Diane Treadwell, veterinarian Peggy Shashy and Kristen Collins document the medical condition of one of the cats confiscated from the Madison County cat sanctuary in the triage room in Jacksonville. The ASPCA has rallied manpower from all over the country to a location in Jacksonville, FL where they are bringing in around 640 cats rounded up from a cat sanctuary in Lee, FL for medical evaluation and documentation Wednesday afternoon, February 29, 2012.

 

By LARRY HANNAN

Morris News Service 

JACKSONVILLE — It’s a chaotic emergency room with doctors frantically trying to treat the hundreds of patients that have been coming in over the last 24 hours.
And every few minutes one of the patients lets out a pitiful meow.
This week a nonprofit cat sanctuary in Lee was raided by Madison County officials, and since that raid about 700 cats have been shipped to Jacksonville for treatment. Cats were still being unloaded from trucks late Wednesday afternoon after they arrived.
“We’re just trying to do our best to treat these animals,” said volunteer Meredith Shields, who was transporting two sick cats to the emergency room.
Nine different teams are working non-stop to provide emergency care to the cats as they arrive, said Tim Rickey, senior director of the field investigation and response department with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
The vast majority of animals are sick with upper respiratory problems, skin lesions, eye infections, neurological issues or some other type of illness. A large number of cats have also not been spayed and neutered, Rickey said.
About 125 people from across the country have volunteered to help.
It is the largest number of cats ASPCA will have ever removed from a single location, Rickey said.
The sanctuary owner, Craig Grant, who is from Ponte Vedra Beach, is facing three counts of cruelty to animals and one count each of scheming to defraud and felony cruelty to animals. He started the Caboodle Ranch in 2007, and law enforcement raided the property on Monday.
“It took me about five minutes after I arrived to realize the horrific conditions we were dealing with,” Rickey said.
The smell of urine and feces was pungent on the property, and even though Grant was supposed to spay and neuter all the animals, it was obvious that many had been breeding, Rickey said.
Rickey said no cats have been euthanized, although it’s possible some of the sicker ones will still have to be put down.
Dead cats were found at the Caboodle Ranch, but ASPCA officials were not able to provide the number of dead on Wednesday.
Most of the cats have been friendly, and should be available for adoption once they get healthy, he said.
But that may take awhile. The cats are now all evidence in the criminal case against Grant. And Grant remains the owner of the cats until the courts take them away, or he relinquishes control of them, said ASPCA spokeswoman Emily Schneider.
The felines are expected to remain in Jacksonville for 30 to 60 days. ASPCA officials have asked that the location where the cats are being kept not be revealed.
If ownership is taken away from Grant, ASPCA might seek out previous owners who surrendered the cats to Grant. All microchipped cats have been logged, with previous owners noted, Schneider said.
Rickey said there was nothing the public could do to help yet, other than donating money by going to ascpa.org. The total cost of this operation is expected to be about $200,000.

Caboodle Ranch shut down, owner charged with cruelty to animals

Dear Animal Advocate,

A part of Lilly's iris protruded through her ruptured cornea, a painful condition that was likely caused by an untreated infection. Lilly suffered for months before she finally died on January 31, 2012.

Imagine that your family has packed you up and shipped you across the country to a total stranger. You are surrounded by others who are also stressed, terrified, and confused. The stench is overwhelming, and disease is rampant. You cannot get away from the insects—they swarm around you, cover your eyes, and fly into your nose. There are maggots and roaches in the food. When you fall ill, a stranger forcefully grabs you and scrubs your face with a Clorox wipe, burning your eyes. You wonder why your family did this to you, and you do your best to cope and survive.

This is just a glimpse into what hundreds of cats likely went through when they were left at Caboodle Ranch, Inc., a "rescue sanctuary" in Madison County, Florida. PETA's latest undercover investigation exposes the reality that nearly 500 cats confined to the "no-kill" facility faced each day: an essentially one-person operation with no paid full-time help that subjected animals to severe crowding, filth, disease, neglect, suffering, and a miserable death. Based on PETA's evidence, officials are seizing Caboodle's animals and charging its founder and operator, Craig Grant, with cruelty!

PETA's video shows that Grant denied cats effective veterinary care for rampant upper-respiratory infections, sometimes with fatal consequences. PETA's investigator routinely brought to Grant's attention the suffering of individual cats at the facility, but requests and offers to rush even dying cats for emergency medical attention were often dismissed. Grant left Lilly whose iris protruded through a ruptured cornea, to deteriorate for four months. She lost vision in the eye and became critically ill. Lilly died, without veterinary care, on January 31.

PETA's investigation found that Grant allowed cats who were sick with fatal, contagious illnesses to roam freely and come into contact with cats not known to be ill; that cats were easily able to escape the facility's perimeter fence; that Grant roughly rubbed cats' faces with Clorox wipes to "clean" them; that Grant intentionally hid cats who were in obvious need of medical care that he was not providing; that cats had gnats and other insects swarming around them and were forced to endure disgusting living areas covered with vomit, trash, and waste and infested with roaches and maggots; and that Grant allowed cats to breed. In addition, cats' remains were left to rot on the facility's grounds—PETA's investigator found bones in the woods on Grant's property.

Read more about PETA's findings and watch our undercover video here.

A dangerous bill is currently making its way through Florida's legislature. Animal shelters would be forced to hand over animals to self-proclaimed, unregulated animal "rescues" like Caboodle if the misleading "Animal Rescue Act" (S.B. 818 and H.B. 597) becomes law. PETA is calling on the bill's sponsors to withdraw the legislation. Please help us make sure that this happens by contacting legislators now.

Thank you.

For all animals,



Daphna Nachminovitch
Vice President
Cruelty Investigations Department
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

When Ferals Become Friends, part 3

Gremlin is the sister to Zadie, and the third of our back yard ferals. She's got the most beautiful coloring and her eyes are unbelievably striking. She's also getting a bit more trusting of the people, but like her mama she isn't quite at the point where she'll allow pets. 

Gremlin waits for her food on top of the shed where we feed Fluffy Butt and Mama. She gets picked on a lot by the others because she's so small and skittish, so of course I try to pamper her with extra food and light conversation... I want her to get used to my voice and know that I'm not going to hurt her, so that one day she'll maybe trust me enough to let me pet her (all of this is done in the hopes that she'll trust me in case I ever need to catch her for either a vet visit or to bring her inside for safety reasons...). She's getting better about being in close proximity to the people, and she at least knows she has a place to come and eat good food!

When Ferals Become Friends, part 2

Fluffy Butt is an attention hog. Not only does he stand outside the back door every morning and evening crying for both food and attention, but as soon as you open the door he walks right in like he owns the place. We've let him come inside the house and sniff around a bit (going on the theory that if he needed to be brought inside, say for a hurricane or something, we want him to be as comfortable as possible), but he definitely enjoys being able to roam free. Even though he doesn't really roam. Instead he rubs up against your legs, and will even take a few nips at you if you don't pet him fast enough. You'd really be shocked if you knew him when he first started coming around... he was terrified of the people, and now he rolls over on his back for belly rubs. He's had the fastest feral turnaround I've ever seen... he's also had the fastest weight gain as well!!! When he first showed up in the backyard he had lost all the hair on his body from fleas, except for the fur on his tail... that's how he got the name Fluffy Butt. He's also the dad to Arianna and Emily, and you can absolutely see some of their personality in him (the talking, the aggressive demand for pets). Mama and FB are inseparable, and we're happy to have them both:)

Cat Saves Owner's Life Just Hours After Being Adopted

First Posted: 02/22/2012 12:28 pm  

Huffington Post 

A newly-adopted cat repaid his owner's loving gesture earlier this month by saving her from a medical emergency just hours after he was brought home, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports.
Amy Jung and her son Ethan stopped into The Humane Society near their home in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin on Feb. 8 to play with the cats, but one feline -- a 21-pound orange-and-white cat named Pudding -- stood out to the pair. Jung learned that the laid-back cat had been in and out of the shelter since 2003, and made an impulsive decision to adopt him and his friend Wimsy.
Jung said the cats wasted no time fitting into their new home when they arrived. But just hours later, the Jungs' happy day took a turn for the worse. Soon after going to bed, Amy Jung, who has had diabetes since childhood, started having a diabetic seizure in her sleep.
That's when Pudding sprang into action. The fast-acting feline sat on Jung's chest in an attempt to wake her up and when that didn't work, he nudged and nipped her face until she briefly returned to consciousness.
In that moment, Jung was able to call out to her son Ethan, but he couldn't hear her calls. Luckily, Pudding darted into Ethan's room and pounced on the bed until he woke up and was able to call for help.
Jung told the Press Gazette that she believes she wouldn't have made it through the night without Pudding -- an opinion her doctors share. Pudding is now being registered as a therapy animal, and has learned to sit by Jung's feet and meow when he senses that her blood sugar is low.
There have been a number of reports of dogs sensing impending seizures, but the same behavior in cats is much rarer, according to doctors who spoke to the BBC for a story about a cat who predicted a number of deaths at a nursing home.

The cat, Oscar, made headlines in 2007 after he "predicted" 25 deaths at a nursing home by showing affection for sick patients right before they passed away. Animal psychologist Roger Mugford said that although cats have been known to pick up on illnesses, they do so much less frequently than dogs because they are more withdrawn.
"Dogs are very good at picking up on emotional changes and when people are depressed and inactive they are very good at comforting them in these circumstances. Elephants show the same altruistic tendencies, but not cats, they are very much more selfish, solitary creatures," he said.
Nevertheless, cats have been the heroes of a number of rescue stories in recent years. In May 2011, the Atlanta Humane Society reported on a cat who could predict his 19-year-old owner's seizures minutes before they happened.
In July 2011, a Pennsylvania cat helped save its owner's life by pawing at her when she was feeling unwell, compelling her to take her condition seriously and call the doctor. She later learned that she had suffered a heart attack.

Never too old for Disney!!

This weekend I'm heading up to Disney with Adam, my two best friends and their respective husbands to run the Disney Princess Half Marathon. I'm beyond excited, with it split pretty much 50/50 in levels of excitement between visiting the theme parks and the race itself. One of the most heart warming things about going to Disney (aside from the obvious "happiest place on earth" thing), is that they are a very cat friendly operation (see this post)!!
In anticipation of my upcoming Disney adventure, here are some of the most famous Disney cats:

The expressions look pretty spot on to me!!

Because everybody wants to be a cat....

I loved this movie, and used to reenact it with my cats!

Great movie, and seems accurate...

The man himself, with his kitties:)

When ferals become friends, part 1

While Mama may not want to run up to the people for pets the way Fluffy Butt does, she certainly has become much more friendly toward her humans! She isn't as scared as she used to be (although no one has been able to touch her when she's looking... yet), and she no longer really wonders away from the backyard. And on occasion she'll even sit near you when you're hanging out in the backyard. You can tell she's thinking about trying out the people and seeing what this petting thing is all about, but she hasn't quite made that final step. She's getting closer though, and I know just by the change in her attitude from when we first started feeding her that she's got the attachment to us that typically forms when feeding ferals on a schedule.
Even though feral cats may not be overly affectionate lap cats, their appreciation for their caretakers is one of the best feelings you can ever receive!! 

Neighborhood feral kittens.

This is what happens when one cat in a colony is left unsterilized... you end up with more kittens!!
Although there are 5 kittens in this litter (three of which I know for sure are girls, just by their coloring), I had a limit of 3 cats for my spay appointments on Sunday (I like to take cats with me when I volunteer as the sterilization vet tech.... multitasking at its best!!). They were fairly easy to catch, and I hated to leave the others behind, but they'll get their sterilization and vaccinations soon enough!
It was also a little heartbreaking when we were leaving on Sunday morning for the event, and the kittens and mom not trapped were all waiting in my front yard watching for the three I caught. I hate that I can't explain to them what I'm doing, and why it's a good thing!!! But they've all been reunited now, and the others will learn the happy and healthy truth with round two of the trapping...!!

The little boy... such a loud cry baby!!

Girl #1... a feisty little calico!

Girl #2 ... quiet, but beautiful.

 

March Sterilization Special...

Great Neuter News for Cats!

The Meow Mobile spay & neuter mobile clinic for cats is offering $15 spay/neuter surgeries for all March 2012 events thanks to a generous grant from the ASPCA!

Be a part of the solution to reduce the number of homeless cats on the streets of... Miami-Dade. Spay & neuter your pets and backyard strays.

Please contact us by sending an e-mail to meowmobile@thecatnetwork.org or by calling 305-233-9958 to schedule an appointment. E-mail requests are generally answered faster than phone messages.

***Reservations are required.***

For more information and FAQ's about the Meow Mobile spay & neuter program for cats, visit the website at http://www.meowmobile.com/

MARCH 2012 SCHEDULE:

Mar 5 (Mon.): THE FALLS -- Ceramic League of Miami, 8873 SW 129 St., Miami
Mar 7 (Wed.): SOUTH MIAMI -- PETCO, 6200 S. Dixie Hwy., Miami
Mar 9 (Fri.): HOMESTEAD -- PETCO, plaza at SW 157th Ave & SW 312 St., Homestead
Mar 12 (Mon.): WEST KENDALL -- Felix Varela High School, 15255 SW 96 St., Miami
Mar 14 (Wed.): DORAL -- PETCO, 1635 NW 107 Ave., Miami
Mar 16 (Fri.): CORAL GABLES -- Univ. of Miami., parking lot outside 1241-1300 Dickinson Drive, Miami
Mar 23 (Fri.): LITTLE HAVANA -- St. Lazaro Church, 1778 NW 3rd St., Miami
Mar 26 (Mon.): KENDALL -- Sunset Feed & Supply, 7650 SW 117th Ave, Miami
Mar 29 (Thu.): THE FALLS -- Ceramic League of Miami, 8873 SW 129 St., Miami
Mar 30 (Fri.): WEST KENDALL -- Felix Varela High School, 15255 SW 96 St., Miami

MMM

Sunday was another city sponsored spay day, which meant dogs and cats from the community were sterilized and vaccinated free of charge. As with any sterilization event there is a limit on the number of animals that can be done in a day, but Sunday we broke a new record with 54 cats (and 64 dogs). It was a very long day (12 hours!!) but absolutely worth it!! And with kitten season just around the corner it's even more important to have as many feral cats sterilized as possible.

Here's the Miami Meow Mobile early in the morning, as I'm starting to set up everything for the day:

 

And for all of you out there in blog land who are hoping to sterilize your ferals, the Meow Mobile will be having a "sterilization special" for the month of March.... $15 surgeries, including antibiotics and pain meds!! You can't get any better than that, so make your appointments soon!!!!!!

 

Sleep and Destroy

 

Destruction is hard work. 

Emily and Arianna decided they wanted to either read my books or eat them, but either way they pulled them off my book shelf and scattered them around the floor (along with a few of my childhood momentos). They also stole my bath towel, which they then used as a bed. Apparently they really didn't care about being caught at the scene of the crime. 

James as Maru

It's Monday, and as such I thought the world could use a little pick-me-up (or at least I can...). This video cracks me up every time, and makes me thankful that we have the best dumpster kitty ever!!

James loves Maru, the funny cat who loves boxes, and decided he wanted to be just like him. With the acquisition of a playful Pop Tart box, James ran around the house diving inside the box and sliding along the floor. The others all watched on in confused fascination, but James didn't care... the only time he stopped was when the box flattened and he had to cry for a human to come open it back up again.

Fat Cat

With the weekend looming and those two wonderful days off work just about to start, I can't help thinking how awesome it would be to win the lottery so I could have more days off (and more days to volunteer with the animals...).But really, it doesn't have to be the lottery that grants me the ability to volunteer for fun instead of work to pay the bills... I'd also be happy with a secret trust fund that matures when I turn 33, or an unknown relative who leaves me a nice check... I'm not picky!!!:)

With that being said, I thought this article about a trust fund kitty was appropriate. I'm not going to lie either.... I'm extremely jealous of this cat!! One, that it has a lot of money and doesn't need to get a job to support it's catnip habit, and two, because it lives in Italy. And talk about a rags to riches story!!! 

Sigh, I better come back in my next life as a spoiled kitty cat!!!

 

Fat Cat: Italian Cat Inherits $13 Million From Childless Owner

A stray cat in Rome 

(Jen Chung/Gothamist)

One feline is probably hoping the Eurozone crisis is resolved sooner than later. The Guardian reports, "Tommaso, a four-year-old, one-time stray from Rome, is thought to have become the world's richest cat. Since the death of his 94-year-old mistress last month, he has become a property magnate — or perhaps mognate — with flats and houses worth an estimated €10m scattered from Milan in the north to Calabria in the south." Which works out to over $13.385 million!
Cats—and other animals—are unable to inherit directly in Italy, but they can be named as a beneficiary if there is a trustee. Lawyers for Maria Assunta, who did not have children, unsuccessfully tried to find organizations to help care for the cat and his holdings.

In the meantime, the old lady met a fellow cat-lover - named only as Stefania - in a park. "Sometimes I'd go to her house so my cat could play with Tommaso," Stefania said. As the old lady became increasingly frail, Stefania, a nurse, began to take care of her.
"She needed someone to help her move around, shower and eat. I looked after until the end," she said.

Assunta decided to give Stefania her precious cat; Stefania said, "I had no idea the signora had such wealth." Molte bene.

both cats playing together

Upcoming Sterilization Event

Maddie sleeps...

No one really understands Madeline, but that's part of what makes her so awesome. She's incredibly awkward and hasn't really figured out yet that she's a cat, so we end up in some pretty funny situations.  Aside from not being able to purr or meow (because of a serious respiratory infection she had as a kitten), she does make some really weird sounds with every action and movement. It's like the noises give her strength, which she often needs for things normally pretty easy for cats... like jumping.... she's one rare cat that can't jump. She also has the most random sleeping habits, and will usually pass out wherever she falls.

This time she didn't make it all the way onto her pillow, but decided half on/half off the couch was good enough for her:

 And here she takes the cat house to special levels of lazy comfort:

 

Emily didn't stand a chance here:

At least there is absolutely no doubt that she's comfortable in her home with the people!!!!

Sphinx Kitty

Most of the time the cats that are brought to the Meow Mobile are strays or ferals that will be TNR'd or adopted, but occasionally we do get the purebred beauty. I do want to go on record pleading for everyone to "Adopt don't Shop!!!" .... the price of a purebred cat could save the lives of hundreds of shelter cats (and often times you can find an abandoned purebred cat in the shelter!).

BUT, with that being said, I feel in love with this little guy when he was brought in for his neuter last week. He's a Sphinx cat, which means he's completely hairless, and he was quite the lover!! The best thing though was probably that his owner was a very large, muscle "Miami style" guy, who just couldn't stop talking about how much he loved his kitties!! Real Men Love Cats!!!

Amputations

Some of the cats that are brought in to the Meow Mobile are in pretty rough shape. Some of the time it's because people have directly caused them harm (we've seen some pretty horrible cases of animal abuse), and other times it's just a result of being a feral cat in a crowded city. This cat came to us with what is known as a "de-gloved tail". Somehow, whether being caught in something or being hit by a car, this cat had it's tail literally ripped off and was bleeding a little too much for the doctor to feel it would heal on it's own (a lot of times they recover on their own pretty well). 

A tail amputation was required, and thanks to a generous person the small charge was paid for and the cat was given the surgery it needed. Usually a two week recovery is required, but this guy will get as much time as he can stand in the trap, and then he'll be returned to his home. The stitches will dissolve on their own, and the bandage will eventually fall off, leaving him with a new, shorter tail.

I also want to say for the record that trapping feral cats using a humane trap will not hurt them, and this injury was not a result of his being trapped. If anything, being trapped just saved this little guys life!!

ING Miami

This Sunday I will be running my first half marathon, so I thought I'd add a motivational image from the cat  world. I'm glad there aren't any cats running with me though (despite that probably being a really funny sight to behold).

Drinking Fountain

Yesterday I mentioned the water fountain I bought for the cats, so I thought I would share a little more information about it, since it's such a great thing to have with animals.
I purchased the Catit Drinking Fountain from Amazon because a few of mine were always sticking their paws in their water bowl trying to move the water around. At first I couldn't figure out why they were doing this, but then I read that cats like moving water and will actually drink more if they have a drinking fountain. The beneficial part of that being that by drinking more the cats will all be healthier and develop fewer urinary infections.
Most of the cats took to it right away, although a couple of them kept sticking their paws in the center trying to figure out what was going on. All of them drink from it now though, and won't drink anything else (except water in the sink...). I have to say this is one of the best cat related purchases I've made in a long time, and I highly recommend it!!!

Here's the "official" information from the Catit site:
Like humans, pets require water as a vital element for survival. Water constitutes approximately 70% of a cat's or dog's body. Encouraging your pets to drink more water helps promote their health and well-being.

The Catit® Design Fresh & Clear Drinking Fountain with Food Bowl responds to your pet's need for a continuous supply of water. Re-circulating water with greater exposure to oxygen provides fresh-tasting, cool, filtered water for pets with a multitude of health benefits.

Encouraging cats to drink more water helps ensure proper kidney function and may descrease the incidence of crystal formation and urinary disease (FUS).

Maddie discovers tap water...

Madeline has recently developed a fascination with the tap water in the kitchen. At first she would fight it... swinging her paws at it and getting water all over the kitchen. Now she's realized she can drink it, and its become pretty funny to watch her try. She usually ends up dunking her whole head under the running water, trying to figure out how to lap it up. And occasionally she'll slip and fall in the sink, which leads to a total panic... too much water!! The weirdest thing though is that all of this developed after I bought the cats a drinking fountain of their own (which they love by the way).Regardless of the reasons for it, it's a funny sight to see and I'm glad she's got a hobby:)

Real Men Love Cats

Since most of my recent postings have been on the serious side, I thought today we should add a little humor to the mix. This is an actual Austin, TX Craigslist ad placed after the guy’s girlfriend said his cat had to go. It's unclear if the poster’s girlfriend really gave him the ultimatum, but this is an actual Craigslist post.

The poster of the ad has publicly thanked everyone for their comments and says that while no one has taken her, she is gone.

Girlfriend says cat has to go!! Free tonight!!

My girlfriend said the cat has to be gone by 12:00 tomorrow. She left a little while ago to hang with her friends. I put all her crap on the lawn and will try my best to find her a new home but if not there is always the shelter.

So what we have here is one mildly attractive yet bitchy soon to find out she is a homeless ex-girlfriend. She is somewhat house broken (but i think she is still connected to her mom by the umbilical cord).
She is in her mid-twenties and is NOT SPAYED (though she usually takes the pill) Lot of life left in this one. She is up to date on her shots and is great with dogs and small children, but does not seem to get along well with cats.
She is playful and bathroom trained (If taking over every inch of horizontal surface with her stuff in the place is house broken. Then she is the Queen of house brokenness!!!).
She has somewhat of a special diet though i never figured it out fully, but pretty much it is dictated by what ever her closest friend of that week is into (Raw, vegan, Atkins, hostess) You get the picture.
She will be coming with a whole lot of stuff!! (If it is still there when she comes home, but when I am done here I am heading right over to the free section so maybe not) There will not be a rehoming fee (As a matter of fact i got $34 cash if you can get her tonight, If you need more we can hit the ATM unless you have Paypal then we have lots of options).
The main reason I am rehoming her is because she moved in about 9 months ago, and for three months everything was great, but then she started bitching about my cat. My cat has lived with me for 11 years since he was abandoned in my yard at about 3 weeks old, and i had too bottle feed him and teach him how to do everything a cool male should know (hunt, nap, play, hide, chirp like a bird. how to use a litter box!! This was the most challenging as i did not know how to use one myself. That made for some awkward moments) In other words Misdemeanor and I have been kicking it for a long time, and if she thinks I would even consider kicking him to the curb. Well need i say more?

I may put her up for auction on eBay tonight if my lawyer gives me the okay.

The results are in...

A.D Barnes Adoptathon was a tremendous success! We trapped 43 cats at the park and of these 43, 30 found homes, forever homes! The cats were fully vetted: sterilized, vaccinated, microchipped, dewormed, flea treated and tested. We sincerely thank Miami-Dade Animal Services for supplying all the medical supplies, cages to house the cats, food and litter. Cost to adopt? FREE. We had adoption counselors talking with everyone interested in adopting to ensure that these cats would go to good homes. We were amazed how many people came out looking to grace their homes with an adult cat. Many people took two! We would also like to thank the Miami-Dade Parks and Recreation Department and Ron McGill of Zoo Miami who promoted this event. They did a superb job in getting the word out.

People were waiting in line one hour prior to opening on Saturday. Sixteen cats were adopted on Saturday and another 14 on Sunday. Let me tell you folks, many of us had our doubts - these cats were not kittens; the youngest was 6 months, the oldest was 10 years!  But even Buttercup, the 10 year old male, found a home with a lovely couple who had no other cats and wanted to let Buttercup enjoy his golden years in comfort.

There were many volunteers who made this event such a success. Thank you all! But in particular, I want to thank Catherine Anderson and her husband Francisco, who were there all the way - trapping, setting up the holding area, cleaning cages, writing cute bios, and so much more! Wanda and Joan, thank you for all your help and your loving devotion to these cats for so many years. I am humbled and grateful to all of you who generously gave of your time to make this happen. A thousand thank yous!!!

Sincerely,
Charlene Grall
President, The Cat Network

Loews Hates Pet Cats -- More Links to share your concerns

Posted by Blog Sisters at 8:39 AM

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The battle continues and Loews still has not agreed to sit down and listen to experts regarding the Loews cats. 
To continue educating the Loews management and other animal lovers about the benefits of TNR/managed cat colony to reverse homeless animal epidemic in a humane way, please share your comments on the following links.

1. The USA Today, picked up the story yesterday, January 17, 2012. You can share your comments at the end of the article via Facbook. http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2012/01/loews-portofino-bay-hotel--feral-cat-program/604982/1

2. The general Loews Hotel Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/LoewsHotels

3. Loews hotels in Orlando are deleting any comments about the cats on their hotel Facebook page. Instead they created a new FB "notes" page titled FERAL CAT ISSUE where you can offer suggestions for a solution. The ONLY solution is to keep the model program they had of TNR/managed colony. This was organized and paid for by employees. https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150472968696470

4. Universal Studios Florida.  They are the landlord that Loews claims is making them "relocate" the cats. If Disney has the same model program for 25 years that has worked with complete success, why can't Universal do the same? https://www.facebook.com/pages/Universal-Studios-Florida/152410744773196

5. Alley Cat Allies, the nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to welfare of cats and educating the public about pet and stray cats, is involved in this issue and has reached out to Loews.  They have set up a message program where you can share your concerns with Loews management about the cats and express that you will not support their business. http://capwiz.com/alleycat/issues/alert/?alertid=60246576&PROCESS=Take+Action

For a complete history of the Loews Hotel cat situation, see the post below or click here.

Thank you for taking  a few minutes to make a difference!

Loews Loathes Pets

Posted by Blog Sisters at 10:43 AM

Sunday, January 15, 2012



Oreo lives at Loews Portofino Bay hotel

 There's a storm in Orlando that started brewing on Monday and continues pelting more than heavy rain drops. It's literally raining cats and dogs but the outcome is unknown.

Loews Portofino Bay hotel and sister hotel Loews Royal Pacific, both located at Universal Studio in Orlando, Florida, are at the center of this bitter battle.

Known for its slogan "Loews Loves Pets", the once pet-friendly hotel and animal activists are at war. The Portofino and Royal Pacific had also accepted and cared for other pets. In this case feral cats. As is common throughout Florida, feral cats appear at local businesses including hotels, restaurants, any place near a food source and shelter from rain and cold. 

For years, employees followed the proven practice of TNR--Trap-Neuter-Return and reduced a large colony of cats down to manageable numbers.

Then suddenly around Christmas, a mandate was gaveled that all cats were to be removed and a pest control company, Steritech was contacted. Little did caretakers know until they saw the traps appear.

When Riverfront Cats' lead volunteer, Christine,  learned about this reversal of a model example of a managed cat colony, she sounded the alarm and reached out to fellow cat bloggers,  Dorian Wagner of the Catster, Tamar of I Have Cat and blogger/author Deborah Barnes of The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey. Their readers and followers responded en force and thousands of animal-loving Americans denounced Loews' decision and vowed to boycott the hotel chain.

The pounding of harsh criticism on Loews Facebook page prompted Loews to remove the traps and not take the feral cats to local shelter which means instant death. Feral cats are not adoptable. However, Loews now wants to relocate the cats which is highly risky and could cause more danger, pain, suffering and death. 


THE HISTORY
Back in 2004, Bellman, George Ricci, noticed some animal traps throughout the property of the Loews Royal Pacific. In one he found bones.  The traps had been set to capture feral cats.  Shocked that trappers would inhumanely trap an animal to let it starve and suffer a slow, lingering death, George continued searching the grounds and found other traps. Realizing the traps were indeed for cats, George took it upon himself to capture the cats and get them spayed and neutered and returned them to their environment, the only home they knew. This practice is called TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) and is encouraged by animal welfare organizations throughout the US including ASPCA, Alley Cat Allies, The Cat Network, animal behaviorists on Animal Planet programs... the list includes hundreds of organizations.

In 2007 David Bartek became the new General Manager.  Ostensibly Bartek did not support the program but let employees continue trapping and feeding cats at  their expense. And so they did. Wages of a bellman funded the entire effort at the Royal Pacific. 

Then in 2008 George Ricci transferred to the Loews Portofino and again came across another colony of cats multiplying at exponential rates. Learning what he was doing to help these homeless, harmless cats, other employees came forward to help.  What started out at 40 cats are currently down to 8 cats.  The effort was a great success! The engineering department also built custom made Italian-themed cat mansion feeding stations to compliment the Portofino Italian theme.  The houses sit far off the brick path for guests that lead to different pools.

In the small world of Universal Studio hotels, other hotel employees reached out to George and his team for help with their colony of feral cats that also was exploding with litters of kittens. George and his team realized it was time to make a formal presentation to formally implement a uniform program for neighboring hotels. They were very excited. And then everything backfired.

David Bartek had been promoted to Director of Operations in 2011 for all three hotels, the Portofino, Royal Pacific and Hard Rock hotel. Upon learning about the managed colonies, he mandated no more cats on the property.

Stunned by this edict, employees wanted to learn why? According to one source, "he never wanted to listen to facts, to proven practice, he didn't want to listen at all. His exact words were 'this issue is not open for discussion'".  Later Bartek claimed it was the decision of the landlord, Universal Studio. There is no confirmation of this statement on our part, however a recent Orlando Sentinel article did reference them.


What animal-loving customers and experts wish to share:

1. TNR/managed colonies are the best proven humane practice to reduce the number of strays in a given area. This practice is advocated by hundreds of animal welfare groups across the country.

2. If cats are removed, the vacuum effect takes place. Other stray cats will move in and multiply. What will Loews do with 50 cats next year? An unspayed/neutered cat pair leads to 5,000 cats in 7 years. Another horrifying statistic: half of all stray kittens suffer and die before age 8 weeks.  People don't see it, but it happens everyday. By removing the current colony, Loews is inviting more strays and more cats to mulitply and suffer.
Removing cats from an area is a futile effort—one that cannot succeed. [Alley Cat Allies]

3. The word "feral" has many misperceptions.  Feral cats do not charge after or attack people. Mostly they are afraid of humans. Feral means they are not entirely social with humans. The degree of socialization varies. Some cats can be petted. Some can be petted and picked up in your arms. Some fear the human hand and can not be petted but will allow your hand to feed it, inches away from its face. Some will not adjust to boundaries of four walls and go stir crazy without the freedom to run and climb. 

4. The cats receive rabies vaccination when they get spayed/neutered and are ear-tipped. This means the tip of their left ear (our right when facing them) is sliced off during surgery/anasthesia as universal sign a cat is sterilized.

5. Disney has had successful TNR program for 25 years.  “We view them as partners. It’s kind of a symbiotic relationship with them". If Loews permits inhouse animals to come into contact with hotel guests, then there is no harm with feral cats on property with acres of land not visible to guests.  There has never been a single reported incident with a hotel guest and outdoor cat.

6. The cats all have names and know their names. At the Loews Portofino, there is Bonnie & Clyde, Houdini, Morris, Scruffy, Oreo, Bernie and Billie. Each has their own personality and unique traits and habits. They ARE outdoor Loews pets.




Gracie at feeding station


Loews has never answered the following questions to date:

1. What will they do next year when new strays come onto the property and multiply? There is no cat sanctuary that takes in unlimited feral cats each year. There is likely to be approximately 40-50 cats in one year.

2. What is the risk to hotel guests? According to who? What? If Loews allows other animals to come into the hotels with guests, that poses greater risk, why not allow feral cats to stay?

3. It is confirmed that 2 Siberian Huskey dogs (guests of the Loews Royal Pacific hotel) killed the small dog of another guest on MONDAY, January 16, 2012. Why is Loews more concerned with stray cats that have never posed any harm to employees or guests when this tragedy happens?

4. Does this signal Loews' abandonment of slogan "Loews Loves Pets" and discontinue the ability for guests to bring their pets?


On Saturday, January 14, 2012 the following article appeared in the Orlando Sentinel.


NEXT STEPS:
Loyal customers, animal-lovers, and locals continue to fight for the cats to stay. 
To follow this continuing battle, check Riverfront Cats Facebook page.

Animal activitists are encouraged to share their concerns on the Facebook of Universal Studios Florida and continue pressuring Loews on their Facebook page as well.

We hope Loews and Universal Studio will sit down and listen to experts to understand TNR is the best solution for everyone and the cats.

Trapping cats by the pale moonlight

Trapping cats by the pale moonlight

 
It's hard to see them, but those little black spots under the street lamp are some of the many feral cats living in AD Doug Barnes Park. 

Last night I met up with a group of trappers and cat lovers to try and trap another round of park cats that will be put up for adoption this weekend. According to Florida law it is illegal to have cats living in public parks (not sure how they ever expected that to be enforced though...), so with a pending lawsuit in the works the park employees are now having to remove the cats. MDAS and the Cat Network have joined the crusade, and are offering free medical services for each cat in exchange for people opening their homes. Most of them will have to be outdoor cats, either acclimating them to a current colony or starting a new one (this is mostly for people with large properties, ideally with a barn... and yes, that is a thing in South Florida). A select few are tame enough to be house pets, thanks to their caring feeders over the years!!

While we've caught around 30-40 cats already, there are still a lot more to go so this project will last a bit longer than originally planned. The biggest problem is that the area is overrun with raccoons, and as soon as you put out a trap you've caught one of the furry bandits!! I think last night I saw and trapped more raccoons in an hour than I've ever seen in my entire life... they were everywhere! They also have no fear of people at all, and would try to climb inside cars to get to the food, would walk right up to you and grab things from you... just downright wanted to eat whatever you had and they weren't going to let a silly human stop them from achieving their goal.

Saturday and Sunday will be the adoption event, which hopefully will be met with a great response from the public. Volunteers are needed to help man the events, and next week more trappers will be needed as well. Information about the event and ways to help is below. 

 

BE A HERO FOR ABANDONED CATS THAT NEED A LOVING HOME! All of the cats at A.D. Barnes Park need to be removed from the park. Don't miss a very special adoption event at the park on 1/21 and 1/22 that will gives these cats a second chance. Could you adopt one of these cats for free and take them into your home, and love them as part of your family? MDAS is providing free FeLV and FIV testing, microchipping, deworming, and topical flea treatment for each adopted cat. Each cat has also been spayed/neutered courtesy of The Cat Network. TURN AN ABANDONED CAT INTO A LOVED PET FOR FREE. Please help spread the word!

 

Domestic Violence Against Family Pets Protection Bill Introduced in FL

January 10, 2012 -  Life with cats

Sen. Mike Fasano, who filed the Dexter’s Law animal abuser registry bill, also introduced SB 288 which will grant pets the same protection from domestic violence, if passed, as people.

Florida State Senator Mike Fasano is a friend to animals, and works to protect their interests within his home state in his capacity as senator. Two of this bills he has introduced into the 2012 session, begun this week, will provide them with greater protection under state law, if passed.

The Dexter’s Law animal abuser registry bill is well known and has received international attention, due to the widespread following the Brooksville kitten garnered after his brutal beating at a playground last June. Dexter ultimately succumbed to his injuries but his name and memory live on in the registry bill.

The Domestic Violence Against Family Pets bill also has a face. It is inspired by the story of Little Horatio, a sweet dog who stood between his petmom and her abusive adult son as the grown man came after her. The son beat Horatio (the name he goes by now) so badly that the dog, now rescued and in a good home, developed such a severe light sensitivity that he has to wear goggles when he goes outside. The son is in prison on charges relating to his abuse of his mother, the mother is safe, and Horatio is happy and safe. Horatio’s abuse occurred about five years ago.

Horatio’s former owner was too ashamed to tell anyone, including her other sons about what was going on. The abusive son used Horatio to manipulate her in order to gain her money and posessionsThe woman finally walked for miles to report him and to get help.

“We later found out that Little Horatio laid over his owner and took blows by her son and protected this woman from the blows of the son,” explained former victim advocate, Jan Occhiolini. “Abusers use them to manipulate their families to keep them in the house.  They will either threaten or hurt them or they will torture and abuse them,” said Kathy Cornwell, who also worked on the case.

Senator Fasano has said, “It sends a strong message, I think, to my colleagues and myself that there’s more to domestic violence, there’s another area here we have to address.” In reference to abusers, he added, “We don’t want them to abuse an animal in order to get after their victim and those sick individuals, when they can no longer get to the victim, to their wife or their girlfriend or their child, they will then start going after the animal, the dog, the cat.”

We know all too well that cats are a favorite target of abusive boyfriends, husbands and sons as they terrorize the women and children in their lives. Not a week goes by that we do not read of violent horrors that most readers would prefer not to know about. If this bill passes it will create a monumental change in the status and protection of cats and other domestic animals.
The bill offers protection from abuse and the threat of abuse. It reads as follows:

SB 288: Domestic Violence Against Family Pets

Domestic Violence Against Family Pets; Providing that a court may issue an injunction for protection against domestic violence granting the petitioner the exclusive care, custody, or control of any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child residing in the residence or household of the petitioner or respondent; providing that it is a first-degree misdemeanor for a person to willfully violate an injunction for protection against domestic violence by knowingly and intentionally injuring or threatening to injure any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by the petitioner, the respondent, or a minor child of the petitioner or respondent; providing criminal penalties, etc.
If passed, the bill will take effect on July 12, 2012.
Senator Fasano introduced the same bill to the 2011 session, where it did not pass. This year the bill has received a great deal of support from organizations, businesses and individuals. National organizations putting their support behind the bill include the ASPCA and HSUS. We spoke with Sen. Fasano’s aide Greg Giordano, who is well acquainted with the effort bring this important protection into law. He said that proponents are pleased with the outpouring of support for the both the Dexter’s Law animal abuser registry bill and the Domestic Voilence Against family Pets bill, but, in order for them to pass, Florida residents need to let their local representatives know that they want the two measures to become law.
The 2012 legislative session begun stis week runs for 6o days, so the fate of the two bills will be known before long.

The Pets Trust

Over 20,000 dogs and cats are euthanized at the Miami Dade Animal Services facility every year, and this number has not changed much in the past ten years (many simply for lack of space). Animals Services has always been severely and historically underfunded.

The animal rescue groups and animal advocates of Miami, in an effort to improve the lives of animals in Miami-Dade County, have joined together, for the first time ever, to create a dedicated source of funding we refer to as the “Pets Trust”. This is modeled after the Children’s Trust which collects its funding from the property tax bills of citizens of Miami-Dade County for the past ten years. The average tax bill in Miami-Dade County will increase approximately $ 13.00 a year if the Pets Trust is created. The Children’s Trust was approved by 88% of our citizens and we are petitioning our community leaders to allow our citizens to vote in similar fashion on a Pets Trust.

We ask you to please sign this petition so we can show our government leaders that we, the citizens of Dade County would like to have the opportunity to vote on a Pets Trust by placing the question on a forthcoming election. By signing this petition you are NOT signing that you approve or disapprove of the Pets Trust, but rather you are signing that you would like the community to be able to vote on this. It is our community that makes the final decision, but only if we have the ability to vote on it.

We are asking this on behalf of our animals who can only “speak” through our actions.

SIGN THE PETITION

A Modest Proposal

Miami-Dade pet lovers push to consider tax to protect unwanted animals

BY ELINOR J. BRECHER The Miami Herald

Bucking anti-tax sentiment, animal advocates are petitioning on behalf of a levy to help treat unwanted pets more humanely.

• Photos

The Petition
To see the Pets’ Trust petition, go to: http://www.change.org/petitions/our-elected-officials-give-us-the-right-to-vote-on-a-pets-trust

BY ELINOR J. BRECHER ebrecher@MiamiHerald.com

 

In Ward A at Miami-Dade’s animal shelter, Michael Rosenberg watched 15 dogs die.
They weren’t vicious. They weren’t sick. But nobody wanted them, and the shelter had run out of space. So somber technicians had to kill them by lethal injection.
By day’s end, several dozen more animals were “put down’’ in the euthanasia room. Same thing the next day, the day after, and so on: about 20,000 every year.
Rosenberg left the Medley shelter that November day both heartsick, and determined to make it stop.
His idea: a Pets’ Trust, which would create a steady, predictable and sufficient source of revenue for the county’s Animal Services Department.
Enough money to run and staff a clean new shelter in Doral, due to open in mid-2013.
Enough to attack pet overpopulation with more low-cost spay/neuter services.
Enough to reach pet owners with the seemingly common-sense messages that thousands ignore: Vaccinate and ID-tag your animals. Don’t let them run the streets. Get them “fixed.’’
The typical Miami-Dade property owner would be assessed about the same amount that voters approved twice, overwhelmingly, for the Children’s Trust: $13 a year.
Chronically underfunded, understaffed and overcrowded, Animal Services operates out of a grungy, 43-year-old building where airborne infections like distemper spread unchecked among animals awaiting adoption, forcing repeated shut-downs.
A distemper outbreak this month claimed 51 lives by Friday.
Feral cats and stray dogs end up there because they’re considered a public nuisance. Some animals have gotten lost, and picked up by Animal Services officers. Owners who can’t afford them anymore, or are moving to places that prohibit pets, drop them off.
Sometimes they’re left because their fur doesn’t match the new decor, or because they shed, or bark, or dig.
The shelter has space to humanely keep 300 cats and dogs per day, but since it must accept every animal that citizens or investigators bring, the population often rises to a crammed 400.
Some years, 37,000 enter, and two-thirds never leave.
The kill rate hasn’t changed much in three decades, no matter who’s been running Miami-Dade Animal Services: the Public Safety, Public Works or police departments, an experienced veterinarian, and now, a seasoned county administrator.
Dr. Sara Pizano is the veterinarian.
“In a community of 2.4 million people, with a 15 percent poverty rate, there are an estimated 500,000 dogs, 500,000 feral and 500,000 pet cats...but less than 10,000 low-cost spay/neuter opportunities,’’ she said. “Many thousands of pet owners want their pets sterilized,’’ but can’t afford it.
Rosenberg, a Kendall businessman, is modeling his proposal on the Children’s Trust, which underwrites services to children through property tax bills.
He believes that given a chance to vote, the citizens of Miami-Dade County also will support a Pets’ Trust. He’s circulating a petition that reads: “The people of Miami-Dade County should be able to decide a course of action to improve the quality of life in our home, by having the right to vote on a Pets Trust.’’
Seeking a spot on the ballot isn’t the same as approving the Pets’ Trust concept or levying a tax, the petition notes.
“You are signing that you would like the community to be able to vote on this...We are asking this on behalf of our animals who can only ‘speak’ through our actions.’’
Getting on the ballot is complicated and politically fraught, so it could be years before that happens. And every year, Rosenberg warns, another 20,000-plus cats and dogs will die.
By tolerating that, he said, “we’re all killers.’’
A generally fractious pet-rescue community more accustomed to snarling at each other over philosophical issues than collaborating, is solidly behind Rosenberg.
About 40 rescuers, shelter operators and animal advocates attended a meeting that Rosenberg, 59, called in December to pitch his idea. Dozens signed up to actively volunteer.
“What we all realize is that this man has come up with a really practical plan,’’ said Jeanette Jordan, president of the South Florida SPCA, which rescues horses. She attended the meeting, and is working with Rosenberg to find supporters in the Florida Legislature.
What his let-the-voters-decide bill needs is a sponsor in each chamber willing to add the question to an existing, relevant bill.
In the Senate, Mike Fasano, a dog-loving New Port Richie Republican, is considering amending SB 288, his Domestic Violence Against Family Pets — itself still seeking a House sponsor — to include Rosenberg’s proposal.
While senators can sponsor an unlimited number of bills, representatives only get six, and most are booked up. But even if that wasn’t so, it would be a hard sell.
Jordan told Rosenberg in an email: “The problem is that the Legislature is extremely pro ‘small government’ and against anything that even smells like there could be a tax involved, despite the fact that...the Pets’ Trust amendment would not allocate any taxes, just give the voters of Miami-Dade the opportunity to vote on the tax.’’
Fasano’s chief legislative assistant, Greg Giordano, agreed: “Anytime you bring a subject such as taxation into an issue, it could make some controversy.’’
Rosenberg is a proven consumers’ rights crusader who recently won a nearly five-year battle with the Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department over paying for inexplicably large water bills.
“One of the greatest things you can do is help people fix things,’’ he said. “And I have a lot of energy.’’
His effort coincides with leadership changes at both Animal Services and the Greater Miami Humane Society Adopt-A-Pet, the county’s two largest sheltering operations.
Alex Muñoz became Animal Services director in August, when Pizano resigned, under attack by activists who blamed her for the kill rate, despite a steady increase in adoptions and rescues during her five-year tenure.
Donna Tallon, who has a background in retail, replaced Emily Marquez-Dulin in September as executive director at the Humane Society: a limited-admit, adoption-guarantee, non-profit shelter that accepts only animals likely to find homes, and last year placed about 1,200.
Those that don’t get adopted can live out their lives at the Soffer and Fine adoption center in North Miami Beach.
Rosenberg, whose family has a cat, got involved with Animal Services after meeting Muñoz at a Kendall Federation of Homeowner Associations event. Muñoz told him about the kill rate. Rosenberg wondered: “How do they do it? How do they go home at night?’’
Muñoz allowed him to see for himself. Now he wonders if he’ll ever get the images out of his mind.
Rosenberg has since invited county commissioners, who control Animal Services’ $9 million budget, to join him for a day in the euthanasia room. So far, none has accepted. (Taxes now provide 11 percent of the department’s budget. Licenses, fines and fees for medical services, provide the rest).
In 1989, The Miami Herald chronicled Animal Services’ challenges, including the killing of dozens of animals a day. Rosenberg recently emailed the reporter who wrote that story:
“You went over 20 years ago...and nothing has changed. The drain for the urine is still there in the center of the room, two people still do the job, the dogs still look around and get excited that someone has come to play with them, and then, dead. It is sickening to think that in the past 20 years over 400,000 animals have been killed in that room.’’

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/14/v-fullstory/2589775/miami-dade-pet-lovers-push-tax.html#storylink=cpy