The heartbreaking photo of a lonely dog left on the sidewalk next to trash, reportedly left by his family, was taken by a Michigan neighbor who said they never returned for the pit bull named "Boo." A neighbor told Mike Diesel, who eventually rescued the dog, that he witnessed the family move out and leave the dog. “A neighbor that witnessed the family move out a while ago said they came back once for belongings and not Boo unfortunately,” Diesel, founder of the Detroit Youth and Dog Rescue, told InsideEdition.com. Diesel initially saw the sad photo on Facebook page for dogs, which garnerned more than 20k likes. The neighbor reportedly said he’d been feeding Boo for a week and had contacted every dog rescue in the area, but no one would take the homeless dog. That’s when Diesel decided to take action. He drove to where the abandoned pup was and took time to get acquainted with him, not wanting to frighten Boo. “As far as building up the trust that started Sunday the 16th at 2:30 p.m. when I arrived and I stayed that night until 1 a.m. talking and getting acquainted with Boo and feeding him different food items,” said Diesel. The next day Diesel said he decided to show up with two sausage McMuffins and two hash browns to eat with Boo but ended up giving the dog both, he said. “It took another 4-5 hours that day before I ended up getting a leash around his neck and then we just sat on the ground and talked for 45 minutes before I had enough trust for him to allow me to pick him up and we went directly to the vet,” said Diesel. It turned up that Boo has heartworms and as of Saturday he is still at the Groesbeck Animal Hospital getting the help he needs.
"Boo has warmed up to me in an amazing way already and truly shows and proves the Love of the pit bull and Trust they have in humans,” said Diesel.
It’s not just the Key deer being ravaged by a flesh-eating worm in the Florida Keys. Pets are also starting to turn up with gruesome infections. While wildlife managers have focused largely on the endangered herd and the 107 deer killed since August, vets say they have treated at least nine suspected cases in dogs, cats, rabbits, pigs and a tortoise. Two feral cats had to be euthanized, said Marathon Veterinary Hospital’s Doug Mader. Those numbers are higher than the three reported by the Florida Department of Agriculture, which only counts cases confirmed in lab tests, largely because of the confirmation process. “That’s the tough part about this whole thing. You look at them and it walks like a duck, but you have to have confirmation that it’s a duck,” said Keys Animal Hospital veterinarian Kyle Maddox, who treated an infected dog earlier this month. The discrepancy in numbers, and expanded war on the screwworm that now covers eight islands and this week drew a new team of volunteers fanning out with medicated bread to feed deer, has only increased anxiety among pet owners. Vets, however, stress the risk to pets remains far lower than the peril posed to the wild deer. To read more on this story, click here:Screwworm Infecting Key Deer Also Found in Some Sick Pets
Multitudes of feral cats roam New York City's concrete jungle, and some now have a practical purpose: They're helping curb the city's rat population. A group of volunteers trained by the NYC Feral Cat Initiative traps wild cat colonies that have become a nuisance or been threatened by construction, then spays or neuters and vaccinates them. The goal is to return them to their home territory, but some end up in areas rife with rats. Feline rat patrols keep watch over city delis and bodegas, car dealerships and the grounds of a Greenwich Village church. Four cats roam the loading dock at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, where food deliveries and garbage have drawn rodents for years. "We used to hire exterminators, but nature has a better solution," said Rebecca Marshall, the sustainability manager at the 1.8-million-square-foot center. "And cats don't cost anything." About 6,000 volunteers have completed workshops where they've learned proper ways to trap cats. The program is run through the privately funded Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, a coalition of more than 150 animal rescue groups and shelters. It estimates as many as half a million feral and stray cats roam New York's five boroughs. The life of a street cat is a tough one. Some are former pets, abandoned by owners. Plenty die of disease and malnutrition or are hit by vehicles. Others ingest poisoned cat food — set deliberately to get rid of them, cat advocates say. Many of the animals are displaced as a result of New York's development, with new construction creating perilous conditions for those that once inhabited the city's nooks and crannies, from vacant lots, decaying factories and empty warehouses. One colony of two dozen cats living in a lot on Manhattan's West Side are about to be displaced by construction on a new $3 billion office tower. A City Council member is working with residents and developers to make sure the creatures are moved to a safe location. The Javits Center's quartet of cats — Sylvester, Alfreda, Mama Cat and Ginger — were lured to its 56 loading docks about two years ago with pet food brought by animal-loving employees. On a recent fall morning, Sylvester stationed himself next to a commercial truck, ready to pounce if needed. The cats are predators but don't necessarily kill rats. Instead, experts say the feline scent and droppings repel the rodents. "A mother rat will never give birth near a predator because the cats would eat the babies," said Jane Hoffman, president of the mayor's alliance. The cat population is controlled through spaying and neutering, provided free of charge by the Humane Society of New York and the ASPCA. In most cases, adoption is out of the question for feral cats because they are just too wild to be domesticated. Thanks to the volunteers, says Marshall, "we're protecting wildlife in the city, and the cats get a second chance at life."
It’s 5:30 in the morning. You’re asleep when you suddenly find yourself bolting out of bed, ninja style, after hearing that all too familiar lurching, retching sound. This response is commonly known to dog parents as jumping out of bed because the dog is about to barf. It is normal for dogs to get an occasional upset stomach just as we do. Causes vary from environmental to physiological related changes due to weather, seasonal or food allergies, eating something they shouldn’t have, or aging. Dogs cannot tell us that they are sick or just how sick they are, so unless your dog has a diagnosed stomach or intestinal issue, it can be difficult to really know if the issue is mild or severe. Check for Signs and Symptoms Eating grass Vomiting Diarrhea Change in appetite Profuse salivation Passing gas (more than usual) An audible gurgling stomach Dehydration from vomiting or having diarrhea To read more on this story, click here:3 Great Home Remedies to Settle Your Dog’s Upset Stomach
Washington, DC - Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League to Operate Under New Name for The First Time in More Than 145 Years: Named to be Revealed, Monday, October 24th at 11:00 AM For the first time in a major urban area, Washington, DC’s two iconic, combined animal welfare organizations operate every aspect of animal protection programs and services in one unified organization
WHAT: Historic announcement of new name for the combined Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 24th TIME: 11:00 a.m. WHO: Lisa LaFontaine, President and CEO, Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League,WHS-WARL staff and adoptable animals
WHERE: Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League 71 Oglethorpe Street, NW Washington, DC 20011 NOTES:
Washington Humane Society and the Washington Animal Rescue League, the two iconic animal welfare organizations in our Nation’s Capital will have a new name for the first time in more than 145 years.
The two organizations merged in February to form the driving force in animal welfare, caring for more than 60,000 animals each year.
With the merger of the Washington Humane Society and Washington Animal Rescue League, Washington, DC became the only major urban area in the country with all of its animal protection programs and services unified under one organization.
Over the past six months, the organization has worked through the process of determining a new name and brand, both of which will be presented at the event on Monday, Oct. 24th.
Austin, Texas - A veterinarian who used a bow and arrow to kill a feral cat has lost her license for now. Kristen Lindsey, the Austin veterinarian who bragged on social media after shooting and killing a feral cat with a bow and arrow, has had her license suspended for a year. She'll also be on a probationary period for four years. During that probation she is to have a board-approved supervising veterinarian to watch over Lindsey and submit quarterly reports to the board. In addition, Lindsey will have to take continuing education classes in animal welfare. In the Facebook post, Lindsey is seen holding a dead cat by an arrow lodged in its head. "My first bow kill. The only good feral tomcat is one with an arrow through its head," she allegedly wrote. After the post surfaced, Lindsey was fired from her job at a Brenham animal hospital, which faced heavy public backlash. "Those actions don't any way portray what we're here for at Washington Animal Hospital," the hospital's Dr. Bruce Buenger told abc13 at the time. "We put our heart and soul in this place." Lindsey's attorney issued the following statement: "Dr. Lindsey and I are disappointed that the Board ordered suspension of Dr. Lindsey's license based on an action that had nothing to do with the practice of veterinary medicine. We are also disappointed that the Board has, for all intents and purposes, chosen to take sides in the culture war between the animal rescues zealots - who have campaigned to destroy Dr. Lindsey and her family - versus rural property owners who have the right to protect their property and their own animals from feral animals who are destroying their property and threatening their own animals. Dr. Lindsey did what she did to protect her property and her own cat from an animal that was trespassing on her property, damaging her property, and endangering her domestic cat and her horse. It is also disingenuous - if not absurd - that the individual who now claims she owned the cat didn't care enough about the cat at the time to give it a collar and tag - or any evidence of ownership, or to get the animal vaccinated for rabies (in an area where rabies was pervasive), or to prevent the animal from roaming wild in an environment where it was likely to be eaten by coyotes or otherwise suffer and perish. It should be very troubling to regular people that the State of Texas is spending precious tax dollars on the prosecution of someone who killed was simply protecting her property from a free-roaming feral animal, and that this Board doesn't have the integrity that the District Attorney in Austin County had to stand up to an irrational - but loud - lynch mob of zealots. We will be appealing the Board's decision to the District Court and we are confident that common sense and justice will prevail."
A conservation officer in Canada has been put on suspension — not for violating his duty to protect wildlife, but rather for heroically saving the lives of two helpless animals his higher-ups wanted killed. Following reports of a female black bear who had broken into a home in rural British Columbia in the company of her two young cubs, Officer Bryce Casavant and local firefighters were dispatched to the scene. Unfortunately, the responders decided to put the mother bear down, though when it came to dealing with her now-orphaned offspring, the conservation officer took a more sympathetic approach. Defying orders to euthanize the 8-week-old bear cubs, Casavant instead collected the frightened youngsters and had them sent to local animal hospital, the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. That simple show of kindness has now put his job in jeopardy, reports Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Meanwhile, conservation services released a statement saying that Casavant's actions are now under investigation, but supporters say the officer should be lauded, not suspended. A petition on Care.org has garnered more than 150,000 signatures calling for Casavant to be reinstated. Given the bears' age, staff at North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre are optimistic the cubs will eventually be released back into the wild — all thanks to the sympathy shown by Casavant, who defends his actions on their behalf, telling the Vancouver Mirror: "I think it is important for the community to know that I am here to do the right thing." UPDATE: Officer Casavant was originally suspended without pay, but in light of the overwhelming public response to his case, he has since been placed back on they payroll, CVT News reports. He is currently still under suspension.
A complex rescue effort involving a Coast Guard plane is helping return a pregnant manatee to the wild. The 800-pound marine mammal was rescued in September off the coast of Massachusetts. Less than a month later, veterinarians gave the go-ahead to make the journey from a base in Groton, Connecticut back to Florida, where the manatee is beginning the next phase of her recovery, reports CBS News correspondent David Begnaud. The manatee – named Washburn for the island where she was rescued – returned to the Sunshine State after a 1,300-mile flight aboard a Coast Guard transport plane. Escorted by police, a slow procession moved through the streets of Orlando to her temporary new home at SeaWorld. There, a crane hoisted Washburn into a private rehab tank. You could almost see the relief as she hit the water. The once anonymous manatee became a summer celebrity. She was spotted bobbing in the choppy waters off Cape Cod in late August. Conservationists with the International Fund for Animal Welfare sprang into action, capturing Washburn three weeks later, and taking her to the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. When Washburn arrived there, it became clear that this rescue operation was even more important than first thought. Veterinarians discovered this manatee was a mom-to-be. “It’s not only one manatee but it’s two so the stakes are pretty high,” said Dr. Jen Flower, a veterinarian at Mystic Aquarium. Manatees, also known as “sea cows,” can weigh over 3,000 pounds, eating a diet comprised mainly of sea grass. The animals, native to Florida, spent nearly 50 years on the endangered species list, but the population is recovering. Sea World veterinarian Lara Croft accompanied Washburn on the flight south. She said just saving one has proven to be worth the extraordinary effort. “We did have one orphan calf that was hand-reared, returned to the wild and she gave birth to nine calves,” Croft said. “And who knows how many calves that those calves had. One manatee can have a huge effect on the population.” Now that Washburn is back home in Florida, the staff at SeaWorld is working hard to prepare her return to the wild, where she’s expected to give birth in about four to six months. SeaWorld has released 17 manatees back into the wild thus far.
