My name is Amber

I came from the hard streets of Houston, Texas. Reunion Rescue helped save my life along with Stella who was tortured and abandoned with me.

Stella and I were sent to Spindletop Refuge in 2012 when everyone thought this place was truly a sanctuary. Leah Purcell, the proprietor, was even called upon to testify in courts across the United States. She and Spindletop had everyone fooled.

Stella was killed at Spindletop and Reunion Rescue came for me. I have been here at Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge ever since.

I am a really good girl. I love to eat and go on walks. I'm a little chunky monkey. It took me a little while to detoxify and decompress after being rescued from Spindletop, but I'm fine now.

Unfortunately, most people look at me like a pit bull even though on a closer inspection with a trained eye, my bulldog and boxer characteristics blossom forth. Because of the haters and the media most people do not want to adopt a dog like me.

That's ok, though. I am very much loved and always have a place of refuge at Reunion. Sometimes at the end of the day, we sit on the back porch and watch the sun go down. It is calm and happy here. Reunion has promised that I will never go to another place that kills animals or mistreats them.

It costs Reunion about $250 a month to care for each dog, so I'm reaching out to you for help. Please consider a small donation to help buy me a raw meal and some chew toys each day. I don't ask for much, but I do love a cookie, too.

You can help out by visiting Reunion Rescue's website and clicking the donation button. Please visit me on Facebook and like my page:

Help Save Amber and Stella, abused in Houston

Your friend,

Amber

All under one rooftop....Reunion No Kill finally a reality!

Amber getting down on Kong

It's been a long, long time since I was able to wake up in the morning with a song in my heart. I am very grateful for all the Reunion Rescue dogs living great lives and the ones who haven't found their homes yet, living a good life at Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge, the only raw feeding holistic no kill pit bull shelter in the world.

It ain't perfect yet, but it's a hell of a lot better than it was. For years, we've boarded our Texas and California dogs while thinking we just were not set up to be a shelter. The Texas dogs were boarded at Spindletop which was raided last summer. We made four trips to Conroe to get some of our dogs back, but Stella was killed with 37 others in the Morgan Building. Many other dogs are still missing and presumed dead.


Just as the dust was settling over the Spindletop tragedy, we began making plans to bring our three remaining California dogs which were being boarded in Lodi. What's three more, right? Once you've set your mind to run a sanctuary, it's really not that hard.

BeBe at the lake

We are set up here on the river outside Austin, Texas to comfortably house these animals. Each of these dogs came from nasty beginnings.

Amber and Stella were butchered and noosed in a hot Houston vacant lot. Stella still had blood running down her head when she was found and we raised money to board them at Spindletop.

BeBe doing some Christmas shopping

BeBe burying her Kong

BeBe, formerly known as Batgirl, was beaten severely with a baseball bat and scheduled to die in Austin.

Merry Christmas from Nolan

Nolan was starved nearly to death outside Dallas and on his way to Spindletop when news of the raid and seizure hit. Luckily, his transporter turned the car around, but not before Leah Purcell pocketed over a thousand dollars which had been raised for his care. Heartworm positive and down to 70 pounds, this beautiful Great Dane/American Bulldog mix is thriving at Reunion on a raw diet and lots of sunshine and exercise. He's even well enough to finally be neutered for Christmas.

Peanut and Scott

Peanut was named 'Feo' and pulled illegally by Purcell from city of Alvin shelter last December. It's anyone's guess how much money she made off this dog. Since The American Pit Bull Examiner covered his story in the first place, Reunion felt a kinship with Peanut, so here he is. Peanut had a lot of fearful problems he's working on and goes to work with Scott these days. Along with his herbal remedy and raw diet, Peanut's 'job' has turned out to be the very best medicine.

Peanut and Scott..just a job

Angel overcame his abuse from Spindletop so quickly, he was able to join Murmur and Barbara in Minnesota where he's now called Hub and enjoying a Dickinson life in a small quaint town.

Our sweet brave William

William was one of the three left boarding in California. There was a lot of rumor and innuendo about William, but he is proving them all wrong. He came from the hellhole Stockton shelter after being burned, starved and drug behind a truck.

He was transported all the way to Texas with Guido and Kingston, a.k.a. King James/Spuds, and is thriving in a fab foster home. He is living the high life in a doggy day care Disneyland, eating a raw diet and happy for the first time in his whole life.

Guido Sarducci on the trail

Guido, from Wasco, and Kingston from Marin Humane, who is blind, arrived quite obese. They've been under-exercised and over-crated. Although Reunion is all about the crate as it provides a safe and confidence inspiring environment, mimicking the wild instinct, the crate is certainly not intended to be utilized 24/7. Kingston's muzzle was scarred and covered in dried bloodied marks which look as if he'd been stressed from over-crating.

Guido and Kingston were a very hard sell on the raw. Who knows what these two have been eating? We've tried just about everything from raw ground chicken blend to ground beef blend, chicken livers, yes...even kibble...but nada. I tried boiled chicken spiked with cottage cheese and even some cheddar flavored 'Easy Cheese' to no avail.

Kingston hoofing it the natural way

This morning we had a major breakthrough. Green tripe is the daily blue plate special for these two persnickety customers. First, I filled a couple of empty marrow bones with tripe and when that was snarfed down, filled a couple of big Kongs. It was a winner! Finally, getting some raw meat into these two boys. From experience, I know it's all gonna be easy pickings from here on in. Kingston's face is healing with new pink skin growth. Both these boys have relaxed and begun to settle in very nicely.

I've not had the time to sit down and write an update on these guys. Each day, I try to get each dog a nice nature hike. It's amazing to see these precious dogs doing what dogs are supposed to do. They are enjoying good healthy diets filled with ingredients their bodies were created to eat. They are exercising and learning to love the sounds of wild birds and lizards scurrying through the brush, the smells of browning leaves and sound of flowing fresh water creeks. They feel the freedom of warm sunshine on their happy faces and are slowly learning that tomorrow is another day and holds something new and fresh, an adventure. We are learning this together, that this sad old world can really be a happy place if we just put one foot in front of the other and believe.

Reunion Rescue Spindletop Refugees

On July 17, almost 300 dogs were impounded by the HSUS and Montgomery County Animal Control from Spindletop outside Willis. Many of us in rescue had thought the former 'refuge' was just that, a place of quiet rehabilitation in the lovely countryside outside Conroe, Texas.

What we discovered to be the real ugly truth was a huge hoarding operation in which dogs were stacked in crates filled with their own excrement and vomit. Photographs of filthy dishes and water bowls have been shared across Facebook and other social networks.

Reunion Rescue has been trying to raise funding to begin a real refuge, for some time. We have named it the Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge with its own Facebook page.

Most people do not realize how much rescue work entails and costs. We could probably have built our own refuge some time back had it not been for the boarding costs. Until the raid, Reunion Rescue was raising about $2500 a month to board at least 10 dogs. That is a lot of moolah to drum up each month and requires much writing, begging, can shaking at events and penny pinching.

We are down to four boarded dogs in California (Spuds, Diesel, William and Guido) one by one will be coming to our Austin, Texas sanctuary.

First, though, we must attend to the ones we redeemed from the raid. Stella is thought to be dead, one of the 38 who died in the Morgan Building at Spindletop and the terrible tragedy which activated the investigation.

The first dog we brought back in four trips to Conroe was Batgirl, now called BeBe. BeBe was not anything like the dog we initially boarded at Spindletop for rehabilitation. She had luckily been chipped and fixed before going to Spindletop, so she was relatively easy to have returned to Reunion's program. Sadly, her heartworm medications has been disposed of by Leah Purcell who reportedly does not believe in holistic cures.

Bebe

BeBe's treatment is the heartworm cure on our Nutrition Page along with a long term detox and herbal treatment for her issues which have been extremely escalated by solitary over-confinement in a filthy crate. Bottom line, this dog has been driven insane. We feel we can bring her back around, but this will take months if not years of work and supplements.

Amber was the little one who was rescued with Stella last summer in Houston. We created a Facebook page for them and raised enough to get them started in the boarding program at Spindletop. At least five homes were screened and would have been appropriate for either of these girls, but were turned away by Leah Purcell. Amber was very depressed when we got her back, but thanks to lots of fresh air, good raw diet, herbal and flower remedies, she is on the road to recovery, a squatty little doll.

Angel was the hardest one to retrieve. He didn't have the benefit of someone who'd actually handled him. The holding facility was reluctant to let him go in fear of the wrong person claiming him. We drove to Conroe and back twice to get Angel.

Angel responded quickly to a detox and herbal pick-me-up. If someone were to tick off the boxes in what they wanted in a dog, Angel would be that dog. He lives in the now and is very dog friendly. Since Leah turned down almost a dozen inquiries for his adoption, it was surprising to discover he was not only not a pit bull, but also very adoptable. This little Rhodesian Ridgeback mix is already in his new home with a longtime Reunion Rescue adopter. His new name is Hub.

Nolan

Nolan was nearly starved to death outside Dallas when we wrote him an article and tried to get him to safety. A kind hearted rescuer was able to talk his abusers into relinquishing him to her while the money was raised to get him into Spindletop. Nolan was boarded at her vet who discovered heartworm infestation and severe emaciation and dehydration.

When news of the raid hit, Nolan was being transported to Spindletop. Luckily, his transporter heard the news and turned the car around. Even though he never set paw on Spindletop soil, Leah managed to bilk $450 from one kindhearted donator.

Peanut

Nolan, a big Great Dane and American Bulldog mix, was brought to foster care in Austin, but Nolan quit eating and was taken to the vet. X-rays, bloodwork, a sonogram, biopsy and over a thousand dollars later, Nolan is here at the sanctuary and eating well. He is putting on weight, enjoying the sunshine and the herbal heartworm cure. Since his health is so challenged, neuter and conventional heartworm treatment are out of the question.

Feo, which is a dumb name for a beautiful dog, was located at the city of Alvin Animal Control. He was pulled fraudulently by Leah Purcell under the Reunion Rescue 501(c)(3) entity. He was redeemed and boarded for a few weeks until we could get set up and bring him here. After being neutered, he arrived safe and sound. His new name is Peanut.

We have applied for several grants to help us build kennels and underwrite the costs of running a holistic no kill sanctuary, but so far have been dependent upon the goodness of private donations. The immediate costs to set up and meet the current needs of these dogs has depleted the budget and we need help.

We have set up a system in which the dog friendly dogs can spend time on the porch with ball breaks in the yard.

A chip in has been set up to try and raise money to underwrite food and health care as well as dog supplies and tarps to cover the day areas.

Please take a look at our wish list:

• Kuranda style beds X-Large and Large
• Fleece crate liner beds 30" 
• 4" Kongs
• 6" bully sticks
• Rawhide chews
• Tennis balls
• Coolaroo tarps
• PetSmart gift card
• Petco gift card
• Whole Foods gift card 

Please 'like' and share the Reunion Rescue Spindletop Refugee Facebook page and consider volunteering. We need social network help as well and hands on help.

Please get involved and help a dog out!

12 dogs of Christmas at Reunion Rescue

LuLu and Nolan...friends for life!

I woke up this morning and went around to see who's been naughty or nice this year. All I saw were nice dogs. Nobody's naughty at Reunion Rescue.

LuLu and Nolan are near perfect and looking for a home together. Nolan's old home was evil to him and he was on his way to Spindletop the day of the raid. Leah Purcell took all his chip in money, but we took him at Reunion Rescue and have gotten Nolan back on his feet. He was very sick.

LuLu was abandoned at daycare, but found her soulmate with Nolan. They are bonded and will only be adopted together, even if it takes forever.

Buster Posey

Buster Posey nearly died at Solano County ACC. After he was found by a kindly Reunion adopter and

Anybody looking for a Great Dane Weimaraner with a little bit of pit bull thrown in? He's lots of fun and not incredibly smart, but is working on getting his G.E.D.
her little boy, he wound up at ACC and was about to be put to sleep.

Reunion stepped up to the plate and now Buster is here safe at Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge and looking for that forever home.

Vinny

Vinny came from Marin Humane Society. He is an extraordinary dog. Ok, so he's blind, but that doesn't slow Vinny down for a minute. He's what they call a hunka hunka burning love and thinks he is a puppy.

He figured out how to fetch and maneuver himself up and down three flights of stairs in an afternoon! He loves to play ball and will fetch till the cows come home. He's like a big ol' calf!

Vinny is sweet and charming and will make a wonderful companion for some special and very lucky soul.

Little Amber is a butterball and sweeter than honey. She's a victim of horrific abuse. We have no idea how she got that star shaped burn on top of her head, but she is not one to

Amber

dwell on her terrible past.

She was another Spindletop survivor and when we drove to Conroe to get her back from the mass raid and seizure at Spindletop, she was nearly shut down. No one knows what these poor dogs went through at that horrible place.

What we can do is give her lots of treats and love and cuddling and make her life as sweet as she is. Bless Amber and all these wonderful creatures who just want a little love. That's all. And a cookie.

Amber loves food and will eat anything..pineapples, carrots, you name it. So far, we haven't found a food type that isn't Amber's type.

Peanut

Peanut is another Spindletop survivor. I wrote a story about him when he was at Alvin, Texas animal control. Leah Purcell took advantage of his sad plight and pocketed donations raised to save his life.

When we got him, he threw up everything he ate, but I suspected it was due to his trauma. At first, instead of a raw diet, I cooked his chicken and deboned it with cottage cheese and well-cooked rice. Once he settled in, Peanut began to keep his dinner down and joined in with the rest to eat a delicious organic raw meat diet.

Who knows what Peanut suffered while he was at Spindletop, but we can try and change that. He is a perky, happy little boy who loves nothing better than to fetch that ball! He is all about fetch and

BeBe

will go like the Energizer rabbit if a ball's involved.

Everybody loves Peanut. He loves nothing better than to curl up in a little ball with the person he's with. After fetch, of course.

Next is BeBe...she used to be known as Batgirl as she was beaten over the head with a baseball bat before being dumped in Austin at ACC to die.

I wrote a few stories about her before I was threatened at the Examiner. Now I write blogs and pet BeBe. I pulled her as a citizen on my birthday three years ago in April. She went to Spindletop and survived. She was the first one out and has her own little house to live in at Reunion Rescue No Kill.

BeBe loves her orange ball, going on walks and old movies. She watches Turner Classic Movies round the clock on a big tv set.

The next installment will have more dogs...I'm going to get Shadow today!

Former worker reports brutality at Spindletop Refuge

The Spindletop Morgan Building after death of 39 dogs

Each day, a former worker at Spindletop Refuge is coming forward with reports of horrible brutality and abuse at the Willis, Texas facility still open and boarding dogs.

In the agreement with Montgomery County, Leah Purcell was allowed to continue working with animals by running her boarding facility. How can anyone be allowed to even handle an animal after nearly three hundred dogs were removed and in deplorable conditions.

A former worker whose name is being withheld to protect their anonymity and to insure safety from retaliation has stepped forward to try and help those people who placed dogs for care and boarding at Spindletop.

Just a paid hourly employee at Spindletop, this person became overwhelmed by the conditions at Spindletop and did not know where to turn. "Whenever there were medical issues with the dogs, Louise would send April back there and supposedly check them out."

"I can tell you that April was their go-to guy. She has powerful information about the history of that place. All three of them were habitual liars.  I could never do anything to hurt a dog or animal of any kind and it broke my heart for the whole time I was working there. But I can say that I did help a lot of the dog's in certain ways that would not have come about without me constantly making recommendations for them."

The employee attempted to aid the investigation after the raid in hopes of helping to reunite some of the surviving near 300 which were sequestered at Montgomery County Fairgrounds. The employee attempted to contact investigators and never received a reply. Several of the dogs on Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs Facebook page have been positively identified as dogs who perished in the Morgan Building due to horrific conditions and no cooling in the middle of a hot East Texas summer.

"I actually have some of my own concerns about how the investigation began. I was in the back of the property where about 200 out of the 300 were housed and we were about two hours into working the dogs. When all of a sudden a hand full of cops and h/s (Humane Society) came to collect all the workers.'

'While about twelve dogs were out in the outside runs with full sun exposed in mid-July. I had to argue with the the officers that these dogs could not be left in the hot sun for extended amounts of time. After putting my foot down and refusing to cooperate until the dog's were housed out of the sun did they let me put them back in their arranged crates."

Recently recovered texts from April Longhurst, the longtime right-hand attendant of Leah Purcell and Spindletop, have disclosed information about a 'farrier' who was taking truckloads of dogs and killing them.

"April held so many secret's of that place . I alway's felt that April knew deep dark secrets of Spindletop, due to the way she carried herself around the place and the way she talked to Leah's mother Louise when they argued.

Since the raid and seizure, Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs Facebook page has been searching for answers so that those who entrusted dogs at Spindletop could find closure. Many of these people attempted to communicate with Spindletop attorney Zandra Anderson, but have come away hurt and with their questions unanswered. 

This good person has offered to help those who still have unanswered questions about their dogs. Some of the dogs whose pictures have been recognized on Facebook are 'Nero, Delilah, Dewy, Lucky, Ava, George, Buster, Bridgett, Fawn, Grace, Tyson, Rayford, Holly, Dude, Glorianna, Momma, Kenny, Scarlett, Stricker...' all who are believed to have perished in the Morgan Building.

It's become doubtful that the individuals who harbored these secrets while cruelly teasing the only people who cared about these dogs will ever be punished. So much evil surrounds this entire case that it becomes difficult to list all the criminal activity. Pit bulls and other animals will continue to follow the goings on at 11797 Calvary Road and hope for the day that justice will be done for the hundreds and hundreds who suffered and died there.

Liars, lawyers, death, abuse: the dog killers of Spindletop

Abuse at Spindletop

It's been nearly a year and a half since nearly 300 dogs were confiscated from the horror hotel known as 'Spindletop Refuge.' Not one of the 'players' have been punished for their gruesome behavior, however, one person has stepped forward to try and help the many who entrusted animals to the torture den masquerading as a shelter.

Anyone who hasn't heard of Leah Purcell and the operation known as Spindletop Refuge can still read about the operation on the web under a new moniker Texas Canine-Equine Solutions. The site promotes "connecting people with their animal loved ones for 27 years," but that promise didn't come true for Reunion Rescue's Stella.

Although told that Stella had 'been adopted to a wonderful woman in Dallas,' Reunion Rescue asked repeatedly for contact information for the 'wonderful woman in Dallas.' Each day, Leah Purcell had a new reason for being unable to furnish the information. Her computer was broken, misplaced the application and a million other excuses, all of them lies. Although Reunion Rescue has an especially strict foster to adopt program, Purcell found a way to navigate as only a slick criminal and con-artist can do.

The failing Reunion Rescue had as did hundreds, if not thousands, of others was to believe the garbage printed about the place.....all lies. For years, Leah Purcell fooled a lot of us. She fooled Best Friends, Montgomery County Shelter, courts of law where Purcell was called to testify as an expert witness. For years, Leah Purcell and Spindletop were considered the end-all be-all of animal rescue and rehabilitation. My crime was in wanting to believe she cared as much about the dogs as I did. I believe others fell under the same spell of this witch as I did, hoping there was a fairy tale future for the many innocent dogs we placed in her care.

With a slick South Texas law school lawyer, Zandra Anderson, who bills herself as 'Texas Dog Lawyer' to run interference, Leah Purcell never did a day of time for her criminal activity. Anderson has led trusting parties to believe she had knowledge of their dogs.

Zandra Anderson's voluminous lists of falsified claims in an effort to have me fired from the Examiner:

http://freepdfhosting.com/95ca1a0cbe.pdf


http://freepdfhosting.com/6766727fe4.pdf 

"Since Zandra was the only positive hope we had been given, we were terribly afraid to offend her, for fear that she would retaliate by having -------- killed.  Yes, after what Leah had done with Zandra's knowledge, we had no confidence that Zandra would act with good conscience toward us or toward any of the dogs.  Our preference would have been to tread very softly until we could return again to Conroe and to the Spindletop facility at Willis to have another and closer look to search for our Scarlett.

Of course, we subsequently made two such additional trips, without success.  And finally Zandra refused to correspond with us any further."

Many others have stepped forward on the Facebook page Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs with their own recollections in trying to find out what happened to pets boarded at Spindletop. Many had been told, as Reunion Rescue had, that their dogs 'had been adopted by a wonderful family right down the road.' As more and more people began to share their stories, one got the feeling Wendy Torrance had when she first got her hands on Jack Nicholson's work-in-progress and realized she was dealing with a homicidal maniac. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," written over and over hundreds of times in his manuscript. In our case, the story 'your dog was adopted by a lovely couple down the road' was the story so many of us were fed. 

Reunion Rescue's Stella who was killed at Spindletop

Zandra Anderson has issued multiple falsified documents to the Examiner in an effort to stop me from telling people what happened at Spindletop. I published these complaints in an effort to inform the public so other innocent dogs do not suffer at whatever Spindletop is being called now, Texas Equine Canine Solutions where a recent tour of the grounds revealed dogs in crates on dirt floors to one unsuspecting potential customer. 

A former worker has contacted me about Stella. It seems Zandra was actually telling the truth about one small thing. Stella was not killed in the Morgan Building. Instead, "I know for a fact that Stella WAS NOT in the Morgan Building the day the ac quit working, because she was housed in the very back of the property in the largest building which I worked every day."

"I am sorry to be the one to have to tell you this , but Stella did pass away about a month before the raid took place .. I began to notice Stella loosing weight at a very high rate and was reporting to Louise Purcell daily that she needed to have proper medical attention . She never was looked at by a professional, and passed away about three week's after first sign's of her issues."

Visored Anderson stoutly negotiates with officials during the raid

According to Zandra Anderson's sworn and published 'statement, 'FALSE. Marabito alleges that Zandra Anderson 'stood on the grounds where our dogs like Reunion Rescue's Stella were buried." Not only is this false, Marabito has been told that this dog was not involved in any such incident, and this dog did not belong to Reunion Rescue as suggested.'

This statement among some 40 to 50 other false claims by Anderson in trying to clear her client of animal abuse and killing by having me fired from the Examiner. In her claims, Zandra Anderson accuses me of being 'dangerous,' 'vulgar,' 'obscene,' besides accusing me of making up the Spindletop story as 'you know or have reason to know is false, misleading or fraudulent.' My question is this. What could be more fraudulent or obscene than killing and hurting innocent animals one has been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect and lying about it? Even going so far as to lead caring people on by dangling notions of their abused and killed dogs before them like a deranged kook might tease a starving dog with a morsel of food.

Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs Facebook page is filled with stories about animals taken to Spindletop and entrusted to these monsters. If these had been children instead of dogs cast off by society, would Montgomery County allow Leah Purcell to continue her business on Calvary Road? Rumors have recently surfaced about Purcell moving to 'Marble Falls with her boyfriend' to start up a new facility.

Craig Malisow's excellent piece "No Sanctuary at Spindletop," frightening tales of animal abuse, burning dogs alive and beating animals with hammers by sex offenders ends with a dark promise by Purcell. "Purcell, he said, chalked it up to a simple "misunderstanding." He said Purcell told him something even stranger: I'll get my dogs back."

The former worker who has stepped forward recalls, "One day out of the blue about a month before the raid a guy showed up on the property driving a very large U-haul truck . He was a very odd individual and when I first met him I asked so will you be working the dogs with us? And he replied that he could not divulge the reason for his being there." 

"I noticed that the back of the truck he drove was lock with a padlock. I wanted to see what was in the back. Him, April, and the Purcells were up to something very secretive and only moved and did whatever it was they were doing at nighttime." 

Suspicion of a 'strange man from Louisiana' hauling off 'truckloads of dogs to be shot' have been voiced by more than one party. Was this 'U-haul' man the same character? There are so many questions left unanswered. Where are the dogs in the Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs photo album? The ones not accounted for by Montgomery County and the Humane Society? 

Why is the IRS so lenient about the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of dollars paid to James Brewer by myself and other animal rescuers who sent dogs to be boarded at Spindletop? Was that money taxed? Zandra Anderson runs her own 'charity' promising to 

Anderson in her many untruthful claims, states, "the refuge took in dogs that were owned, then the owner relinquished any ownership rights in the placement." Does this statement account for the many suspected of being loaded up on a strange man's U-haul with a padlock at night, never to be seen again? 

We'll probably never know the answer to these questions as only 'April and the Purcells' were involved in the dirty dealings. Until we have answers, the Facebook page Spindletop Missing and Dead Dogs will go on searching. Stella's photograph will remain forever on Reunion Rescue's website as a tribute and a memory. Zandra Anderson's falsified statement to the Examiner that Stella is claimed to be in Austin and 'begging for donations on a dog she contends is dead.' The great crime for any human is to hurt the animals that were placed in their care.

Zandra Anderson knows a thing or two about fundraising as she raises donations without benefit of a non profit for an outfit called 'Texas Dog Commission,' which promises to 'defeat bsl in Texas.' The emblem above Anderson's Paypal donation button reads 'the advocate for dogs & their owners.' How much of a donation would it take for us to find out where all the missing dogs went on those late night U-haul rides?

One thing is for sure. I, for one, will continue to write about and search for answers surrounding the abused and killed animals at Spindletop. Those who had a hand in hurting Stella and the other many animals at Spindletop might be going on with their lives, but I am going to be watching and waiting, even if it takes forever. That is a promise.

Houston SPCA saves puppy but kills all pit bulls

Sapphire is a small chow mix puppy who was discovered by caring Houstonians. As reported by Pet Rescue Examiner, Saphhire was found "whimpering in the bushes on Kingwood and Garden Oaks Drive near a Starbucks in Houston earlier this week. A harness was strapped so tightly around her tiny body, it had embedded itself into the tender puppy's skin; oozing with a serious infection and covered in maggots."

What 31,935 people who 'like' the Houston SPCA on Facebook don't seem to realize is a sad fact about killing at this facility. Had Sapphire been a pit bull or pit bull mix puppy, she would have been killed as are all pit bulls at Houston SPCA.

The facility is marketing this puppy as an abuse case and asking for help from the community. While efforts to save any animal is applauded, why aren't all animals being cared for by the organization thriving on 10 million dollars per year in donations?

A page questioning the practices of Houston SPCA has been created on Facebook called

This is no name pittie killed at Houston SPCA

No Name Pittie Will Die at Houston SPCA. 

We tried to save this beautiful stray Houston pit bull a couple of years ago whose grave error was to wander up to the wrong house for a drink of water. The man who furnished her with that last drink of water believed everything he saw on Houston SPCA Animal Cops, the long running television show. He believed that all animals were saved at this organization.

This pit bull along with hundreds, thousands of other pit bull dogs are routinely killed at this facility.

Please visit No Name Pittie Will Die at Houston SPCA and share your thoughts. The lawyer for animal abuser Leah Purcell and Spindletop has tried to put a stop to Pit Bulls and Other Animals and American Pit Bull Examiner articles about Houston SPCA and Spindletop abuse. We will continue to report any and all animal cruelty and abuse and the needless killing of America's native dog breed at this high dollar institution.

Sign the petition to fire Patti Mercer and investigate Houston SPCA: Until the killing stops, Houston SPCA is no better than Denver. 

Stop the pit bull killing at Houston SPCA

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! Gomer has a home...

Hub's new life

Well, Hub gets a great home. Hub used to be Angel from Spindletop. In a joint effort, Angel was saved from Garland Shelter and boarded at Spindletop Refuge which had us all fooled. I had Angel placed several times, but for one reason or another, Leah would throw up a road block on every one. When dealing with as slick a con-artist as Leah Purcell is and was, it's common to fall prey to their line of bullshit. I fell for it hook, line and sinker for one year and three months.

I'd finally taken a stand on Angel and told Leah he was going to Barbara, the wonderful woman who adopted Murmur sight unseen nearly four years ago from Kern County in Bakersfield. Barbara and Murmur had relocated to Minnesota and she'd been following Angel's story.

Hub came to Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge to decompress with the other Spindletop refugees after the seizure in which 300 pit bulls and other dogs were confiscated. The Labor Day Labor-of-love transport was arranged to bring Hub and two other Texas dogs to their new homes. 23 legs were lovingly driven with precious cargo. Each portion of the journey was updated with funny stories and pictures from each of the volunteer drivers.

Barbara, Hub and Murmur have settled into a very Norman Rockwell existence in the tiny little town in which they live. Almost daily, I get a sweet note from Barbara about living life with Hub and Murmur.

Miss Murmur

"The three of us had a beautiful late afternoon outside together yesterday. Freshly mowed lawn to the side of the bank building and the air smelled like beautiful sweet grass. There was a cool breeze and the two of them sat by my side just watching the tiny bit of activity taking place.

A momentary bit of barking at a huge white feral cat that lives in the big abandoned grain silo in town. It's so large I can see it clearly at a long city block away. Hub leaves the birds alone now. He realizes our territory is theirs too."

This past week, Barbara's sister Kathy came for a visit. "Murmur and Hub were so beautiful with her yesterday. I was thrilled for both of my babies. She said it was so obvious they feel happy, safe and loved. And they have a complete family - animal and human."

"I told her how I had been very patient and just let Hub adjust to being around his own person for the first time. I told her the bond between Murmur and Hub was immediate, but it was going to take him a while to understand and feel safe around people - that I knew it would be confusing. So I've let him go at his own pace and not pressed. She said I wasn't like the dog whisperer - but I reminded her of the horse whisperers who wait with patience for the horses to want to follow and be with them. I loved that."

Murmur and Hub

"I told her that I'm glad you had faith in me with two very special dogs - as if they're not all special;-)"

I've been rescuing dogs and other animals for a good long time. I've always believed there is a person for each dog and their union is perfect. Barbara, Hub and Murmur are all examples of this perfect concept at work.

Reunion does a lot of good work with herbal and homeopathic support, detox and diet, but even though the body heals as does the spirit, nothing completes the circle like the right home. I've been very lucky in my rescue career to have witnessed more than a couple such as Hub and Murmur find their way home.

The story of Batgirl’s rescue: a long road to recovery

Batgirl at Town Lake ACC

The story of Batgirl has gained national attention over the past two years in bringing awareness to animal abuse, hoarding and cruelty.

Batgirl was beaten with a baseball bat and sentenced to die in Austin at the former animal intake facility, Town Lake Shelter.

http://www.examiner.com/article/a-dog-named-batgirl

American Pit Bull Examiner and National Dog Examiner wrote several pieces about Batgirl, but no one stepped forward to save her.

http://www.examiner.com/article/batgirl-beaten-with-a-baseball-bat-and-waiting-to-die-austin-texas

http://www.examiner.com/article/update-batgirl-s-last-day-on-earth

On my birthday, April 26, 2011, I couldn’t stand the thought of losing this precious dog. I drove down to Town Lake and adopted her privately as Reunion Rescue is not an Austin ACC partner.

On her way to Spindletop

What followed over the next two years is a story even worse that what Batgirl had experienced and covered in the articles.

Like many others in rescue, we believed in the longtime rehabilitation work being done at Spindletop outside Conroe, Texas and arranged to bring Batgirl there for boarding and intensive rehab work with the ‘professionals.’

What followed was like something from a horror movie. On July 17, 2012, Spindletop was raided and almost 300 dogs were confiscated. Luckily, Batgirl was one of the survivors.

http://doggirlpitbull.blogspot.com/2012_08_09_archive.html

Batgirl is now called BeBe and still updated regularly on Pit Bulls and Other Animals blog and her Facebook page, For the Love of Batgirl.

We are trying to put the sparkle back in BeBe's eyes

When BeBe arrived last summer, she was a completely different dog than the one entrusted to Spindletop. She had even more scarring over her body and had literally been driven insane.

Her daily heartworm treatments had been discarded by the proprietor of Spindletop, so she is also in the throes of high heartworm infestation. Her cranium has been fractured from years of abuse and needs to be medically addressed.

BeBe learning how to heal

After months of herbal and homeopathic support, BeBe is recovering, but needs a conventional heartworm cure and other veterinary treatment.

Reunion Rescue has committed to BeBe for the rest of her life, but BeBe needs help. We are reaching out to her followers. Please consider sharing BeBe’s story and consider a small donation toward her care by visiting http:www.reunionrescue.com and click on the Paypal donate button.

All donations go 100% toward BeBe’s care and are tax deductible under Reunion Rescue’s 501©(3) charitable non profit federal entity.

Thank you for helping BeBe and please keep up with her progress on this website, Pit Bulls and Other Animals.

Reunion Rescue Singing Pit Bulls 2013 Calendar

Just as I got all the photos up and running along with a dedicated song for each Reunion pit bull, the whole thing came crashing down. I clicked the link and nada! I lost everything that had taken weeks to create.

After sweating a ton of bullets, I did what every self-respecting pit bull rescuer does. I started over. That's one thing I've learned from these wonderful dogs. Life comes at your sideways most times and the best you can do is dust off and go at it again.

Amazingly, I was able to get the calendar up and running in just a day.

This year's calendar features Reunion pit bulls who have something to sing about. Some of our dogs like BeBe were pulled from the horrors at Spindletop while other longtimers like Pip and Bruce Willis found amazing forever homes.

Guido Sarducci, King James and William are on their way to Texas to join us at the Reunion Rescue No Kill Refuge, the only holistic raw feeding sanctuary and refuge in the world.

Take a look at our little songbirds like Toot Toot, Peanut, BeBe, Amber, Nolan, Bruce Willis, Casper, Benny and the rest of the gang yodeling their little hearts out in the calendar.

All royalties from calendar and other product sales go 100% toward saving dogs at Reunion Rescue. No salaries, no mortgages, no trips, no parties..just saving and caring for the animals.

To order the Reunion Rescue 2013 Singing Pit Bull Calendar, click the following link and help us save the world, one pit bull at a time:

http://www.zazzle.com/reunion_rescue_2013_singing_pit_bulls_calendar-158688580284453985