A kitty cat paradise in the Lonestar state

Donna Dayhoff Powell is the director of Street Cat Rescue, a longtime Austin, Texas area feline organization. Donna is an expert when it comes to TNR or 'trap, neuter, release.' "Trap-neuter-return (TNR) is a type of program through which free-roaming cats are trapped, sterilized (males are castrated and females undergo ovo-hysterectomies), and returned to the outdoor locations where they were found."

When she received notice a feral cat feeder was moving and needed to find someone to continue caring for a colony, Donna knew relocation of a colony is difficult. Then, the unexpected happened. A realtor contact knew of someone interested in becoming a feral cat caregiver. 

"She said, we'd love to take on this project. She is teaching her kids about the whole process and how to have a backyard family of cats." Literally, a case of the impossible happening.

Donna contacted the person who said, "I have this chicken coop that we could keep them up in for a month...and then when it's time ..there's a chicken run which leads to a kids "play area".

"I told her I'm not a fan of relocation and will only do it IF they have the proper setup, and IF, they will be held up for at least a month and IF they have an enclosed area (NO CRATES in a barn)," Donna tells the property owner.

So.....upon property inspection, Donna relates, "I say, she understated this one! A Cats paradise!"

Donna was blown away. "Trees galore, two acres and THIS! I was in awe the whole time and I kept saying..uh this is no chicken coop! The chicken "house" is solid, with hardware cloth windows to look out and she's going to add several perching spots for them to make their "month" stay comfortable. And then she will add a cat door for the comings and goings, after a month. The chicken "coop" is next to the barn."

Anyone in rescue will tell you, events like this don't happen every day! Donna 'warns' her cat friends, "don't even bother asking me feral cat folks....if she takes any more down the road it will be from me!"

Street Cat Rescue is revving up for their annual fundraiser. If you are in the Austin, Texas area a love cats, this one's not to miss. Prizes, music, fun, food and lotsa cats and cat lovers.

Red Cross throws out tons of animal donations in Houston!

The Red Cross is finishing up in Houston and threw out 600 blankets, 500 pounds of dog food and tons of other valuable donations from all over the United States.

According to Wendy Underwood, "Have you seen the posts about the Red Cross and their abuse of volunteers and evacuees? Well, this is going to blow you away! They are throwing supplies into the trash in Houston. But don't worry, they said they can collect more from what's going on in Florida. I'm glad they are so respectful of their donors hard earned money."

Did you donate to the Red Cross when they were taking in donations during the siege from Hurricane Harvey all around Houston and down to Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange?

People from everywhere were donating to the Red Cross. According to the director at the Houston Red Cross station, Wendy Underwood was told, 'it's ok. We (the Red Cross) are going to get a lot more in Florida.'

Luckily, Wendy Underwood is an animal lover who knows a lot of good rescues in the Houston area. She is on her way back to the Red Cross for another load so hundreds if not thousands of dollars in kindly donations will not rot and spoil in the aftermath of Harvey.

Pit bulls and other animals has not yet heard of any monetary donations being returned by the Red Cross, only food, blankets and supplies for the displaced animals due to Hurricane Harvey. We are accustomed to looting during a disaster, but this is taking it up a notch.

Shady dealings with donations is not news with the Red Cross. NPR reported the Red Cross spent 25 percent of the donation money, nearly 125 million dollars, for the 2010 Haiti earthquake on internal expenses like 'management costs' and 'administrative fees.'

Wendy shot a video of some of the items she salvaged from the Red Cross:

This entire debacle begs the simple question, why didn't the Red Cross post a notice on social media to share the donations with local rescuers? When we tried to find an address for the Red Cross location in Houston to refer questions, all that came up was a huge donation page. Maybe they should include a caveat that donations in kind will be thrown out in the garbage.

UPDATE: 9/13/2017-it was brought to our attention that local rescues found out about the surplus and all donations have been picked up by rescue groups and several small shelters for people and pets.

Snopes performed a fact check and came up with the same response we did from the Red Cross:

Red Cross Instructed to Throw Away Donated Supplies in Texas?

If you have any Hurricane Harvey stories, please forward to Pit bulls and other animals.

Where did all the pitties go? Houston SPCA swoops into town and dogs disappear...

Jeri's 'little blue pittie'

Jeri Gilmore Langman and her husband are rescuers in Bullhead City, Arizona. When they heard about the situation in Beaumont, Texas, they headed for town literally to bail Beaumont and her animals out. She was surprised at the operation at Ford Center. However chaotic, things were progressing. There were about 100 or so dogs at the center when Jeri arrived Thursday the 31st. She went to work boots on the ground rescuing from flooded homes and bringing animals to the Ford Center where two volunteers were checking in and and ID'ing incoming animals.

Friday night, a couple arrived and stated they were with Houston SPCA. The woman began grabbing dogs and walking animals without checking in and out. When she became irate, the couple was asked to leave. PETA had also tried to intervene, according to Jeri, but they were expunged as well. The next day, Saturday, September 2 at 2:30 p.m., the Houston SPCA took over.

Jeri was outside Vidor, Texas involved in a rescue when the Houston SPCA came in, but when she returned, she thought 'something here is off.' Many people who were at Ford Center when Houston SPCA came in have all said the same thing. There was a weird pall over the whole building when Houston SPCA took over. It was different from the system Katelyn Reid had established. There was a comradery among the volunteers who'd dropped everything from homes across the U.S. to help out the 'Golden Triangle' in Jefferson County, Texas. That sense of everyone working together was gone and had been replaced by fear. The animals could feel it, too.

When Jeri first arrived at Ford Center, she made it her business to video and photograph all of the intake animals. A vet tech by profession, she was amazed that not one of the animals exhibited any aggression. After the Houston SPCA took over the center, a draped section labeled 'staff only' contained animals with 'aggressive' signs on their kennels.

Pit Bulls and Parolees and Villalobos Rescue vet was working with these volunteers who were shut out from helping the animals they'd spent every night and day saving in life-threatening situations. Everyone was pushed out as the Houston SPCA took over. As Jeri puts it, "it quickly became 'their way.'"

One dog stands out to Jeri as she recalls the goings on at the Ford Center. She was a little blue pittie, mangy with Demodex. She and Jeri had become closely bonded. She'd been found in a pick up truck where she'd been abandoned for three days. When Jeri returned from Vidor, she sensed something 'askew' and then thought, 'wait a minute, where's my little blue pittie?' Jeri began searching the entire facility and the little pittie was nowhere to be found.

There were two sections being used for infirmary and Jeri was told by a volunteer to check the infirmary. The little blue pittie was not in the first building, but Jeri found a group of people gathered together. Jeri was told by the vet that the little blue pittie had left for Houston SPCA. This was terrifying to Jeri. Why in the world was this dog being shipped to Houston?

Jeri has documented this whole affair with photos and videos. She asked 'Travis' and an associate, both from Houston SPCA, in this VIDEO their plans for and locations of the missing dogs.

This is important. Jeri was told by Houston SPCA representative 'Travis' that the little blue pittie had been sent to Houston. As is documented in the her video, 'Travis' states that 22 dogs so far had been transported to Houston. He added, "all medical cases went to Houston." Jeri immediately posted this information on her Facebook page specifically to alert the public. Something was not right and the public needed to know.

Jeremy Boss has shot several videos which have gone viral on social media. Here is the video documenting the same conversation with 'Travis' and the other Houston SPCA associate:

Two days later, Jeri discovered the little pittie had in fact been adopted by a finder. After specifically being told the pittie had been transported to the Houston SPCA institution in Houston where pit bulls are never adopted, this information was unsettling. What about the 22 others? Where were they?

When Jeri specifically asked 'Travis' about the Houston SPCA facility, he told her, 'the Houston SPCA can hold thousands.'

Jeri feels that no attempts are really being made to find the owners of these dogs. Why are they all being shipped to Houston SPCA in Houston with '1000's of spaces' when their owners were in the Beaumont area, the Golden Triangle? One thing she knew for sure and had seen it in action. The Houston SPCA had an agenda, an eerie agenda.

Please send any photos, videos and information you have about the goings on at the Ford Center in Beaumont.

Houston SPCA: killed pit bulls in Beaumont - fact or fiction?

Liver-colored pittie photographed at 2 p.m. 9/2
/17 and was gone by 9 p.m.

Bonnie G. Lewis from St. Louis, Missouri put together a convoy with three U-Hauls filled with supplies and put the pedal to the metal for Beaumont, Texas to help animals displaced by Hurricane Harvey. The hurricane had raged for days, submerging parts of Houston and turning Beaumont into an island. Bonnie's first thoughts were for the animals she knew would be at risk. What she found when she got there would haunt her forever...and it wasn't the water and the hurricane.

Bonnie, her boyfriend Jaimie and the convoy reached the Ford Center in Beaumont around 1 a.m. Sunday morning, Sept. 3. She was met by Tom of Safe K9 Transports whose team had been in place at the Ford Center trying to help the some 330 animals impounded until the Houston SPCA had taken over the operation. The Houston SPCA had shut down the Ford Center to volunteers at 8 p.m. Saturday night. "The whole place was locked down with only one exit," reported Bonnie. To Bonnie, this "was completely unacceptable," hurricane or not.

2 p.m. arrival at Ford Center BEFORE Houston SPCA - notes on kennels with owner contact information

When Bonnie and her team arrived, the animals were 'lying in urine and feces' with no food and 'filthy water' bowls. Bonnie is no stranger to rescue and laboring to save animals in need. She quickly put her people to work in teams of two. Two would walk and two would clean, 'in and out, in and out, in and out." As they worked through the night for over four hours straight, they began to notice missing animals.



This video was shot at Ford Center Saturday, September 2 when Erika Pearce and her husband, Nick, arrived at 6 a.m. from Indianapolis to volunteer. You can clearly see the identification and contact information taped to each kennel by other people who'd driven from all over the United States to help animals displaced by Harvey at the Ford Center. This information along with contact and animal ID has disappeared as have many of these dogs.

A 'staff only' area had been sanctioned off which Bonnie had observed upon arrival. She had supposed this section contained the more aggressive animals. As they worked, they noticed this section of animals 'dwindling.' After four and a half hours, Bonnie noted, 'the staff only section was 2/3 empty' as compared to the number when her team had first arrived. The crates were empty and turned up.

Jaimie had just finished walking two gorgeous pit bull dogs, a grey and a brown. Alarmed, he grabbed Bonnie and said, "what happened to those two dogs?" The two cages were empty and flipped. He said, "I just walked those two dogs and they're gone!"

Tom of Safe K9 Transports has made several videos of the Ford Center to update the many people watching from around the world. Some of these videos contain empty kennels...many empty kennels. With all of the volunteer help, the Cajun Navy and others rescuing and bringing animals to the Ford Center, these numbers are not adding up.

The Houston SPCA has enlisted the help of local media to try and quash the 'rumors' of killed pit bulls and other animals.

According to first response volunteer Payu Vane who was at Ford Center for days bringing in animals, "rescuers were kicked out so we wont see what they're doing....at least one kill van was there when we left."

When asked how he knew the Houston SPCA van was euthanizing animals, he stated, "I only saw one...all white high top van parked out by the hay drop off lot...they can claim it was a transport but transport vans don't have a stainless steel table on the right side with a IV set up...only caught a glimpse of it before staff asked what the hell I was doing there."

Houston SPCA held a two hour meeting which excluded what they call 'all civilians' known to us as animal lovers who'd dropped everything to help save these dogs and livestock from drowning in the 

These photos and statement are from one of the volunteers who attended the Houston SPCA meeting:

Jeffrey Michael Camiel of San Francisco has been on site since Saturday. He's attended several strategy meetings with Houston SPCA's Adam Reynolds who is heading up the Beaumont Ford Center operation. When he asked how owners could reclaim their pets, Camiel was informed the Houston SPCA uses a pet facial recognition program. This raises many questions as most of these residents do not have technological access.

Houston SPCA has been in our red dot reflex for some years now. In 2012, a dog wandered up to a Houston residence. She was a pit bull. By the time she was networked to Reunion Rescue, the resident had called Houston SPCA. Reunion Rescue immediately called, but they had already killed this dog. Why? Because she was a pit bull. The Houston SPCA kills all pit bulls. We started No name pittie will die at Houston SPCA Facebook page and a petition demanding Patti Mercer's resignation and an investigation.

Many good folks were at the Ford Center for days working to help the displaced animals from Hurricane Harvey. Kennels were filled with live animals when the Houston SPCA arrived on Saturday. Those good people were strong-armed out the door when the Houston SPCA put their team into action. This is how they operate.

The volunteers with phones who were shooting photos and videos were certainly not wanted to document these goings on. Some of those videos and photos leaked out and we are on the job to find out what happened to the paperwork and the dogs no longer there at the Ford Center late Saturday night.

We ask  the Houston SPCA just what happened to all of the animals these volunteers and first responders brought to the Ford Center. Every large animal organization has software and capability to log incoming animals. Most use the A# system utilized by Chameleon Software Products, "the leader in providing software and technology solutions for Animal Control agencies, Humane Societies, SPCAs, and other animal sheltering organizations."

The Houston SPCA is a publicly supported organization with charity status. This means, these animals do not belong to the Houston SPCA. The animals belong to the public which supports them. We want...no, we DEMAND answers. Where are the animals and their documentation people risked their lives to save in flood drenched Beaumont, Texas?

The Houston SPCA has uploaded 202 dogs to their website with ID numbers. Saturday, September 2 count was 330 when Bonnie Lewis arrived at Ford Center. Including the incoming since September 2, these numbers are off and leave doubt regarding the missing dogs from Saturday night, the subject of this blog.

If you have information, photographs, video or questions you want answered, please email Pit Bulls and Other Animals blog.

Houston SPCA kicks out rescuers from Ford Center

The Houston SPCA is trying to deflect rumors about euthanasia. Sadly and tragically, most of the rumors you hear about Houston SPCA are true.

A Facebook effort was begun in 2012 to try and let people know the Houston SPCA kills all pit bulls. The page, No name pittie will die at Houston SPCA was started when a female stray pit bull was found by a Houston resident. The kindly samaritan gave the poor dog some water and called Houston SPCA, famous for their Animal Planet program. What he didn't know from their widely broadcast program was the Houston SPCA's long policy of killing all pit bulls or any puppy or dog who even look partly pit bull.

When Houston SPCA’s deadly intentions…innocent dog will die because she is a pit bull was written in March 2012, the Houston SPCA had 180 dogs on their website for adoption and not one was a pit bull. That figure, in a time when most U.S. shelters report anywhere from 40 to 75 percent intake are pit bull breeds, raised huge suspicions that the Houston SPCA which employs an armed staff had no pit bulls for adoption. Why? The answer is a horrible one. All puppies and dogs with pitty characteristics are killed.

Over the years, many articles and petitions asking for an investigation have been circulated. Nearly 13,000 signatures have been collected, but the pit bulls are still being killed.

Over this past weekend, rumors began to circulate when animals became missing at the Ford Center in Beaumont, Texas. When rescuers and other people who'd traveled from all over the United States to help the animals displaced by Hurricane Harvey, the Houston SPCA turned them away.

Best Friends, the nation's largest and most well-respected sanctuary for homeless pets was chased away by armed guards and the Houston SPCA. Here is Best Friends' statement:

"The Houston SPCA has a history of a lack of transparency around consistent reporting regarding the outcomes for the animals entering their care.  They have questionable policies regarding pit bull type dogs and have received continued criticism from the animal welfare community around these policies. So it’s understandable that the rescue community and other pet-loving members of the public, aware of the Houston SPCA’s history, would be worried about what was taking place with the pets in Beaumont."

Best Friends' petition begs the Houston SPCA director, Patti Mercer, to reconsider. Patti Mercer kills pit bulls and other innocent animals.

We could have told Best Friends to save the ink. Hill's Science Diet is one of Houston SPCA's most loyal donors and also the owner of one of the nation's largest rendering plants. "Most pet food companies are owned by global conglomerates such as Procter & Gamble, maker of Eukanuba and Iams, Colgate-Palmolive, maker of Hill’s “Science” Diet, and Mars, which produces Cesardog foods."

See: Dog's Naturally article "Rendered Products in Pet Food.

When you see the organized response to outcry over Houston SPCA's killing animals, there is method to the madness. Houston SPCA has been killing pit bulls for years. There is a reason there were no pit bulls featured in their Animal Planet Houston Animal Cops long running program. There is a reason rescues in the Houston area go ballistic trying to help a stray dog before Houston SPCA gets to the dog first. There is a reason Best Friends Animal Society has organized an effort to raise awareness with blogs and a petition.

Houston SPCA is a privately funded 501(c)3 with over 20 million dollars in tax-free revenue:


The Houston SPCA will kill all of the pit bulls. That is a fact. They have it down to a science, just like the Science Diet pet food which renders pets into pet food.

Please be aware of the goings on behind the doors at Houston SPCA where pit bulls are all killed. These pets cannot speak for themselves. We must, as caring humans, speak for them. It is our duty.

Please sign petitions:


Demand Houston SPCA Save Hurricane Harvey Animals

Petition to fire Patti Mercer and Investigate Houston SPCA
Please visit Facebook Page: No Name Pittie will die at Houston SPCA
 

From London to Texas: a raw food love story

When Salina Mccullough heard about Austin Pets Alive, she was compelled to uproot from her native London and travel around the world to Austin. Salina wanted to be a part of the largest no kill city in the United States. Talk about a leap of faith! 
She had heard about the work APA was doing to stop mass euthanasia of companion animals in city shelters. Austin Pets Alive! has created programs to save the key demographics of pets that hadn’t been making it out of our municipal shelter alive. These key groups of animals included puppies with parvovirus, unweaned kittens, cats with ringworm, dogs and cats in need of additional behavioral support and/or additional medical attention.

By developing comprehensive, innovative programs that targeted these key groups of animals and pulling directly from euthanasia lists, Austin Pets Alive! has saved more than 25,000 dogs and cats since 2008.

That was six years ago. Salina's life was about to change and lead her down a path she'd never envisioned. Salina became a volunteer for Austin Pets Alive! immediately upon arriving in Austin. She trained under Roman Gottfried to become a certified holistic handler. She now lives with three rescued pups, Ruby-Sue, Barnie and Daisy-Mae. Ruby, a 10 pound Maltese/Terrier mix has symptoms of autism and has been Salina's greatest challenge. Barnie is apug-chihuahua who only used three of his legs when he was adopted by Salina. He was in great pain and had suffered multiple fractures.

Daisy-Mae was terrified and could not be touched when she was rescued. She bit Salina several times during the first six months, but Salina wouldn't give up. Finally, Daisy let out a huge sigh and sank into Salina's arms. She was breathing a sigh of relief as she had finally realized she was in a safe

place.

Salina started feeding raw about 18 months ago. She orders from BARF World, a company which ships fresh organic raw food all over the United States. She stumbled upon raw-feeding when unable to find a cure for Ruby's itchy skin. After much research, she decided to give raw a whirl. Previously, Salina had cooked their food, but discovered cooking kills the enzymes dogs and cats need to thrive and live healthy lives.

Ruby's skin cleared completely up after 6 months eating BARF diet. When Salina did a bit more research, she realized the flea and heart worm prevention medication was compromising their recovery and health. She completely stopped the prevention meds.

 
Salina says, "my three are the epitome of health. BARF is delivered packed in dry ice in frozen patties and that makes things easy for me, I simply get a couple out at night and they are defrosted by the morning. They do contain veggies but I like to add fresh veggies like broccoli, carrot, kale to add some texture and variety. 

The staff at BARF are wonderful, they are thoughtful and genuinely love and care about dogs. When I first signed up with them Autumn and I exchanged photos and stories of our babies."
Salina is at work building a website to help other pets in need with training and diet. Stay tuned in to Pit Bulls and Other Animals for updates and more pet stories.

Reunion Rescue's War on Fleas

Reunion Rescue has always fed our dogs and other animals a raw diet. Feeding cats and dogs a raw diet has proved to be a formidable flea-fighting foe. Our website's Health Page is chock full of information about raw feeding.

Last summer, Texas pet owners faced an awful flea problem and Reunion Rescue was hit hard. Each year, we treat our property here at Reunion Rescue No-Kill Refuge with beneficial nematodes.

What are beneficial nematodes for fleas? How do they work?

From Fleabites.net...a nematode called Steinerma carpocapsae is a parasite of fleas. It is known to effectively kill adult fleas as well as their larvae and pupa in grass and soil. Pet owners with large backyards can spray treat their gardens with a beneficial nematode solution to keep their pets safe from flea menace in the summer months. Beneficial nematodes are environmentally safe, so they do not damage crops and gardens. Studies have shown that these ‘non-toxic pest control operators’ can eliminate more than 90% of flea larvae within 24 hours of the first application.

We didn't treat our property last summer and we learned a hard lesson. With heavy rains this winter and spring, we knew this coming season was going to be even worse, so we treated the property not only once, but twice with beneficial nematodes.

For years, the upper level of our residence a.k.a. refuge was carpeted. For my birthday this year, I bit
the bullet and ripped out the carpet and installed vinyl sheet flooring. This can be treated with an I.G. regulator which kills fleas, both adult and larvae, for 7 months. The I.G. regulator is mixed with a gallon of water and can be sprayed on carpet, flooring, baseboards, furniture, kennels and bedding.

1. If your dog seems to be more plagued by fleas than others, then her blood must be particularly attractive.

2. If your dog is more reactive and itchy than others, then the additional toxins injected by the fleas must be stressing her system more than others.

3. Also, we know that itching and scratching is a bodily response trying to either stimulate the blood to clear toxins from under the skin or an attempt to break through the skin to release them to the outside.

4. Therefore, if we can reduce the toxin levels from your dogs blood and at the same time make the blood less palatable, we can probably make a difference.

5. In herbal medicine the powerful blood cleansers are also herbs which are strong and unpleasant in taste. So, if we provide a course of such herbs, we are able to reduce the toxic load in the blood and at the same time make the blood less attractive to parasites.

Cindy's homemade flea powder:

Edible diatomaceous earth added to the food daily will cause the body to repel fleas. 

For the flea powder, I mix diatomaceous earth, yarrow powder, crushed eucalyptus leaves, and neem powder..all non toxic and rather nice smelling. 

We also use Cedarcide shampoo and spray to deter fleas. Cedarcide products are safe for pets and children. We do not use the yard treatment where we've applied nematodes.

You might think this is a bit overkill, but remember, this is war, war on fleas.

Please share your flea tips and healthy pet information on our Facebook page, Home Remedies to Heal Animals. We are always looking for healthy, holistic alternatives to enrich the lives of the wonderful animals we share our lives with.