Dear Friends,
last month I asked whether, we as a community could save 100 animals this summer.

What has happened since…

I’ve met Mary Ann, a wonderful lady from NC.She saved several cats from a property, who’s owner threatened repeatedly

Using cats for target practice for procreating? An oxymoronic situation considering who's doing the shootin'

to just use the cats  for target practice.
Mary Ann and her patient husband set up traps, and over the course of a week were able to catch all of them.

trapped kitty - ready to be spayed

All have been altered, vaccinated and an older kitty is being treated for a couple of fighting wounds.
Stay tuned for Mary Ann’s story…..

a new lease on life instead of a never ending cycle of kittens

Then there is Daniela, who literally took us up on our challenge the very next day. She lives in Atlanta, went to a high kill shelter in Rome, GA and saved a beautiful English shepherd mix from death row.

Daniela named him Borgo, after a district in Rome.

Borgo on Death Row at the Rome, GA animal pound

Within days Borgo came down with the kennel cough. Daniela spent hours taking him to the vet, treating him, comforting him.

After several baths, a trip to the groomer, lots of love, vaccinations and finally getting neutered – Borgo is ready to move to his new home, which is already waiting for him in Indiana.
Unfortunately, Daniela is a poor student, with a minimum wage job on the side and has exhausted her resources.

She needs help with transport and/or shipping Borgo to Indiana. Please contact Daniela if you can help. dragomirovad@yahoo.com

What about the challenge?

We are a community of over 2000 members in the US. I think we can do better. Daniela, a student, with a minimum wage job, living in a small apartment has proven that there’s always a way to save a life.

Borgo and his personal angel, Daniela

Every life is worth saving. No matter how old or broken an animal is. We owe it to them to make things right.
If we don’t intervene, who will?
What can WE – as a community, as individuals do this coming month?

Step ONE: sign up as a volunteer with us.
if you can’t volunteer please consider supporting us via the Simba Fund.
100 cents of each dollar go to the care of our animals, and funding of special rescue operations. Let’s Adopt! does not have any overhead, because we are ALL volunteers.
This sets us apart from any other big organization.

• Send me your stories and pictures of the animals you saved.
• Sign up to volunteer for us. We are looking for volunteers in ALL 50 States and also in Canada RIGHT NOW.

Shoot me an email with your information:

• Name
• Location
• Volunteer Interest

Let’s make this summer one to remember…

Let's Adopt! Summer Of Luuuuv 2010

The summer we saved 100 animals - TOGETHER!

BE The Change
~Misha

I stopped by a pet supply store the other day to fit “Ouzo” for a harness.

As we were browsing the store, tackling all the junk food barrels, which are strategically placed on snout level….all over sudden, in an otherwise fairly quiet store, a  big ruckus errupted…

..“ohhhhh” and “aaaah” *pupppppy!!!!…

Not just a puppy – it was a purebred chocolate Labrador Retriever pup, fresh from the breeder.

I just stood there for a moment, in disbelief – numb – thinking of all the cute puppies that were being murdered today in death camps around the country.
And here was this guy standing in front of me…beaming like a young father holding his first born.

We made eye contact – he smiled – waiting for me to chime into the “ohhhh & aaaahhhh” choir.

Instead I asked him: “Did you get him from a breeder?”

He blushed, looked at me like a young boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar…. “yeeeaah”

I just rolled my eyes, turned around and walked away with my GORGEOUS, PERFECT THREE-LEGGED UNIQUE Chilean Lava Hound.…..

It would have been pointless trying to educate him about the importance of spaying and neutering, why we should adopt and not buy from breeders..

he KNEW…and did it anyway.

That evening, I went online to check out Petfinder, and there are over 1000 chocolate labs waiting for a home RIGHT NOW…..

Granted, not all of them are purebred labs, but the point is that there are rescues for every single breed out there, and that each and everyone of us has a responsibility to stop this insanity of breeding pets for profit. It begins with the hamster for your kids, the cute little baby bunnies you give your children on Easter and to the shelter by Whitsun.

BE The Change…

~Misha & Ouzo

from our Canadian blog

The Words Of A Child…. Day Three Of Our Campaign

..

On September 26, 2008 a four year old girl, Brianna Clark wrote a letter to Mayor Kelly, the Mayor of Halifax.

It was a candid and compassionate plea like only a kid could produce, asking Mr. Kelly to spare the life of a dog, Brindi, and to return that dog to her desperately worried owner, Francesca Rogier.

a plea from a Briana to mayor Kelly

Mr. Kelly received the letter by fax. His secretary must have placed it quite visibly on his desk. We don’t know what went through Mr. Kelly’s mind, but the letter was promptly trashed and ignored.

Being an adult is not only about making money, buying a house having nice clothes and sending your children to expensive house. Being a role model is about doing what is best to the community. Is about being the kind of person your children will forever be proud of.

Being an adult means carrying great responsibility in your shoulders.

It is the responsibility of leaving a legacy behind you as well as leaving a better world for those who will follow you.

When we look at the world we see how unjust and indiscriminately cruel it can be, as good people, our one and only aim is to change everything for better.

Mr Kelly and all those involved in this case, the SPCA, the “experts” and the general public should think about the kind of example we are all setting for the Halifax community, for the young people, the children in this town and the youth in other cities around Canada. Mr. Kelly should think about the impact of his stance on people like little Brianna Clark or his own two sons, Craig and Blake.

We want our children to live in an innocent world.
We want our children to believe in us.
We want our children to believe in justice and truth and goodness

We would like Mr. Kelly to think about this about this before closing his eyes at night, to think about this when he first opens his eyes in the morning.

We fight for a dog. We fight for our children and a better world for them.

Please CALL Mayor Peter J. Kelly, Mayor of Halifax on

ph: +902-490-4010 or if you are abroad please email kellyp@halifax.ca and express your deepest inner feelings regarding this case.We have 12 days…For the Animals…
For Brindi…

Viktor Larkhill

————————————————————

Please don’t forget to express your concerns on our blogs as well. Best is to comment on the Canadian blog, but we welcome your thoughts here as well.

Please don’t delay – we need your help to free this poor dog from death row.

BE The Change

~Misha

Each year between eight and twelve million dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens end up at animal shelters around the country.

Some are lost, some are abandoned, some are unwanted, most are the result of irresponsible people.

Approximately four to six million animals are killed each year in the US alone.

Sadly, between four and six million of them must be euthanized, because there aren’t enough adoptive homes out there for them.

Ready for some more mind boggling number?…
In six years, one female dog and her offspring can the the source of 67,000 puppies.
In just seven years, one female cat and her young can produce 420,000 kittens.
In addition, there is no limit to the number of offspring male dogs and tom cats can produce.
Every single day in the United States, tens of thousands of cute little puppies and kittens are born.
Compare this to ‘just’ 11,000 little humans each day, and it’s easy to see that we’re in big trouble here.

Most of these animals end up in municipal shelters. That’s the administrative term for your regular dog pound. The one that is by law required to take in every single animal surrendered or found, no matter how full their cages and kennels…they’ll just have to make room.
How? Read Julia’s article on the gas chambers of America.

“Spay/Neuter is the cornerstone of a successful lifesaving effort,
Low-cost, high-volume spay/neuter will quickly lead to fewer animals entering the shelter system, allowing more resources to be allocated towards saving lives.”

- Nathan Winograd,Founder of the No Kill Advocacy Center
and author of "Redemption", The myth of pet-overpopulation
and the no-kill revolution in America.

A must read for anyone involved in animal welfare, no matter what country you reside in….

Here’s a task for YOU – yes YOU..

I’m asking you to contact your local animal services and shelters to gather information about low-cost/free spay/neuter locations in your area.
Be courteous, and ask how much of their annual budget is going towards programs such as

• Spay/Neuter  for low-income and senior citizens,
• TNR (Trap Neuter & Release)
• Community Education

Post your findings here or on our Facebook Page

The results will likely surprise you.
Most large shelters will not spend a dime on public outreach, other than press releases, media events and fundraisers.
Our municipal shelters have not a dime in their budget allocated towards such services.

Which leaves small 100 % volunteer-run rescue groups to do the deed.
WHAT CAN WE DO AS A COMMUNITY of animal lovers?
What are YOU willing to do?
Organize a spay/neuter event?
Lobby local veterinarians to honor discount vouchers or set aside one weekend a year to offer a Spay/Neuter Marathon?

freshly altered kittens in the recovery line up of a mobile spay/neuter event

Imagine the great publicity these businesses would receive!

We will soon start posting lists of rescue friendly businesses and veterinarians.
The ones who have proven to go the extra mile to save a life.
Please e-mail me your suggestions for consideration.

But I am not letting YOU off the hook just yet

Every single day, we are bombarded with desperate calls for HELP!
There’s a puppy in NC to be PTS (put to sleep) in 24 hours…PLEASE RESCUE- HELP!!!
A senior doberman pincher on death row in NY, nothing wrong with him, his owner died – he’s so sad at the shelter and his time’s almost up….PLEASE RESCUE – HELP!!!!

Soon there will be drones and drones of kittens- they all seem to magically appear on someone’s porch, in the garage, under the house.
Is there such thing as the kitten fairy??
I doubt it, because most of these cute little critters will end up in shelters and killed immediately,starve or freeze to death, die of diseases, eaten alive by fleas….yes fleas!
Other dogs and cats will be killed each Friday afternoon to make room for the weekend rush of kittens and puppies.

What are YOU willing to do this year?
Re-posting bulletins has saved some lives,

BUT – WE NEED TO DO MORE!

We want the killings to stop!
We want the dumping of animals to stop!
We want the breeding to stop!

We want the YOU to stop for a moment, and think about what you can do right now!

What can YOU do today to save animals in your community?

Start by asking questions, and be more observant.
Visit your local municipal shelter and just observe.

• How are the animals handled?
• Is staff helpful and attentive?
• Where is the shelter located in approximation to the city’s center?
• Does your city have a Citizen Humane Commission?

If yes, attend meetings!!!
If not, consider setting wheels into motion to create one.

• Is your city funding any spay/neuter events?

If not – start asking questions!
If yes – volunteer!

The killings must stop!!

There is no humanity in killing perfect animals.They either shouldn’t have been born in the first place, or they should be in loving homes.
The only reason to take an animal’s life is out of compassion to free it from physical suffering.
Killing animals to make room to kill more doesn’t make sense!

So, I’m asking you again- what are YOU willing to do TODAY to change our hideous system?

Need some inspiration?

Here’s a great video about TNR, courtesy of the Feral Cat Coalition Of Oregon

These events are actually a lot of fun to attend, and a great place to network with other rescuers. Please don’t forget to support your local feral cat networks as they all do tremendously important work. They deserve their own article, so stay tuned for more on these courageous & compassionate “kitten wranglers”.

Links:
HSUS Spay Day – find a location near you!
USA Neuter and Spay Resource Database

Join us on Facebook: Let’s Adopt! (USA)

And Don’t Forget….