Man beat 5 Pomeranian puppies to death with hammer and is ACQUITTED!

Keith Barton, 73,  killed five Pomeranian puppies with a hammer because he did not want the SPCA officers to seize them.  The SPCA went to his house to seize his thirteen dogs.  He would rather these five be dead than held at the city shelter while he straightened things out?  I mean, the city shelter might have killed them too but at least it would have been more humane than getting their head smashed in with a hammer!

Keith Barton had applied for a licence for Pet Me Kennel, said animal protection officer David Lynch, and a follow-up inspection was being conducted after he had been told to clean up the property.  The SPCA officials and the animal control officer found that his property still did not meet kennel standards and proceeded to seize the dogs.

Barton was playing with the dogs in the yard as the 11 Pomeranians began to be seized, Lynch said. The protection officer said he noticed Barton takings dogs into a shed and thought he was looking for privacy to say goodbye to the animals.

"When he came out of the shed, he put on a coat. He sat on a chair on his back step, and he never said a word ," Lynch said. "I went into the shed to take the animals, and that's when I discovered that … they were dead."

Five of the dogs inside the shed were dead and one was seriously injured, Lynch said.

Judge Patricia Cumming must be mentally impaired because she said there was evidence that the the dog were "rendered unconscious" when they were hit and did not suffer when he was bashing their heads in with a hammer.  What about the first strike that (supposedly) caused them to lose consciousness?

She did feel that one dog, Jake, who survived, did feel pain.  She found him guilty of injuring the dog.  

Barton told the court, in November, he thought he had the right to kill his dogs and he didn't want the SPCA to take his dogs. He testified that he couldn't let the seizure happen because he "loved the dogs so desperately."

When Barton also testified he described the day he killed his dogs as "the worst day of my life, when I had to do that to my babies."

Barton said he would have killed all of the dogs if he had more time.

The Minto man said he thought he had a right to put his dogs down but a provincial veterinary pathologist said Barton's tactics were not an acceptable method of euthanasia for dogs.

The vet said it would have taken three to five minutes for the dogs to die.

Not only did he kill these puppies, he also neglected them while they were alive.  He was charged with three counts of failing to give proper care to his thirteen Pomeranians.  Why only three counts if there were thirteen Pomeranians?  The Judge only fined him the minimum of about $120 on each case.

The judge gave him a conditional discharge, with the condition that he cannot own a dog or pet for the next 12 months.  

This is an extremely violent act and at the end of this, we have five dead puppies, a $360 fine for not providing water to three of the thirteen dogs, the condition that he cannot own any animals for twelve months, and he was found guilty of injuring an animal (the one who survived).  What about the ones he KILLED?  Do they not deserve justice!?


Sources:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/11/28/nb-defence-dogs.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2008/03/07/dogs-killed.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2009/02/03/nb-dogs-barton.html?ref=rss 

A scam targeting potential pet owners.

 A new scam is targeting people looking for pets, and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is warning the public that the hoax could end up costing them hundreds of dollars.



The scam was reported to the AVMA by Dr. Walter Woolf, owner of the pet moving service Air Animal Pet Movers, after his company was listed as a participant in an Internet pet-selling sham.


Online advertisements posted from Cameroon promise pets at below-market prices, says Woolf, but after buyers wire an initial payment, they are repeatedly asked for more money for unexpected transportation costs, veterinary services and other "problems." No pets are ever delivered, Woolf says.


Potential pet owners should be warned not to purchase a pet from someone they can't meet face-to-face, cautions Dr. Gail Golab, AVMA's Animal Welfare Division director.


"Many reputable breeders, who are concerned about making sure the pet receives a suitable home, will not sell animals unless they are able to meet and interview their potential owner or owners," Golab says. "If extenuating circumstances prevent you from meeting with a breeder face-to-face, you should check references and credentials first, and never send money without speaking to the breeder."


Pet owners who have been victimized by scams like this should contact the Better Business Bureau to file a complaint.


Source:
veterinarynews.dvm360.com 

70 Dead Siamese Cats in Bags...

Authorities are trying to find out who stuffed 70 dead Siamese cats into seven large trash bags and dumped them onto a road in suburban San Antonio.

San Antonio television KABB reports the dead cats were found Thursday in the Guadalupe County town of Marion. The animals were all adults.

Guadalupe County Sheriff Arnold Zwicke says the cats appeared to have been kept in a freezer or refrigerator. They've been buried at a site in Guadalupe County.

Marion is located 23 miles east-northeast of San Antonio.

This sounds like a breeder to me.  With this economy, nobody really has money to buy a cat.  This is such a disgrace that a breeder, who supposedly cares about the animals they breed, would dump dead cats on the side of the road like trash.  I despise breeders simply due to the fact that I am out there, dealing with the pet overpopulation problem, and I see cats dumped, hit by cars, abused, etc.  We have far too many animals and breeders are only adding to the problem.  

I do believe that there are responsible (used in the loosest sense) breeders who do care about who buys their animals.  There are other breeders who don't care who buys them as long as they are gone. 

If you want a specific breed, contact breed rescues.  Breed rescues typically have one breed of cat or dog and that is all they deal with.  Also try general animal shelters because often times, they have a breed of cat or dog that you might want to adopt.  

Why buy from a breeder when you can save a life that was born to a stray-not to a deliberately impregnated animal.  Adopt-don't buy!

Over 20 dogs found dead and dying in field in Nebraska

45 year-old Denise Withee of Mapleton, Iowa will face charges for animal abuse and abandonment after being accused of breeding dogs and then dumping them on the side of the road in Nebraska. Denise Withee has plead 'not guilty' to three counts of cruel neglect of animals.

With each count, Withee faces up to 5 years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The charges stem from an August 1st incident, where 23 dogs were found dead or dying in a Grand Island cornfield.

Authorities linked the dogs to Withee through a microchip found in one of the animals.


Withee is facing additional charges in Iowa for 20 dogs that were found running at large and 27 more dogs that were found in two separate homes in Monona County, Iowa, said Sgt. Roger Krohn of the Monona County Sheriff's Department.


On July 31, 23 dogs were found dead or dying in the cornfield and 13 more were taken from Withee when she was arrested at a local motel Aug. 2. The hotel room had been paid for by Roland Bowling, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Department. Bowling is charged with being an accessory to a felony and providing false information to law enforcement. Bowling is associated with Denise Withee.

A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for January 28.

For more information on this case, please visit pet-abuse.com 

Federal Puppy Mill Bill Introduced!!

Legislation Seeks to Close Loophole in Animal Welfare Act that Allows Internet Breeders to Sell Puppies without Federal Oversight

WASHINGTON — The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund commend federal lawmakers for introducing bills that will crack down on abusive "puppy mills" in the United States — where breeding dogs are often stacked in wire cages for years to produce litter after litter. The legislation will close a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act that currently allows large, commercial breeders who sell puppies online and directly to the public to escape licensing and regulation.

The legislation — known as the "Puppy Uniform Protection Statute" (PUPS), or "Baby's Bill" in honor of rescued puppy mill survivor Baby who is the subject of Jana Kohl's new book A Rare Breed of Love — was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday as H.R. 6949 by Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Terry Everett (R-Ala.). A companion bill, S. 3519, was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

The bills also require that dogs used for breeding be removed from their cages for exercise every day. Female breeding dogs in puppy mills are typically forced to live their entire lives in small cages with no opportunity for exercise, no socialization, and little human interaction.

"Dogs are not livestock, and they shouldn't be treated like a cash crop," said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The Humane Society of the United States and president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. "We are grateful to federal lawmakers for introducing this legislation to curb the worst abuses in the puppy mill industry. It's a much-needed upgrade to our nation's laws that protect man's best friend from cruelty and harm."

Facilities that breed dogs for commercial resale through pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected under the federal Animal Welfare Act. But thanks to a gaping exception in the law, puppy mills that sell directly to the public are exempt from any federal oversight whatsoever. Unregulated Internet sellers and other direct sales facilities sell thousands of puppies a year to unsuspecting consumers. Due to improper care, their puppies are often sick, leaving outraged consumers with frail, sometimes dying puppies and high vet bills. Meanwhile, the breeding dogs at these facilities often spend their entire lives in constant confinement and deprivation.

"Sadly, finding your puppy online may well increase the chance that you'll be buying from a puppy mill," said Sen. Durbin. "Our bill simply requires that breeders obtain a license from the USDA if they raise more than 50 dogs in a 12-month period and sell directly to the public and sets forth reasonable standards of care for commercial breeders. Responsible dog breeders are not the target of this legislation, but hopefully it will put the puppy mills out of business."

"My work supporting puppy mill regulation goes back to my time in the California Assembly where I championed California's puppy mill law," Rep. Farr said. "I think it's very important that Congress take the time to address issues like animal welfare. These are the kinds of issues that really demonstrate who we are as a society."

"I'm proud to join with Congressman Farr and representatives of The Humane Society of the United States today as we continue our efforts to ensure that commercial dog breeders are appropriately regulated," added Rep. Gerlach. "Our bill, the PUPS Act, will close a loophole in current law that allows large breeding operations avoid any and all oversight. I am confident that this bill will not hinder the operation of reputable and responsible breeders. Instead, it is aimed at protecting dogs and making individuals who are motivated by profit over the fair and humane treatment of dogs accountable for their actions."

The legislation will close the loophole in the AWA that allows thousands of commercial breeders to go unregulated. It will require the following changes to the AWA:

* All dog breeders who sell more than 50 puppies per year directly to the public will be federally licensed and inspected; and
* Dogs at commercial breeding facilities must be given the opportunity to exercise for 60 minutes a day.
* The bill will not affect small breeders and hobby breeders who sell fewer than 50 dogs per year directly to the public, but is crafted to cover only the largest commercial breeding facilities.

Public concern about the inhumane conditions typical in puppy mills is at an all-time high, due to coverage on national television and several large-scale cruelty investigations and rescues from puppy mills this summer that The HSUS and local shelters spearheaded. Earlier this year, the Farm Bill passed by Congress included a new provision to ban the importation of puppies under six months old from puppy mills in China, Russia, Mexico and other foreign countries

Breeders kill shelter animals!

I somehow found my way to this site, usfreeads.com, and found nearly 6000 ads for puppies. There are 6000 ads trying to sell litters of puppies. So, just say there are 5 to a litter...thats 30,000 lives created to make money. On nextdaypets.com, there are over 20,000 ads! On terrificpets.com, they have nearly 2,000 ads, some advertising one puppy others advertising entire litters.

Doing a google search for "puppies for sale", I get 3,230,000 results.
For kittens, I get just 659,00 results.

This is very irresponsible considering the amount of animals that are euthanized each year. I do not buy the argument that people are trying to save a breed. According to the Humane Society of the United States, purebreds account for about 25 to 30 percent of a shelter's dog population. Animal shelters care for between 6–8 million dogs and cats every year in the United States, of whom approximately 3–4 million are euthanized. If we use the highest estimated numbers (30% of 8 million) possible we come up with 2.4 million purebred animals in shelters nationwide. There is no reason to "keep the breed(s) alive", it is alive and well.

I do not see how breeders can defend their actions. Even if the breeders are giving the cats and dogs a good life, they still created a life that takes a home away from a shelter animal. How can they call themselves animal lovers if they are deliberately creating a new life in an already overwhelming population of cats and dogs who are euthanized every single day?

Money.

I think breeders do it for the money. I saw a Yorkie online going for $3,000! That is outrageous!

The site that I linked to above has this on their site: A replacement puppy (male or female of your choice) will be given at no charge, once the original puppy is returned to us at buyer's expense. The puppy must not be spayed or neutered.
They don't spay or neuter their puppies they adopt out?!

It is a tragedy that this is happening. Maybe if there weren't breeders and puppy mills out there, the innocent cats and dogs that were killed today might still be here. Because of human action, those cats and dogs are in dumpsters. Shame on you-irresponsible breeders!!

Your actions are helping to kill cats and dogs all over the country!

DON'T BREED OF BUY WHILE SHELTER ANIMALS DIE!

"Buy One Get One Killed," and other new ads from PETA

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has released three new videos as part of its Animal Birth Control (ABC) campaign -- and they are, as one might expect, edgy. Maybe even a little over the edge. In this first one, titled "Sex Talk," parents urge their young daughter to procreate, telling her any unwanted offspring can always be dumped or put in a shelter.

In this next one, "Buy One Get One Killed," an innocent little girl learns that, in buying a purebred dog from a breeder, she's responsible for the death of a shelter dog.

And in the third one, released at the time of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the American Kennel Club, with all its breed standards and emphasis on purity, is compared to the Klan.

Click here to go to the videos

Breeder neglect - 30 dogs beaten and starved Fort Pierce, FL Court case March 4

Fourteen pitbulls belonging to a man accused of animal cruelty will not be euthanized, but instead will be heading to a no-kill animal shelter in Georgia.

"Whether he gets them or not, we don’t want them killed," said defense attorney Juan Torres, who represents Nahume Belvilus, the dogs' owner. Belvilus is charged with 18 counts of unlawful confinement of animals and five counts of cruelty to animals and is expected to go to trial in March or April, Torres said.

Belvilus was arrested in July 2007 after a Fort Pierce officer witnessed him beating three dogs with a broken fishing pole. Belvilus told police he was raising the dogs for sale as part of a business he was running and they were not used for fighting; Torres confirmed Belvilus had a license to run a kennel.

There has been no evidence that the animals were used for fighting. Four of the dogs seized were adopted and 11 have been euthanized by the Humane Society of St. Lucie County, where the animals have been housed.

The 14 remaining pitbulls can't be adopted because they are too aggressive and have attacked employees, according to the Humane Society. Belvilus disputed this during the court hearing, making allegations that the Humane Society wasn't properly taking care of them.

The State Attorney's Office did not take a position on the euthanasia issue. Assistant State Attorney Jason Berger said his office has all the evidence it needs related to the dogs and does not require access to them anymore for the court case.

The dogs will be sent to a shelter run by the Atlanta-based Homeless Pet Foundation, a nonprofit group that operates no-kill animal shelters. The dogs are expected to leave for Georgia by Monday afternoon.

Obtaining pets through "Free to good home" ads!

I just visited Craigslist.org, I have only been on that site once or twice before today. I was searching for animal cages and dog houses. What also came up in my search got my blood boiling. There are probably a hundred cats and dogs being offered to "good" homes in Kansas City.

I cannot believe that craigslist is allowing this!

I suspect that many of these pets are being sold from BREEDERS! I despise breeding. There is nothing you can tell me that will make me think breeding animals to sell is a good thing. There are millions of animals, kittens and puppies, and purebred included, in shelters all across the country.


There are many reasons why this is ethically wrong:

1. People sometimes get kittens and small cats to feed to large snakes.

2. People called Bunchers, get free animals and sell them to labs for testing or other terrible reasons such as bait animals for dogfighting or to actually become part of the dogfighting ring. “BUNCHERS” n 1. humans who acquire animals, either singularly or in bunches, by taking them away without right, permission or under false pretenses for purposes of profit. 2. humans whose greed exceeds their compassion

3. Animal abusers search out ads like these. Such as the case of Barry Herbeck, who according to police, admitted collecting cats via "free to good home" ads, then killing them through acts of bestiality (having sex with an animal). Here is a link for more information about this case.
Herbeck is only one person who was caught, while I am sure millions of people have done this and can continue to do it because people don't know about it or don't care.

4. They could be used for breeding. Breeders most times banish a breeding animal to a cage then kill them once they can no longer reproduce. They most often live within their own feces.

5. They could be used as a bait animal for teaching dogs how to fight. This unfortunately happened to my cat. Read about that here on my website.

6. They could train dogs to fight in a dog fighting ring.

Last fall, a man did this:
"The cats were found under a sweatshirt, their bodies arranged in the shape of a triangle. One was disemboweled, at least two had their throats slit and all three had fishing line tied around their necks, Vitacco said. The cats' legs were duct-taped and their bodies slashed, a police report said", to cats he got on Craigslist.org

Anthony Appolonia, convinced 22 cat owners that he was able to provide a safe environment for their cats after he answered their ”Free to a good home” ads. Further investigation showed that once he was in possession of the adopted cats and kittens he then tortured these defenseless creatures. He would torture these cats by beating them, breaking their bones and then leaving them to suffer for up to a day before he ended their lives by drowning them.

Barry Herbeck's new girlfriend found parts of a dead cat in Herbeck's kitchen plumbing, and hearing from his two young children that Herbeck had taped their puppy's mouth shut, then left him to die in front of them. According to police, Herbeck admitted collecting cats via "free to good home" ads, then killing them through acts of bestiality.

Is this the fate that you want for your animals?????

DON'T ADVERTISE YOUR ANIMALS! Bring them to a shelter where the potential adopter can be thoroughly checked out!.

Don't breed or buy while shelter pets die!

PETsMART Again Linked to Mistreated Animals

Action Alert:
PETsMART Again Linked to Mistreated Animals

Published 01/23/08

Recently Born Free USA united with Animal Protection Institute alerted members to the discovery of diseased birds in 23 PETsMART stores that were linked to a distributor in Florida that mass-produces birds for PETsMART.

Now PETsMART is in the news again for allegations of animal mistreatment at one of its major animal suppliers. A story that aired on the Today show revealed appalling conditions that birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters and other small mammals are force to endure while used for breeding or awaiting shipment to PETsMART stores. Video footage shows sick and injured animals tossed in garbage cans and rabbits being neutered without proper veterinary protocols. View the Today show segment here.

Born Free USA is once again calling on PETsMART to discontinue its sale of birds and other live animals. You can let PETsMART know that you won’t be shopping at its stores until live animal sales cease.

Contact:

PETsMART
19601 N. 27th Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85027
customercare@petsmart.com