IDA Blog

Project Hope

Itamar arrived at Project Hope with his siblings back in December of last year. Hairless, suffering from mange and completely terrified. Over the next couple of months Doll worked tirelessly to transform these three pups and in late February two of the three (Itamar and Larry) were transferred to Every Creature Counts in Denver. Read the rest of this entry »

Doll and former employee, Lisa Martin, who had helped extensively during Hurricane Katrina, transported 52 animals to Every Creature Counts in Denver this past Friday. What is normally a 24 hour one-way trip, took nearly 36 hours because of the long breaks walking the dogs and cleaning cages. They were also delayed saving a kitten off the interstate in Kansas.

Here are a few of the animals starting a new life in the Denver area this week.

from Doll:

Last Thursday, Lauren and I responded to a report that the Winona Pound was again overcrowded and there were pups in with big dogs, as well as a mother and newborns. The sight was tragic. In the first run there were but three dogs, but the larger two jumped the little guy. Moments later, a second fight broke out. There were five large dogs in this run, one culvert section to sleep in and one feeder. It’s just not good enough to hear the Humane Society and the city speak of how things will change soon. They may be getting a grant to build a modest shelter, but how’s that helping all the dogs that are there right now?

Doll removes two of a group of four puppies from the Winona Pound.

There’s no doubt that the lives of the dogs we take out improve immediately, but what about the ones we can’t take. Blue Eyes and Ol’ Man have been there for months. The Humane Society has asked me not to make waves with the city over our disgust with the treatment of the animals at the Pound. I perfectly understand politics, but what about the precious dogs that linger in their sub-standard facilities?

Corey poses for a quick photo at Project Hope.

We did bring Cassie and her three pups home, Nora and her six pups (there were ten dogs in their run), and Corey, the little guy who was jumped. As for the dogs we couldn’t get, Amy will help me send photos of them to her Homeward Bound team at Mississippi State. Hopefully we can get them into the program. Again, what about the other dogs? This same scene is repeated in nearly every small town shelter in Mississippi and across the country for that matter.

A Happy Update

Weeks ago I received three frantic calls for dogs chained on Carroll County Road 129. A postal carrier who’d seen the dogs said she got sick after seeing them. I investigated and found the report to be accurate. I gathered the photos I took and contacted the Sheriff’s Office and Deputy Brad Carver accompanied me on this second trip to the property.

Doll holds Rosebud just after removing him from his “kennel”.

Rosebud in his “kennel”.

The Deputy and I went to the property and he fully agreed that the dogs were in danger. I took video as we spoke with Mrs. Applon, the “owner’s” wife, and pointed out and explained to her what the problems were. She was cordial.

After leaving the Deputy and I discussed the urgency of seizing the dogs. I went to Justice Court and spoke with the Clerk, who prepared a seizure order and I left the photo evidence for Judge Avant. The seizure order would be carried out under MCCS 97-41-2, a civil statute allowing for the seizure of animals that results in the transfer of temporary or permanent custody when their “owner” is unwilling, or unable to care for them.

Marcus is skin and bones.

The Judge didn’t speak with either me or the Sheriff’s Office and when I didn’t hear back, I tried to contact him for days. The Sheriff finally made contact with him and was advised that the Judge had spoken with the dog’s guardian instructing him to feed his dogs better.

I then wrote Judge Avant detailing the condition of each animal and the environment they were being subjected to. I told him I would have Dr. Busby, of Mississippi State University and Dr. Katz, IDA’s President, write him giving their professional opinion. August 6, a week and a month since my first visit to see the dogs, Judge Avant called the Sheriff and told him to go see if the condition of the dogs had improved. The Sheriff reported that nothing had changed. Judge Avant then issued a seizure order.

Maggots cover the floor of this kennel.

On August 7th, Lauren and I, accompanied by Deputy Carver, seized the dogs. They were taken to Veterinary Associates for diagnosis of skin conditions, possible parasite infestation, and general health check-ups. We arrived after closing on Saturday, but Veterinary Associates made themselves available (and we are so grateful) and our Amy, a senior vet student at MSU, assisted with the process.

Today Deputy Carver and I will follow up with the judge for setting the bond for the Applon dogs care for the period given for an “owner” to request a hearing, post a bond, and for interim until the hearing.

On the way to the seizure Friday we spotted CeCe, a pup, fleeing through the tall grass on the side of the road. I was able to gain her trust and she accompanied us on the seizure.

An Unhappy Update

Sorry to end this report with terrible news, but in the 16+ years I’ve been doing this work I have come to know first hand that not every story will have a happy ending. Our little Raisin, pulled nearly hairless from the Clarksdale Shelter, has died. She succumbed to parvo which she was exposed to at the Shelter. We’re absolutely heart-broken over the loss, but we know we did what we could. The only good news to this story is that her siblings, Butterscotch and Winkie, are both doing well.

August marks the 16th year since In Defense of Animals’ Mid-South Office, better known as Project Hope, came to be. On August 1, 1993 Doll officially opened the Sanctuary.

Technically, Doll had already been in Mississippi for several months investigating and working to shut down several dog-nappers who had been stealing people’s dogs off the street and selling them to research labs. Jerry Vance was one of the key players in this pet-theft ring and Doll eventually put him out of business.

Below are three news clips from WABG-TV in Greenville, MS that detail the case.

In the 16 years since Doll arrived in Mississippi, she’s helped better the lives of thousands of animals. Of course, she couldn’t do it without her network of other animal caretakers, whistle-blowers, sympathetic judges, prosecutors, sheriffs and other law enforcement.

I’ve worked with Doll on several occasions and I can honestly say that I have never met a harder working, more dedicated, compassionate and kinder person. Thanks, Doll, for all your hard work over the past 16+ years.

Please take a moment to send Doll an e-mail congratulating her on her 16 years of service to the animals of Mississippi.

-Eric P.

The Clarksdale, MS Animal Shelter has been hell for animals for years. Each time I visited the excuse was they were getting new kennels which would help alleviate the intense over-crowding. The sickening irony is that this “no kill” shelter is in the hands of the Clarksdale Humane Society.

Well, I paid them another visit last week and they have more kennels – many more. It’s not as crowded, but I challenge you to find a single healthy animal in the entire facility. Scores of dogs are ravaged by mange, infected eyes, and stressed beyond words.

The entrance is wall to wall with cats, with some pups and small dogs interspersed. Local jail inmates fill the seating area and an inmate greeted us and showed us around. After the guided tour from the inmate, I finally found and spoke with two people that were probably staff, although they didn’t identify themselves as such.

The second room was crammed full. The walls were lined with fixed cages while the floor was covered with ring pens which surrounded the screened-in cattery. How the cats could endure the noise and stress was beyond me.

The floor was smeared with feces. Loose juvenile pups covered in mange roamed from cage to cage and pen to pen and greeted us.

One pen contained 5-6 completely naked five month-old pups. The dogs that weren’t naked to partially naked had patchy rough looking coats. Clearly mange was ravaging the population. All left untreated.

A smaller room in the back held crated dogs. Crate upon crate upon crate. In a bottom crate a totally naked dog managed to thump her tail while gunk oozed from her nearly closed eyes.

Outside we were greeted by at least ten dogs running free on the property. Some displayed aggression and none looked healthy. Outside kennel after kennel of large rough looking dogs. So very sad. At least half of the kennels had zero shade with temperatures in the 90s or higher every day. Imagine five dogs trying to crowd into two barrels, igloos or houses to get out of the sun. It was absolute torture to watch.

I could go on and on. I’ll just say we plan to join forces with other organizations and veterinarians who will speak out and possibly the health department and State Animal Board of Health to stop this insanity. The health department may engage as the sarcoptic mange could easily be transmitted to humans who dare to set foot on the property.

We grabbed a mom and three puppies – all suffering from advance, untreated sarcoptic mange. Their lives have already gotten better and we’ll hopefully provide a happy update to this sad story soon in a future post.

from Doll:

Hi all,

We’ve finally gotten electricity in our cattery! The cats are as thrilled as we are. There have been more than a few dark winter nights that I’ve had to wear a headlamp to give meds and clean up, but no more! We have some more improvement projects that we’ll be sharing with you shortly.

I’m happy to report that Elizabeth is healing and feeling better and Lauren is on new medication to aid with her blood pressure issues. Sanctuary friends Billy and Joe will be helping while I’m in Los Angeles at the AR2009 Conference. Joe is an absolute perfectionist who really knows what he’s doing. He helped last summer and then disappeared on us. We’re so thankful to have him back.

Amy is preparing for tough tests, but she came to aid yesterday and brought her partner with her today.

Just before Amy arrived the Greens came to visit Christopher, the American Bully pup Mr. Green found in the woods last Saturday. They were delighted to see he was doing so well. Poor little guy – he was covered in ticks, foxtails had bore themselves into and infected his toes, and he was very hungry. Lauren’s mom and stepfather are thinking about adopting him.

The Greens asked about Baxter, our fella who lost his home when he and his guardian’s grandchild had conflict in the kitchen. Mr. Green will try to help find a home for Baxter.

The Greens hadn’t been on site for long when Elaine Adair and a fellow Mississippi Spay and Neuter (MS SPAN) team member arrived. We’re trying to find a site for their high volume spay/neuter truck to service this region. Meetings with local vets are a must, as they’re concerned with losing business. Elaine is sure she can ease their concerns that the van will compete with them. Mr. Green offered that he will try to find us a site in Grenada.

While we were planning and brainstorming, two young women drove up with a dog (Maureen) who’d been chained and abandoned. Maureen was covered in ticks and most likely has heartworm. Her chest is swollen and the test we gave her today showed positive.

This afternoon we received a call from a dear woman who always calls when an animal in Duck Hill is in trouble. A chained dog (Caroline) who’d escaped a life of neglect and malnourishment, and is riddled with parasites, was on the loose. We immediately responded. We managed to find and grab Caroline and she came home with us.

Friday a couple who are members of the newly formed Winona Humane Society called to ask if we could help them with a neglected dog (Drew). They had been cited for having a dog off leash and fined, even though this wasn’t their dog. They tried to explain to the deputy that this wasn’t their dog, but a stray they’d been helping, but the deputy wasn’t having it. They just couldn’t surrender him to the pound, so Drew is adjusting to his new home at the Sanctuary and our friends are very grateful.

Amy’s partner took pictures of our dogs who are ready for adoption. Amy will try to get some on the next Homeward Bound trip and will share photos of certain dogs with potential foster and forever homes.

Thursday I went undercover to investigate several complaints. I can’t go into detail for obvious reasons, but will provide more details when I can. What I can say is that my goal for the summer and fall is to document as many puppymills and abusive shelters as possible.

It’s been a busy week in so many ways and a very good week for the animals we are privileged to help. Here are a few updates on recent animals we’ve featured on the blog.

Thumbelina is home from the vet and her little face is healing.

Don Geyton called to report that Lucille is doing well.

The Carroll County Rd 129 case has taken a serious turn. The judge has told Deputy Brad he knows the “owner” and “won’t take a man’s dogs”.

I’m going to work a couple of angles to try and change his mind. There is no turning away. More and hopefully better news later.

Doll and Connie McCool, longtime friend of Project Hope, completed a transport to Every Creature Counts (ECC) in Denver last week. They arrived last Friday with 51 cats and dogs. Everything went smoothly on the transport and below are a few of the animals who started a new life this week in the Denver area.

Annette

Blondie

Daisy

Juniper

Macaroni

Immediately upon returning from Denver, Doll was called upon to respond to a horse cruelty case involving four horses. The photos below tell the story. These animals were slowing starving to death. Doll negotiated the release of the mare, the placement of another horse with the “guardian’s” brother, and the oversight of care for the remaining two horses by Raymond Watkins, Project Hope’s farrier.

Slowly starving to death.

After leaving the horses, Doll stopped at the Tillatoba truck stop for tea and discovered a baby wren who’d fallen from a nest high above the fuel stations. There was no way to get the baby back to his nest and he was too young for his parents to care for him on the ground. Doll cared for him until night when she met a friend who is a wildlife rescuer who took the fledgling home for care.

Baby wren rescued from a busy truck stop.

Thumbelina was found badly injured. The vet who attended to her sent her to us without medicine, including painkillers. Her head wound, including her eye became infected. It was after hours, but Doll called our vet, Dr. Anne, and she instructed Doll to remove the stitches, put her on an antibiotic and get her in first thing in the morning. Doll did and Thumbelina is on the mend.

Trying to make Thumbelina comfortable.

The following 10 puppies arrived on Tuesday. The man who dropped them on us said he wouldn’t be responsible for what happened to them if we didn’t take them. We asked about the mom and his wife called back and left a message saying their mother had been shot and killed. At least these babies are safe now and will go on the next transport to Denver.

“When’s supper?”

Finally, Acacia was one of the dogs who made the trip to Every Creature Counts this past weekend. This little darling was in the hospital for weeks after being rescued from the Winona, MS Pound.

Acacia just after arriving back from the vet’s.

Doll had gone to the pound to speak with the Charlie Brown, the Animal Control Officer, about issues they were working on correcting. Charlie told her there was a small dog that didn’t look well. When I got to her I noticed Acacia’s body temperature was already low. She was in bad shape.

Acacia was diagnosed with parvo and would have died at the Pound that night if I hadn’t rushed her to Veterinary Associates in Grenada. Dogs who survive parvo usually bounce back within days, but Acacia was so ill and emaciated that she required several weeks of hospitalization.

Saying goodbye to Acacia at Every Creature Counts.

Once she was fully recovered, Acacia took to sanctuary life with gusto. Saying goodbye to the adorable little girl we’d fallen in love with wasn’t easy, but she is destined for a rich life of her very own in Denver.

from Doll

We have a transport leaving for Denver tomorrow and will be updating with photos soon.

Sunday was a day of work, work, work, work.

Monday we mainly focused on animal care and preparation for the Mississippi State University “Fix ‘em” team which came Tuesday (6/9). We called in a bunch of foster animals to be spayed/neutered by the team.

Tuesday animal care was handled between spay/neuter shifts. The team altered 15 cats and kittens and 16 dogs and puppies. One of the vet students took a shine to Dee Dee and her interest blossomed to the adoption of Dee Dee, now Cheyenne, on Sunday. Clean up from the spay/neuter event lasted until dusk.

Dee Dee, now adopted and renamed Cheyenne.

Wednesday was recovery day and routine care. It was also Elizabeth’s birthday.

Thursday I received several anxious calls regarding a kitten in a storm drain, who was rescued by the Grenada Animal Control Officers; pups found in a dumpster at the Montgomery County dump – Winona, MS. Animal Control Officer, Charlie Brown, went for the pups and I met him to bring them to Project Hope. The pound is full and pups usually succumb to parvo at the facility. I also grabbed Mazie, who had been at the pound for awhile and was now in a run with five much larger dogs. I met with the president of the Winona Humane Society, who is also the editor for the Winona Times, to discuss how we can better publicize the plight of animals at the pound.

Charlie Brown holds one of the six puppies rescued
from a dumpster at the Montgomery County dump.

Linda, friend and fellow cat rescuer, asked me to check if a dog she was interested in was still at the pound – he was, so I grabbed him and she took him home. He’s so shy he won’t come out of his hiding place. If anyone can make him feel at home it’s Linda and her wonderful sister Peggy.

Friday was absorbed by animal care and lawn maintenance.

Saturday was work, work, work and rain, rain, rain.

Sunday a young man brought a young skunk and I sent him to Nancy, a wildlife rehabilitator in Yalobusha County. Next Kristie and her mom came to adopt Dee Dee. It was a long day, but well done.

Medical Update

Several dogs were under treatment for mange. Barney has chronic ear trouble and is being treated. Kendall’s bad eye is being medicated and looks better. I gave several kittens penicillin shots for their upper respiratory. Shots and routine preventive meds were administered throughout the week.