RE: USA: 1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

[Guest guest]

This is an eye opener for many. It's hard to be prepared for something that has

never been dealt with previously, it's unfortunate that more animals could not

be saved but hopefully a lesson has been learned.

 

OAARS has a small shelter, our max number of dogs, puppies and cats at the

shelter is 40. We have been very fortunate to have only one puppy die of parvo,

and one already infected with caccidia upon arrival from the local pound.

Immediate measures were taken to contain the disease.

 

OAARS still needs you help. We are asking all members to write letters to

those in the Department of Defense asking regs. be enforced regarding pet

abandonment on Okinawa. We had a spouse that spoke up during a town hall

meeting (about a different issue) be called, with the active duty husband, in

for " counseling " . So, while a reader on this forum may have other experiences

in this regard, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

Thanks to everyone for all you do for the animals.

 

Liz

 

 

Weintraub <weintraub wrote:

Depressing implications for animal shelters worldwide. And how important

disease management and adoption is, along with saving animals. How many animals

would the HSUS advise to be killed coming to shelters that are not up standards

outside the USA? And it appears that euthanasia is the accepted management

solution for shelters that legally must take in every unwanted pet (especially

in areas like Las Vegas which have high turnovers) to become up to standards?

These are not new issues but surely the increasing pet boom in Asia will only

add to the challenges everyone faces.

 

“One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial infection

that’s not been documented in a shelter before,” she said. “There was some

uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were in new

territory and found it in both cats and dogs.”

 

The six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely overcrowded

shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that hundreds were

suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive bacterial

infection.

 

She said that Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a

normal part of running a shelter. “Truthfully,” Ms. Layne said, “sheltering is

all about disease control.”

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some disease,

but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

“You’re talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, “Is it today?

Do I get to live today?’ ” Mr. Fierro said. “They literally were doing

everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought they were

doing the right thing.”

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us & page\

wanted=print & oref=slogin

 

1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

By STEVE FRIESS

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 15 — An outbreak of disease that national experts say was of an

unusual magnitude prompted a weeklong closing of the region’s main animal

shelter and the killing of about 1,000 dogs and cats.

 

Managers of the Lied Animal Shelter, where the outbreak occurred, said the

severity of the crisis came as a surprise. They had invited a team of inspectors

from the Humane Society of the United States to tour the center this month

because they thought they would be praised for their practice of euthanizing

animals sparingly, in comparison with shelters of similar size.

 

Instead, the six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely

overcrowded shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that

hundreds were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive

bacterial infection.

 

By Wednesday night, the shelter chairwoman, Janie Greenspun Gale, tearfully

faced critics at a hastily called public meeting and said that the center’s

policy was “misguided.”

 

Ms. Gale said her organization had been operating the shelter like a rescue

operation and had not been euthanizing enough animals to keep the space safe and

sanitary for the adoptable ones. From now on, she said, unadoptable animals will

be euthanized after 72 hours at the shelter, as the Humane Society recommends.

 

“Our policies were written to save every animal we possibly could,” Ms. Gale

said. “In that misguided policy, we caused animals pain.”

 

Lied (pronounced leed) is the main shelter in the Las Vegas area, a nonprofit

center that is contractually obligated to accept strays and animals turned in by

animal control departments from the Las Vegas and North Las Vegas as well as the

unincorporated areas of Clark County.

 

The shelter continued to do that during its shutdown but stopped its voluntary

policy of accepting unwanted animals turned in by pet owners. When the shelter

reopens on Friday, it will resume accepting unwanted pets, the spokesman for

Lied, Mark Fierro, said Thursday.

 

About 1,000 of the 1,800 animals in the shelter were euthanized this week in an

effort to reduce the population to a more manageable level. In 2005, the most

recent year for which statistics are available, the shelter euthanized an

average of 400 animals a week. It took in about 950 a week and about 250 were

adopted. (Some animals were returned to their owners; others died without being

euthanized.)

 

“People get upset when they hear that 1,000 animals are put down, and, yes,

1,000 is a high number, but these animals have been sick and dying for a while,”

said Kim Intino, director of sheltering issues for the Humane Society and the

inspection team leader. “This was a unique and extreme situation.”

 

Disease outbreaks in shelters are not unusual, but this one was especially

gruesome because there were so many different illnesses at once, said Dr. Kate

Hurley, head of the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of California,

Davis, and one of two veterinarians on the Humane Society inspection team. The

viruses were Parvovirus, canine distemper and feline panleukopenia; the

bacterial infection was a fatal hemorrhagic, or bloody, pneumonia.

 

“I’m not aware of outbreaks of this magnitude,” said Dr. Hurley, a leading

national authority who coincidentally will present a daylong seminar on shelter

outbreaks in Las Vegas on Tuesday at the Western Veterinary Conference.

 

“One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial infection

that’s not been documented in a shelter before,” she said. “There was some

uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were in new

territory and found it in both cats and dogs.”

 

The situation outraged the president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society,

Karen Layne, whose group has expressed concern for years that Lied was

overcrowded. “They’ve been operating a shelter for 11 years and now they’re

saying they don’t know how to run a shelter,” Ms. Layne said. She said that Ms.

Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a normal part of

running a shelter. “Truthfully,” Ms. Layne said, “sheltering is all about

disease control.”

 

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some disease,

but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

“You’re talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, “Is it today?

Do I get to live today?’ ” Mr. Fierro said. “They literally were doing

everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought they were

doing the right thing.”

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

> OAARS still needs you help. We are asking all members to write

letters to those in the Department of Defense asking regs. be

enforced regarding pet abandonment on Okinawa. We had a spouse that

spoke up during a town hall meeting (about a different issue) be

called, with the active duty husband, in for " counseling " . So,

while a reader on this forum may have other experiences in this

regard, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

>

> Thanks to everyone for all you do for the animals.

>

> Liz

>

 

 

Again,

I, and many many others, spoke up at countless town hall meetings,

without any negative response or personal attack or threat by anyone.

My meeting with a base commander (in person) was well received, and

my spouse, nor any of my volunteer's spouses, have ever been

counseled. I will call the base command this week, personally, and

ask if this is the response spouses/community members receive when

they bring an animal welfare concern to the table at a town hall

meeting.

 

If you want to encourage a write-in campaign, it must be done via the

community there in Okinawa first and foremost, and the argument must

be presented in a prepared, articulate manner - complete with facts,

statistics, and well-constructed suggestions.

 

If it is presented only verbally at a town hall meeting, you will

likely get an unfavorable or sluggish response. Imagine the effect of

hundreds of voices at a town hall meeting, vs. just a few? Support

must be rallied well in advance - and I'm sure your volunteers can

accomplish this very easily if you have a strong volunteer base.

 

If you're looking for outside pressure/encouragement, you've provided

no contact information - no addresses, email addresses, or phone

numbers that supporters can contact to express their concerns about

the pet breeding and abandonment issues in Okinawa.

 

To whom do supporters direct their concerns to? What are the facts on

the situation? Who or what office is directly responsible for

mandating pet regulations? Do you have any stats available on KNOWN

American-owned dogs & cats that are euth'ed at the shelter in Okinawa

(non-American)? What, exactly, ARE the numbers?

 

These stats, as well as contact info, is imperative in order for your

supporters to make their argument legitimately.

 

I suggest posting this information at your website (devote a page to

it) - and then, once you've got that down - post the website link

here so that we can simply get all the info we need in one click.

 

Best of luck to you,

Kim Petersen

voices4animals.com

dogsinasia.com

okipets.com

[Guest guest]

We have posted the story and ongoing community comments about this situation

at:

 

http://network.bestfriends.org/nevada/news/12349.html

 

 

 

Amy E. Hogg

 

International Community Response Manager

 

Best Friends Network

 

Best Friends Animal Society

 

5001 Angel Canyon Rd

 

Kanab, UT 84741-5000

 

435-644-3965 x4186

 

435-644-2087 (fax)

 

<amyh amyh

 

<http://www.network.bestfriends.org> www.network.bestfriends.org

 

<http://www.bestfriends.org> www.bestfriends.org

 

 

 

" A Better World Through Kindness to Animals "

 

_____

 

aapn [aapn ] On Behalf Of OAARS

Saturday, February 17, 2007 3:51 PM

Weintraub; aapn

Re: USA: 1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at

Shelter

 

 

 

This is an eye opener for many. It's hard to be prepared for something that

has never been dealt with previously, it's unfortunate that more animals

could not be saved but hopefully a lesson has been learned.

 

OAARS has a small shelter, our max number of dogs, puppies and cats at the

shelter is 40. We have been very fortunate to have only one puppy die of

parvo, and one already infected with caccidia upon arrival from the local

pound. Immediate measures were taken to contain the disease.

 

OAARS still needs you help. We are asking all members to write letters to

those in the Department of Defense asking regs. be enforced regarding pet

abandonment on Okinawa. We had a spouse that spoke up during a town hall

meeting (about a different issue) be called, with the active duty husband,

in for " counseling " . So, while a reader on this forum may have other

experiences in this regard, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

Thanks to everyone for all you do for the animals.

 

Liz

 

 

Weintraub <weintraub@ <weintraub%40comcast.net>

comcast.net> wrote:

Depressing implications for animal shelters worldwide. And how important

disease management and adoption is, along with saving animals. How many

animals would the HSUS advise to be killed coming to shelters that are not

up standards outside the USA? And it appears that euthanasia is the accepted

management solution for shelters that legally must take in every unwanted

pet (especially in areas like Las Vegas which have high turnovers) to become

up to standards? These are not new issues but surely the increasing pet boom

in Asia will only add to the challenges everyone faces.

 

" One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial

infection that's not been documented in a shelter before, " she said. " There

was some uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were

in new territory and found it in both cats and dogs. "

 

The six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely overcrowded

shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that hundreds

were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive bacterial

infection.

 

She said that Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease

was a normal part of running a shelter. " Truthfully, " Ms. Layne said,

" sheltering is all about disease control. "

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some

disease, but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

" You're talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, " Is it

today? Do I get to live today?' " Mr. Fierro said. " They literally were

doing everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought

they were doing the right thing. "

 

http://www.nytimes.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us

& pagewanted=print & oref=slogin>

com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us & pagewanted=print & or

ef=slogin

 

1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

By STEVE FRIESS

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 15 - An outbreak of disease that national experts say was of

an unusual magnitude prompted a weeklong closing of the region's main animal

shelter and the killing of about 1,000 dogs and cats.

 

Managers of the Lied Animal Shelter, where the outbreak occurred, said the

severity of the crisis came as a surprise. They had invited a team of

inspectors from the Humane Society of the United States to tour the center

this month because they thought they would be praised for their practice of

euthanizing animals sparingly, in comparison with shelters of similar size.

 

Instead, the six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely

overcrowded shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed

that hundreds were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an

aggressive bacterial infection.

 

By Wednesday night, the shelter chairwoman, Janie Greenspun Gale, tearfully

faced critics at a hastily called public meeting and said that the center's

policy was " misguided. "

 

Ms. Gale said her organization had been operating the shelter like a rescue

operation and had not been euthanizing enough animals to keep the space safe

and sanitary for the adoptable ones. From now on, she said, unadoptable

animals will be euthanized after 72 hours at the shelter, as the Humane

Society recommends.

 

" Our policies were written to save every animal we possibly could, " Ms. Gale

said. " In that misguided policy, we caused animals pain. "

 

Lied (pronounced leed) is the main shelter in the Las Vegas area, a

nonprofit center that is contractually obligated to accept strays and

animals turned in by animal control departments from the Las Vegas and North

Las Vegas as well as the unincorporated areas of Clark County.

 

The shelter continued to do that during its shutdown but stopped its

voluntary policy of accepting unwanted animals turned in by pet owners. When

the shelter reopens on Friday, it will resume accepting unwanted pets, the

spokesman for Lied, Mark Fierro, said Thursday.

 

About 1,000 of the 1,800 animals in the shelter were euthanized this week in

an effort to reduce the population to a more manageable level. In 2005, the

most recent year for which statistics are available, the shelter euthanized

an average of 400 animals a week. It took in about 950 a week and about 250

were adopted. (Some animals were returned to their owners; others died

without being euthanized.)

 

" People get upset when they hear that 1,000 animals are put down, and, yes,

1,000 is a high number, but these animals have been sick and dying for a

while, " said Kim Intino, director of sheltering issues for the Humane

Society and the inspection team leader. " This was a unique and extreme

situation. "

 

Disease outbreaks in shelters are not unusual, but this one was especially

gruesome because there were so many different illnesses at once, said Dr.

Kate Hurley, head of the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of

California, Davis, and one of two veterinarians on the Humane Society

inspection team. The viruses were Parvovirus, canine distemper and feline

panleukopenia; the bacterial infection was a fatal hemorrhagic, or bloody,

pneumonia.

 

" I'm not aware of outbreaks of this magnitude, " said Dr. Hurley, a leading

national authority who coincidentally will present a daylong seminar on

shelter outbreaks in Las Vegas on Tuesday at the Western Veterinary

Conference.

 

" One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial

infection that's not been documented in a shelter before, " she said. " There

was some uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were

in new territory and found it in both cats and dogs. "

 

The situation outraged the president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society,

Karen Layne, whose group has expressed concern for years that Lied was

overcrowded. " They've been operating a shelter for 11 years and now they're

saying they don't know how to run a shelter, " Ms. Layne said. She said that

Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a normal

part of running a shelter. " Truthfully, " Ms. Layne said, " sheltering is all

about disease control. "

 

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some

disease, but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

" You're talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, " Is it

today? Do I get to live today?' " Mr. Fierro said. " They literally were

doing everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought

they were doing the right thing. "

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you for letting us know the tragedies and the agony of these unfortunate

animals. Unless people are made aware of their pain, it goes unnoticed and it

continues to happen again, and again. City Officials, as well as the whole

community is to blame, why are there so many unwanted animals in Las Vegas?

Aren't there any low cost spay/neuter clinics available? Please keep us

updated. Hopefully, foster homes will open up and these animals will have a

second chance.

 

Thanks,

 

Liz

OAARS

 

Amy Hogg <amyh wrote:

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}

w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } We have posted the story

and ongoing community comments about this situation at:

http://network.bestfriends.org/nevada/news/12349.html

 

Amy E. Hogg

International Community Response Manager

Best Friends Network

Best Friends Animal Society

5001 Angel Canyon Rd

Kanab, UT 84741-5000

435-644-3965 x4186

435-644-2087 (fax)

amyh

www.network.bestfriends.org

www.bestfriends.org

 

" A Better World Through Kindness to Animals "

 

 

 

 

aapn [aapn ] On Behalf Of OAARS

Saturday, February 17, 2007 3:51 PM

Weintraub; aapn

Re: USA: 1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

 

 

This is an eye opener for many. It's hard to be prepared for something

that has never been dealt with previously, it's unfortunate that more animals

could not be saved but hopefully a lesson has been learned.

 

OAARS has a small shelter, our max number of dogs, puppies and cats at the

shelter is 40. We have been very fortunate to have only one puppy die of parvo,

and one already infected with caccidia upon arrival from the local pound.

Immediate measures were taken to contain the disease.

 

OAARS still needs you help. We are asking all members to write letters to those

in the Department of Defense asking regs. be enforced regarding pet abandonment

on Okinawa. We had a spouse that spoke up during a town hall meeting (about a

different issue) be called, with the active duty husband, in for " counseling " .

So, while a reader on this forum may have other experiences in this regard, it

doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

Thanks to everyone for all you do for the animals.

 

Liz

 

 

Weintraub <weintraub wrote:

Depressing implications for animal shelters worldwide. And how important disease

management and adoption is, along with saving animals. How many animals would

the HSUS advise to be killed coming to shelters that are not up standards

outside the USA? And it appears that euthanasia is the accepted management

solution for shelters that legally must take in every unwanted pet (especially

in areas like Las Vegas which have high turnovers) to become up to standards?

These are not new issues but surely the increasing pet boom in Asia will only

add to the challenges everyone faces.

 

“One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial infection

that’s not been documented in a shelter before,” she said. “There was some

uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were in new

territory and found it in both cats and dogs.”

 

The six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely overcrowded

shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that hundreds were

suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive bacterial

infection.

 

She said that Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a

normal part of running a shelter. “Truthfully,” Ms. Layne said, “sheltering is

all about disease control.”

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some disease,

but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

“You’re talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, “Is it today?

Do I get to live today?’ ” Mr. Fierro said. “They literally were doing

everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought they were

doing the right thing.”

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us & page\

wanted=print & oref=slogin

 

1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

By STEVE FRIESS

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 15 — An outbreak of disease that national experts say was of an

unusual magnitude prompted a weeklong closing of the region’s main animal

shelter and the killing of about 1,000 dogs and cats.

 

Managers of the Lied Animal Shelter, where the outbreak occurred, said the

severity of the crisis came as a surprise. They had invited a team of inspectors

from the Humane Society of the United States to tour the center this month

because they thought they would be praised for their practice of euthanizing

animals sparingly, in comparison with shelters of similar size.

 

Instead, the six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely

overcrowded shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that

hundreds were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive

bacterial infection.

 

By Wednesday night, the shelter chairwoman, Janie Greenspun Gale, tearfully

faced critics at a hastily called public meeting and said that the center’s

policy was “misguided.”

 

Ms. Gale said her organization had been operating the shelter like a rescue

operation and had not been euthanizing enough animals to keep the space safe and

sanitary for the adoptable ones. From now on, she said, unadoptable animals will

be euthanized after 72 hours at the shelter, as the Humane Society recommends.

 

“Our policies were written to save every animal we possibly could,” Ms. Gale

said. “In that misguided policy, we caused animals pain.”

 

Lied (pronounced leed) is the main shelter in the Las Vegas area, a nonprofit

center that is contractually obligated to accept strays and animals turned in by

animal control departments from the Las Vegas and North Las Vegas as well as the

unincorporated areas of Clark County.

 

The shelter continued to do that during its shutdown but stopped its voluntary

policy of accepting unwanted animals turned in by pet owners. When the shelter

reopens on Friday, it will resume accepting unwanted pets, the spokesman for

Lied, Mark Fierro, said Thursday.

 

About 1,000 of the 1,800 animals in the shelter were euthanized this week in an

effort to reduce the population to a more manageable level. In 2005, the most

recent year for which statistics are available, the shelter euthanized an

average of 400 animals a week. It took in about 950 a week and about 250 were

adopted. (Some animals were returned to their owners; others died without being

euthanized.)

 

“People get upset when they hear that 1,000 animals are put down, and, yes,

1,000 is a high number, but these animals have been sick and dying for a while,”

said Kim Intino, director of sheltering issues for the Humane Society and the

inspection team leader. “This was a unique and extreme situation.”

 

Disease outbreaks in shelters are not unusual, but this one was especially

gruesome because there were so many different illnesses at once, said Dr. Kate

Hurley, head of the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of California,

Davis, and one of two veterinarians on the Humane Society inspection team. The

viruses were Parvovirus, canine distemper and feline panleukopenia; the

bacterial infection was a fatal hemorrhagic, or bloody, pneumonia.

 

“I’m not aware of outbreaks of this magnitude,” said Dr. Hurley, a leading

national authority who coincidentally will present a daylong seminar on shelter

outbreaks in Las Vegas on Tuesday at the Western Veterinary Conference.

 

“One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial infection

that’s not been documented in a shelter before,” she said. “There was some

uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were in new

territory and found it in both cats and dogs.”

 

The situation outraged the president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society,

Karen Layne, whose group has expressed concern for years that Lied was

overcrowded. “They’ve been operating a shelter for 11 years and now they’re

saying they don’t know how to run a shelter,” Ms. Layne said. She said that Ms.

Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a normal part of

running a shelter. “Truthfully,” Ms. Layne said, “sheltering is all about

disease control.”

 

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some disease,

but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

“You’re talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, “Is it today?

Do I get to live today?’ ” Mr. Fierro said. “They literally were doing

everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought they were

doing the right thing.”

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hi Amy,

 

Weren't you at the Animal Conference in Singapore in 2005? I won a book from

you, actually, they were both signed by the authors, very inspiring.

 

Hope to visit you at Best Friends sometime in the near future, would love to

do some kind of week training at your shelter. OAARS has been very fortunate to

have LDCRF's help, we have learned quite a bit from them, while there last

Oct. I went several times to volunteer. Of course, there's always something new

to learn in. The sad news in Vegas is pretty scary, it will make all that run

shelters a little bit more cautious. It sounds like that many animals in one

facility is a disaster waiting to happen. Please keep us updated.

 

Liz

 

Amy Hogg <amyh wrote:

v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}

w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);} .shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}

st1\:*{behavior:url(#default#ieooui) } We have posted the story

and ongoing community comments about this situation at:

http://network.bestfriends.org/nevada/news/12349.html

 

Amy E. Hogg

International Community Response Manager

Best Friends Network

Best Friends Animal Society

5001 Angel Canyon Rd

Kanab, UT 84741-5000

435-644-3965 x4186

435-644-2087 (fax)

amyh

www.network.bestfriends.org

www.bestfriends.org

 

" A Better World Through Kindness to Animals "

 

 

 

 

aapn [aapn ] On Behalf Of OAARS

Saturday, February 17, 2007 3:51 PM

Weintraub; aapn

Re: USA: 1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

 

 

This is an eye opener for many. It's hard to be prepared for something

that has never been dealt with previously, it's unfortunate that more animals

could not be saved but hopefully a lesson has been learned.

 

OAARS has a small shelter, our max number of dogs, puppies and cats at the

shelter is 40. We have been very fortunate to have only one puppy die of parvo,

and one already infected with caccidia upon arrival from the local pound.

Immediate measures were taken to contain the disease.

 

OAARS still needs you help. We are asking all members to write letters to those

in the Department of Defense asking regs. be enforced regarding pet abandonment

on Okinawa. We had a spouse that spoke up during a town hall meeting (about a

different issue) be called, with the active duty husband, in for " counseling " .

So, while a reader on this forum may have other experiences in this regard, it

doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

Thanks to everyone for all you do for the animals.

 

Liz

 

 

Weintraub <weintraub wrote:

Depressing implications for animal shelters worldwide. And how important disease

management and adoption is, along with saving animals. How many animals would

the HSUS advise to be killed coming to shelters that are not up standards

outside the USA? And it appears that euthanasia is the accepted management

solution for shelters that legally must take in every unwanted pet (especially

in areas like Las Vegas which have high turnovers) to become up to standards?

These are not new issues but surely the increasing pet boom in Asia will only

add to the challenges everyone faces.

 

“One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial infection

that’s not been documented in a shelter before,” she said. “There was some

uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were in new

territory and found it in both cats and dogs.”

 

The six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely overcrowded

shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that hundreds were

suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive bacterial

infection.

 

She said that Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a

normal part of running a shelter. “Truthfully,” Ms. Layne said, “sheltering is

all about disease control.”

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some disease,

but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

“You’re talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, “Is it today?

Do I get to live today?’ ” Mr. Fierro said. “They literally were doing

everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought they were

doing the right thing.”

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us & page\

wanted=print & oref=slogin

 

1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

By STEVE FRIESS

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 15 — An outbreak of disease that national experts say was of an

unusual magnitude prompted a weeklong closing of the region’s main animal

shelter and the killing of about 1,000 dogs and cats.

 

Managers of the Lied Animal Shelter, where the outbreak occurred, said the

severity of the crisis came as a surprise. They had invited a team of inspectors

from the Humane Society of the United States to tour the center this month

because they thought they would be praised for their practice of euthanizing

animals sparingly, in comparison with shelters of similar size.

 

Instead, the six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely

overcrowded shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that

hundreds were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive

bacterial infection.

 

By Wednesday night, the shelter chairwoman, Janie Greenspun Gale, tearfully

faced critics at a hastily called public meeting and said that the center’s

policy was “misguided.”

 

Ms. Gale said her organization had been operating the shelter like a rescue

operation and had not been euthanizing enough animals to keep the space safe and

sanitary for the adoptable ones. From now on, she said, unadoptable animals will

be euthanized after 72 hours at the shelter, as the Humane Society recommends.

 

“Our policies were written to save every animal we possibly could,” Ms. Gale

said. “In that misguided policy, we caused animals pain.”

 

Lied (pronounced leed) is the main shelter in the Las Vegas area, a nonprofit

center that is contractually obligated to accept strays and animals turned in by

animal control departments from the Las Vegas and North Las Vegas as well as the

unincorporated areas of Clark County.

 

The shelter continued to do that during its shutdown but stopped its voluntary

policy of accepting unwanted animals turned in by pet owners. When the shelter

reopens on Friday, it will resume accepting unwanted pets, the spokesman for

Lied, Mark Fierro, said Thursday.

 

About 1,000 of the 1,800 animals in the shelter were euthanized this week in an

effort to reduce the population to a more manageable level. In 2005, the most

recent year for which statistics are available, the shelter euthanized an

average of 400 animals a week. It took in about 950 a week and about 250 were

adopted. (Some animals were returned to their owners; others died without being

euthanized.)

 

“People get upset when they hear that 1,000 animals are put down, and, yes,

1,000 is a high number, but these animals have been sick and dying for a while,”

said Kim Intino, director of sheltering issues for the Humane Society and the

inspection team leader. “This was a unique and extreme situation.”

 

Disease outbreaks in shelters are not unusual, but this one was especially

gruesome because there were so many different illnesses at once, said Dr. Kate

Hurley, head of the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of California,

Davis, and one of two veterinarians on the Humane Society inspection team. The

viruses were Parvovirus, canine distemper and feline panleukopenia; the

bacterial infection was a fatal hemorrhagic, or bloody, pneumonia.

 

“I’m not aware of outbreaks of this magnitude,” said Dr. Hurley, a leading

national authority who coincidentally will present a daylong seminar on shelter

outbreaks in Las Vegas on Tuesday at the Western Veterinary Conference.

 

“One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial infection

that’s not been documented in a shelter before,” she said. “There was some

uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were in new

territory and found it in both cats and dogs.”

 

The situation outraged the president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society,

Karen Layne, whose group has expressed concern for years that Lied was

overcrowded. “They’ve been operating a shelter for 11 years and now they’re

saying they don’t know how to run a shelter,” Ms. Layne said. She said that Ms.

Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a normal part of

running a shelter. “Truthfully,” Ms. Layne said, “sheltering is all about

disease control.”

 

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some disease,

but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

“You’re talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, “Is it today?

Do I get to live today?’ ” Mr. Fierro said. “They literally were doing

everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought they were

doing the right thing.”

 

 

[Guest guest]

> City Officials, as well as the whole community is to blame, why are

>there so many unwanted animals in Las Vegas? Aren't there any low

>cost spay/neuter clinics available?

 

 

The Las Vegas situation has been quite badly & incompletely

reported, by local journalists who didn't bother to look up &

understand the history, and activists around the world who

breathlessly relayed the recent news coverage without checking it out

further.

 

One place to start would have been checking past coverage of

the Lied Animal Center and the Animal Foundation of Nevada in the

online archives of ANIMAL PEOPLE.

 

The Animal Foundation of Nevada in the late 1980s, under

Mary Herro, built the biggest low-cost dog & cat sterilization

clinic then existing in the world, and by 1990 was sterilizing

10,000 animals per year, as well as training an entire generation of

veterinarians in the high-speed assembly line approach they

developed. This was & is basically the same approach introduced

earlier in Los Angeles by Marvin Mackie, shown on a CD distributed

at Asia for Animals in 2007 and the CHAMP conference in 2005.

 

The Las Vegas animal control sheltering situation meanwhile

was a miserable mess, and had been for years. Finally, about 12

years ago, Herro and the Animal Foundation took over the animal

control sheltering contract, and began trying to reduce the volume

of killing.

 

Unfortunately, they inherited a facility with several

serious design flaws, and a floor staff whose awareness of the

importance of maintaining asepsis was never at the veterinary level.

Outbreaks of disease due to inadequate quarantine of incoming

animals, & staff/management conflict often associated with trying to

maintain sanitary conditions, have continued at the shelter ever

since.

 

Herro meanwhile was also trying to retire, and had great

trouble finding a capable successor. At one point she brought in Bob

Hillman, a longtime animal welfare professional who was regarded as

a great teacher but a poor disciplinarian. He didn't last long.

 

When Herro finally did retire, the leadership passed to

Janie Greenspun Gale, who has long been an animal rights activist

and sympathizer, but had little hands-on experience. Her background

was in news media work. I know her to be a well-intentioned person,

but suspect her lack of shelter management experience contributed to

the present disaster, because she was not equipped to recognize

problems that veteran shelter professionals should have seen coming.

 

While the current problems are being spun as the result of

keeping animals for 120 days instead of just three, the real issue

all along is simply that the Lied Animal Center hasn't practiced the

temporary quarantine of incoming animals that is recommended for any

large animal control center.

 

Similar problems have occurred at many other facilities,

both conventional and no-kill, including elsewhere in the U.S.

within the past few months. Any time you have large concentrations

of animals in a stressed situation, and fail to detect a diseased

animal who is introduced into the environment, you will get epidemic

infection, and sometimes that will result in mass killing, followed

by closing the shelter for a time to totally disinfect it.

 

Unfortunately, many large animal control shelters still do

not have adequate isolation & quarantine facilities. Many older

shelters still have none. This is basically an architectural issue,

as well as a health issue, and bricks & mortar can accomplish much

more to solve it than gallons of pentabarbital.

 

 

--

Merritt Clifton

Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE

P.O. Box 960

Clinton, WA 98236

 

Telephone: 360-579-2505

Fax: 360-579-2575

E-mail: anmlpepl

Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

 

[ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing

original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide,

founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the

decision-makers at more than 10,000 animal protection organizations.

We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity. $24/year;

for free sample, send address.]

[Guest guest]

Hi Liz ~

 

 

 

YES, I was in Singapore and remember you very well. We would love to have

you come visit the sanctuary anytime. Although I'm based in Canada right

now (near Toronto) I know that the staff at the sanctuary would be happy to

welcome you and get you set up with appointments, etc. Please let me know

if you have an idea about when you'd be coming.

 

 

 

Please keep in touch :-)

 

 

 

Amy E. Hogg

 

International Community Response Manager

 

Best Friends Network

 

Best Friends Animal Society

 

5001 Angel Canyon Rd

 

Kanab, UT 84741-5000

 

435-644-3965 x4186

 

435-644-2087 (fax)

 

<amyh amyh

 

<http://www.network.bestfriends.org> www.network.bestfriends.org

 

<http://www.bestfriends.org> www.bestfriends.org

 

 

 

" A Better World Through Kindness to Animals "

 

_____

 

OAARS [oaars_cares]

Monday, February 19, 2007 2:43 AM

amyh; ' Weintraub'; aapn

RE: USA: 1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at

Shelter

 

 

 

Hi Amy,

 

 

 

Weren't you at the Animal Conference in Singapore in 2005? I won a book

from you, actually, they were both signed by the authors, very inspiring.

 

 

 

Hope to visit you at Best Friends sometime in the near future, would love to

do some kind of week training at your shelter. OAARS has been very

fortunate to have LDCRF's help, we have learned quite a bit from them,

while there last Oct. I went several times to volunteer. Of course, there's

always something new to learn in. The sad news in Vegas is pretty scary, it

will make all that run shelters a little bit more cautious. It sounds like

that many animals in one facility is a disaster waiting to happen. Please

keep us updated.

 

 

 

Liz

 

Amy Hogg <amyh wrote:

 

We have posted the story and ongoing community comments about this situation

at:

 

http://network.bestfriends.org/nevada/news/12349.html

 

 

 

Amy E. Hogg

 

International Community Response Manager

 

Best Friends Network

 

Best Friends Animal Society

 

5001 Angel Canyon Rd

 

Kanab, UT 84741-5000

 

435-644-3965 x4186

 

435-644-2087 (fax)

 

<amyh amyh

 

<http://www.network.bestfriends.org/> www.network.bestfriends.org

 

<http://www.bestfriends.org/> www.bestfriends.org

 

 

 

" A Better World Through Kindness to Animals "

 

 

_____

 

 

aapn [aapn ] On Behalf Of OAARS

Saturday, February 17, 2007 3:51 PM

Weintraub; aapn

Re: USA: 1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at

Shelter

 

 

 

This is an eye opener for many. It's hard to be prepared for something that

has never been dealt with previously, it's unfortunate that more animals

could not be saved but hopefully a lesson has been learned.

 

OAARS has a small shelter, our max number of dogs, puppies and cats at the

shelter is 40. We have been very fortunate to have only one puppy die of

parvo, and one already infected with caccidia upon arrival from the local

pound. Immediate measures were taken to contain the disease.

 

OAARS still needs you help. We are asking all members to write letters to

those in the Department of Defense asking regs. be enforced regarding pet

abandonment on Okinawa. We had a spouse that spoke up during a town hall

meeting (about a different issue) be called, with the active duty husband,

in for " counseling " . So, while a reader on this forum may have other

experiences in this regard, it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

Thanks to everyone for all you do for the animals.

 

Liz

 

 

Weintraub <weintraub@ <weintraub%40comcast.net>

comcast.net> wrote:

Depressing implications for animal shelters worldwide. And how important

disease management and adoption is, along with saving animals. How many

animals would the HSUS advise to be killed coming to shelters that are not

up standards outside the USA? And it appears that euthanasia is the accepted

management solution for shelters that legally must take in every unwanted

pet (especially in areas like Las Vegas which have high turnovers) to become

up to standards? These are not new issues but surely the increasing pet boom

in Asia will only add to the challenges everyone faces.

 

" One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial

infection that's not been documented in a shelter before, " she said. " There

was some uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were

in new territory and found it in both cats and dogs. "

 

The six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely overcrowded

shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed that hundreds

were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an aggressive bacterial

infection.

 

She said that Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease

was a normal part of running a shelter. " Truthfully, " Ms. Layne said,

" sheltering is all about disease control. "

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some

disease, but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

" You're talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, " Is it

today? Do I get to live today?' " Mr. Fierro said. " They literally were

doing everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought

they were doing the right thing. "

 

http://www.nytimes.

<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us

& pagewanted=print & oref=slogin>

com/2007/02/16/us/16animals.html?_r=2 & oref=slogin & ref=us & pagewanted=print & or

ef=slogin

 

1,000 Dogs and Cats Killed After Outbreak at Shelter

By STEVE FRIESS

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 15 - An outbreak of disease that national experts say was of

an unusual magnitude prompted a weeklong closing of the region's main animal

shelter and the killing of about 1,000 dogs and cats.

 

Managers of the Lied Animal Shelter, where the outbreak occurred, said the

severity of the crisis came as a surprise. They had invited a team of

inspectors from the Humane Society of the United States to tour the center

this month because they thought they would be praised for their practice of

euthanizing animals sparingly, in comparison with shelters of similar size.

 

Instead, the six-member Humane Society inspection group found a severely

overcrowded shelter where many animals appeared very ill. Tests revealed

that hundreds were suffering from one or more of three viruses and an

aggressive bacterial infection.

 

By Wednesday night, the shelter chairwoman, Janie Greenspun Gale, tearfully

faced critics at a hastily called public meeting and said that the center's

policy was " misguided. "

 

Ms. Gale said her organization had been operating the shelter like a rescue

operation and had not been euthanizing enough animals to keep the space safe

and sanitary for the adoptable ones. From now on, she said, unadoptable

animals will be euthanized after 72 hours at the shelter, as the Humane

Society recommends.

 

" Our policies were written to save every animal we possibly could, " Ms. Gale

said. " In that misguided policy, we caused animals pain. "

 

Lied (pronounced leed) is the main shelter in the Las Vegas area, a

nonprofit center that is contractually obligated to accept strays and

animals turned in by animal control departments from the Las Vegas and North

Las Vegas as well as the unincorporated areas of Clark County.

 

The shelter continued to do that during its shutdown but stopped its

voluntary policy of accepting unwanted animals turned in by pet owners. When

the shelter reopens on Friday, it will resume accepting unwanted pets, the

spokesman for Lied, Mark Fierro, said Thursday.

 

About 1,000 of the 1,800 animals in the shelter were euthanized this week in

an effort to reduce the population to a more manageable level. In 2005, the

most recent year for which statistics are available, the shelter euthanized

an average of 400 animals a week. It took in about 950 a week and about 250

were adopted. (Some animals were returned to their owners; others died

without being euthanized.)

 

" People get upset when they hear that 1,000 animals are put down, and, yes,

1,000 is a high number, but these animals have been sick and dying for a

while, " said Kim Intino, director of sheltering issues for the Humane

Society and the inspection team leader. " This was a unique and extreme

situation. "

 

Disease outbreaks in shelters are not unusual, but this one was especially

gruesome because there were so many different illnesses at once, said Dr.

Kate Hurley, head of the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of

California, Davis, and one of two veterinarians on the Humane Society

inspection team. The viruses were Parvovirus, canine distemper and feline

panleukopenia; the bacterial infection was a fatal hemorrhagic, or bloody,

pneumonia.

 

" I'm not aware of outbreaks of this magnitude, " said Dr. Hurley, a leading

national authority who coincidentally will present a daylong seminar on

shelter outbreaks in Las Vegas on Tuesday at the Western Veterinary

Conference.

 

" One of the challenges we had was that they had this unusual bacterial

infection that's not been documented in a shelter before, " she said. " There

was some uncertainty of how to best manage that and what best to do. We were

in new territory and found it in both cats and dogs. "

 

The situation outraged the president of the Las Vegas Valley Humane Society,

Karen Layne, whose group has expressed concern for years that Lied was

overcrowded. " They've been operating a shelter for 11 years and now they're

saying they don't know how to run a shelter, " Ms. Layne said. She said that

Ms. Gale and other shelter officials simply thought disease was a normal

part of running a shelter. " Truthfully, " Ms. Layne said, " sheltering is all

about disease control. "

 

Mr. Fierro said shelter workers knew there was overcrowding and some

disease, but they were also tormented by the need to kill so many animals.

 

" You're talking about living eyes looking back at you, asking you, " Is it

today? Do I get to live today?' " Mr. Fierro said. " They literally were

doing everything they could to save every animal they could. They thought

they were doing the right thing. "