Drug use at ACC?

Check out this post by Urgent Part 2- Apparently ACC Director Julie Bank has been notified of drug use by her employees (employees who have in the past made life-ending mistakes by putting the wrong dogs to sleep!) and has yet to do anything about it!
Here's to hoping this outrage makes it on the news. The staff at ACC is already bad enough as it is, but for no one to care whether these mistakes happen (because they're all pittie strays anyway, right?), and for no one to seek out to correct these problems, is a real shame. I wonder how they would respond if a purbred dog was put to sleep days after arriving before its owners could find it, rather than just another stray? Every dog at ACC deserves a chance, and these low-life staff members are holding them back from that chance to survive.

Incompetence Running Rampant At NYCACC - PART 4 - Is Drug Use In Shelters Being Ignored?!?

by Urgent PART 2 on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 11:41am

Animal Care & Control of NYC is a place where dedicated volunteers and employees are fired for any attempt at all to blow the whistle on widespread negligence and neglect, or even just those that work too hard to get animals rescued.  In the past year alone, employees like Emily Tanen and unpaid volunteers like Rita Bar-Or and Jeff Latzer have been fired for little or no reason at all, with no thought given to the effect their absence would have on the care of shelter animals.

But what about employees who are part of the problem?  Shelter employees that get high at work, or come to work intoxicated while exhibiting disdain for the animals in their care?  Anyone who spends enough time at the shelter becomes very familiar with these people, but what is more shocking is that these people are in fact embraced by the administration.  Why would that be?  Because Julie Bank prizes a very certain quality in the staff she maintains: cold, heartless contempt for any notion of animal welfare.  As long as these people are not sticking their necks out for better care of the animals, all other issues of professionalism, responsibility and dedication do not matter; they will always have a job at ACC if animals matter as little to them as they do to Park Place management.

Urgent has been contacted by numerous rescue groups, adopters, volunteers and even a few staff about the condoned negligence that perpetuates in the mismanaged ACC shelter system.  We were also recently contacted by a concerned citizen of East Harlem who tried to do something about it.  This person (who for obvious reasons insists on anonymity) had inside knowledge of drug use going on at the Manhattan ACC, and even knew who was supplying it to employees. He spoke up about it to shelter administration, and like every volunteer or staff or rescuer who writes emails to shelter management with concerns about shelter animal treatment, he was ignored.  He even tried again, this time including every elected official whose email he could find.


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: * *
Date: Mon, Jun 27, 2011 at 10:10 PM
Subject: Your last chance before I go on TV about DRUGS AT THE HARLEM SHELTER
To: jbank@nycacc.org, mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov, info@animalalliancenyc.org, info@nycacc.org, rgentles@nycacc.org, sjaneczko@nycacc.org, TFarley@health.nyc.gov, bbdoniger@yahoo.com, KellnerM@assembly.state.ny.us, Patrick.Nolan@us.penguingroup.com, quinn@council.nyc.ny.us, Adrian.Benepe@parks.nyc.gov, commaffairs@nypd.org


Dear Julie Banks,

Why didnt you respond to my email?  It was a very important email about 4 workers at the Harlem shelter who do drugs, and none of you bothered to respond to me.  Do you only respond to white people with lawyers?  You think since I live in the neighborhood where your shelter is that I don't matter as much?

I gave you a list of four people that work in your medical office that use drugs even though theyre supposed to be saving animals. (I copied it at the bottom of this email)  Doesnt that matter to you?  Since I wrote that to you, I read about your shelter on the facebook, and I saw all the shitty things you been doing instead, like killing the wrong dogs and firing your best worker. Why dont you fire the people that are high at work instead?  Two girls on that list I sent you were even talking shit about how proud they was to smoke weed during work!!!  Dont believe me?

If you dont answer this email and drug test these people, i'm gonna get this up on the internet on that Urgent website.  Trust me, you dont want that.  And remember like i said, if you tell them even a half hour before that your gonna test them, theyll pass, and go on being high treating dogs.

This is your last chance julie banks.  Next time you hear from me i'll be on channel 5


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: * *
Date: Sat, May 7, 2011 at 12:31 PM
Subject: HARLEM ANIMAL SHELTER WORKERS USING DRUGS
To: mbloomberg@cityhall.nyc.gov, info@animalalliancenyc.org, info@nycacc.org, jbank@nycacc.org


Dear Animal Care and Control,
I know for a fact that these four people work in the harlem medical department, and all use drugs all the time.  Sometimes they even use at work. You need to drug-test them right now, because theyre supposed to be helping the animals, and they cant do that if theyre high!  How do I know this?  I know the guy who sells to them.  I promise you, if you give them a drug test like all employees should get, and you dont let them know first, theyll fail. If you tell them even a half hour before, theyll pass (I've done it for jobs before, all you need is a drink from gnc).  But doing that when your supposed to save animals is just wrong.
Trust me, i'm not joking with you.  Don't put the animals at risk any longer!  And if this gets out and people know the vet tex are high, it will look very bad for nyc.
There names are:

xxxxxxxx


And still -- nothing.  The people he implicates are still at the shelter putting animals in danger, including one role of particular importance: a New Hope rescue liaison.  The unanswered emails from the whistleblower also names a shelter behaviorist, a lead vet tech assistant, and a vet assistant. 

The biggest mystery here is why the shelter does not follow through on its pre-existing drug policy of random drug tests, and mandatory testing after a bite incident.  A shelter staff source tells us that the New Hope rescue liaison was bitten last year, but bragged about never being tested or she surely would have failed.  A second source from the shelter staff sent us the attached photo of drug paraphernalia found in the shelter backyard, with a note explaining that it was common sight at ACC.



So Julie Bank, maybe you'll answer Urgent instead: how could you ignore these emails and continue to put the animals' lives in the care of openly irresponsible and "distracted" people?  Numerous staff named in these emails work in the medical department, and the Manhattan shelter is notorious for its rampant medical "mistakes" that leave dogs, cats and kittens found stiff in their cages for lack of care.  The homeless animals of NYC deserve better than this, and the citizens of NYC deserve oversight into who their tax dollars employ.

The NYC Govt needs to know that you are outraged. Please go to this link for contact information:
http://www.urgentdeathrowdogs.org/how-you-can-help/how-togroup1/act.html

Also, The New York State Dept of Health (not the NYC DoH) and the DEA would both be appropriate avenues to explore for complaints due to the involvement of controlled (Scheduled) substances. Those performing euthanasia MUST be registered with the New York State Dept. of Health to handle/administer scheduled drugs (see Section 80.134 of Title 10 regulations).

"The Department of State is committed to maintaining the integrity and competence of the licensees within its jurisdiction. Should a member of the public believe that a licensee has acted in an untrustworthy or incompetent manner, he or she may file a complaint with the Department's Division of Licensing Services. The complaint will be reviewed and an investigation will be commenced to determine whether the licensee should be disciplined. Both the licensee and the complainant are kept apprised of the proceedings.

A licensee who is found to be in violation of the law is subject to reprimand, fine, suspension or revocation."

A copy of the complaint form can be found here:
http://www.dos.ny.gov/licensing/complaint.html


Coming Soon - Part 5 - You won't want to miss it...

Moral Inconsistencies about Animals

Moral Inconsistencies...
That is what I want to write about today.

Why is it that we eat cows, poison rats and let dogs sleep in our beds? Why do we care when a dog is humanely euthanized but not when a pig is slaughtered for food or a seal is clubbed for its fur? Why do we hate Michael Vick for abusing dogs when we sit on, carry around, and wear leather goods?

For some of you, it might be easy to answer these questions by simply saying, "Well, pets are different." But why? Why are we plagued with these moral inconsistencies? Why was Hitler a vegetarian, yet order the killing of millions of jews? Why do some Brazilian tribes both kill adult monkeys and personally breast feed their young monkey babies?  This is the subject of Hal Herzog's book "Some we love, Some we hate, Some we eat."

When we first brought Winnie home, it took me all of two months before I stopped eating mammal flesh. I had always had an aversion to handling animal flesh before it was magically converted into "food" via heat, but I wasn't convinced it was morally wrong until a strange thing happened.

http://zivevum.webatu.com/catfish-sahara-wastewater.html

While I was on vacation in the thousand islands a year ago, I witnessed a blue heron fish out a cat-fish from a shallow area and leave it hidden in some dry leaves and grass to suffocate. After it died, it came back and taken it away to eat, presumably to help feed itself and its young as many birds do, I noticed that near the catfish's shallow pool were baby catfish. I had been told that fish of course take very little responsibility for their young, although there is evidence that some fish and amphibians have evolved to do so. For example, the male seahorse holds eggs in his pouch until they hatch and some male frogs actually hold tadpols in their mouths until they are ready to leave. (Listen to this podcast to learn more about how various animals care for their young.)

This did not disturb me much. The young catfish would not be raised by their parents like a fox pup is raised by its mom and dad, but I took particular offense to the way the heron let the catfish die. To be honest, I anthopocentrized the catfish and imagined the agony it felt out of the water- something many children do when they experience fishing with their Dads for the first time- imploring them to throw the fish right back and feeling the guilt associated with yanking these animals in and out of the water for our pleasure.

I was told to forget the fish, that it was part of the nature, and that I truthfully would not want the heron to die of starvation. Of course, I felt that I needed to hold myself to a higher level. My closeness with my dog- the first animal I was ever completely responsible for- led me to feel a closeness intrinsically with other mammals like us.

www.peta.org

How should I proceed with this moral quandary? Well, I stopped eating mammals, and am happy to say that in 1 full year I haven't eaten any mammal flesh. I do, however, still eat fish and poultry. My reasoning for this first began with my both practical concerns and my emotional feelings-- I don't really feel so close to a chicken or a fish and I don't necessary believe that my consumption of them is morally wrong.

At first, free-range poultry and wild-caught fish seemed logical, although there is some evidence that chickens actually prefer to be clusterred together- and given the chance to run free- will huddle under each others wings. (Read about other problems associated with anthropocentrizing animals in A. Horowitz's book, Inside of a Dog.) Recently, after much thought, I found a better justification for my eating habits. If forced to live in the woods for years- or on a deserted island, I would forage and eat fruits, nuts, vegetables and whatever else I could find, but I would also be comfortable collecting insects, spearing fish and catching them with my own hands, or if need be- breaking a bird's neck so that I could eat it.

On the other hand, I would be completely unable to trap and eat any mammal of any kind, not under any circumstances. Whatever genetic code brought me to adore my dogs, whether it be due to my affinity for baby-like creatures to secure the future of my own children- or my ability to sympathize with mammals in order to better hunt them (called theory of mind by philosophers and psychologists), something went wrong somewhere- and I could no longer be able to personally kill a mammal or cut up its flesh. Hence, no mammal meat, and if I can avoid it, no leather.

Nor would I be able to hurt any creature (mammal or not) intentionally and without good reason. In ESPN's recent Michael Vick special issue, author David Fleming raises these exact inconsistencies in the moral behaviors of Vick haters.

Jay Paul/ Getty Images/ESPN.go.com

He writes,  
"From factory farming to horse racing, a multibillion dollar sport where two-thirds of all washed-up thoroughbreds are either abandoned or slaughtered, our perspective regarding animal cruelty is significantly altered depending on the degree of intimacy involved. We don't have to witness the stomach-turning horrors inside a farm factory in order to get chicken nuggets for lunch. They're handed to us through a drive-through window, wrapped inside a clean, colorful package. Theoretically, our hands remain clean, whereas an exhaustive report by the Department of Agriculture revealed that Vick drowned, electrocuted and hung dogs with his bare hands. "The American population may not be guilty of carrying it out with their own hands as Vick did," says Singer. "But it's certainly guilty of supporting animal cruelty through their purchases. It's not any worse to make a dog suffer than to make a pig or a chicken or a cow suffer. If you look at factory farms and if you support them, you can't say 'Vick made animals suffer and I don't.'"

As a dog lover, and a pit bull lover, I found that I was unable to place pits above other dogs, dogs above other mammals, and my own desire for tasty bacon over the pain and suffering of pigs etc. I urge you to think about these issues- about the possible presence of inconsistencies in your own moral code. While euthanasia of dogs in major cities in the U.S. is a huge problem, and a problem that outrages us because of our feelings that dogs are like people- less kind killing of other animals happens every day, on a massive scale, for our indulgences. It is worth ruminating on, isn't it?

Shelter Dog Photographer's Blog

This blog entry by prominent photographer Traer Scott really touched me, and I decided to share it with you all.

Parvo and kennel cough are horrible illnesses that live in unhealthy conditions of packed and poorly-managed shelters and can sweep through shelters quickly - learn more about parvo in shelters here.

Death on Our Shoes

Thursday, 15 July 2010

"It is no secret that the dogs who end up in shelters are the unlucky ones. These are not the dogs that get to nose open Christmas stockings, or who trot down the street with designer collars. They are not the dogs who sleep under the crisp bed covers at night or ride gleefully with their heads hanging out the windows of cars. More times that not, these are the dogs  who are viewed as being expendable by their owners. They are the ones who get loose or get dumped and no one comes to look for them. Many shelter dogs have rarely seen the vet...or been given a simple $20 vaccination that protects them against Parvo. Their bad luck however,  is the only way in which these dogs are inferior. They are just as smart, just as loving and just as beautiful as any other dog. Sometimes, more so.

Last week, a quiet, faceless enemy swept through the shelter where I volunteer. This time the antagonist wasn't time, but a faint trace of bright red blood in the dogs' stools which became proof positive of Parvovirus. So far, the outbreak has left a body count of 21, all Pit Bulls.

Every single dog that I nurtured, named, photographed, wrote Petfinder bios for, played with and taught skills to, is now dead. The staff who fed, watered and cared for  these dogs all day, every day now goes to work in a quarantined facility that is oddly quiet yet full of ghosts.

There are so many things that make this devastating, not the least of which is the fact that at least 3 of these dogs had been at the shelter for almost 4 months, while myself and the staff tried desperately every week to place them. The trio survived several culls for space, almost constant confinement, a severe lack of mental stimulation and a level of stress that most human beings can not even fathom. They triumphed over all of this- just to be taken out by a virus that spread silently from one infected carrier...a virus that is almost 100% preventable.

When I first heard that the shelter was closed due to Parvo, my heart fell into my stomach, but I had no idea how widespread the infection would be. The next day, I received a list with ten or more infected dogs on it, the following day, another 6. One by one, all of these lives which we fought so hard to save, were extinguished.  All of this from a virus that hung in the air, clinging to our shoes and our hands, spreading evasively since late June.

I am so saddened and angry at this needless loss of life. Angry because these dogs didn't deserve to be there in the first place and even angrier because if any one of them had been current on their shots, they would still be alive.
Over the past 15,000 years, we have succeeded in domesticating and thouroughly dominating a species that now is completely dependent upon us to survive. The gray wolf, which the dog was once domesticated from, hunts for it's food, breeds autonomously, possesses natural immunities to disease and lives a life completely free of and in fact,  antithetical to, human existence. Dogs on the other hand, have been bred for millenia to serve humans: as companions, workers and protectors. They are utterly subservient to our treatment and rely entirely on us for food, shelter, affection, amusement and good health.

All they really require is the most minimal of care and compassion and we continue to fail them.
We allow them to breed rampantly and then kill 4 million every year in shelters because there isn't enough space; we make them into designer breeds like Labradoodles and Cockapoos because it's a charming mix while 30% of the homeless dogs in shelters are pure breds; we abuse them, neglect them and even fight them until the death.
Don't we owe these ancient companions more respect? We show more reverence and good will to the very least and most despicable of our own species while constantly using and abusing the faithful creatures that have been at our side for centuries.

I write this in memory of Sasha (pictured), Huckleberry, Bandy, Tiger, Summer, Damon and all of the dogs who were needlessly lost last week due to public enemy #1, ignorance."

Pit bulls on Craiglist

My pittie-of-the week prompted me to check out Craiglist - and I'm completely disgusted.

One man is trying to swap a pit bull puppy for an i-phone (Only an i-phone 4), really?

I feel so bad for these babies- I wish I had a bunch of i-phones and a home for each one because sadly I can't see good things in the future for these babies:

"RED NOISE PIT BULL 4 YOUR IPHONE 4 , WILL TO TRADE FOR IPHONE 4 ONLY** - $650 (PASSAIC , PAULISON AVE WITH MADISON ST.)"

 

 

 

And then there is this sweet baby pit bull (originally bought for $800) being sold for $1 because this man and his wife are fighting.

"BEAUTIFUL BABY BLUE NOSE PITBULL AND DOG HOUSE FOR DIRT CHEAP - $1 (QUEENS)

 WIFE AND I ARE FIGHTING AND I MUST GET RID OF ALL THINGS THAT SHE WANT ME SELLING PURE BREED BLUE NOSE PITBULL AND DOG HOUSE FOR DIRT CHEAP MUST BE DOG LOVER DOG COST OVER 800 AND HOUSE OVER 500 MAKE ME ANY OFFER"

 Please don't support Back Yard Breeders on Craiglist or any other website- check out this debate on Craigslist-Pets here.

Filthy Conditions at NYC Animal Care & Control

NYC AC&C has been doing everything it can lately to make it harder and harder to save dogs lives. Rather than utizile social networking and encourage people to meet their dogs, they are firing their best employees, casting doubt on facebook groups, and now have enacted a new policy of not allowing rescuers to view the animals that are not on the adoption floor (sick or injured or euth list animals) without being escorted by an AC&C employee.

Unfortunately, after this picture was taken of a pit-mixed named Ebony laying in her own filth- even though thousands were trying to mobilize and call the shelter to save her, the AC&C still put her to sleep for having a curable case of Kennel Cough-- gee I wonder how she caught Kennel cough is such a clean environment??

This is NOT acceptable. No-kill advocate athan Winograd sumed it up when he wrote on his fb page,

"This is Ebony. She is scheduled to be killed in New York City’s pound, right down the street from the richest SPCA (the ASPCA) in the nation which last year took in over $100,000,000, despite the Mayor’s Alliance receiving over $20,000,000 in Maddie’s Fund grants, despite the largest adopter pool in the U.S. (8,000,000), and despite a per capita intake rate 1/7 that of No Kill Reno, NV. And while she waits for her death, she is kept in the filthiest conditions possible. NYC’s claim to be a ‘national model’ is a cruel hoax.”

In addition to this loss, the AC&C also recently killed a dog named Jan only to find out from vigilent rescue groups that Jan was very much alive and a shelter employee (AGAIN) killed the wrong dog.

This is Jan-- notice she is NOT in a freezer. Jan still needs a home, visit her fb link here.

Tell the NYC AC&C to get their act together: Send this and other letters to the Mayor, the Mayor's Alliance, and the City Government.

San Francisco

This past week I took a 3-day trip with my friends to San Francisco. I had never been to the West Coast at all and enjoyed seeing the Pacific for the first time, biking the Golden Gate Bridge, and eating amazing food.

Of course I visited what I consider to be the dogs of the sea-- Sea Lions! They are super social creatures, who love lazing around all day, barking at each other and growling when their sunny sleeps get interrupted.

 

 

As I am an obsessive dog-watcher, I looked out for dogs everywhere we went. I loved watching the dogs romp on the beach and play off-leash at Alamo Square. We came across this lovely girl, Luna- who hammed-it-up on the grass by rolling onto my feet and gently nipping at me to get more affection-- Look at that smile!

We also met bunches of other Golden Retrievers, Labs, French Bulldogs, Collies and other great dogs- Unfortunately, I was sad to find that there weren't many mixed breed dogs or pit mixes around. I figured that this meant that there are fewer unwanted/unplanned litters in SF and therefore, fewer shelter dogs. In New York, pit bulls are everywhere- when I stepped out of the path station I was excited to see not only more dogs, but more mutts and more pitties- I guess I am a little biased against pure-breed dogs because I figure they need less help in this world.

I did run into one Pit bull while in San Fran and happily sat down with his owner, a homeless ex-U.S. marine.

 

San Fran has a surprisingly large homeless population- I've been told because of the nice weather and friendly people. When I met this man and sat next to him- his dog (Tyrell), instantly climbed out of his owner's lap and gave me plenty of kisses. He laid down (belly-up) next to me on the side-walk and enjoyed getting his belly scratched.

Tyrell's owner told me that he gets all the vet care he needs because in SF, it is illegal to turn away an animal in need, just as it is illegal to turn away a person who needs emergency care. This makes it financially possible not only for Tyrell to have a "home" of sorts, but also for his owner to have companionship. He told me that Tyrell is his best friend in the whole world, and inspired him to get off the streets and to buy a van for them to sleep in. Together, they share a sleeping bag. Tyrell even protects his owner at night and has bitten another homeless man who tried to steal their things. It seems like a wild life, but the more I heard about this duo- the more sure I became that they really needed each other- and that neither of them would get by without the other.

Fortunately, due to a law that forces pit bulls to be neutered- Tyrell was neutered at the age of only 2 months to prevent over-population and he cannot contribute to more homeless pets, although the law apparently does not apply to other breeds of dogs. I gave his owner $20 for dog food and wished them luck and was so happy I saw a pit bull before leaving San Fran.

Does anyone know more about the shelter system there and why pit bulls must be neutered so young?

Louis V. (burn victim) glad to see his abuser still in jail...

In 2009, an Alabama man doused his mother's pit bull with lighter fluid and lit him on fire because she wouldn't let him use the car.
That man received nine and a half years in jail- but now wants parole. Luckily, the dog- since rescued and recovering- came to the court room to remind everyone of the cruelty inflicted on him.

Read the full story here.

  before:

 

after:

Unfortunately, more than 20% of animal abuse is inflicted on pit bulls.

Like this horrific crime four days ago, this dog fighting bust two days ago in Philly, and of course everyone remembers Patrick- the dog that was found in a trash bag. Luckily these horrible stories can encourage people to adopt pit bulls and also encourage law makers to improve the laws on animal abuse.

Here we see Patrick recuperating:

Tribute to Lost Dogs

Everyone of these dogs in this video was killed in just 5 short days (between March 5th and March 9th 2011) by Animal Care and Control of New York City. Something has to be done to improve the conditions, reduce the upper respiratory infections and provide more room for dogs so that it is not in the shelter's best interest for these dogs to get sick and put down for coughing and sneezing.

These colds can be cured in ten days with antibiotics- both our dogs had coughs and in a clean environment, they got better rapidly. With enough space- colds are no reason to euthanize.

Missouri Puppy Mills Exposed

Since my post about Missouri puppy mills last week, the human society posted this article about the Prop 8 efforts going on in MO. The Protection of Dogs/YES! on prop 8 committee asked the state to investigate the illegal dumping of dead dogs by commercial breeders. The findings will help spur the public to focus on the issues before they vote.

The dogs that you see in the pet shop or the breeder website, may in fact come from one of these irresponsible puppy mills that is dumping their dead dogs. The graphic images that are part of the report show dogs' dead bodies on trash heaps and mass graves. One commercial breeder (Hunte- the largest puppy broker in the US) was found to be dumping 220 pounds of dead puppies a month! Hunte claims that every puppy in their care finds a home.

The Hunte Corp. website slogan is "where puppies come first!" Hunte claims that they adhere to the strictest puppy care standards, where each puppy gets pampered and is given constant attention by veterinarians and human socialization. They say that they transport the animals "in specially built vehicles, designed to support animal health an welfare." However, the basic windowless trucks that deliver the puppies have caught fire multiple times in the past- one time killing all 60 puppies inside of suffocation. For some reason Hunte focused on legitimizing its' business in its' statement rather than explaining its' truck safety record, saying "The puppies were all beautiful, healthy purebreds that were on their way to quality retailers in the northeast and eventually to loving New England families."

Sadly, even if we believe the lies on Hunte Corp's website, they make no promises about the dogs that are bred; promises are only made about the health and welfare of the product. At commercial breeders like Hunte, female dogs are bred constantly, and often killed off when their reproductive rate declines. No one who sees that cute puppy in the window thinks about her poor mother languishing her life away in a tiny dirty cage; forced to share the cage with a male whenever she is in heat. Not to mention that these "pure-bred dogs" like the ones coming from Hunte, have a 25% chance of having some genetic disorder such as blindness, his displaysa, or neurological problems. Since dogs in puppy mills get almost no veterinary care, they will often arrive to you with injuries, fleas, rotting teeth, mange, and often times kennel cough or parvo virus.

The little Wheaton terrier we bought from a pet store (click for the link-- please avoid stores like this) when I was 12 named Noah came to us with parvo virus and died at the animal hospital less than two days after we bought him; they felt bad and simply gave us another dog. (Max, a chocolate lab we later had to put to sleep because he was overly aggressive.) No doubt Noah's brothers and sisters would have been thrown into a dumpster if they had met the same fate.

About 1,000,000 (ONE MILLION) puppies are produced each year by U.S. puppy mills. Many of these are pit bulls, remember that 100,000 pits are put to sleep each year. Pits are adorable when they are little but their rambunctious nature and their breed perception make them difficult for some to keep. Many inner-city males find pit bulls to be "the only acceptable breed of dog to own." This all encourages a cycle of over-breeding and euthanasia, a cycle that brings the dogs into this world for our brief enjoyment and out of it time after time.

Welcome!

Hello and Welcome to my blog to help save American Pitt Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and mixes from Euthanasia in the New York Metropolitan area.

Estimates are that 59% of dogs euthanized in the United States each year are Pitbulls or pit mixes. That comes to about 100,000 dogs killed every year.

Bias about this breeds agressiveness and BSL (Breed Specific Legislation) have kept these loyal and loving dogs from finding homes.

A study by the Center for Interaction of Animals and Society in 2008 found that certain breeds did score highly for agressiveness towards other animals and humans, speciaically Chihuahuas and Daschunds, and that Pit Bulls were only found to be slightly more agreesive than other breeds towards other dogs.

Any breed can be dog-agressive. Agressiveness towards other dogs should not preclude adoption, and doesn't. Only human-agressive dogs are euthanized, and as long as owners are responsible with their animals, dogs that show bad behaviors around other dogs can and should find loving one-pet homes.

There are hundreds of Pitt-specific resue groups, awareness groups, and even tv-shows to prove that this breed has won its way into the hearts of many humans and animals alike. Pit -mix owners know that the bias is unfounded and that the gentleness and loyalty of this enthusiastic breed is often used against it to encourage it to fight.

The pain and punishment this breed endures through the over-breeding, dog fighting, and euthanization is through no fault of its own. American society should reflect love and care for all people and animals that come into this world, especially if their plight is our own fault.

Please join me in my adventue to learn more about this breed and what can be done to save the lives of pitt-mixes in New York City shelters. Even if you are wary about this breed, it is an adventure worth taking. Who knows? Like me, you might find yourself waking up to kisses and tail wags from an adoring creature that cuddles up to you each night.