Arizona Republic Editorial "Real Animal Lovers Spay and Neuter"

In case you missed the Arizona Republic this morning, check out the link below. Please contact the Editorial Board to thank them or post a comment. And ask your friends, family and neighbors to Spay and Neuter Today- before more litters of unwanted animals are born!

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2009/04/02/20090402thur2-02.html

Real animal lovers spay, neuter pets
Apr. 2, 2009 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic

A lot of people call themselves animal lovers. Evidence suggests that "affair of convenience" would be a better way to describe their depth of commitment.

The evidence?

Every year, about 93,000 healthy dogs and cats are euthanized in Arizona animal shelters because nobody wants to adopt them. Only about 60 percent of animals brought to shelters find a home.

Each spring, shelters see an uptick in the number of unwanted puppies and kittens brought in, says Stephanie Nichols-Young of the Animal Defense League of Arizona.

Everybody knows why. Dogs and cats are prolific breeders.

What's more, the numbers of animals euthanized don't reflect the many animals abandoned on the streets or in the desert by people who delude themselves into thinking the poor, domesticated creature will be able to survive on its own. These animals generally die hungry and afraid.

The answer - for real animal lovers - is to reduce the surplus population by spaying and neutering their pets.

Counties across the state use taxpayer funds to catch, keep and often euthanize unwanted animals.

Meanwhile, there are no-cost and low-cost spay and neuter clinics throughout the state. It's easy to find one. The toll-free number for the Animal Defense League's spay and neuter hotline is 866-952-7729. In Phoenix, call 602-265-7729; in Tucson, call 520-624-7729.

Puppies and kittens are cute. The reality of tens of thousands of unwanted animals being euthanized each year isn't.

That's why real animal lovers spay and neuter their pets.

Indigo- one lucky dog!

I wish every person who has bought a puppy mill or pet store dog, could meet Indigo.

She is a wonderful dog that someone dumped in my neighborhood. She has so much personality that she won the hearts of many--including Philip. He fell for her, and decided to adopt her. Before he could catch her, Maricopa County Animal Care and Control got her. Luckily Philip didn't forget Indigo; he went to the shelter and adopted her. That's a good thing. Indigo was headed for the euthanasia list. She's a sharpei/ pit bull mix. So she just blended-in with many other great dogs at MCACC that will never get out.

If you are thinking about adding a dog or cat to your family, please go to a local shelter. If you have companion animals, please spay and neuter. Call 602 265 SPAY, 866 952-SPAY (toll free in AZ) or visit www.SpayNeuterHotline.org

Indigo was vacationing in Palm Springs less than a week after she was adopted. I wish more dogs & cats were so lucky!

A kitty kats luck:)

If this was not a moment of "Fate", then I don't know what is...
Last night while pulling into Walgreens, my husband noticed a young cat in the bushes of a landscaped "island" next to the plaza, right off of Van Buren/Estrella Pkway. Let me add, this is a BUSY intersection. With the love & concern we both share for animals we had to try & handle her, so that we could give her safety & shelter.

The next 40 minutes were just incredible!

As we are walking to her, there she is...about 6 months old, female, black w/faint calico markings & a white chest, rubbing on the bushes, talking to us (meow meow meow) and doing the whole "I want you to pet me, but you can't touch me" walk:) Well, as we are getting cozy on the rocks to coarse her over & figure out our "who will run home & get the cat carrier" plan...a car drives up with a couple inside. We are asked (with smiles on their faces) "Are you trying to catch a black cat with a white chest because we have been feeding her & are very worried about her"?! They continue to park their car, introduce each other and then "fate". They had a trap in their car & it just so happened to be feeding time!!!

I cannot explain the joy & amazement we ALL felt. Us for the fact that we were wondering: how are we going to do this & keep her safe from running into the street, will we find someone who will take care of her (after we fix her) the way a family companion should be cared for and for the other couple-joy. Though they had the trap, their joy of having another couple there to help them with her trapping and sharing the same concerns:)

So we set the trap, put in a yummy can of wet cat food and with Little Miss Kitty (I named her:)) watching the entire time, we set the trap in the middle of the island. After a few sniffs and a couple of circles around the trap, SHE WENT IN! We covered the trap (to calm her) and loaded it up into the couples car. She was startled and scared but is now a member of a wonderful home!

The couple has a ranch with other pets that have been inherited through needing rescue (I think that is the story we ALL share) and they will be spaying Little Miss Kitty. We traded information & have already communicated this morning and have been invited to visit kitty, which we will definitely be doing:)

I, truly, believe this was "one of those moments"...Little Miss Kitty was meant to be part of her new home.

Little Miss Kitty didn't ask to be left outside to wander on her own, but now she will never be left wondering where home is:)

I am elated with this experience!!! I will keep you posted on her adjustment & spay!

Thanks for coming out to Petsmart Walk

Thanks to all the runners, walkers, tablers, two-legged and four-legged ADLA people who came-out to support the Spay/Neuter Hotline at the First Annual PetWalk. Here's some of the 5K runners/walkers at the starting line. Then a very happy Sonia Hernandez at the finish line with her son, Robert Zaragoza (ADLA's fastest runner) at the finish line.

Score one for the dogs!

Score one for the dogs!! Proposition 401, the Tucson Dog Protection Act, passed 402 to 373. Winning an election by 29 votes makes this starkly obvious: everything we did for the dogs was necessary to our success. Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who stepped forward!

There are hundreds of people and organizations who deserve thanks for their assistance to the campaign and the dogs. Among them are: Animal Defense League of Arizona, Carmen Arrison, Laura Burchette, Carol Burney, Bill Carnegie, Diana Chapin-Tsai, Kayla Coe, Dr. Phil Comer and the other 101 endorsing Tucson veterinarians, Cynthia David, Linda Dills, Christine Dorchak, Elsa Duarte, Joan Eidinger, Marion Erickson, FBI agents Mike and Jeff, Dr. Janet Forrer, Mary Gay, Greyhound Adoption League, Greyhound Network News, Greg Hale, Cindy Hall, Sandra Heater, Pete & Marilyn Kaniowsky, Bonnie Kay, Jeanne Keller, the Kislak family, Claire Klingler, KrisAnn Kokes, Janet Lang, Dona LaSchiava, Ashleigh Letofsky, Lisa Markkula, Maggie McCurry, Karen Michael, Krista Nelson, Carolyn Olson, Penny Orth, Jean Pace, Pima County Democratic Party, Joan Randles, Jim Shea, Angy Shearer, J.D. Shulec, Lorri Tracy, Jerry Tucker, Marcie Velen, Gary Vella, Susan Via, Jeff Vifquain, Maru Vigo, Chris Wencker, Ron & Roberta Wright, and Karyn Zoldan.

For those of you who weren't able to follow the campaign, we used your donations for three direct mailers to South Tucson voters, two door hangers that we passed throughout the community, 100 yard signs, and 176 radio spots on 4 Spanish stations. That may be impressive, but I'm sure what put us over the top were the intrepid volunteers who went door-to-door and talked with voters.

Kennel operators will have to either cook the diseased meat that they use or buy commercial pet food, they'll have to segregate the males and the females, and they'll have to find ways to get the dogs out of their cages at least six hours a day. If they try to get away with doing nothing, they're in for a rude awakening. We intend to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone violating the new law.

We're also staying on top of investigations by the Department of Racing and the Arizona Veterinary Examining Board. There is so much wrong with the abuse of anabolic steroids at the track that this matter won't be going away any time soon.

In other wonderful news, Massachusetts voters banned greyhound racing and California voters passed the most significant ballot initiative in U.S. history, protecting more than 20 million animals and almost certainly setting into motion a momentous change in the way that Americans view and treat animals raised for food.

Our bottom line is that we're elated at the good sense of the voters, we're enormously grateful to all of you who helped make this possible!

Your Office Manager

Jamie Massey

Mountain Lion Killed South of Tucson

The Arizona Game & Fish Department (AZGF) killed a female mountain lion in the Coronado National Forest (CNF) near Madera Canyon, south of Tucson, on October 26. The day before the lion reportedly aggressively stalked a hiker and his dog. The Animal Defense League of Arizona is in contact with AZGF and has attempted to reach the CNF. We will continue to follow-up, and update you on new information.

Here's what we know. The lion was a female of normal weight and health. She was not rabid. She had scars on her neck. The University of Arizona Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory has conducted a necropsy. AZGF applied its Protocol aka AZGFD Action Plan for Minimizing and Responding to Lion/Human Interactions. That was officially adopted in 2005, after the bungling of some poorly documented lion sightings in Sabino Canyon by CNF and AZGF.

AZGF has learned a lot from its mistakes. First, it held extensive public meetings in 2004 after Tucson expressed outrage at the agencies' actions and statements. Second, it developed a reasonable (although certainly not perfect) policy in the Protocol. Third, it has actually followed the Protocol. The bonus is that Gerry Perry the former head of the Tucson regional office retired. His replacement is Leonard Ordway, a long time AZGF employee. Ordway is certainly an "old school" wildlife manager in many ways. However, he has integrity and is responsive. Moreover, he is a biologist and will listen to suggestions made with data to back them up. Tucsonans should take the opportunity to get to know Ordway, and give him the benefit of the doubt.

On the other hand, the CNF is a complete disappointment. Its spokesperson continues to spread the myth that lions have a "natural fear" of people. They don't. Let me set the record straight. There is no scientific evidence that mountain lions have a natural fear of people. To the contrary, a study by Linda Sweanor indicated that mountain lions have no natural fear of people. It's very sad that a lay volunteer with an animal protection group knows more about the natural history of lions than the agency that manages the land where lions live, but that's the state of affairs in Arizona- at least at the CNF.

Update on Prairie Dog Reintroduction

Here's an update on the prairie dog colony from volunteer Landon Vincent :

“I just wanted to write with a bit of an update on the black-tailed prairie dogs down in Las Cienegas. Last week I camped out spending four straight days monitoring the colony. Every hour (of daylight) we would do a visibility count and compare that with previously known percentage ranges for what's been observed in healthy colonies elsewhere and our colony seemed to be doing really well. Our counts were right within the expected range, depending a bit on the weather. During windy days we saw a few less, but I guess that's understandable when they rely upon scent and sound for defense. The dogs were really active at already building their own natural burrows as well as exploring up the far hillside.”

The Tucson Citizen has an article on the prairie dog release: and AZ Game & Fish has posted an article . And check out our slideshow on the release . It takes awhile to load – wait until the control panel shows up on the right corner of the screen.

AZ Game & Fish needs volunteers over the next three months to monitor the prairie dog colony. If you can help please contact us.

Thanks to Landon for the update and to all of the volunteers for their efforts to return this keystone species to its home in Arizona!

Karen Michael