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Welcome to ASPCA News Alert, a weekly e-mail newsletter
from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals.
 Congrats:
PETFINDER HAPPY TAIL OF THE WEEK: THE "TAU" THAT BINDS
Sure,
Petfinder.com
may be the best place to look online for the perfect
pooch--but did you know that you just might find another
species of friend there, too?! Just ask the Sanscrainte
family, who recently welcomed a malamute/Lab mix puppy
named Tau into their lives--and found a great new human
friend in the process. It all began when the
Sanscraintes saw Tau on
Petfinder.com, the ASPCA's online partner and
searchable database of more than 95,000 homeless pets in
the
U.S.
and
Canada
. The Sanscraintes knew immediately that Tau was the pup
for them, but there was one little problem. He was in
Utah
at
Save a Dog and Kids, Inc., and they were in
New Hampshire
.
"We spoke to the director, Denise De Vynck," says Angela
Sanscrainte, and Denise outlined what the family would
need to complete a very thorough application process.
Explains
Denise, "I had them send letters from their veterinarian
and from a trainer, plus our completed application form.
I also had a local SPCA person do a home visit." Denise
is the brain--and heart--behind Save a Dog and Kids,
which offers animals for adoption as well as
opportunities for children to care for and train
canines.
Thrilled
that the Sanscraintes had passed the application process
with flying colors, Denise chose them to be Tau's
family, and put the pooch on a plane to
Boston
. "Our children thought we were picking up their uncle
at the airport," says Angela. "Little did they know we
were getting Tau. He has been a joy!"
But the story
doesn't end there. Because of their good experience with
Save a Dog and Kids, the Sanscraintes decided to adopt
two cats, Princess and P.K. (Pretty Kitty), from the
group. "This time Denise flew the animals out herself,"
says Angela. "What a treat to meet this wonderful
person."
The
Sanscraintes knew that Denise's birthday fell near the
time of her visit, so they had planned a party for her.
Since then, they've kept in touch through phone calls
and e-mail, and thanks to Petfinder--and Tau, of
course--the friendship has blossomed. "They are like
family to me," Denise says, "and I also know first-hand
they give the best home to their pets!"
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| PETFINDER
HAPPY TAIL OF THE WEEK
Dear Petfinder
member,
This story was submitted to us by a person who adopted a pet from
your project. It gives us great pleasure to share it with you.
If we sent it, as is, to the media recommended by the writer, we would
like it to be accurate, positive, and newsworthy. To that end,
we
welcome your input.
The new guardian has recommended a newspaper. If you are
interested in
greater coverage, send us your county name so that we could select
others from our media source.
We would also like your permission to include any of your comments.
The story is a testament to your hard work on behalf of the pets-
Thanks for all that you do.
If you respond, send the entire message back so that I won't have to put
the pieces back together.
Mike
----Original Message-----
From: Anne Valenti [mailto:Anne Valenti]
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2001 11:01 PM
To: mike@petfinder.com
Subject: WWW Form Submission
Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
Anne Valenti () on Monday, December 31, 2001 at 00:01:04
city_county: Plymouth
state: MA
shelter: Save a Dog/Kid
shelterlocation: Orem,Utah
result _of_petfinder: Yes Petfinder helped make this happy tail
share_info: yes you can share my story
Press: just moved here
message: We tell everyone about
Petfinder.com that will listen to our
happiness. We adopted a wonderful bernese mountain dog mix from
Utah
and we love her to pieces. That is why we named her "Reese's",
as in
"Reese's pieces!!!" She has fit into our family since
the day we picked
her up from Logan Airport on February 16,2001, my son, Salvy's 8th
Birthday! It was the best birthday present he has ever gotten
and he is
looking forward to celebrating their birthday this year. I can not say
enough good things about our find on Petfinder.com. It was so fun
finding her picture on the Internet and knowing you are not only
fulfilling your own needs of locating a new family member ,but you are
also giving a pet a second chance at being loved and part of a family
which every pet should have. I am so glad I used Petfinders.com
to make
our connection and I will continue to rave about this wonderful service
to both people and pets. Thank you from our whole family..
Anne, Rich, Salvy,Nico!
le and Reese's Valenti.
|
 Emails
we receive from kids
> Hi! We're the Penguin
Club. We're a group of kids that get
> > together
> > > > after school to work on projects
like recycling newspaper and
> > helping
> > > > animals.This time we're working
on getting the laws changed on puppy
> > > > mills. We're e-mailing
every animal shelter and rescue in America
> > and
> > > > asking them for their opinions
on puppy mills.
> > > > Has a dog from a
puppy mill ever ended here? What do you think of
> > puppy
> > > > mills?
> > > > Thanks, all of the
responses will be included in our letter to the
> > US
> > > > Capital Building.
> > > > -The Penguins ( Melissa)
How wonderful! Have you read what my program is doing to get kids of
all walks of life involved in learning compassion and education in dog
training? Please have your kids get involved and read our website. We have
a great solution to the animal cruelty and throwing away of puppies and
dogs due to puppy mills and irresponsible breeders who don't have them
fixed and cause all the unwanted mixed pups born to irresponsible owners
who buy them from the pet stores, backyard breeders, purebred breeders,
"AKC" and other irresponsible people. Please help us get more
kids educating the public in this practice of selling "AKC"
puppies and not fixing them and letting nature take its course and
unwanted mixed litters being born. The shelters here are crowded with
unwanted puppies. Till everyone stops breeding, and starts fixing all the
dogs and cats until we stop killing millions every year, we cannot catch
up.
Have the kids read www.saveadogandkids.org and look at the list of
puppies being euthanized and abandoned in our local shelter every day.
They are smart and they will get the picture and go tell the adults this
has to stop. Our kids take a homeless puppy out of the shelter with our
help, crate-train, socialized and train him to get a new home as we get it
ready with veterinary neuter, microchip and vaccinations over 2 to 4
months as needed. This way the kids learn the responsibility and value of
a pup, and the public also learns by watching these caring young kids.
Please contact us how you can do the same in your community. Go to
www.saveadogandkids.org and call me at 801-808-44424 this is a solution to
not only puppy mills, shelter overcrowdedness and teaching our youth the
right values and responsibilities. Please join me. You should see the
video footage I have over the years of what the dogs and kids gain from
this experience. I am looking for help to get it on DVDs to send to
everyone. WE just need the funding.
Thanks for caring to get involved,
Denise De Vynck,
Director Save A Dog & Kids dot Org,
saveadog@xmission.com,
801-808-4424
|
PETFINDER.COM NEWS
Below is the result of your feedback form. It was
submitted by
Angela Sanscrainte (lscara@aol.com) on Tuesday, October 1, 2002 at
22:12:39
------------------------------------------------------------------------
---
city_county: Windham, Rockingham
state: NH
shelter: Save a Dog & Kids Inc
share_info: yes you can share my story
Press: Derry News
After our Husky, Nikki, passed, we wanted a male puppy. Our 14
yr. old female Akita-mix would only accept a male dog....so we searched
Petfinder.com. We came across, Tau, an eight week old malamute/lab mix.
The problem was he was at a shelter in Utah! We spoke to the director,
Denise, at the shelter and she wanted letters of recommendation,
pictures of our house and yard. Since Denise was having problems
finding a good home in Utah, she would consider an out-of-state
adoption.
We waited and prayed for three weeks. Finally, Denise called us with
the good news. She chose us to be Tau's family and she would fly him to
Boston before Christmas. Our children thought we were picking up their
uncle at the airport...Little did they know we were getting Tau.
He has been a joy! Kesia has perked up quite a bit since Tau has been
with us. He is now a year old and such a part of the family.
Since then, we have added to our clan, two cats from the same shelter.
This time Denise flew the animals out herself. What a treat to meet
this wonderful person!
When it's Kesia's time to go, we will use Save A Dog & Kids again!! Thank
you for your service.
| Posted on Wed, Aug. 04, 2004 |
Rescue groups try to save W.Va. dogs
VICKI SMITH
Associated Press
MORGANTOWN, W.Va.
- Animal-rescue groups across the nation are scrambling to
find homes for nearly 100 cats and dogs at a West Virginia shelter,
where they fear sudden budget cuts could lead to a mass gassing.
Judy Oliver, director of the Mason County Animal Shelter in Point
Pleasant, and two employees resigned when told to get rid of 55 dogs and
40 cats within 14 days. That's more than five times the number of dogs
killed in all of 2003.
"I couldn't do it," Oliver said Wednesday. "They told me to start
yesterday, and I refused."
But County Administrator John Gerlach and County Commissioner Rick
Handley said that's not exactly what they ordered. They said Oliver was
told she could clear out the animals by adoption, rescue or
euthanization. The suggestion that all be killed at once is both absurd
and physically impossible, Gerlach said.
On Wednesday, the 42-pen facility had 80 dogs and 50 cats. The county
wants those numbers cut to 25 and 10, respectively. From now on, no
animal can stay more than 14 days. After that, it must be put down.
State law requires only a five-day stay.
"I don't understand how we got to be the villains in this," Gerlach
said. "In some counties, as soon as the clock ticks five days, they
start gassing."
Gerlach and Handley said they fielded angry calls from across the
country as animal rescue groups spread e-mails Wednesday that contained
some misinformation.
"I had a lady call me an ignorant hillbilly," Handley said. She
apologized when he told her the animals had two weeks.
"We would like to not have to put any of them down," added Gerlach,
challenging rescuers to "come and get 'em."
Now, groups from Utah to Pennsylvania are organizing drivers to pick
up the animals.
"We understand they can't just warehouse animals. I'd put them down
too, if it got too ridiculous," said rescuer Vicki Sayles of Doylestown,
Pa., part of a network called Animal Underground. "But they should give
you time to put out a plea."
Sayles' group brings animals to a PetsMart store in Montgomeryville,
Pa., every Saturday from noon to 3 p.m., and West Virginia pets are
quickly snatched up. On average, she said, about 50 people show up for
12 dogs.
"These particular dogs are really highly adoptable animals. They're
loving animals that are usually lovingly taken care of," she said.
"People stand in line, waiting for West Virginia dogs."
Denise De Vynck, director of Utah-based Save A Dog & Kids Inc., said
animal rescuers had already been struggling to find homes for some 200
dogs at a shelter in Warren, Tenn., that was ordered to shut down for
financial reasons. The Mason County crisis further strains the limited
resources of volunteers from Ohio to Vermont.
"The same problem exists everywhere when you've got this
overpopulation problem: You can't catch up and you can't get the
manpower, and you just kill, kill, kill, kill," De Vynck said. "It's
unbelievable what these elected officials create when they make these
decisions."
Oliver said she returned from vacation Tuesday to learn her budget
was being slashed from about $97,000 to $50,000, and her staff cut from
six to three.
Though she's run the shelter for eight years, she began transporting
dogs to other states only two years ago.
"I've had hundreds of dogs adopted this year already, just since
January," she said. "Some of these dogs may not be the prettiest dogs,
but there's somebody out there for every dog."
Oliver's animals usually end up in states with mandatory spaying and
neutering laws, and, therefore, a shortage of puppies. In West Virginia,
where there is no such law, she gets litters from the same dogs every
six months.
"It's a vicious cycle," she said. "It's horrible, and no one will do
anything about it."
De Vynck said most animal transport participants are volunteers using
private funds. Oliver, however, was using public funds and employees in
a county that can no longer afford it.
Gerlach said tax collections this year will be about $220,000 less
than expected, and cuts must be made.
At the same time, the county is facing $250,000 more than expected in
regional jail costs, plus huge increases in liability and employee
health insurance.
"That money's going to come from somewhere," Gerlach said. "Our
county just can't support all these things."
ON THE NET
Mason shelter:
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/WV39.html
Save a Dog & Kids Inc Relocation of Southern Dogs and cats.:
www.weneedahome.net
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UINTAH
COUNTY STRUTT YOUR MUTT
Strut
Your Mutt brings out the dogs
August
15, 2001
By
Virginia Harrington, Feature Writer
The second annual Strut Your Mutt program and contest, sponsored by Uintah
Animal Care, was held Saturday, August 11 in the amphitheater at Western
Park.
Special guest for the event was Denise DeVynck and Save a Dog and Kids, Inc.
from Provo. DeVynck and several youths demonstrated a dog training technique
called "click and treat," which DeVynck said is a successful training
method for dogs of all ages. The idea is to sound a "clicker" every
time the animal responds to a command in an appropriate manner and then provide
a tidbit of a treat. The dog soon learns to associate the sound of the click
with a treat and then to associate the proper behavior with the click.
Strut Your Mutt also involved several competitions between dogs, both purebreds
and mixed breeds. A large number of dogs and their people entered 16 contests.
The top winners of each contest were then entered into Best in Show.
Sarah Bingham, daughter of Debbie and Scott Bingham of Vernal, and her dog
Maggie, won best trick dog and most obedient dog, then won Best in Show for
Mutts. Drew Jackson, son of Phil and Lisa Jackson of Vernal, and his dog Cobra,
won best short-haired dog, then won Best in Show for Purebreds.
Other winners were Forrest McMickell (Mack), for dog resembles owner and
curliest hair, Rikki Smith (Roxy) for best frisbee catcher, Jessica Johns
(Angel) for best long-hair, Scarlett Olson (Billy) for kissingest dog, Becky
Jones (Rocco) for waggiest tail and most spots, Shelby MacLee (Dana) for most
unique mutt, Kim Turner (Ruddee) for most unique purebred, Kaylee Roloff (Gertie)
for smallest dog, Cliftia Purcell Johnson (Worf) for largest dog and longest
tail, Deserie Jackson (Dugan) for longest legs, Collett
Burgess (Bugs) for shortest legs, and Shaycee Mohar (Licorice) for prettiest
eyes.
The part of the program that many dogs seemed to enjoy best was "bobbing
for dogs." Hot dogs were placed in a child's wading pool filled with water
and any dog not minding a cooling dip could jump or reach in to snag a tasty
treat.
10533 Sara Bingham and her dog Maggie win Best in Show for Mutts at Strut Your
Mutt.
10532 Drew Jackson and his dog Cobra won Best in Show for purebreds at Strut
Your Mutt.
 Collaborating
with the South Salt Lake Animal Shelter, we offered low cost 7 week obedience
training with David Lyman. This Special Graduation of 13 of our rescued
puppies placed with very responsible owners who completed 7 weeks of training
with their new puppies. Many continued with our program for more fun
trick training.
Save a Dog
Save A Dog & Kids Inc. has been bringing beautiful puppies and purebred
dogs to Park City for the past two years. Everyone wants to know what the
"Kids" part of our nonprofit program is about. Denise De Vynck's 20
years of Social Work experience with teens and kids gives them an opportunity
to learn to love, care for and train puppies. This gives them compassion,
responsibility, confidence and many other important lessons in life. If your
teen would like to care for a puppy, crate-train them and clicker train them,
we will provide everything they need.
One of our teen foster homes told us that this has been the best experience
for their 12 year-old daughter. With our volunteer teens, and help from local
residents and Michelle and Ariel of Bad Ass Coffee, we have adopted out over
300 dogs in the past year: Great Pyrenees, Saint Bernards, Australian
Shepherds, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Yellow Labs and many more. We
microchip all dogs, give all Vaccinations including Bordetella, Spay/Neuter
and have a great Clicker Training course at a discount in Park City at Silver
Creek Animal Hospital with an expert Rescue Arctic Dog trainer Marren
Partridge.(See pictures of some of the dogs adopted by Park City Families,
adoption days, Marren our trainer and current pups for adoption attached)
We are in need of an indoor location to do our weekend adoptions in Park
City because the weather is getting colder. We have never had a fundraiser
yet, and save these pups with Adoption donations only. We would love to hold a
Christmas Ball for the Dogs if we had a location. We work hard to save as many
of the 50 plus dogs and litters of puppies dumped at the Utah County Shelter
at a time, where 25 a day have to be put down because there is no room. We
donated over 5,000 Pet Resource Guides with $20 off Spay/Neuter and Training
coupons for the Utah County residents at this summer's 22 city festivals,
rodeos and parades. Education and resources are needed in Utah County, and we
need your help because Park City is up to date on responsible dog ownership.
If you want to be a part of this great program contact Denise at Save A Dog
& Kids Inc.: 801-225-6491 or leave a message at 801-808-4424. We want to
thank all our loyal and dedicated supporters in Park City.
 Denise
Devynck holds a Norwegian Elkhound puppy, (one of two she rescued from the
local shelter after the breeder could not sell them), at the No More Homeless
Pets of Utah first press conference.
Our SAVE A DOG article in the Utah County Journal was published
every week for 4 years until the paper stopped publication. This paper was
distributed free of charge to all Utah County homes. Save A Dog & Kids
used this article for education on proper dog ownership, low cost Spay/Neuter,
Training and other resources.
 COME
READ OUR FOUNDER'S MESSAGE ABOUT HER EXPERIENCE RESCUING IN HER COUNTY IN UTAH
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