Cochise County Critter Corral Blog

Stop the Killing and Waste of Tax Dollars

2009-08-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

This is what it looked like on a summer morning on public land in Idaho last month.

And this is what it looked like hours later, after the Bureau of Land Management's "gathering" of the wild horses by helicopter, chasing one wild stallion relentlessly. According to the Cloud Foundation, "In the Challis round up in Idaho round up just last week six horses were killed, six foals were orphaned and the majority of the 400+ horses lost their freedom. All this destruction when the range looks the best it has in over 80 years according to local residents."

You can read more about it here.

It reminds me of the strip mining sites I've seen. Is this the future of our great American West? Cloud's herd is also scheduled for a round-up in September. Please take a moment and help.

(Both photos by Elissa Kline, published on wildhorsepreservation.com, July 2009.)

Horse Boy

2009-04-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

There was an amazing story on the CBS Evening News a couple weeks ago (this post was completed on May 10). A boy with autism who didn't talk was put on a horse by his dad, and he began to speak. The parents went all the way to Mongolia to learn about the healing power of horses. Read more here.

And speaking of equine therapy, there's another facility called "Hero Hearts EquiCenter, Inc." that is going to be having activities in June, including the Hero Hearts program for veterans. Their e-mail address is heroheartsequicentr@yahoo.com.

Another Outrage

2009-04-22T20:52:00.000-07:00

Normally I don't follow celebrity stories, but the one on the trustees disbursing Leona Helmsley's estate disturbed me for two reasons. Leaving the dogs out of it, I was dumbfounded that "trustees" could disburse money against the deceased's wishes. After reading the New York Times article, I learned she had a statement that left some of the disbursement to her trustees. But it wasn't intended to be the vast majority, I'm sure. And by all accounts, Ms. Helmsley did not even like people.

How strange is it that there were death threats against her dog because it inherited $12 million (a judge reduced to $2 million). The judge then gave her grandchildren $6 million although they were "explicitly" left out of the will.

So dog charities were given $1 million of $136 million disbursed. What this says to me is the lack of regard people have for "poor, dumb animals" (my wording) compared to people. I don't dispute the value of medical research (which probably is using dogs as lab animals), but I think Ms. Helmsley's wishes were ignored. The bottom line is, make your will crystal clear. And I personally hope Ms. Helmsley is haunting her brother, grandsons, lawyer, and friend. What a difference that money could have made in the millions of homeless animals killed each year because they are inconvenient to humans. (Photo of Maltese like Trouble, Helmsley's dog, from pets911.com.)

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
--Mahatma Gandhi

Happy Earth Day!

An Outrage

2009-04-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

(UPDATE to Blog of January 14)

The man who was on trial for beating and dragging his horse behind his truck was found NOT GUILTY by a jury on felony animal cruelty charges. And the man is a geriatric nurse!

Read more here.

Kachina, the abused horse, is now leaving peacefully at Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary. Here she is running free with some PMU (Pregnant Mare Urine) horses. These are horses that were used to make the drugs Premarin and others.

The Magic of Misty

2009-03-30T23:49:00.000-07:00

I follow the blog of a naturalist and field biologist who mainly writes about birds, and his latest posts were about a trip to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. After the first post, a lot of women commented that it was great that he was seeing so many birds, especially many on his life list, but what about the ponies?

Like my mother and me, they had read Marguerite Henry's "Misty of Chincoteague" about the wild ponies that lived on Assateague, a neighboring island of Chincoteague. The book is based on a true story of a wild pony foal that was adopted with her mother by the Beebe family from one of the yearly roundups to raise money for the Chincoteague Fire Department. I have my mother's copy as well as my own. It was one of many beautiful horse books Ms. Henry wrote and Wesley Dennis illustrated. I once wrote a letter to Ms. Henry and told her how much the book had meant to me and my mother. She sent me the postcard below. Ms. Henry got Rheumatic Fever at the age of 7, which kept her out of school for several years. She learned to love reading and later writing.

I always wanted to go to Chincoteague with my mother and see the wild ponies. That did not happen, but it is still on my life list. I always wanted to adopt one of the ponies, too. There is an organization called The Feather Fund which makes that dream come true for little girls and boys every July during Pony Penning Days in Chincoteague, Virginia.

(Book image by applebybooks.net)
UPDATE 4/5/09: The pony pictures and a video were posted today on Mon@rch's website.

Tucson Rodeo Parade--Horse Abuse?

2009-02-27T21:15:00.000-08:00

Channel 13, KOLD Tucson, showed this You Tube video of a downed horse that was kicked and had its tail pulled when it would not get up during the parade on Thursday morning. The video begins with the horse lying on the ground; it is not shown what happened before. It is being investigated, and a veterinarian who had not seen the video said sometimes it is necessary to kick a horse when it has colic because if it doesn't get up, it will die. Well, supposedly the man tried to re-enter the parade and was not allowed to, so I would say the horse did not have colic. The parade is billed as the longest non-mechanized parade in the country, and according to its web site there is "zero tolerance for animal abuse."

They do have a lot of rules concerning safety of the animals, participants, and the parade viewers, especially after a 5-year-old girl was killed in 2007 when her horse was spooked.

I also found a video claiming electric shocksare used on the bucking broncos. That video is a lot clearer, and I don't think it could have been altered but I'm not an expert. The group that posted it says the rodeo claims the horses are "born to buck." I went to a few rodeos when I was young and from that and reading about it, I came to my own conclusion that except for the barrel racing, a lot of cruelty was involved.

UPDATE by Channel 13 on March 10: The rodeo parade committee now says the horse was ridden in the rest of the parade, and they visited the horse later and found no signs of abuse. But incredibly, there are no veterinarians present along the parade route, although they may consult the ones at the rodeo grounds. Since this is the longest non-mechanized parade in the country, that is totally unacceptable.

Earth Mothers

2009-03-08T14:16:00.000-07:00

The theme of Women’s History Month (WHM) is “Women Taking the Lead to Save Our Planet” featuring Rachel Carson, "the founder of the contemporary environmental movement, as the iconic model of the theme. Rachel Carson's work provides an admirable model for comparison." I have her book “Silent Spring” which I haven’t read, but I think about what it would be like if there were no birds (which is why it has that title) all the time. The quote on the WHM poster is "The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction." Sadly, she died of cancer at the age of 56.

Also being honored is Jane Goodall, the wildlife researcher, educator, and conservationist. Ms. Goodall, along with other pioneers like Dian Fossey, focused her research on the animals' relationships with each other more than their male counterparts did.

"What I find really fascinating is the way in which people's questions about the inner lives of animals have changed over the years. After lectures people used to be totally fascinated with the question of what do they do about death? More recently, as we've gradually broken down the barriers, again and again, I am asked, do they have souls? This reflects, I think, a change in the way people are thinking? --Jane Goodall, "The Dance of Awe," A COMMUNION OF SUBJECTS: Animals in Religion, Science, and Ethics, ed. By Paul Waldau and Kimberly Patton.

There's more information on the Women's History Project WHM web pages.

For the Love of Jerry

2009-02-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

PBS aired another outstanding Nature episode last night, "Why We Love Cats and Dogs." It was entertaining and informative (cat agility--who knew?) as well as touching, with real people talking about their pets. But the most touching story of all is about Jerry, a German Shepard who was adopted by a couple after they got married. They didn't have kids, and they loved going hiking and camping with him. Then Jerry got bone cancer and had one of his front legs amputated, but that didn't stop him from being an active dog. But his owners decided it wasn't enough to come home to him after work every day, and they were missing too much of his life. They sold their business (which they had planned to do when they retired) and home and bought an RV so they could travel the country full-time with Jerry. Naturally a lot of their friends and family thought they were nuts.

I've had three dogs who had cancer, and one who died unexpectedly so he probably had it, too. Trying to make the right decisions for what is best for your dogs while struggling with your own desire to be with them was almost the hardest parts of my life.

You can watch the full episode here. Be sure to grab your kleenex as Jerry's story is both sad and joyful.

Jerry's owners also have a website, Jerry's Place for Tripawds, which has a lot of good information and even a store for three-legged pets (photo is from their website). There is also a lot of resources on dog cancer.

Here's to Jerry, Sasha, Joey, Dillan, and Jessee at the Rainbow Bridge.

Good News for Cloud's Herd

2008-08-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

According to Ginger Kathrens of The Cloud Foundation, the BLM announced it would not begin roundups of the Pryor Mountain Herd. They received many phone calls and e-mails questioning the roundup, especially because they had announced in June they did not have the budget to feed the ones they already have rounded up.

As taxpayers this is an issue we CAN do something about, and we must. Many people are upset about the frequent breakdown of racehorses, but the industry is regulated by individual states and it is a very complex situation. The BLM is entrusted to manage the program under the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and they should be held accountable.

Someone made a comment about an e-mail I posted in a Yahoo group about Cloud's herd saying maybe it was better if the land was left to the wildlife. Most people don't know the horse's ancestor originated in North America. See the Desert USA article.

Besides, wild horses do much less damage to the land than cattle. And did you know that ranchers only pay $1.35 a head for grazing rights which has been the same rate for decades?

Right now I am reading "Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West", an new book by Deanne Stillman, a journalist. It took her 10 years to research and write it, and it is a very interesting and thorough history.

Here is a photo from Ms. Kathern's e-mail, which shows some very healthy members of Cloud's family, including his granddaughter Ember:

New Legislation for Wild Horses

2009-02-13T18:36:00.001-08:00

America’s Wild Horses Will Roam Free, Under New Legislation

February 12, 2009

Washington, D.C. - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) and Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Chairman Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) today introduced legislation to ensure the continued protection of the thousands of wild horses and burros that roam the Nation's public lands, which have recently become endangered by Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to slaughter otherwise healthy animals.

"It is unacceptable for wild horses to be slaughtered without any regard for the general health, well-being, and conservation of these iconic animals that embody the spirit of our American West," Rahall said. "Introduction of this legislation will ensure the continued presence of those wild horses that make their homes on public lands."

"Our wild horses are being harmed by antiquated policies," said Grijalva. "These policies must be updated to reflect Americans' desire to see these horses protected. We must not lose these majestic icons of the West. "

To read more, go here. Representatives Rahall and Grijalva (from Arizona) ride to the rescue of America's wild horses!

Article and Photos on Wild Horses

2009-02-03T20:32:00.000-08:00

National Geographic has a good article on wild horses with beautiful photographs by Melissa Farrow. The first photo is of the Gila wild horse herd from Gila Bend, Arizona. For some reason they were not under the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act and were about to be rounded up and sold for slaughter when the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, founded by Wild Horse Annie, rescued them. The article is informative and well-balanced on both sides.

Gold Medals to My Relay Team AKA The Collie Express

2008-08-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I received a foster-to-adopt Rough Collie through a four-leg relay from Phoenix (I was the last leg). It happened so fast through Southwest Collie Rescue it made my head spin. Bruce, who handed him off to me in Benson, said it was his 111th transport. I was totally amazed and touched that people would do so much to help a rescued dog, who is a totally wonderful and beautiful boy. His family did not want to give him up, and I can tell how well he was treated. I feel very sad for their loss, and I will do everything I can to give him a wonderful home as they were promised. He is very much like Jessee, the beautiful boy pictured in my profile, but I know better to expect him to be like him. But tonight I am feeling very blessed by angels, human and otherwise.

Matilda, Way to Go, Girl!

2009-02-02T17:41:00.001-08:00

Puppy Bowl V was a blast as usual, and the puppy I voted for as Most Valuable Puppy won (Animal Planet photo)! She scored more touchdowns than any other puppy in the five years Animal Planet has been showing it! My second favorite was another female beagle puppy, Madeline. They were supposed to be available for adoption, but I couldn't find them on Petfinder (which is a good thing for my dogs).

Of course, the Clydesdales were my favorite Super Bowl ads. For someone who doesn't like football, it's a pretty good day (actually I couldn't find them online until today)!

On a solemn note, I'm glad they did a tribute to Pat Tillman before the game (I didn't see it, but I read about it). He is such a hero to Arizonans and millions of other people. His jersey (retired number 40) outsells all of the other players'. His wife was there in one of the VIP boxes.

Back to beagles, I love the motto of the Arizona Beagle Rescue: "If you save one dog, you won't change the world, but surely the world will change for that one dog."

My Sugarplum Faerie (Fairy)

2008-12-23T20:17:00.000-08:00

The Nutcracker ballet was an important part of my family's Christmas traditions, but that's not what this post is about. When I was living in Augusta, Georgia, there was a pony in a small field next to my elementary school. How unheard of that would be today. Think of the liability! Although as far as I knew, he was only aggressive towards my dog. There were other ponies living in my neighborhood, even though it was in the city. I would get some carrots and announce to my family, "I'm going to see the ponies" and walk a distance I can't remember now.

My favorite was Sugarplum. She was not exactly a pretty pony, but she was the sweetest one I've ever known. She lived all by herself in a nice big pasture down the road behind some other ponies. One day I was foolish enough to go into their corral, and the stallion charged me. I was a lot faster then and got out before he reached me.

Sugarplum belonged to a little girl who was too sick to ride or feed her. I don't remember the details her father told me now. I think I may have written them in my diary, but I can't find it. I don't know if it was a terminal condition or if the little girl was able to be with her pony at last. I hope so. That's what Christmas is all about, hope and remembering those times that touched our heart. Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate. We need to celebrate each other in these times, including the animals who grace our lives.

Time for Change

2009-01-14T22:21:00.000-08:00

The winds of change need to blow through all kinds of government, not just Washington. Cochise County has had to stop calling so many potential jurors because the courts are so full and it is costing so much. Now that's not actually a bad thing for us law-abiding citizens, but I was following a case today of a Pinal County man who was arrested in August for dragging a horse with a pickup truck. He also beat the horse with a pipe, and his 13-year-old daughter kicked it in the head. You can read the horrendous details at here.

I had received an e-mail he was going to be sentenced today, but it turns out it was a hearing to set a court date. This case has been dragging through the system with a bunch of what appear to me to be technicalities (although I'm not an expert on the court system).

Event Date Event Description Party
1/13/2009 CAL: REVIEW
12/29/2008 NTC: RULING MOTION UNDR ADVIS D 1
12/23/2008 ME: SET/CONT REVIEW HRG D 1
12/10/2008 ME: SET/CONT REVIEW HRG D 1
12/10/2008 CAL: TRIAL RESET
12/9/2008 CAL: JURY TRIAL
12/8/2008 CAL: MOTION/PULL FOR JUDGE
12/2/2008 REPLY D 1
11/20/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
11/13/2008 RESPONSE TO MOTION P 1
11/12/2008 ME: SET/CONT HRG PENDING MOTNS D 1
11/12/2008 CAL: STATUS REVIEW
11/12/2008 MOTION TO REMAND TO GRAND JURY D 1
10/24/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
10/22/2008 REQ TO OR FOR D 1
10/17/2008 AFF OF SERVICE D 1
10/10/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
10/6/2008 TIMELY DISPO COURT REMOVAL D 1
10/6/2008 MOTION D 1
10/6/2008 CAL: PLEA
10/6/2008 ME: SET/CONT JURY TRIAL D 1
9/24/2008 TRANSCRIPT GRAND JURY PROCDNGS D 1
9/18/2008 SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLSRE BY STATE P 1
9/17/2008 RECEIPT D 1
9/15/2008 NOTICE OF DEFENSE/WITNESSES D 1
9/15/2008 MOTION/REQUEST FOR DISCOVERY D 1
9/11/2008 RULE 15 DISCLOSURE P 1
9/5/2008 NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE P 1
9/5/2008 DETER RELEASE COND & ORDER/JP D 1 0
9/5/2008 ORDER TO APPEAR D 1
9/5/2008 TIMELY DISPO COURT INDICATOR D 1
9/5/2008 CAL: ARRAIGNMENT
9/5/2008 ME: ARRAIGNMENT D 1
8/21/2008 NOTICE APPEAR/NOT GUILTY PLEA D 1
8/19/2008 SUMMONS RETURNED D 1
8/15/2008 NOTICE PROSECUTNG ATTY ASSGNMT P 1
8/14/2008 INDICTMENT D 1
8/14/2008 ME: GRAND JURY INDICTMENT D 1

I can't even imagine what this has cost so far, not to mention the horse is being held by the Department of Agriculture. I don't even know how it (gender is unknown) can trust another human again. Equine Voices Rescue and Sanctuary in Green Valley has stepped up and offered him a permanent home, but who knows when it will be released. Plus there is only one charge, animal cruelty, but at least that is a felony in Arizona. (Associated Press photo)

UPDATE ON JANUARY 21, 2009: According to the State Supreme Court Public Access Web Site, a hearing is set in February, and the jury trial will begin on March 17. So it continues to drag through the system.

Justice Department Settles Lawsuit

2009-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit under the Americans With Disabilities Act with Wal-Mmart Stores, Inc., including the treatment of people with service animals. "Many of the complaints alleged that persons with disabilities were denied access to Wal-Mart stores or were denied an equal opportunity to shop, free of repeated challenges by Wal-Mart staff, because they were accompanied by service animals. Service animals are dogs and other animals that are individually trained to work or perform tasks for persons with disabilities." You can read more about it here. They were given a Service Animal Policy they must follow within 30 days of the settlement.

The photo above is of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) with his dog, Fala, from the Roosevelt Library. Although Fala wasn't technically a service dog, he did provide valuable companionship for the President, who was confined to a wheelchair. The beautiful, unusual FDR memorial in Washington, DC pays tribute to their relationship in one of the outdoor "rooms."

Joy to the World

2009-01-05T21:54:00.000-08:00

"Marley and Me" is tops at the box office for the second week in a row, so I thought I would post a picture of the damage from Katya before I understood what separation anxiety was. My mom nicknamed her "The Destroyer." She went through two couches (gee, you'd think I would have learned from the first one) and all the screens before I understood she did not want to be left outside, even with Joey's companionship. Once I left her inside during the day, she only tore a few sheets and bed covers.

John Grogan, the author of "Marley and Me" has gotten some comments on his blog about not taking him to obedience training (he did attend one session according to the book). I did not even consider getting rid of Katya even with the damage she did. Far from Marley, she is a very shy dog. I now know that she could have benefited from training after working with my trainer on my collie.

But the thing is, collectively all my dogs, with all the problems, heartaches, and good times, have given me more joy than anything else in my life. And I really don't want a dog that acts like a puppet, no matter how entertaining it may be to others. I want them to be the best they can be without fear or anxiety, but I want them to be themselves because they bring out the best in me.

Prayers are Answered!

2008-11-17T18:04:00.000-08:00

Today at the meeting of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board the BLM announced it was postponing a decision to kill large numbers of wild horses to control herds and increasing costs. They will try reducing roundups and finding funds to maintain the horses through the fiscal year, according to the Associated Press.

They received over 40,000 comments. The deputy director, Henri Bisson, who had first announced the plan to kill horses, is retiring, and said he didn't want to leave a legacy of a rush to judgement. This will give wild horse advocates a year to come up with possible solutions to propose to the BLM.

Thank heavens OUR beautiful horses won't be killed because of human mismanagement. They're the victims of the economy just like domesticated horses are. I don't have any easy solutions, but I sure feel a lot more hopeful tonight. They are national treasures. (Photo by The Cloud Foundation)

A Caring Campaign

2008-11-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

John Grogan, the author of "Marley and Me" has teamed up with the AKC and Twentieth Century Fox for some Public Service Announcements (PSAs)about responsible dog ownership. It's a great idea, because when the movie comes out on Christmas Day people will fall in love with Marley like I did when I read the book. Before they rush out and get one, they need to know that cute Lab puppy will turn into "100 pounds of thundering, hairy, yelping, jumping, drooling, go-exactly-where-you-don’t-want-them-to-go… commitment. In a word: Marley" as Mr. Grogan says in the PSA.

Plenty of purebred pups end up in shelters, too, when people decide they are too much for them to cope with. Kudos to all for doing the ads.

Numberzzzz

2008-10-22T23:31:00.000-07:00

I went online to the Maricopa County Animal Control Center to see if my local shelter would be able to call them on Saturday to verify my collie rescue's license tag so I wouldn't have to have him vaccinated again (which recent research has proven to be harmful). There was a link to the Maddie's Fund Statistics which said in 2007 26,193 dogs were euthanized out of an intake of 44,262. Of these, 13,843 were "unhealthy and untreatable." I was stunned. However, according to their 2007-2008 annual report, "Unfortunately we had to put down 31,055 animals; 12,990 treatable and manageable dogs and cats, 18,065 untreatable and unmanageable dogs and cats." The intake was 55,974. I think this is probably explained in the difference of the reporting period (calendar versus fiscal year), but either way the numbers are astounding. About thirty percent of the dogs were killed because they were "unhealthy and untreatable."

With all the reports of abandoned and turned in dogs this year because of the economy, the numbers are likely to be twice as high this year (and in fact MCACC says their intake has doubled in the past few months).

Bless the beasts and the children.

Disturbing News

2008-10-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a 70-year-old Tucson woman was burned trying to rescue her 29 Yorkies because her house was on fire. Her son put out the fire on her hair and continued to try and rescue the dogs until an off-duty policeman who was driving by told him to stop. The son said he had to rescue the dogs because they were his mother's life. The woman was a breeder, but Pima County Animal Control took no action because there were no signs of neglect. She is in serious condition in a Phoenix burn unit. Four of the Yorkies died. The other dogs were taken in by neighbors and relatives. And the investigators said it clearly was arson.

(Photo from the Tucson Fire Department)

Almost as disturbing (but not related to animals) is the story of a Willcox restaurant that had racial grafitti painted on it yesterday (including swastikas) because the owner had a sign endorsing Barack Obama. Naively, I thought these things only happened in the deep south. The swastikas make me think it's young people who don't understand what happened in Nazi Germany, but I'm not an expert. The restaurant owner has received offers to help paint, but he says it doesn't cover up the problem and his business has suffered.

In times of desperation, people lash out at whatever can make them feel more powerful even though it hurts other people (and animals). All I can do is hope there will be many more stories of people coming together in "the best of times and the worst of times" as Charles Dickens wrote.

If Wishes Were Horses...

2008-09-30T20:11:00.001-07:00

Beggars would ride. It's one of my favorite sayings. But almost every day I read about someone giving their horses away or "selling them for a song." It's an extremely sad situation caused by the increase in hay prices (almost double). I also heard a lot of farmers are switching to growing corn for ethanol for hybrid cars.

There's also the closing of the slaughterhouses, which is a very complicated issue. Plus the Bureau of Land Management wild horse adoption rate has plummeted.

How ironic! How many people like me have wanted a horse all their lives? Free horses...but who can afford to feed them?

(The photo is from the daring horse rescue in the Netherlands in November 2006 by four young women on horseback).

Speaking of Gold Medals...

2008-08-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

It's not news to anyone that Michael Phelps is an amazing swimmer, a seemingly down-to-earth guy, and close to his mother and two sisters.

He also said he can't wait to get home to his dog (and his own bed). It's no wonder so many young women want to marry him.

In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, an article called "Now, Phelps Chases Gold on Land" by Christopher Rhoads talks about the many offers his agent has been receiving. It says "A dog-food idea was pitched, given Mr. Phelps's well-known love for his British bulldog, Herman."

Personally, I'd rather not see him become another Tiger Woods. Woods seems to be a nice guy, and I know he does some charity work, but with all the money he's made from golf it's a little less honorable and cheapening to see him in so many commercials.

I'd be an even bigger fan if Phelps were to endorse the plight of homeless pets in this country.

If you're anywhere near my age you may have figured out why I have a picture of Cheeta, Johnny Weissmuller as Tarzan, and Jane on this post. Weissmuller, one of my Saturday morning heroes, won five Olympic gold medals in swimming in the 1920's and went on to star in the Tarzan movies.

On Sunday night Nature on PBS had a wonderful show called "Wisdom of the Wild" which featured chimpanzees among other amazing animals. It focused on the treatment of research animals, since chimpanzees are closest to us genetically than any other animal, and a rescue facility where they could actually walk on grass in the open air and not be in a cage for the first time in their lives. It showed Sparky, one of the chimps responsible for the hepatitus virus, who aged twice as fast as they normally do so he died a premature death. One of the original workers returned to the facility 18 years later, and the chimps were excited to see her and showed their affections.

The last chimp to play Cheeta is in his 70's (the world's oldest primate) and living at a rescue facility set up by his trainer's nephew, although he's had to give up beer and cigars. You can see him at C.H.E.E.T.A. Primate Sanctuary. Cheeta, Umgawa!

Kennel 35

2008-09-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

This Irish setter did not even have the dignity of having a name when he/she was killed. I don't know which "shelter" he or she was in. I ran across it when I was looking in the "In Memoriam" section for another one of the Nogales dogs, which appears to have been spared. Well, at least they tried to save it. I think I have a web page bookmarked that's about the dogs at the Rainbow Bridge who don't have people waiting to see them again. I'll have to look.

The purebred lab Onyx has been given 3 more days. I hope it gets rescued. If I could, I would go get him, because I know I could find him a home, but I don't have the room right now.

HOW IT BEGAN

2008-06-16T20:36:00.000-07:00

I’m not an animal expert. I have had pets since I was five years old and decided I needed my very own Lassie to be my constant companion like the collie on the TV show. I had two sisters at the time, but somehow I thought Lassie’s loving devotion to Timmy was what I needed for my birthday more than any toy. My parents gave me a wonderful collie mix we would take with us all over the country, including Hawaii.

I’ve had purebred and mixed dogs, a cat (but unofficially two), zebra finches, cockatiels, and beta fishes. I had two horses for a short time, one I leased for the summer and one they loaned me because I took such good care of the first one. We had to move since my dad was in the army, so I had to give her back.

For some time I have wanted to create a web site that was a place for people in Cochise County to go to get information on pets, especially on adopting homeless animals. I had been involved in the humane society for some time, and I was very aware of the large number of animals the local shelters and rescue groups tried to place in homes. But like everyone else I was busy with other things.

A few months ago I realized the problem was more serious than I thought. I found out on dogsindanger.com and from other sources that there are not any no-kill shelters around. Dogs are being killed simply because the “shelters” (formerly called pounds) run out of room (I refuse to use “euthanize” unless an animal is suffering). At the Pima County Animal Control Center, the number can be in the double digits daily. To a person of my belief that animals have souls, this was UNACCEPTABLE.

I realized it couldn’t wait until I retired, not when there are millions of animals being killed every year in the United States for no good reason (as dogsindanger.com said in a recent newsletter, there is real no way of knowing the actual number because it is NOT REQUIRED for animal control facilities to report how many animals they kill). It was time to do something now.

So I created “Cochise County Critter Corral” in the hopes it would save the lives of some pets. Right now the web site is only known to a few people, so I have to do more to publicize it. It can be found with a Google search on “pets “Cochise County”” but not on Yahoo unless it is on the gazillionth page (I submitted it to both). It’s like the story of the boy tossing starfishes back into the sea…it could mean a lot to this one. Or as one rescuer put it, “Until there are NONE rescue ONE.”

Your thoughtful comments are welcome, but if you’re one of those people who seems to live to give negative comments, especially when it comes to animals, don’t bother because they will not be posted.

Since this is Monday, and the night of the Rainbow Bridge ceremony, I will dedicate it to the latest victim of the Santa Cruz County Animal Control's lack of space, a totally adoptable terrier mix named Mystery (in the photo above) euthanized (more on that word later) on June 14, 2008. R.I.P., innocent soul.