She’s a grey speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Hurricane Katrina hit southern Louisiana. She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected, and her vet went to LSU for help, but LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.

But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn’t seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight and didn’t overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.

Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee, and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.

‘This was the right horse and the right owner,’ Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She’s tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood that she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly’s story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana. The little pony gained weight, and her mane finally felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.

The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly’s regular vet, reports.

And she asks for it. She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too. And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. ‘It can be pretty bad when you can’t catch a three-legged horse’ she laughs.

Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people, and she had a good time doing it.

‘It’s obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life, Moore said. She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.’

Barca concluded, ‘She’s not back to normal, but she’s going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.’

This is Molly’s most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.

Forward this and share it with all of the animal lovers that you know

So I write about animal cruelty, donate money, time and talk about animal abuse topics but it finally has hit home on a personal level! One of my best friend’s brothers chains his dog! OMG, what am I going to do! 24 hours a day 7 days a week that poor German shepard is outside in the cold all day. From my understanding that is how this little guy has lived his entire life since he was a puppy.

I have been thinking about it the last few days and it very well could be the beginning of the end of a good friendship however the safety of the dog comes first!  I spoke to my girlfriend about it and she knows I am going to attempt to get the dog from her brother without getting anyone else involved. I have been researching the internet to see what other legal tactics I can use to help this dog. I have heard of organizations that will assist in talking to the owners to educate them on the cruelty of chaining dogs. My thoughts on that is, if you are so heartless that you can chain a dog and his sad little eyes cannot change your mind then there is little possibility of human changing it.

If anyone has any suggestions please, please let me know!

The Circus Is Coming To Town, Please Do Not Support Circus Animal Abuse!

Most of us grew up looking forward to the circus coming to town.  The anticipation of the ring master leading in acts of performers, clowns and animals under the big top.  The magical feeling of watching aerial trapeze artists virtually float through the air, packs of clowns zipping around the tent, honking their horns and making us laugh, eating your snacks while seeing enormous elephants doing tricks like the ones we teach our own dogs.  As good as this may sound to you and your little ones there are a few alarming things you should know before purchasing your tickets to the circus again.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus paints a picture of happy animals performing tricks because they like doing them. Consider the following, then decide whether that’s true. Here are some of Ringling’s frequent claims juxtaposed with the facts about the circus’s treatment of animals:

Ringling:
Our training methods are based on continual interaction with our animals, touch and words of praise, and food rewards.
Reality:
Video footage taken between 2001 and 2006 of Ringling trainers and handlers shows that elephants were aggressively hooked, lame elephants were forced to perform and travel, and a trainer inflicted a bloody bullhook wound behind an elephant’s ear flap. Former Ringling employees that left the circus in 2006 and 2007 describe violent beatings as well as the routine abuse of elephants, horses, camels, and zebras.

Ringling:
The ankus (bullhook) is used as an extension of the handler’s arm to guide the elephants.
Reality:
The bullhook, by design, is intended to cause pain and puncture the skin. Despite its appearance, an elephant’s skin is as sensitive as humans’ skin. The sharp metal hook on the end of the bullhook bruises, punctures, and tears elephants’ skin easily and often. Former Ringling animal crew employees report that the circus keeps a bag of topsoil handy to cover up bloody bullhook wounds on elephants.

Ringling:
Ringling is a leading expert in the care of Asian elephants. Our staff is dedicated to meeting our animals’ physical and behavioral needs.
Reality:
Ringling’s U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) inspection reports are riddled with serious citations of problems that directly impact animal welfare. In 2006 alone, the circus was cited three times for failure to provide adequate veterinary care to a disabled elephant, to an elephant with a large swelling on her rear leg, and to a camel with bloody wounds. Also in 2006, Ringling was cited for causing trauma, behavioral stress, physical harm, and discomfort to two young elephants who sustained cuts and abrasions when they ran amok in an arena in Puerto Rico; improper handling of dangerous animals; and an enclosure in disrepair.

Ringling:
Ringling has never been adjudged to have violated the Animal Welfare Act.
Reality:
Ringling attempts to confuse the issue with legal terminology. The USDA refers to a citation on an inspection report as a “noncompliance” rather than a “violation.” Each citation by the USDA is an indication that federal inspectors found that Ringling Bros. is failing to comply with the minimum requirements of the Animal Welfare Act.

In addition to being cited on inspection reports, Ringling has also been warned by the USDA for causing trauma and stress to two baby elephants who suffered painful rope lesions when they were prematurely pulled from their mothers and for improper euthanasia after a caged tiger was shot to death. Ringling also paid a $20,000 penalty to settle USDA charges of failing to provide veterinary care to a sick baby elephant who died shortly after he was forced to perform.

Ringling:
All circuses are subject to stringent animal welfare regulations at the local, state, and federal level.
Reality:
No agency monitors training sessions, in which animals may be beaten behind the scenes. Most state and local agencies defer to the already overburdened USDA for matters concerning exotic animals in circuses. The federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) has no regulations that specifically pertain to elephants. For example, space requirements for animals ranging from elephants to zebras simply state, “Enclosures shall … provide sufficient space to allow each animal to make normal postural and social adjustments.” Ringling consistently opposes proposed laws that would ban cruel training methods, such as bullhooks and the chaining of elephants. Although inspections by the USDA are supposed to be unannounced, several former Ringling employees claim that the circus always knows in advance when inspectors are coming.

Ringling:
Our staff are experts in their fields.
Reality:
Staff caring for animals in circuses may have little experience or formal training, increasing the potential for improper handling. Ringling regularly hires inexperienced people, some directly out of homeless shelters, and allows them to work with animals.

Ringling:
Ringling is attempting to save endangered Asian elephants from extinction.
Reality:
Ringling breeds elephants solely to perform in its circus. None of Ringling’s elephants can ever be released to the wild. Of the approximately 62 elephants owned by Ringling in 1990, 57 were captured in the wild. And at least 24 elephants have died since 1992. Ringling has not been successful in breeding more elephants than it has captured and imported for use in its traveling show, and its elephants are dying at a faster rate than they are breeding. Ringling routinely pulls unweaned elephants from their mothers to train them and put them on the road.

Ringling:
The animal routines in our circus showcase our animals’ natural behaviors.
Reality:
In nature, elephants don’t stand on their heads, walk trunk-to-tail, skip, crawl, or twirl, and adult female elephants do not mount one another. Tigers don’t hop on their hind legs and roll over in unison. In order to force wild animals to perform difficult and confusing circus tricks, trainers use whips, sticks, and bullhooks.

Ringling:
The public display of exotic and endangered animals contributes to a heightened awareness of humans’ responsibility to safeguard and protect these animals.
Reality:
According to David Hancocks, former director of the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, “When [circuses] portray animals as freaks and curiosities, devoid of context or dignity, circuses are perpetuating outdated attitudes. Wild animals in the circus are reduced to mere caricatures of their kind, exhibited just for financial gain. In this way, they corrupt our children, promoting the notion that exploitation and degradation is acceptable, even brave or funny.”

Ringling:
We operate a 200-acre state-of-the-art facility dedicated to breeding, research, and retirement of Asian elephants.
Reality:
The elephants at Ringling’s breeding compound in Florida only have access to a fraction of the property. When they are not chained, the elephants are confined to barns and small, barren outdoor paddocks. Ringling’s Williston, Fla., facility—also referred to as its retirement center—has several elephants who are infected with or exposed to a human strain of tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). In September 2006, two male elephants at its breeding center also tested positive for TB and three female elephants were pulled off the road because they had been exposed to diseased elephants.

Ringling:
Our elephant care practices are in line with those set out in the “Elephant Husbandry Resource Guide” published by the International Elephant Foundation (IEF) with the support of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) and the Elephant Managers Association (EMA).
Reality:
As a founding board member of the IEF, Ringling helped develop the “Elephant Husbandry Resource Guide.” Ringling may have felt a need to develop this guide because the circus does not comply with the existing AZA Standards for Elephant Management and Care. Ringling does not provide its elephants on the road with AZA’s minimum space requirements, and the elephants are subjected to prolonged chaining.

Ringling:
Ringling Bros. elephants are healthy, thriving, vigorous, and content.
Reality:
The USDA has noted on Ringling inspection reports that some of the circus’s elephants suffer from lameness, foot abscesses, and arthritis. At least eight of the 24 elephant deaths at Ringling since 1992 were attributable to either osteoarthritis or a chronic foot problem—a common problem in captive elephants caused by lack of space and forced inactivity. In a book titled The Elephant’s Foot, former Ringling veterinarian Gary West contributed a chapter about foot care. West wrote, “Foot-related conditions and arthritis are the leading cause of euthanasia in captive elephants in the United States.”

What can you do to help?  It’s as easy as not supporting animal abuse!  No ticket sales = No Abuse!

Best Friends is a rescue organization dedicated to helping animals that are from mills, unwanted, abused, etc.  About a month or so ago Whispering Oaks Kennels in West Virginia surrendered close to 1000 dogs, mostly dachshunds and Best Friends came to the rescue.  Please read this post to learn about why we should never buy from animals from pet stores, online, and most breeders.  Please do not support mills (which means pet stores, most people do not know that) and adopt!

Parker is one in a thousand—literally. Our little brown Dachshund was one of nearly that many dogs and puppies surrendered by Whispering Oaks Kennel in Parkersburg, West Virginia last week. Until he was rescued, Parker lived in a rabbit hutch with three other dogs; it’s likely he never left that cage. Ever.

Until last week Parker’s sole purpose in life, his reason for being worthy of food every day in his owner’s eyes, was to make puppies. Whispering Oaks sold thousands of puppies online over the years, getting from $300 to over $700 per puppy. Customers had no idea that all the dogs lived in barns and rabbit hutches, because they were never allowed to see where the adult breeding dogs lived. And they couldn’t have known that their puppies may have had a dad like Parker.

I first met Parker last Sunday, when I was on a team of three whose job it was to go cage by cage and put an ID band on each and every dog. My volunteer partner Travis called the ID bands “the ticket out of here.” He and I went along methodically along with Deputy Shanna Modesitt to make sure we had tagged every dog in every cage, and then teams came along behind us and loaded the dogs in crates so they could be taken to the staging area where an army of rescue workers and volunteers waited. Parker was in a free-standing rabbit hutch-type cage outside. All the cages looked like they’d been slapped together with whatever scrap material the breeder could find. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to live in that cage every single day, with nowhere to get out of the sweltering heat, and nothing but a plywood box with no bedding to curl up in during the freezing winter.

Heavy welding gloves protected my hands, just in case we encountered a biting dog. I remember that Parker’s cage was especially tricky because the only way to access it was to lower a large wooden door, leaving a good two-foot hole for dogs to pop out of if they wanted to escape. Travis had the ID bands ready, and Deputy Modesitt was on the other side of the cage, shooing the dogs our way so we could reach them. All the dogs in the cages around us barked furiously at us—I don’t know that they’d ever seen so much action in their lives! I was able to hold one, then the next miniature Dachshund in the cage for Travis to put ID bands on them. And then from the other side of the cage Deputy Modesitt shouted over the barking, “DO NOT let this one bite you; he’s got horrible teeth!” I shouted back “okay!” and opened the wooden door one more time as a scruffy brown Dachshund with huge, snaggly brown and white teeth came zipping to our side of the cage, urged by Deputy Modesitt. He allowed me to pick him up without a fuss, Travis secured his ID collar around his neck, and we let him go back in the only cage he’d ever known.

Later, we found him at the staging area where he had been kept with his cage-mates. He’d likely need extensive dental care, and what better “poster dog” for the all-too common dental neglect found in puppy mill dogs? So he was one of the first dogs we directed Michelle to as she went around to select dogs to come back to Best Friends.

Before we loaded him into a travel crate on our van to come home to Utah, the only experience I’d had with Parker was taking him out of his cage at the puppy mill. But his personality soon presented itself—and what a personality he has! We stopped every few hours to get the dogs out of their cages, since we’d had to really pack them in to fit everyone in the van. My biggest fear was that we’d lose a dog, considering that they’d never ever been walked on a leash before, and probably hadn’t ever walked on the ground before. But little Parker handled it like a pro. He got so excited when we came to his travel crate, he’d SMILE with that crazy mug! Many dogs smile when they’re excited, wrinkling their noses and showing their teeth in a big grin. On Parker, that smile was quite a sight to behold. But what a great little guy.

Soon he was walking on the leash pretty well, sniffing the grass, and going potty outside like a good boy.

After nearly forty hours on the road, we finally arrived at the sanctuary where everyone got to meet Parker for the first time. I can’t wait to watch him blossom here with the care and love that he has deserved, but has been denied until now.

For more information about Best Friends Animal Society please visit their website, http://www.bestfriends.org

Please educate people on the terrible attrocities that happen at puppy mills. We can stop this by not purchasing dogs but adopting instead. Please remember that for every dog that is purchased one dies in a shelter.

People have different view points on eating meat and this blog is not meant to stir up debate on that subject. HOWEVER, I did run across a disturbing article on PETA’s website that I would like to share. It is in regards to the way farm factory animals are treated and the horrific comparison it makes to the Greyhound Bus passenger that was brutally murdered. You know, we as humans do have the capabilities of ending this senseless suffering.

Warning, the content of this article is graphic.

As though it were a gruesome scene in a horror movie, a Canadian Greyhound passenger found himself in the hands of a highly disturbed man this past weekend while en route from Edmonton to Winnipeg. Passengers riding the bus reported that Vince Weiguang Li jumped on top of 22-year-old Tim McLean and began stabbing him repeatedly before cutting off his head and allegedly consuming some of his flesh. Parts of McLean’s ear, nose, and mouth were found in Li’s pocket.

This tragic incident will certainly leave scars on the minds of the other passengers and the victim’s family and friends. While it isn’t every day that a human is violently attacked and eaten by another human, it’s worth noting that it is the norm for many people not to give any thought to the fact that restaurants are serving flesh that comes from innocents who were minding their own business before someone came after them with a knife. How amazingly and conveniently compartmentalized the human mind is…

To stress this very point, PETA will be running an ad in the Portage Daily Graphic comparing the similarities between this gruesome bus butchering and the acts of cruelty and killing performed every day by the meat industry.

Hey Everyone!

I came across this website that I feel extremely necessary to share with everyone. It is called Dogs In Danger, http://www.dogsindanger.com . This site is all about the last chance to save a dogs life before they are euthanized in a shelter. It is very sad but very real, it actually shows you the number of days the dog has before it is put to sleep. It looks like there are few shelters that participate in this program when in actuality thousands of shelters are euthanizing tens of thousands of animals on a daily basis.

I commend the founders of this site and admire their commitment to truley putting forth the maximum effort of saving dogs’ lives!

So please, please forward this site to everyone you know! Please educate people on shelter adoptions vs. pet store purchases! You can be a voice for these poor dogs and animals, please help save them!

Thanks so much for reading!!

Naperville Pet Walkathon Helps Support “Making Strides For Strays”

It is time to put on your walking shoes, round up your family and friends, grab fido and his leash and head out to support the Animals Deserving Of Proper Treatment.

The annual pet walkathon sponsored by A. D. O. P. T will be held in beautiful downtown Naperville Il on Sunday May 4th at 8:30 AM. Registration begins at 7:30 AM. The starting point for this 5 k walk is the 5′th Avenue Station on 200 E. Fifth Avenue and the course will take you through the downtown Naperville shopping district and their scenic River Walk. Many local shops will have special sales just for this event. Don’t worry you don’t have to stay home just because you don’t have a dog, and there are many shortcuts so you do not have to complete the whole course. There will be entertainment, snacks, rest stops and watering spots for dogs and humans alike along the way, vans will be circling the route to pick you up if you get tired.

We attended last years event with our 2 long hair dachshunds, they met many new friends and so did we. Animal lovers are such a nice breed aren’t they? Especially when they are banded together for such a great cause.

This is A. D. O. P. T.’s 15th and largest fund raiser so please support this years theme “Making Strides For Strays” by making a pledge for this worthy cause that goes towards helping animals and their pet rescue shelter. While there is no registration fee, participants are asked to obtain pledges-per-kilometer or a set donation. Set a goal and ask friends, family, and co-workers to help you achieve it! Check into a matching pledge programs with your employer or a local business.

Our sponsor this year is Waggs N Wet Noses Pet Sitters of Naperville, a loving pet sitting service for local residents.

The Naperville carpet cleaning service at All Natural Services will also be our sponsors this year, for pet stains on carpeting they are the professionals. Thanks Jon!

All pledge-getters turning in $100 or more will receive this year’s specially designed, “Making’ Strides for Strays” T-shirt. They would love everyone to get a Walkathon T-shirt and wear it during the walk. The top pledge-getter will be honored with his/her/their name added to the “Makin’ Strides for Strays” Plaque mounted in the lobby of A.D.O.P.T.’s Animal Shelter.

All donations raised from their biggest human and canine social and fundraising event will be used toward the veterinary and special needs of the animals in A.D.O.P.T.’s care as well as the overall operation of their Animal Shelter. For more information about this pet walkathon in Naperville Illinois please contact Sandy at 847-458-6366 or visit the Animals Deserving Of Proper Treatment website below.

A.D.O.P.T. Naperville Pet Walkathon 2008

Most people rarely have the opportunity to interact with these outgoing, sensitive animals because 97 percent of pigs in United States today are raised on factory farms as food animals. These pigs spend their entire lives in cramped, filthy warehouses, under constant stress from the intense confinement and denied everything that is natural to them. Click HERE To watch a movie about their pitiful existence on farms just so they can make us a pork chop sandwich, a slab of ribs or a BLT.

Considered smarter than 3-year-old human children, pigs are very clever animals. They are smarter than dogs and every bit as friendly, loyal, and affectionate.

Since most people are not that familiar with pigs, you may be surprised to learn that they dream, recognize their names, play video games more effectively than some primates, and lead social lives of a complexity previously observed only in primates.

People who run animal sanctuaries often describe pigs with human characteristics, because they’ve learned that, like humans beings, Pigs also enjoy listening to music, playing with toys, and getting massages.

The average American meat-eater is responsible for the abuse and deaths of approximately 31 pigs and most all of those pigs are the subject of animal cruelty on the farm

I hope you can learn to love these cute little creatures just as much as me and leave them in the yard and off the table.

The best thing you can do to help animals is to stop eating them! For some great tips on how you can save lives, help the environment, and improve your health by cutting animals out of your diet, check out all the info here.

Chances are that your local animal shelter can probably use your help, so give ’em a call! You may be too young to volunteer, but you’re never too young to have a fund raiser or a drive to collect supplies.

Does your school have a student-choice policy allowing students the right to refuse to dissect? Are there animals being held hostage at your school, commonly known as “classroom pets” or “hatching experiments”? Do your teachers plan yearly field trips to the zoo or the circus? It’s your school, too, and that means that your voice counts, so speak up and let your teachers know that there are alternatives to animal exploitation. And don’t forget to recruit your classmates to help you tackle these issues!

Educate others! Use animal issues as topics for all your school projects. From book reports to posters in art class—PETA has got you covered.

Letter-writing is one of the best things you can do to help, so get that pen and paper—or computer keyboard—ready! Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper about animal rights issues. Scan the newspaper for upcoming events, issues, or “free to a good home” ads, and fire off a letter to give the animals’ side of the story. For instance, when the circus is coming to town, let the public know what really happens under the big top, and urge readers to boycott animal circuses.

Grab some friends or your siblings and set up a literature table in the mall, outside a store, or at the local library (get permission from the “powers that be” first—that means Mom and Dad and the mall office!) and distribute PETA literature. Or gather some friends together and leaflet around town.

We’re always looking for new ways to make a difference for our animal friends, so drop us a line and let us know what you’re doing so that we can pass it on. And please, be sure to include pix of you in action, ’cause you may just find yourself gracing the images of an upcoming issue of Grrr! magazine or on PETAKids.com!