Tails in the News

SPCA offers $5,000 reward for information about dog fighting

Michael Vick isn’t the only one allegedly involved with dog fighting. Though he may be the most prominent person to be affiliated with the brutal sport, illegal and underground dog fighting happens across the country. The SPCA of Texas is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of any individual involved in dog fighting in the state of Texas.
“Tragically, illegal dog fighting still exists. Dogs are brutalized every day for the gambling fix and unfathomable enjoyment of sick individuals involved in dog fighting,” says James Bias, president of the SPCA of Texas. “We are hoping that by educating both adults and children alike on the realities of this gruesome practice and by teaching people to report animal abuse, that we will be one step closer to stamping out animal cruelty and abuse of all types.”
New legislation on dog fighting was also signed into law and will become effective Sept. 1. The old legislation limited prosecutors’ ability to charge those who ran or watched dog fighting with anything more than a misdemeanor—essentially a slap on the wrist.
The new legislation raises the penalty for dog fighting crimes to a felony for those directly involved. If convicted, a person running a dog fighting ring could be sentenced to jail for up to two years or pay a fine up to $10,000. Spectator penalties are still a misdemeanor, but more serious than before. Under the new law, a person convicted could be sentenced to jail for up to one year, fined up to $4,000, or both.
Those who have information about dog fighting are urged to report all suspected animal cruelty and abuse to local law enforcement and to the SPCA of Texas at SPCA.org/cruelty or (214) 742-SPCA.

Animal control facility grand opening delayed

The grand opening of San Antonio’s new, state-of-the-art Animal Care Services facility has been pushed back from September until Oct. 4, due to weather related issues.
Starting in September, however, homeless and lost animals in San Antonio will have a brand-new space that they can call their temporary home. The new San Antonio Animal Care Services (ACS) 38,000-square foot, campus style facility will be located on the city’s southwest side near Old Highway 90 and 151. Features of the new shelter include larger adoption areas for dogs and cats, a cattery adoption area with space for 210 felines, a 45-square foot cat condo in the administration building lobby, a medical clinic for onsite spay/neuter procedures, “get acquainted” yards, and other features.
The new facility was voted on and approved by San Antonio residents in 2003, with a groundbreaking in 2006. The ACS board adopted a strategic five-year, no-kill plan shortly after. Programs and services affiliated with the plan include placement programs that will help save lives through adoptions, foster, and rescue efforts; pet education focusing on animal cruelty and code issues; spay/neuter resources that will emphasize the importance of controlling the community’s animal population; responsible pet guardianship rules and tips to encourage proper pet care, respect for neighbors, and safety concerns for both the public and animals; and vaccinations to limit the spread of rabies and maintain the health of pets.

Spotlight on: Sarah Sloan and her Pet Documentation Project

If Sarah Sloan has her way, faded posters on light poles with pleas for a safe pet return will become a thing of the past. The motivated 17-year-old high school student started an electronic pet documentation program in her hometown of Shavano Park, which endeavors to catalogue every pet in the community. Since June, Sloan has helped reunite nearly 20 animals and their caretakers. The ultimate goal? Making sure no lost pet ever stays lost in the San Antonio area. Sloan chatted with Tails about the program’s origins and what people can do to start one in their own neighborhood.

How did you come up with the idea to start the pet documentation program?
Over the years living in Shavano Park, my family has found and returned hundreds of animals to their [people]. Every week another pet would be lost and either end up in our yard or we would get calls about animals since my mother was an alderman for the city. The idea [for the project] came gradually as we kept [reuniting guardians] to animals, and what really pushed me to actually go forward with the project was an incident where my family was called by the Shavano Park Police to identify a dog that was hit by a car. The dog ended up having a broken pelvis and shattered spine… It was up to my mother to make the decision to put the dog out of pain and it was only a few hours after he was put down that we found the [caretakers] through our mass email system. I thought it was ridiculous that we had no fund or policy on what can be done in those types of situations. It was that tragic event that really pushed me over the edge to talk to our city council and get the Pet Documentation Project approved.

What are the main components of your project?
The project started out as getting pets documented and microchipped in my city to make finding their [guardians] easier for the police. This included citizens filling out forms with information about their pet, including a photo, and taking that information and transferring it into a program that our police can use to locate a [guardian] easily by sorting by color, breed, size, location found, etc. The project expanded to surrounding communities and the main components now are to hopefully have all communities interconnect through an email system, so when animals are lost/found, nearby communities involved will be able to note if they recognize the animal or not or if it’s in their system.

What has the reaction in the community been like?
The community has definitely backed me up. To start the project, I spoke to our city council in May of 2007 and I asked for their permission and support to go along with the project and they granted it. I couldn’t have done the project at all without the use of the city hall and the people who work there.

What would you tell someone who wants to start a pet documentation program in their own community? What is their first step?
The first thing you should do if you want to start a pet documentation program in your community, is to organize exactly what you want to accomplish and gather that information and present it to your homeowners association or city council. The biggest thing to pull off the program and a successful event to allow people to come and document, take pictures, and either microchip their pets, is to advertise and make sure your community knows about the project. It’s a lot of work, but if you have patience and a passion to help animals, you can really affect the community and the lives of animals in your community.

For more information visit the Pet Documentation Project section at ShavanoPark.org. On Sat, Sept. 15, at 8 a.m., Hunters Creek Subdivision will be having a pet documentation event in their club house where the Humane Society will microchip for $25 per pet and guardians can register their pets for free at 24PetWatch.com.