Author: SPCAI Staff

I’m delighted to introduce myself as SPCA International’s new Interim Executive Director. Our longtime Executive Director, JD Winston, has chosen a new path after serving SPCAI with passion and vision for over seven years. He will be dearly missed by our staff and supporters, but we are also energized by this opportunity for transformation at a time when SPCAI is poised to make a deeper and stronger impact on suffering animals around the world.

I am not a new face around here – after four years with my sleeves rolled up in SPCAI’s programs, I am excited to step into this new leadership role and help guide the organization through this transition. In just the past few months you have heard from me as I have led rescue operations to Iraq and the Philippines for animals beloved by our U.S. military personnel. Last year, I directed field work in Guatemala and Spain. And earlier this year, I testified on behalf of SPCAI at the Spanish Congress of Deputies during hearings on Spanish Greyhound abuse. I hope you will come along with me as we continue to fight abuse worldwide, help suffering animals and save countless lives.

Sincerely,

Meredith Ayan
Interim Executive Director
SPCA International

P.S. We welcome you to take a moment to email JD Winston notes of appreciation for his years of stewardship. Check out some highlights of my recent work in our video archives.

By Melissa Brett, Guest Blogger

Welcome to my first blog post. I thought I’d take a stab at a topic that came up when I was pregnant that seems to have a lot of misconceptions surrounding it. Specifically, what is toxoplasmosis, who is at risk of contracting it, and how can I protect myself? Read on for answers to these questions, and more!

So what is toxoplasmosis, you ask? It’s a parasite. According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Toxoplasmosis is the leading cause of death in the United States from food borne illness (as of 2014). For the Immunocompetent (ie. people with a normal immune system), it is possible to carry the parasite and not suffer any ill effects other than the possibility of short-term, flu-like symptoms that resolve without treatment. Not so lucky are those who are pregnant, and/or immunocompromised (as in those living with AIDS or organ recipients). For these subjects, toxoplasmosis can result in severe consequences, including death.

There are several different ways to “catch” Toxoplasmosis. Human infection is usually a result of ingestion of undercooked or raw meats. Lamb and pork are the most likely sources, but in some instances beef and game meats have also been identified. These meats must contain cysts, or carry little things called oocytes that are excreted in the feces of infected cats. So if you own a housecat, odds are, you have likely come in contact with the parasite. How does Mittens the friendly cat get Toxoplasmosis? She roams around outside and eats a yummy field mouse who is the definitive host of the parasite, then, voila! Now Mittens has been infected (likely without any symptoms) and will start shedding the oocytes into the litter box for you to scoop out. You breathe in these tiny organisms that might be floating in the air while you scoop, or you neglect to wash your hands after, and now you’re infected as well. As mentioned, you might feel unwell for a couple of days if you are a healthy person, and then symptoms will disappear on their own. If you were to get a blood test done, it would show that you have been exposed to the little critters and are now colonized.

In some countries where cats are allowed to roam freely around farms where consumable livestock are raised, the rates of toxoplasmosis are high if meats are served less than well-cooked as in Mexico and Brazil. Drinking unfiltered water or consuming unwashed vegetables may also lead to infection by ingestion if cat-shed oocytes are present.

So how will this affect you if you’re pregnant? In the case of congenital transmission (mother-to-baby in utero), little risk is posed to the fetus if the mother is a carrier of toxoplasma. If the mother contracts toxoplasmosis infection during pregnancy, or within 3 months of conception, the parasite can cross the placental barrier and infect the fetus. Early infection can result in severe toxoplasmosis causing death of the fetus and spontaneous abortion.

It has been suggested that cooking meats for longer duration at higher temperatures will decrease the spread of toxoplasma, as well as keeping the barn cats away from the livestock. If you are looking to adopt a cat (which I highly recommend!), and you’re pregnant, have someone else scoop the litter box for now.

About the Author: Melissa Brett is a Registered Nurse working in Infection Control in Ottawa, Canada. She is currently doing her Master’s in Global Health and Infectious Disease. A lover of animals – Siamese cats especially – she is a champion for animal and human preventative health.

Submitted by Stephanie Scott, Director of Communications

Recently the daily Ted Talks email featured one of my favorite poets, Billy Collins, reciting two of his poems written from the viewpoint of dogs. They are entertaining, insightful and thought provoking. It's just a short 4 minute video. Well worth the time!

http://www.ted.com/talks/billy_collins_two_poems_about_what_dogs_think_probably

Submitted by Janet Mercer, Webmaster

As we all know, animal shelters are overrun with pets at this time of year as many dogs and cats unfortunately continue to reproduce. We wanted to share some of the exciting and creative ideas we've seen recently to encourage and increase pet adoptions.

• Find each animal's personality. Watch their behavior and learn about the special qualities of the pet and create some great flyers, for example:

  

• Infographics are also very popular and friendly, especially for shelter websites:

  

• Use simple Photoshop filters to make an illustration from a photo.

  

• Look at things from the animal's perspective, like the Human Walking Program.

• Baltimore's shelters have created a joint program every June called "The Baltimore 500". Adoption fees are waived during this month. Of course, all potential owners are still carefully screened. Check out their Facebook page here.

  

• One of Baltimore's 4th grade teachers had a great idea: have the children write persuasive adoption letters from the pet's point of view.

  

• And, in case you missed it, a really fun video from Wake County Humane Society, lip-synching to "Take a Chance on Me" by ABBA! Read more of the story of this video on their website.

What other creative ideas have you seen lately? Have these ideas sparked something for you? We'd love to hear about it!

Submitted by: Kelley LaBonty CRNA, PhD and DAWG Founder (Guest Blogger)

In Detroit, a poor automotive economy and a dwindling population have resulted in a rise in crime and dog fighting. Animals have no value in this harsh world and are tossed out without food, water, and shelter to fend for themselves on the brutal streets. Learn about the horrific realities through the eyes of Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) volunteers as they comb the desolate streets to help the thousands of homeless animals in need.

It was another day of below freezing temperatures when the volunteers of Detroit Animal Welfare Group (DAWG) packed up their vehicles with food, straw and water to drive to the once bustling and now forgotten city of Detroit, Michigan. With a poor automotive economy and a dwindling population, crime and dog fighting are on the rise. Animals have no value and are tossed out without food, water, and shelter to fend for themselves on the brutal streets. Dedicated DAWG volunteers regularly comb the desolate streets to help the thousands of homeless animals in need.

As a foster based rescue with over 100 volunteers they are always full, and since foster homes are limited, they must prioritize which animals are in emergent need of medical care and which won’t last another night in these temperatures. In just two quick hours the volunteers round up 15 dogs and 1 cat and head to the vet to have them examined and receive the care they need. They fret as they make the drive, as they know too well that some in the group will be heartworm positive and may have parvo. History repeats itself as the ones with chains and embedded collars will require surgery, the Great Dane shot in the leg may also, and the one with its teeth ground down will take extensive rehabilitation from being used as a bait dog.

The volunteers worry about funds to care for them all. As seasoned rescuers they know that getting them off the streets is the easy part and the rehabilitation to make them adoptable is the painstakingly hard part. The severely emaciated will take time to recover and trust and will likely have some short term food aggression, but they know with a little time, love and patience each of these dogs will bloom into a new and beautiful soul full of love – thanks to those that took the time to make a difference.

It takes a special team to see the vast suffering on a daily basis and forge ahead. The key to change is in education so they stop and talk to the locals and inform them on proper pet care and provide houses, straw, transport for spay or neuter and other assistance to the low income community.

The phone rings and it’s a real estate agent who hears dogs barking in a home he is trying to sell and needs help. The DAWG director makes a call and has a volunteer on his way. They find two pit-bull pups locked in a room left to starve and freeze when the family moved out. “What are two more?” they say as they pack the pups in the car. Then another call comes in: A mom has been in labor for three days and has one live pup, the rest are stuck and owner cannot afford care for her and would like to surrender her. Volunteers race to save her life. She is lethargic and the smell of infection is overwhelming in the car as she is transported to the vet. Her saviors anxiously wait to hear how her emergency C-section is going and are heartbroken to learn that despite all efforts mom did not make it and left only one orphaned pup to care for. Through tears, a volunteer works on finding an experienced stay at home foster to bottle feed the pup around the clock.

The group of volunteers that went out on the frozen morning are emotionally exhausted and head home for the night to answer the daily email requests to take in animals that owners can no longer care for. As the rescuers think of the faces of the animals they had to leave on the streets, a shocking call comes in regarding three dead dogs found on the roadside in a Detroit park and a statement from a city employee who commented that they had 28 dead dogs to pick up on their route that day.

Another nearby city, Flint, the newspaper says another 12 dead dogs were found discarded in garbage bags. Volunteers cringe as they know dog fighting is a high stakes “sport” in these areas and difficult to crack. When will the torture and suffering end?

The team contacts Detroit city officials and organizes an Anti-Animal Abuse Rally the following weekend. Hundreds of advocates and local rescues join together. City officials do not respond. DAWG volunteers are disappointed and dream of a day when they have the funds to build a facility to house the many animals that they couldn’t help today and may not be alive on their next visit. One by one they strive to save them and continue to bring awareness to the problem.

If you would like to help the strays of Detroit please visit their website at www.dawghous.com.

A dog and cat’s life is a short one in Iraq. If they manage to escape the horrible abuse, they are likely to starve to death or die painfully due to illness or heat exhaustion. These animals are rarely shown any mercy for they are seen as worthless rodents, a nuisance to society.

There are very few individuals who would consider a dog or a cat a part of the home like we do in North America, so when US military and security personnel are deployed in Iraq, many of the animals attach themselves to those show them any form of kindness.

On our most recent Operation Baghdad Pups mission we were able to help 17 more lives escape their otherwise horrid fate. When we looked at the photos of the dogs and cats and read the letters from the brave Americans serving in Iraq who befriended these beautiful creatures, we knew we had to help get them home and we also knew it wouldn’t be easy!

Since flying into Baghdad where most of the animals were living is no longer an option, we needed many people holding hands across the country to facilitate their transport to safety in Erbil. Security workforces were kind enough to meet our hired driver with the animals, but meeting at a checkpoint outside the ‘red zone’ in Baghdad is certainly not like meeting at any regular street corner.

In Baghdad, the rules can change from one minute to the next, depending on which Iraqi guard is on duty. After close to three hours of bargaining before the sun even came up that day, the guard would still not let them pass the short distance to the van. However, in Iraq, it’s not always what you know, it’s who you know and luckily one of the security officials knew someone in a higher rank who was able to clear their departure, but not before they had to walk through the Red Zone with the frightened dogs and cat!

Once our team arrived in Erbil, the work of getting the animals ready for transport to the United States began. Every other day for 2 weeks, one rescue expert at a time, our group flew into Washington Dulles Airport with a crew of Baghdad Pups and cats. Meeting their arrivals brought tears to our eyes with each new wagging tail discovering US soil, some were even lucky enough to be reunited with their families right off the plane. This beautiful dog named George who spent many months with his human companion in Iraq, was so elated to see his dad, he launched himself right into his lap for a hug and wouldn’t let go!

Although Fred wasn’t able to meet his Houston family at the airport when he arrived, he clearly melted our hearts. With a wounded paw from a BB pellet shot at him in Iraq, the reality of life for an animal in the Middle East, he was immediately brought to the vet and taken into our care so we could keep a close eye on him. It was easy to see why Fred won the heart of his adopter while overseas. Here he is making friends with everyone at the hotel lobby!

Before Lani came to her forever home in the U.S., she lived a life of constantly having to fend for herself. Luckily, she was befriended by a wonderful ex-Marine working in Iraq who quickly fell in love with her sweet nature. Lani is sure enjoying her new life at home!

Separated from his mom at a very early age, little Taboga attached himself to everyone who would meet him and the feeling was mutual! During his transition to his home in the U.S., he learned two very important things, how to play and how to sleep!

Seeing the dogs excitedly walk on grass for the very first time was one of the best reflections of how your support enabled us to make this one of our most successful OBP missions to date!

We couldn’t have brought back 17 animals to their US families without your help.
Thank you for being part of the SPCAI team!

Submitted by Meredith Ayan, SPCAI Staff

All of my life, I’ve never been much of a carnivore, always gravitating toward vegetables. Well before I could have understood the realities of factory farming I just knew I didn’t want to eat animals. In fifth grade, I proudly announced to my parents that I wouldn’t eat “anything that had a face”. Luckily, I had a caring mother who would make a second vegetarian meal for me almost nightly, but it hasn’t stopped my father from offering me pork chops, steak or lamb still to this day, every chance he gets.

Not everyone shares my sentiments, and I understand that. The light that has been shed on industrial farming – the mass production of livestock and crops – in recent years has shown that nothing about these operations even resembles that of a traditional farm. These large-scale production plants are not even recognized as farms anymore and have been classified by the government as “Animal Feeding Operations”.

Animal activists have gone undercover and posed as factory workers to expose the horrors of these factories. The video footage alone is enough to make you swear you’ll go vegan, cold turkey. (Pun intended). Rolling Stone published an article in December 2013 that brought the issue to the mainstream media, no longer just the plight of “crazy animal people”. The article describes the horrid conditions, cruel torture and employment of animal abusers in these facilities. This goes beyond the issue of animal abuse to a concern of public health and safety. All for the pursuit of “cheap meat”.

“Ag-Gag” laws as they are commonly known, criminalize the act of interfering with an “animal enterprise”; which means that these undercover operations can no longer exist. At worst, it feels like censorship and a violation of citizens’ first amendment rights. At best, it sweeps the problem of animal cruelty under the rug. Nothing will be accomplished if we look the other way. Animal abuse is a very real problem in this industry, and without information, consumers cannot make informed decisions.

So what can we do? 1. Contact your local government and let them know you oppose these measures. 2. Buy local. By supporting local farms for your vegetable or meat purchases, you have more knowledge about where your food is coming from. 3. Cut back. Try to limit your intake of meat to one or two nights per week. With a little research and creative thinking you can make protein-packed, meat-free meals. The effect these small changes will have will add up if we all do our part to be conscious consumers!