Saving lives, one puppy at a time
Publication/Event date: 2010-04-14
Publication name: www.malibutimes.com
URL for more info: http://www.malibutimes.com/articles/2010/04/14/malibu_life/art1.txt#blogcomments
Summary: Two local residents convert their pet shop into a “rescue” store, selling only animals that have come from shelters or that have been rescued or dropped off by owners who don't want them anymore.

CAPS protests against Los Angeles pet store chain

Publication/Event date: 2010-04-23
Publication name: Culver City News (Blue Pacific News)
URL for more info: www.caps-web.org/pdf/culvercitynews.2010-04-23.pdf (pdf)
Excerpt from the article:

More than 70 Los Angeles Unified School District students joined the Companion Domesticated for Animal Protection Society more than 10,000 years, (CAPS) on Saturday, April 17, in a demonstration against the dog was one of the Barkworks, a chain of pet first animals domesticated stores in Los Angeles. by humans.

Assembly Bill 2743 (Pedro Nava) - Banning Declawing and Devocalization in CA

Publication/Event date: 2010-00-00

Publication name: CAPS

URL for the PDF: www.caps-web.org/pdf/miscellaneous/AB2743FactSheet.pdf

Excerpt:

Reason AB 2743 is Necessary

Eight local governments in California have recently banned the practice of cat declawing, recognizing the practice as inhumane. A search of rental listings throughout California, however, shows a number of properties with landlords and managers requiring that potential owners will be considered only with declawed cats. Declawing can often have unintended consequences for property managers, physical complications for animals, and emotional and fnancial consequences for pet owners.

For More Information:

Jackie Koenig (916) 319-2035 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. " data-mce-href="mailto: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ">

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Publication name: Youtube
URL for more info: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iBMvmb_uUc

CAPS, One Dog at a Time

Publication/Event date: 2010-04-05

Publication name: Mass Arf Magazine

URL for more info: http://www.massarf.com/archives/feature_5APRIL2010.html

Author: Scott Fayner

Summary:

Deborah Howard is soft-spoken and affable, hardly what you'd expect from a woman knee-deep in the fight to defend against cruelty to dogs- and all companion animals - in puppy mills and pet shops throughout the country. In fact, CAPS, the group she founded in 1992, is the only national nonprofit organization focused solely on that mission, and I found out soon enough that this big-smiled woman means business.

Publication/Event date: 2010-05-26
Publication name: KGO-TV
Author: Carolyn Tyler
URL for more info: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news%2Flocal%2Fsan_francisco&id=7463602

Summary:

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- In San Francisco, where cats and dogs are officially called companions not pets, there is now a proposal to ban their sale.

The Animal Welfare Commission wants to prevent pet stores from selling dogs and cats, as well as smaller animals including hamsters, rats and chinchillas. Banning the sale of dogs and cats in the city is largely symbolic since few stores actually do, but they are selling the small animals and many eventually wind up at city shelters.

We are seeking sponsors ($112) for flying death row dogs to loving homes on the Riviera. Join American Dog Magazine, Air France, CAPS, SC SPCA to help these death row dogs! Pledge a mere $112 for their flight to freedom at www.caps-web.org.

Imagine you just found the perfect apartment. It's not only close to work, but it includes all utilities, a washer and dryer, and, shockingly enough, it's downright affordable. You pinch yourself to make sure it isn't a dream, this is too good to be true... until you see the fine print and read that your landlord requires you to declaw and devocalize Princess Meow-Meow. The lovely dream suddenly becomes a nightmare.

Sadly, this is not a hypothetical situation. Many people have to face such demands in order to live in a nice home. Perfect living arrangements are obtainable at the expense of a dog's vocal chords or a cat's sharp claws and many veterinarians go ahead with the barbaric procedure.

It's cruel and unfair, but is anybody doing ANYTHING about it?

The answer is simple: yes.

"I had always thought that declawing was barbaric and shouldn't be done [...] And the more I learned of it, the more apparent it became that this was a procedure being done for the convenience of people without any real thought to the consequences to the animal."

- Assemblyman Nava to the LA Times

Companion animals have a friend of their own in the California legislature. Assemblyman Pedro Nava (D - Santa Barbara) recently introduced legislation (Assembly Bill 2743) that would ban California landlords from forcing tenants to declaw or devocalize their four-legged family members. The sneaky apartment owners will no longer be able to give preference or special treatment to tenants who take their cat or dog to the vet for the inhumane procedures.

Interestingly enough, one of the largest landlord associations in the state, the California Apartment Association, supports the bill. They encourage landlords to rely on pet deposits and make pet owners responsible for whatever damage Fifi and Fido unleash on said property (sort of like the security deposit university kids pay in case their drunken frat parties get out of control). After all, isn't the human 100% responsible?

Others argue that the bill doesn't go far enough. Many cities in California and elsewhere in the country have banned the practice of declawing and devocalizing altogether. Assemblyman Nava considered introducing a bill to ban both procedures, but decided to narrow down the measure in hopes of reaching the right direction one step at a time. After all, doesn't everybody have a cruelty switch that can easily be turned off with education and persuasion?

Apparently not.

Groups such as the California Veterinary Medical Association disagree with the bill. They say the legislation has claims about declawing that are not substantiated with sufficient research (there's always a loophole, folks!). According to them, statements claiming that felines change behavior after the surgery are hardly proven.

Anyone who has ever gone through the torturous ordeal of trimming nails would agree that feisty, purring companions are VERY protective of their claws. Why would a group composed of experts in the veterinary field overlook that? Why do several European countries, such as England and Germany, made the practice illegal?

Strange, isn't it?

Declawing- or onychectomy- must be done by a veterinarian and is often a non-therapeutic surgical procedure done with a laser, scalpel, or clippers (ouch?). The surgery is often performed so Fifi won't damage the human's favorite chair. Organizations such as Cats International compare it to "amputating a person's finger or toe at the first knuckle." As a result, the mutilated pet won't be able to grow the claws again - a reality many owners regret when they notice a significant change in the cat's behavior, including aggression and litter box avoidance. The Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets defines devocalization as a nonessential "convenience" surgery in which vocal cords are cut to suppress or remove an animal's voice. Some animals struggle to breathe, choke on food and water, and gag uncontrollably for the rest of their lives. Others die due to complications. If you want a clearer picture, imagine a doctor removing your finger and rendering you speechless- not a pretty site, now is it?

Regardless of both dissenting sides, such procedures are done for the convenience of humans, not the other way around. By dedicating more time to observing, grooming, and actually taking care of either felines or canines, the behavioral problems that lead to destroyed furniture or annoyed neighbors can be easily managed without the need of surgery (taking your dog out more often, cleaning the litter box, PLAYING, going for a yearly vet checkup, and buying a scratching post are all good ways to start).

Dealing with scratchy and noisy but happy pets is part of the beautiful experience of loving a companion animal. The easy way out, surgery, isn't always the best decision. Don't let your landlord (or anyone for that matter) tell you otherwise.

More Information:

Reason AB 2743 is Necessary

What YOU can do: the Paw Project

Who devocalizes? What do the dogs sound like?

Hear what animal experts say

CAPS Communication to the USDA and APHIS

To:
Dr. Chester A. Gipson
Deputy Administrator- Animal Care
United States Department of Agriculture
&
...Dr. Gerald Rushin
Veterinary Medical Officer
United States Department of Agriculture

From:
Ed Green and Dave Ross
Crowell & Moring LLP


Excerpt:
On behalf of the Companion Animal Protection Society ("CAPS") and Ms. Howard, we wanted to take a moment to congratulate USDA and APHIS for planning to provide more accessible Animal Welfare Act enforcement information to the public on a regular and systematic basis. CAPS welcomes the increased transparency and enhanced enforcement effort described during the May 20, 2010 Animal Care Stakeholder Update meeting and in Administrator Smith's April 29, 2010 press release (enclosed). Quite frankly, these developments are long overdue... 

Attachments:

Letter to APHIS (PDF)
Inspection Requirements (April 19, 2010) (PDF)
Inspection Requirments Attachments (Checklist for Animal Care Inspection Report) (PDF)
USDA - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Care Program Inspections of Problematic Dealers

Related News:

Article: USDA fails to crack down on puppy mills
By: Mary Clare Jalonick (AP)
Who: Associated Press
URL for more info: USDA fails to crack down on puppy mills

Excerpt:
WASHINGTON — An internal government report says dogs are dying and living in horrific conditions due to lax government enforcement of large kennels known as puppy mills.

Investigators say the Department of Agriculture agency in charge of enforcing the Animal Welfare Act often ignores repeat violations, waives penalties and doesn't adequately document inhumane treatment of dogs. In one case cited by the department's inspector general, 27 dogs died at an Oklahoma breeding facility after inspectors had visited the facility several times and cited it for violations...

By: Carole Raphaelle Davis

URL for more info: http://rivierarescue.blogspot.com/2010/05/rescue-riviera-sauvetage-riviera.html

Summary:

Welcome Miss Tinkerbelle, the latest Riviera Rescue by CAPS, Santa Cruz SPCA and Societe Defense des Animaux in Nice! If you would like to donate the $112 for the freedom ride from the Pound to Provence, click here: http://www.caps-web.org/index.php?option=com_jdonation&;view=donation&Itemid=367Excerpt:

Miss Tinkerbelle is the latest California death row dog to be rescued by CAPS, Santa Cruz SPCA and Societé Défense des Animaux! Miss Tinkerbelle weighs just four pounds and is a beautiful young Chihuahua lady. She is currently being vaccinated, micro-chipped and quarantined for her flight to freedom in France...for a LIFE in Provence! Isn't she adorable? And to think that she was dumped in the pound and was going to be euthanized. Now she is safe, thanks to generous donations from people like you. In less than 30 days, she will be packin' her bags and flying to the Riviera, where she will learn to bark in French.

If you would like to donate to fly a dog to safety in France, please go to the CAPS website and make a donation!