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SOUTHERN ANIMAL RESCUE ASSOCIATION
—Summer 2007—
Letter from the Director, Tracy Frank
 Hello SARA Supporters,
It's not officially summer yet, but already the humidity is stifling. I know, I know, I always drone on about the weather. Well, this newsletter is no exception! It's been raining like crazy and we can
scarcely keep up with the mowing and weed eating. The ticks are finally gone- for the moment anyway- and we plan to keep it that way. A big thank you goes out to Rhoda and Stephen Moss who bought Preventic collars for all our guys and to the rest of you who have so generously helped with collars and donations of Advantix or Frontline- or donations ear marked for that purpose. I am grateful. We will need to purchase collars again at the end of August because
in this part of the world, fleas and ticks are a year round concern and we cannot rest on our laurels with the horrible pests.
I'm afraid we will always be at war with ticks and fleas.
Christmas (or Hanukah) in July!
As I've said before, summer is the most difficult time of year for us. While most people enjoy the season as a time for recreation and leisure, it means more work and more costs for SARA. We see an increase in our electric bill due to having to run air conditioners day in and day out and because of stepped up water use. Come August, almost nobody shows up to volunteer so we must hire more paid help. Just as the ground dries up so do our donations. I'm asking you, our wonderful supporters to make that holiday donation now if possible. This is the time of year when we need your support the most and you still get the tax deduction.
We really need your help to make it through these next few difficult months. I hope you will consider sending your gift today and it's never been easier. You can make a credit card donation by going to our web site www.sarasanctuary.org and simply click on the JustGive.org icon and go from there or you can always send your donations to
PO Box 813, Seguin, Texas 78156.
We really, really appreciate it.
All my best and happy holidays!
Tracy
SARA is supported entirely through your tax-deductible donations.
Our address is PO Box 813, Seguin, Texas 78156.
Our web site: http://www.sarasanctuary.org
Want our hard copy newsletter? Email your snail mail address.
If you would like to be taken off our mailing list, go to our website.
Alternative Spring Breakers Lend a Hand!
We have hosted four groups of alternative spring break (ASB) students now. Five years ago, a group from Texas A&M came out for a week and last year we had a large group from Vanderbilt University. This past March we had Vanderbilt again and Indiana State University back to back.
Check out some of the fun photos Brandi Stewart took that are posted at here.
With all the mayhem and uncertainty in the world, it's comforting to meet young people who would rather spend their free time helping animals and the community (unlike the awful article about the 11 year-old who killed a defenseless pet pig on a canned hunt ranch in the What a World section). Maybe there is hope for the future.
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Welcome Kaitlin!
We met Kaitlin Stengel last year during the Alternative Spring Break program
and she decided to come down to SARA and work for the summer before heading
back to Kentucky to start medical school in the fall.
She is enthusiastic, friendly, and eager to help. She says she is "happiest
when she's outdoors and dirty"! No problem filling that order.
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News & Upcoming Events
New Braunfels Friendraiser in April another big success!
Thanks to Charlene Fournace and all the other volunteers and silent auction donors who helped us raise over $7500 and to Ken Rabba and his band for keeping everyone entertained.
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Some Good News:
ASSEMBLY PASSES CALIFORNIA HEALTHY PETS ACT
Universal spaying and neutering of dogs and cats will save taxpayers millions
In a victory for California taxpayers and animal advocates, the California State Assembly today passed the California Healthy Pets Act (AB 1634). This bill, authored by Assemblymember Lloyd Levine (D - Van Nuys) would help keep pets healthy, make communities safer, and save taxpayers millions by requiring most pets to be spayed or neutered.
Every year, more than 800,000 pets are abandoned in California. California taxpayers spend $250 million to house these abandoned cats and dogs in shelters and then euthanize the majority of them.
"Today is a great day for California's taxpayers and animal lovers. The California Healthy Pets Act will save millions of dollars that are currently being used to shelter and euthanize unwanted animals. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate to pass this common sense solution to the growing challenge of pet overpopulation in our state," said Assemblymember Levine.
Sponsors of the California Healthy Pets Act include the California Veterinary Medical Association, California Animal Control Directors Association, and the State Humane Association of California, which represents local SPCAs and Humane Societies across the state. The bill is also supported by law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and hundreds of animal organizations from across the state.
"This is a monumental victory for anyone who cares about animals and every taxpayer in the state. The California Healthy Pets Act is the best, most humane option of reducing the growing number of unwanted animals. Status quo is not acceptable - we'll never be able to keep up by just hoping that people do the right thing," said Judie Mancuso, Campaign Director for the California Healthy Pets Coalition.
The California Healthy Pets Act would enact a universal spay/neuter law for California. More than 20 common sense exemptions are provided in the bill, including for show and sporting dogs, law enforcement dogs, dogs used in search and rescue, pets that are too old or in poor health, and guide, service and signal animals.
The bill is largely modeled on a successful universal spay and neuter ordinance that the County of Santa Cruz implemented in 1995. By 2005, although the county's human population had grown by 15 percent, its shelter's intake numbers had plummeted by more than half. This success has inspired other jurisdictions, including the City of Sacramento and City of San Bernardino, to adopt similar measures.
Dog or cat owners found to be in violation of AB 1634 would be cited, but would not pay a fine if they had their animals spayed or neutered. All funds from permits will be used to fund the administration, enforcement and outreach efforts of the program as well as free or low-cost spay and neuter efforts.
For more information, please visit www.cahealthypets.com.
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On the Home Front:
Check out some of our adoptable cuties below. You can also view more of our adoptables on our website or Petfinder.
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Poppy
Poor little Poppy spent the first 8 years of her life at the end of a chain. She is very calm and friendly and would make a great addition to any chain free home. She weighs about 14 pounds and gets along well with other animals including cats and likes children.
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Nessie
A neighbor found Nessie running down the highway, apparently cast off. Yes, even pure bred dogs get dumped off unceremoniously on the side of the road. She is a Scotty, about 6 years old, healthy and happy. She is house trained.
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Curtis
Curtis was abandoned out here a couple of years ago when he was just a puppy in the winter. He was virtually hairless because he was suffering from Demadectic mange and had to wear a little purple insulated suit for the cold months until his hair grew back! He is sweet, likes children and gets along well with female dogs, but tends to “guard” his food. |
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Daisy
Daisy first came to SARA back in 1998 and was adopted about 6 years ago. Unfortunately the adoption did not turn out as we had hoped and Daisy was found in the middle of a busy highway in a small town near Seguin. When we picked her up a woman out in her yard said that “she was always in the middle of the road” and it was just a matter of time before she was hit by a car. She is a friendly, funny dog who is about ten now, but still has a lot of energy. She is housetrained, gets along well with other animals including cats, and loves children. She would make a terrific companion for any loving, responsible home.
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Great Residents with Special Needs:
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Pepper
Little Pepper has been at SARA for over ten years now. He is adorable and sweet, but has some health issues. Prior to his arrival he must have been hit by a car because he has a limp and a bit of a disfigured hip which doesn't seem to bother him and he also has a chronic cough and needs to be indoors in a climate controlled environment. He has seen a specialist for the cough and several vets, but it is a condition that cannot be cured, just managed. It's usually not serious, but sometimes he has a flare up and he will take medication. He is house trained, super sweet and gets along well with other animals. He loves to sleep in a chair as you can see from the photograph. |
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Milagro
He is about 9 years old now. He lives w/ two other potbellied pigs named Petey and Juanita. They are pretty low energy animals who love to eat and root around in the cool dirt. He was abandoned by his “guardians” and when he came to SARA his hooves were about 6 inches long and his tusks were growing into his face. They have to be sawed off about once a year. He is neutered.
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Help us help them...donate your old vehicle for a tax-deductible donation. We'll pick it up!
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Wish
List
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Paper towels
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Bleach
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Bottled drinking water
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Towels
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Newspaper
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Kiddy pools
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Frontline/Advantix topical for largest dogs
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Frontline spray
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3 new air conditioners- window units for cattery and large communal dog house
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Gift card to Home Depot
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Standard crib fitted mattress covers and sheets
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Chicken scratch
Expensive items needed
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Front loading commercial washer and drier
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Commercial weed eater and lawn mower
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Reliable pick up truck
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Public bathroom
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Barn for farm animals
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Building for clinic
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Help Us Help Them
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Become a SARA Sponsor
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Become a SARA foster parent
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Adopt a pet from SARA
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Volunteer your time and expertise
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Make a donation today
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Donate your old car, boat, trailer, or motorcycle- we'll pick it up
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Place a collection jar for SARA in your place of business
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Ask your friends to donate to SARA
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Forward this newsletter to likeminded, animal loving friends and family!
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New Memorial Page on Our Web Site
Check out our new page. People can create their own memorial to their beloved friends and the donation goes to help the many animals at SARA.
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Help Sponsor a SARA Monthly Service
Every month we have large expenses for necessary things at the sanctuary like electricity and our giant garbage receptacle, storage building rentals, etc. If you'd like to help in that capacity please email Tracy and we can give you more details.
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What a World, What a World, or What the Hell Is Wrong with People?
Kid Shoots pet pig named Fred 16 times before he finally dies in agony- story lauded as "an accomplishment" by national news and papers.
Editorial from Louisiana Resident about "Canned Hunting"
THIS IS CRUELTY, ISN'T IT?
In 2004, when Fred was a six-week old piglet he was given to his former owner as a Christmas gift... By this year he had grown to a giant 12 feet long boar hog weighing over 1000 pounds. Fred was too big to send to slaughter, so he was sold to a canned-hunt commercial enterprise that released Fred into an enclosure with an area equivalent to a square of approximately two city-blocks on a side. An 11-year-old boy accompanied by his father and two "guides" was allowed to "hunt" Fred within the enclosure. Three hours of suffering and terror after Fred sustained the first of a reported 16 gunshot wounds from a high-powered pistol fired by the boy he could run no more. Then Fred died.
Go to http://www.monsterpig.com for pictures of the boy with his "trophy hog". (The father of the boy put up this website. It has a contact e-mail on
it.)
It's not pleasant, but such things ought not to be happening, and it's up to animal advocates to take the lead in seeing that these grossly cruel canned-hunts are outlawed throughout the United States. The best we have done in Louisiana so far is to prohibit old zoo animals from going to canned-hunts. We have tried to get them banned.
About a decade ago our Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry, Bob Odom, who will soon be running again for re-election, worked to proliferate canned-hunts on white-tailed deer, elk, and other animals.
Bob Odom supported cockfighters too: as a guest at a state-wide cockfighters convention (at least once to my knowledge), and in opposition to anti-cockfighting legislation in testimony before legislative committees a number of times.
Recently, he worked to get a bill amended to prevent the cruelty to animals law from being applied in regard to any agricultural animal or any agricultural practice. That bill is still in the legislative process. Fortunately, people are on to it and Odom's amendment will not pass into law.
But this e-mail isn't about Odom.
It's about Fred. Let your feelings be known. Write to the editor of your local newspaper. Do what you can to get news commentators on radio and TV to bring this deplorable "canned-hunt" issue to the forefront of public concern.
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Meet SARA Permanent Resident, Prince
 A little over a year ago a guy drove up here early one Sunday morning in an old beat up car and I could see a huge chain around the head of a snarling dog through the window. He asked me if we could leave his dog here because he was about to be homeless. At first I said no, and then relented.
He didn't seem to know anything about the dog other than he had kept him on a chain which of course is no life for any animal.
Prince was bigger than the guy and weighed more. It was almost funny to watch Prince drag him down our driveway near the horse trailer. I told him to put him inside because he appeared quite aggressive and I didn't know how else to handle him; it's a nice covered trailer and it was a cool day.
The man asked me if we could use $20. I started to tell him to keep it, but then I accepted the money and he drove off. The next morning we took Prince in the trailer to the vet to have him neutered, vaccinated, and for a medical evaluation.
I'm not sure how they got him anesthetized, but he was neutered and vaccinated and checked out. We got him home when he was still groggy and into a pen. Once he came out of the fog, he started lunging at the fence when anybody walked by and to be totally honest, I was scared of him.
We had one employee who gained his trust and was able to pet him and go into his pen, but he left in March.
Now Prince lets me open the gate to his pen to feed him. We have a system worked out where he will cross the aisle over into another pen so that we can clean his. He will take his heartworm preventative through the fence, and we spray him with Frontline.
For all of his bluster and growling, he can be pretty sweet. He loves toys and will carry a giant squeaky pacifier around in his mouth like a baby! I know in time that he will be just fine. He'll probably never leave here, but he's very happy and I think he deserves to live. It's amazing what some kindness, patience, and good food can do for a dog (or anybody).
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Cruelty-Free Recipe
White Bean and Roasted Garlic Puree
Ingredients:
1 can white beans
1 head garlic
2 sprigs of fresh thyme- leaves removed from the stem and minced
1 T lemon juice
3 T extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh black pepper to taste
Makes a great, healthy appetizer for 4.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.
Wrap whole garlic unpeeled in aluminum foil or parchment paper and place into the oven for 45 minutes.
Let cool for 20 minutes and slice off the tops of the garlic and squeeze the softened, baked garlic, the lemon juice and the thyme into the food processor with the drained beans.
Turn on the food processor and add the olive oil. Puree to desired consistency.
Season with salt and pepper and serve with toast or crackers.
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