Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Fosters Needed for Gatesville Rotties!

We've received new information on the Houston SPCA/Gatesville seizure. One highest-level need right now is to line up fosters to volunteer to provide temporary (one-to-three months) foster care for seniors, medically compromised, and behaviorally challenged (rambunctious teenagers and timid females) Rotties. At this point, they are looking for 30-40 foster homes for these categories of higher-needs dogs.

The dogs are currently located in Houston, Texas, in the custody of the Houston SPCA. But once the legal process is over (a week to two), most of the dogs will be transferred to the custody of non-profit rescues as organized by the American Rottweiler Club. There is a preference for fosters to be in Texas or nearby states so that the dogs do not have to travel too far. Fosters will need to keep the dogs as in-house pets (not "yard dogs" or in kennels 24/hours/day) and may need to house train and leash train the dogs.

Once the dogs are available for adoption, they will be adopted out through local non-profit rescue groups. In addition, the dogs will be marketed on the website RottNet.net, and through adoption events.

If you are interested and available to help save these magnificent and abused dogs' lives, please send an e-mail to Lew Olsen at lewolson@earthlink.net. In your e-mail, please provide your name, location, and contact information, as well as any experience you might have with medically compromised dogs and timid females.

Together, we can save these dogs. We're just going to need your help to do it!

Thanks,
The FixAustin.org Team

Sunday, February 06, 2011

What's the Deal with the Houston SPCA Raid?

We don't know why the Houston SPCA was called in to rescue 240+ rotties from a ranch outside of Killeen, Texas, rather than various animal-welfare groups in Austin (which is much closer to the ranch than Houston is). But we do know that there is reason to be concerned for the seized animals: According to animal advocates in Houston and public information, the Houston SPCA has a 65% kill rate, won't release its current intake, adoption, and euthanasia data, won't commit to putting the rescued animals up for adoption, and has an official breed-discrimination policy.

You can read OisforOnward's analysis of the HSPCA raid here: http://oisforonward.com/2011/02/houston-spca/

And stay up-to-date on the dogs' care on NoKillHouston's Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Kill-Houston/117281633060