A group of veterinarians, government officials and other individuals interested in animal welfare in Brazil are working on creating animal shelters in the country and developing new animal cruelty laws. This group visited animal shelters in the United States and selected Oakland Animal Services as the one they would like to use to model their new shelters on. They were impressed that OAS is doing so much with so few resources. OAS’s Veterinarian, Dr. Jyothi Robertson, and Director Megan Webb have been invited by the group to speak in Curitiba, Brazil at a conference at the veterinary school to discuss shelter management and animal cruelty investigations. The trip at the end of November 2012 will also include a visit to Iguassa Falls and Rio de Janiero to give some additional lectures.
Find the Kitten…
Yep! That’s a tiny black kitten on the ledge of the 880 freeway – only 15 ounces and very scared! Thankfully, Oakland Fire Department assisted Oakland Animal Control Officers in getting the kitten off the ledge. She’s now resting at the Shelter after eating a huge amount. She has an injured eye but it appears like it will heal well.
Our Black Cats Featured in SF Chronicle
SF Chronicle: Black cats, take note: Beware of people crossing your path. They’re likely to bring bad luck.
According to a UC Berkeley study, black cats are unfairly stereotyped and far less likely than their fair-haired, blue-eyed cousins to be adopted at animal shelters.
In fact, orange or Siamese cats are usually adopted within their first day at a shelter. Black cats can languish for months because of people’s preconceptions about their personalities and behavior, according to Mikel Delgado, a UC Berkeley doctorate student who authored the study.
Shelters have known this for years. Black cats are far more likely to be euthanized than other cats, shelter staffers say.
“Black cats are some of the most sleek, clothing-friendly cats. You won’t have little white hairs over everything. But for some reason, they are, hands down, the hardest to find homes for,” said Willow Liroff, head cat volunteer at the Oakland Animal Shelter.
About half the cats at the Oakland and San Francisco shelters are black or mostly black. Shelters try all manner of tactics to find homes for black cats, such as two-for-one specials and other promotions like “Black Is the New Black,” “Adopt a Mini-Panther,” “Black Goes With Everything” and “Back in Black.”
No one’s sure why people ascribe certain characteristics to black cats. There have been myths for centuries about black cats being harbingers of bad luck or accessories to witchcraft, but no evidence suggests that black cats are any more demonic than other cats, Delgado said.
“Black cats can be just as friendly and active,” she said. “But a lot of people seem to prefer orange cats. We wanted to find out why.”
Delgado, who formerly worked at an animal shelter, surveyed 189 people about their opinions on felines. The respondents said orange cats are friendly, tortoiseshell cats are intolerant and aloof, white cats are less active and shy, and they admitted negative or no opinion whatsoever about black cats.
That’s the problem, shelter staff said. People walk right by the black cats.
“I think when people come to adopt a cat, they want something exotic looking. A cool striped mackerel tabby, or something fluffy and cute,” said Vicky Guldbech, operations manager at the San Francisco animal shelter. “The poor black kitties are just ignored.”
Delgado, who’s earning her doctorate in psychology and has two tabby cats, is studying human-animal relationships and why people ascribe certain personality traits to animals.
Her study was published in Anthrozoos, the official journal of the International Society for Anthrozoology.
Studies and Halloween myths mean nothing to Buster, a frisky 4-month-old black cat at the Oakland shelter. He spent much of Monday morning batting a pink feather around the visiting room, not in the least concerned about witchcraft.
“Cats are such individuals,” Liroff said. “Even the black cats are all different. Some are sleek, some have green eyes, some have round faces. … We have no idea why people don’t want to adopt them.”
Justice for Blueberry Upheld
From KTVU: A state appeals court Thursday upheld the animal cruelty conviction and four-year prison sentence for an Oakland man who beat his dog with a mop handle and an ax handle.
Charles Black was convicted in 2011 by an Alameda County Superior Court jury of two counts of animal cruelty and was sentenced by Judge Allen Hymer to four years in prison.
The prosecution was made possible because a neighbor who heard the dog’s cries of pain over a period of months videotaped two incidents of Black beating the dog, a pit bull named Blueberry, on his balcony.
The neighbor, pipefitter Vince Faltis, testified that he and his brother, artist Steelee Faltis, decided to videotape the beatings because they found the alleged abuse “appalling.”
In the first incident, on June 30, 2009, Black was seen swinging a mop handle downward and a dog could be heard crying out five times. The tape was indistinct and did not show the handle hitting the dog, but Faltis testified that Black struck the dog forcefully.
Black testified in his defense that he pushed or touched Blueberry twice with the handle to discipline the dog for chewing an electrical cord, but denied abusing the animal.
The video of the second incident, on Feb. 19, 2010, was of higher quality.
Court of Appeal Justice Sandra Margulies wrote in the ruling, “This video was of far better quality, unmistakably showing defendant swinging a steel ax over his head and bringing it down on the cowering dog, striking the animal repeatedly.
“Defendant shouted angrily at the dog as it squealed in pain,” Margulies wrote.
Margulies and Justices James Marchiano and Robert Dondero unanimously upheld the conviction, rejecting Black’s claims that errors in jury selection had deprived him of a fair trial.
The appeals court also turned down Black’s appeal argument that the jurors should have been instructed that they had an option to convict him of a lesser charge of attempted animal abuse.
The three-judge panel said there was no evidence that Black attempted but failed to abuse the dog.
Vince Faltis was given a $2,500 reward by the Humane Society of the United States and donated $1,000 of that amount to Friends of the Oakland Animal Shelter.
This case was investigated by the Oakland Animal Services, a division of Oakland Police Department. Oakland Animal Services transferred Blueberry to another shelter where he was eventually adopted by another family and is now doing very well.
A lawyer for Black, who is currently serving his sentence at the California Correctional Institution in Susanville, was not immediately available for comment.
Long-Term Rabbits Need Homes
We have some special long-term rabbits at the shelter who are looking for homes. The adoption fee has been waived for these rabbits and they come with a fabulous gift basket full of herbivore goodies! Please bring all household members to meet your new companion.
UPDATE: House Rabbit Society has taken Sugar into their program! Thank you, HRS! If you’re interested in Sugar, please visit him there.
First up is Sugar, who has been waiting at the shelter since August 2011 for his home. Being a white bunny with red eyes has left Sugar overlooked and unwanted. Bunnies are prey animals, and he is known to shy away at first. His new family will have to sit with him and be patient and he will soon find comfort in you. If you have a bunny at home that needs a friend, let’s set him/her up on a date with Sugar!
Next are Thelma and Louise, a mom and daughter pair. They love to race with each other and play hide and seek in cardboard boxes. Adopting a pair means they will keep each other company during the day when you are at work or school.
Come visit! Our friendly volunteers are happy to introduce you to these sweet bunnies and talk to you about rabbit care.
Boots Is No Longer a Bachelor
Betty Boop’s Big Splash
Betty Boop arrived at the Shelter in May 2012. She was given her name by a volunteer because of her wide, inquisitive, flirty eyes. Betty quickly became a volunteer favorite; however, months went by with little adoption interest from the public. Betty’s lush dark brindle color and her pit bull/boxer mixture may have made it more difficult for her to find a home but likely her high energy was the main thing that turned away potential adopters. Many said “Oh, she’s too energetic for my lifestyle” when they met her.
Volunteers who worked with her every week found her to be one of the smartest dogs any of them ever met, both affectionate and obedient. She absolutely loved the water; in fact, lived for it. There is a kiddie pool at the shelter, and every chance she had, Betty couldn’t wait to climb in and immerse herself totally. She also played “chase the water stream” – a volunteer would water the front lawn with a big hose while she tried to “bite” the water. Very funny. This was the type of serious exercies Betty desired and needed to keep her brain and muscular frame engaged. Days passed, months passed and still no one was interested in adopting Betty Boop. The stress of shelter life was starting to get to her and the staff and volunteers were running out of options for finding her a home.The volunteers, determined to find her a home, strategized to get the word out about Betty Boop. They decided to play up her unique attributes – they publicized her as a high energy dog that loves water. It worked!!!!! Flash forward to September — Betty Boop found an amazing home! A couple was looking for a water-loving companion for their male pit bull – Ace – who participates in Splashdog events. They saw Betty’s Petfinder profile and the videos of her with water hose, kiddie pool, etc. They adopted her!
Betty, who is now Amelia, participated in her very first Splashdog event on Saturday at the Bay Area Pet Fair. Several volunteers from the shelter went to watch. Betty and Ace, both entered the contest. Ace is a pro at dock diving and did really well. Betty was a bit intimidated, partly by the very loud (and large) crowd watching the event and by the platform on which she was supposed to run and dive into the water. The platform was about three feet or more above the water. She did walk to the edge and consider it, but no dive for her today. (She did follow Ace in during one of their practice jumps, though.) Her wonderful adopters will be working on this and will let us know the next time she’s in an event!
VIP Pet Care
Thank you to VIP Petcare for donating thousands of cat carriers to Oakland Animal Services each year. We rely on these carriers to transport animals and to give to adopters to take home their new animal.
VIP Pet Care
Thank you to VIP Petcare for donating thousands of cat carriers to Oakland Animal Services each year. We rely on these carriers to transport animals and to give to adopters to take home their new animal.
VIP Pet Care
Thank you to VIP Petcare for donating thousands of cat carriers to Oakland Animal Services each year. We rely on these carriers to transport animals and to give to adopters to take home their new animal.