The Future of Animal Control In King County

          Dow Constantine will see to it that there is NO animal control, now that he has been elected.  His associates at KCACC Exposed and Brenda Barnette have won the war, their greed will be the down fall of a lot of hard work by many and the animals will suffer the most.  The era of being able to adopt a Pit Bull has been lost, with nowhere to go they will be turned loose and will become feral in your neighborhoods and back allies; the friendly ones will be rescued by good cemaritans, the bad will be avoided if you are smart.  The cities will not have enough time to effectively create their own animal control, you and your neighbors will be the ones to suffer. 

         If you are one who likes walks in parks and forests, I recommend you acquire and learn how to use pepper spray to protect yourself, your family and your pets against aggressive feral dogs.  On the horizon, is an unwritten story one that might emulate other cities and counties across this nation that abolished animal control, learn from their mistakes and take precautions not unnecessary risks.

          At 75% percent funded through pet license for a total of $1.6 million including the pet license us tax payers will not notice this “cost saving” in our taxes.  We will however notice and regret the effect of not having this service.  My family and I are moving not just out of the county but out of the state to get away from the corruption of the King County Council and the Governor, I recommend you do the same, this will be my last post on this site.

15 minutes of fame

It doesn’t look good for our King County Shelter several jobs will be lost and volunteers will have to find another place to comfort and to socialize lost pets, probably with the greediest shelter in existence, the Seattle Humane Society. Good luck everyone, sorry we couldn’t make more of a difference. Remember everyone, vote and vote with your dollar too and do not settle for what you have been dealt, persevere.

Watching people

We’ve all done it right? Go down to the mall and observer our fellow sapiens interacting with each other. Recently I decided to go down to King County Animal Care and Control and look through the lost animal logs and watch people there. Normal, there is nothing normal that happens there, the only thing that would compare is if you could combine the ER and a police station. However one customer stuck out from the rest, she came in and stood in line with the rest, that’s where normal starts and stops. When it was her turn to make her plea is when it got interesting. She explained to the officer she wanted to return a dog she had adopted from them six months ago. Her reasoning was that she had employment issues and could not afford this animal any more. The officer listened as she explained the reasons why she couldn’t take care of her dog anymore. All was going well for the dog it was going to get another chance with a different family as the officer was happy to help out. Feeling comfortable with how things were going the lady made one error in her story, she started talking about how their new puppy just really didn’t like the older cocker spaniel they had brought back. I have three kids and there are days I have threatened them with horrible out comes if they couldn’t get along, but I could never imagine trading one of them in because the new one wanted more attention. Please put yourself in the shoes of that older kid needing a new home because the younger one doesn’t like you, or the dog in this case. I wanted to yell at the lady my self and some how both the officer and I kept from doing so. However as the officer explained her frustration with this woman’s choice of returning the dog, the customer screamed at her just to finish with the paper work so she could leave, that she was late to a hair appointment. What else do you say about people like this? I saw several people adopt in the time I was there and I am sure those pets will have good homes at least I hope so.

From: “The Real Truth About King County Animal Care and Control”

Nothing in this post was altered in any way it is a copy of what was posted on “The Real Truth About King County Animal Care and Control”

Once you read this you will be able to understand the importance of keeping the King County Animal Care and Control open to continue to make prudent sound choices for the welfare of our counties lost and abaondon animals. They do not belong to a private business for their big profit. Please read the following;

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
SEATTLE HUMANE SOCIETY EMPLOYEES SPEAK OUT!
*************************Press Release*************************

*********************For Immediate Release*********************

Animal Control Officer’s Guild October 20, 2009
PO BOX 146
Kent, WA 98032
acoguild@comcast.net http://kcanimalcontrol.blogspot.com

SEATTLE HUMANE SOCIETY EMPLOYEES SPEAK OUT!

(Kent, WA) Seattle Humane Society (SHS) employees, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retribution from SHS management, report in the last 18 months SHS has transferred in over 120 Skagit/Everett dogs and 90 American Eskimos from Kennewick, in addition to, over 100 transfers from Kern County, CA. The last 12 Eskimos remain at the shelter 5 months later without enrichment and no interest from rescue due to the fact they are so stressed they try to bite repeatedly rendering them unsafe to handle. Staff report severe overcrowding of the shelter with transferred dogs, lead to injury from fights, illness and high risk of disease spreading to the existing animal population.

Earlier today, Sgt. David Morris, Guild Executive Board member and Lead Cruelty Investigator for KCACC said, “I have serious concerns about our dogs and cats well being if King County turns over control of sheltering to the Humane Society. It is painfully evident they are not properly staffed or equipped to take on a project of this magnitude.”
SHS employees report overcrowding in isolation areas is a real problem due to disease prevention not being a concern of management. Staff has issue with improper housing and ventilation where sick animals are housed especially when the shelter is over capacity. SHS just recently recovered from a bad strain of Calici Virus affecting at least 22 cats. Improper quarantine and willful disregard for Veterinary protocol combined with adverse recommendations from management is of grave concern to SHS staff.

The fact SHS management continuously transfers animals from outside King County, as well as, from hoarder’s, plagues the shelter with disease and should be known to the public. SHS management is continually subjecting the shelter population to preventable disease. In addition, staff is concerned the public does not receive full disclosure of theses conditions during the adoption process or prior to placing animals in foster.

The SHS with around 70 staff has had over 60 employees turnover in the last 18 months, this is over 75%! Staff fears this high rate of attrition is not just the nature of the job, but from a complete lack of attention to training, employee retention and morale by management leading to a lack of continuity in care for the animals.

The Guild is represented by the law firm of:

Emmal, Skalbania and Vinnedge
4241 21st Ave W
Suite 104
Seattle, WA 98199
206-281-1770
office@unionlaw.org
Posted by ACO Guild at 12:08 PM

“Spay and Nueter your pets.” ~Bob Barker

Many people have said it; do people listen then?  The answer is both yes and no, unfortunately the no’s are winning.  Animal Shelters are still full of discarded unwanted pets that are homeless, malnourished who wouldn’t know a veterinarian if one came up behind them and took their temperature.  How do pets, members of our families end up alone in a shelter?  This subject alone could fill volumes of text books; broad brush over view, people choose not to take care of their pets. 

     What does a pet cost?  Food right pets need food; they can afford the free pet someone is offering them.  Taking a free pet from someone just like them enticed by the cuteness of a puppy or kitten.  They think to them selves, how much could this thing really eat?  However costs do not stop there and we all know that many of us just choose to justify bringing home another mouth to feed as part of a food budget.  Planning such as; will my land lord let me have it, how will I afford Vet. bills, what if I have to move, will fluffy come with me if this happens.  Vaccines, licensing, proper housing and of course medical care; these are the things your government will require or neglect charges could be filed against you.  When you are standing in front of the grocery store looking into those beautiful eyes looking back at you, consider what it takes to make sure the animal behind those eye’s will have a happy life with you.

     Every day animal shelters across this country take in hundreds of “owner surrenders”, unable or unwilling to care for their pets any longer.  Shame on them right?  NO, these are the pet owners willing to swallow their pride and take the time to make sure that fluffy is cared for while not in their charge.  Fluffy stands a much better chance of finding a home while living at the shelter.  Euthanasia is a risk though right?  Well of course it is something one should consider when adopting that grocery store pet.  When adopting from the shelter you are getting a spayed or neutered pet already, they have also received vet. care, vaccines and volunteers have lavished them with love and attention; ready for place in home just like yours, if you have the time and budget for them.

Lunatics in Politics

Politicians, aren’t they all half a bubble off of plumb?  From the Mayors of our cities to the President of the United States; every politician is willing to say what ever it takes to get your vote.  No exception to the rule is Mr. Obama; winning the Nobel Peace Prize, not really much of a surprise.  Not really with Al Gore, the inventor of the internet and Global Warming winning one also.  As you surf blogs many people are disappointed, however some say things like, he should use this to further what he believes in.  What does he believe in?  Only Mr. Obama really knows this, we Americans sometimes think we know what others are thinking or what their agenda is.  However this falls under the category of trust, trusting someone we may have never personally met, maybe only seen them speak on TV but feel a connection to what they say.  Trust is what they count on when they are lobbying for our votes, getting you to believe their prepared speeches, choreographed like a cross between your favorite movie and a chess game.  Trust is something we share only with our family and friends, people we count on in our personal lives; oh yeah and some one running for office we don’t know.  Please do yourself the community you live in and all of us a favor, trust less in your politicians and inform yourself of their pasts; the past tends to repeat it self and so will the politicians.  Its time we start voting in real people into office, like the ones that founded this great country who really have our best interests in mind, not self serving politicians reaching for the next brass ring (a.k.a. $$$) only using us as a stepping stone to reach their goal.  How many times have you been filling in a ballot and you stop to think who is the lesser of two evils? 

How does politics play into a blog about dogs and cats?  Many ways, first politicians often behave like cats and dogs, especially around election time.  Secondly they are the ones who control how our tax money gets spent, our animal shelters cost money with very little revenue, close them and you show your voters how you saved money.  Its how big business shows its investors in the stock market how great of an investment it was to buy stock in them; even when it cost hundreds or thousands of jobs  and maybe even closed a favorite line of product that very investor enjoyed purchasing. Government run shelters are paid for with pet licensing from the very people using the service; just like a toll booth.  What is the price to keep our pets off the street?  People who don’t own pets still benefit from the others that pay for the service, with government run animal control taking care of stray and feral animals from their neighborhoods.  It doesn’t seem like much of a big deal until the day you cannot get into or out of your front door because of an abandon Pit Bull, once used in an illegal fighting ring or to guard a drug house, no longer needed by its original owner takes up residence on your porch.  Maybe some of the politicians belong in a Shelter considering how they behave, since spay and neuter programs have not been established for them yet.

(Not every Pit Bull is used this way; there are many that make great pets, it’s the class of people that use them for doing wrong.  Just like guns, Pit Bulls don’t kill people, people kill people.)

What do you mean my kitty is trespassing?

Trespassing is against the law, everyone knows that. What is trespassing? As it relates to real estate law it means entering onto land without consent of the landowner. Who created this law? Humans, plain and simple. Animals do not understand laws other than the laws of nature; survival of the fittest and all that Darwinian kind of stuff. Can our property trespass on to some other land owner’s property? Yes, it can, pets by law are considered property and when they cross the line they’ve crossed the line. Your neighbor can trap them and turn them into the law legally at least in King County, laws vary around the country. If you let your pets wander they can get in all sorts of trouble, some of it legal some of it lethal. Having covered the legal end of this aspect, your pet might run into something that might inhibit it from returning home. Trespassing, humans have infiltrated this planet extensively robbing it from its inhabitants; wild animals, our domestic animals whom might be allowed to wonder due to our arrogance might end up in the food web. Humans have employed cats to control vermin for many a millennia, why are we so arrogant to believe now that they are not allowed to be someone else’s breakfast. The media loves controversy and when there isn’t something real big to hang onto they will run local stories of raccoons, coyotes, cougars and mystery predators attacking pets and people alike. Why are we humans so arrogant that we believe that this world is ours and ours alone to run control and manipulate. We need to understand we are part of its success or failure; global warming is a huge topic that covers the big picture but there are things we can notice in our own yards. Have you ever watched your cat kill a bird in your yard? What kind of impact does one cat have on the population of birds? You look up in the sky and see thousands of them, what am “I” hurting letting my cat kill a few things in the yard, its fun for him/her. However everyone gets upset when the wild animals are trying to survive and see our pets as their next meal. Americans keep an estimated 60 million cats as pets. Let’s say each cat kills only one bird a year. That would mean that cats kill over 60 million birds (minimum) each year – more wildlife than any oil spill (http://library.fws.gov/Bird_Publications/songbrd.html#Cat). Most people who keep outdoor cats or indoor/outdoor cats brag about the hundreds of shrews, hummingbirds, songbirds, moles etc, which they find offered at their front door each day by their marauding feline. Feral cats in our community spread disease; in fact there is a Petri dish full of diseases you expose your cat to by allowing it to venture into the out doors. Feral cats have a life expectancy of about two years due to disease, lack of food and the elements, not exactly the animal you want “Princess” being exposed to on her daily jaunt about the neighborhood. Some of the disease your cat might come with are treatable some will not be and some are zoonotic which means you and your family could catch them as well. The best advice if you love your pet and you don’t want big vet bills or doctors visits for you and your family or looking endlessly for “Princess” in your local animal shelter only to never find her, keep your cats inside.

Barking dog wakes you up in the middle of the night

Who are you going to call? The police? The Seattle Humane Society? King County Animal Care and Control? The police do not have the time to respond to all of the typical police calls they currently have, nor do they have the equipment to deal with dangerous dog calls. The Seattle Humane Society, would respond for the right price or if the dog is cute and they can sell it. If there is no King County Animal Care and Control then you may have to choose from one of the two afore mentioned.
There is another option though, you could call Kurt Triplett at home while the dog is waking you in the middle of the night and let him know how good idea it was to get rid of King County Animal Care and Control and ask him to come over and quiet the animal. Certainly Kurt would appreciate taking responsibility for his choice and his actions and would promptly respond to your needs and concerns showing up in his PJ’s comforting the neglected dog next door tied up to his dog house for months on end.
Furthermore who will take in the owner surrender dangerous dogs that they are unable to handle any longer? The Police have no where to house any animals let alone humanely maintain them for any length of time (The department of health requires quarantine for a bite at a minimum of ten days). The Seattle Humane Society will not take dangerous dogs especially Pit Bulls. No King County Animal Care and Control, perhaps Kurt and the King County Council members could set up sanctuaries at their homes to house the dangerous dogs from our communities for the greater good of us all. Saturday Night Live pokes fun at our dilemma and the nation laughs at our expense, its good therapy to laugh at our selves but from where you are sitting can you hear anyone laughing?
It wouldn’t be fare to solely blame Kurt for his decision to close King County Animal Care and Control, Dow Constantine has been the driving force for years to cut this from the budget. A cost savings of $1.6 million from the King Counties budget even though he and the other council members spent $1 million dollars last year just printing brochures for there causes. Certainly with some investigation millions more could be saved with out loosing an essential services. What is “essential services?” Police, fire, medic one oh yes animal control is deemed by the King County Council as essential service, an organization deemed important enough to continue to operate during a state of emergency or closures due to inordinate weather and even on the beloved cost saving furlough days that the county mandates.
Will we have animal control after the county cuts it from the budget; will we get a $1.6 million dollar tax cut from not having this essential service? These are the questions on the lips of citizens of this great county. Of course there will probably be an animal control but will it cover your city? What will your city be able to afford, will the county kick back some of that $1.6 million saved in not operating an animal control to the smaller less wealthy cities? Or have the King County Council members already made plans for that money to be used in different programs, ones that might appeal to enough voters to keep them in office for one more term?

Animal rights, People’s rights & KCACC exposed

KCACC exposed is upset that the Seattle Humane Society has joined a guild to protect human rights. It’s well stated that they find animal rights important however they must obviously devalue human rights. Brenda Barnette, friends with the founder of KCACC exposed runs her operation at the Seattle Humane Society like a sweat shop. Low wages and low spirits with a fire at will attitude if her employee’s ever question her. Case in point would be the deplorable turn over rate over Brenda’s tenure at the Seattle Humane Society. Then again firing dozens of employee’s in a year must be the cost of doing business not saving animals lives. KCACC exposed doesn’t see anything wrong with this behavior toward the employees nor do they see anything wrong with transferring animals from California or else they would create a web site exposing ALL the lies and greed of this organization. The Seattle Humane Society says it can handle approximately 6,000 animals a year and KCACC sees about 12,000 animals a year why would it be necessary to transport animals from California when we have more than enough right here? At $200 to $300 per dog and 6,000 dogs that would be $1.5 million that is the profit of doing big business, do so with out following the laws and that that’s how you get rich. Animals brought in from California transferred here with out health certificates additionally no rabies vaccines, not to mention animals living in an environment with heart worm moved to our environment with very few cases. However KCACC exposed is only in business to make the county and it’s animal control office to look bad so that Brenda Barnette’s “cost of doing business” in all for profit attitude of selling dogs with the total disregard to her employees or the health of the animals brought to our communities and our homes. Why is KCACC exposed upset over the employees of the Seattle Humane Society joining the guild? Because Brenda will not be allowed to treat her employee’s like they are disposable and will need to start treating them with respect. Maybe treating humans humanely might just be the cost of doing business even while trying to get rich selling dogs for big profit.

We all need hero’s

Even dogs and cats need hero’s; children want to grow up to be fire fighters or police officers and they look up to these members of society as hero’s. Who do the animals have? The media and the King County Council seem to buy into KCACC exposed logorrhea that our Animal Control Officers are not interested in the well being of our communities pets. Some of our citizens cannot afford to take care of their pets, so they when their old dog gets cancer they take him down to the Green River and abandon him. Where is the council or KCACC exposed when this happens? Luckily some caring citizens saw this and called it in but not before the dog wandered down to the river for a drink and fell in. Unable to get out of the river officer Fucsher showed up on the scene just in time jumping into the river and carrying out the dog that weighed almost as much as him self. Who are the animals hero’s, our Animal Control Officers.