Is it Jersey City Animal Control that is taking the cats or a private company?

I run the Neighborhood Feral Cat Initiative in Hudson County and I would like to speak with you about this. Can you please email me at cat@companionanimaltrust.com.

Thanks.

Carol

Companion Animal Trust has dozens of kittens right now that are still too young to be adopted and we are in need of foster homes for a little while until the tykes are adopted.

If you have never fostered kittens before it is a joy not to be missed. We will supply the housing crate and any medical care needed.

Contact us for more details at companionanimaltrust@yahoo.com or call 201 884 9649.

Identifying the breed of a dog is a very diffcult task. Professionals get it wrong. Animal shelters get it wrong. Man on the street gets it wrong. Press and media get it wrong.

Somehow any dog with a large head is labelled a Pitbull and the breed is blamed for just about every single dog bite or fatality that occurs.

This link will give you some data to support what I am saying.

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil. ... ues/breed-identification/

I think we need to hear more before jumping to conclusions about the breed and why it bit this child.

Corrected link.
http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/2010/ ... -killing-of-shelter-pets/

Crosspost from another Blog called Yesbiscuit provides insigt to those who enable and ignore what is going on in our shelters.

http://yesbiscuit.wordpress.com/2010/ ... ment-page-1/#comment-5547

YesBiscuit!

Are You Enabling the Needless Killing of Shelter Pets?

December 10, 2010

Our battle for a No Kill nation is not against the public. It is against the cowards of our movement who refuse to stand up to their colleagues and friends running shelters that are mired in the failed and defunct philosophies that allow (indeed, cause) killing. Our battle is against those who claim to be part of our movement but fail to recognize the killing of millions of animals every year as an unnecessary and cruel slaughter and to call it what it is. It is against those who will not do for the animals that thing which is their solemn duty to do: to change themselves and to demand that their colleagues change, when that is what the situation calls for. ? Nathan Winograd

Rescuers who pull animals from a shelter in order to save them while remaining silent about the needless killing of healthy/treatable pets there are enabling those who kill shelter pets.

Some may be afraid to speak up because they?ve seen other rescuers get banned from the shelter after doing so. While I can understand the idea that saving a few is better than saving none, I tend to maintain a broader view. I say, speak up for no kill policies and let the shelter director ban every last rescuer from the place. Organize and go to the people above the director, to the media, and to the public. Shine a light on the needless killing going on at the shelter and the director?s efforts to prevent rescuers from saving pets.

Others may enable the killing simply by buying into the old excuses: too many pets and not enough homes; the shelter director is a caring person who would never kill pets if there was any other way; no kill is fine for other fancy-pants places but it could never work here; the irresponsible public churns out poorly cared for pets faster than we can empty the dead pet dumpster; until we get MSN passed, we must keep killing? Rescuers: Wake up and smell the Fatal-Plus! These are myths, long since debunked, perpetuated by killing apologists who are too lazy and/or stubborn to change. Don?t fall into that trap. Change=life. Embrace it.

Rescuers already know that shelter pets are at the mercy of strangers. They rely on you to be their voice. What would they say, if they could? ?Just keep going as you have been, saving a few and letting the rest be killed. Hey, change is hard. We understand.? Or perhaps: ?We all want a chance to live. Not a few of us, all of us. Stop enabling those who kill. Help us.?

Each of us must make a choice. We can not have it both ways by rescuing a few shelters pets while aiding and abetting the needless killing of millions of others. I?m for no kill. I work to enable others who oppose killing. I got here by changing my view of what ?had to be done? with shelter pets. I learned. I grew. I changed. I now believe that what has to be done is to save them ? all of them, except of course those who are medically hopeless and suffering. For them, we can offer the kindness of a gentle end to pain. For the rest, we can offer the kindness of respecting their right to life.

Mark my words, there will be an end to needless killing of healthy/treatable shelter pets. And when that happens, which side will history put you on? Will you have been an advocate for no kill or will you have remained a loyal enabler to those who needlessly killed untold millions of pets in shelters?

Enablers make the continued practice of killing possible. No shelter director can go it alone. He counts on the support of those who are sympathetic to his lies about being ?forced? to kill friendly pets. Strip away that support. It?s time to sink or swim. Learn. Grow. Change. Join us.

Congratulations on your decision to adopt! Please kindly go the Liberty Humane Society where many canines await their furever homes.

I recommend Downtown Dog Walk.

http://www.jcdogwalker.com/index.html


Good luck.

Please try to contain yourself. Why do you think you are always right?

Associated Humane is located in Essex County. So figure that one out okay. Their numbers are reflected in the Essex County figures.

Hoboken just signed with LHS in 2010. THose numbers are far away from being calculated.

You can OPRA LHS quarterly reports from the City Clerk of Jersey City. They contain stats on euthanasia. It is public record.

However, the following State Dept of Health statewide intake and disposition numbers will give you an idea of what has been happening in Hudson County. These figures are exclusive to LHS. The HCSPCA never reported anything and we are not surprised are we.

2008
http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/animaldisp08.pdf

2007

http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/animaldisp07.pdf

2006
http://www.state.nj.us/health/cd/documents/animaldisp06.pdf

The annual budget is now about $1 million.

This is the income breakdown based on the Oct Annual Report

Single Foundation: 22% ?

Donations/Grants: 33% ?

City Contract(s): 44% ?

Other Services: < 2% -

Salaries account for half of the budget. There are about 19 people on staff but now without the Dev Director. The ED had been paid by a grant separate from the budget.

The City of JErsey City has to start paying more into the pot. The $1.50 per capitia it currently pays will keep the shelter at poverty level. THe contract is up for renewal this Nov.

Income from adoptions is a small amount overall compared to other income (JC Contract, Hoboken contract, donations, Wellness clinic) but every little bit helps.

However, we did a "free" cat adoption event in May and June which was promoted everywhere including the leaderboard on this List. Over 100 cats were adopted and adoption income stayed the same as last year. It has been proved that when you offer something free, income comes in other ways so there really is no loss or substantial loss in doing free promotions.

Keep watch on the list, we are planning many more promotions throughout the rest of the year. We are also planning another adoptathon Pets-apalooza in September as we did in June when all adult cats and dog adoptions fro the two day event were free. We got 37 dogs and cats adopted at the June adoptathon.

Would you like to join the Marketing/PR committee? We can use all the creativity and help we can get.


Quote:

Hoping to end petlessness, run don't walk!

HOMELESS CATS AND DOGS LOOKING FOR HOMES
Liberty Humane Society Seeks Adopters and Foster Homes


(Jersey City, NJ) August 5, 2010 - The Liberty Humane Society animal shelter in Jersey City is looking for good homes for the many cats and dogs currently living at the shelter and is asking the community to consider adopting or temporarily fostering a cat or dog this summer.

If adoption is not an option, the temporary fostering of a cat or dog is fun, easy and short term and is a perfect arrangement for families who love animals and who wish to help homeless pets.

All adopted pets are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped. The adoption fee for dogs is $175 and for cats it is $120. Adoption fees are reduced half price ($60) on Tuesdays for cats one year or older.

To find out more about adopting, fostering or volunteering call Liberty Humane at 201 547 4147, press 0 or visit the website www.libertyhumane.org. The shelter is open every day for adoptions except Wednesday. Adoption hours are 11:00 am ? 4:30pm except for Tuesday and Thursday which is 11am ? 7:30pm. The shelter is located at 235 Jersey City Boulevard directly across the street from the Liberty Science Center parking lot.

Upcoming Liberty Humane events include a Pup Crawl fundraiser in Hoboken on August 14th starting at 1 pm at Texas Arizona and the Kitten Bonanza adoption event at City Hall Plaza in Jersey City on Sunday, August 22nd from 11 am ? 4 pm.

Liberty Humane Society?s Wellness Clinic offering low cost vaccinations, microchipping and nail clipping is open Thursday?s from 5pm ? 8pm. No appointment is necessary.

You can follow Liberty Humane Society on facebook and Twitter.
####

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 15, 2010
CONTACT: Joanna Hopkinson 201 547 4147



LIBERTY HUMANE SOCIETY STATEMENT
FORMS INTERIM BOARD


(Jersey City, NJ July 15, 2010) Last night, the Board of Directors of the Liberty Humane Society resigned. Prior to their resignations taking affect, the board appointed past presidents Laura Moss, Bonnie Yost Suozzo and Diana Jeffrey to serve as an interim board.

The three past presidents collectively have over 10 years experience governing the Liberty Humane Society. Laura Moss served as president from 2005-2006 and Bonnie Yost Suozzo served as president from 2007-2009. Diana Jeffrey served as president from 2002-2004.

The interim board?s main priority is to ensure that there is no disruption in the care provided to the animals, or the cities of Jersey City and Hoboken. Towards that end, the interim board is working in unison with the Executive Director Joanna Hopkinson and previous board members as well as staff and volunteers to ensure a smooth transition.

The interim board will work quickly to appoint new members to the governing board. We are confident that this crisis can be turned into an opportunity for LHS. We see an opportunity to reinvigorate the organization and create a better model going forward to serve the animals and the needs of the community.

We cannot do this without your support. Currently we have many dogs and cats at the shelter that need to be placed in loving homes, in foster care, or with other rescues and shelters that can help ease the overcrowding. This is where you can really be of help to the animals and make the greatest difference. Please contact our volunteer coordinator Trish at trish@libertyhumane.org.

Liberty Humane Society is located at 235 Jersey City Boulevard in Jersey City directly across the street from the Liberty Science Center at Exit 14B off the NJ Turnpike. Telephone 201 547 4147 press 0. Adoption hours are 11 am to 4 pm Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and 11 am ? 8pm Tuesday and Thursday. The shelter is closed on Wednesday.

###

Come and adopt your next pet kitten at the Summer 2010 Kitten Bonanza sponsored by Liberty Humane Society in conjunction with Companion Animal Trust. The event will take place on Sunday, July 25 at City Hall Plaza from 11 - 4pm.

Hello,

The Neighborhood Feral Cat Initiative, a program of Companion Animal Trust, provides free trap neuter return training workshops to the public once a month. The next workshop is next Saturday, June 19th.

The program also loans traps for free and has a PetSmart Charities grant that pays for most of the cost of spay neuter. The cost to the trapper is $10 per cat.

We are aware of the cats in Brunswick Gardens and in fact just yesterday spoke with about 4 people at the Hamilton Park festival about them. So there are many who want to address this concern.

Please come to this next workshop and encourage others to do the same.

You can register for it by emailing workshop@neighborhoodferalcat.org or calling 201 884 9649.

Website www.neighborhoodferalcat.org.

We look forward to helping you with the only humane non lethal solution.

National Cannine Research Council

http://nationalcanineresearchcouncil.com/


Karen Delise: Director of Research

In an effort to improve our understanding of the circumstances surrounding the rare instances of severe and fatal canine aggression, I have been researching such incidents for approximately 20 years. My conclusions are consistent with those of the Centers for Disease Control, the American Veterinary Medical Association, and virtually every animal welfare organization in America.

I published FATAL DOG ATTACKS: THE STORIES BEHIND THE STATISTICS (2002). It was, at that time, the most complete discussion and analysis of the extremely rare instances of fatal canine aggression then available. But even that compilation was not enough. After five years of further research, I completed and published THE PIT BULL PLACEBO: THE MEDIA MYTHS AND POLITICS OF CANINE AGGRESSION (2007). PLACEBO is an historical discussion of changing American attitudes toward specific breeds of dogs, as well as a more sophisticated analysis of the factors that contribute to severe and fatal canine aggression.

In researching these two books, and in the years since, I have accumulated the most extensive data file of these incidents available anywhere. I have extensive documentation (autopsy reports, crime scene photos, incident reports, etc.). I have interviewed police investigators, animal control officers, coroners, forensic pathologists, veterinarians, health department officials, dog owners, and eye witnesses. I maintain a record of all the names, dates and notes for every interview I have conducted. In my books, I provided more much information and detail than is available anywhere else. Each case or fatality noted is fully documented. I extensively footnoted both books. Both books include data sets in tabular form for easy reference.

A case study of my methodology is attached. As you will read, the complete investigation took more than a year. In the end, however, I had obtained what I believe is an instructive result.

My approach in both books was historical and investigative. Based upon my research, I specifically rejected a statistical/epidemiological approach. I have always concurred with the American Veterinary Medical Association Task Force on Canine Aggression and Human-Canine Interactions which stated, ?Dog bite statistics are not statistics, and do not give an accurate representation of dogs that bite.?

For the purposes of adding to the data in the frequently-cited study ?Breeds of dogs involved in fatal human attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998,? (JAVMA, 2000), the lead author of that report, Dr. Jeffrey Sacks, was kind enough to give me a copy of his data set, which I have since added to and/or corrected, as needed. A summary of my result can be found in ?Zoonosis Update: Animal Bites,? by Gary J. Patronek and Sally A. Slavinski (JAVMA, 2008)

I have on file information concerning approximately 600 incidents. With respect to incidents that occurred prior to 1984, my records are limited almost exclusively to news accounts. After 1984, information began to be more accessible, as many law enforcement, medical examiner and animal control files were not old enough to be purged. Record-keeping was gradually being computerized. Also, an increasing number of the police officers, deputies and/or animal control officers who had responded to the scene or investigated a fatal dog bite incident were still employed in their respective offices.

Dr. Sacks and his collaborators reported that they were uncertain of the breed attributions they had obtained, and were unsure how to account for dogs that were reported as mixed breed animals. Their study only covered a particular 20-year period, 1979-1998; and they also reminded readers that the breeds identified in fatal attacks had changed over time.

The CDC has published a statement that the single-vector approach in ?Breeds of Dogs? does not ?identify specific breeds that are most likely to bite or kill, and thus is not appropriate for policy-making decisions related to the topic.? The AVMA has published and distributed a comparable statement.

The AVMA Task Force went further: ?An often-asked question is what breed or breeds of dogs are ?most dangerous?? This inquiry can be prompted by a serious attack by a specific dog, or it may be the result of media-driven portrayals of a specific breed as ?dangerous.? . . . singling out 1 or 2 breeds for control . . . ignores the true scope of the problem and will not result in a responsible approach to protecting a community?s citizens.?

Dr. Randall Lockwood, one of the authors of the CDC?s ?Breeds of Dogs,? as well as a member of the AVMA Task Force, submitted an affidavit in 2007 in opposition to the breed ban currently in effect in Denver, Colorado. He stated, in part: ?Focusing on a single breed as the ?source? of the dog bite problem reflects a 19th century epidemiological mindset that attempts to identify the vector of a public health problem and eliminate that vector. . . The dog bite problem is not a disease problem with a single vector, it is a complex societal issue that must address a wide range of human behaviors in ways that deal with irresponsible behavior that puts people and animals at risk.?

In fact, all of the professionals involved in these earlier studies have come to the same conclusion: breed attributions yield no useful understanding of fatal attacks that have occurred, and do not offer a way to reduce such incidents in the future.

My study of fatal attacks occurring over the past five decades has identified the poor ownership/management practices involved in the overwhelming majority of these incidents: owners obtaining dogs, and maintaining them as resident dogs outside of the household for purposes other than as family pets (i.e. guarding/ protection, fighting, intimidation/status); owners failing to humanely contain, control and maintain their dogs (chained dogs, loose roaming dogs, cases of abuse/neglect); owners failing to knowledgably supervise interaction between children and dogs; and owners failing to spay or neuter resident dogs not used for competition, show, or in a responsible breeding program. (See Chapter 14 of THE PIT BULL PLACEBO, ?The Real Causes for Dog Attacks,? for a more detailed discussion.)

Investigation into incidents of canine aggression that goes beyond a simplistic single-vector approach has necessarily entailed much more work than any researcher hitherto imagined. However, only an historical, relational approach such as I continue to employ can yield a true understanding of these rare tragedies, and produce the outcome that we all hope for: safer, more humane communities.

If you look again what you are seeing is just a header photo on the page listing LHS "News and Events". Look below the photo and there is the information about the fee waived cat adoption promotion.

URGENT - FOSTER FAMILIES NEEDED FOR ORPHANED KITTENS

MUST LOVE ANIMALS, NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY

Liberty Humane Society Seeks Public?s Help this Kitten Season


(Jersey City, NJ) April 6, 2010 ? The Liberty Humane Society animal shelter in Jersey City is asking for the public?s help as it prepares for an influx of over 500 kittens this 2010 ?kitten season?. It is seeking temporary foster homes for these kittens in an effort to save their lives. The term kitten season affectionately refers to the warm months from April through November when the birth of kittens in backyards and parks rise.

Because of their undeveloped immune system, kittens aged 1 to 8 weeks old do not fair well in shelters as they tend to get sick easily, suffer and die. The solution is to house the kittens in temporary foster homes until they are ready for adoption at about 8 to 10 weeks old.

Fostering is fun, easy and short term. No experience is necessary. Liberty Humane Society will supply the food, training, crate housing, veterinary care, litter box and support.

Fostering saves lives. Fostering is perfect for families who cannot offer a permanent home but yet who love animals and wish to help them as well as families with pets.

Please open your heart and home and sign up now for some unconditional love.

To participate in this effort please contact Debbie Viney at Liberty Humane at 201 547 4147, press 0 or email Debbie@libertyhumane.org. The shelter is located at 235 Jersey City Boulevard directly across the street from the Liberty Science Center.

####


Liberty Humane Society, located at 235 Jersey City Boulevard in Jersey City ? directly across the street from the Liberty Science Center, is celebrating its twelfth year of providing shelter and care to the city?s homeless and abandoned animals. Liberty Humane Society?s on-site Spay/Neuter Clinic will open its door on May 1, 2010, offering low-cost spay/neuter, vaccines and microchipping.

The event is two weeks away and seats are filling up.

+1

You have to be living under a rock to not know that puppies and kittens sold at pet stores come from horrific living conditions at "puppy and kitten" mills. The suffering and neglect is unconscienceable at these places.



Quote:

Liberty Humane Society in conjunction with Companion Animal Trust, The Hudson County Animal League, and Companion Animal Rescue and Education will host a two hour seminar featuring critically acclaimed author and animal advocate, Nathan Winograd. Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Council Chambers City Hall, 280 Grove Street, Jersey City 6:30 p.m. Nathan Winograd, critically acclaimed author of Redemption : The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America and of Irreconciable Differences: The Battle for the Heart and Soul of America's Animal Shelters, will provide a two-hour presentation on animal sheltering issues; animal protection legislation at the state and local levels; and on No Kill programs in both urban and rural communities. This presentation is free to attend. Space is limited to 200 so please register early. Registration is required. To register, please email janet@libertyhumane.org

Feral cats have been living outdoors for thousands of years. Domestic cats came into existence about 10,000 years ago, when humans began farming. Cats were attracted to the rodents found near stored grain. Ever since then, cats have lived in close proximity to people. Until the invention of cat litter in the 1940s, there was simply no concept of keeping cats strictly indoors. Feral cats are a natural part of the landscape, and have been for thousands of years. They can be found all over, in every setting -- including the most urban, like Jersey City where we have tens of thousands of feral cats living on our streets.

In a Trap-Neuter-Return program, feral cats are trapped to be neutered. But they are not ?placed into the environment.? They are returned to their natural home.

LHS nor does any other animal organization put tame/socialized cats on the streets. Not sure where you have gotten this idea from. Feral cats deserve to live but cannot be adopted so they are neutered and "returned" to their territory (home). As far as chosing cats over dogs, 72% of cats that enter shelters are killed so I can guarantee you that cats are not getting the one up on dogs by any stretch.

A feral cat was hit by a car last night at 5:45pm on Park Street. My friend called animal control at 6pm. I got there about 7pm. The cat not able to move the rear end of its body and it was apparently suffering and dying. We would have picked the cat up but it was feral and was still able to hiss and potentially strike out. We kept waiting for AC and called the police a second time to page AC. 9pm the cat died. No Animal Control.

Animal control is supposed to be available 24/7. The self correction Harry Melendez promised the council has not materialized. No one paid AC employee appears to be self correcting. Self correction = fail.

We will be contacting Melendez and Fulop on Thursday. How long do we have to accept this.

Liberty Humane has all the right reasons to make it work and do a good job at animal control. You or I can get certified by the state and become an ACO in two weeks. It all comes down to work ethic and compassion for animals.

I have always found that most of what we do in our jobs we learn on the job. Bringing fresh new untainted mindsets can make great things happen. You cannot fix a problem by using the original thinking that created the problem.

+1

phdog I would be curious what what other things animal control officers do when they are not responding to public calls about lost, injured or stray animals.

Bottom line is the same amount of animals end up at the shelter whether the City does it or the funciton is outsourced.

I would think anyone learning to be an animal control officer in 2010 would be up on the very latest and most humane efficient ways of managing strays etc vs. training from 32 years ago without state required certification renewal.

It is also clear that LHS has said it will hire the currect ACOs so what's your concern exactly?


Quote:

There is nothing hilarious about two dogs being killed one of which was abused and provoked prior to being shot. What are you thinking?


Quote:

Hoboken 411 indicated that the one or both women were under the influence of alcohol which makes sense why they ignored the police.

I am glad the police did not shoot the other dog. It showed restraint. However, it is sad it died anyway.

It would be good to hear what provoked the first dog. Maybe the guy was drunk too and threatened the dog. Who knows.

The average cost for a vet to do a FIV/Felv snap test is $55. Be careful though. Depending on the age of the kitten, it could throw a false positive based on antibodies from the mother cat.

Both Astor Street and Park Street have block associations. There is also a strong organization headed by Dennis Doran around on Summit. Crescent Avenue also has an active block association.

PM me for more information.

I wish we could help right now but we are full. However, if you can find someone to foster (temporary home) them, I would be happy to post them for adoption on Petfinder. www.companionanimaltrust.petfinder.com

You could also try Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter in East Hanover. There may be a wait list but it is a good no kill shelter.

The JC shelter managed by Liberty Humane will accept the cats but try to do that as your last option.

Put flyers up in all your neighborhood stores and your vet's office. You can also post directly to Petfinder and Craigslist. Be careful to screen applicants thoroughly.

This is so heartbreaking. Come on JC. Step up.