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| Mass killing of animals here in Vegas | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 14 2007, 09:21 PM (310 Views) | |
| tinybubbleca | Feb 14 2007, 09:21 PM Post #1 |
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Ugh.. I was watching this on the news last night and went to this vigial and lite a candle. Sigh. My heart hurts for all these poor animals! CONTAGIOUS OUTBREAK: Shelter: Disease forced hand Mass killing of dogs, cats could have been prevented, activists say By MIKE KALIL REVIEW-JOURNAL Jan Hanson has her candle lit Tuesday at Freedom Park in Las Vegas during a vigil for euthanized animals. Photo by John Locher. Lied Animal Shelter officials said Tuesday that they have euthanized 1,000 dogs and cats since veterinarians visiting the regional pound last week discovered an outbreak of highly contagious diseases. Lied spokesman Mark Fierro said not all of the 1,000 animals destroyed since Friday had been sickened by mass infections of three canine and feline diseases found by experts from The Humane Society of the United States. Advertisement Some were killed because they had gone unadopted at the shelter for more than 120 days, contributing to overcrowding conditions that Humane Society officials said helped the spread of distemper and Parvovirus in dogs and panleukopenia in cats. "We're trying to run it like a rescue operation, a no-kill shelter," Fierro said. "The HSUS told us the crowding caused by that causes animals to be stressed and more susceptible to disease." Local activists gathered in a park across the street from Lied on Tuesday evening to memorialize what is thought to be the largest mass killing of animals in Las Vegas history. They did not mince words in describing their outrage. "It's unforgivable in light of the fact that it was absolutely preventable," said Holly Stoberski, legal counsel for Heaven Can Wait Sanctuary, a group that has worked with Lied to find homes for impounded animals. "They were not properly vaccinating the dogs and cats in a timely manner. They were allowing infections to pass on from one animal to another." Officials with some of the municipalities that contract with Lied to provide animal shelter services were reeling at the number of animals that had to be killed because of the outbreak. "It's shocking," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said. "It's not a good situation, that's for darned sure. But this is not the time for finger-pointing. This is a time to save the animals. After we have that under control, then it's time to see who was responsible." Goodman said that he met with Lied officials last week and that no one mentioned any problems at the pound. Councilman Gary Reese said he was taken by surprise when Lied closed its doors Friday to deal with the crisis. "I was concerned enough that I went down there Friday night to see what was going on," Reese said. "I'm very concerned. I want to know what caused this problem." Lied, 655 N. Mojave Road, shut its doors to the public Friday while a team from The Humane Society of the United States began individual examinations of the 1,800 dogs and cats impounded to determine how many carried deadly viruses. Although shelter officials were unaware of problems, the team noticed dogs and cats suffering from serious respiratory and intestinal diseases shortly after it arrived Feb. 5 in Las Vegas for a four-day inspection. The animal protection group had been invited by Lied to assess shelter operations and suggest improvements. The team planned to finish its paid work Thursday but instead declared an emergency and stayed on Friday to start corrective measures, suspecting that hundreds of dogs and cats were sick and needed to be killed to contain the outbreak. Lied spokesman Fierro said Tuesday that the facility was adopting changes recommended by the organization to improve conditions, including vaccinating animals as soon as they come into the shelter. Also, the Animal Foundation, the private, nonprofit group that operates Lied, hired Clark County Animal Control veteran Tom Pooler in a newly created position to oversee operations at the shelter. Heaven Can Wait's Stoberski said it should not have taken an outside group to tell Lied about the importance of immediate immunizations. "This isn't something that was out of everyone's control," said Stoberski, whose group provides about 7,500 free spay and neuter operations a year to pet owners in low-income Las Vegas neighborhoods. "The majority of shelters in this country know how to properly immunize animals brought into the shelter." While the mass killing is painful to animal lovers, Fierro said, the numbers should be put in context. "There are hundreds of sick human beings dying in hospitals every day," he said. "They (animals) come in dying or dehydrated. That (fatal illness) is part of the sheltering process. It is typical." Fierro said that during normal conditions, about 300 animals a week are euthanized at Lied because of overpopulation, sickness or other issues. Members of Heaven Can Wait, the Las Valley Humane Society and the Western Veterinary Conference joined several breed-specific animal rescue organizations and pet owners at Tuesday evening's vigil at Freedom Park. Some held candles but could not light them because of the strong winds. One woman grasped onto a sign that read: "Protect Our Pets." "Explaining to my 7-year-old daughter why her puppy is no longer living -- that's why I'm out here tonight," said Mark Groves, 43. Groves said his puppy was infected with distemper at Lied about three weeks ago after the dog ran away and was placed for several hours at the shelter. The puppy infected the other dogs in the litter when Groves brought it home and all of the canines had to be killed, he said. Pet lover Donna West, who was the vigil's main organizer, said she was devastated by the loss of so many animals and urged officials to find ways to ensure that such a disease outbreak will not happen again. "It's easy to get upset, and I am upset, but I want to find a solution," she said. This week's death toll might have been higher at Lied if it were not for such animal lovers. After Friday's emergency procedures were begun, local rescue groups took 127 animals from the shelter with the understanding that they had been exposed to disease and could be contagious. Review-Journal reporter David Kihara contributed to this story. |
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| ogoble | Feb 14 2007, 09:32 PM Post #2 |
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You better hide, Anna, when they start going after foxes.
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Beatles/Paul McCartney & Wings Fan
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| beatlechick | Feb 15 2007, 01:47 AM Post #3 |
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In Paul's Arms!
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Wow, Anna, how sad. And all it took was something as simple as a shot to prevent this from happening. Sad, so sad.
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| tinybubbleca | Feb 15 2007, 02:21 AM Post #4 |
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its horrible.. and what is worse.. not only did all these animals die, homeless ones, but peoples PETS as well. I would just be moritfied if my kitty was put down because of that place. Its just heart breaking! |
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| Deleted User | Feb 15 2007, 02:32 AM Post #5 |
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So that had to kill the healthy ones to make room after killing the others? Makes no sense at all. |
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| Deleted User | Feb 15 2007, 03:37 AM Post #6 |
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Although I agree this is a tragic story, the other thing that came to my mind as I read through it is how many animals that they were holding in general ... who's to blame for that? I mean 1,800 animals being kept in a shelter in the first place ... that's pretty outrageous isn't? Aren't people spaying and neutering at all anymore ... my mind is somewhat blown by the notion of that this was merely one facility in a relatively isolated region ... and that there are other agency's in the area that have a good deal of animals as well. Very sad to me when people don't realize what can happen when they dump their unwanted animals, or let them roam freely ... especially if they haven't taken the time to ensure that they're properly immunized (at the very least) ... let alone if they're fertile and can add to the problem by having litters of little one's that are at the mercy of the system in regards to what becomes of them. I do feel really badly for that fellow that indicated that he'd lost an entire litter of puppies due to one of them getting free and ending up in that shelter for a few hours ... but honestly, if they were young enough to still be litter bound what in the world was that puppy roaming free for in the first place?? Yikes.
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| scottycatt | Feb 15 2007, 03:57 AM Post #7 |
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I'm horrified by this story. I'm so upset I can't make a coherent post at the moment. Sorry.
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Why? | |
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| Deleted User | Feb 15 2007, 04:03 AM Post #8 |
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Yeah ... I was kind of on that wavelength last night 'scottycat' ... I mean it was coherent but well, just got conflicted. |
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| tinybubbleca | Feb 15 2007, 11:24 PM Post #9 |
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Official Admits Mistakes Were Made At Animal Shelter 02-15-2007 4:46 AM (Las Vegas, NV) -- The head of the non-profit group that runs the Lied [[LEED]] Animal Shelter admits mistakes were made that led to the overcrowding and disease that has forced the euthanization of a thousand cats and dogs over the past week. A tearful Animal Foundation Chairwoman Janie Greenspun Gale told animal rights supporters yesterday that a "misguided policy" to save every pet actually caused them "pain." Greenspun Gale says from now on, the shelter will keep animals for just 72-hours before euthanizing them. The old policy allowed the pets to stay at the shelter for as long as 120-days, which led to crowded conditions and an outbreak of parovirus and distemper. Last week, a team of Humane Society officials inspected the operations at the invitation of the nonprofit group that runs it. But the team declared an emergency and helped take corrective measures. A veteran animal control official has been hired to oversee the shelter, and other changes are planned for the facility on Mojave Road. The Lied Shelter will still accept stray pets, but owners are being warned the animal will likely be killed. Shelter officials are also sending pet owners to private animal rescue groups. The Lied Shelter may reopen as early as tomorrow. |
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| Deleted User | Feb 16 2007, 01:45 AM Post #10 |
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If there ever was a more truthfull sounding name. Lied, sounds just like it. |
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| tinybubbleca | Feb 16 2007, 01:52 AM Post #11 |
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wow.. i never even noticed that.. because when they talk about it.. they say LEED.... So true Tony.. so True!
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| scottycatt | Feb 16 2007, 06:49 AM Post #12 |
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Oh, great!! This is even worse!!! These people still aren't addressing the problems, they're just taking the easy way out for themselves. Other large cities, San Francisco being a prime example, operate "no kill" shelters and they aggressively and creatively market the animals who wind up in their facilities. Las Vegas could, and should do better. Imagine that you were a homeless person and you only had 3 days to find a permanent home or be killed?? That's the fate awaiting each of these helpless creatures. And to think that this group refers to themselves as a "shelter". :rolleyes: :angry: |
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| JeffLynnesBeard | Feb 16 2007, 12:07 PM Post #13 |
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Administrator & Moderator
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This thread is heartbreaking. To imagine those animals suffering in such a manner is very distressing.
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| ...and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make. | |
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