Have you ever thought of rehabilitating an abused dog? It's a noble thing to do and it's a whole lot of work. "Rehabilitation is a very slow process," said Nicolini. Indeed it is. First are the critical medical needs. Nearly every rescued dog has worms and deworming is about a 3 week process if you're lucky. If they have heartworms, hang on, you're in for much longer than 3 weeks to kill those buggers off. First the dog must be healthy enough to withstand the treatment and then you're in for 2 months of treatment and 1 to 2 months of strict confinement (if you choose traditional treatment) during which you will not be able to do much if any behavior modification and such confinement may actually make existing behavior issues much worse. And I'm just talking about neglected dogs, your average street stray. These take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months to rehabilitate if they don't have any other major medical issues.
Abused dogs? Severely abused dogs? Hang onto your hat!
- Scarlett has generalized anxiety about any sound and movement. "Anything would terrify her," said Nicolini. "She was panic-stricken 24/7."
- As part of the rehabilitation process for Scarlett, Nicolini wanted her dog to develop good associations with people and adult dogs. She also wanted to be able to put her on a leash, which took about 18 months.
- It took an additional three to four months to get Scarlett to leave Nicolini's property.
- After that, it took another month to get her to take a walk around the block.
Doing dog rescue correctly takes time, energy, and money. There are no magic wands and no shortcuts. "First of all, don't expect things to turn around overnight and do not have too high expectations for the final result. It often takes a year to transform a reclusive, abused pet into a family-friendly companion. Even so, do not expect a miracle: You are unlikely to achieve complete resolution of the issues. Previously abused pets can become accepting of their human family members but making them into well-rounded social successes is an almost impossible task." The Willamette Humane Society gets it. See pages 6-7 of their newsletter where they describe their process for setting up individualized programs.
So how is it that within a month after major seizures and forfeitures of dogs in Texas they are up for sale by NPOs like the SPCA of Texas and the Houston SPCA? How is it that 161 dogs are being touted as “very friendly, well mannered, good temperament, walks on leash” 16 days after being seized?
They seized 161 dogs. Not one single dog was seriously ill. Not one single dog died. All 161 are in adoptable/salable condition in under 16 days. “very friendly, well mannered, good temperament, walks on leash”
These dogs were seized and forfeited for "animal cruelty"? Are you f'ing kidding me? These dogs were straight up thieved! And apparently thieved from hellishly good owners who were able to handle and raise 161 dogs who are “very friendly, well mannered, good temperament, walks on leash”! Do not try to tell people who have actually rehabilitated neglected and abused dogs that Houston SPCA miraculously transformed cruelly treated animals into “very friendly, well mannered, good temperament, walks on leash” in under 16 freaking days. It can NOT be done.
I watched the court proceedings where these 161 dogs were forfeited on June 15, 2010. I've been working on a blog entry to describe what I observed that day and I'm still so freaking angry that I can't write a coherent entry to describe the atrocity, the corruption of law, that I witnessed. Near the end of the hearing, the prosecutor raised her voice asking the court to be SURE the now former owners knew that, if they EVER had another animal, THEY'D BE WATCHING. Who the FUCK do you think you are to say such a thing? To people you have just abused and coerced out of their animals under threat of a judgment? As an officer of the court and under color of law? Well, bitch, I'll be watching YOU.
Who the FUCK does Houston SPCA think it is to decide what is right for someone else's animals while running a Doggie Death Row? “These animals are bred from a long line of fighting dogs to be aggressive,” Houston SPCA spokeswoman Meera Nandlal told Hair Balls this morning. “We have made the decision that they will be humanely euthanized.” Yep, that's Meera being quoted in the article, that's the same lying bitch that's in the news video claiming these 161 dogs were "rescued".
I am absolutely positive that Houston SPCA doesn't have a clue what the term "rescue" means. I suppose thievery is a slight step up from outright killing in the name of "rescue" but then we'll never know how many of these 161 dogs they actually kill once they are done selling the ones that go quickly and easily and they are no longer of use for fundraising.