- e-Vet ALERT: Possible Spring Pet Injuries
- We have lost two special animals this past month
- e-Vet ALERT: Valentine dangers to your pet – roses, lilies, raisins, chocolate and more.
- $5 provides a box of Valentine’s cookies for a dog, or a box of heart-shaped treats for a cat
- e-Vet ALERT: Beware Ibuprofen in Dogs
Author Archive
Thanks to all who wrote and called LOS ANGELES COUNTY officials
NOTE: Thanks to all who wrote and called LOS ANGELES COUNTY officials. . . from your letters I can see that the lies abound!
In one instance, Animal Control put out a “chart” full of lies. Our lawyer responded with a time line of actual events and demanded that the County cease its libel and slander against us.
Let me tell you a story . . . .
In 1983 when we got our first shelter in El Monte, the director of Animal Control, Brian Berger, and I met on a radio show. George Putnam’s Talk Back. We became fast friends and remained so until he left the area. Brian was also the boyhood friend of Supervisor Antonovich.
In 1984 during the Olympic Games which were held in Los Angeles, we teamed up with Animal Control to help visiting animals. We bought 10,000 temporary collars and tags which were given out FREE at all L.A. County Animal Shelters . . . for visitors who were staying in Los Angeles and who had pets who might get lost while they were here.
Over the next two decades, whenever Animal Control needed something for THEIR animals, they would call upon us for help. I would then call some of our donors and get the money we needed to buy whatever the pound animals needed. In one case it was chain link fence to cover all their dog runs in all their shelters . . .
. . . dogs were jumping over their fences and attacking other dogs. Supervisor Antonovich wanted to give me an award at a public hearing but I refused . . . I don’t do this for accolades, but for the animals. Over the years the Lancaster shelter manager asked for help numerous times and we provided it. Whatever they needed for the animals, we provided when times were tough for the County.
Eventually Brian Berger left Animal Control. The next director, Frank Andrews, met with us and gave us a permanent license in 1997.
Under Andrews, the Castaic shelter asked for horse corrals and shade covers. We provided them. By “provided” I mean we had them delivered the NEXT DAY and we paid the bill. Volunteers erected them.
The manager at Castaic wanted to build a large cattery like ours, where cats could roam freely. This enabled them to be adopted more easily, and allowed them a more positive atmosphere while in the pound. We provided the entire list of building materials for the volunteers to assemble.
Supervisor Antonovich opened the new cattery to much fanfare. It was in all the newspapers. What he didn’t mention — or perhaps didn’t even know — is that WE PAID FOR THAT CATTERY!
In 2003 Marcia Mayeda became the new and most controversial director of Animal Control. She was going to visit us and continue our relationship, but she changed her mind at the last minute.
The next year I exposed D&D Services for the rendering of dead pets and providing them as feed additives for animals WE EAT! Our suit against D&D was served and the very next day Mayeda said we needed a license again. She said she “was the new sheriff in town” and we had to get relicensed.
Because of the tremendous expense involved, as well as the retaliatory nature of her demands, we fought back in court. Eventually I dropped the suit with a promise from the County that we could have a license within 30 days. THAT was a lie! And the war is now escalating.
Rather than waste paper here, if you are interested, we can send you the letter we just sent to the Supervisors and Animal Control demanding that the lies stop. It contains the timeline of this controversy. Interestingly, we had a good relationship with the County before Mayeda and the rendering case. I will let you know what happens next.
Note to Mike Antonovich: if you really love animals as you say you do, then get rid of Mayeda (and her cohort Diane Regan) and let’s get back on sold ground! This is a giant waste of time and money. If you are going to remain in office for your term limit, we will have known each other for 32 years! Why spend the next six years at war? Come out and visit us, bring the kids, play with our animals, and end this thing. WE BOTH HAVE BETTER THINGS TO DO!
Special Dog Shows D.E.L.T.A. Rescue Workers the Meaning of Perseverance
She rarely stops moving. Full of energy, she adores everyone around her and is always up for an adventure.
The only clue that her life has not always been so easy is her missing leg. Her name is Anna, and she has quickly become an inspiration to her caretakers at D.E.L.T.A. Rescue, the world’s largest no-kill, care-for-life sanctuary — and the only rescue organization focused on saving pets abandoned in the wilderness.
Photos of Anna:
Though the winsome brown dog can’t actually tell anyone what she’s been through in her life, D.E.L.T.A. Rescue veterinarians have pieced together enough of Anna’s history to understand just how remarkable she is. When rescuers found Anna in the desert, she was dragging a badly injured leg. But she was friendly, making it easy for them to bring her back to one of the two fully staffed veterinary hospitals at the D.E.L.T.A. Rescue sanctuary outside Los Angeles.
“Anna must have been someone’s pet for a while, because she’s too friendly and trusting to have been born in the desert,” said D.E.L.T.A. Rescue founder and animal welfare activist Leo Grillo. “She also has been a mother. We don’t know whether she had her puppies in the desert after being abandoned, or in her former home, which nonetheless took her for a drive and tossed her away.”
Anna already had one strike against her when she arrived in the desert: She was born with vision in only one eye. The wounds on Anna’s leg indicate she probably became caught in an illegal coyote leg-hold trap before eventually chewing off her own foot to escape. Her ordeal must have been horrifying, yet the day after her surgery at D.E.L.T.A. Rescue, Anna enthusiastically pulled her veterinary nurse into the facility’s grassy yard for some play time.
“Anna is showing us we can take hits and carry on our work here at D.E.L.T.A. Rescue with passion, in spite of a drop in donations in 2010,” Grillo explained. “She hasn’t let anything get her down. This special dog is inspiring me to work even harder to ensure our work here at D.E.L.T.A. Rescue continues, no matter what curve balls the economy is throwing us.”
For the rest of her life, Anna will remain at the 115-acre D.E.L.T.A. Rescue SuperSanctuary, where staff dedicate their time to providing loving care to Anna and 1,500 abandoned cats and dogs just like her. Once a cast-off, Anna now gives her caretakers the energy and stamina to keep going when things get tough.
To learn more about Anna and the work the 501(c)3 D.E.L.T.A. Rescue has been doing to help animals for over three decades, visit the nonprofit organization’s Web site at http://www.deltarescue.org. Those interested in supporting D.E.L.T.A. Rescue’s ongoing mission can donate directly from the Web site, over the phone or via postal mail.
HOW TO BUILD A Straw Bale Doghouse
The number one priority at the D.E.L.T.A. Rescue SuperSanctuary is to provide the best possible care and comfort for our animals. Our founder, Leo Grillo, has invented the perfect solution to providing our dogs relief from the heat of the summer, and the cold temperatures of the winter by designing a stuccoed straw-bale adobe doghouse.
The stuccoed straw-bale doghouse provides our dogs with exactly the right comfort and cover from the elements. In an effort to help dogs all over the world Leo has created a video that provides step-by-step instructions from the materials needed to complete the project, and a how-to demonstration of building a stuccoed straw-bale doghouse from the ground up.
To receive a copy of the straw-bale doghouse DVD, we do ask for a $10.00 donation to cover the duplication costs and first-class mail postage for each DVD. If you are interested in ordering a DVD please call us at:1-661-269-4010 or email: leo@deltarescue.org
German Shepard diagnosed with dysplasia
I have a 5 yr old german shepard, he was diagnosed with dysplasia in his hips, and arthritis in his elbows when he was 8 mos old. can I give him robaxin? He is ocassionally stiff, but not in a great deal a pain. He chases horses all day long, and is in really good shape. Lately though, he has been sore. thank you for your time
What causes hot spots on my dog
what causes so called hot spots on my dog. what can be done to prevent this? they do heal up with meds from the vet. thank you
Maltese loves to chew on anything metalic
My maltese loves to chew on anything metalic she can scrounge up (paper clips, staples, the metal part of a plug…) Is this an indication of some sort of vitamin definciency or is there something else that could cause this?
Golden Retreiver has a growth on the inside of his bottom lip
My 8 month old, male Golden Retreiver has a growth on the inside of his bottom lip. It looks like a small white pill. On the bottom of the ‘pill’ where it’s attached to the lip looks pinkish. What do you think it is? I’m very concerned. Thank you very much
Dogs during thunderstorms
At one time i had a vet med called transvet to calm my dogs during thunderstorms, is it alright to use 2 to 4 mg of valium on a 100 lb dog as i cant get any regular pet tranqualizers where i now live and i am trying to control there anixety, if not that are any human meds useable, thanks for you help, i am a regular supporter of leos and have been for 20 years, Regards Fred
Lab is eating mud and cement
I’ve noticed that my 2 year old lab is eating mud/cement — any particular reason?
Our vet says that our dog does not have Cushings
Our vet says that our dog does not have Cushings, may have adrenal tumor in the sense that this is not eliminated, but this is very rare in dogs – feels as if it is looking for needle in haystack to do further tests. Continuation of recent heat and our other dog being euthanized may have pulled her down temporarily. Vet says they have extraordinary number of odd-case animals, possibly a consequence of having rescue cases from many different regions.
I don’t agree…I don’t think adrenal tumors are so rare in dog and from what I understand in dogs who have Cushings disease, 85% have pituitary tumors and 15% have adrenal tumors. Among the adrenal tumors, 50% are benign and 50% are malignant. Removal of an adrenal tumor may provide a cure for the dog’s Cushings. This is in all the books. What do you think?????????
