NATIONAL DOG DAY IS TODAY !!!

For eleven years, we have celebrated man's best friend, the dog. Why not? The dog has served man in so many ways. 

Where might we be if it weren't for the dogs who guarded those flocks from wolves and such? What about the herding dogs who kept flock from wandering off? Or the hunting dogs that helped put food on the table? The list can go on and on. Where would we be without their help? 

Dogs have adjusted to the rise of mankind too. We have dogs who are serving in war, on police forces, bomb squads. These jobs didn't occur only a short while ago. Service dogs, therapy dogs, they can do it all.

So let's have everyday be a celebration of the dog, the dog has earned it.

http://www.nationaldogday.com/

Starting today till midnight (PST), post a photo on ourFacebook, Twittter or Instagram pages of your dog with the hashtags ‪#‎NationalDogDay‬ and ‪#‎DogDayCutestDog‬. The winner will receive the following:

-A special feature on our website

-Your dog's likeness depicted in art on a National Dog Day tee shirt. (All photos submitted are given the express permission to use the likeness of your dog on special promotional items. For any likeness used, owner will recieve a complimentary tee shirt.

-A Two (2) night stay at a Luxury Beach House in San Diego, CA offered by Luv Surf Vacation Homes

-A wonderful car seat by PupSaver

-A fashionable Sofie Rover collar, leash and dog bed byCapturing Couture

-A Dog Day Goodie Box valued at over $500

Winner announced August 27th. No limit on photos submitted! 

ARE ANIMAL CONTROL AGENCIES BEING HARMED BY NON PROFITS?

This blogger is expressing an opinion and has come to believe that specific non-profit organizations do not want to address the lack of funding for Animal Control's programs or services.  Image a world in which Animal Control agencies had sufficient resources to enforce all laws; provide free or heavily subsidized spaying/neutering; provide excellent humane education programs and offer supportive services to animal owners instead of just regulatory actions.

Imagine a world where cats were no longer abandoned and if they were, they were already spay/neutered from existing requirements along with financial aid from Animal Control. All cats would be microchipped for free or low cost via funding provided by Animal Control. No need for TNR if the cat population were reduced via adequate funding for programs to address cat owners.

Bottom line is, if sufficient funding could be obtained for a consistent level of services to truly address or solve pet overpopulation, why would organizations like the ASPCA or HSUS or Alley Cat Allies be needed.  We know of the solution, and it requires sufficient and adequate funding and programming.  The non-profits who benefit from what some will call the "ineffectiveness of Animal Control" will never allow for a consistent Statewide model of funding that would provide enhanced resources and programs to address the issues at hand. To do so would spell the beginning of the end of those organizations. 

Why do you think Hayden continues to be suspended?  Surely by now, HSUS or the ASPCA could have advocated and lobbied the State to fund Hayden if they feel this legislation should be financially supported. The primary reason is, the Hayden paid jurisdictions for those animals that were euthanized after the additional holding period had expired.  The simple fact that jurisdictions were paid for those animals euthanized, caused great concern to the national organizations.  This is why it continues to be suspended, manipulated and misinterpreted.

Until the "funding issue" to support Animal Control is addressed and resolved, those who attack Animal Control will always be able to point to various agencies deficiencies.  Dog license fees need to be replaced with a more accurate and consistent funding model to support programs the public desires. If you don't sit through budget meetings, speak up to officials to support Animal Control, and get involved in the 'politics', then don't complain when your visions don't become reality.

TO THE DEDICATED PEOPLE IN ANIMAL CONTROL

We are there with the police, fire and EMTs when they need a home cleared, and we stay once they have moved on to their next call. We remove the injured and deceased animals, and respectfully carry the dead bodies of the pets we never got to know back to an understaffed, ill-equipped facility to try to mend their wounds, or wish them farewell as they cross the rainbow bridge. Unlike other first responders, we are our own drivers, detectives, crime scene investigators, expert witnesses, jails, hospitals, nurses and in the end, medical examiners, and yet, when we fail to deliver the caliber of services of police, fire, and EMTs, without the resources or support provided them, we are labeled as uncaring Murderers and useless Dog Catchers.

Animal control workers make the daily sacrifice of putting our desire to make a difference and to ensure those precious souls have someone that cares about them before our own emotions. We cry ourselves to sleep, when we can sleep, and if the never ending stream of cruelty and unkind gestures of people towards the animals we care so deeply about doesn’t kill us, or force us to move on to a healthier career choice, we get to suffer the injustice of just how truly cruel people can be, not only to animals, but to those that devote their lives to them.

Read more of this shelter director's letter at:

http://sixdaysatthefair.com/2015/08/02/letter-from-a-shelter-director/