THE PASSING OF A FRIEND - JEANNE KROEGER

It is with regret that this informs you of the passing of a friend of the Devore shelter - Jeanne Kroeger.

Jeanne Kroeger worked for the County of San Bernardino for 20 years from 1985 through 2005.  Jeanne always had a love for animals and was originally hired as the Animal Shelter Supervisor for the County’s new animal shelter facility in 1985. She was also a certified veterinary technician and taught for a number of years at a local college.  She was promoted to the position of Program Manager or Director of the San Bernardino County Animal Care and Control program and was instrumental in advancing a variety of programs that are still in place today to help animals in San Bernardino County, California.

There are two specific programs that Jeanne initiated that require mentioning.  The first is the San Bernardino County spay/neuter voucher program that provides financial assistance to help residents obtain affordable spay/neuter surgeries for their pets.  This program has assisted pet owners in sterilizing thousands of dogs and cats, which has prevented the births of numerous unwanted puppies and kittens.  Jeanne was recognized on the tenth anniversary of this national award winning program by POPCO in 2011. 

The second was the formation of a non-profit organization, the Animals aRe First Fund (ARFF), which assists in raising needed financial resources to support a variety of programs and efforts to help homeless animals.  Jeanne was a founding member of ARFF in 2004 and it was one of her desires to establish this non-profit charity to benefit animals prior to her retirement in 2005. She requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to help animals. http://www.arffund.org/

Jeanne retired to the small Oregon coastal town of Waldport/Seal Rock. She was an artist at heart and taught classes at a local art gallery. She enjoyed her life in this scenic town working on her photography and in polymer clay. Please visit her site and enjoy her art. Her personality shines on. 

http://indreamsstudio.com/In_Dreams_Studio/Images/Pages/Cellar_Dwellers.html

REGULATION OF RESCUES TRANSPORTING DOGS

The State of Virginia has just passed a law regulating rescues and shelters about reporting to potential adopters about a previous history of bites with cats and dogs. This came about as a result of a horrendous attack by a newly adopted pit bull who killed within hours of adoption. The 'rescue' that adopted out this pit did so with a shock collar on it, and instructions to the new owner about removing the collar. As soon as the owner did remove the collar, the pit went after her mother and killed her. To top it all, this same rescue has many complaints and is still in business.

https://blog.dogsbite.org/2017/06/dog-bite-fatality-adopted-out-pit-bull-kills-virginia-beach.html

""Senate Bill 571 will become law on July 1st in the State of Virginia. The law requires releasing agencies to disclose all bite history for dogs and cats.

The releasing agencies must ask if the dog or cat has bitten a person or animal, including the date when the bite happened. The bite incident must then be documented.""

http://www.wvva.com/story/38472176/2018/06/20/new-law-in-virginia-requires-full-disclosure-of-dog-and-cat-bites

""RICHMOND, Virginia––The era of shelters and rescues concealing dog attack history from prospective adopters is over,  says the Virginia state legislature,  effective July 1,  2018.""

https://www.animals24-7.org/2018/05/30/virginia-bars-shelters-rescues-from-hiding-dogs-bite-history/

This is in addition to so many attacks and deaths by recently adopted dogs, especially pits. 

We must do better adoptions. The movement of more adoptions is not the path, better adoptions. Pushing pets out the door to brag about numbers is unethical. Unfortunately the horrible Hayden Law forces this path on our shelters, no longer can all their experience dictate what is in the best interest of our pets and public safety. Please repeal the Hayden.

MEGA ADOPTION EVENT !!!