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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Caboodle Ranch Becomes a Ghost Town

The once highly praised and beautiful sanctuary for cats becomes a ghost town, a virtual abandoned safe haven for the cats that once lived here. Gone are the 'happy tails' and curious faces that passed through this path just 5 months ago. Gone are the playful antics of hundreds of saved cats that used to run up trees, play in the tall grass or bat a bizzy ball around. When PETA and the ASPCA were contacted by "haters" of the ranch, they quickly came down to do their well known damage. The job they do best, destroying any chance that these cats had at a safe and peacceful life. A life they were already living at the ranch, some for 11 years. But these activists groups had it in their head to (as an ASPCA officer told us) "Seize first, investigate later". And with this 'policy' they turned the ranch upside down for 5 days and nights, in the rain, chasing down and terrorizing and trapping all the cats that just that Monday morning were safe in their beds enjoying a sunny sleepy morning.

After they took the caboodle cats aways to the Jacksonville ASPCA for their "rescue and treatment", the onslaught of false accusations, lies and staged photos came to the court in order to shame the man who built this oasis and saved over a thousand cats over the years. These cats had no where else to go. There were no other no kill shelters that could take them. They came to the ranch from all over the US and other countries. But that did not matter to the ASPCA or PETA. They continued to drag Craig Grant and its workers through the mud telling everyone that they were horrible people and cruel to boot. The "haters" made it their mission "to destroy Craig Grant and Caboodle Ranch" and despite the most gallant of efforts and thousands of dollars in legal fees, they succeeded. The ASPCA recently held an adoption event on August 11th and 12th. Succeeding in adopting out only about 300 cats of the 650+ that were taken away. So what's the next step? More adoption events? A court order AT LEAST prevents them from euthanizing any of the remaining cats. But that does little to ease the bone marrow deep grief that Craig Grant, the workers and supporters feel.

Craig is a broken man. Not a man that has given up, but a man who has had his 'family' taken from him, his dream destroyed, his ranch demolished after putting 250K into it to make it a magical joyful place for the cats. He is a man that has been brutally beaten down at every turn for the mere fact that he wanted to make a difference and give people an alternative to euthanasia or having a cat live forever in a cage. The level of injustice that has been done to this man, this ranch and most of all the cats is an atrocity to the so called legal system. In a court order, Judge Parker said that Criag will have his personal cats returned to him. He has over 12 personal cats and the two Great Pyranese that were the watch dogs. The judge only mentioned 5 cats. So why return his cats if this man is cruel and neglectful in the care and treatment of animals? Exactly. The county of Madison had an agenda that involved closing the ranch altogether and went about it so corruptly it's a wonder that Dateline or 20/20 hasn't been here yet to investigate. And we hope they DO come. This cannot happen again. Every rescue and every shelter and every person out there that is trying to save lives, to make a difference will be next, because PETA and the ASPCA feel and are treated, as if they are above the law.

Someone has to step up and stop this insanity. These precious cats were happy. And the people behind the events that have taken place from February 27th 2012 to present will be held accountable, eventually, for their atrocious actions.  Want to Read More! (Caboodleranch's Journal, August 16, 2012)

HSUS Fall Flat in the Hoosier State

The Humane Society of the United States was at the Indiana State Fair pushing a federal egg mandate that's before Congress. That’s a tough task for a group that’s on the record as wanting to get rid of animal agriculture. Apparently HSUS and its six-figure CEO Wayne Pacelle tried to hold some kind of press event to gin up support for the bill they’re pushing. We say “tried” because Pacelle didn’t appear to draw much of a crowd (see below).

A little birdie emailed us the details:

Apparently, when Pacelle took to the microphone, the TV cameraman started panning the audience (or lack thereof) and packed up and left in the middle of his presentation. Must have been tough since all of the old tractors that are right there in Pioneer Village simultaneously (and completely coincidentally ;-)) were cranked up just as Pacelle took the microphone . . .
If ever there was a non-event, this was it.

No kidding. Where are all those “11 million supporters” that HSUS claims to have?

Sorry, Wayne. Better luck next time. But we wouldn’t count on it. (HumaneWatch, August 15, 12)

Reports of Needless Suffering and Death at Companion Animal Alliance

Many people heard the buzz about the Companion Animal Alliance (CAA) in Baton Rouge, LA and their supposed no kill efforts. Local volunteer Amanda Brice has put together a well documented 14 page recent history of the pound, aptly title “Not No Kill”. If you are unfamiliar with CAA’s story and/or if you would like to see how a volunteer can make an important contribution simply by documenting online activity, please take a look at this document.

Ms. Brice used to help out with the cats at the Companion Animal Alliance. She stopped visiting the facility because her offers to care for the stray cats, whom she felt needed the most help, were refused and she no longer feels welcome there. Management advised her that volunteering with the stray cats is a “privilege, not a right”.

Ms. Brice says that CAA does not vaccinate all pets upon intake and the sick cats are not separated from the healthy ones. One employee has been in charge of caring for the stray cats at CAA but when that person took a leave of absence, Ms. Brice says she saw the cats were being neglected. She offered to help but her offer was refused by management. To see the entire story Click Here(YesBiscuit, July 31, 2012)

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Pledge to End Animal Homelessness!

Homelessness is not just a human problem. U.S. animal shelters must put to death nearly 4 million dogs and cats every year because of simple math: There are too many animals and not enough worthy adoptive homes. You can help prevent this—it's as easy as Animal Birth Control!
Never Breed or Buy. Always Adopt. Always Spay and Neuter.

To sign the petition go to the Pledge to End Animal Homelessness page located at peta.org.

A Dog Crate Is a Cage Is a Prison

What if, at your local pet-supply store, you could purchase a dog-training tool that would make your dog weaker, klutzier, and less intelligent? And what if this tool increased your dog's frustration and fearfulness about the world and made him or her less likely to bond with you? Would you buy it? Of course not! Yet, millions of these "tools" are sold every year to unsuspecting American dog lovers who want the absolute best for their dogs. The tool is a "crate," which is just a euphemism for a cage. In fact, dog crates are substantially smaller than the cages that are used to house dogs in laboratories.
Dogs Hate Crates: How Abusive Crate Training Hurts Dogs, Families & Society is a new book by Ray and Emma Lincoln in which they discuss in detail the detrimental effects of crating on dogs' well-being as well as on American society. They explain how the crating trend got started, what continues to fuel it, why it's so harmful, what can be done about it, and what the alternatives to crating are. The authors are experienced dog trainers and behavior specialists who found that they were spending much of their training time trying to undo hundreds of psychological and behavioral symptoms caused by crating. These specific symptoms and their connection to classic studies on the effects of isolation and excessive confinement are thoroughly analyzed. To read the full story Click Here. (Peta, August 2012)

Monday, August 13, 2012

This is How it's Done!

Image via Facebook
In an apparent act of retaliation, pound director Val McCullough instituted several policy changes including banning volunteers from caring for animals on weekends when the staff is off and banning photography at the pound. Ms. McCullough, in a pretty lame attempt to disguise petty vindictiveness, offered:
“It’s more of a safety precaution,” she said. “When nobody is here, we don’t know who’s here for sure. If somebody were to fall and get hurt, you know.”
Yeah, we know.
A volunteer on the pound’s advisory board filed a complaint with the state attorney general’s office and a criminal complaint with the Saginaw Co prosecutor’s office. The sheriff’s office is investigating.
Volunteers mobilized local pet lovers to complain to the county commissioners. The county summoned the director to appear at a public meeting on Wednesday in response to the hundreds of complaints received.
Pet advocates filled every chair in the room at the county meeting. When the chairs were full, they stood in the doorways. When there was no more room in the doorways, they stood in the hall. When the hall filled up, they sat in an adjoining room so they could listen to the speakers at the meeting.
Speaker after speaker asked the county to reverse the new policies. The director was a no-show. But the county listened and reversed the policy changes.
This fight is not over. The director is still in place, still mouthing platitudes to the media, such as:
“Unfortunately, it’s a cruel world,” she said. “We would love to be able to find homes for all these animals.”
But she has no army of apologists backing her. The “Friends” at the Saginaw Co pound are friends to the pets, not the regressive director. They speak out publicly. They take action. They don’t give up.
If you want to institute reform at your pound, this is how you do it.  (YesBiscuit August 10, 2012)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Animal Firghting Tools Outlawed in NY

Help Stop Animal Fighting Now
Animal fighting is illegal in all 50 states — a conviction carries with it hefty fines and potential jail time.
Still, dog fighting and cock fighting happens every single day in the United States. It's clear that simply illegalizing the activity isn't enough to stop it for good. For one, it's extremely difficult to prove an owner is harboring dogs for the purpose of game fighting. But more often than not, true dog fighters will own fighting "tools" which give little doubt as to their involvement with the crime.
Such equipment includes cat mills, which provoke the biting of other animals, or razor sharp knives used to slash roosters' feet during a fight.

The Animal Rescue Site is trying to reach 35,000 signatures and as of today they have 34,752.  Please go to The Animal Rescue Site now to help them reach their goal.