Animal Activists

MESSAGE FROM THE
PRESIDENT:
PHILADELPHIA NO KILL COMMUNITY
ASSESSMENT AND PLAN WELL UNDERWAY
How do you combat
double-digit increases in animal intake and increase the save rate at
animal shelters? Most national and local animal welfare groups have the
same answer: increase spay-neuter surgeries and adoptions. But what is the
most effective way to do this in our community?

Nathan Winograd and Tara Derby-Perrin

On a cold
Friday evening in February, 200 people representing animal care groups,
media, veterinarians, businesses and pet lovers throughout the City of
Philadelphia came together at a Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Alliance
for Philadelphia's Animals and the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control
Association (PACCA) to hear about the future of animal sheltering in
Philadelphia, and how we can begin to take steps toward making
Philadelphia a No Kill city. In an effort to develop a comprehensive
strategic plan to end the killing of adoptable cats and dogs in
Philadelphia shelters, the Alliance and PACCA joined forces to hire
national consultant Nathan Winograd of No Kill Solutions to conduct an
assessment of PACCA operations and to provide a No Kill blueprint for
Philadelphia.

At the Town
Hall Meeting, which served as an introduction to the assessment and the
process we are now in the midst of undertaking, Mr. Winograd described how
he helped advance some of the nation's most progressive shelter programs
as both the Director of Operations for the San Francisco SPCA and as
Executive Director for the Tompkins County SPCA in Ithaca, New York. He
provided hope for the 27,000+ animals that are killed each year in
Philadelphia's shelters, acknowledging that steps are already being taken
to make Philadelphia a No Kill City.

"Philadelphia is committed to changing the status quo," Mr.
Winograd said. "PACCA was the first humane organization to join the
Alliance, it is progressively making its animals available to rescue
groups to increase its lifesaving capacity, and it has hired one of the
most outspoken advocates for changing the traditional shelter model --
me."

During the
16-day on-site assessment that began on February 4th, No Kill Solutions
examined more than 50 areas of shelter operations and met with 11 local
animal care organizations. On Saturday, February 19th, No Kill Solutions
held a meeting with PACCA and the Alliance to discuss several solutions
that can be implemented immediately. During the next six to eight weeks,
No Kill Solutions will prepare a final report of findings,
recommendations, and a No Kill plan for Philadelphia. Simultaneously,
PACCA and the Alliance will begin working to implement the short-term
"fixes" recommended by No Kill Solutions, some of which are identified in
this newsletter issue.

Left to right: Tara Derby-Perrin, Nathan Winograd, Councilman Jack Kelly, Legislative Assistant Holly Maher

Transforming
Philadelphia into a No Kill community is a tremendous challenge. All of
Philadelphia's animals are depending on us -- animal control, private
shelters, rescue groups, philanthropists, businesses, and every pet lover
in this City -- to stay equally committed to this ongoing process as we
experience both achievements and setbacks. We will reach a day when no cat
or dog will be killed simply because they do not have homes, if we follow
the recommendations and plan to make Philadelphia a No Kill city, and if
we work together to achieve this common goal.

For each
citizen of our City who cares for animals -- it is your energy and
compassion that will drive this process forward. Without your commitment,
there would be no hope for the thousands of animals that enter
Philadelphia's shelters each year. Thank you for all of your help as we
work to return Philadelphia to a model of compassion and create a culture
of lifesaving in our shelters and in our City.

We hope you
enjoy this issue of the Philly Pet Review. We encourage you to share it with your
friends and fellow animal-lovers. Please let us know if you have any
comments and suggestions on the newsletter by contacting us at info@animalalliancepa.org.

Best
wishes,
Tara Derby-Perrin

CITY OF PHILADELPHIA AND ALLIANCE FOR PHILADELPHIA'S
ANIMALS
SIGN HISTORIC AGREEMENT TO HELP MAKE
PHILADELPHIA A NO KILL
CITY
In a historic moment for the region's homeless animals, the City of
Philadelphia announced its commitment to the No Kill Movement recently
launched by the Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals, a coalition of local
animal care and rescue groups that includes the Philadelphia Animal Care
and Control Association (PACCA). The announcement came on February 4th, at
a Town Hall Meeting of 200 local residents and members of the humane,
veterinary, government, and academic communities.

Carmen
Paris, Deputy Health Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia's
Department of Public Health, announced that the City's Managing Director
Philip Goldsmith had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the
Alliance to aid the No Kill Movement. "This landmark agreement signals new
hope for thousands of adoptable cats and dogs in Philadelphia's already
overcrowded shelter system," she said. Also on hand at the town meeting
was City Councilman Jack Kelly, who added, "The problems caused by pet
overpopulation are heartbreaking, and I am truly grateful that our
administration has recognized that we, as constituents of this City, care
about our animals and want to find creative ways to end the killing of
thousands of animals each year."

The
agreement draws upon an Alliance-led coalition of community animal welfare
and rescue groups already in operation. The City of Philadelphia will add
its support by making non-financial resources readily available to the
coalition, including the use of space to promote spaying and neutering,
parking permits for participating groups to park mobile adoption vehicles
throughout the City, and utilizing City parks as adoption venues. These
efforts will help promote the messages and cause of the No Kill Movement
through providing increased visibility and exposure for shelter cats and
dogs by bringing them to City-owned community spaces at no cost to animal
care groups. In addition, space to promote spaying and neutering and to
hold community-based spay/neuter clinics will help cut off the supply of
unwanted litters of thousands of kittens and puppies that enter
Philadelphia's shelters each year.

COALITION OF ALLIANCE PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATIONS
EXPANDS
The number of Alliance Participating
Organizations (APOs) continues to expand. A special welcome
to the Morris Animal Refuge, which most recently joined the Alliance.
Alliance Participating Organizations are working collaboratively to submit
a joint application to Maddie's Fund. The Alliance-led coalition currently
consists of 11 Alliance Participating Organizations. With the continued
growth of the coalition and solid partnerships with the City of
Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association, plans
for 2005 and multi-year strategic initiatives are underway to increase
spay/neuter and adoptions of Philadelphia's animals.

A fully recovered Sugar Raye enjoys the warmth and comfort of a soft and cozy chair.

SUGAR RAYE UPDATE
Life has definitely
improved for Sugar Raye, the injured Bengal Cat who suffered extensive
injuries as a result of horrible acts of cruelty at the hands of four
teenaged boys. Despite having a shattered pelvis and a BB bullet lodged in
her spine, Sugar Raye's foster parent reports that she has recovered
beautifully. A limp she acquired following surgery is barely visible, and
the head twitch that resulted from the fear and stress of the attack has
completely disappeared. Although submissive, Sugar Raye has quickly
overcome her fear of people, learning to trust human hands once
again.

While in
foster care, Sugar Raye has become inseparable from another rescued Bengal
named Neo. Interested adopters should be willing to adopt both Sugar Raye
and Neo as a beautiful Bengal Cat duo. Reportedly, more than 100 people
are interested in adopting Sugar Raye. If you are interested in finding
out more about Sugar Raye and requirements for adoption, please contact
Bengal Cat Rescue at vitalesj@comcast.net.

To learn
more about how you can help animals in need of medical care by donating to
the Sugar Raye Veterinary Fund, click here.

THE
ALLIANCE AT WORK:
HELPING ALLIANCE PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATIONS
HELP HOMELESS ANIMALS
On any given day,
hundreds of cars drive up and down Hunting Park Avenue in Philadelphia,
filled with occupants who have no idea that there is a building located
between Front and Second streets with hundreds of lovable cats, dogs, and
other small animals available for adoption. As part of the short-term
recommendations requested by No Kill Solutions, the Alliance for
Philadelphia's Animals has commissioned a local sign company to create a
12-foot banner to hang outside of PACCA in order to promote adoptions
among passersby, and increase visibility of the shelter for those who have
intentionally come to visit the facility. This banner will be unveiled at
the end of February and is the first in a series of initiatives designed
to increase adoptions at PACCA.

COMMUNITY CARE:
THE ALLIANCE FOR PHILADELPHIA'S ANIMALS AND
PETFINDER.COM BEGIN
COLLABORATIVE EFFORT
TO MAXIMIZE ONLINE SERVICES FOR HOMELESS
ANIMALS
As the leader in online pet adoptions nationwide,
Petfinder.com has joined with the Alliance to help develop comprehensive
online services that will better serve animals in the Greater Philadelphia
region. In the formative stages, this exciting initiative will be most
productive with input from all community members. Please take a moment and fill out an
online survey that will help us determine what services
will best meet the needs of animals and the people that care for
them.

SWEET SUCCESS:
REBECCA'S STORY
Imagine what it must
feel like to be abandoned and locked out of your home by the only family
you know, only to be hit by a car. No one stops when they hit you, they
just keep on driving, leaving you to suffer. When the only people you know
-- your "family" -- find out you have been injured, they refuse to let you
come home, and they go on with life as if you never existed. This is a
true-life story for Rebecca, a one-year-old mixed breed Bull
Terrier-Australian Cattle Dog.

Rebecca -- on the road to recovery.

When her
owners turned their backs on her, Rebecca was brought to the Philadelphia
Animal Care and Control Association (PACCA) with bloody hind paws from the
hit-and-run car accident of which she was the victim. Working with the
Alliance, PACCA transferred Rebecca to the Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) for
immediate medical care. Once her feet were properly irrigated, medicated,
and restored to health by the medical staff at the PSPCA, Rebecca was
transferred back to PACCA. Luckily for Rebecca, on the day she was
transferred back to the shelter, Anne Trinkle of Animal Alliance of Belle
Mead (New Jersey) was in the midst of meeting with Nathan Winograd of No
Kill Solutions, and doing a pickup of dogs from PACCA for adoption through
her organization. When Anne learned of Rebecca's tragic story, she
immediately offered to take the incredibly friendly, trusting and loving
dog into the Animal Alliance foster care network.

Miraculously, no long-term problems are expected to impact
Rebecca's hind feet. She is healing beautifully and reportedly has no
problem ambling around her foster home or running to the window to bark at
a squirrel! After a history of neglect and abandonment, Rebecca was
finally granted a glimmer of hope with the extra effort made by PACCA
staff to make sure this special girl received proper medical attention
with the veterinary care provided by the PSPCA. Thanks to the tireless
hard work of Animal Alliance, which consistently takes animals that are
often considered difficult-to-place, Rebecca now has a second chance at
life. Rebecca also thanks Nathan Winograd of No Kill Solutions for
personally seeing to it that she was given the chance to find a family
that will cherish her for all the love she is eager to give. You can learn
more about Rebecca by visiting Animal Alliance
online.

FEATURED ALLIANCE PARTICIPATING
ORGANIZATION:
PENNSYLVANIA SOCIETY FOR THE PREVENTION
OF CRUELTY TO
ANIMALS
THE PENNSYLVANIA SPCA ... HELPING
PEOPLE
AND ANIMALS SINCE 1867!
By Megan Kane,
Director of Electronic Communications, PSPCA
With a long and
dedicated tradition of helping homeless and abused animals since 1867, the
Pennsylvania SPCA (PSPCA) is the second oldest humane society in the
nation and the oldest humane society in the state of Pennsylvania. After
giving up the animal control contract for the City of Philadelphia in
September of 2002, our focus has been the rescuing, repairing and
re-homing of the thousands of animals that make their way to our seven
shelters throughout the year.

As a
founding organization of the Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals, the
PSPCA is excited to work collaboratively with other animal welfare groups
to end the homeless pet problem. We realize that a cultural shift is
needed to combat this problem and through education, adoption events and
exposure, we hope to be an integral part of making Philadelphia a no-kill
city.

Since 2002,
we have transferred animals from our upstate shelters and PACCA to our
Philadelphia shelter located at 350 E. Erie Avenue for purposes of
adoption. The Philadelphia Adoption Center is a state-of-the-art facility
designed with the comfort of our animals in mind. Modeled after a
greenhouse, the structure itself is light and airy with glass-block
kennels, an automated watering system, heated floors and air
conditioning.

In 2004, our
Philadelphia shelter successfully adopted 4,280 animals into forever
homes. Through our standard adoption programs, special adoption events and
education programs, more Philadelphians are becoming aware of the surplus
of adoptable pets in city shelters. Our goal is to continue to raise
awareness about the wonderful pets available for adoption at the
PSPCA.

The PSPCA
offers many low-cost and free services to the community. A low-cost
spay/neuter program, free adoption programs for seniors, discounted dog
obedience classes, a low-cost veterinary hospital and free humane
education programs have been instituted as ways to teach animal owners the
right way to care for and treat their animals.

Newly
redesigned, the PSPCA's website (www.pspca.org) is a
wonderful resource for animal lovers, with new and exciting features. Not
only can visitors learn about our Society and the work we do to help
animals, but they can also make secure donations to the PSPCA from the
comfort of their home, register for PSPCA events and read the latest
edition of Animaldom, the PSPCA newsletter, online.

Another
great feature is the ability to view PSPCA adoptables on Petfinder.com, a website dedicated to animals
and those who love them. PSPCA supporters can acquire valuable information
on our many programs and services, view upcoming PSPCA events and adoption
drives as well as the schedule of PSPCA volunteer orientations. Those with
animal-related questions or problems can e-mail us at info@pspca.org for detailed information and
solutions.

Visit the
PSPCA in person or on the web at www.pspca.org. Learn
about our history, mission and most importantly, our dedication to helping
homeless animals.

FEATURED PET:
A LUCKY CANINE AND HER
HUMAN GUARDIAN
ANGEL
Megan, a drop-dead gorgeous, all-white spayed female
two-year-old American Bulldog mix, has crammed quite a lot of adventure
into her short time on the planet. Megan is named in honor of the
courageous, gutsy, compassionate woman who fought long and hard to bring
her namesake to safety, laying it all on the line to see that this
uniquely beautiful creature with a spirit as bright as her shiny white
coat, was not killed.

After a life full of trials and tribulations, Megan waits patiently for her forever loving home.

Megan was
the "sometimes" dog of a neglectful owner who made her live outdoors with
no shelter. In the bitter cold, she gave birth to a litter of puppies who
were promptly brought indoors for bottle-feeding by the owner, to
accelerate the time before he could sell them on the streets. One cold,
icy night, Megan escaped her outdoor confines and ran for hours searching
for shelter and safety. A kind passerby mercifully picked up the emaciated
dog and brought her to a shelter.

Megan's
owners were eventually tracked down by shelter staff. Sadly, these
"owners" disavowed any knowledge of her. Eventually, they acknowledged her
existence and they signed her over to the custody of the shelter. With the
shelter busting at the seams and with new strays of similar breed arriving
every minute, Megan's fate was uncertain.

In stepped
the human Megan, who learned of this dog's plight and tirelessly networked
with the Alliance for Philadelphia's Animals to identify a rescue or
shelter to place the extraordinary canine Megan in a loving home. When
Animal Alliance of Belle Mead (New Jersey) was contacted, they immediately
offered to place Megan in foster care and find her a loving adoptive home.
In foster care, Megan has proven to be an absolutely divine girl -- she
gets along great with other dogs, plays nicely with them in the fenced-in
yard, and is submissive to all of them. She is perfectly crate-trained,
enjoys car travel and long walks on a leash. Not a big barker at all,
Megan is most content in the company of humans. Her nickname is "Happy
Tail" because her tail wags nonstop, to the point where the very tip of
her tail became a bit sore and bald because it was in constant
motion.

Everyone who
has met this dog falls in immediate love with her, because her cheerful,
loving, adoring personality shines right through all the time. If you want
a dog who will bring you joy beyond measure, who is eager to please and
will walk by your side for years to come, you can fill out an online application.
Throw open the door to your home, your heart, your life and let Megan in
-- she will bound in, lick your face, roll over on her back, sit at (or
on) your feet, and make you fall in love with her. Please see the Animal Alliance Homepage for additional
details.