New York City Animal Control under Mayor Bloomberg

[Solitaire]

Every New Yorker should read this, because this is what is going on. I have heard how horrible this place is.

This is our wonderful city under Mayor Bloomberg - please don't vote him back in.



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Subject: Family devastated after AC&C euthanizes dog (Daily News article)

Family devastated after Animal Care and Control euthanizes beloved dog
BY Amy Sacks and Lisa L. Colangelo DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Tuesday, April 14th 2009, 4:00 AM
Jane Guardascione's 13-year old collie, named Angel.

94-year-old Queens grandmother is heartbroken after her longtime companion, a 13-year-old collie named Angel, was euthanized at a city animal shelter.

The dog wandered away from Jane Guardascione's Astoria home on Friday. Family members said they tried contacting New York City Animal Care and Control several times to find the elderly pooch.

But the dog was euthanized shortly after arriving at ACC's Manhattan shelter on Friday afternoon.
Guardascione's granddaughter Chanda made several calls and was initially told Angel was not there. On Saturday, she was told the dog had been euthanized because it was unable to walk.

Jane Guardascione's daughter, Carole Miller, said her mother was "heartbroken and devastated" when she heard what happened to her dog.

Shelter officials said Angel had collapsed at the shelter, had no identification and fit no description of any dogs reported lost.

"Because of her deteriorating condition and advanced age of over 13 years, the vet made the decision to euthanize Angel in an effort to prevent any additional suffering," ACC responded in a statement expressing "our deepest sympathies" to the family.

"It is our goal to avoid euthanasia unless we deem it absolutely necessary," the statement read.
But family members weren't buying it.

They said Angel suffered from arthritis and was probably frozen with fear in the noisy, unfamiliar shelter.
ACC, which operates city shelters under a contract with the Health Department, is required to hold lost and stray animals for at least 72 hours before putting them up for adoption or euthanizing them. Exceptions are made if an animal is critically injured or gravely ill.

Family members said Angel fit neither of those categories.

Miller, a collie breeder, gave her mother the dog when Angel was just over a year old. The dog was her constant companion.

Although arthritis had slowed her down, Angel was able to walk, they said.

Outraged animal rescue groups said such mistakes are not unusual at ACC and charged the nonprofit organization is plagued by mismanagement.

In January, the Daily News reported that one rescue group sued the city because it was breaking its own law by not providing animal shelters in all five borough.

The suit charged that facilities are overcrowded and disease-ridden and that animals are being euthanized in "unconscionable numbers" because there is no space.

The Health Department has told ACC it will lose at least $434,000 in city funds because of systemwide budget cuts.

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[ThomCat]

1. This does not come as a surprise.

Bloomberg is the type of corporate bastard who would say, "They're just animals. Fuck 'em. Just keep it low so nobody complains."

He's a mercenary mayor. The only reason he has any popularity is because he runs a good PR machine. And because a vast number of people are in love with him because he's so wealthy, as if his money somehow makes him a wonderful person. x(

He didn't earn that money by being a good person. He's know for being an incredibly misogynistic asshole and for being pretty damned heartless.

It will be a very good day for NYC when he's finally out of office. It'll be an even better day someday if he somehow loses that fortune.

[Muttocracy]

2. Ugh. Are New York City residents aware of ACC's situation?

It drives me nuts that North Shore Animal League gets dogs from all over and things in NYC are so bad. Is there some bad blood between them? Or is it just that NSAL is picky? When a puppy mill was cleared out here, NSAL only took young, healthy purebreds.

[ThomCat]

3. North Shore Animal League also has a reputation

for making it impossible for a lot of people to adopt a pet. They want too much money. And they are picky about pets only going to homes they approve of, so a lot of good people get turned away. For example, you can't live in an apartment (in NYC) if you want a dog because you must have a yard, and the yard must be fenced in.

:wtf:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

4. That's pretty standard with most rescues with the fenced-in yard thing

That being said, we attempted adopting a dog last fall from a "top" Border Collie rescue. We even put in an electric fence to meet their requirements (which has never been used because Mick is terrified of it). Our main requirement was that the dog get along with ours and be healthy. We get her home and it turns out she had severe epilepsy. According to our vet, there was NO way they didn't know about it before adopting her out. We had to return her to the rescue, which has heartbreaking to us, and traumatic to her (she had been severely abused).

We ended up getting a second dog, but through a totally unofficial adoption. Just a person who occaisionally takes in Border Collies to keep them from the shelter. We got a great, healthy dog. And our first one was also an unofficial adoption. He was dumped off at a kennel and taken in by a local sheep farmer. In both cases, we found out about the dogs through word of mouth, and the only reference we needed were the people who sent us to them.

With the official rescue, they had a couple dogs we were interested in, but didn't qualify for being we don't have a farm. As our dog's herding trainer said, the people who do use dogs to run a farm can't qualify anyway, because the dogs spend all their time either loose in an unfenced area or kenneled up.