The CEO of Richmond’s SPCA, Robin Starr,  left her 16-year-old dog in her car where he suffered heat stroke and later died.

The blind and deaf dog was put into the backseat of the car by Starr’s husband Ed because she often took him to work with her.  Unfortunately her husband forgot to tell her and she didn’t realize until four hours later that Louie, their cocker spaniel/poodle mix, was in there.

Here are the details from the Richmond Times Dispatch.

It wasn’t until she left her office about noon that day — after the dog had spent nearly four hours alone in the car — that she discovered Louie in the back of the station wagon, showing signs of heat stroke.

She took the dog inside to the SPCA clinic, where it was stabilized and taken to the Veterinary Emergency Center in Carytown. Veterinarians worked unsuccessfully to restore kidney function in Louie, and the dog died about midnight.

“I just forgot . . . and didn’t think about it until I got this frantic phone call from Robin. I knew immediately what I had done,” Ed Starr recalled yesterday at the SPCA offices on Hermitage Road.

He added, “It wasn’t her fault. It was mine.”

Robin Starr has been one of the area’s most outspoken advocates for animals.  While her supporters are standing by her there are those that think she should resign. I cannot imagine anything more painful than knowing your beloved dog died on account of your actions.

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In Philadelphia, Eagles fans may be tailgating in the parking lot, but dog lovers will be holding their own party far away from the field.

On the other side of town dog lovers will be tailgating for 2nd Chance Dogs.  The campaign, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, was launched after the Eagles signed Vick.

Dog figthing is an ongoing problem in the Philadelphia area, as the bust that just took place in Germantown will attest to.  The 2nd Chance Dogs campaign is all about giving the victims of animal abusers a second chance. People are so busy talking about Michael Vick being deserving of a second chance, saying he’s served his time, paid his due, but yet the dogs who are the true victims don’t get that courtesy.  They receive the ultimate sentence, death.

(AP) “As a lot of people have pointed out, the animals never got a second chance,” the S.P.C.A. chief executive Sue Cosby said. “We need to speak for them.”

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Since the Eagles signed Michael Vick dog fighting has been the talk of the town in Philly. To add fuel to the fire, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports a dog fighting ring has been busted in Germantown which is just outside the city.

A tip from the animal-cruelty hotline sent officers from the Pennsylvania SPCA to a house in East Germantown. Several dead dogs were found and a few badly injured pit bulls were rescued.  Four men, one is the property owner, face charges.

Today, the Eagles plan to hold a summit of area animal-welfare groups at the NovaCare Complex, the team’s South Philadelphia training facility. Vick is not expected to attend.

“This particular bust is especially timely,” said Gail Luciani, the chief public relations officer for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the Pennsylvania SPCA, said the entire block where the bust took place is a mecca for dog fighting. Read the rest of this entry »

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In this case, riding shotgun means having to get the coveted seat  before 21 other pups do. That’s right, a woman in Pottsboro, TX was sharing her station wagon with 22 dogs. I have to believe that didn’t smell too pretty.

Twenty-two dogs found confined to a station wagon were seized by the SPCA of Texas on Monday morning and taken to an animal shelter in McKinney, SPCA officials said.

Investigators from the SPCA got a tip about a car parked along an unmarked road near the police station in Pottsboro, about 80 miles north of Dallas.

When a Grayson County constable tried to serve a warrant around 9 a.m., a woman in the car locked the doors and refused to come out, said Maura Davies, a spokeswoman for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Inside, 20 adult dogs and two newborn puppies – appearing to be papillons and long-haired Chihuahuas – were crowded in among blankets, a pot of water and waste. Investigators don’t know how long the dogs had been in the car.

The dogs were removed from the car and taken to the Perry Animal Care Center. The SPCA is waiting for a judge to issue a decision as to who will get custody, the owner or SPCA. I’m going to have to vote for the SPCA in this case.

No charges have been filed against the woman, or expected to be. She wasn’t coherent when approached in the car, the SPCA contacted Adult Protective Services.

We hope the woman and dogs get the care they need.

* Odessa riding shotgun.

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In Vineland, NJ  Mike Snyder is dealing with his wife’s illness. Taking care of her and their two dogs was becoming an overwhelming task, the couple made a very hard decision to give the dogs up. 

City residents Mike and Miriam Snyder  brought Gabby and Marty — brother-and-sister Shih Tzus her brother gave the family as pups two years ago — to a shelter Aug. 1. It was a decision they hated to make then and regret more now.

Early last week the family’s situation changed when one of their sons quit his job in New York to move home and help care for his mother. Now that Mike Snyder was going to have some help he would be able to take care of the dogs again. The couple immediately went back to the SPCA to retrieve Gabby and Marty.

One dog, Marty, was gone. He had been assigned a new owner a day after being dropped off.

The family says they were told they had seven days before that would happen under SPCA rules. But the organization only holds stray dogs for seven days.

Gabby still was at the shelter, though, and the Snyder’s filled out adoption papers to reclaim her. Mike Snyder said he was told to come back Friday after the dog had been spayed. When he did return, he was told the animal had already been adopted out.

 The Snyder’s were devastated that Gabby had already been adopted.  The shelter’s Executive Director, Bev Greco, stated “An adoption application was received Aug. 5, a day before the Snyder’s came to ask for their dog. The rule is “first come, first serve” when there are two application.”

Executive Director Bev Greco went on to say that the shelter tried to call the family about the situation, but a phone number they left was not working.

Mike Snyder says he was not told about the competing application. He also says both phones the family uses are working.

Greco said she would not contact the people who adopted Marty and Gabby. “They’ve both got very good homes,” she said.

However, on Wednesday,the family got a lead on the possible placement of Gabby.  A phone call was generated from an ad the Snyder’s had placed in a local newspaper.

Mike Snyder stated “A caller identified herself as having driven a woman who adopted Gabby to the SPCA. She promised to contact the woman about giving back the dog.”

So far the Snyder’s have received no word back.

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