New Year’s Resolutions and more!

Adoption Pledge

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“She is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are her life, her love, her leader. She will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of her heart. You owe it to her to be worthy of such devotion.”

I, ______________________________, pledge to care for this animal _____________________ to the best of my ability for the rest of her life. I promise to listen carefully when she talks to me, remembering that God can speak to me through her when I need guidance during family fights. In keeping with Indian traditions, I promise to allow her to teach me to respect the environment.

In exchange for her wisdom, I promise to teach her to the best of my ability to listen to me: learning the basic commands: sit, down, roll over, no, leave it, heel, push-ups, no bite, sit-ups, wait, stay, whisper … I will respect her exercise needs by walking her every day knowing that she will need and treasure every second of this time with me. This time I will consider as communion with God, and I will remember to say my prayers – thanking God and asking for His help during this time.

I will feed her at least once, but more ideally at least twice, every day – dog food, table scraps, or dumpster scraps. I will also make sure that she has access to water every day. I will make sure she is never too cold, and never too warm.

I will make her a part of “my pack”, socializing her to the best of my ability, to other dogs, cats, children, and adults.

I am aware of the current animal crisis in the Baltimore, Houston, Atlanta, AL, AC, KY, OH and several other areas:

• Baltimore City Animal Shelter adopted out 2.2% of the 17000 animals that were taken in in 2002. Less than 12% of the animals survive 1 month at the shelter. www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=7519

• Texas has 500,000 homeless pets, and an average shelter euthanasia rate of 75%.

• As of 2005, metro Atlanta pet overpopulation statistics were staggering. Of the 19 county animal control shelters surveyed, 130,000 animals were impounded collectively (SPOTsociety.org). Of the animals impounded, a mere 8% were reclaimed and only 22% were adopted or transferred to rescue agencies. The sad part of the story is that close to 60% of the impounded animals were euthanized due to a lack of homes in the Metro Atlanta area. In some remote counties, this number is as high as 90%. (ref. www.furkids.org)

• In a 1996 survey, about 210 000 dogs and 110 000 cats entered Ohio shelters; 65% were euthanized.

• Each year, 83,000 pets enter Houston shelters. Of the Houston pets, 71 percent will likely be euthanized.

• As an example, it costs taxpayers in Houston as much as $176 to impound, house, and destroy a homeless pet through the shelter system. About $40-80 will spay or neuter the same pet.

For a recent National Public Radio broadcast on the animal crisis, listen to: wamu.org/news/08/07/08.php#21782

I promise that, if I decide to allow her to produce puppies that may be killed in a shelter, I will:

1) First visit the shelters to see all the unwanted animals before they are killed.

Local shelters are listed here: hadr-tx.org or baltimoreanimalshelter.org/ or petfinder.com or hsov.org

GA: nickoftimerescue@yahoo.com or Alabama: 256-771-7889 or WA: perrin@savinggreatanimals.org or

OH: pcdogwarden@windstream.net or Ark.: 704-914-5409 or KY: 606-432-6293

2) Find a good home for every puppy produced under my roof – in my own home if necessary.

3) In no case, allow the dog to have more than one litter of puppies.

Spaying her will be the easier solution, especially if she is ever unsupervised. I will give her needed shots, worming, heartworm medicine, and flea and tick medicine. I will not keep her for long periods on a leash, chain, or alone. I will not move into a living situation that will not allow me to keep this animal. I will give her health check-ups at reasonable intervals: www.theinternetpetvet.com/i-cant-do-this-nearly-as-good-a...

If the animal’s happiness or well-being is ever in question in my care, I will email hope4cure@earthlink.net so the animal can be rehomed.

If I fall short in any way, I will ask God to forgive me.

Signature ___________________ Date __________

Support System (at least one friend) ____________________________ agrees to help care for the animal if I am too ill to care for this member of my pack. Signature _________________________________

Witness _________________________

Church __________________________

If your church has 1000 members (including children), and you are responsible for 36 adoptions, then you will have done more than your share to help to start to solve this problem.

State legislation (HB 568) is being considered in Ohio to ban pit bulls- the first ban on a state-wide level. There are 12 states that have state-wide legislation prohibiting municipalities from discriminating against pit bull mixes: CA, CO, FL, IL, ME, MN, NJ, NY, OK, PA, TX , VA. Last year, dogs were responsible for 16 human fatalities in the US (97% of fatalities over a 10 year period have involved unaltered dogs; 25% have involved tethered dogs). This represents a ratio of 87 500 dogs killed for every human fatality. Swimming pools were responsible for 30 times more deaths than dogs were. Smoking was responsible for 10 000 more human fatalities than dogs were. Alcohol-related driving was responsible for 1000 times more human fatalities than dogs were.