I wonder sometimes how dogs remember their puppies once they’ve been taken away.
“Written in the Bones,” a comic by Carey Pietsch and Christopher M. Jones, offers one idea of how they might. Continue reading
Adoption is often promoted as an alternative to abortion by people who seem to think that pregnancy and childbirth are no big deal. Okay, maybe that was a loaded statement, but it certainly seems as though the people who promote adoption in this way don’t understand (or don’t care) that people seek abortions for reasons other than not wanting or being able to raise a child. Medical issues making pregnancy risky or difficult come to mind.
Now, Texas State Senator Eddie Lucio, who had the distinction of being the only Democrat in the Senate to vote for HB2, is pushing a new type of abortion restriction. Prior to obtaining an abortion, a person must complete a three-hour adoption course. I think the Feminist Justice League said it best in their open letter to Sen. Lucio:
Requiring this class will place undue burden on people who are geographically marginalized and lack internet access. More importantly, however, it gives the impression you think women are stupid. I certainly hope I’m correct in assuming that’s a false impression.
Whether Sen. Lucio actually thinks people are stupid or not, his proposal is part of a long line of assumptions that people don’t know how pregnancy works or what is inside their uteri. This is the attitude underlying all those mandatory ultrasound laws.
This seemed like a good opportunity to look at how many children are awaiting adoption in the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services’ (DFPS) care. This is the state agency that operates Child Protective Services, or CPS. I spent a couple of years representing parents, and occasionally kids, in CPS cases, so while I’m far from an expert on the subject, I have some understanding of how complicated a subject “adoption” can be. Continue reading
This was taken on June 15, 2007, the day after I brought Zeta home for the very first time. Note the crummy apartment with a foot locker for a coffee table, as well as my early attempt to buy her love with a Kong.
I think she was still trying to decide if she liked me or not. She figured it out eventually.
Austin Animal Center has taken in far more dogs and cats than it normally does this time of year, and they could use a good home.
“MO” A626768 from Kennel M04, He is a little how shall we say, CONFLICTED. It’s like he WANTS loving (I don’t know if you can hear him purring) but then he gets scared and hisses. He only needs about 2 weeks in foster care and is ready to go today. Ideally he would go home with a kitten friendly cat or dog so he can learn how to be properly social with people AND animals. He looks very hearty and healthy and is eating well on his own.
“MORRIS” A626832 from Kennel M09. He seems a little depressed and I guess I would be too. He also only needs about 2 weeks and would like to go home to a foster with other animals he can cuddle with. Check him out, sorry, it is kind of dark. He is ready to go today.
“Bruiser” A626766 from Kennel M07 is a HOOT and a HALF, outgoing, vocal and ready to GET OUT OF HERE. He is a little smaller than the other two and will probably need about 3 weeks to get big enough for adoption but he is FULL FULL FULL of personality. Very affectionate as well.
!['A cats' way to shelter from the summer heat' by tanakawho from Tokyo, Japan (A cats' way to shelter from the summer heat) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AA_cats'_way_to_shelter_from_the_summer_heat.jpg "'A cats' way to shelter from the summer heat' by tanakawho from Tokyo, Japan (A cats' way to shelter from the summer heat) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")
Tomorrow, Austin Animal Center is hosting its first annual Pet Extravaganza at the new shelter site in east Austin:
Austin Animal Center will host a first annual Pet Extravaganza event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2012. The Center is located in Central East Austin at 7201 Levander Loop at Highway 183 and Airport Boulevard.
The event will be a fun filled day for pet owners and their families and will include a wide range of local vendors providing information on dog training, agility demonstrations, various pet resources, children’s entertainment including Josesito the Clown and his balloon animals, music, food vendors, and much more.
The event is free and open to the public. For those without a pet this event will be a great opportunity to take a walk through the animal shelter and meet a new life-long friend.
“This event will provide information and educate the community on responsible pet ownership,” said Kimberly Hart, Animal Services Office Outreach and Education coordinator. “Also we’d like to invite all members of the community to visit us at our new location and see what the shelter is doing to create a more humane community for all pets in the city.”
For more information check www.austinanimalcenter.org or call 3-1-1 or visit www.facebook.com/austinanimalservices for daily animal updates. The Austin Animal Center is open daily 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
!['Black cat Animal Rescue GalawebDesign' by Galawebdesign (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ABlack_cat_Animal_Rescue_GalawebDesign.jpg "'Black cat Animal Rescue GalawebDesign' by Galawebdesign (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons")
I’ll be there with Friends of Austin Animal Center, so come see us!
The shelter is packed right now because of an unusually high number of animals coming in. Actually, they’re over capacity, which puts the city’s no kill goal at risk:
For the past few months, City of Austin Animal Services has experienced an unseasonal influx of animal intakes at the City shelter, maxing out capacity at both of its locations.
As of May 2, approximately 885 animals were either in shelters or foster homes, representing approximately 30 percent more than shelter capacity.
Compared to the same time last year, the shelter has taken in 150 more kittens and 200 more dogs. Animal Services operates the main Animal Center at 7201 Levander Loop and the overflow Town Lake Animal Center at 1156 W. Cesar Chavez St.
Traditionally, springtime brings in more kittens to the City shelter, but this year the Animal Center has taken in over a hundred more kittens than last year, with more than 600 of those being too young to thrive on their own. As of today, May 2, the Austin Animal Center has about 200 cats available for adoption.
Austin remains the largest no kill city in the country, but we need everyone’s support to stay that way. So head down to the shelter tomorrow, or today, or Sunday (you get the idea). Maybe your best friend is waiting for you there.
