Sad News From Serenity Hill..

A gentle spirit who walked among us briefly, is gone, a loss to a member of Oreo's Hill is a loss to our whole community. In the spirit of personal privacy we need no names, or monikers, only the soft nod to the loss. May the spirit who now travels without us, travel in peace, may those left behind be comforted. As we venture forth on this path of trying to help; and be of service we will meet many like minded souls, and somehow through Oreo we become connected. Many of us have made friends for life on this journey, which started for me with the loss of our dear Hawkers Honey. I never knew going to the shelter to find a friend for Oreo would lead me through this painful passage, yet the good has overcome the pain. For our friend, there are no words, but feel the caring coming your way, and know you are not alone. To any gentle reader who may think they know the circumstances, please refrain from the use of any phrase that could identify the grieving person. We are private, but not impenetrable.

Pictured is the hill behind Oreo's house, God provided the fog, Oreo provided the rainbow.....

Stray Dogs And Good Deeds, The Kindness Of A Stranger....

The pack had gathered round the table for a bit of soup and sandwiches, it was the beginning of a long quiet evening. I always think of the old James Herriot stories of how his hounds would race to the front hall at the sound of the bell, the dreaded bell. These guys are quite a site all 450 pounds of them charging the glass door & I must say I was impressed with the tiny lady who held her ground. When I stepped out to inquire if I could be helpful ( she seemed pretty distraught) she told me a person down the street had sent her to our door, another, at large, dog on Los Altos.....
I thanked her for her kindness in following through and she waited til I grabbed my " dog gear" that would be a cell phone to call dispatch and a long leash and very kindly drove me to where the dog was running in and out of traffic. After a bit of manuvering we got the dog, nice fella, and hooked him up. For any readers who have faced down traffic going 45 at dusk, you know the dogs chances were slim, and a couple of times so were mine. I love sitting cross legged in the middle of a driving lane...... she put the dog in her car, lovely Lexus, and we began the drive through our neighborhood. We found the home and another dog loose with the double gate open. Nice lady, said the dogs were" always taking off, just couldn't keep them in. " I think my suggestion to close the gate fell on deaf ears. Her response to the dogs running all the time floored me. with an " Honest to God" straight face, she said " I am just going to have to surrender them. She didn't want to put a collar on because they might hang themselves, yet they could run and do mortal combat with 2 ton trucks.
How can you reason with a mind that thinks like that ? The dogs probably would be better off placed in another home if one were available , but there are 172 dogs at NHS tonight, most nice and most going to be there for a while. It was the cavalier way she said it, and the fact that her daughter might miss the dog. No sense that the dog had bonded with them, no sense of stewardship for the animal. It was an uncanny detachment toward the dog as a feeling being, who needed and deserved their protection.
So what do we focus on as we sip our cold soup and tepid sandwiches........ the nice lady who cared enough to go find help, the sweet ( still unknown) person who sent her on down to " the dog lady" or the confused owner with the open double gate ?? Oreo says, thanks to the Lady with the Lexus, she wins the caring award for the Vistas tonight.
Pictured is Burley Dog and Miss Priss having a well deserved nightcap., Oreo is a tee-totaler.

Public Records Requests & Public Outrage.....

When is enough ? Those of you who follow Oreo know the trials and tribulations that come with being a sane person in a crazy system. The most recent attack on animal control came in the form of a public records request, we had seen it in in Seattle and knew it was going to take the southern route. As much as one hates to roll in the mud with the "troubled ones" we have decided to take the sensible approach and see if we can resolve this with a an "in kind" service. So we will be sending our own request into the county manager, we have tried so hard to stay above the fray. Somethings should not be dignified with a response, but the truth is this isn't going to go away until we fight back. We don't like fighting with little people , with little minds, but here we are.. The questions brought before commission last March remain unanswered, the cats remain at very high levels for the space the NRS calls for and the designation when the building was opened. so here we are, not gaining any ground and losing our level of comfort for the animals in the process. we need help, Oreo is swimming in way deep, and I fear she is the only one with the courage to do the deed. The people who complain and worry at the mall and the park, all worry about getting " revoked" the most common thing I hear is look what the hell happened to you....... Well guess what ? This is the modus operandi for this group, and sooner or later somebody is going to notice he isn't winning lawsuits. Oreo has her head up and her feet on firm ground....
Pictured is Luna, a Sacramento beauty....

Another Very Nice Dog….

Today another very nice dog will be put to sleep, put down, euthanized, destroyed or any other way you want to pronounce it, killed . Notice I didn’t say adoptable, I said nice. For those new to animal planet, nice and adoptable are not synonyms although people are fond of tossing them in the same sentence. Usually when “nice “ and “ adoptable” appear together the ubiquitous “but” is found. Ex: Laddie is a very nice boy, he sits for treats & will become your best friend, but, he will need medications the rest of his life. The latter part can be changed to include, training, housebreaking, use caution around strangers and/ or children, ad infinitum. These are common traits we see in shelter dogs, not the anomaly. So, why are we confused ?

Nice is an accurate description for many dogs or cats that will never find a home, but nice and adoptable are not interchangeable and we need to quit pounding on our shelter staff about putting “nice “ dogs down……
More than ever in this harsh financial climate, people are making decisions that are hard to live with. Jobs are lost, home life changes, and pets live with the consequences. We need to own that and move forward, saving adoptable animals is the equivalent of the old MASH units ( if you’re young, think ER ), triage for the ones that can be placed and medical treatment for the general population to abate suffering. If there is some part of you that finds succor in outrage; aim it to the people who allow pets to breed. Take your anger and hammer it into action, promote and support spay / neuter programs; become a volunteer; do something, anything besides whine about the people who are dealing with the mess. So long as folks scream about their rights, refusing to alter their animals , we will have high euthanasia rates. Think about this; take a stressed out dog, who has spent their life in the backyard; put them in a pen for a year or so, what will the dog learn ? Put that same dog in a home where the new owner thinks they have a 5 year old pooch ……dog looks mature; it’s a disaster. We have to come to a place of fairness with these guys, and that is not an easy call.

The Face Of Animal Control, Really..

Oreo started this blog to defend the animals, that is still her focus. Only now, am I seeing what a complex issue it is.

The newspaper blogger attacked our AC manager with a vengeance, that is part of their" playbook"; to demonize those who impede the will of the fanatics. The modus operandi of the invading force. It isn't new; in WWII we called them "jerry's" or Nips, "Krauts" even Zipperheads, my Dad's personal favorite ( I still don't get it. ) In Nam' we had "Gooks" and Slopes and LBFM's, Cong'.. I am not sure what they called us, but I bet it wasn't Americans... So first comes the break down of respect for the opposition. This allows for clearing the decks with no guilt. The mindless masses have always been swayed by this type of rhetoric. The most idealistic man in the history of the world was Hitler. He absolutely believed he was right, which allowed him to convince others. The system by which we assign value is very intricate. One could find a stray blue rock and through a series of advertisements, make a damn good living. Why does a purebred have more financial value than a mutt? Because Man assigned the value, and he controls the product. Shelters are commodities, how they are used is a profit motive for some, and a safety, health, & compassion issue for others. Here at Oreo's we are the safety compassion folks. I had a dear friend warn me that Wino was a tough target, even she concedes his plan is flawed, but thinks he is sincere. I shut up, I try not to change peoples minds when they will see soon enough for themselves. The point is, I am not targeting the man, I am targeting the concept. It has consistently failed and he has skipped town; I've had a dryer load of laundry last longer that he does, he keeps moving, tainting, & always spinning. My goal is to keep educating. AC directers are not monsters and the Humane organizations that have tried his way and failed are not ogre's. He has spun so far from what he started out as, and that was a poor footprint to begin with.

We start our day with a morning prayer here, and end with a prayer of thanks. We get up early and walk into the canyon, letting the earth enfold us, it is from the earth we draw our strength. We are part of something bigger and we are responsible for stewardship of the Earth and all of her creatures. Not saving every animal, but showing compassion for every animal. That is stewardship; Oreo says.

Pictured is an official animal control volunteer, note the hat to cover the horns. Used with permission.