Washington Humane Society HLE Division

            The past week or so has been a busy one for us here at the Washington Humane Society.  Saturday February 24th was the day we celebrated Spay Day USA.  Like all great celebrations we celebrated by spaying and neutering 53 cats.  The majority of these cats were transported by three WHS vans from three neighborhoods east of the river.  Many of these cats were indoor outdoor cats who had reproduced before and surely would reproduce again.  The remaining cats were feral cats brought from various colonies by volunteers.  The cats were all in the clinic by 8:30AM and loaded up and back at the drop off points by 6:00PM.  The people who took advantage of our special that day were extremely grateful as they understood the necessity of spaying and neutering and did not want their cats to contribute to the overpopulation problem.  We also performed 22 surgeries on Spay Day for the Animal Welfare League of Arlington’s Spay Day services.  Around the country many similar events took place as well and hopefully besides preventing unwanted litters the day also raised public awareness about the need for spay/neuter. 

            On Thursday March 1st I found myself in Annapolis.  I was there to testify on behalf of an anti-chaining bill that was in front of the Maryland House of Delegates.  The bill HB 673 is an excellent bill which would restrict the tethering of dogs in the state of Maryland not allowing dogs to be tethered between 12pm and 6AM or during periods of extreme weather.  It also stipulates conditions under which the tethering of digs would be considered hazardous and not be allowed (e.g. the use of choke or pinch collars to chain a dog would be prohibited).  There was myself as well as representatives from HSUS, IFAW, local veterinarians and rescue groups, and a group called Justice for Dogs formed primarily to address the issue of chained dogs.  Many bills were testified to that day and we didn’t get our chance until close to 4PM when everyone was pretty sleepy.  The intensity and resolve of those testifying woke the place up however, and quite a lively debate was had.  No one testified in opposition to the bill though the delegates had some questions- mostly relating to using dogs for guarding purposes.  Over and over the point was stressed by those in support of the bill that the continual confinement of a dog to a tether is not only inhumane it is unsafe as well.  A dog kept continually tethered becomes agitated and frustrated and often teased and taunted by passing kids will become aggressive over time.  Eventually the dog will break the chain or slip the collar and loose will be a public safety hazard.  Other dogs will become tangled and injured or hang themselves while tethered.   I testified because in Washington D.C. a law was passed in 2001 which bans Cruel Chaining.  WHS spearheaded this law in the belief that it’s passage would improve the lives of dogs and citizens alike.  Since the passage of the law the number of cruelty complaints received by WHS has declined from an average of 2400 calls per year to roughly 1500 calls this past year.  Before the passage of the law the most common call received was about chained dogs being neglected.  WHS still receives calls about chained dogs but since the law has passed the owner either has to confine their dog safely or risk having the dog impounded by WHS’ Humane Officers.   I hope that my time in Annapolis will help to achieve a similar result for the state of Maryland. 

            Finally the end of the week saw the Council of Government Animal Services awards.  This award ceremony is held every year and recognizes the efforts of animal welfare workers and volunteers region wide.  This year our very own Medical Director Brock McGee won the Veterinary award because of his excellent work in performing high volume low cost spay/neuter for WHS as well as developing protocols which will enhance the health of all of WHS” shelter animals.  Also Humane Officers C. Schindler and T. Moyer from our Humane Law Enforcement Division won for Humane Officer/Animal Control Officer of the year.  They won because of their excellent efforts during a year of staffing issues where they were truly the backbone of WHS’ HLE team investigating close to 1500 complaints of animal cruelty including some 25 cases resulting in arrest warrants being issued.  To see Tim and Chris in action look on our website www.washhumane.org under WHS store and then look at the 2007 calendar which has photos of the two along with the rest of the HLE division in action. 

            I also want to briefly mention the departure this past week of our Executive Director Howard Nelson.  Howard brought with him to WHS a vision for the future and a host of new ideas.  The staff who remain behind are committed to seeing that vision to fruition.   We all wish Howard the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his dedication to WHS during his time here.