Animal Protection Laws

In the past few months I have found myself becoming more aware of the treatment of animals around me. A few posts ago I mentioned a call I made to Animal Control regarding a dog trapped in a yard with no shelter. I never knew the true results of that case, but I have noticed that the dog is hardly ever outside anymore. Recently I have come across a home on my way to school where two-to-three dogs are tethered within a fence in separate corners of the yard. I have struggled to find any sort of legal information regarding tethering within a fenced yard in the state of Georgia, and while I have found some information, nothing has really looked legit. My eventual plan is to print the information and place it in the owner's mail box and hope that they voluntarily choose to untether their animals. Otherwise, I have no problem contacting Animal Control.

I'm a follower of Animal Legal Defense Fund's blog and I found this graph on their site that shows a ranking of animal protection laws in all 50 states. You can click on the image to increase the size and view how your state ranks.

In the state of Georgia we fall amongst the middle tier of animal protection, fortunately not amongst the worst, but still not amongst the best. I'm not sure of exactly when this information was taken but I'd be interested in seeing this graph prior to our economy falling apart. I have personally seen a huge effect on the animals in my local community. As an employee of a vet I have seen an increase in drop-offs since the economy has gone down.

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Critter of the Day!!!

Meet Mr. Sam!!!

I found Mr. Sam in Arkansas at CARE (Central Arkansas Rescue Effort). He's a 12 lb. 2 year old neutered male who has a cute black nose. Mr. Sam's owner was unable to take care of him when they became ill. He likes to play hide and seek with his kitty brothers and sisters, look out the window, and be loved on. Mr. Sam is also vaccinated and microchipped.