Leatherback Turtle found dismembered

Another example of the cruelty done to animals. This article found yesterday in a local newspaper illustrates how abusive people are are to indefensive animals. The leatherback turtle is on the endangered species list and it was most likely killed when it came ashore to lay eggs.

Its head and frontal fins were cut off

 Whoever committed this crime will be facing the Federal Justice. I really hope that people are brave enough to call the authorities and lead them to the criminals that killed this beautiful and harmless animal.

http://www.elnuevodia.com/desmiembranymatantinglarenyabucoa-994676.html

Another Cruel Death



Dead Grevais' beaked whale

On May 4th, 2011 a dead Grevais beaked whale was found at the shores of Larga Beach in Maunabo, Puerto Rico.  This species of whale had never come to the beaches of the island. According to the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources , Daniel Galán Kercadó, the whale  was a juvenile female and showed signs of inadequate feeding. When a necropsy was practiced on the animal, biologists found ten pounds of plastic bags in her stomach which was the cause for the death of this magnificent creature.

People have to learn that by polluting the environment they are also being cruel to the living creatures with which we share this planet. This whale suffered a slow and painful death because of the irresponsible actions of leaving garbage on the beaches and not throwing away the trash in an appropriate container.

 http://www.elnuevodia.com/encuentranballenamuertaenplayademaunabo-958777.html
http://www.arkive.org/gervais-beaked-whale/mesoplodon-europaeus/

Tiger's Story

        As Nazhira walked to school, she saw this little kitten struggling in the street in front of our school. She approached it and noticed something was wrong with the way it was moving. She is an animal lover and knew we were working on animal cruelty. Not wanting to leave the kitten, she called our teacher and told her what she had found. Our teacher asked her to bring the kitten to her classroom and put it in a box.  We, Animal Protectors, were informed of the situation and went to check it out. The school bell rang and it was time to go to class.

        While we were in our first period our teacher called the only vet there is in our town of Juana Díaz and made an emergency appointment to bring the kitten to him and after talking to our other teachers we were granted permission to take the kitten, which we named Tiger, to the vet and off we went.

     When we got to the animal hospital it was full of caring owners waiting for their pets to be vaccinated, spayed and neutered or just to give them a check up. Our case was different, we were trying to save Tiger from injuries done to her by an insensible and heartless person.

     The veterinarian, Dr. Rivera, checked Tiger and it broke our hearts when he gave his prognosis. Tiger would die a slow and painful death if not euthanized.

Today we experienced first hand wanting to help an abused and mistreated kitten and feeling the pain of knowing it would die.



Headlines on Animal Cruelty in Puerto Rico

"Police abuse against pitbull"

Agent shoots dog in the mouth twice. Bullets lodged in skull..

13 Marzo 2011

6:00 a.m.

 Denuncian abuso policíaco contra pitbull

Agente estatal introduce arma en la boca del animal y dispara dos veces



According to the news, agents were executing an arrest warrent. While they have their suspect in custody the pitbull named Ali approached the subject and it is when one of the officers put his revolver in the canine's mouth and shot twice. They thought it was dead but the owner, Eldra Santiago Hernández,  rushed Ali to the vet where she was told that the bullets were lodged in the dog's skull, his nose was severly damaged and that the operation Ali had to go through would be very expensive. The dog can be blinded and deaf if not operated soon.   

http://www.elnuevodia.com/denuncianabusopoliciacocontrapitbull-912944.html

"Desperatly Looking for Max"
Irregularities during the placement process in animal shelter in Ponce 27 Febrero 2011 6:00 a.m.
“Buscando desesperadamente a Max”
Denuncian irregularidades en proceso de ubicación del albergue de animales de Ponce




According to the news, Mrs. Diana Babin had to leave for an emergency trip but did not want to leave her dog Max alone. She decided to take him to a shelter were the manager of this facility asured her that Max was going to be put in a K-9 Police team. Do to some isues she came back to get her dog and found out that the shelter did not have him and the K-9 Police team did not accept him because of the dogs age, this has been a difficult moment for Diana because she has no idea were her son, companion and family member is.

http://www.elnuevodia.com/buscandodesesperadamenteamax-900956.html


Impostor Veterinarian almost kills two pitbulls

viernes, 25 de febrero de 2011 03:17 p.m.
Wilma Maldonado Arrigoitía / Primera Hora
Falso veterinario casi mata a dos perros Pitbull en Arecibo



A man, who had habilitated his residence as a veterinary office, almost killed two pitbulls when performing sugery cropping their ears. It happens to be that the man was not a vet, but a nurse and had been practicing surgeries for years. Fortunately, the dogs where taken to a real veterinarian doctor and will not die but as you can see in the picture above were mutilated by this impersonator. Pet owners also have a resonsibility to check for credentials to avoid these situations.

http://www.primerahora.com/falsoveterinariocasimataadosperrospitbullenarecibo-478276.html


"Dog thrown from a third floor by students"
19 Febrero 2011
6:00 a.m.
Tiran perro desde tercer piso

Estudiantes de una escuela en San Sebastían alegadamente lanzaron al can


Students from a school in San Sebastián, Puerto Rico allegedly tossed a stray dog from the third floor. It came to the attention when teachers started calling the animal shelter and reporting what they have seen. Although the teens deny throwing the dog, some saw them saying "it's flying" while it fell. The dog suffered a hip and front paw injury. The cost of the intervention was estimated in $1,500 which the first veterinarian called to asist refused to do at a much lesser price. Another vet was called and he accepted to help this innocent dog.

There are studies that suggest a direct correlation between animal abusers and later on becoming violent against people.

http://www.elnuevodia.com/tiranperrodesdetercerpiso-895257.html


Could face up to 15 years in prison for dragging a horse
Enfrentaría hasta 15 años de cárcel por arrastrar yegua
jueves, 16 de septiembre de 2010
Leysa Caro González / Primera Hora




Lisa Embree, Horse Rescue Program of Puerto Rico, has been in charge of the care of the mare called Milagros, and is satisfied with her recovery. ( Primera Hora / Archive / Olimpo Ramos)
On February 7 of 2010 when a seven month old mare refused to walk, the owner decided to tie it to his truck and drag the animal through the streets. Neighbors saw this atrocity taking place, alerted the police and the perpetrator was caught in the act.

The twenty three year old owner, Geogie Lopez Vigo, set a precedent by being the first case of animal cruelty in Puerto Rico to reach the courthouse and was judged by 12 jurors and found guilty.

Update:

In November of 2010, Georgie Lopez was sentenced to 12 years in prison for such act of animal abuse.

http://www.primerahora.com/enfrentariahasta15anosdecarcelporarrastraryegua-420552.html

http://www.prdailysun.com/news/Mayagez-court-sets-stiff-penalty-for-cruelty

Dead dog buried on sidewalk

In front of our school a car hit and killed a dog. The school director called Emergency Management, agency in charge of disposing of dead animals, and their remedy was to dump dirt right where the dead dog was.
According to the Law 154 of 2008, Animal Welfare and Protection, this agency should have a plan for proper disposal of dead animals and to pick stray dogs and cats to take to shelters. This is not happening!!

Unacceptable Behavior

This is really an outrage!! Thousands of people witnessed this act and the owl was so badly hurt it had to be put to sleep. That action is a direct reflection of how little regard many people have for other living creatures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrKmKSF3qLQ&feature=related

Horses: Take care of Them

Malnourished horse- You can even see his ribs

            On February 27/2011, we, Animal Protectors went to a stable near our school in our town Juana Diaz. We interviewed some people and among them Mr. Rivera one of the caretakers and owner of the horses. It was very interesting to see the horses of movies and the real life ones. Like I say, that day we saw both sides of the story. We acquired some new knowledge that has helped us since that day. And now we can really compare and tell you about the differences about a healthy horse and one that is not.

Mr. Rivera's healthy horse

     

            Mr. Rivera is the owner of a horse that, as he told us, when it arrived it had signs that it had been abused, not treated as supposed and not even well nurtured. He told us that it took him a year for the horse to recover and be healthy as supposed to. He said that it's not easy because it takes a lot of time, money and care but if it's something you love, it doesn't matter any of that because you'll give it and more. He explained that a horse needs to be bathed once a week so that he doesn’t lose his hair. It also needs to be fed accordingly to its size. They need electrolytes, they have to be shod to protect their foot and also need to be walked, but what he said is that most of all they need, love lots of love. His horse is like another son for him he said, and we could obviously see by the way he talked and treated him. 

Unhealthy horse

          In the stable they had a horse that even though the owners went every day and fed him, it wasn't healthy. He was so skinny that you could see his ribs. Mr. Rivera told us that it probably was that he wasn't getting enough food, because obviously when it's a big horse or animal, it eats more. We also learned that you can know when a horse is dehydrated by looking at his neck. You pinch his neck and if it returns instantly he's good but if it takes seconds for the skin to return he's dehydrated, which he was. His conclusion was that for the horse to recover, it would take over 6 to 7 months and near $800.

  

          We asked him what he thought about the kids that have horses in their house or just on the streets. He said that it was really irresponsible because horses are not animals to be on the streets or on the houses. They need care, a measured diet, exercise, etc. He shared with us about an accident that he had not long ago, when he was at 5:00 a.m. driving to his house and hit a horse that was lose on the street. Mr. Rivera checked the horse and saw that he was fine, but his car was total loss.

         We just want to let you know that even though if you like an animal very much and get it as a pet, you have to know how to take care of it. Do some research, ask experts, take him to the vet. Don’t let it be like these horses. Don’t abandon it because it grew. If you make the compromise and love him when he’s little, do it when the animal grows up too. We’re the ones presenting to you the reality, now it’s up to you to defend and be the voice of your pets.

Massacre in Barceloneta- the result

On October 9, 2007  more than 80 dogs and cats were thrown from a bridge by an animal control company. A year later a vigil in the town square of Barceloneta was held in remembrance of that day.

http://www.noticiasonline.com/D.asp?id=13490

This company is supposed to protect and shelter animals not discard them like trash. Unfortunately nobody was found guilty, but a new law with tougher sentences emerged from this incident. Law 154 of Welfare and Protection of Animals of 2008 replaced the weaker Law 67.

Now agencies such as police and the municipalities must enforce them, which they rarely don't. That has to change!!



Shockin but True!!!

      It's incredible how people that say they protect animals are the ones that actually hurt them. Well believe me when I say, "Not everything is what it seems".
In 2007 the Mayor of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico hired an animal control company to take the pets away from people because they were not allowed to have them in their homes according to housing rules. After the company snatched the animals, they were supposed to take the animals to shelters, but all of them ended up being thrown from a bridge in Vega Baja.
When the owners found out of this atrocity, they alerted the authorities and the news. Three men were charged because of an animal massacre of pets.

Where are our morals, our values? We need to join hands and stop this major overflow of animal cruelty.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21386121/ns/world_news-americas/
http://www.care2.com/news/member/442150667/579269

If you have an opinion or a thought about this distasteful news that has shocked us all, please leave your coment and share them with us!

Pet-Abuse (Comission and Omission)

There are many different reasons why individuals mistreat animals. Animal Cruelty is in reality often divided in to two categories: Passive and  Active or in other words "Comission" and "Omission".

The Passive or Omission is no other than the neglect people have with animals: this embarks many action like starvation, dehydration, parasite infestations, allowing a collar to grow into an animal's skin, inadequate shelter in extreme weather conditions, and failure to seek veterinary care when an animal needs medical attention.


The Active or Commission is no other than the act of hurting an animal deliberately and with intention. This action is actually known as NAI (Non-Accidental-Injury). 

Animals have the capacity of feeling of being abused physically and emotionally. It does not matter is the action taken are passive or active it is still taken as animal cruelty and it can be judged in a court of law.

What is animal Cruelty?

Animal cruelty is the abandonment, confinement, negligence, emotional or bodyly harm done to any animal. Just by not giving an animal water,food or taking it to the veterinarian is being abusive. Not to mention to inbreed them or to train them to fight.