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In israel, the Middle East, where animals treated badly the life of a cat worth nothing. Look what happens in the States though

Judge awards $45,480 in cat's death

 By Warren Cornwall and Craig Welch
Seattle Times staff reporters

Paula Roemer knows most people don't understand her passion for animals.

Some of her North Seattle neighbors aren't thrilled about the crows she attracts to her back yard with bird seed, she says. When she rescued a scraggly kitten abandoned on a pathway while she was vacationing in Israel 13 years ago, people reacted with disdain.

So when a neighbor's dog mauled and killed that same beloved cat, Yofi, last year, Roemer barely mentioned it to people she knew. But now she feels that she found one person who understood: a judge.

Last week, Seattle District Court Judge Barbara Linde ordered the dog's owner to pay $45,480.12 to Roemer for the cat's death.

"Not too many [people] value a cat," said Roemer, a retired, 71-year-old former junior-high-school teacher, who lives alone except for her animals. "You know what I'm saying: 'It's just a cat.' And I'm very, very thankful we had a judge who knew that a cat had some value."

Judge Linde determined that Roemer should receive $30,000 in replacement value for the loss of her cat, $15,000 for emotional distress, $90 to recoup the cost of having Yofi cremated, $80 in medical expenses and $24.12 in interest.

The judgment may be among the largest amounts nationwide in lawsuits over the loss of pets, according to Roemer's attorney, Adam Karp of Bellingham, a specialist in cases involving animals.

"I do think it's the largest in our state for any type of animal, excluding, say, a Thoroughbred or other commercially valuable pets, or service animals," Karp said. "And I'm pretty sure it's the largest for a cat."

In 2003, a SnohomishCounty couple was awarded $25,000 in emotional damages when someone who was supposed to care for a horse and goats instead sold them for slaughter.

In a recent Texas case, the owner of a Mini-Schnauzer was awarded $10,000 in emotional distress when the dog escaped from a Petco grooming parlor and was hit by a car, according to Associated Press reports. In one New York case, the court found that a good dog's value increased with age, and its owner should be compensated accordingly upon the pet's untimely death.

The defendant in the cat case, Wallace Gray, pleaded guilty to an animal-control violation last October in Seattle Municipal Court. Court documents say he admitted that his dog killed a neighbor's cat in February 2004 "due in part to my negligence."

Gray said he just learned of the financial judgment yesterday from a reporter. "This is way out of hand. This is absolutely crazy," he said.

Gray said he had already served 21 days in jail and three months under house arrest for the animal-control violation. He wasn't living in the house with his dog at the time of the attack, he said, and the acquaintance who was taking care of his dog left town before the trial.

"I'm sorry she lost her cat, but I had no control over it," Gray said.

Gray added that he thought the punishment was excessive considering that dogs and cats are natural enemies.

"Cats eat birds and dogs eat cats," he said.

Gray did not appear in court for the case and was not represented by a lawyer, Karp said.

Judge Linde could not be reached for comment.

While Roemer predicts she won't collect a nickel from the judgment, she and her attorney take the ruling as a message that even cats count. She plans to give any money from the case to an animal-protection group.

Her lawyer says the public perception of cats puts them at a disadvantage.

"I think there tends to be a culture that says dogs are more of man's best friends and cats are aloof and can't bond," Karp said. "But if anyone has ever shared their bonds with a cat, they know that's utter nonsense. I think our society tends to devalue cats, and I think the judgment recognizes that cats, too, can mean the world to people."

Still, Roemer said, that can't erase the painful memory of what happened last year in her back yard, or the loss of a cat that slept in her bed, curled up against her stomach, nearly every day since she rescued it.

Roemer was in Israel visiting friends in 1992 when she came across a heap of matted fur covered with flies. Roemer stopped to offer the cat some water from a bottle cap.

"Here's this one cat that saw me as a savior and I couldn't walk away from her," she said.

She named the cat Yofi and finagled her way through customs and back into the United States, with the tiny white and black kitten in a pet carrier.

Back in Seattle, Yofi became a fixture in Roemer's house, she said, befriending other cats and dogs she adopted.

Then, Roemer said, one day in February 2004 she heard screeching coming from her back yard and saw a neighbor's dog, a chow, holding Yofi in its jaws and shaking the cat. Roemer said she tried to rescue Yofi but lost sight of the cat while trying to save another one of her cats and get the dog out of the yard. She found the cat dead in another neighbor's yard the next day.

Roemer said Gray's dog had repeatedly escaped from its yard before the incident, partly because a fence on the side of the yard had large gaps.

Roemer said she sued Gray out of grief and frustration.

"I didn't go to court to get money," she said. "I could either burn his house down or I could go and shoot his dogs in front of him and shoot him, or I could shoot myself. So I decided to be rational and get a lawyer."

Now, the cremated ashes of Yofi rest in a small ceramic jar on a table in the living room of her small Northgate house. Behind it stands a large card with Yofi's name written across it and a montage of photos of Yofi inside.

The house is a testimony to her devotion to animals. A framed, hand-painted portrait of eight cats she has owned hangs in her bedroom. Boxes of cat-food cans rest on a spare bed in another room. A piece of cardboard sits in her living room near the television with detailed instructions on how to take care of the animals in case she can't.

Roemer still has the company of her other animals, a Husky mix named Ginger and three black-and-white cats, including the latest addition, Patsy Cline. She adopted that cat several months after Yofi died, when it cried one day as she looked at it.

She knows some people may find her odd for her love for animals. But she's past making apologies.

"It sounds crazy that I value my animals more than I do people. I help out people, too," she said. "It's just that in my personal life, I get along better with animals."

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/cn_news_features/displayarticle.asp?id=451436  joan’s long march for animal rights
 
Famous for her dramatic acts of protest, Cambridge’s Joan Court has chained herself to railings, locked herself in a cage and even gone on hunger strike – all in the name of animal rights. Now 90, she tells ALICE RYAN why she will always be an activist....... 
 

Joan has just released the second volume of her autobiography: called The Bunny Hugging Terrorist, it charts the last three decades of her life – and her ongoing involvement with animal rights. ...... 

Published in paperback this summer, the book is prefaced by Labour’s Tony Benn; clearly a long-time admirer of Joan, he pays tribute to her “intelligence, passion and humour” and deems her “a shining example of grey power”.

“It is about my life,” says Joan. “But, more than anything, it is a tribute to the animal rights movement – which I believe to be the greatest social movement of this century.”

The book is a sequel to In the Shadow of Mahatma Gandhi, a memoir of the earlier part of Joan’s life.....  

 “People often ask me why,” she admits. “It really started when I found out about vivisection. Then I found out what was happening in the meat industry. And then I found out about live exports. Like a lot of people, I’d been going through life almost totally ignorant of what was happening to animals all around me.” ..... 
 

Joan’s activism is, she explains, fuelled by her first-hand experiences of seeing animals suffer. Several years ago, provoked by a TV documentary about pig farming, she visited a slaughterhouse....

“It was much worse than I thought it would be,” she recalls, shuddering “A lot of the pigs weren’t properly electrocuted, so they were falling off their hooks and were clearly conscious when they were killed. And there was an enormous amount of blood, it was just pouring out of them.” .... 

Another low was, continues Joan, watching sheep being loaded onto lorries, ready for live transportation overseas. “I think that’s one of the worst things I’ve ever seen,” she says....

“They were separated from their family and friends and loaded in so tightly they could hardly move. The whole place stank of ammonia. And I could see their faces, looking through the side of the trucks – and I couldn’t help them.” ..... 

On acts of violence in the name of animal rights, Joan says: “I am opposed to violence towards people as well as animals.” She admits: “One of the annoying things about getting older is that you can’t be as adventurous as you want to be...... 
 

"But, if I’m proud of anything, I’m proud of the fact I’ve stayed with it: I’ve never given up campaigning for animals to be treated with respect, as beings with their own internal, emotional lives. And I never will.”

 Joan’s memoir, The Bunny Hugging Terrorist, is out now in paperback. Published by Selene Press, it’s priced £9.99.
 
 
 
Published: 24/09/2009    

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Meet Jasmine, the rescue dog who has become a surrogate mother for the 50th time

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:11 PM on 31st December 2008

Perfect mum: Jasmine the greyhound with Bramble, the roe deer she is currently caring for

When Jasmine the abandoned greyhound arrived at a wildlife sanctuary shivering and desperate for food, she needed all the love in the world to nurse her back to full health.

Now it appears the kindness and patience shown to her has rubbed off - for the rescue dog has become a surrogate mother for the 50th time.

Seven-year-old Jasmine is currently caring for tiny Bramble, an 11-week-old roe deer fawn found semi-conscious in a nearby field.

She cuddles up to her to keep her warm, showers her with affection and makes sure nothing is matted in her fur. In short, the perfect foster mum.

But then again, she has had plenty of practice, having cared for five fox cubs, four badger cubs, 15 chicks, eight guinea pigs, two stray puppies and even 15 rabbits.

Jasmine was brought to the Nuneaton and Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary by the police in 2003, having been found dumped in a garden shed.

She was cold, filthy and malnourished. It took a few weeks for her to fully trust staff at the centre but with tender loving care she was nursed back to full fitness.

Five years on, Jasmine is now the one looking after stray waifs.

Geoff Grewcock, who runs the sanctuary, said: 'She simply dotes on the animals as if they were her on, it's incredible to see.

'She takes all the stress out of them and it helps them to not only feel close to her but
to settle into their new surroundings.

'As soon as an animal is brought in, she walks over takes a sniff or two and then licks and cuddles them.

'It is quite amazing, particularly as she is a greyhound breed and they are usually quite aggressive, That is why they are used for racing.

Jasmine with another one of her 'babies'. She has cared for 15 rabbits in total

'Jasmine was abused when she was younger, the police brought her to us after discovering her whimpering in a garden shed.

'She was very nervous around us, she was caked in mud and dust and very thin. It took a while but gradually she got used to us and has been at the centre ever since.

'Having been neglected herself, it's a real surprise to she her show so much warmth and affection to other creatures.

'It's not just animals, she is great which children too, she is such a gentle, big-hearted dog.'

Bramble the fawn arrived at the centre two months ago after a dog walker came across her in a field dazed and confused.

Until she is old enough to be released back into the wild, she will continue to be cared for by Jasmine.

Geoff added: 'They are inseparable at the moment, Bramble walks between her legs and they keep kissing each other.

Happy family: Pictured from left to right are Toby, a stray Lakeland dog; Bramble, an orphaned roe deer; Buster, a stray Jack Russell; a dumped rabbit; Sky, an injured barn owl, and Jasmine

'They walk together round the sanctuary. It's absolutely marvellous. It's a real treat to see them.

'But she is like that with all of our animals, even the rabbits which greyhounds usually chase down the track.

'I remember we had two puppies that had been abandoned by a nearby railway line, one was a Lakeland Terrier cross and another was a Jack Russell Doberman cross.

'They were tiny when they arrived at the centre and Jasmine approached them and grabbed one by the scruff of the neck in her mouth and put him on the settee.

'Then he fetched the other one and sat down with them, cuddling them.

'She has done the same with the fox and badger cubs, she licks the rabbits and guinea pigs and even lets the birds perch on the bridge of her nose.

'It's very touching. Her maternal instincts take over all the time.'

October 3, 2008

Every year during World Animal Week, October 4 - 10, we have the chance to celebrate the difference animals make in our lives, and to give something back to them.  This year WSPA offices, member societies, and supporters around the world are recognizing World Animal Week in a variety of ways - from running free spay/neuter clinics, to holding fairs and photo exhibitions and taking to the streets to collect petition signatures.  You can join us in celebrating this important event by taking part in the actions below:

Act beautiful for animals

WSPA has teamed up with international cosmetic and beauty chain The Body Shop to ask people around the world to make themselves beautiful by signing our petition to promote the Universal Declaration on Animal Welfare.  During World Animal Week, The Body Shop will encourage their in-store and online customers to add their name to the petition by visiting their interactive website.  You can make yourself beautiful by signing the declaration, or if you've already signed, by inviting your friends to do so at www.makeyourselfbeautiful.org . 

Get involved for animals

Help us achieve our mission of creating a better world for animals by participating in our projects for animals around the globe.  Visit our Urgent Action Needed page to take action on some critical issues affecting animals right now, make a donation in support of our work, or spread the word by telling others about WSPA's campaigns and projects. Also make sure to check out what our other offices around the world are doing to celebrate World Animal Week .

Make a difference for animals

Visit our website to find out about ten ways you can help animals . You'll find some great tips and simple yet effective actions you can take to make a difference for the animals around you - such as making more humane food choices, being a compassionate traveler, reporting cruelty to animals, living in harmony with your wild neighbors, and being considerate of your companion animals.  You can also download and print a poster with these tips to display in your office, home, or school - in honor of World Animal Week or year round!

http://www.petatv.com/tvpopup/video.asp?video=abc_the_talk_psa &Player=wm

 I would like to inform you about the Animal Medical Care Foundation, a foundation  set up to collect medicins and related care products for refuges. Our  refuge was added as a member . All info on the foundation can be found on www.animalmedicalcarefoundation.com

Alfred and I found this list at
http://cats.about.com/od/catsafety/qt/cattoxins.htm

Use Caution With Cats

This is by no means a list of everything on the planet that's bad for cats.
But it's a few of the things that should be avoided by themselves or as an
ingredient in something else.

Alpha lipoic acid
Also referred to as lipoic acid. It's an antioxidant that increases
production of glutathione and can cause gastrointestinal distress and low
blood sugar in cats.

Chocolate
This contains the alkaloid theobromine which is toxic to cats. It also
contains caffeine and may contain sugar.

Dairy
Dairy products include milk, cream, butter, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt,
whey, sour cream, kefir, casein, and ice cream. Milk is a hormonal growth
fluid produced by a mother for her young of the same species. Cats do not
"milk" cows (or mice) and, after weaning, have no need for dairy products.

A weaned cat isn't equipped with the enzymes needed to digest the protein
and sugar in dairy products. Plus, studies with cats show that casein (a
protein in milk) interferes with the absorption of other nutrients.

Drugs
No, not all drugs of course. But there are many drugs that are safe
(relatively speaking) for other animals that are very harmful to cats.
Examples include aspirin, acetaminophen, antihistamines, decongestants,
ibuprofen, NSAIDs, salicylates, and sodium phosphate enemas. Always be
certain that any drug you are considering is specifically safe for cats. And
always check the drug insert or the internet for possible side effects and
contraindications.

Essential Oils
Cats are very sensitive to the potent essential oils that may be used around
other animals, including yourself. If you wish to use aromatherapy for your
cats, look into the more dilute hydrosols. Use caution with cleaning
products that contain essential oils. Also make certain your cat doesn't get
into potpourri.

Grapes and Raisins
These are tricky because no one is certain yet why there have been recent
reports of toxicity due to grape and raisin ingestion. Until we know more,
they're best avoided.

Houseplants
There are too many houseplants that are toxic to cats to name here. Some
aren't toxic but, personally, I presume one is until I find out otherwise.
Let your cat know the only plant it may call its own is a nice pot of
wheatgrass or "cat grass."

Herbs
Let me be very clear that not all herbs are bad for cats. But, because there
are quite a few that are not recommended for them, I want to make sure you
check an herbal reference book for cats to be certain the ones you're
interested in are safe for felines. There are many wonderful herbs that can
be very useful in cat health. But, be sure they are specifically safe for
cats before using.

Onions and Garlic
Ingestion of onions and garlic are related to destruction of red blood
cells. They may also irritate the gastrointestinal system. There's still
debate about the harmful effects of garlic as many people including holistic
vets have used it in cats without problem, but I do want to inform you of
the potential risk. Our cats could probably ward off a vampire without the
aid of garlic anyway!

Raw Salmon
Salmon poisoning is an infectious disease caused by a rickettsia that uses a
parasitic fluke on salmon as a host. It can cause serious illness and death.

Soy
Soy is found in various forms in many products. It contains compounds that
may negatively affect cats by interfering with nutrient absorption, normal
growth, thyroid function, and hormonal development.

Sugar
Much research concludes that cancer cells thrive on sugar as do many other
disease processes. And sugar comes in many forms, including beet, raw,
brown, cane, fructose, corn sweetener, corn syrup, date, dextrin, dextrose,
glucose, lactose, maltose, manitol, polydextrose, sorbital, sorghum,
sucanat, sucrose, turbinado, barley malt, molasses, honey, and maple syrup.
Xylitol, a sweetener made from carbohydrate should also be avoided.

Yeast
This is a fungus that many cats cannot tolerate. It may cause allergic
reactions, bloating, digestive and urinary problems. Different forms include
brewer's, nutritional, baker's, torula, and primary yeasts.

alfred
alfred@thezohn.com

a heartwarming e mail i received the other day. somene gathered these sweet moving photos from the website go.funpic.hu and it goes like this:

"Now, I don't see the reason people have to get rid of their pet when they have a baby.

Silverado Senior Living Hangs Out Pet Welcome Mat