Thanks
to the generosity of our community, the reward for information leading
to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who dumped a
severely injured horse on Monday, January 14 has been raised to $6,000.
The horse, a white mare believed to be in her late 20’s, was found in a
pasture near 800 River Road.
SPCA Humane Officers arrived at the scene to investigate and called Dr.
Heather Baker from Monterey County Equine, Inc. to perform an emergency
medical evaluation Monday evening. The mare was suffering from multiple
severely infected wounds around the carpus (knee) on her right leg.
Radiographic evidence taken on scene showed significant injury to the
joint and revealed that the injury was at least three weeks or more old
and that there had been previous injuries to the leg.
In
addition, she was suffering from ringbone (arthritis) in her left leg,
exacerbated by the additional weight the leg was forced to bear due to
the injury to her right
leg. She also had an obvious previous trauma to the left eye resulting
in blindness, a partial
cataract in her right eye, pressure marks on her head and face that
appeared to be from a halter left on too tightly, an ulcerated vulva,
and she was emaciated. Due to the severity of her injuries, Dr. Baker
strongly recommended and performed humane euthanasia.
If
caught, the owners could be charged with the following offenses:
California Penal Code Sections 597.1 (Permitting Animals to go Without
Veterinary Care), Penal Code 597 (Animal Cruelty), Penal Code 597(b)
(Deprivation of Food, Water, and Shelter), and Penal Code 597s
(Abandonment).
If
you have any information about this case or can identify the horse in
these pictures, please contact The SPCA at 831-373-2631 or 422-4721 x213
or report
online. All calls are completely confidential. To
donate to The SPCA, please
click here.
Puppy Abandoned in Seaside Dumpster: SPCA Offers
$1,000 Reward
The SPCA is offering a
$1,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of
the person or persons who abandoned a puppy in a dumpster in Seaside.
A
concerned citizen brought the puppy to The SPCA on Thursday, January 31 after children
found the tiny puppy in a dumpster near a church at Noche Buena and
Hilby in Seaside. The puppy was immediately examined by SPCA
Veterinarian Dr. Carol Iida, who aged him at two weeks old. The
puppy, who SPCA staff named "Oscar" after the famous Sesame Street
character, will go into skilled foster care and receive bottle
feedings every two hours.
Animal Control officers searched the scene to locate additional
puppies. None were found.
If
you have any information about this case, please contact The SPCA at
831-373-2631 or 422-4721 x213. All calls are completely confidential.
3/31:
Big News!! Oscar was adopted into a wonderful new home.
3/18:
Oscar gets some cuddle time.
3/11:
Oscar begging for a treat. How can you resist that face?
3/4:
Oscar really enjoyed his first stuffed Kong treat!
3/4:
Oscar loves his favorite toy, a bulldog dressed as a cheerleader.
3/3:
Here's Oscar on his new bed, donated by
Hooties
Heavy Duty Pet Beds. Oscar has a little growing to do it fit
his new bed, but it won't be long!
2/28: Stay
Tuned...Oscar is visiting The SPCA tomorrow and we will be taking
pictures for his blog!
2/27: We
love Oscar! He's a big boy who weighs five pounds now. His
current favorite toy (besides his buddy Oscar the cat) is a little
stuffed bulldog dressed as a cheerleader.
2/25:
Oscar went from walking to running in the blink of an eye. He's
looking like a real dog!
2/22:
Oscar is doing very well. He walks like a big dog now and loves to
play with his new best friend: a cat four times his size who is also
named Oscar!
2/15:
Oscar tried his first solid food. Needless to say, he figured it
out quickly.
2/13:
Oscar catching some Z's....
2/8: We wanted to share a new video of Oscar. He has grown
so fast since his rescue. And he sure loves his bottle!
2/7: Feeding time! Oscar is eating well and
everyone is falling in love with him.
2/6: We want to share a new photo of Oscar with you. As you
can see, he is doing very well!
2/5: Oscar is starting to try to walk (very clumsily, of course)
and keeping his eyes open for longer periods of time. His ears are
now open and he is beginning to respond to voices.
2/4: Oscar seems to be thriving in his foster home. Thank you
to everyone who called or emailed with their well-wishes and support for
Oscar and The SPCA!
The
SPCA is offering a $2,500 reward for information about "Cirrus," a puppy
rescued by SPCA Humane Officers. Cirrus' owner wanted the
puppy to look and act mean, so he used common household scissors to
crudely cut off the puppy's ears and tail. When confronted, he
claimed that "dogs don't feel pain."
The owner also deprived the puppy of food and water in an attempt to
make him act like a fierce dog.
"There's no doubt Cirrus suffered great pain and distress," said SPCA
Veterinarian Carol Iida. "His tail had two cuts as though his owner hit
bone on the first attempt and had to try again. Even surgical
cropping and docking have been outlawed in many countries as unnecessary
and painful."
Cirrus'
former owner has been charged with two felonies, Penal Code Section
597(A) (Torture or Mutilate an Animal) and Penal Code Section 597(B)
(Deprive an Animal of Drink or Shelter). The SPCA is also
rescued Cirrus' two littermates, including
"Naomi" (pictured here, with Cirrus).
If you know of any potential witnesses to this horrendous act or have
any additional information about this case that leads to the
conviction of Cirrus' former owner, please contact us at 831-373-2631 or
422-4721 x213 or report online
here. All calls are completely confidential.
Cirrus and his sisters
have all been adopted into new, loving homes.
On Wednesday, October
24, The SPCA for Monterey County rescued 46 cats and kittens from a
horrific hoarding situation on San Miguel Canyon Road.
The
cats and kittens were confined to dog crates filled with newspaper and
pet waste. Each crate held one to three cats. The vast majority of the
crates contained so much waste that the cats inside had only 4 to 6
inches of living space and were unable to stand or groom themselves (one
cat is visible in the photo on the right).
SPCA staff and
volunteers worked late into the night to give each cat a thorough
medical evaluation. For their own safety, the cats were transported to
the SPCA shelter in the crates that they had been living in. Once at
the shelter, the cats were carefully removed from the crates and given
individual medical evaluations. Two Veterinarians, one Registered
Veterinary Technician, and dozens of SPCA staff were on scene.
One cat
required immediate humane euthanasia upon arrival. The cats that appear
feral were relocated to a comfortable room with large cages and the cats
that could be handled are now in a cat colony room. For some, it might
be the first time they could stand and walk freely in months if not
years.
The SPCA for Monterey County will be evaluating the
cats for any underlying medical conditions caused by their horrific
living situation. The cats are currently being treated for flea and
lice infestations due to their horrific confinement.
To learn how you can help or to put your name on a
list of potential adopters or fosters, please contact The SPCA at
831-373-2631 or 422-4721.
To donate to the care and medical treatment of
these cats and kittens, please call The SPCA or
donate online.
Dramatic Horse Rescue Ends Happily (Click on the photo below to view more rescue photos!)
On
Saturday, August 25th, SPCA Humane Officer Rosanna Leighton and SPCA
Maintenance Manager Justin Adams played integral roles rescuing a horse
off Monterey Dunes Road in Marina. The horse, a 21 year old
gelding named Aban, had been accidentally ridden into a marsh area and
become stuck in the thick, dark mud.
Rescue
workers, including The SPCA for Monterey County, the
Felton Fire
Department, the North County Fire Department, and California State Parks,
immediately reported to the scene to save the helplessly stuck horse.
Officer Leighton comforted the horse and his distraught owner and helped
extricate the horse from the mud - a delicate operation that took almost
three hours.
"It was
so wonderful to work together with all these organizations to make sure
Aban was able to get out of this terrible situation unscathed," said
Officer Leighton.
"When
Aban was finally pulled out of the mud, the first thing he did was take
a big bite of grass," said The SPCA's Justin Adams. "Watching the
teams work so effortlessly together to save a horse in need was
impressive and the professionalism of everyone involved helped keep the
horse calm during a stressful situation."
Next
month, The SPCA will be hosting a Large Animal Rescue training at our
shelter. This training, part of the fire service training and
education program series, is designed to provide volunteer and career
fire fighters with hands-on training in Large Animal Rescue operations.
On
May 24th, The SPCA rescued two adorable puppies abandoned on Highway
68. The box was left close to traffic on this busy road and the puppies
were large enough to easily jump out. Their previous owner took time to
write about the puppies, named Roudy and Precious, on the side of the
box but risked the puppies' lives (and the lives of passing motorists)
by leaving them on the side of the dangerous road when The SPCA was just
minutes away.
The box
had a bathmat on the bottom and was filled with kibble. The side
of the box read:
"Sorry.
Black dog with white, her name is Roudy. The light brown dog, her
name is Precious. Please forgive me. Please find them good
homes."
If you
have animals you can no longer keep for any reason, please don't
hesitate to bring them to The SPCA where they will be safe. Our
compassionate and caring staff will treat you with respect and
understanding. We will also ensure that animals surrendered to us
are spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and given health and temperament
evaluations before being adopted into new homes.
Since
their previous owner left no information about their vaccination
history, we can not safely adopt Roudy and Precious until we know they
are healthy. In the meantime, Roudy and Precious are happy, warm, and
safe at The SPCA.
Email us if you are interested in
adopting Roudy or Precious once they are available!
Update
on Pacific Grove Hoarding Case Cats
In
February of 2005, The SPCA for Monterey County rescued 136 cats from a
hoarder in Pacific Grove. The cats had been found in deplorable
conditions, with many suffering from severe upper-respiratory infections
and others infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and
suffering other long-term physical problems caused by living in such
horrific conditions.
We are
pleased to announce that now, almost three years later, the last cat
rescued from this case was finally adopted into a lifelong, loving home
(his adoption day is pictured here)
Sadly, hoarding is an ongoing problem in our
community (click here
to
learn about a more recent hoarding case). Hoarding cases often go
unreported. If you have concerns about someone who might be
hoarding, neglecting, or abusing animals, please contact us at
831-373-2631 or 422-4721 or report online here. All reports are
confidential.
Thanks
to the generosity of our community, the reward for information leading
to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who dumped a
severely injured horse on Monday, January 14 has been raised to $6,000.
The horse, a white mare believed to be in her late 20’s, was found in a
pasture near 800 River Road. 
The
SPCA is offering a $2,500 reward for information about "Cirrus," a puppy
rescued by SPCA Humane Officers. Cirrus' owner wanted the
puppy to look and act mean, so he used common household scissors to
crudely cut off the puppy's ears and tail. When confronted, he
claimed that "dogs don't feel pain." 
Cirrus'
former owner has been charged with two felonies, Penal Code Section
597(A) (Torture or Mutilate an Animal) and Penal Code Section 597(B)
(Deprive an Animal of Drink or Shelter). The SPCA is also
rescued Cirrus' two littermates, including
"Naomi" (pictured here, with Cirrus).
Cirrus and his sisters
have all been adopted into new, loving homes.
The
cats and kittens were confined to dog crates filled with newspaper and
pet waste. Each crate held one to three cats. The vast majority of the
crates contained so much waste that the cats inside had only 4 to 6
inches of living space and were unable to stand or groom themselves (one
cat is visible in the photo on the right).
One cat
required immediate humane euthanasia upon arrival. The cats that appear
feral were relocated to a comfortable room with large cages and the cats
that could be handled are now in a cat colony room. For some, it might
be the first time they could stand and walk freely in months if not
years. 
On
May 24th, The SPCA rescued two adorable puppies abandoned on Highway
68. The box was left close to traffic on this busy road and the puppies
were large enough to easily jump out. Their previous owner took time to
write about the puppies, named Roudy and Precious, on the side of the
box but risked the puppies' lives (and the lives of passing motorists)
by leaving them on the side of the dangerous road when The SPCA was just
minutes away. 
In
February of 2005, The SPCA for Monterey County rescued 136 cats from a
hoarder in Pacific Grove. The cats had been found in deplorable
conditions, with many suffering from severe upper-respiratory infections
and others infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and
suffering other long-term physical problems caused by living in such
horrific conditions.
