Itchmo: News For Dogs & Cats

Donor newsletters are nice, but I’m a research glutton who craves more information about her favorite non-profits. If you want a closer look at how humane charities or other non-profit organizations handle their funds, IRS regulations can help. Tax-exempt organizations must provide certain financial information and forms to the public (donors and non-donors) on request.

Feeling shy? No need to walk into a building, write a letter or pick up your phone. You can find records for 1.7 million organizations – both local and national – online at GuideStar.org. Basic registration is required, but it’s free, and other than the general “welcome” e-mail, my own registration did not seem to generate additional inbox traffic.

After you search for a charity as a registered user, click the “View Report” button. Additional information such as the number of employees and the organization’s mission may be listed, and you can scroll down further to reach .pdf files of various tax forms related to the organization.

Information varies by form, but may include
• A list of directors and compensation for those directors, if any
• Expenses related to salaries and wages, veterinary care and more
• A list of employees or contractors receiving more than $50,000 per year, if any
• Revenue broken down by sources, such as adoption fees and private contributions

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Pictures sent in by Sheryl.

This is what Sheryl wrote about her dogs Jasper (top) and Jake (bottom):

Jasper is my retired Service Dog. I am disabled and he has helped me keep my balance and prevented me from falling as well as carried objects for me and brought me things I needed. He was a pound puppy when I got him, and after I became disabled he decided that he wanted to help me, so I trained him to be my Service Dog.

Jake is my Service Dog in training. He has some pretty big paws to fill after Jasper, but he is doing wonderfully and will be a great helper and partner that I can depend on.

Jasper is now nine-years-old and Jake is now one-year-old although he was only 6 months when the picture was taken.

Service Dogs are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have forgotten how to fly!

Pongo could never forget his way home.

This nine-year-old basset hound and blue heeler mix went missing for nearly 2 1/2 weeks after a tornado damaged the Harris’ home and Pongo’s dog house in early February.

When the tornado hit the Arkansas house, Katresa Harris and her two children were inside the house with their other two dogs. But Pongo was outside, and he ran away during the storm when the tornado broke open the fence.

The family put up posters of Pongo and put them all over the city. They searched animal shelters and everywhere else to find their missing dog. Since they couldn’t live inside their house because of the extensive damage, they drove by everyday to check to see if he was there and to put out food and water for Pongo just in case he came by.

But this last Friday, Harris went back to the house to check to see if Pongo was there, and the dog poked his head out of the dog house and ran to his owners.

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Two Maine women are questioning why the Animal Welfare Program, a state agency within the Maine Department of Agriculture, did not quickly act when they brought up concerns about a facility run by a Somerville woman.

The Animal Welfare Program stated that they didn’t have enough evidence to search the alleged “puppy mill” until a month ago.

Fern Clark was charged with five counts of aggravated animal cruelty on January 30. Her home was raided by animal welfare officials after the arrest of a Massachusetts woman in New Hampshire.

Amy Moolic of Dracut, Mass., was arrested after she was discovered to have 22 dogs — two of them dead — in her vehicle. Moolic told police she had saved 10 of the animals from a puppy mill in Somerville owned by Clark.

Jessica Andrews and Linda Moody both filed complaints with the state in 2005 when they went inside of Clark’s home and saw the horrible conditions that the animals were in.

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Picture sent in by Candace.

Sassy

Petco has announced that they will reduce the number of animals for sale in its stores nationwide by 30 percent.

The company said they are making space for more products as they are trying to tailor stores to local markets.

Petco spokesman Kevin Whalen said the decision was based on the results of a test that started in November 2007. He stated that Petco is taking customer needs into consideration and is aiming to keep animals in stores for a shorter period.

But People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said that Petco’s move is because of their investigation of Rainbow World Exotics (RWE) in Hamilton, Texas, one of Petco’s animal suppliers. An undercover PETA investigator recorded abuse and neglect of birds and other animals.

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Demetrius Wells, a Maryland man, has been charged with animal cruelty after authorities said he failed to seek medical care for his dog.

In November, a veterinarian diagnosed Wells’ pit bull with glaucoma and told him that the dog would suffer great pain if he wasn’t treated.

The veterinarian referred Wells to doctors who could treat his dog, but he said he could not afford the treatment and failed to treat the dog’s glaucoma.

In December, Wells’ dog was euthanized by animal control officers because the pit bull was in severe pain.

Wells was charged with animal cruelty and failing to provide necessary veterinary care.

Source: NBC4