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Winter 2003 |
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UPDATE! |
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Compassion for Camden, Inc. - A Humane Society - Est. 1992 |
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In Memory of Sarah Our beloved companion and poster dog dies |
President's Notes: |
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It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our cherished Sarah. She suffered from gastric disorders and advanced cancer. Sarah died mercifully at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital in August of this year. Just last year marked her 10th homecoming anniversary. In our Winter 2002 issue of UPDATE we wrote “... found in misery in the fall of 1992...a loving black dog with compelling eyes and a certain magic...” Her enormous suffering and heroic recovery of more than ten years ago will not be forgotten. Sarah’s intelligence and sweetness, her joy for life and her devotion to us gave us the strengths to help untold others. Her patient interactions with the kids at local schools brought out the best in them. She was always eager to go, to appear in public as our “spokesdog” no matter where, but for Sarah the best part was to come back home again. In her memory we will continue with our efforts to protect animals from neglect and abuse and inspire others to become active. Our hearts are heavy, but our desire to help is unwavering. Sweet, gentle Sarah, we will never forget your brave last fight on earth on that tragic day in August. Thank you for all you have taught us. You will always be in our hearts.
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I lost my beloved dog. I am shocked and devastated. What went wrong? Did I do all that I could? In addition to the comfort and support I received from friends and family (thank you all) I searched for advise in all kinds of "pet loss" publications. But in the end I remained convinced that the rest of world wouldn’t understand. I didn’t want my loss to be trivialized, so I mourned in private and blamed my ailing exterior on a "death in the family". Which of course is true, but it was also an assurance that everyone would respect my sorrow. How sad that I felt this way. Thereby on page 2 we’re publishing my poem to Sarah that I wrote shortly after her death. It’s simply from the heart, just whatever came to mind, certainly no intellectual masterpiece. But it doesn’t matter because writing it made me feel a little better. Now I almost see it like an open line of communication available forever. Maybe someone else will try it. Maybe it will help. -Marion Churchill
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Sarah
You gave me the sunshine, you gave me your love.
You gave me the strength in all of these the years
Then, as you grew older each day had its number,
I held you and kissed you, and then you were gone.
The house now so empty, my dear special friend,
Your spirit will always remain in my heart.
I went to the beach where you and I sat, -Marion Churchill |
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Beau We hear from people involved in all kinds of predicaments, in need of all sorts of things like spaying and neutering, vet care, reports of a neighbor’s animal abuse, and sometimes just for advise. But, it’s not so often that someone calls with a need for emergency euthanasia. Such was the case of Mary, a senior citizen, living alone with her beloved dog Beau, a senior himself. The week before, Beau had suffered a household accident, but had seemingly recouped during the days that followed. On the day Mary called us, Beau’s body was grotesquely twisted with tremors, he was crying out in pain. Nothing that Mary had tried to alleviate his agony had helped. The time has come, she thought, I’ll call my vet to come and euthanize Beau. But, Mary didn’t know that this would not be as easy as all that. Her vet had no time for it. Mary doesn’t drive, has no nearby relatives or friends. And, although she has lived in her Camden, NJ neighborhood for decades, there was not a single soul willing to help, let alone offer to get Beau to a veterinary hospital. |
Watching in horror as Beau continued to deteriorate, she called every animal shelter and humane society in the book. Until at last, she found us. Initially I was shocked that her previous contacts and messages had resulted in outright refusals, or were simply ignored. No one had been willing to even offer an alternative. I told Mary to try to take a deep breath, I would call our longtime associate Rothman Animal Hospital in Collingswood, NJ, and get back to her within five minutes. It was enough time for veterinary technician Shelly to convince one of the vets to drop everything and rush to Mary’s house. By the time I called Mary back Beau’s condition had worsened. Mary was crying now, but elated at the news of the vet’s arrival. A short while later she called to thank me and to tell me that Beau had passed on. That she had comforted him to the very end and that she was sure he had gone in peace. The following week I lost my beloved Sarah. I know what you and Beau endured, dear Mary. -M.C. |
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In memory of animals everywhere:
- Author unknown |
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Camden County Animal Shelter
Bulletin: Are changes in the works? | |
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As reported in past issues of UPDATE, Camden County government is responsible for contracting the current shelter vendor/management. The county’s vendor consists of a group of politically connected people who allowed shelter animals to be used as test subjects for medical experimentation, a practice know as “pound seizure”. A fact that the group does not deny, they call it: “Advancing [our] humane purpose by promoting animal education.”
But witnesses saw no "humane purpose". Under oath they told the NJ SPCA that the animals involved suffered because
of the testing and most died as a result of it. The group responsible is known as Humane Society of Southern New Jersey
headed by Richard J. Perr, Esq., an attorney for
Fineman, Krekstein & Harris, P.C.,
Haddonfield, NJ. In March 2003 the
Superior Court ordered that the group end its practice of using shelter animals for experimentation. It is this same group that has run the county shelter from its inception in 1997. Year after year, the county’s contract was simply handed to them. Meaning, the public was never invited to bid on it. Until now. Over the summer the Camden County Freeholders passed three resolutions with regard to the shelter, a move based on public pressure and "lively encouragement" from us. |
Whether or not these seemingly good intentions, during an important election year, will hold any water is anyone’s guess. Resolution number one will allow for the "...competitive contracting for the procurement of operation and management services for the Camden County Animal Shelter ...there is a need to authorize the competitive contracting process... [and] has been approved by the Director of the Division of Local Government Services..." The next resolution extents the current contract with Perr’s group, but only on a "month-to-month basis." The third resolution authorizes an “agreement between the County of Camden and Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for consultation services for the Camden County Animal Shelter.” This service by HSUS will cost taxpayers $19,623.00. Thus far, the second and third resolutions have been acted upon. The evaluation team from HSUS conducted their tour of the county shelter in October. Prior to their visit the Richard J. Perr, Esq. group made sure that adoption hours were extended, the place was tidied up, and this and that. The sort of thing one does before company arrives. Maybe more. |
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The folks from HSUS solicited written public comments regarding the shelter. In addition to our remarks we requested that the team meet with us. A meeting for three of our members was granted. We were allowed ten minutes each to speak before a group of four, made up of two HSUS employees and two outside consultants. HSUS’s eventual recommendations to the county now rests in their hands. The following is the organization’s Position Statement on Pound Seizure: “The Humane Society of the United States is convinced that the surrender of impounded animals from public and private shelters to biomedical research laboratories, training institutions, pharmaceutical houses, and other facilities that use animals for experimental teaching or testing purposes contributes to a breakdown of effective animal-control programs - the Society believes that animal shelters should not be a cheap source of supply for laboratories or pursue, voluntarily or otherwise, a practice that will inevitably destroy public confidence in its operation - the Society condemns any organization, calling itself a humane society or a society for the prevention of cruelty to animals, that voluntarily sells or gives animals in its custody to biomedical research laboratories.” For the full text please see: http://www.hsus.org/ace/11431 |
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Richard J. Perr, Esq., et al, files classic SLAPP suit The vendor (Humane Society of Southern NJ) for the Camden County Animal Shelter, under the direction of shelter chairman Richard J. Perr, Esq., an attorney with Fineman, Krekstein & Harris, P.C., Haddonfield, NJ. instituted a SLAPP suit against us. It arrived prior to a Camden County sponsored shelter evaluation by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). See page 3. Their SLAPP states, among other things, that we “provoked the NJ SPCA to investigate and prompted former employees to offer perjured affidavits.”
How preposterous! SLAPP suits are nothing new. A SLAPP suit, which stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, is an easy and often relatively inexpensive device available for shutting up members of the public who voice opposition. Typically, a SLAPPer brings causes of action for defamation, conspiracy, abuse of process, interference with contract, and other common-law claims. SLAPPers do not sue to achieve a litigation outcome; rather, they file to silence their opposition. Generally, the mere filing of the suit — or just the threat of suit — accomplishes that purpose. Read more about SLAPPs.
Common sense dictates that Richard J. Perr, Esq. has gone to extraordinary lengths to cover-up the horrors at the Camden County Animal Shelter in order to protect his career as a lawyer and a politician. Including, having someone sneak into one of our meetings with a tape recorder! The Richard J. Perr, Esq. et al, SLAPP has been submitted to the court by Charles Shimberg, Esq. and Timothy J. Szuhaj, Esq., of Haddonfield, NJ. Additional efforts on the part of these lawyers to destroy us include requests for IRS and Attorney General investigations. We hope these agencies will find time for this. Another note of interest: judging by the Haddonfield attorneys’ letterhead and website, they appear to be associates of New Jersey Assemblyman Louis D. Greenwald, Esq. In addition to Perr, the rest of the SLAPPers seem to be made up of the following board members: Edward Sheehan, DVM. Kristin Walker. James Clarke. Peggy Dorsey. Glenn McCleery. Nicholas Troiano. Susan Van Ackooy. Jay Feinman. Robert Wright. Shawn Huber. |
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We will not be silenced! Instead we will continue to demand justice for the animals who suffered and died at the hands of monsters in an impoundment facility that calls itself the Camden County Animal Shelter. |
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A note from years ago, and now Some of you might remember our efforts back in 1996 to enhance animal welfare at another animal shelter in Camden County. At the time we did exactly what we’re doing now, solicited help from the public as well as the county. This too was a bitter subject. There were threats of law suits, and it was slow moving at first. But we didn’t let up. |
Momentum grew steadily, county freeholders listened, installed temporary staff and provided some badly needed funds. While we can not take credit for all the good things that followed, we will take credit for bringing a bad situation to light. Currently that shelter, due mostly to a caring and hardworking group of volunteers, boasts one of the best adoption rates in the state! - M.C. |
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The Christmas Puppies |
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The call for help came from Susan, a caring East Camden resident, about two weeks before Christmas, “- a mother dog and her puppies near death - all have mange.” I did what I usually do first, contacted a couple of trusted animal control officers and volunteers. None spotted the dogs. It was disturbing because Susan insisted that she continued to seen the sad little band of three. It was freezing cold the following Saturday. I made up my mind to try for myself and made arrangements with Shelly at the animal hospital. She would stand by. Then I searched in vein to find someone to come along. I understood, people rush around just before the holidays, they have things to do. Still, I was frustrated as I set off early Sunday morning. Midway I called Shelly at home. She encouraged me the best she could, but frankly didn’t have much hope. Partly to blame was the weather, cold, windy, just miserable. Once in East Camden, and in what seemed to be the logical order of things, I began by interviewing the caller, surveyed the neighborhood and inspected abandoned buildings. Nothing, only decay. Then I discovered a man working on a car in an alley behind row houses. The alley could easily been mistaken as someone’s driveway and might explain prior failures of locating the dogs. |
The place matched the rest of the neighborhood, topped off with a sad looking, chained dog. The guy didn’t look in any mood to talk, but I had to try anyway. I approached and almost immediately spotted two nearly naked, mange infested pups under the car. They were shivering and clung to each other for dear life. The man was distinctly aware of the puppies, their plight seemed of no concern. I proceeded with my usual routine, introduction, explanation, business card and so on. There was no response, including to my question about the mother dog, only to go ahead and do whatever. Good enough to get the van. I stowed the pups safely away. Both collapsed into the warmth of the van’s blankets and almost immediately fell asleep. I thanked the man anyway, mentioning that we’re available to help out with vet care and left my card under the wiper. Sadly, two days later the mother dog was found dead. I never heard from the man again but Susan later told me that she was surprised when he inquired about her vet hospital. The puppies were named Holly and Noel. Both recuperated within a couple of weeks. Holly found a loving home in Mt. Laurel and Noel now lives in Cherry Hill. |
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