FixSanFrancisco.org

Today an article by Nathan Winograd appeared in the SF Examiner. In it, he questioned the effectiveness and commitment of the Commission on Animal Welfare.

Discussion of No Kill during the February 2010 AWC meeting.

Click Here to Listen to AWC February 2010 meeting discussion about No Kill

Alley Cat Rescue has asked veterinarians across the U.S. to participate in providing free Spay and Neuter procedures for feral cats on April 27. What a great idea! Will your vet participate? 

 California has been inundated with Chihuahuas! The solution? Airlift them to New York where there is a demand for small dogs. San Francisco's Animal Care and Control with Virgin America Airlines organized a transfer of several Chihuahuas to New York's ASPCA to solve both coast's problem. Several news sources covered the topic.

 Oreo, a female dog, was thrown from a 6 story building and survived only to be killed by the ASPCA because she was deemed to be untreatably aggressive. A nearby rescue group that specialized in rehabilitating and care of abused animals was willing to take Oreo in, but their request was refused.

 The SF SPCA board has announced that President, Jan McHugh-Smith has decided to leave the SPCA at the end of her current contract in March, 2010. FixSanFrancisco.org has long maintained that McHugh-Smith has been one of the major roadblocks to achieving No Kill in San Francisco. While this is very good news, there is much work yet to be done.

What FixSanFrancisco has been saying for over a year is now news in the local media. NBC aired a revealing segment on the evening news. While the piece refers to the recent layoffs, it also includes statistics on the SF/SPCA's shamefully low intake of San Francisco animals. And SPCA Director Jan McHugh-Smith finally admits that the huge new hospital is a financial disaster.

 In an apparent cost-saving move, the SF/SPCA lays off 20+ staff members and ends their internationally known Dog Training Academy. Also laid off were trainers who worked with shelter dogs, helping them to be model citizens. We are distressed to know that the training/behavior staff were the first to go as this further indicates a lack of commitment on the SPCA's part to The City's more challenging but still deserving homeless dogs and cats.

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary reports in their magazine's latest issue that "San Francisco is close to becoming "the first large no-kill city in the United States." FixSanFrancisco.org is featured.

 A highly critical article in the September issue of Northside Magazine exposes several failings of the SF/SPCA. Indeed, many of the issues focused on in the article are the very issues FixSF has identified and has been working to correct.