Covid-19: No Evidence of Transmission to Humans from Pets

The CDC recommendations to avoid Corona Virus include washing hands and keeping social distance. There have been stories in the news over the past months reporting people who do not understand how the virus spreads thinking they could catch it from their pets. Some have asked for euthanasia of healthy pets due to this misinformation. 

You cannot catch the Corona virus (Covid-19) from pets. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Organisation for Animal Health have issued advisories saying there is no evidence that companion animals can spread the coronavirus.

Shelters are seeing an uptick in surrendered pets, due to myths about how it spreads, but also due to those who get sick and don't have a plan for their animals. 

What can you do? 

-Educate family and friends that their pets are safe to keep with them during this pandemic.

-Have a plan for who will care for your pets if you become too ill to stay home with them. This plan should have several layers of people who can be called upon to care for your pets. Include contact information of each person.

-Have crates, food, and extra supplies on hand for movement and relocation of pets if necessary.

-Pets should have proper identification: a collar with ID tag and a microchip with current, up-to date contact information.

For more information: HSUS Blog Post 

HSUS Lobby Day info - March 12, 2019

This year's HSUS Lobby Day in TN will be held on March 12 in Nashville, TN.

As the District Leader from TN Congressional District 3, I will be attending with a small constituency from Chattanooga, along with my District Leader counterparts from all over the state.

The focus of this year's Lobby Day is to talk to our representatives about the Petland bill, H. B. 281.
This bill would take away the right of local governments to set standards for stores that sell puppies.

This bill protects Petland over other businesses, and would serve to allow them to continue their outdated business model. Similar bills have already been defeated in 2018, in every state where Petland attempted to gain favor-GA, FL, and MI.

Petland will have paid lobbyists in Nashville tomorrow.

Petland's issues are well-documented online. They sell sick puppies from well-known puppy mills. Outbreaks of Campylobacter, an antibiotic resistant infection, have occurred among people who bought puppies from Petland.

One of my primary concerns in going to speak on this issue is that while the local governments would no longer have any jurisdiction over the animals in Petland stores (read: our local animal control cannot check on these animals or respond to public complaints of neglect in the stores), it would be the burden of these same local government officials (shelters and animal control officers) to clean up the mess of their over-population, sick puppies, and potentially euthanizing excess animals.

Regulating pet stores is key in managing these issues.

The most profitable stores in the nation do not sell puppies. 

Stores selling poorly cared for puppies that originated in questionable conditions is an outdated model. Petco and Petsmart and many local, independent pet care stores hold adoption events and support their local shelters. They support rescue and offer space to help facilitate adoptions from those rescues.

Another point to consider is that responsible dog breeder clubs conclude that selling animals via stores is inhumane, and include a statement forbidding it in their own code of ethics.

Humane legislation is bipartisan. 

So, my first greeting on Lobby Day will be, "Hello, I am Mary Marr, one of your constituents, and I am here today to ask you to vote NO on the Petland bill. The number is HB 281."

If you would like to read the exact text of the entire bill: http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0281

Sticky Chemical Bird Repellent is So Dangerous for Local Wildlife

We are seeing many more birds come into the wildlife rehab covered in a sticky substance that won't come off. I found out it is a repellant called polybutylene. It comes in a form that can be sprayed and it does more than repel, it's been quite deadly for the small birds who have come in contact with it.

If you have a wildlife rehab group in your area, you may want to ask them to share info about this with their followers. This stuff leads to a pretty awful death for wildlife.

I found more info on our own HSUS page about pigeons, but same goes for all birds:

NEVER use polybutylene gel. Sticky gel repellents made from polybutene can harm all birds and any animal that comes in contact with it. The HSUS strongly recommends that these dangerous repellents be avoided at all costs. The feathers of any bird who comes into contact with the dense, sticky gel will become damaged, interfering with their ability to fly and to stay water-proofed.

These gel repellents are not selective. Other birds are likely to land on the gel, get stuck, and die a slow death. The polybutene gels are particularly harmful to smaller species.

http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/pigeons/tips/solving_problems_pigeons.html#.Wy0uFDFALCc.facebook

Petland Hires Consulting Veterinarian

Only two comments so far, both negative. Their reputation for sick puppies precedes them.

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/petland-retail-franchise-hires-consulting-veterinarian/?en_click=1&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=news

A friend passed this along to me, it may be of interest: There's some great opportunities coming up this spring in the form of online courses. Fees usually range from $25-35/class. I've done a bunch of these classes over the years and I always learn so much. Plus this facility is one of the best (I'm biased, of course) and has been around a long time. I remember visiting when I was 10years old. <3

https://www.facebook.com/pg/wildlifecenter/events/?ref=page_internal

Class Info:
https://www.wildlifecenter.org/wildlife-care-academy

Fashionista News on Fur-Free Fashions

Michael Kors, the luxury fashion brand and the designer, is going fur-free.

Gucci went fur-free last month. Armani and Ralph Lauren are already opting for innovation and shunning cruelty.

This is the humane economy in action.

#humaneeconomy 

Read more in Wayne's blog: https://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2017/12/breaking-news-fashion-icon-michael-kors-goes-fur-free.html 

Compassion Fatigue Workshop

Please share info about our upcoming event to all interested parties!

Our audience will be animal shelter control officers, animal care workers, vet staff, and rescue groups.

Hilary is a well-known and inspiring speaker!

Limited tickets available:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/compassion-fatigue-workshop-tickets-36812756947

Compassion Fatigue Workshop

We will hold a Compassion Fatigue Workshop in November.
The workshop will feature HSUS author and speaker Hilary Hager.
She has presented on the topic at HSUS Expo as well as small groups like ours.

For ticket information and full details please view our site:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/compassion-fatigue-workshop-tickets-36812756947

Compassion Fatigue Workshop 2017

July 4th and Your Animal Shelter

This will be a very busy week for animal shelters due to firework displays. It is a great time to do something kind for your community animal shelter!

Ideas:

1. Stop by with treats for staff and animals.
2. Post the shelter wishlist on your social media pages and ask friends and family to share it as well.
3. Ask what supplies are needed and do a local supply drive (include a donation bin at the pet store!"

One act of kindness can change a life. What will your act be? Tell us about it in the comments. 

Compassion Fatigue Conference - Save The Date!

Shelter friends, rescue friends, and vet tech friends!

Please put this event that I'm working on with our local HSUS team onto your calendars. 

On November 7 and 8, 2017, we will be bringing a special speaker to Chattanooga for a conference on Compassion Fatigue. 

Hilary Hager has been with the HSUS since 2011. She is a frequent author in Animal Sheltering magazine, and has a special interest in the area of compassion fatigue in animal care workers. 

You can read more about Hilary here: https://www.animalsheltering.org/authors/hilary-hagerhttps://www.animalsheltering.org/authors/hilary-hager

Right now, we are in the process of figuring out the numbers of people who might attend, and securing a location. Then we will work on possible local sponsors to help us with goodies and food. We have definitely secured Hilary for these dates, however, so I wanted to let you know and make sure you could go ahead and please "save the date". 

I think this is going to be a great couple of days of learning about a topic that is so near and dear to our hearts! 

SAVE THE DATE

Compassion Fatigue Conference

Featuring: Hilary Hager, HSUS 

November 7-8, 2017

Chattanooga, TN 

Location: TBA

Mary M Weber Marr

District Leader Volunteer
Tennessee Congressional District 3
  
humanesociety.org
 

Inez - Lost Dog in North Chattanooga

Chou Chou

One of my favorite internet pics is this cat photo that I saved years ago.

Detroit's New "Dangerous" Animal Ordinance

There's some good wording in this ordinance. There's also a reference sheet which is well written and concise.

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/detroit-passes-new-ordinance-to-keep-potentially-dangerous-pets-from-roaming-streets

(screenshot of the news story)

There's also a printable, summarized reference sheet in PDF format:

https://media.clickondetroit.com/document_dev/2017/03/14/Dangerous%20Animal%20Fact%20Sheet_9125884_ver1.0.pdf


Some of our local laws haven't been revised in my lifetime, so I'm always interested in reading new versions of animal control rules and the plans for enforcing them fairly.

Bills, Bills, Bills

Help! 

I want to get these kinds of updates for our local, TN bills but I don't think you can? Does anyone know a way?

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Congress.gov <noreply@congress.gov>
Date: Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 8:51 AM
Subject: H.R.861 - Changes to Cosponsors
To: webermarr@gmail.com

H.R.861 - To terminate the Environmental Protection Agency. (115th Congress) has changes in

• Cosponsors

To cancel or manage your selections, go to Alerts.
Alerts Help

Sunday's Chattanooga Times Free Press Letters to the Editor page

From Sunday's Chattanooga Times Free Press

Letters to the Editor Page

03/05/2017

Oppose inhumane hunting in Alaska

I was outraged that the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.J. Resolution 69, authored by Alaska's Rep. Don Young.

This rule will overturn a federal rule years in the making, crafted by professional wildlife managers, aimed at stopping some of the most horrific hunting practices imaginable — killing wolf pups in the den, killing hibernating mother bears and cubs, scouting grizzly bears from aircraft and then shooting them after landing and trapping grizzly and black bears with steel-jawed, leg-hold traps and snares.

The resolution, endorsed by the NRA, Safari Club International and other trophy-hunting lobbyists, will allow these atrocities in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuges — publicly owned land paid for at taxpayer expense.

Please call Sens. Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander and let them know their constituents do not support these activities on our federal public lands. Urge them to vote "no" on S.J. Res. 18.

Mary Marr, Hixson

Letters to the Editor per Trophy Hunting in AK

To the Editor:

I was outraged that the US House of Representatives, passed H.J. Resolution 69, authored by Alaska’s Rep. Don Young. It is the most cruel, heartless anti-wildlife maneuver I have seen in my lifetime.

This rule will overturn a Federal rule years in the making, crafted by professional wildlife managers, aimed at stopping some of the most horrific hunting practices imaginable including killing wolf pups in the den, killing hibernating mother bears and cubs, scouting grizzly bears from aircraft and then shooting them after landing, and trapping grizzly and black bears with steel-jawed leg hold traps and snares. These practices are inhumane and should remain illegal. 

This Resolution, endorsed by the NRA, Safari Club International and other trophy hunting lobbyists, will allow these atrocities Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges—publicly owned land paid for at taxpayer expense. Wildlife watchers outnumber hunters by 5:1 in AK & spend five times more than hunters!

The Senate will soon vote on the companion joint resolution, Senate Joint Resolution 18. Please call Sens. Corker and Alexander, and let them know their constituents do not support these activities on our federal public lands. Urge them to vote “no” on S.J. Res. 18!

Mary Marr

Twitter Tweets Per the @USDA

🐦 Twitter peeps: will you copy and post one of these today:

.@USDA animal welfare records are taxpayer funded. Restore now. #noblackout

Animal abusers should not be protected @USDA. Restore all records now. #noblackout

.@USDA do not hide animal abusers and their cruel actions. Restore animal welfare records now. #noblackout

.<@yourlegislator’s TwitterHandle> please urge @USDA to restore all animal welfare records.#noblackout

Mary at the HSUS in Washington, DC last year

If you want to politely call the USDA today, let me know and I'll give you the number. 👌🏼

HSUS Takes Action to Challenge USDA's Removal of Abuse Records

We were so close to having our horse soring rules come to fruition, then last week a 'freeze' came out from the government, stating that all new rules would be reviewed first. A terrible blow to so many who have worked so hard to get this passed. Then, later in the week, word came out that the USDA (our partner in the recent horse soring campaign) had removed all records pertaining to animal welfare from their website. Needless to say, this has caused an uproar in our humane education and animal activism community.

I'm coming to the conclusion that we need to decide as a nation if we care about humane legislation or not. Why does it take years upon years, and then ridiculous setbacks, to simply create a society that doesn't abuse the most vulnerable? This is a terrible heartbreak for me and many others.

Do you feel the same? Please read on for ways to help.

HSUS Puppy Mill image

Today the HSUS sent a strongly worded notice to the USDA per their taking down all abuse records from their site last week.The notice outlines the ways in which the USDA's actions are in violation of our prior agreement. You can read the full notice here in PDF form (from the HSUS blog):

http://blog.humanesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-02-06-Notice-of-Violation_HSUS-v-USDA-No.-15-0197.pdf

Please share the link to the notice and help us keep the pressure up for these records to be returned to the public's view.

We also have a blog post that outlines the impact of these actions in easy to understand points:


http://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2017/02/hsus-challenges-usda-mass-removal-animal-welfare-records.html?credit=blog_post_020617_id8766

IF you are looking for ways to help, please sign the petition mentioned in the post and share these details with your network.

The petition link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/304/134/376/

I would like to publicly thank Laura J. Fox, counsel for HSUS, and also Kimberly D. Ockene, Senior Attorney for HSUS, for writing the notice and keeping us informed throughout the process. We have the best of the best taking this on, but we need support from citizens and animal activists.

To keep up with this situation, follow the HSUS on all social media. In addition to Wayne's blog linked above, you can find our TN Puppy Mill Awareness Task Force on Facebook.

Thank you. Any comments or feedback welcome, please post below.

Humane Lobby Day 2017

Met with our 26th district House Representative yesterday, Gerald McCormick, to ask for his support on this year's HSUS focus bill in TN: the commercial breeder act, a.k.a. the puppy mill bill.

We appreciate his taking the time to listen, ask questions, and support our efforts to make TN a more humane state!

P.S. I'm in the market for a good selfie-stick!

L-R:  The Honorable Gerald McCormick (TN), Maryann Davis, Mary Bowman, Mary Marr

In case you're unaware, there are currently unlicensed breeders in TN who are able to breed and sell puppies without any type of regulations. They get as little care as the breeder cares to provide and the breeder makes the money without paying taxes. This situation is wrong for the animal and also wrong for the unsuspecting consumer, who may be paying top dollar for a dog that may soon show signs of illness from unscrupulous breeding.

If you 'wish' someone would do something for these pets, comment below and I'll help you get started! There's things you can do from home, or out in the community, all you have to do is get started!

Update on the Horse Protection Amendments - It's Happening!

Last Fall, I took off work one day and drove to a hotel conference center in Murfreesboro to speak publicly for the passing of this new ruling against horse soring. Those of us speaking out against such horse abuse were actually in the minority that day, but across the nation we were the majority.

Today the ruling we wanted was passed. What a great day!

So happy to have been part of this historic day, now let's make it stick!

HSUS Blog: After years-long anti-soring campaign, USDA bans torture of walking horses

USDA Updated News Page

#BanTheBigLick #StopSoring

Related post: My Statement to the USDA