Indecency with a child.....AFTER 5 previous counts of animal cruelty! A single phone call to our office in September brought the entire issue of animal abuse and neglect into focus. Eastland ACO Temi Nichols called to see if we could come over and pick up three dogs, two shepherds and a beautiful collie that belonged to an individual who had been arrested. When Mindi Cosby and Debbie Day arrived, they got the “rest of the story.” The man was charged with indecency with a child, but he had five previous charges of animal abuse against him. Oh, he was on probation on one of these charges when arrested. We are making November Report Animal Abuse Month in West Texas. We are working to have 20 counties and as many cities as possible declare November to be Report Animal Abuse Month in an effort to help everyone understand the importance of recognizing and reporting animal abuse. See details of our campaign inside and join our fight!

Why Animal Abuse is Important to Everyone..... From rape and murder to school shootings and serial killers, the link is almost absolute. These folks all start out abusing animals! Animal abuse is a symptom of deep mental disturbance, even in children and should always be reported.

Animal Abusers commit more crimes! . 5 times more violent crimes . 4 times more property crimes . 4 times more drug crimesViolent Criminals: 70% started with animal abuse Rape: 46% of rapists abused animals Domestic Violence: 70% of victims had their animals abusedChild Abuse: 30% of offenders abused animalsJuvenile Crime: Kids who abuse animals are twice as likely to commit violent crimesAnimal Hoarders: 100% commit repeat offences.

W I N T E R 2 0 1 3

4620 N. First St.Abilene, Texas 79603RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

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A d o p t i o n C e n t e r . . . 5 9 3 3 S o u t h F i r s t , A b i l e n e , T e x a s • 325-698-7722 Newsletter graphics & design: Debbie Heep Printing: R&R Printing

“If you don’t take them, I’ll just go home and kill them”

the lady said, shoving 3 puppies toward us. We found space for them,

including sweet Corn Pop.

Gobi Desert Dane? No, the huge walking skeleton of a Great Dane was not found in the middle of the Gobi Desert. The poor dog was picked up by Animal Services near death from starving right here in town. We provided quick emergency care and Aaron Vannoy arranged for Great Dane Rescue of North Texas to take the dog for continued care and adoption.

Los Lonely Dogs When their owner died re-cently, her father brought Spot and Tramp to us along with a donation to help with their care. Having lost their best friend, these two need to go home together, and they can go without an adoption fee IF the home is right.

The Maltese Dogs In a caper that would have made Humphrey Bogart smile, our team raced to rescue seven little Maltese that were being used for breeding after a family

member called for our help. Just like the Maltese Falcon, not all was as it seemed. Seven turned into 13 with the birth of two litters of puppies, and two of the puppies look

suspiciously like Yorkies! Let’s see, Bogart, McCall, the Fat Man.....

Fur Ball 2014 Practice.... Shaylee Mangrum spends her day cleaning kennels and waiting on customers at our Adoption Center, but she took time out to practice for the February 15, 2014 Fur Ball with Wilma and Bam Bam, a Deerhound and a Wolfhound, who have been adopted. What will we see next?

Fur Ball 2014 will honor our wonderful friend Dian Stai on February 15th.

Become a Pet Partner and we can double your first year’s gift!

Pet Partner Challenge ends Dec. 31st By making monthly donations by credit card or bank draft, our Pet Partners are always there to help our animals. A small donation each month adds up in a hurry, and now we can double what you give for the first year. If you

donate $10 a month as a Pet Partner, that’s $120 per year. BUT we receive $240 because your gift is doubled.

Sergeants Run the World! The insiders have always known that Sergeants really do run everything! The Dyess Sergeants Association turned our Adoption Center upside down recently, washing dogs, cleaning shelves and floors. They brought pet food, played with our dogs and cats and left us cleaner and happier!

Tasty Cat? Colby (as in cheese) the cat was found as a stray. When he arrived at our place, we soon noticed that he seemed to groom himself a lot. Closer inspection revealed that he was chewing away bits of his skin! We quickly stopped the skin infec-tion, and now Colby is a cat with good taste waiting to meet you. Telepathic Dachshund Stops Car How do they know? The little Dachshund limped right up to Mindi Cosby’s car when she stopped to let her son out for school. One back leg was dangling and appeared to have bite marks on it. Mindi took the little girl straight to Dr. Allen Bolt. An X-ray showed a broken tibia, which Dr. Bolt repaired with an external rod and pins packed on the outside with putty to cover the metal. See the “recovery” video on our web site as Lexington plays with others in rehab at the Bolt’s.

Large Alien for a Large Universe? The driver of the FedEx truck was having a great day until he tangled with the very large space alien loping through traffic. Actually it was a Great Dane whose Smart Car had run out of energy and he was on the way to WalMart for new batter-ies when he was clipped by the FedEx truck breaking, his leg. X-Rays, rods, pins, all the usual stuff and “FedEx” the Dane is back in action. We don’t know about the truck.

Meadow Lark Lemon’s Backup? Gage was brought to our adoption center because his owners could no longer afford to feed him. Some basic math should have told them that a dog tall enough to play for the Harlem Globetrotters would eat a whole lot of something! BYODF and take him home!

Macy OK for CFA Takeoff! Tiny puppy Macy is as fast as lightning even with her broken leg! The Abilene Animal Shelter brought her to us when they noticed her injury. Along with our FedEx Great Dane, her surgery was paid for through our wonderful grant from the Community Foundation of Abilene. See Macy and Lexington the Dachshund in their special rehab video on our website.

We hope you will take time in November to join us in raising public awareness about animal abuse. Rescue the Animals, SPCA is the only organization that works with law enforcement agencies in over 20 West Texas counties to help abused animals. They provide assistance with investigations, medical care, and adoption services to help animals start a new life, but they can help only if people report animal abuse! Join us in our November campaign:

Door-to-Door Campaign November 13 & 14. Caroline and I will be going door-to-door on these two days as well as others in November leaving special literature telling people about animal abuse. We hope you will come by and pickup our printed door hangers

and put them out in your neighborhood. Call 698-SPCA.Facebook Campaign: Each week in November we will post a new story about abused animals that we have helped (happy endings) as well

as information on how other crimes are related to people who abuse animals. You can help by sharing these messages with everyone you know and asking them to do the same.School, Church, Club, and Business Campaign: We need your help to work with other groups to spread the word to Report Animal Abuse. Announcements in churches, schools, clubs, and where you work will be a big boost. You can ask these folks to join us online.Kids: Join us on Facebook and spread the word at school! Be sure all your friends know how to identify animal abuse and how to report it. Children who abuse animals have serious problems and need to be helped at once! RescueTheAnimals.org

A New Bat Man in Town? While the movie world is all a-twitter about the “new” Batman, Ben somebody, we

have a better candi-date. Now known as Spike the Boxer, our Batman is actually “blind as a bat,” but that does not stop him from zooming around

the yard. We think he can make out enough to navigate. While he will probably need eye drops for the rest of his life, we think he could still be a super hero at your home.

Sad Starving Sadie The owner had 12 horses, but one would not eat. So, of course, Sadie was taken to the pound! “Bad tooth,” said Dr. Bolt who removed the tooth and floated her teeth. Bingo, Sadie started eating again. After being fostered for several months by Tony and Lynn Smith, Sadie was quickly adopted!

Too Sick to Meow.... The tiny kitten was sprawled face down on our doorstep gasping for air with blood oozing from its nose when we arrived one morning. Quick action, fluids, and antibiotics, brought him through. We love happy endings!

Saved at the VA Cemetery Our great friend Joe Johnson helped the crew at the VA Cemetery when they rescued Hank the Australian Shepherd. Joe took Hank to the vet for a very complete workup, and the guys at the cem-etery took Hank in as one of their own. However, Hank was a little too active and the farm road was a little too close for comfort. Hank came to us and found a home almost immediately.

“Tilt” is Bad in Pin Ball & Houses In June, a big rain and wind storm hit Abilene, knocking one home off its piers and throwing the owner across the room breaking her ankle in two places. She could not stay in the home and moved in with her sister, who is in a wheelchair. The lady’s five dogs came to us to find new homes. Sal is an old buddy you may recognize from his cowboy hat pictures in our ads.

Dumping Animals is Against the Law! One brave kitten climbed to the top of the cardboard box on our porch to see just where he and his three buddies had been abandoned. A few days later, we were mowing the yard at our

Adoption Center and found a smiling 4-month-old Boxer in the hedge! Roxy seems to prefer chewing the hedge bushes, but we are hoping she will learn to use pruning shears soon. Everyone needs to work at our place!

Spay/Neuter Cats: $30 & up Dogs: $40 & up Hours: 1pm to 5pm Mon.-Sat. Call 698-SPCA

After Grub!

We are asking leaders in over 20 West Texas counties to join us in fighting animal abuse. Our campaign co-chairs are Taylor County Commissioner Chuck Statler and his daughter, Caroline. Chuck, who was on our original advisory committee in 1998, is coordinating our campaign with city and county leaders all across West Texas. Caroline, a Madison Middle School student, is leading our first ever campaign to actively involve kids in fighting animal abuse.

Volunteer today! Visit RescueTheAnimals.org and sign up online or call 325-698-SPCA