The cats of Tiger Ranch are free at last.

The 240 survivors of Tiger Ranch, a filthy, disease-ridden Pittsburgh area shelter raided by the Pennsylvania SPCA in 2008, are now available for adoption.

Tiger Ranch operator Linda Bruno (also known as Lin Marie) voluntarily surrendered the cats as part of a plea deal on cruelty charges last month. She was facing as many as 600 charges for the number of sick and injured animals found on her property last year. Bruno pleaded guilty to 12 animal cruelty charges and will be sentenced on Oct. 5.

Somehow these courageous felines - many of them ferals or strays brought in by rescuers from all over the East Coast and midwest who believed they would be cared for - survived unspeakable neglect and suffering at the so-called cat sanctuary in Frazer. Humane agents found a horrific scene when they arrived at the 29-acre property in March 2008: rooms filled with feces and urine, crowded with dying cats suffering from highly contagious and painful but treatable diseases.

The PSPCA has been caring for the cats - including Kiki shown at the time of her rescue at left - at its former shelter in Clarion County for 18 months at a cost of more than $225,000.

 “We are committed to finding new homes for each and every animal affected by this case,” said Sue Cosby, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania SPCA.

Many of the cats rescued were severely ill and had to be humanely euthanized. The survivors were mostly young cats - many of which were either feral or very frightened of humans - but most have become more trusting with daily socialization, PSPCA officials said.

“Most of the cats that we rescued were under three years of age, so cats left at Tiger Ranch before September 2007 were probably not there when we acted on the search warrant last year,” said George Bengal, director of law enforcement for the PSPCA. "These are mostly young cats that have long lives ahead of them."

The cats - including Kiki, shown here after treatment and healing - are available at the Clarion County facility, 9562 Route 322 in Shippensville, Pennsylvania beginning on  Aug. 31. The cost of adoption is $60 and interested adopters should visit the shelter in person. Adoption hours are Monday thru Saturday, 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.

The PSPCA is also reaching out to the animal rescue group community to help find homes for these cats. Not for profit, 501(c)3 rescue groups wishing to assist with the Tiger Ranch cats should contact Ray Little, rlittle@pspca.org, 215-426-6300, ext. 251.

What would Michael Vick's arrival in the City of Murals be without an artist expressing their feelings on the side of a building?

This mural - showing Vick choking a pit bull - turned up on the side of a shop called “Tires ‘R’ Us” in Philadelphia’s Kensington section. This photo was taken and uploaded to Flickr by k.vonponyfeather and finder's credits go to ohmidog, a Baltimore blogger with a deep Philly connection.

Word on Flickr today was that the mural has disappeared, but we haven't confirmed that.

In a piece published in this newspaper yesterday, commentator Francis Battista, cofounder of Best Friends Animal Society, questions the sincerity of the Eagles new quarterback and asks "What about Vick's victims?" Battista has a stake in the issue. His animal rescue took in and has cared for 22 dogs from Bad Newz Kennels who made it out alive. The rescue has seen many of the traumatized dogs begin to trust again. Battista writes that he'd like to be as convinced that Vick has seen the light.

WPVI-TV cameras captured the gripping rescue of a dog that tumbled over a dam on the Schuylkill by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

As employees of the Waterworks Restaurant and passerbys looked on in horror, the black dog struggled for 40 minutes against the whitewater at the base of the falls before she floated free and the Philadelphia Police Marine Unit arrived to scoop her out.

But the drama wasn't over yet. The video shows an officer pumping frantically on the exhausted dog's chest for several minutes before giving the "ok" sign.

The dog, a 1 1/2 year-old female pit bull, is being called "River" by her caretakers at the Pennsylvania SPCA where she is in intensive care and being treated for hypothermia and severely injured paws. But veterinarians are "cautiously optimistic" she will survive, said spokeswoman Gail Luciani. 

River is in pain from injuries to her nails as she tried to climb up the dam, said Luciani.

The dog had no tags and scars on her face, leading PSPCA officials to believe she was a victim of dog fighting and may have been thrown in the river.

Luciani said they hope to find her a home soon. Already at least one employee of the Waterworks Restaurant has inquired about her, she said.

Dennis Wolff, who as secretary of agriculture led Gov. Rendell's efforts to improve conditions in commercial dog kennels, toughen enforcement and make kennel inspection information accessible to the public, is stepping down to pursue opportunities in the private sector.

Wolff's last day will be Sept. 12 and Rendell said today he will nominate executive deputy secretary Russell Redding to lead the department.

Redding has worked in the Department of Agriculture since 1995 and run its day-to-day operations as the second-in-command since 2003.

It is not yet known how active Redding will be on dog issues or if he has plans for changes within the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement. But animal advocates say as deputy secretary he attended meetings involving kennel issues and expressed interest in the opinions of the animal welfare community.

Wolff testified numerous times on behalf of Rendell at hearings on proposed changes to the dog law that ultimately resulted in the passage of landmark legislation last year that imposes new requirements on commercial dog kennels. Among the provisions of Act 119, also known as "the puppy mill bill," are solid kennel flooring, veterinary checks for breeding dogs, mandatory exercise and a ban on cage stacking for kennels with 60 or more dogs.

In an email today, Wolff's said he planned to seek opportunities in the private sector "to help shape public policy in agriculture statewide and nationally." Wolff was one of the last members of Rendell's original 2003 cabinet still holding office.

Redding's nomination must be approved by the full Senate.
 

On the day Michael Vick made his debut as a Philadelphia Eagle, Gov. Rendell signed an anti-animal-cruelty bill that, among other things, increases penalties for dog-fighting.

The new law - most elements of which take effect in 60 days - makes it illegal for anyone but a veterinarian to perform the following surgical procedures:

Cropping, trimming or cutting off an ear;
Debarking by cutting or injuring the vocal cords;
Docking or cutting off the tail of a dog over five days of age;
Surgically birthing a dog; and
Removing the dewclaws from a dog over five days of age.

“Until now, these cruel practices could be carried out by dog owners without proper training and without supervision by a licensed vet, which could lead to long-term injury, pain and, in some cases, death to these defenseless animals,” said Rendell, speaking at a bill signing ceremony outside the Capitol.

Animal lovers and their four-footed friends attended, including Pennsylvania's First Dog, Maggie - one of two rescue dogs owned by Rendell and his wife Midge - who was living in an oversized rabbit hutch at a kennel in Lancaster when a volunteer from Main Line Animal Rescue in Chester Springs found her in 2007.

"She was a breeder dog at an Amish farm and her third litter was stillborn," said Rendell, explaining why the breeder gave her up. "She never had a C-section but she could have as many of the breeder dogs on farms do."

"This is the culmination of years of hard work," said the bill's sponsor Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D., Berks). "The sad truth is that many dogs in in Pennsylvania are subjected to terrible surgical procedures that border on torture."

The paw print of Rubin, a dog who belongs Caltagirone's chief counsel Bill Andring, adorned a ceremonial version of the bill.

Under the new law, kennel owners must keep a record of any of the listed surgeries, including the vet who performed it, as well as the location and date where the surgery was performed.

The Department of Agriculture spokesman Justin Fleming said if a dog warden sees an animal on which the procedures were performed without records they would refer the case as a crueltly complaint to a local humane officer or police department.

The law also makes it a third degree felony to steal an animal for the purpose of dog fighting.

Michael Vick, who spent 18 months in prison for his role in a brutal dog fighting ring, got a standing ovation from the crowd at the half full stadium when he took the field during tonight's Eagles game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Among the speakers at the bill signing today was Marsha Perelman, president of the board of the ASPCA, which issued a stinging rebuke of the Eagles decision to sign Vick.

Perelman, also a member of the Dog Law Advisory Board, praised a newly-fit Rendell for “carrying the ball” on the issue.

“Being in the shape he’s in today, I would rather he be running the ball on the field tonight at the Linc, rather than the person who is going to be doing so.”
 

Philadelphia area animal activists plan to let their voices be heard before the Eagles/Jaguars game tonight.

The Pennsylvania SPCA and Best Friends Animal Society, the Utah-based organization that took in 22 of the pit bulls seized from Michael Vick, are hosting a rally for the 2nd Chance Dogs of Philadelphia.

These are the  pit bulls that have been rescued from abuse and neglect by the Pennsylvania SPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Officers or found as strays by Animal Control.

More than 80 percent of the PSPCA’s canine population in Philadelphia is made up of pit bulls and pit bull mixes who have been rescued from abuse, neglect or dog fighting operations. The 2nd Chance Dogs of the PSPCA are barking for the opportunity at forever homes. Supporters of the PSPCA, animal lovers and friends are invited to help raise awareness of the plight of pit bulls in shelters and encourage adoption.

The event is being held from 4 - 7 p.m. in the PSPCA parking lot at 350 E. Erie Ave. Participants are invited to bring their dogs and treats for dogs and humans will be served.

Meanwhile, an email circulating around cyberspace is urging animal lovers and their dogs to protest at Lincoln Field tonight - which may well mark the return to the gridiron for Vick after almost two years.

The protest, which the email says is not sponsored by any particular group, aims to spread the word about homeless dog adoption, let the Eagles know that animal lovers are angry about the Michael Vick deal, and urge corporate sponsors (among them Philadelphia Newspapers which owns the Inquirer) to divest themselves of the Eagles.

While he may be best remembered for his work advancing the causes of civil rights and health care, Sen. Edward Kennedy also championed animal causes. He most recently introduced President Obama and his family to the Portuguese Water Dog breeder who produced First Dog Bo. But long before Bo, Kennedy was an ally to advocates on farm animal issue, animals in research and wildlife.

Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, recalls Kennedy's efforts to make the U.S. a more humane place for animals in his blog today.

Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's highest-ranking animal welfare advocate, Gov. Rendell, tomorrow signs the long-awaited dog cruelty bill. The bill, HB 39, will make it illegal for anyone except a veterinarian to perform surgical procedures such as debarking or surgical births. Most of the provisions in the legislation take effect in 60 days.

A Montgomery County woman, despondent about her finanacial woes and the care of 29 pets, is being charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after trying to kill her cats and a dog with rat poison.

Here's the report from my colleague Bonnie Cook: 

Linda Muchnick was charged yesterday with one count of cruelty by killing an animal, and 28 counts of attempted animal cruelty by poisoning, Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said.

Muchnick set out dishes of pet food mixed with blue DeCon rat poison pellets last week at her home on Bishopwood Blvd. East, in Harleysville, Towamencin Township, Ferman said.

There was water, but no other pet food in the house for 28 cats and one dog, said Carmen J. Ronio, executive director of the Montgomery County SPCA, which began an investigation of the incident Friday.

Muchnick, 56, was in protective custody at the psychiatric emergency intake unit at Norristown State Hospital, officials said. A warrant was issued for her arrest Monday, but it was unclear when it would be served.

The animals corralled in two rooms had been denied food for several days before the poisoned food was set out, Ronio said.

"I'm saddened by the desperation of this woman . . . and I'm saddened by the fact that these animals had to be treated in this way," Ronio said.

"This is the first time in my 38 years [in shelter work] where people have been overwhelmed to the point where they would destroy their own animals."

Police went to the house Thursday after they received a call from Lower Salford authorities reporting that a local veterinary clinic had received a letter from Muchnick saying mounting financial problems made her realize "suicide was the only solution."

"It would be best for her pets if she killed them along with herself so they could be together in heaven," the note read, according to a court affidavit.

Police found Muchnick unresponsive on the floor in the stifling house and rushed her to Abington Health Lansdale Hospital; it was not clear if she had tried to take her own life. A hospital spokesman did not return a call for comment today.

At the same time, Towamencin officers called the Montgomery SPCA, which sent humane officer Rhonda Thomas to the home. Thomas said blue pellets in the food and the sluggishness of the animals pointed to poisoning; she rushed the pets to county rescue shelters in Conshohocken, Abington and Perkiomenville.

One cat died in transit, Thomas said. The other 27 and the dog will be receiving injections of vitamin K, the treatment for rat-pellet poisoning, for the next two weeks.

The dozen or so cats housed in Conshohocken appeared alert and were eating and responding to treatment today. It was too soon to say what the long-term effects of the poison would be. A necropsy was performed on the dead cat.

"We are 99.9 percent sure that the cat died of rat poison," Ronio said.

Ronio said rat poison is a blood-thinning agent that works by inducing internal bleeding.
 

Eagles president Joe Banner met with local shelter and rescue groups today in what animal welfare advocates hope will be the first step in the team's effort to respond to the plague of dog fighting in Philadelphia.

"It was a very good meeting," said Tom Hickey Sr., founder of DogPac political advocacy group and a member of the state Dog Law Advisory Board. "Ninety percent of the meeting was about what the Eagles can do locally."

The individual who prompted the discussion, Michael Vick, was not present, nor was he the focus of the discussion, Hickey said. Vick, who has pledged to be an anti-cruelty "ambassador" to inner city communities as part of his rehabilitation, is working with the Humane Society of the United States' anti-dog fighting campaign.

"We feel with bringing Michael Vick to Philadelphia that we have an obligation to work with the community, to educate and work with kids, particularly," said Pamela Browner Crawley, a spokeswoman for the Philadelphia Eagles, told Fox-TV. 

Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham said the meeting was a "good first step with regard to animal cruelty and abuse."

Among the attendees were representatives from the Humane Society of the United States, SPCAs from Philadelphia, Chester, Bucks, Montgomery and Delaware counties, Morris Animal Refuge, Camden Humane Society, Main Line Animal Rescue and Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

Hickey said Banner told them he would convene a small group follow up meeting after reviewing notes on the meeting which lasted just over two hours.