Animal Hotline is a nonprofit community service for lost/found pets in Placitas and Bernalillo
P. O. B. 812, Placitas, NM 87043
To report a lost or found animal, Call Dave Harper at 867-6135 or e-mail placitasrealty@earthlink.net

People with pets for adoption or sale should place a Signpost classified ad or consider a $5 donation to the Animal Hotline to run the information in this column. Lost and found listings and doptions for found animals are run in the column for free.

For lost/found pets in Placitas and Bernalillo, call Dave Harper at 867-6135

LOST

Dog: Pomeranian, female, 10 years old, orangish/blonde. Lost from Ranchos de Placitas (near Juniper Road) on May 10. #1640

FOUND

Kitten: Black kitten found in Placitas Trails. Found in Late April. #1639

Cat: Yellowish cat hanging around in Cedar Creek area (about 2 miles north of the village of Placitas) since about May 15. Seems to be somewhat wild. #1642

Lost dog, “Buddy”

Have you seen Buddy?

Can help us locate a dog we rescued three times and now have lost track of.

Buddy was reported by us to animal services because of a lack of care chained in someone’s back yard in Albuquerque. He was picked up by animal services and adopted by the Alliance. We fixed his cherry eye and adopted him to a young couple that decided they didn’t want him and moved away from the University area without him! Fortunately, we had good identification on him so the neighbors called us to come and get him, which we did. This was all in 2001.

In July of 2001, the director of the Sunrise Assisted Living facility in Albuquerque saw Buddy’s ad in the newspaper and adopted him for the “in-house” dog pet (they already had a cat). He was checked on several times, as is our mode of operation, and everything seemed fine. The residents loved him and he got along well with everyone, even the cat.

Upon the last check on the dog, we learned the director that adopted him had left the facility and moved out of state. The present director said Buddy had been given to the parents of an employee who had worked at the facility but no longer worked there. She didn’t know anything about the adoption contract that stated if our animals aren’t wanted they were to call us to take them back. Apparently, no one kept a record of the employee’s parents’ names or location except to say they “lived in Placitas.”

We are extremely upset that we don’t know where Buddy went or how he is doing. We only want to verify that he’s well taken care of and loved. We’d be happy to take him back, if needed. He’s a very large brown w/black Shepherd-X male (neutered, of course). He’s very gentle and easy to get along with.

If anyone knows where he might be, please let Louise know at 821-0393.

Thank you for your help in this matter.

Sincerely,

—Barbara Tellier
President,
Alliance Against Animal Abuse, Inc.

Animal-shelter fund-raiser a “huge success”

Watermelon Mountain Ranch’s first Art under the Stars event to benefit its building fund was a huge success, according to WMR’s Sophia DiClemente, who stated, “Over 250 people joined in for this fun-filled event at Milagro Brewery and Grill.”

Guests were met on the red carpet by WMR Kids holding dogs and puppies that needed a home. Three lucky dogs found a home that evening.

Pam Putnam, the event chair, secured over eighty-five beautiful works of art from around the Southwest. Silent-auction donors came from as far away as California and Texas to talk about their art and participate in what will become an annual event. Putnam and her committee secured over 150 wonderful silent-auction items, including balloon rides, flights on Southwest Airlines, dinners, jewelry, gift certificates, fine art, wines, and much more.

DiClemente’s advice: “If you missed it this year, be sure to participate next year.”

All proceeds went to benefit the WMR building fund.

Children under 10 admitted free ...

—Richard "Bugman" Fagerlund
and Holly Kern

There is a new “sport” spreading throughout the South. Actually it has been around for around ten years, but it isn't well publicized and not very many people know about it. It is so obscure we aren't even sure we know where it is legal. One state, Louisiana, allows this "sport" to take place, but saner minds in that state are trying to do away with it.

It is called hog-dog fighting. It claims to show off a dog’s hunting skills by putting it in the ring with a pig. The dog, usually pit bulls, will attack the pig by biting it on the neck, snout, or anywhere else it can get a grip. The pig has no escape, as the "human handlers" stomp on the pigs faces and kick them to the ground if they try to protect themselves. This helps the dogs get a better grip on the pig. The pig screams in pain as the dog chews on its snout, ears, or tail, and the crowd goes wild, cheering and laughing.

Before the "fight," the boar’s tusks are cut off with bolt cutters. The animal is then forced down a chute leading to the pit. Children will often poke the pigs with sticks or shovels in order to force them down the chutes.

The hog-doggers and chicken Nazis are a cancer on our society as they are destroying the moral fabric of our children by bringing them to their sadistic events and bragging about their vile behavior.

This country has become a decadent society because we allow these people to fight and torture animals for their own prurient pleasure. What makes it worse is that they are teaching their kids that chicken fighting and hog-dogging are normal and moral activities and nothing could be further from the truth.

I am not a fan of empowering the federal government to do anything. However, it is necessary that the feds become more involved in animal-cruelty issues. A state that allows dogs to maul pigs under the banner of "family entertainment" is not doing its citizens justice, nor are the two states (Louisiana and New Mexico) that still allow chicken Nazis to fight roosters.

Viki Elkey, Joanna Strange, and I are working on a book about cockfighting, dogfighting, factory farming, and other forms of animal cruelty. We would be interested in opinions regarding these activities from people around the world— fagerlun@unm.edu or www.askthebugman.com.