ACCT Philly
For homeless pets, gimme shelter is not just a song
Long-term efforts at the city’s animal shelter are paying off in saved lives
Animals
Life in a shelter, from a dog’s point of view
A shelter is about the worst place for a dog, and Philadelphia’s was once one of the worst of the worst. Thanks to the help of staffers — confidential sources who shared information and photos with me — almost exactly 20 years ago, I was able to write an expose that
Animals
Happy Birthday, Nut Bag
I can’t believe it. I’ve had my dog for almost seven years and I haven’t written a column about him. I had written several about my last dog, and she actually wrote a column for the Daily News one day. Had her picture logo, too. (She wasn’
ACCT Philly
Not-quite-new leader named for ACCT Philly
Back in October, I reported the Board of Directors of ACCT Philly had decided to appoint a single executive director to replace the two acting co-executive directors. I was told a decision was expected before the end of the year and the decision has been made: Sarah Barnett, 35,
ACCT Philly
Guest essay: Seeking justice for Saint
[Editor’s note: In November 2021, I reported on Saint, a pit bull mix who was wrongfully destroyed at ACCT Philly, which early on provided false accounts of what happened. When I last wrote, an investigation by police and Pennsylvania SPCA had just begun. Other things happened and I lost
ACCT Philly
Checking the chips at ACCT Philly
For those of you not into animal welfare, skip this one as I indulge myself. I have been using my columns to improve the lives of the unfortunate homeless animals in the city shelter since 2004, when my expose blew up the sheiter, then known as PACCA. I’ve written
ACCT Philly
Accounting for ACCT Philly
Everything old is new again. In the decade since ACCT Philly started operations, I have been in the city animal shelter in Feltonville many times, but not lately. Mainly because of COVID, I had not visited the 27,000-square-foot facility since it took over the 9,000-square-
ACCT Philly
The other shoe drops on ACCT Philly
The other shoe has dropped on ACCT Philly, the city’s animal control agency, with a suit filed by Tiffany LaVelle, described as the heart-broken owner of Saint, a 5-year-old dog that was wrongfully euthanized by the city-funded agency. I first reported the case back in
ACCT Philly
Tear down the Brick Wall around ACCT Philly
First, the good news: Over the years, the number of animals being euthanized at the city animal shelter has dropped dramatically. The ACCT Philly “save rate” has increased from the 20% when it was known as PACCA 20 years ago, to (briefly) 92% for dogs and cats in January. (It
ACCT Philly
The ACCT Philly sad-go-round
America elects people to the House of Representatives every two years, and Philadelphia selects a leader for ACCT Philly on about the same schedule. Aurora Velazquez was the fifth executive director of the city animal shelter, at 111 W. Hunting Park Avenue in the Feltonville section, since 2012. She has
Dogs
When you sleep with dogs, you wake up... happy
There are two kinds of dog guardians, which is the term that is preferred to “owners,” because it is more accurate. There are the people who sleep in the same bed as their dogs, and those who do not. I don’t know any who do not, although I thought
Animals
You can help kill puppy mills
Nathan Winograd, a highly regarded animal advocate who leads the No-Kill Advocacy Center, tells me the Pennsylvania Senate has a bill that could cut the heart of the state’s misery-inducing puppy mills. I’ll let him speak here: “Legislation introduced in Pennsylvania would make it illegal for