Fireworks controversy...

has been dogging Camarillo for a long time

By Colleen Cason, ccason@VenturaCountyStar.com

Ventura County Star July 14, 2006

Indignation fueled Donna Brennan as she composed her letter to the editor.
"Can anyone explain," she wrote in her best longhand, "what wisdom prevailed when Camarillo's fireworks extravaganza was moved from the high school field to the airport grounds, which of course, was already the home of the County Animal Shelter?

"This appears to be both mental and physical cruelty," she concluded. She added a "sincerely" and a stamp and sent that puppy to the paper.

The Camarillo woman then waited for the hue and cry from a great, dog-loving American public. She waited for compassionate city officials to change the venue of the July 4 celebration.
Little did Brennan know she would be waiting 18 years. The clipping she sent me indicates her missive appeared in a 1988 edition of the old Camarillo Daily News. And today she remains indignant that her city's Independence Day fireworks are still shot off over the shelter. So much so that she talked to me on Thursday from her bed at Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center.

Please take a moment to read the rest of Colleen Cason's article by clicking here.

The above article followed one also written by Colleen Cason published on July 7th titled Fidos endure another fitful Fourth in Camarillo you may read that article by clicking here.

In response to comments left on the Ventura County Star website after Ms. Cason's July 7th article Anson MacLauchlan writes:

Dear Miss Herrera,

In the comment above you wrote in reply to Carole Hunter "I, too, was there at the shelter on the 4th. What I saw was not what you saw."

I notice that you did not say that you were there to help. I am guessing that you were with Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long as she strolled through the kennels that night. Please forgive me if I am wrong but neither of you were assigned to dogs to look after. After going back and double checking I do NOT see either of your names on the list of volunteers. Neither of you got your hands dirty or were down on the floor holding or trying to restrain a dog. Again, please feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

As someone who was at the shelter on July 4th, 2005 and again this year I would like to go on the record as saying that I too feel that setting off community fireworks within several hundred yards of where already distressed cats and dogs are housed is not appropriate. I was one of two men who worked desperately trying to distract one dog during the 2005 display. This particular German Shepherd was calm and relaxed with her tail wagging moments before the fireworks display started. The second the fireworks started the dog started to tear at the enclosure.

Thankfully we had been warned during our orientation by shelter manager Kathy Jenks to expect this behavior. During the duration of the fireworks two of us proceeded to stuff towels and blankets between this large dog and the enclosure. Each blanket and towel was in absolute terror ripped to shreds. Had the fireworks not been at this location this behavior and the potential for injury to both the dog and volunteers could have been averted.

As for Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long's statement that she is a dog person, based on all that I have seen first hand of Ms. Long at the shelter, all I have heard and all I have read including the following excerpts from a 2005 article in the Ventura County Star Ms. Long does not measure up to my definition of a dog person.

On July 2, 2005 the Ventura County Star published an article by Cheri Carlson.

In that article the reporter wrote:

July Fourth is a bad night for pet owners across Ventura County, said Kathy Jenks, the county's director of animal regulation. But it's even worse for animals kept at the Ventura County Animal Shelter in Camarillo. The shelter at 600 Aviation Drive, is within "spitting distance" of Camarillo's annual fireworks display at Freedom Park, she said. As the article continues shelter manager Kathy Jenks is quoted as saying "The Fourth of July is the single worst night of the year. About 50 percent of the dogs are scared to death of the noise."

Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long is quoted in that same article. "Certainly, there were a couple of animals disturbed. Others were trying to find a corner to curl up in."

I ask you, based on the excerpts from the above article who do you think is a dog person? Shelter Manager Kathy Jenks who states about 50 percent of the dogs are scared to death or Ventura County Supervisor Kathy Long who is quoted as saying "a couple of animals were disturbed"?

Respectfully,

Anson MacLauchlan

Ms. Cason, thank you for speaking up for my canine and feline friends who are not able to do the same for themselves ~ Hunter

A Cartoon is worth a 1,000,000 words

From the Ventura County Star July 4th, 2006
Thank you Steve Greenberg!

To the Editor of the Ventura County Star:

Whoops, they did it again!

Well, once again the Pleasant Valley/Somis Lions Club hosted their night of torture for the animals located 500 yards away from their launch pad for the fireworks display.

Again, I was a volunteer with 40 plus other volunteers to calm and soothe these helpless and homeless animals. As I tended to a young sweet female Australian Cattle Dog mix, I sat on her kennel floor watching her go into a frantic panic. After the first few blasts, I began to well up with tears, trying to calm her, wondering why this could be permitted year after year. Did I mention that this dog bit her tongue and had blood in her mouth and some on my sleeve too as proof. I left this pup briefly to tend to my other dog to care for, this one a tiny male Silky Terrier. This poor dog did not display the frenzy as the other dog but was trembling and panting with his eyes wide open in fear. I picked him up held him close, only to feel his heart pounding out of his chest. At this moment, Supervisor Kathy Long walked by me and I said, Kathy, this is what you cannot see with your eyes, I held the dog out for her, and said feel this dogs heart beating in fear. She backed away and declined to verify (feel) the condition of the dog. I felt she was not very concerned about the condition of this dog and perhaps will once again go on record and say that this is nothing out of the ordinary for shelter animals. WRONG. This is not normal behavior for these animals, it is cruel and abusive to be subjected to loud thunderous explosions set such a short distance away. Animals do not mix with fireworks, especially next door!

To the Lions Club I say, you are not a welcome visitor on Fourth of July. Your show of patriotism is shameful. The community has numerous shows to see fireworks shows that do not torture animals. Do the right thing, stop the cruelty now. No more!

Carole Hunter

Kay, Ha, Barb, Pat & Lachlan I can't find the words to express my thanks but for now please click here ~ your admirer Hunter the honorary Poodle, wanna be protestor.

Hear the Lions Roar...

In the Ventura County Star.

4 paws up to Linda Bowring who writes in response:

I am freshly amazed at the logic that would try to convince the public that the dogs and cats in the shelter do not suffer from the close proximity of fireworks being set off. Some of those animals are there solely because they escaped their own homes BECAUSE of fireworks in their neighborhoods in the days before the 4th. Never was the adage "from the frying pan into the fire" more appopriate. Common sense would suggest that the animals are traumatized by this.

I commend the Lion's Club for all of the other services that they provide to the public, but I would also like to ask if they would find it appropriate to have such a show next to a facility filled with human infants and toddlers? The animals are no different in their understanding of the warlike sounds going on right next door, and seemingly over their heads. How does one convince an infant, or an animal, that they are safe during such a barrage. Every boom is like a shock wave. And for many, the trauma remains long after the event is over.

We SHOULD celebrate our freedoms, but with freedom comes responsibility - especially to those that would be harmed by that celebration. The question was asked as to why this trauma wasn't filmed. I'd like to know why the Lion's Club isn't in that shelter themselves - especially with their claim to care about dogs. Let them see first hand how difficult it is to calm a frightened dog or cat.

Agenda? No, I have none, except a complete sense of amazement that anyone could be this cruel, and this insensitive to animals whose sense of hearing is so much more intense than ours, and who have no understanding of why they are being tortured like this. Humane groups all over the country warn the public at this time of year to take extra precautions to keep their animals safe, including locking them in safe rooms (no windows) and turning on competing sounds (tv and radio) to help drown out the fireworks -- and most of them aren't right next door to a huge display.

Common sense, people !!!!

Another National Group weighs in

June 30th, 2006

The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the oldest animal welfare organization in the Western Hemisphere and our mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. We have recently received numerous complaints from concerned citizens in Ventura county CA regarding the annual fireworks display that is held in close proximity to the county animal shelter.

It is very clear from all the data that has been gathered about the health and well being of animals in shelters that the reduction of stress plays a major role in any comprehensive health care strategy to reduce the incidence of disease transmission. Stress appears in many forms in shelters, as physical, emotional or environmental. Shelters are advised by veterinary experts to expend as many of their resources as possible to minimize stress in order to keep their animals healthy. While some stresses cannot be eliminated or controlled by management, others can. One of the stresses that management can control is noise. Noise either in the form of barking dogs, loud machinery or equipment, harsh loud music, etc can have a very detrimental effect not only on the emotional health of the population, but their physical health as well. It is well known that the noise from firecrackers has a devastating effect on many dogs and cats. Many veterinarians must prescribe tranquilizers for the animals, and these are animals in a home where they can be comforted by their owners, and they still suffer from paralyzing fear and anxiety. For animals in a shelter who may already be debilitated, isolated and alone, the effects are truly frightening, and for some animals, even terrifying.

We would urge the Camarillo Parks and Recreation Dept., the Pleasant Valley/Somis chapter of the Lions Club and the City of Camarillo to reconsider locating their fireworks display to an area where it will have no effect on the animals seeking sanctuary in the shelter. We believe the citizens of the town would enjoy the fireworks much more if they knew the animals would not suffer as a consequence.

Lila Miller, DVM
ASPCA
Vice President, Veterinary Outreach
Shelter Veterinary Advisor
(212) 876-7700 extension 4342
fax: (212) 860-3435
lilam@aspca.org



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Founded in 1866, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) was the first humane organization established in the Western Hemisphere and today has one million supporters. The ASPCA's mission is to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States. The ASPCA provides national leadership in humane education, government affairs and public policy, shelter support, and animal poison control. The NYC headquarters houses a full-service animal hospital, animal behavior center, and adoption facility. The Humane Law Enforcement department enforces New York's animal cruelty laws and is featured on the reality television series Animal Precinct on Animal Planet.
Visit www.aspca.org for more information.
Media Contact: Eric Rayvid at office: 646-291-4562 cell: 917-861-8290

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