Reward For Information In Gwinnett County Cat Death

A couple in Grayson, GA is hoping a reward of $6,000 will generate leads in the case of their cat's death.

The community reward has grown to about $3,500, and the Humane Society of the United States is offering up to $2,500 for information that leads to a conviction in an animal cruelty case in which a 2-year-old cat, Sammy, was killed. Sammy’s body was found on May 24 tied to a wooden stake on a lake shore near his owner’s home on Lakemont Drive.

Anyone interested in making a donation can do so at

The Community Bank
ATTN: Sammy's Fund
P.O. Box 1026
Grayson, GA, 30017

Update: Jones County Kitties in Need

I'm pleased to report some good news about the 22 cats in need of adoption in Jones County which I first blogged about here.

I was contacted today by an Atlanta-area rescue that may be able to take a Mom and a litter. It's not definite yet, but I'm hopeful. I'll post any further developments as they come in.

Despite this potential good news, the situation is still pretty dire. Ms. M., the wonderfully caring woman who is doing her best to care for these cats, is under a lot of pressure to find homes for these cats. Suffering from COPD, and struggling to get by on her social security, Ms. M. refuses to move to better accomodations until she finds homes for all of the cats. Her family is eager to get her out of the run-down trailer she lives in, while her neighbors are becoming increasingly annoyed by the adult cats wandering onto their properties. I and a rescue friend are doing what we can to help, but time is definitely running out.

If you or anyone you know can help, either by taking in one of the cats or by donating to a vet fund set up at a local animal hospital (Lakeside Animal Hospital), please contact me for more information.

Simon and Morgan

Here are the two kittens I took in from the Jones County case I blogged about here.














Simon is the white tabby, who is special needs. He was hit by a car which caused a pelvic fracture. The X-rays showed the pelvis did not heal correctly, which is causing pressure on his rectum. Both of his femur heads are fractured and are still healing. Simon is mobile and playful, but I will be getting a second opinion about corrective surgery.

Morgan is the gray Tuxedo kitten. He's a little spitfire!

Morgan and Simon and truly bonded buddies. Both are FIV/FeLV negative, thank goodness.

Update on the Byron Animal Cruelty Case

An update to the Byron, GA animal cruelty case I blogged about here. It seems that the animal abuser in this story, Jason Allman, has a history of animal abuse:

Mr. Allman is no stranger to the court system of Byron Georgia. He has been in court before, concerning the dissapearance of pets in the neigborhood. He admitted to trapping and “disposing” of neighborhood cats and other animals.

This wasn't a simple case of "killing" an animal in cold blood. Allmon first beats the dog with a hammer, then shoots it fourteen times! Amazingly, Allman's gun even had a silencer on it. As the article points out, who even needs a silencer on their gun anyway?

As disturbing as this story is, it also highlights an even deeper problem:

How is such a monster still allowed to walk the streets? Because, the corruption in this area goes so deeply that the local Animal Control Officer in Byron, Marshal Peacock, seems to enjoy breaking the legs of stray dogs, and then shooting them.

Once again, a story that seems to be all too common in Georgia - yet another horribly corrupt and ineffective county animal control department. But while this AC deserves to be condemned, I'd also like to know what the state Department of Agriculture is doing to stop this kind of abuse?

There's a link to a website which provides more information about this horrible crime and it's poor victim, Zoie. I encourage everyone to visit the site, but be prepared to be outraged!

Cat Rescue in Canada

In Calgary, the good news is that cat rescue rates have doubled. The bad news is officials are still worried as local shelters are reaching capacity.

Spokeswoman Hedy Hope said of 31 animals adopted on Saturday, 28 were cats. While she said that is "pretty good," and up from the normal of about 10 to 20 on any given Saturday, the problem of cat overpopulation still looms.

The culprit? Kitten season. As more and more unexpected and unwanted cats arrive at area shelters, space is at a premium; of course, the easiest solution is also the most tragic:

Hope said a number of healthy cats had to be put down on the weekend because their stay in the adoption area was up.

And she fears unless there is a massive spike in adoptions, others will meet the same fate.

Animal Cruelty in Byron, GA

From last Thursday comes this horrible story about a Georgia man who shot his neighbor's 8-month old puppy fourteen times.

With three dogs and five cats, Toni Smisson is an animal lover and not long ago,
she had more cats, but they started disappearing.

It looks like Smisson's neighbor, Jason Allmon, has been terrorizing her pets for a while. Fortunately for Smisson, Allmon's shooting of her dog was caught on videotape.

Mr. Allmon, however, has a different point of view:

Michael Chidester, a lawyer representing Allmon said, "Mr. Allmon shot a nuisance animal on his own property. It wouldn't be a crime if he'd shot a raccoon or a possum. We don't see why this animal is anything but a nuisance animal. In our view, Ms. Smisson is just as guilty of animal cruelty as Mr. Allmon is."

Hopefully, a judge will see things a little more clearly.

Urgent Need in Jones County, GA

Last week I received a call from the Jones County, GA animal control department asking for my help. There is a woman, elderly, very ill with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) needing help to find placement for 22 cats and kittens; I'll call her Ms. M. Only six of the cats belong to her (the adults); they are spayed or neutered, and just need to get up to date on their shots. Two pregnant moms and two adults were put on her property because people in the area know she would never refuse an animal in need. Unfortunately, Jones County AC has a black cloud looming over it - the former manager is currently under indictment on felony charges related to her job. As a result, the locals would rather "dump" animals than call the AC.

This wonderful, caring lady is doing what she can to help, but it's a struggle as she is on a very fixed income. Often times, she will go without food in order to insure the cats have enough to eat. I went down last week to visit and take pictures of the cats & kittens and brought $100 worth of food and litter to help. Ms. M has to make do with her social security payments since her medical condition has drained her savings. Her single-wide trailer is very old; parts of the flooring are actually caving in. She's trying her best, but the COPD is far enough along where breathing is getting hard. It's dangerous for Ms. M to be living without a caregiver; however, she refuses to go into a nursing home until the cats are placed. Ms. M refuses to turn the cats over to the AC; last year, the former AC manager came out to her trailer to pick up the abandoned cats. A true credit to her office, the manager simply chased the cats over the neighbor's fence where pit bulls literally ripped the cats to pieces in front of Ms. M and other witnesses. So, when Ms. M says the AC will get the cats "over her dead body", she means it. Frankly, I'm okay with that, since Jones County's euthanasia rate is an appalling 90%.

I have personally taken in two of the kittens - an eighteen-week old special needs kitten named Simon and a eight-week old named Morgan. I've had them checked by a vet and am actively trying to get them healthy and happy.

I'll be posting regular updates as we try to find these beautiful babies good homes! If anyone out there would like to help, please send me an e-mail and I'll follow up with you directly.