Tell Craig's List To Stop Having People Place Ads to Give Away Free Pets  |
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|  Okay I know maybe some of you might be fed up with my PETA thing here..LOL...but this is another alert by them, and something I wasn't aware of as it has to do with the famous site craigslist--now since I've never use it --wasn't aware of what was going on.
According to the connecting link article:
Universal City police arrested a man accused of mutilating three cats and duct-taping their legs to a piece of plywood in Northeast Bexar County, a police detective said.
Austin George Patterson, 19, was charged with three counts of cruelty to animals, a state jail felony. He was in Bexar County Jail on Monday, with bond set at $61,000. If convicted, he could face 180 days to two years in jail and a $20,000 fine.
The three gray tabby cats — including a 3-year-old male named Taylor that was registered to Patterson and two others about 2 years old — were found Sunday at about 7:30 a.m. by a man walking along the Cibolo Creek trails, Universal City police Detective Tina Vitacco said.
The cats were found under a sweatshirt, their bodies arranged in the shape of a triangle. One was disemboweled, at least two had their throats slit and all three had fishing line tied around their necks, Vitacco said. The cats' legs were duct-taped and their bodies slashed, a police report said.
A box of nails, a hammer, scissors and knives were found next to the cats. Police are awaiting a necropsy report to determine the exact cause of their deaths.
Police believe all three cats were bought on Craigslist.org, an online classified community, Vitacco said.
The whole story/article is here
http://www.mysanantonio.c...
Peta is urging people to write to Craigslist and have them abandon the practice of people placing ads on it of people giving away free kittens/cats and puppies/dogs..or any other animal---Lets face it there are a lot of sickos in the world, as demonstrated by this person in the article, and this is like an open call for people to perhaps "adopt" free pets then turn them over to labs for testing/experimentation and where the person can get a minimum of $300 for the animal
Here's the link that can lead one to Craigslist and another article
http://blog.peta.org/arch...
The most heartbreaking story is about a man who posted Taylor, his tabby cat up for adoption since all he was hoping to do was give the cat a good home..the cat was one that was brutally tortured by Patterson
You may not be a fan of PETA...but I think anyone who hates the idea that people can list "free" pets to just any potential sicko should be stopped.
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Taylor--One of the Cats Tortured | | | | |
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1.  artemis432 (2212)
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5 years ago
| |  I will - perhaps to get more people to do this one of us should draft the letter - many people have good intentions but...procrastinate. What if also started some kind of petition
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 pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | There is a petition link on the PETA blog article...but I do plan to write a separate email to Jim Buckmaster, President and CEO of Craigslist...if you PM me will give his email address to you | | | |
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| 2. kevere26 (128)
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5 years ago
| |  I'll tell you pyewacket it was tough & teary getting through your paragraph. I use Craig's List all the time and had no idea that this is going on. I appreciate being informed about this and will pass the word onto my advocate friends.
The idealist in me wishes that people would understand that animals are here to teach us valuable principles on how to conduct our lives.
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | After I read this article, I went over to Craigslist..there is a sign against posting pets for adoption..but then I looked down the actual list and sure enough there are pets up for adoption..and for free--so someone is not doing there "homework" and banning this practice
Thank you for spreading the word kevere! :) | | | |
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| 3. emeraldisle (8959)
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5 years ago
| |  I know I'll probably get slammed for this but I want to point out that in that in the article they state:
Police believe all three cats were bought on Craigslist.org, an online classified community, Vitacco said
Key word there, bought. They were not given away.
Something else I'd like to point out is that if people can get a minimum of $300 for an animal from a lab then they won't care if you are charging $150 a pet, they will still pay it and then get the money for it. Charging a small fee won't help; if anything it will just mean more people will dump animals at shelters or on the roads instead of trying to find them a good home. I know here in Florida under Florida law if you sell a cat or dog for even a penny they must be vet certified and have all their shots (not just rabies but all their shots).
Also the dog I have right now we got free from a Collie Rescue. She was bought by a couple at one time. She had non-contagious mange and her one ear is not tipped, thus she could not be shown or bred. They let all her hair fall out and she got full of sores. They then took her in to be euthanized. The vet saw she still had a lot of life left in her and called Collie rescue. It took $75 worth of antibiotics to fix her up, the same price the original owners paid to have her put to sleep. We got her a few months later when she was all better. We still have to battle the mange now and then but that is about it. We never paid a dime for her to the rescue. She was given to us. The ones who paid the $500 (Collies run that or more here in Florida)were the ones who didn't treat her right so charging money doesn't mean anything really. If someone isn't going to treat them right the money won't mean much.
Just my opinion on this but wanted to chime in on it.
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | Tell you the truth it really doesn't matter whether the cats were bought or not...It's the principle of the thing..animals shouldn't be advertised like that on Craigslist like that at all. I realize a lot of pets are available via the internet through places like petfinder.com and pet-ark.com but these agencies/shelters are run by pet rescuers..not just any old body just trying to get rid of an unwanted pet. Also these rescuers for the most part carefully screen people who do want to adopt.. I personally know a lot of rescuers--and I do know that charging fees for pets really doesn't mean diddly squat either unfortunately. But how carefully does someone, who isn't a pet rescuer, "screen" someone who is interested in their pet that they're finding a new home for? Bet not much.
Out of topic: Geez, haven't seen you around in awhile..LOL..hope you've been okay | | | |
| emeraldisle (8959)
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5 years ago
| | Well I'll be honest and say I've never been to Craig's list so can't say on that. I will also add that recently we had found a dog that still had her collar and leash on her. She was wondering around on a road near swamp land. We put up notices on finding her and checked all the local businesses but no one called. So yes we put up a notice on freecycle to get her a new home, we could not keep her. We can't afford to. I got several emails slamming me for it. All of them with a copy/paste of that PETA/SPCA notice about how "Even a $25 fee keeps them from going to a lab. That only legitimate owners will pay out the money for them." (this is paraphrasing since I don't have the notice handy) So I'm a bit over sensitive on this issue due to that.
Actually when we got Lassie (she came with that name) the woman talked with us on the phone, met with us at her place only, and that was it. She never checked back with us on her. We figured she would but she didn't. So not all rescuers do the screening you are talking about. I know the pounds around here don't. Neither does the humane society for the adoption of pets. Only the SPCA and the one near us goes way over board to where they have trouble getting homes for the pets. Years ago my sister went there to get a dog and most of the things she understood but when they asked who would be with the dog while she was at work and she told them I'd stop in to walk the dog they said that wasn't good enough. Someone had to be with the dog at all times. You can't leave them alone for more then fifteen minutes. They stated "Would you leave a baby alone for hours?". My sister was single and lived alone. She could not afford a baby sitter for a dog which is what they wanted. She didn't get a pet from them.
The problem comes in you start demanding that people charge a price for the pet then some states like Florida require them to be vet certified etc. The owner then figures well I need to recoup how much I've put out on the pet. We had a woman down the street from us who sold shih-tzu puppies for $300; no papers, no vet check, and no shots. (She didn't realize or didn't care that she was to have those) When we asked on that she looked at us and stated "Well if I had their vet check and shots I'd have to charge at least $600 for them since I'd have to put out all that money up front". She didn't screen the new owners at all either.
From what I've seen except for the SPCA most do very minimal checking at best. Most average person figure since they've seen those comments about the $25 fee keeping pets safe from going to a lab figure they don't have to bother. Even our one local paper has stopped taking the "Free to good home ads" and state in the paper the thing about the "Even $25 fee etc". It makes it appear that if they charge that small fee they have to be going to a good home so why bother to check? The money doesn't guarantee anything as you agreed. All it does is keep raising the price of the family pet to were the average person cannot afford to get one especially if they then have to turn around and get them checked, shots, fixed etc.
As to the off topic I've been around but I've been seriously disappointed in mylot lately. Just not like it was. Maybe I'll get back into it more but just seems like there aren't enough hours in the day to sort through it all and do everything else. | | | |
 Sacrificialclam (4461)
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5 years ago
| |  "It took $75 worth of antibiotics to fix her up, the same price the original owners paid to have her put to sleep"
I went to a horse rescue I volounteer at a lot to do some chairty work and training with the rescue horses. Some lady brought in 3 PMU mares (mares kept pregnant and are stalled all day and their urine is collected for the menapause drug, Premarine). Two of them were sociable and were adoptable right away, but the third they wanted to euthanize due to her unenthusiastic look on life. She wouldn't raise her head up, wouldn't look at anyone, wouldn't respond. They called the vet to euth her and I threw a fit and adopted her on the spot.
Fast forward 4 years. You wouldn't know this mare I've got was a PMU abuse victim. It took me almost 5 months before she'd respond to me brushing or talking or petting her, but one day I saw the slightest movement in her head when I kept calling out her name as I was brushing her. It was all downhill from there. She is still VERY shy with strangers and won't let anyone but me ride her, but I got her out of that shell with a little bit of patience, some apple treats and a brush. The brush cost me $16 at PetCo.
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| Sacrificialclam (4461)
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5 years ago
| | I can't spell today, either. Should be volunteer, not whatever that mess was I typed out. | | | |
| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | Wow here...first of all I never heard anything so asinine as the business with the SPCA ...like a lot of people DO have pets but aren't home 24/7 to take care of it...I mean really.."You can't leave them alone for more than fifteen minutes.?? That's insane--I be they didn't adopt too many pets out with that attitude...and I know that our ASPCA doesn't make such demands like that
As for the woman who had the shih-tzu puppies for sale...it seems to me, to make more sense to have the animals vet checked to see if they are healthy...what if it turned out they weren't, they got sick...would she take them back and refund the money she WAS asking for? Probably not
I agree that no matter what "fee" a shelter or rescuer asks for is no guarantee that it will make the pets safer from possible psychos from adopting them. But $25 does seem a bit lame amount to ask.
I guess each state however does run things differently though, and it seems were you are things are a bit lax on any real regulations on how shelters or pet rescuers screen potential pet owners...all I know here in NY its a lot more stringent--and mind you I am talking about pet rescuers..for instance, was the woman with the puppies a pet rescuer or just someone trying to get rid of an unwanted litter?
Yeesh Sacrificialclam....I guess that is another route to go about..the idea of keeping horses pregnant just to get their urine for the menopause medication...I'm sure there are better alternatives than that...I actually did know a woman was on some kind of menopause med but it was the kind that DOESN'T use horse urine--wonder if people are aware of this crap also.....bet not. | | | |
| Sacrificialclam (4461)
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5 years ago
| | The horse wee form is easier and cheaper to make. | | | |
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| 4. ElicBxn (24680)
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5 years ago
| |  And this is why I've been going thru this adoption group to find homes for the cats I want to place. They ask questions like "do you plan to declaw" and "have you declawed a cat before?" They also do a "vet" check to make sure that you are or have provided good care of a pet before. And then we also charge $125, that provides for all the shots, fixing, and microchipping.
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | I'm glad to see you're so meticulous about the whole adoption procedure...most rescuers are..unfortunately those that advertise in Craigslist for the most part of "ordinary" people just wanting to get rid of a pet they no longer want or that unexpected litter they suddenly have.. | | | |
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| 5. loolets (1332)
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5 years ago
| |  Reading that just makes my stomach turn. I am not surprised, nothing surprises me anymore, but this is just insane. I think it should be much longer in jail, or prison. People who can do this are very disturbed. Thank you so much, my friend, for informing us about Craig's List. I feel so bad for Taylor, and all the other animals out there. I hope everyone here is aware of what happens behind circuses too. It's awful. I'm glad I've never been to one and never will be. If I go, it's to report cruelty. And zoos aren't exactly the best place either. Polar bears are just overheated in the summer, and somewhat decent in the winter. They are made for the north. Sorry for rambling. My heart goes out to all those who are abused, and/or neglected.
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | Nope you're not rambling...it upset me too no end to hear things like this...too bad they don't have the same penalties for people who torture/kill animals as they do with people | | | |
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| 6. Lakota12 (23203)
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5 years ago
| |  this is so sick . I guess they better stop giving away the pets and that sounded like some kind of ritual of some sort being in a triangle maybe he was wanting to go to prison!
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | I plan to write a letter to the CEO of Craigslist to do a better screening of what ads and posts they accept on their site. | | | |
| Lakota12 (23203)
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5 years ago
| | what get s me how it got on there in the first place for this is a list for things like work at home ads . my daughter has several ads on there fo r our 2 business altho we heard it was good to get leads from have had little takers But then I look my self and there is so many ads on there dont know how any one finds our ads lol
related resources: business leads, home business leads | | | |
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| 7. AxranraRose82 (651)
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5 years ago
| |  Craigslist doesn't seem to be a bad place- I am sure with enough protest and coaxing from the public they will absolutely work with everyone and prohibit the listing of free pets. Or they might at least consider posting a warning that listing your pet for free might bring around the wrong kind of people who only want to hurt your pets.
It is true that some people want a pet but cannot afford the adoption fee. But it could also be argued that if one cannot afford that particular fee that they probably wouldn't be able to afford the cost of taking care of the pets, including food, vet bills, shots and all of that. Even if you only do the required vaccines there are still costs associated with owning an animal. So if someone can't afford the adoption fee they probably can't give your pet the care it needs.
It is so sad (and frightening!) that there are people who do this to animals. They are people who you really have to worry about because many killers have started with animals...
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | I do hope people will protest the listing of pets on Craigslist..I just don't think that is the proper place to list pets...there are many agencies/pet shelters and rescuers listed on Petfinder.com and Pet-ark.com...this is the more reliable place to place animals for adoption. And you're right..if people can't afford an adoption fee, which is fairly small..how are they going to properly care for the pet for ten, fifteen or more years?? | | | |
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8.  MSV1313 (2239)
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5 years ago
| |  What a horrible story.
Another thing about offering up free pets, is that bad people will take little cats and dogs and use them as "bait" when training their dogs for fighting. These poor animals are terrified and helpless until the dog finally rips them to shreds. Sometimes small dogs and cats are even stolen from people's yards by these sickos who then send the little creaturse to horrible deaths so they can further encourage viciousness in fighting dogs.
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | I know the whole thing is sickening and I'm also aware how people will "adopt" pets only to use them as "practice" bait for dog fights.. | | | |
| MSV1313 (2239)
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5 years ago
| | We should round up all the "people" who engage in such activities and use them as "bait" for alligators to practice on. Let the punishment fit the crime, I say. | | | |
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| 9. Sacrificialclam (4461)
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5 years ago
| | Dear God that makes me want to vomit. I've heard of another man who got a sweet, innocent blue eyed gray tabby off of craigslist. he took it home and PHOTOGRAPHED it being burned. The first few photos show the kitten walking around, fine. The next few of the kitten show him pawing at the camera and meowing. The next ones show him squinting in pain as the lighter fluid is being squirted and the last ones show him running in pain, screaming as his body burns. His head did not catch on fire, but after he was dead, the asshat squirted lighter fliud on the now deceased kitten's head and took more photos of his head ablaze.
The man got I think a few months probation and a fine. That's it.
I would NEVER advertise any living being on cragislist. eBay almost added a live pets section, but the overwhelming negative response led eBay to shut that down. | | | | | | |
| loolets (1332)
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5 years ago
| | Oh my gosh...if I watched that, that would haunt me forever. Even just hearing about it...ugh...they need to send him to prison. This is just awful. I feel so bad for that kitten. I almost cried picturing that cute little kitten just walking around and then being set on fire for no reason. Why is society letting these disturbed, sadistic people run loose with only a slap on the hand? If they advertise any 'free' kittens or puppies, I'm ordering them all and finding them good homes. This is just ridiculous. | | | |
| MSV1313 (2239)
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5 years ago
| | OMG I am going to have nightmares about that poor little cat.
I hope someone finds that guy and does the same thing to him! | | | |
| AxranraRose82 (651)
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5 years ago
| | MSV1313:
That is exactly what I was thinking as I read this! What are they going to do when it is a person he is doing it to instead of a kitty? Freakin sicko... | | | |
| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | All I can say is that there are too many sickos in the world...E-bay has a strict policy of not placing any animals up for "auction" or "buy now"--so I sure wish Craigslist would follow suit...I just wish when sickos treat any animal like this they get more than just a few months probation and a fine...they should be charged with murder as if it were a person they burned or tortured and get the same penalities | | | |
| Sacrificialclam (4461)
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5 years ago
| | I haven't seen cats/dogs on eBay, but I do see a lot of fish on eBay. I know I wouldn't list any of my animals on eBay. Plus when I get one, I keep it forever. They are with me until death. | | | |
| MSV1313 (2239)
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5 years ago
| | My animals are also with me until the end of our lives (mine or theirs), this includes my fish. | | | |
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| 10. someonesmom (2277)
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5 years ago
| |  Hi pyewacket,
This discussion has brought me to tears. I could hardly stand to look at 'Taylor's' beautiful face. What in the world is wrong with people ... I'm just venting here, so you don't have to answer that, and I 'already' know what's wrong with 'some evil people.' The idea of these pets being offered on Craigslist, is very scary. I don't think they should offer 'any' pets on there, even if a fee is charged. When I was growing up, we had a 'lot' of litters of kittens. This is a long time ago now, and we'd put ads in our local paper, and give them away, free to good homes. Hopefully, the outcome was a good one, back then, as the world has changed so drastically now, and in 'some' ways, not for the better.
Let me know if there's a petition etc. to be offered, re: the Craigslist issue. I'd be more than happy to sign. Thanks, pyewacket.
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| pyewacket (12221)
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5 years ago
| | Here's the link for the petition to sign..I also plan to email the CEO of Criagslist personally with my thoughts about this...
http://getactive.peta.org...
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| someonesmom (2277)
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5 years ago
| | Thanks for this link, and the 'other information,' pyewacket. | | | |
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