Vick Sentenced to 23 months in Prison

RICHMOND, Va. (Dec. 10) - Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls.The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback could have been sentenced up to five years by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Vick, who turned himself in Nov. 19 in anticipation of his sentence, was wearing a black-and-white striped prison suit.After Vick apologized to the court and his family, Hudson told him: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you.""Yes, sir," Vick answered.Vick acknowledged he used "poor judgment" and added, "I'm willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for my actions." To read full story go to http://www.njafa.org/mikevickanimalabuse.htm

CHAINED DOG GIVES BIRTH OUTSIDE TO FIFTEEN PUPPIES on COLDEST DAY IN FEBRUARY, ALL BUT FIVE DIE...

Coco was CHAINED to her doghouse on the coldest day of 2007, February 7 in Councilman Robert McCann’s backyard and gave birth to FIFTEEN puppies while he and his mother, Rita Dickerson, stood by and watched. When we asked why they didn’t let her in, they said "She has never been in the house and has been chained for nine years and has always had her pups outside". NJAFA had to purchase the puppies to get them out of the cold and rent the mother for $250 so the puppies could live. The owner would not let us have the puppies unless we agreed to RETURN Coco after the babies were weaned. We agreed but not without her being spayed. We also then had to purchase another puppy for another $l00. All but 5 puppies died due to hypothermia.Sadly, we were forced to return Coco after she was done weaning the surviving puppies. Unfortunately, Coco also now has been diagnosed with Lyme and Heartworm disease. Coco was returned to Councilman McCann and his mother, Rita Dickerson.NJ SPCA filed cruelty charges to Chiselhurst City Councilman Robert McCann, 225 White Horse Pike, Chiselhurst, NJ, on May 1, 2007 for failure to provide proper shelter.

Update on Adoptable Pets

Adoptable pets available through NJAFA as of September 27, 2007 are:


Lola

Fanny/Fiona

Chester

Millie

See our blog entries about these cuties below or under Adoptable Pets section of our website!

Adoptable Pets Loveable Lola

Lola our loveable pitbull is going to be going to a wonderful individual who will be giving her PRIVATE TRAINING lessons while they foster her AND help us to find her forever home.

She is already PERFECT but will be more perfect after our friends tweak her manners a bit.

Lola can already sit, down and rolls over. Needs to work a bit on come and stay!!!! She LOVES potato chips and you can take a rawhide right out of her mouth and give her a pill with no problem. She loves to just lay on the couch and do nothing next to you.

You can still contact us if you are interested and we will put you in touch with Loveable Lola.

Thanks to EVERYONE who contributed toward her surgery. She had three badly infected teeth removed and had her patella luxation repaired. She will be limping a bit for awhile but that hasn't daunted her wonderful friendly spirit.

For information on adopting Lola or to give a donation towards helping animals, see NJAFA's internet site.

NJ Aid for Animals: Dauntless, Dedicated, Educated

CAMDEN COUNTY -- There’s a new animal rescue in town: a group that is unfettered by the kind of bureaucracy and politics that seem to bog down the other animal rescue behemoths. And the good news is, New Jersey Aid for Animals (NJAFA) is making a difference.
Kathy McGuire, Founder and President of South Jersey-based NJAFA believes that directly working the problem is the only solution to solving it. This diminutive, dedicated dynamo is so serious about rescuing helpless creatures from the horrific conditions imposed by their abusers, she’ll go right into places others fear to tread and is an intrepid traveler checking out tips from all over New Jersey about cruelty and then reporting it to the authorities when others “may not want to get involved”.
Topping the list of priorities on her daily to-do list, when she is not investigating the cruelty tips that come in, is educating people about spaying and neutering their pets –
“We are the ONLY non profit that travels regularly into Camden and personally takes animals from people's homes to get them altered and returns them the same night because these individuals don't have the money or transportation to get it done themselves. No one else does what we do. NJAFA is adamant about the importance of spaying/neutering because of the severe overpopulation of cats and dogs. McGuire explains “Checking out cruelty tips and then reporting it to the authorities, is as much of a priority for me as helping to prevent it – and a major way of doing that is educating people on the importance of spaying/neutering and getting it done myself if that’s what it takes She is well known in Camden and gets calls daily from individuals to have their animals spayed or neutered.
“We aid animals in all counties of New Jersey but focus our dedication and compassion for Camden City, New Jersey's animals,” McGuire explains. “Because we are headquartered in Camden County, a Camden County animal may receive a major portion of our funding for spaying and neutering and, when we have the funds, for needed medical procedures.” Armed with a tough, no-nonsense approach that offers zero tolerance for uncivilized behavior of humans toward the helpless, McGuire doesn’t just field calls from concerned citizens who report abuse cases – she acts on them. A seasoned animal rescuer for almost two decades, McGuire is a certified NJ State Cruelty Investigator and Animal Control Officer, she has done due diligence to make sure of her legal standing when putting in her time and efforts on behalf of abused animals and against the abusers.
In fact, when she was newly certified three years ago, the NJSPCA asked her to coordinate the rescue and placement of two major animal hoarding cases because of her unique approach to saving animals. McGuire pulled out more than 100 animals from two hoarders and saved 98 percent of them from being forced to shelters and being euthanized, which is the usual protocol.
In her tireless mission to stop the suffering – one animal at a time – McGuire is all too aware that animal abusers will many times escalate to abusing and even murdering other humans. This proven phenomenon provides even more motivation to eradicate the cruelty and support changes in legislation on the local and state level that give more latitude to investigators and cruelty officers and toughen the consequences for abusers.
Lauded for her “unique quality for investigation” by her instructor at the police academy where she acquired her training, McGuire possesses a rare kind of integrity that is part of her day-to-day routine: whether it is raising funds, attempting to reason with an abusive animal owner or fearlessly obtaining video of the abuse. Her tenacity, coupled with her talent for research and knowledge of the statutes, make her a formidable crusader for animals in distress.
Heads up to animal abusers: Watch out – love her or hate her, she’s here to stay.
New Jersey Aid for Animals in privately funded by donations and has no paid staff. The organization has 501-c3 tax-exempt status and is registered with the State of NJ Attorney General’s Office to solicit donations.
For more information, to volunteer or to be considered for our Advisory Board, please log on to www.njafa.org or call McGuire directly at (856) 498-3978.

Success Stories - Precious

UPDATED 8/2007 - Adopted

Precious – Adorable Black Chow

What can we say about this little girl? Her owner was selling puppies on the streets of Camden and she was the only one left, so we told the owner we would take the puppy but we would PAY FOR the mother to be spayed and get all her shots.

Precious’ mother was spayed last Thursday courtesy of NJAFA after having had four litters of puppies. She is an adorable little dog and the father is a full bred black chow whom we have not been able to locate. We were able to find the owner of Precious’ sibling and we will be having that puppy altered as well.

Precious is currently living with a foster who has small children, a baby, a large German Shepherd and two other small dogs. She is paper trained, crate trained and friendly with cats….she doesn’t mouth like most puppies .. 4.9 pounds and 9 weeks old…she loves to be held and will be about 40 pounds full grown

Success Stories - Heidi

HEIDI


She was surrendered to Kathy McGuire in Camden City where she had been living outside for the last year....she has found a home with some very wonderful people in Northern New Jersey.

Thanks to our friends at Pretty Up Your Pup in Williamstown, NJ who sponsored Heidi for her fabulous haircut!! They sure work miracles there as is obvious!!!

NEW PHOTOS OF HEIDI 8/8/07