Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) grows by leaps & bounds with Chapters all over the State, newest Ft. Worth

THLN is the voice at the Texas Legislature for untold numbers of animals throughout Texas who suffer horrific abuse and tragic neglect at the hands of callous humans. If you agree that animals deserve compassion and their abusers deserve punishment, we invite you to answer the call to justice by joining Texas Humane Legislation Network. http://www.thln.org/

That Big Bang Of A Dog-Fighting Bust Turns Into A Weak Whimper In The Courtroom - Houston News - Hair Balls

That Big Bang Of A Dog-Fighting Bust Turns Into A Weak Whimper In The Courtroom - Houston News - Hair Balls: "prosecutors doled out light sentences because, in most instances, the defendants were spectators, and were not witnessed entering dogs in fights. (Participants in dog fights can face up to two years in prison; spectators can get a year in jail and a $4,000 fine)."

Vote Debra Medina for Governor

We will all benefit for such a leader making the "executive" decisions for the State of Texas. She's really a cool person. Check her out before you vote!! http://www.medinafortexas.com/

Debra Medina must be our Governor!

Or we lose as Texans!! I agree, if we are paying property taxes, we don't 'own' our property -- we LEASE it from the government! Debra Medina

Debra Medina is the Winner!!

This candidate for Governor of Texas....I so hope she makes it in a runoff with Perry. She'd whip him across any stage in any debate! Debra Medina is the one to vote for now....in Texas!! http://www.medinafortexas.com/.

1st Annual Conference for Texas Humane Legislation Network is History...now on to the 2nd Annual Conference...

What a successful Conference! It was a personal experience for me and as a person who cares that animals are treated in a humane fashion ALL of their lives, I cannot tell you how much I appreciate Cile Holloway (and her mother who has passed on).....the Founders of THLN! Thirty-five (35) years in the making, it seems that now is THLN's time. For those of you who truly care that animals in Texas are treated in a humane fashion, please take the time to visit http://www.thln.org/ and donate money to this organization. The keynote speaker was Michael Markarian, COO & Exec. V.P. of The Humane Society of the United States. Profound quotes that I heard at Conference include:

"Change is a Process, not an Event," Cile Holloway, President & Founder of THLN

"It's not so much about 'Animal Rights' as it is about Human Responsibility." Michael Markarian, HSUS

Texas Humane Legislation Network fundraiser - Monday, Aug. 31st, Grapevine, Texas

Do you care about the neglected animals, cruelly confined animals, starving animals, stray animals in your neighborhood, community, city and/or state? Please attend our party or call and just donate over the phone, Monday, August 31st, 5p-7p, D'Vine Wine, 409 Main St., Grapevine, Texas. http://www.thln.org/. Guest speakers: Senator Wendy Davis, Cile Holloway, President of THLN, Rick Bousquet, Executive Director of THLN.

The Humane Society of the United States & Texas Puppy Mills

I am so thankful for HSUS. The Puppy Mill raids have been a life saving experience for so many thousands of dogs, especially the Puppy Mill Mothers -- the dogs who's life is enslaved to having litter after litter. We need animal cruelty laws enforced and State cruelty law loopholes closed. Also, know who your Veterinarian is and if he is a member of the Texas Veterinary Medical Association. TVMA came out so strongly AGAINST the Puppy Mill Bill that was put forth the Texas Legislature last session of 2009, it was lost. Why? Money. This is wrong. We are better than this as a citizenry of the State of Texas. We are further along than this in the State of Texas. We can do better.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/texas_puppy_mil_081809.html

http://www.thln.org/

http://www.humanesociety.org/

Come ask questions of Candidate for Texas Governor, Debra Medina in East Fort Worth, Tuesday, August 25th

Medina will be speaking at business offices of Painless Performance (hot rod electronics company), 2501 Ludelle St., Ft. Worth, TX 76105. She is the real deal, honest, genuine, tell it like it is, intelligent, balanced, impressive, well spoken candidate for our Texas Governor. Give her a chance, come listen, come ask your questions. Hope to see you there. www.medinafortexas.com

Watch the results of Puppy Mill Raid in Kaufman County

http://video.hsus.org/index.jsp?fr_story=041631787a1a3c1da9474e82599210bfbcc5054d.

"In the Fiscal Years 2006-2007, the City of Dallas had no choice but to euthanize 26,979 unwanted pets. It would take 550 DART buses to transport...

the same number of people, or 63 Boeing 747 jets."

Homeward Bound Animal Rescue - Dallas, Fort Worth, TX

I just don't believe that your average American realizes the enormity of the out of control unwanted dogs/cats in this country, or in our municipalities. I am grateful for politicians who stand up and speak up for the dogs/cats.

Homeward Bound Animal Rescue is a great organization for animals needing rescued, adopted, cared for medically, etc. in the Dallas, Fort Worth area. They are on Facebook, please become a fan and send them twenty bucks.

Did your dog come from a Puppy Mill? Texas Vet Association opposes the Puppy Mill Bill! Find out what your Veterinarian supports!

There is a House Bill in committee to somewhat 'regulate' how dogs should be treated, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association came out against the Bill. Why? Are they putting money over the welfare of our beloved pets? I say "seems like it." Better ask your Vet if she/he supports the almighty dollar over the welfare of our 'domesticated' dogs!

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20090522.DA21714&show_article=1

http://www.thln.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga-395CX6fY

A letter of reference to an Attorney on behalf of an employee facing 40 years -- 3 felonies for drug possession

Below is a letter I sent to the attorney for my employee. It's very disturbing to me that we have violent offenders (killers) walking the streets of E. Lancaster that we can't keep in jail, but we can't get non-violent offenders (who are putting forth great effort to remain clean & lead productive lives) out of jail. I'm for change!

Dear Ms. _____ –

So n so has been a part time employee of mine since December 2008. I have known so-n-so to be a very hard worker with a compassionate heart. I knew when I hired so-n-so that she had a criminal record with drug use. I purposefully hire people with a non-violent criminal history because I believe it is important to give such individuals a chance to work and participate in a productive cause for their life.

My business is in the middle of the homeless shelters in Ft. Worth so I get a bird’s eye view of the product of our system -- people with criminal records not being able to find jobs. It’s something that cost us taxpayers enormously! I am a huge proponent of “helping” non-violent offenders – not enabling them, but actually “helping” them get their lives back together. I am also a huge proponent of early childhood intervention and development of “at-risk” children as I believe that irresponsible parenting is the cause of most of our drug, crime & homeless problems in society.

Please let me know how I can help with so-n-so's case. I have witnessed so-n-so put forth a tremendous effort towards a drug free, responsible, hard working, productive life in the past few months and hope that our justice system will invest in keeping so-n-so clean & productive, especially since she has the desire to participate in, and work for the betterment of such.

Feel free to contact me anytime.

Respectfully,

Suzette Watkins

Once again, The Ft. Worth Police Department Fails (at the Taxpayer's expense)

For three years now, I have been spending hundreds of my personal volunteer hours doing the job that my opponent should be doing so that people like me, who live and/or work in City Council District 8, East Ft. Worth, can live, work, play and/or retire in a safe, clean, prosperous neighborhood in this great, beautiful City of Fort Worth.

I have sent countless emails to my City Council representative, Kathleen Hicks and other City Reps, spoken on the phone countless times with 911 operators, & Shift Supervisors, spoken personally with many beat police officers, Lieutenants, Captains, Sergeants, visited with many business owners around this Neighborhood, gone downtown to meetings about this issue with my Council Rep, gone to the Police Forums, gone to Town Hall meetings for the District, have even shown up at a few Neighborhood Association meetings, worked on Committees with the Mayors Advisory Commission on Homelessness, even pleaded with the Police Department to ENFORCE the criminal trespass law --10% of the time, they have enforced it.

I agree, Homelessness is not a crime; however, criminal trespassing is a crime.

Case and point: After much hard work, I got the District Attorney's office to approve me as a representative for my business neighbor's private property so that I could serve as the complainant on the Criminal Trespass warning that has to be written before one can be taken to jail for Criminal Trespassing. This letter, which I have faxed to the Captains that work this Division, authorizes the officers to issue a warning to perpetrators of the Criminal Trespass law. If the individual is caught on the property a second time, he/she goes to jail.

This tool works lovely because 99% of the individuals don't want to go to jail. It interrupts their druggin and drinking, so....they stay away from the area where they were given a Trespass Warning.

Problem is.....we as Business Owners on E. Lancaster cannot get the Ft. Worth Police Department to consistently enforce the law.

I called two nights ago on 4 people criminally trespassing on private business, posted property and requested that the Officers follow procedure and give me a copy of the trespass warning. Officers came out and did not issue a Criminal Trespass Warning. Nevermind that they gave tickets for drinking near a shelter, that's not the point. The perpetrators should have been issued a Criminal Trespass Warning along with their ticket for drinking w/in 1000 feet of a shelter.

The reasons that I have been given are the same reasons I've been given 100 times before: officer forgot, officers didn't know they were suppose to, officers aren't aware of the procedure, the Divisions are different now and we don't know the history, etc.

I have asked, pleaded, begged, along with several other Business Owners around E. Lancaster and we get NO CONSISTENT RESULTS!

What we do get is lip service from the Ft. Worth Police Department's Big Shots...(the ones who we taxpayers pay hard earned tax dollars to manage & lead their part of the deparment and to make sure the the communication flows up and down the Department) that there will be "zero tolerance" that there will be "community this and community that," I say that 50% of that talk has been nothing but BS! (Here in Texas, that means Bull Shit!)

I say, it's time that the people of District 8 elect a representative to the City Council office that really does give two hoots about what goes on in this District, someone that will actually advocate for, and expect change, someone that will hold all of those Captains, Lieutenants, Sergeants of the Police force (whose salary is paid by the taxpayers) accountable to their words, someone that will actually get her hands dirty and not go along to get along in the bureaucratic game of politics nor go along to get along for fear of ruffling feathers in the name of personal political gain.

http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/

http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/donate.html

Why would you hang out all day & night at a Convenience Store?

The Good Neighbor friendly owner of this corner store has gone to the trouble to put up those shiny metal plates on the black post in order to keep vagrants from sitting there and passing the time, dealing drugs, drinking beer, smoking crack, loitering, and various other past times on his property. He also does not sell the 40oz. fortified alcoholic beverages which greatly helps the habitual drunkards from hanging around his business which greatly helps this intersection of E. Lancaster & Riverside from looking as filthy, unsafe & infested with criminal activity as it has looked in the recent past.

When we allow Crime Activity to continue...this is what the neighborhood looks like

This is in City Council District 8 East Ft. Worth, Texas -- the District with the most crime of all the Districts in Ft. Worth for at least the past 3 years. Hence, I'm running for this seat and I sure hope I am able to boot the current seated member out! I can do a better job! I have new ideas, I have a proven record. I'm not afraid to speak up. I'll move this District along faster. I'll address the issues. I will work hard in an effective manner. I will not take criticism as personal attacks. I will not request that you call me "The Honorable anything" or "Councilmember" or any of those other undeserving titles....my name is Suzette and you can call me Suzette, I won't be offended in any way, shape or form. I'm no better than the next person and see no need for the uppity titles/names.

http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/ http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/donate.html

Thank you Senator Jim Webb for speaking up for the need of Prison Reform

"Drug addicts and the mentally ill take up cells that would be better used for violent criminals. And politicians have failed to address this costly problem for fear of being labeled "soft on crime." Senator Jim Webb

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/28/AR2008122801728.html

I wonder if our local reps have the courage and/or wisdom to address such. Reforming jail & prison systems -- such a needed task! Such a failed system on which the politicians waste so many billions of our tax dollars. So many lives lost due to the negligence and courage-lessness of our politicians. Such was the case for Mr. J.B. Rai who lost his life in East Ft. Worth's neighborhood of West Meadowbrook (Council District 8) to a violent killer who had served 10 years in prison and been arrested recently for violent Misdemeanor crimes but only held in jail for 2 months and released back to the streets of Ft. Worth. Why? Because we don't have any true leaders in government who give enough of a damn and are willing to truly advocate for real change we can believe in, in Ft. Worth and the State of Texas regarding prison & jail reform.

Another reason to vote for me for District 8 City Council seat in Ft. Worth. District 8. The District has carried the most crime in the City of Ft. Worth for at least the past 3 years while my opponent has sat in office and done nothing about it.

Come to my $20 Rahr Brewery fundraiser on Wednesday, Feb. 18th and find out how I will lower crime in this District and what my plans are for the betterment of City Council District 8. Something my opponent hasn't been able to do in the three years she's been in office.
http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/

East Ft. Worth suspected Killer had past Criminal History

"According to Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials, Coulter was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1994 on an aggravated robbery conviction out of Amarillo. He was paroled in August 2004, after serving almost 10 years, and his sentence completed in February 2007.
Tarrant County court records and Fort Worth police reports show Coulter had two misdemeanor convictions in 2008 for assault with bodily injury – one involving a 61-year-old male victim and the other a 52-year-old female family member. In both cases, Coulter was sentenced to 60 days in jail."

http://www.star-telegram.com/229/story/1127459.html

How many times have I said that our elected officials must start to CHANGE the way we punish criminals. Especially, first time, non-violent offenders, drug offenders, Misdemeanor offenders, etc. Putting criminals in a room for a period of time and expecting them to be a changed person when the door is open is a waste of millions of our tax dollars.

Help me get elected to the District 8 City Council seat and you will see an outspoken working girl for the people. You will see someone advocating for DIFFERENT ways of conducting business in our City Hall, jails, municipal courts, county jails, state prisons, neighborhood homeless shelters, neighborhood motels, police department staff duties and accountabilities, neighborhood associations, etc. With a seat on the Council, I will be better able to directly influence CHANGE for the taxpayers, the homeless population, the criminal population, the non-profit businesses....everybody! Everybody is somebody in District 8 and everybody needs some accountability thrown their way. What we do in government MUST work for the people....the taxpayers....the owners of government!

http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/

www.meetup.com/suzette-watkins

www.youtube.com/suzetteforcouncil

East Ft. Worth's stray/loose dog problem is Out of Control

I know you are probably getting tired of hearing about the stray dogs in City Council District 8 in East Ft. Worth. Just think if you had to actually witness it instead of just reading about it? Today as I was traveling down I30, I saw two dogs running around near the Interstate. I stopped and walked toward them to see if they would come to me. Of course not, they ran away from the highway into a nearby neighborhood. I drove around and found them (white dog in picture). The red one came up to me and ate some food, but I couldn't get my hands on him. He had ticks all over him and a huge infected area on top of his head. As I was driving away, I saw 3 other stray dogs (above). I placed several calls to Ft. Worth's Animal Control which is overwhelmed with dogs and calls. (817-392-3737 - leave message, they check them!) All dogs were UN-neutered, UN-spayed (intact). Thank goodness for Humane Society of North Texas. They take all dogs. I was able to catch 3 of the 5 dogs that I saw and take them over to the Humane Society. That is 3 dogs unable to impregnate or kill another one. That is 3 less dogs for you to run over with your car. That is 3 less dogs to cause a car wreck, etc. They take in and adopt out an enormous amount of dogs and they have an adoption center.

Due to the fact that the City of Ft. Worth does not aggressively enforce the current dog ordinances and due to the fact that the Texas State legislators have not aggressively addressed the problem with irresponsible dog ownership, we have a problem here that is costing all of us millions of tax dollars to pay staff to answer the phones at Animal Control, drive around & pick up the dogs, shelter the dogs, euthanize the dogs, dispose of the dogs, pick up dead dogs on roadways, take dead dogs to city landfill, etc. Not to mention the thousands of dogs, mostly Pitt Bull dogs in East Ft. Worth that our FW police officers shoot and kill. I could go on and on and on about the ramifications and the price we, the taxpayers, pay for irresponsible dog ownership. It gets into a "property rights" argument so I say we need to consider moving dogs out of the category of "property" in the big picture of the issue.

Please write your elected officials and tell them h0w you feel about the problem of stray dogs running our streets, neglected, not neutered or spayed, etc. I would appreciate your comments below with your thoughts on how to solve this out of control, costly problem. I would like to see ALL the current City Ordinances enforced and some changed.

I feel the same way about dogs that I do children, if you choose to own one then it is your responsibility to love and care for them, not the taxpayer's. I think the parents of such should be held accountable.

http://www.suzetteforcouncil.com/

Help the animals, order a specialized license plate

Did you know that if you purchase this specialized license plate that you help control our out of control animal population here in Texas that our law makers and enforcers are allowing to happen day after day?

Thanks to Texas drivers’ support of the Animal Friendly Fund, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has been able to distribute grant funds for spay/neuter surgeries for 30,241 dogs and cats in Texas. This has potentially prevented the unwanted births of approximately 1 million cats and 500,000 dogs over the next seven years! An additional benefit is that the 30,241 animals have received rabies vaccinations. By the conclusion of the 2008 fiscal year, DSHS will have distributed $1,196,493 in grants toward the low-cost spays and neuters.

If you would like to help reduce pet overpopulation in Texas, click here to order your Animal Friendly license plate.

If you already have an Animal Friendly license plate, thank you for being part of the solution!

Spay/Neuter Myths and Facts
Myth: Female dogs and cats should have at least one litter before having them spayed.

Fact: The best time to spay your female dog or cat is before her first heat. Early spaying greatly reduces the possibility of developing uterine, ovarian, or mammary cancer.
Myth: An animal’s behavior changes drastically after surgery.

Fact: The only changes in behavior you will see are positive ones. Male cats tend to reduce their territorial spraying, depending upon the age they are neutered. Male cats and dogs fight less, wander less, and greatly reduce their chances of being hit by a car or getting lost.
Myth: Animals become fat and lazy after being spayed or neutered.

Fact: Overweight animals are usually overfed and do not get enough exercise. If your pet is fat, reduce his calories and increase his walks and play time.

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/idcu/health/zoonosis/animal/control/shelters/information/tour/spayMyths.asp