Where's Dave, Director of HSUS NRRO

Dave has had a busy week. Here is the update in his own words. He's included photos.


Scrat: Gettiing Ready for A Soft Release

"I closed last week announcing my trip to Kalispell to do a shelter inspection and then back down to Missoula for a meeting before deadheading back to Billings. I met a great transitional team in Kalispell who is trying to maintain the good and to bring improvements to a County Animal Shelter that recently transferred from the Sheriffs Department to the County Health Office. Even though I only spent a few hours walking through the building and interviewing a few locals I think I can give them them some goals to shoot for.

This last week has been a whirlwind of activity on prairie dog, bison, canned hunting and animal fighting issues. The Mike Vick case continues to be a driving force in Idaho and Wyoming legislative circles and I have been doing more interviews on dog fighting in the past few months than in the past few years combined. It is sad to think it takes a case of that magnitude to bring the publics attention to this repulsive activity…but at long last we will see all fifty states make dog fighting a potential felony offense when ID and WY take legislative action.

I have also been spending considerable time trying to bring some closure to several old cruelty cases and to place the animals into forever homes. This includes six horses and four cats that we have been paying for intensive care for since January of 2006. It is unusual for animals to be held up in foster care for this extended period of time…but the system moves slowly and does not change much because it is living evidence.

For rescues I had calls for a mangy fox (that has not been spotted since the original call), some help catching Bullfrogs, and for the release of the pictured Western Prairie Rattler that was found in a residential neighborhood. This one was truly a bit more greenish than most but was a perfect match for the sagebrush prairie countryside I released it in. I also held a volunteer work party at my storage area and we managed to get over 50 live traps for upcoming feral cat clinics and Swift Fox relocation projects cleaned and partially painted for the projects. I am whittling away every morning and evening at getting a few more painted, tagged and prepared for this upcoming projects.

Released: Western Prairie Rattle Snake


For next week I will be attending a Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Exotic Animal Committee meeting in Helena, a Day long class on Pet Loss Grief Support and attempting to convert some turtle traps into Bullfrog traps to try to catch some bullfrogs from a few private ponds. (Bull frogs are non-native invasive species and I get them relocated to agencies in states where the frogs are native. I am also including my second to last photo of Scrat. He and Squeakers are gaining weight daily and will be ready for soft release by October first. I will try to remember to get you a photo of their soft release pen screwed to their birth tree. Until Next time…." Dave Pauli.