County's animal control office outnumbered: one officer for every 50,000 dogs and cats

By: Heidi Zhou-Castro for news8austin.com

By 8:30 a.m., animal control officer Mabel Lopez sets off on her day with a fittingly-dogged attitude. She leaves armed with dog treats, cat food and plenty of leashes which she needs it in order to tackle her department's morning workload of more than 50 calls.

Nineteen animal control officers cover the county. That's about one officer per every 50,000 dogs and cats. There are also countless bats, raccoons and other wild critters that sometimes find themselves in need of human assistance.

for more click here

MySpoiledPuppy.com is one sick puppy with a grade of "F" says Central Texas BBB

Texas-Based Company Selling Sick Animals Online

BBB serving Central, Coastal and Southwest Texas reports the Web site, MySpoiledPuppy.com, operated by the business Adorable Petz, currently has a BBB rating of F due to, among other things, revocation of BBB Accreditation and a pattern of complaints.

Consumer complaints received by BBB allege that puppies purchased from the company developed severe illnesses, resulting in high veterinary bills and, in some cases, death of the animal. Complaints received by BBB further allege the company was slow to return payments or deposits to consumers who did not receive pets.

Kristie Williams of San Antonio purchased a maltipoo puppy named Peyton from Adorable Petz on September 16, 2009 for $350. Five days later, the puppy was rushed to Williams’ vet.

“I got up one morning and she was totally limp,” said Williams. “After the vet visit, the breeder took her because he was going to take her to his vet, but she died in her sleep.”

Adorable Petz offered Williams a replacement puppy and she accepted on September 28th. Three days later, her new puppy Daisy became sick and was taken to the same veterinarian that saw her first puppy. Williams took Daisy back home after an overnight visit, but had to readmit her four days on October 6, 2009, when she was diagnosed with Parvo.

Source: TexasInsider.org