Surprisingly, some of the rabbits were hearty enough to survive, and once they were nursed back to health, they were readied for adoption through the Foothills Animal Shelter. However, (clarification) the Jeffco DA's office says twenty of them were dead, including a number of animals found in a farm freezer.
Although necropsies on the dead animals suggested that they had experienced pain and suffering before expiring, the jury considering the case ruled Bell not guilty in their death. But that still left 35 counts of animal cruelty on which she was convicted, with each one bringing a potential eighteen months in jail.
Bell had said only a few rabbits were dead. Truth will out.
The USDA sent a letter to the Dollarhites letting them off the hook for any and all fines, as long as the Dollarhites refrain from breeding animals for sale as pets. The Dollarhites got out of the baby bunny business in 2010, so this shouldn't be a problem. They won't have to pay one single penny in fines, so I don't know how this can be a problem. However they, and a tiny assortment of Tea Party members, including a writer for the site, Big Government, are unhappy with the result.
Not only are they unhappy, but they seem to be personally targeting the USDA employee who sent the Dollarhites a letter.
It does a heart good to see how much support and help Joplin is getting. The town needs it, too, because it has suffered through so much pain this week.
No matter how many stories I read or photos I see, I continue to be shocked, daily, at the destruction in Joplin, Missouri.
If you want to help, there are several good relief agencies you can donate to. Since this is a site about dogs, if you want to help the pets in Joplin, I recommend donating to the Joplin Humane Society. You can also help the society by purchasing items on an Amazon Wish list set up for just this disaster.
Susan Redden in the Joplin Globe on Governor Nixon's "solution":
I can only imagine how the lawmakers must feel after passing legislation and then seeing the governor turn around and propose his own plan. They must feel like the voters who passed Proposition B.
If you read the Letter of Agreement that Governor Nixon is touting today, you might recognize the name of Barbara York. Barbara, or Barb, York, featured prominently in the documentary "I Breathe".
In the following clip, York says how a person's backyard is nothing more than a cage:
This breeder has been repeatedly cited for filthy conditions and dogs that were desperately in need of care. He's repeatedly refused to allow an inspection. He won't pay his fines. He's a past member of the Iowa dog breeder's Hall of Shame. According to the article, the breeder said he'd rather kill the dogs that need care than actually give them the care they need. Yet not only is he still operating, but his last inspection shows that all is in compliance.
The following video features footage of a speech Mike Parson gave to a gathering of cattlemen last year. It does fact checking on the video, as well as providing a comparison between Proposition B and SB 113.
