Fwd: Alternatives to the Ban Meeting

I'm back and yes, I do need a bourbon. Make it a double.
My notes are incomplete because sometimes I was just too dumbstruck to keep
writing. I'm going to share those bits that I did get down that I think
bear follow up.
Vinny's reconnaissance on Central Pet is exactly the sort of outcome I hope
will come from these notes as even typing them is perpetuating great
feelings of ickiness.
Jonathan- I invite and encourage you to correct me where I misstate.
Yes- it is Central Pet and Rick works closely with them, says they're the
biggest distributor in the country and yes, he did offer that he was sure
they'd welcome us and yes, I think we should take him up on that offer.
Teresa's idea which you will likely hear more about from the Commission is
called SPARC (Small Pet Adoption Rescue Coalition). She advocates for a
"separation of church and state" meaning that to have pet sellers involved
in the Coalition would be a conflict of interest. Thinks that rescues,
shelters, ACCs and vets should be the determiners of the education and
certification process and that pet sellers should agree to only sell to
SPARC certified customers. Rick would be happy to sell to SPARC certified
customers in addition to his regulars. (He's been working with birds since
1969 and I would say that his pride is very wounded that Mickaboo does not
have more respect for his bird prowess.) Sally is very interested in this
and really likes it because it is a compromise and neither side gets
everything they want (rescues don't get the ban, sellers have to sell to the
certified). It would be an improvement over current situation. The way
this would help with breeding is that it would reduce supply.
I offered my hope that SF will pass the ban and become a Sanctuary City that
rehomes unwanted pets rather than continues to breed and euthanize them.
We all agree that education is the key and I raised the issue that education
is only as good as it is meaningful- handing out a flyer isn't enough and it
is only working if you are seeing attrition- potential customers walking
away saying, Oh, I didn't know that! I asked what percentage of customers
pet sellers are willing to lose to weed out irresponsible pet buyers but it
went unanswered.
Jonathan recounted his experience where a bird buyer unhappy with his
previous purchase swapped for another bird and was sent home with no more
education but hearty guarantees of future success and a quick forgetting of
the cockatiel he had returned. Rick, who loves to edutain with anecdotes,
rushed to dismiss it as an example that the world isn't perfect.
Rick thinks adoption fairs at his store would solve everything. (He
considers them education while I consider them PR.) Marcy would place
rescue rabbits in pet stores IF they weren't selling unaltered animals.
Mickaboo never spoke to the adoption fair issue at all. I got the feeling
that Teresa's "separation of church and state" (pet sellers and rescuers)
and the conflict of interest inherent in pet selling made sense to a
majority of the folks there.
Pet sellers feel very pleased with their practices and don't perceive
themselves to be a part of the problem. I pointed out that there is a
problem and Mickaboo and all the other rescues are the evidence of that
problem. All us rescue folks, including SFACC, agreed that we would LOVE to
be put out of business. I encouraged the pet sellers, who were bragging
about the rehoming they do, to do more. I suggested Rick post a sign saying
that he is willing to rehome unwanted birds. He didn't seem to like the
idea.
IMPORTANT REALIZATION: SFACC separates birds out and so when, as today, Kat
quoted that "20 parrots came into ACC in 2009" they are leaving out the "51
parakeets" and "2 budgerigars" and and and! She and I agreed that those
categories need attention and that they need to get help from experts. I'd
LOVE to connect a Mickaboo volunteer with Deputy Director Kat Brown to get
help on that right away. I see birds mislabled there all the time and
that's another issue- confirming species before labeling and then reporting
numbers in ways that are understood by all.
Kat also really wants the numbers of animals sold from pet stores and they
weren't comfortable with that at all. Rick said, What's next, you want to
see my checkbook? And I said, Yes, in fact you offered to open your books
for comparison with Mickaboo and it's in the 7/8 SF ACWC meeting minutes.
So then I put out my hand until he shook it that we would open our books and
share with each other. I realize that I am not authorized to do any such
thing but, if you're interested, Rick shook in front of lots of witnesses.
He is scandalized that Mickaboo has taken in "$131K in donations".
Peter, Dana Strome's husband, feels that the Florida sanctuary that he and
Dana are working with that is reintroducing parrots into the wild as well as
the Indonesian island that is being set aside for Moluccan's will be a big
help for the bird crisis that doesn't exist (my words). I asked for the name
of the project and the best he could offer was "Tony Silva near Miami" and
he said he'd have Dana get the name to me.
Marcy took a stand of solidarity with Mickaboo saying that she wouldn't put
her rabbits in Rick's store (which she says she'd love to do) unless
Mickaboo was in support. She said, "I can't work with stores that are
contemptuous of rescue."
Kat is going to email Rick the findings about PETCO that involve all the
dead birds in the freezer and so that should be available to us to if we
want it. Though it may be the same document which Maggie has shared with me
and I'm attaching here.
At the 7/8 meeting, Rick said his vet was Alex Herman. His wife Ellen said
Dr. Galvin. Today, at the meeting, Rick said that his file was the thickest
one that his vet had in "*his* office" which I took to mean Dr. Galvin's.
Jaime (the guy that was in the Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie) and who used
to have a bird store in SF offered to do wing and nail clips for us and I
told him that we use avian vets and techs but are always looking for more
help and volunteers. His number is 516-0798.
Rick has hired Singer Associates, Inc, Public Affairs & Corporate
Communications and his Account Manager Christy Seto was there. She didn't
sit close enough to kick him though so I'm not sure if he's getting his
money's worth.
Who's coming to the 8/12 SF ACWC meeting?
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 4:26 PM, Elizabeth Y
I'm typing on my phone so will be brief-
-Teresa of Cavy rescue & Marcy of SaveABunny were both there and very constructive.
-Jonathan and I were there repping for Mickaboo and birds
-Rick from Animal Co & his hired PR Singer Assoc. and Claudia from Basic Bird in Berkeley and Jaime (used to own SF bird store) and Dana's (Wing Foundation) husband Peter were there as well as Philip, Pam & Sally from SF ACWC and Kat from SFACC.
Sellers want to host adoption fairs at their stores, don't feel themselves to be a part of the problem at all. Feel Kaytee would welcome us into their facilities (Pet Central headquartered in Walnut Creek).
Teresa suggests an education/certification program for pet buyers like getting a license before buying a pet and stores agreeing to only sell to certified buyers. Rick doesn't want constraint.
Marcy standing in solidarity with rescues, won't allow Rick to house her rescue rabbits unless Mickaboo is in agreement.
All agree education is key, no one agrees on what that means. Pet sellers are already doing education and see homeless animals as somebody else's problem (my words).
Nothing decided, feel like I need a shower.
If I had to call it, I'd say Philip & Pam are leaning ban and Sally looking for a compromise.
Elizabeth Y www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/
-- Elizabeth Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/ www.MickaCoo.org http://www.mickacoo.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0 -- Elizabeth Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/ www.MickaCoo.org http://www.mickacoo.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0

The Petco judgment is quite juicy, thanks. I'd been unable to find that and
wondered what happened. I also wonder how well that's enforced (sneer).
Central Pet sounds like it does the same thing for the pet stores that
McKesson does for the retailers with pharmacies: gives them a single point
of contact for dozens or even hundreds of vendors. I would very much like to
find out how live animals are fit into this scheme.
(The bourbon being served here tonight is Blanton's single barrel.)
--VH
From: media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org
[mailto:media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org] On Behalf Of Elizabeth Young
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 6:45 PM
To: Mickaboo media advisor team
Subject: [Media-advisors] Fwd: Alternatives to the Ban Meeting
I'm back and yes, I do need a bourbon. Make it a double.
My notes are incomplete because sometimes I was just too dumbstruck to keep
writing. I'm going to share those bits that I did get down that I think
bear follow up.
Vinny's reconnaissance on Central Pet is exactly the sort of outcome I hope
will come from these notes as even typing them is perpetuating great
feelings of ickiness.
Jonathan- I invite and encourage you to correct me where I misstate.
Yes- it is Central Pet and Rick works closely with them, says they're the
biggest distributor in the country and yes, he did offer that he was sure
they'd welcome us and yes, I think we should take him up on that offer.
Teresa's idea which you will likely hear more about from the Commission is
called SPARC (Small Pet Adoption Rescue Coalition). She advocates for a
"separation of church and state" meaning that to have pet sellers involved
in the Coalition would be a conflict of interest. Thinks that rescues,
shelters, ACCs and vets should be the determiners of the education and
certification process and that pet sellers should agree to only sell to
SPARC certified customers. Rick would be happy to sell to SPARC certified
customers in addition to his regulars. (He's been working with birds since
1969 and I would say that his pride is very wounded that Mickaboo does not
have more respect for his bird prowess.) Sally is very interested in this
and really likes it because it is a compromise and neither side gets
everything they want (rescues don't get the ban, sellers have to sell to the
certified). It would be an improvement over current situation. The way
this would help with breeding is that it would reduce supply.
I offered my hope that SF will pass the ban and become a Sanctuary City that
rehomes unwanted pets rather than continues to breed and euthanize them.
We all agree that education is the key and I raised the issue that education
is only as good as it is meaningful- handing out a flyer isn't enough and it
is only working if you are seeing attrition- potential customers walking
away saying, Oh, I didn't know that! I asked what percentage of customers
pet sellers are willing to lose to weed out irresponsible pet buyers but it
went unanswered.
Jonathan recounted his experience where a bird buyer unhappy with his
previous purchase swapped for another bird and was sent home with no more
education but hearty guarantees of future success and a quick forgetting of
the cockatiel he had returned. Rick, who loves to edutain with anecdotes,
rushed to dismiss it as an example that the world isn't perfect.
Rick thinks adoption fairs at his store would solve everything. (He
considers them education while I consider them PR.) Marcy would place
rescue rabbits in pet stores IF they weren't selling unaltered animals.
Mickaboo never spoke to the adoption fair issue at all. I got the feeling
that Teresa's "separation of church and state" (pet sellers and rescuers)
and the conflict of interest inherent in pet selling made sense to a
majority of the folks there.
Pet sellers feel very pleased with their practices and don't perceive
themselves to be a part of the problem. I pointed out that there is a
problem and Mickaboo and all the other rescues are the evidence of that
problem. All us rescue folks, including SFACC, agreed that we would LOVE to
be put out of business. I encouraged the pet sellers, who were bragging
about the rehoming they do, to do more. I suggested Rick post a sign saying
that he is willing to rehome unwanted birds. He didn't seem to like the
idea.
IMPORTANT REALIZATION: SFACC separates birds out and so when, as today, Kat
quoted that "20 parrots came into ACC in 2009" they are leaving out the "51
parakeets" and "2 budgerigars" and and and! She and I agreed that those
categories need attention and that they need to get help from experts. I'd
LOVE to connect a Mickaboo volunteer with Deputy Director Kat Brown to get
help on that right away. I see birds mislabled there all the time and
that's another issue- confirming species before labeling and then reporting
numbers in ways that are understood by all.
Kat also really wants the numbers of animals sold from pet stores and they
weren't comfortable with that at all. Rick said, What's next, you want to
see my checkbook? And I said, Yes, in fact you offered to open your books
for comparison with Mickaboo and it's in the 7/8 SF ACWC meeting minutes.
So then I put out my hand until he shook it that we would open our books and
share with each other. I realize that I am not authorized to do any such
thing but, if you're interested, Rick shook in front of lots of witnesses.
He is scandalized that Mickaboo has taken in "$131K in donations".
Peter, Dana Strome's husband, feels that the Florida sanctuary that he and
Dana are working with that is reintroducing parrots into the wild as well as
the Indonesian island that is being set aside for Moluccan's will be a big
help for the bird crisis that doesn't exist (my words). I asked for the name
of the project and the best he could offer was "Tony Silva near Miami" and
he said he'd have Dana get the name to me.
Marcy took a stand of solidarity with Mickaboo saying that she wouldn't put
her rabbits in Rick's store (which she says she'd love to do) unless
Mickaboo was in support. She said, "I can't work with stores that are
contemptuous of rescue."
Kat is going to email Rick the findings about PETCO that involve all the
dead birds in the freezer and so that should be available to us to if we
want it. Though it may be the same document which Maggie has shared with me
and I'm attaching here.
At the 7/8 meeting, Rick said his vet was Alex Herman. His wife Ellen said
Dr. Galvin. Today, at the meeting, Rick said that his file was the thickest
one that his vet had in "his office" which I took to mean Dr. Galvin's.
Jaime (the guy that was in the Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie) and who used
to have a bird store in SF offered to do wing and nail clips for us and I
told him that we use avian vets and techs but are always looking for more
help and volunteers. His number is 516-0798.
Rick has hired Singer Associates, Inc, Public Affairs & Corporate
Communications and his Account Manager Christy Seto was there. She didn't
sit close enough to kick him though so I'm not sure if he's getting his
money's worth.
Who's coming to the 8/12 SF ACWC meeting?
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 4:26 PM, Elizabeth Y

Is the SF/Marin/Santa Clara judgement still floating around?
--- On Fri, 8/6/10, Vincent J. Hrovat <1217@vhrovat.org> wrote:
From: Vincent J. Hrovat <1217@vhrovat.org>
Subject: Re: [Media-advisors] Fwd: Alternatives to the Ban Meeting
To: "'Mickaboo media advisor team'"

And here's a breadcrumb in the trail to Tony Silva http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2111zwild.html On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 7:01 PM, Vincent J. Hrovat <1217@vhrovat.org> wrote:
The Petco judgment is quite juicy, thanks. I’d been unable to find that and wondered what happened. I also wonder how well that’s enforced (sneer).
Central Pet sounds like it does the same thing for the pet stores that McKesson does for the retailers with pharmacies: gives them a single point of contact for dozens or even hundreds of vendors. I would very much like to find out how live animals are fit into this scheme.
(The bourbon being served here tonight is Blanton’s single barrel.)
--VH
*From:* media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org [mailto: media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org] *On Behalf Of *Elizabeth Young *Sent:* Friday, August 06, 2010 6:45 PM
*To:* Mickaboo media advisor team *Subject:* [Media-advisors] Fwd: Alternatives to the Ban Meeting
I'm back and yes, I do need a bourbon. Make it a double.
My notes are incomplete because sometimes I was just too dumbstruck to keep writing. I'm going to share those bits that I did get down that I think bear follow up.
Vinny's reconnaissance on Central Pet is exactly the sort of outcome I hope will come from these notes as even typing them is perpetuating great feelings of ickiness.
Jonathan- I invite and encourage you to correct me where I misstate.
Yes- it is Central Pet and Rick works closely with them, says they're the biggest distributor in the country and yes, he did offer that he was sure they'd welcome us and yes, I think we should take him up on that offer.
Teresa's idea which you will likely hear more about from the Commission is called SPARC (Small Pet Adoption Rescue Coalition). She advocates for a "separation of church and state" meaning that to have pet sellers involved in the Coalition would be a conflict of interest. Thinks that rescues, shelters, ACCs and vets should be the determiners of the education and certification process and that pet sellers should agree to only sell to SPARC certified customers. Rick would be happy to sell to SPARC certified customers in addition to his regulars. (He's been working with birds since 1969 and I would say that his pride is very wounded that Mickaboo does not have more respect for his bird prowess.) Sally is very interested in this and really likes it because it is a compromise and neither side gets everything they want (rescues don't get the ban, sellers have to sell to the certified). It would be an improvement over current situation. The way this would help with breeding is that it would reduce supply.
I offered my hope that SF will pass the ban and become a Sanctuary City that rehomes unwanted pets rather than continues to breed and euthanize them.
We all agree that education is the key and I raised the issue that education is only as good as it is meaningful- handing out a flyer isn't enough and it is only working if you are seeing attrition- potential customers walking away saying, Oh, I didn't know that! I asked what percentage of customers pet sellers are willing to lose to weed out irresponsible pet buyers but it went unanswered.
Jonathan recounted his experience where a bird buyer unhappy with his previous purchase swapped for another bird and was sent home with no more education but hearty guarantees of future success and a quick forgetting of the cockatiel he had returned. Rick, who loves to edutain with anecdotes, rushed to dismiss it as an example that the world isn't perfect.
Rick thinks adoption fairs at his store would solve everything. (He considers them education while I consider them PR.) Marcy would place rescue rabbits in pet stores IF they weren't selling unaltered animals. Mickaboo never spoke to the adoption fair issue at all. I got the feeling that Teresa's "separation of church and state" (pet sellers and rescuers) and the conflict of interest inherent in pet selling made sense to a majority of the folks there.
Pet sellers feel very pleased with their practices and don't perceive themselves to be a part of the problem. I pointed out that there is a problem and Mickaboo and all the other rescues are the evidence of that problem. All us rescue folks, including SFACC, agreed that we would LOVE to be put out of business. I encouraged the pet sellers, who were bragging about the rehoming they do, to do more. I suggested Rick post a sign saying that he is willing to rehome unwanted birds. He didn't seem to like the idea.
IMPORTANT REALIZATION: SFACC separates birds out and so when, as today, Kat quoted that "20 parrots came into ACC in 2009" they are leaving out the "51 parakeets" and "2 budgerigars" and and and! She and I agreed that those categories need attention and that they need to get help from experts. I'd LOVE to connect a Mickaboo volunteer with Deputy Director Kat Brown to get help on that right away. I see birds mislabled there all the time and that's another issue- confirming species before labeling and then reporting numbers in ways that are understood by all.
Kat also really wants the numbers of animals sold from pet stores and they weren't comfortable with that at all. Rick said, What's next, you want to see my checkbook? And I said, Yes, in fact you offered to open your books for comparison with Mickaboo and it's in the 7/8 SF ACWC meeting minutes. So then I put out my hand until he shook it that we would open our books and share with each other. I realize that I am not authorized to do any such thing but, if you're interested, Rick shook in front of lots of witnesses. He is scandalized that Mickaboo has taken in "$131K in donations".
Peter, Dana Strome's husband, feels that the Florida sanctuary that he and Dana are working with that is reintroducing parrots into the wild as well as the Indonesian island that is being set aside for Moluccan's will be a big help for the bird crisis that doesn't exist (my words). I asked for the name of the project and the best he could offer was "Tony Silva near Miami" and he said he'd have Dana get the name to me.
Marcy took a stand of solidarity with Mickaboo saying that she wouldn't put her rabbits in Rick's store (which she says she'd love to do) unless Mickaboo was in support. She said, "I can't work with stores that are contemptuous of rescue."
Kat is going to email Rick the findings about PETCO that involve all the dead birds in the freezer and so that should be available to us to if we want it. Though it may be the same document which Maggie has shared with me and I'm attaching here.
At the 7/8 meeting, Rick said his vet was Alex Herman. His wife Ellen said Dr. Galvin. Today, at the meeting, Rick said that his file was the thickest one that his vet had in "*his* office" which I took to mean Dr. Galvin's.
Jaime (the guy that was in the Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie) and who used to have a bird store in SF offered to do wing and nail clips for us and I told him that we use avian vets and techs but are always looking for more help and volunteers. His number is 516-0798.
Rick has hired Singer Associates, Inc, Public Affairs & Corporate Communications and his Account Manager Christy Seto was there. She didn't sit close enough to kick him though so I'm not sure if he's getting his money's worth.
Who's coming to the 8/12 SF ACWC meeting?
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 4:26 PM, Elizabeth Y
wrote: I'm typing on my phone so will be brief-
-Teresa of Cavy rescue & Marcy of SaveABunny were both there and very constructive.
-Jonathan and I were there repping for Mickaboo and birds
-Rick from Animal Co & his hired PR Singer Assoc. and Claudia from Basic Bird in Berkeley and Jaime (used to own SF bird store) and Dana's (Wing Foundation) husband Peter were there as well as Philip, Pam & Sally from SF ACWC and Kat from SFACC.
Sellers want to host adoption fairs at their stores, don't feel themselves to be a part of the problem at all. Feel Kaytee would welcome us into their facilities (Pet Central headquartered in Walnut Creek).
Teresa suggests an education/certification program for pet buyers like getting a license before buying a pet and stores agreeing to only sell to certified buyers. Rick doesn't want constraint.
Marcy standing in solidarity with rescues, won't allow Rick to house her rescue rabbits unless Mickaboo is in agreement.
All agree education is key, no one agrees on what that means. Pet sellers are already doing education and see homeless animals as somebody else's problem (my words).
Nothing decided, feel like I need a shower.
If I had to call it, I'd say Philip & Pam are leaning ban and Sally looking for a compromise.
Elizabeth Y www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/
-- Elizabeth
Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/ www.MickaCoo.org http://www.mickacoo.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0
-- Elizabeth
Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/ www.MickaCoo.org http://www.mickacoo.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0
-- Elizabeth Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org www.MickaCoo.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0

I'm so glad I didn't go to Tijuana when I was in
San Diego!!
From: media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org
[mailto:media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org] On
Behalf Of Elizabeth Young
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 7:13 PM
To: Mickaboo media advisor team
Subject: Re: [Media-advisors] Fwd: Alternatives to
the Ban Meeting
And here's a breadcrumb in the trail to Tony Silva
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2111zwild
.html
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 7:01 PM, Vincent J. Hrovat
<1217@vhrovat.org> wrote:
The Petco judgment is quite juicy, thanks. I'd
been unable to find that and wondered what
happened. I also wonder how well that's enforced
(sneer).
Central Pet sounds like it does the same thing for
the pet stores that McKesson does for the
retailers with pharmacies: gives them a single
point of contact for dozens or even hundreds of
vendors. I would very much like to find out how
live animals are fit into this scheme.
(The bourbon being served here tonight is
Blanton's single barrel.)
--VH
From: media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org
[mailto:media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org] On
Behalf Of Elizabeth Young
Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 6:45 PM
To: Mickaboo media advisor team
Subject: [Media-advisors] Fwd: Alternatives to the
Ban Meeting
I'm back and yes, I do need a bourbon. Make it a
double.
My notes are incomplete because sometimes I was
just too dumbstruck to keep writing. I'm going to
share those bits that I did get down that I think
bear follow up.
Vinny's reconnaissance on Central Pet is exactly
the sort of outcome I hope will come from these
notes as even typing them is perpetuating great
feelings of ickiness.
Jonathan- I invite and encourage you to correct me
where I misstate.
Yes- it is Central Pet and Rick works closely with
them, says they're the biggest distributor in the
country and yes, he did offer that he was sure
they'd welcome us and yes, I think we should take
him up on that offer.
Teresa's idea which you will likely hear more
about from the Commission is called SPARC (Small
Pet Adoption Rescue Coalition). She advocates for
a "separation of church and state" meaning that to
have pet sellers involved in the Coalition would
be a conflict of interest. Thinks that rescues,
shelters, ACCs and vets should be the determiners
of the education and certification process and
that pet sellers should agree to only sell to
SPARC certified customers. Rick would be happy to
sell to SPARC certified customers in addition to
his regulars. (He's been working with birds since
1969 and I would say that his pride is very
wounded that Mickaboo does not have more respect
for his bird prowess.) Sally is very interested in
this and really likes it because it is a
compromise and neither side gets everything they
want (rescues don't get the ban, sellers have to
sell to the certified). It would be an
improvement over current situation. The way this
would help with breeding is that it would reduce
supply.
I offered my hope that SF will pass the ban and
become a Sanctuary City that rehomes unwanted pets
rather than continues to breed and euthanize them.
We all agree that education is the key and I
raised the issue that education is only as good as
it is meaningful- handing out a flyer isn't enough
and it is only working if you are seeing
attrition- potential customers walking away
saying, Oh, I didn't know that! I asked what
percentage of customers pet sellers are willing to
lose to weed out irresponsible pet buyers but it
went unanswered.
Jonathan recounted his experience where a bird
buyer unhappy with his previous purchase swapped
for another bird and was sent home with no more
education but hearty guarantees of future success
and a quick forgetting of the cockatiel he had
returned. Rick, who loves to edutain with
anecdotes, rushed to dismiss it as an example that
the world isn't perfect.
Rick thinks adoption fairs at his store would
solve everything. (He considers them education
while I consider them PR.) Marcy would place
rescue rabbits in pet stores IF they weren't
selling unaltered animals. Mickaboo never spoke to
the adoption fair issue at all. I got the feeling
that Teresa's "separation of church and state"
(pet sellers and rescuers) and the conflict of
interest inherent in pet selling made sense to a
majority of the folks there.
Pet sellers feel very pleased with their practices
and don't perceive themselves to be a part of the
problem. I pointed out that there is a problem
and Mickaboo and all the other rescues are the
evidence of that problem. All us rescue folks,
including SFACC, agreed that we would LOVE to be
put out of business. I encouraged the pet
sellers, who were bragging about the rehoming they
do, to do more. I suggested Rick post a sign
saying that he is willing to rehome unwanted
birds. He didn't seem to like the idea.
IMPORTANT REALIZATION: SFACC separates birds out
and so when, as today, Kat quoted that "20 parrots
came into ACC in 2009" they are leaving out the
"51 parakeets" and "2 budgerigars" and and and!
She and I agreed that those categories need
attention and that they need to get help from
experts. I'd LOVE to connect a Mickaboo volunteer
with Deputy Director Kat Brown to get help on that
right away. I see birds mislabled there all the
time and that's another issue- confirming species
before labeling and then reporting numbers in ways
that are understood by all.
Kat also really wants the numbers of animals sold
from pet stores and they weren't comfortable with
that at all. Rick said, What's next, you want to
see my checkbook? And I said, Yes, in fact you
offered to open your books for comparison with
Mickaboo and it's in the 7/8 SF ACWC meeting
minutes. So then I put out my hand until he shook
it that we would open our books and share with
each other. I realize that I am not authorized to
do any such thing but, if you're interested, Rick
shook in front of lots of witnesses. He is
scandalized that Mickaboo has taken in "$131K in
donations".
Peter, Dana Strome's husband, feels that the
Florida sanctuary that he and Dana are working
with that is reintroducing parrots into the wild
as well as the Indonesian island that is being set
aside for Moluccan's will be a big help for the
bird crisis that doesn't exist (my words). I asked
for the name of the project and the best he could
offer was "Tony Silva near Miami" and he said he'd
have Dana get the name to me.
Marcy took a stand of solidarity with Mickaboo
saying that she wouldn't put her rabbits in Rick's
store (which she says she'd love to do) unless
Mickaboo was in support. She said, "I can't work
with stores that are contemptuous of rescue."
Kat is going to email Rick the findings about
PETCO that involve all the dead birds in the
freezer and so that should be available to us to
if we want it. Though it may be the same document
which Maggie has shared with me and I'm attaching
here.
At the 7/8 meeting, Rick said his vet was Alex
Herman. His wife Ellen said Dr. Galvin. Today,
at the meeting, Rick said that his file was the
thickest one that his vet had in "his office"
which I took to mean Dr. Galvin's.
Jaime (the guy that was in the Parrots of
Telegraph Hill movie) and who used to have a bird
store in SF offered to do wing and nail clips for
us and I told him that we use avian vets and techs
but are always looking for more help and
volunteers. His number is 516-0798.
Rick has hired Singer Associates, Inc, Public
Affairs & Corporate Communications and his Account
Manager Christy Seto was there. She didn't sit
close enough to kick him though so I'm not sure if
he's getting his money's worth.
Who's coming to the 8/12 SF ACWC meeting?
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 4:26 PM, Elizabeth Y

Interesting Wiki - same guy?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Silva
--- On Fri, 8/6/10, Elizabeth Young

Correction: The way this would help with breeding is that it would
reduce supply
(should have been demand).
Omission: Jonathan shared that Mickaboo is now requiring that adopters of
budgies and cockatiels and lovebirds have 2 or more birds rather than keep
one alone and Rick & Claudia are fine with selling a single bird because the
person can be the flock and when Jonathan politely pointed out that meant
the bird would likely be left home alone for 8 hours, the reply was that
"some people work from home".
Jonathan also spoke to the short history of bird breeding and how birds have
been selected for color mutation and singing ability but aren't domesticated
and are still wild animals.
e
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 6:45 PM, Elizabeth Young
I'm back and yes, I do need a bourbon. Make it a double.
My notes are incomplete because sometimes I was just too dumbstruck to keep writing. I'm going to share those bits that I did get down that I think bear follow up.
Vinny's reconnaissance on Central Pet is exactly the sort of outcome I hope will come from these notes as even typing them is perpetuating great feelings of ickiness.
Jonathan- I invite and encourage you to correct me where I misstate.
Yes- it is Central Pet and Rick works closely with them, says they're the biggest distributor in the country and yes, he did offer that he was sure they'd welcome us and yes, I think we should take him up on that offer.
Teresa's idea which you will likely hear more about from the Commission is called SPARC (Small Pet Adoption Rescue Coalition). She advocates for a "separation of church and state" meaning that to have pet sellers involved in the Coalition would be a conflict of interest. Thinks that rescues, shelters, ACCs and vets should be the determiners of the education and certification process and that pet sellers should agree to only sell to SPARC certified customers. Rick would be happy to sell to SPARC certified customers in addition to his regulars. (He's been working with birds since 1969 and I would say that his pride is very wounded that Mickaboo does not have more respect for his bird prowess.) Sally is very interested in this and really likes it because it is a compromise and neither side gets everything they want (rescues don't get the ban, sellers have to sell to the certified). It would be an improvement over current situation. The way this would help with breeding is that it would reduce supply.
I offered my hope that SF will pass the ban and become a Sanctuary City that rehomes unwanted pets rather than continues to breed and euthanize them.
We all agree that education is the key and I raised the issue that education is only as good as it is meaningful- handing out a flyer isn't enough and it is only working if you are seeing attrition- potential customers walking away saying, Oh, I didn't know that! I asked what percentage of customers pet sellers are willing to lose to weed out irresponsible pet buyers but it went unanswered.
Jonathan recounted his experience where a bird buyer unhappy with his previous purchase swapped for another bird and was sent home with no more education but hearty guarantees of future success and a quick forgetting of the cockatiel he had returned. Rick, who loves to edutain with anecdotes, rushed to dismiss it as an example that the world isn't perfect.
Rick thinks adoption fairs at his store would solve everything. (He considers them education while I consider them PR.) Marcy would place rescue rabbits in pet stores IF they weren't selling unaltered animals. Mickaboo never spoke to the adoption fair issue at all. I got the feeling that Teresa's "separation of church and state" (pet sellers and rescuers) and the conflict of interest inherent in pet selling made sense to a majority of the folks there.
Pet sellers feel very pleased with their practices and don't perceive themselves to be a part of the problem. I pointed out that there is a problem and Mickaboo and all the other rescues are the evidence of that problem. All us rescue folks, including SFACC, agreed that we would LOVE to be put out of business. I encouraged the pet sellers, who were bragging about the rehoming they do, to do more. I suggested Rick post a sign saying that he is willing to rehome unwanted birds. He didn't seem to like the idea.
IMPORTANT REALIZATION: SFACC separates birds out and so when, as today, Kat quoted that "20 parrots came into ACC in 2009" they are leaving out the "51 parakeets" and "2 budgerigars" and and and! She and I agreed that those categories need attention and that they need to get help from experts. I'd LOVE to connect a Mickaboo volunteer with Deputy Director Kat Brown to get help on that right away. I see birds mislabled there all the time and that's another issue- confirming species before labeling and then reporting numbers in ways that are understood by all.
Kat also really wants the numbers of animals sold from pet stores and they weren't comfortable with that at all. Rick said, What's next, you want to see my checkbook? And I said, Yes, in fact you offered to open your books for comparison with Mickaboo and it's in the 7/8 SF ACWC meeting minutes. So then I put out my hand until he shook it that we would open our books and share with each other. I realize that I am not authorized to do any such thing but, if you're interested, Rick shook in front of lots of witnesses. He is scandalized that Mickaboo has taken in "$131K in donations".
Peter, Dana Strome's husband, feels that the Florida sanctuary that he and Dana are working with that is reintroducing parrots into the wild as well as the Indonesian island that is being set aside for Moluccan's will be a big help for the bird crisis that doesn't exist (my words). I asked for the name of the project and the best he could offer was "Tony Silva near Miami" and he said he'd have Dana get the name to me.
Marcy took a stand of solidarity with Mickaboo saying that she wouldn't put her rabbits in Rick's store (which she says she'd love to do) unless Mickaboo was in support. She said, "I can't work with stores that are contemptuous of rescue."
Kat is going to email Rick the findings about PETCO that involve all the dead birds in the freezer and so that should be available to us to if we want it. Though it may be the same document which Maggie has shared with me and I'm attaching here.
At the 7/8 meeting, Rick said his vet was Alex Herman. His wife Ellen said Dr. Galvin. Today, at the meeting, Rick said that his file was the thickest one that his vet had in "*his* office" which I took to mean Dr. Galvin's.
Jaime (the guy that was in the Parrots of Telegraph Hill movie) and who used to have a bird store in SF offered to do wing and nail clips for us and I told him that we use avian vets and techs but are always looking for more help and volunteers. His number is 516-0798.
Rick has hired Singer Associates, Inc, Public Affairs & Corporate Communications and his Account Manager Christy Seto was there. She didn't sit close enough to kick him though so I'm not sure if he's getting his money's worth.
Who's coming to the 8/12 SF ACWC meeting?
On Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 4:26 PM, Elizabeth Y
wrote: I'm typing on my phone so will be brief-
-Teresa of Cavy rescue & Marcy of SaveABunny were both there and very constructive.
-Jonathan and I were there repping for Mickaboo and birds
-Rick from Animal Co & his hired PR Singer Assoc. and Claudia from Basic Bird in Berkeley and Jaime (used to own SF bird store) and Dana's (Wing Foundation) husband Peter were there as well as Philip, Pam & Sally from SF ACWC and Kat from SFACC.
Sellers want to host adoption fairs at their stores, don't feel themselves to be a part of the problem at all. Feel Kaytee would welcome us into their facilities (Pet Central headquartered in Walnut Creek).
Teresa suggests an education/certification program for pet buyers like getting a license before buying a pet and stores agreeing to only sell to certified buyers. Rick doesn't want constraint.
Marcy standing in solidarity with rescues, won't allow Rick to house her rescue rabbits unless Mickaboo is in agreement.
All agree education is key, no one agrees on what that means. Pet sellers are already doing education and see homeless animals as somebody else's problem (my words).
Nothing decided, feel like I need a shower.
If I had to call it, I'd say Philip & Pam are leaning ban and Sally looking for a compromise.
Elizabeth Y www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/
-- Elizabeth
Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/ www.MickaCoo.org http://www.mickacoo.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0
-- Elizabeth
Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org http://www.rescuereport.org/ www.MickaCoo.org http://www.mickacoo.org/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0
-- Elizabeth Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org www.MickaCoo.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0

Hummmmm, Dr. Galvin, Tony Silva - PR guy hasn't done his homework and isn't doing such a great job so far with damage control...it's good for us he lets his clients keep talking and going on the record. Awhile back I shared the online transcript re: Dr. Galvin's court proceedings? I can't find it and perhaps someone could forward to Elizabeth.

online transcript re: Dr. Galvin's court proceedings
Sent to Elizabeth. --VH From: media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org [mailto:media-advisors-bounces@mickaboo.org] On Behalf Of Mary Long Sent: Friday, August 06, 2010 7:57 PM To: Mickaboo media advisor team Subject: Re: [Media-advisors] Alternatives to the Ban Meeting Hummmmm, Dr. Galvin, Tony Silva - PR guy hasn't done his homework and isn't doing such a great job so far with damage control...it's good for us he lets his clients keep talking and going on the record. Awhile back I shared the online transcript re: Dr. Galvin's court proceedings? I can't find it and perhaps someone could forward to Elizabeth.

...not to mention that the other attendee, jamie yorck, was a client at the law office where i worked for 11 years. that law office speciallized in criminal law. i saw jamie a lot. ~tammy On Aug 6, 2010, at 7:57 PM, Mary Long wrote:
Hummmmm, Dr. Galvin, Tony Silva - PR guy hasn't done his homework and isn't doing such a great job so far with damage control...it's good for us he lets his clients keep talking and going on the record.
Awhile back I shared the online transcript re: Dr. Galvin's court proceedings? I can't find it and perhaps someone could forward to Elizabeth.
Tammy Azzaro Mickaboo♡

Small world! I remember Jamie from the early 1980's running Spectrum bird shop on Fillmore (near Japan Town) in SF. As I would be coming in the door on a Saturday afternoon, he was usually sitting at the register with a young parrot on his shoulder, cigarette in one hand and a glass of beer in the other.
--- On Fri, 8/6/10, Tammy Azzaro

yep. remember when his shop burned down? i got my first bird from him (not mick---birdeeboy, i got him for my husband in the 80's)---talk about starting from the bottom... tammy On Aug 6, 2010, at 8:21 PM, Mary Long wrote:
Small world! I remember Jamie from the early 1980's running Spectrum bird shop on Fillmore (near Japan Town) in SF. As I would be coming in the door on a Saturday afternoon, he was usually sitting at the register with a young parrot on his shoulder, cigarette in one hand and a glass of beer in the other.
--- On Fri, 8/6/10, Tammy Azzaro
wrote: From: Tammy Azzaro
Subject: Re: [Media-advisors] Alternatives to the Ban Meeting To: "Mickaboo media advisor team" Date: Friday, August 6, 2010, 8:12 PM ...not to mention that the other attendee, jamie yorck, was a client at the law office where i worked for 11 years. that law office speciallized in criminal law. i saw jamie a lot. ~tammy
On Aug 6, 2010, at 7:57 PM, Mary Long wrote:
Hummmmm, Dr. Galvin, Tony Silva - PR guy hasn't done his homework and isn't doing such a great job so far with damage control...it's good for us he lets his clients keep talking and going on the record.
Awhile back I shared the online transcript re: Dr. Galvin's court proceedings? I can't find it and perhaps someone could forward to Elizabeth.
Tammy Azzaro Mickaboo♡
-----Inline Attachment Follows-----
Tammy Azzaro Mickaboo♡
participants (5)
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Elizabeth Young
-
Karen Watkins
-
Mary Long
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Tammy Azzaro
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Vincent J. Hrovat