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In the News
Arkansas animal rescuers charged with cruelty
Tammy Hanson's EDNAH "Sanctuary" In Arkansas
| Raid uncovers hundreds of dogs October 22, 2005 GAMALIEL — Two people have been taken into custody after Baxter County Sheriff Office investigators and deputies found 400 to 500 dogs in a makeshift Gamaliel animal shelter Friday evening. The sheriff's office did not release the names of the people in custody as of press time. Howling, barking, growling and whimpering could be heard all around the property as officers executed a search warrant at County Road 44 and Bean Drive.Read the entire story here |
| Arkansas animal rescuers charged with cruelty THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Sunday, October 23, 2005 GAMALIEL, Ark. -- Two owners of an animal rescue operation were arrested after hundreds of dogs, some rescued from Hurricane Katrina, were found on the couple's property groveling for food among urine and feces, authorities said Saturday. Among the stench, sheriff's deputies found one dead dog, another with a broken leg, and many with sores, Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery said. Between 400 and 500 dogs were on the two-acre lot, including 50 pit bulls rescued from Louisiana after the hurricane, Montgomery said. About 75 dogs were running loose, he said. Read the entire story here |
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Rescue
Workers Arrested on Animal Cruelty Charges Saturday October 22, 2005 5:24pm Posted By: Angela Rachels Little Rock, AR - Read the entire story here |
 More On Alleged Cruelty in ArkansasThe following is from a post on an internet animal welfare list
These are the conditions that dogs taken from Katrina rescue efforts have
been living in since being turned over to Tammy Hanson in Mountain Home
Arkansas.Click on images to see full size version Sunday, October 23, 2005  Hanson was arrested and released yesterday on a $1000.00 bond for a
misdemeanor cruelty charge. There are several Humane groups that are
setting up fund raising to defend the Hansons. These individuals and
groups are stating that the charges are unfounded and that this is a good
facility to care for the dogs. Most dogs have not been out of the very
crates they were placed in after the disaster, some have died as one picture
depicts in the very crate. These are/were people's pets. There are
reported up to 500 dogs on the premises, I have been informed that one had even
chewed its own feet OFF and many are starving. They are in the open with
no shelter and are living in their own feces inside the cramped crates. Some of the individuals that seem to think the Hansons run a legitimate and
worthy rescue sanctuary are threatening law suits???? EXCUSE ME???? for WHAT,
exposing that which should have never happened??? Some have proclaimed
that they have been at the facility many times with no problem??? Please
step forward and identify yourselves now...please so that you may be included in
a conspiracy to defraud the public of funds for the care and rescue of
animals.I will be sharing more photos AND there are other
breeds...namely ROTTWEILERS there
 too....it seems that the Hanson's priorities
were the pits and the Rotties.....PLEASE spread this word and get it to the
media, we need to have the loudest public outcry ever heard over this gross
atrocity of dogs and the raping of funds and efforts by those that support
legitimate rescue efforts in this country. Contact every TV station and
program and contact PETA, HSUS and any other 'weight pulling' organization...we
MUST not let these people get away with this.Permission to cross post. By
the way , if 'you' support the Hanson's and want to sue me....go ahead,
I will welcome your feeble efforts for the only thing I am guilty of is
sharing the truth... Lisa McAnelly
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Click on images to see full size version
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| Was Pasado Safe Haven Negligent? The following is from a post on an internet animal welfare list Date: Sun, 23 Oct 2005 03:45:14 -0700 (PDT) Yesterday, Tammy Hansen and her husband
were busted in Baxter County Arkansas. The two of them have over 400
(I think closer to 500) dogs on their property. The humane society of
Louisiana and Pasado Safe Haven from Washington State, dumped dogs with
Tammy even though they were begged to allow the local humane society or
even Pulaski county humane society to visit the property first. Pasado
threatened people who called them, with lawsuits for continuing to
insist that Tammy and her husband needed to allow an inspection of her
property before releasing dog to her. Today, after the property was
taken control over by the local sheriffs department, I went to the
Hansen's and it truly made me sick. I am outraged and feel that Pasado
needs to be held accountable. The katrina dogs were all in the same
crates they arrived in. They have been on the property 9 days and didn't
appear to have been out of the crates since they arrived. There is not
a single Katrina dog not sitting in days worth of piss and poop. There
was at least one dead Katrina dog in its crate and other dead dogs in
garbage bags. I feel certain that there are dogs dying as I type
this. I dread going back tomorrow...... There was not a dog on a blade
of grass or with any real shelter. Very little water available
and what was in buckets and pans was nasty. The Katrina dogs have
suffered the worst. They would have been better left in New Orleans
than facing the Hansens. I deeply resent that a group in Washington
State is collecting money to save the New Orleans dogs, keeping the
money and dumping the dogs in Arkansas.
This post is their response to
questioning that they have received over the last few days concerning
the dogs released to Tammy Hansen. This was sent out before the bust. The red is my response.
The post:
Facts regarding dogs transferred to Tammy Hanson from Pasado's Safe Haven:
PasadoRescue's priority has been to place every animal in a safe and healthy environment. (Dogs
dumped in a gravel driveway, with over 300 dogs in filthy pens just 30
yards away is not healthy or safe. Fact is Pasado just got a huge
grant to help care for Katrina animals from ASPCA. I think we should
all write and encourage them to revoke it. All the dogs they took need to be accounted for. Are their more places like the Hansens?)
Pasado's Safe Haven will not place animals without at least two references from credible sources. (Can anyone name one credible source??? Some of us have been trying to find credible sources for months. BEFORE KATRINA)
As you can imagine in the case of a disaster of the magnitude of
Hurricane Katrina, many people offered to take animals that we rescued.
We would not release animals unless their history could be verified. (The
fact that she had been arrested in Missouri [yep, for animal cruelty or
abuse] was know to Pasado before they released any dogs to her. Did
that stop them?)
In Tammy Hanson's case, she was recommended to us by multiple sources including
veterinarians, the Humane Society of Louisiana, (There were multiple crates from the Humane Society in Louisiana, They dumped dogs too!! Any references from anyone who had been on her property or even from Arkansas?) Best Friends, and other rescue facilities. The Humane Society of Louisiana stated that both their organization and Best Friends (Best Friends has denied sending any animals to her) had sent animals to Ms. Hanson's facility. Because
we are committed to the life-long, well-being of each animal that we
and other organizations rescued during the Katrina disaster, we were
concerned about rumors (The rumors where not as bad as the reality) that
local groups near to Ms. Hanson had circulated about her. To further
assure we were placing animals in a qualified, caring environment, two
volunteers, assisting at our Raceland veterinary triage center,
traveled to visit Ms. Hanson's facility. (This is the worst!!! They are either lying here or even
worse they really truly don't care about anything but the money they are collecting for helping these dogs.) They were welcomed by her to tour the facility (Would you call a tent with a TV, and 30 nasty pens with too many dogs in them a facility?????? and zero volunteer help to help them set up the kennels Pasado dumped
in her driveway? Was leaving them where they were unusable good
judgment? How did they think that Tammy and her hubby could even move
these monstrous kennels? I didn't even see a tractor on the place.) and
they returned to Raceland, LA with nothing but good things to say about
Tammy, the facility, and the condition of the animals
themselves. (This is a joke!!! Someone is lying here.. Or Pasado has very poor judgment.) To confirm that the animals that we would transfer continued to be kept in good
condition, we arranged for one of our volunteers to visit Ms. Hanson's facility next week.
Dr.
Snodgrass, the veterinarian that Sheriff Montgomery chose to assist in
the seizure of the animals from Tammy Hanson stated they were all
vicious animals. (The
katrina dogs may never recover from the tortures they have endured.
They may have gone in sweet, but many will have permanent behavior
problems due to this. The streets of New Orleans is 1000 times better
than living the way they have the past 9 days. How friendly would you
be living in a crate in your own shit?) That they tried to "bite the hands of those trying to give them food or water". (I was there today. There are many dogs now that appear to be very aggressive. They attacked the crate fronts when we stopped to take pictures. Even
a poor ole cocker spaniel from New Orleans was very very violent when
his crate was approached.)
The dogs transferred by PasadoRescue to Ms. Hanson were photographed
and videotaped at our Raceland facility being walked by volunteers
several times a day, fed by hand, and hugged. (I hope these volunteers are aware of how the dogs they so carefully loved and nurtured have been dumped by Pasado.) The
hundreds of volunteers who assisted PasadoRescue have absolutely no
motive other than care and concern to help these animals. (These poor volunteers have been duped by Pasado. They are continuing
to collect money for the care of the animals they "saved" from New
Orleans, while dumping them in Arkansas. I personally believe it is
all about the money. Get the money, dump the dogs.) Several
of these organizations sent certified dog trainers down to assist us
with the "more aggressive" dogs, not all of which were pit bulls. Not
one of the dog trainers said that any one of the animals was not
"retrainable". In
fact, several of the dogs are being rehabbed by one of the trainers in
AR. This is evidence that will be very difficult for the sheriff to
dispute if he should chose to kill these animals based on their
"aggression"
(The sheriff is a very compassionate man as are all the law enforcement
officers that we met helping today. They are all sick at the
condition
of the animals. EVERYONE PROTECTING AND CARING FOR THESE DOGS ARE
AWESOME COMPASSIONATE FOLKS, THAT ARE DISGUSTED WITH THE SITUATION THE
DOGS ARE IN. NO ONE ever said that the dogs should all be euthanized.
This is a complete fabrication on Pasado's part. GO HELP.... YOU WILL
SEE FOR YOURSELF!!!)
Furthermore,
Dr. Snodgrass noted that these animals were brought into the State of
Arkansas illegally, without veterinarian inspection. This is not true.
All of the animals PasadoRescue transferred to Ms. Hanson had a
complete and thorough examination by a veterinarian. There are
veterinary medical documents on every animal, dated and signed by a
licensed veterinarian. (There may be records but they aren't stored in the tent on the property.)
If,
for any reason, it is proven that Ms. Hanson is indeed not caring for
these animals, we will be the first to support charges of animal
neglect. (Now
that they know, has anyone heard a retraction of all the horrible things
said about the sheriff and his staff? How horrible that they posted
his name and phone number on their website and encouraged people to
call him at home to harass him. Without even knowing the truth.)
But we will not accept lies that are developed by Dr. Snodgrass or the
sheriff regarding the behavior/temperament of the animals to support
their case or the statement that these animals were not examined by a
veterinarian. And above all, these animals are property of Louisiana
residents and should not be euthanized under any circumstances. (Yep,
come get your dogs, but someone needs to monitor these folks. I would
be willing to bet money that they don't keep them but try to dump them
again or end up euthanizing most of them themselves.)
Emma
Devailier, the Louisiana State Assistant Attorney General who has been
leading the investigation with Pasado's Safe Haven into the St. Bernard
pet shootings, has been contacted to act on behalf of the owners of the
pets Sheriff Montgomery threatens to kill. (This
is a joke. These dogs were not even listed so that the owners could
ever find them. No where were they listed on the internet with the
rest of the dogs picked up. Not on Petfinder! Tammy had no intention
of ever helping them find their owners. I do want to know what she
intended to do with them. Why would you leave them in crates when
kennels had been provided? Were they moving again?)
Lastly, Pasado's Safe
Haven will do all it can to assist the owners of these pets to pursue
civil judgments against Baxter County, Arkansas, Dr. Snodgrass, and all
parties involved. (Pasado
needs to be sued on behalf of the owners of these dogs, especially the
owners of the dogs that died, and that are permanently damaged. Knowing
that Tammy was questionable, inspecting her property and sending them
anyway??????)
I would love for this to be forwarded to the world. I am more
than mad at the situation that could have been avoided. I deeply
resent that Pasado seemed to think that we are a bunch of hicks that
don't have a clue about what goes on in our own state or even worse don't
care. I resent that they threaten people with lawsuits in attempts to
intimidate the very folks who are responsible for saving these dogs
from Tammy, and that they seem to have made up lies in an attempt to
cover their butts. Thank you all for letting me rant. Please tell
Pasado they should be held accountable. and mostly, please go
help. Please take home dogs, Please go see for your self and I promise
you will never be the same.
AR Great Dane Rescue |
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PASADO LIES!
The following is from a post on an internet animal welfare list Sunday, October 23, 2005 7:57 PM This is
the straw that broke MY back. My name is Bobby Dorafshar and I am the
founder of New Leash On Life Animal Rescue located in Southern California
and  <>cages. That in it’s self makes me sick. (The next day, my phone call
to Mark was ignored and he didn’t even have the decency to call me
back!)I’ve been stewing about my
Pasado experience for 2 weeks. With in the last two weeks, I have read and
re-read the e-mail that went back in forth between Susan, and others
regarding my encounter with them, and the lies just don’t stop. Then I learn
about Tammy Hansen
in -Pasado did NOT check the
Hansen’s
property -Pasado took money from HSUS and
the public to care for these animals and then dumped them in conditions
worse than the streets of (I later learned that the reason
Pasado did not want to release dogs to me was because HSUS had not yet paid
them for the dogs they had taken in from HSUS and if they released the dogs
to New Leash On Life, they would not get the money that came with those
dogs.)
-Pasado’s staff are liars and
their donors deserve to know the truth about who they are supporting. Their
own volunteers are sickened by their actions. -Best Friends did not place any
animals with Tammy Hansen. Both she and her husband are on the Best Friends
DNA (Do Not Adopt) list. Blood
is on their hands. The dead dogs found at the Hansen’s is a direct result of
Pasado’s neglect and indifference to the animals they claim to care
for.
The
true test will be to see whether or not they re-claim these animals. My
guess is no. They have not shown up at the Hansen’s facility yet, knowing
what was going on since the 21st! I wonder what they are waiting
for. The Sheriff to demand these animals be killed so they have someone else
to lay blame and they can wash their hand of this situations?
Bobby
Dorafshar Founder New
Leash On Life Animal Rescue |
| Animal sanctuary? Gruesome scene inside what is supposed to be a sanctuary for animals: Authorities discover 400-500 dogs living in cramped, filthy conditions October 24, 2005 GAMALIEL — The stench is almost unbearable; so are the flies. Trash is strewn about and the water is green. Dogs are stuffed into small cages, sitting in their own feces and urine and barking feverishly. One dog limps along a pathway, one of its front legs misshapen and obviously broken. Other dogs appear sickly, only slightly raising an ear when someone approaches. Barks, howls and whimpers echo like a canine orchestra of 500 puppies, pit bulls, labs and a variety of other breeds found at a Gamaliel animal shelter Friday evening. Read the entire story here |
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Pasado's Safe Haven claims that:
"Dozens of pitbulls, who we rescued, walked, hugged, and cared for for days, were transferred to a shelter in Arkansas named EDNA (Every Dog Needs a Home) after the Humane Society of Louisiana, as well as Best Friends had sent animals there. We also had volunteers travel to EDNA and return stating that animals were well-cared for. After these credible recommendations, PasadoRescue chose to place non-aggressive pitbulls with EDNA." "Because
we are committed to the life-long, well-being of each animal that we
and other organizations rescued during the Katrina disaster, we were
concerned about rumors that
local groups near to Ms. Hanson had circulated about her. To further
assure we were placing animals in a qualified, caring environment, two
volunteers, assisting at our Raceland veterinary triage center,
traveled to visit Ms. Hanson's facility. They were welcomed by her to tour the facility and
they returned to Raceland, LA with nothing but good things to say about
Tammy, the facility, and the condition of the animals
themselves."
Look at the photos we have here on our website, and the ones on the linked site below and decide for yourself. Is this the sort of facility you would send your dogs to? Could anyone have really toured this "facility" and had anything good to say about it? More Photos of Tammy Hanson's EDNAH "Sanctuary"      Click on images to go to new website with these and other photos. "...one dog laying in a kennel had a back
completely broken - with the front legs going one way and the back legs
going the other direction. Because of the severity of its injury,
it was taken to a vet's office for analysis and a determination to be
made on whether or not it should be euthanized based on what the x-rays
showed." -- Judy Bishop
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| Pasado's Responds "We learned of Tammy Hanson the same way we learned of all the rescue groups who took possession of our animals - through qualified, independent, word-of-mouth resources. We were well aware that puppy mills and those seeking animals for animal labs would take advantage of Katrina animals. We warned everyone (on our website) to be very aware of the potential to place animals in harm's way. And we heeded our own advice strictly." "To assure that we placed the animals we worked tirelessly to rescue, we required at least two, independent recommendations on any individual or shelter. In regards to Tammy Hanson, we did MORE, because we had locals in her area express complaints." "Did Pasado's ever drive 12 hours one-way to visit her facility in the middle of the biggest animal disaster in the nation's history? No." "We believe what may have happened is this: the vets, the Humane Society, and the other rescue groups viewed her property before she began taking in animals from many groups, including ours. Then, Ms. Hanson allowed for things to get out of control." While this sounds good, and is in all probability essentially the truth, this is not what they were telling people at first. They specifically said they sent two volunteers to EDNA to inspect the facilities and that they had nothing but good things to say (see above). This clearly leads the reader to believe they did check EDNA out. Yet now they are saying they were simply relying on info from others. They originally indicated that they had spoken to Best Friends and that BF had sent dogs to EDNA, but there is no mention of BF in their response. Perhaps because BF denies ever sending EDNA any animals. And the Humane Society they refer to, and whose recommendation they relied on, is not one that is local to EDNA and would have been able to do a site inspection, it is the Louisiana Humane Society. The good news is that finally, Pasado's has "seen the light" and is reclaiming their dogs. "The sheriff is releasing all of our animals back to us. We are on-site, working with the sheriff and responding quickly. The kennels that we generously purchased for Tammy are now being donated to other groups who HAVE stepped up to help." So what is the lesson to be learned here? Well, I think the first thing is that it is damned hard to know ho is and who is not a responsible rescue. And second I think, is that we need a better way to positively identify problem rescues, and to make that info available to other organizations that need to know, such as Pasado's. Tammy's name has been tossed around on all sorts of DNR lists and lots of folks have made accusations, but there was no easily accessed source for documentation that Pasado's could go to. Lots of people contacted Pasado's and told them she was a problem, but apparently they did not have objective proof to offer, at least not until the photos from the bust were published. We need a way to collect proof and make it accessible. And lastly, It is incumbent on those who would transfer animals to other organizations, to really ensure that there is no chance the receiving organization has problems. And this is all the more important when an organization takes on a leadership role in a rescue effort like this and is transporting large numbers of animals to various locations. Yes, it makes the job harder, but the thing is it is the job. It is not some adjunct to the job, it is the core of the job. If you get reports from local organizations that there are problems, you really must investigate. In fact you shouldn't wait until you get reports, you should be contacting the local rescues asking for references. It is sad that things got so out of hand. Hopefully we all have learned from this. Read Pasado's entire response here |
| Update - Tammy Hanson's EDNAH "Sanctuary" Wed, 26 Oct 2005 Pasado has been there for 2 days, they are trying to fix the horrible mess up they made by sending the dogs to a collector. HSUS rep came today for legal assistance to Baxter County, a ground crew is coming to help. We have cared for the dogs all week with just 6 to 10 people and about 600 dogs. When the Sheriffs Dept first went in all the dogs left with Tammy Hanson from Katrina were still in the same crate they were delivered in over one week ago, never cleaned. Thousands of dollars worth of kennels set at the gate never put together for the dogs. There was a dog with a broken back that had been there suffering in a crate for God knows how long, it was put to sleep on Sunday. Many dogs were found dead on the site and some in the crates they came there in. Dogs are everywhere, compounds of 40 or so dogs together, hiding mothers in barrels trying to protect babies from the others. Sick dogs, crippled dogs, dogs covered in Red Mange and still breeding. Every male dog I seen had not been neutered, moms and puppies all over the place, others pregnant and others breeding. It is a site I thought I would never see at that number. PETA has called everyday to Pasado and to me to make sure people are there working and that the dogs are getting medical attention. They are VERY short of help and no dogs can be released without the Judge, they are being very careful not to mess up the case against the Hansen's. Jaxie Heppner Beebe Humane Society 707 Hwy 64 West Beebe Ar. 72012 (501) 882-5281 (501) 680-5326 BeebeHumaneSociety.org BeebeHumaneSociety.Petfinder.com BeebeHumaneSoc@aol.com |
| Animal lovers following plight of dogs Animal lovers worldwide are watching Baxter County. Web
sites, message boards and chat rooms are filling up with people wanting
to know what is happening at Gamaliel animal sanctuary Every Dog Needs
A Home (EDNAH). Police executed a search warrant on the property Friday
and discovered more than 400 dogs living in filthy conditions. Owners William and Tammy Hanson were arrested for animal cruelty. The two were released on $1,000 bond each. Nothing much changed Tuesday with the dogs. Volunteers still are caring for the dogs while awaiting word when the dogs can be moved. The Bulletin has received e-mails from readers in Minnesota, Washington, Texas, California, Montana and a host of other states as well as individuals and groups from Sweden, Canada, England and other countries who have been monitoring the Gamaliel situation. Read the entire story here |
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"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be determined by the way its animals are treated." -- Mahatma Gandhi s rescued Katrina dog died from neglect alone in his cage http://www.forpitssake.org/ednah.html http://www.workingpitbull.com/New%20Site%202005/pasado.htm |
| EDNAH Update from Disaster Response Animal Rescue 10/30/2005 7:14 PM Hi everyone I have been at Tanny Hanson's place for the past 3 days with Jessie. With the help of two great friends at Tylertown (Humane LA), we were able to get most, if not all of the dogs from Winn-Dixie signed over to us and transported to Tylertown tonight. This INCLUDES the Pit bull family- mom, dad and puppy are doing great! Also Charleen Nevelle's Sharpei "Pinky"... and a couple other pits I have a soft spot for (rehab dogs:). Tylertown (humane LA) also got all of their dogs turned over and out on transport tonight. Winn-Dixie and Tylertown's dogs are the first dogs to be released to their original rescue groups- Pasado's dogs have not been released yet as they are still trying to find a suitable no-kill location for all of the dogs. The EDNAH situation has improved dramatically since last Thursday - almost all dogs (except Pasado's) have been moved from crates into large dog runs and all dogs are being vet checked and micro-chipped. All loose dogs are now contained and dogs are all being walked and loved. Rescue groups are quickly stepping in and preparing to take dogs when/if they are able to be released. MORE volunteers are still needed ofcourse... you have to "apply" to volunteer before you show up. I am on my way to Tylertown to make sure the Winn-Dixie dogs get acclimated to their new setting and to volunteer for a few days. Humane LA has done an amazing job during the Katrina crisis- PLEASE COME AND VOLUNTEER!! Warm Regards, Kelly Engel |
-Pasado received a VERY large
grant from ASPCA to care Home | Rescue Practices | In The News | Contact Us | Documents | Adopters Tales | Rescues
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