Go look at his picture - so much improved in just 6 days!!
02/25/2009 - Rescued tiger is moving closer to St. Louis - STLtoday.com
Rescued tiger is moving closer to St. Louis
By Kim Bell
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
02/25/2009
ST. LOUIS -- The Bengal tiger rescued last week from a reputed Missouri puppy mill, where police believe it had been fed the carcasses of dead puppies, is on its way to a tiger sanctuary 50 miles south of St. Louis.
Judy McGee, founder of the National Tiger Sanctuary near Bloomsdale, Mo., picked up the tiger up from the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday afternoon and was hoping to have it back to her five-acre grounds by nightfall. She said it will cost about $15 a day to feed the tiger, which eventually would need its own cage and habitat costing $10,000.
Sheena, who is a 9-year-old tiger, will be housed indoors at the sanctuary in quarantine. "She probably will never run with other tigers," McGee said. "She may have problems with her vision and probably wouldn't get along with other tigers."
EARLIER COVERAGE
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The sanctuary has six other tigers and one cougar at the Bloomsdale location. If the tiger's owner loses custody at a hearing next month, only then would the sanctuary go to the expense of building a separate cage and habitat, McGee said. Other costs could include surgery if a vet determines the tiger has bladder stones.
The futures of the Bengal tiger and the 208 dogs confiscated in the raid last Thursday will be decided March 9 at a hearing in Newton County. At that hearing, a judge will determine if there was sufficient evidence to remove the animals from their owner, Jewel Bond, and if she should get them back. She'd have to post a bond to cover the cost of their care and treatment -- costs that could run into the six figures.
WHAT THE RAID UNCOVERED
When rescuers went to confiscate the animals Thursday from J.B.'s Precious Puppies in Seneca, Mo., they found the dogs had automatic feeders in their cages, but the automatic watering system was broken. Some of the dogs had water that was frozen. About 95 percent of the dogs had no water. A veterinarian said some appeared dehydrated, and two puppy carcasses, primarily bones and hair, were found in the tiger's cage. Police assume the tiger was fed dead puppies. But Bond, the tiger's owner, told The Joplin Globe on Monday that she fed Sheena frozen chickens and cat food. She said she fed the tiger all she could eat, but that the tiger always was on the slim side. "I loved the tiger dearly," she told the Globe.
Jewel Bond, who ran the Precious Puppies business, is charged with two misdemeanors of animal abuse -- one count covering the tiger, the other covering the dogs. She could not be reached to comment Wednesday. The court file does not list a lawyer representing her. And the prosecutor said he doesn't know if she plans to try to get the animals back. If she wants them back, she'd have to post a bond to cover the cost of their care and treatment until the court case is decided.
Zookeepers who have held the tiger since Thursday's raid say the tiger is faring better and eating about 10 pounds of bovine meat a day. She's even putting on weight, said Melinda Arnold with the Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield. The tiger weighed only 175 pounds -- half of what it should weigh -- when she was removed from the Seneca property. But McGee, who will care for the tiger at the sanctuary, said the tiger also had parasites, is on antibiotics and having some trouble eating.
"She's having trouble eating because of the blisters on her tongue," McGee said. "She had blisters on her tongue from infection and boils on her paws because she was kept in a small cage and had to walk in her own urine and feces" in her old life at the Precious Puppies site.
The Dickerson Park Zoo cared for Sheena immediately after the raid but couldn't keep her. "We don't have a space for her in our exhibit," said Arnold. "The tigers we have are a different species, Malayan tigers, a smaller species." While at Dickerson, Sheena appeared content as she pawed through cereal boxes containing meatballs, officials say.
Meanwhile, the 208 dogs and puppies confiscated from the Seneca site are in the care of the Humane Society of Missouri here in St. Louis. None has had to be euthanized, officials said Wednesday. The judge in Newton County would have to give the Humane Society the green light at the March hearing before any dogs could be adopted.
COST OF TREATMENT
At the hearing March 9, the Humane Society will be giving the judge a written accounting of what it has spent so far to care for the dogs. Jeane Jae with the Humane Society said Wednesday that she wouldn't have specifics on the cost until that hearing. However, Jae said the Newton County raid was the largest puppy mill rescue in recent history for the Humane Society, and that a large-scale rescue can easily cost $100,000, depending on the condition of the animals and the length of time the agency cares for them.
Expenses can include the time for staff, vehicles and supplies, vaccines, food and shelter and veterinary exams and treatment. It might also include the cost of surgeries, foster care and "enrichment supplies" such as pet toys, Jae explained in an email. The Humane Society of Missouri receives no local, state or federal tax support, Jae added. "We rely on the generosity of individual donors, corporations and foundations," she wrote. "We are the only animal welfare organization in Missouri that, working with local law enforcement, conducts animal cruelty and abuse investigations in every county in the state."
Anyone who wants to adopt a dog or puppy that was rescued can visit the Humane Society's website at
Humane Society of Missouri- hsmo.org and fill out an adoption information form. You can also visit any adoption center to fill out the form in person. It could be several more weeks, Jae said, before any of the animals can be adopted.
LAWS ON OWNING TIGERS
The tiger was properly registered with the Newton County sheriff's department. McGee, who runs the tiger sanctuary, said she plans to be in Jefferson City on Thursday to testify about a bill that would impose regulations on people who own large carnivores.
Under Missouri law, people can keep tigers as pets provided they notify local law enforcement. John Coffman, the legislative director for the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation called it "a vague and unenforced statute."
"We're working on getting a Big Cat Bill passed, which will try to cut down on a lot of people having them in their backyards and having them as pets," McGee said. "It's a big danger to the public. In this state, it's legal for you to keep a tiger in your backyard but it's not legal for you to keep a raccoon or a squirrel because the Department of Conservation covers what's native and not what's exotic."
Organizations and zoos have warned that the state has become a haven for the sale and ownership of exotic animals because of loose restrictions.
State Rep. Mike Sutherland, R-Warrenton, has renewed efforts this year to pass legislation that would impose regulations for individuals who own large carnivores. His bill contains an array of measures designed to ensure that large carnivores, including those kept as personal pets, are registered, cared for and properly maintained.
Missouri's eight adjoining states have passed similar legislation or legislation that bans private ownership outright.