Mass. Animals: Quincy Man Faces Cruelty Charges; New Spay/Neuter Program; Students Study Whales

Photo Credit: DAR Commissioner Greg Watson, Dr. David Dunn of North Shore Animal Hospital, Animal Rescue League of Boston Vice President Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, Massachusetts Animal Fund Coordinator Lauren Gilfeather and two of the Hospital’s patients. Photo by Amy Mahler

By Charlene Arsenault (Patch Staff)

New Spay and Neuter Program at North Shore Animal Hospital

Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) Commissioner Greg Watson this week kicked off the Massachusetts Animal Fund’s Spay/Neuter Program at the North Shore Animal Hospital. The program offers free spay/neuter surgery and rabies vaccinations to homeless dogs and cats, as well as dogs and cats owned by low-income families in Massachusetts. North Shore Animal Hospital was the first veterinary practice to sign up as a Spay/Neuter provider.

“We are extremely fortunate to have such an active community of animal advocates in Massachusetts. While there are many dogs and cats across the Commonwealth in loving homes, there are many who live in unsafe conditions on their own,” said Commissioner Watson. “The Spay/Neuter Program is an important part in improving the lives of these animals and making our communities safer.”

The Massachusetts Animal Fund has partnered with municipal animal control officers to identify the state’s most vulnerable animals, and veterinary practices that are committed to providing surgery and vaccination at a reduced rate. Animal homelessness poses a public safety concern and costs taxpayers money for services dealing with stray, abandoned and feral animals and their offspring.

“We are only as successful as the partnerships we make, and we are fortunate to have an excellent model on the North Shore,” said Lauren Gilfeather, coordinator of the Massachusetts Animal Fund. “We have an enthusiastic provider, North Shore Animal Hospital, who is willing to perform sterilization at our reimbursement rate; proactive animal control officers who are excited about what our program will mean for the animals in their communities; feeders and trappers who have dedicated themselves to caring for feral cat colonies; and local rescue groups and shelters that find forever homes for dogs and cats that are helped through our program. Above all else, all of these people share our goal to invest in the responsible care of animals and end animal homelessness in Massachusetts.”

Since 2013, the Massachusetts Animal Fund has raised $434,000 solely through a voluntary tax check-off on Line 32f of the Massachusetts resident income tax form to help with their efforts end animal homelessness in the Commonwealth. Residents are now able to make direct online donations.

Article submitted by Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs

Quincy Man Charged With Animal Cruelty; 7 Dogs Seized from Home

Mansfield police and animal control took seven dogs from a house in an apartmentment rented by a Quincy man. The man now faces animal cruelty charges.

Authorities had learned that the dogs had not been cared for in the past 48 hours in this house at 21 East St., Unit 3D, Mansfield.

Quincy police arrested condo owner David Aristide on animal cruelty charges Sept. 9.

Bear Spotted in Westford

Last week, a black bear was spotted on Pilgrim Drive in Westford, with a resident uploading the photo of the bear to the Westford Patch Facebook page.

She spotted the bear in her backyard on Saturday. In March, another was spotted in Westford, at the Robinson School. Bears are typically active in the area from April to December. Read tips on how to prevent run-ins with bears.

Rudy the Labradoodle Recovering After Being Hit by SUV

By John Waller

Rudy, a two-year-old labradoodle, has been reunited with his family and is recovering after being hit by an SUV, according to Angell Animal Medical Center.

Rudy received emergency treatment at MSPCA-Angell West in Waltham and stayed at the animal hospital for three days. Rudy couldn’t walk after the crash, as he sustained a fractured pelvis.

Team of Students from Needham Study Whale Snot, And How It May Determine Stress Levels

With a drone they are developing, that is.

Students from the Olin College of Engineering in Needham are developing a better way of harvesting samples of whale mucus samples. Why, you ask? It’s the best way to determine stress levels that whales may experience, reported the Boston Globe.

Catching the spray from the creatures, it provides a sample for these researchers. But the team from Olin College is developing a drone that hovers above the whales’ spray hole, making a less obtrusive way to collect the sample. These teams from Olin as well as a Gloucester whale conservation nonprofit called Ocean Alliance, over the summer, gathered data in order to garner a permit to allow them to monitor whales with a robot, said the Globe. The group hopes it leads to new technology in the field of marine research.