Friday April 26, 2024 
Wildlife Tracking Workshops in Rensselaer County
Join local tracking experts Dan Yacobellis and Josh Wood for a series of three workshops to learn animal tracks or to enhance your skills. Attend one or all; each workshop will add a new layer to the tracking experience. The second two workshops will also include GPS mapping and documenting of all observed wildlife signs, using citizen science to contribute to an online, active map of animal activity on the Rensselaer Plateau. These workshops are jointly sponsored by the Rensselaer Plateau Alliance, Rensselaer Land Trust, and Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center. Fee $20 per workshop.
Registration:
www.renstrust.org. Questions? Annie at annie@nullrensselaerplateau.org.
January 12, 10 am – 1 pm —Tracking Basics with Josh Wood at Albert Family Community Forest, Nassau.
February 16, 9:30-4:00–Bringing Tracking Home with Dan Yacobellis at Dyken Pond Environmental Education Center, Grafton.
March 10 – 9:30-4:00– Animal Tracking in Late Winter with Dan Yacobellis at Poestenkill Community Forest, Poestenkill.
Dan Yacobellis runs Tamakoce Wilderness Programs in Grafton, immersing children and adults in wilderness living experiences. Josh Wood is the Program Director of Flying Deer Nature Center in East Chatham. He’s an avid tracker, naturalist and wilderness skills mentor.
Hundreds of German Shepherds Being Rescued from Deplorable Georgia Puppy Mill
The Guardians of Rescue need public assistance to rescue dogs from horrible conditions
For six years, those who lived and worked around a puppy mill where dogs are living in horrible conditions kept reporting their concerns and asking someone to step in and doing something. Now, someone finally has. Guardians of Rescue are heading up the rescue of the hundreds of German shepherds living in horrible conditions at a puppy mill in Montgomery County, Georgia. Their efforts will include the removal of the dogs, getting them medical care, and finding new permanent and loving homes.
“These poor dogs have been living miserable lives. We are happy to be the ones to finally bring it all to an end,” explains Robert Misseri, president of Guardians of Rescue, an animal rescue organization. “We can’t do this on our own because we don’t have the funds to pull off a rescue of this size. We desperately need the help of the public in order to make this happen and get all of these dogs to safety.”
The puppy mill has hundreds of German shepherds in a large fenced area dotted with small dog houses. The area has no grass, rather it has turned to all mud and muck, and the dogs live in around 10 inches of mud and animal waste at all times. They have never seen the inside of a home or car, and neighbors say they are tired of the awful stench that permeates from the property. One neighbor has also reported to the news that they saw dogs be beat to death with a shovel. Those who live in the area have worked tirelessly to bring attention to the terrible conditions these dogs were living in, hoping that they could get the puppy mill closed down and help the dogs find great homes to live out the rest of their lives. And that’s exactly what finally happened.
Guardians of Rescue are currently working to remove all of the dogs from the horrific conditions at the German shepherd breeding business. They have partnered with Animal Aid USA, along with Victoria Stillwell, an internationally-known dog trainer, and Claudine Wilkins, Georgia’s most prominent animal rights attorney and founder of Animal Law Source. The whole team will be on location at the Montgomery County puppy mill to assist with the rescue, along with veterinarians, vet technicians, and other volunteers. Through their efforts, the dogs will be removed, receive any medical care they need, and they will be adopted out to properly vetted homes, where they can live in the best conditions. The group is partnering with others in order to help make this large scale rescue a success.
Guardians of Rescue desperately need financial donations to assist with the large-scale dog rescue in Montgomery County, Georgia. Those who would like to make a donation to help with the rescue can do so via the following link: https://guardiansofrescue.networkforgood.com/projects/66749-hundreds-of-montgomery-georgia-dogs-urgently-need-your-help.
Guardians of Rescue provide assistance to animals out on the streets. They are located in Long Island, New York, and they help animals in many places beyond where their chapters are located on a national and international level. They are also instrumental in helping military members with their pets. To learn more, get involved, or to make a donation to support the Guardians of Rescue, log onto https://guardiansofrescue.org.