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| Pa. Group Gives Helping 'Paw' to... - ABC News Posted: 30 Mar 2013 08:17 AM PDT After a fire broke out at Dorothy Phillips' apartment in Philadelphia, the Red Cross gave her a temporary place to stay. Unfortunately, the shelter would not accept her beloved dog, Max. Who would care for him while she looked for a new home? "As far as I'm concerned, he's one of my grandbabies," Phillips said. Max is now being boarded in a kennel in a Philadelphia suburb thanks to Red Paw, an animal rescue group that has a unique partnership with the southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the American Red Cross. While Red Cross workers tend to human victims of residential disasters like fires, floods or building collapses, Red Paw takes care of their animals. The nearly 2-year-old agency uses a network of volunteers, foster homes and other animal welfare groups to care for pets whose owners are struggling to rebuild their lives. Help includes veterinary care, pet supplies and temporary boarding — all free of charge. "We don't want to see anyone lose their pet because of something completely out of their control," Red Paw founder Jen Leary said. Leary started the nonprofit after seeing the heartbreak and confusion of too many pet owners during her work as a city firefighter and Red Cross volunteer. Red Paw then teamed up with the local Red Cross about 18 months ago. Before Red Paw, the Red Cross had no uniform approach to handling displaced animals — each case depended on the location of the disaster and the available responders, Red Cross spokesman Dave Schrader said. Red Paw is now the go-to group whenever Red Cross clients need help with their animals. It's a model that Leary hopes to replicate in other states. Schrader called Red Paw "invaluable" in helping victims cope with catastrophes. "Knowing that their pets will be cared for certainly reduces the trauma," he said. According to Leary, Red Paw responded to 164 disasters last year in Philadelphia and four surrounding counties, helping nearly 300 animals — including dogs, cats, birds, turtles, ferrets and a snake. The group relies entirely on donations. Red Paw volunteer Kat Nania recalled going out one snowy night in January after a fire had destroyed a house in southwest Philadelphia. A cat was missing, and its owner said the feline had just birthed a litter of kittens. Nania feared the worst when she entered the ruins of the house — its ceiling fallen in, broken glass everywhere, the interior staircase more like a hill than steps. But there, hiding behind a mirror, was a still-pregnant Tabitha. "She was just so frightened, she let me scoop her up and put her in the carrier," Nania said. "When I felt her pregnant belly, I was just like, 'Yes!'" Tabitha gave birth within a day of the rescue. But she and her kittens need a permanent home now; their owner could no longer care for them and surrendered the animals to Red Paw to put up for adoption. "The goal is always to reunite people with their pets," Leary said. "But sometimes after losing everything they had, it's hard to do that." Red Paw aims for reunification within a month, but Leary conceded it can take much longer. The agency was able to reunite 86 families with their pets last year; an additional three dozen animals were surrendered and re-adopted. Max, the German shepherd-pit bull mix owned by Phillips, remains in the group's care while Phillips looks for a new home. She isn't sure when she'll have one, but she calls constantly to check on her dog. In Philadelphia, the city's animal control organization will also respond to animals left homeless by disasters, executive director Susan Cosby said. But Red Paw's capacity for crisis response is valuable because it eases the burden on her agency, which deals with more than 32,000 stray and surrendered animals per year. "They're able to work in a far more specialized way with the animals and families that they're helping," Cosby said, later adding: "We can't do it alone. There's just too much work to be done." ——— Online: http://www.redpawemergencyreliefteam.com http://www.acctphilly.org http://www.redcross-philly.org ——— Follow Kathy Matheson at www.twitter.com/kmatheson |
| Kenya Supreme Court upholds Uhuru Kenyatta election win - BBC News Posted: 30 Mar 2013 08:44 AM PDT
30 March 2013
Last updated at 11:43 ET
 Security was tight in Nairobi ahead of the ruling
Kenya's Supreme Court has upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's presidential election victory, rejecting several petitions challenging the vote. Chief Justice Willy Mutunga announced the decision, which was unanimous, saying the poll was free and fair. Main challenger PM Raila Odinga, who lodged the appeal, said he would fully respect the verdict. Official results said Mr Kenyatta beat Mr Odinga by 50.07% to 43.28%, avoiding a run-off by just 8,100 votes. There was tight security at the Supreme Court as the judgement was read out. Violence after a disputed election in 2007 left more than 1,200 people dead. The presidential, legislative and municipal elections held on 4 March were the first since the 2007 poll. Mr Kenyatta and his running mate, William Ruto, are expected to be sworn in as president and vice-president on 9 April. But they are facing trial on charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for allegedly fuelling unrest after that election. They deny the charges. Plea for calmChief Justice Mutunga said the court's decisions had been unanimous on all the issues they were asked to rule on. He said that Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto had been "validly elected" in a poll carried out in a "free, fair, transparent and credible" manner. "It is the decision of the court that the said elections were indeed conducted in compliance with the constitution and the law," he said. "At this historical moment in our country, the Supreme Court has discharged its constitutional duty in conformity with the solemn oath each one of us took," he added. "It is now for the Kenyan people, their leaders, civil society, the private sector and the media to discharge theirs, to ensure that the unity, peace, sovereignty and prosperity of the nation is preserved. God bless Kenya."  Mr Kenyatta has called the election a "triumph of democracy"
Supporters of Mr Kenyatta took to the streets of central Nairobi, tooting their horns, blowing on vuvuzelas and chanting. Outside the courthouse, police used tear gas to chase away people protesting against the ruling but the area is now quiet. There are also reports of teargas being fired at stone-throwing youths in the western city of Kisumu, a stronghold of Mr Odinga. Outgoing President Mwai Kibaki has urged people to stay calm and accept the result, but much will depend on Kenyans' faith in their newly reformed judiciary, our correspondent says. Petitions had been filed to the court by Mr Odinga and by civil society groups, who claimed irregularities had affected the election result and called for fresh elections. Mr Odinga said that he did not regret making the challenge, but that he fully respected the decision and wished Mr Kenyatta and his team well. "Although we may not agree with some of [the court's] findings, our belief in constitutionalism remains supreme," he said at a news conference after the verdict. "We must soldier on in our resolve to reform our politics and our institutions." Mr Kenyatta has called the election, which was largely conducted peacefully, a "triumph of democracy". The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has insisted that the vote was credible, despite technical failures with an electronic voter ID system and the vote counting mechanism. International observers said the poll was largely free, fair and credible, and that the electoral commission had conducted its business in an open and transparent manner. |
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