Dr. Varela has a 10 year anniversary

—Baltimore County Animal Services (BCAS) is marking a milestone anniversary this weekend

It is celebrating 10 years of operations at its Baldwin facility. To commemorate a decade of growth and animal advocacy, the organization will host a 10-hour Adopt-a-Thon and Open House on Saturday, Jan. 10.

The event will run from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the shelter located at 13800 Manor Road. The day is designed to offer the community a closer look at the facility’s operations while finding permanent homes for pets currently in the county’s care.

To encourage adoptions, BCAS is waiving all adoption fees for the duration of the event. Furthermore, every person who adopts a new pet will receive a PetSmart gift card to help with initial supplies.

The open house will feature several interactive and service-oriented highlights.

Why is this interesting to Lake Worthians?

Because Dr. Rene Varela, MS, VMD, MPH, is its Bureau Director and the former mayor of Lake Worth Beach.

Cats and Furry Friends population is down 🤣

The mainstream media has been laughing at Donald Trump’s claims that pets were being eaten by Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio — but a reporter's recent findings might just confirm the former president’s claims.

The reporter, who was visiting outside Springfield, Ohio, stumbled upon what he believed to be a skinned cat sizzling on a barbecue.

“The reporter found that there’s a lot of good evidence that it actually is happening,” Pat Gray of “Pat Gray Unleashed” comments. “I don’t know if it’s prevalent, I don’t know if all Haitians are eating all cats in the area, I don’t know. But apparently, it’s happened.”

While it was just outside of Springfield where this happened, Gray notes that “it was a Haitian refugee, and it was a cat, and it was being barbecued.”

Lots of humor in this video.

Publix Pet Policy

Ever since Publix incorporated their "pet" policy, I have not seen any until now. While waiting for a chicken tender dinner, this customer brought in his cute little dog: Pet? ESA? Service dog? Who the h*ll knows.

Are Service Dogs Allowed in Publix?

Publix recognizes and welcomes all service dogs who are trained to accompany their handler into their stores and will even provide personal shopping assistance for individuals with disabilities. They ask that service dogs are fully trained (service dogs who are still in training may not legally be considered service dogs until training is complete) and able to behave in the store in such a way that doesn’t disturb or put other shoppers at risk.

Are Emotional Support Animals (ESA) Allowed in Publix?

Emotional support animals (ESAs) aren’t allowed in Publix. Unfortunately for individuals who get support from ESAs, emotional support animals aren’t protected by public access laws under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and travel under the Department of Transportation (DOT) in the same way that service dogs are. This is one of the main differences between emotional support dogs and service dogs along with training.

While service dogs and other service animals must be individually trained to perform tasks that provide support to their handlers, emotional support animals provide support with little other than their presence and affection.

Are Dogs on a Leash Allowed in Publix? Dogs on a leash are allowed in Publix only if they are service dogs.