Mary Cummins Wildlife Rehabilitation Animal Advocates News Los Angeles California

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Camel escapes in Palmdale, California, Cody Smith, A-List Animals - Mary Cummins, Animal Advocates

Escaped camel with Los Angeles County Sheriff, Acton, Palmdale, California, East Soledad Pass Road

UPDATE: 02/20/14: I happened to be in Lancaster and thought I'd stop by A-List Animals to knock on the door to see if he was there. It's legal to walk up a driveway to knock on someone's front door. I saw four boar with half a bucket of dirty green water with no food or shelter. I saw two ostrich with half a bucket of dirty green water with no food and a shelter which had collapsed. I saw a trailer full of sheep and goats with no food or water visible. At least the trailer is open near the top for ventilation. Goats were kicking, butting the door and poking their legs out trying to escape.

I didn't make it to the front door because animal control showed up. I told them I was there to knock on the door to try to find Cody. Seems no one can find him. They said they'd take a look around to make sure the animals were okay. I told them about the goats and sheep in the trailer. The sheep used to be in pens which are now empty. I think someone was going to move the sheep and goats.

Legally when they are investigating animal cases they don't give food and water until they confiscate the animals. They can't disturb evidence of no food or water until after the animals are in their possession. I took a few pics of the exterior area which is in public view.

A-List Animals Cody Smith escaped camel, Palmdale, California

A-List Animals Cody Smith Palmdale, California escaped camel

A-List Animals, Cody Smith, escaped camel, Palmdale, California

UPDATE 02/18/14: Camel's name is "Wally." We may start looking for homes to have at the ready in case Cody does not take his animals. Two camels, two zebra, buffalo, sheep, horses, chickens, ostrich. Camel might bite if spooked. Neighbor says he's fine when he's not frightened. Need a USDA and County permit.

UPDATE 02/16/14: Here is link to video of Steve Brefka who was attacked.
http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2014/02/15/palmdale-man-71-lucky-to-be-alive-following-nasty-camel-attack/

Yesterday a camel (pictured above) escaped it's enclosure and walked around an agricultural area in Palmdale, California. The neighbor across the street Steven J Brefka was supposedly bitten while trying to corral the camel. The owner of the camel seems to have fled the property.

Steven J Brefka and his daughter Skylar Dossenbach own the home at 349 E. Soledad Pass Road, Palmdale, California. The land is Los Angeles County agriculture zone. Farm animals are allowed besides llamas and alpacas. I got the amendment to zoning to add llamas, alpacas and wildlife rehabilitation in 2004.

I see a USDA permit but it was cancelled. I'll try to confirm. It's in the name of Cody and Diane Smith, Diana's Animal Farm, Animals For You. Permit numbers 93-C-0952 and 93-C-0576.

Camel is owned by Cody Smith of A-List Animals at 624 East Soledad Pass Road, Piru, California. It's four acres with a one bedroom, one bath house.

They said the camel was charging cars. I think the camel, like most animals, thought the cars were predators. He was frightened and charged them to keep them away. When the elderly man tried to corral him the camel was probably already very frightened from being out of his enclosure next to the cars. The woman Skylar did the right thing.

http://www.alistanimals.com/

Information packet about him.
http://www.alistanimals.com/A-ListAnimalsInfoPackSm.pdf

Here is his imdb page
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0807753/filmotype
and his mother's Diana
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0807955/

I emailed asking for a comment but received no reply yet.

Looks like they were cited by USDA for not having a USDA permit from 2009 to 2011. Then they applied for a permit but it was cancelled for some reason.

Cody Smith A-List Animals Diana Smith California USDA permit violation camel escape

Looks like he was written up for not having good enough shelter for his camels.

Cody Smith A-List Animals USDA permit violation camel

Cody Smith camel zebra USDA permit inventory

Cody Smith, Diana Smith, A-List Animals, Diana's Animal Farm, Animals for You, USDA permit cancelled

Below is map to the property where the camel lived at 624 East Soledad Pass Road, Piru, California. It was captured at 349 East Soledad Pass Road, Palmdale, California down the street.

View Larger Map

View Larger Map

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Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins of Cummins Real Estate Services has been in real estate since 1983, over 35 years. She is licensed by the Bureau of Real Estate Appraisers. Mary Cummins was an agent and broker licensed with the California Department of Real Estate selling residential income, commercial buildings, raw land and homes for Merrill Lynch Realty in Beverly Hills and Westside Properties in Los Angeles before concentrating on appraisals. Mary Cummins currently provides real estate appraisals, expert witness testimony, historical research, legal real estate research for mortgage brokers, banks, lawyers, factors, insurance companies, financial consultants and private individuals. Mary Cummins was born and raised in Southern California. Cummins attended Beverly Hills Good Shepherd Catholic School and Beverly Hills High School. Besides being on the Dean's list, Mary Cummins was a top ten national swimmer and competed on the men's water polo team. Mary Cummins began college at the age of 15 attending the University of Southern California on scholarship, majoring in Psychology/Sociology. http://www.animaladvocates.us http://www.facebook.com/AnimalAdvocatesUSA

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Labyrinthitis, nystagmus in a cat with deformed ears from over breeding the curl, fold ear trait - Mary Cummins

Labyrinthitis, nystagmus in feline, cat - Mary Cummins

I adopted this cat named Beauty Queen. We think she may be a ragdoll with folded ears. It seems they over bred for the folded ear trait and her ear canal is totally twisted shut. I can't get a q-tip more than 1/4 inch into her ear. She also had mites, fungus, infection and buildup when I first got her which I treated. My neighbor is an ear doctor. He took one look at my cat and properly diagnosed her with nystagmus and labyrinthitis. She has nystagmus, i.e. rapid eye movement from side to side when she tries to focus. This is caused by her inner ear problem. She is frightened of other cats or any sudden movement. I believe she is also 99% deaf most likely caused by the twisted ear or previous infections. These seem to be common side effects of labyrinthitis. Because her inner ear problem is genetic and not currently caused by bacteria or virus, there is no real treatment as far as I know. I just keep her ears clean. Next time she goes under for a dental I will have the vet really clean out her ears.

Labyrinthitis, nystagmus in cat, feline. You can see how deformed her ears are folded and twisted shut - Mary Cummins

"When the vestibular system is affected by labyrinthitis, rapid and undesired eye motion (nystagmus) often results from the improper indication of rotational motion. Nausea, anxiety, and a general ill feeling are common due to the distorted balance signals that the brain receives from the inner ear."

http://vestibular.org/labyrinthitis-and-vestibular-neuritis

Labyrinthitis, nystagmus in cat - Mary Cummins. This is her other ear twisted shut.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Mary Cummins

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Nathan Winograd, No Kill Solutions, no kill law and advocacy center, book, redemption

Nathan Winograd, No Kill Solutions, No Kill Law and Advocacy Center, book author

I generally don't talk about Nathan Winograd because he's not a nice person. He defames, attacks and threatens to sue anyone if they don't support him. He also plagiarized an article I wrote about wildlife in shelters. He added it to his newsletter and then to his Philadelphia nokill consulting report. I have copies. I will write a little bit about my personal history and involvement with Nathan Winograd to clarify things for people.

I first heard about Nathan Winograd in late 2004 from another rescuer. He said he could make any shelter nokill overnight. He said he's made every shelter he consulted with "nokill" over night. You just have to follow his ten basic programs which he outlined on his old website nokillsolutions.com. That was a California for profit corporation C2673735 filed in 2004 then dissolved address 49 Via Palacio, San Clemente, California. This was his father in law's home which they bought in 2005 for $890K and sold in 2013 for $717K. Nathan Winograd was a consultant and gave seminars to teach others how to make shelters nokill. He sold a newsletter. Here is a copy of his old website http://web.archive.org/web/20041204055050/http://www.nokillsolutions.com/home.htm . This all sounded too good to be true but I could find no evidence at that time that he had failed, or succeeded. It was all just Nathan Winograd's word.

I was campaigning hard for Antonio Villaraigosa for Mayor in Los Angeles, California. I wanted LA to be "nokill." Antonio had a pro-animal campaign platform. He wanted LA to be nokill. Who wouldn't want the city to be "nokill?" I contacted Nathan Winograd and asked if he'd consult for LA if Antonio became Mayor. He said yes. I thought at the time maybe he charges $3,000 to $3,500 so I offered to pay for it. He said he would charge $20K per shelter and he included the annex (a warehouse) as a shelter. He wanted $140K to do approximately a month worth of work. I was like "whoa! I can't afford that. Neither can the City." Nathan then told me that his activists ADL ... would force the city to hire him and give him $140K.

Antonio became the Mayor and I asked Nathan to give him a proper estimate to consult. Nathan told me the Mayor himself must fill out his online form requesting a consultation. I told him someone in his office can do it. He said, no, it must be the Mayor. Mayor did not fill out his silly online form because he was swamped. The Mayor did agree to meet him. The Mayor offered Nathan Winograd the GM position of LA Animal Services which Nathan declined. Nathan admitted this later that day when he gave a "nokill" presentation at the Beverly Garland Hotel. I was at that presentation in 2005. 99% of the presentation was how animal control enjoys killing animals. He spent 1% of the almost two hour presentation quickly rattling off the basic programs. Nathan Winograd did not invent the programs. They were "invented" years earlier by others in New York and San Francisco.

Another group told me that Nathan already wrote a free nokill plan for LA City. I said "great! Where is it?" Nathan refused to give it to the city. If someone knew how to make a shelter nokill over night, why wouldn't they want to do that especially if they call themselves an animal lover? I give free consultations for humane wildlife control and how to save wildlife in shelters. I don't charge because I want to save animals. If I had the key to ending euthanasia in shelters, I would gladly give it to the world for free.

Nathan then was upset he didn't get the paid consulting gig. He told me that he took the equity out of his home to start for profit "no kill solutions" and was then forced to sell his home and shut down nokill solutions because he didn't make enough money selling consulting services. He then started a nonprofit corporation No Kill Law and Advocacy Center C2674760 IRS 20-1648359 http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/20-1648359/no-kill-law-advocacy-center.aspx

Before Nathan Winograd shut down No Kill Solutions he did consult for a few cities such as Philadelphia. The failure in Philadelphia was huge. Nathan Winograd wrote a report, got his check, posted the report (I have a copy), said the City, shelter and employees were "committed." Soon after that an expose came out about the horrific conditions in the shelter from overcrowding. The SPCA had to step in and take over. Then Nathan blamed the City, shelter and employees saying they weren't "committed." He threw his client under the bus.

Nathan was hired to do a report for King County. Nathan got his check then posted a scathing public report online with data and photos taken during his inspection of the shelter. The City had to write a rebuttal to his false claims. They didn't get a consulting report with suggestions to make their shelter nokill. They paid money to be attacked. Nathan consulted with another shelter after this. They asked for a confidentiality agreement after the vicious attack at King County. Consultants should always agree to confidentiality agreements. Nathan said "no" then viciously attacked that shelter. That was the last consulting he did as far as I know. If he really could have made a shelter nokill, he would have done it by now and be a multi-millionaire.

Nathan Winograd receives $60,000/year from this non-profit. His wife Jennifer is a board member. Nathan admits there is lobbying activity (see Guidestar link above). He spent approximately $200K to make a documentary about his book "Redemption" in the last two years. He has high unspecified "professional services" expenses yet they are not legal or accounting. Most of his income is from donations. Some is from selling tickets to his conference. I believe he is the sole author and owner of his book selling business. I don't think that is part of the non-profit. He now has quite a few books including a Vegan cook book which oddly enough recommends using products with palm oil which is not vegan.

People should realize that Nathan Winograd is friendly with the Center for Consumer Freedom. CCF is a paid lobby group that promotes alcohol, tobacco, animal research, fur industry, breeders, dairy, meat ranches, leather, anti-union. They are a non-profit that receives "donations" of about $1.4M/year to attack groups such as MADD, PETA, HSUS... They give almost all of that money to a "consultant" who does PR for these industries who happens to be the President of CCF. I believe it's a sham. No animal lover should ever have anything to do with CCF. Because Nathan Winograd hates PETA which CCF attacks that is why Nathan is friends with CCF.

A little history on Nathan Winograd. Nathan Joseph Winograd born August 1, 1966 in Los Angeles County, California. Mother is Dolores R Nayer born June 13, 1932. Father is Azriel Winograd born May 15, 1921 became a US citizen in 1964 in California after marrying Dolores in Clark County, Nevada January 31, 1964, divorced October 1970 in Los Angeles, California. 2007 Nathan tried to get a conservatorship on his father and was denied.

Nathan has two sisters Molly Ann Winograd November 11, 1964 and Rachel Winograd August 1, 1967. Nathan is married to Jennifer Holdt born June 17, 1968. They have two kids Riley and Will born in 1997 and 2000 respectively. Jennifer's parents are Terry N Holdt born August 8, 1943 and Sharon R Holdt born December 19, 1943.

Mary Cummins of Animal Advocates is a wildlife rehabilitator licensed by the California Department of Fish and Game and the USDA. Mary Cummins is also a licensed real estate appraiser in Los Angeles, California.

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Mary Cummins

Monday, July 1, 2013

Los Angeles Business Journal Names Animal Advocates Top Nonprofit in Los Angeles, California

animal advocates, mary cummins, los angeles business journal top nonprofit award, california, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rescue, wildlife, animal, rescue, sanctuary

Animal Advocates Nominated as One of the Top Nonprofits in LA by the Los Angeles Business Journal

Animal Advocates was nominated as one of the top nonprofits in Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Business Journal. The awards ceremony took place at their 3rd annual Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel in downtown LA on June 19, 2013. LABJ honored professionals and organizations that continue to make a positive impact on the community.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (PRWEB) JULY 01, 2013

LABJ Publisher and CEO Matthew A. Toledo stated "Our Awards are designed to honor those professionals and organizations in the nonprofit world that continue to make a positive impact on the community and do so under difficult financial constraints." Toledo continued "We thank and salute all of the nominees." "You are more than heroes - you are an essential part of future corporate and societal success."

Mary Cummins President of Animal Advocates stated "we are honored to have been one of only two animal nonprofits nominated. We are also the only Fish & Wildlife licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility in the City of Los Angeles which covers over 500 square miles and 3.8 million people. We look forward to continuing to help native wildlife and people in the City."

About Animal Advocates: Animal Advocates is licensed by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife and the USDA to rescue and rehabilitate ill, injured and orphaned native wildlife for release back to the wild. We rescue coyotes, bobcats, foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, squirrels…all the way down to bats. Animal Advocates also provides wildlife education, humane nuisance wildlife control and has a small sanctuary for unreleasable wildlife.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/7/prweb10886744.htm

Google+ Mary Cummins, Mary K. Cummins, Mary Katherine Cummins, Mary Cummins-Cobb, Mary, Cummins, Cobb, wildlife, wild, animal, rescue, wildlife rehabilitation, wildlife rehabilitator, fish, game, los angeles, california, united states, squirrel, raccoon, fox, skunk, opossum, coyote, bobcat, manual, instructor, speaker, humane, nuisance, control, pest, trap, exclude, deter, green, non-profit, nonprofit, non, profit, ill, injured, orphaned, exhibit, exhibitor, usda, united states department of agriculture, hsus, humane society, peta, ndart, humane academy, humane officer, animal legal defense fund, animal cruelty, investigation, peace officer, animal, cruelty, abuse, neglect #marycummins #animaladvocates #losangeles #california #wildlife #wildliferehabilitation #wildliferehabilitator #realestate #realestateappraiser #realestateappraisal #lawsuit

Mary Cummins

Mary Cummins Animal Advocates Los Angeles California Wildlife Rehabilitation Real Estate

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Nathan Winograd, No Kill Solutions, No Kill Law and Advocacy Center, book author

Monday, July 1, 2013