"Bob is a fantastic, friendly, sweet cat who has been living on my front porch for about a year. He showed up one day in 2008 and just never left. ... MoreIn the beginning, he was very afraid of people, but now loves them and likes to cuddle and be picked up and petted. He has been neutered and given the appropriate shots; he has a tipped ear because at the time, he was fairly wild and was neutered in a TNR (trap neuter release) program intended for feral cats (they tip the ears so they can easily discern which cats have already been neutered once they've been released back into the colony.) Bob is about 1.5 years old. He has been sleeping in an insulated shelter on my porch but would really love to live in the house! Unfortunately I already have 3 cats who don't care for Bob, else I'd adopt him myself. Bob likes other cats and I've never seen him fight with any of the others that live around here. To see his picture go to: "

"Hi, I have a friend named Ernie who recently repointed my chimney for a very reasonable price. His business is Advanced Chimney and his # is [masked]. Good luck."

"Need my front steps rebuilt, which are wood, and also some re-stuccoing of my foundation. Can anyone recommend someone they've actually used for these services? That way I could actually see their final product before I hire them. ... MoreJust had a really bad experience with a painter who I hired cold. Thanks! "

"I attended a public meeting last week at Poly Western wherein city residents made suggestions about how to prevent animal abuse/neglect in Baltimore City. ... MoreThere were some great ideas that I wanted to pass on (some may be a bit radical and probably won't get too far, you'll know which ones I mean when you look at the list) to everyone in the community. If you have other suggestions, or want to reiterate your support of any of these ideas, please email Mayor Dixon at: [masked], or Zoe Mical (on the task force) at: [masked]. Also, if you see neglect/abuse of an animal in the neighborhood, PLEASE report it to 311, and if you feel safe in doing so, you can also take photos/video and email them in to animal control. One problem the city seems to have is adequate documentation when complaints are made. The officers can usually only cite what they see. If you have a neighbor who leaves his/her dog chained in the yard all day/night, photos/video may be helpful in getting the person cited/getting animal removed. Just make sure they don't see you doing it. *************************** Notes from Animal Abuse Prevention Task Force public meeting September 16, 2009 Ideas on how to combat animal abuse/neglect in Baltimore City 1. deputize animal control officers so they can make arrests and carry guns; as of now very difficult to make arrests or cite abusers because needs cooperation of police dept. which often isn’t available or feels animal issues aren’t part of their job 2. mandatory spay/neuter laws in Balto City 3. mandatory spay/neuter of animals that have been removed from someone’s home when releasing back to owner, that owner has to pay for 4. mandatory owner-paid for education classes (similar to drunk classes and bad check writing classes) when animals are removed from person’s home; person on lease or homeowner is responsible if they try to dispute whose animal it is 5. free spay/neuter svcs. for Baltimore City residents 6. animals orgs, private and city, bring animals to school for education to teach kids responsibility for animals, there may be some legal barriers as city schools are worried about someone getting bitten and suing, but maybe slideshow if that’s the case; or possibly field trips to the animal shelter for students 7. BARCS works with city/county/state education bureaucrats to bring in student volunteers to work at shelter to satisfy Maryland state volunteerism requirements; SPCA could also be involved and any other animal organizations that wish to participate 8. bar people who have been fined for animal neglect/abuse/had animals removed from owing animals in future with huge fines if they don’t comply; also force them to attend proper animal care classes that they have to pay for where they go to jail if they don’t 9. role models like Ravens/Orioles doing PSAs with their pets on taking care of animals (don’t leave them out, get them neutered, don’t chain them up) 10. anti-chaining laws in Baltimore City where they can only be out for certain amt. of hours of the day, tied up 11. kids in city schools take “Oath of Kindness” where they learn about how to love and care for animals and promise to speak up/tell police/adult if they see someone treating animal badly 12. one year is too long to wait for Task Force to present findings to Mayor 13. compassion for animals should be taught in schools; there is a good resource at HSUS called First Strike Campaign which has workshops, training, intervention 14. make Maryland/Baltimore City a no-kill state/city for shelters 15. make kennel owners prove to courts why they should have a license for kennel/breeding rather than force neighbors/residents to prove why the applicant shouldn’t have a license, which is current system in place 16. use non-violent prisoners to staff/operate/perform some work-release care at animal shelters, which is already being done in Maricopa County, Arizona 17. city can collaborate with existing animal non-profits in the area, also maybe involve Guardian Angels who are now operating in Baltimore; Chicago and VA already have End Dog Fighting programs by HSUS in their cities and Baltimore needs this campaign as well 18. maintain a public online animal abuser registry ala sex offender registry which is currently in place 19. city buses should have spay/neuter messages printed on them with numbers where to call for these service 20. ban animal circuses in Baltimore City because they send message that animals are for our entertainment and we can do anything with them we want and that they are disposable 21. ban dissection of animals in public schools as it, again, sends message that they are disposable and there are excellent cutting-edge (no pun intended) technology virtual dissection that can be used, the likes of which is already used at Hopkins 22. Mayor’s Task Force Against Animal Abuse needs a Facebook page/Twitter account to attract more supporters/tap resources of citizenry/get the word out on meetings and solicit more ideas 23. vegetarian/vegan lunch options in city schools 24. local churches can have monthly or quarterly “bring your pet to church” day; incorporate teachings on kindness and decency to animals in sermons, perhaps a congregation can sponsor an animal at a shelter or something 25. bring animals from shelters to PAL sites to interact with kids 26. BARCS could create a citizen volunteer outreach program where trained volunteers go into city schools to educate since BARCS can’t afford to hire someone for this 27. Fines that are paid for animal abuse/neglect should go directly to fund BARCS, period 28. encourage citizens to photograph/videotape any abuse/neglect they see so there is evidence, since cops and animal control officers often say they can do nothing because they themselves didn’t see it "