Category: General Interest

General Interest

New Advisory Commission, Building: BC Animal Services Finally on Track?

By Ron Lambert. This post, the fourth in a series tracing developments at the Baltimore County Animal Services, follows Shelter Reform Comes to Baltimore County. Since the 1970’s, the national movements to promote spay/neuter and reform animal shelters have saved many millions of animal lives.  By 2015, the number of dogs and cats killed in shelters each year was approximately two million, compared to up … Continue reading New Advisory Commission, Building: BC Animal Services Finally on Track?

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General Interest

Helping Families Seeking Asylum in Maryland

By Jennifer Bergantz It is 1,500 miles from Guatemala to the US border.  She left the rural village she loved with her two children after the gangs had burnt down her house, and she began her harrowing trek north to a land she thought would give her children a chance at a safe life.  After her children were separated from her at the border and … Continue reading Helping Families Seeking Asylum in Maryland

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General Interest

Shelter Reform Comes to Baltimore County

by Ron Lambert. This post, the third of a series, follows “Inside the Baltimore County Shelter.” I became a cat volunteer at Baltimore County Animal Services in May, 2013. Volunteers helped clean cat cages and dog kennels, petted cats, walked dogs, and transported animals to Rescue groups. In the summer of 2013, BCAS started a pilot off-site adoption program, run by volunteers. We pitched in … Continue reading Shelter Reform Comes to Baltimore County

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General Interest

What Happened at BCAS? Part 2: Inside the Baltimore County Shelter

By Ron Lambert. As the twentieth century came to a close, our nation’s shelters were still killing roughly five million dogs and cats a year (Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America by Nathan J. Winograd, 2007, p. 182). But animal activism was growing as a national movement. Noting Baltimore City Animal Control’s abysmal record of killing nearly every … Continue reading What Happened at BCAS? Part 2: Inside the Baltimore County Shelter

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General Interest

What Happened at BCAS? Part 1: Animal Shelter Reform

In early January 2018, Baltimore County announced that Baltimore County Animal Services (BCAS) ranked among the highest shelters in the nation when it came to saving animals’ lives.  But on March 20, 2019 (less than 15 months later), BCAS’ top managers were suddenly fired. What happened? The story behind Baltimore County Animal Services goes all the way back to the 1970s, with the start of … Continue reading What Happened at BCAS? Part 1: Animal Shelter Reform

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General Interest

Welcome to Forward Baltimore!

Forward Baltimore is a new site dedicated to providing features and commentary of interest to residents of Baltimore County, Maryland. Our goal is to post content that is forward-thinking—hence our name. We want to cover all of Baltimore County, and we welcome ideas and suggestions for content. We’re especially interested in finding contributors from the southwestern and eastern parts of the County. Please contact us … Continue reading Welcome to Forward Baltimore!

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