Tony the Tiger still languishes in a man-made prison

Steve

July 15, 2010 at 9:19 am

As I see this story again MC it disgusts me that this continues.Something has to be done more than what people did before…I tried to write but no response.Hopefully someone reading this blog can do something asap.Did Peta get involved with this story?Good job putting it out in the public’s eye again even though it is sickening to see it contnue!!!

Dee

July 15, 2010 at 11:30 am

Thank you for posting this blog entry about Tony. It is very important to keep Tony’s story in the public eye and to gain more attention and support for him. Please include the following links for more information. It is the objective of the “Free Tony The Tiger” Campaign to have Tony released to an accredited big cat sanctuary.

Join Tony’s Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Free-Tony-The-Tiger/328048525558

Sign Tony’s Petitions:
http://tinyurl.com/tonyboytts
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/boycott_conocophillips
http://tinyurl.com/tonykellpet

Free Tony The Tiger On WordPress:
http://freetonythetiger.wordpress.com/

Follow Tony On Twitter:
http://twitter.com/FreeTonyTiger

Tony On Weebly:
http://freetonythetiger.weebly.com/

Tony On Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FreeTonyTheTiger

Big Cat Rescue’s (TampaFL) Free Tony Page:
http://www.freetony.com

iReport: Does ANYONE Care About Tony The Tiger???
http://rss.ireport.com/docs/DOC-429566

John W. Perkins

July 15, 2010 at 7:05 pm

I had intially thought a clandestine operation in the dark of the night with a couple of ex-operatives I know would do the trick. But, I was reminded that if returned to nature, the big fella might revert to his natural instincts and eat some children.

So, I re-thought it and came to the conclusion that if we were to make an offer to the owner, he/she may oblige us with safe transport of Tony to a refuge in some state where there is space, air, and water.

And, if the offer is not accepted, we shoot him/her..

MC

July 15, 2010 at 7:11 pm

JW is the man who so kindly stopped to check in on Tony before (and reported on it in the blog comments to an earlier story).

And, JW — I know you’re joking about shooting! But hey, honestly, those people should be put in a small cage and left outside. it’s criminal what they’re doing!

sarah reeser

July 15, 2010 at 8:04 pm

This breaks my heart, too! With so many people trying to get him out of there, hopefully he will know a real home–as close to natural as it can be. The permit expires & hopefully will NOT be renewed in December, so we have lots of work to do!!! Thanks for putting his story out there again

martha skinner

July 15, 2010 at 8:07 pm

I feel so badly for poor Tony … just hope some day, some how he will be released to a sanctuary to live out his senior years properly. I have lost complete trust in the La Wildlife/Fisherie department … something just isn’t kosher for them to pass over a law like they did.

l fisher

July 15, 2010 at 8:11 pm

what a shame that we treat the animals we share the earth with, in this manner. please help this animal have a dignified life – we all deserve that.

MCK

July 15, 2010 at 8:18 pm

I am working with a few organizations to come up with some legal options for freeing/relocating Tony (to a rescue organization). If you have been to the truckstop within the last couple of months, or have the ability to go soon, please email me at millie5kerr@gmail.com and entitle the message “Tony the Tiger.”

Linda Reilly

July 15, 2010 at 8:33 pm

I really don’t understand how this man Sandlin gets away with keeping this majestic creature as a truck stop attraction. Tony can be living his life happy and cared for at a BCR, where he is safe from diesel fuel fumes and the inconsiderate humans(and i use that term loosley) taunting and teasing him. Tony lives in a concrete shell of a cage and it really sickens me!

MC

July 15, 2010 at 8:56 pm

Oh, gosh. Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to post a comment tonight. I think that, with all we’ve got going on in this world, the crazy wars and economy and oil catastrophe — we still can care about one creature — one place — one moment in time and we can maybe take enough action that will change this one little life.

It’s sordid what they’re doing to him. It’s shameful. It’s wrong.

Valeria

July 15, 2010 at 9:54 pm

It’s amazing – in a very horrible way – at all the lies that Michael Sandlin posts on his web page for the Tiger Truck Stop at: http://www.tigertruckstop.com/
Start with the part where “Animal activists from out of state are trying to send our hand-raised, never in the wild, family member to a wild game preserve somewhere” and keep counting. His page makes me feel physically ill…. Animal advocates want to send Tony to a wildlife sanctuary that specializes in taking care of big cats… he will not have to fend for himself, he will not be on a game preserve to be hunted, he will not be forced to fend for himself. He would have green grass to run on and cool pools of water to swim in. One thing he won’t have is the constant diesel fumes polluting his air like he is exposed to at the truck stop.

Erica Bennett

July 15, 2010 at 10:11 pm

It’s heartbreaking to see a beautiful animal in a prison like this. It’s so wrong, it’s not beneficial for him to be there, it’s not his natural habitat by any means. He needs to be in a sanctuary to live out the rest of his life like he should have been in the first place. It’s unbelievable to me how many hoops have to be jumped through to make it happen, but I believe it will.

He deserves dignity.

MC

July 15, 2010 at 10:15 pm

you’re both right — dignity and cool pools.

Angie Tipler

July 15, 2010 at 10:18 pm

For you Tony♥ You have captured hearts all over this globe and I promise you with every promise that I have to never give up on you until you are where you belong.

MC

July 15, 2010 at 10:27 pm

Tony really has captured hearts … now if we can only mobilize our minds and hands to do the work necessary to give him a decent home.

MC

July 15, 2010 at 11:16 pm

From Sky W (she said she tried to post several times and couldn’t so she asked me to post this for her ….):

Steve and anybody else that cares about TONY the TIGER at Tiger Truck Stop

This is what PETA is sending to people that have wrote to them about Tony:
http://freetonythetiger.wordpress.com/2010/07/14/roar-for-%e2%99%a5tony%e2%99%a5-peta-response-regarding-tony-7-14-2010/

Here is some more information on Tony:
Join Tony on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/FreeTonyTheTiger
Tony on WordPress: http://freetonythetiger.wordpress.com/
Tony on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/FreeTonyTheTiger
Follow Tony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/FreeTonyTiger
Big Cat Rescue’s Free Tony: http://www.freetony.com/
Tony on Weebly: http://freetonythetiger.weebly.com/
Tony on BUZZnet: http://freetonythetiger.buzznet.com/user/
Sign Tony’s Petitions:
http://tinyurl.com/tonyboytts

http://www.change.org/petitions/view/boycott_conocophillips

http://tinyurl.com/tonykellpet

Free Tony The Tiger: “Truth Is All” Welcome to Tiger Truck Stop where Tony the TIGER has lived his whole life. | Facebook
http://bit.ly/dqlThz

The people that look at TONY and think that they can’t help him are wrong. All they need to do is get involved and be his voice…….

Here is a video that was made for Tony because he turned 10 years old this month!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AT7WESAJytc

Persistence Pays Off ♥
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=407045708142#!/note.php?note_id=410724588142
ROAR FOR TONY

sharon Collette

July 16, 2010 at 6:48 pm

Yes please sign the petitions at free tony and please please if you see this and it makes you mad do something don’t just leave and do nothing !!Tony needs all of us .

KinKStar

July 18, 2010 at 1:22 pm

Tony . . . We’re coming to get you big guy, just hang on!

We promise you no more concrete and rusty bars, but sadly you’ll still have fencing to keep you safe from a cruel world. You’ll have cool grasses to lay in or munch on; some bushes and trees for body rubs; bugs to watch and chase; smelly boxes and strange fruits for you to discover and destroy; birds will fly over in the bright sunshine too. Oh, and you’ll have fresh water to drink and swim or play in Tony! Fresh air to breath deep into your lungs too! Probably the best thing you’ll have Tony is the night sky. With lights on you all your life, you’ve missed out on the darkness. The quiet sounds will keep you up at night, much different from the roar of diesel engines, and so much more fun! Ah, and the stars Tony, the stars! You will love them, I just know it!

You may have missed out on so much in the ten years you’ve suffered living at that damned wretched hellhole – a stinky truck stop, BUT it will all be made up to you in time. It’s what we all hope for you AND so much more! I know within my heart you deserve it, and you will have it too, sooner than later. Then there will be plenty of tears from those of us who REALLY care and love you AS YOU ARE, just tears of joy. Please, just hold on big guy!

Dawn Flann

July 18, 2010 at 6:27 pm

I was introduced to Tony about two and a half months ago, and since then my life has never been the same. I cannot digest how this animal lives and has lived for the last 10 years…I cannot believe that this man Michael Sandlin has been allowed year after year to have a permit that pretty much says, he can carry on this cruelty to this Tiger. I can tell you this much. This would not be allowed here in Canada.
I look at Tony and I try to read his eyes, to see how much of his spirit has been broken..how much damage has been done to him spiritually, physically….and even tho I do realize he is probably scarred for life…I also believe that the strong spirit that he and every other creature has, is tucked deep inside of him waiting to , for the first time in his life, reveal itself…
I look at the picture of his cage, the filth, the emptyness, the slop that is thrown in his dish, the closeness it is to all those trucks, and for the life of me I cant imagine any animal, any living thing , living this way for 10 long years…
Something is so wrong with this. Something is illegal about this and something finally has to be done about this…
My life has changed drastically since Tony and I will not stop ROARING for this tiger until, he is able to finally have his ROAR heard.
This is the YEAR OF THE TIGER. This is the YEAR TONY HAS TO BE RELEASED..It has gone on long enough, its time to stop Michael Sandlin….its time to take a stand for us ALL that speak for Tony…against this ONE MAN…This one SMALL LITTLE EXCUSE OF A MAN…..

MC

July 18, 2010 at 7:20 pm

Thanks Dawn — even if it’s not illegal — it’s immoral. This is the year of hte Tiger — maybe we can all effectuate his salvation (Tony’s).

Angie Tipler

July 18, 2010 at 7:52 pm

Dear Tony, ♥
Facebook has been overwhelming me lately seeing all of the evil that is happening in this world. There are days I get so wrapped up in causes and petitions that I forget what brought me here in the first place. I am here because of you♥ Your page was the first animal-related thing I came across and that was all it took. I joined your page and read your story and cried for a week straight thinking about you and what your life has been like for 10 LONG years. I went to your page every day to see what I could do that day to help and have gone to your page every day since then.

I tell everyone I can about you and know about 50 8th graders that would handcuff themselves to your cage if asked. If I had a dollar for every time that I have used the word “Tony” I’d be rich.. and if I had a penny for every time I have thought about you I’d be the richest girl in the world. I talk about you like you are my best friend, and in some ways, you are. You keep me going when I feel like giving up.. give me strength I never knew I had, and the will to fight for all of those who have no voice, like you♥

I wonder about you all the time. I wonder if you are hot, or cold. If you are sad, and lonely. If you feel hopeless, and left behind like noboby cares about you, or if you have just accepted that this is all your life will ever be. You deserve the world beautiful boy, and you deserve to be surrounded by people that love you, take care of you, and acknowledge you for the wild..breathtaking and majestic tiger that you were meant to be. Believe me, this fight will continue until you get just that. There is a mass movement taking place all over the world that started with your Angel named Sky that came across you one day and could not believe what she was seeing. Rather than turn her back on you and walk away like so many before her, she chose to do the right thing by you and fight for you to have a better life than the obviously poor one you had been living. Now you have your own army, and we are not backing down anytime soon. That is a promise♥
I play the day of your release over and over in my head all the time as i’m sure we all do.I know that seeing you take your first ever swim will make my heart burst with joy!There is so much more to life than what you have been given.You have captured hearts all around this globe. I just wish you knew how many people are in love with you, this sad and lonely tiger whom most of us have never even seen, living in a small concrete cage at a truck stop in Louisiana.

You will be turning 10 in a few days. To us, 10 is just a number, but to you it has been so much more. It has been 3,650 days of being on display and never getting a moments peace. 3,650 days of breathing in toxic fumes and being deafened by big trucks and cars buzzing by right behind you on the freeway. 3,650 days of being used by people who have no concern for your well being but sadly see you as nothing more than dollar signs $$$. They claim you are a part of their family, but that is not how you treat your family. If they truly loved you, they would want what is best for you, and want you to live the life a tiger was meant to live.

Happy Birthday big guy. I know that day will not be special for you, it will be just another day and that makes my heart hurt. My gift to you will be fighting the good fight harder than I ever have before. The next week for me will be ‘Tony’s Week’. I will go back through notes and contact people again..and again.. and again. I will plaster all of your pages and info anywhere and everywhere I can, and contact anyone and everyone that I think may be able to help.These things I do for you already, but I will take it up a notch : )
Please stay strong and hold on. Your day will come my friend♥ Someone with power will take notice and join this fight. Until then, just know that you are in all of our hearts, and thoughts, and prayers and that we will never forget about you. Sending you all the love in the world and more,
♥Angie♥

Dawn Flann

July 18, 2010 at 8:17 pm

The more I read about this man, and the tigers he had in the past and what has happened….It just smells fishy to me….something is not right here….

sharon collette

July 19, 2010 at 3:46 pm

Amen Angie well said .Tony is in our hearts and minds ! we love him ! one day he will be free of those bars !.

Florencia

July 19, 2010 at 6:43 pm

It’s about he has a better life

Dawn Flann

July 20, 2010 at 8:11 am

A truckstop, fumes, noise 24/7 , never a moment of quiet or senerity….Loiusianna, the heat, the humidity…traffic continuesly, trucks pulling in, trucks pulling out…puffing their diesle…the humidity keeping all this polluted air at a low……I can picture the waves of heat rising above the pavemnt…That Louisinna heat is one that can cause breathing problems for the elderly and the young….that humidity alone can make breathing hard…but you mix it with fumes and…..well.
…and right next to all this, right next to it there is a cage. A metal concrete floored cage. Have you ever walked on pavement on a hot hot day. You cant barefeet…Have you ever touched metal that has been exposed to the sun all day. Its pretty hot isnt it…Imagine living in something made of metal and concrete. Imagine how warm a concrete floor would be and you walking barefoot on it all of the time…your feet would ache from it after awhile…When temps rise the worse thing you could do is not keep yourself hydrated…but what if the only means of hydration was water that at times sat there for so long it changed color…Would you drink it if you had to? of course you would on a hot humid summer day..You could get sick tho because chances are that water has bacteria in it, as that is what happens to water if its not changed on a reg. basis and the dish is not cleaned…but its all you have and you need to keep hydrated so..in your stomach that water goes…times like this just even a lil patch of grass would feel soooooooooooo good, as grass no matter how hot the weather is, somehow provides some relief from that heat. Sorry there is no grass, just concrete..no padded bed for comfort on your joints either..Just concrete….like it or not…Imagine this being your life, or any living thing’s life. I know a Tiger that has been forced to have this for his life…It hasnt been a year or a couple of years, it has been 10 years. He wakes up every day to this, he goes to sleep every night to this. day after day after day after day after day he has done this for 10 years…I wonder how hard it is for him to close his eyes at night. I would hope that the darkness that comes after that hot sun goes down would give him some relief but….oh I forgot to say…there is this huge spotlight that shines on his cage the whole night long. Have you ever held your hand even a few feet away from one of this lights? You are right…they give off heat as well…It would be one hell of a miserable life wouldnt it ? Well Tony has it. He never asked for it, but it was chosen for him. He has no opinion about this matter, he has no voice…and no matter how loud he roars he is never heard…
He does have one thing tho, but he doesnt realize it yet…….He has US. It is up to us to stop this before its too late. All the clicking on the ‘Likes’ in the sites about Tony wont help, all the comments saying how sorry we feel wont help either. Its the letters and the emails and the phonecalls and getting the word out …Until one day, one find day..someone with power, someone with a Voice that matters, someone with authority who will stand up to the Louisianna Law, or someone with influence through the media…These are the people that will get Tony’s ROAR heard, and its up to us , the voices for Tony to find these people..All we need is to spark one interest in anyone like this, and it will have a domino affect and it will get the ball rolling, and as that ball roars it will get louder and louder until the noise will ROARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR loud enough that our tiger, Our Tony will walk out of that cage………..xox

Tiff

July 20, 2010 at 10:40 am

Thank you for writing about Tony… We all have to come together and help him….no animal deserves a life stuck in a cage!

MC

July 21, 2010 at 8:47 pm

Writing about Tony is the least I can do. Thanks, Tiff!

sarah reeser

July 28, 2010 at 10:36 pm

Funny thing happened. Lots of people were leaving comments on the Louisiana Department of Fish & Wildlife’s Facebook page, urging them NOT to renew the permit in December, and all 85 comments disappeared! Then another discussion was started last night and again–gone!!! So much for freedom of speech, huh? Just thought I’d let you know!!

Dawn Flann

August 22, 2010 at 7:10 pm

Will never stop ROARING for you Tony!!!! Love you handsome boy….Please just stay strong. xox
http://animals.change.org/petitions/view/urge_the_ldwf_not_to_renew_tiger_truck_stop_permit