You come here, you go there … it’s all important reading
By Gina Spadafori
February 19, 2009
Christie is in Las Vegas. Just typing the words doesn’t seem right. Christie is the anti-Vegas. But it’s business, so you go where you have to. Ah, go ahead, Christie: Play a quarter in a slot machine. It won’t bite.
I’m hoping Kim or Phyllis will pipe in with something good later, but for now I’m off to deal with more family problems, so I’m going to do some pointing …
First and foremost: We learn nothing. If you’re a pit bull, and your scumbag owner isn’t an NFL quarterback, you die. Even if you’re a puppy. Even if you’re a puppy born after your mom was seized. And you die while groups with “protection” and “humane” and “ethical” say your death is necessary, oh well, too bad for you. Repeat and repeat, 145 times in North Carolina, this time. All dead.
Luisa tells it best, at Lassie Get Help, but Shirley nails it as well as Yes, Biscuit. BADRAP has more; don’t miss the post simply titled “numb.” Read Selma at Caveat, too.
The whole affair makes me want to throw up.
Is it too much to ask that a dog at least be evaluated before execution?
And it’s not just dogs. More than 120 cats where killed by a “humane” group — even though other groups say they would have helped place them. WTF? How can you call yourself a shelter when you don’t even try to save pets in need?
Update: Best Friends is leading a coalition to demand the HSUS change its policies:
The decision to kill the dogs was supported by the largest animal welfare organization in the country, the Humane Society of the United States. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, representatives of HSUS testified in Wilkes County Superior Court that the dogs had to be destroyed because they had been “bred for generations to be aggressive.” HSUS reasserted its outdated policy, written more than 20 years ago: “Any dog who has been specifically bred or conditioned for fighting, or for which there is evidence that the dog has been used for fighting should not be placed for adoption by an animal shelter but humanely euthanized as soon as legally possible.”
A Best Friends Animals Society-led coalition offered resources to the county for evaluation, spay/neuter, and support in finding homes for qualified dogs. These animal welfare organizations, which have extensive experience with rescued fighting dogs, urged Wilkes County to accept their offer of support for an alternative approach, such as was used in the Michael Vick case. The coalition includes BAD RAP (Bay Area Doglovers Responsible About Pit Bulls), Animal Farm Foundation, Villa Lobos Rescue Center, Downtown Dog Rescue, The Sula Foundation and Our Pack.
Kudos to these folks for calling the HSUS out. Here’s the rest.
Food, the cheaper the better: When Consumer Reports sent us an advance look at their pet-food article, Christie didn’t know whether to laugh or swear. Honestly, I wish CR would stick to microwaves and cars. Their recent article on pet food is no better than their infamous 2006 article suggesting that pet-owners shop around for surgery bargains. Yes, because when I’m going to have my own gall-bladder removed, I want the cheapest surgeon I can find, competency optional.
Dr. Patty K at Dolittler breaks down problems with the CR piece, and with silly people who “insist” (CR’s words) on doing more than grabbing a bag of Ol’ Roy.
More: UPenn jumps on the anti-Cesar train, with a study saying that confronting aggressive dogs is less effective than other training methods. Science Daily has the overview. … The VIN News Service keeps rolling along, with two new pieces: A promising cancer drug and new concerns over infections in veterinary hospitals. … The HSUS is clueless on pit bulls, but top dog Wayne Pacelle nails it on keeping primates as pets. … on the lighter side, Vet on the Edge explores what clients call certain pet parts. … I also liked this piece from Ohmidog on the “Arabbers” of Baltimore, traditional horse-drawn carts that take fresh fruits and vegetables into city neighborhoods. … Wildrun takes a tour of the Hemingway House. … Got more? Throw a link in the comments.
First and foremost, HSUS demanded that the pit bulls be killed. HSUS convinced a judge that the pit bulls be killed. HSUS overrode all of the rescue groups that offered to evaluate and help place the pit bulls. HSUS’s convicted former ALF terrorist “dog fighting expert” even convinced the judge that the puppies whelped after the seizure had to be killed. So what if Pacelle got it right about keeping primates as pets. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. HSUS kills dogs.
Comment by grahund — February 19, 2009 @ 9:42 am
In my book, the HSUS is dead wrong about many (if not most) pet issues — pit bulls, no-kill, forced spay-neuter. But there’s more to the group; for example I agree with them on the cruelties and environmental devastation of factory farming.
The HSUS has shown the ability to change, if for no other reason than to raise more money with more politically palatable messaging. And they are powerful and influential. I’d rather change them than kill them. And unlike PETA, change is possible at HSUS.
And yes, I know this is an unpopular view in some quarters. So be it.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 9:48 am
Fine, but that’s no reason to not specifically name them when they are responsible for the senseless death of so many dogs.
Comment by grahund — February 19, 2009 @ 9:56 am
I liked the HSUS post, and thought it was worth reading. So I pointed to it. That’s what we do. I’m not about to censor my reading, or our readers’ reading.
You don’t like it, don’t click. It’s that simple.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 9:58 am
My only complaint is that you didn’t name HSUS as responsible for the deaths of the Faron pit bulls.
It is venerable organization that has done many good things over the years. In the past couple of decades it has gone madly off course. Perhaps it can be saved. Perhaps it is worth saving. I have no strong opinion. But they do not get a free pass on the things they get wrong. All I ask is that when they screw up, name names.
Comment by grahund — February 19, 2009 @ 10:05 am
Gina—Good reading? I disagree. There’s nothing good in what happened to the Wilkes dogs or the St. Anthony cats. Numb is definitely how I feel right now. God bless those dogs and cats—they can’t feel pain any more and have found some peace. But what about the shelter workers who had to do the deed? God bless them too! People don’t work at shelters because they want to kill animals. I hope they can get the help and support they’ll need so that they can find some peace, too.
Comment by Bev — February 19, 2009 @ 11:03 am
Thanks for the mention, Gina. My thoughts are with you and your family.
The HSUS hasn’t been a ‘humane society’ since the 80s. It used to be a good organization before then.
Comment by Selma — February 19, 2009 @ 11:32 am
But what about the shelter workers who had to do the deed? God bless them too! People don’t work at shelters because they want to kill animals. I hope they can get the help and support they’ll need so that they can find some peace, too.
Comment by Bev — February 19, 2009 @ 11:03 am
And so that they can stop killing?
I’m sorry, but when we know the deaths are wrong, we need to stop making excuses for the people who do the deed.
Puppies not yet born when their mothers were seized, for crying out loud. It’s disgusting.
Comment by Lis — February 19, 2009 @ 11:36 am
Gina—Good reading? I disagree.
Comment by Bev — February 19, 2009
I meant ‘good” in the “important” sense, so I changed it.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 12:12 pm
I love to exaggerate for effect as much as the next person (ok, more - lots MORE) but honestly: I don’t think I could kill an unevaluated, apparently healthy, potentially adoptable dog of any age if it was the last job on Earth and I was living on the streets. No no no. I had to help put down a number of pets when I worked in Veterinary medicine years ago but it was always a means to end suffering at the request of an owner. I can’t see myself assisting with euthanasia under circumstances such as with the Wilkes Co dogs. Even if a pet has no owner, he deserves a CHANCE to be evaluated and possibly to be adopted.
Comment by YesBiscuit! — February 19, 2009 @ 12:49 pm
I think you could if you really believed a swift death was the best you could do for them. And a lot of people — in the shelter industry and out — DO believe that. That’s why they insist on calling killing for population control “euthanasia” instead of what it is — killing.
But our collective views on this are changing. We here are just a bit ahead of the curve. The rest will come along.
“The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice.” I am certain beyond all doubt the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was NOT talking about the shelter industry when he said that, but it’s true, nonetheless.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — February 19, 2009 @ 12:55 pm
No matter what the HSUS might have been at one point in time or another, what they are now is a group of con artists, sucking money out of sympathetic donors to ‘save dogs’ that they have nothing to do with, no shelter to place them in, and no intention of helping.
Where I come from, we call that ‘fraud’, and it’s no different than people who raise money for ‘Tsunami relief’ who don’t use it for anything of the like (or, hey! It’s like people who raise money for ‘Hurricane Katrina’ animals that they have no intention of helping. Hello again, HSUS!).
Morality is based on truth — aggressive fund raising for dogs you have ZERO to do with is bull. You don’t get to raise money to ‘save’ dogs on one hand, while calling for their death with other — not without some of us calling ‘Shenanigans!’ on you.
In case you feel like spreading the word, feel free to grab a widget —
http://bullmarketfrogs.com/blog/?p=1228
Comment by FrogDogz — February 19, 2009 @ 1:37 pm
GOOD FOR BEST FRIENDS! Their previous press release trying to save the dogs pulled punches not mentioning HSUS’ name. It’s long past time that true animal lovers call HSUS out for the vicious, lying, murderous scum they are.
Comment by EmilyS — February 19, 2009 @ 4:41 pm