PETA loves dog killers
By Christie Keith
November 19, 2009
It’s been a while since my head exploded, but all that just ended. Thanks, as usual, to the animal-haters at PETA.
I’ve been following the story of Tom Skeldon, dog warden of Lucas County in Ohio, mostly over on Brent Toellner’s KC Dog Blog:
Skeldon has been coming under increased fire over the past year. Most of the roll against Skeldon began last winter after one of Skeldon’s staff shot a tranquilizer into a small dog that was “loose” on his own porch — with enough of a dosage that the dog died.
As people began investigating Skeldon, they found the shelter to continue to operate with a very high kill rate (77%) and an extremely low 13% adoption rate. They found a dog warden that was unwilling to work with rescue groups. And dogs were dying.
A committee was assembled to provide recommendations on improvements to be made at the shelter — improvements that Skeldon, throughout, has been reluctant to even admit were problems. The Toledo Blade continue to run editorials and editorial cartoons calling for Skeldon’s dismissal. The committee recommended some strict new rules last week one of which was to cease the killing of puppies. Skeldon responded by killing 10 healthy puppies after holding them for only one day.
When the Lucas County Commission voted to retain Skeldon anyway — the tie-breaking vote being cast by Skeldon’s cousin — the Toledo Blade had this to say:
Faced with a mountain of evidence that grows higher with each dog killed at the county animal shelter, commissioners Pete Gerken and Tina Skeldon Wozniak voted no on a motion by Commissioner Ben Konop to dismiss Mr. Skeldon.
We believe the commissioners had plenty of cause to fire Mr. Skeldon. With a horrific 77 percent kill rate at the pound, and the warden’s obstinate refusal to cooperate with animal rescue groups on adoptions that would at least slow the slaughter, what more do they need?
[....]
Tom Skeldon no longer deserves the job of dog warden. Failure of his officials bosses to get rid of him only prolongs the agony, not just for the animals on his death row but for the entire community.
Today, however, the pressure finally got to Skeldon, and he resigned. And that’s good, but it’s not the story, and it’s not why my head exploded.
This is: What do you think the fine folks at PETA had to say about our trigger-happy dog warden?
We thank Lucas County Dog Warden Tom Skeldon and his staff for putting animals’ best interests first by not haphazardly adopting out dogs just to make the pound’s euthanasia statistics look better.
No one wants to end the need for euthanasia more than the brave people who hold the syringe, but pushing dogs out the door like clearance merchandise or releasing vulnerable breeds into a world that holds only suffering and death for so many of them isn’t the way to do that. Until the number of homeless dogs is reduced through spaying and neutering, euthanasia will stay a heartbreaking necessity.
Those upset about the number of dogs euthanized for lack of homes should direct their anger at those who are directly responsible: breeders, pet stores, and people who don’t spay or neuter their animals. Animal care and control professionals should be supported in their daily fight to do the right thing for animals and for the important work they do to protect animals and the community.
Jennifer Brown
Animal Sheltering Adviser
People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals
Norfolk, Va.
Understand that Skeldon was not just killing pit bulls — as if that would make PETA’s bloodthirst okay, but at least we already knew they hated pibbles. No, in their obsessive hatred of anything that could ever suggest that all humanity is not hopelessly evil and incapable of actually stopping killing animals in our shelters, and of the no-kill movement in particular, PETA has set itself up as a champion of egregious wholesale dog slaughter.
Why is anyone still listening to PETA?
Shorter PeTA: ‘We must destroy all dogs in order to save them.’
Comment by Eucritta — November 19, 2009 @ 5:06 pm
Holy…wow.
They support this man who killed a stray pit bull with pink nail polish on her toes because he was “doing the right thing”?
Bite me, PETA.
Comment by mikken — November 19, 2009 @ 5:46 pm
I think there were 2 final outrageous acts that got him out. The Blade started publishing lists of the individual dogs Skeldon killed.. including that litter of puppies. NO ONE can believe that puppies are dangerous or can’t find homes, so killing them is rank murder. The other one was the pit bull with the pink nailpolish that mikken mentions and that I believe Rinalia was first to see. A dog with pink nailpolish is the beloved pet of a young girl. To kill such a pet with no attempt to find the owner demonstrates a pathology beyond understanding or forgiving.
The Blade deserves huge kudo’s for their outrage, and for continuing to push the story with their reporting. Commissioner Konop also deserves praise for his efforts to get rid of this monster despite his being protected by his relative on the Council.
As for PETA? sick people find each other.
Comment by EmilyS — November 19, 2009 @ 5:59 pm
As a Toledo resident, THANK YOU Christie for this story. Skeldon is a miserable, horrible excuse for a human being. I know I’m not the only one in the city celebrating his demise.
Comment by Jen_Ann_W — November 19, 2009 @ 6:17 pm
Tom “Dog Killer” Skeldon represents all that is wrong and backwards with traditional municipal shelters (especially those in Ohio, many of whom still operate under the archaic “dog pound” model of animal control). Jan 1. 2010 will be a happy day for Lucas County dogs.
I echo Emily - the Toledo Blade, after more than a decade of silence, really stepped up to the plate, hunkered down and blasted Skeldon (and the commissioners who voted against Konop’s request to oust Skeldon). Kudos to them.
I’m hoping they’ll reconsider the automatic death of pit bull puppies as well as adult pit bulls. Even if the new warden magically manages to adopt out every single non-pit bull, their kill rate will still remain above 50% in dead pit bulls alone. Still, it made my day reading about his resignation!
As to PeTA, well, clearly an organization that has a kill rate of 95% would find Skeldon impressive.
Comment by Rinalia — November 19, 2009 @ 6:33 pm
Tell your families, tell your friends, tell the world: let your wallets do the talking, donate your animal rescue dollars to local humane societies, breed rescue, and organizations that show a commitment to keeping companion animals alive. PeTA, HSUS, ASPCA show a commitment to keeping lobbyists, CEOs, and other leeches alive.
Comment by Susan — November 19, 2009 @ 7:13 pm
What that man did is unconscionable. Even what I consider the worst shelters in my area are willing to work with rescues and don’t kill puppies.
Comment by thetroubleis — November 19, 2009 @ 11:17 pm
Dear Jennifer Brown of PeTA:
Thanks for letting the world and all potential PeTA donors know PeTA’s actual stance on saving animals. You’ve done a service for the animal rescue world. Rescues and shelters should post your letter on the wall and scrawl in big black letters underneath: IF YOU WANT TO SAVE AN ANIMAL, DONATE TO US, NOT PETA. Oh, and by the way — please stop showing dogs and cats in your commercials, at least live ones.
Comment by Susan — November 20, 2009 @ 7:50 am
Amen to the comment that PETA should show some truth in advertising by depicting dead animals instead of live ones. It is good the word is spreading on its evil nature.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — November 21, 2009 @ 7:00 am
Sadly, there are still a lot of misconceptions surrounding PETA and their mission.
What people need to understand is that PETA is NOT an animal welfare organization. They’re an animal liberation organization. They believe that domesticated animals are being exploited and abused simply because they are domesticated. It is completely within their mission to destroy cats and dogs simply because they are cats and dogs. They do not believe in pets, period. Their goal is the extinction of all domesticated animals, including cats, dogs, domesticated farm animals, etc.
And the HSUS is increasingly moving in the same direction, especially under the control of animal liberation advocate Wayne Pacelle.
Sadly, both PETA and the HSUS have many supporters who don’t realize what they’re supporting.
Comment by Elle — November 23, 2009 @ 10:05 am
And the HSUS is increasingly moving in the same direction, especially under the control of animal liberation advocate Wayne Pacelle.
Sadly, both PETA and the HSUS have many supporters who don’t realize what they’re supporting.
Comment by Elle — November 23, 2009
You’re incorrect about the HSUS, your information off by many years now. In fact, the HSUS has shown a decided trend AWAY from PETA’s ideology.
How far away and will it stick? No one knows. But on forced spay-neuter, TNR, responsible breeder and other issues, the gap is wide and growing.
Realize you’re new here, but you need to catch up before repeating old lies in this forum.
As for PETA … spot on: It’s all better-dead-than-fed with that bunch, and they just keep getting more strident about it.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — November 23, 2009 @ 10:13 am
This one is a real lulu too:
http://www.aspca.org/blog/lett.....-peta.html
Now we know that if you count yourself as a part of the part of the world that wanted not to betray an abused animal, then you are a lunatic by lunatic’s standards, and therefore ‘damaging’ and not ‘ethical’. I obviously need to buy a new dictionary, ‘cause my old one has gotten so out of date, thanks PETA.
Comment by Valerie — November 23, 2009 @ 12:28 pm
Valerie … Wow. Just wow. The PETA death machine marches on. Why is anyone still listening to PETA?
Comment by Gina Spadafori — November 23, 2009 @ 12:43 pm
PeTA’s “No Birth Nation” is alive and well:
http://www.google.com/search?c.....p;oe=UTF-8
Comment by The OTHER Pat — November 23, 2009 @ 4:31 pm
“In the U.S., homelessness is not just a human problem. U.S. animal shelters must put to death nearly 4 million dogs and cats every year because of simple math: too many animals and not enough worthy adoptive homes.”
No pet owner is ‘worthy’ enough for PETA. It’s cute how they at least admit it’s not because of ‘lack of homes’, it’s because not enough people are ‘good enough’ to be allowed to adopt an animal. Their use of statistics that contradict their entire ‘overbreeding’ premise, blithely hoping that the people who read their drivel can’t do basic math, is also precious.
Comment by Pai — November 23, 2009 @ 5:00 pm
Holy Shit Batman!
Following a link in the PeTA page above (link on the text “those who hold the needle”) I came to this: http://www.opendoorshelters.org/
Which are two of the shelters in Pittsburgh from whom I am unworthy to adopt a cat because I own an intact dog.
They appear to now be partnered with PeTA. This artsy lil’ fundraising website seems to be about half nasty little swipes at the very successful No-Kill shelter locally.
I can tell you that these guys undoubtably killed two cats rather than adopt them out to an unworthy home — but the blame apparently lies with the No-Kill, not with them. (The No-Kill also finds us filthy dog breeders to be unworthy of neutered cat ownership.)
I thought I was no longer capable of being shocked. But PeTA?! Really?!
Oh well, now I know.
Comment by H. Houlahan — November 23, 2009 @ 5:44 pm
Uh, HSUS is moving away from PETA’s ideologies? I don’t think so, as long as Wayne “One generation and OUT” Pacelle is still there, or anyone who ever supported this advocate for a pet holocaust.
Check this out from Brent:
http://btoellner.typepad.com/k.....dium=email
Comment by Karen — December 4, 2009 @ 12:44 pm
Uh, HSUS is moving away from PETA’s ideologies? I don’t think so, as long as Wayne “One generation and OUT” Pacelle is still there, or anyone who ever supported this advocate for a pet holocaust.
Check this out from Brent:
http://btoellner.typepad.com/k…..dium=email
Comment by Karen — December 4, 2009
You may not think so, Karen, but you’re wrong. The HSUS under Wayne Pacelle has recently moved decidedly away from PETA-style ideology. As we’ve noted, it doesn’t matter what Mr. Pacelle personally believes or what he said years ago. It matters what the HSUS actually says and does now.
Comment by Gina Spadafori — December 4, 2009 @ 1:21 pm