Yes, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA.

Here is that report, including a link to the source document, on CCF’s PETAKillsAnimals.com Web site. Go read it, and come back.

In the meantime, I’ll note that this incredibly successful site (from the opposition’s point of view) recently gained a sibling, HumaneWatch.com, which is now doing to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) what PETAkillsanimals.com did to PETA: Look for things donors don’t know about and might not agree with and publicize those matters, in hopes of gutting support for the organization.

If you think the HSUS finds this development alarming, you’d be right.

OK, welcome back. Let’s recap: So how many animals who came in the doors of PETA in 2009 left in anything other than a body bag?

39, of which 8 were adopted out, the remainder transferred.

8 adoptions out of …. 2,366 animals taken in.  Yes, a 97.3 percent kill rate, their “best” since 2006. Since mid-1998, the group has killed 23,640 pets.

PETA tells its donors that the animals they killed were unadoptable … suffering, in many cases. When someone challenges that, they don’t provide veterinary records or behaviorist reports — they send out their lawyer to rattle a saber.

They did that to me a couple years ago. And after that letter I posted this:

[W]ere there medical examinations by a veterinarian, and written records of the same for each animal killed? A behavioral analysis by a qualified behaviorist, and written records of the same for each animal killed? May we see them? Or were these determinations made by the animal’s previous owners, and if so are there the signed forms standard at every veterinary office and shelter making sure the previous owner understands that they are turning the animal over to be killed? May we see those forms? Alternately, may we get the names of all the previous owners so we can ask each and every one of them if it was their understanding that they animal was unadoptable and would be killed when they surrendered the animal? So we can ask, exactly, what they were told by PETA?

If PETA staff made these determinations that the animals were unadoptable, may we have the names of these people and see their qualification to perform such tasks? Are they veterinarians or certified behaviorists? May we see the records of their medical and behavioral determinations that these animals were not adoptable? May we see PETA’s guidelines for determining adoptability?

In response … nothing.

Another year, another couple thousand dead animals who according to PETA’s legal eagles were absolutely not hoping for new homes when they lined themselves up for the needle in Norfolk. No matter what PETA itself reported to the Commonwealth of Virginia, in reference to animals taken in “for the purpose of adoption.” (For a thought of why, exactly, PETA  kills, check out what no-kill flame-thrower Nathan Winograd has to say, here.)

Another year, and again, I have to ask:

Why is anyone still listening to PETA?

Among the many options that may be pursued to manage excessive barking problems are social enrichment, training classes and behavior modification methods. These require time and dedication. Many dog trainers offer these services, as do veterinarians specializing in animal behavior. The success or failure of behavior modification techniques varies among individual animals, trainers, behavioral counselors and the dedication of the owner.

As with any behavior problem, prevention is much easier than correction or modification.

A dog’s view of a blizzard: Mid-Atlantic states from Virginia to New Jersey were clobbered with up to 30 inches of snow (and more) over the weekend.   Even here in New England that’s a lot.  But Maryland and Virginia aren’t Maine, Wisconsin or Idaho.  When you’re used to less than a foot of snow the entire year, it does become Snowmageddon.    John from ohmidog has a terrific report on what the historic snowfall was like — from a canine point of view.    Hint:  you want to see a dog have a great time?  Watch him romp around after a big snowfall.  The pictures are priceless, too.

Even among more elderly dogs at the park, the snow seemed to have made them young again, bringing more spring to their steps, more sparkle to their eyes. It made me reflect back to my New Year’s resolutions – to look at things, including burdensome ones like two feet of snow, and see the joyous opportunities they present.

Like dogs do.

A modest proposal for PETA: I never cease to be amazed by what PETA will come out with next.  Last week’s Groundhog Day gave us a wonderful piece of comedy:  Punxutawney Phil should be replaced with a robot.  Loyal reader Valerie Hayes, in response, submits a modest proposal.  I’m not quoting any of it because I’d prefer you read the whole thing.  Thanks, Valerie!

You’ve got to love when karma stands up and takes a bow: Our friend Maria Goodavage at Dogster has a story from WDIV in Detroit that gives new meaning to rescue dog.

Dog pack attacks gator in Florida: And finally, I absolutely have to share an email sent to me by a dear friend (thanks, Lynn).

At times nature can be cruel, but there is also a raw beauty, and even a certain justice manifested within that cruelty

The alligator, one of the oldest and ultimate predators, normally considered the “apex predator”, can still fall victim to implemented ‘team work’ strategy, made possible due to the tight knit social structure and “survival of the pack mentality” bred into the canines.

See the remarkable photograph below, courtesy of Nature Magazine. Note that the Alpha dog has a muzzle hold on the gator preventing it from breathing, while another dog has a hold on the tail to keep it from thrashing. The third dog attacks the soft underbelly of the gator.

Got a tip?  Got a story?  Don’t keep it to yourself.  Send it to me at davidsgreene@gmail.com or give me a shout in the comments.

Photo credits: Dogs in snow, John Woestendiek

Oscar the peripatetic pooch: I’ve traveled to nine countries on three continents in 45 years.  Oscar the terrier visited 29 countries on five continents in six months.   I am so totally jealous of this dog I can’t even tell you.    Oh, and wait, it gets better.  He and his mom also helped rescues around the world.    Talk about having a very good year….

Next, some thoughtful writing from the blogosphere.

Pets are responsible for climate change? When I noted the Science Daily article recently that intimated pets contribute to global warming, I didn’t have to mention how ludicrous the idea was.   However, Dr. Marion Nestle over at Food Politics tears the fallacy apart in a rather (pardon the pun) delicious manner.

We think pet food performs a huge public service. If pets didn’t eat all that stuff, we would have to find a means of getting rid of it: landfills, burning, fertilizer, or converting it to fuel, all of which have serious environmental consequences. If dogs and cats ate the same food we do, we estimate that just on the basis of calories, the 172 million dogs and cats in American would consume as much food as 42 million people.

But they don’t. They eat the by-products of human food production. If we want to do something to help reverse climate change, we should be worrying much more about the amount of meat that we ourselves are eating–and the amount of cereals we are growing to feed food animals–than blaming house pets for a problem that we created.

The day it all changed: At Raised by Wolves, Houlie draws on a comment from PC.com regular straybaby and connects the dots to find when dogs stopped being valued solely for what they did and became status symbols based on looks and “papers.” Interesting read, with a twist for an ending.

The Cesar Wars: The battle over how to best train a dog is getting hot again, as Susan McCullough notes at The Allie Chronicles.  It’s Cesar Millan vs. well, everyone who doesn’t like Cesar’s Way.  And Cesar’s attorneys aren’t happy at any challenge to Cesar’s empire. I suggest this one because it’s less about the training methodology itself, and more about the fight over who is right and who has might.

Noting that the mere mention of Millan brings out strong emotions, I figure this pointer is good for my first hundred-comment post. One thing for sure: Love him or hate him, seems no one who has a dog is actually neutral on the subject of Cesar Millan. And that’s all I’m going to say without consulting an attorney.

Pedigree and paranoia: Sometimes I read posts that annoy me not because of what they say, but because they remind me I’m not nearly as good a writer as I’d like to think.   Terrierman gives us two e-mails from best-selling author and Border Collie man Don McCaig, both so masterfully delivered they make me shake my fist at the heavens (in spite of their invocation of Godwin’s Law).   They’re well reasoned, funny, brilliant and damn near perfect. (Gina gushed over them, too, in the comments section, even, which is kinda embarassing, but shhhh! don’t tell her I said so. She’s a little old to be such a silly fan girl.) Mr. McCaig writes that the only thing holding up the crumbling edifice of the AKC is the “fancy’s” overblown paranoia regarding animal-rights zealots:

“Don’t you see — it’s just like dominoes. First they come for the socialists . . .”

“I’ve never heard of that breed.”

“No, it’s like Nazi Germany. ‘First they came for the socialists.’”

“But this isn’t Nazi Germany. Dogs aren’t socialists.”

“Never-you-mind: they’re coming for our dogs!”

On that note: Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good … day.

Don’t forget it’s Dr. Marty Monday on “The Cooper Lawrence Show” tonight — first Monday of every month. The show is on 115 radio stations from coast-to-coast,  and Dr. Becker will be on at 9 p.m. ET. Between Cooper and Dr. Becker, you’re in for some of what Dr. B calls “edutainmanent.” Click the link to listen online or find one of those stations.

Stuff we’re reading elsewhere:

What if your happy little Samantha is really a Stanley?  Pet Connection  BFF  Dr. Patty Khuly writes in her Daily Vet blog about the not as rare as you might think confusion of gender in pets (the pets aren’t confused, we are).  … and don’t miss her column in Veterinary Practice News on the war for veterinary hearts and minds, AVMA vs. HSVMA.… more on the HSUS front, Nathan Winograd offers his own take on the recent fund-raising pitch involving Fay (not Faye) that Gina wrote about last week. … The Toronto Star has a ton of letters to the editor regarding the mess at Toronto Humane.

Dogster reports on a controversy over a working dog in Clearwater, Fla.    This isn’t the kind of working dog that you typically think of, though.   Cody has his own T-shirt, nametag, and never asks for a break to smoke. However, along with not having a social security number and possibly being underage, Cody ran afoul of Florida authorities.  It’s so hard to find good help nowadays. Read more, here. …

Sick Vick returned to Atlanta with his new team, and the AP says he “teared up” at the “support.” Those who didn’t support the dog-killing dirtbag were spit on. “That is a direct attack on his character,” said Vick fan Robert Green. Yes, it is. And your point is? …

YesBiscuit! is supporting an initiative in South Carolina, sponsored by the Animal Protection League of SC, to focus on the Black Pearls.   For those that aren’t familiar with the term, a Black Pearl is the term used for a black dog at a shelter, as they are statistically more likely not to be adopted in shelters, and in many cases, to be killed.  Check it out. … And for some holiday action, visit Full Cry for a look at a horse-and-hound parade in Middleburg, VA …

For now, I’ll wrap with this:  It’s time to start thinking about what you want on your wall/fridge/barn door for a 2010 calendar.  Might we suggest guinea pigs?  The Guinea Pig Connection has some ideas for you.  Four of them, in fact.

This is Faye. She survived because of you.

I’ll never forget Faye’s story. I bet you won’t, either.

Our team met her in Missouri, when The Humane Society of the United States helped rescue hundreds of animals from the horrors of dogfighting. She’d been wounded badly in a fight, and a dogfighter had mercilessly cut off her lips. She was in tough shape, but we found her in the nick of time.

Watch our moving video to see Faye’s happy ending — then become a Humane Hero with your monthly donation to our 2010 Animal Survivors Fund.

Faye’s a lucky survivor: She now sleeps in a warm bed in a safe place. To help save thousands of animals just like her in the new year, we’re doing something we’ve never done before, and it’s BIG: We’re hoping to raise a million dollars online by December 31 for our 2010 Animal Survivors Fund.

It’s ambitious — but so are our plans for saving animals next year. We’ll not only continue to help bust dogfighting rings, but we’ll also take on the individuals and industries that profit from animal suffering — from people who club baby seals to death, to those who confine animals in factory farms, to those who abuse dogs in puppy mills.

Your gift of $20.10 a month for 2010 — just 66 cents a day — can help thousands of animals like Faye not just survive, but thrive in the new year. Click here to watch Faye’s video and make your tax-deductible monthly donation today. Thank you for everything you do for animals.

Sincerely,
John Goodwin
Manager, Animal Fighting Campaign
The Humane Society of the United States

Problem? The HSUS hasn’t given one thin dime to help Fay (not Faye), according to her foster mom, who noted in the comments yesterday:

I am rather sad that HSUS has chosen to use Fay (not Faye)in their fund drive. Fay has never received a dime from HSUS. How do I know? Because I am the one that is fostering Fay. Fay is currently going through expensive surgeries to recreate medically need lips so her teeth do not fall out, her jaw bone stops deterioating, and she can live a normal life. HSUS never contacted us regarding Fay. In the video John states she is in a loving home…really…thanks for the compliment but Fay is LOOKING for her forever home.

BADRAP’s Donna Reynolds wasn’t quite so kind, noting acerbically that, “fight bust victims have become hot commodities. Who knew?”

The HSUS knew.  One figures they had a little pow-wow — lawyers, fund-raisers and accountants — and then did the math, figuring any howls of protest  would be more than offset by the sight of a dog with her lips cut off by a dogfighter, and the number of people who’d click on that link and give, give, give.

We’ve cut the HSUS a lot of slack here, justifiably so,  and even noted what seems to be a change in the internal culture of the place and policies that seem to be shifting as a result. Some of this seems to be ideology — a move more to honest-to-goodness animal advocacy and away from the policies of the  unapologetic animal-rights killersangels of death at PETA. The HSUS has made 180 degree turns in its policies on no-kill communities, on trap-neuter-release of feral cats, and on the rehoming of fight-bust dogs. They’ve even backed off their enthusiasm for forced spay-neuter — recognizing a difference between reputable, ethical breeders and puppy-milling scum –  although we’ve yet to see the formal policy change said to be in the works last summer.

But no doubt the change is also driven by the realities of a changing attitude among animal lovers: That no-kill communities are the wave of the future, that exterminating community cats isn’t kinder than trap-neuter-release and colony management – and that fight-bust dogs “saved” by humane groups are not deserving of the needle just because they were once owned by twisted sociopaths like Michael Vick.

Oh yes, Michael Vick. The HSUS could simply have not handled that particular hot potato worse. As with Fay, they fund-raised on the backs of dogs they didn’t have and weren’t helping. In the Vick case, they advocated for the deaths of the seized dogs, in keeping with their long-held policy that fight-bust dogs were too mentally unstable, too potentially dangerous to ever be trustworthy members of human society.

And then, they watched, no doubt in wide-eyed amazement, as BADRAP and other groups took Vick’s dogs and proved everyone wrong. The HSUS surely yearned for the warm, basking glow other groups enjoyed when Sports Illustrated put out a cover story on the saved dogs. Oh, such missed opportunities!

Did they figure that if the dogs could be a generator of positive publicity — and donations — that Michael Vick could be, too? It’s hard to imagine any other motive for laundering the dirtbag, cleaning him up and making him acceptable to the NFL and at least one morally-challenged franchise, the Philadelphia Eagles. The HSUS trots him out at regular intervals, to mumble half-hearted “don’t get caughtdon’t be like me” talks to at-risk youngsters who learn more by meeting his victims than the sociopath himself.

No, the HSUS doesn’t get the Vick thing, even though everyone and her sister has tried to clue them in. And they apparently don’t get that it’s downright sleazy to fund-raise on the backs of fight-bust dogs the organization isn’t actually helping. Not even with the vague promise of possibly helping others in the future.

I suppose we should be pleased that the HSUS is no longer raising money on one side of the office while advocating the needle on the other.

But it’s not enough.

Having thrown themselves into this situation, the HSUS should use the money it already has to pick up every penny of the cost of Fay’s medical and mental rehabilitation. That’s right, every damn penny. And every penny of the cost of the other dogs seized with her.

Going forward, HSUS leadership — hello Mr. Pacelle — needs to shake up the fund-raising staff, and stop misleading people.

Until both of those things happen — and happen publicly, with a statement of wrong-doing and a pledge to animal-lovers going forward, I would encourage animal-lovers to give to the HSUS not one thin dime. Which is exactly the amount they have given to help Fay, their fund-raising poster dog.

Instead, from Gale, Fay’s foster mom:

If you really want to help Fay, please go to our website, http://www.muttsandstuff.com and click on the donate now button. If you want to help the other 35 dogs we took with their own health issues….please donate. We are a small group that can use the help.

I’ve long believed that any massive national group cannot be as effective as a small-community-based charity. This has not changed my view, and in fact has reinforced it. Think globally, give locally. Or rather: Think big, and give small — not small amounts, but to small groups that really do the job the big guys claim the credit for.

Update 3:47 p.m. PT: As noted in the comments, the HSUS has now said on Twitter that they will be picking up the tab for Fay (not Faye)’s surgery.  The decision is the right one, and I’m glad they’ve stepped up. Now they just have to tell Mutts-n-Stuff to update their Web site, which as of a few minutes ago was still asking for help in paying for the dog’s care (home page at right, detail below).

.

Be very clear about this: Unlike the “H$U$” haters who routinely rag on the organization for not operating any shelters, I don’t have any problem with them raising money to be an advocacy group. None whatsoever. A powerful animal advocacy group is very much needed, as is an organization that can go in with trained teams to assist local groups when they’re faced with major fight bust, puppy-mill shut-down or a crisis like Hurricane Katrina.

But the HSUS has to be clear about its role and honest with its donors.  In this case, they weren’t.  I’m glad they’re jumping in now to help after they were called out, but their fund-raising pitches need to change going forward. If they aren’t going to help small rescue and shelters after the high-profile bust, they need to stop suggesting that they do.

Better yet: Give those little groups some money.

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?

He said that PETA’s recent press release objecting to President Obama swatting a fly was “laughably insane and out of touch” but also “terribly beautiful. Luminous. Aiming toward something like purity, enlightenment, higher consciousness…”

He suggested that perhaps we should consider that we do, indeed, hold animal life cheap in our society, and that spending a few moments thinking about the value of that life wouldn’t hurt us. Maybe, he seemed to say, however over the top they are with the messaging, PETA has a point.

That sounds good. It does. Because yes, we should spend more time thinking about life in all its incandescent beauty. But Mark, PETA didn’t object to Obama swatting a fly because they have a reverence for life so great that it extends even to the lowest most germy members of the animal kingdom. I know this, because if they did, they’d be incapable of killing 95 percent of the dogs and cats taken into their shelter in Norfolk, Virginia. And yet, that’s just what they do.

Those kill rate statistics come from documents PETA filed with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which requires that all shelters that “take in animals for purposes of adoption” report how many of those animals leave the shelter alive each year.

Last year, PETA’s total intake of such animals was 2,216 dogs, cats, and a very few other pets. The organization, which has an annual budget of $32 million that they’re obviously very happy to spend on press releases about fly-swatting that the media obediently laps up like thirsty puppy dogs, found homes for exactly seven of those animals.

The other 2,209? They killed them.

Don’t tell me that’s the best they could do. The average kill rate for all shelters in Virginia is less than 50 percent. Many shelters that would die of happiness to get their hands on a fraction of PETA’s budget have save rates as high as PETA’s kill rate.

Camden County, New Jersey, has one of the highest poverty rates in America, and yet its Animal Welfare Association, with a budget less than 10 percent of PETA’s, only euthanized 224 of the 3343 dogs and cats who came in its doors last year.

Maybe PETA just likes flies better than dogs and cats, I don’t know. I do know PETA head Ingrid Newkirk, who never met a publicity stunt she didn’t like, certainly doesn’t seem to feel the same way about cats. Back when no-kill crusader Nathan Winograd was president of the Palo Alto Humane Society, he sought PETA’s support for a program to save the lives of feral cats. Newkirk refused, sending him a postcard saying that PETA does not “advocate ‘right to life’ for animals.”

No, PETA doesn’t have a reverence for life. PETA has a publicity machine that leaps on every little thing that will get them the attention of the media. And why should they stop? It keeps working.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t care if PETA wants to advocate for flies and against cats. This is, after all, America, and they have the right to advocate for every inconsistent public policy that floats their boat. I don’t even care if they’re fooling their own donor base, because if the people who give money to organizations can’t be bothered to take a look behind the curtain, well… that’s a shame, but certainly no shock.

But it’s long past time for journalists to stop taking PETA’s press-released bait, to no longer accept without question the veneer of love for animals and life they put over their less then “terribly beautiful” actions.

Because what PETA does to the dogs and cats who come into their “shelter” is not beautiful at all. It’s just terrible.

***

No-kill flamethrower Nathan Winograd goes through some old boxes and finds a postcard from 1994:

Mr. Winograd:

1) We do not advocate “right to life” for animals.

2) There are always exceptions.

Ingrid Newkirk

More here, on Winograd’s blog.
Winograd said the exceptions Newkirk was referring to was in reference to her point that PETA policy supported the extermination of feral cats.

You just can’t make this stuff up! Points for consistency, if nothing else, from this gang of loons who are now grousing at President Obama for killing a fly but who think it’s just fine to kill more than 90 percent of the pets that come into their care.

Why is anyone still listening to PETA?

***

Yes, VPI is one of our sponsors, but I’d mention this anyway. It’s a nice move:

Due to depleted funds from the increased number of pets helped this fiscal year, the AAHA Foundation had to temporarily suspend grants from the AAHA Helping Pets Fund in April. The generous gift from VPI Pet Insurance [$25, 000]  will enable the AAHA Helping Pets Fund to resume granting funds immediately.

As the benevolent arm of the AAHA Foundation, the Helping Pets Fund helps those in need access quality veterinary care for their sick or injured pets. The Foundation awards grants supporting veterinary care for pets that have been abandoned or whose owners are experiencing financial hardship.

Thanks to the generous support of AAHA members, individuals and corporate donations since its inception in 2005, the AAHA Helping Pets Fund has awarded more than $800,000 in grants to help more than 3,000 pets receive much needed veterinary care.

You can donate, too. Information here.

***

Plea details revealed for Chem Nutra pair linked to pet-food recall: probation and a fine that’s less than a nice new car. VIN News, here. Also from VIN News, Evanger’s says their problem with the FDA is a matter of paperwork, and food irraditation is suspected in neurological problems in Australian cats. … Funny piece on the people you see at a dog show on Frogdog. … Houlie’s husband dishes the dirt on “Did a Cat Shit in Here?” (be sure to read the comments) … Fugly reports on wacky made-up horse registries, just like in dogs! … YesBiscuit! on pet snobbery and the poor. … The UK’s Dogs Trust launches an eZine. …  Wayne Pacelle of the HSUS notes that Gourmet magazine (of all things!) is calling for changes in the food industry with regards to meat.  Michael Pollan  got there first, and so did Slow Food. And so, too, did I.  Compassion, sustainability and support of small family farms: It’s not just for vegans anymore. … I once spent part of a day in the company of a roomful of sun conures. Honestly, I’m surprised I still have my hearing. This are really fun, lively and stunningly beautiful parrots, but I’ll stick with my relatively quiet Caique, thanks. Here’s why, funny story courtesy of Best in Flock. … Saturday addition: Pet Connection BFF Dr. Patty Khuly on how veterinarians feel about Merial using Cesar Millan as the company pitchman for Frontline. Short take: They’re not happy. … Got anything interesting? Aggravating? Head-exploding? Toss it in the comments.

There are certain attitudes, biases, assumptions and cliches that just won’t shift, no matter what real world, documented evidence or reasoned argument is put before them.

—Pets are a luxury, if you ever can’t afford something for your pet, you’re bad and unworthy and don’t deserve a pet.

—S/N is the MOST important measure of pet owner responsibility. Whether you could not afford the procedure or have a health screened titled dog you’ve chosen not to alter, you are bad and irresponsible

—Being intact is cruel. Sorry, being intact, with normal healthy organs is cruel? Nope. But intact pets do need a bit different management and those organs are inconvienent for many owners and after a certain age, the pet will be fine without them. so long as the decision is between a vet and owner I sure as hell have no issue with spay/neuter. Most of my pets are or will be altered, but a male dog in possession of his testicles does not equal suffering

—If you breed a litter you have automatically killed the same number of pets in the shelter. Does not matter that there are more than enough homes and if shelter were able to gain just a small amount more market share, 5-10% depending on regional circumstances, we could get all placeable pets into homes.

—there is no such thing as a responsible breeder, they’re all the same

—All the opposition to MSN is from the wicked breeders

—Breeders ALL make a lot of money (HaH! Ha hahahha We could have bought another HOUSE on what has gone into the dogs over 20 years. I am NOT exaggerating )

—Feral cats are all the fault of bad owners, they are all only one generation out of homes and if we make the bad owners spay and neuter them then the feral problem will magically disappear. And if you click your heels together and wish really hard…

—Those kittens flooding the shelters every spring all come from bad owners cats, because feral cats don’t have kittens where you can find them and remember, the moms weren’t really feral.

—TNR does not work. And even if it works, it’s cruel because the cats would be better of dead than be at risk outdoors. And even if being outside is not cruel, they kill wildlife.

Side note here: Yes, they do kill wildlife. Not to the extent that they are blamed probably. Feral colonies do not belong near endangered species breeding grounds etc.. But in most urban and suburban settings the real killer is development. I’m rural and help manage a colony and because the wildlife has natural habitat, it is thriving in spite of the cats. plus as ferals age, they tend to eshew the birds for the kibble, word.

And even if cats are responsible for every crime they are accused of A century of catch and kill has utterly failed to eliminate ferals. TNR has documented success in reducing numbers and numbers of kittens. Go with what works folks!

—If you ever go into a shelter and see the animals there, you would never breed, oppose MSN blah blah… Sorry, I’ve been in a lot of shelters. Like MANY dedicated breeders I pull dogs from shelters and rescue other breeds and mixes and species when they cross my path.

—Pets are all interchangeble. If the person who wants a small lap dog can’t find one they will be happy to come adopt an 85 lb lag mix or a cat instead.

—People who buy a pet are evil or ignorant. people who adopt acquire automatic virtue. Does not matter what kind of home they actually are.

There are more but you get the idea. And it does not matter what arguments are brought forth or how much hard evidence you present.

Being that rock solid sure of a conviction must be nice for them, but it’s not constructive. We need real-world solutions and strategies that actually work. If something has failed for decades, it’s failed, time to move on and evolve.

Amen, Jen!

The first wrong was the piece itself, which was pulled down after the HSUS cried foul over the contents. This triggered an Internet game of whack-a-mole, as the piece popped up seemingly everywhere, and when that seemed to abate, the transcript was floated around instead.

Mainly, the piece claimed the HSUS raised money under false pretenses, giving the impression that the advocacy group claims direct responsibility for shelter operations, which it does not and does not claim to. But that wasn’t good enough for the TV station, which reported:

Critics tell Channel 2 Action News reporter Amanda Rosseter that this isn’t just consumers misunderstanding who they are giving in to – but an organization actively misleading donors to get money.

“They do their marketing very well, that’s for sure,” said Trey Burley of PAWS Atlanta.

Critics say the national organization takes advantage of people who think they are giving to local shelters. DeKalb’s “PAWS” shelter says there is no regular funding help from the $100 million HSUS budget.

“I think that some of the folks who donate to the national organization may be under the false pretense that that money is going to a local cause,” said Burley.

This isn’t news. In fact, there’s a section in my book “Dogs For Dummies” (1994) that discusses the importance of direct donations to local shelters and rescue groups. When you give to the HSUS, you’re providing mostly for animal advocacy, lobbying for animal laws and investigations. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that.

Without even creasing my brow I can think of a dozen non-animal-related organizations that do the same. Lobbying, after all, is a stand-alone business, and I doubt many of the professional lobbyists in Washington or Sacramento spend much of their time involved with the management of the industry groups  or social interests they represent. (Pulitzer prize-winning reporter John Woestendiek of the OhMiDog blog takes apart the TV piece, here.)

What happened next was perhaps politically predictable but still sleazy: An effort to raise money for anti-forced spay-neuter lobbying efforts,  suggesting that the HSUS was not correcting the record but burying the truth by demanding the TV piece be pulled down.

The perpetrator? PetPac, which has been a tireless fighter against forced spay-neuter laws and the drive by spittle-spewing animal-rights haters to push reputable, ethical breeders into extinction through laws not only opposed  by reputable  breeders but also contrary to policy statements of  the ASPCA and the AVMA. The opposition to forced spay-neuter knows that this kind of legislation is racist and classist, kills more pets than it saves and inserts the government into a medical decision that’s not without negative consequences and that should be left to a pet’s owner, with advice from a veterinarian.

PetPac led the fight against the draconian AB 1634 last year in California, and is working against SB 250 this year. The latter was brought forward by the same folks behind the last bill, especially Judie Mancuso, who insists that all breeders are the same, and all are evil “greeders.”

The HSUS hasn’t taken a position on SB 250, please note. But that didn’t stop PetPac from smearing them anyway, to throw red meat to the rabid HSUS-haters among its own supporters.

In a series of e-mails to suporters (which includes me, by the way)  PetPac’s Bill Hemby questions the motives of HSUS in having the TV piece pulled down, suggesting some nefarious plot to bully the station into hiding the “truth.”

Mr. Hemby knows better. He’s decent guy and a reputable, compassionate and ethical breeder — I first talked to him when trying to find the owners of a pair of lost Borzoi who wandered down my street a few years ago.  But he has been around long enough to know that when a media organization has really got a tiger by the tail, they don’t back down, and sabre-rattling by the group that they’ve reported on is a badge of honor.

Pure politics, this spin, playing to the red state/blue state divide of pets, mortars fired across the scarred battlefield between two entrenched positions. Playing to and scaring the choirs, and it’s done all the time, by all kinds of special-interest groups on all sides of every imaginable issue.

But this sort of behavior, from the extremists in camps that often seem to hate each other more than they care about animals, is counter-productive.

I’ve called the HSUS out on many of their positions, especially with regards to forced spay-neuter (which they have in the past at least tacitly supported) and with what should be done with fight-bust dogs. I ripped them for raising money on the backs of the Vick dogs while their “experts” said the dogs all be destroyed as unredeemable (unredeemable, like Hector here). Not cool, nor is their current deal with Michael Vick himself.

But I believe that for reasons largely driven by changing internal ideology and partly driven by the continued need to tap the zeitgeist so as to keep on tapping wallets for donations, the HSUS is evolving on many of their positions. They’ve embraced trap, neuter and release of managed feral cat colonies, a 180-degree turn from a past position. They have a guide to choosing a reputable breeder that I honestly couldn’t have written much better myself. And they’re spot-on that concentrated animal feeding operations are cruel as well as environmentally unsustainable and a risk to our national health and security. Cheap eggs aren’t worth those kind of risks, folks, cruelty aside.

The agriculture and food industries doesn’t much like that last bit, which is why they have  outfits like the Center For Consumer Freedom out there attacking animal advocacy-groups and scaring the bejeebers out of many good breeders who are now convinced that if they don’t side with puppy-milling scum, they’ll be next to go — a point with some merit, if the Mancusos of the world have their way. (Just to show how complicated this all can get, the CCF has done spectacular work documenting through public records the shameful practices at PETA with regard to their handling of homeless pets in their “shelter.”)

I live on both sides of the great divide, and it’s my job to talk to people on both sides as well.

It’s long past time for the reasonable, animal-loving people of the world to quit allowing the 10 percent of nutjob true believers on the extremes of these issues to dictate the terms of engagement.

For all his good work, Bill Hemby was wrong in calling out the HSUS on this politically motivated crap, just as Judie Mancuso is wrong in lumping the work of compassionate, ethical and responsible breeders in with the careless, clueless breeders or with puppy-milling scum. I hasten to say, though, that it was Hemby’s first mistep, while Mancusco is the ATM of extremism, spitting out hate along with long-discredited ”facts”  whenever anyone punches her buttons.

I will be on the side of PetPac when SB 250, the new Pet Extinction Act, comes to a floor vote in the California State Senate. And I am on the side of HSUS when it comes to investigations and legislation against puppy-milling scum. I am not one of those breeders who defends puppy-millers because of the slippery-slope argument: I believe we need to separate from these dirtbags because we care about what happens to animals in their “care.” I’m a reputable, ethical and compassionate breeder as well as a person who has run a breed rescue and is looking to raise foster litters in the future for shelters and rescue groups, just because I’ve discovered I’m damn good at it.

I will fight forced spay-neuter because it doesn’t work. I will fight for compassionate, reputable and ethical breeders. And I will fight to shut down puppy mills and their Internet and retail outlets.

If any of that bothers you, I bloody well don’t care. Because it’s not about politics and “winning” for me:

It’s about the animals.