Conversely, while I appreciate the public hell PETA is helping put Michael Vick through, I absolutely and utterly loathe the organization and its founder/executive director, Ingrid Newkirk. Why? Because Newkirk advocates the extermination and deliberate extinction of the three breeds commonly referred to as “pit bulls.” Newkirk, in her own words: http://tinyurl.com/27ldru

F-U PETA. A pox upon you, Ingrid Newkirk.

It is the same reason one of their representatives told me they would not get involved in the issue of veterinary malpractice. They cannot afford to alienate constituencies they need, or that’s the way they see it. This really got to me when it was told by an HSUS employee that: (paraphase)

“We know there is a problem with State Vet Boards failing to take action against bad vets who are hurting pets. But we can’t afford to get involved because we need the vets on other issues, and if we say anything about this it will alienate them.”

This really disappointed me, and everybody gets really uncomfortable when I bring up the topic of veterinary malpractice and abuse at these conferences. (I just went to the “Taking Action for Animals” conference sponsored by HSUS in DC, so I guess I did give them money . . . )

I am not saying the issues they work on are not important: Agitating for humane farming is important; ending circuses and vivisection is important; etc.

But it causes me cognitive dissonance when they won’t take on other issues to avoid alienating a constituency that is also harming animals, like the PFI or bad vets.

Stefani
The Toonces Project
http://www.TheTooncesProject.com
“Is Your Pet Safe at the Vet?”

That means that what they are doing IS NOT WORKING.

I do not support people or organizations that cannot get the job DONE.
Come to me and say ” This is what we are doing that WORKS, fewer animals are abandoned, the pet food companies are doing a better job because we are testing the food and PUBLISHING the results, the media has stopped being a tool for the PFI because we watch them like hawks and use our media pull to get the TRUTH on the news and we need money to keep doing THE RIGHT THING, no lies, no spin and no freaking big bonuses paid on your dime and THAT I would support! Oh boy would I support that.

But when the HSUS acts EXACTLY like the pet food industry that has betrayed and killed then they get EXACTLY what the pet food gets from me, not a dime and vast amounts of contempt.
And they aint alone.

In other words they are focused on the big picture. If, through education and political action, they can shut down puppy mills isn’t that as important as tending to individual dogs?

When you find yourself in a hole the first thing you should do is stop digging. That is what the HSUS is trying to do: stop American society from digging. I applaud those on the local levels who focus on the individual animals. We need to fight the war on both fronts, however.

To those of you who refuse to support the HSUS, I understand. I am frequently disappointed in groups I thought were “good”. In this case, I think the good they do on the broader front is worth support. At least my support.

Read down towards the bottom:

Legislation introduced
to make King County “No Kill”

However, there were some voices of dissent. The Humane Society of the United States, (HSUS) which has traditionally been opposed to progressive, No Kill strategies, entered a letter expressing its opposition to the legislation.

HSUS has no affiliation with the Humane Society of Seattle/King County or any other humane societies across the country – in fact, HSUS doesn’t run any animal shelters. However, it has been given a seat on the King County Animal Control Citizen’s Advisory Committee.

The HSUS letter indicated that setting a goal of an 85% save rate by 2009 was premature, and expressed its concern over the use of the term “No Kill,” arguing that the only No Kill shelters are limited-admission shelters that turn away needy homeless animals. HSUS also maintained that the use of the term No Kill was misleading because the public is unable to understand that even in a No Kill community, animals will be euthanized to alleviate pain and suffering, or if they pose a risk to public health and safety. (Please see our FAQ for more information on these subjects.)

HSUS representative Inga Gibson urged council to “abstain from formally voting on these proposals at this time, in favor of tasking these as priority items for consideration by the King County Animal Control Citizen’s Advisory Committee.”

In response to the HSUS letter, council approved a friendly amendment to Patterson’s legislation to put the phrase “no-kill” in quotes, to emphasize that it doesn’t literally mean that no animal will ever be killed.

Leading No Kill advocate Nathan Winograd, founder of the No Kill Advocacy Center, wrote a letter to council in response to the concerns raised by HSUS.

First, Winograd observed that HSUS’s contention that an open-admission shelter could not become No Kill was “simply not true,” noting that open-admission shelters in San Francisco, CA, Charlottesville, VA, Tompkins County, NY, and Washoe County, NV, all have save rates in excess of 85%.

“Not only should the council ignore HSUS and not abstain from voting, it should signal its desire to end the killing by unanimously voting to achieve it by 2009. King County has the power to build a new consensus, which rejects killing as a method for achieving results. And the animals and citizens of King County can look forward to a time when the killing of savable animals in shelters is viewed as a cruel aberration of the past,” Winograd wrote.

They did NOT.

The HSUS did NOTHING about getting the pet foods tested and with the money they pull in they sure as hell could afford it better than the pet parents struggling with enormous vet bills, sick pets and being betrayed by just about everyone! The HSUS decided that poisoners were more trustworthy than the pet parents and that was a very bad mistake. I USE what the HSUS said against them every single day and it costs them EVERY DAY.

WHERE were they when the pets were dying?

I KNOW the answer to that question and so do you.
Fark the HSUS sideways, I have already made sure that a LOT of money will never get into their lying hands and I take more from them every single day.

Here is just one example of their shady tactics: http://cspinet.org/new/200302201.html. And if you think they’re looking out for your “freedom,” read this article: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/32386/.

It’s also worth noting that CCF has had to in the past retract its false and defamatory attacks on The HSUS. There are two sides to every story and, before you absorb CCF’s rhetoric, you should visit Wayne Pacelle’s blog, where he wrote about CCF twice last week:

http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/.....hting.html
http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/.....hille.html

Vick has a good lawyer. Vick was detained by the TSA earlier this year for attempting to conceal a compartment in the cover of his carry-on water bottle. Normally, carry-on drinks get tossed.The TSA agent inspected the compartment and found something that “appeared to be marijuana.” Later,it turned out to be jewelery. That’s some attorney. The dogs are in the hands of the Feds (not HSUS) at this point. Let’s let them try to gt it right this time.

I prefer to give what donations I can to groups that directly help individual animals. Not that the rest of it isn’t important — it is — but those are the appeals that work on me. I once sponsored a goat . . . :)

Stefani
The Toonces Project
http://www.TheTooncesProject.com
Is Your Pet Safe at the Vet?

PS — Momcat, your local humane society may have nothing to do with HSUS. That was news to me too. Any local group can call themselves the county humane society, provided that the name is not already in use. They may have no organizational affiliation from HSUS, and they probably don’t receive funding from HSUS either. I was surprised to learn that too

Man Mauled by Dogs at Ving Rhames’ Home
Filed at 12:36 p.m. ET LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two dogs belonging to actor Ving Rhames apparently mauled a man to death at the star’s home Friday, authorities said. The 40-year-old victim, who has not…
http://www.nytimes.com/aponlin.....uling.html

August 4, 2007 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
California: Man Killed at Actor’s Home
Two mastiffs at the home of the actor Ving Rhames apparently mauled a 40-year-old man to death, the authorities said. The victim, whose name has not been released…
http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?.....Q5EpQ5CQ20)ppAioiaa7oaQ23oaQ24oQ3BQ20oaQ24e)GQ20Q7B2ZQ3BQ25RBA2Q25

August 4, 2007 - By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS - Theater
Dogs Kill Man At Actor Ving Rhames’ LA Home
Filed at 9:02 p.m. ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Massive dogs belonging to “Mission: Impossible” co-star Ving Rhames attacked and killed a live-in caretaker at the actor’s Los Angeles home on Friday, police said. The caretaker, whose…

August 3, 2007 - By REUTERS
http://www.nytimes.com/glogin?.....Q5BVm,7G_0