On this second day of Christmas the Humane Society of the United
States sent out - "2012 Achievments Bring Us Closer to ending Abuse
of Pets." Certainly, for those of us who care about animal welfare,
this news is very much a Christmas gift.
Surely, the Infant Christ who deigned to be born in a lowly cave
among the animals must approve of anything we can do to alleviate
animal suffering. He could have chosen to be born anywhere in the
world - i n a palace or a palatial home, but He chose instead t o be
born in the company of a donkey and a cow. Soon the shepherds would
come with their sheep and lambs to pay homage to the newborn King.
So many of us are aware of the terrible puppy mills, where female
dogs are bred over and over again - giving birth in tight, dirty
cages. There is never any thought to their welfare or happiness.
The male dogs share the same filthy environment too, and when both
are spent - they often are dumped or maybe even killed.
The good news - 2.000 Pet stores across the U.S. signed the HSUS
PUPPY F RIENDLY PET STORE PLEDGE - making it their policy never to
sell puppies or contribute to puppy mill abuses. May the new year-
2013 find 2,000 and more stores making this pledge until finally
there will be no more buyers from these terrible puppy mills and
they will go out of existence. Yes, a big dream, but one which is
possible if enough people will care.
And we can individually start now by not buying puppies from pet
stores o r on the line. Shelters are always over- flowing with puppies
and dogs because of the dismal failure of people to responsibly alter
their pets in a timely fashion.
The first thing I ever did for the 7 dogs and 35 plus cats I rescued
was to have them altered. Not one of my rescues would result in the
horrendous pet over population which plagues us and the world over.
If you want a pure breed dog, they can often be found in shelters or
through rescue groups too, though in my opinion, a mixed-breed dog
makes a wonderful companion animal.
I even consider myself somewhat of an expert in this regard. All of
my 7 dogs were mixed breeds. Peaches - a Miniature Collie mix, Patty
Muffin, and Angel - Shepherd mixes, Shana - a Chow mix, Casey a
Samoyan mix, and Tina- a Chihuahua mix. They were all special to me
and I never gave pedigree even a glancing thought- though I was able to
recognize the special qualities of each dog's different pedigree part
or half.
I always felt uncomfortable with dog shows and the HSUS report exposes
the AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB'S links to cruel puppy mills, They even
shamefully opposed more than 80 dog-protection measures over the past
five years. I had hoped that one day our Slovak Cuvac (Chuvach) - a
beautiful white dog of Slovakia used to shepherd animals would find
his/her way to a dog show. Well, if so, let it not be at the American
Kennel Club.
I was pleased to learn that Ohio -one of the largest unregulated
puppy mill states in the East recently passed laws to protect puppy
mill dogs. This has led to six more states doing the same - New York,
Nebraska, Maryland, Kansas, Oregon, and Louisiana.
The next 7 iniiatives can be more fully read at the HSUS internet
site:
1. HSUS Pets for Life program provided vital pet care and wellness to
more than 10,000 pets in under-served communities in Los Angeles,
Atlanta, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
2. Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association provided spay/neuter
and veterinary care to nearly 7,000 pets in under-served rural
communities and Native American reservations in the U.S. and Latin
America
3. A felony conviction was secured in the first-ever private criminal
prosecution of dogfighting. A legal complaint with US Customs resulted
in shutting down the commercial sale of dog fur in New York City.
4. Humane Society International trained more than 100 people including
Costa Rica government representatives in different regions of the
country. One effort resulted in making a raid in the largest dogfighting
ring in the history of Costa Rica.
5. The HSUS Animal Rescue Team responded to Super Storm Sandy -rescuing
and sheltering hundreds of animals in New York and New Jersey and then
reuniting more than 400 pets with their original owners.
They assisted in the legal proceedings to ensure Montana dog breeder
Mike Chilinski's conviction for animal abuse. However, Chilinski received
a suspended sentence of 30 years for his abuse of 140 malumutes.
6. Through World Spay Day efforts in 377 cities worldwide, nearly 60,000
dogs and cats were spayed and neutered. In Bhutan, the Phillipines, and
central India more than 45,000 street dogs were sterilized.
7. Through their Shelter Pet Project campaign, they generated more than
$100 million in public service ads promoting the adoption of pets from
local animal shelters and rescue groups.
Thank you HSUS, your staff and workers, as well as all the people who
generously support your efforts for the animals. Indeed, many of those
rescued or freed because of compassionate laws you sponsored or efforts
made in their behalf will enjoy not only Christmas but probably years of
happiness because of your caring and compassionate work.
