Could It Be....?

Recently there was media coverage regarding a grizzly bear attack in Yellowstone National Park. The bear was captured and killed the next day and a posthumous exam performed to help give insight into its behavior. Of note was its extremely poor body condition - it was very thin. The investigative team determined that the bear's vegetarian diet (of approximately two years) combined with a parasite load contributed not only to its poor physical condition, but to the predatory behavior which culminated in the attack.

A bear specialist is quoted as saying:

“She obviously was hurting for higher value foods. What caused her mentally to do that, we don’t know. There are a lot of bears that are nutritionally challenged at times that don’t exhibit that type of behavior.”

Which brings to mind the following question...is this what is wrong with animal rights fanatics? Are their vegetarian or vegan diets resulting in aggression towards those of us who enjoy our animals, their raising, breeding and training as well as the daily interaction? Is it the lack of "higher value foods" that causes their almost savage attempts to rend apart the animal-owner bond that we enjoy and the endless pursuit of eliminating pets or any animal usage from the earth?

Thankfully, grizzly attacks are rare.

Unfortunately, the attacks of the animal rights fanatics are not, and well on the increase.

New PeTA Stats

PetaKillsAnimals.com has posted the information regarding PeTA's "shelter" statistics for the year 2007. Good news is - their death rate decreased from the prior year. The BAD news - 90.1% of their intakes were euthanized (you know, KILLED). Actual numbers...1,815 out of 1,997.

Considering that PeTA's grifting methods brought in over $30 million during 2007 - you would think they would have been able to save a majority of the animals brought to their "shelter".

PetaKillsAnimals.com noted that neighboring shelter Virginia Beach SPCA was able to adopt out (nee, SAVE) almost 70% of its animals...and did so with a much, MUCH smaller budget than the ne'er-do-wells at PeTA.

Check out the full report posted at http://petakillsanimals.com/

And if you're wondering why I use the lower-case "e" in PeTA? Well...the "e" is supposed to stand for "ethical"...and ethics is one thing that PeTA does NOT have.

Wonders Never Cease

And not the good kind of wonderment either! The last week or so's news headlines have left me shaking my head.

First off was the Google alert I received which sent me along to an online news article regarding two Borzoi that escaped their yard and attacked and killed a small dog belonging to a neighbor. This is a nightmare for Borzoi owners - and containment is key for our dogs. They were bred to chase and catch game - so yes, one needs to be careful around small, furry pets and one needs to watch one's fences for any repair needs. Unfortunately, upon further inspection of the story one can find events which could have precluded this unfortunate event...

(1) The dogs had escaped before and killed a dog earlier in the year. So were extra steps taken to try and prevent further escapes after the original? If not, why? I am terrified of my dogs getting out of the yard, not only for the safety of smaller animals (although the dogs running loose in our neighborhood tend to be of the large variety) but for the safety of my own dogs. We live close to busy roads - the last thing I want my dog to be is a road pie.
(2) The dog that was killed in the latest attack was also loose. Its owners left it in the yard as they ran away screaming. Hello - let's just add to the hysteria in the air. Screaming just upsets all involved and sets everyone, including animals, on edge. That's not going to help. Why did they not pick up their dog? Peek-a-poos aren't that heavy.
(3) The Borzoi were obviously not bloodthirsty threats to people. A stranger had caught the pair and put them in his backyard and called a number he had gotten from the dog's collar tag. They sound like a controllable couple to me.

Because of these events, it is likely that the dogs could be declared dangerous - and rightly so in this case. But it's sad for the Borzoi breed - these are quite charming and funny, as well as beautiful, dogs. But irresponsibility in keeping them properly (or any dog, for that matter) can bring trouble for all, not just one's neighbor. In today's heated climate against dogs and dog ownership, to have my breed placed on a "dangerous dog" list because of people's irresponsibility, causing them to fall victim to obscene insurance rates and BSL legislation is unacceptable.

I have always stood behind the phrase "punish the deed and not the breed" when it comes to fighting BSL legislation. This event brings that motto even closer to home.

The next headline comes courtesy of Tulsa, Oklahoma. A 2 month old infant was left in a swing chair unattended (mother and grandmother were too busy to attend him because they were....sleeping). Unattended, that is, except for a 2 month old lab puppy and an elderly Pug. (Latest news article HERE) This is such a sad situation resulting in not only a dead child, but the puppy as well as it was put down. The poor thing was just a-waggin' its tail as the AC officer loaded him into the truck - it wasn't a vicious puppy....it was just a baby itself, with super-sharp puppy teeth and claws. Lord knows I've been left with marks from playing with rowdy puppies - they don't have to be mean to mark you up at that age! If it hadn't been this incident, the poor child would have likely died from another common parenting "skill" - that of being left alone in a vehicle in the heat of summer - yet another common headline that has been all over the news as of late.

What confounds me is that local and state (and then we had the federal PAWS legislation) governments are wanting to pass all sorts of restrictions on animal breeding and husbandry for an activity that the IRS insists is just a hobby, yet they want to legislate it out the wazoo, if not make it illegal to have a pet with all the body parts it was born with...but yet any yahoo can contribute to the human gene pool, no licensing (or apparently knowledge or responsibility) required.

Also...can some explain why the AR nuts claim how cruel and unusual it is to dock a tail, crop ears or even remove dewclaws on a puppy - yet preach and lobby for the more intrusive and risky surgeries required to spay and neuter pets!? They're all about ripping out uterus's and tearing off testicles (and the younger the better) but don't dare crop that tail at 3 days!

Time to Follow That Thought

Hmmmmm....taking the advice from the post just previous to this, I guess it's time to lift a leg on the Dallas City Council. Three of them would be exempt from the yellow stream - those being Sheffie Kadane, Ron Natinsky (who even offered an alternative ordinance that contained some common sense!), and Angela Hunt. The rest of the council can drown in it - accepting the propaganda of the whacked-out animal rights movement (whose goal is to eliminate pets from the earth) which was spewed forth from the opposition, including those that had been appointed to the Animal Shelter Committee. Yes...you heard right, they have put card-carrying PeTA members on the shelter committee as opposed to folks with animal husbandry experience who really do care about animals. We all know what the PeTA faction preaches..."better dead than fed"...witnessed by their 97% euthanization rate. This is their first step towards the elimination of animal ownership in Dallas. They've already managed to criminalize it. What a sad, sad day.

Link to Dallas Morning News article

Disturbing Video on the Animal Rights (PeTA) Agenda

I've written before about the animal rights fanatics in this blog. The legislation these groups promote and sucker our lawmakers into creating and/or passing is a never-ending battle. There are several websites with folks much more able to put down their thoughts into a coherent mass for folks to ingest - and I will list them at the end of this post. Some may be repeats of those that I have in the sidebar to this blog.

The video link below will truly express why I never capitalize the "e" in PeTA. The reason - "ethical" is something that this group of fanatical terrorists is NOT.

HERE IS THE LINK.

There are disturbing images. Almost as disturbing as the quotes from the animal rights leaders.

I am still sobbing.

Here are URLs for more information...

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/
http://www.activistcash.com/
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-smith100202.asp
http://www.animalrights.net/articles/2001/000229.html
http://www.naiaonline.org/
http://www.naiatrust.org/
http://www.pet-law.com/
http://www.saova.org/
http://www.felinerescue.net/Animal_rights.htm
http://www.ncraoa.com/
http://www.dfow.org/

Hug your pets tight.

Beware This Dog - the HSUS

Yes - I said beware of the HSUS. Beware of their fundraising tactics. HSUS is becoming more and more anti-breeder....even anti-pet-owner....as they become more and more like PeTA. I have even seen them referred to as "PeTA in a suit". They have a cleaner, slicker image than PeTA - but they are just as dangerous to dog breeders and pet owners - they are leaning more towards an animal rights agenda, as opposed to animal *welfare*.

Their latest cash cow - the Michael Vick indictment for conspiracy and accusations of dog fighting, and the seizure of his dogs, allegedly used in a dog fighting ring. I say "allegedly" since one is supposed to be considered innocent before proven guilty. I certainly suspect him of it personally - he's not exactly an innocent character based on past actions - and I've seen his kennel web site. HSUS is using this latest media blitz to line their coffers. They say it will be used to help in their campaign against animal fighting. That's what they SAY. Yah.....riiiiiiiight.

In their original plea for donations - they implied that they were directly involved in caring for Vick's dogs that were seized and needed money for that "care". The web site page has since changed, although one was found in the Google cache and a screenshot is available here. They have since been reported to the FBI for fraudulent solicitation.

When Katrina devastated the southern gulf coast, HSUS moved in and bullied private rescue groups who were present and working to assist pets and their owners who had been affected by the floods and other damage from the storms. They flooded the internet with requests for donations to "help these hurricane victims". They raked in millions. There has been no accounting for the almost $20 million that was raised for the Katrina pets by the HSUS in that fundraising scheme. The HSUS is currently under investigation by the Louisiana Attorney General for their handling of that situation and misuse of collected funds.

HSUS doesn't even operate a shelter! They DO have corporate offices in D.C. where they happily process their donations (obtained through false pretenses, it would seem) and work with lobbyists to get legislation passed that would eliminate dog breeding...one of the first steps in eliminating the ownership of animals as pets. PeTA at least has a shelter - although according to published stats they kill 83% of the animals their shelter takes in. Although keep in mind that apparently not all of the animals they pick up even make it to their shelter! Some are killed in the back of their van and dumped in the trash bins of local businesses! Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "Don't Litter", which of course is used by animal rights organizations to discourage breeding of animals!

If you are still contemplating writing that check in response to a fundraising plea from the HSUS, take into account the following quotes from Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS:

"I don't have a hands-on fondness for animals...To this day I don't feel bonded to any non-human animal. I like them and I pet them and I'm kind to them, but there's no special bond between me and other animals." quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 251.

"We have no problem with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding." quoted in Animal People, May, 1993.

When asked if he envisioned a future without pets: "If I had my personal view, perhaps that might take hold. In fact, I don't want to see another dog or cat born." Wayne Pacelle quoted in Bloodties: Nature, Culture and the Hunt by Ted Kerasote, 1993, p. 266.

I know I am putting my pen and checkbook away!