They are paranoid enough to probably require medication. They are firing people left and right, throwing volunteers out of the shelter, and posting on Facebook pages these utterly childish, transparent diatribes about how great the new board is, and how they are a model shelter.

That’s actually true…they are a model shelter if the goal is to kill animals. The proof is piling up while they circle the wagons, get rid of people who dare to tell the truth and not release one scrap of paper that the New Jersey OPRA law (their Freedom of Information act) REQUIRES them to turn over.

We still have no hint of the disposition of the 40-60 dogs and 100 or so cats that are missing. We KNOW some of them have been murdered, simply because the people that plunged the blue liquid into their healthy veins told us.

But now we finally have the answer.

I won’t print the latest statement from the Einstein Humane Society Board of Directors, but I want to share one paragraph with you:

Despite these efforts, there have been great misunderstandings. As a Board we apologize if we have not always been able to reach out and respond to the questions being asked of us every day. You have been left to wonder about things that haven’t been explained. That is not okay. We were given a very, very short deadline to ease the overcrowding which led to inhumane conditions and that has been our main focus. Our time has been spent and will continue to be focused foremost on the well-being of the animals in our care, working extensively with all the reputable animal advocates and rescue organizations that have come to our aid during this crisis.

This statement is an example of the pure evil that the Board of Liberty Humane represents. They didn’t even return calls from rescue organizations until they were forced to. We have a statement and a video from people who wanted a dog that was tested 5 times in the same day until he growled and was executed despite their pleading.

We are just now uncovering animal abuse at the shelter and we will work until the person(s) we have identified are in jail where they belong with the proof we are gathering. This is one huge, ugly onion that will eventually have the layers peeled away and the people responsible for any wrongdoing will PERSONALLY face both criminal and civil charges. They won’t hide behind the Board and they won’t escape. You have my word.

But again, we have the answer. This is just a misunderstanding.

So what is the misunderstanding? Did they take 60 dogs out for ice cream? Are the cats being used to help with a rat infestation problem somewhere?

Did they take all the animals out to the circus?

No…we know what happened to these animals. They were murdered. And the last thing some of the dogs allegedly saw was Niki Dawson spraying water in their faces and taunting them. Allegedly because “it was fun.”

I want this woman out of animal rescue. Period. And if what we’re hearing is true I want her in jail. And that’s not all. There’s much more.

So what can we do?

We need to make sure the animals that are left are safe.

We need to keep the pressure up. Keep calling. Express your outrage. Call the media.

Come to the candlelight vigil tomorrow at 5PM at the shelter. We need you.

Sign the petition on the End The Killing website and spread the word.

Call the board. Keep the pressure up:

Laura Moss, Board Member (917) 701-5160

Bonnie Yost Suozzo, Board Member (201) 330-7732

Diana Jeffrey, Board Member (973) 259-1398

Michele Perotta, Member (201) 906-9156

John Hanussak, Member (201) 985-8533

Althea Bernheim, Board Member (201) 656-0809

Niki Dawson, Executive Director 908-966-3098

Contacts:

Liberty Humane Society
board@libertyhumane.org
(201) 547-4147
lhs@libertyhumane.org

Mayor’s Office Jersey City:
Jerramiah Healy
MayorHealy@jcnj.org
Tel: (201) 547-5200
Fax: (201) 547-4288/5442

Mayor’s Office Hoboken:
Dawn Zimmer
dzimmer@hobokennj.org
Tel: (201) 420-2013 / 2018
Fax: (201) 420-2096

Office of The Attorney General
Paula T. Dow
609-292-4925
Email form: http://www.nj.gov/lps/formmail.htm

NJ Governor Chris Christie
609-292-6000
Email form: http://www.nj.gov/governor/contact/

NJ Assembly Members:
District 31
Charles Mainor
Phone: (201) 536-7851
Page for email: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=322

District 32
Joan Quigley
Phone: (201) 217-4614
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=97

District 33
Reuben J. Ramos
(201) 714-4960
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=293

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.

Doctor

Doctor was that dog you are describing. There is an intake room in the trailer with more dogs. That is where she was. Her reason was food aggression. She was a sweet dog. I never had any problem with her. I hugged her and kissed her and she never reacted in a negative way. Her tail was always wagging.

Please also see the intake card. it seems minds have been made up about this dog’s doom before the 7 day state mandated stay expired. they waited for the 8th or 9th day to kill her off.

.

Daisy

I’m not here to hate on LHS. I just want to say that what happened to Daisy is a shame. She was a great dog and She will be missed. I spent a lot of time with Daisy and I disagree with her evaluation. I witnessed a few of these evaluations first hand and the techniques that were used ie: provoking a dog untill you get your desired results, is not what I consider to be a fair evaluation.

R.I.P Daisy

Laura Shapiro Waddell I evaluated Daisy, I cannot believe she was put down, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her except for a little dog reactivity : (.

Melissa Geisler St. Hubert’s evaluations were completely unfair to the dogs. BEsides provoking them to get the reaction they were looking for they appeared to be afraid and judgmental of the dogs before even interacting with them.

.

Foxy

A sweet girl who was definitely stressed out in the kennel. She lost a lot of weight and was losing her facial hair. Passed her 1st eval failed the second.

As the ASPCA says about the SAFER test, which is the one they used to determine whether to kill these dogs, often administering the same test two or three times to get the desired result: It is important to remember that you should not use the SAFER Assessment as your only criterion in determining which dogs can be adopted into the community. Nor should it be the sole criterion in making a decision in regards to euthanasia of a particular dog. Use additional information, such as the relinquishment profile and behavior reported from shelter staff, in the decision-making process. Because no assessment is 100% reliable, it is vital to use all available information when determining which dogs can be adopted.

These are unqualified people who should not be determining which dogs live or die. We want this stopped.

As John Sibley says:

The SAFER test is designed to take about 6 minutes. 6 minutes to decide life or death. I do not know of ANY reputable trainer/behaviorist, ANYWHERE, that will go on record as saying that a single SAFER test is adequate sole screening for euthanasia, including the woman who designed it. I do not know of any one behavioral test where the designer will support its use as the sole pass/fail for death. It’s intended to find out what issues are – treating those issues is a separate discussion.

Beaumont

The person that sent me info on Beaumont described him as “my deaf furry baby.” Always sweet and barked for attention. Very mellow. They wondered why anyone would harm this special needs dog. This is just absolutely disgusting. These people have no conscience.

I am speechless.

We are morally responsible for the lives of each innocent animal soul. Even more so those animals with special needs, like Beaumont, who is deaf. He was gentle, and sweet and didn’t deserve to die. He was helpless and at their mercy. And he got none. It’s really unconscionable. And only you can stop it.

Tyson
A gentle soul that was surrendered. He was a sweetheart for sure. Passed his evaluation.

I find this truly despicable. Someone turned Tyson into the shelter. He was a senior dog, probably lost an owner and was grieving to start with (as is evidenced by the sadness on his face). The people probably chose Liberty because of the no-kill promise, and look what happened. For what?

There are plenty of senior rescues out there that could have been contacted. Susan Marino might have taken him. It really makes me angry.

.

Fuller
So you want the smoking gun? Just in case this isn’t enough for you…we have plenty more, but this is enough for today. Here is the one that made me so angry I wanted to take immediate action.

This is Fuller. He was a loveable lug. Swore he was a puppy. Passed an evaluation so thay gave him a second. He failed. Then the ASPCA gave him a third. He passed. He was then re-evaluated 2 more times the same day for food test and failed. Let’s be clear. He was given 5 evaluations, had people there that watched the evaluation and wanted the dog, and then they killed him anyway.

Here…in the couple’s own words:

When we heard that dogs were being euthanized at LHS, we went immediately to the shelter to see if we could adopt a dog and give it a loving home. I fell in love with Fuller right away. The tag on his cage said that he was Easy Going, but he liked to pull on the leash. We took him out for a walk and were hoping to take him home the same day, if not the same day than the day after, due to the necessity of him being neutered. It was then that we were told to come back in tomorrow because the dog needed to be re-evaluated (3rd evaluation).

Okay. That’s all the evidence I need. Let’s hear it Liberty Humane. One more freaking time:

Is it morally right to kill an animal when there is another alternative?

Well? Is it? What you did to Fuller and the rest of the dogs on this page is wrong.

Do you have any doubts? This should take care of them. Here’s the video of the actual evaluation of Fuller, the dog that was killed for failing his FIFTH evaluation. Listen to the evaluator that is making the video. “He’s so good. Oh my God. What a calm, wonderful dog.” How could you listen to that and not cry? Not feel a furious anger for these sociopaths that are killing animals.

Another email sums it up perfectly:

I’ve seen this and I’m speaking to people at the shelter. Yes, Nikki is a killing machine with ice in her veins. But, unfortunately, there is nothing illegal about killing a dog or cat. Call the news stations, call your city council person if you’re a Jersey City or Hoboken resident, call your Mayor if you live in either of those towns, spread the word and come to the upcoming protest. You could also foster or adopt a dog or cat. In all of the anger I think people are forgetting there are animals there that need homes.

As we’ve been saying forever, YOU are all they have. 

THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH.

Pick up the phone. Call each member of the board. Their numbers are listed below. Tell them that we want:

1. The immediate resignations of Niki Dawson and Diana Jeffrey.
2. An immediate suspension of killing at LHS.
3. A meeting between board members, Pets Alive management, representatives from both Mayor’s offices and representatives of the LHS volunteer community to
4. Devise a plan to make the shelter a true no-kill shelter. This plan will include the resignation of the entire board at a later date.

There will be no compromise and we will win. And these animals will finally be safe.

Call them all and tell them:

Laura Moss,  Board Member (917) 701-5160

Bonnie Yost Suozzo,  Board Member  (201) 330-7732

Diana Jeffrey,  Board Member (973) 259-1398

Michele Perotta, Member (201) 906-9156

John Hanussak, Member   (201) 985-8533

Althea Bernheim,  Board Member (201) 656-0809

Niki Dawson, Executive Director 908-966-3098

Here are the other numbers again:

Liberty Humane Society
board@libertyhumane.org
(201) 547-4147
lhs@libertyhumane.org

Mayor’s Office Jersey City:
Jerramiah Healy
MayorHealy@jcnj.org
Tel: (201) 547-5200
Fax: (201) 547-4288/5442

Mayor’s Office Hoboken:
Dawn Zimmer
dzimmer@hobokennj.org
Tel: (201) 420-2013 / 2018
Fax: (201) 420-2096

Office of The Attorney General
Paula T. Dow
609-292-4925
Email form: http://www.nj.gov/lps/formmail.htm

NJ Governor Chris Christie
609-292-6000
Email form: http://www.nj.gov/governor/contact/

NJ Assembly Members:
District 31
Charles Mainor
Phone: (201) 536-7851
Page for email: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=322

District 32
Joan Quigley
Phone: (201) 217-4614
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=97

District 33
Reuben J. Ramos
(201) 714-4960
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=293

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I have to say that I was disappointed to read your coverage of Liberty Humane Society.

I’m not sure where to start. First off, I am the President of Pets Alive Animal SANCTUARY in Middletown, NY and Elmsford, NY. While we are by definition a shelter, we act as a sanctuary for animals. We have been no-kill for 35 years and will continue to be.

The article characterizes the “board” of Liberty Humane Society as victims that no one will help. And Pets Alive as an out-of-state organization that is going to sue them into being no-kill.

Neither of those are in any way true.

We contacted Liberty Humane very early on in this debacle and asked how we could help. We took two dogs immediately, and I arranged with the SPCA of Connecticut for them to borrow some outdoor runs to get the dogs out of the kennels, making it unnecessary to kill them, at least for the time being.

We then offered to sit down with them and help them map out the right way to be no-kill. We can’t SUE them into being no-kill any more than they can write a 5 year plan for becoming no-kill. Either you are going to kill the animals in your care or you are not. No-kill has not failed Liberty Humane. Liberty Humane has failed no-kill, and has abdicated their moral responsibility in the stewardship of these animals.

We are talking about a comprehensive plan that includes best practices for adoptions, training, fostering, working with rescues and anything else we can think of to help them get animals out the door instead of in the ground.

The boards, past and present, are textbook examples of the mindset chronicled in Nathan Winograd’s book Redemption, where he proves a theory that the egos of boards and shelter managers are the reason dogs and cats are being killed in places like Jersey City. Why is it that no-kill has worked or is working in San Francisco, Reno, Las Vegas, St. Paul, Tomkins County, NY, Austin and individually in thousands of shelters around the world? Is Jersey City that unique? No…it just has leadership that would rather kill animals and stroke their own egos than accept being wrong and make things right.

LHS is hiding behind temperament testing as an excuse to kill dogs that could be in rescues or in homes. We’ve seen it a million times and certainly we’ve seen it before from Liberty Humane. Take a look at Moet….http://petsalive.com/moet.jpg

Moet is a senior dog (11 years old) that was deemed “aggressive” by the testers at Liberty Humane. Volunteers were outraged, and pleaded for the life of this dog. Liberty Humane refused. At the time the idiotic policy of the shelter was that “pit bulls” like Moet could only be adopted to rescues anyway. So that ensured the deaths of many of them BEFORE the temperament tests get them. A group of Pets Alive volunteers pleaded with us to take Moet, so we did. Moet was adopted a few weeks later and is still in a forever home. That picture was used for our Holiday card last year because it so perfectly depicts the love between animal and caretaker.

Where would Moet be at the hands of these people at Liberty if not for the volunteers that cared so much about the dog? DEAD…a fate that is befalling more and more animals at Liberty Humane. And that doesn’t have to be.

No-kill is what the volunteers at LHS want. It’s what the community wants. It’s the reason they got the contract from the Mayor of Hoboken. Yet they would rather kill dogs and cats.

We offered to work with them for free to come up with a plan to save the animals of Jersey City and Hoboken. We will bring in other experts where we need to, including Best Friends Animal Society, Nathan Winograd, the Tomkins County SPCA and anyone else whose advice would help make this a success. As the old adage says…if you want to be successful hang out with people who are. We are, and we can bring people to the table and work this out.

The board refused.

Someone told me that one of the board members felt like we we’re giving them an ultimatum. Actually, I guess we are. Either stop putting your own egos before your moral responsibility to those animals or get the hell off the board.

We are not going away. I have twenty or so emails from volunteers, ex- and current employees and concerned members of the community and in looking at them a pattern emerges rather quickly…Liberty Humane is disorganized, unresponsive, incompetent and hostile to those who simply ask for information or question what they do. I would be happy to share some of these with you if you wish.

In fact, until the light was shined on them, LHS was refusing to return phone calls from organizations and shelters (including ours) who wanted to take animals from the crowded cages they were stuffed into and waiting to be killed. This is not the behavior of an organization dedicated to the lives of these animals.

Pets Alive has put LHS on notice that we’re watching. We, unlike them, are listening to their volunteers and employees and even the Mayor(s) who trust them with their constituents’ animals. They want transparency. They want to know about the disposition of specific animals. They want cogently articulated policy on which animals are being killed, and they want to know when an animal is about to be killed so they can work with rescues to commute that death sentence, even if LHS won’t. All of this information is arguably required to be provided by New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA). We are collecting the requests that they have not responded to, and we may consider a class action lawsuit to get the information on behalf of the citizens of New Jersey who want to know. Those are the kinds of lawsuits we are contemplating.

It’s about right and wrong. Killing these animals when there is another alternative is wrong.

——————
Tomorrow we are going to step up the pressure and work harder to get the word out. Please help.

Matt

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We have all heard the story of Liberty Humane.  Those who don’t believe in No-Kill are saying that their attempt to be No-Kill was what caused the horrible conditions the animals are enduring.  Uh.  No.  The idiots that RAN the shelter, regardless of their intentions are the ones who caused the suffering.  Philosophies don’t kill — people do.

So now Liberty Humane has an “interim board,” the members of this board they refuse to identify.  I am curious about who appointed or elected these board members, as if everyone on the old board resigned who can elect them?  Hmmm.  That could make their actions at best unauthorized and at worst illegal.  But more about that later.

So I spoke to one member of this anonymous board.  She said there was overcrowding.  I offered some temporary housing from the Connecticut SPCA to alleviate that issue.  She said they would talk about it.  I also offered to send a team down there to help get the animals identified and out to rescues.  They made it clear that they weren’t interested in our help.  They were friendly but firm.

I got wind that they were calling in the ASPCA and St. Huberts to start doing behavior testing on the dogs.  This is code for finding excuses to tag dogs for killing.  It’s clear that the “interim board” wants to alleviate the overcrowding by killing the animals in their care.

So the basic tenets of Oreo’s Law keep echoing in my head:

Is it right to kill an animal when there is another alternative?

So Nikki Dawson, who may or may not be on the board, is probably illegally making decisions on which dogs get killed.  And her answer is all of them.  Here is an email I got from one of the volunteers there:

Important shit is getting deleted from the lhs facebook page. it’s imperative people know what’s going on, but all the “moderators” drank the koolaid.

They tried to euthanize chase. they brought him to the room, he dropped to the floor, and wouldn’t budge. they couldn’t physically pull him into the room to do it. so he spared himself, maybe for only a day or two, but he needs help NOW.

There is another dog fuller. i evaluated him with andy the first time. i can vouch for this dog myself, this is not hearsay. he has a couple that wants to adopt him since thursday. they have been coming in every day since then. he passed our eval with flying colors. niki “re-evaluated” him and made him fail. we made a big stink about it and he was re-evaluated again, twice. st huberts failed him, but barely, and then ASPCA came in and did the proper evaluation and he passed. the people were told to come back today. niki did the evaluation again…IN THE SHELTER LOBBY…and failed him. it’s supposed to be done outside to be fair to the dog, she doesn’t care.

There were 5 or 6 other people/couples that wanted to adopt dogs on thursday before friday’s inspection. THEY WERE TURNED DOWN! because niki has her own agenda and wanted to “re-evaluate” all the dogs. andy and other people have been doing evaluations there for how long? and they have had how many successful adoptions? this woman’s magic number is 40…and she won’t stop until it’s reached.

Niki told an employee she doesn’t care what they (ASPCA) say, because she’s going to put dogs down anyway.

There is much more going on that you know, or than anyone will admit to you. they have been euthanizing a lot of dogs, most of which are adoptable.

THIS IS NOT RIGHT! please, we need your help.

there is no transparency with the board, they just threw that word out to give people a sense of false hope, and get them off their backs.

these are not rumors. this is the shit that’s happening at our shelter.

I have had it folks.  Loyal supporters and animal activists.  I am done.  I want an example made of Nikki, the rest of the so-called Board, and everyone else responsible for killing these animals when they could have gone to rescue.

We are looking into lawsuits against the organization, the people on the board, the towns who contract with the shelter and allow this to happen, and anyone else we can come up with.  We have a great legal team that specializes in animal law and we are going to set things right.

Nikki and her team have anonymously decided to kill these animals while putting up a public front of trying to get them adopted in hopes that that will be a defense in court.  It’s not going to be.  I want Nikki Dawson out of the animal welfare business and I want the people hiding behind the anonimity of this board crap to pay with their own money for the illegal and immoral things they have done.

Think I’m overreacting?  Here’s an email received by an organization with which we work closely:

I’m a volunteer at Liberty Humane Society in Jersey City and I’m trying to save dogs life who suppose to be euthanized this week. They are the victims of our new board members who decide who goes and who stay. It is not fare because we know this dogs better then them and we dint have anything to say about it. In past 2 weeks they put to sleep over 20 dogs from which most of them were adoptable…Why you might ask because they did not pass the evaluation which was not handle properly. When they were evaluating them they wanted them to fall so they did everything they could to push these dogs buttons. Right now we have 17 dogs who are on the list to be put to sleep which includes few who will be allowed to go to the rescues:

Krugman is an older gentleman. He has had a very rough life and does not get along well with other dogs. He was probably taught this behavior. He has no aggression towards people. He is a shelter favorite and has been walked by many people over the last few months. THE SHELTER WANTS TO PUT HIM DOWN. The are no long…er allowing him to be taken out of his cage which will make him go “CAGE CRAZY”. This dog does not need more abuse in his life.

Or Fendi a 6 moths old puppy who failed the evaluation because  she was not social ( meaning she was more interested in everything around her then in peopel)  noone ever though her manners and this can be fixed
Also another puppy Mouse why she failed we volounteers dont really know. But just like Fendi she just need to be discipline and it will help to solve their issues.

fuller is a sweet energetic mush that wants to have constant body contact with you. he has had adopters fighting for him since thursday, august 19th (the day before what was supposed to be a state inspection). his adopters have been given the run around because of his resource guarding, even though proper training can alleviate the problem. His evaluation stated social with people and enjoys handling, easily aroused during play (concerning given his size), social with dogs, bit Assess-a-Hand over food and chew.

I know that we dont suppose to have our favourites in the shelter so we will not get attach to them but you just can not help yourself. His name is Chase and he is a boxer mix…when he came to the shelter he was urinating poore blood so right now he is ona special diet. He passed the evaluaion when the old board did it right after he came in the shelter. two weeks ago when i was in the sheter with another volounteer who wanted to foster him  they evaliuated him and he failed  with food aggresion. we were both there watching and he did not failed normal food, when they gave him a tasty pig ear that is when he growled. he did not snap!!!

and of course he will be protected of ear pig because he never gets this thinkgs because of his diet. That same day when they were taking him to Put him to sleep he colapsed on the floor, he did not want to go there so their spared his life. He is still in the shelter marked as red( staff only) so we can not take him out anymore he is just looking at us with his eyes and you can see the sadnes in his face, he knows whats awaiting him. They did not put him to sleep becasue we are fighting for him but his days are numbered. We need to find a rescue quick who can take him out and give him a chance. he is a great dog who will lay on the floor all day long for you to pet him.

Please help us…..take one of them if you can..if not repost it everywhere you can… if you know someone who can take one of them please help save our babies from being murdered.

MURDER.  That’s exactly what it is.  The blood of these animals is on Nikki Dawson’s hands and the hands of the cowards on the “board” that will let this happen.  The mayors of Jersey City and Hoboken have blood on their hands too.

Go ahead supporters of the killing — I dare you.  Say “what has Pets Alive done to help?”  We are willing to help. We are willing to rope Best Friends into helping us go down there and show them how to make No-Kill work.  It works.  We can prove it all over the country.  But that’s for later.

Help us stop the murdering of these animals.

Contacts:

Liberty Humane Society
board@libertyhumane.org
(201) 547-4147
lhs@libertyhumane.org

Mayor’s Office Jersey City:
Jerramiah Healy
MayorHealy@jcnj.org
Tel: (201) 547-5200
Fax: (201) 547-4288/5442

Mayor’s Office Hoboken:
Dawn Zimmer
dzimmer@hobokennj.org
Tel: (201) 420-2013 / 2018
Fax: (201) 420-2096

Office of The Attorney General
Paula T. Dow
609-292-4925
Email form: http://www.nj.gov/lps/formmail.htm

NJ Governor Chris Christie
609-292-6000
Email form: http://www.nj.gov/governor/contact/

NJ Assembly Members:
District 31
Charles Mainor
Phone: (201) 536-7851
Page for email: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=322

District 32
Joan Quigley
Phone: (201) 217-4614
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=97

District 33
Reuben J. Ramos
(201) 714-4960
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/members/BIO.asp?Leg=293

Let’s do something about this! Call and email.

Liberty has been sanitizing their Facebook pages of the truth. Here is a special page set up for people who want to tell the REAL story.

Jersey people especially. These animals don’t have to die.

——————
Update:

Just got this from the Mayor of Hoboken:

Mr. DeAngelis,

Mayor Zimmer

If you talk to the Mayor’s office, thank her. This is the mayor of HOBOKEN remember. And tell her where she can find the truth.

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Ellie Mae, Bono, Cassidy, Baby, Jupiter, Martha, Sabella, Prince Charming, Newton, Sophie, Lucky, Lexie, Aurora, Tyler, Bashful, Mouse, Doc, Charlie, Bruce, Ariel, James, Elmo, Barry, Sabella again, Justice, Founder, Bailey, Sleepy, Peaceful, Faith, Merlin, Jake, Bugsy, Friend, Belle, Oliver, Rex, Badger, Mack, Hildie, Rigby, Spooner, Grumpy, Taffy, Corey, Diesel, Elsie, Molly, Macouns, Danielle, Muffin, Lucy, Roxanne, Roxy, Patches, Ludo, Sesame, Aurora again, Sniffer, Foreman, Archie, Skid, Aragon, Arwyn, Eagle, Happy, Dopey, Sneezy, Spike, Norman, Freebie, Jeremiah, Bianca, Buddy, Corky, Bo Peep, Tracker, Sophie again, Noah, Sarah, Harvey, Belle, Independence, Gus, Jewel, Sadie, Aspen, BooBoo, Angelica, Bartholomew, Chloe, Bryan, Sprocket, Dexter, Jake, Squiggles, Snickle, Mate, Bono again, Lady, Tori, Gabriel, Cherish, Bonita, Milo, Fred, Blossom, Mo Mo, Emma, Betty, Tucker, Franklin, Tater, Pookie, April, August, Wrinkles, Jade, Stryker, Scout, Timber, Ellie Mae again, Laurel, Becky, Ebbie, Image, Princess, Tyler – plus another 32 beagles that we didn’t get in our system yet, so I don’t have their names to list here….but we adopted a total of 160 dogs. Wow. It sure has been a whirlwind!

We also adopted out five cats! Handsome, Delilah, Alex, Max, and Duffy went home, and two goats. So, all told, 167 animals went home in 43 days.

Intakes:

Since July fourth we took in 88 beagles (as you should all know about by now!), 1 dog from Maryland who had a shattered pelvis, 31 from S.C., 8 from VA, 5 from N.C., 2 from AK, 1 from GA, 1 from Puerto Rico, 1 from PA, 6 local surrenders, 4 cats from D.C. that were at the No-Kill Conference we went to and needed rescue, one local cat that was a stray and had severe burns on it’s body, four kittens that were motherless some very ill (one passed away), 5 kittens that were abandoned but saved by a kind local family, six local cats from another shelter, and an adult cat that was a stray and saved by a local family. This was a crazy month for cat intakes and I can’t even tell you how many we had to say no to. It’s awful. Please…spay and neuter your pets or if you see stray cats – pick them up, bring them somewhere to get fixed, or we’ll never see the end to this. Everyone has to step up and start to help these animals. Please consider being a person that will go that extra mile and make a difference. “Be the change you want to see.”

General Updates:

We had to say goodbye to Amanda, one of our very elderly cats. She had been sick on and off for some time and finally she stopped eating, went into organ failure and we had to let her go. It was a sad day for all of us as Amanda has been at Pets Alive longer than any of us, and we are both saddened by the loss of her and saddened that she would die HERE without a home. She was very much loved, however, and everyone misses her greatly.

We are extending our adoption hours! We are now going to be open seven days a week between 11-4 for adoptions and also on Tuesday and Thursday nights until 8 PM! Thanks to Sue Bagley for taking on the night and Sunday hours. Erica has also taken over adoptions onsite (and doing a great job!) and Kerri is focusing on handling all the intakes and is also going to help revamp and help manage adoptions at the Elmsford Shelter…so she is going to be really busy in the coming months. If you would like to volunteer to be an adoption assistant, please email adoptions@petsalive.com and we will put you to work!

Most of you know that Pets Alive has merged with the Elmsford Animal Shelter. They are now known as Pets Alive West. It will likely be a year or so before they are totally up to speed and doing intakes and adoptions but right now our focus is to help them place some of the animals there. Their numbers are overwhelming with almost 600 cats and 300 dogs, but once we get the numbers down, this facility will be a huge asset to Pets Alive for growth, expansion, fund raising and doing mass rescues and also mass rehab for dogs that need it. It will be a while before we are at that point but for now we’re working hard to train staff, adopt out the animals or find good placements for them. If you’re close to Elmsford and would like to volunteer there, feel free to check out their website petsalivewest.org and get more details!

Pets Alive has bought a bus! We are really excited about this purchase and the plan is to use it for mass rescues, offsite adoption events, and eventually when our medical building is built to transport animals to and from the facility for other no-kill rescues. This was really a much needed purchase and we can’t wait to get it wrapped. Err….until we looked at the price for that. Anyone know some animal-loving charitable people that also just HAPPEN to have a company that can do bus wrapping? If so please contact us and let us know so we can beg them to help us. Or if you’re a company and might be interested in sponsoring our bus we’re all ears and tails! Drop us a line!

Beaglemania has also completely wrapped up. Out of the 90 beagles we took here, we have three left that are still looking for homes. Please consider welcoming one of them into your home. They are the sweetest dogs, and most have been reported to be house broken and quiet. It has been a joy to be the instrument of their freedom and we look very forward to seeing them again at future alumni reunions. Click the image play a video slideshow of the beagle rescue!

This month the directors, Matt and Kerry attended the No-Kill Conference in Washington D.C. It was a huge success and we left feeling very excited for the future of no-kill in the U.S. as well as filled with great ideas for the future of Pets Alive and for Pets Alive West. We also made some great connections and met some wonderful (and influential) people. It was a great experience. You don’t have to be part of a rescue group to attend. Many people were not – just people wanting to make a difference and to learn HOW. We strongly urge youall to attend next year if you can. It is well worth the trip to met the leaders of no-kill and see how we can all change things in our own communities for the better.

If you haven’t been to Pets Alive recently, stop by. We have almost all our new fencing up. All the old dog runs have been ripped out and replaced with gorgeous new runs, each with an igloo (we’re a little short though on igloos), a doggie pool, kuranda beds and pea gravel. They are gorgeous. This new area will be called Camp Tyler and we’ll tell you more about that soon. New airlock fencing has also been installed and we are in the process of also installing new fencing in the play yard. It’s really looking good around here! Well. It WAS. Until we handed out a big bag of dog toys and SOME dogs decided to decorate their own runs. Hmmm.

Medical Updates or Issues: (Written by Janet)

Skipper–With beagle mania coming to a close, we have only three beagles left looking for their forever homes. One such beagle named “Skipper” came to us with a cherry eye. Cherry eye is simply a prolapse of the gland of the third eyelid. It is fairly common especially in certain breeds. Depending of the severity, it may be only a cosmetic issue. Skipper’s cherry eye is indeed purely cosmetic but to those who are unfamiliar, they initially think the worst. For people who are bothered by the appearance, there is a quick surgical procedure to tack the gland back down in place. Typically a vet would wait to perform the ‘tacking’ when and if the animal would need another anesthetic procedure performed (such as a dental). Skipper is very healthy and loving and waiting for that special family who doesn’t mind if he simply ‘looks’ a bit different.

Maggie—is another new acquisition. She is a middle-aged female pit bull who not only has heartworm and a heart murmur, but has two bad knees (and mange!). The girl just didn’t get any breaks in life. With all that is going on with her medically, we are restricted with what medication and procedures can be done. The good thing is that pain meds are keeping her apparently pain-free and she will be seeing our orthopedic surgeon to see if anything can be done surgically to repair her knee damage. She is such a docile dog, who is content to just rest quietly on her comforter in the kitchen.

Doc—our super sweet yet super hyper escape artist has done it again! About two weeks back Doc decided that his outdoor enclosure (which had a top on it) was not the place he wanted to be. So he SOMEHOW squeezed his body through the 4” by 6” openings of the roof! Luckily he loves people so much that he doesn’t wander far. But even when placed in an indoor kennel, he attempted to do the same and each time he would slightly injure himself. We had to place Doc in a cage in the grooming room (which surprisingly he didn’t mind). During Doc’s adventures he managed to rip off a few nails at their base! One was even still hanging and needed to be pulled off. After his wounds were cleaned and he was placed on antibiotics and pain meds, he rested calmly and comfortably in his cage. This past week though, we decided to try Doc outside again (cautiously!) by watching him during the day and bringing him back inside at night. This plan was working very well until a couple days back when we went to retrieve Doc for the night. As we stepped outside the kennel door, we could see Doc’s kennel in the distance, with Doc almost completely out the top! We went running!

By the time we got to him, he somehow shimmied across Rem’s enclosure and decided to drop into Leo’s run. For those that don’t know Leo, he is a caution dog! He is NOT friendly to other dogs. My stomach turned. Lucky for Doc, Leo was slowly investigating his new cagemate when Rem decided to engage Leo in a fence fight. The fight was enough of a distraction that we could grab Doc out without Doc (or any human) getting injured. So NOW Doc is residing back in the grooming room. Today (during the day with staff present) Doc was placed in a different outdoor run with a cagemate. We are all hoping that living with another dog will help limit his self-destructive tendencies. He is a wonderfully sweet dog, who simply has had it with living life at the shelter and really wants to find a family to love.

Charity—Our beautiful Momma dog who was saved in March from the West Virginia hoarding situation, is finally completely free of the ten puppies she gave birth to in May (in fact, the pups are now all in loving homes). She was the most terrific mother and was extremely self-sufficient, but when the pups were all completely weaned, poor Charity developed mastitis. She was painful and pus-ridden. She had a high fever and lacked her normal appetite. Luckily Jan, one of our wonderful volunteers, noticed the first signs of distress as she took Charity for an overnight. We were then able to quickly address her medical needs. Antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and expressing the pus-filled teats (for a few days) did the trick. Within two days, she was the normal bubbly Charity that the staff all loves. And now that she is no longer sick or nursing pups, she is friendly to everyone and not just the people she knows well.

Kiche—is a petite little mixed breed sweetheart who was brought back to Pets Alive as Kerry and Matt returned from the no-kill conference. She supposedly had a broken pelvis and that with strict cage rest (for four weeks) she should make a complete recovery. The thing we didn’t realize was just how dainty and adorable she was going to be! Honestly, for a dog to have to stay in a crate for that long, Kiche is very well behaved. She is housebroken and will whine when she needs to go out. We were able to track down copies of Kiche’s x-rays from Baltimore and send them to our orthopedic surgeon. He confirmed her diagnosis of a fractured pubis and stated that indeed a minimum of 4-6 weeks of STRICT cage rest, should allow Kiche to heal as needed. Now it’s simply a matter of ignoring that sad little beautiful face when she tries to convince you that she wants to hang out outside of her cage. But it’s for the best. And before long, she’ll be making some family very happy.

Romeo—is a handsome outgoing bassett hound that arrived from South Carolina last weekend. Not only did he arrive with common yeast-filled ears, but his eyes were extremely inflamed. We flushed out his eyes and placed him on some steroid drops. We also now have him on Benadryl to rule out allergies. Bassett hounds tend to be breed in which allergies are very common (both environmental and food-related). We may also switch his diet but in the mean time, we will continue to monitor the efficacy of the Benadryl.

Natalia—is our old semi-feral cat who has a personality all of her own. As stated in other updates, Natalia is one of our original cats, who has a history of inflammatory bowel disease. Recently while trying to get her diarrhea back under control (thanks to Marcy for making special home cooked diet!) we decided to have blood drawn and sent to the lab. We realized that Natalia is very old and has had a history of chronic ailments so we were not going to be entirely surprised to see certain values elevated. The results showed that one of her white blood cell levels are high, and her kidney values are starting to elevate. All in all though, the staff believes that she is looking improved (since her gut is becoming more normal). Who would feel well if they are experiencing chronic diarrhea? We administer sub-q fluids regularly which we will continue to do. There is no way to make Natalia a kitten again, but making her as comfortable as possible is what we are trying to do. She now lives in Marcy’s office with her best feline friend Murphy. This way not only can she receive the fluids she needs, but we can make certain she is eating her specific food.

Barnyard Updates:

Our two baby goats have been adopted! This is one of our secrets — bring the most adorable animals we have to a vet that has a weakness for that particular animal and VOILA! ADOPTED! This was our plan – I mean this is what accidentally happened – with Dr. Zgoda of Otterkill Animal Hospital. We know he LOVES goats and so we asked if he could neuter them for us. We had NO INTENTION of trying to get him to adopt them (wink). But, it was so weird! When they were ready to come back he thought he might keep them an extra few days to make sure they were ok, and then it turned out to be a few weeks and we all stayed very quiet and didn’t call or show up to pick them up and then we got this reluctant email from him that they had now fully ensconced themselves into his herd and he was totally smitten with them, so he needed to fill out our adoption paperwork. How odd! Oh well. Funny how that happened, isn’t it? But, well, however it happened our two baby goats are now adopted into a GREAT home with free medical care for the rest of their lives! Funny how things work out. (Good job Janet!!!!)

Cat Update:

This month we got a sad phone call and follow-up email. Some people had found a cat that was horribly burned around its neck. It was late at night so they called the 24 hour emergency vet and was told it would be $300 for the examination not counting additional costs. They could not afford it and so sent out a desperate plea to us and tried to make the cat as comfortable as they could for the rest of the night. Another reason why a medical center here that could help the public would be so beneficial to the community! When we met the cat we were to name Zeus, we were very saddened by the blistering and oozing burns on his neck.

He was rushed right down to Dr. Furman who advised these were chemical burns, but that Zeus would be just fine, once healed. They sedated him, debrided his wounded area and wrapped him up. He has turned out to be one of the nicest cats we’ve ever had. Full of affection and love and sweetness. Even though he was in a lot of pain he didn’t try to bite us or scratch us. He seemed to know we were trying to help. We’re really happy that he is doing so well and can’t wait to find him the wonderful home that he deserves.

Upcoming Events or Fundraisers

• Gold’s Gym Aug 21. Dog Walkers Warm-up – details to follow – just leave the date open!
• SUMMER SPRUCE UP DAY, Saturday August 21 beginning at 10am
• SINGLES MEET-UP for Pets Alive Volunteers, Sunday August 22 Noon to 3pm.
• Camp Tyler Dedication and Starfish Award, Sept 3, 11-3
• PetsMart National Adoption Weekend in Middletown, NY on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 10,11,&12
• Monroe Cheese Festival in Monroe, NY on Saturday September 11
• “Will Spay Pets” Benefit Car Show in Montgomery, NY on Sunday, September 12
• Authors After Dark Convention in Secaucus, NJ on Saturday September 18
• POOCHAPALOOZA (K104.7) in Montgomery, NY on Saturday, September 25
• Waterview Dog Show (Waterview Hills Rehabilitation and Nursing Center) in Purdy’s, NY on Sunday, September 26

Thank you’s

Thank you again to Scott Bergman Photography for some GREAT shots of our dogs. We really think that the pictures we have on Petfinder done by Scott and Becky and Lisa are the reason we get so many dogs adopted. Thank you guys!

We’d also like to thank the “Kids of Garth Road” in Scarsdale who made over $430 in two hours with their lemonade stand! They were amazing! It was over 100 degrees that day and they did a great job for us. Thanks kids!

We’d very much like to thank Mary and Bill for redoing our senior room. It is now the adoption room and we should be moving in sometime this weekend. It is the most gorgeous room at Pets Alive now with delicate blues and warm inviting whites. Thank you both so much for the tremendous effort you put into that! We LOVE it! Thanks to 4H Group Karyna,Victor, Maya, Carmin, & chaperones Terry, Roxann, and Jocelyn. The kids decorate boxes and get businesses to allow them in the community (Gold’s Gym & Heritage Feed – thank you!). Also thanks to Oak Grove Elementary School. Kayla, Julia, and Rodina chose Pets Alive to collect donations for, and even made it a competition between classrooms, the one who collected the most items was rewarded with a pizza party. These 3 girls dropped off all the donations including food, animal carriers and blankets as well as $143. Thank you Oak Grove! Thank you also to Evan W. and Lily P. You can read what they did for Pets Alive in our blog.

Our mission is to improve the lives of companion animals everywhere by any means possible, including rescue, adoption, advocacy, collaboration, intervention and education. Please consider making a donation to help us.

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The No-Kill Conference was overflowing with people who have actually DONE it…actually taken their major city or metropolitan area from killing animals to NOT killing animals. One of my favorite parts of the No-Kill Conference was Nathan Winograd (“New York doesn’t NEED a Nathan Winograd” – Jane Hoffman) asking speaker after speaker “After you decided not to kill animals anymore, how long did it take to become no kill.” This confused most of the people he asked. “Uh…it was instant.” “One day.” “That same day.”

Jane Hoffman and the Mayor’s Alliance and the organizations who are reliant on the money that comes from the Mayor’s Alliance (Maddie’s Fund money) have been at this for YEARS and the CACC still reportedly kills at least a thousand animals A MONTH.

That means that at the CACC alone they kill three times as many animals in a year as my entire state (Connecticut) does.

If you want to see all the arguments the other side has for continuing to kill animals, I am reproducing an email we received recently. Embedded in this email are all the arguments the Mayor’s Alliance and the ASPCA are using to keep Oreo’s bill from passing and to keep control over the lives of the animals in New York city, deciding who will live and who will die. Please read through the email and we’ll talk about it afterword. It is actually in response to my blog Best Friends Welcome to New York. Here it is:

This sour grapes is astonishing.

Or maybe it isn’t….maybe its just sad.

I work with a no Kill rescue that pulls and places over 600 NYC Companion animals every year with just a handful of volunteers.

And frankly, I wouldn’t leave a rescued hamster at Pet’s Alive. It was a horrific hoarding facility before BF spent all that time and money in rehabilitating not only the facilities, but the hoarding mindset that was entrenched there. The especially painful thing is that Pets Alive has reverted to some really awful practices that lead to death after death of the animals in their care….all while they point fingers at other shelters that do their killing more honestly and directly. But dudes, death is death. And withholding medical care from sick animals in your care is imposing a truly horrific death on those poor captive animals.

Which I guess is why, rather than keep on watching cats in your care die of stress induced dehydration and anorexia, you are implementing the release NON FERAL domesticated cats (most of whom have been living in cages for years and have no survival skills) out into….well, the streets, basically.

Nice job! You don’t have to take direct responsibility for the deaths, but you wash your hands of the responsibility.

Watching the battle between you and Mayor’s Alliance is like watching two pigs in the mud calling each other “dirty”.

I can’t fault Best Friends for wanting to distance themselves from the failure they had in getting you guys to do the right thing.

Since Oreo’s law would have forced the city to hand over dogs and cats to facilities like yours, I was against it as well. And, as I said, I work with an exclusively no kill rescue. None of the local NK rescuers I know feel any differently than I do, about Oreo’s law, nor about Pet’s Alive.

The national PR campaign has been brilliantly run, however. I have to give you that.

Arguments against Oreo’s Law and against no kill in general can be distilled into the following:

1. Why can’t we all just get along? So we see things a little differently (we want to kill animals and you don’t). Stop pointing that out to everyone. We are supposed to be in this together. I actually had someone tell me at the no-kill conference that “we are on the same team.” I said “Really? I’m on the team that doesn’t kill animals. What team are you on?”

2. You suck. You are hoarders, crazy people, idiots, bullies, terrorists, Republicans. And everyone knows it.

3. You’re just doing this for your own gain. You just want publicity, money, recognition, etc. What we find really ironic is that this is usually said by people who take donations from people and then pay themselves salaries of several hundred thousand dollars.

4. We know better than you. Who do you think you are, daring to suggest that there is a better alternative than killing? This usually starts with some inflated credentials of the person making the excuse and then is normally followed by excuse 2 – You suck.

5. We don’t kill animals — we end their lives. This was started by an HSUS killing technician that was giving a killing seminar at one of their conferences. The idea is that the kill shelters do the best killing, but it’s not really killing. It’s helping healthy, adoptable animals by ending their lives. That’s not a joke.

6. Moral relativism. Some animals are better off dead. One animal’s life is more valuable than another’s. And they are definitely better off dead than with you.

Notice something very important. All the arguments are about either US or THEM. They are not about the animals and their lives.

So let’s analyze this email using those arguments.

This sour grapes is astonishing.

So I’m confused already, and I’m 5 words in. Sour grapes? Aside from the fact that this person is leading their debate argument with a hackneyed cliche, where are the sour grapes? Sour grapes is an expression originating from the Aesop Fable The Fox and the Grapes. It refers to envious behavior, especially pretending to not care for something one does not or cannot have.

What are we envious of? Best Friends? The Mayor’s Alliance? Hardly. I’m guessing this is a combination of excuses 1 – Why can’t we just get along and 2 – You suck.

I work with a no Kill rescue that pulls and places over 600 NYC Companion animals every year with just a handful of volunteers.

Uh oh. Credentials are being whipped out. Expect the one two punch…excuse 4 – We know better followed by excuse 2 – You suck.

And frankly, I wouldn’t leave a rescued hamster at Pet’s Alive. It was a horrific hoarding facility before BF spent all that time and money in rehabilitating not only the facilities, but the hoarding mindset that was entrenched there.

Bang…there it is. Textbook. We suck. And I don’t even know where to start. Just look at this sentence, the terrible sentence structure and use and the pretzel logic that ties itself up into knots. I understand why this person would go out of his or her way to mask their identity. Wow.

1. What’s your beef with hamsters? Made me think of PJ and the Empty Cages Collective. They SAVE hamsters.

2. It was a “horrific hoarding facility.” Facilities can’t hoard. Yes…Sara Whalen in the last few years of her life, developed brain cancer and things went downhill. And yes, BF did spend that time and money “rehabilitating” the place. I’m not sure how you rehab the mindset of a dead person…Ouija board? Seance? Channeling?

Okay, so this person sets it up that Best Friends “fixed” the hoarding problem, right?

The especially painful thing is that Pets Alive has reverted to some really awful practices that lead to death after death of the animals in their care….all while they point fingers at other shelters that do their killing more honestly and directly.

We have? What practices would those be? How many animals have we killed? Death after death? Wow…someone needs to fill me in. Ready folks? Here’s a statistic for you. Since Kerry and I took over, here are the number of animals euthanized that weren’t suffering:

0. Zilch. None. Nada.

So I ask this person to come forward and provide the proof to back up the statements. This is, of course, excuse 2 – You suck with a little of 4 – We know better. But to be fair, we have made baseless anonymous accusations against organizations that are definitely actionable (that means can be sued over). Oh wait…that would be YOU.

I want you all to pay very close attention to the end of this paragraph. This is 5 – We don’t kill – we end lives rearing it’s ugly head. Can you possibly imagine someone making the argument that they kill better than we do? That’s exactly what this says: shelters that do their killing more honestly and directly. That’s what we want to fight for…honest and direct killing. Sigh. We’re not even in the same universe here, let alone on the same planet.

And withholding medical care from sick animals in your care is imposing a truly horrific death on those poor captive animals.

Which I guess is why, rather than keep on watching cats in your care die of stress induced dehydration and anorexia, you are implementing the release NON FERAL domesticated cats (most of whom have been living in cages for years and have no survival skills) out into….well, the streets, basically.

Huh? We do what now? We withhold medical care from sick animals? That would come as a surprise to Janet, our medical liason, and to the cadre of vets we paid $150,000 to last year to care for our animals. It’s on the 990. See for yourself.

And we’re what? Releasing domesticated cats on to the streets? We are? Where and when? Let’s see one shred of evidence of any of this.

Yawn.

My mind wandered as I was reading this prattle and for some reason I thought of the scene in Ghostbusters (one of the greatest New York City movies of all time) when Bill Murray is trying to convince the mayor that there are some serious problems coming:

Dr. Peter Venkman: Or you can accept the fact that this city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, “biblical”?
Dr. Raymond Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor– real wrath-of-God type stuff! Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky! Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes…
Winston Zeddmore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!

Nice job! You don’t have to take direct responsibility for the deaths, but you wash your hands of the responsibility.

Huh? What deaths? Who’s hands?

Watching the battle between you and Mayor’s Alliance is like watching two pigs in the mud calling each other “dirty”.

I can’t fault Best Friends for wanting to distance themselves from the failure they had in getting you guys to do the right thing.

We’re fighting with the Mayor’s Alliance? Where? And again…first hamsters then pigs. What’s your beef with pigs now?

Best Friends is distancing itself from a failure? They are? So that was a DIFFERENT Best Friends we worked with to save 120 Beagles on Independence Day? You know, the video that was viewed by 50,000 people? If you combined ALL of your loyal supporters of all time, supporters who believe in you and sustain you and spend their hard earned time and toil to help you, would it add up to anywhere near 50,000?

Since Oreo’s law would have forced the city to hand over dogs and cats to facilities like yours, I was against it as well. And, as I said, I work with an exclusively no kill rescue. None of the local NK rescuers I know feel any differently than I do, about Oreo’s law, nor about Pet’s Alive.

A-HA! So here we are at the core of this “argument.”

That paragraph encapsulates just about all the excuses above. We suck. They know better which lives should be saved and some animals are better off dead then with us.

Oh and by the way…all of the NK rescues agree. ALL of them? In the whole state or city of NY? Does that include the ones that call us every day and beg us to take their animals? The ones like Empty Cages Collective and the many, many others we work so well with? Or does it really just include YOU and the other stooges that need the money that is on the table more than you need to stick to your ethics and your morality?

That’s ok. We’ll do it without you.

So…who wrote this? Honestly I really don’t care. It’s someone who doesn’t have the stones to identify themselves. Someone who has used an email address that appears nowhere else on the Internet. This is basically an anti Pets Alive rant. And it’s not even original. At first I thought it was the nutjob we had to throw out of the cat house because he was, well, crazy. But there are too many big words and not enough grammatical errors.

I traced the IP address to a Roadrunner POP on 89th St. between 2nd and 3rd. Interestingly enough that’s where the ASPCA’s Roadrunner would terminate, as well as a building on 83rd St. that houses Blackstone Investments, where Jane Hoffman’s husband works and an address with which her name is connected. Hmmm. (I’ve been doing this since 1993. I will always find a thread to tug on.)

Here is my challenge to the writer of this letter. I will have them picked up in the city and driven to Pets Alive. Nice town car. They can sit in the back and be a big shot.

They can get the tour and they can present the evidence of all the accusations they have made.

That day they can either apologize and start working with us to end the killing of animals in New York, or we will admit that they are right.

Easy deal. Never happen. I’ve made it a dozen or so times and not a single person would take it. I’ll even throw in a network camera crew to film the entire event. If “all the groups in New York” agree, then all of you should get together and take me up on the offer. You can get rid of us once and for all. Yeah. I thought so.

So let’s get to the important part of this blog. How to counter these arguments. These arguments are non-sensical and designed as sleight of hand to move the debate away from the facts and on to us. That’s called ad hominem, which means insulting or belittling one’s opponent in order to invalidate their argument.

So how do you invalidate these arguments? Simple…

Keep the Oreo’s Law argument as a debate about right and wrong.

Here:

Opponent: Well, Pets Alive is Satan. Living and breathing and walking the earth.
You: Do you think it’s right to kill an animal when there is another alternative?

Bang. Right between the eyes. That’s all this debate is.

It’s about what’s right. It’s about saving the lives of animals. When they use scare tactics get them to admit they believe only THEY know what’s good for these animals. Good equals right. So killing them is sometimes RIGHT.

NEVER. Killing an animal when there is another alternative is WRONG. That resonates time and time again. It’s, like Oreo, black and white. Simple. All the smoke and mirrors in the world will never change that. Oreo is NOT better off dead. She is better off in a brand new run with our trained employees and volunteers caring for her and loving her. But she’s dead. So she can never get better. Killing her was WRONG.

Morally WRONG. And you have not only the right but the OBLIGATION to point that out. Don’t let them bully you.

What I find absolutely fascinating about the other side saying that only THEY know which organizations are best for these animals is language that a horder would use to justify hoarding. Just for giggles I included the language from the New York City Bar Association, one of Jane Hoffman’s puppet organizations that outlines some of the reasons Oreo’s Law could never work below:

The Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Inc., founded in 2002, is a coalition of more than 160 animal rescue groups and shelters that are working with the City of New York to place shelter animals. The groups and shelters are vetted and meet minimal requirements. The Mayor’s Alliance reports that 1,500-1,700 animals each month in New York City alone are sent to rescues by Animal Care & Control.

The Proposed Legislation may well undermine a collaboration already working to save New York City’s animals. It would be advisable to evaluate whether similar collaborations or transfer arrangements exist or could be established in New York State before passing legislation that does not require and enforce standards for humane care and treatment or otherwise establish that the 501(c)(3) is indeed a “responsible” and reputable” alternative.

Hoarders. Hmmm. Only they know who is responsible and reputable, and saving more animals will undermine their coalition who have taken eight years and need another five to solve the problem other communities have solved instantly. There’s a word for that…failure.

Fight for Oreo and the other innocents who will lose their lives because of people who place their egos and money in front of doing the right thing.

Lock and load.

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I left the conference with the same familiar feeling…so honored and proud to have the privilege of working on this team and an overwhelming sense that we need to do more.

This time was no different, except that we arrived home with four cats from the DC shelter and a sweet, precious little girl with a shattered pelvis from the Baltimore shelter. She followed us home. Really. Kerry’s email to staff had me roaring…”Ok. Look. We’re coming home with four cats and a dog that needs rehab and/or medical attention. And one of the cats may be sick. None have heartworm tests and aren’t spayed or neutered. Before you say anything just shut up.” We are total saps. We arrived after hours and of course Janet and Jen and Juan stayed to make sure we got in and the animals got attention.

They will, of course, have all their tests and get altered and shake whatever they may have before they go on to their forever homes, happy and healthy.

Being at the conference allowed Kerry and I to talk with other people who do what we do, face the same problems we face, make the same mistakes we make. We love it. We love it when other shelters invite us in, other organizations ask to come see us, people who are starting sanctuaries ask for our advice. We learn from all of it, and if we take even ONE thing from the sessions and the one-on-one conversations we are thrilled. I know at one point I ran out of paper from taking notes, and my mind is still spinning from all the great stuff that was flying around in my head that whole time.

Advocating a no-kill position can be difficult and dangerous, and makes you a target for other people’s guilt, indifference and ignorance.

One of Pets Alive’s expansion plans (the seed of which was ripped off from Best Friends and/or Michael Mountain, which most of our greatest ideas are) is to put together what we’ve called the Pets Alive Local Advocate Network.

Best Friends has its Ambassador program, which conjures pictures of guys in top hats (or gals in business suits) wearing sashes, sipping wine and politely discussing merits. The program has been very successful in fulfilling its mission.

We had something different in mind. An advocate is someone who argues a position on someone’s behalf — someone who pleads the cause of another. We’re looking for soldiers — people who understand that no matter how it is fought this is a war of life and death.

We are going to put together a training program and you’re going to help us spread the word about no-kill and you can be sort of a cross between Superman and a tape recorder. But you don’t have to wait for us to put it all together — you can become a no-kill mercenary on your own.

So many people came to me at the conference who paid their own way and had no sponsoring organization. They did it because “they want to do something. Want to be active in saving animals.” Well guess what? You’re ALREADY a mercenary. And today I’m going to give you the universal weapon for fighting people who are against no-kill. Lock and load.

The other day we played a game called Who’s the hypocrite? Today’s game is more of a puzzle. Below are a bunch of statements from a bunch of people. Please read them and tell me what they have in common:

We had several issues with the bill. One was the language around who would be approved to claim an animal from a shelter. The Kellner/Duane Bill allowed any animal 501(c)3 to do so, but excluded competent rescues that weren’t federally tax exempt…We also felt the reporting requirement in the bill was unrealistic for some small rural shelters to meet.

Ultimately we believe it made no difference, with regard to its passage, whether or not we supported the bill. We had some issues with the bill and the way it was written, but more to the point was that without support from two of the biggest organizations in the region (ASPCA and the Mayor’s Alliance), the bill simply wasn’t going to pass.

Francis Battista, Best Friends, in their statement on Oreo’s Law.

I was very saddened to read Nathan’s blog today. While the words were mostly polite, he really tried to shine a negative light on BF because of their decision to remain neutral over Oreo’s law. I believe in the work that you do, therefor I trust in the decision you made.

Debbie Hunsinger posting on the Best Friends Facebook page that same day.

My family & I are long time supporter of the Jersey Shore Animal Shelter & will continue to do so. The folks at the shelter work very hard raising funds & taking care of our furry & feathered friends.

Maureen K. defending the Jersey Shore Animal Center for intending to kill 5 FIV+ kittens and their mother.

Okay. Let’s stop here for now. I have tons and tons more, but let’s lay the foundation. So what do these three statements have in common?

Here’s the first one. They are all different ways of debating the same question. All of your battles, regardless of with whom, where and why are about the answer to this question:

Should an animal be killed when there is another alternative?

In the cases above, each person is attempting to frame the debate in such a way that it denies a discussion of that question. Whether it is intentional or not it is irrelevant. Your job is to be the advocate for the animal whose life is being debated, whether by proxy, straw man or right out in the open.

When you understand your job it’s easy. Then you need to find the person who controls the life or lives in question and get them to understand that question and realize the magnitude of making the wrong decision.

This is ABSOLUTELY not about whether the organization saving the dog is a 501(c)(3) or has to fill out too much paperwork to save the animals, or even if the biggest groups support the killing (Francis Battista), not about prior good deeds or the tone of the argument (Debbie Hunsiger), and not about how long they have been working, whether or not you support their actions or help them raise money to continue those actions (Maureen K.).

This is about what is right and what is wrong. This is about whether it is WRONG that Oreo should be killed when there is another alternative (Francis Battista and Debbie Hunsiger), or whether a mother and her kittens should be killed because they have a disease which is neither life-threatening nor debilitating (Maureen K.).

THE ARGUMENT IS ALWAYS, ONE HUNDRED PERCENT ABOUT THE LIVES OF THE ANIMALS.

So, Francis Battista, why have you decided to kill Oreo?
Well…there are people who might want her that don’t have a 501(c)(3) designation from the IRS. Also, the paperwork is too much for some of the smaller rescues. Oh…and the ASPCA thinks she should be dead. So kill her.

See…the ludicrousness of the argument shines through when you frame it in those terms.

Let’s try Maureen’s.

Maureen, why should we kill those FIV positive kittens and their mother?
Well…I am a supporter of the shelter and have been for years. They work hard to raise money. And they take very good care of the ones they don’t kill. So let them kill the rest.

Again…you can see how nonsensical the argument becomes.

Be a missle. Move right past the chaff that gets thrown out there and hone in on the moral argument that they are all afraid to debate you on — right and wrong. Life and death. Black and right. While they may claim, like Ed Sayres, that No-Kill doesn’t have the moral high ground, reporters, supporters and the general public knows the truth. This is an innocent life in danger of being needlessly extinguished. Want to try a few more?

Obviously New York is not California and a law that might work in California won’t necessarily work in NY. Not to mention the process for passing a law is different and the stakeholders are different. Not to mention that California’s law is not named “Oreo’s Law”: Words do matter and the proponents of Oreo’s Law WANTED this to be a divisive attack on ASPCA. I’m even suspecting that at some point the proponents stopped caring about passing the law at all… there were many things they COULD have done that they chose not to do.

Emily S., Absolute lunatic on YesBiscuit! after Oreo’s Law was shot down.

When California passed a law like this in 1998, they knew the risk of having animals end up in the hands of some criminal, terrible people. They decided so many animals were dying in shelters, that they should risk it.

The California law was passed in 1998 as part of a comprehensive effort to save adoptable or treatable animals in shelters that refused to release them and instead euthanized them. The California law is not limited to adoptable and treatable animals but guided by that goal.

It is not the same desperate situation in New York in 2010. Mayor’s Alliance working with more than 160 rescues moves 1500-1700 animals from the New York City shelters each month. The rescues are vetted.

Laura Allen of the Animal Law “Coalition” on Oreo’s Law.

So let’s use our newly minted skills to identify and counter what’s being said here, starting with Emily S. I chose her because I’ve had “debates” with her if you want to call them that. She is not very intelligent and not very logical. If she were someone who actually held the key to the life of an animal I was trying to free I would definitely go around her and work on someone else. The idea in a public debate is to engage her and let her show everyone else what you already know.

So, Emily, why should we continue to kill dogs by not passing Oreo’s Law?
Well, just because it saved thousands of dogs in California it won’t work in New York. And the way they PASS the law is different in New York. And there are different PEOPLE involved in saving animals. And using the name Oreo in the title of the law is mean. In fact, I think the people who are proponents of this law didn’t really want it to pass because they didn’t do MANY things they could have done to get it passed. So keep killing animals because words have consequences.

So how do you counter what Emily says? Picture yourself with Ted Koppel on a split screen with Emily on Nightline. She says what she said above. What would you say? Shrug. I’d say “there is ten years’ worth of data on the Hayden Law in California that proves it works. We can save so many innocent lives by trying it here, and what’s the down side?”

Now…picture your Mom or Dad or grandparents watching Nightline. Which side do you think connected with them — someone whining about the title of the bill, or someone getting right to the moral argument here, which is all about right and wrong. And we threw in risk and reward as a bonus. There really IS no downside. See how easy it is to win?

Again, every debate, whether it is one on one or on the national news, needs to be torn down to its foundation — that killing innocent animals is morally reprehensible. Period. It would be very difficult to get someone to disagree with that, most times even your opponent. That’s why they will go off and start talking about the number of words on the page or the way you are presenting your argument or which way you should part your hair.

Shine the light of truth on them and hold their feet to the fire until they are forced to defend a position that even the most uninterested observer understands is the wrong side. WRONG. Get it? No wishy washy crap about moral equivalence. WRONG. That’s the sword you need to wield.

My opinion of Laura Allen and the Animal Law “Coalition” changed dramatically during the battle for Oreo’s Law. As a quick aside we don’t subscribe to the “let’s all get along” Kum Bay Ya method of saving animals. If you stray over to the WRONG side of things, meaning that you’re no longer advocating for the lives of these animals, then you need to be called on it and given a chance to come back into reality.

Laura Allen was given many chances, and she’s too intelligent not to realize that she has misrepresented many things about Oreo’s Law. Misrepresent is a nice way to say LIE. So let’s take a look at her stuff.

So Laura, why should Oreo’s Law not be passed and 25,000 animals a year be killed?
Some of the animals may end up in the hands of bad people, and California was willing to take that chance in 1998 because many animals were dying in shelters, but not so in New York. The Mayor’s Alliance is doing such a great job we don’t need to save the rest of the animals that don’t get saved.

And the law in California was only a PART of the effort to save more animals. If we can’t do the rest of the stuff they did we might as well keep killing animals. Oh, did I mention that the Mayor’s Alliance is doing a great job?

Sigh. I call these arguments “Chinese Food Arguments.” They seem like they’re going to fill you up but you just go hungry an hour later.

So…you say that the California law had the potential to put animals in the hands of bad people. Uh…it’s been on the books for 12 years. Has it? Where are the statistics that can either prove your argument or destroy it? My guess is that since you conveniently leave them out we can guess the answer.

And we need a comprehensive plan for saving animals. Great. Draw it up. In the meantime let’s save some animals with Oreo’s Law. And if the Mayor’s Alliance was actually doing its job New York would be No-Kill.

Why can’t we have both? Who died and left Laura Allen and Jane Hoffman of the Mayor’s Alliance the Mayors of Dogtown? Again…shine the light of the truth on this cockroach den and they scurry off in all directions. The fact is that this law will save 25,000 animals. Do you want to be on the side of the animals or not? Right or wrong? Life or death?

Keep the argument where it needs to be and you will always win.

I have like ten more that I collected but I’m going to save them for another time. Instead I want to show you what happens when you call these people out. This is the kind of stuff you get back:

Pets Alive has started a viscous [sic] campaign against the Jersey Shore Animal shelter, a non for profit shelter in Brick NJ. They are using bully tactics, threats, inciting the public to engage in terrorist activity against the shelter and generally trying to control the Rescue Community with THEIR philosophies. Pets Alive, for those of you not aware, are KNOWN throughout the legitimate Rescue community as bullies and ignoramuses concerning animal behavior, which I have studied for 20 years. You see in Rescue, Great Dane Rescue does NOT dictate policy to Schnauzer rescue and so on. Mr D’Angelis seems to feel he has the right to create the standard for all rescues in this country. Please feel free to call or e-mail him through the website and let him know your rescue is working just fine without his input. Unfortunately though if you contact them, and after my conversation with him recently, please use small words and keep things simple. His Co-President is not the brightest bulb in the batch either. A high school diploma might be of some help to her lack of civilized language.

As someone who has worked and donated all training and behavior work to rescues for twenty years, this is unprecedented. But the egos of the President (who is apparently anatomically inadequate since he threatens and bullys’ women) and his organization of HOARDERS are apparently fooling the public with scam after scam. Including Rock Star Rob Thomas, who is handled by the same management as my cousin and is now being made aware of Mr D’Angelis’s and his ship of fools, and their Mel Gibson rants at the women at Jersey Shore. Threatening women????? Gee, You must all be sooooo proud. Will you be invading playgrounds next???

Rescue work is all volunteer and involves many judgement [sic] calls. The last thing we all need right now is some fat guy with an even bigger ego telling REAL rescues what is in the best interest of the BIG PICTURE. He has scammed the public into believing his hoarding operation is actually working.

I have worked with the Jersey Shore Animal Shelter for over 10 years now. They have a 95% rate of successful adoptions. They are true pioneers in rehab and finding forever homes. I myself have certified several hundred of their dogs for Therapy Dog work. My school has been featured on national TV, published articles on behavior and received two awards from the Governor of NJ for our work with Therapy Dogs and Autistic children. Some of these dogs have come from the Jersey Shore Animal Center and with REAL rehabilitation (not just the weekly petting sessions offered by Pets Alive) are now serving the community. These people do good work and as non profit volunteers, only an inadequate piece of scum would pick on them. I beg the public to do your research about the Pets Alive rescue and you will see that the liars in this case are Mr D’Angelis and his assistant who I didn’t feel had the brains enough to learn her name.

Sigh. I was going to excerpt this email but it’s too perfect not to show in its entirety. So where do I start?

Remember, this is about us insisting that these ignoramuses not kill six cats just because they are FIV positive. That’s it. This was about those lives. We got that message across and the shelter got inundated with phone calls and emails and faxes and it all got covered by their local paper and tweeted around the world.

And they made the same mistake most others do when faced with this…they don’t realize that they are representing wrong in an argument about right and wrong and right is getting ready to kick their @ss all over the universe. For some reason this is where they get arrogant and say some equivalent of “it doesn’t matter what the truth is…we are going to do what we want.” That’s loser talk.

So..let’s get back to this guy. “bully tactics, threats, inciting the public to engage in terrorist activity.” Yes, we wrote letters, made phone calls and sent faxes. And we encouraged our supporters to do the same. That makes us terrorists. I would call that the definition of the word advocate. So…uh…do you still support the killing of these cats who could have a forever home?

And oh my God…we are guilty of “trying to control the Rescue Community with THEIR philosophies.” Uh, again, that is what being an advocate means. And while I was flattered by this man inadvertently attributing the no-kill philosophy to us, we are not the initiators of No-Kill. Oh, and speaking of that — do you plan to kill those cats when homes could be found for them?

Not only that, but we are are KNOWN throughout the legitimate Rescue community as bullies and ignoramuses concerning animal behavior, which I have studied for 20 years. Wow..ignoramuses. The expert dog trainer can’t spell vicious, but he can get ignoramus right. Now tell me…if we’re known throughout the rescue community, why do we get emails from, on the average, 500 rescue groups a week asking us to take their behaviorally challenged dogs? Oh, and by the way — are you still going to kill those cats? And how many behaviorally challenged dogs have your shelters killed that didn’t need to be killed? But let’s stick to this case first.

“Mr D’Angelis seems to feel he has the right to create the standard for all rescues in this country.” This one I LOVE. I am NOT dictating the standard for any rescues. The Creator of the universe did. He (or she) created a right and a wrong. Killing is wrong. Killing innocents is very, very wrong. And you are on the side of the killers. And incidentally, do you still intend to kill those innocent kittens?

I will leave out the personal attacks on my intelligence and sexual prowess. Shrug. If you can’t debate the facts this is what you turn to.

Please feel free to call or e-mail him through the website and let him know your rescue is working just fine without his input. Hmmm. Isn’t that bullying and using terrorist tactics and inciting and blah blah blah? I guess only if even one person does it. No one did. And I was just wondering…do you still plan to kill those cats for no reason?

The last thing we all need right now is some fat guy with an even bigger ego telling REAL rescues what is in the best interest of the BIG PICTURE. He has scammed the public into believing his hoarding operation is actually working.

Um. Sorry, but the ONLY thing we need right now is someone to tell the “rescue” in this case what is in the best interest of the animals for which they are morally responsible. Uh. Don’t kill them. Do we need to draw you a picture. That IS the big picture, little picture, only picture. And yawn, yes. I have scammed the public into believing we save 1200 animals a year from being killed at shelters like yours. Ya got me. Now please don’t kill those kittens.

The next paragraph is a chest thumping resume about how he’s been doing this for decades blah blah blah has been on TV and is friends with the governor. The President sends me a Christmas card. So what? In fact, if he’s so knowledgeable this email should never have been written and he should spend his time getting on the right side of this, which is DON’T KILL THOSE CATS.

Some of these dogs have come from the Jersey Shore Animal Center and with REAL rehabilitation (not just the weekly petting sessions offered by Pets Alive) are now serving the community. These people do good work and as non profit volunteers, only an inadequate piece of scum would pick on them. I beg the public to do your research about the Pets Alive rescue and you will see that the liars in this case are Mr D’Angelis and his assistant who I didn’t feel had the brains enough to learn her name.

Yes..we just pet the dogs. That’s our secret. That’s how we take in aggressive dogs, get them rehabbed and get them adopted. Dogs that, if left in his hands and the hands of those he works with would be dead. Period. End of conversation. And they do, after all, do good work. Not sure how the animals they kill would perceive their work, but that’s a detail. And also, could you please not kill those kittens?

Yes, do the research. That’s how we doubled our donations this year and are expanding like crazy to SAVE MORE ANIMALS like the kittens they are trying to kill.

But the worst part of this for Kerry is in that paragraph where he called her my assistant. I laughed for hours.

Tell me…would you allow this man to work with your dog? I certainly would not.

We saved the kittens and the mother, and we are hopefully going to sit down with these people and help them stop the killing of the animals in their care. It was obvious to me that some members of the board are appalled by this just as we are, even if the guy that sent me that email thinks killing is perfectly okay.

We are going to publish a kind of handbook on advocacy that shows you step by step how we achieve success. But remember it all falls back on one thing. The real terrorist here is the truth.

Right and wrong.

Saddle up.

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The first is from Evan W. I thought about re-typing it but I think other than removing his last name and address, I am posting the letter in entirety. Attached was a $500 check.

The second letter is from a person that mailed us last year too on her birthday. That is Lily Palmieri. Every year she has a birthday and asks all her friends to donate money to Pets Alive instead of giving her gifts. She collects them all, takes a picture of everyone and sends it to us. I’m always touched and honored that she chooses us and always very choked up when I read her sweet letter. You can click here to see her letter and picture from last year.

So this year she writes:

Dear Pets Alive,
Hi, It is Lily Palmieri again and I just turned 11. Last year when I turned 10, I had a birthday party and I had everyone donate money to Pets Alive instead of getting gifts. Last year I made $250 and this year I made $350. My friends kept giving me more money because they knew I was donating to Pets Alive again. I even told my parents about the Fur Ball on May 22 and they bought tickets because they knew it would give Pets Alive more money.

P.S. Here’s a picture of all my friends who helped out by donating money to Pets Alive.

All I can say is I’m so glad there are kids like you Lily and like you Evan. YOU keep up the good work. And stay with it. We need you for our future and it’s looking bright with kids like you at the helm.

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Oreo’s Law is a huge topic of conversation here, and we’ve learned a lot from it. “The Movement.” I didn’t realize I was part of the movement until Paul Berry used those words at Pets Alive in 2007, which seems so far in the past when I look at it now.

It’s never really been a “movement” to me. I’ve always seen it as a simple recognition of our moral responsibility toward companion animals. We have a moral obligation to each and every one, and we should not allow anything to get in the way of that. Pets Alive has been successful because that is the overriding tenet that controls everything we do.

There were four people speaking here today that really connected with me personally. Really touched me deeply and really helped me to understand that this is truly a movement in the purest sense. It’s a shift in ideas, in foundations, in manners of thinking and acting. And that’s what we’re witnessing.

We don’t have to kill adoptable animals. That is something that all of us respect, understand, and appreciate. Even the ASPCA, which has put itself out there as the kill shelter poster organization because of their words and actions, pays lip service to the idea that killing should be a last resort.

We all believe this. It is part of our core and flows logically from the stuff inside of us we call our morality. There can be no moral equivalence for death, which is a nice way of saying we don’t throw around the phrases “fate worse than death” or “better off dead.”

1. Rich Avanzino

Kerry was reluctant to go to a seminar today called Using the Law to Save Animals, because she thought it would be too dry. Boy was she wrong! It was given by a guy named Rich Avanzino, now the President of Maddie’s Fund. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Maddie’s Fund, it is the largest funding source for no-kill in the history of no-kill. It was set up by the couple who started PeopleSoft, an HR software system designed to get Human Resource people off of mainframes and on to PCs. Great idea. Very profitable idea. Maddie was their beloved rescue dog, and Maddie’s Fund was set up to help make the USA no-kill.

Rich has an impressive resume that includes being President of the San Francisco SPCA. His list of accomplishments is truly amazing, and it starts with the story of Sido, the little Collie mix that started the no-kill movement. And Rich has been called the father of no-kill, a title he has truly earned.

To make a long story short, Sido’s caretaker, Mary Murphy, committed suicide in 1979. As part of her will, Mary specified that Sido be killed. The SPCA and Rich were not about to let that happen.

“The law says a pet can be destroyed like a piece of furniture,” he told the Anchorage Daily News. “We’re saying that’s wrong.”

WRONG. Not illegal. WRONG. Morally reprehensible. They saved Sido and she lived with Rich and his family until she died on her 16th birthday.

What absolutely blew me away beyond words was his reaction to talking about Sido. Let’s remember this happened three decades ago. I was sitting in the last row and I could see the pain on his face and hear his voice crack as he talked about it. This is someone who has been in animal rescue and animal welfare his entire life, is an attorney that has argued and directed animal law cases, is someone with a true presence, and is the financial lifeline to the no-kill movement, making him a very powerful man.

And he was still pained by the death of this dog that he saved and loved.

Kerry and I and the rest of us at Pets Alive talk often about how anyone could kill animals — how they could kill animals like Oreo who could have lived. It happens hundreds and thousands of times per day. And it came to me in that instant that they are incapable of the compassion and empathy displayed by people like Rich and you and me every day.

One of the board members in the Brick shelter asked me why I would care about the FIV cats. Why was I making such a big stink about 6 cats? Would that person ever get up before a group and still feel the tremendous loss of an animal they saved thirty years ago? Do they ever go to bed and wonder about the animals that went home, grin ear-to-ear and kiss their own animals on the top of their heads?

Are they ever haunted by the animals that didn’t get saved? The endless parade of pictures and emails and people begging to save the animals they are morally responsible for? Do they ever shed their own tears, feel their own voices crack, feel the debilitating wave of sadness for that one soul that was snuffed out that didn’t have to be?

No. I would argue that they have to be incapable of all of that or they simply couldn’t kill an innocent animal, or even be an accessory to killing an innocent animal.

Ironically enough, Rich ushered in what should have been a golden age for San Francisco and its animals — a no-kill community. His successor destroyed both the organization and no-kill. That would be, of course, Ed Sayres of the ASPCA, Oreo’s killer.

Sayres inherited an SPCA with a strong infrastructure, departments that had become the envy of the growing No Kill movement, and a fundraising apparatus that had amassed an endowment of over forty million dollars.

When he got through he had squandered money on stuff like trying to figure out how to contact dead animals and they were now losing $3,000,000 a year. And he demolished no-kill in San Francisco.

Wonder how he sleeps?

2. Micah Kellner

Micah is an anachronism — a politician with a moral compass. That’s why he, like the rest of us, got rolled by the ASPCA (without help from other organizations who will remain nameless) when it comes to the law he authored — Oreo’s Law.

I had the same a-ha moment I had with Rich when Micah was giving his speech today at the conference. I lived the story but I was captivated by what was being said. I kept glancing over at Nathan Winograd who was even more involved than me, and he was rapt as well.

Micah is a foster home for cats. He heard about Oreo from one of the organizations he works with. Later on when Jane Hoffman of the Mayor’s Alliance wanted to club people who supported Oreo’s Law she spent a lot of time seeking out Micah’s friend to ostensibly try to put them out of business. I include that to illustrate that with the dirty tricks they are trying to play on his friends, imagine what kind of stuff they’re trying to stab him with?

Did I mention that the ASPCA is in Micah’s district? That’s a lot of money and a lot of power up against you. And Micah didn’t cave. Why? Because he was doing the right thing. Because someone had to do it and he was that someone. Period.

We lost. But in January we’re coming back and we’re taking no prisoners.

How do you think Micah sleeps at night? I wondered at lunch today if Jane Hoffman climbs into bed with the thoughts of the thousands of animals SLAUGHTERED at the CACC every day because she is more interested in keeping her power than doing the right thing. Again, not the legal thing. The right thing. She can’t possibly be capable of the empathy and compassion necessary because if she did she wouldn’t be able to handle the abdication of moral responsibility for those souls whose blood is on her hands. She couldn’t lie to our faces and then bring those lies into the New York Assembly to kill Oreo’s Law and 25,000 animals a year with it.

We hold the moral high ground here by a huge, incontrovertible margin.

Even Micah’s legislative pals made fun of him because while they were trying to come up with a budget for New York he was reading Nathan Winograd books and as they said, “playing with animals.” I smiled today thinking that he managed to get Oreo’s Law written and into committee and they still don’t have a budget.

Go Micah. I am honored to know you.

If you live in his district, vote for him. If not, find some other way to support him because we need more people with moral clarity in government, especially in New York.

3. Nathan Winograd

I totally identify with Nathan — people say the same things about him they say about me. They call us obnoxious, say we go too far, they “agree with what we’re saying but not the way we’re saying it.” When the naked, unvarnished truth is a monster unleashed by one of us and slowly gnawing a hole through your torso you tend to try to distract everyone from the monster by complaining that he needs a haircut. That’s what crap like those sentences mean to me.

I think Nathan is a genius. I think he has worked tirelessly, pounding away at person after person, organization after organization, leaving them no choice but to think about the monster instead of the haircut. That’s something I’ve always been able to do as well.

No one ever notices the fifty things you try to do before you go after someone. No one ever says “it’s a real shame Nathan had to bludgeon Ed Sayres, but Ed probably should have listened when Nathan gave him one hundred opportunities to get on the bus before it ran him over.”

Again, I’ve been there. Every time someone confides to me that they would love to work with us but are afraid to deal with Nathan I burst out laughing and shrug. He’s the team, babe. Get on the bus or get under it. Those are your choices.

I met his lovely wife Jennifer today. Very sweet woman. She told me that when they all turned on him he was really upset. Yeah, that’s another one of my faults. It hurts when you put all your passion into something, and you pour out your heart and soul to try to get across the feeling that makes Rich’s voice crack when he looks at Sido’s picture in his own presentation, or makes Micah grin from ear to ear when he mentions the cats he fosters, or when Nathan actually giggles about the slide in his presentation that shows his own animals.

Can any of us picture Ed Sayres feeling that feeling, let alone conveying it? If so, how could he possibly kill the animals that bestow the unconditional love to us that makes that feeling possible? How could anyone who in any way grasps that passion and that feeling allow any companion animal to suffer when they could be in a great home?

I know exactly how Nathan feels. It hurts me deeply when I make a cogent, brilliantly thought out argument and someone tells me back that he’s surprised I can see past my Big Mac. Shrug. People suck. They don’t understand that you can’t fight the truth forever. It swallows you up.

Nathan, my friend, we always have your back. We are doing the right thing, and you are fueling the machine. Thank you so much for all that you do.

4. Michael Mountain

I saved Michael for last because he’s a standout in this group of amazing people. He saved something so precious to me I can’t express it in words without being overcome with emotion. He is largely responsible for Pets Alive’s doors being open today. His ideas and his principles are the ideas and principles that have rebuilt Pets Alive. Kerry and I owe Michael a debt of gratitude that we can barely express, let alone hope to repay.

Michael Mountain is an icon of the no-kill movement. He, like Rich, was one of the engineers of the no-kill movement, and his successes have saved an incredible number of animals and made it possible for all of us to do what we do, while paving the way for no-kill’s next level.

Imagine how difficult it would be to leave the labor of love that you worked tirelessly on for decades. I’ll tell you — I am not the man Michael Mountain is. Michael Mountain is a man of tremendous integrity, unwavering passion and principle toward animals and the no-kill movement, and the humility to always put the cause before himself, something I am not sure I could do.

Person after person came up to Michael today while I was standing with him chatting. Many of them (mostly young women oddly enough) expressed to him that he was their hero. They asked if he was still with Best Friends. He answered with a “No” that left no doubt that he had nothing else to say about the matter. That’ s it. It’s over and it’s no longer important.

I can’t tell you how many people told me that Oreo’s Law would have passed this year if Michael were still President of Best Friends. That is one hundred percent true.

Best Friends is an organization that we love like a big brother. It hurts us tremendously to watch them turn into just another big humane organization…watch their soul being torn from them. I cannot imagine how Michael must feel.

Michael, if it helps at all you will always be the father of the child Pets Alive has become. Standing on its own legs, awkward and unsure. We know we always have the principles, the passion and the moral clarity that made your Best Friends our inspiration, and made you the New York Yankees of the no-kill movement.

And at the risk of making a very poor analogy, you’ve fathered many children that are all trying to make you proud.

Thank you for all you’ve done for the no-kill movement. Thank you for everything you’ve done for Pets Alive and for always being there for us.

Those are four heroes. I’d also like to mention Sido and Oreo who helped these heroes change the world.

This is simply about understanding in your heart, feeling in your soul that the killing is wrong. It’s not about sitting behind your desk and ordering your own staff who is begging you not to kill Oreo to “shut up and do your job.” It’s not about attorneys, officers of the court with a code of conduct and a code of ethics, lying to the public and state legislators to protect your own power, knowing that you are signing the death warrants for 25,000 animals.

It’s about understanding on a metaphysical level that the death of these beings, these sentient creatures that are aware that you have killed them, is morally reprehensible and wrong.

It’s about loving these creatures and accepting responsibility for their safety and their souls. These heroes have sacrificed and led and saved millions of innocent lives.

What will you do to honor them?

No more excuses.
No more compromises.
No more killing.
No-Kill now.

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We are currently waiting for the vet from the Jersey Shore Animal Center to examine the kittens and determine if they are too sick to live.

Our attorney is going to get in touch with their attorney in the next day or so.

Other attorneys are getting involved and there will probably be a lawsuit.

Pat Wallace, their Executive Director, is a liar. My impression of their board is that they are weak and don’t challenge what Ms. Wallace says. Been there. It never ends well. Ms. Wallace is an arrogant tyrant who views animals as “her property.” Here’s what she said to one of our supporters:

“they are our property and we have rules.” I replied that considering them property may be the problem. She also said that the woman who found them should have done her research prior to dropping them off.

That’s gonna make a great deposition, isn’t it?

They are misinformed about feline FIV, feral cats, and how to run a shelter. That’s not unusual. What I guess amazes me is that their arrogance and indifference to the lives of these animals.

I’ve spoken to three members of the board. I email or call Ms. Wallace every day to ask her not to kill the kittens, but rather to hand them over to us. The disgust and contempt in her voice when she hears my name makes this all worthwhile. She’s an animal killer. I don’t like her. I’m happy we’re making this difficult for her.

She called us terrorists in the press. One of their board members called us terrorists today. Terrorists? Wikipedia says terrorism is

“violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants (civilians).”

Let’s play a game I like to call who’s the terrorist?

violent acts – Our acts so far are words, via phone calls, faxes and this blog. Unless you can die from a paper cut, there’s no violence. They intend to kill, violence of Biblical proportion.

intended to create fear – They are certainly telling us over and over that they don’t fear us. Pat Wallace’s famous words to me are “HAVE AT IT.” So we are. Wonder if those innocent kittens waiting to die fear for their lives.

Perpetrated for an ideological goal – This one we are guilty of. Not killing innocent animals is sort of an ideological goal, though I just consider it an act of morality. Their ideological goals seem to be control and the triumph of arrogance over right and wrong.

Deliberately target or disregard the safety of innocents. Hmmm. Who are the innocents here? Certainly not these hard hearted rubes. It’s the animals.

So the terrorists here are actually the Jersey Shore Animal Center management and board, and the terrorist acts are against innocent kittens, though honestly calling these people terrorists is an insult to terrorists worldwide.

One of the board members said to me today that we are “ignoring all the good they do and focusing on this one incident.” For some reason at that moment an old joke one of my former bosses used to use all the time popped into my head…”other than that Mrs. Lincoln how was the play?”

This is what we call a Red Herring., which, again according to Wikipedia is a rhetorical tactic of diverting attention away from an item of significance.

This was the defense of the ASPCA in killing Oreo as well, and Best Friends remaining neutral with Oreo’s Law. That is called Moral Relativism, which states that morals and ethics can be altered from one situation, person, or circumstance to the next. Uh, no. One animal’s life is not better or worse or more or less important or worthy of saving than the next. Period. Nice try though.

Perhaps the most amusing conversation through all this was a “gentleman” by the name of Peter Campione of Kindred Souls Canine Center who harassed Jen this morning and then threatened me. He told me that everyone in New Jersey knows that Pets Alive is a bully, and all we want to do is fight with them. He also told me that “we’re going down.” If I had a dollar for every time someone told me I was going down I’d be rich. Hmmm.

Yeah…I’d much rather be talking to this meathead from Jersey than be home in my hammock sipping a cold drink and reading my book. You betcha.

So we’re bullies. To treat in an overbearing or intimidating manner. Hmmm. Not sure I have a defense on that one. The thing everyone misses is that we always start off asking nicely. Then we offer a way out. Then we call in the troops. Shrug. Sorry. That’s what it takes sometimes.

Apparently Mr. Campione has some information about my male anatomy of which I was not aware. I’m not really sure if that’s relevant to this argument, but it certainly is a big red herring. My apologies to the ladies who follow this blog but I just couldn’t help myself.

So let’s see if our friends in Jersey find the truth. Honestly it’s going to have to find them.

This is their chance to do the right thing. If they don’t the gloves are coming off.

Thanks for your support and thanks for helping us save these innocents.

Oh, and by the way. Remember how in my last blog I posted picture of  our FIV kittens and cats playing in our FIV room? Happy. Healthy?
Now THESE pictures? These are all of FIV positive kittens and cats that have been ADOPTED from Pets Alive. All still alive, and all still happy and healthy.

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