The Irony of Timing

Yesterday was a crazy day.  In Wilksboro, NC, a judge ruled in favor of killing 127 pit bulls seized froma dog fighting operation in the area -- in spite of contacts from respected national and organizations that called for an opportunity to temperament test the dogs and see if any could be saved. In spite of that, all 127 dogs were killed, including about 40 or so puppies, many less than 2 months old.

Meanwhile, the world's wealthiest "humane" organization, applauded the decision.  I posted about that yesterday -- and have added several new blog links if you missed them.

Meanwhile,Yes Biscuit has posted the comments from HSUS's John Goodwin about the recommendation to kill the dogs:

"Those particular fighting dogs in Wilkes County, NC were very, very different than the Vick dogs. Whereas Michael Vick was a pro football player that fought dogs as a hobby, the breeder of these dogs was a globally recognized professional dogfighter. Vick was not a good breeder, and he lost most of his fights. His dogs were a poor representation of true fighting dogs."

The irony here, of course, is that this would be a somewhat believable claim if HSUS hadn't first raised money to care for the Vick Dogs -- and THEN, recommended they all be euthanized without an evaluation.  No, HSUS loses any credibility when they say "these dogs were different than the Vick dogs" -- when they recommended the exact same result for both groups of dogs. HSUS's policy continues to be, kill first, ask questions later.

As Winograd points out in his post over at the No Kill Nation:

"Every time HSUS defends killing, their antiquated, regressive viewpoints are not only harmful to animals, they make HSUS more and more irrelevant to animal sheltering and more and more despised by those who truly love animals. And they become more out of touch with public sentiment. "

Meanwhile on the same day that HSUS was ordering the killing of 127 'pit bulls' without evaluation, Roo Yori announced that former Vick dog Hector officially passed his test to become a Therapy Dog.  Apparently at least some dogs "bred to fight" can be trained for public benefit...in just a little over a year. And Hector isn't the first dog from Bad Newz Kennels to become a therapy dog.

But HSUS ignored the success of the rehabbing of the Vick dogs and decided somehow these dogs were "different" than the other dogs they recommended killing.

Meanwhile, just last week, Best Friends announced that the first of their dogs that was actually rescued from Bad Newz Kennels went to his forever home.

So at a time when many in the true animal welfare community is celebrating the successes of the rehabilitation of the dogs from Bad Newz Kennels, HSUS is still calling for the death of all dogs coming from these situations -- without evaluation. You'd have thought they'd notice.

Let's repeat after me:

In most cases, these dogs can be rehabilitated.

They are worth it.

Killing should be the last response, not the first.

HSUS has lost their grip on the animal welfare movement. It's time to move on without them...although I'd be happy if they'd get on board on their own.  But I'm not going to sit around waiting for them.

Comments

[YesBiscuit!]

Remember when the Vick dogs were monsters/killing machines/unfit to live? Now they're just the product of some bumbling athlete who'd better not quit his day job. Funny how time changes things.

[MichelleD]

At least Goodwin and H$U$ have been caught red handed LYING in print - the more they say the more they dig their own grave.

[B-More Bulldogs]

I wish it were true that the more they say the more they are digging their own grave--unfortunately, very few people get word of this kind of news. All they really hear about is the anti-dog fighting crusades they HSUS orchestrates and how they brought down the big, bad dog fighters. Very few media outlets will really capture or report the details about the dogs' fates . . . that kind of information conveniently falls through the cracks. And the HSUS lives to ride another day.

[Brent]

B-More,

I think historically you are correct. However, I think the dynamic is changing a bit. Before, the only people who would have noticed or cared about this were the 'pit bull people" and would have been either quickly dismissed or never even heard about by the general animal welfare population.

However, this has drawn a lot of ire from Winograd (who has amazing support among the shelter and recue worlds) as well as of Best Friends -- who has been growing hugely in popularity over the past 2-3 years -- especially following the launch of their TV show.

They're messages are being heard loud and clear in general animal welfare, shelters, and even among the cat people....it's not just us shouting the message to each other any more.

[Brian Cluxton]

I think the tide is turning as well. The truth about HSUS is slowly getting out there. And I believe social networking sites can be a huge part of this as well. I've been using Facebook for a while and Twitter more recently to get the word out to people about these issues (please consider doing the same). Everyone I've encountered is appalled when they find out the truth about HSUS - especially the bullshit they pulled with the Vick dogs. Enough messing around, trying to get HSUS to play along - we need to take them down as much as possible.

[Donovan]

"Every time HSUS defends killing, their antiquated, regressive viewpoints are not only harmful to animals, they make HSUS more and more irrelevant to animal sheltering and more and more despised by those who truly love animals. And they become more out of touch with public sentiment. "

Couldn't have said it better myself...and I truly believe that this will bring about either a new direction from the HSUS (possibly under new leadership) or they'll start to see a decline in those willing to work with them (and once the shelter folks turn their backs, legislators will follow.)

[Becky]

I wonder if Goodwin even realizes what an idiot he sounds like. Sheesh...

Agreed, Brian --- keep getting the word out.