I totally agree with you - HSUS is like a person with Multiple Personality Disorder. I think they realize that they are getting some bad publicity about their 'real' stance on pets, so they try to mitigate this with taking on some more popular causes. Too bad their spokespeople can't keep straight whether its "Save the Animals" or "Kill the Animals week" at any given time.

As for faith in the US following a Europeon model - we still have no national health care system, mandatory paid maternity leave or non-union worker protections. In other words, I'm not holding my breath.

2CatMom March 19th, 2009 03:15:07 PM

Best Friends Animal Society has a program called, Puppies Aren't Products. Part of that campaign is protesting pet stores known to be selling dogs from puppy mills. But it's not just make them go away forever; the point is to convince them to turn their store humane by committed to "sell" only animals from shelters or rescue groups.

It's already happened in LA with the grand re-opening of Woof Worx, a store once known as Pets of Bel-Air

http://www.petproductnews.com/headlines/2009/03/10/best-friends-supports-new-la-pet-store-with-adoption-only-model.aspx

You are right, people want their dogs and many don't want to enter the shelter environment to get them. These retail locations are the key to increasing adoptions and ending the dependence on commericial breeding operations. The rescue community supporting them after they go humane is also a MAJOR key!

Jon March 19th, 2009 03:19:37 PM

"HSUS is like a person with Multiple Personality Disorder." - Very well put !

I recently started reading The Endangered Owner blog it has some very interesting points about HSUS and PETA http://endangeredowner.blogspot.com/

I think the problem is "the demand side" - In the early 90's a few commercial kennels such as DeerRun and Kimbertal tried breeding Mastiffs but quickly found the demand was low and they dropped them and moved to another breed.  The big commercial kennels only breed what is in demand, the big brokers such as EuroPet Puppy and others only broker what is in demand....no demand=no product

Then there is the average backyard breeder who thinks they wanna have a litter then can't sell it then dump the puppies at the humane society - they could be stopped with educational campagns..

LC March 19th, 2009 03:31:44 PM

Jon,

you don't find the article a bit hypocritical?

I mean, selling purebred puppies and all....

After there are no more purebred puppies available from shelters, where are all the purebred puppies this store and others modeled after it going to get their puppies from?

Really.

I would really like to know who wrote this business model.

Yet another work-around?

Linda Kaim March 19th, 2009 03:37:31 PM

Linda: I agree--I find it strange and somehow very un-wonderful. But remember, we are not the norm. I'd be willing to bet you're like most of us here...you don't mind poking around in less-than-modded-out places to source your pets.

Dr. Patty Khuly March 19th, 2009 04:47:08 PM

I find it downright scary.  With the endorsement of a prominent rescue community to boot.  One has to wonder.

Linda Kaim March 19th, 2009 05:03:56 PM

Sorry, Dr. Patty, I can't follow you on this one. I've been following the legislation that HSUS has been pushing at breakneck pace all over the country with religious zeal, using any dirty trick available -- slipping it into committees where it doesn't belong, adding wholesale revisions at the eleventh hour, lies, lies and more lies -- they want nothing less than a complete end to ANY sort of dog breeding, complete mandatory spay and neuter, and the eventual end of pet ownership. Getting in bed with them is sleeping with the devil. 147 killed in Wilkes County, N.C., more than sixty of which were innocent puppies -- because the HSUS reps TESTIFIED that there was no hope of rehabilitation, without even evaluating a single dog. I would give my money to a drug dealer before I would give it to HSUS.

Susan March 19th, 2009 05:24:22 PM

Just keep your seatbelts fastened.

Evet March 19th, 2009 05:30:25 PM

Where we really need to be concentrating our efforts is the 11,000 kids born a day in this country and those already running around in diapers.  They are the future.  Teach your children well.

Evet March 19th, 2009 05:39:46 PM

Susan: I'm with 2CatMom and LC. I choose to see HSUS as a multiple personality disorder patient. I'm smart enough to realize that all its leadership and legislation is headed in the direction you fear. But I also recognize that the bulk of its membership is (currently) largely unaware of its wider goals. I believe that some correction will eventually ensue as the HSUS recognizes that its coffers won't stay stuffed should it strike at the heart of the pet-keeping world. 

Dr. Patty Khuly March 19th, 2009 08:21:20 PM

I just don't get that the HSUS is out to eliminate companion animals living with us. Laura Bevan is the SE Regional HSUS director in FL and she's passionate about her work: ending inhumane treatment; punishing abusers; even ending the pit bull ban Miami-Dade County has (the ONLY county statewide in FL with this genocidal insanity. BTW a successful challenge was just held in court this week against the ban where the judge sided with the challengers, and hope springs eternal that its insanity can be overturned!) Just like PETA does alot of good AND alot of bad no organization/corporation/private company or enterprise i(and especially no human being) is always 100% ethical however, the HSUS has implemented alot of good and just laws protecting wildlife, companion animals, farm animals, etc. and it should not be condemned as a whole based on any one entity's fears (i.e. private breeders.) Even private breeders must be (or should be!) empathetic to the masses of purebred companion animals being destroyed nationwide due to overpopulation. A friend in Miami who used to breed Dobies STOPPED altogether FROM love of hte breed: it killed her the #'s being put down in the public shelter and she ethically could no longer add to those numbers. Too bad MORE breeders don't feel the same damned way. Breeders often emote like they're God given the right to exploit their breed's bloodlines and hell and damnation is offered against anyone thinking they should limit or curtail their breeding activities. I bet if they asked the bitches they breed if they like being kept "barefoot and pregnant" the dogs might just say "HELL NO!" I'm as a rescuer pretty damned tired of hearing breeders complain about their "rights" yet NOT being more concerned about their alleged beloved breeds' destruction and loss of life. If I were a mom and my kids were dying of starvation, disease or ethnic rivalries as kids are in many countries today I'D STOP HAVING BABIES. What about NOT BREEDING do breeders NOT understand? The HSUS is NOT the big boogeyman so many people make the organization out to be. It ain't perfect but then neither are we! And I double dare ANY of you to claim being so! The HSUS is made up of individuals just like each of us; and collectively as a whole its employees LOVE animals. I've come to know quite a few over the internet these past six years and I'd stand up for ANY of them and their commitment to companion animals.

Lee M. in Miami March 19th, 2009 09:53:57 PM

WHERE are there masses of purebred animals being destroyed? WHERE? That is such a load of cock and bull that it could ONLY spring from the AR people.  The purebreds are the first to be adopted. They get shipped to other states' shelters as well, or scooped up by breed rescues. I volunteer for a breed rescue and we scan the shelters, craigslist, the classifieds, you name it. PUREBREDS are not the ones getting the gas, and if you say so, then I WANT BACKUP.

Susan March 19th, 2009 10:15:08 PM

If I go on Petfinder and type in any breed. Hundreds or thousands will usually come up. BUT  and it's a big BUT, often the vast majority are mixes when you click on them OR just "best guesses" mixes which may or may not have the breed described in them. 

Yet I've heard those Petfinder "statistics" used by officials and organizations pushing MSN or BSL.

Lee, I have been a breed rescue volunteer for my breed going on 18 years. The president of our 501c3 rescue is actually one of the top breeders in our breed in terms on success of individual dogs both in health screening and titles. She never turns away a dog and does all the down and dirty work rescue requires.

The vast majority of GOOD breeders are involved on some level with rescue, whether it's fundraising, transport, whatever.

Now I don't want to go over this every gd day but please listen to what I am going to say about "If you were truly responsible you would not breed!"

The PET market is market and consumer driven. If ten thousand people want purple plaid sorkhunds, then the available PPSs will be quickely bought up. The entrepeneurs out there will find the ones who come from marginal breeders who sell intact without neutering contracts and a few will lie through their teeth to get a puppy and register it with whatever 20 Minute Lube and Dog Registry is around and before you can blink, the puppymill machine will be cranking out purple snorkhunds cause they are popular and will make them money.

NOW, NONE of these mass produced dogs will be screened for ANY health issues. They'll be bred to death, inbred, bred with obvious congenital problems. In two to five years the population will be 5 times what it was but 90% of the mass or backyard bred dogs will be of suspect genetics, and a big chunk will have obvious problems.

Now with the exception of occaisional "high profile" kennel busts, most of the flotsam and jetsam of this debacle will go through breed rescue. Many breed rescuers are the responsible breeders of the Snorkhund. They track their dogs for life and try to make damn sure that their dogs don't end up in shelters. But they try, for the sake of the breed and the dogs, to rescue and rehome the inevitable cast offs.

At the same time these folks have a few dogs each. EACH dog has multiple generations behind it of temperament, health and genetic screening. The dogs look and act like Snorkhunds are supposed to. Their dogs almost never end up in a rescue situation as they are placed carefully with life time "tech support". 

If they do the "responsible" thing and don't breed, then EACH time a bitch skips a year of breeding, the odds of her becoming infertile increases with her age. Same with males. Interest in the breed as a working, show dog, whatever fades as serious buyers looking for a specific dog for specific reasons move to other options. The gene pool of HEALTHY dogs shrinks. They CANNOT be replaced by the vast majority of BYB or commercially bred dogs which may be riddled with disease, severely inbred or have lost breed traits and qualities. A female dog should not be bred till she has been screened, usually at age two or older and in many breeds by age 5 her fertility may be questionable. Asking, or legislating, that the responsible breeders take 3, 5, 8 years off of breeding is tantamount to Mandatory sterilization and potentially devastating to not just individual breeding programs but in the case of rare, at risk and recovering breeds, devastating for the entire gene pool.

You cannot replace a healthy, happy rock solid dog who is part of a responsible breeding program with a sickly or even outwardly healthy looking puppy mill or byb bred dog genetically coded for PRA, liver shunt, HD, fearful temperament any more than you can substitute an adult 80 pound shelter dog for the pomeranian puppy someone living in a small apartment has their heart set on.

If there is demand for the breed, their decision to get out of breeding means that those buyers will most likely go to another source if they want a puppy. In my 20 plus years of experience I'll tell you that people who want a PUPPY get a PUPPY. The odds of redirecting them to an adult rescue is low, the odds of redirecting them to a mixed breed shelter pup is low. 

That is WHY, in spite of years of bad press, puppymills are still rockin along.

In addition, the responsible breeder sells on s/n. Follows up. Takes back dogs at ANY time if an owner cannot keep them.

If you buy into the "Until there are none, adopt one" then you help further the goals of radicals who want to see ANY intentional breeding become extinct.

Convince the public to spend a little time and effort doing some research before they aquire any pet, and convince them that a little wait for the right match is OK and you will solve much of the puppymill and discarded pet problem.

JenniferJ March 19th, 2009 11:23:40 PM

Well put, right on the mark -- and btw, our nationwide breed rescue takes in the mixes as well.

Oh, and the purebred I adopted 11 months ago today from a shelter in west $%^(, Virginia -- was one of a litter whelped after a puppy mill raid. They were on petfinder for about maybe, uh, one day? before all dogs and the dam were spoken for.

Susan March 20th, 2009 12:01:01 AM

Our rescue pres has a litter of mixes from a bitch who was dumped two days prior to whelping. Eight little wtfs? but if we gave them a cute designer name... Nah, they're cute and will go out carefully after being altered. 

I've fostered some interesting mixes. We're inundated locally and nationally right now so we can't take as many obvious mixes as we normally would, but if they are really sweet and pretty much out of other options you squint really hard and give them the benefit of the doubt. :-)

JenniferJ March 20th, 2009 12:09:10 AM

dr patty: i think it dangerously naive to assume that the problems with HSUS's wider goals will just "work themselves" out and that the public will keep them in check. when has that EVER panned out? we have less freedom today than we had 30 years ago, and every day, we lose more. if we let organizations like the HSUS - which IS completely aligned with PETA - get away with an inch - they will take a mile (and they are already doing it). HSUS is just as evil as PETA, they just keep it more on the DL.

CatERVet March 20th, 2009 12:48:23 AM

Concerning Woof Worx, most shelters in California get very few puppies, let alone purebred puppies. I wonder where all these wonderful, healthy purebred puppies are coming from? Local shelters? Not likely. California has few commercial breeders. I'll bet we see an increase in raids on breeders. There have already been cases in various states where raids happen one day, with lurid reports of sick, skinny dogs in filthy conditions, only to see them being put up for 'adoption' a few days later - no longer sick, emaciated, or otherwise. And then they introduce their anti-breeder legislation with great fanfare.

I know sub-standard kennels exist. I want them shut down and I advise everyone who comes to me for advise about getting a dog to avoid pet shops, but there is something fishy going on here.

As for HSUS, I agree with some of the legislation they have promoted, but I will not support them - every person donating to them or signing up as a 'member' is used by them to gather the clout to push for legislation that will make it harder for anyone to find a well-bred, healthy, carefull reared dog.

Good breeders are supplying only a small percentage of the US canine population, probably 6% at the most, though I have heard estimates as high as 15%. The CDC says the US is currently importing some 300,000 puppies a year, mostly to fill petshops and shelters - yes, shelters are importing dogs to supply the demand. If you think substandard kennels in the US are horrific, many of these puppies come from even worse conditions in Mexico and the former USSR countries. That number doesn't include the ones being smuggled into the US, the Border partrol estimates 10,000 per year at one border crossing in California - mostly very young puppies (less than 6 weeks). There have been several cases of rabies coming in with these imported puppies.

HSUS is planning to introduce anti-breeder legislation in more than half of our states this year - many bills have been entered already. If they pass, even a smaller percent of puppies will come from good breeders and more will come from commercial breeders or from overseas.

Maybe good breeders need to be breeding more, not less.

Linda H March 20th, 2009 03:13:51 AM

The Inhumane Society wouldn't know how to 'help' a puppy if it bit them on the @$$.  They have repeatedly made their positions on pets clear:  no breeding, no selling, and any opportunity they have to get seized pets destroyed - they spare no expense to accomplish that.  The HSUS does not speak for me as a pet owner.  They have wormed their way into local law enforcement agencies, local media and state legislatures in order to try and force their will upon the masses.  *We* are the real humane society - we who love pets and cherish our civil liberties as Americans.  We speak for ourselves and for the voiceless pets victimized and used as fundraising props by the HSUS.  

YesBiscuit March 20th, 2009 09:20:05 AM

Blah, blah, blah, blah...

Actions, not words.

Like not taking money donated to "shelter the Vick dogs" and using it to make me a member. Bait and switch, unethical, dishonest, sleazy are the words that come to my mind.

foxstudio March 20th, 2009 10:53:24 AM

<i>I would like to refute this bizarre allegation that The HSUS does not love and cherish pets and to clarify our broad mission of celebrating animals and confronting cruelty.</i>

You guys are "confronting cruelty" now? Wow, have I got a case for you to look into.

Just recently in Wilkes County, NC, a group of animals, innocent of any crime except that of being 'the wrong breed' (or, in at least some of the dogs, just LOOKING like the wrong breed) were put to death.

The murdered dogs included nursing puppies, many of whom weren't even BORN when the initial case came to trial.

A National "Animal Rights" group actually lobbied FOR the destruction of the dogs - all of them. This same group piggy backed on a national case involving the seized dogs of a sports celebrity, and used it to fund raise to 'help the dogs' - and then called for the death of THOSE dogs, as well.

Could you guys possibly put your big, high powered, high funded press machine to work 'confronting' the cruelty, ignoranace and malfeasance involved in those cases?

A clear cut case of that kind of cruelty really, really deserves to be looked at very closely indeed. Lucky for you, people are already starting to look - and they don't much like what they're seeing.

How about you, HSUS? Looked in a mirror lately? Because the enemy you see - that's you.

frogdogz March 20th, 2009 11:20:12 AM

There is a bill that is going though Congress that will shut down responsible breeders IE those that dont cage up the poor dogs and raise the pups "under foot" at home. My breeder falls into this catagory... It leaves the big commercial puppy mills alone. Why is that? How come the PETA people and the "humane"society cant just pick on some body their own size. the do-gooders are wanting to end pet ownership period. So they are going after those they think are responsible and not touching the one that stuff money into their pockets, the puppy mills.. The shelters and rescue people Ive run into are impossible, 10 page forms, with questions landlords and employers are not allowed to ask.... strangers wanted to "investigate" you... come into your house... "Oh you want to adopt a shih tzu and you dont have a yard.. get a goldfish"... I have been rejected insulted and demeaned because I work and will crate... We are a nation that has turned itsself over to the over zealous regulatory left...we give money to thugs that use PACS to push laws on us that errode our civil liberties. Its really sad people. Soon there will be no dogs and cats left because they will not let anyone have one and wont allow it to reproduce. We need to as a pet loving community be more proactive in encouraging people to adopt not push them away like I have been.

Hokulea Kealoha March 20th, 2009 11:29:50 AM

LindaH: "most shelters in California get very few puppies"

On the Best Friends post at Pet Connection, they assert that it's "quite common" for nursing mothers and puppies to be destroyed in LA city shelters (and that's one of the reasons why WoofWorx is a good thing)

EmilyS March 20th, 2009 11:33:02 AM

A couple of points. 1. We need to differentiate local humane societies from HSUS. HSUS gives little or no money to local human societies, and more than 75 cents of every dollar they collect goes into sending out more direct mail. If the person from HSUS wants to argue that point with me, they can bring their accounting books to lunch, as I am a direct mail expert and I work at 1220 19th Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. about two blocks from their main office building. 2. HSUS does some good work and a lot of confused work. Do they think they are doing bad work ever? No, of course not. They think they are all good people doing good work. Don't we all, even the truly evil? I will venture to say that almost all of the folks at HSUS *mean* well and they are even doing some good work with the minority sums of money that actually go to doing program work. That said, when push-comes-to-shove, HSUS's core mission is the perpetuation of HSUS, and that is done through direct mail. Direct mail is about EMOTION, not fact, and if facts have to be dropped or stories distorted in order to increase the response rate to 1%, then that will be done. What's truth got to do with it?? 3. A core problem at HSUS is that there is no core guiding philosophy, nor is there much real knowledge or subject matter expertise. They oppose hunting, for example, but know little or nothing about wildlife management, and so they get their head beaten on issues like deer management, predator management, etc. HSUS employs a lot of people who do not actually know too much about areas they are claiming expertise in. It is a common problem with ALL nonprofits in this town, and they are not immune. The result is that HSUS looks crazy at times because it is -- quite literally -- shooting off its mouth in areas they know nothing about. This happens all the time when it comes to trapping and hunting, but it also happens in other areas too, such as elephant and zoo management, tail docking, and breed-banning. 4. I do not think HSUS is interested in getting rid of all dog ownership. PETA suits up for that, not HSUS. Nor do I think HSUS is interested in outlawing all breeds or dog breeding. PETA suits up for that, not HSUS. 5. I think if you pushed HSUS up against the wall, they would say that a VERY large number of dog breeders are unethical breeders, and I would NOT argue with that. The large commercial breeders are not ethical in my book, nor are most of the "pump and dump" breeders who advertise on the internet and in the newspapers. As for the pedigree dogs in the show dog community, you cannot ethically breed a dog that has been "selected for defect" like bulldogs and teacup dogs. And what about dog breeds in which 25% to 50 percent of the dogs die of cancer? How do you get ethics out of those numbers? There is no ethical breeding going on with show ring GSDs, is there? No, of course not. I intend to run the numbers sometime soon (time is short all over they tell me), but the notion that "most breeder are ethical" is clearly nonsense. Most dog breeders are NOT testing for genetic diseases and ARE breeding dogs in a closed registry system in which jaw dropping rates of defect are the norm. That is NOT ethical. Patrick Burns http://www.terrierman.com http://terriermandotcom.blogspot.com

PBurns March 20th, 2009 11:46:04 AM

"A friend in Miami who used to breed Dobies STOPPED altogether FROM love of the breed: it killed her the #'s being put down in the public shelter and she ethically could no longer add to those numbers."

But is it ethical to leave the future of a breed you love in the hands of people who produce dogs accidentally, carelessly, and/or ignorantly?   Because that's all you'll have left if the responsible breeders quit breeding.

And here's a news flash - whether or not you believe there is an overpopulation crises with dogs in this country, there is not - never has been, never will be - a surplus of well-bred dogs.  By "well-bred" I mean dogs who are healthy, physically sound, temperamentally stable and suited for whatever task they were originally designed for.  There will NEVER be a shortage of dogs like that.  They can be produced ONLY by knowledgeable people who love their breed enough to work damn hard to produce the best dogs they can. 

Barb March 21st, 2009 12:46:22 AM

"And here's a news flash - whether or not you believe there is an overpopulation crises with dogs in this country, there is not - never has been, never will be - a surplus of well-bred dogs.

In reality, there is no 'overpopulation' problem, in general.

It's a funny thing, this almost across-the-board agreement that the average 2 million dogs killed in U.S. shelters each year are the result of 2 million "too many" dogs.

The figures don't appear to show anything like that, actually.

According to a study in Anthrozoos, about 7.3 million dogs are acquired each year, including 5.8 million puppies from pet stores, show breeders & backyard breeders; about one million dogs from animal shelters, and 500,000 "other" (strays picked up, etc.). About 6.2 million U.S. dogs die each year, including accidents, voluntary/necessary veterinary euthanasias, and dogs killed in shelters (both owner surrenders for euthanasia and those not adopted/adoptable).

The study concludes approximately 4 million dogs enter U.S. shelters each year. Owner surrenders are about 1.8 million (300,000 for euthanasia and 1.5 million for adoption). One million of the estimated 3.1 million dogs available for adoption do get new homes, leaving 2.1 million shelter dogs euthanized.

A study from Tufts also found 1.8 million to 2.1 million dogs are euthanized in U.S. shelters each year.

Assuming these figures are even remotely accurate, that puts the "overpopulation" theory to rest. If 7.3 million dogs are acquired each year, and only about 2 million dogs are killed in shelters, we still have a deficit of 5 million homes that wanted, and found, dogs. (Or, to be picky, 4 million homes that wanted, and found, dogs from sources other than a shelter.)

There are literally millions more homes wanting dogs than there are dogs killed in shelters. ...Millions.

Having worked in animal welfare for nearly 40 years, I'm not naive. I know most dog buyers aren't considering shelter dogs, for various reasons that may never be solved by increasing access and awareness. However, I believe that educating people about cruelty and negligence and long-term solutions, as well as an animal's basic rights to have it's mental and physical needs met...well...that is where we'll see real improvements moving into the future.

Personally, I rely on education. Once someone learns about the horrors of puppy mills or the often-tragic consequences of capricious backyard breeding, they likely remain transformed and vigilant for the rest of their lives.

I truly believe that when people know better, they do better. How we get millions of people to know better is the million dollar question.

Marjorie March 23rd, 2009 12:29:49 PM

شات

amal_ May 22nd, 2009 09:20:26 AM

Thanks for your sharing.This is a good access to Amercrombie and Fitch

Ambecrombie and Fitch September 16th, 2009 06:58:03 AM

The timberland mens boots world can be changed by man endeavor, and that this endeavor can lead to something timberland men's 6 inch new and better .No man can sever the bonds that unite him to his society simply by averting his eyes . He must ever be receptive and sensitive to the new timberland men's classic; and have sufficient courage and skill to novel timberland shoes facts and to deal with them cheap timberland boots. http://www.timberboots.co.uk/

timberland shoes September 29th, 2009 09:11:01 AM

شات كتابي - شات الخليج

http://chat.al5lyg.com/ October 1st, 2009 04:03:49 PM

“Marriage bridal gown world pictures pictures of wanted to plan a happy surprise, a number of wedding photography studio is the purpose of holding more money ‘Kengren’, they set a ‘trap’ let you keep track of.” Wedding photos has just finished a small selection mother told the journalists, was originally a good original price 7999 yuan Zhao Shuren said that the wedding package, less than 2,000 yuan only to 5999 yuan.

bridal November 24th, 2009 01:31:04 AM