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Some thoughts to ponder.
A Concerned Rescuer in America

Yes, we are all guilty of not doing enough and not embracing changes that could benefit the animals. Should rescuers be doing more to bring forth humane education in their communities?

Co-authored by Randy Warner and Mary Ultz, Humane Educator City of Huntsville

To answer the question, I would say an emphatic YES!! There is no other group of people who devote more time, effort, compassion or personal finances into a job or hobby than do most rescuers. But, educating just one family at a time, as opposed to 50 families at a time is obviously not as productive. And lets face it. Trying to convince an adult to change their ways of handling and caring for their pets is about as successful as convincing your spouse you are ‘right’ during an argument.

Rescuers are concerned with education, they just don’t know it.

Should Rescuers be considered humane educators as well?

They ARE! Sometimes they just don’t know it. They speak from the front lines of the dog and cat rescue battles. Rescuers have the most, as well as the best, information regarding pets and their unique stories, along with the reasons why....

Rescue is a passion-driven field. Logic and business sense are frequently put on hold because some little angel needs some extra care today. I mean, it's not like your profit margins are going to be factored by investors on Monday, right?

Now, I'm quite sure that accomplishing an education effort takes different strategies than what most of the public assumes, but I believe it can be done. Not everyone will agree, not everyone will wish to participate, but at the very least, nearly everyone can read this and think about it.

From 1985 ‘til now I’ve done rescue primarily for Dalmatians—and others when needed. I know how difficult it is, how expensive it is, to what extent you can be drawn into an effort that never seems to end.

It's the ''never seems to end'' part that I want to ask YOU about. I'm addressing this to all those who devote their valuable and wonderful time and assets toward saving dogs' lives, the rescuer. I have a challenge for you…

I’d like to suggest that you give 20% of your time, efforts and money to getting a strong and substantial humane education program into your area schools. I do not mean to infer that your present efforts are not necessary or important. I know it is crucial to so many animals’ lives to continue what you’re doing.

But, that being said, if you ONLY do rescue, you are simply making it easier for those who are borderline about keeping their pets, and you are also assuring that your children’s generation and your grandchildren’s generation will be forced to do the same level of rescue as you do now. You must do everything you can to educate this younger group of people before they head down the very same path as their parents.

Each and every one of you has the knowledge, experience, compassion and everything else needed to make a HUGE difference in the next generation!!! You can't do it by saying "I don't have time" or offering other excuses. Spending 100% of your available time rescuing simply puts all future dogs in jeopardy, because you did NOT do enough to resolve the underlying problems for the future. You will continue to clean up the mess after yesterday’s parade. I would hope that you would rather see the front of the horse once in a while.

If you are willing to work toward this momentous effort, I don’t want you to be overwhelmed. Try 5% per year for humane education over the next five years and increase accordingly. Some of you are not comfortable as public speakers. If that is the case, consider recruiting a friend or neighbor who supports your efforts and wants to do more. Many schools (even in this economy) have ''speaker'' funds and will write you a check for $100 as you leave. You could bring in as much as $500/week for 5 hours’ work. We all know how helpful money is in our pocket. Why not earn money for our rescue endeavors while we spread the message to make rescue unnecessary? As a rescuer, you can send information to schools of your choice and follow up to see which class got that information.

What if you spent only one hour a weekend handing out information to the public? Minimal cost for copies, countless contacts to pet owners!

If you have a website, place some information there as well. One more link about the overpopulation and how people can help end it will not take too much effort, but will save lives in the end! Everything I have on my site is for public use. The more people that check out my site, the more their awareness and information levels increase, thus they act more responsibly. If you don’t have the time for another page, PUT A LINK TO MY PAGE ON YOUR PAGE! Everything on my site will resound loudly in the ears of anyone who has helped with rescue and listening to the idiots make up excuses for these poor innocent pets.

Some principals tell me that I’m not needed at their school, because most of their students already have pets. WELL, A BIG STUPID DUH TO THEM!! But once I’m invited into a school, you would not believe the impact that my 45-minute program has on these young minds. I take all five of my dogs: 2 dals, (one deaf) a coyote, a pit bull and a beagle-basset mix. My presentation is blunt, direct, fun, AND VERY INFORMATIVE. I barely mention what they think they'll hear. When we depart, each face looks so much different from when we first arrived. It’s amazing. The kids are motivated to form a humane education club or at least take on a year long project to accomplish something to help animals. Amazingly, teachers and staff tell me how much even they learned and then thank me.

You need to be well versed in supportive information to check all claims, suggestions and rules enforced in contracts. I'll bet every rescuer out there knows exactly what I'm talking about.

I just hope that some of you see that we all have room for growth, change and expansion of our duties. If we are creative, we can accomplish so much more. If only 20% of the rescuers who read this decide to do SOMETHING, that would be over a thousand people. Now, a thousand people visiting schools just 3 times a year is 3,000 MORE classrooms visited. 3,000 classrooms this year with 40 students each is 120,000 EDUCATED youth who will not likely need to services of rescuers or animal control agencies except for adoptions. Then, I've surpassed my goal considerably!!
For all those who say 'we can't' for whatever reason, would you rather be part of the Rescue Janitorial staff than the Engineering or Research Departments who will be a vital part of the solution?

When you pass on, can you guarantee that someone similar will step into your shoes and take over with the same fervor and compassion to save the dogs of tomorrow?? Wouldn't you like to try and save some of them NOW while you can? With every good presentation you give, you are likely to save 10-50 dogs depending on the number of ears listening. And it only takes an hour and maybe $15. (gas, 50 copies and lunch at McDonalds on the way home)

CAN YOU MEET THE CHALLENGE OF EDUCATION TO CREATE PROBLEM RESOLUTION?

I would love nothing more than NOT to do rescue because it is not necessary. Until then, I will continue along my path of education for solution. I choose to be pro-active to end overpopulation, not just re-active to current demands.

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

I would suggest to those who continue with rescue, to WORK SMART, NOT HARD

An article on 'Backyard Breeders' that I wrote in 1999 for a local paper which had begun stressing overpopulation and was receiving much scrutiny and anger from the locals:

AMERICANS WILL KILL UPWARDS OF 8 MILLION HEALTHY, ADOPTABLE PETS THIS YEAR.
WHY? TOO MANY PETS – NOT ENOUGH HOMES!
WHO IS AT FAULT? ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO HAS A LITTER FOR FUN, FOR PROFIT, OR “BY ACCIDENT’’! THE ‘’BACKYARD BREEDER’’ Backyard Breeders misrepresent themselves as responsible/respectable breeders. They have the misguided thoughts that AKC papers means their pet is breeding quality. If you allow your pet to parent even one litter, then YOU are the solutions’ BIGGEST problem! Unless you honestly don't know how dogs become pregnant or are just retarded, there is no such thing as an accidental litter.

I foster, rehabilitate and place rescued dogs of many breeds. Dalmatians are one of my specialty breeds but I also rescue, train and foster many others as well. Because of this, I WANT to speak out today on the issue of breeding for fun and profit. Some of you will be upset by this written piece and that is good, maybe you'll help us do something about the problem. For, each person who throws their arms in the air, or rolls their eyes in disgust for something I’ve said in this piece, you are the likely intended target. For verification on anything I say on this page, ask ANY person associated with an animal welfare group or facility – ANYWHERE.
BACKYARD BREEDERS ARE -

**Anyone who has a litter for fun, profit or by ‘accident’.
**Anyone who is so uninformed that they think having AKC papers means that their pet is breeding quality.
**Anyone who advertises their litters in the local paper for sale. (respected breeders only advertise in trade magazines)
**Anyone who thinks that by finding their puppies good homes that they somehow don’t have to play by the rules or take responsibility.
**Anyone who thinks they found their litter good homes, simply because everyone that took one, smiled honestly and ‘promised’ to treat them well.. Thus insisting on no background check, no enforceable contract or any type of follow up.
**They will provide erroneous information to the potential adopters regarding the required care and treatment necessary for the pet - simply for their own personal gains Respectable breeders will have walls adorned with trophies and certificates which represent the numerous championships they’ve acquired over the years.

If you take personal offense to it then you need to examine your activities very carefully as you are likely my target or reason for writing this. If you wish to respond negatively to this, you will find you won't get much support from myself or those who are knowledgeable. I am speaking OUT today, not only for myself, but also for all rescuers across the nation, all of the ‘respectable’ breeders around the country and all of the responsible pet guardians. Therefore, I will not say, "In my humble opinion", as this opinion is shared by the respected breeders and pet guardians, as well as the ASPCA, Humane Society of the United States and all of the Shelters and other Humane/Animal Welfare organizations in this country.

Up to 8 million healthy animals are killed in U.S. pounds and shelters every year. The majority of killing could easily be prevented by spaying OR neutering. Euthanasia is the single largest cause of death for dogs in the U.S. Each year 27 million DOGS are born. 8 or more million we classify as "surplus" ARE killed. That's about ¾ million per month. These numbers do not include the millions of dead dogs whose bodies we scrape off the streets, the growing number that are put to sleep at vets’ offices or the hundreds of thousands THAT ARE abandoned.

LET'S NOT FORGET THE severely neglected or abused ones who never make it to our shelters to be counted and OR EUTHANIZED. The ten million figure represents those we "MUST" kill because they are unwanted!!! Most of these animals are young and healthy; in fact, it is estimated that a majority are less than one year of age. The problem is simple: we have too many dogs...Too many for the too few homes available TO THEM. The solution we have opted for is to kill the extras. This solution has been considered acceptable by default, as though there were no other way to control the crisis. And we spend over $11 billion every year destroying "man's best friend."

A common sense look that you cannot deny or argue with: If you were part of a company who made ‘pets’ and every year for the past 20 years, you had been overstocked to the point of having to dispose of the overstocked inventory, what would you suggest they do this year to improve? So, if you KNOW we are killing this vast number of innocent, loving animals each year, why in the world would you think that having a litter of puppies or kittens is OK?

Why is this happening in the United States today? The number one biggest contributor to the problem is the "backyard breeder" not the puppy mills. This is a name that has become unpopular and no one wants to admit they are a "backyard breeder". Anyone having a litter in their home with just the family pet as one of the breeding parents, and advertise in the local papers) Many people do not even realize they are part of the problem. This is what I need to address in this post. The only way to stop the needless killing of dogs is to stop the needless breeding of them.

Every breed of dog recognized by the AKC has a written standard, a blueprint of what the dog should look like and act like. These standards were written so that all would know what a quality example of the breed is and strive to produce dogs that meet or exceed the standard in health, temperament and appearance. To be sure you are breeding dogs that meet these standards, your dogs must be judged by people who have a lifetime of experience among the breed. If your personal dog has not yet been in front of a judge, then you do NOT have an AKC standard dog, you have one that is pet quality and that is fine. AKC papers DO NOT signify a dog with Breeding quality standards!!!!!

. A pet is to be loved, cherished, trained, cared for, spoiled and bragged about, but it is NEVER to be bred. No matter how cute or sweet the dog may be, if it is not up to the standard, you have no business breeding it. Even if you have a purebred dog this does not give you the right to breed it. Most purebred dogs are not breeding quality. If you breed your pet quality dog, you are a "backyard breeder", whether you breed the dog in your backyard, garage, living room or an expensive hotel room, the term is still backyard breeder. If your pet quality dog has AKC papers, that's nice but it doesn't change anything. You still don't have the right to breed it. If your pet quality dog cost you $500 be glad you had the money to afford it. You still have no right to breed it.

Do you think you can RECOUP your $500 INVESTMENT if you breed your pet dog? OR DO YOU THINK YOUR pet dog is a color or size that isn't in the standard but you just know everyone will want buy a pup if you breed her? Shame on you! Now you are a "backyard breeder" with the purpose of breeding pups for fun and profit. That is despicable!!!

If the price for a tail dock or an ear crop seems high to you, what are you going to do when your beloved pet needs an emergency C-section? Will you even be there to know if she is in trouble? Would you recognize trouble before its too late AND BE MONETARILY ABLE TO SEEK VETERINARY HELP?

If you still want to breed your pet but need to ask, "Who's suppose to cut off the tails and ears"? Ask yourself, "What the Hell am I thinking?" Do you think genetic testing is something they used in the OJ trial but has nothing to do with your dog-breeding career you are a "backyard breeder".

"Backyard breeders" sell pups that aren't up to the standard of the breed. They do this for many reasons. None are good enough reasons to contribute to the killing of dogs. Period.

"Backyard breeders" will swear all of their pups went to a good home. They believe this, but it's not NECESSARILY true. Some may have been lucky enough to go to a good home at the time of adoption, but more than half of them will end up dead, in a shelter alone, on a cold table with a needle sticking out of their leg. Why? Because the Backyard Breeder didn’t follow through or even know enough about adoptions to ask the right questions up front. Some of those good homes will get tired of the dog and they will just give it away to anyone who is willing to take it. Some of your beloved dog's children will end up living alone in a backyard, barking all night, cold and neglected until the guardian gets complaints and then that pups will be dead. Some will be starved and beaten. Some will be bred until they die from THE MANY BIRTHS.

Some will end up in rescue and I will have to find space for it in my home. I will GIVE IT LOVE TO SHOW IT that not all humans are bad. I will train it, and feed it the proper food so it can heal, MENTALLY AS WELL AS PHYSICALLY. I will take the fleas off and I will get rid of the worms. I will give it the shots it should have had but no one remember to DO it. I will do these things because the "backyard breeder" didn't. I will spay or neuter that pup before I find it a new home so that I will never have to rescue one of it's pups. THAT WAY I CAN BE ASSURED it will never end up in the hands of another "backyard breeder" looking to make profit from puppies.

"Backyard breeders" are not responsible pet guardians. They claim that they love the dogs but it's not true because they don't really want to be bothered with doing all that it takes to breed ethically. They love feeling important when they say, "I breed mini schnauzers". But breeding pet dogs isn't something to be proud of. IT'S a shame on our society. It's the reason for the killing that goes on in shelters. Why do you want to be part of that? Do you want to be respected? Spay or neuter you pet dog. There's really no other way. The kind of homes you want for your pet pups don't want to buy from you. They are looking for responsible, respected breeders who are doing something for the breed as a whole. Most of those WHO WILL BUY your pups are the kind of people I wouldn't give a dog I didn't like to. They are the ones who will turn your puppy into a shelter when the novelty wears off. That's a PROVEN fact. Want to stop the problem of killing 1 Million dogs a month all over America? Spay or neuter your pet dog now and tell everyone you know to do the same. Leave the breeding to the people who are doing something to better the breed.

DO you want to have a litter of puppies to show your children the miracle of life? Then to be fair and honest, volunteer yourself and your children to work at the county dog pound for no less than three days to show them the miracle of death.  After all, as a 'backyard breeder' you are now the single most contributing factor to the pet overpopulation problems that we all face and which cause the millions of healthy pets to be killed each year in this nation.


The failures of the lawmakers, the laws, the courts and local governments

Jail Time:

Yes I spent time in jail trying to make my point and rightfully so. Most of the time I seemed to have problems staying out of trouble with the top level animal control officials. At the same time, when the field officers would come to my home, at the direction of their superiors, they not only sympathized with what I was doing, she also very supportive of my efforts and did what they could to keep me out of trouble.

A knock on the door by the officer only to see my home and yard busy with activity from the number of Dalmatians in my care. Happy, healthy and bothering nobody. Seeing as though the limit was 3, I usually had 8-10 in the earlier years. The officer would say with a wink, "I only see three Dalmatians today, don't I?' and then step inside with a pint of Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream and ask me to get two spoons.

In one community they would pay the animal control officer overtime to sit and wait for me to come home in the evening so he could actually write me a ticket for having too many animals with me. One time, I was walking them all to the store and Maddy was off leash and he gave me a ticket for dog at large. That was the first time I went to jail, but was released as soon as they had my finger prints and mug shot.

One time I was taken to jail was when Orange County was tired of giving warnings of my having too many dogs in my one bedroom condo at the beach. Sometimes as many as seven. But we would go on a morning walk, spend a solid three hours each day at a different doggy park and then go to the beach at sunset. They were not 'wanting' anything. AND NO NEIGHBORS HAD COMPLAINED EITHER.

My limit was ten dogs. Never any more. And on the same day, the orange county pound called and said they had two Dalmatians for me =- would I take them? I said yes. That would bring my number of dogs to 9. Funny, how I arrived home to find two Dalmatians tied up to my front door with a small note saying they MUST go to me or be killed. Well, now I'm already over the limit that the county has placed on me. but who's going to find out this soon?????

Within two or three hours of my returning, the sheriff was there and brought along 2 animal control trucks to remove the animals.

I was forced to sit on my living room floor in handcuffs as the neighbors outside were screaming at the authorities to stop this nonsense because all I was doing was trying to help save lives. They finally had each and every dog loaded into the two trucks and proceeded to put me in the back of the sheriff's car.

Instead of being released on OR as usual, they actually made me stay there until I saw the judge. They decided to play hardball. They made me see a judge up in Santa Ana who had no idea of who I was or what I'd been doing over the years. and saw how many citations I had been issued. He decided to throw me in jail for 30 days. Now mind you, I only stayed for 9, but I learned more about myself in those nine days that I had in the previous 42 years.

I made the call to get a ride back home so I could see my two baby girls that I loved so dearly. The other 9 dogs had all been killed immediately upon arrival at the shelter 9 days earlier. never had a chance. It had been a set up by the county animal control to catch me and so they would know exactly when I would in fact have more than they had set the limits at.

I moved out of Orange County soon afterwards. I was now making my living from training dogs and doing some boarding over holiday periods when other kennels were full.

Now, I'm moving away from the beach which is highly populated and crowded to beautiful and very rural interior of Riverside County. Filled with rednecks in office. I'm thinking that some acreage in the country would be much more appropriate for my efforts. Everyone was hoping for a much calmer and more supportive lifestyle for my efforts.

But, this is only the beginning of an unbelievable ride - one that would shed much light on the greed and ignorance within the animal control system around our nation and stems directly from the stupidity of many supervisory boards from given and various counties. For the next three + years, I was being taken to court a total of 43 times. Each time was a different case, but all were exactly the same charge. An infraction with a max fine of $100 for not having a proper kennel license. Gaining unbelievable amounts of information from a variety of attorneys who offered to help pro bono, I was able to extend this case for the duration, only to be ultimately found not guilty. At a total cost to taxpayers of $60,000+

It was more than apparent that had the animal control been doing their job, there would be much less of a need for met to do what I was doing. For me to get a license, was acceptable at $260/yr. But to charge me nearly $10,000 in various fees just to get that license was what I was clearly protesting since I didn't have the money and not one red cent of that was to protect or ensure the animals safety or well being - it was just a 'law' that had too much government involvement.

Keep in mind throughout the entire Riverside County fiasco, the ONLY thing that anyone was trying to rule on, was 'did Randy Warner have the proper license' and it was clear I did not have that, but they kept finding me not guilty or dismissing the case due to extenuating circumstances and clearly supported by the courts and especially the public and the media.

During this period of time, I would appear in front of more than 35 judges for the exact same violation over and over again. When one judge would sympathies with my efforts and dismiss the case, the county would become more angered and outspoken. So the next judge, who would also be in a different part of the county at a different courthouse, was likely going to dismiss the charges as well.

If not he/she  would fine me and I'd then be forced to appeal the decision which ultimately lead to my being heard by yet another court which usually resulted in my being found not guilty each time. Usually within days, the brainiacs at Riverside County Animal Control then would send a field officer to issue yet another citation for the same.

Here was the problem. In order to be granted this license, I had to have kennels constructed for the dogs that met their strict requirements. First of all, the dogs in my care were and are allowed to run freely within the confines of my securely fenced 1.75 acres. They learn to share the food from one single large feeder and drink from a large water bowl without fighting. They have unlimited play time, sleep under the oak tree or on my bed. This provides them with the future expectations once they find their 'forever' homes. I didn't want to build kennels.

I was also not in a position of spending the $3,500 it would take to build them.

Also, my landlords would not have permitted me to do so as they didn't want to have their rental property resembling a dog pound for future renters, but fully supported my efforts as they were.

To complicate this matter even further, the county would NOT allow me to build the kennels until the planning and zoning department did a study/survey on the land and would require a temporary use permit which would cost $6,000 also.

The worst of the whole deal was that they fully expected, based on my numbers of dogs I usually cared for, that they would also require me to build handicapped parking and a handicapped bathroom as they would consider me to be operating as a business.

Other requirements were that I build a separate food preparation facility, which I could only assume was to be used for special occasions when I fed my dogs caviar and roasted duck.

To construct a separate septic system with underground tank for the animals' waste. Heaven forbid, their poop would ever be mixed with my poop.

On my second appearance in the Perris courthouse, Judge Loree presided. As I approached the bench, (with the Press Enterprise and LA Times in the courtroom) the judge said, “I sure hope that you are not the famous Dalmatian man that I( keep reading about in all the papers. is that you? When I replied with the affirmative, she looked upset. Then she announced that she and her husband had just discussed this over dinner the night before.

                         The above photo of my home is an illegal act in Riverside County, CA.

I was just stunned. I didn't know what had just happened. She said, 'You may go now' and I turned away to walk out. As I exited the courtroom, the bailiff stopped me and gave me a five dollar bill to help out with the dog food and I broke out in tears. The media just ate this up.

This was not the first time that a judge had respected my efforts and sympathized with what I was forced to do in order to be the law abiding rescue effort with that given county. Four years earlier in Orange County and appearing in court to answer to charges that were obviously trumped up just to make me look worse, the judge quickly recognized it and also dismissed the charges against me following some very stern words to animal control and a supportive nod in my direction.

Also, during the midst of this 40 month battle, the new Heydn Bill was introduced and passed through the CA legislature. This new law would force county and city funded animal facilities to make every attempt to work with their local breed rescues to find more homes for the animals in lieu of almost certain death. The animals would be required to be vaccinated and spayed and neutered prior to our acceptance of the animals - all at no charge to the rescuers.

So, now the county was under pressure to abide by the law and allow me to adopt any Dalmatian within their care. They, of course refused to do so and I made that very clear in court as well.

Throughout this 3 and 1/2 year battle of the wits and laws, the laws were so poorly written that even one judge dismissed the case because he knew nothing of it and the officer from the county couldn't provide any information. Now they have been made to look stupid in the media again and are getting angry. Two days later in an article in the Press Enterprise, the board of supervisors announced that they would be reviewing the judges decision and he would be placed on administrative leave for two days pending their decision.

The next time I was taken to court I was told that the case would not continue until I had posted a bail f $243. not a huge bale amount, but I don't have that kind of money - it all goes for dog food. And who in the world thinks I'm a flight risk? It became clear that the judge had received instructions from the county supervisors. Now, keep in mind, this follows the other judge who knew nothing of the particular law and dismissed my case. This was their way to even the score. It was at this time that the Los Angeles Times deemed them the 'hillbilly mafia''.

So, I was now forced to file a request for the courts to postpone my trial as I needed to raise the bail amount. Of course that also was covered in several newspapers and the funds came quickly.

The one that brought me to tears was from Nancy and Zubin Mehta. Zubin is the conductor of the LA Philharmonic Orchestra and had asked his audience of that previous Friday night to pass the hat in an effort to help the man in Riverside County fighting for the lives of so many innocent animals. They sent a check for $2,450.

The judge hearing this particular case was expecting to preside over a routine case of someone with too many dogs. After hearing my defense, he also decided to dismiss the case due to the fact he found no justifiable actions to curb my efforts as there had never been any complaints and recognized the passion and defensive arguments for my efforts. By the time the court session was over, with a continuance, no action taken and several area media reporters present as well, he commented to one of the court employees '”I'd love to know the details of this case.' Then he remembered that he had barred several Los Angeles based TV crews from entering his court room, but now wondered if there could be any connection. He asked to speak to one of them still outside and figured out who I was.

On a given afternoon in my mail, I see a citation from Orange County. why, I've not been to Orange county is over a year. It was a notice to appear due to the fact that I had violated my probation by breaking the law in Riverside County.

Number one: Nobody follows through with a violation of an infraction.
Number two: I'd yet to be found guilty on any one of them.

Luckily for me, upon arrival at Orange county courts, I was fortunate enough to see Judge Pamela Aisles, who had been supportive of me into he past. She agreed that this was odd, couldn't understand how it came to the attention of the courts and promptly changed the probation from ''break no laws'' to ''abuse nor neglect any animals in your care''. Then she handed me the updated copy with a smile and wished me luck.

Since that little tactic failed, I now find myself pulled over on the highway as I go to the grocery one day. I was placed in handcuffs and told by the officers that they really think this is an unfortunate argument between the county and myself as they quickly recognized me from all the coverage, but were instructed to bring me to jail for violation of a county ordinance that prohibits operation of a pig ranch within the city limits of an incorporated community.

I have no pigs. I live nine miles outside the city limits on 1.75 acres. when arriving at the jail, the officer there, didn't quite know what to do. But he made sure my stay was as short as possible and got me out quickly. The media decided not to run this story and were beginning to side with me as was most of the public in the Los Angeles Basin of communities. This was just another attempt of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to levy fines and fees as well as charges of abusing the law in order to garner more support for finally receiving a guilty verdict against me in the future.

Then, out of the clear blue sky, there was an article in the newspaper where the supervisors had approved stiffer penalties for those who keep more than Riverside County Law provides. Those who reviewed the new set of laws agreed they were much stricter, but argued that they were even less understandable than the original set. The laws never went into effect.

Soon after that, in another failed attempt to justify their anger with my ongoing battle with them, they claimed that this would have to be resolved very soon as they just didn't have the funds to continue. In the same article, the reporter mentioned that the county had just recently reduced the budget for this growing county from 3% to just 1.5%.

Not surprising to anyone, was the fact that during the very same month, the county supervisors had just voted themselves an annual pay increase of 35%. Hmmm, I wonder where those funds came from?

I then felt it necessary to question why the county is so eager to place so many financial obstacles in he paths of those who only rescue existing animals but have no program nor restrictions for those who breed for profit or allow for recreational litters. It doesn't make sense to me that they will allow any idiot to have litters, tie them upside down in the attic if they wish, paint them all purple, nor provide them with any vaccinations what so ever, but for those who try to assist in the ever growing problems of pet overpopulation, they require this, that and everything else in the world to attempt and prevent us from doing so.

The final battle

After one judge required me to post a bail of $243 (as if some idiot expected me to be a flight risk,) I was then forced to ask for a postponement of my next hearing so I could raise the funds.

Since he set the following court date in a futile and final attempt to ultimately resolve this issue between the county and myself, he did in fact hear the final two days of testimony and trial. I would say this judge was undoubtedly the most stern of all the judges I'd had throughout this bitch fest, but saw his gasp when he looked at the photos and was quiet for a few moments. Then when he waived the fine so I could use it on my ''drug of choice'' (dog food for my rescues) I knew this would be a victory when it all came out in the wash.

It was that evening when Jean Schmidt of Imperial County called me at home. She had been following the trials for over three years and happened to be a huge dog lover. Then she said 'oh, by the way, did I tell you that I'm also offering my services to make sure you are victorious in your battle. I'm a retired California Supreme Court Justice.” My mouth just dropped open and didn't really know what to say.

She was a gruff and very short speaking type person. This was a cause that she supported wholeheartedly, but wasn't too pleased with my questioning her suggestions. She frequently hung up on me in disgust, but would always make her way to come to the phone the next time I called. Over the next few weeks she made me do some things that were rather on the odd side, but I did them and they all had a strong impact that helped with the case - none of which would I have ever thought of in a million years.

One: Place an ad in the Press Enterprise that is 2” X 2” and has a border to make it visible. In the ad, you ask for any local or area gays and other minorities from the county who have experienced prejudicial treatment based on that fact and to call this special number that she had me set up. within 4 days, I had received over 70 calls from people all over the county who knew who I was and felt they too were discriminated against. I took their phone numbers and names but did little else, According to Jean, the damage had already been done. Just let them think that you are coming to court with all your guns and they will be loaded to the hilt.

The next thing she made me do was to get a large 4ft square sign made out of poster board. Glue the photos of the Board of supervisors and the animal control supervisor to the poster. Each photo should be no smaller than 8'' X 8” so that they would be recognizable in a public area. he text should be this and nothing else: WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN PROPERLY CHARGED AND FINED WITH THEIR CRIMES OF SPOUSAL BATTERY, CHILD MOLESTATION OR ANIMAL ABUSE?

She explained to me that with the question, I would likely be handcuffed and taken in, but that they would quickly realize that you can ask any question you wish. What this did was to place doubt and questions in the minds of the county residents, because it was so drastic, that the media was there in about 20 min and 2 min later, the cops had me in cuffs. Following day it was on the front page of the Press Enterprise along with one of their 18 feature articles about my battle to save the poor Dalmatians. Funny thing is, some of those who read the sign, actually went to work checking up on the history of all those mentioned and found 2 domestic violence charges and one had a pending charge for inappropriate behavior with a minor. So it also had some very strong impacts on the trial outcome. Now, they just didn't know what to expect from this crazy man who loves his dogs. On two occasions, throughout this 3 + year battle, I personally and professionally addressed the Riverside County Board of supervisors and brought others who would also speak on my behalf.

I explained how I was physically not permitted to construct the required kennels, nor was it even in my financial options either. I reviewed the benefits of the free reign socializing tactics I used and could prove that it did not make them out of control as they had accused me of. ''These dogs are allowed to run free without being kenneled and have developed a pack mentality'' . Then they go into a home with children? That would be very dangerous!!'' they said.

Well duh. They are in a 'group' right now. There is no clear and strong leader. They do not 'stand together' for any survival needs. As long as they are in my care, they have no enemies. We have no fights. Occasional misunderstandings or tiffs will occur, but are immediately squelched by me. I'd like to see you put 30 kids on a playground and expect to see no disagreements, minor injuries and a few tears from a mishap. You aren't suggesting that the schools contain them in secure cages.

What I found interesting in all of this is the failure to recognize that I have NEVER had complaints about the temperament of any of my rescued dogs, nor of mistreatment of neglect in all my years of rescue. And not one of the supervisors had ever come to see for themselves nor even sent a representative. When I reminded them of what the animal control officer put on his initial report, they denied ever seeing that. Hmmmm (''On May 4th, 1996, I visited the resident of Randy Warner on Ortega Highway where he has a small rescue efforts for Dalmatians. the animals were happy, seemed healthy and well fed. The premises was clean, securely fenced and were very responsive to Warner's commands and affection")

By the way, when they find their 'forever' homes, they are usually the only dog in the home, although sometimes there is another. So, how would they 'carry on' with their pack mentality and do harm to humans.?

Anyway, each time I tried to explain that this is only a humane effort on my part and have much success that I can point to, will gladly offer as many happy new adoptees as they wish to have and am only asking for a variance. The variance would allow me to continue without being prosecuted constantly, would provide for unannounced visits by animal control to determine the animals safety and well being and this would alleviate the requirement issues that are preventing me from actually obtaining the license that this entire battle is about.

Both times I formally spoke to them with this request, they said they had no reason to do so. Funny how they had enough of a reason to battle with me for 4 years and spend nearly $65,000 to bring me to court 43 times - only to see the end result of my receiving a 'not guilty ' verdict from the courts. Not to mention the public slamming them pretty hard and ultimately treating me as if I were a local folk hero.

It was also that previous hearing with Riverside County Imbeciles, I believe it was my 41st appearance - the judge that heard me this particular time wanted to be stern and settle the matter. As I was about to leave, he gave me a mandate that I place at least 10 of the 25 that I had at that appearance and not accept any new ones until all was ok with the county. I agreed.

Next court date was one month. On the third week, I had done very well to stay within his mandate by placing 9 of the ten he wanted to see placed. However, three days before the court appearance, I received a call from Christine at the Downey Dog Pound. They had been inundated with Dalmatians and there were 15 of them that were going to be euthanized that evening and asked if I could help. I told her I'd gladly accept them if someone would provide transportation and all shots had been administered. She agreed.

That evening a van pulled into my place which was a two hour drive from the Downey facility and I could see clearly that the van was full, but especially noticed three of the most angelic faces peering out the rear window anyone could imagine. I ran and grabbed my camera and snapped the shot for court.

We unloaded all of them shortly and the worker was on his way. Now I had to go to court and explain to him that my efforts are clearly those that people obviously cannot find within their own counties - Riverside Included. With the recent release of the Disney Live Action Movie, those who rescued Dalmatians have never been busier and that there was no law nor effort through the county's laws that could justify allowing these faces to die just because the county is requiring that I do things like they do. OBVIOUSLY it was the law, but Obviously it wasn't working. If it weren't' for 322 rescues across Riverside county, just imagine how many dogs and cats would have died needlessly and these little angels are a prime example.

Also, throughout the trial, since each hearing was attended by a different representative from the animal control office and none of them appeared to be able to add 2 + 2, I kept the heat on. I'd ask in front of the judge, 'What college did you graduate from?" and they would appear as a deer in the headlight, the judge would ask, 'To what benefit is that for anyone to know?"

My response was quickly, 'you'll see within the next 15 minutes." Then I would begin bringing out the documents showing how they as an agency had failed on this, come up short on this, been investigated recently by these organizations and state entities and the charges that had been levied against them over the years.

The Final Trial

Throughout the daylong trial, Pamela Anderson, the county attorney ( is much more resembling Roseanne Barr than the Pamela Anderson most of you are thinking of) and the idiot who was in charge of animal control who had been under severe scrutiny for many many years and never made any attempts to correct the problems that upset so many. Sick animals, loosing animals belonging to residents, euthanizing too soon, never being open when the public could possibly pay them a visit to handle business or consider adopting one of their animals.

On more than one occasion, they, with their 'sad eyes' and hearts full of compassion suggested to me as they addressed the courts, that I simply should make the decision to turn all my animals over to them as they were more appropriately set up and trained to handle numbers of animals than I.

Without missing a beat, I interrupted their little sickening acting job and said' Now, wait a minute here. Aren't' you the people who run Riverside county animal shelter? You still kill your dogs after just three days don't you. By the way, when is the last time you walked through your facility to kiss each dog goodnight as I do and call each one by name?

Both turned red and the supervisor demanded that the court consider me a hostile witness. The judge said YOU CAN'T CALL MR. WARNER A HOSTILE WITNESS. HE'S AUTOMATICALLY A HOSTILE WITNESS. YOU ARE PROSECUTING HIM. and gave him a dirty look. He put his head down and just barely made eye contact with me as the judge was preparing for the next phase of the hearing.

I whispered loudly across the front of the courtroom to the animal control supervisor 'HEY, TOM. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR YOUR TESTICLES, I BELIEVE THE JUDGE KICKED THEM UNDER THAT FILING CABINET OVER THERE and gave a huge smile to show that I had no hard feelings. The judge heard my comments and instructed that everyone must remain quiet until and unless addressed by himself. When he looked down, he had a smirk on his face as I'm sure he was chuckling inside.

It was then that I presented my stacks of information showing that they charge more to the tax payers for killing the animals than they do for adopting - thus the reason they aren't open convenient hours, don't' want to see my efforts or those of the remaining rescues to be successful as it truly is a financial means of increasing all their year end profits

His only comment was 'Mr. Warner, it is clear you have a big heart and are using it to do very good deeds. What the county and the courts are trying to get you to do is to find a way in which you can continue these noble efforts without breaking the laws. So, I'm going to set a final trial one month from today.

I expect BOTH parties to come prepared with attorneys, homework done and have a solution that we can all live with. Mr. Warner, I'm going to fine you $45 today for not coming to court with a number that showed a reduction of at least ten dogs as was required on your previous appearance. However, I'm going to waive that fine as it seems to me you will need it for dog food.

Of course, they soon found out. I spent every waking hour on the phone with one of three attorneys who all offered to represent me in court. I told them all no. I just wanted to win all by myself. So, they explained what the procedure is and how I should respond. What I should take along to present to the courts and even how and when to try and object to the prosecutions' idiocy'. I must have taken some good notes from everyone. This trial was tentatively scheduled for the morning session at 10 am and should be 20-30 minutes long. This is my day and I will not allow it to be taken from me.

When we broke for lunch I was ecstatic. I'd kept it going for 2 full hours at least. The afternoon was also productive. the judge did not take kindly to the prosecution's slanderous remarks about my lack of preparedness for these procedures. Came back even more motivated than in the morning. Especially when I noticed that Pamela Anderson, the county attorney had dressed up like a Dalmatian as the prosecution atty. she thought since it was getting so much media coverage that it would be humorous.

On the second day of this very public trial and certainly against everyone 's better judgment, I did what I had to do. The morning of the trial, I wore a cheap Halloween wig, put a pillow under a blouse I'd thrown on along with a borrowed skirt. Then I painted my lips way over the lip's edge in bright gaudy red and went to court. The Bailiffs questioned me and almost refused to allow me to enter. They finally did and made me sit in the far back corner of the court until the judge called the case..

''The county of Riverside vs. Randy Warner'' will the parties please step forward. INSTANTLY I hear the judge interrupt and ask Mr. Warner, now I understand this is a passion of yours, but will you please explain your wardrobe this morning?

Yes sir, I'd be happy to. Yesterday Pamela Anderson (no secret I hated her as much as she hated me.) was kind enough to dress like a Dalmatian rescuer. In a sarcastic tone of voice, I'd continue, I assumed it was to comfort me in this difficult battle so I decided to repay the favor and have simply come to court today dressed like Pamela Anderson.

The judge blew out some air in an attempt not to laugh, but it was clear as to his understanding of my humor and willingness to pull out all the guns necessary to throw them off guard in hopes of winning.

''We will proceed. Mr. Warner, I will require you to remove the wig. I would demand that you remove the women's clothes but am not even going to ask what you have on underneath them.

As soon as we were all at the tables and our materials appropriately displayed, he asked IS EVERYONE COMFORTABLE? and then reviewed all the various steps we would be taking during this court procedure since it was obvious I was not an attorney and still very prepared and willing to fight for my case. We will continue this case.

He was very courteous to me. Knowing that this high profile case on my own, every time there was a lull, he asked me if I had anything else to present, I did. I presented information about their profits from killing animals, their lack of training for their employees, the OBVIOUS: and that was that I was doing all I was doing to relieve them of taking in those same 200-300 animals during my residence in Riverside County and felt that they should be thanking me and making every effort to support me.

Although, I realize it makes it difficult to continue on with the current fund raising means, when I would not be able to provide them with any dead animals to sell. I clearly outlined the facts of why I was doing this because they had not lived up to their responsibility.

I did what I could to explain that I had no objection to obtaining a license from the county and agreeing to be visited by them for periodic check ups. what I didn't agree to and was simply unable to do was to construct the dog runs that the county required of me, because I was unable to afford them, was also told by my landlord that he would not permit them and even then, vowed I wouldn't use them anyway.

There were three times when I said 'I object' to their comments and twice it was sustained. YEA!! One 6 occasions, they interrupted with the same and only on two occasions were they not overruled. YEA!!

Even the judge questioned the planning and zoning requirements for building a separate septic system and their requirement of a $6,000 temporary land use permit. And, since I frequently cared for more than 15 at any given time, that would place me in the 'business' category and now would require me to have handicapped parking out front and also a handicapped bathroom inside my home. The judge actually chuckled at the county's 8 officials, 2 attorneys and 2 supervisors in attendance that day.

Bob Buster, one of the remaining supervisors went to the newspaper and stated ''We all love our animals here in Riverside County, but Randy Warner is clearly breaking the laws and refused to abide by the regulations and obtain a license for his kennel. These laws were set up for the sole purpose of providing for the safety and well being of the animals until they find their forever homes.

Remember that man's name and his comments. It will be a central point of the grand jury investigation that takes place five years later in which Bob Buster is found guilty of several of the total of 26 criminal felony charges levied against the supervisors and animal control. Those who live in glass houses........

I did, indeed find that people are still good people at heart and will quickly become involved when a person is being unjustly wronged and harassed. Sometimes the courtroom had 20-30 people seated - most were strangers until afterwards when they would introduce themselves as supporters of my efforts.

On the final two days of the trials, there were 8 people who paraded around the exterior of the courthouse with their precious Dalmatians leashed - all to show their support as well. Here is just a sampling of the letters to the editor that I collected out of the Press Enterprise and the Los Angeles Times regarding my battles.

These were all written during my 3 year battle with Riverside county animal control and board of supervisors. The public and media sided with me completely. For entire story, go to Media page and read PRESS ENTERPRISE 'The Story Behind'.


WARNER SHOULD RUN THE COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL

My empathy to Mr. Randy Warner out in Riverside County (Open Forum November 30 regarding Riverside County’s overpopulation of cats and dogs) I; too had a letter just two months ago regarding the Riverside County Shelter. (I have great difficulty using the word shelter as it conjures up the image of comfort and safe keeping unfairly in this case.) But it is easier to sit back and just hope that someone else will step up to the plate to solve these and other problems. Well , finally someone has! The Riverside facility is under funded, underpaid, under educated and over worked. They cannot even take in all the animals that come to them on a daily basis without killing so many innocent ones simply in anticipation of tomorrow’s load expectancy. Instead of working against this man, they should bring him in and put him in charge. After all, he’s doing (as just one man) what they are supposed to be doing BUT unable to do - and all the while, keeps winning court battles between the two entities. Does no one else see this?
BETTY HUSEBO
Los Angeles


KIND AND COMPASSIONATE

Upon reading about the Dalmatian Rescuer being fined for not having a kennel license, I believe that instead of fining this superior person Randy Warner $135, Court Commissioner Jim Bishop should have sent Mr. Warner a check for $135 to help him with the cost of the rescuing and taking care of those lucky dogs who find their way to Mr. Warner’s kind and compassionate care. Mr. Warner is doing what more of us should be doing – helping those who cannot help themselves, despite the cold and callous opposition of the magistrates.
WALTER C. CHIPS
Newport Beach
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WASTEFUL ANIMAL CONTROL

Why is animal control and now the county board of supervisors bothering Randy Warner. They should take the estimated $40,000 they’ve spent so far attempting to convict, but only getting NOT GUILTY verdicts for Warner, and try to clean up their own facility. The animals there are smelly and sick. There are already too many unwanted animals in this county. They should do something to make them more adoptable. Over the past 3 years, my mom and dad have adopted 2 different Dalmatians from Randy. They always looked happy and were able to play in the yard or go inside his house. They have continued to admit that they have not actually been to Randy’s place, but take the ‘word’ of their officer. They could certainly learn a lot from Randy. I know we have.
LINDSAY FORMAN 13 YRS Perris

HELP SOMEBODY WHO CARES

I, too am upset and angry at the tax dollars wasted in Riverside County by self serving bearcats to pursue Randy Warner, rescuer of Dalmatians.
Just drive around anywhere and see a beautiful, but dead dog along side of a road. So very many people no longer care about things like this. We have one among us who does and he’s willing to prove it. Let’s help someone who cares – enough for all of us!
E.J. WALKER
Walnut Hills

MISSING THE POINT…

Taxpayers of Riverside County should be aware of the relentless pursuit of that dastardly villain, Randy Warner and his band of fugitive Dalmatians.
Animal Control issues a new citation within 48 hours of each court appearance. To get a kennel license, Randy must build kennels, estimated at $10,000 with no guarantee they would be approved by the county, plus a $6,000 land use permit – all money he does not have.
Mr. Warner saves thousands of taxpayer dollars rescuing animals that would be picked up, housed and ultimately destroyed. Those saved dollars are then paid to attorneys to represent Animal Control ‘stooges’ in court against Mr. Warner. The most recent attorney appeared on May 12. Her purpose? To request Commission Bishop deny Mr. Warner’s right to plead not guilty
PATSY MUNOZ
Riverside


SAVING DALMATIANS

I’m becoming more and more upset about reading of the endless persecution of Randy Warner in Riverside County who is rescuing Dalmatians. There are so many laws on the books that are never enforced, so why in the world would the county supervisors continue the relentless efforts to try and obtain a conviction on Warners good deeds? (a conviction in this case could bring as much as a $100 fine; an infraction)
Not only lacking in common sense, but seemingly unenforceable by the county or Warner wouldn’t continue to be victorious in the courtroom for several years now.
Warner never gets a day off, not even Christmas or Easter, as these dogs must be fed and watered and cleaned up after 7 days a week without fail. So, how in the world could Commissioner Bishop require a bail from this man, with no criminal record, who has sacrificed his pence, freedom and normality of life, in order to save all these innocent Dalmatians?
This is becoming a farce for the ‘HILLBILLY MAFIA” or County supervisors to fight until they win. It’s called the male ego. In other words, the least likely person in the county to run away or become a flight risk!! Money he does not have.
I’m sick of bearcats wasting my money in a futile attempt to enforce a law that most have never heard of, had nothing to do with making and agree it should be removed from the books.
Leave Randy Warner alone!! Don’t fire him, don’t jail h im, don’t harass him. He’s the closest thing we have to a saint here in Riverside County!
NADIA WEST
Murietta

DEFINING A HERO

Randy Warner and his Dalmatian Rescue continues to fight city hall. He continues to be cited and will once again appear in court in Riverside County while the taxpayers will be charged with paying the legal representation of the county board of supervisors just for their futile attempt to ‘’be right’’. On August 24th, the board meets to change the kennel laws. What is now an infraction becomes a misdemeanor. What is now a maximum of $100 fine, will then become a $1,000 fine and carry a six month jail term if found guilty. They admitted in an article from the Press Enterprise that this was another attempt to bring the importance of this issue to Randy Warner. He is continuing to fight for the lives of these otherwise unwanted animals and has, up till now, been within the laws – until they change them to spite him. A hero? Any man who would go to these measures and stay within the law in spite of the circus atmosphere the county has brought upon this case, is truly nothing short of one. He’s willing to give all he has for his beliefs. Good for him.

R. A. TEMBLEDORE
Pasadena

WRONG APPROACH FOR RESCUER

It amazes me how time and again, a judge makes his or her decision based on zero logic. We have a man among us, whose compassion and love for these unwanted and unloved Dalmatians, knows no bounds. At least that anyone has seen yet. Yes, he devotes 100% of his time to training and caring for these unbelievable numbers of Dalmatians, in hopes they will someday find the home that will keep them and love them as it should be. But, no he doesn’t have the money to construct the expensive and unnecessary constraints and kennels required to satisfy the county officials who are bound and determined to show they are right in this case, but have not been able to in over 3 years. Shame on the bully commissioners for punishing Mr. Warner for what he is doing. Even the law agrees with him over the past few years. They should present him with a plaque awarding him top honors for standing alone and fighting for the lives of these dogs. My husband and 2 children and I took a ride over the weekend to drive past the place we’d heard so much about. Not only did he invite us in, but the amount of love we experienced in these dogs who had just faced certain death, just floored us. They were a mass of moving spots to us, but each one has a name and personality that Randy knows intimately. He has obviously been victorious over these years because he’s doing things right. Too bad the ignorant commissioners can’t see that.
DEBORAH MORRIS RUSS West Hollywood

The end results of my standing up for the animals:

The entire mixture of events and introductions throughout my years of doing rescue provided me with many opportunities to meet people who could and would assist in my defense later on. For testimonies, I called Sharon Cody, the mayor of Mission Viejo as well as two other animal protection organizations' directors.

The folks who planned the entire event promised that my dogs and I would be picked up and brought to Las Vegas from southern CA in luxury. Sure enough, a beautiful luxury bus owned by Caesars' Palace pulled into my driveway at 8 am for the return trip to Vegas. We decided to stop in Barstow to get everyone lunch - including the dogs - each of which were served one small order of fries for being so well mannered while in the vehicle for the long trip. We were driven to the front door of a lovely home owned by a couple who offered their home to use for out stay since they too had Dalmatians living there and thought it would be an experience. We backed the bus into the driveway, opened their garage door and ran back to the rear of the house and everyone followed without even hesitating. This can also be seen in more detail by going to www.21stcenturycares.org/vegasphotoshoot.htm

But I believe that the largest honor bestowed upon the dogs and myself was when we were invited to participate in the 1997 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena and walk along side the float for the California Antique firefighters Association. Just about the center of town, I was asking myself why in the world I'd agreed to go along on this overwhelming parade route, as I'd marched in it in my younger years as well. So, I was very aware of the seemingly endless crowd of spectators that line the 5 and 1/2 mile route.

As I put my dogs back into the van to drive home, it was already airing on one of the radio news broadcasts. Then, while they were 'on' the story, MTV and ETV both came out to my place to show an example of Dalmatian Rescue since I had 42 at this particular time. You can read the story in LA Times that covered this event by logging onto http://www.21stcenturycares.org/pressconf.htm   The entire thing seemed so out of place and oddly coordinated to me. Here I was continuing with my 'troublesome' behavior and battling with officials about the need to rescue these poor animals and once again, facing jail time.

You see, as the trials began to gain momentum in the media, they were more often than not, barred from entering at all. Just made me feel like a hero for doing something good, but in an illegal fashion. I soon learned that the impact I would ultimately have on the concept of humane education in our nation would absolutely make up for any troubles I had caused the various county governments.

As the end of these hearings in Riverside County neared, I realized that I had been featured in front page news stories several dozen times in Los Angeles Times and the Press Enterprise publications and literally hundreds of other papers across the nation via Press who covered several of the more publicized hearings. Printed materials included People Magazine, USA Today and several other national magazines.

That was ultimately edited to become the video documentary 'Trouble Spots' which is available on my website www.21stcenturycares.org/troublespots.htm

Most shocking of all was when the NHK Network out of Tokyo Japan requested permission to bring a film crew to do similar shooting and an interview. The host of the show they used my footage on, was Yoshi Taki - the japanese equivalent of our Tom Cruise I was told. As they all packed up and prepared to leave, the lady in charge quietly handed me a wad of bills totally $1,000. Just their way of saying thanks for all I'd done and would likely continue to do for the animals.

We were also invited to be the ''good luck charms'' at the California Builders' Association's annual black tie/casino night at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach. Before gambling, the guests were invited to rub the dogs for good luck.

We've all heard the saying, 'NEW YORKERS HAVE SEEN EVERYTHING!” Well, I must admit that I surprised even the most seasoned veterans of the metropolis when I paid a visit in 98. I would still place this particular trip to New York City with my two 'girls' as well as two rescue dogs in my care as being the most amazing thing I may have ever done.

I was called to appear on 'Late night with David Letterman'. He requested that I scour the local New York area animal facilities and search for any and all Dalmatians which were adoptable on that given day to see if the problem was truly nationwide. His staff would pay for any and all adoption fees, pay for transporting the animals to Central park with the appropriate handlers, parking and even a lunch voucher.

I found, and adopted 47 Dalmatians that day and each one of them arrived at Central Park the following morning at 9am. where I got to know more about the dogs, allowed them to play and exercise and then we began our long walking journey from Central Park, down 5th Avenue at noon for 26 New York City Blocks for the 4:30pm taping of the show. Within about 8 blocks we were stopped by the police suggesting to us that we allow them to block off one lane of traffic in the streets and allow the pedestrian traffic to continue unobstructed by our army of handlers and Dalmatians.

Above are my two as they try to host the show. Below, they address the NYC Kiwanis Club  Luncheon

As I am now becoming more of a folk hero for all the Los Angeles basin, I was invited to bring all 27 of my Dalmatians to the Federal building on Wilshire and the Santa Monica freeway and this nice couple would make all the arrangements for me to hold a nice adoption fair one Saturday afternoon.  The host organization provided everything out of their own pocket.  'New Leash On Life' organization in Los Angeles.

It was marvelous. clowns for the kids, a hot dog stand, a radio station and three big fire trucks were on site. After speaking to a pair of women about my ongoing fight in the neighboring county, they both said, they'd heard so much about me and now they were totally convinced that they needed to step in to help. Kathy Riordan was one of them. She is the daughter of the 'then' mayor of Los Angeles, Richard Riordan. A week later, she placed this article in the Los Angeles Times regarding the entire waste of time and efforts;

It is clear to me now, that this media attention is in large part responsible for the favorable outcome to this whole thing. I suggest that everyone who does rescue to any extent, try and get their local paper and TV station to come out and cover your efforts occasionally - especially when you attend the classroom for presentations. The media loves photos with children and pets. This gives your organization much public attention as well as credibility when standing in front of a court of law.

JUST KILL THE DOGS
by Kathy Riordan (Los Angeles Mayor Riordan's daughter)

A sad reflection upon our current society. Randy Warner of Dalmatian ResQ in Riverside County is one who should be made into a hero and not criminally prosecuted. Even the general 'man about town' is unaware of all that is taking place;

Throughout every city and state across the country, those who demonstrate volunteerism and good citizenship are highly valued. By supplementing what would otherwise be the full responsibility of local governments, these individuals fill the gaps left by skeleton staff. They withstand undue pressure to do the impossible, and are threatened by downsizing and insufficient funds needed to maintain quality services or even properly execute mandate.

The kill rate in most counties across the nation is embarrassingly high and is one of the worst examples we continue to set for our future generations to come. These agencies, along with the county and municipal governing bodies, could and should view these volunteers and rescues as 'assistants' who help out for no pay or compensation whatsoever.

Instead, when a good citizen steps forward to save the lives of hundreds or even thousands of companion animals, including dogs and cats who would otherwise become staggering statistics, he/she is met with incredible and very encumbering fees, regulations and rules, legal threats and more.. This, while over 8 million adoptable pets are to be killed each year in this country, and backyard breeders choose to have a recreational litter of kittens or puppies with almost no regulation, guidance or structure at all. Yet, they are the people who are clearly the contributing factor in this problem. Again we see the "without victims" theory coming into play; in this case, animal control agencies would loose many jobs. This is mainly due to a seriously inadequate understanding by Americans as to the results of their actions.

Animal control agencies that have a highly questionable record of humane performance and fail to 'market' their commodity as a normal business would allow this to continue with no thought of any tomorrows. Poor business hours for adoptions and retrievals of lost pets, fall short in reminding their public of the pets
who are adoptable on a widespread, regular basis, frequently unwilling to require mandatory spay neuter to any pet going out the door. Most of the problems stem from a lack of understanding within the community of the restrictions and requirements placed on the underpaid, overworked and under educated animal control staff. It becomes a vicious circle.
But, it's all becoming much more clear recently. The 'lip service' we hear from everyone else is a cover up for their ignorance and refusal to be responsible caring citizens.

Law enforcement agencies, large numbers of elected officials and a surprising majority of our citizens have no respect for the lives of these innocent animals or these things would clearly have been looked into and dealt with accordingly. This also means they refuse to properly acknowledge the proven impact that conditions and actions have on the future generations of children who fall victim to having parents with little or no patience for the obvious. And the subsequent results are allowed to contaminate our future generations with the same disrespect as many other like situations that were quickly outlawed and strongly governed.

We need to be smart. We need to change the way we view and teach the world in
a very different way. Not similar to what we've done for 60 years, but
differently - a way that works. We need to prove to the legislators at all
levels that even though animals don't vote or contribute to campaign re-elections,
WE DO! And we should do it volume. Ask each and every person running for
office about their views and plans for improvements, and hold them to it

So, when:

- our congressmen and women, senators and assemblymen drag their feet
and vote “no” on important animal legislation,

- law enforcement continue to claim a lack of time and resources is their justification for not making appropriate arrests,

- the judges are refusing to uphold current laws by offering lighter sentencing and dismissing charges completely and

- the local governing bodies are giving themselves up to 35% pay increases annually

- all this, while cutting the animal control budgets,. they are sending a message that America hears.

Until further notice, the general public and lawmakers are sending a strong
message, and it is coming through loud and clear – JUST KILL THE DOGS!!
===============

The previous article could run in any major paper in America and strike a chord. Almost every week, somewhere in America, an animal collector/hoarder situation is raided, often requiring the rescue of hundreds of animals at a time. Often the media, the authorities, and the rescue community condemns and accuses. We are so accustomed to being betrayed by our society and government that we have little tolerance for being betrayed by one of our "own."

The biggest reason for being turned into the pound in America is because people didn’t do what was necessary to get the dog to be appropriately behaved. The second reason is that the humans were moving or found it inconvenient to live with the dog in their lives. This ultimately guarantees these dogs will die. With the number of unwanted animals our nation’s facilities are forced to accept, there is no alternative, but to kill up to 80% of all incoming animals. Many within hours of their arrival. Yet we continue to have litters and be unrealistic in our desires of how we expect our animals to behave with no professional training or even the appropriate care. Is that a society who honestly loves dogs?

Here we are 7 years after my battle with Riverside County idiots.  Since then, there have been 3 county investigations into the board of supervisors and even a grand jury investigation finding 28 felony criminal charges against the animal control as well as Bob Buster and several other supervisors in 2003.  Now, in the March 11 Press Enterprise, it was reported that not one single requirement from the grand jury investigation has been implemented.  As a matter of fact, employment has been reduced due to budget cuts and they kill more dogs than ever.   Oh, and yes, the supervisors have voted themselves yet another pay increase.   This time it was 35% annually.  The Riverside County residents could care less.  Too many politics with what used to be LEAF and other groups simply being ignorant and unwilling to step up to the plate.

In Europe, with it's no-kill shelters, euthanasia is only administered by veterinarians and only by lethal injection. Their strict licensing, animal control and welfare laws, and national databases of convicted animal abusers and neglecters put American's laws and actions (or lack there of) to shame. There is no lip service there, but a genuine love and responsibility taught and expected from every citizen.

They don’t have collectors or hoarders. There is no need for an overload of rescue organizations. They truly understand their place and the animals’ place.

We cannot say that about North Americans. We’ve created a prevailing system of apathy and ignorance, where shelters and volunteer rescue efforts cannot possibly stem the tide, where government has mostly turned its back on animal welfare and control efforts, where anything "animal" is usually paid ‘lip’ service (always said softly, bottom lip protruding in that tone of voice that denotes sympathy or pity) and then, given the lowest priority, where animals often die horrible deaths, where local animal rescue organizations can barely fund the resources they provide to "crisis" situations, and where a lot of people, as well as the major humane organizations are making MILLIONS AND MILLIONS from animals.

Americans believe they can buy their way out of any situation. “I’ll do what ever I please, then when it catches up to me, I’ll just buy my way out”. That is exactly why the national organizations are rolling in the dough. We send funds out of guilt and out of pity. Then refuse to do the right thing the rest of the year by speaking out, altering pets and helping the local situations that we can more closely monitor.

I get a lot of mail each week and often from rescuers who are out of hope and out of funds. They sometimes describe personal situations to me that worry me, and they ask me if I have any suggestions of help for them. Then everything I suggest is something they just couldn’t imagine trying. I've even angered some Rescue efforts with criticisms (largely borne of frustration), because their efforts and websites and fundraisers and other events include NO advocacy and education components.

That means we will always be forced to deal with the status quo, rescuing animal by animal, with no end in sight (and where I'm often "wrong" is that's still better than nothing!). The next generation will be doomed to spending time and money rescuing to a similar degree. We will NEVER save all the animals who need help. There will be that given percentage which cannot be reached in time. If each rescuer were to take 20% of their time and resources and went to the local schools, we could ALL see a reduction of the need to follow in their footsteps in our lifetimes! So, for every rescuer who is spending all their time and resources on rescuing animals and not addressing the cause of these problems to their local ‘masses’, I ask you to view this more from the standpoint of a business.

For every "accomplishment" we cheer about, some other situation or decision by government seems to take us two steps backwards. One more reason I added 'PROJECT VOTE SMART" to this site. You need to know where your representatives stand on the local and area animal issues, let them know you are voting accordingly and let your voice be heard. For evil to prevail, good people need to do nothing.

Of course nobody wants to see the animals suffer. No one adopts a pet for the fun of taking it to the pound to watch it die. Yet, we watch and still do nothing and we take nearly a thousand pets to the pound every day in this country - few for any justifiable reason. (“moving”, ‘don’t have time”, not right for the kids”) etc.

With that said, education does make the most sense. It changes people's perceptions of what is happening, what they can and can't do in order to prevent further pain and anguish and death among our animal friends. I've seen it change teen lives right in front of me.

If we could get America and Canada to "no kill" as soon as possible, if we could outlaw every method of "euthanasia" except by lethal injection (http://www.crean.com/kindness), if we could get every animal lover in the country to write a letter to an editor on an animal issue, and demand that our media report on those issues, and hold government at all levels accountable for, at the least, animal control and welfare issues - we could see such improvements, stop creating "collectors" and maybe we could negate the need to rescue hundreds/thousands of poorly cared for animals at a time, who further deplete rescue resources.

Then, as you read in the story regarding my on going battle with County officials, I began to look into some things. With True Ignorance of how the laws will be enforced and by whom...... I now have a good friend who is a Paralegal, Animal Control Officer, Law Enforcement Officer,, Humane Educator, and a number of other things. Being in Animal Welfare, we feel like questioning the value of humans quite often. I have done many things in my short adult life and I want to ponder and propose in an effort to make people think….So, pardon me if I seem to ramble…

I’ve been front line and reinforcement for animal issues. I have seen the large national organizations do nothing and I’ve seen single individuals move mountains. I know that government is being forced to legislate, moderate, and enforce more than ever. The problem I don’t understand is why any agency (public or private) is willing to create legislation and rules about and for animals, yet they don’t understand the first thing about animals.

Let’s look at legislators for a moment. It really doesn’t matter if they are federal, state, or local municipalities. There are laws on the books about dogs and cats across this great Nation. But, do the people who are writing the laws understand animal behavior? Some legislators do look to their local animal welfare agency for guidance….but do they know? Does the local humane society know? Do the local vets know? A vet may know how a cat behaves in a stressful situation, but do they know how to write a law to protect that cat?

Humane Societies are helpful, to an extent….they know about the overpopulation problem, and they surely appreciate the stupid reasons people dump their pets, but do they know what an animal control officer faces in the field? Can an animal control officer adequately convey to the legal department what needs to be included in the actual legislation? We must all pull together and share our information in order to create good, powerful legislation. The attorneys can put all the jargon together, but what use is that, if they don’t know or appreciate the need on the street?

Unfortunately, many animal control officers are without professional training (and they’re not attorneys) so they are usually unable to create the verbiage necessary for such a task. When creating legislation, animal behavior MUST be considered. If you’re going to hold a dog responsible for biting a human, should the human bitten also be held responsible? Every weathered animal control officer will agree that the person responsible for the dog should be held responsible!!

Every good and knowledgeable citizen SHOULD feel the same way. Each case is individual and is cause for investigation. Each case ought to be examined by someone who understands animal behavior. If a person tries to take food out of a dog’s mouth, is it unreasonable to expect the animal to allow it? (I’m not talking common sense stuff, my dog would let me and any responsible owner’s dog would accept that) We’re talking about the people who do not care for or train their dog….the irresponsible pet owner. If a child trips over a sleeping dog and the dog bites the child, who’s fault is it? That is normal, typical behavior for a dog! Where were the child’s parents?

Yes, accidents happen…..should a life be taken because of it? However, if a child walks by a dog (no food on the kids face, no sleeping dog situations) is it fair to let the dog maul the child while no human is held responsible? I’m not saying euthanize the dog, I’m saying give the owners choices.

I don’t believe in “3 bites your out” type legislation, but I also don’t think that a truly vicious dog ought to be allowed to terrorize a neighborhood.

Judges are often in this loop of “uneducated” enforcers. They are not in the street and it’s not their neighbor’s dog that is keeping them up at 4:00 in the morning. Often times, they have no regard for animals (especially if you live in Rural, USA). It’s a dog; they have felons to worry about in over flowing jails. I don’t care what their excuse is….if they are elected Judges, VOTE!!! If they are appointed judges, then talk with the person that appointed them (Often the Governor or Mayor). HOLD THEIR FEET TO THE FIRE AND MAKE THEM DO THEIR JOB! Animal laws are just as important as human laws! Violence breeds Violence!

Cops are on the street to protect the public. Sometimes that protection is from a 400# armed robber, sometimes it’s from a 150# Rottweiler. They are there to enforce the laws. It does not matter if that law is a federal law, a state law, or a local ordinance. They are sworn to uphold and protect. Educate the police chief and offer to help. Don’t just sit there and criticize….help them understand.

OK, enough about the public sector….let’s look at some private issues:
Apartment complexes…..all of us know several apartment complexes that do not allow pets. The complexes that do allow dogs often have a weight limit of, oh, we’ll say 20#. I can tell you from experience, the average dog weighs in at 55#. The complex claims that a small dog causes less damage. Hogwash! A properly trained dog, no matter what the size, causes no damage! (I’m not talking about during thunderstorms!). Hold the people responsible, not the dog! Ok, so a toy poodle will pee less than a Doberman pinscher. Either way, the carpet is wet and has to be cleaned! If you have a housetrained dog, that is not an issue anyway!!! Besides, everyone who has a lick of sense knows that a Great Dane or Greyhound is a much better apartment dog than a Jack Russell Terrier! Heck, even a Saint Bernard would be better than a Rat Terrier….it’s what is inside that counts! So why do they have the stupid weight limit? I’ve never understood that!

Here’s another situation that dog owners are facing everywhere TODAY! Canceled homeowners’ insurance, inability to renew, or flat rejection for coverage. Why? Because they have a certain “type” of dog. What type is that, you ask? BIG! The insurance black list of dogs is growing each day. It includes Pit-Bull (doesn’t matter which type of pit), Dobermans, Rottweilers, Great Danes, German Shepherds, Dalmatians, Golden Retrievers…wait! Did I say “Golden Retrievers”? why, they are the “American Family Dog”! Yes, that is what I said. Humane responsibility is going down the toilet, everyone wants to blame someone else. Dogs bite….cats bite….give me the right reason, and I’ll bite too! Don’t hold the dog responsible, hold the people responsible. If you have a dog and you’re a responsible owner, you will see to it that the dog will not bite (under normal circumstances – I WANT it to bite if someone is coming through my window at 3 a.m.).

Why won’t insurance agencies just make stipulations for coverage? Basic obedience, sterilization, socialization…..all those things will help teach a dog how to behave in polite society. It has NOTHING to do with the breed!
So, if you’re still with me, congratulations!!! I hope I haven’t bored you to tears. Here is my challenge to you:

Don’t sit on your butt and complain about all these stupid rules and regulations! Get off your duff, contact the people who make these statements and educate them! Help them understand basic animal behavior and why it is in their best interest to consider animal behavior when they are making these laws. Don’t go in there with a “holier than thou” attitude because you have the answers; approach them with a helping attitude. By helping the stupid human, you help the dumb animal (dumb, like can’t talk, not dumb as in stupid….I’ve known some really smart dogs! But they still couldn’t talk).

Don’t even get me started on ‘leash laws’, ‘tied up dogs’ so-called ‘’guard dogs’’ that have had no training and couldn’t’ save your ass anyway cause they’re OUTSIDE and penned or tied up – oh I could go on forever. Ask my husband.
It boils down to making PEOPLE be responsible, not punishing animals because their humans are stupid!

The final straw that broke the camel's back was when I was trying to show the residents of the area that I appreciated all their support throughout the nearly four year battle with riverside county's elected criminal element, so I decided to form an animal organization to service the needs of that corner of the county. Lake Ellsinore was the closest branch of the animal control and that was over 30 miles away. They were very established and had called me 30 or 40 times over the previous ten to 15 years to request that I rescue a Dalmatian or two that was in their facility.

I always did so. I was beginning to feel very trusted within the ranks when there. But, when they found out that I was attempting to form the Temecula Valley Humane Association, they quickly instructed their attorneys to place a letter in the paper to clearly separate themselves from our efforts for fear that we would steal some of their popularity and subsequent donation base. We had decided, and made it very clear, that we would not be in a situation where competition would be necessary in any way as we were not planning to build any facility or have any paid employees.

We would provide education programs to all the area schools and have an army of volunteers who could foster any pets that were acquired within our local area until the county could make arrangements for a pick up. I mean, we made every attempt to look into the future and was hopeful that we could all work side by side in an effort to save the animals. But that was not to be. They viewed by actions as 'being against' them since they are a contracted source of the county animal services department.

That newspaper article then seemed to 'cool'' the interests of the area schools as well. Now, I see so much more as to why the animal movement is so bogged down and unsuccessful. Egos, Ignorance, Politics, Power and Greed. Since it is such an enormous means for raising funds from the public, I would say with confidence that the bickering, bad mouthing and games are at a level that surpasses most other businesses of today.

Then it became so very clear to us what was happening. As we announced the planned formation of the TVHA, we were approached by the ASPCA, HSUS and several other world leaders in animal protection efforts. Each one trying to convince us to call ourselves ''the ____ Humane Society'' or in another case '' The _____ SPCA. Most interesting to all of us was their level of convincing - even monetary donations to help our efforts to assure proper funding. That is where the Lake Elsinore group feared that we would be butting in on some of their easy money sources. We made it very clear that we needed no funds at this time. We also incorporated the organization to read:

We plan to operate no facility but to make every effort to assist existing local and area authorities in timely pick ups and appropriate care until they can make arrangements for the animals pick up. Of the total amount of hours provided by the team of volunteers we were gathering at monthly meetings we held at a restaurant's upstairs group room, we clarified that 80% of our efforts would be directly used for humane education in the area schools and 2-% of our time would be in caring for the animals on a foster only basis.

We also set it up to where it would automatically dissolve itself in the year 2018 - exactly 20 years from our initial efforts to form were confirmed. Our thoughts were, that if we were going to be successful in our efforts, we would no longer be a necessary commodity by the year 2018. And also, that if the residents of the area were to refuse to take the information and put it to good use, then there would be no reason to continue either.

Leading to my next information:

I've even constructed a top ten list. Ten reasons why money alone will not solve the animal related problems!!

Today's animal protection efforts come under fire by various media groups and animal protection organizations. Many within the ranks are confident that most of the problems we work so diligently on, could have and should have been solved and corrected years ago, but for one problem: Human Beings!

With over 3,000 animal protection organizations in this country, boasting millions of 'members' and logging an estimated 50 billion man hours since 1979, one must wonder . So, what's the problem you ask.. After all, We are Americans. If we honestly wanted this problem to be solved, it would have been by now. No doubt about it.

If anyone has any honest expectations of actually seeing changes and truly solving some of the basic problems that plague our animal friends, then we must make changes. We can no longer afford to argue our egos, explain away our failures, defend our agendas and continue to waste billions of dollars to continue fighting a battle with the same ammunitions that have consistently brought defeat in the past. It's no secret, that if unified, the animal protection movement would be the largest lobbying effort in Washington and we would be able to see many changes.

1 - Most Americans do not know much at all about the proper care and treatment necessary for a dog or cat to have the good life they deserve and they refuse to learn. There is no comprehensive educational program to provide reliable information regarding proper care and instinctive habits that surface in our pets' activities.

Most humans misunderstand their pets actions, refuse to 'listen' to them and only provide the same treatment as what they witnessed when growing up. Unfortunately that still holds true today. Their egos seem to win out over compassion and willingness to be educated. No body asks professionals for guidance, rents videos or reads websites to get the proper care for their pets because they refuse to be reminded that they don’t know. The animals suffer.

2 - Schools continue to deny offers for humane education - even though most programs are free. And even though it can and will affect each and every person in that building sometime during their lives.

Our nations' schools are so under funded and constantly being driven by test scores, they are rarely welcoming when organizations offer to bring a humane education program into their classes - even though a few states have mandatory humane education laws and many of the humane education programs offered are at no charge to the schools. These programs have multi-level benefits to all the young people who attend. When it's brought into the class through the guidance counselor program of character development, the young people have higher achievement scores, improved attendance rates and frequently adopt a less violent conflict resolution technique which leads to a more compassionate future for everyone.

But, the Animal Foundation in Las Vegas laughingly argues that they DO provide Humane Education to their local and area schools and proudly point to the 3 days they had a volunteer at the school for the mentally handicapped last season as proof. Of course, the educated reader will ask, 'Well what about the rest of the 800,000 students in the district? Where was your organization the other 230 school days?" To which they will have no answer. We don't think they actually gave that any thought, so we dropped the subject.

3 -- This brings us to the Large National Organizations and the fact that most of them are much more interested in raising money, pointing fingers at other national organizations, avoiding the real problems, and use the money to money to pay over-inflated salaries than to actually educate the public or make a true noticeable difference. But they still know how to 'pat themselves on the back' so they can rake in another $1 billion of your dollars this year. It's practically unheard of for them to work together. They seem much more interested in top billing as opposed to the end results and actual accomplishments. How far along do you think the space program would be today if NASA was actually 7 competitive entities who refused to share their knowledge and combine efforts for a common goal?

We need to point out that Americans have paid $1 billion in taxes to animal control efforts annually for the past 20 years and subsequently donated an equal amount of nearly $1 billion to their favorite animal protection organizations annually. With that, you would think that we could proudly say ''See all the problems we've solved" but have we have solved even one thing! They've made the same promises for 25 years and never kept a single one. But they can sure take our donations each year with a big smile. Then, blindly, we give again.

Politics, Agendas, Egos and Greed tend to lead to the continuing demise of the seemingly noble efforts. So my first concern is, knowing all this, why haven't the larger animal organizations taken on a project and SOLVED IT? They have the manpower, the legislative votes and the financial resources to do so. What has become of the more than $40 billion from the past 25 years? Like a non profit Enron. Unfortunately, their primary goals are to keep their organization financially strong while ignoring the potential they have to actually do what they've promised their contributors.

After all, if they should actually solve one or more of the major problems, they would be forced to downsize, layoff employees and would also be forced to abolish their cute little pictures of dogs and cats behind bars awaiting certain death - 'the money shots' as they are called. They spend the billions of dollars we've given them over the years on over inflated salaries, luxury offices and even allow millions to simply sit in their bank accounts (per their 2002 IRS Tax returns) to collect interest. Yet, they fail to show any results or true nationwide success stories.

4 - Animal controls are notoriously under funded and under educated, yet over worked because of humans who refuse to be responsible and caring. They are caught in the middle. The citizens want better animal control, but the agency is never properly funded by their supervisory boards. . Many animal control agencies profit from the animals they kill, but the community doesn't know or won't take proper steps to make the necessary changes. Again, though, the animals suffer.

5 - The city governments around the nation just pooh-pooh any animal related upgrades or additional funding. But are quick to give themselves substantial pay raises on a regular basis. Much of this comes from simple ignorance as well as greed. They don't even believe in themselves, let alone the residents in the given jurisdictions. They do NOT protect the animals, and have the audacity to charge volunteer rescuers money for every little thing - MUCH of it having little or nothing to do with the safety and well being of the animals, but everything to do with trying to prevent rescues from forming and to squeeze as much money out of them as possible if they do.

6 - Rescue groups and individuals around the nation work their butts to the bone, devote most of their lives, spend thousands of their own dollars, only to waste hours and hours gossiping online to harm other rescuers or to be back-stabbed by a co-worker, forming modern day witch hunts or be ram-sacked by animal control officers, and, with no appreciation or even respect by the majority of the citizens, become bitter and apathetic. Much too much ego boosting and again, forgetting what their goals actually are too much of the time. They rarely do more than clean up yesterday's mess - almost never considering tomorrow.

While these noble individuals who actually put in all the work get paid nothing - even spend thousands of their own dollars each year on this effort, the bulk of publicity and praise seems to go to the larger national organizations who continue to battle each other for positioning, the rescue community refuses to organize or develop an agency of their own making to regulate, provide a voice in government and protect the rescuers as well as help the animals. When presented with an opportunity to make a difference, they tend to explode initially, but fail to make a presentation that is affective nor have any follow-through. In spite of the incredible level of commitment, time, energy and money, they know little about how to accomplish other than placing their rescues.

There for, nothing in regards to organizing, future planning, setting standards and guidelines, having a voice in congress, providing insurance and protection for their rescues is being done - and it all needs to be done. All the while, they simply assure themselves and the animals that nothing will change for tomorrow because non of them made any arrangements and gave only yesterday and today any thought.

7 - Most courts refuse to uphold the laws that are in place and fail to prosecute those who harm or even kill innocent animals. This, in spite of the facts that we KNOW through research that those who begin early life with abusing animals are much more likely to grow up and continue by committing more severe crimes against humans. There is no secret our jails are overcrowded today. However, there is also no secret that the links between animal abuse and more severe criminal activity and violence against humans are well researched and proven. These acts of violence need to be addressed by the courts to prevent so much violence and criminal behavior in the future.

8 - All mainstream religion refuses to discuss the brutal treatment of the companion animals we all call Man's Best Friend, knowing that abuse, neglect and death happens within each congregation on a regular basis, but it's OK for them to tell us what to eat, who to sleep with and even clear guidelines of what to wear. All this while asking for donations and the animals continue to suffer. With a local rape case or child molestation, they move mountains to show their compassion. Knowing that hundreds of animal abuse cases happen in the same area each week, they choose to ignore them. Maybe we should donate to our places of worship in the names of our pets. $$$$$

9 - THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA REFUSES TO TELL THE REAL TRUTH BECAUSE IT UPSETS TOO MANY VIEWERS TO HEAR HOW MANY DOGS AND CATS WE KILLED YESTERDAY. You know what? I'll bet all those animals dragged into the little room to be killed yesterday were a little upset, too, and would have gladly sat back and forgiven us if we'd upset some people if only they could have lived another day. Additionally, it is MOST LIKELY those who are causing the problems, that don’t want to be reminded of their repeated mistakes.

10 - Obviously corporations have not been smart enough to recognize the value of their roles in this, nor how they could all benefit by working to correct these problems. The fact is, nobody has been smart enough yet to clearly show the public, local governments and even corporations, how finding solutions to these problems would actually benefit their ‘bottom line’ by paying fewer taxes, charging responsible guardians with acceptable fees, bringing a more compassionate community and work force - all while saving lives. A MUCH MORE COMPASSIONATE WORLD IN WHICH TO LIVE! "BROUGHT TO YOU BY XYZ CORP. A SPONSOR OF HUMANE EDUCATION IN OUR SCHOOLS"

I am more and more convinced that NOBODY truly wants to see these problems of animal abuse and pet overpopulation solved. There are good reasons why. It pad a large number of egos, supports a substantial number of jobs and would simply take an honest, mature effort of 'sharing' ideas and working 'together' - something the animal protection movement in this country is simply not capable of doing. Everyone wants an easy fix. The claim that ’’it takes money’’ to get this done is just stupid. If that were true, you would certainly think that we would have reached that dollar amount by now. Everyone insists on lining their pockets while demanding to do it 'their way' without ever listening to other ideas. But, without at least listening to all the ideas, then how would you know which way is best?

I really hope the public will finally recognize that they need to speak out when they see someone who's mistreating or neglecting their pets. It is not only their right to report their neighbors and friends for not providing the appropriate care for these creatures, it is their responsibility to do so. Undoubtedly, our nation must give serious consideration to including a substantive and powerful humane education program in our curriculums very soon. By not doing so, they are literally allowing these poor pets to suffer - even die. Teaching our decision makers of tomorrow that compassion, nor education is really all that important.

Finally everyone also needs to recognize that although the larger animal orgs have a strong and substantial place in our society, we cannot depend on them to solve any problems, as has been proven over the years. Recognizing that all these problems are OURS to solve through becoming more educated and responsible in how we view our companion animals is the only way. We have the ability to make changes WHEN WE WANT TO!!!!!! We just really haven’t wanted to up until now.

When the large organizations can begin working together, the rescue efforts can stop bickering and feeding their own egos, the local governments will be held to the fire when they fail to protect their local animals by upholding the existing laws, the media can finally have a strong and informative story to tell, schools aren’t afraid of a one hour program for fear of affecting their almighty test scores and corporations can finally see that solutions actually offer additional $$ to their bottom line, we may begin to see improvements - even solutions. It’s called “working smarter, not harder“.

Should it be that we are unable to handle our differences within this movement with more direction and less immaturity, we will be forced to leave these problems to our children - admitting we were incapable of solving the problems we have spent so much time and effort on.

---------------------
Currently there is a proposal using sentient property augment as a balanced compromise about the legal status of pets. The concept defines animals as living, feeling companions but without the rights and liberties people enjoy.

It is a compassionate way in which courts can recognize that animals have feelings and emotions, rather than merely being property like a chair or table.

This idea was introduced during the American Veterinary Medical Law Association meeting last year.

In America's common law tradition, animals are a form of personal property. The classification was designed to prevent people from stealing animals, and was the first anticruelty statutes appeared around the time of the Civil War.

Such was the extent of animal law in the United States for more than 100 years. But that's all changed.

Today, animal rights and humane groups proliferate. Animal welfare legislation abounds. Pet owners in many cities consider themselves pet guardians. Law schools offer courses in animal law. Extremists threaten biomedical researchers and vandalize laboratories of those who use animals in experiments.

Many pet owners think of their Boxer dog or tabby cat as a member of the family. Clearly, society no longer values animals for their usefulness alone. And yet, the legal status of animals remains unchanged.

This clearly shows the need to update much of our legislation and bring us out of the horse and buggy era and into the present.

As I begin to close this conversation out shortly, I remind everyone to do your own research into your local and area animal related problems.  Ask a police officer.  Write letters, contact elected officials and ask them  what they plan to do about it and hold them accountable. 

 =============

The Large National Animal Protection Groups

Has the trust been abused and broken by the larger national animal protection advocacy groups?

It is said that in America, anything the imagination can conjure up can be attained with persistence. In a society where we boast of freedom and clearly recognize the importance of our leadership in the world, one must be increasingly disillusioned by the simple things in life that prevent us from moving ahead even further. We can successfully put roving monitors on mars,, cure diseases in short order, win wars in 100 days or less and have the marketing prowess to alter human life around the globe.

The suffering of animals is a deep and quiet thing; and yet, millions of people hear, and care and hope to answer this call. More than 3,000 non profits dedicated to the same have logged an estimated 40 Billion man hours in the past 20 years all while Americans are donating billions of their dollars to animal welfare organizations who promise that they are relieving animal suffering.

But are they? Or, is the trust being placed in them by their donors, being betrayed?

The overpopulation of dogs and cats is the major source of the suffering and death of 8 million animals a year in America. This is a problem for which the cause is well known, the consequences of not solving it are well known, and the tools for solving it are within reach. And yet, little headway is being made. It is one of the simplest problems to correct.

We hear a lot about increasing adoptions, and this is important; but where is the effort to prevent the overpopulation in the first place? The ASPCA, for example, doesn't even take in strays, so their adoption program, while valuable, is not addressing the problem in a significant way. They inaugurated their "no-kill" policy in order to appeal to more donors. That doesn't mean that animals are not being killed—they are just being killed someplace else. And until the overpopulation problem is solved, this dirty work must be done.

Why is it that almost everyone knows about the ASPCA and HSUS, for example, but, by and large, the public still doesn't know that it is not OK to breed their pets or to allow an accidental breeding? Why don't people know about puppy mills or where pet shop puppies come from? The big organizations have utterly failed to get this message across. Why?

They have the funds. In New York City, billboards, subway and bus ads abound. "Think out of the box" is the title under a picture of a puppy or kitten peeking out of an ASPCA carrier. Not one ad, or sign, or billboard informs the public about the overpopulation epidemic and its tragic consequences. Why? Again, the large organizations have failed to convey this important message to the public, in schools and to our elected officials.

Our society is continuing to devote a sizable portion of our existence to finding out the problems that face us and realize that we must re focus our efforts on the TRUE meanings of responsibility, compassion and to understand that even though only one voice, each human is part of a societal choir of sorts that has far reaching consequences for everyone in that given society. I was once told that we can never expect to win the game until all teammates play by the same rules. It certainly holds true in this argument.

Nobody within the ranks of these seemingly noble efforts will disagree with the facts that nobody wants to work together. They defend their ideas as if it were a pharmaceutical corporation with a cure for cancer. The compassion issue is everywhere in the animal protection movement. 'Compassion This - Compassion That." But all the large animal protection groups continue to bicker, argue, point fingers and sling mud between themselves. The anger and jealousy and vindictiveness among the smaller rescue organization efforts is mammoth in scope. Unimaginably detrimental to all these efforts is clearly the complete lack of true compassion - at least a real focus on their actual goals. Of course, politics, egos and agendas play a large part in covering up any real compassion that may be earned or even really exists.

We are not advocating the end of the big organizations or even the reduction of the six-figure salaries being awarded their chief executives. Why shouldn't someone who saves an animal get paid as well as someone who is willing to send them to slaughter or pave over habitat? But, in any business and most other endeavors, a chief executive who does not do the job is either demoted or fired. The big animal organizations have not done the job. Should they continue to get paid?

Too much of their funding is channeled back into their own development, feeding their own labyrinthine gullets. These organizations have become creatures with bigger and bigger bellies and weaker arms and legs and smaller hearts to get things done. If we were truly compassion driven, we would not be so uninformed as to assume the large national groups were truly out to help the animals with their millions and millions of dollars laying around in bank accounts while much needed and well deserved programs go unfunded and lives continue to be lost. If we were truly compassion driven, we would educate ourselves on the facts of these issues so as to clearly understand our individual roles in prevention.

Sharing the blame and the shame is the American Kennel Club, which issues registration papers indiscriminately to decent breeders and to puppy mills alike. They sponsor the suffering of thousands upon thousands of animals. No big organization wants to take them on. Why? We must admit the problems are ours and ours to solve. Like our fanatical minority and religious leaders, our large animal welfare organizations need their victims. Absent crime and imaginary situations against their people and teachings, these organizations disappear -- this means jobs. Jobs = egos. As long as they can convince those who don't know any better, they will survive.

The picture as of today, is one of an overworked under funded and failing animal control effort, schools failing to institute any form of humane education programs into a curriculum at any level, the media won't cover the real stories of HOW to prevent this and see a productive future, their readers don't want the stories of puppies and kittens dying as it's too upsetting to read. Finally, all those who are sitting at their desk right now in any animal protection organizations while reading this are going to be outwardly angered that One would accost them in such a manner, but are not willing to correct the situation as it stands, to ensure they receive a pay check next week.

The major animal welfare organizations are not useless. The world is a better place with them than without them, but they fall short. Too short. To whom much is given, much is expected.

We, however can make the difference we seek. Consider this:

It is the shame of the animal rights and animal welfare movements that for more than 130 years we have clamored for laws and policies on behalf of animals, yet have avoided the political arena. Why don't more animal charities form auxiliary political organizations? Why do we not take a stand, role up our sleeves, and set about the hard but necessary work of forming state, county and municipal voting blocks for animals?

A voting block of just a few thousand voters can swing a Congressional election. Many statehouse elections are won or lost by 100 or even a dozen votes, as are municipal elections. Lawmakers' fear of such elections gives organized minorities their power. In Connecticut, my state, approximately 2.5 million people are eligible to register to vote. Barely two million have registered, meaning that 20% of the potential electorate has yet to be mobilized.

At the municipal level, anyone who could mobilize even 5% of the voters would direct a force that no politician could ignore. Contact your state elections agency and your local city hall or county seat to get the voter turnout statistics for your own location. The potential for animal advocates to quickly alter the political arithmetic should quickly become evident. As the late U.S. Senator Paul Well-stone put it, "Dare to imagine what politics can be!" And in the last words of early U.S. labor activist Joe Hill, "Don't mourn--organize!"


Back to the large national groups.

Two of the major situations that changed my view of the larger groups was first with the HSUS. I logged on to their 'humane teen' site and began to contact all the groups listed there to offer assistance and try to work with them. To my surprise, out of the 16 groups listed, only one was still in operation and functional. Thank goodness, it was the one run by Georgia Benyk in Phoenix, as I felt they were really one of the best I'd ever read about and even had the privilege of meeting her and speaking to her members. I sorta let it slide until I went back to the site almost two years later and the page had not changed one bit. What was going on here?

I made contact with the HSUS and spoke to Bill DeRosa who was in charge of NAHEE the overseeing branch of Humane Teen. He immediately became defensive to my claims and assured me that his staff was working on a daily basis to keep their site current and updated their information with these groups. He was also insulted in the manner of which I approached them, suggesting that a more delicate approach towards them would offer up an improved level of communication in the future, then abruptly hung up the phone and blocked any further emails from me.

Here we are, two years later. I have recently revisited the humane teen site and contacted all the groups listed, (which by the way are totally new except for Georgia's group) Not one of them is a functioning organization and the contacts listed on the page made it clear they were not associated with the HSUS as it was made to look like. They had only given permission for them to list on their page. It is clear it was a shady effort to make the public think this was a project supported by the HSUS. It wasn't.

---------------
Thank you

Bill

P.S. : Fresh content is added to www.humaneteen.org on a weekly and monthly basis.

Bill DeRosa
Executive Director
National Association for Humane
& Environmental Education (NAHEE)
P.O. Box 362
East Haddam, CT 06423
Phone: (860) 434-8666, ext. 13
Fax: (860) 434-9579
E-mail: derosa@nahee.org

--------------

Here we are 4 and 1/2 years later and the content has changed only one time. Going from one over inflated webpage with non existent groups, to another false front claim featuring more non existent groups.

Then, several years back, there had been a zoophile that folks had been trying to locate for some time. Not surprisingly, he was located in my immediate area. This is the modern day 'Cherokee Nation'. I made contact with the man behind the alert at PETA and he assured me that we would do what's necessary for an arrest and conviction. He mentioned they would be able to raise approx one million dollars to handle the legal fees. When I asked why he would need so much, his response was that this particular case would only be allotted $100,000 and that all the rest would be used for other projects. ''All organizations do it this way'' he claimed. So, the 'bait and switch' tactic seems to be alive and well in the large animal organizational fundraising efforts.

If you stop and think about it, that is exactly what they have done all along. ''Give us money and we'll save the animals''. With upwards of $5 Billion raised and donated to this group since it's inception in 1954, isn't it fair to assume that, had this been a normal 'for profit' corporation, that consumers would have stopped buying it's products by now with a lack of guarantee and history of false promises such as this. Unfortunately, it is clear it's largely a bait and switch type approach or we would have been able to recognize more success by now.

A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE FOR YOU AS YOU READ THE FACTS AND FIGURES PROVIDED.

Every other known organization and movement in the nation does the one thing that is preventing the animal protection efforts from having our voices heard in Washington, from being more solid, realizing more universal regulations and from seeing the results so many seek. Just how far would you expect our space program to be today, if they had operated similarly to the animal protection movement and been divided into a dozen large, but warring versions of NASA who refuse to work together & spend only 10% of the funds we provide for them towards the actual space program?

Before you read these pages, keep in mind that Americans have spent $1 Billion each year since 1983 on community based animal control efforts. That is $20 billion.
Additionally, we have donated another $1 Billion to our favorite animal protection organizations as they extend their hands asking for more money and ''promise'' to solve these problems. That is another $20 Billion.
Most importantly, over 3,000 non profit organizations in this country have logged an estimated 50 Billion man hours on the same efforts and in total, we can only boast a 12-15% reduction of unwanted animal deaths nationwide

A billion dollars is a difficult number to grasp hold of and comprehend, but a billion seconds ago it was 1971. A billion minutes ago was a few years after Jesus died. Many complain about how far we yet have to go in the animal protection movement. We don't have that far to go!!!!
We know what the solutions are and we know how to stop the problems. We just need to stop following the large national groups who have a vested interest in keeping these problems alive and running the rest of us in circles.
The next time you hear how the animal protection movement has taken in $2 billion each year and over $40 "billion" since 1983 casually, think about whether you want that movement spending your money so freely with so few results (other than, new cars, luxury office suites and retirement plans)

America's problems with animal abuse and overpopulation is far worse than most other industrialized nations. Also, American's spend MORE on the ''corrections' than anyone else, but still fall very short of our goals. If these guys make $300,000 a year, why would they want to find a solution? They'd be out of work.

$ 40 BILLION ago, we had the same problems we do today but 12% greater. We deserve better in 20 years and $40 billion of O U R M O N E Y than a measly 12% reduction!!!!. We need to do things differently. We need to do things RIGHT.


American SPCA
TYPE AES
DONATED & EARNED INCOME: $ 39,120,286
EXPENDITURES: $ 41,357,094
PROGRAM SERVICE: $ 32,633,889
FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION: $ 8,723,205
% FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION, AS DECLARED: 21%
% FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION, OUR ANALYSIS: 29%
TOTAL ASSETS: $ 53,983,597
TANGIBLE (DEPRECIABLE) ASSETS: $ 19,816,877
CASH & SECURITIES: $ 27,394,209
NOTE:
The American SPCA assets include $12.8 million in "beneficial interests in perpetual trusts held by others." They do this to hide funds as best they can. The ASPCA in 2002 distributed $1.1 million among 182 other animal care organizations.


Compensation info--


LARRY HAWK President ASPCA $421,970
(Included four-year performance bonus. Hawk left the ASPCA in April 2003 and now heads the Massachusetts SPCA.)
Steven R Hansen SrVP ASPCA $139,657
Stephen Musso SrVP/Ops ASPCA $136,142
Stephen Zawistowski SrVP ASPCA $134,902
Barbara Garber SrVP ASPCA $132,140
Stephen Eudene SrVP/CFO ASPCA $127,890
Total $2 million
The ASPCA paid 80 additional salaries over $50,000 in 2002. (Over $4 million dollars)

Executive salaries paid over $6 million

North Shore Animal League America
TYPE: S
DONATED & EARNED INCOME: $ 30,342,594
EXPENDITURES: $ 32,397,432
PROGRAM SERVICE: $ 21,586,126
FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION: $ 10,811,306
% FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION, AS DECLARED: 33%
% FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION, OUR ANALYSIS: 49%
TOTAL ASSETS: $ 21,586,126
TANGIBLE (DEPRECIABLE) ASSETS: $ 11,851,646
CASH & SECURITIES: $ 18,443,960
NOTE:
The Pet Savers Foundation is a North Shore Animal League America subsidiary, sponsoring Spay/USA and the Conference on Homeless Animal Management and Policy. Pet Savers had an operating loss of $175,502.


Compensation info--

JOHN STEVENSON Pres North Shore $347,091
Barry Giaquinto CFO North Shore $140,047
Perry Fina DirOps North Shore $129,806
Lisa Wilson DirDevlp North Shore $100,351
Carolyn Brown DVM North Shore $ 98,960
Atlee Douglas DVM North shore $ 92,999

Total Nearly $1 million

The North Shore Animal League America paid 24 additional salaries in excess of $50,000 in fiscal 2002. ($600,000 extra)

Executive Salaries paid over $1.6 million -( not even a national organization or widely recognized)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Merritt Clifton
Editor, ANIMAL PEOPLE
P.O. Box 960
Clinton, WA 98236

Telephone: 360-579-2505
Fax: 360-579-2575
E-mail: anmlpepl@whidbey.com
Web: www.animalpeoplenews.org

[ANIMAL PEOPLE is the leading independent newspaper providing original investigative coverage of animal protection worldwide, founded in 1992. Our readership of 30,000-plus includes the decision-makers at more than 9,500 animal protection organizations. We have no alignment or affiliation with any other entity.]

Humane Society of the U.S.
TYPE: AEW
DONATED & EARNED INCOME: $ 65,222,618
EXPENDITURES: $ 67,272,795
PROGRAM SERVICE: $ 38,620,876
FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION: $ 23,453,737
% FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION, AS DECLARED: 35%
% FUNDRAISING & ADMINISTRATION, OUR ANALYSIS: 53%
TOTAL ASSETS: $ 85,810,587
TANGIBLE (DEPRECIABLE) ASSETS: $ 8,570,833
CASH & SECURITIES: $ 80,786,874
NOTE:
The Humane Society of the U.S. transferred $5,198,882 to subsidiaries, including the Wildlife Land Trust, Humane Society International, Center for Respect For Life & Environment, Earthvoice International, National Association for Humane & Environmental Education, Meadowcreek Inc. (an Arkansas-based organic vegetable-growing project), and Worldwide Network, Inc. Since the end of 2001 HSUS has also absorbed the Ark Trust, producers of the Genesis Awards for animal-friendly screen productions, and now sponsors the Remote Access Medical project headed by Eric Davis, DVM, who formerly operated under the auspices of the University of Tennessee. In addition, HSUS in mid-2002 took over fiscal responsibility for maintaining Keiko, the orca star of the Free Willy! films, whose care had been funded by Ocean Futures, formed by merger of the Jean Michel Cousteau Institute with the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation. Keiko swam to Norway soon after HSUS took over his supervision. There he lived in coastal fjords until his death on December 12, 2003. HSUS paid $264,073 to the Free Willy/Keiko Foundation in 2002. HSUS made $1,321,527 in grants and payments in 2002 to 271 animal charities and projects in all.

Compensation info--

PAUL IRWIN President HSUS $315,898
Patricia Forkan ExecVP HSUS $179,217
Andrew Rowan SeniorVP HSUS $170,995
G Thomas Waite CFO/Treas HSUS $160,473
Roger Kindler GenCounsel HSUS $152,767
John Grandy VP HSUS $145,124
Jan Hartke ExecDirector HSUS $133,517
John Kullberg WldlfLandTrst HSUS $131,453
(John Kullberg died in April 2003.)
Michael Fox SeniorScholar HSUS $128,419
Wayne Pacelle SeniorVP HSUS $124,745
Janet Frake AsstSecty HSUS $ 82,514
TOTAl $4,541,000

The Humane Society of the U.S. paid 60 additional salaries in excess of $50,000 in 2002. (Excess of $3 million more) Executive Salaries paid over $7.5 million

Animal People News

Is widely respected and recognized as the 'watchdog' reporting publication for the world's animal protection movement.

News for People Who Care About Animals

POB 960 Clinton, Washington email anmlpepl@whidbey.com website www.animalpeoplenews.org

==============
Out of a total of 136 organizations listed in the most recent edition of Animal People News December 2003 - 3, here are a few of the more recognized groups along with some financial information. For the full layout and explanation, please subscribe to Animal People News or visit their website above.


ORGANIZATION
 

DONATIONS FOR 2003 --> 351,598,690 Just for the 13 listed. There are over 3,000 non profits in America dedicated to this effort!!!

$351 Million + and we still see little in the way of resolve. And this is only about one third of the annual dollars donated to people's favorite animal protection groups.

Now, look how a concerted effort would make a change and cost pennies on the dollar.

A one-time expenditure of $50 million would bring humane education to our nations' schools

Due to the fact that I am not only proposing a philosophical conceptual framework regarding the effectiveness of Humane Education, but I am also a practitioner applying my theory within practical contexts, I consider myself an action researcher. In other words, I don’t only provide the rationale and philosophical underpinnings of my work, I actually go out there and apply it hands on. Furthermore, I am collaborating with professional researchers who are capable of taking my findings (i.e. data) and analyzing and interpreting those findings (i.e. scientifically based research).

Although Americans have been donating a billion dollars annually to their favorite animal protection group (that's AFTER the nearly one billion they also pay in taxes for local and area animal control efforts) for over 25 years, we still see few tangible results. I am so determined to prove that my idea is a likely solution to many if not most of our problems, that I have outlined it to the best of my ability. We may need to include in this budget the cost for professional research to offer the educators, who don't care about humane education but do care about science, math and reading test scores, that our program can improve all of the above.

So, with $2 billion each year going mainly to salaries, condos, jet planes, office buildings and printing costs to raise more funds for next year, I'm asking for just $50 million on a one time basis to start this idea rolling on a nationwide scale that will undoubtedly prove its cause worthy. However, thus far, I've not even been able to fill the $50 million costs.

Each State would receive money for advertising in all newspapers that serve communities of 20,000 residents or more. These stats would be from the most recent census. The ads would be larger than the average ad to garner attention. With this endeavor, it is hoped that we would gain substantial media attention as well - helping to further our cause of gaining the attention of all those who believe in humane education and would be willing to volunteer in some way.

We would have several packages of information to send out. I would also send one for the person who is organizing the program (i.e. Program Coordinator) and another for the people who would actually go into the schools with me. My informational packet would outline every possible need and the steps to take. Therefore, I would be responsible for long distance calls, printing, envelopes and postage costs. Obviously, I need the funds to complete these tasks.

These funds could also include supplying people with some travel expenses or a post office box rental, etc. It would be very important to assure the continuation of the local marketing for volunteers for up to two years after the initial local programs begin for simple attrition. We would want them to run this as a volunteer 'business' and to become non profit. From that point on, they could be named anything they wanted and continue getting grants at will.

NOBODY anywhere is doing anything along these lines at all. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own little efforts (noble, but highly individualized) to really recognize the need for change or the importance of having a human being who will actually address tomorrow's decision makers is person with some 'live aides' to make it interesting. MOST EVERY ''humane education'' organization is still just a bunch of paper pushers. They offer materials on their website, but that is no guarantee ANYONE is reading it or putting it to use. Others pride themselves by sending thousands and thousands of copies of an animal magazine to schools. Still no real proof that they are being read by any students. All are supportive of Humane Education and will do class presentations when asked, but don't go looking for them and many even charge for their services.

We'll use 100 communities in each state for a guideline and simplification for this time.

COSTS:

The simple breakdown of costs is provided below:
50 states times 100 communities = 5,000 community newspapers. Each with an ad in their main paper every Sunday for 50 weeks. That is 250,000 ads to run with each ad running $100. That's $25 million right there.

Packages of info:
Brochure costs: $3 each (copies of additional info included cost would be $2 each). Envelopes would cost an additional 50 cents each and postage would be $1, totaling $6.50

Each city would need up to 10 of the start up packages. That is $ 325,000. Each city could ask for up to 100 volunteer kits at $8 each (additional info included from start up) $4million

I would still need to add in long distance phone charges and other miscellaneous items. My tour will cost $175,000 including motor home, gas, insurance, printing and food. After the tour, I can donate the motor home or resell it to get some money back.

Follow-up marketing for ads in newspapers to cover attrition and misc expenses would be included $12million (half of the original $25million)

Total so far is only $42million.

Access to any and all information distributed would be available online from my site. No charge.

I don't want to ask for a penny that I won't need. I want to CLEARLY PROVE beyond a shadow of a doubt that humane education has its place in a civilized society and that it has benefits that are visible within 5 years of start up and even more at the ten year span.

=========================
Still have questions?  See the following article really lays it all out clearly.
What IS The Humane Society of the United States?
By Christopher Aust
August 2004

I was rather amazed at the number of people who wrote to me about my opinions regarding the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) when I did my last few articles. Then again, maybe I shouldn't be. Before about two weeks ago, I myself was rather ignorant as to the real goals of HSUS, and where their, (actually your) money goes. As I always do though, I decided to edumacate myself about them.

I also conducted a poll of 100 average people. Just the average Joe in the street. 94% of the people thought HSUS ran the local shelters in their community. 4% knew about their other programs and the remaining 2% had no idea who they were. Of the 94% all said they would donate to HSUS based on what they knew about them. I'm betting HSUS is banking, literally, on these types of individuals.

I also went online and found some rather interesting, at times quite scary, information on several web sites. I would have interviewed a HSUS representative, but after last week's newsletter, I got an email from one that was little more than hate mail and very offensive!

Founders

Coleman Burke, then president of the American Bible Society, Cleveland Amory and Helen Jones, founded HSUS in 1954. As far as I have been able to tell, Mr. Burke served as their President until 1970 when John Hoyt, a Presbyterian minister, took over as President and CEO until 1996.

Until just a few months ago, the President and CEO was Paul Irwin, a Methodist minister. The current CEO and President is Wayne Pacelle who admittedly has had ties with some radical (and I mean radical) animal rights groups in the past.

Now, is it important I mention the religious background? Maybe and maybe not. What I noticed though is the organization, at least to me, has an evangelical feel. Is this a bad thing? No. I don't see why unless you are running the finances in a manner similar to Jim and Tammie Faye Baker! That sure is the way it looks to me.

Officers and Directors

HSUS is an organization with their primary focus being animals. As I reviewed the names and titles of the Board Officers and Directors, I found it curious they had no DVM's (vets) on either. They have three MDs', three PhDs' and six attorneys. Am I the only one that finds this odd? Plenty of lawyers, but no vet. Hmmm… Maybe it's just a typo.

Comparative Financial Operations Report

When I conducted my interview with Kathy Bauch a few weeks ago, she refused to answer any questions regarding HSUS' finances for a “newsletter.” She did offer to send me their 2003 financials though. This is what they send whenever someone has questions about their finances. As I mentioned last week, if it was similar to what they have online, it would be vague and difficult to decipher. What I got was much more.

What I received is their 2003 Annual Report. It is a twenty-one page “report” that was obviously very expensive to print. Tucked way in the back is exactly what I expected. A vague and difficult to read one page financial report. The rest appears to me to be a very expensive sales letter and nothing more, complete with a postage paid envelope to send in your donation.

Now you might say, “So what? They have to promote themselves.” I agree. However, this publication has six pages of calendar quality photos of nothing but animals. Two and a half pages of self-glorifying articles from HSUS staff, none of which was necessary. How much donor money could have been saved by deleting this junk from the thousands and thousands of these reports they printed?

According to the Comparative Financial Operations Report for 2003, the HSUS has $116,205,882.00 in total liability and net assets. Over $5,000,000 of that is in cash and cash equivalents, and another nearly five and a half million in receivables. They also have nearly $93,000,000 in market value investments. Not too bad.

In 2003, in revenue, additions and transfers, HSUS made $76,923,670. Of that amount, sheltering programs received $10,551,527 and it was shared with animal habitat and wildlife programs. Now, assuming it was an even split, sheltering programs received $3,517,175.66

Now that's a lot of money, but not when you consider a good sized shelter can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to run, three million is really a drop in the bucket. They spent $21,145,769.00 in fundraising and membership development. Six times what they put into their shelter programs, which is what most people I talked to think HSUS does with the money donated to them.

Providing Help or Selling It

I'm not sure what they spent the money on for their shelter programs, but I will assure you they didn't fund any shelters. In fact, they charge shelters and Animal Control offices for their assistance and instructional material. I have been able to find little and or nothing HSUS doesn't charge for when it comes to helping a shelter and their educational programs.

For instance, lets say you or your town runs an animal shelter that is struggling for one reason or another, which most are, HSUS is ready to come in and help. For between $4000.00 and $20,000.00 they will send their experts to your shelter through their Animal Services Consultation Program. The fee depends on the size of the agency and the complexity of its programs, charged on a sliding scale based on your agency's resources. In other words, the more you have, the more they'll take.

Youth Programs

Now, lets go back to our youth. You're in middle or high school and want to start a club to promote rescue and do things to help companion animals. HSUS can help you with that, too. Just go to humaneteen.org. There you can buy a package full of all kinds of propaganda and learn to be a full-fledged animal activist. They will sell your child a club starter kit for $22.00 and then give activity suggestions like their “Fight Fur” program.

Here they encourage kids to make flyers and hand them out in front of businesses to protest against shoppers buying fur. HSUS will also give your child cards to distribute at such events. They'll show your child pictures of dead animals in traps and direct them to other sites where they can see pictures of hunters beating seals over the head.

They will also promote vegen/vegetarian lifestyles to your child. Just go to the message board for kids and you can read how many of the kids are distressed, after reading the material HSUS SOLD them, because their parents will not let them go vegen. You will also see posts promoting PETA!

Now I want to be fair here. They do have some decent material that is age appropriate and educational in nature. I think it's overpriced; for instance, your child can rent a video to show their class for $25.00, but some of it is good material. However, there is little promoting appropriate training, grooming or responsible ownership of companion animals. It seems to me the whole focus is turning our children into activists, vegens and extremists.

Now if I want my child to be a vegen, or an activist, I will make that decision and not HSUS. Our kids have enough on their plate without having to be weighed down with this information or agenda. Additionally, kids are kids and don't always make appropriate decisions. When dealing with complex issues like activism and protesting, it would be easy for them to get into trouble or hurt. Doesn't PETA target children too?

Ethical Financial Practices

Let's get back to the money:

Former President John Hoyt once instructed his members on becoming more humane: “We begin, I suggest, by living more simply, more sparingly.” Let's see how he did. He made around $200,000.00 in the late 1980's running HSUS. In 1986, HSUS bought his house in Maryland for $310,000 and allowed him and his family to live there, free of rent, until 1992. When he retired as CEO, HSUS gave him a $1,000,000.00 bonus.

Paul Irwin, another former President, while making $300,000.00 from HSUS, was given an $85,000.00 interest free loan to renovate his cabin in Maine. The cabin was held in trust by HSUS, however his family continued to use it until he died. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Makes me wonder.

Guilty by Association

Let's look at some of HSUS' associations:

In April of 2000 HSUS sent J.P. Goodwin as its emissary on an anti-fur mission to China. Goodwin is not just any animal rights zealot, he was an avowed member of Animal Liberation Front (ALF), a group once called one of the biggest domestic terrorist organizations by the FBI. He had been convicted for vandalism of several fur retailers and their property. Less than a year later, he was formerly identified as a HSUS legislative staff member.

If you don't know about ALF you should check them out. They truly scare the heck out of me. They are, in my opinion, every bit as much a threat to people as Al Quiada. I cannot believe HSUS would hire such a person. When asked questions about an arson fire at a slaughter house in Petaluma, California, and a Utah feed co-op that nearly killed a family, Goodwin stated, “We're ecstatic!”

Then, there is the PETA connection ...

HSUS has repeatedly hired PETA employees in their organization. Their head of investigations, several investigators, a computer programmer, just to name a few. Sorry folks, my opinion is, once a terrorist, always a terrorist. When HSUS hires these people, they appear to support the crimes these individuals may have been involved in.

In 2003, HSUS VP Martin Stephens was asked to recommend three people to serve on an EPA “pollution prevention and toxics” panel. Two of his three choices were PETA employees.

All Talk and No Action

While HSUS will admit they don't run or fund any shelters, you usually find it at the bottom of the page or tucked away somewhere near the end of a statement. As I mentioned before, they don't put their money where their mouth is. Get this …

In 1995, when the Washington DC animal shelter was going to have to close due to a budget shortfall, HSUS (based in DC) offered to build and operate a DC shelter at its own expense to serve as a national model. There were, of course, conditions.

HSUS wanted the city to give it 3-5 acres of land and tax exempt status for all of its real estate holdings in the District of Columbia. (Remember, they buy some executives homes to live in among other property holdings.)

The DC government offered a long-term lease but HSUS refused to proceed unless it would “own absolutely” the land. The district declined, and the only HSUS funded animal shelter never materialized.

HSUS, who makes and has enough money to fund a shelter in every state, as well as subsidize spay/neuter programs, declined to help the dogs in its own back yard. Why? Money is all I can think of. Perhaps they were afraid they would soil their Armani suits by actually working with a dog.

The New CEO

Rather than go on a tirade about the new President and CEO of HSUS, I have put some quotes from him below. Read them, and you decide.

"I think they wanted the aggressive approach," he says. "They wanted someone who was going to think things up. And they got him." June 2004, Washington Post when asked about his selection as CEO.

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

Overview

I could go on for days about HSUS, but I will stop here. In my opinion, they are little more than an organization whose main agenda is filling the coffers and pushing an extremist agenda through misinformation and exploitation. Again, my opinion, they have done nothing but profit from the contributions of people who don't know any better. I have tried to see it otherwise, I simply can't.

I highly recommend you go to activistcash.com and see what they have there about HSUS and their connection with PETA. There are several other sites I found interesting, as well as many stories about HSUS in the archive of the Washington Post.

Would I give anything to the Humane Society of the United States? Yes I would. A pooper-scooper, they can use to go clean my yard. At least then we would know they actually have done something for a dog this year.

This article may be republished using the following attribution box:
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Copyright ©2004 Christopher Aust, Master Dog Trainer & Creator:
The Natural Cooperative Training System (NCTS) for Dogs
The Instinctual Development System (IDS) for Puppies
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