~ The Life Style Police ~
How Animal Rights Activists Takes your Money to make Laws You Can’t Live With

 

 

The Humane Society of the United States is one of the biggest Non-Profit Organizations in North America. They state :

 

The HSUS initiates major programs to protect America's most beloved companion animals, dogs and cats, but we also work to promote the protection of all animals, wild and domestic, through investigation, rehabilitation, public education, political and consumer advocacy, and litigation.”

 

In the pursuit of protecting America’s Most Beloved Companions, a few of the Officers and people of Record for this Organization have made some radical public comments. Some of these comments would directly refute that statement, some of them are not based on solid facts, and others are incendiary in intent. These are the people who are begging you for your money.

 

"We have no ethical obligation to preserve the different breeds of livestock produced through selective breeding. ...One generation and out. We have no problems with the extinction of domestic animals. They are creations of human selective breeding" (HSUS V.P. for Communication & Government Affairs Wayne Pacelle - Former National Director of Fund for Animals in Animal People, May, 1993)

"In a 1984 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Jeremy Rifkin, a persistent critic of biotechnology, and Michael Fox of HSUS claimed that genetic breeding practices were creating obese animals with skeletal abnormalities and unable to mate. More than simply cruel, these techniques violated the rights of animals by 'robbing them of their unique genetic make up."

"Human care (of animals) is simply sentimental, sympathetic patronage."          (Dr. Michael W. Fox, HSUS, in 1988 Newsweek interview).

 

Michael W. Fox of the Humane Society of the United States Fox and others argue that the educational function of zoos could be better met with documentary films, that zoos do more harm than good because the create diseased and frustrated animals. He describes the behavior of caged animals, for example their relentless pacing, as neurotically repetitive compulsions resulting from captivity and stress."

Michael W. Fox, "The Trouble With Zoos," Animals' Agenda 6 (June 1986) 8.

 

"The life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration."
     -Michael W. Fox, Vice President, The Humane Society of the United States, The Inhumane Society, New York, 1990.

 

"Michael W. Fox sees zoos and animal shows as emblems of capitalist industrial technology. Exploiting such techniques as behavioral monitoring and genetic engineering, public spectacles of performing animals are a ritual enactment of human control over nature. They 'serve to perpetuate the righteousness of humankind's domination over animals and nature as well as the myth of human superiority."

They reflect, he feels, a desire for power and control. The need for human mastery of the beast and its wild instincts, claims Fox, represents a puritanical fear of our own impulsive nature, of our own 'beastly' Passions."

Michael W. Fox, "Unnatural Acts," Animals' Agenda 6 (June 1986): 9

 

"In June 1990, almost 30,000 activists came to Washington, D.C. to participate in a 'March For the Animals.' It was the first united mobilization of the animal rights movement, and its largest rally, attracting people from across the United States. Both militant and moderate animal rights groups were represented at the demonstration, and the leading animal rights
activists were there: Peter Singer, Tom Regan, Ingrid Newkirk, George Cave, Alex Pacheco, and Michael Fox."

 

Dr. Fox was a major contributor to the infamous and inaccurate December 1994 Time article on dog breeding (and is quoted in the article as well).

"Liberating our language by eliminating the word 'pet' is the first step... In an ideal society where all exploitation and oppression has been eliminated, it will be NJARA's policy to oppose the keeping of animals as pets."

 

Thanks to these people for their Animal Activist Quotes resources

http://www.altpet.net/petition/arquote.html

HSUS (ETC) & THE ELIMINATION OF COMPANION ANIMALS, link
 
Lately, the HSUS has developed a PAC program called HumaneLines.


HSUS and the Fund for Animals are partners in producing the HSUS newsletter
called Humanelines. http://www.hsus.org/index.html

 

Humane USA PAC

The October 2000 issue of On Wings states that Rod Coronado and Darren
Thurston of ALF are on this group's Steering Committee. Ron Coronado served a term in Prison for terrorism.

 

“Rodney Coronado, a member of the Animal Liberation Front, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 57 months in prison for the destruction of an animal diagnostics research lab at the University of California, Davis in April, 1987 (total damage estimates: $4.5 million). PETA sent $ 45,200 to Coronado's 'support committee,' which was a sum 15 times greater than what PETA spent on animal shelters nationwide in all of that year.”

The A.L.F.(Animal Liberation Front), which has caused tens of millions of dollars in damage to U.S. research labs, factory farms and fur farms in 15 years of existence, has been branded a "terrorist" organization by the US Dept of Justice.

 

EARTH FIRST! NEWSLETTER, YULE 1991 EDITION, VOL, XII, NO. II,
"FREEDOM FOR FUR FARM PRISONERS" By Convicted ALF terrorist ROD CORONADO

"We recognize all animals on fur ranches as political prisoners of the war on nature and shall strive to rescue them by any means necessary. (We do not) recognize laws that justify the destruction of fur animals, and we encourage others to disregard the ineffective methods of protest in favor of direct action in defense of the last wild animal nations."

"Launch your own campaign of sabotage against the fur industry... Find a fur shop in your area and smash or etch its windows. Liquid steel ruins locks; bomb threats cost only a quarter. If you live in an area where furs are worn, fill a squirt bottle with red dye or battery acid and let fly. If you're presentable enough to get into a fur shop department store, take a razor blade and slash the coats."

July 16, 1993: A federal grand jury in Grand Rapids, Michigan returned a five count indictment against Rodney Coronado-a suspected ALF member-in connection with the February 1992 break-in, vandalism, and arson at Michigan State University. ( Rodney Coronado, who also is wanted in Canada on charges relating to the vandalism of fur retailers, is still at large.) The indictment includes charges of arson, destruction of government property, theft, and the use of an explosive. The targeted project involved fertility research using minks for experimentation. ALF claimed responsibility for the incident.

 

The HomePage No Compromise at

http://www.nocompromise.org/index.html

has an interview with Darren Thurston

http://www.nocompromise.org/issues/04darren.html

Doing time with the Animal Liberation Front

 

“On Oct. 12, 1993, I plead guilty to three charges - Break and Enter to Commit Theft and Mischief (UofA liberation) and arson (Billingsgate fire). I was acquitted of all the other charges against me. Later that day I walked out a free man after 15 1/2 months inside.” D. Thurston 

 

And these two people are representing the Humane Society of the US (funded by your dollars) as members of the steering committee of their PAC?

 

A Few words from the titular leader of this Terrorist organization, Professor Peter Singer. 

"Christianity is our foe. If animal rights is to succeed, we must destroy the Judeo-Christian religious tradition." [The Deweese Report, November 1998]

"Killing a defective infant is not morally equivalent to killing a person, Sometimes it is not wrong at all."

And that is just a few comments from this very vocal Domestic terrorist group. And now they have a direct connection from beneath the wings of  HSUS straight to the ear of our Government Policy makers.

 

The HSUS’ public comments to APHIS on the Rabies Vaccine Issue for Wolfdogs

 

Docket Number 99-040-1

Regulatory Analysis and Development

PPD, APHIS    Suite 3C03

4700 River Road, Unit 118

Riverdale, MD 20737-1238


On behalf of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), I would like to comment on Docket Number 99-040-1 for the proposed rulemaking by APHIS (USDA), regarding Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and Analogous Products; Definitions. The HSUS is this nation’s largest animal protection organization, with more than 7 million members and constituents in the United States. The HSUS employs legislative and legal experts, wildlife biologists, veterinarians, educators, investigators, and animal care and control experts. The HSUS’ mission is to promote the protection of all animals.

 

The HSUS understands that sufficient evidence exists to support the vaccination of wolf-dog hybrids against rabies virus, using vaccines currently available for use in domesticated dogs. Although the lack of approved vaccines has in the past been a useful tool for prohibiting and regulating ownership of these animals, at the same time this situation has allowed thousands of wolf-dog hybrids to exist within the United States without benefit of vaccination against this deadly disease, risking the lives of both animals and humans. The HSUS believes that a safe and effective rabies vaccine approved for use in wolf-dog hybrids will be an important asset for the protection of animals and of public health.

 

Despite the availability of such a vaccine, however, The HSUS will continue to oppose and strive to prohibit the breeding and keeping of wolf-dog hybrids as companion animals. These hybrids of wild and domesticated species do not live successfully as wild animals, and their size, strength, and unpredictable temperament make them unsuitable for life as companion animals to humans. Wolf-dog hybrids are typically quite destructive and adept at escaping from enclosures; the result is that they are usually kept in outdoor enclosures, where their risk of exposure to rabid wildlife may be increased. At least 12 people have been killed by wolf-dog hybrids in the United States, despite estimates that only 100,000 to 300,000 of these animals exist in this country. Many wolf-dog hybrids live lives of misery, after being purchased by persons who see them as status symbols or as icons of “wild nature”, rather than as companion animals who need and deserve responsible care. Their size, temperament, and destructive nature too frequently result in aggression to humans and other animals, sentencing wolf-dog hybrids to isolated lives in chained enclosures.

 

Although recent information indicates strong genetic similarity between wolves and dogs, hybrids of these two species are not domesticated animals, and The HSUS does not believe breeding or keeping of these animals as companion animals is in the best interest of human society, or of the wolf-dog hybrids themselves. The HSUS sincerely hopes that, should your agency decide to amend the regulations to allow rabies vaccines approved for use in canines to also be used for wolf-dog hybrids, you will present that decision to the public accompanied by language which clearly states that such amendment does not carry with it implicit condonation of the keeping or breeding of wolf-dog hybrids as companion animals, but merely seeks to protect existing animals and the general public from the threat of this fatal disease.

 

On behalf of The HSUS, I thank you for the opportunity to provide this commentary. Any questions may be directed to me.


Sincerely,


Leslie Sinclair, D.V.M.

Director of Veterinary Issues

Companion Animals

Humane Society of the United States

2100 L Street NW

Washington, DC 20037

 

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Solutions Start at Home ~ Kat Wolfdancer

Given at the 2005 annual Phoenix Exotics Wildlife Assoc. Inc. meeting

At Bonnie Springs, Las Vegas, NV Friday, Feb. 25th, 2005

 

Friend of mine and I were talking about despair after this past election, and she told me a little thing. She said:

 

“A friend of mine talks about one mile circles being the only way we can truly influence the world.  We can live as good people in our one mile circle.  Protect each other and the earth in our one mile circle.  Then we must trust that others are out there living the best they can in their one mile circles and we can act to interface our one mile circles as best we can.”

 

And it made me pause, this simple truth. It’s something to live by in a time when many of us doubt our lawmakers, doubt our representatives, and even doubt our neighbors.

 

Responsible people are becoming targets for biased, knee-jerk uneducated blanket legislation, rather than justly prosecuting those who will not do what is necessary to be a responsible owner. We begin to feel besieged and persecuted, and often times it is by the very people from whom we most deserve cooperation: Sanctuaries.

Responsible private owners are not the ones who owned the animals in sanctuaries, unless there was litigation involved. Responsible owners aren’t the problem, exotics aren’t the problem, dogs aren’t the problem, irresponsible owners and an uneducated public are the problem. Ban laws are punitive against a wide section of society who are not law breakers. We need to protect the animals by prosecuting those who do them harm, or who break the applicable laws, not make it illegal to responsibly own animals. If there’s already a law making it illegal to steal, we don’t need another law making it illegal to steal color TVs.

 

Sometimes our own Governmental agencies seem to assist irresponsibility by allowing too many people to slip through the cracks. As an example, the IRS has thus far seen fit to allow people like Rae Ott of NAWA infamy to keep their 501(3)(c) status, despite being given irrefutable proof of misappropriation of funds. As a matter of fact, even after the survivors of the Conroe Concentration Camp were rescued from Rae Ott’s neglect, she is opening up ANOTHER so-called “Wolf Rescue”, with the same IRS tax ID. She has already procured more animals that she can exploit. Over 50% of the wolfdogs that Rae Ott purposely misidentified as “wolves” in order to scavenge more money from the public died of treatable diseases such as distemper and hookworm. They died in horrible filthy, conditions, and many died in agony as a direct result of her neglect. Yet, she is still able to procure public funding, and is still offering dead animals for “adoption”.

 

And Rae Ott isn’t the Lone Stranger, either; look at the recent happening at Wolf Haven, in Tenino, WA. This is an organization that has worked hand-in-hand with organizations such as Animal Protection Institute (API) and Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) to strip responsible private owners of their rights to own animals, because, they claim, private owners cannot care for them correctly. Yet they allowed Akela to suffer diagnosed complete kidney failure and the debilitating pain that kidney failure causes for nearly a month and a half before finally being forced to be put him out of his misery. They let that poor suffering wolf lay in the freezing mud for six days, barely able to move after two Vets had advised that he was suffering, and in terrible pain, and needed to be euthanized. For what purpose? How could they allow this? This organization has repeatedly been at the forefront of legislation calling for owner-bans. How can they tell us that we cannot take care of our own? I would never let any animal suffer like they forced Akela to suffer, and neither would any of the responsible owners I see here. We have seen Wild Animal Orphanage, another facility dedicated to stripping private owners of their rights, have numerous escapes and containment issues. Issues that, were they a private owner, would have been harshly criticized, but because they are an AZA accredited facility, basic requirements that a private owner must adhere to seem to be disregarded. I am pleased to see that Wildlife Waystation, in California, has resolved its’ long-standing containment problems, but I wonder how much leniency a private owner would have been accorded. We already know to what lengths Shambala will go to for publicity, at the expense of an animals’ safety and health. We, as a community, have seen people exploit the animals we love so dearly as replaceable commodities, and tear-jerker fodder for websites begging for donations. We have seen too many people make a killing off the killing off of our companions, and the stripping away of responsible citizens’ rights.

 

Passing laws banning the private ownership of selected animals will never solve the problem of people who will exploit animals. It will simply destroy families, and in many cases, cause the unnecessary relocation or death of the animal. It will also stress the already-stretched-thin capacity of sanctuaries, shelters, and animal control. Ban laws have inherently high court costs, specialist fees as well as being an administrative nightmare in identification.  Those facilities who are so actively pursuing private ownership bans need to take a closer look at their own glass houses, their own containment and escape issues, and their own neglect of the animals they have “rescued”. In fact, in several targeted species, of the 23 listed bite incidents in 2003, 21 of them occurred at Zoos, Sanctuaries or Circuses, not private owners.

 

And once again, the solution for this problem lies within our hands as well. Before you donate any money to any facility, do your research. Don’t take the word of a website as Gospel. Be responsible in your support, as well as in your life. Make sure the organization you support does not support making your companions illegal to own.

 

Because of this bombardment of legislation, responsible owners can wind up feeling torn between acting proactively, or reacting protectively. And I can tell you that personally, it’s difficult to balance being positive, and being mad as hell.

 

And I AM mad as hell, as I’m not gonna take it anymore. I’m sick and tired of ignorant people claiming that my canines are inherently dangerous when they’ve never even met them. Wolfdogs still get lumped into this grey betweener place, between exotic animal laws, and dangerous dog laws. I’m sick and tired of feeling like a fringe citizen. When breed specific legislation and species bans are suggested as the answer to questions of general public safety, the face of the person directly affected is my face. And I intend to make sure that the folks who are responsible for making those laws, or influencing lawmakers know it.

 

So what can a responsible private owner do to change things? I have to admit to you, face to face, that the definitive answer eludes me. Some of the answers I have found are so stunningly obvious, that I was stumped for weeks, in a blocked nightmare, writing this speech. But heck, I have a few minutes left on the clock, so why not.

 

Almost every community has community meetings that are regularly posted in a local newspaper. It seems very apparent to me that many of our legislators are getting their information from unreliable, misinformed sources, OR sources with an agenda. It is also becoming apparent that laying low and waiting for the storm to blow over is not an effective tactic. We obviously need to stop being silently suffering.

 

Become a person in your legislator’s eyes, not just a Voter I.D. number. Get to know your representatives and legislature. These are the people we elect to represent us in these manners. Check your local area for “Meet and Greets”, and introduce yourself. Send them thank you notes for any support they may have given to private ownership rights. When they come up for election, support them, and send them a note telling them you are Voting for them, and one reason why is because of their pro-responsible private ownership support. If you are able, make a small contribution to their campaign, if they have represented you wisely and well. If your representative is against responsible private ownership, be proactive about THAT as well. Write them, call them, let them know that you are a constituent and their position directly threatens your Constitutionally guaranteed right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, and that YOU ARE WATCHING!! And putting your Vote where your heart is. There is innate responsibility, however, in becoming an individual in your legislator’s eyes. In each contact we all make as individuals, we are making it at the same time as representatives of the whole of exotic ownership. So be polite.

 

It is our responsibility to pay attention to what they are voting on, and make our opinions known, even if it’s in a shaky, nervous “Citizen Jane” voice. Get involved, and don’t expect that someone else is going to represent your views. We all need to express those views to our policy makers. We all need to continue being proactive with legislation, and our legislators. Let them know that you are a registered Voter, (and dang it, if you’re not a registered Voter, GET REGISTERED!!) and that you are watching.

 

We can even be proactive without leaving our own homes, too. Many of us are on the Internet now, and there are quite a few folks who track legislation. When they send an alert, we need to start taking it seriously. We all need to be more proactive in our local politics. Make phone calls, and if you get a secretary, put yourself on record, in as clear and concise a manner as possible. Our Opposition is well established, well funded, and misinformed, at best. It’s up to us to prove them wrong, within our one-mile radius, to prove that responsible ownership is the norm, not the exception, that the exceptions are the problem, that we already have a layer of appropriate laws, and that effective law-making gives teeth to the laws we have, doesn’t create new laws with less teeth and less definition.

 

Another place we can really make a difference is in our local animal control. I don’t think it’s just my own towns that are beleaguered by a lack of funding, and the unfortunate position of always seeing the dark side. Animal control officers just rarely get to see or meet responsible owners. It’s their job to deal with the cast-offs, the unwanteds, the extraneous, the lost, the frightened, the abused, and the inconvenient. Just like police, being constantly bombarded by the worst that humanity has to offer doesn’t do much to endear humanity to the officer. It is…. understandable to view animal control as “the enemy”, since they have the power to separate us from our loved ones. But it is not logical to do so. We need to remember that, as a general rule, the individuals who do this job are habitually underpaid, and chose the career because they love animals. These people are our potential advocates, as long as they can be shown that we are the Good Guys.

 

It is a HUGE leap of Faith on both sides, to trust one another. But if you live in a legal area, I would whole-heartedly suggest that we all make an effort to outreach to these people. They are on our side. Again, like us, I truly believe the norm is not being represented. So, how about an influx of volunteers from the exotics and the wolfdog community? How about a donation of extra toys? Blankets? Bones? Time? Most progressive shelters and animal control people welcome volunteers. It can really make a difference for the animals there, too. In some shelters, trainers volunteer to train the adoptable animals in basic obedience, making them even more adoptable. Be available so if they do need advice, they have a source that’s actually knowledgeable, and isn’t looking it up on the PETA website.

 

We also need to support other beleaguered animal advocates. In your one mile radius, if you see a pittbull ban suggested, as an example, stand up and fight it as the unconstitutional bad unable-to-implement policy it is. Even if you don’t own a pittbull, we all have to stop dividing ourselves up. Every piece of banning legislature is one more brick in the wall, and we cannot accept that wall getting any higher. Not by one brick.

 

I’ve had people ask me why I have my animals. What is their job? I’ve been asked. Their job is to be happy, and to make me happy. My job is to be happy, and to make them happy. My responsibility is to provide a safe, healthy life for the animals I take responsibility for. It starts in my backyard, in my town, and in my one-mile radius. I hope you will allow it to begin in yours, too.

 

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The 3 C’s of Responsible Ownership -Kat Wolfdancer

 

Commitment

Containment

Communication

 

That sounds so … easy, doesn’t it? So attainable. And yet, these are the three biggest reasons people abandon their pets, either physically, or emotionally. Just three little C’s affect so many things, legislation and quality of life among them. Those three little C’s affect each and every one of us here. As responsible private owners, every one of us is affected by every animal owner who does not adhere to those Three Little C’s. We live in a time where decisions will be made for us, if we do not make them for ourselves. If we do not comport ourselves as Good Examples, there are those who would like nothing better than to portray us as demons and abusers, and portray our companions as slaves.

 

The big trouble is, Good News doesn’t make headlines. Bad News does. The vast majority of stories regarding exotic animals, regarding “primitive” breed animals, heck, regarding animals at all, are negative in nature. And of those, the majority have been sensationalized by a Media who feels compelled to “one-up” every OTHER reporter out there. The Geraldos outnumber the Cronkites! We are going to have to be our own advocates! WE have to get the word out, and we must convince OURSELVES, as a Community,  that there is no more wriggle room for bending the rules, no more time left to put off until tomorrow what we know we need to do today. Our adversaries want to chase us into the darkness of a fearful life. Tell them we will not go gently!!

 

So we have to figure out how to make Responsible Ownership “chic”. We have to figure out some way to make it cool to be a Good Owner, and not-so cool to just be an owner. It isn’t the owning that’s cool, it’s the responsibility and the companionship.

 

Containment is part of that “Owner Chic”. Our animals deserve a safe place to stay, when we are away, when they need “private space”, or just to cut loose and romp. The environment where our animals live is as important to their well-being as the time they spend with us. Containment can be expensive, but with a bit of creative foraging, it needn’t take a second mortgage. All it really needs is the foresight to recognize what your animal of choice requires to be escape-proof, safe, and have enough room to feel safe and not cornered. Before an animal, ANY animal, is acquired, there should be a safe, roomy, clean place for them to live when not with us. We wouldn’t allow a couple to adopt a child when they were homeless and living in a car, we should have the foresight to expect and demand this for our animals. Cramped and inappropriate quarters trigger behavior in animals that is not conducive to good press, or healthy psyches. I’d like to see people bragging about their animal containments like their living rooms! I was reading a story about a couple in San Diego who built a whole cottage for their Chow dogs. They call it the Chow Mahal! I’d like to see more stories about containments like these.

 

To add another element to what we must overcome, there are also those who have latched onto Exotic & “Primitive” animals as a way to personal Power. In the Wolfdog Community, for example, Rescue & Education has become a way of becoming a “Very Important Person” without regards for the actual character it takes to assume such a role, not to mention the work it takes to do the job. I am embarrassed to admit that there are those out there amongst the English who are advising others without having the proper tools themselves. Who give terrible, dangerous advice to others, who spout the “Do As I Say, Not As I Do” line, who make fatal mistakes and leave the animals to pay the terrible price. Go online and Google up “Care of Exotic Animals”, and you will turn up a plethora of advice on the care of your pet from people who are under Federal investigation for animal abuse or neglect, or who just don’t have the personal experience, but do happen to have a website, and may have read a book about it. The Net is a phenomenal tool for information, but trying to glean which is valid and which a waste of bandwidth can be a daunting task. AND, the animal who depends on you to get it right the first time doesn’t have the luxury of “do overs”. Rescue is not a path to personal power. Rescue work is hard, draining, expensive, and it can be dangerous. Responsible private ownership is not for Sissies.

 

In every aspect of private responsible ownership, we must be proactive. This is going to be a huge culture shock to some. Gone are the days of yore when we could remain complacent in the knowledge that our Rights of Privacy would be sacrosanct. Gone are the days where we knew without doubt that what went on on OUR land, in OUR homes would not be put beneath the microscope of Society. Gone are the days when we could tell folks like PETA to kiss our Aunt Fanny’s fanny. This is a new era, and those of us who cherish our rights of privacy, and our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are going to have to fight for every single square inch. I am not a harbinger of doom, but I AM standing here telling each and every one of us that if we don’t get our heads out of the sands of denial, PETA & HSUS will do it for us. They have an agenda, and our rights of privacy and the Declaration of Independence are NOT on that agenda. Our individual rights will have to be fought individually, with responsible actions. It is organizations such as Phoenix Exotics, Rexano, American Dog Owners Association, & National Animal Interest Alliance, collections of individuals striving towards the same ends, which will make the difference, and our own personal responsible actions which will turn the tide.

 

We must use some of the same tactics as PETA & HSUS are using. These organizations’ membership is swelling from the ranks of caring people who wish to make a difference in the world. But the only education they are receiving is from Animal Rights groups, and sensationalistic journalism. It falls to those of us who have a practicum knowledge of animal husbandry, those of us who have the hand’s-on experience it requires to live efficiently and responsibly with animals to tighten our belts, pull up our shoestrings, and “do” public outreach. Historically, responsible breeders and owners have remained beneath the radar, out of the limelight. That has left Animal Rights groups such as PETA & HSUS to fill the void of public service, to assume the “Public Conscience” position which should have been assumed by those of us who are actually responsibly living with animals. It is well past time to change that. This is the specific reason that I am standing here before you today. I am just Josephine Public. I am NOT a “wolf expert”, as your program will tell you, I am simply a woman who dances with wolves and wolfdogs. I am no-one special. The only thing special about me is that I am HERE, and a vocal advocate of responsible ownership. That’s all. If not us, who? If not now, when???

 

The other day I was having a bit of a debate with a young man who argued that since there are so few rescues available to so many wolfdogs (and other animals) in need, why aren’t we loosening up our requirements for adoption? Why can’t we loosen up the containment requirements some? Why are we demanding all rescued animals be altered? Wouldn’t it make it easier for animals to get adopted if we would just get off our high horses? And, of course, he was right, as far as that goes. It WOULD make it easier to get animals adopted out IF we were interested in warehousing them, rather than providing them with a second chance at a stable life. IF we were not interested in protecting the best interests of the animals. But this is not the 20th Century, anymore. Let me repeat that, because in black and white, it’s shocking. We are not living in the 20th Century anymore, and it is high time for us all to adjust to that fact. Our Adversaries have adjusted, and we need to do the same, or relinquish those rights we hold so dear.

 

I know there are many of us who are digging in our heels and hollering NO! I WON’T BUDGE! And I completely understand. I understand, and sympathize with this young man’s thoughts on this matter. It IS frustrating that the World isn’t like it was in the 50’s. the 60’s. the 70’s. The Past. But the fact remains, the Past is indeed, behind us, and those of us who are not willing to face head-on the Future and all the legislation that attempts to embed itself along with it, will be doomed to suffer the consequences of it. You and I have been complacently hoping that we can live unmolested, while PETA & HSUS have been busy “educating” the children while we tend to the nitty gritty of living a quiet responsible life beneath the radar. I’m here to tell you that this ain’t gonna work any more.

 

We shouldn’t have to be millionaires to enjoy the company of our animals. We shouldn’t have to worry every day that someone will trespass into our lives and try to change laws making us lawbreakers just for enjoying the company of our animals in a responsible manner. We should NOT be punished for the irresponsibility of others. But the fact is, if we do not start doing some proactive education of our own, it’ll be done for us. I want you all to think back with me, take a little ride on the way back machine, put yourself back into the 1950’s (or if you’re too young to remember the fifties, work with me here)  when it seemed like almost every commercial and program sported chic suave people smoking cigarettes. How many smokers do we have with us today? How many of you smokers feel welcomed, chic and suave when you smoke in public? Right. It’s about as socially acceptable to smoke today as it would be to pee on the side of a building downtown. The dear folks of PETA & HSUS would have animal owners be the cigarette smokers of the 21st Century. If we, as Responsible Owners of animals, don’t want to wind up as poster children for a socially unacceptable segment of society, we are going to have to be proactive. We are going to have to stop having escapes. We are going to have to stop selling to uneducated and unprepared people, no matter HOW much money they are willing to give. We are going to have to stop warehousing animals in rescue. We are going to have to start making the tough decisions to breed with discrimination, to place with discrimination. To live with Responsibility tattooed upon our every waking action. To live above reproach. And, we are all going to have to learn how to ask for help from each other, and to support each other in this. Not charity, but support. Support for the hard decisions. Support for the educators. Support for the fact that most of us AREN’T independently wealthy, and have to work for a living. We fight these laws, we educate the public, we are proactive in our “free time”, unpaid, and largely unappreciated. That’s the fact of the matter. This is grass roots all the way. And dang it, we should all be proud of that fact! Be proud of the proactive, responsible action you take.

 

And there is one more element that we all need to look hard at. A change that we MUST implement, no matter how much we kick & chafe at it. We are going to have to minimize physical contact with the Public. On Sat. Feb. 17th, a 5 year old boy was bitten in the face by a ten-year-old wolfdog, in La Pines, Oregon. I do not yet know all the details, but this dog is an older dog with arthritic pain, and there were no adults in supervision. So, does anyone here see a problem with this scenario? Anyone with any lick of animal knowledge is going to say the same thing, it’s not the dog’s fault. But this old boy is in quarantine, and may very well be put to sleep because of the “w” word in his breed’s name. No matter what his excuse was, his breed is going to damn him. This got me thinking, and it got me remembering something that Doc said three years ago. He said that we all had to stop letting the Public go in with our animals. And I remember arguing about that. How can we educate the public without a close encounter with the animals? But, guys, HE’S RIGHT. We have to minimize contact. When we do educational projects that involve our animals, we must prepare for all eventualities, and absolutely not allow un-hyper-vigilantly-supervised physical contact. It’s OK to look, but do not touch Not without being to total control of the situation in all it's possibilities. Have a “Quiet Room” with safe containment and a body guard, if necessary!! For the times when you are Teaching, and the animal is not “on stage”. DON’T LET FRIENDS & FAMILY GO “PLAY” WITH YOUR ANIMALS WITHOUT YOU. Each and every time a member of the public, and especially a child, gets bit is another nail in the coffin of our freedom to own animals. I know we all think our kidz are exemplary, and would NEVER harm a person, but the fact is, even the most bullet-proof of animals can bite with provocation. Even my little Spirit, as bullet-proof a wolfdog as they come, even she could bite if given the right triggers. She has teeth, therefore, she can bite. And dagnabbit, we have ALL GOT to keep this fact in front of our faces every single moment—If we allow any non-experienced person to interact with any animal with teeth, we are risking a bite incident. We KNOW our animals, we know their communication quirks, we recognize the looks on their faces when they are irritated, peeved, or nervous. Unless you are with an animal a significant amount of time on a regular basis, most people are just not that observant, and obviously not educated enough about animal communication and body language. So every time we put an uneducated public together with an animal they don’t know, be it cocker spaniel, budgie, tiger, or wolfdog, we are courting an incident. I love my babies too much to risk their lives on the possibility of a bite, just to educate the public. What about you? As far as I am concerned, they can look, but they can only touch if I SAY they can touch, in a controlled manner. It’s part of my commitment to keep my babies safe. It’s going to be a tough habit to break, for me, because I have always prided myself and my animals with how friendly and well-socialized they are. But the Times, They Are a’Changin’, and as much as I would kick and rail against it, I have to chose the hill I’m going to die on, and this is not that hill.

 

So, as to solutions, there is something each and every one of us here can do to be proactive for responsible private ownership, and that is to be above reproach responsibly and ethically. We can chose to not sell to that person with much desire, much money, but no appropriate containment. We can choose to not breed that litter before we have deposits and an assuredy of a Forever Home. We can choose not to be a part of the problem, and become part of the solution. We can focus on those three little “c’s”, Containment, Commitment, and Communication, and that one-mile radius of responsibility, advocacy, and personal ethics.

 

Well, that’s my piece, and I’d be more than happy to answer any questions, or dodge any bullets y’all would like to toss my way.