Which Humane Society?

The media gets it wrong again…

From yesterday’s Rochester Post-Bulletin:

Minnesota‘s struggling economy is starting to trickle down to man’s best friend, and the cats they love to chase.

And as more people are forced to give up their pets to local shelters, fewer are looking to adopt. Whether it’s too expensive or people are moving into apartments that don’t allow pets, the adoption rate has dropped about 20 percent, Fry said.

Similar stories are being told across the country as people deal with home foreclosures, layoffs and reduced wages.

The number of unwanted pets dropped off at some Humane Society shelters has increased more than 125 percent, according to Humane Society of the United States spokeswoman Nancy Peterson.

Each year the Humane Society takes in 8 million animals nationally. Half of them are put to sleep, Peterson said. Locally, 25,000 of the 36,000 animals dropped off at Humane Society shelters were adopted or placed in other rescue programs, said Laurie Brickley, spokeswoman for the Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities.

 

What?  Animal shelters operated by the H$U$?  This quote comes from their website:“Although The HSUS does not operate animal shelters, we work closely with them in a variety of ways. We also assist members of the public with their questions and concerns about sheltering issues.”So, is this story an example of careless journalism?  Were representatives of HSUS and the Animal Humane Society misquoted?  Does this reporter simply have poor grammatical skills?  Or is there an hidden agenda here somewhere?

There’s a BIG difference between “a humane society” and The Humane Society of the United States.  The problem is, most average Americans aren’t aware of this.  So, when they see ads from HSUS with photos of sad puppies and kittens asking them to help any way they can, they send in donations mistakenly believing that their dollars are going to help homeless pets in local shelters.

Sadly, not only does this subterfuge confusion likely result in decreased donations to local shelters (most of whom desperately need funds) but it also results in a situation where the pet-owning public ends up financing one of its chief enemies.

From the folks at
http://www.pet-law.com/future/HSUS.html
:

“Its main actions divide into: (a) Promoting laws to restrict use/ownership, (b) propaganda in support of such laws, and (c) fundraising/self-promotional actions. You will look in vain for an HSUS action that makes animal use or pet ownership easier, more common, more fun, or more successful.”

Please, when donating your hard-earned dollars to charity, do a bit of homework and find out exactly where those dollars will be spent.

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