[ SHOWGSD-L ] PA.Puppy Mill Propaganda, Part II
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 28 Oct 2006 18:54:58 -0400
-----Original Message-----
Holy Smokes !!
http://givinuthefacts.blogspot.com/
Trying to explain how the AR web works would be extremely time consuming.
There are so many intricate details related to web building. Rather than to
expound on these intracacies, take a look at the picture of the web below -
know and understand that THIS is exactly what you are dealing with. Using
this web to illustrate the complexity of the system, picture each individual
strand as a group or organization that is ultimately connected to one
control center. That center, of course, is that unseen, unheard, unknown
power that is ready to strike at a moments notice.
Look a little closer at the hub (the center) and surrounding it, you can see
space with no radials connecting to the hub. This is called the free zone
and that is where you are. No matter which way you turn, you are surrounded
by the radial lines of the web. It's actually a thing of beauty - unless you
are the ones in the free zone.
United They Stand: Divided We Fall
The web of Pennsylvania politics is tightly woven and amongst the different
patterns and textures is one particular thread that binds them all together.
Unless you are an animal owner, the tapestry of the web looks very pretty.
Each thread, however, has a story and purpose, but their ultimate goal is
the same.
Guilt before Innocence?
Any breeding operation or shelter has the potential to be substandard.
Animal welfare is a genuine concern, but it must be dealt with fairly and
with common sense. What has happened to our country? Are people judged
guilty before proven innocent? What about the disregard for laws that
already exist? Is it now considered socially acceptable to break the law and
walk away? Is it now acceptable to be falsely accused of a 'crime', lose
everything you have worked for just to provide more wealth (and power) for
those that are the accusers? Why, and a very important question, does the
majority of the media only seem to focus on the side of the accusers?
Furthermore, the mainstream press is under tight deadlines to publish
stories. They go with sensation and like the animal rightists, they thrive
on the emotions of the public- it sells papers. The same goes for television
reports. They want ratings. They do not have the time or resources nor the
personal desire, involvement, or possibly, the 'permission', to unravel the
web thread by thread. We do. Research is our business.
The Players
The list of players in Pennsylvania is long, indeed. For this part of the
series, we are going to concentrate on the two main players. Main Line
Rescue and United Against Puppy Mills, with a little nudge from Dogs Deserve
Better and a few of the other linked associates.
Controversy and Creativity
Although Main Line Rescue and United Against Puppy Mills have been promoting
their campaigns for some time, perhaps the creativity and controversy began
with the arrest of Tammy Grimes, founder of Dogs Deserve Better, when she
violated laws of the state by removing a dog from it's owners property. This
well staged event brought down the house. With assistance from Best Friends
and the incident being published on every animal rights website, including
the Animal Liberation Front website, the media focused on Pennsylvania. The
Animal Planet channel hosted a "Hero of the Year" award sponsored by them
and Fresh Step, a Clorox company, and allowed Tammy Grimes to be a nominated
part of that contest. This should not surprise anybody. Animal Planet has
partnered with more than several non profit organizations. View the list of
these non profit organizations.
<http://animal.discovery.com/premieres/partners/partners.html> Also take a
look at The American Humane Association.
<http://www.americanhumane.org/site/PageServer>
See HSUS Hollywood - for more detailed information.
<http://www.hsus.org/about_us/hsus_hollywood_office/ >
The Stage is Now Set
Main Line Rescue used their creative talents when they opted to put up
billboards touting Lancaster County being home to hundreds of Puppy Mills.
They contacted the Humane Society of the United States to ask if they could
list their website on the billboards and noted that the HSUS has been very
supportive.
Main Line Rescue has not been without its problems. They lost their
"facilities" at Dee Solitaro's property but recovered quickly with the help
of their friends and who would not love to have these kinds of friends.
A little Main Line Information (Public Records)
Main Line Rescue
EIN 23-301-7210
Reported net assets of
$2,760,600 in 2002
$ 31,621 in 2003
Negative balance -$53,346 in 2004
138 Cambridge Rd.
King of Prussia, PA 19406
610-337-9225
Helen M. Smith, President
William E. Smith, Treasurer
Francine Diggs, Secretary
Betsy Fadem, Member
Anne Hamilton, Vice Chairman
Barry Katz, Esq., Legal Council
Vincent T. Donohue, Secretary
Christine Gallagher, Director
Julie Becton, Director
Betsy Legnini, Chairman
Marsha Perelman, Vice Chairman
Michelle Rice, Member
Quite a list of impressive friends. We'll be getting back to them later on
in the series.
Some others in Main Lines circle of friends includes, but is not limited to,
the following groups. Look what Save-A-Dog promotes on their website --
HB1911. Readers are advised to help move this bill from committee to the
floor for a vote by clicking on Dogs Deserve Better. They are told that DDB
has an incredibly simple form they can click on to send a letter to every
targeted committee member. The Save-a-Dog website also takes you to
Save-A-Pet, and Petfinders, which boasts camaraderie with Drew Barrymore,
Kelsey Grammer, Rue McClanahan, the Taco Bell dog, Weight Watchers and many
more. North Shore Animal League sponsors both organizations.
Same old Party Line
Did you notice the same old party line? "Did you know that many backyard dog
breeders and pet stores who supply the majority of purebreds simply are
selling inbred pets without care for preventing genetic problems? Mixed
breed pets have less inbreeding, generally less inherited genetic disease,
and therefore overall lower vet bills and happier pets! And the best place
to find a mixed breed dog or cat is at an SPCA, a humane society or an
animal shelter." Let's not forget the other line..."Don't buy from a breeder
or pet shop when you can adopt from a shelter."
Responsible dog breeders and owners should certainly discuss these
advertised comments with their attorneys while compiling a class action suit
against such slanderous remarks. Shelter pets often come with behavioral
problems, possible disease, unknown history and genetic factors that may
make them less than desirable pets. In fact, they accuse the responsible
breeders of what they themselves are guilty of. They seem to accuse
responsible breeders of making so much money, yet, we found no evidence of
any responsible breeders that had the backing of such 'distinguished' people
... or bank accounts....as the board members of Main Line Rescue and UAPM.
Nor did we find any responsible breeders with checking account balances that
held a balance of several million at any time. We looked. We asked. We
interviewed. We also tried to find any shelter or 501(c)3 non profit
organization that did any genetic testing on their adoptable, free from
genetic defect animals. We found none. Perhaps this is why the non profit
organizations have so much money and the responsible groups do not.
Responsible breeders test their animals and therefore, what they may get for
an animal is used to pay for same. What do you say, Non Profits? Do YOU test
all your animals that you take in prior to placing them in a home? Or do you
only make sure you spay/neuter and give them shots? What is your policy when
a dog that you have adopted out shows up with a genetic problem down the
road? We found information that you can "pick and choose" the animals you
want from other facilities. What becomes of the ones that were not choosen?
Do they continue to be "hoarded" by those facilities and for how long? Will
they and do they all get the 'required time out' for exercise to "feel the
grass under their feet?" We have found many articles and facts regarding
"importing strays" while the shelters scream of 'overpopulation', and we
have also found some shelters that actually 'breed' to keep their available
numbers of adoptable dogs up. We certainly would not want Governor Rendell
and the new board to become confused when they learn that the non profit
entities are not exactly what they claim to be, so we'll just postpone this
for another issue in the series.
MORE CREATIVE CONTROVERSY
More creative controversy began when United Against Puppy Mills (UAPM),
based in Lancaster County, obtained 33,500 signatures of Pennsylvania
residents and urged Governor Rendell to remove the Bureau of Dog Enforcement
from the Department of Agriculture. Bowing to public pressure, and hoping to
garner 33,500+ votes during his next election campaign, Rendell removed the
14 member advisory panel and put together an ad hoc committee.
The Governor's new ad-hoc commitee was kept hush-hush and secretive until an
October 17th press release. Rendell was caught up in the animal rights push
for tougher laws and sweeping changes -- laws and changes that have the
potential to harm innocent, law abiding pet owners and animal breeders. Dogs
fetch good prices and the animal control/animal sheltering network is now in
a position to profit from the hard work and dedication of others. We now
have information that the "secret" committee had sent a 55 page Rule and
Regulation Change to the Attorney General for approval. It seems that AFTER
it is approved, the good Governor will allow those Rules and Regulations to
be seen by the public and comments on the approved changes and additions in
those 55 pages can be made at that time.
It is no secret that animal forfeiture cases have risen in number since the
early 1990's. All an animal rights activist needs to do is call in an
anonymous tip to the proper authority. Animal control officers have been
taught, via HSUS and ASPCA literature, that animal hoarding is a big problem
in our country. They are taught that animal cruelty is rampant - even though
the criteria to establish an "animal cruelty" is mostly subjective. The dog
catchers are watching the dog house, so to speak, or are they? One of
Governor Rendell's Rule changes affects the sizes of cages, crates and
indoor/outdoor runs of breeders, but NOT of the humane societies, claiming
that those dogs are only there temporarily. What is the definition of
'temporary?' Our investigation shows Humane Societies crying for lack of
space. They then transport animals to other states that do have space to
accomodate these animals - temporarily, again. How do they manage to
transport all these animals without proper paperwork from one location to
another, expecially from state to state? Then we found the HSUS report on
this subject, including euthanasia of these 'temporarily hoarded' animals.
Conflict of Interest
It is a conflict of interest to allow ACOs to have power and authority over
a sector of legitimate business and animal ownership rights when they have
such a strong incentive to take the animals that they can profit from! When
animals are seized from a person, daily charges accrue for their "room and
board." Actual criminal charges are not filed until at least a month after
the animals are taken. If the person is fortunate enough to prove their
innocence and regain custody of their own property, they usually cannot
afford to do so after lawyers fees have piled up. Thus, they look guilty to
the general public, who knows next to nothing about how this system
operates.
Who pays for the exorbitant boarding, food and vet bills while animals are
in custody? Generally, the taxpayers do. The shelters and holding facilities
are allowed to keep any money they make from adoption fees and often these
match or exceed the price a legitimate and reputable breeder sells an animal
for! Confiscated animals often suffer cruelty from those who have rescued
and saved them. Animals often pick up disease at the holding facilities.
They are examined by vets who are over worked and trained to look for
justifications why the animals should never be returned to their owners. The
animals suffer stress from being torn away from their families and homes.
Some die in the shelters and pounds; others are euthanized.
This brings us back to the Animal Control, Animal Rights, Rescue/shelter
infrastructure. This grassroots network has been cultivated, blade by blade,
for several decades. They are now in a place to reap what they have so
diligently sowed. On a national, even a global level, is the Humane Society
of the United States - a power so vast and wealthy, it boggles the
imagination. We could write volumes about their key part in weaving the webs
that now blanket America and smother our Constitutional rights, but for now
we focus on just one corner of Pennsylvania. See Humane Society Police
Officers Registry. <http://www.agric.state.pa.us/hspo/>
A New Web
As you can see, the original web we started with has now turned into a
different kind of web. We'll show it to you in the next issue.
Who are the new advisory board appointees? Who runs UAPM? Who are the people
associated with Main Line Rescue? How are the Pa. politicians associated
with them all? What were the new "secret" Rules and Regulations that were
proposed? Which Golden Retriever Rescue group in Pa. has the Governor as a
member? Which Golden Retriever Rescue group member in Pa. is Bob Casey's
right hand aide?
All questions you have submitted to us, so we will continue to press on and
research the facts.
Sneak Peek
Who was appointed to the new dog advisory board? Surprise! Jessie Smith,
20-year veteran of the PA office of Attorney General and president of the
BOD for the Humane Society of Harrisburg since 2003. (Listed as one of the
HSUS Federated Humane Societies.) Check out the HSH adoption fees.
This is a double knockout for Pennsylvania animal owners. Smith has
incredible knowledge of the legal system we explained in our first
paragraphs, the contacts, the influence and the power. As the president of a
Humane Society, Smith has double the inside knowledge, contacts, influence
and power.
Next issue: A New Web Forms.
=============================================
Ginger Cleary, Rome, GA
Never underestimate the ability of the hypocritical to hoodwink the
sanctimonious. www.rihadin.com
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