Re Boomer and Powell - anyone checked iStock?

It’s astonishing that people who have so little actual experience with animals, such as horses, are proposing legislation that has so much to do with animals, such as horses. What’s even more astonishing is that our legislators actually give credence to these people.

Here is what I posted to YesBiscuit re the missing dogs from Alabama:

From YesBiscuit: “It sounds to me like Marshall Co, AL has a lot of good, caring folks who love their pets. I wonder why HSUS wrote them off without even giving the community the opportunity to step up and take care of their own?”
HSUS does this, that is why. Somewhere in the many articles about this terrible case of theft and cover-up I remember a comment from HSUS claiming that Marshall Co., AL, is one of those “underserved” communities. And by the way, that was the exact phrase HSUS used to beg for that 25K grant from Pepsi on the first of December! Sound familiar to anyone else? HSUS has insulted Alabama (a state with a high poverty rate to begin with) with nasty language about how Alabama requires – by law – that each county have an animal shelter, and guess what . . . Marshal Co. is one of those ‘damned’ counties without a shelter. If I were Mr. Hooks, I would be shouting from the rooftop (maybe a car’s rooftop, since there is obviously no funding for a bridk and mortar shelter) for HSUS to DONATE THAT $25K PEPSI GRANT TO MARSHALL COUNTY!
I like that idea, how about you? $25K is petty cash to HSUS with their $120 million budget. What a bunch of crooks they are, greedy and power hungry, cruel, insulting and patronizing beyond belief, with absolutely no use for animals except for their images that bring in big bucks.

And just my own editorializing, this case has been labeled a ‘hoarding’ situation, but in reality, it is unique, does not fit into such a nice little box, but of course, using the buzz word ‘hoarding’ allows HSUS to really hammer someone who is elderly, not well, overwhelmed by life and in need of help, not punishment or public embarrassment, shaming. Shame on HSUS. Again. and again. and again . . .

@YesBiscuit: Are you suggesting that the photos of ‘Powell’ and ‘Boomer’ might not be real animals in rescue? That HSUS pulled stock photos and had a creative writer - one of Wayne’s ghost writers, no doubt - make it all up? Really? Brilliant!

Wouldn’t surprise me one little bit.

Thanks so much for this typically thorough expose of HSUS, HumaneWatch! “Second Chance” has not died in vain, you have done a stellar job of reporting, again.  I love to hear the scrambling of HSUS’s little toenails on the floor of that DOWN elevator they are riding these days.

funny, I don’t see a single reference anywhere in those ‘rescue’ stories about how much money HSUS gave to the shetlers and fosters and hands on caregivers to rehabilitate any of these animals.

oh that’s right. there wasn’t any.

so now they are raising more cash using stpories about animals who are no longer even alive, who they didn’t financially support with those donations they are begging for anyway, despite the obvious appearance that is exactly what they are going to use the money for.

the spin is amazing; maybe that’s the reason these stories make me want to throw up. I must be dizzy.

Okay, I hate HSUS for various reasons, including their wanting to control my diet, to take away my right to breed a dog or a horse for profit or just because it is my personal “pursuit of happiness”, and because if their entire agenda is fulfilled, it will result in the decimation of the animal population globally.

However, Humane Watch must be careful.  In horses, colic happens.  It just does.  Second Chance’s digestive organs may have been damaged by his previous starvation.  Or, as happens too often, he may have been place with an uneducated “rescuer” who did not realize you must slowly re-introduce a starved horse to real food, and cannot just pour lots of food into them to fatten them up quickly.  Of course, HSUS did not care whether the home was a caring, capable place.  But, even the best rescue groups, who know how to rehab a starved animal, deal with losing an animal when the damaged organs just shut down, even when the animal seems to be recuperating well.

And again, even in the best breeding farms and training stables, etc., where they make horse nutrition a science, colic happens.  The horse doesn’t usually die, because they are closely monitored, and surgery is done in the most serious cases, but even the best facilities do sometimes lose horses to colic.

Please be very fair and truthful at all times, Humane Watch.

Just out of curiosity, has there been any effort by other legislators, veterinarians or the equine industry to overturn the slaughter ban?

@ W. Wheeler
It never ceases to amaze me how little HSUS and its minions know about any of the animals they are given credit for being specialists in/for.  I am horrified at what they want to do to the animals they try to legislate out of existence.  Its so very sad for the animals with the people who love them and have done so much for so many of them as breeders/owners who also think of them as “family” but know they have special needs within their breeds/species.

Extinction is what they are shooting for and politicians continue to fall for it!

I remember when they did the same thing with Fay. :( Now they’re just pulling the ad with a different animal only this one isn’t alive.

Interesting story.  For more on how HSUS operates their humane siezure operations, go here: http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Jolley—They-Shoot-Horse—Owners—-Don-t-They/2010-04-05/Article.aspx?oid=1034823

” Marshal Co. is one of those ‘damned’ counties without a shelter. If I were Mr. Hooks, I would be shouting… for HSUS to DONATE THAT $25K PEPSI GRANT TO MARSHALL COUNTY!
I like that idea, how about you? $25K is petty cash to HSUS with their $120 million budget.”
Just to clarify: the Pepsi grant to HSUS was the $250,000 prize - quarter of a million dollars.  I know the “$25K” is a typo, just want to be sure readers who may not have followed that sad campaign are aware also. And it’s still petty cash in a $120 million annual budget.

So sorry for the typo in my previous comment. Someone helped by correcting me - the Pepsi grant was, indeed, $250K, which is, absolutely, still pocket change for HSUS.

This despicable organization would sell Wayne’s own mother for a measly $50,000, as it did for cleaning up Micheal Vick’s despicable, low rent character for the Philly Eagles . . . so is anyone surprised that they would pull this sneak-thief raid on a struggling family in Marshall Co., Alabama without informing their Animal Control Officer, Kevin Hooks? Another fund raising opportunity. And I doubt that there will be any consequences for this con job against sick, elderly, overwhelmed people with limited resources. A pittance from HSUS could have vetted, spayed and neutered the dogs and with their extensive media connections, homes could have been found without dispersing terrified dogs to cold, overcrowded shelter cages.

And as for the horses in Second Chance’s herd, the weepy ‘rescuer’ has only to vilify the owners of the horses to cause people to send money - people who know nothing of the pain and suffering involved with people who had no ability to care for those horses in the first place. Did they wake up every day and find more horses dumped in their pasture? That has happened before. HSUS is so self-righteous and pompous about cases like this. Sympathy for the horses, maybe sincere for some of those on scene. But sympathy from HSUS leadership for the people who find themselves in dire straits with no place to take their horses that they can no longer feed, NOT ONE OUNCE.

If horse slaughter plants are “cruel and inhumane”, HSUS, who is responsible for these places shutting down, absolutely is responsible for taking in these horses in a refuge situation. They certainly can afford it. But they would rather bring the hammer down on people who are already down and out, facing foreclosure, job loss, personal difficulties . . .  HSUS is nothing but a Common Scold.

The public is supposed to believe that all those horses in Second Chance’s herd were PURPOSELY starved and neglected by a heartless and greedy owner who just didn’t care. I never heard a word in their fund raising video about how these horses came to be in such bad shape. Neighbor says they were being ‘collected’ - pretty hard to believe that anyone would ‘collect’ beat up, run down horses. More likely they were dumped, or a very kind hearted person didn’t know how to say “no”.

@metalhorses I heard that they were going to open one back up in Montana sometime this upcoming year. I’m rooting for them.

I’ve rescued many horses from Sugarcreek and from negligent owners. I know there are two sides of the story to slaughter, I’ve showed people both sides. The ones that didn’t believe it’d kill horses moreso when they shut them down…well let’s say I love shoving it in their faces. Slow death by starvation, exposure to elements, and disease is by far more worse than humane slaughter practices.

I love how people keep denying horses are being dumped like dogs. I can confirm at least two cases where people came home to find horses in an enclosed pasture or tied to their fence. Horses that they’ve never seen before. These are people deeply involved with the local horse community in their area. 

And I also find it sad a good Samaritan can no longer rescue a horse without fearing the humane societies busting down their doors. I used to get them, keep them in a roadside pasture, get them healthy, and not think anything of it. I’d never do that now. Actually, I stopped rescuing period. It’s gotten crazy here over the last few years, I don’t need that worry.

My farrier, on the otherhand, just had two shoved on him. The gelding has tooth problems, emaciated. Got his teeth done, have him on a strict diet to get him back to weight. He’s got the poor guy shoved in the back of the barn, poor lighting so no one can get a good look at him. He’ll be hidden away until he gets weight on him. Why should he have to do that? 

As for the prices of horses now….I lost my job, really couldn’t afford to feed the two I have. Both are dead broke, tons of mileage on them, gaited, nice temperaments, beautiful markings, etc. I’d been offered $3500 for the gelding, 2500 for the mare several times before the market crashed. Now I can’t give them away. I told the horse dealer to just come and get them. He didn’t have room and doubted he’d have room any time soon.

Auction was an option until I talked to a few associates. Tons of no sales. I forget the exact wording, but the auction sponsor told me not to think of abandoning them at the auction if I valued their lives, they’d end them if I did leave them.

And because of no-sales, commissions went up. The market is just so saturated it’s ridiculous. To send one horse to the auction would have cost me close $300 bucks (consignment and shipping) just to run them through. That’s without nosale, commission (if they sold), coggins, and I forget what else they had charging. In otherwords, if you can’t afford to keep them, you can’t afford to vet kill them, you can’t afford to auction them, no wonder people leave them to rot or dump them. Or the horror stories of people getting rid of them rifle-style. 

And to tie-in with this raping of Second Chance’s misfortune, imagine if they $19 went to a real rescue, or to a hay drive to help people struggling. That would buy me 9 bales of hay. Two payments could get a horse’s feet trimmed AND buy him a wormer. How many horses could be saved and rehabbed? How many struggling horse owners could avoid getting their horses into his condition?

No, HSUS has to beat a dead horse like a money-filled pinata. Gain funds to screw the animal market up even more, cause more death and chaos.

Excellent points all around on the colic issue, and the point that HW is trying to make when HSUS is not fully forthcoming with the outcomes of animals “during” and “after” they leave “HSUS care” (or however you want to define those terms).

I have had the chance to meet with several state-level government officials responsible for investigating and serving warrants on livestock abuse and neglect cases.  I’ve asked on several occasions who makes the decision if a horse (or cow) should be nursed back to health or euthanized (I never get an answer).  In our state, law enforcement works with a selected network of rescues in caring for seized animals.  These rescues easily rack up thousands of dollars caring for these horses, and many survivors will have life-long health problems or increased risk for colic and other diseases because of the insult to various organ systems.  Adoption fees, donations, and restitution (if you can get it) barely cover the cost under the best of circumstances.

Obviously, laws vary by state as to what law enforcement can do, how long animals must be held as evidence for court proceedings, etc.  I’ve wondered how often cost and quality of life on a short-term and long-term basis are being considered in the days following seizure.  If we are to be humane, should we not also include humane euthanasia as an option for alleviating pain and suffering?

Second Chance is now Wayne’s favorite kind of animal - DEAD.

just a correction Charlottes otherwise perfect pot.. it was 250K.. not 25K..right into the pockets of the HSUS

“Obviously, laws vary by state as to what law enforcement can do, how long animals must be held as evidence for court proceedings, etc.  I’ve wondered how often cost and quality of life on a short-term and long-term basis are being considered in the days following seizure.  If we are to be humane, should we not also include humane euthanasia as an option for alleviating pain and suffering?”

- Posted by linn on 12/31 at 12:06 AM

I think it’s almost, if not actually, universal that a seized animal can be euthanized if it is beyond recovery via reasonable treatment.  Of course, there may be some variations as to what’s considered reasonable treatment.  But I doubt very much consideration is given to what we (actual animal welfare advocates) would call “quality of life” beyond whether there is obvious suffering.  And when animals are in the custody of people with no knowledge of husbandry for that species, it’s not unusual for suffering to be created or greatly aggravated in the name of “recovery.”

Imagine that, Wayne Pacelle lying…

Like his good buddy Michael Vick, Wacky Wayne is a psychopath. He’s just a much higher-functioning psychopath, and, UNLIKE Michael Vick, is intelligent. He understands that he can achieve maximum kill by being a slick carpetbagging lobbyist, and convincing stupid polititians that draconian legislation which causes thousands of animals to die horrible deaths is “pro-animal” and “humane”.

I’d like to think there’s a “special place” for folks like Wacky Wayne and Michael Vick, where their souls will spend eternity living out every horrific torture their actions caused a real animal or helpless person in life.

It is my sincerest hope that the incoming Congress will see fit to order Congressional investigations of the H$U$ and its fellow-traveler AR “charities”, all of which are staffed by wanna-be serial killers who express their urges by causing untold suffering to the domestic animals they claim they want to save.

I sent Pepsi two e-mails telling them what the HSUS really is about and to go to the HW website. I know a lot of us did and thats what we all must do too. If they did give 50% of their donations to shelters I would still want them and all animal rights groups gone, they are just no good for our way of life in America, they are radicals—a bunch of idiots. The US government should step in and take all their money and assets away from them. There needs to be a law against groups that violate our rights for their personal agendas (getting rich and laughing about it). Boo to the HSUS!

I am cutting and pasting from what was posted by KSS on 12/30 at 07:21 PM

“My farrier, on the otherhand, just had two shoved on him. The gelding has tooth problems, emaciated. Got his teeth done, have him on a strict diet to get him back to weight. He’s got the poor guy shoved in the back of the barn, poor lighting so no one can get a good look at him. He’ll be hidden away until he gets weight on him. Why should he have to do that?”

  I have thought the same thing since friends and I had been involved in dog rescue for some years.  Some of the dogs that came into rescue and were fostered were in pretty bad condition. I then realized that some of the foster homes also had pets of their own, and some were even breeders of purebred dogs (often show dogs).  What if someone “turned them in” for having this “neglected” dog and they lost all their pets?  So, how is the rabid animal rights tidal wave REALLY good for dogs? How many people are rightfully afraid to foster or rescue an animal in need, for fear of putting their own animals in jeopardy?  I bet more than a few.
  I wonder if a foster home or rescue would take the animal to the vet for a work out and also take dated photos to show the condition upon arrival could avoid issues if someone did turn them in. Or if it wouldn’t matter.  Either way, the animals in need of real rescue suffer for lack of foster homes. 
  It is so similar to what is going on with horses.  People who do rescue the right way should not HAVE to fear this stuff but they do, for good reason.

@ Long Time Dog Owner

Where I live most of us who show (or all?) have been forced out of rescue due t bad laws requiring PERMITS and unannounced INSPECTIONS.  With that in mind you need to know, the ones who are “in bed” with the “honchos” don’t even seem to have a PERMIT…..but that’s OK? the rest of us would be charged with some kind of criminal act if we did that.

Many breed rescues are GONE due to the AR Extremist control of all.

“It’s astonishing that people who have so little actual experience with animals, such as horses, are proposing legislation that has so much to do with animals, such as horses. What’s even more astonishing is that our legislators actually give credence to these people.”

- Posted by W. Wheeler on 12/30 at 10:10 AM

Maybe we need to state in every Letter to the Editor, every comment on a news article, and especially every communication to elected officials:

“Ideology does not equal expertise.”

I do not like the idea of horse slaughter coming back, not one bit at all.  Putting a horse in an already incridibly spooky situation, and then jamming a bolt gun in it’s head, once or twice because the workers arent trained properly, or eh, they just don’t care…. Not good.  -  Whats worse- There have been horses stolen and exported to Canada and mexico for slaughter, so the crooks that stole em’ get make fast cash.  I own horses, love my horses like my own children.  —Now that’s not saying I’m thrilled with the HSUS -Not one bit.  Here is thought - Horses cost lots of money - Why not tell the general public that - before they go off getting their kids them on whims, or what not ?  And yanno another thing that really irks me - the whole SecondChance bit - Wanna tell me why the hell they couldn’t attempt colic surgey on the “rescue horse?”  Ohhhhhh Thats right Someone must have gotten their Christmas bonus with donation money that could have saved the horses LIFE!!! -  Talk about a scam in a half.  I truley with allmy heart think the best thing to do about horses andrising neglect is 1 -education - 2. Selling the horse or leasing -  good. Iwouldn’t donate any hooved animal -They may end up at a killbroker auction andbeshipped to a cruel death.  (My opinion - It’s cruel - cows dont spoke like horses -Horses areliterally scared poopless in stockyards - I amfrom IL - I have seen It first hand…. Cows generally are happy and more easy going about the whole situation .) If you cannot afford a vet andthe animalis going to starve - humanely shoot it.  - Sounds rough,  but it’s actually more humane than slaughter and yes it’s not pretty - but death never is…..  But really - It comes down to HORSE people not some fancy orginization telling fairy tales, But HORSE people being blunt andhonest about the work that goes into having equine family members.  Sheesh igot a pony with a bladdestone that they cannot get out through para anal incision - andhe isto short andfat for abdominal - Ihave agradegelding whojust had a molar pulled that had a cavity andwascausing sinusissues ( LUCKILY hedidnt need the flap surgery done -  I have 4 VERY HARDY HEALTHY haffie 9 knowcks onwood religiously) and a QH Mare who has funky feat asaresult ofher previous owner using a half cocked farrier that was “cheap”. -FACT Horses are not cheap - But the bond you make with them is priceless!  Dont buy them on a whim, and if you cannot afford them - DONT HAVE THEM!  - thats what I say!

@BADkarma: I think what needs to be said here, but more importantly to the public, is that HSUS seems more than fine to raise money off of the misery of animals in need, while doing nothing to alleviate their conditions [except maybe to advocate for their deaths], and, when they do get directly involved, they inevitably make a bad situation worse than it was before. And I don’t mean once or twice I mean pretty much all the time. It just doesn’t always get reported.

Meanwhile the PR crew plus Wayne himself make HSUS out to be the animals’ angels, going all across the country helping beleaguered beasts in their hour of need. And people - especially the ones who should know better - buy it. The gullibility here is breathtaking.

HSUS is quite possibly one of the worst animal exploiters in recent history. Absolute sadists with a streak of warped narcissism. And they accuse everyone else of being inhumane.

They’ve got a lot of nerve.

@Elaine: I’ll second that!

@K.MAC
This is what you don’t understand. There are people who have been making a certain income for, I don’t know, 15-20 years, who were making enough to live comfortably and have horses. Suddenly, their employer goes bankrupt. Now they can barely afford to pay for their own lives. So they try to sell the horses. But wait, it’s happening around the country. Horses are being dropped in yards during the middle of the night. Rescues are completely full, and because no one has money for themselves, they can’t afford to donate to the rescues. They call a vet. It’s $200-300 for euthanasia and burial. Do they pay their bills this month so they can keep their house? Or do they euthanize the animal. So they hang onto it. Try to give it away. Finally, someone reports them for animal cruelty because their horse is getting skinny. After court costs, they can barely make house payments. 
How is education going to help people who lose their job? And if they can’t afford a horse, what makes you think it should be so easy to find someone to lease a horse? I applaud you for the horses you take in, but (heaven forbid), what happens if you lose your job? Or your house? Or something happens and you are not fortunate enough to be able to care for them?
The reality is that getting rid of slaughter has led to the slow death of thousands of horses. It’s a very snobby comment to think that the majority of people who have horses couldn’t at one time afford them. A family may have had a horse for 8-10 years when the economy dropped. It’s not their fault…
And which is worse? A horse that is spooked for a short period of time? Or a horse that slowly starves to death over a period of time as all of its organs start to shut down?

For all of you who think bringing the slaughter houses back to the US is a great idea…go to one of them or check on YouTube videos/news stations that have videos of how it’s done!  We have over populated the entire planet with humans and animals WE want (dogs, cats, cattle, horses, etc.) while demanding the right to decide what species we consider “in our way” and destroy them (bears, wolves, bisons, etc).  I think Marc Beckoff, in THE ANIMALS MANIFESTO, put it best: Science is catching up with what many lay observers already know from living with animals ever day.  This growing understanding can help us see and relate to animals as fellow subjective beings rather than as objects.

This planet needs an enema!!