After our director of research wrote a TownHall.com column about why we're working on this project, we heard back from all sorts of people. And the most common comment was, "Holy #$*&%# -- I had no idea HSUS didn't run pet shelters." 

Okay, we're paraphrasing a bit. (They didn't all say "Holy #$*&%#.") But you get the general idea.

One such e-mail from yesterday stood out from the crowd, and we're sharing it with the writer's permission.

As a long-time supporter of HSUS, I was surprised to read all the articles on HumaneWatch.org and find my generosity may not have gone as far as I expected it to.

If you know of an organization that stretches its gifts farther, please let me know before I waste any more money. Thanks for writing the very informative article.

Ron from NJ

We told Ron that we usually recommend that Americans who want to help animals should donate their time and money to local pet shelters in their immediate home areas. The more "local" the better.

Today he wrote back, telling us that he had stopped contributing to HSUS and would redirect his future donations to "the local shelter at Teterboro."

There are lots of Rons out there. Information is a powerful thing.

Related Organizations

• Humane Society of the United States