The Truth About Rescue

The Truth About Rescue

Monday, January 13, 2014 - Updated Sunday, July 2, 2017

Finally in the media we’re starting to see some truth about the PETA, the  Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and other extremists organizations. According to the data that PETA has released their only shelter has a kill rate of almost 90% and less than 1% of the money raised by the HSUS goes to shelters to help animals. According to news reports, even the SPCA hasn’t been totally upfront with their contributors. If you do a search on the Internet you’ll find many sites that agree that the these groups have grossly mislead the public about their rescue efforts and where their money goes. Please investigate this issue yourself.

I’m sure, like me, you’ve seen the sad expressions on the shelter animals in the HSUS television ads. They are designed to get the most money out of the viewers as possible. According to recent national public polling, 71 percent of Americans believe the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is an “umbrella group” for pet shelters across America. Sixty-eight percent believe HSUS spends most of its money funding local pet shelters. Neither is true! HSUS is not affiliated with local humane societies and doesn’t run any pet shelters. It donates less than 1 percent of the money it collects to local shelters. Shelter and rescue groups have spoken out: the vast majority polled state that HSUS’s constant fundraising appeals make it harder for them to sustain themselves. According to HSUS’s 2010 tax return, it spent close to $50 million just on fundraising-related costs. Local humane societies don’t have the resources to fight this massive factory fundraising machine. In short, HSUS’s appeals on television, in print, and through telemarketing are grossly misleading as to how donor money will be used.

The Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) released its yearly report on People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ (PETA) shameful animal care record at its so-called pet shelter in its Norfolk, VA headquarters. New records show PETA killed a staggering 89.4 percent of the adoptable pets in its care during 2012. (NOTE: There has been little or no change to this statistic in the following years) Despite years of public outrage over its euthanasia program, the notorious animal rights group has continued killing adoptable dogs and cats at an average of over 30 pets per week. According to records from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, PETA killed 1,647 cats and dogs last year (2015) while placing just 19 in adoptive homes. Since 1998, well over 30,000  pets have died at the hands of PETA workers.

Even the SPCA International isn’t all it seems to be. According to a CNN report, while the charity raised $14 million in 2010, only about $60,000 went to local shelters and only about 3% of the $14 million went to a questionable program called “Bagdad Pups,” designed to safely transport home dogs that are used in service by the military. According to CNN, SPCA’s own communications director admits that only 26 out of almost 500 animals transported were actually service animals, such as bomb-sniffing dogs. Apparently, these 26 dogs were also not affiliated with the military, but were in fact owned by a contractor building roads in Iraq and Afghanistan. The contractor insists that the dogs had been offered homes, SPCA insists otherwise. Oh, the remainder of these were just picked up off the streets of Bagdad and brought to the United States to sell. A representative of the program has previously been investigated by the state of California for questionable spending at another nonprofit specializing in homeless dogs.

There are even reports that some some rescue groups are actually fronts for puppy mills or the dogs they sell aren’t even from the United States. While this sounds unbelievable it is true. These organizations actually breed the puppies they sell through websites that appear to be sites with dogs that need to be rescued (see Pet rescue fraud: More common than you may think). Others are trafficking in dogs from other countries (see Shelters Trafficking in Dogs and Dog Trafficking: A Multi-Million Dollar Business).  The transport business spreads disease from county to county, state to state. There are documented reports of thousands of diseased dogs imported from other countries! There are many more examples than those mentioned in these links. The National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA), now estimates that up to one million foreign dogs are imported into America, washed through complicit shelters and rescues and resold to Americans with a fake back story to keep the outrageous profits coming in. One of the biggest markets for rescue scams today is New England. The states of the north eastern part of the US are so short of both dogs and cats that massive pipelines of second hand animals travel up Interstate 81 from the south to the north along the Mid-Atlantic coast. Most transports break multiple state laws, care nothing about the animals in their care, and quickly sell off their product in parking lot drop offs in Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and other states. The local humane society here in San Diego has beel involved in importing dogs for many years. Among the countries they have imported dogs from are South Korea and Mexico.

Now, If you’re as discouraged and upset at all this as I am don’t despair.

While rescuing animals is necessary and the need is greater due in part to our present economy we must find a way to separate the good from the questionable. There are some legitimate organizations that are helping rescue or re-home dogs right here in California. Some are even dedicated to basset hounds. And, they need your support.

We are very fortunate to have people dedicated to our breed here in Southern California who spend many volunteer hours and a lot of money caring for those that fall on hard times. As one of these organizations states, “The animals that live here have two things in common: First, they have survived difficult living conditions, or debilitating medical conditions, or both.  Second, and more importantly, they need your help to ensure that they can continue to live happy, healthy lives until they get adopted. We are able to save lives thanks to people like you. We are a no kill kennel and sanctuary that provides a haven for unwanted pets.” Another one states, “We take in as many Basset Hounds as we have the resources and volunteers to properly care for. Changing lifestyles, the economy and lack of responsibility are just some of the reasons for an over abundance of dogs in rescues and shelters. This is not limited to only Basset Hounds. We believe Education not Condemnation is the key to ending the need for shelters and rescues throughout the county and work toward educating people on animal needs, care and nutrition and also for the necessity of spay/neuter programs. We are a diverse group of individuals who have come together for the love of the hounds and work together in unity for the betterment of the unwanted and abandoned hounds.”

All the basset hound rescue groups take in unwanted basset hounds and mixes. Many are fostered by volunteers until they find their “forever” homes. Others may be housed by the rescue group until they can find either a foster or forever home. A lot of the dogs need some kind of rehabilitation before they can either be fostered or sent to a new home. Many of these dogs require veterinary care, and some of them require extensive help from specialists. All this costs money and requires many hours of volunteer help.

Any support that you can provide for these rescue groups goes to the dogs. If you are interested in helping them or adopting a basset hound please contact them through these links: Basset Rescue Network, Inc. (BaRNi) - San Diego Basset Hound Rescue (SDBHR). That way they will know that you found their information here and are already a basset hound lover. Together we can make a difference.

For more on this topic I suggest the following link:

Do Shelters Support Puppy Mills?

By Laura Turner

Part of what she says:

“First we have to ask where the puppy came from? In most cases, it came from a puppy mill. It is rare for owners to turn a purebred dog in to a shelter, especially when it is still a puppy. So purebred puppies or designer dogs invariably come from puppy mills. Do you wonder how that happens?”

“Responsible breeders producing purebred dogs as defined by the American Kennel Club, spend a fortune in testing the parent’s health, temperament, intelligence and conformation. As a result of all this testing, most responsible breeders have thousands of dollars invested in each breeding parent. The resulting pups are a product of long term goals of the breeder and are usually spoken for before they are even conceived.”

“I believe the need for shelters will never be eliminated but the public can greatly reduce those needs by purchasing purebreds from Responsible Breeders and by doing so, helping to eliminate the market for irresponsibly produced dogs and the resulting overflow of their pups going into shelters.”

“In other words, any family seeking a purebred pet would be well advised to ignore the animal rights rhetoric, the implied shame of buying what they want, and insure their satisfaction by contacting a reputable breeder. The “feel good” reward is that they have not supported a shelter that supports the production of poor quality purebreds and the throw-away concept.”

NOTE: AKC has recently started concentrating on using the term "responsible" for breeders who "do it right" so that term has been substituted for "reputable" in the quote above.

Responsible defined: having an obligation to do something, or having control over or care for someone, as part of one's job or role; capable of being trusted; morally accountable for one's behavior.