IDA Blog

Animals in Disasters

We are thrilled to report a very happy ending to a tragic story. Do you remember Kapone, the missing Memphis dog we first told you about in our July 21, 2011 eNews? IDA had just added $3,000 to the reward fund for info about Kapone, a family’s adored pit bull, who had been missing since he was picked up by a Memphis Animal Services (MAS) animal control officer.

Kapone disappeared on June 24, when he and the family’s other dog, Jersey, got out of their fenced yard. Neighbors witnessed both dogs being loaded onto an MAS truck. Over 3,000 IDA members sent emails complaining about MAS to Memphis city officials and Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. Click here to read our news release about this from July 2011.

Well, Kapone is now back home for the holidays!

Kapone reunited with his family!

Our dear friend and animal advocate Beverly King learned that yet another dog had simply vanished without a trace of paperwork or documentation after being picked up by Memphis Animal Control. Beverly and associates alerted the media, and helped Kapone’s family push the city to prosecute Animal Control Officer Demetria Hogan for Kapone’s disappearance and the death of another dog Hogan left confined in the back of her city truck. Beverly alerted IDA and we offered a reward. PETA joined us, as did a private source, and the reward grew to $8,000.  A banner with the reward information and a photo of Kapone has hung prominently since his disappearance. Just days before Christmas, a tip that Kapone might have been seen in Senatobia, Mississippi broke the case, and, after investigation, Kapone was reunited with his family.

The case is not closed, but is solved, and very satisfying. Kapone is relishing his playtime with his family, while Hogan’s animal cruelty charges are surely to be added to a felony animal abduction charge.  We refuse to use the word theft – “theft” is what happens to property, and Kapone is nobody’s property. He is, however, back with his guardians. How awesome this is!  Oh, by the way, the tipster has asked for and received only $3,000 of the $8,000 reward.

Additional notes:

Jersey was reunited the day after she was picked up.  She was at MAS.

The cloth on Kapone’s neck is his bandana.

Hogan is charged with cruelty.  Theft, we don’t know yet.

As far as we can assume, Kapone could have been used for breeding, even at his age.  He was unneutered.  He was unharmed when found so he hadn’t fought.

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Today, Wednesday, Nov. 2^nd, began like every other busy day at Hope Animal Sanctuary. Lisa, Sarah, and B.J., our new teammate, had their hands full with the care of our precious animals. Danielle, the delicately featured brown bay, is still having a bit of trouble with her right front hoof, but is doing better.  Her mother, our Dolly, seems content, but is struggling with her deformed hoof.  Our time with her is cherished.

Arlin

Our new resident, Arlin, has taken well to his environment but needs a friend. He is a Barbados sheep. He probably doesn’t know how blessed he is. Our friend, Arlin, animal control officer (ACO) for Winona, Mississippi, went the extra mile to see his namesake safely delivered into our hands. The four-hoofed Arlin escaped the trailer he was being transported in and was captured and delivered to the Sell Barn. Technically, the Sell Barn had no claim on him, but it wouldn’t agree to his release without payment. The asking price was $150. Our buddy raised the bounty, and we picked up the newly freed Arlin.  He certainly has moxy. He challenged the emus, horses, and each of us when we initially approached him. A good stomp of his right front hoof, followed by lowered horns and impact on whatever barrier was between us quickly gained respect for his wishes.

Haystack, Helga, & Hannah

Three more abandoned pups arrived. Haystack, Helga, & Hannah are thin, have mange, and are simply adorable.  If it weren’t for the next transport to Colorado, we don’t know what we would do.

By late afternoon I thought I’d wrapped up our business in town when I received a timely call from “Doc” Abernethy, whose Veterinary Associates clinic was on my way home. The newer Grenada ACO had brought a dog in for euthanasia. He’d had a call from a man who’d kicked in a neighbor’s door after his mother had seen a dog in the kitchen window of a house that had been abandoned for months.  The occupant had moved in May and had stopped her irregular visits. There was a horrid odor permeating the air around the front of the house.

When the man and another neighbor entered the deserted home, they were stunned to find two young dogs had been confined to the kitchen and one had succumbed to cannibalizing her lifeless sibling or perish.

I accompanied the ACO to the scene, documented the evidence, and accepted custody of the dog for Doc’s capable and caring hands. I called the chief of police to ask for support. Two officers and the senior ACO joined us.  A report was taken, and you can rest assured that IDA will assist with the prosecution of the callous soul who simply stopped caring for the two precious lives she entrapped. She could have called animal control, asked a neighbor for help, or even just let them loose if she was too lazy or unthinking to ask for help.

Imagine being confined with your sister and slowly starved and dehydrated.  Imagine the desperation of climbing to the window to seek help, freedom, and then being alone, terribly alone when your sister lost her fragile grasp on life. Think of first nuzzling her for comfort and then as her lifeless body faded and she was no more, resorting to the instinct of survival. How long will it take Wanda to be herself?  She’s emaciated. As she lay on the exam table fleas careened in and out of her dull hair.  She stared straight ahead, fearful of making eye contact, the whites of her eyes so revealed that her beautiful brown irises seemed stark and desolate amidst a panicked world of confusion.

I promise you Wanda will heal with us and learn to love life.

Wanda

Doc & Holly

Little Holly and Bo Jangle are home with us.  Holly, an adorable kitten, has had her badly injured eye removed; Bo Jangle’s hip, side, and back healed with no apparent intervention after what was probably a brush with a vehicle, and Miss Beasley is recovering from the amputation of her badly healed leg.  These are just a few of the treasured lives we’ve been blessed to help in the first few days of November.

And none of this could have happened without you.

We will presently update you about our transport to Colorado. We just want you to know how much we appreciate and value your support. We were able to take 8 kittens and 89 dogs and puppies to find their forever guardians. The 5 puppies we recently pulled from beneath a home (their mother had been killed the day before), and the 6 neglected puppies we gathered from beneath a trailer were all on board and are doing well!

To support our work please click here.

This week BJ Martin joined our staff at Hope Animal Sanctuary.  BJ is a vet tech with 15 years experience who has worked with a wide variety of species, including emus.  She will be an invaluable asset to our team. She’s already proven her worth. On Thursday, BJ, Sarah, and I dedicated our day to caring for our animals and then set out for Macon, Mississippi, to Heartworm Test 33 of approximately 100 dogs needing medical care and guardianship. We didn’t arrive until 10:30 p.m. and didn’t wrap up until after midnight, finally returning at 2:30 a.m. With cases involving so many animals, every opportunity to provide help must be seized. We brought Ella, who is among the 145 dogs when the rescue began, home as her male companions were sparring over her.

Doll Stanley with Ella

I’ve been in contact with “Animal Planet’s” hoarding program over a period of months believing it would be aiding in the Macon case. After the production department passed and rescheduled several interviews I was told the case wasn’t chosen because family members weren’t in conflict over the issues related to the case. What a shame.

But thanks to local activists and members of at least one grassroots group, an effort to help the animals was launched. The activists began documenting the dogs, Dr. Bushby (Mississippi State University Marcia Lane Endowed Professor of Humane Ethics and Animal Welfare Department of Clinical Sciences) and his student surgery team provided 22 surgeries, Friday the 15^th, (we were there to aid with pre- & post-surgery needs), Homeward Bound (the group founded by MSU veterinary students) arranged for the transport of some of the dogs, and we will be taking some of the dogs to Colorado on our next transport. There’s much more to be done, but it will have to be in steps if every option to place the dogs will be accomplished.

The six pups Lisa and I removed from beneath the trailer of a local man are faring well as are the seven adults we wrenched from him.  Apathy, drink, and ignorance have contributed to his years of neglect of animals. This time we will put an end to his contribution to suffering.

Bonnie & Breezle

Two wonderful young women raced three pups to us whom they found bound in a shirt on an unpaved county road. Sadly one of the pups passed the next morning, but his sisters, Beezle and Bonnie, who are absolutely adorable, are thriving.

Friday I had a zillion things to do that just couldn’t be put off, including heading to Starkville, Mississippi, for this year’s Technical Large Animal Emergency Rescue class at MSU. It’s a given that the more we have to do the more certain priorities will change with the next phone call. Sure enough, a local Duck Hill police officer called to ask for assistance for the pups of a mother dog who was killed on the road in front of the house she’d chosen for her den.

The elder couple that owned the house volunteered their grandson to assist with rescuing the pups, who were huddled beneath the center of the house against the center junctions of the wooden foundation.  As the house was so low and the pups were so far in, even the slender frame of a young man couldn’t fit beyond a few feet of the outside wall. We bound my pole net and a segment of wooden molding and the young man went to work. He was exhausted after retrieving the first two pups. The police officer’s family had come for the vigil and his smaller son took up the effort. All five of the babies came out safely and in good condition. They are now flourishing.

On my way back from the rescue class this evening I rendezvoused with a man who rescued a dog from a rest stop in our region. The dog may have been abandoned, or he wandered there in search of food. Either way, he has endured deprivation, is very thin, and appears to have suffered injuries from a brush with a vehicle. We’ll have him checked out tomorrow.

Last Sunday, Glory went to her new home. A family that pampers their horses and has multiple pastures in which to do so has adopted our beautiful and good-natured mare. We couldn’t be happier.  Glory was emaciated when we rescued her from a barren parcel unfit for pasture. Her companions had died and she would have, too.  We are so grateful for our sanctuary and the support of friends who partner with us to carry out the hope we promise the animals with whom we are entrusted.

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This is about love, loss, and some of the animals we recently had the privilege of rescuing but who didn’t make it. It’s been a time of genuine sorrow. I know I don’t need to tell you how badly we hurt. Compassion is at the heart of all of us at IDA: staff, volunteers, and supporters. We all are too familiar with the gnawing pain of loss. This morning I walked about in a daze and had to fight to keep alert as I was transferring one of our young dogs to a compatible group. Life moves on, but the memories of the ones who leave us are indelible, imprinted on our minds forever.

Eleanor, our beautiful angel. Eleanor was the first of the animals rescued from the hoarder case now in litigation. As we walked up the driveway I spotted her lying in debris, a “burn pile.” I spoke to her as I approached.  She didn’t even recognize our presence.  As I leaned and picked her up, she awoke, but too weak to struggle to move. When we reached Veterinary Associates, “Doc” Abernethy gave her little chance of survival.  As the days passed, she responded to the pampering of both Vet Assoc. and HAS staff.  She loved and craved attention.

Eleanor

Eleanor

Eleanor on October 10 2011

Eleanor seemed to be prospering. She put on weight, her skin began to heal, and her hair grew. But she was weak, often wobbling as she walked or stepped up to her deck. She showed symptoms of having survived Distemper, the disease of which four of her companions succumbed.

Our devoted volunteer Lisa Martin cares for many of our special needs animals. Eleanor went home with Lisa and Mike for the individual care we hoped would aid her recovery. Sadly, she began losing her appetite. She curled tightly and shook from pain or neurological impairment.  Last week I went to Canton, about an hour south of the sanctuary, to bring Eleanor home for Doc to evaluate. Dr. Osborne was also on hand when I arrived.  He ran tests, Doc ran more tests, x-rays were taken, and the diagnosis was renal failure.  Eleanor’s plight of deprivation and disease took its toll on her organs. There was to be no recovery. Sarah and I sobbed as we said goodbye to our precious. My insides ached.

On the morning that Eleanor passed away Doll told friends: Eleanor lost her battle with kidney failure this morning. I cannot begin to express the grief we feel. We fought for and loved Eleanor since the day I picked her up out of the horrid debris pile she was lying in. Eleanor was dying. With the aid of Veterinary Associates in Grenada, Mississippi, we nearly brought Eleanor back to health. She began gaining weight, thoroughly enjoyed our affection, and fought for her life. Our hearts are crushed. Help us continue to fight for innocent animals like Eleanor.

Kendall

A few years ago, we received a call from officers at Camp McCain, the Mississippi National Guard training site, asking for haven for an abandoned puppy. When he arrived we just laughed and blurted out, “Puppy!” Kendall was aged, all but toothless, blind in one eye, and his ears were gnarled from who knows how many survival fights. He was so food-deprived that he was impossible with other dogs. We fed him in an enclosure and gradually introduced him to dogs with whom he wouldn’t feel threatened. As time passed his fears gave way to sheer joy. Just looking at Kendall put a new perspective on any difficult day.

Kendall and our Tobey were both survivors. The old bulls on the hill, they occasionally bumped chests like two elder men challenging one another to an arm wrestle. We laughed. Their skirmishes lasted all of seconds as they’d both lose balance and topple—always with the dignity of their esteemed stature.

How do you fill such a void?

In another disturbing and painful turn this morning, two of the seven pups we rescued from the Lott case last week succumbed to Parvo.  We first lost the little guy with severe bite wounds to his forehead.  The other pups seemed to be thriving. They ate, drank, played (all in the Quarantine Room), and then they suddenly stopped eating. Little Regan, the heartiest and most demanding, was the first to show signs of distress. We were shocked. She was so full of herself, so alive.  She was one of the two who passed last night. We weren’t able to learn who her sibling was as we couldn’t handle them because we are struggling to save little Arlin, another pup who came in after days without his mom or food.

I am praying for some happier news to send your way soon. Sarah, our wonderful assistant, is now bottle-feeding kittens, and there may still be hope for Arlin. We just rescued thirteen puppies and three adults from beneath a local man’s trailer. One of the mothers of the pups is called Lottie, who was in very bad shape and seems to be getting stronger. Sadly, seven of the puppies have died after intense medical intervention, while the remaining six are in guarded condition. Stay tuned …

We are currently being sued by Eleanor’s hoarder for trying to save her.  Please click here for further details and to learn how you can help.

To make a donation to support our work please click here.  Thank you!

This is Nicholas - One of Eric's new friends!

I spent nearly the entire month of October in Mississippi filling in for Doll at Hope Animal Sanctuary (HAS). Doll was on much deserved and much needed vacation and they needed an extra pair of hands, so I offered to help. This was not my first time at the Sanctuary, I’ve been down several times and spent almost three months there at the end of 2007.

I was grateful on this trip to be joined by my nephew, Zach, who helped me immensely with the day-to-day operations and afforded me the ability to give the three employees, William, Lisa and Elizabeth, some much needed extra time off. I was impressed with the efforts of this team and I admire very much the work they do for animals, both in and out of the Sanctuary.

To me, there is no better way to remind yourself of what truly matters than working hands-on with animals. Animals who in most instances are coming from situations of abuse, neglect and violence that most of us cannot imagine. Had a rough day at the office? At least no one dumped you and your siblings along 70 mile per hour Interstate 55, like what happened to a group of weeks-old puppies who were recently through the Sanctuary – all had been hit by cars and despite receiving immediate medical care, none survived their injuries. Or Nicholas, a dog I took in while I was there. Nicholas had finally broken through the collar that chained him likely in someone’s backyard. More a lawn ornament than and living, breathing, feeling animal, Nicholas’ collar had become partially embedded in his neck, undoubtedly bringing him agony for only he knows how long.

These are just a couple of recent stories from Hope Animal Sanctuary. Sadly, not every story is a victory, but had HAS not been there to ease the suffering of animals who would ultimately succumbed to their injuries, they would have had to suffer for much longer. And had HAS not been there to rescue the ones who survived and thrived, they never would have gotten out of their hopeless situations.

Yesterday I shared with you some of my experiences in New Orleans during the Hurricane Katrina rescue.  It will never be easy for me to revisit these memories. Since Hurricane Katrina, I have been translating some of the most painful and searing memories of my New Orleans experience into paintings. While most of these pieces depict animals I rescued, this anniversary painting is different. The painting above is my reflection on the devastation of the storm, and the region’s efforts to revive its way of life.

It is a reference to the very core of Katrina. The frame is built from wooden boards I salvaged from a dilapidated building in New Orleans and then wrapped in distressed linen. I created an oxidized copper background and affixed a tattered American flag I retrieved from the flood waters of the ninth ward. I then layered the flag with news clippings and pigment mixed with actual Katrina flood water. The flag, like the region itself, is still distressed and rough around the edges but waving proudly. This flag is a survivor.

But what truly lives in my heart can be found in the lower right hand section. This sign represents one gut-wrenching rescue my team performed in the ninth ward.  It was 3 a.m. on September 12^th – nearly two weeks after the storm, and our rescue vehicle was flagged over by an NOPD officer. I thought he might ask for our credentials or force us to turn back to the emergency shelter, but instead he begged us to go into the most devastated area in the city in search of his dogs.  While he was sworn to protect the public during this time of disaster, we were the only people who could help reunite his family.

As I neared the address scribbled on the scrap of paper, the dirty water rose to my chest. When our team finally found his house our hearts sank – it was obvious that water had nearly submerged the entire structure at one point. As we broke down the door we braced ourselves for a grim scene.  Sadly, we found the remains of two dogs floating inside the home. I began searching for a third body when to my surprise I saw a large Shepherd mix balancing precariously on the two-inch ledge of a sealed window. He had obviously been perched there above the water for some time.  A wash of pure joy spread over his face when this canine survivor saw our team and the salvation we represented. Reuniting this dog with his human guardians was a proud moment that will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Through these elements this painting represents both the past, present and hopeful future of a truly remarkable place and the people and animals who survived when the levees broke.

When we look back at Hurricane Katrina, I hope we will remember this German Shepherd and those who never gave up hope that someone would come for them. There are still countless animals out there who need our help. Please think of them and support our IDA Rescue Team today.

Every year around this time I receive calls and emails from individuals I worked alongside or families I reunited in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.  Although it has been five years, the bonds that were cemented during our rescue work in New Orleans will last a lifetime. We will never forget the horrors we witnessed there, and the thousands of animals we pulled from the wreckage of the submerged crescent city.  I can scarcely believe half a decade has passed since I stepped into the worst natural disaster our country has ever known.

At that time I was the Executive Director of the Washington Animal Rescue League. As soon as Katrina hit the Gulf Coast I assembled a rescue team, and was one of the first responders on the ground. I knew we were entering uncharted territory when we passed the first city checkpoint and a crowd of desperate-looking people charged our vehicle and threw their keys through our open windows. The keys were wrapped in paper with the people’s names, telephone numbers, addresses and the description of the animals who were trapped in their homes. When I saw the horde of individuals on their knees, tears streaming down their faces, begging us to rescue their animals, I knew this mission would change my life forever.

During our six weeks in New Orleans our team rescued nearly 1,000 animals who had lost all hope of surviving the grim disaster. We scaled dilapidated buildings to pluck emaciated animals from rooftops, pulled cats out of putrid, debris-laden waters and found dogs who had been left to die, stranded for weeks in flooded homes. Each rescue was unique, but every animal shared an initial look of wild desperation, which melted into trust and gratitude once we held them tightly in our arms of compassion.

Our team was the first inside these houses for days or weeks after the storm. We were the only lifeline for people clinging to the hope that their companions would be found alive. It was heartbreaking to tell someone who had lost everything that their cherished friend didn’t make it, but an honor to deliver the news to others that their animals had survived.

As soon as we plucked one animal from death’s door we were off to respond to another plea for help.  The calls never stopped, our rescue vehicles seemed constantly full, as we  perpetually raced the clock in a desperate fight against time. Inevitably, we were too late to save some – it is these lost souls who push me on a daily basis to continue my life’s work.

In the five years since, animal guardians have made huge strides in efforts to include pets in disaster preparedness. President Bush signed the PETS Act into law in 2006, allowing communities to receive funds for including companion animals in disaster preparedness plans. Communities and individuals are much better prepared to ensure their pets’ safety in the wake of nature’s unpredictable fury.

IDA played a crucial role in the post-Katrina response efforts. We delivered supplies to Gulf Coast emergency shelters and transported hundreds of displaced animals to shelters in the north. Today IDA’s rescue team is poised and ready to save animals from both man-made and natural catastrophes. Click here to support our life-saving efforts.

Workers using Corexit in the Exxon Valdez Spill. Photo Credit : The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council

It’s been over a month since President Obama and the EPA gave BP 24 hours to stop dumping the toxic oil dispersant Corexit into the Gulf of Mexico. The decision was first reported in the Washington Post immediately after Congress heard testimony from BP’s own executives and scientists confirming our worst fears. Not only is this highly toxic chemical relatively ineffective against this type of crude oil, but it was now adding more pollutants to the already poisoned waters.

Numerous independent scientists have come forward to say that Corexit is really only good for public relations. This carcinogenic, mutagenic, and highly toxic chemical does break up the oil into small somewhat transparent ripples and droplets that are more visually acceptable than images of giant black tides drowning wildlife and covering beaches. What the cameras don’t see is the long term damage to delicate ecosystems that are now struggling to escape toxic tides of chemicals. According to environmental engineer Joe Taylor the sulfur and sulfuric acid based dispersant will also deplete oxygen levels under the water, killing plankton and everything above plankton in the food chain. This is not new information. Corexit has been banned for years in the UK because of the long and short-term damage to wildlife and ecosystems. The world was first introduced to Corexit in 1989 when it was used in the Exxon Valdez spill. Images of the workers during that spill spraying the chemical in hazmat suits should have been our first clue something wasn’t quit right with this chemical.

So – why at the time of this decision had BP already sprayed over 600,000 gallons of Corexit on the surface of the Gulf with another 55,000 injected directly into the oil pouring out of the ocean floor? And why, one month later, have they been allowed to dump even more? It is estimated that more than 1.4 million gallons have already been used.

Please act today to remind President Obama that this disaster could have been prevented and that he needs to restore the moratorium on all-offshore drilling in the U.S.

Christopher Richter for SWSS (MMS, ONR, Oregon State, Texas A&M)

Who is affected when our politicians allow oil rigs to tear ever deeper into our earth to suck out more precious black life force? Who will suffer when the oil companies push past scientific reasoning and into the no man’s land of drilling, throwing caution to the wind for a few more gallons of crude oil? Before tragedy strikes, no one wants to answer these questions, but now we can all see that it is our precious ocean’s irreparable ecosystems and innocent wildlife who have and will pay the price for one oil company’s deadly mistakes.

More than a month ago a fireball went up in the Gulf Coast signaling the beginning of the worst oil spill in our nation’s history. Eleven men lost their lives that night, and since then death has seeped out into the waters along with the toxic sludge. With 500,000 to one million gallons leaking into the Gulf every day, I do not think that any of us can begin to wrap our heads around the sheer volume of this colossal, devastating spill.

The suffering endured by marine wildlife and the destruction to their habitats is beyond comprehension.  Some of the animals wash ashore bloated by death, having lost their brief battle with the sticky, suffocating oil. Others struggle to survive, gasping through thick masks of the filthy liquid. Oil coats the feathers of the unfortunate birds, destroying their insulation. Other birds try frantically to clean themselves, ingesting the toxic oil and dying slowly from poisoning.

The effects of the oil spill on wildlife materialized slowly at first, but now there is a veritable gush of death and destruction on the shores of four Gulf States. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  (USFWS) reported Wednesday that the wildlife rescue center in Fort Jackson, La., had received more than five times as many oiled birds in the past few days than in the previous six weeks combined, bringing the total to more than 400 birds.

As of June 10, the USFWS has reported more than 1,500 birds, sea turtles, marine mammals, and reptiles collected alive and dead in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida combined. This can only be a small fraction of the total number of animals suffering and dying underwater or on remote shores.

The USFWS further reports a total of 35 National Wildlife Refuges at risk from the BP oil spill.  Imagine these once-pristine beaches and grassy marshes covered in stinking, putrid oil. They were a sanctuary for some of the most endangered species in our country, and now they are annihilating, toxic wastelands.

Currently, BP has mandated that only paid BP employees may touch any oiled surface (this includes wildlife). So in order to enter the scene a responder must be a BP employee or contractor with hazmat training, oiled wildlife training, and many other qualifications. Only a few small groups of highly trained individuals are permitted to clean and care for affected animals. This leaves most of us feeling powerless to help during a tragedy of such magnitude.
In Defense of Animals has already come out against offshore drilling, but we must all find ways in our everyday lives to fight the paths that lead to this cruel tragedy. I also urge you all to reach out to your local representatives and state senators and demand that they pressure BP to open affected areas to qualified wildlife rescuers. Those who are qualified to save these animals’ lives must be allowed to gain access to them.

Going forward we must funnel our frustrations into breaking down the barrier that is keeping much-needed responders from helping and voicing our concerns over excessive drilling and unsafe practices. And when the time comes, IDA will be there to do whatever we can for the animals affected by this infernal abyss.

Please Credit: Karla Goodson

In Defense of Animals (IDA) proudly welcomes Scotlund Haisley as our new President. IDA’s Founder and only President to date, Dr. Elliot Katz, has been elected Chairman of the Board.

“Scotlund Haisley has been a dynamic force in the animal protection world for more than 20 years, and brings an impressive variety of experience that will serve us well in his position as President of In Defense of Animals,” said Dr. Katz. “Scotlund is the ideal individual to maximize IDA’s efforts to become a more powerful voice and force for our animal friends, by ending the rampant mistreatment of animals, not only in the U.S., but around the world.”

Most recently Haisley led the Humane Society of the United States Animal Rescue Team, and traveled the globe to rescue an unprecedented number of animals from puppy mills, dogfighting, hoarding, factory farming and natural disasters. He was the captain of humane law enforcement for the Washington DC Humane Society and the Peninsula Humane Society in the San Francisco Bay area. Haisley spent time in India creating policies and operating philosophies for animal welfare groups. He was also the shelter director for the Manhattan New York City Shelter.

While working as Executive Director at the Washington (DC) Animal Rescue League, Haisley designed and built an animal shelter unlike any in the world. The shelter, renowned for its calming and nurturing animal housing area, is recognized as a prototype for humane animal sheltering.

“I am honored to take on the role of President of In Defense of Animals, and look forward to building upon the solid foundation of excellence in animal rights that IDA has built over the past 25 years,” said Haisley. “I believe that under my lead In Defense of Animals will bring comfort and salvation to an unprecedented number of animals around the globe.”

Scotlund Haisley is also an accomplished artist, who often paints the scenes of cruelty he has witnessed and the animals he has rescued. By putting the images of suffering and salvation onto canvas Haisley is able to spread education and awareness of the suffering of animals. Haisley’s family includes several animals, including a dog named Bergh, named for the pioneering 19th-century animal protector Henry Bergh.

IDA is thrilled to welcome Scotlund Haisley as our new President. Stay tuned to this space for Scotlund’s first IDA blog, coming soon!