IDA Blog

Puppy Mills

It never gets less painful to witness the horrific suffering that animal abuse inflicts on the helpless victims – this truth I know, having personally rescued thousands of miserable animals leading excruciating lives during the more than twenty years I have been in the field of animal protection.  I was reminded of this fact again days ago in the sweltering summer heat of Mississippi, where we rescued a number of dogs from very dire conditions in three separate seizures.

That feeling of being lucky enough to offer the first gentle touch, the first trustworthy embrace to an animal who has endured years of abuse and neglect is indescribable.  I can tell you that it never diminishes and that it’s this feeling which drives me and all of us in animal protection work to do what we do with our lives.  Again last week in Mississippi, I was filled with that feeling of gratitude and awe as we rescued severely starved and abused dogs, embracing them with kindness for perhaps the first time in their lives.  I would like to share with you my experience from just one of the recent rescues.

In Charleston, Mississippi, I went with the director of our Hope Animal Sanctuary, Doll Stanley, to help Animal Control Officer (ACO) Kevin Hodges respond to a report of a suspected dogfighter.  I had no idea what we were going to find when we walked up on this sad, neglected property in search of dogs bred to fight.  What we encountered was a sight of such profound misery it is difficult to describe – dogs that may have originally been intended to fight were clinging to life.  Chained to tiny six-foot enclosures in collars so tight they had to be cut off, they were emaciated and dehydrated to the point that they could barely stand, their skeletons entirely visible.  Some had fresh wounds, all had visible scars, and their hair was partially worn off, either from being chained or caged in despicable conditions or eroded away by mange.

Approaching these dogs, who had clearly never been shown kindness nor mercy was a testament to the inherent innocence and beauty of animals. While chained, they were terrified, barking and lunging. Aware perhaps that they could not escape whatever inhumane treatment they had endured, they desperately tried to protect their six-foot-in-diameter world. Once the chains were cut, these dogs relaxed, curled up, and accepted help – immediately forgiving the abuse they had suffered.

One unchained dog, a little white-haired sweetheart we later named Esmeralda, regarded me with extreme trepidation.   As I gently called to her, she came towards me shyly, stopping to lie meekly ten feet away. She looked at me with both apprehension and hope. I slipped a collar around her neck, but when I encouraged her to walk with me, she simple could not.  Instead, I scooped her up in my arms and she rested against me as I carried her to safety and a new life.

All the dogs were confiscated and taken for immediate vet care – tragically, even with the very best care, two of the most severely neglected dogs died that night, and a third, the sweet Mona Lisa, is clinging to life as I write this.  All of the surviving dogs are being held at a confidential location, away from the vet clinic and sanctuary, for their security.

That was only one of the rescues on July 28^th. After these dogs, and the others rescued that day receive veterinary care, my promise to them is a better life.  We will seek assistance from partner shelters in order to place them in loving, forever homes, and we will make sure their lives are never again so tortured and hopeless. Please take a minute to watch this rescue for yourself in this video.

My promise to you, as president of In Defense of Animals, is that we will continue to build the most effective and comprehensive Companion Animal Campaign possible.  Together, with your help, we will be there to open the cage doors and stop cruel puppy mills from profiting on misery.  We will continue to seize and rehabilitate dogs from dog-fighting rings and cases of abuse and neglect.  We will continue to work to clear animals from hoarders and over-burdened shelters and we will expand our work to address the underlying problems leading to pet overpopulation.  Together, I know we can accomplish a great deal and save many lives.

That feeling of giving the first touch of compassion to an abused and neglected animal, the first embrace of kindness, is euphoric and profound. I know that everyone of you can feel it too.  By acting on your own innate compassion and through your continuing support, I know you’ll feel the thrill I do on each and every rescue of which I am blessed to be a part.

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!

With Mother’s Day just pasted, it seems an appropriate time to focus on the importance of being a guardian.  But just to mix it up a bit, I am writing this as a father of five…dogs, that is.  My dogs are my children and rather than say I “own” my children, i.e., dogs, I choose to say I am their “guardian.”  So, it’s just a word, right?  Well, yes, it is, of course, a word, but language means a lot.  So, I guess the best place to start is to clarify the distinction between the two words.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the verb, “own” in two ways:  (1) to have or hold as property and (2) to have power or mastery over, whereas the noun, “guardian” is defined in the same dictionary as:  one who has the care or protection of another.  So, in applying this to having dogs, I do not consider myself one who “owns” my dogs, as I don’t have or hold them as property nor do I have or wish to have power or mastery over them.  I am their “guardian,” as I am someone who cares for them in every way I can.

The story of how my dogs came to me is a simple, yet a sad one.  All my dogs were rescues.  Rocky, a three-legged Rottweiller/Ridgeback mix, was living at a home where his previous family thought it was okay to chain him in the backyard with a broken leg after he had been hit by a car.  Luckily, he found me, or I found him, I can never be sure in these situations.  He sleeps with me and because he weighs over 100 pounds, he is a great “spoon” partner, minus his amputated back leg.  Joaquin literally showed up at my doorstep with a very tight chain around his neck attached by a padlock.  I had to take him to a locksmith to get the padlock and chain cut off.  My other three dogs, Baxter, Tootsie, and Celeste, now live with me but at one time were either abandoned or abused…or both.

I am the guardian of my dogs,not their owner.  My main responsibility to them is to protect them from harm’s way.  To make sure they are well-nourished and free from pain and suffering.  I do everything in my power to guard them from danger.  I don’t “own” them like I would a car or a house or a boat.  My dogs are not inanimate objects that one must purchase a title for.  They are feeling, loving companions.  They were never meant to be treated as mere property, objects or things. They were never ment to be chained up or left alone in a backyard, only to be attended to when someone remembered they were there.  Dogs are pack animals, craving a family unit filled with attention and love.  That is the least I can give them, as they have given me so much more in return.

I choose the term “guardian” when I tell people I have dogs.  I don’t say I “own” them.  You might say they are my guardian angels, too, and they will always have a home with me for as long as I live.  And I might add I’m a blessed guardian, for my dogs have opened my heart to love, peace, forgiveness and compassion.  And you can’t put a price tag or purchase a title on that.

This blog was contributed by guest blogger Timothy Verret

Working on the Korean Dog campaign can be more challenging then other issues as South Korea seems at times to be a world away. But then I get word of an amazing development that makes me feel so close to the activists working tirelessly for the dogs of Korea, uplifts me, and makes me proud to collaborate with them. IDA recently learned that in South Korea, IDA’s partner Coexistence for Animal Rights on Earth (CARE) received information about a remote dog meat farm in Gyeonggi Province. CARE activists paid a visit to the facility and what they found was appalling.

Dogs of different breeds were living in miserable conditions in soiled, ramshackle cages. Some of the dogs had injuries and all were filthy and uncared for. The waste in the cages appeared to have never been cleaned and the dogs sat in piles of feces. The conditions were so horrible that these brave activists felt they couldn’t leave without the dogs. At the risk of being arrested and possible personal injury, they rescued the dogs and brought them to CARE’s animal shelter to be treated, cleaned, and most likely, loved for the first time.

CARE has filed a civil complaint against the facility and instead of getting more dogs, the owner has agreed to demolish the buildings; a momentous victory for the dogs of Korea!

With IDA’s assistance, CARE is also gearing up for a series of lawsuits against dog meat shops in the Mo-ran Market in Gyeonggi Province, citing violations of animal cruelty laws. If convicted, the butchers could be fined up to 5 million won (around $5,000), which could be a significant deterrent for selling dog meat. IDA and CARE are fervently committed to seeing a permanent end to dog meat eating in South Korea.

Check out the amazing photos of this dramatic rescue here- http://www.idausa.org/campaigns/korea/korea_lifesaving_rescue.html

Debbie Young, one of IDA’s first responders during Hurricane Katrina, was in the Jackson, MS Petsmart volunteering at an adoption drive when a young girl came in with a puppy that was way too young to be away from her mother. The puppy didn’t have any teeth and was estimated to be under four weeks old. The dog’s guardian said she was told by the breeder she bought the dog from to buy the dog solid food, which the dog clearly wouldn’t be able to eat. Debbie instructed the girl on the proper feeding for a puppy of this age.

Unfortunately this situation is not unusual. Backyard breeders set up shop all over Mississippi along well-traveled roads. In Jackson, there are several breeders who’ve set up shop in parking lots along the edge of County Line Road – one of the most heavily traveled roads in Jackson. None of these breeders are required to have a business license or permit. The businesses along the road, whose parking lots these breeders use, have complained about this for years. Amazingly, a local church recently wanted to hold a fundraising yard sale in a parking lot along County Line Road, the same parking lot some of these breeders use, and was denied a permit by the city.

Debbie has been battling these breeders for years and in this instance contacted Doll at Project Hope the local NBC affiliate, WLBT, for help. Doll and WLBT confronted the breeders – please see the newsclip below. Fed up with what seems to be preferential treatment these breeders receive, Debbie and Doll are working on a local ordinance that.

Actress and Animal Activist Elaine Hendrix being presented with the 2009 Guardian Award by IDA President Dr. Elliot Katz

February 1 was an historic day in West Hollywood. Very apropos that it landed on the 1^st of the month, for this is the very first day, in the very first city, for the very first time, that the very first law was put into motion, banning the sale of animals from puppy mills and kitten mills within the limits of West Hollywood, California. It is the very first time in history that a community and its leaders said, “ENOUGH!”, prohibiting pet shops from profiting from the sale of  sick and abused dogs and cats bred in puppy mills and, yes, even kitten mills. This is a day the tides shifted.  Not only for the animals, but for humankind as a compassionate and humane kind.
I was there with In Defense of Animals for this monumental moment..Dozens of dedicated pro-animal activists, and other organizations from all over the nation, had dedicated weeks to protesting pet stores that sold dogs and cats. The spirits of every single person standing up in the name of injustice were there. And the silent voices of every single animal who have suffered at the hands of abusers were there. It was powerful and humbling in one full, glorious moment.
Hundreds of people wrote letters, dozens of people showed up in support, a handful of key leaders spoke, but it was five city council members that truly made the difference.  It was their uncontested, UNANIMOUS vote that has changed the game for thousands of tortured and millions of homeless animals.
This isn’t the first time West Hollywood has shown true leadership. Among numerous human rights laws that have been overwhelmingly passed, West Hollywood has been animal-friendly on several other issues like the banning of de-clawing cats and officially changing their government language to include the term “Guardian” in place of “pets.”  No city is perfect, but this one sure does come giddily close in my opinion.
There are so many people who have worked tirelessly on making this law a reality.  Of the few I personally know, I’d like to mention Ed Buck, a rescuer of golden retrievers and activist, who was instrumental in bringing this item to the attention of the West Hollywood City Council.  Carole Davis and Carol Sax with Social Compassion in Legislation who have diligently worked in West Hollywood specifically on this issue, IDA’s own Bill Dyer, Elle Wittelsbach, Pam Holt, Elizabeth Oreck, Jennifer Krause, Gavin Polone, Ben Harding, Kim Sill, Lori Golden, Bill Crowe, Judie Mancuso, Gary Kaskel, Wayne Pacelle and so many others.
Please forgive me if I left you off this list, and notify me for the future. Certainly there are many more issues we’re facing, and I want to applaud your efforts. In the meantime, take a deep breath and cross this one off the list.  We did it!  Congratulations and keep up the amazing work!

This blog was contributed by Elaine Hendrix, Actress, Animal Activist & IDA Board Member.