This page will at times contain graphic images and narrative. This is not meant to shock the reader but to alert you as to the significance of the dire circumstances in which these animals exist. When available, videos will be posted on this page as well. These are often very disturbing images of animals in horrific conditions.
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As a nation, we claim to love cats and
dogs. Millions of households have
pets, and billions of dollars are spent
yearly on pet supplies and food. But
as a nation, we should take a hard,
sobering look at a different annual
statistic: the millions of dogs and cats
given up to shelters or left to die on
the streets. And the numbers tell only
half the story.
Every cat or dog who dies as a result of
pet overpopulation—whether humanely
in a shelter or by injury, disease, or
neglect—is an animal who, more often than not, would have made a wonderful companion, if given the chance. Tremendous as the problem of pet overpopulation is, it can be solved if each of us takes just one small step, starting with not allowing our animals to breed. Here's information about this crisis and why spaying and neutering is the first step to a solution. ~ HSUS
In Hope: An Animal Shelter Story - Transcript
To view this film go to the following website:
http://www.brightlion.com/InHope/InHope_en.aspx
A Film By Robert Valentine
"I am the voice of the voiceless; Through me the dumb shall speak. Till the deaf world's ears be made to hear. The wrongs of the wordless weak. And I am my brothers keeper, And I will fight his fights; And speak the words for beast and bird. Till the world shall set things right."
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Since 1985, more than 150,000 animals have
died here.
Why did they have to die?
Irresponsible people, failing to control the
breeding of their animals, have created a
surplus of millions of animals that society has
no homes for...
Animal ownership has traditionally been held as a right.
It needs to be a revocable privilege.
"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them...
...but to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity."
- George Bernard Shaw
"He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men...
...We can judge the heart of a man by his dealings with animals."
- Immanuel Kant
For every animal that dies in a shelter...
...there is someone, somewhere, responsible for its death.
"You cannot do a kindness too soon...
...Because you never know how soon it will be too late."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is Goodbye...
"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight."
- Albert Schweitzer
Each day approximately 10,000 humans are born in the U.S.
Each day approximately 70,000 puppies and kittens are born as well.
This leaves 5 million animals without a home to die in shelters this year.
40 animals will die in shelters during this film.
"These birds and animals and fish cannot speak, but they can suffer...
...and our god who created them knows their sufferings, and will hold him who causes them to suffer unnecessarily to answer for it." - George Cannon
The solution rests on all of our shoulders.
Spay or neuter your animals.
Be a responsible animal owner.
Written and Directed by Robert Valentine
Produced by Brightlion Creations www.brightlion.com
** Music Credits ** Artist: Moby Song: Porcelain Album: Play Year: 1999 Label: Mute Records
CU leader asked to halt experiment termed as painful
By Tillie Fong, Rocky Mountain News
May 16, 2007
An animal rights group is asking that a University of Colorado
Denver Health Sciences Center researcher stop his experiments
with cats because they were not anesthetized properly before
undergoing surgery.
"We're calling on President (Hank) Brown to stop the experiments and fire the committee for allowing cats to suffer needlessly," said Bruce Friedrich, vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, at a press conference Tuesday.
At issue is the use of chloralose, a drug used by researcher Moshe Solomonow of the orthopedic bioengineering division at CU, to knock out cats before testing how their back muscles react to repetitive stress.
A whistleblower had approached PETA this year with a report and video footage of cats that were conscious before undergoing surgery to the spine at the center.
"The only anesthesia was the chloralose," said the lab technician, who declined to be identified, in a phone interview Tuesday after the press conference.
"The cat would try to struggle, so you knew the cat was conscious while they were doing this."
Solomonow, reached at his office Tuesday, declined to comment on his experiments or to respond to the PETA accusations.
"I don't know how they got the information," he said. "They take pictures of other places and say they're at the university. We're dealing with a bunch of lunatics."
Sarah Ellis, spokeswoman for the University of Colorado Hospital, said, "We are looking into these accusations, and appreciate having potential issues brought to our attention. However, we believe there are some inaccuracies in their statements about the drug and about the role of the IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee).
"Veterinarians and/or veterinary technicians administer the anesthesia - the investigator doesn't handle the animal until it is fully and deeply anesthetized.
"As far as the videotape they showed, we don't actually know at this point where it came from."
In the videotape, a cat is seen lying on a table after it had been injected with the drug, and the technician can be heard asking about the procedure.
"They indicated that the drug (chloralose) was real bad," the technician said. "I was told that this was an old drug, and I had to be really quiet (during the procedure) because it would set the cat off."
The video then showed a cat apparently going into spasms and throwing up into a garbage can.
The technician said he was disturbed about the procedure and contacted the university's IACUC, which has to sign off on the drugs and procedures used in animal experiments.
But the response he got from Margaret Turner, chairwoman of the IACUC, was disappointing, he said. In a letter, Turner wrote that Solomonow's use of chloralose was not "inappropriate" and that it was approved by the committee "because of the particular needs of the experiment."
She also wrote that the committee had also dispatched an investigator to observe the experiment preparations.
But the technician said he saw no changes made and tried to find out more about the experiment.
According to Friedrich, the cat's back was cut to expose the spinal cord, and hooks were attached to spinal ligaments. A machine would then apply pressure to the ligaments to simulate a cat carrying a load on its back. The cat would be euthanized after the experiment, which could last eight to 10 hours.
Jeff Young, a veterinarian with Planned Pethood Plus, decried the purpose of the experiment at the press conference.
He noted that a cat's back is structured and used differently than a human's back and that cats do not carry weights that could result in the back injuries Solomonow was trying to study.
To contact the web designer, Natalia Kataoka, click here.
"Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight."
~ Albert Schweitzer
The Write Cause
'Writing for the Earth and Her Animals'
In Hope: An Animal
Shelter Story
Animal Rights Group Seeks to End
Cat Tests
Dr. McDougall Disputes Major
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Please let Dr. McDougall know you found saw this information on The Write Cause website.
Why do batterers threaten, abuse, or kill animals?
To demonstrate and confirm power and control over the family.
To isolate the victim and children.
To eliminate competition for attention.
To force the family to keep violence a secret.
To teach submission.
To retaliate for acts of independence and self-determination.
To perpetuate the context of terror.
To prevent the victim from leaving or coerce her/him to return.
To punish the victim for leaving.
To degrade the victim through involvement in the abuse.
Why should we recognize animal abuse as a form of battering?
Animal abuse exposes the deliberateness of battering rather than loss of control.
Animal abuse and child abuse are closely related.
Animal abuse is often a tool used by batterers to emotionally control or coerce victims.
Threatening, injuring, or killing animals can indicate the potential for increased violence or lethality.
Victims may postpone leaving out of fear for their pets' safety.
Identifying animal abusers can help identify other victims of violence within the family.
What can victims of domestic violence do to protect their pets?
Develop an emergency plan for sheltering the pets, themselves, and their children (Review a copy of the First Strike® planning guide, Making the Connection: Protecting Your Pet From Domestic Violence.)
Establish ownership of the pets (obtain an animal license, proof of vaccinations or veterinary receipts in victim's name to help prove they own the pets).
Prepare the pets for departure (collect vaccination and medical records, collar and identification, medication, bowls, bedding, etc.).
Ask for assistance from law enforcement or animal care and control officers to reclaim the pets if left behind.
What are suggested intake questions regarding pets that should be asked by a domestic violence shelter?
Do you now have a pet? If yes, how many and what kinds?
Have you had a pet in the past 12 months? If yes, what kinds?
Has your partner ever hurt or killed a family pet? If yes, describe.
Has your partner ever threatened to hurt or kill a family pet? If yes, describe.
Have you ever hurt or killed a family pet? If yes, describe.
Have any of your children ever hurt or killed a family pet? If yes, describe.
Was the animal considered the child's, yours, your partner's or the family's pet?
Did your concern for a pet's welfare keep you from coming to a shelter sooner than now? If yes, explain.
Did you leave the abusive partner because of the abuse of a pet? If yes, describe.
What can advocates do to raise awareness about the connection between animal cruelty and domestic violence in their communities?
Take animal abuse seriously.
Contact their counterparts in other agencies.
Develop cross-training and cross-reporting among animal welfare, domestic violence, child abuse and other related agencies.
Support strong anticruelty laws.
Develop community anti-violence coalitions.
Develop community based programs to promote empathy and humane education.
Encourage research on the connection.
Work with local animal shelters, veterinarians, veterinary schools and boarding kennels to develop emergency housing programs for pets.
Collect data in their own agencies.
Add questions to intake forms about animal cruelty.
What does The HSUS's First Strike campaign do to help other organizations?
Provide First Strike materials and related information.
Assist with outreach efforts (e.g., workshops, contacts, etc.).
Provide information and contacts for model programs across the country.
Provide advice, support, and technical assistance.
Provide assistance on cases involving animal cruelty.
Assist with legislative efforts.
Help raise awareness of domestic violence, child abuse and other forms of human violence among animal protection organizations and activists.
