I don’t know about you, but I often skip the comments section of a post if I don’t comment myself (in which case I go back to see if anyone agrees with or has dissed me). In the case of my recent post, Is”No Kill” a Misnomer? One Shelter Says Yes, it would be a…
Is “No Kill” a Misnomer? One Shelter Says Yes
I was touched and honored to receive letters from administrators at several animal shelters in support of my recent post about the need for the rescue community to stay positive. I respected the desire of some of these letter writers to remain out of the public eye. Animal politics can get rancorous and shelters have…
Pet Adoption Videos that Won’t Make You Want to Kill Yourself, 2
Brought to you by the Nevada Humane Society. How awesome is this?
Pet adoption videos that won’t make you want to kill yourself, 1
If there’s a common theme to all the animal welfare pieces I’ve been posting recently, it’s the need to stay positive and not to rely on old stereotypes, whether of dogs or of models for shelters. I cited the ASPCA’s Sarah Mclachlan video not only as a waste of money but as a tear jerker…
No, Pit Bulls Aren’t Perfect. Are You?
I was hoping to leave my review of The Lost Dogs as the last word on pit bulls, but a subsequent comment on my Open Letter to Nathan Winograd caught my attention: Did you read on Best Friends website that the Vick dogs got in a fight and one killed another and the two surviving…
Blog the Change: Debunking Pit Bull Myths
In honor of the quarterly Blog the Change drive to improve the lives of animals, I decided to focus today on the evils of Breed Specific Legislation (BSL), laws based on the notion that certain breeds should be banned or destroyed because they’re inherently — and incorrigibly — dangerous. These days, one of the most…
Not-So-Sweet Charity, 2
My condemnation of PETA in my last post created a bit of confusion that I’d like to clear up: I didn’t intend to give anyone the impression that animal welfare causes in general are not worth supporting because they’re all corrupt. And I don’t believe that such overall worthy organizations as the ASPCA should lose…
Not-So-Sweet Charity, 1: PETA
In tough economic times — heck, all the time when you think about it — trying to decide which charitable organizations deserve our donations is difficult. And the decision is further complicated when those charities are widely misunderstood. To clarify the nature of some key animal welfare groups, then: The Humane Society of the United…
An Open Letter to Nathan Winograd
Dear Nathan Winograd, I’ve been reading about the No-Kill Movement, which is working to transform shelters from the pet world equivalent of roach motels — dogs and cats go in but don’t come out — to places that actually save animals. It’s an extremely important cause and, as the Director of the No-Kill Advocacy Center…
Eight reasons to adopt a senior dog
I was so clueless about dogs when I first adopted Frankie that I didn’t realize he was pushing geriatric status — and that this was considered a bad thing. I’m very glad I didn’t know, and not only because I would have missed out on making the acquaintance of my Zen master, muse and constant…