If you love your pets, please read this and forward it to everyone you

[BrklynLiberal]

know who loves their pets.

Dear Friend,

Like me, I bet you can't get the tragic images from Hurricane Katrina out of your mind: hundreds of bloated dog carcasses floating in toxic water; a young boy sobs as rescuers pull his small fluffy dog, Snowball, from his arms, never to be seen again; a New Orleans man—who had climbed a tree as floodwaters rose and, for five days, held his 16-year-old dog in his arms, only to be told by rescuers that he couldn't take her with him—is forced to shoot his dog instead of leaving her behind to die terrified and alone.

This tragic loss of beloved animals could happen again—to any one of us, even you—whether you live along the Gulf Coast, near a fault line, or anywhere else that a natural disaster or other catastrophic event may strike. But if you make a few simple preparations, there's a good chance that you can keep your animals safe.

Are you prepared?

http://www.helpinganimals.com/animalsHome_hurricaneseason.asp

Please take a moment to print out our disaster preparedness checklist and view our public service announcement. It might save your animal's life.

http://www.helpinganimals.com/f-disasterchecklist.asp

Hurricane season is here again, and we need your help to get our disaster preparedness checklist and public service announcement out to residents who are already at risk along the Gulf Coast. Please help us prevent another Katrina and help save thousands upon thousands of lives. Make a generous contribution to PETA today.

Thank you for your compassion and generosity.

Sincerely,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President


P.S. Please forward this e-mail to your friends, family members, colleagues, and anyone else you can think of who might benefit from our checklist and lend their support to these vital efforts! Even send it to your favorite blogger. We want to make sure that as many animals as possible are protected. Thank you.


This e-mail was sent by:
PETA
501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510
United States

[ChiciB1]

1. Thanks For This! I Live In Florida & Have Already Done This!

As an animal lover, I got to the point last year where I could NOT even watch anymore! What happened when they separated people from their pets was a travesty!!

I'm told by some that it's only the "balance of nature!" Yeah, and they told me that when they were shooting deer, dove, raccoons, possums and all other animals when I lived in Texas too!!

I really do have a problem with hunters who hunt just to be hunting!!

[radwriter0555]

37. When Katrina hit CUBA, the residents took their pets w/them OR they were

sheltered properly and returned to the residents afterwards.

No lives were lost in Communist Cuba, during Hurricane Katrina, human or pet.

That's what a real nation does for its residents.

[IndyOp]

2. Thinking ahead can save lives and a lot of the suggestions

are useful no matter what type of emergency might happen - including the dog chased a squirrel across the neighborhood and is now lost:

All animals should have collars with identification. Make sure that you have a current photo of your animal companion for identification purposes, just as you would have for a child.

Place an emergency window sticker near your front door in case a weather emergency or fire strikes when you are not home. This sticker will alert rescuers to animals in your home who need help. Be sure to note how many animals are in the home and where they can be found.

Have an animal emergency kit readily available. The kit should include a harness and leash or carrier, bottled water, food and water bowls, and dry food. If you have a cat, keep litter and a small litter tray ready to go. Click here to order a PETA Rescue Kit to keep in your car that contains a collapsible carrier, leash, and towel. The kit is helpful if you must grab your animals quickly or if you encounter an animal on the road in need of help. You might also need blankets or sheets to cover carriers and help keep animals calm during transport.

Hotels often lift their "no pets" policies during emergencies, but keep a list of hotels that always accept companion animals, just in case. (Most Motel 6s accept animals.) Include your local animal shelter's number in your list of emergency numbers—it might be able to provide information during a disaster.

If you are unable to return to your home right away, you may need to board your animal companion. Most boarding kennels, veterinarians, and animal shelters require medical records to make sure that rabies vaccinations are current, so keep copies of these records with your emergency kit.

[susanna]

34. As a follow up to your great point here:

"Hotels often lift their "no pets" policies during emergencies, but keep a list of hotels that always accept companion animals, just in case. (Most Motel 6s accept animals.) Include your local animal shelter's number in your list of emergency numbers—it might be able to provide information during a disaster."

I have been amazed in the past 5 - 10 years how many more hotels WILL accept pets. My dog went with us on vacation to: Buffalo/Niagara Falls NY, Upstate Pennsylvania, Cape Cod, Michigan's Upper Peninsula...you get the picture. Don't get me wrong, you might have to pay a deposit (anywhere from $20 - $100 or so), but you can take them with you, if you find pet-friendly hotels. As IndyOp says, research the hotels around your area and find those that will take your furry family members, and make the list. Keep it with other important papers. When severe weather threatens, you at least have that resource.

[CAcyclist]

3. Hmmm, I don't remember PETA being on the front lines

I don't donate money to organizations that are against the keeping of dogs and cats as pets or organizations that encourage their members to act as terrorists by turning animals loos from their cages at fairs or from their crates at dog shows.

There are a lot of pet rescue organizations that are in dire need of funds. PETA would not be on my list.

[shireen]

5. they were at the sidelines n/t

imho, they took in just enough pets to show they were doing something and for publicity photos.

The Humane Society of the US was a major disappointment.


Animal Rescue New Orleans and Pasados did amazing and heroic work. So did Eric Rice of Maryland. There are many other heroes, working on the ground and remotely via the internet, but we'll never know their names because they're not into self-promotion.

[LeftyMom]

9. Both did rescue work after Katrina

I have pics if you don't believe me. HSUS also has done a lot to improve disaster planning for pet evacuations and increased thier own ability to deal with disaster logistics and rescue.

[shireen]

38. HSUS and PETA

HSUS and PETA have massive fund-raising programs. They got millions after Katrina. But their presence, from what I've heard, was not in proportion to their resources. I wasn't too impressed with the ASPCA either.

It was the smaller groups, like Pasados, Best Friends, ARNO (co-founded by Jane Garrison, an amazing woman), Vermilion Animal Aid, and Petfinder, along with small teams from animal rescue groups around the country and individual rescuers like Eric Rice, who did some really magnificent work at great personal sacrifice. HSUS did provide some funding for these groups, but from what I've heard and seen, they could have done better.

I've talked with people, via email, who were at Lamar-Dixon, the triage that HSUS supposedly managed. It was chaos. That's not to minimize the amazing work done by the volunteers who worked there, who performed heroically under very very difficult conditions. A lot of these people came away with deep emotional wounds from that experience.

And don't get me started on the efforts to reunite pets and their humans ... I still can't talk about it without getting terribly distraught.

[pecwae]

43. Thank you for mentioning Best Friends n/t

[idgiehkt]

12. I'll second on HSUS, except for Jane Garrison.

I've heard one horror story after another from people who volunteered or otherwise dealt with them down there. Plus, they took in 20 million dollars in donations/grants during that time. HSUS...I have worked at an HSUS shelter and know what their protocols and procedures are and I was appalled to find out that they were using the same protocols at Lamar Dixon. PLus I know in my gut they were practicing mass euthanasia of animals that were rescued. Volunteers said that the HSUS staff would get up an hour earlier than everyone else and then when the volunteers arose they would find empty cages and the animals that had been in them before were not seen again. I was already down on HSUS before, but after Katrina I think they are just a dinosaur in the field of animal welfare that needs to be replaced by orgs like Pasado and Best Friends. Best Friends did amazing work down there and just left the area last week, or the week before, with the final 15 dogs they had left. And of course ARNO is still down there scraping along (see my sig line)

[BrklynLiberal]

31. HSUS was horrible in New Orleans. I also heard horror stories.

I heard wonderful things about Pasado Safe Haven. I heard that HSUS allowed HSUS to use their facilities and HSUS was just horrible. I would never give them another penny.

[Catchawave]

6. Here ya go....

http://www.helpinganimals.com/f-katrinaphotos.asp

You're free to donate to whoever you like, but am curious where you found they're against keeping pets and encourage terrorism ?!

[Lisa0825]

7. I don't know if they have changed their tune in recent years, but

About 15 years ago, I read an interview with their head (was it Ingrid back then too?) that said that animals should not only not be used for research, but also not be pets, guide dogs, or ANYTHING associated with humans. Animals should only be wild. She also said back then that if you were driving down the road and saw a boy and a dog in the road, and you couldn't miss both, so you had to choose which one to hit, you should hit the boy, because he'd get better medical attention.

It always amuses me when animal loving celebrities embrace Peta, because I know they have no idea about a lot of what Peta stands for.

[Catchawave]

8. Click on my linky.....

:hi:

[Lisa0825]

10. I didn't say they don't do some good work....

but I am opposed to a lot of what they do and believe in.

http://www.thisistrue.com/peta.html
http://www.peoplekillinganimals.com/antipeta.htm

and more...

http://www.consumerfreedom.com/article_detail.cfm/article/134

1) PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk has described her group’s overall goal as “total animal liberation.” This means no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, and no pets (not even seeing-eye dogs). PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals.

2) Despite its constant moralizing about the “unethical” treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, PETA has killed over 10,000 dogs and cats at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. During 2003, PETA put to death over 85 percent of the animals it collected from members of the public.

more at the above link, but those are the two items that bother me most.

[Catchawave]

13. Consumer Freedom???

Those are all links from corporate lobbyists, and mostly use out of context quotes to stir up propaganda to protect *their donations* from those who profit the most being cruel to animals!

[Lisa0825]

14. The quotes from Newkirk on the subject of total animal freedom

are documented all over the net. The stats on peta's kill rate are also documented in many places.

I don't trust Peta any more than I would trust a corporate lobbyist.

[Catchawave]

15. Here's a cute article:

http://www.vegetarianteen.com/interviews/peta.shtml

[LeftyMom]

17. Well, the CCF site you quoted is run by corporate lobbyists

Thier previous name was the Guest Choice Network and they were orignally created by the tobacco companies to fight anti-smoking laws. The food industry got in on the act a bit later. Thier big funders still include the tobacco firms, but also corporate scum like Monsanto, Cargill, Coca-cola and Tyson.

Just something to keep in mind.

[BrklynLiberal]

25. The CCF site is filled with articles against organic food, supporting

bioengineered food, against Bill Moyers, etc. It is OBVIOUSLY a Corporate shill site.

[LeftyMom]

16. Let's debunk the right wing propaganda, shall we?

Well, I had most of a reply and had to reboot, so forgive the quick and dirty version and please let me know if you need more info.

"1) PETA president and co-founder Ingrid Newkirk has described her group’s overall goal as “total animal liberation.” This means no meat, no milk, no zoos, no circuses, no wool, no leather, no hunting, no fishing, and no pets (not even seeing-eye dogs). PETA is also against all medical research that requires the use of animals."

This is largely true, but dead wrong on the pet thing. PETA advocates a vegan lifestyle, which would preclude exploiting animals for clothing, consumption, entertainment or testing. However they are not anti-companion animal as a quick perusal of thier website would reveal- there is a wealth of information there on responsible care for a great variety of animals. (Here's a small fraction of the companion animal care info on thier main site: http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_companion.asp )

"2) Despite its constant moralizing about the “unethical” treatment of animals by restaurant owners, grocers, farmers, scientists, anglers, and countless other Americans, PETA has killed over 10,000 dogs and cats at its Norfolk, Virginia headquarters. During 2003, PETA put to death over 85 percent of the animals it collected from members of the public."

There are several woefully inadequate public shelters near PETA HQ. At many of those shelters there is no adoption program and euthanasia was either delivered by poison gas or a 22 to the head. PETA offered to handle humane euthanasia for these facilities, hence the high percentage of euthanized animals.

[Lisa0825]

18. It's not partisan.

The people I have heard these and similar things from over the years have all been people who work in rescue, animal/human therapy, vets, etc. The person who first told me about Peta back in 1991 had a human occupational therapy program that used pets in it's rehab exericizes. These are not bad people out to give Peta a black eye, and it is NOT about right vs left. Maybe if Petadidn't try to be as offensive and controversial as possible, and instead worked harder on fostering understanding, there wouldn't be as much opposition to them.

I appreciate the link you gave me. I clicked on a couple of the topics listed, and I will read it more in depth tomorrow. I also appreciate that you actually addressed my points. Usually when a Peta discussion comes up, people on both sides throw barbs at each other, but the actual issues don't get a fair hearing.

[BrklynLiberal]

20. None of this detracts from the valuable information that was offered for

emergency situations, which is the reason this was posted.

I do not see this posting being compatible with their having a policy of not caring about companion animals.

[LeftyMom]

22. The organization you linked is definitely partisan

Look into the PR firm that created the CCF and see who else they work for.

[Lisa0825]

29. I googled and found a ton of links.

When I said "not partisan," I was not referring the link I posted, which I admit I didn't investigate, but to the parts of the peta agenda that many people are opposed to, like doing away with pets, guide dogs, etc. I will read the info on the website about companion animals, but it has been my understanding for 15 years, based on quotes read in numerous sources, that Peta wants to end pet ownership.

[BrklynLiberal]

33. They have a whole pages for kids on the treatment of companion animals

http://www.petakids.com/companion_animals_faq.html

http://www.petakids.com/best_friend.html

http://www.petakids.com/companion_animals.html

[kestrel91316]

23. Ingrid Newkirk is ON RECORD as wanting, ultimately, an END to

the existence of pets. I guess she thinks it's an evil concept.

PETA likes to keep this little factoid quiet, since if it got out and was widely known, PETA's income would swiftly drop to ZERO.

[LeftyMom]

30. Ingrid Newkirk isn't PETA.

She's made statements on other things that aren't the organization's policy as well. Nobody thinks the sun shines out Ingrid's ass. :shrug:

[BrklynLiberal]

32. Link please

[BrklynLiberal]

36. “Does PETA believe that people shouldn’t have pets?”

http://www.peta.org/about/faq-comp.asp

[BrklynLiberal]

35. “Does PETA believe that people shouldn’t have pets?”

http://www.peta.org/about/faq-comp.asp

http://www.askcarla.com/Q&A-Companion.asp?CategoryID=7&Category=Companion+

http://www.helpinganimals.com/animalsHome_gi_backyard.asp

http://www.helpinganimals.com/animalsHome_gi_missing.asp

http://www.helpinganimals.com/animalsHome_gi_microchip.asp

[Lisa0825]

39. I've skimmed through some of it so far....

and while they give advice for spay and neuter and things, I haven't seen anywhere where they say Peta is FOR companion animals/pet ownership/service animls/etc. I have seen Newkirk quoted on this subject in numerous sources, but have never once seen a direct statement from Peta disagreeing with her on it.

I'm really not intending to be argumentative. I'd just like a definitive answer on this issue. If they truly do SUPPORT pet ownership now, was this ever not the case, and when did it change, or do they propose that this has always been a lie?

[idgiehkt]

11. PETA was in St. Bernard Parish.

during Katrina. This was where the horrible animal cruelty took place, where animals were used as target practice by cops. So yes, they were there.

Calling someone a 'terrorist' because they turn an animal loose is hyperbolic, don't you think? Maybe they're a jerk, if the animal is not suffering...but a 'terrorist'? I'm not really sure they are trying to do anything but motivate people to take their pets with them and get out of town, this time.

This is what happened to animals left behind in St. Bernard Parish schools when evacuees were forced by St. Bernard Parish cops to abandon them. Pasado Safe Haven is still trying to get the LA A.G. to bring charges in this case. *Graphic*

http://www.20questions.tv/kare-animal-killings-in-st-bernard/

[BrklynLiberal]

19. Self-delete

[shireen]

40. St. Bernard Massacre: Pasados took the lead ...

We should note that it was Pasados that pushed hard for the investigation and started the legal action. It was Pasados who hired the forensics experts. Not HSUS. Not ASPCA. Not PETA. It was little Pasados, a small group from the Pacific Northwest. That speaks volumes about these large organizations. They're not getting a penny from me, ever again.

[kestrel91316]

21. You better put on your Nomex undies - sparks are gonna FLY over

your anti-PETA post, lol!

:popcorn:

[shireen]

4. valuable advice

... except the part about donating money! (edited to add this sentence).

I spent many long hours and sleepless nights doing internet volunteer work for Katrina pets last fall. It was the most difficult thing I've ever done. I still cry for the precious pets and humans who died and suffered. I still get furious about the terrible things they were subjected to during that long ordeal.

The people who worked so hard in horrific conditions to help pets and their humans will always be my heroes.

THIS MUST NEVER EVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

[The Straight Story]

24. I hate my pets, but will pass it on anyway :)

Just kidding, love my two dogs except for the fact that even though they are tiny they are freakin bed hogs!

[EFerrari]

26. At least it sounds like you get to sleep in your bed.

lol

[BrklynLiberal]

28. I know what you mean. I have a 90 lb German Shepherd sharing my bed..and

along with a very pushy cat!!!

[BrklynLiberal]

27. The point of this post was to get out info about saving your pets in case

of an emergency. That was all. Just take what you need from it and leave the rest.

[shireen]

41. that's true

but there's also the issue of perception. Big groups like PETA and HSUS have huge PR machines that get these messages out to the masses. That's a good thing, and I'm glad they're raising awareness. But what irritates me is that the public gravitates to these groups as the authoritative experts on animal rescue. That translates to larger donations for these groups. But when a catastrophic disaster like Katrina happened, they did not live up to the expectations of their stature.

[Catchawave]

42. PETA's Reform Committee Testimony

http://www.helpinganimals.com/f-reformcommittee.asp