Suggested Listening While Reading

Interpret that as you will.

Thanks to the efforts of another blogger, we have seen the testimony in the Wilkes County, North Carolina dog-killing by representatives of the Humane Society of the United States.  The dogs were seized from a Mr Faron, who couldn't afford the ransom to get his dogs back, including puppies that were born in the hoosegow.  He pleaded guilty to 14 counts of dog-fighting, something which was legal in North Carolina until 1997.

A hearing was held to determine the fate of the dogs seized in the case and the puppies born in custody.  The representatives of the HSUS testified on February 16, 2009.

First up was Amanda Harrington, former office manager, anti-tethering activist, and member of an animal welfare advisory board.  She is now the North Carolina State Director for the HSUS and, like most HSUS spokepeople, seems to know very little about dog behaviour or dog breeding.

MS. AMANDA ARRINGTON: They [Best Friends] are offering to assist. That is their language that they used. That means it would still be the county's responsibility. And in their own words, it costs about $190,000 per dog to rehabilitate them.

THE COURT: $190,000 to rehabilitate a dog?

MS. AMANDA ARRINGTON: Yes, sir.

THE COURT: That's what Best Friends says?

MS. AMANDA ARRINGTON: Yes.

Wow, I guess a lot of people owe me a lot of money for all the dogs I've adopted that needed rehabilitation training.  We all know that 8-week-old puppies need a lot of rehab.  Way to scare the rubes, Amanda, using big numbers like that.  Did they all touch their wallets when you dropped that bombshell?  This kind of begs the question, though:  How much does it cost to rehab somebody from the Dr Phil show, if it costs almost 200 grand to rehab a dog?

 

Then we get into the fun part, where HSUS people, as usual, show that they really know their stuff.

THE COURT: why is this the so-called humane thing to do?

MS. AMANDA ARRINGTON: To euthanize?

THE COURT: Yes, ma'am.
       

AARRRGGHHH!!!  I can't take it anymore! Make it stop!  It isn't frickin' euthanasia when you are destroying healthy animals.  It's killing.  Face it HSUS/Peta/Shelter euphemizers, that's what you are doing - in record numbers.


But wait, there's more:


MS. AMANDA ARRINGTON: For the dogs themselves, I think, because of the way that they were bred. I think it is an unrealistic expectation for us to ask these dogs that have been bred generations for fighting to become regular pets. And it's an even bigger thing to ask people to take on that responsibility and the county to take on both the financial burden and the liability.

You know, we could be a couple years down the road and one of these dogs could do something, and I think it ultimately could come back on the county of Wilkes.

Ooh, I bet they touched their wallets that time.  The old 'hit 'em with liability' trick, eh?  You know that liability is the one thing that keeps government lackeys up at night, don't you?

There's an HSUS double-whammy here because what this bird is really saying is that nobody should try to place a dog into a new home through a city facility.  Because, you know, a few years might pass and the dog might 'do something' and the city will be left wearing a barrel and suspenders, I tell you what.

Quelle cruche de merde.  Yes, you heard me, merde.  I'm surprised the judge didn't call it as he obviously saw it.  He was probably trying to appear objective while being slimed with a bucketful of vintage HSUS being hurled in his general direction by these witnesses.

Next up is former animal control officer Chris Schindler (oh, the irony) who wants to make it clear that he knows dogs:

THE COURT: Sir, did you want to add something?

MR. CHRIS SCHINDLER: I'm Chris Schindler. I'm the Deputy Manager, Animal Fighting Law Enforcement, Humane Society of the United States.

Swoon -  Not only a Deputy [manager], but a Law Enforcement Deputy [manager].  A regular Dudley Fiddlin' DoRight in the flesh.

There's just a slight problem, though.  The HSUS is not a law enforcement agency, is not a government agency of any kind, has no mandate to represent anyone but its own twisted sistership which, being dazed and confused, supports the animal liberation agenda.

But I digress.  Here's the part that really shows everybody what the HSUS is all about:

Your Honor, basically agree with all the things that everyone else has said. These dogs have been bred for generations upon generations for a single purpose of animal fighting; the puppies included.

They all have been bred to display those traits of gameness and these things that dog fighters look for. People don't come from all over the world to obtain dogs from Ed Faron because, you know, they are just a regular pit bull.

Pick me!  I have some questions, Your Honor!  Pick me!

1. Does Schindler believe that dogs can be bred for animal fighting?
2. Does he believe that young puppies, barely old enough to leave the nest, are dangerous?
3. Does he believe that every dog in every litter displays the same personality traits?
4. Does he know what he means by 'regular 'pit bull''?
5. Does he know that people come from all over the world to buy a lot of purebred dogs from long-time breeders, regardless of whether they are Chihuahuas, Beagles or American Pit Bull terriers?

Answers 1 - 3 are 'yes'.  Answers 4 & 5 are 'no'.

There's more, not as much as I'd hoped, but enough to show that the HSUS people will never change.

They do not believe that each dog is an individual.  They don't understand anything about dogs, breeds or breeding (I know, duh).  They want to kill all the 'pit bulls'.  They think that a dog-aggressive canine is dangerous, when in fact, many dogs don't get along with their own kind and make terrific pets.  I've had a few of those - gasp! adopted from humane societies - and never had any problems.

Oh, and just for Donna and the gang, here's the grand finale from Deputy Chris:

"...I mean, these dogs, they are not on the same level. You know, people speak about the Michael Vick dogs. Those dogs have not even been rehabilitated."

(Brief Pause.)
(Proceeding concluded at 10:52 a.m.)


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