National Animal Interest Alliance

Remembering Diane

It is with great sadness that we report the recent passing of Diane Makinney.

Diane is one the finest people I have been blessed to know; a protector of animals and their owners, a woman who was never afraid to fight for her beliefs, a tireless volunteer for NAIA, and most importantly a great personal friend. Nobody will ever replace Diane Makinney in our hearts and lives.

-Patti Strand, NAIA National Director

Breed Specific Legislation Killing Dogs... and People

After a condo's tough restrictions against pit bulls and harassment by neighbors and management left actor Nick Santino feeling that he had no choice but to put his dog Rocco down, the guilt-ridden owner took his own life as well.

His suicide note bares the anguish of the decision:

Today I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend.

[...]

Rocco trusted me and I failed him. He didn’t deserve this.

No dog or dog owner deserves to go through this. What a tragic reminder of the pain and suffering wrought by breed specific prejudice. Would this man and his dog be dead right now if Rocco hadn't been a pit bull mix? If Rocco hadn't faced restrictions and harassment because of his breed? You don't need a Magic 8-Ball to answer that one; it's a safe bet that management didn't require Yorkie owners to enter and exit the building through the back door.

Third-Degree Rescue

There was an article in Slate yesterday that may have hit a little too close to home for those among us who have recently adopted from a rescue. If you've ever felt like the adoption process has become less a step in finding permanent homes for needy pets than a testing ground for enhanced interrogation techniques, Emily Yoffe feels your pain, and has captured it in all its tragic absurdity.

The full gamut of disqualifications are covered: no full-time workers, no apartment dwellers, no unfenced-yards, no off-leash time,  no kids or old people allowed -- pretty much nobody who might possibly have a life outside their (high-fenced, stick-built) home, when you get down to it.

Also brought to light is the issue of post-adoption home inspections, and the fact that even years after you adopt your dog, you still might not actually own him:

If an applicant manages to get approved, the adoption papers should be read carefully before signing. It turns out the contract often specifies the adopter is not the actual owner of the animal. Sure you’re responsible for the pet’s food, shelter, training, and veterinary care, but the organization might retain “superior title in said animal.” This means the group can drop in unannounced at any time for the rest of your pet’s life and seize Fluffy if it doesn’t like what it sees.

Yikes! Now that is definitely something to look out for.

Yoffe's article has already received over 2,300 comments; it is depressing to see how many prospective pet owners have been burned -- even turned away -- by invasive, zealously overprotective, or just plain rude rescue organizations. I think we can all agree that some level of screening is appropriate, even necessary, but as much we'd like to see every pet in a perfect home, how often does that actually happen? Who among us is perfect? Isn't it better in practice to find safe, caring, and permanent -- if imperfect -- homes for ten pets than an ideal home for one... or none?

Lawsuit Filed Against Miami-Dade and the ASPCA

If you were cast as the villain in a horrific string of cat mutilations by the media, sent hate mail and death threats, and forced to live under house arrest for 18 months while your family spends thousands upon thousands of dollars defending you in court... do you think you'd be just a little teed off to discover that the people so eager to make a case against you had no idea what they were talking about?

Yeah, me too.

In the case of Tyler Weinman, charges were quickly dropped once it was determined that eight of the 19 cats he had been accused of mutilating had actually been killed by dogs (the other 11 had already been destroyed and could not be tested), but even if you put lost time and money aside, it is still light years away from a no harm, no foul scenario. The accusations will follow Weinman around forever, and there are people out there who will go to their graves convinced he is a cat killer -- because he wasn't "serious" enough in court, because they need a villain to hiss at, or simply because they read it on the Internet. Just enter "Tyler Weinman" into Google and see what it suggests. Pandora's box has been opened.

But really, when you think about it, Weinman was actually lucky: given the anger and sensationalism surrounding this story, can you imagine how it would have turned out if his dad didn't have the money to hire a good defense team? I certainly don't want to.

It could have been much, much worse. So it should come as no surprise that Weinman is suing Miami-Dade County and the ASPCA for negligence leading to his false arrest.

Sara Pizano, the Animal Services director who determined 19 cats had been killed by a person, is also named in the lawsuit, as is the University of Florida, Melinda Merck's former employer (Merck is the ASPCA’s director of veterinary forensic sciences). It is chilling to consider the fact that Merck signed off on Pizano's opinion without even seeing any of the bodies herself -- isn't that supposed to be her area of expertise? Is her animal abuse proof-o-meter set at a "This kid is weird and smirks a lot; he is clearly guilty" level? (Or perhaps "This dog owner tells highly inappropriate and unfunny jokes. He must be an abuser"?)

It certainly appears that way

Of course, aside from her position of authority, Merck is in no way unique: judging from the numerous commentators still referring to Weinman as a "cat killer," there are a lot of people out there who believe they are capable of determining guilt without actually seeing any evidence.

Alpha Tex Dogs to Be Returned to Owners

Last September in Texas, nearly 200 dogs were seized from the Alpha Tex Kennels after a complaint of bad conditions. Last week, a jury found that Mark and Sandra Smith, operators of the kennel, did not treat their dogs cruelly; the seized dogs will be returned to the kennel once they are located.

We have received information from multiple sources with wildly differing points of view on this case, but nobody from NAIA was in the courtroom or at Alpha Tex Kennels; we cannot speak with authority as to the conditions of the facility. But what we can say without any hesitation, is that this case is the perfect crystallization of a deeply flawed system, the kind of system that allows for the armed confiscation and transfer of a person's animals before a verdict has even been read.

There has to be a better way. In the Alpha Tex case, it is clear that neither animals, humans, nor justice were served.

Ain't No Fun When the Shoe's on the Other Hoof

Animal rights activists are fuming over a farm show display that portrays commercial farms and farmers in a favorable light -- because heaven forbid the public associate clean facilities, healthy animals, and well, anything even remotely positive with large-scale animal agriculture.

It's not as much fun when someone else controls the message, is it guys?

I can't help but wonder if the woman who railed against this "misinformation campaign," who wants people to see the "whole picture," has the same reaction when presented with one-sided media that paints commercial farming as wholly cruel and irredeemable?