Have you been to Haiti? The HSUS is the first animal group on the ground supplying help to ALL animals in Haiti, not just pets. Are you going to tell me there are NO animals there? I have personally been in contact with a friend there in Haiti who can assure me, you would be mistaken.

Also, the Humane Society of the United States has received the highest ranking by the most respected THIRD party charity evaluater based on its fundraising and fiscal responsible handling of its funds. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=3848. Your statistics are wrong.

The HSUS was the only animal charity ranked as the Top Ten Most Fiscally Responsible Charities by respected worth.com http://www.worth.com/index.php/component/content/article/3-grow/826-elite-list-10-most-fiscally-responsible-charities.

YOU ARE RIGHT about one thing, please EVERYONE give to your local shelters as they desperately need it, but also think about the HSUS who is lobbying for stricter animal cruelty laws to protect our animal citizens, the HSUS who has rescued over 4000 dogs and puppies from horrid puppy mills in the last 18 months alone, who launched a MAJOR marketing program in the gulf states after Katrina to address the terrible animal over population problem there and preliminary numbers show has increased spay/neuter sugeries by 70%!

I simply can’t state all of the things they have done to systemically CHANGE the lives of billions of animals in this country.

HSUS is trying to help our local shelters by slowing the funnel of unwanted dogs and cats in this country by addressing the bigger issue of WHY do people not spay and neuter? Or would you suggest that the shelters just continue to help the ones they can and euthanize the other 3.7 million per year? HSUS and MAddie’s fund worked with the National Ad Council to publically promote shelter adoption because research shows many people believe there is somethng wrong with the animals in shelters. If only 10% of people would adopt instead of buy dogs in this country, we would decrease the euthanasia rate to almost nothing. Only 10%! The local shelter certainly doesn’t have the time nor money to reach the amount of people a national ad campaign would.

SOMEONE had to address the DISEASE, not just the symptoms and quite frankly Ann, if HSUS doesn’t do it, who will? The local shelters certainly can’t and shouldn’t have to…they have their hands full and the HSUS is THANKFUL for the work they do as am I but to say that HSUS does nothing for animals is just irresponsible on your part.

YOUR comments have done NOTHING to help animals today.

Emotions and intelligence are separate functions of the mind and brain.

As someone who has put hundreds of ours in the past two weeks into both human rescue and recovery in Haiti and dozens into animal rescue and support including working directly with teams on the ground there, you don’t know that about which you speak. The Haitian people are a wonderful people who may be very poor but have animal companions like most people and nations and can’t help them while they are struggling to help themselves. As in Katrina’s devastation many are being forced to leave animals behind and are not only struggling with their own circumstances but the guilt of abandoning their animals, dogs-cats-horses-pigs-cows.

i know this from direct communication with numerous Haitians there,some who have been fortunate to escape to the US, and some Haitian-Americans who are in constant communication with their family members there; first-hand information – not my opinions.

This work is the clearly the second step after the human relief effort which is priority, Personally, I have been working on both for the past two weeks nonstop, raising money and helping to plan initiatives, so I resent your emotional diatribe about something you know little directly. Such hurts the efforts to help both humans and animals.

As for HSUS, you may, and are entitled to, not like some of their work but their EMS services are above the capabilities of other charities raising funds and they are the ONLY rescue organization with a team ON THE GROUND NOW IN HAITI assessing and solving the problems simultaneously. They are also one of the only 4-STAR rated charities by Navigator in the US and handle monies they raise impeccably. I support 20+ local rescues and this effort. Think before you write next time as words are powerful and misinformation is an evil animal welfare cannot afford, please think and write for the welfare of the animals and those whose hard work is getting the job done.

THANK YOU

Haitian people are too poor to afford to feed themselves, let alone even think of having pets! When your whole family lives on no more than one to two dollars they are not even THINKING about owning/feeding a pet!

This is nothing more than a shameless money-making opportunity for the human-hating/animal rights lobbying group, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) Want to know how much of YOUR MONEY actually went to help animals in 2008? Less than .04 cents on the dollar! Want to know how much cash the HSUS raked in during 2008? A whopping 86 MILLION dollars!

If anyone feels the need to make a donation, instead make it to your LOCAL humane society/animal control. THEY really can use the money.