Pledge to be Fur Free

I spoke about Keith Basso in my previous blog (author of Portraits of the ‘Whiteman’), who also says jokes are political, analytic, and serve as cautionary tales to highlight the dangerous and stupid people to an entire community.  One subculture of animal welfare, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), jokes about actors Kate and Ashley Olsen because they wear animal fur and promote a fashion line, which uses fur.  In retaliation, PETA launched its “Trollsen Twins” campaign by unveiling an ad featuring images of them in the most unflattering photo that PETA could find (http://features.peta2.com/trollsens/)  The ad, which carries the tagline “Fur is Worn by Beautiful Animals and Ugly People,” was unveiled at the Olsen’s Walk of Fame star on Hollywood Boulevard in December 2007.  To coincide with the unveiling, PETA launched a website developed entirely to the Trollsens—who are known on the site as “Hairy-Kate” and “Trashly,” which features “Fatal Fashion”, an animated dress-up game complete with animal skins and the accompanying blood.  Visitors to the site can also pick up free Web banners showing the Trollsen sisters draped in animal skins—and blood.  PETA is telling the rest of us not to be like the Olsen twins.  They tell us that by wearing animal fur, we are condoning animal cruelty and say there is absolutely no reason to kill animals for their fur when there are so many fashionable and humane alternatives. 

Sign the pledge to be fur-free: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3191

Part 2: Participant Observation/Interview with a Shelter

Victor Turner, a well-known cultural anthropologist,  says that the status of liminal individuals is socially and structurally ambiguous.  The animals living in shelters are in an obvious state of liminality.  They do not belong permanently anywhere.  This produces a great deal of stress on the animals and because their immune system is thereby lowered, many come down with respiratory viruses or other easily transmitted ailments.  They are neither here nor there, as Turner states, a “betwixt and between” state of living in an animal “prison” and someone adopting them into their homes.  He says the liminal have nothing: “no status, insignia, secular clothing, rank, and kinship position, nothing to demarcate them structurally from their fellows.” The dogs have no real status over another dog when they come to the shelter.  All are assessed the same medically and behaviorally, neutered, vaccinated, and micro chipped.  The female dogs that are used in despicable puppy mill operations may never see past a liminal stage until death because they are kept in a small cage, breeding litter after litter, in many cases, their feet never touching the ground, just the wire cages, in their lifetime.  When they have no more useful life for breeding, they are euthanized. (I have rehabbed dogs that lived in puppy mill cages their entire lives—these animals did not even understand what “grass” feels like, let alone the freedom to run in a yard.) The moral implication of raising animals like livestock is obvious to me and is particularly tormenting to many others I have spoken with.

The term “double bind” was first introduced in 1956 by the anthropologist Gregory Bateson and his colleagues in their discussions on the complexity of communication in relation to schizophrenia.  It is a term which means asking a person to do two completely opposite and mutually conflicting things at the same time.  I suggest that shelter workers are caught in this "double-bind" situation.  On one hand, they are supposed to advocate for the animals—to nurse them back to health, to feed and love them, help them get adopted—and then they are told to euthanize them because there is not enough space.

Bob and Colleen are veterinarians for CAO for the past year and insist that stress is part of their job.  Colleen says animals coming to the shelter are better off here than on the street, in a puppy mill, or being abused by someone.  She says, “You have to get used to the stress and you have to find ways to deal with it.”  For Bob, one of the greatest pressures is caring for so many animals on an everyday basis.  He says, “You neuter and spay them hoping they get adopted.”  Sometimes they recognize the animals they are putting to sleep and this disturbs them.  Duane has volunteered for CAO for many years.  He surmises, “The public shows a lack of regard and respect for animals.  They see animals as disposable.  They throw animals away.  For example, when some pet owners lose a dog, they don’t even go look for it.  A major problem is the abuse and neglect of animals.”  This leads me to believe there is some resentment between these animal advocates and the public.  This dichotomy leads to a high amount of stress on animal care workers. 

Like Keith Basso's description of linguistic play among the Western Apache, the workers use humor to ease daily tensions from their double-bind situation.  In his book,  Portraits of the ‘Whiteman’ (2007) Basso draws on current theory in symbolic anthropology, sociolinguistics, and the dramaturgical model of human communication developed by Erving Goffman.  In Basso's book, Vine Delora, Jr. states,  “the more desperate the problem, the more humor is directed to describe it” (3).  When placed in stress-inducing situations, animal welfare workers often begin wisecracking.  They joke about the quality of veterinary care at the shelter and preferring their animals to their children.  One staff member, a euthanasia technician, revealed that she and other workers joke around while in the isolation unit.  “I want the last sound an animal hears to be the sound of laughter.”

The ways in which we treat animals has a great deal to do with the ways in which we treat ourselves and the social contexts in which we live.  There is so much professed love for animals, yet tolerance within our society for truly appalling and widespread forms of institutionalized abuse.  This schizophrenia exists because puppy mills are part of our capitalistic society and when money is involved, people rationalize all sorts of misdeeds and cruel acts towards others.  We can relate this dichotomy with the corporation, which also creates wealth, at the cost of lives (humans and animal) and the environment.  The remorseless rationale of “externalities” (as Milton Friedman explains, the unintended consequences on a transaction between two parties on a third) is responsible for countless cases of illness, death, poverty, pollution, exploitation, and lies. 

The question is, what can we do to alleviate the problem of the irresponsible commercial breeding of dogs and cats?  We can start by not buying from pet stores such as Pet Land, over the internet, or from newspaper ads.  Buying puppies from these sources keeps the mills in business.  Instead, adopt from local shelters or rescue groups.  Statistics show that approximately 25% of dogs in shelters are purebreds.  Next, always spay and neuter your pets.  If you have time, foster animals with a local shelter or rescue.  It costs nothing except time and love.  Finally yet importantly,  is legislation.  The 2011 Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act I spoke about in earlier blogs is still pending.  The Act, if passed, will bring all commercial dog breeders in the United States under federal oversight and mandate daily exercise.  Please help the ASPCA secure passage of the PUPS Act.  On this site, you can sign your name to an email advocating the passage of this bill:  http://capwiz.com/aspca/issues/alert/?alertid=48395556

Part 1: Participant Observation/Interview with a Shelter

A few semesters ago, I took a course in Cultural Anthropology.  My research paper was based on the commodity fetishism of animals.  The methods I utilized in this project included historical background research, participant observation, and interviews.  I consulted such books as Craig Brestrup’s Disposable Animals, Jana Kohl’s A Rare Breed of Love, Arnold Arluke’s and Clinton Sanders’ Regarding Animals, Tami Harbolt’s Bridging the Bond: The Cultural Construction of the Shelter Pet, referred to many web sites devoted to animal welfare such as the SPCA (The Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), the HSUS (Humane Society of the United States), and the ARL (Animal Rescue League).  I tape recorded and typed out interviews with a number of workers at two local shelters, a shelter in Arizona (I was visiting family), and one animal rescue, and several Monterey County veterinarians.   I also volunteered at a Monterey County shelter on numerous occasions, was a guardian to a purebred chocolate Labrador named Belle, and fostered dogs through a Pacific Grove rescue.  This is part one regarding my participant observation and interviews for my research.

In Regarding Animals, Arluke and Sanders (1997) speak to the construction of pets stating that “Although animals have a physical being, once in contact with humans, they are given a cultural identity as people try to make sense of them, understand them, use them or communicate with them” (30).  The process begins when a dog is taken into a home.  Naming the new pet begins its transformation from a generic puppy into a specific member of the family.  The name gives the dog an identity.  However, acquiring a status in the family is contingent on family members’ willingness to meet the pet’s needs.  Pets that do not obey “house rules” or that are considered “too difficult” or do not meet certain “rites of passage” (such as potty training) may be surrendered to a shelter or euthanized—a disposable animal if you will.  The message is powerful, and shelter workers deal with its ramifications for animals everyday.

The theory of interpretive anthropology owes its origins and popularity to Clifford Geertz.  “The analysis of culture,” he declares, is “not an experimental science in search of law but an interpretive one in search of meaning”, the interpretation of culture entails “the elucidation of its symbolic meanings” via the application of “the ethnographer’s empathy, verstehen [means to ‘understand’ in German], insight, imagination, understanding, and the like."  As I enter a Monterey County animal shelter (I will refer to as CAO-County Animal Organization) early one morning for a day of participant-observation and interviews, I revisit Geertz’s beliefs and statements.

 “I’m looking for Annie,” I say walking to the receptionist desk.  Apparently, the shelter is not aware of my observation this day and there is a frenzy of phone calls.  Finally, Annie greets me in the front waiting area.  She is blonde and very thin, in her late thirties, with reflective gray eyes.  She is wearing jeans and the same CAO T-shirt that the other staff and volunteers are wearing.  Smiling and extending her hand, she says, “Let me give you the grand tour.”  I recognize the anti-microbial hand sanitizers placed intermittently in the dog kennel area, reminding humans to wash their hands because this is one way diseases like “kennel cough” are spread from animal to animal.  I am told that workers, volunteers, and the public must sanitize their hands before every dog/cat contact.  We walk through a door into the dog kennels.  Most kennels contain one to two dogs.  The barking is deafening, and the aroma of fresh urine is prevalent.  The air is humid, as each kennel must be hosed out daily, giving the water insufficient time to dry completely.  The cement floors are hard and unyielding against my feet as we walk from kennel to kennel, but there are blankets for every dog and sometimes, even toys.  Annie tells me the floors are heated so the dogs are not cold at night.  I hear key words during this observation such as “stray”, “abused”, “purebred”, “mutt”, “sick”, “shy”, “not adoptable”, “adoptable”, “old”, “hungry”, and “put to sleep” among others.  Some animals have retreated to the back of their kennel barely looking up and frightened.  Some dogs are jumping up and down and barking violently. 

I ask Annie how many dogs are adoptable this week.  She tells me the shelter has nearly 200 dogs in the facility, but only 50 are adoptable now.  I ask Annie what type of dog is adopted readily, if this is a “no kill shelter”, and if so, how long does a dog have before his last day on earth?  Annie tells me what I already surmised:  the younger, cuter dogs are adopted, while the older and “not-so-cute” dogs are passed over, as well as “black” dogs and cats.  Black dog discrimination (a.k.a. Black Dog Syndrome or BDS) is a phenomenon that has historically made black dogs and cats the most difficult of shelter animals to adopt out.  Knowledge of these biases has motivated many shelter workers and volunteers to put extra energy into getting their black dogs and cats noticed, including targeted adoption campaigns, tying bandanas or ribbons around their necks and placing brightly colored blankets and toys in their living areas.  I submit to you that a dog or cat’s appearance, its beauty if you will, dictates how it will be treated and if it will become adoptable or “disposable.” 

Unfortunately, this is a “kill shelter.”  When a dog is surrendered to a shelter by its owner, or found as a stray, it is assessed for behavior and health issues, which can take up to a week.  When a dog passes these tests, it is spayed or neutered and tattooed with an “S” (spayed) or “N” (neutered) on its belly.  It is vaccinated, micro chipped, defleaed and bathed; then and only then is it deemed “adoptable.”  Many dogs do not make it to this point.  They do not pass the series of behavior tests or are too sick and must be PTS (put to sleep).  Dogs that are adoptable, but overstay their welcome (sometimes 30 days or more) are also PTS—it just depends when the shelter runs out of room.  When visiting an animal shelter in Arizona, dogs close to the end of their stay were “put on sale.”  Instead of costing the typical $150, the shelter would ask only $50 and put a sign on a dog’s kennel that said “last week on earth” with a picture of the animal and a written description, extolling its great personality and qualities.  This was an extremely wrenching moment for me and set the stage for my becoming a huge advocate for animals.  I was told by an attendant the obvious about the sign: “It was placed there to encourage people to adopt.”  I mention this to Annie.  She looks me in the eye and says, “There is a sad side to all of this.”  I nod, but I am angry and depressed.

Part two of this blog continues the interview with Annie and the veterinarians who “mercifully” euthanize the animals at the shelter.

I am an Animal Rescuer *(ORIGINAL)* BY ANNETTE KING TUCKER ...
► 4:54► 4:54	www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsKKMV1RRN0

The Cove Documentary

Note:  I wrote a blog about the “Saddest Show on Earth” two weeks ago and I’d like to direct you to a short video that specifically emphasizes everything I was talking about and more.  Alec Baldwin speaks for PETA, and this is a must see.  You cannot walk away from this unaffected:

http://www.elephantjournal.com/2012/03/you-can-hate-peta-but-this-is-fking-bullshit/   After watching this video, the only circus you will ever attend in the future will be the Cirque du Soleil.

In my “Rethinking Swimming with the Dolphins” blog two days ago, I mention the 2009 documentary film The Cove, which analyzes and questions Japan’s dolphin hunting culture. The documentary won 25 well-respected awards, including the 2009 U.S. Audience Award at the 25^th annual Sundance Film Festival and the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.   The idea began in 2007, when former National Geographic photographer Louie Psihoyos and dolphin activist Richard O’Barry and crew traveled to Japan to covertly document the clandestine slaughter of dolphins using underwater microphones and high-definition cameras disguised as rocks. The film claims that from October 1^st through March every year 23,000 dolphins are killed by Japan’s whaling industry, a number several times greater than the number of whales killed in the Antarctic. The dolphin meat, containing toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food in Japan, often times labeled as the more expensive whale meat.

Taiji fishermen engage in dolphin “drive hunting” whereby migrating dolphins are herded into a hidden cove where they are netted and killed with spears and knives over the side of small fishing boats, creating a massive blood bath. 


Most Japanese people are unaware of this annual government-sanctioned dolphin killing; the capture of these dolphins in Taiji is carried out by about 26 fishermen. They kill the dolphins with permits from their government. The film also alleges Japan “buys” votes from the International Whaling Commission, by paying support to smaller countries in favor of whaling, such as Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Laos, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (http://www.japanprobe.com/2010/06/14/japans-vote-buying-at-the-iwc/) and ignores IWC's resolutions which bans the hunting of all whale species (http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/oceans/the-international-whaling-commission-0). 

The film argues that dolphin hunting as practiced in Japan is unnecessary and cruel and is motivated by capitalism.  Dolphinariums (dolphin aquariums) are always looking for more dolphins to exhibit.  The fishermen drive a large school of bottlenose dolphins into the killing cove, and dolphin trainers and marine mammal veterinarians seek out the best-looking dolphins for display.  A live dolphin sold to a dolphinarium brings in a much higher profit than dead dolphin meat, which only brings about $600.  Live bottlenose dolphins have sold for as much as $150,000 each (http://www.denverpost.com/movies/ci_13000526).  The dolphins that are too old, too young, or have too many blemishes are not worth displaying and are slaughtered and the meat is sold in markets.  Japan has more than 50 dolphinariums and swim-with-dolphin programs, ranging from large aquarium facilities with huge tanks and dolphin shows to small tanks at motels or floating sea pens in harbors.  Then there is the smallest dolphinarium located close to the killing cove that I mentioned in my last blog. 

Thus far my interpretation of these issues is gleaned from a variety of focused environmental or animal advocacy perspectives. So what right do we as Westerners have to tell the Japanese what to do?   Dolphins are food, just as cows and pigs are food in America.  Do our slaughterhouses resemble the killing cove?

From the Japanese perspective, whales and dolphins are not particularly special. (I'm sure they were never interested in the "Flipper" tv series.)  Indeed scientific evidence supports their position, that while cetaceans do have large, complex brains, much of their neurons are devoted to maintaining their large bodies and energy-intensive sonar lobes.  However, the film indicates that most Japanese are unaware of the cruel drive hunting or the marketing of dolphin meat.   As noted earlier, dolphin meat is sometimes purposefully mislabeled as whale meat, and contains high concentrations of mercury, which causes memory, hearing, and eyesight loss, along with cerebral palsy and mental retardation.  For this reason, local politicians have advocated the removal of dolphin meat from children’s school lunches. 

Japanese consumption of whale and dolphin meat and Japan's general spurring of International Whaling Commission resolutions are multi-faceted and layered issues.  From another perspective, the problem is not that killing dolphins and whales is inherently immoral, as The Cove sensationalizes, but that the Japanese are taking more than their fair share of what belongs to everybody despite unanimous censure as well as humanitarian, ecological, and public health concerns. 

Rethinking Swimming with the Dolphins

 

One of the things that used to be on my bucket list was to swim with dolphins, until I saw the documentary “The Cove” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo&feature=player_embedded) and this article by the BBC news. “Is it Wrong to Swim with Dolphins?” (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8572855.stm).  British researchers have found that swimming close to bottlenose dolphins disturbs dolphins in their habitat, preventing them from resting, feeding or nurturing their young.  In this article, Dr. Horace Dobbs, founder and honorary director of International Dolphin Watch, says, “Keeping dolphins at resorts or aquatic parks is akin to torture, as it separates these sociable animals from their pods.  It would be like locking me in a lavatory.  We should respect [dolphins] in the same way that we respect other people.”

The Oscar-nominated The Cove takes us to Taiji, Japan to witness the cruelty of the annual dolphin slaughter, exposes us to the dangers of eating mercury poisoned dolphin meat, and warns us that dolphins behave erratically when they are in captivity.  Richard O’Barry, the famously rueful trainer of “Flipper”, the world’s most famous and favorite dolphin in the 1964 TV series, clearly states that conditions in any holding tanks are likely to drive any dolphin insane.  For one thing, dolphins’ extraordinarily sensitive hearing, which enables them to locate and communicate with each other over miles of ocean, cannot process the sonar assault caused by their confinement tanks’ bare and unbaffled walls.  He also points out that dolphins/whales are among the few wild species in captivity that are forced to perform for their keep.  The 2010 death of veteran SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau, caused by Tilikum, the captive 12,300 lb. male Orca “killer whale,” has reignited the captivity controversy and reminds us of  O’Barry’s policy position (http://www.wesh.com/news/22674574/detail.html). 

The brush of Brancheau’s ponytail against Tilikum’s nose appears to have incited the attack.  Despite Brancheau’s death, SeaWorld will not destroy the largest Orca in captivity.  Russ Rector, a former dolphin trainer in Fort Lauderdale who runs the Dolphin Freedom Foundation says, “Tilikum is a casualty of captivity; it has destroyed his mind and turned him demented.” Naomi Rose, a marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States, says putting Tilikum down is not a solution.  “It’s not his fault what happened, just as it wasn’t Dawn Brancheau’s.  The fault lies with using these wild animals as entertainment—this was an accident waiting to happen”  (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/25/killer-whale-tilikum-drowned-trainer-hair/print). 

The Whale and Dolphin Society said it’s time to recognize that keeping animals up to 26 ft long in small tanks is no longer acceptable.  “The spaces are inadequate, the psychological damage is deep.  There are highly social, long-distance acoustic animals who are harmed by living in concrete pens.” 

O’Barry says the world’s smallest dolphin tank is located in the Taiji Whale Museum in Taiji, Japan.  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W49bpPAzQ-Q&feature=player_embedded).  He says the tank is as big as a medium-sized conference room, and named the two dolphins “Sad” and “Lonely” because the two Pan-pacific spotted dolphins are listless and “hanging at the surface of the tank as if they were dead.” 

O’Barry says they suffer from Captive Dolphin Depression Syndrome, or CDDS.  “They will lay like that in the tank, with their head against the walls because they have nothing to do” (http://www.takepart.com/blog-series/cove-watch/2012/01/30/worlds-smallest-dolphin-tank-must-be-closed-says-ric-obarry). 

 Compared to the fact that dolphin pods can swim up to 100 miles a day hunting for food, even the largest aquarium compares to less than 1 percent of their natural environment, cruel and unusual punishment. O’Barry is trying to get the attention of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) into shutting down this tank before it is too late and at the very least transferring these dolphins to a dolphinarium seawater pen a few hundred yards away—where they can receive sunlight and fresh air. 

You can help by signing this petition to shut down the smallest dolphin tank in the world:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/10/shut-down-the-smallest-dolphin-tank-in-the-world/


4/1/12--Update:  According to Ric O'Barry, Director of The Dolphin Project Earth Island Institute, "Sad" and "Lonely" have been moved to a larger, open-air tank.  A lot of the credit is due to mixed martial arts star, Enson Inoue, who personally called the Mayor of Taiji, Kazutaka Sangen, imploring him to move the two spotted dolphins.  According to O'Barry, "While the tank they are now in is not exactly huge, and lacks the stimulus of waves and natural seawater found in the sea pens, it is certainly better than the small dungeon they were locked in before."  (http://savejapandolphins.org/blog/post/partial-victory-sad-and-lonely-are-moved)

"The Saddest Show on Earth"—Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

Ringling Brothers Circus Elephants

When I was a little girl, I used to love to attend the circus, but I was bothered any time a trainer poked or prodded an animal to do something.  Little did I know there was a lot more abuse going on behind the scenes.  I watched this PETA video recently and it has only reinforced what I've read and seen previously, https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2359.

I am appalled at the abuse of these elephants (and tigers) depicted in this video.  I am inclined to believe it happens quite universally in the circus world with all show animals. 

Elephants are emotional animals and an iconic symbol of strength and power, yet their spirits are being broken by circuses such as Ringling Brothers.  Elephants share many of our feelings.  Their moods are visible through their expressions such as sunken eyes and drooping ears.  They form close-knit bonds with their herds and if a family member dies they will actually cover the body with leaves and are known to revisit the site. In this PETA video, we see "Tonka", a 25 year old elephant, showing signs of psychological stress--including swaying from side to side, bobbing her head, and swinging her right foot. Tonka's world, since five years old, has been beatings with bull hooks and whips, confinement to cramped spaces, with shackles around her legs.  She and others are still forced to perform.  It is tragic to know these animals are being broken and heartlessly tortured to perform for the public's amusement.

Circus goers must be more aware of the corrupt industry they are feeding when they attend circuses.  Why do we need animals to perform for us in a circus anyway?  Pure entertainment at what cost?  I now realize that by attending these circuses that use animals (most do), I am supporting this suffering.  Consequently, I will attend any more circuses and urge you to refrain from attending also.  These animals would be better off in a sanctuary or wildlife preserve, where the public would still be allowed to see them. 

At the bottom of the video link is a letter "Please Seize Ringling Elephants."  It urges the USDA to seize the unit's elephants, place in a sanctuary, and investigate the conduct of this circus and its employees, while vigorously enforcing the Animal Welfare Act.  You can make a difference by signing this letter.

If you want to see animals, I would suggest you do as we did two summers ago.   Our family took a safari tour at "Safari West" which is a 400 acre wildlife preserve in Santa Rosa,  http://www.safariwest.com/whois/.  Established by Peter Lang in 1989, "Safari West "gained membership in the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, one of only six private facilities in North America to belong to that prestigious organization. The ongoing mission of Safari West is wildlife preservation through breeding, education, research and public interaction.

Below are pictures from our safari:

In Buddhism, a white elephant represents the mental strength achieved after taming the mind.

Puppy Uniform Protection Statute

Puppy mills are a highly profitable business, as puppies sell for thousands of dollars each and the money is untraceable and untaxable, and this undeclared income is often a supplement to welfare.  They are kept in business due to the high demand for purebred dogs.  According to the Human Society of the United States (HSUS), 2-4 million dogs bred in puppy mills are sold each year to uninformed, eager consumers (http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/puppy_mills/advocate_guide.pdf).  I liken Eric Wolfe's (Europe and the People without History, 1982) capitalistic mode of production (where the dogs are the means of production) to Karl Marx's commodity fetishism theory.  Marx wrote at length about the ways in which commodification reflects a process whereby certain material things came to stand for more than what they are materially.  Like the diamond, which is falsely inflated by a controlled market through the media, dogs and cats are the commodity and purebred animals have come to stand for more than what they should be worth in a culture because people think owning a purebred is prestigious.  According to the 2007 U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, around 63 percent of all U.S. households (71.1 million) include companion animals and more than half of these households have more than one animal (http://www.avma.org/reference/marketstats/sourcebook.asp).  We are relentlessly indoctrinated with this commodity fetishism, which requires a preoccupation with obtaining things, but not attaching so much that trading-in for the newest models would be delayed.  

In 2008, fortunately, puppy mills received a surge of media attention by reporters such as Lisa Ling on the "Oprah Show" ( http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Investigating-Puppy-Mills).   The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) conducted a series of major investigations into all facets of the puppy mill issue and raided mills throughout the country. In 2008, they passed legislation to ban the import of dogs from foreign puppy mills with an amendment on the federal Farm Bill.* They also worked with other groups to pass legislation in Pennsylvania--"the puppy mill capital of the East"--to crack down on the thousands of operations there, and made legislative gains in Louisiana, Virginia, Connecticut, and Tennesse as well.

For the third time since 2008, HSUS is fighting for legislation called the Puppy Uniform Protection Statute (PUPS), which would require that breeders obtain a license from the USDA if they raise more than 50 dogs in a 12-month period and sell directly to the public.  It also sets forth reasonable standards of animal care for commercial breeders, such as exercising dogs everyday.  Responsible dog breeders are not the target of this legislation, but hopefully it will put the puppy mills out of business. Please help the ASPCA secure passage of the PUPS Act—contact your federal legislators now (http://capwiz.com/aspca/issues/alert/?alertid=48395556). 

* With the evolution of Internet commerce, puppy mills have sprouted up all over the world to provide poorly bred puppies of every imaginable breed and designer mix directly to the consumer.  As a result, the U. S. market was flooded with imported dogs in bad health and/or possibly carrying diseases that could harm people and other animals.  Because foreign puppy mills are not subject to U.S. regulations--such as the standards set forth in the Animal Welfare Act--many of these dogs are bred and raised in extremely inhumane conditions.  In a major victory, in May 2008 the ASPCA and other animal welfare groups successfully fought for an amendment to Congress's 2008 Farm Bill that prohibits the importation of puppies under six months of age for the purpose of resale.

all dogs go to heaven

Ms. Belle

April 22, 1997 - February 24, 2012

Belle seven weeks old

Ms. Belle came to us when she was eight weeks old from a breeder in Napa Valley.  She was a family gift from some good friends of ours, and we were delighted!  She was a pure bred field breed chocolate Labrador, meaning she was longer-legged, lighter, and more lithe in build than the typical "show" Labradors.  She acquired many nick names along the way--one that stuck was "Little Girl."  She was quite regal looking with the most beautiful, shiny chocolate coat, long lean legs and nose.   My goodness, she was intelligent, understanding a large vocabulary and multiple hand signals.  She actually knew the names of all her chew toys and would bring them to you on command.  She was born to hunt birds with her soft mouth,  retrieve a tennis ball, swim--and eat--everything in sight! Yes, labs are well known for their appetite and Belle was no exception.  She once ate an entire Papa Murphy's extra large pizza from our countertop and let's not forget that two lb. box of See's candy under the Christmas Tree one year.  Chocolate is poison for dogs, but since the chocolate was mostly nuts with chocolate, and she was 80 lbs., she went through an "exciteability" stage and endured some stomach upset, but was fine. When you say "the dog ate my homework" it is really true in my case.  About three weeks ago she actually tore the cover off my Free Speech book and ripped some papers to shreds in her search for food.  I knew last week when she didn't want to eat her food (or my homework) anymore that she was very unwell.  I tried to hand feed her popsicles and give her special treats.  I did not want to believe that her time with us was ending. Labs generally have a 10-12 year lifespan, and Belle would have been fifteen in April. 

Little Girl with Mr. Budders

She was the best therapy dog a person could ask for. If I was sick and spent all day in bed, she would sleep beside me all day.  She protected me from strangers and had an uncanny sense for danger.  For the first twelve years of her life she went with me everywhere in the car to the boys' activities.  She went on vacations with us to our Hayfork cabin (near Redding), to visit my son in school at UCLA and U. C. Davis, to visit that same son in Arizona when he played for the Cardinals.   If we had to leave town with no option of taking her, we hired the best sitters to come to our home--with the stipulation that Belle was allowed to sleep with them!  She slept in my bed with me until her arthritis got too bad, so we made her a ramp.  Then she didn't want to sleep in our bed anymore, but beside us in her favorite bed. 

I brought many dogs home to foster from A.F.R.P., but she never made a fuss.  She always got along well with the other dogs and sometimes became best buddies with them.  Like our blind Mr. Budders that I blogged about previously.  She was very interested in a pregnant Pomeranian I fostered, which had pups in the middle of the night.  She sat by me as each one was delivered, curiously watching, and waiting. But that was not unusual, she was always by my side, a loyal companion in every respect.

Belle in her hey day at a Tea Party

Belle during her last days

I (we) truly miss this beautiful and amazing animal.   She made our lives better just by existing. She was a part of our family and was loved by everyone, but everyone also knew she was my "Little Girl."